This Week

Sunday
I was able to squeeze in a little spinning. I'm working with a mystery wool that Amy gave me. It's different than anything I've spun before: full of lanolin (but very clean) and a bit stretchy. I think I have the hang of drafting it now, though it took a little time to figure it out. I'm trying to spin it thick enough for a two-ply worsted weight.



Monday
This was an emotional day for the whole town. The historic part of Needville High School was completely destroyed by a fire. This building was 60 years old and was the center of the school. It was a beautiful old structure that had been maintained well over the years. It was all wood construction down to the polished hardwood floors and that contributed to it's total destruction. It housed the school administrative offices, the computer labs and several classrooms. All records were burned, even the recently taken TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) tests that were waiting for mail pick up. Students will have to take them over.

Some families in Needville have had three generations attend school in that building. Everyone was sad about losing it, but thankful that no one was injured. The fire started in the early morning hours when no one was around. Sadness turned to anger when it was determined that arson was the cause. No one has been caught yet, but I'm confident they will find out who did it.

John went to see the damage on Monday evening. I didn't have the heart to go. He said it was very emotional. Lots of people were there, but it was quiet. The mood was somber and filled with sadness. The two large oak trees in front that were planted when the school was built are still standing though scorched from the fire. I think that's how everyone was feeling: emotionally scorched.

Tuesday
John and I drove to Edmond, Oklahoma to help Matt move out of the dorm and haul his stuff home for the summer. It was a long drive (9 hours). It was overcast all day with rain off and on. There were tornado warnings and bad weather all around. We arrived safely, but exhausted. I think we were drained from the day before.

Wednesday
After Matt took his last final exam, we loaded a few things in the truck. He was wiped out from staying up late to study, so while he napped, we drove over to Guthrie. Stopped in at S.W.A.K. and bought some yarn for summer socks.


Panda Wool, Crystal Palace Yarns
46% Bamboo, 43% Wool, 11% Nylon



Jawoll Cotton Superwash, Lang Yarns
49% Wool, 35% Cotton, 16% Nylon

Thursday
Loaded the rest of Matt's things. While Matt was getting officially checked out of the dorm, John took Matt's vehicle down to have the tire checked. It was soft. Not good for driving on. It took about two hours at the tire store. While we waited, I knitted on a pair of socks that's been on my needles since January. I really need to finish these before I start a new pair. One lady, also waiting for her car to be fixed, came over to talk to me. She's a knitter and likes to make socks too. She even commented on the hand knit socks I was wearing. Finally got on the road after lunch and arrived home at 10:00 last night.

Friday
I had hoped to go some place special today for a photo shoot of my hand spun scarf, but the weather is not cooperating. One day there will be pictures, but I'm not making promises about when.

The Curtain Closes

This picture was taken on Baffin Bay in Loyola Beach, Texas. We were in the area to attend the UIL Region One-Act Play Contest that my son, Matt was in. He played the role of Henry David Thoreau in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. You couldn't have asked for a better performance from the whole cast. And, I have to say I think it was Matt's finest performance ever. He had me crying during the flogging scene and the also the scene where he recounts the death of his brother. This is the third time I've seen this play, but it still got to me. I think it touched everyone. After all the schools had performed, we felt Needville had a good shot at advancing to the state competition, but the judge chose two other plays instead. Needville was selected to be the alternate play, which means if one of the other schools cannot compete, Needville will take their place. This rarely happens though. I'm not sure it's ever happened at the state level. In happier news, three actors from our play were chosen for awards. Matt was one of them, receiving a medal for All-Star Cast. Congratulations son, you are amazing! I'm really hoping that an encore performance can be scheduled for our community. I would love to see this play again. It's that good!

Preemies and Plays

Normally at my house you can always find a preemie hat and a pair of booties already knit and waiting to be sent off to a little baby. So it was ironic on Wednesday night when I learned that my husband's niece had given birth to a preemie and I didn't even have one thing already made to send her. I pulled out the needles right then and started a hat even though it was after 10 pm. I had to (and wanted to) because I knew there would be very little time to spend knitting the next day. I finished the hat before I went to bed. Then yesterday morning I made one little sock before breakfast and the other in the car on the way to the UIL One-Act Play Area Competition.



All Finished and Ready to be Mailed

This is the smallest sized set (for 1-3 lbs). I used this pattern for the hat, but knit a 1 inch ribbing instead of the rolled brim. The socks are made from this pattern (Easy Socks).

The rest of the day was spent watching the play competition. There were six plays in all. At this level of competition, all the plays are good and the competition is tough. As usual, one judge choses two plays to advance to the Region Competition, one level before State. With only one judge, you never really can predict how things will turn out. I'm happy to say that Needville was one of the advancing plays and I have to brag just a little to let you know that my son was chosen as Best Actor for his role as Henry David Thoreau in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. What an honor! I am so proud of these kids and what they have accomplished. They will get to do it all over again in two weeks at an even tougher level of competition. Break a leg!



Needville High School Receiving Their Medals



Best Actress: Cuero High School
Best Actor: Needville High School

This Is Texas

We were in Palacios, Texas on Saturday to watch Needville High School perform their play for the UIL One Act Play Competition. Palacios is a small town on Matagorda Bay about an 1 1/2 hours from my house. The Texas Hill Country is famous for it's fields of wildflowers this time of year. Though this is not the Hill County, we were able to find a few flowers in bloom.


The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas and one of my favorites.


By the way, Needville's performance of The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail was awesome! Of course, I could be biased since my son is in the play, but the judge agreed too and advanced it to the next competition. Congratulations to the cast and crew!

Needville vs. Liberty Hill

Yesterday we were in Bryan, Texas to watch the Bluejays play football.


During playoffs, the team roster is expanded to include players from the Junior Varsity squad. This gives them a taste of what it's like to be in a playoff situation. And, I think the large number of players on the team is supposed to intimidate the other side, but of course, they do they same thing. Look at all the uniforms lined up for the coin toss.


I think the whole town drove the two hours to Bryan to support the team. Lots of blue shirts and lots of spirit. There is nothing like Bluejay pride! It was obvious that our fans outnumbered theirs.


At half time the band performed a few requested favorites. They ended the show with an 'N' for Needville and the fight song--always a crowd pleaser.


Both teams played with heart. It was a hard fought, close game.

Liberty Hill led for most of the time, though Needville scored first. In the last quarter with less than five minutes on the clock, Needville had their chance. The Jays were behind by seven points. It was first down and only 5 yards to go for a touchdown. We were sure they could do it. They gave it everything they had, but were not successful. Later with a couple of minutes to go, Needville got the ball again on their 30 yard line. Another chance, but the opponents were tough and caused the Jays to fumble and somewhere in those last minutes also scored another touchdown. The final score was Liberty Hill 34, Needville 20.

The fans love their Jays though and after the game began to chant "We are proud of you!"...and we are. Congratulations on a great year.

State Playoffs

It's playoff time for the Needville Bluejays! Saturday's game was against Halletsville and was played in Victoria, Texas. It's been a long time since the Jays made it this far. Everyone in town is proud of their accomplishment. I liked the way these girls showed their school spirit.

I was cheering for the team as much as anyone, but I was also there to cheer on the band. The half time show was changed up some to feature the flag corps in a routine that required an unusual costume--hot pink body bags.

It was really cute and the little girl next to me was laughing through the whole thing. I had to leave the game after the half time show in order to make it home in time for a dinner date. When I left, Needville was winning by 3 points. The game could have gone either way. Both teams seemed evenly matched. So, I was really excited when my son called to tell me Needville had won, 24-14. Good job Jays! Next Saturday Needville will face Liberty Hill who won their first playoff game, 62-7. I don't like the sound of that.

UIL Marching Contest

This is my last year as a band parent. My last year to attend UIL Marching Contest. I will experience a lot of these "lasts" this year because my youngest is a senior. Today all the band's hard work came under the scrutiny of three judges in one performance. It was an important day.

I suppose everything started as it usually does. A run-through of the show on the home field before loading the buses to head to Victoria two hours away. Needville's band marches 120 which is large for a AAA school. It takes three yellow school buses and an equipment truck to transport all the students and gear. Before the band even got out of town, the truck loaded with the instruments broke down. My husband and I were already on the road and kept getting updates from our son over the phone. "We're trying to locate some trucks and trailers to haul the instruments." Then, "We're on the road. The instruments will come later, so our performance may be delayed." And the last phone call, "We're almost there. They say we will perform at our regular time. We have to head straight to the warm up room as soon as we get there."

I know the kids, the directors and everyone involved were feeling rushed and stressed. I was nervous for them. But when they took the field, they looked sharp.


Normally I watch the band perform as a whole, but today my eyes were on my son. I watched as he directed the band and hardly noticed anything else. He was awesome! The band left the field after the performance and we went to wait with them for the judges' scores. No one in the band was smiling. Did they mess up or something? I wasn't really paying attention. Then, I realize they are just nervous. It's hard to smile when you're nervous.

Finally the band director delivers the news...straight ones. An unanimous superior rating!


Congratulations Bluejay Band!


Friday's football game: Needville 36, Palacios 9. Could this be a play-off year? Two games left.

My Weekend

It's been a beautiful weekend over here! Finally temperatures are cool enough to turn off the air conditioner (too bad that won't last). All of you from cooler climes would have been laughing at us at Friday night's football game. The temperature was about 60 degrees and we were freezing...all bundled up in blankets and buying out all the hot chocolate in the concession stand. It felt colder than it was though, because the wind was blowing hard right in our face. And it was damp too. You can laugh, it's okay. This was an important game for Needville. It was their first district game (this one counts) and things were rough from the start. A humiliating loss: Needville 6, Wharton 46. Oh well, the band looked good in their new uniforms.

This picture is from Saturday's band competition in Edna (my son is one of the drum majors). The Bluejays performed their show called Spy vs Spy. It's a good show and the crowd enjoyed it. The judges liked it too. Needville left the competition with a 1 rating, a trophey for outstanding color guard, and a trophey for 1st place band in the 3A division. UIL band competition is in two weeks. That's the one that really counts for the band.

For Robyn

A picture (sorry it's blurry) of your brother directing the band in 20 minutes of For Your Eyes Only for Parent's Night. Does that bring back memories? I saw Matt checking his watch and Mrs. Amos shaking her head each time the brass came in too early. They finally perfected it by the end though...good thing because this is one of their show tunes.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Parents Night begins pre-game with the introduction of each football player and his parents, with pauses for pictures. Each player presents his parents with a gift provided by the booster club. Cheerleaders and parents are also introduced. The whole time, the band is providing the never ending background music. It's a long time to direct--it's a long time to play. But wait, there's more at half-time. Band parents join their children on the field and seniors and their parents are introduced. Then, everyone marches off to the fight song, ending with the little salute and "JAYS" (Robyn knows what I'm talking about).

This week we were playing Sealy. It was a close game and the Jays led for most of it, but in the end they we were not able to ring the victory bell. Final score, 17-14. Missed an easy field goal in the last minutes of the game. Next week is Homecoming.

Good Start

We arrived a little late to the football game in Columbus to the sound of Needville's fight song, which could mean only one thing--a Bluejay touchdown. We were treated to a beautiful sky as the sun went down. You can see a little color above the scoreboard, but the real show was behind us.

I captured it as best as I could, but as you know, it's always better in person. We heard the fight song a few more times and at the end of the game the score was Needville 33, Columbus 13. A good night for the Jays. The band gave a good performance too. They are waiting for new uniforms to arrive, so they just wore bluejeans and band t-shirts. A blessing really, because the temperature was close to 90 degrees even after the sun had set.

After the game, we headed for Georgetown to visit my son's girlfriend for her 18th birthday. Since we were so close, I couldn't pass up visiting The Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe. It's a really nice shop with lots of yarn to choose from. I didn't buy any yarn though, just a pair of circular needles in a size I've been needing for a while.

My knitting has slowed down since I sent in my donation to The Preemie Project. My hand needed a little rest. However, today I might cast on something new. I'm anxious to try out the Llama yarn I bought in Kansas. I don't have much to work with, so it will probably end up being a simple garter stitch shawl, knit on large needles to give it a lace effect. We'll see.

Go Bluejays!

Tonight begins the first of many Friday nights we will spend watching the Needville Bluejays on the field. Football in Texas is a big deal and our little town is no exception. We have a new athletic director and hopes are high for the playoffs. Nothing new about that. They are high every year. I think the last athletic director was here three years before they gave him his notice. You really have to win to keep your job when it comes to football. That's just the way it is around here, maybe where you live too. As you can see, we have our season tickets all ready to go. And although I enjoy the games, the band is really what I'm interested in. My son is a member and plays the trumpet. This year he is leading the band as one of the two drum majors. Can't wait to see the show. It's a James Bond/spy theme which I think will be fun and entertaining. Good luck to the band and the team!

Yes, I'm Busy

Too busy to knit? Almost, but I have managed to work a little on some mittens. Hope to get several pairs completed for a charity project. More on that later. I also found some time to felt the clog. I thought about waiting until I could get more yarn to make the mate, but the suspense was killing me. It turned out well. A little wide but I think it will work.


What's been keeping me busy? One act play competitions. My son is in his high school play. They are performing Macbeth (he is Macbeth) and must keep the performance to 40 minutes. What a challenge. They've done a beautiful job and have advanced twice. Now they will compete at the region level. Way to go Needville! At each level there are six plays. One judge watches them all and advances two. I watch them all too. It's a long day starting at 1:00 p.m. It takes some time for the plays, awards, critiques and then the long drive home. Each time it's been about 1:30 a.m. before my head hit the pillow. I don't do well on that amount of sleep, but I wouldn't miss it. (Robyn, wish I could have been in two places at once. Dad said you did a great job. I will treasure your story forever.)


Last night the church youth group had their monthly devo at our house. About 25 people crowded into our small living room. Beautiful singing, good fellowship and homemade chili. It was a good time. Tonight I'm hosting our bunco group. The way we do it, the hostess provides a meal and the prizes. So, twelve for supper tonight! I'm serving salads and strawberry short cakes. The good thing about hosting two events back-to-back means I only have to clean the house once. Just wish I was operating on more sleep.