This Dog Can Hunt!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Since the move to the new house we have been taking the dogs to a new park. This park has wide open spaces and lots of fresh air. And most recently a pair of birds have taken up residence in a nearby tree. Chloe has taken quite the interest in them. First we exit the car and she sights her prey…

Then she stalks her prey through the tall grass….

Then she goes on point…(we never trained her to do this. I swear she just started doing it, lol!)

The birds of course HATE her and dive bomb at every turn…

After a few good barks from her and swoops by the birds we happily climb back in the car and go home for a bowl of cool water and belly rubs!

I love this puppy and all her quirks. I know she will never actually catch her birds. But she gets such joy from trying I can’t begrudge her. (I promise I will never let any harm come to her or any birds)

FO Friday: Patriotic Tutus!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I am blessed to have many friends who let me lavish their children with hand knit love. One of my husband and I’s favorite couples recently found out that their second baby is going to be a girl. And I just couldn’t resist matching tutus!!! I found the most adorable red, white, and blue ruffle yarn from Premier…

First up a 0-3 months size….

And then a matching 2-3 year old size…

Their mom is going to flip when she sees these!!! I hope she will snap some photos of the pair so that I can share with you guys. Of course I will have to wait until baby #2 actually gets here, lol. Well I’m off to put these and a couple more secret presents (can’t share those because the recipients read this blog) in the mail.

I gotta hustle too because my parents, sister, and aunt are visiting for weekend and we have a Kansas City Royals game to get to!! (Don’t worry, I packed a knitting project so I can stitch while they pitch!!!)

TGIF!!!

New Potatoes and Peas!!!

Posted on July 18, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Mmmmmm….new potatoes and peas

Every summer right after the first hill of potatoes was dug I can remember Grandma and Grandpa making this delectable dish. It’s so simple and yummy it’s crazy. It’s just boiled potatoes covered in a garlicky white sauce and peas. I just made a quick roux and thickened some milk. I seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

These tiny red potatoes came from our family garden. Their skin is so thin and tender. The meat of potato is soft and perfectly mealy. It tasted of home and family to me. Paired with some fried chicken the husband and I had an awesome sit down dinner last night.

It might not be the healthiest….but you gotta live once in awhile right? Does your family have any traditional summer dish?

WIP Wednesday: Baby Blanket

Posted on July 17, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin #23 is coming along!

This blanket has been traveling back and forth to rehearsal every night. I have only managed a few rows every night between scenes but little by little it’s adding up! Concurring this chenille yarn feels a bit of a personal victory. This blanket doesn’t have an recipient yet as it’s destined for my “emergency baby shower” basket. It may not be fancy but this mindless project is all I can manage with so much of my energy going to my current acting adventure.

One downside….because I gave Chloe the first chenille blanket I made, she thinks all chenille blankets are hers…

Comfort Zone: In or Out?

Posted on July 16, 2013 by atangledyarn84

As a person I tend to stay in my comfort zone in my most things. I eat at mostly at the same restaurants, shop the same store, cook the same recipes, and hang out with the same friends. It’s not that I am afraid of new or different things but I tend to fall into routines. There a few places where I step out of this safe box: knitting and acting.

My current show, Bachelorette, is really outside my comfort zone. This play explores the lives of four women who have been stuck in the same roles since high school. Regan is the bitch on wheels who ALWAYS has to be in control. She uses manipulation at every turn to get what she wants and needs. Katie is party girl who is a little light in the head. She wants nothing more than to be accepted and loved. Gena is a coke addicted party girl who is never quite good enough to be queen bee. She wants to be Regan but doesn’t have the guts and mostly spends her time taking care of Katie. And finally there is Becky, the bride. She has openly ridiculed by her friends for her size, choice of husband, attitude, and she’s not going to take it anymore!

This play has more cursing than a Navy frigate, depicts rampant drinking and drug use, adult content, and is downright mean. I am very mild mannered in real life and so pushing into this kind of story really stretches my acting skills. The director has been awesome and really helps us explore our characters and what is happening.

I play Gena the drug addicted second in command. I start the top of the show in full on party girl mode with my best girl pal Katie. Even with the best of intentions my friends and I completely trash the hotel suite, the wedding dress, and basically everything the night before Becky’s wedding. Gena has been so perfect for so long she has no idea how to be real. She really only cares about one thing, her friend Katie. And when Katie gets in real trouble, it’s Gena to the rescue!

While the subject and content is uncomfortable and down right mean, I come away from rehearsal exhilarated every time. Stretching my comfort zone has really spurred my creative juices. It has me looking at the relationships in my life and really seeing new things and evaluating them. My fellow actors are beyond talented and we are really creating something special. T-minus three weeks to opening!!!

Are you a “in” or “out” kind of person when it comes to art?

P.S. Check out some of the dresses I am “auditioning” for Gena…

My Zombie Leg

Posted on July 15, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I survived my volleyball tournament…sort of thanks to my klutziness

The bruises and bleeding due to broken blood vessels have settled into my foot. I spent 6 1/2 hours on Saturday jumping up and down on this leg. I say it’s not that bad considering! My shin is still pretty swollen and I have pretty good pools of bruising on both sides of feet and on top of my foot just before my toes. I have affectionately named this my “zombie leg”!

My friends and I competed in the Sunflower State Games in the competitive volleyball bracket. (I made sure to check out with a doc and got the green light to play) We played three matches in pool play and taking 3rd out of four teams. Then we moved on to bracket play where we played one match, which we lost….badly.

Our team has a lot of knowledge and experience….just not a lot of endurance. Our average age was 31. Most of the teams we played had an average age of 19…and by 19 I mean they were ALL 19. Not to mention that we did not practice before hand and only four of us had played together before. We had some fun, probably too much at some times, and got a great workout.

I am beyond sore! Almost every major muscle group is sore including my legs, butt, back, core abs, and even shoulders. It seriously took me five minutes to lace up my sneakers to take a short run on Sunday to work out the kinks, lol.

Now to get back to knitting! I just wish I hadn’t smashed my right thumbnail on Saturday during the second game! It makes knitting a little hard when I don’t want to put pressure on that particular digit….

Attack of the Klutz

Posted on July 12, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Sorry no FO post this Friday…..I had a wee but of an accident over the 4th of July holiday. And I have lost my knitting mojo a bit with my brain being pulled in do many directions at once lately.

Darkness + fireworks + a dog who is poorly leash trained + a black trailer/tailgate = bruises and scrapes and unladylike language

I royally dorked up my legs. Nothing broken, sprained, or torn….just small cuts and BIG bruises. My left leg is a but tender to walk on and a little puffy as I’m sure I bruised bone. I have been resting and elevating it as much as I can. The doctor I saw told I had a deep contusion, gave me a tetanus shot, and told me to suck it up, lol.

All I have noticed so far is the bruise spreading down my foot, lol…

Best part of all I have an all day volleyball tournament tomorrow. Lord help me!!

Happy Friday!

Recent Reading Obession

Posted on July 11, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I LOVE having a library card!! But just like my queue on Ravelry, my reading queue is daunting and I don’t know where to start. A girlfriend found me standing helplessly staring at the mystery stacks in the library and gently helped me away from the edge of the abyss. She a put a Janet Evanovich novel in my hands and pointed me to towards the checkout desk.

I had heard of Stephanie Plum series before so I wasn’t unfamiliar. But I’m glad I picked up the series. The books are seriously addicting to a murder mystery buff like myself. So far I have read:

One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Three to Get Deadly

The author has a great sense of humor. The characters are reasonably well developed and I find that I like that they are all a bit flawed. Most of all the books let me loose myself in them. That’s all I ask of a book, take me away to an imaginary world for a few minutes and forget my real world stress and problems. I like my books with a little mystery, lots of humor, nothing gross, nothing scary, and not so easy that I can pick the killer out on page 40. I’m a fluffy chic murder mystery kind of girl, lol.

For me this series is a winner and I can’t wait to keep reading. Novels four and five are waiting for me to pick up at the library as we speak.

What kind of books do you like to read? Anything I should read?

WIP Wednesday: Catching Up

Posted on July 10, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ # 22 still looks like this…

Chart B is kicking this lace newbie’s butt! I either end up with my stitch markers in the wrong place or the incorrect number of stitches at the end of the row. The good news is that I am REALLY good at chart A, lol. I shall not be deterred by I may put this project aside for a few days to let my brain unmelt.

I have made some progress on my mindless and easy project. I have now tagged it my Stashbustin’ #23 project. This has been perfect knitting for unwinding after long theatre rehearsals at night. I think I can finally say that I can enjoy working with the chenille yarn. It takes some patience and it can really only be used in certain projects. But it makes a great baby blanket and I need to restock my emergency baby shower/present supply!

I’m still addicted to knitting these cute tutus!! This pattern is addicting. And I found some adorable red, white, and blue ruffle yarn from Premier yarns. I plan on making a matching set for some college friends who have a two year little sweetheart and are expecting another pink bundle of joy in the fall. I am almost done with the newborn size and just need to make the 2-3 yr old size.

So there you have it, the state of my WIP pile. My WIPitis is in full swing. I’m ignoring my Neon cardigan as it’s in timeout until my play is over.

What’s in your WIP pile this week?

The Good With the Bad

Posted on July 9, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I could not imagine my life without this face!!!

She is my husband and I’s first dog and our baby. She came to us a rescue and we couldn’t have asked for a better dog. She is sweet, loving, quiet, and full of snuggles. She is now a 5 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She brings so much love and can instantly make my worst day better. (Even when she stares at me over my book, lol)

At a recent vet visit for her annual vaccinations, we got some bad news. She has a heart murmur. Now this is a common thing to Cavaliers, but was unknown to us. The murmur is a precursor to congestive heart failure. I’ll spare you the ugly details of the disease as they are unpleasant. Follow the link above to learn more about it. Right now Chloe has no other symptoms but the murmur. As the disease progresses there are medications that can mitigate some of her symptoms. But no cure. Chloe is unlikely to live past 9 or 10 years old and the last of those years could be uncomfortable.

I will admit this was a shock to me. And I spent the rest of that day trying not to weep. I grew up with dogs and I have been through the death and disease before. But this time is different because she is truly my baby. I have prayed and knit on this since that day. I have decided to make the best of what time we have left with Chloe and make sure she has the best most loved life ever. I may still cry from time to time but I will always love her.

Having animals always brings good with the bad. The trick is to make sure the good way outweighs the bad. I wouldn’t give up a chewed up shoe or early morning wake up call for a single day without her puppy kisses and puppy snorts.

Now if you excuse me, I have a puppy to snuggle and spoil….

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Monthly Archives: July 2013