ACK!

Where did the year go?????

I can't believe the year is almost over. Between work, Christmas, and Lorelei, I haven't had a second to myself for ages. I spent the week before Christmas in Louisville and I'm getting ready to go to Austin as soon as the New Year's holiday is over. Oh yeah, and I've been sick for so long that I can't remember when it started.

I've knit about 8 rows on Cozy in the last 3 weeks. I knit half a heel flap on my second Jaywalker sock. Oh and I cast on for Lorelei's dad's second sock. And then stopped.

Hopefully, I'll have time soon to knit again. And time to use the new swift that I bought myself for Christmas.

Happy New Year's Blogland!

Belated Birthday Post

Here it is Thursday and I still haven't posted about Lorelei's 2nd birthday.

We had a party on Saturday. There was Elmo Cake, presents, balloons, and 4 loud preschoolers (Lorelei, 2 cousins, and L's best friend). Except for the cake decorating stress and the lost marker cap scavenger hunt, it was a really good day. But I have decided that I'm not making fancy cake again unless I take a cake decorating class first - even with only 4 colors, Elmo was difficult to decorate.

On Monday, Lorelei started a new preschool/daycare. She seems to be doing fine and the teachers all love her already, but she does miss her friends from the old daycare.

Knit-A-Thon!

I love Gilmore Girls! Last night's episode was all about a knit-a-thon to raise money to fix a local bridge - just the quirky kind of thing I expect from Stars Hollow. There were giant balls of yarn and giant knitting needles, yarn and swifts everywhere, and everyone was knitting. How great that one of my favorite shows brought two of my loves together - tv and knitting.

Thanksgiving update

I finally took pictures of all my WIPs, but it took so long to get them from the camera to the computer that one fo them is already an FO. So, let's get to the pictures.

This is the basic cable hat from Stitch 'N Bitch Nation. I actually finished this last night and wore it to work this morning. The pattern was pretty easy, though I added a couple of pattern repeats so that it covered more of my ears. I think I'm going to try to make one for Lorelei - if I take out one or two of the cables it should fit her. I used a little more than one ball of KnitPicks Swish in Red Pepper (the pattern as written would have taken one ball).


I decided to make Lorelei a baby blanket for her doll baby so that I could try out log cabin without a large commitment. I'm really not a fan of the picking up stitches. I think the blanket is now at aobut 9 inches and I need it to be at least 18. I'll still try to get it finished by Christmas, but I don't see myself doing any more log cabins.


Fetching from Knitty only needs a thumb and some ends woven in. These were pretty quick to knit, but I need to concentrate on the thumb and Lorelei hasn't given me much time to myself lately. I made these with cashmerino left over from Lorelei's dad's Irish Hiking scarf.

Finally, this is Cozy, also from Knitty. Almost all of this was done in the car when we drove to FL. I'm really liking this as my first real lace project since 1) it's worsted weight yarn, 2) it's rectangular so that every row has the same number of stitches, and 3) there are only 8 rows of the pattern, so once I got past the first 11 rows (3 rows of edge and 8 rows of pattern) I knew all I needed to know for the rest of the shawl.

That's it for now. I'll post a Lorelei update soon - only a little over a week until her birthday!

Pet Peeve #1

I was out of the office all day on Tuesday at a meeting, so I came in to work on Wednesday and there was a message on my voiccemail - "Hi Patty, ..."

I use Patricia at work, I use Trish at home, at no time do I encourage anyone to call my Patty. So why is it that people always think that it is acceptable to call me that????? And it's always people who don't know me very well. I might not get so irritated if it was used by someone close to me - I don't know, it doesn't happen.

Since Saturday Night Live, I'm not really fond of Pat, either.

Jedi in Training

I forgot to post about Lorelei's first Halloween (we didn't bother to dress her up last year).

Lorelei's dad picked out the Princess Leia outfit. I had to bribe her with candy to get it on her and we didn't do any trick-or-treating (we were stuck in traffic), but she discovered that candy is a good thing. Every day since I hear - "More candy?" Maybe next year we'll actually leave the house.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. I've knit two rows since I got back from Florida. And those two rows may have been knit last Wed. I blame the non-sleeping, very active, almost 2 yo child living in my house. I think it's getting better. Lorelei slept through the night the last two nights. I was actually able to watch a couple hours of tv last night - thanks to Lorelei's dad.

While there hasn't been any knitting, I did get to work a little on updating my knitting notebook. It's almost like knitting, right?

I have a three day weekend coming up and no plans. So hopefully:

1. I will do some knitting
2. I will take pictures of my new WIPs. Cozy and fetching especially. I have a glove of fetching complete, I may be able to start and finish the other one this weekend.
3. I will get to clean off the DVR. I'm at 98% full and it's making me sad that I can't watch all the shows I want to.

Happy Election Eve!

I'm so happy that after tomorrow I never need to hear the word "macaca" ever again!

Don't forget to vote.

Almost 2

(NOTE: I started this post on Saturday, but Lorelei didn't let me finish it.)

Lorelei is now 23 months old (as of Friday). I haven't been writing much about Lorelei lately - probably because I can't keep up with all the new things she does and says every day.
But here are some highlights:

• We switched her crib to a big girl bed a couple of weeks ago. She hasn't fallen out of bed too many times (usually because she's playing) but she's been having trouble going to sleep. She's been going to sleep at 10pm, which is when I want to go to sleep so I haven't had much time to watch tv, knit, pay bills, or clean the house.
• Lorelei was playing "air piano" today. She loves to play her piano(s) and sing.
• Lorelei can sing her ABCs but she usually skips j-l. Of couse sometimes when she's in a hurry she skips D-Y.
• Lorelei can count to 2. 1,2. 1,2. 1,2. I guess we need to start working on 3.
• She knows the names of all the colors, but she almost never gets any correct. First everything was yellow, this week everything is red.
• Her new word is "later." As in see you later. I keep thinking of Dazed and Confused when the stoner guy keeps saying "check you later."

I'm boring

What Disney Ride Are You? Jungle Cruise You're boring, cheesy, and tame. You're the jungle cruise!!

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Back from the dead

Lorelei gave me the worst cold ever. It's been a week and I'm almost recovered.

But there has been no knitting. There has been nothing except sitting on the couch watching tv.

new shows I love: Studio 60, Heroes, Jericho, Justice, Standoff
new shows I like: 30 Rock (Tracy Morgan is awesome!), The Nine, Brothers and Sisters

I've been catching up on all my DVR watching, but I'm still a little behind. The Law and Orders are pretty good this year. There are a lot of new people, but the only one I really miss is Annabella Sciorra.

Anyway, I'm getting ready for a trip to FL next week. Yeah!

3:45AM

That is the time that Lorelei woke up this morning. Therefore - that is the time that Mommy woke up this morning. Now I admit - I did convince Lorelei's dad to wake up and play with her for a while so I could get another half hour of sleep, but it was not enough. I hope that she's sick because this will not work on a regular basis.

Anyway, I bought Spin to Knit yesterday and read half of it last night. So, of course I've already ordered a spindle this morning. And already I'm thinking, "if I bought a portable wheel, it would fold up and fit under the bed - right?" Maybe there's room in my little apartment for a spinning wheel.

Coming Soon: a review of this week's tv. Especially Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Lost. TV's been so good this week that there hasn't been much knitting.

Fall Knitting - Revised

• Cozy
• Log Cabin doll blanket for Lorelei
• Wristwarmers (two different versions)
• Socks (always)
• (maybe) Christmas presents

FO x 3

Yesterday was finishing day.

This is the Irish Hiking Scarf for Lorelei's Dad. This was my first attempt at cables and I think it turned out really well. Cables are fun. This was made with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which Lorelei's Dad picked out by himself. I have some left over that I think will be used for Fetching. I will probably make another one of these in the future when I get the urge to make another scarf.



My booga bag. I totally love this. This was my first attempt at felting and while not perfect, it's good enough. I love the colors of the Noro Kureyon. I think I have plenty of time to make some more of these for Christmas presents.

I also finished my Picovoli yesterday and am wearing it today. Sadly, the pictures are somewhere on Lorelei's Dad's computer so you'll just have to imagine how it looks. Except for the armholes that I made a little too tight (completely my fault), it is pretty comfortable. I think I may make another one of these with the picots (I didn't do the picots on this one), the next size up, and another color. I do like the color (and so does Lorelei - "pretty"), but variety is good.

So now I only have two socks OTN and the 1/2 inch of my Charlotte's web shawl. I need to make some baby presents and another dishcloth, but then I think it's on to wristwarmers. Or Christmas presents. Or something else.

Happy Blogiversary to the blog!

Saturday was the one year anniversary of the day I started the blog (of course it was months before I started posting regularly). Yeah, blog!

So the start of the new fall tv season has been taking up a lot of my free time.
New shows I love: Justice, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Standoff.
New shows I'm giving one more chance: Smith, Jericho.
New shows I'm still waiting for (or are waiting for me on my DVR): Brothers and Sisters, Ugly Betty, Heroes.
New shows I will never watch again: Vanished, Happy Hour.

With all this tv watching, I'm hoping to have several FOs to show you this week. They may include a Booga bag, an Irish HIking scarf, picovoli (finally), and who knows what else. The bag is currently blocking, the scarf has 10 more rows to go, pico needs some ends woven in.

Better late than never

I'm only two days late for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

My pirate name is:

Mad Charity Kidd

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Summer of Socks Recap

Well, the Summer of Socks comes to a close today and I thought it would be a good time for a recap.

1. Finished the purple Opal socks (which I'm actually wearing today). Handknit wool socks ROCK!
2. Completed 1 and 1/4 blue Jaywalkers. I understand why everyone loves this pattern - it's easy to memorize and looks really cool. I'll definitely make more of these in the future.
3. Booties - I completed a pair of booties for my new nephew.
4. Lorelei's Dad's socks - I've finished about half the foot of the first sock.
5. Took the sock to Mount Vernon. It had a good time.
6. Frogged the Sock from Hell so that it can be reborn into something that I don't hate.
7. Bought Sensational Knitted Socks. I love, love, love this book. It's what I wished for when I learned to knit socks. I haven't used any of the patterns yet, but I have a couple picked out for future socks.
8. Got a replacement for my broken lantern moon DPN.

Not too bad for 3 months. My love of sock knitting has grown, my stash of sock yarn is slowly getting used, and I had fun. I don't think I'm going to join Socktoberfest this year, but that doesn't mean I won't be knitting socks.

KIP Day (aka Jury Duty)

I spent yesterday (morning) at jury duty. I started with the bottom of my booga bag finished and now have an almost complete bag.

I think I was the only one knitting yesterday, most likely because the jury summons included a scary note about security. But I made sure to bring the project with the #10.5 circs and I didn't have any problems - it might have been different if I had brought my sock project with its tiny, sharp needles.

I'm completely in love with Noro now. I love the funky, bright colors. I love the way the wool feels as I knit with it. I'm almost ready to make Lizard Ridge even though it would cost way too much money and I would never have the patience/time right now to make an afghan. But I LOVE Kureyon.

Fall Knitting Preview

So as Summer comes to a close, I'm finishing up/working on two pairs of socks, the Irish Hiking Scarf, and I still need to weave in the ends of my Picovoli (which I'm planning to wear next week). So what will I be knitting this Fall?

• More socks, of course. I have some Lorna's Laces and some KnitPicks Essential that are next on my list of socks.
• Booga bag - I bought the yarn for this art MS&W in May and I really want to start this.
• I started my Charlotte's web shawl, but I don't know if I'm really loving this. This may get shoved to the bottom of the basket until next summer.
• I'm thinking about making my first sweater. But I don't have a pattern picked out and I don't have any yarn for it. Stitches East is coming up in a couple of months - maybe I'll go and get inspired.
• Wrist warmers - at first I thought these were a little strange (I'm from Florida) but I'm starting to see the advantage to these.

So, what else do I need to add to my list? Maybe a hat for Lorelei?

Crush Your Head, Crush, Crush

Who knew that Saddam Hussein loved Kids in the Hall?

Random Wednesday

I just spent a lovely 4 days in New Mexico for my little brother's wedding. There wasn't much time for sight-seeing because of all the family stuff, but what we did see was beautiful. The landscape is desert and very different from Virginia (or even Florida). No grass, cactus, lots of shrubs. The architecture is also very different from what I'm used to.

The afternoon before the wedding was spent at a spa with my mom and my new SIL (and 15 other people). I was able to get in a good hour of knitting on the second Jaywalker. With that and the many plane trips, I have almost 2 whole inches of sock!

There really has been very little knitting lately. Lorelei was sick last week and never wants to go to bed, which is cutting into my knitting time. I really want to get started on my Charlotte's web shawl, but I need a good chunk of time to get a handle on it.

Justice (with Victor Garber) premiered last week (I finally saw it yesterday). I really liked it. It's a little like the Order part of Law & Order from the other side of the court room. The episode last week was similar to OJ. My favorite part was the end where they show "the truth" and you find out if the client was really guilty or not.

I tried to watch Vanished last week, but when I didn't like the first 10 minutes I gave up. I'm already behind on the second season of Prison Break. I saw the first new episode and loved it. The new FBI guy is great - I love that he totally had the tatoo figured out in 5 minutes. Finally a worthy adversary. And I didn't mind killing Veronica, she wasn't never a favorite of mine.

There was a new episode of House last night. I haven't watched it yet, but I'm very excited. House is one of my favorites.

Quiz Time!

What Monty Python Sketch Character are you?

You are the Abuse Clerk! You dish out verbal (and some physical!) abuse all day long...as long as the customer keeps payin'! Aaah...such satisfying work!
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Bad Blogger

I admit - I've been a bad blogger. I've been too tired and busy the last few weeks to worry about my poor blog. So - randomness today! And on Random Wednesday, too.

• My little brother is getting married in a week and a half. I'm very excited! I like his fiancee, I've never been to New Mexico before, and I get a couple days off work (and maybe there will be time for knitting). Yeah!
• I've been working on a lot of small knitting presents. My latest nephew was born last week (12 lbs.) and I made him some booties and a Mason-Dixon bib. I'm also making some things for my brother's wedding present. Then I need to make presents for my next nephew who's due next month.
• I did finish the first Jaywalker sock last week. I'll probably cast on for its mate before my trip. Pictures will be posted after both socks are complete. I do love this sock and can't wait until I have two so that I can wear them.
• I cast on for the first Lorelei's dad's sock (about 4 or 5 times). This will also travel to NM with me.
• The Irish Hiking scarf is going to move to the top of the list soon. I want it finished before it gets cold.
• Lantern Moon sent me a replacement for my broken needle. Yeah!

TV This Week

I normally don't watch many reality shows. There are only about 3 or 4 that I ever watch and 2 of them had finales this week. Yeah!

Hell's Kitchen
I didn't watch all of the finale episode (yet), but I did see the end. Heather had been my favorite from the first episode and I am sooooo happy that she won. If Virginia and her boobs had won, I'm sure that I would not be watching next season (if there is one). I'm glad that G. Ramsey wasn't fooled into giving the restaurant to Virginia since she was totally incompetent from the beginning. So Congratulations Heather! It's fun when your favorite wins.

So You Think You Can Dance
First of all, I was really happy with the final four dancers. I would have been happy if any one of them won. Donyelle had been my favorite since the beginning (and the only person that I've gotten on the phone to vote for). I had a feeling for a few weeks that Benji would win and I like Benji so I'm still happy with the finale. And I keep telling myself that at least now Donyelle doesn't have to dance with Celine Dion for a year. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. That said, the finale was way too long. I enjoyed seeing some of the dances again, but there were too many. Too many musical guests (what is that Fergie song about anyway?). Too much audition footage for the millionth time. I did find it interesting that there are versions of this show in many different countries.

Prison Break season 2 starts next week. I missed the season finale last Spring and I had been hoping that they would replay it before the new season starts, but it looks like I'm out of luck. I may try to see if I can get just the last episode from Blockbuster this weekend. Vanished premieres next week also. I wasn't planning on watching it, but I may take a look if there's nothing else on.

Hello Internets!!!

Hello to all in blogland. I've missed you, too. The insane heat coupled with a week of work training (far from my computer) have kept me from blogging for a while. Also from reading other people's blogs (very sad), but I'm slowly catching up on my writing and will soon catch up on my knitting and blogging.

Picovoli is complete except for the weaving of ends. Of course it's a little too hot to wear it now, but I'll try to finish it up this weekend if only to get it out of my knitting basket. I did take a picture already, but the picture is sitting on Lorelei's Dad's computer and I need to get it. I'll post the picture soon.

Jaywalker #1 - I have about 1/4 of an inch left before I start the toe. This should also be finished up this weekend. In addition to starting #2, I'm thinking about starting some socks for Lorelei's Dad. I already have the yarn and he wants plain boring socks (not that there's anything wrong with that), so I'm going to try to start them soon.

I'm still working on the Irish Hiking Scarf (occasionally). I've got about 57 inches complete of the requested 72 (or alternately, 3 1/2 balls of yarn out of 5).

I've frogged the sock from hell and requested a replacement needle from Lantern Moon. Soon I'll be able to put the whole incident behind me. I think I'll start looking for a new pattern for the hell socks so there won't be any traces of hell left. So any sock pattern suggestions for KnitPicks Simple Stripes yarn?

Random Tuesday

• Jaywalker - half way through the foot of the first sock. I hope the second sock goes faster (since I know the pattern), but I'm sure that it will take twice as long.
• Picovoli - only a couple more inches to go before it's finished. Right now it would make a cute belly shirt, if I had a cute belly to go with it.
• I'm sheep - like everyone else in the knitting world. I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting and I knit a dishcloth. I don't even use dishcloths (I'm a sponge girl). And that log cabin rug is starting to look like fun. What is wrong with me??



• My favorite tv shows right now: Hell's Kitchen (go Heather!), So You Think You Can Dance (go Donyelle!), and Entourage (I love Jeremy Piven).
• Press Tour has gone downhill since the CW news. I found out Patricia Wettig won't be on Prison Break this season. The new Calista Flockhart show looks like it's going to have problems (they're rewriting and recasting), which is too bad. The promo I saw looked interesting and it has a good cast. Heroes looks promising even though it has Milo. I've never been a Milo fan and now that Alexis Bledel broke up with him, he has even fewer redeeming qualities.
• Lorelei is speaking in sentences now. And she actually sat still long enough for me to cut her bangs last night (well long enough for me to cut them badly).

Press Tour Week - CW

This is always one of my favorite weeks of the year - the annual television critics press tour, where all the reporters who cover television get in a big room with people from all the networks (one at a time) to talk about the new fall season. New plot twists, new characters, new excitement for old shows.

Yesterday was CW day, so today I've been reading all about two of my favorite shows - Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars, which will be on the same night this fall. Some things I've learned:

• Mac will be a series regular next season (VM)
• Logan is staying in London on GG, but both Rory and V will still be involved with their Logans when the season starts
• Dave Rosenthal (the new head of GG) used to be crazy
• VM - instead of one big mystery there will be 3 smaller mysteries (not huge news, I've known this for a while)
• Lorelai and Christopher definitely had sex during the season finale
• Luke's daughter (and her mother) will still be around next season

CBS had their presentations on Sunday, but I don't really watch anything on CBS except for How I Met Your Mother. There was a presentation for Rachael Ray's new talk show which I just heard about over the weekend (from Good Housekeeping?). I love $40 a Day and I have one of her cookbooks, so this show might be interesting. She is really perky though - I'm not sure how much of that I could take.

For more press tour goodness, check out TV Guide's Michael Ausiello or E! Online's Kristin (most of the scoop is in the message boards).

Where did time go?

So it's already been a week since I last posted. How about a quick update?

• Jaywalker #1 - turned the heel, ready to pick up stitches.
• Picovoli - finished the waist decreases. Only a couple more inches before it's finished. I'm hoping that it will be finished this week or next.
• Charlotte's Web shawl - Oh look. I started a project and forgot to tell you. I started this last week, did the first 10 rows (the set-up rows on the pointy end) and I haven't touched it since. Once I finish Pico, this will be my main non-sock project.
• I swear I'm going to start some booties this week. Those little babies are going to be here before I know it. I might make some bibs too (from Mason-Dixon Knitting).
• I ordered some yarn to make dish cloths/dish towels for my brother for his wedding. It should arrive any day now.

It's crazy hot here in DC. My air conditioning may have been fixed this morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Stay cool!

A Visit to Mt. Vernon

We took Lorelei and the sock to Mt. Vernon this weekend. The sock especially loved visiting the Spinning Room. Lorelei had a great time running around.


We learned a lot about George Washington - how he died, that he never had any children, that he decorated most of the house himself. The only bad part of the day was when we were visiting George Washington's tomb. Lorelei tried to run in. I hope Lorelei doesn't turn into a little Tomb Raider - Angelina Jolie might try to adopt her.

There were several buildings that we didn't get to this trip, so we're planning to go back soon.

FO - Wavy Scarf

I made this Wavy scarf for Lorelei's teacher. It's going to be her birthday/going away present since she's leaving to finish college next month. It took about 3 months since I've been working on a lot of projects all at once. It took about 1 and 1/2 skeins of Cascade 220. I had a lot of fun knitting this. It's simple - just knit and purl - but the 44 row pattern repeat forces you to concentrate. It's also a really warm scarf - maybe too warm for this part of the country. But it's definitely something I would think about making again if I find someone who needs a scarf (or I may make one for me).

(There's a full shot of the scarf on Flickr.)

Socks, Socks, Socks

I did it - my second pair of socks and my first finished during the Summer of Socks. I know, I know, I didn't start them during the summer, but they were definitely finished during the summer. I used Opal Prisma purple yarn and size 2 Clover bamboo DPNs. These are based on Wendy's generic sock pattern. I started these on April 26, so it took about 2 and 1/2 months. At this rate, I should be able to finish one more pair of socks this summer.


As you can see, I've already made some good progress on my Jaywalker. Confession time: I've only really been knitting for about 6 months (though I learned 2 or 3 years ago), and this was the first time I'd seen a DD (double decrease). So for the first 4 pattern repeats, I was doing it wrong. And I don't care - I'm leaving it the way it is. I may even do the same thing on the second sock for consistency. But now that I'm doing it right, it looks pretty good.

So I've started 4 pairs of socks now (and finished two) and used different DPNs for each pair. Let's review:

1. Practice socks made out of LB microspun acrylic - Size 3 Clover bamboo. These DPNs were fine for practice and I had an easy time learning how to knit in the round with them. The bamboo holds the stitches on the needle pretty well, even though the acrylic was a little slippery.
2. Socks from Hell - Size 1 Lantern Moon. I really liked knitting with these needles, even if it did feel like knitting with toothpicks. But they are very bendy and I broke one. And they're expensive.
3. Purple socks - Size 2 Clover bamboo. Same as the Size 3. These are pretty strong and don't bend. I may try to find some of these in size 1 (I haven't seen them in my local stores).
4. Jaywalkers - Size 1.5 Crystal Palace bamboo. I love these needles. These are pretty thin but they seem a lot stronger than the Lantern Moon. They have little ridges on the needle, so it's not too slippery (which is important to me because I always lose the stitches off the end of the needle). The only (tiny) problem I have with them is that they are really pointy. My fingers are a little sore from stabbing myself with them. But since I'm not bleeding yet, I'll have to say that these are my favorites so far.

For reference, I'm a big fan of my Susan Bates aluminum needles and my Lantern Moon ebony needles for straight knitting. I'm afraid to use the SB DPNs though - I'm afraid my stitches would slide too much.

Happy 4th of July ...

yesterday.

It's still a little weird to me that I live in our nation's Capitol (well, in the suburbs of our nation's Capitol). I turned on the fireworks on tv last night and thought - I could totally be sitting right next to those people. Except that it was past Lorelei's bed time and the fireworks would probably freak her out. She would have loved to see Elmo.

One reason I'm glad we skipped The Mall, the heat. Yesterday was the hottest so far this year - 95 degrees. My apartment was so hot that Lorelei and I spent the day at Tyson's mall shopping and enjoying the air conditioning. We also did some mother-daughter bonding over ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery.

In knitting news, I finished the ribbing of the Jaywalker and moved on to the pattern. I really like the pattern, it looks complicated, but I had it memorized before I finished the first repeat. I'm half finished with the leg of the Opal sock and I worked a few more rounds of Picovoli. The Opal sock should be finished in another week or so and I'm still hoping to have Picovoli finished by the end of summer. I need to start working on baby stuff soon. Less than 8 weeks until the next niece or nephew is born.

Productive Weekend

I've had a very productive weekend.

• I finished the Wavy scarf - yeah! I'm waiting on Lorelei's dad to take some nice pictures of it, so I'll post pics then.
• I turned the heel of the second Opal sock. It's coming along nicely.
• I cast on for my first Jaywalker sock. Pictures soon.
• I did ALL of my laundry - that hasn't happened in months.
• Went shopping. I bought some new shoes for me and for Lorelei. Lorelei's new shoes are soooo cute!
• Got my travel plans made for my brother's wedding. New Mexico during Labor Day weekend - should be fun. I just need to make reservations for the dog and buy a dress.

I'm hoping to get a lot of knitting in this week with the holiday. We'll see how much Lorelei allows.

Floating away

Well, I haven't floated away yet, but I've come close a couple of times in the last few days. After days and days of rain, I think DC may be starting to dry out.

There has been no knitting for almost a week now. It all started last Wednesday when Lorelei woke up sick. Stomach-flu-like sick. I'll try to leave out all the disgusting details. Then Thursday, Lorelei's dad and I came down with the sickness. The rain started, the air conditioning broke, and the cable went out. Luckily the cable came back in half a day, the air in a day, but the rain kept coming. Monday, it took me 4 hours to drive to work. Finally, everything was starting to get back to normal. Then Lorelei gets an ear infection. Fever of 102.

Hopefully, there will be knitting soon. And sun.

I really don't like basketball, but ...

Yeah, the Heat won!!!! (and yeah, basketball's over for the season)

Now I do like baseball and my Florida Marlins are on a 9 game winning streak after having a very shaky start. The team is very young this year, so I'm really excited that they're doing so well. Sadly, I can't make it over to Baltimore this week to see them play the O's (and kick some Baltimore butt), but I'll be cheering them on from home.

Summertime

Yeah, today is the start of Summer of Socks so I thought I would prioritize my sock projects for the next few months.

1. Finish Opal socks (I'm not participating in the Most socks, so I don't need to worry that they were started two months ago).
2. Socks from Hell - I think I'm going to frog and start from scratch using the Opal socks as a guide.
3. Jaywalkers - my first pair. I have a couple balls of yarn that might work well, so if I like the first pair I may make a second.
4. Socks for Lorelei's Dad - I just bought some black and white Opal that he likes.
5. Socks for Lorelei - I think I'll have plenty of the purple Opal left over for some Lorelei-sized socks.

This should take me at least the next two months (if not the next two years). I also need to make some booties for my sisters-in-law who are having babies in Aug and Sept.

The Traveling Sock

We took the sock into DC yesterday for it's first adventure. This first picture is of the sock at the Jefferson Memorial looking out over the Tidal Basin at the Washington Monument.









The second picture is of the sock at the Washington Monument looking at the WWII Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. A tiny bit of knitting was completed sitting by the Washington Monument and the sock also visited the George Mason Memorial and the Holocaust Museum (for about 2 minutes).

My knitting goals for this week: Finish the Wavy scarf (it's at almost 80% complete) and finish the second Opal sock. These seem a little ambitious for me, but if I concentrate I think I can achieve them. Oh yeah, and if Lorelei cooperates.

Wow, it's Friday already!

I was in a technical writing class for work this week and somehow the week just flew by. So to sum up:

• I started the second Opal sock. I'm getting close to having half the foot done. Everyone in my class was so impressed that I could knit socks!
• I found out that the English language has changed since I took English in high school. I think they change the rules just to confuse people.
• My brother is officially engaged. It looks like the wedding will be Labor Day weekend. My first trip to New Mexico, how fun!
• One of my friends is getting married in Tampa in Oct. I haven't been to a wedding in about 5 years and now I'll have two in two months.
• I watched the first episode of Windfall. I'm not sure I like it, but it does have Luke Perry. I need to watch the second episode and see how I feel.
• So You Think You Can Dance - what is it about this show that sucks me in??? I've never watched an minute of American Idol, but I live for SYTYCD. My favorites are Donyelle and Travis. The format is a little different from last year's, but this year's dancers also seem to have a lot more training.
• Entourage returned on Sunday. Still a great show. I LOVE Jeremy Piven! I like how Debi Mazar was hugely pregnant and they didn't try to hide it.
• Make the Connection bracelet kit - I already ordered mine.

Happy Friday!

Finally - WIPs

Last night was picture night, I FINALLY took pictures of all my WIPS. So I can prove to everyone that I do knit, I have been knitting, and one day I'll have more FOs.

First is my Picovoli. It's coming along pretty well. I tried it on a few days ago and the arm holes are a little tighter than I would like but not too bad. Unfortunately, my bust is a little larger than the pattern was written for, so I'm not as far along as I had thought - I need to knit a few more inches before I can start the waist shaping. Still, I'm happy with the progress I'm making.

Irish Hiking Scarf - on ball 4 of about 5. The cables were a lot easier than I thought they would be (or my knitting is a lot better than I thought). I'm pretty proud of how it's turning out.

Finally, the Wavy scarf. This is about 60% complete. I'm making this for Lorelei's teacher, but I like it so much I may have to make another one for myself.

A sock and a dog

It's been a while since I had a FO and I was starting to get a bit overwhelmed by my WIPs. So I finally finished a sock. And you can see that it does fit my foot. Success is mine! Now all I have to do is make another one.









Because she's cute (and not puking on my carpet), here's a picture of my dog - Angel.

Best Monday Ever

Yesterday was a very good day!

• I found out my promotion/raise was effective on May 15. How did I know? My bank account told me.
• I also got a monetary award - in my bank account.
• Lorelei used the potty for the first time at daycare - TWICE!
• My brother bought his girlfriend an engagement ring. I just met her last weekend and I'm really happy for them.
• I finally finished a sock (except for weaving in the ends). The first Opal sock is now 99% completed and fits my foot. I switched to a larger needle for the bind off just to make sure that it was looser. I think in the future that for all toe up socks I will change to a larger needle for the ribbing/bind off. One sock down, one to go. And only two more weeks until Summer of Socks! Pictures will be forthcoming.
• My dog was very sick on Sunday, making messes all over my carpet. But yesterday she was feeling much better - no messes! She went to the vet, the vet thinks the baby fed the dog something bad. I need to keep a closer eye on Lorelei.

Welcome to Summer

Summer in DC has hit. Last week, morning temperatures were in the 40's and then BOOM! 90 degree temperatures. Lorelei's new word is Hot. She tried to tell me that she couldn't get in the car yesterday because it was hot. It came out "scream, scream, scream, hot, scream". I might have believed her if she didn't scream every day when I tried to put her in the car.

Of course, the air conditioning in my apartment doesn't work well. Even though I lived in Florida for almost 20 years, I always had good air conditioning. Now I'm lucky if my house is 80 degrees. I really hope this doesn't last the whole summer or I might melt away. So big surprise I haven't felt like knitting for a couple of days. I finished my 3rd ball of yarn for the Irish Hiking scarf (and ordered a couple extra). Lorelei's dad wants a really long scarf so the 4 balls that I bought won't quite be enough. Darn, I had to buy more yarn.

In other project news, I'm about to start the waist shaping on Picovoli, a little over half done on the Wavy scarf, and no progress on the socks. I really need to finish the socks soon, so that I'm ready to start some new ones on June 21 - Summer of Socks!

Friday Update

• I am officially a Knitting Blogger now. My little blog was added to the webring this week. I guess I should make sure I put up some pictures soon to prove I'm still a knitter.
• Though there hasn't been much knitting this week. Lorelei has an ear infection and has been waking up in the middle of the night. So as a result I've been too tired to knit.
• I have made a little progress on Picovoli and got a couple more rows of the Wavy scarf done - I'm almost halfway through and it's looking pretty good. I'm hoping to finish/fix the first Opal sock this weekend.
• I've signed up for Summer of Socks. Hopefully, this will motivate me to knit up my growing sock yarn stash. It's hard to justify buying more sock yarn when I've only finished one pair of socks, have two started socks OTN, and have at least four more balls of sock yarn sitting in my stash mocking me, but sock yarn is just so pretty that I want more.
• There have been some really good shows on tv this week. The series finale of Alias was really good. I liked how we saw bits and pieces of Syd's past. I felt like the finale closed everything up well. And the Lost finale was probably my favorite episode of this season. It had the feeling of Season One with the giant bird and the whispering. I'm hoping that the people in the hatch didn't die, but I guess I'll have to wait until Fall.
• As far as series finales this season, I've been really happy with all of the ones I watched. Alias, West Wing, Will & Grace, Charmed all left me feeling complete and happy (and not like the finale of Seinfeld at all). I liked how Alias, W&G and Charmed all showed us a glimpse of the future. And I thought that the West Wing was perfect (even though I've barely watched the last two seasons) with the transition to the new administration.

Happy Friday!

Random Thursday

• I've gotten to the bottom of the arm holes on my Picovoli. I think the next few inches should go pretty quickly. I'd been saving it to work on when I had lots of time and could concentrate, but the hard part (for now) is over so I should be able to work on this during my regular tv viewing.
• I finished the first Opal sock, BUT the bind off was too tight so it won't go on my foot. I'm working on undoing the bind off, hopefully I can re-bind off looser next time. I may be destined to not knit socks. And it fit so perfectly too (until the bind off).
• I've been in computer class all week for work, so I'm way behind in reading blogs and posting.
• Lorelei's been sick this week, so VERY cranky. Being the mother of a toddler is hard enough, being the mother of a sick toddler is a lot of work. Especially when she wakes up at 4 in the morning.
• The new Fall tv schedules are (coming) out this week. The final networks, FOX and CW, announce today. There are a couple new shows that look promising, but I'm not going to look too closely at them until closer to Fall.
• Tonight is the final Will & Grace. I hope it's good.

Trish's TV this week - May 12

It's finally here. The end of another tv season. The first of the season finales were this week and I am loving it. These have been some of my favorite episodes of the whole year.

The Office - I didn't really think this show was funny when it started last year. It's been slowly growing on me so that now it's one of my favorite shows. I've been laughing all the way through every episode lately and the season finale was no different. Some of my favorite moments: Jim's Jedi mind trick, "I'm a philanderer," Dwight (every Dwight moment), Jan driving 2 1/2 hours for casino night, and of course the KISS.

Earl - I thought the first 30 minutes were boring, but the last 10 minutes were laugh out loud funny. Especially the old lady.

Gilmore Girls - I've been reading the message boards about this episode and people seem to be split into Luke and Lorelai camps (kind of like Stars Hollow when they broke up). People in the Luke camp think Lorelai is a tramp for sleeping with Christopher, people in the Lorelai camp feel bad for Lorelai. And most people in both camps hate the writers. I still like the writers, but I think I'm in the Lorelai camp. I've never understood why Luke's acted the way he has this year and I don't like it. This seems like it was the last straw for Lorelai. That said - I really liked the episode. I needed Lorelai to yell at Luke and I loved Rory and Logan. I can't wait to see what happens next season.

Veronica Mars - This was the best season finale ever. I just started watching the first season of VM, so hopefully that one is just as good. I was completely surprised by the entire show. Beaver was never on my list of possible suspects. I love that Daddy Mars is alive (I think) and that L and V are together again. And the last couple of minutes left me with a lot of questions. This is definitely one of my new favorite shows.

West Wing series finale is this Sunday. I haven't watched in a couple of years, but I'll be watching just because of how much I loved the first few seasons. Oh yeah and because Bradley Whitford is cool.

Sheep, sheep, and more sheep

Saturday I went to my first sheep and wool. I'm still amazed by how many people where there. I almost ran into a coworker (but I ducked away quickly so she wouldn't see me). There were sheep everywhere, several Alpacas (I had never seen one up close before), and a couple bunnies. We didn't get there until after noon, but I still got in a good 3 hours of shopping and gawking. I had a limited budget, so I spent more time looking at the yarn than purchasing but I did get some good stuff.

• 4 skeins of Noro (20% off)
• 2 skeins of blue Koigu
• Koigu shawl kit
• 1 skein of Opal - for socks for Lorelei's dad
• Crystal Palace DPNs - size 1 1/2
• Knitting Rules!

I think next year, I need to have more of a shopping list, get there earlier, and take more money. I'm also thinking about learning how to spin before next year too. Of course, I have a toddler and no time for an additional hobby.

I missed Wendy's book signing, but I did finish the heel of my toeup sock (based on Wendy's pattern) this weekend. The sock is going really well - I can't wait to wear these.

Happy Monday!

Ouch!

When I knit, I jab the needle into my finger as part of my regular process. I know I do this with my little DPNs when I'm knitting socks, I'm not sure if I do it with larger needles. So my two main projects right now are my Opal socks on little bamboo DPNs and my Picovoli on a size 4 aluminum circular. My finger is a little abused from the sock already and last night I was working on my Pico when I jabbed my needle into my finger. Hard. It hurt a little but I kept on knitting. Today I noticed that there is a slice on my finger - it looks like a deep paper cut - from my knitting. I'm just glad it didn't draw blood.

I guess I need to be more careful, I don't want to get blood on my yarn.

Monday Update

Knitting

• I was going to take pictures of all my WIPs last night, but Lorelei wouldn't go to bed. Maybe tonight.
• I started my first toe-up sock and I love it. I'm using Opal Prisma yarn and Wendy's sock pattern.
• I didn't get to Wendy's book signing on Saturday, but I did buy the book and start reading it. It's pretty funny and I like a lot of the patterns.
• Picovoli - 2+ inches, Wavy scarf - 15 inches, Irish hiking scarf - 30+ inches, Opal sock - 4 inches of foot, Sock from hell - I might finish these after the Opal socks (the anger may have faded by then and I should have more skillz to deal with it)
• Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend!!!

Lorelei

• We bought a potty this weekend. I'm a little scared, but I'm sure it will be easier for her than it is for me.
• Lorelei said beer this weekend. She didn't know what it was, but it made me feel like a bad mother (when I wasn't laughing).

Happy Monday all!

New Words this Week

New words: Wiggles (this may not be new, but it's new to me), cracker.
I heard that she told her teacher "Not nice." I wonder where she's heard that before. As I've mentioned before, Lorelei is a biter. She's not afraid to hurt you to get what she wants.

Words we're working on: bird, cat (we know this one but don't use it appropriately), mouth, hair.

Words she said but probably doesn't understand: tooth, two and two (as in two balls, two strikes), please. She's starting to repeat everything, I really need to start watching my language.

I know there are more words for each category this week, but I can't remember them.

The end of Gilmore?

The Palladinos have left Gilmore Girls. I feel like my puppy just died.

Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Dan were responsible for creating Gilmore Girls and keeping it going for these last six years. Now if there is a seventh year (which looks likely since Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel have another year on their contracts) it will go on without the Palladinos. This can't be a good thing. This will be like the West Wing when Aaron Sorkin left. As much as I want the Gilmores to go on forever - it may be time to let it go. I'm going to go cry now.

Random Thursday

• I now know the names of all 4 Wiggles. Greg, Murray, Jeff and Anthony. I've been playing the Wiggles nonstop because I think it's cute how Lorelei dances to the music and says Wiggles. It's one of the longest words she knows.
• I've gotten an inch completed of the neck of my Picovoli, 30 inches of Irish Hiking scarf and 11 inches of the Wavy scarf. One day I'll take pictures of my WIPs.
• Flickr - Somehow I've already used up all of my free downloading this month. Not really a problem (since I haven't taken any pictures anyway). But if I did take pictures it would make it harder to blog from work.
• I'm tempted to frog the sock from hell. It's caused so much grief that I don't want to touch it. And I'm still not sure if it will fit anyway. I'm thinking about trying toe-up, but with another yarn. I love the sock from hell yarn and I think it will make great stripy socks that I want to wear, but I don't want to think about right now.
• I started my Picovoli on Friday. This is definitely my biggest and most complicated project to date. I'm about an inch into the neck after several hours of work. I hope I'm able to finish it before summer is over - I really want to wear it. I just learned knit into front and back. I think it looks ok, but I need to get a little more completed to be able to really tell how it looks.
• It's going to be 80 degrees today, but my office is so cold that I have to wear my jacket. I wonder how long I'll be able to feel my fingers.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Saturday was my 31st birthday. After all of the changes that were happening last year at this time (new state, new job, tiny baby), my life looks a little boring. But then I look at Lorelei and remember that it will be a long time before my life is boring again. Every day she's doing something new, saying something new, or trying something new. My little daredevil is going to keep life interesting for quite a while.

So now I'm "in my 30's." Maybe because my life has quieted down, it seems like a bigger milestone than 30.

Anyway, happy birthday to me. Now I need to go buy myself something special - like yarn!

A birthday meme

In honor of my birthday Saturday I thought this would be fun.

From Cara:
Do a Wikipedia search of your birthdate, minus the year; list three interesting events, three people who were born, and three people who died on that day.

Three (or four) Events:

1. 1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language published in London.
2. 1912 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks at about 2:20 a.m. after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic almost three hours earlier.
3. 1923 - Insulin first became generally available for use by diabetics.
4. 1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, breaking that sport's color line.

Three Births:

1. 1452 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist (d. 1519)
2. 1707 - Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician (d. 1783)
3. 1959 - Emma Thompson, English actress

Three Deaths:

1. 1865 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
2. 1998 - Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b. 1925)
3. 2001 - Joey Ramone, American musician and singer (The Ramones) (b. 1951)

A Stupid Thing

Lately, all of my knitting stories seem to include the phrase "and then I did a stupid thing...".

I finally started the wavy scarf for Lorelei's teacher over the weekend. And I LOVE the wavy pattern, it's a lot of fun to knit. So I bought a ball winder over the weekend to wind my yarn - after I started knitting with it. After I had already gotten it tangled up into a nice mess. Long story short - it took me about 24 hours to unmess and wind my ball.

I really like the ball winder - I think it will be really fun when I don't have tangled yarn.

New Words this Week

This is the first in what may become a regular post. Lorelei is 16 months now and starting to talk like crazy. Her favorite words are No, baby, mommy, daddy, and dog.

New this week: mine, cup, all right, Elmo. She also said bear and some other words, but I don't think she really understands those yet. She usually calls all animals dog so I think it will take a little time before she understands that there are different animals.

In other Lorelei news, we bought the Wiggles DVD over the weekend. It's the cutest thing to watch Lorelei dance to the music. She's quite the little dancer.

Knitting Update

First, I know I've been really bad about taking/posting pictures. Everyday, I tell myself that I should do a better job of documenting my knitting. Maybe I'll start tomorrow.

Sock from hell update - so I really thought the third time was the charm (and it may still be). I'm still almost down to the heel, but I had a little setback this week. I was trying it on to see how much longer I wanted the leg, when one of my DPNs snapped in half. My lovely expensive Lantern Moon DPNs. Thankfully, I have 5 and I was only using 4 and I was able to save all of my stitches that fell off during the crash. But I've decided that this is a sign that I need to not work on this for a while.

Irish Hiking scarf - still almost finished with the second ball of yarn. I had originally planned on using 4 balls which would make me halfway finished, but Lorelei's Dad wants it a little longer so I think it's going to need 5 balls. And I really plan to post a picture one day soon.

Picovoli - I finally ordered the needles that I need for this last week, so I'm waiting and waiting for them to be delivered. I really want to start this.

New project - I want to work on something new this weekend, so if my needles don't get deleivered I'm going to need something else to start. I've been meaning to start a scarf for Lorelei's teacher (her birthday is in Aug.) so that looks to be at the top of my list. I also bought Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet so I may start trying to learn crochet this weekend. (I will admit that my friend tried to teach me and I was too stupid to figure it out - I hope I can do better with the book.)

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms are a big deal in our nation's Capitol. In 1912, the mayor of Tokyo gave some cherry trees to DC. These trees only bloom for about a week each year. For that week, thousands of people come to DC to see the trees.

Last year we moved a couple weeks too late to see the cherry blossoms. So this year is my first time experiencing the cherry blossom mania.

On Sunday, we went to the Tidal Basin to see the trees. Of course we had to turn our clocks back so we got there much later than we would have liked. After searching for an hour for parking, we finally joined the throng of people taking pictures of the famous cherry blossoms. There were thousands of people there and everybody was taking pictures every five seconds. Yes, it was very pretty. Yes, I love living near DC. But there were too many people everywhere. OK, maybe I'm a little grouchy.

I will say that Spring in Virginia is very different than Florida. Plants are starting to bloom, there's color everywhere and nobody wants to be inside doing work anymore. It's nice.

Take me out to the ballgame

A baseball timeline:
1996 - I think baseball is a boring sport. I meet Lorelei's Dad who thinks that baseball is the best sport ever.
1997 - The Florida Marlins are in the World Series (and win), so I am forced to watch many hours of boring baseball.
2000 - We move to South Florida - home of the Florida Marlins.
2003 - We go to a couple of baseball games and I find out that my friend is a Mets fan. Early in the season the Marlins and Mets are battling it out for last place in the division and baseball starts to become interesting to me. Then the Malins get good and again go to the World Series (and win).
2004 - I am now a Florida Marlins fan. We went to the opening day game. And then I got pregnant and was too queasy to go to more games. So,I would come home from work everyday for months and watch the games on tv.
2005 - We move to DC. DC has just gotten the Nationals/Expos who are in our division so at least I'll be able to watch the Marlins when they play the Nats. Wrong! So few of the Nationals games were televised last year that I never got to see the Marlins.
2006 - We get MLB extra innings - up to 60 games a week. And Lorelei wore her Malrins jersey yesterday. She was adorable, but wouldn't stand still for a picture. Maybe next time.

So yesterday was Opening Day. I was all excited to see my Marlins play the Astros, since I've paid lots of money to do so. And the cable schedule had the Marlins coverage start at 8 (an hour after the game starts). Ok, so we miss the first hour - no big deal. But then the game before went late, so the Marlins game was half over before I could start watching. Oh well, maybe tonight's coverage will be better.

Shake your booties

I finished these booties (my first pair) a couple of weeks ago and I'm finally posting a picture.
These were gifted to my best friend (and her baby Joshua) while we were on vacation in Florida.

I'm pretty happy with the way these turned out. I need a little more practice picking up stitches, but these were easy to make and only took a couple of hours each. I got the pattern from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies. There are a couple of other things in the book that might be cute for my new nieces/nephews (both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant, but it's too early to tell if there will be boys or girls).

In other knitting news, I'm almost finished with the leg of the sock (again) and this time it fits. I need to figure out the short row heel I want to do but hopefully I'll have a finished sock this week. I'm also still working on the Irish Hiking scarf slowly. I'm getting close to finishing the second ball of yarn, so I should be getting close to the halfway point.

I thought this was cool

Sock it to me

Before vacation, I started my second pair of socks. I wanted to get the first sock started enough that I could work on the plane easily. So,

1. Cast on. Round 1 - Lose a stitch. Round 2 - realize I lost the stitch and fix (sort of). round 3 - finish and realize that there are 4 rows on two needles and 2 rows on the third needle. I guess I got turned around and started knitting backwards. Frog.
2. Cast on. No problems. Knit, knit, knit. Knit on the plane, knit at my parents' house. Knit about 5 inches of the leg. Get almost to the start of the heel and realize that this sock will never fit my foot. Not in a million years. Frog.
3. Cast on. Knit 4 rows. I have now started this first sock three times. This time I cast on a few more stitches, which hopefully will be enough to go around my foot. Unfortunately, I started my long tail cast on too far into my yarn, so the first stripe will not be a big as I would have liked. We'll have to see how this goes.

Stay tuned for breaking news on this story.

Home again, home again

A week in Florida was almost all that I needed. I saw friends, I saw family, I saw beach, I felt warm again. A few selected highlights in no particular order:

• My best friend's two week old baby. Pictures of his finished just in time booties will be posted soon.
• The five minutes we spent at the beach before Lorelei decided she'd had enough.
• Miami Metrozoo - it was a lot bigger than I had imagined, though it was also a lot hotter so we didn't stay long. But I have decided to visit the National zoo again very soon (I still haven't seen Tai Shan).
• Dinner with my extended family - turns out my great aunt (who I rarely see) was a professional knitter and has a giant stash. I may need to go visit her in Chicago sometime.
• My niece - she's a week older than Lorelei and I haven't seen her in almost a year. She's turned into a real cutie and it's interesting to see the differences between the two cousins - Lorelei is outgoing and very active, Isabella is shy and calm. But both are too cute for their own good.
• Florida was a lot more damaged by the hurricanes last year than I had thought. There are still blue tarps everywhere you look. After living in Florida for 20 years, the last two years have brought the worst damage (other than Andrew in 1992).

Vacation all I ever wanted

So I'm off to Florida tomorrow. It will be the first time we've been back to Florida since we moved to Virginia last April. I'm very excited to be back where it's warm (even though it was 85 here on Monday).

This will be Lorelei's first trip on an airplane. I'm a little worried about how we'll manage all of our stuff, Lorelei's stuff and Lorelei, but that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. The stressful trip will just make my vacation all that more relaxing.

In preparation for my trip, I'm trying to clear out my DVR so that it can record a week's worth of tv while I'm gone. Sadly, I'm afraid it will run out of space on Tuesday.

Finally, a knitting update -

• I made some booties for my best friends 2-week old baby. I'll post pictures after vacation.
• The Irish Hiking Scarf (Happy St. Pat's!) has seen almost no progress this week. I may post some pictures soon - even though there's only 20 inches, I'm pretty proud of my first attempt at cables.
• I've started a pair of socks that I plan to work on while on the plane(s).

My first meme

From Debi.
A-Age: 30 (for another couple of weeks)
B-Bed size: Queen
C-Chore you hate: Washing dishes (but I'm too picky to use the dishwasher)
D-Dessert you love: Cake
E-Essential start your day item: Lots of Coffee
F-Favorite actor(s): George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds
G-Gold or Silver: gold
H-Height: 5'3
I-Instruments you play: piano, violin and voice
J-Job title: Mathematical Statistician
K-Keeping track of your day: my brain, several calendars and lists
L-Living arrangements: husband, baby, dog
M-Mom's name: Terry
N-Not liking right now: the crazy DC weather (85 on Mon, Snow on Fri)
O-Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Lorelei's birth
P-Place you were born: Kansas City, MO
Q-Quote you like: Failure is not an option.
R-Right or left handed: right
S-Siblings: 1 younger brother
T-Time you woke up today: 5:30 am
U-Unique habit: too many to list
V-Vegetable you hate: Green Beans
W-Worst habit: reciting movie lines while the movie is playing (I'm surprised the husband hasn't killed me yet)
X-X-rays you've had: none in the last 20 years
Y-Yummy food you can make: Ziti
Z-Zodiac sign: Aries

What does my birthdate mean?

Your Birthdate: April 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Yarn, yarn, yarn

I've been going a little crazy with the yarn buying lately. Lorelei's teacher wanted a scarf - so I had to buy some yarn. Many people are having babies, I decided to make booties - I needed some yarn. I wanted to make something for myself - I needed some yarn. Do you see where I'm going with this?

So in the last 3 weeks I've ordered yarn online from three different places (bringing my total yarn purchases online to 4). I ordered online from Knit Happens (because it's inconvenient to actually drive the 2 miles out of the way to go to the store). I got the yarn so fast (next day)that I may never go to the actual store again. No - just kidding. I will say that it's hard to do any shopping with Lorelei - she's way too active.

I also made my first purchase from KnitPicks. I ordered 17 balls of yarn. Because I needed free shipping. I'm a sucker for free shipping. I'll buy way more than I need at Amazon just to get my free shipping. Anyway, KnitPicks has very affordable yarn and I did get it in about a week. But I kind of expected 17 balls to look bigger. I was expecting a giant box of yarn. Sadly I got a big envelope of yarn, not as exciting.

I've spent so much money on yarn this year already that I really shouldn't buy any more - but I want more. Yarn is just so pretty and soft - and of course I need more yarn for my zillion planned projects.

Next Up

I'm still working on Lorelei's dad's Irish hiking scarf (I've finished about 20 inches), but I've been planning so many projects that I thought I needed to write them all down (I love to make lists).

• Wavy scarf for Lorelei's teacher (I have the yarn already)
• Picovoli (the yarn should be delivered today)
• 3 pairs of socks (I have yarn for the first pair, the rest of the yarn should be delivered today)
• Sweater for Lorelei (I have the pattern, but need the yarn).
• Scarf for me (I have the yarn, but I'm not sure what pattern)
• Black purse (similar to the brown one I made earlier this year - I already have the yarn)
• Baby booties for 3 babies this year (I have some yarn, may need more)

Also I'm starting to think about Christmas (can you believe that I've only been seriously knitting for 2 months???). I would really love to knit my MIL a shawl, but I'm not sure if that's a little to big a project for me right now. Maybe after I work down the list a little bit.

My First Socks

I haven't been posting much lately, but I have been knitting and watching lots of tv.

I have finally finished my second sock, so I now have a pair that I can wear! OK, so they're acrylic, make my feet sweat and they don't look very good, but I made them and I'm going to wear them. As long as they don't fall apart, I consider them a success.

It's funny - the second sock actually looks worse than the first sock. I assumed that I would get better with experience and the second sock would be much better than the first - NO. I guess I was feeling cocky about my knitting skillz and didn't pay enough attention to what I was doing. Most of the sock is fine, the heel and the toe are the big problems. I'm still not quite getting my Kitchener right. So for my next pair, I going to try short rows and the third pair may be of the toe-up variety if I can't figure out the K satisfactorily.

I promise I'll try to most more often.

Going for Gold!

I've been meaning to post about the Olympics for at least a couple of weeks now. Both the Winter Olympics in Turino and the Knitting Olympics.

First the Winter Olympics. I've been a fan of figure skating since the 2004 Winter games, so I love the Winter Olympics. I have to say that I wasn't too surprised that Sasha fell, though I love her and I'm glad she got a medal.It will be interesting to see if she goes pro now or tries for gold in 2010, much like Michelle Kwan tried to do this year. As for Michelle, who is one of my favorite skaters, I was sad for her that she didn't get to compete in the Olympics, but I thought she should have gone pro a couple of years ago. I also thought that Kimmie and Emily did great for Team USA. And don't even get me started on what a little weirdo Johnny Weir is.

In the last couple of winter Olympics, I've come to love snowboarding - it's such an American sport - and I've even learned to appreciate most of the skiing events - though cross country seems boring. I even watched a little hockey and a little curling - funny but a little goes a long way. All in all, I enjoyed the Torino games and can't wait for Vancouver.

Now, the Knitting Olympics. Since I feel that I am still a beginner, I chose not to enter the KO. There were over 3000 participants, so someone had to sit on the sidelines. Even though I was not an official participant, I did challenge myself over the last two weeks. I started and finished my first sock (pictures will be posted after I've completed its mate) and I started an Irish Hiking Scarf and learned how to do cables. I'm only about 12 inches into the scarf (which I'm making for Lorelei's dad) but I'm really happy with the way the cables are turning out. So I feel that I challenged myself, grew as a knitter and will definitely enter the KO next time.