Purl for a Purpose

The Pine Street Inn is hosting a knit-a-thon to make blankets for the homeless. Now, I know that Island Yarn is knitting away (customers and employees!) on squares and I have seen a few at my guild meeting... so, what's a 9X9 inch square? 30 minutes? An hour? You can do it!!! Grab your needles and knit!
(my corporate competitor is hosting this event, but this makes me more determined to get MY company involved next year. Does YOUR company match your charitable donations?? MINE does--- ask your HR rep about your company's policy on charitable giving.)

There is an event coming up:

Date:		Sunday, November 9, 2008
Time:		11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where:		Hosted by GE Healthcare, 116 Huntington Avenue, Boston (Across from the Prudential Center and accessible by the Prudential and Copley stops on the Green line and Back Bay station on the Orange line.)
Why:		To make a difference in the lives of formerly homeless men and women

Info from the webpage:

How to Get Started

STEP 1:		Sign up today! To sign up or for questions, please e-mail Eric Monty or call 617-892-9173.
STEP 2:		Create your own web page for pledges! Go to www.firstgiving.com/pinestreetinn and follow the easy instructions to set up your personalized pledge page where you can direct friends and family members to donate to Pine Street.
STEP 3:		Start Fundraising! Ask your friends and family to either make a donation on your Web site or pledge on a per-square basis. (For example: $1 per square x 50 squares = $50.) Read our tips for fundraising. Although fundraising is not a requirement, we strongly encourage all knitters to fundraise or make a personal donation to support Pine Street.
Step 4:		Start Knitting! Even though the event is in November, begin knitting now! Knit as many 9" x 9" squares as possible. We will knit squares at the event, but pre-knitted squares will allow us to assemble more blankets.
STEP 5:		Tell all knitters! Invite your friends to join in the fun.

Warm Woolies

Warm Woolies is a great charitable organization that helps children both here (US) and abroad. It primarily works with native American reservations (some of the poorest children in the US live on reservation lands... ) and Eastern European orphanages, which offer suffer from lack of heat. I have a few pairs of wee mittens that will be winging off to them this winter.

They offer free patterns for donations, too... what a great idea!

Here the guidelines and address:

Feel free to use any child-sized pattern you like so long as it follows these four guidelines:

• First, we use wool. The kids we're knitting for live in extremely cold climates. Wool is warm and stays warm even when it's wet. It also holds up better and we intend for the items we knit to be passed down as they are outgrown.
• Second, any child-sized items are welcome. By "child-sized" we mean newborn to 16 years old. If your item turns out larger or smaller than you intended, that can be your secret! Whatever you knit will fit a child and be a blessing.
• Third, the warmer the item is, the better. Warm Woolies patterns call for size 10 1/2, 24' circular needles and bulky or doubled worsted weight yarn. Finer weight yarns are okay only for the smallest sized items.
• Fourth, think coverage and closure. A little too long is fine in a hat, sweater, vest, or sock cuff - a little too short is not. Sweaters and vests need to close securely all the way down.
• Fifth, if you have acrylic yarn, please consider making a baby blanket. You can follow any pattern you would like, the warmer the better.
• Please send finished pieces to
  Warm Woolies
  5572 E. Mansfield Ave.
  Denver, CO 80237

Note: they are 501(c), so your donation is tax deductible.

Red Scarf

The Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf drive is in full swing. You have until October 31st to get your scarf to them!

Orphan Foundation of America
The Red Scarf Project
21351 Gentry Drive
Sterling, VA 20166

Rules:

Scarf Size: Approximately 60" long and 5" to 8" wide. Scarves should be long enough to be wrapped around the neck, with tails long enough to be tied in the front.

Style: Think unisex collegiate. Ask yourself if your son, brother, and/or husband would enjoy receiving the scarf. Fringes are optional. Your scarf should drape and tie easily.

Yarn: Preferably DK, double fingering-weight, worsted weight, or light bully yarns. No laceweight, super-chunky, or mohair yarns as there are many people who find mohair too itchy. The yarn should be soft.

Color: Red! However, this could mean burgundy, cherry, russet, red stripes with other colors, or multicolor hues including red. Other unisex colors, including black, navy, teal, olive or gold are also welcome.

Finished and tagged: Yarn ends should be securely sewn in. For a personal touch, attach a tag saying "Handmade for You" with your first name, city, and group affiliation, if any. Donors have also included washing instructions, messages of encouragement, gift cards, burger bucks, books of stamps, etc.

Warmer Winters

Warmer Winters is an organization that knits items for donation in the Leominster and Fitchburg area. It uses volunteer knitters and also has ambitions of being a co-op for disadvantaged women who can sell their knitted items.

The Metro West Knitting Guild is currently collecting knitted items for donation: must be machine washable, adult/child/baby items needed.

Central Massachusetts has the largest population of children under the poverty level in the state. Organizations in this area often have difficult times raising funds or meeting the community needs because the entire area is struggling. Chronicle recently had a segment on Fitchburg and the new Main Streets program for revitalization.

If you are looking for a charitable cause during the season of giving, please contact Warmer Winters.

*Warmer Winters is not a 403(c), so your donation is not tax deductible.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last night, at the guild meeting, I was dubbed a princess and provided a tiara! (which I wore through out the meeting.... i might wear it to Disney this weekend.)

A princess, you say? What makes ME a Princess?

I have strong feelings about birthdays. I think you should celebrate and shout from the rooftops, if that's your thing. I don't believe in ignoring your birthday. At all. It's a special day commemorating the day you landed on this earth. A very special day. No "it's just a day" or "ignore it, I'm too old"--- nope. I want a cake and a card and someone to say "Happy Birthday!" to me. I like me. I like that my mom and dad made me. I am eternally grateful that my mom had me.

So, today's my birthday and I am giving DIANE a present!

Diane- send me your address (do I already have it?) and I will send you a surprise in the mail.

Tonight, I am having world-famous PC-made corn chowder (it has asparagus and if have seen my house, you know about asparagus!) and I already got a card from both PC and Pumpkin.

My friend Mari called me to sing "happy birthday!" this morning.

It's a good day. It's my birthday!!!

Exhaustion

I am in that place where waking up in the morning is impossible. Staying awake past 10pm is unthinkable. I am dozing off at my lunch hour. My hands hurt from sheer exhaustion.

You know that level of tired when it hurts to make a fist?

I'm there.

Damn. I need this vacation... no wake up calls on Sunday, okay honey?

Get ready to .... Cowl?

Usually October is the month where you get ready to Howl... big harvest moons, chillier air and of course, Halloween. I had an idea for a friend (who shares my birthday, yes... you were all right- Thursday is my 31st birthday! I'll pull a name on that day) who needs a present. She's a new mom and routinely takes her new son for walks in the baby bjorn carrier thing. But she needs to stay warm too (he's well bundled... he has a fleece snowsuit and a winter one) and a scarf kept getting pulled on her neck when the baby shifted. So, the cowl was the answer!















(before and after blocking)

Pretty, huh? But, wait! There are TWO cowls here and unless my friend is a two-headed new mommy... she only needs one. I have found cowls are like potato chips. You. Cannot. Knit. One. Nope.














Pink for S. The buttons are from the League of NH Craftsman's Fair-- S picked them out for me a few years ago... little does she know that I have been waiting to use them for her.

Yarn: Manos de Uruguay
Needles: US 9 nylon circulars
Pattern: Philly Cowl (Rav link) by splityarn.com
Modifications: none, but the thick'n'thin yarn was harder to deal with than I expected. The overall product is beautiful (blocking is a miracle), but throughout, I was concerned about the texture. Now, I love it!















And the Blue??
Yarn: Malabrigo --- oh, yum....














I have an aunt in PA who just loves Blue. All things Blue. So, this one is for her. She's also the mom of two boys and I don't think they knit for her. And she deserves it. She's a nice aunt and I know she will be tickled pink(blue?) when this arrives for Christmas.















We're off on vacation at the end of this week. I am trying to think of stuff to pre-blog for while i am away. Also, we have some family stuff going on, so think good happy thoughts for us.

One week from today.......

Today is EXACTLY one week (7 days) from a very special day.

Anyone guess what it is?

Guessing correctly might win you a prize.....

(Mariuca, no giving away the answer in the comments!)

-Mini

PS_ No muscle cramps last night thanks to Icy Hot (oh god did I smell awful, but PC also had some on for muscle pain from working out- we smelled like old people) and a banana-chocolate-peanut butter-milkshake.

FO!

(crappy Palm Centro shot)

Pattern: Branching Out (Knitty)
Yarn: Frog Tree Merino, Purple, 2 skeins
Needle: US 8 20 inch circular nylon
Dimensions: 60 inches long, 6 inches wide
Comments: LOVE It! I am thinking of making a few more of these. :) This pattern was easy to memorize and the scarf flew along. I think they'd make excellent gifts. I am not planning to knit for the holidays, but some friends will most likely receive a few handknits. Small things. Mittens. Scarves. In fact, this might be the perfect color on my aunt.

QUESTION: I am using some of those puzzle-mats as my blocking surface. They are new and they stink of petroleum. Anyone had this problem? Am I going to have to bite the bullet and buy the knitter-specific ones? The ones that advertise in VK and IK? Do they stink too???

And, this is one bored cat. Bored b/c someone was busy rushing around taking photos and brushing teeth (slept in today!-- horrible muscle cramp in the middle of the night-- 3:40a.m. screaming and crying in pain... still hobbling around this morning) to pay attention to a kitty who wants to be carried.

This is funny because when we first got her, Pumpkin hated being picked up. Now, she will head-butt me until I pick her up.

On a side note: doctors-nurses-anyone: how to prevent muscle cramps in the legs? I get them something awful and my screaming and crying can wake up the neighborhood if I am not careful. I know PC jumps up and into action. My dad always said "stand on it!!" (this has been a problem since childhood) and while that works eventually, I have fallen more than once doing this.

Late Bloomer

I was always the 'early one' for everything. First girl to have a growth spurt, first to get boobs, first for all the accompanying misery that is adolescence. But, in terms of financial planning and saving? Totally late to the game.

I'm an instant gratification girl in some ways. I like buying something. Now. I can wait for vacations and plan for them, financially, no problem. So, I had to start thinking of my retirement as one big vacation. And save for it. I *never* look at my 401k. I put money there (7%....I know, I know... put 15%, but it's not going to happen) and my company puts money there (100% of up to 6% after 4 years) and there it sits. Someone somewhere does something with it. If I really wanted to know, I'd ask Al. (Al is Mari's hubby and a smart finance-y person. He also works where my 401k is sitting.) I could ask my brother (another finance-y person) but he's a know-it-all and well, that makes me itchy.

All this market rollercoastering had me wondering... what would this do to my 401k??

I logged in (after several password attempts-- yup, been that long) and voila! DOWN 6.8% since January. So, who's money are they losing? I am going with the one my company puts in... yeah, it's their half that is going down.

Just recently, I was able to go from paycheck-to-paycheck to a real savings account and 401k. Before then, it was "oh crap, not enough for bills." A healthy work bonus helped, but it also kicked my ass into gear. I'm budgeting better (minus yarn purchases) and getting ready for the future. Last week, I had a conversation with a banker about CDs and how to "ladder" them to compound my interest.

Who am I?

Certainly not the girl who used to dig for change to turn in at coinstar. For gas money.

We're off to Disney in a few weeks (like 12 days) and I'm going on a budget. Tickets have been purchased and I am taking one pre-paid Visa with me. (and my emergency card in case I need to re-book a flight or something)

My new pet

Doesn't it look like she took blue wool and left it underneath a tree... and the sunlight's dancing just the right way over the blue? The resulting yarn from PumpkinMama....
my new pet. I'm gonna call him Mr. SunnySkies. :) (The colorway is SummerSky and the yardage is ~275yds. Pattern suggestions accepted. It's merino, so head covering is what I am thinking!)

WIPs and yarn!

I have had exactly 6 hours in the lab this week. The other 34? Meetings. Good lord, the meetings.

I am super super excited. I said i would wait until it arrived, but I am too excited.

Do you know Pumpkin Mama? She has an Etsy shop where I like to drool and pretend I can spin. I can't spin. You all should know that. I can't do it. I am spinning deficient. PumpkinMama spins though. We worked something out and some of her hand-dyed fluff-o-rific wool has been magically changed into yarn (!!) for me. Like 300yds of it. Oh.my.god. She said it's done, it's been wetted (is this when you soak the yarn and whack the daisy out of it to somehow make the twistie part stay put?) and will be here soon.

I need to speed knit PC's sweater so I can play with my new handspun when it arrives. I might just keep it in my purse and pet it for a few days.

Don't look at me like that. You know you would do it too.

Photos when it arrives.

PC-sweater photo (in progress) soon too... I am almost done with the back. I am hoping 2 days of rain and football result in a front too!

Registration

I spent my first hours of the morning at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Yes, it's that time again: new drivers' license. The photo is horrible and is HUGE motivation to lose some weight. ha ha ha.

An odd occurrance at the Registry this morning, though. I'd like to share it b/c it perplexed me so much.

A gentleman (*cough* I am being very generous here) was in the back of the "wait in line before they open" line and was NOT happy. He huffed and puffed and tried to move to the front of the line. (Now, in the U.S. line jumping is not a way to make friends. ) He got nowhere fast. And he lost his original place in line. Next, he went through the line to the 'greeter' (once again, being very generous--- walmart has happier employees than this Registry) and got his number to wait (again) for his turn. He was not happy. He paced. He waited for each window to open up and then would rush the window (even though it was not his turn, indicated by the number they give you) and try to push (physically) the person who's turn it WAS. Anywho... this happens once. Twice. Three times....oh and it's the charm. He jumps in front of ME to get to the window. *sigh* Not really in the mood for crazies today and feeling somewhat "you aren't better than me buddy-- get back in line!", I don't move. I go about my business... trying to keep the man from knocking me down and then... the skies opened and the angels sung.

In Massachusetts, the Registries have State Police Troopers instead of security guards.

Imagine, being physically removed and (maybe?) arrested at the Registry of Motor Vehicles for impatience.

I'm impatient by nature. God, I got your message. I will play nicer and practice my patience from now on!

Happy Hooker

Now, now... it's not knitting, but it is a fiber art. Crochet. Love it or hate it. I used to ONLY crochet and for fast projects (Ahem: Red Scarf Project Scarves??) it's a no brainer. It does hurt my wrist a little, but I think it was b/c I had been away from it so long.










Pattern is the Acorn Bag (see on Ravelry)
Yarn: Acorn is Ella Rae; "cap" is Cascade220 and Rustic tweed held together.
Buttons: JoAnns
Speed: done in a day.

Conclusion: great little sock yarn bag --- needs a nubbin on top and a ribbon for a 'handle'. I blocked it b/c 1) it needed it and 2) the cap needed some reinforcement of it's shape.

I will be making another one of these soon.....

Trader Joes

Here's a few of my favorite point-friendly foods from TJ's.

Trader Joes

Dairy

Light string cheese

Fat free feta cheese

Low fat “shredded” mix of cheese

Soy milk (chocolate)

Frozen

Individual tilapia pieces

Breaded halibut pieces

Breaded cod filets

Orange chicken (good with broccoli—just like take out!)

Spicy green beans (serve with plain chicken--- yummmm)

Ginger carrots

Broccoli

Green beans

Corn

Asparagus

* a note about the veggies- I find TJ’s frozen veggies far superior to any canned/frozen alternative

Dry goods

Whole wheat pasta (cheaper and healthier!)

Pizza sauce

Soups! (sweet potato bisque and butternut squash are household faves—add curry to the squash soup—delish!)

Chicken broth

Relish (cranberry)

Grapeseed oil

Balsamic vinegar

Better’N’Butter Peanut Butter (tastes less like peanut butter, more like squished peanuts)

Joe-Os

Granola bars (all kinds)

Beef jerky

Almonds—the 4 point packs are good portion control!

Oprah moment

Navy. The color I chose for PC’s sweater is Cascade 220 in Navy. He looks very handsome in all tones of blue and I think a navy sweater on a man is 1) very versatile and 2) casual when necessary. This sweater is for the cold months coming up – dinners out that require more than a sweatshirt, less than a ties; days when the air feels so good and crisp but it’s still got quite a nip to it; and an effort to keep our heating bill in the lower digits.

Thanks for the support on my WW “journey”… jeez, doesn’t that sound hokey? “journey.” Like I am getting in a boat and finding a new world. No. I am not. I am not re-discovering myself. I am trying to lose weight so that I look like what I feel like. That’s not so bad, is it? I really don’t need to have an Oprah moment about this. Have you ever noticed that? Women in my demographic or slightly older (30+) have this need to have what I call “oprah moments.” These moments of intense meaning and self worth and clarity in their lives. I am all for some navel-gazing: it’s good for the soul, but too much navel gazing means you miss what’s going on around you. And, I think it sets us up for disappointment. A cousin once told me that she thought motherhood was this instantaneous bond with her child that would fill her soul and finally give her life direction. She prepared for this inner light to shine through her and into her child’s life. She finally admitted that while she felt responsible for her child and was happy to be a mom… there was little immediate satisfaction in a screaming infant. Those moments of peace where when the little one finally fell asleep and she could do so also. The inner light in her faded very fast due to limited sleep and a very demanding child. She felt isolated even with her family surrounding her. In this conversation, I got the feeling that she felt like she had done something wrong. That, in some way, not having this “clouds parting, finally seeing the mystery of life” moment was somehow her fault. No Oprah moment = failure.

I will not set myself up to fail. I am going to Disney World (the happiest place on earth…) in a few weeks for a vacation with PC’s family. There will be food and being on vacation with someone else’s family can always be stressful, but I will be walking everyday and enjoying healthy choices. Disney’s mysterious happiness doesn’t include a zero calorie factor in their food. Right? Christmas is coming soon and I love cookies. I don’t need to have 3 of every kind. One is good. Being choosy and saying “what’s your favorite?” and trying only one is better. Enjoying the people and not the food is the best.

PC and I were invited to France for the New Year and while we still don’t know if we are going, it’s an opportunity. Being overweight is not a reason to not participate or not take advantage of an opportunity.

No Oprah moments.

cho is me.....

I am sure that as like most American women (according to the media and some recent studies), I am somewhat weight-obsessed. As an obese person who has struggled with her weight for almost 25 years (yes, it began at age 6), I will say this: food is life. My body requires me to eat a certain number of calories per day to survive. How I choose to eat those calories is the stuff that fad diets are made of.

I have been a Weight-Watcher for 8 years now. I have gained, lost, committed, recommitted and it’s been a real roller coaster. Living your life while constantly analyzing the minutia of what you are eating is taxing, degrading and fuel for a psychotic breakdown. So, I don’t. I do WW. Of course, right now, I am doing WW “offline” as I have given enough money to the company at this point…. And I really need to work some stuff out, like my carb to protein ratio. And that will involve some scale “wiggle” (+/- depending on the ratio) for a few weeks.

PC is right behind me, fully supporting my goals and gently (okay, sometimes NOT SO GENTLY) pushing me to exercise more. He’s really into adding fitness to the weight loss equation. He doesn’t care what size I am as long as I am fit. By the by, PC lost almost 75-80lbs last year doing WW. He looks and feels (to both of us!) great!

An effort to make this WW thing a “full time” adventure and not something I do occasionally--- I am tracking using an Excel sheet someone gave me awhile back. I can track my points at all times. I am considering switching from my Blackberry to a Palm Treo (or iPhone) so that I can keep my points with me and have a point calculator at all times. Our house is currently filled with healthy foods that consist of very few snacks and very few “trigger” foods. (trigger food: ice pops. Diet soda. Chips.)

The food thing has always boggled me b/c I LOVE food. I truly do. I like cooking, I like spices, I like to savor my food. So, from now until whenever- PC, we are back to eating at the dining room table (we eat in the living room in the summer- it has AC). The Weight Watcher recipes will be back in the oven, on the stove and in the crockpot. I have never really liked microwave meals or super greasy dinners.

In an effort to make sure that what I am eating is GOOD to me (good in the sense that I WANT to eat it), I have been test-driving yogurts. Yogurt is a good food for weight maintenance. It has a good combination of calcium and protein and fat (you need a little fat) and the right kind can be low in sugar. I am not loving WW 1pt yogurt—too sweet, too splenda-y and the texture is off. I love greek yogurt. I found Chobani 0% and am in love. 140 calories of oh-my-god-this-could-be-ice-cream deliciousness. Their website… go ahead, click. I’ll wait.

*Muzak*

Are you back? Good. Did you see the recipes section? HOW COOL IS THAT? Over the next week, look here for recipes, my favorite foods list (trader joes--- oh, how I love thee!) and of course, knitting.

PC was looking through an LL Bean catalog for a sweater on Friday. LL Bean! What kind of knitter am I? I picked a nice sweater pattern, went to Black Sheep for yarn and two separate cast ons later (I cast on for a 44 inch and got 38 inch. So, I cast on for the 52 inch and hopefully I’ll have a 44-46 inch.)

Wish me luck.

You can't pick your family... or can you?

I've always heard "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family." Lately, I've been wondering if that is true. I have a family (a large one, in fact, full of cousins, second cousins, aunts, uncles...) that I love and I would do so much for each and every one of them. But, I have a second family. No, I'm not counting in-laws (or in my case, hope-to-be-future-in-laws.... PC's family) and such. No... I'm talking about my friends who are my family.

I mentioned my 'niece' Noodle in the last post. She's not my brother's child. She has none of my genetic material in her. No, she's our friends' daughter and she is my niece. My friend Mari (see sidebar for her site!) and my friend S (who's giving me a nephew- RemDog (nickname-- she's not naming her kid RemDog after Jerry Remy) are as close as sisters to me. I call them when I need support, need to laugh, need to cry. We share secrets and stories. We talk about everything-- nothing's off limits. I never had sisters and I finally do.

Now, my brother's wife is expecting their first child (we are very excited!) and this will just add to my "brood" of nieces and nephews.

We had a lengthy discussion at work once about what constitutes "family"--- we have a company policy that if you or dependent parent, spouse or child is sick, you can take sick time (it's unlimited... to a point) freely without question. PC and I live together. He's my family. He cares for me when I am sick; I care for him when he is sick. An incident landed us in the ER one night and into the following morning... PC was sick. He needed me. I stayed. I called into work (waiting until someone was there to answer the phone... I hate leaving "I'm sick" messages on voicemail) and when I went in the following day, was informed I needed to take a vacation day b/c "he's not your family." This decision has since been changed ( I think once they heard themselves say that OUT LOUD they realized how asinine it sounded) and we have had discussions about how the American family is changing: two mommys, two daddys, unmarried parents, living with grandparents or uncles/aunts, single parent families, siblings raising younger siblings... all of these constituting a family.

Where on earth am I going with this?

The Red Scarf Project (Norma's got way more details) for the Orphan Foundation. Kids who have "aged out" of the foster system and are headed off to college. Alone. No one to move them in, make their bed, and beg them to call every night. No one to rush home to for Thanksgiving break. And more importantly, no one to send those oh-so-important care packages to college. My care packages usually arrived with my parents on a weekend visit. Cookies from my mom. A banana bread from my Nana. My dad brought me a wee rose bush one visit for Valentine's Day.


So, I knit a red scarf...did you?? I'm knitting another one, I hope.... are you??

in need of an update!

Remember the Abby-Cadabby sweater? Well, here she is (unblocked)--- ready for her party! The real Abby Cadabby was very pleased with her sweater and her thank-you note photo was her in her sweater !!! (thanks, Stef... she is adorable!) The back "wings" gave me fits... I think I knit and crocheted 8 separate wings. In the end, some off-the-cuff crochet (a combo of single, double and 1/2 double crochet stitches) works well.





















PC's contribution to the gift? Well, he was my "does this look cute or creepy" sounding board. You all know how cartoon-y things can go really well or HORRIBLY wrong, right? I think this went right. Oh, and PC was the source of one very blonde, very fairy, princess wand to complete the outfit. Abby-Cadabby herself loved it.

Can't forget about my niece, hereafter referred to as "Noodle" or "Her Noodleness." This Classic Elite Cotton Bamboo was picked up last night at Island Yarn in Waltham. Oh, you didn't know Vicki was open LATE on Mondays? LATE as in 8:30pm!!! She hosts a knit-night there for whoever wants to sit and knit from 6-ish to 8:30pm every Monday (check on holidays). Now, my Noodle is a girl with class and distinction. And, well... as an Eastern European beauty (like her mom), pale pink is a "notsomuch" color on her. Her one and only Auntie-knit sweater is a rich buttery coral color. Looks fab on her! So, a dark raspberry-merlot color will really make her skin shine!










I am casting on for this at lunch: HoneyPie (see Ravelry for info). A few things about this pattern- there is no yardage provided. At all. I have 3 balls of Bamboo (130yds per ball) and one "held" at Island Yarn. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Vicki? No "buy 4 now... return it later"--- no, no, no... "take 3, I'll hold one behind the counter if you need it." Oh my god... totally crushing on my yarn shop!)











Tomorrow: charity starts at home. Or, what I did for the The Orphan Foundation (a red "Plus" some colors scarf--- wear sunglasses to view tomorrow's photos. you've been warned.) and for a friend at the Metro West Knitting Guild. I hate knitting chemo caps, but when it's the only help you can offer, you put every ounce of love and prayer into each and every stitch. With my dad on the road to cancer-remission, knitting chemo caps still makes me cry... reminds me of how much I almost lost.

More tomorrow.

Clothes are packed.
Grocery list is ready.
New Saturn's gassed up.
PC's out of work already.
Pumpkin's going to "grandma's" for awhile.

It's been 2 years since we've done this and 1 year since we went somewhere without an ulterior motive (wedding, family, etc).

See you next week... and yes, the knitting is packed too!

Happy Dancing

1 down, 12 to go....


survived my first MS Project Management course .... with an A!!!

I think that deserves a yarny treat, don't you?

Don't you just love it when an LYS really gets on board with something? One of my LYS is now providing reusable bags for purchases (just like the grocery store!) that are free of charge until Labor Day and priced "reasonably" after that. They look like the grocery bags, so I am thinking the fee will be nominal and probably not a huge income booster for the shop. I like this shop for a whole variety of reasons, the first being the staff... fun, friendly and superb knitters. A few are on Ravelry and they try very hard to keep up with the ever-changing hearts of knitters. Plus, they have an awesome "back room" where you can go dig for your yarn, if you ask nice.

Wild & Woolly on Meriam Street in Lexington, MA.

Tell Pat at the front counter I said hi!!

*ahem* PC?

If anyone wants to know what I'd like for my birthday--- this would be good. Or at least some funds toward it. :)

WANT.

Porn

Yup. I said it. P.O.R.N.

I am talking about the new American Apparel advertisements all over the blogs, boston.com, cnn.com... they are everywhere. I don't shop there. Never had. And I can honestly say, no matter how much certain teenage relatives might beg, I will not spend any of my money there.

Why?

The ads!! Young girls in short skirts on their hands and knees crawling? Two girls and one guy "snuggled" up wearing underwear and socks only?

I am NOT A PRUDE. I can appreciate a racy ad (David Beckham's underwear ad? winner!) as much as anyone else, but this is bordering on child pornography and I am vehemently opposed to children being shown as sexual objects. I hate seeing 8 year old girls wearing make-up and half shirts. I am glad the "show your belly" thing has passed as well as super-duper-ultra low rise jeans + thong! trend.... but, these ads.... blech.

I have been quiet about them for several months... quietly seething and keeping my mouth shut. But, with school starting in a few weeks and knowing that girls will want to wear this to school... I need to speak up! We don't have kids, but we have teacher-friends and this is just so not acceptable. Teens are being lured into sexual relationships by each other and the media and then we complain when kids are actually having sex! I'm sorry, but if you buy your daughter a dress from a store that advertises it being worn while she's on all fours, crawling and writhing, you have no business complaining when you come home and find her in just that position.

Rant over. Seriously reconsidering having kids knowing this is what i am up against.

Why I became a scientist

I so want his job!

Because....

Danielle pushed Thom off a bridge and Terri threw Pete under the bus....

PC has been sent along after them.....

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
PC: It makes you happy.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
PC: It has taken over the house.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
PC: Umm.. No, it doesn't have to be. It can be.

Me: Do you think my knitting is on the expensive end?
PC: I have no idea... based on the amount of yarn you buy, probably, but I don't know how much yarn costs. I don't ask because we don't share bank accounts.

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
PC: I read, it's not really a hobby.

Me: What about all those first edition signed Harry Cruz books on the special bookshelf?
PC: What about them?

Me: Are they a hobby?
PC: They're a collection. I bought them because I wanted to read them.

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarrassed you?
PC: (shakes head) No.

Me: Never?
PC: Never.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
PC: Uh, Cherry Tree Hill. Is that what it is?

Me: That's my favorite sock yarn. What about type of yarn?
PC: Ummm... (pause for thinking) I'd say merino wool or alpaca.

Me: Alpaca it is!! Can we buy some alpacas?
PC: If you got the money, buy away... we'll put them in the backyard. The landlord won't notice.

Me: So, can you name other knitting blogs?
PC: Yarn Harlot, (squints face).. the one on the train-- the Subway Knitter or whatever. I'm sure there is more. I know you've mentioned them.

Me: So, do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
PC:(laughs nervously) No more than you mind that I want to check out music stores wherever we go. Or used bookstores.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
PC: Importance to who? Me or you?

Me: Me. Knitters!
PC: To test out the pattern you are going to use, the yarn you are going to use. To make sure it works right. It's like a trial run.

Me: very good. Do you read Minestrone Soup?
PC: yes.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
PC: I think I have. I usually just make my comment to you as you walk past me when I am reading it.

Me: Do you like my blogging?
PC: yes.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
PC: Yes. Definitely

Me: Because of the yarn everywhere or the time I spend knitting?
PC: Both.

Me: okay. I guess I should stop bloggin' today and go grocery shopping (point taken). Thank you for helping me out... Anything you want to say to the people who read this?

PC: No.

Money, money, money

So, I wouldn't say "money problems" but more money concerns have been a topic of conversation in our house lately. And while we can always pay our bills , with a wee bit for fun and adventure, and we have less than a couple hundred on the credit card bills... sometimes it gets tight. Or ... at least tight enough that we say "hmm... where did our money go???"

Great people that you all are... I thought I'd ask for some advice. Trimming the fat, so-to-speak, without losing a lifestyle... is it worth it?

My ideas:
1. cut grocery bill. We have started doing this by going with a list, shopping BJs and Russo's (cheapest produce in MA, I swear) and Trader Joe's (yes, for whole wheat pasta and some non-traditional "staples" (quinoa, couscous, better'n'butter) it's cheaper)

Q: what about a meat CSA?? Have you done this? One of the ones I am interested in is 10lbs for $70/month, with a 6 month committment. Would 10lbs last 2 people a whole month?

2. no more home phone service. :( We use our cell phones almost exclusively, but our internet is bundled with our phone (our house can't support digital cable-- -something about wires), so this will be tricky, but doable. I hope.

3. switching banks (i am doing this!) to one with better online banking...so, who do you like better??

A) citizen's bank
B) sovereign bank
C) alternative... suggest one!

So... there you have it. Not really money woes, but money thoughts. (Please don't think we're broke or need anything, we really don't--- it's just time to be adults and think about money in a smarter way!)

:)Mini

Going to NH to have kids...???

I know times are tough, and I am not a homeowner (yet), but c'mon...

Kids are too expensive and are "not encouraged" in Massachusetts towns?

Can anyone say: one step too far? If you can afford to live there, buy a house and pop out some kids.

In the famous words of Charlie Brown (my hero): Good Grief!

Durgin Park

You want to know a good time? Meet the following people for dinner at Durgin Park (in Quincy Market):

Carole (& Dale)
Claudia
Sandy
Norma
Carol
Terri

I don't think I forget anyone! We all met (via Sandy) for dinner to celebrate Norma's visit to the "flatlands" of Massachusetts and Sandy's "staycation." A yummy dinner at a very traditional New England restaurant (that in 30.5 years in Boston, I had never eaten at!) and some great conversation. I wish I could have joined them for Shakespeare on the Common, but I had some things to get done at home. And, I totally forgot my camera. *doh*

Knitting photos for tomorrow--- Abby -Cadabby is coming along nicely. She went through a stage of "ohmygodthatisthecreepiestclownlookingfaceihaveeverseen." She's over that now. She looks like Abby-Cadabby now. I think.

It's Like Magic!

This is being converted into an intarsia sweater for a two-year old. I hope. If not, it'll be her Christmas gift.
















Can we all be a little thankful for KnitPro?

I Knit.

I really do knit. And today, I'm proving it.

A "miss dashwood" hat for Baby C--- she needs a sunhat and this is the closest thing I could find that would be small enough. It won't look so pointy on her head.

And, for Master R (due in Sept), here is a wee preppy sweater. It's modelled after a sweater at Jacadi... a VERY high end childrens' shop in Paris. My friend Syl is Parisian and she's the one having the baby... so, here it is. I should be done with it tonight. It's Baby Ull on US3. :) I love the preppy collar and the raglan sleeves.... too cute!

Stolen Meme

Top 10 Vacation Memories...

(in no particular order)

1. The sun bouncing off the water at Rand Pond Campground (where we spent all of our summers) in NH.... at 4:30 pm. It glistened and sparkled like diamonds. The temperature would just start to change and you could smell the grills being lit.
2. The thunderstorm at Lake Androscoggin in Maine. PC and I were woken up by lightning illuminating our tent. I promptly hid under PC and then he had to convince me to run for the truck. We slept the whole night in my brother's pick-up.
3. Our first trip to Disney together. Being able to pet a rhino at the Animal Kingdom.
4. My first trip to Disney as a kid--- picking grapefruit in my great-uncle's backyard for breakfast (we had no idea grapefruit came on trees and that you could eat food from your yard... what a bunch of city kids!) and learning to "speak dolphin" from my grandfather. Mostly, this involved me going "eeee! eeee!" whenever asked something. I'm not sure my mom ever forgave him for that one. The trip home when the RV broke down and my dad was laughing b/c it was the only time my mom didn't have bobby pins in her hair and my dad really needed one to fix the engine.
5. DC last year... being able to get lost in a new city with PC. Way more fun that it sounds.
6. Summer vacation 6 years ago: 2 weeks on the Cape (wellfleet) with my friend, Margy. She worked and I went to the beach. Swam with seals on the harbor side beaches. Saw a shark fin on the ocean side. I still prefer the kettle ponds for swimming. No seals. No sharks.
7. Playing ping-pong and listening to the juke box at the Rec Hall with my brothers--- I think what I loved the most is that we were less siblings and more friends then.
8. Being the only girl to enter and win the BMX competition at the campground's labor Day events. My dad was SO proud.
9. Watching my brother run like a madman away from "a wild boar!!!" on a hiking trail that turned out to be an escaped pig from the farm next door.
10. Anything we did at Conway Lake, including forgetting the rainfly, swimming at Echo Lake, riding the train to the Notch, watching fireworks from our site, eating too many hotdogs, celebrating our first non-smoking camping trip.

I love to camp and we're hoping to bring this love of camping to our kids someday. So, honey--- wanna go camping with me?

:) Kate

Remember this Post?

You all remember when I had my "incident" with a cyclist a few weeks back? Well, today on the "green blog" via the Boston Globe, I saw this article and HAD to comment. If you read the comments, I am "minisoup" and I am not alone!!!! (please read!!!)

My idea: Cycling Licenses. If I need a license to drive, you need one to 'ride'.


Best Quote:

"We're out there obeying the rules, getting exercise, and saving gasoline. We've ridden in charity rides that benefit cancer, mental retardation, poor children, multiple sclerosis, and myriad other causes."

How on earth does participating in charitable bike rides factor into one's ability to obey laws?

I have to say.... I am so disappointed with the author of this blog.

The Great Debate

I've been torn about writing this post. Really torn. Because, really? Saturday of last weekend was "all about Kate" and this is something I specifically wanted to do. And I did it. And I feel dirty.

A preface: PC and I are zoo-afficianados. We are Zoo New England Members, we planned a trip to DC around the National Zoo (our hotel was within walking distance), and have considered going to San Diego ONLY to see the Zoo. A major defect of the trip to NYC recently was the lack of two zoo visits (Central Park and Bronx).

Saturday, PC had purchased tickets for me and him to go see the live broadcast of the Prairie Home Companion. I * heart* this radio show. Love it. Love it. Love it. I like the old-timey songs, the silly jokes, the bad 'acting' and the guests they have. (FYI: the guest was Donald Hall. ) It was held at Tanglewood and we had packed a picnic for dinner. Tanglewood is a 2-2 1/2 hour drive from our home in MetroWest Boston.... and Tanglewood was worth the drive and gas!

Along the way, we stopped at someplace that we knew could go 1) really well or 2) really bad. The Lupa Zoo.
I am hesitant to blog a poor review of something. Normally, this is because most things that I don't enjoy (slam dancing, drinking beer from funnels or japanese game shows) are simply "not my taste" and I assume that just b/c I don't like something, doesn't mean it's bad.

The Lupa Zoo? Bad. Bad. Bad. We went there simply for one reason: the ability to feed a giraffe. (note: i love giraffes, and this was a "dream" to do this) Well, I fed the giraffe and then spent an hour trying not to cry b/c of the traumatic nature of this place.

What the Lupa Zoo is doing wrong:

1. feeding animals a very generic "peanut-corn-seed-stale bread" snack mix that is used for all the animals. Most of the animals did not have a food source visible beyond the "petting zoo" mix that you had to buy. Animals were conditioned to run to a "feeding tube" (PVC pipe) that you sent the food down.
   
2. poor maintenance of the animal facilities. The primate barn? Stunk like urine and feces and was over 100 deg F inside. In a large fencing material dome, there were several variety of birds, but the sheer number was overwhelming. Bird feces abounded. There was no "green" space for the animals. 95% were on dirt.
   
3. Size of animal facilities. Three Himalayan bears (all pretty big) shared a space that was about the size of an expensive house's living room. I know not all zoos have the square footage or the ability to maintain large "natural" habitats, but if you cannot: do not. Get it? Okay.
   
4. moving on... my giraffe. Emaciated. Drooping skin. Being fed bananas and apples cut in half. Sounds good, no? THE LABELS WERE STILL ON THE FRUIT. I fed plastic fruit labels to a giraffe (we noticed after the first apple was already gulped down) and I am thinking: hundreds of people have fed this poor animal something 100% indigestible.
   
5. overwhelming number of FLIES.
   

If you are in the Ludlow area, please please do not go here. I am a strong supporter of zoos and aquariums and I have to say, this was despicable. I am drafting a letter the AZA (association of zoos and aquariums). Needless to say, I could not find any association or accreditation information on this zoo. A private zoo will be, among other things, run like a business with cost-effective measure taken. A well cared for private zoo also in the area, Southwick Zoo, has a wonderful reputation, helpful staff, well cared for animals and informative/educated personnel. if you are going to drive to a private zoo, drive to that one. But, remember to support your local non-profit zoo: Franklin Park, Stone Zoo (new bears!) and Roger Williams Zoo...

Knitting photos tomorrow.

:)

How to spend a leisurely Sunday

1. Enforce "no plans" rule with significant other on Friday night.
2. Whine a little about the fact that you haven't had a "real" weekend in months (mostly due to your own planning and friend/family committments on your side; ignore this --- whine anyway)
3. Wander off on Saturday to "poke at yard sales" and get a manicure.
4. Walk into a trap of yard sale (for charity. for American Cancer Society: ahem. Anyone remember Dad? And Dad's cancer? In remission? hello heartstrings... feel the tug).
5. Buy a gorgeous rocker (needs some love. Okay a LOT of love) and side table
6. Bring it home to put in bedroom.
side note: in September, when I am "moved" to the bedroom on Sundays so that the living room can become "mantown" for football, I need a place to knit. We can all agree that sitting on your bed is not a comfy knitting place. And it gets your pillows hot. I hate hot pillows.
7. Persuade significant other to help you move some furniture around on Sunday.
8. Get up Sunday a.m.: go to gym. Run at the gym.
9. Come home: complain and make coffee.
10. Ask SO for advice on moving room around.
11. decide it's way too much effort and may not work.
12. move one piece of furniture and smoosh some more together.
13. Clean.entire.bedroom and closet and under bed and vacuum ( thank you PC) and dust and oh.my.god....

your bedroom is clean, orderly and you have 3 bags of clothes for donation. And I haven't even gone through my drawers.

Give some love to Mariuca (blog in sidebar and regular commenter here)-- my best girlfriend who is currently IN LABOR with her first baby, hereby named mini-C, 5 1/2 weeks early. Yup. Breath is held. Nothing I do in my lab today, including if I cured cancer, would be equivalent to what she is doing RIGHT NOW.

Please, God, keep Mari and the baby safe. Let Al be strong in all ways possible.

(add your well wishes and I will send them along to Mari this week.)

EDITED TO ADD:
IT'S A GIRL!!!! Healthy 6lbs both Mom and Baby are doing GREAT!!

I hate it when he does this....

I hate it when PC's right. And he is. And I am admitting it. And I hate it.

We have an agreement. He likes the gym. He likes the lifting of weights and running on the treadmill (okay, he doesn't like that part, but he does it). Me? I'd rather play tennis. But, in order to play tennis, I need to be stronger. In order to be stronger (oh and stamina too!), I need to work out. To work out, I need to go to the gym. I don't love the gym. I go. I work out. I count each and every stupid minute.

For a few months, I was up at 4:30a.m. and off to the gym (arriving by 5:05am) for 30-60 minutes about 5-6 times a week. I was seeing results, I was increasing my activity. Then we went to the wedding in NYC. I was so exhausted (emotionally, financially, physically) from that trip, that I haven't been to the gym. That was 3 weeks ago.

This week, PC woke me up at 4;30 and said "go.to.the.gym" He was not fooling around. He was serious. He wants me to be happier and have more energy. He wants me to lose weight (me too!). And he wants me healthier.

* side note: am working out, eating better, but not watching my WW points... am trying to eat only 3 meals a day and work in 3 dairies and 0 pt veggies. i am also losing bread, rice, potatoes and non-fruit sugar on Monday. hello headaches, but I need to bust through my sugar addiction.

Well, damn it if yesterday and today, I went to the gym and I feel great. I know that my "funks" are a sign of mild depression (associated with PCOS along with difficulty losing weight, ease of gaining weight, facial hair, hair loss and hormones on heroine). But, really--- it only took 2 days of returning to the gym and I feel great.

And last night, I got my hair cut and colored. It's darker and redder (love it) and it's very short and sassy (love it). PC always loved my longer hair until he realized that I wore it up 99% of the time. I look better with shorter hair and feel better with shorter hair. But, with all new haircuts, I tried to do it myself this morning and used too much of the "goo" for my hair and well... I need to work on this a bit I think. (PC is responsible for the hair too... when I complained that I needed a new style, he said "ask the stylist" and I did... I have never seen a woman so excited to help me with something new. She said people usually sit in the chair and say "I want a change, but no bangs, keep the length and the color")

* for those in the Boston area: I went to Newton Hair Company on Watertown Street, in the Nonantum Section of Newton. Reasonable: wash, cut, color, blow out, style and eyebrows: $100.

Practice makes perfect, right?

Big problem with top of the mitten, so no photo until I hear back from the designer. I think it's me. I think I forgot how to read directions.

Thing the second, I want to say something about bicycles and cars. I like my car. In fact, I love my car. It's reliable and (somewhat) new and I get decent gas mileage. I like bikes. I think riding a bike to work is a genius idea. I think bike lanes are a good thing. But, I have begun to believe that I don't like bike riders.

Before the flaming begins, bear with me, and hear me out, okay? I drive through some very "hot" biking neighborhoods on my way to work. I pass about 50-70 people on bikes each day, to and from work. That's a large sample number to work with considering I have working on this street for 3 years. I have seen some pretty strange behavior on bikes such as : riding on a highway, stopping for no reason in the middle of the road, not stopping for stop lights, etc.

Okay, so why don't I like bike riders? When I was small, I learned to ride a bike in a very bike-friendly town. There were rules. You ride with traffic, not against. You obey traffic laws. Like stopping at red lights, moving through green ones, signalling right and left, etc. You pay attention to what's around you. I wait patiently behind lines of bikes if I can't get around them.

I also know that I am a good driver (ask anyone, I do tailgate, but I do obey traffic and speed laws with scary attention) and there are bad drivers out there. So, I imagine that good cyclists and bad cyclists are out there. Here's a bad one:

This morning, a cyclist,wearing an iPod, wove through traffic to a stop light. He was between the drivers' side of my car and the passenger side of another car. I was in the right lane. With my blinker on. Indicating my intent to turn right. The light changed (no turn on red sign present) and I proceeded to turn right. So did the bike. Without warning. Darted right in front of my car as I was accelerating. I almost hit him. I slammed on my brakes and yanked the wheel to the right, hitting my horn to alert him I was close. I was terrified of hitting this man. He pulled over. He indicated that I should too. I did, thinking "oh. my. god. I hit a person" and was then treated to a 5 minute "you-stupid-f*&^%#-C&^# SUV driving gas whore! YOU need to watch out for US on the road... that's YOUR job. NOT MINE. SHARE the road you B#$%^!!" tirade. Fortunately for me, there was an officer nearby working a detail. He came over and calmed the cyclist down.

And gave him a $500 ticket for failing to signal, taking a right turn from a left lane and wearing an iPod while operating a bicycle. When I left he was arguing with the cop that "he couldn't get a ticket, he wasn't in a car." I heard the officer say "the rules of the road are the rules of the road."

Ah. Karma.

PC made me a commercial

I love that I might cause drowsiness and potential paralysis. Or is that just my cooking?

Mitten Mania

I think knitting mittens is addictive. Really, the options for mittens are pretty much unlimited. Cables. Colorwork. Fancy texture stitches. And you can show them off. Unlike socks, where you must remove your shoes to show off the whole thing, you can easily pass your mittens around a group of impressed friends/family/coworkers. Living in Boston makes mittens a must-have. Last year, I made a pair of orange and white mittens from Cascade 220. I love these mittens. Also, I learned something very important. I don't like "wimpy" mittens. I mean mittens in fingering weight. I have found that some nice worsted wool and my trusty US2 dpns make a very warm, durable mitten. Heck, I wore my orange/white ones daily throughout the winter and they never even felted! So, when looking at the Ravelry boards... there was a cry for mitten test knitters--- I answered the call. A sadly blogless Sophia asked me to test knit, Maude, a pattern to be available in the fall, I think.


A few mods to Maude. The first, it called for fingering weight. I cast on with Cascade 220. Right now, I am searching for typos, confusing directions and any errors.


A few comments.
1. great pattern.
2. easy to memorize. I have been knitting from memory since the first repeat.
3. easy to swap around colors. I have chosen tone on tone blues, but image this in stark white and red. Or a charcoal gray and bright green.

Mittens will be filling my Christmas knitting basket this year.

Tell me: what's your favorite mitten pattern?

Operation Kill Mickey

Yup, had every intention of taking some photos of knitting this morning (not exciting knitting... nope, just an angora scarf and some golf club covers--- Fathers' Day, y'know), but we have had a "houseguest" for 2 days.

Our houseguest is unwanted and probably terrified by now. A large orange cat has stalked it and played with it, but has not quite completed "enhanced interrogation" as of 7am.

I hate mice.
I killed hundreds of mice at my first job.
I snapped their little necks humanely and for the sake of science.
Those were germ-free, clean, scientifically bred white mice with pink noses.
Our houseguest did not grow up in a sterile environment.

So, "el gato pequeno" (wee kitty; our nickname for Pumpkin, the wonder cat) is a good hunter. And she LOVES to hunt. Loves it. She was panting and stopping for water breaks. She meowed at us to help her look.for.the.mouse! At one point last night, PC was trying to coax her to bring the still-alive prisoner back to him (so he could get rid of it) b/c she seemed to be bringing it to me. A gift. A token of love and affection.

On top of all of this : it's hot. I mean real hot. Mean hot. Tap a hydrant hot. We have AC and we use it... but it's not even July yet and I hate the heat.

Photos tonight come hell or high water. Knitting photos. I'm not taking a photo of the mouse. I might take a photo of the hunter though. ;)

Another meme

Yeah, I am calling this one in....

(stolen from Sandy)

10 things that have changed since you were in High School:

1. We had a smoking section. Yup. There was a section of the outside that had cigarette cans and if you were caught smoking in a non-smoking section, you had to spend your lunch picking up the butts on campus. All of them.

2. 90210 was on the tv. And it was a big deal. Now Tori Spelling has babies and a reality show.

3. The student parking lot looked like a student parking lot. I rode by a local high school the other day and the student parking had 3 Mercedes and 4 Land Rovers. I remember my first car arrived on a flat bed truck without an engine. My dad made me pay for every part he used to fix it. I loved that car. I loved every car I had... and I appreciate a car now.

4. Sweet 16 parties were in your parents' house. If you were lucky (or in my town, you were sharing a party with a cousin-- we all had cousins our own age, or even in the same grade!), you had it at the VFW. Nobody's parents rented the Taj Mahal. No one had a famous singer (if the football team showed up, you would appropriately swoon). And most of us had to share our "new" ( i.e. Mom's) car with our parents and one or more siblings.

5. School dances were held.... at school. In the cafeteria, with streamers and off-market Kool Aid. A local dj played popular music and we danced all night long. Or until 10:30 pm, when the moms would be outside picking everyone up.

6. Cell Phones, TIVO and DVDs were not invented.

7. Call Waiting and Call forwarding was new.

8. Kids were busy: cheerleading, clubs, working PT.... and doing my honors classwork. My mom never made excuses for us... it was my fault if I was a) late for work, b) didn't do an assignment or c) let my grades slip. I was told I was to be responsible and my parents sided with my teachers. Every.time. (Note: this made the transition to college very easy... I already knew how to be responsible)

9. Having a beer in the woods on a Friday night was a big deal. Not too many kids were having orgies or doing serious drugs (some were, but it was not the majority). Kids were having sex, but no one was bragging about it.

10. We said the pledge of allegiance, we had moments of silence for special events, we faced the flag at sporting events.

Since I haven't taken any knitting photos

A meme (a la PumpkinMama)

1. What were you doing 10 years ago.
Huh. I had to think about this one. 10years ago was 1998. I was finishing my junior year in college and starting my first ever laboratory job as an intern at a local biotech firm.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today.
Besides the 28 things on my work one? Personal to-do list: start packing list for this weekend's wedding. Download hotel/rehearsal/bus information and print out 2 copies. Laundry, laundry, laundry. Make world famous meatloaf and mashed cauliflower to make PC smile. Make mani-pedi and eyebrow appointments for pre-wedding.

3. Snacks I enjoy.
Popcorn, popcorn, more popcorn. Fruit with cheese.... yummmmm.....

4. If I were a billionaire instantly, I would:
-pay off our new car, my student loans, my parent's bills
-move into our very own house. (maybe something like the one we saw this weekend?? in the "fancy neighborhood"?)
-buy PC all the books he could ever read. In first editions.
-stay home and knit, play tennis, give money to charities, hang out with my friends and my mom.
-buy my mom a smaller, sportier, reliable car
-get a dog. Or 4.
-get married
-have a baby
-see my trainer.every.day

5. Places I have lived:
Melrose MA, Goffstown NH, Melrose MA, Newton MA

Tagging: anyone who wants to play along... leave a link to your meme if you like!

good week/bad week

You know what I want to do right now? go home and knit. Seriously. I just want to go home and knit. Or drive. Yeah. I am loving the new car. I do feel a little guilty about driving a V6 in a $4 a gallon world, but I am a snow-panicker and honestly, I drive 11 miles to work. I am not indepently to blame for global warming. And, now that PC has my old 4 cylinder, he's doing 1/2 the driving. And he has a 3 mile commute to work.

Mornings lately have been wonderful for driving into work. It's light, but not bright yet... and the air is crisp. I prefer early spring and fall weather to all others. I hate hot weather. New Englanders are celebrating b/c we will have our 1st 85 deg day on Monday and I'm all like "where's the AC?" I have always been like this.

Mornings have also been well, tough. For about 6 weeks, I got up at 4:45am, changed, hit the gym and came home, went to work. for the past 2 weeks, I have been sleeping in and skipping the gym. This needs to change ASAP, if not sooner. My body clock feels off and I am kinda grumpy b/c of it. I think a lot of this is me missing my "mojo" lately. I am in a kind of workplace burnout-funk (I need a good long weekend and a new project and sense of responsibility) combined with wedding funk. Honestly, honored to be the maid of honor in the wedding next weekend, not happy about having to stay 2 nights in an exorbitantly expensive hotel in NYC and play servant/errand girl to the bride all weekend. I know, I know.. harsh. I do love my friend who's getting married and I love her hubby-to-be, but right now-- money is just stressing me out.

I think it's because of the following:
1. moving Sept 1. Anyone want to help us move? Anyone know a good 1+ bedroom in the Metrowest area with 2 car parking available for under $1200??
2. school. I start school July 7. Completly ecstatic. But, must pay all money up front and then get reimbursed.
3. Disney World. majorly expensive vacation in the fall ( made less expensive by PC's very generous parental units ) that has me cringing when I see the price of airlines going up-up and away! At least we have AAA and will save a little on Park Hopper tickets. And, since we are adults, our biggest expense is food... not toys. :)
4. saving money. I am a little late to the financial responsibility game, but honestly, with home prices as low as they are (sorry, good for those of us who want to buy, bad for you who just did) and everyone telling us "ohh... you could get a house for a steal!".... it's time to start thinking more than just 2-3 paychecks ahead. Add in the very unexpected car payments for the next 5 years... ugh.

I know I am sort of mentally dumping out there today, but it's what's on my mind and when I am stressed, I just need to throw it all out there and see what happens.

-mini

These are our friends. Our friends are having a baby!!! Their dear sweet little girl will be here in a few short weeks--- everyone's excited to meet her! Of course, this wee one will need some sweaters for her first few New England winters, but we're waiting to see how big she's going to be before I begin that knitting! :)

A word about my friend, M (shown above). It's funny how we became friends... she married A and we met when I started dating PC, A's friend. Now, A and PC were always friends, but never really did stuff "outside the group" and since M and I were always outside the group, we naturally did what women do--- we became friends and now the guys hang out all the time. M is the best kind of friend. The one who emails you at 3:55 pm to say "5 more minutes!!" until you both leave. The one who really appreciates a trip to the Christmas Tree Shop. She's the friend who's cabinets you can rifle through looking for tea bags. My mom once remarked that seeing me with M and S (another great friend) was like seeing me with sisters.

Now, M is having a baby. A long awaited baby. A long wished for baby. She's nervous. She's scared. And she's gonna be a wonderful mom. A's going to be the best dad ... and he will be completely wrapped around that little pink finger from day one. I'm very honored to have friends like these... we love them and we are so happy to be part of their lives. Baby C, you are going to have great parents and you will always be surrounded by people who love you. And yes, I'll sing the Katy Duck song to you.

baby sweater, receiving blankets, and quilt (under sweater) for C.

WW Would've Been Wednesday

Yikes! I missed a WW wed! So, you will get it today, Friday, instead... "and you'll like it!"(said in my best mom voice.)

This weekend is the American Festival of Momness. My mom has a lot of momness.

• She owns mom-jeans, but 2 years ago finally said "what about straight leg?"
• My mom has said things like "I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" with a straight face.
• My mom's spit has magic dirt removing qualities.
• My mom bravely took 3 hungry kids to mass every week. By herself.
• My mom makes the best chocolate cake with icing (the cake must have a hole in the middle).
• My mom tolerated me from age 12-22, when I knew everything.
• My mom tolerates me now, when I admit I have no idea what I am doing.
• My mom allowed "mental health days" when you didn't want to go to school.
• My mom played more than she did housework.
• My mom knows how to throw a football and cook a pot roast.
• My mom is a world reknowned emergency doll surgeon: complete with dishtowel "mask" over her face, spatula "defibrilolaters", flashlight and "sterile" dish gloves. She never lost a patient. And she let me say "Stat!"

So, this weekend, b/c my mom (and PC's mom) need to be celebrated, I am hosting my 3rd Mom-Day Brunch. The menu includes: hashbrown potato quiche, french toast souffle, salad, cheddar/apple kisses (PC is making these), and fruit salad and pastry (if my brothers remember it's their job to pick these items up).

Hash Brown Potato Quiche (or White trash tater tots 'n eggs)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag tatertots, thawed
• 5 eggs (or egg beater equivalents)
• 1/2 ham steak, diced
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt

In a pie dish, put 1/2 the bag of tater tots. Mash with potato masher and form into the "bottom crust" of the quiche. Line the sides with the intact tater tots. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes. Put cheese and ham in cooked crusts. Beat eggs, milk and salt together. Pour into quiche crusts, over ham and cheese. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes (Until eggs are set). Serve with salad to your favorite mom.

No points on this one... though, i think with the egg beaters, it's like 6 per slice. Makes 6 slices.

Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!

Now, lion cupcakes don't get made for just any old birthday....

It was M's 1st birthday!

A jungle party!

Pattern: backpack based on the backpack pattern from Jujube & Lolo.

Elephant: my own design :)















Lion: my own design














"M" puppet: my own design














Lion-y pocket: loopy stitch from Grr... the washcloth (free on knitty), but I did the face as intarsia with duplicate stitch. I think it came out pretty cute.

Most important: the birthday boy liked it, and he can now take his treasures with him... it'll be more useful this summer when he is running around and will be feeling more independent.

whirlwind

I have knitting to show. Finished knitting and just-started knitting. Pictures tonight. (I'm not at home).

Weekend of whirls. We took the new car for a whirl. A few of them actually. Friday we found out that my dear friend, S, will be having a BOY in September! S, her hubby and her step-kids are super excited. :) Saturday was all about PC--- specifically, PC needing a suit. We have a wedding in NYC (oh, yeah: Manhattan here we come!) at the end of the month. I am the maid-of-honor, so my outfit is covered, but PC, well.... when you lose 75lbs, you have to buy a new suit. Think navy pin stripes. *me-ow* PC doesn't wear a suit very often, but when he does: hubba hubba!

Saturday night was a wee adventure to Coolidge Corner. Dinner at b.good. Oh how we LOVE b.good. (WW girls: they give you the nutritional info ON THE SIGNS in their restaurants. And you can email Jon and Anthony for any more specific info. PC and I used to have date night at their restaurant on Dartmouth for a long time... ) Then off to the Trader Joe's (they have booze) for wine, beer, tuna-for-cats, and turkey jerky. A quick diversion to Finale for coffee and dessert. Oh.my.god. Orgasmic chocolate creation --- and I left 1/2 of it on the plate. I guess working out and changing the diet is working. And now we know: next time PC and I will share a dessert there.

Sunday was our friends' son's 1st birthday!( there are photos of his cupcakes here) A jungle theme set the mood... it was nice to chat with good friends and catch up. Watching everyone's kids grow up so fast... makes you realize that time does move quickly. PC and I love kids,but right now, we are very happy to come home to one very happy cat.

Speaking of Pumpkin: tomorrow is her 2 year adopt-iversary. :) 2 years and she's still better entertainment than the tv. Just this morning, she jumped on my lap for pre-work snuggles and tried to drink my tea. And then she bit me.

Photos of a jungle themed backpack and the start of PC's sweater tomorrow.

:)

May Day

My middle name is Mae. I always thought that having my name spelled like that made me special. I thought that I was called by my first and middle names as a child made me special. Later I found out it was to distinguish me from all the other kids with my name. My full first name is long and very traditional (my dad picked it) and my nickname is common and "cutened me up" a bit (so says my mom).

So, until I was about 6 , I thought May 1 was "Katie Mae Day" and not May Day. Hm.

And before I forget: Karen touch Eddie Izzard. She knit him socks and handed to him in person. I would have passed out. Karen's stronger than me.

Happy Maryland Sheep and Wool to all of you--- busting at the seams to hurryupandgetthecarpackedandgetontheroadthereisyarnwaitingtobebought. (yes, I wanted it all one word) :) Think of me--- not buying any yarn and avoiding all those crowds.