Torturous obsession

Okay, so this may seem bizarre to you "normal" people out there, but I have been tormented for days. The source of this torment is this photograph:


This mystery potty picture was posted by KitKatKnit as the center of a contest she is holding. To win this contest one must correctly guess whose private loo this is or was. So far guesses have included G.W. Bush, Oprah, Elvis, Bill Gates, Christine Gregoire (Washington state governor) and many others. None of these are correct and out of pity a clue was given to help out. We now know that this private potty belonged to a female. It doesn't look like a particularly new loo and the toilet itself looks rather gross... then again, most are gross. Anyway, if anybody out there ever wonders what thoughts monopolize my pea-brain then let this serve as a prime example.

But in my defense, the prize is yarn!

Well, I contacted the powers that be and withdrew my name from the Secret Pal 8 exchange. SP7 was wonderful and it allowed me to meet my cyber buddy, Cindy. But finances and time would both be stretched if I tried to participate.
I ordered my yarn for the Dye-O-Rama . I'm still uncertain if I'll use a warping board though. There is so much lumber here from all of our remodeling that building one would be no problem. Time will dictate.
No new knitting pictures. I've made some progress on both the second sock for my Dad and the sleeve for Liv. My reward for finishing either project will be to wind up the Socks That Rock Fire on the Mountain yarn that I received from Jessalu in a contest a few months back. I have been dying to make some socks with it.
I need coffee. Hope you all have a great weekend, especially those back at the Maryland Sheep & Wool!

Thank you Claudia!

Let me preface this by stating that I do not know Claudia. I originally discovered Claudia's blog through a link on Sherrill's blog. I'd occasionally lurk there to admire her knitting. Then this evening while skimming my usual blog links I read about Claudia, this time on the Stephanie's site. Stephanie (the Yarn Harlot) is encouraging all of her readers, knitters and non-knitters alike, to sponsor Claudia this year while she rides for the MS 150. The MS 150 is a 150 mile bike ride that takes place over a two day period. All money raised from this event goes directly to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Just over 5 years ago I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis. My youngest daughter was only 5 months old and my older girls were just 2 and 4. To say I was tired and apprehensive is a gross understatement. Dietary changes, taking lots of medication and cutting way back on activities have been necessary. And although the left side of my body isn't at 100% I still feel very lucky to be doing as well as I am. Just think, less than 20 years ago there were no medications available! And even now, with the medicine, it's a craps shoot as to how fast the M.S. progresses. The cause and cure need to be found. Soon.
Organizations like the MS Society and the Montel Williams MS Foundation have helped raise money for research and made public awareness a priority. And although I cannot ride 150 miles on a bike (okay, so I probably was never in that good of shape) I appreciate all of those people who do. And although I don't know Claudia, if I ever do meet her I'm giving her a great big hug. So if you're able, head over to Claudia's site and check out what this terrific lady is doing. And if you can, send her a couple of dollars too.

Best Mail Ever!

Today our mail carrier was greeted at the end of our driveway and the packages she had were ripped from her hands. A few bills, etc. were probably dropped as I sprinted back to the house and by now they're probably in the neighbors' yards.

Inside the first big box was my large umbrella swift and my Royal ball winder. I sold lots of stuff on eBay this last month and coincidentally, I purchased these from another eBay seller. Immediately both were set up and the remaining skeins of my Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool that I'm using for the Liv sweater were wound into center-pull skeins.

Inside the smaller package were 4 SKEINS of Blue Moon Fiber Art's Socks That Rock yarn! Two are for me to keep and fondle and the other two will be mailed out tomorrow for Scout and Elizabeth as prizes for the Harry Potter contest I held back in April.

My DH immediately started 20 questions about the winder and swift. First, the big one, "How much did they cost?" Followed by, "How often will you use it? Why isn't yarn sold that way in the first place? Won't the stores do that for you? Etc., etc." None of the answers seemed to satisfy him, but we've been married for almost 13 years now so he just let it go. Good boy. After all, I seldom spend money because I hate malls, crowds and clothes shopping.


In knitting news, I'm ready to start the sleeves for the Liv sweater. I want to modify them so that they flair slightly at the cuff. Also, the body is looking pretty narrow so I may add two cabled panels, one up each side to accommodate my tummy, hips, etc. Loose clothes are my friends. It's times like these that I wish I possessed the skills of the ever-talented Eunny! She modifies and creates patterns like it's nobody's business.

I have yet to answer and post answers for SP8. Rather than listing them here, I'd like to do like Sherrill and have them on another site with a link. Maybe tomorrow.

Time to round up Bonny for another visit to the veterinarian's office. Her tummy is still infected from her operation over a month ago. Not only do I feel terrible for the kitty, but I seethe at paying the $35.00 office visit each time I take her back in. They were the ones who spayed her and one would think this would be a follow up. They did suggest that I consider taking out medical insurance on my pets though. Ha!

Wikipedia Birthday Meme

Cool, another Meme and I like this one. It's easy to do (cut & paste) and the facts are rather fun too. All you do is go out to Wikipedia's website, type in your birthday without the year and hit enter. All kinds of interesting facts will appear. My birthday is July 18, 19XX.
Events
390 BC - Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
64 - Great fire of Rome: A fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control while Emperor Nero reportedly plays his lyre and sings while watching the blaze from a safe distance.
1195 - Battle of Alarcos, great victory of Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur over the Castilian King Alfonso VIII
1536 - The authority of the Pope is declared void in England.
1830 - Uruguay adopts its first constitution.
1857 - Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war on the French.
1863 - American Civil War: The first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, unsuccessfully assaults Confederate-held Fort Wagner but their valiant fighting still proves the worth of African American soldiers during the war.
1872 - Britain introduces voting by secret ballot.
1873 - Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim
1898 - Marie and Pierre Curie announce the discovery of a new element and proposed to call it polonium.
1914 - The United States Army's Signal Corps is formed, giving definite status to its air service for the first time.
1925 - Adolf Hitler publishes his personal manifesto Mein Kampf.
1938 - Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan arrives in Ireland.
1942 - World War II: The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me-262 using only its jets for the first time.
1944 - World War II: Hideki Tojo resigns as Prime Minister of Japan due to numerous setbacks in the war effort.
1947 - President Harry S. Truman signs the Presidential Succession Act into law which places the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore next in the line of succession after the United States Vice President.
1966 - Gemini 10 launched.
1968 - Vietnam War: The two-day Honolulu Conference begins in Honolulu, Hawaii between US President Lyndon B. Johnson and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu.
1968 - Intel incorporated.
1969 - After a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, dies.
1969 - Apollo 11 makes preparations for landing on the Moon.
1976 - Gymnast Nadia Comaneci, aged 14, scores first ever perfect 10 at the Olympics.
1977 - Vietnam joins the United Nations.
1982 - 268 campesinos ("countryside people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre in Ríos Montt's Guatemala.
1984 - McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty kills 21 people and injures 19 others before being shot dead by police.
1986 - A tornado is broadcast live on KARE television in Minnesota when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter.
1989 - Rebecca Schaeffer is shot by a crazed fan, prompting California to pass America's first anti-stalking law in 1990.
1992 - The ten victims of the La Cantuta massacre disappeared from their university in Lima.
1992 - 'The Late Show', starring the D-Generation debuts on ABC.
1994 - In Buenos Aires, an explosion destroys a building housing several Jewish organizations killing 85 and injuring many more.
1994 - A court upholds NBA salary cap and draft rights.
1995 - On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital and forcing most of the population to flee.
1996 - Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River in Quebec, beginning one of Canada's costliest natural disasters ever.
1996 - In an event very similar to the Oklahoma tornado that would occur three years later, an F5 tornado hit the town of Oakfield, Wisconsin.
1997 - 8000 low-caste Indians riot in Mumbai (Bombay) following a funeral for 10 children who had been killed by police.
1998 - A 23-foot tidal wave kills nearly 3,000 people in Papua New Guinea.
2001 - In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derails in a tunnel, sparking a fire that lasts days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore.
2003 - Kobe Bryant is charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year old girl.
[edit]

Births
1013 - Hermannus Contractus, learned monk (d. 1054)
1501 - Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (d. 1526)
1504 - Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss religious reformer (d. 1575)
1552 - Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
1634 - Johannes Camphuys, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
1635 - Robert Hooke, English scientist (d. 1703)
1670 - Giovanni Bononcini, Italian composer (d. 1747)
1718 - Saverio Bettinelli, Italian writer (d. 1808)
1720 - Gilbert White, English ornithologist (d. 1793)
1797 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (d. 1879)
1811 - William Makepeace Thackeray, English author (d. 1863)
1821 - Pauline Garcia-Viardot, French mezzo-soprano and composer (d. 1910)
1837 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1873)
1845 - Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
1848 - William Gilbert Grace, English cricketer (d. 1915)
1853 - Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
1864 - Phillip Snowden, British politician (d. 1937)
1887 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and traitor (d. 1945)
1890 - Frank Forde, fifteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
1892 - Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian football player (d. 1969)
1894 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (d. 1940)
1900 - Nathalie Sarraute, French writer (d. 1999)
1902 - Jessamyn West, American writer (d. 1984)
1902 - Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
1906 - S. I. Hayakawa, American semanticist and politician (d. 1992)
1906 - Clifford Odets, American writer (d. 1963)
1909 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet diplomat and President (d. 1989)
1909 - Mohammed Daoud Khan, President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
1911 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (d. 2003)
1913 - Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
1918 - Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1921 - John Glenn, astronaut and politician
1922 - Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher (d. 1996)
1923 - Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (d. 1997)
1925 - Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete
1927 - Kurt Masur, Silesian-born conductor
1929 - Dick Button, American figure skater
1929 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American singer (d. 2000)
1930 - Burt Kwouk, English actor
1933 - Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet
1935 - Jayendra Saraswathi, Hindu religious leader
1937 - Roald Hoffman, Polish-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 - Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
1938 - Paul Verhoeven, Dutch film director
1940 - James Brolin, American actor
1940 - Joe Torre, baseball player and manager
1941 - Martha Reeves, American singer
1947 - Steve Forbes, American entrepreneur and politician
1947 - Steven W. Mahoney, Canadian politician
1948 - Hartmut Michel, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1950 - Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
1950 - Jack Layton, Canadian politician
1951 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician
1960 - Anne-Marie Johnson, American actress
1962 - Jack Irons, American drummer Red Hot Chili Peppers
1963 - Martín Torrijos Espino, President of Panama
1963 - Mike Greenwell, baseball player
1967 - Vin Diesel, American actor
1969 - Masanori Murakawa, Japanese professional wrestler
1975 - Torii Hunter, baseball player
1975 - Daron Malakian, American guitarist (System of a Down)
1978 - Ben Sheets, baseball player
1979 - Joey Mercury, American professional wrestler
1980 - Kristen Bell, American actress
1982 - Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress and Miss World 2000
[edit]

Deaths
1100 - Godfrey of Bouillon, French crusader
1488 - Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (b. 1432)
1591 - Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
1608 - Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
1610 - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Italian artist (b. 1573)
1623 - Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
1639 - Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
1665 - Stefan Czarniecki, Polish general (b. 1599)
1695 - Johannes Camphuys, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
1698 - Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian (b. 1633)
1721 - Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
1730 - François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, French soldier (b. 1644)
1792 - John Paul Jones, American naval commander (b. 1747)
1817 - Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
1863 - Robert Gould Shaw, American military officer (b. 1837)
1872 - Benito Juárez, President of Mexico (b. 1806)
1884 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (b. 1829)
1892 - Thomas Cook, English travel agent (b. 1808)
1918 - several members of the Romanov family, executed by the Bolsheviks
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, (b. 1864)
Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, (b. 1886)
Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia, (b. 1891)
Prince Igor Konstantinovich of Russia, (b. 1894).
Vladimir Paley, (b. 1897)
1937 - Julian Bell, British poet, killed in the Spanish Civil War (b. 1908)
1944 - Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet, author and artist (b. 1870)
1949 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (b. 1870)
1952 - Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect (b. 1862)
1953 - Lucy Booth, the fifth daughter of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1868)
1963 - Jack Solomon, restauranteur, co-founder Gallagher's Steak House (b.1896)
1968 - Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1988 - Nico, German-born model and singer (b. 1938)
1989 - Donnie Moore, baseball player (suicide) (b. 1954)
1990 - Yoon Boseon, President of South Korea (b. 1897)
1995 - Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (b. 1970)
2001 - James Hatfield, American author (b. 1958)
2001 - Fabio Taglioni, Italian automotive engineer (b. 1920)
2002 - Victor Emery, British theoretical physicist (b. 1933)
2004 - Paul Foot, British journalist (b. 1937)
2005 - William Westmoreland, U.S. Army general (b. 1914)
[edit]

Holidays and observances
Uruguay - Constitution Day

Tagged with a MeMe

I've been tagged with a MeMe by Karen ! Actually, she tagged me over a week ago, but I didn't read the end of her post to see who all she tagged until now.

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
Finish writing my children's book
Learn How to Spin
Take a vacation alone and be "mysterious" ha ha
learn to play the piano
Ride in a hot air balloon
Travel to South America

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
Style my hair
Dance
Make gravy
Refuse Chocolate
Sew without cussing
Stop worrying... I even worry about worrying too much
Eat without spilling

Seven Things That Attract Me To My significant other:

He laughs a lot
He has a great sense of humor
He tolerates my worrying, cussing, spilling, chocolate hoarding and inabilities to dance and make gravy and he even tolerates my messy hair
He calls Bullshit on anyone and everyone when they deserve it
He isn't shy
He's great at fixing electronics and computers

Seven Books I Love:
All of the Harry Potter Books
The Mysts of Avalon
Pride & Prejudice
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Grapes of Wrath (a hold over from my black days in high school)
Where the Wild Things Are (the best children's book ever)
The Hobbit


Seven Things I Say:
(contents have been censored, here are the acceptable answers)
Anyway...
For Pete's sake
Stop fighting
Are you on crack?
I love you, but...
Pick up that mess
Go to sleep

and finally, Seven Movies I've Loved :

Shrek
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Pride & Prejudice
Harry Potter movies
Star Wars
The Full Monty
Bridget Jones' Diary

I would like to tag Christy, Cindy, both Karens, Ferg, Terri, Peacock and Jessalu.

A mannequin complete with karate chop action!

This morning my DH had another interview so I took a picture of him before he left the house. What a goofball. Between my innate ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and my forgetfulness coupled with his intentional silliness my poor girls don't stand a chance of being socially acceptable.