Bookwoman's BYOB

Fresh Start

2008-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm trying blogging again, but with a fresh start.

The 3 F's

Please check out the new site.

Craziness

2008-05-05T03:35:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little nuts lately. Some highlights:

Geek Boy cut down a tree yesterday. He then told our neighbor that he was putting Miracle-Gro around the the stump in the hopes it would come back. That's because she laughed at us last year when we said the obviously dead tree might still come back.

Even though it's not necessarily their "signature beer," I think New Belgium's Trippel is their yummiest!

Our most recent cooking club theme was chocolate. Early responders took the dessert or mole option, so I needed to find something that could be a side dish. Strange as it may sound, roasted parsnip and vanilla chocolate soup is quite tasty.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Cranford, can't believe how Torchwood ended, and will go nuts if I don't find out soon who the fifth is.

Oliver Wyman may have just become my favorite audio book narrator. I'm even enjoying him more than Jim Dale. (Which reminds me...is Pushing Daisies coming back?)

I have a big meeting tomorrow afternoon, and forgot to get my hair cut last week. I'm heading into deranged poodle territory, and my hairdresser is closed today. So, I may have to go to a drop in place, which has never been a problem before, but this time there will be no wiggle room.

Very little knitting has been done.

Startitis Continues...

2008-04-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

...but things are getting finished.

This weekend was the second baby shower in the past month. I missed the first one for cooking club, but Geek Boy represented (we were mistakenly informed that it would be a co-ed shower...and the father is a friend of his...unfortunately, he spent that afternoon hearing the word uterus more than he would have liked).

Anyway, after a crisis of yarn shortage, I think Haiku came out quite well.

The sleeves are done in Plymouth Wildflower, my favorite baby yarn. I don't remember what the green yarn was. Something I got when Technicolor Sheep was going out of business. Luckily, with the construction of the sweater, the green rows at the top of the sleeves blend in well with the body of the sweater, making it look intentional.

The hat is my basic baby hat. Plymouth Wildflower, 72 stitches. Quick and easy. If it's for a girl, a little eyelet pattern gets thrown in.

The new mom loved them. And the grandmom, who is my mom's best friend, called my mom the next day to comment on how much they all liked the sweater and hat.

So, with one item off the needles, my rampant spring startitis needed something new. Archiknist recently posted pictures of her purple shawl, from Victorian Lace Today. I was smitten. I checked the book out from the library and spent last night leisurely pouring over the patterns. I have some weddings coming up and thought a nice wrap would come in handy for over-air-conditioned receptions. There's some Sundara silk and fingering silky merino marinating in the stash. I have plans for the silk, but have been trying to figure out what to do with the silky merino. When I got home today (primary elections were today, and we're a polling place, so I was in at 5.45 AM and got to leave around 2.30PM), I mowed our seriously overgrown lawn, and then settled in with the book again and decided to do this:

It's aspiring to be the Handsome Triangle in Sundara fingering silky merino in Blossom (which I think will look lovely with my brown summer wedding dress). This is my first lace. I have the lifeline going already. The benefit to this pattern is that it's one where I can just knit until I run out of yarn. I'm hoping that I'm right in thinking that the magic of lace is in the blocking. Because right now, it just looks like a big old blob. However, I think one of my first tasks tomorrow is to photocopy and seriously enlarge the chart. Otherwise I might go cross-eyed.

I've also finished the first Rustic Arrow sock for Sockdown April. I had hoped to get my electric pear yarn in a good shot with the blossoms on the pear tree out front, but suddenly, they were all blowing off, so I had to go with what was left.

A Tale of Three Socks

2008-04-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have been experiencing severe sock knitting ADD lately.

Now, I've never been a totally monogamous knitter, but this is ridiculous. Usually, I have a pair of socks on the needles, and then one other project, either something big, or something with a deadline. The year started out well. I participated in the mitten swap, and stayed pretty faithful to the mittens, since they were on deadline, and the stranded knitting was new to me. I think they turned out pretty well and were definitely well-received by Theresa in CA.

Meanwhile, I had started a pair of Nutkins for my mom. She loves her knit socks that I gave her last year. I made a new pair for her back in the fall. Unfortunately, they didn't fit over her heel, so she gave them back to me so they didn't just sit.

Then, just when the mittens were finished and on their way to CA, Geek Boy and I took a long weekend trip to Texas to visit his step-mom. As a general rule, I always start a new project when we travel. I've never had a problem taking my knitting on a plane, but just in case my particular TSA agent doesn't want to let knitting needles through that day, I don't want to lose work that I've already done. (I realize that this doesn't make that much sense, since on the return trip I could lose it all, but hey...)

So, I pulled out my Cherry Blossom yarn from Sundara, thinking it would be great spring knitting (plus, the yarn has been languishing for almost a year in the stash). A pair of Nutkins for me. I really like this pattern, and I had memorized it, so it would make for easy plane and car knitting.

And then, I decided I wanted to do the Sockdown challenge for April, and found a pattern with no picture, Judy Summer's Rustic Arrow, which called for sportweight yarn, and I had another Sundara yarn, Electric Pear, hanging out in the stash.

As if that's not enough. My fertile friends are at it again. There are six babies due between the end of this month and August. The first one got a little hat. The next shower is in two weeks, and I rescued a Haiku from the UFO pile and thought it would be perfect. The body and most of one sleeve were done. Finished sleeve one, and started sleeve two. Then it happened. Four rows left, but no yarn. Emergency trip to Finely a Knitting Party, since Cathy stocks Plymouth Wildflower. I figured for four rows, dye lot wouldn't be that big a deal. But she didn't have the color. Ugh!

I came home and re-examined. There was enough of the body color left to finish the four rows. Now I'll just have to undo the last for rows of the first sleeve so they match. (The first sleeve is camera shy, and I couldn't find it for the photo shoot...it was located later, hiding in another knitting bag.)

And now I want to start something on slightly larger needles because I just got these great stitch markers.

I was never a big fan of the "fancy" stitch markers. I mean, the little plastic loops work just fine, and are only a couple of bucks. But when I ordered from Zen String last year, she included a little set of stitch markers. I discovered I loved having them hanging from my project. And since I've recently become addicted to etsy, I finally ordered some new ones for myself.

So, that's what I've been up to for the last month or so. There were some other things. A little heartbreak (nothing serious), some travelling, some airport taxi service, new appliances and new beers (more on those later). Thanks for coming back.

Mindless Becomes Mindful

2008-02-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

For the most part, I'm pretty easy going. One year, I was hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I think that year we had maybe 19 people coming for dinner. Our oven died in the middle of cooking the turkey, and refused to be resurrected. Luckily my folks don't live far away, so we just finished the cooking over there and warmed all the side dishes on the outdoor grill. When my mom showed up with the fully-cooked turkey, she just looked at me and said, "19 people for dinner, your oven dies, and you LAUGH. You are *such* your father's daughter." (But, really, is there anything funnier than warm side dishes huddling together in a dead oven trying to keep warm?)

However, lately, I have been having trouble taking things in stride. So Geek Boy and I enrolled in the Penn Program for Stress Management (he took it many years ago). The program is based on mindful meditation and the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's been very interesting. The goal is to practice being present in the moment. Paying attention to your breathing, the physical sensations in your body, your thoughts (which you then let go of), and what's happening now.

It's been an interesting experience. I'm not usually someone who goes for things like this. In fact, when I first brought up the idea of taking the class, Geek Boy's first comment was, "You do know it's based on meditation, right?"

A side benefit has been one night out each week with Geek Boy. I take the train downtown after work and meet him at his office, we go to dinner and then to class. It's really lovely.

The train ride isn't very long, but with waiting time, I can get some knitting done. When this started, I decided to take the Nutkin socks with me as train knitting. Lovely yarn, interesting pattern, that was easy to memorize. Perfect mindless knitting.

Then something weird happened. I started getting mindful about my mindless knitting. Rather than just zipping away while looking out the window, I started watching my hands, the needles, the color changes in the yarn. Nothing new was happening. It's still just knitting. I just started using that time to just knit and not to think about anything else (well, as much as possible...it's only the 5th week I've been trying this whole thing, and I've got a long way to go).

Now, I haven't become a perfectly mindful knitter. Most of the time, I still just pull something out to keep my hands busy and have something to show for my addictions to Jon Stewart, Keith Olberman and Mike Rowe. But every now and then, it's nice to stop, breathe, knit.

And it doesn't hurt that the yarn is gorgeous. (Claudia Handpaint in a colorway I think is called Urban Jungle.)

In other knitting news...progress continues on the mitten swap mittens.

This is actually start #3. The first one was too tight. The second attempt, I tried double knitting, and it was too big. Now, I'm doing two handed color work with weaving and it seems to be just right. It's also going much faster than the double knitting. I'm further along than the picture indicates. I took it a couple of days ago, but haven't had a chance to post. I'm well into the third repeat of the pattern.

And today's fun in the mailbox:

Sundara Yarn Fingering Silky Merino in Blossom. New yarn! Yay!

Oh, and this week's soup is a fabulous Potato, Bacon and Horseradish soup from New England Soup Factory. Yummy!

C Is for...

2008-02-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

...Cooking!

I love to cook. In college I enjoyed the nights when we skipped the caf and used the dorm kitchen. Better yet was senior year when we had our own apartment and our own kitchen. We weren't amazing cooks. Some company had come out with Chicken Tonight sauces. So, we had a lot of shrimp cocktail and chicken cacciatore. Nothing terribly exciting, but it was homemade, so it was good.

When I moved out on my own, my mom took me out to buy a set of pots and pans and she gave me my first cookbook.

I love this cookbook. This does not contain any groundbreaking recipes, but it was a great starter cookbook. Now, when I want comfort food, I go back to these dishes. With a bunch of years cooking experience under my belt, I can improvise much more. There's a shrimp and angel hair pasta casserole that I still occasionally make. Before, I would have had to have all of the listed ingredients. Now, I do a lot of, "I can use this, instead of this," and end up with something that feels the same but is radically different.

My cooking skills have grown, as has the cookbook collection.

It actually outgrew the bookcase and a portion is now housed above the sock yarn basket.

And then there are the magazines (Cooking Light, Everyday and Real Simple subscriptions (housed below the knitting book collection).

We keep our cookbooks in the living room instead of the kitchen because they're really reading material. I'll sit on a Friday night while watching TV, perusing the books, looking for ideas for the week, and making my shopping list.

Gotta keep the spice cabinet stocked. (These are just the savory spices...baking spices, honeys and specialty blends are on a lazy susan in another cabinet.)

And my nice countertop stove (where all the soup comes together). Peeking out from the corner there, you can see the bottles of balsamic vinegar lined up. I think there are 5 right now, including white, cherry and at least one high end bottle. (I tried getting a shot of my awesome wall oven, which once died while cooking the Thanksgiving turkey, but it's stainless, and reflects the flash in an awful way.) The pitcher belonged to my Nanny. When she moved into my folks' house I claimed this. It's old. It's stained. And I wouldn't make iced tea in anything else.

My sister, known around these parts as The Kid (despite being 27), just got married this summer. She and her husband (The Boy...he's 22) have tight finances. A few months ago, it got really bad, in large part due to their love of fast food. They were 10- and 15-dollaring themselves to death...financially and in terms of their heath. My folks worked with them to try and get their budget under control. As the big sister, I felt I had to try and do something. Luckily, I have a wonderful Geek Boy who goes along with all of my ideas. The Kid and I signed up for Dinner by Design, one of these come-spend-two-hours-preparing-frozen-meals places. For a few months we treated them to a freezer full of meals. The Kid and I had a great time together. Almost every day she would call me and tell me what they had for dinner and how good it was.

After two months, I got the hang of how the whole DbD thing worked. Now once a month we go grocery shopping together. We get everything she'll need for a month's worth of meals, head back to their apartment, prepare all of the meals and stuff her freezer. Some of it is simple stuff. We make hamburgers or put chicken and marinade in a ziplock bag. It can be a little difficult since The Boy is a very picky eater. But we've managed and we'll keep doing it.

So, C is for cooking: for the fun of putting together meals for myself and Geek Boy; for varied reading on a Friday night; but most of all, for time well spent with The Kid and the chance to know she and The Boy are saving some money and eating healthy.

I can't let this post go by without a C is for Cats.

Skitty

Fret

B Is for...

2008-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

...Beer.

(Please don't say this surprises you.)

I sometimes feel funny about my beer snobbish-ness. There's something very high-falutin' sounding about going to visit a winery or going to a wine tasting. But a brewery tour or beer tasting just makes you sound like a lush. Probably a hold over from way back when, when those who ruled were from the wine-producing countries like France and Italy, and those up in the malt-growing, beer producing area were the "worker bees."

It's something that I enjoy and I'm learning not to apologize for it. Sometimes I get to use my beer knowledge for things like impressing my uncles. Like yesterday when my uncle was talking about a case of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA someone gave him for his birthday. I suggested he savor it, since the hops shortage means it may not be around for much longer. My mom just shook her head. "It's hard enough to see you drinking beer. But now you're an expert."

I don't drink a lot of it, rarely more than one or two in a sitting, but I drink what I enjoy. Monk's Sour Flemish Ale is right at the top of my list. Along with Dogfish Head Peche (once again, thanks, Tina).

We took a tour of Flying Fish Brewery in New Jersey yesterday. Lots of fun. The guys who own it are very down to earth and make a great product. I've always liked their Abbey Dubble (Belgian beers are always a favorite). One of their current seasonals is the 4-pack pictured, Imperial Espresso Porter. It's delicious. Roasty with a little coffee and chocolate flavor. It almost matches the memory of the holy grail of beers (we need another trip to Toronto).

Most interesting thing I learned yesterday, and a good reason to continue my affection for small breweries, Flying Fish employs Goodwill workers for all of their package assembly. They send all of their packaging materials to a local Goodwill employer and the people in the program put together the boxes and carryalls. It's not a huge thing, but it's nice to know they look for ways to be part of the community.

We'll be heading to a mid-winter brew fest in a couple of weeks, and even managed to score tickets to the Meet the Brewers "after-party." Can't wait for that. In the meantime, I'll head down to the cellar and see what's good for Super Bowl watching.

A Week of Surprises

2008-01-31T19:37:00.000-08:00

So this has been a pretty good week. Loaded with surprises.

New book, gift tags, and recipe cards

On Sunday I started a new cooking club with a group of friends. Some are friends from high school. One is my biking buddy; we met while training for a century ride four years ago. One is a relatively new friend, and she brought an old friend of hers. I love mixing friend groups and seeing how easily friends from different parts of my life fit together. All of these friends hit it off smashingly. It was wonderful. We had lots of good food (our theme for the dinner was "Mushy Foods" since one person had oral surgery about a month ago and is still recovering).

But to start the day off, Biker Friend, who is also a knitter, gave me a small gift from when she went to Stitches back in the fall. They are tags for knitting gifts. Without a good macro lens (and I can't even find my regular lens right now), I can't get a good clear shot of them. They have a cat tangled up in yarn and say, " Now I know this may be hard for you to believe but...I MADE THIS! Don't just stand there dumbfounded, get excited or something!" I can't wait to give my next knitted gift.

Tuesday night I found a package in the mail. My used copy of EZ's Knitter's Workshop. This wasn't exactly a surprise, since I had ordered it, but it was coming from a non-major retailer, so I had no idea when it would arrive. Like some other people, I'm just now really appreciating EZ. To cap it off, several friends have recently announced pregnancies, so Baby Surprise Jackets for everyone!

Then there was today.

A few years back, Geek Boy came home one night with this joke:

A guy gets on an elevator with a beautiful woman. Desperate to make conversation, he smiles broadly at her and says, "T.G.I.F."
She smiles ruefully and says, "S.H.I.T."
Confused, he replies, "T.G.I.F."
Again, "S.H.I.T."
Desperate, he says to her, "Thank goodness it's Friday."
She shakes her head and says, "Sorry, hon, it's Thursday."

Now, almost every week, on Thursday, one of us will look at the other and say, "T.G.I.F." just for the fun of the response. But today was a good Thursday. I finished interviewing candidates for the open position I have at work, and my top choice accepted. I have several community groups who have agreed to partner with us for a grant I'm writing, and write letters of support (there is the downside that I have only a few days left to write the grant, but I'm not focusing on that now). Another grant, that I have more time for, is coming together. Best of all, when I got home and looked at the mail pile, there was a little package for me. I didn't remember ordering anything, but since I've recently developed an addiction to Etsy, maybe I forgot about something. Nope. Return address: Secret Pal. Inside I found a great pack of recipe cards. Perfect for organizing the new variations on soup and new cooking club recipes. So, thank you, secret pal! You made my Thursday!

Now off to curl up with my mega-biography of Caron McCullers (one of the pending grants is for a community read of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, so I thought I'd brush up on all things Caron McCullers).

Sunday Soup and a Week of Socks

2008-01-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

I was going to try and actually do my soup post yesterday, but I was so tired by the time I sat down after dinner, I could barely stay awake.

Yesterday, Geek Boy invited his brother over for dinner. I decided to do a little Greek Fest. Chicken Shawarma sandwiches, courtesy of Rachel Ray. Now, I have to admit, that Rachel Ray is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. She's perky and goofy. And way overexposed. I laugh when Anthony Bourdain goes off on her. BUT...I like her recipes. I find myself going back to them over and over. And several of them are in our top picks. And this chicken is very close to the top. It was delicious. And I made lots, so we'll have leftovers for a few days.

Once I had picked this, I thought a nice Greek-ish soup would be a good complement. Enter Spinach, Feta and Pine Nut Soup. Yummy! I don't know how "Greek" it is, but it has feta cheese, so that's enough for me.

Luckily, I have a sous chef in the house. Geek Boy does all of my chopping for me. I'm not very good at small dice and he is. And he figures it's a small price to pay for homemade soup each week.

My mise en place for the day, courtesy of Geek Boy.

Big lesson learned in this outing. Soups with leaf spinach in them do not play well with the stick blender. The leaves get caught up in all the little vents and just spin around. So, this eventually got dumped in the blender. The end result:

Nice and creamy, with little hunks of feta. And I love these little containers. I think they're Gladlock or something like that. The important part is that they have screw top lids and are a perfect single serving size. Nice and easy for work day lunches.

Today is a lazy day. For the first time in 6 years, I don't have a board meeting tonight. Our monthly meeting always fall on MLK day and my board says, no problem, we can meet anyway. But this year, since a number of them have plans for the long weekend, we're postponed until tomorrow. And I get a full day off. And I finished these finally:

Jaywaylkers in Trekking

This makes four pairs of hand knit socks for me. Which means that I can wear hand knit socks to work every day this week! It's the little things that make me happy.

Now to start my mitten swap mittens!

And as an extra special treat...Geek Boy and I are off to a Meet the Brewers night at Brigid's. Yummy!

A is for...

2008-01-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

...alpaca.

My souvenir yarn from our cruise last year. We had to take a ferry between Washington and Vancouver Island. On our return trip, we had some time to kill and some Canadian money still to spend. So, I hung out with the bags while Geek Boy went into the shop to get some sodas and munchies. When he came back, he handed me our Canadian cash and told me, "They have yarn." Inside I found a basket full of alpaca from Villa D'Oro. I got 9 ounces. No idea what the yardage is. And still no idea what I'll do with it. But it's a great memento of that trip.

...aunts.

This is only two of the six I have (the third person in the photo is my mom, aunt to 14, aunt-in-law to 5, great-aunt to 6). My aunts are all very different and have given so much to me in their own ways. MB is the closest in age (not counting J, who I don't call "aunt" because she married my uncle only a few years ago, and is just 3 years my senior, and I love her dearly) and the one who used to set me up on blind dates. B is my godmother and crafting mentor and leader of family insanity. H is the one I would talk to about things I couldn't talk to my mom about. K is the silly one. R is the nice one. I can't imagine not being close to them. And, being an aunt myself now, it's one the best things I get to be in my life. I love the Chickpea and Geek Boy Jr with all my heart and any time I spend with them is the highlight of my week. They're still little. I just hope that as time goes on, I will be as good to them as my aunts are to me.

Yarn, Yarn Everywhere...

2008-01-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

...but not a single mitten. At least not yet*.

I hit Finely a Knitting Party after work the other night to select the yarn for the swap mittens. Lesson learned for the night: It's really hard to buy for someone you only know from a few blog posts (and stalking her Ravelry profile). After wandering around for a while and going back and forth on the worsted v. sock weight issue (worsted will go faster...but there was a better selection of sock), I finally decided on this:

(Altered to keep my swap buddy from accidentally finding me out.)

My biggest reservation, for some reason, was that worsted would be warmer. Now, I'm having this debate with myself while my feet are nice and toasty inside some hand knit socks. Cathy (the owner extraordinaire) reminded me that it's about the fiber, not the weight. So, sock weight it is.

Next question...which pattern? I had one picked out. I did my swatch. Consulted Ann Budd for the number of stitches I would need. Redid the chart on graph paper to make it easier to follow. Then started looking through Stitchionary again. Not sure why. Lo and behold, there's a pattern that will exactly fit my stitch count. How lucky is that?

*You know how there are some movie lines that just stick with you for no apparent reason? One of my oldest movie quotes is "Bubbles, bubbles everywhere. But not a drop to drink. At least not yet," from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I've been quoting that, in one form or another, since I saw that movie for the first time, way back when.

Sundays Are for Soup

2008-01-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's Monday, but I was busy making soup yesterday, so I thought I'd get caught up.

A few years ago, I would have told you how I most definitely did. not. like. soup. It goes with the whole not liking hot liquids thing. I don't like hot coffee or tea (although I'll drink both iced). And while I love chocolate milk, hot chocolate holds no appeal.

The Geek Boy, however, has always been a soup fan. After Christmas, he would traditionally make bean soup using the left over ham bone. And my family loved this. My Nanny always made bean soup. And even though I didn't eat it, I loved when he made it because it made our house smell like my Nanny and Grandpop's house when I was little. As my Nanny got older, her soup making skills, shall we say, deteriorated. So, all of my family's ham bones came to Geek Boy to keep Nan from destroying it. (The last bean soup she ever made was completely inedible, according to my mom.)

One Christmas, when we dropped the requisite container of soup off at my folks' house, my Nan (who lived with my mom and dad) asked me how I liked it. I told her I didn't have any because I didn't like soup. She let me have it. How could I not at least show Geek Boy the courtesy of trying the soup since he went to all the trouble to make it. So, shame-faced, I had a bowl when we got home.

And I liked it.

That's when it hit me. It wasn't so much that I didn't like soup. I just didn't like the stuff in a can. (Although, to be honest, when I'm really sick, it has to be Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup and nothing else. I need those soggy noodles and itty-bitty bits of chicken.)

At that point I became a soup fanatic. Scouring the cookbooks on cold days to see what I had the ingredients for. And then this fall, we took a trip to Providence and took a soups and sauces class at Johnson and Wales University. Now it was serious.

So, since the fall, every weekend I've made a different kind of soup. After Thanksgiving, I took the turkey carcass and made a freezer full of turkey stock. One Sunday night, while dining on that week's soup, Geek Boy looked at me and said, "I'm really glad you decided you like soup."

Following that thought, I was gifted with many soup cookbooks this Christmas. From the Geek Boy I received The New England Soup Factory Cookbook. And from my folks, 500 Soups. Now every Friday night I pour over both books, making my grocery list.

So, I thought I would start documenting my soup journey each week. This week, it was 500 Soups. Spiced Lentil, Chickpea and Chorizo Soup. A few years ago I discovered chorizo and find myself drawn to any recipe that calls for it.

This used just two links of chorizo, which I decdied to completely remove from their casings and cook up loose, which as definitely the way to go. That, with the cumin, corriander and cinnamon, just warmed the house all day long. This was also the first time I workd with dried lentils. Usually I go for canned beans of any kind, but it only takes 20 minutes to prepare lentils, so it didn't seem that intimidating.

The spices make this a very warm, not spicy soup. Perfect for this week that is starting to feel like winter again.

In other news...I got my mitten swap partner yesterday. Tomorrow will bring a trip to the Finely a Knitting Party to see if I can find the right yarn. I'm thinking maybe Lamb's Pride. But we'll see what's available.

Mattress Stitch - The Cornstarch of Knitting

2008-01-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'm easily amused/amazed by the simplest things.

Back at Thanksgiving, we had lots of bags of fresh cranberries, so I decided to make some fresh cranberry sauce for dinner. This was the first time I had ever tried this, and was disproportionately amazed to see how quickly things thickened up once the cornstarch had been added. I'm a dork, and i freely admit it.

So, right before Christmas, I was finally able to get Fitted Knits from the library. And I fell in love with the Alexandra Ballerina Sweater. My goal became to knit that sweater before my time with the book was up. So, armed with a handful of 50% off coupons for Michael's, I bought up their entire stock of Patons Rumors in Dewberry Heather ball-by-ball and got to work on December 26th (the book needed to be returned on January 4th, and since two other people had holds on it, there would be no renewals).

The evening of January 3rd, I had one sleeve to go and was up seaming the final sleeve and weaving in ends until 10.30. Admittedly, 10.30 isn't that late, but I'm usually doing my pre-bedtime ritual by then.

Now, normally, I hate, loathe, despise, abhor, abominate seaming. I don't like it at all. That was one of the reasons I was attracted to this sweater, because it was knit in the round. Except for the sleeves. And I couldn't really see why the sleeves were knit flat, but hey, I was willing to do that little bit. As I was oh-so-carefully working my mattress stitch, I was amazed at how neat it was, and at the little neat ridge it formed inside the sleeve. And it was very similar to my awe of how cornstarch nicely thickened my cranberry sauce.

Like I said, I'm a dork.

This, however, has not convinced me that I like seaming lots of little parts. In fact, if anything, it reinforced the fact that I really don't want to have to do a lot of it. So, in an effort to start the new year off with a somewhat clean slate, I went back and looked at the progress I had made on my Tilted Duster cardigan.

I love the look of this sweater. I did from the moment I saw the fall issue of Interweave Knits. But the thought of seaming all the parts and then picking up all those stitches for the skirt...ugh! (Picking up stitches is my second least favorite knitting task...I even modify most of my socks to have short row heels for just this reason.) So, I frogged. And tonight I may cast on instead for the Cobblestone Pullover. I've seen this with a modified yoke (ravelry link) to have a button band, so I may try that in order to use my very cool devil buttons which go perfectly with the orange Cascade.

In further dorknitude, today is the deadline for the No-More-Humdrum-Mittens Swap. I am so excited for this. Can't wait to see who I will be knitting for here. I've been scouring mitten patterns, as well as spending time looking at colorwork patterns from the Stitchionary. I've even found a sock pattern that could be fun to convert. Plus there's the challenge of finding other little "stuff" to include in the package.

I'm just a dork, what can I say?

No-More-Humdrum Mittens Swap

2007-12-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've joined my first swap. I never was a big fan of hats or mittens until I started knitting. Now, I'm ticked off when I can't wear my fabulous hat because it's too warm out. So, a mitten swap seemed the perfect place to jump into the on-line swapping world.

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I've been knitting for about 5 years. When my sister-in-law told us she was pregnant with the Chickpea, I got it into my head that I had to make something for my soon-to-be niece or nephew. As a librarian, there was only one way to learn...check a book out of the library. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Intermediate. I've got most of the techniques down, but I've still got a bit to learn.

What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?
Red, purple, green...really, I like them all. Deep shades and bright shades most of all. Pastels are okay, but not the first ones I'd go to.

Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?
I like them, but don't know them well enough to have a favorite.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?
For me, please!

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger?
8 inches

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point?
7.5 inches

What other things do you enjoy knitting?
Socks, hats, sweaters in the round...I hate seaming. But mostly socks and hats.

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
I made the switch to circs early in my knitting career, after losing straights mid-project to my cats. I'd get up to go to the bathroom and come back to a missing needle. There's one that I still never found. I use DPNs for socks and hats. And mostly I use bamboos.

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
Lace. I've got Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave Stole in my queue, and some gorgeous Cornflower Sundara Silk Yarn. I'm just a little nervous about starting it. I've never done lace, and I've never worked with silk.

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
Silk, see above. And bamboo.

What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?
I love to cook. And now that it's winter, I get to do a lot of soups and breads. I'm trying my hand at sewing again (waiting for my copy of Bend The Rules). Does beer count as a hobby?

Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
Geek boy and I collect pint glasses from local breweries. Other than that, not really. I'm trying to beat the clutter.

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
I'm lucky enough to live without allergies. I'm definitely a fan of the salty...nuts, pretzels, trail mix, stuff like that. Not a big fan of chocolate (unless it's coating some nice salty pretzels).

Do you have any kids? Pets?
We are owned by two cats. And, while we don't have kids of our own, we time-share four of the five kids next door. This means that they love to "help" the Geek Boy with his outdoor projects. In return, he does things like helping them build a quarter pipe skate ramp for their driveway.

What is your favorite part of Winter?
Soup and bread on cold rainy/snowy days, curled up on the couch with Geek Boy. Wearing hand knit scarves, hats and mittens.

What is your least favorite part of Winter?
Shoveling snow, particularly at work. Driving in the snow.

Things That Warm a Knitting Beer-Geek Girl's Heart

2007-12-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

So, when last I posted to this blog, I had just had the meal of my life at Brigid's. Well, on Monday, the Geek Boy went back (without me *sniff* I had a work meeting). On Monday nights they have a beer tasting in their upstairs room, and he stopped in to find out how they did it and if we could arrange an event there. He only stayed at the tasting for a little bit, then it got crowded and hot, so he made his way down to the bar for a little something to eat before heading home.

While sitting at the bar, the guy next to him struck up a conversation, asking what he had tried and what he thought. Geek Boy mentioned a few beers and said he was particularly impressed with an offering from the new Dock Street. Good answer. Apparently Random Guy at the Bar was their brewer. It seems that when Brigid's offers these tastings, many of the brewers hang around. So, not only did I miss a trip to my new favorite place, I missed a chance to meet some well-known local brewers.

So, how did this warm my heart? One of them, who happens to be from the brewery that makes on of my top two favorite Saisons in Philly, commented on the Geek Boy's scarf.

(Pardon the crappy photos...I'm never home when it's light out these days.)

He told him it was custom made for him. Brewer guy thought it was very cool. Brewer Guy thought my knitting was cool!

And this comes just two weeks after another random compliment.

Last spring when we went on our cruise, I made myself a pair of Peekabook Mittens. And they were great. Kept my hands warm on deck, but I could easily pop my fingers out to take pictures. On our way home, Geek Boy asked me to make him a similar pair, but "the kind with fingers and the mitten part over the top." So, I made him a pair back in October out of Socks That Rock mediumweight.

So, a couple weeks back, Geek Boy goes into the coffee shop one morning and the guys there comment on his gloves, wanting to know where he got them. He told them they were custom made (I love the fact that he refers to his hand-knits as "custom-made," one of the 16 gazillion reasons I love him). Apparently, that morning they were having a conversation about convertible mittens, and were trying to decide if they were manly enough to be cool. These were. I wonder if I can work a deal with them to make them all mittens in exchange for a year's worth of free coffee. I think we'd make out in that deal.

Most Amazing Meal...EVER

2007-09-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend, Geek Boy and I headed to the Art Museum with some friends for a scavenger hunt. What a blast. If they are in your area, grab a bunch of friends and go! It was well organized and so much fun.

After the hunt, Geek Boy and I decided to head over to a new-to-us beer bar. We've known about it for a while, but we don't venture downtown very often. That may change. Brigid's is a small little bar in the middle of a Fairmont Park neighborhood. Parking is tight, and we lucked out with a spot right across the street (bonus, it's a neighborhood, so no parking meters). They describe their cuisine as "homestyle." But your mom would have to be Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Alton Brown all rolled into one to have this kind of homestyle food. The menu isn't extensive, printed on just one side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. And you have to order everything at once; no ordering an appetizer while you decide what you want. We went all out, ordering appetizers, entrees and desserts. When the waitress stopped by to ask how we were doing I pointed at my empty plate and told her that first, I never eat all my vegetables, and second, I would never order this type of entree anywhere else again, because it will never be as good. Apparently this made the chef very happy.

Brigid's is also a great place for beer. They have a great selection of bottled beers from around the world (especially Belgium). On tap they had some local stuff, Victory and Troeg's, as well as some new-to-me stuff. I had a tripel, the name of which I can't remember, and it was very tasty. Then I ordered a Blanche de Bruxelle--somehow, wheat beers have grown on me this summer. Geek Boy also had some great stuff, but I can't remember what they were (reminder: charge the Palm Pilot and actually carry it with you!).

We're already planning to take my folks there for dinner one night, and to get our good beer friends to try Brigid's brunch with us. This has become my hands down favorite restaurant in Philly. If you're inthe Art Museum area, definitely check it out. Hey, it's even made Philadelphia Magazine's list of 50 best meals under $50 (for two). (The Grey Lodge is also on that list...another great beer place in Philly.)

As for knitting...I finished the raspberry tomato.

Obviously, it needs to be blocked. I'm hoping to have it ready to wear when we go to Tria this weekend with some friends. The Mission Falls Cotton went the distance. I didn't have to dig into the "2nd dye lot" skeins. To make it last, I decided to do the neck edging in a different color. I also really liked the look of doing the last two rows of the edging in a different color. Kinda wish I had thought of that before I bound off the bottom. Oh, well. I still really like it.

Serving Time

2007-09-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

That's what I feel like I've been doing over the last week.

Last Thursday I was called for jury duty. Technically, I was a standby. So, I dutifully called Wednesday night to hear that all regular and rescheduled jurors were to report, as well as stand-by jurors numbers one through two hundred ten. So, I got there early, expecting a full house. I obviously have no idea how the system works, because that somehow equals only 50 people. We waited until 3.00, when they finally took a panel of 45 people for the one trial that day. Apparently I look fair and impartial, because I got seat number 12 on the jury. Which meant back at 9.30 the next morning for the trial. Luckily it was short--the deliberation took longer than the actual testimony--and we were out by 3.00.

But that made for a lot of sitting around time. If one needed a gauge by which to measure just how much time is spent sitting and waiting during jury duty, well, you could show them this:

By the time I got home on Friday, this is how much progress I had made on my latest sock. Also factor in three false starts. It's just a simple pattern of a knit row, and a knit through the back loop row, with some slipped stitches thrown in for detail. The yarn is Sundara Yarn Sweet Briar Rose sportweight. This is quite possibly the most beautiful yarn I have ever knit with. And, I don't think any of my pictures truly do it justice.

Since Friday, I've had a Knit Night with some friends, spent time manning the library table at the local Arts Festival, and spent time waiting for the police chief to finish his budget meeting with borough council before going in for my turn. So, how much waiting time is that?

A lot. That's why I'm dubbing these the "Serving Time" socks.

Lucky for my mom. I gave her a pair of socks back in January and she just loved them. Every time she wore them to work, she'd call me during the day to tell me how much she loved them. Then the message became how much she loved them, and she needed more. She prefers dark colors for her socks, so these will be perfect.

And for the end of the Summer of Socks, how about another visit from Santa?

Booking Through Thursday

2007-09-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

This week's question:

So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

I can read anywhere, anytime. But I am also extremely distracted. So, I have a book on the nightstand that I read before bed. This book is usually read with at least one cat crawling across my head.

There is also a "carry around" book that I keep in my purse (kind of like a sock in progress) for those times when I'm meeting people and get there early. The carry around book is usually a collection of essays of some sort, so that if a month passes between readings, I can pick it up and not worry about remembering a plot. Think David Sedaris or Laurie Notaro. These books are usually read while sitting in my car, or, better yet, while sitting at a bar, sipping a beer and waiting for a friend.

Reading anywhere but in bed does bring out my ability to be easily distracted. If someone walks in the restaurant, I have to look. If the kids next door are out, I have to see what they're doing. Who's walking down the street? But I've always been like that, and it doesn't affect my ability to make progress on and retain what I'm reading. In fact, my last reading in public venture was at a Kildaire's bar, enjoying calamari and a Sam Adams while reading Social Networking Software in Libraries. I'm sure the bartender went home that night with a "You won't believe this one" story.

The Queen of the Discount Bin

2007-09-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I'm a cheap yarn snob. Or perhaps a frugal fiber aficionado. I like good fibers. I've learned over the years how much nicer they are to knit with. (Although I do also believe that good acrylics have their place too...especially for things that are going to be worn and washed hard.) And I love a good bargain. Which is why I always scour the sale bins at my favorite shops.

On the upside, I can get a lot of something I might have otherwise passed up. Last summer, I picked up a bunch of Berroco Denim Silk for $3 per hank. A few weeks ago, at the same shop, I grabbed about 900 yards of Berroco Lullaby for the same price. And then there's the 100% cashmere I added to the stash when my favorite yarn shop went out of business ($8.50 a ball...I bought all that was left).

The downside to this, is that I have to work with what I find. And usually these yarns are discounted because they've been discontinued. So, I have to search for patterns that fit the yarn.

Back when Mission Falls stopped making their 1824 Cotton, my now defunct favorite yarn shop had a small collection of the stuff in the sale bin for (you guessed it) $3. I grabbed it up, thinking someday I'd find something to do with it. But everything I looked at seemed to require just a little more yarn than I had available.

Then Mission Falls came back! Matching the yarn/dye lot was not going to be possible, but complementary colors could work. And thus:

My version of the Tomato top from No Sheep for You. I'm calling it the Raspberry. I also have a pale green that I may use for the neckline, depending on how much of the raspberry (actually it's called Cosmos) is left.

This is my first attempt at fair isle. I've done some color work before, but not like this. I love it! It's not perfect, but my floats are pretty even. I tried to be very conscious of holding the yarns loosely, but not too loosely. I have this squished up on a pretty small needle, so I can't be sure for a few more inches of exactly how successful I've been (a lot of my Denise cords have broken, probably my cat's fault, and I haven't replaced them yet, so I have limited resources).

I see more fair isle in my future. Time to go raid another clearance bin. Anyone know of any good fair isle socks?

It Is Supposed to Be the Summer of Socks

2007-08-29T20:01:00.001-07:00

Well, I started out strong. My first pair of socks done in just under two weeks. A second pair started right away and going strong. Then I got side tracked.

My cousin is expecting her first baby in October. In June, her husband was offered a position in one of his company's foreign offices. Offered is a polite term. There really isn't a choice if he wants his career to keep moving. So this moved up the baby shower time line to mid-August (Dad-to-Be is moving this weekend, New Mama is staying here to have the baby).

Two little hats for the new little one. The blue is the Pea Pod hat from IK. What a great pattern. And I even made it from the recommended yarn. When one of my local shops closed, she had a going out of business sale and I bought up all she had of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in this color.

The bumble bee hat is based on my favorite baby hat, made with Plymouth Wildflower. There's not real pattern. Just random striping. My cousin really liked it because it turns out black and yellow are her college colors. I just picked them because she's not finding out if she's having a boy or a girl.

Speaking of which, here's my new entry for Summer of Socks.

(Pardon the kinda crappy picture...these are someone else's design, and I was trying to get the color of the yarn, without giving away the pattern, which is a really great pattern...look for it in the SoS Design Contest.) A pair of socks, one pink, one blue, for the New Mama to wear at the hospital. These (obviously) were not ready for the shower. But I'll be seeing her this weekend, right after Dad-to-Be leaves for foreign shores. So, even if she doesn't want to wear mismatched socks, hopefully they will make her smile.

The yarn is the Knit Picks Color Your Own that I dyed while reading Harry Potter. I'm really excited about how it came out. If I didn't already have so much sock yarn, I'd get some more and stock up on Kool-Aid. And I have enough left to make a pair of baby Jaywalkers in each color.

After these are done, I'm going to try and go gangbusters on some socks for me again. After the cool weather last week, I'm really feeling the need to have at least 5 pairs of handknit socks for the approaching cooler seasons.

Rainy Days and Mondays

2007-08-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

It started raining yesterday and continued all through today. It's damp and chilly. The usual capri pants and Birks that I wear almost every day just weren't cutting it today. That, coupled with a staffing crisis at work, could really have started my week off badly. But not so.

The cool weather was a perfect opportunity to wear newly finished Bird of Paradise socks. Anytime the grey got to me today, I just slipped off my shoes and looked at my socks. Happiness!

These are not Summer of Socks socks. I finished them in late May, maybe. The yarn is Sundara Yarn Bird of Paradise, from the Petals Collection. The pattern is the one included with the yarn. I started these socks while we were on our Tall Sails and Ales cruise. The yarn attracted lots of great comments while I was knitting. The captain of the boat asked if the yarn came with its own batteries. While knitting on the plane, a woman commented on how much she loved the colors. The guy she was traveling with said he couldn't believe they let me on the plane "with those things." I told him they actually let me on with 10, since I had another sock in progress in my bag.

Anyway, it was rainy and a Monday, but I had Happy Feet!

Drinking Our Way through Belgium, Eating Our Way Through the Village

2007-08-12T17:36:00.001-07:00

Geek Boy and I have had some fun culinary experiences this week. When we took the class with Lew Bryson at the Fermentation School, we put ourselves on the waiting list for the Belgian Beers 101 class. Tuesday afternoon, Geek Boy got a call that two spots had opened up. So, Wednesday night we headed back downtown (driving this time, since it was close to 100 that day). The class was led by Volker Stewart, one of the founding owners of The Brewer's Art in Baltimore. He offered a great selection of beers and lots of great information about the brewing tradition in Belgium.

Most interesting was a conversation we had before class. Geek Boy mentioned that we had been to Lew Bryon's class and Volker mentioned that he and Lew had similar career paths. They had both started out as librarians! I think I may have a new career goal.

Today, Geek Boy faced his fears about public transportation and New York city. We headed to New York and met up with some friends for a food tour of Greenwich Village. Oh, it was so good. We got to sample several pizzas, Italian pastries, cookies, cheese and olives, bread, olive oil and gyros. We came home with fresh coffee and some great olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

We got there a little early, and came across this place:

Too funny.

The train ride was great for getting some knitting done. And I did take some photos of the sock on location (our friends actually got the point of saying, "Hey, you need a picture of the sock here!"). Pictures will be posted when the pattern is ready.

Some other random bits. A big thanks to Tina for her suggestion to try Dogfish Head's Festina Peche. I was out with my mom yesterday, and we stopped at the best beer distributer within driving distance in our state. And they had a variety pack of Dogfish Head. I came home and put a bunch in the fridge right away. I'm not a big fan of their IPAs (I'm not a big fan of IPAs in general...the intense hops flavor makes them taste like potpourri to me). But this is wonderful. A great hot weather beer. Thanks, Tina!

And if you're looking for a reason to tip one back, or just take a swig of whatever is most refreshing to you, head on over to The Fairy GodKnitter, and read her beautiful tribute to her neighbor. It's late and it's been a long day, so I'm just having a Vitamin Water in Norma's honor.

Move Over Ben and Jerry!

2007-07-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I joined a cooking club. It's a lot of fun. If you're not familiar with the concept, basically, we rotate houses each month. The person who hosts is responsible for coming up with a theme and making the main entree. Everyone else contributes appetizers, side dishes and desserts. We have had some great themes: Greek BBQ, Farmer's Market Fresh, Cooking with Booze. Our hostess for August has come up with the theme Healthy Junk Food. We are supposed to lighten up our favorite fast food or junk food treats. People are bringing calzones, plantain and zucchini chips, pizzas. And I offered to bring dessert.

Now, sometimes I bring an old standby for these dinners. Like Cooking with Booze...I made Manhattan Mushrooms (mushrooms cooked in sweet vermouth). And sometimes I try something new. When it's new, I try it out a week before to make sure it's palatable. For our junk food fest, I decided to try my hand at a light version of my favorite vanilla ice cream with cherries and chocolate chunks.

Geek Boy agreed, it's better than the $4 pint.

Bookwoman's Cherry and Chocolate Ice Cream (approx. 9 servings)

2 1/2 cups 1% milk, divided
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 bag frozen cherries, each cherry cut in half (I was going to use fresh, but these babies are already pitted)
juice of half a lime
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 big Hershey bar, chopped

Combine half of the milk and both egg yolks in a pan over medium heat. Heat until bubbles form around the edges, but do not boil. Stir frequently.

Remove from heat and add cream cheese, stirring until smooth.

Combine cream cheese mixture and all the remaining ingredients except the chocolate bar. Cover and chill completely.

When it's cool, dump it into the freezer can of your ice cream maker and let it rip.

The final product is a bit more purple than the original, the cherries bleed into the mixture. But it still tastes pretty darn good. Can't wait for Sunday!

Learning to Think Like a Blogger

2007-07-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm still relatively new to this blogging thing. This blog has been around for a year, but not until Summer of Socks started did I get down to really posting on a somewhat regular basis. So, I don't think in terms of an event's blogability.

For instance, Geek Boy and I like our beer places and beer events. So we were quite excited to see a Session Beer class at Tria, given by Lew Bryson. After a winter of big beers, we've been enjoying some quaffing beers, such as Booklyn Brewery's Summer Ale and Saranac's Beers of Summer. So, we were all over this class.

Tria puts on a nice class. The room is cozy, without being crowded. And the "tasty snacks," were indeed, quite tasty (can't wait to try and make my own fennel almonds). Lew Bryson was a riot. And is very devoted to session beers. The definitions offered of session beers always came down to drinking between 6 and 10 beers in an outing. I can't fathom that. But then again, I have slightly less body mass than Mr. Bryson.

Anyway, there were seven beers offered throughout the class. Some were okay. Nothing terribly exciting. Some were "old hat" to us, like Troeg's Summer Pils. Two were stand outs for me. The first was "1809." A little sour, but in the way that I really like a beer to be. Geek Boy noted that it is similar to my favorite beer, Monk's Sour Flemish Ale. The other was LindemansGueuze, an unfruited lambic, made by combining old and young lambics. Even without the fruit, it's still a rather sweet beer, but not in a cloying way.

Best of all, it was a nice evening, weather wise, so we walked from Penn's campus to the Fermentation School.

Before the class started, we were noticing all the beer geeks with their cell phones out, geeking away, including one iPhone...my first spotting of one in the wild. Even Geek Boy was in on it, playing his favorite cell phone game. Me? I had knitting in my bag, and worked on that while waiting for class to begin. I also happened to have Geek Boy's digital camera with me (still in my bag from Monday's outing with a friend from college and her twins, Thing One and Thing Two). Only after we left, did I think what a great location shot I could have had for Summer of Socks. Either the sock enjoying being surrounded by beers, enjoying fennel almonds, or, if I was really brave, Cable Rib Sock meets Beer Guy.

Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Knitting, Winding, Splitting and Dyeing

2007-07-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

Progress is moving along on the cable rib socks. I think I have about one more cable repeat to go before starting the toe.

I apologize for blinding you with the whiteness of my leg. Yes, I am that pale (my personal theme song is Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale). I like this pattern. It's easy to work, interesting, and the rib makes it very stretchy.

Lesson learned...if you need to hobble around the house to find your camera while wearing a sock with 4 dpns sticking out of it, and all of your floors are hard wood, walk on your tip toes, not on your heel. There's no graceful way to explain the head injury when you slip and fall in that state.

My knitting was on a bit of hiatus this weekend in order to plow through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was so worried about having the ending spoiled that I did almost nothing but read. I didn't watch TV, go on line or listen to the radio (except for Car Talk, which was a rerun). I did take time out for the Harry Potter party at the library. And for my friend's party celebrating the 6th anniversary of her 29th birthday.

On Sunday I did take a reading break to wind up some yarn (using the Tinkertoy swift that Geek boy hunted down for me back around Valentine's Day...some women get jewelry, some get Tinkertoys),

split it into two balls,

and make my first attempt at dyeing my own yarn.

The yarn is Knit Picks Color Your Own, half dyed with pink lemonade and half with ice blue raspberry lemonade Kool-Aid. This will become a pair of footies for my cousin who is expecting her first baby in October. She and her husband have decided not to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl, so, for the hospital, a pink sock and a blue sock.

I bought this yarn a few years ago, but never got around to doing anything with it. And when I thought about making the socks for my cousin, I was torn, because I didn't want to go buy new yarn. Then I remembered, I had dyeable yarn in my stash. I used the tutorial on Knitty. What fun! Although it did disturb Geek Boy a bit when he came down for dinner, which was salmon coated with creole mustard, and found pink and blue bowls of yarn in front of the microwave. It was almost as disconcerting to him as when he found mohair chilling in the freezer.

As for Harry Potter (no spoilers here, I promise), I finished Monday morning. On the whole, I was impressed with how Rowling pulled everything together. I'm sad that it's over, but glad I went along for the ride.

Next...how I fail to think like a Blogger until after the fact.

Weekend Fun

2007-07-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun stuff this weekend.

Friday

Geek Boy and I escaped from work early with the intention of taking part in Friday the Fikenteenth at the Grey Lodge. We had gone years ago, before the Grey Lodge was so firmly established as a beer bar. It's been a really long time, apparently, because the crowd was out on the sidewalk. When we turned the corner and saw the crowd, we decided to go with Plan B. (Geek Boy and I do not do crowds.)

So, we did a weird loop and got back on 95. Luckily, shore traffic in our direction wasn't that bad. And we got off downtown and headed in the direction of our favorite Blegian bar, Eulogy. However, Triumph Brew Pub had recently opened a new location just across the street. So, we decided to head to Triumph for appetizers and sampler, and then to Eulogy for dinner.

Triumph's calamari is great. Their beer, like the beer in New Hope, is okay. We first found Triumph at a brew fest a few years ago, where they had brought their Jolie Blonde. And that was fabulous. They have never had it on tap when we've been there, and the rest of their beers just don't live up to the hype in my mind. I will say this, though. This was the first restaurant I've been to that has a unisex restroom.

Eulogy, however, never disappoints. The waiter did not laugh at me when I told him I couldn't remember the real name of the beer I wanted, but it translated to "Mad Bitch." Dulle Teve. And it was just as wonderful as I remembered. Their food is great too.

Saturday

I have started a new Saturday morning routine. I sit on the front porch listen to Car Talk and knit. This is he most relaxing part of my weekend. And I've been getting lots of progress done on my Cable Ribbed Socks from Favorite Socks. This was last Saturday's sock

Fret likes to help

And here's where it is this week.

This is my second pair for the summer of socks. I'm not setting any records, but it's good progress for me. I'm just four rows away from turning the heel. Unfortunately, the color does not allow good pictures of the cables. I did start this using Grumperina's method of cabling without a needle, in keeping with my attempt to try something new with each pair of Summer of Socks socks. However, this cable is a little different, in that you don't knit the held stitches in the normal order, so the new technique did not save any time. But the next pair of cabled socks will definitely use it. It's not as scary as other techniques I've seen.

Our niece, Chickpea, turns four this week. So we had her birthday party yesterday. Her mom invested in a slip 'n' slide for the occasion. But four year olds don't really grasp the "running start to slide head first" concept. The girls very dantily walked through the spray of water. Except Chickpea. She ran, and often slipped to fall on her butt at the end. It was very fun to watch.

Meanwhile, our nephew Geek Boy, Jr. (because he looks like a little version of his uncle) just gets cuter every time we see him. His new thing is the "boy growl." Everything he does is accompanied by a gutteral roar. I nearly fell over laughing while he carried his little bike up a hill and grunted with every step.

After the party we headed to Franklin Fountain for an ice cream party with some friends. I'm not a big ice cream person, so I didn't have anything, but, oh my goodness, the concoctions are amazing. If you're in the Philadelphia area and want a good ice cream experience, head down to Market Street.
Sunday

Today is the big day. We're going to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I can't wait. It's all leading up to next Saturday.

Meanwhile, I've started listening to The Book Thief. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite books of all times. The writing is just incredible. I find myself rewinding to listen to paragraphs over and over. When he describes the foster father and "the sheer brute force of his gentleness," I fell in love. Ive only just started, and hope that the author sustains this beauty through the end. This is also one of those books that I think is enhanced by listening to it. The narrator, Allan Corduner, brings the whole thing to life.

Summer Reading

2007-07-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

I work in a small public library. Every so often there's one book that makes the round through the staff. A group of us has very similar tastes, so one will read a particular book and come in to work one day and convince the rest of us we need to read it. I did this a few weeks back with Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck. The most recent book making the rounds is Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach. One woman came in one day raving about it. In particular, she had listened to the audio book and said that McEwan was a wonderful narrator.

I'm a big fan of Ian McEwan. I'm always amazed at how long he can build the exposition of his stories and bring the ending together so quickly, yet satisfactorily. One book in particular, Enduring Love, was a book club pick. I went into book club not having read the last 70 pages. Since my rule is, if I didn't read it, I can't ask you not to spoil it, we had an extensive discussion about the ending of the book. I couldn't believe how much I had missed. New characters, weapons, all sorts of good stuff. And yet, the ending didn't feel rushed or contrived.

Now, On Chesil Beach is a much smaller book. And since I'm a dedicated advocate of audiobooks, I checked this out on my coworker's recommendation. Wow. There's not really much more to say but, Wow. It is such a simple story, essentially taking place only over a very short period of time. It is beautifully constructed. The language is exquisite. He transitions from Edward's thoughts to Florence's seamlessly, weaving a picture of two people so constrained in their own thoughts. McEwan's narration is wonderful. And there's a very interesting interview with him at the end. I was very grateful for it, because it did address a question I had about the story. A small detail that I could have lived with my own assumptions about, but was pleased to hear that I did pick up on something intentional. If you are looking for a wonderful, quick read, I can't recommend this highly enough. (In fact, I recommended it to another coworker who has recently become hooked on audio, but she was already reading the book at the suggestion of the woman who got me listening.)

Now, to finish The Little Friend and Slammerkin before July 21st. Because then, it's all Harry all the time so that no one can ruin it for me..

Friday Eye Candy

2007-07-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine anywhere but Philadelphia...

...where straight men will dress in sequined costumes and march in a parade.

If you're not from around these parts, this is a small contingent from a Mummers String Band. After New Year's Day, they make appearances at smaller venues. From what I understand, if you didn't grow up around here, it just doesn't compute.

Photos from our little borough's Fourth of July Parade.

Now for a nice relaxing evening with the Geek Boy. Season 3 of Dr. Who starts tonight. And I just got a case of Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale. We haven't had this before, but Garrett Oliver has never let us down before.... And after a winter full of big beers, we're enjoying the lighter session beers this summer.

One Pair Down...More to Go

2007-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, my first Summer of Socks socks are done and have been delivered to their recipient. This is the quickest pair of socks I have knit.

Started: 6/21/07
Finished: 7/2/07
Yarn: Zen String Serendipity in colorway Ben
Pattern: Wendy's generic toe-up socks

Not only did I finish these in less than two weeks, I also knit other stuff during the same time (the Pea Pod hat for The Trendy One's new baby...pictures of that when the whole new baby package is finished).

And I took Bendy out on the town.

Posing with my bouquet at my sister's wedding. I did not knit during the reception, although somewhere there is a picture of me knitting while we were all getting our hair done. If you want to get strange looks from your dearest friends, pull out a sock in progress at a wedding where you're the matron of honor and pose it for a picture.

Since one of my goals for doing Summer of Socks is to try new techniques, I cast on my second pair. I used Judy's magic cast-on, and cast on two at once on one circular needle. I love the cast on. My problem when doing toe-up socks is that I always seem to lose one stitch when I take out the crochet chain. And then there's closing up the holes. This way avoids all of those issues. However, I found the two-at-once-on-one-circ method too fiddly for me. It probably didn't help that the pattern I was using had lots of M1s and SSKs, and there's a reason Grumperina uses the term "Stubbi Bluntos. "

So, tonight I ripped and rewound the yarn. I love this yarn. It's Sundara's sock yarn. And I really want this to become something. I have now cast on for Cable Rib Socks from Favorite Socks.

But before I ripped out, Santa did some posing with the ill-fated two-at-once socks.

Diving In

2007-06-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

So, the summer of socks has begun. And I've discovered that sport weight sock yarn moves fast. Thursday morning I had a meeting first thing. So, I didn't go into work first. That gave me an extra 45 minutes in the morning. I settled into the couch, put on MSNBC and grabbed some sock yarn.

The appeal of the Summer of Socks is that I have so much sock yarn, and yet I rarely make time to make socks. There's always something else more pressing to be made. For instance,
my best friend, The Trendy One, and her husband just adopted a little boy. So, here's a baby to knit for that came with no warning. (None for them either, they got the call Thursday as the birth mother was in labor, and brought him home on Saturday.) This little guys is so special to his new parents that he needs some extra special knits. And then there's my cousin's baby who is due in October. I thought I had plenty of time to get some projects together for him or her, but now my cousin and her husband are being transferred to London in August, and my aunt wants to have the shower before they leave. And without a commute on public transit or anything resembling a real lunch hour, socks get left in the "eventually" pile.

Now, I have no delusions that I will even come close to having the highest sock count (especially not with Wendy as a co-participant). But, I have a personal goal of getting at least a few socks stored up for winter.

My first pair, I'm calling Bendy:

Yarn: Zen String sport weight in the "Ben" colorway
Pattern: Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern
(Wendy + Ben = Bendy...I'm quite the clever one, aren't I?)

I bought this yarn shortly after Wendy posted about it. I ordered directly from Angelina, and the service was fabulous (as are the stitch markers). The socks are intended as a belated birthday present for my sister-in-law, whose son is the cutest boy in the world...named Ben.

I'm just doing these in plain stockinette stitch. I tend to prefer socks with stitch patterns; it makes it easier to make sure they come out even. But the color seemed to just want to speak for itself.

Knitting socks in sport weight just flies! I can't believe how much I've accomplished in just a few days. I think it's a definite possibility that I will have these done in time for the 4th of July picnic with Geek Boy's family.

Do you like the Santa? I think he's going to be the sock model for the summer. Geek Boy has a thing for animatronic Christmas decorations. So, a few years ago, my folks got him this Santa. We didn't want to haul him up and down from the attic every year. To avoid this, we just decided to we would deck him out in seasonally appropriate wear. Each summer he sports a different Hawaiian shirt. This year he's wearing the "hops" pattern, when Geek Boy isn't wearing it. The Shrek ears are in honor of the fact that we just went with The Sisters (my cousins and sister) to see Shrek the Third, a tradition that continues despite the fact that"the kids" are now in their twenties.

Cruise Wear

2007-05-09T17:13:00.001-07:00

Since the only thing I have on the needles is a great big raspberry colored square of cotton, and I haven't been home to actually cook anything or try any new beers, I'll revisit some older projects.

This was to be the week that we prepared to go on our big boat cruise with friends. But we gave that up for our wonderful trip on the Maple Leaf. Now, a cruise through the Carribean in May and a cruise through the Pacific Northwest on a sailboat in April require entirely different kinds of preparation. For the former, spring tops, shorts, maybe even a new bathing suit. For the latter:

As my friend Richael would say, "Woolies!" (And a little microfiber.)

Four of these items were specifically knit to keep us toasty on the trip. At the bottom of the picture are two versions of His Hat, the black and grey one for Geek Boy, the blue one for me. Crime of Fashion was my first attempt at colorwork, another knit specifically requested by Geek Boy. When I saw the pattern and told him about it, he immediately requested one...and then patiently waited through a whole winter season while I dealt with 450 rows of black stockinette stitch. On top, Sugar on Snow, Peek-a-Boo mittens and Lake Park hat. Now, Crime of Fashion stayed home, because Geek Boy always fears losing it somewhere. The rest all travelled cross country with us and were extremely useful on the trip (there is a picture of me with Sugar on Snow around my neck, His Hat on my head (along with two hoods) and the Peek-a-Boo mittens on my hands. I was the poster girl for hand knit woolies!

And I have to say, the Peek-a-Boo mittens were great. They kept my hands warm and yet let me easily pop out my fingers for taking pictures. Geek Boy's latest request is something similar...although he wants more along these lines, with fingers and all.

On books...I'm currently listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point in preparation for a leadership workshop next week. I really like the way this guy writes. He's very engaging, and also very good at reading his own work. It's also interesting to be listening to it with the framework of this workshop in mind. When I read Blink, it was for pleasure. Now, I'm trying to see how some of his concepts can be put into action at work. Should be interesting.

Eye Candy Saturday

2007-05-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

A branch on Newcastle Island, Britich Columbia.

Twu Wuv

2007-05-04T03:56:00.000-07:00

Here is my most recent finished project. From the front:

From the sides:

And a close-up on the texture.

Just in case you're wondering, I am not a victim of gauge. These are socks that had been requested by Geek Boy. When I first started knitting, I promised myself that I would not force handknits on him. However, when he asks for something, it automatically becomes the next project. So, back around the end of Frbruary, he casually mentioned, "Maybe you could make me a pair of socks?" No problem. I already had the yarn just waiting for the request.

The details:
Started: early March
Finished: May 2
Pattern: my own, basic sock recipe and a texture pattern from a Harmony book
Yarn: Fortissima yarn for main part of sock, KnitPicks Essential for toes and heels--mostly because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough to do two whole socks without changing out the heels and toes.

After the initial request, I spent some time going through all my Barbara Walker, Harmony and Stitchionary books, trying to find a good texture pattern. Not too fussy, but enough to keep it interesting. I don't like doing socks for me that are just plain, no way was I doing men's size 10.5 socks plain (these puppies are worked over 96 stitches). I love my Geek Boy, but there are some limits.

I'm very happy with how they turned out, however, when I turned them inside out to weave in the ends, I discovered that I really liked the wrong side of the pattern better. Oh well.

I did also in the middle of making these, take some time off to work on another pair of socks. Because after a sock and a half of grey, I needed some color. We were also travelling and I didn't want to chance taking a sock-in-progress on the plane. Although I have never had trouble getting my knitting on a plane, I didn't want to lose what work was already completed on these. So...

Sundara Yarns Bird of Paradise colorway...definitely not grey!

Frankly, my dear, it wasn't that bad

2007-02-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

After years and years of avoiding it, I finally broke down today and watched Gone with the Wind. I had a friend in high school who was obsessed with this movie. To the point that her senior prom dress had hoop skirts. And it just put my off wanting to ever see the movie or read the book. Then I picked the book for one of my book clubs at work. And, even though we spread it out over two months, I sitll managed not to read more than two pages.

However, the follow up book for this book club, and the reason for choosing Gone with the Wind, is The Wind Done Gone, the "unofficial parody." I've been breezing through it, but realized that I was probably missing a lot. So, this afternoon, Turner Classic Movies was doing an Oscar winner thing and I decided to break down and watch it. Of course, I didn't turn it on until about 45 minutes into the movie, so I was lost on lots of stuff. Like, what is the actual relationship between Scarlett and Melanie? And who was the father of Melanie's son (or did I misunderstand her dying declaration)?

The movie wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't overly impressed. But, it was a pleasant way to pass the afternoon.

I did start to take a break from The Wind Done Gone to read Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. Very, very creepy, in the best way. I've actually had to stop reading it before bed, because it was getting me too wound up. Then, Geek Boy mentioned he thought he had read that Joe Hill is actually Stephen King's son. That was news to me, although it is (according to one site I read) the worst kept secret in publishing. But I am loving this book!

Next up on the bookshelf...Swimming to Antarctica by Lynn Cox. Selection for yet another book club. I read Grayson back over the summer and really enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Pacific Northwest Love

2007-02-10T08:40:00.000-08:00

I have two unlces who have served in the Navy. One is retired. One is still active duty. At one time, both of them were stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. And so over the years, we have all spent some time visiting the Pacific Northwest. And we all love it up there. After my first trip, I came home and started looking for jobs in Seattle (life on an island would have driven me crazy, but having family close by made relocating across the country seem like a good idea).

My mom's favorite thing about Washington is the ferry ride. She can't visit her brother without spending some time on a ferry. She could probably spend all day riding on the ferries, without going anywhere in particular.

This is a particularly hard time of year for my mom. My Grandpop's birthday, the anniversary of his death, my Nanny's birthday, the anniversary of her death, and their wedding anniversary all fall between January 11 and February 14. And it's only a year since my Nanny's death. So, I thought she needed something pretty and fun. On Nan's birthday, I sent her flowers at work. And I started working on a special project for her.

I had some gorgeous yarn from Sundara's Petals Collection just itching to be knit up. And I ordered Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road through interlibrary loan, knowing it had just the right pattern in it.

Friday Harbor socks. Designed to reflect the wake of the ferries around the San Juan Islands. I set a new record for myself with these socks. Knit up in a little over one week. (Previous socks have taken me months to finish.)

The yarn is Lenten Rose from Sundara Yarns Petals Collection. A gorgeous purple and grey. I gave them to my mom a few days after my Nanny's birthday, and told her the name of the pattern, the inspiration for it, and that the yarn came from Seattle. She called me at work the next day to say she had planned her outfit for work specifically so that she could wear these socks, and proceded to show them to all of her co-workers and to tell them the story of the yarn and the pattern. Most of all, she couldn't get over how soft and warm they were.

This was only the second time I did something other than a short row heel. I hate picking up stitches and avoid it whenever I can. But I was trying to stick with the pattern here and finally got it. The second heel turned out better than the first, but I think only I would notice it. (Or my mom is too nice to point it out.) The pattern called for ribbing on the soles of the socks, but the picture in the book shows pain stockinette stitch, and I decided to go with the picture for speed's sake. I had a few other issues with the pattern, for example, the number of repeats called for would have resulted in a HUGE sock. So, I just stopped when I got to the magic "two inches before the toe" place.

I go back and forth on gettting my own copy of this book. I'm not a big fan of lacy socks, and a lot of these socks are lacy patterns. My feet tend to get very cold, and I need my socks for warmth. Lacy holes, to me, defeat the purpose of socks. I didn't realize until I started knitting and really looked at the charts for these socks that they were lacy (the picture just looks like cables). But, interlibrary loan is my friend. And the ILL person at my library doesn't mind reordering books for me, if I decide, months after initially looking at a book, that there was one pattern in there I want to take a second look at.

So, inspired by how quickly I got these done, I'm trying to get a few more pairs done for myself before the cruise (espeically since they specifically recommend bringing wool socks). So, once I finish the blanket and sweater for my cousin to be (ETA, Friday, February 16), I'll get cracking on those.

Booze Cruise

2007-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been a while. But I promise (myself) that I will make an effort from here on out. I have some cool (I think) knitting to show off, but I'm too tired tonight to pull out the camera and pose my knitting for pictures.

So, let's talk beer instead. Geek Boy and I have been planning to take a Carribean cruise since about September. It's supposed to set sail in May. Now, I feel about cruises the way many people feel about flying. It's not natural and I had no intention to ever do it. But, 10 friends were going on this cruise and we decided it might fun. I figured I could get my doctor to hook me up with some sedatives, just in case. The cruise runs 9 days, which is a little longer than we usually like to go away, being the homebodies that we are. But we figured the chance to go away with a group of friends was worth a shot.

Then the Geek boy found this. And a quick call to the office manager confirmed that there were still spaces left. She penciled us in. So, after work, over pork roast (I love cooking in the crock pot...nothing like having dinner ready when you get home from work) and some good beer, we weighed our options. The final decision...at the risk of being labeled party poopers by our friends, we are opting for five nights on a sailing yacht with seven strangers. Should be interesting.

And, I'm finally heading into the home stretch on Gregory Maguire's Wicked. This is the third time I've started this book. It's not that I didn't like it...quite the opposite, actually, but life just kept getting in the way and I'd have to put it down. Last month I made a resolution to start it and see it through to the end. And I'm so glad I finally did. The only thing that has me confused right now is how someone read this book and thought, "Big musical number!" I just don't get it. Luckily, it's coming back to town this summer and my mom's agreed to go with me. Geek Boy would go if I asked him to, but this is a test of love that he just shouldn't have to take.

Knitting pictures...of cool Sundara socks, Marnie's Crime of Fashion, and a patriotic baby sweater...coming soon

Good Food, Good Beer, Good Friends

2006-11-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

If you ever happen to be in the Exton area, I highly recommend The Drafting Room. Geek Boy and I ventured out there with friends on Saturday night. While the beer menu is not as extensive as Ludwig's or Eulogy, it is very respectable. I had a fabulous Belgian Brown and Rogue's Brutal Bitter. Both were incredibly tasty.

And to top it all off, the food was out of this world. All of us went nuts over our meals. I had the scallops special...diver scallops with a sweet potato blini over a blackberry marscapone sauce. Quite possibly the best meal I have ever had.

In knitting silliness...I needed a break from the tiny needles. The tip of my index finger keeps going numb, which I'm guessing might be due to the tiny needles. So, I knit this up for my mom. Quick, easy and worth some amusement on Thursday.

By then I should have my camera back and can liven this up a little bit.

Hometown Socks

2006-11-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still camera-less, since the digital camera needin' cousin was on the other side of the state all week. I imagine I should have the camera back by Thursday. Anyway, I finally finished the socks made with Sundara Yarn. And I love how they turned out.

Bookwoman's Hometown Socks
Yarn: Sundara Yarn Sock Yarn in multicolor Leafy
Needles: US 0
Pattern: A combination of Wendy's Toe Up Sock Pattern and a stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury. I picked the pattern because it had been submitted by someone who lived in my little borough. She doesn't live here anymore...at least she's not in the phonebook.

I love these socks! I have done laundry just so I can have the socks available to wear. A few weeks ago, we went on the Tippler's Tour in Philadelphia. Basically, it's a walking tour of pubs, with a little history thrown in. I t runs all summer, but we waited until October to go. And even though it's been 70 degrees in November around here, it was pretty chilly that night. But my feet were warm! I have some more of Sundara's sock yarn waiting. Plus, I signed up for the next half of her sock club.

In the meantime, I'm finishing my cousin's birthday socks. Her birthday was in July. Luckily she's patient. Plus, this is the cousin with digital camera issues, so I can buy time by saving her butt. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the second sock. My goal is to give them to her on Thursday.

Tonight, we're heading out with Max and Julia's mom and dad to drink beer and eat dinner! We haven't been here before, but Geek Boy's had it on his list since we took a beer appreciation class a few years back. I'm looking forward to it. And they sell carry-out bottles! Such a good thing because there's lots I'd like to try, but since I'll be driving, only one, maybe two will get tried.

One of Those Question Things That I'd Never Do on E-mail

2006-11-11T05:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I've done anything with this. Although I have been knitting away, drinking beer, baking and reading some great books. I have some, what I think are, cool knitting projects. However, my cousin had an emergency need for a digital camera last night (yes, in our family there can be an emergency need for a digital camera that involves meetings in dark parking lots) so I can't take any pictures. So, instead, I ripped this from another blog and figured it might be a good way to get back into things.

1. FIRST NAME? Amy

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Does crying fron laughing count? While watching Over the Hedge. "But I like the cookie!"

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's not bad, but my printing is much better.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I don't see why not.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely not.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I'm with Mikey...Life!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I mostly wear clogs, sandals and those slip on shoes from LLBean, but I rarely untie my sneakers.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not physically, no, not at all.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Anything with Heath bars in it, especially when I make it.

14. SHOE SIZE? 8

5. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My desire to be and my complete inability to be organized.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? The trendy one. We talk, but not often enough. And we definitely don't see each other enough.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No, not really.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black exercise pants, green t-shirt under grey sweatshirt, blue argyle socks and blue slipper clogs. It's mid-morning. I'm still in my "jammies."

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? The other half of last night's Italian Hoagie. Breakfast of Champions!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Weekend Edition on NPR.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Violet

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Whatever's in the crock pot when I come home from work.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My cousin with the digital camera emergency.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I like her blog. Don't know her personally, although she seems like a lot of fun.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Coke Zero

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Volleyball, when one of my cousins is playing.

29. EYE COLOR? I say blue. Most everyone says blue. Deb says green.

30. HAT SIZE? Small.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Y es.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Depends. If I want Geek Boy to sit and watch with me, happy endings are more likely to get him on the big comfy couch. When I'm watching by myself, scary is best.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither. Fall is best.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs...I'm always amazed at the way they can get the two chocolates swirled in such a small piece of candy.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything baked with apples. Especially my mom's Jewish Apple cake.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See above.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? In the car, I'm listening to Heat by Bill Buford. On my nightstand is Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore. I'm also reading Gimp by Mark Zupan. And I'm carrying around Nick Hornby's Polysyllabic Spree for when I have to wait somewhere.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Winnie the Pooh

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Dr. Who, Battlestar Gallactica, The Daily Show, The Cobert Report and NCIS (we're big fans of DVR and On Demand). I was up late finishing a scarf for Geek Boy.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Geek Boy's voice on the other end of the phone when I'm at work. My niece laughing.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Rolling Stones.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Alaska. Or Ireland.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I can figure out what book you're talking about with only a small amount of information, even if that information isn't exactly correct.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? PA

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Copied and pasted from someone's blog.

Gratuitous Fiber Shots

2006-08-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, now I finally get to do some of the gratuitous fiber porn shots that are the basis of knitting blogs.

On Wednesday, I got to spend the day with the Trendy One from Anchorage. She just started knitting, so I thought it would be fun to take her to a yarn shop and treat her to something fun. So we headed to a local shop I had not yet explored. It's a great little shop. And Kathy, the owner, is lovely. (Kathy is actually the sister-in-law of someone I used to work with, and I had been meaning to check her shop out since she opened.) She's got yarn for every price range. And, best of all, she has a lending library of books. As a librarian, even though this represents competition (especially considering she's just across the street from the local library), this made my heart go pitty-pat. What a great service to offer her customers!

Anyway, the Trendy One picked up some Encore, which I assured her would be great "practice" yarn, and also some Crystal Palace Taos. Later in the day, we camped out at Borders with some icy drinks and knit. The Trendy One purled. She hadn't been able to figure it out on her own, so I spent some time teaching her. She caught on pretty quick too, although her actual response was "Why would I want to do this?" So, I grabbed a bunch of knitting books off the shelf with really cool patterns and said, here's why.

I'm supposed to be on a self-imposed yarn diet, but I found Kathy's sale bin and had to get me some of this
That's Berroco Denim Silk (pardon the cruddy table...we're in the process of fixing up our porch and haven't refinished the captain's table yet, but it's the best lit place around the house). It was half price. And the Trendy One helped me decide that the two colors would look nice striped. It's for yet another Picovoli. Okay, I lied when I said I didn't like to knit the same thing twice. I fear I am becoming the January One of Picovoli (do we need a support group for people who become addicted to Grumperina patterns). This will be my third Picovoli. I made one with some Cascade Sierra Quatro. When I tried it on, I loved the way it fit, so I immediately cast on another using Noro Lily (which is still on the needles, and the colors are doing some weird pooly-thing). Last week I was wearing the first one when I stopped by my folks' house and my mom went nuts over it. Then she asked if I had lost weight. I guess it's a very flattering style for me. So, Picovoli #3 is in the future projects pile now.

Also in the new projects pile
My Lean to Spin kit from The Bellweather. The booklet is very well written. I haven't had a chance to practice yet, since it's been too stinkin' hot to play with wool. But, since the weather broke and it's now down to the upper-80s, I think I may play around with it tonight.

With the break in the weather I can knit and watch movies again. Since I had to pop into work for an hour this morning, I picked up two movies, Howl's Moving Castle and The Matador. And we still have Good Night and Good Luck from Netflix. Decisions, decisions...

Now for the Beer

2006-08-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

It's too hot to use the oven in our lovely, but un-air-conditioned house (we do have window units in the bedrooms). So, we're eating out a lot, because it's even too hot to eat. So, last night, it was a trip to our favorite local brewpub. They're having the "Summer of Weiss--Wheat, Drink and Be Merry"--good for Geek Boy who loves wheat beers. Bad for Bookwoman who doesn't. The chocolate cherry stout was kicked, but I had had it before, and it was okay but nothing great. However, they did have a wonderful Nut Brown on tap, just the right blend of hops and malt. Yumm-O. And we made a respectable showing at Quizzo...we at least got all the state capital questions right.

And, as if I don't spend enough already on yarn, two blogs got me interested in this, which arrived yesterday.

Tomorrow, it's around and about with my best friend, in from Anchorage, Alaska. She's just learning to knit. If she doesn't melt in the heat, I'll take her to some fun local stores and try to teach her to purl.

A Tale of Two Gardens

2006-07-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yesterday, Geek Boy was up early and being productive. So when I finally rolled out of bed (at 7.30, just to put "early" in context) he was already making improvements on the porch and getting ready to start doing some weeding in our vegetable garden. So, I went out to help him. Despite the presence of weed block fabric, the weeds have totally taken over the vegetable patch and shredded the fabric. We managed to get everything cleared out while still in the shade and I couldn't help by compare our patch with the neighbor's. First, our cucumber plants:

Yes, there are two plants there. Originally there were three. The middle one has done okay. We've actually gotten 5 cucumbers off of it. The two on either side of it, for some reason shriveled and more or less died. I'm thinking I might be able to salvage the one on the left. We won't even talk about what happened to the zucchini.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, my neighbor's garden looks like this:

My Pop-pop had the greenest thumb ever. I apparently have not inherited this gift of his. Not even close. However, there's still some hope for the eggplant and the melons. We'll see.

Aside from mourning my "garden," I spent most of the weekend being Geek Knitting Girl, testing some pretty fun knitting software. I've never tried knitting software before. And I've never done beta testing before. Pretty interesting. But I feel like I have major carpal tunnel syndrome from playing with software and typing corrections, and no knitting to show for it. But I did learn some stuff. And gained enormous respect for those who write software.

Lightning Never Strikes Twice

2006-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Or how I learned to let go and love the sock.

I've just been watching the most amazing thing. There's a massive thunderstorm going on somewere a little ways away from here. I was going out to the porch to collect the cats before closing up for the night. And the sky was just lighting up. I could see forks of lightning through breaks in the clouds. Other times the clouds were just lighting up from behind. The thunder was a constant low rumble. It was just phenomenal to watch.

And appropriate. I was thinking today about knitting socks. The first time I tried knitting socks, I had a ball of Magic Stripes from Lion Brand and was just using the ball band pattern. I got the leg done, turned the heel, picked up the gusset stitches, and started on the foot. I was about half way through the foot when I looked at what I was doing, pulled out my needles and frogged the whole thing. Geek Boy just watched in amazement.

"Are you pulling that out?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Because it's boring and I was just thinking...when I'm done, I have to do this all over again. Forget it. I'm not meant to knit socks."

With the exception of a few quick baby hats, I had discovered I don't like to knit the same thing twice. So, socks were probably not going to be part of my knitting portfolio...ever.

Then I started finding socks with interesting patterns. And a friend offered to teach me two at once using magic loop. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Well, from the time she taught me how to cast on, until I got around to actually trying it, I couldn't remember how to do the two at once thing. But by this time, I had promised my sister a pair of socks. And low and behold, I was able to knit the same thing twice and stay interested.

So, then it was a quick foray into the Jaywalker phenomenon.

Mostly because I had just been to Boston, and there was something to it. So, Crazy Chrissy's Jaywalkers... A birthday present for my cousin. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Rainbow. (This was my first attempt at photographing socks...not an easy task, but highly amusing to Geek Boy.)

And now I'm on my "own design," using Wendy's toe-up pattern and a stitch pattern I found in Barbara Walker's Second Treasury that was submitted by someone in the tiny little borough where I live. I have the first one done.

The yarn for this is Sundara's hand-dyed Leafy colorway. (I am in love with this yarn.) I'll have a close up of the stitch pattern when the pair is done. In the meantime, marvel at how the color works

So, although I can apparently knit the same thing twice in order to finish a sock, I don't know that I'll be able to do the same pair of socks twice. But that's not such a bad thing, right? And it's a myth that lightning can't strike twice in the same place..

The Alpha Post

2006-07-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Many years aggo my family got together to celebrate my grandparents' impending 50th anniversary. Of course, in the course of the night, many group pictures had to be taken. One was of my grandparents and all of my cousins. My cousin Emily sat on my lap for the picture, and we were seated right next to our Grandpop. He looked at us and said, "The alpha and the omega." That was about 15 years ago. Now, there's a new omega. And, come February, another new cousin will come along to claim the title of omega. I however, always get to be the Alpha! Thus, the alpha post.

I don't really think I have anything earth shattering to share. Like it says at the top, I'm passionate about beer, yarn, baking (which uses ovens) and books (as if you couldn't guess that from the name). But I want to run a blog on my work website later in the fall, so I figure I should try this out.

I live in a lovely old house with my very own Geek Boy, who has shared wonder-twin powers with me for going on five years next week. He cooks, does laundry, brings me operating systems, and downloads R.E.M.-Sesame Street songs for my amusement. He also shows appropriate excitement for me whenever I finish a knitting project.

We are allowed to co-exist with two very freaky, but very affectionate cats.

So that's it for the alpha post.