Making my move...

• Since starting this blog, I have been dissatisfied with some of Blogger's "quirks". Particularly, I have had issues with the comments. I attempted to work around it using Haloscan, but that has also not worked. Several people have had to just resort to leaving comments in my Ravmail. Since Blogger/Haloscan isn't working, I decided it was time to move. So, this blog is moving...here. Please head on over. Don't forget to update your bloglines/feed reader.
• All the old posts and pre-Haloscan comments have made their way to the new blog. I am trying to figure out if it is possible for the Haloscan comments to be moved (I am not hopeful).
  

Finished socks and new yarn

Yup! All done! These socks are huge (around a 12 or 13 men's). They seemed to take forever! I finished them on the way home from Orlando. These are made of the Regia Stretch. I didn't love the yarn while I was working with it. I washed them (that took care of the ladders...yay!), and they got really soft! I like it better now that it is soft! DH loves the socks and plans to wear them to work on Monday. I am just glad to have them done!

I also have some new yarn. Just before I left on vacation, I got the June Nefarious Yarn Club selection. It is some of Carrie's Bamboo Sock. It is really lovely and soft. I keep petting it. You can see it here.

Today, I got my June Wee Tiny Sock! It is so cute! Andi (the organizer of the monthly swap) was my spoiler! It is made of Tofutsies. I love the colors too!

The Vacation Post

The trip to Orlando was great (although short). We left early on Tuesday morning. CB slept the whole way down. LB watched a movie, quietly. I had quite a bit of "nearly alone" time. It was nice...peaceful. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort (the link plays sound...just a warning). It was nice. Our room was overlooking the "Quiet Pool". I was worried about it, but it really was quiet! As soon as we got there, LB and DH went swimming. CB just watched. There was a duck swimming in the pool. It was really neat, but I couldn't get a good picture. LB has only been swimming a couple of times. He has really taken to it (I see lessons in our future). He decided he wants to be a lifeguard when he grows up. DH is relieved since he had gone back to telling people he wants to be a princess and a firefighter when he grows up!

After a bit of swimming, we headed to Sea World. As we got there, everyone was leaving! We were able to see almost everything we wanted to (not rides or shows, just exhibits) in a few hours. It was a good thing. As we left the Shark Encounter, a storm formed. We ended up hanging out under the shelter for over an hour. There was a tornado warning (actual funnels but none actually touched down). There was a severe thunderstorm. Lightening struck the big tower three times setting off fireworks each time. We were only a few hundred yards from it (an employee told me less than two football fields...that is less than a skein of Lorna's Laces sock yarn away)! The picture is our view of the tower (just behind the trees). It was pretty scary. CB slept through it. LB kept telling the women behind us (who were crying and screaming), "It's ok. It is just thunder. Do you like the fireworks? Maybe we will see more." It was so cute. After the storm passed, we debated going to see a show. Ultimately, we decided to leave. LB was exhausted (no nap), and was starting to get ugly.

We spent all day Wednesday at Animal Kingdom. Unlike Sea World, it was packed! We only waited for one ride (the Safari). We waited for an hour and a half. It was miserable. At the end, both kids were crying. I am sure that everyone around us was silently hoping we would be on another vehicle. Fortunately, both kids calmed down the second we got on the jeep. LB talked non-stop to the driver (we were right behind her). Everytime we would see an animal, LB would say, "Thank you so much for showing us that!" It was adorable! CB slept through it (which was fine...at least he wasn't crying). After the safari ride, we did the rest of the stuff in Africa. Then we went to Camp Minnie Mickey. LB was getting quite ugly, so we knew it was time to eat. I actually got a picture of him being grouchy. I normally don't post pics of the kids, but the picture is too funny to not post. We ate a late lunch at Rainforest Cafe. The kids absolutely loved it! We were seated next to gorillas. I was afraid that CB would be scared when they moved and made noise. He wasn't. He just watched intently. After lunch we saw Dinoland and the Bug's Life show. The show scared LB, but at the end he wanted to do it again. Unfortunately, it was a little late. LB was spacing out a lot and even put his head down in the stroller (him even sitting in the stroller was a good sign he was about done). We left. We went back to the hotel. LB and DH went swimming again. CB napped in the stroller, so I got some knitting time in. I almost finished DH's socks! We then went out to dinner and put the kids to bed!

Thursday morning, DH had "class". I took LB and CB to the playground. LB played and CB just watched. I knit some more on DH's sock. Then we went to the kiddie pool (really shallow). LB had a blast. I took the inserts out of CB's diaper (it is a pocket diaper...it makes it into a swim diaper). I then set him into the water. He just sat and splashed and giggled. I think I have two fish on my hands. When DH's class was over, we packed up and left. LB managed to stay awake all the way home (no nap), so he was quite ugly when we got home. Both boys had an early bedtime!

We plan to go back to Sea World in the fall (we have yearly passes). We will have to go back to Animal Kingdom again as we missed a big section of the park. It was a great couple days away (and a much needed break)!!

Random Catchup Stuff and SP QOTW

1. Thank you to everyone who contacted me about my grandfather. For some reason, the blog wasn't allowing comments. I got so many messages on Ravelry when I logged it. It was so nice to hear from all of you! Thank you so much to everyone who sent me their thoughts and e-hugs. They were needed and really did help. My grandfather did pass away on Tuesday. I will post about it when I have some time to gather my thoughts in a coherent manner.
2. We had a great couple of days in Orlando. We nearly got struck by lightening, saw Sea World and Animal Kingdom, stayed in a Disney Resort, swam a ton, and got some knitting in. I will also post a lot more about it (including some pictures) when I can sit down and really do a good job on it! Despite having our new air card, we did not have internet connectivity! Turns out that the resort is built in such a way that there are no cell phone signals in the room. We had to go out to the hallway to talk on the phone. I didn't want to sit with my laptop in the hallway (no chairs).
3. The SP12 Question of the Week is: What is your favorite summertime drink?? I almost always drink Diet Mt. Dew. I am terrible about drinking way, way too much soda. I am trying to drink more water, but have been bad about it. I try not to drink bottled water because of the waste from the plastic bottles. I need to start carrying water with me. No good excuse why I don't. I keep saying I am looking for the perfect bottle. I should probably just buy one and get it over with.
4. I finished DH's big socks (finally)! I knit a bit on them poolside and while LB played on the playground. They are in the wash. I will get pictures and do a proper post tomorrow.

OK, so this post was mostly a promise for more posts later...I realize that!

The Owl Pattern

I know I promised this last week... Here it is...the owl pattern! I decided to call him Pigwidgeon (like Ron's owl, of course).

Pigwidgeon the Owl
Yarn: Wool Ease (or worsted of your choice) and a small amount of yellow (I used a sock yarn)
Needles: size 3

Abbreviations:
Kfb: Knit front and back loop
sts: Stitches
K2tog: Knit two together

Body
CO 6 sts. Join being careful not to twist.
rd 1: Kfb each stitch (12 sts)
rd 2: repeat round 1 (24 sts)
rd 3: *K1, Kfb* around (36 sts)
rd4: repeat rd 3 (54)
rd 5: K
rd 6: *K2, Kfb* around (72 sts)
rd 7-20: K
rd 21: *K2, K2tog* around (54)
rd 22: K
rd 23: *K1, K2tog* around (36 sts)
rd 24: repeat rd 23 (24 sts)
rd 25: K2tog around (12 sts)
rd 26: repeat rd 25 (6 sts)
Break yarn leaving a very long tail. Using your tapestry needle run thread through each stitch. Pull to close. Weave in ends.

Wings (make 2)
CO 10 sts
rows 1-4: K
row 5: K2tog, K to last two stitches, K2tog
row 6: K
repeat rows 5 and 6 until 1 st remains. Bind off.
Sew to body using mattress stitch.

Beak
CO 8
row 1-2: K
row 3: K2 tog, K to last two stitches, K2tog
row 4: K
repeat rows 3 and 4 until 1 stitch remains. Bind off.
I sewed only the top and the point of the beak on. I left the sides unattached (it allows it to stick out and look a little more three dimensional that way).