So, how was 2010?

• I had a crazy thought and decided to frog my Celtic Dreams sweater.
• Which I did, on Dad’s birthday.
• I had a contest to support my favorite TV show.
• Celebrated my blog’s 5th anniversary.
• Got my hair cut and blown out–it looked so different straight!
• Chappy tried to help a sick friend (who luckily survived).
• Finished my Redhook sweater.
• Finished some little details and loose ends on some knitting.
• Fifth Annual Blogger’s Silent Poetry Reading … this time, with a poem of mine.
• Eek! A bug!
• I actually went into New York, and I died.
• Had a ton of snow, but had to go to work anyway.
• Celebrated Mom’s birthday and surprised her with the Redhook sweater.
• Made some decisions on my re-knitted was-Celtic-Dreams cardigan.
• Found a place for Chappy to play in the snow.
• Actually had a snow day!
• Discovered a new LYS in Madison.
• Reorganized all my buttons.
• National Grammar Day (with a song!)
• Finally got that big, huge, bright (bright!) Palladian window covered.
• Showed Risa and the twins our new house!
• Pi(e) Day.
• Peace Fleece.
• Saw the extended (in-law) family.
• Got an ottoman for Chappy, and some Juniper Moon Farm yarn, too!
• Saw Risa and the twins again, this time with reading.
• Strawberry pie?
• Went to see cherry blossoms! Which had been the first time in a long time.
• Finished my revisited Aran cardigan. Love it. See?
• Started Miss BB.
• Craved strawberry shortcake and finally had to make it.
• Took another look at my Carl Larsson picture.
• Went back to Madison and bought some more yarn.
• Truly missed Katy.
• Reorganized and found out Chuck was renewed (yay).
• Came up with a “guest room.”
• My car stole my vacation.
• Aunt-pride.
• Family birthday celebration, and oh yes, reorganized my stash.
• Yarn that looks just like Chappy.
• Discovered the joys of real furniture polish. (And kick-started my spinning mojo)
• Twenty-five years out of high school?
• Met Joanna Johnson at a book-signing.
• Finished my Miss BB sweater, which came out a little too small.
• Finished a shawl in my handspun Cormo.
• Saw Toy Story 3 and immediately came home to give my old toys a hug.
• Figured out how to block my lace shawl without floor space (on Grandpa’s birthday).
• Came up with the perfect solution for the too-small sweater … gave it to my sister,
• …while celebrating Chappy’s birthday. (with a “pupcake“)
• Accidentally ended up in the Tour de Fleece.
• Seriously, spent a lot of July just spinning.
• Got a new computer. (Twice, technically)
• Had a contest for my 2,010th post.
• So, how many knitting/spinning books do I have again?
• Finished my Salem-Hooded Sweater.
• Celebrated Chappy Day.
• Finished my Dawn-Bag
• Went to the NJ Fiber Festival whose official name I can never remember.
• And a local farm’s festival where Chappy got to see his favorite-former neighbor
• Put my DAWN’S BAG PATTERN up for sale!
• Spent a really fun day at Kim’s–knitting plus historic houses. Pure win.
• Visited my sister on a beautiful day.
• My parents celebrated 47 years.
• Ramble came home for a visit!
• Went to Martha’s Vineyard–first time in the autumn since the 90s.
• Rhinebeck, of course.
• Chappy had some blood-platelet problems. But he bounced back remarkably quickly (knock wood)
• I got older.
• I finally finished spinning the fiber I bought at my first Rhinebeck five years ago.
• Got a new spinning wheel! A Majacraft Aura. (More pictures here.)
• Chappy started feeling better and found a new obsession.
• New Lazy Kate to go with my new, big bobbin.
• Ah, Christmas.

Tags: ABC-Along, General by --Deb
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Click here to see all the pictures from this entry.

(Apparently, Typepad ate them.)

Trust me, it’s worth it!

---

I’ve had a lot of fun with this ABC-along. Thank you, Anne, for thinking of this!If you want to recap, here is the page with ALL my other entries, or you can look at them individually: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y, and of course, ZDo I have favorites? I don’t know . . . I’ve enjoyed the miscellaneous entries, where I wandered around with my camera. I really liked the nostalgia in my G and I entries. I loved doing N, P, and Q. And Chappy and I both enjoyed T. I’m still fond of L, too, but how could I help but love all those books? . . . And this one? Z? Oh, I LOVED doing this one!! I worked on this one for over a week!

Really, I loved almost all of them!

(Oh, and for the record, not all those dark little sleeping dogs are Chappy . . . some are Katy, some are Jilly, and there’s even one or two of Muppy–all our dogs are represented, even if most of them ARE Chappy . . . but hey, it’s not Muppy and Jilly’s fault that they lived before digital photography!)

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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Yikes! Twelve loaves of unbaked stollen! (Eight normal-sized, four mini-loaves.) Talk about scary . . . Halloween’s got nothing on Stollen Day at the Chappy household for frightening….

Years. As in, my car is five years old today. Hard to believe it’s gone that quickly. And oddly enough, I’m usually getting “itchy” about a new car after 4-5 years, but I’m still thoroughly enjoying this one. I could wish for a slightly bigger trunk, perhaps, or some more legroom for back-seat passengers, but . . . I LIKE my car. And as a special birthday treat? Since Dad will be away for the next few days, she gets to sleep in the garage. Woohoo!

Yule. The Christmas season is definitely here.

Yarn. Of course. The last skein of my “raspberry” yarn, drip-drying in the shower. This yarn came out so nicely . . . I’m really pleased with it.

More Yarn. All handspun. In fact, this IS all my handspun–or at least, all that I haven’t given away or knitted into something else. That’s three skeins of the Raspberry there in the front–good representation of the color, too . . .

Yippee!! A row of baked Stollens. I’m DONE for another year!

Yawn! Of course, after all that baking and agonizing, we’re very tired, now….

…. Makes me want to go to my Yellow bedroom and go to sleep….

And, wow, I can’t believe there’s only one more letter to go. I have SO enjoyed this ABC-along this year! But, I can’t wait for Z . . . I know exactly what I’m doing for that one!

Oh–and I almost forgot! I had wanted to add one more “Y” but forgot to dig through the pictures looking for one . . .

Yellow Eyes. My dearly departed Katy had the most amazing amber yellow eyes . . . so beautiful! (Chappy’s eyes are more golden-brown, but Katy? They were actually green when I brought her home at 7 weeks, and then they turned into this gorgeous, topaz color. In fact, they were the inspiration for my bedroom color . . . just loved that.

Tags: ABC-Along, Baking, Katy, Jilly, Muppy by Deb
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I want to talk about one of my favorite eXtra-curricular activities, today.

This is what my kitchen looked like this afternoon–three spinners, two Lendrums, one Majacraft, lots of fiber, and one dog–at least some of the time.

How eXcellent is that, huh? This is Jessica and Risa (sans twins).

It was fun the way this came about, too. EXtraordinary, even. Jessica had been interested in buying my Kiwi until she went to Rhinebeck and bought herself her Lendrum instead. Which is also where she met Risa, who mentioned her on her blog, which made me say, “Hey, I know her” and anyway, we all decided that we should get together to spin–preferably on a day when Risa’s parents could look after the monkeys. And we figured my house would be a good spot because of the three, it’s the most centrally located.

So, how much spinning did I get done in the four hours or so of spinning? An eXceptional amount. Two full ounces of my peppermint merino, plus a decent start on its corresponding magenta corriedale.

Not that we ONLY spun. We also talked. A lot. About all sorts of fun and interesting things. We ate the oatmeal cookies that Jessica brought (some with raisins and some without because I really don’t like raisins). We also ate the popcorn, which I made.

And I opened the birthday present that Risa brought me–a lovely green sweater from J. Crew. (So soft, it’s not even funny.)

Chappy was thrilled because he had guests, and there’s practically nothing Chappy likes more than the chance to say hello to people and be fussed over. I think saying hello and eating are pretty much tied for him as favorite activities. So he was beyond happy to have eXtra people in the house. He napped during most of the afternoon, though . . . watching spinning
wheels just isn’t that exciting for him . . . but he was still happy!

Speaking of spinning, a couple people asked about my wheel skeiner–which, I grant you–didn’t look like much of anything other than tinker toys in the picture I showed you the other day.

Well, assembled, it looks like this.

Hmm . . . it does rather look like a tinker toy, doesn’t it?

Okay–maybe an eXample will help:

I finished my second skein of raspberry yarn last night, and promptly wheeled it off onto this instead of laboriously winding it onto my niddy-noddy.

I love it already. Even if the little handle promptly came off. Really, it’s not that necessary (grin). It took a matter of a minute or two to wind all of this into a skein, rather than the minutes of the shoulder-tiring winding.

This means, of course, that I’ve got half of this raspberry yarn finished. (It’s hanging in the bathroom drying at this very moment.) And thanks to all the spinning today, I’m well on my way to getting the next quarter done. Isn’t that eXciting??

(I hope you don’t think I’ve over-eXtended myself by using this for my “X” post, but . . . it’s not like I have a xylaphone in the house to photograph. XXX OOO.)

Tags: ABC-Along, Friends, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
16 Comments »

W is for Wheel of course!

Specifically, my new Majacraft Little Gem II.

(Please, don’t anyone tell me you’re surprised. And yes, I know that by rights this post should have been up on Sunday, but I didn’t HAVE the wheel on Sunday!)

The wood is just so pretty! Really, very photogenic.

Now, onto other things.

Now, my plan for this afternoon was to do a bunch of administrative
kind of things. (1) I went to the bank to make a deposit. (Since my
paycheck is direct-deposited, all other checks tend to sit and wait
until I get around to it . . . this can take a while. Like, the day
before they reach their 6-month expiration. That kind of thing.)

(2) I voted. If you’re in the U.S. you DID vote today, right?? Just remember, you’re part of a democracy, and if you don’t speak up when it counts, you have no right to complain later on!

(3) I went to the lawyer’s office and signed my will. Funny story: I was sitting in the waiting room, coughing, and the lawyer stuck his head out the door and said, “We’d better hurry!”

I guess that’s funnier if you’ve actually HEARD my cough.

(4) I went to DMV to renew my driver’s license. Now, up until now, I’ve been renewing my license via the mail–it was convenient, quick, and I didn’t have to stand in line, but now New Jersey requires a photo license. Not just a photo, either, but a new, high-tech Digital photo license. One which requires a wealth of information in terms of proving your identity. (Think I’m kidding? Check out the official guidelines.) So, I gathered together things like my passport, my social security card, a bank statement, got my checkbook . . . all that . . . and after the lawyer’s office, headed to DMV.

They were closed for Election Day.

Now, I ask you, does that make any sense? Why do DMV employees need to have Election Day off from work? Was it all the offices, or just that one? Certainly the website doesn’t say anything about it. I wasn’t the only one upset about it, either. I had blocked out an afternoon to get all these things done, and . . . now the most tedious one is still to go. I went back to the office afterward–my boss is short-handed as it is, and I would have felt guilty taking an extra hour and a half for no reason whatsoever. Especially when I’m going to have to do it TOMORROW.

Stupid DMV…. I think they’re trying to make this entire process as inconvenient as possible. Heck, you can even renew your passport through the mail . . . Isn’t that ultimately a more “official” form of id than a driver’s license?

Oh. My favorite part? My current, non-photo license doesn’t count toward my 6, required ID “points” for renewing. Gotta love that.

On the plus side, I got this gift from my best friend today. My favorite Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie, “The Gay Divorcee.” The number for “Night and Day” is perhaps my very favorite dance of theirs (“Lost my Penny” is a possible contender), and the Correspondent who’s supposed to help Ginger get her divorce, who goes around misquoting the password to everyone? (“Fate is the foolish thing. Take a chance,” for example, instead of “Fate is a foolish thing to take chances with.”) Priceless. Love it. Thanks, Dawn!

This is good, because the order Mom placed for my birthday–accessories for my new wheel–hasn’t even been shipped yet. She’s a little upset, but I keep telling her, it’s not like I’m five anymore . . . I can expend a little patience for a good cause!

Tags: ABC-Along, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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  Voyeur. A peek into the trunk of my car when Liz and I got back from Rhinebeck Saturday night. (Hey, some of this is hers, you know!)

A closer look? Well, of course! At my stuff, any way. From some great Vendors.

  First stop? As soon as we were in the fairgrounds? At 9:50 in the morning–ten minutes before retail officially opened? We hurried right over to The Fold for some Socks That Rock. I got the Autumn and the Harlotty colorways. Beautiful, and we got in just before the line became immense.

Value. I also bought a bump of fiber in the Carbon colorway which was vastly overpriced. 9.25 ounces for more than what I paid for 11 ounces of already spun STR yarn? Insane. I don’t know what I was thinking, except that I hadn’t noticed the price until she already had my sales slip written up and I didn’t bother to say “Stop” like I should have. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s gorgeous but . . . that’s ridiculous. If anything, shouldn’t the finished yarn cost more? This purchase is my one regret of the day because, lovely though it is, it simply was not economically worth it. At all. Too late now! Buyer’s remorse, what can I say.

  For example? This lovely, beautiful, autumnal roving? 3/4 of a pound of each of the two colors, for one and a half pounds in total? Same price, within $2, from Spinner’s Hill. And, really, it’s gorgeous. (The colors in person are so much more alive than you see in the photo.) The plan is to spin them separately as singles and then to ply them together.

  Then there are these two, lovely, 50/50 blends of alpaca and merino from the Sheep Shed. This is the same place I got the merino/silk roving I bought myself for my birthday last year. They have beautiful stuff. I bought 8 oz of each of these colors–one a light gray, one a gray-taupe–and the plan is to ply them together, too.

  And, you may see a theme here . . . two more skeins of roving from the Sheep Shed. The multi-colored one is merino, the burgandy/magenta one is corriedale. I bought 8 ounces of each and . . . yes, plan on spinning them separately and then plying them together.

(Oh, and the cost for these two pounds of beautiful fiber? Only $4 more than I paid for the 9.25 oz of STR fiber. I really can’t tell you how much that’s bugging me . . . )

After all this shopping . . . and I won’t even go into how much fleece Liz bought as an act of kindness for her LYS . . . and stops to visit with some of her friends, including the charming Myrtle and Roy from Black Pines Sheep, who have beautiful, rare sheep like Teeswater and Wensleydale. (Liz raves about their fleeces, and judging by the samples of fiber they had, um, yeah. I can see why.) . . .

Anyway, after all the shopping and one short break when we had some apple crisp and saw some kangaroos . . .

And after six and a half hours on our aching feet . . .

And after meeting approximately 7,397 bloggers . . .

And after picking up a little something for an absent friend . . .

After all of this, we piled into the car and headed for home.

We had a gorgeous View crossing the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. (See? Sandy? I even got a Saturday Sky picture for you!) And the sunset on the drive home was gorgeous. Really, the weather the entire day could NOT have been better.

We got home around 7:30 and were both exhausted (though Liz still managed to spin and ply until 11:30 . . . I conked out around 10:15).

Chappy did help revive her, though. They sure do love playing together! In fact, it gets quite Vigorous.

But, of course, this means that my Vacation is now over. I’ve had a great time, though. Not only did I get to spend almost every day with Chappy (and Mom, one of my very best friends), but we got to the park not once, but twice. Went to Liberty State Park and saw (from a distance) the Statue of Liberty). Went antiquing (well, sort of). Finished my bag. Got some goodies in the mail. And, of course, that little outing yesterday.

Boy, it’s going to be hard to go to work tomorrow . . . and I have to go to the dentist, too. It is going to be SUCH a Monday. (grin)

*I came, I saw, I bought.

Tags: ABC-Along, Friends, Knitting/Spinning, Sky by Deb
21 Comments »

Unveiling. Here you go, a look at my modelled Peacock Stole.

Up-do. (And no, I don’t usually put this many different things in my hair on the rare occasion I try to put it up, but I thought it would be fun to be extravagant with the accessoris for a change.

  Unusual Lunch. A Honeycrisp apple with peanut butter. It’s one of those combinations that sound strange–and I normally don’t even like peanut butter very much–but I’m telling you, this, you have to try. The crisp, juiciness of the apple against the sticky, nut flavor of the peanut butter . . . such a great combination.

  Uncharted Territory. Yes, well, some adventures work out better than others. I felted my bag today, and while it went mostly well . . . um . . . as you can see, the two sides did NOT felt evenly. Granted, I deliberately made one side a few rows bigger than the other, so they would overlap when they were closed, but, um . . . the handles WERE the same size when we started…. I have absolutely no idea what to do about this! It’s possble that, once dry, the uneven SIDES will actually be fine and the difference in felting not particularly noticeable . . . but the handle is going to be a problem (grin). Maybe I can fold the long one to match and put a buckle on it, like I’d meant it to look that way all along? (Suggestions welcome–and I DID try hand-felting it to get it smaller, but I just don’t have the serious hand-strength to accomplish that. Even the original swatch for the bag . . . hand-felting and I do NOT get along.)

Underwear (well, sort of). Jane wanted to see creative pictures of my handknitted socks, so . . . here you go. Sock Art.

  Unheard of! Yes, here’s my knitting bag. Completely empty, at least for the moment. Although, I do have a pair of socks panting to be knitted, so . . . I won’t have empty needles for long!

Tags: ABC-Along, Finished Knitting, Hair, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
21 Comments »

T is for Tricks!*

  Sit.
The default position, used for “please” when asking for any behavior. One of the first things he learned as a puppy, right along with house-training and “Leave it” doggie-zen.

  Down.
Really, what else is there to say? Except that often when he does this, he’ll fold his front paws, and it looks absolutely adorable.

  Bravo!
Also known as a play-bow. When we did this trick with Katy, we called it “curtsey” because “Bow” sounds too much like “Down.” We couldn’t use that for Chappy, though, because boys don’t curtsey, so we use “Bravo” instead, so he can take a bow for being so wonderfully cute.

  Hi!
We don’t use the “Shake” command for this one–it seems rude–we just say “Hi” and hold out our hand, and then Chappy puts his paw in ours. Much more civilized. And he’ll alternate between paws, too. “Other hand” generates an immediate switch.

  High Five.
We usually follow up the handshake with a high-five, which is usually only one paw, but it took us a few tries to get this picture, so . . . here we have a high-ten (grin). Or, well, eight, technically.

  Spin.
One of our favorites. On cue, Chappy will spin, clockwise, one full circle. He never goes in the other direction. (And I love the cool, action shot here.)

  Hmm. This trick doesn’t actually have a cue, other than holding a treat in the air. Chappy will balance on his hind legs for it OR will stand on his back legs and then spin around on them. Really, he’s very talented.

Other tricks he can do that weren’t photographed? “Back-up,” which really, he’ll only do for a step or two. And, he learned it at about the same time as “Bravo,” so he sometimes gets confused and does a combination of the two . . . backing up into a bow, with a flourish, or doing a play-bow and the scooting it backwards across the floor. But hey, he DOES know it. He can also catch tossed treats, and volunteered to do that as many times as necessary for the photo shoot, but, well . . . And then, I don’t think sitting and waiting for permission to eat his meals counts as a treat, exactly, but he DOES.

(And, he asks that you please ignore the glimpses of skin on his back because of the ointment matting down his fur, and want to be sure everyone knows that he is NOT going bald and that he REFUSES to do a comb-over no matter what. He was very firm about making sure you were all aware of that.)

* Oh, and thanks to Norma for the instructions on how to center something on Typepad!

Tags: ABC-Along, Chappy by Deb
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Silver Jewelry, to be exact. My favorite kind.

Especially the Earrings.

  Curvy ones.

  Curly ones.

  Long(ish) ones.

  Short ones.

  And there might be a necklace or two, though I don’t wear them that often. This is one of my favorites, though. “Road sign” charms from Martha’s Vineyard, one with Katy’s name, one with Chappy’s. (There really are advantages to naming your dog for tourist spots.)

  We won’t forget my authentic Boykin Spaniel charm, either, all the way from South Carolina. (Boykins ARE the state dog of South Carolina, you know.)

Thanks, of course, to my Diva Peacock Stole part 1, for modelling. She’s trying to keep herself occupied while she waits for me to finish part 2 . . . which is taking a looooong time.

And, sure, I could have used “Spinning” or “Spindles” or something like that, but I thought this would be more fun!

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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  Red Chair

  Roses

  Red Vase

  Red Frame

  Railing

  More Roses

  Red Roving

  Refrigerator

  Rocking Chair

  Red Rocks

  Still more Roses

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
6 Comments »

Quilt, of course.

These are all quilts that I’ve made (although one of them remains incomplete–it’s got about another 15% of quilting to do, and an edging sewn on). That one, and the mosaic sunflower were both machine-pieced, but all the others–and all the quilting–were done by hand. I really much prefer sewing them by hand.

For the mosaic wall hanging, though, there wasn’t time. It was for a wedding gift, and I only found out about the wedding four months before it happened, and it was due exactly the same weekend as the quilt I was making for my nephew’s bed. It was quite a rush, there, to get them both finished . . . and not surprisingly, that was the last time I quilted at all until four years ago when I started the Eternally-Unfinished one heaped in the corner of my bedroom. For some reason, I felt just a little burned out on the quilting thing for a while!

Oh–and for a couple other “Q”s I thought about:

Quest. Or, Quiet.

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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P is for Pen.

(Note how I resisted the urge to do this for my “P” …. I bet you thought I would, didn’t you?)

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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O is for Origami.
Brought to you courtesy of my 365-day calendar for 2006–an Origami a day. These are some of my favorites–the ones I couldn’t bring myself to throw away without at least taking their pictures first. They may not be really elaborate, masterful ones, but I’ve had fun with them for seven months now!

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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N is for Needle, of course!

I threw in that last one so you can see just how long Addi Turbos have been my favorite knitting needle. They only cost $6.95! And I really love the way that embroidery needle photo came out.

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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M is for Music. Here’s most of my music collection, stored in two of my dresser drawers. Usually they’re a little neater, but they’re still in a bit of disarray from the copy-to-computer-to-use-on-my-MP3-player flurry last month. (And, we won’t discuss the actual MP3 player, ‘kay?)

M is for Movies. Our movie collection. It’s hard to see behind all the picture frames, but here’s our Video and DVD collection, stored on two bookcases in the family room. The case on the left is all purchased video tapes and DVDs. The case on the right is over a hundred home-recorded video tapes dating back to our first VCR, around 1983. (Also, the tv-on-dvd collection.) Unlike the book library, the movies are counted in hundreds rather than thousands. I have them logged in an Excel spreadsheet, just like the books, but I’ve been neglectful and haven’t kept it updated lately. I really need to do that. The estimate, though? About 500 movies.

M is for Mirror. My mother loves mirrors, and we have quite a few around the house–even on the stairs. (It’s one of my favorite optical illusions–guests often think there’s no back to the risers, but of course, there is.)

M is for Map. I suppose it’s possible to have too many, but I’m not too sure about that! I’m proud to have a complete set of the US state maps, dating back to the TravelVision brand, which used to be the Exxon maps, which are now the American brand maps, and which I consider to be the very best US road maps. My set comes from the old General Drafting company, which used to produce them in Convent Station, NJ, and where I worked, my first job out of college. (In a castle, and everything. Very cool for a first job, even if my office was in what had been the servant’s quarters. It’s a private home again, now.) Anyway, they’re really the best maps–trust me on this!

 

M is for Money. I know, this one speaks for itself, huh?

M is also for Middle. Do you realize that, with the letter M and the end of June, we are halfway through the alphabet and halfway through the year already? I can’t tell you how much I’ve been enjoying this ABC-along.

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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L is for Library.

  Currently, my library has 2,752 books, of which I’ve read all but 35.

  About 100 of them are in the cases in my bedroom (with the perpetually-unfinished quilt). These tend to be favorite books, favorite authors, or books I’ve read multiple times and like to keep close by.

  There’s also a bookcase in my closet (usually hidden behind a quilt rack), filled with childhood favorites like L.M. Montgomery, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Louisa May Alcott, and so on. Also a good place to stash the Harry Potter audio books…

  The shelf above holds books on decorating, hair styles, etiquette–random stuff like that.

  Of course, I’ve shown you my Craft library, which has 186 books.

  Here’s the sci-fi/fantasy section in the closet in our family office. (574 books). Note the boxes piled on the floor and in the corner–they’re filled with more books, all mixed fiction.

  And the mystery section (249 books). (And I can’t tell you how proud I am about those empty spaces. For me, that’s a huge accomplishment.)

  The writing, essays, and general fiction section. Oh, and the Dog training books which sprawl across the top of both cases.

  The non-fiction and mass-market paperback section. This includes history, travel, biography, science, the space program, religion, philosophy, and so on.

  Under the table are boxes filled with young-adult books.

  I also took over the hallway linen closet years ago, and it’s filled with old college textbooks and odds and ends.

  Mustn’t forget the cookbooks (64), either, the only books I keep downstairs.

---

Now, as to the contest. There were some good guesses–including a couple I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of. Lace, for instance, would have been an obvious one but honestly never crossed my mind, even though I already had some excellent pictures for it here, here, and here. Lendrum would have been good. Leash would have been an appropriate one, too. But ultimately, for me, it had to be Library!

I had five correct guesses, and the winner (by random selection) is Carole. Her prize is a skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in lovely blues whose colorway’s name I can’t remember. Congratulations, Carole! (And, since I had your address, I put your prize in the mail yesterday–exciting, non?)

Lastly, if you’re interested (and if the link works!) here’s a current list of all my books:

Download BOOKS.xls

Tags: ABC-Along, Reading by Deb
18 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 by Deb
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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 by Deb
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  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 by Deb
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I is for Innocence.

More innocent times, more innocent past-times, more innocent people.

While cleaning that box in my closet yesterday, I came across this sampler, stitched by my grandmother in 1918 when she would have been 12 or 13. Back before she left her home in Germany to come to a new country, all by herself. Back before she met her future husband, an immigrant on a later ship that she only went to greet because her closest friend’s brother was on board. Back before the Depression. Back before she became a mother. Before her husband developed Alzheimer’s (not they knew what that was then) and almost worked herself into her own grave trying to care for him. Back before she became a grandmother, five times, and a great-grandmother (to two girls when she died, but to five more since then). Before all of that, when she was just a young girl, learning the household skills she would need.

It’s not one of those fancy, embroidery samplers, but instead a practical one. Buttonholes around along one edge, buttons and hooks on the other. Tiny, reinforced loops of thread for the hooks. Different types of patches in the center. And a nice, neat hem all the way around the outside. All the thing a woman would need to know to take care of her family’s mending. Isn’t that remarkable? I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen one before. Yes, of course, I’ve seen this before since it was in my closet and nobody else could have put it there. I don’t remember ever seeing or reading about a practical sewing sampler like this. I have books about old, traditional embroidery
samplers, some of which included a hem and maybe a buttonhole, but which were mostly, well, embroidery. Here, except for her initials, the whole thing is made up of functional sewing skills. Many of which I certainly can’t duplicate.

And then, there’s Fluffy. He’s also from Germany, but he belongs to my Mom. She got him 56 years ago (I won’t tell you how old she was). He’s the one toy that she still has from her childhood. Or, I think there’s a doll stashed away somewhere, but Fluffy has pride of place in Mom and Dad’s bedroom. I absolutely adored him when I was little, too–he looked just like a real dog, and was covered with real (rabbit) fur, so he felt like a real dog. She’d let him sit on the bed when I was sick, and even let me bring him to Show & Tell once. (I’ve never been so afraid of losing something in my life!) He’s an intrinsic part of both Mom’s and my childhood. And he’s unique–they simply don’t make toys like this anymore.

 Unfortunately, he’s lived a little too near the heat vents for the last couple decades, because his skin is dry and cracking, but for a toy dog in his sixth decade, I think he’s doing just fine, don’t you? Of course. Chappy doesn’t know what to make of this little dog that looks like a dog, smells like a musty, old rabbit, and doesn’t move . . .

Of course, this “I” could have stood as much for Inheritance as Innocence, huh? Lessons we owe to those who came before us….

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  Oh, and before I came up with this “I,” I was trying out other things. Like this tall, iron (steel) girder. Or the candlestick that looked like a capital “I.” Nothing was hitting, though. Thanks, Grandma!

Tags: ABC-Along, Family by Deb
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