These boxes look remarkably alike, don’t they?

That’s because they ARE!

When Mom and I went out last Saturday, our main stop was Bath and Body Works so that I could get some of my favorite body wash, but … I wandered all over the store, and they just didn’t have it in stock.

Grr. Particularly frustrating, you know, because as a rule, I buy everything online these days, so the fact that I made a point of GOING there only for them not to have it in stock? Frustrating! But, okay, whatever. I came home and sucked up the fact that I was going to have to pay postage, and I ordered it online.

B&BW must have been feeling generous because they sent me the whole order TWICE!

Well, mostly. One of them, in fact, is incorrect, but still … they printed my packing slip twice by mistake and then sent me two boxes.

Now, I admit I was seriously tempted to just keep the extra box of stuff, but Mom and Dad raised me to be an honest person, so, I sent them an email explaining the problem and asking if they wanted me to send the extras back, or could I keep them?

I got an email back saying, “Due to the complex nature of your inquiry, please contact us directly at 1-800-756-5005 regarding this matter.”

Um, maybe it’s just me, but this didn’t seem particularly complex to me, and I found it pretty annoying that the burden was on me to call THEM and then wait for an available operator … so I wrote them back and said so.

The email I got back? Well, they nicely credited my credit card for the shipping charges on my original order, which I thought was pretty nice of them, but they still wanted me to call them back to resolve the problem. (Sigh.) So I did. Ultimately, they do want the duplicate products back and said they would send me a UPS shipping label via email to cover the cost … though I haven’t gotten it yet.

Now, I mentioned this to a coworker this afternoon, and she thought I was crazy for calling them. “After all,” she said,” It was their mistake.” She would have just kept it. She even said that she never says anything if a cashier at a store gives her incorrect change (which really surprised me).

But I wouldn’t have felt right about that. One extra item in my box? Well, yeah, I suppose I wouldn’t have bothered to tell them about an extra bottle of bodywash–the shipping to send it back would have cost more than the item, what would be the point? But, an entire order?

How about you? What would you have done? Hypothetically, of course!

And after you’re done thinking about that, here are a couple links for you:

• Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at the Food Network Challenge show? Well, here’s a link to an article–going through the blog of a local baker who was on the show. Check out some of the cakes on her blog–they’re amazing! In fact, Don’t Miss the Party Dress Cake in this entry–it’s the most beautiful thing…
• Go read my guest post/entry over at Joyful Jubilant Learning!
• Check out this call for submissions for an eBook about love, raising money for charity.

Now, go forth and be fruitful and knit … just don’t forget to answer my deep, moral question before you go!

Tags: General by --Deb
18 Comments »

Ooh! A box! A (relatively) BIG box!

And … look at that. It’s full of YARN!

30 skeins of Bollicine Victor in color “Gold.” (We won’t mention the fact that Dad thought it was orange.)

I’ve been knitting, too. I started my sweater with my pretty Briar Rose yarn. Here’s the very beginning of my top-down sweater. I’m doing the top in reverse-stockinette, just because, just to be a little different.

And, oh yes. Dr. Horrible. I absolutely had to get the DVD, and oh, my, it had me in stitches tonight. First, there’s Joss Whedon’s 42-minute original, musical video-blog with Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillon, and Felicia Day with incredibly good songs that I’ve actually been humming on and off since July. But then, there are the EXTRAS. There are behind-the-scenes videos telling the story which are entertaining. But even better? You know how DVDs like to have commentary? Where you watch the whole thing but instead of hearing the original audio track, you hear the director and/or actors talking about what it was like making it?

Well, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog? They went one step better. The commentary is SUNG. They get the entire cast (before and behind the camera) together and sing all original songs “about” making Dr. Horrible. It’s hilarious. (Not to mention more great music.) And, there’s more! After this swept the internet last summer, there were lots of people who made faux-application videos to get into the “Evil League of Evil” and they put a bunch of those on the DVD, too, and they were pretty great, too. And at the end, there’s a list of “Dishonorable Mention” which runs down the complete list, going faster with the names getting smaller all the time …

It just completely had me in stitches. I mean, literally. Not only did I have a stitch in my side from laughing so hard, but when I got up to turn off the DVD … because, somehow, the STOP button on the remote would NOT work (don’t ask me how they did that, but what an Evil trick to keep people watching) … but when I got up, my yarn and my knitting wrapped around my ankle and almost tripped me. In. Stitches.

Wow. They so need to do a sequel to this.

We had a miserable weather day today. Can you say “ice?” The driveway was a slick sheet of ice this morning–I had to crunch my way up the lawn to safely get the newspaper. It was JUST over freezing, though, so the roads–which had been salted/sanded–weren’t bad. I saw the after-effects of an accident, though. Or, I thought I did. On this little secondary road over the hill from here, there was a tow truck maneuvering itself straight across the road, with two police cars with their lights flashing, and a person looking down, over the edge of a hill. I’m GUESSING there was a car down there (or why would they need the tow truck?). I didn’t have any trouble, myself, until I got to work, where our parking lot–also a hill–was ALSO a sheet of ice. I started to pull into my regular spot and slid sideways down the slope, coming to a stop about 3 feet from a co-worker’s car … So, that part was fun.

And then it rained. All day. Forever. Rain. Rain. Lots of rain. It was just a beautiful day. (cough)

But, did I mention that I got YARN in the mail??

Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Weather by --Deb
8 Comments »

Mom’s been in Clean Up Mode lately. Because, well, it IS after Christmas and after New Year’s, and it’s time to get the house back to its usual sense of order.

I just think that it’s great that Santa’s helping with the clean-up.

He spends Christmas time in our front hallway, greeting people as they come in the house. Obviously, though, on his way back upstairs to his “room” he got sidetracked by the thought of how much cleaning we had to do, and so he stopped by the vacuum cleaner.

Maybe it’s just me, but it sure LOOKS like he’s reaching for the handle. And hey, even Chappy helps put things away after the holidays. He helped herd the Christmas tree bag down into the cellar this morning, and enthusiastically  helped his Grandma vacuum.

Maybe he got the idea from Santa?

Tags: General by --Deb
7 Comments »

Just for the record?

Yes, my gauge changed when I washed the swatch. It’s averaging out to about 16 stitches over 4″ now.

Which, of course, is why it’s important to wash your swatches!!

And, be proud of me. I updated the copyright date on all of my blogs to now include the year 2009. If you haven’t on your own blogs, you should!

Oh, and the cake is almost gone… Gosh, that one went fast!

Also, please notice that I’ve got a Twitter link to my account (that would be __Deb) in the sidebar. So, if you tweet, come follow me!

And, there’s now a page of all my post archives, linked right up there at the top of the page.

Tags: General by --Deb
5 Comments »

You know you’re liking your swatch too much when you stop after every row to admire how pretty the colors look.

I’m not sure I’ve even got the color balance quite right here–or maybe I flattened out the orange too much–but I wanted you to be able to see the variations between the primary orange and the hints of green and brown accents.

Obviously, this is  a swatch from the Briar Rose I wound into balls the other day. (That being the yarn I bought at Rhinebeck, of course.) Even though the gauge given is 15 stitches to 4 inches/10 cm on size 10 needles, I swatched on a size 6 (because, well, it’s me). And on this, unwashed, unblocked swatch? I’m getting 17 stitches. Something tighter than the listed gauge! Isn’t that exciting?

Not that I expect it to last, of course.

I’m going to wash the swatch, of course, and remeasure. Not to mention take a long, hard look at the texture and drape of the fabric but … the mere fact that, right now, I’m getting a gauge that’s tighter than the one on the yarn label practically makes me giddy.

The plan for this yarn? I’m going to make a top-down raglan cardigan. Pretty much a plain-vanilla pattern because the colors in the yarn are beautiful enough not to need extra ornamentation.

I know what you’re thinking–why am I swatching for a new sweater when I don’t have my Harvest Cardigan done?

Well, my Harvest Cardigan is ALMOST done. I’ve got one button band finished and have started the second, but … Okay, I ordered some buttons from Etsy, and I ordered a couple different kinds, so I’ll have options. The thing is, they came in different quantities, so I want to wait to get the buttons before I calculate where–and more importantly–how many button HOLES I need. If I plowed right ahead and put in 7, you just know that I’d like the button that came in a set of 6 best. So, the second buttonband is on hold until the buttons arrive.

I need something to work on, though, and a knitted string bag can only keep me happy for so long, so … I’m planning for this Briar Rose sweater. Now that I have the swatch done, I’ll start the calculations for the cast-on. This is going to be so, so pretty.

Oh, and it’s possible I baked something else this weekend, too. This is one of the few recipes that have post-it notes next to them so I can find them again. I’ve baked this three times and it’s been a success every time.

Don’t you think it looks good?

My friend Cindy came over so we could exchange Christmas presents, and naturally I had to provide her with cake! Actually, I planned ahead and gave her her birthday present, too. We see each other so seldom these days, and her birthday is only three weeks away, it seemed more prudent to give her the gift now rather than later. (She thought this was funny, because she still hasn’t given me my birthday present from November yet, but was proud of herself for remembering my Christmas gift today! I reminded her as she was leaving that my “half-birthday” is in May …)

Anyway, it was good to see her, and Chappy was thrilled since she’s one of his very favorite people. He is now sprawled on the floor, exhausted from an afternoon of being cute and entertaining.

I hope you all have had a good weekend! Tomorrow’s going to be the start of a hard week–if only because it’s going to be the first, 5-day week I’ve had since the beginning of December. It’s going to feel endless!

Tags: Baking, Friends, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
6 Comments »

So, tell me the truth … do you like this color?

Okay, maybe I should tell you that you should say YES because I just bought enough of it for an afghan.

Or, I hope I did.

You remember Sylvi, don’t you?

Yes, I still love it as much as ever.

I’ve decided to be practical (?), though … I’m taking this gorgeous, gorgeous cabled coat and am going to turn it into an afghan.

The tricky part is figuring out how much yarn I’m going to need, considering I have no idea what my gauge will be, what the size will end up being, or, well, anything specific except that it’s going to have that cable!

Of course, I’m trying hard not to spend money–you know how good I am at this. And I’m trying to knit out of my stash these days … it’s just that I don’t HAVE any yarn that’s suitable for an afghan.

Personally, I feel that an afghan needs to be washable. Even if it’s only once a year, I need to be able to wash it. I don’t mind having to be careful (and with a handknit, you know I’ll be careful), but it has to be possible. And, since we’re talking about something fairly large, it’s not like I can spread a heavy, wet blanket out on a bed for the several days it’s going to take to dry. I want to at least be able to spin the water out in the washing machine and put it in the dryer on the fluff cycle for a little while.

Yep. That means I’m going to need something with some ACKrylic … but only some! 70% merino, 30% acrylic in a cable-spun yarn, which should look just fantastic in cables. And that Gold color? It will look fabulous with my yellow-gold bedroom walls and my red chair.

And, the yarn is on Closeout Sale … which makes having enough yarn crucial … making the uncertainty of size, yardage, gauge, pattern that much more challenging. But makes buying it NOW that much more important.

Fun, huh?

Meanwhile, I’m just about done with the first buttonband on my Harvest Cardigan. I even ordered some buttons for it on Etsy, but since they’re bigger than the pattern called for–and since I’m making the button bands wider, anyway–I need to figure out different buttonholes for the other buttonband.

Oh, and I’m thinking about what to do with that tower of Briar Rose yarn … it’s so pretty! Love those colors.

In other news? It’s 21 years ago today that I got my very first car. A 1988, champagne-colored Volkswagen Golf GL. I had just come back from spending a college semester in London. Through high school and my first couple years of college, Mom and I had shared her car without any problems, but when I was gone for three months and she got used to not having to share, well … getting me a car was her top priority when I came home in December. So, Dad, Mom and I went car shopping, and what I wanted was a cute, little car like I’d seen tooling around London, and a VW Golf was THE car I wanted.

Mom and Dad covered the car payments until I graduated college and got a job, and then I took over. I drove that car for six years and loved every minute of it. Except for a screw I’d picked up in the tire that took four trips to the mechanic to find, and except for the gas filter that clogged up on the drive home from Massachusetts in 1990–but from which it actually GOT me home–that car never failed me.

And yes, I know, I’ve told you this story (about my Saturn, remember?) , but, well, I really DID love that car! And I can’t believe it was 21 years ago!

Oh–and the pound cake for today’s Eye Candy Friday? I used that really deluxe “Crush” vanilla. I read about this vanilla–with crushed vanilla beans–over at the King Arthur Flour baking blog and my sister got me a bottle for Christmas. And, Holy Hannah does this stuff taste good! It’s the main reason I made pound cake yesterday, just as an excuse for something pure vanilla to highlight that flavor. Mmm, mmm!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
8 Comments »

Mmmm….

Brought to you by:

Tags: Baking, Eye-Candy Friday by --Deb
11 Comments »

Mother Nature worked hard yesterday, and today everything looks clean and shiny new. We got about an inch of snow in yesterday’s gray, wet morning, but then it got COLD and really, really windy so that everything is scrubbed clean, all fresh and ready to start the new year.

Really, Chappy’s only regret was that it was too darn cold to go out for a walk today … but he was grateful to sleep up on the bed last night, away from the drafty floor, so I don’t think he would have enjoyed the walk as much as HE thinks he would have.

I’m not quite done with my Harvest Cardigan yet … it still needs button bands … but I’m getting ready for whatever’s coming next.

LOOK at the size of this skein of yarn!

That’s 900 yards of Briar Rose “Charity” yarn and I had to put it in three, separate balls because that whole, whomping skein wouldn’t all fit on my ball winder at once.

I’m so, so hoping it will be enough for a sweater. (It should be, as long as I’m careful.) The colors are divine–autumny orange with hints of green and brown.

I don’t have a pattern in mind, but since the yardage is limited, I’m thinking that a top-down, one-piece pattern is a must. As long as I’m careful, I should at least end up with a sweater, even if it’s a little short.

And,  meanwhile? I’m still looking at sale yarn at Webs and thinking about Sylvi … only now, I’m really, really thinking about turning it into an afghan. Then I’d still get to knit that gorgeous cable, but I wouldn’t have to worry about whether it fits!

The tricky part, of course, is that, without a pattern, I don’t know what kind of yardage of yarn I’ll need … and I won’t until I pick out a yarn and make a swatch and do calculations … but how can I buy enough yarn if I don’t know how much I need?

Hope 2009 is going well for everyone so far!

Tags: General by --Deb
5 Comments »

Okay, here are my favorite books of the year.

(Note: they are the favorites that I read for the first time this year, regardless of when they were actually published. And they are listed in the order in which I read them.)

Favorite Fiction:

• Once Upon a Day: A Novel by Lisa Tucker (342 p.)
• Dream When You’re Feeling Blue: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg (276 p.)
• Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley (342 p.)
• A Test of Wills by Charles Todd (305 p.)
• The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell (245 p.)
• It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons (111 p.)
• Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn (403 p.)

Favorite NonFiction:

• Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (280 p.)
• Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink (249 p.)
• No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin (636 p.)
• Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times by George Crile (523 p.)
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (246 p.)
• Photoshop for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby (349 p.)
• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (562 p.)
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (263 p.)
• The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left by David Crystal (222 p.) What a fascinating book.
• Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America by Jonathan Gould (606 p.)
• An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere by Gabrielle Walker (238 p.)
• The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley (624 p.)
• Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman (282 p.)
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan (201 p.)
• Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (228 p.) (Funny, whether you knit or not–lovely essays.)

(Wow. Surprisingly difficult this year. Money’s been tight so I haven’t been buying as many books, so most of the fiction I’ve been reading has been re-reads … which makes for a short Fiction list for a change!)

The total for the year? 248 books, totalling … believe it or not … 94,894 pages. Ninety-four THOUSAND pages. Wow.

Here’s a recap of all the lists:

• January 2008
• February 2008
• March 2008
• April 2008
• May 2008
• June 2008
• July 2008
• August 2008
• September 2008
• October 2008
• November 2008
• December 2008

Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading by --Deb
10 Comments »

Here are the books I read in December:

1. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (222 p.)
2. Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones (515 p.) YA fantasy, the last two Chrestomanci books … fun, charming, as always.

3. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (250 p.)
4. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings (327 p.)
5. Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings (305 p.)
6. Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings (373 p.)
7. Enchanter’s End Game by David Eddings (372 p.) The Belgariad, classic fantasy, and still the best by David Eddings (in my opinion)

8. Guardians of the West by David Eddings (454 p.)
9. King of the Murgos by David Eddings (368 p.)
10. Demon Lord of Kalandra by David Eddings (422 p.)
11. Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings (406 p.)
12. Seeress of Kell by David Eddings (399 p.) The Mallorean, the sequel to the Belgariad. The characters are just as engaging, but, it’s not quite as fresh as the original (surprise, surprise). Still fun, though.

13. Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
14. Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
15. Plan B by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
16. I Dare by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller The “core” books of the Liaden series and absolutely fantastic. Sci fi/romance/adventure, aka space opera, but done better than by anybody else I can think of. The whole series is being reprinted soon, and it’s so, so worth it.

17. Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer (227 p.) Self-explanatory, no?
18. Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds by Peter Bowerman (278 p.) And this one, too?

19. Bellwether by Connie Willis (248 p.) Pure fun. I absolutely love this book. Sandra is trying to figure out how fads start … it’s just … funny. Clever. Creative. Silly. Thoughtful. Connie Willis at her best. I adore this…

20. Knit to Be Square: Domino Designs to Knit and Felt by Vivian Hoxbro (143 p.) Cool knitting technique, review is forthcoming.
21. Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn by Carol Sulcoski (125 p.) So many beautiful sock patterns, so little time. Review is here.
22. Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions by Nancy Bush (156 p.) Beautiful book of history and lace, review is here.
23. Elements of Style: Knit & Crochet Jewelry with Wire, Fiber, Felt & Beads by Rosemary Hill (127 p.) Gorgeous knitted jewelry! Review is here.

24. Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama (362 p.) The eloquent world view of our next President. Nicely written, fair and balanced, intelligent. So refreshing.

Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading by --Deb
5 Comments »