They finished

Oh joy! My lawn is all laid out and it looks so nice! I didn't take any pictures yesterday but I will certainly put some up this weekend. I've now got to finish cleaning out the flower beds and laying down compost (NOT mulch! .. compost). I am SUCH a dope when it comes to gardening. My main focus is going to be not killing that new lawn. That would be a tragedy. I am actually hoping for a little rain this weekend, even though I have been watering it these past two evenings.

My work environment is stunningly awful these days. I am the LAST and only person in my whole wing on this (the 5th) floor that is still occupying her office space. I have until April 10th and then I will be just wandering around with my laptop until my temporary space is vacated. The good news is that the bike racks by the Annex, where I will eventually land, are covered! Bonus! Also we all know that I love working from home so it's truly no hardship to have to come in during the mornings and work from home in the afternoon. That makes the most sense for me since the two major classes I'm doing sites for meet after lunch.

When I got home yesterday there was a package notice in my mailbox. I just couldn't figure out why there was a package notice in my box! I swear, I thought and thought for about a half an hour because it dawned on me that it's most likely from my Secret Pal! Well, I won't know for sure until I go to pick it up after work.

And speaking of Secret Pal packages -- I got a notice yesterday that the stuff I ordered for MY Secret Pal has just been shipped! So I won't be able to get her first package off until next week. Hopefully early! (EDIT: Nope! Can you believe it??? I forgot that I was expecting some yarn from Turkey. It's for the little green sweater from Fitted Knits. So I'm going to gauge it this afternoon.)

I'm so proud of myself!

No new yarn arrived yesterday so I picked up my TDR turtleneck and got one arm nearly finished! Just a couple more rows and I will knit the cuff and then on to the second arm. It goes so quickly when you're working with chunky yarn. I tried it on to see how much more I needed to knit on the arm and was surprised (and disappointed) to see that it looks too big on me! I am sure I had a reason for making the raglan so deep (probably the extra poundage) but now it looks a little TOO deep and therefore the top of the arm doesn't lay right. On the plus side, it'll be a great winter sweater and I'll be able to wear a T-shirt underneath. And the cable is perfect and looks really nice. Love the Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky - superwash so I will be able to wash it in the machine. BUT I hate those short skeins of hers. 50 meters just doesn't go very far so it seems every time I turn around I'm changing skeins. I'm going to have 20 ends to weave in.

I finally used the movie feature of my new camera yesterday and took a little video of my nephew. I posted it on my Photobox account and then sent the link to my sister and other nephew. It is so cool to be able to take little movies!!

The larger portion of the front lawn was laid yesterday and I gave it a good watering. It's a beautiful sunny day today so I am expecting that the rest of it will be done today. Now fingers crossed I don't kill it!

I hope my yarn purchase comes today because it's holding up my first package for my SP. I don't want to say what I've got stashed away for her just in case she happens to stop my by site by chance and put two and two together. I will say that I bought a book for her and love it so much I'm going to have to get myself a copy! I'm just waiting on another skein of special yarn for her to go with a pattern and I'll be finished with this first box.

Closer and closer

See how we're progressing? Like little slugs sitting there -- the rolls of sod all in a row. Yesterday they put the compost on and rolled it out with a big roller. Oh how lovely it's going to be! I'll be able to walk across the lawn and not turn my ankle in a hole! This weekend I'm going to have to dig out the flower beds and put down cardboard and mulch until I pick out plants. No hurry but I do need to do something to keep the weeds from taking over the fresh flower beds. Hopefully it'll be nice this weekend. I do NOT like to garden, and I especially don't like to garden in the rain!

I finished my Sleeveless Turtleneck. See how pretty. I was going to wear it today but I'm working from home and so maybe tomorrow. It fits perfectly! I should have a picture with it on. Maybe since Omar is here I can have him take a picture of me. I haven't yet figured out how to take self-timed pictures with my new camera. So ... what should I make next? Maybe I should pick up my cabled TDR turtleneck and work on that. It's size 10 1/2 needles so it goes pretty quickly. I really really do want to be able to wear it before it gets too warm. Well if my recent yarn purchase doesn't show up today then that's what I'll do.

Three more to go

Three more rows and I can bind off my sleeveless turtleneck! I am hoping I can wear it tomorrow. It'll be perfect with black pants and a jacket. I worked on it last night and if I had really pushed I could have finished it, but Tink wanted to cuddle and who can resist doggie love? Well okay, lots of people can, but I couldn't last night.

I didn't have a very restful night because at 11:30, just after I had fallen asleep, the phone rang and it was my nephew, back from Alaska. He's so sweet - he always calls before he comes over just in case I've got "a dude" there with me. As if! Or should I say, if only! I told him the coast was clear and he said he'd be over after going out with the boys. Obviously, they don't drink while on the boat and he's been gone since the first week of January so pretty thirsty, I imagine. Anyway, he came rolling in at 2:30. Surprisingly sober, but he said that two beers pretty much lit him up since he'd been not drinking. He's such a sweet boy - first thing he said was "Wow, you've lost lots of weight!" Well trained, that boy. Of course, on the other hand it means I was a huge fat giant pig in December but oh well ... thankfully I'm not now.

I got him settled and went back to bed and I think I got back to sleep pretty quickly but early early EARLY I heard a big noise outside. I thought it was a lawn mower -- before 7 am? But when I did get up and go to get the paper I saw that it was the delivery of my sod. So hooray! Now if only the landscapers get there and get it finished. She's kind of flakey though - I'm not holding my breath. The neighbors must truly be cursing me. First of all there's the mess on the sidewalk, and the unsightly parking strip with piles of sod covered by blue tarps and then, my landscaper just parked her truck, which is full of garden refuse, in front of my next door neighbor's house and left it there!! It's been there since Thursday! Well they will all be happy when this year my place is looking nice, rather than like a dandelion field.

This is REALLY getting ridiculous!

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while is well aware of the absolutely stunning bad luck I've been having in the dating realm. It's as if I'm cursed or something. I wouldn't believe it if it hadn't been happening to me, honestly. Let me share the latest chapter.

I had a fun date Wednesday night and we had made tentative plans to get together for dinner Sunday. He called me Friday and said that he wanted to see me again. I said I was busy Saturday (band rehearsal) but Sunday would work and he said he couldn't wait, how about tonight (Friday)? I was a bit tired from a really busy day but said okay, and he said he'd call me when I got home to make definite plans. And he did -- six o'clock he called and said he was going to be a bit later than he had originally thought. He had to have a chat with his daughter which should take about and hour and a half and then he'd come pick me up about 8:30. He said he'd call when he was on his way and I should go ahead and eat and then we'd go out for a drink or something downtown. I had my shower, had something to eat, got dressed and sat down to listen to some music and read the paper and wait for him to call and say he was on his way. And I'm still waiting. He never called. He never even sent an email. Not. A. Word. You know, I'd stop dating entirely but this is getting more and more strange and ridiculous. I just can't WAIT to see what the universe has in store for me!

To add insult to injury, my band rehearsal that I had been SO looking forward to was cancelled for Saturday and moved to next Saturday. Needless to say I had plenty of time to knit and clean house and watch movies. My sleeveless turtleneck is nearly done and I could probably have finished it up last night but I wanted to pick up the gusset stitches in my sock so I would have something nice and portable for the two doctor appointments I have to take my dad to this week. The turtleneck is getting a little big to haul around.

My front garden is half covered with compost which makes it very very messy out there, especially since it was raining most of the weekend. Poor Tink has to be tethered so she can't get in there and roll around. Supposedly the lawn will be laid on Tuesday. I ordered the sod to be delivered. There's still lots of work to be done but just getting the grass down will be nice. And I've noticed that Tink doesn't bark nearly so much at night anymore and I am sure it's because the trees are away from the roof and the squirrels and other critters aren't running around there so much. Even though I am in the city I saw a raccoon in broad daylight sleeping in one of my large trees in the back! I couldn't believe my eyes! I tried to take a picture but when I got out there he(she) had turned its back so it's not very clear. Pretty wild.

I did a little internet shopping for my SP. I am hoping to be able to send her first package off this week. She's very easy to buy for! I was turned on to a sale at a KnitHappens on Friday bu somebody on Craftster and boy was that stuff FLYING out of that store! I got some Noro Silk Garden for half price so I can make the vest More Stripes on Knitty. It uses steeks and I think it would be a good first steeking project. And I got a few things for my SP. I now need to find the yarn for the cute cardigan pattern my SP sent me. I am thinking of a cotton blend -- maybe try Knitpicks Cotlin or ??? Can't decide. No hurry. I've got stash and projects coming out my ears!!

It's a mud pit

Truly ... my whole front yard is bare dirt AND it's been raining. What a yucky mess! Needless to say Tink doesn't get to spend a whole lot of time out in the freshly turned dirt. She lllloves to dig in it. She was my little adventure dog yesterday. The helpers that the landscaper hired are college boys on spring break. They not only left my front gate wide open when they left but, unbeknownst to me, the side gate as well. Tink was outside and very quiet (should have been a tip off, no?) and there was a knock on my front door. Odd ... I opened it up and there was my neighbor, Dan, telling me that he had seen my dog in the alley behind my house. I knew right away what had happened, put on my sneakers and threw on a jacket and took off to find her. Luckily she was still loitering in the alley and Dan just picked her up ("She's a friendly little thing. Came right to me".) and brought her to me. Little devil.

I worked on the sleeveless turtleneck last night. Not too late, since I was still tired from the night before. I'm now working on the ribbed body, so there are about six or more inches to go just round and round k3p3. I put it on last night before I turned in and it is going to be SO CUTE! Fits like a dream. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish it this weekend but maybe. Depends on how much time I spend on chores. And Saturday night I'm going to meet up with my new band guys for the first time so that's going to pretty much take care of Saturday night. I'm just anxious to finish it so I can wear it.

It begins!

The landscaper showed up today with a work crew and they started work on the yard. It's so exciting! First up was trimming the cedar next to the house. And while it is now trimmed so much that my little privacy hedge is compromised, it is just much better to have it cut back. They still need to get the branches that are on the roof, which should keep Tink quieter at night. I think the squirrels and other rodents are using those branches to get on the roof and scurry around up there which drives Tink nuts. Here are a few pictures. Two are the "before" and one of the "during" phase. You can see where they have cut and rolled the old turf on the parking strip.


I didn't get much knitting done yesterday - as in none. I actually had a FUN date! No, really! Talking and drinking and laughing, I lost track of time and thank goodness for my DVR, because I would hate to have missed "Lost". [ooooo, hope I'm not jinxing it. I haven't actually checked that it got recorded....] Unfortunately I'm feeling a bit worse for wear because, since I've been trying to lose those Christmas chub pounds, I've not been drinking and so am pretty much out of practice. It wouldn't be so bad if we had eaten something, of course, but there ya go. Hindsight and all that. Anyway, pictures of the progress of the sleeveless turtleneck from "Fitted Knits". I think it's going to be really useful. Here's a close-up of the neck and then a picture of the side. Nice color, huh? I love it. I originally was going to use this yarn for an intricate cabled shrug from IK a year or so ago, but the pattern was on reverse stockinette and I think it just looks wrong. So I'm happy to be using this yarn finally.

I'm late today!

It's nearly 3 o'clock and I've been running all day! Secret Pal 10 has started and I wanted to make sure to thank my Secret Pal. She has already sent me a gift through e-mail! What a pal -- a pattern that I have had my eye on. Thanks SP!

I've been working on the sleeveless turtleneck from "Fitted Knits". I wish I had checked for errata before I started it however, because there are mistakes in the pattern. I fudged it around and I think it'll be okay (except for the aforementioned increase problems) and not too noticeable. I knit a few more rows on the back portion of it than the front though and I don't know if it's going to lay right. If I had done the increases correctly this wouldn't be a problem because my front would take care of it but .... we'll just have to wait and see.

My landscaping project is starting. Supposedly the woman cut the cedar tree branches away from the house today but I'm not at all sure how much work she got done. And then tomorrow she's going to take up the old sod and haul it away. That is going to leave me with a big ol' front of mud! I won't be able to let Tink out there on her own, that's for sure. I just hope she's quick with preparing the soil so I don't have to live with that for long. I'll post pictures. Should at least be good for a laugh.

No dog

So I drove to visit that dog on Saturday -- 53 miles each way. Everything was going great until they mentioned the adoption fee. $400. Uhhh .... which was a surprise to me. I realize now that at the VERY BOTTOM of the page where they have the dog bios they say that the fees for the dogs range from $100 to $450. I didn't get to the bottom of the page because the dog I fell in love with was at the top of the page, so I was totally taken aback. I had to pass, obviously, since I wasn't planning on spending $400 on a dog this spring. Oh well, it was a nice drive anyway.

I finished up the "Ms Marigold" Friday night. I was not disciplined. I started on that purple turtleneck tank thingie from "Fitted Knits". I got the whole neck done, the back raglan increases and part of the front. One problem -- I couldn't get the left and right lifted increases. Well, I *thought* had them right but then I looked and the sides didn't mirror one another. I finally got on line yesterday evening and looked on knittinghelp.com and found the increases there, but called KLL and KRL, so the back is kind of weird looking but the front will be nice. Nobody will notice the increases (I hope) because my hair will be covering it.

My fancy new running shoes seem to have cause a little problem. I noticed Friday that my right foot pronates with these shoes and that must be the cause of some pain I've been having on that side. Dang! I am not going to use them any more and will go back to my old shoes but now I need to decide if I should run today or lay off again. I didn't run Friday because it was pretty achy and didn't run this weekend. I don't want to cause any bigger damage but there's a race this coming Saturday that I really want to do since there won't be another until May. errrrghghg

The evening just flew by

Sometimes I swear I get into some kind of time warp or something. Yesterday evening just flew by! I got the ribbing finished and bound off [when oh when will I ever learn to just use needles a couple sizes larger to do the bind off!!] and then picked up the stitches for ribbing around the front and neck. Maybe that's where the time went because I swear, I must have picked up 200 stitches. Eight rows of ribbing and bind off and holy crap, it was 10 o'clock! All I have left to do is crochet around the arm holes (because I do not think ruffles are going to work for me on this) and tack down the ribbing in the front and weave in a million ends. I tried it on before I went to bed -- it's form fitting and, because of my bind off, very tough getting it over my chest. It goes on and hopefully I can stretch it a bit when I wash it for blocking. The color is just perfect.

If I can just make myself pick up the TDR turtleneck tonight and start on the sleeves. It's such chunky yarn that it'll go quickly. I truly would like to finish that before it gets too warm to wear because it's very pretty. We'll see where I am with my discipline tonight.

I heard from the doggie adoption lady last night. The dog I put in the application for has one already pending from a person who has adopted in the past so if the dogs get along then I'm out of the running. Oh well ...

Impulsive behavior

Yesterday afternoon I was taking a little break and just for fun decided to look at dogs up for adoption. I saw a dog -- oh my goodness! -- I just knew I shouldn't have been looking! She is so adorable that I'm sure she's going to have a million applications but I put one in anyway. I haven't heard anything and it's probably for the best. Maybe Tink wouldn't want a baby sister. Although she's so happy to have Shadow or Jasmine come visit. Two dogs = twice the mess, I know. And twice the expense, also I know. BUT, twice the doggie love! Well, I'm not going to get my hopes up.

I did some great work on the "Ms Marigold" last night, getting all of the ribbing done, pretty much. I've got one more row, then bind off and then I can pick up the stitches around the neck. Looks like I should be able to finish this off by the weekend. I'm looking forward to wearing it. Such a pretty pink.

I stayed up too late last night watching "Lost" and now I am just dragging! I know I could record the show but it's just so good lately that I don't want to wait. Oh lord -- I need a social life!!!

I may have a new addiction

It's a little early to tell, but I might have a new one. I had been hearing about a new television program on FX starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. It's call The Riches and I taped its pilot Monday night and watched it last night. It is SO good! It's right up there with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives". I have been crazy about Eddie Izzard for years. His stand-up is wonderful. But now? Now I am really crazy about him! His acting in this show is just awesome. Catch it if you haven't already.

So watching that new show it was round and round some more with the "Ms Marigold". I tried it on before I went to bed and it looks like I've got about 2 more inches of straight knitting on the body and then 2 inches of 2x2 ribbing. Then it's picking up the stitches for the ribbing around the neckline and I'll be done. I tried it on over a heavier T-shirt and it didn't itch at all so there's hope. It's very cute. I am definitely going to wear it.

I brought the "Fitted Knits" book in to work today (since I drove) and brought it to noon knitting to let the others take a peek. I am going to make three things out of it for sure. Here are pictures. I have the yarn to make the turtleneck and the mohair wrap. A deeper purple for the turtleneck and either light blue or a khaki green for the wrap. Then, there's the green cropped sweater with the cutest little leaf ties. I want to find a yarn that's a little less apple green and more peridot. So I've got my spring knitting cut out for me! Plus which let's not forget the TDR turtleneck that's half done and the sleeves that are that close to being done for the Ogee Tunic. I lack discipline, people. I'd feel bad about it, only most of the knitters I know suffer from the same thing!

And around and around

and around and around. About four more inches to go on the "Ms Marigold" body. It will be a relief to get to the ribbing. I should pick up my sock tonight. I have only one more row on the heel flap. I could get it turned and get all of the gusset stitches picked up tonight so I could start on the cuff ribbing and have that to take with me to Dad's doctor appointment tomorrow rather than try to take the larger project. The yarn is such a light pink for the "Ms Marigold" that I'm afraid I'm going to get it dirty or stained so I don't really want to be dragging it around with me. The sock I can fit into a Ziplock plus it's darker colored.

It's truly chaos here at work. Me, I've got plenty of time since there is still no place to put me(!), but the other women in my office suite have to be ready to go now by next Tuesday. I'm going to start sorting the "garbage" from the "keeper" anatomy props and other than that I'm just about ready to start tossing things into crates. It is just amazing to me how much paper I've thrown out (recycled, of course). Stuff that was important enough to keep and now I look at it and wonder why the heck I even bothered.

Oh it's going to be a looooong and boring week. I need something to look forward to. A vacation! I need a vacation to look forward to! My sister is coming in April now it looks like, to help me with the landscaping. But even if I take time off work it's not really going to be a vacation because I won't be going anywhere and will in fact be rooting around in the dirt. Well I'm going to have to think about this some more.

Just a few rants for a Monday morning

This is starting out to be a frustrating morning so I'm taking a little break, trying to get my heart rate down to something close to normal range. Because we're moving to temporary quarters I'm trying to consolidate my two PCs into one machine so I will only have one PC and one Mac rather than 2 PCs. To that end I downloaded my Palm Desktop software onto my newer PC on Friday afternoon and tried to HotSync my Palm. It wouldn't work and it was Friday afternoon so I just left it, re-booted the new computer and went home. This morning I'm trying to get the darned thing to HotSync and it won't!!! I have gone through the Palm troubleshooting info and it's useless and I am getting more and more frustrated. Hopefully the IT guy can give me a little help. I know he's done the switch. It's probably just one little thing that I'm overlooking.

So let me rant a bit about the St. Patrick's Day Dash. First of all, it was a great experience on the whole and I was totally in the zone. I mean .... I felt like I was running the best I've done so far in any race! Unfortunately I should have gone with the first wave (the "green" wave) rather than the second wave (the "red" wave) because even though it was timed the people were not really into it. Each hill they were mostly walking and I had to weave and excuse myself through clots of people. I was all set for a great push at the end and again, kept running into people! It was annoying. Next time I will not be intimidated and I will go in the first wave. 15,000 people showed up to run in the rain. It was incredible. But what I have to rant about is the people who don't think the rules apply to them! On the brochure and in the web site numerous times it was printed "NO dogs and NO strollers in ANY wave". Over and over and over again. Were there any dogs? Nope. Not a single dog. Were there any strollers? Hmmm? Oh yeah. Strollers all over the place and mostly in front of ME!!! What is it about certain parents that makes them think the rules do not apply to them?

Other than the race it was a relatively quiet weekend. I worked on a friend's web site a little. I took Tink to the dog park on Saturday and let her get very muddy and gave her a bath. And I knit and knit and knit on the "Ms Marigold". I'm in the round now and it's just knit knit knit for 10 inches, which takes a bit of time on size 5 needles. In fact I had to stop yesterday evening because my hand was getting sore. I tried it on Saturday night after I had done an inch or so in the round just to see how it was going to look. It's very cute and sexy. But alpaca! I just figured since it wasn't 100% alpaca but has some Tencel in it that it wouldn't be so itchy but that is not the case. I am hoping that after I wash it it won't be so bad. How can something that feels so soft on my hands be so itchy on my torso?? Even through a cotton T-shirt I could feel it. I was hoping to be able to wear this with just a cami underneath. Maybe after I wash it I will be able to wear it more comfortably. I know that the asymmetrical pull-over I made out of 100% alpaca is wearable if I have a T-shirt underneath so .... I will keep a good thought.

Duh

Boy is my face red. I emailed the people at Zephyr yesterday because I couldn't wrap my mind around the pattern directions for part D of my Ms. Marigold. Now, I should have stuck with my instinct which is to actually wait until I was at that point in the project and see what was what. I don't know about you, but usually things that are muddy while reading miraculously become clear when you have the needles and yarn in your hands and you are ready to execute the tricky bit. And so it was with me last night. I finished up the left front armhole knitting, slipped the stitches back onto the needle holding the other two parts and then knitted them all together just as the pattern said. I had incorrectly concluded that since each of the three pieces was originally ending with a knit row the next row had to be purl but ... no. Since they were all separate and the yarn had been cut at the end of each section I just turned the stuff the right way and away I went. So .... whoever read that email must have been rolling their eyes forever. I've got a few more inches to go back and forth and then I can start in the round. It is so pretty! I hope it looks good on.

The forecast for Sunday is heavy rain. I am not too happy about that, but forecasts are so often wrong. I'm going to do it no matter what, but it would be SO nice if it was sunny or at least not pouring rain.

No further word from the band guy. I was hoping to get together with them this weekend but I know he's trying to replace the lead guitar player and that could take some time. I'll try to be patient but each day I get more and more eager to at least meet with them and sing a few songs. I am very grateful to Lisa for suggesting they call me and I'll have to do something nice for her. Hmmmmm

A "Lost" night

Wednesday is "Lost" night. It doesn't start until 10, which is usually when I head to bed to read for a while, but I was knitting away on Ms Marigold, which doesn't need a lot of attention, and so I stayed up to watch it. Ooooo -- it was a bit brutal last night. But good. It kept my interest. But then I couldn't get to sleep and therefore ended up turning off my alarm and sleeping in this morning. Oh well, the work isn't going anywhere.

Today will be my last training run before the race on Sunday. Currently the forecast is for rain, which is a big huge super drag. Oh I'll go, but it is truly no fun to race in the rain. In that case it's just picturesque exercise.

I got quite a few hours in on the Ms Marigold last night, finishing up the armhole part for the right front and back. Tonight I should be able to finish the left front armhole and join the pieces back together. I will be happy to get to the part where it's in the round because purling hurts my hand. I am a little bit concerned that my gauge is going to be off when I start in the round. It usually is, especially since it's slippery yarn and I'm using my Denise needles. I might have to buy size 4 Addis if it looks too weird. Or, I might keep it as a design enhancement. That's more likely, knowing what a lazy knitter I am.

I was thinking last night (when I couldn't sleep) that now that I have a sewing machine I have no excuse to not make myself something to keep my circulars organized. I have a friend with a new fancy computer sewing maching and I could embroider numbers ... I know for sure that I'd never take the time to hand embroider numbers and that's really the important part. Maybe I'll look around for a pattern, although I have an idea in my head that shouldn't be too hard to realize.

SP 10 is about to get off the ground. My hostess contacted me last night and we should be getting our pals on the 15th.

Pretty close to instant gratification

I love Elann. Maybe it's because I live so close to their shipping location, but I ordered yarn on Sunday for my "Ms Marigold" and it was sitting on my doorstep yesterday when I got home from work. This Quechua is incredibly beautiful yarn! It's baby alpaca with some tencel in it so it's very very soft and it has a lovely sheen to it. I gorgeous light pink with just a hint of lavender. I maybe should have lightened this picture up a bit because on this monitor it looks a bit darker than it really is, but still you get the idea. I started my "Ms Marigold" last night and got through part B. I don't know, maybe I'm becoming a more mature knitter, because I find that I like fabric that is knit on a smaller needle. I think it's more wearable or something. Or maybe it's just the spring thing. Anyway, here's the start of my top. Now that my hairdresser has toned down the red highlights in my hair I feel more comfortable wearing my favorite color, pink!

I am loving my new camera! It is so much faster downloading pictures. I had an errand this morning so had a few extra minutes at home and took advantage of that to take more pictures. I've got my "Cozy" along the back of my couch, just marveling at the size of it!! And here's a close up of the pattern. A very easy lace which was forgiving of mistakes.

And finally ... I saw this Hummer parked in a handicapped space when I took Dad to the doctor this morning and I just HAD to take a picture of it with my phone. It is so outrageous I couldn't help myself. Plus which, inside was a tiny, yapping dog. Check out the custom paint job. Hearts! Not that I don't love hearts, mind you, but on a HUMMER?? It was all over it but the front was enough to give the idea. What a country.

What a GREAT weekend!

It was nothing huge, just a lot of good things that happened this weekend that made it so good. Actually it was mostly Sunday. Saturday was just errands and a manicure and pedicure and knitting on the "Cozy". I stayed up late watching TV and then read in bed until after midnight. Tink, bless her doggie heart, got up to do her thing at 7:30 Sunday and then came back to bed and let me sleep in until 10:30! I couldn't believe it!! What a treat.

I had some breakfast and a chat with my sister and then had a fabulous run, and when I got back the phone rang and it was the guy my hairdresser had suggested call me to sing with his band. And .. he was calling! Cool! He's the drummer and says he doesn't know the names of any of the songs they need a girl singer for, but will get back to me this week and I'll meet with them and sing a few songs. Just doing that is going to be so much fun! If there are jobs, so much the better.

For my post-run cool down I took Tink for a walk and we passed a garage sale where I found a sewing machine for $10. I bought it. It's old, but in good shape. It's heavy compared to the new plastic ones but it's much like the one I learned to sew on. Great buy.

And then the landscaper came over to look at my yard and make a plan. She went nuts over my back garden, telling me the names of all the birds she had sighted. She kept saying it was like a wildlife preserve. But we're going to concentrate on the front and then go from there. She's going to cut the cedars back from the house and take out the lawn and clean out the flower beds and lay new sod. I'm going to take lots of pictures to document the renovation.

And finally ... finally ... I finished my "Cozy" yesterday evening and washed it and it's drying now. It's not perfect, but the flaws are hard to see. I really wanted to make a vest this weekend and tried to get gauge for "Ms Marigold" with some stash yarn but couldn't so decided to order some Elann Peruvian Quechua in a pretty light pink. My SP8 had sent me Sonata for it but I wasn't feeling the purple for that pattern. Right .. so with the "Cozy" monkey off my back I should really finish up the TDR turtleneck. It will go quickly since it's so chunky. I'll start on the sleeves tonight and then I'll know how long I can make the body. That's my plan anyway.

Geek magnet

I'm going to change my name. Geek Magnet Has a certain ring to it, doesn't it? Oh I guess it's a bit of an over reaction. But really! One more bad date and I'm going to seriously look into it!

I got corroboration yesterday evening for Tinkerbell's devilish behavior Thursday night during the snow. I met a neighbor walking -- Shadow's "mom" -- and she said that Shadow was doing exactly the same thing Thursday night. We agreed that it must have been the sounds. She was an angel last night to make up for it.

I got to get caught up with "Lost" last night. This show has really turned around! I am llllloving it! I didn't knit but tried to untangle the "Cozy" yarn. When I started the penultimate skein I couldn't find the end, pulled out much of the middle and somehow it got very tangled. I nearly just cut the tangle out but it was good therapy while watching the show and didn't distract me. I am almost untangled. Afterwards I just did some soothing sock knitting.

Winter is back ...

with a vengeance! As I write this it's only 3 degrees above freezing. The wind chill this morning was painful. Last night is snowed but thankfully it didn't stick on the streets in town, so I rode in this morning. Up north the streets are covered. There's something about the snow falling that makes Tinkerbell crazy. Last night she was a devil. I think that the sound it falling -- it was not soft, fluffy snow we were getting but more sleet-y so it was making a noise as it fell through the trees. My best guess is that the noise imitates the sound of squirrels or other rodents rustling through the trees and shrubbery because she was acting like something was out there and she wanted to get it. If I let her out she would bark. So I'd have to bring her back in and then she wouldn't stop whining at the door to go out again. She's be fine for a while and then start with the barking. I tried to get her interested in her ball or her other toys and that would work for a minute, she'd get distracted and I could go back to what I was doing and then .... back at the door. I finally threw in the towel at 10 right after "Lost" had started since I realized I wasn't going to be able to sit down and enjoy the program without having to get up a million times to deal with her so up we went to bed. I thought she'd calm down and I could read for a minute before I turned out the lights. No go. She was insistent on getting up, so I turned out the lights. That worked for oh .... about a minute, then she was off the bed and scratching at the door to go out. It was SO annoying!!! I finally let her out into the living room where she sat at the door to the deck and whined and barked for about 10 minutes before giving up and coming to bed. Thankfully she was up only once more during the night what that routine. I was at my wits end! I really didn't know what to do but let her sit there and make noise until she got tired of it. I just hope it doesn't snow again.

Needless to say there wasn't much knitting being done. I did start on my penultimate skein of yarn for the "Cozy". I could have gotten much more done had Tink behaved but oh well ... maybe I'll get something done tonight.