Interesting

Weird. This is the third pair of socks I have made out of Tofutsies and the first to make this sort of a pattern. The two previous pair were for Jo so they were a few less stitches cast on and it might have changed the outcome but this caught me off guard. I have tried to decide which is the more interesting side and still am unsure. These pictures do not show the colors as vividly, I need a new camera, as they are really a nice purple, pink, teal and cream. Now I have to finish this sock so I can cast on number two and see if it does the same thing. Would be a hoot if it was different from this one.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Here are a few pictures from today. Jo loves to help her mom cook. Here she is glazing the ham. Also this is her apple pie. She and her mom made it together and she cut out little leaves from the crust and put them over the top. Both the ham and the pie were yummy. Here is Matthew, Uncle Daisey, and the turkey leg he asked for. He wants the leg on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Matthew likes to cook also and is great using the smoker and barbeque. He has begun branching out in desserts and made this pumpkin cake that his sister had said she thought looked good. It was. A big gigantic thanks to Allison who did almost all the work and let me play with Jo. I adore both of them. These pictures show a little bit of what I love and am thankful for. Today is also the three year mark for Joseph in the Army. Anyone heading to the mall at midnight? See ya there Uncle Daisey!

Thanksgiving Lunch With Grandma

Today was Thanksgiving lunch with Grandma. Jo was very excited to get to go to Grandma's. We had a regular Thanksgiving dinner complete with Pumpkin pie which Jo did not like. When Grandma asked what kind of pie Jo was going to have tomorrow Jo's reply was "Apple." This was the first we had heard of this but tomorrow we are having apple pie along with pumpkin. The second picture is funny. We have a tradition of putting "horns" over people in some of our pictures. Jo was trying to do this over her Grandma's head but she just did not have long enough arms. After our lunch we walked out to the front of the building. There are rocking chairs all along the front of the building. Jo wanted to rock so we did. She did this with her Aunt Jane Ellen at Grandma's 90th birthday back in the spring. While we were sitting there she said,"Aunt Jane Ellen would rock with me if she were here." I told her yes she would. Aunt Jane Ellen lives in Florida but she would rock with Jo or do anything else Jo asked her to do. After we left we headed to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. Jo always wants to ride with me. She had left her Santa hat in the car on Monday and was glad to find it. She calls it her Christmas hat. We also went to Wal-mart, where she put more change in the bellringers kettle. We had to get the last minute Thanksgiving items. They had a horse in the entryway and Jo wanted to ride. It was very funny because it played the theme from Bonanza. She loved it. Take a few minutes in this holiday season and be thankful for those people in your life who you love and who love you. And don't forget to have some pumpkin pie with that cool whip. Or is that apple pie?

Shopping

I had to get my oil and filter changed on the car so I drove to Denton and met Jo and Allison for some shopping while waiting. I had made Jo a new hat. It was my standard hat pattern made out of lavender Red Heart worsted and Paton's Silverlash in lilac. I held the Silverlash with the worsted for the brim and then dropped it and just used the worsted. I made her a little scarf to match out of the Silverlash. After having cookies and lattes at Starbucks we headed to Wal-Mart. Jo loves this time of year because she loves to give money to the Salvation Army "Bellringers". I started doing this with her when she was a year old. Now it is one of our most favorite holiday things to do. We give change at every store that has a bellringer. It is a small thing that makes a big difference.

New Hats

I got to see the boys this weekend. We all got together for a family reunion. These pictures are not very good. I took them on mycell phone and for some reason they did not come out well. I am hoping that their mom sends me some and I can replace them. I was very happy with how they turned out. I used Bernat Chunky Softee Yarn. I ended up adapting another pattern to the chunkier yarn. The hats did fit but the boys will probably need new ones in not too long. The color was a blue, brown and cream that striped very nicely. It was so great to get to kiss those chubby cheeks. Hopefully we will see them again the first of the year.

It's All about Hats

Right now it is all about the hats. It has finally started to get cool and we can pull out the sweaters and hats. I made "turkey" hats for the grandkids. I called them that because the yarn was the colors that we used to make pictures of turkeys when we were kids, brown, green, yellow and orange. Jo's was my regular sock cap pattern. The boys was a roll brim. Jo is pretty much at a stable pattern size but the boys are growing so fast you can hardly get a hat done before they grow out of it. I knew I was taking a chance on the turkey hats and they did fit, right now. So they will get through Thanksgiving with them but won't wear them for long. So I decided to whip up a couple of hats that hopefully will last a little longer. I made them out of Bernat Softee Chunky yarn. The picture does not do the yarn justice. It is a soft brown, blue and cream. I really liked it and it worked up very nicely. I adapted a roll brim to fit and knit till I thought it would hit below their ears. We will see. But maybe these will get them through at least January. I have already started on the Christmas hats. Actually Jo's is finished and since her mother reads this I will refrain from describing it and ruining the surprise. I will give it to her right after Thanksgiving and then post a picture of it. The boys are getting little Santa hats. Again I am adapting the pattern in hopes that they fit. Since it is just for Christmas they don't have to fit as long. I did not like the brim of the pattern so I am making it two inches instead of four and then will knit till the decrease begins. Since they are small I have to decide what to do about the tassel. They put everything in their mouths. I have not forgotten my socks. I finished the Savanne this weekend and have cast on Tofutsies in #855, blue, purple and pink. So I knit till I am tired of the hat and switch to the socks for a change. So much yarn and so little time.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. This is a thank you to everyone who is serving or has served in all of our armed forces. The first picture was taken last year. It is of my son Joseph while he was home on leave from duty in Iraq. That is Jo in his lap. The second picture in of my Dad. It was taken before he left for duty on Okinawa during World War II. My Dad died 11 years ago so he never knew that Joseph joined the Army. I am sure he would have been very proud. I can also imagine the two of them watching an Army Navy football game. That would have been interesting. To all the Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines and to their families, thank you for your service and your sacrifice. You are the true heroes.