Yarn and Fiber causes colds?

Nope, I know it's not true.  Sure, I'm on the couch suffering from a cold - but it can't be from Rhinebeck, can it?  Ah well, even if my cold was caused by Fiber Overload, it was worth it!  Here's a quick rendition of my day, in pictures.

The ride up is always nice, with little traffic and wonderful scenery.  

Okay, maybe Pea looks like he was dreading the day!!

First stop (after a frantic run to the Ladies Room after drinking a large coffee on the way up) was The Fold booth, and it's wall of Socks That Rock!!

I managed to find a few that wanted to come home with me.

Where to go next? I know, lunch!! Mmmm, pierogies. My Polish knitting grandmother would approve!

We saw this little bunny. He was so cute I was tempted to bring him home with us.

The rest of the afternoon? Yarn, yarn . . .

. . . and more yarn.

And some wine tasting for Sweetpea. You don't think he goes to Rhinebeck for the yarn, do you?

And now, I'm stuck on the couch with a stuffy head, a sore throat, and plenty of aches. So does yarn and fiber cause colds? Maybe it does. But I don't mind. I simply take a look at the skeins that followed me home . . .

and I know I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!!

What other knitters did I bump into in my travels?  Details on my February Lady Sweater?  More about all the yarn I bought? Let's save that for next time - after I've had more chicken soup and rest.

A year ago today . . .

I ventured out onto my front porch with a cat carrier and some treats.  For the first time ever, I set about coaxing a cat into a carrier.  A few hours later, after a trip to the vet, Charlie was ours.

I can't believe it's been a year.  I can't believe he's gone.  Sometimes I think I dreamed the whole thing.

Missing him still hurts . . . . a lot.  Especially today.  But it's so worth the 4 months we got to spend with him.  I'd never trade those days for anything.

50

No, I'm not talking about my age!!!  Goodness, I'm still adjusting to turning 40, ack!  (It's okay, I don't look a day over 39 1/2).  I'm talking about the weather forecast for that thing knitters on the East coast are in a tizzy over. It's going to be in the 50's on Saturday.

Lucky for me, my second batch of buttons for Feb. Lady arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  Lucky for me again, they match much better than the first set did.

Yeah, that's more like it.  A few quick stitches on my new buttons and M'Lady and I will be all set for Saturday.  I'll be one of the bazillion knitters at Rhinebeck in a hot-off-the-needles February Lady Sweater!

And  yes, I took that picture in the back yard.  I used to worry what the neighbors would think about the girl hauling yarn out for pictures.  But we've seen our neighbor, more than once, in his yard wearing nothing more than tighty whities.  He always apologizes, but it doesn't seem to stop him.  And the sad thing is, that isn't even the neighbor who we call The Weird Neighbor.  So yeah, yarn and hand-knits on the grass are looking like the least of our neighborhood worries!

Petition for a Doodle

November 14th is World Diabetes Day, a day to raise awareness of diabetes. I'm sure most of you have seen the great logos Google uses to mark holidays and events. They call them doodles, and the diabetes community is hoping Google will put one up for World Dabetes Day.

Here's how you can help. Please go sign a petition that will be presented to Google on November 1st. We're hoping to have more than 20,000 signatures, so we need your help!!

WIP Wednesday - Non-Knitting Edition

The past week has been filled with a WIP of a different kind. Remember that bathroom re-do we started over a year ago? Like many of my knitting WIPs, we kind of lost the love on this project and put it into Hibernation. But last week, Pea took some days off and we dove in on this UFO.  Forces were working against us.  Five days of rain and humidity made the primer and each coat of paint take at least 7 hours to dry.   (We used that time to visit with some family that was down from Maine).  So it's not quite a FO yet, but at least we're getting somewhere.

The walls are progressing . . .

there has been lots of patching and painting . . .

and the new vanity and sink are finally in, along with a bead-board backsplash to replace those ugly tiles!!

Obviously, we still have a lot of work left. None of the trim has been painted.   Neither has the outside of the claw-foot tub.  The new light and medicine cabinet have not been installed.  All the little bath accessories still need to be purchased and put in.  And a new curtain needs to be made.  I'm hoping we can get this accomplished over the next few weekends.

Of course, progress on this WIP has been made at the sacrifice of many other things!  I'm behind on my on-line class.  I haven't been posting to my blogs.  I have barely been commenting or e-mailing people.  I have mounds of dirty laundry waiting and I can remember the last time I cooked a good meal instead of ordering take-out.  And knitting progress has been going SLOW.  So if I'm a little scarce for the next week or so, it's just because I'm trying to get life back on track.  Those big WIPs sure have a way of taking over!!