the first day

enjoyed a bit of knitting the past few nights while pre-viewing a DVD that i planned to show to my 6th graders at school.  you should rent it, if you didn't see it on the big screen.  it's a cute, fun, and very colorful re-make of a cross between Cinderella and Mary Poppins. sooo fun!

and an inspiring film to knit to...be sure to watch for the pink and yellow sheep!  while watching i've been knitting on a cabled, sweater bag and another Noro pillow cushion. fun, easy knits.  just what my mind needs right now.

oh, and about the cardboard.  it's what i've been sniffing all day.  in fact the whole Jr. High wing of the school smells of it.  we're all packing. feverishly.  5 days and 1 hour left!! next year we are all in the new building.  boy have i saved a lot of junk!

BTW: about the paper shredder...hubby fixed it in no time, i did get an "i told you so" along with a "that's why we shouldn't have a garbage disposal"!!  Argh!!

saw Davinci Code last night, opening night.  the energy in the theater was high....

my favorite aunt is Aunt Audrey.  she's smart, stylish, fun, gentle but strong.  i was a flower girl in her wedding when i was 2 years old.  one of my earliest memories that i can trace back involves her... i'm 4 years old and being cared for by her while my mom is in the hospital  giving birth to my baby brother. Aunt Audrey is a retired nurse now and the widow of a farmer.  she was a nurse when nurse's wore real Nurse Hats.  i've always loved that! you know those starched, white hats.  she used to let me try it on.  she was one of the first "career women" i ever knew.

Audrey Hepburn is a classic. if i was a little girl, i would want to be her when i grew up.  love the movies, the accent, the clothes, love those black cigarette pants and flats, the little bangs, the sunglasses, even the earplugs she wore in Breakfast in Tiffany's were so stylish.  beautiful how she aged gracefully and amazing the work she did for UNICEF.

Audrey Tautou is cute as a bug!!! if you haven't seen Amelie you must head to the video store right now to rent it. infact just buy a copy at Target or Best Buy because on rainy days you will watch it over and over again.  she's been in more movies than people realize....she was amazing in Davinci Code.  and we finally get to hear her speak English.

BTW: i read the book (Davinci Code) when it first came out. i've been waiting for this movie. thought it was great!  i don't usually listen to or agree with the critics.

i've got a loaf of beer bread in the oven....yum-o.  i'm bringing it for a snack tomorrow for the knitting cable class. i think the students will need bit of a snack right about the time they are just getting a hang of doing those cables and i say to them, "now let me show you how to do this cool trick of cabling without a cable needle".

i just trashed the paper shredder.  i love that thing. i always put way to much stuff in there.  way to thick of paper.  i put everything in there, not just stuff with important info on it...everything.  i think it cuts down on landfills or whatever.  my husband is always saying to me, (it's in his office) "you don't really need to put that in there, that could just go in the recycling".  but i like to put it in the chopper!! gone forever, tiny, small, little bits.  i REALLY love it when i have an old ID card or credit card that i get to stick in there!!!  chop-chop!!

well today i was doing some cleaning and it was past the date for some old bank statements!!!! i sat myself down, got comfy and yep, i think i got "thickness happy". it started feeling a bit warm. i flipped it over (don't worry, i un-plugged it, don't want to lose those knitting fingers) and now it's all clogged up and won't do a thing.

i going to get an "i told you so" when HE gets home.  oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  if i didn't need to bake this beer bread i'd run to office depot quick and just get another one.  i'm sure we've already gotten our $ worth out of this one the way i chop stuff up.  and BTW did you see on Martha Stewart her great idea for using  color paper with a paper shredder?  her ideas for beautiful packing paper.  OH NO, HE'S COMING IN THE DRIVEWAY... I'M NOT KIDDING!!!  WHERE'S THE VACUMN   i haven't cleaned up all the shreds everywhere from trying to fix that thing, i'm going to end up burning this beer bread!!!!!! 

long time no blog.....

i'm just sitting here staring at my hands on the keyboard...they weren't moving...not a whole lot to say, i guess.

   i'm soooo into this new song Unwritten, by Natasha Bedingfield. google it or go to yahoo video or something and listen....it's really good!!!!

   i finished and felted the bag part of my Noni Bag. found some handles at Joann Fabric's tonight. now i'm on to the Spidery Chysanthemum flower to finish it with.  also in knitting news i made a pillow cover. i used Noro yarn for the front and random stash yarns for the back. started on another too, they're very fun to do.  good car knitting.

   i'm teaching a "knitting cables" workshop on saturday morning so i've been busy putting together things for that and working on some "swatches".

   i went with some gals to a "paint-your-own" ceramics shop last night. i've never tried that before.  it was fun and a great way to "do something" and visit at the same time. apparently i did a bit too much visiting and not enough paint brush moving....i was the only one who was not finished when it was time to go! :)  i'll have to stop back and finish.

   did i mention that i have 10 days and 1 hour of school left?  yes, we have 1 hour of school on the last day, we have to get up, pick out and outfit, wash our hair, and put on some make up for 1 hour!!!!!!!  and let me tell you it is ONE LONG HOUR.

   the yard, gardens, flowers......everything is looking so beautiful now.  green, lush, we've had some rain.  you can water, but there's nothing that helps the plants like real rain.

   i love waking up to the sound of the birds in the morning.  we have had some bad mother birds this spring tho.  two mourning doves built a nest in a bush by the driveway, not a very smart place. i think a cat got the eggs.  but we now have a cardinal nest, she chose a better spot (pretty eggs, speckly).

well.....what was the deal with this post?  something is better than nothing.

May's issue of  Real Simple Magazine ran an article featuring 5 pretty amazing women.....they were all over 100 years old.

it was fun to see their pictures and read their stories.  i have always loved listening to "old people's" stories.

here are some Life Lessons from 5 centearians:

*never feel sorry for yourself.....*if you worry about being old, you will be old....*volunteering gets you away from your own worries....*your're better off alone than with bad company....*when playing Scrabble, don't use up your S's right away....*don't hold anger....*a person never gets too old to love....*you can't control other people, you can only control you reactions....*more is not necessarily better....*children love praise....*you'll always need your girlfriends....*a mother should respect her children, just as they should respect her....*don't expect perfection....

maybe grab the magazine in the grocery check-out line this week and read one of the stories, they're short and the it will make the line go faster. 

you'll be glad you did!

back when i was a little girl.....

we celebrated May Day!

we always saved our strawberry produce containers, you know those plastic green ones, or better yet the manila wood ones. the night before May Day we made our baskets. we filled them with left over straw from the Easter baskets, put either fresh flowers in them or made flowers out of construction paper or tissue paper.  made handles with pipe-cleaners. (remember pipe-cleaners!) my grandpa had lots of pipe-cleaners cuz he really smoked a pipe. but Woolworth's and Ben Franklin had really pretty ones, extra long, and lots of colors!

then, after school on May 1st we would hurry home to our finished baskets, all lined up on the dinning room table and sneak around to our friends front doors, place the basket on the door knob, ring the bell the run.

i remember the first May 1st we lived in the Chicago area having moved from South Dakota. i was in the 4th grade........

......all the recipients of our May Day baskets thought we were NUTS! 

i don't run around the neighborhood anymore. today i will celebrate by cutting an extra large bouquet of Lilac.  and my daughter always remembers the importance of this day for me....she emailed me bright and early this morning!!!

BTW: thanks for all the well wishes yesterday, i'm off to the post office today!

*found later today http://turkeyfeathers.typepad.com a girl after my own heart!!!