Blatherings before the dog gets here...

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...
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 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).

So exciting...can you stand it?

So here they are! The scarf and a pair of boots to go with.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm knitting the Knotty but Nice hat by Natalie Larson, 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.

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.

So here are a couple pictures of Thor's stuff. His crate is half way between the dining room and the living room. It seems like 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...

The Word of the Day is...WOOF

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 talk 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. Here's Munchie helping me frog a sweater, and hanging out at the window. I can't find a decent 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. So anyway, I've wanted a dog for a long time, but didn't think I could swing it due to 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 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...
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.) If D needs to camp out on my couch post-op, she can stay as long as she'd like.
The other day I was looking for a fun, quick project to knit, and decided on this hat. I'm only an inch and a half in 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 Bella's mittens in it as well. Hopefully the teal isn't so dark that you can't see the cables. I think it'll be okay.
Wow. I hope this isn't as exhausting to read as it is to write... This is the last thing and I'll finish up. I own a print and small original by an artist named Tom Barnes. 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. She will be hung next to or above Celeste, who is pictured below.
Okay, that's going to do it for today. Hope everyone enjoys the long President's day weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

And you thought I'd never post again...Silly.

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 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 Ether Dome 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.

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.
There is also a little museum up there, but I won't continue to bore you with the history of MGH.

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.

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 couldn'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.

Just finished this for my mother. It is Blue Heron Rayon Chenille in colorway Flax. Clearly not my color, as I look like a corpse. But it'll be better on her.


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.

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 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 ad nauseum. 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?

I was so excited that I just ran out 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.

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.

New Project Alert

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.

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 Kandis (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 Tenley 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.

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. Windtalker. 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.

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!

Off the needles...

Ultra short post tonight, but I wanted to post my finished object!

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. Now I need to do some quick holiday gifts and finish up my Janis Joplin Jacket!

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 here. 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 it, please click here to visit my website. 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.

Munchie and I are off to bed, but we'll check in again soon! Bye for now.

I'm back...

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.

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.

How cool is that? Yeah. Very.

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.

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?

So here is the official debut of my new car, which will be picked up tomorrow after work...
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.

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 already 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. Here are a few pics.

All the seams are done - just need to finish off the neckline.

How cute is Munchie?

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!

Warning: A lot of swear words to follow:

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.

And lastly, here is my Christmas cactus, which is blooming right on schedule. I can't believe that the holidays are here already.

I'll try to make an effort to check in again soon. Have fun shopping!!

The Boston Militia and Circular Needle Holders...

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 Boston Militia. 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, 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??

How cool is this ring?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.



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.

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!