So Bad I'm Good....

Ok, I haven't been posting much lately. And I truly do feel bad about that for those of you who have actually taken the time to visit my little cobweb riddled corner of the web. But, you know I heard a rumor that there was life away from my computer and I just had to find out....lol

There are several things going on in my life. For starters the new job and old job keep me very busy. The new job is with a Steel Building Manufacturer here in Nicholasville, which is really nice because it only takes me minutes to get to work! I really like it there as I get to be very creative. So far, I have done their new brochure, several ads and am currently working on their new website using the old site as a template I can build on to. It is definitely in the production stages, but please take a gander at it: Quantum Buildings. I am just having so much fun with it as I actually get to leave the office to take pictures of their buildings. And let me tell you, I am impressed with the versatility of steel buildings!

Next item of business I have been working on is my own website to show case my photography. This has been a long time coming! I have had the camera equipment for years and thought it was about time I put it to good use! I am so happy this little dream has come to fruition finally. Please visit it and let me know what you think! Weed of Dreams Oh I probably should tell you a bit more about the name so there is no confusion. My first tinkering with html was on a server named DreamWater and one of the first pictures I ever posted was of a purty little weed. I just combined the two to come up with a site name which ended up being: Weed of Dreams. I am not a drug user, so at the time was not even thinking about other references for the word 'weed'. I just thought it was a cute and fun name. Now, I still think it is a cute and fun name, plus, I have the added shock factor.....lol

I finally went to the social security office and had my name legally changed. So, I am not longer Stephanie Buford. I am now, Stephanie Stratton. I keep thinking about my new initials...SS....and I think of the SS Minnow....lol Honestly, I had heard horror stories about waiting in long lines at the Social Security Office, but I was in and out in less than an hour. The girl who did my paper work was very happy that I had the form already completely filled out for her. Apparently if you don't have the form filled out before you go, you have to answer a barrage of questions which takes up your time and theirs. So afterwards, I went to the mall and finished up my Christmas shopping:) I can't believe I have that done. Usually, I am finishing up on Christmas Eve....lol

Outside of all that, Thanksgiving was tons of fun. I love getting to see everyone around the holidays and am just so very thankful for my family and friends:) We are still kinda looking for a house/property. Probably will not be serious about property/house hunting until the spring though.

Bad BAD Blogger.......

OK, yes, I have been a very, very bad blogger. Life has been so busy lately that I am having a hard time finding time to post much less surf the net..lol Although, that might not be a bad thing as we have spent tons of time rearranging the house and getting things in order. Both of which were much needed!

But I do have some projects that need sharing with the world, so here is some YARN PORN just for you.....





A custom dyed orange roving order.




A super soft plying together of tunis and targhee singles.





Much can be said about the lushious qualities of alpaca especially when it is navaho plied. Just delicious!




This vibrant color is called Rainbow Red as one single does a full circuit of the rainbow once and the other single is just red!




It just wouldn't be right to not show a bit more of the 'Dirty John Deere' yarn.

Ho-Hum

Friday we contacted the Realator and made a bid on the lot. We had done our home work on the property. While it did have a beautiful view, woods for him, rolling hills for me and a pond for both of us it also had a few draw backs. For starters about 5 feet down we would hit rock thus making a septic tank as well as a basement cost about $10,000 more than the estimated price if we did not hit rock, no city water as of yet which would mean another $7-10,000 to put in a cystern or dig a well.

We caught the realator in several lies she was saying that the current owner of the property was paying for the city water lines to come through when in fact the state gave the city money to put in the water lines as well as telling us that someone else was interested in the lot (after hearing the details from her we realized it was our cousins who were interested in the lot next to it.)

To top all that off the lot was listed for $5,000 above the appraisal value and they only came down to $2,500 above the appraisal value. We have a feeling that the lot is not appraised at the correct value and we definitely don't like being screwed up the you know what from the get go.

While we do regret that we did not get this particular lot, we are also very relieved because we feel that this would have had the potential to become a deal gone wrong. It is actually a plus as it gives us more time to iron out our house plans so that we are ready from the get go:)

Weed of Dreams

Have you ever had a dream? One that began it's whispy imaginings as a fuzzy seedling breaking it's hard protective outer shell. Like a small weed, it struggles to gain purchase of the soil pushing its searching life root through the rock and gravel seeking just the right spot of black life bearing dirt. As it grows you wonder if the little plant will be crushed in one single step or wither and turn to dust by a long, lingering drought. You want so very much to see this little weed continue to grow. Because you know with out doubt one day, if it can survive the freezing cold and the blistering heat, it will become a thing of pure and unbridled joy. So you work hard cultivating and caring for this little weed. And then one day with out warning it sprouts something spectacular, something quite curious, something that lets you know the hard work is starting to pay off.... A single bud.

As that bud grows larger so does your dream. Soon you will know if your little Weed of Dreams has been worth the wait.

Our bud is standing tall and proud on it's stem. We are about to fulfill our dream. We have located 7 acres far out in the country. It has woods for him and grassy hills for me as well as a pond for both of us! Please keep your fingers crossed for us as we take a huge step towards our dream.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, I did it! I finally bit the bullet and bought a new wheel! While I did enjoy using my old little wheel, I was very limited in what I could and could not do with it. After looking around and doing a bit of research, I decided on the Kromski Sonata which has turned out to be absolutely fabulous!! I can now spin yarn that is larger than fingering weight. The sonata also does not wobble or squeak! And the best feature of all is that the wheel folds up and fits in a handy back pack for easy storage and portability. I absolutely love it!! Below are a few shots of finished and soon to be finished yarn.



330yds of green & brown superwash singles plied together.



On the wheel I have Tunis which is a rare breed of sheep. The wool spins like a dream and is just as soft as can be! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Putter Problems & Busy Stuff

Whew! Well, I hope things get a bit quieter around here. I have been working on rearanging the house. Not trying to be mean, but the 'bachelor' furniture has to go. While it is functional, it is not practical. Nor is it pleasing to the eye. So for the past two weeks, we (I) have been moving furniture. And I am happy to say that I grow happier by the day with the way things look around here. I am also keeping my fingers crossed that we (I) will have everything done (switched) with in the next few days.


Outside of that, the router went bye-bye, caput, adios, adieu (sp?), etc, etc, etc. So now I have gone through a Belkin & Linksystem routers. I can honestly say that the belkin outlasted the linksystem router, which I find very interesting because the belkin was much, MUCH cheaper than the Linksys router. So I have now upgraded to the Mac 'Airport Express Base Station'. Can I just say....WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG!!!!! I mean, DUH, Dang it, I got the Mac iBook initially for the graphics and was pleasantly suprised to find that it did so much more! I can easily find my files. I don't have to worry about viruses. To top all of that off...........everything is friggin' plug'n'play. Which means all I do is plug it in and it works like a charm! Darn it all I can say is that if you are still using a PC, you are majorly missing out on a world of ease by not using a MAC!!! I have had this laptop since 2004/5 and absolutely adore it. Which pretty much means that with in the past 3 years it still works, it's not so overfull of useless files I don't get the speedy access I started out with and it still runs as great today as it did the first time I turned it on. What more can a gal ask for........
Anyhow, to make a long story short....I had no trouble at all installing the base station and it works much better than both the belkin and linksys routers..............AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.....LOL

Etsy Additions

Whew! I finally have gotten around to adding more items to my Etsy Shop. I have many many more to post as well:) Do not know if that is a good thing or not, as I have really only sold one item. But then again, it is Summer and very few folks spend much time indoors during summer including me!

Things are crazy and life is busy, but that is definitely a good thing! Bill's 35th Birthday was yesterday and we all celebrated at his Mom's house. Mom came along and she had an absolute ball playing with Bill's little nephews. It was so much fun! We had a great week end at the lake and hope this week end is as good. The best thing is there is absolutely no cell phone reception! And I can't bring the puter cause there is no way to plug it up. Not to mention there is so much water and sun, one can not help but to just relax and let the weeks cares float away! Last week Mom was out of town, so it was very hard to just stop and take a breather. I am very glad she is back:) Oh, and my Granny's 86th Birthday was last week as well, so Bill and I took her to Red Robin for dinner. I know, it's not fancy, but she does like the burgers:) The staff came out and sang her a birthday song and brought her a big ol' Birthday Sundae!...lol...One woman came up to make sure she didn't have a heart attack...lol I didn't bother to tell her that Granny loves going on the roller coasters with us! She had a blast the last time we took her on the 'Tower of Terror' at Disney World. And that was just a few years ago:)




I received my bag from KyleAnn for the ITEIV Exchange. She sent me a lovely cable and moss stitch tote in grey that is superbly lined. And talk about roomy! I think this will have to be my new knitty project tote:) Also inclosed were two skeins of Cestari a 75/25 cotton/wool blend, a CD by Andy Kimbel and something I have always wanted to read, Homer's Iliad & Odyssey! I plan to start reading the Iliad hopefully this week end. I know I have already said this, but I have always wanted to read both of these and am so very grateful my partner KyleAnn sent them to me! Thank you so very much KyleAnn. I adore every last stitch:)



I finally started the month of July's sock for the Sockamania Club (look for link to your right). I am using Cherry Tree Hill and really like how the pattern is starting out so far. If you haven't found the club yet, it is really worth a look-see especially if you like knitting socks. You are sent a pattern each month to try out:) You don't have to finish them, but you are suppose to post at least once or twice a month. Or so I have been told;)




And what is this? What is this sprouting from my little rock garden that appears to have my little stash of angora on it!?!... I wouldn't believe it if you told me, but I watched someone learn to use the drop spindle at KY Spinners a few Fridays ago and thought, well, maybe, just maybe I should try this again. I got home and dug out the spindle. After a few attempts, low and behold, I got the hang of it! I am in absolute shock of course that my stubby little fingers grasped it at last! I can now say that I have entered the realm of the travelling spinners....hahaha And of course I have to show off my first Spindle Spun & Plied attempt. Look below and you will see two different colors of alpaca plied together. Not perfect, but not bad if I must say so myself:)

Granny's Birthday!

Today is my little Granny's Birthday. We (Dad, Bill & I) are taking Granny out to eat tonight. She truely is an amazing woman! At the end of WWII, she married my Grand Father in England and then came with him to America, a country she really knew nothing about. After the death of my Grandfather, she raised her children to both be successful and productive members of society. She has always been there to show me what a person can do if they really put their mind to it. I am so very thankful that she is my Granny and that I have always had her here for me. Truly she has done so much for me and helped me in so many ways that I can not even begin to count! Granny you have always been there for me and you have helped mold me into the person I am today. I owe you so very much and I am so very Greatful that you are my Granny! I love you with all my heart and hope you have a fabulous Birthday today!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE

Doesn't time creep up on you pretty fast? I can't believe summer is about 1/2 over and it seems like it just started. Mom & Dad had a few extra tickets for Rick Corman's big 4th of July bash and we were lucky enough to tag along. On top of the spectacular fire work show, games, cash drawings (for employees of RJ Corman Railroad) and concessions which ranged from a buffet to cotton candy & ice cream, there was also a concert by an absolutely spectacular performer, Jason D Williams. He is rumored to be related to the Great Big Ball of Fire singer(JLL), and once you see him in concert! Let me just say WOW! He is all over the place and is just absolutely a pure blast to watch. Maybe if I get lucky I will in this life time get to see him perform again! The fire works were as always a purely joyful and fabulous display! We had an absolute ball and I hope everyone else had as good a time for the 4th of July as we did...I just regret that tomorrow is back to the grind..Atleast the week end is not far away!

Truck Damage..Grrr........

Well, my neighbor's lawn mower guy is a jerk! He mows all the grass clippings into our yard and driveway. Well, last month, he mowed a rather large peice of metal into the side of my truck door. I am absolutely furious. I contacted the guy shortly after it happened so that I could get him to fix his mistake and he had the audacity to tell me he did not do it!

I mean come on, like an untrained monkey couldn't look at the dang side of the truck and see the grass clippings imbedded in the side of it. I found the peice of metal, took pictures as soon as it happened and had a police report made. I have given this jerk time to get my truck fixed, all to no avail. So looks like monday, I will be taking him to small claims court to make him repair it.

Current Project and Finished Projects:)

Here are some of my current projects both finished and in the works:


Off the needles....The Perdido Lace Sock using Shaefer (sp?) yarn.



On the needles....Newsocks using Cherry Tree Hill Superwash.



On the wheel....Blue-Green 100% Angora. Mmmmm....I just love this stuff!!!

Visited Country Map

Well, mine includes most of the USA, the UK, Ireland and many of the Carribean Islands. The islands visited would the minute little red dots to the south east of the USA:) I have seen 4% of the world which means, there is a whole wide world out there left unexplored by me. OK Bill, where to next?



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

Long Time No Post!

But I am have been here:) Life is always so busy with it's ups and downs. And where to begin. Where to begin. Let us just make it short and say that work has been absolutely insane. I am hoping that I can get back to posting on a more regular basis after the 4th of July. By then, things should be settling down to a more normal pace. Thank God:) I hope all is well with you and yours!

More Wedding Photos!

Like y'all haven't had enough of these yet! Here are a few more!! We had such a fun time at our wedding, so I am really enjoying sharing the photos with everyone!!

We are both so over whelmed with joy with everyone's emails and comments. Thank you so very much for all the kind words of wisdom and well wishes. We love you all!











Our Fathers



Our Mothers


Beau


Ben & Holly (Bill's Brother & Sister)




In this shot, we were running towards the dune to get pictures before the sun went down. It looks like we are both running away to me though...lol

A few more wedding pics

Like you haven't seen enough of these already! Here are a few more:)

My Little Granny with Bill and I


Both families:)

JUST MARRIED!!!!!

Yesterday was tons of fun! We were married on the beach and have the pictures to prove it...hehehe I just kinda wanted to walk to the beach do the ceremony and that's about it. Mom & Dad stepped it up a little notch:) We had steel drum music playing, tiki-torches and chairs for everyone to sit down if they wanted. Granny was so funny. When Dad passed me over she jumped out of her chair ran up and started taking pictures. We had to make her sit down...lol...Even then she was only down for about 30 seconds then back up to snapping pictures! It was great:) We all had so much fun. Bill who really doesn't care for weddings was saying to me when we left the beach, 'You know this is the best wedding I have ever been to!'

Everyone had an absolute blast. It was so funny, because people kept asking, 'Do you feel different?". We would laugh and say not really:) Bill needs to get used to wearing a ring, but outside of that nothing has really changed. Well, except for the fact that it will be alot harder for either of us to get rid of each other...hahahaha


Anyhow, here are a few pictures that Bill's Sister took:) More will be coming soon!

The Faces of Beau.

Pronounced Bo.....

About the only time anyone can get a 'normal' picture of my brother is when he is fishing and holding up his most recent catch, or you just catch him off guard. Here are a few pics I took of my brother last night............hehehe.........Maybe, just maybe if he sees his 'goofy' pics on the internet, he will get with the program...lol







A bit more about my brother: He is 28 and currently in the Navy. He has been in the Navy for almost 10 years now as a rescue swimmer. What is a rescue swimmer you say. You know those crazy guys who rappel out of helicopters to pull people out of the water? That is my brother:) He's a fun, fun guy and I am so happy he was able to come to the wedding!

Night Before the Wedding!!!

Hmmmmm.......


I did not think we would have internet access in the condo, but we do and it does not cost a thing! Is that not great? For a change a hotel/rental is not charging extra for a service! Dang, I just love the Purple Parrot in Perdido Key!


Wanted to share a few shots from the night before the wedding. Dad hired a yacht for the evening. The Captain and his crew took us for a cruise of the canal while we were wined and dined. It was absolutely fabulous!!! We saw dolphins, all sorts of wildlife and just had a lovely time.


Here are a few shots..........




A group shot. From left to right: Girls: Jamie (Beau's friend), Stephanie (me), Carol (my Mom). Boys: Tom (my Dad), Bill (my soon to be Husband!), Beau (my Brother)


Bill and I


Mom & Dad

Time to leave.......

OK, We are in the last stages of getting ready to leave for the wedding in Florida! I have shown the open condos several times tonight. Just got home and vacumed/mopped. The one town house is almost finished and I have my girl coming tomorrow to finish it. Thank God I have her! She is just the hardest and most honest worker I have ever had and I am so thankful she is helping me out. Bill is getting excited and can barely stop talking...hahahaha I'm trying to get the laundry finished. And tomorrow morning 8am, I am dropping Miss Piper off at the kennel. I wish she could go with us, but the condo does not allow non-owner pets...grrrrrrr After that, the truck will be dropped off at the mechanic to have the O2 sensor replaced, oil changed, tune up and just get a general check up. Then we will be hitting the road and on our way to the big ol' wedding:) Well, we might have to stop in Nashville to have lunch with a friend on the way down, but that depends on what time we will be driving through. After that, it should be smooth sailing.......


With that, I will leave you with an early Eye Candy Friday shot....
The one.....
The only.....
Chirp, Chirp (Bill thought we should call him/her something:)




PS: Chirp-Chirp is now with a rehabber who will look after him while we are gone:) It's kinda sad, because he will be leaving any day now. We will miss him, and surely did enjoy him while he was here. The house feels kinda empty with out him squaking at us every 30-45 minutes to eat. Plus, it was kinda cute how he would chatter after eating. I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad to not be cleaning up any more bird poo.


And a few more photos to tide you over......

I am Book Marked!

Talk about making my day! I have been taking a breather this morning from painting, wedding, etc to surf knitting blogs. And look what I found! Quicksilver Crafter reads my blog! Oh My Goodness, I feel so excited, wanted and generally good! Just the little pick me up I needed during the crunch time before the wedding!!

Tagged

I was tagged by Kat Here is how it works: Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog with their seven things as well as these rules. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.
Ok, I'm not going to tag anyone. I figure if you think it is a fun thing to do, you can decide to do it for yourself:)


1. I'm getting a touch of the pre-wedding jitters...lol The big day is less than a week away (May 26th) and there is so much left to do.


2. I love the smell of fresh lavender and have a lavender bush I have been growing for several years now just so I can run my hands through it's luscious smelling leaves.


3. I love my home state of Kentucky! In my opinion, there is no place on earth quite like it, from the Appalachian mountains of Eastern Kentucky, to the green rolling horse pastures of Central Kentucky, to the Lakes of Southern and Western Kentucky. To me Kentucky has it all.


4. I don't like big crowds. I prefer nice small gatherings of people and family where folks can spend time with each other and not get lost in the crowd.


5. I am an animal lover. I have been known to bring in stray animals and find them homes. The current 'stray' we have is a baby Blue Jay that I took away from a dog who was tossing him around. He is rather healthy and a very vocally demanding eater. Amazingly, he does not seem to have any injuries which astonishes me, because the dog was litterally picking him up and flipping him in the air repeatedly. Another week or so and he will be learning to catch bugs, fly and leaving us to make a home of his own. In the past I have taken in an orphaned falcon, bunnies, mice, kitties, puppies, horses, etc. The orphan Falcon which was an American Kestrel has a very interesting story. He had been snatched from his nest by one of our barn owls at the farm I was working on. Lucky for his little fluffy butt, it stormed that night and the owl dropped him by the barn door. I heard his calls in the morning as I was feeding the horses. After waiting a while to see if the parents were feeding him or not we brought him in. He was wet, cold and had several gouges in his wing. After, taking him to and talking with a wild life rehabber it was decided that I would keep up with his care. The gouges had some nasty things crawling around inside that I was able to remove with tweezers and a little bit of betadine. I fed him his required food at proper times and we watched and waited to see if I did a good enough job with his little wing that he could fly. I did and after spending time showing him how to fly/hunt, he is currently back in the wild where he belongs:) With that, I want to stress the point that it is illegal to keep wildlife with out a permit. If you find a baby animal and do not see the parents around, wait and watch for at least four or more hours to see if the parents are still feeding the baby, because more than likely they are. If in doubt contact your local fish and wildlife department.


6. I will not eat store bought eggs. Ever since I had farm fresh eggs years ago, I will not settle for anything less!


7. I rarely go anywhere with out the following items: Camera, Knitting and Lip-Gloss.

Eye Candy Friday

Well, I found a neat idea the other day, Eye Candy Friday. Well here I am and Friday is almost over, so I better get a few 'Eye Candy' photos up before I go to bed.....
And with that, I leave you with...... The flames were taken on a recent camping trip to Red River Gorge


Wild Phlox-2006 Red River Gorge


Mustangs in Nevada - Taken on a trip to Nevada in 2005

Knitty Night Shower

OH MY! OH MY! The girls at wen. Knitty Night had a little shower for me last night. And they simply out did their-selves! They decided to have a shower for me last night and it was just so much fun! We met at Los Tres in Nicholasville around 6-ish and after eating, the shower started. They got me a gorgeous basket handmade in Ghana and Soy Silk spinning fiber from Stones Throw Artisans in Georgetown KY. I had been eyeing both of these the last time I was there! Pat made me some lovely blue dishcloths. One has a pretty crisscross pattern on it and the other looks like really neat bamboo. Kristy brought in fluffy soft Corriedale & Border Leicester roving. Pat (S) included the absolutely most fabulous spinning fiber I have ever touched in my life! At 20% baby alpaca, 60% alpaca, 20% silk & 20 % merino, I swear this is softer than silk and full of life! I don't know who brought in the Cherry Tree sock yarn, but the colors are absolutely perfect and it is so soft and lofty. Kristy & Kim are taking me to one of Linda H's dye classes this summer which I am really looking forward to! And to top it all off, the gals all pitched in and bought the one thing on my Target registry that I thought no one would get! The NSI International Innovations Knitting Machine! It reminds me of the old sock knitting machines, which is what I plan to try and do with it:) I also promised to bring it in and pass it around for everyone to try out! Anna brought some Yummy cupcakes and Pat out did herself with the most delicious banana pudding I have ever had! I haven't had banana pudding since I was a wee little thing and I always avoided it because I thought I did not like it. I took one bit of Pat's pudding and I just couldn't stop until I had a second serving of it! Honestly, I wish I had just eaten the banana pudding for dinner instead of the taco salad! I definitely have to get the recipe for that one.

All these gals are just so fabulous and I truly am blessed to have met them and become friends with them! Everyone is just so pleasant and wonderful and different! I simply can not stop singing about how fantastic each and every one of them is! I LOVE you guys!!!! And thank you. Thank You. THANK YOU!!!

Ooo-h-ooo-h-ooooo

A day at the center. The Primate Rescue Center that is:) The entire day was an ABSOLUTE success! The monkeys were boisterous and the volunteers were numerous. Boy, oh boy were the volunteers sure appreciated, because they had an over flow of visitors! From the moment the gates opened, the Center was teeming with visitors great and small. The Gift Shoppe pretty much sold out of almost everything from Peacock Feathers to Monkey Socks to Primate Books.


Here are some shots of the monkeys once we were done and the visitors had left. Luckily, I have a good zoom lense so could get in a bit closer to snap shots of their expressions. I did not get to take any shots of the Chimpanzees, but hopefully once I go to pick up a few of the display stands (borrowed from Mom's shop) I can snap a few.



Gettin a helping hand.


Oooo-h


Why are you staring?