March 29, 2007
Thursday Thirteen #6



Thirteen Things that Mitchypoo has knit or created!


1) This is a belt I knit a couple years ago made out of a ribbon yarn. You can see the look of the yarn before knitting on the fringe. Knitting with ribbon yarn is really fun. It's a simple pattern. I think I made it with 13 stitches and it's a k1 p1 across on all rows. When desired length, finish with fringe. I added bone beads on the end to give it character. I got this idea I think from Faery Crafty. I really should have written all of the details because it's a little fuzzy. Faery Crafty is the queen of detail in my opinion, check out her list of patterns, I bet it is in there somewhere.







2) These are silver stitch markers that I made. My first attempt and I was really happy with the results. They are silver and crystal and turquoise. For any non-knitters they are used to mark a series of stitches, you put the marker on your needle and they are used to help you keep patterns. For instance, maybe your pattern is a simple plain stitch and then there is a cable pattern, you would put a marker at the beginning and end of your cable pattern. They are pretty and functional!

3) This is a scarf called Argosy that I saw in knitty.com. I made it with Noro Silk Garden yarn to see what all the hoopla was about. It's pretty yarn and the colors are nice how they graduate, but I don't really think I like the yarn. But I definitely like the pattern.










        4) A wedding gift for my cousin Sally and her hubby Terry. Crocheted. My Grandmother's pattern.








        5) Kind of hard to see but I made this beaded ring for Valentine's Day. (Modeled by Mamacita's beautiful hand)








          6) Wool lace knit scarf. The yarn is Shadow by Knit Picks.








          1.

          2. 7) These are knit and felted Love Fortune cookies, modeled by Tom Thumb.








                    8) This is a crocheted Star Afghan that was given to a baby girl.













                                  9) Dock Socks. Wool, knit cuff down.






                                  10) Pink slippers, knit. The pic is before they were felted. Geez, i meant to make me a pair, these were a gift. Guess maybe it'll be next on my list.











                                      11) The are cotton dishcloths or washcloths. I like them for the bathroom, and they are nice because you can just throw them in the wash.





                                            1. 12) This is a baby afghan that I designed and knit for a
                                            2. family friend. Knit with cotton Knit Picks yarn.


                                                      13) This is a bulky wool knit scarf. You can't see the pattern detail but it's very pretty, not sure I used the right yarn color choice, would be better with a solid.











                                                      Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

                                                      The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 7:37 PM 18 comments



                                                      March 27, 2007
                                                      I am a student of life, and I love it.

                                                      Today is going so great! It's Mamacita's birthday, I have a positive attitude. What could be wrong. My brother called me at work early and wanted to send Mamacita flowers. I've spent some moola on gifts but didn't want to tell him no, and I was happy for Mamacita to receive them. She says they are beautiful. She's going to try and sneak in a camera tomorrow because she's at a high security place of work.

                                                      Today at lunch the outside looked like a movie set, we got a storm come up on us and I haven't seen weather like that ever. The wind was blowing and the streets are a mess, the rain was coming down and it got really dark. I of course, dressed for Spring including open toed sandal like heels. Oh well...

                                                      Playing catch up at work today but I took a small break to post and to enjoy a cup of chai tea.

                                                      I'm really loving that you all are playing in the trivia tournament! It's so fun!

                                                      p.s. not sure why the pics in the previous posts are not showing but I will fix it tonight.


                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 4:06 PM 2 comments



                                                      March 26, 2007
                                                      Monday, Crappy Monday...

                                                      I don't really want to go into the whole thing but today was a horrible Monday! Just horrible...but because I'm trying to be positive i'm not going to discuss the whole thing. There's nothing permanently wrong, and things will look much better tomorrow.

                                                      I know you are all anxiously awaiting a pic of our Henry so here you go...










                                                      Here is one of the bathroom towel I made with Knitpicks Cotlin yarn, it's a cotton and linen combination and I love this yarn. I hope you can see the pattern in this pic.





                                                      This is the gorgeous yarn from Francis Patricks that I love so much. Can you see the beautiful and vibrant colors in this skein, and look how it knits up.







                                                      This is the partially finished sock and although I love the colors, the pattern, I don't like so much. The gauge is off and it seems huge. It'll hurt me, but I think I may frog it. I'm working on a new pattern for me that is a toe up sock. I'd show you a pic of the almost complete sock in this pattern but I had to leave it at work...and I'd have to explain my crappy day so .....I'll just show you later!


                                                      Tomorrow is my dear Mamacita's Birthday!! Woohoo!! I am meeting her after work to take her to dinner, she wanted to go to the Outback which is fine by me, I love their coconut shrimp! Then she is off to her meeting with the ladies. Then on Saturday we, meaning my brother, Mamacita and I are going to an Indian Casino for the day. We'll take the drive, blow some money, go to eat. My Aunt and Uncle and my cousin and her hubby may come down also, should be fun!


                                                      OK, time for me to go enjoy my glass of wine and forget the day!



                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 6:47 PM 4 comments



                                                      March 21, 2007
                                                      Thursday Thirteen #5



                                                      Thirteen Things about why I'd like you to come join us at the Knitting and Losing Trivia Tournament!
                                                      1. It's fun! Come every day and see how smart and quick you are today! The link to play is on my right hand sidebar, it says Play Now!
                                                      2. The questions change daily. Periodically I may change the topic.
                                                      3. How many times can we let Tori win for the month?! Hee hee. She's a toughy, but then, so are Mammy, Beaconbabe and Nyxxie.
                                                      4. You can win Fun Trivia Bucks and win things like A Cheesy Snow Globe, a Pink Unicorn, a Monster Truck of Destruction or a Money Fountain!
                                                      5. It would make me happy...and I know that you all care about my personal happiness!
                                                      6. It's a chance to get to know others. Leave a comment.
                                                      7. It increases your knowledge.
                                                      8. You can play other tournaments and raise your ranking. But please play in my tournament too.
                                                      9. I'll send you a small gift if you are the monthly winner!
                                                      10. Because I want to improve our global ranking, it says this now: Of 4000 active tournaments, Knitting and Losing Trivia Tournament was #2562 in terms of popularity yesterday.
                                                      11. You can invite your friends to play. There is a link to our Tournament under the tab Link Up!
                                                      12. You can post a Shout Out! to all participants, put your blog url in there if you like.
                                                      13. Because this was hard to find 13 reasons and cuz I just want you to~OK? :)

                                                      Links to other Thursday Thirteens!



                                                      Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


                                                      The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 8:49 PM 11 comments



                                                      March 20, 2007
                                                      Every problem has a solution.

                                                      It had been before the holidays since Yuki had come over to give Mamacita and me a full body massage. It was good to see her and as always, she gave me a great massage. She actually worked really HARD on my middle back because I was tense there. She loosened me up but I actually am feeling a little bruised today. Never mind, she ultimately makes me feel better. The only bad thing was she started working on me and all of a sudden said, "Where's Simba?" and I just missed my girl so much and had to tell her that she was put down. I still think of her so often, but it hit me again last night that she's gone. My poor baby. Actually, she's fine, she's chasing squirrels and happy in puppy heaven, it's just us who are left missing her.

                                                      Tomorrow is the first day of Spring! My favorite time of year. I love the smells and everything turning green and blooming. The puffy clouds and the gentle breezes. It makes me happy. Our lawn is looking better now that the sprinklers are going off daily, the backyard looks great and is awaiting the first good mow on Thursday when the gardeners come. I still need to get out there and plant some things. Our house reminds me of a country cottage outside. Anyone have any ideas of plants that would fit this theme? I want to get some topiaries. I wanted a couple rose topiaries but Mamacita thinks they won't get enough light in the front. So I may go get some shrubs that grow tall and I can cut into a topiary. And I need to think about planting some tomatoes soon. I want some small yellow pear tomato plants. They are so cute and tasty too! I'd also like to grow herbs this season. I'm thinking of taking a bed on the side of the house that isn't too big, it's on a slight hill and making a planter box to fit level on the hill and grow some basil, rosemary, chives, thyme, cilantro, oregano and mint. The mint may have to go in a separate planter because mint has a way of taking over.

                                                      I started a pair of socks using a new pattern. It's a lace pattern and it has a zig zag in it, it's fun to knit. But the leg looks so large. Going to turn the heel tonight. I'm going to stop telling you i'll post pics and just post them when i can. The colors in this yarn is so gorgeous. It's hand dyed and I found it on ebay. It's from Francis Patrick Design and her link to see her gorgeous yarns is on my right sidebar. Please go visit her, see if there is anything you like. I'm using the Mountain Wildflowers colorway of which she doesn't have anymore right now. I sure wish I had bought more at the same time.


                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 2:19 PM 0 comments



                                                      March 16, 2007
                                                      Today I release the need to blame anyone, including myself.

                                                      Mamacita and I went to dinner last night at La Vie, a french restaurant in a very odd part of town, you would not think a nice restaurant would be in this neighborhood but I've had my eye on this place for awhile. I always go by this location every Wednesday night and the parking lot is always full of cars. That indicates to me that a restaurant is good if it's busy, packed. And on a Wednesday night. So we went fairly early and it's very nice inside, nothing too fancy, but real cloth tablecloths and the napkin is nicely folded. We had a wonderful dinner, we both tried something a bit different, Mamacita had the roast duck a la orange and I had Veal in a butter, garlic, caper sauce. Our entree included soft, warm, slightly crunchy outside white bread and butter, then asparagus soup which I liked, but Mamacita thought was tasty but watery. Then a nice side salad, with fresh greens, uncut, tossed in a light dressing and 1 grape tomato. The veal was very tender and delicious, the sauce was darker than I thought it would be, but tasty There was also 2 asparagus spears, some mashed sweet potato puree and yellow rice. Mamacita's duck had the same accompaniments and the duck skin was crisp. The duck was not gamey at all and had a great orange sauce with it. Then we had decaf coffee and shared a creme brulee. Mamacita and I both agreed that it was the best creme brulee that we've both had. Creamy and cool and the top was blackened to perfection, not being bitter, it was thin and crisp. They had frog legs as an entree and escargot as an appetizer but we were too chicken to try it. My Father loved escargot, he would have tried it for sure. We'll go back but maybe for a special occasion, it was a bit expensive for a Thursday night dinner. And we both got out of there with out slopping on our tops... a real accomplishment for us lately!

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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 11:41 AM 2 comments



                                                      March 14, 2007
                                                      Thursday Thirteen #4


                                                      Perhaps we all have a little Irish in us on St.Patrick's Day... so here is Thirteen Things about why I love green!
                                                      1. Because to me, green is the color of life in nature and I love to see the beginnings of a crocus blooming or the tulips and daffodils. The leaves and stalks are green and tulip bulbs are green until they get their color.
                                                      2. Green tea. I love the taste and it has health benefits and has antioxidants.
                                                      3. Emeralds, peridot, green gems are rare and beautiful.
                                                      4. Money. We all work for it and/or need it to survive in this world of ours. And if you work hard and earn money, it is a good thing. Money itself is kind of dirty and I don't like thinking of where it's been. Ew.
                                                      5. Green yarn~sage, grass, there are different names, but I love green yarn. It's a soothing color to me.
                                                      6. Green scents. The color green smells to me like it would be clean and fresh, herbal.
                                                      7. Grass. Nothing like a nice, plush green lawn to run your toesies thru.
                                                      8. Asparagus. One of the best vegetables in my opinion.
                                                      9. Henry's green eyes. He's so pretty.
                                                      10. Broccoli. Good for you and I like it! I like it raw or slightly steamed.
                                                      11. Frogs. I've always liked frogs, the real ones. I love to hold them and their skin feels so weird. It's not icky like you might think. They are cool to the touch and feel smooth.
                                                      12. Mint. I like mint gum and candies.
                                                      13. Boy, this list turned out to be harder than i thought...Ireland. It's a stretch, but you do think of green when you think of the Country. I'd like to go someday.

                                                      Links to other Thursday Thirteens!



                                                      Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


                                                      The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 10:19 PM 11 comments



                                                      March 12, 2007
                                                      Today my opportunity for success is unlimited.

                                                      This quiz peaked my curiousity and it was right for me! How odd...
                                                      You Are Likely a First Born

                                                      At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
                                                      At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
                                                      When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.

                                                      In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
                                                      Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
                                                      You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.


                                                      I had to take my renewal written driving test and I passed! I missed 1 question. So I'm a step closer to getting these annoying things done.

                                                      Had a pretty good weekend, did a lot of knitting. I finished the turqoise bath hand towel and I really like the pattern.

                                                      Tom and Henry are able to be in the same room without hissing and scratching, it's still getting better every day but I won't be happy until I have a pic of them being civil and together...

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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 3:35 PM 0 comments



                                                      March 9, 2007
                                                      I see myself with eyes of love, and I am safe.

                                                      I was thankful to have this affirmation today because today is just one of those days. I've got the "mean reds" as Holly Golightly would say. It started with a phone call and a weird morning, the details I won't go into. But I have been in tears this a.m. and I'm OK now that I'm at work, but underneath I so just want to go home and cry, wallow. I just have some thinking to do.

                                                      Thank you all for the Happy Birthday wishes! It was a good day. Maybe I'm having a mental hangover because part of it is my birthday and realizing where I am at this age. It's not what I wanted or expected. I'm not trying to be whiny and I'm grateful for all I have, but don't you have those days where you are just not happy??

                                                      Have a lot planned for this weekend, nothing exciting, just stuff I need to get done. I got my Knitpicks yarn and am working on a bathroom hand towel right now. I love the pattern and the color, i hope to post pics of all my knitting this weekend. The weather is suppose to be warm and sunny so I'd like to get some planting done and something has to be done about our lawn, it's dry looking, will have to turn on the sprinklers again. Getting my hands dirty and in the soil always makes me feel better.

                                                      Oh, I had to tell you about our star sighting when at my birthday dinner! Do you know the Mom from the TV show Malcolm in the Middle? Yep, Jane Kaczmarek! Mamacita saw her, I had my back to her and her party of 6. But I heard her voice and I knew it was her. She was really pretty in person. She had her hair up and she had this aqua blue wrap on. There was another blond guy who I am sure is an actor but for the life of me I couldn't tell you what show or who he was.


                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 12:33 PM 1 comments



                                                      March 8, 2007
                                                      Thursday Thirteen ~ Edition #3


                                                      My birthday was yesterday and I had a wonderful day, despite waking up with a headache.
                                                      Thirteen Things about why Birthday's are great!
                                                      1. Because my darling cousin Cindy sent me a really cute text message on my phone in the early morning wishing me a happy birthday, including a picture and music!
                                                      2. Because I wore a new outfit that I treated myself to and I feel kind of cute today! Beige Linen wideleg pants, aqua linen button jacket with a belt and these cute off white slip-on's with gold trim. I'm so cute today! heehee
                                                      3. Because my boss brought in a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow tulips and a happy birthday balloon! And she remembered that tulips are my favorite flower.
                                                      4. Because my boss made me a homemade jello cake! And she would not call herself a baker and thinks she messed this one up because the jello set quick, but it's beautiful and I appreciate that she made the effort. It was really good after all too!
                                                      5. Because your best friend calls you and leaves you a message singing Happy Birthday to you....HA HA!
                                                      6. Because your Mamacita leaves you a note in the a.m. saying Happy Birthday Mitchy!
                                                      7. Because Mamacita takes me to dinner at Twin Palms in Pasadena, a place I've wanted to go to for a while and the food is spectacular! Spicy Thai pasta and a pomegranate martini.
                                                      8. Because Mamacita and I split a lovely dessert at the Twin Palms. A chocolate molten cake with real vanilla ice cream.
                                                      9. Because I can choose to celebrate the Anniversary of my 21st Birthday and therefore I am only 21 years old! YAY!
                                                      10. Because my sweet brother gave me a Nordstrom gift certificate! I'm spoiled.
                                                      11. Because my sweet friend Sandy sent me the nicest birthday card.
                                                      12. Because my Mamacita gave me a spa treatment of my choice and some lovely Vera Wang perfume and some Bath and Body Works bath stuff.
                                                      13. Because I am blessed to celebrate my life, all the good, all the bad. I'm alive and wanting to enjoy life.

                                                      Links to other Thursday Thirteens!



                                                      Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


                                                      The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 11:10 AM 9 comments



                                                      March 5, 2007
                                                      I give myself permission to prosper.

                                                      Congratulations to my cousin Wink!!!
                                                      He accomplished a very big goal. He ran in the LA Marathon and he completed it! He finished in 5:32:05 hours. Isn't that great?! He raised over $1600. for Aids Project Los Angeles and I'm so very proud of him. He is my age and I cannot even fathom doing something like that. I'm sorry I was not able to join my cousins and Aunt to see him cross the finish line, but wanted him to know how proud of him we all are.

                                                      Feeling better today in the tummy and I'm at work, but Aunt Flo also came this a.m. a few days early so I have that to deal with. Maybe now my face will stop breaking out, geez, it was an end to a bad month.

                                                      MyKnitpicks order did not come in and I was so sad...I had some good knitting time while home on Friday so I did Mason-Dixon Warshrags instead.

                                                      My brother said something about us making pizza Saturday so Mamacita got the fixins' and I made a super easy dough with Rapid Rise yeast and we made this beautiful pizza topped in thirds with the following. One third had olive oil, sauteed shallots and onion and mushroom with some gorgonzola cheese. One third had pizza sauce, mozzarella, canadian bacon and grape tomatoes cut in half and the last third had sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni and grape tomatoes. YUUUUU....MMMM! We will definitely do that again. It was so simple and economical and GOOD! It made a baking sheet size rectangular pizza..in fact, that's what I had for lunch today.

                                                      Last night I made a mushroom risotto and it was also yummy! I used Lidia Bastianich's recipe and it was a meal by itself.


                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 1:23 PM 1 comments



                                                      March 2, 2007
                                                      feeling icky...

                                                      Thank you Agnes for letting me know my profile said I was 250 years old!! I originally did not put the year and I guess it got filled in somehow, I saw someone else's profile that had some outrageous number and I thought they did it as a joke. I do have a birthday next week, but I hardly feel THAT old!!! (Thanks for the complement too...made me blush!)

                                                      Thursday Thirteen was a lot of fun and I'm not done looking at other's posts and commenting. It's been so great to meet some new bloggers!

                                                      I haven't been feeling well, but I went to work yesterday and made it through. I feel flu like. I have chills and body aches and yesterday my tummy started bothering me. I didn't go in today. I also feel like hibernating, just want to sit and knit. I guess it's good to take care of myself but I also feel like I have so much to do and can't just sit. I have to listen to my body.

                                                      I'm expecting a Knitpicks order (hopefully today), and then I'm going to start knitting some bathroom towels I like in the Mason Dixon book. I've made about 6 of the Mason Dixon Washcloths, they are so fun to knit and I love the color play.

                                                      Tom and Henry had a cat fight the other night and I know they'll have to just get used to each other but I wish it'd happen soon. It hasn't even been a week, so patience is very important. Because I'm home today I'm able to take more time with them and I have them in the same room and not growling that mean kitty growl at each other. Tom is so curious.
                                                      Here is Tom trying to be cool but he has his eye on Henry who is on the cat tree next to him.


                                                      Here is Henry, trying to relax but knowing that Tom is out there somewhere.
                                                      And here Tom is inching his way and makes it to the cat tree so he can bug Henry. He looked over the edge and got a nice swat from Henry. But Tom backed off and decided to nap on the side of the cat tree.
                                                      I think I may need to rename this blog ~Knitting and Losing, and Our Cats~!!!

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                                                      Posted by Mitchypoo at 12:21 PM 5 comments