Month: October 2007

Discloth Exchange Question of the Week

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Q: How was your experience in the exchange? Did you enjoy the folks you met? Did you just love the cloth and goodies you received? Please share any thoughts, criticism, and things you loved!”

A: Now that my swap partner, La Verna, has received her package I can write about what went into it! I had a great time putting together her package which included some Euroflax, a couple balls of Sugar ‘n Cream, some yummy treats, some good-smelly stuff (including my favorite scented soap from The Body Shop — satsuma), and a pumpkin dishcloth that was great fun to knit. I love these swaps because they are quick and fun and everyone is really friendly. I have not gotten my package yet and only heard from my pal once at the very beginning, so hopefully she has just been busy and will come through! There is still another week left, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she has put together. I will more than likely join in on the next round in January!

NYS Sheep and Wool ’08, Baby!

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Sheep & Wool Festival If it’s late October, you know what that means? My birthday! Oh, wait… sorry, a couple more days until that 😉 Ahem. Well, if yo’ure a knitter, it means Rhinebeck (a.k.a. New York State Sheep & Wool Festival). Last year was the first time I went and it was so much fun. This year I went on Sunday instead of Saturday and Drew came to help with the boys. Honestly, there was so much stuff for the kids to do I think we ended up doing more of that than anything else! Last year I got there first thing and it was a madhouse. Some of the lines were so long you’d think they were rabid fans lined up for Celine Dion tickets, not sock yarn! Things seemed a little calmer this year, probably because it wasn’t the first day. That was nice on one hand, on the other some of the booths seemed picked over by the time I got to them. I’d been looking forward to revisited Briar Rose Fibers but nothing was really striking my fancy.

Rhinebeck Haul I came home with a tiny haul, as you can tell. Take a look at what I bought last year. Granted, some of that was for Secret Pal stuff, but still. I’m happy with my purchases though — a scarf kit to knit a scarf that appears to be woven (it came with three balls of Plymouth Alpaca Boucle), and two pairs of earrings from the Gem & Mineral Show that was also taking place at the fairgrounds. I didn’t get to see Yarn Harlot or any of the authors who were signing books. It was a little challenging with the boys, even with Drew’s help. I felt guilty everytime I went off to look at yarn and he was left watching the kids. He was actually bummed that I didn’t buy more stuff, if you can believe that! There’s always next year. I had wanted to get a needle felting kit but decided not to. I guess in a way it’s all for the best that I didn’t go too crazy. I really should work through some of my stash first.

But still it was a fun day. The kids’ stuff was awesome. Jake *loved* the Mad Science show, the bouncy pirate ship, the juggler, the animals, the Halloween maze… He also was really interested in all the rocks and gems at the Gem & Mineral show. Kids were able to “dig” out 6 rocks for free, so he did that and then we let him pick out a few at a booth. Some really pretty ones! I’m almost inspired to build a light box so I can try taking some photos of them. Noah was still too small to appreciate anything except for the animals, really, so that was hard. And of course you know how the day ended, so that kind of put a damper on things, but what are you going do?

Smash

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How do you put a damper on a fun day at the Sheep & Wool Festival? You get rear-ended on the way home! Yup. We had just exited the fairgrounds and were stopped at a light and, well, the driver behind us didn’t stop. Drew saw her coming and was sure she was going to hit us, so he took his foot off the break and steered into the shoulder so when she did drive into the Jeep at least we didn’t then hit the car in front of us. Everyone is totally fine, though, and that is the important thing. The Jeep is at an auto body shop and they’re going to check it out. While there doesn’t appear to be any real damage, the guys from the fire department thought it would be a good idea to have it looked at because of where she rammed into us. So I need to make a few calls this morning and get the ball rolling. Hopefully if there is any damage it can be repaired quickly.

The boys weren’t shaken up at all. Two hours after the accident, I was still shaking and my heart was still pounding, but at the scene they were just sitting there eating their pretzels as the EMTs came over and talked to everyone to make sure we all were fine. And we are. Even this morning no one had any aches or pains.

I have a ton of writing to do and just no motivation to do it. Anyway, Rhinebeck post forthcoming…

To Market, To Market…

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Market Bag For several months our grocery store has been selling inexpensive canvas totes emblazoned with the shop’s logo that shoppers can buy and use instead of plastic bags. I love the idea, but I don’t really want to be advertising the grocery store everywhere I go, especially if I choose to shop somewhere else. And so, while examining my ridiculous stash of kitchen cotton, it struck me that I should just knit my own. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? I searched online and found a few patterns. I love MagKnits’ Saturday Market Bag, but I just don’t have the patience to screw around with the lace pattern. Then I found this pattern (“Market Bag, V. 2”). Seemed perfect!

Market Bag in ActionAnd so, yesterday morning I started knitting and worked on it in between chores and playing with the boys. If I didn’t go to bed early, I would certainly have finished it. So trust me: it’s a super quick project if even I finish it in one day. The only thing that confused me was the instructions on how to make the handles. I could not figure out what she meant by “cable knit on 13” so I just modified it slightly and worked them out on my own. Otherwise, I loved this knit and plan to make several of them to use when I shop instead of the plastic grocery bags. (Much prettier than the ones offered by the store!). I like that the bag isn’t too huge and that there are two handles. I also chose to make shorter handles because I think it’s easier to carry. I might make one with longer handles to carry over my shoulder for the farmer’s market, but for the bag’s main purpose, the shorter handles work well. I was suprised how much stuff fit into it, and there was room for more. I’m very pleased!

Pet Peeve Time

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I haven’t posted a pet peeve in a while. No time like the present, right? Today’s pet peeve has to do with customers and how they pay. I find it slightly rude when people throw their bills and their change on the counter for me to pick up. How hard is it to politely hand me the money? I have a couple of customers (both very proper women in their 60s or 70s) who make a point to wait and give their cash to me. I appreciate that. It’s just courteous, you know? And when I buy something I never put it on the counter for the clerk to pick up. I swear, one of these days I’m going to throw their change on the counter right back at them.

Wedding Gifts

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Whee!!! My brother’s wedding is only like two weeks away, I can’t believe it. I do not envy my brother and sister-in-law-to-be, though. I remember how stressful this time was with all the last minute stuff. They’ve been extremely organized, though, and everything is under control, but still… there’s always something. K. was asking me the other day what I had given Drew for a wedding gift. I had thought about giving him silver cufflinks because that’s pretty traditional, but if you know me or if you know Drew, you know that we are pretty casual people and don’t really have many occasions to wear anything besides jeans — let alone fancy cufflinks! I ended up getting him a pocket watch. I guess in theory it’s just as useless because all it’s done for the past six years is sit in the box in a drawer. Every year I think about getting him a display case for it, and then I forget all about it. Anyway, I’m not sure if K. still needs ideas, but in case she does… if you’re married, what did you get your husband for a wedding gift?

Mmm. Drinks.

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Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a little early to be thinking of Christmas, but at work we have catalogs from the distributors showing of all the holiday gift sets and there are so many cool ones this year. I just saw one for Van Gogh Espresso Vodka that comes with four espresso cups. I could be inspired to take out my espresso machine again! Then there are all the typcial martini/margarita glasses, shakers, flasks, etc. Some are pretty nice but really, year to year they’re basically the same thing. One of the brands of Absente has a set with a glass and sugar spoon, which is a cute idea. And then of course they still have the bottle of Jagermeister with the pewter deerhead shooter. I swear this is one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. Plus, the antlers break off really easy. Trust me on that one. Oooh, and then there is a sake sampler. I always thought that I didn’t like sake because when I was in college I tried it at a Japanese restaurant and hated it. Chances are it was something like Gekkaikan, which is made in the U.S., not in Japan. I’ve recently tasted several different sakes at tastings and I’ve really fallen in love with it. (Which is why you should always give things a second or even third chance, LOL!) Anyway, so many cool little things that will be out for the holidays!

Boys Will Be Boys

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I had no idea that two little boys could be so destructive to my house. They’re like hurricanes! OK, well maybe I’m exaggerating, but not by much. Remember how about a month or so ago we moved our master bedroom upstairs and turned the old master bedroom into a den? Well, for the most part that is working out great, except that in the last month, there have been more stains on the carpet than in the last three years! Luckily we have a small carpet cleaner and it does a good enough job. Also, what’s with the kids and the slamming doors? Whether it’s the bathroom door, or the cupboards, I’m so afraid they’re going to get broken. The cabinet hardware is going to get pulled right off the way they are so rough sometimes. It seems like we have mini-Hulks living with us sometimes, LOL!

Curious.

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So it really wasn’t Drew who set up my Transformers phone call last night. Nor was it my brother — the only other suspect I could think of. Who did it? It was so funny and had me laughing so hard. I want to know! There really aren’t all that many people who know my phone number. At any rate, there’s a good possibility Drew might buy the movie today anyway. I can’t wait to watch it. Sometimes I think I’m an 8 year old boy trapped in the body of a 31 year old woman. Seriously.

At any rate, aside from that not much is new today. It’s too freaking warm for October. Again. We get some seasonal weather and then in a day or two it turns warm and humid. I’m not saying I want it cold, but is it unreasonable to wish for temperatures in the 60s? On the other hand, I should just suck it up because warm weather means not having to heat the house, which is a good thing.