Stories About Stuff

From Road Apples to Love Apples - Part 1

2010-03-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

As if there will be a part 2 or 3. I'm not exactly staying up on the blogging in a reliable fashion lately. However, I have a new love. No, I haven't replaced Sweet Babboo - in fact, I married him and we moved to a new house with a big backyard. A lot can happen in three years it seems.

So, I am now a gardener. At least I will be when I pick the seeds out and get them in the dirt.

We have prepped two beds for this year and I am hoping to increase it, but I was trying to be realistic for my first try at veggie gardening. My dad did this when I was a kid - it can't be that hard - right?

First step was tearing out a rotten bed and remaking it. Then the free dirt from one friend and FREE POOP from the nearby stables. Nothing tells me how boring I've become like the way I get excited over FREE POOP. We're gonna have good dirt though. I'll try to get a photo of the finished poop deck in soon. Like before the veggies are taking over. Really, I'm gonna try.

Thanks to the only friend who will probably ever read this for her fabulous free dirt. Air kisses to you. I'm loving my dirt.

Sweet Babboo Goes To The Emmy's!

2007-06-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

And takes me with him! WAY back in May, Sweet Babboo and I got to take a little trip to the Big Apple so he could attend the Sport's Emmy's due to his nomination. His crew didn't win this time, but they now have their sights set on next year. Instead of being by his side (no tickets for the wives or Babboo-ee's) I went shopping in the garment district and found all sorts of cool material and trims.

The next day we took in the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting Exhibit at one of the galleries (I can't remember which at the moment) and we did some shopping Babboo style. He likes Barney's. It would seem that I am a lucky woman, no? Unfortunately, I too have my moments of style (when I'm not wearing REI gear or jeans) and fall in love with things like a $5000 Thierry Mugler trenchcoat. Sadly, this is too rich even for the Babboo's budget and I must pass my days dreaming of it's exquisite stitch detailing and it's fabulous construction and how it makes even me look like I am 5'8" and 110 pounds (too far? OK, maybe just the last part...). Instead, I am turning into my mother (not that it's a bad thing, mind you) and poking at seams and details all while saying things like, " $700! For this! (turns garment inside out and sticks head up the skirt, blouse etc - the garment on the hanger, not the one I'm wearing - we're only a little weird) I can do this for $20 and a better job at that. hmmph". So back we go to the garment district and pick out all sort of things to modify SB's clothes and do a few of my own - I've been in a design-y mood lately. He can actually be fun to drag around in fabric stores once I can get him to visualize what I'm doing (and it involves at least some of his clothes. Turns out I am lucky after all.

Oh yeah - that side of beef on my plate up there? Old Homestead Steakhouse in the meatpacking district. The food is great, but what makes this place for us? Brian the waiter. We met him on a trip two years ago to NYC and he is quite possibly the best waiter on the planet. Really. Don't even bother to order - just ask him what to eat - he'll make sure you leave with at least your top pants button undone and happier for the whole deal (and believe me - I'm not usually happy when that happens!). He's still there - ask for him by name! Next time we'll get a photo of him too!

Mom's Monkey Socks

2007-06-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Those are my mom's feet in her first ever custom-fit hand-made socks. And her super hot legs - I am lucky in the calf gene pool. I have to admit that I tricked her; she claimed she didn't want any wool socks, that they would be too scratchy - "even the nice expensive wool?", I asked. "Even that." So I found this cute pattern ("monkey" on Knitty) and made them but didn't graft the toes until she got here. Once she put them on though, do you think she wanted to give them back? Interestingly enough - she kept them and saved them just for the plane ride home. I hope the TSA agent admired them properly.

The best part of the story is that not just her legs came to visit me! We got to go out to eat and shop and argue about who loads the dishwasher best and cook together and just hang out. Of course, now that she's gone, it's finally sunny out here instead of the gloomy fog we had all last week. Wouldn't you know it? It's probably good that she's gone now or I'd be catching it for posting the second photo - Olivia loves her grandma, there she is guarding her. She's no fool, she knows who will toss a ball for her.

Back from the Runways of Milan....

2007-05-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Aunt Purl has her cats - Dooce has Chuck - Stuff has Livi in Knitwear.....
The scarf I made for our friends' (who used to live near us but up and moved away so they could have a quieter life and put their girls in good schools - go figure) daughter....

...and the hat I made for her sister. Luckily they think it's funny when I send the photos of Livi as gift tags. I'm not sure everyone would be as amused. Luckily THOSE people aren't my friends.

It's Dusty In Here

2007-05-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted and I've considered taking the site down because it's not very interesting to visit the same entries over and over again. However, I've decided to keep it because I like the idea of posting my progress and the goings on in my life in a forum that doesn't include work. I think that shorter entries may be a key to me keeping up with this a little better - but that could be a challenge with me and my wordiness.

I have much to show for all of my knitting work in the past few months - hopefully I can get some photos up to prove it.

It Lives! or Four Things About Me

2006-10-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've been REALLY busy with work and home lately and wanting to catch up here so I don't disappoint my two or three loyal readers, but the business took over. I am sort of copping out here - but I decided to answer Crazy Aunt Purl's four things meme tag. In general, I hate chain mail of any kind - I'd rather risk a failing love life and "something bad" over the collective hate of friend's who've been tagged. Purl did it the right way - passing it on to whomever wanted to do it - very clever of her. In that spirit and because I loathe the threats, if you want to do the meme - I'd love to hear it, but I promise that any doom that comes to you from failure to complete the chain will not come from me. Onwards.....

Four jobs I have held:

*Polyester wearing, meat stirring, drive-thru working Taco Bell employee. Hey - it was the first job I ever got all on my own (without help from Dad knowing someone or just hiring me himself). After that I gladly used my father's associations to get jobs - nepotism rules.
*Animal feeding, cage cleaning, bathroom cleaning park services employee. After having to clean up after the animals and the people - I would pick animals any day. People are pigs.
*Bartender. In Flint, Michigan. Do not f*** with my tips or I will throw a drink in your face. Not a very classy joint.
*Photographer's assistant. I got to see cars when they were just lifesize models and drive around the neighborhood in ones with the tops cut off (it's been a while - I can't remember what we called them) in Highland Park. I also learned to change tires, my oil and other useful facts about cars while waiting for film to come back from the lab. Yes, film.
*Just for fun - a fifth one. Landlord. See the part about the park employee.

Four movies I can watch over and over:

*Antonia's Line - a Dutch foreign film - but fabulously funny and sad all at the same time
*The Jerk
*I am at a total loss on this one - which, if you knew me, is pretty funny because I LOVE watching movies - but there's really not enough time to see all the ones I'd like to, so I don't usually watch many of them over and over. However, one that I've seen recently that I really liked was : The Sea Inside

Four Places I Have Lived:

*Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
*Grand Rapids, Michigan
*Detroit, Michigan
*San Francisco, California

Four TV Shows I Watch:

*Nip/Tuck - trashy TV at it's finest
*CSI - all of them - but especially Miami
*Law and Order - SVU would be the priority
*Without a Trace - OK - I have a thing for the morbid - Jerry Bruckheimer is getting rich off of me

Four Places I Have Vacationed:

*Paris
*Tokyo
*Morocco
*Amsterdam - I love to travel

Four Favorite Dishes:

*My Mom's Lasagna
*My Mom's Jello Salad with the cream cheese and black cherries - laugh all you want, I'll eat your serving
*My Dad's Grilling - anything really, but that man can char up a slab of beef like no one's business
*My Mom's Apple Pie

Four Website's I Visit (almost) Daily:

*A Chance to Knit
*Crazy Aunt Purl
*Dooce
*Go Fug Yourself

Four Places I'd Rather Be:

*On the pontoon boat at my Dad's house in Michigan
*At the cottage that used to be my grandparent's on Green Lake (Michigan)
*Snowboarding on Mount Tahoe
*On a balcony overlooking the sea in Italy, sipping cappucino and eating something good

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging:

No tagging, I promised. Send me your four favorite anythings though - if you want....

Surgery Successful, Patient May Expect Full Recovery

2006-09-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, no photos this time - icarus is a present you know, and besides, it's lace, so at this point it just looks like a pile of mush anyway. But, may it be said that the patient lived and is recovering nicely. Hopefully the last of the stretchy parts along the edges of the repair will fall into line easily during blocking and no one will ever know about all that surgery. Except all of you, that is.

Have a fun weekend and wear your sunscreen! I'll get more photos up soon.

Chez Stuff or Craptastic!

2006-08-23T12:45:00.005-07:00

I fully intend on finishing my summer vacation saga - but a few things have taken over my attention. Such as the fact that getting to my underwear drawer in the morning requires major excavation. Please refer to the left - a few examples of the rooms in my house since Sweet Babboo and his twenty five foot truck full of things arrived permanently. It's not all bad - SB has many lovely man-type accessories with buttons and flashing lights that will make life easier or at the very least, more entertaining. For example, his TV is much nicer than mine, and I think his toaster is too - it matches my kitchen better anyways - that Black and Decker I got for college is still going strong, but it's not quite so aesthetically appealing as SB's fancy chrome one. BUT - there's a lot of other "stuff". My boy is a collector of the finest kind and it would be easy to get rid of if it were all junk - but it's not, it's nice stuff - just WAY too much of it. So I am slowly weeding out some of the obvious stuff in this batch. We'll have to go back and get rid of more later, but I figure if we take it in steps it will be less painful (and yes, I am getting rid of my stuff too - just in case you all were wondering if I was playing fair). So, when I am more or less dug out from the pile, I'll be sure to be more interesting - what with photos of orchids and all that...

In between boxes, I've been trying to work on the Icarus. I was so excited because I felt like I was getting in a groove and then I noticed this. Crap! Crap! CRAP! So, I am too damn lazy to pull all those rows out and decided to try and fix just the section.

So far, this is where I'm at. All I can say is - blame it on all those knitting blogs I read, because I sure wouldn't be nutty enough to try this without reading them.

OK, I think I can , I think I can, I think I can.

I'll get back to you on this one.

Summer Vacation, Part 1 - The Great (Green) North

2006-08-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have a few minutes to myself to sit and think and maybe even write a little bit. It seems like we flew home and the calls started coming in the minute we touched down (not that I'm complaining mind you - freelancers love calls - except at midnight, but that comes later).

So, I told Sweet Babboo that we were going to need a little more time off this summer to visit my family than the three day trip we had last year - luckily he likes to fish, so he agreed. He even agreed to go with me to visit my "surrogate" grandmother, but that was before I told him we'd be waking up at 4 am to drive 8 more hours north after sitting on a plane all day. I figured if I stuck with the "break it to him in small pieces" plan, he'd have a harder time resisting. It worked, plus, he resisted less when I promised pasties and fudge. (And no, not THOSE pasties - but he probably would have resisted even less if I promised that kind too...)

(WARNING - RANT/SMALL TANGENT AHEAD...) On "day" one, we fly the red eye to Michigan. Now, it seems the older I get, the harder it is to sleep on the plane, which sucks, but compared to wasting a day of flying when I could be snoozing on the dock or the pontoon boat, well, I figure I can catch up when I get there. As we are about to board the plane, a potential client calls me....at 11:45 pm! I was pretty much speechless, because, while I was awake on this particular evening - well, I wouldn't have been if I wasn't about to go on VACATION - and if they knew I was going on vacation (which they didn't), why call? So, tell me, why do people call me at 11:45 pm (!) to talk about a booking five months away? Am I missing something here? This is why I need vacations. Many of them. (Rant over.)

Anyhow - we got there, mom and dad picked us up and we stopped off to pick up my dad's oldest friend and his wife for breakfast. Both of whom I adore and haven't seen in years. And just like that, I was home. The rest of the day consisted of catching everyone up on the latest news and sleeping, since I had maybe gotten in a whole 3 bumpy hours on the plane. OH yeah, and eating. It seems that my parents have forgotten that there is, in fact, food in California, so they push food on us constantly. Sweet corn, green beans, BBQ'd chicken, steaks, strawberries (which are actually, better in Michigan) and bacon - oh the bacon. Did I mention how much I love going home?

We got up early the next day for our little road trip, I let the SB sleep in until 4:30 am (aren't I thoughtful?) - 8 hours to Houghton, MI to see Mandy. Mandy is a family friend that my sister and I adopted when we were kids - she has put up with so much garbage from us and still loves us - so we had to call her grandma. And since my grandparents are all long gone, she took their place when we graduated from high school, college, and got married (my sister anyway). I haven't seen her in almost 10 years and decided that I'd better not wait too long since she's 90 (and would kill me if she had internet access and knew I just printed that). Seeing her was so great - she's got more energy than some 30 year olds that I know and she's sharp as a tack too (which means she beat us both at cards).

Sweet Babboo and I gave her a run for her money though - we drove all over and saw the Northernmost point in Michigan, a beautiful lodge where we had dinner and visited a real live copper mine. OK, it's not being used for anything except tourism now, but it was a pretty intense tour. First we learned how the mine worked, an older gentleman who probably used to be an engineer gave the tour and I was getting a laugh watching the younger teens on the tour who couldn't understand much of what he was saying (I barely got the gist of it and I come from a family of engineers) and sat there with their eyes crossing while they waited for the action part of the trip. I have to give them credit though - they were polite for the whole thing. Then we all put on heavy jackets and hard hats and made our descent into Middle Earth. First, it was this weird car thingy on a ratcheted rail at a 37 degree angle (doesn't sound like much - but trust me, it's STEEP) and then a trailer on the back of a tractor, down into the mine. It went from 87degrees F to 40 in about 30 yards and was a rather bumpy ride. The whole idea of working there in the dark is a bit scary though - when the lights went out to demonstrate - I decided that copper mining wasn't for me after all. SB sure can work a hard hat though - there may have been a few wolf whistles.

On our way back to the land of the trolls (Michigan reference there - trolls live under the bridge - go on check your atlas, you'll get it) SB and I picked up a few "gourmet" treats. Pasties were number one on the list - huge meat pies in a baked crust about the size of your head. I can literally get about three meals out of one pasty if I'm really hungry each time. Then fudge - why Mackinac Island is famous for fudge, I do not know. Nor do I care. Smoked whitefish - all for me, SB won't eat fish. And some real maple syrup - not that crappy corn syrup stuff they sell at the grocery store. Actually, as a kid, I never ate the other kind, I thought something was wrong with the syrup when I first had Aunt Jemima. Of course, we had to pick up food because we weren't sure there would be enough when we got back to Dad's......

And now, a love story (...and an action story with a high speed car chase! Family entertainment for everyone!)....Somewhere in my internet travels, I had found out about this yarn that is made of some sort of sea plant and silk. Well, it just so happened that there was a store that carried it on our way - but not many others in this here USofA - so I was intrigued. Plus, I love the hunt, the excitement, the danger of finding new species of yarn (or any shopping for that matter - I love me a challenge.) I called ahead and found out when the store closed and told the owner we would be stopping by. I calculated when we should leave in order to arrive before she closed, but SB was worried about getting there on time - he hates to be late ya know - and he was driving maybe a teensy bit too fast when the kind officer stopped us on our way. Luckily the officer was indeed a kind one and SB's ticket was very minor...BUT what kind of man will speed to the yarn store, get a ticket and not even give you too much trouble about why he was speeding in the first place? Folks, THAT kind of man is a KEEPER!

"Will Speed For Yarn" (Thank you nice Policeman!)

Red Lace Blocking

2006-08-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here it is taking a bath.....

I even cleaned my sink for you guys - around here - that's LOVE.

Stretching out...

OH MY GOD, I hate blocking! I think I stretched it too far because I always hear that you have to "block the crap out of lace" and when it popped off of the mattress, the border curled under. So I took SB's fancy schmancy iron to it and steamed the edges. That'll teach it to be difficult! Problem is, it took me two weeks to get the damn iron out. We iron a lot around here. Can't you tell?

And, finished!

I hope SB's mom likes it. It's definitely her favorite color but it might be a wee bit small to be a wrap for her (however, it fits PERFECTLY to the measurements of the pattern. Whee! Even bigger now that it's over-blocked). I'm thinking we'll have to find a really nice pin for it and put that in the box too - look at me, one Christmas present done! It's from a Jaeger book that I looked everywhere for and finally found in London - the book was the only thing I bought that was less expensive there than at home so I felt like I beat the system somehow. If you're dying to know which one, e-mail me and I'll send it to you later as finding anything is a bit difficult at the moment (stay tuned...).

And, du du dunnnnnn...

My first pair of grown up socks. (Note: Please ignore the stubbly legs on the sock model - she's been really busy lately and unfortunately, no one's paying her to model anymore.) From Cat Bordhi's "Knitting on Two Circulars" book, Lion Brand sock yarn, one skein. Now that I've got the hang of it - it will be fun to do this on some fancy yarn. I just didn't want to waste beautiful yarn on a project that carried potential hatred.

Can Someone Tell Me Why....

2006-07-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

...with all of the dollars I have spent on the model - hundreds of them on these

her favorite is this one?

(The contents of the top photo were gathered by a quick sweep of the living/dining room - it is merely indicative of the collection we house here - not a complete catalog by any means...)

Today, I......

2006-07-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

...worked out,

went to the bank, and the library, paid bills and sent some invoices,

liberated my butt crack,

(yes mom, that's my underwear - it's clean though!)

knit a row on my Icarus

(the progress is impressive, let me tell you...),

read blogs,

shopped for jewelry,

watered the orchids,

(four new bud spikes are coming up - this should give me months of blog material - if you'll kindly note the comments section),

started the blocking process on the red lace,

and

washed the dog

twice.

Apparently our model was unsatisfied with the wash and style I gave her. I feel she looks best with a "clean, pretty, natural" look - she prefers the "grungy chic" look, which she achieves with the liberal use of product.

(someone around here is taking the term "molding mud" a little too literally)

However, since I am her mother, I told her that she was not allowed to go out looking like a common tramp and that she'd better get that crap washed off her face before her stepfather got home. She told me that I was dorky and that all the kids were wearing this style and that I never understood her or let her have her way and she was thinking about running away.

I told her to watch her mouth and get inside. She's in the living room sulking right now.

Alright, already!

2006-07-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently some of my readers are just itching to see more images of my dog wearing hats since y'all (both of you that aren't family anyway) have told me you're sick of the orchids by now. But what can I tell ya? I've been BUSY. Sheesh. (OK, really, it's good to be loved and wanted. No matter how many times I tell myself that the blog is for me, I still want to know that people are reading it.)

I had a busy June with work and then we went on a much needed vacation (more to come on that) - when we got home, I went straight to work and it's been kind of crazy. A good crazy though - some nice jobs that pay well - what more could a freelancer ask for? However, this is who I got to spend part of the vacation with - isn't she adorable? (Yes, I AM biased.) She's not very interested in knitting though (yet!).

At any rate, I DID manage to get a little bit of knitting done - perhaps nothing spectacular as I am not a very speedy knitter - but a few accomplishments none the less. Exhibit A is my baby gift to my neighbor. Again, I cannot over state how much I love Barbara Walker - the top down pants turned out great (in my opinion). I was inspired by the Kittyville devil hat and the pants in the Stich 'n' Bitch book - but I decided to do my own version. The pants are all in one piece except for the tail which I fashioned "Eeyore" style so that Mom can take it off when it gets to be a nuisance and still have some pants that are functional. The beauty of this gift is that Daddy is a Hell's Angel (yes, really - and one of the best neighbors ever, by the way) so I thought it especially appropriate to do the Little Devil outfit. Now I just have to wait for the baby shower.

I also managed to FINALLY finish one of the socks and am over halfway through the second one. I have decided that maybe I don't hate knitting socks so much after all - they're just not all that practical for us here in California - except maybe for me. The joy of wool socks was prosletyzed (sp?) to me by a wardrobe supervisor a few years back. I decided to give it a shot since she went on and on about them. I picked up a few pair at REI and lo and behold - she was right! I couldn't believe how much better my feet - and legs - felt after a day in good socks. I spend a lot of time on my feet for work, so I have some seriously ugly, but comfortable shoes (this is hard as I am a shoe whore by nature - I really want to wear pretty shoes, but I've seen ballerinas feet close up - trust me - comfortable shoes are where it's at for work) - but the socks, they made it better. So, I'm thinking that making custom socks for myself might just be worth it. Sweet Babboo even bought me a skein of sock yarn with aloe in it - how cool is that? It feels pretty soft, so I'll keep you posted.

And my proudest moment - just to keep you all on the edges of your knitting chairs - I finished the lace wrap. It needs to be blocked, so I'll have photos soon (I promise) - but it turned out pretty good as far as I can tell at the moment. So good that I've started another lace project. I think I might be in love with lace. I'll keep you informed......

My other vacation companions (her baby is cute too...)

Distractions

2006-06-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a lovely photo of another one of my orchids - I've managed to get this one to bloom a couple of times since I received it, so I can't be too horrible of a plant mother. Unfortunately, I've been so busy that this photo is a bit outdated - this baby has shed almost all of it's flowers by now and the ones remaining are, shall we say, not so lustrous anymore.
Work is keeping my busy and out of trouble. Sadly, it is also keeping me away from the knitting. Usually I can sneak some knitting time in while working on certain jobs. But not this summer, I have to earn my money honestly this time. I have finished more of the red lace and am really excited to see it blocked now, but I took a little detour and did some of the baby knitting, so I have to get back on track.

The red devil outfit is turning out well. After some initial confusion over how to shape the pants, I worked it out and am amazed at what a genius Barbara Walker is. I can't stop blabbing about how great her book "Knitting from the Top" is to my knitting buddy at work. I need to remember she works diffferently than I do and leave her alone. BUT - it is a GREAT book! I don't mind doing seams all that much (I know - weird) but I HATE tucking in ends. So, knitting in one complete piece eliminates some of that. Plus, I like the look and the way you can adjust things to fit gradually - no more knitting an entire sweater only to find it doesn't fit you. Well, usually. (Poor Heather!) I still LOVE the book though.

Devil Dog

2006-05-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Oh - hey there - I'm back again. Work was crazy this past week and it looks like the speed of crazy will be keeping up until Friday at least - then I get one whole day off and start over again. Can I just say that, while working on holiday weekends does prove to be lucrative at times, it also sucks a bit to be missing out on all of the Q'ing and whatnot? There. I've been good to myself this summer though - I'm taking two of the big weekends off for vacations. Just not this one.

A little knitting progress has been made - one devil hat completed - one pair of devil pants to go. I am going to try to knit them from the top down ala Barbara Walker so I willl be inspired by the Stich 'n' Bitch book, but figuring out the pattern on my own. Hopefully I can cast on for those tonight (the dog probably WON'T be modeling those - her thighs are too shapely).
Our favorite model says, " I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day".

The House That Jill Built

2006-05-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Not too much knitting going on around here, I've been working on a new-ish project this week. See that - I built that! (Not the deck, a friend and I did that a few years ago - the BRAND NEW railing.) I decided that this year the "room" I was going to fix up was the backyard. Granted, a lot of progress was made when we put the deck in - first on the back of the house and later when we built the platform - by turning two little fenced off yards into one big one, but there were definitely a few things lacking. So I cleaned up the older chairs we had and got ourselves two of those lawnchair La-Z-Boy equivalents (hoo-boy are those nice) and a little dining set with an umbrella (which has been worth every single penny as it saved my head from the most enormous bird poop EVER last Sunday while we were eating breakfast - what the hell did that bird eat?) to inspire us to be outside. THEN I told Sweet Babboo my plans...
Put a railing on the deck
Brace our crappy fence
Paint our crappy fence to look less crappy (there's a lot of crappy fence)
Plant vines on the crappy fence to hide it
Make a patio area where we can barbeque and have one of those fire-pit thingys so we can have pretend bonfires
Plant pretty stuff that the dog can't kill easily (she runs around like a crazed monster, things get trampled back there)

All this while keeping the yard a place where Livi can play and poop.

He only twitched a little. Turns out he likes making stuff or at least starting a project that I finish while he's at work. To be fair, he HAS been working, so I don't really mind because I like doing that stuff too. It is tricky however to balance an 8 foot 2x6 level and screw it onto a post at the same time by yourself. But damn it looks good - check out all of my angly angles - I'm thinking I can build decks if my other job doesn't pick up soon! And yes, I know it's about four different colors. That's what happens when you start a job on Sunday when the lumber yard is closed and have to go to Home Despot to get sub-par wood and return later to the lumber yard. Also, it turns out pressure treated 2x2's, while common in Michigan are NOT common in California. I think they gave me the redwood by mistake, but I wasn't going to a) complain b) go back. Looks like we'll be adding "stain the deck" to the list.

This house is my baby - it's my first one and just the fact that I managed to do that in Northern California is enough to be proud of, but those of you who know me have seen the 'befores" and "afters". I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought an abandoned house (empty for 50 years - yes 50), I also had no idea that I'd find something I loved to do so much. the hardest part is that when I'm ready to move on and try the next one, it means leaving one of the biggest projects of my life - only my career has been worked on for longer. Sometimes we get lucky and life gives us this great balance - saying goodbye and getting ready for something new. No real plans here just yet, but I'm starting to get the itch.

Oh, and if you're wondering - those are MY tools - not the man's. When I say I've done the work on this place, I'VE done the work unless it was dangerous for me not to hire someone - sometimes even that didn't stop me - just ask me about shingling the side of the house someday.... There's a clue there to prove I did it too - can you see them? I mean, what man wears a size small pink work glove? Wells-Lamont - you rock my home demolishing/renovating world!

More Action Knits! Live at 5!

2006-05-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a brief post because in addtion to my knitting, I am working on another little project which I will show soon. For now, a few more photos of my past projects...this is my adorable little niece (like I had to tell you that) in her pumpkin hat. The first thing I ever knit was the strawberrry hat from an Ann Norling pattern for myself. I soon figured out the pumpkin thing all on my own and was pretty proud of it until I realized everyone else had it figured out too. Oh well. I felt better after I read somewhere that nothing in knitting is original anymore. Anyways, my niece has many knitted gifts but for some reason I never receive photos of her wearing those things (ahem, hint hint - I know you read this sister dear....)so for now, this is it. Also not pictured are the matching socks that I gave with this - I figured those out early on too (with the help of a booklet) - so why did lace scare me so much? Well, I've gotten over the fear of lace and Mrs. Yarn! has promised to show me how to do steeks when the time comes, so it's on to new things to conquer.

Here's another shot of the scarf - finished and truly in action at my birthday party. Gina is so cute and I think the colors worked out perfectly for her. Please don't laugh at the face I am making - I was most likely trying not to fall in this photo. Do note however, the fabulous "bling" on my neck. That was a lovely charm from the machine in the lobby of the skating rink. I felt like a rap star, I almost went out and got spinners for the draggin' wagon and some gold grills (you know, for the teeth - I have to explain this stuff to the family in the midwest who I am sure are very sorry they miss out on all the gangsta style we have here in Cali) unfortunately, I was too busy putting cream on my neck from the rash the chain gave me.

Getting a Jump Start?

2006-05-05T09:44:00.001-07:00

I have already started my Christmas knitting for 2006. If that makes me seem a bit ahead of the game, perhaps a wee bit obssessive or maybe just nuts - fear not, I'll still be rushing around in December just like everyone else. This just makes me FEEL like I'm pre-planning. Plus, I'll drop this when the arriving babies become a little more "apparent" because I'll be panicking about getting THAT knitting done (since that's what I'm procrastinating about now).

It seems like the only time I get anything actually done is on knit night and I'm gabbing half the time I'm there (and it's questionable whether or not I'm making any progress) so this will be a repeat for anyone who saw me Wednesday night, but this is a knit blog (supposedly). Therefore I present my first attempt at lace knitting (going rather well if I do say so myself). It's for the boyfriend's mom - red is her favorite color - and it's from some stash yarn that I got in a bag from one of my tenants a few years back. It's a mohair/acrylic/something blend and from the looks of the ball band, it's "vintage", but it's the perfect color for her and I figure the mohair will hide any tiny mistakes (not that there are any - well at least not anymore). I'm a little worried about the blocking - I've heard you just pull and stretch the heck out of lace, but I've never done it and I'm not sure WHERE I'll do it - so suggestions are welcome, but I've certainly got time, there's at least three balls left of this stuff and I figure I'll need all of it. Hopefully I won't need more than that because I'm out of luck there!

Stay tuned for more action knitting photos to come!

Fame and Riches and SEALCAM!

2006-05-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

I promised SEALCAM to my loyal readers - and I will deliver - but I think I need to respond to my dear-friend-in-the-computer, Heather and her wish for fame. Heather stated that she would love to be famous, not rich (at least not necessarily), but famous. I can understand the appeal of fame, but no thank you for me, please. I don't mind a mild bit of "notoriety" - such as having a few readers on my blog or having people recognize that I am good in my career and therefore want to hire me (which is ironic, since the one thing I prefer not to discuss on this blog is my career - but that's mostly because I do this to get away from work and it's craziness). I mostly think of that as a form of popularity though - or success (which is what I feel will land you on Oprah, Heather!).

I probably have a different perspective on fame though. In the course of my work, I deal with many varying levels of famous people - famous in the Northern California area, famous as a professional in my career (not me-other people), famous as professionals in their career circle, going to be famous one day, used to be famous, used to be famous and trying to be famous again and even, that most desired of all levels of fame, extremely famous. I've seen more than my share of what fame will do to a person and sadly, most people have a hard time dealing with it. I don't think this is because people are inherently monsters or even just jerks, instead I think it's because we're human. Fame plays upon one's security in who they are - to be famous, you have to do what others wish of you - or you get lucky because what you're doing is what people want at the time. This applies to designers, actors, models, anyone who is selling a part of themselves to the public. When tastes change, those who were famous must either change themselves to keep up with the times or be secure enough to let it go. We all know that popularity is addictive, especially when it brings with it wealth or at least ones way to make a decent living - now it's not addictive only for the way it makes people feel, but also for the fact that it gives one the ability to support themselves. People end up wondering if they could still be famous if only they lost 10 pounds more, if only they discovered the next art movement. In the end, there is so much falseness and fear that people lose touch with what they really believe in, and really do we need any more of that floating around out there?

So Heather, you can have my share of the fame - but know that if you get all uppity and what not, I'll be calling you on it - I think I'd prefer quiet unknown wealth. I don't need any crazy people knocking on my door unless I invited them, besides signing all those autographs makes my hand cramp.

OK, a shift in direction....A couple of weekends ago, me and Sweet Babboo went to Ano Nuevo to see the elephant seals. I read about this a few years ago and have always wanted to go, so we packed up one rainy day and headed out to the beach. This area is one that the seals return to every year to fight, mate and give birth to their young. They leave and the young pups grow and learn to swim here (I had no idea that seals had to LEARN to swim!) and slowly leave, only to return again later in the year. You can hike up and get right up next to the seals - they only ask that you remain about 20 feet away - and there are docents there to answer questions and tell you all kinds of cool stuff. The docents are great too - not annoying at all, you can tell they are there because they love watching the animals and they'll chat with you and point out spots where you can get closer to the animals. One seal was not doing so well and it made me sad, because I am a softy for critters, but there was a volunteer there watching over him and making sure no one harrassed him. They won't intervene there unless there is some extenuating circumstance, instead they let nature take it's course and encourage the herd to get stronger through survival of the fittest, but you could tell that the docent was taking it hard. My favorite part of the story is the one of Seal Island where there was once a lighthouse and caretaker's cottage. The seals would come up on the island and they started taking over, breaking into the house and damaging everything, including the foundations of the lighthouse, eventually the people had to just leave the island and now it belongs to the seals. Seals 1 - humans 0! Every once in a while, I think it's good for humans to see that they can't just take over everything. Hopefully, it teaches us a little respect for Mother Nature.

SB and I got some great shots, but it wasn't too hard because the area is beautiful and the seals are super cute. If they aren't playing and fighting, they are laying around like fat little logs yawning in the sand. I can't wait to go again in winter to see the big guys come in! Oh yes, as promised...SEALCAM! Live at 10:30! When you go to the site, click on the video icon and you can see the beach live during daylight hours - seals and beach without the sealy, beachy smell!

I'm a Bad Bad Blogger

2006-04-27T21:56:00.001-07:00

I haven't forgotten you all - my loyal readers (now there are about 5 of you - because my parents are reading - so I have to behave myself). Things have been really busy - some of it good (like work) and some of it, well, stressful. Let's just say there are a lot of people in the world who don't deal well with reality and I seem to have to be dealing with them all lately. It makes me tired. Very tired. I'll catch up soon. There's some new knitting and a few new adventures to add, but with all the weddings we've had to go to (3!) this month, I've been pretty busy helping to celebrate and buy wedding presents. Next time, I promise, I'll post the SEALCAM!

Of Hats and Gay Dogs

2006-04-14T13:01:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday as I gave my friend Gina her new scarf, I realized that part of the problem with my documentation of my knitting projects is that I get so excited to give them to the recipient that I forget to photograph them and, well, my descriptions are hardly exciting. I don't care what kind of yarn whore you are, it's hard to get all worked up over a paragraph - touching, seeing and sniffing are a whole different ball game though. I didn't want to just set everything on a table and shoot it either (also boring). Therefore, I have decided to include a few of my action knitwear shots. Admit it now, that's got you on the edge of your seats. No? Oh well. All that drama isn't what it's cracked up to be - I work with drama - you can trust me on this one.
Up there on the left is my first attempt at fairisle knitting on location at Ano Nuevo. Please note that this (Tahki cotton) hat maintained good humor throughout the shoot which included wind and rain that day. Sweet Babboo requested this as a present prior to our first Christmas - the fact that he wears it on a regular basis means that he gets continuing knitterly love. If you have visited this site before, you may have noted that he does not have fleece of his own to keep his head warm, surrogate fleece is an essential part of his uniform. To the right is a simple green hat, seen here traveling throughout Europe, warming ears on a cold night in London. Made of an extremely soft Merino, it has insulated the fleeceless head against the elements many times. However, I do believe the fairisle is the favored of the two.

Next you will observe just one of the ways that I torture my dog. There is a tad less action in this image because almost all photos of the dog involve action, which unfortunately appears as a large brown streak. I actually got the idea to do this because I had taken her on a job with me and when I looked back at the truck where she was waiting, I saw that she was shivering. Now, I had always owned big warm dogs - labs that would break ice to swim - that sort of thing. So, to see my little girl shivering in a California winter, well, I just never expected it. I decided that I would have to knit her a sweater - but a mystery-meat-with-some-pit-thrown-in dog can not have a goofy little cutesy sweater - I had to show that she was tough, but girly. I was inspired by the mud flap girl tank in one of the Stitch N' Bitch books and I set out to make a flattering garment for my not so tiny dog. Not an easy task - most people making sweaters for their dogs apparently have pets the size of tissue boxes. I found this pattern and used it as a guide, but mostly I just kept trying it on and went by the "winging it" method. I think it turned out fairly well for a first time intarsia pattern - and Livi likes to wear it too - despite the fact that some people "don't get it". I'm not sure what there is to get - it's a sweater - but then again, I didn't really know what to say when someone asked me if she was gay (she was wearing the sweater) either. Just another reason why I prefer to hang out with the dog on the weekend instead of people. And of course, if Livi ever does come out to me, I'll still love her just the same.

...It's My Birthday Too!

2006-04-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have so many reasons to celebrate - taxes: done! - in the mail they go today, banana bread: made! old bananas salvaged and it is SOOOO good with the coffee that John made for me this morning and brought up to me (that's reason number three - one of my best friends lives downstairs) and oh yeah, I have a wonderful boyfriend and fambly who called me for my birthday. Check out my present! I got the gloves when I was in London because they were so British and so cool and Sweet Babboo got me the purse and wallet when I wasn't looking (and even a matching blouse while we were there - I will be scary with all my Paul Smith Swirls). I wonder if I can get pants and the umbrella, everyone will think they are about to have an Austin Powers/60's flashback whenever I walk by. Doooodle ooodle dooodle oodle - you get the idea.

So, one of my favorite things on this purse are the buttons - check 'em out - a butterfly and a bunny. I am the "bunny girl" - just ask my mom. I had a stuffed bunny that I dragged everywhere when I was little and I loved ANYTHING that had bunnies on it (I still have the bunny in the cedar chest at my mom's but he looks more like roadkill now). Every year my mom would make me a bunny birthday cake - it was two circles - one made the face and the other she would cut ovals from opposite sides of the cake to make ears and a bow tie shape would be left in the middle, then she'd give him pink ears and whiskers and all that good stuff. Williams-Sonoma has a much more sophisticated bunny cake pan on it's cover this spring and I am really tempted to get it. It comes in handy that my big day is near Easter so that there are bunnies a-plenty for me. And for the record, I love birthdays, it's like having your own personal holiday and you don't have to be dead for people to celebrate, no mourning going on in this house, in fact I like to stretch it out as long as possible. The big party is on the 15th because we have to go to a wedding this Saturday - so 7pm, Oakland Ice Rink - we're skating and Sweet Babboo is picking up Zachary's pizza and an ice cream cake - you can have some if you put on skates. Whoohoo, it's good to be twelve!

OK, obviously, I am not on the mountain today. I woke up too late. SB has promised to wax my board tonight (that sounds way more exciting than it really is) and I am going to set the alarm for butt early because, hello! my taxes are done and I made it through another year - it's time to celebrate.

Um, miss, you have some um, food, on your, um......
Mommy's little helper. Livi is our prewash setting for dishes, apparently she likes banana bread batter.

Sunny Spots, Playtime, and a Scarf

2006-04-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

There's not much to show on the sock progress - not that the sock is all that exciting anyway - and I still haven't cast on for the lace scarf. Perhaps I am putting it off, but no! I have a valid excuse. This is a scarf for my friend Gina or rather my boyfriend's buddy's wife, but I like her too - her birthday is coming up and I want to have it finished. I have a measly two stripes per day requirement to finish it. I like to set attainable goals you know... She requested orange and blue in her knitted gift (all the gang has received a hat or scarf or shrug) and I wasn't finding the colors I liked in yarns I could afford (the goal is to keep all these little goodies on the reasonably priced side). Then one day, I am in Michaels' for buttons or something and what do I see? It's super cheapie stuff, but I love the way it looks (it's much brighter in real life) and it doesn't sqeak too much, so we'll live with it. I can use the leftover to make a baby sweater for the impending niece/nephew (babies can barf all over acrylic and it washes right out - so if it's not some serious heirloom, acrylic it is).

I like to call this "Patch of Dog in Sun". Why is it that she will lay in the hot spot and pant and never make a move to go, say 10 inches to the right where she will be warm but comfortable? Crazy dog. But do you see what Livi sees now? I barely recognized it myself - sunshine! Time to go play so I can make it to knit night on time (hope my cheap yarn doesn't get me laughed out of the place). Got to get to bed early too - I think I am going to take myself snowboarding for my birthday (and get back in time for my dinner date!). OK, we're outta here - time for some fetch and chase.

Fuzzy-Faces

2006-03-31T18:54:00.000-08:00

Ok guys - this is what I've been helping out with in my spare time. When my neighbor passed away, she left behind many four legged children. Her niece promised to find them good homes and we are all helping out - but the neighbors can only take so many of them. Go check out this new blog of doggie and kitty "Personal Ads" - and if you can't take one home - please pass the word - these kids need homes. All of them were saved from the streets and all are spayed or neutered. I am updating information as I get it - I'll be calling the vet tomorrow to find out as much as I can. All the comment e-mails on that page will come to me and I will pass the information on to Arlene so she can call folks back. Thanks for any help you can give - just passing the word is huge.

Fuzzy-Faces in Need of Warm Hearts

How can you resist mugs like these?

It's a Must See

2006-03-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ashes and Snow was amazing. If you are anywhere near the Santa Monica area between now and mid-May - go check it out. The images are incredible as is the film and the music. In fact the entire interior of the Nomadic Museum really sets the scene. I don't know if it was the rainy day combined with the show or what - but I had tears in my eyes - the beauty was incredible. What? You're still here? Go. Now!

A Day Off

2006-03-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

I came down to LA for a job over the weekend and heard about this show - Ashes and Snow at The Nomadic Museum. I decided to treat myself and take a day devoted to some enlightenment. Of course, I was planning to go on Monday, but I forgot all the museums are closed on Monday. So, I am here for an extra day - and it's raining - bleh. I wanted to post a photo, but couldn't figure out if I had a legal one (but DO notice that I have learned how to include links! Even if I did destroy half of the last post in doing so)- so check out the site - I've only seen the home page because I don't want to spoil it - but I'm really excited to go because that page alone is incredible. People at work were talking about it this weekend and raving. I'm off to the Santa Monica Pier - I'll let you know what I think.

Now That We've Covered Cheese, Let's Talk About the Most Important Food Group.

2006-03-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I've ever seen a more beautiful sight - those two vats are full. What you are seeing is the entrance to Harrod's "Chocolate Bar". Now, I love a good cup of coffee, but if this were in my neighborhood, I don't think I would give Peet's a backwards glance (just as long as I could get it at the grocery store still - I'm not totally disloyal). Of course, I would probably weigh 400 pounds and be broke (our two cocoa's and a shared piece of cake were 11+ pounds - around $20) - but it might just be worth it.

There was an entire menu of differing types of cocoa drinks, I had the orange equatorial (dark chocolate and orange oil) and SB had the toffee cocoa (good, but he likes things so sweet that your teeth vibrate and this may have done the trick), but there were others - Venetian cocoa, cocoas with milk or water, spicy cocoas, you name it. OH, and the desserts! We opted for a vanilla pound cake with that ooey Devon cream they have there so as not to mask our drinks, but there was a LOT of chocolate in that little space.

Now, look up at he photo on the right...Can you see what she is troweling out of that pitcher? That is one of the bases for one of the cocoa's - I'm not sure which one - and it is the consistency of really thick cake frosting. All that's added to that is a little bit of steamed milk or water. This is truly part of heaven. Or maybe purgatory, given the prices.

After Harrod's, we went on the hunt for a little shop called Rococo. You might think that after Harrod's we'd had enough chocolate for one day. Nope. Rococo is definitely a must stop on the chocoholics trip to London. They had all sorts of goodies, including filled chocolates (I tried the gin and lemon cream - yummy) and the free sample of drinking chocolate that was served up as we entered the store. It worked, I bought the dark chocolate/black pepper version. Then the shopgirl brought out the big guns - samples of all the different flavors of the Organic Artisan Bars - they had everything: Lavendar, Rose, Rosemary, Persian Lime and Basil, Arabic Spices, Cardamon, Chili Pepper, Pink Peppercorn, Earl Grey and one of my favorites, Sea Salt and Milk Chocolate ( a big jump for someone who's been a confirmed dark chocolate lover since childhood - Ok, I was a weird kid) and they come all dressed up in pretty little wrappers. We managed to walk out of the store with only twelve of those. I'm thinking maybe I have a little issue with the chocolate. Oh well, I'll make sure none of it goes to waste - and even share with the Sweet Babboo - if he can find where I've hidden it.

Breakin' the Law

2006-03-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough week (week for me is any chunk of seven days - I work crazy hours, so the term "weekend" meaning Saturday and Sunday off is foreign to me - FYI) and I think it's about time for a lighter post. One about luxury items and smuggling, customs agents and foreign intrigue, beautiful women and...OK, I'm pushing it - I don't look so great after 11 hours on a plane. Behold the objects of my desire below:

On one of my last days in London, while I was picking up Sweet Babboo's fancy new suit (he's a clothes horse, ladies and lucky for me, he buys me nice duds too!) I stopped at a shrine to one of the items I worship most (those items being food). The one and only Neal's Yard Dairy in Covent Garden, mecca to those blessed with lactose tolerance. Of course, I got a bit out of control and while I managed to eat quite a bit of it (notice only three kinds of cheese left of the five purchased) in two days, there was too much creamy goodness to throw away (blasphemy!) and so I smuggled it in my bag. I even distracted the man at the United counter asking if I REALLY had to pack my knitting (oh loyal knitting - you are my friend) in hopes that he would not notice the extremely ripe smell emanating from my bag. Once on land, I smiled nicely at the customs officer and when he asked what kind of food I had brought home I was a good girl and said, "Chocolate," and he said, "That's fine," and I said, "Oh, and a little tea..." and he smiled at me as I sauntered away with my stinky backpack under my arms. There's no way he was getting any of my cheese.

It's A Rainy Day Out

2006-03-20T11:00:00.000-08:00

The dog is unusually quiet on her bed and the house is very still. It seems we're both mourning in our own ways.

My friend and neighbor died yesterday morning. I'll miss her, but in a way, I'm glad it happened this way. I couldn't stand seeing her so weak. This stroke had taken way too much out of her and she would have had to go to a nursing home. She lived on her own right up until the end and even at 86, she was still too fierce and independent to live away from her home and her pets.

She was one of those eccentric old ladies, which I suppose will happen to anyone stubborn enough to live alone in an area that has gone through some amazing and dangerous times - but she had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. She loved her pets (and there were a lot of them) and she was not afraid to tell anyone what she thought, but she was still a lady who wore a hat to church. She always proper and dressed up whenever we had her over for dinner, wearing her bright pink jacket and her jewelry everytime - but she liked a bit of whiskey now and then too. She was deeply religious, but not so serious that she wouldn't laugh and wink at me when I told her that the priest who visited her in the hospital was pretty cute. She would give me hell if I didn't prune my trees on time, but she'd also call and remind me to move my car on street cleaning days or even to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. And yes, sometimes she drove me crazy as do all the people we love the most, I'm sure I did the same to her. She also loved flowers - one of my orchids is blooming, so this is for her. I'm going to miss her terribly.

This was supposed to be my knitting blog.....

2006-03-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

...but sadly, I've not done a lot of knitting lately. Remember that sweater I was going to work on while on the plane? Me neither. The above photos show how much knitting I've accomplished while flying - actually, I got less that that done - I worked on the heel on Wednesday night (and yes, it's the SAME sock). I finally went to knitting night at the LYS as I have been meaning to do for, oh, months, but was either too shy or too busy to go. Surprisingly, no one bit me and I really enjoyed myself (but probably talked too much). There was talk of mugging me on the way to my car for my sweater but that just made my ego swell and besides, I used to live in Detroit - you can't scare me with a little mugging.

So, this is my first adult sock - I had to see what the fuss was all about. While I am enjoying knitting it, I think I may not be a sock person after all. I'll do them from time to time - but I'm a hat person. Hats are what I can do mindlessly - I can make them up out of nothing and finish them quickly - the sock needs attention from me and is more of a project than something that keeps my hands out of trouble.

I'll be knitting at the hospital today. My neighbor is 86 and had a stroke while I was in London. I felt horrible because her niece was calling me at home as I was the informal emergency contact, and she couldn't reach me. I realize I am allowed to go on vacation - I mean I've only been here for 6 years, my neighbor's been here for 50 or so and she managed before I came along - but I feel badly all the same. So, I sit by her bed and can't think of anything to say because it used to be that I couldn't get her to stop talking. It's so quiet. I'd forgotten what this is like, the waiting for someone to die. Don't get me wrong, I want her to come home - it's not the same without the routine sounds that would make up my morning of her letting the dogs out and cleaning the yard and talking to them - she never had kids and they are her babies. But I am also trying to be realistic about her condition. What's so uncanny about the whole thing is that, in the past week, I've been told of three impending births - two on the block (one is a not sure yet) and my new niece or nephew to be. I guess it's all about the balance. There's sadness, but also a lot of joy.

Glad I'm Not A Smoker...

2006-03-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why there are so many smokers in England. The warning labels on the cigarette packs are huge and scary and not really ambiguous at all. I mean, when the label says, "Warning: this product will make you ugly and then kill you, give your child a clubfoot and curse your soul to eternal hellfire and damnation", really, what is the attraction? Is this a type of gambling addiction as well - as in, let's see if I can beat the odds and not go to hell?

Or is it just that people have so many other things to worry about that clubfoot really seems small in comparison to the rest of their troubles? I don't know, but I would half expect someone's mother's voice to pop out when you open the pack and smack you on the back of your head while saying, "Did you even READ the warning? What the hell is the matter with you?" Either that or there would be nothing inside because, who would want to smoke after reading the warning on the box?

What I Did On My Vacation, Part Two

2006-03-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

I know you are all (that's all 3 and 1/2 of you who read my blog) thinking, "No that's part three" - but you're wrong, I CAN do math and it's really part two because what looks like part two is really a continuation of part one if you just leave out the second paragraph of part one and add part two so it's really just all part one and this is part two. Got that?

OK, so first off, my friend Heather's ( I haven't figured out how to do that link thing on the words on the body of the post, so just go to the damn sidebar and click on her there - it's not that much extra work and besides, Heather is one third of my readership, so you "all" know how to get there anyway. And no, Heather, I am not saying you are one and 1/6 of a person - see I can do the math! - you're just one fabulous person) birthday - she didn't warn me, so there are no British birthday presents for her. See, you should have told me Heather because I have a little secret - the chocolate in England is soooooo !@#$!@^%& good! What were you thinking? Tell me next time - OK? And hey - Happy Birthday! But, you are younger than me, so I kind of hate you (but just for a second - OK?), 'cause you're not that much younger than me. Only 11 months and 2 days - see if I care. Spring chicky.

OK, on to the vacation. Now, I realized that I am writing about my vacation and posting photos and it's kind of the equivalent of, "Hi, come to dinner and see our slides....all 40,284 of them" (especially with Geoff and me - we're a little trigger happy with the cameras), but then I realized something else: it's my blog and I can do what I want - don't like my art? Bored? Hate London? Great! Go read something else then.

As my quest for softer toilet tissue continued, we widened our search to outlying areas of the countryside. We took the train to Bath and although our search turned up some more decorative paper with feathers sort of jaquarded (I know, it's not a verb - but maybe it should be) into the squares, it was not, alas, any softer than the London variety of bum wipes (don't ask me what the feathers were all about, aren't feathers SOFT????). While we were there, we decided to go visit the ancient roman Baths as well. Pretty cool, definitely touristy - but worth seeing at least once. Too bad we couldn't actually use them - they were warm (built around a natural hotspring). It was pretty interesting to see all of the Roman influences so far north - after the sight seeing in London, they seemed really out of place. I have to say though, there is something amazing about being able to touch a piece of tilework or a statue and realize that is it thousands of years old. Thousands. Whoa.

Here is my photo of the Great Bath in the bathing house. Please note the absence of tourists - this was not easy - I crouched in a slightly uncomfortable position for what seemed like hours waiting for them all to move out of the area. Two gabby people would step out and another would come in. None of them seeming to realize what an inconvenience they were being. Sheesh. People. Anyway, I felt like a National Geographic photographer, except instead of waiting for my subject to come into view, I was waiting for those people to move out. In the end I succeeded though. Who says I have no patience?

After our long day of walking and sight seeing and drinking warm spring water (oh yes I did, it came with the tour and it tasted funky - but I was thirsty) we were HUNGRY. We found a not too smoky pub and settled in for some fish and chips and steak and ale pie. Yum. While waiting for dinner I took some photos of my Sweet Babboo - I think they turned out rather nice.

I also found a present for John in Bath. There was an antique book dealer and once we stopped looking at the beautiful books - old copies of classics like Peter Pan and the like - that we couldn't afford (SB found an edition of Treasure Island for 1420 SP (sterling pounds - no symbol on my keyboard) - that's like $2500 - the look on his face was pretty funny when he saw the price), we went downstairs to the "bargain basement" (trust me, in Britain, there is no such thing). I found this really great volume on natural history from 1897. I was pretty excited to give it to John as he loves the outdoors and creatures of all kinds and it turned out my instinct was good - he started reading it to me when he opened it. I love it when I've found the perfect gift for someone and they are excited when they see it. What a great feeling.

We close our day with a lovely evening photo of some chuch spire in Bath that we saw as we were walking to catch the train back to London. Don't remember which one - just enjoy the way the last light catches the very tip of the spire, OK?

The Lost Post

2006-03-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Our flights were fine, no issues at all - and I even managed to sleep a few hours. It seems that the only place I CAN'T pass out is on an airplane for the most part. I'm going to give credit to my fabulous new friend, the travel pillow. Blow it up, it cushions your head, let out and it folds flat - the wonders of modern conveniences! Speaking of which.....have the Brits not yet figured out how to make a softer toilet paper? I'm not sure but this stuff feels like 100 grit sandpaper. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, it's really more like 150. Of course, they don't eat so much of their "veg" here - so maybe they aren't able to poop enough to realize that softer is better when it comes to ones bum. I tried to get a salad tonight - it was listed as a King Prawn and Mango Salad at the Coventry Grill. If you're a spoiled Californian like me, you might imagine a bed of greens with some large grilled shrimp and slices of mango in a citrusy vinaigrette dressing, maybe some other veggies in there too. But you too would be incorrect. Don't get me wrong, the salad wasn't all that bad - my system is just needing some green if you know what I mean - and what I got was a bed of greens with some small shrimp and mango chunks (also small) coated in a mayonnaise dressing ala "Louie" style. Not the light dinner I had planned. Oh well, our server was charming and we got to sit down. Power shopping is hard. Nice tangent, eh?

No, I am not Canadian, but I lived there for a while.

We've done a lot of trekking and sight seeing - Big Ben (this one's for you Heather).....

...the Tower of London (which was great - if you ever go, take the "Yeoman Ward" led tour (better known as a Beef Eater) - they give you lots of insight and help you to decide where to go next through the tour - and it's free once you're in the gates. Which is good, because your American dollars aren't worth much more than the tough guy toilet paper here. Hmmmm, wonder if they're softer......), the Tate Modern Art Gallery, the London Eye (go at night - we did), Dali Universe (skip it - major tourist trap), the Gardening History Museum (bland but free - and warm and relaxing - in a cute little church too), and a bunch of galleries, shops, etc. Today was Harrod's and Paul Smith (for Geoff) and a little bit of Ted Baker (for me!). We needed a break from the cameras, our backs were killing us - so shopping it was. Harrods' was incredible, but more on that and our friendly hotel ghost another day.

It's about time to turn it - we're off to Bath tomorrow and I'm pooped. So, I'll leave you with this.....

Nighty, night.

London Calling

2006-03-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are upon meeting in Heathrow......

....our very first vacation photo together ever. Let's see if we can manage not to kill each other on the trip. (So far, so good.)

This is part of an earlier post - Blogger is not wanting to accept my full entry so I am breaking it down into pieces - this means the post is going to be a bit outdated (oh well) and in tiny bits. Damn Blogger.

Only two more days 'til LONDON

2006-02-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am finally going on a vacation - my first since before buying my house in 2000. (Visiting family is great - but doesn't count as vacation exactly.) Sweet Babboo and I are going to London for a 10 days - he has to work for three of them - but it's all play for me. Suggestions on things to see/do are welcome.

While I'm on the plane, I plan to work on this:

I am going to actually do my first top down sweater, custom to my measurements, but I like the looks of this one, so I'll try to use the lace pattern at the hem. The yarn is actually a little prettier than the photo shows, but it's really soft Anny Blatt kid mohair. Hopefully a ten hour flight will give me some time to concentrate and get a chunk done.

Another 6 am call tomorrow - it's been a long long week. I look forward to sleeping in during the next one.

The Yarn Geek Convention

2006-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Don't let the title fool you - I'm a total yarn nerd - just ask my oh so patient boyfriend who has to accompany me everytime I pass a yarn store and wait while I pet the entire stock.

So, last week the boyfriend's mom called and asked me if I knew about this "big knitting show" in town. At that point, I just sighed and gave in to the inevitable. I had been trying to avoid the STITCHES convention like a proper Catholic priest avoids the altar boys - you know you shouldn't, but you want it anyway. There was no one who would want to go with me, my Sweet Babboo certainly wasn't dying to go look at yet another zillion skeins of yarn and I really wanted to save money for my upcoming trip to London. I was almost home free when she called.

So, we went to hang with the other yarn geeks. The mom used to knit years ago apparently, and I recently retaught her some basic casting on, and knitting - I think it's her way of bonding with me, but I like that. It gives us something in common and makes me feel less like an antisocial jerk when I can't set the knitting down at family gatherings. She probably kept me out of more trouble too - we had a lot to look at and only a few hours and I could have gotten lost in the button booth alone - so I think I spent far less than I could have. In the end though, I couldn't resist this:

An orange silk merino and a brown viscose blend. My Sweet Babboo keeps asking for a sweater and although I am wary of the sweater curse, he's been a pretty incredible boyfriend, so I think I may throw caution to the wind. He likes stripes and picked out the turtleneck in the latest Knit1 issues but I think that the chunky wool would be way to hot for him. So, not only does he get a sweater, he gets a custom made sweater. I should have some progress made by Christmas. Seriously. And yes, he loves orange - it's his favorite color which is cool because orange yarn is almost always on sale ( I only spent about $96 for both bags of yarn - love "The Yarn Lady" and her bag sale). That's a close up of the brown yarn, by the way.

And this little baby was a present from the mom. Some Suri Alpaca dental floss for Barbie's that I saw all of these Orenburg lace scarves made from. They were so beautiful and I covet them badly, but oh boy am I scared of this one. Perhaps I've bit off a big bite for my firstish lace. But it's sooooooo soft, so I'll try my best. I wonder if I just pull from the skein or wind it or pull from the outside. Anybody have any tips?

It's been a long week and I have a 6 am call time tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get to post again before the big trip. G'night.

Oh Yeah....

2006-02-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have to add some of the knitting to feel legitimate here...these are a couple of hats I made for the children of a PR guy who sends tons of work my way...I figured I'd hit him in his soft spot - he's a sucker for his kids. These are just a couple of quickies I made up for them - 1 boy, 1 girl, favorite colors green and pink respectively. My own original designs - whoohoo.

The Monster Hat

The Pink Flower Hat

The Monster in the Monster Hat - wonder how the recipient would feel knowing my dog wore this before him (well, the recipient is 2 - he'd probably think it's cool - don't know about his dad though...)

OK, I'm off to bed, all this thinking and technology is tiring.

I'm new at this stuff....

2006-02-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

OK, let's see if the techtard can get it to work this time....

The Brown Menace

My very first post

2006-02-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not so exciting as I had maybe hoped - no ribbon cutting ceremony and no sudden burst of creativity or genius, but here it is. I intended to start this as a way to share my knitting triumphs with friends, but as it turns out - I talk a lot. I've got a good life, a great boyfriend and the world's best dog - you'll see many photos of her....because she's the apple of my eye.....but there'll be other stuff too. Here we go.....