NaBloPoMo

ETA: Sorry about the repostings..I decided to delete some of the content (post got to be too long).

NaBloPoMo
After stating in my last post that I wouldn't participate, I've thought about it and decided to give NaBloPoMo a try! Here's the link to read all about it, but in a nutshell, the goal is to post to your blog everyday during the month of November. Any other takers??!!

Your Help Needed
The Ely-Bloomenson hospital in my beloved cabin town of Ely, MN is in a contest to win an MRI system. The video on the site(scroll down their side bar until you see the one for Ely-Bloomenson) was meant to be a spoof but the need is serious.

Excerpts from article written by Angie Riebe:
S i e m e n s Medical Solutions, a medical supply company, is giving away one magnetic resonance imaging unit to one hospital in the country. To qualify, a hospital must have 180 or fewer staffed beds and no in-house MRI system. The Ely hospital has just 25 beds and only a mobile MRI unit that is available every Tuesday

Hospitals were asked to submit a two-minute video explaining why each facility was in need of the unit. Videos can be viewed by logging on www.winanmri.com/, and votes will be taken through Dec. 31. People may vote once a day from each computer.

Please help! Vote!!

Speaking of Ely, check out their temps as of 9 a.m. compared to mine-brrrr!

Any Ideas?

I visited the Farmer's Market again yesterday and in addition to some potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions, I came home with these.


I've got a few ideas but am open to something new-any ideas for sweet potatoes?

I love magazines this time of year-filled with baking, decorating, and gift ideas. I'm such a magazine whore! Of course when I saw this I had to pick it up! Even DH commented on the thickness of it!!


I also enhanced my yarn stash after visiting my LYS.



I bought some Cascade 220 (color 7830-coral)-I recently bought some in color 8895 but it clashed with the ribbon I had for this project. If anyone is interested in 2 hanks of the 8895 (it's a bright Christmas like red) let me know! I also purchased some Baby Alpaca yarn for some fingerless gloves, and some Noro also sneaked in to my basket for another set of fingerles gloves. I joined the Fingerless Gloves knitalong hoping it would encourage me to finish the ones I started in June, but all that's happened is that I've found other patterns I like better and I keep buying yarn for them!

To sum up, I didn't do any knitting this week, and because I clearly do not have enough W.I.P.'s (4), I bought yarn for 3 more projects-makes sense in my world!!

Before I forget (November 1st is coming up fast!), here's the link for NaBloPoMo. I know I'm not disciplined enough to do it, but maybe some of y'all are!

Deck Staining 101

This past Saturday was "Deck Staining Day" at the Purlypants house.

Step 1: Clear the deck!


Step 2: Blow off the leaves!


Step 3: Convince DH this is a "one-man" job and do some baking (zucchini bread) instead!


Step 4: Enjoy the fruits of our labor! (We still need to do the side rails).




Someone was pouting because her "help" wasn't wanted!

Two-fer

I've decided to include the Name Meme Mary tagged me for with the answers to my Coffeeswap 3 questions.

Name meme: Share a relevant fact starting with each letter of my name. Thankfully I only have 3 letters to worry about! Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done the Name Meme.

A - according to DH "Annoying"-hardy har har! It was a close tie between a n @ l (in a compulsive way) and adventurous. I decided to go with ADVENTUROUS. I love trying new things and actually get bored with the "same old" "same old" routine. Being adventurous is what brought me to teach in Texas from Minnesota not knowing a soul. I've never taught the same grade for more than 4 years-I like the adventure/challenge of trying something new. This has resulted in me having taught/worked with students in grades 1-8. I'm always up for trying new restaurants, new recipes, new coffee, and travel to new places (still working on that one).

M- is for me being a morning person. This photo taken in the early morning at our cabin in northern MN and the quote says it all.

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. (Quote by J.B. Priestly)

Y- is for...hmmmm...well....this one was tougher...DH and I tried to come up with something creative, even consulting the "y's" in the dictionary (btw, did you know that a "yegg" is a person who steals from safes? Me either!) I'll go with the obvious "yarn." I've loved becoming a knitter and seeing road signs such as this (when I was in MN) makes my heart go pitter patter.

Coffeswap 3 QUESTIONS/ANSWERS

1. Whole bean or ground? either, I do have a coffee grinder.

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully loaded.

3. Regular or flavored? Either! Just so it's something different, fun or yummy!

4. How do you drink your coffee? Hot, with added sweetness and creamer.

5. Favorite coffee ever? I have to say I really don't have one although I do really like Kona coffee (thanks to my Coffeeswap 2 partner Kim) and the Peace coffees.

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I guess I'm a little fussy in that I don't like the cheapy cheap stuff.

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? ....mmmm... baked goods of any kind, and of course chocolate/caramel.

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I like going for things local or seasonal (gingerbread, holiday spice, or a local blend from a favorite coffee house-that kind of thing).

9. Yarn/fiber you love? Sock yarn and Misti Alpaca.

10. Yarn/fiber you hate? 100% acrylic

11. What's on your needles? fish (knitting 160 to make a fish blanket, Huggable Hedgehog, Everlasting Bagstopper, and some Glovelets). You can see my projects on Ravelry (I'm amysatx) or just look at some previous entries here.

12. Favorite colors? purples, pinks, blues

13. Allergies? nope

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I'm also open to tea and apple cider types of hot drinks! I really do like trying new things!

And the Winner is...Take 2

Well, I never did hear back from the original winner of my lunch contest, so I drew another name-MissyJoon! I was so excited to draw her name since our paths have just recently crossed with the help of the "Teachers Who Knit" group on ravelry. She's already picked out her yarn on Amanda's Etsy store and it should be on its way!

On the knitting front, a few weeks ago I came up with a knitting schedule for me (you can tell I'm in "school-mode." Pretty soon I'll be coming up with lesson plans and assessments for myself-hee!!! Last week was my week for knitting fish.



I was able to get 6 fish knit. Of the 160 I plan to knit, I only have 26 left! Woo hoo!! This week my plan is to work on the hedgehog, and then back to fish next week. I know it seems structured/planned, but it is helping me focus and make decent progress on my projects.

From the files of impulse buying:



I got sucked in by the packaging and bought Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of "The Office." Funny how I couldn't justify the price for just the DVD's, but throw in a free lunch tote and it couldn't get in my cart fast enough! My first lunch planned for the tote? Why grape soda, mixed berries yogurt, salt/vinegar chips (not Herr's though) and a tuna sandwich of course. Wonder if anyone will make the connection?