Aug
13
D’Oh
Filed Under Knitting, Life | 2 Comments
I did it again! I was on-line last night, paying bills from the shop and accidentally paid a bill with my personal account. Now I’ve got to run around moving money this morning to prevent bouncing.
Anyway, been enjoying lots of Olympic watching these days. It’s amazing how easily I can get into a sport I generally never pay attention to. I’ll say this, the Badminton they play is nothing like we used to play! It looks dangerous! LOL.
Anyway, I’m up to the leg portion of my Houdini sock. The snipping of stitches went off without much difficulty. I will say to anyone planning on doing it…don’t panic if you picked up the wrong stitches. I must have swerved a row over and I had a few live stitches hanging around, but they were easily rescued. Here are some pictures.
Will knit more on the way to work today.
Off to drink coffee and get ready for work!
Aug
9
Tank is Empty
Filed Under Uncategorized, Life | 1 Comment
OK, this is a whine-post. I’m exhausted. I know I will, I know I have to, but I don’t know how I’m going to muster the energy to get to work…never mind rev up and display the kind of energy people expect of me.
So, I’m going to double, triple? up on my caffeine intake and hope for the best. Perhaps a little nap on the bus…LOL.
In the meantime, I’m going to watch some Olympics. It’s on like 10 channels, so there’s bound to be something I’m interested in watching. I find myself somehow very interested in men’s water polo at times like this. Hmmm, I wonder why.
OH, and thanks to Stephen hizKNITS for pointing me to Sticks and String podcast…interesting interviews with kniteratti like Jared Flood, Meg Swansen and Franklin Habit! Just wonderful.
Send me some good energy vibes, will you….perhaps just a little tiny nap? I think I’ll just rest my eyes! LOL
Aug
7
Big Day Ahead
Filed Under Work | 3 Comments
I always face our annual Anniversary Sale with some anxiety. It’s an important component to our annual plan. The plan is that we are clearing out a lot of the left-over stock, both making room for new stock and infusing our cash flow with needed funds to be used to purchase the new yarns. So, if things don’t go well, it’ll make the fall season a bit more stressful. But, it always goes well. It is, however, exhausting! I’ve got three days ahead of me…and at the end of these three days, either some breathing room, or we’ll have to readjust what we planed to buy for the fall.
Keep your fingers crossed!
Aug
1
When Life Gives You Lemons
Filed Under Food | 2 Comments
Why make a lovely Lemon Bundt Cake, of course!
We had a little cookout on our roof deck the other night and someone brought a bag of lemons and limes…for drink garnishes, you know. We didn’t, however, use any of them. And I kept seeing the bag just sitting there. Then I found a wonderful recipe on Cooks Illustrated web site and decided to try it.
Cooks Illustrated’s recipes are by and large a little finicky…but they test and test and test and the result is always amazing. This recipe was no exception. In fact, I had 2 pieces for breakfast. It’s tender, moist and deliciously lemony! YUM!
Off to New Hampshire on Sunday…hope you all have a good one!
Jul
28
I don’t remember a summer in recent memory that has had this many active thunder storms. It’s ten to 5, I’m sitting here, knitting and watching tennis — a total day of relaxation and I got a phone call from Aquinas’ humans. Their flight has been canceled and we get to spend another day with the “pretty bird.” So, I popped on the The Boston Channel and see why the flight has been canceled! LOOK at these storm cells approaching!
YIKES. Unplug the computer and batten down the hatches!
Jul
25
Honestly, I think it took me over 2 hours to bind this puppy off! LOL. But it’s finished. My aim, however to use this as my winter scarf was WAY off the mark. This does not look good on me! But, it looks lovely on a mannequin. But, you can be the judge.
Have a good weekend all, with any luck, I won’t have to work the entire weekend!
Jul
24
Back in June, while visiting the Mac & Me booth at TNNA Alayne and I fell in love with a wrap/scarf called the Gilded Lilly, designed by Leslie Scanlong of Mac & Me. I’m knitting it in Classic Elite’s Soft Linen. And, although the stitch count has grown from a few hundred to over 500 at this point, I’m still enjoying knitting it! It may be because the yarn is so unique (a blend of linen, alpaca and wool) or because I’m really looking forward to seeing if I can carry this off as my winter scarf. I mean why can’t a man wear a wide scarf? It’s hard to see what’s going on because all the stitches are jammed on the needle. A photo will have to wait…
I’ll present you with this picture…it’s the live weather radar of the area…nice huh?
I’m trying not to wish my summer away, but I am so looking forward to the fall…not only because I love the crispness of autumn in New England, but I’m so looking forward to all the wonderful yarns due in. If I actually end up knitting all the things I plan on knitting, I’m going to be a busy boy! So, my goal for the rest of July and August is to crank and finish up my pile of UFOs which include:
My Unspun Aran Cardigan
The Ram’s Horn Coat
The Orenburg Shawl
A Knitted Veil from Victorian Lace Today.
Perhaps the lace projects will be re-categorized as long-term projects.
No other exciting news around here…still enjoying bird-sitting Miss Aquinas who happens to be singing to me at this very minute.
Nice twist on Project Runway last night, but little drama…fun though.
Jul
17
I’m not sure how I feel about this season’s Project Runway. Tim Gunn does say that this is the most diverse group of designers that they have had. I see that not just from a race/sex perspective but from a personality type perspective! The designers range from Stella who would design for “hookas and pimps” to these white-bread farm girls (read: Jennifer and Leanne.) Maybe this is a purposeful mixing of people and I’ll be interested in seeing how it shakes out.
I must say first off, that very few of the designers were “innovative.” I don’t remember the specifics of Season One, so I don’t remember if there was an equal lack of overall innovation.
Runway Reactions:
Jennifer: Lipstick print…seems so Girl Scout
Terri: Fabulous! Should have won! I think the MOST innovative use of materials (mop heads).
Kelli: Love that someone is dying fabric! But don’t agree with the judges…coffee filters for the top? Such a bad choice given the creative use of the dyed vacuum cleaner bags.
Joe: cute outfit, but he thinks using fabric as fabric (pot holders) is “innovative.” It isn’t!
Jerry: so bland…and what’s with the gloves? Horrible!
Blayne: Ugh. He’s trying to be Christian S with his one liners. He’s playing the camera. And he doesn’t seem at all genuine.
Daniel: hmmm…fun use of cups. But I completely disagree with the judges. It doesn’t move! This is what the criticism they gave Andrae when he did the grass bustier.
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see what happens. They have the expected cast of characters: The tough girl, Stella. The edgy designer, Blayne. The fillers who won’t get much screen time: Jennifer and Leanne; The tatooed body who will be shown shirtless in each episode, Keith; The quirky gay guy, Suede…
Somethings going to have to “happen” to keep me interested. I guess I’ll have to stay tuned, eh? And maybe that’s the point.
Jul
16
Bird Sitting Again
Filed Under Life | 2 Comments
Aquinas and I started our morning together as we do each morning. We wake up and I take the cover off of her cage then give her a few moments to adjust. I open her cage door and start drinking my coffee. After a while she’ll climb on the door and preen a bit, letting me know she’s ready for a visit. Then we have some breakfast together…she shares my toast and I get a little lovin’
Jul
9
What’s Better than Cheese?
Filed Under Food | 3 Comments
Well, free cheese is better, of course.
Let me tell you the story. Some time back I receive what I thought was some phishing email from Ile de France Cheese. It seems someone from there has read my blog and wondered if I would be willing to receive some free cheese to taste and perhaps, write about? I thought that there was nothing to lose. Anyway, this came yesterday
So, I ran to the farmer’s market, which wasn’t where I thought it was. So I went to a new market in Harvard Square and bought some salad items; roasted peppers, avacados, grilled zucchini, and tomato salad.
I also got some lovely bread and made a wonderfully delicious sandwich.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this cheese…but it was delicious. What a wonderful surprise! So, from personal experience, this is a great goat cheese, especially when paired with such wonderful ingredients. And to my delight and surprise I was happy to discover that this was totally legit: A company just looking for new and inventive ways to market their product!
YUM! I think there will be another lovely lunch using this goat cheese today! It’s so nice when things work out.
— keep looking »