Basketball, Bowling and Blazing...

When it comes to weekends that make for good blogging stories, this one takes the cake.

Saturday afternoon D, his parents and I went to the last SU basketball home game of the season.
Not only did SU win, but it was the 700th win for coach Boeheim. It was also Senior day where all the seniors of the team were honored with framed jerseys. If I had started being into this whole basketball thing earlier, I might have teared up seeing them play their last game.

So what happened Saturday night??? We went bowling baby! All those fashion gurus better look out because we were sporting some very classy shoes….

Seriously, they’re all the rage. I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular bowling alley is known for it’s rock ‘n bowl or as they call it “Cosmic Bowling” where they turned down the lights, turn up the music and let the black lights shine because after closer inspection of my bowling shoes I noticed the stitches had been colored with a highlighter so they would glow under the black lights. You just gotta love the look… And the off-white shoes…those are D’s. Let me clarify, those are D’s father’s bowling shoes from the 60’s or early 70’s. He was definitely stylin’.

It became quite apparent to me that I am not what you would call a “good” bowler. I’m not even a mediocre bowler. I noticed this at the end of our third or so game when D had bowled a 197 and I bowled…..

Yeah, a 69. My high score for the evening was an 87. I'm not ashamed, I realized that I was demolished in that game and that someday... someday I will break 100. A girl can dream right?

But when all was said and I done we had ourselves an excellent evening.


Now Sunday’s story is funny, only because no one was hurt. Otherwise, I’d be writing you telling you how upset I am…

It was a gorgeous day Sunday. I spent most of my time in the living room knitting while D slept off his exhaustion from being so great at bowling the night before (apparently it’s tiring to be that good) While I was knitting I had a nice yankee candle going to spruce up the living room.

A few hours had gone by, D got up and I went with him to the kitchen. Of course while I was leaving the living room I thought to myself “maybe I should blow out that candle” and then I thought “nah, it’ll be fine, I’m only leaving it unattended for a few minutes…” Hindsight’s a bitch isn’t it?

I got caught up in doing something, of course at this point it slips my mind what it happened to be, but as I was walking back into the living room I smelled something funny. It took my brain another few seconds to realize what the smell was…. Burnt hair… Why the hell does it smell like burnt hair?!?!

You want to know why?!?!? This is why…

Poor Ramses thought it was a good idea to check out that burning candle and didn’t realize until it was too late that his tail had caught on fire! I’m telling you it was charred. Luckily not too badly and not even close to his skin (which is why this story is acceptable as “funny”)
If you didn’t get a good look here’s a better one next to a look at his big fluffy tail prior to burning it…

It’ll take a little while for it to grow back in, but he’ll be fine and hopefully he’s not scarred for life. I can’t imagine being a cat, looking behind me only to see my tail in a blaze of flame!

As for knitting news I worked exclusively on my clapotis this weekend… that is until I ran out of yarn…

Here’s how much I have left to do…

I was slightly worried I wouldn’t have enough but I was optimistic… Funny how optimism isn’t always enough isn’t it?
I love this yarn, look at it close up…

Wouldn’t you love it too? Luckily Patternworks came through for me and I was able to order one more skein to finish it. Yep, I'm a lucky, lucky girl...

Just a Quickie with some Pics

I have pictures! I'm sure you're jumping out of your seats with excitement... Okay, that might be pushing it.

Like I said I finished the mittens I was working on (finished meaning blocked them but haven't sewn in ends or knit the lining)

I really like how I reversed the colors. It really makes them unique, yet they still look like they belong together.

And since I finished (I'm using that term quite loosely ) the mittens I decided to start clapotis. I've actually gotten pretty far on it.

I took the Harlot's advice and decided to purl the stitches you're supposed to drop because basically it's the same thing as keeping track of a knit stitch using a marker... She's so smart! I'm loving how the varigation is playing out in this. It's not flashing or pooling weirdly, which I love. And each ball is totally different than the last one. It's great!
Here's a bit of a close up on some of the dropped stitches.

There's something so satisfying about dropping a stitch on purpose and watching it unravel all the way down to the beginning. I can't explain it, you're just going to have to try it for yourself!

Who got stuff done this weekend??? Not Me!

Motivation… it’s something I lack right now. This weekend was nice and laid back, yet I had plans to get all sorts of things done, mostly on Sunday and none of which actually ended up being accomplished. I even got up a half hour early this morning to start some of the things I neglected this weekend…I bet your wondering if getting up a half hour early actually motivated me to do the things I wanted to… well, it didn’t.

Sure I had an extra half hour this morning but all that managed to do was make me linger in the shower for a few (read: fifteen) minutes more than normal. And take my time while I ate breakfast. The only thing I did manage to do this morning (don’t ask me why I felt motivated to do it) was clean out the cat boxes. Not one of the most glamorous or clean chores that I had, but definitely one of the most necessary.

I wanted to start my laundry this morning. Ok, I actually wanted to start and finish my laundry Sunday…nope, that didn’t get done. I’m afraid I’m beginning to reflect my college self where I would wait until I get down to my last pair of clean underwear before I decided it was necessary to do laundry.

I also wanted to clean up my room a little. Possibly vacuum…. Nope those didn’t get done either. Though I experienced an extreme lack of motivation when it came to household chores, I did find I had a lot of motivation to knit. I finished my mittens (read: finished the outside knitting, blocked them, yet haven’t sewn in ends or knit the linings) and I felt that was permission enough to start clapotis. It looks sooo good (uploading pictures onto the blog was another thing I was planning on doing which didn’t get done).

Other than knitting, what did I do this weekend??? Well, Saturday morning I met with the fantabulous Rachel for some knitting at the coffee shop. Then we took a quick trip over to the LYS for a perusal of the goods. After that I went home to relax for a bit, then it was over to D’s place. We had plans this weekend to go out to dinner with his parents. This was the first time I met them and they are so sweet! His dad is quiet, yet will chime in when he feels he has something to say, which usually ends up being something funny. His mom has a cute, bubbly personality which made me laugh. I can see how D turned out to be such a great guy.

My plan for Sunday was to stay home and get stuff done. What actually happened Sunday was D and I went to breakfast at the local diner, I did some knitting, then we decided to go to a movie. If you haven’t seen Hitch I highly recommend it. I laughed so hard! I can say with confidence it’s the best new movie I’ve seen lately. Of course, it’s the only new movie I’ve seen lately.

So we’ll see if I can muster up some motivation to do at least some of the chores I need to do tonight after work. My prediction is, I’ll start laundry…but not necessarily finish it….

Let's all just take a moment of silence...

Well dear readers, I have a very sad story to tell. It's heartbreaking actually. This is not a story for the faint of heart, I assure you. It all started yesterday when I was working on the sleeve of Retro Prep... poor, poor Retro Prep... I'm surprised at myself for not noticing this before I even started the sweater, but that, as they say, is my own fault. As you know, I've completed the body up to the underarms and I had almost finished the sleeve when I had the very bright idea to try it on.

The fit was fine, it really was turning out quite nicely, great stitch definition perfect gauge and that's when I noticed it.... I noticed that I couldn't really tell where the sleeve ended and my hand began... Could I really have made such a stupid mistake???? I've started a sweater where the color is so close to my skin tone that were I to wear it in public people would do double takes just to make sure I wasn't walking around topless! That's right! If I finish this sweater it's going to make me look naked! Damn my pastey white skin tone!!! And so it is with great sadness that I lay Retro Prep to rest...

That is, of course, until I figure out what to do with that yarn! My mom bought it for me for Christmas a couple years ago and I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. So I thought Retro Prep would be perfect... *sniffle* Anyway, I was thinking about getting a ball or two of a chocolatey brown color to stripe in it. Of course, that also means I have to take the whole thing apart, which I'm just not ready to do yet...

That's so very sad when that happens, but fortunately I had other projects to keep me busy...

Last night after I took out the needles for poor Retro, I finally got over the motivation block I've been having with the mittens. I sucked it up and made the thumb. Once you get over the thumb it's amazing how quickly the rest of the mitten goes. However, I pooped out at about 9:00pm. That's right, I was so tired I couldn't knit anymore! I was so tired I didn't go to Chorale practice last night. It looks like all of my running around has finally caught up with me.

Just a quick little side note. Monday, while I was at work, I was minding my own business at my desk when a coworker came in with a huge box that was just dropped off by FedEx....a huge box for me.... This particular box had something like ProFlowers written on the side of it!!! AHHHH!!! My face turned bright red when I realized that D sent me flowers at work on Valentine's Day! How sweet is he????

So now I have these to brighten up my week!

What a Weekend...

First off… HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! Of course I realize that Valentine’s Day is just an excuse to spend money and buy greeting cards and flowers. I think somewhere in there you’re supposed to show the one you love that you love them (even though that’s something you should do anyway all year long, but whatever…) Despite not liking the commercial part of the holiday, I’m excited to be spending it with D. (Not that we didn’t just spend an entire weekend together!)

Speaking of the weekend, it was fabulous! I can’t even begin to describe it to you…. Wait a minute, yes I can!

I’m skipping right to Saturday because I really don’t think you'd be all that interested to hear me talk about how I slept in the car on the way down. So Saturday we left at around 10:30 or 11am to go to the SU Basketball game against Villanova that started around noon. The game was awesome! In fact, it seemed like there were more SU fans there than Villanova fans! How funny is that? So this is where D and I sat in relation to the court:

We got there early so the seats weren’t full yet. And it really is as steep as it looks in the picture. If you weren’t careful you’d go rolling down the bleachers. At least that’s what I saw happening in my mind every time we got up! The game was really great by the way. It wasn’t edge-of-your-seat exciting because SU was up by so much for the majority of the game however it was still a lot of fun to watch. Needless to say they won!

Afterwards, we went to lunch in Downtown Philly at a really cute Mexican restaurant. Delicious! (kind of wish I didn’t have the pretzel and a bit of pizza at the game so I could have had more room for yummy Mexican food, oh well) So after lunch I was supposed to go to the auto show with D and his friend but guess what? D’s friend brought his girlfriend along and she and I went shopping! How stereotypical is that? Leave the men to go look at cars and let the womenfolk shop.

A nap was definitely in order after a day like that! Plus, I needed my energy for a night out on the town! It was so much fun (I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but seriously, it was so much fun!) We went to this little night club just outside of Philly. Boy it has been awhile since I've gone out and had a blast!

Sunday, the incredible D took me to the “best cheese steak joint in Philly” so we could load our arteries with tons of grease! *drool* Just thinking about those cheese steaks is making me hungry!

You’ll never guess what we did next…. This is all because D is so fabulous and was willing to take me there… We went to a little yarn shop in downtown Philly called Rosie’s Yarn Cellar! How cute this place was! And the best part was D was genuinely interested when we got in there. No hiding in the corner for him (though that would have been more than easy to do, there were so many little nooks in this place!) They had a class going on when we got there so it was a little crowded, but still so cute! And don’t get me started on the selection! So I obviously couldn’t walk out of there without getting something so I reached for this:

So who wants to venture a guess as to what I’m making with it? I’ll give you a hint… everyone and their sister is making or has made it in the past several months. Ok, here’s another hint, it starts with “C” and ends with “lapotis” Yep, I’m joining the ever growing group of people who have made the clapotis! I seriously couldn’t resist.

From there we drove home. I knit the entire way home on the sleeve of my Retro Prep… Not a very interesting progress picture so I’m just gonna say that I’m almost done with the first sleeve and will be starting the next one as soon as I finish. So I don’t have a picture of the sleeve, but I do have a picture of the second mitten.

So there you have it. I haven’t worked on it in awhile but I’m at the thumb, which always feels like I’ve hit a brick wall in terms of motivation. Does that ever happen to you? You get to a certain place in a pattern and all motivation just stops dead? Well, that’s where I’m at. I haven’t worked on it in about a week. As soon as I make the thumb and attach it I know it will fly by, but it’s just getting over that hump!

Lastly, I have an exciting little thing to share... On our way home while I was just knitting along, D turns to me and says "I'll probably want to you teach me how to do that someday"!!!!! I tried very hard to curb my enthusiasm, but in all honesty I'm soooo excited!!!

Keeping it Busy -- The Understatement of the Year

I just wanted to let everyone know I've been extremely busy. Here's a list of the things I've been up to (and will be up to):

1. The fantabulous Rachel had a birthday party Saturday night which was extremely fun (though I wonder if it wasn't just an excuse for her to meet D! Just kidding Rach!) One thing I learned at that party was Rachel and her DH can make a mean vegetarian pizza! mmmm... I'm drooling just thinking about it!

2. Sunday night was the Superbowl party at my parents house. Can't say I'm a huge fan of football, but it was fun to hang out on the couch and listen to everyone else get all excited about it!

3. Monday night D and I got together after the basketball game because he wanted me to meet a friend of his. This turned out to be one of those "remember when this happened" type evenings... Don't know if you've ever had one of those, but I can tell you, you learn some interesting stuff about your SO when they get together with their friends...

4. Last night was Chorale practice. This was a special practice though because I decided (though I'm questioning the sanity of this decision) to try out for a solo in one of the pieces. So I spent a lot of my free time this weekend practicing and last night was the big night. I think I did alright, but I suppose I'll find out later. Actually I think I did it more to prove to myself that I could, which I'd say is pretty good motivation.

5. Tonight I'm going over to D's and we're cooking dinner and relaxing on the couch. LOST is on and it's a new episode! (It's about time!) This seems as though it's going to be the most low-key thing I do all week!

6. Thursday evening a friend of mine from up north is coming down with her boyfriend and we're all getting together for dinner. I can't wait because it's been close to a year since I've seen her!

7. Friday right after work D and I are driving down to Philly to stay with a friend of his for the weekend. This encompasses a lot of things. Apparently we're going to the SU basketball game against Villanova while we're there which I actually am looking forward to (I've never been a big sports fan but I suppose that enthusiasm is contagious). Immediately following that we're going to an auto show (I can't say that this was my first choice but whatever, his friend had tickets and wants to kill the afternoon by going there) Who knows what else we're going to do, but I won't be getting back until Sunday afternoon.

Phew! So this is why I haven't posted in awhile and why I probably won't be posting for awhile so please don't hold it against me!

P.S. You know what the best part of the Philly trip is?!?! If you're a knitter I'm willing to bet you know, but I'll spell it out anyway! D's driving and I'm gonna knit the whole way there and back! I can't wait to show you the progress I've made on my mittens! They totally rock!

Help! I've been tagged!!

I’ve been tagged today… That’s right, tagged. Have you noticed those little lists everyone in blogland has that are all about music, etc. well, I have to come up with my own little list. I should have known it would happen, it was only a matter of time… Ok so I’m not really all that upset about it, I think it’s kind of fun, sort of like those 100 things about me lists. Thanks for tagging me Amy!

1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
Oh dear, do I really have to count? Well, on my computer at work I have about 30 or so, but at home…. Well, home is a totally different matter… I think a rough guesstimate would be somewhere around 350… Hey, we all went to college and when I went I had this friend named Napster, but then he got caught doing some illegal stuff, so then I made friends with this guy named Kazaa…
2. The last CD you bought was:
Well it’s a good thing you asked me now because just last week I bought the Postal Service - Give Up CD. I will admit that that was the first CD I’ve bought in, ooooh, I’d say about a year. (I’m a huge fan of burning CD’s)
3. What is the song that you last listened to before reading this:
I don’t know, my coworker is playing some songs on her computer and I don’t know what they are or who they’re by (but they’re good)…. Maybe I should ask her…
4. What are your five favorite songs and why they mean the most to you:
1. Walk With You by Dispatch. If I ever get married I want to play that song at my wedding. (Maybe I should mention that it’s about 6 minutes long because there’s this flute solo at the beginning…. Hmmm, that’s a long time to dance….) Of course, anything by Dispatch is awesome.
2. See You Soon by Coldplay. I love this song, it’s not sad, but it definitely hits something in me when I hear it. I just wish it were longer. When I do hear it, I have to play it over and over again!
3. Two Step by Dave Matthews. Ok, it was a tie between, Two Step, Spoon and Crush with him. Ok, maybe that also included Gray Street. Ok, so I like a crap load of his music, what can I say?
4. Porcelain by Better Than Ezra, this song is sad and again it really hits me whenever I hear it.
5. My newest favorite at the moment is The District Sleeps Alone by the Postal Service, why do you think I bought the CD??? I kept hearing that song and I loved it every time I heard it so I just had to buy it!
5. What 3 people would you pass this baton on to and why?
Good question, who wouldn’t kill me for sending them what is, in essence, a chain letter…. Rachel, would be one, and that’s because I asked her and she said it’d be cool with her! Beth, because I think we have similar taste in music and I want to check to see if I’m right….Ok, I really don’t think there is anyone else who hasn’t already answered these questions so I’m gonna have to cop out and leave it at two!

I hope that satisfies everyone's curiousity. I wonder how long it'll take for the next "chain letter" to come around!

Woohoo for Weekends

Oy, do I love those weekends! Let’s all give a hooray for weekends! (I realize that it’s Tuesday and the weekend seems as far away as say… Spring… but whatever, weekends are still great and they deserve their dues)

This past weekend was spent hanging out with the wonderful permagrin generator who will now be known as D because I’m much to lazy to keep calling him the permagrin generator… It was definitely one of those lazy weekends where you just sit around and watch TV in your pj’s till 1pm. I tell you, it’s so nice to meet someone who enjoys being lazy as much as he enjoys going out. Balance is everything.

Saturday he dropped me off at the coffee shop (isn’t that cute? He drove me there!) so I could knit with my ladies! We had a really good turn out. It was fabulous. This is what I worked on most of the time because it’s mindless and I was more interested in talking than paying attention to a pattern:

See, it looks more like a sweater and less like a hat now!

Sunday D and I went to the movies and saw “In Good Company” Excellent movie that definitely had its moments. On a side note, have you ever been stopped by a reporter outside of the movie theater? Well D and I were. She asked us what we thought about the commercials they play before the previews. Oh boy, I could have totally gone off… I, for one, hate commercials in general. They’re annoying, they don’t make sense, and I’m a logical kind of person. Every time I see one that is completely illogical it grates on my nerves to the point where I have to tune them out or I will become a raging lunatic. And now that commercials are at the movies I try to get there when the previews start just to avoid the lunacy.

Of course, I didn’t tell her this, I just told her that I didn’t like them. She then asked if I could remember any of the ones we saw…. You know what? I couldn’t. But I could remember most of the previews we saw before the movies. See that you evil advertising and marketing people!!! Your dirty commercials don’t work on me!!!

Last night D came over and we played Trivial Pursuit 90’s edition. Oh my, I had no idea I knew so much useless trivia from the 90’s. Great game though! It was so much fun. So if you’re ever wondering what to do on a Monday night (besides watch sports when they’re on) I highly recommend whipping this game out.

Because I promised you a long time ago that I would show you pictures of my mitten that I’ve been working on forever, here it is:


I thought this was a very Harlotesque picture what with the stone background. Plus it shows some great detail (that’s the new digital camera for you!) I was thinking that for the mate to this mitten I’d switch the red and the purple. Not only would it look awesome, but it would also guarantee that I’d have enough yarn. That’s me…always thinking!

It's WHAT below zero?!?

Have you noticed that everyone’s talking about the weather? In particular the freakin’ cold weather? Oh yeah, it’s cold. Would you like to know exactly how cold it was when I woke up this morning? According to the news it was -16. That’s 16 below zero… Fahrenheit. Oh yeah, and without wind-chill. Of course, they didn’t mention what the temperature was factoring in the wind-chill. I think they thought it might scare everyone into staying indoors… Screw work, it’s just too cold out!

Yeah, that was my mentality this morning….Unfortunately I have an overactive sense of responsibility that managed to drag my butt out of bed. Out of my nice, warm, comfortable bed I might add. My poor car was having that mentality too. Fortunately I was able to pry the cold grip of winter off her and start her up. She didn’t like me much. I could tell because I had to turn the ignition three times before she finally gave in. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want me to go to work this morning!

Aside from the artic temperatures, there are several things to be quite happy about today.

1. It’s sunny out. Do you even remember the last time you saw sun? I’m thinking it was back in August, but even then I could be wrong.

2. It’s Friday. Lord knows I love Fridays!

3. The weekend will be here in another 5 hours! And I have another great weekend coming up. There will be knitting, there will be hanging out with perma-grin generators, there will be no blizzard on the way…. Life is good.

Craptastic is My New Favorite Word

Did you ever notice how craptastic weather has a way of ruining plans? Well, ruining is a strong word, perhaps changing plans is a little better. This weekend the weather was spectacularly craptastic. We probably got over a foot or two of snow. All I know is that I was driving like a granny in my 4WD Jeep! It’s amazing how fast 25mph can seem when the snow is coming down like mad. That never ceases to fascinate me. What also always blows my mind, are the people who think they can drive normally in weather like that… That’s right buddy, keep driving 50mph and just ignore the sliding, I’m sure you won’t hit that guardrail.

So I braved the craptastic weather for several reasons. One, there was knitting to be had downtown. It seems nothing can keep me from knitting with the girls on Saturdays. Not even the fact that while I was sitting there my ass became a frozen popsicle and my fingers could barely move. Ha! That doesn’t stop a real knitter! It only makes her (or him) stronger!

Also, I had plans to meet with the perma-grin generator that afternoon. Apparently, only two things could make me think that it’s perfectly OK and sane (though that is questionable) to be driving in that weather: Knitting, and Perma-grins. It turns out, that not everyone feels this way….shocker. And when I say everyone, I mean his friends that were supposed to join us for bowling.

Bowling was doomed to be another event that I mention in my blog before it happens and then, inevitably, doesn’t come to be…. Damn you blog curse!

Even though we didn't end up bowling and the weather was craptastic, he and I still ended up getting together to hang out. We got snowed in at his place, we watched movies and talked (isn't it just dripping with cheezy romantic overtones?) And, in striving to keep this a knitting related blog, he watched me knit for a little while, just to see what it was all about! Its funny how people who don't know how to knit become slightly mesmerized when watching a skilled knitter. Have you ever noticed that? They just sit there and stare.... kind of with the deer in the headlights look. I haven’t asked him if he’d like to learn yet. Perhaps I should save that for another day…

All in all, it turned out to be a great weekend, despite the weather and the blog-cursed plans!

More Knitting Content Than You Can Poke a Stick At

To those of you who were filled with curiosity about the exact number of squares on a scrabble board, you're curiosity is about to be lifted. There are (according to the trivia guy in his infinite wisdom) 225 squares.

Moving on to how crazy life has been recently. My date went wonderfully. We had a blast going to dinner and then we hung out and watched TV, he's a fan of the new show LOST too, that is always a plus. Because he's such a sweet guy he bought me flowers for our date! (and because I'm probably the biggest dork on the planet, I took a picture of them to show you!)

Yep, the dorkdom is just oozing out of my skin at this point.

Thursday night he invited me to go to a trivia night with him and his friend here in the city. That's two trivia nights in one week! And guess what? We won! Not only did I go to two trivia nights, but the team I was on won both nights! The only common denominator on each team was me.... so I'm thinking I'm a genius and I just happen to be the trivia queen.... HA! Yeah right! I don't know who I'm trying to fool there!

So I thought I'd show you just what I drove through on Saturday (last Saturday when I went to the knitting meetup I was telling you about)

That's my driveway. I absolutely love the way it looks when all the branches get covered in snow. I swear it feels just like I'm driving through a painting sometimes.

This Saturday I met everyone for knitting again. It was fabulous. I worked on this the whole time:

It's looking pretty good if I do say so myself. The only thing that annoys the crap out of me is that the bottom likes to roll up. You can see I had to hold it down just to take a decent picture of it!

So besides all these things I have some extremely exciting news. In April I will be having a once-in-a-lifetime type event going on! Chance has it that USAir is probably going under sometime soon. Chance also has it that my dad has accumulated roughly 200,000 frequent flyer miles through them. So what are we going to do with these miles before they are completely unusable? We are taking a trip to England!!!!!!!! We're going to be there for two weeks. We've already booked the tickets (which were completely free, how cool is that?!?!) And we are going to be renting a flat so that we have a "home-base" sort of thing to come back to. Though it's still in the works, the plan is to travel from London to Scotland and I think we're going to take an over-night trip to Paris! I have to admit I am truly excited about all the awesome yarn shops that must be in London!!!!

Because a lot of our travelling within the country is going to be done on the train I have decided on a project using little needles that will probably take me awhile to finish. This is the sweater I'm going to be doing, complete with yarn because I was so excited I had to go out to the LYS this weekend and get it!

I'm going to be doing the one on the left. The colors are the same except I'm substituting the red for the gold. I think it's going to be awesome. The real challenge though, is going to be resisting the temptation to start it before the trip!

Because I was just slightly tempted after I bought it, I decided to start a sweater for myself on Saturday. I have had this yarn since Christmas two years ago! I'd say it's about time I did something with it. It's out of Rowan Calmer and the pattern is the Retro Prep Pullover from an Interweave Knits magazine. I've made this one before out of a sea-foam green color and I love the way it fits so I thought I'd try it out of Calmer.

It looks like the beginnings of a tam in this picture, but I assure you it is going to be a sweater.

And after I took all these pictures I started....well, I started a pair of mittens for myself... I'll try and take pictures of those soon, but as you can see, life is just not letting up anytime soon. And if you add in the fact that chorus practice has started up again, you've got one busy girl on your hands.

Crazy, crazy, crazy

Ok, this is a little update to assure everyone I haven't fallen off the face of the planet! Here I thought things would calm down after the holidays.... apparently I was wrong. But not wrong in a bad way! I have been having the best time recently!

On Saturday I went to our favorite hang out spot and knit with the wonderful Rachel and Beth. We really had a very nice time and it had definitely been too long since we all got together. Of course, it was a little scary getting there because there was so much snow on the road. I suppose that just shows you how far I'd go for knitting. I'm like the postman (or woman).... through snow, and rain and fog, I'd go to knit!

The excitement of Saturday certainly didn't end there..... Saturday night I had a date! I realize that in my 100 things I wrote something like:

7. I believe the right person for me is out there
8. I’m in no rush to find him

Well, just because I'm in no rush to find the person for me doesn't mean I'll turn down a date! We ended up going to a pizza place for dinner, very casual which helped calm my nerves! Then we went to a college basketball game. I have to tell you, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy myself because I'm not a huge sports fan, but we had such a great time. After the game we walked to a bar not too far away for drinks and to wait for the traffic to clear (it was a really big game so there were a ton of cars). I really can't get over how well we got along. There weren't any awkward silences, we just talked and laughed all night long... It was great! He asked me out to dinner tonight so I'm excited about that.... only this time I think it's going to be a little less casual, yikes, I hope I don't get all nervous.

Ok, on to some knitting related stuff. Monday night my mom and I drove down to Binghamton to visit my brother and go to trivia night. Seeing how my trivia knowledge isn't any better than it was last time, I needed something to occupy me while everyone else came up with the answers! It's a good thing I ended up bringing my mom's sweater to work on. I really got quite a bit done. Considering it's 260 stitches on size 3 needles, it takes a good bit of time to get through one round. I think I added about an inch to it. Pictures soon to follow.... Our team actually ended up winning, though I can't say I contributed much!

Since I seem to be having trouble focusing on making this a worthwhile blog entry, I'll leave you with a bit of trivia.... How many squares are on a scrabble board?

All about the kittens...

I finally have something to talk about other than mittens! I know some of you may be shocked, but personally I'm relieved! There has to be more to life than mittens.

A few nights ago, my mom and I were sitting on her bed talking when Pippin (my cat) comes up on the bed and he had something in his mouth. It turned out to be one of those little plastic things that you pull off the top of milk lids to open them. He was so fascinated with this thing. One minute he's a completely normal kitten, then next, he's like a monkey on crack trying to get this thing!

I understand it's completely normal that kittens really like to play with objects, but what happened next seems so strange and fascinating that I just had to share it with you. On an impluse I took the little plastic thing from him and threw it off the bed. He immediately went chasing after in, again a very normal response for a kitten. After batting it around a bit on the floor he jumped back up on the bed with it. For reasons still unknown to me, he dropped it right in front of me, so I picked it up and threw it again, and again, he tore after it.
A couple seconds later he did this:

He dropped it in my hand and waited for me to throw it again.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: Pippin, the amazing fetching cat!

That's right, we were playing fetch. This went on for the next half hour or so. Eventually the novelty wore off and I needed to have some dinner so I discontinued our little game but that doesn't mean we'll never play it again. In fact, he played it with my mom last night. It really was the funniest thing. Don't you feel special knowing there is such a thing as a cat that fetches? I know I do! Maybe I should take him to the circus or feature him on that show called Pet Star on Animal Planet.... No then he'll just become this stuck up, famous cat and there'd be no living with him then!

No knitting pictures to present today. I can't imagine a few more rows on my mother's sweater to be very noteworthy and warrant a picture! So instead I'll show a picture of Ramses. I swear this cat gains a pound a day! Remember what he used to look like?


Well look at him now!


I know there isn't much of a point of reference, but believe me, he's huge. Keep in mind these pictures are only two months apart! And not only that I think his eyes make him look old and somehow wise in this picture. He's so gorgeous, and not a little bit fascincated with laying on my knitting patterns when I'm trying to read them!

Kicking off 2005 with........ mittens

First off, I wanted to thank everyone who left me such nice comments on my last entry. It's so nice to get back into the swing of blogging again! I feel like it's been so erratic recently, but looking back, that's exactly what it was! Who on earth has a completely calm and orderly holiday season?

Now that said holidays are over we can go back to our regularly scheduled programming.... I finished up those mittens for my nephew on Sunday.

Did I say mittens? I meant finglerless gloves with a flap to go over the fingers. You see what knitting a hundred pairs of mittens will do to you? I have mittens on the brain I tell you! But then again, I think you all already knew that. And it looks like there will be more mittens in my future. My aunts saw the mittens I made for my grandmother during our little present party we had on New Year's Eve and guess who wants pairs for themselves now? Yep, and not only that, but my uncles tried on the pair I made for my brother.... and you can just imagine where that led....

In fact, I've already bought the yarn for them, except I've almost run out of the angora that I line them with so I'm gonna have to stop by some discount yarn website to try and find some. I think the best part about this, besides the fact that I obviously have an unholy love of making mittens, is the fact that my mom is commissioning me to make them for her so she can give them as gifts. That's fine by me! Not only do I get to get my mitten fix for the next couple of months, but I also get payed for it! Someone should really talk to my mom, she's fueling my habit and that's just not right....

I'm actually planning on taking a bit of a break from the mittens for a little while though. I might experience mitten burnout and nobody wants that. So I'm going to be chugging along on my mom's sweater for a little while. This is how far I've gotten as of last night...

You can kind of make out the lattice pattern... It's actually been going really well. I honestly thought that knitting an entire sweater on size 3 needles wouldn't grow as quickly as this one has. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised don't you think?

I'm feeling the need to knit something for myself soon. Don't get me wrong, I love making all these gifts, but I also think I really just need to make myself something after all the gifts I've made for the holidays. I'm not even sure I can remember the last thing I made for myself. Anyway, I might have to go searching through the stash to find a little something. So don't be surprised if you don't see any "mitten cakes" for a little while.... Of course, I know I've said that before and we all know where that led.....

Wow, is it 2005 already? Time has been flying, and don't think that I haven't been getting any knitting done on my extended holiday. Quite the opposite actually! Remember me telling you about some marathon knitting I did Christmas day to finish up my sister's mittens before I saw her again? Well here they are.

This picture was actually taken in the car, on the way down to Maryland. I needed a good background so I just used my pillow. I thought the pillow case made an excellent backdrop! You may notice a slight difference on these mittens. I'll give you a hint, it has to do with the cuff. When I was finishing up I was running awfully low on green, so low in fact, that I was becoming more than a little nervous about whether I'd actually have enough to finish. Let me tell you, that's a nervewracking thing when you're so close to finishing a present that you have to give on Christmas, knowing full well that there isn't a single yarn shop open if disaster struck. So I did what anyone in my position would do. I switched up the colors a bit! My sister sure didn't seem to mind when I gave them to her. In fact, I don't even think she noticed!

When we were out at the LYS buying yarn for my sister's mittens, my mom also bought some yarn so I could make her a scarf. She's perfectly capable of making herself a scarf, but since I had knit her a very lovely cabled scarf a few years ago, she thought I would be very kind of me to make her another one. The first one (which was made out of some extremely nice cashmere) was stolen when we went out to a restaurant...well I don't know if stolen is the right word. We were waiting to be seated and my mom had taken it off and somehow left it in the seating area. When she realized she didn't have it at the table she went looking for it only to find it missing. So out of the goodness of my heart I agreed to make her a new one under one condition... she's not allowed to take it with her into restaurants!

This is about half of the new scarf. She bought herself some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino to make it out of. Yummy! I actually used up all that she bought. It turns out two skeins is just not enough to finished a scarf.

But never fear, I had plenty more projects to work on. On the last night that my nephews were here my oldest nephew asked me to make him a pair of fingerless gloves because a friend of his from school had a pair that his mother made him. Again, being the big softy that I am, I gave in and started a pair on the way down to MD.

I'll be finished with those pretty soon. I actually did a lot of this knitting before all my relatives showed up. We had such a great time hanging out, playing cards, exchanging presents. We even took a trip down to the Corning Museum of Glass. If I wasn't so cranky from the car ride it might actually have been a lot of fun. But seeing how I was squished in the back seat of a minivan for two hours between my two cousins who were both football players at one time, I was just not entirely in the museum mood! Plus the fact that I couldn't move my elbows more than a centimeter from my body, there was no knitting to be done on this particular trip

Our ladies day out was very nice. I've never been so pampered in my life. However there was one hitch in the day.... the fact that I had to be up and ready to go by 8am. This was my first day to sleep in and I was up by 7am. It's alright though, the manicure and massage well made up for it. In fact, I was dosing during the massage!

I love it when all of us get together, we all just have such a good time. It's always so sad when everyone leaves. But it's nice to know I'll see them again in the summer! It's also nice that I get my bed back and don't have to sleep on the couch anymore!

Extended Holidays

My family has this interesting ability of extending the holidays. Christmas doesn't just last until Christmas day and then poof! that's it, take down the tree and decorations... Oh no, Christmas in my family lasts for another week if not more. Generally every year I still have presents to open on New Year's Eve.

This year doesn't look like it's going to be any different. Christmas day was spent with my immediate family. I was the third one awake... this is shocking. I'm usually the one who's waking everyone up... yes, I am that annoying child who jumps on the bed to wake up mom and dad so we can open presents, but not this year it seems. My brother was already up playing Ratchet and Clank.... I wonder if he's going to beat that game before I even get halfway... I have to say this year was great. My brother gave me rosewood circular knitting needles in size 8 & 9. I tell you, there is nothing more breathtaking than a full needle case... My big present this year was a digital camera! I love it! I can take 300 pictures without downloading them onto my computer... it's a beautiful thing. My mom also got me this crystal figurine of a spinning wheel that was pretty cool. I really didn't get many knitty type things this year, but I'm definitely not disappointed! After the presents were all opened, everyone fiddled with what they got for awhile. Me with my digital camera, dad putting together his new table saw, mom with her drop spindle and roving (courtesy of me!) and my brother with his new Bart Simpson Chia Head. Of course, I couldn't fiddle too much longer. I knew that I had to finish my sister's mittens before my dad's side fo the family Christmas party. I swear I knitted like a madwoman! I was already finished with one mitten and to the thumb on the second one. In one day I finished the second one, blocked them, sewed in the ends and knit the linings (pictures to come as soon as I figure out how to get them out of my camera!). I'm still shocked at myself. They turned out great!

We had my dad's side of the family Christmas party on the day after Christmas. As predicted, it wasn't the most fun and heart-warming Christmas ever. I think this has something to do with the fact that I really don't know these people and they really don't know me. Every year we get together for this one obligatory afternoon. I see these people for five hours once a year. There's just something sad about that. It was also obvious to me while I sat there observing them (I tend to do this a lot, I'm an observer... what can I say?) that they know each other quite well, but my family is the odd one out it seems. Ever since we moved, and maybe even before we moved, we were never very involved with that side of the family. They're not bad people and we all get along fine, it's just that we're all so different. As evident by the fact that they don't know me well, I received a pair of earrings I may never wear. I'm not bitter. I'm just sad that every year we all have to put on a show instead of just enjoying the time we spend together. At least I got to spend more time with my sister and nephews. She loved the mittens by the way! And she had made me a beaded necklace in exchange for them!

On the other hand, my mom's side of the family is an absolute riot! I love hanging out with them. My cousins and I are really great friends and all of us love getting together. This year, they're all coming up here for our Christmas. There's no coming up, staying for a few hours and leaving with this bunch, oh no. They're coming up for a week! My grandmother decided that this year she was going to give my aunts and me appointments for massages and manicures (I'm the only girl grandchild who will be here so I was included in this little day of luxury!) The guys will probably go skiing if there is snow. I'm really excited because I found out my cousins will actually be able to make it this year. A lot of us are finding that with jobs or school we can't make it to our family vacations and it's really nice when everyone can.

So again, there might not be any posting going on for the next couple of days with my family here. I was going to post pictures of my digital camera to show you and then I thought it was awfully ironic to be taking pictures of a digital camera with a digital camera. Maybe I'll so you the glory that is my needle case instead!

Nephew # 1 knitting

Nephew # 2 knitting

ErLeCa=Enabler

Phew, what a week it's been. And here I thought I'd be less busy with no more concerts or rehearsals to go to. Ha! Boy was I fooled. My sister and nephews left on Tuesday. It's so bittersweet. I hate seeing them go. But the good news is I'll be seeing them in a week when my family and I drive down to Maryland.

I have to say, I have become the ultimate enabler! Monday night I was sitting there doing my thing, knitting mittens for my sister, watching my middle nephew kick some butt on his video game, when my oldest nephew comes over to me and just starts watching me knit.

Nephew #1: Is that hard to do?

Me: Not really, do you want to learn?

He tentatively shakes his head 'yes' and I'm up out of my seat faster than you can say 'knit stitch.' I'm telling you the boy is a natural! Though watching him learn definitely took me back to some of my earlier attempts to knit... dropped stitches, holes, and carried yarn found throughout without specific purpose. Ah... memories. Not an hour into teaching him, my middle nephew comes up to me and asks if he can learn too. Woohoo! Absolutely! Nephew #1 is 10 years old, I'd say that's a great age for kids to learn if they're interested. Nephew #2 just turned 7. I was very surprised at how quickly he picked it up, though I must say he was definitely distracted at times.

I feel like the ultimate aunt now! Not only did I get to teach my nephews to knit, but they actually wanted to learn.... and they're boys! Look out ladies, we're gonna have some competition for master knitters in a few years. Ok, so I know that's very far fetched because they're probably going to become more interested in sports than in knitting, but hey, you can't say I didn't try.

I did take some pictures of them and I really wanted to post them, but like I said, it has been a very busy week. One of my friends from high school came home for Christmas and we got together the other night. I probably stayed up way to late chatting and catching up, but you know, I'm glad I did!

I will try to post some pictures soon, but I really can't make any promises. I haven't even wrapped any Christmas gifts yet and what's tomorrow??? Oh yeah, Christmas Eve!!! Then I'm going to be driving down to MD to visit relatives so there won't be any posting going on then. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays, but I really can't wait to get back into the regular swing of things!

I hope everyone is having an excellent holiday!

Thursday... what a great day...

I love Thursdays.... granted, I realize today is not Thursday, today is one of the most hated days of the week. But Thursday... that's a day to celebrate. There are several reasons why this Thursday was great.

1. Thursday is the day that comes before Friday and as we all know, Friday is a wonderful day.

2. The mail comes on Thursday and this past Thursday, the mail was very special. A couple of Christmas cards came from two of my college roommates...

What makes this even better is the fact that these are just some of the cutest cards I've seen all season!
Not only did I receive cute Christmas cards, but this also came....

I have been waiting for this game since I heard they were making a third one. That was approximately a year ago. I'd like to say that no knitting will be done because I will be obsessively playing this game... unfortunately that wasn't the case. The reason lies in something else that came on Thursday...

3. My nephews arrived on Thursday night....

Apparently being obsessed with video games runs in the family because they sat and watched me play my new game for about an hour, then they begged to start a game of their own. Being the wonderful aunt that I am, I let them. Little did I know at the time that I would have zero access to my game for the next several days. In fact, I haven't played it since Thursday. I'm not bitter or upset about this in any way. I feel time spent with nephews I only see two or three times a year is well worth giving up game time!

On to knitting news. My mom's sweater is coming along nicely. I have about three inches, maybe four finished on the first section of pattern. I'll try to post a picture of that later. We took a little trip to the yarn store on Sunday. You better believe I didn't walk away empty handed.... but you're not allowed to laugh at what I got....

If you guess that's yarn for more mittens, you're right... My sister asked me for a pair so I thought why not? It's been few weeks since I've made a pair, I'm due for another mitten fix now anyway. I tell you this is an obsession! I need counseling for my mitten addiction!

I have to go see my yarn shrink now, I hope everyone in blogland is having a wonderful holiday season!

Finally something to show...

I promised you pictures did I not? Ok, here are a few of the things I've been working on recently. Remember way back when I went to Rhinebeck and started spinning that green roving? Well guess what? Two weekends ago I finally finished enough to ply it together. Doesn't it look great?

I know that looks like a lot, but it's actually only a very small hank. I haven't washed it yet, but as you all know I've been a tad bit busy.

I've also been working on that scarf for my coworker's sister. It's out of a mohair type yarn that I bought at A.C. Moore. I like the way it looks, sort of pepperminty.

I actually finished the knitting part last night. I still have to put the fringe on but that shouldn't take me too long. I liked working with this yarn, except of course for the fact that when I was finished I'd have a lap full of mohair fibers, but we all make sacrafices for the craft right? The best was when I was working on it before one of the concerts. We had a little down time so I decided to pull it out.... big mistake. Did I mention that our concert dress was all black? So there I was going on to sing with pink and cream fuzzys all over me! Oh well, I'm sure no one noticed.

On to the spinning I've been doing, I told you about that roving that looks grey, but has all those specks of colors in it right?

Unfortunately those specks don't show up so well with my camera. You're just going to have to imagine them there!

I started a sweater for my mom last night after I finished the scarf.... who said I had to do the fringe right then? I was in a non-fringe mood last night. I don't know what made me think starting a sweater who's first instruction was cast on 288 stitches on a size 2 needle would be easier than making some fringe, but oh well. I did the long tail cast on..... three times. Finally on my third time I had pulled out enough yarn to actually finish the cast on.

This is actually the first couple rows of garter stitch. At least they made that part easy. Then it came to the cast on four extra stitches and join part. What are those four extra stitches for you ask? Oh they're only for the cutting.... (insert cartoon pop-out eyes here) CUTTING?!?!?! Oh this should be fun. Well, I'm sure it will be months before I get even close to that part seeing as how the body is worked on threes. Yeah, it takes me a good half hour to knit one round. Longer if there's a pattern. Yeah, this is a marathon pattern....

And finally, because it was cute, I give you a picture of a couple of my kitties.

The one on the left is Daisy. She's our oldest cat, I think she's 8 and then there's Pippin who's trying to suck up to her. She's not buying it, by the way, because she know the minute she turns her head to look away he's gonna be up ready to pounce on her. I just happened to catch him in a non-stalking pose. He decided to be in the I'm-so-cute-you-have-nothing-to-worry-about pose. Ha! At least Daisy knew better. Me? I was suckered into taking the picture...

The Good, The Bad and the Cheesey

*Phew*..... That was me breathing a sigh of relief now that this week is over! I can't believe I made it through!

The concerts were, let's just say, really good and really bad. Friday night's concert was really bad. So bad, in fact, that the entire soprano section stopped singing for about a minute on a three minute song. How could it have gone so wrong? Well let me tell you! The organ that was playing our notes was in the back of the room, we were in the front of the room. There was about 100 feet between the organ and the choir and I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this before but sound carrys through the air relatively slowly. (That's why you see the jet in the sky before you hear it). Basically what happened was the choir and the organ were off. It was a disaster, but I will say that we sung quite well on our acappella songs!

Sunday's concert was fabulous, not only did we sing well, we totally rocked the song we completely messed up the concert before! I can definitely say that that concert was by far the best we've done on a lot of those songs.

So now I don't have practice again until next year! Ah, it feels so good to say that. I know next year is about three weeks away, but still, I get a certain satisfaction from saying 'next year'.

I'm very excited about this week. Why you ask? Well, Thursday my sister is driving up from Maryland with my nephews to spend the weekend with us! I haven't seen them since this summer and lets face it, having three kids in the house all ages 10 and under is going to be interesting.

It's my middle nephew's birthday on the 18th so we've decided to do something special for him. We're going to Chuck E. Cheese . That's right, it's that magical place "where a kid can be a kid" and where I'm afraid of the bodily fluids lerking in the ball pit. But hey, if the kids enjoy it, why not? After that fun filled lunch, we're going to take him and his brothers to see the new Lemony Snicket movie . That part I'm actually looking forward to. I read a couple of the books, they were ok, but the movie actually looks good.

On the knitting front, very little has actually been done, but I'm hoping to post some pictures tonight or tomorrow on some of my projects. And I'd love to post a picture of a certain package that arrived friday, unfortunate it's a Christmas present so it's just going to have to wait, but I assure you, it's soooo nice!

Directions and Space Bubbles....

In an attempt to keep my loyal readers coming back I'm going to post yet again! Amazing, I know, especially after I complained about how busy I was.

Last night was the first of two dress rehearsals this week. It was at LeMoyne College. After last night I am now thoroughly convinced that my directional skills are not nearly as highly developed as I was led to believe. I made it to the campus perfectly fine and in fact I was quite proud of myself having never been there before and not having the slightest idea of where it was located prior to going. Feeling a bit cocky now, I left my car armed with nothing but my music and a poorly printed map of the campus.

This map was not what you might call specific. It had a circle drawn around the parking lot with an arrow leading to the building we were supposed to sing at, said building was also marked with a circle. You would think that I'd be able to make my way from a parking lot to a building but apparently this concept alluded me. The problem is a campus looks much different in real life than a 2-dimensional representation.... who knew?

So imagine if you will, me walking around a completely unfamiliar campus, trying to hide my little map everytime a student walked by. For some unknown reason I felt the need to "blend in" and act like a student myself. Perhaps this had to do with the fact it was not so long ago when I myself was a student. Of course, I was trying to avoid acting like a student who had no idea where the heck she was going. Heaven forbid I ask someone..... I suppose my sense of pride was a bit of a deterant there. I now have a new respect and understanding for why guys generally don't ask for directions....

Finally after about 10 minutes of wandering (though I have to admit I made it look as though I wasn't wandering. I'd pick a spot about 100 feet ahead of me and walk there looking like that spot was exactly where I wanted to go and when I got there, I'd pick another spot....) I happen to notice another person in the chorale. Thank the lord in heaven because at that point I wasn't so sure I'd be able to find my car again!

The real trouble I think is not that the campus is laid out badly (or that I can't seem to find my way from a parking lot to a building using a straight arrow on a map) it was the fact that there really weren't any walking paths. Coming from a school that was almost over abundant with walking paths I found it a little strange that on more than on occasion in my wandering I was walking on a road or a grassy lawn.

So now, with the help of a fellow chorale member I made it to the chapel. Did I mention it was a chapel we were to sing in? Anyway, rehearsal was quite the experience. I'm not sure if you've ever sung with a large group before but in general everyone gets on risers and crams together for several hours, standing all the while. Being that most of the people in the chorale are over the age of 50, I was not entirely surprised at the amount of complaining going on. Granted, it just plain sucks to have to stand that long, period, but when you throw in the fact that the "personal space bubble" is nonexistant, people tend to get a little grouchy.

One older woman in particular, who I had the immense joy to be standing next to, sticks out in my mind. She talked every time the music stopped to complain about how she had no room. She moved around so much that she managed to smack the girl in front of her on the head with her music book, oh..., I'd say about 20 times. This girl was none to pleased, she had that look on her face that said "if this lady smacks me again, I swear I'm gonna push her off the riser!" This would be quite feasable seeing as how this woman was standing on the end. Disaster was averted when, having had enough of "no personal space bubble time," the woman stepped off the riser onto the floor for the rest of rehearsal. That was when I breathed a sigh of relief because I was about to start complaining about how much she was complaining.... ironic, I know.

The absolute best part.... I get to do it all over again tonight. I feel something like that greek in Hades who had to push a boulder up a hill all day just to find it at the bottom of the hill the very next day. Or something like that, I'm not very good with greek myths.

Wish me luck, hopefully I'll be able to find the place we're singing at tonight and I'll have the patience and tolerance of a saint to deal with the complainer!

Busy Week and Allergy Blues

Not much posting will be done this week and let me tell you why....

1) I have dress rehearsal for the concert I'm in Tuesday night and Wednesday night so two of my nights this week are shot. I'm going to be missing Lost on Wednesday which I'm slightly peeved about but as long as I can get someone to tape it, I'm sure it'll be fine.
2) The actual concert is on Friday night and another one on Sunday afternoon. There goes my social life for this weekend. "What about Saturday?" you ask.... well Saturday I'll be sleeping all day because I'll be wiped from this week!
3) Thursday night is Survivor night.... at least I'll be able to watch one of my shows and possible knit a little. I've been commissioned to make a scarf for a girl at work. She wants to give it to her sister for Christmas. It's turning out pretty well if I do say so myself!

I haven't even been knitting that much recently. I finished the mitten linings for my grandmother's mittens and then I was left with a bit of a problem. I had no other projects that I really felt inspired to start. So I started spinning some of the roving I got at Rhinebeck. It's gorgeous. I really love it. From a distance it looks like a purplely grey color but when you look closer you can see it also has green and pink and blue in it. I'll have to post a picture soon....(when I'm not busy....)

I have some very sad news. I went to the allergist last friday for the skin test. I shutter thinking about it. The scratch test wasn't so bad, but being pricked with about 22 needles was very bad. The nurse was very nice though. She tried to talked to me about my knitting to keep my mind of the fact that I was being jabbed so much. And the bad part is, in another week I have to go back for the other half of the needles.... that's right, they only pricked me with half of them!

So you think that's the bad part.... it's not. The bad part is we found out what I'm allergic to. I am allergic to dust mites. Ok fine, I can handle that, just get some allergen barriers for my bedding, and clean a little more often. If only that were the only thing I'm allergic to..... when they did the scratch test another thing came up itchy..... cats. I'm so unhappy about this. I'm keeping my cats though, I really can't bare to think of life without them. And besides the nasal spray they gave me seems to be working quite well. I've been feeling excellent actually.

Well, that's the news from my corner of the world. I'll try to post some picture soon. Stay tuned!

I'm jumping on the wagon...

Since it seems these lists are inescapable (and I wanted to see if I actually could come up with that many things) here’s my list.

100 things about me

1. I was born in Annapolis, Maryland in1981
2. Green is my favorite color
3. I don’t wear a lot of green though
4. I’ve been in love twice
5. It didn’t work out either time
6. I’m not bitter about love.
7. I believe the right person for me is out there
8. I’m in no rush to find him
9. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in psychology
10. My minor was philosophy
11. Apparently I’m a thinker
12. My mom thinks the cartoony picture in my blog profile looks just like me.
13. I’ve been asked if I’m anorexic on many occasions
14. I’m bitter about being asked if I’m anorexic
15. My friends & family know I eat like a pig
16. I’ve never dyed my hair
17. When I was a kid I used to think I could make the wind blow
18. I have reoccurring dreams about vampires
19. I don’t watch scary movies because I get too into them and freak myself out
20. The book Conversations with God changed my life
21. I’ve worn either glasses or contacts since I was in the 4th grade (9 years old)
22. I won several competitions for singing
23. I was the lead in two musicals in high school
24. I’m excited to have kids someday
25. When I’m thinking I rub the tops of my fingernails out of habit
26. I’ve never had braces
27. I have no cavities in my teeth
28. I have three nephews
29. My birthday is on the same day as Mother Theresa (Aug 27th)
30. I don’t like gold jewelry
31. I make funny faces to myself in the mirror every morning
32. I have a highly overactive imagination at times
33. I’ve been to China with a children’s singing group
34. Every summer I go on a family vacation with my mom’s side of the family
35. That’s 17 people total in one house for a whole week
36. That’s my favorite week out of the year
37. I cry at movies and TV shows where animals get hurt
38. I’ve thought about going back to school for zoology
39. I want to someday go to Australia and volunteer for an animal conservation project
40. I have very little tolerance for TV commercials,
41. they make me angry
42. and they’re stupid
43. I’ve never broken any bones
44. I’ve had stitches though …. twice
45. I’ve been told I’m graceful
46. I think I’m clumsy
47. I dance around the house when no one is home
48. I have to be in a good mood though
49. I love wrapping Christmas presents
50. I sing to myself… a lot
51. but again, only if no one is around
52. I can sing in front of big crowds
53. I have issues with singing in front of one or two people
54. My kittens make me feel more like a mom than a pet owner
55. They’ve also shown me I have more patience than I thought I had
56. The first concert I went to was Live on their Throwing Copper tour
57. I was in 10th grade
58. The drunk people there scared me at the time
59. I’ve learned to deal with drunk people after 4 years of college
60. I love reading sci-fi/fantasy books
61. Sometimes I wish I lived in their worlds
62. My over active imagination makes it easy for me to wish that
63. Sometimes I feel like life is one big movie without a soundtrack
64. I love video games
65. I used to think I wouldn’t be good at them
66. Turns out I am
67. My mom’s my best friend
68. I tell her everything
69. Can’t really imagine life without her
70. I can’t believe I’ve made it to 70
71. I’m not afraid of dying
72. I’ve been told lots of times that I’m an “old soul”
73. I tend to believe that
74. I live with my parents
75. I’m not ashamed of that
76. I hope to move out next spring
77. I lived on my own last year
78. It was the best experience ever
79. I’m a very emotional person
80. I hide it well
81. I’m very grateful for the life I’ve had so far
82. Ready for a cliché? I’m spiritual, not religious
83. I’ve never been political
84. Until this last election that is….
85. I’ve been to Paris with the French club in high school
86. I got to put my feet in the Mediterranean in Nice
87. The Mona Lisa was a lot smaller in real life
88. People drive crazy in Europe
89. I used to love it when my dad made rice krispy treats
90. He doesn’t make them anymore
91. My favorite hot drinks are Chai Lattes
92. I can’t stand coffee
93. I like the smell of flavored coffee though
94. I’ve been knitting for 7 years
95. It’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten into
96. I tried quilting but it just didn’t stick with me
97. Children laughing is the best sound in the world
98. It sometimes makes me cry
99. Told you I’m emotional
100. Yeah I’m at 100!!!

I hope you enjoyed this because it wasn't very easy coming up with that many!