Thur in SLC

Here I sit.

On my way to SLC

Airport beverage. Early flight today.

Tuesday already

I tried to mobile blog -- you will see that there is an airport cocktail up now -- but because I had changed over from the old Blogger to the new my mobile stuff wasn't coming through. Oh well .... I had a good weekend anyway. No knitting, lots of laying around reading (which was a treat), some awesome shoe shopping and a great party Saturday night. Instead of racing home Sunday we had another day to laze around and then I figured a plane ride home from Burbank on Monday afternoon would be a breeze. Instead it was one of those airport nightmares you hear about. Plane delayed, plane delayed some more, plane canceled at which point people start going crazy and I just wanted to go back to my sister's and start over on Tuesday (today) but after about 30 minutes of waiting to get into the line to change my ticket they decided we could go on that plane after all. So they board us. THEN tell us that one of the lavatories isn't working .... *more* delay. Well obviously I made it home but good heavens .... it was a loooooong day. And tomorrow morning I have to get back on a plane. I am hoping all my airport bad luck has been used up.

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Airport cocktail. Yay long weekend!

Second post of the day

Well, I don't EVER do two posts in a day but this is a special day besides being the first day of summer -- Secret Pal 10 Reveal Day, as it turns out. My package to my spoilee, Jen, arrived and she blogged about it AND tagged me with a Birthday Meme, which I will do at the end of this post. Go say hello to Jen.

I came back from running errands and found 3 packages on my doorstep. I had recently ordered a couple small bits of yarn for two more felted bags and they were sitting there as well as a box from my spoiler, Pam. She sent me a skein of superwash sock yarn in a gorgeous purple, a beautiful heart shaped box, some gift tags for handknits and a circular needle holder, which I so desperately need. Thanks SO MUCH secret pal. Go say hello to Pam.

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The Birthday Meme

The rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.

Events:

• 1908 - Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It's the Wright Brothers' first public flight and the French public goes wild.
• 1963 - Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
• 1974 - Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation, effective the next day.

Births:

• 1884 - Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)
• 1937 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor

Holidays:

• Roman Catholicism - the feasts of at least 5 saints:
  • St. Dominic de Guzman, priest, (1170-1221).
  • St. Cyriacus
  • St. Largus
  • St. Smaragdus (and companions)
  • St. Hormisdas

Okay ..... now to tag:

Pam
Nonnahs
Sherrill
Tammy
Karen

Sum-sum-summertime

I do believe that today is the first day of summer and so .... everybody put on your shorts!!

I haven't been doing much and not even blogging, have I? I did manage to get my Secret Pal's big ol' package sent off. Did a few rows on my pretty green Isabella yesterday with the noon knitting girls, and a few rows on a sock while I watched a movie last night but that's about it.

Today I'm working from home and multi-tasking -- cleaning up things around her preparatory to my two trips. I'll only be home for about 24 hours between California and Salt Lake City so I don't want a mess around here. I'll have to spend Monday evening doing laundry and futzing with the garden and Tuesday packing. I'm going to miss Tink, but I figure I can do without here for that one night. It would be too much trouble to pick her up from her friend's house just to drag her over here to sleep with me. I think I can sleep without my doggie for one night.

And I need to figure out which project(s) to take on my trips. I don't believe I'll have much time to knit when I'm in California so I think I'll just toss in my sock. I should be able to have some time in Salt Lake City between meetings and presentations and stuff so maybe the Isabella.

Now to get on with the day. Look for the airport cocktail tomorrow!

Now the waiting

I sent in my first ever pattern submission ever to Magknits on Friday. I know that it was after business hours there (wherever they are in the UK) but I figured what the heck, I'd send it anyway. Close enough. And over the weekend I finished a second prototype so I sent a picture of that yesterday afternoon (which was Monday morning for them). So now .... I wait.

I had to get in early this morning because I had two women coming by for make-up exams at 8:30 and I needed to be set for them. One of them was out of here in less than 30 minutes.

It's nasty and wet outside so I am glad I had an excuse to drive in. Besides having to make sure I was on time I also wanted to bring in my last package for my Secret Pal so I could take it up to the Post Office tomorrow to get it sent to her. I need to add a card and a couple little things but otherwise it's done. It's just too large to carry in my pack and/or my panniers so I had to drive it in. I hope she likes it. I added some fresh sprigs of lavender from my garden so it's going to smell good - that much we know for sure.

Not a terribly exciting weekend, but not bad. Friday after my hair appointment I went out for drinks with with Lisa and one of her customers who just "happened to drop by". I don't know that I completely believe that, since I had expressly forbidden her to ever ever try to fix me up again, but in this case it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. I didn't stay late since I had not only Tink to go home to but Jasmine as well, hungry for their dinner.

Saturday was supposed to rain but I got out in the morning and got the grass mowed and went all around the new beds and pulled up rogue weeds. I cannot let it get out of hand! Or it'll end up like the back which is overwhelming. I like having one area that I know I can handle and keep nice looking. The kicker is that it never did rain on Saturday and I could have hired someone to come work with me. Oh well. But Sunday it rained, which was find because I had lots of errands and chores to do.

It's going to be a short and busy week - leaving Friday afternoon for SoCal. Can't wait!

Well of COURSE it's raining today!

I noticed patches in my newly created lawn that were a bit brown. The weather report keeps predicting rain but it never appears. So I watered the dickens out of the grass last night and I awoke about 3:30 am to the sound of raindrops. Oh well ... if that's all it took, I'm happy.

Nothing much knitterly to report - still working on the bags. I'm about 1/2 done with the "fancy" one. The bottom is very fast, but body not so much. But it's perfect TV and/or movie knitting or, in the case today, knitting for the hair salon.

I got an email from my Secret Pal today saying her "reveal" package is on its way to me. Hope it gets here by Thursday because I'm stopping my mail on Friday for a week and a few days and if it doesn't come by Thursday I won't get it until I get back from Salt Lake City. I'll be home for a day between trips but I won't be able to get my mail.

I did SO want to hire someone to help me in the yard tomorrow but if it's going to be raining I don't want to do it. I'll check the extended forecast later today and hope that it's set to clear up. I am in the mood to get some work done out there! The front is just so nice compared to the back.

A little pre-work pamper

This morning I treated myself (well if not me, then who??) with my little windfall. Sure sure ... I could have bought some clothes or hired someone to work in the garden, but I just really needed a splurge and it is SO totally worth it. I am feeling and looking good.

Oh! And speaking of looking good -- I've got a killer idea for a new picture for my blog profile. That one up there is a year old now and I'm getting tired of it. So while I'm in California visiting my sister we're going to shoot a new one. It is going to be so fun!

I'm going to run again today. I've had two good runs this week and no pain (knock on wood) so I'm going to be daring and run today even though I did it yesterday. I don't usually do two days in a row but I'm going to be taking my friends to the train station tomorrow and working from home (hopefully getting a garden helper in as well) and so I know for sure that no matter how good my intentions I will not run tomorrow. It's supposed to get nice this afternoon - right now it's threatening rain.

I got all inspired yesterday to create a couple more felted bags quickly so I can submit them to Magknits. The deadline is the 15th of each month and I don't want to send pictures of just one type of bag, so I'll just get them done quickly and take pictures and have it early for the July 15 deadline. After I stopped out to see my Dad I went to JoAnn's and found some stuff that I can iron between two pieces of fabric that I can use to stiffen up the bottoms of the bags - make them a bit squarer. I am, basically, trying to recreate my favorite shopping bag. Every time I visit Paris I make sure to go to this wonderful incense and candle place called "Esteban". Their shopping bags are the BEST - perfect size for carrying my lunch when I drive into work. And they are also a great project sized bag. The Noro 150 I made is almost exactly the size of this little shopping bag. I'm working on one now that will incorporate some novelty yarn (otherwise known as why the hell did I EVER buy THIS?!?) and be kind of funky. Or ... ugly. We'll see. Beauty AND ugly is in the eye of the beholder baby.

Is it so wrong to be a creature of habit?

Well, sometimes it is. Like this morning. I drove in today so that I could have the car here at work to be able to run out to my dad's for a meeting at 3. I was late and then the phone rang which disrupted my zombie-like morning movements. Mike wanted Steve's address so he could send his final CD to him. (Oh, check out the web site Mike's niece made him. MUCH nicer than the plain one I turned out -- it's in Flash and she's a graphics designer as well. She did the cover design for his CD too. Oh. And the music isn't bad either. ;-)) Anyway, I was dashing around getting bits and bobs in my various bags [lunch, knitting and hand], got the dog called in, picked up my sunglasses from the side table and swept out the door. Only to realize the instant the door was closed that I had neglected to pick up my keys. Nothing else to do - I had to climb in a window. Lucky for me it's not winter and one is conveniently unlatched. Only thing I have to find something to climb up on so I can swing my leg in there or else I'd get all grubby. Well I got it done anyway and to work not too late [like anyone notices where I am now]. And that's my story. Let's hope the day progresses with a little less drama.

I seem to have gotten over that weird leg/hip (actually my gluteus) problem I was having last week with running. I had a good solid run on Monday and I'm not sore or limping so I'm going to give it another go today. I would sure like to get back to 3 solid runs a week. Those new shoes! That's what got me off track how many weeks ago?? I've certainly learned a good lesson there. NEVER EVER buy running shoes from anyplace but the running store. They check your gait and really know their stuff. And I tell you, it makes a huge difference. One little bit of alignment problems and it can throw your whole body out of whack. Not fun.

As I was laying in bed last night not sleeping, I kept thinking about all the use I'm getting out of the last felted bag I made. I call it my Noro 150 [because of stitch counts]. It is such a perfect size for toting around projects. The knitting books or 8 1/2 x 11 printed patterns fit perfectly. I was thinking of making a couple more versions, taking some decent pictures, and submitting the pattern to Magknits. I'm sure it's not tricky enough for Knitty, although I am considering one of the 3 versions to have a bit of easy Fair Isle but still .... it seems to me that for a pattern to be accept on Knitty it's got to have a gimmick and/or be "piquant". Or be a pair of socks. heh

They're gone!

The students are gone and the campus is nice and quiet. No clumps of surly, shuffling people to bike around in the morning. Plenty of room at the bike racks. No long lines at the espresso stands. It's just perfect! And this morning, while it is a bit chilly for my taste, the ride in was gorgeous with blue sky and puffy clouds and then, when I turned the corner to head south towards the big fountain there was Mount Rainier. Oh! I forgot -- last week there was a Blue Heron in the fountain on my way home. I see them frequently this time of year in the fountain, for some reason. But that was my first of this year.

No knitting last night. I had a busy day at work. And then had to pick up my friend's little boy and run an errand with him so it was after 7 when I got home, totally exhausted. Oh I would have given anything for a shoulder rub. You know how it is when you've been busy and all the tension goes into your shoulders and neck. Well Tink wasn't about to step up, so I had a martini and let it work its magic while I read the paper. And then -- no knitting. None. I made a nice little dinner and watched one of my favorite movies, which just happened to be on last night. "Cold Comfort Farm" I don't know why I like that movie so much. Maybe it's because everything gets tied up at the end -- everyone gets their heart's desire. Now I must resist the urge to keep saying "I saw something nasty in the woodshed".

A good way to start the week off

With a smile ... You know sometimes when a dream is SO real that it's almost spooky? I had one of those this morning. I was relieved to find out that one part at least was not true and that's that I had changed jobs and had an hour commute to work! Otherwise it was a funny encounter and I am left with a nice feeling of optimism and good fortune.

It was a pretty good weekend, all in all. Friday turned out sunny and very warm so even though the weather forecast was for rain all weekend, I skipped mowing the lawn Friday after work and instead Tink and I went to the Alehouse to sit in the sun and read ... oh, and drink a "Kilt Lifter". On the deck, as they call it, there are chairs and umbrellas and a little fence around it to keep people from parking too close, or something. Anyway, as I was sitting there a woman drove her motorcycle up behind me and parked it. She was a rough looking woman - short sleeved Harley t-shirt and tattoos all up her arms. But her bike! Wow ... I mean it looked like it had never been driven, it was that clean and shiny. She came in and sat with her buddies and had a drink and was nice to Tinkie - gave her peanuts, which she loves. So when the woman was leaving I turned and said "Wow, that's the prettiest and cleanest motorcycle I have *ever* seen"! Did she say "Thanks"? Did she say "Well yes, I just bought it". No -- what she said was "It's not a motorcycle. It's a Harley". Ooooookay then.

During the night it clouded up and Saturday it was raining. All day! I was just kicking myself for not mowing Friday evening. You can almost see that grass growing and the forecast called for rain all weekend. Tink got a long overdue grooming on Saturday and I just lazed around. She looks all serious in this picture, snapped this morning before I left. Check out the lush lush lawn, baby! And good luck came my way (as it has been doing lately ... finally) on Sunday because it was breezy and blew all the clouds away! It was gorgeous so I got the lawn mowed after all. And found one of my favorite stores going out of business and everything was at least 50% off so I got a couple of tops and a really great pair of summer pants.

Band rehearsal went south again this weekend! The drummer couldn't make it until nearly 9 on Saturday and that was too late to start. Then he's going to be off for surgery for a couple weeks and I'm going to be gone to California and then a meeting so June is just a total write off. I think I should be able to get together with the guitar player (and leader) this weekend to go over vocals and backups and that would be helpful. Then July we can really hit it and hopefully he'll book us a gig so we've got something to aim for!

Knitting wise -- I finished up the Airy Wrap-around but have not yet sewn up the last sleeve and tucked in all the ends. I did try it on and .... well, how the heck are you supposed to wear that thing without looking all bunched up?? I don't happen to have a stylist handy. I'll fiddle with it. It is pretty cute.

I started the Isabella top. Size 3 needles. Ouch. It is like making a top out of sock yarn. I got a good bit into it. This picture shows the unturned hem and about 4 inches of the body. This top is going to take me for-freaking-ever to finish but I like the color and the texture of the fabric. And one of the things I wear most that I have made my Green Gables so tanks and T-shirts are good things to make.



And finally we have a picture of the ever present sock. I am not crazy about the color scheme on the sock but oh well. The next pair is going to be awesome! And the back and two fronts of the Scoop de Jour. I am very close to starting the armhole decreases.

Oooooo so close!

I am very very close to finishing up the Airy wrap-around sweater. If I had stayed up late last night I could have done it but I also had a book that was waiting to be finished and so I left it for tonight. I am glad that I have already sewn up one sleeve so I will only have to weave in a few ends and sew up the other sleeve and it'll be ready to wear! No blocking. (Could I be the laziest knitter in the world?) And then .... I think I should start on the Isabella from Knitty. I have the yarn, I have the inclination and since it's done on such tiny needles, if I want to wear it at all this year I'd better get on it! So that will be my project that I have to concentrate on. Otherwise I'm still plugging away on the Scoop de Jour. Just an inch or so and I can start the decreases for the armholes and after that it'll be fast to finish up the fronts and then the sleeves.

Here's why I love the Internet - reason #3,564,789 (or something like that). Last night I had an odd assortment of ingredients and I didn't want to go to the store. So I just entered a few key words and voila! up popped about 10 recipes using ingredients I had on hand and it was good and easy. I LOVE that!

I booked myself some super duper pampering with my little windfall. Oh you knew that's what I'd do! I am a firm believer in pampering. Great mental health benefits.

My friends are just so cool!!

I just thought this was so beautiful! A friend of mine sent me this link today. And another friend came into my office with a very sweet smile on her face .... just chatting "Hey, how are you? What's new"? And then she hands me a very nice little check. Seems she had entered me in a raffle and I won 2nd prize! And even better - *she* won first! Now I get to figure out what I want to spend it on. Shoes? Yarn? Pampering? wheeee

WIP photos

I've been working on my Fitted Knits Airy Wrap-around. I finally finished the right side. Here is a close up of part of it. It's long - over 50 inches. It's very curly on the sides so I tried to straighten it out a bit so you can get an idea. Of course the detail isn't going to be very evident when it's tied but I am sure it'll add some relief from just plain knit.

And here's a picture of the how it looks so far. I hope to get the left side stitches picked up and get a start on it this evening. This shows the color a bit more realistically than the other shot. Super cute sweater and I think it's going to be very wearable and useful with a little tank underneath. I am going to have tons and tons of this angora blend mohair left over. It's very soft, as you might imagine.

I had a super great run yesterday but I somehow injured myself. I don't know what is the underlying cause but I noticed it as I was biking up hill on the way home yesterday - a very VERY sharp pain in my rear! It subsided and then happened again as I was walking up the stairs from the basement. I mean, it was so electrifying and painful that I nearly blacked out. NOT good. I'm treating myself with a heating pad and anti-inflammatory meds, no biking or running today and we'll see how tomorrow looks. I had practically no sleep last night. I have had enough experience with "athletic" injuries that I know enough now to rest it and work on the inflammation. It's just annoying with all the great 5Ks out there and I can't run them!

Happy Monday

It's cooling down, which is a relief since it was just blazing hot all weekend long. Last night I thought for sure we were going to get some rain. It was thundering and a few drops fell but that was it. Surely it'll rain today. It's very muggy and windy. The blisters on my feet are gone so I can run today. I think I'd rather have it raining than windy. I don't like running in the wind.

The weekend was hot and uncomfortable and just a little weird. Do you feel sometimes that your iPod, when playing on shuffle, has it out for you? Or senses your mood and serves up just what you're in the mood for? Or ... or I'm just insane. Anyway, my iPod and the car radio and any music anywhere around me at all were all in on the same cosmic joke, it seemed. So I spent a good portion of my weekend pining. "Other Side of the World" must have come up 3 times at least.

When I wasn't pining, I was working in the yard or running any number of errands. It seemed both Saturday and Sunday that I didn't get done with chores and errands until nearly 5 each day. Thankfully my basement is nice and cool so I spent a good deal of time there. I did finish up the right front of the Airy Wrap-around, got the heel turned on that ever present sock and started on the leg ribbing, and also got about 2 inches from the start of the armhole decreases on the Scoop de Jour. I was looking forward to rehearsal yesterday evening but there were scheduling conflicts so .... next weekend.

I have to get serious about getting my final Secret Pal package together! I have a good idea of what I want to do this time so I just need to get it done, right?

It was a pub night ....

Yeah .. kind of a spur of the moment pub night because some old colleagues were in town for a meeting. Just four of us, but we had a great time! I didn't get to sleep until around 1, so getting up this morning was a challenge. I made it, even biked in. I'm just a little sleepy. Then I had to sit through 3 more hours of meeting with nothing but a cup of coffee and half a scone in my stomach. There was lots of talk last night about what to eat and where to eat but when push came to shove we just ended up ordering more bar snackies, which didn't really appeal to me. Therefore I woke up starving! So again, no knitting. Much chattering and drinking of beer. It was hot again yesterday so it was quite tasty.

And it's a hot and lovely day again! I'm going to skip out early and enjoy the sunshine (and maybe catch a nap). I really want to finish up that one front piece of the Airy Wrap-around so maybe I'll watch a movie tonight and do that. I sure as heck don't feel like going out.