Here's what she's been doing

A few of you have inquired as to how Patches is handling the move.

Well, basically, she's become completely feral life is good. There's an abundance of stairs and carpeting, and she has claimed the third floor as her private lair. I mean it... Don't go up there!!





I thought I'd post a few photos of me place, matey:



This used to be an oven once upon a time! It's called a beehive oven. It now contains a litter box, and recycling. How glamorous.



This is how we get in and out.



This is where I over cook the %$#@! chicken. #@!$!



It's like Disneyland, every night at 9PM, a fireworks display goes off. Actually, this is July 4th. But you can see it from our place!!



Gathering strength for nocturnal activities.

Knitters are nice.

They're really friendly people. Last night I stopped by SSFY for community knitting and had a very nice time. I hope to be back again next Thursday night. They have a rather nice selection of Rowan yarns, including kid silk haze. I couldn't resist picking up the latest issue of Rowan Magazine.

Yarn kitsch, and other good things

My friend Betty Crocker sent me this funny link. Check this out. I laughed my head off. Mama Bee still has some old knitting magazines with some crazy patterns like those featured here. I think I saw one that had a pattern for a crocheted lampshade, and matching vest.


I'm opting out of SnB again today, this time to trot over to the Kendall Square farmer's market. If they have some decently priced basil, I may try making some homemade pesto this weekend.

Tonite, after work, I'm heading over to Community Knitting at SSFY. Keep an eye out for me Rhonda!

Moving Day, from Patches Point of View

Uh. Muh. Gawd.

I'm really tired. Salem is AWESOME!!!

Our closing went well, and DH and I officially own our place. Which we LOVE.

I'm blogging from the local library, because our place is in such a state of chaos, I don't dare describe it. No phone, no email. Patches thrives on chaos, however. She has a lot more room to roam around.

Long story, short: movers didn't finish unloading until 11PM. Most of heavy furniture cannot fit up our staircase to the 2nd and 3rd floors, so we have some problem solving ahead.

Must. rest.

Movin' on Up!

Home selling and home buying can make the most reasonable, rational person completely superstitious. Which is why I haven't said much about my moving plans. But I think I can finally tell you that DH and I will be moving TOMORROW to our new home. We're closing AND moving tomorrow, so please send us your good thoughts for things to go smoothly.

The best part? I'll be living about a TEN MINUTE WALK from Rhonda's favorite yarn shop!

Is Salem ready for this 50% left-brained, 50% right-brained, blue-aura'd, cat-lovin' fool? Just look what I did to Quincy:



Oh wait, sorry, that's DH at closing. HA!

DH was here...

Busy weekend

Didn't this used to be a knitting blog?

Why yes! For the first time in a while, I found the where-with-all to work on my sweater. According to previous posts, I'm on the second sleeve. Quite frankly, it has been so long now, I can't remember! Here's a pic:



I don't want to say too much just yet, but DH and I have made considerable progress on our housing thing. There's still some paperwork to wrap up, but we've begun packing and are getting ready to close on our condo and move to our new home! Mama-Bee and Babbo-Bee came down to help us get rid of an old kitchen cabinet, while DH waited around for the glass repairman. Oh, yeah, some punk smashed our windshield early last Sunday morning.





Mom entertained Patches... or was it the other way around?



Wait, is that our Tabby, or a harbor seal??

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday people.

I hope everyone has a mighty fine day.

Look at how bad I am

My kindly caretaker just spent an hour mopping the entire apartment, to cleanse it of the tumbleweeds of grey and white fur I have shed everywhere. But do I care? No.

I was asked nicely to remove myself from the kitchen table, but I chose not to respond. Because that's just the way I roll. It's friggin' hot.

... and guess what else?

You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Overworked Overstressed Thursdays

I can't make it to SnB today, so I thought I would do some virtual knitting, and did this mini quiz on Rhonda's site . Incidentally, her aura is indeed yellow. She's a lovely cheerful person. Check it out...

I doubt that many people would describe me as spiritual or calm, but the facts don't lie people. YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT???!! And clearly I'm more at one with my serenity lately than The Striped One.

Your Aura is Blue

Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life. You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships. The purpose of your life: showing love to other people Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor

What Color Is Your Aura?

Why Patches, Why?

Flat out

Hi folks, sorry for the long break in between blog entries, but I've been flat out. DH and I are trying to get the housing side of our life organized, and it is pretty tiring!

I hope to be back blogging again soon!

Hot Damn

DH and I are in the midst of a housing transition (which may explain why my posting seem to be getting a little later and later). I won't go into detail, but just to say that in a few months we might finally be ready to buy a new place of our own.

I've been looking at houses/condos online, and saw a nice house, but it has an inground swimming pool. I'm crazy about swimming and water, but not crazy about the upkeep or environmental impact of a chlorine pool.

Sooo... I started poking around online at what it would cost to excavate/fill in a pool, and stumbled across this. Babbo-bee & Mama-bee made a fish-pond in their backyard (hey remember, Dad, I helped dig the hole!). Wonder if I could recreuit them to help with a project on this scale. Heh!

I loved the "vegi-filter" this guy made. How crazy is that! Imagine if I had this house, and that garden. Sweet.

Thanks, Pal!

I'd like to say thanks to both of my pen-pals: one hails from the mid-atlantic states and the other from Finland. Both these knitters sent me absolutely lovely letters....





Finland included a mini-sock she knitted on size 0 needles - holy smokes! I haven't yet tried to knit socks.



I plan on sending both my pen-pals another letter, but there's going to some delay as I have some pressing business on the home front, and a two-day conference up in Maine this week. Guess that means I also won't be at SnB this week!

A special hello to some friends I've been thinking about... hey Mommy Dearest! Hey Betty Crocker! Lady S and the Rev, I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in a few weeks! Hope you are all enjoying spring!

Greetings from Our Nation's Capitol

While you guys were getting socked with a Nor'easter here in Boston, down in DC we were ALSO getting socked. DH and I can't get a break from this weather, even when we are on vacation. Poor guy takes it pretty personal. He had hoped we would be getting temps in the 60's, but that SO didn't happen.

But we did have a nice time. We stayed in some nice hotels. His great aunt did some italian cooking for us, which was OUTSTANDING.

As it was raining sideways and gusting in the other direction, we spent most of our time indoors at the museums. I took some video, but quite frankly, I've just about given up on getting google video to work in a timely fashion. I want my life back!Sniff!

art school humor


flowers at the national gallery


beautiful statue at the National Gallery, ^%$#! blurry photo!


Carousel on the Mall


WWII Army/Air Force Paraphenlia from the Air & Space Museum

Pen Pal

After about a 25 year hiatus, I have picked up the old quill and paper once again. No, I'm not finishing my novel. Although, you'd like that wouldn't you. No, this time I'm writing to a penpal. I think I wrote to my last pal was when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. She lived in Ireland and was my age. My brother signed me up to be her penpal as a gift, and I remember being pretty psyched about it since I'm half irish.

This has all been organized by a knitting blogger I frequently read.

To those unfortunate people who corresponded with me in high school and college (ummm, Lady S, this means you), please be assured, that the tone of my letter was upbeat, devoid of narcissism (I think), and made no reference to any sort of angst, PAIN, or other types of bleakness.

heh!

All the Condo's A Stage....

Sorry for my absence! I had planned to put up a video from a walk I took in the woods in Concord, MA two Saturdays ago. Google video was not cooperating, so I gave up. Then I tried to load a photo from said walk, but got distracted.


DH and I have been working hard at "staging" our condo to sell it (hopefully!) this spring. Weekends normally spent updating my blog have lately been devoted to endless tidying, moving things around, etc, etc.

Check out the "staged" version of my command center...



Pretty nice, eh? The matching ottoman lives in another room for the time being.

In the meantime, I cast on for the second sleeve of my sweater, and done about ten rows. Every row counts, people!

This weekend, DH and I are going to DC this weekend to visit some of his family. I'm hoping to grab a bite to eat at this place.

Patches

This is a controversial short film that Patches starred in, but it never played in theatres. It was considered too artistically risque for american audiences. (this may take a few second to load on your computer depending on your internet connection)

Sha-ZZAM!

I recently suggested to myself that buying a new knitting bag would encourage me to knit more. It HAS! I finished the sleeve of my sweater. Here's a picture (pre-blocking) of all the finished parts thus far:



I knit all Sunday afternoon, seated in my command center, whilst DH and Patches watch college basketball. It's March Madness time.



Today I also treated myself to a one hour massage at my hair salon. They are a pretty small salon, but they offer some services outside the usual hair and nail type thing. Please indulge me as I speak briefly on this topic...

I was never a glamour-puss. In high school, I worked as a receptionist at the local hair salon, and found everyone on the premises (employees AND clients!) to be rather absurd and sometimes frightening. Keep in mind, this was during the Big-Hair 1980s. It has taken me many years to appreciate and enjoy what the salon has to offer, and I now consider it an oasis of pampering. Tangent: I know it's mean to say, but it really detracts from the oasis effect, when you look up from your US Weekly, and you've got goop in your hair, to see someone's sullen boyfriend/husband/child slouching there waiting for their women-folk to finish up already.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Non-Irish folks NEED to know: the whole "luck o' the irish" thing was invented by the Irish Tourist Board. Believe me. Need proof? Okay:

1. Woke up this morning to the sight of THIS (thanks, Patches!)



2. And THIS (thanks, Mr. Weatherman!)



3. As well as the sound of water dripping from our bedroom ceiling. Apparently an old water stain has revived itself, thanks to the severe winds and moisture from our most recent storm.

OK, sorry. Just had to gripe a little. Must be some pent up frustration from living in New England for 33 years! I am, actually, very lucky. I've got a wonderful DH, and that's just the start of it.

We spent St. Patrick's day shoveling, then went to see The Wind That Shakes The Barley, which I found very interesting. My paternal grandparents came from Ireland (as well as my Da!), and were in their late teens/early twenties during the era depicted in the film. It was a very violent and tragic time, and I can see why no one ever seems to want to talk about it.

As much as we were in the mood for some tasty bread and a pint at Matt Murphy's after watching the film, we knew it'd be really crowded, so we went to Little Q Mongolian Hotpot Just the thing for such cold wet weather! And right down the street!



Because this is supposed to be a knitting blog, I should really update you: I'm back on that pesky sleeve for my lace sweater, and am now getting ready to do the shaping for the upper arm! I think getting a new knitting bag was the right thing to do.

Blah, blah, blah....

Listen to me drone on. and onnnnnnn.

Bored my boss this afternoon with a story about how I got a comb stuck in my hair once. simply. fascinating.

Maybe if I have a new bag...

...I'll get more knitting done!!!

Completely on impulse last week, I purchased a new knitting bag, which doubles as a purse, so theoretically, I can shlep all my knitting and purse stuff together. It is being shipped from Webs, as we speak:




Green is kind of daring for me. Normally I only choose black handbags. I hope I don't regret this! At the moment I'm using a bag I got a conference (with a big old ugly logo emblazoned on the front and a strap that is too long for my short self) to carry around my precious knitting. I simply loathe that bag.

I haven't gotten anywhere the past few weeks on my sleeve. First it was being sick, then planning DH's birthday.

SnB Thursday

I can't make SnB AGAIN this Thursday, because I need to go to a conference for work. Hmm. It's on teh North Shore - maybe I'll swing by Rhonda's favorite yarn shop up there, the Seed Stich, and do some recon of my own!

Portrait in badness

Here's Patches, trying to hide her shame from the camera.




Another roll of TP ravaged.

Movie Mania

DH has got a case of movie mania. He recently watched the three volume "A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies", and lost no time picking up some of the movies mentioned therein.

For instance, tonite we watched "All that Heaven Allows", with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman, directed by Douglas Sirk. It was a terrific, visually stunning movie. And if you like technicolor and glamourous 1950's clothes, you'll love this. It was hard not to chuckle at the scene where Jane Wyman's character says to Rock Hudson's: "You want me to be a man!". Ummm, yes Jane, he kind of does!



A few years ago, you may have seen "Far From Heaven", with Julianne Moore. It was directed by Todd Haynes, and was an homage to the movies Douglas Sirk made in the 1950's. The costuming in this movie is unbelievable. I recommend renting this one too!

thanks Betty C!

Thanks for the soup recipe -you are the best!

Trying to feel productive

Stuck at home, sick, since Friday. I left my knitting bag at work. ARGGGHHHH. It's probably for the best, since Claritin makes me feel befuddled.

It is asian New Year, and I keep hearing the sound of drums and firecrackers going off in my neighborhood, which is pretty exciting. Yesterday as I walked over to the grocery store, I saw a bunch of kids dressed up in elaborate traditional costumes walking down the street. Pretty cool. I'd go out again and try and find where the celebrations are, but I'm feeling pretty tuckered.

For the past week or so, large flocks of canada geese have been swooping in from somewhere to spend the day pecking at the grass in the soccer field behind our house. Patches doesn't quite know what to make of them. I used to think they were pesky until I watched Winged Migration. I rented it again yesterday, and it is probably one of the best documentaries I've ever watched. What I find funny is that they swoop in between 9:00-10:00AM or so, just when I'm getting up. They disappear before it gets dark. I thought birds were supposed to be early risers.





Last week DH and I went up to Rockport for a visit. Although we spent most of the weekend next to a nice warm woodstove, we did manage to take a walk down near the water. It was brisk. We saw some interesting creatures along the way:





I'll leave you with this image of one of my favorite stops along our walk. I find it to be very Winslow Homerish.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A happy, snowy-sleety, Valentine's Day to all! Especially, my DH.

Command Center has been implemented.

On February 10th, in the year of our Lord 2007, in the City of Quincy and the State of Massachusetts, the Chair was delivered without incident to a very happy Worker Bee.



Scratch guards were promptly put into place, to protect against this:



And this:



She really loves faux suede. She's got good taste,what can I say?

Interweave Knits!

My first issue arrived in the mail yesterday. How nice is that? It's a quarterly magazine, so I completely forgot it was coming! A lot of the patterns are for bamboo yarn! I had a passing thought of using my gift certificate for Woolcott to buy the yarn for the sweater on the cover page (different color maybe). I fell in love with bamboo yarn on my trip to WEBS recently. It is so soft, and has a beautiful sheen.

Nuthin' doin'

Couldn't make it to SnB today, since I forgot my knitting at home, AGAIN. Only about 48 hours to count down until the arrival of the Command Center.

First sleeve is progressing

Made some real progress on the first sleeve this weekend. It currently measures about 13". When I get to 17", I'll start shaping for the top of the sleeve.

So tired. So very tired.