I love it when I'm right

I had a fabulous run yesterday! Laying off on Tuesday was just the right thing to do. I wasn't sore yesterday, I had a lot of stamina and I ended my run strong. Today's going to be tough though - it's a biking and running day. And then on Sunday it's five miles. But this time I won't be getting lost, since we'll be on the trail.

I sent my unfinished hat off yesterday to a woman in New York. She will finish it up and send it on to Tahoe Terror (whoever she is). I learned something with this competition - I do not like to knit when I am obliged. It just sucks all the fun out of it. I was happy to knit on my fourth (!) neck warmer hat last night. I must stop knitting those. I have lovely cashmere to make my sister a hat, I have some Noro sock yarn that I want to use to make some fingerless mitts, not to mention the Frost Flowers Stole that I haven't been able to touch for weeks. Maybe this Saturday? Oh I hope so. With my training on Sundays my weekends have gotten very short. Saturday I have to do all my errands, and I really should work some in the garden. If I have to rehearse as well it's almost like a work day.

Pushing 90

No, not me. The temperature. Today is the first day of autumn and the weather forecast is sunny and 87 degrees. It is a schedule running day but .... guess who forgot her shoes today? I had five packages to mail, and packed my running clothes but since I am not yet in the habit of bringing my shoes home for the weekend, left them! My calf muscles are even more sore today than they were yesterday, plus my knee is a bit twinge-y so maybe it's not so bad after all. I'll take a nice long walk and call it good.

I wanted to work on my Hat Wars hat yesterday evening but we had to go to the in-laws for dinner and it was not a conducive atmosphere for doing knitting that required any type of concentration. So rather than do a bunch of work I'd have to take out, I just played Scrabble on my iPhone. When we got home I poured myself a much needed cocktail and started working on getting all that yarn I had sold on eBay wound up and packaged up. Then I got on the Ravelry Hat Wars forum to see what was up and found a message from a woman wanting to know if I was Tink the Avenger. Good sleuthing!! I found her blog where she details the lineage of a kill and who gets the WIP. It is very confusing. But then she says that so-and-so had killed me. Well no ... I got no hat in the mail yesterday. I sent her a message and she explained that someone had finished and mailed off my hat and my death is imminent. Kind of lets me off the hook to finish this hat since I'm out of the competition and I'm not in love with knitting it. If I don't get killed today I'll work some more on it tonight so whoever gets it won't have that much more to do.

What else ..... work takes up so much of my energy this time of year. Add to that the training on Sundays which effectively wipes out the day since I'm so wiped out by the time I get home. That leaves me Saturday to do my errands, grooming, yard work and relaxing. Oh .. and there's rehearsing in there too. I can't seem to get enough sleep.

Lost in Discovery Park

Yesterday was our third training run. We all met at Discovery Park took off on the trails for a 5 mile run. Our group is essentially 3 groups -- the fast runners, the slow runners, and the walkers. I am in the slow runners group. The fast runners took off with the trainer who told the rest of us that he'd leave markers for us to follow. He said he'd make the mark of an arrow in the dirt or leave ferns or branches pointing the way. This is a VERY hilly park, by the way, and most of the trail is in the woods. Long story short, I was following a woman and there was another runner behind me. We missed a crucial turn and when we arrived at the top of the bluff we realized we were lost. So we turned back and started running to the spot where we understood there were steps leading down to the beach. And we ran into the walkers who had also made the same wrong turn. We ran to the stairs and started going down and who did we meet but the trainer and the others runners. The trainer berated us for not seeing his signs and told us that had never happened before. As if we're all dumber than anything for not seeing his grass arrows. We ended up just doing the run in reverse, running along the beach trail and up the steep stairs they had come down. It messed up the mileage and I ended up doing less than 5 miles, but more than four, so that's good. Plus the elevation .... holy cow. My calf muscles are SO sore today. It was so hard. I am hoping for a breakthrough soon. And by the way, look to the right at the top and you'll see a little widget for supporting my run by donating to Gilda's Club. It only takes a second.

The Hat Wars started on Friday, unbeknownst to me. I had to get on the Ravelry group to find the pattern. And of course I chose the hardest one. I worked on it Friday night, and Saturday realized that I had misread the pattern and had to take out the whole cuff, 3 inches, and four rows of the cable pattern that I was doing wrong. I got it started again and after knitting on it yesterday I'm 4 rows into the second 16 row repeat. I am kicking myself for choosing that pattern. Not that it's not pretty, but it needs a cable needle for nearly every row! I hope my target likes it.

The Huskies played their hears out on Saturday and it was a HUGE upset! It was bedlam in the stadium. I was watching it on TV, needless to say, and it was nuts! And today their Huskies are ranked #24 - Ranked for the first time in 6 years. Pretty special.

I love love love my new iPhone

I do! I've been working on transferring all my iTunes songs and videos from my laptop to my external hard drive and it's been a time consuming chore, I can tell you that! My goal is to get all of my person stuff off my broken lap top and onto the external hard drive so I can bring my work laptop home and use that for work. I've been using my personal computer for work forever and now that it's broken, I'm going to use my work computer for work. Yeah. I don't sit around at home and play on my computer or do personal stuff on it, except manage my iTunes, so it won't be hard to keep it just for work. They're very fussy about that kind of stuff, being a state institution.

Anyway, last night I synced up my iPhone and got all my music (except the holiday songs) on there and I've still got more than 17 gigs available! Right now I've got 1,631 songs, 2 music videos, 12 episodes (6 hours) of "Extras", 5 audio books (short ones though - the Ricky Gervais "Guide to .." series), 164 photos and 27 applications. I need to get more apps.

My new favorite app is called Checkbook. When we were coming home from Fort Flagler and getting on the ferry Mr. M remarked that the ferry system won't be accepting checks as of sometime soon. And I said that nobody uses check anymore. And I got to thinking - the only checks I write are twice a month to the housekeeper. If I paid her cash I wouldn't need my checkbook. I use the register to reconcile my debit card use with my account and I pay all my bills electronically and keep track of them on the register. There must be an app for that, I thought and sure enough, there is! It's great too. Way better than the check book register. I just have to be super conscientious about entering every transaction. Pretty soon it will be automatic.

I am working on the fourth neck warmer hat and when that's done I'm putting them aside for a while. First of all because Hat Wars is due to start Saturday (I think). Plus which I've got to work on the Frost Flowers Shawl when I'm not knitting for Hat Wars. I am SO looking forward to Saturday. Mr. M is going to be gone working, the son is going to be gone visiting and I've got the whole house to myself! I am going to sleep in - I am still not caught up from the weekend - and get my nails done and be home by 12:30 to watch the Huskies play USC, and knit and knit and knit and knit. Sunday I'm running 5 miles in Discovery Park so Saturday I'm not doing a thing!

From the coffee room

It was a lovely lovely lazy evening. Having written out an eight point "House Rules" for the stepson, (who, despite numerous assurances that he had his school vacation housing settled has ended up at our house for the whole month!!) I had a quiet home in which to rest. Work was again crazy and I was still a little sleep deprived from the weekend. I knew I had to get that kid under control and his dad was not about to do it, but was oh so willing to let me write out the rules and go through them with the man/boy, making me out to be the bad guy. I am totally fine with that. Perpetuating the stereotype - Wicked, Evil Stepmother. They aren't tough rules, just common sense and housekeeping.He chose the first and walked from our house to Gas Works Park and back, which I estimate to be around 10 miles each way. If he keeps that up he might even lose a little weight, besides going back to school with clean clothes that are really clean. Okay -- enough of that.

So besides some sparking wine and Mario Kart, I had silly TV and knitting. Mr. M wanted scifi, so he took himself up to his "man cave" and watched some odd movie. I hopped in bed at a decent time, read a chapter or two and was out. It was a good sleep. Our irrigation system starts at 3 am and usually I wake up when one of the back portions start, but I didn't last night. I feel rested today. I hope I can get a good run in. My ankle is bothering me a bit, which I suspect might have something to do with all the hills on Saturday. I'll take it easy.

The weekend from hell

First off - if you like camping then you probably shouldn't read this post. I HATE camping and this past weekend just made me remember why and how much.

The weekend actually started off nicely. I had a busy week at work, got everything done I wanted to get done and caught a cab down to the ferry dock. There happened to be a boat waiting so I hopped on. It was a gorgeous day. Mr. M wasn't expecting to pick me up until around 6, so I walked into the town and found a lovely little bar and settled in with a martini and sports on the TV. He picked me up and we drove off towards the campground, stopping at a wonderful restaurant for dinner on the way. GREAT dinner. I love that restaurant. And while we were eating people at the campsite, his son I guess, set up our tent. Pretty much everything was fine when we got there. People drinking and chatting around the fires. We found our tent and put our stuff in there and Mr. M began starting to get the air mattress pumped up. But the pump was missing a crucial part so he had to go in search of another one. He got it pumped up, I got ready for bed, having found the facilities to be just as disgusting as I had imagined they would be. Unfortunately, the new air mattress had leaks. Lots of them. It was like trying to sleep on a water bed, but one that was not filled up. And then there were the drunk people, hollering and talking and making noise. And the not drunk people shouting at them. Oh, and the guy in the tent next to me -- so close next to me that when he started snoring I just about lost it. As my ass was sinking slowly and inexorably to the hard and rocky ground, I sandwiched my head between two towels and cried myself to sleep.

Saturday morning I woke up on the hard, very hard, ground. I was NOT a happy camper in any sense of the word. I had to run 4 miles on Saturday because I wasn't going to make the training session Sunday, obviously, and we were going to the Seahawks game so I just wouldn't have time. I figured I'd get up, get my running clothes on, have a little breakfast and then go. But breakfast was not happening in a timely fashion so I swallowed a cup of coffee that was about 25% grounds, and had some juice and took off for my run. Oh it was a hilly run. But I made the entire four miles in less than an hour. Unfortunately my new iPhone arm band was chaffing me something fierce. It still hurts like crazy. I'm going to have to find some way to pad it.

I was feeling not entirely bad when I got back, had a nice little breakfast and then headed to the shower. Oh my good heavens .... I'll try to be as delicate as I can ... there I was lathering up with some super wonderful smelling soap and someone else was in there stinking the place up. It pretty much doesn't get much worse than that. Ick ick ick ick

Still ... it was a lovely day. And Tink was having the time of her life - all the smells and the kids and the other dogs to play with. We took her for a little walk down to the water, I was hungry again so I had a little lunch and then thought I'd have a nap since I hadn't been able to sleep the night before and Mr. M had patched the air mattress. Unfortunately, he missed a hole and the tent was as hot as an oven. There was no sleeping, although I tried for about an hour until I was too hot to even pretend to nap. That evening was planned a big shrimp boil and since the teenagers had gone through all of our beer(!) I took the opportunity to escape that particular hell and drove 10 miles into town to get more beer and pop. As luck would have it the Husky football game was on and they were beating the tar out of the Idaho Vandals. It was SWEEEET! Finally, a win!

By the time I got back the preparations for dinner were going strong so I packed up some knitting and made myself comfy and did a little knitting and tried to get my blood pressure down. The dinner was nice. We got to bed at a decent hour and the mattress held up. I was anxious to get up, even though we had to get up at 7:30. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I hated every second of it and will now have a full year to figure out how I can get out it when it rolls around again.

The Seahawks took almost a full quarter to get their motors going, but beat the Rams 28 to nothing. Sacked the QB 3 times. It was a good game. And I slept like a rock in my own soft bed.

And now to work!!

Technology has got it in for me

It was a very nice and looong vacation weekend. Yesterday school started and I didn't have a second to breath let alone rant. I don't have to be in class first thing this morning so I'm indulging myself.

My weekend was wet. I did not attend Bumbershoot, needless to say. Saturday was errands and an evening of Husky football. They didn't win, but it was a great game and they really played well. And considering they were playing a highly ranked team on national television, it was awesome. They scored on their first drive, even. It wasn't a blow out, it was a good game to the end. Everyone is very optimistic.

Sunday was the first group training run. My nephew called at 10 am asking me if I was going to be there. I guess because it was raining so hard, he thought I might opt out. No way! Truly, I don't mind at all running in the rain and in fact quite like it. Picture though - this is not plinky-plunky rain. It was dumping! I got all togged up - I had bought new running shorts on Saturday but it was too wet for them - I had my long running pants and a short sleeved wicking T-shirt and a zip hoodie made of the same type of material. My nephew was not thinking straight and showed up with a cotton T-shirt and a sweatshirt hoodie. Off we went with the trainer, everyone but me just zipping along. Me, I know how to pace myself. I ran the entire 3 miles at a very good, almost race pace. The trainer took the other group 4 miles rather than 3 but they stopped at 2 miles and regrouped. I caught up to a poor woman who had not been pacing herself and run out of steam, plus was cramping. We ran the last 1 1/2 miles back to the start together. I was so mad at myself for not thinking to bring dry clothes, although I also wasn't intending to do anything other than drive right back home, but my nephew wanted to go eat, so I stopped and bought a Husky sweatshirt before we got to the restaurant because I was soaked to the skin and getting cold.

I'm going to have to miss the Sunday run because -- hold your breath -- it's Family Camping Weekend. O.M.G. Can you even imagine how much I am NOT looking forward to this? The first year we had just started dating plus I had Seahawks tickets, so it was easy to get out of. Last year Mr. M didn't want to go for some reason ... I think because his friend wasn't going to be there to make the big dinner or something. But this year -- no way out. On the plus side, my FIL gave us his Seahawks tickets so we get to leave bright and early Sunday morning. That means I'm going to have to do my four miles on Saturday, but I think it'll just give me a good excuse to get away from the chaos.

Now for the technology woes. My iPhone had been acting up a little bit for a few months. Sometimes when I would put it in the iHome dock it would light up and say something along the lines of this accessory is not made for iPhone and do you want to turn on Airport Mode. Since the accessory was indeed made for iPhone, I just ignored the warning. But Saturday night I received a call from my sister, everything normal. Next call I got I couldn't pick it up. And by Sunday is was not letting me make or received calls and that message was coming up all the time. I made an appointment to go to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store and, long story short, my iPhone was just broken. And since it was over 18 months old ... WELL over the warranty .. there was nothing they could do. I went home and thought about it and made an appointment to get a new one, which I picked up yesterday. A 32 gig version! Well, why not? Double the memory for $100 - it's a no brainer.

I was setting it to synching last night and when I came up to check on it, guess what. My lap top screen was shot. I rebooted and it was the same. Mr. M hooked up an external monitor for it and now I'm going to have to figure out what to do about that. Having just bought a new iPhone I really can't see buying a new laptop. Thank goodness I have that huge external hard drive and everything is backed up. Since I only use it for work, I might just start taking my work laptop home. That makes the most sense, but it's the lugging it back and forth that it tough. It needs more thought.

On Sunday I also got to meet our new bass player. The verdict it still out. He's okay, but I didn't exactly warm up to him. Partly I think because he and Doug, the leader, had to argue about a bass line. It made me uncomfortable. We rehearsed for 3 1/2 hours. I had no voice when I left.

Ahhh .. and Monday. Blissfully quiet, chores done, Tinkerbell and I hung out and I knitted on the Shawl for a while. This is a real time sink. Now up to row 21.

Holiday weekend coming up

The last day of student orientation for us, thank goodness. Tuesday we hit the ground running. I have to be ON my bike by 7 am. erghgh Thankfully it's only for a month or so that I have to get in so early.

Had a pretty darned good run yesterday. Not effortless but I was strong and it was only a 25 minute (rather than the normal 30). Today, my "easy" day, is another 30 minutes and I'm really curious whether my legs are going to hurt or not. I have been very thorough in my pre-run stretching but it's the morning bike ride that I'm more concerned with. There's only one way to find out - and I'll be doing that in an hour or so.

I did not pick up the stitches in that hat last night. I must do it tonight. I was watching the Seahawks beat the pants off the Raiders in their last preseason game. That makes the Seahawks unbeaten in preseason which hasn't happened ... well, I don't think it's ever happened. Must make the new coach pretty darned happy. Let's hope the Huskies come out of the gate as strong as the Seahawks have this year.

Mr. M's son is due this evening for his summer break. He did the summer quarter so now he's got all of September as vacation. *sigh* Well, I do have lots of work for him if he's at all interested in doing something other than sitting around playing on his computer or arguing with his father. I just love having my quiet time in the house when Mr. M is out working and I can sit and knit in the comfy chair and hear ... nothing. That's not going to be happening for a whole long month. Here's another one .... *sigh*

My stress buster

Last year at this time I was having terrible nightmares. I get stressed out only about once a year, this time, because work is pretty intense. This year I have not had the nightmares! I think it's because I have been playing Mario Kart Wii. I know I know ... it sounds really stupid, but I curse and yell at the other drivers and it's a cathartic experience. The down side is that I've developed a weird callous on the middle finger of my right hand. Almost like a callous from doing a lot of writing. But it's totally worth it. I hated those nightmares.

I am nearly done with the 3rd neck warmer hat, but I found a dropped stitch last night ... wwwaaaay down there about an inch and a half!! It's going to take some skill to pull it back up just right so I put it down. Maybe I can get to it tonight but more likely this weekend.

My run on Tuesday was really good! I felt strong and my legs did not hurt. I'm looking forward to another strong one this afternoon. I am going to try one more time to bike in and run on the Friday but if my legs hurt like they did last Friday then I am going to have to conclude that it's a bit much to bike 8 miles, rest for 3 or so hours and then run. I will probably have to start taking the bus, as much as I hate the idea. AND this Sunday is our first training run so I need to be strong for that one as well.

This weekend is also Bumbershoot. I still haven't decided if I'm going to go. Mr. M has a stage and he wants me to come for a while on one of the days but it's supposed to be raining and I hate crowds. The good side is that if we want to see anything on the Main Stage our passes let us come and go without standing in lines - bonus. But there's still the parking hassle, etc. And I have a huge weekend - unless it's pouring rain I've got to get in the garden on Saturday, get my hair done, do some shopping and then it's the Husky season opener that evening. Sunday I have my morning run and evening rehearsal and in the middle I've got to get other chores done and wash the dog. Ahhh but Monday is a holiday and I was hoping to dedicate the day to my Frost Flowers Shawl. Big plans. We'll see how it plays out.

Lake Louise

Oh I am in a very bad mood and it's only Tuesday. There is LOTS of week to go. I think I'll have my run super early today and maybe I can sweat this mood out of me.

I had weird dreams last night, Tinkerbell barfed on the duvet this morning, and I turned on my computer when I got into the office and there was Lake Louise on my rotating picture widget. Beautiful. Blue. Perfect. I had a wonderful weekend there a few lifetimes ago. I remember the oddest things about that weekend - little pictures. It was a gorgeous room - breathtaking views out of all the windows. I still can't watch college football without getting a silly grin on my face. So ... there it was on my screen. Yup.

This is a rant day. People just drive me crazy sometimes!! I know I get a little short tempered and ... well, let's just say it ... crazy this time every year, but that still doesn't excuse stupidity, does it? I am trying one last week to drive in on running days in hopes that I'll get a better run than I would after biking in. [The jury is still out on that. I didn't feel that my run Friday was any better or worse than my run on Thursday.] *Anyway* .... my rant is about idiots who can't figure out how to get into the garage, or (and this is most likely the reason) people who don't know that you have to be assigned to the garage, you can't just use your Husky card to get into any garage!! For the second time in a row I've had to back up because somebody couldn't figure out how to get into the parking structure. Come on people!! It's not rocket science!

Whew ... okay well I'll have another cup of tea and see if I can't shake this.

More work on the Frost Flowers Shawl

I got to spend a good three hours on Saturday and another hour or so on Sunday working on the Frost Flowers Shawl. I have finished the first 15 rows, moved the markers for the corners and repeats and done another two rows. I did have one little problem - I had stopped during the row when I was moving the markers to their new positions and when I picked it back up on Sunday I didn't realize exactly where I was. I ended up having to tink back about 20 stitches but amazingly enough I got it right! Here is a close up. There were a couple weekends when I didn't get much done so I am pretty happy I was able to spend so much time on it this weekend.

I still haven't rehearsed with our new bass player. I didn't hear from the leader on Saturday so I just assumed we weren't rehearsing and made other plans. Then he calls me at 5 pm Sunday ... uh no .. sorry, I can't make it. I HATE being called at the last minute. He was pretty mad because I guess the drummer was supposed to call me earlier in the week. Oh well - next Sunday.

Mr. M has been suffering with a cold for a few days. He never gets sick so you can imagine what's it like at my house. *sigh* I just keep him doped up with daytime and nighttime cold medicine. That man will NOT rest though! What is up with that? Stay in bed!! No, he'd rather be out there spreading his germs around.

I had a pretty decent run on Friday and it would have been really good, actually, except my thighs were just killing me! I believe I need to strengthen my medial quads. I was a bit achy on Saturday as well but I think that's because I was wearing such high heels. I am going to keep the heels to a minimum for a while and keep my fingers crossed that my legs get stronger. My wind was fine and that's good.

The weather is gorgeous but it's predicted to start raining later this week. Bumbershoot is this coming weekend. I don't have to go and probably won't especially if it's raining. Mr. M, on the other hand, has a stage to run. Ick

No FO

It was just too bloody hot to knit last night. I did really want to finish that hat but I couldn't do it. Maybe tonight. It's supposed to be cooling down and it is much cooler today than yesterday. We might even have some rain on Saturday. I've got to get back out into the garden again but Sunday will work just as well as Saturday, I guess. I'll just postpone the manicure. There's no use getting my nails done before I garden - it's a total waste of time.

I ordered some cashmere from Elann earlier this week. I was sure I had ordered 5 balls each of blue and black but when I opened the package I found blue and plum! I plan on using the blue to make a nice hat and mitts set for my sister's birthday in December and I had planned on using the black to make something luxe for myself. Alas .... I have no black cashmere. I don't know ... maybe I'll use the plum for myself. I should branch out on my color choices more often.

Had a good run yesterday. I still am not totally convinced that it makes any big difference if I drive in or ride my bike when it comes to the strength of my run. Logic tells me that it should make a difference . Today is my "easy" run day and so I biked in. We'll see if it's any harder than yesterday. Another thing I'm concerned with is that I don't over do it and injure myself. I have a feeling that I'm going to need all of the training in order to make it through that 1/2 marathon. If I over do it and get behind, I'm going to be sunk.

I have a choice???

It has taken 3 days but I have finally managed to change our phone plans from individual to a Family Talk Plan with AT&T. Talk about hoops -- it took 3 days because each time I tried I would run out of patience after completing one or two of the steps involved. I am sure they are hoping you will just throw in the towel after a day or two of fruitlessness, but I was determined to get this done. The phone company makes too much money off of running people around. So back and forth and on the internet and on the phone, I finally get it done and she says, "Thank you for choosing AT&T". As if I have a choice! With iPhone there is no choice. Whatever .... I am happy knowing they will get $100 LESS a month from us from now on. Next - a new iPhone but I think I'll wait a few more months.

I finished the second Neck Warmer Hat Tuesday evening and worked on the i-cord at lunch yesterday. I didn't finish it up last night because we had to go pick up something in Alderwood and then we went to dinner. So tonight I'll finish up the i-cord, weave in the ends and perhaps cast on for yet another. It's good TV knitting. But I am going to have to plan out a couple hours Saturday and Sunday to make some progress on my Frost Flowers Stole.

It's going to be hot again today. It's predicted to be about 86 degrees. I am going to go for my run early, like maybe 11 am, before it gets unbearable. I am still not convinced that NOT riding my bike on running days is making a difference. Tomorrow I'm going to be riding and running but my Friday run is supposed to be easy. I was figuring that my run on Tuesday would be strong but it wasn't particularly. That could be because again I was a bit late and I was hungry so that's why I'm going out at 11 today. I still have a couple weeks before "official" training starts so I guess you could say I'm training for training. I don't want to be the slowest.

Does my dress form need a name?

It has been suggested that my dress form needs a name. It has no head - it has a little ball for a head - and that makes it a little harder to name for me. If I had an alter ego or an evil twin name then it would be simple, but I don't. I supposed it'll come to me.

This weekend I found a cute peach colored linen sheath which just happens to coordinate perfectly with my February Lady Sweater! So that's what I'm wearing today. It is the only thing I have that goes with that sweater! I have been just wearing it around the house but I'm glad now I have something to wear it out with.

I didn't knit on the neck warm hat last night, nor the socks that just need binding off nor the Frost Flowers Stole. By the time I was done with my shower and my little after work chores I just wasn't in the mood to knit. Mr. M was out at a meeting so I had a little time to myself to play Mario Kart and by the time I was cooking dinner he was on his way so we got to eat together. And then he had ANOTHER meeting, but this one at home, so I just went upstairs and read. I should be able to finish up that second one tonight though. And when I have some spare time I'd like to bind off the socks and divide that Noro sock yarn I got to make a pair of arm warmers. So much to do ... and never enough time!!

No London trip ... boooo

I spoke to my sister this weekend and she was pretty upset with her company. She's been selling booth space for a licensing show. The one in February was in Las Vegas and the whole London office came over. The one in October she was promised she would go, and I was going to meet up with her and we were going to have a few days, but come to find out they have decided to cut the budget and save a little money so she doesn't get to go, nor do I. She has filed a formal complaint but doubts anything will come of it. We shall see.

I ended up taking Friday as a vacation day since I had plenty and I'm caught up at work. It was a good thing to do and I ended up being able to make a nice party without being all stressed out about it. I gave myself Saturday off - just did a little shopping (using my b'day gift certificates) and watched the Seahawks on TV. The second pre-season game and they won again, this time beating the Broncos.

I've been getting a head start on my holiday knitting, finishing up one neck warmer hat and starting another. They go quickly and are really cute and useful. I've also joined up with another silly knitting contest. This one is call Hat Wars. It looks like it's going to be a blast!!

Rehearsal was cancelled on Sunday due to the bass player having the flu(!!), so I worked in the garden for a couple hours and did chores and knit. Typical Sunday. Dinner was lovely. One of Mr. M's clients had caught some salmon which we grilled on cedar planks and had fresh from my garden corn and a caprese salad with my tomatoes and basil. Funny thing about the tomatoes - I believe the plants must have caught some sort of thing because they have hardly produced any fruit compared to my neighbor's plants and the ones we had last year. I'm going to be more careful picking out the plants next year.

Better FO pictures

Yesterday my dress form arrived! It is awesome and now I have no excuses for bad FO shots. I snapped a couple this morning on my way out. I should have used my real camera and I will, but for now here's a pictures of Loppem and the wrap I made when I was on vacation. It's from "Knitting in the Sun". I still haven't put a button on the Loppem. I have worn it once and just let it hang but I think I'll use a pin as a button. I have a couple cute glass ones that would work just fine.

It was, as predicted, blazing hot yesterday and my ride home was tough. After walking Tink and having a quick shower, I went out to purchase the stuff I need for our dinner Friday night. I was unable, however, to find the two main ingredients for the starter and entree! Thank goodness Mr. M has time and he's on a mission today to find them. Then tonight I'll get it all set and all he has to do is start the cooker. On the one hand, it's a hassle to have people over for dinner on a Friday, but on the other hand I'll have my whole weekend to shop and knit.

Wow .. here comes the heat again.

It's supposed to top out at 90 today. It was pretty darned hot yesterday too. I ran at lunchtime but I was so exhausted from that rotten night that it didn't make any difference that I drove in - it was a bad run. I also had started out later than I had planned because it's pretty darned busy around here so I was hungry as well. No matter -- I've got a couple weeks before we even start the serious training so I'm feeling pretty good.

Oh! And great news yesterday - we finally have a bass player! Yay! We're going to have a 3 hour rehearsal on Sunday. I couldn't make it last Sunday - actually I figured it would be much better if just the guys got together for the first time. I am SO looking forward to this weekend.

I worked just a little bit on the Neck Warmer Hat last night. And I have definitely decided to frog the Flutter and sell the yarn. And while I'm working slowly on the Frost Flowers Stole I can start holiday knitting. Hats. Lots and lots of hats and fingerless mitts.

I feel SUPER this morning. I got caught up on my sleep. Despite the fact that it was sweltering last night, even with the ceiling fan and another fan across the hall, I slept soundly and got a full 8 hours in. I went up super early to read, made it for about 30 minutes and then conked out. Tink woke me briefly in the night, barking at some phantom in the street. But once I got her upstairs and settled I was out! I have lots of chores the next few evenings because Mr. M wants to have a business dinner party on Friday so I have all the shopping and prep to do the next couple nights so that he can get the entree cooking on Friday afternoon and all I have to do is finish the sides. It's much better for me to have these types of things on Saturday, but I guess schedules did not permit that.

It's that time of year already!

It's insomnia season. That time of year when if I am awakened during the night the chances of me being able to get back to sleep are slim indeed. I try to avoid looking at the time, but I do know that it was pitch black when I woke up and so that means it was before 4 am. Needless to say, I am exhausted. I started thinking about work and that was all it took.

I drove in today because Tuesdays and Thursdays are my harder weekday running/training days and I think I'll get a lot more out of the run if I'm not worn out from that long bike ride. We'll see how it goes these next few weeks.

I finally ordered myself a dress form! Mr. M found it in one of his catalogs he gets. I'll finally get to take some decent FO pictures. It should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!

And Monday rolls around again

We are getting our summer weather back this week. Yay! It was perfect gardening weather Saturday. Not too hot, a little breeze, and sunny. I filled up 3 garbage cans with stuff. Amazing. There was a lot of dead heading to do, and tons of buttercups to get cleaned out. The other gardeners I hired to do weeding just never got around to that. I should have walked them through the garden before setting them loose. I spent a good 2 hours out there. That's about my limit. Next weekend I'll work more in the front.

Tinkerbell was up getting groomed while I was working in the yard. When I finished and got cleaned up I spent a couple hours on the Frost Flowers Stole. Still not up to the first moving markers row. I'm on row 12 now. This is just something that I am going to have to keep plugging away on.

Saturday was the first Seahawks pre-season game so I mostly spent the evening watching that and doing a little more work on the socks. I think I can bind them off any time now. And I have decided that I hate that pink bamboo yarn so much that I'm not even going to bother finishing Flutter. I absolutely will not wear it. If it was more of a creamy pink, then yes I'd go ahead. But this is absolutely bubble gum pink. Not good on anyone over 8 years old. I think I'll frog it and sell it on eBay.

Last night I started a neck warmer hat - a pattern I saw in a book of Knitted Gifts that my friend brought to noon knitting. It's going to be a project I can make a few of for gifts and use up some of that yarn I got for that organic wrap that flopped so badly.

A busy bike trail

There is some kind of bike race going on today and part of their course took them onto the Burke Gilman trail. They were heading the opposite direction as me, and since the weather was bad this morning there weren't the normal numbers of commuters heading into Seattle. If it had been a sunny day it would have been quite a mess for a few miles. Yesterday when I was running at lunchtime I actually yelled at a bicyclist who passed me. I swear if I had moved one inch he would have clipped me. I always ding my bell or call out before I pass someone. It's just polite! And safe. And I know how annoying and scary it is to have a bicycle whiz past you unannounced.

There was no knitting last night. I was soaking wet when I got home, and then I had a phone call, then walking Tinkerbell, and on our walk I was waylaid by a guy selling meat and seafood .... weird. Anyway while he was showing me his wares it started raining even harder so I was really cold and wet by the time we made it back home. I had decided to finally finish up those socks I have been working on so I can cast on the Noro sock yarn I bought on vacation and make some arm warmers. But it was so late by the time I finally got showered and settled that I just watched TV and thumbed through Spring and Summer issues of IK. I can't decided if I should do the Tangled Yoke Cardigan with the beige Ella Rae Shibu I bought or if I should get some cotton and make the Gatsby. There's also a nice tunic in the latest issue of IK but I think it's pieced. The Gatsby is done in the round. That's a big plus -- not that I couldn't re-do the flat pattern to round but .... it's nice when it's already done that way. We'll see.

Big plans for gardening this weekend. Tonight we're going out to dinner, tomorrow Mr M will be working late so it's a perfect day for me to do chores and garden and MAYBE start a new project.