New Blog Location

Yep. I've jumped ship over to WordPress.org and consolidated my blogs into a nice big ole' fat one! All on one page: WackyAuntie. 2009 is my Creatively Organized year and a spanking new blog was in order. Also not using a great software, Windows LiveWriter (a freebie!)and it's so much easier to post!

My 2008 Project365 Wrap Up Mosaics

 

A look back at 2008 in pictures. Last year, thanks to the Ravelry Project365 group and StudioD, I got my photo-mojo back. For first time in years I snapped photos creatively and often experimentally. Now I've fun mosaics to relive our year at at glance with just some of the best of 4000s+ pics snapped during the year. That's a lot of snapping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Day, Another Historical Cemetery

One of our family resolutions for 2009 is to seriously track down local history and Aaron's family history. Little did we know when moving back here to my hometown that he had very deep ancestral roots in the region. Not only did his great-great-great-granddad migrate west in 1850 (along with massive amounts of others seeking their fortunes in the gold mines) but we've discovered that his first stop was the very same small town where we now live!



As we sit downtown at our favorite cafe, surrounded by historical buildings, we think about young John Dabney Perkins pulling up on Main Street in his covered wagon (along with his Uncle David and about 1500lbs of tobacco) sometime in 1850, ready to set up shop and hopefully strike it rich in the gold mines of Calaveras County. Alas Murphys didn't yield the anticipated wealth and eventually (twenty odd years later) J.D. settled in Ione, over in neighboring Amador County. And now some 159 odd years later, his descendants have returned to their ancestral roots in the Gold Country once again.

What does all this have to do with that pretty picture above? Well...in a round about way it does relate...in my typically round-about-fashion. The picture is of a tombstone in an old cemetery in Stent (no longer exists as a town...just a cemetery), the birthplace of Aaron's maternal grandmother, who married J.D. Perkins great-grandson in the 1920s. They never lived anywhere near Murphys but did end up in Sonoma County, where Aaron was born and raised. Where he and I met, had a son and then moved back to my hometown...that really is more like his hometown. Hence the circle closes...eventually...

To see why I'm posting a picture of pretty little tombstone read about it over on my other blog. I'm toying with the idea of merging these two blogs...but for now... head over there if you're not yet thoroughly bored with all my ramblings! Right now I've got a date with a 5 year old and some bedtime stories.

The family that dances together...

What did you all do on Christmas Night? We went dancing!! First we hit the Elf Club...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Then we were off the local Barn Dance for a Ho Down Country Style...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The night ended with the bright lights and techno sounds of the Disco!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We had a blast dancing the night away. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Time for a Haircut!

Yep, Mom finally gave in to Dad's (and Mey-Mey's, Grandma's, Papa's...) nagging and gave me a haircut today. I was looking pretty shaggy before...but not now!














Now I'm fiesty with my new shorter do and I've discovered something else: I have ears!














Look here's the second ear. Mom did try to cut my earlobe off, but only once. I yelped pretty good but no blood was drawn.



Now discovering I have ears doesn't mean I'll take the bananas out that seem to grown in there. Or at least that's what Mom's always saying... "Hey Boy, take the bananas out of your ears!" Not sure why she says that so often...but she's always saying it.


One thing I do know: My ears are now cold! Mom needs to knit me a new hat just to keep them warm. Or better yet some ear muffs...yeah, that'd be cool!

But I do love Mom. Just wish she'd learn to cut my hair faster because it sure takes her forever. My bum goes numb sitting there for a whole hour while she snips, snips, snips. Good thing she only gets around to cutting my hair every three months or so. Now I'm good until at least next year!

Aqua, Aqua, Aqua everywhere!

What is it about the shade of aqua blue? Or for that matter, any blue. I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Lately it's the darker form of peacock, with it's deep rich tones perfect for autumn days and wintery nights. Come summer my thoughts turn to lighter shades of blues. Looks like it's more than just because I like the color...it's because my personality is blue...a lovely light seagreen aqua shade at the moment.

you are lightseagreen #20B2AA

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is higher than average - You know what you want, but sometimes know not to tell everyone. You value accomplishments and know you can get the job done, so don't be afraid to run out and make things happen. Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Now come tomorrow will I still be light seagreen or a deeper shade of aqua, maybe my beloved peacock! Guess I'll have to take the quiz again to see if I'm predictable or not.

He's Here!

Today was a busy day at Chez Wacky Auntie! It entailed an early morning dash to the hospital, then a few hours wait, a Denny's breakfast (actually, not half-bad...I was ravenous). More waiting, bit of knitting and then he was here!!

Name still under negotiation but that's fine. He's so adorable we don't need a name yet. It was love at first sight and the feeling's mutual! See, he took one look at me and smiled!

Yes...an honest to goodness smile. At me, his beloved Auntie! (I refuse to believe it was gas...it was not gas...it was a smile...really it was!). See he did it again later on,

He knows which side his cupcake is frosted on! And that Auntie is so cool he can't wait for his first playdate! ;)

Labor a bit longer than with my Niece (but that wasn't hard seeing hers was all of 45 minutes active labor!). Sis did fantastic! So well the nurses were not convinced she was in "real" labor! I recognized the tell-tale signs (moans, grimaces, heavy breathing, a few curse words popping out...) and knew things were getting fast and furious...even if the nurses were still gabbing about sending her home! What? Send her home when the contractions are 2 minutes apart and she's obviously in great pain?!! (Sorry folks, no photos documenting this phase of the day...I honored my promise and kept the camera tucked in my bag...)

Two hours later, this little bundle of Baby Love was being passed around his adoring family. Yep, Big Sis held him,

Cousin held him and of course...

so did Gramsie!

Daddy had him for a good bit for some male bonding...with a blurry J-Man dashing in and out, making sure the baby was still really here!

But Little Miss Mosey made sure to get her equal share of cuddles!

Most important of all...Baby was held by Mommy!

Yes an excellent day!

My little idea explodes! Ravelympics 2008

Ravelympics 08 Banner, originally uploaded by WackyAuntie.

So where have I been lately? At the pool, knitting baby things for the soon to arrive nephew, enjoying playing with J-Man and Miss Mosey?

Nope...

You see I had this thought...wow. The Olympics are soon. Wonder if anyone on Ravelry would like to start a group. After a quick search I found a group and sent the creator a little email, "Gee would it be okay if I post up a few Event threads so everyone can have a place to chat about projects we'll be knitting during the Summer Games?"

Well...

Few weeks later and my little seed of an idea is now a full-blown melee, the First Inaugural International Ravelympics! As of my last update we're up to about 1200 signups (with most committed to multiple events).

I've been so busy signing up people with the help of my co-moderator that I'm falling behind in so many things! Oh and at the same time this idea popped in my head...my laptop suddenly went kaput and needed brain-surgery. Two replacement hard drives later, much angst and frustration, and countless trips up and down stairs to Hubby's computer... my laptop is recovered and I'm getting things back to normal. Or as normal as they'll be for the next month while I'm in the throes of Ravelympic Fever '08!

Gotta get back to work... more Ravletes signing up as we speak!

It's Pool time!

Pool Day, originally uploaded by WackyAuntie.

It's been awhile so here's a quickie...

Can you tell where I'm going with this...yep it's hot here and yes we go to the pool a lot now! I've discovered the joys of wallowing in the cool clear blue waters to beat the heat.

I also spend considerable time packing a heavy 42 pound "Monkey" around, to the detriment of my back.... I really must get him swim lessons here soon.

He's less timid than at first but still not hugely enthusiastic about just diving right in...hence the death-grip hold he puts on Mama. He and Mosey have a blast - when they're not being The Bickersons and driving us all crazy with their petty squabbles (I get to open the gate, No I do, no me, no ME! Whaaaaaaa)

Here's a rare moment of solidarity to gang up on Uncle Onie (Tony), whose quick enough to swim away before getting squirt in the face.

Ahhh what happened to those days of baby-dom where they were just happy sitting there giving each other kisses in the inflatable pool...?

But wait... in just a few months...

...a new baby will appear! I don't know how Sis manages to look so cute and trim at 7 months, and actually even smaller than she did at Easter! (Hi Sis...yep, I put you on the blog! I did pick the tasteful black and white pic because everyone looks good in black and white!). I can't wait to see this newbie...hurry and get here baby! Your Auntie wants to meet you!! I think he'll make an appearance before the Sep 3 due date. He's already head down and ready to go. Mommy's ready too!

Oh look,

Our first international visitor of the summer. Meet Penny whose traveling the world to see just how many miles she can log during 2008. She's been to Turkey, Australia, currently flitting around the States, with a stop later this summer in Vegas (she's very excited about that leg of the journey). Then this fall she'll be in China. Thanks to a bunch of crazy Ravelry knitters Penny is having a blast touring the world!

We had fun showing her the sites and our favorite hangout, Aria Cafe. (Jana makes the best lattes and oh my lord the pastries are to die for...or at least gain 5 pounds from eating too many over the past months).


Yes she even had the wonderful Sunday morning experience of noisy motorcycles and diesel fumes to go along with her scone. Yum!

Then we did a bit of sightseeing:


First a museum,


Then a little window shopping (she has a fondness for handbags),


And of course no visit to our little corner of the world is complete without a picture in front of one of many Calaveras Frogs that decorate the area. She was quite smitten with this big burly guy.

Now dear Penny is somewhere in Ohio or Illinois having a great time and wracking up those frequent flyer miles (I love living vicariously through tiny hand sewn dolls with a lucky British penny inside).

So for now that's it from here. I'm off to go train for the Knitters Olympics! More to come on that endeavor soon...

Channeling Nigella

Some days...on rare days when the moon is blue and the planets align...I'm bitten by the baking bug. Today it was all about my Inner Domestic Goddess so of course I pulled out my copy of Nigella Express. She is my Idol, my Cooking Guru. Not only is she the laziest (not to mention messiest) cook around but her short cuts make perfect sense and the recipes are delicious.

On the menu: Banana Muffins. A sure fire way to make those black bananas disappear into golden, yummy sweetness that can't be beat. We've Two Variations on a Theme today: Mini Muffins with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips, and a Loaf with Montmorency Dried Cherries.

My personal favorite is the cherries but the peanut butter/chocolate chip also go down nicely with milk.

The second key to my baking success today: Move the baking cannisters out from the pantry to the cupboard in the kitchen. Viola! I'm so much more inspired to bake when I can reach into the cupboard and in five seconds have the ingredients out on the counter before I have second thoughts...or my innate ennui reasserts control over me and I abandon my urge to bake. Before, with those silly cannisters in the pantry there were just too many steps involved and I'd quickly lose the desire to bake.

And of course when I do get bit by the bug I go whole hog and it's usually a baking extravaganza where several recipes are made and I'm exhausted by the end of the session. Not today. Today it was all about "express" baking with minimal effort for maximum results a la Nigella.




So I'm good for a while now...no more baking until the bananas go black again!

Teatime anyone?

Sick Day (or Misery Doesn't Love Company, or anything else for that matter…)

After a whole night of waking up hourly to answer the call of the J-Man (Achoo…Mama…..my nose….) I finally accepted it: J-Man has a cold, or flu or something. Initially figured it was allergies since he suffers terribly and 'tis the season. But no…he's sick. Undeniably sick.

So the living room is the sick room today. All decked out with a mattress, tissue bag, numerous boxes of tissues and most importantly: the tv remote. Yes, at our house being sick means guilt-free, unedited viewing all day of PBS Kids, Noggin or whatever makes my little guy stop whimpering continuously.

He is Misery personified today. He doesn't want anything, won't lay down and rest, just sits there looking pitiful. My day is filled with the sounds of "Achoo" followed by "Whaaaaaaaaa, ahhhhh, my nose, mama my nose…." Is this child incapable of sneezing into the tissue on his own? I guess so. If I don't succumb to the misery it'll be a miracle.

But finally…hours later he sleeps. I tiptoe around the house hoping to not awake sleeping sick boy because the quiet is so peaceful (apart from the inane and seemingly endless commercials on the tv-which I hate but tolerate if it makes him happy and keeps him sleeping).

Don't worry. I won't post the other picture of how my day is going. You don't want to see it. I thought the day couldn't get any worse…but no. Today the toilet decides to back up and overflow. So now not only do I have a whimpering boy to tend to I also have to stop everything to do a major cleanup of the bathroom. Granted, it did need a cleaning but I'd rather not do it because the toilet is being naughty.

So now my hands are chafed from cleaning. I'm cranky from lack of sleep. Hungry because I've not had a moment to feed myself anything beyond coffee and toast. And yes, it's Tax Day. I know, I know…it's not like I didn't know it was coming. But I also knew we'd owe so why rush to get them into the mail along with a check that's painfully large. Why not wait until very late on T-Day to rush to post office? Because, Murphy's Law dictates that today of all days when I need to do something Son gets contagiously sick, Toilet backs up, Hubby is in the field and incommunicado for the whole day, and all my Family are out of the county.

So it's just me…stuck at home with a terribly unhappy son, stressing about our taxes, seeing just how dirty my house is really is (thank you naughty potty) and doing endless rounds of laundry and dishes… Fun, fun fun! How's your day?