tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36964685786936261242024-03-12T23:38:36.152-04:00hollypots...when I'm not knitting, I'm talking about knitting.hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-21768831301437269902011-08-20T07:34:00.023-04:002011-08-21T22:05:46.692-04:00Aaaah...Saturday<div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It's 7:30 on Saturday morning, and I'm sitting up at Honda North in either Danvers or Topsfield waiting to have my oil changed and my tires rotated. There is a little snack bar here so I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, which is so good that I wish I had some tomato soup. I used to come up to this neck of the woods all the time, so when I got my car in November, Danvers was very convenient. Now I don't come up here anymore, so it's kind of a pain in the ass. Doesn't matter. Before my current car, I bought my last two Hondas at Herb Chambers, and I'd probably drive to NJ for service before going back there. I like Honda North much better. </span></div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Before heading up here this morning, Thor and I went for our ususal walk around the neighborhood. We encountered something that Thor had never seen before, and we can add another item to the list of things that he's afraid of: shopping carts. Some of the other funny things he's afraid of are umbrellas, balloons, tv tables, and those big exercise balls. For a dog that's as big as he is, you'd think he'd be embarrassed to be such a baby. There are three beautiful pointer puppies in my neighborhood that have been out with their owners on walks the last week or two. One is brown, one is black and one is all over gray and white speckled. Their mother is all black as well. Whenever we see them, Thor cries because he wants to go meet them, but I thought it would be wise to wait until they were at least a little bigger before The Moose went over and overwhelmed them. How happy were we this Wednesday when we were able to go say hello?? They are SOOO cute. They are 10 weeks old and their owners are trying to socialize them by having them meet as many dogs and people as possible. Thor is very well socialized w/ other dogs. He goes on walks with his friends every day, and goes to doggie day care one day per week. He did so well with the puppies! He was very gentle and didn't get excited at all. Now if only I could keep him gentle and calm IN the house, I think we'd be on to something. </span>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Next Monday, the 29th, I was scheduled to have the molds done for my Invisalign braces. I would've had my first set of straighteners as soon as I returned from Italy, and in six or seven months, my teeth would've been back in their original locations where they belong. That was the plan. Sadly, I cracked one of my teeth, and I'm about to enter the nightmare zone. I thought I had either chipped a tooth or a filling. I could feel it with my tongue, and it was sensitive to sweet and cold. As time went on (a day or so; not months or years) it became hard to chew on that side, and I have to breathe through my mouth because of the sensitivity to the cold air passing over the tooth. I made an emergency trip to the dentist on Thursday, and was told that I had sheared off part of the tooth and it can't be fixed with a filling. The pain was so bad that they had to turn off the air conditioning so that they could get the x-ray. It turns out that the tooth is cracked and I need another crown. Tuesday morning I'm going in for the prep work on the tooth and the temporary crown. Fun. (Now normally I'd just be annoyed about the situation, pissed about the money and uncomforable and inconvenienced by the sensitivity and pain of the tooth. What's REALLY getting to me is that I can't have my molds done. This pushes back my Invisalign project by at least two months.) At the emergency visit, they put bonder over the defect in the tooth, but it fell off last night when I was brushing my teeth. I guess it's mind over matter until Tuesday at 9AM.</span>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I can see that they just finished my tires, so I think I'm nearly done here. I'll pick this up when I get back home.</span> </div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So I'm thinking about changing the name/theme of my blog. It's not really about knitting a<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FYE4jQMLE54/TlD08m0mGYI/AAAAAAAABHM/ezJgR-7_KeE/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643279655145707906" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FYE4jQMLE54/TlD08m0mGYI/AAAAAAAABHM/ezJgR-7_KeE/s200/013.JPG" /></a>nymore, because I haven't knit anything in months. Until the last couple weeks I hadn't written anything because I was spending so much time with the dog. I'd rather not have it just be about the dog though, either. I don't know. Just a thought. I do have one additional thing to mention about Moose Puppy. Yesterday I stopped by Petco to get the cats a bag of food. I generally grab Thor a chew toy when I'm in there because he goes through them so fast. When I go home, I offered him the new toy, and I plastic milk carton. Which do you think he chose?</span> </div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Wow. I have Animal Planet playing while I write this, and I just saw the coolest product: an exercise wheel for cats. It seemed like it might be an interesting thing for Munchie and Tubby, so I just checked it out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=cat+wheel&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4658080217&ref=pd_sl_2in5zjapjt_e">online</a>. Holy Smokes! $800 for a giant hamster wheel. On second thought, no thank you...Tubby will just have to remain tubby.</span> </div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Hours have gone by since the entry above. Since it didn't rain today, I decided that it was the perfect day for my least favorite thing: working on the house. My front porch faces east. Because Winthrop is a tiny strip of land surrounded by water, it is often damp/humid here. Because the front porch is covered, it doesn't get blasted by the sun like the sides facing south and west, so the paint has grown mildew in some areas. Improving the curb appeal of the porch (excluding the ceiling) is a three step process: bleach and scrub the mildew, paint a coat of Kilz, and then at least one coat of the exterior paint that is on the rest of the house. I did the bleaching, scrubbing, and hosing down today. I'm beat and I smell like Clorox. Hopefully it will be warm and dry for the next few days so that the wood dries out <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1jMpc9-kgE4/TlD08wtEgnI/AAAAAAAABHU/dtPduRLoKf4/s1600/017.JPG"></a>enough to paint. When I paint, I'll be sure to post pictures.</span>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">That's it for now...thanks for reading.</span></div></div>
<br />hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-76081258527951724602011-08-13T16:57:00.019-04:002011-08-14T20:30:12.051-04:00Finally...Wireless<div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Last year at this time, I was doing blog postings two or three times per week. I had established a routine, and had assembled a small group of loyal readers (led by my mother - Hi Mom), who seemed to find me amusing and interesting enough to read on a regular basis. Then Thor came in February, and I haven't really had much time to write anything since. I got into the habit of spending my evenings with Moose Puppy, and our activities didn't included me sitting upstairs at the computer. I've been meaning to get a wireless router, but it never seems to be at the top of my list when I'm doing errands. Since it happens to be tax-free weekend here in MA, G and I tacked a few extra destinations on our usual Saturday errand route - one of which was Best Buy to get the router. I hooked it up without any difficulty at all, and now all of my problems are solved. (Well, that's a total lie. All of my problems are not solved, but I digress...) I can write on my netbook while keeping the pooch company </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">downstairs.</span>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Right now I'm sitting on his sofa watching The King's Speech while Thor (taking up 3/4 of the sofa) is alternating between chomping on his bone and snoozing. Did you ever notice that Colin Firth always has actors from Pride & Predudice in his films? Just a side note. Okay. Now, for something totally different, The Royal Tenenbaums is the current film selection. I should be able to type faster since I don't have to concentrate on the film as much and plus, Wes Anderson rocks the house. </span>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Last weekend I went up to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingaersheek_Beach">Wingaersheek Beach</a> to spend some time w/ my dear friend E and her f<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aOEsVTRrv78/TkhAvBWL36I/AAAAAAAABGE/wKgEfDGLuiw/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640829709841063842" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aOEsVTRrv78/TkhAvBWL36I/AAAAAAAABGE/wKgEfDGLuiw/s200/002.JPG" /></a>amily. E is one of my two best friends from college. I used to visit her at her family's summer home during college, but I hadn't been there in years. It was so beautiful; exactly as I remember. I'm not really much of a beach person, (and I never take my ghostly white, nordic skin out in the sunlight) so the fact that it was raining last week was perfect beach weather for me. When I got there, I found out that we were going clamming. What fun!! (My mother is from Philadelphia, and in the summers when I was little, we used to go to the Jersey shore with our cousins for vacation. The older six of us were all born within 34 months, so we were all basically the same age. Somebody told us how to find </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">quahogs, and so we used to dig for them. When we'd find them, we'd smash them on the hard sand, dig out the clam and throw it up to the seagulls. I remember sometimes the seagulls would miss and the clams would land on people sunbathing on the beach. Now, I'm sure it's hard to imagine me ripping a raw clam out of its shell and throwing up to a seagull, but I did. Great fun for kids.)
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-48rKw1sXGRc/TkhAcQrjScI/AAAAAAAABF8/fwPYwtyeQ-g/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640829387539696066" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-48rKw1sXGRc/TkhAcQrjScI/AAAAAAAABF8/fwPYwtyeQ-g/s200/001.JPG" /></a></span></div>
<br /><div>When we went out last week it was pouring, so no one else was on the beach. We got off to kind of a slow start because they have to be 5" to be keepers, but things</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> picked up when the tide started to come back in. We ended up with tons. It took E's brother R close to two hours to clean them all. Then E made stuffed clams w/ onion, garlic, salt pork, tabasco, the ground clams and bread crumbs. I generally don't eat fish or shellfish, but I did have half of a stuffed clam.</span></div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">During the time that I wasn't writing or posting pictures, there was a black crowned night heron baby that was growing up in my biggest tree. Check him out: </span>
<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VYi7JyQdMe4/TkhAb6mFuSI/AAAAAAAABFs/ehgWaPlhssc/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640829381611206946" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VYi7JyQdMe4/TkhAb6mFuSI/AAAAAAAABFs/ehgWaPlhssc/s200/001.JPG" /></a></div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This first photo was taken in June. I have these birds every year, and this is the youngest one I've ever seen.</span></div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This was taken in July, and he or she had grown into a very handsome teenager.</span></div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D-x0C5MCjR8/TkhAvUu7_MI/AAAAAAAABGM/bhgr3IV6he4/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640829715045153986" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D-x0C5MCjR8/TkhAvUu7_MI/AAAAAAAABGM/bhgr3IV6he4/s200/006.JPG" /></a></span></div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This was taken just a couple days ago. He's sleeping, but you can see that he's getting big. I think he's full grown at this point, but you can tell by the feathers that he's a juvenile. If he were an adult, he'd be primarily white with some gray and a black head. For more on these birds, check out this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-crowned_Night_Heron">link</a>. </span></div>
<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">During my post last Saturday, I was complaining about the mystery mammal who has been eating all my zucchini flowers. When I was at E's I asked her mother if s<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vKSCePCgyfA/TkhAv1RXNHI/AAAAAAAABGU/09hVeVoOM0s/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640829723779478642" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vKSCePCgyfA/TkhAv1RXNHI/AAAAAAAABGU/09hVeVoOM0s/s200/010.JPG" /></a>he knew how I could get varmints to leave the zucchini flowers alone. Her answer was absolutely brilliant. Forget the zucchinis; pick the flowers, dip them in egg, roll them in flour and fry them. Check out a picture of last night's dinner: Fried zucchini flowers at 2:00.</span></div>
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<br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">That's pretty much it for today. I'll think of something interesting to write about and post again sometime this week. </span></div></div></div></div></div>
<br />hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-83360729682882913382011-07-31T11:32:00.008-04:002011-07-31T14:30:51.365-04:00I know it's been a while...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I know I haven't posted an entry in an age. I mean to, but Thor cries when I'm upstairs and Munchie cries when I'm downstairs. No one around here seems willing to leave me alone. I left Thor with the new toy he won as an award at the doggie cookout yesterday, but if he starts to sound too destructive, I'll have to take a break. Hmm. Sounds like he retired to his crate.</span> <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">In an effort to NOT talk about Thor all the time, I'm going to start w/ some other topics and see how far I get. Two months from now I'll be in Italy. I just printed off the #112A bus schedule which goes from Siena to Montepulciano. That's the one that stops in Pienza, which is where we are staying for a week. I think I've posted the link before, but now that it's so close, I'll post it again <a href="http://tenutasantopietro.com/">here</a> . I'm going on a knitting retreat to Tuscany, with the women I've been to the Adirondacks with the last two years. I'm headed over with my friend D, and we're going to hit Amsterdam and Florence on the way there. I guess most of the group is headed to Tuscany via Rome, but I'll take Florence over Rome any day. This will be my 4th trip to Florence, so I know exactly where to go and how to get there without wasting a whole lot of time. D's probably going to want to kill me when we're done, but I'm trying to decide how much can be crammed in a day. Yes to the <a href="http://www.scuoladelcuoio.com/index.html">leather school at Santa Croce</a>, yes to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)">David</a>, maybe a 463 step climb to the top of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral">Duomo</a>, hopefully the <a href="http://www.mostredileonardo.com/site.asp?idSito=1&idLingua=10&idPagina=3">Leonardo da Vinci museum</a>, no to the <a href="http://www.uffizi.org/?gclid=CKXk7r7_q6oCFYHb4Aodey2iYA">Uffizi</a> based on time restrictions, but definitely yes to the <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence-151105/Shopping-Florence-San_Lorenzo_Market-BR-1.html">San Lorenzo Market</a>. I'm almost giddy thinking about it. Luckily I'm getting Invisalign straighteners slapped on my teeth for the next 9 months, or I'd likely spend an obscene amount of cash that day. Yeah, that's it; practicality is better. We have an 18 hour layover in Amsterdam on the way to Florence. We chose that flight so that even w/ getting in an out of customs/security and the train to and from the airport, we'll have enough time to see a bit of the city. D is a photographer and she wanted to do the walking tour of the Red Light District, so that will be the first thing we do. If there's time, I want to do a water tour or at least take a water taxi around for a bit. Neither of us have been to Amsterdam, so the goal will be to take in as much as possible and still get back to the airport in time to catch the flight to Florence. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Yesterday D and I went up to <a href="http://www.yarnsinthefarms.com/">Yarns in the Farms</a> to pay off the balance of the trip. (Shit. Thor is crunching on something... Gotta go.) I'm back. So we went up to YitF, and I haven't been up there lately. To be honest, I haven't knit anything since my dog arrived, and being in the store made me want to knit something. Jill had the CUTEST skirt on - I loved it. She said we might do them as projects while on the trip, so that's cool. Hopefully I can use some yarn I already have. Some of you might remember that I moved all the yarn into it's own bedroom, but I couldn't stand looking at all of it, so I moved it all back up into the attic. Too much. Even I realize it's too much.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have</span> a gift certificate to YitF which I didn't even spend...I'm trying to get in a zero spending frame of mind now that I'm going to have my teeth moved around. I get my payment plan on Aug 15th, and I can't wait for that day, I'll tell you. I decided to not get my teeth done at the megapractice where I normally go; I went with the Orthodontist here in town even though the price quote was higher. I think my dentist may've been pissed, but the practice is bumming me out lately, and I'm thinking we may not be such a good fit. We might even be headed for a break-up. Sigh.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Wow. Not a single photo yet. I'll fix that right now. When I planted the seeds for my garden this spring, a lot of them didn't take. The day after I planted them, it looked like the local wildlife had dug them up, but I hoped for the best. When I ended up with one pea plant, one bean plant and one zucchini plant, I realized I'd indeed been robbed. Not to worry - I scampered over to Home Depot and filled in with plants. I have zucchini, yellow summer squash, cucumbers, (I thought I'd try...) a watermelon plant, green onions, two kinds of lettuce, <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zUxI1pkZNrY/TjWSDPzcSsI/AAAAAAAABFM/Q5QfoXyvI30/s1600/073.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635571093203602114" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zUxI1pkZNrY/TjWSDPzcSsI/AAAAAAAABFM/Q5QfoXyvI30/s200/073.JPG" /></a>(I thought I'd go WAY out there and try...) an artichoke plant, and my ususal six tomato plants, which always do very well here. Damn artichoke brought the slugs back, but they are leaving everything else alone, so they can have it. The bigger problem is my zucchinis, yellow squash and cucumbers. Look at this lovely zucchini flower here to the left. I've had tons of flowers, but no zucchini babies. Upon closer inspection yesterday, I noticed that all the flowers are being eaten. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eMMuYdYuf8M/TjWSC7nZpRI/AAAAAAAABFE/LHEX6g73rBs/s1600/072.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635571087784387858" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eMMuYdYuf8M/TjWSC7nZpRI/AAAAAAAABFE/LHEX6g73rBs/s200/072.JPG" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zUxI1pkZNrY/TjWSDPzcSsI/AAAAAAAABFM/Q5QfoXyvI30/s1600/073.JPG"></a></span><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Click on this picture and notice how the stem (dead center) has been chomped by the local varmints. I don't know why I even do this to myself every year. At least the tomatoes are going like gang busters. I had tomatoes into November last year. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">As I briefly mentioned, yesterday G, Thor and I went to a doggie cookout at Leash Love, which is my <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p9z5IAG79DE/TjWSUPp7_OI/AAAAAAAABFc/DwaqXkj1UyU/s1600/061.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635571385221512418" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p9z5IAG79DE/TjWSUPp7_OI/AAAAAAAABFc/DwaqXkj1UyU/s200/061.JPG" /></a>walking, boarding and doggie daycare provider. It was a riot. Probably 20 or so dogs in all, most of which were greyhounds. This is my favorite photo of the day. The little boy's name was Val, and he was a real cutie. He had pepperoni in his hand, and the dogs were all over him like a new suit. Thor is the moose in the right foreground. Yes, he's sitting, but don't let that fool you. He's not as well behaved as he looks. During the cookout there were contests for the dogs, but they were easy enough that he even placed in one: tail wagging. He's a big, happy boy; I'll give him that. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e1u3VYGk2oA/TjWSUSIWZdI/AAAAAAAABFk/3egOmVArpZM/s1600/063.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635571385885943250" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e1u3VYGk2oA/TjWSUSIWZdI/AAAAAAAABFk/3egOmVArpZM/s200/063.JPG" /></a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">In this photo, they had set up nine bowls in a line. They were to be filled with water for bobbing for hot dogs. Thor went down the entire row and checked every bowl for food. You'd think he had never eaten before, I swear. </span><br /><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">They didn't give an award for eating ice cream (actually frozen yogurt), but if they did, he would've won it. He polished off his, and then moved on to everyone else's. A fun day was had by all, and he snored the entire way home. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I was going to write about a couple other things, but I've been at this for a while, so I'm going to sign off. I know people who were regular readers have inquired as to when I fell off the planet, so I wanted to get an entry in. Right before I post this, I'll post an entry I wrote in May (after Munchie bit me) but never posted. It is a mildly amusing description of...well, I'll let you read it if you're so inclined. Thanks for stopping by.</span></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-55822969396880650892011-05-25T12:38:00.014-04:002011-07-31T14:33:14.566-04:00The Story of Munchie and my Finger...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">I wrote this entry in May but never posted the draft. When I re-read it, I thought it was kind of amusing, so I'll post now before today's entry. It ends abruptly where I left off...</span></strong></span><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It is Wednesday, and I've been home sick all week. The dog was just picked up to go to day care for the afternoon, so I can actually sit at my computer and get some stuff done. I haven't written an en<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IWQPf3HyF1E/Td0yo2CdtbI/AAAAAAAABEg/TDAVrUVh1Pg/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610696388055512498" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IWQPf3HyF1E/Td0yo2CdtbI/AAAAAAAABEg/TDAVrUVh1Pg/s200/014.JPG" /></a>try in so long, that it would be nearly impossible to recount everything I've done since I last wrote. Plus, the last week has been so action packed, that I think I'll start there. </span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is a photo of Munchie, sitting on my shoulder last year. She is a beautiful Lavender Oriental Shorthair, which is like a Siamese with green eyes, no points and the color of a Weimaraner. She is fancy; her entire name is Sinergia's Princess Violet of Tlu. She is a little thing (Munchkin), and she eats pretty much anything, so she earned the nickname Munchie. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m0auWL8f2Zs/Td0y4Ggi6II/AAAAAAAABEo/X7oVgZuJsZY/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610696650174687362" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m0auWL8f2Zs/Td0y4Ggi6II/AAAAAAAABEo/X7oVgZuJsZY/s200/004.JPG" /></a>She led a pretty charmed life until February, when I brought a new member into the family. That would be Thor (which is pronounced "Tor".) Thor is a big baby, and he either gets along with or is afraid of everything. Except the cats. Sadly, Thor and the cats cannot even be on the same floor together. The cats now live upstairs, which is separated from the first floor by a baby gate half way up the steps. Munchie doesn't like being banished to the upstairs and she screams her brains out (Siamese), and pees on everything (well, not everything...just my bedding and my clothing) to show her displeasure. Anyway, I was having enough issues with Munchie even BEFORE last week's <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8XvIumOJfs/Td04aZuupNI/AAAAAAAABEw/Ro34DzH48tk/s1600/Reindeer%2Bbracelet.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610702737008141522" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8XvIumOJfs/Td04aZuupNI/AAAAAAAABEw/Ro34DzH48tk/s200/Reindeer%2Bbracelet.jpg" /></a>incident; I didn't really need another pain in the ass, but that's exactly what I got. </span><br /></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I have an awesome <a href="http://www.swedart.com/">Swedart</a> bracelet which I wear all the time. I got it at the Swedish Yuletide Festival a couple years ago. They are made by the Sami people (in Lapland) out of reindeer leather, spun pewter and shed reindeer antlers. Because I wear it nearly everyday, the bracelet doesn't often make it into my jewelry box. It is kept in my bedside table drawer. Now, Munchie also likes this particular bracelet; she thinks it's quite a tasty chew-toy. She knows the bracelet is in the drawer, and she can open the drawer and grab the bracelet herself. Bad kitty. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So. Normally I get up about 6AM to get ready for work and walk the dog. Last Monday I awoke about 4:30, got up to use the bathroom and came back to bed. As I mentioned, Thor stays downstairs and the cats sleep with me. Because I had about an hour and a half before I had to be up, I had every intention of falling back to sleep. I only made it to the <em>mostly</em> asleep stage. Munchie was trying to get into the bedside table drawer and she was making enough of a fuss that I was aware of it. I rolled over and with my right hand and pushed the drawer closed. On her paw. I initially thought that I'd closed my finger in the drawer as well, but in hindsight, it doesn't seem very likely. She lets out a scream and bites me - HARD. (Hard enough that I thought I'd slammed my finger in the drawer.) In the time it took to sit up and look at my finger (a couple seconds), there was already blood on my <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">sheets, my rug and my floor. Uh oh. Jesus. So I'm making my <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kacF2GI4Eqc/Td0x-5uC8WI/AAAAAAAABEY/zF4UfYURXuM/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610695667489108322" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kacF2GI4Eqc/Td0x-5uC8WI/AAAAAAAABEY/zF4UfYURXuM/s200/002.JPG" /></a></span></span>way to the bathroom, and I'm trying to make sense of what just happened. I put my hand over the sink, and I'm looking at two punctures - one of which is pumping blood. I run it under water a couple times, but each time it just keeps bleeding. Time to call in reinforcements. So I go knock on G's door, wake her up, and ask her to come out and help me. By the time she gets to the bathroom, I was resting my head on my forearm, and my hand was in the sink. She thought I had a bloody nose, but when I looked at her, it was obvious that my face was not bleeding. G: "What did you do??" Me: "Munchie bit me." We cleaned it really well with hydrogen peroxide and she squished my finger w/ a washcloth until it stopped bleeding. I then hopped in the shower and washed it some more with dial soap. It was in the shower that I realized I had two more punctures on the underside of my finger. Applied Neosporin and bandaids, taped it to the next finger over, packed it in ice and went to work. I work for a healthcare organization, so there are a lot of people around with clinical backgrounds. It was decided that I should call my doctor as soon as his office opened, and I was sitting in front of him exactly 12 hours after the bite occurred. The wounds were really clean and looked good. He put me on seven days of prophylactic antibiotics, and said he didn't think I'd have any problems. (I should probably mention that I'm allergic to penicillin. Cats carry some really gross bacteria in their mouths, so they had to put me on two drugs to cover the spectrum of shit that passed from Munchie's mouth to my finger. If I could've taken penicillin, my story probably would've ended right there.) So out of the office I went - to fill my prescriptions and relate the story of Munchie - the cat who'll eat anything - to everyone I encountered. It was still pretty amusing at this point - or at least I thought so. So fast forward to Wednesday. I get up, look at my finger, and ooh - that doesn't look so good. I hadn't been able to bend my finger since the bite occurred, but now it was noticably swollen and red and hot. So I take my finger to work for a second opinion, and the concensus is that I should call the doctor. They make me come back to the office, where I see a second doc b/c mine is not there that day. New doc tells me that yes, my finger is infected, but I pretty much already knew that. He tells me that the only thing worse than a cat bite is a human bite. He does some painful probing which I don't really need to get into, and says that I don't need to see a surgeon that day (WHAT??) but I need to come back the next day. That takes us to last Thursday, when I saw my usual doctor again. Sure enough, my finger is still not so good. We didn't need to open her up, but we did switch to what I've been calling "napalm antibiotics" (Bactrim and Clindamycin for those of you keeping score). The list of side effects of these abx is long, and by the time I got back to the doctor Monday (for my fourth visit) I was so sick from the meds that I couldn't even go in to work AND I'd lost seven pounds. The absess had pretty much cleared up, but I can't come off the abx - I have to take the full course. As far as my other symptoms: I agreed to the stool sample, passed on the internal and departed with another prescription and what little dignity I had left. Today is Wednesday, and I'm still sick. I suppose it's to be expected because I'm still on the Clindamycin. They n<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MsW_thyRWBs/Td1WulIoCiI/AAAAAAAABE4/malJF7Eggjk/s1600/siljans.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610736069015767586" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MsW_thyRWBs/Td1WulIoCiI/AAAAAAAABE4/malJF7Eggjk/s200/siljans.jpg" /></a>ow have me on a diet of bananas, rice, applesauce, broth and gatorade. I could have toast, but as a rule I don't eat bread. (If you ever come to stay at my house, bring your own bread or you'll be eating knackebrod. Seriously. Ask my mother...she brings her own bread.) Anyway, if I don't get better, I'll have to go back to the office to be retested for a nasty GI bug called C-Diff, which is a side effect of the Clindamycin. I'm hoping to pass on that. I'm ten days out, and my four puncture wounds are in various stages of healing, but they're all still quite visible. I keep waiting, but Munchie hasn't apologized yet.</span></div></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-18704170741783978372011-03-20T08:37:00.011-04:002011-03-21T08:14:30.607-04:00Thor update...it's been a crazy few weeks.<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've meant to post a bunch of times since Thor got here, but it's been really hard to get away from him so that I could sit down at the computer and write. The cats are living upstairs, and every time he comes up here, he gets into it with Tubby. She just swiped him across the nose so he has settled down under my desk at my feet...for now. I'll try to get in as much as possible, but may have to jump off quickly if another offensive starts.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Thor is great. Everyone who meets him abolutely loves him, and he's a really good boy. The problem (and there always is one) is that he doesn't get along with the cats. As I've mentioned NUMEROUS times, Tubby is a bully. She's just awful. The first time I brought Thor home, she wouldn't let him in the house. She literally blocked the front door and wouldn't let him come in. When he was finally in the house and we were making our initial tour of the first floor, she attacked from the rear by jumping on his back. Welcome home Thor. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The first day was a little rough, actually. I've never had a dog before, I don't have kids, and I don't take care of anyone besides myself (well, a little bit when my father was dying, but not what I'm about to relate). If I'm being honest, I have limited experience with certain bodily functions and accidents related to said functions. Okay. So Thor came from Arkansas, which was a two day drive. The men who drove him up said that he hadn't been drinking much during the trip, he hadn't peed and he hadn't taken care of other business. This other business issue wasn't really surprising because of the stress related to the trip. I took water when I went to pick him up and got him to drink. I walked him when we got home and he peed, so I'm thinking "I've got this." No prob. We then come into the house where he is NOT welcomed by the cats and then attacked from behind. I make the mistake of removing his leash so he can get a feel for the smell of Chateau Hol, and he wanders into the dining room and shits everywhere. Bad. Really bad. Now I am the first one to admit that I was totally unprepared for it, but now that I know him better, I have to say in my own defense that what happened in the dining room was not just healthy defecation in an inappropriate location. So here we go...are you ready? (*Edit note: Gina DID offer to clean up the mess, but I knew I would have to deal with this eventually and would not accept her offer of assistance. Thanks G.*) Hol goes into the dining room and immediately begins to gag. Mind racing, I don't even know how to begin, but I'm going to have to come up with something. Gag. Gag. My room mate G had Thor in the living room saying, "If you can't clean up after this dog, we're going to have to give him back." I was pacing around (while gagging) trying to come up with a plan. Okay. Doggie poopie pick-up bags...I'll start there. I get the bags, go back into the dining room and throw up everywhere. No joke. Thor's accident was eclipsed by my own. Now I'm mostly crying. I wail, "G....I threwww uppppp!!!!" She says, "I'm out of here. It's all you." and takes Thor outside. (*Edit note: Oddly, G didn't offer to clean up after I puked all over the place...*) Yes, you heard it here first. This is what really went on the day I got my first dog. Believe me, Thor seems no worse for wear, but the experience has left me scarred.</span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ird0Uk9iO00/TYX1exdHY5I/AAAAAAAABEQ/L1Ec7XVVV-U/s1600/012.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586140821843305362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ird0Uk9iO00/TYX1exdHY5I/AAAAAAAABEQ/L1Ec7XVVV-U/s200/012.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So here are a couple decent pictures of him. Doesn't he look sweet? I had him to the vet yesterday and he's tipping the scales at a solid 77 lbs. I think he's a big baby, but it turns out that my cleaning lady is afraid of dogs and won't come in the house if he's here. That's a problem. I decided that on the days the cleaning lady comes, I'd send him to doggie day care. Good plan...unless it's raining. He was all set up to go on a field trip last Wednesday so that it wouldn't <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w1IZZ80Ruhw/TYX1ep2jyJI/AAAAAAAABEI/Yu_gROsOw54/s1600/007.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586140819802540178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w1IZZ80Ruhw/TYX1ep2jyJI/AAAAAAAABEI/Yu_gROsOw54/s200/007.JPG" border="0" /></a>interfere with her coming to do the house. She's scheduled to come at noon. The day care calls at 9:30 to tell me his field trip is cancelled because it's raining. What? Now, I'm sitting in a cubicle in Needham, nowhere near a window, and I say, "It's raining? Was it supposed to rain today?" </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And then panic sets in. Oh god. My cleaning lady is supposed to come today. That is a whole 'nother thing. She doesn't speak English, so all communication is relayed through her husband. The whole concept of doggie field trip being cancelled due to rain is totally lost on him, so I'm pretty sure they think I'm insane. I think the main issue is that I'm just not used to the additional layer of logistics yet. I feel like I've been thrown into the deep end of the pool and I don't know how to swim. As far as the house goes, no need to fret. I took him on a field trip yesterday so the house could be cleaned in our absence; it looks decent right now. Thor is as messy as about five people I think.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">There are so many more things I wanted to write about, but I have to leave for a baby shower in an hour and I need to find something to wear. I was hoping to write about my terrifying trip to Babies-R-Us, but I'll save that for later...except for one thought. If you ever want to have an anxiety attack, go in Babies-R-Us. Jesus. It's like the friggin' Costco of baby shit. It's a whole world I've never been a part of, and the store practically makes me twitch. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I know this is supposed to be a knitting blog, but I haven't knit much of anything since Thor got here...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Bye for now!</span>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-71459153509595512382011-02-26T09:24:00.006-05:002011-02-26T10:43:18.701-05:00Blatherings before the dog gets here...<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This post is probably going to be all over the map. I'm really excited because Thor is coming today, and a blog post will keep me in my seat until we leave to go get him. Since my last post, I took the cats to the vet for their annual physicals. That's a comedy show right there. Munchie did pretty well - I need to take her to see an opthamologist, but I knew that going in. Things took a turn for the worse when Tubby's was on the table. I've probably mentioned that she is miserable. She likes me (she's sitting here on the desk with me as I write this), but she hates everyone else and she doesn't like anyone to touch her. Sadly, going to the vet involves touching. She does not allow me to clip her claws, so once a year we show up to the vet with razor sharp talons growing out of her paws and I ask them to take care of it. So there we are at the beginning of the exam with the vet on the front end and me blocking her back end so she couldn't escape. She's taking swings at the vet left and right, and before you can say band-aid, she caught him in four spots on one arm/hand and one spot on the other arm. They looked like fairly bad scratches, but what happened next was unbelievable. Turns out my vet is recovering from a heart attack and is taking an anti-coag. He starts bleeding, and before long it looks like he'd put his hand though a window. He's trying to deal with the cat while reaching for a 4" x 4" and a tourniquet...kidding...yes on the gauze, no on the tourniquet. Finally they dragged her miserable ass out back. From the exam room, my roommate and I heard one of the techs say, "Take your meds this morning Dr. X?" Nothing to do but cringe...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">On Wednesday I picked up a really pretty scarf at a thrift shop in Needham. I've worked in Needham for 2 1/2 years, and although I know where all the surrounding yarn shops are, I didn't realize it was such a mecca for thrift shops until a colleague invited me to go with her during <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E47KrDmzclk/TWkTM04KBOI/AAAAAAAABDI/AJEwK9CFOjM/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578010724548609250" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E47KrDmzclk/TWkTM04KBOI/AAAAAAAABDI/AJEwK9CFOjM/s200/001.JPG" /></a>lunch. Anyone who has ever seen me in person knows I have a thing about colors and matching. It's just one of my glitches; I can't explain it. The scarf is woven and has turquoise and light aqua running through it. (What a surprise.) Anyway, in my neverending quest to corner the market on Uggs and flip flops, I scampered home and bought something to match the scarf (as if I didn't have something to match the scarf already).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_BDgxkVFeM/TWkTNMRSZHI/AAAAAAAABDQ/rE4Oq0Xfa-U/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578010730828031090" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_BDgxkVFeM/TWkTNMRSZHI/AAAAAAAABDQ/rE4Oq0Xfa-U/s200/002.JPG" /></a></span></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OC6NCxsV2kM/TWkTNiKqduI/AAAAAAAABDY/rFr4jGi9quo/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578010736705828578" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OC6NCxsV2kM/TWkTNiKqduI/AAAAAAAABDY/rFr4jGi9quo/s200/009.JPG" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So exciting...can you stand it?</span><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So here they are! The scarf and a pair of boots to go with.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_BDgxkVFeM/TWkTNMRSZHI/AAAAAAAABDQ/rE4Oq0Xfa-U/s1600/002.JPG"></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uE3EA1QzQYM/TWkTd4CYCvI/AAAAAAAABDg/F0ElG1724LU/s1600/008.JPG"></a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">As<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uE3EA1QzQYM/TWkTd4CYCvI/AAAAAAAABDg/F0ElG1724LU/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578011017454553842" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uE3EA1QzQYM/TWkTd4CYCvI/AAAAAAAABDg/F0ElG1724LU/s200/008.JPG" /></a> I mentioned in my last post, I'm knitting the <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTknotty.php">Knotty but Nice hat by Natalie Larson</a>, which has a kick ass cable in it. I'm going to give it to my friend K, who is going to look quite dashing I'm sure. I'm putting up a picture of the hat in progress, and a picture of the chart. I was having a little trouble following the chart, so I had the brilliant idea to color the different cables (there are six variations) with colored pencils so I can tell at a glance what the hell I'm supposed to be doing. Works like a charm. Not sure why I didn't think of this sooner.</div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k3G9UDVqegI/TWkTeVlgiaI/AAAAAAAABDo/e7dml7vo9DM/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 164px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578011025386539426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k3G9UDVqegI/TWkTeVlgiaI/AAAAAAAABDo/e7dml7vo9DM/s200/011.JPG" /></a></div><div>I was hoping to finish this hat last night - or at least get through the cable and start decreasing for the crown. I shouldn't jinx myself. Like an idiot, I put on a movie that totally distracted me (Clash of the Titans, which sucked), I made an error, and spent TWO HOURS tinking back to the F-up and correcting it. I saw a cartoon once that said you can't read a chart and watch a film with subtitles at the same time. Probably should've considered that and put on Sense and Sensibility or some such.</div><div>So here are a couple pictures of Thor's stuff. His crate is half way between the dining room and<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--SYKsqjp4Gg/TWkbulhfvFI/AAAAAAAABD4/79-25ypALfc/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578020100635606098" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--SYKsqjp4Gg/TWkbulhfvFI/AAAAAAAABD4/79-25ypALfc/s200/001.JPG" /></a> the living room. It seems lik<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-70T0JJG_hB8/TWkbucKyrFI/AAAAAAAABDw/fgvgE4AusAY/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578020098124459090" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-70T0JJG_hB8/TWkbucKyrFI/AAAAAAAABDw/fgvgE4AusAY/s200/004.JPG" /></a>e a pretty big crate, but he's tipping the scale at a solid 75 lbs at this point, so it should be a good fit. Here are his new leash and matching collar which will look awesome against his brown coat. (It's that matchy-matchy thing again - but I have a new color palette to work with.) We've got a bunch of errands to run before we get on the road, so I'm going to sign off. I expect my upcoming entries will relate to socializing pets that want no part of it. I'll be sure to take pictures of THAT. Bye for now...</span><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-9413044018593311522011-02-20T09:05:00.012-05:002011-02-20T18:03:25.827-05:00The Word of the Day is...WOOF<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'm back. Second post in a week. Trying to get back on track with the entries, but it's hard. I had plans today that got cancelled, so with the exception of going out for milk this morning and getting gas later, I don't have anyplace to be or anything to do. Yay! This is probably going to be a long one, because I have SO much to tal</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">k about. I'm going to start with the newest addition to the fam. As you all know, I've been mother to a collection of fancy cats for about the last 20 years. I love Siamese and Orientals. If you've never met one, they are like a dog in the body of a cat. Orientals are hysterically funny, but they are loud, they are clingy and they are manipulative. H<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ygl0T5d-DUI/TWEk77bjtHI/AAAAAAAABCg/F4zDZm7iUsY/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575778425645544562" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ygl0T5d-DUI/TWEk77bjtHI/AAAAAAAABCg/F4zDZm7iUsY/s200/002.JPG" /></a>ere's Munchie <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aDQF83fwY98/TWElfCtfv2I/AAAAAAAABCo/jjWeWyuGXuw/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575779028895252322" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aDQF83fwY98/TWElfCtfv2I/AAAAAAAABCo/jjWeWyuGXuw/s200/022.JPG" /></a>helping me frog a sweater, and hanging out at the window. I can't find a decent </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">picture of Tubby right now, but she's a black Domestic Shorthair, she's really fat and she has a miserable disposition. If you've met her, most likely you've been bitten by her, right? She only likes me. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So anyway, I've wanted a dog for a long time, but didn't think I could swing it due to <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1YiofP0VxII/TWEiNz0q0SI/AAAAAAAABCI/FPPG4Ejt1Gc/s1600/Thor2.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 192px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575775434306146594" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1YiofP0VxII/TWEiNz0q0SI/AAAAAAAABCI/FPPG4Ejt1Gc/s200/Thor2.jpg" /></span></a>my long hours. Now that my room mate G moved back in, I started thinking seriously about it because she and I work opposite hours. On Thursday I finally got word that everything is a go. Next Saturday I will be the proud owner of Thor, who is pictured here on the left. He is a rescue dog, and he is coming up from AR. (It should surprise no one that I first clicked on him because of his name. G was just reading my old blogs and reminded me that a few months back I named the water heater at the condo Thor, so the water heater's new name is Ulrik. Yes, it's true; I'm drawn to all names Viking, but that's a story for another day.) According to the woman who has had him for the last seven months, he's a big (70 lbs), sweet, baby. I have so much to do between now and next Saturday. Crate, bed, leash, harness, collar, bowls, toys. I already picked up 40 lbs of food, which is enough to get started and I <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ot08Jo2VKlQ/TWEiXDPd6mI/AAAAAAAABCQ/8rUY1diFHTM/s1600/Thor1.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575775593063901794" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ot08Jo2VKlQ/TWEiXDPd6mI/AAAAAAAABCQ/8rUY1diFHTM/s200/Thor1.jpg" /></span></a>made his first vet appt for March 19th. Speaking of the vet, I'm taking the cats there tomorrow for their annuals. Munchie has had a problem (a herpes virus, actually) with one of her eyes since she was born, and at her appt last year it was recommended that she see a kitty opthamologist. I've never quite gotten around to THAT $900 appointment, so my vet is probably going to give me shit about it. Munchie doesn't like anyone fussing with her eye, she doesn't like medicine in her food, medicine in her eye (we tried that for years, literally) or wet washcloths on her face. With the exception of the fact that it looks bad, it doesn't seem to bother her. Anyway, Thor is a mix, but I can't tell from his puppy pics online or the new pics shown here what he's a mix of. Any thoughts? I'm thinking Lab and Pit Bull Terrier. H - what do you and K think? I expect it's going to be a rocky few months here at Hol's. Probably Munchie will adjust better than Tubby, who will probably take up permanent residence under my bed...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So G is recovering nicely from her surgeries. She still has minimal use of her hands, but she's been off the pain killers since mid-day Friday, so she's completely clear headed. My friend D is having rotator cuff surgery (UGH) in May, so I'm taking the day off to do the surgical escort thing again, then she'll be camped out on my couch for a couple days. G thinks I should start a service - Hol's Home Healthcare. It's actually pretty funny because I'm the least nurturing person on the planet. D was awesome to me when my foot was broken most of 2008. I was totally non weight bearing on crutches for 7 (yes, seven) months, and D kept me company and drove me everywhere I needed to go. My mother also deserves a shout out as she was with me for my bone graft surgery and recovery, which in my limited recollection, was a horror show. (Just tried to find a lights-are-on-but-no-one's-home pic of Holly on dilaudid, but the disc is missing in action. Probably for the best.)</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">f D needs to camp out on my couch post-op, she can stay as long as she'd like.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The other day I was looking for a fun, quick project to knit, and decided on this <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter09/PATTknotty.php">hat</a>. I'm only an inch and a half i<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NeW9CuY8eDs/TWFH-HzQLCI/AAAAAAAABC4/jOSSMH7IYPc/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575816946232863778" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NeW9CuY8eDs/TWFH-HzQLCI/AAAAAAAABC4/jOSSMH7IYPc/s200/002.JPG" /></a>n but here's a pic. It's in Cascade 220 in a dark teal. I've got 17 100 gr skeins of this because I started to knit a coat with it. The coat took so long - I probably worked on it on and off for a year and a half - that I got bored and frogged it. Now I have a ton of this teal in my stash. I'm probably going to do <a href="http://subliminalrabbit.blogspot.com/2008/12/bellas-mittens-updated-pattern.html">Bella's mittens </a>in it as well. Hopefully the teal isn't so dark that you can't see the cables. I think it'll be okay. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Wow. I hope this isn't as exhausting to read as it is to write... <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5fqjyIo7Ao/TWFH9x0VuSI/AAAAAAAABCw/PQOdvitFb3A/s1600/holly.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 198px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575816940331841826" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5fqjyIo7Ao/TWFH9x0VuSI/AAAAAAAABCw/PQOdvitFb3A/s200/holly.jpg" /></a>This is the last thing and I'll finish up. I own a print and small original by an artist named <a href="http://www.tombarnesfineart.com/original_frames_pages/originals_frameset.htm">Tom </a><a href="http://www.tombarnesfineart.com/original_frames_pages/originals_frameset.htm">Barnes</a>. He paints primarily long-necked ladies dressed in bright colors. I decided that I wanted to spend part of my tax refund (that I don't actually have yet, ha!) on another small painting, so I called him and he painted something for me. He sent some images and I picked the coloring of one and the composition of another, blah blah blah. So here is a picture of the painting (not yet signed). I should have her sometime this week. He named her Holly and I didn't even have to ask.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">She will be hung next to or above Celeste, who is pictured belo<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rv9xYn-ACTw/TWFMslJy6xI/AAAAAAAABDA/3GwXBmyPzYM/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575822142432537362" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rv9xYn-ACTw/TWFMslJy6xI/AAAAAAAABDA/3GwXBmyPzYM/s200/004.JPG" /></a>w. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Okay, that's going to do it for today. Hope everyone enjoys the long President's day weekend. Thanks for stopping by.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ot08Jo2VKlQ/TWEiXDPd6mI/AAAAAAAABCQ/8rUY1diFHTM/s1600/Thor1.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-31461887039022492812011-02-15T16:01:00.008-05:002011-02-15T17:53:56.993-05:00And you thought I'd never post again...Silly.<div> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Wow. I haven't posted since December 18th. That's bad. I have way too much going on in my life, and I'm not sure how to resolve it. I know one thing, I spend WAY to much time commuting, and I could do without it. Even in the new car, it's just grim. Didn't work today though. My room mate G had her wrists done (carpal tunnel release), so I took the day off to help her deal with that. She just took a pain killer, and it's lights out for about the next four hours I'm guessing. She had her surgery at MGH, where we are both employed. She's at the hospital proper, but I'm at the corporate level offsite. This was the first time I was actually there WITH a patient; it was nice to</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pxHAaHJyO04/TVruTPAk51I/AAAAAAAABA4/1ffW2mALONc/s1600/020.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574029503038285650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pxHAaHJyO04/TVruTPAk51I/AAAAAAAABA4/1ffW2mALONc/s200/020.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> not be having surgery today, as I've had so many. Here is a photo of her left wrist - the right looks exactly the same. It is amazing that the work is done now w/ such as small incision. No stitches, no band-aid, just glue to hold the incision together. There might be internal stitches though. I should've asked. I obviously totally dig this stuff. Since I had time while she was in surgery, I wandered up to see if the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ether_Dome">Ether Dome</a> was open. I've tried to see it before, but there was a conference going on, so I couldn't get in. If you are not familiar with the role that MGH played in the history of anesthesia, the Ether Dome was the site of the first demonstration of Ether used to knock someone out for surgery. The room is very cool, and it is a National Historic Landmark.</span> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oqPTgxUPElY/TVruZy1jVDI/AAAAAAAABBQ/ZZ6_D64CPhI/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574029615734936626" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oqPTgxUPElY/TVruZy1jVDI/AAAAAAAABBQ/ZZ6_D64CPhI/s200/014.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WhV_sBQZi6E/TVrxHy21mzI/AAAAAAAABBY/iIlPNqoanx4/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574032605037566770" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WhV_sBQZi6E/TVrxHy21mzI/AAAAAAAABBY/iIlPNqoanx4/s200/011.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oqPTgxUPElY/TVruZy1jVDI/AAAAAAAABBQ/ZZ6_D64CPhI/s1600/014.JPG"></a></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This painting called Ether Day hangs up there. It is kind of a crappy pic, but you can google it if you want to see a better image. </span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzUPbeV_eB4/TVruTprA_HI/AAAAAAAABBI/el4bn_jh9DY/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574029510195608690" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RzUPbeV_eB4/TVruTprA_HI/AAAAAAAABBI/el4bn_jh9DY/s200/013.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">There is also a little museum up there, but I won't continue to bore you with the history of MGH. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The only problem with hanging around a hospital all day long, is that the temp in there is about 80 degrees. No joke. I couldn't take it. I ended up walking around outside for about 45 minutes, where the temp was a much more tolerable 20. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So today I was wearing this cowl that started off as a scarf called Celine by John Brinegar. (It's Brown Sheep Burly Spun on size 13 needles. Once I got it done, I co<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kV__JPqRWss/TVr0-VYDu1I/AAAAAAAABBg/5FQvlAelVGc/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574036840551529298" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kV__JPqRWss/TVr0-VYDu1I/AAAAAAAABBg/5FQvlAelVGc/s200/012.JPG" /></a>uldn't help myself - I had to put in a single twist and sew it up. For Hol, it's all about the cowl.) Anyway, If I'd had 10 of these things with me today I could've sold them all. It was incredible. Nearly everyone in the whole surgical department said something about it - like 20 women. Obviously I need to be in the super huge cowl business. That and nut brittle. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wpuXoXVuCsY/TVr57yls9KI/AAAAAAAABB4/PPH-GxdtngY/s1600/006.JPG"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574042294411916450" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wpuXoXVuCsY/TVr57yls9KI/AAAAAAAABB4/PPH-GxdtngY/s200/006.JPG" /></span></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Just finished this for my mother. It is Blue Heron Rayon Chenille in </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">colorway Flax. Clearly not my color, as I look like a corpse. But it'll be better on her.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Those of you who've been with me for a while might remember that my condo was flooded last March when the drunk that was living in the unit above mine unknowingly split his toilet tank when he fell on it. Well, it only took 11 months, but the multiple insurance companies that have been fighting over this have finally agreed that I am to be paid! Can you imagine? Repairs can actually begin! I was over there with the contractor this morning. I don't know the timeframe, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Now a whole 'nother headache begins.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Okay, I'm blathering on and on, so this is the last thing I'll talk about, and then I'm going to go make <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kexE95HN_2o/TVr57VDNvyI/AAAAAAAABBo/_22HFRRjRSg/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574042286482636578" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kexE95HN_2o/TVr57VDNvyI/AAAAAAAABBo/_22HFRRjRSg/s200/004.JPG" /></a>some chili. I've been trying to raise orchids for about four years now. What I primarily do is buy them when they're in bloom, then when they go out of bloom, I watch them remain dormant <em>ad nauseum</em>. I received an orchid as a holiday gift last year that was in bloom from the third week of December until the middle of June. Nearly six months!! It's been hanging out since last summer, but it just started a shoot that is going to bloom. Pretty cool, right?</span> <div></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was so excited that I just ran out <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5Odc7LzQmo/TVr57omed0I/AAAAAAAABBw/Dq_d9137IC0/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574042291730806594" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5Odc7LzQmo/TVr57omed0I/AAAAAAAABBw/Dq_d9137IC0/s200/007.JPG" /></a>and bought another orchid, which is here in pink. Now I think I have the pink, the one that has the shoot (white) a dormant yellow, and two that have been dormant so long that I don't even remember color they are. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Okay, I think that'll just about do it. There are a few other things that I could write about, but I think I'll save them for next time. Here's wishing my cousin P a speedy recovery, as she has been under the weather of late. That's it. Thanks for stopping by.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-75948837498291895322010-12-18T07:02:00.003-05:002010-12-18T07:39:08.392-05:00New Project Alert<div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've been taking a break from knitting for about a month to save my sanity. I have so much other stuff going on that I just can't deal with my projects. On top of everything else, this week I had to cram two 60 minute physical therapy appointments into a schedule with zero free bandwidth. This will be an ongoing addition so that I can deal with my hips. Sadly, the only time I have available for PT is 6:30 in the morning, so I have to leave the house at 5:45 to make it there on time. (Yes, really.) I'm enduring my second raging case of bilateral trochanteric bursitis in three years. I have arthitis in my hips, and the recurring bursitis is secondary. Pain in the ass...but not exactly.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Anyway, I received a gift certificate to a yarn store near my office on Thursday, and poking around the store made me want to start a new project. I currently have only one active thing on the needles - Janis Joplin Jacket by Jill Stover. I'm getting really concerned b/c my Stay-Put Wrap by Mags Kand<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TQynGYrJP-I/AAAAAAAABAQ/TmoUDednZ5g/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551996168785444834" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TQynGYrJP-I/AAAAAAAABAQ/TmoUDednZ5g/s200/007.JPG" /></a>is (WIP) is missing, and I think my cleaning lady threw it out...or else she hid it really well. Total bummer. Anyway, I didn't spend the gift certificate. I decided to pick out a pattern first and see if I could use yarn in my stash. The winning pattern is <a href="http://twistcollective.com/2010/winter/magazinepage_023.php">Tenley</a> by Mona Schmidt, and I had enough of the Briggs & Little Atlantic already. Wow. Shopping in my own yarn store - what a concept. I can use the gift certificate on the needles I need, as the pattern calls for a 40" size 9 , and I don't have one laying around. I did my gauge swatch last night, so I'm serious...I'm doing it. I'll keep you posted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">On Thursday I contacted a breeder in Texas who is looking for a permanent home for a retired stud. His name is GC Felitan Windtalker of Eireannach and I want this cat. <a href="http://www.eireannach.net/#/favorite-studs/4538649335">Windtalker.</a> He's a Blue Oriental male, and would be a nice playmate for my Lavender Oriental female, Sinergia's Princess Violet of Tlu (aka Munchie). He is stunning; I just love his face. I haven't heard anything back yet, so I hope he's still available. I'll keep you posted on that as well. I'm pretty sure there's a disappointment in my future on this one. I've been trying to find a breeder who has blues, and it's not as easy as you'd think.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Gotta scram. I have about 20 things to do this weekend, including making at least two batches of pecan/almond brittle. I only make it around the holidays, and it's spectacular if I do say so myself. Just one more example of me missing my calling. I should be in the peanut brittle business. Thanks for stopping by!</span></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-91123779974892773042010-12-07T20:21:00.002-05:002010-12-07T20:38:45.058-05:00Off the needles...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ultra short post tonight, but I wanted to post my finished object!</span><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TP7dvXfUqII/AAAAAAAABAA/QVAp2EhB3zs/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548115596796012674" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TP7dvXfUqII/AAAAAAAABAA/QVAp2EhB3zs/s200/040.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I finally finished the Cable and Lace Sweater I made for my friend J. I gave it to her on Sunday, and it fit her perfectly! Doesn't she look great?? I love this sweater, but I've made it twice so I don't think I'll be knitting it again.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Now I need to do some quick holiday gifts and finish up my Janis Joplin Jacket!</span></div><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TP7dvuc0A1I/AAAAAAAABAI/DISv4MrvP2s/s1600/043.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a> </div></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Since last March (in addition to knitting), I've been working with Donald Trump's newest company, the Trump Network. There was a great article in today's Boston globe, which you can read </span><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/12/07/firms_new_moniker_may_be_its_trump_card/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">here</span></a>. <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> I really haven't talked too much about it, but it's starting to get really exciting. If you're interested in finding out about</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> it, please click </span><a href="http://hollymartinson.todayisyourtime.com/en/success.aspx"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">here</span></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">to visit my website</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. If you have any questions or want additional information, please feel free to get in touch. It's a great opportunity to make a part time income in addition to what you're doing now.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Munchie and I are off to bed, but we'll check in again soon! Bye for now.</span>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-80737694906033490172010-11-28T10:39:00.010-05:002010-11-28T12:58:45.385-05:00I'm back...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After a month's vacation from blogging, I'm back. I've been insanely busy, and things were starting to get out of control. That is not to say that things are completely IN control now, but at least I'm not trying to put out fifty fires simultaneously. </span><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5RqCZ_MI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XCOxP7Z-jgI/s1600/009.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544627435495619778" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5RqCZ_MI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XCOxP7Z-jgI/s200/009.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The last time I did an entry, I showed the steps I took to make a circular needle holder. The first thing I want to do is put up a couple photos of how awesome it looks and how perfectly it works! It's hiding behind my bedroom door, so I don't even see it unless I go looking for a needle. </span><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5QxvowjI/AAAAAAAAA-4/LuAlxxotRkE/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544627420384510514" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5QxvowjI/AAAAAAAAA-4/LuAlxxotRkE/s200/008.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">How cool is that? Yeah. Very.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></div></span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5RqCZ_MI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XCOxP7Z-jgI/s1600/009.JPG"></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPJ5RqCZ_MI/AAAAAAAAA_A/XCOxP7Z-jgI/s1600/009.JPG"></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKDI1tXUXI/AAAAAAAAA_I/tiNn77qq_NU/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544638279126045042" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKDI1tXUXI/AAAAAAAAA_I/tiNn77qq_NU/s200/020.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">As you may or may not remember, I bought my sister's VW Beetle about 8 weeks ago when she bought a new Mini Clubman. Unbeknownst to either of us, eight weeks was the remaining life span of this particular bug. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Here it is on the day before it is to be turned in to Honda North in Danvers. I can only hope it lasts another day. G and I always go to the grocery store on Sunday mornings, and we laughed the whole way to Market Basket in Chelsea with this buggy piece of crap stuck in second gear. It shifts better when it warms up, but it is on it's last leg...or should I say wing?</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So here is the official debut of my new car, which will be picked up tomorrow after work...</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKDJrQDQpI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/c6YNCsHKYiQ/s1600/New%2BCar.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544638293498610322" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKDJrQDQpI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/c6YNCsHKYiQ/s200/New%2BCar.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Some people are just Honda people, and I guess I'm one of those. This last eight weeks was just a blip in an otherwise brand-loyal life.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'm finishing up a sweater for my friend J, who is coming over to try it on at 2PM. Technically is was a holiday gift from LAST year, but I just couldn't bring myself to make it. The problem is that I </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">al<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKODH3s8I/AAAAAAAAA_Y/KPeeskfus-w/s1600/013.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544646065207620546" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKODH3s8I/AAAAAAAAA_Y/KPeeskfus-w/s200/013.JPG" /></span></a>ready made this exact same sweater in this exact same yarn. It is the Cable and Lace Pullover by Cecily Glowik MacDonald in Dream in Color Groovy - Burmuda Teal. I made one for myself last year but it looked much better on my sister H so I gave it to her. It turned out really well, so I decided to knit one up for my friend J. OMG. It's been like pulling teeth. What I learned is that even if a project is totally fun the first time I do it, it is unbearable to knit it again.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Here a</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">re a few pics.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKOs2cc3I/AAAAAAAAA_g/sVghjqzeeu0/s1600/015.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544646076408820594" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKOs2cc3I/AAAAAAAAA_g/sVghjqzeeu0/s200/015.JPG" /></span></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKOs2cc3I/AAAAAAAAA_g/sVghjqzeeu0/s1600/015.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></div></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544646078614035714" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s200/017.JPG" /></span></a><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>All the seams are done - just need to finish off the neckline. </div><div><br /></div><div>How cute is Munchie?</span></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKOs2cc3I/AAAAAAAAA_g/sVghjqzeeu0/s1600/015.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></div><div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKKO1ENXQI/AAAAAAAAA_o/psDplza9m-o/s1600/017.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A couple last things, and then I'll finish up. A super huge - but slightly belated - congratulations go out to my friend K and his partner D on their recent engagement!! K had the most beautiful rings made, as you can see in the picture. I'm so proud to live in a state where anyone who chooses to can get married. All the best, you guys!<br /></div></span><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKLdTDLD9I/AAAAAAAAA_w/4yX-qAp-uc4/s1600/Keith%2B%2526%2BDavid%2527s%2BRings.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544647426692550610" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKLdTDLD9I/AAAAAAAAA_w/4yX-qAp-uc4/s200/Keith%2B%2526%2BDavid%2527s%2BRings.jpg" /></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Warning: A lot of swear words to follow:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And now for something totally different... Last Saturday evening I was hanging out with my roommate G and my friend D when my BlackBerry buzzed to alert me to an incoming text. Not many people text me. Actually, there are four and one of them was in the room with me. So I pick up my phone and read the following text (verbatim): WHO R YOU AND WHO TOLD YOU TO TEXT ME IM NOT A BITCH OR GOLDDIGGER HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNO WHO U ARE? Well I have to say, I was a little surprised by this. I'm not used to people just randomly sending me texts in which they yell at me. I didn't recognize the number of the person who sent it, and after showing it to my friends, sent back the following text: I think you have the wrong number asshole. But you definitely gave us a good laugh. Thanks. Well! Can you guess what happened next? This anonymous person sent me another text, which was much funnier than the first one: FUCK YOU IMMATURE MOTHER FUCKER GET A LIFE LOW LIFES! I hate it when people don't use proper punctuation, don't you? I considered writing back to inquire how far an 8th grade education will get a person in this day and age, but thought better of it. I went to Verizon.com and blocked the number instead. </span></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKNEm-PXTI/AAAAAAAAA_4/qQSLgsaybC8/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544649201567096114" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TPKNEm-PXTI/AAAAAAAAA_4/qQSLgsaybC8/s200/019.JPG" /></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And lastly, here is my Christmas cactus, which is blooming right on schedule. I can't believe that the holidays are here already. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'll try to make an effort to check in again soon. Have fun shopping!!</span></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-12282746674348367752010-10-31T11:28:00.010-04:002010-10-31T16:28:53.217-04:00The Boston Militia and Circular Needle Holders...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've lived in the Boston area since the Spring of '94. Until yesterday I didn't realize that Boston had its own women's professional football team, the </span><a href="http://www.bostonmilitia.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Boston Militia</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Not only that, they are the 2010 Independent Women's Football League Champions! (Why didn't I know this? Is it because it's more important for me to know that Charlie Sheen is the world's biggest loser? Apparently so.) *Edit - The media thinks so, not me.* Anyway, </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">one of my business partners is a wide receiver on the team, and they just picked up their championship rings on Friday night. I generally don't mention people by name in my blog, but in this case I would like to send my hugest congratulations out to Ginger Snow. You ladies Rock! I'm going to a game next year...who's with me??<br /></span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2Np9cXrVI/AAAAAAAAA-g/UA7fzMobICg/s1600/Ginger+Ring+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534235269115915602" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2Np9cXrVI/AAAAAAAAA-g/UA7fzMobICg/s200/Ginger+Ring+2.jpg" /></a> <div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2LnyxWx-I/AAAAAAAAA9I/G8KPSdKz408/s1600/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534233032868153314" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2LnyxWx-I/AAAAAAAAA9I/G8KPSdKz408/s200/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg" /></a></div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2LnyxWx-I/AAAAAAAAA9I/G8KPSdKz408/s1600/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg"></a></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2LnyxWx-I/AAAAAAAAA9I/G8KPSdKz408/s1600/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2OknlzDaI/AAAAAAAAA-w/UkAlzU3BwPQ/s1600/Ginger+Ring+3+-+Copy.jpg"></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2OknlzDaI/AAAAAAAAA-w/UkAlzU3BwPQ/s1600/Ginger+Ring+3+-+Copy.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534236276862160290" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2OknlzDaI/AAAAAAAAA-w/UkAlzU3BwPQ/s200/Ginger+Ring+3+-+Copy.jpg" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">How cool is this ring?<br /></span></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MQeV8pdI/AAAAAAAAA9g/5NcD-OUGPB4/s1600/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg"></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And now I move to the more mundane aspects of my life. Both the car and the H2O heater over at the loft have been repaired. I had to run over to adjust the water temperature, so I took my camera with me to continue the documentation of every aspect of my existence.<br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MthcuyII/AAAAAAAAA-I/ZEH8svJeY7w/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534234230809086082" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MthcuyII/AAAAAAAAA-I/ZEH8svJeY7w/s200/011.JPG" /></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2M6G4XPpI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/MYP-ZL3Qy1c/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534234447015526034" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2M6G4XPpI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/MYP-ZL3Qy1c/s200/012.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2M6ayuupI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/XPBHYcYnK0Y/s1600/015.JPG"></a></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MQeV8pdI/AAAAAAAAA9g/5NcD-OUGPB4/s1600/Ginger+Ring+1.jpg"></a></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here is my new water heater, which I have named Thor. (The old one was named Osvaldo b/c I was obsessed w/ traveling to Italy when I moved in there in '04. My fourth trip to Italy is planned for next fall, so Italy has been covered. My current obsession is moving to a new geographic and ancestral theme...Sverige.) Jag vilja min vatten varmeapparat till verk. Ja, Svenska. The only word I didn't know this that sentence was the word for heater (I want my water heater to work). Not too shabby.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Lastly, I'm going to talk about the circular needle holder I made this morning. I saw something like this somewhere recently, but I can't remember where, and I couldn't find it when I searched for it online. If anyone has seen it, please let me know and I will give proper credit in my next post. </span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MQuXt4RI/AAAAAAAAA9o/43HF8am43cw/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534233736061509906" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MQuXt4RI/AAAAAAAAA9o/43HF8am43cw/s200/017.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2M6ayuupI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/XPBHYcYnK0Y/s1600/015.JPG"></a></div></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The materials needed are one D-ring, about a yard of grosgrain ribbon, needle, thread, hot glue gun, binder clips, a measurement tool of some sort, and buttons for decoration if desired. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></div></span><div><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MRPZOUJI/AAAAAAAAA9w/xovGNkkBEr4/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534233744926199954" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MRPZOUJI/AAAAAAAAA9w/xovGNkkBEr4/s200/019.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">First I measured where I wanted the clips to go - I put mine 3 1/2 inches apart - and then hot glued the binder clips to the ribbon.<br /><br /></div></span><div><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2Msm2NorI/AAAAAAAAA94/OSgM9d7Y5Ug/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534234215078273714" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2Msm2NorI/AAAAAAAAA94/OSgM9d7Y5Ug/s200/020.JPG" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My clips are glued so that I can open them for use on large needles. If you look closely, you'll see that the clips are different shades of blue with decorations on them. I got them at Staples, and if I wasn't such a freak about everything being blue, I would've bought the less expensive black ones.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MtNRUM0I/AAAAAAAAA-A/lxDT3J0k15s/s1600/023.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534234225392497474" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TM2MtNRUM0I/AAAAAAAAA-A/lxDT3J0k15s/s200/023.JPG" /></span></a><br />Completed and hanging on the wall. I just threw a couple needles on there for display purposes. I'll measure all my circulars and put them in the appropriate binder clips, then post a pic next time.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That's it for today. Still working on getting the house organized since my room mate G moved back in last weekend. I'm making some real progress...I'll keep you posted. Happy Halloween!</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-51169720176277455142010-10-24T18:23:00.005-04:002010-10-24T20:26:38.162-04:00Janis update...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This will be a short post. I know I haven't checked in lately, but I've been crazed. I've had a bunch of trouble with my new car, the heat in the house hasn't been working, my room mate G moved back in yesterday after a year away, and now the water heater in the condo is shot. Sadly, I can't be in three places at once, because I think that would solve all my problems. Then again, maybe not.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There's not really too much I can say about the car. Everytime I mention it to anyone they start laughing, and frankly, I don't really think it's funny anymore. I'll need to tow it to the VW dealership in Braintree tomorrow morning to be there at 7AM. I made the appointment yesterday when my car had issues but would at least start and was driveable. This morning, I got the click, click, click of a car that has no intention of starting. I only have basic AAA, so it's going to cost me $45 to haul it down to Braintree and then I have to rent a car. Awesome. Of course this pales in comparison to the giant pain in the ass it's going to be for the <a href="http://www.streeterplumbing.com/">plumbers</a> who will have to replace the water heater in the condo tomorrow. The water heater is in a storage area above the bathroom and they'll have to climb 10 feet up a ladder to get there. I don't know how they'll get the old one down or the new one back up. The only other thing I have to say about the stupid water heater is that it was installed in Feb '04 and had a six year warranty. Do the math, and then ask me about the black cloud that is perpetually over my head.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">On a brighter note, check this out:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMS34cFBX2I/AAAAAAAAA9A/ofGQN0rx8a4/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531748422555623266" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMS34cFBX2I/AAAAAAAAA9A/ofGQN0rx8a4/s200/011.JPG" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">New thermostat installed by moi! It has been freezing in this house, but I've had too much other crap to deal with to get it fixed. I actually thought the hvac was broken, but D suggested that I just get my butt over to Home Depot and try fixing it myself before calling in the cavalry. My furnace is gas, so it kicked on even before I turned the electricity back on. I yelled up to G, "Hey G - you smell that?" She said, "Yeah, what is it?" "It's HEAT!"</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This post isn't quite as short as I thought it would be. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Ready for the Janis update? </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This was what it looked like when I got back from the Adirondacks. The strip in the middle is the waistband.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZehHPcI/AAAAAAAAA8o/cxF7PKxs62Q/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531742393076235714" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZehHPcI/AAAAAAAAA8o/cxF7PKxs62Q/s200/008.JPG" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZrkV2GI/AAAAAAAAA8w/z-AvEdaHMqw/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531742396579436642" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZrkV2GI/AAAAAAAAA8w/z-AvEdaHMqw/s200/010.JPG" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZrkV2GI/AAAAAAAAA8w/z-AvEdaHMqw/s1600/010.JPG"></a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMSyZehHPcI/AAAAAAAAA8o/cxF7PKxs62Q/s1600/008.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">G just took this pic of me. I'm about to start the neck shaping and then move on to the front. It's a cardigan, so obviously there are two front pieces. I might do the sleeves next to get them out of the way.</span> <div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMS1gISvrzI/AAAAAAAAA84/hzRyau3KMek/s1600/008.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531745805904359218" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TMS1gISvrzI/AAAAAAAAA84/hzRyau3KMek/s200/008.JPG" /></span></a></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I'll keep you posted, but now I need to scoot. My sister H suggested I take a little time off from knitting to address some other issues in my life. I think I might actually take her advice...</span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Bye for now.</span> </div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-32254237013445322332010-10-14T16:59:00.022-04:002010-10-14T20:03:59.364-04:00Knitting Weekend...Too Many Pictures!<span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">We were in Keene Valley, NY (Adirondacks) for the long weekend. It is so beautiful there, and the weather was amazing the entire time. We were there last year over Columbus Day weekend also, but next year we're going here: <a href="http://www.tenutasantopietro.com/">http://www.tenutasantopietro.com/</a></span><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd-6W2v98I/AAAAAAAAA7A/HK-4cV_BqfE/s1600/097.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528026608653301698" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd-6W2v98I/AAAAAAAAA7A/HK-4cV_BqfE/s200/097.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeMOw1bvsI/AAAAAAAAA8I/n4lZks12uh4/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528041252875648706" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeMOw1bvsI/AAAAAAAAA8I/n4lZks12uh4/s200/002.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So this is the stuff I took for four days and three nights. Trust me - I basically wore the same clothes. It's all yarn.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeXucQEacI/AAAAAAAAA8g/j8iHrMbq228/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528053891733940674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeXucQEacI/AAAAAAAAA8g/j8iHrMbq228/s200/004.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">In case we didn't bring enough yarn, there was plenty there for us to buy. It's very important to have options, and believe it or not, people forgot things and needed to swing by the "shop" on the piano. </span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd_BYoXrpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/GgxzZGaRgJU/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528026729388945042" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd_BYoXrpI/AAAAAAAAA7I/GgxzZGaRgJU/s200/022.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This is a yarn bomb left over from last year's mischief. Over the kitchen sink looking out to the porch. There was another item hanging from the fireplace mantle. The other 10 or so had been removed (including the wrap job I did on one of the floor lamps). We did not bomb the house this year. I'm sure the family is relieved.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeVImi1UdI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/EJtkwOy6OFY/s1600/080.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528051042638713298" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeVImi1UdI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/EJtkwOy6OFY/s200/080.JPG" /></a>The first class was on beaded buttons for necklaces. Unfortunately for me, this was based on a crochet skillset which I don't possess. Plus I'm left handed and the class was being taught in right. I almost bagged it early on, but I stuck it out and did okay.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd1y65fYeI/AAAAAAAAA4w/2ckcV_ZNz7s/s1600/081.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528016585284870626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd1y65fYeI/AAAAAAAAA4w/2ckcV_ZNz7s/s200/081.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Here is my bead/button mostly done. I need to try to make another one before I forget how to do it. Obviously, once you learn to do it you don't use blue beads on white thread, but you need contrast to see what you're doing initially. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd2VETVntI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/WM_Lb_sONYQ/s1600/105.JPG"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528017171924754130" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd2VETVntI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/WM_Lb_sONYQ/s200/105.JPG" /></span></a></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Here is J sharing the history of knitting in the Adirondacks. It seems that the bulk of the knitting was done by men at one time, and so it came as no surprise that they needed giant needles to do it. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeMA184ejI/AAAAAAAAA8A/qYyziYj1VMc/s1600/109.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528041013730900530" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeMA184ejI/AAAAAAAAA8A/qYyziYj1VMc/s200/109.JPG" /></a>Here is me getting ready to give the giant needles a whirl. Only one of them has a sharp point, so I only did one row.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I recently finished reading No Idle Hands - The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. MacDonald. Although it's an interesting story, I really don't think there was a huge men's knitting industry in the Adirondacks at any time in the last few hundred years. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(If anyone knows a straight guy who knits, send him over. I'd like to talk to him.)</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd2UbUF8GI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/6sTALrwRAkI/s1600/098.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528017160922067042" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd2UbUF8GI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/6sTALrwRAkI/s200/098.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Cairn. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd10dKLsUI/AAAAAAAAA5A/IXe-ciJnP4g/s1600/096.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528016611661558082" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd10dKLsUI/AAAAAAAAA5A/IXe-ciJnP4g/s200/096.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Birds nests, obviously.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeWGlihShI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/P1l1rwZwg_M/s1600/178.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528052107520854546" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeWGlihShI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/P1l1rwZwg_M/s200/178.JPG" /></a>It's hard to keep the days straight because we totally lost track of time. There is no TV, cell phone service or internet, so I just shut off my BlackBerry. That in itself is the strangest thing. There was no set schedule so if people wanted to take a class, they did. If people wanted to go hiking, they did. If people wanted to go to the farmer's market, they did. Here are my farmer's market pics.</span></div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd8aQgwX2I/AAAAAAAAA6I/N9y0G5nkyBc/s1600/181.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528023858171371362" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd8aQgwX2I/AAAAAAAAA6I/N9y0G5nkyBc/s200/181.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Apparently this is what beets are SUPPOSED to look like. As I've mentioned, mine were a complete failure this year. (Side note: My cherry tomatoes are going crazy. It is the middle of October! What's up with that? How long do they go? First frost? Anyone?) </span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><div></div><div></div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd8Z07hsZI/AAAAAAAAA6A/az2PjuJ9ZLs/s1600/169.JPG"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528023850767462802" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLd8Z07hsZI/AAAAAAAAA6A/az2PjuJ9ZLs/s200/169.JPG" /></span></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Nice Fall pic. Mums and pumpkins.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div> </div><div><br /> </div><div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeIW11YknI/AAAAAAAAA7w/-PKrn5ldCqo/s1600/171.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528036993610060402" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeIW11YknI/AAAAAAAAA7w/-PKrn5ldCqo/s200/171.JPG" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I think they over-do it on the kitch a bit, but we WERE in the Adirondacks. I bought a couple home made jellys (raspberry and hot pepper), some maple syrup and the basket I posted yesterday. </span><br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAwDplwQI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/2wkpUqaNTPo/s1600/200.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528028630722396418" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAwDplwQI/AAAAAAAAA7Q/2wkpUqaNTPo/s200/200.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">On the way home from the market, we came across three deer. They didn't run away, so we got out of the car and took pictures. Two of them just stared at me while I took about 8 shots. Amazing. </span><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAws_FxJI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/eiXFsz-xLWI/s1600/319.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528028641818428562" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAws_FxJI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/eiXFsz-xLWI/s200/319.JPG" /></a></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The last class I took was on Dorset Buttons shown on left. They are really cool and I always wanted to learn how to make them. To see some unbelievable specimens, </span><a href="http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,20782,24683,25907,26637&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=dorset+buttons&cp=8&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-ContextMenu&rlz=1I7ACEW_enUS342&wrapid=tljp128709819611214&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=Oo-3TMzjMZO2sAOPzIygCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQsAQwAQ&biw=1209&bih=554"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">check this out.</span></a><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"> </span><br /><br /><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAw3DLt_I/AAAAAAAAA7g/IRINn89giW8/s1600/322.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528028644519950322" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLeAw3DLt_I/AAAAAAAAA7g/IRINn89giW8/s200/322.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here's me working on mine. I didn't get a pic once it was finished, but it turned out well for my first attempt.<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So I think that's it for pictures. Blogger is bugging me. It's a total pain to post a lot of photos, and today I've put up 17. I took about 350 over the course of the weekend, so it's hard to pick the ones to show. The last full day we were there, we did photos for what may or may not become The Naked Knitting Calendar and Notecards. If it comes to fruition, I'll be sure to post a link. (Don't hold your collective breath on that one.) After looking at shots of my 47 year old bod stretched out on a stone wall wearing nothing but a strategically placed lace shawl, I had to come to terms with the fact that the 27 year old woman I THINK I am caught the last train out quite some time ago and I don't think she's coming back. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Alright, enough of this. I have pics on all the progress I made while I was away, so I'll try to get it up over the weekend. My old room mate, G, who moved out last November is moving back in on November 1st. I had given the yarn her old bedroom, so now I have to move the yarn elsewhere. I have a couple free hours before Project Runway, so I'm going to shovel out the other spare room. Wish me luck. Bye. </span></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-66127832698343056442010-10-12T21:38:00.013-04:002010-10-13T09:16:38.768-04:00What a Great Weekend!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUSpRzxMwI/AAAAAAAAA34/NQKQIdaHY9Q/s1600/003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527344618031624962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUSpRzxMwI/AAAAAAAAA34/NQKQIdaHY9Q/s200/003.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUSpOdkIEI/AAAAAAAAA3w/OAuTmu57TMs/s1600/004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527344617133187138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUSpOdkIEI/AAAAAAAAA3w/OAuTmu57TMs/s200/004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">My <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOw2lo4jI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-C7Gp5VNKsU/s1600/065.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527340350117044786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOw2lo4jI/AAAAAAAAA3o/-C7Gp5VNKsU/s200/065.JPG" border="0" /></a>first day back after the knitting retreat was a long one. Such a rude awakening after an awesome long weekend. It is 9:45 and I really don't have time for much narrative, but I wanted to at least put up a few pics. Here's where we spent most of our knitting time... </span><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"></a></div></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"></a></div><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527339999638940178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s200/119.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcc9JahI/AAAAAAAAA3I/bXZhHIT3row/s1600/119.JPG"></a></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I said keep 'yer mitts off my yarn!</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s1600/139.JPG"></a></div><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s1600/139.JPG"></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s1600/139.JPG"></a></div><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s1600/139.JPG"></a></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Knitting my Janis Joplin coat. I made a ton of progress and will get a pic of the nearly finished back panel up tomorrow if possible. </span><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s1600/139.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527340003055071282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOcprncDI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/Ysp4_r_qKcI/s200/139.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></span><br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">This is where they park the farmer's market in Keene Valley. God it's ugly. Almost as bad as the farmer's market in Tahoe.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOwTk06-I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/wqMujX41mIk/s1600/166.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527340340718398434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOwTk06-I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/wqMujX41mIk/s200/166.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOwst6jEI/AAAAAAAAA3g/8hI3IQ8aUEw/s1600/183.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527340347467402306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TLUOwst6jEI/AAAAAAAAA3g/8hI3IQ8aUEw/s200/183.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I bought a basket. I'll probably put yarn in it. Decided to go with blue and green for something totally different. Yes, I made my hat. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">H & H - Nope, I'm never giving up my barn coat. You'll have to set it on fire to get it away from me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I had such a great time and I have so many things to write, but I don't have time tonight. Time completely stopped while we were up there. I wish we could've stayed an entire week. Next year the group is going to Italy which is going to be insane, but more on that later. Bye for now.</span></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-51702474796597396592010-10-08T06:23:00.003-04:002010-10-08T06:48:25.394-04:00Yarn Bombing, part II and Knitting Retreat!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TK7yXtOq2vI/AAAAAAAAA24/h7qYLZ37Wtc/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525620281922214642" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TK7yXtOq2vI/AAAAAAAAA24/h7qYLZ37Wtc/s200/005.JPG" /></a> <div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is going to be uber-quick. I finished the vase cover but it was too tall, so I frogged back about four rows and will bind it off again. Ta-Da... The nearly finished article. M, my director at work made a pretty cool suggestion yesterday (although at the end of the day near the end of the week we're all getting a bit punchy). She suggested a seasonal wardrobe for my little vase. Examples would include sports "outfits" for Sox and Pats game days (no offense to the C's and B's - I don't really follow hockey or b'ball), and a little something for the change of seasons... If I decide to do this, I'll be sure to share photos.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I'm leaving in a couple hours to head up to the Adirondacks for a knitting retreat. I should be packing, but if you've been following this blog for a while, you know that I hate packing. Packing for a knitting trip is even worse than normal packing. What do I take? Obviously, I take the projects I'm working on, but what if I want to do something else when I get up there? Do I take ALL my needles in case I need them? If so, I'll have to rent a bigger car. There is no computer up there, so I won't have access to the internet for patterns. Should I bring patterns and yarns for things in my queue in case I decide to knit them? If so, I'll have to rent a U-haul. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">In closing, I'd like to just take a second and wish myself a happy divorce anniversary - seventeen years and counting. Marriage: the best reason NOT to plan a wedding.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Have a great LONG weekend - I'll take lots of pics up in the mountains. Bye!</span> </div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-73832903904492895232010-10-05T03:26:00.006-04:002010-10-05T03:49:45.791-04:00Yarn Bombing, part 1 1/2<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKrVMU271rI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/9hL07xTD8x0/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524462300657604274" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKrVMU271rI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/9hL07xTD8x0/s200/002.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So my first idea wasn't so good. Keeping in mind that I'm bombing a cylindrical form, I ended up with an object that was more obscene than decorative. I'm not saying that obscene can't be decorative, but that's a conversation for another time. Back to the drawing board. I liked the idea of a knitted cover for the little vase, so I decided to knit the design INTO the cover and see how that goes. Here's my work in progress. I'm knitting directly from the old cover to the new cover... how handy. It might just be practice because silver and black would look better aesthetically, but the pink was the right yarn weight.</span> <div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Turns out I have bronchitis, which really doesn't surprise me that much. I'm cleared to go to work in the morning (as long as I don't cough on anyone) but it's 3:30A and I've been up since 2:00A. Probably not going to be in such great shape when 6:30A rolls around. I'm not sure if this is a federal reg or state, but I got carded buying Mucinex. Seriously. (For those unfamiliar with the term, it means I had to provide proof of age before buying the product.) I can't imagine why anyone would purchase Mucinex for anything other than the reason intended. And, can you imagine if they did? Gross.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Munchie is driving me crazy. We're going back to bed. Bye.</span></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-40455492102224682032010-10-03T09:58:00.010-04:002010-10-12T14:06:28.957-04:00Yarn Bombing, part I<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Through google alerts I've been following the work of yarn bombers lately. </span><a href="http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yarn-bombing-knit-graffiti"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yarn-bombing-knit-graffiti</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> They are doing some pretty cool work and so I've attached a link to an article with some pictures. As I've mentioned, I recently bought H's bug and I've been trying to decide what to do with the flower vase. I'm thinking that bombing my own car is the way to go, plus the general consensus on the flower is to bag it. Here is the VW issued daisy:</span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s1600/001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523822802018485234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s200/001.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPk88wrPI/AAAAAAAAA1A/Bl4ZZRa2e4c/s1600/002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523822807968951538" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPk88wrPI/AAAAAAAAA1A/Bl4ZZRa2e4c/s200/002.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s1600/001.JPG"></a></span> <div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s1600/001.JPG"></a></span></div></span></span><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></span></p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s1600/001.JPG"></a></span><br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><a href="http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html">http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html</a> </p><p><a href="http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523825602262474802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiSHmgQIDI/AAAAAAAAA1I/7_IkUyuKIak/s200/003.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><p>Since I have more of the silver Louisa Harding Mulberry (100% silk - only the best for my new bug) than I need to finish my Jubilee Scarf, this is what I chose.</p></span><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiSINbu61I/AAAAAAAAA1Q/BfHNJCfPB2Q/s1600/004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523825612712504146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiSINbu61I/AAAAAAAAA1Q/BfHNJCfPB2Q/s200/004.JPG" border="0" /></a></p></span><br />I measured the little vase, and based on suggested gauge, I cast on using sz 6 dpns. Once I finished the ribbing, it was clear that size six was way too big, so I switched to sz 3 for the remainder of the sheath.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiSJG_3sNI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/y2KMLaTv8zo/s1600/008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523825628164894930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiSJG_3sNI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/y2KMLaTv8zo/s200/008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Clearly not a big project, I knit it while watching a couple films. I've been sick, so I'm catching up on movies. Last night was a Kathy Bates film fest on HBO: Revolutionary Road and The Blind Side. Ready for my review? Revolutionary Road...Wow. (Just so you know, I have edited my own comments here so as not to alienate the vast heterosexual male readership. Now I'm cracking myself up.)<br /><br />So back to my car... I was worried that it wasn't going to fit, but I've got to hand it to myself, it's perfect.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiXlLwQjxI/AAAAAAAAA1g/X9EOX7Vg5fk/s1600/009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523831608036069138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiXlLwQjxI/AAAAAAAAA1g/X9EOX7Vg5fk/s200/009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Keep in mind that this is only Part I, so it's not finished. The other components are a work in progress, so I should get them done today and take photos tomorrow in the daylight.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiYG67hpAI/AAAAAAAAA14/6MNDETd6NCM/s1600/011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523832187635475458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiYG67hpAI/AAAAAAAAA14/6MNDETd6NCM/s200/011.JPG" border="0" /></a>I'd also like to point out one of my favorite features of my new car. It came pre-decorated with liberal propaganda, so I didn't have to go to the trouble of doing it myself.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKiPkmyDw_I/AAAAAAAAA04/LBr9Iy8BOsw/s1600/001.JPG"></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So I'm going to wrap up. I'm trying to decide whether or not to drag my ass into the walk-in clinic. The doc on call in my office said that as long as I can breathe between coughing episodes, I can wait until tomorrow and see my PCP if I'm still sick. Translation: I can still breathe, so I don't have pneumonia. I'm already trying to figure out what I need to do to be well enough to go to work tomorrow, which is how I got so sick in the first place. The whole point is that I need to rest or I WILL end up with pneumonia and then I WON'T be going away on Friday. Conundrum... Bye.</span>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-37225266346323286362010-10-01T18:35:00.005-04:002010-10-01T20:00:01.189-04:00I Disappeared for Five Days I Guess...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'm sick again, but this time I'm really sick. People come to work when they're sick, and then the next thing you know, the entire office is sick. It is SO annoying. I knew I was in trouble on Tuesday, and by Thursday, I was the one that needed to be home. I didn't go in today, and that rarely happens. I think the last time I stayed out was with the Norovirus back in March or there abouts. (I thought that was a funny entry, if I do say so myself. Go back for a re-read </span><a href="http://hollypots.blogspot.com/2010/03/hat-to-match-my-sweater-and-how-to-make.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://hollypots.blogspot.com/2010/03/hat-to-match-my-sweater-and-how-to-make.html</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> if you're so inclined) I guess there is some respiratory virus going around, and I can't stop coughing, so I think I caught it. The only good thing is tha</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKZlT05rU3I/AAAAAAAAA0w/7RQeLJrONRo/s1600/IMG00006-20101001-1142.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523213384308970354" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TKZlT05rU3I/AAAAAAAAA0w/7RQeLJrONRo/s200/IMG00006-20101001-1142.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">t I had the time to go get my new car registered and I switched my plates. I don't know about other states, but the Massachusetts RMV is a delight that has to be experienced to be believed. Although, to be fair, today was only fifty five minutes: 15 in line to get my number, 30 waiting and 10 with the customer service rep. Plus, I met someone to talk to for the 45 minutes (a shock for me, I know) to pass the time. He is a 35 year old eight-year serviceman; a bomb technician who just got back from two years in Kuwait and Iraq, with some interesting insights on the war. One thing he said that stuck with me is this: if we continue to fight in Afghanistan in the manner we are fighting now, we will be there for another 15 years. Yikes.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Enough on that. I haven't knit anything in an age; it's been probably more than a week. I'm going on a knitting retreat next week for four days, so it'll be all knitting - all the time. Kidding. We'll do other stuff. I DO have to find the projects I want to take though. The fall issue of knitty came out this week - did you see it? <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/index.php">http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/index.php</a> A couple things I really like are Eleanor, Bound by the Beauty and Pretty Maids. Although I love lace I've never made a shawl, but I might give Pretty Maids a whirl. There was something in this issue that frightened me - I hate to say it. <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTchow.php">http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTchow.php</a> What is up with this? It's a teeth and tongue puppet, and it's kinda scary. I think I'd be okay to not see anymore of the knitted anatomical items. Yeah, I've seen all of them - from the boobs, to the dick and balls to the uterus and fallopian tubes. Why?? Am I missing something?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Alright, enough of that. I'm starting to cough again, and once I start I'll go on for 20 minutes, so I'm signing off. Hack, hack.</span>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-22306931198980849922010-09-26T20:28:00.005-04:002010-09-26T22:02:13.089-04:00Busy, Busy, Busy...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've been insanely busy again. I had planned to go to a two day seminar on internet marketing and search engine & video optimization Friday night and all day Saturday. But then I thought my weekend wouldn't be busy enough, so I skipped out of the seminar early, raced home, caught a flight to DC and drove back to Boston today. What would cause me to do that you ask? Well, my sister H bought a new car. </span><a href="http://miniusa.com/#/MINIUSA.COM-m"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://miniusa.com/#/MINIUSA.COM-m</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> She bought the Mini Clubman, which is technically the Mini Maxi. (Next year they are coming out with an SUV. No joke. Henceforth I will refer to that model as the Mini Oxymoron.) Anyway, my Civic and her old car are the same year, but her old car has 70,000 less miles than mine. It seems I live in my car, and she never drives hers. When she asked if I wanted to buy her old one, it only made sense to do so. It stunk to miss three hours of the seminar (especially since I'm starting a business and these are incredibly important topics) and it <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJ_oJZYEWLI/AAAAAAAAA0o/_FsZdwb098g/s1600/055.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521386916307818674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJ_oJZYEWLI/AAAAAAAAA0o/_FsZdwb098g/s200/055.JPG" /></span></a>REALLY stunk to be in the car from 9:30A until 8:10P today, but I have a new car! It's a Bug. Same color as my old Element; I really like a silver car. Here is a picture of happy Holly before leaving DC this morning. There was no one here to snap a pic of cranky Holly when she arrived home...probably for the best. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Soooo. No knitting today, but tomorrow I'm going to talk about where "hollypots" came from and how I'm going to get back there...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Now: Laundry, Boardwalk Empire, Sleep. Bye.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-30068949209692604652010-09-20T19:50:00.003-04:002010-09-20T21:03:12.472-04:00Super Quick Boy Meets Girl Hats<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJf3I13AsgI/AAAAAAAAA0g/LeKScqFkte8/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519151599634657794" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJf3I13AsgI/AAAAAAAAA0g/LeKScqFkte8/s200/021.JPG" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Yesterday, on a whim, I cast on Spud & Chloe's Boy Meets Girl Hats - the girl version. </span><a href="http://www.spudandchloe.com/patterns/boy-meets-girl-hats/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://www.spudandchloe.com/patterns/boy-meets-girl-hats/</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> I thought it would go quickly, but I swear you could do the whole hat in two hours max. I've got about an hour and a half invested, and I'm on the crown shaping. I'm on size 11 needles using Cleckheaton Gusto 10, which (drumroll please...) was in my stash! If I make another one, I'll use size 12s and yarn that is softer. This is a mohair blend, and it's kind of itchy. (I might also add one squiggle repeat which would in turn make the ear flaps bigger. Or, I might just bag the pattern and design a new hat myself.) I picked up a set of bamboo circulars yesterday to make this, and the dull points are bumming me out. I generally sharpen the points, so I'll do it as soon as the hat moves from the circular to the dpns. I was looking for some immediate gratification yesterday, as I have three big things going with no gratification in sight. I needed to bang something out on big needles using chunky yarn. If I'm being picky, my right leaning make ones are looking kind of lame, aren't they? They're one stitch in from the edge of the flap, but kind of distorting the edge row. I'm just noticing it now. Hmm. I won't frog it - I'll just keep it for myself, which I hadn't planned to do.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Wow. Did everyone see Boardwalk Empire last night on HBO? <a href="http://www.hbo.com/#/boardwalk-empire">http://www.hbo.com/#/boardwalk-empire</a> Fab-O. I thought it was just great, but I'm a fan of Steve Buscemi from way back. Immediately after it ended, I was going to watch it again, but I fell asleep during the opening credits. What a thrilling life I lead...</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So I'm listening to an awesome book on Social Media Marketing called Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. I've been spending a lot of time lately learning about Social Media and branding, and this book is a wealth of information. Plus it's narrated by the author and he's cool and enthusiastic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Not too much else. I'll post pictures of the hat when I finish it. I know my size 11 double pointed needles are around here somewhere...</span></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-91537017038914777422010-09-18T15:45:00.011-04:002010-09-18T17:22:21.371-04:00Project Status and We'll See Where That Leads...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Long week. I've considered sitting down to post once or twice since Tuesday, but the issue foremost in my life would be my debilitating hot flashes, and who wants to read about that? Anyway, at this point it's a stretch to make them funny. This morning my friend S told me I reminded her of a fundraising thermometer (as the red crept up my neck and face), and said..."I think you've reached your goal." Next Thurs: Doctor. This is completely unacceptable. It's hard enough to accept the coming of age with dignity and grace without adding insult to injury. <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUmEKKJd9I/AAAAAAAAA0Y/lbydj7I5XVc/s1600/055.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518358771300661202" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUmEKKJd9I/AAAAAAAAA0Y/lbydj7I5XVc/s200/055.JPG" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I want to send a special get well wish to Takoda pictured here at left. I spent a lot of quality time with him last week, and now he's very sick. Here's hoping he just got into something toxic that can be flushed out of his system quickly, and he's on the road to recovery soon. He's such a good dog.</span><br /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYiZhyicI/AAAAAAAAAzY/eIcMoxACs8c/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518343897659640258" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYiZhyicI/AAAAAAAAAzY/eIcMoxACs8c/s200/007.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUd1VMTBII/AAAAAAAAA0Q/BPqX2hbdeCM/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518349720471405698" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUd1VMTBII/AAAAAAAAA0Q/BPqX2hbdeCM/s200/006.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The last time I posted, I was on my way to rip out my Jubilee Scarf shown here</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I haven't worked on it since mid-May, didn't really remember too much about it, and when I went to frog it I couldn't even find it. Well, the strangest thing happened when I DID find it; turns out I really like it. I have 19 1/4" done (way more than I thought), there's a row counter on the needle so I know exactly where I am in the pattern, AND the yarn is really yummy. I've decided to reintroduce. </span></div></div><div><div><div><a href="http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html">htt</a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUbRH4lUQI/AAAAAAAAA0I/FqpSNfqxhkE/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518346899400511746" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUbRH4lUQI/AAAAAAAAA0I/FqpSNfqxhkE/s200/013.JPG" /></a><a href="http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html">p://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html</a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Norah Gaughan is the designer and I'm using Louisa Harding Mulberry. It's nice. It looks pretty crappy in the picture, but that's because it's been sitting in a baggie since the third week of May.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So I only have an inch or two to go on the sleeves for the cable & lace pullover I'm working on. I knew the back was done and I thought I still had to finish the front.</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYzfF44wI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ngA0AG1tclU/s1600/002.JPG"></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYzfF44wI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ngA0AG1tclU/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518344191211004674" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYzfF44wI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ngA0AG1tclU/s200/002.JPG" /></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUY0F1X9oI/AAAAAAAAAzw/ZdYz2YuqBq4/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518344201610720898" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUY0F1X9oI/AAAAAAAAAzw/ZdYz2YuqBq4/s200/005.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYzfF44wI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ngA0AG1tclU/s1600/002.JPG"></a></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYi3hK7eI/AAAAAAAAAzg/4C0-0z8nc_E/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518343905710108130" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJUYi3hK7eI/AAAAAAAAAzg/4C0-0z8nc_E/s200/010.JPG" /></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Check this out...I actually finished the back and the front before I put it away in the spring. That makes it easy. Once I get the sleeves done I can get everything on a circular and finish it up. The only thing remaining is the ribbed yoke and the seaming. That will leave me with four WIPs: Janis, the Stay Put Wrap, Jubilee and Cinquefoil which has been snoozing since May and will continue to do so.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So that's it for today. B and I are going on an adventure tomorrow, so we'll see if that turns into anything worth mentioning. Bye for now.</span></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-13422642305808391852010-09-14T18:10:00.008-04:002010-09-14T20:21:10.602-04:00Tuesday Night is Knitting Night...<div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">...but not tonight. I didn't mention that I caught a cold when I was on my trip, and now my friend D is sick. She thought I was returning on Sunday, so she came in to feed the cats on Saturday morning first thing. I was crashed on the sofa and I think we scared each other - me not expecting anyone to walk into my house and yell, "I'm Here!" and her not expecting me to growl back, "Awesome" or whatever else I said. She stayed to chat for a bit and then she and B went for an adventure of some sort. She didn't necessarily catch a cold from me by the way - one of her clients has a cold and they might be the culprit. Anyway, instead of going to knit-night I'll stay home for unpack-my-stuff-and-do-laundry-night. But first, I'll do this. Actually, I'm hungry. Maybe I'll do that. Here's <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPKv9OhI/AAAAAAAAAyI/eycIi0bwy54/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516895510461233682" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPKv9OhI/AAAAAAAAAyI/eycIi0bwy54/s200/002.JPG" /></a>what I'm having:<br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Those red things are beets, which are a complete failure. The largest one is the size of a cherry tomato. I just couldn't grow them - there must be a trick to it, but I don't really care. I don't even like beets that much. I'll eat those three puny things, but clearly the greens will be a larger component of my meal. Then next year, the beets will not be invited back.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Okay. The first thing I want to do today is give a shout out and a big thanks to K, who sent me a lovely bag today in the mail.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_z0ydEc5I/AAAAAAAAAyw/Wmhbsd1JtDg/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516896156774593426" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_z0ydEc5I/AAAAAAAAAyw/Wmhbsd1JtDg/s200/007.JPG" /></a> K is actually my sister H's very good friend, which is how I know her. (H in DC, not H in Tahoe, and not to be confused with my brother H or...me.) This bag is great (and blue), and coincidentally I was with my sister H this summer when she bought the identical one. Thanks K!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So tonight I was looking around at all my current projects. I have six going, but the teal cable & lace sweater for my friend J will be done in the next couple weeks definitely. These are 3/4 of the remain WIPs. </span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_z1TI6XcI/AAAAAAAAAy4/29xCxelezm4/s1600/161.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516896165548416450" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_z1TI6XcI/AAAAAAAAAy4/29xCxelezm4/s200/161.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_z0ydEc5I/AAAAAAAAAyw/Wmhbsd1JtDg/s1600/007.JPG"></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPKv9OhI/AAAAAAAAAyI/eycIi0bwy54/s1600/002.JPG"></a></div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The first is that big doily thing that is actually starting to bug me. I had to go to the trouble of buying the double pointed needles and then the HiyaHiyas pictured here. This is my first HiyaHiya circular needle. Maybe it's my imagination, but it doesn't seem as slick as my addi turbos. I might give them a quick buff with some waxed paper. Yes. I have waxed paper downstairs. Anyway, the doily thing is really easy, so I'm not watching it while I knit, or keeping track of my rows. Any wonder it's screwed up? I've ripped it out twice already and I'm currently t<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_07WVtbHI/AAAAAAAAAzA/nZMFwwbb0i4/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516897368998243442" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_07WVtbHI/AAAAAAAAAzA/nZMFwwbb0i4/s200/012.JPG" /></a>inking back seven rows. I'll give it one more chance and then it's going the way of the frog. And speaking frogging, we have the Jubilee Scarf here on the left. Technically, I would call it more of a UFO than a WIP. I loved that pattern and the yarn when I started it, but now I have no interest. B gave me two 50g balls of Louisa Harding Mulberry so that I could finish it, but maybe I'll give them back. This scarf could be three cables - maybe even two, so maybe I'll re-do. Say good bye... Hey HG - I'll think of you while I'm unraveling it onto the winder! </span><br /></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPrpJTSI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/8BLNVgNjAGU/s1600/003.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516895519291034914" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPrpJTSI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/8BLNVgNjAGU/s200/003.JPG" /></span></a></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here's Janis which is taking a snooze, but I'm going to finish this one. I'm going on a four day knitting retreat in October with Jill Stover, who designed it. Actually, I bet I'll finish it then. :)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Remember the pink acrylic from the other day? I decided what to do with it. I work with a woman whose daughter is a teacher and she's always looking for crafty stuff for her kids. I thought I'd give it to her, but it gets better. I can't just give her one piddly skein of yarn, so I ventured up to the attic to visit the bin of misfits who are not allowed to live in the yarn room.<br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zcFIt8gI/AAAAAAAAAyg/KYGStTgqr7Q/s1600/013.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516895732292776450" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zcFIt8gI/AAAAAAAAAyg/KYGStTgqr7Q/s200/013.JPG" /></span></a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">What I ought to do is give her the whole bin, but it would take a crane to get it out of the house. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJANB2UPBiI/AAAAAAAAAzI/j26gyGqYJj0/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516923868940273186" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TJANB2UPBiI/AAAAAAAAAzI/j26gyGqYJj0/s200/019.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is what I'll give her tomorrow. It doesn't look like much, but it's a start.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And that's all I've got. Off to do the laundry. Bye for now. <div><br /></span><br /></div><div><br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPrpJTSI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/8BLNVgNjAGU/s1600/003.JPG"></a></div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI_zPrpJTSI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/8BLNVgNjAGU/s1600/003.JPG"></a></div></div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-68579967921629601482010-09-12T22:09:00.019-04:002010-09-13T20:10:24.288-04:00Home Again, Home Again...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The night before my mother and I left for Tahoe, I caught something being very bad in my backyard. Hmm. Let me go back further. I've employed a lawncare service for the last couple years. They cut my grass, throw fertilizer down when necessary and pick up my fifty bags of leaves every fall. This late in the year, they only come about every two weeks or so - it's been a really hot summer so there hasn't been too much growing since about July. That said, the back yard has been looking ESPECIALLY dead lately, and it appears that something has been digging a gazillion holes in the grass as well. Is it the early bird getting the worm, or something more sinister at work here? B, my lawn guy, hasn't made any comments on the yard, and his crew has continued to mow it as if it is actually growing. (I didn't really feel like dealing with it, but it's one thing for the lawn guys to mow the lawn when it doesn't need to be done, and quite anoth</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2NCgMJx6I/AAAAAAAAAwo/BZ7tiVXAlqM/s1600/002.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516220192738887586" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2NCgMJx6I/AAAAAAAAAwo/BZ7tiVXAlqM/s200/002.JPG" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">er when they fertilize my dead lawn - apparently not noticing or caring that it's dead. It was starting to make me cranky.) So back to the night before my trip. We were out running an errand and got home after dark. We pulled into my driveway, and the headlights hit Pepe LePew digging holes in my backyard. Grubs. I knew it. And a skunk of all things is ripping up my yard looking for them. So Mr. LePew doesn't even look up when I shine the headlights on him. I went in the house and turned on the flood light in back, and still, he doesn't flinch. I go out on the deck - and now I'm less than 10 feet from him, and it's like I'm not even there. (Nice dead lawn, right?) So I go in the house, and call B, my lawn guy who doesn't pick up. Message. Me: "Hello B, it's hollypots on (my address)...Yeah, I'm not sure you've noticed...the last three times you guys have been here...that my lawn is dead?? Well, I've just figured out what killed it...grubs, and I have a skunk out there right now tearing up my yard looking for them. Think you could put some grub killer down? I'll be out of town all week, but feel free to stop by<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2UZSLMs4I/AAAAAAAAAww/Tpr7H0e5CVo/s1600/245.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516228280695174018" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2UZSLMs4I/AAAAAAAAAww/Tpr7H0e5CVo/s200/245.JPG" /></a> anytime." Seriously?? I guess I should hang a shingle and call myself a lawn guy. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is my backyard after they raked up the dead grass and put down grub killer. It will need to be reseeded, but I'll deal with that next spring. Nightmare. Luckily no one ever comes over or I'd be embarrassed.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2YHofKtJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/06Xpr2A_3JU/s1600/185.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516232375493375122" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2YHofKtJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/06Xpr2A_3JU/s200/185.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So Lake Tahoe. It's beautiful there and we had a wonderful trip. Here are a few pictures. The first on was taken in the middle of the lake - the water is very blue because it's so deep.</span><br /><br /><div></div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2YIEZ-vDI/AAAAAAAAAxY/WPakUyP1S9Y/s1600/204.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516232382987811890" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2YIEZ-vDI/AAAAAAAAAxY/WPakUyP1S9Y/s200/204.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here you can see where the water is shallow close to the shore. The water is much greener - but still so clear.</span></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2ZxLol6mI/AAAAAAAAAxw/IkU88WrZXgg/s1600/229.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516234188814412386" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2ZxLol6mI/AAAAAAAAAxw/IkU88WrZXgg/s200/229.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">On the boat ride. Most of the trip H & P were up on deck and I was down below. I was struggling with all the people, so I took my anti-social self below deck to chill in isolation.<br /></span></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2Zwgy9aXI/AAAAAAAAAxo/uklrHbRHEhQ/s1600/157.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516234177315170674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2Zwgy9aXI/AAAAAAAAAxo/uklrHbRHEhQ/s200/157.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is me & H at a stop coming down from Tahoe National Forest.</span><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The next photo is the valley behind us. It is amazing. Created by a glacier. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></div></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2b5mPJJAI/AAAAAAAAAx4/31YnZno4ulw/s1600/158.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516236532417635330" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2b5mPJJAI/AAAAAAAAAx4/31YnZno4ulw/s200/158.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2YIEZ-vDI/AAAAAAAAAxY/WPakUyP1S9Y/s1600/204.JPG"></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2cz-JP0eI/AAAAAAAAAyA/xpDJnY4yMW0/s1600/248.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516237535267770850" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TI2cz-JP0eI/AAAAAAAAAyA/xpDJnY4yMW0/s200/248.JPG" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I read and knit a lot during my trip. I've almost got my sleeves done for the Cable & Lace Pullover I'm working on. Finishing this is my number one priority. I won't have a ton of time this week, but I think I can get them done by Friday.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And now my vacation is over and I'm back in the office tomorrow. It's probably going to be pretty harsh, so I should get to bed. Bye for now. <div></span></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3696468578693626124.post-62213677359846375262010-09-09T12:25:00.011-04:002010-09-09T13:47:58.527-04:00Greetings from Lake Tahoe!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'm staying in Tahoe Vista actually, which is on the north shore. Here's the view from my mother's</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZ-qCTLjI/AAAAAAAAAwY/iixoOXlxD-s/s1600/018.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514967782918401586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZ-qCTLjI/AAAAAAAAAwY/iixoOXlxD-s/s200/018.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> room. Not too shabby. We're taking a paddle boat cruise to Emerald Bay today, but we spent the first two days we were here touring around in the car. After arriving on Monday, we drove all around the lake on Tuesday with scenic stops along the way. Yesterday we drove up to Graeagle and drove back down through Tahoe National Forest making stops at some small lakes along the way for photo ops. While up in Graeagle, we made a stop at Woolly Notions, owned by Victoria Williams. </span><a href="http://woollynotion.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">http://woollynotion.com/</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> I had been in her shop in May 2009, and she remembered exactly who I was which was pretty cool (live in Boston...ran out of Malabrigo on the plane- although it was actually Manos, but still). Stop in if you're ever in the neighborhood; she's super nice and carries a very nice selection of yarn. We were really high up, and it was fre</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkMaSW_WnI/AAAAAAAAAvY/Np3erMrZhmA/s1600/012.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514952864436279922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkMaSW_WnI/AAAAAAAAAvY/Np3erMrZhmA/s200/012.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ezing up there. </span><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><br /><div><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I'd like to take a second to introduce my new boyfriend, Takoda. Because I'm low man on the totem pole, I've spent the last two days in the backseat with him. At one point yesterday, he was sitting so close to me that I could feel his breath on my neck. H said, "He likes you, Hol!" Yeah, that might be true, but does he have to sit right ON me? Although we've seen some incredible scenery, it will be good to be out of the car today. </span></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s1600/123.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514953699027979010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s200/123.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was able to finish the Xenocryst hat by Linda Shelhamer in baby </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">alpaca, which I was making for H on the plane ride out here. It turned out great - I really love this pattern. It is a multiple of seven stitches and a four row repeat so it's easy to memorize, and small enough that you can carry it anywhere. The rib/cable is just beautiful when it is stretched. I've made two for gifts, but I'm making one for myself as soon as I have a free week when I'm not working<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkc2QjyjjI/AAAAAAAAAwg/BawifxRhVu0/s1600/126.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514970937175477810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkc2QjyjjI/AAAAAAAAAwg/BawifxRhVu0/s200/126.JPG" border="0" /></a> on five other things. </span><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkc2QjyjjI/AAAAAAAAAwg/BawifxRhVu0/s1600/126.JPG"></a></span> </div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">And speaking of five other things, yesterday while in the car, I cast on the sleeves for Cecily Glowik MacDonald's Cable and Lace</span> <div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Pullover in Dream in Color Groovy - Burmuda Teal. This one has been snoozing since about March. The back is done and the front is about 2/3 done, so I can get the sleeves done while I'm out here and get this thing wrapped up in the next couple weeks. It was a holiday gift from LAST year, so I have to get it done before it gets cold. My friend J recently asked for a status and I felt like a total jerk. </span></div></div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZYT57BvI/AAAAAAAAAwI/5LZuIIhzUE8/s1600/009.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514967124142655218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZYT57BvI/AAAAAAAAAwI/5LZuIIhzUE8/s200/009.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s1600/123.JPG"></a></div></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZY4WYShI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/mmp7CC2Tz3Q/s1600/010.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514967133925689874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkZY4WYShI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/mmp7CC2Tz3Q/s200/010.JPG" border="0" /></span></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s1600/123.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a> </div></div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s1600/123.JPG"></a> </div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span> </div><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UDnXrBQj3BQ/TIkNK3dKCwI/AAAAAAAAAvo/vgN0pgmUEbY/s1600/123.JPG"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></a></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Okay - We're running out the door to catch a boat. We're headed home tomorrow, so I doubt I'll check in again before Sunday. Thanks for stopping by!</span> </div></div></div></div>hollypotshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06865051030352913358noreply@blogger.com0