Waiting For The Fun To Begin

February 2010

I'm just sitting here waiting for the fun to begin. Certainly not looking forward to ice, but HOPE this is what it's going to look like tomorrow. This was my house in February 2010.  We rarely get snow events like this in the south, so when we do.....watch out. Some kind of adventure is bound to happen.

And.... far be it from me to hold out on an adventure story gone wild....so while we patiently wait for the white stuff, thought you might like to read about a sledding adventure I had at Sista's in the upstate about this same time last year. You can read all about it by clicking here.

Oh wait, in case you were wondering about the workout at the gym yesterday......I survived without nearly a barf.

Let it snow,

Laurie

She Did Not Just Say That

Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!Thank You!

***First of all, before getting into today's post about my knitting adventure this weekend, I would just like to say thank you for all the visits and nice comments from the folks at the Grow Your Blog Party that went on Saturday. If you are just now getting around to visit, that post is below or you can find it in the blog Archive in the sidebar under January 2014. Feel free to stay and read at your leisure.   
 
***Second of all, I just heard the most wonderful news this morning......We are expecting.....SNOW! You just can't imagine how happy that makes me. However, I am beginning to realize that there may be an ice event also, which could lead to power outages.  I am surely looking forward to the white stuff. Maybe after all these years, I will finally be able to ride my horse in the snow. But, I don't want anyone to be without power and I hope everyone stays safe, especially while out driving. Take Care!

Knit and Purl Adventure 101

 

One of my favorite past-times is observing people and making up my own stories about their life. Usually, it's older people that I watch. You can really learn a lot from them. You just have to know what to look for. Lord, I crack myself up sometimes doing this. For instance....what on earth would you think of an elderly lady sitting in Barnes and Nobles reading a Rolling Stone magazine? Oh well, let me just tell you...I had a great time with that one. My imagination gets stoked by all sorts of things.  The following account of what happened at the local Knit and Purl is not so much about developing a story of this particular lady's life as much as it was just observing. I had to concentrate on my task at hand, anyway. Read on to see what I mean....

So, I went to the beginners knitting class Saturday and I'm glad I did. I learned that I had been doing some things wrong. That is evident by the looks of that ugly shawl I showed you the other day. Anyway, after arriving at the Knit and Purl, I was astounded by all the yarn and different colors going on in this shop. I can see how it would feed an addict's habit. In the middle of the store was a table that looked to sit 6 comfortably, but this day it would sit 10. Yeah, a little crowded for this claustrophobic. And I was stuck in the middle! For 2 hours! I handled it because I can be brave like that.

We began the class by going around the table and telling about our experience with knitting. Most were absolute beginners and a few, such as myself, knew a little. The instructor, Molly, began by showing us how to cast on our stitches. Of course, I had been doing it all wrong....so I hunkered down and paid attention. She had us practice several times casting on, then taking it off and repeating. I got the hang of it pretty quickly, but this elderly lady sitting directly across from me was having some trouble. She was definitely an absolute beginner. She would get about half way and then snort, tear it off and try again. Molly tried to help, but the lady just wasn't getting it. Frustration was written all over her face. All of a sudden, I heard someone say, "S**T". I looked up to see that it was the little lady across the table. OMG! She did not just say that! I liked to have died laughing. Well, not out loud.....too close quarters for that. She might have taken her knitting needle and poked me. But I did giggle. No one else said a word. They may have been scared. I can only imagine. But, I was intrigued! So, the rest of the class I spent watching her and listening for more expletives from this little white haired lady. She said "S**T" one more time and I giggled again. I was clearly entertained! I'm quite sure Molly, the instructor, was not! HaHa!

Molly seemed to be impatient at times. She said things like, No, Stop, Wait, Start Over several times. I learned that she was a retired school teacher, so her impatience made sense. She kept talking about kicking children off the bus.....her words for dropping stitches. She asked me how I had cast on stitches in the past, so I showed her. She looked at me over the top of her bifocals and said, "Don't ever do that again"! HaHa! I liked her, so I giggled again. By the end of the day I had learned a lot. I learned the correct way to cast on stitches, the importance of which way your live yarn should hang when starting your stitches, how to purl, how to knit one purl one and how to rip out mistakes and add your stitches back on the needles. It was a productive day. I think I'll take another class. Who knows what I might learn........some new stitches, some new techniques, whether or not the children got run over by the bus or maybe some new cuss words. HaHa!!



I love close-ups. The fibers look really cool and I love the color.

I love the way the yarn is wound into a ball and you knit with the center thread.

The Knitting Class project in progress. Looks nice and this yarn is definitely

easier to work with than the yarn from Satan.

 

Love these needles. I had used the straight aluminum ones before,

but was told that these were more ergonomic.

 

That's it for today. I have an appointment with the trainer at the gym, later. I'll let you know if it works this time or if it was barf city.

 

Oh wait, in case you were wondering......

 

Ran 9 miles Sunday....the first 5 with my good friend, Christie, and then the last 4 alone. Well, except for Cliff flanking me in his vehicle.

 

Apparently, this stirred up the neighborhood. A man and his wife honed in on Cliff thinking he may have been the person who broke into their home a few days earlier.  They approached him and asked why he was just sitting in front of their house. He told them he was watching out for me as I ran. I guess they didn't believe him because just a few minutes later they approached me and asked if my husband drove a black jeep. I told them that he did and the women said, "Oh good, then he was legit". Because of the break-in they were very suspicious of Cliff. Good thing folks are on their toes these days. It was just too funny that we caused such a ruckus in the neighborhood.

 

The End,

Laurie

Grow Your Blog - 2014

 

I am so ashamed of myself. The new year has come and one of the only posts I've written is to tell you that I've been away for awhile. Duh, like you didn't already know that. But alas, the day has come that I can no longer be away for awhile.....for two very good reasons.

Reason #1: I've missed writing. Although I carry on conversations in my head on a constant basis and intend to write these things down, lately it seems my attention has been called in different directions.

Reason #2: I've joined up again this year with Vicki from vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com  and her Grow Your Blog Party. So, I must have a post ready to share with all sorts of new friends. You see that little button on the right. You can click on it to go to Vicki's website to pay her a visit and to visit many other bloggers there. The majority of these bloggers are crafters.

And then there's me.

Although I craft and create, I don't usually blog about that. I blog to capture memories to share and to preserve for my children and grandchildren. So......I'm the one that many of these bloggers let tag along because they are all wonderful like that.

Disclaimer #1: I reserve the right to blog about crafts, if I want to. Ha! And it may or may not happen from time to time.

Last year, I joined the GYB Party and gained over 60 followers. I'm very grateful to Vicki for letting me be a part of this wonderful event. Over the year, I've grown exponentially and met so many wonderful people from all over the world. So now, I welcome you to my blog. I hope you enjoy reading about what's happening down on LaLa Lane as I'm sure I'll enjoy reading yours.

Thank you, Vicki!

The Back Story: My name is Laurie. My home and playground is near the coast of South Carolina. I've lived here all my life. Well, except for the time daddy was in the Army and moved around a little. Anyway, I love to run, kayak, read and cook for my family. I do many other things, too. But these things and my many adventures are mostly what I write about.

The Back Story Characters:
Cliff - my husband of 33 years. His dry wit will leave you gasping for air. Oh and he's gorgeous! Some people may cringe at the word, but he really is my "soul mate".

Emily - my oldest daughter and mother to my two grandchildren. She is super smart! She's a nurse. One word to describe her....Compassionate with a capital C! If I ever get sick, she's my go to girl!

Whitney - my youngest daughter. She lives in Colorado and is about to be hired as an Air Traffic Controller. Holler! She is the female clone of her daddy. She doesn't so much look like him, but has his sense of humor and athletic prowess along with street smarts and logic.

Lidia - my granddaughter and the sweetest, nearly 10-year-old eva! She is the best story, conversation, etc. summarizer I know. She loves science and is as smart as a whip. Takes after her mama. Love her to pieces!

Sawyer - my grandson and the funniest little 7-year-old I've ever met! He is the best reader in his 1st grade class. He shocks the heck out of me with that. He loves Bear Grylls and aspires to be him. He has already started a bucket list. #1 on his list is to go to England to visit Bear Grylls, of course. Love him to pieces!

Jason - my son-in-law, Whitney's husband. Lord Bless him. Whitney makes him toe the line. Ha Ha!! He's in school to become a Nurse Practitioner. And he's gorgeous, too. If those two ever give me a grandbaby, I know it will be beautiful. But guess what? They are dead set against having children. Dang it!

Kitter - my grandkitty...her parents are Whitney and Jason. Kitter has a story of her own. I blog about her from time to time because she is just so danged hilarious. She thinks Whitney is her play toy.....oh the things those two get into.

Matt - Emily's serious friend and (hopefully!!!!) soon, son-in-law number two. Matt knew Emily when they were 15 and 16 years old. His father was our pastor and as it sometimes happens, his father became the pastor at another church and they moved away. But, while they were here at our home church, I told Emily that Matt is the boy I wanted her to marry. Life took a different turn for both of them, but after all these years, Matt and Emily found each other again, by chance, and it looks like my wish may come true after all.

There are others you will read about from time to time.....The Sistas and Sista Sista to name a few.

Well, hope I caught your attention and that you will stick around for awhile. It's WAY fun!! Seriously!!

Now, If you would like to read my blog from the GYB Party from last year, just click (here). If not, no biggy...we'll just mosey on.

Let's get down to business........As promised, below is my full-on, catch-you-up post. Read on......

**********

2014: New Year, New Stuff

So....let's see. I last wrote in December and boy do I have lots to catch you up on. I declare, 2013 was extremely busy. I looked back on New Year's Day 2013 to see what the heck I was doing because you know the saying, whatever you're doing on New Year's Day you'll be doing all year.

Oh wait, I need to call mama to see if I got that right. Hang on, I'll be right back.

Oh Lord, good thing I called. According to mama, I had it all wrong. The saying goes...."If you wash clothes on New Year's Day then you'll wash them for a corpse before the end of the year." Yikes!!

I don't think I washed clothes on New Year's Day this year, thank goodness. But I did enjoy some rice and black eye peas (Hoppin' Johns), collard greens and cornbread. It was just Cliff and me this year. The children were off making New Year's memories of their own. It was a nice relaxing day....I knitted, took a joy ride around the beach with Cliff and then rested.

Since my last post in December, I've ran many miles and even ran a 5K with my best pace yet, had a birthday, the grandkids stayed with us over Christmas break (more about their adventure in another post), dinner with friends, went on a movie binge (saw Maddea's Christmas, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, August/Osage County and Sole Survivor). Jason flew home for about a week and a half to go hunting with Cliff and to visit his mom....all before starting back to school.

I started a new tradition, for this year anyway, called "Drop-In Dinner". I have a large family and wanting to stay connected a little more, decided to have a drop-in dinner where they would come by my house when they got off work....you know, to give them a reprieve from cooking after a long week of work. They could eat at my house or take it home. Usually when we get together, those of us that are starving end up having to wait. So as not to make anyone wait, I dubbed it a drop-in. We had our first one a couple of weeks ago and I called it the "Drop-In Soup Dinner". I can't wait until the next one. I've already got a menu planned, but you'll have to wait.....it's just a big ole surprise.

Let's see....my running has picked back up. I have a 9-mile Trail Run I'm training for and another half marathon in April. I've started working with a personal trainer to improve my strength and hopefully, drop a few pounds. Had my first session with him Tuesday and Lord have mercy......I told Cliff that I was going to need an Epsom salt bath, a rub down and personal concierge service and I'm pretty sure that the next day I would be a little bit paralyzed. Second session was Friday and I'm not gonna lie, I got sick. I nearly puked. After working out a few kinks, I finished the workout with a little more knowledge of what to eat and when.

I have a few home projects in the works....or rather will very soon. And last, but not least....my favorite show ever, American Idol, came on last week. Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm, I'll be glued to the television. Well, I think that's the crux of the last month here on LaLa Lane.

I'm looking forward to another year full of fun and adventure and hope you come back for visits, regularly. I'm heading out for a run.....I think we've reached our high for the day.....39 degrees. Some call that balmy ;) Ha Ha!!  But here on the coast, all I can say is brrrrrrrr........it's cold enough to kill hogs.

Oh wait, in case you were wondering....................

My 2013 year end exercise stats are:

2013 Exercise Stats
Month:	Ran:		Races/Pace:					Biked:	Kayaked:
Jan	28.3							8	6
Feb	48.39
Mar	45.22		BFF/10K - 12:56 pace					5
			Race For The Inlet 8K - 11:34 pace
Apr	29.4		Divas 5K - 11:27 pace					41.58	1.8
May	38.58		Caper's Island Eco 10K - 13:47 pace					62.68
			Brookgreen Gardens 5K - 12:19 pace
June	50.89		Simpsonville Sunrise 8K - 12:48 pace					81.07
July	51.88							163.26
Aug	66.18							104.67
Sept	82.78							89.41	10
Oct	41.18		Georgetown Bridge to Bridge Half - 13:56 pace					10.44	15
Nov	24.41		Race To Save Hearts 5K - 11:28 pace
Dec	42.62		Misty's Category 5K - 11:22 pace
TOTALS:	549.53		Best Race Pace: 11.22					566.11	32.8

Disclaimer #2: If this excel spreadsheet looks crazy on your screen, I do not claim to be the Excel Expert King that Cliff claims to be. Okay!

Hasta Que Otro Dia,

Laurie

It's Been a Long Time Coming

Yeah, I'm talking about the full-on, catch-you-up-to-date post.

Well sorry, you're gonna have to wait a couple more days.

Because you see,

there's this party going on and it starts Saturday, January 25, 2014.

See that button over there on the right....just click on it.

Yeah, go on and take a look. That's where I'll be on Saturday.

But in the meantime, I thought I would show you what

I've been working on.......for nearly 4 years. Ha!

I started knitting this shawl in February 2010, during my kitchen remodel.

I would sit for hours and days, listening to hammers and saws and

conversations that had me on the edge of my seat.

And, when the remodel was finished, I laid it dowwwwn!

I would pick it up from time to time, mostly in the winter

because who the heck wants a hot mess of wool all over their legs

during the hot summer months, especially when the hot flashes show up.

So anyway, I would knit a row or two, but just recently picked it back up,

determined with all my might that I'm gonna finish this thing.

By the way, this yarn....well,

it's from Satan. I'm convinced!!

Hallelujah, the thing is done. And it's as ugly as homemade sin.

It started out real pretty and even, but by the time I was finished, it was 5 inches wider

at the bottom than the top. What the heck happened? I don't know.

But the sight of it prompted me to enroll in a beginners knitting class on Saturday.

Selah!!

That's me working on this seemingly never-ending piece......

And, drumroll.......The finished product! I made it look all pretty...laying there like that.

But, that thing is as ugly as it can be.

Oh well, you live and learn! I'm gonna take that class and learn to fix what I did wrong.

I may even blog about a few crafting projects.

Time will tell...........

See you Saturday,

Laurie

Hiatus of Sorts

 

Hey y'all!!

Just wanted to peak in on you. You doing okay? 

I'm going to keep this post short.............with a capital S.

I've missed you all. As you know, I've been on a hiatus of sorts.

It was a busy holiday season here in South Carolina. Things are slowly getting back to normal, though. You can expect a full-on catch-you-up post in the next couple of days. Just wanted you to know that I am still here and doing well.

 

See you soon,

Laurie