Magda loves yarn too!

This is my Mom's knitting chair. We sit here together sometimes when she's knitting. I thought she'd enjoy my decorations!

Hi everyone, aren't I cute!!! I found some of my Mom's yarn while she was out of the house. I love yarn almost as much as she does. But when she got home, the look on her face wasn't what I expected. I thought she'd be so happy that we could love yarn together, but nooooooo -- she got mad at me. What's that all about?


Magda has never shown any interest in my yarn until recently. As I wrote earlier, Friday night she went completely crazy with yarn I had in my basket. I should have seen it coming after this episode with just a couple of yarns. My bad!

She has a really bad habit of knowing when she's doing something wrong. Then when you try to get whatever she has taken off with, she runs off and hides under the bed or runs around the yard. This is here listening to mommy ask for the yarn back! HA

But I love her :~))

Calamity

Roy and I went to dinner on Friday night. When we got home, my lantern moon basket (the round one with handles) which was full to the top with sock yarns for my blanket (approx 20 different balls) was emptied and ALL the yarn was spread from the living room to our bedroom. Magda apparently was bored!

I was sick when I saw it. Lots of chewed up ball bands, lots of tangles, lots of mess. My stomach is hurting now just remembering it all. Until recently, she's never shown any interest in yarn before. So, I've kept all the yarn for this project in the basket next to my chair -- no problem, until now. It took me about 5-6 hours to straighten up one skein of Lamb's Pride sock yarn.

I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom trying to sort out the worst tangles and even resorted to, say it with me -- SCISSORS! Those of you who know me well know I abhor scissors around yarn, except for cutting yarn with a purpose. To cut into a mess of yarn and create more ends is a sin in my world. Today, being Sunday, I'm asking for forgiveness from the knitting gods and doing penance.

Magda is still with us, so far. Roy told me he was glad that he'd bought the "taxidermy at home" kit for Christmas cause we may need it now. LOL :~)) She can't grow up fast enough!

Lazy Weekend and ramdom thoughts

Okay, this is not a first -- I never got dressed all weekend long. I didn't get out of the bedroom on Saturday until 6:30 or 7:00pm except to feed myself, the dogs, and hummingbirds. Sunday I did leave the bedroom, however, and ventured as far as the living room to watch TV shows I had TiVo'd. That was around 10:00am.

I knitted, read, watched TV, and played games on Pogo.com (which by the way if you don't know about this website, and like to play lots of different free games, I highly recommend). I love weekends like this. No one was here but me and the doggies.

I would be happy if groceries would just appear in the kitchen. All the food doesn't have to come cooked, although frozen stuff you just heat and serve isn't bad. I love my alone, quiet time. I think I could live like a hermit, just my pets and me, for a long time. I think, though, that I'd require electricity for my satellite radio, a coffee pot, the refrigerator of course, and my phone so I could talk to people. Calls would be controlled, I think only outgoing at first -- to see how I liked that -- not sure how long I would want to be isolated and control the isolation, just a thought...

When I was a little girl and we had moved from the farm into "town", my bedroom was on the top level of our house -- if you know what a "Cape Cod" house is there are multiple levels of 1/2 floor plans so from the outside it looks like a 2 story house, but there are really 3. Anyway, I lived upstairs across the hall from my Meemaw (I loved her so much and she loved me too). We shared a 1/2 bath in the middle. My room was also the way you got into the attic, through my closet. When I was small I used to hang out in my closet -- could be because it was away from all the chaos in the house. I think I felt safer there. I had my dolls and my own world. I think that's where I went to "survive". Could be that my bedroom has always been the place that I felt safest. I could "hide" from the world "out there" and pretend I was in control. Just another thought...

I gravitate towards activities that I can do alone. Knitting, reading, watching TV, gardening, these activities don't require group participation -- although you can do most of them with other people. Sometimes I like doing some of them with other people especially knitting -- that seems to be an activity that calls out for community. What are you working on? Where did you get that pattern, yarn, needles, etc. I want to do that too, want to do a knit along together? I feel pretty safe in this community. Good people -- knitters and crocheters. My Aunt taught me to knit and crochet when I was young. I loved her too and she loved me. She was one of my anchors then. Meemaw, Aunt Gertrude, Joy -- they all helped keep me here, grounded.

Anyway, it's Monday now and I have to get out of bed soon (I'm writing this from my laptop) and shower cause Socorro will be here around 10:00 and I have my Spanish class at 11:30. So here I go, preparing to reenter the outside world.

WOW, that came up from nowhere. Thanks for listening.

Fiesta de San Andres 2008

We made it through the Fiestas de Los Patronales this year. We (Roy, the dogs and me) spent a lot of time in the bedroom because we had pillows in the windows to muffle the sound of the cohetes, which is Spanish for sky rockets. Beau and Magda especially don't care for them. Rey seems not to be bothered as much. During the 9 days there are literally tens of 1000s of cohetes fired off starting at 6:00am until midnight. VIVA MEXICO! Can you say beach house?

For those of you who are not familiar with skyrockets, they are like M80s on a stick. If they go off close to the house it feels like a sonic boom. It hurts my ears just thinking about it now. When we lived in our rent house we were east and perpendicular to the plaza and church and the sound was muffled. Now we live directly above the plaza and church and sound apparently travels up -- go figure! I don't remember that fact being in the real estate brochure.

There's a party every night of the 9 nights in the plaza. Big bands, lots of cerveza, tequila, michiladas, food, people, etc. There's also a castillo, which is Spanish for castle, which is made of sparklers, firecrackers, and fireworks. It's quite a sight to see. They are made by hand and have several sections. They are lit from the bottom and each section spins and twirls and lights the next higher section until it reaches the top. Some are quite elaborate depending on the patrons of that night and how much money they have raised.

If you like to eat, drink and party -- this is another great time to visit.

I'm it -- Marisa tagged me

Apparently I have been tagged and have been trying to come up with 7 things that you don't know about me...some of them may leave you scratching your head thinking, "what was she thinking?"

1. I was the Secretary for the Dallas County Young Republicans in 1982-83.

2. My mom, brother Mike and I took the train from Baltimore to Lubbock, Texas to visit my brother Don when I was 5 years old. It was a ball running between the cars, eating and sleeping on the train and sitting in the observation car with the bubble top. It was the summer of 1957. DDT was not outlawed then and at night the trucks would drive through the neighborhoods spraying for mosquitoes. With the windows open and the attic fans going the fumes would be pulled into the house and gag us! Twitch, did someone say something about a twitch!

3. I was robbed at gun point when I lived in NYC while entering my 5th floor walk-up apt. That guy was really desperate to get my stuff cause he had to walk up 5 flights of stars to get it. He pointed a gun in my face (it was a revolver and I could see all the bullets in their chambers) and told me to go to my apt. He pulled the phone cord out of the wall, tied me up with it and made me sit in my bathtub while he loaded up my 2 suitcases with stereo, money, jewelry, etc. He told me not to move for 15 minuets and I believed him. Muy tonta!

4. My mom, brother Mike, and I were caught in a blizzard in Maryland driving home from school one day. I was 4-5 years old (kindergarten). It was a white out and Mom had to drive with her head out the driver's side window and Mike was hanging out the other window guiding her so she didn't drive off the highway. We had to abandon the car at the entrance to our neighborhood (cause the roads hadn't been plowed there yet) and walk about a mile to our house. I left my gloves in the car and probably had a mild case of frost bite by the time we got back home. My mom had to run water over my hands to unfreeze them. OMG, that process has left scares in my memories! Again muy tonta!

5. When I was a younger, single woman I went to a KVIL radio happy hour party at a new club "Elan" in Dallas. Leeza Gibbons was a local TV personality in Dallas at the time and was interviewing people in line (that's so you'll know how long ago this was). I met a guy that night. He asked me out for a date. We went to a party at a Cowboy's house. Well, how can I say this easily...it was a swap party and people were watching porn on the TVs, walking out completely naked, and swapping partners. You'll be happy to know I never took off anything, didn't touch anyone, didn't swap anything, and after a couple of beers, asked him to take me home!!!
Another muy tonta moment.

P.S. Not all blind dates are good and not all are bad. My first date with Roy was a blind date, however, we didn't meet at a bar but were introduced through a mutual friend.

6. I waited on Joe Nameth, Barbara Walters, and Robert Wagner while working at Bonwit Teller as a Christmas Elf in 1973. I followed Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman down Park Ave one spring day for a couple of blocks. I ran into John Lennon and Yoko Ono (I smiled and he smiled back) coming out of my dentist's building. Roy and I walked past Prince Phillip in London when he was getting out of his limo in Leichester Square going to the theater.

7. I had to be tutored in geometry in the 10th grade so that I could graduate. I totally didn't get it (the final grade was a D)! Now that I'm a knitter I understand and appreciate math so much more. I also wish I had learned more then. Roy is a math major -- really, really smart like my brother Mike and my nephew Mike. Roy's helped me appreciate math more now that I have to use it. Knitting is all about the math!

Well there you have it -- 7 things you may or may not have known about me. Some of them pretty stupid things too!

Christmas is coming

I can hardly believe another year has almost passed. I'm starting to panic about Christmas presents. Every year I plan to make more and more things for gifts, but I have a problem making and giving knitted things for people who look at them and respond with "oh, thanks"! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! SERIOUSLY? It's only happened a few times. I'm a quick learner here.

I am making socks for my 81 year old day this year. He asked me for a pair. I'm also making socks for a friend's mom who is a needle worker herself so she'll be happy and appreciative about getting handmade socks. I have been working on an afghan for my housekeeper -- it's about 15% done -- YIKES. I'm running out of time.

I guess the thing that's hard for me about giving hand knitted things is when people who don't make things with their hand don't get it -- how much time and effort goes into making anything by hand. If this means I have expectations and should be able to give something with no strings attached, then I'm just not there. I can buy something and/or give you a gift card or money and do that without expectations -- but when it comes from my heart and hands it's a bit harder for me to be detached.

Then it seems, there are people who don't want something that's hand made -- no matter who made it or what it is. I understand this to some degree, but there's nothing more special then to receive something that with every stitch and turn of the needles love and good thoughts are placed into the fabric created. And those thoughts and well wishes are just for you alone!

WOW that was cathartic! Gotta run -- need to keep knitting.

Hope Won

I'm so excited that Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th president of the United States of America. I am proud that our country was able to see beyond color and gender and, in my opinon pick the right person for this time in our world. There are probably people in my family who may disagree with me, but that's what's so great about this country -- we're allowed to disagree and engage in healthy debate.

He needs and deserves our prayers as he goes forward to tackle the some of the toughest issues facing us and the world. I believe he is up to the task.

Gobama!!!!!

22 Days

3 weeks, 2/3 of a month, it's something you'd hear at an AA meeting, "I have 22 days today." For me it represents the number of continuous days of sleep deprivation that I've been enduring.

October, in Ajijic, is the celebration of the Virgin of the Rosary. She represents one of the (many) manifestations of the Virgin Mary. EVERY morning at 5:00am the village is startled awake to the resplendent sounds of bottle rocks exploding into the dark, QUIET, dawn. Everyone is invited (including apparently the dead) to come say the rosary at the Church.

I am aware of this event coming at the same time every year, but you just don't realize how bad it's going to be until you experience it yet again in the wee hours of October 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on, and so on, and so on.....

I am pretty sure I'm loosing my mind right about now.

AND what did I through into this mix this month, nothing less than having my hyper-active, ADD, sometimes demonically possessed dog, Magda spayed yesterday. She's not allowed to jump or climb stairs. Did I mention we live in a 2 story house. She wants to be held, she wants to be by my side, she wants me. Rey who, while I am writing this, is looking up at me from the floor with that "Mommy I love you and want to sit with you" look and touching my leg softly with his cold nose. Wow, some would think, "oh that's so sweet", but no, not me! I want to run far, far away and be all alone with no one or nothing wanting or expecting anything of me. Oh yeah, then there's the guilt you feel for not wanting to be there for them!

Oh and lest I forget, I also scheduled today to have the two tinacos (water tanks) on the roof cleaned and repaired. Antonio and his son are here and have to go up and down the stairs that Magda's not allowed to climb or descend. The bottom on the stair case is now barricaded with chairs, plaster urns, etc. to prevent her from climbing and thus prevents them from descending.

There is a reason God decided that I should not be a mother. I'm a great Aunt, friend, wife, sister, daughter, but not a mother. That job is not for the weak or faint of heart. My step-daughter Lauren just became a mother and my respect for her has increased exponentially. She is truly called to the position! KUDOS Lauren.

Being needed and being sleep deprived are not two things that compliment each other, for me. I don't have an ounce of anything to offer today. I'm spent. And there are 9 more days of this...

P.S. Even though the weather at this time of the year is some of the best, don't plan to visit us unless you're an early bird!

I did it!

OMG --- I finally figured out how to move pictures around in my blogs! HAPPY DANCE!

And I figured out how to retrieve posts from the drafts place and edit them and post them, without having to cut and past to another posting! Two new things in one day! WOOHOO!

Now I can get back to working on the sock yarn blanket. Andale pues!

Not your grandma's granny square

Sock Yarn Blanket Project

The first tier

I'm so excited I'm about to burst. Got lots to say...thinking of cute quips and lead ins about this project I started on Sunday to use up bits of leftover sock yarn. I found this pattern on Ravelry, and I'm sorry I don't remember where, but I put it in my queue 'cause it was so different.

It's called "Sock Yarn Blanket." A young mother, Shelly Kang, has posted all the details on her blog, The Heathen Housewife. She wrote this about 2 years ago in the wee hours of the morning in between breast feedings, cooking for her growing family, and knitting (she's an incredible knitter -- I wish I had her talent!)

When I was younger, I used to make granny square blankets with my leftover yarn from crocheting. Remember the movie, Like Water for Chocolate, the young woman in that movie kept crocheting a long, long thingie while she was grieving. The end of the movie is her walking down a long road with this thing following behind her for miles. At that time in my life, I too was crocheting to deal with some recent grief in my life. Now that I'm a knitter and have learned to make mitered squares, which in my opinion are much cooler looking than granny squares, I decided to make a mitered square blanket.

I have collected an amazing stash of sock yarn, much to the chagrin of my sweet husband. Now I have something to do with this stash. Have to admit though, I'm feeling guilty not making socks with some these Opal, Koigu, Cherry Tree Hill, Lorna's Laces yarns 'cause they are so beautiful.

I am a collector. Ask Roy...... I have in the past collected bears, angels, rocks, crystals, coffee mugs, watermelon stuff, shoes, silver jewelry, and most recently yarns. I have a lot of stuff! I have a lot of yarn! I love yarn! I have yarn that I don't even know what to make with it, but it's sooo beautiful and that's why I wanted it. I have been blessed to have the means to have lots of stuff and especially yarn.

So now I'm making something with these socks yarns that I've collected. Hope this puts a smile on my DH's face.

A few of my favorite things!

Magda

Magda's working on her tan today

Our not so Beverly Hill's chihuahua -- isn't she a cutie!

The view from my chair! The house across the street is Bruno Mariscol's. He's a painter and musician here in Ajijic. He also designed the "logo" with the word Ajijic that looks like a fish. His store in on Colon and he sells tequila, t-shirts, stickers for your car, y mas! I have a little sticker of a dog that is the word Ajijic. Oh yeah, here's another look at the beautifully trimmed avocado tree!

Just another beautiful day in Ajijic.

Trimming our Avocado

We have a 15-20+ foot avocado tree in our yard. Normally the gardener would trim it, but our full-time guy quit this summer and we have someone who comes once a week for 2 hours to mow the yard and water. The rest is up to me right now.

Last year when Ramon trimmed out the tree I was horrified at how it looked. Gardeners here don't learn from training or from professionals, but rather from watching their friends and/or family. When a tree is trimmed it ends of looking like a donut -- with the hole in the middle and round edges. I think it's ugly and ruins the shape of the tree.

Having studied under Paul James, The Garden Guy, from Tulsa OK, via HGTV, I thought I'd trim our tree this year myself.

I borrowed a limb lopper from some friends and got jiggy with it Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. Physical work is exhausting, but very gratifying. We ended up with 7 large black garbage bags of chopped up limbs -- and even if I say so myself -- I think it looks fantastic. I still have a little bit more tweaking to do, but so far I'm very proud of myself.

I did however break a window upstairs while pulling on the lopper and long pole broke the glass! But I managed to not fall off the ladder, poke myself in the eye, or drop anything on the dogs. Overall, I'd say well done!

Didn't work

ARGGH! Sabina! (This is the Spanish word for sheet -- get it :>))

I don't like this stuff. It's too hard!!!!! WHINNNING!!!!!!

I want to post a picture

I tried and the post went into drafts and I could not get it to post

I copied and pasted and made another posting here

This is pissing me off!

I'm going to try and post a picture here again. Well, my picture came through, but i don't want it on top i want it HERE (insert picture of socks here)

SABINA otra vez!

P.S. The balloon is from the Regatta de los globos which was held on my birthday 13 Septiembre 2008. These are paper balloons that teams of people make and compete to see whose ballon goes the furthest. This ballon was the biggest that day and was made by the team that our carpenter, Sergio, was working on! It made it off the ground and floated for a while before it tilted and burned up.

Missin' Texas

I have been trying to upload pictures onto my Ravelry page and it's soooo frustrating. I want to be a part of this new medium, but I was born in the wrong part of the last century. I wish I lived closer to my nephew Mike cause he could teach me in a NY minute how to do all the stuff.

It's an amazing day today, clear blue skies, calm winds from the Northeast, cool temps in the upper 60s lower 70s and I miss Texas! I can't fly back because the airfares have gotten ridiculous and then there's that whole economy thing going on right now.....Just feeling a little blue today in spite of living in paradise.

Finished my first pair of Monkey socks. They were fun to knit -- going to start working on socks for Spencer for Christmas and my friend Cassie. I'm going to attempt to upload a picture of the Monkey socks so ya'll can see 'em! Hasta luego!

Just now I tried to get into my blog to post and had no idea how to get there, but you can see I did make it. I have so much to learn about living in the web...Trying to add pictures, yikes. They say the way to stay young to keep learning new things, I'm working on turning the clock back.

Roy se fue a Houston esta manana (I don't know how to do accents on letters or nn letter with the squiggly line in this blog) so please accept my apologies for the errors. If you do know, can you please fill me in on the secret.

Sitting in my chair looking out at the garden, watching Larry our house lizard run around the yard and walls, birds splashing in the fountain and all the dogs sleeping. Here's the fountain and some of the garden. Aren't they pretty?

Roy made it back to Houston fine. Next call will be once he gets to the house in Bellaire. Housekeeper came yesterday and hopefully cleaned out the frig cause I know it was gross! She definitely earned her salary yesterday.

Finished reading The Appeal by John Grisham. Very timely novel about dirty election campaigns and corporate greed.

well, enough for now...

today is the beginning

well here goes...I just turned 56 (must be like a mid-life thing) and I thought I'd start my own blog. Lauren and Marisa have one and I read them all the time. Love being able to keep up with what's happening in their lives, so I thought what the hell, why not! Seems to be the thing to do these days. I hope my family will read this and find out things about me that they might not already know, but if not, I think I'll find this process cathartic for myself.

September and October are the best months to live here. The weather is magnificent. Cool mornings and evenings and lots of sunshine. The Bonafont water delivery guy just stopped at the house so I could buy two full garafones de aqua para la casa.

I am truly tranquil here. I love these people. They are kind, gracious, polite, friendly y mas. I don't feel "right" when I'm not here and yet yo extrano mis amigos y familia en Los Estados Unidos tambien. Knitting helps keep me sane. I have lots of projects planned and not near enough time to knit.

I'm reading John Grisham's newest novel "The Appeal" right now -- in fact I should be reading because Book Group is tomorrow and I want to report on the book. And with that I will stop, finish my book, and knit some. Ande le pues!