Monday, August 24, 2009

MeMe Monday - Over The Top

I spotted this little meme over at Ballatrina's blog last week.
.


I'm not sure if my blog is actually over the top.  It probably isn't.  I'm also not sure if I've done a MeMe similar to this already.  I probably have.  But I don't have the ambition for much else today.  We lost both a great aunt on my father's side and a great uncle on my mother's side on Saturday.  My morale is a bit low.  One word is about all I can manage.

You have to answer these questions, only using ONE WORD:

1. Where is your cell phone?  Close
2. Your hair? Graying
3. Your mother?  Fabulous
4. Your father?  Awesome
5. Your favorite food?  Lobster
6. Your dream last night?  Non-existent
7. Your favorite drink?  Coffee
8. Your dream/goal?  Purpose
9. What room are you in?  Living
10. Your hobby?  Knitting
11. Your fear?  Lonely
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Happy
13. Where were you last night?  Parent's
14. Something that you aren’t?  Coordinated
15. Muffins?  Please
16. Wish list item? Travel
17. Where did you grow up? Here
18. Last thing you did? Tweeted
19. What are you wearing? Glasses
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pets? Spectacular
22. Friends? Wonderful
23. Your life? WIP
24. Your mood? Sad
25. Missing someone? SweetPea
26. Vehicle? Old
27. Something you’re not wearing? Socks
28. Your favorite store? Several
29. Your favorite color?  Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? Seconds
31. Last time you cried? Today
32. Your best friend? Far
33. One place that I go to over and over? Crazy
34. One person who emails me regularly? Crystal
35. Favorite place to eat?  Out!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

So long, Monkeys . . . hello, Retro Rib . . .

The Monkey sock pattern is a wonderful one.  I knit it a very long time ago, but the socks have since felted with wear and don't really fit me any more.  So when I was looking for a pattern to go with my Misti Alpaca yarn, I decided to go with Monkeys again.

As my monthly knit lists have shown, these socks were going no where.  The first time I cast on, the fabric seemed too loose and the sock just didn't look right.  I went down a needle size and knit through the heel turn of the first sock.  But that little voice in my head was telling me something was wrong.  (Something besides the fact that I was hearing voices in my head.  Hey, at least they were talking about knitting.)


The sock looks kind of small.  The cuff is shorter than I'd like.  And the knitting hasn't been fun at all.  Instead it's been particularly tedious.  So why was I still knitting it?


I'm not!!!  I happily frogged.  Then I pulled out a skein of Dream In Color Smooshy I'd been dying to try and consulted Ravelry for pattern ideas.  I settled on Retro Rib from IK's Favorite Socks.  And my new sock and I are off to a grand start!!

Okay, this is a really bad picture. Trust me, the sock looks much better than this.

Let's hope this honeymoon period doesn't wear off too soon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Contest Idea Contest Winner!!!!!

When I announced my "What Kind of Contest Should I Have" Contest you may have noticed I told you how to enter and what the prize would be.  But I didn't say how the winner would be chosen.  My first thought was that the person who left the best suggestion would win.  Would that work?  Would I be able to pick a Best Suggestion??


Nope.  There were so many great suggestions, how am I supposed to decide which one is best?  Well, I'm not.  I'm going take the easy way out and let the Random Number Generator pick a winner.  So, without further ado, the winner is . . . .




Congratulations, Kitten!!  Please e-mail me and let me know if you'd rather have the sock yarn or the gift card.

Don't worry, now that I have all of these great contest ideas, I just may be having a few more contests on this little old blog.  Stay tuned . . .

Monday, August 17, 2009

MeMe Monday - I'm too old for MeMes

When Lee Ann from The Butter Compartment posted this MeMe last week, I knew I had to grab it.  It's supposed to be for those of us who are now adults.  Or at least, out of our teenage years - because I don't ever plan to fully become an "adult".  *grin*


1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
That's a tough one.  But I think it's the taxes I have to pay twice a year to my town for Sewer Usage and for owning my car.  We pay plenty of property tax to my town - I don't understand why I have to pay extra to flush my toilet and park my car in my own driveway.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
On the cruse!!  Not only was it our anniversary, but we were lucky enough to get assigned to a private table for two.  So we had romantic dinners every night!

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Eating chocolate.

4. How many colleges did you attend?
Just one.  Bentley College (now Bentley University) in Waltham, Massachusetts.

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
Right now I'm wearing a little cotton work-out shirt I bought at Target.  Honestly, I chose it because it was the least expensive of their work-out cloths.  It's also comfy and cute though!!

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
They are way too high.  They probably won't ever go down.  There has to be a better way to power our cars..

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
How much longer can I sleep and still have enough time to feed K.C. and pack Pete's lunch before I have to drive him to the train station.

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I hope my blood sugar behaves.  And if it doesn't, I hope my CGM catches it.

9. Do you miss being a child?
Sometimes, sure.  Don't we all?

10. What errand/chore do you despise?
Grocery shopping.  It probably wouldn't be so bad if other shoppers weren't so rude.  Or stupid.

11. Get up early or sleep in?
I'd love to sleep in, but I usually wake up early and can't go back to sleep.

12. Have you found real love yet?
You bet!!

13. Favorite lunch meat?
Boar's Head Buffalo Chicken Breast.

14. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
The Wal-Mart in our town is pretty icky.  I go to Target.  I always buy Archer Farm's Pepperoni Pizza for our Pizza and Martini Fridays.

15. Beach or lake?
Probably a lake.  Or a beach in the Caribbean.

16. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No, I don't.  But I think it's a personal choice.  There is nothing wrong with just living together if that works for you.   I also see no reason why same sex couples shouldn't be allowed to marry.

17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Although I've never seen the Sopranos, I'm willing to bet I'd like it better than Desperate Housewives.  I love anything Mafia related.  I really should put The Sopranos in my NetFlix queue.

18. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
I know I should be all deep and go for a world leader or something.  But I'll be shallow and say Sting.  It's not just his hotness though.  He's also intelligent, writes some awesome lyrics and supports some excellent causes.  Okay, and he's really hot too.

19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Nope.  Please don't let that answer jinx me.

20. Ever use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
No.  I've never used a fire extinguisher for an unintended purpose either.

21. Ring tone?
I just picked one that came pre-loaded in my iPhone.  I do have a different one assigned to Pete's calls.  It's "Sci-Fi".

22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
I don't think I've ever brushed my teeth in a strange place.

23. Somewhere in California you’ve never been and would like to go?
I'd love to see San Francisco.  Also, my brother lived in Half Moon Bay for a while and he said it was gorgeous, so I'd like to go there.

23. Do you go to church?
Only for weddings and funerals.

24. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
Definitely a new career.

25. How old are you?
Ugh, 41.  But I don't feel like I'm that old.

26. Do you have a go-to person?
I have several!!  Pete.  My best friend Heidi.  My parents.  You can never have too much support.

27. Are you where you want to be in life?
Yes and no.  I'm happily married and we have a house that I love.  But there are still so many areas of my life that are not where I want them to be.

28. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?
I think The Jetsons was my favorite.  I liked The Flintstones and Under Dog too.

29. What about you do you think has changed the most?
I'd like to say I'm less shy than I was when I was younger.  But maybe it's just that I hide it better.

30. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life?
Most certainly not.  They could have been worse, but they also could have been better.

31. Are there times you still feel like a kid?
Oh yes, a lot.  Usually when I'm being silly with my husband.

32. Did you ever own troll dolls?
I did.  In the '70s my very first best friend and I used to walk to a gift shop down the block and buy them.

33. Did you have a pager?
Nope, never did.

34. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
In high school, everyone used to drive up and down Route 1.  Don't ask me why, but it was the thing to do on weekend nights.

35. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with?
I guess so.  I was definitely a "follow the rules" kind of kid who never got in trouble.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

What were you doing four years ago today???

Can you remember?  I can.  I was writing my very first blog post!!  Wow!

Four years. 493 posts.  Over 120 finished projects.  30 pairs of socks.  Dozens and dozens of wonderful bloggy pals.  Lots and lots of comments, which I treasure more than you know.  And way too much yarn to count!!


It feels like we should have a contest, doesn't it?  What kind of contest should we have?  Hmmm, I don't know.  How about just that?  Okay, announcing the . . .

"WHAT KIND OF CONTEST SHOULD I HAVE" CONTEST!!!

To enter, leave me a comment with a great idea for a contest.  How would winners be chosen?  What would the prize be?  You have until midnight on Monday, August 17th to leave your contest idea in the comments.  The winner can choose either a skein of sock yarn from my LYS in the color family of your choice or a $20 gift card to your favorite yarny web-site.

Get those creative contest juices flowing!!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

That little gray cat . . .

I met my friend Kerri through her diabetes blog.  Actually the whole Diabetes On-line Community knows Kerri through her diabetes blog because, as I've said before, she's the Yarn Harlot of diabetes bloggers.  And everyone who knows Kerri's blog also knows Kerri's cat Siah.  This little kitty has quite a personality and keeps Kerri's blog readers entertained with her many capers.  Heck, she's even stepped in to write a guest post!

When Kerri recently helped me out of a jam, I wanted to do a little something to thank her.  What does a knitter use to say thank you?  Why, a knitted gift, of course.  What kind of knitted gift?  Well, I knew it had to be a knitted likeness of Siah.

Cast On: 1 August 2009
Completed: 2 August 2009
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential & Steinbach Wolle Aktiv Uni held together
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)

Is it silly to knit a little cat for a grown women? Why yes, yes it is. But I never said I wasn't silly.  What's even sillier?  Forcing your cat to pose with the little knitted cat!

 
Girlfriends!

Kisses for Siah!

Starting to get annoyed.


"For goodness sake, make her stop putting her knitting on me!!"

Poor K.C. I think she's still trying to recover her dignity.

Monday, August 03, 2009

August Knitting Goals

Okay, I'll admit it.  It's time for a true confession.  I barely knit a stitch in the whole month of July.  *gasp*  I've come to realize that summer just zaps my knitting mojo.  I admire those knitters who crank out socks and lace in the sticky humid summer months.  But I'm just not one of those knitters.

Luckily, the humidity broke after some heavy thunderstorms on Friday.  The weekend found me itching to wrap my hands around some yarn and sticks.  We won't mention the fact that instead of knitting on any of my WIPs, I cast on something new.  Seriously, at least I was knitting again, so who cares what the project was.  Plus it was a small, quick knit that is a gift - so I think I get a pass on that!!

So, for the third month in a row, I present to you the exact same knitting goals.

  • Finish those Monkey Socks.
  • Finish that Kristina Bag.
  • Finish Sitcom Chic.
I swear, I'm going to get at least one of these goals crossed off by September, even if it means we have to order take-out every night and eat it in our unwashed stinky clothes amidst our sinfully messy house.  Let's just hope it doesn't come to that!