Okay, I like snow, you know that. And Chappy REALLY likes snow.

But this was just unfair. Snow? In October? Even last year it didn’t start this early. And–that picture? The view out my windshield when I got into my car at lunchtime.

The worst part was that–here, at least–there wasn’t enough to DO anything. No snow for romping. Too wet. Too bone-chilling cold. (32 degrees with wet, windy, snow showers in October feels COLD.) Which means it wasn’t FUN snow. Just miserable, wet snow.

And, northwest of here, they were getting something like 13″ of the stuff. And other places got even more.

I mean, really, it’s not even Halloween. We haven’t even elected the next President yet. It’s way too early for snow!

On the plus side, I wore my Ingenue for the first time.

And I’m making progress on my sweater sleeve. This is my Harvest Cardigan, remember. I had actually started the colorwork part the other night, but my floats were too tight. The beginning and end of the color sections have a 13-stitch float, and it often takes me a few rows to get the “feel” of the stranding, and in this case, it made the sleeve rather, um, snug. So, I tore back the 8 or so rows I’d done of the color work and re-started it again tonight.

You want to know what’s really surprising?

My gauge is actually pretty close. At least, by my standards. In fact, my row-gauge is a little smaller than it should be. That NEVER happens. I’m actually using the instructions for the smallest size on the grounds that my gauge always ends up loose, and both of the other Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool sweaters have ended up dramatically too big, despite my gauge swatches. So, I’m working on the assumption that it’s going to end up bigger, and that my short-ish row gauge will balance out. Or something like that.

In other words, despite what the numbers are telling me, I’m knitting on faith.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:But! It’s Too Early! // 11 Comments »

This picture pretty much encapsulates today for you . . . in the cozy house with Chappy while the rain streams down outside.

Okay, technically, Mom and I went out for coffee this morning, which we usually do on Saturday mornings, but that was, what, an hour? Hour and a half? Away from the house, so it barely counts. (Except for the fact that we split a cinnamon bun–Mara’s makes excellent cinnamon buns and is worth getting a little wet for.)

Otherwise? Well, it will say a lot about my day when I tell you that I’m on my fifth book since this time yesterday. Yesterday, I was finishing up Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller–which I finished just before 8:00 last night. Then I went onto The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (yawn), then Dark Watcher by Lilith Saintcrow (okay), which I finished about 12:30 last night. Then I picked up Standing Still by Kelly Simmons and read the first couple chapters before going to sleep. This book, incidentally, I picked up because Kelly mentioned it on Ravelry, and well, isn’t this what you do for friends and acquaintances when they get their books published? And, well, if she’s on Ravelry, that means she’s a fiber person and therefore an acquaintance. I finished that around 1:00 this afternoon (good), and am now reading Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb.

And, I can’t help it. I was too tired to do anything constructive like spin or work on the computer, so I just read instead. Reading is easy.

Oh, I also spent about an hour sitting in the living room with Mom and my spinning wheel, which was ideal. She worked on her cross-stitch and I spun, which was soothing and productive and yet gave my eyes a nice rest. May I just say how grateful I am that I’ve improved enough to spin with my eyes closed? In fact, it was so relaxing, I almost fell asleep while spinning, which would have just been too strange–which is when I got up to make some tea instead. I drank that, read a bit, and then figured I should write a post since it’s been a couple days since I wrote a “real” one. The plans for tonight? Supper, and then Mom and I are going to watch The Queen (which neither of us has seen yet).

All in all, a lazy kind of day, but Chappy’s just glad that all of us are home. Even if this heavy rain did mean that he missed out on any chance for a walk today! But . . . lazy is good once in a while, right?

Oh–and for those of you affected, don’t forget to change your clocks ahead tonight for Daylight Savings Time. (Grumble, grumble. I hate losing sleep, and having to get up an hour “early” is not fun, either, which makes this coming Monday one of my least-favorite Mondays of the year.)

• Tags: Family, General, Reading, Weather • Permalink:Wet // 9 Comments »

Okay, blue sky with just a couple inches of new, fresh snow. So, gotta go!

The tricky part, of course, will be explaining to Chappy why I’m leaving without taking him into the backyard to romp, first…. Oh well!

• Tags: Sky, Weather • Permalink:Blue Sky // 2 Comments »

It was pretty and sunny for most of the day, today, but as I drove home, you could see the clouds coming in. I pulled over into the local elementary school’s parking lot to take the picture–you can still see the mound of snow left from plowing the parking lot last week.

Anyway, the weather forecast right now is:

Tonight: Periods of snow. Low around 24. South wind between 8 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Um, I don’t want to complain, or anything, but, see, Jessica has been trying to have a housewarming/spinning party for a couple of weeks now. It was cancelled two weeks ago because HWJF had the flu and she didn’t want to risk passing it on to the rest of us–which was much appreciated. I think, though, that the problem was that she kept referring to March 1st as her “Snow Date,” and Mother Nature took her seriously. Just, er hopefully not TOO seriously. I’ve got that pretty blue roving on the wheel, and everything . . . and you know how Jessica loves blue!

This photo, by the way, is one I took this on our walk last weekend, when the snow was fresh, just minutes after our ice-covered little maple tree. These are our neighbor’s stairs, but there was something very nifty about the play of shadow…. Couldn’t help myself!

Fellow spinners, did you see Abby’s post about spinning sock yarn?

Okay, got to go finish my book list for the month. Happy Leap Day, everyone!

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Sky, Weather • Permalink:Whether Weather // 5 Comments »

So, on Sunday–the first day with sunshine after last Friday’s storm–we took a walk, and as we left the house, saw this. This is our teeny-tiny baby red maple tree, and it sits under the eaves of the house and, as you can see, was just covered in icicles. The timing for our walk was perfect, though, because the sun was at just the right angle to make them really shine.

In fact, see? When we got back from our walk, the sun had moved around the corner of the house, leaving the icicles gleaming rather than sparkling, but still just as pretty.

Sometimes, it really pays to bring your camera on a walk around the block.

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, Weather • Permalink:Ice Maple // 4 Comments »

  Well today is my birthday, part two. (Or three. I’ve kind of lost count.) The present from Mom and Dad (and Chappy) finally came today. Woohoo!

Naturally, my able assistant was more than willing to help me unwrap it . . .

  And here’s what was in the box!

Okay, it’s a little hard to see, I grant you. This is the lace kit–a special lace flyer and two extra-wide lace bobbins–a extra plastic bobbin (because four is just a good number to have, you know?), and the wheel skeiner, which I’m very excited to have, but apparently need to find some glue to put it together. Which I’m more than happy to do!

So, yay! Happy birthday to me . . . again!

Now, if only my assistant were a little better at cleaning up . . .

  We’ve got some big, heavy storms headed our way tonight . . . as in, like, they should be here in about an hour. That’s an awful lot of yellow . . .

At least I have hobbies that don’t absolutely require electricity, anyway . . . (grin) With knitting, I can even manage without light, if I have to! Although lack of power does put a damper on the whole blogging thing…. hence the early post tonight, just in case.

Hey, if you get a chance to watch Larry King on CNN tonight, do. He’s doing the second part in a series about “The Secret” which my Dad has been talking about for months. Serious results from serious positive thinking, there . . . I just hope we have the electricity to be able to watch it with! It’s really fascinating. A little “new age”-y, perhaps, and yet . . . fascinating really is the word. And I figure this falls into the “It can’t hurt” category anyway . . .

Okay, dinner’s almost ready (Mom pushed it up to even earlier than usual, just in case. Our stove’s electric, so….), and it’s raining out there and starting to get a little windy . . . I think it’s time to shut down the computer for a while.

1. So, last week we asked you if you kept a list of books that you’re interested in, wanting to read, wanting to buy, etc. This week, we want to know–do you keep a list of the books you’ve READ? Well, you know I do, since I post it every month….
2. If so, how? In a journal? A notebook? On the computer? I jot down the books as I finish them in a paper journal, but then (obviously) enter them onto the computer as well. I’ve been keeping my list since January 1996. (The first book for that yeat that I read? “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.) Interestingly (to me), at the very beginning, I jotted down quick reviews, as well as magazines I was reading . . . but it didn’t take long at all before I was just putting down the date, the Title, the Author, and whether it was a new read or not. It’s just in the last year or so that I’ve been tracking page numbers as well.

• Tags: Family, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Part Two // 21 Comments »

  It’s been a wet, rainy day today . . . but I haven’t been lazy! First, I made an apple-crumb pie. The filling is basic apple, sugar, spices and some dried cranberries. The topping is brown sugar, nuts, oatmeal, and butter. I didn’t measure anything except the sugar I put in the pie filling, and just kept my fingers crossed. I had a piece a couple hours ago, still warm, and it came out delicious. (All other portions will be cold because Dad likes his pie chilled . . .which is fine with me . . . but still, that one piece, warm, with some whipped cream? Mmmmm.)

But then, I got down to serious work. Lining/Fixing my bag.

  I trimmed the long handle, sewed it down, and turned the excess into a strap for closing. Then I started piecing together the lining, thinking it through as I went.

  I had told you about the bag’s structural problems, remember? About how the metal frame at the top was just too heavy for the bag to support? Well, I ordered some craft wire from Mister Art, to give just a little heft to the lining.

  See? As I sewed the pieces of the lining together, I made channels to slide the wire and rods into. Four around the rectangular base, and then four up the four corners of the bag.

  And so, the bag now has a lining (the perfect color, too, don’t you think?) and it has enough support to stand up, which it didn’t before. Really, my favorite part about this style of bag is that it opens wide and stays open–it’s perfect for knitting out of.

  Really, I’m so happy. So what if the sewing isn’t perfect?? (grin) I still did everything I needed to do–and am proud of myself for figuring out how to get the channels in there for the wire, adding in some pockets. And it fits, too! (grin)

Now, the one thing left? I need a button or a snap or something to close the flap over the front. And I was thinking a felted flower, made out of the original blue would look lovely. Now, I just need to find a pattern for one . . . and a snap. Or maybe velcro? Something to hold it closed. But really, that doesn’t seem all that difficult at this point.

  Chappy found the whole process rather boring. But at least his favorite spot is in the dining room–the same room that I was doing the sewing.

  Oh, and not only did my craft wire come JUST at the right time today (right after I’d put the sewing machine and such away, and had about 15 minutes to relax)–but I got my order from Amazon, too. A copy of Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Meg Clark, and Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey (anyone who could handle that interview with Dolores deserves to have her book bought). Also Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Gradin, which is supposed to be fascinating.

All in all, today may not have been a walk in the park, but it’s been interesting!

Now, I wonder if I can find a good closure for this bag before Rhinebeck . . . because, wouldn’t this make a great purse for that?

Oh, and the other bonus for today? I saw my sister for about half an hour. She stopped by after her dentist visit–THAT made Chappy really happy!

Hey . . . I just checked my Stats and guess how many comments I have right this second? 4,500. Wow! I can’t even think the last time I checked and saw a zero, forget about a “big” number like that… I feel badly . . . maybe I should have held a contest for that number comment, but I didn’t realize it was coming. Would a retro-active prize make any sense? Or should I watch for when i’m approaching 5,000?

Oh, and Mom has a cold . . . I told her she’d better keep her germs to herself–I refuse to be sick for Rhinebeck!

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Weather • Permalink:Rainy Day // 20 Comments »

This is as close to the sky as I’m going to get today. It’s been raining steadily all day and shows no signs of letting up. It’s gray. It’s damp. It’s blah. The only bright spot is that I don’t have to go out in it and that Chappy and I are together.

And, oh yes, it gave me a reason to put on a pair of my handknit wool socks for the first time in months.

Still, I’ve been productive. I’ve got the desserts for tomorrow finished and boiled the potatoes for salad. I cleaned my bathroom and dusted my bedroom. I did some filing. I even found time to finish my book (”Sense and Sensibility”)–which means that so far I’ve finished two books this month . . . already! (grin–I don’t expect that to keep up.)

Now–I’m going to go, make some tea, and sit with Chappy and my new, current book. Maybe pull my knitting out of the bag . . . or not. Maybe get some spinning done . . . but except for making some supper later, I don’t plan on doing any more WORK today.

It’s just too darn gray . . .

• Tags: General, Sky, Weather • Permalink:Rainy Saturday Sky // 3 Comments »

I did promise you some knitting pictures, huh?

My sweater’s got one, whole sleeve. It’s got an interesting little bump there, I admit, which look strange when the sweater lies flat. However, when worn (since I did try it on, of course), it makes a nifty little triangle on the arm, with the contrast around the armhole as well as around the bottom of the sleeve . . . I like it.

Okay, so maybe I could have stopped a few stitches earlier for the short rows and avoided that “bump” altogether, but since I like the result when worn . . . serendipity, I call it.

In spinning, I currently have two bobbins full of tiny little singles, waiting to ply. Which, considering my lost plying-mojo, is making me a little nervous (grin). But oh, these singles are just so darn pretty! The color is deep and rich. There’s this lovely sheen because of the silk. And soft. Did I mention they’re incredibly, deliciously soft?

And these are just the singles. Imagine what it’s going to feel like when it’s plied and in a nice, loose skein instead of taut around a bobbin. Sigh . . . Cashmere and silk. What’s not to love?

Thank you for your kind words about my Katrina-anniversary post. If you haven’t seen it, please go back and read the comment Mom’s friend left. And while you’re at it, visit Rachel’s, who is happily waiting for her new baby now, but who lived through the storm herself last year. Gripping reading, I’m telling you.

Fittingly for the anniversary of a monster storm, it’s been raining here again. All day. Again. The rain did pause yesterday for a few hours–long enough for Chappy to get his first walk since last week–but basically, we’ve had rain for about five days now. Blah.

To make it even better, I also went to the dentist today for a two hour visit and am now the proud owner of two temporary crowns and a tired jaw. And, apparently, I’m the first person ever to knit in the dentist’s chair. Not that I knitted while he was actually working on my mouth, you understand. But during the molding portions when the dentist puts a tray full of goo into your mouth and tells you to close and hold still for a few minutes. Those parts. It was more entertaining than looking at the pictures on the wall. And how many people get to be productive at the dentist’s office? (The actual office, part, not the waiting room.)

My parents actually made it TO the correct movie tonight. I mentioned the rain, right? There was no way Dad could golf today. And after the aborted attempt at the movies on Saturday, they figured they’d try again. They saw “Little Miss Sunshine,” and enjoyed it, even if they didn’t loooove it. Yep. That’s right. While I was sitting in the dentist chair, they were at the movies. I’m not complaining, exactly, but . . .

Okay, I’m going to go do some plying now!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Serendipity // 13 Comments »

One year ago today, one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

I wrote last year about a friend of my mother’s, who said, “…We are really scared this time. . . . There’s no telling. I
know one thing, we will not have a home if it comes ashore at category 4. I’ve tried to carefully pick only the stuff that would hurt me most to lose, the other stuff, well, it’s just going to be a memory.”

Since the storm, she and her husband have relocated further north in Pineville, Louisiana. They’ve got a nice trailer home (not one of those FEMA trailers), but they are struggling. They are near retirement age and are having almost to start over again. They have spent months fighting with pretty much every official agency and insurance claims person you can think of. They have tried going back to salvage what they can from their old house, tried to do what they could to repair it from the “toxic gumbo” that flooded it. In the process, her husband fell and badly broke his leg–and endured the long car ride back to their current home before letting her take him to the hospital, because there just wasn’t anywhere in New Orleans for her to stay if they could find a hospital to take him to.

We heard from her yesterday, and she had this to say:

“Tomorrow is the anniversary of Katrina. We have put the house up for sale “as is.” We are tired and the task of repairing now seems even more impossible than it did in December. Contractors are just not available for people with little houses. The contractors, understandably, want the big jobs. We are supposed to get an electrical contractor on September 14th and we rejoice over that; however, it’s not carved in stone he will do it either. He said he will call us the day before and let us know whether or not he can do it. I sent him 30% of the fee to hopefully goad him to it a little bit. We have put the price as low as we can to pay off the remainder of our mortgage. I hope someone who is greedy to become a slumlord on the West Bank will bite at it. Meanwhile, we go down there every two weeks to mow the pasture that used to be our yard (it grows fast down here) and pick up garbage that people dump in our yard.

We are very hopeful and very thankful. Tomorrow, D and I will do an on-the-knees prayer to thank God for His bountiful goodness through all of it, not just for us, but for all of us. It makes you realize just what a miracle life really is.”

Why am I telling you all this? For a couple of reasons. One, because like the 9/11 anniversary coming up, this is not an event we as a people can afford to forget. No matter what the reasons were–too much bureaucracy, not enough caring, plain incompetance, or just the size and scope of an overwhelming disaster–the human side of this catastrophe was inexcusable. Nothing could have stopped the storm making landfall. Nothing (it appears) could have stopped the levees from breaking (since it’s not like we build them like the Dutch–heaven forbid we should ask for some help). But the fact that so many people of all races–with straightened resources were left for so long with no way out of the disaster area, and that they were then shunted about the country with no rhyme or reason–and more importantly–with no way to get back, or to get in touch with loved ones . . . this is something that needs to be addressed because, whatever the cause, it underlines how we failed our countrymen and -women when they needed us.

  Maybe not you and me personally. Let’s not forget the charity drive headed by Margene and Susan, which raised over $100,000 for hurricane victims. I know I gave more to charity last year than in any other year. But as a society, we let those people down. I just watched a special on NBC hosted by Brian Williams which pointed out that–all the other humanitarian issues aside (like, gosh, all those people dying), we lost a great opportunity to address the race and class and poverty issues in this nation of ours. America prides itself on being free and equal for everyone–and the vast majority of us really do believe in the idealism of that statement. And as individuals, we largely lived up to that last year, I think. But, really, in this instance, the government failed these people so badly.

And then the insurance companies came in and offered pennies to people who had lost everything. It’s like the government stood on the side of the road, directing traffic around a bad car crash while the insurance companies came in, like ambulances, and parked alongside the road saying, “Sorry, we’d love to help, but it’s time for our break.”

Which brings me to my second reason for this. Not only can we not afford to forget this massive failure, we owe it to them and we owe it to ourselves to do something about it. Write letters to our congress-people. Make donations on behalf of the people who are still struggling 12 months later. Knit them something soft and cozy. Or even something as simple as say a little prayer.

Because I want you to note how my Mom’s friend ended that email. Not full of bitter recriminations, or hatred, or despair (though yes, I hear it, too). But in hope. “…We are very hopeful and very thankful. Tomorrow, D and I will
do an on-the-knees prayer to thank God for His bountiful goodness through all of it, not just for us, but for all of us. It makes you realize just what a miracle life really is.”

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I need to live up to that, somehow.

Red Cross. Humane Society. Mercy Corps. Habitat for Humanity. DoSomething.com. Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Network for Good. Noah’s Wish. ASPCA. Humane Society.

(Climbing down from my soapbox now. There’ll be some kind of knitting content tomorrow–after my mouth recovers from today’s visit to the dentist. New crowns, ick.)

• Tags: General, Weather • Permalink:One Year // 9 Comments »

You want to see my Saturday Sky? Well, here it is, in all its wet glory.

Yes, that IS rain streaking past the window. Because, really, this is as far outside as I’m willing to go just now.

To be fair, it didn’t start to rain until the afternoon, but it was dark and cloudy all morning. But since it started raining here, around 2:00? P.O.U.R.I.N.G.

Luckily, Mom and I had other plans for the day. We left Chappy . . . poor, lonely, pathetic-looking Chappy, who gave us the kind of sad face where you can’t risk looking back over your shoulder as you leave the house or the guilt will be overwhelming . . . anyway, we left him and went to Short Hills Mall, where we haven’t been in months.

I even had the chance to do a good deed. While we were in the Gap (not one of my favorite stores), I found a wad of four or five $20 bills on the floor. My guess is that, since they weren’t in a wallet, they probably belonged to a kid, and that it was probably all of their shopping money. For a split second, I’ll admit, I thought about keeping it, but my better nature prevailed, and I handed it over to one of the employees. Hopefully the owner of the money came back, frantically retracing his or her steps at some point, and was able to reclaim it.

After that, I put my good Karma points to good use–because there were lots of sales. From Ann Taylor, I bought two lovely skirts, four t-shirts, and a beautiful blue silk jacket for just $159.

The shirts and skirts I know I’ll get a lot of wear from. The jacket? Well, maybe not so much. It’s a pretty formal kind of jacket, with elbow-length sleeves and kind of bolero-ish, with a deep, shawl collar. And, to be honest, it’s a bit small.

I normally wear an 8 for tops, sometimes even a 10 for jackets, but since this one doesn’t button or zip, and just basically rests on the shoulders, it fits well enough . . . I mean, at this price, I absolutely could not leave it there. If I wear it once, I’ll have more than made back my investment, don’t you think? (I know you readers will understand. Mom did, too. But Dad? He said, “Yeah, but you could have saved another $10 by not getting it at all.” Men!)

And then, Nordstroms was having a sale, too. I don’t buy much at Nordstroms, but they have a fabulous shoe department, and when there’s a sale? Um . . .

Is it possible to fall in love with shoes? Because if it is, I did for these. I tried on the red first and . . . instant adoration. They’re beautiful. They’re comfortable. They fit. They were sheer perfection and felt great, even with bare feet. And yet, being suede, they’ll carry through to other seasons. And did I mention they were on sale? I couldn’t help myself. I bought two pairs. I love them, absolutely love them!

Now, there’s a thunderstorm going through, and I’ve got Chappy huddled next to me, breathing fast. He definitely doesn’t like thunder any more. (Not that he ever loved it, but it didn’t used to bother him.) He also didn’t want to run up the stairs before. I’m hoping that’s just because he was nervous because of the storm, not because his back was bothering him. But maybe when I’m done here, I’ll go pull out Harry the Heating Pad and see if Chappy wants to use it.

Speaking of thunderstorms? Did you hear about the ones that went through New York City last night? I heard that there were something like 300 lightning strikes? And anyway, LOTS of roads and highways flooded. As in, all three major roads heading north out of the city were closed because of flooding. Can you imagine? On a Friday night, in the summer, at rush hour? I can’t imagine the chaos! And of course, the unfortunate folks in Astoria/Queens have been without electricity for six days now–naturally, for the hottest week of the year. Ugh.

…And now the lights just flickered . . . I’m going to shut the computer down now!

• Tags: Sky, Uncategorized, Weather • Permalink:Spree // 7 Comments »

Well, Sandy did ask . . . .

She’s asked for pictures of Saturday Skies to liven up blogland, and well, anything I can do to help!

The thing is, it’s not that pretty a sky today. In fact, it’s downright miserable. Here in northern NJ, it’s been raining pretty much all day. Some breaks, sure, but also plenty of periods of heavy rain. Blah. You can’t really see in the picture, but trust me, it’s raining. See how droopy the trees are? I took this picture from under the roof at our front door (thereby protecting my camera from water damage). It’s not much of a photo, but it IS the sky we’ve got!

I’ve spent almost my entire day doing the ideal rainy day activity–reading. Sure, you’re going to tell me that knitting is perfect, too, and believe me, I know how much it’s got going for it. But the thing is, enjoyable and soothing as knitting can be, it’s still a little bit of work, for your hands if nothing else. Whereas reading is easy–the only effort is turning the pages.

And so far today, I’ve turned a lot of them. I finished the book I was reading, read its sequel, and have since polished off two YA books, including the 2001 Newbery Medal winner, “A Year Down Yonder” by Richard Peck–a slim little book, but oh, I really enjoyed it!

Other than the reading, so far I’ve . . . um . . . well, I ate breakfast. I did write my blog entry describing yesterday’s fun. And I’ve spent a lot of time petting Chappy . . . but, well, yeah. Reading’s about it so far for today!

Hope your Saturday is a little more lively. And . . . I’m so glad Cara found an indoor spot for her Spin-out! If the weather over in Manhattan is anything like here . . . they’ll have needed it!

Oh–and look at this interesting little article on husband-training from the New York Times . . . ah, the beauty of positive-reinforcement! It’s what clicker training is all about.

• Tags: Reading, Sky, Weather • Permalink:Soaking Saturday // 2 Comments »

According to my car’s outside thermometer, it was 72 degrees Farenheit at lunchtime today. (That’s about 22 degrees Celsius.) In New Jersey. In March. Absolutely ridiculous!

Still . . . who’s going to complain about a warm, sunny day in March? I got to take Chappy out for not one, but two walks, neither of which required me to wear a coat. Where’s the bad in that?

Although . . . my shoulder is feeling better today (still a little stiff, but entirely manageable), but I had quite a coughing jag this afternoon. We’re moving stuff around at work, shrinking to a smaller space, and they’re doing so work right near my office, and I think it was the dust that set me off. Tonight, my lungs are sore, as is my throat, from all the coughing, and I’ve been short-breathed all night. Not fun. I actually took some cough medicine, which seems to have helped, but hope my breathing will be back to normal tomorrow. I’d been doing so well the last few days!

  But, you didn’t come here for my health, and I promised you some knitting tonight.

Here’s my Not-So Shrunken cardi. It looks much the same as it did in the last picture, but trust me, it’s longer. In fact, it’s just at the point where I can split out for the sleeves, which will luckily make the rows shorter, so I should be able to get more done each night.

I am so happy with the way this looks. The barber-poled yarn adds just the right tweedy-look to the fabric, and I like the feel of it, too. I’m just proud of myself! (grin) I suppose that gushing over my own work is kind of tacky, though, so . . . moving on!

I have also reached the heels on my socks, which I’m trying in a different way. Instead of doing a short-row heel, I’m trying something I saw on Knitter’s Review. Instead of doing short rows, actually decrease two stitches at each side of the heel on the knit rows, slipping the first stitch on each row. Then, when the heel has reached its narrowest point, start increasing each row, while also picking up the slipped stitches on the side of the “flap,” to join everything together. (It’s explained better in the thread on the forum.)

Kind of a nice change from the short-row thing. I conked out at the end of the decrease section, so can’t give you a first-hand review of how the heel looks/acts as compared to the short-row method, but as I said, the variety is nice.

I finished reading 102 Minutes tonight, about the World Trade Center on 9/11. Amazingly good book, and a riveting read. I can’t say that I loved it, because the subject matter is so heart-rending, but other than that, it was wonderful. So well written, so well researched, so gracefully handled. Excellent.

Now, tomorrow, we’re going to the park. It’s supposed to be another beautiful, warm day and so, darn it, who cares if the park is muddy! As long as my shoulder stands up the excited pulling when Chappy sees his best friend for the first time in about 9 months, and as long as, you know, I’m getting oxygen, everything will be fine.

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• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading, Weather • Permalink:Isn’t it Still Winter? // 6 Comments »

  Deep. This is how much snow we had at about 10:30 this morning. And, actually, there was s a little more, but this is as far out the door as I could reach with the yardstick. We’ve gotten about another inch since then.

  Another example–the top of Dad’s car as I paused for breath while cleaning it off this morning.

  Deliciously Doggie Delight. It hasn’t all been work though, today. We took some time for a romp. Here’s Chappy, ready to catch a snowball . . .

  Got it! (Thanks to Mom for snapping these two pictures. I was the one throwing the snowballs.)

  All this snow, though, is causing a sports Delay in my Knitting Olympics event. I haven’t gotten to open my knitting bag once today–either I’ve been out doing something in the snow, or inside recovering from doing things in the snow. My arms are sore from shovelling, my wrists are tired from pushing the snow off Dad’s car, and my legs are sore from bending down for all those snowballs. Tomorrow is going to be a fun, fun day at the office, I can tell you!

The one “D” that’s missing, though?

  Dad. My Dad is in Florida on his annual golfing trip with his buddies. They go every February. This is why my lucky car gets to be in the garage, while his is roughing it out in the driveway. However–and it’s a big “however”–today is the day they’re supposed to come home. Today. The day when there’s a blizzard dumping up to 3″ an hour over New York City and the immediate area. We, with our 19-20″ of snow are getting off lightly compared to some of those folks. And of course, the airports are largely closed. According to the FAA, “Due to SNOW, the Newark International Airport (EWR) was closed as of Feb 12 at 09:25 AM EST. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is not known.” Now, their flight was supposed to land here around 6:30 tonight
But, um . . . that doesn’t seem terribly likely. Frankly, we really don’t know WHEN he’s going to get home. Tonight? Tomorrow? And naturally he didn’t pack any “extras,” like underwear or medicine . . . though really, I’m sure he and his friends can manage–as long as he gets home safely in the next 24 hours, right? One thing that might help? One of his buddies is a pilot and mentioned yesterday seeing if there were any private jets coming this way with room for four . . . I guess if you’re going to be stranded, it doesn’t hurt to be stranded with someone with connections, huh?

5:24 PM Edited to Add: Dad’s new travel itinerary? Apparently Continental told them that they’ll be able to get them out of Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday. That’s right. Three days from now. None of them much liked that idea–not only do they want to be home, but there’s one anniversary, one wife’s birthday (that would be my Mom), and of course, Valentine’s Day between now and Wednesday. So what are they doing instead? Renting a car and driving to Savannah GA, where they hope to be able to get a flight . . . no, it doesn’t really make sense to me, either, but as long as they make it home safely, that’s all I’m worried about!

• Tags: ABC-Along, Chappy, Family, General, Weather • Permalink:D is for Deep // 6 Comments »

I can’t say it’s been a quiet weekend so far–I’ve really been quite busy–but it’s been a peaceful, snowy one.

We got over 9″ of snow yesterday–nice, light, fluffy stuff. I had already planned on taking Friday off from work because of Stollen, but as a bonus, the office actually closed for the day. (I know this because I’m the only one who knows how to change the message on the phone system, and so I get a call when a decision is made to close or have a delayed opening.) So, I got the day off without having to use one of my vacation days.

I wasn’t the only one happy about the Snow Day. As it happened, the snow here ended about 11:00 and then the sun came out, so there was plenty of opportunity for, say, sledding (if you’re into that kind of thing.) The house across the street looked like it was having a party–I’m not even sure who all these people are–but they sure looked and sounded like they were having a good time.

My time, of course, was mostly taken up by Stollen. But I did find some time for some other stuff. Like making a pot of beef stew for supper. Doing a little reading. Watching for the plow to make sure they got all the edges of the driveway done. And, there was at least one other thing, what was that again?

Of course. Taking Chappy out to romp in the snow!

You can see that he had a wonderful time. (The tail is a blur in the photo, in fact, because it was going so fast the entire time he was out there.) What we do is, I stand up on the deck and throw snowballs, which he mostly chases. Sometimes he actually chases them. Sometimes he just runs in the general direction as an excuse to run. Sometimes he stands right at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me to toss them for him to catch. (He’s really quite good at it, but I try to make sure those are lightly-packed.)

I hope you notice his Sheep Impression? All those white snowballs in his fur, looking like fleece? If there’s any question why I insist on his wearing a coat to play in “deep” snow, this should pretty much answer it. All the fluffy, feathery ends of his fur grab the snow–much like a woolen mitten does when you’re making a snowman. You always end up with mittens heavy with clumps of snow. Well, just imagine having that all over your legs, in your armpits, on your neck . . . Brr! It doesn’t seem to bother him in the least while we’re actually outside, but the minute we come inside, Chappy starts grabbing them and pulling them off. (Katy–who used to have the same problem–used to stand there and shiver, waiting for me to get rid of them. Chappy’s feeling about them is just “get rid of them” I suppose he doesn’t care if he pulls some of his fur out. She was a girl, probably cared more about how her hair looked…)

Anyway, other than a hair dryer, or massive amounts of towel-drying–neither of which is practical–the only way I’ve found to get rid of these things quickly is in the bathtub. So, as soon as we come inside and I’ve gotten my coat and boots off, we head up to the bathroom, shedding little snowballs all the way. He doesn’t always love baths, my boy, but he never hesitates about going up to melt these snowballs. Really, that has to be so uncomfortable once you come inside and start getting warm!

Incidentally, I’ll put a word in for the fabulous dog coat Chappy’s got, from Apache River, better known for its horse blankets. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Unlike a sweater, it actually keeps his fur dry, therefore it keeps him warm, it protects him from getting those snowballs ALL over. Easy on, too–slipped on over his head and then the chest band goes between the front paws to velcro to the sides of the coat. Nice and secure–he’s never managed to jump out of this coat, unlike some other sweaters we’ve tried. In fact, I wish I could show you how funny he is in the snow. Because he DOES jump through the snow, just like a dolphin. I’d swear he has springs in his legs! But both he and Katy had trouble keeping their sweaters on . . . until this coat. I love this coat.

Otherwise? Gift stuff today! I wrapped my Christmas presents. (One, small advantage to Stollen Weekend is that since I have the house to myself, I don’t need to worry about anyone seeing me wrap their presents.) I did well this year–at least two things for everyone, but all small and portable. Getting them to my sister’s house will be easy for a change.

I also made some butter cookies–which I haven’t done in years. I’d even forgotten I had a cookie press . . . apparently, though, there was a reason for that. My cookies didn’t exactly come out in the shapes they should have . . . oh well. They taste just fine. And after all the time spent in the kitchen making stuff I don’t like, I wanted to have something I could enjoy nibbling, too.

I also got my last two packages out the door for the KRSP and the SP6 secret pal exchanges. A trifle late, actually, but since we had two snowstorms (and should have had a third) in the last week, I didn’t feel right asking my mail carrier to trek to the front door to pick up the boxes. (Today, out of desperation, I put them in a plastic garbage bag and hung them from the mailbox for her to pick up.) I’ve had fun with both exchanges, though one pal almost never updates her blog, and so I feel like I’ve been buying “blind” for her . . . I hope they like their last gifts, though.

Tomorrow, my parents come home. I’m going to have dinner ready for them when they get here–either pot roast, or lasagne–I haven’t decided yet. Both are flexible enough, though, that if they run into some extra traffic, the meal can wait. And now . . . tired again! Really, this snow-day stuff can be tiring . . . and I didn’t even have to shovel! (Well, Chappy’s bathroom, but that’s really not that big, and it’s got a roof, so there wasn’t much snow in there anyway . . . )

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Weather • Permalink:Snowy Days // 12 Comments »

Argh . . . I don’t believe it . . . I lost my entire post and have to start over, and it’s never as good the second time . . .

So, finally, Rhinebeck. Not only have I been looking forward to this for months, but it took quite an effort to actually get there! The directions were horrible! Instead of what looks like about 15 minutes’ worth of driving, it took us 50 minutes to get from the exit off Rt 87 to the fairgrounds. Three major wrong turns, two stops for directions, and none of us could decipher the directions at all . . . they made no sense! (Since getting home, I’ve checked the website again–the directions are complete, but there are no margins and so they scroll off the page to the right, cutting off huge chunks of directions, including some fairly important points, like, say, mentioning Rt 209 . . . if you are in the business of writing directions on webpages, please do your readers a favor and make sure there are column widths so that they print on a standard 8.5″ piece of paper. This was completely insane.)

We did, finally, get there, parked, admissioned-ourselves in the gate, and started shopping. It was still raining at that point, incidentally. Misting more than really showering, but still–enough that I wore my raincoat into the fairgrounds, so that when the rain stopped around 12:30 (just as NOAA forecast), I was stuck carrying the thing around, crammed into the big, orange tote bag I brought as my purse today. It did turn out to be a lovely afternoon, though–the first sun in over a week, warm, but not too hot. Really nice. And really crowded.

I took barely any photos, but did snap this one of the meet-up that Cara organized at 1:00. It was so nice to actually get to meet some of you that I’ve been reading and commenting and emailing for so many months, and I’m only sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hello to everyone there. (Please know that if I didn’t, it was just because time ran out, not because I didn’t want to.) Among those I got to talk to: Annie. Rose. Alison. Laurie (who gave me a bit of a neckrub in greeting as I struggled to get my shawl back in my totebag). Julie. Julia (who bounced up in one of the friendliest greetings!). Chelsea. Wendy. Nancy. Katy. JessaLu. I caught glimpses of some, that I didn’t get to talk to, like Cassie and Norma. (If I talked to you and left you off the list, I apologize–I’m tired!! And remember, this is my second time writing this post. Please, leave me a comment so I can acknowledge you properly.)

  Of course, Cate and Risa were there, too, positively flaunting their beautiful, perfect, matching Hyrna Hergorbar shawls.

Really, I thought it was quite insensitive of them. But then, I suppose they had friendlier yarn and so were able to complete the project, so I really shouldn’t blame them for having the shawls. I mean, they’re both lovely people (with matching sets of young twins) and deserve beautiful shawls. I don’t begrudge that at all . . . I’m just a little sad for my lost one, you know . . . (sniffle)

But then, it’s not like it made my life that pleasant while it was here, and frankly, at the moment, I’m not talking to either the pattern or the yarn. They’re just going to have to manage without me for a while. Besides, I have some new, fibery “friends” to play with now.

  Like, for example, two skeins of Four Play from Brooks Farm in a lovely blue-with-a-touch-of-green colorway. I’m excited about that since I so enjoyed working with their Primero and Duet in that shawl last winter. Or three skeins of wool in a really beautiful gold-brown shade from the Sheep Shed. And did I mention the dear, little, twee Pinwheel spindle from Golding? (Please also note Chappy checking out my purchases. He was very curious about everything when I got home.)

I had hoped to get some Cormo for spinning, since I’ve heard such wonderful things about it, but didn’t see any–or at least, not in roving for me to spin. (I think I’ve established that I’m not such a fan of the whole raw-fleece processing thing, at least, not until or unless I can get a drum carder.) But I did get pretty much everything I really wanted to get . . . a small Golding spindle (5.5 oz!), some Brooks Farm yarn, some other wool . . .

You know, it’s the funniest thing, but I could swear that there was something else, but . . . gosh . . . I guess my memory’s going now that my birthday’s getting closer. (If you didn’t catch the subtle hint in there, just remember my Mom came with me and now I’m suffering from selective amnesia . . . so, anything else, you’ll have to wait a few weeks for photos.)

Now, I’m tired. So tired, in fact, that I didn’t even consider knitting tonight, and haven’t even summoned the energy to flip through the Vogue Knitting that arrived today. But I wanted to tell you about my day before I started to forget things. Fun. Exhausting. And at least for next year? I already know how to get there . . .

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Finally, Rhinebeck // 21 Comments »

Last Thursday, I had a dentist appointment, and out of idle curiosity (not to mention stalling about actually walking into the office) shot the following pictures of the Rockaway River:

And then, of course, it started raining on Friday. It poured all day Saturday. Rained on Sunday. Drizzled on Monday. Rained on Tuesday. Poured on Wednesday. Rained on Thursday. Showered on Friday . . . all this moisture made me curious. How much had the river risen in a week? So, after I left work but before I came home, I voluntarily drove to my dentist’s office and took these pictures:

Note how in the first pictures, you can actually see the ground of the river bed. One week ago, we were in a drought. I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’re not exactly experiencing drought conditions any more. Morristown has had 10.43″ of rain in the last week; the previous record was of 9.05″ for the month of October in 1995. You can see some articles here, here, here, here, here, and here. And that’s just New Jersey!

If there can be this kind of flooding just from several days of heavy rain . . . widespread throughout the Northeast, and yet confined more to individual houses or small sections of neighborhoods . . . I feel for these people who, yes, just had their houses and their memories washed away. But at least their towns are still here, and the police, the fire department. The grocery stores are still open. And there are neighbors willing to open their houses to help.

Let’s take this moment, shall we, to consider once again the victims from Katrina and Rita? They’ve slipped down the newsstream a bit, but the people themselves are just as much in need as ever–under shelter, yes, but not yet, not nearly recovered. These people lost everything–not just their homes, but their towns, their counties, everything and every place they knew. Let’s not forget them, shall we? And, of course, the Pakistanis are in desperate need after last weekend’s devastating earthquake. American Red Cross. Mercy Corps. Habitat for Humanity. Network for Good. Noah’s Wish. The Humane Society.

I’m reading right now a book called “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” by Jared Diamond (author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel”). It’s fascinating–exploring the reasons why some societies failed in the past, or are collapsing now–the Polynesians of Easter Island, the Norse on Greenland, the Maya in Central America, and so on. Environmental factors are huge, as are others, but so, too, are the presence of friendly societies willing to help when things get rough (Iceland’s Norse population survived partly because it was close enough to trade with Europe).

Look at some of the catastrophes we’ve faced lately. The Tsunami in the Indian ocean last December. Hurricane Katrina. The earthquake in Pakistan. Other hurricanes here, and cyclones hitting Japan. Wildfires in California. It behooves us, I think, to be aware that in this age of a shrinking world and greater interdependence, that we all are going to stand or fall together. Ultimately, we’re on one ship here in the universe, and have to rely on each other when the weather goes crazy, when the earth rises beneath our feet, and when flames come falling from the sky. No one society can stand entirely alone, anymore, or aloof from the needs of other, less fortunate societies. We’re all in this together, and you can just never tell when it’s going to be your own turn.

Please give a little.

• Tags: General, Reading, Weather • Permalink:Rockaway River Rising // 1 Comment »

A bird tried to commit hari-kari using our kitchen window this afternoon. I was just taking a break and making a cup of tea, when, thud! The poor thing (no idea what species) managed to flutter onto our deck and panted heavily for a minute or two, getting more and more still, until it slumped over to the side and then didn’t move at all. I watched the whole thing from the window, feeling sadder and sadder about it–such a stupid way for a bird to die. After watching for a few minutes, I turned away to pour my tea water, glancing back over my shoulder . . . wait, the angle looked different. Was its head in a different position? I hurried back to the window, and it was! The bird was sitting upright, moving its head from side to side, very obviously not dead. Feeling better about it, I took my teabag out, and carried my mug over the window, telling the bird that I wasn’t going to be happy until I saw him fly away, and after a few more minutes, it did. I don’t know which of us was more relieved, me or the bird.

Chappy–except for one brief, “What’cha’ doin’, Mom” check-in while I was standing vigil–ignored the entire incident. Not because he wouldn’t have been interested to get a closer look at the bird. (It landed just outside of his “bathroom,” and if he’d gone outside, he certainly would have been able to get some good whiffs, though I’m sure the bird wouldn’t have apppreciated it.) But instead, he was playing with a long-lost toy. The one he grabbed right out of the huge pile of toys I dumped onto the family room floor before. It must be two years ago that I split his toy collection in half. I put half in a bag stashed in the guest room closet, and left the others out, intending to swap them out after a few months.

Okay, actually, I admit that the plan was that he would only have about 5 toys out at a time and they’d be swapped almost weekly, but that very quickly became impractical. But dogs, you see, are just as happy to get an old toy they haven’t seen in months as they are to get a brand-new toy, and I figured that way he’d get that new-toy excitement every week (or couple of months) with no real work on my side . . . but, um, well, that bag was in the closet for about two years . . . Mom and I have talked about it, but have never both had the inclination at the same time to weed out the “good” toys. Until today.

Today, Mom and Dad went up to my sister’s house for the afternoon. Chappy and I were invited, too, but since I had a whole slew of chores I wanted to do AND since everything would be impossibly muddy after the 6.5″ (yes, over six inches) of rain we had yesterday and therefore he (and I) would get filthy going out for his bathroom needs . . . we opted to stay home. Not only did I do the usual Sunday things–laundry, cleaning the bathroom, dusting and vacuuming my room–but I tackled some projects I’ve been putting off. Like that basket of Chappy’s toys. And adding a splitter to the tangle of cables going amongst the cable box, VCR, DVD-recorder and television so that we can record one show on the VCR while watching something else via the cable box. You know, like Extreme Home Makeover and West Wing tonight. (I even labled all the cables so I’ll know where they’re going in the future.)

I also went through my yarn stash . . . sort of. I mean, I did go through it. I even sorted a whole lot of it into large, white mesh laundry bags for a little more organized keeping. (Sock yarn in one, lace yarn in another. A bag for Miscellaneous. A bag for Kid Silk Haze–yes, you heard right. An entire bag stuffed full of knitter’s crack. That kind of thing.) What I didn’t do, but really need to, is weed some of it out. For example, I have way too much Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran yarn. I love it, but I have enough for about four sweaters, and I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I also have a nice collection of Manos wool which I keep telling myself would make a great afghan (the colors are perfect for my bedroom), but that’s been sitting there for far too long now, and . . . well . . . it’s unlikely. On the other hand, there’s a sweater’s worth of Rowan Calmer which isn’t going anywhere; nor am I willing to get rid of my Rowan Wool & Cotton (that dates back to when they still used the ampersand in the name). But there are miscellaneous balls of yarn that are either leftovers from other projects or things I’ve been gifted that I just don’t see myself doing anything with (lovely though they are), but certainly don’t want to throw away. (Re-gifting is one thing, trashing entirely another.)

And the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran I was hoping I’d be able to use for that cabled Karabella cardigan? No, apparently the gauge is completely different. Which is a shame, because I’ve using lighter-weight yarns lately and was thrilled to finally find a project for that yarn, and . . . nope. It’s going to languish a while longer. Although–it’s confusing. The gauge on the pattern calls for 24 stitches over 4″. But the Aurora 8 yarn the pattern uses and the Cashmerino Aran both say 18/4 . . . unless all the websites I’m looking at for the Aurora 8 are giving the wrong gauge? Or is that gauge over the cabled pattern of the sweater, not stockinette? I’ll have to check that when I get up. Maybe it would work, after all? But I’m leery–I tend to knit loosely to begin with–that kind of a handicap right off the bat . . . ?

Maybe what I should do is offer some of this yarn for trade, or for sale, huh? It’s all good yarn, just . . . sitting. The Jo Sharp alone fills up an entire storage bin, and even I think that’s kind of crazy, no matter how much I like the yarn. (Hmm, I wonder how my secret pal would feel about getting a box full of Jo Sharp…?)

Anyway, the rest of my day? I colored my hair–something I’ve been badly in need of for the last week or two. One of these days I must remember not to wash my shower walls before I color my hair. It’s unfortunate that the reddish-brown color I use looks (very unfortunately) rather like a bloodbath by the time I’ve gotten it all out of my hair and then, of course, I’ve got to wash the walls again! For supper, I mixed some leftover mashed potatoes with two eggs and ate that (cooked, of course) with a side salad and a fresh-baked corn muffin studded with walnuts and chocolate chips. Pretty tasty!

Next question: is Chappy going to sleep on the bed tonight? Last night, for the first time ever, he opted to sleep in his crate rather than up on the bed with me. No idea why . . . he couldn’t be mad at me, this is two days now that we’ve spent entirely together . . . too much togetherness usually isn’t something a dog exactly disapproves of!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General, Hair, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Hari-Kari // 7 Comments »

Rain.

That’s what today is all about. It’s been steadily raining all day–not torrential downpours (though it’s gotten heavy from time to time), but pretty much non-stop showers. Something like 3.5″ of rain (that’s 8.75 cm) since yesterday.

We need it badly, but . . . blah. Grey. Wet. Dreary. I’ve been home all day. Mom didn’t want to go out for coffee this morning, so I’ve spent most of the day curled up in the dining room window with Chappy. Reading mostly, but I also did some work on that Christmas knitting. Made some tea in the afternoon. Helped Mom transfer some pictures from digital camera to computer. But really . . . nothing much. It’s just been that kind of day.

Not so for Risa–whose twins are having their second birthday party today. I bet her day’s been busy! Or Jennifer, who was written about in the New York Times. Or Sandy, whose (safe and unhurt) daughter was in a car accident. There was a death in Stephanie’s family. And of course, there’s something fishy going on over at Lu’s.

The one bright spot? I’ve been reading about the NaNoWriMo challenge. Apparently, November is National Novel Writing Month. (I mentioned this a couple days ago.) But I hadn’t read through the rules for the actual Challenge. Listen to this:

The idea is to write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. You can’t start writing before 12:01 am on November 1st and you must have passed 50,000 words by November 30th to succeed at the challenge. You can’t add to a novel you’ve already started. You can’t start writing earlier than November 1st. You can plan, plot, develop characters, outline–do as much preliminary work as you want–but you cannot write an official word of prose for the challenge. As they say in the FAQs, it’s about quantity not quality, enthusiasm over painstaking craft. And frankly, it sounds like fun!

I haven’t decided if I’m going to participate yet–more than starting a brnd-new book, I’d rather have the incentive to finish the already-50,000 word manuscript I’ve got sitting right here on my computer. And yet–where’s the thrill in that? If the point of the challenge is to inspire you to just sit down and let your creativity out of the box, no holds barred, no worries about whether the plot ties together–just to get a first draft down on virtual paper . . . why start with a book that’s been stalled on my computer for over a year and a half without being touched? Great idea, though! At least something made me smile on this otherwise grey day.

Well, other than Chappy, of course!

• Tags: General, Weather • Permalink:Rain // 4 Comments »

I’ve probably made it clear over these last months that I’m generally a pretty happy, content, easy-going kind of person. An optimist. Which makes my state of mind the last few days unusual. Part of it is my own fault. I’ve been watching the news. Gloom and doom everywhere you look. Last night, between 7:00 and 9:00, they had three major news stories–Hurricane Rita, which had just been upgraded to the 3rd worst hurricane ever on record, and had winds of 175 mph; a big tornado sighted heading towards downtown Minneapolis; and an airplane trying to make an emergency landing because of faulty landing gear. The news anchors didn’t know which way to go, they were trying to cover so much, so many different stories at once. And not a one of them was good news.

Though, thank heaven that plane landed safely! Pretty impressive to watch, too. And, thankfully, Rita has been downgraded to a category 4 storm–still huge, still a monster, but at least a little better. Except, of course, it’s heading north–closer to Louisiana all the time. This is better for Galveston. (I’m sure my cousin–who’s safely evacuated to Austin–is relieved.) It’s worse for Houston. But it’s worst for New Orleans and the other places on the west side of Louisiana, who are still trying to put the pieces back together after Katrina. Let’s think–which would be worse? For this hurricane to decimate an untouched piece of coast that’s standing strong but may be reduced to the condition of the Mississippi coast? Or for the hurricane to hit the areas that have already been reduced to rubble and, well, ruin the clean-up, but not really do any more damage? Um . . . they sound about equally bad to me! The only blessing is that people have learned some hard lessons from Katrina and are paying attention to the evacuation orders, thinking ahead, planning for the worst (and with a whole, new benchmark for “worst”).

Is there any good news? The evacuation in Texas has turned the interstates into parking lots. Gas prices are probably going to skyrocket again. And another monster storm is about to hit a whole new section of the Gulf coast with devastation. What fun!

Still–there’s this article about a bill that would let people bring their pets with them when they evacuate. Not surprisingly, I’m all for that. A lot of people stayed behind during Katrina because of their pets, and, well, I entirely understand. I have a hard time leaving Chappy to go to work in the morning–how could I possibly desert him with a massive, life-threatening storm barrelling toward us?

And–you want to see something silly? How about this article about a giant, pink bunny rabbit. And I do mean giant.

Or, for a little fun, this site will tell you what song was Number One on the charts when you were born. (Well, from 1952 and later–if born earlier, the site suggests picking your “life theme song” by selecting your 18th birthday.) For the record, on the US charts on my birthday: “Poor Side of Town” by Johnny River. On the UK charts: “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops. Oh, and my life theme song would be “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)” by Billy Ocean. I’m sure you’re all as fascinated as I am.

  But my best reason to smile? Chappy, of course. Last night, after I finally came upstairs and stopped watching the news, I had some . . . disagreements . . . with my computer. I was trying to draw a schematic of my Christmas Tree hat for my Knitty submission, but Illustrator wasn’t cooperating, and on top of my general feeling of stress, well, I was getting frustrated. Muttering “What? What!” under my breath . . . and sometimes not so much under my breath . . . and then my submission to Knitty wouldn’t go through–it bounced back as a bad e-mail address (even though I clicked on the mail link on the site).

But every time I’d get really frustrated, Chappy would wake up, climb out of his crate, and come over to give me a hug. Literally–front paws on my shoulders, tail wagging, and a “Don’t be sad, Mom!” look on his face . . . and really, after five or six of these hugs, you really can’t help but smile . . . especially when he finally lies down right next to you to save himself the trip for the next burst of frustration! (Which helped, too, because he was right there, in petting range–much more soothing.) But that’s Chappy for you–he can always make me smile.

My e-mail to Knitty, incidentally, is still bouncing back “Service Unavailable.” I can’t get logged into the Knitty Coffeehouse to try to post a question, because it won’t recognize my password–even when I asked for a “I forgot my password” replacement (even though I was using the same password I had been and it was working fine a few days ago). And when they sent me an e-mail with my “new” password, that still won’t work. So now I can’t reach the Submissions e-mail OR the message boards where I’d at least be able to post a “Help!” message. Does anyone else think that this is maybe a sign and I should just give up on the idea of trying to get this pattern into Knitty? And maybe should just publish it to a PDF myself?

And, darn it, I finished “The Yarn Harlot,” too . . . it was such a nice [mostly] happy book! All my other, current books are a lot more serious and portentious. So, to what did I turn? P.G. Wodehouse. Bertie Wooster. Jeeves. In “Jeeves in the Morning.” If light and funny is what you’re looking for, he’s got it. (Silly, fluffy, classic British comedy. A joy.)

• Tags: Chappy, General, Weather • Permalink:Gloom and Doom // 9 Comments »

This has really been a lovely day (another one). Perfect weather, again, about which I’m still feeling obscurely guilty. But, what can you do?

Mom and I took Chappy (aka Drool-Face) to the park today. He’s been asking to go all week. (”Park! Park! Park park park!“) Then, he was so excited to be there, he just drooled . . . and then covered himself in drool every time he shook his head.

This habit of his, I’ll tell you, came as quite a shock to me in the beginning. None of our other dogs ever drooled this much. Don’t even get me started on the amount of drool he used to emit in the car . . . he used to get carsick . . . and, well . . . rivers. But that, at least, had a reason. So does a mouth-watering reaction to food. But drool just out of sheer excitement at being at the park? Who knew? I try to carry paper towels with me for this kind of thing . . . I don’t like drooly kids (I accept that it happens, but that’s what bibs are for, and you at least try to stay on top of it), and I don’t want my dog covered with it either. Naturally, though, I always forget to actually bring the towel with me . . . it’s usually back in the car, and so Chappy happily meanders through the park, looking like, well, this.

After our lovely (if wet) walk through the park, we went to Wightman Farms for some apples.

And some pie. (They have really good home-style pies).

And, oh yeah, some doughnuts, which Mom particularly loves.

Unfortunately, it’s still a little early in the season for my favorite apples (Macouns and Honeycrisps), but I did get some Ginger Golds, so I’m happy. I love really good, really crisp apples in the fall.

And you should have seen all the pumpkins they had already. I mean it’s only September 10th. (I bet you didn’t know they grew with faces here in New Jersey.)

After Wightmans, I told Mom and Chappy I wanted to make one stop–Barnes & Noble, to see if they had Stephanie’s bookbookbook2. I looked on the shelf, and didn’t see it, but since somebody had left her a Comment about finding a copy yesterday, I asked. (Something I almost never do in bookstores, since I’m usually pretty good at finding what I need.) They had two copies in stock . . . but couldn’t find either of them. The fellow helping looked, and asked around, in case somebody had shelved them in the wrong place, but . . . nope. Nowhere to be found. I mean, if they hadn’t had the books at all yet, well, fine, but they had them in the inventory. Sheesh. So . . . no extra yarn-harlot-ness for me this weekend. Disappointing!

Now, you hear me talk about Chappy all the time. (All the time, I know.) You even hear me mention my dear, departed Katy, his predecessor.

But you rarely ever hear me talk about the dogs we had before. Partly because they were the family’s dogs, not my dogs. There were two of them, both miniature dachshunds–Muppy, who we got when I was 11, and Jilly, who lived to be almost 15 and a half. Today would have been her 21st birthday.

We got her when I was 17 and she was 8 months old, about a year after we lost Muppy. We were actually going to get a puppy, but her breeder tricked us–she let us meet Jilly first, before we ever saw the litter of puppies. (Sneaky!) By the time we made it into the next room, Jilly had worked her wiles. A good thing for her, too, since the first full day we had her, when Dad and Patty went to work and I headed off to school, my mother almost had a break down, Jilly reminded her so much of Muppy. (She really didn’t want another dog, I might add, but Dad and I ganged up on her.) I got home from school and said, “How’s the puppy??” and Mom almost burst into tears . . . she went upstairs and shut the door (rare, rare thing), and I spent the afternoon running up and down the stairs from my mother, who wanted nothing to do with the dog, and poor Jilly who was still so confused and scared and uncertain . . . it wasn’t a good day. But then, a day or so later, Mom was vacuuming and realized she didn’t know where Jilly was . . . the poor thing had been so terrified at the vacuum, she squeezed herself behind the toilet and just shook . . . Mom felt so terrible, and cuddled her to calm her down, and I think