Sugar Bunny Boulevard

Contemplating and Spiffing

Hellow (where did that come from?) Dear Readers. 

I only have a moment because I have procrastinated about posting this all morning.  And I've been knitting. And drinking some tea.  And reading (and commenting on!) some blogs.  Visiting my Bloglines list has been like going back to your home town after being away for ten years.  Things change.  People move.  And pass away.  And some are still there.  Some are divorced, some are still happily chugging along in the same place as they've always been as if you were never gone.  Its a strange experience.

 
Tazo tea, Earl Grey.  Monkey Socks in a very unobnoxious orangey color.  They've been on the needles a long time - apparently since September 2008 which is when I printed the pattern.  They'll be for me for a change.  Oh I have so many undocumented FOs.

Right this moment Lila Pearl has gotten a box of whole wheat penne pasta from the pantry and is asking me, "Mommy, have you ever painted with these?"  As if she doesn't recognize it as a food product.  ha

Soooo, as I was saying.  I've been pondering the appearance of my blog.  So I did some quick and dirty spiffing a while ago.  Needed a fresh look.  Not totally satisfied with it but its something new.  I want to be able to adjust the left sidebar to be narrower but this is a cookie cutter template from Typepad so you get what they give you.  Beggers can't be choosers, so to speak.

And I have been contemplating the fund raising.  I have had so many good suggestions (which I didn't actually ask for but am appreciating OH SO MUCH!) and I need to keep from getting overwhelmed by options and just take Action.  Pattern writing, while brilliant, takes more time than we really have.  I will have a PayPal button up very shortly.  And will be suggesting a few options for raffle objects.  One that I'm considering is my original Entrelac Scarf (yes, the one in the pattern photos).  Does anyone think that's weird, like uh, "we don't want your thing that you've been using for the past four years?"  So many people have admired it.  It was the first thing that came to my mind.

The second raffle object that came to mind was to knit a wee darling toy lamb like this one that I made for a little friend of mine who broke her elbow (!) and had sugery.  More than a few people asked if I would knit them one but balked at the price I would ask.  I'd much rather have a knitalong for it at the new shop.  :)

Another idea was to have a garage sale!  Cool!!  The next three weekends of my life, however, will involve driving to Oklahoma and swapping kids who are on spring break the week before during or after.  This Saturday is the start of that.

So, yes - I'm planning and organizing all of this in my head.  Dreading the stash dive I'm about to make and really thinking I don't have much that I am willing to part with.  Some of it truly is irreplaceable and most of it was gifted to me.  So that's a tough idea.  I'm more into the raffles.  And into dyeing new stuff.  Oh, yes, and another great idea was to offer special perks to donors at a certain level.  Coupons, discounts, pre-opening shopping party.  Ideas.... Ideas!!!  I like 'em. 

Be well and take care of every little thing.  I'll see ya right back here.  :)   XOXOXOXOX
  

Dusting

Hello Dear Ones.  :)

I'm here dusting off the blog.  I have read people say that so many times on their long neglected blogs over the past 5+ years since I have been blogging.  Yes, it was five years of blogging for SugarBunny back in January, if you can even believe it.

So I'm here.  Dusting.  Because, as everyone always does, I intend to begin blogging on a regular basis again.  Promises, promises.  Yes yes.  Well, I have a plan, oh readers.  I have a plan. 

And a purpose.

And I may just be starting over from scratch again with blog readers.  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Blog stats will tell, I believe.  Things have changed around here at typepad too.  Looks and feels different.  The blog needs some spiffing.

And without yapping you into a zombie stare, I'll explain my purpose.

I'm opening a yarn shop y'all.  And some people who follow me on Facebook already know that.  Some don't.  I've been kind of hushy about it because I've been working on it a really long time and not really sure it was actually going to Happen.  Kind of like when you're trying to get pregnant and don't want people bugging you about it all the time so you don't tell anyone.  When we were trying to conceive our first baby it happened right away so I didn't have to keep any secrets for long.

You might say I'm having fertility issues with the yarn shop. Or maybe its just been a very very very long gestational period.  And I'm ready to talk about it.  The concept was dormant for a very long time.  Years.  Some time during 2008 I was feeling the Yarn Shop Internal Clock begin ticking when I saw a space for rent on Main Street that was next door to a coffee shop and I just thought it would be a really great location for a yarn shop.  Thankfully someone rented the place and turned it into a cute little bakery, which sent the internal yarn shop clock back into hibernation.

During September 2009 that space became vacant.  Apparently the bakery didn't thrive.  When I drove past and saw a sign in the window I didn't think twice - I phoned the realtor that second to find out the details and scheduled an appointment to visit the space.  I took my friend Sue on the tour of this space and when we walked back to the car we both were thinking "No Way."  Then Sue said, "Hey, how about I show you another space on South Main Street that is vacant?"  This town isn't that big and I couldn't imagine what space it could be.

We drove to South Main and saw the location - it was one that I had thought, many MANY times, would be a Heavenly location for a yarn shop (yes, I've lived here 4 1/2 yrs and the perfect yarn shop location has always been on my mind).  This is at 201 S. Main Street in El Dorado.  In its past it was a Montgomery Ward department store, then a home interior store, then a church (as far as I know).  So I found the perfect space!  Yay!  That was back in September 2009!!!!!  And by the Grace of God, its still available.  Bad economy?  Divine grace?  Whatever the reason, its still there for me.  Waiting for me to sign a lease.  Keep your fingers crossed about this space.  Its sooooo perfect.

 
201 S Main, El Dorado, KS - Approx 3000 sq feet for yarn, pattern books, magazines, needles and notions, several tables for sitting and chatting, spinning supplies, enclosed classroom, coffee center (wet bar) at the back, and in the future, fabric for quilting and sewing and a cutting table.

So I immediately started figuring out What To Do.  HOW do you start a business?  Well, unless you're flush with cash, you must have a well developed Business Plan.  Lots of resources on the internet for developing your business plan.  And with encouragement and direction from local business owners and others with an interest in developing Main Street in El Dorado, I was quickly in touch with people who could point in the right direction with how to start a new business.  I had an advisor who was giving me great advice on how to proceed with my business plan, what to include, etc etc.  I applied for financing with Main Street El Dorado and South Central Kansas Economic Development District (SCKEDD).  I also visited two banks and applied with two other microloan programs.  Whew.  And then started waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  Picture a clock with the hands twirling around.  Picture a calendar with the pages being blown and tearing off on their own and flying away out of sight.  Yes.  That kind of Waiting.  In the mean time I drove past the shop every day.  Sometimes several times.

Big display windows (fun! lots of work!) There are actually big doors with paned glass that seperate the display windows from the showroom floor area.

Last fall I was approved for loans with El Dorado Main Street and SCKEDD.  But I was still lacking $15,000.  Whew.  No problem, right?  Well, there was a problem.  $15,000 is a lot of money when you're out of collateral.  SCKEDD is using everything we've got for collateral.  Home equity and vehicle that we just paid off.  Opening inventory (yarn!), furniture and fixtures for the business.

Original vintage tiles in Both entryways.  I'm really nutty about these tiles.

Finally we were turned down by banks and every available microloan lender that wasn't already giving us money.  So the only thing left, as far as I could tell, was to reduce the start-up costs for the business.  So I slashed numbers.  And sent it back to SCKEDD.  And resubmitted to Main Street.

 
Future home of Sugar Bunny Boulevard (Yarn Fiber and Fabric).  Spacious. Ready, but for a wee bit of paint.  Remodel in the future if I like it and choose to buy the space.  Two bathrooms, enclosed classroom over there at the far left just out of camera range, childrens play space just past that (you can see the half wall there), and a nice big room in the back for storage and possible dyeing workshops.

When the results came back and we pledged our own tax refund, and loan committees had re-evaluated my information, we were still $3000 short.  That's it.  In the grand scheme of life, $3000 is small.  Nothing!  Except when you don't have it.

So that's what stands between me (Us) and the yarn shop.  Two times in my life I've been told "Laura, I know you can do it."  The first time was my attorney back in 1998 when I had to come up with money to pay him before he would file a motion regarding custody.  He knew I could do it, and I did.  This time it was by my business advisor who is very excited for this business to take off and be successful.  She has confidence in me.  I know I can do it.

Where will I get $3000?  It's time to get inventive.  I thought I was inventive as I wrote up my business plan and went to meetings selling everybody in town on how great this yarn shop idea is.  But now I'm having to pull out all the stops and find $3000.  Is it in my couch cushions?  In my yarn stash?  In my crazy brain full of ideas?  Yes, we believe it is.  When the only thing standing between me and opening the shop is $3000, I can find it.

Now to figure out where.

Natural Dyeing with Black Walnuts

I've been working on a photo album on FaceBook documenting my experience with dyeing some yarn with black walnuts.  I haven't tried linking to a FB photo album before but I'll give it a try.  I'm always posting stuff on FB thinking "I wish I could just link this as an update to my blog."  I'd sure like to be blogging more again.  :)

Click here to see my photo album about Black Walnut dyeing.

And if you don't care about dyeing yarn with black walnuts, how about a picture from the garden?  :)

WinterFleur

Hello, I'm alive!  Surprise!?

 

I went with a gaggle of gals to the Estes Park Wool Market in June.  Sewed the buttons on my February Lady Sweater when we got to town (the above picture was taken on our way out of town at the end of the weekend).  Somehow the girls convinced me to do a yarn ball winding lesson while driving.  Peer pressure.  It's awful!

 

We went back to Estes Park two weeks later for a family vacation.  It was HEAVENLY.  I'd take everyone in the world with me if I could.  Then we came home.

 

 

A few days later I was served with custody papers by X for my daughter Katie's custody (because she wanted to go).  Oh the joy of attorneys, court, being served at home, coming up with money from nowhere to pay for it all and an angry teenager.  I'm through fighting about custody and going broke over it.  She moved back to her dad's on Sunday.  Anyone who has been through this agony of your daughter leaving to live with Dad two states away is welcome to offer suggestions on how to recover and get through the overwhelming sadness and angry feelings.

And life goes on.  I'm developing a pattern for a new class at Twist: beginning stranded knitting.  The pattern is called WinterFleur.  Like it?  I thought it was a bit girly but my 17yo son really likes it so maybe its more gender neutral than I was thinking.

 

And there's a synopsis of my summer.  Wow.  I wonder if I'll ever get up to blogging more than four times a year again?

Love you and miss if you're reading this.  Are you on FaceBook?  I post there a few times per day and have lots of photo albums of the kids and our vacations, Emeline giving Lila Pearl a hair cut, etc.  Send me a friend request if you're a FB user!  Laura Towns Spradlin

Take good care of every little thing.  XOXOXOXOXOXOX   :)

Knitting Progress

I'm motivated to blog because I have knitting progress to show and I actually have some in-progress photos.  It's a small miracle.

I have had a hard time blogging for a while, mostly for the reasons mentioned in my previous post.  At least I think those are the reasons.  I've felt pretty overwhelmed for a while, but I'm not sure by what.  I've been in denial about my diabetes since shortly after the official diagnosis.  It's just something that will go away, right?  Ohh sure.  I feel like I've been waiting for the increased activity of summer time to arrive.  And then surely I'll lose 10 or 15 lbs.  And then surely my glucose numbers will come down.  And then surely I won't have to take diabetes meds any more because I'll be praised by my doctors and thought of as healthy and successful at overcoming diabetes without really having to work at it.  Surely.  Bleh.  Right.  Not so sure. 

But warmer weather and less rain and energetic little girls has put me in the yard more in the past week or so.  And it really feels good.  Sunshine is good.  Bending at the waist and pulling weeds is good.  Planting flowers in my big pots for the porch is good.  Very good.  Eating salad is good.  Having things to do is good.  Coming out of hibernation is good.

Planting flowers.  Yes.  It is a hopeful activity.  Not that I'm ever lacking hopefulness.  Or something of that sort.  I do things but.... I'm wondering if the seasons or hormones or our amount of family sickness or I'm not sure what... Something has been getting me down for a while and I'm feeling much better right now.

And knitting is good.  Knitting for myself is exceptionally good.

Pattern:  February Lady Sweater
Yarn:  O-Wool Balance (50/50 wool cotton)
Color:  Peridot

 

 

I love every color of this yarn.  They all have sort of a whitewashed effect.  This is like a whitewashed mint color.  Green milk paint.  It's a very calming color for me to spend time with and I'm looking forward to wearing it soon.  Very soon.

I hope you are all happy and well.  Take good care of every little thing!!  XOXOXOXOX

Catching Up

Hello Dear Friends  :)

 

I've just spent a while catching up on the past month+ of your blog posts.  I'm so envious of the time Margene and the SLC crew spent with Norma - really really envious.  Did you know that Kelly is expecting a baby?  I thought that was such awesome happy news for them.  :)

 

So I've been confirming plans and people and everything for our trip to Estes Park in June.  I have invited several friends from my LYS/KIP group to drive with me and share the travel and lodging expenses.  This past Saturday morning I was driving to Panera bread to begin my knitting day.  It seems that I always destress during the 25-35 minute drive into town and often think about things I've "put away" until I have quiet times.  I almost always show up at Panera saying "I've been crying in the car again."  This time I was reminiscing about the trip to Estes Park two years ago and how much fun we had.  And it was a happy bit of tears looking forward to the trip again, though it will be very different with so many people driving with me and so many people I know staying with us.  I had plenty of "alone time" during the last trip - that won't happen this time around, I don't think.  It'll be awesome, but different.  All the alone time really spoiled me last time.  And then again... I really needed the alone time during the last trip - in the midst of the Rebuilding Greensburg - Block By Block project.

 

I just started February Lady Sweater on Saturday evening for myself in O-Wool Balance (50/50 cotton wool.  I hope my 8 skeins will be enough!)  The first sweater for myself since the Calliope shell a few years ago that turned out too big and I never wear it.  I really need to take my own advice and find a way to make it fit better rather than throw away all that work and time spent.  I hope to have the FLS finished by Estes.  I also recently made a darling little bolero for my daughter Katie - I was so proud that I knit it from my mind, not a pattern, and it came out perfectly.  I wish it was big enough for me.  I could wear it if I lost about 40 pounds.  ha

 

Anyway, I wanted to write and connect.  I miss you all more than I can really understand.  My world has become much less blog and internet, and much more home and local.  I'm on the computer a lot (it seems) but I'm feeling my priorities in my home and community and local yarn shop.  I'm teaching quite a few classes at my LYS and staying busy with it.  Writing patterns to use with my classes because it's easier and works better than using existing patterns written by other people (though I am still using Susan's "Spring Things" shawl for my Lace III class and we all love it).  I need to upload my newer scarf patterns to Ravelry for my Lace I and II classes.  And I've begun a Needlework Ministry group at my church including learn2knit with 5 new students at the moment and more on the way starting May 20th.  The excitement never stops with the new knitters and their path to knitting success.  Changes your entire perspective about things sometimes. 

 

Benny will be a senior in high school next year, Katie is about to get her drivers license.  Suzannah is still hanging in there, about to be 13 this summer with all the joy that being 13 brings to life.  *cough*  Emeline starts Kindergarten this fall and Lila Pearl starts pre-school, if you can believe it.  Jeff and I have a few dreams living in our head of moving out of our house (new neighbors change everything sometimes), and a yarn shop is lurking in the mist of our future plans.  Just waiting for everything to feel right before doing those big things.  At the moment we're looking for a new car.  Priorities!  Priorities!

 

Take care of every little thing - yourself and each other.  I love you and miss you and hope you are all happy and blessed.  XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX    :)

 

PS  I look forward to hearing if you'll be at Estes Park!

Wrapping Up February

Gracious.  Time flies.  And I'm not sure I've done a thing but it seems like I've been very very busy when you put it all down on paper (or the computer screen).

So let's see.  February was filled with quite a bit of craziness.  All of us had a mild case of the flu except the babies - they had flu shots so we were hopefully spared that misery.  The last one to get sick was Katie and she stayed home from school with a headache one day.... I assumed because she was feeling left out from the real flu that makes you miss school.  It took about a week before everyone had it that was going to get it.

In early February I got to enjoy practicing for Special Music at church with two of my favorite grrlfriends from the choir.  I picked a song that they didn't know and we were singing acapella so it took a few good practice sessions to get it down - and wow - we had a lot of fun.  Our day to sing was February 15th.  We sang at both services and it turned out so nicely but at the end of the chorus for the last verse - about two measures from the end - I started thinking "oh no - this is the last time we'll sing this together" and I started to cry.  I'm so silly that way - I never want it to be over.  But that's okay - we're doing it again in June and I've already started picking the music - this time it will be a quartette.  I'm going to see if I can get a friend of mine to video record it and maybe the others won't mind if I put it on youtube.

The big kids' dad came up from Texas for Valentine's weekend.  Sunday morning I was surprised to see Benny and Suzannah come in for 2nd service at church and said they were getting away from Katie since she had been sick with the flu all weekend since Friday with fever and throwing up, etc.  Her daddy had been with her thru the worst of it at their hotel (right down the street - don't ya know that makes a mama hurt hearing how uncomfortable they all must have been) and once I got home from church (after all the singing and crying) he was insisting that she go to the ER.  I talked him out of it - it was just a relapse of the flu after all.  She came home to my house Sunday and the other two stayed with their dad because they weren't due to come back until Monday.  He called Monday saying we should take her to the doctor but her fever was down and she had started eating again - I didn't see a reason for her to see the doctor so he dropped off Benny and Suzannah and started for home.  Finally around 3:00 Katie's fever started going up again and she complained of her ear hurting and one side of her stomach hurt.  We called and had her at the doctor by 3:45.  She was really miserable and seemed like the flu was hitting her HARD.  The doctor poked around on her belly and ruled out appendix, then ruled out ear infection.  He said it's probably just an awful case of the flu, so he did a flu test (who knew? must be a new thing).  He came back five minutes later with a worried look.  She didn't have the flu and we needed to figure out why she had a 103+ fever for three days.  A urine test told it all:  kidney infection.  It was a sobering moment when he said "I can't let her go home."

So we spent three more days in the hospital with Katie on IV antibiotics and she was quite miserable most of that time and didn't want me to leave her side.  She had an early introduction to things like IVs, having your blood drawn at 6am by someone who can't find your vein, peeing in a "hat", and various other joys of staying in the hospital.

Katie at the hostpital with a crew of kids that came to visit after school - that really wore her out WAY more than she expected. 

That's kind of taken over our month, really.  Recovering from those few days away from the house is always harder than you expect.  While at the hospital I finished the body and sleeves of a youth size EPS cardigan.  Just need to sit down and steek the front so I can knit on the button band.  I started the 2nd mitten of a pair for Katie, but didn't get it finished - about to put in the waste yarn for the thumb on that one.

While at the hospital I got an email from my friend Shelly at Twist Yarn Shop revealing a plan for a series of lace knitting classes this summer.  I responded with some ideas and by golly I've got a new series of classes that I'm preparing for!  Lace I, II, and III!  I guess everyone around is pretty excited about it because the first round of classes for all three are full!  I've been busily knitting up store samples for the classes and am nearly half way through with the sample for Lace II - Branching Out in a lovely fingering weight alpaca.  Lace III will be another Susan Lawrence pattern - a triangle lace shawl called "Spring Things" knit with a lovely colorway of Cascade Alpaca Lace called "Flax Heather".  It's a honeybutter color with pink undertones.  Gorgeous.  And I'm choosing to knit the beaded pattern using peridot colored beads.  After looking through the Ravelry projects for this pattern I think I want to make the next one (listen to me, ha) in white with yellow beads.  I'm still on the hunt for just the most perfect beads - I need to check those projects pages again for bead suggestions.

So I'm knitting.  The kids are well now, and growing like crazy crazy crazy.  Jeff is working slightly less overtime right now which is a very happy thing.  It still seems like we have less opportunity than ever for family meals with all of us together but I know that's what happens when a family grows and gets older and kids have so many activities.

Benny and Adam - the Arby's Boys 

Benny is still working at Arby's.  He joined a men's league basketball team and will have his last game next week.  I'll be glad for that - he doesn't do much with it but he's been missing Wednesday night church which I think of as family time.  He's working harder than ever at some of his classes in school this year.  The sort of student that has never had to try very hard to get A's and has generally been an overachiever just to feel like he's doing something.... suddenly he has a few classes this year that don't just come naturally.  He's growing and learning with this difficult situation and seems to be taking the challenge responsibly to turn his grade around without me having to get onto him TOO bad.  We've had some serious discussions about expectations but if he's going to succeed in college away from home it has to be something he can do on his own.  It's better to start with baby steps now than to breeze through high school and get hit between the eyes with it (hard work and difficult classes) in college. 

Katie's blue glasses are a dead giveaway for which one is her in this picture.  :) 

Katie has gotten over the kidney infection with flying colors and started softball practice this week.  She waffled a bit over what sport to participate in this spring and finally landed back with her old standby - softball.  She played for many years in Texas and is really excited now to be back with the glove and ball and daily practices.  She's about to die from the practices at this point, and told me today that I was not to allow her to quit for any reason, no matter how much she argues that she wants to quit.  She said "I'm so worn out from practices right now that I would probably have already quit if it wasn't that you bought a nice glove and new cleats for me."  ha  Don't worry Katie, I won't let you quit.

Suzannah is the 3rd from the right in this picture.  Hard for me to tell sometimes who is who when they're in full makeup. 

Suzannah is enjoying a variety of activities and some of the privileges that come with "getting a little older than she was before".  She has started spending more time with friends after school and on weekends and is a member of the church Mime Team which is a really awesome ministry.  It's hard to explain but it's a great experience and I love watching their performances - generally a choreographed routine that uses a lot of sign language and mime moves to portray the message in Christian Praise Music.  She's also proud to say that she has the best GPA of our three school kids so far this year!

Emeline practices self portraits every time she can get her hands on our camera! 

Emeline should be heading up my ABC-along.  They have covered one letter per week in preschool this year and she's on T this week!  It's been fun for everyone in the family to help her think of what object to take for the "sharing box" at school based on the letter theme of the week.  They also have a color, shape, and Bible story for each week.  She is in "Cubbies" in the AWANA program on Wednesday nights at church and does a good job of memorizing her Bible verse every week if we do what we should as parents and help her out with it.  She loves memorization and is such a sponge for all things Learning and School right now.  She's excited to be turning 5 this summer - excited that she starts Kindergarten this fall - and is about to explode with happiness because she has a dentist appointment in 19 days!!!  hehe  She's crazy about going to the dentist!

Lila Pearl is hot on Emeline's heels for all things Learning!  Yesterday she wrote her name.  I nearly fell out of my chair.  She wrote her name.  She's three years old and hasn't even started preschool!!  I know it's not like she's some genius but it's still amazing.  And she's a potty trained Big Girl.  That's kind of old news now but she still likes to demand a reward of chocolate when she poops in the potty.  We should all get chocolate rewards for something, right?!  heh

I went to my first Diabetes Education Class last Monday night.  Whew.  There's a lot to know.  There's a lot to learn and it seems like everything is soooo serious.  I think I've mostly been in denial about my diabetic diagnosis ever since I was told.  But some of the facts and information I've been learning really put the seriousness in my face.  I am still trying to lose weight.  I haven't lost any in about a month, really - but I started yet another new weight loss plan this week.  I'll let you know how it goes.  It's hard to learn what you can't have - or can't have much of.  It will get easier when I have lost some weight.  And easier when I'm exercising more.  I'm still going to the Y as often as I can but it was hard to get started again after Katie was in the hospital.  The main thing that is hard to do is "take care of it NOW before it gets WORSE or you'll regret it LATER."  That's like telling someone who is 5 lbs overweight that they should lose it now or they'll have 50 lbs to lose later.  Hard concept to grasp, really, when you haven't been down the road yet.  As much as I hate doing it, I'm listening to the doctors and doing what they tell me.  Taking meds - but still exercising, trying to lose weight, and continuing to make a gradual lifestyle change for my family in the direction of eating healthier.  I really do love whole wheat pasta.  :)

Amid all of this, I'm working on a yarn order!  And I got a note this week from a dear sweet lady in Sweden named Annelis who owns a yarn shop in Geneve, a French speaking part of Sweden, she says - and she has asked my permission to translate my Grrlfriend Market Bag pattern into French for her customers who aren't so familiar or comfortable with English knitting terms.  I'm still amazed by that.  The Grrlfriend Market Bag is a pattern I haven't mentioned much here on the blog but it was published last year in July if I remember correctly and was an instant hit on Ravelry.  As of this writing it has been downloaded 2982 times and there are 233 projects listed on Ravelry (including my two).

I've recently updated my web site with class info and pattern links (tho failed to include a "contact me" link this time - what was I thinking?).  Any of my patterns can be found there.

For now I'm going to Knit (and dye!) On!  Take Good Care of Every Little Thing!  XOXOXOXOX

100 Things About Me

All right.  So I don't really do memes.  And I pretty much never respond to whatever people send around and want you to reply back if you're their friend, etc.  But I've had a sudden blast from the past with all the high school classmates showing up on FaceBook since I joined about two months ago.  It's like an internet game of telephone and friends are telling friends to get a FaceBook page cause they're missing out.  I really like it way more than I expected to.

A friend of mine posted a "25 Things About Me" list a few days ago and explained that since so many people are reading her page that she hasn't seen since high school she would do the list.  That prompted me to do it as well but my list turned into 100 things, which I never never been inclined to do on my blog because I didn't think there could possibly be 100 things about me that I would be willing to make public record of.  It worked out okay, so here's my list - mostly made for the non-knitters that I know so there's probably some "duh" stuff here for my knitting friends.  :)

100 Things About Me

1. I often forget to introduce myself as Myself - I generally say "I'm ____'s Mom.... uhh... er, oh, and my name is...." and if it's a non-kid related occasion I don't introduce myself at all if I can avoid it and I think that makes me seem unfriendly.
2. I never think anyone is looking at me.
3. The main rooms of my house have no window coverings.
4. I'm the loudest shy person you'll ever meet.
5. I've been married twice.
6. I have five kids and they're finally all out of diapers.
7. I knit so much that it's not just a hobby - it's a lifestyle.
8. I have a crazy amount of yarn in my house but I don't feel like I have any stash at all and when I go looking for something am always surprised to see yarn I had forgotten about.
9. I never get rid of books of any kind including ones I don't want.
10. I got married the first time when I was 17.
11. All of our wedding presents and every personal thing I owned were stolen during our honeymoon and never recovered.
12. I took piano lessons from 4th - 12th grade and still play for pleasure.
13. I played flute in band from 6th - 8th grade and have recently played my daughter's flute with the choir at church (my flute was stolen with the wedding gifts).
14. I lived in Crawford, Texas before President Bush bought property there.
15. I love to spin yarn from any fiber but especially from sheep wool that I have processed myself.
16. I am a born again Christian but am still having a hard time learning how to tell others about Jesus.
17. I think this is a self esteem or confidence issue so I keep praying that living by example and in service to others is what my role as a Christian is supposed to be right now.
18. I have wanted to spin yarn since seeing someone doing it at Greenfield Villiage when I was in high school.
19. Since I left home after graduation and was only around older people I couldn't picture what anyone my own age was doing with their life so in my mind my classmates have never aged, had kids or got married, and are all still in college.
20. I didn't go to college because I was convinced that my grades were too bad so I don't have a clue about the process and am learning about it now that my son is getting ready for that stage of life.
21. Marching bands always make me cry.
22. I used to promise my brother Jason that I would kill him someday for taking such joy from annoying me, so I tell people that's why he lives in El Salvador.
23. I believe beyond question that God answers prayers.
24. I once prayed for a friend and her daughter's safety at the same moment that she had a car accident.
25. The other two people in her car died.
26. Spiders and snakes and giant flying roaches and tarantulas startle me, but I can't think of anything I'm truly afraid of.
27. Some of the nicest people I know are ones I have met through my blog and Ravelry and I might never meet them but feel like I know them better than my neighbors and many personal acquaintances.
28. I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
29. A goal of mine is to reverse my diabetes and high blood pressure with lifestyle changes - specifically exercise, diet, and weight loss.
30. A goal of mine is to have a yarn shop in El Dorado.
31. A goal of mine is to have a fiber farm with sheep and host retreats.
32. A goal of mine is to live debt free.
33. I read about ADD several years ago and decided that I have ADD which explains a lot about my school years academically.
34. Knowing about the ADD still doesn't help with my prioritizing issues.
35. I obsess over making sure things always go in the same spot - everything has a home.
36. If something isn't put away exactly where it goes I think it's missing - even if it's just somewhere nearby to its "proper place".
37. My family gets very irritated with me about this obsession and I get irritated with them about it.
38. Anyone that's been in my house lately probably doesn't believe me that everything has a place.
39. I prefer vintage over new if the vintage object/appliance/tool still functions properly.
40. I wear my shoes socks underwear and bras until they wear out.
41. Bras wear out first, underwear last.
42. I prefer to wear hand knit wool socks in the winter.
43. I have never had a passport.
44. The only time I've left the United States was when we would vacation on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls when I was a kid.
45. I would like to visit my brother in El Salvador, but not to kill him.
46. I never went into a bar or had an alcoholic drink until I was 29.
47. I don't recommend divorce to anyone.
48. I didn't begin feeling like an adult until after I was divorced.
49. I would rather die than ever divorce again.
50. I had five kids before one finally looked like me.
51. My shortest labor was 1 hour.
52. My last delivery ended in c-section because I wanted to be induced so I could travel and see my sister for Thanksgiving.
53. I'm more proud of my children than I could ever express and wonder very often how it's possible that they have such good grades, are so self-confident and independent and are so much wiser than I was at their ages.
54. I'm always surprised at how much our dog seems to love me.
55. I've only had one speeding ticket in my life though I also got a ticket once for running a red light.
56. I was taken to jail on my son's birthday for not paying the red light ticket.
57. Jail was a nasty disgusting place to be even for just a few hours.
58. Even though I'm a stay at home mom now, I used to enjoy going to interviews and was sometimes disappointed when I got a job because I didn't get to interview any more.
59. It has never bothered me or made me sad when my children started school but the thought of my son going to college and moving out of the house makes me very sad.
60. I hope that he will go to college somewhere close enough that we can see him on long weekends.
61. I grew up in a house decorated with bold colors and it was sensory shock to visit that house again after moving away to a place with white walls and tan carpet.
62. I love to be surrounded by bold colors in my house now.
63. My parents didn't seem to age until I left home.
64. My parents divorced when I was 29.
65. I recently (stupidly) threw away the first thing I ever knit from a pattern.
66. I lived in the Waco, TX area (Crawford) when the Branch Davidian/David Koresh standoff was happening.
67. I lived in the Wichita, KS (El Dorado) area when the BTK killer was found.
68. I now live in the town where the BTK killer is in prison.
69. I never suspect any woman is a lesbian.
70. I sometimes suspect men living straight lifestyles are secretly gay.
71. I can't count the number of times I have read Gone With The Wind or how many times I've watched the movie.
72. I always thought Rhett should have given Scarlette another chance.
73. My last boyfriend in high school said he always thought I would marry him and asked for another chance when I told him of my engagement.
74. For over twenty years I wondered if I did the right thing by getting married to someone else.
75. I was profoundly grieved when I learned of his recent death.
76. I finally knew that I had made the right choice.
77. I lived in Kansas when the tornado struck Greensburg in May 2007 and tore up the whole town.
78. I hosted a knitting project to make afghans for families in Greensburg and delivered 50 afghans there in March 2008.
79. I still have enough squares to make about 50 more afghans for Greensburg families.
80. Squares for 50 afghans takes up a lot of space.
81. I love fishing camping and hiking.
82. I have never taken my children fishing camping or hiking.
83. I love taking lots of candid photos of my family and friends.
84. I refuse to hang pictures in a room until I have acquired the furniture items that I feel will make the room complete.
85. I have a lot of framed prints and photos in boxes waiting to be hung even though I have lived here 3 1/2 years.
86. I collect vintage floral hooked rugs, wind-up clocks, and things decorated with morning glories.
87. I have the world's largest collection of music boxes that play Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
88. I prefer Dana Girl Mysteries to Nancy Drew.
89. I have never served beets to my family so I have no idea whether they would like them or not.
90. I prefer to live where there are well defined seasons and there's enough snow and cold for winter sports.
91. I can't keep up with all of my good intentions.
92. I have a growing number of single socks and mittens waiting for the match to be knit.
93. Some will never get a match and I'm okay with that.
94. I love teaching people to knit and spin and seeing how much happiness it brings to their life.
95. When I started dyeing yarn I didn't think anyone would want to buy it.
96. I am still surprised when people buy my yarn.
97. I love giving things away on FreeCycle.
98. Estate sale and auction bargains make me ridiculously happy.
99. I feel close and bonded with my husband's long-time friends even though I really don't know them.
100. I can't believe I thought of this many things to write about - bless your heart if you read this far.

And today's my husband Jeff's Birthday!  Happy Birthday Sweetie.  I hope you like the somewhat healthy whole wheat chocolate cake that I'm making you.  :D

Everybody take good care of every little thing and maybe I'll post again in the reasonably near future!  XOXOXOXOXOX

Thorpe I

Doesn't fit me.

Knit entirely yesterday, January 27, 2009 including crochet edging.  Braids added this morning before we took Baxter out.  All random stash yarn, handspun, almost all hand dyed but not all by me - worsted weight held double throughout.  Made the large size but used US7 needles.  Going up in needle size for next attempt. And might use slightly quieter colors.  Maybe.

Diabetic Diet going well.  Might end up calling it Weight Loss Challenge '09 but that sounds so hopeful.  ha  We'll see how it goes.

B and C posts are in my mental queue.  But will I ever actually put them down and publish?  Ahhhh the mysteries of life.

Take good care of every little thing!  I'm thinking of my blog constantly but always think "work before play, work before play...." and the work never gets done!  XOXOXOXOXOX

PS  Visit me on FaceBook as Laura Towns Spradlin!  :)

One Girl

We have a family full of Girls.

Yesterday Girl One graduated from Diapers to Panties.

Today Girl Two made the number 11 at preschool and took a Magnifying Glass for the "M" week sharing box.

Yesterday Girl Three started needing to use sanitary supplies.

Yesterday Girl Four went to auditions for the spring production of "Our Town" at the high school.

Yesterday Girl Five had her yearly check-up to renew her blood pressure medications.  They did blood tests.

Today Girl Five's doctor office called and said "You are Diabetic.  When can you come in to talk about it?"  Blah.  Maybe it's only temporary.