I've written a lot about the differences between now and then. How the way we do things has changed, much if it at a much higher cost. Take veterinary care. Old Dr. Burt just retired. At Gracee's last annual check, which was performed for the cost of the shots, he discovered a little cyst on…

You know how kids slip stuff into the shopping cart when you're not looking? They never outgrow it. I took three 18 yr olds down to WA with me a few weeks back. We always stop at the local Fred Meyer for the weekend's groceries. You DON'T want to get caught at the border with…

Thank for all the B-Day wishes. It was a perfect weekend starting with: A welcome surprise from Mandy's (refer to my last post about hiding her identity) son, who true to form, graciously vacated his downtown Seattle view apartment so his mom and I could have a girl's weekend. OK, you 20 something knitters, this…

It was one of those morning dreams. Do you get those? When you awaken too early, fall back asleep to inexplicably bizarre dreams? In this one my LYS, but not my real my LYS, was going out of business. I hadn't made it to the final sale so I ran down at 4:45 in time…

How much yarn will your vacuum eat from the time it take its first bite until you flick the off switch? Oh about four and a half grams, enough for a third of a wedge of the Free and Easy Pie Shaped Shawl. Luckily it sucked down yarn from the skein end, just like an…

We have gotten two kids through college with the agreement that we pay for three years, they pay for the fourth. The third child, AKA the shock (not because he was a surprise, he was very well planned, but that he was a boy after two girls), is finishing year one. It's a good thing…

   Pattern: Free and Easy Pie Wedge Shawl – from the 2005 Knitting Pattern a Day calendar and on the ball band of Helen's Lace yarn. Yarn: Fleece Artist Baby Curls (discontinued). Needles: Size 9 US Impressions: Three weeks of stress free knitting from start to finish. That is until I stretched the too tight…

You know when the household garbage starts piling up in the waste basket? When one person puts one more thing on top instead of taking the garbage out? I heard the perfect term for this condition which afflicts my kitchen and one particular bathroom on a regular basis. It's called Garbage Jenga, after the tower…

As I fessed up in the previous post, my yarn fast has been broken. No way will I stand in line for hours to get 15% off at a not so local yarn shop, when I can wait a few weeks and average 30% off at my very local, walking distance yarn store. I stuck…

Thank you for your words of parental encouragement. Mari arrived safely in Sydney, the dresser made it home, and the adventures continue. While I'm transferring yarn to the stress purchase of my last post, Chuck shakes his head. "It's not going to do it, is it?" Telling the truth, I admit it. One drawer each…