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Thursday, September 30, 2004
Dancing Monkeys
Isn't it the cutest? (in the interest of full disclosure, let me just say that (1) i do not need another little zipper bag, even if it does have monkeys on it, and (2) i don't care and bought it anyway. I also have socks with happy smiling monkey heads all over them. And no, I don't think I have a problem.) My excuse for buying the monkey-bag was that I was ordering a wedding present for my friend D, and there was a minimum $$ for the site, so I had (HAD TO, I SAY!!) buy the monkey bag, or they wouldn't let me have my gift. and no, the gift does not involve monkeys. Last night was a blast at Knit Happens... I'm now almost done with the boyfriend socks, and I had a blast. :) As always. :) When I got home from knit night, however, I found a somewhat disturbing postcard. Well, not disturbing so much... more perplexing. Look closely at the legs of this beautiful sheepy specimen, who is standing as a representative of his entire breed. (assume spongebob's bat did not in any way harm the sheep.) 
0 comments || # Tuesday, September 28, 2004 Head Hanging in ShameIs it pathological? In the last 14 meetings, the cowboys have won 13. Yet, overall, the cowboys have SUCKED compared to the redskins over the same period. It's like there's some cosmic conspiracy. And that bogus pass interference call that gave the cowboys their first touchdown? shameful.At least it was good knitting time. I'm almost back to the pre-rip stage of Trinity, and I should be able to finish (or almost finish) the boyfriend socks on wednesday night. :) Other than that, nothing earth-shatteringly interesting is going on - lots of reading and going to class, and not much knitting. Ooo! but in october, after my midterm, I get to go on vacation - to an adorable bed and breakfast overlooking the York River near Jamestown. :) Very exciting. 0 comments || # Monday, September 27, 2004 Another WeekendAt least this one was much more fun! I spent most of Friday studying so I would have free time this weekend, and it was a good thing! On Saturday, S. wasn't feeling so good as a result of a tetanus booster on Friday, so I spent a lot of the day keeping the tea pot filled and keeping him company while we lounged around and watched some dvd's. I was getting a lot of knitting done on Trinity, and then I realized that I had made a mistake on one of the yarn-overs in the center section, so I got to rip out a good 20+ rows. It was so much fun that I haven't been able to look at it again... but I think I'll forgive it later this evening.Then, Saturday night, I got to see Varekai. Words cannot even begin to express how amazing Cirque du Soleil is. Wow. I'm seriously considering trying to take an all-Cirque vegas trip - there are 4 resident shows there!!! Of course, there is that tiny $$ issue. Then, on Sunday, it was some more studying (surprise!), but then free tickets to the Orioles' game in Baltimore. The weather was beautiful, the Orioles won 4-0, and it was a fairly short game (by baseball standards!) Plus, I was able to get to the heel of the second boyfriend sock. Unfortunately, now it's Monday, and I'm back at school realizing that I really do have more reading to do for the next couple of days. Fortunately, we have internet access, so I'm able to waste some time updating the blog. :) Quiz of the week ... can you tell which side of this pot was originally up against the wall where Cricket couldn't reach it? (I swear, she really is part goat.) 
0 comments || # Friday, September 24, 2004 D'oh!So this morning, in an attempt to stop being so lazy (well, in terms of actual exercise), I planned to be at the gym so I could swim at 730 before classes. Everything was going perfectly until I realized, just before I changed into my suit, that I didn't have my goggles. I'm guessing I left them in the shower last time, but there's a slim chance they're at home. Either way, I didn't have them with me, and there's no way my eyes would stand for swimming without them. Grrrrr. So, despite my good intentions, no swimming. I'm going to make it up to myself by walking to the coffee shop to study this afternoon, instead of taking the metro as I was planning.0 comments || # Thursday, September 23, 2004 Dear Ragweed, Although I know that you, like all other living creatures, have just as much a right to enjoy your time on Earth as I do, Please die. Die now. Or at least very soon. Thank You. 0 comments || # Monday, September 20, 2004 Fun ToysSo I love those little yellow (and other fun colored) sticky notes... but now I'm doing everything on my laptop. Obviously, my laptop isn't happy if it's covered with sticky notes. But luckily, those clever folks at 3m have come up with a solution. There's apparently a version that you can buy, but I just did the free program, and I love it. Here's a shot of my desktop-
I love that we have virtual post it notes. :) I had a great weekend, with one black sinking hole of an exception that occurred on Sunday afternoon between 1 and 4. Let us not speak of the pathetic performance by the redskins. I hang my head in shame (well, I do NOW... on Sunday I was yelling and making rude gestures at the tv). Luckily, someone nice brought be beautiful flowers, and an amazing crystal vase. See? pretty! :) 
So far, Cricket hasn't been eating the roses... I'm hoping her salad bar cravings stay under control until her next round of kitty-grass grows. Seriously, she's a goat. She eats grass by the clump... what a little weirdo. In hopes of distracting her from the yummy roses, I washed my sheets and my nice white fuzzy blanket. Cricket gets all worked up when the sheets are suddenly clean... it means she has to spend a huge chunk of her time re-covering everything with a nice warm layer of kitty fur. And she might be onto something - last night I got a little cold! 
0 comments || # Sunday, September 19, 2004 Welcome, Fall!Although Ivan certainly will not be thanked for much, I must at least give him credit - he took all of the stiffling late-summer humidity with him. This morning, temps are in the low 50s, and it definetly feels like fall. To celebrate, I made fresh-baked challah bread yesterday, so of course I had to bust out the tea pot:
And I've gotta tell you... that tea cozy, although it is a standard fair isle with jumper weight shetland and feels kinda thin, man! it keeps tea hot like no other. Plus, it's pretty. (cricket seems to agree!) 
As much as I'd like to fritter even MORE time away updating my blog, apparently they expect me to do a lot of work on the weekends for this thing they call "law school," so I'd better get cracking if I intend to watch the football game later (go 'skins!) ;) 0 comments || # Thursday, September 16, 2004 Finally, Some PicturesWell, I was going to get a teeny bit more studying done tonight, but, well, here's what happened. I made pasta for dinner (which in itself isn't exciting, because I basically ALWAYS make pasta for dinner)... and I decided that Mr. 2-buck Chuck definitely needed to join me. So I popped the cork on a bottle of Merlot and had a glass with dinner. Well, ok, I had one glass WITH dinner, and one glass AFTER dinner... and now I feel like kitty snuggles and knitting. So, dammit, I'm putting my books away... at least until 7 am tomorrow when I start studying again.Yes, that's right- I'm at school and studying each M-F by 7 am. I'm learing to stop feeling guilty when I don't do anything in the evenings after class... after all, when all of the other students were sleeping, I was getting my work done. Plus, this way I get to knit. Hmmm.... that's scary. In a choice between knitting in the evenings and sleeping in the mornings, I've chosen knitting. Speaking of, I had a lovely, if unnusually quiet, evening at Knit Happens... there was an intermediate knitting class in progress, and a few of our usual crew were absent for various reasons (happy new year, cindy... feel better soon, wendy!)... so it was a small but lovely group. Plus, it involved knitting and chatting, so you can't really go wrong, you know? Finally, I've gotten around to posting a picture of the finished back of Trinity... I'm getting a good start on the front, and hopefully I'll manage to finish this one before it transforms into tank top weather again! ;) 
I also finally finished the first of the boyfriend socks... hopefully the second will take a lot less time (if I can remember what I did!) 
...and when I am studying at home (which is basically all weekend), Cricket likes to keep up on the latest reading. I believe she's helping me learn Contracts here... I wonder if I can ask her to explain promissory estoppel? :) 
0 comments || # Wednesday, September 15, 2004 Great WeatherToday's weather is what I would consider perfect... although it is decidedly NOT perfect for what I have to do. It's gently raining, and it's in the cool 60s. It's perfect weather to have a movie marathon and knit, or to read an entire book without getting up from the couch, or snuggle with a kitty. Or maybe all 3. It is NOT, however, the perfect weather to walk to school in flip flops and linen capris, paired with my nice lime-green tank.remember this one? 
But I was smart enough to bring a jacket, and I made a pilgrimage to *$ to get a gigantic chai. And yes, I had listened to the weather forcast both last night and this morning, but decided to go with the cute tank and capris anyway. Why? Because one of my law school classes is being taped today by a french tv show (supposedly it's the french version of 20/20)... and I thought a lime green handknit tank was just the thing to wow those french viewers who for some reason are interested in a 1L torts class. as an aside, the reason they're interested is that my professor is the "sue McDonalds" man, and so he gets a lot of attention internationally for the "stupid ways Americans use lawsuits"... it's pretty interesting. So, if any of you are in france, and routinely watch "some show that's like 20/20" ... then at some point in the next few weeks? months? you might see my class, and you'll probably see my lime green tank. (talk about a great promotion! i should get a job promoting shows for the networks!) So if I survive the excitement of the tv crews, I get to go over to Knit Happens and knit with the girls. It looks like the rain will prevent me from riding my bike, but it'll take a lot more than a few showers to keep me away! :) And on the knitting content front, I finished the back of Trinity (pictures forthcoming), and cast on for the front. Unfortunately, Trinity won't be coming with me to knitting night as I'm knitting it off of a 2 lb cone of yarn, and that's a lot to lugg around. So I'll be working on the socks for the boyfriend instead - I've re-knit the tops now 3 times in an effort to get them to fit properly, and I think I've got it. So hopefully I can finally finish the first sock (for the 3rd time), and power through the second. :) 0 comments || # Tuesday, September 14, 2004 I Love FootballFootball is by far the best sport by which to knit. :) Unlike many of the Olympic events (yes, yes, I know, it's already mid-September, and I really should finish watching the tapes) that require almost total attention, at least during the actual EVENT, football is stuffed full of commercial breaks, timeouts, setting up for each play... plenty of time to power through some knitting.So, as a consequence of the first half of the Packers - Panthers game last night (no, I really couldn't stay up past halftime... stupid early morning classes!), I'm a few rows away from finishing the back of Trinity. And then I get to do an identical front, only I stop "26 rows earlier" than the back... 26 rows? What kind of instruction is that? How about saying "knit until armhole measures..." and give an actual measurement, that happens to be approximately 26 rows earlier? Grumble grumble. Well, at least I read that instruction before I got to the end of the back, so I was able to make a note as to where I stopped, and counted back 26 rows. but it does seem unnecessarily complicated, you know? 0 comments || # Sunday, September 12, 2004 Sunday Morning, 6:30 amCricket is so proud of herself. I guess I should be proud too, and I did give her a generous helping of kitty treats as a reward for her "good kitty" action... but still. Waking up at 6:30 am on a SUNDAY (a.k.a. "sleep in morning") to find your sweet little snuggle-kitty PLAYING with a poor little mousie is not the best way to start the day. She was doing that little kitty-game where she would catch it, put it down, let it run away for a few steps, and then catch it again. I don't think she had seriously injured the little guy, so I caught him in a glass and took him outside, where, doubtless, he'll be eaten by something else. But at least it won't be my sweet little kitty.Now, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely NOT against Cricket doing her kitty-instinct best to hunt whatever she wants. The problem arises, though, when you consider that Cricket (a) isn't really hungry, and (b) has been in a relatively prey-free environment her whole life. Up to this point, she had only practiced on the occasional fly. When you stick those factors together, you get a very brave and energetic little kitty who has no idea how to kill a mouse. I would have much preferred to have woken up to a dead poor little mousie. But as things were, there's no telling how long Cricket would have "played" with it, and how badly she would injure it. {sigh} So now I'm going to watch some Olympics. Yes, I know. They ended WEEKS ago. But modern technology is allowing me to turn back time. Well, not in any of the really useful or important ways, but at least I can watch my Olympic men's field hockey! 0 comments || # Thursday, September 09, 2004 
Ridley, my brother's kitty, is now getting the help she needs to "stay off the green stuff"... 0 comments || # Wednesday, September 08, 2004 I Love the LibraryRecently, I've been in desperate need of something FUN to read. I spend hours and hours each day reading "hard stuff" - highlighters and pen in hand - trying to get the words from the page into my brain. So I needed a "reading vacation" - something fun, and interesting, and page-turningly good. In other words, I needed a novel.A dear friend had gifted me with a giftcard to one of those mega-bookstores, so I walked over there last weekend to find a good paperback. And I just couldn't do it. I couldn't spend $8 - $15 on a book that I would finish in a few days. I mean, really - that's my yarn money! So instead, I took a trip to the library last night, and got 6 books for, that's right, $0. I love the library system... I just wish it got more money and resources. We're supposed to get the rain from good ol' Frances today and tomorrow, so I'm guessing I won't be biking over to Knit Happens tonight. Or maybe I will... I could bring a towel and wrap all of my knitting in plastic bags. It's actually kinda fun to ride in the rain! But if all else fails, I can always take the metro and then walk. After all, it's much easier to hold an umbrella when you're not also trying to operate a bicycle (although I'm sure it would be quite entertaining to watch me try - maybe I could sell tickets!) I'm still plugging away on Trinity... I'm "almost" done with the back (by which I mean that I'm past the armholes, and will eventually get them to the correct length. But since this is also the stage at which the knitting NEVER seems to grow, no matter how much you've knit since you measured last, I'm guessing it'll take me a bit to actually get to the end!) I'm also slowly finishing the first of the socks for my boyfriend - to be fair, though, I already finished it once, and it was too loose and too short. So this is TECHNICALLY the second sock, although I still have to knit one more. ;) 0 comments || # Saturday, September 04, 2004 Blissful 3 Day WeekendNow, if only I weren't supposed to be studying right now. {sigh}. I'm thinking that, in a little bit, I'll run away and sneak in some knitting. I'm pretty sure my Contracts book won't notice... ;)Speaking of knitting, I'm making very slow progress on Trinity... it's a Rowan pattern, and I'm having a grand time altering all sorts of things as I go along. First of all, both the yarn I'm using and the yarn called for shrink 10 - 15% in length. Supposedly, the pattern takes this into account. Let's just say that, if I had started the armholes where they wanted me to, my UNWASHED sweater would barely reach my waist. Shrinking it by another 10% would have made it a very odd crop-top turtleneck sweater. I don't think so. So, being a badass knitter, I promptly kept knitting. So hopefully it'll all work out. 
I do like the cable patterns, although I took the bobbles out of the center panel - they reminded me way too much of those extra poofy pom-poms you see on the "classic" clown costumes. I've also figured out a project for the miscellaneous Mission Falls Cotton I scored at the yarn swap - it has decided it wants to become the Funky Chicken pillow from the latest Interweave Knits. Fittingly, Ms. Funky Chicken herself is designed for MF wool... so I'm even sticking in the family! I've tentatively laid out the colors as follows for the stripes- I also have some non-M.F. black cotton blend to use for the chicken. I'm not quite sure what I'll do for the backs, yet- I'm thinking I may not do the button closure as designed- I think Cricket would find the buttons irresistable. I'm thinking I'll just do a one-piece back in horizontal stripes, and sew the 2 pieces together. I know, I'm a rebel. A rebel with yarn. 
0 comments || # Thursday, September 02, 2004 Woo Hoo!!I finally made it to knit night over at knit happens... it was exactly what I needed- a night off with some great gals and some knitting time. Plus, one of the gals in my section here at good ol' GW Law is ALSO a knitter... so I'm encouraging her to come join me either this friday for knit n' nosh or for one of the Wednesdays. Hopefully she'll join in- I guess she has a friend in Alexandria who is also a knitter, so maybe they'll BOTH come. :)I went swimming again this morning - it was lovely, although I didn't push myself quite as hard as I did on Monday. I actually kept track of how much I swam, and my plan is to keep increasing each time until I'm up to a more reasonable workout. I'm feeling pretty good- although for the rest of the day my hair and skin will smell like chlorine. I think it takes about 3 showers before I stop smelling like the pool. I just hope my hair doesn't turn green! My goal this weekend is to actually take some PICTURES of my knitting- seeing as this is obstensibly a knitting blog and all. But since I seem to be typing most of my entries on study breaks at school, I don't happen to have my camera with me. {sigh}. Well, it's back to criminal law... we're learning about voluntary acts. Right now, my voluntary act would be to curl up on the comfy leather couches in the lounge and take a nap. ;) 0 comments || # |
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