Phase One is complete. My center panel for my afghan is done!

Well, except for adding the flower petals. I’ve got 7 of them done now and, well, they’re curly stockinette stitch, so right now they look more like starfish than like flowers, but I assure you, that will change once they’re stitched down. The long strands of yarn you see are the ends which I plan to use to do that stitching, rather than sewing them with “fresh” lengths of yarn and having twice as many ends to weave in.

Now–question for you. The border is going to be a vine with leaves, but the cable on the afghan itself very clearly has a bottom and a top with the direction it’s growing. Do you think I should knit the two sides of the border so that its vine is “growing” in the same direction as the main cable? Or should I knit it all in one piece, all the way around, so that one side will be pointing up, and the other side pointing down? Or doesn’t it matter?

Chappy’s having a much better day today. He was sick most of yesterday. He threw up in his crate at about 6:30, and then in my parents’ room at about 7:00, and then in the laundry room about 7:30, and then twice more during the morning while I was at work. He spent quite a lot of time sitting on his grandpa’s lap, too, which is highly unusual for him. I’ve told you before that Chappy is NOT a lap dog, right? He likes to be nearby, but really doesn’t like to sit in laps … unless he doesn’t feel well and needs comforting. He was feeling better by supper last night, though, and seems like himself today. No idea what that WAS, though.

I got Mommy demerits, though. Not only did I NOT drag myself out of bed when I heard him being sick at 6:30 … (Um, I have a hard enough time dragging myself out of bed at 6:45. I do NOT wake up easily!) … But I then left him and went blithely on my way to the office, deserting him in his time of need. I mean, he had both his grandparents home, and they both made a point of spending time with him, but they’re not his MOM. I felt just terrible.

Anyway, we celebrated his feeling better by having a doggy version of a shearing festival–he got a haircut, and the pile of fur on the floor when we were done was about the size that he was when we brought him home seven years ago. He so badly needed that haircut! There’s a fine line between “fluffy” and “scruffy” and he passed it about two weeks ago (grin).

Okay–got some stuff I need to get done and it’s already after 11:00, so … Hope you’re all having a good Saturday!

Tags: General by --Deb
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This one is soothing …using the stylus, you trace the path from the outer edge to the inside, which almost forces you into a meditative state. Or, well, maybe not meditative, but … focused!

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Tags: Eye-Candy Friday by --Deb
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So, I’m just really confused about what day of the week it is.

First, you know about my Booking Through Thursday blog, right? Where I post a book-related question every Thursday? Well, last night at 11:30, I got an email from somebody saying, “No BTT this week? Oh well.” I wrote back and said to be patient, it was still Wednesday where I was, and she wrote back all embarrassed, that she’d been a day “off” all week.

Then, you may have noticed that my Eye Candy Friday posted a day early? Apparently when I wrote the post last week, I typed in the wrong date. So, THAT’s been messing me up all day.

Not to mention that it was an unusually slow day at the office today, and that’s kind of unusual for a Thursday.

I kept myself busy, though. I created a cable chart for my afghan border.

Sure, the one in Nicky Epstein’s book that I showed you the other day was a good one. But it seemed so impersonal. So I decided to take the leaves from the afghan’s cable and create my own around them.

Now, I just need to figure out what to do about the corners.

And, um, figure out what day it is.

Hey–did you see Jessica’s blog the other day? I almost missed this … She got engaged!

Tags: General by --Deb
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As promised, here’s me in my Briar Rose sweater. (And, hmm, the t-shirt color doesn’t look as good with the yarn as I thought it did when I got dressed this  morning!)

Some more yarn pictures. This cormo–especially the undyed skein–is so light and airy, I keep worrying it’s going to float away!

And then, my afghan.

I started to lay it down to show you how big it’s getting, and…

My helper came in.

Wasn’t it nice of him to come and provide the picture with something for scale?

Now. First, I laid down my orange throw blanket on the floor, and then my in-progress afghan on top, for comparison’s sake. The orange blanket is good size for me, after all. Dad thinks it’s too small, but he’s 6’2″ so he’s got an extra foot of body length to cover up with a blanket.

What I’m thinking of doing–instead of putting two side panels alongside the main one–is just adding a wide, cabled border around the four sides. By the time I’m done knitting this part, adding a border that’s, say, 8″ around should make this just about the same size as that orange blanket.

And I think I found the perfect cable for it, too.

There’s just one problem.

Chappy says it belongs to him, now!

Oh–do you know anybody with a yarn shop? Read (and point them to) this fabulous post of advice for LYS-owners. Really GREAT tips on how to get, keep, satisfy customers–some of which is obvious, but some of which I’ve never heard before. Seriously. Most of you readers are knitters and you probably know a yarn shop … send them that link. It’s pure gold!

Tags: Finished Knitting, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Working on the 2-yards per turn of my skeiner, those two skeins of yarn from yesterday come out to just about 736 yards.

About 314 yards of the white.

About 422 yards of the dyed yarn.

Don’t they look pretty together?

Now, they just need a hot, relaxing bath after all this stress. They’re both a little tense, but really lovely.

Of course, the MVFF color ends up being a little “pastel” for my tastes. I wonder if I could find a really good, dark gray yarn of similar weight, because that would make for some gorgeous color-work!

You’ll be pleased to know that my legs ARE working today. I know that I was relieved! Now, if only I could get my lungs on board and have them start behaving themselves.

Oh, and I’ve got my orange Briar Rose sweater blocking, so a modelled shot shouldn’t be far away!

This is so sad. The squeaky-toy sneaker that Chappy has in our bedroom? The one that was Katy’s before him and got handed down and has been the only toy he’s allowed to have upstairs (other than a Nylabone) since he was a puppy? Suddenly, about 10 minutes ago, it’s squeak stopped working. (Darn, and after only 8 years? They just don’t make toys the way they used to.) It hasn’t stopped him playing with it, though. In fact, he seems determined to make it WORK. (“Wait, I’ll fix it!”)

Hey–any tips on a good tutorial on how to take a cable pattern and convert it into a corner for, I don’t know, an afghan, maybe? Like, say, if someone wanted to knit a cabled border onto the edges of an afghan and around the edges? Purely hypothetical, of course!

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Okay, maybe not literally, but you know those four bobbins of singles I told you about?

They are singles no more!

What you see here is the two empty bobbins, the two left with some singles (since I never can manage to have things come out even), and my hat with the next bobbin’s worth of yarn ready to spin AND the two bobbins of plied yarn.

One is the original, undyed white Cormo (from MVFF), and the other is from the Cormo that Jessica dyed for me in the MVFF colors. Isn’t it pretty?

I have NO idea of the yardage, but I can tell you it took hours to ply it all.

I did the plying on my Lendrum … a wheel that doesn’t get used all that often these days, and I now remember why. It’s a lot harder to treadle than my Majacraft Little Gem, and a lot noisier (especially with the Woolee Winder clicking away as it moves back and forth).

Even though I took several breaks, I can feel this in my legs … they are going to be TIRED tomorrow. You know, considering that they’re tired right now (grin).

Now, Marcia had left instructions on rewinding my Majacraft bobbins onto my Lendrum bobbins to free up the Majacraft ones, but by the time I saw that, I’d already started plying the first batch and my Lendrum was busy. And after the reminder of how obstinate it can get about treadling, I figured I didn’t want to have to treadle those singles through any more than I absolutely had to, hence plying the second bobbin-full.

What do the rest of you do? Do any of you re-wind your bobbins of singles? It certainly seems like a handy thing to do!

Oh, and while I was NOT sitting in front of my spinning wheel, treadling my heart out? I baked banana bread, and made pot roast (using beef, carmelized onions, and leftover coffee from breakfast). I blocked my Briar Rose sweater (finally). I also found a little time to read, but did NOT get Chappy the haircut he so badly needs. Nor did I get any work done at the computer.

But … that yarn sure came out pretty, don’t you think?

I think I’ll wait to wind it into skeins until at least tomorrow, though…

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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It’s totally Kim‘s fault. If she hadn’t mentioned the 50% off sale, I never would have thought to even look in that little knitting store this morning. I don’t even like that little knitting store, but, well, half-off yarn … it doesn’t hurt to look, right?

And yes, I’m well aware that buying something that you don’t actually need just because it’s on sale is not really saving money, but … Eight skeins of yarn–enough for a sweater–for $24.

I’ve never made a sweater in truly variegated yarn before. (The Briar Rose cardi I just finished is the closest, but that still mostly sticks to “orange”) So finding the right pattern for this might be tricky, but I liked the colors so much …

… and did I mention that the whole pile of yarn only cost $24? The sock yarn that I bought in Chester last week (in a bigger store with MUCH friendlier people) cost just about the same as this entire sweater’s worth of yarn, so … I’m really not feeling that guilty (grin).

I spent almost as much in the grocery store, buying lunch and things to cook. I made more chicken soup this afternoon, and baked some cupcakes. (Although my frosting didn’t come out nearly this thick.) Made raspberry sauce for Dad’s peach melba.

I swear, even when I plan to stay out of the kitchen, I end up spending hours in the kitchen! But then, I LIKE to cook and bake.

And–here’s a shocker–I did over an hour’s worth of spinning last night. (From about 10:45 to 11:45, just before climbing into bed.) I finished my second bobbin of pretty, MVFF-colored Cormo. I should be getting my Fall share of fiber SOON and, I have at least four more ounces of yarn to spin to REACH THE HALFWAY POINT.

The problem? Not enough bobbins. In fact, I am now OUT of Majacraft bobbins until I get some of these singles plied to free up some of them.

This is frustrating, to say the least. I know some people wind the yarn off onto “storage bobbins” but so far as I can tell, they only hold so much yarn, and you need a bobbin winder to get the singles ON them, and those aren’t cheap. And while Majacraft plastic bobbins aren’t wildly expensive, they’re still almost $20 a piece and, well, I can buy a sweater’s worth of yarn for that… (grin) So … I’m stuck with having just four of them which means I need to stop to ply some yarn … very, very soon … so that I can get spinning on the next batch of Cormo.

Because, it really would be nice to at least have half of the Spring share spun before Fall arrives, don’t you think? If only I didn’t have all this extra work to do, taking time away from spinning … not to mention this baking/cooking spree thing. And I can’t even spin instead of knit at night while watching TV with Mom because the noise (that quiet, quiet whispery noise) of the spinning wheel distracts her or bothers her ear or something.

But, anyway! I’m going to go take my shower, then grab my knitting bag, make some tea, eat one of those cupcakes, and then work on my afghan while Mom and I watch Kate & Leopold. (A movie you can’t help but like–Hugh Jackman as an 19th century gentleman suddenly finding himself in modern Manhattan. He dresses, talks, and acts divinely, and I’m always a sucker for a good time travel story … and this one is!)

Tags: General by --Deb
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Yes, the idea is to go all the way around, moving the ball only by turning and tilting the cylinder.

No, I have never actually accomplished this, and I lost one of the 3 balls trying.

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Tags: Eye-Candy Friday by --Deb
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There hasn’t really been a reason, but it HAS been kind of quiet here the last few days, huh?

It’s not like I haven’t been busy. I’m up to row 140 of my afghan, have another 70 to go, and have no idea how on earth I’m going to fit this in my knitting bag after a few more rows.

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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See pictures, that is!

The sock yarn I bought in Chester on Saturday. That’s Plymouth Yarn “Happy Feet” yarn, 90% superwash merino, 10%  nylon, 262 yards each. It’s got a nice feel to it, but that little bit of nylon seems reassuring, considering I just found holes in yet another pair of handknit socks the other day. And the two pictures? One in direct sun, one not, but it’s the same yarn–no color name (just #60), but it’s a nice combination of blue, cream, and taupe.

And I KNOW you want to see my Sylvi afghan progress! If my math is correct, I’m about halfway through the cable pattern, so this is about halfway as long as it’s going to be.

What? Two skeins of sock yarn aren’t enough to give you a true idea of the scale?

Well, cozily draped over my lap, it reaches from my ankles to above my knees. I’m getting just about 20 rows out of each skein of yarn, so this center section whould take about 12 of them. Then I’ll do two matching side panels to make for a wider rectangle, and then something or other around the outside to make the whole thing look and feel finished. I must say, it’s really very cozy! (In fact, I was chilly, so after I took the picture, I just left it there until it was time to get up for lunch.)

I made a point of finishing that bobbin of yarn that I started yesterday. You know how I love to photograph spun bobbins with more of the same fiber, to see the difference in the colors and texture from roving to singles.

I thought this pair of photos was interesting, too–same exact photo except that I changed the aperture setting on my camera. On one, only the center bobbin is in focus (wide aperture), in the other, all three are (small aperture).

And then I realized. I was getting out another bobbin so I could start spinning the rest of the singles and …

How is it possible that I only have 4 Majacraft bobbins?

I have some bobbins for my Woolee Winder, of course, though I actually use it less and less these days. I have one big Plying bobbin, but the regular, plastic bobbins? I only have 4. I could have sworn I had more. I guess I really CAN’T spin any more singles after this without plying something, huh? Darn it.

Oh, and no. I have not yet blocked my sweater, so no, the hem still is not behaving itself.

Hey, did you see the series of posts I wrote about Spinning Words? Three parts–the equipment, the fiber, and the spinning. Because the words about spinning are almost as much fun as the spinning itself. (Well, you know what I mean.)

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Chappy wanted to get as CLOSE to dinner as possible today.

Homemade rye bread (yum).

Salad (also yum, but Chappy only likes the carrots).

Beef stew (what’s not to like?)

Apparently nothing. He licked his bowl clean!

Some fresh air with his uncle and cousin (who very helpfully cleaned up twigs, sticks, branches, and logs which landed in our backyard over the last week or so).

Individual ice cream cakes…

With birthday candles, of course.

Even some spinning! This is the MVFF Cormo that Jessica dyed for me to match the colors in the logo. I’d say she nailed it–isn’t it pretty?

Really, it’s no wonder Chappy’s so tired!

Tags: General by --Deb
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As you know, it’s Mom’s birthday today. (Did you go wish her a happy birthday? Her new eFriend did!) We couldn’t come up with anything more exciting to do, so after much agonizing, we went out for coffee to this cute little coffee shop in Chester. We’ve stopped there before, but we’ve always had Chappy (or Katy) with us, so I’ve never really  been inside.

It’s a charming little place though. Three tables. Yummy baked goods. Good coffee. But, even more, it was so obviously the right place for us to go today because it turned out that the owner and the one woman who works for her are also both Valentine’s Day babies. How often do you go someplace where the people NOT having birthdays are outnumbered by the people who ARE?

We also stopped at a nice little LYS called “Why Knot Knit,” which is run by a pair of very friendly sisters. We actually spent quite a while chatting with them (and, hi, if you’re reading this!). And, um, oh yeah, I bought a little sock yarn. I mean, it was only the polite thing to do! They were trying to get their wireless router set up while we were there, and took my card when I mentioned that not only do I write knitting book reviews, but that I freelance and write websites, too! (I didn’t even mention the photography thing.)

You know, it was really nice to be in a yarn shop that had a selection of roving, along with the yarn!

Then we came home, had a quick bite of lunch (leftover fried rice from the other night cooked in some of my homemade chicken stock–instant soup), and then I started baking.

I blame Carole for these. Because while they might look like muffin tins full of tomato paste…

They are actually Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Guess how they got their name? Yep, that’s RED. As in, “two full bottles of red food coloring”-red. Darn tasty, though, despite the cream cheese frosting. (Which has never  been a favorite of mine and is now even less a favorite what with the way dairy products aggravate my asthma these days. But, well, you can’t argue with tradition, right?)

I’m extremely proud of myself for accomplishing this without staining anything in the kitchen red, except for one spot on my wooden spatula handle. Mom would have killed me if I’d gotten red dye in her white sink! (Really, you’d think she’s a nice, mild-mannered mother–and she mostly is–but you’ve never seen how obsessed she is about keeping her sink clean.)

After the baking, I sat down for about half an hour … did I mention I also made chocolate cake for tomorrow’s ice cream cake? Then, I went back into the kitchen and started supper. No, wait, first I made the cream cheese frosting. Then I started supper. Two suppers, actually. I started assembling ingredients for tomorrow’s beef stew, tonights rotisserie chicken, and a pot of chicken stock (because, well, there IS that extra carcass from the rotisserie chicken, right?)

So, I did my whirlwind impression–sauteeing some chicken legs to start the chicken stock, cutting stew meat into manageable pieces, browning those, then chopping onions–one for the stock pot, one for the stew pot. Carrots, ditto. Celery. Then (oops, get the chicken in the oven), start adding water to the stock pot while peeling potatoes for the … well, for supper first, then for the stew. LOTS of potatoes for the stew!

I added basic seasonings to the stew and the stock pot, then brought the stew to a simmer and turned it off. (It will finish cooking tomorrow, but tonight all the ingredients can start getting to know each other, while chilling in the fridge.) Got the chicken out of the oven, carved it, and then dumped the carcass in the stock pot, added more water, and gave Chappy the carving dish to clean off. Mashed the potatoes. Phew!

So, dinner was chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and Red Velvet Cupcakes, and now I’m beat!

Which means you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to see modelled pictures of my sweater. Which I had WANTED to steam-block today. I think when I folded and tacked down the bottom hem, I should have attached it one row further up, because the bottom hem is flaring outward just a touch. I’ll try blocking it, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to either (1) leave it as is or (2) undo the hem and re-sew it. (Except for the parts that are knitted into the button bands, of course.)

But, here, I’ll leave you with some Saturday Sky. (Technically taken the other day on my way to work, but hey.)

Now, I’m going to go take my shower, grab my knitting bag–with relief because I’m down to one project and it FITS in the bag (for a little while, at least), make some tea, and then relax with Mom and watch a movie.

Hope you’re all having a good Valentine’s Day. I know Chappy is!

Tags: Baking, Family by --Deb
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I told you that those buttons, the ones that would have looked so good on my Harvest Cardigan, would be even MORE perfect on this one, right?

Yep. Pretty much perfect.

There’s even some yarn left over. And you KNOW how I was worrying about that!

Turns out, I could have made the sleeves a little longer, after all, but, really … why?

I need to block it to get the hem to lie flat, but since I want to wear it on Sunday, I’m going to try the steaming thing tomorrow.

Speaking of steaming, I’ll be spending a lot of time in the kitchen tomorrow. It’s Mom’s birthday tomorrow and while we’re going out in the morning, I’ve got things to make in the afternoon. Cupcakes, ice cream cake for Sunday, stew for Sunday, roast chicken and mashed potatoes for tomorrow night. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll try some more chicken stock, too, with tomorrow night’s leftovers.

I keep telling you how great Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm is, right? Well, word is really spreading … check out Vanity Fair. Wow!

Tags: General by --Deb
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Well, it is a windy, windy day out there! It’s sounded like we’ve had freight trains going by all day. Luckily, it’s not really cold–right about 50 degrees–but, yeah, windy! As in very windy, with trees down, roads blocked, and two people in NJ killed by effects of wind gusts. I took Chappy out ever so briefly for a walk at lunch, but he looked so freaked out at the swarms of blowing leaves attacking him, we kept it short.

Still, he really can’t complain. He actually got two walks yesterday. (Yes, TWO!) In fact, he hasn’t missed a walk all week … it’s like a Winter miracle!

Have you donated yet to the Australian Red Cross? And have you emailed your receipt to Jacqueline yet? Because her list of goodies for prizes is getting better and better all the time. And so far, she’s raised over $5000. (Is it wrong to feel so happy about that? Or is that a good thing? Good that each dollar means help is on its way, but bad that so much help is needed … Okay, I’m conflicted.)

Oh, now THIS is really cool. Knittsings wrote a post about the “Knitting Class of 2005” where she went through a list of over 1500 knitting blogs that made the Bloglines list back then and went to EACH SITE to see which ones were still alive. She came up with 526, and, look! I’m one of them! (And, please, take a moment to appreciate how much WORK that was!)

I’ve told you how much my mother loves the blueberry scones from Espresso Love, right? Well, she wrote a POEM about them. Go take a look and THEN, while you’re there, wish her a happy early birthday, huh? Because her birthday is on Saturday–my Mom is a Valentine baby!

So, here’s something you don’t see every day. A $4.3 Million pedestrian bridge going diagonally across an intersection on Rt 46. They’ve been working on it for months, and the stairs and ramps (!) are just about ready, and the span is going up this weekend.

And yes, you heard me correctly. 4.3 Million dollars to cross a highway where there’s already a traffic light, crosswalks, and even an island at the midway point. Was this really a practical use of our town tax dollars in this economy?

Still. It makes for interesting photos while waiting for the light to turn green. (Click to enlarge.)

Tags: General by --Deb
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First, and most important. You have heard about the horrific Australian bushfires, haven’t you? The perfect storm of wild fires that devastated entire towns? That killed hundreds of people who had no time to escape?

Well, here’s your chance to help–Jacqueline at Serendipity is asking for your help. She and her family were luckily unscathed, but friends of hers were not, and the entire state of Victoria–the area around Melbourne–is in shock.

She posts about this here at her blog. For every $10 (Australian dollars) you donate to the Australian Red Cross, you get an entry in her contest.

That’s right–you get to do something good to help people in dire need, and you get a chance to win some really lovely knitting prizes at the same time. (And, as she points out, the exchange rate for the Australian dollar makes this pretty favorable, too.) All you have to do is make your donation to the Australian Red Cross, and then email her a copy of your receipt to get entered. Contest details and the list of prizes is right here.

Now I know what to do with that extra money I got from that B&BW mix-up.

Okay, on to the knitting…

Well, my sweater is almost done. Woohoo! It’s just about the perfect length right now, so all I have left is to add a little garter stitch at the bottom and the body is done. That will leave just the button bands to be completely finished.

There is one interesting twist, though. And I mean that literally. I’ve told you that I decided to knit the top part of the sweater in reverse-stockinette, and the bottom in regular stockinette, giving a little extra interest, but leaving the gauge the same. Which, of course, worked just fine.

The thing I didn’t think about? The fact that the front edges would curl in different directions.

The interesting part? I kind of like this this way!

So now, I’m considering either (1) only doing button bands on the bottom part, and leaving the top portion to curl outward like a lapel, or (2) running the button bands all the way to the top anyway … and hope that it lies flat.

Decisions, decisions…

Did you hear about the new, updated Amazon Kindle? I admit, I’d love to have one!

Oh, and folks? My review of Judith Mackenzie McCuin’s new book, The Intentional Spinner is up. And, oh, what a GREAT book! This is in the “run don’t walk” category.

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Scene: A sunny Sunday with temperatures in the mid-50s.

Act 1: The Park

Mom, Dad, Chappy and I pile in the car to go to the park. The park! We haven’t been there since last autumn. Chappy’s stretched out across Grandma’s lap in the backseat (making both of them look miserable), and everybody’s happy.

First ominous sign–pass one of the park’s walking paths that comes out to the road and … it’s all icy. What? Our sidewalks are clear after several days of above-freezing temps and sunshine? We get to the parking lot, park the car and … yes. Ice. Lots of ice. Apparently the park doesn’t clear the pathways at all.

Oh. So, we figure we’ll walk back and forth along the parking lot. After all, there are other dogs doing the same thing, Chappy can make some friends and at least get some fresh air.

Wait. Was that a raindrop? Nah, it couldn’t be a raindrop. It’s sunn… uh-oh. Just as we’re at the furthest spot from the car, it starts actually raining. My sunglasses are getting wet, Dad pulls out his hat, and Mom starts complaining that she didn’t bring an umbrella. We rush back to the car (surrounded by lots of other people doing the same thing) and get in just as it starts to rain really heavily for about 45 seconds.

But, by then, the icy-pathed, wet park has kind of lost its appeal, so we head home.

Act 2: Around the Block

At home, the sun is shining, the ground is dry, and the sky is blue, blue, blue. So we decide that, since we’re all dressed for a walk anyway, we’ll walk HERE. I empty my pockets of car keys and such, Mom grabs an umbrella (just in case), and we head out the door, turning left at the street to go around our block.

This is our usual Special Sunday Walk route–longer than the regular, daily walk. The sun is shining, it’s in the mid-50s which feels practically balmy after all the single-digit temperatures lately, and it’s lovely. Except, it’s windy.

Now, I LOVE windy days. Not when they’re bitterly cold, mind you, because then it feels like daggers, but I love when the air is alive and moving and … fun. We get around three sides of the block and back to the street just around the corner where we can either go left (straight home) or right (joining into our regular walk to become a long walk).

Mom and Dad are cold because of the wind, so they turn left and Chappy and I (the two with long hair–coincidence?) turn right.

Act 3: Just the Two of Us

So, Chappy and I head down the hill, enjoying the wind, enjoying the sun, enjoying the comfortable temperatures.

We even got to see one of his doggy friends that we haven’t seen in months and months. (Last summer, at least.) Her grandmother was leaving and she and her dad had come out to the driveway to say goodbye, but when she saw Chappy, she came pelting down the driveway. Ella just loves Chappy. We’re told that she rarely ever barks, but whenever she sees Chappy walk past her house, she barks, “Chappy! Hi Chappy! Chappy! Up here, Chappy!” (I so understand this. I would do the same thing.) Anyway, they got to sniff hello and stand in ankle-deep melt-off from her driveway before her Dad called her back up the hill. Chappy was so thrilled about seeing her, he pranced for at least a house length before settling back to his usual walk.

We’re all still wondering where on earth that rain came from, though! Especially since it’s been sunny here all afternoon, though the temperatures have been dropping ever since. It’s about 40 degrees right now, and is supposed to be in the mid-40s tomorrow. No complaints about that!

And, in the meantime? Chappy is napping the sleep of the dog who had essentially three walks today.

Funnily enough? I haven’t heard him complain once!

Tags: General by --Deb
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Well, Jessica had a full house today! Because, not everybody fits into the picture, and two people had already left before I pulled out my camera, but here’s the view from where I was sitting (more or less). You can’t see Tina or Risa or Kim or Anne, but that’s Ina sitting right next to me with her drop spindle. But there’s Jessalu (all the way from Massachusetts!), and Sharon and Sairie … Jessica, of course, and, darn it, two other people whose names I’m blanking on. (I’m sorry; I’m tired.) Not to mention the two who’d left already.

You get the idea, though, huh? It was a full house. Lots and lots of laughter, though! And so many spinning wheels in one place. Three Ladybugs, two Lendrums, and a Kromski. (I just brought knitting with me, so no Majacrafts.) Good food, too. (My contribution was a loaf of homemade rye bread that was still warm from the oven when I arrived.)

I ended up leaving about 5:30 and would have stayed longer except that I had to get home to feed Chappy. In fact, my phone rang while I was driving home to ask if I would be back in time. He was VERY happy to see me, very suspicious about the cat scent on my knitting bag (and legs, and fingers), but eager to tell me that his grandparents, my parents, had taken him for a walk this afternoon. I think that’s a first. And, of course, his first priority was for me to feed him as quickly as possible.

Oh, and in response to a couple conversations that floated around today.

The movie with Jane Seymour that I was thinking of was “Oh Heavenly Dog“  from 1980. It starred Chevy Chase as a detective who gets killed and reincarnated as a dog–played by Benji. (You remember Benji, right?)

And then, Anne was talking about how UPS practically goes out of its way to abuse any packages marked as “Fragile,” and then I got home to read poor Julia’s (Moth Heaven’s) post … Look at her poor, beautiful, damaged Watson Wheel! Oh, the horror!

And, Mom? “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming” (1966) was based on a novel by Nathanial Benchley, not Peter Benchley.I

Tags: Friends by --Deb
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Tags: Baking by --Deb
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Honestly, I wish I had more to say.

Knitting:

I reached the end of the first chart for my afghan (row 80), so that panel with that gorgeous cable is 1/3 finished. Not counting the flower petals, which go on last. I admit to being curious, though. The pattern has you place markers at the stitches where the petals are going to go, but they’re not really “holding” anything. They just sort of sit there, presumably so you don’t forget where the petals will be. But, anyway, this looks warm and cushy and lovely, and I’m just about finished with my 4th skein of yarn.

(Oh, and this picture? I had to use the flash, so the cables on the afghan are washed out, but the colors for the sweater are pretty accurate.)

My sweater–I’ve been working on my sweater the last couple of nights. (I don’t want it to feel neglected or unloved by my knitting on the afghan.) It still looks rather more like a shrug than a sweater, but it’s coming along … a lot more slowly than the afghan, though! It’s funny. I’m so used to knitting on finer yarns–usually nothing thicker than DK/Worsted weight, and yet a week or two knitting with a bulky-ish yarn on 10.5 needles and suddenly size 6 feels so darn slow.

Oh, and about that size 6? My Knitpicks, wooden, interchangeable needle has developed a creak AND a noticeable ridge between where the wood meets the metal fitting. NOT a good sign. Not to mention irritating since my knitting keeps “catching” there as I slide my stitches along the needle.

Spinning:

Sadly, I haven’t touched it since I finished that bobbin of yarn on January 11th. I know that was the 11th because it was the day the family came down to celebrate Dad’s birthday and I brought my wheel down to the kitchen. That’s just SAD, isn’t it? Poor little neglected wheel.

Chappy:

Chappy’s swell. Cute. Fluffy. Happy. A little disappointed that, even though it’s sunny and bright, he hasn’t had a walk since Monday. (It might be sunny, but it’s cold!) But, well, he’s adorable and cheery anyway, if a little bored.

Oh, but he IS disappointed that the Christmas Stollen has finally petered out. Dad and he finished it this morning … making this the first year ever that they made it into February. I really don’t see how they can complain that they didn’t have enough, can you? (And yet, somehow, they manage anyway.)

Chappy’s also been spending time with his Grandma today, who’s been feeling sniffly and sickish. We’re all hoping it’s just a passing something or other and that she’ll be fine by tomorrow.

Reading:

What a silly question, of COURSE I’ve been reading! I just finished the “Guensey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” which was charming and lovely. I’m reading E.F. Benson’s “Secret Lives” right now, along with “The World is Flat,” and “Frauen” … which last is taking me a while, but it’s just about the oldest unread book in my collection and I’m determined to finally read the thing. And, oh yes, the “Intentional Spinner,” which is fantastic. I’m so excited that I’m getting an early look and yes, its review is going to be a rave.

Cooking:

Not really anything since I made those cinnamon rolls on Sunday–which I was the only one who ate. I boiled some pasta for supper tonight … does that count?

Work:

Otherwise, there’s work–both the day job and the plugging away at the Freelance thing. My boss–our company President, who’s actually known my Dad since a month before I was born–became a Grandpa this weekend when his son (who also works at our office) became a Dad for the first time. They’re all walking on air this week. Jim made me laugh on Monday, though, when he said they had to stop at Best Buy on their way down to the hospital because their camera had broken. He said the guy behind the counter could have sold him a $5000 camera if he’d wanted to, because they told him when they went in that they were new grandparents, on the way to the hospital, and needed a camera NOW. It’s nice to have some HAPPY news for a change.

See? Really, not much to talk about at all!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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