Someone called "Not Me" is living in my house.......

Someone by the name Not Me has taken up residence in my house. They are responsible for a wide array of missing food, objects, undone chores, and general aggravation. Not me is to blame everytime a question is asked such as: Did you leave all these dishes in the sink? No, Not Me......Who drank all the milk? Not Me.......Who put the empty container of crackers back in the pantry? Not Me....Whose turn is it to take out the trash? Not Me.....So you see why I have to identify this person and have a serious, one on one conversation with them. I have a few likely suspects:

Now this guy looks very suspicious to me. I don't see him often, so I think he just may be guilty, since no one ever sees Not Me actually do anything.





Now this guy is trying too hard to look innocent. I know for a fact he is responsible for the bulk of the milk being consumed. He's even flaunting the fact that he's taking my cookies. But I don't see him around the house enough to blame him for the wide varieties of acts that are blamed on Not Me.





Now this guy would be my number one choice to be Not Me. He just looks like someone who would leave empty boxes and containers in the pantry and not care. But, he's also the one who makes the most complaints about Not Me. There is something about "He who protesteth much is guilty of the same" but I'm not putting my money on him.





Now I see this guy around....alot. I usually see him chewing or swallowing something. He usually has an excuse and come to think of it, that excuse is usually Not Me. But he does do his chores so he can't be responsible for everything that happens around here.





Now this one is a quiet little thing. She slinks around doing what she wants, and never makes excuses or apologies. I'm positive this kitty is not the infamous Not Me.




So, the mystery of who Not Me is deepens. I will continue to spy around the corners, watch fridge, pantry, and cabinets to see if I can catch Not Me in the act.

Adventures in Knitting-Post 3

Julie and I have been knitting, making the most of opportunities to sit down and make gifts for Christmas presents. We had plans to knit scarves, wraps, and hats for gifts. Now neither one of us had ever knitted those before, but with the help of some informative books, youtube, and determination, it was possible. Here is what I've knitted since Fall, and the few things that Julie managed to knit and crochet in the last few months.


The red scarf I knitted for myself the very first week I began to knit. It's a dream at catching leaves, and all sorts of debris. The black one I knitted for Billy as a Christmas present. Julie finally finished it for me before the New Year.



This pile doesn't include everything the human knitting machine (aka Julie)accomplished. There are four scarves and another hat missing. She did two blankets for Cassidy, all those scarves, and two hats. Each one is a different pattern, and several different yarns. She crocheted the two hats in the same evening, without even knowing what she was really doing. The one with the pink ribbon is my favorite.






We each got some bulky alpaca yarn for Christmas. Julie knitted the purple multi-colored scarf in a couple of days. I knitted the mauve colored scrap in a week. It was the hardest yarn to knit. Sort of like trying to knit poodle fur, while still attached to the dog.





These are two projects I still have on the needles. The blue one is a 100% baby alpaca wrap. I started knitting it in October. It should be finished in a couple of years if I work on it everyday. The red scarf is knitted in an alpaca and silk blend. The pattern is one Julie taught me. I've been knitting it for a month, so I'm not doing too bad with it.




This is a scarf Julie is working on. It's a raspberry puff pattern and looks very neat and clean. She's been working on it for a week. It's taking longer than usual, but she started working a job outside the home last week. A few steady hours at it, and it will be around someone's neck.




Hope you've enjoyed our knitting experiences. I'll be blogging in the future about more new and exciting projects that Julie does......and perhaps something from me. :)

Adventures in Knitting - Post 2

One day Julie and I were out shopping. We happened upon a local yarn shop. When we went in we were shocked at the many different types of yarn. We didn't know they weren't all made of acrylic and sold at Walmart. I fell in love with the softness of alpaca, but it was very expensive. But, I'd been working alot, so over the course of the next month, we shopped alot...........

We bought alot of yarn to work with. I even ordered alot of alpaca and alpaca blends off the internet. Shopping was the easy part of doing a project.



Since I didn't know what I was going to knit, I bought alot of needles, of all different sizes. I now know that this was the part of knitting I was really good at....buying stock :)




These are the first scarves Julie and I ever knitted. I taught her to knit in about 10 minutes and she took off like Seabiscuit after that. I knit more like the Pony Express under constant Indian attack.



This is the first scarf Julie knitted for Cassidy. We didn't know it, but she was actually knitting backwards. It ended up pretty, though.



This is the first blanket Julie crocheted. She did it in one week. It is crocheted in a soft Bernat Satin yarn.



Tomorrow I'll continue the Adventures in Knitting by showing you what I've completed since Fall, and what Julie has accomplished. Hint: Julie knits faster than a machine.....I don't.

Adventures in Knitting - Post 1

Last autumn, my daughter Julie suggested we do some sort of craft. She learned to crochet when she was 12 years old and I learned to knit when I was 9 years old. So, we each bought some yard, and I bought knitting needles and she bought a crochet hook. This is where the adventure began.......


I thought this was a yarn of Fall colors......




But I ended up knitting camoflauge. I stopped here, as there was no sense in going on



Julie began to crochet a blanket with yarn that felt like a brillo pad



The Adventures in Knitting will continue tomorrow..........

Neela the Cat, pleads for food.......

I have a cat and her name is Neela. Recently her pet store ran out of her food I buy and won't restock it for another week. The owner gave me a substitute food, but Neela is not happy. She is constantly rubbing against me trying to get me to pay attention to her. When I don't head to the food bowl, she tries to trip me when I walk. The pictures will explain Neela's perspective......

Hmmmm, I sit here, all by myself, starving, and these people will not buy my food.



Perhaps it is time for a heart to heart talk with my human. She'll see things my way.



Okay, that didn't work. Maybe if I play dead beside my bed, they will get the idea that I need my special brand of food, pronto!

First Monday of the New Year

It's the first Monday of the New Year. My daughter Julie has started a new job. So have I, as I'm going to be watching Cassidy for her while she works. She is an active three year old who expends more energy in 10 minutes, than I've expended in a decade. They say that kids keep you young. We'll see. So far I've answered the same question 12 times (I counted). The question was "Where's Mommy?" Of course she knows where Mommy is, she's just asking to make sure I'm awake. Right now it's earlier in the morning than I've arisen since 1995.

It's almost 10:00am, let's see if she's ready for a nap.....it's been a year or so since she's had one. :)




Miss Cassidy beside the tree we are going to take down today.

Spontaneity and the deep freeze

This morning I had a bright idea. Why not go to Mount Vernon, the beloved home of George Washington. I've visted his birthplace, and his boyhood home, but haven't been to Mount Vernon since I was nine years old. Since I didn't have previous plans to do this, this trip definately falls into the spontaneity category.

Now, being spontaneous is great, but several things must be taken into account:

1. What is the weather like outside?
2. How much time will be spent outside?
3. Are you dressed appropriately for the outside activity?

Notice how all my questions had to do with being outside? That's because at Mount Vernon we had to wait for 45 minutes to tour the house, plus the walk to the house, which was considerable.

I had a wool coat, a scarf, and gloves. Usually any activity outside that would require more outerwear than that, means I'm skiing down a mountainside. I just don't do tourist attractions when the windchill is in the single digits. Bad move on my part today, not to check on the weather. Honestly in my driveway, it just wasn't that cold.

I didn't know it, but they don't allow pictures to be taken inside the main house, so I can't post any pics that I might have covertly taken. But, it was a beautiful home. I was overwhelmed by knowing George himself lived and died there. Most historical locations I've been to, have been re-creations, but this is the actual place he lived, plus half the furnishings were actually his. We also got to tour the third floor, which is usually closed to guests. This is where Martha spent the last several years of her life after George died.

Quite an estate, in a beautiful location. Now, I'm going to try and warm up somehow.


Eventually, my scarf became my hat




George, as a 19 year old surveyor




The view from the porch at Mount Vernon. Can you see the icebergs in the
water? Well, I can't either, but they should be there, with penquins




Mount Vernon Estate