BAG ENVY

My fairly crafty, but decidedly needle averse gal pal, Beth travels to book trade shows in her job. Even though she thinks my knitting obsession is goofy, she has faithfully brought me several (well bunches, actually) of swell and FrEE bags for my knitting. I have 6 such bags currently in use: (1) the dishcloth bag (2 UFOs there); (2) the side-to-side garter stitch sweater bag; (3) sock bag--duh (2 nearly completed socks there); (4) the ridiculously long red scarf bag (said scarf being knitted for son-Alex); (5) the baby blanket bag; and (6) the mitten bag.


I thought I was being somewhat obsessive to have that number and variety of projects going at once. UNTIL an epiphany arrived just the other day by way of knittingdaily.com. http://www.knittingdaily.com/posts/bags/253-1.html (that link is really ugly--I don't know how to make it nice and pretty like everyone else does). An article there shares a lovely knitting bag and discusses the author's obsession with knitting bags. She also shares the fact that her UFOs are in DOUBLE DIGITS. Apparently this is not unusual in the knitting world as scores of others came forth to post comments confessing to similar numbers of UFOs.

HOLY SHIT. I'm not even in the running here . . . I've got empty needles . . . I've got stash . . . I've gotta cast on more stuff . . . there is the Lucy Bag, another baby blanket, booties to go with the blankets, felted slippers for Christmas gifts, something lace--I've never really done lace, except lace-ish dishcloths, and MITTENS, ohhhhhh Mittens are almost as much fun as socks, and more and more socks . . . LATER
oh yeah, Beth-- I will need more bags

How 'bout that new dog??

We already have a MONSTER POODLE. His name is Chai, 'cause he's cream colored and spicy, just - just like the Indian tea, chai.

(haven't had chai? ohhhhh drink some -- NOT from a mix and NOT at Starbucks--go to an Indian restaraunt, order some saag paneer, papdi chat, maybe a little chicken korma, or tiki masala AND hot chai--it's black tea steeped with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, etc and milk)

CHAI is a non-standard Standard Poodle. He is 85 pounds of pure poodle love and muscle comin' at you ready for some smak-down wrestling which usually ends up with some human getting a split lip since he always manages to whack his opponent with his skull.

Long story short . . . I met Bentley our new black-as-night 14 mo old Standard Poodle at PetSmart when I dropped Chai off to be groomed . . . I truly didn't NEED another dog any more than I needed to coach soccer . . . but even in the all-about-Ann era not all things fit neatly into either the "need" or "want" column. Bentley needed a home and I wanted him, so it all worked out.

Consulting Kelly directly would have surely resulted in a veto of the second dog. I mentioned having met Bentley several times, which was almost like consulting Kelly, right? After 25 years of marriage you'd think Kelly would be just a little more perceptive. Anyway, after I passed muster from the ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation) people and got Bentley home, I called Kelly to confess my sin. He didn't hang up--didn't yell--actually he didn't say anything for a loooooong time--he just said he'd be home. Uncertain of his role in this drama, Bentley settled down on the rug by the garage door. Kelly came through that door and growled, "let's see this dog." Bentley sat up at Kelly's feet and lifted a paw to him. Kelly melted . . . "awwwwww, hello puppy."

SOLD--life is good (and I'm blessed with a fine man)

My guys (left-to-right) Captain Oblivious (aka Kelly) Chai & Bentley.

A Weekend in Atchi-town

Parents Weekend was this weekend at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Sooooooo, Kelly and I went to visit Meredith and watch her play soccer.

Last year I enlarged a fairly grotesque photograph of Meredith's face and pasted it to a paper plate and affixed it to a stick, cut out eye holes and a mouth and waved it around during the game and pretty much made an ass of myself with it--it was fun. On Thursday Meredith called to ask what I was doing this year because it had been a subject of discussion. I told her I hadn't planned anything and she said, "oh yeah, like I believe that." Oh CRAP, I really hadn't planned anything.

Fortunately, when I was Michigan at the Dunegrass Festival (heavy emphasis on the grass for most of the other festival goers, not me) I was feeling waaaaaay too normal, so I spent $55 on a tye-dyed sundress thang. So, I pulled that out along with a big goofy hat. On the brilliant advice of my friend Beth I printed some team photos on cardstock, cut them out and strung them on some red yarn (a lovely wool, silk, and rayon mix--yummmm) for a necklace. When the team was being introduced I slipped that little ensemble on over my clothes and voila, I was suitably ridiculous looking. (See necklace on Meredith)

It was especially fitting that the dress was very muumuu-like because Meredith and her friends periodically declare a muumuu day and wear their thrift store muumuu attire to class. And now the muumuu is in the wash because Beth's son Wally has to have something suitably ugly to wear for gender bender day at BTW tomorrow. As it turns out, that $55 was very well spent!

Now just WHY am I coaching soccer???

For months I have been crowing that Friday, August 17, 2007 (the day after we deliver Alex to school at OU) would be Annie Liberation Day. That day would be the inauguration of the ERA OF ANNIE. A time when, except for college parents' days and school holidays, absolutely EVERYTHING would be ALL ABOUT ME. (and a few things might, by some serendipitous extension of my pleasure-filled life, be somewhat about my husband, Kelly).

BUT, two days before ALL-ABOUT-ANNIE-EVE (that would be Tuesday August 14) my sister-in-law called to say my niece hannah's soccer team was without a coach. "Well hell, that sucks for them" . . . and if you know me, you know that's EXACTLY what I said. . . . right.

So, the Fireballs, the best collection of under 8 girl soccer players in Sapulpa, Oklahoma got me for a coach, and soccer re-appeared on my list of obsessions--coincident with the Womens' World Cup in China, I might add. So, of course I've been getting up at 4am to watch those matches. And of course, Alex and Meredith call me at different times throughout the day to discuss those matches.

What really really really sucks about the whole Annie is coaching again turn of events is that this spring in a rare and obviously misplaced fit of maturity, I threw out my boots (soccer cleats to you). I thought, erroneously as it turned out, that at my age, being waaaay overweight, having bad knees and an iffy back, with kids both over 18, my soccer days were over, except for the pure joy of spectating. STUPID ANN

The kids are a BLAST. They are learning quickly, owing entirely to their own wits and a few simple skills poorly, but enthusiastically, demonstrated by me.

And now I must find myself in bed soon as Kelly and I are leaving tomorrow morning at about 4am to drive 5 hours to get to Benedictine College for a 10 am soccer game--a consequence of the occurrence of an aforementioned college parents' weekend. And THEN I swear it will be ALL ABOUT ME . . . until 6pm on Monday when it's time for practice (or maybe a bit before then because you can't just show up to coach a practice without a plan).

My blog SUCKS! . . . BUT my life is GOOD

More than once I've thought about what I should write about in my blog. I've thought about it so hard and so effectively that it was a COMPLETE surprise to me that my last entry was 6 (six) months ago. [Lawyers do that numeral (number) thing--I've always thought it was stupid].
Since my last entry I have:
--ridden my 12th consecutive Oklahoma FreeWheel bike ride
(Cross-state bike ride from Texas border to Kansas border)
--cheered my son in at least 10 bike races (including nationals in Pennsylvannia)
--moved my daughter (Meredith) home from school in Kansas--and back again
--moved my son and youngest child (Alex) into college at OU
--attended a bluegrass music festival in Michigan
--completed a fine arts photography class
--acquired a new dog (Standard Poodle, Bentley, adopted from ARF)
--begun coaching my niece's under 8 girls soccer team
--knitted 4 and 2 half socks (individuals NOT pairs) and countless dishcloths and some other stuff
--filled my i-pod with over 12 gigs of music
--listened to most of that music
--sewn a couple of skirts and some pants
--tried to teach Meredith to sew (she made a top--cute!)
--celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary
--made my bed at least twice

WHEW!!! I need to get out more . . . I'm obviously ROTTING away with all the sitting around.
SERIOUSLY . . . I LOVE my life . . . I have most of what I want and everything I need (although I could use a haircut)