242. Wish you were here

Another local meal for us!
Also some wine, beer and Mike's Hard lemonade (not local) and time with friends playing Apples to Apples.
We most likely ticked some neighbors off tonight with all the laughing and carrying on.
I'm sure they will get over it!
Hope your weekend is great too!

241. Stomping through the weekend

Hey, Carole! Look what I found!
I really loved this local band. I had hoped they would go big. They were big to me. This video brought back such great memories!

240. 40 things

Overall I don't like memes. But then again, there are some that are just too fun for words. So here goes this one, found at Nora's.
I have added my own comments to the end of the sentences. Fill in the blanks.
~~
1. My uncle once set an elementary school on fire (accidentally) when he left a cigarette on the corner of something. It dropped into a pile of newspapers and started a fire in the boiler room. He was the school's custodian. He was also a member of the town's fire department. He lost both jobs that day.

2. Never in my life will I totally balance my checkbook.

3. When I was five my father bought a house without my mother's knowledge. She cried when she saw what she had to move her family into. That house was literally a heap of junk. Until my father fixed it up.

4. High school was a time of life that seemed so blasted important and now I cannot remember much about it after all. Funny that.

5. I will never forget my way home. (Okay, I had nothing on this one. Or too much, whatever)

6. Once I met my knitting and blogging friends, my life was instantly enriched.

7. There’s this boy I know whose name is Samuel, he is our paperboy. Every day he walks across our porch to check the thermometer that I have sitting out there. He also tries very hard to win Fig over. He's been unsuccessful at that not for the lack of trying. Fig did, however, warm up to him a couple of times because Samuel opened the door to put the paper in, giving Fig the opportunity to walk in the house without waiting for us.

8. Once, at a bar I got the drummer's drumstick. I had that drumstick up until recently. A couple of us used to be groupies of sort of the group the Stompers. (oh, gosh! They are not as good looking as my memory insists!) They were a Boston based band that sang "I love that dirty water, ohhhhh, Boston you're my home". Oddly enough, as much as I loved them I cannot remember one more of their songs. We had such fun going around Massachusetts going to their shows. We went a lot to a place in Boston and to Pufferbellies on the Cape.

9. By noon it is the end of the morning.

10. Last night I ate 4 slices of pizza. Oh boy. I did . I was hungry.

11. If only I had the ability to cure cancer.

12. “Next time I go to church” it will probably be for a funeral. Sadly. I used to be very active in the church but had a severe crisis of faith (not so much a crisis of faith as a crisis of religion)as I was very ill, looking for some help, getting none and also getting lots of criticism for my troubles. That was it for me.

13. What worries me most is the future of Derek and Bethany. I hope that they will be happy and healthy, that they will meet someone truly special to share their lives, that they will be able to rise above all of the school loan debt, that the world will stay a safe place to be for them. And that I will have grandchildren someday. Not too soon, but not too far off either.

14. When I turn my head left I see a snoozing husband in his chair, still clutching the remote control. If I happen to extract said remote from his hand mid snore, he will proclaim that he "Was watching something". This is when knitting and the computer come in handy.

15. When I turn my head right I see Darkness out the window. There are some crickets outside having quite the loud party tonight. Of course, I cannot see them but they are outside that window that I see when I turn my head to the right.

16. You know I’m lying when I say "Isn't that mosquito so cute?"

17. What I miss most about the Eighties is the big hair. I loved my big hair. I loved spraying my bangs up. UP high. The sides of the hair? Out straight to the side.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be Hermia

19. By this time next year I will be 48 years old and have been married for 25 years. I remember when I was younger, I used to say to myself "When I'm 48, married 25 years and Derek will be 23 and Bethany will be 21". I would try to imagine what my life would be like. What my kids would be like in the future, what they would look like, what they would do with their lives.

20. A better name for me would be: Well, my favorite names when I was a kid were names like Ingrid or Gretchen or Gwendolyn. But I don't think it would feel right being a "Gwendolyn's knitting". Too long.

21. I have a hard time understanding how I always pick the grocery cart with the broken wheel. Or how I get into the shortest line at the grocery store and it is inevitably the slowest. OR! How someone cuts me off (driving) and then gives ME a dirty look and possible a hand gesture!!!!
(I could go on and on with that one)

22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll soak it all in unlike when I was there as a young person. I would love to go back to school to be and English Teacher.

23. You know I like you if I smother you in kisses. Okay, I lied. I don't really smother anyone in kisses unless they are small. Not just a small woman or a small man, I mean a small child. I smother them. Repeatedly. But I shy away from doing that with an adult. But if the next time I see you? And you want a smother? Just ask. I'll oblige.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be George Clooney. It would make people wonder, hmm. She knows George Clooney? No wonder she got this award! She has it going on.

25. Take my advice, never give advice.

26. My ideal breakfast is an omelet or an egg sandwich. Or an english muffin. Cheerios! I love cheerios!

27. A song I love but do not have is Well, geez, Louise, the internets are right here! Help yourself! (I do not condone music stealing). I'm not a huge music buyer. Or listener for that matter. I do love some music. But. It's not part of my daily life. I do have a lot of songs in my brain all the time. I usually wake up with one in my head and it's kind of the theme music for the day. Yes, it's odd. But I kind of like it. I don't have to pay anything for that music either. I won't sing it aloud for you, don't worry. You can thank me later.

(Cripes, how long is this meme, anyway?)

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you buy a chair. It is the Chair City. And you MUST eat at my Brother's restaurant. It is called Cruisers and you will eat the best food you've ever had. Order the haddock with an ice cream frappe or sundae for dessert.

29. Why won’t people see everything my way? :D

30. If you spend a night at my house like at Nora's, you will have to sleep on the couch and have Fig sitting above you in the window all night. It's not a mansion, but it's home!

31. I’d stop my wedding for an announcement that nothing will stop my wedding.

32. The world could do without nuclear weapons, pants that hang off of young men's bottoms, gangs, mosquitoes, humidity and burglars.

33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than Oops, I found another answer for number 32. Cockroaches. I wouldn't lick the belly of one for anything. Don't try to offer me things. I won't accept.

34. My favorite blondie is a brownie.

35. Paper clips are more useful than having papers flying willy nilly around the office.

36. If I do anything well it’s offending people when I proclaim my love for some and not including all. That will be a long list (I love you, Cookie!!! :D)

37. I can’t help but I'm taking the BUT out of that sentence and singing this answer. I can't help falling in love with you. No, not YOU. I may love you but I'm not IN love with you. Cripes.

38. I usually cry at commercials, movies, comedies, cartoons, mushy stuff and graduations.

39. My advice to my nephew/niece is always, always, always call your Auntie Sandy when you need anything. Always.

40. And by the way do you want this meme? Did you like it? Am I drop dead boring or what??

Thanks, Nora!

239. Winners and a Pickle and a bit of this and that

Here is what's what today:
~I started knitting another dragon scale scarf for a coworker who bought herself the cashmere. The color is called "granny smith" and that pretty much sums it up. In other walks of life it might have been called lime green. Either way, the color is not one of my best and even while knitting it, my color clashes with it's color. One of us has to go.
~It's amazing how much knitting one can get done while waiting in hospitals while people have their cancer appointments
~Winners! I have winners!
The yarn winner is Life's a Stitch, Li! She will get a yarny prize. Have I ever told you how much I love Li? She's my best West Coast friend. I love her to pieces. And now I get to send her some yarn. I'm the lucky one. (Oh, and it bears saying again, please go and check out Li's scarf pattern. It's a great pattern and she will give it out for free for the polite asking. Tell her I sent you!)
And.
The winner of the Philosophy gift set? Margene! Have I told you how much I love Margene? She my best Utah friend. I love her. To pieces. And now I am sharing my favorite obsession with her, my Philosophy. Who better to share Philosophy with anyway?
Again. How lucky am I? (I don't think Margene has anything free to give away, but you could try to beg something off of her anyway if you want. Tell her I sent you!)
~haha~
~While in the hospital waiting area today, knitting my little heart out with granny smith yarn that clashed horribly with my skin color, I glanced up at the television and the closed captioning and read
and I quote
"which is typ pickle for a 14 year old girl"
I pondered for a minute or so, "what is a typ pickle?". Then it dawned on me, of course it's "typical". I tell this story as part of the ongoing CART (which I believe stands for Captions Are Really Typ (Pickle) series that is so wonderful over at Norma's. (Have I told you how I love Norma?) (Okay, I'll stop)
~ It occurs to me, during the closing night of the Democratic National Convention which also coincides with the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech, that in order for our country (Or our world for that matter) to truly move into a post racial society, it is imperative that we stop referring to people like Barack Obama as a BLACK man. No one refers to John McCain as a WHITE man. A small adjective that should not have to be used. We will only be non racial when we can stop referring to race. Will it happen? I can only hope.
So Typ Pickle, isn't it?

238. Scarf haiku

a green cashmere scarf
soft and warm around my neck
ready for the cold

237. We've got sunshine, on a cloudy day (sing along)

File this into the "Be Careful what you wish for" category:

22 years ago, on my birthday I went into labor. I had spent a better part of that nine months (among other things) wishing that I would not have the baby on my birthday. I wanted each of us to have our own day. That thought was half for the baby and half selfish. I wanted my own day. I did not want it encompassed in the birthday of the child.
I got what I wished for. Labor started the morning of my birthday and lasted (and lasted) (And lasted) until 7 am the next morning when Derek made his appearance. That also marked the earliest he ever got up on his own. He would be a night owl for the rest of his days up to and including the present.
I got my wish. He was not born on my birthday. Little did I know that most of my birthdays when he was growing up would be spent in frantic cleaning jags and party preparations.
The party is a bit smaller nowadays but it still is a special one.
Happy Birthday, Derek!

He's single, ladies! AND? He tie dyes his fingers when tie dying shirts!

Derek's birthday tradition is a strawberry cake, from a box mix and fluffy white frosting, from a can. He loves it and there is no straying from his birthday cake.
~~
Did you notice I called myself a GEYSER yesterday? Which is just silly. I may erupt now and again but I am more of a GEEZER. What can I say? I was distracted!
~~
Birthday Sunset

A huge thank you to all of you for the birthday wishes. You make a girl cry good tears!
Prizes tomorrow!

236. Rumor has it that it's someone's birthday

Today I am 47 years old.
Honestly, with the exception of an abundance of money, I live a charmed life.
I'm happy, healthy, have a wonderful family! What more could an old geyser like me want?
It's my birthday and I can give gifts if I want to.
Leave me a comment (I'd be lying if I said that I don't love a bit of attention now and again) and I'll choose a random name for one of 2 birthday gifts.
1. A Philosophy 3 pc. trial skin care set (listen girls, we are not getting any younger but our faces don't have to show it!)
(I cannot post the picture for some reason so see the set HERE (added: I cannot get that link to work either. This little Philosophy set is being shy. Well, the set has a Purity Made Simple, a Hope in a Jar and a Hope in a Tube, all you need for great skin care!)
2. and a yarn gift to be determined by your special yarn need.

So, happy day to you. Thank you for being part of my life. You enrich my world immensely.

235. ouch

My computer is having issues tonight. I'm posting this before the modem takes a break again. And my "Cable Guy" is in the process of one of those long "touring the USA" kind of flights back from Arizona!
See you tomorrow!

234. 567891, it's a number pattern

The Obama VP text message? Came at 3:15 am. I actually brought my phone to bed with me last night to hear what time the message came through. I did not have to read it though because as I was getting ready for bed the news reported that even though the VP announcement hadn't been made yet, the Secret Service had been dispatched to Joe Biden's home. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
3:15 in the morning. Geez, Obama, get some sleep!
Autumn Watch:
In addition to some trees changing color around here, I noticed these things in the garden today:

The sedum is starting to get it's autumn color
and so are the hydrangea

These are welcomed signs!
And my Saturday Sky looked like this outside of my window

Complete with husband on a ladder painting the house!

233. My mind wanders around a bit

The other day I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt like a kid being picked last in gym class (which believe ME, I was!).
I broke down and signed up for the Barack Obama Vice President pick text message. I just love technology and how can I resist NOT being in the know?
standard text rates apply
Now, don't take this as an endorsement. It's not. I'm not fully convinced he is the man for the job. Nor am I convinced about McCain, either. I do believe there was a great woman for the job. But that is neither here nor there now.
Fair weather fan, I may be. But I will be unsubbing on that text message list after the announcement comes.
Of course, I realize that I could wait 3.2 seconds after those texts go out and read it EVERY-WHERE on the internets, I'm sure.
Not the same.
What I did today, a list because you know how I love a list:
~Got to work on time. Believe me when I say that is a minor miracle
~had a fulfilling day
~got a manicure
~spent lots of money on vitamins
~sat around and moped for a while because the whole family is out. Derek is still in Phoenix (I never found a stand an emergency Phoenix person, there are NO Arizona readers here?), Bethany is working a 24 hour shift and Andy is off doing some side work that has something to do with drywall or some such nonsense.
~Got over the moping
~Knit a ton on the wonderful Foxfire Cormo silk scarf
~got a post card from the Salt Lake Crew and guest
~decided that I am going to invest in a sweater's worth of Foxfire yarn when I attend Rhinebeck this year!
~ordered Chinese food
~Threw away a plate full of Chinese food because it was the worst slop I have ever paid for. I am sorely disappointed. (Jo, DO NOT go to China Jade) Life is too short to eat horrible food.
~drinking plenty of water, are you?
~~
TGIF!

232. Short. This one won't take you long. Maybe you can leave a short comment?

It occurs to me that as a new knitter, I was right away knitting Starmores and socks. As an OLD knitter I am stuck on scarves.
Believe me, the irony does not escape me.

231. So, yeah...about knitting. Remember that as a topic?

This may look like a ruffly, red edged thing.
It is not.
Your eyes deceive you.
It is a scarf. Charlotte's Scarf, to be exact (Not Charlotte's Web, like Li thought) from the Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book made from THE yarn. The Foxfire cormo silk. Remember this yarn started to be an Irish hiking scarf and then transformed into the Aran Island Mittens and now the Charolotte Scarf. This is a keeper.
This scarf is knit lengthwise which I will admit is not my favorite way. 240 stitches gives "one more row" a new meaning! But the pattern and the yarn fit together like Fig and his catnip treats. They were made for each other. I wish you could reach through your screen and feel the scarf. It is cushy in a good way.
It has a provisional cast on so that both sides of the scarf will match as opposed to a regular cast on which never ever matches your cast off ever. Hence the red edge. So you can see that it HAS a red edge but does NOT have a red edge after all.
You see?
This scarf reminds me of why I love knitting so much.
(Can you feel the love?)

How about a nice picture of Fig?

Not the gray, furry one. This one is the sublimely sweet variety. Specifically the Black Mission Fig. Not as cute but delicious!

230. I carry a torch for the Olympic games

I have been enjoying the heck out of the Olympics! I love to watch the gymnastics and the high diving and the synchronized swimming and the trampoline! I scoffed at the trampoline being an Olympic event, until I saw them perform. A far cry from my days at doing the seated bounce and turn.
Speaking of Olympics:

I guess I missed that competition.
And my all time favorite Olympic moment?

Pardon, I need a tissue.

229. What I am doing tonight

Sitting on my porch

Watching the little pink clouds float by:

Drinking my water:

Enjoying some knitting:

All in all, enjoying a nice summer's eve.

228. When all else fails, a list!

A list for a Sunday:
~I cannot believe that this year is steaming by so quickly. Honestly, August is almost over
~Leading into my favorite seasons: Fall and winter.
~The number on the title is keeping me in reality
~August is also the time that I shop at the farm stand at least twice a week. One cannot have too many fresh veggies in season or enough corn on the cob.
~ I insist that we eat corn on the cob until someone in the family utters "Corn, again??"
~Which is not for another month or so
~Derek is going on his first adult vacation tomorrow. He and 2 friends are flying to Phoenix, Arizona to visit a friend that recently moved out there. They stay until next Sunday. So, Phoenix area knitters, stay on call for me if there is any emergency that needs tending. I know I can count on you.
~I feel a bit on the pouty side, wishing that I was a rich person so I could have traveled to Utah to be with Margene and Norma and Utah crew.
~I am done knitting the dragon scale scarf
~I love it so much
~Even the notorious knit hater of the family (Bethany) said it was soft although she DID wonder, facetiously how it could be warm with such holes in it!
~Would it surprise you to know that I've started another scarf?
~The Charlotte Scarf from the Green Mountain Spinnery book.
~When I was a girl, my biggest, deepest, darkest fear was a nuclear war with Russia. That fear seems to be creeping back into my mind after being absent for many years
~For some silly mystery reason, I had gotten away from sitting on my wonderful new front porch. I rectified that this weekend, with a vengence!
Monday tomorrow, bring it on!

227. Tired of worrying about people, tired of fighting for people to be treated with respect so I'm going to put up pretty pictures here and we can all OOOOH and AHHHHH at them as a distraction from your world, okay? You have something you want to ignore

The sky was gorgeous here today and very dramatic with it's puffy clouds and periodic black clouds.
(that would qualify for a Saturday sky as well)
and my favorite late summer flower is

Queen Anne's Lace. I love it's delicacy, it's lacy beauty, it's strength to show up year after year.
I appreciate that.

226. One thing led to another OR: NO PROB!

You know how some days can start off all hunky dory? And you go through the day all happy and stuff. Things are going well. I mean, sure! You haven't won a million dollars or won gold at the olympics or anything but it's an overall good day!
Then it happens. Things start going downhill slowly. It's not like a quick landslide it's a slow creep.
For instance?
Thanks for asking.
When I got home from work today this happened:
~I had to bring FIL to Boston to be admitted to Beth Israel because:
a. Andy could not because he is very sick with a cold and the last thing FIL needs is a cold. Or a germ in general
b. I was the only one around at that time
c. his incision site was draining an excessive amount soaking his dressings and clothing numerous times through the day. Turns out he is fine but they are going to keep an eye on it for the night.
~MIL happened to be at the local emergency room at the time for (yet another) pulled muscle. That's all I wish to say about that.
~My mother happens to be in the hospital for the 3rd day for an extreme diverticulitis attack. She has to have surgery to cut out the damaged part of her intestines.
So heading into Boston, after sitting in traffic for an ungodly amount of time, we arrive at Beth Israel after I have seen FIL crying because he has to go back there.
And he is treated like a returning king. For about 6.2 minutes. I explain to them that his tshirt and pajama pants and underwear are all wet from the drainage and he will need help getting into dry hospital duds. NO PROB they assure us. And, I tell them, he has not had any dinner and it's now 8 pm and he needs to eat something. OH, REALLY! IT'S OUR PLEASURE TO ORDER HIM A SANDWICH PLATTER!
Then a funny thing happens. Time starts ticking by. 1/2 hour. 1 hour. Still a FIL with wet clothes and increasingly hungry (a diabetic no less). So, I'm feeling a little steamed and I go to the nurse's desk. No one in sight. Hmm. I wander around a bit. Find a woman. BLahblah. NO PROB. She will page someone (again) to get the dry clothes and she will call down for the food.
Great. Thank you.
Another 3/4 of an hour ticks on by. FIL is sleeping in the bed. This is when I wander out to check out the laughing that I'm hearing. It is the room next door to FIL, which is labeled EQUIPMENT STORAGE and is a locked room. The nurses are streaming in and out of there having a laugh a minute while in there. I wonder what kind of equipment is in there? A TV and a poker table?
Now, before anyone gets all steamed at me, I support nurses. They deserve to relax and get away just as much as the next guy. I respect them immensely. Not all of them but most. But the time to relax and giggle like schoolchildren is not when an 80 year old man is shivering waiting for dry clothes and is starting to shake from hunger.
I'm sure you'll agree.
Like I said, by this time, I'm steamed! This is my Father In Law, dammit. He is a person and deserves to be treated better. So, I did what any caring daughter in law would do.
I killed them with kindness. Sure, I wanted to yell at them. I wanted to lay into them in the worst way. And I could have NO PROB. But we know that has the opposite effect. And unless I am willing to sleep in that room with him (which I am not) I have to leave sometime and an opportunity for a bit of revenge sets in. No. Not for my FIL) Instead, I plastered on a fake smile and pulled out my fakey polite voice and talked to every person I could find, wondering if someone could get me some clean dry clothes for my poor dear father in law who is wet and cold from the drainage from his cancer surgery. *I* need to change him, Agnes. It IS Agnes isn't it? My, that is a great color you are wearing!!!
Agnes was in changing FIL lickety split. No Prob.
The sandwich soon found it's way to his room also.
I said good bye to him, sure that he would survive the night and got rewarded for all of my good deeds by having the biggest, longest driving rain/thunderstorm to drive home in that I've seen in ages. Yes. That's the icing on the cake, NO PROB, Mother Nature, thanks for that.
Yes. I'm grumpy today.

225. So, regarding the numbering of the entries? I apparently had put in 2 entries for number 135. So that makes this entry 226 in actuality but I'm not going go back to May's entries to change the numbers. Now you know the rest of the story.

I love it when signs have misprints on them or look wrong. I love a special sign!
Here's one that went up around the corner from me:

Comming Soon~

This one Norma and I found in Boston:

Nothing like a good FOOO experience to make your day. (Yes, I realize it's supposed to be FOOD but that was one unfortunate choice of fonts for that D is it not?)
~~
John Steinbeck has been in the news as of late. Seems his family has lost the rights to his earlier works. This seems so wrong to me.
This got me to remember how much I love Steinbeck's writing! I do think I will dig out my copy of Grapes of Wrath and reread. This will make a perfect late summer read.
Anyone care to join me?

224. Yes, it's true that this should be 225 but I'm not going to change it all now. I'll just keep blissfully along, using the wrong numbers. That will mean, of course that I will have to do one more at the end. A bonus or something to dread? You decide.

Good Morning, Glory! This little guy was up early saluting the sun! It is not seen much around here lately so we all must do our part to make the Sun feel welcomed! Don't want to be hurting it's feelings now, would we?
I got myself into a bit of a jam today when a coworker fell in love with the cashmere dragon scale scarf and asked me if I'd make one for her. I stumble on my words when this happens. Luckily it is a great pattern and yarn to die for so it won't be that much of a chore. I told her if she is willing to put out the money for the cashmere then I'd knit it.
Nancy Reagan used to say, JUST SAY NO.
I can turn down the drugs, but a little compliment on my knitting and I'm all googly eyed.
Honestly, when will I ever learn.

223. When last we left off, we were at 222...

A wonderful package arrived in the mail today, one that smelled awfully good to a little gray cat. He can sniff his favorite treats a mile away.
In the package? Fig's Favorite Catnip treats and 2 Nancy Drew books from WAY back. Did they bring back memories. As a happy coincidence, I did decide to buy the 3 pack of books at BJ's and all are different titles. I look forward to the Cheese factor in these books. I expect that to be pretty high. Sometimes a girl just needs a little CHEESE in their lives, you know? I have heard it said that the old are better than the newer versions and now I'll be able to contrast and compare.
Fig's obviously eaten a handful of treats by now. He's just mow them all down if we let him. Moderation, dear kitty.
Thank you to Jo who made our day!
(Hey, Jo! Today is a good day to start BLOGGING again!)
:)
The mittens of yesterday, the WALLAH mittens are not history yet in the literal sense but in the emotional sense they are. Gone baby gone. (Which was a great movie, by the way!)
And in breaking news.....
The sun came out today for about 4 hours. It hurt my eyes a little all that shining. I looked at my poor porch plants and they were starved for water. Imagine? All that water falling around them and not a drop for them to drink. It is hard for me to remember to water them when it's practically at flood stage outside.
Don't worry, though. It's raining again right now. Just so we don't get used to it or anything.
How's your weather?

222. Remember the show called ROOM 222? I liked that show! It was so hip and big city life to a small town girl like me!

I have MASTERED the Aran Island Mittens tree of life. The palm side of the mitten that was giving me fits. The particular stitch, in case your sharp blog reader mind does not remember the gory details, is a Purl through the back loop on the second stitch and knit the first.
Or, as we in the know say,
PBL 2nd stitch, K 1st stitch.
Okay, if you have never PBL, it is awkward. You stick your needle back to front through the right or back loop of the stich, then wrap the yarn in a purl fashion, pulling it through. ALL THE WHILE, not letting the stitch off the needle, which makes it even harder because there is a stitch to the right of it waiting to be knit. It is too many stitches, not enough room to execute it right. Imagine if that Olympic swimmer, what is his name? Phelps? He needs to swim the fastest butterfly of his life to bring home the gold and there is a bunch of kids with swim noodles in the pool and some doing cannon balls. It's kind of like that.
IMPOSSIBLE.
But. I mastered it. And here is how: PAY ATTENTION. You may need this someday and you'll email me when we are old and gray to thank me.
Instead of keeping the first stitch on the needle, I put it onto a cable needle and let it hang out while I go about the business of PBL on the 2nd stitch. Then slip that bugger back on and VOILA! (Don't you love it when people write WALLAH instead of voila? No. )
Did you follow along at home? Am I talking french/greek/latin/insert a language that sounds all gobbledygook to you.
And with the sweet success? You would think I would knit happily along on these mittens. But I am not. I am frogging them. Kaput. Nada on the Aran Island Mittens.
I don't have the love for them either. It's not the yarn this time. It's the pattern. (Pattern, I'm looking at you!)
I don't enjoy that pattern. It's too fiddly. Now, this is unusual indeed. I have given up on plenty of lace. Lace and me? Pfft. It has to be the simplest of simple. But Aran knitting? Or color knitting? I'm all about it! It is my THING. There is, I've learned in life an exception to every rule. This is my exception.
I do not like the Aran Island Mittens. I do not like them Sam I am.

221.

It's that time of year again! The goldfinches make their yearly appearance in my yarn (of course, I meant YARD not yarn, silly me. Thanks Joan for pointing this out to me! :) while munching on the sunflower seeds.
Can you see him?
And regarding Flickr/Yahoo? After I wrote the scathing murderizing blog post I tried one more time later that evening? It went through. The same user name and password combo that I tried oodles of times. Further giving me motive for a well executed plan of murder and mayhem. I have plenty of witnesses that will testify for me and I even have a lawyer. I'm all set, Yahoo. Make my day!
At least I can get into my flickr. That is what I wanted after all.
So. How'd you do with visualizing the tomatoes and swiss chard?

220. Murder is too good for them

Picture here, if you will a plateful of red, ripe juicy tomatoes sliced and ready for dinner.
Also please picture a bowl of fresh swiss chard, sauteed in olive oil with garlic, dark green and shiny, steam rising from the bowl.
I hope you can picture them in your mind because for some reason I am unable to sign into my flickr account.
Admittedly, I do not remember what the username is because apparently it has been converted to a yahoo account. Perhaps they told me this. I cannot remember that though. I know that having no recollection is not usable in a court of law but if Yahoo walked in right now? I'd wring their little chicken necks. And then? I'd stomp them a little because when I'm not struggling to remember which name I might have signed in as for Yahoo a cajillion years ago, then they tell me that my birthdate, and country of origin is not correct. Those are some info that I cannot forget so perhaps YOU, Yahoo have it wrong.
And then???? THEN? I'll go back to wringing the neck because when not trying to remember my sign in or my BIRTHDATE for cripes sake, I cannot read the freaking things that you call SECURITY CODES. Which are a string of letters and numbers that are UNREADABLE with the human eye. They stream together making new letters that do not exist in the English language and then they tell me "OOOPS! It looks like you are having trouble reading the code" FOR THE ZILLIONTH Time.
Honestly? A jury of my peers would not find me guilty of cold blooded murder of Yahoo.
Not in a million years.

219. Friday Fotos..Hmm. Friday Flicks? No, that's not it. Friday flings? Nope. Um..Friday Fun ones? Nah. Friday Snaps? Cripes, why can't I remember the name of the Friday thing. Well, it's Friday and here's some pictures. Click it for big.

My staycation in a mosaic.

Click it for big view

218. Answers for burning questions

You asked, I answer, in the order that the questions came in. I loved all of them, by the way.
1. Cookie asked: Well, she had lots of burning questions so I'll print them and then my answer:
q: Are you making time to take care of yourself?
a. Yes, indeed. I take my vitamins, eat healthy and knit and read a lot.
Q: Can you please hug Andy for me?
a: Andy says "back off, I hardly know you"
Q: And Fig?
a: I blame you for the scratch that I got during that hug but he seemed to enjoy it.
Q: Did I tell you I got my hair cut?
A. No. How short? Do not shave it. I'm warning you.
Q: Are you still knittin' mittens?
A: Yes, sometimes. I have had some headaches lately at night so knitting something with a lot of concentration is not enjoyable.
Q:Or are you back on the scarf bus?
A: Yes, I have never left that bus. The scarf grows. I'm planning more. I have a cold neck.
Q: It's a bus, right?
A: Yes, it's a bus. You getting on?
Q: Do you know I love you?
A: Yes, I gleaned that.
Q: Have any bananas?
A: Yes, I have bananas. I bought some last night. They are yummy.
Q: What about chickens?
A: The only chickens I have are the ones in the freezer waiting to be a soup.
Q: How's that smart squirrel?
A: The squirrels have been busy playing. Perhaps they have not gotten the memo that they should be gathering food for their winter.
Q: Did I ever mention that I'm always full of questions?
A: No. I do not remember you ever mentioning that.
Q: Or did you figure that out on your own?
A: I am starting to get a hint that you like Q & A time.

2. Deb asked:
Q: what I want to know is, on this great-food vacation of yours, did you get any lobster roll
A: I ate a lobster roll and a lobster. Photographic evidence can be seen here and here. They were delicious and gone in a wink.
Q: Or really good New England clam chowder?
A: Actually, Norma and I split a clam chowder at Woodmans. I had never had it before and it was quite tasty. And I made my marinally semi famous fish chowder for Norma the night she arrived. As well as spinach dip but you did not ask about that now, did you?

3. Evil fiber pusher Stacey asked:
Q: If the price of an apple was raised 50% and then decreased 50%, making it cost $0.75, how much was the original price?
A: Well now that is just mean. Have I not expressed my distaste of math lately? Well, anyway. But I will take a stab. $0.75 and that is my final answer, Reeg. Now, pass the caramel dip for that apple.
Q: Which is longer, a mile or a kilometer?
A: which is sort of like Which came first, the chicken or the egg.
It appears during my extensive research on this that a mile is longer. Which really matters in a race that is a 5K. That means that is more than 5 miles and way more than I can run. Of course, down the driveway is way more than I can run but again, that wasn't the question, was it?
Q: It's a warm, summer evening and it's pouring outside, would you prefer to: Laugh and run in the rain, getting soaked or stay inside & cuddle, watching the rain?
A: This is an easy one. I would rather stay inside, read until I cannot keep my eyes open anymore and fall asleep with the sound of the steady rain on the roof and the windows, secure in the fact that my world is warm and safe.
Wha?? Oh, fine. Cuddle.

4. Nora asked:
Q: I hear you on the sandals, but do you have to wear stockings to work?
A: Not necessarily. We don't have a dress code like you do with being dressed up but we do have a closed toe shoe rule that is new this summer and no one is happy about it. Also no bellies hanging out of shirts, which honestly is a good idea for men, women and skanks. (of which we have all working there )I'm glad we don't have to wear sleeves.
Q: Work. So overrated.
A: yes indeed.

5. Carole asks:
Q: Do you know how much I love you?
A: Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Love you right back. :D

6. Blogless Liz asks:
Q: I really want to know what you're knitting!
A: I am still knitting on the dragon scale scarf with the wonderful cashmere:

I enjoy this scarf with all of my senses. The ball of yarn never seems to get smaller which is some kind of magic trick.
I do knit a bit on the aran island mittens and I have flyingdales that is waiting for sleeves. I can ignore that for a bit though.

7. Margene asks:
Q: Cookie writes the best comments. I want to know if you sky is blue.
A: Cookie does indeed write great comments. She is a sweetie but please don't tell her I said so. She likes for everyone to think she is grumpy.
My sky? Not blue at all.
Here's a peek

Very cloudy and gloomy, which is a bit appropriate no? We are waiting for thunderstorms and hoping to duck the tornado warnings that were issued in the Western part of the state. Ick.
Thanks for making me look UP, Mahhhhgene!

8. Barbara-Kay asks:
Q: o, if a train left New York heading west at 50 mph, and another train left Los Angeles heading east at 60 mph, what time is it?

wait for it, wait for it....back to school time!
A: Oh, I see you answered for me which is good because I thought it was a math question but indeed it was a JOKE. Thanks for that! :)
Speaking of a joke:
A woman got a parrot that swore like a truck driver. She did not know how to break him of this habit. She tried everything but that parrot loved to swear.
So one day, after a particularly nasty tirade she stuck that parrot in the freezer. Only for a couple of minutes, to teach him a lesson.
When he got out of the freezer, the other pet bird asked him what he did wrong. The parrot says: I don't know but I hope I never do what that bird did (pointing to the roast chicken in the oven)
Pshaw.

9. Kathleen did not ask a question so I assign her this one:
Q: What is your favorite popsicle?
A: Thank you, Kathleen and for the good wishes too. Banana popsicles happen to be my favorites.

10. Norma asks:
Q: How does your garden grow?
A: thank you for asking, Norma. My particular garden grows by having friends travel long distances to my home and bring me a present of poop. Not just any poop but organic composted manure. And this friend, who we will call the Gardener, will pull scads of weeds and put this manure into the sorry excuse for a garden. This friend, BTW? Now knows my dirty little secret that I live on a postage stamp lot near the sea with plenty of weeds to spare. And yet? She has not outed me. Yet.
Q: Did you eat Swiss chard?
A: No. Not yet. Lookie:

That's some yummy looking Swiss Chard. It begs for a saute in garlic and olive oil.
Q: the kale still alive?
A: Oh, it looks loverly, Nor!

Kale soup this fall! See the green pepper in the background?
And my summer squash? Is actually squash now:

Q: Did I ever say THANK YOU for my lovely visit?
A: No. No you did not. (Or maybe) :D You are welcome but THANK YOU is what I want to say. It was a blast. Come again.

11. Kathy asks:
Q: well, she gave good wishes which is
A: appreciated tons. Miss you, Kathy!

12. Steph VW asks: 1
Q: Why is it that Donald Duck, who usually wears a sailor shirt and no pants, feels the need to wrap a towel around his "waist" when he gets out of the shower or tub? And why does he wear swimming trunks at the beach.
A: Well, Steph, I've thought a lot about this and even did a bit of research. Honestly, this is a burning question, is it not? If Walt Disney were here today we could ask him this tidbit but alas we can only speculate. Is Donald an exhibitionist? A semi nudist? Do his feather need airing out on the bottom where perhaps they are thicker than the chest area? Is it because no cartoon pants will accommodate that feather tail? Perhaps back then they did not have a Men's Big, Tall and Feathered store where he lived. Or is he just a freak.
The world my never know.

13. Blogless Bonny asks:
Q: I'm sure there's a good reason, but I wonder why can't you wear sandals to work?
A: Indeed.
Q: I'm all about comfort so I got a couple pairs of Keen sandals this summer.....It's a plus that my kids think they look a bit dorky.
A: YES! The comfort is important. I have never worn keens. AND? If your kids think you look dorky than you are doing a good job being a mother. Pat yourself on the back! :)
Q: Also, are you still poo-free?
A: This question does not have an easy answer. The short answer is NO. Not always. The longer version has something about me being too cheap to keep buying the WEN that I so dearly love and trying the same technique with OTC conditioners and never finding one to live up to my beloved expensive WEN until now. I have been using Tressemme moisture rich conditioner as a WEN shampoo free wash and I love it. So, I have been poo free for a week now. Again.
But not with my beloved, golden WEN.

14. Claudia asks:
Q: When a feline purrs and cuddles, does it really love you or is it a brazen, calculated manipulation to make you feed/house/pay their vet bills? I go back and forth on the answer to this one.
A: Phew. This is as philosophical as it can get. Well. I think it's a 50/50 deal. Sometimes the purrs and cuddles are heart felt as long as they are delivered on the cat timeline and not the humans. The other times? It's a plot to gain access to tuna or treats or the catnip in the drawer. Or like a devious game of chicken they see if they can get you to give up your own favorite couch spot for their cute little furry faces. But maybe that's just me.

15. Diane T asks:
Q: boxers or briefs
A: This is a great question. I personally wear your average old lady huge white bloomers, cotton thank you. But it occurs to me that you perhaps are asking me what I like my MAN to wear. Glad you asked. There was a time that it was tidy whiteys all the time. They were ridiculous looking, weren't they? They do nothing for the male shape. Then came boxers. Which look too GRANDPA-ish if you ask me. And then the kids started wearing their pants all the way down their butts and now we see boxers everywhere spoiling any boxer love we may have secretly felt.
My personal fav? Is the boxer brief. Good looking, clingy in the right places and not baggy and bunchy when wearing pants.
Glad you asked?

16. Blogless Lynn states:
That it's all about attitude. I have plenty of that to go around the whole family. This should come in handy.

17. Beth S. asks:
Q: "Any progress on the Aran Island mittens today?" Because when life gets you down, y'know, it (almost) always helps to knit mittens. :-)
A: No progress today. Unless you count more ripping out as progress which really IS progress when you think about it. I have been mitten dreaming lately so I do believe you are right. When life hands you lemons, make mittens.
You heard it here.

Doris tells me:
That I need to give (and get) lots of hugs from/to Andy. Okay, Dr. Doris. I'll remember that.

18. Jae asks:
Q: f you could knit with any yarn that you haven't yet knit with what would it be? Price and scarcity are no object.
A: My needles are rubbing together in glee at this one! I would like to try some quiviet yarn (is that how I spell it?)
I'd love to get a sweaters worth or two of Mountain Colors Weaver's Quarters and perhaps lots of cashmere for mittens.
I could just go on and on with this one.
~~~
Thanks to you all for your good thoughts. I know that you care. And it warms me even as we laugh together.
~~
I leave you with this:
Why DOES Donald Duck wrap a towel around his waist covering the area that is exposed all day long. He's kind of a freak, isn't he?
Now? Please wrap your arms around yourself and squeeze.
That's from me.

217. Ask me a question, I tell you no lies.

So, this will be the kind of blog entry that I hate. The whiney blog. You've been warned. If you stay, I don't feel bad for you.
UPDATES of sorts:
~My FIL had his big operation yesterday. It was a long ordeal of a day.They removed his common bile duct, gall bladder, many pancreatic ducts and then pulled the small intestine up to recreate all of these ducts so that bile can drain properly. The bad news is that there is still tumor (read cancer) in his liver and pancreas. He will have a difficult recovery from a draining surgery and then have chemo and radiation. I cannot tell you how much this news weighs heavy on my heart.
I've had lots of conversations and thoughts about IS IT WORTH IT? Of course, it's none of our decisions but again, my heart breaks.
~FIG? He is steadily holding his own. He eats, sleeps, purrs, meows, sits on the porch, gets scritches and begs for his favorite treats, Pounce catnip flavored crunchies, which may or may not taste like catnip but smell like butt. All seems happy in fig-world.
~Re-entry to the working world has been okay. The worst thing? Wearing shoes. I miss wearing my sandals. It's tough being me sometimes, I'm sure you'll agree. :D
What else? Anything you want to know? Ask. Ask anything. I'll answer.
Go ahead.
It's Q & A time. You know you want to. (go ahead, ask a silly question, you don't have to talk about the Elephant that is the first subject of today's blog entry. Silly/serious/funny distraction is needed around here. )

216. French memories

My mother speaks French Canadian but never did teach my brother and I much of it. She liked to use it against us. She would keep her little mom secrets by talking to our Grandmother in French leaving us lovingly in the dark. But she did have her French words or phrases that she used exclusively.
Two of her favorites (and I butcher these, I'm sure) Ferme la bouche: Shut your mouth
And the word FESSES was used ALOT. Fesse meaning buttocks. You know, FEMER LA BOUCHE OR I'LL WHACK YOUR FESSES.
Kind of French and kind of English. I knew what it meant: RUN.
My best friends mom, being French too also loved the word FESSES. She would always crack us up singing at the top of her lungs to John Denver's Annie's song:
YOU FILL UP MY FESSES
Like a night in the forest
Like a mountain in springtime.....

You probably know the rest.

Of course, as an adult, I'm aware that that little phrase could be construed in a totally different way. One in which I will start getting lots and lots of s*p*a*m about things I'd rather not. But as a kid? It was hilariously funny.
The reason I'm thinking of that? Your guess is as good as mine. I don't try to make sense of those kinds of things, I just enjoy the ride.
~~~
And there's knitting too.

Aran Island Mitten cuff. Yarn is Foxfire cormo silk. I'm still struggling with those PBL into the second stitch and then knit the first but I'm winning the battle.
Maybe I should threaten it's fesses?

215. Hey, Claudia! I'll see your scraggly tomato plant and raise you a fainted douglas fir seedling!

Claudia talked about her scraggly tomato plants the other day and I nodded in sympathetic agreement. You see, I too have the scraggles. Badly.

There is clearly some kind of fatal tomato plant disease going on here but it's a stubborn one and before it goes, it will grow some fine looking tomatoes as you can see. I feel badly for the poor thing, being so sickly and all. But I will enjoy those tomatoes even more. Honestly, I am not a tomato expert but I think it's just not a tomato year. The longest stretch of dry weather that this little guy has seen was the 3 days that Norma was here. With all of my complaining about the rain and storms, Norma probably thought I was making it all up because Mother Nature decided to show off a bit so Norma could see the best of the weather by the sea. But the minute she was gone? Rain and storms. Tomatoes (or any plant in general) do not like to be continually wet. And if it was not raining on the plant, it was humid to beat the band so the wetness never got to dry. Leading to scraggly. Maybe I should have taken the blow dryer out to the plants. Nah.
I am also sorry to advise you of the demise of yet another Douglas Fir. I do believe that I may have accused certain members of my family of murdering the last douglas fir and mysteriously here is the same circumstance sans the water bottle lying near the keeled over plant. No smoking gun. No guilty party.

Another one bites the dust
I did what any able bodied blogger would do. I went to the internets and did a bit of a google on HOW TO GROW A DOUGLAS FIR and found out (horrors) that there is a bit of a thing that can plague little dougies called a FUNGUS that will cause root rot and the plant will BLOW OVER. Poor little thing never had a chance. (I have apologized to all innocent family members including one 4 legged one).
Damned fungus.
Killing douglas' left and right.
So now what? I have a burning desire to grow a piney type from seed. Perhaps I'll go gather some cones and collect seeds.
The strongest thing in my garden right now? The sunflower that was planted by a bird.

Maybe I should have that bird gather some douglas fir seeds.

214. weeks in review

\
The rolling storms are thundering through today. It's becoming a pattern as of late. I don't mind unless it's positioned over my head and throwing lightning bolts down. I hate the super hot weather so I'll gladly take the trade off of stormy days. Bethany does not agree, she hates the storms with a burning passion.
Today is sadly the last day of my staycation. Although I never made it to the Museum of Fine Arts, I did have a memorable time.
The hightlights:
~Shakespeare in the Park with my people, Norma, Claudia, Terry, Carole and Dale and dinner with Carol, who is a wonderful person that I feel like I've known for ages and Mini Kate who is just delightful!
~Norma staying here for 3 days
~Lobster not once but twice
~Shakespeare in the Park (it meant THAT much to me, thanks, grrrls!)
~getting my house in some semblance of order
~Getting reacquainted with my knitting
Now? I must get up at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to that because I have not kept a schedule at all for the last 2 weeks. I have been quite the woman of leisure, sleeping in and staying up late.
I'll be the cranky one tomorrow.