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So, I just returned from Utah - where I've never been before - where I was doing some shooting for work, and in the last several days I've learned a few things:
a) There are landscapes in this country that can stun you into silence with their sheer, unbelievable gorgeousness.
b) There is a town nestled among those breathtaking landscapes where it's illegal to NOT own a gun.
c) Residents of that and one other hamlet refuse to recognize the UN.
c) A salad bar can sometimes contain nothing truly green - except jello.
Pictures to come after the weekend - including the diner that had the big sign out for 'Ho-Made Pie.'
I guess in these small towns they have a lot of extra time on their hands. Yeesh.
Posted on October 29, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Just out of curiosity I'm going to put a question to you - if you're a blogger (or any kind of writer, for that matter,) which comes first for you...content or title? See, I've been sitting here staring at my monitor for a good five minutes, unable to start writing because I couldn't come up with a decent title. That's always how it's been for me...all my undergrad writing notebooks are filled with lists of titles. As far as my brain is concerned, titles are an immediate hotlink to story ideas, much more so than outlines, notes or treatments. Yeah, sometimes titles will come out of what I've written, but doesn't happen very often.
See, as soon as I started thinking about why I wasn't writing, then the title materialized...bingo, writing ability suddenly enabled.
So, which way works best for you?
I owe thanks to a couple of people today...please accept my humble apology for not posting sooner about the wonderful stuff I received from you.
From the soon-to-be-blogging Gbemi for the Candy Exchange:
Amazingly, I've been pacing myself with this motherload; considering the stress I've been under at work for the last two weeks, it's a good thing for everyone that I've had the means to self-medicate with massive amounts of mood-enhancing sugar, as needed. I was lucky enough to run into Gbemi at Rhinebeck, and she's just as sweet as her package - - thanks again for the yummies!
And from my 'Secret' Pal Michelle:
You've been the best SP - - I've loved everything you sent and have really enjoyed corresponding with you over the last few months. So many, many thanks!
I wish I'd remembered to bring my camera to work yesterday - - I took a long lunch and headed to Knit NY for some soothing caffeine and knitting with Cari, Em, Iris, Jenn and Jackie (whom I met for the first time at Rhinebeck.) It was wonderful, though I was developing a serious case of fiber envy, what with all the gorgeous yarn everyone was working with...I gotta say, I was lovin' the Cotton Fleece a lot more when I started the BH. Of course, it was about 30 degrees warmer then. Now we've got Real Fall Weather and, dammit, I don't want to be working with cotton. Oh, I know I'll still wear it once it's done, but I've just been looking forward to diving into my wool stash already.
So to make myself feel better, I decided to put a few rounds of eyelets into the body of the BH. Don't ask me why, but I found it oddly comforting.
Posted on October 23, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)
Sarah MacLachlan's latest music video is a stunning piece of work. Shot in a single room from a single angle and with a consumer video camera, it cost all of $15 to produce. The rest of the $150,000 budgeted for production was distributed to charitable causes around the world, documented throughout the video. It really brings home how easy it can be to make a difference.
Here's Ms. MacLachlan's video,"World On Fire."
On a similar note, a friend just gave me a copy of the 2004 Heifer International catalog. This organization takes donations and translates them into gifts of live animals to impoverished families, so they can make a living off the wool, milk, eggs, etc.
I've been going on and on about alpacas lately; my co-op draws the line at cats, so until the Martian starts breeding them upstate, I don't think I'll be getting one of my own.
Next best thing? Buying one for a family in Bolivia.
So here's the plan...as of today, no enhancements to the stash for 3 months. Period. No exceptions. I've got plenty to keep me busy for the rest of the winter anyway (plus I have to learn to use my new drop spindle.) Then at the end of January, some lucky llama gets to go to South America.
Hey, for only $20 you can have a share in a llama. Heck, there's a whole catalog of options - rabbits, sheep, goats, water buffaloes, bees and trees, too. Not a bad deal, right?
So think about it, why don'cha.
Posted on October 21, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
So, yeah. Rhinebeck. My first festival, and what a big, unspun ball of gorgeousness it was. Friends, foliage, and fiber - - folks, my cup runneth o-vah.
Continue reading "A Rovin' I'll Go (With Apologies to Shane MacGowan)" »
Posted on October 18, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Finally got around to scanning the card from my very funny 'Amiga Misteriosa', she of the Knitty Secret Pal swap.
And there's a new quiz in town, courtesy of the very talented Marnie. Seriously, her designs are wonderful. Go look. I'll wait.
You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com
What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Now I have to go clean up the Martian's room to make space for the alpaca I'm going to try to smuggle out of Rhinebeck. They can be litterbox trained, right?
Posted on October 15, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Inspired by Donna's request for readers to post images of the sky from wherever they are, I submit:
This was taken a few days ago from our bedroom (westward-facing) in Union City, NJ right around sunset. I half expected to see a giant cut-out hand (or foot) emerge from the clouds (a la Terry Gilliam) and was greatly disappointed when it didn't.
Last night the husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary - - 10 years from the night we met at an alien-themed birthday party in a former flophouse/brothel on 11th Avenue. I was wearing a silver minidress, he was wearing blue facepaint (which he washed off at some point after we'd been talking for a while,) and 3 months later I did something I swore I'd never do - - moved back to NJ. Hey, he lived in Hoboken, and he was just so damn cute.
Love you, B. Free Ohio.
Posted on October 14, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Sharon had a very amusing post the other day about some knitters' (ie. her) affinity for collecting patterns; aggressively, voraciously, and ceaselessly - though not necessarily in any kind of organized manner. In fact, the act of collecting seems to become an end in itself, whereupon the knitter receives all his or her gratification from merely obtaining new patterns, (with the ultimate goal being the possession of all patterns ever written in the history of global civilization.) Cataloguing them so that they can later be found and possibly USED is less important. Make that much less important.
Boy, did I hear that.
I was just going through my measly 2 shelves-worth of patterns, (after spending the better part of an evening getting reacquainted with my 4 closets-worth of stash) and found myself thinking, "When did I manage to accumulate all this?" Forget about just keeping up with current US patterns/books, I'm also addicted to Japanese knitting mags and vintage patterns. Book after book, magazine after magazine, I kept finding patterns that I'd completely forgotten I had.
Of course, simply not looking at patterns anymore is not even an option. What if I miss something really, really good? Dammit, why are there so many great patterns available? More importantly, why can't I find someone to pay me to look for them full-time?
Stupid world.
That being said, I'm off to Rhinebeck this weekend - - forget the tote bags, we're renting a minivan. And possibly a U-haul.
Overheard on the subway today: [Guy yuppie talking to girl yuppie co-worker in a hideous off-the-rack limp-fringed poncho] "Wow, that's a great poncho. It makes you look like Jessica Simpson."
I swear, I'm off ponchos until this whole trend is dead. God forbid someone should think I'm wearing one because I'm looking to Jessica-freakin'-Simpson as a fashion role model.
Posted on October 13, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (1)
Posting may be a little sporadic in the coming weeks, at least until current insane work deadlines (full-time and freelance; yes, I'm certifiable) are met. Please forgive the brevity of the posts that will squeak through, I'm just too overwhelmed right now to do more than that.
Preamble over, and so I present you with some eye candy - - especially true for the first, a Halloween-y package from my Knitty Secret Pal. Jeez, are there really Peeps for every season? I'd never noticed.
The card, unfortunately, wasn't cooperating with the camera, but it's going on my wall at work - - it has a pic of a parrot grappling with a ball of yarn, and is captioned, "Even birds like to knit!" It cracked me up, because my boss is always complaining how her African Blue simply will NOT let her crochet in peace unless he has his own crochet hook and yarn. Seriously. So thanks KSP, you made my day!
I've started another of Glampyre's oh-so-fun Boobholders, only this one's going to have long, fitted sleeves (no puffy shoulders) and eyelets along the raglan shaping. I'm using the Cotton Fleece I picked up at Webs in July.
The color in this picture is crap, it's really a much deeper, warmer pink. I've been trying to decide how to best describe it when I realized it's a dead ringer for this.
We went apple picking yesterday but I forgot my camera, so I'm holding off on posting about it until our very kind (and more prepared) traveling companions forward their photos. I may also include photos tomorrow of my first EVER apple pie, assuming I can get out of the house this afternoon, for long enough to pick up a crust. And that I don't royally screw it up. Yeah, there's a reason I don't bake very often, I can burn a pot making hard-boiled eggs.
Finally, despite what the rest of the country might think, not all New Yorkers are rushing to get Botox; apparently there's still an overwhelming demand on the Upper West Side for these:
Posted on October 10, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Today was the annual NYC Knit-out and Crochet and the Martian and I toddled in from the Garden State to check out the scene. Which, as it turned out, was more of a scene than I had expected.
(Iris, were you there?)
And here I thought it was going to be a few handfuls of knitters and crocheters; instead, it was a bustling mob, with scads of people happily waiting in line for lessons, pamphlets, raffle tickets, and the occasional free pattern. Lots of yarn establishments from Manhattan and Brooklyn were represented (including Purl, School Products, and Yarnivore, Citizen Skein's new shop finally open!) Knit NY was handing out coupons for 15% off all yarns, all day, which resulted in this homey scene:
But it was a while before we ended up there. First, we hooked up with the lovely Jenn, and yes, her hair really IS that pink.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a better shot of her fabulous sweater, which was a truly gorgeous Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton pattern in the most luscious orange. Really, person after person kept coming up to her and genuflecting. Believe me when I tell you that there were all kinds of knit styling going on today.
Some true stunners:
The predictable parade of ponchos:
And a couple of WTF? moments:
Full photo record of the day here.
The 'vendors' were just a big ol' tease, because nobody was allowed to sell anything. Which I guess was a good thing, because the displays for Habu and Morehouse Merino were just to die for. Even my sister's girlfriend (who's from Argentina and thinks ALL American yarn is crap) was suitably impressed.
We did a first pass, staggered out of there for a rejuvenating, yummy, and cheap lunch at Republic, and then went back to make sure we hadn't missed anything. Good thing we did, because we scored the best swag of the day - - giveaways of Berroco Sizzle and a pattern for the 'Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf.'
The Martian was pleased.
That seemed like a good note to exit on. From there, it was up to KnitNY - where it was too damn crowded to shop - back to Union Square to give the Martian a little runaround time in the playground, then home. We'll both sleep well tonight - unless I end up having nightmares about that crocheted sombrero with the feather-trimmed brim. Don't even ask.
Posted on October 03, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack (1)