My Hyrna Hergorbar shawl isn’t cooperating. (I’m thinking the unpronouncable name is so you can mumble profanities under your breath and then claim you were just “talking” to the shawl.) I know other knitters who have made this shawl, and they didn’t seem to have any trouble. But for me? It’s NOT cooperating. Even though everything seems to be working right, that center section, between repeats, just does not come out right. I don’t know if it’s me or if it’s the chart. I ultimately got two and a half rows done last night and then left it–halfway through row number 72–unable to figure out why the center wasn’t working out correctly, and therefore unable to figure out what to do to fix it. Row number 70 was normal, I didn’t make any mistakes (that I’m aware of), but the stitch count between the two rows just doesn’t seem to be working . . . is it me? Is it the hard-to-read chart? (Which, incidentally, I enlarged as far as I could get it to go on the office copy machine–but it’s still too easy to get lost.) Or is it an error in the pattern?

I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll figure something out, but I wasn’t up to it last night. Yesterday was another fun-filled visit to the dentist for some “gum work,” (aka oral surgery). Yeah. That was fun. The novocaine–even though he gave me less than half a normal dose–didn’t wear off until around 8:30. You know, only four and a half hours after my appointment started! I really hate that. And so I wasn’t in the mood to putz around with my knitting, trying to get that shawl’s row straight.

  Hey–if you’re going to Rhinebeck–Go over to Cara’s blog and leave her a comment. She’s organizing a blogger’s get-together on Saturday at 1:00. I know I’ll be there, and I’d love to meet YOU, too!

Now, just some random links (most of which came from the MSNBC “Clicked” page):

For example, there’s this article about how people are using blogs as buyer’s guides . . . something none of us can relate to, of course . . . I mean, gosh, have you ever read about some cool, new yarn and felt the urge to buy it yourself? No, I didn’t think so. Me, either.

Or, even better, this very cool site that gives you a way to get off pesky, endless telephone calls. It provides sound effects like doorbells, or cell-phone rings, so that you can say, “Gosh, I’ve got to go. My ride just came,” and rescue yourself right off the phone.

There’s a new cookbook in town: Julie and Julia, based on the author’s 2004 blog where she was determined to cook her way through Julia Child’s classic “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in a year–while dealing with family and a full-time job. And, oh yes, she’s not a chef. I haven’t read the book yet, but did read her blog . . . should be interesting!

Then–no matter where you come in the Evolution debate–there’s this funny little spoof from the New Yorker about how the “Intelligent Design” conversation might have gone.

Lastly, please go check out the Operation Eden blog–full of photos from Hurricane Katrina–from just before it hit, through today. Some great, devastating shots in there.

And,please don’t forget that those people still need help! Please do continue to donate and registering your donation with Give a Little. Their count is over $92,000 now. Wouldn’t you love to see it reach $100,000? I know I would!

Your IQ Is 135

Your Logical Intelligence is Below AverageYour Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Is it silly that it’s bugging me which of the logic questions I got wrong to get a “below average” in that category? Logic is usually one of my strong points, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out which question should be answered differently to raise that score…

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Friday // 4 Comments »

So . . .back to work today. You know, usually, a day or so off doesn’t really make that much of a difference in my work load, but today was insane. Four different clients completely revamping their renewal series, all on the same day . . . Crazy That’s almost a week’s worth of work, boom, all at once. Sheesh.

Chappy, of course, was sulking this morning as I got ready to go to work–Monday mornings are hard enough, but when they come on a Wednesday after a four-day weekend? Unfair!

I still don’t have anything interesting to show you, knitting-wise. Of the three projects I’m working through–while they are moving on apace–none are actually showing any real progress. I’m making progress, you understand, but it just doesn’t show in photos.

I have been getting some spinning done, though. Not a lot–some weeks, the only time I spin is while watching “Medium” on tv. (Don’t ask; I don’t know why it seems such a good combo, but it works for me, so we’re going to just leave that alone.) Still, I’ve got my two bobbins filled with orange corriedale, and one bobbin filled with the wine-colored corriedale. I’ve started my second red bobbin, and the plan is to ply the two colors together.

Now, socks. Check out Claudia’s new pair. Not only are they lovely, but they made me think of my nephew. Blue and Orange are NY Mets colors, folks, and my nephew and brother-in-law are huge fans. And then, Cindy posted pictures of her very first pair of socks . . . She keeps apologizing for them. Go tell her they’re not that bad, would you? It’s just wrong to be both proud of and apologetic for your first pair of socks!

If you haven’t yet, you must call Stephanie’s toll-free number (877- SOS-KNIT, toll free in Canada and the US) and listen to her helpful suggestions for getting through Holiday Knitting. It’s absolutely hilarious.

I made Mom stop dead in her tracks on our walk with Chappy this afternoon. She had just asked, “Where do . . . ” when she got her tongue tangled or something and ended the question with “bluh bluh bluh?” I smiled, said, “I don’t know where I want to go for dinner for my birthday this year,” and kept right on walking, while she came to a complete stop, flabbergasted. “How did you know what I was going to ask??” she wanted to know.

Darn it. I keep telling her not to think so loudly.

Incidentally, speaking of dogs–if you’re a dog owner, have you heard about the new strain of the doggie-flu going around? Apparently it’s a new strain and it’s deadly . . . scary! Be careful with your pooches!

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Grindstone // 5 Comments »

I ended up going grocery shopping this morning. An unusual thing. It’s one of Mom’s chores, but her arm and shoulder were really sore this morning, and I did have the day off from work, so I asked if she wanted me to come along to push the cart. She thought about it for a minute, and then said yes.

So, I finished eating my breakfast and ran upstairs to brush my teeth and get my shoes, and then the phone rang. Our annual “check the heater” appointment was supposed to be this afternoon, but . . . surprise! . . . they’d be there in 10 minutes. Um . . . okay . . . I offered to go for her (Mom hates grocery shopping, so this should have been an easy sell), but no, there were things she just knew to regularly buy, she should be there . . but just then, Dad came home from his errands and had enough time before he had to leave for golf that he could babysit the heating fellow.

Good. We left, stopped at the post office so I could get my “Three-Cornered” shawl book into the mail back to Schoolhouse Press (since they sent me a nice, fresh, undamaged copy). Then, on to the grocery store. Halfway through the aisles, my phone rings. It’s Dad. There’s a problem so that the heating guy is going to be longer than planned, but Dad has to leave . . . now. Okay . . . Mom and I wheel our cart up to an employee and ask her to put it aside for us, we’ll be back. Then we drove back to the house, just in time to find Dad pulling out of the driveway (after giving me a moment of worry when I didn’t see my car in the driveway–which he’d moved to get his car around the heating truck).

So. Mom stayed home with the heating guy. Dad left for golf. And I took the shopping list and headed back to the grocery store. I retrieved our cart and finished the shopping. And I was doing fine, being responsible. Not tempted by the potato chips or the cookies or the bakery section . . . but then, I had to pick up ice cream for Dad.

Now, you have to understand. I almost never eat ice cream. I like ice cream. The smooth, creaminess of it. What’s not to love? Except I try to keep my consumption of dairy products down to a reasonable minimum for the sake of my allergies. Milk is a mucus product, and may contribute to bodily mucus . . . or not. There’s a difference of opinions there, and it’s not really that important, but it’s the reason I try to minimize unnecessary dairy products like cheese and ice cream. (Did wonders for my waistline when I started this too, incidentally.) Anyway . . . there sits one of my favorites. An ice cream I haven’t had in ages. A couple years, even. Starbuck’s Java Chip.

Usually, it helps that the smallest size it comes in is quart-size. That’s too much ice cream for me to eat by myself, and since it’s not one of the low-fat versions, Mom won’t eat it (or much of it), and Dad doesn’t like coffee . . . and so my better nature usually wins out and I resist the temptation. It will be wasted, it’s naughty, I shouldn’t eat it, I should get one that the parents like, too . . .

But . . . I guess I’m just weak.

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Weak // 4 Comments »

We live near an old, historic farm. It belongs to the town now (and some of it has been turned into soccer fields), but the old buildings are still standing–and being renovated–and part of it is rented by an actual farmer. The corn in the summer is particularly good.

This past weekend, they had a money-raising festival. We didn’t get to go (assembling hundreds of filing cabinets, you’ll remember), but this morning, Mom and I were driving by the crew cleaning up, and saw this.

What? Can’t you see it?

  Now, I don’t know what kind of animals are in there, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to pet any of them!

My day today? Much calmer than yesterday! I took the day off from work, you’ll remember and got to sleep in this morning, which felt so good after all that hard work over the weekend. Mom and I drove down to our favorite apple farm to buy some apples–but I was so disappointed. No Macouns at all–they are my absolute favorites–and the Honeycrisps were really picked over. I must remind myself that this farm does all sorts of autumnal things like hay rides and apple-picking, has a corn-maze . . . and their supply is obviously pretty picked over by Mondays. Disappointing. She got some of their fresh doughnuts–which she loves–and some pumpkins–which she also loves; we brought Dad home a rhubarb pie (his fav) . . . but no Macouns for me. Just not fair, darn it! Though we did get some of their cider (the best fresh apple cider around, I think).

Nothing exciting to report about knitting. Plugging away at my shawl. Plugging away at my Union Square. And I even managed a couple rows on the pair of socks that have been languishing in my knitting bag since July and are barely past the toes. (Terrible, I know.)

I had picked up some yarn on Saturday for a Christmas gift, but it turns out there isn’t enough yardage. The pattern said one skein of each of two colors, but the skein it was talking about was a lot bigger than the skeins I bought–and the shop only had one skein of one of the colors and since the colors are mandated by powers outside my control, there was no choice . . . So, like any good internet-loving knitter, I ordered more yarn via the web. Cascade 220 superwash, on sale from Little Bits, which I’ve heard about but haven’t actually tried. Then I’ll have to decide what to do with the two, different-colored skeins of Dale of Norway yarn that I’ll probably never actually use . . . But that’s a problem for another day.

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Petting Zoo // 1 Comment »

It’s a glass is half full/half empty kind of day. At least, it averages out that way–my glass today is chock full of productivity but completely empty of any energy (grin).

Let’s see, today I:

8:30 Got out of bed. (Harder than you might think, but I was still tired from yesterday, and so . . . an accomplishment.)

9:00 Went downstairs and, even before making coffee, mixed up bread dough. It’s been months since I made any–not since we got our new kitchen counters in May–and I had a lot of things planned for today and couldn’t afford delaying. Oh yes, started a load of laundry.

9:30 Cooked and sat down to eat breakfast. (Two eggs on toast–a heavier breakfast than usual, but again, planning ahead. I needed my energy. Fed Chappy.

10:00 Went upstairs to brush my teeth. While in the bathroom, cleaned the sinks, cleaned the counter, cleaned the bathtub, cleaned the toilet. Also watered the plants.

10:30 Mixed up an applesauce cake. I promised Dad I’d bake something for him this week since he was nice enough to take my car in to get its headlight fixed the other day. Took a 15-minute break to finish the cup of coffee I’d poured (luckily, into a thermal-mug) when I ate my breakfast.

11:00 While cake was in the oven, went out in the garage to start assembling furniture. What, hadn’t I mentioned? We’re replacing the desk and computer desk with three filing cabinets topped with one, long counter top. Except, they required assembly. If you look at the picture, imagine that three-drawer unit broken down into its individual pieces . . . five piece for each draw, a top, sides, back for the unit, the rails on the side for each drawer, the handles, the multitude of screws . . . Ugh.

I covered the garage floor with a huge, plastic tarp, and started pulling piece after piece out of the box, while Mom sat on the garage steps and Chappy sat in the kitchen doorway watching everything. Every once in a while, “Oh, I need scissors to get into this box of parts.” “Could you maybe get me something to sit on? This cement floor is really hard.” “Why wouldn’t they say that I need a hammer?” And Mom would nicely go get me whatever it was I needed. Like, checking to make sure the cake wasn’t burning.

11:30 The cable-guy came to replace our cable-tv boxes. (Yes, on a Sunday!) Thank heaven–now we can watch West Wing tonight. He came in through the garage and asked me how I was as he followed Mom into the kitchen. I said, sitting there surrounded by thousands of pieces of desk, “Oh, just peachy.” An expression he obviously had never heard before because he smiled and said “I’m oranges,” and headed inside.

12:15. Uh-oh. The piece that’s supposed to attach the front of the drawers doesn’t fit the holes pre-drilled. That’s weird–everything’s been so well manufactured up until now. But . . . clearly . . . the wrong size. Mom grabbed (well, not literally) one of our handy neighbors who offered to drill the hole larger for me. Very helpful. We offered him some freshly-baked applesauce cake later, once it was cool.

12:45 Finally get the drawers assembled and slide them into the cabinet and . . . uh-oh . . . why don’t the two smaller drawers fit properly? A dim bulb lit over my head as I realized . . . what I’d done was assemble the drawers backwards–the front was the back and the back was the front. That’s why the holes weren’t the right size and, apparently, they’re positioned just a little differently from front to back . . . Well, for now, it’ll do. They close (mostly) and I’ve got two more of these things to put together. This floor’s getting awfully hard, though . . .

1:00 Pause for lunch and a pet for Chappy, who’s been very good about not entering the garage . . . well, okay, he came running in after the “orange” cable guy had left, to make sure I was okay . . . and there was that one other time when he just came down out of curiosity . . . but really, he was very good.

1:20 Back out to the garage to start the second filing cabinet. Ask Mom to slide my car down the driveway so that it’s blocking Dad’s garage when he gets home, so he won’t automatically pull into the garage and run over me and the assembly line. The second cabinet goes a lot more smoothly. I paid close attention to the fronts and backs as I assembled the drawers and the only mistake was screwing the drawer tracks on upside down on one of the drawers. Mom nicely puts my [forgotten] laundry in the dryer.

2:30 Take a break between cabinets to get the bread dough (you thought I’d forgotten it, didn’t you?) shaped into loaves. While doing that, Dad comes in and makes some comment about the construction site in the garage, collects the papers and heads into the family room (now, with a functioning cable-box) to watch some sporting event or other. I put the loaves into the microwave to rise . . . what? . . . it’s the perfect place. You bring a mug of water to a boil, first, and then put the dough in there–warm, moist, draft-free, and off the countertop. It’s perfect. Anyway, back to the garage.

3:00 By now, my back is tired, my legs are tired from kneeling, the skin on my knees is complaining (despite the jeans and the folded blanket I’m sitting on). The drill isn’t screwing screws as successfully as before . . . on closer inspection, the drill bit is being eaten away by these screws . . . the tip of the phillips-head bit is reduced to a pinpoint. Luckily, it’s still successfully getting the screws in for me, but it can’t quite get them as tight as I want . . . the last few pieces are a little . . . loose. Not so much that the units are going to fall apart, but the drawer fronts (the last pieces to screw on) are going to need tightening.

4:00 Finally! Done. Exhausted. Hands shaking. Need tea. Put kettle on to boil, preheat oven for the bread. While waiting, cut a piece of cake for the neighbor, put on a disposable plate that Mom found for me, and head out the door . . . oops . . . go back to get my car key so I can move the car on my way back. Deliver the cake. Happy neighbor. Back home. Move car away from garage door. Inside. Put bread in oven. Pour water into mug for tea. (Yes, remembered the teabag.)

4:10 Ah . . . sitting down. On furniture. A book. Chappy (relieved to be in the same room as me).

4:30 Bring empty teamug into kitchen. Check on bread in oven. Getting close, but not ready . . . not enough time to go do something else . . . Go into the garage to try moving the completed filing cabinets out of the way of Dad’s car.

4:32:57 Uh-oh. As I slid the first cabinet–the one with the badly-fitting top drawers–the top drawer slid open and pitched to the ground, breaking the drawer-pull which was made from silver-painted plastic. Cheap stuff that can’t stand an impact on a cement floor. Argh! Oh no! No way to replace that . . . And now the drawers aren’t going to match . . . Being calm, told Mom. Then went and got blue painter’s tape to tape all the drawers closed.

5:00 Go upstairs to check my e-mail for the first time all day. . . . Except . . . just as I reach the top of the stairs, my sister calls–my niece is having trouble with her social studies homework (one of her least favorite subjects, but one of the ones I like). Spend the next 15 minutes browsing the ‘Net for information about types of propaganda and suggesting examples she could use.

5:30 Dinner. By now, Mom’s as exhausted as I am

5:50 What do you mean, all my e-mails to my sister have been returned as spam???? Talk to my sister on the phone, tell her the site I went to and dictate my suggestions so they can find the information themselves since I clearly can’t send them links. (And, since they use dial-up, they can’t look at the sites while on the phone, either.) Do a quick check of my own e-mails. Realize my post from last night never got uploaded–post that to my blog.

6:30 Go to take my shower and decide to take a quick bath instead . . . my legs feel like they’re about 30 years older than they were on Friday, between yesterday’s standing and today’s kneeling.

7:15 Downstairs. Make some tea. Have a piece of cake. Go into the family room to watch West Wing’s season premiere

8:00 Pull out my knitting to try to regain the ground lost with Friday night’s frogging session.

8:40 What happened to the cable?? They just fixed that! Don’t they know one of my favorite shows is on?? Show blinks back on just in time for the 8:45 commercial. (Really needed to see that!)

9:00 Turn on Desperate Housewive’s season premiere

9:01 My brother-in-law calls to try to figure out why my e-mails are bouncing back. Thank heaven for the time-slip feature on the DVD recorder. Pause the show, to talk to Mike, basically saying that I don’t know why their system is refusing my mail.

9:10 Restart the show . . . at least now we can fast-forward through commercials.

10:00 Come upstairs. Bring Chappy in to say goodnight to his Grandpa. Check my e-mail. Write this while playing CNN in the background.

Next . . . go brush my teeth, crawl into bed–a bonus night for Chappy because I’m taking tomorrow off from work. (See? I knew I was going to need a day off after this weekend!) Phew!

• Tags: Baking, Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Uncategorized • Permalink:So, so tired… // 5 Comments »

Boy, the new additions to my closet these days . . .

Mom and I went to the craft show today and met my sister and niece. Beautiful, perfect weather. Sunny, mid-seventies for temperature, really lovely. We all had a good time. (I didn’t take any pictures, though–there was a sign at the ticket booth forbidding audio and video recorders, and while I didn’t expect there to be a problem taking a snapshot of my family members outside, I figured it was better not to risk it). And we all bought pretty things that we may not exactly have needed.

Like, say a hat. A nice, two-toned, polar-fleece hat, with a snazzy little pin with reds and grays. (A pin which, really, could probably be duplicated from any number of different yarns in my stash . .. something to think about . . . )

Or, maybe, a snazzy, yellow straw hat with a taupe ribbon band, with a few crystal beads for good measure?

And then, who doesn’t love earrings? Silver drop earrings that are unique without being too weird to wear? (Having longish, curly hair is great for this–you can push the polite, earring envelope a lot further when most people aren’t going to get a good look at your earrings anyway.) From two different vendors, both of whom I’ve bought jewelry from in the past. In fact, the “cage” earrings on the right, with the black pearls are from the person who sold me that runaway necklace I mentioned last night. The other ones from a craftsperson who made one of my absolute favorite pair of earrings. Isn’t it nice to find a person whose work you like, and then be lucky enough to keep finding them at craft shows so you can buy more?? (grin)

Really, though, I’m going to be good now and stop buying things for a while. I think my Visa card is going to go into shock, and it needs time to recover before Rhinebeck!

Ooh . . . as a bonus, while looking at so many beautiful things by so many talented people–jewelry, pottery, glass, furniture . . . things I could never make in a million years . . . I got two compliments on my Flower Basket Shawl, which I wore today. One was from a glassmaker who makes beads for necklaces and earrings. (Mom bought one of her necklaces.) She asked if I’d bought it at the fair and I said I’d made it. Her reply was “Oh, I could never do that.” Um, you work with burning hot, melted glass, and, you find yarn intimidating?? The other was from another shopper, but the conversation was almost exactly the same.

I suppose that when you’re involved in a craft yourself, and know how to do it, it seems easy–like reading or knowing how to program your VCR . . . once you’ve learned something, and have a grasp of how and why it works, you have a hard time conceiving that other people couldn’t grasp the same thing. (If I can do it, so can you!) Except, of course, it’s not always that easy. And there are skill factors to consider–you can know how to knit but not yet be an expert . . . but, still, knitting is not as intimidating as blowing glass. You have to work really, really hard to injure yourself knitting, but glass-blowing, black-smithing . . . these are dangerous!

Knitting, as we all know, is only dangerous to your peace of mind. It’s soothing, to be sure. Happy, relaxing, creative. And then there are the times when nothing works. Or, say . . . purely hypothetically . . . you misread a chart on your lace knitting while talking on the phone and end up spending the next hour and a half trying to salvage and then frogging back four rows of knitting so that you end up behind your starting point of that knitting session, and have a tangle of Zephyr yarn all over your bedroom floor that your dog wants to play with.

Purely hypothetically, of course. It’s not like anything like that happened to me last night. Oh no. I wouldn’t want you to think that!

Come to think of it, maybe risking glass-blowing burns doesn’t sound so scary, after all.

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Crafty as a Fox // 5 Comments »

Well, this sort of thing can always cheer me up. And, what speedy service, too! My order from Knit Pixie, which of course was jump-started with the gift certificate from my SP6. Thank you, pal!

I resisted the yarn on the site, but loved this knitting bag. It’s a surprise to me, but I’m liking turquoise more and more these days–at least as an accent color. (Like, say, in a Peacock Shawl.) The blue silk, the embroidered accents in blue and gold, wooden handles . . . how could I resist? It’s just beautiful! And a nice size for a medium project–nothing too big. Heavens, it would make a great purse, too.

You probably can’t see it in the other picture, but there’s a package of tiny, little stitch markers. Cute, but really tiny . . . smaller than I thought they’d be, actually. (If I had realized, I would have gotten medium-sized ones.) It’s silly, but I do have some beaded markers, but still, the first ones I always reach for are the plastic ones, like I’m “saving” the good ones. Isn’t that ridicuous? Like, what, I’d break them like good china if I used it on an “everyday”? Although, the markers I like best these days are the ones like big safety pins–I like that they’re sturdy, and the “head” adds just a little weight to help them stay in place, and yet they’re not heavy on the needles . . . and I think that, right there, is probably why I use them. Beads get heavy!

Hey–how is it possible that I didn’t know that Rowan had two new versions of Kidsilk Haze? Kidsilk Spray in variegated colors, and Kidsilk Night with sparkles. Who knew? (Show of hands? Anybody?) Maybe if I hadn’t let my subscription lapse? I don’t really miss it (and didn’t love the pictures I saw from the latest issue #38), but I do like their Classic collections . . . they’re . . . classy!

Tomorrow, Mom and I are going to the Peters Valley Crafts Fair at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. We went last year, too, and met my sister and niece there, and had a really nice time. I bought a skein of hand-spun, hand-dyed wool, too–back before I could spin myself. (I don’t remember–I wonder if they’ll be there again, and if they sell roving?) I bought myself a pretty silver-and-bead necklace that I loved, too. Well, still do, actually, but it’s tried to escape. I wore it to work one day last December, and took Chappy out for a walk at lunchtime, went back to work, came home . . . and realized the necklace wasn’t around my neck any more. I called the office to ask a coworker to check the parking lot where my car was. We went for another walk, as the sun was setting, to search (Chappy was thrilled). But no, nothing. I was crushed. But then, the next day . . . we were on a walk and Mom was talking about how my Grandfather had a knack for finding jewelry (like, the time my Grandmother lost her diamond ring on the beach on Martha’s Vineyard and he reached down into the sand and pulled it up). We were just saying how we wished he were there to help, when Mom glanced down and . . . there it was. (Thanks, Grandpa!) The poor thing had been run over who knows how many times, but it was mostly intact. A little scratched, to be sure, but in one piece except for the clasp. I dug out the receipt and called the girl who’d made it, who said I could mail it back to be fixed. Phew! I really like that necklace.

My mood is better today–thank you all for your concern. First, it’s Friday–thank heaven! I’m even taking two days off next week, so it’ll be a longer weekend than usual. I’m hoping to buy some apples (it’s the end of September, it’s a must). And of course, I’m relieved that Hurricane Rita has dropped to a Category 3 . . . still huge, but not quite as devastating. It’s such a shame about New Orleans, though–flooding again–but really, is anybody really surprised at that? Frankly, if the patched-together levees had held I would have been amazed. Category 3, Category 5–those levees are weak right now. I trust that they’ll have them fixed and strong for next year, but now, one month after such a devastating hurricane? How could they possibly have managed that so quickly? I think saying that “our worst fears have come true” is an exaggeration–I don’t think that NOLA’s levees breaking now is the worst–that happened a month ago when the whole city flooded. How much more damage, really, can this new flood do? It’s disappointing and a huge step backward for a hard-hit city, but is it actually worse than it was before? (And, don’t get me started on that poor bus of elderly evacuees this morning.)

Has anyone else noticed how many news people are fumbling on the names of the hurricanes? Katrina-Rita-Rina. That almost-rhyme at the end of the names, I’ve been hearing a lot of misnomers as they cover the stories. And one thing I haven’t heard about–they evacuated thousands of Katrina-people to the Houston Astrodome, and now they’re evacuating Houston . . . are those people still in the Astrodome, or have they evacuated somewhere else? One more observation–now, I think we learned a lot of things about monster-hurricane response, and evacuating smartly and safely (with pets), and how important it is to communicate . . . all the things that fell apart with Katrina. That monster is still strong enough in everyone’s memory that we’re taking Rita seriously. And therefore the response should be a lot smoother than it was after Katrina. Any bets on how many people start screaming right away that “of course Bush acted faster, it’s his own state?”

I hope everybody stays safe out there.

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Bright Side // 5 Comments »

I’ve probably made it clear over these last months that I’m generally a pretty happy, content, easy-going kind of person. An optimist. Which makes my state of mind the last few days unusual. Part of it is my own fault. I’ve been watching the news. Gloom and doom everywhere you look. Last night, between 7:00 and 9:00, they had three major news stories–Hurricane Rita, which had just been upgraded to the 3rd worst hurricane ever on record, and had winds of 175 mph; a big tornado sighted heading towards downtown Minneapolis; and an airplane trying to make an emergency landing because of faulty landing gear. The news anchors didn’t know which way to go, they were trying to cover so much, so many different stories at once. And not a one of them was good news.

Though, thank heaven that plane landed safely! Pretty impressive to watch, too. And, thankfully, Rita has been downgraded to a category 4 storm–still huge, still a monster, but at least a little better. Except, of course, it’s heading north–closer to Louisiana all the time. This is better for Galveston. (I’m sure my cousin–who’s safely evacuated to Austin–is relieved.) It’s worse for Houston. But it’s worst for New Orleans and the other places on the west side of Louisiana, who are still trying to put the pieces back together after Katrina. Let’s think–which would be worse? For this hurricane to decimate an untouched piece of coast that’s standing strong but may be reduced to the condition of the Mississippi coast? Or for the hurricane to hit the areas that have already been reduced to rubble and, well, ruin the clean-up, but not really do any more damage? Um . . . they sound about equally bad to me! The only blessing is that people have learned some hard lessons from Katrina and are paying attention to the evacuation orders, thinking ahead, planning for the worst (and with a whole, new benchmark for “worst”).

Is there any good news? The evacuation in Texas has turned the interstates into parking lots. Gas prices are probably going to skyrocket again. And another monster storm is about to hit a whole new section of the Gulf coast with devastation. What fun!

Still–there’s this article about a bill that would let people bring their pets with them when they evacuate. Not surprisingly, I’m all for that. A lot of people stayed behind during Katrina because of their pets, and, well, I entirely understand. I have a hard time leaving Chappy to go to work in the morning–how could I possibly desert him with a massive, life-threatening storm barrelling toward us?

And–you want to see something silly? How about this article about a giant, pink bunny rabbit. And I do mean giant.

Or, for a little fun, this site will tell you what song was Number One on the charts when you were born. (Well, from 1952 and later–if born earlier, the site suggests picking your “life theme song” by selecting your 18th birthday.) For the record, on the US charts on my birthday: “Poor Side of Town” by Johnny River. On the UK charts: “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops. Oh, and my life theme song would be “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)” by Billy Ocean. I’m sure you’re all as fascinated as I am.

  But my best reason to smile? Chappy, of course. Last night, after I finally came upstairs and stopped watching the news, I had some . . . disagreements . . . with my computer. I was trying to draw a schematic of my Christmas Tree hat for my Knitty submission, but Illustrator wasn’t cooperating, and on top of my general feeling of stress, well, I was getting frustrated. Muttering “What? What!” under my breath . . . and sometimes not so much under my breath . . . and then my submission to Knitty wouldn’t go through–it bounced back as a bad e-mail address (even though I clicked on the mail link on the site).

But every time I’d get really frustrated, Chappy would wake up, climb out of his crate, and come over to give me a hug. Literally–front paws on my shoulders, tail wagging, and a “Don’t be sad, Mom!” look on his face . . . and really, after five or six of these hugs, you really can’t help but smile . . . especially when he finally lies down right next to you to save himself the trip for the next burst of frustration! (Which helped, too, because he was right there, in petting range–much more soothing.) But that’s Chappy for you–he can always make me smile.

My e-mail to Knitty, incidentally, is still bouncing back “Service Unavailable.” I can’t get logged into the Knitty Coffeehouse to try to post a question, because it won’t recognize my password–even when I asked for a “I forgot my password” replacement (even though I was using the same password I had been and it was working fine a few days ago). And when they sent me an e-mail with my “new” password, that still won’t work. So now I can’t reach the Submissions e-mail OR the message boards where I’d at least be able to post a “Help!” message. Does anyone else think that this is maybe a sign and I should just give up on the idea of trying to get this pattern into Knitty? And maybe should just publish it to a PDF myself?

And, darn it, I finished “The Yarn Harlot,” too . . . it was such a nice [mostly] happy book! All my other, current books are a lot more serious and portentious. So, to what did I turn? P.G. Wodehouse. Bertie Wooster. Jeeves. In “Jeeves in the Morning.” If light and funny is what you’re looking for, he’s got it. (Silly, fluffy, classic British comedy. A joy.)

• Tags: Chappy, General, Weather • Permalink:Gloom and Doom // 9 Comments »

This really should be the last stash-enhancement you see for a while. Six balls of Jaggerspun Zephyr in White and Admiral. And some Interlacements silk roving in Mountain Jewel from The Knitter.com. I haven’t tried spinning 100% silk yet and am actually a little afraid, but it was so pretty, I thought I’d add it to my stash, anyway.

But, seriously, I don’t plan on buying any more yarn until Rhinebeck. Plans have been known to go awry, of course. (Gee, there should be some, pithy sort of aphorism about that, don’t you think? Like, “Best laid plans of mice and men often go agly?” Something like that?) But really, I think I’ve added enough to my stash for now. But yes, I do plan on buying more at Rhinebeck, so don’t even try to talk me out of it!

We had some very cute, unexpected visitors at the office this morning. That’s 2-year old Jimmy, with his twin siblings, Didi and Andy, who’ll be six months old in a couple weeks. Cute, cute little kids!

And speaking of cute, here’s a cute little game link, if you’re bored. Grow. Click on the 10 items around the edge to add to the game–when you add them in a specific sequence, you win. And it’s fun getting there. (Although I’ll admit that after a number of tries, I did a google search to find a couple hints.) It’s cute, and those little, faceless people are really quite industrious! Or, how about these: Games for the Brain. I’m really inept at computer games, but I enjoy vocabulary games–and these are kind of fun.

Oh, and Sandy? Here’s what my sky looked like today! Clear, blue, and beautiful. I took this in the backyard after work.

I still have my fingers crossed over Hurricane Rita, now a Category 5, heading for Texas. I don’t want it to hit Louisiana/Mississippi again, like Katrina did, but I don’t want it walloping Texas, either! I’ve got a cousin who lives in Galveston, too . . . I just hope there was a really fast learning curve after Katrina, and that people are actually prepared for this one. It does sound like people are taking the evacuations seriously. (Especially in Galveston, since they know all about devastating storms there.) I’m glad to hear that they’re letting people bring their pets, this time! Because, seriously, a lot of people stayed during Katrina to be with their pets. I think I’m going to go make another donation to Mercy Corps . . . I think they’re going to need it.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky, Uncategorized • Permalink:When you Can’t Think of a Good Title. // 3 Comments »

Deb tagged me for this meme:

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five some other people to do the same.

Here’s my quote:

“His patience while waiting is impressive, and he’s pretty good about giving up his prizes, though he may run around the dining room table a few times before he’s willing to concede.”

The original post? Here. I was talking about how Chappy had stolen a ball of yarn. (Hmm. I had a haircut that day, too. Not bad.)

Who will I tag? Let’s see: Snow. Risa. Amelia. Jacqueline. Lizzy B.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Meme // 1 Comment »

Well, what a nifty day. (Okay, I can’t help it. I like the word “nifty.”)

First, I got a $10 gift certificate to Knit Pixie from my SP6, and just ordered myself some adorable stitch markers and a tote bag . . . not that I needed another bag to carry my knitting in, but . . . well, really, you know, um, it was a gift.

Then, I got another knitting book in the mail. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “What, Deb, another knitting book?” But, be serious. I think we’ve already covered my lack of self-control where book-buying is concerned.

Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick. The subtitle is “Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice,” so I think that pretty much covers everything. (Except maybe Kwanzaa?) But let’s face it, almost everyone celebrates something around December, and a lot of people get cold around that time of year . . . Yes, I know, people live in California, too, where it’s balmy all year, or Australia where the seasons are reversed from here . . . You’re supposed to be working with me here!

The point is, it’s a pattern book, which is actually the kind I usually try to avoid . . . Mostly because I usually end up making none of them and then feel I’ve wasted my money, no matter how beautiful the patterns.

  Yet this has some beautiful patterns.

The cover pattern of hood and matching gloves, for instance. Beautiful and practical, yet not boring.

Or, these beautiful, over-the-knee socks. Plain and simple in the front, but with this lovely line of eyelets up the back.

Or this sweet, Saint Lucia’s crown, harking back to Scandinavian Christmases (and which would look great just as a centerpiece on a table, too). Then there are the ballet-like slippers, the knitted votive candle-holders, the baby’s hat that looks like a chocolate kiss . . . some really pretty things!

And as evidence that I have been knitting, here’s the beginning of my unpronouncable shawl. I’m up to row #40. Exciting, huh? Copper-colored Jaggerspun Zephyr. (The yarn I started doing a stole in a month ago but decided it wasn’t right, somehow. This was probably what that yarn was waiting for.

And, if you’re interested in knitting lace. . . . Check out the EZasPi Yahoo group. Starting Sept 24th, they’re having a Shetland Lace workshop, taught by Liz Lovick. There’s even going to be a contest of some kind.

(I know. Snow is probably going to blame me for this, somehow, too….)

Oh, and I’m also saying prayers tonight for the Gulf Coast . . . Hurricane Rita, heading towards Texas and picking up steam. Oh no. Please, not another big one. Not this year. Not this soon after and so close to Katrina.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink: // 3 Comments »

  Look at the lovely selection of Cherry Tree Hill yarn that just arrived from Little Bits today–and, on sale, nonetheless! They’re going to stop carrying the line, so their remaining inventory is on sale, so, really, what choice did I have?

From left to right, this is two skeins of Possum Lace (40% merino, 40% possum, 20% sillk) in Green Mountain Madness–a yarn which I understand is being discontinued. One skein of Cascade Fingering (100% silk) in Tropical Storm–the sheen to this yarn is just beautiful. And then, three skeins of sock yarn, in Wild Cherry, Indian Summer (with shimmer!), and Tropical Storm.

Pretty nice, huh? So far, I’ve only used the Cherry Tree Supersock yarn (in the Martha’s Vineyard colorway–anyone surprised?) and loved the way it worked and how the socks came out, so I’m looking forward to using the line again.

  I also got an order from Shutterfly today. It’s my preferred site for getting prints of digital photos. I like the prices (that prepay option is great), but they also have all sorts of fun things you can get, too–like mousepads, mugs and such. And notecards. Did I mention the notecards? I like them so much–though I wish they were a little bigger–but they were having a sale, and so I bought myself four sets. They’ll last me quite a while, but I’m very happy with them. I like that they make any note I send that much more personal–even if the person who gets it doesn’t realize that I took the photos, I do, and how cool is that? Best stationery ever.

We’re getting closer to Rhinebeck, and I’m getting more and more excited. And I’m prepared, too. I’ve already said that I’d like to get together with as many bloggers as possible, because I’m so looking forward to putting voices and faces to the blogs I read. But now I’m really ready. I wanted to make it as easy for any of you to spot me as possible, and short of carrying a banner that says “Chappysmom” or something like that (and really, I need to keep my hands available for carrying shopping bags), don’t you think this is just about perfect? (Boy, it was smart of me to name my dog and my blog after what’s ultimately a tourist spot, huh?)

And, you folks did go to despair.com like I told you to, didn’t you? Because it really is good for a laugh!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Mmm . . . Cherry Tree // 7 Comments »

Has anybody else seen the Geico commercial with the kids at the spelling bee, trying to spell this word? (Funny, no?) Anyone else wondered what it means? It means “the estimation of something as worthless,” and is usually used only as an example of a very long word, sometimes held to be the longest. The Oxford English Dictionary labels it “humorous” and gives the following citations for it:

I loved him for nothing so much as his floccinaucinihilipilification of money.
–William Shenstone, Letters

They must be taken with an air of contempt, a floccinaucinihilipilification of all that can gratify the outward man.
–Sir Walter Scott, Journal

So, I thought I’d just give you some humorous yet worthless items for today.

First, my favorite: Did you know that the “Frownie” is trademarked?

But the international outcry of rage and sorrow was too much even Despair to handle. Hundreds of emails from countries all around the globe have poured in, begging us to reconsider our controversial decision. Even a member of the perpetually cheerful citizenry of America’s happiest metropolis, New York, took time to register a dignified complaint through our voicemail. Behind each outcry in every tongue, the same sentiment. An impassioned entreaty to us, that we reconsider our plans to ban the beloved symbol from the Internet.

More importantly, though, you must visit the despair.com website. You know those motivational posters, the ones with some really lovely photography and some pithy blurb underneath about goals, dreams, hard work, or some such thing? We’ll all seen them. But this place, well, they do DEmotivational posters, and they are simply hilarious. And you can get them in calendars, mugs, sticky pads, notecards . . . but the entire site is just one laugh after another. The commentary, the photos . . . they even sell Valentine’s Day candy for pessimists. Now, I’m a bona fide optimist, but this site? Hilarious. Not to mention a gold-mine for potential office-grab-bag gifts come December, so don’t say I didn’t give you any good ideas when you’re trying to find something unique for your boss!

Then there’s the time-waster, pie-eating game.

Better, my favorite site for daily word games. (Dictionary Devil is my favorite)

Dave Barry on low gas prices.

A stress test for the new iPod Nano . . . it takes a lot to kill that little thing!

And, to throw in a “serious” one:

A nice article on CNN’s Anderson Cooper, whose Hurricane Katrina coverage has been excellent, I think. Who here knew he was Gloria Vanderbilt’s son?

Lastly, drop by Rose’s. She just literally lost her best friend.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Floccinaucinihilipilification // 1 Comment »

  But I’ve been busy all day and I have yet to pick up my knitting.

See first, I moved all of my cookbooks. All these years, they’ve lived in my bedroom closet, but I’ve wanted to get them onto the same floor as the kitchen (so I wouldn’t have to carry the books and recipes up and down the stairs whenever I want to bake something). Except Mom–who’s been awfully gracious about bookcase-encroachment–had drawn the line at putting a bookcase downstairs. However, we have this huge, old computer desk in the family room . . . It dates back to college, when I got my first computer, and Dad went out and bought this so I’d have someplace to put it, sweetly picking out a roll-top model because I’ve always liked roll-top desks. (It’s not his fault that it’s really kind of . . . large. Huge, even, and kind of unsightly in its lower half. But he was being thoughtful, so. . . it’s been in the family room ever since. (Partly, I’m sure, because it’s too darn heavy for any of us to move!)

Anyway, it’s been a catch-all for the last 19 years or so. Old video tapes, old coffee-table books, old dog toys, old computers. (You can’t see it, but my original laptop computer is still in there–the one I got for graduation in 1989. It’s rather dinosaur-like, and I haven’t even turned it on in years, but I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.) But ultimately, the desk isn’t being used for anything . . . so, I decided I was going to convert it to cookbook storage and thereby free up two more bookshelves in my closet for knitting books and magazines (which, needless to say, have been overflowing their alloted shelves). One of the desk shelves is still miscellaneous stuff, and there are still things like computers and video tapes behind the rows of books, but, here they are–mere steps away from the kitchen at last.

Which isn’t to say I haven’t done anything with yarn and knitting books. Oh no. I’ve moved them, too. I moved all the knitting and craft books and supplies out of the closet. (Well, everything in the bottom half–the bins of yarn on the closet shelf didn’t move today–a girl can only do so much!) I switched the two bookcases from one side of the closet to the other. One is a 3-shelf case filled with fiction, the other a 2-shelf case better suited to the size of knitting books, and I wanted the craft books to be on the same side of the closet as the actual yarn. So, I switched those. Then moved the overflowing magazines. Then realized that the basket I keep stray pattern booklets and such wouldn’t fit on the floor on the yarn side anymore, since the 2-shelf case is deeper than the other one–so now that’s on the “wrong” side of the closet . . . but since it’s the one the magazines are on now and they’re kind of glorified pattern leaflets, that’s okay. Except now I have to put the quilt rack (which lives in the closet) in front of the knitting books . . . unless I can come up with a way to store my down comforter and two handmade quilts in the trunk that’s moving into the office . . . why does down have to be so bulky? I managed to fit all my spinning wheel accessories into one box, too (which is to the right, and out of the picture).

The rest of the library is coming along. I’ve got most of the books on the new cases shelved at least close to how they need to be. The fiction is done and alphabetized, the grammar and writing books are categorized. The poetry, folktales, travel, how-to, science, math, and religion sections are pretty much done, as are the comedy/comics/children’s books (all on one shelf). It’s the history/biography/social sciences sections that need sorting. That’s about 9 out of the 12 new shelves that need to be completely reshuffled. Kind of intimidating, really. I mean, easy after all the rest, and yet . . . it’s so close to being done, is there really any harm in letting that reorganizing slide? At least for another week?

Of course, next weekend, I have to tackle the yarn, which has been getting kind of unruly. I was thinking of buying a bunch of those mesh laundry bags–the kind you use for delicates–to start storing my yarn in. I’ve got the collection in storage cubes, which mostly works fine, but inevitably, stray balls try to attack me when I reach up there for anything, and I think it would be better for all of us if the yarn was a little better contained–but still able to breathe and be seen. So . . . yarn in mesh bags that will then be collected in the storage cubes on top of the closet . . . that’ll work, right?

I never did clean the bathroom as I planned. And the only vacuuming I did was piles of Chappy fur that have migrated into the closet. (Hey, how often do you vacuum your closets?) Those, I really had no choice. Once I’d moved those bookcases and seen the dust-puppies wandering around in there, I had to clean them up. We got Chappy out for a walk around the block, too, and I’ve been reading my way through Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books in my spare moments.

And, oh yes, I baked a cake, too. A “Grandma Cake,” so called because it’s the cake my grandmother used to make for our birthdays, and it was the one cake that everybody loved. (I remember, she’d bring it on a plate, covered by an old butter-cookie tin–it’s never been a tall cake.) I may not have been foresighted enough to get her pound cake recipe, but this one, I’ve got! It’s forever known in my family as Grandma Cake. (She, incidentally, always frosted the sides, but I was too tired.) It’s a simple little butter cake recipe, and yet wholly unique in that, for one, it pretty much doesn’t rise at all, and yet it’s not heavy too eat. And the chocolate frosting? Unlike any other recipe I’ve ever eaten, and not one I’ve ever seen anywhere else, either, and so it remains one of the few secret recipes I’ve got. (So, sorry, no, I can’t tell you.) Anyway, though, it would have been her 100th birthday yesterday, and so I baked her a cake! The cake. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite, but this is one by which all others are measured in this house.

If you’re at all curious at a better look at some of my books, here’s a picture of the craft-section and the cookbooks, and now, I’ve got to go get my laundry out of the dryer before it (gasp!) requires ironing!

• Tags: Baking, General, Reading • Permalink:I Don’t Want to Complain // 2 Comments »

Really. It’s entirely her fault. She dragged me to Target this morning to opine on a small desk she wanted to buy. She dragged me to Office Depot to look at filing cabinets. And then she dragged me to brand new DSW to look at shoes.

I successfully made it through the entire store once without finding anything I wanted to buy. But she still wasn’t ready to leave. So, I kept wandering the aisles, and then these pretty, green shoes caught my eye. Well, nothing better to do, I’ll try them on. Hmm…remarkably comfortable, and the color’s nice, and I don’t have any green shoes, and they are kind of pretty . . . well, what harm in carrying them around the store a bit? They’re the only pair in my size, and it’s better to play it safe. What, Mom? Still looking? Fine . . . I’ll just wander up this aisle . . . ooh, those Timberland sneakers are nice, and I’m really not happy with the clunky pair I have. (I don’t wear sneakers very often at all, just for walks with Chappy, and so one pair lasts me a long time . . . hence the really clunky, out of date ones that were in my closet.) Gee, these are comfortable. Nice looking, too (even though I liked the gold-brown-yellow pair next to these a little better, but these will coordinate great with jeans). And, anyway, by the time Mom was ready to leave the store (with nothing, I might add), I was carrying two shoe boxes around with me.

Really, it’s entirely her fault. I would have left the store empty-handed if it hadn’t been for her slower browsing-speed, but no. I ended up buying two pair of shoes that I didn’t really need and she bought nothing. Is that fair?

And now I’m going to have to buy a pretty green outfit to go with those shoes, too . . . (grin) (Darn, more shopping!)

  My parents went to the 70th birthday party of one of their oldest friends last night. They’ve known Martie and Jerry since before any of them were married. Jerry–the birthday boy–is a huge television fan. Mom got him a selection of DVDs, and then my sister made this great gift bag, to look like a TV–attenna and all. (She even used film-container lids for the knobs–wasn’t that clever?) Mom still thought it needed something, though, and joked about the 70s Show, since Jerry just turned 70, which I thought was a great idea. So I got a copy of the logo online and made a little graphic (including horizontal “static” which you can’t really see in this picture). Aren’t we all remarkably clever?

I got almost no knitting done last night, at all, despite having the house to myself. First, I decided to stop stalling and start moving some of those books around . . . so I shuffled, carried, lugged books around the room for about two hours. By the time I was done, I was too tired to cook anything interesting for my supper (and Chappy was looking particularly pathetic since it was over an hour past his suppertime), so I made scrambled eggs on toast for my supper. By now, it was about 7:00 and I really wanted to do a deep-conditioning treatment for my hair, so I put the stuff on my hair and then went back and moved more books for half an hour, and then took a nice, hot bath. A rare thing for me–I’m a shower girl and usually get bored after about 10 minutes in a bathtub. I lasted for about half an hour, which is pretty remarkable and then went downstairs to make some tea and then to sit and knit in front of the television.

Except the knitting wasn’t cooperating. I started that unpronouncable shawl from the Three-Cornered shawl book. (Hey, they’re sending me a new copy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look at this one in the meantime, right?) Except, I was tired and my eyes didn’t want to concentrate on the chart, and well, I didn’t make it past row number 6. At 9:00 I came upstairs, planning to write a blog entry (since I hadn’t been near my computer since I’d gotten home from work), and had just pulled it up when the phone rang–Cindy with a question about finishing her second sock. (It’s official, she has a pair of socks now–she’s so excited!) And then of course, we chatted for a while, and by the time I hung up the phone . . . well, too late for blogging now, too! In other words, despite moving hundreds of books last night, I don’t feel like I got anything done at all. Is that silly, or what?

I hope everyone has a great weekend! My plans for the rest of it? Well, I already cleaned out some old shoes to make room for the new ones, but my other closet–the one with all the yarn, the knitting books, the craft books, the cook books . . . that could really use some TLC, and so could the closet in the office, now that the shelves in the room aren’t overflowing, the books in the closet deserve some attention, too . . . I tell you, closets can be hard work!

Maybe I’ll just curl up with The Yarn Harlot instead . . . I’m actually enjoying it more than her “At Knit’s End.” As much as I enjoyed that one, I adore the way Stephanie tells a story, and this book is just one hilarious anecdote after the next–even more fun!

Hey, one thing I’ve noticed lately? Since the hurricane, almost every store, every website I’ve visited has a link of some kind to encourage people to make donations. Which is great. But one notable exception? tvguide.com. I use the site almost daily (love the Ask Matt and Ask Ausiello columns), and it hasn’t had a word, not a link, not a button, not a mention of the hurricane at all. Why not, I wonder?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:I Blame My Mother // 1 Comment »

No, not like you’d think. I was at work today, as usual, but there were a couple “family” kind of connections on television, of all places. First, Mom and I were watching the Today show while making breakfast this morning, and they were doing a story on Delta and Northwest airlines declaring bankruptcy, and one of the people they stopped in the Atlanta airport for an opinion? My cousin Nancy! Technically, my cousin’s wife, since I’m not actually related to her, but . . . wow! That was a surprise. I haven’t even seen her in person in years, and there she was, on national television. If Mom hadn’t caught the name, I would have had no idea.

And then at lunch, Mom said she and Chappy had HGTV on this morning while folding towels, and the house whoever-it-was was working on had two dogs . . . a Lab and a Boykin Spaniel. Not exactly a breed you see every day (unless you read my blog every day, but that’s different any way). And that, of course, was a relative of Chappy’s (somehow).

Boy, oh boy, two “family” kind of mentions on tv in one day.

I heard back from Meg at Schoolhouse Press and they’re going to exchange my copy of the Three-Cornered Shawl book, which is a relief. I’m sure you’re all as excited as I am to hear that. (grin) I also got to work on my Union Square Market Pullover last night for the first time in a while. (It’s not the sweater’s fault, but I’m starting to feel that I’ll never get it done . . . but I DO keep hiving off to do other things, so, if anything, the sweater should be the one feeling frustrated.) There wasn’t anything worth watching on TV at 8:00, so we put in an episode of Due South (anybody else remember that one?) and chuckled along with Fraser and Ray while I knitted. Nice!

The night before I’d finished my third Christmas Tree hat, in white, which I can’t show you. The pattern’s just about ready to submit to Knitty, but I need to get some good photos to go along with it. Mom tried snapping some for me yesterday, but none of them are what I want them to be. Either too much background, or not enough, or the angle was bad, or the model (ahem) was blinking at the wrong nanosecond . . . and anyway, she doesn’t know what kind of images I have in my head. (Which, considering how often we seem to read each other’s thoughts is really kind of strange. Maybe I should give her some knitting magazines to study . . . you know, for how NOT to pose a knitting model!) But anyway, we need to try again.

I’m still waiting for my SP6 assignment. I got an e-mail from my “group” leader on Sunday, saying I’d get my assignment the next day, but . . . still not yet. I’ll give it another day before I start to worry (grin).

Ooh, and I just got my 1000th Comment (just now, as I was typing), from Snow, a person who’s not only a fabulous knitter (I’ve seen photos), but who can make even an awful divorce sound funnily entertaining. Now, I mentioned a couple days ago that I was approaching this exciting moment . . . Really, think about it, one thousand people have thought enough of my blog to take the time to let me know. That’s pretty amazing, don’t you think? I mean, I’ve only been blogging since January . . . But, I’m digressing . . . I mentioned it and said that I wondered who the 1000th person would be, but what I didn’t say was that I was planning on offering a prize to whoever it turned out to be. But I was, and I am! Three skeins of Rowan’s KidSilk Haze (aka Crack) in a really lovely color whose name I can’t remember (grin) It’s a beautiful plummy color and is, in fact, the same yarn as I made my Birch out of last summer. Congratulations, Snow!

And please, don’t forget the folks that need your help–don’t forget to Give a Little!

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Family Day // 5 Comments »

Well, finally, my “Three-Cornered and Long Shawls” book came today–the Icelandic version with illustrations, and the black-and-white translation. I’m glad it’s finally here–I’ve been looking forward to it for months, and was starting to worry that it was never going to arrive. (Two and a half weeks from Wisconsin to New Jersey still seems kind of excessive, but it’s here.)

It’s a pattern book, of course, and only 78 pages long, so it’s not really impressive to look at, but what matters is on the inside. Twenty-eight patterns, and some of these shawls are absolutely lovely. Including, especially, the Hyrna Herborgar that seems beloved of the blogging world these days. (Susan, for example, is making one. And Risa has one in her photo album of FOs. I’ve seen one somewhere else recently, too, but can’t remember where.) It’s a safe bet that that’s probably going to be my first project from the book.

  What I’m not happy about is the condition in which it arrived. It’s a paperback book with a spiral binding (excellent for any pattern book, but of course, I’ll be using the English translation which is all of 16 pages held together by a couple staples). It was shipped in a pretty flimsy envelope–one of those ones that’s a little thicker than plain paper and has shredded paper fiber between two layers? Not nearly as cushioned as bubble-envelopes. The envelope wasn’t sealed shut–it was just stapled through at the end–right through the catalog enclosed in the envelope, though luckily not through the book. There were two staples when it arrived; I don’t know how many it left Wisconsin with. But of course, the staples were fairly widely separated and so basically, the envelope was open to dust and such on its travels, and so it’s kind of gritty. And, of course, there wasn’t much protection, and so my poor book got pretty battered. The bottom corner is crumpled, and the entire book has a crease through across the middle, as if somebody stepped on it and ground their heel (shod, no doubt in wood) into it. Or piled several heavy packages on top and lifted the entire pile, bending the envelope at the bottom. At only 78 pages, the poor book didn’t stand a chance.

The reason this is so frustrating is that this wasn’t a cheap book. It’s a newly republished print of a relatively rare book, plus a separate, English translation, that together cost $45 (before the shipping). For that kind of money, is it too much to ask that it arrive in good condition? From the patterns I’d seen, I thought it was worth the cost, but . . . I take good care of my books and almost my entire library is in excellent shape–no tears, no wrinkles, very few cracked bindings. This book already looks old. I’m unhappy with the shape the book is in. I like the book, but am upset about its condition. I’ll send the folks at Schoolhouse an e-mail, but really don’t know what to expect. Frankly, though, the poor shape of the book, and the slightly gritty feel to the pages from the open envelope has dampened my enthusiasm. I’m not used to having to wash my hands after flipping through a brand-new book, and I’m not looking forward to shelving it alongside my other knitting books, right next to my yarn.

On the plus side of mail-order, though. . . . I showed you yesterday the copy of Paul McCartney’s newest CD which arrived yesterday. I’d completely forgotten that yesterday was actually its release date. Kudos to Amazon.com! I played it in the car on my way to work this morning and . . . well, there’s been a Lexus commercial lately with a song “Fine Line” playing, and I’ve been thinking to myself all week that it sounded like Paul, but I didn’t recognize the song, so figured I was wrong . . . Wrong! I was right! It was Macca. It’s the single from this album, and the first track on the CD. I put it in the stereo this morning and immediately got all excited. “That’s that song!” And then spent the rest of the drive to work trying to figure out what the commercial had been for . . . (I know now that it was Lexus. One, because I did a Google search to find out and, two, there’s a big Lexus tie-in with this album and Paul’s latest tour.)

But the other thing is that I work with two people (both named Jim, coincidentally) who are huge Beatles fans, and by extension, huge Paul McCartney fans. I mentioned in passing to Jimmy that I had my copy and he got all excited. “Would you like to look at the liner notes?” I asked him. Oh yes, he would, very much. So, I went back to the car and got the jewel case. While he flipped through, he commented that he was going to have to wait until Christmas for his copy because money’s tight (they have a two-year old and a pair of 5-month old twins). “Well, would you maybe like a copy?” The words weren’t even out of my mouth and he was saying yes. So . . . back to the car to eject the CD from my stereo, and a not long after, he had his copy playing on his computer’s CD drive. A little while later, the other Jim stopped by. “Jim! Guess what I’ve got? Debbie gave me a copy of Paul’s new album!” “Wow, that’s out already? I’d pay big money for that.” . . . You can see what’s coming, right? Yep. A little while later, a copy of a copy was in his hands. (No actual money changed hands.) And no, I don’t feel badly about this–both of these men are going to buy copies of their own at some point–this is just letting them listen a little sooner. So soon, in fact, that Jimmy was on his third listen by the end of the day, and I hadn’t even gotten through the entire album once. Not really fair, but . . . he’s got three little kids clamoring for attention when he gets home, I suppose I don’t begrudge him the relative-peace of office listening time. (Not that it’s exactly peaceful–he could have a revolving door at his office, there are so many people stopping by all day long!)

Ooh! And, I’m so excited. I stopped by Stephanie’s blog today, and . . . she’s going to be at Rhinebeck that Saturday afternoon. Yay! I told Mom that we are not leaving without my getting a chance to say hello, and I left Stephanie a comment saying how happy I was, and that it’s so rare that I get an excuse to carry both yarn and books in my purse these days.

I also bought a pattern today–Wendy’s “Not So Shrunken Cardigan.” I liked it yesterday when she posted it, and decided to get a copy. I’m not sure when I’ll make it, exactly, but I like it!

And . . . check out this story about a pod of dolphins swept out of their Mississippi oceanarium, and found in the Gulf by their trainers. A sweet story! Or, how about this article about the security risks of Google Earth’s satellite imagery? Am I the only one who thinks that the lawsuits over the Pledge of Allegiance are ridiculous?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Mail Order // 6 Comments »

  And here I was, afraid I wouldn’t have anything to blog about tonight. But look! A delivery from Amazon, just in the nick of time!

That’s Alterknits, a book of some very unique patterns that I’ve barely had a chance to flip through yet. A copy of Occasion by Harry Connick Jr and Wynton Marsalis–all instrumental. It’s playing right now, very mellow. Also Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, the newest album by Paul McCartney, which has been getting some really good reviews. He apparently leaves the comfort zone he’s been coasting in for a while, and I’m looking forward to hearing it. That’ll be tomorrow, in the car

And, what’s that other item? A book called Yarn Harlot?? Hmm . . . who would buy such a thing??

Well, only just about everybody!!

That one I’m starting tonight, and I’m very excited about it, too. Especially after Saturday’s disappointment. Thank you, Stephanie! I haven’t even started reading, and I’m enjoying bookbookbook2 already!

Now, about this whole pressure-to-blog thing . . . Now, I know some of us have, at some point or another, mentioned that they felt pressured to blog by the ravening horde of readers out here in the internet. But . . . I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve never felt this kind of pressure.

And, lest we forget, there are still victims of Hurricane Katrina out there who need our help. Just because things are getting better doesn’t mean it’s good!

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Blogging // 2 Comments »

Julie tagged me, so here goes:

ten years ago: I was a single woman living in New Jersey

five years ago: I was a single woman living in New Jersey with a dog named Katy

one year ago: I was a single woman living in New Jersey with a dog named Chappy

(Who says things don’t change??)

five snacks:
———————————–
Homemade cake, when available
Mint-flavored Oreos
Fruit–especially Macoun or Honeycrisp apples, when they’re in season
Hershey’s kisses (one or two a day)
Popcorn (the real stuff, not the microwave kind)

five songs I know all the words to:
————————————————
Almost anything by the Beatles
Almost anything by Harry Connick Jr
Almost anything by the Proclaimers
Almost anything by George & Ira Gershwin
Almost anything from any number of Broadway shows (Ragtime, 1776, Scarlet Pimpernel, Phantom of the Opera, How to Succeed in Business without really Trying, Guys & Dolls, Beauty & the Beast, The Producers…)

five things I would do with $100 million:
——————————————-
Buy my parents a house
Buy my sister a house
Give my niece & nephew money for college
Buy myself a small place on Martha’s Vineyard
And then, oh yeah, charity is good . . .

five places to run away to:
———————————–
Martha’s Vineyard
England
New Zealand (I’ve heard!)
Wales (beautiful)
New England

five things I would never wear:
———————————-
Fur (although I admit I have a pair of fur-lined mittens . . . I’m sorry)
Bikini
Poncho (well, if I were freezing, maybe, but it would have to be cold!)
Anything too skimpy
Mis-matched patterns (or, really, I’ll just mostly avoid patterns altogether)

five favorite tv shows:
—————————-
West Wing (in its heyday)
Gilmore Girls
Veronica Mars
Quantum Leap (gone, but not forgotten)
All the others are also gone . . .

five biggest joys:
—————————————-
Chappy
Spending the day with my Mom (aka my best friend)
Curling up with a new book by a favorite author (ahhh!)
Coming home at the end of the work day
Getting the chance to chat with my friends–rarer than it should be!

favorite toys:
—————————————–
My computer
My library (not really a toy but very diverting!)
Chappy (again, not strictly a toy, but great fun to play with)
My spinning wheel
My new camera(s)

five people I’ll pass this on to:
——————————————
I’m just going to leave this open–please take it if you want to play! (I’ve seen it around a bunch of blogs lately and am not sure who’s got it and who doesn’t …)

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:I’ve Been Tagged! // 4 Comments »

It should come as no surprise to any of you that I occasionally have an, um, storage problem with my library. (With 2,681 books and counting, it’s bound to be an issue from time to time.) I’ve got two small cases in my bedroom, two more in my bedroom closet. I’ve taken over the family linen closet. I took over the closet in the office (which used to be the guest room)–filled it with big shelves, each full of books. I’ve got a short bookcase in the office, and two tall ones. And, oh yes, four cardboard boxes (the half-ream size) in the closet, and five under-the-bed boxes under the table in the office. . . . I think that’s everything. That is, unless you count the milkcrate full of children’s picture books I kept around for my niece and nephew when they were little. Or the few writing aids on my desk in my bedroom. But really . . . for 2600+ books, that’s really not bad. (Really, it’s not!)

But . . . still, I’m gaining on the 2700-mark and things have been . . . sagging. Over-flowing the shelves. Piles on the floor. Piles on the chair. Piles on top of the bookcases. And, you have to realize, I’m a neat person. Almost obsessively organized. This has been frustrating me for months. The only saving grace has been that the piles have been in the office, at the other end of the house, so I at least didn’t have to look at them every day.

This weekend, though, things got better. We got two, brand-new, tall (six-shelf!) bookcases for the office. I’m almost giddy. They were dropped off by friends of my parents on Saturday. (They needed bookcases themselves and have a mini-van and were making a trip to Ikea, and were nice enough to pick up ours at the same time. Wasn’t that sweet of them?) Then, Sunday, I put together the bookcases. (Yes, all by myself. I’m not the handiest person, but I’m good at assembing pre-manufactured furniture–especially bookcases. I’ve had lots of practice.)

And then (this was the fun part) I moved the existing bookcases to make room for them. I moved a small bookcases of my mother’s out of the way . . . Hey, this was about my library! . . . and then slid the two, large, full bookcases down the wall to fill in the space it took up. I moved all the book-boxes out from under the table and then moved it flush with the cases, and then moved the new cases into the corner. Whoops. Need a couple more inches. Went back to the door and moved everything down two more inches. Ah . . . they just fit! Except . . . well . . . the door doesn’t quite open all the way anymore, and the electric outlet in the corner can’t be reached. Hmmm . . . Well, what if we turn the table so the short end is against the wall? Pulled the book boxes out again (why I put them back before we were sure, I don’t know). Pulled the table away from the wall and pivoted it . . . moved all four bookcases toward the center. Phew! That’s going to have to work, because I’m not moving those heavy, heavy cases again! (You should all be proud of me for being able to move them at all, really. And you’ll be reassured to know that, while a little stiff today, no serious aches, pains, or muscle spasms . . . knock on wood!)

After all of that, though, I was much too tired to start moving the books around, too. If you haven’t had the experience of moving large quantities of books, you may not realize how exhausting that can be. Try this: Next time you’re near an office-supply store, try lifting a box full of paper. Pretty heavy, huh? Now try moving it up and down, holding it only on the sides as you try to slide it onto a shelf. Trying to move books by the anything other than the covers can cause knit-stopping paper cuts! And then repeat about 50 times, all while reciting the Gettysburg Address in your head to mimic the effort required to do all this physical lifting while mentally alphabetizing, sorting, grading the books on the shelf. Any way, you’ll see why I was too tired to actually do the books yesterday, too.

And then, of course, after moving the books, I’ll have to bring in the computer and reassign every single one in the database to its new physical location . . . that’ll be fun, too! (Although, at least it won’t require lots of lifting.) And since I have the catalog sorted by topic, as long as, say, all the history books are on one shelf, it won’t be that hard to make the changes . . . still. Kind of tedious. Right now, of course, the room is still a mess. (You can’t see the pile of stuff on the floor behind the table.) But, I don’t care. This was the one, big step towards being organized again and I’m so excited!

Do you know, it just occurred to me the other day–school has started, and that means it’s the “anniversary” of meeting my dearest and oldest friend, Dawn. I don’t know the exact date, but it was the first day of school for third grade for me, second grade for her–so I was 8, she was 7. That’s thirty years ago, people. I really can’t believe it’s that long. We didn’t get to be best friends until junior high school–about five years later. (1981, the summer after John Lennon was killed, when our Beatles obsession sprang out of thin air and took over our music preferences through high school.) We haven’t lived in the same state since college, except for the occasional visit home to her parents, who still live around the corner from me, but she’s still my oldest friend. This is the friend I drove back to the airport last month. I assume she made it home safely because I didn’t hear of any crashes, but I haven’t heard from her since she left. Sadly, that’s not unusual–once she’s in California, she may as well be on another planet for the number of times she calls or writes–but the instant we’re in each others’ company again, it doesn’t matter. We could have been apart for a week, instead of a year, for all the difference it makes. Instant, best-friend contact. Our 30th anniversary (sniffle).

And then, my other best friend . . . a johnny-come-lately compared to Dawn . . . Cindy and I have only been friends for about 15 years this autumn. Practically a flash in the pan. We actually knew each other in high school–sort of. Her “group” and my “group” overlapped just enough that we knew of each other, though we never really sat down and had a conversation. Then one day, a year or two after college (she graduated with Dawn, not me), we were suddenly working in the same place. For about a week, we’d sort of look at each other in the hallway, “Do I know you?” until we finally actually said something and realized that we did. And we’ve been friends ever since. (And, she of course, knows Dawn as well–as you can see from this 2000 photo. It’s a silly picture, but fun! And you can see why I always feel so short….) Cindy actually still lives in the same state as I do, and is Mom to Chappy’s best friend, Horatio (and big-sister Princess, the greyhound). She’s been in Sweden for the last week on vacation, having just closed her store in Boonton last month, and I can’t wait to hear how her sock-knitting went when she was 3000 miles away from her teacher (me). I’m trying to convince her to come along to Rhinebeck next month, too . . . if you’re going, drop her a comment encouraging her to come along, would you?

Now, I don’t have anything of a fibery nature to show you, although I have been knitting, I promise you. I even brought knitting to the dentist’s office the other day, and they were very impressed when I told them I’d spun the yarn myself. I might even bring my spindle next time, to show off . . . I