Finally February...

So, my Olympic knitting is Finally Done. Yup, that's my February Lady up there. Love her, she fits and it's (get ready) : my first ever sweater for me.

Details:

Pattern: February Lady

Yarn: Aurucania Nature Wool in orange (5 skeins, total 1100 yards)

Needles: US 8 circs (bamboo)

And, since I couldn't find a button I loved... I made one. A member of my guild, Linda, taught us all to make dorset buttons a few meetings ago... I knew this is what I would use for my sweater. :) Now, I have one on and I am not sure if it needs 2 more buttons. I think it might make the front too heavy. Right now, one button.

Sweater #2 for me is on the needles: Huron from Jared Flood. I'm almost to the point where I start asking "why does he want me to put back shaping there?" :)

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

*hack*

Home and sick. Yup... caught something supremely nasty in Phoenix... but honestly? What do you expect when you are at a conference of 900 people and you have shaken 1/2 their hands? There is not enough hand sanitizer in the world to combat that kind of massive attack. So, I'm heading into the office, taking a morning phone call and probably calling it a day.

I sound like a "mouse" (according to PC this morning) and I think I swallowed two golf balls.

Scratch throat, coughing up stuff, can't swallow and slight fever.

Any moms/doctors out there tell me what I got?

Fear: strep throat b/c that means a trip to the hospital (I don't make antibodies to strep throat, so I have to have IV infusion antibodies when I get it) and I was really looking forward to my own bed tonight.

10 on Tuesday

Taken directly from Carole's blog... I needed something to update. I'm still here in AZ; last night we went to a Mexican rodeo as a "networking reception"... it was fun, full of margaritas and cerveza and iffy bar-b-que. It's just after 6am here...I've been up for a bit... what jet lag? lol

So, here you go... top 10 TV shows:
1. Deadliest Catch: amazing show... I am so sad that Capt Phil passed away this year and I can't imagine how his sons will go on without him. PC and I "root" for different boats to bring in the big catch. :)
2. Amazing Race: this one is a bit of a problem. I get a serious case of wandering feet when I watch this show; I want to quit my job and hop on a plane and let it work itself out! Go Jet & Cord!!!! You can win it cowboys!
3. Millionaire Matchmaker: Patti Stanger is such a moosh of sappy, sweet, bitch and bravado and I love it... I don't love the guys that she thinks are "hot" and I can't figure out for the life of me how these guys think women in a "millionaires club" aren't after their money? They aren't in the "marry an unemployed actor club."
4. Real Housewives (and and all of them): it's pure "seeing how the other half lives" and... they are not doing well!
5. Bones: Love Love Love Temperance Brennan and Sealy Booth's slow circle of each other. I even love Dr. Sweets.
6. Fringe : my inner scientist makes me watch this...
7. Life (the Discovery channel series) : just watch it... then you'll know why.
8. Big Love : I have a strange fascination with religions... I am very curious about how and why someone believes what they do. I've been told it's perceived as rude, but I really really just want to know what your faith is like. Only caveat: I don't push mine on you, you don't push yours on me. :) I'm always amazed at the amount of sex on this show.
9. NECN Morning News : my local news outlet
10. Property Virgins : I'm learning to buy a house from HGTV. :)

Going to Phoenix and throwing away yarn.

I'm going to Arizona for a few days... I may or may not be mobile blogging. I am bringing knitting, for the evenings, but my days will be full of more professional endeavors, I'm afraid.












In knitting news, if you won my haiku anniversary contest (Louise, Diane, Trek), you will see a package in the mail next week. I spent the entire weekend at IKEA with the fabulous PC getting one of each of these and reorganizing my kitchen and my craft room/office. (my bookcase has doors... well, it will soon, we need to put them on.)
















Actual photos to follow once I am back home and the space is even more cleaned up. (right now, it's slightly organized chaos.) Oh... and I threw out yarn. Yup, crap yarn that I didn't want to gift or try to sell. I might do some online yarn hawking... any advice from those in the know? Do I do it straight off the site?

Oh, and if you are Dora... :) I have the white shelving thing, some fabric boxes for the shelving thing, the cube system and some good plastic shoe boxes for you... you and Trevor want to swing by for some beers and pick them up next weekend?

Oh... and Dora? There's a bag o' yarn for you too :)

Welcoming craft

My bro, J, has a great gf, C, who made me this as my placecard on Easter. 

And, yes...my bro calls me Katiecita and I call him Jonafinny. :)

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Feeling Green

For those of you who have dined at my house and said "oh, don't bother" with my cloth napkins... I feel reaffirmed in my decision to provide them. Dan and I try, try, try to be more earth-friendly (see new fully recyclable car, full recycling container at curb on Fridays, use of reusable plastic bottles, repurposing glass containers).... and cloth napkins are just a new way to do this. There is a major overhaul going on in our house over the next two weekends (creating more usable, pleasant spaces in the kitchen and office), so I'll be looking at my plethora of kitchen towels and making a concerted effort to use them more, and less paper towels.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2010/02/french_napkins.html

I think I'll make some neat napkin rings for the next dinner party. :)

Angst

A lot of heartsick angst here today. I traded in my beloved Saturn for a Subaru. I know, in my heart, it was the right decision ( dealer paid off the loan on old car, i had positive equity in my car, got the color/model/features I wanted), but I was really rooting for my Saturn. I was.

3 weeks ago, it stopped braking and accelerating. On the highway. I had just had the brakes done, so I took it back: brakes are fine. Must be a sensor or transmission problem. Car is fine... drive home, leave it, head to work the next day. Same.problem. Except, now, I get "bumped" in traffic b/c I had no brake lights. *sigh* Call dealer, tow it in. Mention 3 times: brakes, struts, accelerator (car was jumping around).

Saturn/GM service only looks at cars towed in after lunch. So, if your car gets towed at 7:30 am (mine), they put it on a list, and look at it after 1pm. They never got to mine on Day 1. Day 2, got it on the lift at 4pm (close at 5pm). Day 3, says nothing wrong; I ask if they have test drove it. No. Well, drive it. Car gets stuck and they have to tow it back to the dealer after a 4 mile test drive. Call me to have it brought back to the non-dealer brake place. Hm. No.

Day 4 with my fancy rental car (paid for by Saturn, who called to say my warranty was up in 8 days)... fixed. They think. Keeping it overnight to drive again in the morning. Day 5...pick up my car and told "brakes fixed." Okay....what about struts? Um, didn't look at them. Okay, warranty is up soon... need to wait 1 week to bring it back in and they need it all day.

Le sigh. Struts fixed.. head to doc office on Monday: dashboard lights start blinking, flashing... car is running, makes whiny sound... lights come back on.

My 2007, fully loaded Saturn Vue, with 32,000 miles was falling apart.

Monday night, signed on dotted line for new 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X premium in Camellia Red. :) Cry when I leave the dealership. Love the Subie, but really going to miss my Saturn. I was rooting for you!

What shall we name her?

More Beth classes...

More classes today!  10+ cast ons and norweigan purls....so.much.fun! Right, Sue?

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Twining...

Twined mitten class with Beth Brown-Reinsel (www.knittingtraditions.com) all day today....love, love, love this class!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Winner, Winner... Chicken Dinner

I have no idea where the above title comes from, do you? It's something I started hearing a few years ago ( I think it's Southern) and it has stuck. Stuck.Stuck.Stuck.

Winners. I'm a winner and you are all winners! If you left a haiku for my blogiversary, send me a pm at kskaare (at) gmail (dot) com w/ your address so that I can send you a present. :)

I'm a winner...? I totally won at Kristen Tendyke's contest and I got a free pattern! :) I'm sure she won't mind me linking and lifting a photo from Ravelry....

I first met Kristen at a knitting class one weekend through a mutual friend, Andi. Kristen and Andi work at Classic Elite Yarns... where I did a project management project for one of my classes (yup, project management with Kristen Tendyke, Cecily Glowick, and Pam Allen (via phone)--- all for a grad school class? Swoon!) and now Kristen lives in a little house in Texas. I'm not kidding about it being little... it's approximately the size of my kitchen and I live in an apartment. :)

Dunkin' run....

What do you get when your significant other walks up to the Dunkin' Donuts to get the Saturday morning coffee? Me, I got a tea and these! I <3 PC. (and our florist, who just adore him)

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Friday night

Spent @ PC's curling club (broomstones) while he squeezes in a few more games before the end of the season. Can you guess which one is him? :) 

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Anniversary & Contest

So, 5 years ago on March 24, 2005, I started Minestrone Soup. It's been a great ride and I'd really like to thank each and everyone of you for reading, laughing, crying along with me. I'm going to keep on blogging, even though it's feeling less and less popular.

5 years ago, I was....

• recovering from being hit by a car on Valentine's Day
• considering living with PC
• blissfully unaware that my dad had cancer
• watching my mom struggle with her emphysema, congestive heart failure diagnosis
• digging out from a giant blizzard!

4 years ago, I was...

• smoke free for 3 weeks (l-o-n-g weeks)
• living with PC for 3 weeks (l-o-n-g weeks)
• wondering what to do with my life
• reporting to Sylvie at work
• learning about chemo/radiation for my dad
  

3 years ago, I was...

• at a new job, and wasn't sure if it was meant to be
• wondering when the cat will learn to like me
• realizing that renting is not all it's cracked up to be
• fully involved in the knitting guild

2 years ago, I was...

• still crazy in love with PC
• in year 2 of job and learning that I like Type A bosses, but I don't like conniving ones
• starting a new project at work with a new supervisor, who turns into a great friend!
• waiting for Sylvie and Mariuca to have their babies

1 year ago, I was...

• out of work
• scared to death of not being able to stay in my field, but not really wanting to either
• began 'networking' and discovered that I am really, really good at it
• started to think about moving
• still worried about PC's heart and blood pressure

Today, I am...

• happy in my new job (even though it's 100% more stressful than any other)
• knitting, knitting, knitting
• quilting, quilting, quilting
• confident that Pumpkin likes me
  
• sure that PC loves me
  

If you have stuck around this long, you deserve to see the contest:
Rules:

1. write a haiku about me, PC and/or Pumpkin in relation to this blog
   
2. submit by March 23 via the comments on this post
   
3. Winners announced March 24
4. Yarn, needles, books and patterns will be provided as prizes
5. You may enter more than once
6. if you blog about this (or tweet) and have contestants tell me "[insert your name/blog here] sent me" I will add you to a special drawing.

Bon chance!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

As a woman of obvious Irish heritage ( I come by my dark hair and blue eyes honestly), I can't let today go by without wishing you all a Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  So, raise your pint to the sky and repeat after me: Sláinte! (to your health!)

Toes for curling

PC is a curler. He loves the game and I think between it and flying, he has truly found his passion. What kind of curling gf would I be if I let him stand on the ice for hours in store bought socks (I love llbean, but his wool socks are getting holes and they wer pricey)???

Enter pair #2 of the handknit curling socks. He put them on and smiled...enough to warm a knitter's heart, and hopefully a curler's feet!

Good curling honey!

Btw, 600 + people showed up to PC's club on sunday to "try curling"...and two of them read this blog!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

silence

I know there has been some radio silence lately here on the blog. One reason is that the commenting system was just whack-a-do and Trek (there should be a link there, if not, I'll fix it when i get home) had to go under the hood and pull out parts of my blog. Now, I have my blog back. And it's happy. And I sent her yarn without her knowing. Oh. whoops. well, she knows now.

Second is that I'm dealing with some indecision in my knitting/personal life that has to come to fruition soon. Some of you know that I am a coordinator for a guild here in the metrowest of Boston. I love my guild, but recent events have caused me to seriously consider stepping down/bowing out. I'm not sure yet, but I need to make a decision soon. There's a lot involved in this and I am trying to figure out if I am letting one or two events cancel what's been a wonderful experience or are one or two events highlighting what I've been seeing through rose-colored glasses. See? Hard. 

Third: my car. My fun loving, road tripping Saturn Vue is being evil. She decided she needed new 'shoes' for the spring ($400) and then decided that she didn't want to get them dirty, so has stopped working. From what I can guess from my knowledge of cars, online research and gut feeling: it's my transmission and it's slipping. On an automatic, which doubly sucks. So, she stopped this morning near a Marshalls (note: no matter what PC says, keeping socks-in-progress in car is always good) after she just Stopped. In the middle of the road. Got bumped by a very nice man, who felt SO bad (not his fault) and he kept traffic at bay while I turned the car on and off a few times and then coasted into the parking lot. So, Betty Sue (my Vue) is at the dealership today... she had to be towed. 

A side note; a Saturn dealership is really just a big garge waiting room these days.

More later. I have socks, sweater, and cowl progress to show.

A spa morning

So far, I have 1.5 socks finished and 90% of my feb lady sweater's body done. The socks on the right are for a coworker:
 paton's croy sock yarn, 2 skeins
 Monkey sock pattern, cookie A
     Knitty.com

Sock on the left is Wisdom Yarns, Los Angeles, for PC...they are curling socks. *note for me: 68 st cast on & leg, dec to 64 for the foot, 9 inch before toes *

Amy's been knitting on her shalom cardi all weekend...and Diane? She wore your cowl all weekend and I made her get up before 8 am each day :)

Photos of yarn that I rehomed to my house. :)

See you tomorrow..

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

@ spa...

Having a great time! Yup, that's my Olympic knitting: orange february lady :)  I'm getting there, but not quite to the end yet.

What do you think? Will I make it?

I'm walking around in my purple shawl at spa, so if you see me, say hi!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

sewing mojo

So, on my lunch hour, I cruised over to the Moda Bake Shop (what a place... it's filled w/ great ideas and truly cool projects) and found these flat dolls. Yup! Paper dolls that are fabric. I'm in love. I  *heart* paper dolls and know 2 little girls who will need these very soon (Sorry, Noodle, maybe next year-- you are too little for these this summer).

Hmm... 1 for MC and 1 for Miss O.

:)

Contest!!! you could be a winner!

Or I could. Go see JessaLu and say "happy blogiversary!" to her --- 5 years of bloggin' and she's going strong. I feel  a special kinship to JessaLu... the patience of waiting for a particular man, the need to create, and I think we have a bit of a 'bag problem.' :)

http://www.jessaluknits.com/2010/02/18/five/

South Beachers!

Okay, so I've been on Phase II and I don't like it. I'm eating too many carbs and I really don't like that. I'm getting too hungry and cranky.  So, today's back to Phase I. Anyone have a good recipe for lentils? I need to have more legumes in my diet and lentils are a good legume.

Breakfast: eggs + celery + peanut butter (3tbsp)
Snack: Greek Yogurt + sprinkle sugar free, fat free jello powder (cherry)
Lunch: scallops+ asparagus+ quinoa (I know, not Phase I, but it's what we had for leftovers and quinoa is a whole grain)
Snack: mozzarella cheese sticks
Dinnner: tandoori chicken (see recipe) + green beans+ wax beans
Snack: jello snacks (10 calories each)

My tandoori chicken recipe is easy peasy and crockpot friendly.

• 4-5 skinless chicken thighs frozen ( I know, SB says only chicken breasts, but some checking around says that skinless chicken is fine)
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 lemon
• 3tbsp tandoori seasoning (I use Penzeys)

Put chicken in crockpot (line with crockpot liners and save yourself a hassle). Mix next three ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 7.5 hours. Cooking the chicken frozen keeps it moist and delish.

rare photo post.

On Saturday, I got to meet up with someone quite cool, Jacquie! She and I were Valentine's Day Swap buddies on Ravelry... y'know where you send each other a package with V-Day stuff inside? Well, that wasn't quite good enough for us. Jacquie lives in NY (in a former B&B, I'm trying to convince her to host some knitting events!) and used to live up here. So, we made a date to have lunch while she was here. A few hours at Aquitaine at Legacy Place and voila! Instant friendship! My package included 8 balls of orange wool yarn, a skein of hand spun (that's already been wound--- waiting to be a cowl post-Olympics), candy, pattern book for purses, 2 original Jacquie patterns and some really cute other things.















(rare Mini-in-the-wild photo)

This is the Mini-Mom. She's sporting a new cowl on Sunday (in my kitchen) that she loves. Mom uses O2 and the cowl is better than scarves for not getting wrapped up in the tubing. Note to self: mom loves cowls. Wants more cowls. Isn't she beautiful? I look a lot like my mom.... especially when I smile. Our eyes crinkle.














No Olympic updates except Curling starts tonight. There's a curling broom in my kitchen, so you can bet we'll be watching. Am 90 % through the yoke of the Feb Lady-and am remembering how much I love garter stitch (not at all).

Technical Difficulties

bear with me while I strangle ECHO (my new comment service)--- I'm having it uninstalled as it completely sucks. A supposed upgrade to the perfectly fine Haloscan.

You need a degree in computer science to moderate your comments and I am just not Trek. :)

So... any recommendations for a non-evil free commenting service that works a la Haloscan?

Opening Ceremonies

Tonight marks the opening of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Of the sports being played, our house is anticipating the curling, downhill racing, and snowboarding. Speed skating tops the list as well. :) And, while I never wanted to buy a DVR when we had the chance, our cable system came with one this year and I expect it'll be pretty full at the end of the 17 days of competition.

On the knitting front, have you joined up at the Knitting Olympics? I had to make some adjustments, didn't want to be accused of "doping" by bringing a started project to the games. So, I wound some yarn last night and swatched (all legal: falls under training) and washed the swatch.


My house is desert-like, so the swatch was dry this morning.... last night's unwashed gauge: 5spi (too small); this morning's washed & unblocked gauge: 4.5spi. Perfect! My stitches plumped up with a washing and got softer.


Oh? What's that? You want to know what I am knitting?

Project: February Lady (pdf), size 49 inches (2 sizes smaller than I am now)
Yarn: Aurancania Wool Solids, Color 53 "Marigold"
Needles: US 8 bamboo circulars and dpns

Pumpkin will be announcing my progress at times throughout the competition. She's been practicing her Howard Cosell impression.

Ready, Set....

Why is she stretching? The Knitting Olympics begin FRIDAY!

Are your needles ready? Mine are!

Project: Huron by Jared Flood in Reynolds Whiskey and Cascade 100% alpaca. J

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity, nay, the privilege of joining my fellow MetroWest Knitters at Whispering Pines conference center at URI for a long, luxurious weekend of knitting, eating, laughing, singing, and laughing. Did I mention the laughing?
Our annual retreat "sleepover" is always a success, but this year we had a special treat at the end: a trip to Unwind in East Greenwich, RI. Holy.smokes. Now, this is quite the LYS! Jeanne (the owner) opened up Just For Us on a Sunday and was so great about hosting the 20+ knitters who descended upon her store like a bunch of crazy women who've never seen yarn before. I'm sure Jeanne did 'well' for keeping the shop open, but we loved just having us in the shop. It was personal. The employees were great. So great in fact, there might be more surprises next year. :)
My mom flat out asked me for a cowl. Now, this is not something I thought she'd want. Mom wears oxygen and her tubing would get stuck under the cow l (I thought), but no, she likes mine and tried it on. And, of course, it must match her jacket. Her purple ski jacket I bought her a few years ago. I have a weekend to myself coming up (PC's got a curling tournament)... perhaps some coordinating mittens are in order.
And finally, the Steggy. JR's (my nephew is a JR) birthday party went swimmingly. Auntie Mini spoiled him rotten with several outfits, new sneakers, books and a handknit sweater (he got lots of toys for Christmas, the month before). My bro and SIL loved the sweater and I have been promised one of JR in it. I'll post it if I can crop the face out--- I don't put photos of kids online, unless they are mine. :)
I got home from a work trip to San Francisco where I sealed my realization that I am meant to do this job. And i love it. I'm amazed at how natural it feels and how much I am enjoying the work. But, I only had limited knitting time as I was exhausted by 8pm each night. I had cast on for some Monkey socks,using Paton's Croy Sock yarn that I had in the stash. It's "meh" but a coworker who watched me knit on them fell.in.love. And she's the resident no-shoes person at the office, so it's very fitting that she desire hand knit socks. So, they will go live with her. Once I finish sock #2.

Still No Photo

Grrr.. this week has been so....so... busy. I feel like I am running in place all the time. I'm knitting Steggy from Knitty (almost done-- 3 more inches on the hood, put in zipper and make spikes for hood): it is 'due' tomorrow at a birthday party. I don't want to be putting the zipper in, in the car, if you know what I mean.

On top of this, I started a new quilt class and we are working on Yellow Brick Road. A great pattern, I chose great fabrics, but I am running around so much, I have not had time to sit and quilt. And, I really want to quilt.

My mom requested a cowl a few weeks back. I should whip that up this weekend. And line her bag from Mother's Day. Yup. Mother's Day 2009. Gah- what a crappy daughter I am, right?

And finally, we have PC... who's had a cold this week. A bad cold. And when one of us is sick, the house just falls to pieces. I have to clean tomorrow or Sunday before I leave for San Francisco next week... coming home to a dirty house might just kill me.

Did I mention I am going to San Francisco? Yup-- Tuesday to Friday (red eye home Friday night). If you are there (at the conference), look for me...I'll be one of the ones with a walkie-talkie. I love my new job and I am excited to travel, but I am just so damn tired this week, I am not ready to go just yet. And, yes, I've already called Imagiknit to see if they'll be open Friday night. :)

Weekend round-up

I just spent 3 days and 2 nights with the most wonderful, insightful, creative and impassioned women I know: my guild :)  We had our annual retreat to Whispering Pines (at URI) and we laughed, knit, laughed, knit, sang, ate (and ate, and ate, and ate), walked, talked, shared, commiserated, swapped, cajoled and entertained each other. I saw old friends (hi Danielle! hi Lynn!) and new friends (hi Jen K!)... it was superb.

For those who don't know... I coordinate the MetroWest Knitters' Guild, which can be described as a blissful unpaid job that resembles herding cats on somedays and is complete perfection on others. The retreat went off without a hitch, although one camper didn't make it due to a death in the family. We were sad not to have her with us.

I worked on PC's curling socks... black and gray stockinette.... and then I cast on for Huron. I did my first ever turned hem with a contract color...

More photos tomorrow.. today's back to reality (work) and caring for a sniffly PC... who's getting the 'plague' and home today.

What did you do this weekend?

Attention Handbag/Knitting Bag Lovers

Okay, everyone who knows me knows that I rarely carry the same bag twice in a row. I am a bag whore. I am. I love them. The leather ones, the fabric ones, handmade, commercially produced, Coach, Gucci, Dooney & Bourke, Macy's 1 day sale specials, Marshalls clearance rack... doesn't matter. I love me a good bag. I have a zillion + 1 bags (ask PC... he asked me to cut my # by 1/2 before we moved... it still took 5 boxes (big ones) to pack them). I do not have a Jordana Paige bag. I'd love a knitters' satchel (in red, in case you are PC and you want to buy me a knitting bag... yes, I know... another one), but I am not in the place to buy one. Mostly b/c I bought a Lexie Barnes on super discount at Webs a few months back. ;) But, if you have some holiday cash and internet connection and want to feel good about how you spend... here you go:

 From Jordana:

I've been avoiding the news since last Tuesday. I absolutely hate the feeling of helplessness when disasters happen. But avoiding the news isn't going to erase the huge need in Haiti. I know I'm not alone in having a great desire to do something, but have to realize that for most of us, we can't fly over to Haiti to give comfort, hold children and hand out food.

Giving money just never seems like enough. I always want to give more and wish I had a product that I could donate to help with relief. Handbags just aren't going to save a life. I've been thinking a lot on this and have come up with a way, with your help, that handbags can make a difference.

I will be selling all the imperfect handbags in my warehouse for $50 and will donate 100% of each sale to Doctors Without Borders Haiti relief.

My warehouse holds a mix of discontinued bags, including The Knitter's Satchel in Deep Red and Rio in Red Garnet, as well as current styles and colors. The "imperfect" bags don't meet our quality standards. Some have scratches on the fabric, broken zippers, missing removable pouches or upside-down labels. Majority of the "imperfect" bags have very minor problems.

The sale will start next Wednesday, January 27th at 8am PST. Every hour, on the hour, a new color will be made available. All sales will be final. The inside of the bags will be stamped with "final sale" in a hidden location. Due to the high volume of sales that I am expecting, I will not be able to personally identify what is imperfect about each bag. All bags are functional. We wouldn't sell something with a missing handle or hole in the bottom.

Some other details; we will only be accepting orders with USA delivery addresses. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the man-power to ship a huge number of orders internationally. Lastly, I will be charging for shipping. The cost of shipping will not be going to Doctors Without Borders, but to cover the cost of shipping your bag to you. California residents will be charged sales tax.

Please, please, please, share this with friends, post it on your blog, tweet it, Facebook it, you know, the works. Snag the image, spread the word! Together we can make an impact.

Go Scott Go!

Well, history has been made in Massachusetts. Even if you were/are a Coakley supporter and staunch Democrat, you have to admit this was a special election for the record books. As a non-Democrat (I'm not comfortable with Republican and I am too conservative to say Independent), I was watching the election these past few weeks with increased interest.

No, I didn't like the attack ads. Yes, I think both sides are far from innocent when it comes to this... but watching the "shoe-in" candidate scramble at the last minute reminded me of the complacency of Massachusetts politicians. Of all American politicians. It made me think of Canada. Now, I am not a fan of their nationalized healthcare, but I do like the idea that they can boot out a politician if they decide mid-term that they aren't doing their jobs.

Today is a day of change. Real change. Like the very liberal President wants: Change. Perhaps this is a case of "be careful what you wish for, Mr. Obama?"

But, beyond politics... what unites me to you: knitting. I'm knitty Steggy from Julia Farwell-Clay... and I'm on the sleeves. Oh, the sleeves. I'll try to pop up a photo tomorrow, but I have to say: intarsia is not my friend, but once you get going... it's not so bad. Remind me of this later this week when I am on the hood. :)

Please: play nice in the comments.... I rarely discuss politics on here b/c I am a Yankee through and through: keep your religion, politics and hands to yourself. :)

Nursing....

Momma, I can help you knit if you ate too sick....

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Today was going to start with a hey "how are ya?" kinda feel, but I got felled by a "raging" (dr.'s words, not mine) kidney & bladder infection. Yeah. I know. I found some no sugar added cranberry juice and have my heat-up sheep pad ready to go.

But first, some adorableness :)
Pattern: my own : "MC's heart"
Size: to fit a 2.5-3 year old
Yarn: Berroco Comfort, pink and navy (purchased at Knit Purl in Sudbury)
Needles: US 6 dpns and circs
Notes: this might be my new go-to kid yarn. Normally, I would say "encore" but I think this is good. And, the colors are great. I have enough for a puppy dog sweater for Remi. :)

Pattern: my own, with a borrowed dino motif : Carson's Pet Steggy
Size: 6 year old active boy
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash (blue) and Cotton Ease (red): note, I have used this Cotton Ease for like 80 projects... it's the yarn that won't die.
Needles: US 6 dpns & circs
Notes: Next time, I will try to catch my floats better... and next year's mittens/hat combos will be started sooner!

I'm off to bed... battling bacteria is tiresome work.
Look back here all weekend for more fun projects.

:) Mini

PS_ and a big hip-hip-hooray for my boy, PC, who not only cooked dinner but brought home the LARGEST and PINKEST and YELLOWEST bouquet of flowers for his wounded Mini. You know how they say you know a good man when you found one? I knew 7.5 years ago and I am so glad I stuck around. ;)

gifts

There are two kinds of gifts; the 'gifts' that you have (talents, abilities, innate qualities) and the gifts you get. This post is about both.

Gift that I have.
Knitting is a gift. Not everyone can do it, despite what knitters think when they convince a friend to 'just try it'. No, it's a talent. An ability to look at string and sticks and say, hmm... that'd be a great sweater. Mitten. Sock. Quilters do the same thing with fabric. I can't say that I have the 'eye' of a quilter yet, but I am determined to try to get there.

After my quilt class in the fall, I decided to tackle a simple charm-square quilt. Easy, right? Mostly 5 inch charm squares, with a couple of 1/2 triangles thrown in for 'tree-ness'. The inspiration was two-fold. One, I had seen a wall hanging online for this, but it has the tree on a white background and it's 1 1/2 inch squares (read: tiny). Two, on rt 225 in Lincoln, MA... on the way to Westford, there is a tree. It in a field and it gets decorated for Christmas. All by it's lonesome, out there, proudly holding up it's fairy lights. I love that tree. That tree says Christmas to me. I think of that tree and think serenity and peace. And, now....it's in my living room.

Final quilt: 58" x 62"


Gifts you get.
PC, hands-down, wins the award for best non-knitting boyfriend ever. He googled "rare exotic yarn" and found quiviot. Yup. Quiviot. And then he bought it. On Christmas Eve, I opened up a small gift bag and found 218 yds of the most perfect fall of yarn on the planet. It's a golden yellow that reminds me of late autumn... and I have enough to make a delicate lace cowl. With beads. :)

A true gifts is a boyfriend who gets it. I mean, really gets it.
Another gift that I should mention is Pumpkin. She's quite the gift all right. It took 30 tries to get the quilt photo b/c she was on it, under it, trying to get under it, attacking the camera, trying to trip me, and finally....the quiviot shots? She tried to attack the camera strap while i was taking photos.


Not all gifts are well behaved. :)

Sliding Scale....

Look to the right. Yup, the ticker. Check it out: it moved!!! Yup, 5 days on and 7.6lbs down. Holy tamales. I have learned a few things about South-beaching that I will share with you (and Kim, b/c she's a partner-in-arms on this one... we'll be the thin sophisticated ones at SPA this Feb. :) hee hee)

Good things:

• Greek yogurt (non fat, plain) is awesome w/ 1/4 packet sugar free, fat free jello stirred in.
• milk is my friend *
• nobody makes salad like I make salad... 100% green veggies and lettuce.
• Homemade balsamic dressing kicks the store brands patootie
• I can watch PC eat couscous and not want to kill him
• I can't watch him eat chocolate. I nearly died last night.
• My doc gets right on the phone when I tell his nurse that I don't "feel right--- kinda pukey and light headed"

Bad things:

• ketosis (see the milk above; if you get shaky, light headed and pukey... drink milk per doc's orders)
• smelling bread. Srsly. I smell it everywhere
• Spending at least 20 minutes per day planning for my 1st apple in 2 weeks. 14 days X 20 = 280 minutes of dreaming about an apple.
• knit night sandwiches... need to pack snack!
• extreme thirst. Drinking the required water for 2 days means now, you need the required water.

Happy New Year!

One can sit and think about the year in one of two ways: the good or the bad. The things you wanted but did not get or the things you got and didn't know you wanted. It's one of those quirky things about the human condition: our ability to break down a length of time into events/ideas/tangible items and then determine the best way to analyze them. The human condition part comes in when you make the very definite decision to be positive or negative.

I've decided to be positive. We all know that in late 2008, I lost my job; in January, PC got really sick; we've had snow storms, moved, illness... but here's what you don't know....

In 2009, I ....

• found a new career that I love and am really, really good at. Really good. Ask my boss. I amaze her daily
• re-found my love of quilting and took a class. And signed up for another class. And made a quilt by myself in between
• made new friends, and kept old ones, and purged my toxic friendships.
• took control of my health and stood up to my doctor***
• learned that PC and I can do anything as long as we do it together

In 2009, I knit....

• 2 pair of socks
• 2 shawls
• 3 of the same sweater!!! (Olivia and twin sisters, Brooke and Tori have matching outfits)
• 4 hats
• 8 mittens
• 5 scarves
• 4 baby sweaters (not counting the matchy-matchy ones)
• 3 dolls
  

All in all... a good year.

*** standing up to my doctor and taking control of my health. This is something that I think all women should do and I don't think we do because we don't want to seem pushy, rude, ungrateful, or like a know-it-all. In 2009, my doctor said the words "weight loss surgery" to me more than once. I fought to get someone else to look at my test results and I have to say, what a relief when you see a doctor who wants to help you. Dr. Schreiber, you rock.

In the upper right of this blog, you will see a new ticker... a weight loss ticker. Each week, I'll update the number and we'll all watch it move to the right. I'll also post my loss in a posting each week as well. Medication and a modified (highly) South Beach Diet will be my tools. And you. You are my cheerleaders. :)

Christmas Eve Mayhem

Now, I don't usually blog about where PC and I, but we live in Newton, MA. In Nonantum, to be specific. Also known affectionately as "the lake." There is not lake, there is the Charles River (about 200 feet from my house), but no lake that we have found yet.

Newton is not known for its Christmas celebrations, as it is usually associated with the large Jewish population that resides here. Nonantum is a bit different: we have two populations here, Italian Catholics and Orthodox Jews. The very conservative orthodox temple is nearby and within walking distance on Shabbat and Our Lady's takes care of the Italians. :)

Antoine's the local bakery and happens to be near my house. PC called me just shy of 7am to report " a mob outside of Antoine's"--- they open at 7am. So, of course, I took a photo on my way to work today. if you look close, you can see... those people are squeezed in tighter than the Green Line T after a Sox game.

And more people waited across the street for the fish shop to open (night of fishes).

Now, I am a Catholic by birth and this kind of scene makes me say "oy vey."

Merry Christmas to you all and to all a good night!
Be Merry, Be happy and most of all be safe!

Happy Holidays,
Mini, PC and Pumpkin, the wonder cat. :)

Roar!

Thanks for your support yesterday. It means a lot to know my knitters are on my side!

Well, the color's not perfect, but you can definitely see the dinosaur in this photo. I finished this up after knit night at Island Yarn on Monday. It's a combo of C220 superwash (blue) and Cotton Ease (red). I have to fold the brim back up onto itself and stitch it down. Hopefully this will 1) fit a 5-6 year old head and 2) be cool enough for the school yard :)
So, my little cousin, Carson, will get his ROAR on with his new dino hat. Mittens to follow soon... these are New Year's presents.

More tomorrow on the tree, the mittens with the cuff from hell and waiting for Santa!

Resolute

¹res·o·lute 

Pronunciation: \ˈre-zə-ˌlüt, -lət\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin resolutus, past participle of resolvere

Date: 1533

1 : marked by firm determination : resolved <a resolute character>
2 : bold, steady <a resolute gaze>

synonyms see faithful

In 2010, I am going to be resolute. Recently, I started doing something in my life that is shocking (to me) and freeing (to me): I have been standing up for myself. To everyone. I spent 31 years as a doormat. Being the good daughter, the sister who let her brothers walk all over her, tolerating being called names by family, and not being respected as an adult, a person or a woman. Well, in October, I turned 32 and it had to change.

PC and I had a long talk this fall about my happiness. And I realized, I am happy and I am a good person. But, I let other people take that away from me (several in particular). I'm tired of bending until I am ready to break in order to guarantee that someone will be less miserable, never mind happy. They don't bend to assist in my happiness.

I was afraid that in these 3 months I would have become a more jaded, less helpful, less cheerful person. I was afraid of losing that chatterbox-smiling-thinking-

of-others Mini that so many call friend.  I know a few things about myself: I am intelligent, creative, passionate and make good decisions.

I didn't change. I let myself be happy and I let it all go. I did. My sibling who is constantly belittling and berating me? Gone. It's his problem... not mine. His actions will simply not be permitted in my presence; either I leave or I ask him to. My sibling that assumes that since I am a woman, I have no real job and therefore can accommodate his whims on a moment's notice? Sayonara, my friend. When I didn't comply, he was forced to do it himself and didn't achieve the result he wanted. It happens and we all have to learn to deal with it.

Don't get the wrong idea, I haven't thrown my family away or even removed them from my life. I love them and I want the best for them, but I am not responsible for their happiness. This was learned behavior from my siblings... I taught them it was okay to treat me like crap, that I was not worthy of more. Well, they are old dogs about to learn new tricks.

So, in addition to the following resolutions, I am resolving to be resolute in my decisions. I am a confident woman who has been undermined for too many years. It's time to let Mini shine.

2010 Resolutions:
1. knit more stash yarn. it's a problem.
2. learn to budget better... casa de Mini y PC will be a reality in 3-4 years.
3. stick to dr's orders and take medicine, eat right... and save my own life
4. be resolute about the above paragraphs, which should reduce stress eating
5. walk more. move more. exercise more.
6. go to spin class... love spin class!
7. love PC a little bit more each day... and tell him.
8. enjoy life now, but plan for later... don't wait for the fun start!
9. be a better friend
10. say NO when I need to or even when I want to.

hats & mittens

Many thanks for the well wishes while I was sick. It's been on and off for a week now, and I am feeling a lot better. With all my Christmas knitting (which was few and far between) done, I can move onto very important things, like hats and mitten sets for some of the cousins' kids.

First up, dino hat with mittens. I found the dino graph on Ravelry, and yes, it's a steggy. The designer also had a brontosaurus. :) Cast on 100 stitches, 1 1/2 inch k2, p3; then switch to p2, k2 (for turning) for 1 1/2 inches. Then knit 4 rounds, start chart.
The dino's little sister is 100% all girl and all things girly. So, a cute heart beret. Pattern will be up on my site before Valentines' Day.
And, while I am knitting and PC's out shoveling, Pumpkin was wondering... Is the snow gone yet?

I didn't mean to just abandon you all like that! Life took over and while I'm still not up to speed on my knitting, I am knitting. My 2nd quilting class starts Jan 14th... and I cannot stop dreaming about the quilt!

Yesterday left me at home, gargling salt water and praying for death. Today there is an added cough, the lymph nodes are swollen and tender, and my head feels a bit foggy. It's not a cold.. I am definitely a nose-dripping cold kind of girl. I'm wondering if its allergies? I did spend a few hours with some adorable pups and it's been awhile since I was exposed to dog hair.

Holiday knitting is pretty non-existent. I purchased most gifts this year (easier and I don't spend Christmas night wondering if people *really* liked their gifts). I did knit a hat for an aunt, a scarf for a cousin, and my brother's gf requested a scarf, but is getting a cowl... and am working on two hats for two smaller members of the family. They can be shipped up after Christmas though. I'll show photos tomorrow, okay?

On my 'wishlist to knit' this week: Rav links
Maine Morning Mitts
Auda Beret
Tulip Yoke Baby Cardi
and finally finish my Girl Friday!

Holiday Newsletter

I was reading about Lucia's recent Thanksgiving fiasco (she's prone to breaking ovens, don't invite her over if you have cookies due for a swap this weekend! ha ha ha)... and she said that it was good that she doesn't write a holiday newsletter. I got to thinking... this might be how ours would go...

Dear Friends and Family,
2009 was certainly a year of firsts for PC and Mini. When you last heard from us, we had been remarking how fortunate 2008 had been and how we couldn't wait for Christmas. Two days after mailing the cards, I lost my job. We agreed it was too late to return gifts and after checking with Emily Post and Miss Conduct, it was established that asking for "rent" was not considered "okay" at the holidays.

Keeping with the holiday spirit, PC thought we ought to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday entertaining our local hospital employees. We played a raucous game of 'how high can you go?' with his blood pressure. At 3am, a very kind, sweet, young nurse asked me if I was PC's mom... and that's when I made a mental note to wear more makeup. We went from a very normal 30 something couple to people who worried about salt content. Forever cheerful, we established 'not dead' as our motto.

February, March, April and May.... I looked for a job, tried to remember to shower, interviewed 12 times and got rejected 12 times. PC was spiritual in his daily reminders that 'something will come along'. PC and I tested our relationship by discussing how long I'd look for a job 'that speaks to me' before taking contract work in a lab. Wonder at how strong our relationship is.... secretly hope that like dinner plans and birthday parties, PC will forget our agreement. Smile and wonder at the strength of our relationship. Throughout this time, I developed a relationship with our cat, Pumpkin. Once she realized I was going to be around all day, she stopped hissing and taught me how to give her cookies.

June. We decided to move. Just because I was out of work, getting unemployment, and we had no idea when I'd get a job, doesn't mean we can't move! Moving gave me a project! I cleaned, organized and packed. I searched for apartments on the internet. I called agents and landlords. We met Satan. She owns a lovely 2 family on Middlesex Rd in Watertown.

July. We went on vacation to Niagara Falls. LOVED it. Resisted all temptation to throw myself into falls so that PC could have life insurance money. Remembered: Life insurance disappeared with job. July was also the filing of my first 'extension' for unemployment... cried to state worker over the phone. Very nice man named Brian talked me through the very easy process of "do you need an extension?" question. I continued to cry. Discovered I do have pride.

August. Applied, interviewed and received job offer. Read and re-read job offer letter to make sure they weren't joking.

September, October, and November.... slowly regaining my ability to get up and go to work every day. And just like last year... we're really looking forward to Christmas!

Thankful Thursdays--- Finale

Wow... only 4 short weeks in this month of thankfulness. Today's the day... Thanksgiving, Turkey Day, or Gobble Gobble is what I call it.

I have so much in my life to be thankful for... my home (it's rented), my cat (it's adopted) and my family. I should be stating that I am thankful for my job, my car, my clothes, my bank account, my furniture and even my food today, but I can't.

This past year, I have lost a job, been rejected more times than I can count... and I'm still here. I'm still fighting back. It's not perfect. I love my new job, I am thankful I have it, but it's not perfect. I love our new apartment (and what were we thinking adding an extra $400 to the budget without me having a job????), I am thankful I have it, but it's far from perfect.

What I am thankful for is the strength I had this past year. To get out of bed every morning and shower. To get up and sit at the computer for hours and hours, sending resumes that weren't read, asking for jobs I didn't want and smiling everyday at 4pm, because it wasn't fair to not be happy when I didn't have to work. So many days, I thought about how much easier it would be to stay in bed. To not shower. To not leave the house. So many days when my self-imposed lunch break was eating 1/2 a sandwich and crying to the cat... and then cleaning myself up and pushing on. I was strong this year. Stronger than I have ever been. I received a lot of support (PC, especially), but a whole lot of it came from me. This year I am thankful that I found out I am a strong, creative, generous, kind woman that I always wanted to be.

Knitting!

I've been knitting! This is a toddler sweater (size 4T) for my cousin's daughter, Livvie. She's a big sister now! The yarn is Bollocine that I had in the stash... it's a pattern that you make bigger by upsizing your needles and yarn. I did add 10 rows of garter stitch to each sleeve though.

And, here are all 3 matching sweaters together: big sister and two new baby twin sisters. :)

Why does this woman look so happy? This is a new friend, Val, who I met at my quilting class. Yup, I have been taking a quilting class--- very basic,but it helped reinforce some things I needed to relearn or learn brand new. I loved the class so much, I am signed up for the next one!
This is my quilt from class. I love it. It's the first time I have ever made a quilt that came out square. Everything from the cutting to the hand stitching of the binding was an experience.

Daily dose of reality. This article/post on Boston.com's very popular "love letters", has proven to be a way to stir up conversation.

The gist: a guy met a girl 1 1/2 years ago, they've been dating... and she gained weight. Now he wants to know how/if he should dump her. He states that she wasn't 'small' to start with, but now it's on the border of restricting their love life. Translation: he doesn't want to have sex with her anymore.

Today's LL got like 200+ comments... about 50/50 women to men. It's mind boggling the amount of good, bad and just idiotic advice that was provided.

And, it also makes me thankful for something today. Thankful for my better half, PC. He's seen my weight go up , go down... he's tolerated it. I know it bothers him, but we are this together and I am thankful each day that he's the yin to my yang.... even if my yang is twice the size it used to be.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful for modern medicine. PC's dad had to have open heart surgery earlier this week and last night, he'd already been through physical therapy, climbed stairs and was off pain medication. It truly amazes me that we have doctors who can literally hold your heart in their hands, fix it and have you home in a week. It's remarkable. PC's dad is, obviously, doing well and he's receiving 1st class care at a local hospital.

Beyond this immediate thankfulness, there is the overwhelming thankfulness for Dr. Zhu and Dr. Ferguson at the MGH who saved my dad from esophogeal cancer... when so many doctors within their own group said he wasn't able to be saved. They worked together, were aggressive to the cancer, lovely to my family, and my dad's watching his grandson have his 1st Christmas this year.

My mom's illness is also tough to treat, but her pulmonologist will not give up on her. She recently entered an experimental treatment that uses low impact exercise to improve lung function in emphysema and diminshed pulmonary capacity patients. An 'old fashioned' treatment of removing a pint of blood has made an amazing difference in her lifestyle and abilities.

Modern medicine, caring doctors and unlimited access to great facilities... something to be thankful for.

The true meaning

...of giving. It's here. In this story. Go read it and then come back. I'll wait.

You back?

Good. So, what does this wonderful human interest story in our 'local' paper tell us? That giving doesn't have to be with all the hoopla. I spent 4 years of college volunteering, and never stating a word about it. I just did it. PC and I give to Lazarus House (please join us, it's in dire need again this year) each year, but while we ask others to participate, we never disclose how much we give.

It's about doing the good thing for the sake of the good thing. I think Mr. Stone is the last of the mohicans... a true standout gentleman who looked around, saw the community where he has a business and said "hmm. they need "X"." and then gave them X. Mr. Stone has the money, the resources and the mindset to do this and I, for one, think it's great.

Nothing is named after him, he's already provided for his children (he owns Sterilite) and I think he might have wanted to see the good he does. A moment of pride. That's it.

So, god bless Mr. Stone... and keep up the good work.

I'm thankful for....

Imagination, the one I have and the ones that others have. Look down at your cell phone. Your iPod. Your car alarm thingie. Someone used their imagination and said "what if...." I work with a large amount of "what if" people, people who's creativity knows no bounds and who think mine is limitless as well. It has been my good fortune to have a creative lifestyle and an outlet for my need/desire/urge to create. I love watching little children play... their imaginations are so alive! A toy truck can be a telephone, or it can be a baby carrier. The ability to look at something and see not only what it is, but what it can be.... this is the part of my imagination that I love. As knitters, we look around a room filled with balls of string, essentially, and say "i can see that as a sweater" or a hat, or socks.... we imagine the potential. And, it's an amazing gift.

Is your imagination limitless? What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursdays

Well, Carole says I started it, but wow... she really took an idea and ran with it!


My thankfulness comes today from being thankful for my time. PC gives me 'my time' without complaint and I'm not sure I ever really appreciated it until recently. I've always been fairly casual about stating that since PC and I don't have kids (yet), we are free to do whatever we like, whenever we like. But, that is as a couple. As an individual within a couple, I have responsibilities toward the other individual, PC. Years have gone by with me running off to knit night, having shoved some dinner in his general direction and heard the following words "I love you, be careful and have fun *click**click* (makes general knitting movements)" I need this time, he knows I need this time. All the weekend retreats (SPA, the guild sleepover, Rhinebeck)... no complaints. Yes, one or two mentions of being "taken over" by yarn, but I'm learning to keep it in one (or three) rooms... and he looks before he sits. :)

But, it's the time. I need my time to create. To be. To want. To do. In a crazy world with massive economic problems (we were one of those problems, remember? 10 months of unemployment), I am thankful to have a good job that allows me the time to knit and be creative. And I am really thankful for PC for always having known I needed it.

I am thankful today for:

• the time available to be creative
• the time to prepare nutritious food
• the time to listen to leaves crunch

Join the Thankful Thursdays.... you'll be in good company. Add to the comments each week... and let me know if you are blogging on Thankful Thursdays.
Carole
Susan
KmKat
Simply Sock Yarn
Lisa
Zarzuela
SuperChunk
Crazy knitting fool
Noolie
Painted Sheep
Danielle (mostly b/c TT got her to blog again)
Ruth
Vicki
Kathy
Terri
Margene

Babies! Socks! Snot!

Have you ever just been so tired of being tired? I'm there. I'm over this cold... make it go away! I'm tired of waking up with that 'crud in my eyes, mouth, nose" feeling. So, I'm going to focus on the positives: dinner with a friend from California tonight. Work is only 8 hours long. My family has 2 new babies as of Sunday! The twins--- they are here! My cousin Sue had her baby girls on Sunday. Now, I just gotta hop to getting O's sweater done and mail them all up --- I think I can do it by Monday.

I'm thankful today for:

• hot tea with milk
• advil cold'n'sinus--- I know it has pseudoephedrine, it's why it works, and it's why I love it. I'm not making meth with it, but if meth cured colds... I'd be first in line.
• warm kitty sitting on my handknit socked feet. She's purring and it makes my toes tickle.

Spooktacular

So, in addition to having a cold, we had some company this weekend! My bff, Sylvie, brought her hubby and son (my nephew), Remi, to go trick or treating! Sylvie, being French and living here for 6 years, had never been trick or treating! So, we took Remi, age 14 months, trick or treating. He lasted 5 houses. :)

A dinner of Chinese take out and chilling with friends was just what we needed.

Sunday day: knitting with Dora, drinking free (shh!) lattes and catching up. Our hours of knitting fly by when it's just us hanging out.

Sunday, it was OUR turn to treat... Celtics! Celtics won, by more than a handful of points, beating the New Orleans Hornets... it was a good game, but not great. Pretty choppy in the first half, with more and more fouls being called. Being me, I noticed that the Hornets used all 5 of their personal fouls before the 6 minute mark each quarter. The Celtics only used all 5 of theirs in one quarter. So, yes... a slower paced game. BUT, I got to see 4 really good dunks--- which I have never seen in a professional game, in person. We walked through the cool night air to Government Center to catch a D train (skipping all the craziness of North Station on a game night)... and I realized just how much I miss being in the city.

And, since it's November and Thanksgiving lands this month.... I'm trying something new. Each day that I blog, I will post 3 things I am thankful for. Feel free to join me in the comments.

1. my health (even with my cold): I'm overweight, but have been relatively healthy this year
2. PC, who loves me even when I don't deserve it and who is my rock
3. my family. Crazy, all of them, but this is the reason I love them most.