Yard Sale!!!

What's a fellow to do w hen his parents have hauled all sorts of stuff over to Memere's house and are busy selling it off?

Well, he can always color.

And make cute faces at Memere when she brings out the camera!

At least he did better than these two, who spent a fair amount of time in baby jail:





"Hey cuz, what are you so happy about??"

































So here's an abbreviated look at some of the layout today.

We had clothes.

We had lots of clothes, although not nearly as much as we've had other times.




There were tables full of stuff.

There were quilts on the fence. We even sold a couple of them!

The massage chair didn't sell. Maybe next time?

Yes, some of the leftovers have been held over for the "next sale." But most of the stuff has been moved on, turned loose on the world to find its uncertain fate.

Hey, it's out of my house, and that's the important element.


I made a rousing $42.50.

Well, I don't do it for the money. I might not have done it (I've just been donating stuff that I have decided to cull) but D3 really wanted to, and my house really is located extremely well for yard sales. D4 and D5 got into the act too. Then Friend Leigh joined in; she even made us some yummy taquitos and flautas for lunch. Mmmm, made from scratch, too. And refried beans, and rice, and guacamole...

So it was a day of camaraderie, and clearing out "stuff" and since the weather cooperated by being not TOO hot, I think a good time was had by all. Even the kitties, who spent the day in my room, seemed to enjoy themselves. I gave them an extra can this morning, so they spent the time in a food coma sunning themselves on my bed! (Their feeding station is in my bathroom, so they had food, water, litter box, scratchy pad, and my bed. Don't pity them!)

Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a bathtub upstairs that's calling my name.

Nov. 7--Under the Wire!

Just a quick post tonight, to keep my NaBloPoMo cred going!

We've been setting up for the yard sale tomorrow. There is an incredible amount of stuff in the back, everyone's been working hard, and there is a lot more stuff out of the house.

I'll take pictures, promise. See if you agree with me that's it's incredible!

Nov. 6--Busy Busy

There are some days when I start off at speed and just keep going all day long. Well, this wasn't exactly one of those days, but it was pretty busy nonetheless.

Oh, that image? It's a leftover from the Ravelympics, but it's one of my favorites. It's the Death of Rats, who is Death's little sidekick and quite a character all on his own, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. All he ever says is "Squeek" but he says it with a lot of expression.

If you've never read any of the Discworld books, and you're not quite sure you'd love them, start with The Wee Free Men, the first of the Tiffany Aching stories. It's followed by Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith; they're classified as "young adult" but really, I think they're good for almost all ages. It helps to be familiar with the classic folk tales, because there's a lot of references to them. The characters are wonderful; some of them appear in some of the other Discworld novels, but then that's true of the whole series. Try them!

Anyway, that's not exactly where this post was intending to go, but it's as good a place as any. I've had a busy kind of runaround day; Little Missy is beginning to walk alone, but she still likes to have a finger or two to hold on to, especially going up and down stairs. Add in a couple of trips to Target and a few other errands, and here I am, ready to crash for the night.

So I'll say goodnight. At least I did get a post done today--almost forgot--and with a little book reviewing included, it's even got some substance!

Nov. 5, Or why I love my trash guys

Why do I love my trash guys?

This is why: 14 empty trash cans at my curb. Eleven of those held cardboard; the rest were "house trash."

All gone, and the nicest thing about it is that they sort and recycle at the plant. So none of it will go to waste, at least none of the recyclable stuff, like all that cardboard.

Used kitty litter? No comment.

So, onward to other topics on this momentous post-election day. I don't think it's any secret to anyone who knows me that I'm a down-deep Democrat, and even something of a bleeding-heart liberal, and I almost always have faith that people are basically going to to the right thing. I'm delighted with the election of President Obama, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in the next four years.

I'm not so happy that Proposition H8 passed. In fact, I'm astounded and unhappy about it. I'm not going to dwell on it here; but I will be watching to see what happens next, with a great deal of interest.

The lawyer in me (she's not buried by a long shot!) is fascinated by the legal maneuvering, if nothing else.

Okay, so let's talk yarn instead. I did get to spend some time actually knitting both last night and today, and it's a very pleasant topic. Plus I got a couple (cough cough) of packages today, and I thought I'd share them.
This one is a Webs closeout, Filatura di Crosa Zarone, in hot pink. I love their Zara and Zarina, so how could I resist a bulkier version of the stuff at $2/ball?

Hey, I'm only human!

Then there is the Kauni. I think I've gone off the deep end for Kauni.

Two balls of deep red. A hank of rose/cream/beige, and one of shaded dark roses.

Oh, and a ball of blue/purple and one of grey/cream/purple.
Yes, I have fallen off the wagon. But in my defense? When else can I get such great buys on Kauni?

Yes, I do plan to knit with it all. Just wait and see!

Really.

I'm not going to just pet it and talk to it. Nuh-huh.

I'm going to knit with it.

Really!

Nov. 4--Election Day!

Remember that huge lineup of boxes that was alongside the fence at the back of the driveway?

All those boxes we've been working on emptying out?

Well, the boxes are gone. As witness, here's the way my sidewalk is looking.

All those trash cans full of broken down boxes!!

Yay. One more milestone.

This weekend, there will be a yard sale (almost typed "yarn" sale--nope, nope. not this time!) and I'm hoping that it will provide even more motivation to move stuff out.

Since the election results are still coming in, I'm going to wait till tomorrow to talk about them. However I do want to share some thoughts that a friend of mine sent me. Here's a snippet from his email:

You know Mumzie, earlier today I was recalling a conversation I had with one of my teachers during the time of the Bush Sr. and Dukakis election and I commented to her that I don't care about the election or the issues (I was obviously much more passive then) but I remember commenting to her that I would like to care about the election and would have liked to have been a part of an election like Thomas Jefferson's or Abraham Lincoln's where I cared and it was historic for everyone and I felt like it meant something rather than it was just another 4 years later and another election, and I am really glad to have been a part of this election.

I'm glad to have been part of this election too. I hope that you feel the same way!

November 3--Election Day Eve

Here's a mischievous little face to start this post off right! Little Missy was quite busy today--she's taking this "walking" stuff very seriously. She will take a few steps, preferably from one person to another, and since we think it's wonderful so does she.

She also is a great one with a sippy cup. She takes big swigs--of course, hers have "valves" so she gets a reasonable amount, not the huge gulp she'd get with a normal cup. Hey, it's progress.

Today was definitely a funny-hair day, too. She woke up from her naps with very damp curls sticking up all over the place! Since it was a bit cool out, she was wearing her new hat for the outing.

Project for tonight: that Great Wall of Boxes from the back of the driveway?

Moved to the sidewalk to await pickup.

Rediscovered: that whole area of driveway. We're planning a yard sale this weekend, and tonight was the perfect night to get rid of the old cardboard nightmare.

I have a friend who is easily bribed, who came over and broke all these down for us and put them into the trash cans and hauled them to the curb. You can't tell, but my Explorer is parked behind them.


On to prettier or at least more creative things! New Moon had a sale on flannel, and I thought it would be fun to make rag quilts for the two youngest. So I had fun picking out fabrics:

For Missy A, a nice selection of pinks, lavenders, soft aqua, and creamy yellows. Lots of flowers and butterflies, too.

For Mr. Nate, a "boy" collection of blues with a little cream thrown in.

Both sets have stripes and polka dots, but in different colors. It was a lot of fun picking out the fabrics--I hope the fun lasts through the interminable cutting and sewing and washing and clipping that these quilts entail.

Well, posting about it here will help keep me working. You'll all nag me, right?

Right?


Last up, my first shipment from Lotus Yarns' Big Ass Yarn Club. Heavier than sock weight, which is Melanie's usual base yarn, I'd say this is maybe sportweight. Lots of it, and I love the colorway--"Bliss" which just about describes it!

Hopefully I will soon be able to wind and start swatching this and some of the other new yarns I've somehow acquired. Even though I'm not supposed to be getting yarn, it still seems to find me. Funny how that works!

Oh, and talk about bringing people over to the "dark side." D1 is now a "real knitter" and has finished her first pair of socks! She's working on a sweater, and on a recent business trip actually looked for (and found!) yarn shops. But the kicker? She's now a Raveler! Say hi to Fooshknitstoo if you're over in the Ravelhood!

Nov. 2--All Souls' Day

Or, alternatively, the Day of the Dead. Dia de los Muertos. A day to remember those who have gone before us, hopefully to a better place.

One nice thing about my fall decorating is that it doesn't have to be taken down right away after Halloween. I think this little vignette can stay around till after Thanksgiving.

The quilt was a housewarming present from my friend Gwen, who has a truly world-class collection of quilts, mostly wall quilts and minis. I was delighted that she sent this one over to live with me!
I still want to make an autumn-leaf quilt, but I don't think it's going to happen this year. Too much else going on! We've got a garage sale coming up this weekend--on Saturday. I'll let you know if any yarn or fabric is going to go in the sale. Right now, I'm not thinking so, except maybe for some home-dec stuff that's been kicking around here for ages.

Once the sale is over, there will be preparation for the birthday season: D5 and her daughter have birthdays in November, two days apart. I believe a celebration is planned for Little Missy, but we can't forget her mama too!

Oh, there has been some acquisition of yarny goodness here.

I know I'm not supposed to. But really, I had--HAD!--to have some Monster Mash. Just had to.

And the other skein is a heavier weight, in a colorway called Ruthie. I couldn't leave Ruthie there all alone, now could I? Especially since my mother-in-law was Ruth.

Now to see if I can find something named for my mom. That would be fun too.

And no,please don't suggest that the Monster Mash was named after me. I do love the way that little purple end sticks out of the orange, though, sorta like it's sticking its tongue out at me! Maybe I'll wind it up tonight...