Honestly, it’s not like I’ve been ignoring you on purpose. I’ve been working hard on my new blog, Knitting Scholar, where it’s all about knitting book reviews.

So far as content goes, it’s kind of skimpy right now, but I think I’ve got the look and layout just about where I want them.

Ultimately, I hope to turn this is into a comprehensive collection of knitting book reviews–heaven knows I’ve got enough of them in my library for a good start!

Right now, there’s all of one and a half reviews over there, so getting something in the archive is my next step, but, honestly, I’m announcing this to you folks first, and hope you’ll spread the word.

In the meantime, please go over and take a look. I would love your feedback (especially if it’s GOOD feedback). The design is a “magazine” theme, so it looks and acts a little differently than your usual blog, but there’s a comprehensive archive (that’s just a little empty at the moment), and an RSS feed for Bloglines, Newsgator, Google Reader, or whatever your feed reader of choice is.

In fact, while you’re there, why don’t you subscribe? For right now, Mom and I are the only ones subscribed, and two seems like such a lonely number (grin). Oh, and I’m open to suggestions, if you’ve got them. I’m not done tweaking yet, but it’s good enough to be getting on with, and I need to work on the content! I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve got so far, though–starting with the domain name–so, really, go look!

(What are you still doing hanging out here??)

• Tags: General • Permalink:Knitting Scholar! // 10 Comments »

So, you know how, when you get an idea and think, “That’s a great idea, and I can get it set up in about an hour!”

And then, of course, it takes more like 20 hours? Or 30? 40, even?

Yeah. Guess what I’ve been doing the last couple days?

Well, here’s the idea, anyway–I had so much fun writing that book review the other day, and when I browsed around the ‘net, I couldn’t find any place that devoted itself to reviews. (Clara Parkes is the closest, though Knitters Review has a much broader base than just book reviews, so I don’t think it’s her primary focus–I think that’s the yarn!) And, I DO have a pretty thorough collection of books, so … I decided to start a blog devoted to reviews of knitting books. (And, let’s not forget, this gives me the perfect justification for buying more knitting books.)

I even had the perfect domain name already registered. I’m not telling you what it is until I’m ready to launch, but I’ll give you a look at a larger version of the favicon–you know, that tiny little image that shows in your browser bar?

So, it should have taken me, what, an hour or so to get the hosting set up, and maybe one more to pick a Wordpress template and get the blog set up, right? So that, I could be writing my next review, boom, that quickly. Right?

Um, no. Not quite that quickly. Like, for example, I turned my computer off at 12:10 last night, or rather, this morning. And I’ve spent most of my time today sitting in front of the computer, and it’s still not quite ready for launching yet … though at least it’s closer than it was this time last night!

As I say, I’m not telling you the domain name until it’s ready to go, but please tell me that you think it’s a good idea though, huh? (I mean, don’t lie to me, but if you DO think it’s a good idea, please say so!)

Otherwise? I baked some blueberry-studded banana bread, and went for a walk with Chappy this morning. I finished the book I was reading. (The one that, after I turned off my computer at 12:10, kept me up until 1:30, reading.) Tried to decide if I’m happy with my new haircut. (The answer is yes, mostly, though the layers could be a little shorter, because I don’t think it will grow out quite so well as the last one.)

As to knitting, I’m pecking away at tiny things right now–a string bag, a sock–while I wait for the next project to make itself known. I’ve given up on the Bias Eyelet Stole because it just was not behaving itself (and that crazy 3-strand garter row!). I don’t think I want to do that mosaic sweater after all–I didn’t even bother to swatch for it, since I decided I didn’t really want to do an entire sweater in mosaic stitch. So, I’m kind of waiting for inspiration. Although I really DID like the Ingenue in Wendy’s Custom Knits, but I’m not sure if I have the right kind of yarn in the stash for it, so …

And, that brings you up to date! I’m watching the end of the Olympics as I type–it’s always kind of a wistful thing. I so enjoy watching, I’m going to miss it! Congratulations to all you Ravel-olympians who won gold, too.

Lastly, do you know what I was doing 7 years ago tonight? Sitting in a hotel room in Kittanning, PA, suffering from god-awful cramps (labor pains), waiting for morning to come so I could pick up my new puppy. Yes, Mr. Chappy. Honestly. August 24, 2001 was one of the LONGEST days (grin). I didn’t think the 25th would ever come!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Best Laid // 5 Comments »

Just a little Saturday Sky for you. It’s really been such a pretty week.

We went to the park this morning and Chappy saw some deer–including one fawn who bounded across our path, about 4 feet in front of us. (Chappy wanted to know why it wasn’t on a leash.) I did try to get a photo, but by the time I had my camera out of my purse, it and its 3 friends were too far away in the woods.

Otherwise, I’ve done stuff on the computer today, went to town to get my haircut, and then made the mistake of getting a fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil sandwich for supper. I only ate half, and it tasted just fine, but the cheese was a poor decision–especially coming so quickly after leaving the hair salon with all its chemicals and scents–and so I’ve been having some asthma issues tonight. Not as bad as the other night when I colored my hair, but … the sandwich was a mistake. I’ll let Dad eat the second half for lunch tomorrow.

It did taste good, though!

• Tags: General, Sky • Permalink:Oh, Deer // 3 Comments »

There’s a story to this necklace.

Once upon a time, my grandmother (Dad’s mother) wore this necklace just about every day. None of us is exactly sure why–did she make it herself? Did someone make it for her? But she obviously loved it. My mother would ask why, when she had so many other, nicer necklaces, she wore this one so often, and she would just smile and say she liked it. This drove my Mom a little nuts, and she grew to dislike the necklace.

When my grandmother died, though, my dad and uncle set up an estate sale to clean out the house and, on the last walk-through, Mom saw this sitting on Grandma’s dresser. The memories of Grandma wearing it ALL the time came flooding back, and suddenly, she just couldn’t bear to leave it there for strangers, and so she tucked it into her purse.

My sister has had it for years now, and pulled it out on Saturday so I could photograph it–and the whole time, I thought about my Grandma, and how she wore it just about every day. I don’t care that it’s just a string of buttons and beads that a kindergartener could make. (And, who knows, maybe one did?) It’s precious because it was hers and it meant a lot to her.

Of course, I can’t find a picture of her WEARING the necklace. Apparently most of the pictures I took (with my really grainy, low-tech cameras back in the early 1980s), were on special occasions when she DID wear her nicer jewelry. Isn’t that ironic? But, trust me. She really did wear this all the time!

Oh, and just to prove that I DO still spin…

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Grandma’s Button Band // 5 Comments »

Did Chappy tell you that he made friends with a fish yesterday?

This is my niece’s fish, Rouge, and the first one that Chappy has ever met.

Well, you know he likes making new friends!

Today was a quiet Sunday–gorgeous weather, a nice walk this morning, some housework, and otherwise? Watched the Olympics, did some reading, did some work on the computer … Really, the weather couldn’t have been better.

And, Michael Phelps? Pundits can say all they want about his not being the “greatest” Olympian ever just because swimming allows more possibilities for medals and is less hard on the body than sports like track or gymnastics, but still … Wow. The thing I’m most impressed with? Not just the purely physical accomplishment, but the fact that he kept his head on straight for the entire week. He didn’t let the constant pressure and attention throw him. It seems like we see gold medal favorites in all sorts of sports crumble under pressure, and he managed to hold it together through 17 races. Mentally, I think that’s as tremendous an achievement as the fact that he swam something like 6 miles in races this week, breaking world record after world record. My favorite statistic? One I read the other day, that if he were a country, he would be fourth in gold medal count for these Olympics. I don’t care what country he’s from, that was an incredible accomplishment, and I love that his team-mates seem to genuinely like him. Outside the pool, anyway.

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

We take time away from this friendly little knitting blog for a rant….

Have you heard of Mozy? It’s an online backup service for your computer, where you sign up, set up a schedule for backups and … that’s it. Your computer henceforth automatically runs backups to Mozy’s server so that in the event of computing catastrophe, or your office burning down, you can get all your computer files back.

Mozy comes highly recommended and has all sorts of accolades. You can sign up for free (for something like 2MB of storage), have a personal account with unlimited storage for something like $5 a month, or a business account which uploads much faster. All pretty reasonable, I thought, and I’d had too many e-friends lately lose their computer drives to various assorted nasties, so in May, I decided to sign up. (I told you about that on May 28th, and how the initial backup took four days of continuous effort by my computer.)

There were a couple little, opening glitches, but I got help from their Support staff and, for a month, things were good. Then, you’ll remember, Mom’s computer died, and I got a new computer so she could get my working one. At first, I was busy setting up the new computer, figuring out Vista, all that fun stuff, but about a week later, it occurred to me that I didn’t have Mozy set up on my new computer. But, hmmm, I didn’t want to have to go through that whole, long, initial backup all over again–especially since my computer was estimating it would take a week this time–so, I sent them an email to ask if there was a way around it.

I was told that there wasn’t a “clean” way to do this, but that the best method would be for me to sign up for a second account on the new computer, and then to alert the crack Mozy support staff, and they would transfer all my files from the old account to the new one, and then cancel the original account and refund my credit card for the temporary, duplicate account.

Well, that seemed kind of unwieldy for a situation that MUST have come up before, but, okay. That’s what I did.

On July 16th.

You can see what’s coming, right?

Nothing.

I have been practically bombarding Mozy with emails trying to get someone, anyone to address this problem.

Because, as of right now, I have not one, but TWO paid accounts and yet have been completely unable to do a backup in a month. Despite having–on their instructions–paid them TWICE for the honor of completely ignoring me.

And the only answer I got was from someone telling me to call him–which isn’t really an option since I’m nowhere near my laptop during business hours and, anyway, why should I run up MY phone bill? Why is the burden for fixing THEIR problem on ME? Why, for that matter, is it necessary to have a phone call at all? The original instructions came from their alert support staff via email, and all I want is for them FIX the problem, which presumably they can do without verbal instructions from me, huh? (Like I have time to sit on the telephone with customer service?)

I don’t even dare tell them to just cancel both accounts because I am SURE that they wouldn’t give me a full refund. You just know that they would keep the money for the months I’ve been signed up–you know the first month my one account wasn’t working right, the second month when it was, and then the third month when I had TWO accounts, neither of which could be used at all. You just know that if I say “Cancel,” they’re going to give me a pro-rated refund on “time left” in my yearly contract.

Idiots.

Why is it so impossible to get good service these days? Why is it so impossible to get service from a company that you’re are paying solely FOR service. It’s not like I bought a camera or a cellphone that suddenly wasn’t working–there are companies out there with good products and lousy customer service, but in this case, the service IS the product. I’m paying them to backup my computer (or, more precisely, to give my computer a destination to send the files to be backed up), and I’m getting nothing–no service AND no customer service.

Frustration is high, and you know, I just had to share. I feel like I should apologize for having recommended them in those earlier posts as being a good option for backing up your computer. (Which, if you’re not doing, you SHOULD. It is so, so vital!) You might be using them and everything may be going smoothly … or you could get completely stuck like I am. At this precise moment in time, I have absolutely no faith in them–or faith that, had my computer crashed, that I would have gotten a useable backup from them.

Because if they can’t automatically do a transfer when someone upgrades their computer, how can you be sure that they can transfer your files BACK when you need them? I can’t possibly be the first customer to have bought a new computer while using the Mozy service, and who did not want to have to suffer through the inconvenience of that looooong initial backup all over again.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Mozy Rant // 5 Comments »

I colored my hair last night–much needed, I might add–but the fumes set off my asthma and … ick. This doesn’t happen every time, but … every now and again. And it doesn’t help that my hair is long so that the fumes waft into my face whenever I move my head. (And it takes about four days of washing to get the hair color smell out of my hair.) Needless to say, I wore my hair in a ponytail today, but tonight, ever since I washed my hair? Um …

Is the beauty thing really worth this?

Let’s see … knitting-wise, I’m just about done with my pretty white lining. I just need to bind off, sew in the ends, put together a couple seams and then … figure out the next step. Something I’ve pondered about, but it’s something that I need to see the physical object to judge. So, that next step is something I’ll be thinking about tomorrow or the next day.

I still haven’t decided for sure about my next project, but there are options floating around in the back of my head, so that’s encouraging.

Ooh. Did you know that there are some short films from Wallace and Gromit over at Hulu.com?How can you resist? Chappy just adores Gromit–he’s even smarter than Snoopy. (Who is Chappy’s idol for cool. But then, isn’t he everyone’s?)

Not to mention the movie Xanadu. (Hey, it’s ridiculously corny, but the music’s not terrible, and it’s got Gene Kelly. Not to mention lots of roller skating and some outrageous costumes … even if the plot doesn’t, um, exactly hang together very well.)

And, meanwhile? Watching the Olympics. Lots of the Olympics–Mom called me a junkie (grin).

• Tags: General • Permalink:How Bad IS Gray Hair, Anyway? // 13 Comments »

Well, this is ironic.

Mom came upstairs, after walking on the treadmill tonight, and said, “I found the box for the kettle. I guess we can get rid of it now, huh?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to look inside and see if the warranty is in there–not that it matters, since you threw the kettle away yesterday–but I’m curious.”

So, later, I went into the kitchen and … wait a minute. That box isn’t from Cuisinart! I wonder …

…And here we flashback to 2005, when we had our kitchen cabinets refaced. In preparation for having our stove disconnected for a few days, I had bought an electric kettle. It turned out, though, that even though our kitchen was disfunctional for a few days–without counters or running water–our stove was connected. Even though we had to walk to the bathroom to get the water, we didn’t need the electric kettle, and it was stored downstairs in the basement and more or less forgotten about.

When, in April 2007, our stove broke and I actually needed an electric kettle, I went and looked for this one, but couldn’t find it, so I assumed it had gotten thrown away when we cleaned the basement.

Well, apparently not.

I guess I don’t need the Chef’s Choice Cordless Kettle that I ordered the other day, after all, huh? So, as soon as it gets here tomorrow, I guess I’ll just pack it up and send it back…. At least that’s a few amazon.com dollars I’ll get back.

Which reminds me, thank you to whoever ordered a couple of those knitting books using my links in yesterday’s post. I appreciate it more than you know! I absolutely hate these crushing money worries. We could really use any good money vibes you can send … we truly, badly need them.

Okay, not to get all national-pride-like or anything, but did you see that 4×100 meter relay race last night? Oh WOW. Absolutely mind-blowing. The worst part, though? I turned my television off at about 11:15 so I could get some sleep and I missed watching it live by about 10 minutes! It wasn’t until I turned on the Today Show this morning that I realized, and … what a race! I’m thrilled that our team won, but watching that last stretch? Just … wow. Absolutely amazing. How did Lezak manage to do that? And do you realize that the first five teams to finish ALL beat the prior World Record, that had just been set the day before? Can you imagine that? Beating the existing world record and still coming in fifth? Everything about that race was incredible. Don’t believe me? Read this article.

Dad got a rare day out today. He had actually planned on going golfing with some of his oldest friends and was going to leave at 7:00 this morning to get down to southern NJ in time, but due to the weather forecast, they had decided to cancel. Which was a shame because he’s not getting to golf much at all this summer (see crushing money problems above), and he needs a distraction from worrying, and had been looking forward to it. But, well, he got up at his usual time and headed for the shower … and at 7:08, the phone rang. The golf game was back on, could he make it? Um … he got dressed, hurried downstairs, scarfed down some Entenmann’s for breakfast, glanced at the newspaper and hurried on his way. Which, you know, was good for him.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Irony? Or Luck? // 2 Comments »

Well, I got this email today:

Oh my Lord! I may never ever take these socks off. Ever. Even at the beach. Thank you so much Deb. Made my whole day. Hell, made my whole week!

I think it’s safe to say that Susan got her socks and that they fit, huh?

Speaking of Martha’s Vineyard, Chappy’s blogging e-friend Fenway, an 8-month old Border Collie from Maryland, is up for “Dog of the Month” over at MV’s PlumTV.com. Right NOW, he’s got 30 votes, to the leader’s 154 … so, since Chappy isn’t eligible, go give him a vote, huh? In fact, his Mom (whom he calls Ms. Alpha) said in an email:

Here’s a really great coincidence! I was driving home at dusk yesterday from the Stop & Shop in Edgartown, and guess who signaled they wanted to pass me? (I was really going pokey slow). None other than the blue truck with the logo for the Fiber Farm!!! I took this as a really good sign that this will be a great vacation. Thanks for plugging Fenway, too.”

Clearly, she’s a kindred spirit, huh? (For the record, she used to knit and wants to get back into it.) And, I mean, really, I bet Fenway is the only one of those dogs with his own BLOG. Yes, he writes his own, instead of having his people do it. So as bloggers, don’t you think we owe it to him to vote? (I will say the picture of Ozzie in his tub is pretty cute, though.)

Now, about my boy–He was disappointed today. It was a bright, sunny morning and then, just as I came home from lunch, the skies opened and it poured. My windshield wipers were on High the entire drive home–and I can barely remember the last time I used that setting! So–no lunch time walk. That was bad enough, but I filled the time in by trimming his nails. Torture! And of course, just as I was heading back to work … bright blue sky again. Just to rub it in.

Well, we said, maybe we can try at 4:00. … Guess what happened at 3:30? Yep. Just enough rain to make everything wet again and the air all sticky. And then I came home and gave him his Friday night bath. I tell you, this boy is just terribly abused and tortured. But, look at his cool new hair-do. (And yes, he does need a haircut, but then, so do I!)

I can’t believe the Olympics have started already. This 12-hour time difference just seems so bizarre–the Opening Ceremonies started 13 hours ago but I still have 1 hour to wait before they begin here. I’m just really hoping the media controls itself this time around and doesn’t splash spoilers all over the front page of websites about who’s winning which medals. The Olympics are about the only sports I ever watch, and I don’t want to know how they end ahead of time. (And, seriously, I’ll watch almost anything if you put the Olympic Rings on it.)

One Olympics event I’m watching from the sidelines this time around? The Ravelympics. I figure I’ll stick with Stephanie and be a Winter Olympics competitor. (Remember?) I’ll be cheering all of you on, though. Like Sharon, who is not only tackling a huge project, but made a great video for it–go watch it!

And, one other nice, funny video for you: 9 Phrases Women Use. Dad, in particular, got quite a kick out of this, but we all thought it was funny. Anyone who’s watched the sexes trying to communicate over the years is going to appreciate this one.

• Tags: Friends, General • Permalink:That’s a Relief // 6 Comments »

Okay, I’ve mentioned Dad’s website, Inhale Now, which sells environmentally-friendly things like air purifiers, water filters, and power “conditioners” to save electricity to you before.

One of the other things he sells, though, are nutritional supplements. Darn good ones, but what I want to tell you about is the newest product, Heartland Select.

They can’t actually say anything like “it cures cancer,” (and I’m not saying that it does) but it can help prevent it. And the anecdotes my Dad is hearing are pretty phenomenal. Like, the brother of a major football player (whose name I can’t remember because I can barely remember Joe Namath) had pancreatic cancer and a month later, it was gone. Like, they sent samples of their drink to the American Cancer Association and the ACA wrote and asked for a lot more to test with because they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Basically, it’s really just a special blend of Muscadine grape juice, seeds, and skin–2 oz a day, in addition to specific vitamin supplements. It’s not cheap–but if it does anything like what my Dad is hearing it does, well, I wanted to tell you about it. Here’s a quote from the Squidoo page:

You’ve heard that there are health benefits to red wine, but Muscadine grapes, native to the Southeast United States, are bursting with antioxidants. They developed over centuries in harsh conditions, making them tough–and making their phytochemicals for fighting off disease that much stronger. Their extra-tough skin means that they have an high concentration of antioxidant phenolic compounds, such as Resveratrol which can also work as an anti-inflammatory and has anti-cancer potential.

Muscadine Grapes are helpful in the fight against free radicals, and drinking juice from this grape–not to mention the seeds and the skin (known as pomace) can help your body fight inflammatory conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, allergies, atherosclerosis, colitis, and many other conditions. It benefits your blood vessels by reducing inflammation and atheriosclerotic plaque. It can even inhibit LDL cholesterol and help reduce blood pressure.

The link is http://www.infinity2.com/bjb and then click on “Heartland Select” at the top. It’s supposed to be taken with the “Essentials for Life” vitamin supplement (this is important). They’re being VERY careful about what they’re saying on the site for all sorts of legal reasons, but … my feeling is that anything is worth a try, and since it’s just juice and vitamins … it’s not something that doctors are going to remotely object to.

There’s going to be a capsule version at some point, too, which might be cheaper, but I’ve got to tell you, this juice tastes good! Because, yes, we’ve been taking it for over a month now, and I have to tell you–I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my allergies/asthma. (It’s a natural anti-inflammatory, remember.) I’ve cut back from taking my Singulair about every 2-3 days to about once every ten days, which makes me a much happier person.

Right now, it’s only available on a monthly-subscription basis that can be cancelled at any time. And a month could be enough to know if it’s helping. There’s a book about the health benefits of the Muscadine Grape, if you’re interested in reading more about it. There are even other, competing brands (though their ‘counts’ aren’t as high as the Heartland Select, so this one is better).

I’m not pushing this or anything, but my Dad is hearing such amazing things and if it does even half of them, well, I couldn’t NOT tell you. This is awkward because this all sounds like I’m throwing you a sales pitch, but … well, you understand, right? I had to tell you, because … what could it hurt?

You can read more here at Squidoo.

---

And, here’s one other thing–you can get it cheaper if you sign up to be a dealer. Which, I know, you’ve heard a million times for everything from Longeberger baskets to Avon to Amway to God knows what else. All those multi-layered, network-marketing programs where you sell products and sign up other people to sell products and the next thing you know, you’ll be rich? Right, I know–it sounds good but never seems to work. So … two things. (1) As a dealer, you DO get the product cheaper, so even if you mostly just want it for yourself, it’s worth looking into, and (2) Here’s a free book you might find interesting that tells you how you really can make those programs work for you.Now, believe me, I know that this entire post sounded like a sales pitch. I know that, and I apologize, BUT even though we’re trying to raise money, you know I wouldn’t be telling you if I didn’t believe it. (You’ve known me for three and a half years now, so you do know that, right?) I’m not going to turn Chappysmom into a marketing blog (God forbid), but I’ve never been shy about sharing links to OTHER people’s ads and products, so why shouldn’t I help out my Dad? Especially when it’s a product that can help you, too. Because, seriously, I really believe that.

• Tags: General • Permalink:This Post Could Dramatically Improve Your Health // 1 Comment »

Okay, so there’s this stretch of road I drive every day, and every time I come to this one curve, I see this. Honestly, every time, I think it looks like a bird.

Now, I KNOW, of course, that it’s just a branch of dead leaves. Its color contrasts against the green background, and it hangs out over the street, a bit, so it gets silhouetted as you round the curve. I am well aware that it’s not a bird.

But there’s something about the shape … my brain always ’sees’ a crested head, two wings, and a pair of perching feet. (Go ahead. Click on it to see the bigger version.)

Crazy? Well, maybe, but Mother Nature is darn good at optical illusions, don’t you think?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Is It a Bird? Or a Plane? // 2 Comments »

Appearing now, on your computer screen, something never before seen. My sister found an old camera with some used film, and when she got it developed, she found these:

Baby Chappy photos!

These are from October 2001, when he was three and a half months old, and they’ve just been SITTING there in her camera for the last seven years.

Say it with me now … “Awwww!” Because, wasn’t he just adorable?

(sniffle)

Then there are these lovely socks. Completely done and ready to be mailed back to Martha’s Vineyard whence they came. We just need to cross our fingers and hope they fit Susan, is all… All that’s left is wrapping them up and putting them in the mail.

And, how about some brand-new yarn? I haven’t gotten very far, plying it, but this is from the singles I finished on Saturday. It’s stil got that pretty, “Old Rose” feel and is soft as anything. (50/50 Merino/Silk, you’ll remember.)

Okay, this isn’t new–in fact, it’s from 1962–but how about a tour of the White House, hosted by the First Lady, herself? I’ve seen pieces, but never the whole thing, so it’s new to me.

As was this. I saw an article in the newspaper this morning. Apparently there was a young, indie singer named Katie Reider in Montclair who died recently from a rare disease, and as a tribute, some of her fans are trying to get 500,000 people to visit her website and download her music. You can download 9 of her songs for a $1 donation–which I did (hey, money can’t be that tight, right?), and have to tell you, I’m enjoying them. They also ask that you “link” to one more person to add to their count. (Actually, the only thing I can’t find on their site is what the current count IS.) Anyway, their mission statement is this:

For over 10 years singer/songwriter Katie Reider (pronounced RIDER) has inspired the hearts of thousands with her music and genuine personality. Just as she was reaching the peak of her music career a tumor developed in her upper left jaw that progressed into her sinus, skull base and left eye orbit. Over the course of one year, the rare facial tumor took away her sight in one eye, her voice, and most importantly her ability to perform.
500Kin365.org, was created with the help of Katie Reider’s loyal fanbase to reconnect and introduce 500,000 people to Katie Reider, her music and her story over the next year. Help us continue to spread her music over the next year by downloading “katie’s Voice” (9 original songs written and performed by Katie Reider over the last 10 years) for a $1.00 donation to her cause and linking up ONE other person to www.500Kin365.org

Go take a listen. The comments over at her blog are kind of heart-breaking, too. What a shame. Because, really, I’ve got her music playing right now while I type, and what a nice voice she had…

Ooh, and this is also new to me–”Endless Shoes and Handbags.” Doesn’t the name just sound heavenly?

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Never Before Seen // 8 Comments »

Well, Chappy had a practically perfect day today.

First, he got to sleep on the bed last night, so this morning started by him doing one of his favorite things–waking up his Mom. Unlike some other dogs I hear about, he’s very patient about this in the morning–he’s not pestering me to get up at 6:45, when we get up on weekdays. No, he even knows that I usually hit the snooze button 2 times before I’m ready to wake up and waits patiently for it to beep the third time at 8:42 before he comes over and gives me a good morning kiss. Then, he stretches out alongside me with his paws on my pillow while we say good morning to each other. This, I love, because he’s normally not a smoochy boy at all, but I suppose he’s grateful for getting to sleep at the foot of the bed all night long.

Anyway, we got up and had breakfast–and Chappy got a little bit of corn muffin, just because. I did some basic cleaning and such, but about 10:30, the four of us all went for a long walk around the neighborhood. As in, we haven’t had a walk that long in months! But it was a beautiful day–about 85 degrees (F), no humidity to speak of, blue skies–the kind of rare NJ summer day that, on the occasions that it shows up at all, is almost always on a weekday when I’m at work. It would even have been a good Park day, if we had felt at all inclined to climb into the car. By the end of the walk, though, Chappy’s tongue was happily hanging out of his mouth–the perfect end to a good walk.

Then, lunch. I had tuna, and Chappy LOVES tuna. (Neither of us gets seafood as often as we’d like, really.) Naturally, I shared, and he very much enjoyed it.

Then, we sat outside on the deck. For a couple of hours. All that fresh air and relaxation. Bliss for Chappy. About the only drawback was that he wasn’t down in the yard in the grass … and, for the record, I would have let him, except then he would have spent the entire time sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me to join him. Neither of us would have been able to relax! And, of course, he never actually naps when he’s outside–too many interesting things to watch, hear, and sniff.

So, about the only negative to his day is that he really hasn’t had a good, serious nap all day.

Yeah, I know. Poor, tortured boy.

Oh, and supper? In addition to his regular, delicious, home-cooked food, he got leftover london broil added to his dish.

Yep. I know. We torture him.

He had to help clean out his grandpa’s ice cream dish, too.

Although, honestly? I haven’t heard him complaining.

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Chappy’s Perfect Sunday // 2 Comments »

I’m really tired, so this is going to be short and sweet–more pictures than words. The short explanation of my day? After having an urgent family-finances meeting, baking cranberry-corn muffins, and after consoling Chappy through a massive thunderstorm that rolled overhead, I climbed in my car with my wheel and my knitting and headed to Jessica’s for an afternoon of fun and friends. Good day, lots of fun. Got home about 5:45, fed Chappy, took him for a walk (to gain back some of the Mommy-points I’d lost by abandoning him in a storm), watched a movie (My Best Friend’s Wedding) with Mom, and now … exhausted!

You’ll have to forgive me for not filling this post with all the relevant, bloggy links, but I did snap some pictures–they’re not great pictures, but at least I tried.

Jessica’s bunny, Stitches, is darn cute, too–and getting so big! I absolutely loved the tufts of fur on the very top of her ears.

And, if you haven’t seen Jessica’s Etsy shop for fiber? You really must go. I was privileged to see the pile of finished fiber that she hasn’t posted yet and it’s really lovely stuff. I was sorely tempted, but considering the scary-finance meeting we had this morning, and the fact that my Visa bill with the needed-but-we-really-couldn’t-afford-it new computer from last month arrived yesterday, buying some really just wasn’t an option. At some point, though? Oh my, yes. It’s really gorgeous.

On the plus side, I finished my second bobbin of that old-rose merino/tussah blend. Considering I only started that bobbin three weeks ago, and the first one took me three months, that’s pretty good! Now all I have to do is ply it and those 8 oz will be done. It’s really quite pretty.

Okay–climbing into bed, now. I’m on Harry Potter #3, and Chappy is privileged to sleep on the bed tonight, so …

Oh–one more thing–this great You Tube video of the “Evolution of Dance.” (The embedding never seems to work on my blog for some reason, but the direct link to the video is right here.) I admit I didn’t recognize all of the dance moves, but more than half, and the man is talented. I saw it over at Liz Strauss’s Successful Blog.

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Fibery Saturday // 8 Comments »

So, it’s been two years since I got my MP3 player–first a SanDisk, quickly followed by an 8MB Creative Zen Micro Photo, which I love and have been using ever since. And in that time I’ve primarily listened to it in the car.

As a rule, I hate wearing headphones and while I can deal with them if I have to, I detest the ear-bud style headsets. They never stay put in my ears and I find them uncomfortable, so I’m never tempted to  just bop around in my own little musical cloud, wearing my MP3 player. If I’m sitting in front of the computer, of course, I can just listen to the music ON the computer, and so my MP3 player primarily gets used in the car.

Of course, my 6.5-year old Volvo doesn’t have a built-in jack for MP3 players, but it does have a cassette player. So for the last two years, I’ve used a $10 cassette-player adapter to hook up the player, draped the player’s attached armband over the gearshift to keep it from flying to the floor, and off we’ve gone.

Right up until a week or so ago when I realized how much damage I’d caused to the earjack connector from two years’ worth of connecting and disconnecting the player. Suddenly, I could only hear music out of one speaker, which got rather disconcerting. So, I bought a replacement.

Yes, yes, it was extravagant of me–another ten dollars–but you know me! I bought the exact same brand, and when it arrived from Amazon, I cut it out of its packaging (always fun) which I threw away, and put the adapter in the car, waiting for the next morning’s drive to work.

And, it didn’t work.

Don’t ask me why, when the two adapters are identical in every way, but one plays perfectly well in my tape deck and the other is consistently kicked out. And, naturally, I didn’t notice the problem until the next day’s drive to work, by which time the garbage had been picked up so that I didn’t have the original packaging anymore. Which means I can’t return it to Amazon. Nor do I have the name or contact information of the manufacturer. So I’m left with one that has a body that works, but frayed wiring, and one that has perfect wiring but a faulty body–and no skills to try to perform surgery on them to bring the two good parts together.

I’m not feeling particularly inclined to try buying another one, again–I figure I’ve got a 50/50 chance of it NOT working either. Sure, it’s only $10, but I’ve already said money is kind of tight around here. It’s not a sum I’m torn up about, but still, I’d rather not be wasting any money at the moment!

In the meantime, my several-hundred-dollar player just sits on the corner of my desk with nothing to do, while I try to make do with the radio and the CD player.

After two years of being able to shuffle through 2000+ songs, I’ve got to tell you, a CD with 12 tracks or music interspersed with chatter and lots (and lots!) of commercials is simply NOT satisfying!

Now, the other alternative. I had–two years ago–bought one of the wireless FM adapters so that you can play your MP3s through the radio, but it had something like 12 pre-programmed stations to choose from and here, 35 miles from New York City, there was only one that wasn’t already being used by a real radio station, and even it had a near-neighbor causing interference. So I gave up on that idea pretty quickly. I’d try it again, on the off-chance it would work better now, but I can’t find it. I know I carefully stored it someplace “safe” (with its list of available radio stations, without which it would be completely useless), but I also tried lending it to my Dad at some point. If he was the last one to have it, it’s gone–no doubt thrown out along with the iPod Nano he had on his desk that he never used and so just discarded last time he cleaned his office. (I know!)

Which leaves me with a couple options–buy another cassette adapter, maybe from a different manufacturer this time. Try to find a FM adapter that has more open stations and will work, without being too expensive. Although I’ll just add that that’s problematic anyway, because right now, my cigarette lighter is being used by the charger for the Creative Zen–it only lasts about an hour and a half on its own. If I need to use that plug for an FM adapter, there won’t be anyway to keep the player charged.

Or, I can just suck it up and deal with CDs and radios for the next however-many-years before I can afford a new car that has a built-in MP3 connection. (Yeah, I’m not crazy about that option, either!)

As you can imagine, Chappy is just FULL of sympathy for my dilemma. Although, his grandparents told me that he threw up this afternoon while I was at work, so maybe he wasn’t feeling overly sympathetic to anything? He was chasing toys around the dining room at 4:30, though, so I don’t think he’s bothered any more. (I think he brought it on himself, too, by eating grass on our quick walk at lunch. You know how dogs are–they throw up what was bothering them, and are fine. They don’t seem to have the problem with lingering nausea that we do.)

He DOES, however, recommend you head over to his virtual-friend’s blog and watch the video of 10-week old Fenway playing with his first Greenie, trying to decide if it’s food or not. It’s really very sweet–especially if you’ve ever had a puppy.

Also, Technorati–the tech-site that tracks blogging trends, among other things–has a blogging survey to test what people are using their blogs for these days. If you’ve got 10-15 minutes to spare, why don’t you lend them a hand with their statistics.

• Tags: General • Permalink:I Miss My MP3 Player // 6 Comments »

Well, there’s no question that wrenching money problems stink–not least of which because I just saw the Rowan 44: 30th anniversary preview and it looks just lovely–but at least the knitting moves on.

Susan’s socks, of course, are showing the most progress. In fact, I’m just about ready to start the ribbing for the top of the leg. My general rule of thumb is that I like the leg to be about the same length as the foot, when folded in half at the heel–maybe a little longer–and these are just about two inches from the tip of the toe. Just the right amount of ribbing. I just did a cable row, so I’ll knit a few plain rows first, and then, the ribbing.

Which means, Susan, I’m going to need your snail mail address sometime soon. Unless, of course, you want to come pick them up in person? (Or, gee, delivering them in person sounds good, too, but, well…)

And, don’t they kind of look like bunny ears? You know, Paprika-colored bunny ears?

Somehow, taking pictures of Chappy in his crate seems to be happening a lot lately!

And, thanks for all your kind words. We are scared but trying to come up with new (any!) streams of income, and will gratefully take all the good vibes we can get!

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Okay, and I have another affiliate link for you to look at. This one is for Blog Mastermind, another course that I took, learned a lot from, and then failed to carry through on (grin). Apparently, actually monetizing is my weak point. (Though, lordy, do I hate the verb “monetize.” Maybe that’s the problem?)Actually, I DID learn a lot from Blog Mastermind. The whole idea is to learn how to make your blog strong, attract a readership, and then, yes, to make money from it. I definitely learned useful things, even if I didn’t take those last few steps to “monetize.” Of course, a lot of knitting bloggers frown on that kind of thing, and I don’t want to alienate any of you, either, so I’ve been reluctant anyway. Hence the reason I haven’t pointed out this program to you earlier.Well, that, and because they had actually shut the doors to new members right around the time I joined. It just reopened today, though, so if you ARE interested in trying to make some money by blogging–go take a look.

(And, I know, that’s two affiliate programs I’ve mentioned, two days in a row. I really do promise not to make a habit of it, but honestly, they were both time-sensitive. Yesterday’s program is closing in a couple days, and today’s just reopened for the first time since January. I had to!)

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

I’m feeling kind of down tonight. I don’t want to go into all sorts of gruesome detail, but it boils down to the bad, scary money problems and the fact that, right now, today, my Dad has lost his focus. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary thing because he’s feeling overwhelmed (as are we all), but I’m so used to seeing him on top of things. Seeing him scattered and worried is NOT a reassuring thing. Most days, my inborn optimism pops out over the top of this and lets me focus on things getting better, but today isn’t one of those days. Having Dad’s retirement pretty much disappear a few years ago has not been a helpful thing, you know? Nor is having two mortgages on the house. As in, about the only income right now is mine (relatively paltry) and Social Security which are nowhere near enough to meet the bills, and my savings isn’t going to last forever.

But it’s seeing Dad floundering that has me most worried–not so much because of the finances but because it’s making me worry about HIM. And Mom, who mirrors the mental state of pretty much everyone around her. And this kind of stress is not good for my parents! They’re getting older, and they don’t bounce back from this kind of think like they did when they were younger, and it’s just so not fair that the economy tanked and did this to them. There were some bad decisions in there, too, but basically, if the economy hadn’t started to collapse around 2001, things would be better, and I hate seeing this happen to my parents. Stress like this is NOT healthy. (For me, either, of course, but I’m younger, right?)

Like I said, it’s capital-S-Scary, and this is more information than I usually put out there, but tonight I feel like sharing.

Thank heaven for my Happy Chappy who continually spread smiles around.

And I’m sure my mood will be better tomorrow.

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Oh, and one link–One of the things I’ve been thinking about trying to do (you remember my survey?) is to set up a teaching site for knitting. I’ve completely bogged down in the technical details, but the Teaching Sells course I’ve been using–which is fantastic–is closing its doors on the 31st. They won’t be letting in new members for months, and when they restart, the price will have gone up. So. Even though I allowed myself to get sidetracked by the whole setting-up-a-website process, I have to tell you, there is a LOT of really great information in this program. I’ve been entirely impressed with everything and I’ve learned a lot (even if I didn’t get it put into action quickly enough).I’m telling YOU, though, because, on the off-chance you’re in anything like the same financial boat, or if you’ve got an idea in your head about trying to make money from the internet, the Teaching Sells program is really great. And because I’ve been lazy about telling you about it because I’ve been trying not to get all “We’re trying to make money” here on Chappysmom, now that I’m telling you, you’ve only got a couple days to go look. Even though I’ve completely NOT managed to get my learn-to-knit site up and running through sheer inertia, I consider it to have been entirely worth my money. (And, yes, that’s an affiliate link there–so if you ARE interested and you’re thinking about signing up–there is a money-back guarantee–please use my link.)And, um, yeah, please don’t take it the wrong way if I put some ads on the blog sometime soon–anything to get some money coming this way! Please don’t hate me for that… (grin), or for occasionally throwing out an affiliate link to something I think you might find interesting. Literally, every dollar counts right now.

And did I mention that I upgraded my Cafe Press shop? Technically, I have two–the original, free-but-limited shop, and the new, upgraded shop that allows more than one of each kind of product.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Sigh // 9 Comments »

Poor Chappy–look at those wide eyes!  We had a big thunderstorm this afternoon which he did NOT enjoy. In fact, at one point, he was huddled in the upstairs hallway (no windows, you know), and my Dad stretched out on the floor next to him to comfort him. Wasn’t that nice of him?

But, to add insult to injury, in addition to Mother Nature’s bombardment this afternoon (though thankfully not as bad as the one Anne got), tonight there are fireworks. More booming! So unfair.

My socks are coming along nicely, though. I’d say the legs are about halfway done. It’s really not that long before Susan’s going to get her socks!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Thunder! // 6 Comments »

There’s nothing like going out for coffee on a Saturday morning, huh?

  If only Grandma would share her muffin…

Ah well, at least there are interesting things to look at.

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Coffee // 5 Comments »

Okay, I don’t usually do memes, but this one from Kim sounded like fun, sort of. The problem is that, while I went through high school (class of 1985) and college (class of 1989) in the 1980s, I was completely UNinterested in more or less anything that was going on in terms of popular culture. The summer before eight grade, my best friend got me hooked on the Beatles, and we spent most of our high school years obsessively listening to the sounds of the 1960s. My best friend was also naturally tall, thin and blond, so I felt short and dumpy next to her (not her fault), so I didn’t care much what I looked like, either.

So, you know, these answers could be kind of boring…

Here are the questions:

1. Preppy or Rocker: This question implies that I cared enough about fashion to do one of the other, but really, not so much. I spent most of the 80s wearing jeans with a button-down shirt over the top. So, I guess I leaned more toward preppy.

2. Cavarricis or Guess Jeans and Espirit or Benetton? I honestly have no idea, but we didn’t “do” designer jeans–too expensive. ($50 for jeans?? Horrors!)

2. Favorite songs of the 80s: This is truly sad, but I spent most of the 80s listening to the Beatles, and when I wasn’t listening to them or some of their 60s cohorts, I was listening to Mozart or Bach. But, let’s see, Paul Simon’s Graceland was fantastic.

3. Most Annoying Pop songs of the 80s: I have absolutely no answer for this question. Was Whitney Houston doing her diva thing in the 80s?

4. Hair Metal or Heavy Metal Who was your favorite performer and favorite song?: Again, I was listening to the Beatles… although I thought Sting was pretty cool.

5. What posters were on your bedroom wall or college dorm room? Um, the Beatles. (Saw that coming, didn’t you?) The requisite Monet. A beach picture I took that we had blown up to a poster. And, mmm, a great ice cream poster from Mad Martha’s ice cream parlor.

6. What concerts do you remember most from the 80s? You can probably already imagine that I didn’t go to any of the “cool” concerts. Although I remember seeing Kenny Rogers. (Yes, I know. Exciting.) And the Monkees. Twice. When they did their reunion tour. Not to mention the Beatlefest and Beatlemania….

7. Favorite 80s movies: Back to the Future. War Games. Sixteen Candles. Pirates of Penzance with Kevin Kline. Amadeus. (I could probably fill this list out a LOT more if I gave it some real thought.)

8. Favorite 80s movie quotes: So many! Let me think…

9. Top 3 most memorable pop culture moments of the 80s for you: The Challenger explosion. John Lennon being killed. (Well, it hit the radar, anyway.) Glasnost.

10. Favorite 80s cartoon: Since I was a teenager for most of the 80s, not really relevant, unless you count the Yellow Submarine movie. Because, again, Beatles.

12. Boy George or Wham? Wham, I suppose, though the comma song wasn’t dreadful.

13. Favorite one-hit wonder: Again, I’m clueless.

14. INXS or Depeche Mode: Um, who?

15. Poison or Warrant: I don’t even understand this one!

16. Did you ever meet a rocker or 80’s pop icon? Where were you? I saw Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley together at a restaurant on MV before they were married, but that’s about it.

17. Snap bracelets or Jelly bracelets? Like Kim, I have no clue what these are.

18. Fess up. Who had the garden weasel bangs? Did you ever measure your wall o’ Aqua Net love?  I absolutely did NOT. I wore my hair long and pinned or twisted it back just about every day. You know, like Laura Holt on Remington Steele. Towards the end of the decade, I had long bangs brushed off to the side, but mostly, NO! You can’t blame the ozone problem on me. I’ve almost never used hairspray, even if I am from New Jersey.

19. Favorite 80s TV shows: Remington Steele was HUGE for me. I wanted to BE Laura Holt. The Wonder Years. L.A. Law.

20. Is Jon Bon Jovi still hot or what? Well, duh!

21. “Double Dare” or “You Can’t Do That on Television”? Neither, and I still don’t like “stupid” television.

22. Who was your favorite Brat Packer? Probably Rob Lowe. Thank heaven he redeemed his career as Sam Seaborne.

23. Jellies or Reebok Pumps: Neither, I preferred boots. You know, the flat, heel-less, slouch boots.

24. Favorite pizza parlor arcade game: None. I’m inept at video games.

• Tags: General • Permalink:The Teen Years // 7 Comments »

Ooh, not one, but two knitting magazine previews are up. The Fall Interweave Knits, and the Fall Vogue Knitting. I really like the Tweedy Vest in the IK, and surprisingly, the Whisper Stripe sweater–and Eunny’s Bias Stole is beautiful (like that’s a surprise?) The VK? Well, um, Jarod’s mittens are great, and one or two of the sweaters are interesting, but what on earth is going on with those socks? (Take a look at the page of previews–you’ll know right away which ones I mean!)

Added: Ooh, three! Savannahchick just put up the preview for the very first Knotions!

Okay, we’re in the middle of a big thunderstorm right now, so … this is it for me for now! I have to go comfort Chappy…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Previews // 10 Comments »

Don’t you hate it when you hit traffic on the way to work?

I had a nice surprise waiting when I got home, though–my order from Interweave Knit’s “Hurt” book sale. All of them, I might add, in apparently immaculate condition, though there aren’t any paper covers on any of them.

Otherwise? Hot. Sticky. I hope those geese were heading someplace cool.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Just … Tuesday // 7 Comments »

It’s Monday, so there’s really not that much to say–got up. Ate breakfast. Went to work. Took Chappy for a walk at lunch. Went back to work. Came home. Ate supper. Did some knitting. Did some reading.

But, this picture? A view of much of my day on Sunday–my favorite chair, a good book, some knitting, and Chappy, keeping an eye on things.

Really, it’s just better not to think about the Monday thing.

(And yes, I WAS reading and knitting at the same time, just like I told you yesterday!)

• Tags: General • Permalink:Let’s Not Think About It // 6 Comments »

I so wish I had more exciting things to show you.

I have been knitting. In fact, for the last couple of days, I’ve been carrying Susan’s socks around the house with me–making my Dad shake his head every time he walks by and sees me knitting while reading.

Although, that only works when reading something that more or less stays open by itself, since I am totally adverse to anything that will crack the binding of one of my books. I’m, well, not actually obsessive, but very concerned about keeping my books as unmarred as possible. Obviously, you need to open a book to read it, but you shouldn’t open it so far that it causes damage. Having the spine cracked open bothers me; the very sound of it makes me wince. And when I read (which you know I do a lot), I never open the book without supporting the spine. Which means that, if I want to read while I’m knitting, it’s got to be a book that can stay open more or less on its own. Just about every one of those special book-holding, pillow/stand things I’ve ever seen requires the book to be pressed flat and held down at the corners. They are torture instruments; they are book equivalent of the Rack. Not something I’m willing to inflict on my poor, innocent books.

Anyway, I am making great progress on Susan’s socks. I have about one more inch before starting the heel. The stitch pattern (which is hard to see) matches the cable I’m using in that nameless Saffron project of mine. I thought the symmetry of using the same stitch for both projects using MV Fiber Farm yarn was kind of nice.

The yarn is really lovely.  SO soft. For those of you who have lost track, it’s 70% kid mohair and 30% cormo, making it ultra-soft and just a little fuzzy. And I love the colors–they’re “semi-solids” which is one of my favorite kinds of colors. Little variations, but it “scans” as a solid when you look at it.

The only thing I’m not crazy about is that–for the sock yarn in particular–I don’t think it’s very well plied. As in, it’s often barely plied at all. If I had realized how irregular it was, I could have actually run both skeins through my spinning wheel to make the twist a little tighter, but I didn’t think of it soon enough. The knitted fabric is fine, too–but the fact that there’s really not quite enough twist makes the two plies lie next to each other on my needles for every stitch, so it’s almost like knitting with two separate strands. That’s a little annoying on the cable rows because the plies don’t want to work together, but that’s okay. It’s still beautiful and soft and handgrown on Martha’s Vineyard.

Otherwise? I spent most of yesterday either reading or in front of the computer. The ongoing money crisis is still ongoing and yesterday was one of the bad days (sigh). My father is just not a salesman, and while it’s not strictly necessary for what he’s trying to do, it would be a help. And the company he’s working with has great products that we’re all impressed with–especially the new, Heartland Select drink which just blows us all away–so we all believe in what he’s trying to promote (both as items to sell himself and for other people to sell to make money for themselves, kind of like selling Avon, but better). But, while he’s great at getting things set up, he’s not good at the promotion part, and that’s where we’re running into trouble.

And even though I spent much of the day yesterday reading, at the moment, I’m “fictionless.” The only book I’ve got going is a non-fiction biography of the Beatles, Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America.  It’s actually more than just a biography–it’s almost a cultural analysis of their musical influences and their impact. It just seemed like a good “next” book after reading Girls Like Us, the biography of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. And, at least with the Beatles book, I know most of the songs being discussed!

It’s interesting (to me) how very auditorially suggestible I am, though. All I need to do is read the title or description of a song and, boom, it’s stuck in my head.  Every time I see Dream When You’re Feeling Blue on my bookcase, for example, the song jumps into my head. It’s a lovely song, but it’s particularly annoying because I don’t know all the words, and darn it, if I’m going to be humming something, I at least want to be able to follow the lyrics. And don’t get me started on that movie that just opened on Friday–whether you like ABBA or not, their music is addictive.

I just remembered that I wanted to make banana bread today. It’s 11:30 and already in the 80s and humid, so if I want to use the oven, I’d better do it NOW.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Knitting and Reading // 8 Comments »

Okay, folks–you’ve got until Sunday night at midnight to watch Dr. Horrible (without paying for it). There’s even a comic. Don’t miss it! The music is darn catchy, Neil Patrick Harris is awesome (and so are Nathan Fillon and Felicia Day), and I won’t give away the surprise, Joss Whedon-classic twist in Act III…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Dr Horrible // 5 Comments »