I am

I am

I am smart and good at gymnastics
I wonder what dogs are saying when they bark
I hear sounds of my old cat
I see clouds
I want my old cat Cheeky Monkey back
I am smart and good at gymnastics

I pretend I am a millionaire
I feel like a bird sometimes
I touch my cat Mischief
I worry that I won't live to an old age
I cry when I hear about my relatives or pets that have died
I am smart and good at gymnastics

I understand that we won't live forever
I say to try and try again
I dream about myself, friends, family and pets
I try my best to succeed in school
I hope that me and my brother can become closer when we are older
I am smart and good at gymnastics

By Amanda Prescod

I love this poem and am so proud of Amanda for being able to put her feelings into such expressive words.

Watching TAR14 with Wannietta - part le 2

On to!!
It great to see teams learning from all of the racers that came before them - borrowing a cell phone to make reservations.
Way for Steve to man up and recognize his lack of sensitivity and own it.
Do phone reservations really count for much?
You might be a red neck if ... you hope for a beer challenge.
I guess phone reservations count. Although I might be inclined to play dirty pool and use another teams name to see if they had called in a reservation.
Tammy & Victor have a quick lead thanks to that lucky timing on that gondola lift.
Why would the wind change all of a sudden in the mountains? Maybe Mary Poppins is coming. Or maybe because you're ... in the mountains!!!
My legs feel like jelly just thinking about an hour long hike down a mountain .
I'd totally wait out the wind just for the chance to paraglide down from those mountains. A view like that would be worth the wait.
I think that Luke is perhaps a wee bit influenced by the young man hormones that come into play around . Even if they are former cheerleaders.
It's not so much about chickening out Mel as whether or not you're willing to out wait Mother Nature.
I don't think that it was such a good idea to try to call out Mark in a show of bravado Mel.
I think that the wind will ease up & Mel won't be in as bad a spot as he thinks. And really, if he physically can't go down the mountain on foot he doesn't have a choice. It is what it is.

See? Wha'did I tell ya?!
Poor Linda.
And Mel is down before Linda, Cara, Jen & Christie.
Balancing Dolly or Austrian Folly
Those Segways are a lot harder to manage than one might think. I'd probably just flip right over on my back.
Tammy & Victor are really getting into the spirit of throwing pies at each other. Must be a sibling thing!
Poor Linda. One wrong turn and she's so upset that she's not even thinking that she should just go back up to that fork in the road and go the other way.
That little log sawing thing is adorable! Like the machines that stamp a penny flat for a souvenir.

Awww - that's nice. I'm really glad that she got a ride. I hope that they can make up some time.
Tammy & Victor win the 2nd leg in Germany @ Schloss Hellbrunn.
I wonder how much extra TAR is going to have to pay on the rented Mercedes Benzs' for having cake in them!
That's right Luke - she's your mom and you just listen to her. I should replay this for Kyle!
Mel & Mike rocked those Segways out!
"Just sit there & look pretty". Steve really is a sweet guy.
Brad & Victoria had fun with the Folly too.
I love it when teams can get into the spirit of a challenge!
Mike trying to climb over the fence & then Phil with that eyebrow raise - !!!
OMG - Christie & Jodi are looking for wood to cut. They're carry around chunks of wood. They totally misunderstood what the woman said about "wood sawing".
Steve & Linda - you've got an opportunity here to beat out the flight attendants!

Well then you'd better start standing up for yourself Jen or Kiska is going to be big sistering the both of you right out of the race.
Christie said "dumb blonde" before I did.
With the stunt brother & Kisha & Jen a bit lost Steve & Linda can still do this if they hold it together!
They're screwed in a foot race.
I don't think that they were destined to win The Amazing Race but they're destined for each other - Steve & Linda are one of a kind!!

I don't know what it is lately with teams forgetting their TAR packs

Don't forget to head over to Savory Spicy Sweet with me and see what Liz has cooking up for this Austrian leg of the race!

Are You Feeling Lucky?

My natural tendency towards incompetence (don't argue - remember Kyle and the 3-week old broken wrist ... yeah, I know it worked out in the end, but still ...) has saved me once again!

Shelly (AM dispatcher/charter coordinator) and myself decided to go in on a 649 ticket yesterday. Not being a seasoned lottery ticket buyer, I didn't realize that the cutoff time was 20:59:59. Yeah. I spent most of the night trying to calculate how long it would take to pay her 19.5 million dollars if I lived to be various unlikely ages. But it's all good this morning because $48,000,000 is totally my lucky number & I didn't even have to invest to make the pot grow! Thanks to everyone else who did though.

Proof of Life '08

Time to post the old list for the archives so that I can get a new one going. I'm pretty sure that I kept track of most everything.

2 Thorpe Hats

Elise's Colourful Kersti sweater

Autumny Opal socks

Veronik's Mock Smocked Jacket

DKC Knits for a Cure Scarves - 5

Beth'sCentral Park Hoodie

Artisan Knitworks Victoria

Elise's Tofutsie socks

Silken Knotted Openwork Scarf

Elise's Linen Skirt & Top

Elise's Prism Tencel Tape Shawl

Elise's Man's Pinstripe Vest

Fiona'sCutaway Cabled Sweater for Naturally

Artisan Knitworks Noro Iro pullover

Noro Annetrelac socks

Knit One Below berets - 2

Not a bad list - working full time really cut into my knitting time, but it pays better so what's a girl to do? Hopefully I'll win the lottery & can do what I love the most!

Simple FO's

Amanda had a great time with her friend Tara snow tubing on the weekend. I had a great time sitting in the chalet knitting & watching them!
It was a perfect day - sunny & just cold enough for Friday & Saturday to make the slopes super-slick after the low temps & rain for the few days previous.
There are a bunch of rubber mats at the end of each tubing run to slow & stop the tubes & then the rider(s) can get out and walk to the line up again. Watchers can hang out in the chalet or along the ends of the run - not all parents are into it, but are there for the kids.
Well, one unlucky/unthinking mother was standing at the end of one of the steeper runs when a group of 6 tubers (holding on to each others tubes - it's totally allowed & done) gathered enough speed to shoot right over the rubber mats, wipe out the unsuspecting woman and stop when they hit the protective fence (built for just such unlikely yet planned for occasions).
Everyone felt really bad for her, especially the group that ran through her, but really ... you're standing at the end of a long, steep & fast snow tube run. Do you not think that you should be watching what may be hurtling towards you?!? She was fine - ice on her shoulder & I'm sure that it hurt like the dickens the next day & if she was not completely addled she will have come away with family passes for life ...
It was totally a no-fault mishap. The tubers could not have possibly have slowed or stopped their progress, Snow Valley couldn't have predicted that kind of speed and the nice lady was probably just like a deer caught in the headlights. Hindsight is 20-20.

I'm still working on a couple of personal projects that must remain uber-secret for now, but I've managed to finish a couple of seriously simple projects. Amanda now has legwarmers that I hope will be fashionable for at least the next week (I'll try to get a picture when I come home tomorrow), and I have a new pair of socks. Sock Hop yarn in the Ain't no Mountain High Enough colourway. I love them!

I'm also working on a sweater for Véronik - I'll let her give details when she's ready.

My friend Ada sent me a link to a blogger who is doing a recipe for every leg of The Amazing Race. I love it!!! Check out Savory Spicy Sweet.

Thanks for all your support - Kerwyn is hitting up all of his contacts, contacting every headhunter and turning over every stone on the internet. It'll work out, I can't believe otherwise.

ETA the picture of the legwarmers.

Watching TAR14 with Wannietta - part le 1

I'm so happy that The Amazing Race (TAR) is back! I'm not one to stalk fan boards and get all into the lives of the racers - I just love watching it.

Blonde flight attendants - they should provide good blog fodder.
Lawyer siblings - maybe brains will prevail this year.
Mom & son team - I wish them well with the sign language though, it may slow them down too much.
Husband & wife - I gotta love a long-time married team!
Athletic sisters - I like their chances.
Good looking young couple - one of the first to go.
Fit older couple - I like their chances.
Father & son - they seem fit & don't hate each other, they may go far. Amanda's impressed that Mike wrote School of Rock.
Another good looking young couple - we'll see how long they want to be together.
Brothers - their stunt skills may come in handy
Former cheerleaders - thinks that they have something to prove, they should be good for drama.

Switzerland - not too exotic for a 1^st leg. Maybe some of the teams speak French or German or maybe even Italian to help them out.
I agree with Tammy & Victor's logic - you don't choose the late plane on purpose.
Luke has cute sense of humour.
Let's hope that Kisha & Jen's intel is accurate & that the shorter train trip makes up for the later flight.
Cool - having the train terminal is quite handy!
And Preston & Jen are the early underdogs.
"Monumental snowcapped mountains" I guess that she hadn't heard of the Swiss Alps.
Preston seems like a real sweetie ... not!
Way to chat up the locals Christie & Jodi.
Steve is disappointing me with his lack of support for Linda - geez, did he not realize that she isn't a runner before this?


Off to the Verzasca Dam.
I dunno, does a patio of a restaurant look like where you'd get a cab Cari & Jamie?
The flight attendants seem to have lost track of where they are. I believe that "mas importante" is Spanish.
Maybe, just maybe, you could go out to the street where the taxis are driving by on?
Mark & Micheal can totally rock out the bungee jump!
Ohhh - I like Tammy's hat!
Did you see that? There's totally enough time to puke at the bottom before you get yanked back up.
Interesting how some of them are just falling off the platform and some are totally embracing it & leaping off.
Victoria rocked that out!
Of ffs - give her a wee push already!

It was worse in her head than it was in reality.
I like Mel - "it's not that we don't trust you, it's just that we don't trust you".

Hmmm ... the flight attendants didn't check the arrival time of the train?
At least they're carrying the cheese down the hill.
I wonder if you have to stay on your feet and carry it? I mean, could you slide down on your arse or roll the cheese?
Yeah - that's what I'm talking about!!!
OMG - the Swiss are killing themselves laughing.
Will rolling & bouncing the cheese damage it or add to the aging process?
Luke is all into the scoochting down.
Those big-ass cow bells are annoying!

Mel toughed that one out.
Steve is trying to be encouraging but Linda is way negative.
Preston's manning up by taking 2!
Too bad that they have to run towards the yodeling.
Good on Margie & Luke.
Look at Phil learning to sign!
I'm very happy with the top three teams.
Good thinking - using the carrier as a sled!
Preston could take some boyfriend lessons from Kris.
"I may never eat cheese again".
Amanda has a cute hat too.
I will be sad if Steve & Linda lose because they couldn't find the yodelers after they were the smartest about the cheese hauling.
I totally called Preston & Jen as one of the first to go. They'd've been great for drama but I'm not sad to see them gone.

I hope that Linda can find some confidence - if she can her & Steve might not be last. okay ... seeing next weeks preview doesn't instill me with much hope.

Adversity

Me being the big wage earner in our family is totally the definition of adversity. Kerwyn was the victim of "restructuring" and his job now is finding a job. Fortunately he had been feeling out the job market and isn't starting from absolute zero - he's had some interviews and I'm hopefully optimistic that he'll be gainfully re-employed and keeping me in the yarny lifestyle to which I've become accustomed soon. For now, I'm taking all of the O/T that I can get, knitting in every other spare moment and resisting the siren song of potential stash. I know - it's awesome that I've got a excellent stash to knit from if I run out of work knitting! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or so 'they' say. I guess I'm going to die or get mighty mighty!! You'll know that it's getting bad when I have to start selling my stash.

BTW - if anyone is looking for an excellent mechanical/manufacturing engineering manager, I can totally hook you up!

Oh - and Dr. Jackie - I'm going to be all over The Amazing Race 14!!!