Friday, February 12, 2016

Friday Mishmash

My sweet friend Fran mailed out some Dutch candy recently, and guess who went crazy for it?  I swear, I've never seen Paco get so worked up over candy, of all things:
 
GIVE.ME.DAT.
"Smells so gud, Mom"
"Look.  I sit.  I gud.  Now give me CANDY!"

For the record, I didn't share any of the peppermint discs with him - they are too good!  But the next morning, when I started to take pictures of the licorice candy, well - I'll let the pictures tell that story:
Have you ever seen a dog eat a piece of licorice?  Well, now you have.  He loved it!  Strange, strange dog.

Thank you, Fran - what a fun treat to arrive in our mailbox!  All the way from the Netherlands to the United States of America...I love how international friendships have formed via blogland!

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I finally printed out some race pictures and rearranged my wall o'achievement, and I'm pretty happy with how it came out.  To be honest, sometimes I look at these pictures and still can't believe that this is me, a runner...but there you go (and here I am):
The Houston 2016 memory wall of the Renegade Run Club came out pretty cute.

Closer look at my Houston wall - I had our graffiti picture printed on metal, and it came out really cool:
JAZZ HANDS!
Top framed collage is from my first year of running; bottom magnet board houses more current race picture.
 I look at this and see a lot of effort, fun, and friendship!

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Knitting update:  I managed to darn the moth hole in my Dad's hat - despite watching some pretty good YouTube videos on how to do this, it was still really challenging, and I didn't do it perfectly.  But after several restarts, I finally got it fixed enough...and sometimes, that's all you can expect.  Here's my process - I did this at my desk, where the morning light was bright enough to see what I was doing, and in front of my computer, so I could watch and pause the darn(ing) videos:
Here's the hole...
Starting the duplicate stitch (in purple) - I would eventually knit over this and then remove it.
After I removed the purple yarn - hey, the hole is still there!  First attempt was a fail.
This is when I called it a day - you can see it's not perfect, but the hole is closed...and it's in the back, so I told my Dad to just keep turning his head if someone happens to be standing close behind him when he's wearing the hat.

So, darning is not easy.  And it's something I hope I don't need to do very often, which also means I'll probably never get much better at it.  But that's OK - there's way more fun things to do with yarn, like making socks:
Almost finished!

I have another sock that is already completed and is waiting on its mate, and I have a plan for yet another skein of sock yarn - the knitting fun never stops around here!

Have a great weekend!

19 comments:

  1. You are more than welcome. I had to laugh when you texted me the photo of Paco and still laugh when I see him now. Bella like peppermint and licorice too but she never gets it but if you drop it accidently on the floor, you have to be fast :)

    I love your running walls, the metal jazz hands photo is very cool. I bet you smile everytime you see it.

    Have fun this weekend at the race.

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    1. The candy has been so much fun to snack on this week - thank you again!

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  2. OK, that picture of Paco sitting is killing me dead. I knew he was my kind of dog - licorice!!

    The fact that you could even try to fix that hole impresses me. Not in my wheelhouse for sure. And I love those socks!

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    1. One thing Paco has figured out is that if he sits nicely, he usually gets a treat! Smart dog, that one.

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  3. I absolutely love your running wall! I need to print more photos out. In this digital age that is something I just keep putting off!

    You must tell us more about this "dutch candy". I've never heard of it. Have a good weekend.

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    1. I uploaded my pictures to Walgreens, found a 40% off coupon, and a few hours later, picked up a bunch of pictures for just a few bucks!

      The peppermint was really good - Jeff normally isn't the biggest fan, but he couldn't stop eating that candy. The black licorice was in cute shapes and tasted like traditional black licorice, but the light brown licorice was salty and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I'll keep trying, though - I'm no quitter! LOL

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  4. Licorice can be toxic for dogs in large quantities. I doubt one piece will be a problem, but please be careful.

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    1. I didn't know that about the licorice - thanks for the alert! Although, I don't think Paco will appreciate it, LOL. Adding licorice to my list: chocolate, avocado, grapes, craisins...

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  5. Paco is just a hoot!! Love your running wall. You have accomplished so much and have been a great inspiration.

    Love the socks and that colorway!!

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    1. Thanks - and I know, that colorway on the socks is so cool!!

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  6. When Jacob came home from work I had Fran's licorice on the counter and he thought it was chocolate and of course, first taste wasn't what he expected and wasn't brave enough to try another - I loved it, but we all agreed the peppermint was really good! I am going to try to have one after dinner to turn my mind off of snacking if I have a clean feeling mouth :D

    LOVE how the pictures turned out! You should be so proud of yourself on where your running life is now :D

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  7. You did a darn good job with that darning! In my mind, that is the point of it--to securely close the hole.

    And I love love the jazz hands picture of your group--it seems like the perfect picture to print on metal, which I have not seen, but now I want to investigate.

    And Paco! Sophie says "give me the licorice!!!"

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  8. Great job on fixing that hat! And as usual, the socks look super!

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  9. CRacking up at Paco and the licorice!! I loved those mints, too. Yummy!

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  10. Oh I love Paco's face as he eats the licorice! Your wall looks fantastic Shelley - sore of a vision board but retrospective. I remember when you started that wall and when you got that hanger thingo for your medals. (Wonderful demonstration of propper english there). You've come a long way and I am so inspired and encouraged by you.

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  11. Ha! Paco is cracking me up!

    I LOVE your wall of achievement! And that canvas is fab! I think it's so great you have your running crew :) I am hoping I can put my medals and a few things up by my desk in the new home! :)

    Great job with darning the hat!

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  12. Paco's face!!
    I think World Market sells those candies, in case you need more.

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  13. Oh my!!! Absolutely love that you shared the candy with Paco!!! LOL!!!!! Love the board!!! And love your knitting skills. Have a great day amiga!!

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  14. Paco is a hoot!!! Love it!!!! And I absolutely adore your running walls!!!

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