Live Stitch @ Little Knits

I am almost done with my 30 posts.  Technically speaking this post should be the last one but I am going to go on until the end of the month just to lock it.  Especially given that I have already given away 1/4 of my promised funds. 

In the interim, I have been doing some research in order to figure out where to donate the remaining amount and some of the information I have found has left me astounded.

By doing simple research online one can learn quite a bit about charitable organizations.  What astounded me was the financial disclosures made by some of these organizations.  Here is an example, a small local charity that has approximately $5M in contributions paid its executive director $140K a year.  That is a 3 percent expense right off the top.  Does that seem high to you too?  Their overall rating is one out of four stars, not surprising. 

While I thought the above example was bad, I found another Seattle charity with annual revenues of $1.7M that paid its executive director $105K.  That is almost 6 percent and here is the kicker this charity had a $130K deficit at the end of the year!  I am blown away.

Please don’t get me wrong, I think these folks should be compensated for the work they do but I think if the organization is running a deficit and the director is being paid 6 figures there may be something wrong.

But then I found that organizations like the above two were in the minority and there is a large pool of great charities out there.  So I am still deciding and I will most likely stick to local charities given that we have limited funds and I think our donations would make the biggest impact with small charities.

And, my friends have thrown down the gauntlet once again.  I have been told if I can do a blog entry everyday for another 11 months they will multiply their pledge by five and then find corporate donors that will match their donation.  While I would love to do this I doubt I have the stamina.  Can you imagine, a readable, somewhat interesting new entry every day for another 11 months.  My head hurts just thinking about it. 

Well, rain is back in Seattle.  But we had a great summer so I am not complaining.  Plus rain makes Deb happy and a happy Deb is a good thing.

Hope to you see here tomorrow.

I have been taking photos of Classic Elite’s Alpaca Sox , which means that I have to handle all the hanks, see the new colors and appreciate the feel.  This is usually when I get in trouble with stash related issues.  This time no such thing.  I did pick a hank and put it away into a basket intended as a house warming gift.  Hah, how is that for not feeling guilty!

And, of course, there are some new colors.  Here is my favorite and it happens to be a solid color.  We call it Velvet Plum and it is lovely.   I would rather wear this color near my face so I would most likely opt out of socks and go for a hat or a scarf but that is just me.  Of the new multi-colors I think the Moss-Malachite  and Lapis is lovely.  And then there is the rather unique Fall/Winter color line that we have named “Please name this color.”    That concludes the yarn related portion of this post and I go on to the next topic where I ask for your help. 

I need to come up with Halloween themed snacks that are healthy and fun for kids.  Minimum baking and cooking would be great.  A smoking bowl full of eyeballs would be lovely but how can I achieve that with healthy food that is actually edible?  Anything gruesome and/or funny and edible would be great.  And one final note, no candy allowed.

Hope you are all well and knitting and crocheting with a smile.  And, hope to see you here tomorrow. 

And an early entry.  I have no t-shirts (lol), so with no planning and/or training I signed up for the Alki Beach Run 5K.  Check-in is at 8 AM and the run starts at 9 AM this Sunday morning.  I forgot most of these things start early in the day. 

I plan on “running” a really bad time.  Possibly stopping to chat with people, take photos and get some fish and chips to eat during the race.  If you feel like hanging out with me please sign up and let’s do it together.  It may be fun and the weather is supposed to be good.

I promise to post another entry with much more knitting content.

Shoe shopping was hurried and apparently they do not make shoes with lights for 6 year olds whose feet are larger than size 4.  If they do no one has heard of it and even Amazon does not have size 5 boy’s shoes with lights.  He was so sad that I had to let him try size 4 shoes just so that he can see that they would not fit.  I did find a pair of boots for him at Marshall’s at a great price but that is for later in the year.  So tomorrow may be a crock day. 

I did go into an Apple store to check out their iPhones and they had a major crowd.  Did you notice there is always a serious crowd in Apple stores?  They had a table set up with two iMacs with games on so the kids were busy playing and my 6 year old was happy.  But the wait was over 30 minutes for an “Apple consultant” so we left without being consulted. 

From there my first trip ever into Sephora for some test products then back into the parking lot like we were being chased.  Alas, we were late to go to Costco - awww shucks – I love shopping at Costco on weekends don’t you?  Especially an hour or two before they close-up.  It is one my favorite things.

Off to home we came and now I am working on posting rest of Hand Maiden’s Mini Maiden, a beautiful single ply wool/silk blend.  I am about to go to bed and wanted to share a few photos of this lovely yarn with you.     

And, of course, Midnight in Paris: 

Hope you all had a great weekend and see you here tomorrow.

• Sun shined all day.
• The water was blue and so was the sky.
• My PC crashed more than 10 times. 
• I cast off and blocked a scarf, it is simply Divine.
• People biked the streets completely nude.  I find this hard to believe so for further proof I provide you with a link: West Seattle Blog.
• I wondered how people could write bikes while completely nude.
• I wondered why people would ride bikes while completely nude (with one exception, I read they wore helmets).
• I made sure both my sons were dressed and put on their helmets before they went out to bike in the afternoon.
• I rushed through my blog entry to get it in before the midnight cut off.

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend.

I am going through Tilli Tomas and posting all the lines we have received albeit a little slowly. 

Tonight I was able to get in Pure & Simple   and the Beaded Lace lines.  

There is more.  Tomorrow I hope to be able to get everything in, which includes Sequin Lace and Beaded Silk with Sequins.  Tilli, as usual, is beautiful so while these lines and the colors we have gotten in are closeouts I think we should have at least Pure & Simple and may be the Rock Star at Little Knits regularly.  What do you think?  If you have any other suggestions please let me know.

On a completely unrelated matter, school year starts for my 6 year old tomorrow.  And then there is my 4 year old.  For those of you who know the story, I still have not been able to find a preschool for him.  We did try a preschool/daycare that came highly recommended and it was an absolute disaster. 

Both my sons have nut, dairy and egg allergies (nut being the most extreme).  During the first few days of my son’s attendance I found out that none of these facts were communicated to the day care staff appropriately by the administration.  Or if they were, no one stressed the significance of the matter and I guess the epi pin I brought in with my son was not enough of a clue.  They were/are nice folks but to say that the place was a mad house is a very accurate assessment.  Everyday, while at work, I expected my phone to ring with the news that my son had to be taken to the ER.

In his second day my son broke out all over as he came in contact with an allergant – what, we have no idea.  In his third day I went over to deliver lunch to find three kids eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the same table and when I expressed concern a solution was found: my 4 year old were to sit at a small table away from the other kids and eat on his own. 

During the month my son attended this daycare/preschool I kept him home for a total of 5 days out of concern for his safety for a number of reasons (and paid for those days).  Toward the end of his attendance my 4 year old was given a cheese cracker by a very nice and well meaning teacher who forgot about his allergies (he did not like it, spit the cracker out and did not have a reaction).

In their defense, I would like to say that at the end of the month they made an effort to keep the room nut free and attempted to sit my 4 year old with the other kids (pursuant a request from me).  By then I was scared, had lost my confidence in their ability to take care of him and he did not want to go. 

On the bright side, my older son goes to a school that is supportive and has taken care of him.  His classmates and their families have been simply wonderful and they all have done everything they can to create a safe environment for him.  Last year, one of his classmates made sure that the treats she brought into the class for her birthday were OK for my 6 year old.  I cannot tell you how touched I was.  I acknowledge that my son’s allergies limit his classmates’ choice of food and we do infringe on their rights.  With all that l am very appreciative for everything they have done.  I hope that I can find a safe environment such as this for my 4 year old.  What makes me smile is the fact that despite his allergies he is a healthy little boy who is a rascal and has absolutely no fear.

If you are reading this post, my apologies for the above narrative.  For some reason I felt the need to write, I hope you do not mind.  For those of you who have kids in school, here is wishing all of you a great school year and healthy kids.  And for all of us I wish for scrumptious yarn, beautiful projects, many FOs that may be enjoyed in good health with a smile.

Today we started the day with a trip to the local bagel shop, Zatz A Better Bagel.  We took the kids with us and the dog.  The first half of the trip to the bagel shop was great.  While there we got bagels and a couple of hot bagel dogs.  Return trip was another matter thanks to the conflict between the dog and our 4 year old. 

Our 6 year old tried to manage Rontoo the dog during all this mayhem and his poor little left arm was pulled rather harshly.  This compounded the fall he took from his bike last weekend and his arm swelled.  So off to the doctor we went and my sweet boy, who tries to settle any conflict that he has ever seen in the most amiable manner, got a splint.  For his discomfort he was rewarded with a lollipop and later a trip to Wendy’s.

Instead of returning home I took him to Skacel, which I told him was a yarn factory (distributor just does not sound that interesting).  I was in hunt for Divine and could not wait for it to be shipped so we went and picked it up.  Divine has 70% alpaca, 20 silk and 10% cashmere content and from the feel of it (I have a skein sitting right beside me), it is simply scrumptious.  I will be photographing and listing this beauty later this weekend.

While we were at Skacel we noticed that male to female ratio was highly in favor of the gentleman!  As you all know this is rather unusual.  I believe there is a manly knitter gathering in Seattle and my son was impressed.  He shared with one gentleman who was kind enough to listen that he too knits and that I taught him how to knit.  While this was going on I saw a face that I recognized, Franklin of The Panopticon!  At least I am fairly sure it was him.

Once we picked up the yarn we hit Wendy’s and from there it was back home for us.  By then it was getting dark, the sun we enjoyed frequently this summer went behind the clouds and it started to rain.   Once again I had managed to stall, postpone and delay what I should have done first thing in the morning: my run, walk, or whatever exercise I could squeeze in.  I put my running clothes on and procrastinated further by checking my emails.  Finally, I put my earphones on and this time That’s Not My Name by The Ting Tings got me out of the door.

I cut my run short as it was getting dark but before I headed up hill (why is there always a hill at the end of every run), I took photos of the Seattle skyline.    I am not an Aquarius, in fact I am a little Libra and some Scorpio; according to my mother I was born on the cusp (is there such a thing), but I love water.  I cannot tell you how much.  I feel lucky to live near it and blessed to be aware of its beauty, even when its cold and raining.

I hope you are well and knitting and crocheting with a smile.  Wishing you plenty of beauty in your lives.

I love music.  Music is a significant part of my life, when I am reading, running, walking and yes, while I am knitting. 

Tonight I watched the Grammys while working on photos and there was Amy (Winehouse that is).  She sang, sang straight to my heart.  Did you see it, hear her?  She was sharply mod and very 60s.  Her voice like bitter chocolate with a sip of red wine on the side, something like crushed velvet and silk all at the same time.

If you did not see her perform you can see a clip here Amy’s 2008 Grammy performance.

Amy take care, be well, and continue to make good music.