It all started in November 2013.   I met my friends TT and Tim for lunch.  Tim says to me "how much do I have to pay you for you to make me a Dr. Who scarf?"  I replied (not knowing Thing One about Dr. Who)  "oh we'll work something out"  After all, I made the three of us Harry Potter scarves to wear to the midnight release parties for the books and all of the movies what could be so hard about a Dr. Who scarf?

When I got home that night I googled "Dr. Who scarf."  Imagine my surprise when I found out how long they were.  There is a website called wittylittleknitter.com (except I can't find it anymore, and it turns up some random page) that details different seasons and various yarns to create your very own Dr. Who scarf.  She has several yarn companies and the correct colors to match the scarf.  The ones I remember are Brown Sheep, Vanna's Choice, and Cascade 220.  I told Tim I would make it for him but he had to buy all of the yarn.  He bought Cascade 220.
The scarf itself is actually very easy.  Cast on 50.  Knit every row.  There are 53 color changes so while it is an easy knit, it doesn't make a very portable knit.  So I couldn't travel (for work) with the scarf.  But it was easy enough to knit at crafting on Tuesdays, knit on road trips and to watch TV while knitting.   I started it in January, but also worked on other projects.  Come March when I wasn't even halfway finished, I panicked a little bit and from then on pretty much only worked on the scarf.  The finished scarf is 11 1/2 feet long, just shy of what was supposed to be 12 feet!
Tim is going to wear it to Comic Con in San Diego in July.

The view from my office window

*  We have had a pretty nice spring/summer so far...knock on wood.  We've only turned on the air conditioner once.  If we leave the windows open the cool morning air helps to marginally cool the house.  And we just turned on the sprinkler system last week.  Usually we have turned both on by late May.  

*  My brother and his family just moved back to the United States from being stationed overseas in the military.  C has been very excited to see her cousins.  It's good to have them home.  Even if it isn't in Colorado.

*  Can someone tell me where June went?  I can't believe next week is July 4th!

Happy Thursday my friends.

It's Wednesday again and that means it is time for the weekly yarn along.  I am joining with Ginny and everyone to share books and yarn!  I have finally finished the Dr. Who scarf.  I will post about it soon.  In the mean time I am now working on C's sweater vest.   This is the Cascade superwash yarn that we dyed with kool-aid.  I can definitely see the difference between the balls of yarn.  I thought they all dyed pretty similarly, but in this picture, I can see the top portion of the sweater has more red (which was black cherry kool-aid) than the bottom.  I finished the back of the sweater on MO and started the front on Tuesday.  I spent 45 minutes Tuesday evening ripping back what I had worked on all of Tuesday morning.  What I ripped back was according to the directions but it didn't match the back.   I apparently either can't read or count.  But now it all matches and I can continue!
Two weeks ago when I last did a yarn along post, I mentioned reading The Snow Child.  I was about 100 pages from the end of the book when I left it on the airplane, never to be seen again.  I'm sure a co-worker has picked it up and thought it sounded like a good read.  This whole past week, I was hoping it would be returned, but alas, I'll have to check it out from the library.

I picked up Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson.  I keep reading because I want to find out what happens, but it is not a particularly good book.  I also started reading Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham.   It's the first book with Detective Constable Fiona Griffiths.  I read book two, Love Story With Murders a couple of months ago and thought it pretty good.

Happy Yarn Along Wednesday!

*  We have a new goodbye in our house.  A couple of weeks ago I gave C a hug and a kiss and left for work.  I made it to my car before I realized I had forgotten something which was a good thing because she was very upset she had not given me a bunny nose.  She gave me a bunny nose and a wave and said "watch out for snakes."   It has evolved a bit...somedays it is "watch out for dancing snakes" and sometimes it is "watch out for pink snakes."  But the gist remains...watch out for snakes.

Happy Thursday my friend.  And watch out for snakes.

Two weeks ago we were sitting on the back patio talking about our fruit trees.  I glanced over my shoulder to the cherry tree, which is FULL of cherries.  I noticed the apple tree had some branches that were curling and turning brown.   I immediately call my dad who used to work in Cooperative Extension and knows people who are in the know.  His former co-worker (who is also my chicken guru) called back and told us we have fire blight.
Fire blight is a bacterial infection that affects apple, pear and crabapple trees.  It can spread very quickly and if not contained can wipe out an entire orchard in a week!  I now understand why so many commercial orchards spray their apples.  I'm not saying I agree with that, just that I understand better.  Our tree, while still alive and has apples, is basically dying.

*  Tracey posted about these strawberry scones a couple of weeks ago and I've been dying to try them.  As fast as C eats the strawberries from our yard I had to buy some.  They were on sale this week so I finally got around to baking some yesterday.  Dee-lish.

*  I used to work for a home care agency taking care of elderly and disabled clients.  I worked full time while I was in grad school and then part time when I got a full time job.  I've worked as a certified nurses aide on and off since the mid 90's.  A company I used to work for open a branch not too far from my house so I thought I would apply to work part time.  I love my current job, but in order for it to be worth my while and drive to the airport, I need to be gone all day.  So I thought if I worked as a CNA on a part time basis I could make a little extra cash to pay that irritating IRS bill and I could still be home with my family.   I talked with the person who does the scheduling and she said absolutely she could work with my schedule.  I filled out all of the hiring paperwork and scheduled orientation.

Imagine my surprise and bewilderment when I showed up on Tuesday for orientation and they told me that I failed the online integrity test.  WHAT?  I thought it was a rather insulting test when I took it.  Every other question (and there were 90 of them) asked how often did I abuse my clients and how often did I do drugs.  "how often do you hit people?" "how often do you smoke pot?" "when was the last time you abused a client?" "when was the last time you snorted coke?"  I answered truthfully because I don't do drugs (hello random drug tests!) and I would never abuse a client.  I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.  The office people claimed it was a very scientific test but I'm questioning the validity of it.

So needless to say, I'll be working at the airport more this summer!

*  The roses are blooming and every time we go the driveway, C has to stop and smell the roses!  I've taught her well!

Happy Thursday my friends!

It's Wednesday again and that means it is time for the weekly yarn along.  I'm joining with Ginny and everyone to share yarn and books.  It's been some time since I've joined the yarn along.  Mostly because I've been laboring away on the Dr. Who scarf.  But the end is in sight!  (Good, because I'm over it!).

On the book front I am reading The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.  I just started it so I haven't formed an opinion yet.  I am also listening to Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas.  I am getting more audio books from the library to help pass the daily drive to the airport when I am working.
Happy Yarn Along Wednesday!

It's Wednesday again and that means it is time for the weekly yarn along. I am joining with Ginny and others to share yarn and books. It's been a few weeks since I've joined the yarn along. I've been working on the Dr. Who scarf in a feverish attempt to finish by mid June. I haven't wanted to bore you with the same project for weeks in a row. 

 This is Corrine's cutting garden.  It's on the edge by her playhouse and she waters it and I'm hoping she'll be able to cut some flowers soon because she certainly likes to pick them and bring them in.  Not that there's anything wrong with that!