the first day

okay.......some of you out there in secret pal land may think you have the best spoiler ever....but you don't cuz i have her!!!!!

WOW!!!!! i'm the luckiest girl alive. i hate to gush, but i must. i got my final package today from my SP7. so amazing (wish i had pictures).

two yummy skeins of Colinette Prism in Mushroom colorway, just dreamy. it's made in Wales you know. the sweetest skein of Be Sweet Yarn from South Africa. every skein sold helps fund the schools they are building there! go check out the site www.besweetproducts.com   i got the skein called Magic Ball, in a Shifting Sands colorway. guess what, they have a scarf pattern idea on the site just for this ball of yarn, i am going to wind it right after this post and start on that scarf tonight! so sweet! a very cute Mac & Me Pattern for a Vest. i think i would like to put this on my summer to-do list for a brand new "going back to school" vest for next fall. the pattern calls for Blue Sky Alpaca yarn. Love that!!

there's still more!!!.......4 beautifully packaged, antique, glass, vanilla colored buttons. from a London shop that i bet is "cute as a button" called The Button Queen. if i made the sweater vest in a rich chocolate yarn these would look great with that!!!      and some spectrum colored vanilla incense and white chocolate malted milkballs.  and a lovely note.

right away all i could think of was a yummy, vanilla ice cream cone. the theme of these yarns, perfectly together!! i just love everything. i have been SO SPOILED and have enjoyed every moment. THANK YOU!    BUT............

there's something missing. who are you? you signed your note again "secret pal".  where does your blog live? i want to come visit it!!  i do have your home address from the label on the package. it's a long ways but i guess i could hop a plane and show up at your door. i don't know much about London. the closest i've come to London is the snow globe that sits on my desk at school that one of my student's brought me a few years ago. hope to hear from you soon!!!!  now i'm off to play with my new yarn, and again, thanks is just not enough  :)

hope no one does some weird search engine on this title. i guess they will be greatly disappointed in the subject if they do tho......

well i broke into that Malabrigo yarn that my Secret Pal sent me. WOW!!!! now i know i told you how pretty and how soft that yarn was. but that was nothing, i mean nothing compared to knitting with it. (and i'm not just saying this to make my SP feel great, which i hope she does).

a m a z i n g!!!! softer than anything i have ever knit with. and the slight color changes are so beautiful. you can't really see them until you knit with it. secret pal, do you knit with this stuff? if not, you MUST treat yourself to some too.

this is, hands down, my new fav yarn. i've always been so in love with Manos. still am. love it for the many things it can do, the way the it last forever after it's been knit up, and love the way it felts. but this is butter baby.

what is this yarn becoming? i'm making a new hot water bottle cover. my daughter gave me a hot water bottle with a cover two years ago for Christmas. it was my first one. i love that thing. i've taken it to bed with me just about everynight in the winter for those two years. i like to fill it with really hot water and set it on my side of the bed, then go wash my face, brush my teeth, you know. and then when i come back to bed it's toasty warm. i put my feet on it when i read, before i drift off to sleep. no...don't get all excited, i'm not some princess living in a cold, dark castle. we just keep it really cold in the bedroom at night.

well that cover is getting a bit shabby. and guess what, without my knowing it, this is the perfect yarn for the project. i will have the softest hottie ever. (my English friend in knitting class told me that's what they called them when she was a little girl).

BTW: finished my Noro Winter Caplet. everyone must make one. it will only take you a day or so. you really could use any yarn. and so darn cute with a vintage or in my case a vintage looking pin at the neck. wore mine lastnight!!!

my son had certain favorite toys when he was growing up. he was quite particular. he knew what he liked and only played with those things.

remember Transformers. you know "more than meets the eye". (are you sing the song yet, in that robot voice?)

well my son liked Transformers. they were cool toys. a little car that would transform into a robot. he would carry around a transformer in one hand and a "guy" in the other (an action figure of some sort).

well my "So Not a Cowl" transformed into a "Somewhat a Marilyn". and i use the word somewhat very loosely. it does not have the ruffle and so far has no buttons. just kind of an open, cropped cardigan. it is finished, but not.  i wore it to work yesterday so i could continue to "get a feel" for what it was becoming. i think it is going to get some buttons. just not sure of their placement yet.

in the meantime i'm just about finished with a Noro (from the stash) Reversible Winter Caplet. so fast and cute. you can find the pattern over @ www.peonyknits.blogspot.com i still have to do the ribbing on the sleeves tomorrow and then try it on to make sure it's going to work out for me. i guess i could have finished it tonight but i'm too, dog (puppy) tired!!!!

then it is off the needles and i'm off to something new. hummm? still have that sock feeling.......also printed a pattern for some MaryJane slippers.....a new Noni Bag for spring would be fun....

so many patterns, what's a knitter to do?

i got the best surprise today.

it's cool and crisp outside today but sunny so i was outside raking and uncovering the front yard flowerbed, (thought this would give Emerson some time to roll around in the grass and run off some of that energy!)

i was just about to come inside and i noticed the door on the mailbox was open a bit and there was something inside. a letter, left from yesterdays mail that didn't get brought in, with an Air Mail sticker no-less!!! that can only mean one thing! yep, from my secret knitting pal!    don't you just LOVE mail. i mean REAL mail!!!

a cute red card (that reminds me of that beautiful Malabrigo yarn she sent). i don't even want to wind that yarn up yet. i've just been enjoying looking at it on my desk. so soft. but she did have a good idea about the Project Spectrum. this month is red right? or was that last months? do you think i could still fit that in? hummm? tempting......

the card had a pix of a dog on the front and she even asked about Emerson....and no, no sweaters for him. he's a Golden Retriever so he's on his own in that dept.

this secret pal thing is so much fun but i just can't wait to find out who this wonderful person is, learn more about her, read her blog, bet she has an amazing one, i want to see what she likes to knit...........

thanks, what FUN!!! and yes it would be lovely to have a proper chat!

a shamrock shake------yummmmm

wore green underwear------does that count?

a kiwi at lunch-----using my lime green kiwi knife/spoon

hubby and i will go for corned beef and cabbage-----love it

a margarita!!!

i think i pull out some green yarn when i get home---can't help myself.

Luck-o-the-Irish-to-ya!!!!

i love to find and try new stuff. many times i go back to my "tried and trues" but trying new stuff is fun.

i've found a few, new things lately. 

first off.....target has a couple of new bath and body care lines. can't get enough bath and body stuff. can't remember all the different names but i'm sure you could go to www.target.com and look them all up.  at my local target store there were about six different product lines.  even a men's line, with these really cool scented pepples or stones for the bathroom that i think my son would love!  i had to try something so i brought home.....

Amond Blossom Hand Liquid Hand Soap for my bathroom from Ma Provence. i love the scent and the cute tin, pump packaging.  and i bought the Lemon Cream Shea Butter Hand Repair Lotion by Watkins. yep...the same Watkins Co that i love, love their cinnamon spice for cooking. target had quite a few of their body products.

next up.....last weekend i went to trader joe's. (love that place!!) hadn't been there in months so there were new things for me to try this time too. 

this week i have enjoyed the Italian Blood Orange Soda. i must go back for more!!!  and the frozen Thai Ginger Spiced Carrots.  we just had them as a side dish with chicken. but i bet they would be wonderful cooked up and then put into Thai Lettuce Wraps. yum--oooo.

where do they come up with this stuff!?!?!

where have i been?     oh...i've been around. just busy, tired, and not much to say i guess.

what have i been up to?    let's see....lots of puppy related stuff.   today he has an upset tummy. i won't get into the details, it's not pretty.  he might be "stressed" from all the excitment yesterday. hubby took him to run some errands on a rather lenghty car trip and he got car sick.....twice.  then hubby was standing outside the truck, getting ready to go, you know, winding down the conversation, had the keys in the truck and little Emerson was getting "antsy" so daddy put him in the truck, on the front seat, shut the door.....you know where this is going. Emerson jumped up on the window, hit the doorlocks and yep.....lock himself in the truck with the keys.  you know how you get a lock puppy out of a car?  the same way as a baby.  you call the police.                 

 i also started a new book by one of my fav authors Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah. (just a fun read.)                         

 i started a new knitting project. i'm calling it "The So Not a Cowl". i'm following the pattern from Wendy (love her over at http://knitandtonic.typepad.com )  i think i'm going to experiment with somethings when it comes to the cowl part.  i'm thinking i will leave off the cowl and do a leather lace-up thingy in the center. kind of a "hippy-chick" idea. we'll see.  i'm using this new, beautiful, alpaca yarn from Chile that i found it at my LYS a few weeks ago. it's a verigated yarn with sort of a tye-dyed look. i'll keep you posted. i'm itching to start some new socks.......but i kind of like Harlot's monogamy idea....be still that little voice!

what did i just find out about that i wish i could do?  this!!!!!!! www.knitty.com/blog  cooking and knitting with Amy in Tuscany!!! if there was a way, i would SO be there.

what am i doing tonight?  my sister, mom of four (yes 4) kids, has the night out, so we are going to see the new Johnny Depp movie. you know, the one that opens tonight that no one knows about.

where is my car right now?  oh yea. bug-who-shall-not-be-named has been in the spa, i mean the shop since weds. same old, same old.

what am i looking forward to?  the weekend with some time to cook, relax, and knit.  this warmer weather and the first day of spring on March 20th.  getting my car back tomorrow (i don't love this Kia from enterprise, it smells like old smoke inside).

what's new with you?