Is it over yet?????

Be forewarned this will be a long possibly whiny post! This has been a totally nutty week in the P house. Yes I know it is normally pretty nutty here especially considering it is just my Mom, my dog , my two cats , and myself who live here.
I live in a large room above the garage at my Mom's house. It has a lovely large picture window that brings beautiful sunshine into an otherwise cold( or hot depending on the season) room. This past Fall I noticed a piece of the interior trim had fallen off the window frame. I looked at it and told my mom about it and really didn't think too much about it. Then winter came and every ounce of wind outside that window came in through the spot where the trim was. I gave it a closer look and again talked to Mom about it. Then a few weeks later I noticed mold on the wall under the same spot. I have allergies and mold really freaks me out. I talked to Mom again and she agreed we probably should have someone look at it. I moved into a guest room to get away from the mold. The day after I moved into the guest room I was walking through the garage and for some reason looked up. The wall under my room was covered in big nasty mold splotches. The next day the moisture guy Tony came. The window that I love so dearly was incorrectly installed almost 14 years ago. It has probably been leaking almost since it was installed. He took the insulation and drywall( can it still be called drywall if it is wet?;) down in my room under the window and in the garage. He has to replace a bunch of studs along with the window, insulation and drywall. We ordered the windows and on Monday he is coming to start the work. The big window is now going to be 3 energy efficient windows! Right now I have clear plastic covering the studs in my room and just studs in the garage. Tony came out on Monday and did everything else on Tuesday. So really in all not counting the time for the windows to come in the whole project will be done in 3 or 4 days. All of this I can handle.
What I am having a harder time handling is my sweet Joey being sick. On Tuesday morning I came into the kitchen to find a pile of cat vomit. No biggie, it's not that unusual to find vomit when you have 2 cats. When I fed them they both ate so I figure it was just a hair ball coughed up on a full tummy. Later in the day I came home and found another pile. I was starting to get a little worried but I have 2 cats and didn't know who the puker was. Wednesday was calm until after dinner when again my mysterious vomitter left another pile for me. I was tempted to take both cats the the vet and say figure it out but they both seemed fine. Then on Thursday I saw Joey throw up shortly after having eaten his dinner. Finally I knew who it was but the vet was closed for the day. He still seemed fine so I decided not to go to the e vet and wait until my vet opened in the morning. Friday morning Mom woke me up around 7 and said Joey had just thrown up after she fed them breakfast. I took a quick shower and rushed him to the vet. He didn't have a fever, he hadn't lost any weight, he wasn't dehydrated,and his abdominal examine was inconclusive. So Joey got his first set of x-rays. The diagnosis was Joey is constipated. Yep, my cat is full of poop! He was given a shot of anti nausea medication and I was given some meds to give him at home along with a couple of cans of gentle food. What does cat constipation cost in Southeastern VA $110.639! After I was told the total amount I was even more glad I didn't go to the e-vet it probably would have been at least $300! Thankfully Joey has not thrown up since the shot and seems to be feeling a lot better. He even wrestled his favorite mouse toy tonight and carried it all over the house trying to find the perfect place to deposit it. I'm not sure if he has pooped at all since his sister is a big pooper. Since I discovered the first pile o vomit I was partly wishing that I had only one cat. It would make this stuff( puke & poop watch 2009) a lot easier. Not that I would trade either of them for anything in the world. But a girl can dream can't she....

Wordless Wednesday

A quite Saturday

It's so bizarre to me that this week is over already. I honestly can't say were it has gone. The beginning of the week my bro , sil and wondermutt were here. They left Tuesday, and I have basically alternated between working my bootie off and chilling the rest of the week. Mom and I are both on huge organize the house kicks but there is just so much to do. I watched an entire season(8 episodes) of a new(to me) show on Netflix , and I started a baby blanket with some stash yarn. Why are BBC and British seasons short? I've have been watching a lot of British tv on Netflix and am always amazed by the shortness of the seasons/series and the blatant use of certain curse words. Netflix recommended Coupling to me. I was shocked by how risque it was. The entire show was built around sex. It was quite funny but I felt that I should go to confession after watching it! Then they recommend another series Ballykissangel which is a lot more wholesome. How Netflix's recommendation system work is beyond me. If you liked this show about British people's sex lives you'll like this show about a British Priest assigned to a small town church in Ireland. It honestly boggles the mind! Maybe someday it will all make sense to me.
I mention briefly before that I started a baby blanket with stash yarn. I was itching to knit something mindless while watching my British TV so I cast on for another Multi directional diagonal baby blanket that I adapted from a dishcloth pattern. I knit one for my cousin's baby a while ago and really liked the way it turned out. Some where on this blog there is a picture but so you don't have to go searching here it is again.

The blanket I just started is also a variegated yarn. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out. It is a much more masculine yarn. I'm not sure how big it will be when all is said and done. I'm just going to knit one way until I get half way through my yarn and start going the other way with the remainder. Hopefully it will be a decent size. I decided this is to be a completely stash yarn project. So no matter what I won't buy more yarn for this! It can always be a doll blanket if it turns out super small , but I don't think it will. I about half way through my first skein and have a at least ten inches in width.
Well I really should go to bed. I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm finishing priming a bedroom that was painted Virginia Tech orange on the walls and maroon on the trim. The first coat is on but it definitely needs a second!
Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Holly

New Year new look

Well at least for my blog. I was reading someone's blog today and loved her background so I followed the link to the cutest blog on the block and had a looksee. There were so many choices! I finally decided on this one. So far I really like it!
Once again I can't believe how much time has passed since I've been here. I haven't been knitting much since the Christmas push. I knit felted mitten ornaments for the extended family this year here is a picture of my test mittens I made a while ago. For some reason I forgot to take pictures of my finished projects before I sent them. Each ornament had a pair of matching mittens held together by a matching braid. The mittens ended up being just over 2.5 inches high. I was really pleased with how well the turned out. They were just so cute! Every person who received a pair was really impressed, they couldn't understand how I made them. I loved feeling like a knitting genius!
I also finished my Mom's everlasting bagstopper (except for the straps) on Christmas morning! eek talk about cutting it close. Every year my gift to my Mom is her stocking. This year I put her other stocking gifts inside the bag stopper then put it all in a large gift bag. The stocking I had knit for her birthday (just remembered I didn't take a picture of that either- doh!) is much more decorative than functional.
Last night I decided to finish the sitcom chic, that was supposed to be for my Mom, for my sister's birthday. I was exactly on gauge but the sweater was still really short on my Mom's incredibly long torso. I had planned on lengthening it since I hadn't sewed the sleeves on yet when I noticed she had a sweater almost exactly identical to it in her closet that fits her really well. Thankfully my Mom and sister are the same size except my sis doesn't have the torso length. It is a huge relief that I can actually used the sweater and not just frog the whole thing! It's also nice that I only have a little bit more to go since her b-day is only a couple of weeks away.

I have tons of things to do today and need to going but am so not motivated. I guess I should sign off.Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Holly

I've been tagged!

Kelly tagged me the other day on her blog. This should be fun!

1. I do not like to eat of plates that are the same color as the food. We have Fiesta wear and eating a salad off a green plate or eggs off a yellow plate really bothers me.
2. My third toe on my left foot is very crooked. I really don't remember the details (no abuse just stupid kid stuff!) but some how I stepped on a drill and it went through part of my toe.
3. I love to organize. The worse something is the more I like to tackle it.
4. I still remember my best friend from elementary school's phone number and all of my locker combos from middle and high school.
5. I mostly use conditioner to wash my hair.
6. I hate to shave my legs! I do it because I have very thick hair and would have man legs quickly but I really hate it!
7. I never use dark blue ink pens. I think it looks weird to write with blue ink. But I use a turquoise pen to write important things in my planner.

Now the fun part! The rule say tag random people but I am not that brave so I will tag the last 7 blogs I have visited! I tag:
Dustina
Dawn
Deb
Sandy
Julie
Jeanie
Andres

Menu Plan Monday - a first for me!

I've seen this on Kelly's blog several times and have always thought I should try it. So this week I'm giving it a try. I am going grocery shopping tomorrow so this should really help keep the bill to minimum. Here's hoping! This is a crazy week at school with tests so I will mostly be using my trusty crock pot. For great crock pot cooking site check this out! Every recipe I have tried has been good!

Monday - whole chicken in crockpot *, garlic green beans and corn muffins
Tuesday- eating out - Celebrating Mom's retirement !
Wednesday-Simply Roasted Pork , roasted potatoes, veg
Thursday- Vietnamese Pho Soup in Crockpot, salad
Friday- Leftovers!
Saturday- Crockpot bacon and cheese chicken, garlicy mashed potatoes, salad
Sunday- French Beef Stew in bread bowls, salad

*I don't have a link to this recipe. Here is what I do. Bunch up 5-6 balls of Aluminum foil and throw into crock pot. Wash and season chicken (today I will use garlic powder,onion powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. I will also put half an onion in the cavity.) Place chicken on top of Al balls and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,

Bentley's Leash Bag Holder

I posted a picture of one of my latest FO on knittinghelp.com and received quite a few requests for the pattern. So here it is. I looked at a lot of bag holder patterns online but I couldn't find one that I really liked so I knit this.
It can hold four plastic grocery bags. I really love it, this is probably one of the most useful things I have ever knit. It has eliminated my pocket full of bags and I am always prepared when B goes.
This is my first attempt at pattern writing so if anything doesn't make sense please let me know! I'll also be happy to help if you need it!
Leash Bag Holder
Materials:
worsted weight yarn I used about half a skein of Peaches n Cream cotton from my stash.
This pattern is knit in the round. I used magic loop for mine but you can use whatever you favorite method is for knitting in the round.
size 7 needles for ribbing
size 9 needles for the rest

Cast on 28 stitches with size 7 needles.Being careful not to twist the stitches join to knit in the round. Begin ribbing K2 P2 around.
Continue to rib for 18 rounds.
Switch to larger needle and knit 2 rounds.
Begin increase rounds. I knit into the front and back of the first and last stitch on the needles for a total of 4 new stitches.
K-2 rounds
Continue alternating increase round and 2 rows knitting until you have 44 stitches.(total of 5 increase rounds)
K 6 rounds
Begin decrease rounds. I decreased by knitting 2 together at each end of the needles 4 stitches per round.
K 1 round
Repeat alternating decrease round and knitting rounds until you have 4 stitches.
I used the final four stitches to make an i-cord loop to attach to the leash. My i-cord is about 2-2.5 inches. (If I were to make it again I would make the i cord longer so I could pull the holder through it it attach it to the leash.) I finished the loop by drawing my tail yarn through the remaining stitches. I then brought the tail yarn through the top of the holder to the inside. I tied a very secure knot and wove in the ends. Congratulation you have now knit your very own poo bag holder! I attached the holder to his leash with an elastic ponytail holder- very classy I know : ) but it works great!