Hooked

In addition to the beautiful yet unfinished jewelry box and some stunning sapphires to put in it, I also got crochet hooks for Christmas. Not just any crochet hooks. Hand turned hardwood hooks from Brains Barn in New Jersey by Brian Bergmann.

Here they are in the not-remotely-worthy new case that I made for them.


This one is an I and is made from black walnut.


This one is a K and is made from rosewood.


This is the J and is what has to be the blackest ebony I've ever seen. None of my knitting needles are anywhere near this dark.


I finally made myself a crochet hook case. It feels very inferior.


I used all three of them today, just playing around with some scrap yarn after I reorganized my stash. They're amazing. It really does make such a difference working with nice equipment and materials. These hooks have ruined me for all others. Even my black walnut Brittany hook pales in comparison. I told Ryan he's all set for the next couple of years worth of gifts...I need D through H and maybe an L!

A New Beginning

When I first finished quilting the now-famous T-shirt Quilt, Ryan and I had a conversation about how we should have been picking up shirts from various things we had done together to make one for "us" when we had enough shirts.

What he didn't know at the time was that I had already tracked down a couple of them and was planning on surprising him with as many as I could lay my hands on.

There's a few more that he actually has...the Presque Isle Triathlon shirt, the St. Patrick's Day 10k shirt, the VaDu shirt would all be wonderful additions to our quilt. So, 10 or 15 shirts from now we'll have a quilt full of trips and holidays and everything else!

The first batch...the stories behind them and the scheming that went into them:

This shirt is from Chick's Oyster Bar in Virginia Beach, courtesy of one Mr. Brian T. McCune. This was, by far, the shirt that required the most scheming. Chick's is where we had lunch after the Virginia Duathlon during our week long road trip in April. I scoured the internet looking for a shirt from there, I emailed the restaurant, I thought all was lost...until Ryan forwarded an email to a bunch of people and my opportunity presented itself in the form of an email address. Of course, B.T. let it slip that I had emailed him when he was talking to Ryan right before Christmas and I got harassed about that for a couple of days, but it all worked out in the end!


Another part of the road trip was a few days in D.C. where we walked around the better part of the city. We spent a lot of time in the Georgetown and Dupont Circle areas of town, so I figured this would be a good addition. Of course, when I tried to order it, they were back ordered. So, after a few emails and calls back and forth with the nice young lady at the Georgetown University bookstore, I had procured a shirt the would easily fit a 6 year old. Seeing as I only need the logo from the front, though, this works out, too!



One of the most difficult to track down, the King Tut shirt is from the tail end of that same road trip (we get around!). We met my mom, Cindy, and Amber in Philadelphia for the exhibit at the Franklin Institute. This was the first time Ryan was subjected to the power core of the Henneman family matriarchy. All four of us together should have been enough to scare any man away, but he's a tough cookie! (Side note: the reason he fell in love with me is probably the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies he got early Saturday morning when we set out on this adventure.)


The next piece of the puzzle is the shirt from the London start of the Tour de France. This was another toughie. I had seen these shirts at the tour, where we spent (an agonizing) six hours or so watching men in tight pants on bikes. I mean, we saw the fantastic beginning of the race...yeah, right...that's it! I think the plot was actually hatched somewhere around this time to make another quilt. This was actually the first one that I found when I started collecting.



This one probably seems silly, but Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the first movie we saw in the theatre (it was in England, so it has to be theatre) together. This one was tough to get also, because it was months after the release of the movie when I was looking for it. Thank you Hot Topic, for selling random things!


And last, but certainly not least, the MS Regatta shirt. A lot of scheming went into this one, too. I had to get it from Ryan's parents (thanks, again!) without Ryan finding out about it. Not as easy as it sounds, but we managed.

This is only the beginning. Just give us a couple of years and there will be another great quilt (along with a great marriage and probably a toddler!) in between sweaters!

You Have Stolen My Heart

In our lunacy of leaving the house on Black Friday, we went down to Glass Growers Gallery.

Ryan bought what might be the prettiest ornament ever. I haven't put it up yet because the kitties are still knocking things over. I think it might just end up in the window so it can catch the sun (ha!) and stay safe from little paws.



The picture doesn't do it justice. It's gorgeous. This kind of thing is the reason I say that I'm not artistic. This is on a whole other level. I can't compete.

Family Tree

I lied a little about none of the other ornaments being as fabulous as Paco and the cactus. There's some other pretty cool ones. They'll get their day in the sun...really.

This is one of my favorite ornaments. It was a gift from Ryan's parents.




It says around the bottom, "Connected with a bond of belonging - forever family."

I like the belonging part. That's very true. Ryan's whole family has been very welcoming, right from the beginning, especially Sue and Pete (or Mike, depending on the day...I'm just going to alternate back and forth, I think. We'll see how that works.).

Shortly after we announced that we were planning on getting married, I talked to Sean. He told me that he was "glad his brother finally found someone who appreciated his quirks." Really, that's what he said. What he doesn't know is that I'm only slightly less quirky than his dear brother. Not everybody gets me. It's nice to be accepted for who you are and everyone I've met so far seems to. I'm glad...I like them, too.

Yuletide Cactus

These are the ornaments that are probably in my category. We'll start with the Yuletide Cactus. It (obviously) reminds me of good old Sin City. Out there it's actually palm trees that get strung with Christmas lights. I kinda miss sunny, 50-degree Christmases...kinda.


This kitty looks just like Ginger. Except for the halo. That is definitely not just like Ginger.


Ryan picked this one out. I agree. We do, in fact, rule. I have not, however, received an apple...ever.


The red sled is mine. Apparently, red is more girly. The cats have now knocked it off the tree four times. Needless to say, I moved it.


Ryan picked this one out for me, too. He seems to think I have a shoe problem. Just because you buy seven pairs of shoes in three days doesn't mean you have a problem. Flip-flops don't count as shoes either, by the way.


There are more ornaments, but they're in the "our" category more than these. Not to mention that none of them are as fabulous as Paco and the cactus.

Paco the Christmas Parrot

This is the beginning of my short photo-documentary about Christmas ornaments. These are the ornaments I kind of think of as being Ryan's.

You've already met Paco the Christmas Parrot. Isn't he charming?


When I was little, everybody in my family had a sled. Actually, the sleds are still around. They're at my mom's. This is Ryan's sled. It's awfully small. Maybe Paco can borrow it...


Big? Pointy? Definitely not my ornament...Draw your own conclusions.


I actually picked this one out for Ryan. It reminds me of Scout. It must be the halo.


What Christmas tree would be complete without a shamrock? Apparently, not ours.


Next up...Lynnsey's Christmas ornaments, including the Yuletide Cactus.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

One of the reasons I haven't put up a Christmas tree for the last few years is that I am owned by three cats. Here's Ginger after she helped me put the skirt underneath the tree. She's very happy about the Christmas tree. It tastes good.


Here's Gracie, inspecting the underside of the tree just in case anyone decides to take a nap under there (aside from Lola). We wouldn't want them to see any unsightly misplaced branches under there. Good work, Gracie!


In his blog debut, it's Paco the Christmas Parrot posing for a shot with Ryan before perching in the tree. He came all the way from the jungle to visit. He's looking forward to doing a little skiing.


Yours truly placing a lovely ornament on the tree, probably another tropical bird or something equally ridiculous to those of you who are more serious about your holiday decorating.

Oh, Christmas Tree

On Black Friday (because we're crazy), we went to Lowe's and bought a Christmas tree. A fake, not pre-lit, "Grenada pine," made in China, fabulous, wonderful tree. I haven't put a tree up for the last couple of years because the cats try to climb them. I haven't been excited about Christmas for a couple of years now. I'm excited about this Christmas.


While we assembled said tree, we had a bit of an audience. They think we're stupid. They know that trees belong outside.



Here's Ryan posing in front of his "job well done." Nobody fluffs fake pine branches like my man. The funny part of this picture is the hat. It really is that cold in my house!


Ginger helps out by making sure that the tree smells good and tastes right. She gave it the thumbs up (even though she doesn't have any) and we proceeded to decorate.



The finished product...It's been up for a day and the girls have only knocked four ornaments off and tried to eat a couple branches. Let's just say we're waiting to put up any of the really breakable ornaments. Those of you who decorate your trees with distinct and uniform color schemes should probably not look too closely at the tree. You might have some kind of seizure. I'd feel bad about that.


Stay tuned for a short photo-documentary of Christmas ornaments...