What time of year is it?

It's Christmas time for the Jews! Its one of my fave SNL spots ever, and sums up what how Scott and I will be spending Christmas (well, maybe not circumcising squirrels, but definitely chinese food!)

FBS on the Loop Blog

Check out this link:
Loop Blog

Thanks to the nice folks at Loop for posting this! They are a fantastic LYS and a place I visit almost every time I go into Center City. It just makes me happy!

And She's Off!

On Sunday I leave for my round the world trip - three countries in two weeks. I've been planning my knitting for this trip over the past month, and likely completely overestimating how much I can possibly accomplish on flights where I would best be served by sleeping. This is possibly more thought than I've put into the presentations I'll be giving, and all the other work stuff on the agenda. But I digress (because talking about work on my blog is not my style...)
So the proposed packing list included the Clapotis, which is coming along quite nicely, and a sparkly scarf in a really cool silk yarn that has sequins in it, as well as some yarn to start some socks, and a hat I was thinking about. But is probably a lot more than is really necessary and when suitcase & briefcase space is at a premium, prioritization and being realistic becomes an necessity. So, no socks and no hat. But I will bring The Omnivore's Dilemna, which has been on the to read list for over a year, in case I finish up the knitting.
So there will be few (if any) posts over the next few weeks, but there should be a few good pics when I'm back.

One item finished, two more started

The February Baby Sweater is done! It looks pretty good - I picked up the buttons at Cloth and Bobbin, where I had intended to take the quilting class. Yes, that's right - intended. So that didn't exactly happen. A few days before the class was going to start, I learned that I was going to be out of town during two of the four classes. So it didn't make so much sense to take the class after all. Maybe I'll be able to take another beginner sewing class in January. But, really, I don't need another hobby.
Here is the FBS:
Look for this picture on the Loop blog!
I had a nice email chat with Tante Sophie - I saw the Mocha Scarf pattern on the Purl site, but wanted to order directly from the designer. Love the pattern which is quick and clever. The ruffles are picked up from the body of the scarf, creating a nice warm scarf. I'm working on the trim on the ends now - should be done soon. Isn't the brushed suri yummy? The color is called toasted marshmallow. Double yum.
The picture kind of looks like a worm...

And since I'm feeling a bit ADD today, I also started a clapotis made with Sheep Shop 3. My mom had a lot a trouble with this pattern, but so far it's going ok.

It will be a good travel project for my round the world trip, which starts on Sunday. Destinations now include Germany, the Netherlands and China. All work, for two weeks. But it should be interesting and productive. Its a long time to be away, but should be cool - I've never been to Shanghai.

February Baby Sweater

The last time I knit from an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, I failed miserably. I tried to make a Baby Surprise Jacket out of a really nice pink bamboo yarn, and it was a total mess. It was ripped out and restarted two or three times, and then I just gave up. The pattern didn't make sense, I kept counting wrong, and it was just a big jumble of disaster. A few months ago I was in Loop to pick up some needles, and because I have no self control, left with three skeins of Koigu Kersti and The Knitters Almanac, in addition to the needles. The February Sweater was so cute, I figured I'd give it a try, although I was a bit skeptical based on the Baby Surprise experience. I cast on for this on Thursday, and its already almost finished.
Once I got the hang of the lace pattern and figured out exactly was going on with these funky sleeves, it has been rolling right along.

One reason I got a lot of knitting time in was because we went to Dallas this weekend for Susan's birthday. It was a nice visit - although very quick. Seems like we were barely there! We'll be back in a few months once our neice, Baby B, arrives. Maybe she'll be the recipient of the FBS, although not sure how often Dallas babies get to wear wool sweaters!

Yummy

On Tuesday night, we made the perfect fall dinner. Braised short ribs, sauteed kale with apples, and polenta. Ok, the polenta was the cheating kind in the tube, but the rest of the dinner took work (most of which was done by Scott).

And last week I finished this yummy blanket for our soon to be born niece. Its the Blue Sky Alpaca Eyelet Baby Blanket knit in the worsted hand dyes. Its so soft and warm, I'd keep it for myself if it were adult sized...

Airport Blogging

What better to do in the airport when you're waiting for 2 hours for your flight than blog? I've tired of newstand perusing and my second embossed leaves sock is not far from completion, so hopefully I can save that for the flight itself.

I'm on my way home from Lynchburg, VA where I had some meetings yesterday and today. Yes, on Saturday. But its comes with the big job, so here I am in Charlotte, waiting to go home and looking forward to enjoying one day of the weekend tomorrow.

All this air travel has gotten me to thinking about all my upcoming travel, which is my scheduled "knit for holiday present time". Here are ideas on the list (recipients undisclosed!):

• Tante Sophie's Mocha Scarf (x2)


• A cool long hat using some brown and green Frog Tree and maybe matching mittens


• Jaywalkers knit using some fun Lorna's Laces


• Cashmere hat using my bargain find at String (see my stash over to the right? that cashmere. YUM)

Ok, so that is a lot of stuff to knit on a few flights, but between now and the holidays, I'll be going to Dallas and circumnavigating the globe, via Germany, The Netherlands and China, which will be tons of flight time and tons of hanging out in the hotel time. Should be enough time to finish this list and hopefuly there will be enough room in my luggage for all the fiber!

Rhinebeck Report

Would love to have gotten this up sooner, but life has been crazy. We had a great visit to Rhinebeck. We left very early in the morning from NYC:The drive up was a bit foggy

But we got there just before 9am and the sun had come out and there was no line at the gate!
I went right to The Fold and picked up a bunch of Socks that Rock
and some roving
Wait, what is a knitter going to do with roving? Well, my mom and I headed over to The Wool Room where I received some great instruction on how to use a Lendrum. It was so natural, I bought the weel.
After some more wandering around, I saw this lovely pumpkin
Guess this guy had some of the fried pickles. There was some damn good chicken pot pie, much less disturbing than lamb chops. And speaking of food, this was good year for some organic purchases, such as some locally made cheese and Organic Flour and Cornmeal
How about these cool glass pins from Moving Mud?
There were a lot of other goodies, but best of all is seeing the goats
and the sheep!

Feeling Better

Hi, Frances the cat here. Just wanted to tell everyone that I'm feeling much better these days. Things were rough for while, but my parents took good care of me, and I keep hearing them grumble about their savings account. I'm not really sure what that is, but it sounds like theirs is smaller than it was and it has somthing to do the nice people at the vet. My feeding tube came out last week, and my mom and dad have been shoving pills into my mouth twice a day. This is really annoying, and I'm going to have to get sneakier if I want them to stop. But its better than when they were shoving food into that tube thing. Well, must go eat more now (and then hide - I think they are going to give me another pill soon).

Rhinebeck here we come

Only a day until Rhinebeck and I can hardly wait for the fiber frenzy to begin. My mom and I are leaving NYC first thing Saturday morning, with all intentions of arriving by 9 or 9:30am. Since neither of us are particularly good in the early morning, hopefully we'll get there by noon. Our prep has included the following:

• A thorough review of all vendors and a preprinted map with key locations highlighted
• A set of rules for both of us - no yarn for Liza, no roving for Caroline, no new hobbies for either of us (oh, but how I'd love to hook a rug with a primitive sheep design, and my mom would be quite happy with a loom...)
• Scoping of "events" like the blogger/Raveler meetup at noon, and visiting Clara Parkes' book signing
• Prioritized purchases - i.e. spinning wheel for me like a Louet or a Lundrum

I'm not quite sure I can get lunch at the lamb booth again this year. It may be a bit too cyclical for me. Yes, they are a different kind of lamb, but it seems kind of wrong to be munch on a lamb chop while holding a big bag of wool.

There are a few things about Rhinebeck I don't quite get - planning your outfit around your most recent knitted accomplishments, the whole lamb for lunch thing, and the sheer volume of people who attend. There was actually a whole discussion on ravelry, with a ton of posts, about outfits. My outfit hadn't gotten much further than danskos... comfy feet are key.

So I'll be the one in the non-knitted objects, lugging around a crapload of roving and wool that I didn't plan to buy, chowing on lambchops. Just like everyone else there...

Embossed Leaves Progress

Continuing in the trend of the past few weeks, travel is ever present in my life. Over the past week, I've been to West Virginia, Cleveland and Boston (not Quebec) which means much knitting time. The latest project on the needles in a pair of socks, Embossed Leaves, knit in Socks that Rock from Interweave's 25 Favorite Socks.



While I was knitting on a flight from Philly to Charlotte, I sat across from a woman who told me that when she was first married, she knit one pair of argyle socks per week for her husband. The evolution of knitting from a necessity to provide clothing, to a leisure hobby is a fascinating one to me. What people once did to save money and clothe themselves, has become, for me at least, a way to make really expensive socks and sweaters. I bet the nice woman on the plane would not spend $20 on yarn for a pair of socks!
This pattern is great, although notice the nice little hole at the top of the gusset.
One sock down, another to go.

Things I'd Like

• To know exactly who thought it was acceptable to use my credit card number to buy $400 worth of jewelry in Quebec last week
  
• To sleep in my own house for more than 3 nights in a row
• To get to Rhinebeck early enough to get to The Fold before all the Socks that Rock sells out
• To find some time to get to the gym, which I joined two weeks ago and have not been to yet
• For my brain to be a bit more functional right now....
  

Uploading Loser

For all the knitters who read my blog, I'm sure you know (or have heard) what a great thing ravelry is. For those who are not knitters, its basically a site that you can use to organize all of your yarns, log your projects, and share ideas with other knitters about projects, etc. Its a great tool, but I do feel like a bit of a loser having spent 2 hours on a Saturday night loading photos of yarn and baby sweaters onto Flickr and Ravelry. I mean, as great as this tool is, it does take a lot of time to get yourself organized on there. Maybe it is faster once you've gotten all of your stuff loaded.
I'm thinking about going to Rhinebeck again this year, which will be on another weekend when I'll be a photographer-widow. Maybe I'll play Rhinebeck bingo.

Like a hole in the head...

A new hobby is not really something I need right now. Knitting and my dallying in spinning takes up a lot of time (not to mention an entire closet-full of yarn, fiber and other stuff), and I really could benefit from other ways to spend my time, like continuing to put together our house, and getting my *ss to the gym. But I couldn't really resist signing up for an intro to quilting class at the new fabric store in Narberth. This will lead to the purchase of a sewing machine, I'm sure, and I just stocked up on all sorts of supplies like fabric scissors and a rotary cutter. Class starts at the end of October, so stay tuned for updates on Caroline's adventures in quilting...

Some Recently Finished items

A lot of travel leads to fewer posts, but more knitting. In the past month I've been to North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee and Connecticut for work and for fun, which means hours of plane and car rides for knitting. Oh, and also it means spotting John Waters in the Knoxville airport and on my flight back to Philly. Frankly, I was kind of wondering what I was doing Knoxville, but I really wonder why John Waters was there. A southern version of Hairspray?
The Baby Burlbaw collection continues to grow:

The pink kimono is knit in a cotton/merino blend that I picked up at the String moving sale back in February. There is probably enough left for a hat and booties, which may or may not get made. The multi-colored kimono is made with Peaches and Cream and the hat in Be Sweet Magic Ball. An eyelet baby blanket is almost done too, and then I'll get to work on another blanket and a hat and mitten set.
The Hat and Booties I knit a few months ago now have a good home with the newborn son of a co-worker:
And Scott's Camo Socks are also finally finished, much to his surprise....
These are knit in Lorna's Laces shepherd sock camouflage (yes, somewhat obvious based on how they knit up...) and the pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks.
So that is some of the recently completed stuff - maybe I'll get some of it up on Ravelry one of these days.

Almost...

on Ravelry. Here is what the wait list checker says:

• You signed up on June 29, 2007
• You are #11558 on the list.
• 4 people are ahead of you in line.
• 20153 people are behind you in line.
• 36% of the list has been invited so far

So hopefully the invite will arrive tomorrow.

Life in general

I was going to write a long post about the circle of life. Instead, just a quick snippet about the surreal nature of yesterday. I was in Chapel Hill, NC for a college friend's memorial service, which was absolutely tragic. In the afternoon I visited Neely and Richard in Raleigh and met Sylvie (who is two, and it is really abysmal that I hadn't met her until yesterday) and Lucy, who is three days old today.
So needless to say, the past few days have been very pensive... i could write volumes about everything from keeping in better touch with friends to the unjustness of untimely deaths not only for the deceased but their families to the beauty of new life. But not today.

Home Sweet Home

Things continue to come together here in Narberth. Life on the Main Line is great - everything is so convenient, we know our neighbors, there is stuff to do, and I love our house. Quite a change from Cranbury where there was nothing convenient except for pizza and chinese food, we didn't know our neighbors, and there was nothing to do.
Its amazing how much work there is when you buy a house, even if its turn key like our little bungalow. Today we had the visit from the electrician who installed the new vent hood for the stove. I never really thought much about vent hoods until we didn't have one, but they are pretty essential if you cook a lot like we do.
We also had our new pendant lamp installed in the dining room.
This was a great find from MacKenzie Childs, and I love how it works with the terracotta stucco, (which incidentally, I've decided to live with, because it would be such a p.i.a. to remove). On Friday, I'm off to a super secret warehouse sale where hopefully I will find new dining room chairs. And hopefully will have good knitting time because its 1.5 hours away.
On the Frances front, she is back in the hospital, where she had a biopsy and aspiration today. Things were getting better, but then took a little downward turn, which is how we ended up back in the hospital. We'll confirm the diagnosis tomorrow, but the news from the vet was encouraging. All the vets, nurses and staff have been so great, and the receptionists all know us now. Apparently Frances is the most popular cat there, probably because she is so damn cute and such a sweet kitty!
In the meantime, Max is enjoying life as an only cat. That will end when his sister comes back home tomorrow!

Polka-Dotted Princess

Frances got some snazzy new bandages today at her vet checkup. How about those polka dots? She's not eating on her own yet, but that may not happen for a month or so (hence the tube). She's on a four times daily feeding schedule, which doesn't give her much opportunity to get hungry though.
I've decided to knit the Baby Surprise Jacket with the Be Sweet Bamboo that didn't work so well for the Mason Dixon baby kimono. I've ordered my first EZ book, and signed up for Zimmermania . I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival in the mail so I can get started. I'm not so motived these days on the knitting front - maybe because the cat care and feeding takes a lot of time and effort...
Must go - its time for Top Chef!

Kitty update

Frances is doing a lot better. Her animal hospital's radiologist is out, so we had to take her for an ultrasound and then back to the animal hospital today. The iv fluids she has been on seemed to put some spunk back into her. She remembered that she doesn't like being the cage or the car and whined the whole way there and back. The ultrasound confirmed the original diagnosis and didn't show anything else, although she is very anemic.
When we left her today, they were about to put in a feeding tube so she can get some nutrition, which will hopefully address the anemia, and if all goes according to plan, she'll be home on Saturday or Sunday. Max is a bit confused and lonely with his sister's absence, so we'll all be happy when she's back.

Stressed Out Kitty!

Moving twice in six weeks has taken a toll on us, but it has really taken a toll on our little kitty Frances. Frances doesn't get much air time on the ole blog because she isn't quite the attention getter that her brother Max is. While Max likes to be in the middle of everything, Frances likes chilling out, and enjoys a good cuddle. She can get a little spazzy, but is just generally a friendly little kitty.
Frances hasn't take well to Narberth. While I'm sure she loves the house (who wouldn't?!), she has been spending a lot of time hiding in the guest room between boxes, and seems generally disinterested, but not in an aloof cat kind of way. Last night it was clear she wasn't herself, so it was off to the vet. From the vet, she went to the 24 hr animal hospital, where she was diagnosed with Hepatic Liver Disease. Turns out that not eating or drinking will do that to a cat... It will also lead them to loose 5 pounds, which is a huge percentage of body weight.
She is now receiving a kitty iv with fluids, and they are trying to stimulate her appetite. Tomorrow she goes somewhere else for an ultrasound, and then we'll know the whole story. Fortunately, its treatable, and she can be 100% back to normal in about a month, assuming the ultrasound doesn't reveal anything else. So we are hoping for the best, and I'll get to see her tomorrow when we go for the ultrasound. But the house seems a bit empty without the little black cat...

Pictures, finally

Three weeks after moving in, the house is starting to finally come together. We successfully sold furniture that we no longer want in our life on Craig's List this weekend. Our lime green adirondack chairs are gracing our front porch,
the new grill is on the back deck, we have at least one hanging towel bar in our bathroom and life is good. There is still lots to do, but things are really taking shape.
Over the past few weeks, there are a few knitting projects that have also taken shape. A few months ago, I picked up some Classic Elite Obsession at String. Unplied cashmere is a beautiful, luscious thing.
But how does this knit up? Quite nicely, thank you very much. This jumbled mess is actually a scarf with a little ruffled edge, which will be wonderful for the winter.
The yarn sort of variegates as it goes, but all of the colors are always incorporated.
I also finished the pink baby blanket which is HUGE. 36" square. Here it is in progress on the plane to Sedda's wedding...
That was about 2 months ago, and now it is done! Now its just a question of which of my wonderful friends expecting little girls will be the recipient... And time to get started on a sweater for the other. I tried the baby kimono is the be sweet bamboo which I picked up at Loop, but the drape is all wrong. Now I need to find a) another project for four balls of bamboo and b) another baby project. Preferably these will be one and the same. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
So while I'm thinking about this, I'll be watching the debate with Scott and Max. Yes, my cat is watching the debate. He's not a convential cat - we think he's hoping for a Kucinich/Gravel ticket. Fortunately he is not registered to vote.
These days, I think my vote is with Edwards. Don't tell my cat.

Babies everywhere

It seems like everyone is pregnant or has a very small child. All three of my bridesmaids are pregnant. My cousin Holly and her husband Matt just adopted a little girl, and her sister Caren is due in January. Ginny and Oren's baby #2 is adorable.
My biological time-bomb is continuing to tick loudly, and maybe I'll join the pregnancy ranks one of these days.
Now, here is the interesting thing. As a woman, you spend much of your adult fertile life focused on not getting pregnant. By the time you hit thirty, if you're like me, you have tried a bunch of different pills, you perhaps had a Seinfeld moment when the today sponge originally went off the market (theoretically, of course), and you don't have any issues buying your own condoms. Maybe you've taken the morning after pill, or gone with a friend to planned parenthood. Our focus has been on not getting a disease and not getting pregnant.
So when you are ready to get pregnant, its a whole mind shift. To understand how to get pregnant when for most of your adult life its been what you are trying to avoid takes some study. Of course, most women probably don't actually study up on this, but I've been doing some reading. And starting to learn quite a bit. It'll have to be a few unsuccessful months of just plain old trying before we delve into ovulation tests and basal body temp monitoring. More to come in the next few months on this...
Until then, here is a little baby kimono for Holly & Matt's daughter Maya (who we are meeting in a few weeks!)

Bustin a Move

That's what we are doing tomorrow - bustin a move to Narberth. Our floors are done (and they look fabulous) and fumes are nearly gone. The cleaning guy came today, and we've been schlepping car loads over from our temporary place. And as nice as this place has been for a furnished apartment, we're cramped and crowded and ready to get out...
In the past month I've done tons and tons of knitting - although I have no idea where the cord the connects camera to the computer is, so no pictures just yet. The baby blanket for Neely's baby is almost finished, the baby kimono that was originally for Katie's baby is finished (but now its for my cousin Holly's baby girl, who we didn't know was coming quite so quickly because she was adopted), and the little booties and hat set for Jennie's baby is also done. Maybe I could do some knitting for grown-ups one of these days....
The exploration of Main Line yarn shops has begun. Ewe and I is a nice little shop in Bryn Mawr that has a good selection, and they seem very friendly. They also have a little needlepoint section. Frou Frou was less impressive, probably because they have a whole lot of one thing, and limited selections of other things. They seem to stock every variety and color of Debbie Bliss yarns. In fact, when I went to check it out, Debbie Bliss herself had just left an hour earlier after a talk. But other than that, their selection was not fantastic. Lots of novelty yarns, and not too many interesting small dyers, spinners, etc. But I'm sure its great for the people who like it, and no one is forcing me to shop there, and if I need any Debbie Bliss, I know where to go. There are a few more places to check out, so I'll continue to post my reviews over the next few months. Ok, who am I kidding? It will only take me about a week to make sure I've been to all of them!

Bonjour from Montreal!

Scott and I are in Montreal this weekend celebrating our anniversaire. In honor of our location, I will intersperse this post with some random francais. Although I have no idea how to put accents in the right places. I'm sure that'll offend some frenchies, but hopefully they will get over it.
We are eating well - we went to an awesome Vietnamese place in China town - Phuoc Loi - which was some of the meilleur Vietnamese I've had in a long time. And last night nous avons mange a L'Express, which was tres bien. Ce soir, we are going to Au Pied du Cochon. Can someone say Porc?
Salut and tomorrow we'll return to Philadelphia a bit more rotund... and with no pictures cause I forgot the camera!

Tomorow is the big day!

After what seems alternatively like eons and the blink of an eye, we are closing on our house tomorrow. Of course, I've become so superstitious that I don't even want to blog about it cause I wouldn't want to jinx anything. But it's so amazing that we're finally here because we've been talking about buying a house for almost three years now.
We're so super close - we're out of our Cranbury house (praise the Lord - I did NOT like that town) and in a beige apartment in Malvern, PA. By the end of the month we'll be in the new place. Pictures tomorrow. Or when life slows down a bit.

Princess Goes Camping and Friends and Family get Married

With the craziness of the past few weeks, and the impending greater craziness of the next few weeks, its a bit of a wonder that I'm blogging right now. Did I mention that we are moving, buying a house, and I'm starting a new job, all while going to a bunch of weddings all over the place? Just a few things going on here... But I'm trying to keep things under Control.
Last week we were at Sedda and Greg's wedding in Yosemite, where I camped.

Yes, Princess went camping. Its hard to believe, but its a good thing that Scott got some photos of me sleeping in the tent, because no one will ever see this again. I see how this is appealing to people, but I am not one of those people. Nature is great, and I appreciate it, but I'd rather sleep in a bed than a tent.
Seriously, this is one of the advances humankind has made over the past several thousand years - moving from tents into sturdier structures. One of the reasons Jews don't camp is that our people did a lot of camping over the course of 40 years in the desert. This was enough for the rest of us. For the rest of eternity. Also, I like having showers readily available. But the wedding was beautiful, and Scott took gorgeous pictures.

And we went from there to DC, via home, on about four hours of sleep, for my cousin Avi's wedding to his wonderful wife Anne. It was another beautiful wedding, but it was a study in contrasts with earlier in the week. Outside vs. Inside, 40 people vs. 200, both elegant in very different ways, and my favorite contrast - a toast about the metaphor of rock climbing as related to marriage vs. a toast by my uncle referencing the rosenbergs and another referencing anne boleyn. We're not really sure how or why these latter two toasts occurred, but fortunately, there were others with metaphors other than execution.

So that is the wedding report for now - check back in two weeks for our final report of the spring wedding season...

My first meme tag

Ginny tagged me, so I'm going to join the fun. The rules are to post 8 random, interesting things about myself and tag 8 other people. I'm not sure that I know 8 people who read my blog who actually are bloggers, but I'll do my best...
1. My middle name, Aviva, is a palindrome. It means spring in Hebrew (interesting, because I was born in February).
2. I've lived in 4 different states - NY, NJ, NC and TX - and 3 different countries - US, Japan & France. And now we're moving to PA...
3. Our cats, Max and Frances, are named for my favorite children's book characters.
4. Scott and I met at a bar but it wasn't really like we met at a bar because it was a it was a cheese tasting at a wine & art bar. This is only interesting if you know me and Scott, because we're probably the last people who you would expect to meet each other in a bar...
5. I was proclaimed a "Duchess of Hazard" by the mayor of Hazard, KY. The proclamation was accompanied by a key to the city that doubles as a paperweight and a bottle opener. I'm not really sure why I was made a duchess, but I used to travel to Hazard once a month because I was the HR manager for a coal mining business that was a subsidiary of my former employer.
6. On the subject of work, I worked for Enron and am currently employed by Tyco. I was there until the bitter end, and got laid off while I was an expat in Japan. I've heard every possible joke on this subject(s). And no, I'm not going to go work for any of the following as my next employer: Adelphia, World-Com, HealthSouth, WasteManagement or any other scandal-plagued company.
7. I played the violin for 13 years, and was actually pretty good. But I quit in college because I never found the time to practice. I would love to take it up again.
8. I learned to knit when I was pretty young. My mom taught me when I was about 7 or so, it didn't take, and then we learned to knit in the fourth grade. I knit a purple hat and white striped hat that my mom still has.

So there it is...
I'm tagging my mom and the first seven people who read this post. Ok, I actually have no idea how to make that work, so any of you regular visitors, consider yourself tagged! Leave me a comment if you're going to do it!

Choices, Choices...

Even though its still many moons until the Pennsylvania Presidential Primaries, I've decided its about time that I throw my weight behind a candidate. I'm sure Crafty Caroline's endorsement will really be huge for any of the contenders - probably as important as the NY Times.
Here are my thoughts so far - Bill Richardson is probably the most qualified from an international experience standpoint. For that matter, he's also got a lot of good domestic experience. His energy background would be key to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and would probably put a lot support behind a greener approach to power generation. But, he doesn't have a ton of pizzazz. I think he'll end up on the ticket as VP.
I really like John Edwards' position on poverty eradication. Ambitious, well thought out. A bit odd that someone who lives in a home the size of a small nation is focused on eliminating poverty, but I'm will to look past it. Not sure he's as strong on the international front, and in a recent Time magazine commentary by Joe Klein, sounds like he needs some more ideas on Iraq. The guilty liberal in me gets very excited by Edwards focus on poverty, as ultimately this is one of the biggest problems in our country today.
Barack is certainly intriguing, but might need some more time, and Hillary would do a great job, but is a little smug. So over the next few weeks, I'll be doing my due diligence, and sharing my findings.
Now, off to read more about the other candidates...

Whoa...

Whoa - this is so bizarre.

miss ewe knits: a video for distraction...

For any other yids reading this who get creeped out by hearing a lot of German, turn down the volume...

Ahh, Saturday...

I'm a big fan of Saturdays. There is something about the first day of the weekend that is really relaxing. Sundays, I'm thinking about all the crap I want to get done before the end of the weekend.
This Saturday has been great - I went to Loop, which I've been dying to check out. Its a really nice store - great selection, helpful staff, and well organized. They stock a lot of Blue Sky Alpaca, so it was a good opportunity to pick up some stash for one of the several baby blankets on my tkl (consider this a newly coined phrase- "to knit list"). Their Organic Cotton and Dyed Cotton worked out nicely for Leo's blanketso I picked up some more for the next blanket on the list. Different pattern from Mac & Me, but same basic mitred corner concept. It'll look nice in this pink...


So back to my Saturday... Then I moseyed over to HeaDAreA at Matthew Izzo and got a very good cut - I totally gambled cause I had no recommendations, but now I have a Philly hairdresser. Yay. Color next week (baaaaadly needed)... I'll post about my fear of new hairdressers some other time.

And then I've basically been chillin' since I got home, which has given me a chance to catch up on blog photos. Here is my package from my secret pal:

And Scott's camo socks which are progressing. Well, its still the first sock, but lets keep in perspective that these are knit on #0 needles.

During my radio silence, I almost finished the dragon scale mitts for my secret pal


And just because they are beautiful, here is a picture of some fresh eggs which one of my co-workers brought me last week. Scott's already eaten them - the review was very good!

One of the disadvantages of marriage is that if you like a certain kind of food, and your spouse doesn't like that food or is allergic to it, it tends to disappear from your cooking repetoire. So I am taking advantage of the fact that Scott is working tonight to make myself some Shrimp Scampi. Yum. But honestly, this seems to be a very small trade-off in the grand scheme of things...

Yes, I'm still doing this blogging thing...

I could imagine how one might think that this crafty-caroline thing has been abandoned. What with the limited posts and all...
Actually, however, life has been nuts and blogging seems to have fallen victim to lack of time. Since I last posted, I've been doing two jobs - my new job, and the old one which is still ongoing until sometime in the middle of June, commuting to Philly for a few days as week, finalizing the deal on the house, and being a supportive and helpful daughter as my mom and Marsha got Civil-Union-ized. Oh, and we're planning the move, which is probably not that difficult considering all that we have to do is have the moving people show up and they pack up all our crap. Not to gloat, but there is no move like a full service move. But we still have to get things organized, get our asses into temporary housing and clean this place up.
In the midst of the mayhem, I received a great package from my Secret Pal last week, which included a beautiful skein of Socks that Rock (yay!), More Sensational Socks, some yummy chocolate, bath salts and jelly bellys. Thank you secret pal! I'm so looking forward to making some cool socks!

and she's back...

So it's been a while, but now I'm back to the world of blogging. In the past few weeks, I've finally gotten over my bronchitis/laryngitis, and we've started the house buying process. We found a great house in Narberth, and had our inspection last week. Assuming all continues to go smoothly, we'll be moving in mid-June.
Not too much knitting lately, but I've finished Leo's blanket and its off to Ginny and Oren tomorrow (provided it's done drying!). And I'm also almost done with the fingerless gloves for my Secret Pal. Her first goody bag is ready to go, although i accidentally left some chocolate I got her in my car, and well, it ended up as a big blob of melted goo. So, no chocolate this time - perhaps in the next package...
Today, I made a little trip to String and got some really cool unplied cashmere, and a new tabletop swift. No pictures cause I'm feeling way lazy right now, but maybe later...
Perhaps I'm feeling lazy because I did two days of Bikram Yoga this week, after not having been to Bikram in over three years. Yoga is one thing, but 90 minutes of intense sweating yoga is another. And its not like I've been working out lately. But the Bikram place is about 5 minutes from my new office, so there is no excuse not to go. There is something really perverse about enjoying the bikram experience - but thankfully I recognize that - and the end result is totally worth it. The last time I was really into this, my now "skinny jeans" were too big. Lets see how quickly I can get back there...

Enough Already

I'm ready for this damn bronchitis to go away. Nothing like spending an entire night hacking up a lung, when you'd rather be sleeping.

Stitch Markers!

I got the most fabulous stitch markers as part of the Get Stitchy swap from Sparrow in the mail the other day. And cool packaging to boot!


I am so loving these, and I realized that my stitch markers need a bit more polish! My jewerly making skills are a bit rusty. So I took apart the ones I made for Sparrow and for my SP and started again.
And speaking of my SP, she mentioned that she would really like some fingerless gloves. And while she specified a pattern from Knitty, I really wanted to try the Dragon Scale Mitts from PurlBee. While they suggested Blue Sky Alpaca's Sport Weight 100% Alpaca, I went with the Alpaca Silk Blend. So yummy.



Perhaps I will make a pair for myself as well...

Mis-Adventures in Customer Service

The state of customer service in this country, or at least in central Jersey, is truly appalling. In the past week, I've had three not so good experiences, and I've become a complainer. Just not going to tolerate it anymore.
For the past few days, I've had a miserable cough and a fever. Yesterday, I made a doctors appointment for today so I could get this thing under control and kick it. And the timing is unfortunate because I was looking forward to my mom's and Marsha's shower at The American Girl Store in NYC this afternoon.
When I got to the appointment (admittedly, 10 minutes late) I was told by the receptionist that since I was tardy, I couldn't see the doctor, and would have to go the emergency room. Now, I associate the emergency room with oozing cuts in need of stitches, limbs in need of casts and heart attacks, not a fever and a cough. I tried to explain to this woman that this was not an acceptable solution, and that perhaps if they had taken the person who had the appointment after me, couldn't I have that person's appointment? No dice. Anyway, I was explaining the situation to Scott in the elevator, and a woman who worked elsewhere in the hospital said "That isn't right - you should call the office manager." Good suggestion - I did, and was in to see a doctor within 10 minutes, and greeted by the office manager at the front desk. The receptionist gave me the evil eye when I came back into the office.
Part two of my misadventures occurred when I went to drop off my prescriptions. I was told that they'd be ready in 30 minutes, and we went home, and I came back about an hour and a half later. Now, when I arrived, the prescriptions were not ready, and I stood there for about 20 minutes until anyone explained what was going on (and not unprompted) and then another 25 minutes until I got my prescriptions. Apparently, they needed some info on my prescription plan, but instead of calling me to get an answer, they just waited for me to return. And then when expressed my displeasure, all I got was a mumbled "sorry". So I went to the store manager and explained the saga (nicely), and informed her that I'd be transferring all my prescriptions to another pharmacy.
Not every place of business can be like Nordstroms but I would be happier if they were.
Oh, and it turns out the cough and fever are viral bronchitis. Ugh.

Nut Ball?

Scott thinks my picasa stash organization a bit over the top. In fact, he just called me a nut ball. Yes, its a bit strange, but nut ball? Maybe I won't share this stuff in the future for fear of being involuntarily committed.

Very Productive Weekend

Well, maybe not by all accounts, but I would say that a mani/pedi, facial, and various other spa treatments is a lot to get accomplished over the course of two and a half days, as well as making a few stitch markers for the stitch marker swap.

sewing in the seams for Leo's blanket and blocking it

and photographing my entire stash and uploading it on Picasa

Yarn Stash

and then organizing it and storing it in a Max-proof fashion. So, now I can just look up on Picasa and find out how much I have of different yarns. Next, its time for needle inventory, but that's pretty boring...

Happy Mazto!

This afternoon, Scott said something to me I can't say I ever expected to hear. Really. Never expected. Absolutely shocking. And those words were "Would you just go watch some Oprah and relax?" He actually requested that I go watch Oprah. Possibly because I was frantically preparing for tonight's seder and doing things like filling the ice bucket three hours before anyone was supposed to show up. Admittedly, it didn't make a whole lot of sense, because the ice probably would have melted before anyone got here.
So we had all this ready before Oprah

And somehow it was relaxing to watch 30 minutes of Oprah, even though I was sure it would stress me out even more...
Holiday dinners are nice, because they are a good excuse to use some of those nice wedding gifts...

We had a great menu, which included homemade gefilte fish, hard boiled egg, Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls (seen here in progress)

Traditional Haroset

and a yemenite haroset made with figs and dates, and flavored with ginger and cayenne pepper.

For the main course, we had braised lamb shoulder, asparagus and roasted root vegetables. And the dessert consisted of homemade macaroons

and matzo crunch, which is possibly one of the easiest recipes ever, but oh so decadent.
So it was a very nice seder, with a small crowd of six, including us, my mom and Marsha, Sam and my Aunt Angela. And even though the final NCAA game was poorly scheduled to coincide, we're now watching instead of contending with this mess...

Oh, and if Florida wins (and it seems to be looking that way!) I move up to 4th place in the office pool. Fourth place! Sure its out of the money, but certainly good enough for bragging rights. And a nice comeback, I might add, from the start of the tourney!