Pictures

My four boys - I love this picture....



...and a picture of me with them....



...anyone know if Cass of "shutupim counting" is still in blog land - I tried to find her blog - and I have not been able to get to her....thoughts?

I hope to take some pics of my knitting...stay tuned....

Here I am

I'm here...If any of my friends are still checking my blog....

Life has been busy - The end of the school year - Chris' High School graduation - Moving Jeremy and Andy into different living arrangements -

I have been knitting - I started a baby sweater - I have so far completed the back, left, and right front and am working on one sleeve. The top is apparently then knit all as one piece. I am definitely learning as I go - making choices that I hope will turn out to be right as pieces fall into place...I hope to get a picture up...

I have also been knitting the round dishcloths - I really am having fun with them - problem is - I don't like to sew up the seams - so, consequently, I have a pile of 15 of them - all needing the seam to be sewed....

I hope to post more often and get some pictures up - I think of some of you often and am sad that you are no longer a part of my life and hope to revive the friendships that I have let fall along the wayside....

It's all about dishcloths

I am hooked on a new dishcloth pattern - it's awesome - and round...I have no pictures - darn dial up...just a tease of things to come...

I am 3/4ths of the way done with the prayer shawl I am currently working on. I am not sure where I can donate it to when I get done with it...ideas anyone?

Still haven't finished any of the three pairs of socks I have on my needles...note to self - should really work on the socks....

I need an entire day at the library to upload pictures and play with my ravelry account - so many people have asked me if I am on - I am but have not done much with it - sooo little time....

I can't believe it is already March...

The days are flying by..

We are at midquarter for 3rd quarter - which means - very soon it will be 4th quarter - and then summer break....

I have been at work most evenings until about 6:00...makes for a really long day and not much relaxation or knitting time....

I really need to get to a library and upload a bunch of my finished projects. Darn dial up.

Happy New Year!!!!

Nope...didn't fall off the face of the earth...Still here.

Hope your Christmas was blessed with family, health and good friends. Mine was. Jeremy and Andy were both home for the holidays. I got a little choked up at Christmas Eve service as I looked down the pew at my family of grown young men. Thoughts of Christmas' past and little boy excitement and wonder....Although, I don't think they ever out grow the Christmas excitement!

We lost water the week before Christmas - We replaced the pump, pulled the entire well, replaced all of the steel pipes and all the mysterious stuff that goes back in the hole. Still no water....So, I took drastic measures...I blessed the entire business with holy water before church...We came home from church and tried to prime it one more time....and...IT PRIMED!!! Our personal Christmas miracle.

Needless to say - it was short-lived..A week ago Monday...the well stopped again.

We don't know what to do...at this point, it looks like we will have to drill a new well - which we can't do until April - due to the frozen ground....

It is already the end of first semester. The year has been a good one - very busy but a good one. I have a smartboard in my room which allows me to save all my notes and post them on my school web page - so kids can view and print them. Which is wonderful, but it takes time to put the notes for 3 different classes and then to post each day to my webpage...again...good stuff.

Speaking of school - we had two bomb threats this pass week. One Tuesday - we evacuated and returned to the school when the school was cleared. Messed up the day...And again on Wednesday - this time we just evacuated and had parents come pick up students and closed for the day. A 53 year old mom of one of our students was arrested and in custody for the two day incidents. I really hope she gets the help she needs and her daughter is cared for during this difficult time.

And then...if the week wasn't messed up enough...we had a "weather"day on Thursday...With the windchill - the temperatures were around 45 below...Way too cold for man or beast.

I have been knitting. I finished a hat for Katie. I think she likes it. I will post a picture. I started a pair of mittens for myself. I am working on a hat for Jeremy. and the gadzillion other projects that I have started and not finished.

I am determined to lose weight this Spring. My doctor put me on high blood pressure pills last June - and I have gained 35 pounds since then. I don't fit in any of my clothes...not to mention what it's done to my self image. I am weaning myself off the pills - feel better already. I have energy again and motivation.

We are in Winona at a hotel (yeah for high speed) visiting Andy and Katie. We are going to LaCrosse shopping today and celebrating Andy's 21st birthday, which was last week. Should be a fun day.

I discovered facebook. I am listed as Alaina Privette. Come check me out there for pictures and stuff.

Well, enough for now - hope to be more regular at posting.

It's the HOliday Season...

I can't believe how very fast the time has flown by...and my poor neglected blog...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours...

My boys journeyed to their father's house...so, I spent a quiet day with my sweetie, my Gramma and my sister...we ate turkey and bunches of other stuff...then we played cards...It was a quiet, satisfying way to spend the holiday.

I had hoped to get my Christmas cards out in the mail on Monday...doesn't look like it is going to happen...shamme because I've had them for about a month...it's a shame that no one else will know how very "organized" I am this year. ha!

I had also hoped to put up the tree today...well, that didn't happen either.

I spent a really lazy day on Friday...Andy brought home with him all four books in the Twilight Series...I know that's not what they are called..and either you know what I am talking about, or you don't....

Anyway...my students have been reading these and the movie just opened...so I thought I would give it a try...well, not my usual reading material...but, kept my attention...I started the first book on Wednesday night...made a complete Thanksgiving dinner and entertained...and finished the last (fourth) book on Saturday morning...whew!!!

Again, not my normal read...but was okay.

Can you believe there is less than a month till Christmas???

OH MY GOD! The presents to be bought, the cards, the cookies, the tree.......gotta go........

Not much new here...

Seems like the days are flying by...then the weeks...

It's already the end of first quarter and into second quarter...Halloween is past and Thanksgiving is looming....with Christmas peeking around the corner....Where has the time gone?

It seems like life is so very busy...every night either correcting papers late, lesson planning or meetings...if not school busy-ness...then other activities....

I have been knitting mindless items..dishcloths mainly...I really want to finish some of the gad-zillion projects I have started...just doesn't grab my interest or they take too much concentration for my fried brain.

I want life to slow down and I don't know how to make that happen.

I have been spoiled....

I came home after a long day of conferences, crabby parents, and hormonal teenagers...to find a wonderful surprise.... a package on my table....Inside the package was this wonderful package put together by Jill. Everything was wrapped in orange and yellow....It made me smile opening it up.



A great Halloween dish containing chocolate(lots of chocolate!) and a "Trick or Treat" sign that will decorate my desk at school... a really cute Halloween towel that will dress up my kitchen...or maybe the bathroom...



...and...did I mention yarn...She went way over board...two skeins of a Autumn, dusty orange, tweedy sock yarn...and...a skein of a fingering weight, beautifully colored sock yarn....it is all gorgeous...and I can hardly wait to cast some socks on....

I always include a postcard when I send off my package...but, Jill used the postcard to actually send her warm wishes...which I thought was a great idea...(and why hadn't I thought of that before???)



Her two dishcloths are absolutely adorable....my pictures don't do them justice...sneak on over to Jill's blog and look at her pictures...much better and clearer than mine are...The orange cloth is a pumpkin and the white cloth is a ghost. How very fun! Thank you Jill!

The little stichmarker is an orange pumpkin. I tried to take a close up picture of it...it is adorable...but that was the final straw for my camera batteries...

She also included a jar of body wash cream that smells awesome...I am anxious to give it a try...I had never seen anything like it...

Thank you Jill. You obviously spent a lot of time picking things out and it shows. I love it all and you did a great job with the Halloween theme!!!




...other news in my world....It's football season...actually the end of football season...Last night we played the number one team in our section...who were undefeated...and we won!!!

Nathan is the center...the one getting ready to "snap" the ball...That's my baby....



...and here is Chris in pepband...this picture was taken a couple weeks ago during one of our gorgeous evenings.

Usually football watching involves large, bulky clothing, wool socks and mittens...(last night was one of those evenings...40 degrees with a wind)

Hope all is well in your world....

My poor neglected blog...

Life is just too busy these days...it's too busy to knit...it's too busy to read my favorite blogs...and it's too busy to post.

I have great posts, complete with pictures all in my head...brilliant conversations...catchy titles...tantalizing pictures...funny tidbits...all in my head....ahh {{{sigh}}}

I have been at work most nights until 5:30/6:00...coming home...making supper...grading tests and crawling exhausted into bed...it has to get better...really...it has to...I can't take this pace much longer...

The new curriculum combined with the new Smart board in my room means many hours of preparation....Giving out an assignment each day for every student means I have 100 pieces of paper each day to deal with...yes, I am whining...

I even thought I would show you some pictures of my awesome Smart Board...just hasn't happened...

In Dishrag Tag news...one of our team mates went MIA...so we needed a replacement box sent out...that's a bummer...(yes, I am a child of the 70s...bummer...love that word) We were in the running...now we are struggling to just plain finish. I want to be positive and say I hope the person isn't having a personal crisis which explains the MIA...or did she just decide to quit playing...I don't know...either way...it's a bummer.

I hope to have time soon.

oops I did it again...

Don't cha just hate that song????!!!!

But, it is an appropriate title for this entry...I stopped at my LYS yesterday...saw a finished head band and of course, promptly bought the pattern, yarn and circs....

Never mind I still have 10 projects on my needles that need to be finished...never mind that I should be grading papers, doing laundry or cleaning house...oh no...I have a new challenge in my knitting basket...taunting me...just calling my name...I am weak....pics to come...no, not of the dirty laundry, dishes piled or dust bunnies...

The top 100 songs of 1981

I found this on Anita's blog. Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the link and it brought me right back to Minnesota!!!

I know I just posted a list of 100 books...well, here is another listing of the top 100 songs from 1981.

The rules:

A.) Go to Music Outfitters

B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year

C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline or italicize your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about)

1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes
2. Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3. Lady, Kenny Rogers
4. (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon
5. Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield
6. Celebration, Kool and The Gang
7. Kiss On My List, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. I Love A Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbitt
9. 9 To 5, Dolly Parton
10. Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon
11. Theme From "Greatest American Hero", Joey Scarbury
12. Morning Train (Nine To Five), Sheena Easton
13. Being With You, Smokey Robinson
14. Queen Of Hearts, Juice Newton
15. Rapture, Blondie
16. A Woman Needs Love, Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
17. The Tide Is High, Blondie
18. Just The Two Of Us, Grover Washington Jr.
19. Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters
20. I Love You, Climax Blues Band
21. Woman, John Lennon
22. Sukiyaki, A Taste Of Honey
23. The Winner Takes It All, Abba
24. Medley, Stars On 45
25. Angel Of The Morning, Juice Newton
26. Love On The Rocks, Neil Diamond
27. Every Woman In The World, Air Supply
28. The One That You Love, Air Supply
29. Guilty, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
30. The Best Of Times, Styx
31. Elvira, Oak Ridge Boys
32. Take It On The Run, REO Speedwagon
33. No Gettin' Over Me, Ronnie Milsap
34. Living Outside Myself, Gino Vannelli
35. Woman In Love, Barbra Streisand
36. Boy From New York City, Manhattan Transfer
37. Urgent, Foreigner
38. Passion, Rod Stewart
39. Lady (You Bring Me Up), Commodores
40. Crying, Don Mclean
41. Hearts, Marty Balin
42. It's My Turn, Diana Ross
43. You Make My Dreams, Daryl Hall and John Oates
44. I Don't Need You, Kenny Rogers
45. How 'Bout Us, Champaign
46. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar
47. The Breakup Song, Greg Kihn Band
48. Time, Alan Parsons Project
49. Hungry Heart, Bruce Springsteen
50. Sweetheart, Franke and The Knockouts
51. Someone's Knockin', Terri Gibbs
52. More Than I Can Say, Leo Sayer
53. Together, Tierra
54. Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx
55. What Are We Doin' In Love, Dottie West
56. Who's Crying Now, Journey
57. De Do Do Do, De Da Da, Police
58. This Little Girl, Gary U.S. Bonds
59. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Stevie Nicks With Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
60. Giving It Up For Your Love, Delbert McClinton
61. A Little In Love, Cliff Richard
62. America, Neil Diamond
63. Ain't Even Done With The Night, John Cougar
64. Arthur's Theme, Christopher Cross
65. Another One Bites The Dust, Queen
66. Games People Play, Alan Parsons Project
67. I Can't Stand It, Eric Clapton
68. While You See A Chance, Steve Winwood
69. Master Blaster, Stevie Wonder
70. Hello Again, Neil Diamond
71. Don't Stand So Close To Me, Police
72. Hey Nineteen, Steely Dan
73. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It, Stevie Wonder
74. All Those Years Ago, George Harrison
75. Step By Step, Eddie Rabbitt
76. The Stroke, Billy Squier
77. Feels So Right, Alabama
78. Sweet Baby, Stanley Clarke and George Duke
79. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg
80. Cool Love, Pablo Cruise
81. Hold On Tight, ELO
82. It's Now Or Never, John Schneider
83. Treat Me Right, Pat Benatar
84. Winning, Santana
85. What Kind Of Fool, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
86. Watching The Wheels, John Lennon
87. Tell It Like It Is, Heart
88. Smoky Mountain Rain, Ronnie Milsap
89. I Made It Through The Rain, Barry Manilow
90. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Daryl Hall and John Oates
91. Suddenly, Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard
92. For Your Eyes Only, Sheena Easton
93. The Beach Boys Medley, Beach Boys
94. Whip It, Devo
95. Modern Girl, Sheena Easton
96. Really Wanna Know You, Gary Wright
97. Seven Year Ache, Rosanne Cash
98. I'm Coming Out, Diana Ross
99. Miss Sun, Boz Scaggs
100. Time Is Time, Andy Gibb

Ohh...the memories......

All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Swap - Topic #1

I found this cool list on Rhea W. blog for the first assignment on All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Swap. What would your list look like?

The Big Read is an National Endowment for the Arts program designed to encourage community reading initiatives and of their top 100 books, they estimate the average adult has read only six.)

*Look at the list and bold those we have read.
*Italicize those we intend to read.
*Underline the books we LOVE. (I don't know how to underline...so I am going to color blue the books I love...

Share this list in your blog, too, if you like.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas in French
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery in French
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Ronald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo in French

I only have 26 that I have read...I need to read more...What does your list look like?

"Thanks Mom for reading those 'baby' books so we didn't turn out 'messed up'."
~Nathan age 16

Hurry...

Registration is open until Friday the 12th for All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Exchange....the sequel to Summer Dishcloth Swap.

It is always such great fun getting to know your partner and having someone stalk your blog, as well...and of course, the great package....

Are you still here? What are you waiting for...shoo!

All Hallows Eve Dishcloth Exchange Questionaire

Knitting Yarn
1. Do you knit or crochet? For how long? I have been "seriously knitting for about 3 years. I learned to crochet a long time ago from my Gramma...I don't do much crocheting anymore.

2. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using the most? Are there some you've been dying to try out and haven't? I love bamboo needles. Most of my collection is metal, due to the fact I have picked them up cheaply...I am slowly adding bamboo to my collection. There aren't any that I am dying to try out...

3. What kind of projects do you most enjoy? Small things you can take with you, or big complex ones that are just gorgeous when they're done? I need gratification. I have not knit anything big and complex, yet. I just don't think it will ever happen...I like socks, little projects, and of course, dishcloths...

4. List one pattern for a dishcloth that you love to make, or just tell us about one you've made or received that you loved. I really love both the feather and fan pattern and the waffle stitch pattern.

5. What are your 'must have' notions? Are there any notions you need or can never have enough of? Any that might make you cry if you owned more? I don't use a lot of notions...I am always looking for a little scissors...seems like it is always..."in my other bag"

Petting Yarn
6. What are your favorite yarns to work with? Any you hate or are allergic to? I like soft and squishy...I like soft and warm...I do use wool a lot...have tried bamboo for socks...don't like acrylic or novelty yarns...

7. What colors do you like to use in projects? Any we'd never catch on your needles? I think I am generally a earthy person...greens, browns, reds, warm colors...although I have used bright and fun also. I can't think of a color that I wouldn't try at least once.

8. Any cottons you'd like to try you can't find by you, or just haven't gotten around to getting? nope...

Halloween, Fall, and General Stuff
9. Do you like to use bar soap or shower gel more? What kinds of scents do you love? What kind do you hate? I use shower gel. I like clean scents, don't like roses...like just about everything else...

10. What's more 'Halloweeny' - Ghosts, Pumpkins, or Witches? pumpkins

11. What's your favorite Treat to get? Sweet or Salty? Anything you're allergic to or just hate? Definitely sweet...and has to be dark...dark chocolate!!! (Although I have been known to consume large quantities of just about anything sweet)

12. What was your favorite Halloween Costume as a kid? As an adult?? I don't remember any favorites as a child...as an adult...I showed up to work one Halloween looking 9 months pregnant...that was pretty funny.

13. Are you on Ravelry? What's your ID? I am "alaina" on Ravelry. I haven't done anything on there in ages...my poor neglected Ravelry...Le Sigh.

14. Anything else you'd like to be sure your pal knows? no, I am pretty easy to please....