and Abigail Grace....

She is definitely getting SPOILED! Since the last two posts were all about Jackjack being up here, I figured that I would share how rough life is for poor Abby back in FL with my sister.

Here is Abby getting cuddles from my sister's husband Edmund. The other pup is their horse...I mean Golden Maui. :)
And here is Abby with her furcousin Maui enjoying some relaxing time. :)So...for anyone worried that Abby is not being cared for while Jackjack is on his adventure...I hope these pictures help. :) She is doing really well...and I miss her tons. She'll get to go next road trip.

Happy DOT and Merry Christmas Eve...again!

It smells like SNOW!!!

Jackjack LOVES the snow! The first time he stepped into fresh snow he was a little freaked out that his paws went through the surface...but then he figured out and was excited.

Here's the boy hanging in Sarah's backyard..
and here is Logan, Sarah's son with Jackjack. They are just too cute!
Here's Logan, Maya, Sarah, and Jackjack hanging on Jackjacks' bed.And Jackjack hanging on the couch with Logan.Sarah cuddling with Jackjack.And now for some video of Jackjack in the snow!! ;)

and more...

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and vidoes of Jackjack! Happy DOT and Christmas Eve!!

Jackjack's road trip Ohio!

Hello everyone! Ok...so blog365 really didn't work out so well for this past week but I guess I'll just try to make up during the year. So...what have I been up to this past week you ask?

Friday started with a couple hours of work and then we packed up the car and Jackjack and started on our way. We drove for 8 hours and stopped for the night about 30 minutes south of Charlotte, NC. It had been a long day but it was smooth driving. We stopped a couple times for bathroom breaks and Jackjack but mostly it was smooth sailing.

Saturday, we got on the Road at 7:30 am and off we went....we had heard that starting in NC it had snowed over night so to be careful. As soon as we hit Charlotte the snow began, it was still smooth sailing through NC.
but then we hit Virginia and had our first slow down.
We were only stopped for about 45 minutes this time so it wasn't bad. We started moving again slowly.......and we thankfully stopped at a rest stop and got out.

but then we hit WV and well...this is where it just went bad! We got past Beckley, WV and that's when it just got worse. I guess it has snowed between a foot and 2 feet throughout West Virgina....and there was a fatal car accident between Beckley and Charleston that stopped traffic.
We were stopped for 6 and a half hours!! The accident was cleaned up pretty soon but the problem was that it was snowing the whole time and the roads had then gotten snow covered....so we had to wait until the snow plows showed up. We got stopped at 4:30pm and didn't start moving again until 10ish. Jackjack pretty much just napped most the day. It did take a very long time for him to get used to pottying in the snow but he did it. :)
Sitting in the car for 6 hours sure does make you aware of how much you love your husband who's stuck with you. ;) I'm really glad I love mine! :)After we got moving we tried to stop in Charleston and there was no room at the Inn so we ended up driving the rest of the way. We pulled into my SIL's house at about 5am...Jackjack was RESTLESS but he did let me sleep for about 2 hours before he decided that was enough and woke me up. ;)

Be back for another post all about Jackjack in the actual snow. :)

Antique Spinning Wheel!

Tonight we headed over to Special K's father and step-mother's house for our Christmas dinner with them before we headed to Ohio. We had some YUMMY fried turkey with all the fixins. After dinner, we did our gift exchange and well...they got me an antique spinning wheel!! When I saw it I was so shocked and excited! My FIL got it from a local man, who used to be an antique dealer. He said it is possible from Nova Scotia. It is very different than most the wheels today, as it does not have a treadle and you crank the wheel by hand. It's missing some parts but if I can find a picture of what it looks like complete my FIL, Special K, and I may be able to make what we need. If you know anything about this wheel...please let me know!
Ok...so here are the detail pictures I snapped of it as soon as we got home tonight.

Here is the maiden and the mother-of-all and it is missing the flyer, which would hold the bobbins and also most likely missing the rest of the leather straps that hold the flyer or bobbins on.
Here is what you use to get the wheel to spin. It's only missing one spoke but I think that's pretty great for an antique wheel! My FIL says he may be able to make a replacement.
Here is a close up of the tension knob..which is set up in such a neat way!!!
If you look down in that hole you'll see that the tension knob is kind of like a screw and it moves the whole mother of all with it!It also appears to be missing another piece because there is an extra hole on the base of it that seems to have a purpose.

Well...I think this is a pretty amazing gift! I can't wait to find out more about what's missing and hopefully find a way to at least get it into working condition! The wood is such a beautiful color and it's just so pretty!

Thank you Ken and Lynne for such a great gift!

Ok...now off to bed because I'm exhausted!

Book Recommedation request!

Ok...so Friday, Special K and I will be hitting the road with Jackjack and heading up to Ohio to spend the holidays with his Ohio family! I'm super excited because it's my first time spending Christmas with my new family in law and I'm praying for LOTS of snow while we are there!! Just checked the forecast and it looks good for snow!!! I can't wait to get lots of pictures of Jackjack romping in the snow!

Well...you ask what does all this have to do with the title of the post. Well...since we will be on the road for about a total of 34 hours between driving up and back....we need some good suggestions for an Audiobook to listen to. Speical K has already warned me that the first several hours will be spent listening to his sports podcast but then we can put in a book...No, he won't let me force him to listen to a knitting podcast...I tried. So....so you guys have any suggestions for an audiobook that I could potentially check out from the library of a book that might keep both me and SK interested?

Thanks in advanced for the suggestions!

Hope you had a great Monday!!

FO alert and Spinning progress

Today flew by! It started with going to church, then our charity knitting group consisted on only 2 so we canceled until after the holidays, then spent the day cleaning... Sounds fantastic right! Well, I did get a lot of stuff done but I still have more to do. This week is actually busier than I had anticipated but that's ok. I just need to make sure we have a packed car on Friday night as we head out of town!!!

Last night while we were hanging with Special K's dad and stepmom, I was able to finish the 2nd mitt that I had been knitting for myself for Ohio. The pattern is the iPhone Mitts by Julie Ridl, which is an easy, fast and fun knit!
You can flip the top under when you are cold...
Then flip it down when you need your fingers!
I loved the yarn, which is the Lilly Potter colorway by Shelby B's Designs. It's her Supreme sock, which is a cashmere, nylon, superwash merino blend. I'm falling in love with this blend! I just need to make a pair of socks out of it so test it's wear as a sock.

Another thing I recently started is some spinning for my Aunt Rita, who got to town of Friday. She is my Aunt who lives in Chicago and her daughter Lisa lives here. I got to see her tonight and it's great to talk to her. She is a knitter, which I didn't find out until after I started knitting. She actually had a pair of handknit socks on tonight!! ;)

Since she is a knitter, I decided to spin up some yarn for her. I'm using some of the fiber I picked up at SAFF.
Well..I hope you all had a good weekend. I'm glad it's Sunday becuase that means it's closer to Ohio time but I'm not looking forward to heading to work in the morning. We are having our company Holiday party tomorrow night so I AM looking forward to some sushi!!

Good night and Hope you have a fantastic Monday!

Craft night at Sid's!

Last night was craft night at my friend Sid's house. Mostly it was beading and knitting and eating wonderful food. Sid loves to host craft nights and craft gatherings and she is one of the most creative people I know! She also is Frankie's forever mom and that makes her even higher on my list of favorite people. It was great to see Frankie and he's doing SO well! He seems really happy and he loves his sister Arwyn!

Other than working on my text ready Mitts, I did some beading with lots of Sid's help. I have beaded before but she is so much better at it than I am..and a great teacher. I made two things while I was there. I made a lovely pair of earrings and a bracelet with the CUTEST charm on it. She had this prayer box charm that I just fell in love with. You write a little prayer on a tiny piece of paper and put it in the box. I already wrote my prayer last night when I got home and put it in the box and prayed.
Well...hope everyone had a great Saturday! Jackjack and Abigail got their annual shots and they are doing pretty good. Then I met some of my college friends for lunch and had a fantastic time. Then we hung out around the house and last had dinner over at Kenny's dad's house with him and his wife. I always enjoy going over there and hanging out with them.

Now it's time to head to bed since it's 11:36pm and I need sleep! I have a LOT to do tomorrow and the week ahead keeps getting more and more booked with things to do before we head to OHIO!!

Good night and Sweet Dreams!

Jingle Bell Walkers with Abbs

Just a drive by posting of a picture of my sister CZbrats, her friends, Abby and me at the Jingle Bell Run!
Happy Friday!!

A Foggy...then Rainy Dogs on Thursday!

Happy DOT!! Don't forget to go over and check out this week's DOT post! It is a very informative post!

Today has been a very strange weather day for Florida. I don't think I can recall it ever being this foggy here. This was what my view was this morning.
...and then this is my view from my office window this afternoon.
I love when it rains but the fog is strange!

So, I was trying to figure out what to post for my DOT post and I remember that last time I took Jackjack and Abby to Manda's to swim I took VIDEO!! It was POURING down rain but neither of them cared! Usually Jackjack won't go out in the rain but check him out!!

Please ignore us talking. haha :)

and of course another.

Hope you enjoyed the video! It's crazy to think of how Jackjack used to be when he got into pools and now he just jumps right in after Abby!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!

Natalie

Happy Hump Day!

Today is midweek...it's usually the day I go to work then head to knitting but today was different. Well, I did go to work today, which was long, semi-stressful and I was glad when it was done...but afterward I headed to get my now monthly allergy shots and then it was Jingle Bell Run night! It was lots of fun and I took my camera but never got a picture with it. My sister did so I'll post that with tomorrow's post. Abby got to come with us and she had a blast! So many people wanted to pet her because she's so adorable and when they realize she LOVES being pet they are happy they came over or asked to pet her. I had a lady early on in the walk that asked if her two girls in the stroller could pet her and of course I said sure. One of the girls just couldn't get enough of how soft she was. I was really glad she was pretty clean. :)

I just love when Abbygirl is clean because you really can see her golden hairs sparkle and it's so much nicer to walk away with a semi-clean hand. I can't wait until we actually have a backyard with grass and not the sandpit that we have now. It makes our house even harder to keep clean with two big dogs who run out in the sand and bring it all into the house.

Well, it was a fun night spent with my sisters, niece, nephews, bro-in-law, and others. I'm glad I went.

Oh yeah! We finished off the night going to my favorite ice cream shop Old fashion Creamery is I think what they call it now but I always call it Alli Oops. :) The owners know my dogs and have a basset and a chocolate lab. When we bring the pups, they always come out and say hi. The lady owner was there tonight and she came out to say hi to Abby and told us her Chocolate had two puppies this past Monday!! Two boys who are already spoken for but I'm sure they are SO cute!!

Hope you had a great Hump Day! Good luck for the next two days!

Spinning....

So, tonight I pulled out my spinning wheel, dusted it off, and started spinning. :) Not really...it wasn't that dusty but I did pull off some yarn from a couple bobbins, which need their twist to be set. I started working on some yarn for my Aunt Rita. She'll be here on Friday for the holidays and she is a knitter. I want to get some yarn done for her and a pattern for her to knit with it. I figured that would be a great gift for her. She learned to knit from my Grandma I think so i think that is so awesome! I'll definitely be getting her to record an interview for my podcast!!

Well...no pictures but I'll take some of the yarn when it's done! Have a Happy Tuesday!!

Tomorrow might either be a really early or really late post. My sisters, Abby, and I are doing the Jingle Bell run downtown St. Pete! Should be a fun time!!

Padfoot socks sneak peak.

Soon...I'll be publishing my first pattern. I decided to try designing a pattern when Shelby from Shelby B's Designs sent me this beautiful colorway. It's called "Sirius" after Sirius Black from Harry Potter. Shelby dyes beautiful Harry Potter colorways and I actually got to meet her and interview her at SAFF. When I first met her she asked me what my favorite Harry Potter character was and naturally it's Sirius Black because umm...he turns into a dog and he's named after the Dog star. So, she came up with a colorway and send me this...I then started searching for a pattern for this lovely sock yarn and I just couldn't find one. So, I came up with one. The first sock is completed and the 2nd is in the works. I don't have any pictures of it but I'll get them and you'll get to see them soon. My friend Courtney is test knitting my pattern for me so as soon as she's complete and makes sure there are no major errors...then the pattern will be published on Ravelry! I'm so excited!!!

Well...there is my sneak peak...you'll just have to come back for the pictures and the pattern!

Happy Monday!!!

Natalie

Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Today was a good day. I slept in again and went on a long walk with the pups. It was great to get out in the cool weather and walk. It was almost mitt weather, which is awesome!! I should finish my mitts so I can wear them when they are needed.

This afternoon Special K and I went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was fantastic!! SK had seen it before but he said this time it had more pyrotechnics. I really enjoyed the Christmas music and all the show had to offer.
Since we got home, we had dinner and I haven't been feeling that great so I'm about to head to bed. Just wanted to stop by for my blog365! I'm keeping up!! YAY!

Happy Sunday!

Successful Saturday.

Today was a long day...but a good one. Started out with lovely sleeping in weather...cloudy and cold. Then we headed out and did some Christmas shopping. Hung out at home and relaxed some. I also gave the pups a bath and went shopping with my sisters and cousin. Today was one of those days where what needed to get done has been accomplished but there are several other things that needed done too and are still waiting...

Mainly the stuff left is to clean the floors...as they were only swept today and I need to get a podcast recorded this weekend. I have lots to talk about. :)

Ok...yes, I know this is a short...not very interesting...with not photo...post but this day hasn't been anything too post worthy. I'll make sure tomorrow's is better.

Good night...I just got back from walking the dogs...now need to take a shower and get in bed with my book.

TGIF!!

Hope everyone had a great week. I'm so glad it's Friday. The weather is cool and rainy and it's perfect for a peaceful night at home. We had dinner and then relaxed in front of the TV and watched some shows....Community, The Office, and 30 Rock.

Tomorrow is my guild's spinning meet up but if the weather stays as it is I may end up staying home. I'm not really wanting to drag my wheel up there in this rain. We'll see how it goes. I really need to get my eyes checked so I may do that...but we'll see.

Last night I got this great pictures of Jackjack. After our walk, I posted the blogs last night and I went into the bedroom and this is what I saw...
How cute is he laying on his daddy's legs? He is such a daddy's boy even though he follows me around most the time.

Well...I'm off to stick my nose in a book for a bit and get to bed early. I have been pretty tired all week and this weather just begs for me to go lay in bed. I hope everyone is having a great Friday!

Happy DOT!!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!! Hope everyone is having a great week! I've still got my nose stuck in the Sookie Stackhouse books but I'm almost done with this book 7 and then I'll get book 8 done and be able to knit more! :)

Since this week's DOT post is about Jackjack, I figured I'd share some pictures of Abigail Grace. She is the silliest dog EVER!! She just wants to be near yuo and will find the most interesting places to lay down and it's usually as close to you or under your foot. :) Here is Abby laying near her daddy while he watches some football.
Waiting for her daddy to come out of the bathroom.So, remember when I started the Personal Challenge? I was challenging myself to put down the needles and yarn and go out and exercise....well...I did a great job for a while and then it sort of got lost. Lately I've been trying to get out and take the dogs on longer walks. Tonight for the 2nd time this week, my sister Fels and I took the dogs for about an hour walk. It was great to chat away and get out and walk. I'm hoping I can at least go on these hour walks four times a week. It's getting darker earlier so for the after work walks it's really nice when I can get Fels to go with me. I would be looking over my shoulders too much if I went by myself. Yes, I realize I have two big dogs with me who would both at least protect me some but it's still nice to have someone there to keep you moving.

Well...since I have been walking and reading instead of knitting, my knitting progress has been slow. I have a LOT of WIPs! It's crazy how I went from a 2 project person 2 years ago and now I'm a cast on willy nilly. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week. Please go over and check out my post on DOT. I'm sorry it went up so late but the day just flew by.

Knit Night

Happy Hump day! Today was a long day...the weather is changing and there is a big storm brewing...which is making my head hurt pretty bad. Even though my head hurt, I headed over to the weekly Fiber Fanatics meet up for some fiber friend time.

Even though I didn't get much knitting done, I did have a fantastic time. My Godson Levi was there and he's just always so cute. I got to feed him dinner and it was nice to get a big smile when he first saw me.I am working on my pair of Iphone Mitts or what I'm calling text ready mitts. The first one is done and ready for Ohio! Just need to put down my book and get to finishing the 2nd one soon!

Most of the Thanksgiving weekend I spent reading. What am I reading may you ask? Well, my nose is stuck in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Currently, I'm reading number 7 Definitely Dead. The series is about a southern bell, who ends up dating a variety of supernatural creatures, such as vampires. There is a series on Showtime called TrueBlood that's based on these books. I've watched the first season and it's a bit racy but a still a good show.

Well..hope everyone is having a fantastic Hump Day. I'm looking forward to crawling in bed with my book and listening to the lightning outside.

Blog365 Begins, a baby is born, and the tree is up!

Ok...here I go! I'm going to try this out and see how long I can keep it going. I will forgive myself if I miss during the Christmas holidays but I'm going to try my hardest to blog every day for 365 days! Wish me luck!!

Ok...so to begin our year together...

On November 21st, my nephew Odog was born. He is just the cutest baby! My sister Cdog and her husband Kdog, live in San Diego so I have not been able to meet the baby yet but from all the pictures...he is just the cutest baby boy! He definitely looks like family. :) Here is a great picture taken by my sister's friend Crissy. She is a fabulous photographer.
We are hoping to go out to visit them in March. I have a friend getting married in LA and we're going to make it a week out in CA! Should be fun!

Since the weather has been getting cooler, my puppies have been getting a little chilly. This creates for some of the cute cozy pictures. Here is Jackjack curled up into the tightest ball on the couch. I wish I could look that comfortable.
Well...I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday and 1st of December. Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is just around the corner!

To get you into the holiday spirit, here's a picture of our tree that we put up this weekend. It makes the house feel like Christmas! :)
Happy Blogging!!