tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3413987633904220662024-03-05T17:43:29.747+01:00One Day at a TimeFledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-72575713263906240012013-03-01T21:27:00.000+01:002013-03-01T21:43:54.859+01:00Mossy ScarfI have been keeping <i>plenty </i>busy since the craft fair, which was mildly successful for me. I certainly did better than I did the last time I participated (by a long shot!), but for the amount of time and effort that I put in preparing for it all, it didn't really balance out.<br />
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However, because I posted on Facebook for every hat/cowl/scarf I knitted for the craft fair, I stirred up a <i>lot</i> of interest, starting with my friends, in the selling of what I create. I have been in the process of conferring with the legal office on base to get my etsy shop running while we still live in Germany, but it has been slow moving and frustrating.<br />
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In the meantime, though, I have had quite a few people contact me for commissioned projects. One of those commission customers prefers scarves to cowls, and she loved the Mossy Slouch set that I had written up, so I now have a third pattern of the same look to share with you!<br />
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<u><b>Mossy Scarf</b></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUVFjbZQTzn9Ra_uapTWIUiTmfJR7RX0Mi8ym7lEwydnWDwfFXTAgpWpn9bX6ktkPgE_ObUwxrlcYrRcYoALdqx03uQoV8MhXjNXz9b-WE4qLvy2_f-HPuYKESCYRTn2VJ0aXOGw0c1c/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUVFjbZQTzn9Ra_uapTWIUiTmfJR7RX0Mi8ym7lEwydnWDwfFXTAgpWpn9bX6ktkPgE_ObUwxrlcYrRcYoALdqx03uQoV8MhXjNXz9b-WE4qLvy2_f-HPuYKESCYRTn2VJ0aXOGw0c1c/s200/photo.JPG" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5p80wrc25O51ecW9sm_yNhQLgbM0Ur0LvTbmCb3yx8RMnprlF5Xky-dp9UD75Pu7BiyF8DlB6QdceGj9F-IUmF2hJU1rr4ODb83CpG2GpER8c30T9A580LPvGQQLmyNenrPkG15UQtM/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5p80wrc25O51ecW9sm_yNhQLgbM0Ur0LvTbmCb3yx8RMnprlF5Xky-dp9UD75Pu7BiyF8DlB6QdceGj9F-IUmF2hJU1rr4ODb83CpG2GpER8c30T9A580LPvGQQLmyNenrPkG15UQtM/s200/photo(3).JPG" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Materials Needed:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Size US 15/<span style="font-size: small;">10</span>mm needles to knit in the round</span></span></div>
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150 yards of bulky yarn <br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tapestry needle to weave in ends</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cast on 15<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>stitche<span style="font-size: small;">s</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 1: Sl st purl<span style="font-size: small;">wise, *k1tbl, p1tbl,*</span> <span style="font-size: small;">6 times<span style="font-size: small;">; k1tbl, k1</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 2: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sl st purl<span style="font-size: small;">wise, *p1tbl, k1tbl,*</span> <span style="font-size: small;">6 times<span style="font-size: small;">; p1tbl, k1</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 3: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sl st purl<span style="font-size: small;">wise, *k1tbl, p1tbl,*</span> <span style="font-size: small;">6 times<span style="font-size: small;">; k1tbl, k1</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 4: Sl <span style="font-size: small;">st purlwise, *p1, k1* across</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Repeat Row 4 until <span style="font-size: small;">50"/</span>127cm from cast on edge <span style="font-size: small;">(</span>or until desired length,<span style="font-size: small;"> which will require more yarn)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Repeat Rows 1<span style="font-size: small;"> and 2, casting off in pattern with Row 3.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weave in ends and block as desired. </span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9hme9zjeVjxwu7avyKOyRWYvny4jmu4zZB4YXD9X0oTMuESuCmIrkwTRqxKFNtdePuozGjyr8dNlJ8Lq18E_-MU3JlPe_ADeplFXNKafeXExHAPxbzGt0-MBzyliMSD6FUbQKC0l1YU/s1600/581796_10151525938879047_796489758_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9hme9zjeVjxwu7avyKOyRWYvny4jmu4zZB4YXD9X0oTMuESuCmIrkwTRqxKFNtdePuozGjyr8dNlJ8Lq18E_-MU3JlPe_ADeplFXNKafeXExHAPxbzGt0-MBzyliMSD6FUbQKC0l1YU/s320/581796_10151525938879047_796489758_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The selling of projects resulting in use of this pattern is permitted, but
please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL
to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well! </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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And now there is third piece in the set to match with the <a href="http://smiley-netta.blogspot.de/2013/02/slouchy-moss.html" target="_blank">Slouchy Moss Hat</a> and <a href="http://smiley-netta.blogspot.de/2013/02/mossy-cowl.html" target="_blank">Mossy Cowl</a>! :D </div>
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Happy knitting!</div>
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Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-8515544092701300492013-02-06T21:41:00.000+01:002013-02-06T22:40:49.997+01:00Mossy CowlSince the last time I blogged, I have continued preparing for the upcoming craft fair...which is in 3 days!!! I'm quickly running short on time! I'm in the process of staining a couple of boxes I found at Toom (a German hardware store) that I will be setting up for a jewelry display. I found the inspiration from Pinterest in which a pinner used wine boxes/crates. I'm excited to see how it turns out!<br />
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I've also managed to knit up a couple garter stitch scarves with some ribbon-like yarn and large needles and a heart tam.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_jSsY_mceeBgFwJDeBVPTjSzb7pdQ4pMdavaS3lUXmgc9llIewAXFLScVrACRGOnlVErzceoZBRKH2M4HCmIIP829uXAWNmOZC3rLg7n1xMoZPx0ifiTeTXjewruFJOal75ijx4YpZM/s1600/575391_10151475678034047_1280726122_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_jSsY_mceeBgFwJDeBVPTjSzb7pdQ4pMdavaS3lUXmgc9llIewAXFLScVrACRGOnlVErzceoZBRKH2M4HCmIIP829uXAWNmOZC3rLg7n1xMoZPx0ifiTeTXjewruFJOal75ijx4YpZM/s200/575391_10151475678034047_1280726122_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCRd9oPNpdFpnI_DSWJjm8CPNLPhVdBwLZM6P_uIHXB_NaZx6k4Ssg8HEuguyoSZ9suMI6jG5lUPfT3q17_RVI5dhHzUF-l-NxGjELDctT_5JOb0uK6QvtlZ6gaKFFH7YEJ7cBhJUEGU/s1600/73387_10151470753804047_1469703597_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFCRd9oPNpdFpnI_DSWJjm8CPNLPhVdBwLZM6P_uIHXB_NaZx6k4Ssg8HEuguyoSZ9suMI6jG5lUPfT3q17_RVI5dhHzUF-l-NxGjELDctT_5JOb0uK6QvtlZ6gaKFFH7YEJ7cBhJUEGU/s200/73387_10151470753804047_1469703597_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLxYB02KS84hkphTOs0_WiFLdzNUt3iHGYBK-RocVpm-C_I-Huq5Jlcaga3a3QVRO44F4xh89RyU1G9n7DaBirW0oZGscnbOl3PfYxfHkdnbpnB19-pQKQlyIjyVyp9Z1S6Nbu1n04u0/s1600/IMG_7020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLxYB02KS84hkphTOs0_WiFLdzNUt3iHGYBK-RocVpm-C_I-Huq5Jlcaga3a3QVRO44F4xh89RyU1G9n7DaBirW0oZGscnbOl3PfYxfHkdnbpnB19-pQKQlyIjyVyp9Z1S6Nbu1n04u0/s320/IMG_7020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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On top of that, I've come up with a pattern to make a cowl that matches my <a href="http://smiley-netta.blogspot.de/2013/02/slouchy-moss.html" target="_blank">Slouchy Moss Hat</a>! I love that it looks good both with matching the same color <i>and</i> mixing and matching the colors. :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj2C0b3AQ5zllxZFbIvNQyhpdhbjlODfjPQkjL8362d-soNhtmgEZfqyZkiGHAtB0-VI2wae2GXTlTAKQU-QXLFzvW-vKhmIE-U3y691DbzIn0oQEX2Bya6JyxRc0-_boPilIvhLRrTg/s1600/IMG_6901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj2C0b3AQ5zllxZFbIvNQyhpdhbjlODfjPQkjL8362d-soNhtmgEZfqyZkiGHAtB0-VI2wae2GXTlTAKQU-QXLFzvW-vKhmIE-U3y691DbzIn0oQEX2Bya6JyxRc0-_boPilIvhLRrTg/s320/IMG_6901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So for the second time in a week, I present you with a new pattern. :D<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The Mossy Cowl</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKu95EsXHFXpvsROovmWk64YXmRrek9zXsoEyGOPmZREZFxjJkyQ85-CWNt2mD5VycNgDP-9ab8sHoEP4WEBlXDx-wDbNQQz1ubg0Xupo5JFlZnojdAJrA4wPw3oNz-iWI_68iKzOJpc/s1600/IMG_7035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKu95EsXHFXpvsROovmWk64YXmRrek9zXsoEyGOPmZREZFxjJkyQ85-CWNt2mD5VycNgDP-9ab8sHoEP4WEBlXDx-wDbNQQz1ubg0Xupo5JFlZnojdAJrA4wPw3oNz-iWI_68iKzOJpc/s320/IMG_7035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Materials Needed:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Size US<span style="font-size: small;"> 15<span style="font-size: small;">/10mm needles to knit<span style="font-size: small;"> in the round</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">80-100 yar<span style="font-size: small;">ds of bulky-super bulky yarn</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tapestry needle to weave in ends</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stitchmarker to mark<span style="font-size: small;"> the beginning of the round</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">CO 52<span style="font-size: small;"> with long tail cast on</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rows 1-4: *k1tbl, p1* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row<span style="font-size: small;"> 5: *p1, k<span style="font-size: small;">1* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 6: *<span style="font-size: small;">k1, p1<span style="font-size: small;">* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Repeat rows 5-6 <span style="font-size: small;">eleven times, for a total of 24 rows. Repeat row 5 once more.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Repeat rows 1-4, then bind off.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Use a tapestry needle to weave in ends</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Block as desired.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">And now you have a matching set to keep you wa<span style="font-size: small;">rm through the rest of the winter! :D Happy knitting!</span> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjY5SaDHbZ_QnFBdT9N-UH9j1JT8LCl1ApvRNtaiG3ZNTaYKPvY8lfab4gOHhVAYmCShd6GIg4jGvF7OGGteilgeoolkdtVoN_ouFS-T8CEPHY2AfG3VWFp-fx8zSWdEGkxZWJEIbViA/s1600/IMG_7037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjY5SaDHbZ_QnFBdT9N-UH9j1JT8LCl1ApvRNtaiG3ZNTaYKPvY8lfab4gOHhVAYmCShd6GIg4jGvF7OGGteilgeoolkdtVoN_ouFS-T8CEPHY2AfG3VWFp-fx8zSWdEGkxZWJEIbViA/s320/IMG_7037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The selling of projects resulting in use of this pattern is permitted, but
please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL
to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well! </span> </span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
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Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-55797151396585612842013-02-01T11:27:00.000+01:002013-02-06T22:40:38.350+01:00Slouchy MossI have been knitting up a storm over here in Germany! I had a job for a while there (which is part of my reason for my extended blogging lull this time around) that began in October and ended January 18th. I was actually pretty disappointed to be leaving. I really liked the people I worked with, had a good time, and felt <i>great</i> doing something outside of housework that I got constant recognition for what I did. (Not to mention my own paycheck to have some spending money of my own...which pretty much all went to Christmas presents...) But more about that later! For now, I am focusing on gearing up for the upcoming Spangdahlem Air Base Craft Fair!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdeULzXhS4f8fGj0ysCW2Oj6-1WEd3mOQHMM9NriSoV3gqj9CBh9VavTG4vL7i_4hSZfrZnyW2BHZmCMx0XfPHEAKWqtdp7058rNSrVt9nZwFw2mqrjSWkDgnIQXH21X3MNcwMrFs5sHI/s1600/craft+fair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdeULzXhS4f8fGj0ysCW2Oj6-1WEd3mOQHMM9NriSoV3gqj9CBh9VavTG4vL7i_4hSZfrZnyW2BHZmCMx0XfPHEAKWqtdp7058rNSrVt9nZwFw2mqrjSWkDgnIQXH21X3MNcwMrFs5sHI/s320/craft+fair.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
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The plan at this point is to share a table with my friend, Jessica of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thelymanmomstershop?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">The MOMster Shop</a>, and hopefully sell a lot of stuff! :D I have been knitting hats nearly nonstop since I signed up last week, and I think I may actually be pretty prepared.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPMD7gMnjf3mZjN574x1HahgbYFID-po6-n8jMxWsjJREBySFIsu9oCKPZ9GN75zkd8_YidciTqtSabe0mQ8cvmup1kWHW0Yv2_3mEIvH9ehp7H9fbJnq7X9ULhHj0FpVHhbfUt_eVQw/s1600/01.24.13.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPMD7gMnjf3mZjN574x1HahgbYFID-po6-n8jMxWsjJREBySFIsu9oCKPZ9GN75zkd8_YidciTqtSabe0mQ8cvmup1kWHW0Yv2_3mEIvH9ehp7H9fbJnq7X9ULhHj0FpVHhbfUt_eVQw/s320/01.24.13.04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I bought some yarn when I was down at Ramstein this past weekend for my girl's weekend with Elphie, but was unaware that what I purchased was not the chunky I had thought it was (I had been using bulky mostly), but super bulky. So instead of using those to make more of the hats that I have been cranking out, I decided to throw together something of my own. (Disclaimer: As this is made from a very common and basic stitch, I'm pretty sure there is a hat similar to this out there somewhere, but this one I wrote out and knit myself.) So without further ado, I give you....<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Slou<span style="font-size: x-large;">chy Moss Hat</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-enHcNZV1ftD37t6wALHnBAKSIZLlYPvOfS6sxVO1oS2r3zyDjRojbBwj9cYWm7nOpq0w0HcSIy0yMxcyb7IBRYLqjmEFKYP6qnarLjcXNXgr5BrD6-c5Chxs1bddAw6JUnWD0HujXo/s1600/379340_10151467809794047_1315485742_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-enHcNZV1ftD37t6wALHnBAKSIZLlYPvOfS6sxVO1oS2r3zyDjRojbBwj9cYWm7nOpq0w0HcSIy0yMxcyb7IBRYLqjmEFKYP6qnarLjcXNXgr5BrD6-c5Chxs1bddAw6JUnWD0HujXo/s320/379340_10151467809794047_1315485742_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Materials Needed:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Size US<span style="font-size: small;"> 13<span style="font-size: small;">/9mm needles to knit<span style="font-size: small;"> in the round</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Size US 17/12mm needles to knit<span style="font-size: small;"> in <span style="font-size: small;">the round</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">80-100 yar<span style="font-size: small;">ds of bulky-super bulky yarn</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tapestry needle to weave in ends</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stitchmarker to mark<span style="font-size: small;"> the beginning of the round</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">With size US 13/9mm needles, CO 4<span style="font-size: small;">8 with long tail cast on</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rows 1-5: *k1tbl, p1* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Change to size US 17/12mm needles </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row<span style="font-size: small;"> 6: *p1, k<span style="font-size: small;">1* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 7: *<span style="font-size: small;">k1, p1<span style="font-size: small;">* repeat from * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Repeat rows 6-7 until the moss stitch se<span style="font-size: small;">ction of the hat mea<span style="font-size: small;">sures 7"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Decreases:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 1: *p1, k1, p1, k1, p2t<span style="font-size: small;">og* repeat * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 2: *k1, p1, k1, p2tog* repeat * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 3: *p1, k1, p2tog* repeat * to * around</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 4: *k1, p2tog* repeat * to * a<span style="font-size: small;">round</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Row 5: k2tog around </span> </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cut long tail and use tapestry needle to sew remaining 8 stitches closed and weave in ends</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Block as desired.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">And you get a slouch hat! :D Pretty simple, right? I like the wa<span style="font-size: small;">y it looks!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuFFvSQKnvuzOw_YCcMpBldifLvGbkhj5pjSx7Ge_VQ0Ivc0dgbH2rar0_VhjhRbhY_xg1Eww3y5_aFvsJR_ggun297fwLr4u0yNnKEbiwzeJ1Z0BcNh-z2h096stqi-5tGtoOXwDX-c/s1600/IMG_6868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuFFvSQKnvuzOw_YCcMpBldifLvGbkhj5pjSx7Ge_VQ0Ivc0dgbH2rar0_VhjhRbhY_xg1Eww3y5_aFvsJR_ggun297fwLr4u0yNnKEbiwzeJ1Z0BcNh-z2h096stqi-5tGtoOXwDX-c/s320/IMG_6868.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The selling of projects resulting in use of this pattern is permitted, but
please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL
to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well! </span> </span> </span></span></span></div>
Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-44396378571925452922012-10-14T16:33:00.002+02:002012-10-14T16:50:01.840+02:00Skinny Irish Hiking ScarfOnce upon a time, in the far away town of Sacile, Italy, a brand-new knitter was born. After her first foray into knitting, expanding on her years and years of yarn experience with crochet, she joined a social networking site for yarn crafters called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/" target="_blank">Ravelry</a>. While accessing this mystical portal to all things full of yarn-y goodness, she came upon a magnificent and talented group of knitters that participated in a Harry Potter-themed knitting swap. While her husband was far off assisting in the slaying of distant foes, this group became her support system and close friends.<br />
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When one of them suggested starting a new kind of swap, one that passed along a piece of knitting for all involved to participate in and each end up with their own scarf worked on by hands from around the world, the neophyte knitter was overcome with excitement and immediately set to searching out the perfect pattern to use.<br />
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To her dismay, she was unable to find one that catered to her tastes and desires....thus, the Skinny Irish Hiking Scarf was born.<br />
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With needles clicking and quill scribbling, she made notes, alterations and ultimately, the scarf she envisioned so clearly in her mind. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2n8bVJX4wXtR0VK5BItVElcjCjbL32hKnrs26ngDuuJ7hqWOJmPNSgnVFiBpReMxhWiWQaSCTnadeSiclGexIKIf9Hsc7ISiKIfQIcOYZZHrA1tJRMNjUgO3mI8vvwp-4H-wlCNSBRg/s1600/05.14.09.03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2n8bVJX4wXtR0VK5BItVElcjCjbL32hKnrs26ngDuuJ7hqWOJmPNSgnVFiBpReMxhWiWQaSCTnadeSiclGexIKIf9Hsc7ISiKIfQIcOYZZHrA1tJRMNjUgO3mI8vvwp-4H-wlCNSBRg/s320/05.14.09.03.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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She wrote out the pattern with care and sent the written instructions and beginnings of a community project around the world.<br />
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About a year later, it came back home to her, waiting to be finished off and worn with pride, and now that the written pattern has recently been uncovered from the depths of my castle's dungeons, I pass it along to you all...<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Skinny Irish Hiking Scarf</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Size 5.0mm/US8 knitting needles</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cable needle</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Worsted weight yarn</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">C6F</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: slip 3 stitches to the cable needle and hold in front. Knit next 3 stitches, then knit 3 stitches off the cable needle.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">CO 22 sts</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Knit 4 rows</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R1 (WS):</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Sl first st p-wise, K2, P2, K3, P6, K3, P2, K3</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R2 (RS): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sl first st p-wise, K4, P3, K6, P3, K5</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R3-6: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Repeat rows 1 & 2</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R7: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Repeat row 1</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">R8: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sl first st p-wise, K4, P3, C6F, P3, K5</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Repeat last 8 rows until desired length, ending with row 7.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Knit 4 rows.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bind off.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdzQsEvIq80cROGRXu5sWOqHToL2y_kavWGS_qWRjXP1LQ1eZDYyk6gjZ12j5_NKlDFoNuTPs-drmWbFv6T_r0NKarHBsPm6MnCHH1RdXuDD6jtO5khR6zVaVbtaPy6DyWZJM7Ez7Npg/s1600/05.14.09.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdzQsEvIq80cROGRXu5sWOqHToL2y_kavWGS_qWRjXP1LQ1eZDYyk6gjZ12j5_NKlDFoNuTPs-drmWbFv6T_r0NKarHBsPm6MnCHH1RdXuDD6jtO5khR6zVaVbtaPy6DyWZJM7Ez7Npg/s320/05.14.09.04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The selling of projects resulting in use of this pattern is permitted, but
please don't sell the pattern itself, and always provide the link/URL
to the pattern where you sell it so others can enjoy crafting as well! </span>Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-10394023084749452822012-09-18T22:11:00.000+02:002012-09-19T06:17:42.658+02:00I Won't Give UpI. Love. This. Song.<br />
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Since the moment I first heard it on the radio. I <i>adore</i> it. And I have been listening to this cover for at <i>least</i> the past 24 hours...it gives me chills.<br />
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<br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-80132152992211548592012-09-17T20:58:00.001+02:002012-09-17T21:02:15.027+02:00Timing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://catholiclane.com/wp-content/uploads/clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://catholiclane.com/wp-content/uploads/clock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Timing is an interesting thing.<br />
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For instance: tonight, I had Superman and Batman change their bedding (it didn't happen over the weekend due to my being sick with one ferocious cold!). They were determined to impress me with their bed-making skills, and when they were done, Batman asked me if his was the best made bed ever, in the whole wide world. Not to be outdone, Superman asked if his was the best in all the planets of all the galaxies in all the universe. (No lie! His exact words!) Part of me beamed with pride and wondered if maybe I <i>could</i> introduce him to Doctor Who. The other part of me, the part that cringed at the competitiveness that was sure to get a rise out of his brother, knows that he is not quite ready for the good Doctor, as I'm fairly certain it would give him nightmares of Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels. But I'm almost certain that in a few years, he will be my fellow Whovian, watching the new episodes with bated breath. <br />
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I'm not known for being a patient person. (Mostly because I'm not. LOL) My whole life, timing has been a thorn in my side (not to mention the cause for tantrums thrown that would put toddlers to shame) more times than I care to admit. I want things to be done when <i>I</i> want them done. I don't want to wait. This tends to make me a difficult person to work with. (Obviously.) However, I think marrying into the military (which I was dead-set against for as long as I can remember...mostly because I didn't want someone else dictating my life and being in control of...you guessed it...timing) was about one of the best things that has happened to me in my life. Not only because I would have passed by a man that is an amazing father and wonderful husband, but because it has taught me a few things.<br />
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Let me tell you, me learning from life lessons takes nothing short of a brick wall to stop my forward progress and change my course. I honestly don't think that I would have learned these things without my husband's career being military. I <i>know</i> there's no arguing with the rules. For as bull-headed as I am, I do generally have respect for authority. And rules. So learning to be flexible and plan for things without set dates, and moving internationally, and dealing with Superman's challenges...even though I'm an independent spirit, it was <i>NOT</i> the right time for me to be working outside the home. And I <i>wanted</i> to be home with my boys. I am <i>so</i> very grateful that I was <i>able</i> to stay home and be a mom and homemaker full time. And I think I needed the time the boys were in school to just be with myself. Last year, when Batman started Kindergarten, I wanted to throw a party. I may not have made the emotional progress I wanted to in the course of that year (my goals also tend to be quite lofty...they probably weren't realistic...), it was enough. And now, with having made the diet changes over the summer that I did in addition to joining a workout challenge with Elphie, I am feeling more like my old self than I have in a <i>loooooooooooooooooooooooong</i> time.<br />
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I started to see signs of my restlessness of being at home all the time pretty soon after the boys started school. The first week, I relaxed, knit, and caught up on some household duties that I slacked on during the Ravellenic Games (my butt was planted in front of my computer, knitting and watching the Olympics!). Then I started to get active with working out, and it all went from there. I signed up to volunteer at the school to escort kids around for health screenings and special "briefings" (bus safety, the gifted ed program, library, etc.) while the teachers do evaluations on the students in a one-on-one setting. I volunteered for all three weeks. Last week was 3rd & 4th graders. This week (starting tomorrow!) is 2nd graders. Next week is 1st grade. So when I had the car last week, I made good use of my time. I didn't stay cooped up in the house. I went to the craft store on base and got set up to be the new knitting instructor (for the last year or so we're here). I went to a "career fair" at the lame BX we currently have to see about getting hired at the new BX that is nearly finished being built. And as of today, the contract has gone through for the knitting classes (so tomorrow I will go finalize all that paperwork), the background check to move forward with being officially hired with AAFES has been started (I should be able to get into the "new employee" class the first Tuesday of October!), and I'm <i>finally</i> over this nasty head cold and was able to get back to working out.<br />
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I'm not sure what it was that clicked into place, but I am feeling better about myself than I have in quite a while, I have more energy (I know that's a combination of dietary and exercise changes), and I am <i>super</i> excited to start making my own small paycheck to cover my yarn addiction (which I will have significantly less time for, lol) and gift shopping for The Instigator! :D I think I'm finally learning to sit back let things work out to God's timing instead of pushing my own agenda. It really takes so much less fighting that way. LOL<br />
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Happy Monday!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-2401779726990315782012-08-28T22:31:00.000+02:002012-08-28T22:31:15.095+02:00Anna Karenina<u><i><b>This blog post contains spoilers about the literary work titled "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy. </b></i></u> <br />
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I have done it.<br />
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For the second time in my life, I have completed reading the novel <i>Anna Karenina</i>.<br />
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The first time I read the book, it was (evidently) an abridged version (which, had I known that, I'd have gone in search of the UNabridged version...) and it was for my senior year as an assignment of summer reading for my AP Lit class.<br />
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I trudged my way through it, using sticky notes to make a multitude of notes about imagery, prose, character development, tone...all of those technical writing things.<br />
I hated the book. <i>Hated</i>. And more than anything, I hated the character named Anna Karenina. The first version I read ended with her suicide and it left such a bad taste in my mouth. I could not be<i>lieve</i> how immoral she was and her "woe is me" attitude about the situation she got herself into by making the choices that she did. However, at the time, I was also a pretentious, stuck up, goody-two-shoes perfectionist that tended to have pity for those that sinned. I knew I wasn't perfect, but I acted and judged like I was. So to see someone in a piece of literature that was <i>so</i> immoral and the steps she took to escape the mess she made for herself and those around her...I couldn't stomach it.<br />
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I talked it over with my teacher a little bit, and when she asked me certain questions that made me reflect on it in a (teeny, tiny bit) different way, the hated was toned down from volatile to disgusted, but I was still not sold on it. She very obviously saw why and where I was having trouble with it, and told me that when she was in college, she read the book <i>Vanity Fair</i> for an assignment and loathed it. She went back a decade later and re-read it and it became one of her favorite books of all time. At that point, I vowed to myself to try and read it again some day, though at the time I didn't expect to wait 10 years to do so.<br />
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Fast forward.....that's right, you guessed it...10 years. I had every intention of re-reading <i>Anna Karenina</i> before now, but with life and marriage and kids and moving (multiple times!), it just didn't happen. But a movie is coming out this holiday season based on the book (starring Kiera Knightley and Jude Law), and when I saw the preview, I thought it looked pretty accurate to what I remembered and a desire was ignited in me to finally take on reading the novel again.<br />
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It took me more than 2 months, but I have finally accomplished it! I don't hate it as much as I used to, but I'm fairly certain that it is <i>not</i> going to become my absolute favorite book. (I am, however, now curious about <i>War and Peace</i> and reading some of Dostoevsky's work...) I do like Tolstoy's style of being so thorough and detailed about the characters in the novel, even though some of them seem obsolete or pointless. They all have a role to play, and this snapshot of these characters in the 1800's so accurately depicts people and their personalities and choices that I see everywhere in today's world. <br />
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Now that I have experienced a little bit of life and am no longer the sheltered, over-protected girl I was in high school, I found the book was <i>much</i> easier to read (regardless of the 2 months it took me to get through over 900 pages) and far more relate-able than the first go around.<br />
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There are still things about Anna I can't stand. Like how she was so selfish and looking for an "out," which culminated in her suicide. Or the fact that she even gave in to the desires she did with Vronsky and cheated on and left her husband. The mind games she played with Vronsky, trying to get him to respond to her a certain way after the "honeymoon phase" wore off. I just really did not like her at all. (Granted, I knew this time going into it that she was going to take her own life, and I did really try to see things from her perspective, but the moment she was unfaithful to her husband, it was all downhill for me. I may have looked for more redeeming qualities or instances I could relate to, or had more hope for her recovery had I not known of her coming demise.)<br />
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<i>However</i>, I <i>did</i> appreciate the book <i>far</i> more than I did before. I was able to see Kitty and Levin in a way I would never have understood before, and the juxtaposition of the relationships screamed at me. (I can't believe I missed such an obvious thing 10 years ago!) And I found seeing the way that Levin felt hopeless and how he handled it, searching for and finding a spiritual answer to his troubles and that his relationship was built on trust and logic and love absolutely moving. Even more so when it's compared to Anna's hopelessness that spirals from the beginning, with a brief reprieve in the middle, and she turns to fleshly desires and a relationship based on the physical and her answer for those things.<br />
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I am definitely not sorry that I re-read it, and I may read it again, once I have some more life experience to my name. My view of her may change yet. But for now, I'm glad to have made it through the entire book!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-4820314786094545002012-08-13T13:30:00.000+02:002012-08-14T12:37:07.631+02:00Mow ze Lawn!So there's this joke I heard quite a bit growing up....<br />
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"How do the French say 'cut the grass'?"<br />
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The answer is, obviously, "mow ze lawn"...it's not one I particularly found funny, but maybe that was because I've had a deep love for France and the French language and culture for as long as I can remember. Anyway, it's significance today, is this:<br />
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Today, for the first time in my life, I cut the grass.<br />
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Why have I never done it in my almost-30 years of life? For two very good reasons...1) I grew up with an older brother. It was always his job. When I moved out, I didn't have to worry about a yard to care for. It wasn't until after I was married and living in Italy that we had any yardwork to be done, and I had a husband to take care of it. ;) And when he was deployed, a guy from his squadron took care of it for me. And 2) I have allergies. Pretty severe allergies. I took my allergy medicine about 15-20 minutes before going outside to give it time to get in my system and head off as much as I could to start with. And according to The Instigator, who also reacts to grass, it doesn't happen while being the person mowing. At least for him. Evidently that wasn't the case for me. I came inside, itchy all over, eyes watering, sneezing, and feeling puffy and swollen. Thankfully, a shower (and closed windows!) helped a <i>lot</i>.<br />
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It took me an hour to get it done, and it's anything but perfect, but the point is...I did it! It's one of those moments rare in many adult lives, being able to be proud of having accomplished something so trivial for the first time. Naturally, being me, I went online and researched "how to mow a lawn" and "how to start a mower" and watched a couple of videos. (Yes, yes, I know...I'm a freak...) ;) Elphie even mentioned that if I were to die under mysterious circumstances, police searching my computer would get a surprise from my google history...I have looked up <i>many</i> "how-to's"...lol <br />
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It took me about an hour to mow, and it looks nowhere near perfect, but the yard is pretty large, it is anything but even or flat, and parts of it had sprouted up to about 10-12" in height! On top of all that, due to living in a <i>not</i>-Colorado climate, there is this thing called "dew" and "condensation" that we get overnight, and this crazy-tall grass was not completely dry. For a first attempt, I don't think I did too bad...<br />
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So here it is. Our front yard, mowed by yours truly!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHenlqiQUuDxDuUULB0l-sAJZoWLBFSY0cnghHdj8NjhvWFvNz1YtCm30rHeT8YsAFmqDXVVcGG3Do9emJH4zks348KiJBAdSZGMbV_a5DP0qdA6jxzFDFaDKnqrIzPkr7rlHcSG8DVFs/s1600/IMG_3928%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHenlqiQUuDxDuUULB0l-sAJZoWLBFSY0cnghHdj8NjhvWFvNz1YtCm30rHeT8YsAFmqDXVVcGG3Do9emJH4zks348KiJBAdSZGMbV_a5DP0qdA6jxzFDFaDKnqrIzPkr7rlHcSG8DVFs/s320/IMG_3928%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Has anyone else had moments like this, that most people learned such a basic skill long ago, but you feel proud of the accomplishment and feel like a glowing child saying "Look what I did!"?<br />
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(Also, I know it's been a month since I last blogged...I will try to get into the habit of blogging more often!...again...LOL)Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-57191206115940667122012-07-10T13:37:00.000+02:002012-07-10T13:37:09.954+02:00Going Gluten FreeSo Elphie has made the decision to go Gluten (and dye) free with her boys and eat healthier and more natural all around. Since I signed Batman up for swim lessons down at the base Elphie is at, we stayed with her for the better part of two weeks, and were eating cleaner by proxy. She has seen immediate and amazing results in her kids from changing their diet, and with Superman's issues (Emotional Developmental Delay, fine motor skill challenges and developmental delays in social areas) I figured that this may be a way to help him deal with things better; having a healthier and cleaner system. I haven't seen <i>drastic</i> results due to the diet changes (though the one-on-one time I got with him last week while Batman stayed with Elphie and I had Superman at home for a few days <i>really</i> seemed to help him), but I'm <i>definitely </i>not writing it off.<br />
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I do, however, think I may have a wheat allergy or sensitivity. Going from Gluten free to eating like "normal" at home, back and forth, has really been taking a significant (and painful!) toll on my digestive system. It wouldn't really be surprising, as I do have plenty of other seasonal allergies and reactions to various plant life and their pollens. In researching Gluten free cooking & eating, I've come to find that those with these kinds of allergies are most commonly those with hay-fever and reacting to pollens of plants. So I am now trying to go Gluten free in our home as well. It's not exactly easy. Especially when I have two little boys that don't like change and love their bread and pasta!<br />
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I have, however, found <a href="http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/" target="_blank">a great site for Gluten free recipes</a>! When Elphaba was first going Gluten free, she mentioned that the Gluten free bread from the store was gross and that her kids wouldn't eat it unless it was toasted. I put my Internet searching skills to work and found this great blog. We used her <a href="http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/finally-really-good-sandwich-bread/" target="_blank">sandwich bread recipe</a>, and it was <i>amazing</i>! It was the first time I ever baked with yeast (which I was greatly intimidated by, because I had heard over and over that baking bread with yeast is less like baking and more like cooking...which I kind of fail at...), so I was quite proud of how well it came out. :) And has continued to do so! <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZPwhUHmov45-55RBuXH9TmlkiugL4xHmAHMgh4Q9AXxaFZaJsx4lSBEo0NMve4hyRsRgsjhHQHRtZlqZ4J9viw2_zTfAwmb8ztyFI7mreHMHxb9JUWieFHvzHd4_INqHdXXQi2xSeqA/s1600/524209_10151066500039047_2030344247_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZPwhUHmov45-55RBuXH9TmlkiugL4xHmAHMgh4Q9AXxaFZaJsx4lSBEo0NMve4hyRsRgsjhHQHRtZlqZ4J9viw2_zTfAwmb8ztyFI7mreHMHxb9JUWieFHvzHd4_INqHdXXQi2xSeqA/s320/524209_10151066500039047_2030344247_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A loaf of the Gluten free sandwich bread, halfway done baking</td></tr>
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Other than that, we've been staying <i>very</i> busy! Batman has passed his first level of swim lessons with flying colors, and we signed him up today for the next level, which starts next week. Superman did not get swim lessons at the same time because there was a clause in the consent form about assuring the child would not be a hindrance to any of the other kids at any time. With his developmental delays, that's not an area I can promise will go according to the will of the adults involved. <i>However</i>, there is the possibility I may be able to get him into a swim class with kids his age with the teacher that the other boys had this past time, and she was <i>fantastic </i>with whenever there were any problems with wandering attention or tempers flaring. After this set of lessons, though, we'll be done with them for the summer. We'll have just a few weeks to get the boys' school supplies together, plan and have Batman's birthday party, fit in a Barefoot Path adventure, aiming for a picnic lunch at a castle, and hitting up another Medieval Festival at another castle...all before the end of next month! I am grateful that we've been able to keep the boys busy. I can't believe that they've only been out for less than a month, and am even in <i>more</i> disbelief that they'll be starting 1st & 2nd grade in about 6 weeks!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-79435971334191850132012-06-28T19:47:00.001+02:002012-06-30T11:03:32.322+02:00Summer time!Wow! I have been incredibly busy! Ever since the field trip I chaperoned for Batman's class to the Butterfly Gardens in Luxembourg, I have been hopping!<br />
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On Memorial Day, we had the Songes up and had a cookout and I got to spend time with Kristin, hanging out in my craft room and dyeing yarn, along with just playing with yarn in general. :)<br />
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The following Monday, I got to join a bunch of the other Kindergarten parents and help with cutting out cardboard wings for the "Fly Away" ceremony we had for Batman's Kindergarten class. (The school doesn't do an actual Kindergarten graduation.) It was nice to chat with them and talk about travel and my love of Paris with them. :)<br />
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That Wednesday I went in and helped out Batman's teacher with the kids decorating their wings for said ceremony. They were so creative and fun! <br />
That Friday was Field Day for the boys. Batman had a <b><i>blast</i></b> and participated in all the events with <i>extra</i> enthusiasm. Superman, however, was a different story. He was in a rotten mood and only would play in about half the events.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman bouncing on a ball</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batman under the parachute!</td></tr>
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The Monday after <i>that</i>, I was supposed to be chaperoning Superman's class's nature walk, but due to rain, it was postponed a day.<br />
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He did well overall...especially considering how long the walk was! (He should <i>not</i> have worn a long-sleeved shirt! LOL) That afternoon, I took cupcakes in to Batman's class, since he has a summer birthday. That Wednesday was Batman's "Fly Away" from Kindergarten, and it was awesome to get to
see all the kids and their parents getting together to celebrate all the
kids had accomplished. I also had Batman give his teacher and teacher's
aide their gifts, which I handmade for them.<br />
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The next day was the boys' last day of school. Between Wednesday and Thursday, Superman was able to give the gifts I hand knit for his teacher, in class aide, the counselor that has been working with him, and the Occupational Therapist he was seeing on a weekly basis.<br />
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That Saturday, Elphie came up with her boys and they stayed overnight. The following Tuesday, the boys and I came down to her house so that we could sign Batman and her two sons up for swim lessons! The boys and I ended up staying through Sunday and I had a few girls nights with Elphie and Kristin. :)<br />
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We went home for a couple days, but then came back down on Tuesday, as that was when the swim lessons began. And that brings us to today! Swim lessons got cancelled tonight due to lightening, but it should be back to swimming as normal tomorrow. :) <br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-92019296861892688362012-05-26T14:51:00.001+02:002012-05-26T14:51:42.559+02:00Butterfly Gardens<br />
I know it has been quite a while since I last posted. Things have been quite busy around here as of late (which is for another blog post)! <br />
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Yesterday, I had the privilege of being a chaperone for C's class on the field trip 3 of the Kindergarten classes took together to the <a href="http://www.papillons.lu/" target="_blank">Butterfly Garden</a>. It was so much fun!!! We piled the kids onto 2 buses and drove over to Luxembourg! They had been studying butterflies and insects in school, and this was a <i>great</i> way for them to finish that section. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUO1u5PqFOaJkhFHcxHT1UTCGY4GAgU9wrmW_sJ1u8Cp8zmwUoqdTVA8Ee88iZX8e56QGw2wdi-I8rFEK9v_V5o1w26xgQdnI4dlKW7dC3EF6ijLnmKR2F5KOtj6ywx90NzuPDqzkP0Y/s1600/P1150086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUO1u5PqFOaJkhFHcxHT1UTCGY4GAgU9wrmW_sJ1u8Cp8zmwUoqdTVA8Ee88iZX8e56QGw2wdi-I8rFEK9v_V5o1w26xgQdnI4dlKW7dC3EF6ijLnmKR2F5KOtj6ywx90NzuPDqzkP0Y/s320/P1150086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A kernel representing a butterfly egg</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A piece of uncooked spiral pasta representing the caterpillar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5rjIa2wiN4djIVD_Xi_OlfTHDGGW8TB6q2qLnXnyGMKoTzRZXSpH8zBRCYt_2c2ERmNd1QWzrAnFU8LF6ATGBkZUSP7XJKu6K7Q9m-Gg6U8GyBIA7ERDTPL7IVyMeMCOJgFnvtapzn0/s1600/P1150088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5rjIa2wiN4djIVD_Xi_OlfTHDGGW8TB6q2qLnXnyGMKoTzRZXSpH8zBRCYt_2c2ERmNd1QWzrAnFU8LF6ATGBkZUSP7XJKu6K7Q9m-Gg6U8GyBIA7ERDTPL7IVyMeMCOJgFnvtapzn0/s320/P1150088.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A piece of uncooked shell pasta representing the cocoon/chrysalis</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwFxuAXSrCXHtoRmJUaudhztzJgxhpItf8Zi1M7bYucoN_QSyJwO8swe25tgtfFKPgTXz-x3NzkZkgYPstFW7dq2WRl7CkjMTwTiPPwkZV4C1LSjzFzF7560c-S97n7inH99OblxyoHk/s1600/P1150089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwFxuAXSrCXHtoRmJUaudhztzJgxhpItf8Zi1M7bYucoN_QSyJwO8swe25tgtfFKPgTXz-x3NzkZkgYPstFW7dq2WRl7CkjMTwTiPPwkZV4C1LSjzFzF7560c-S97n7inH99OblxyoHk/s320/P1150089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A piece of uncooked bowtie pasta representing the butterfly</td></tr>
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It was about a 45-60 minute drive, and we were asked often "Are we still in Germany?!" (I guess that's marginally better than "Are we there yet?" LOL) I got to be in charge of the orange group (which included C) and was shown by these really cool foam butterfly name tags that his teacher made.<br />
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<br />When we got there, we got the speech about not touching the butterflies' wings (which anyone that has studied butterflies in school knows about the oils on our hands damaging the wings and causing them to break and render the insect unable to fly, thereby killing it). There was also a lot of moisture on the ground that they were trying to drink, so we had to be extra careful to watch where we were stepping so as not to crush any underfoot. (And when you're talking about a large group of 5-6 year olds, that's no easy feat!) But C's class, at least, did <i>very</i> well in following both instructions. (There were kids from one of the other classes that I repeatedly was reprimanding for trying to touch the butterflies. I don't know WHERE the adult was...)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C & his classmates huddled around a butterfly on the ground</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The butterfly on the ground</td></tr>
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The room was pretty warm and (to me) extremely humid (70%, I think it was?), but it was a lot of fun to be in there (in spite of feeling like I was slowly melting!). The butterflies fly free in the building, and they landed on quite a few people. C's teacher had at least 4 different ones land on her, and one even tried to get nectar out of her leg! LOL<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 of the 4 butterflies to land on C's teacher</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnZKUR0rKvGTWSHLtu76PEBV8SRzgF8rAinTXoi6NOLyxUFiCxUtcLhaTHRejhH-F1w32RlsTiB5rhx1KqFfN4xLAkk59hpKnPrLwM3jLUZntNIDguN4TZ8h4NHNG8tuofu_WAx5wYZQ/s1600/P1140999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnZKUR0rKvGTWSHLtu76PEBV8SRzgF8rAinTXoi6NOLyxUFiCxUtcLhaTHRejhH-F1w32RlsTiB5rhx1KqFfN4xLAkk59hpKnPrLwM3jLUZntNIDguN4TZ8h4NHNG8tuofu_WAx5wYZQ/s320/P1140999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A butterfly that landed on a classmate's head</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A butterfly that landed on a classmate's arm</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C's teacher pointing out a bird to C & his classmates</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Case of chrysalises & newly hatched butterflies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish pond!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turtles in the pond</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chameleon in a tank</td></tr>
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After the kids were done looking at the butterflies, the case of chrysalises, the occasional display of other varying insects and chameleons, and the fish and turtles in the pond, we walked down along the Mosel river to get to a nearby park for the kids to play and have a picnic lunch.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C playing at the park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C keeping busy (& staying awake) by playing a game on my phone on the bus</td></tr>
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By the time the trip was over and we were loaded back onto the buses and headed back to the school, the kids were <i>soooo</i> wiped out! At least half of the class fell asleep on the bus ride. As for me, I managed to stay awake (and knit) the ride back, but after I got home and had dinner, I laid down to take a little cat nap...and ended up sleeping through the whole night! LOL<br />
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I definitely want to go back and take the boys to the Butterfly Garden (and get to peruse the gift shop this time around!)...Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-72843556202471121122012-02-03T12:23:00.001+01:002012-02-03T12:23:45.896+01:00Après MontmartreBefore we left the Montmartre district altogether, we made one more stop: the Moulin Rogue! We didn't really have the inclination to spend the Euro to go in, and it was conveniently right next to a Metro stop, so we snapped some photos from across the street and then continued on our way.<br />
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At that point, we'd mostly exhausted our list of "must see"s (minus going into the Louvre for her, which she chose to save for when her husband takes her to Paris, and Versailles; it was too far out of the way to make it down there and back in decent time, even by way of the Metro system), so we decided we should eat dinner, go up the Eiffel Tower, and call it a night.<br />
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We ended up eating across the street from the cafe we ate at the first night, and after eating, we went back to that cafe so I could buy a bottle of wine to take home. Then we went back to my favorite Parisian landmark...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the line to go up the Tower!</td></tr>
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We stood in line for probably about an hour...shuffling forward ever slowly...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bust of Gustave Eiffel, beneath the Tower</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, we found out, as we got to the checkpoint where security checks bags for weapons and such, bottles are <i>not</i> allowed up the Eiffel Tower. I mean, I guess it makes sense, as they don't want anyone dropping them from above, but it wasn't anything I thought about, prior to getting in line. (They really should put that out there...) Even worse than that? They have no place to check your things at. So my options were to throw the expensive bottle of wine I'd just purchased into the trash, or leave the line. Disappointed, we left the line. :(<br />
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Instead, we went across the Seine and took some tourist-y photos of the Tower from the Palais de Chaillot. as there wasn't anything else we could think off the tops of our heads to go see and the day was quickly winding down, we started back toward the hotel. On our walk, we came across a landmark that surprised us both...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flame of Liberty</td></tr>
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It's an exact replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty in New York, and it ended up turning into an unofficial monument to Princess Diana, as this was the tunnel in which she died. I hadn't looked up that information at all, so I didn't even think to look specifically for it, but we happened across it, and I'm glad we did!<br />
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From there, we went back to our hotel and slept <i>hard</i> after all that walking about, and set out to return home the next morning.<br />
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Aside from my iPhone getting stolen (due to my own oblivious nature), the weekend was absolutely <i>amazing</i>, and I wouldn't trade that time there for the world! And I will, one day, return...in fact...<br />
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In the car, driving back to Germany, I told Misha that what I want for my 10-year wedding anniversary is to renew our vows on a boat on the Seine in Paris. I even told her that if I got that, I would consider letting The Instigator upgrade my ring (which he's been pestering for since we got married!). Naturally, she told him nearly as soon as she could, and he has evidently not only already set up a plan for saving accordingly (one year for the ring, 2 years for the trip), but also dragged me into the jewelry store to narrow down options as to how large of a stone I'll let him get me...and for anyone that knows me, knows that to accept a larger diamond in my ring is a <i>huge</i> deal! LOL<br />
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So, Paris, until we meet again...J'adore!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-329586925289572372012-02-03T11:34:00.001+01:002012-02-03T12:24:17.839+01:00Continuing the saga...You may remember, back before my mom came to visit, that I was once blogging about my trip to Paris...well, I figured it was high time (and then some!) that I wrapped that one up so I could move on to blog about my BFF's wedding (which was in September) and my birthday (which was in October)!<br />
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<a href="http://smiley-netta.blogspot.com/2011/08/over-week-ago.html" target="_blank">The last I left you with was Misha and myself making it to the Place de la Concorde</a>. From there, we hopped on the Metro and zipped up to the Opera National de Paris Garnier. For those of you that may not know, this building has a specific literary (and Broadway musical) significance that drew me there: it is the setting for <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>.<br />
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I was sadly disappointed, though, that it looked nothing like the opera house in the recent film adaptation (though that could have easily been due to the fact that there are <i>far</i> more buildings around it now than there were when the film was set). As there was an admission charge to enter the opera house, we stuck to simply taking photos of the exterior (I'll go back with The Instigator and take a gander indoors!) before hopping back on to the Metro and shooting on up to our next destination: Sacré Cœur.<br />
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On our way uphill, Misha's poor feet were hurting horribly (she hadn't really worn hiking/heavy walking appropriate shoes), so we stopped in a shoe shop we passed. Unfortunately, the prices were far too high to comfort her sore tootsies. So instead, we pressed on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up-close view of the facade of Basilique du Sacré Cœur</td></tr>
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I love how white the stone is, even for how long ago the church was built! (Which is really just the properties of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travertine" target="_blank">travertine stone</a> at work...so fascinating <i>and</i> breathtaking!)<br />
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We didn't take the time to go up into the dome (though I hear you get an amazing view of Paris from up there!), but we did go down into the crypt below, where we came across a super creepy statue that I would have believed to have been once human and turned to stone through supernatural means, leaving a soul trapped inside to leer at everyone. (It was seriously <i>creepy</i>!) Also in the crypt was a little chapel which houses a stone urn containing the heart of Alexandre Legentil, a Parisian layman that made a vow with Hubert Rohault de Fleury to build the basilica.<br />
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Since Sacré Cœur is at the highest point of the highest butte in Paris (Montmartre), we got an <i><b>amazing</b></i> view of the city. The stairs in front of the basilica are quite popular, but given all our walking up to this point and knowing we weren't done yet, we opted for the tram that runs up and down the hill and bypassed the stairs altogether! :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Eiffel Tower from near Basilique du Sacré Cœur</td></tr>
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On our way back downhill with the Metro in our sights, we came across a small tea shop. I asked about the kind of tea I had at the cafe before, and bought some from the shop owner, but I found out after I got home, while the tea had the same name, the taste was completely different. :( <br />
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<i><b>TO BE CONTINUED...AGAIN....</b></i>Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-31137717671425627262012-01-27T13:14:00.000+01:002012-01-27T13:14:11.360+01:00Blogging LullI'm not sure why, but it hasn't really seemed like I have much to blog about lately...or rather, nothing more than a couple lines and a photo...so I've skipped over blogging it altogether! Maybe if I <i>start</i> blogging about something, the rest will fall into place...<br />
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I <i>still</i> haven't finished blogging about Paris, and haven't posted a single thing about Torie's wedding in September (maybe I can get to it this next week?), but I think I kept up pretty well with blogging over the holidays and the trips we took while my mom was here. (Speaking of, here is a photo of the thimbles I got while doing said traveling; there's one from Trier and one from Frankfurt.)<br />
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Oh! And I also haven't yet shared the newest addition to our household! No, it's not a baby (though a close friend of mine just had one on Tuesday!), and no, it's not an animal (in the same house as my boys?! HA!). It's a "roommate" of my craft room! (No spiders this time, I promise!) Her name is Charlotte!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlotte wearing my hat from Paris, Ravenclaw earrings (made by me), and the purple <a href="http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=238536.0" target="_blank">Luna scarf</a> (made by me)</td></tr>
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I bought her to model the neck wear, head wear, and earrings I make. Sadly, though, there are a few things I made recently I could have used her to model, but forgot about using her until I'd already given them away! LOL <br />
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And in that vein, here are some of the things I've recently finished, project-wise!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJDyccGjf_u1hlbIeDJAzPMMWIPsptEaHWMlxMU9WuxIKuYU4UIWo9lzRWp1eekb7jHMJEyEkPrFNPj8Nb9DlYOweDbJ99G8wkfQOrAgVH5gYAwFyGN-XQmBt-YvSjbj1bABHFA5HePU/s1600/01.07.12.01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJDyccGjf_u1hlbIeDJAzPMMWIPsptEaHWMlxMU9WuxIKuYU4UIWo9lzRWp1eekb7jHMJEyEkPrFNPj8Nb9DlYOweDbJ99G8wkfQOrAgVH5gYAwFyGN-XQmBt-YvSjbj1bABHFA5HePU/s320/01.07.12.01.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/one-skein-triangular-scarfette" target="_blank">Triangular Scarflette</a> I made as a last-minute decision for a friend's birthday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmgEgMddjZ6Rpt-xIyxHww6OntqDylnvdAPD_QAZ1a4V9pRJXpO37mxH8xI0z8bhzuTH6DZJTENLdSlwXdUNMnMARfH8SjOHL06aHl3MDP9bpF_BAX_4MKSSxBQrdBVB9cy4UJeOEsAo/s1600/01.13.12.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikmgEgMddjZ6Rpt-xIyxHww6OntqDylnvdAPD_QAZ1a4V9pRJXpO37mxH8xI0z8bhzuTH6DZJTENLdSlwXdUNMnMARfH8SjOHL06aHl3MDP9bpF_BAX_4MKSSxBQrdBVB9cy4UJeOEsAo/s320/01.13.12.01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>*PHOTOS TAKEN BY MISHA*</b></i> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-hat-for-emily" target="_blank">A Hat for Emily</a> for Elphie's husband; I made adjustments to accommodate a size larger than youth, and also made it reversible by picking up the stitches along the edge of the hat and knitting the lining</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-imb3nC7GXUd6AwHlWjY35ASwSTh3JxF0XdsNX9TH26eREbs0Mpt4hHtSiDN4XIuTwu6rhMW49PYQdM5E__nFoK-HMJOx9bq_a9AEnK8FNP1Fre-4Bs9cDYeWB_dqdUbIyJTH7uy9AP0/s1600/12.03.11.06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-imb3nC7GXUd6AwHlWjY35ASwSTh3JxF0XdsNX9TH26eREbs0Mpt4hHtSiDN4XIuTwu6rhMW49PYQdM5E__nFoK-HMJOx9bq_a9AEnK8FNP1Fre-4Bs9cDYeWB_dqdUbIyJTH7uy9AP0/s320/12.03.11.06.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="http://handmadebymother.blogspot.com/2009/11/lest-we-forget.html" target="_blank">fingerless mitts</a> I made for The Instigator as a gift for our anniversary, complete with the logo from Zelda</td></tr>
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And for those that pay attention to my Ravelry projects in the sidebar of my blog...you wouldn't have even known what I was knitting for these entries! These were super secret projects that I made as gifts for Kristin and Elphaba for Christmas! :D <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgSywbVDKTcWtClQ2C7_J5reqX_an49fyRF_l_x3ZPNl3WopXmAXcNkiqLIid1FaTfHx8imuVMP_G7RXbMI9ek1Unz16GLJ7dal_NeXJBFkakmrqlbG_4Mv5Uq2kWQzF_Gs4DZxtuTOs/s1600/12.16.11.01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgSywbVDKTcWtClQ2C7_J5reqX_an49fyRF_l_x3ZPNl3WopXmAXcNkiqLIid1FaTfHx8imuVMP_G7RXbMI9ek1Unz16GLJ7dal_NeXJBFkakmrqlbG_4Mv5Uq2kWQzF_Gs4DZxtuTOs/s320/12.16.11.01.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snowberry-brambles-capelet" target="_blank">The capelet</a> I made for Kristin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllhHJgtjYL_uV1k7YIjkf83AHxbrzM4TOxADSQicrmiZp8eUqd662A4OUzefGLU-4_pd5DIzJPpR0Ff8knGEETDoCIDu6xGZtg69dodH4VSPTHOPqK2kdKy3zaHOIzL7oYwaxLRoDlk0/s1600/12.20.11.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllhHJgtjYL_uV1k7YIjkf83AHxbrzM4TOxADSQicrmiZp8eUqd662A4OUzefGLU-4_pd5DIzJPpR0Ff8knGEETDoCIDu6xGZtg69dodH4VSPTHOPqK2kdKy3zaHOIzL7oYwaxLRoDlk0/s320/12.20.11.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>*PHOTO TAKEN BY MISHA*</b></i> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/enelya-linwelin-sleeved-mantelet" target="_blank">The sleeved mantelet</a> I made for Elphie</td></tr>
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And I <i>love</i> my gifts from them (which I will post photos of next time)! :D :D :D They were very fitting! <br />
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In other non-knitting, non-holiday related news, Superman (who is showing signs of being Bizarro today!) lost his two front teeth almost 2 weeks ago!<br />
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And now I cannot really think of anything else to say...it seems as though my blogging steam didn't pick up today after all. (Of course, that's likely due to the fact that I'm being distracted by the boys being home from school today, doing laundry, and watching <i>Big Bang Theory</i>...) So I think I'll leave it here for now. :)<br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-69953679033410058442012-01-10T21:57:00.002+01:002012-07-01T20:23:43.651+02:00The Explosive ChildI cannot express how glad I am that I found the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Child-Understanding-Frustrated-Chronically/dp/0061906190/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326227174&sr=1-1"><u>The Explosive Child</u> (by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.)</a> and that I bought it. I finally started to read it today (I've had it for a few months), and I'm only through the first three chapters, but I already have a good feeling about this book being extremely helpful.<br />
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A has been having issues since he started school (and actually even before that, had I known what I should have been looking for) with social skills and emotional developmental delay. It has been a long, taxing process to even get him to the place that he is, and believe me when I say it's a <i>major</i> improvement. There have been "brain trust" meetings at the school with the teachers, counselors, principal, therapists...there have been medical appointments and both medical and psychological evaluations....and paperwork. Lots and lots (and true to military form...LOTS) of paperwork. On top of all that has been my own frustration. I've been frustrated with not being able to seem to make any progress with my son. I've been frustrated with the guilt that comes with feeling like a lousy parent because of how my child behaves. I've been frustrated that it affects our entire family when A has problems. I've been frustrated with C mimicking A's actions when he has no cause to. And I've mostly been frustrated that for all the evaluations and meetings and paperwork, it appears (to me, anyway) that he's made little to no progress. We haven't yet targeted what the problem is, which makes it difficult to try to help A and prepare him to move on in school.<br />
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My best friend, <a href="http://www.vintagemilitarywife.com/">Misha</a>, has blogged before about her experience and continued journey of having a special needs child with speech and developmental delays. While A does not necessarily have the same challenges as Luc, I can relate to some of what she's feeling, though likely on a smaller scale. <br />
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As I've been reading the first few chapters of this book today, so much of what I read applied 100% to what I'm dealing with when it comes to A. And there are even parts of the book where I see myself from my childhood. While that's not exactly surprising, as A and I are <i>very</i> alike in personality, it's also a bit....eerie, yet somehow comforting, to see something like that, explaining why I was the way I was, and am the way I am about so many things, in print. Eerie, because it's like they're inside my head. Comforting, because it means I'm not alone, and there is a way to work through those challenges. Granted, as I'm now an adult, I've worked through most of it on my own, but it took me the better part of 20+ years to get there.<br />
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And just the thought that A can have the help he needs <i>now</i> and <i>not</i> have to struggle through 20 years on his own before he works it out....it brings me to tears. Tears of relief. Tears of joy. I <i>will</i> see progress. He <i>will</i> overcome these challenges. And my never-ending frustration will disappear.....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCvuZ5f2j1ui3RoYkeYIjCe30Y8-jShmNi7-_0cB8nx3s9_qoVEoekmZCAAy4t3umxNy2IBizb2ZPvGDQ85PvV2n5w2JTjgT02XmJZkeCiRnmeQYLn-eeHkfHcf53VwgF8D3QxEvcpsM/s1600/n506444046_2365230_7217471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCvuZ5f2j1ui3RoYkeYIjCe30Y8-jShmNi7-_0cB8nx3s9_qoVEoekmZCAAy4t3umxNy2IBizb2ZPvGDQ85PvV2n5w2JTjgT02XmJZkeCiRnmeQYLn-eeHkfHcf53VwgF8D3QxEvcpsM/s320/n506444046_2365230_7217471.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Prince A when he was 14 months old!</td></tr>
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<br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-76219490481794321642012-01-10T08:00:00.003+01:002012-01-10T21:08:34.684+01:00Bus Stop NuisanceIf you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, chances are that you're aware of the kid at the bus stop (we'll call him "E") that pesters A. Especially after yesterday when he pushed A's buttons to the point of my older son having a mini-meltdown on the bus.<br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">E that eggs A on <i>every morning</i>. Yesterday, after much verbal poking and prodding, E <i>deliberately</i> took the seat that he knew A
wanted on the bus and refused to compromise at all, and had a smug look on his face that I could see from standing at the door of the bus while doing it. It escalated to the
point of A having a mini-meltdown on the bus. Unfortunately (in this situation, anyhow) for security
measures, adults aside from the bus driver and bus monitor are not
allowed to board the bus. As I was by the door, all I could see was E being a jerk and the bus monitor getting up and talking to A. She said <i>nothing </i>to E. Just A. I have no idea what she said, as A took the furthest seat from E that he was allowed, and the windows were fogged up pretty badly (a bus full of warm bodies on a cold morning and all...). Seriously, if E's dad were to get orders to leave this base <i>yesterday</i>, it couldn't be soon enough. (I was actually hoping after last school year that they would be leaving last summer...obviously, no such luck.)</span><br />
<br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">So today, we got to the bus stop before E and his little sister ("Am"). Used to be that the boys and I were first every morning (we, as well as our neighbors across the street, have the furthest to walk to get to the bus stop, so I leave a good amount of time to get there, leaving time for the possibility of ice on the hill), but E and Am started to leave earlier and if they ever see us coming, they run to beat A and C to the bus stop. (Another sore point for my boys because they like to be first all the time, and I don't let them run. It's too dark, they don't watch where they're going, there's only a sidewalk for about half of our walk down there, and the cars go flying by at ridiculous speeds with most not even noticing pedestrians until they've nearly hit us.) So today, when E and Am got there, the firs thing A says to seeing E is "I <i>hate </i>you!" This has, unfortunately, been the most recent of ways he has been verbally lashing out. I reprimanded him for that, telling him it is rude and mean to tell someone you hate them and that's not how we talk to someone. Then, since E wasn't first, when A pointed out to him that A was first (which E does to A <i>every</i> morning), E started saying something under his breath. One of those schoolyard rhymes. I heard "first is the worst" and I let him get no farther. I have <i>had</i> it with him. (And honestly, Am isn't much better. And she uses the fact that she's a girl to boot because A and C sometimes argue over her.) I flat out told him, "E, that is <i>enough</i>. You need to change how you behave towards my son starting right now, or I <i>will</i> go have a talk with your mother." Shortly following that, Am started a conversation with, "A, my friend is coming on the bus tomorrow, and I'm sitting with my friend, and <i>not</i> with you." Are you freaking <i>kidding</i> me?!</span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">This brother and sister are what I'm afraid my boys will turn into if The Instigator keeps teaching them by example and laughing when they sit there and do the "I'm not touching you" thing verbally. I cannot <i>stand</i> that, nor can A. And E and Am's behaviors towards him (and his retaliating in the same manner) are the <i>complete</i> opposite of everything the school staff and I are putting into A. He's had a rough time of it, emotionally, and he's not where he's "supposed" to be when it comes to social skills. It's making school harder for him, and the school staff that works with him (which includes his classroom teacher, a school counselor and an occupational therapist), not to mention me, when they set him back and keep him from moving forward. If I see it happen again, I will march to their house and have words with their mother, because this is absolutely ridiculous. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Thankfully, nothing else seems to have come from A's bus meltdown. (You're allowed 3 warnings for misbehavior before you're prohibited from riding the bus.) However, that remains to be seen. Last year he got a warning, and I didn't hear <i>anything</i> of it from <i>anyone</i> until <i>THREE WEEKS</i> after the event when I got a notice via e-mail from the bus office (to which I replied vehemently that it was ridiculous for them to go that long before notifying me...and they said <i>nothing</i> in reply to that). If that happens again, not only will they hear from me, but I will show up at the bus office in person and chew them out both for the delay and to demand that E get a warning as well, as his willful behavior is what set A off in the first place. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">In the meantime, though, it's time to carry on as usual...</span>Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-66144243887243729612011-12-30T23:47:00.000+01:002012-01-04T18:32:51.868+01:00Trier & Kinderspiel!Being as I was sick the first part of the week, our original plans spread out over the course of the week leading up to my mom's departure were thrown off track. The problem was, I couldn't <i>not</i> go to any of the places we'd planned to! So we squeezed it all into her last two days with us. Thursday we went to Bischwiller, France, and on Friday we went to Trier and met up with Misha and Kristin. <br />
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I had to take The Instigator to work so that we would have the car, but he went in a little later than usual, so we didn't get as early of a start as I would have liked. Thankfully, Trier is only about 20 minutes away! I've only been to Trier once before (about a year ago) when I met up with a friend (and German native) from the Harry Potter knitting swap (HSKS) I'm a part of. My only goal at that time was to find the massive, 3-story craft store; and since there was snow <i>everywhere</i> last year and I had Batman with me, sightseeing was not exactly on the priority list. All I did on the last visit was pick up Yvonne from the train station, find the craft store, have a snack at a cafe (where I opened my package from her, as she was my spoiler for that round of HSKS), take her back to the train station and go home. This time, however, I went as a complete and total tourist! LOL<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48MzyD0wznz7miHiMaOAKLaKqwNQTpU01go9_-A0YrWm-KIg6zr8fm79pqHOGrvhINNEWzVG1V_cnrPGBKYJljMI_dVLK047hGgRLx2g0Sy1xyTN9FNxIRT1OkF8BXW4SecFLJxOjGkc/s1600/P1140286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48MzyD0wznz7miHiMaOAKLaKqwNQTpU01go9_-A0YrWm-KIg6zr8fm79pqHOGrvhINNEWzVG1V_cnrPGBKYJljMI_dVLK047hGgRLx2g0Sy1xyTN9FNxIRT1OkF8BXW4SecFLJxOjGkc/s320/P1140286.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of the Three Magi (Dreikonigenhaus)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porta Nigra from the direction of Hauptmarkt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFFi5V29Nu5GqvDISpszDf9P7wGxzWVnbB2zP0Eadr0Qvd1q0hv5lTiCdAuyov0rO0RBBIaoK9-tWMseRQkinrRJjhIjc4k75-LlC2XMcYmkv7g-HwamdyWaiO-7doL5gtakg47Nu7Wc/s1600/P1140300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFFi5V29Nu5GqvDISpszDf9P7wGxzWVnbB2zP0Eadr0Qvd1q0hv5lTiCdAuyov0rO0RBBIaoK9-tWMseRQkinrRJjhIjc4k75-LlC2XMcYmkv7g-HwamdyWaiO-7doL5gtakg47Nu7Wc/s320/P1140300.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing through Porta Nigra</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porta Nigra from the "outside" of the old Roman city limits</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ple0VYcg5pVxmssDgnfiW5P1B7spv4pntl7joBvTTNcF09gQwb21XXdcjzO_cC2I82RizPGxy32MBdiht5vmQW5beJl3ffp-rqPtz0NOFDpw43GDqYB2t4w5d5QiWOBym4FzbSdP42o/s1600/P1140322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ple0VYcg5pVxmssDgnfiW5P1B7spv4pntl7joBvTTNcF09gQwb21XXdcjzO_cC2I82RizPGxy32MBdiht5vmQW5beJl3ffp-rqPtz0NOFDpw43GDqYB2t4w5d5QiWOBym4FzbSdP42o/s320/P1140322.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hauptmarkt Square and St. Gangolf Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ26YOPwxxoCoCcqB1idIDdDNP_1np4YypuylaRVi23M5kER61jxEqU8LIO86iS16oLA_zf2Jy9mkYNuuTsZi5Zn-CpR-QwidkpBLPkLrY2GeIX3OTQsrS2llXVgDZr2HAx0ZwnTKS-Q8/s1600/P1140331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ26YOPwxxoCoCcqB1idIDdDNP_1np4YypuylaRVi23M5kER61jxEqU8LIO86iS16oLA_zf2Jy9mkYNuuTsZi5Zn-CpR-QwidkpBLPkLrY2GeIX3OTQsrS2llXVgDZr2HAx0ZwnTKS-Q8/s320/P1140331.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batman & Superman checking out the Lego display in a store window</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZ6L0kM3FlizhGHcw0T524h0kSuWxkpGa6SuVrjHzNCEdAjP9hvIchv6x6YlQ6lYpvDvpVnCQo7w2O8lsv9leq01l4pm9HO-nBi1f3uuAH-bZGQJDrcUIt5MRKPt5s41erEaC3z85JKw/s1600/P1140349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZ6L0kM3FlizhGHcw0T524h0kSuWxkpGa6SuVrjHzNCEdAjP9hvIchv6x6YlQ6lYpvDvpVnCQo7w2O8lsv9leq01l4pm9HO-nBi1f3uuAH-bZGQJDrcUIt5MRKPt5s41erEaC3z85JKw/s320/P1140349.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and the boys at St. George's fountain in Kornmarkt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANx9AQmO8DmpwWyDMlmLYFbWVR7_olNi3EQYoVhcsI16oYrdhoUUOpBgF77VI3b3AjLvjfs0G4s3Lnt0zlqmBOL0n6_EtmCkZHyNoQdNGMbfUPEEvUcOMQ6FQY8RMiNPeOBnbygzqxnM/s1600/P1140354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANx9AQmO8DmpwWyDMlmLYFbWVR7_olNi3EQYoVhcsI16oYrdhoUUOpBgF77VI3b3AjLvjfs0G4s3Lnt0zlqmBOL0n6_EtmCkZHyNoQdNGMbfUPEEvUcOMQ6FQY8RMiNPeOBnbygzqxnM/s320/P1140354.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Gangolf's Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMzn1acO2oPDW4ZQVjL0-HBpyye5JpnPZ0rEq4Z83cSxiRg6Qm6tQHBK2FGtNA-bM-oBwmh3ZvTQCiNUxtc1uQE_bg_ApUdp8UvdKWDuXAATrXGmREpWF8hUq3rBZ-vtxCDpCZu7q24E/s1600/P1140359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMzn1acO2oPDW4ZQVjL0-HBpyye5JpnPZ0rEq4Z83cSxiRg6Qm6tQHBK2FGtNA-bM-oBwmh3ZvTQCiNUxtc1uQE_bg_ApUdp8UvdKWDuXAATrXGmREpWF8hUq3rBZ-vtxCDpCZu7q24E/s320/P1140359.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grave markers at St. Gangolf's Church</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, we didn't get to seeing any more of Trier because of a combination of two pairs of little legs, shopping that my mom needed to get done for everyone back home, and still needing to meet up with my friends down in Kaiserslautern. (Which just means I'll have to go back another time! :D )<br />
<br />
After leaving Trier (where I found a pair of winter boots for me!), we had about 30 minutes to get to Kinderspiel (an indoor play area in Kaiserslautern) to be there on time. Luckily, I figured ahead of time that we'd run behind (and warned Kristin & Misha of that the night before, lol), so the fact that it actually took us an hour to get there wasn't <i>too</i> big a deal. For dinner, though, I wanted to get Schnitzel at Kinderspiel...but they were out! :( Sad panda. But the kids had a <i>blast</i> and mine were upset when we had to leave (they were closing! LOL), and we all ended up going to base at Ramstein and met up for dinner there after mom & I took the boys on a detour to a local grocery store so she could get some German chocolate and kuchen to take home with her. Then it was time to come back home...Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-46867048841497767472011-12-29T02:06:00.002+01:002012-01-04T18:32:51.859+01:00Strolling Through SpangdahlemI am <i>finally</i> over whatever that stomach/flu/virus thing was that took me down! I actually didn't have it as long as the boys did, so I should be grateful for that at least...<br />
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We didn't end up really going anywhere today, though, because after my middle-of-the-night wake-up last night, I went back to bed and crashed HARD! The Instigator woke me enough to ask me if I was going to need/want the car today, but I was so out of it, that it was pretty well out of the question. Instead, I slept until noon. I evidently needed it, though, because when I woke up at lunch time, I was able to eat and shower and feel pretty much my normal self.<br />
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I do feel bad, though, that half of my mom's vacation has been spent home-bound (when she's wanted to come to Germany since she was little, and this is her first time overseas!) because we were all a bunch of sickies. So once the boys were dressed (they go about the house half dressed ALL the time...it must have something to do with making for a quicker changing time when they need to don their superhero outfits... ;) ), we went for a walk around Spang-Town! :) And I do mean literally "around." We may not have walked the <i>entire</i> perimeter (we skimped by a couple streets due to short legs that went with us), but it was pretty darn close. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A & C walking towards the tower in the distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wall up by said tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGl5HlvrtTgxD3lJbFeL-moWJbknATnunVCPHXYAbvkytylPQa7NqduZhjj52G-7p-e7KivFVFgOgb4CnjekBPZOE0_KOlEBrh3bu-Dy1Cqs3PmWZeLrdy9RMmje-xVqtZds-40d2Wvs/s1600/P1140214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGl5HlvrtTgxD3lJbFeL-moWJbknATnunVCPHXYAbvkytylPQa7NqduZhjj52G-7p-e7KivFVFgOgb4CnjekBPZOE0_KOlEBrh3bu-Dy1Cqs3PmWZeLrdy9RMmje-xVqtZds-40d2Wvs/s320/P1140214.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up to show the detail on the wall</td></tr>
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The tower that we saw from a distance turned out to be what appears as some sort of chapel...as it's right next to a cemetery. And it's a pretty new one, too. I saw dates of death as recent as 2006.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgS6_RN_N6zkMowK1NwlJlLRSzGCQ-znCeX-XqIMfuU3UMQZY9TehqmH7fNpseR9sgj4jdM_pOSnXX3GCLZBrz8T313UppSG6PqWbS_dO1MJb5blny8b3bpgGmRdl8PQCo_UnIuEMjng/s1600/P1140216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgS6_RN_N6zkMowK1NwlJlLRSzGCQ-znCeX-XqIMfuU3UMQZY9TehqmH7fNpseR9sgj4jdM_pOSnXX3GCLZBrz8T313UppSG6PqWbS_dO1MJb5blny8b3bpgGmRdl8PQCo_UnIuEMjng/s320/P1140216.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the headstones</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKopfIV2U_1RV5mMFoBp6odejTmJRk_CSblckExaKHDhqr8Ukw3Yx7Ut2Dys5yEiJ1o_X3KAvaAMBo_L2J9GSksn-X9j6YOKpjzut91JthO8VaDkdP2bJ0nFCvOpEmviNSuMgv3VyFWUc/s1600/P1140218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKopfIV2U_1RV5mMFoBp6odejTmJRk_CSblckExaKHDhqr8Ukw3Yx7Ut2Dys5yEiJ1o_X3KAvaAMBo_L2J9GSksn-X9j6YOKpjzut91JthO8VaDkdP2bJ0nFCvOpEmviNSuMgv3VyFWUc/s320/P1140218.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the cemetery overlooking the town</td></tr>
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We walked from the cemetery on the hill down to the main street of the town and went all the way to the street where the church is (yes, "the," not "a"...Spangdahlem is too small for more than one church...and as best as I can tell, it even shares it's priest with 3 other towns!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ82bCHipZa8eIN8tz6BufKAXKrLvG2jrbUOivb3ByInYcuX1v7pWpz-7NdjxhpVAGYincqcGoqd8uJV-RCV0HCeMJZ8SBBPe4_Ckktr7yeB-lit9ITSl0GG1Eq1vcdg3slEZlD1VF09g/s1600/381155_2164502206972_1679137543_1531420_261812425_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ82bCHipZa8eIN8tz6BufKAXKrLvG2jrbUOivb3ByInYcuX1v7pWpz-7NdjxhpVAGYincqcGoqd8uJV-RCV0HCeMJZ8SBBPe4_Ckktr7yeB-lit9ITSl0GG1Eq1vcdg3slEZlD1VF09g/s320/381155_2164502206972_1679137543_1531420_261812425_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Nikolaus' church in Spangdahlem (taken by my mom)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwRxMFR4uxBviBZRHoj78kE720c_iUcZmq1PwYR5IQ7e91otddD_UQPlnLXw2ITlJ9IwmeR6XLCDKcctlTXctw7vkvmOOOstFURvGS-1w4CDyqQtwMDyPMSYWIFDYtbJOZr1-EHjT93A/s1600/399045_2164503246998_1679137543_1531424_1316688317_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwRxMFR4uxBviBZRHoj78kE720c_iUcZmq1PwYR5IQ7e91otddD_UQPlnLXw2ITlJ9IwmeR6XLCDKcctlTXctw7vkvmOOOstFURvGS-1w4CDyqQtwMDyPMSYWIFDYtbJOZr1-EHjT93A/s320/399045_2164503246998_1679137543_1531424_1316688317_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back at the church's bell tower above the rooftops of Spangdahlem</td></tr>
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It was nice to get out of the house and walk around a bit (and the boys got to burn off some energy, too!)...now if only I could get to sleep tonight! Tomorrow's plans include a 3-hour drive (one-way!) to the town of Bischwiller, France, to see if/what we can dig anything up in the way of ancestral information. :DFledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-72070349600267335782011-12-28T04:17:00.000+01:002011-12-28T19:33:33.483+01:00Christmas FunUnfortunately, the couple of days leading up to Christmas, A & C were battling a stomach virus (which seems to invade a body and make them vomit over the course of a 48-hour period, back off for 24 hours and then rear it's head again one last time), which they passed on to The Instigator (he was sick on Christmas Day and the day following).<br />
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The boys' big gift was a Kinect system for the XBox (though it's not working properly...it won't find the floor...we'll try again once we get the stand or clip to put it on top of the television...). Santa left me <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2</i> and The Instigator got me Apple TV! :D <br />
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Then it was my turn to be sick. :(<br />
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Last time all 3 of my boys got sick, I got by without catching it myself. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky this time. And it ruined our travel plans a bit. We were supposed to go down to Bischwiller, France yesterday to see what we could track down about my mom's paternal grandfather's family (who immigrated to America from that town). Unfortunately, my bout with this stomach virus kept us home. I guess it worked out in favor of The Instigator, though, as today was his birthday, and this way he got his birthday meal (and cake!) on the day of instead of the day after his birthday (though he's not one to be a stickler for celebrating it on the day of...). But now we've been stuck in the house for 6 straight days (What a way for my mom to spend half of her vacation!!! I feel awful about that!), aside from the walk that my mom and A took (he showed her where his bus stop for school is), so maybe we can get out somewhere today...It's too bad I woke up at 2am! I don't know how long I'll make it today before needing a nap! I should probably get back to bed for a couple hours and see if The Instigator will let me drive him to work so I can have the car...Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-29538078722846786222011-12-21T22:40:00.000+01:002011-12-28T19:14:33.689+01:00Here We Go A-Wandering...After spending a day home-bound (which entailed a dusting of snow and the boys playing games with Grandma), my mom and I set out to see a bit of Germany. Our destination in mind was Mandersheid and it's castle ruins, but anything in between here and there was fair game. :) <br />
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While on our way to Mandersheid, we happened across something that I had seen signs for on the Autobahn and had been meaning to track down and see: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmerod_Abbey">Abtei Himmerod</a>! As best I can tell, it's an active Abbey, but we only went into the little gift shop (where I got a schnitzel recipe book...It will be worth it to translate it to cook!) and the church part of the Abbey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TfEghRQJwnYFB9nu9PwH6_F5086l4TGZ6hMEgm8TuSykoZ5_AtrlGiq6JoL28iFhNk4HfTHgNUe4wTDTLMvk5yYBR7KSs5v8S4NOvJYc9Tif9N3IA9ub5BdsRyBIi_vmKNcnDEBR9G4/s1600/P1140051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TfEghRQJwnYFB9nu9PwH6_F5086l4TGZ6hMEgm8TuSykoZ5_AtrlGiq6JoL28iFhNk4HfTHgNUe4wTDTLMvk5yYBR7KSs5v8S4NOvJYc9Tif9N3IA9ub5BdsRyBIi_vmKNcnDEBR9G4/s320/P1140051.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The facade of the chapel section of the Abbey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDon5MYvXH7I16zzK6rq1VPOkAYxPMiT2f_0jiRo29mEb5pR_7ty15302uoTifpxwiArf0pDo7vYcCUEaebnVGVUkfkZRYV4s_Tip6xMa33Sdi-M9yxavjoHGq9AtaVua9VSHTEIZ888/s1600/P1140061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDon5MYvXH7I16zzK6rq1VPOkAYxPMiT2f_0jiRo29mEb5pR_7ty15302uoTifpxwiArf0pDo7vYcCUEaebnVGVUkfkZRYV4s_Tip6xMa33Sdi-M9yxavjoHGq9AtaVua9VSHTEIZ888/s320/P1140061.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nativity scene set up inside the Abbey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxaT4qTTCG4Fvgjxxe0kfATsNw4FQL1FXEEWhhooFviyEz3hglHIrds3IEOxq6R41xLXX6EdVIbNjkjLWjDz4cAMl-GXQcMgKTx5x97WmYA3A62TRVyiIYcU6SLHJlDDncpiM7M0_42k/s1600/P1140062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxaT4qTTCG4Fvgjxxe0kfATsNw4FQL1FXEEWhhooFviyEz3hglHIrds3IEOxq6R41xLXX6EdVIbNjkjLWjDz4cAMl-GXQcMgKTx5x97WmYA3A62TRVyiIYcU6SLHJlDDncpiM7M0_42k/s320/P1140062.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the background of the Nativity (it's a painting of the Abbey!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfIhGXSNzYDA-tiT7q-lCemXDesg-_n5zYV0T43jzudPQe_egDIdt59lM6X80-3qwhqUlVYflgSQ8U0wjhgdk8Dq2NiS4x-zowZR_n-eEinjmFIhrlJo5eoPbWwMIJ_3ZJbuSSrp02Us/s1600/P1140072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfIhGXSNzYDA-tiT7q-lCemXDesg-_n5zYV0T43jzudPQe_egDIdt59lM6X80-3qwhqUlVYflgSQ8U0wjhgdk8Dq2NiS4x-zowZR_n-eEinjmFIhrlJo5eoPbWwMIJ_3ZJbuSSrp02Us/s320/P1140072.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The organ in the Abbey's chapel</td></tr>
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We continued on to Mandersheid, and got there only to discover that Neiderburg (the lower ruins) were closed. That didn't stop us, however, from going around and hiking up to Oberburg! (We got a nice view of Neiderburg from up there, too.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkoAnyLCHuY10-l5-oBJKAiBZBeZXG2LJc2xD8_wzFZyX0Tfk2AeDLME1Q4kg3rjzAp5XuYUUeBFegFLTbxGFPD7bkvE637717qP6aQ5AAuPw0fUceBnFQmo2ciK2dOfyJJnyGiy0vKg/s1600/P1140095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkoAnyLCHuY10-l5-oBJKAiBZBeZXG2LJc2xD8_wzFZyX0Tfk2AeDLME1Q4kg3rjzAp5XuYUUeBFegFLTbxGFPD7bkvE637717qP6aQ5AAuPw0fUceBnFQmo2ciK2dOfyJJnyGiy0vKg/s320/P1140095.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Neiderburg on the hike up to Oberburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9zDwbeKrDRFP_vULcrbkZGG1TOLyYfj5HGmXxMF3NWj8C8qZ4tGflzIGHqEKzkGBksvWR34AD8xwghZ6WjC0F58Ceuk6utuDxD-f17xQ4_t7m62tHIXnZJYKULw9Hn1QWO_HAdNp0OY/s1600/P1140100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9zDwbeKrDRFP_vULcrbkZGG1TOLyYfj5HGmXxMF3NWj8C8qZ4tGflzIGHqEKzkGBksvWR34AD8xwghZ6WjC0F58Ceuk6utuDxD-f17xQ4_t7m62tHIXnZJYKULw9Hn1QWO_HAdNp0OY/s320/P1140100.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neiderburg and the Lieser(?) river running by</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmC6mJeEUWXn8UeS9h34rU806vFAwEY8SSttCd3_CjcAxLnUQzUc_wnxdx8bwDMHHBV7JCssddhIPW1xKcCEXQc-xM7QkdYIE94OzHkyKtzrPRVs0vgNgPax7N6LmD-eAIeTuOaQtKIg/s1600/P1140104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmC6mJeEUWXn8UeS9h34rU806vFAwEY8SSttCd3_CjcAxLnUQzUc_wnxdx8bwDMHHBV7JCssddhIPW1xKcCEXQc-xM7QkdYIE94OzHkyKtzrPRVs0vgNgPax7N6LmD-eAIeTuOaQtKIg/s320/P1140104.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom at Oberburg, looking down upon Neiderburg</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjKe5nLPpMJMqUyXIOd2_2tIDQfi9Kvwz05QRq2rEbQ7ZQPhZoD1VlBXFst9Rb9V_WF4mwiwImrQYWH27JtVOfH16E2D5VfxJ6_xN_zL5WnK3_uetKwaWo0QITT9oVcDp0SNvEelllcg/s1600/IMG_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjKe5nLPpMJMqUyXIOd2_2tIDQfi9Kvwz05QRq2rEbQ7ZQPhZoD1VlBXFst9Rb9V_WF4mwiwImrQYWH27JtVOfH16E2D5VfxJ6_xN_zL5WnK3_uetKwaWo0QITT9oVcDp0SNvEelllcg/s320/IMG_0270.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me standing in front of Oberburg (and yes, my pant legs are rolled up...it was a muddy hike!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2YdYWoxJA4V6s9kO3V62TQW2xe74nLrM3VUAklOh2680uESBVnTbKWIr3DQ5x_68zQeLFz27UNwJdTQpOs42rb5HDoinzQfffZJ1Bk2FjZzlOgYSwtNyoniDLCb-mnwITRyWGfu0mR4/s1600/P1140119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2YdYWoxJA4V6s9kO3V62TQW2xe74nLrM3VUAklOh2680uESBVnTbKWIr3DQ5x_68zQeLFz27UNwJdTQpOs42rb5HDoinzQfffZJ1Bk2FjZzlOgYSwtNyoniDLCb-mnwITRyWGfu0mR4/s320/P1140119.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random tree-lined pathway off the road between Spangdahlem & Manderscheid</td></tr>
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On our way back home, my mom's eye was caught by a random building in the town of Eichelhütte. Turns out it was a hotel! We went inside to try and find the cozy-looking restaurant we could see from outside, but had no luck. (I <i>did</i>, however, happen upon what appears to be an old yarn swift, used as decoration!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-IohlpUORyle3TYLAp0XRjeN-oGq014Tqa4a0DIknor5rATdCG_ZOxzYwt-rAws2pUrRHmIWUoLb53g-hSZGEsV8fTyQ3_yJkhFTUVISjSqJD_7QpBkBWuctT4vTRbRMBHTX7gpc5JU/s1600/P1140121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-IohlpUORyle3TYLAp0XRjeN-oGq014Tqa4a0DIknor5rATdCG_ZOxzYwt-rAws2pUrRHmIWUoLb53g-hSZGEsV8fTyQ3_yJkhFTUVISjSqJD_7QpBkBWuctT4vTRbRMBHTX7gpc5JU/s320/P1140121.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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But the building and setting were very pretty, so we wandered about and took photos until it got too dark to do so.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPXFDaV6B4MbOAHWjC9E7YfVj3-tGOi8jP7dicAY6Ba3nAp5kgm-IbMfNkT76B1vjaqwMMQjmPCxiuEnGnF4qOa3GuqQtS0DVZ_fplioXmFPIikycB-Uj0CMxeQeChyphenhyphenU0d-zoLHI4o4Q/s1600/P1140120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPXFDaV6B4MbOAHWjC9E7YfVj3-tGOi8jP7dicAY6Ba3nAp5kgm-IbMfNkT76B1vjaqwMMQjmPCxiuEnGnF4qOa3GuqQtS0DVZ_fplioXmFPIikycB-Uj0CMxeQeChyphenhyphenU0d-zoLHI4o4Q/s320/P1140120.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fountain and the entrance to the hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsv__zw9gSsaMEePjL_m1nygs_tTt0hZsfomVOMfFU0Dkp04N_tREQ7Pwi8DaZUn8jt4MQGmqHAjzR5u7Sx6-0yQwU9tPxL3iV-Qkmp94kD6EO-GUeE7TNM2iHwyaQSOyij4MlL3rl74/s1600/P1140128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsv__zw9gSsaMEePjL_m1nygs_tTt0hZsfomVOMfFU0Dkp04N_tREQ7Pwi8DaZUn8jt4MQGmqHAjzR5u7Sx6-0yQwU9tPxL3iV-Qkmp94kD6EO-GUeE7TNM2iHwyaQSOyij4MlL3rl74/s320/P1140128.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini-windmill and swan on the pond behind the hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap3JjnHbXkSoD-sGSvrZmu9jwlRfZoZJ7YrxVomWjpq1VByWOFqflshCzOubAGdWBTHD5NPyNMy3fhTlzPoUdYuPzDViFUVN2L929T2jVYckwqW3ZSY6j3oKI694Nq-f_KgwYIT_sOXM/s1600/P1140144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap3JjnHbXkSoD-sGSvrZmu9jwlRfZoZJ7YrxVomWjpq1VByWOFqflshCzOubAGdWBTHD5NPyNMy3fhTlzPoUdYuPzDViFUVN2L929T2jVYckwqW3ZSY6j3oKI694Nq-f_KgwYIT_sOXM/s320/P1140144.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pathway was literally the tree roots covered by dirt!</td></tr>
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All-in-all, a laid back day, compared to the time spent in Frankfurt. (But then, the smaller places have a completely different feel to them. <i>Much</i> more relaxed.)Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-5682344580730435582011-12-19T23:00:00.000+01:002011-12-28T04:04:05.131+01:00Willkommen, Oma!Today was a very.....long.....day. <br />
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I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep in like I otherwise would on the boys' day off of school, but it was for a very good reason!!! :D I got to go pick up my mom from the airport!!!!!!! She flew all the way from Colorado to visit us in Germany and spend Christmas with us!!!!!!<br />
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When I had booked her ticket, the agent told me that she was getting in at 10:30, and so I planned accordingly. Two hour drive to the airport, plus extra time to get gas and such before hitting the road...I figured leaving at 8 am would be plenty of time (considering she had to go through customs and immigration) to get there to welcome her at the waiting area. Oh, how wrong I was...<br />
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It turns out that she was actually scheduled to land at 9:45, and not only that, when looking at the website, her flight was landing half an hour early!!!!!! It was already 7:45 at that point, the moment I should have been getting onto the Autobahn, and I still had to get dressed, get A dressed to go with me, get gas, put the destination into the GPS and everything! Once I had finally accomplished all that, the GPS told me that I had 3 choice for a route. I wanted to avoid the 2nd option, as there were construction warnings that way, and so of the two, I picked the one with the shortest drive time.<br />
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After about close to an hour into the drive (maybe 45 minutes), I got stuck behind a truck with flashing lights that blocked the way I needed, leaving me with only the option to turn left into the nearby town. He was setting up for a construction zone. It was <i>so</i> new that they didn't even have detour signs up! (That's what that truck was for!) So I went into the town and ignored my GPS while it told me to make U-turns, and it eventually got me on the path to go a different route. I was stuck on back roads going speeds far less than I would have been able to legally achieve on the Autobahn, and was already late. So naturally, the GPS had to take me to the second route. You know, the one with all the construction I was trying to avoid? Yeah, that one. And I got stuck behind a few more big trucks, to boot.<br />
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When I <i>finally</i> got to the airport, I parked in the first garage I came to, on the first open level I came to, in the first open space I came to! I was already super late and didn't want to waste time driving around looking for a space. It turns out I probably should have driven down a little bit further, as the spot I parked in was the furthest possible from the airport. A and I had to book it across the parking garage and into the airport. (He did really well in keeping up with me! I was impressed!) <br />
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Enter the next problem...I went into the wrong terminal. I've never picked anyone up from the Frankfurt airport before (and they didn't say on any of the signs on the road that Terminal 1 was departing terminal and that Terminal 2 was the incoming terminal). And I could <i>not</i> for the <i>life</i> of me find the way to get to the other terminal. After about an hour of walking around (including a jaunt outdoors, as I saw other people going that way), I <i>finally</i> was able to find the SkyRail to the second terminal. (A was <i>thrilled</i> to get to ride a train!!!!!!) At that point I was near panicking that my mom was going to think she was abandoned and I had <i>no</i> way to communicate with her, and she wasn't in the arrivals area. I went to the information desk and asked if they could page her. They sent me to the airline's ticket counter to make sure she came in on the flight (even though I already knew she had). That entailed another 5 minutes of walking and being sent to different people. They confirmed she came in and told me to go to the information desk and ask for her to be paged. (Isn't that <i>just</i> where I'd come from?!) They paged her, and A and I <i>finally</i> found her! (Two hours after she landed! Although, she had been stuck at immigration for an hour, so she didn't spend that ENTIRE time waiting for me...)<br />
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But the day wasn't over yet! We went further into Frankfurt and hit up the Christmas market. Finding parking was a long time in coming, and so I finally just pulled into an on-street spot that I found. (The parking garages had <i>lines</i> of cars to get in!) We walked around for a bit, came upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Cathedral">the Frankfurt Cathedral</a> ...and in taking 3 photos came to realize that...<i>I had forgotten my camera's SD card in my computer at home!!!!!!!!!</i> I thought for sure I had an extra one in my purse at some point, so I looked, but I couldn't find it. :( (My camera won't take more than 5 photos with the internal memory...) So I only got about 3 photos while in Frankfurt. (I would post them, but Blogger is not recognizing my uploads for whatever reason, and I'm sick of trying to get it to work...) So we walked around the Christmas Market for a bit; mom & I shared some Schnitzel, A had a chocolate-covered soft pretzel, and after he dropped what was left of it on the ground when he tripped and fell, he was promised his choice of either another pretzel or ice cream (he chose the ice cream, also chocolate), we went down to the Römerberg Platz and past to the Main river before heading back to the car. Where I found a parking ticket on my windshield. <br />
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On the way back home, I was not about to repeat my earlier problems, so I went the third route, which took us all the way down to the Kaiserslautern/Ramstein area. I don't know why, but the GPS took us off the Autobahn, and we ended up driving around K-Town in rush hour traffic. By the time we got back onto the Autobahn and heading the right direction, it was already something like 6pm (an hour after A is used to having dinner), and he said he was hungry and had to go potty. So we got back <i>off</i> the Autobahn and had dinner on base at Ramstein! LOL Eventually, we got back home, Grandma in tow, and what do I find when I open my purse once in the house?.....an SD card I could have put into my camera. ::sigh::<br />
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<br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-27537406006801646962011-12-16T17:48:00.001+01:002011-12-16T17:53:05.279+01:00Productive Day!Whew! I was on a <i>roll</i> today! Whatever was bogging me down the past few weeks seems to have finally lifted, and after sleeping pretty much all day yesterday, I had a lot to make up for today! Then again, it could also be that it was kick started by The Instigator buying me this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2VBTnKnz9CGyPbeaCXCN_Q6NIuuGRayJ_IbPajvr5NLBavI1wT3EXalTD-B_hRzAc55KMcpPZNi-UHIIVpyKcyrbkNBlOx99GkkEZFIbnlsmeG3S6ixTC8QUIH2DKRg6AYXdOc0scNA/s1600/P1130972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2VBTnKnz9CGyPbeaCXCN_Q6NIuuGRayJ_IbPajvr5NLBavI1wT3EXalTD-B_hRzAc55KMcpPZNi-UHIIVpyKcyrbkNBlOx99GkkEZFIbnlsmeG3S6ixTC8QUIH2DKRg6AYXdOc0scNA/s320/P1130972.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a wireless adapter for my desktop computer, as my PC doesn't have a wireless card in it. Which means....<i>I was able to move my computer and desk into my craft room!!!!!</i> I made the move just last night, and I am already ecstatic about it all! I also moved some more things from the old craft room downstairs to the new/current one on the main level of the house (the one that used to be the boys' toy room...until I booted them out of it and moved their toys upstairs to take over the space!). So today I was pretty busy setting up some of the stuff and organizing a bit...plus doing the everyday things like laundry and dishes and vacuuming and sweeping...<br />
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While on my little breaks from the cleaning, I worked on knitting on a Super Secret Christmas present (which I finished, and it is now blocking!), and browsed the Web. Shocker, right? Well, on Pinterest, I came across <a href="http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2009/11/tool-time-tuesdaymore-like-recycle.html">this nifty little tutorial</a> on turning cereal boxes into magazine holders! So I gave it a go and did decoupage for the first time ever and came out with a perfect storing place for my recent comic book collection. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumNiQymOwtzOaK13EKO5qN8jTjjvIG14SBOvfOSUOZDEW5ewPAjEGg2oZoecFRiuWCTlKRlY2WJgAbOOeaQDqzSNG4hkL1vXAkzjTB1xdvUGoZCJAiE2MpTpYIT8aqGXN7Wj1LdYSClc/s1600/P1130984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumNiQymOwtzOaK13EKO5qN8jTjjvIG14SBOvfOSUOZDEW5ewPAjEGg2oZoecFRiuWCTlKRlY2WJgAbOOeaQDqzSNG4hkL1vXAkzjTB1xdvUGoZCJAiE2MpTpYIT8aqGXN7Wj1LdYSClc/s320/P1130984.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ehLxE_EEFabMaBcdbQuX-ItQNpaFZ6Oc258Hui4nyvN_48n9CgGgkGhwlJe_8emjE1sOUNCQxGgVCBCWw-Tw8QvKNlYmbOnhqQGooZsio_tzmNQkNpbUXV7cGAGgQme8frV6JKvA4nM/s1600/P1130985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ehLxE_EEFabMaBcdbQuX-ItQNpaFZ6Oc258Hui4nyvN_48n9CgGgkGhwlJe_8emjE1sOUNCQxGgVCBCWw-Tw8QvKNlYmbOnhqQGooZsio_tzmNQkNpbUXV7cGAGgQme8frV6JKvA4nM/s320/P1130985.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I'm pretty excited about it, and can't wait for the boys to finish off more cereal so I can make more for my knitting magazines! LOL<br />
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I also made a couple buttons for said Secret Knitting Project, which means playing with Sculpey for the first time since I moved from Italy (over a year ago)! That being said...I definitely am still not used to my non-gas oven! LOL (Though I definitely prefer it not gas!) Here are the buttons as they're baking:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLZ0ddHzuAJkWaHVVrN_d-S4aUIK9eAV_cfz3IugzggEH2kM6JzIEF3Lk4zbAAHtM33z90io2fcN0sqgMvZq-WYiTJDb5P7fIuhRmeVAtPK56_15i6cWUDx-ICfeGevzCYb3Wz7aBoko/s1600/P1130986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLZ0ddHzuAJkWaHVVrN_d-S4aUIK9eAV_cfz3IugzggEH2kM6JzIEF3Lk4zbAAHtM33z90io2fcN0sqgMvZq-WYiTJDb5P7fIuhRmeVAtPK56_15i6cWUDx-ICfeGevzCYb3Wz7aBoko/s320/P1130986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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All in all...a very productive day! I only have a couple more days to get ready for my mom's visit!!!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-54967049246532211252011-12-10T00:40:00.001+01:002011-12-10T00:44:39.151+01:00Giveaway for camera-lovers!I know, I've not posted much lately...and I actually have a couple that I've been working on for the past couple weeks (things have been crazy around here!), but I wanted to share a blog (called "<a href="http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/">A Bowl Full of Lemons</a>") that I came across via Pinterest...this lady has some <i>great</i> organization tips and printouts available to help make a schedule and/or routine (something I have a <i>very</i> hard time holding to, for as long as I can remember...), and while browsing her blog, I saw <a href="http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/2011/12/giveaway-time-jo-totes.html">this giveaway</a>! As a knitter, I love, love, <i>love</i> my Namaste knitting bags that keep my yarn-y things separate from my regular purse items, so I know that any friends I have that are into photography would feel the same about these <a href="http://jototes.com/index.html">Jo Totes</a> that she is going through for her giveaway! Go get your name in the proverbial hat!!!Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-59608692616322530812011-11-16T08:19:00.001+01:002011-11-16T09:34:36.492+01:00FIRST CONCERT!!!!!!!You know the mom that goes to <i>every</i> school function possible, ever with the cameras at the ready? (Yes, plural...cameraS...one for taking photos and one for taking video!) Yeah, I'm totally that mom. :)<br />
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Superman had his first concert!!!!! He's only six, so there are no instruments involved yet, but I was beyond thrilled when I found out that he was going to be singing in his first school performance! And I even went as far as to blow dry my hair and wear makeup. That means it was definitely a big deal! lol<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hPyVYLTexu8MuS_xTIuUfWVLXfObuZ7z3Vq7ezaGIqaRJREAR_2Q8043YaBLidXzw0DZcZWWEDcwWSghcO6mgcIDhrgGr1cEgdXb6cXC2zMon64odjX_iJ2fIXqLgcidXHbB9CJFWhw/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0hPyVYLTexu8MuS_xTIuUfWVLXfObuZ7z3Vq7ezaGIqaRJREAR_2Q8043YaBLidXzw0DZcZWWEDcwWSghcO6mgcIDhrgGr1cEgdXb6cXC2zMon64odjX_iJ2fIXqLgcidXHbB9CJFWhw/s320/001.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front of the concert program</td></tr>
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Having been a band and choir geek myself while growing up, it made it all the sweeter that I was finally going to be able to be the parent in the audience. Even just walking into the multipurpose room and seeing the good old risers on the stage threw me back to the days I was in first grade and singing my heart out in front of anyone that would listen. Going into this, I knew that he was at least going to be singing "Grand Old Flag," because he's been singing it around the house nearly non-stop for about the past month! And that even gave me another memory to smile about, as the elementary school I went to used that tune (albeit with different words) for their school song. <br />
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I was pretty happy that we got there as early as we did, since the seats filled up <i>very</i> quickly, and there were parents and families packed in there as standing room only! The principal said that in all his years of working as a school administrator (which I think he said was something like 15 years), he had <i>never</i> seen that many parents turn out. Honestly, I find that to be a sad thing. But I digress.<br />
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As it turns out...I likely would have been better off with standing. It turns out I'm not the only parent that gets excited, camera in hand. The only difference is, I'm not rude and thoughtless enough to <i>stand in front of other people's kids to get my own on video</i>! That's right. There was a lady that didn't care in the slightest that she was crowding the stage area (not all the kids fit on the stage, so there were some on risers on the floor in front of the stage...which just so happened to be where my first grader was), or even seem to notice that she was standing <i>directly in front of </i>a bunch of little kids, reaching across to video her own child that was on the other side of the stage. And I am <i>not</i> exaggerating in the slightest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeRuM7TGV7EWZ4QsU0yJ-TXbnCrT1_pwRCvhIJRmoPR6Zygxoivujs_2QoqWkmBsm3yEB2hoOYYKtKOk_A44Pu7IIPQikrPB0jF0UDzGFumPoe-xWkpV_0RRQoOpVlvdxNQkEEGYaG5M/s1600/P1130817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeRuM7TGV7EWZ4QsU0yJ-TXbnCrT1_pwRCvhIJRmoPR6Zygxoivujs_2QoqWkmBsm3yEB2hoOYYKtKOk_A44Pu7IIPQikrPB0jF0UDzGFumPoe-xWkpV_0RRQoOpVlvdxNQkEEGYaG5M/s320/P1130817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What we could (& couldn't) see of Superman (in the red) from our seat</td></tr>
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So I got up out of my seat, did the "duck out of the way of the other parents' photos" dance all the way up the side of the room, and got close enough to get some shots of him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgiCWXFAeqVU3YWfPt6WQcLTN8GA0lQv6rPpfq9lfLQYd87TqRp8l0Y0HFaPhkgIOv395ibCK8nPsvGK5yxy99YWjO6Qpt09KmL3oxHKjQaLthPP68tUDR8KaiEcv4cszmSt140Ts0AE/s1600/P1130823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgiCWXFAeqVU3YWfPt6WQcLTN8GA0lQv6rPpfq9lfLQYd87TqRp8l0Y0HFaPhkgIOv395ibCK8nPsvGK5yxy99YWjO6Qpt09KmL3oxHKjQaLthPP68tUDR8KaiEcv4cszmSt140Ts0AE/s320/P1130823.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing up front next to him</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, my standing right next to him was distracting him, and he wasn't very focused once he knew I was there with the camera pointed straight at him (he even fell off the riser he was standing on at one point!), so I took only a few and went back to my seat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3O5yLprTAAuCIUdhWLLl_zk3fnBBrTq4Ax7ejJ7jw-m0IRIGHBEOw4fNUvFrjk7hvst7qV3yUgZrq-CLZhQucfMNBOo6v8p2gCk4L4h-vNT0DCCLLqMFaSjEPj0qLru92nXn31du48g/s1600/P1130824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3O5yLprTAAuCIUdhWLLl_zk3fnBBrTq4Ax7ejJ7jw-m0IRIGHBEOw4fNUvFrjk7hvst7qV3yUgZrq-CLZhQucfMNBOo6v8p2gCk4L4h-vNT0DCCLLqMFaSjEPj0qLru92nXn31du48g/s320/P1130824.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the 1st-4th graders that were performing</td></tr>
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So to all the parents out there going to these school functions...<i>please</i> be more polite than that lady in the blue was! Be aware that you are <i><b>NOT</b></i> the only parent there to see their child and be aware of your surroundings and that you may be blocking the view of someone else that is there to see <i>their</i> child. Heck, that's a problem my <i>kids</i> have. It's not something that should be that difficult for an adult. Okay, I'm done ranting. lol<br />
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All in all, though, I am <i>very</i> glad that we went (I told The Instigator he had to tag along...LOL), and I would not have missed it for the world! I just hope that they are more prepared for a larger audience next time. Otherwise, I will be standing!<br />
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<br />Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341398763390422066.post-1559340866767025552011-11-10T12:57:00.001+01:002011-11-10T13:05:43.944+01:00Gettin' My Craft On!So I have been home from the States for over a month, and I still haven't blogged about my BFF's wedding, nor have I finished blogging about my trip to Paris with Elphie, not to say mentioning my amazing
birthday weekend! But I will get there, I promise. And those are not just empty words. I just have...issues...with finding a balance. There tends to be a <i>lot</i> of extreme behaviors one way, and then the complete opposite (and many times back and forth a time or two more!) before I get back into my "groove." And the past few months have been anything but regular!<br />
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And in the "extreme behavior" toward the negative, for a week or two, I was completely ensconced in the silly Facebook games. Frontierville/Pioneer Trail, Mafia Wars 2, Cafe World...all that crap. It was like a trance I couldn't be pulled out of. But Monday, I finally reached a decision that I had been mulling over. I decided to stop playing them. All of them. (Well, okay, I still have Words with Friends and Scrabble, but those only take, like, 2 minutes to make your move and then you wait on your opponent to go. No big.) And in the time that I have <i>not</i> been playing those time-sucking games, I have done the following:<br />
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Completed <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/earth--sky">the WestKnits Mystery KAL</a>: </div>
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Started and completed <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/stitch-marker-lariat-necklace">a stitchmarker Laria</a>t: </div>
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Started and completed a pair of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/dr-horribles-sing-a-long-wristers">Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Wristers</a>: </div>
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Started and completed <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/swirly-hat">a hat for The Instigator's aunt</a>: </div>
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<a href="http://kathrynivy.com/patterns/extras/mitten-blocker/">Made my own mitten blockers</a>: </div>
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Blocked the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/bellas-mittens-5">Bella mittens for Tara</a>: </div>
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Baked a batch of zucchini muffins and 2 loaves of zucchini bread (this is all that was left of the muffins after 24 hours...they were completely gone in less than 48! LOL): </div>
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Started and completed <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/yorkshire-cowl-2">a cowl</a> (for trading for an apron from a fellow crafter!): </div>
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Finally finished <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/smileynetta/lyns-round-ripple-baby-afghan-14">a blanket</a> to donate to a patient of Nephrotic Syndrome </div>
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that has been a long time in coming!:</div>
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And have done some super-top-secret
HSKS swappy items. Plus,that's to say nothing of finally getting my crafting supplies slowly migrating upstairs to my new craft room (used to be the boys' toy room, but we moved those upstairs to the large closet and their bedroom), catching up on housework, participating in running a knitting swap, and actually cooking meals! I have really been on fire! LOL I'm really hoping that this is less of a swing of the pendulum in the productive segment of my balance and more of a trend leading to habit. :) I guess only time will tell, but all in all, not bad for a week's worth of effort. :) </div>Fledgling Techiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16835217216412938488noreply@blogger.com0