Whew! Just in the nick of time for the Trek-Along, I finished my current socks, a pair of anklets in Sockotta. I picked this colorway (#11) to go with the sneakers I bought last month.

This is the first time I’ve used Sockotta, which is 45% cotton/40% wool/15% nylon. Cotton blends are not bad at all, I had no trouble knitting with it, and they’re a great weight to wear for the summer. (Because the sneakers really must be work with socks–I tried without, and it was an unfortunate thing.) I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough for another pair of anklets if I want, too.

But my favorite part? I got the stripes just right. Perfect, as near as makes no difference. So much so that I was able to use the color changes to judge when to start the heel, and how long to knit the ribbing. I mean, I compared actual measurements, too, but seriously . . . look how close these are! That alone makes me love them.

Now, I do have to weave in the ends, but that’s a mere bagatelle. The important thing is that this pair of socks is done in time for the official kick-off of the Trek-along tomorrow. I pulled out my skein and my needles, sorted out the yarn vomit that came out of the middle of the skein when I searched for the center, and now it’s ready to go.

How much did I want to get these socks done today? Well, first, I didn’t touch any of my other knitting projects today–not the Celtic Dreams, not the diva-ish Peacock Stole, not the Green Gables which has been waiting so patiently lately. Nope. I didn’t touch any of them. I concentrated on my socks.

How hard did I concentrate? I even knitted while I was reading–something which I never do. Yes, I know, even with my prodigious reading lists each month, I don’t read while I knit. (While brushing my teeth, while cooking, while eating, sure–but not while knitting.) But today, I did. Not very quickly perhaps–mostly because fighting to keep the book propped open in my lap was a struggle. I had to reposition it every time I switched from the page on the left to the page on the right, and every time I turned the page. Ugh. That part was a pain. (Hello, welcome to the main reason I don’t read and knit at the same time–I read too quickly and have to pause to turn/adjust pages far too often.)

Anyway, I’m proud of myself for getting these done. I only started them on Saturday, too–that was remarkably fast for me!

I’m enjoying the guesses for “L”–keep them coming! But only one guess per person.

Oh, and the Creative Zen Micro Photo MP3 player I’ve been complaining about? I actually rebooted it the other day . . . once I found the instructions for it on the labyrinthine help-pages at the Creative Zen site. (You’d think they’d put that kind of thing into the manual, huh?) Anyway, since the actual reboot, it’s behaving itself, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

And–Marley is getting a little brother tomorrow . . . go and wish Shelley luck with the new puppy! (Oh boy, a brand-new little puppy . . . I’m melting at the very thought . . . In chorus now . . . Awwwww! Puppypuppypuppypuppy….)

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Identical Twins // 8 Comments »

The letter “L” is coming up this weekend for the ABC-along, and . . . even though it’s short notice . . . I thought I’d have a quick little contest.

What do you think my “L” is going to be?

I already know what it is, so it’s not like I’m going to be looking for ideas or am going to waffle on this. There’s a clear “L” in mind, and I’m wondering who can guess what it will be.

You can leave your guess in the comments or–if you don’t want other people to see your guess and decide to adopt it themselves–e-mail your guess to chappysmumATaolDOTcom.

If more than one person guesses correctly, I’ll randomly select one person for a prize. I’m not going to say exactly what the prize will be, but it’s something that, worked correctly, could keep your feet softly warm…. (Hey, I am trying to clear out my stash, you know!)

The contest will end on Saturday, say, at midnight (Eastern Standard Time).

• Tags: ABC-Along, General • Permalink:A Quick L Contest // 14 Comments »

  Look what came for me today!

  My Knitter’s Tea Swap package, filled with all sorts of goodies.

First, the yarn. On the left, two skeins of hand-dyed (just for me) superwash merino in lovely blues, greens, and other complimentary colors. Really lovely. (She’s obviously been reading my blog to know how much I’m loving this color scheme lately.) But, just in case I somehow didn’t like it, she sent a skein of Diakeito Diamusee yarn as backup. (Gotta love a Pal who’s thorough.) As it happens, I think all the yarn is lovely–but I like the hand-dyed the best.

Then, the cookies. A package of delicate Madelines. Ginger shortbread–I’ve had one of these already, and yum! Shortbread, which I already love, with just a hint of zing from the ginger. Chocolate-hazelnut wafer cookies (which actually were my first choice for sampling, but the chocolate was rather, um, soft from the heat in the delivery truck, so I stuck them in the refrigerator for a while). And a pile of chocolate-dipped chocolate biscotti. I’m looking forward to trying these with some coffee–and also sharing them with Mom, since chocolate biscotti is one of her very favorite things.

The tea? A box of six samplers from Adagio, who always have good tea.

And, to whom do I owe thanks for all this wonderfulness? Lu from Maglia. What a super Pal!

Oh, and this is a (blurry) photo of my assistant, who helped me unpack the box. Let’s hear it for my furry little helper, huh?

This swap was such a nice idea–so, thanks Suzie. Great idea, and a wonderful job hosting!

The question now . . . How well would these new teas take to ice? Memorial Day is the unofficial start to Summer, and it appears to have taken itself very seriously this year. The last few days have been hot (well mid- to upper-80s) and muggy, and I really, really hate hot, humid weather. (This is why I don’t complain about normal winter weather–I reserve most of my weather complaining for summertime.) I can’t believe we’re at the end of May already. Excepting allergies, it’s one of my favorite months of the year.

Now, I need to write my introduction/stash confession for the Summer of Stash-along, and I also need to start getting my monthly book list typed in . . . the month’s almost over, you know, and that list can take a while! Hmm . . . I’ve got to get those anklets finished, also, so I’ll be ready to start the Trek-Along, too . . .

• Tags: General • Permalink:Tea for Me! // 4 Comments »

Amazing Lace Update Shocking news from the Chappysmom camp this morning, when the Peacock Stole expressed her intention of packing up her extra skeins of yarn and moving out, thereby quitting the Amazing Lace team.

She stated her reasons as “Neglect, pure and simple. I’ve been in that knitting bag longer than anybody, and when is the last time she picked me up? Weeks! It’s been weeks. She just keeps harping on that stupid cabled sweater, acting like I’m not even there!”

This just in!

An update on the situation.

The two have reconciled. Chappysmom apparently apologized for being so cable-centric of late, citing pressures of upcoming warm weather and wanting to get the heavy yarn out of the knitting bag so that Peacock could breathe. She promised to do better, for the good of the team, and for heaven’s sake, to stop being so sensitive!

So, the team stands as it was originally.

Knitter: Deb, Chappy’s Mom

Project: Peacock Feathers Stole, who apparently has an inferiority complex as a rectangular version of the famous, triangular shawl created by Fiddlesticks Knitting.

Yarn: Royal Blue Jaggerspun Zephyr

Needles: Inox Gray in U.S. size 4 (3.5 mm)

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Racing Lace // 7 Comments »

Today was the family birthday party for my niece (17) and nephew (13). Here’s a photo of them, just starting to open their presents, with their furry assistant standing by to help. (Disappointingly to their assistant, they were able to manage the wrapping and tissue paper without him. I think he was rather disappointed. None even fell to the floor for him to “help” pick up.)

It was a nice day, if long. Not only the seven of “us,” but also my brother-in-law’s brother and his new wife, and his cousin. (And just as we were leaving, his Aunt and other cousin pulled up–at 6:15 for a 2:00 party. Even allowing for the fact that they’d said they’d be late, they said they expected to arrive around 5:00. Tardiness bugs me.) But that’s beside the point. It was still a good day, even if it was warm. The temperature was in the 80s today, and there were 10 of us in a room with no fan or a/c, with the kitchen oven on . . . it wasn’t unbearable, but it was warm. I’m really glad I brought an elastic for my hair.

In the month and a half or so since I saw him, my nephew has gotten taller, his voice has gotten deeper, and good heavens, he’s got some curl in his hair! Where on earth did that come from?? He’s had a short hair for as long as I can remember, and even at Easter, didn’t have that much wave.

And these days, it is almost impossible to take a bad picture of my niece. She’s not shying away from cameras anymore, but smiling beautifully for them . . . I love that!

Chappy is exhausted–between the heat, the two hours in the car, the socializing, the late supper, he’s had a busy day. He sure enjoyed seeing everyone, though. Cousin Chris–an accomplished cook–brought a trifle for dessert, in addition to the cake my sister made and the donuts my nephew made. (That’s two men in the family that can cook, anyway.) The only pity was that there was so little that Chappy could eat, though I gave him a bite of ham and a bit of trifle. And, lord, that trifle was yummy! Angel food cake, custard, and tons of fruit–blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, banana, pineapple . . . really good.

Ooh, and I now officially have a reason to use that baby yarn I bought in March. I’ll need something I can get done by the end of October. How many skeins does a baby blanket take, anyway?

• Tags: Family • Permalink:Double Party // 9 Comments »

Believe it or not, this pile is four different birthday presents. I know, you’re thinking it looks kind of pathetic, huh? In fact they’re pretty good presents, just . . . you know . . . small.

Only two of them are actually for my niece and my nephew, whose party we’re going to tomorrow. One of them is or my brother-in-law, whose birthday was the 11th. And one is for my sister, whose birthday this year (June 7th) is inconveniently on a Wednesday. Her weekends for the foreseeable future are tied up, so on her actual birthday, my parents are going to go up for dinner, but I’ll be staying home. I figured the choices are to either bring the present up myself tomorrow, a week early, send it up with them, or wait until the next time I see her (probably Chappy’s birthday in July). All in all, I’d rather bring it early and get to watch her open it.

Anyway, today we ran errands–including a stop at a bookstore. (For the record, I bought six books.) I bumped into a woman browsing the knitting section looking for a book of shawls because a friend’s son had just died and she wanted to make her something, to do something. So sad! This afternoon, I boiled potatoes for potato salad, finished a book, started my second sock, and wrapped presents. All in all, a pretty relaxing Saturday.

I did finish the first Sockotta sock last night. I stayed up until midnight watching House, and figured I could get the sock done during the episode more easily than I’d be able to read. Cindy asked what I think of Sockotta? A perfectly nice yarn. Between this and the Cotton Fleece I’m using for my Green Gable, I have to admit that cotton-blend yarns aren’t horrible. I still maintain that the only 100% cotton yarn I like are ones like Calmer, which are manufactured with some stretch built into the yarn, but cotton blended with wool? It works. (For that matter, my first shawl was made in Rowan Wool/Cotton way back when.)

I did actually just get two skeins of denim-y blue Cascade Fixation today, which is 98% cotton, and 2% elastic. They had had a sample to try out at Modern Yarns when Risa and I were there a couple of months ago, and I was surprised at how “knittable” it was–that little bit of elastic makes a huge difference! This is something I ordered over a week ago (before signing up for the S.O.S. stash-along, which, in any case, doesn’t actually start until Monday), and mostly ordered because I was getting a few knitting needles from Webs and felt I needed to “fill out” the order. The problem? I asked for two 16″ Inox needles and one 16″ Addi Turbo–which was the needle I really needed for my Celtic Dreams sleeve. When the order came today, though . . . three Inox needles, no Addi. Sigh. (Their shipping department does seem to be a bit irregular, doesn’t it?) On the plus side, I called their customer service number–not actually expecting an answer, since this is a holiday weekend, but an actual person answered the phone, apologized, and said I could keep the Inox and they’d sent out the Addi ASAP. I must say, I’ve had some problems with them, but their customer service department does a good job.

Still, it’s kind of frustrating. The one error in the order was the one needle I really wanted, since I’m not enjoying working the sleeve on my C.D. I’ve been working on it for a week and the sleeve’s about 5″ long . . . it almost feels like it’s taking as long as the body did! (grin)

Chappy, I’m glad to tell you, seems just fine today. Quite himself, which is quite a relief. He thanks you for your concern. Mom and I were actually watching some baby-Chappy video tonight . . . oh, lord, it’s so easy to forget how absolutely adorable a baby puppy is. And he was one of the cutest. (Well, he was. If you don’t believe me, click here. I absolutely adore that picture.)

Hey, check out this portrait of Elvis, made out of post-it notes.

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Pre-Party // 5 Comments »

I’m finally almost done with my first Sockotta sock. See? I’ve turned the heel, and since it’s going to be an anklet, well, there’s not a whole lot more to go, is there? I’m going to try to get this finished tomorrow. Considering it’s “half” the sock I usually make (again, since it’s an anklet), you’d think one wouldn’t take me so long, huh? But I started this about two weeks ago . . . and still have the second sock to go!See? this is why I like the two-socks-on-Magic-Loop method so much. No second sock syndrome.

My Creative Zen Micro Photo is still in the doghouse. You remember? It failed me on vacation last week. Debbie mentioned that she’d had a similar problem with her Zen Nano, but when she changed the battery, the files all “reappeared.” And, in fact, when I charged the battery, it’s true, the data was still there. So, I figured everything was all right . . . right?

Well, not so much. Sure, the data is there, but . . . now, I know I’m new to this whole MP3 thing, and I know that all computers (and computer-driven things) freeze up and need to be rebooted now and again. But in the past week, I have had this player freeze not once, not twice, but at least seven times. (I’ve lost count.) Freeze so that I had to pull off my handmade little cover, peel back the protective skin I bought it, pry off the unit’s back, and then pop out the battery. Wait five seconds, then replace the battery, slide back the plastic cover, pull the silicon cover back into place, tug the yarn cover back into place, turn it on . . . and then cross my fingers and turn it on. So far the ratio here is that I’ve had to do this about three times in succession before it would actually fully load. This is NOT fun, and really not acceptible in a brand new piece of high-tech equipment. Wouldn’t you agree?

Which makes the next decision . . . what do I do now?  Assume that this is a faulty unit and return it for another one? Return it and buy something else altogether? And if so, what?? All my music files are WMV format, so I believe that excludes an iPod (and, really, I’ve got 64 albums copied onto my computer, almost 3,000 songs. I do not want to have to load those cds over again! Sigh.

Beyond that, Chappy’s not at his best today. Last night he was walking around extra carefully, and reluctant to jump up or down off of furniture. And then this morning, not quite himself. Apparently, when Mom vacuumed the living room–not only did he not “help” her, but he lay in the middle of the rug while she vacuumed around him. Literally. Not normal behavior for just about any dog, I think!

I was all set to take him to the vet this afternoon. A couple years ago, he pulled a muscle in his back and spent a snowy weekend sitting next to me on the couch with a heating pad on his back, while taking the cortisone meds the vet had prescribed. I didn’t want this to get that far . . . but when I got home at lunch, he came running to greet me, wagging his tail, even jumped up to lick my nose. And when I got home at 3:00 (got out an hour early for the long weekend, yay), he seemed like he was feeling fine. Not 100%, perhaps, but 80-90%. So . . . I cancelled the vet appointment. He’s been quiet tonight, but more like he’s being careful than like he’s still in discomfort. And, unlike a couple years ago, I don’t think this actually reached the “pain” stage–thank heaven. That time, we got up on a snowy Saturday morning, and he just stood in the middle of the kitchen and shook. There was no question he needed to go to the vet that time. In fact, my Dad–at the worst stage of a bad cold–actually drove us to the vet, during a huge snowstorm which was forcing the vet’s office to close at 11:00.

Anyhow, he seems mostly okay tonight, which is good. Not perfect, but good . . . even if I do miss his usual, cheerful, energetic self. I’m glad that this is a long weekend. I’ve got some errands to run tomorrow, and then Sunday is my niece and nephew’s birthday party–iIt’s always the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. And then on Monday, I’m hoping to stay home and relax. (Why yes, being secure at home IS my way of thanking all the Vets who’ve made it safe.)
Before I forget, check out this string of emails asking a seller a ton of stupid questions about a car he was selling on ebay.

Or, how about these very nifty “seamless” pictures?

These 360-degree pictures may be more your cup of tea.

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Friday // 6 Comments »

Well, I’m nothing if not consistent.

Here’s a look at the ring from this year’s trip to Martha’s Vineyard. (The green peridot in white gold, as seen yesterday.) Next to it, the citrine in yellow gold with tiny little diamond chips–the one from last year. Two different jewelry stores, but remarkably similar styles, no?

Sure, the citrine has a little curve to its edges, while the peridot has straight sides. The citrine’s facets are straight lines across the top, while the peridot is checkered. And those tiny diamond chips make the citrine a slightly “dressier” ring, but still . . . it’s obvious that my tastes haven’t changed much in the last year, huh?

So, let me ask you--what’s YOUR current favorite piece of jewelry? (Assuming you wear jewelry, of course.) Does your “favorite” change over time? Or has one piece been a favorite for years? My mother, for example, wears the same jewelry–diamond stud earrings, wedding/engagement ring, and a Martha’s Vineyard watch every single day. She varies some other pieces, but those three things you can count on. I, on the other hand, while wearing a ring and a pair of earrings every day, vary those pieces every day. But still, there are earrings I pick up more often than others, rings that get worn at least twice a week. So, consider it a meme. You’re tagged just by reading (sneaky, I know). Let me see your favorite (or favorites), or even just what jewelry you’re wearing today. (Hint: Pictures would be great! I love admiring jewelry.)

I was just saying to Risa today that my stash is marginally out of control. Usually it fits pretty nicely into those three bins at the top of my closet, but at the moment it’s sort of overflowing. Since February, I’ve gotten–just as an example–enough Cascade 220 for three sweaters, and enough Silky Wool for two. And that doesn’t count a plethora of sock yarn and lace yarn which have somehow added themselves to my collection.

And then, today, I heard about the Summer of Stash (SOS) Along. The idea is to go from Memorial Day to Labor Day (this weekend until the first weekend of September, for those of you who don’t know the US holiday schedule) without buying yarn. You’re allowed two exceptions, though (like, being in a sock-yarn club, or souvenir yarn for an upcoming vacation–whatever you want), and you’re encouraged to plan a post-Labor Day reward for yourself. Nor does it restrict the accoutrements of knitting like patterns or needles. All in all, It sounds like it’s just what I need, don’t you think?? I saw it over at Two Pointy Sticks, a new-to-me blog. It certainly sounds doable, and maybe I could reward myself with one of the many St*rmore kits I’ve been eyeing for so long . . .

In fact, that sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?? (grin)

---

Booking Through Thursday

1. What are the last five books that you finished reading?
   This is easy. In reverse order: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, The Outermost House by Henry Beston, Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler, Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami.
2. How long did it take you to read them?
   Well, let’s see. I read all five since the 17th and finished Ella last night, so . . . a week?
3. Did you enjoy reading these books? Why or why not?
   Well, the Wind-Up Bird Chronicles wasn’t really my cup of tea, though impressive. Ella Minnow Pea and Summers are both books I’ve read multiple times, so, well, yeah. Learning to Bow was really interesting, about an American teacher adapting to modern Japan, and the Outermost House was strongly, descriptively evocative of Cape Cod Massachusetts–which is why I brought it along on vacation last week.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Consistency // 13 Comments »

I’ve mentioned before that my favorite souvenir from vacation is jewelry. It doesn’t have to be expensive, mind you, but it makes a great remembrance. I rarely ever buy jewelry at home . . . craft shows are abut the only time . . . so almost everything in my jewelry box has come either as gifts or from somewhere special.

Anyway, last week, I bought a ring, but it needed to be sized, and wouldn’t be done while I was still on the island, so they had to mail it. So, imagine how happy I was when this little box arrived today.

As I was opening it, I admit I was a little . . . not worried . . . but there was a little rush of nerves. What if I didn’t like it anymore? What if I’d changed my mind? What if it didn’t fit?

Well, that was silly. I love it as much as ever. A green peridot in white gold, thereby matching two of my favorite accessory colors–silver for jewelry and that pretty, light, olive kind of green that my whole family seems to like.

Want a closer look?

This is very handy (if you’ll excuse the pun), too, because I didn’t have much else to talk about tonight.

Not that I have nothing to talk about, though. The knitting, well, there’s nothing new to show you–progress is being made, but everything looks pretty much the same as in the last progress photo, so that’s kind of pointless. I wouldn’t want you to be bored, so moving on….

My Knitters Tea Swap Pal, Jennifer from Piddleloop, got her package today. I got an email from her filled with thank yous and exclamation marks, so I think she’s happy! (grin) I sent her a box of Tetley’s British Blend tea which is, in fact, my favorite tea. (Easily obtainable at the grocery store, convenient bags, and a good, strong flavor.) It said in the rules that you should send your favorite–so I did. But, hey, a box of supermarket tea? That’s not good enough for my Pal! So I also sent her a bag of “Vineyard Blend” tea which I picked up last week on a day when that tea store was actually open. (I was so excited.) It’s a black tea blended with vanilla and berries, and the bowl (open like potpourri) in the shop smelled yummy. To aid the brewing thing, I sent her an IngenuiTEA pot from Adagio–because heaven knows it makes a nice, easy pot of loose-leaf tea. For yarn, I sent her that skein of Trekking from the other day. Much as I liked it, when I reread her list of preferred colors, I realized that I’d obviously been meant to send it along to her. They were perfect, and, well, it’s Trekking. How can you go wrong?

Incidentally, if you like tea, check out the list in the Tea Swap blog sidebar. They’ve got a great list of tea sources I’ve never heard of before. Mighty Leaf. Choice Organic. Peets. Republic of Tea. Teaism. Stash. And more…..

One last thing that Chappy wanted me to mention. Abner and Basil (with Rebekah’s help) are hosting a charity drive for soft knitted blankets, toys, and things for her local humane society. Isn’t that a wonderful cause?? I offered up two skeins of Koigu KPPPM to add to the generously looong list of prizes she’s already got. In fact, I need to get those in the mail….

• Tags: General, Martha's Vineyard, Sky • Permalink:Ring Ring! // 11 Comments »

Check out this video over at CNN.

Naturally, it’s a Boykin!

Chappy’s all chuffed for his breed.

---

How about some more, miscellaneous kinds of links?

How about these nifty 360-degree views?

Have you heard about the Shangri-La diet?

Or, these fabulous paper sculptures that put "regular" Origami to shame.

Looking to change any habits? Here are some tips.

With the start of hurricane season only a week away, here’s how New Orleans is doing almost nine months after Katrina.

(As usual, most of these links–all but the first, which Cindy sent me–come from MSNBC’s "Clicked" page.)

• Tags: General • Permalink:Naturally, It’s a Boykin Spaniel // 1 Comment »

Look! It’s one of those sock needle tubey metal thingys–yes, that’s its real name–made famous by Stephanie back in April. (Apparently her blog entry started quite a run on these things.)

It looks rather flute-like in that photo, but there are pictures at the Harlot’s of the gizmo in action. I’m almost ready to switch my sock from one Magic Loop cable to DPNs just so I can try it out! (If you’re interested, I ordered mine from Woolworks Ltd in Putnam, Connecticut. I also notice that these are now on the front page of the website. They really must have been popular.)

On the knitting front, I’ve just started the first sleeve of my Celtic Dreams. I know it doesn’t look like much, but that’s 2″ of sleeve, and I’ve just joined the round. I already told you what I thought of the US size 3, 16-inch needles when I did the neckband . . . to sum up, ow! . . . I think the sleeves may take me a while. Although, at least they’ll be getting smaller as they grow in length . . . and, of course, at some point I can switch to DPNs, which might be easier (I hope). Still, it’s not like I’m going to give up, oh no. I’m loving this cabled beauty far too much.

My Green Gables, on the other hand, isn’t very far along at all, unfortunately. I’m a few rows into the straight, stockinette portion, and about 8 rows away from breaking out the sleeves. It’s actually bigger than it looks here . . . this is crinkled onto a smallish circular needle, so you can only see the merest “slice” of the front, here. But still. I’d like it to be further along, but see? Now the cable-lust for Celtic Dreams has kicked in again, so it’s back to second-string for sweater knitting.

The project, of course, that’s really suffering neglect is my Peacock Stole. The poor thing hasn’t even managed to summon up the enthusiasm for the Team Profile for The Amazing Lace. Isn’t that sad? I keep explaining how I want to get the heavy cables out of the way before real, hot Summer kicks in, but the poor thing just sighs and snuggles back down into its corner of the knitting bag, sulking a bit. It’s really a bit pathetic. I’m ready to move onto the next pattern chart, too, although I think that clear demarcation is actually helping me leave it unknit–like stopping at the end of a chapter . . . it’s a little easier to let the book sit a while longer when you’re not in the middle of something.

One last thing. I don’t think I am wrong in assuming that having knit, chatted, exchanged emails and blog-comments, and shared opinions with someone qualifies as some form of acquaintance. Nothing as strong as friendship, by any means, but enough that a brief hello when face-to-face is polite. Who knew that my remembering that I’d had a long conversation about high school teachers and sock-knitting at a S&B gathering made me “creepy?” I was taught that that sort of thing came under the heading of “friendliness,” “people skills,” and “good manners.” Huh. Live and learn. I suppose it’s just something to chalk up to the fact that this medium of communication can be misleading as to people’s intentions.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Knitting Things // 17 Comments »

It just seemed like the right “K”–considering how we were just there a few days ago. Katama. One of my favorite spots on Martha’s Vineyard, and the origin for my Katy’s name. So, first, here, and to play fair–a road sign pointing not only toward Katama, but also to Chappaquiddick (can’t play favorites with the “kids,” right?)

Of course, once you’ve started driving toward Katama, eventually you’ll come to Katama Road.

Not to mention passing by Katama Airfield. From here, you can take bi-plane tours of the island–something I’ve never done, but which sounds fun, don’t you think? Although, considering how Chappy gets carsick, I somehow don’t think he’d get along with a biplane….

But then you’ll come to the end of the road, and a line of sand dunes . . .

And, there you are, at South Beach. By far my favorite beach on the island . . . or, really, anywhere. Pure sand, with few rocks or shells.

It’s also got the roughest surf on the island–since South Beach, of course, there’s basically nothing south of South Beach but the Atlantic Ocean. I mean, literally, for thousands of miles. The whole, eastern coast of the U.S. slopes away toward the the southwest from New England, and so there is nothing shielding the south shore of the island from the waves and wind of the ocean except the occasional dolphin or whale.

Not that that makes it an unappealing place to be. It’s a great place to visit in the summer. I took this picture in June, 2001.

It was also the Katama ferry that Mom, Chappy and I sailed over on last week. (Chappy, of course, has his own ferry, though it’s called the OnTime III.)

And, of course, you can find the name Katama all over. (Note how it’s right next to the Chappy rock. Which is just as well, as Chappy’s a little jealous of his big sister.)

The original Katama, of course, was an Indian Princess.

Although, of course, my favorite Katama was my Katy. But you knew that already, didn’t you?

(Did you notice how I restrained myself, too, from using Knitting? I figured it was bound to come up once or twice, and I wanted to be different!)

• Tags: ABC-Along, Family, Katy, Jilly, Muppy, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:K is for Katama // 5 Comments »

What a happy-knitter kind of day today.

First, there was meeting Wendy, shown here holding MY sock (it’s honored).

I got to Montclair about 10:00–half an hour earlier than I’d planned, and sat on a nice little bench waiting for Risa and the twins. While sitting there, knitting my sock, I saw a limo stop at the wrong end of the one-way street and back down the road until it got to the front of Modern Yarn. It stopped, the driver got out and opened the door, and . . . there was Wendy. Quite an entrance, huh?

Anyway, she went inside the shop, while I waited for Risa–who ended up pulling up in front of me and inviting me for a lift. So I hopped in and rode to the parking garage with her. (Yes, I know, I was excited, too.) Then we went into the shop, and . . . what a nice time we had. It was still early, so we were the only ones there, and so had a chance to chat about yarn colors, spinning, knitting–all sorts of things. It was so nice to meet Wendy in person–and not just for a “I love your blog; thanks for signing my book” kind of meeting, but a real conversation.

Did I mention the yarn colors? Because, of course, I bought yarn. Two skeins of Diakeito Diamusee Fine in color 112. (This, of course, is meant to be socks.) I had no choice about this yarn–it literally jumped from the shelf into my arms (No, I mean, it really did–I caught it as it fell. Wendy should be able to vouch for this.) A skein of Trekking in color 102 because–nice as the yarn that arrived this week was (and it was color 100, not 105), it’s a little too “rainbow” for me. These soft grays are really lovely, though. And then five skeins of Noro Iroho–three in green (color 100), two in teal (color 99), because I loved both, but couldn’t decide which I liked better. Wendy liked the green best, and I really loved it, but it’s almost identical to the green I made my Flower Basket Shawl last July, so . . . this way there are options.

Then, we went across to Stix-n-Stitches, which was having a sale. I ended up buying 8 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color 23 Plum–a really lovely, deep purple. And then two skeins of Artyarns Unltramerino 4 in color 114. Not only are the purple-golds lovely, but boy, it looked just fabulous with the Silky Wool. They were meant to be together, don’t you think?

Afterward, the twins were starting to drag, verging on tired-hungry-cranky, and so we went to a cute little place called Soda Pops, with a fun 50’s decor and a very kid-friendly menu. (PB&J sandwiches, chicken fingers, ice cream, BLTs and so on). That helped, although they were still tired by the time we got back to the parking garage.

A good day, though. Chappy got a walk after I got home, and I actually took a nap–rare for me. And, look! More good mail. A trio of Japanese knitting books, two of patterns, and one stitch dictionary of 250 very lovely knit-stitches. I wish I could remember whose blog I saw this on–it’s her fault I ordered it, but also to her credit. There are some really great stitches in there–some, I’ve seen before, but some are new (to me) and lovely.

Actually, that’s one of the things Wendy and I were talking about. (And now I’m starting to feel like I’m name-dropping.) We were talking about Fiona Ellis’ book, Inspired Cable Knits, and how I loved some of those designs, while she loves the traditional styles more. I have a slew of traditional-knit books in my library, but I also enjoy seeing new twists on the classics, and this stitch dictionary does that–there are some interesting combinations in there that I don’t remember seeing anywhere else . . . now all I have to do is figure out how to read Japanese. (grin)

The only negative to the day? One of the workers at Modern Knits, a college student who I met a couple of years ago at a local S&B meeting, lives in my home town, graduated from my high school, and with whom I’ve exchanged blog comments (but, come to think of it, has not answered any of them in months) . . . she was there today. She even took a picture of Risa, Wendy, and me–with our socks–when Wendy asked. But when I went over to her to say hello before we left? Barely turned her head toward me, muttered hello, and then turned her back and walked away. I cannot remember the last time I was snubbed so rudely for no reason whatsoever. Risa’s jaw hit the floor–which helped reassure me that I was not imagining things. Well–all I can say is that I hope she’s more helpful to the other customers. I mean, I had just made a very nice purchase, and while I was on my way out the door, still, she was at work. What kind of behavior is that? If the owners of the store weren’t so darn nice (which they really are), that’s definitely the kind of behavior that would make me say, “I’m never shopping there again.” Is she nicer to the other customers? If I hadn’t paid yet, would she have at least tried to be civil? Heaven forbid I should ever go and have her be the only salesperson in the shop. I just couldn’t believe it. She deserves to be Lady Catherine. (Edited to add: Apparently she wasn’t officially working, just there as a customer who stepped up to help out a few times–which I did, in fact, see her do. Maybe she just doesn’t like me, personally?? Because, really, I was flabbergasted, and it’s not like there were other customers to be helped right that moment.)
On the other hand, I’ve got to say, the staff at Stix-n-Stitches were just marvelous with Risa’s twins today. In the middle of a crowded shop full of sales-shoppers, they found some little puppets for Kat to play with, and let Alex help with putting things in bags. Especially considering how busy they were, and how very close to dangerously-cranky the twins were at that point . . . they were wonderful! Paige at M.Y. was great with them, too, and let them move her chairs all around, and provided crayons and coloring books, but the twins weren’t so tired at that point. The wrong move at SnS could have led to tired-tantrums. I’m always so impressed by people who can handle kids just right! But really, I’m just as glad to have an adult dog to come home to….

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Knitterly Saturday // 11 Comments »

So, home again.

First load of laundry is washed, dried, and put away.

Second load of laundry is in the drier.

Chappy has also been washed and dried–he needed a bath so badly! That slightly fishy smell from romping in the lagoon yesterday….

Food for Chappy is cooked and in the refrigerator so that he can get back to his regular diet ASAP.

My car is nicely tucked into the garage for the weekend since Dad is in Dallas until Monday. This was particularly helpful since it meant we could unload the car inside instead of out in the rain.

Everything is unpacked and put away, and the new things (a couple books, a Black Dog shirt, some jewelry) been found homes. Chappy’s glad to have his doggie-door again, and his first stop when he got to the house was to check his water dish.

I sorted quickly through my mail–have my bank statement to deal with, and my Whole Dog Journal to read, a couple odds and ends, but the best part? Look, my Trekking yarn is here! (Along with two skeins of Koigu because, well . . . do I need a reason?)

Did I mention the rain? Lots and lots of rain, as in for a while we were driving at about 35 mph on the highway because it was pouring so hard and visibility was so bad. And it took closer to six hours than five to get home.

And that was after a slightly late start–we got up and had the car loaded and on its way by 7:15. We went into Edgartown to pick up breakfast, then back to Vineyard Haven to catch the ferry. Our tickets were for the 8:30, and we arrived in good time, at 8:00 . . . but we ended up on the service boat, Govenor, which left at 8:45 instead. It seems that the Steamship Authority only had one slip working at the dock and so could only handle one boat at a time, and were running late. But, really, what’s 15 minutes, right? We got to Woods Hole at 9:30, fed the car, and were on our way at 9:45.

But then, yeah, rain. It was raining before we even got to Rt. 25. And poured for most of the rest of Massachusetts. And through most of Rhode Island. It paused for a while in Connecticut (the longest portion of the drive), and we were able to stop in Mystic for the bathroom and to grab a quick lunch, but it was raining again when we left. And while the sun came out for a little bit of a tease, it rained again for the western end of Connecticut, and for New York and the Tappan Zee Bridge, and it poured for the last few miles of the drive in New Jersey before we got home. I ended up doing all the driving, which was fine since Mom was tired, and we listened to three chapters of Harry Potter.

Speaking of our trip book, we still have about half the book to go, but that’s okay. All our favorite tv shows have ended for the season, and reading will give us something to do in the evenings (grin).

And now, I’m tired. I cooked dinner for Mom and me. Okay, it was just pasta, but still. I cooked! I’d almost forgotten how nice it is to eat off of porcelain with real silverware. We clocked almost 800 miles since Sunday–which for me is huge–and my car passed 30,000. This is a number at which my Dad and sister will scoff since my car is 4.5 years old, but hey, a milestone is a milestone, right? But, anyway, I’m tired. I want to go take my shower and then make the first cup of tea I’ll have had since Saturday.

Tomorrow morning, I’m going to Montclair to Wendy’s book-signing. Exciting, huh? (Come on, admit it!) At least it will be a relatively short drive…. I’m looking forward to it, tired or not!

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Coming Home // 7 Comments »

  You know how it is on a vacation–you get to the last day, and suddenly realize, “Oh no. I’ve got so many things still to do!”

So, one of the first things on today’s list–after breakfast–was to get Chappy to the beach so he could romp. We parked at the Inn and then walked to the beach–the Sengekontacket Pond side of the road, not the Nantucket Sound side. And there, Chappy splashed and ran and made sand castles . . . well, okay, no sand castles.

This picture I’m posting, I love–a nice action shot, drops of water splashing, the happy look on his face . . . you’ll just have to pretend the leash isn’t draped across his head. (Hey, the water moves pretty quickly there, and he’s never really swum–just waded–and I’m not taking any chances. When we’re near deep, moving, water, he wears his flexi leash.

  Anyway, this afternoon, we sat by Ocean Park again while Mom and Chappy napped, then headed to Edgartown. Here’s a picture of Chappy looking at his namesake, Chappaquiddick from the top of the “wharf”–one of the best views and a place I absolutely love.

Today’s weather was lovely again. A little hazier than yesterday, but blue and sunny, and I now have a tan-line on my wrist from my watch. Tomorrow, it’s supposed to rain . . . so I’m not sure how that will affect our drive home. Our ferry leaves here at 8:30 in the morning, it’s a 45-minute ride to the mainland, and then five hours or so on the road, depending on traffic and weather and how long a stop we take for lunch. We’re all looking forward to getting home, though. I think we all miss the house! (Not to mention Dad.)

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Vacation: The Manic, Last Day // 7 Comments »

  We actually had this weird stuff today–the sky was this bizarre shade of blue, instead of the normal gray color, and it was all bright and squinty . . . very strange. But there are these handy things called “sunglasses” which help cut down on the glare. . . . Wow, people come up with the most creative things!

Okay, seriously. Today’s weather was beautiful. Mid-sixties and sunny all the livelong day. We went up to see the cliffs at Aquinnah (formerly known as Gay Head). This was the first time Chappy’s actually been there. We did drive up on his first trip to the island, but it was raining so hard when we arrived, we never got out of the car. So, this was exciting.

  My sock thought so, too, though it was rather windy. It was just as glad to be attached to the skein of yarn in my purse. I think, in fact, that the view of the cliffs is the windiest part of the island. I don’t think I’ve EVER been there and had the air be still. The colors weren’t quite so vibrant as usual, and the water not quite so clear since all the recent rain had churned up so much clay in the water, but still. It’s always a good view.

Anyway–sunshine. Lots of it. We drove Up-Island, where I haven’t been in years. (Though, unfortunately, Allen’s Sheep and Wool Farm was closed.) We had lunch up at the cliffs–where a tourist actually recognized Chappy as a Boykin Spaniel.

On the drive back, we stopped at the Field Gallery to admire these fabulous sculptures. They’re huge and playful, and it’s one of those places we’ve always meant to visit, but never gotten around to actually stopping the car. Mom and I took a whirlwind tour of about 10 minutes, with Chappy still in the car, and us snapping pictures like mad.

We got an afternoon snack from the Black Dog Bakery and then went to Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs and just sat in the parked car with the windows open, enjoying the breeze, and reading or chatting. Chappy napped. He’s particularly tired because (1) he has had practically nothing to eat all day, since he snubbed his breakfast yet again. (Though I gave him a Black Dog biscuit while Mom and I were eating our breakfast this morning–they’re really pretty huge and so reasonably filling, if not exactly nutritionally complete. But then, I had a cinnamon croissant, so I don’t know that my breakfast exactly met all my FDA standards, either.) Also, (2) Chappy met not one but two playful puppies today, with whom he was happy to romp, but who wore him out. And finally, (3), he missed out on a lot of his regular naptime . . . I think Chappy’s going to be almost glad when I go back to work after this vacation, and he can get some uninterrupted nap time again! (Well, no, maybe not.)

And, again, here are some bonus pictures!

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Vacation Avec Sunshine // 7 Comments »

It started wet this morning. We drove into Vineyard Haven to get our breakfast from the Black Dog bakery (wonderful donuts), and in the 10 minutes or so we were in there, the puddles outside went from, you know, puddles, to ankle-deep rivulets lining the street. Just running back across the street to the car, my feet got soaked. (Thank heaven for those handknit, wool socks, huh?)

We moved the car over to Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs and ate our breakfast to the sound of raindrops on the roof. I took this picture while we were sitting there. One thing about this ever-changing weather–it’s making for some really dramatic skies.

Little by little, though, the day got drier. We browsed and walked around Vineyard Haven, got some lunch (we split a lobster roll), and came back to the room to relax for a while. Then, back to Edgartown around 4:00 . . . most of our favorite restaurants for dinner are there, so we usually end up there at the end of each afternoon.

And that, of course, is when the sun came out. Clearly, we should be spending more of our time in Edgartown, because so far, we have had the best weather there, by far, than anywhere else on the island.

Tomorrow’s weather? It’s actually looking pretty good. Not perfect, but they’ve used this odd word that I had to look up in the dictionary–”sunshine.” Anyone else (in New England, anyway) ever hear of this stuff?

I haven’t been getting much knitting done–I’ve barely started my Green Gables, haven’t touched the Peacock Stole, but I have worked away at the little socklette in my purse. I know, I’ve said I don’t really like self-patterning yarns, but I bought this Sockotta because its colors would go so well with my pink-and-orange sneakers, which really must be worn with socks. So, this is destined to be a little anklet of a sock, and it gave me something to do while Mom was getting tonight’s dinner.

It’s not, after all, like Chappy was a whole lot of company while we waited.

Now, if only he would eat his breakfast in the mornings….

Oh, the biggest disappointment of the trip? My brand-new Creative Zen Micro Photo MP3 player? It completely lost its memory yesterday. I turned it on, the screen said, “Rebuilding Media Library” and when it was done . . . absolutely nothing in the memory at all. No songs. No albums. No playlists. No Organizer data . . . thank heaven I thought to (1) bring addresses for postcards on paper, instead of relying on the Zen and (2) decided to bring the Harry Potter audio CDs in the car “just in case.” Sheesh.

And here, to end for the day, a couple more pictures. The first sky picture? Mom and I thought the clouds looked like a waterfall…

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard, Sky • Permalink:Martha’s Vineyard, Day Three // 6 Comments »

What . . . interesting . . . weather we’ve had today. Except for hot, we’ve had pretty much every kind of weather you’d expect from New England. It was cold and misty this morning when we got up. (All three of us slept well, and Chappy quite happily kept my feet warm all night long. Even Mom slept well and through the night–almost unheard of for her on vacation.)

Anyway, so when we got up, it was cold and misty, but not actually raining (here, anyway). We loaded into the car and drove to Edgartown–about six miles from here–and got breakfast to eat in the car. (Known, on vacations, as Cafe Volvo, Chappy’s favorite restaurant.)

Then, we walked around, noting all the while the sky was lightening and there were even hints of blue peeping through. We visited some of our favorite stores (I bought two books at Edgartown Books (the first book store I’ve ever been to that welcomes dogs), Mom bought a Black Dog shirt). We stopped to see Karen and Steve, our favorite inn-keepers (although they unfortunately don’t accept dogs between April and November). Nice, pleasant morning. The funniest moment? When, in the Black Dog store, Chappy saw his own reflection in a mirror at the back of the store. Now, he’s almost 5. He’s seen mirrors before. But he would NOT believe that was not another dog, so I walked him all the way up to the mirror, until he literally bumped his nose against that of his reflection (known at home as Yppach). I have to admit, I laughed out loud at him, silly boy!

Then we headed back toward Oak Bluffs for lunch, and it got foggier and foggier . . . we couldn’t even see the road as we drive, forget about the mainland right across the Sound. We parked, walked to Good Dog Goods to get Chappy some biscuits, and just as we stopped to get lunch, it started to rain. We got back to our room, Chappy collapsed for a good, long nap, and the skies opened and it rained, hard, for a good hour . . . but around 3:30-4:00, it started to clear up.

So, back to Edgartown to pick up supper. But first, we went for a walk. Here are two pictures, taken from the exact same spot. One, looking out past the lighthouse and toward Chappaquiddick. The other looking toward the center of town, over the harbor. Really, a very nice walk.

We got dinner from the Wharf (where we once saw Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, back before they were married, much less divorced–I was still in high school, so, 1984 or so?). I squealed the car to a stop (well, okay, pulled over genteely at the side of the road) to take this sky picture for Sandy, at State Beach. (See, Sandy? Even on vacation, I’m thinking of you. All these lovely Sky Photos for you!) Then we came back to our room, ate (yummy), and then went for another walk.

Chappy, at this point, is completely exhausted–but happy.

I’m happy, too–the inn now has a high-speed internet access modem that you can rent for $10 a day, so at least I’m able to blog normally and check my email . . . not that I’m tying myself to my computer or anything, but it’s nice that I can do the few things I want to do in an efficient manner. Much, much better than yesterday!

The biggest disappointment of the day? This cute little tea shop–which was open as we drove by yesterday–is closed. It’s only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, which is a darn shame, because I was going to get my tea-swap pal some tea from there. Darn it!

A couple more pictures, just because I can! (It’s amazing how a little internet access can make a girl happy.)

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard, Sky • Permalink:Vacation, Day Two // 9 Comments »

So, here we are on Martha’s Vineyard.

 

Let’s see . . .

 

Minus: The drive was wet. Started off misty, and then started actually raining before the halfway point. We stopped at Mystic CT for lunch and to switch drivers, and then my half of the drive? LOTS of rain. (In fact, we turned on the weather channel and heard that the states of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire all have states of emergencies tonight due to massive amounts of rain.)

 

Plus: Since we didn’t exactly dawdle over lunch (poor Chappy didn’t get a chance to get out of the car at all), and there was very little traffic, even if it was going slowly because of the rain, we made it to the ferry in Woods Hole around 1:30 . . . well in advance of our 3:45 ferry tickets.

 

Bigger Plus: They were just finishing loading the service ferry (The Katama) and we got to be the next-to-the-last car on board. And gee, I haven’t backed onto a ferry in years.

 

Minus: Well, it was a little, um, choppy. We had an excellent view from our almost-at-the-front position and were just as glad we weren’t the last car on . . . they were right in the front and with the boat rocking that much, it was probably a little unnerving. In the picture, you can just see one of the “regular” ferries passing us amongst the choppy waves….

 

Plus: We were on the island by 2:30—extra vacation time! We stopped in Vineyard Haven for some coffee before heading to the inn, and Chappy was VERY glad to get out of the car for a while.

 

Minus: We had to sit outside and, while it wasn’t actually raining, it was COLD.

 

Plus: Our room—suite, really—is just as nice as last year. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchenette. Lots of room for Chappy to explore.

 

Minus: The flue in the fireplace is open and therefore a little drafty. (And no, I wasn’t able to get it closed, though I tried.)

 

Minus: Our take-out dinner was lousy. We order from the Newes all the time, but this time? Mom’s French Dip sandwich had no sauce to dip in. My hamburger was completely dry—no lettuce or tomato like there should have been. No ketchup, salt, pepper, or forks in the bag. And, they tried to put the hot bag of french fries on top of the chocolate cake with ice cream we ordered for dessert.

 

Plus: We called to complain, and explained that we’d driven all day, were in Oak Bluffs, and there was really no way we could put the dog back in the car to come back for a correct order, and so they credited Mom’s credit card for the entire price of the meal. Very nice of them, we thought, we would have been happy with half!

 

Minus: No wireless access in the room, and the dial-up is expensive

 

Plus: At least I can plan ahead and type these things out ahead of time!

 

Now . . . Chappy’s napping (finally!), I’ve had my shower, Mom’s sitting with her journal, and soon, the final episode of West Wing will be on (sniff). Things are good!

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Vacation: The Beginning // 4 Comments »

Well, we leave tomorrow morning for our trip. Here’s Chappy giving the evil eye to my suitcase before I started packing. I actually filled his bag first, but I don’t think he really pays attention to what his OWN suitcase looks like. All he knows is that I’ve got one of the dreaded things in the bedroom, and he doesn’t trust it. I’m going to have to put his harness on him first thing in the morning, before we start loading the car, or he’s going to be a nervous wreck.

  Here’s my “stuff” pile. The little extras you need to remember to bring, the things that aren’t clothing. Books (very important). A hat. Little speakers for my Creative Zen. My microfiber hair towel. That kind of thing.

  Here’s a peek into my toiletry kit, filled with the usual things. Toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, soap, hair gel, moisturizer, the usual things. I keep it packed and ready to go at all times–not because I’m that likely to have a sudden need to go somewhere, but because it’s just easier to have stuff like this ready at all times.

  Here’s one of my favorite “basic” items–an emergency sewing kit that I made myself, and which fits into one of those little business card cases that looks like a briefcase (or, you know, a suitcase). Needles, thread, a couple safety pins, and a tiny pair of scissors. What more are you likely to need for a sewing emergency while on vacation?

  And here, my suitcase, filled and ready to go. Well, you know, once I zip it closed! An assortment of t-shirts and light sweaters to layer with. Some wool socks. My nifty new pink and orange sneakers. Our “trip book,” Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which Mom hasn’t read yet.

Everything’s packed except, well, this computer. I am bringing it along, although since there’s no wireless access at the Inn, I don’t know how much I’ll get to actually blog for the next five days. I’ll check in when I can, and will try to at least post something, but since it’ll be dial-up (like last year), I can’t make any promises for long, witty posts or stunning photography. I certainly won’t be keeping current on all of your blogs until next week, though, so try to keep it down, huh?

• Tags: Family, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:The Dreaded Suitcase // 6 Comments »

Thanks for the kind words on yesterday’s socks. They came out so nicely, didn’t they? Just enough texture to be interesting, but not enough to take away from all the pretty colors.

Sundara’s even going to add them to her gallery. Isn’t it nice when the yarn-dyer likes the finished product that much?

Now, I’ve done something unprecedented and joined my third knit-along in three days . . . The glitch, though, is that it turns out, my stash isn’t qualified after all. Margene and Norma have started the “Trek Along With Me” KAL, whose main requirement is to make a pair of socks out of Trekking XXL yarn. Which I thought I had in my stash, but, no. It turns out that what I have is Meilenweit Mega Boots. A perfectly nice yarn, but NOT Trekking. (Although, look at it. You can see why I was confused, huh? Considering I bought it last October? Doesn’t it kind of look like a skein of Trekking?)

Of course, Margene and Norma have already been nice enough to put me on the list, so . . . I think I must go shopping, huh? Gosh, that really is dreadful…. Edited to add: Phew, all this shopping! I’m exhausted now, but there will be some Trekking, color #105, on the way….

Meanwhile, I am officially on vacation, even if it doesn’t feel like it yet. I don’t have to go back to work for a whole week, though, so . . . yep . . . vacation. Tomorrow, though, will pretty much be running errands and such. Oh yes, and packing. After I do my laundry. Yep. Lots of fun tomorrow! But seriously, the real fun will start Sunday morning, when we leave for the Vineyard. Please, keep those good weather wishes coming!!

And now, let me just give a moment’s thought to my dearly-departed Katy. Gone five years today. You can read some of my earlier posts on her here, here, and here.

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Vacation! (Sort of) // 5 Comments »

And so I present to you my finished socks, in Sundara Yarn’s “Black Lagoon” colorway. (Which, yes, is hard to photograph correctly . . . yadda yadda, you’ve heard it before.)

What a nice yarn to knit with, though.Soft, smooth, and with a really great feel as it glided past my needles. A lot like Koigu, in fact. And, oh, the color was so pretty! Although, interestingly, the one sock is just a little “brighter,” a little more vivid than its mate. I’m not sure why. It’s not a difference I noticed at all in the skeins, but it’s ever so faintly noticeable in the socks, that one is a little subtler, the other a little more vibrant. Not that I care. I love them anyway.

The pattern is my own. I started with a Turkish cast-on for the toe. This is definitely my new favorite toe. Then, I used a slight texture pattern (the same from my Berocco suede bag, in fact). The heel is Lucy Neatby’s Garter Stitch Short Row heel, which was a pleasure to knit (although so much less “stretchy” than a stockinette short-row heel, I had to knit good inch further than usual before working the heel).

The only problem? As I worked on my tight-gauge-on-tiny-needles Celtic Dreams, my gauge for the socks tightened as I passed the heels. And also, the pattern stitch is not particularly elastic . . . together, that means these are actually kind of difficult to get ON. Once they’re on my feet, they fit wonderfully and are comfortable, but getting them on in the first place? Kind of tricky. If I had to do it over again, I would increase the number of stitches when I got past the heel–the point where the entire circumference was worked in the pattern stitch, rather than just half as on the foot. Meanwhile . . . I’ll just be really careful when I put them on (grin).

Meanwhile, another day, another knit-along. I’ve joined the Amazing Lace knit-along. How could I resist? My teammate for this challenge will be, of course, my Peacock Feathers Stole. We still have a long way to go together, but we’re getting along pretty well, and I think we’ll work well together. Who can object to a little extra lace incentive??

Hey, do you hear that? It’s actually raining outside. We haven’t gotten a real rainstorm in weeks, and need it terribly. Hopefully my car’s getting a good rinse, too, to get rid of the green crud that’s been coming off the trees the last couple weeks.

I’m worried about our vacation, though–the weather forecast for Martha’s Vineyard next week?

Now, this is worrying for for two reasons.

One, well, who wants this much rain on their vacation?

But that’s not the real problem. The real problem is that vacations with your dog with a lot of rain end up like this, on the right.

We took this picture up at Gay Head (Aquinnah) cliffs . . .the parking area is as close as we got. It was raining just too darn hard when we got up there–the “furthest” point on the island–to get out of the car.

Our first vacation with Chappy, when he was about 8 months old, it rained. And rained. And rained. We spent a LOT of time either in the car or in our hotel room. And since he was so young and unsure about what was going on (“Vacation? What’s a vacation?”) he barked at every noise–people outside the room, motorcycles riding by. Everything. He got sick in the car –and when he wasn’t sick, he was drooling. He decided he was too nervous to eat, and turned up his nose at the Spot’s Stew I brought for him. Basically, he ate pieces of bagels from Mom’s breakfast, which she carried in her pocket for him.

And meantime, it was wet. This is bad enough when travelling with humans, but at least humans are welcome in all the stores and restaurants. With a dog, you can’t go into a restaurant at all. There are many stores that won’t allow him in (although many that will, too). But in good weather, that’s no problem. I wait on the sidewalk with Chappy while Mom goes into get food, or whatever. But in bad weather, standing on the sidewalk just isn’t appealing. Nor is is easy to get your dog to go to the bathroom when it’s raining all the time–which means we both get wet. That trip, we actually tried to get an early ferry off the island–something completely unheard of.

So . . . this weather forecast? It’s striking fear into my heart. In the greater scheme of things, weather on a vacation isn’t that important–not compared to other people’s health and other serious, life issues . . . but if you could maybe put a good word in with the Weather Gods for us, for decent weather on Martha’s Vineyard next week . . . It doesn’t have to be stunningly beautiful. It doesn’t even have to be warm–I’m a knitter. I have warm clothes. But . . . dry. Or even mostly dry. Sure would help a lot.

Hmm, I wonder if the fireplace in the room really works?

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Black Lagoon // 8 Comments »

Well, look what I got in the mail today!

Some Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color number 8, Mossy Green.

A copy of “Spinning for Softness and Speed” by Paula Simmons, which I’ve wanted for ages, but was out of print, and has since been self-published and available, so . . . had to have it.

And the new Patternworks catalog.

Not bad for a day’s mail delivery, huh?

I also want to thank everyone for their kind words about my Celtic Dreams. I’m going to have trouble leaving it behind on Sunday, but then . . . the bulk and weight issue certainly helps. Oh, and for the couple people who asked about the pattern? I thought that I had a link on my sidebar, but apparently not. I bought my copy from Black Water Abbey yarns. I ordered the pattern and asked for a color card, and then ordered the actual yarn a couple months ago.

So what am I bringing on vacation? Well, my Peacock Feathers stole, which I worked on tonight for the first time in over a week. It’s kind of ironic, actually–last year at this time I was working on my Peacock Feathers shawl–while on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. And now I’m working on its “cousin,” the stole. Gotta love continuity.

Also, I’m bringing along the yarn and the pattern for Green Gables. I made a swatch last night (which is currently washed and drying in the bathroom), and that’ll give me a sweater to work on–still my favorite type of knitting. I’ve already decided I’m not worrying about gauge. I’ll measure my swatch and do the math in my head. The pattern isn’t that complicated, and if I could adapt the Union Square Market Pullover with all its many permutations, I’m not that worried about a raglan tee with a little lace and some shaping (grin). So far, the Cotton Fleece yarn–which I was worrying about since it’s mostly cotton–was fine to knit with. The only “issues” I had while doing my swatch was the bind-off–it’s not as stretchy I’m used to and I had a hard time casting-off, but the actual knitting was fine . . . for the swatch, anyway!

And since I’ll be working on the sweater now rather than later (i.e., after Celtic Dreams), naturally, I had to join the Green Gables knit-along. Because, well, why not??
My Sundara-yarn socks are almost done, too. In fact, I think the leg is just about the right length, I just need to add some ribbing at the top, and they’ll be finished. They look so pretty, I’m really happy with them. I’ll probably toss some other sock yarn in the bag (or, hmmm, my purse?), just in case of emergency, you know.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard about it, let me be the first to tell you about Sundara Yarn’s Sock Club (similar to another sock yarn club you may have heard of). The theme is the “Petals Collection,” and considering how much I’m enjoying my Black Lagoon socks, and how gorgeous the colors are . . . well, I would be at fault not to tell you of the club.

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Stop, Oh Yes, Wait A Minute, Mr. Postman… // 7 Comments »

So, the arms aren’t done yet. So what?

Isn’t my Celtic Dreams looking fabulous? Even if it does look like it’s got hair curlers on the shoulders.

I like this picture, too, because it’s from the back, you can (1) see how great my hair looks with the sweater and (2) it makes me look thin. (Hey, I’m not saying I’m fat, because I’m not, but the fact remains that my stomach is rather more convex than concave. But that’s another story.)

Anyway, I knitted my little fingers off last night in my eagerness to get the body finished. Usually, I knit about an hour a night, a little more on weekends, but between Sunday and Monday I racked up about six hours of knitting time. Two and a half hours last night, but darn it, It was so close . . .

I don’t categorize myself as being either about the process or the product in knitting–I like both–but when I get to a certain point in a project, I want to hurry and see it done. So, last night at 9:00, my psyche started whispering in my ear, ‘You’ve only got five rows to do.” “AND the cast-off.” “Okay, six rows, but that’s so few; you’re so close!” “But, it takes me about an hour to do four rows–and it’s late.” “But . . . so, so close. You can do it! You can knit while watching Medium, instead of spinning, just this once.” “Well…..”

I think it’s obvious which of us won, huh? No complaints, though!

I do think my gauge “drifted” a bit, though as I progressed. Not surprising, really, considering how hard it was to maintain that death-grip of tight-tension on teeny-tiny size 2 needles with Aran-weight yarn. When I finally was able to lay the whole thing flat, well, the bottom does look wider than the top. (Even just going from the armholes down.) I’m not going to worry about it now, though!

Now, as to the “soul” portion of the post. I flashed my tea stash for the Knitters Tea Swap. On the upper shelf is some herbal and flavored tea (which I rarely drink, but occasionally get the urge to try, in case my taste buds have changed). Also a handy mug for holding all the tea-brewing gadgets, tea balls, strainers, and so on. The bottom shelf has the Lipton iced tea bags that Mom likes, the green tea that my sister likes, and then the tea that I drink most often–Tetley’s British Blend, by far the best “supermarket” tea, I think. I like the flavor, and love the convenience of the bags. There’s an unopened box, there, but we always store the “current” box in that plastic, airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible.

Not that there aren’t plenty of options for brewing tea in a pot! There’s the handpainted one Mom did (which, unfortunately, drips), the tea-for-one I brought back from one of the mansions in Newport RI a few years ago, another tea-for-one that I painted, a tiny blue pot from Harrods, an IngenuiTea from Adagio (which I would like better if it were glass–hot tea and hot coffee should never come in contact with hot plastic, so far as I’m concerned, though there’s no denying it’s efficient). What else? A tea cozy from Harrods, and, let’s not forget, my favorite, the brown-betty pot. I just adore that pot, simple though it is. I’ve had it for about 17 years now and love it’s cheerful roundness.

Okay, so tonight, I’m going to watch the season finales of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. (Obviously, UPN took my email very seriously and is being smart and airing the V.M. finale tonight, instead of pre-empting it for basketball again.) I plan on doing a genteel amount of knitting, and on letting my fingers recover from the rather insane marathon of the last couple days.

Worth it though, don’t you think? (grin)

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Body and Soul // 20 Comments »

An aerial shot of my knitting bag at bedtime last night.

My Celtic Dreams is overflowing the top (I am currently about 5 rows from the end of the body), my earphones are on top, and my MP3 player on the ottoman.

What? You want a closer look at the player?

Well . . . all right . . .

No, you weren’t imagining things.

My Creative Zen Micro Photo has a little wool cozy that I made with extra Koigu from two pairs of socks ago. It fits pretty well, too, if I say so myself. And the most shocking part? I c-r-o-c-h-e-t-e-d it, instead of knitting. I figured it would be easier to add the extra strips with single-crochet (instead of casting on and binding off knit stitches). I started at the bottom, went around in circles, shaped the corners a bit, then worked back and forth up the back, around in circles again for that middle stripe, back and forth to the top, then a couple rows, some crocheted eyelets, and then ended with a long chain which I then threaded through the eyelets to make a drawstring top.

I also added a belt loop to the back, through which I currently have the arm-strap from my Sandisk threaded. I’ve been looping that over my car’s gearshift when using the radio adapter. It keeps it handy, easy to move if I need to see the screen, or if there is light reflecting into my eyes while I drive, or if I want to actually adjust something, but easily within reach . . . much easier than sticking it in the cupholder, or getting one of those stationary holders.

It’s been a long time since I crocheted anything longer than a chain, too . . . although, the Berroco Suede tote bag I finished last December did have a row of single crochet across the top. This isn’t anything fancy, and it only took me about an hour. I enjoyed thinking my way through the whole thing, making it up as I went along. It fits, and well . . . I’m happy with it. I had thought abut extending the back to make a flap that would fold all the way over the front to keep the screen clean and safe, but decided I was tired of crocheting for a while! (Although, it probably would have helped if I’d been using a smaller hook–the one in my knitting-accessory-bag was really too large for fingering weight yarn.)

Oh, and imagine my surprise when I got an email from Cynthia today . . . I won a skein of Fleece Artist yarn for sending a square to Warming Grace. Wow. Honestly, I never win anything, and now this is twice in a month? I’m flabbergasted! Boy, this whole, do-things-for-other-knitters really has its side benefits, besides just being a nice thing to do.

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

  Because, really, why should it be?

Sure, hundreds of knitters, spinners, and bloggers were in Maryland this weekend, but we had a (mostly) fun weekend right here at home.

First, we met Risa and the twins (bad picture, sorry) at the park yesterday morning. (She wrote a great description of the day, including some very flattering comments about Mom and Chappy.) Except for the couple descents into tears (by the twins), it was a really nice day, despite the spritzes of rain on the drive over. Or the little boy who implied he was better than Chappy when he asked how old he was and I said he’d be five in July, and the little boy said, “Well, I’m ALREADY five.” Like it was an accomplishment he doubted my lovely dog could attain . . . brat (grin).

Last night, though, around 9:00, Chappy was very dramatically sick–pretty much everything he’d eaten all day came up all over the family room rug. We were worried, too, because when he first got up, we thought there was something wrong with his leg, he was walking so oddly and couldn’t manage the jump up onto the ottoman. He was also drooling, though, and when he threw up the first, um, batch, we understood–he had stomach cramps. But, in all the years we’ve had dogs and seen them get sick (usually, yes, on the rug), we’ve never seen one visibly suffering from stomach cramps. The excessive drool was unusual, too. Dogs usually just walk into or a corner, or stop where they are, heave a little, throw up, and go about their business. It was unusual to see Chappy actually being queasy. (Well, he used to get carsick as a puppy, and so yes, we’ve seen him queasy, but honest, the house was not moving at all!) After about 20 minutes, though, the drool dried up and he was feeling well enough to jump up onto the ottoman and sleep. He was fine (but sleeping) the rest of the night, and today, he’s entirely himself and (without wanting to get too graphic) his digestive system seems to be functioning normally. I just wish I knew what had caused that . . .

Anyway, today has been a lovely Sunday–beautiful weather. We had a nice, long, leisurely walk, I did some cleaning, some laundry, some reading. I actually got 10 rows done on my Celtic Dreams sweater and am well into the “skirt” section of the pattern, and am now pretty sure I’ll have the body done before vacation starts next week. (Barring unexpected emergencies that would cut into my knitting time.) This is a relief because it’s getting large and bulky and kind of a pain to turn as the rows move along and my luggage is going to be heavy enough. And the “worst” part is still to come. The one negative about doing the sweater-in-one-piece thing is, really, doing the sleeves while the whole rest of the (heavy) sweater sits in your lap, adding bulk, and making it difficult to knit at the height/angle which you prefer. But since it’s counteracted by few finishing details and no seams . . . well worth it.

While I was sitting with my knitting, I tried listening to some music on my new MP3 player. The music of choice? The soundtrack to Chess, which I haven’t heard in years. Not the soundtrack from the London version, or the one from the horrible Broadway version. No. It must be the original concept album. Do you remember it? It pre-dated the stage productions, and spun-off the single “One Night in Bangkok.” My college roommate my Sophomore year had a bootleg copy of it and played it over and over . . . at the beginning of the year, I hated it, but by the end, I liked it so much, I had to buy a copy for myself. And then when I spent a semester in London my Junior year (1987), I got to see it in the theater. I dragged a fellow student with me, got to sit in box seats right by the stage (bless those last-minute student-ticket discounts!), and when we left through our private exit that let out right by the stage door–got to see Tommy Korberg as he left and got on his motorcycle. (I’m still kicking myself for being too “cool” to ask for an autograph.)

It’s a dated musical, for sure–the music is very “electronic,” written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA, with lyrics by Tim Rice. And of course, it focuses on a chess tournament between an American and a Soviet player, with huge, heavy, Cold War implications. But, the singing is fabulous. The song “Nobody’s Side” as sung by Elaine Paige was practically my anthem when I had my miserable 21st birthday in Germany all by myself. The duet “I Know Him So Well” is just beautiful, as is the goose-bump-raising “You and I” which ends the album. And, really, how can you help but love a song that manages to tell the entire history of the game of chess in multi-part harmony? So long as you ignore the antiquated politics . . . it’s great. And the best part? That serious, heavy, electric rhythm makes it marvelous for knitting.

Of course, since I’m not using “jealous,” you need a “J” for this post, so here you go–my two favorites Js. Joan and Jilly. It’s an old picture (Jilly has been gone for six years now), but it’s one of the few good ones of both of them. (Mom, unfortunately, wore black a lot while Jilly was alive, and so in most of their pictures together, all you can see of Jilly is her eyes.)

This one, though, was taken by a professional. Mom had taken Jilly to the photographer so we could get a really good picture of her, but she (Jilly) was such a nervous, skittery little girl, she wouldn’t sit still. At all. Roger-the-photographer tried everything for about half an hour, and then said, “I’m going to leave the room for five minutes, and maybe she’ll relax a little.” When he came back, Mom was sitting with Jill in her lap, and he said, “That’s the picture I’m going to take.” Mom immediately protested, “But, my hair! My makeup! I’m not prepared!” But he took the picture anyway, and, well, Dad got a really nice Christmas present that year (grin).

And, apropos of nothing, while I was browsing through the photo album, I came across this one from Christmas 1997, when I was teaching my 8 year-old niece to knit. You know, the niece who right now is looking at colleges… (And, we won’t discuss how horrible my hair looked . . . this was back when I brushed it and caused frizz instead of curls because I didn’t know any better.)

Oh, and by the way, I’m officially 39 1/2 years old, as of yesterday. I guess this means I really am in my late thirties, huh?

• Tags: ABC-Along, Chappy, Family, Friends, General, Katy, Jilly, Muppy, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:J is NOT for Jealous // 6 Comments »

Well, how many people get Christmas cards in May?

Angela, the Knitting Diva sent it, wasn’t that nice of her? It was almost 80 degrees this afternoon, though, so it’s kind of warm for a snowman . . . maybe I’ll put him in the freezer for safe keeping?

Meanwhile, I’m working hard on my Celtic Dreams. I’m HOPING to get the body done before we leave on vacation next Sunday. It’s close, remotely possible, if I work really hard. If I can get it to that point–with the body finished–I’ll be leaving it home for the trip. It’s getting kind of large and unwieldy . . . an I haven’t even gotten to the arms yet! But anyway, heavy, bulky knitting isn’t great travel-knitting. I’ll be able to leave it behind with a clear conscience if the body is finished, but if it’s just a few rows away, it’ll nag at me!

So, as a large portion of the knit-blogging community heads out to Maryland, still, I’m going to have some fun this weekend anyway. Risa and I are getting together tomorrow at the park with our kids (her twins and my dog). So I don’t need to be jealous after all!

Really, I’ve got enough yarn just now anyway….

• Tags: General • Permalink:New Noel // 5 Comments »

So, here’s the highlight of my day in a nutshell.

An order of books from Amazon.com. Actually, that’s two orders, I just haven’t gotten them all logged into the official Debbie’s Library database yet, and they don’t get shelved in the “library” until they’re officially entered. Otherwise, you see, it would be chaos.

Then, the audio book for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which I just finished ripping so Mom and I can bring it on vacation. We’re bringing the actual book for our “trip book,” but there are times when we want to hear the story, but neither of us is in the mood to read outloud (mostly because we’re tired or are busy with our cross-stitch (Mom) or knitting (me), and Chappy’s not so good with the reading aloud thing. So . . . I’m bringing Jim Dale along as our backup–only on the MP3 player, rather than dragging all the cds along.

And, what’s that on top? A Creative Zen 8 MB Micro Photo in Titanium Grey? However did that get there?? I actually looked at the Sleek, which was basically the same price and had 20 MB of space, but it was heavy! At least twice as heavy as my camera. Just not reasonable, no matter how little I really think I’ll be carrying this, despite the vast amounts of storage space.

Meanwhile, my Celtic Dreams is coming along and starting to look like a real sweater. I wasted about five minutes of knitting time tonight, just sitting there with it spread out on my lap, admiring it. That’s not silly, is it?

Oh, and I got my Knitter’s Tea Swap pal today. Yay!

Hey, that lame form letter I got yesterday from UPN? It was more than made up for today, when I got this, the very best form-letter Order Confirmation I have ever seen. Ever. Even better than SitStay. See? From www.cdbaby.com.

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with
sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CDs and polished them to make
sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over
the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that
money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party
marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of
Portland waved ‘Bon Voyage!’ to your package, on its way to you, in
our private CD Baby jet on this day, Thursday, May 4th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your
picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year”. We’re all
exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you once again,

Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little CD store with the best new independent music

• Tags: General, Reading • Permalink:Amazonian // 11 Comments »

Well, it only took six months to spin this amount of roving–that’s 8 oz–into singles.

In fact, I just squeaked it in. I started spinning this on my birthday, when I got my Woolee Winder. That’s almost exactly six months.

And then I wonder why my spinning doesn’t seem to go as quickly as it does for others?

It’s probably just as well, then, that I’m not going to MDSW this weekend. (Although, as usual when one of these event things comes up, I feel like I’m the only blogger in the universe not going, even though that’s obviously not true.)

I mean, really, I only have this much left from the roving I bought at Rhinebeck in October. (That’s 2.5 lbs of fiber there.) And if it took me six months to get 8 ounces spun? I don’t think I’ll be running short any time soon!

Maybe if I work really, really hard, I can get my next 8 oz spun by this year’s Rhinebeck? I mean . . . it’s only five months, but maybe if I apply myself . . . (grin)

In knitting news, let’s see . . . I just started my third skein of yarn for my Celtic Dreams. Considering the body is more than 2/3 done and there are just sleeves after that, I’m thinking I won’t be needing the six skeins I ordered.

My socks–which I have dedicated to Mr. Etherknitter’s leg-bone-knitting–are coming along, slowly, but nicely . . . exactly what I hope his leg is doing! (Well, really, I’d hope his leg was knitting faster, but knitting at all is what we’re going for, so, slow is still better than non-existant.) And my Peacock Stole? It’s taken back-burner to the C.D. because I’d rather be doing lace come hot, summer weather, than a heavy Aran sweater. But I’m getting a few rows done every couple nights . . . verrrry slow progress, but it’s not completely stagnating, either.

Oh–and if you haven’t been yet–Claudia’s got her “Knitters Against MS” fundraising drive going again this year. Go and make a donation . . . she’s got a raffle going, too, if you need some extra incentive. (And, boy, is First Prize “extra incentive!”)

And, oh yes, I got this kind and loving response from UPN: “Thank you for your recent email. WNYW FOX 5 and WWOR MY 9 value all viewer correspondence, and we are pleased you have taken the time to write to us. We regret that our programming did not meet your needs and your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate department. WNYW/WWOR is always in the process of reviewing and responding to viewer feedback. Thanks once again for notifying us with your concerns.”

Isn’t that sweet?? I feel just so very appreciated, and naturally, am confident that they’ll never transgress again . . .

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Six Months // 8 Comments »

Dear UPN Network,

Maybe you don’t care, since by this time next year you’ll be gone, merged into the new CW network with your friend, the WB. However, I must express my outrage at your shoddy treatment of Veronica Mars. The show is ramping up for its second season finale, trying to build momentum as the season’s mysteries come to a close. So, what do you do? First, you change its time slot from Wednesday at 9:00 to Tuesday at 9:00. I can accept that, since it was its original time slot for its first season, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to the Gilmore Girls.

But, in reality, what has happened? For the past three weeks, your New York metro affiliates have pre-empted the show for basketball. Three. Weeks. So, tonight, while the rest of the country is finding out what happens at Aaron Echoll’s trial, what Lucky the janitor did when he brought that gun to school, I’m sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs. (Okay, knitting.)

Granted, I know you’ll re-air . . . what am I saying? To “re-air,” you’d need to have aired it in the first place . . . you’ll AIR the show on Sunday at 7:00, but come on, that is not a convenient time for television watching. And, really, before you say anything, it doesn’t matter that I’ll be able to get recaps all over the internet tomorrow. I don’t want to read about what happened tonight. I want to see it. Is that really too much to ask?

Further, don’t even get me started on the whole ratings issue. You have no right to complain that the show isn’t getting the ratings it should when you don’t even ut the show on the air. What are we supposed to watch?

All I can say is, you had better not play this game next week for the season finale. Really. I would never forgive you. I’ll be on vacation the following Sunday night and if you make me miss the culmination of the entire season because you don’t have the decency to air the show when you’re supposed to . . . I mean, really, why bother moving it to a “new night and time” if you never show it? . . . if you make me miss the finale next week, so help me, I’ll help you along the road into the ether, or wherever it is that dead television networks go. You won’t have to wait until September.

Sincerely….

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Dear UPN // 9 Comments »

Kellee had a wonderful idea–to round up some knitting mojo/good vibes/healing energy for Mr. Etherknitter, whose leg bones are being recalcitrant and not knitting like they should. It sure sounds like a good idea to me! (And, I saw this first over at Bag ‘n’ Trash, which is where I got the cool button. Beth is working on it, too.)

So, Mr. Etherknitter, I’m dedicating today’s knitting to you . . . in fact, I’ll make a point to work on my socks . . . as their legs grow, so may your own!

• Tags: Uncategorized • Permalink:Bone Knitting // 1 Comment »

Here’s my reading list from April. Twenty-two books, for a total of 7,902 pages.

1. CRYSTAL SOLDIER “The Great Migration Duology Number 1″ by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (321 p.) Kind of a prequel to the pair’s “Liaden” series–it goes way, way back in their history, to tell the start of the sci-fi series’ universe. Jela is a soldier stranded on a dying planet, where he adopts a young tree, and ends up pairing up with a “gray-market” space trader named Cantra . . . I have to admit that I like the “real” Liaden series better. (Okay, a lot. I kind of love those books.) This whole world has such a different “feel,” it takes some effort to get into the story, though it’s well-written and pretty engaging once you do.

2. CRYSTAL DRAGON “The Great Migration Duology Number 2″ by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (359 p.)  The second book about the story of Jela and Cantra, with a look at the sheriekas enemy they are trying to fight. Again–it took some effort to get into the book (the beginning, with the sheriekas and the beginnings of Rool Tiazen weren’t really much fun), but the second half was definitely better, and at the very end, the real roots of the Liaden society were right there, and that was kind of cool. Literary archaeology.

3. WORLD WITHOUT END “Moontide and Magic Rise Number 1″ by Sean Russell (606 p.)  A fantasy duology which I absolutely adore. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read it. In a world similar to ours circa the 18th century, but a world which used to have, in living memory, mages. The last one died about 50 years ago, yet around Tristam–a natural “empiricist” (think Charles Darwin)–odd things occasionally happen. He is sent on a voyage of discovery, with an additional goal of bringing back the “regis” plant for the ageing king, but there is a swirl of political intrigue around as well, as different factions work for or against him, as he travels on the small ship with the superstitious hands . . . Beautifully written, really excellent. Great story. Well executed. He’s such a good author, and this pair of books remains my absolute favorite.

4. SEA WITHOUT A SHORE “Moontide and Magic Rise Number 2″ by Sean Russell (608 p.) And, of course, the second book. Tristam’s ship arrives at the island of Varua, but meanwhile, back in the kingdom of Farrland, the different political factions are getting ready to pounce as the king great age starts to catch up to him. And still, it seems as if the power that should have died with the last mage isn’t quite ready to give up yet . . . Really. Excellent books. Give them a try.

5. PERSUASION by Jane Austen (254 p.) Her last completed novel. Anne Eliot, misunderstood and unappreciated by her family, once allowed herself to be talked out of an attachment with a young Frederick Wentworth . . . fast forward to her as an “old” spinster, and him as a successful sea captain, and now a “catch.” Add in a family cousin who may have sinister motives . . . It’s not my favorite Austen book, but it’s a good one, once the story gets going. A more mature novel than her others (because, well, so was she), it’s a little more sobering, and yet people still get what they deserve–good or bad–by the end of the book. What’s not to love in that?

6. FIRST AMERICAN by H.W. Brands (716 p.) A thorough and interesting biography on Benjamin Franklin. So many things I didn’t know about him. (Like, that his wife’s name was Debbie . . . not to mention that he was married at all!) What a decent, intelligent, fair-minded man he seems to have been, and with such a wide range of interests. Got to love that in a Founding Father.

7. LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES by Julie Edwards (207 p.) Children’s book that I’ve loved since I was eight. I gushed about it on the 14th, which you can read here.

8. JACK AND JILL by Louisa May Alcott (308 p.) Best known, of course, for “Little Women,” my favorites from Louisa May were always this book and “Eight Cousins.” Okay, they’re a little twee, a little too sweet, a little too condescending, but I loved them anyway. This one tells the story of two friends who are in a sledding accident and then spend the weeks and months that follow trying to be better people. Doesn’t that just sound so very inspiring? (grin). I can’t help it, though, I always rather liked it . . . although it’s probably not a good book to read if you have blood sugar problems….

9. BEST OF ENEMIES by Nancy Bond (248 p.) Another long-time favorite. This book is from 1977 (or thereabouts), and was recommended to me in junior-high school, and I liked it so much, I bought a copy for myself sometime in my 20s. The author is better known for her Newbery Honor book, A String in the Harp (also fabulous), but I love this story. In Concord Massachusetts, the town is gearing up for its April 19th Patriot’s Day celebrations, but 13-year old Charlotte Paige is feeling bored and left-out . . . until she notices some odd men around town, talking in accents, wearing old Redcoat uniforms . . . turns out, it’s an invasion, of sorts . . . a really delightful story, with one of my favorite book-endings ever, and what a gift this woman has for good description! Pity it’s out of print, it’s a wonderful book.

10. A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L’Engle (211 p.) Continuing my nostalgia kick, I pulled this old gem from my collection. (So old, my copy is priced at $1.25. Who says I don’t get my money’s worth, huh?) I have read all the books in this series, but this has always been my favorite–Meg’s father is missing, she’s having trouble in school because the teachers won’t let her take shortcuts, and her brilliant, little brother Charles Wallace is bound to have even worse troubles . . . enter a dark and stormy night, a trio of mysterious new neighbors, a bit of tesseracting space travel, a good helping of science and wonder, independence and love, and, well, it’s a classic for a good reason. I just adore good children’s books that are just as entertaining and enjoyable for adults.

11. CESAR’S WAY by Cesar Millan (275 p.) A method of dog-training by the host of National Geographic’s The Dog Whisperer. I have a good collection of dog training books but this one’s unique–not as “positive” as the ones I usually read. (I lean toward clicker training; Cesar is all about being Pack Leader.) But I like what I’ve seen of him on his show–quiet, confident, he’s usually smiling, clearly loves dogs and loves what he’s doing. I’ve never seen him hit or yell at a dog. With him, it’s all about exuding the right kind of energy to make your dog feel secure in his place in the world. I can live with that. I don’t know that I agree with everything he says, but what he does say makes a lot of sense, and his show is amazing. . . . I think I’m about to start a dog-book jag . . .

12. A LITTLE PRINCESS by Frances Hodgson Burnett (266 p.) I couldn’t do a “series” of nostalgic-favorite-children’s-books without including this one. I admit, Sara is a bit of a goody-goody, but she’s not quite perfect, and she’s all about being kind, using your imagination, and controlling your temper . . . all lessons I could relate to when I was nine-abouts. It’s a bit on the “sweet and gooey” side, but still . . . I’ve loved this book for years.

13. BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley (248 p.) Another old-favorite. This by another Newbery author. Harry (short for Angharad) goes to live with her brother when their father dies but one day, is kidnapped by a desert king . . . yes, I know, it sounds like a bad romance novel, but in fact, it’s an excellent, YA fantasy book. Again, incredible descriptions. Great writing.

14. ANNE OF THE ISLAND by L.M. Montgomery (244 p.) How could I do a nostalgia kick without visiting with Anne-with-an-E Shirley? Except, I wasn’t in the mood for “Anne of Green Gables,” so I went for my second favorite of the series, where she and Gilbert finally acknowledge the inevitable–who says college isn’t educational?

15. PRINCE OF THE BLOOD by Raymond E. Feist (351 p.) A fantasy book which revisits Midkemia, the world in which his “Magician” trilogy was set. It tells the story of the twin troublemakers, Borric and Erland, visiting a desert kingdom as ambassadors–until Borric is kidnapped by slavers and must escape to warn his brother….

16. KING’S BUCCANEER by Raymond E. Feist (523 p.) And, in the other book of this duology, Nicholas, Borric and Erland’s younger brother, takes sail to try to rescue a townful of people stolen away . . .

17. JOUST by Mercedes Lackey (441 p.) The first of a fantasy trilogy that takes place in a world similar to Egypt, but where warring countries fight on dragonback. Vetch is an Altan serf who becomes a “dragon boy” for the Tian jousters, but plots to escape to his own country…

18. ALTA by Mercedes Lackey (434 p.) The second of the trilogy, Vetch (now known by his formal name, Kiron) teaches his people how to raise tame dragons of their own, but learns that there are greedy, evil magi in his homeland, using the war for their own ends, and comes up with a plan that will at least end jousting.

19. SANCTUARY by Mercedes Lackey (305 p.) The third of the trilogy–now, hiding in a lost city in the desert, refugees from both countries are trying to come up with a plan to defeat the magi. This is my least favorite of the series, but it’s an intriguing world she’s built here, and they’re enjoyable stories.

20. WENDY KNITS by Wendy Johnson (301 p.). Do I need to explain this one? Knitting as viewed by the famous Wendy . . .

21. BALANCE OF TRADE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (451 p.) A stand-alone “Liaden” book–which is some of the best sci-fi around, I think. Jethri becomes an apprentice trader to Norn Van Deelin, and thus, the first Terran to so serve….

22. THE OTHER END OF THE LEASH: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs by Patricia McConnell (225 p.) An excellent dog book. Not so much a book on dog training as an examination of how we–humans and canines–view the world, and when some of our differences have a big impact on our inter-species communication. (Like, we primates love hugging; canines hate it. We get louder and noisier when we get excited; dogs do not–and don’t respect it when we do . . . so that, yelling at our dogs doesn’t teach them anything other than that we’re unpredictable. What they want is calm assurance . . . and so on). Fascinating, and darn entertaining, as well, as she intersperses anecdotes. Oh, and I love her definition of heel from a dog’s point of view: “Walk slowly at the pace of death by your owner’s knee while ignoring all interesting things.”

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