March of the Penguins...

City of Champions.....



Has a nice ring to it!

Catch up...

May was a whirlwind month. What with classes ending I don't know which end is up. My "business" is indirectly proportional to whether there are classes. The Penguins in the Stanley Cup (and giving us fits!), means that our lives revolve around whether they are playing or not in the evenings. We spent a little time at a jazz festival and outlet shopping last weekend. And we will have family stuff the next three. Also let me say that I still have wool sweaters and turtlenecks in my bursting closet. (And bought more WOOL clothing at the Pendelton outlet in sizes that actually fit!) I was smart enough to dig out a few polo shirts and shorts to tied me over, but it looks like it will be July before I "reorganize". That being said I have been knitting. Not all of it is going well.

First up Embossed Leaves socks.



I really like the sock pattern, this is the second time I've knit it. You may remember the first. Notice the difference in the patterning in the yarn. I'm not convinced that I like the color patterning in this version. In fact, I know I don't. These were knit with Pacapeds alpaca blend. Lovely, soft yarn, but a tad splitty. The fancy, schmancy, cast on and the twisted rib combined to make it rather tight around the top. (Also I make them about 7 inches long rather than 6 or shorter. I hate shortie socks.) So for the second sock I used a long tail cast-on and it was much more flexible.

Knitting Lies

And I really mean it. I am knitting a cardigan from Cherry Tree Hill Oceania. A merino boucle yarn. I bought the put up over a year ago and it was around 1600 yards. It literally took HOURS to wind into useable cakes. I was petrified that if I screwed up it would be a mess to rip. Fortunately that is not the case, because here's what I got as I started the back.


See the big streak of gray right in the middle. Attractive no? I know what you're thinking.....why the heck didn't the idiot knit with two balls? Well, the bad news is that the idiot was so paranoid about ripping boucle, that she DID knit from two different balls. Yes, indeedy, and that is what I got. Charming? Then look down a little farther....see the hole?



Right here.

Now it isn't like I wasn't checking as I was knitting along. But all of a sudden there is a hole. Not a dropped stitch, but I somehow did a M1 without knowing it. There was nothing I could do. Fortunately, for all concerned, meaning me, the M1 occurred below the gray clump. I ripped to the hole without too many tears, and began again. And how far along was I? See the stitch marker? That's where the armhole shaping began. (I always mark the point where some change takes place, so I can compare the other pieces.) I was already making the arm scythe (I always wanted to use that word) shaping. Now I have to hope that I didn't choose a too small size. I am making the medium because the large seemed to be sized out to be enormous.

It has not been a satisfying knitting month.

And Elvis has just left the building!

With apologies to Kemtee:



Dancin' with Lord Stanley again.

"Just shut up!" Thursday.

With apologies to Mike (Greenberg) and Mike (Golic) ESPN radio's irrepressible drive time duo, from whom this is a complete ripoff, I'd like to start a new tradition..."Just Shut Up Thursday". You get to vote for whomever you'd like to "just shut up!" (Gah! That was horrible to write. Still isn't great! Maybe I should "just shut up!")

1) Our girl Nancy, for her ever shifting story, six at last count, of what she knew when.
2) Joe "Loose Lips" Biden, before he reveals BO's "tighty-whitey" size.
3) Arlen "No-Cred" Spector, who neglected to mention, until now, after 30 years in Congress, that our intelligence agencies lie. (You mean the way congress people lie, Arlen?)

I wish I had a prize, but alas, I don't. Maybe I can figure that out in future weeks. Vote your choice for the "Just Shut Up" Award for this week.

Some things I think, I think ...

To my friends in the San Francisco area: I'll make a deal with you...you get Pelosi out of the Congress, and I'll work to get that old gas bag John "we're all racists" Murtha out. Granted it will be a little tougher for me because I don't live in his district. But if there is any way I can get the stupid out of the water in Altoona/Johnstown, I'll do my best.

To Janet "Memory" Pelosi from the CIA: Game on!

To the Carolina Hurricanes from our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins: Game on!

To Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL: You'll never improve the visibility of the NHL if you only give playoff television rights to that bastion of ultimate cagefighting, Versus. Not even all the fans who are interested will be able to see the games. You, sir, are an incomparable idiot.

To Bottom Line Books: By now you should have heard [again] from the representative from our attorney general. Pick up the clue phone and leave us alone. Changing your "business model", from the "scam and badger" approach, might be something to consider.

To the representative from the Attorney Generals office: You, sir, are a gentleman. I truly appreciate your time in speaking with me and helping our family. Hopefully, this will be the last time we interact, but not because you weren't anything but helpful and considerate.

To the young woman at Wegman's checkout: You really made my day yesterday. When you said you remembered me, I was worried at first. (I like paper bags--before anyone gasps, we recycle our newspapers in paper bags--for most of my groceries, and plastic for my rotisserie chicken and leaky olives. So I'm kinda a PIA.) But when I said "Oh oh." You said that you remembered me because I was so nice to you. You weren't feeling well, and that I had been really nice. Not only is that a relief, it's a little shocking what with grocery prices and all, but Wegman's is kinda easy to handle really because most of the employees are truly nice too. Thanks! I'll make sure to get your name next time. And good luck on your graduation. Much success for your future. Hope you'll be working at Wegman's for a while longer.

To Wegman's: Thanks for the cool reusable bags. Even I remember to bring them (when I don't need paper). This is my favorite, the grapes. They also have peas and a tomato print.

In the never ending....

... parade of bizarreness that is my life--take a look at my calendar.



Pretty no? I do have a "thing" for carousels. Always have. In fact my husband refuses to go to amusement parks with me because the only ride I really like (and that doesn't make me nauseous) is the carousel. Especially if it is an original Dentzel Carousel like at Kennywood Park .....but I digress. Because there is nothing too weird about this right?












Here is the weird part:



Do you see it?








Look closer .....



Bet you don't have one of those in your month.....

Seen ....

... in our chronically balky elevator at work:

Bottom Line Books, the sequel.

You may recall that the last time we visited the drama that is Bottom Line Books... (I keep using the entire name for a reason, I want as many hits on this phrase as possible), with the assistance of our attorney general, we got a pre-paid label to send back the "books" my MIL was sent "on approval". (The only approval we can assume here is Bottom Line Book's approval.) Well she couldn't wait to seal up that mess and send everything back. You'd think that would be the end of it, right? Au contraire...... Yesterday she received a letter that stated that she sent back ONLY ONE of the books. Those black-hearted wretches are trying to outright scam an elderly lady. I told her to ignore the letter. They are not going to do anything for a $20 (or whatever) book. But of course, being a daughter of the depression, she is "nervous". I am considering contacting the rep in the attorney general's office directly, and then filing a harassment complaint in Wright County Iowa, the "location of record" for this "business". To contact them directly means another loopy conversation with the Moonie-like (remember the Moonies?) call center operator. It appears that this is simply another part of their process. They get the books back and claim one is missing. How convenient is that? Sheesh.

Dear Reader ...

....I am here to apologize for my poor judgment in voting (numerous times) for that incomparably selfish individual Arlen Specter. I, who gets the creepin' eeps from anything ideologic, kinda liked that he was a loose cannon. However, I didn't anticipate his selfishness and gutless behavior. When he caved and voted for the "Oink" bill, I wrote him an email that said something like, you tossed all PA under the bus, and that I hoped he had enjoyed his time in the Senate, because he lost both my respect and support. He (his office) wrote back with a long winded explanation that he didn't like it, but it was the best they could do yada, yada. As if doing "nothing" was not a viable option. (It was and still is, IMHO.) Then I heard him trying to explain his position on some news program, and it hit me, he was clearly scared....really scared, and saw this as the only way he could do "something". That capped it for me. Being in the Congress, much like being a teacher, is not for the faint of heart. I coach grad students, who are teaching, and I often give them pep talks that start with something like "teaching is not for wimps and weenies". You have to be able to stand up to criticism, both fair and not. Arlen has lost his nerve. So when he was faced with what is beginning to look like an insurmountable challenge to his seat, enhanced by his very unpopular vote, he bailed. I can't think of an insult bad enough for what I think he has done to the residents of this state. As for the red herring excuse that that the Republican Party is getting too conservative, well ask the true Regan conservatives, and then duck. John McCain would never have been nominated by a truly conservative party. Huckabee would have been the nominee in a conservative party. How dumb do they think the public really is. Or is this just noise for the lap dog news media to bark about? I am not enchanted. (Sorry I couldn't help myself.)

So, yet again, I find myself in the position of having to change my voting status from "unaffiliated" to Democratic, in order to vote against Arlen in next year's primary. And I don't care who the other candidates happen to be. Anyone is more deserving of this Senate seat....are you hearing me Arlen?

I feel better now....on to knitting. I became exhausted by all my forever and a day projects, so I took a lead from another blog I read and whipped up this....


Crofter's Cowl (Rav link, sorry). The very cool thing about this cowl is that the points face each other. The uncool (for some people) is that the way you achieve this is by knitting it in two parts and grafting in the middle. Since I am not "afeered" of kitchener stitch (can't be a weenie and be a knitter either), I went ahead and it turned out beautifully. The yarn is elsebeth lavold's incomparable Silky Cashmere (55% Silk, 45% Cashmere), and I used about all of three skeins (44/skein). This is precisely the reason I chose this cowl. I had limited yardage. The color is a very beautiful "wine" color, that is not reflected in my photo.

I loved this pattern so much I immediately made a second one (no photo) for a friend who has lost an enormous amount of weight, and is now chilly all the time. For that I used a lonely skein of bulky alpaca from Knitpicks. It doesn't look like they have it anymore. It isn't a firm bulky, so it worked out very well. Some of the comments in Rav indicate that folks had trouble getting the points to align. I had no such difficulty.

The Black Hole of Knitting.

Followup re: Bottom Line Books, I'm pretty mean when I'm mad enough, and even though the call center person was just doing her job (and I told her that) I rarely have time for bullshit. And I don't suffer fools gladly. When she indignantly said "This isn't a scam!" She pushed me over the edge. I said she couldn't possibly know since she was sitting in a cubicle somewhere reading from a script. Sheesh. As for my MIL, they only reason she called me is because she thought it had something to do with the "web". Her children were a little peeved at first because they assumed that she had ordered these books without realizing it, but a little research told me that she wasn't alone and probably hadn't made this error.

The books themselves are a "Yearbook of Medical Snakeoil, 2008", which means there is a new one every year. We will need to keep an eye out next year. I don't trust this company.




Ah, yes, the "black hole" of knitting. You've been there, I know you have. The Lace Ribbon scarf is 80 inches in the pattern. I already told the story of ordering and re-ordering more yarn so it would be long enough. I am a long scarf kinda gal. I was shooting for between 72 and 80 inches, unblocked. I began measuring about each repeat or two beginning at 60 inches. I'd lay it out on the floor, and get it as flat as possible. It seemed to stay 60 inches for days. And I was about knitted out on this pattern, let me tell you. (This is my lunch time/coffee shop knitting.) When I hit 68 inches, after I broke out the champagne, I figured I'd go about 2 more repeats which would take me to between 72 and 74 inches. (I started his piece back in October, by the way. It was on hiatus for Christmas knitting.) I've been really busy this April and didn't get a lot of lunchtime knitting in. I was coordinating a big program in the Northeast part of the state in early April and spent a night with my mom instead of at a hotel. I took the scarf, and when she saw it, she kept saying, "Isn't that looooong?" "Are you sure you want it that long?", until I wanted to strangle her. So maybe this is payback for my black thoughts.

Anyway, I finished it up on Friday night, and measured on Saturday morning and GADS! it had not gained 4+ inches, it had gained about 12+ inches. Without blocking the blasted thing was 85 inches!! I honestly wondered if the scarf had been kidnapped and knitted by aliens. I forged ahead, and soaked (spun in net bag in washer), and laid it out flat to dry. I measured and now it was 89 inches!! Sigh. I was pretty sure this would be unwieldy, even for me. I waited until it was dryish and tried it on. By Saturday evening I had convinced myself to wear it awhile to see how I felt.


Sunday morning, I just decided nothing doing, why worry myself silly over such a small thing. (I like to look at the big picture most of the time.) This was the advantage to knitting. There are always do-overs. (Except in wire knitting, ask me how I know this.) So I snipped the end, and unraveled about 6 - 8 inches, reknit the border, and voila.




Lace Ribbon Scarf

Size #4 Harmony circular needles

3+ skeins Koigu KPM in pretty apricot, about 80+ inches


Mods: I knitted a three row seed stitch border on both ends.



I didn't need the fourth skein I bought. The first skein only knitted up to 20 inches, but the 2nd and 3rd went further. I think the third skein took me to about 78 inches. I would have stopped there if my measurements had been accurate. The yarn pile in the photo above is almost all I used of skein 4. Now I need to figure out what to do with a partial skein of Koigu.


I actually enjoyed knitting this pattern. I didn't memorize it until late in the process or I think I would have liked it even better. But as with most things that drag on, there came a time when pattern fatigue set in. This was my first time knitting with Koigu. I really loved it.

Nothing is ever easy

If you ever get a package from Bottom Line Books (Notice I am not putting a link to their site, I wouldn't do that to you) DO NOT OPEN IT! Unless, of course, you actually ordered from them. Feel free to open the package then. Instead, do a Google search and you'll find, literally, dozens of complaints on consumer sites about them. Their scam is that they acquire names, addresses, and email addresses from somewhere (probably purchased), they then send books [unsolicited] to you and then invoice you for the "purchase". These books are familiar snake oil clap trap about health and wellness. My dear MIL got a box from this uh...let's call them a business, but I have more descriptive names, and because she was expecting a package from me (I reuse boxes, even not on Earth Day), she opened it only to find books she never heard of. The smarty boots Googled the company, and found the piles of complaints and called me for help. Here's what I discovered:

They send books to people that the recipients never ordered or even heard of. Legally in PA, if you get something you didn't order you don't have to do ANYTHING (why pay to ship something back you didn't order). They then invoice you ("we hope you're enjoying the books"). When you decide to put this to rest and just ship the books back, they then SHIP YOU MORE BOOKS because you've now JOINED A BOOK CLUB! If you pay for the books to stop the invoices, THEY SEND YOU MORE BOOKS! They ignore pleas to stop the shipments. In one spectacular case (assuming it's accurate), a "collection agency" called a victim who was ignoring the invoices. Now most people, particularly elderly folks, don't want to keep anything they haven't paid for, get spastic if they get an invoice, and generally hate loose ends such as these. My mother-in-law had to be talked off the roof several times over the past month.

As a public service, I'm going to tell you what worked for us with a minimum of stuff and bother. YMMV depending on what state you are in.

File a preemptive complaint with your state's Consumer Protection Bureau, part of the Attorney General's office. I called ours explained the situation, and the rep told me we did not have to either ship the books back or pay for them. I filed a complaint in writing, telling them that we wanted a pre-paid label, and an assurance that she'd never hear from them again, and told my antsy MIL to sit tight. Ten days later she received an invoice, and got all upset (even though I told her not to worry). I found an 800 # somewhere on line, of course there was no contact number on the invoice. I called and scorched the ears off the poor phone center person. Told her we wanted a pre-paid label shipped immediately, and as a bonus we'd send a copy of the filed complaint along with the unwanted books. [She kept trying to read from her "script" that someone with XXX@gmail.com ordered the books blah,blah, but I just cut her off, and explained that I was a computer science faculty at a big 10 university and I was running a web server when she was playing with My Little Pony. Did she really think that I couldn't find a web browsing history? I told her to save her breath. Mean, yeah. I was not in a good mood.] Less than 7 business days later MIL had not one, but TWO, pre-paid labels, and curiously two very different letters instructing her to send the materials back. One said "sorry you got these in error but we have an invoice from you", the other said "sorry you didn't like the materials, of course you can return them". Neither was accurate. I was a little taken aback, but meh. We got what we wanted. She crossed out the "we have an invoice" part of the first letter, enclosed the complaint and the extra label, and sent the crap back. About 2 days later, she got a letter from the AGs office asking what the status of her case was. Was she satisfied with the resolution? LIGHT BULB. The second letter/label was a result of the AG office intervention. So, all told it took about a month to resolve, (it probably took that long off her life, she worries too much), and Tom Corbett's (PA Attorney General) Office is A-OK in my book.

For making it all the way through this saga, you dear reader get a bonus.

My Lace Ribbon Scarf.




It really isn't this orange. The photo below is a better representation of the color.










This fits perfectly with the nothing is ever easy theme of this post. That's because on Sunday morning, after a Saturday of blocking this is what I spent about an hour doing.



There's a story here, but I'll have to get to it tomorrow.

Lost is a funny word...

I actually had another post in process. And in fact it was even going to have knitting in it!

Then I was going to write about the ethereal nature of things like darning needles and tape measures. A little while ago I was waiting in the car for my husband. So I pulled out my knitting to kitchener up a seam and like magic, no needle on the end of the yarn. I know I had the needle when I left the house because I put the whole mess into a plastic bag, and stuffed it into my purse. It was lost, not in the knitting, not in my purse, not in the car. Lost. Completely.

Then I saw this:

Kay [of Mason Dixon Knitting] and Peter.

Kay doesn't know me from a cake of soap. But I feel like I know her. I know that she is generous. She's funny. She has really beautiful children. She's a talented knitter and writer. I know that she's about my age -- give or take. I assume that her husband was also her age -- give or take. Which means (sans beautiful children, generosity, knitting, writing, and being funny), we are alike in some ways. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to "lose" someone who is that close to you. I only lost a needle today. I have no idea what I would do if I lost a person I loved.

ETA: I just checked and her Peter was younger than my DH. Yikes!

Duck....boomerang!

I believe in a previous post I mentioned the boomerang (personnel review) with which I was targeted. I thought I was out of "range" on Friday. But no such luck...Yeah, it came back and it hit me right in the arse. I hurled it back and I'm hoping that will be it for 2009.

I've started this post about 52 times.....There's just so many disjointed things going on that I'm only going to list the sort versions.

**Last week there was the great hew and cry about the "training video" that dissed veterans. I was stunned to learn this because I used this video last fall for a "students in distress" workshop, and used in context it was a great piece. (It was created by a group on campus that helps students, and faculty, deal with difficult and often emotional situations.) Let me make clear that I have a personal connection to veterans. I am a staunch supporter of veterans causes and affairs and I'm rather sensitive to the chilly climate vets sometimes endure. I would never have used anything that would insult someone's service. Here in the "Land of Political Correctness" that puppy had its paws vetted off. It was a vignette on a student who wanted his grade changed PERIOD END OF STATEMENT His character profile was just so the vignette would have a little interest. What happened was that some yahoo found it, took offense, ripped it off, CHANGED THE TITLE, added subtitles, and posted it. So if you saw it, unless you found it on our site (it's been pulled see Land of Political Correctness above), you saw an altered version. If you've been teaching for any length of time, and you haven't had a variation of this experience (my personal experience was almost word for word the same)then you must be teaching kindergarten.

**I keep wondering at the stupidity of this administration. OK, so we're not supposed to call people who fly planes into buildings terrorists, that 9/11 was a "man made disaster". But a memo comes out of Homeland Security (Napolitano apparently didn't read the memo, though she signed off on it --she was "briefed", her word), that calls veterans and people in right to life groups possible "terrorists". So the only thing I can infer from this is that it is acceptable to call our own citizens terrorists, but not the people who actually engineer "man made disasters". Even typing this is weird and confusing.

**I am a "twit" because I don't "Tweet". And I really don't care what you're thinking or doing at any particular moment of the day. I am an "ambivalent networker". Go read it, it's good.

I'm coming to the realization that Facebook, Twitter, and the one that simply pushed me over the cliff 12 Seconds TV (it's just what it sounds like--video Twitter), are obliterating the way humans communicate, and not in a good way. I have friends who now communicate ONLY through these mechanisms - one or two sentence "status updates". We used to communicate by actually constructing paragraphs, not to mention speaking to each other, no longer. I want to know about the context of your life, I don't much care that you're "a blue crayon" or "I'm loving this weather" two actual comments from my Facebook friends. Ugh. I guess I'm just not worth the effort anymore to actually initiate a few paragraphs, privately when you can communicate with all your peeps and get lots of inane responses in return.

**Which brings me to...NO FINISHED OBJECTS. I am so totally jealous of all the blogs I see that show items with lots of progress, and some that have finished items every week. I've been working on the Lace Ribbon scarf simply forever. Probably because I only work on it at lunch. It is a long bugger. It is also now a little too big for a purse project, but I'm at about the 70 inch mark and I want to finish it. I'm trying to practice project monogamy to get this outta here. And it will make my "Wrap Me Up" group feel better when I'm not so very far ahead anymore.

I'm on the second Embossed Leaves sock. I love the pattern, but not the yarn I'm using in the pattern. I thought the shorter color runs would make for a more interesting pattern. But nope. And I'm afraid I'm not one of those OCKs (Obsessive Compulsive Knitters) who unravel finished pieces. They're socks people!! I'll wear them on my feet.

There is one blog I read that has several finished objects every week. But I finally realized that the knitter: 1) knits cowls out the wazoo; 2) uses sport weight for socks. So, I'm going to start a cowl with cashmere/silk tomorrow.

Stay tuned...I'm not finished with my "stories" yet.

Wouldn't you know....

...I'm finally back. Review over (I think. However, it has come back like a boomerang on occasion.) But now I'm listening to the service for the three Pittsburgh Police Officers who were ambushed and killed on Saturday morning. So far the mayor has choked up, and the public information officer has a shaky voice. It must be brutal for the families. I just don't know what to say. This was so unnecessary.

Final Salute...

Long tyme coming...

Those of you who work, are probably subjected to yearly reviews. I've never known anyone who actually enjoys the exercise, but in my experience, if you've been doing your job reasonably well and have stayed out of trouble it should be a relatively minor experience. At least for me, that has been the case. Until now. I am in a department, where the standard review form (which turned into a nightmare in and of itself about 8 years ago in the name of the possibility of advancement, though I don't know any case that has actually had it work), has been morphed to fulfill some seemingly random needs of the PBT, every year for the past three years. What this means is that I have no template from which to work. Hence my silence. I've been trying to determine what the sam hill I'm supposed to do THIS year, so that I do not have to "rewrite" the self-evaluation portion, umpteen times, as I have in the past. I'm, frankly, out of patience. Especially since this is a meaningless exercise (there will be no increases this year, not even cost of living), and there is no chance of advancement. That's OK with me. I'm looking to retire young. Well, that is if the stock market cooperates pretty soon.

Since I'm already unpopular I might as well say this....over the past two months, I've seen and heard many, in most cases valid, criticisms of this new administration. (So many, so soon, and some so serious, it is beginning to take my breath away. But what would one expect from a politician who could measure his federal senatorial experience in days.....But that's another post.) Some of these are from individuals who admittedly didn't vote for The ONE or the other, but a third party candidate. Now here's the unpopular part--are ya ready? Voting third (or fourth, or fifth) party, under these particular circumstances was plainly just a vote for the ONE. Maybe not technically, but that is the effect. Folks we are an entrenched TWO party system. I know some folks don't like that, but until someone starts a "traditional" or "centrist" party for the rest of us, that's the way it is going to stay. (And to be honest, I'm not sure it bothers me all that much, but I've not thought it all the way through, so ...that's all I can say about that.) But I deal in realities. And the reality is that if you don't vote for the major party candidates, I'm only referring to the federal level here, you are voting for the candidate who has the most popular support. That's it. Period. Does that mean you can't criticize, absolutely not! And I would defend your right to vote for anyone you want at any time. But waxing poetic about how the populace is getting what they asked for is a little disingenuous. If you didn't vote for the "other" guy/gal, you're complicit in a minor way. Sometimes, until our system changes, you have to hold your nose and vote for your own version of the lessor of two evils. You can't expect everyone else to do the heavy lifting.

And to end on an upbeat note, before I go back to slamming my head against the desk:

You may remember these socks. Or not. Anyway, these were a gift for my mom. Now in the subsequent 2 years I've made her another pair or two, but they were not the plain jane vanilla. (When not knitting socks she's gotten scarves, hats, and other items, so not to worry she is pretty well covered in wool.) I've made her Monkeys and others from Socks that Rock or Cherry Tree Hill etc. Both light weight, fingering yarns. So what does she tell me when I'm home? That they're too "thick". She absolutely LOVES the Knit Picks socks (they're cotton/wool/nylon). She loves them so much she wears them TWO days in a row without washing them. (I know TMI.) I took her to try on a pair of shoes, and she told the shoe salesman that I made her "these socks". Yoi! He asked if I'd make some for him, but I told him he'd have to be family. Sigh..... She asked if I "had any more of this yarn". Why yes mother, indeed I do. So no more fancy pants socks for my mother.

My MIL, on the other hand, loves her fancy pants socks.........

A little ray of sunshine...

Waldorf School lends hand to its pupils

And check out the [what looks like a] scarf in the foreground!

On my GOD!!

This is very scary!

What's next? Animal House disguised as universal health care?

And here's Ribby!

And a bad photo no less. Does it look too big? Can you tell? I know I look like the wreck of the Hespers, but cut me a break. I'm just back from spinning class...yes, spinning. One of the few exercise classes that fulfill my requirements - efficient and intense. The only dawdling around I like to do when it comes to exercise is yoga. Otherwise, I need quick and done. I'm lazy with the attention span of a flea when it comes to exercise. Also I made a strategic error in allowing the camera to focus for me, and then stepping back. Confused it. But anyway, see how it doesn't "nip" in at the waist at all. I think it should. I DO have a waist.




Here is a side photo and you can see that it sways out in back. Right? Yes, I'm pulling it slightly, but just so you can see the "roominess". Anyway, this is a seamed garment, that I knit in the round (yes, decreasing the edge stitching etc.) However, I think I just knit the wrong size. So my LYS owner is a whiz with scissors, and she will help me cut and seam if I decide to. In effect, steek where there was not meant to be a steek.

I need opinions, what say you? I'll try to retake the photos tonight and do a better job. Also I was getting the "change my batteries idiot" sign, so the flash might have been wacky. I do not make any guarantees about the model's clothing or hair style.

You know the saying...

...go big or go home? Well, that seems to be my knitting mantra. A day or so ago, a friend asked me where I've been. Outside of a hairy going on two months at the office, which I won't bore anyone with, I finished my Ribby Cardi (Chic Knits). It's a great knit, but I lost my mind when I cast on and made the XL. I cannot tell you why now. My measurements were just north of the L and I should have gone with negative ease. But perhaps I was worried about it being too tight. Some of the finished pieces on Ravelry look a little too small to me. At least for someone in my size range. Gotta stay realistic here. I'm not 30, or even 40, anymore!

It seems to me the trend lately is to wear clothing too tight-like blazers and suit coats on women. Have you seen the women on something like Criminal Minds? They button their jackets and they pull dreadfully. Ugly!! And these women are probably a size 2 to begin with! Why not just tailor the jacket so it nips in at the waist? Same thing with all the college kinds around here. Sweaters are very short and very tight and worn with [at least] one shirt underneath. I'm fifty-plus now, and can't go around wearing short tight sweaters or anything else for that matter.

Anyway, I have not created a cardi, but a jacket! (Thats' my story and I'm stickin' to it!) I'm afraid it makes me look like a "tubla" (what my Lebanese sithu (grandmother) used to call overweight women), but I have a bit more finishing to do before the unveiling. I hand sewed the zipper and want to reinforce it a bit more. And I need to tack down the upper edges of the zipper tape. Maybe steam block the front placard.

All I can say is that Bonne sizes her patterns well, for me anyway. I made an "L" CeCe and it fits beautifully. Not tight, but not large, just the way I like things. Why didn't I think of this when I cast on for the Ribby.

Another strange but true story in the nekked city.

Moving on .....

Because I'm exhausted with worrying myself silly over what in the world I will do with the extra $40 a month-that will be economy stimulating enough. I present some "old" knitting. This is the Tendrils Wrap from Knitty.



This is knit from Knit Picks Elegance. It's the alpaca/silk blend and it has about a kilo of beads in it. I keep it at the office and wrap myself in it when it gets chilly. Usually in the summer when the A/C is on. I've been fine so far in the winter. I knit this in the summer of 2006. I don't know what some folks have against KP yarns. Yeah, some of them are a little splitty, but I'm thinking that I could find one yarn in every line that has some splittyness to it. I enjoyed knitting with Elegance a great deal and it made this a very affordable project.



I'm becoming used to the Noro. It seems to soften up when it is finally knitted into a fabric. It still feels like twine (to me) when I'm knitting it though.

I keep wondering about all those hats I see that have Noro combined with another yarn. Like Turn A Square. Aren't they scratchy? My LYS owners say "rough" not scratchy....potato/patato. I knit a hat from Harrisville wool and it made me crazy. I gave it to my sister who found it "itchy" as well. They insist it is the BEST! Very soft. I keep wondering if I'm just looney. (OK, I don't really wonder, but I can't figure out why my impressions are SO different!) Recently I knit a felted cloche for my mom, and because of her senior Red Hat status I decided to knit a purple stripe into the red Lambs Pride I used. The purple was a bit of leftover Harrisville, and zonks! The difference was remarkable. Way more "rough" than the Lambs Pride. Now the LP has a bit of mohair, so if you're allergic to mohair, you could be in trouble. But for felting it's fabulous.

Just as an aside, my favorite felting yarn is Paton's Classic Wool. The fabric is not thick and stiff, so the garment is lighter. If you need more body, the Lamb's Pride is probably your best bet. And look for the new monochromatic colors. I think I used cranberry swirl (except I thought it was ruby red, but it was varigated).

Now my last question. Is there anyone out of the Illinois/Chicago political arena who isn't smarmy? Just askin'?

Loose Leaf Thoughts .....

I "accidentally" joined the Loopy Ewe Sock Club. How, you may ask, does one "accidentally" join a sock club. Well, I just wanted to see the details (costs and such), and clicked once too many times. Well, it's a lottery, I told myself, what are the odds? Well, pretty darned good apparently. I'm in. I debated whether I should withdraw, but heck. I can be on a yarn diet the rest of the year, right? First shipment should be in about 4 weeks. I almost can't wait.

I should know better about lotteries. Back in 2002 the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament was being held in Pittsburgh. My DH LOVES the basketball tournament. It runs a close second to the Super Bowl with the Steelers playing. Anyway, the tickets were $$ and you had to "buy" into a lottery to try and get them. Also you had to fax your application. Anyway, our fax hiccuped and I ended up entering twice!! (And having my credit card charged twice.) Nice, huh? This was about January 2001. Lo and behold May rolls around and I am notified that I've gotten TWO tickets. Now I'm on pins and needles waiting to see if I also got the other two. This pre-dates StubHub and those other ticket services, so selling them would have been an ordeal and subject to PA's scalping laws. Fortunately, for me, I got a "regrets" notification, and a credit to my charge. But we had a GREAT time at the tournament!

I'm wondering who the heck is going to benefit from the 800B? Not me. If they really wanted to stimulate the economy, and help the "middle-class" they'd do things like....tax write off for $20K if you buy a new home in 2009, how about $5K if you buy a new vehicle ($7 for a hybrid or high mileage), a few hundred for all kinds of durable goods, like washers, dryers etc. This would put Detroit back to work, housing starts would get going again (along with all the associated crafts), manufacturing would stay afloat....but no. We have climate change research. Yeah, that'll help the folks laid off in Midland. The only people this will help in 2009 are the pinheads in the labs at Stanford and MIT and the packing/shipping folks at Fischer Scientific. Oh yeah!! And it would be loads cheaper! (How do I know about pinheads and labs? I used to be one of those pinheads!)



Dondi just doesn't know when to quit. Sheesh. And it just gets worse and worse. Hey buddy!! The clue phone is ringing and it's for you!












I think I just hate Facebook. I just don't "get it". I'm also so not a twitterer or plurker...gads do I really need to know your thoughts at every moment? You sure don't want to know mine! I shudder to think. This comes to mind because we are looking at Facebook as a teaching tool, because "students use it all the time". Many students get drunk all the time too, are we going to start serving cocktails during class? Just sayin'.

"6!"

And no that's not the infamous beginning of the number of the beast...or maybe it is!



Six-burgh


We were way excited here at Casa Black n' Gold. So excited we drank a bottle of champagne when I calmed down enough to handle the stemware without breakage. Luckily, we were smart enough to take Monday off. (Champagne kicks my ass, but I do love it so.) Probably should have toasted with an Ahrn... I, as is usual, couldn't even watch the last 4 or so minutes. I hate to say it, but it speaks to the fact that I'm not a native 'Burgher (only by marriage). That and I still can't say "dahntahn" properly.

Here's what I did to stop myself from chewing my fingernails to the knuckle.



This is Wrap Me Up to block #4. My LYS had their usual Superbowl sale on Sunday afternoon. (No, not during the game. We here at football central wouldn't be caught dead shopping no matter who was playing.)I went specifically to get my "contrast" yarn for Wrap Me Up, because I decided I was going to "knit ahead". We were only supposed to finish the first three blocks. You can see a bit of the mitered squares block if you look closely. I was trying to figure out what to do with my hands during the game, that wouldn't be too fiddley (no socks) or that I wouldn't have to prompt myself with a pattern (no Lace Ribbon, though that desperately needs attention), that left WMU. I was so focused, even drinking hard cider, that I finished the half-linen stitch block and added the ruffle. That's what you see in pink. I'm not sure that particular pink is the best contrast choice, but it is fun. I have no idea if the pattern is executed properly, or if I have the correct number of rows, but what the heck. That bit of the shawl will have history knitted in.

While there I also snagged three skeins of-are you sitting down-cashmere, in "wine", for, probably, a cowl - at HALF price. Youza! I shouldn't have purchased anything, I had just spent a fortune on Monday what with the class and half the yarn for project (Cynthia has to order more Noro in the colorways I selected). And since I chose the winning team...thank you Stillers...I can also get 20% off the yarn for one project, but I think I'll have to let that slide.

To wrap this up, here is an "in progress" photo of the Lace Ribbon scarf in Koigu KPM. (With more gratuitous Steeler stuff...)

And there is a story here. I was in Philly in September for a workshop. I had some time one evening and walked to Rosie's Yarn Cellar - a great little place. (It never ceases to amaze me how much fine yarn a little space can squeeze in.) They had several kinds of yarn I've always wanted, but never had to opportunity to try. One is Koigu. I chose that lovely apricotty yarn, bought two skeins, after discussing my plan with the nice clerk who was unpacking boxes, and went on my way. I didn't have the pattern (Lace Ribbon) with me, but she knew the pattern, and thought that two skeins would be plenty. When I got home, I realized it wasn't enough. So I called a few days later, and another nice clerk (they all must be lovely), sent me another from the same lot. Fast forward to January 2009, I've just finished one skein (175 yds), and I've got barely 20 inches. Yikes! That means that even with blocking I may get a scarf between 60 and 70 inches. I'm a long scarf kinda gal....think Isadora Duncan. So now, roughly 4+ months later I call Rosie's again, and AGAIN, a nice clerk searches the Koigu and finds THE LAST skein from this lot. It turns out it is her favorite color too, and is delighted she can send the last skein to a good home. She apologizes because it seems to have gone up a $1 in price, but...this is the best part, they only charge me $1 to send it...AND I get in two days later. Granted, I won't need it for months at the rate I'm going, but jeepers. How can you beat this?



Here's a close-up.










If you're ever in Philly. Trek to dahntahn, (ignore all the Eagles/Phillies banners), and stop in Rosie's. You won't be sorry. And if you're ever in Central PA, stop in Stitch Your Art Out and say hi to Cynthia and Kim, great yarns, lovely location. Stop at Watkins Dairyette down the street for a custard. They also do quilting, and if you're not a quilter....you'll be tempted to start.

Nobody asked me but ....

(with apologies to Bob Smizik)

I am just not a Noro fan. I joined a monthly knitting group yesterday. We're going to be working on Wrap Me Up for the better part of a year. (It is knit in blocks.) Of course, when one joins a "class" one purchases the materials at the host shop. I have no problem with this, however, since a self striping yarn was needed my choices were Noro's, Silk Garden, Kochoran, or Kureyon, or a discontinued (but lovely) Ella Rae. The Silk Garden and Kochoran put the project out of my price range, and though there was enough of the Ella Rae, the subdued colors made me think that I'd be sick of this project well before the year was out. I'm pretty tactile when I knit and Kureyon, as lovely as it is colorwise, is pretty rough. Please tell me it will soften up upon washing and blocking.....I know it's not Malabrigo...but just a wee bit softer. Anyone? I know I'm not good with progress photos, but I'll try and do better with this. Right now I'm working on the first block, a series of three mitered squares. Noro, of course, is just looking "loverly".

I've been trying to be "flexible" with this new administration, after all, they don't know where all the bathrooms are yet, but I find myself becoming horrified at the insensitivity. I'm beginning to get the feeling that the only thing that matters is what the "friends" think. (Please to define "friends" any way you wish (e.g., "friends who got you elected", "friends in the world community" (like Iran? eep!), "friends in congress", etc.). Bi-partisian, my big hairy butt (BHB).

Bruce the "Boss" is coming to town in May. It was just announced yesterday. I nearly died when I heard the price of the tickets. As most of the rest of the country, we're belt tightening: while no one is talking "layoffs" (higher ed is thought to be "recession proof"), we have a hiring freeze, it will probably be extended to faculty soon. Salaries have been frozen, so no cost of living increase. We're running programs on thinner and thinner shoestrings. But we're supposed to pay $175 for tickets, with probably a dose if his political ideology as a side dish. One hundred and seventy five clams for tickets in a recessive economy! Working man's band my BHB! Anyone want to bet he'll sell out? (As an aside, Bruce would have to pay me to go to his concert. Not my type of music.)

I'm losing my mind. Not too long ago I saw a blog post that described a knitting book that looked interesting to me. I can usually find the book even if I don't remember the title if I browse Knitpicks or Amazon. No such luck this time. I can't even remember why it attracted me. Have no idea what this means, but I'm annoyed with myself.

As with knitting projects I usually have multiple books going at one time. I have an audio of the Seduction of Water, which I'm enjoying immensely, and I picked up Twilight to see what all the fuss is about. And I have to say...I don't get the Twilight thing. When I read the Potter books, I "got it". It was clear why they appealed to people. This, I'm not getting. Maybe it's the vampire theme. I was never a fan of Rice's books either. I'll read the series, but other more interesting things will probably come and go in between.

Update and knitting...at last!

Mother-in-law update. I spoke to her yesterday afternoon, and after an unexpected extra night's stay, she got home around 11:00am yesterday (Sunday) morning. I spoke to her around 4:00pm and with God as my witness, she sounded perkier, and more upbeat that I did. Remarkable for someone who spent 2 nights in a hospital. The one institution where getting what one usually needs most (rest) is nearly impossible. She was experiencing no discomfort, and was tickled by how amazed everyone on the staff she encountered couldn't believe her age. She is now considering getting those "skin plumping" creams to try and minimize some of her wrinkles. All righty then..... moving on.

Here is the headband I started, I don't know how many times, there were so many.




I like the way it looks....(though there are mistakes that are not obvious), but it is hard for me to wear.



I also learned a few interesting tidbits. DO NOT try and do stranding fair isle on DP needles. It is technically possible, of course, but it is a major PIA if the needles are just a little short. Stick with a circ and your life will be much happier.


It is hard for me to wear because I have to slide it over my head, and then up UNDER my hair. I have shorter hair these days and the size of the band pushes the hair up in back. I'm thinking the button and narrowing of Calorimetry is much better for me.

I also finished Morgan. Photo shoot to follow. My DH who is on thin ice, rejected it however, because he is "uncomfortable" with the varigated yarn I used. Sheesh. Men!

This is how I want to be....

On December 27th we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. She turned 90. Now I read a lot of postings and board messages about evil in-laws and how much trouble they cause etc. But I'm here to tell you, I won the in-law sweepstakes. My in-laws are golden-even, for the most part, the siblings and spouses. So here is a photo of dear Marcella, celebrating her 90th at a local watering hole. (Please note that she is surrounded by wine and champagne. I promise only one of those is hers.)







Doesn't she look great? And, though she says her memory isn't what it used to be (who's is?), she's sharp and connected.









Here she is checking out the pearl bracelet we had made to match the long strand of pearls around her neck. (We stumbled across that pearl strand a few years ago and gave it to her for Mother's Day. She wears it alot because there is no clasp.) Because she has difficulty manipulating clasps, we had our jeweler replace the traditional lobster claw with a magnetic clasp and add a guard chain. It is perfect.





Before we left the house she asked me if she should wear the pearls. "Oh yes, indeed", I said. "Definitely!"


Today this dear lady is having surgery - for breast cancer. Her younger sister died as a result of breast cancer over thirty years ago. As you can imagine we are all concerned about the effect of general anesthetic on a person of this age, and I'd appreciate positive thoughts and prayers, or whatever is your habit, for Marcella. She's kind of like a Timex. Takes a lickin' and keeps on ticking. But you can't have too many positive thoughts.

No self-esteem?

Is it my imagination, or has the world gone stark raving mad? Doesn't ANYONE have any SELF-esteem?

If the Borg wanted to assimilate our planet, now would be the time....... The non-conformist part of me is getting the "creepin' eeps"....bad.

The Building of New Nation

On this day, as the rest of the world cannonizes, coronates kisses the ass of swoons over a guy who won an election, I'd like to post something about a real grass roots nation. One that precedes and will outlast this and future presidents.

This was published nearly three years ago to the day. To those uninitiated with Pittsburgh and it's environs it might explain some of the hysteria that will be building over the next two weeks. While some of the names have changed, or retired, most of the context remains the same. The author is a Pittsburgh media figure, best known for his wacky on air commentary, and snarky sense of humor. A man after my own heart. It was written in the aftermath of a drag down, knock out fight to fund two new sports stadiums, with a third, a new hockey arena, on the horizon. (The new hockey arena is scheduled to open in 2010, after much drama!)

Nation Building
January 18, 2006
Scott Paulsen

Think about this the next time someone argues that a professional sports franchise is not important to a city's identity:

In the 1980's, as the steel mills and their supporting factories shut down from Homestead to Midland, Pittsburghers, faced for the first time in their lives with the specter of unemployment, were forced to pick up their families, leave their home towns and move to more profitable parts of the country. The steel workers were not ready for this. They had planned to stay in the ‘burgh their entire lives. It was home.
Everyone I know can tell the same story about how Dad, Uncle Bob or their brother-in-law packed a U-Haul and headed down to Tampa to build houses or up to Boston for an office job or out to California to star in pornographic videos.
All right.
Maybe that last one just happened in my family.

At this same time, during the early to mid-eighties, the Pittsburgh Steelers were at the peak of their popularity. Following the Super Bowl dynasty years, the power of the Steelers was strong. Every man, woman, boy and girl from parts of four states were Pittsburgh faithful, living and breathing day to day on the news of their favorite team. Then, as now, it seemed to be all anyone talked about.
Who do you think the Steelers will take in the draft this year?
Is Bradshaw done?
Can you believe they won't give Franco the money – what's he doing going to Seattle?


The last memories most unemployed steel workers had of their towns had a black and gold tinge. The good times remembered all seemed to revolve, somehow, around a football game. Sneaking away from your sister's wedding reception to go downstairs to the bar and watch the game against Earl Campbell and the Oilers - going to midnight mass, still half in the bag after Pittsburgh beat Oakland - you and your grandfather, both crying at the sight of The Chief, finally holding his Vince Lombardi Trophy.
And then, the mills closed.
Damn the mills.


One of the unseen benefits of the collapse of the value systems our families believed in – that the mill would look after you through thick and thin – was that now, decades later, there is not a town in America where a Pittsburgher cannot feel at home. Nearly every city in the United States has a designated “Black and Gold” establishment. From Bangor, Maine to Honolulu, Hawaii, and every town in between can be found an oasis of Iron City, chipped ham and yinzers. It's great to know that no matter what happened in the lives of our Steel City refugees, they never forgot the things that held us together as a city - families, food, and Steelers football.
It's what we call the Steeler Nation.


You see it every football season. And when the Steelers have a great year, as they have had this season, the power of the Steeler Nation rises to show itself stronger than ever. This week, as the Pittsburgh team of Roethlisberger, Polamalu, Bettis and Porter head to Denver, the fans of Greenwood, Lambert, Bleier and Blount, the generation who followed Lloyd, Thigpen, Woodson and Kirkland will be watching from Dallas to Chicago, from an Air Force base in Minot, North Dakota, to a tent stuck in the sand near Fallujah, Iraq.


I have received more email from displaced Pittsburgh Steelers fans this week than Christmas cards this holiday season.
They're everywhere.
We're everywhere.
We are the Steeler Nation.


And now, it's passing from one generation to the next. The children of displaced Pittsburghers, who have never lived in the Steel City, are growing up Steelers fans. When they come back to their parents' hometowns to visit the grandparents, they hope, above all, to be blessed enough to get to see the Steelers in person.
Heinz Field is their football Mecca.
And if a ticket isn't available, that's okay, too. There's nothing better than sitting in Grandpa's living room, just like Dad did, eating Grandma's cooking and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Just like Dad did.


So, to you, Steeler Nation, I send best wishes and a fond wave of the Terrible Towel. To Tom, who emailed from Massachusetts to say how great it was to watch the Patriots lose and the Steelers win in one glorious weekend. To Michelle, from Milwaukee, who wrote to let me know it was she who hexed Mike Vanderjagt last Sunday by chanting “boogity, boogity, boogity” and giving him the “maloik”. To Jack, who will somehow pull himself away from the beach bar he tends in Hilo, Hawaii, to once again root for the black and gold in the middle of the night (his time), I say, thanks for giving power to the great Steeler Nation.


All around the NFL, the word is out that the Pittsburgh Steeler fans “travel well”, meaning they will fly or drive from Pittsburgh to anywhere the Steelers play, just to see their team. The one aspect about that situation the rest of the NFL fails to grasp is that, sometimes, the Steeler Nation does not have to travel. Sometimes, we're already there.
Yes, the short sighted steel mills screwed our families over.
But they did, in a completely unintended way, create something new and perhaps more powerful than an industry.
They helped created a nation.


A Steeler Nation

This is not imagination or wishful thinking at work. There are two things we can always count on when we travel. There is ALWAYS a Penn State Alumni Association chapter or Blue and White Club somewhere in the vicinity--including odd places like Chapel Hill and Ann Arbor. And there is ALWAYS a self-proclaimed Steeler bar. Like Bubba's Beach Club in Virginia Beach, or the 5,000 member Steeler Fan Club of Maryland, based in Baltimore, the Steeler Fan Club in Italy, oh yeah, there's the group in Vegas, and Oklahoma City. So you get the drift.

Is it bizarre, yeah, sorta. But if you'd have ever lived in the 'Burgh, you wouldn't bat an eye. Is it weird that I get choked up about it, sorta. But in a good way.

Time to Paaaartay!

Noooooo!! It's not what you're thinking....I'm, personally, so sick of hearing about the inauguration, that I could throw up....more about that later.

It's this nation that we here at Casa Black n' Gold are so very excited about.



Steeler Nation


I can tell you that it got pretty tense yesterday for awhile. Now it's going to be a fun two weeks!

Gotta have priorities kids, and if I'm going to drink kool aid it's not going to be the kind that is being drunk in Washington now. Yinz can make mine an Arn (Iron City Beer).



The great news aside. Here's my take on the whoop-de-do. I'm extremely proud (unlike certain soon-to-be first ladies, snarky? yup! true? also yup! She had to win to be "proud"--what's up with that?) to be a citizen of a country that every 4 or 8 years has a completely civilized transfer of power. The only guns and uniforms are those that are ceremonial or for the protection of the folks. I also never had a doubt that a person of another race (gender, creed etc.) would be elected eventually. I, unlike those who turned racism into a cottage industry-Jesse I'm a'talkin to you, do not believe this is a "prejudiced" country. Are there bigoted and prejudiced individuals? Yes there are, and there always will be. There are as many (maybe more) people who would refuse to vote for a Morman, as there are who wouldn't vote for a woman, or a Muslim. This is also bigotry in my book. At least it is today in contemporary society. So I'm sick of the plates, and the coins, and the waxing poetic about history. If we were really a country of equality, this would just be another celebration of a peaceful transfer of power.

Because I want this country to continue to be successful and safe, I am hoping for the best for BO. God help you sir.

The car says.....

..... it's 1 F. Bad car.

(It's a running joke that I always ask my husband when we're driving "What [temperature] does the car say?" This is actually rather important when we're driving over Cresson Mountain between Altoona and Pittsburgh in the winter.)

Yeah, it's winter, yeah, it's Central PA, I get it!

So, since last Tuesday, we've had multiple days of freezing rain/sleet, snow, and now biting cold. If you live anywhere it snows, you'd recognize this cold. I call it freezing nose hair weather. The severe weather alert thingy on my browser has been getting a real workout. It's great for the meteorology students though. Must be boring taking meteorology at say...Stanford. Actually, we haven't been this cold (sub-zero), for around five years - that is according to the wonks over on Science Park Road at Accuweather. So I suppose we're spoiled. I'm wearing double layer wool long underwear. Do you blame me?

Wanna see what it looks like here today -- Campus Weather Service. I think this pretty much illustrates the genesis of SADS. And if you're really bored check out the Bad Meteorology page. (The author, a distinguished professor, plays the bagpipes and has been known to wear a kilt. How can he not have a sense of humor?)

But I'm bored with the weather. I'm having a knitting crisis. Back in the late 80's early 90's I easily knit 3 fair isle sweaters. I had no problems managing the colors. I knit two fisted. I made it up, I was knitting in a vacuum - no online, no knitting buddies or yarn stores. It was, as I recall, if not "easy", "not hard". I need to photograph my fair isle sweaters for proof. Last night I cast on for a little fair isle headband, and it defeated me - totally. I used this pattern from Nanette, Ankara. Lovely no? Well, first my cast on was too loose. I redid the cast on. Then as I was starting the pattern, it really looked bad. Not just beginning bad, but REALLY bad and the stitches loosened up by the minute. I'm going to try once more with a smaller needle. I couldn't even get the two fisted rhythm going. Sigh.

Right now I have the Morgan hat blocking/drying. Still finishing to do before I have a verdict. Beware that the pattern for the brim (peak) insert doesn't print properly. The designer doesn't know what to do about that and neither do I. Right now my peak is a little smaller than I think it should be, but I'm going to go with it anyway.

I also have a Lace Ribbon Scarf on the needles, in an apricot colored Koigu. Verra nice, but I need something a little more challenging, and W.A.R.M.

I still owe birthday photos, and now I'm thinking about the fair isle sweaters, should document those somehow.

Stay warm!

I'm back ....

.... and not happy. I'm never satisfied according to my DH, which is perfectly true.

Here's what's on the agenda for today:

AN ICE STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 1 PM EST WEDNESDAY.

PRECIPITATION WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION DURING THE MID TO LATE MORNING HOURS. FOLLOWING A BRIEF PERIOD OF SNOW AND SLEET... A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SLEET WILL OCCUR DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS... BEFORE GRADUALLY MIXING WITH AND CHANGING TO FREEZING RAIN LATER TONIGHT. A SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION OF ICE BETWEEN ONE QUARTER AND ONE THIRD OF AN INCH IS LIKELY OVERNIGHT IN AREAS FROM HARRISBURG NORTHWARD TO STATE COLLEGE... WILLIAMSPORT AND BERWICK. AN INCH OR TWO OF SLEET AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN.

The weather channel calls it "disruptive ice". What a euphemism!!

As I was leaving the building for lunch (actually to run to the bank and buy birthday cards), I ran into a friend and we chatted on the sidewalk for about 15 minutes. With my unerring good timing, just as I had left the building it began to sleet (freezing rain?) lightly. After about 15 minutes of catching up, Lisa asked, "Is it my imagination or is the sidewalk feeling slippery?" It wasn't her imagination. The sidewalks, the roads, EVERYTHING was feeling slippery.

I skated to the bank, stopped to buy birthday cards, and skated back. The roads were white with ice by this time.

Now why couldn't it do this when I was home with my Morgan on the needles and a cuppa raspberry tea?

And that damnable weather thingy on the bottom of my browser keeps popping up the severe weather alert. THANKS ALREADY I know!

A Hit and Run...

We made it through the holidays with a minimum of bumps (there are always a few), but here we are.

We celebrated my dear MIL's 90th birthday on Saturday (pictures to follow). Now one might think that we celebrated in an assisted living center or a little dreary home with lace coverings, but nope. We celebrated at a local watering hole, with the birthday girl sipping a glass of wine. When you see the photos you'll be amazed. I'm always astonished by her. If I'm this good by the time I'm 70 (presuming I make it), I'll count my blessings.

We're leaving for home today after an errand or two and stopping at Dellalo's Italian Food Store on Route 30 in Janette, PA. Best....everything...nearly, on the planet. When I travel on business I try and route myself past Dellalo's. It's worth a trip just to sniff the heady air.

Now home, to reclaim the landfill that is our house, and kick back for New Year's. Thank heaven.

One note: After a high in the teens on 12/22, it was 68(!) on Saturday. I got to wash the car even!

Hope you all had (have) wonderful holidays, and see ya on the flip side.

Where I've been...

Yikes, I got caught unawares this holiday. I'm usually pretty good when it comes to having stuff done. Nope, not this year. I've been completing things like crazy to try and mail them out. Fortunately, most everything is inside the state, and I don't have to worry about mailing stuff.

Here's what I did last weekend:



This is a version of a "simple ornament" pattern from Bead and Button a gazillion years ago, when they actually published such things. In order to get even close to the correct colors I used the "underwater setting" on my camera. How weird is that? This is for my sister-in-law. She spends much time taking care of the parents and DH and I feel she is taken for granted. About 10 years ago I began to make her a new ornament each year. Even though I'm running out of ideas, I feel that I still want her to know she is appreciated.









Then because DH family was having a "yankee gift exchange" and I didn't have to do anything specific, I made this one:



This is the same pattern, but with different "frosting". I realized as I was decorating my tree that it is hard to find places to hang ornaments with tons of fringe, no matter how pretty they are. I used fire polished crystals in the connectors in this piece and it turned out too big. (Working with beads is a crap shoot even more than knitting.) So I had to cut it apart and start over. I like the way it turned out though.





As it turns out, we will not be participating in the exchange, so ha! I get to keep this baby. I've not made a new ornament for myself in ages, so I'm pretty tickled.



The gift exchange is a sore point in our house. In prior years, you got someone's name, sought suggestions, and bought one nice ($50) gift. This year, with the same limit, you just buy a gift and, as per the yankee gift exchange "rules", each person randomly selects a gift. Rules are here, except, in my experience, the next person decides whether he/she wants any of the open gifts before opening another. So you could get golf balls or gift cards. I've been involved in these exchanges when they've been loads of fun because the gifts were small, inexpensive and funny. I, frankly, think this gift exchange is going to be an exchange of Macy's gift cards for the most part. DH simply refused to participate. I was going to participate with the ornament and a...ta da...gift card. But as it turns out we will not be there on Christmas, so problem solved.

Actually, to be honest, I've not fared very well in these gift exchanges over the years. Last year was the strangest. I got a blanket with sleeves, and a tea cup that holds about a quart of liquid. It is too heavy to hold....really. No one ever contacts my DH for suggestions. On the other hand, not only have the givers contacted me about him, I've on occasion purchased the items for them. So he usually gets exactly what he wants.

You see we have no family in this area. So we have to travel every holiday. This year we are working up to Christmas Eve, and don't want to have to pack for what would be 6 days away, and travel on Christmas. Also I'd have to sleep in a bunk bed for the duration. So we'll not be traveling until the day after Christmas, which suites me fine. We'll be celebrating my MIL's 90th!! birthday on the 27th. It will be much less chaotic than Christmas Day.

I've also learned that you can't bead and knit at the same time. (I was holding out hope that it was possible.) So I rushed to finish:




Embossed Leaves sock pattern. Great pattern, odd instructions. I changed the heel, toe, and needle size. And I'd change the toe further the next time. The leaf pattern is outstanding though. These will be in the mail today to my dear MIL.











For my FIL, A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend:



My FIL is ALWAYS cold. He wears a hat most of the time, even to sleep. I made him one of these last year, and he wore it alot--he was so cute. Last year's was blue to match a cardigan we bought him. So I thought gray (though "underwater" it looks tan) would be a lovely compliment. I started this at 3:00 am on Friday night. And finished it off Sunday morning, pre-Steelers drubbing.










So I packed these items in little "take-out" container gift boxes and into the mail they'll go. They should be in Pittsburgh via priority by Wednesday.

So now I'm starting on Morgan for my DH, but there's no rush (and if his attitude doesn't improve he's going to get coal in his stocking not Morgan). I had a devil of a time with gauge, and I'm still not sure I'm going to be successful with this yarn. Yet, again, odd pattern instructions. She wants you to knit this on two circs. That's OK by me, but you start out with 8 stitches, which is WAY too fiddly on two circular needles. I gave up and went to 4 dpns. Still fiddly, but not nearly as frustrating.

So that's my story. I don't know if I'll be able to post until after the first of the year. We shut down here tomorrow, and we'll be up and running again on the 5th.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and may whatever holiday you celebrate be lovely, and joyous, and sheesh, let's really hope for peace, especially domestically, in the New Year.

P.S. I learned on Saturday that my hairdresser's husband, a state trooper, will be going to the inauguration, assigned as part of the PA State Police Mounted Patrol. He's excited, and she's petrified (and it has nothing to do with how either of them voted). So good thoughts for Trooper B and Cosmo (his horse).

P.P.S. My weather vane is telling me that it is 9 degrees, working up to a high of 17. Think it's too cold to wash the car?

You tell 'em Ruth!

I'm so glad there are articulate people out there who say [nearly] exactly what I'm thinking...


http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/08343/933584-152.stm?cmpid=bcpanel1

Irony is indeed the word....

The comments made me laugh. When DH sent met the original news release a few days ago, I asked the same question. "What will they do for the Lion?" I didn't even notice it yesterday because: 1) the news had broken over the weekend; and 2) ho hum, another student DUI. (Wouldn't it make you nervous to drive around here on weekends though?)

In case your entire world doesn't bleed blue and white as ours does, you may not know that Penn State is going to the Rose Bowl in January. A very big deal indeed. (Not as big as a National Championship, but, hey, they let Iowa beat 'em!) So whatever will the Nittany Lions do without their mascot--who apparently thought cramming enough friends into his vehicle so it sagged, was a good idea. Oh yeah, then driving at twice the legal limit of BAL.

To put all your minds at ease here's the followup:

http://www.centredaily.com/126/story/998840.html

A fellow cheerleader will sub until after the first of the year. So even though Mr. Sheep (I'm not kidding) will not get to go to the Rose Bowl, there will be a Nittany Lion in the Rose Bowl Parade.

Whew!! All the faithful are much relieved I'm sure.

Please note that the Lion receives a full scholarship. Not bad. It's not an easy job, however.

I'm guessing that drunk students urinating in parking lots, don't count in the "crime" stats.

Yin/Yang.....

The yin

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/996594.html

Tempered by the fact that I have to go "shopping" for a new snow shovel. (The yang--in case anyone is wondering.)