Ahoy!!

I joined a swap this past fall called Yarn Abroad! I was waiting for my explorer to show up, when I heard from our fearless leader, Amanda, who gave the sad news that our explorer had been Marooned in Canada. Since there were just 2 of us left, we all decided it made sense for us to just send to each other! Today, my package arrived from Sigga!!

I opened it up, and here's what I saw!
Lots of amazing yarn, great gadgets, and treats! I have been completely spoiled!!
First: A post card of the Northern Lights!! One of the things I must see some day are the Northern Lights, so I was very excited to see the post card. So pretty!!
Then, we have the yarn:
Beautiful sock yarn that I have never seen before! I can't wait to use it!!

Then, some handdyed yarn (dyed by Sigga herself!), which is in such a fantastic pink!! I love it!!

And the pink and white icelandic wool, which I'm also excited to try! The pattern she sent me (Eunny's Endpaper mittens) will be perfect for this!

Then the gadgets and snacks. Orange Chocolate!! Let me tell you how excited I was to see that! I had been craving chocolate all day! Perfect timing. And I can't wait to try the Raspberry tea...YUM! The theme of the package was Metric vs US systems of measurements. We've got a ruler in centimeters, a tape measure with both US and metric, needles in 2.5mm, which is between US size 1 and 2, the pattern is printed on A4 paper. She's just so clever!! Plus there was a green project bag, which I really love too! She really out did herself!
Thanks Sigga!! And thanks Amanda for organizing!

Where to begin!!

First, I'll start with some Stash Enhancements that arrived last week!!

First, I'll start off with my group buy purchase! 100% Purewool, in beautiful laceweight, and worsted weight! Softer than Manos, more yardage and way cheaper! I LOVE it!!!

Then, I have my order of Catalina Yarns Chunky Alpaca in eggplant, for the Trinity Jacket KAL over at Kerry's blog. I also ordered some of the Sol Joy yarn in lovely reds for my Favorite Color Swap 2 pal! The yarn is absolutely dreamy! I cast on immediately, and love it!!


Thursday, my Dharma dyes arrived! I can't wait to sit and play with them one of these days. First I need more undyed yarn to play with.

The weekend was awesome!! We had a birthday party for Celia at our place, several kids from her class came, and it was GREAT!! She had so much fun, and so did the kids. When everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to her, she was so elated it looked like she was going to burst! I've never seen her so happy. Her favorite teacher was there, and her gift was the cake. Her friend is a baker, and made a fantastic chocolate cake with Dora on top. Here's a few pics from her party!


Yesterday was spent inside while it snowed. We actually ended up getting 5 inches of snow! It was great! Celia went outside and played, we made a snowman, she made snow angels, and it was just so much fun! Talk about a fun-filled weekend!

Then today, my baby girl turned 3! She slept until 7, and we gave her the birthday present we got her before school. She was so excited when she realized what it was! She squeeled "A piano for me!! A piano for Celia!! I'm a big girl now!!!" She took brownies with her to school for snack time, and apparently everyone sang to her too. She just loves that!! After school (and work for us), we went to Red Robin for dinner, and Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. The perfect day for our big girl! I can't believe how fast she's growing up. I'm so excited to see what the next year brings, yet I'm a little sad to see the time just flying by. Before I know it she'll be 18!

Finished!!

First, last night I found a hat I started at Woolwinders a few months ago at Sunday in the Salon. It's in grey baby alpaca, and is the softest yarn I have ever used! I finished it as my daughter was taking her bath. I wore it this morning, and it's so warm!!

The second...are myMonkey Socks!! I'm wearing them today, and I love them!! I finished these Sunday night while watching TV. This makes these socks the fastest pair of socks I've ever done!! Just over a week and a half. I'm SO proud!! And I'm completely in love with them.

And, last night, I made 6 more sets of stitch markers for my shop!! I'll post pictures tonight!

The extra bonus was that my husband and I both had yesterday off for Presidents Day. My daughter's day care was open, so we dropped her off and ran errands. We got our taxes done (we owe way more than we thought), went grocery shopping, and went to lunch and to play pool (after 2 margaritas, I forgot all about what we owe in taxes). Fun day overall!! What a productive weekend!!

EDIT: Here are the pictures!!

Wow!

Wednesday, I worked from home to avoid driving in the nasty ice. Celia's day care ended up closing early, so we ended up having a bit of a snow day too. It was so much fun!! And to top it off, I got a nice surprise in the mail!! Kerry, who I spoiled in SP9 sent me a thank you gift! I opened it and nearly fell off the couch! This is what was inside:


The yarn on the left is Sol Joy, a great sock yarn, in fantastic colors! I really love it, and am SO excited to use it!! The second one, is something I'm really excited about!! Handmaiden Sea Silk!! I've never seen it in person, and now that I have some, I can't wait to use it. It's so soft, and silky, and the sheen is just lovely!! I can't thank you enough Kerry!! What a great surprise! And it even came on Valentines day!!

funny

I have to find it funny how people in Maryland/DC area react to storms. Tuesday morning I was SO impressed that school was open! Then of course they closed early, as did the federal government. After that, we did get a bit of sleet (maybe 4 inches or so of sleet/snow combo) and a tiny bit of freezing rain (at least in our area). Schools have been closed down since and several are already saying they will be closed tomorrow because they can't get rid of all the ice/snow. I stayed home wednesday and today. I do get freaked out with ice...so I figured 1 more day at home working wouldn't be a horrible thing. I did think about it, until my husband said his ride in was OK but a lot of lanes were not open and blocked.

Knitting progress: Monkey socks! 1 is done, and the second is just about at the heel flap! Yeah!

storm?

This week has been pretty lousy so far. Apparently something I ate on Sunday really didn't agree with me, and I was rudely awaken at 11:30 sunday night with the sudden realization that I was about to get sick. I didn't sleep well after that, and really didn't feel well either. I ended up staying home Monday, since i still felt like I was going to hurl again, and had a horrible headache. Since no one else was sick (or has shown signs yet), I'm going with the idea that it was food poisoning.

Today, I got up with the hopes that everything would be closed- we had a storm in the forecast. I was so impressed that it was snowing, and schools were actually open! So off to work I went. After the schools decided to close early (ice is coming this evening and the roads were getting a little slick), I decided to head home with my laptop and some work. Since my hubby was home already (his co-workers live in Baltimore, so it was a "work from home" day today for him), I stopped off at Panera to pick up something for lunch. After a few hours, they announced that the Federal Government was closing early (at 2pm), so I got Celia and we played outside a bit. It's definitely getting a bit worse outside, more snow/sleet is coming down. I just shoveled the driveway and it's already got a small layer again. The thing I'm terrified of is what may come tonight. They're predicting an ice storm, with anywhere between 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of ice covering surfaces. I don't mind snow at all- I can handle feet and feet of snow. But ice scares the crap out of me. No one "knows" how to drive on ice because it's so unpredicatable. I just really don't like it. So I'm crossing my fingers again, that tomorrow will be an actual snow day. And if it's icy anyways, I have enough work to do so I could work form home to avoid driving in the ice. I really hate ice. Can you tell?!

progress

Wednesday, I couldn't resist anymore! I cast-on for a new pair of socks- Monkey had been calling my name for a while, as was my STR in Purple Rain. Here is where I was Thursday afternoon...
And here is where I am now!


This may not seem like a lot of progress for some of you speedy knitters, but I'm a pretty slow knitter. I'm thrilled, and absolutely love them!! I'm definitely not going to suffer from SSS with this one!! And the STR is just amazing...the colors are perfect! I love this pattern too- easy, and fun!

favorite color swap 2

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire

1. What are your top three favorite colors? Purple and blue are tied for my fave, and green is probably second.

2. What crafts do you really enjoy? knitting, spinning, rubber stamping, scrapbooking, quilting

3. What products do you really covet? hand painted yarns, I've been wanting to try some of the fleece artist/handmaiden yarns. I have a skein of Amethest FA sock yarn, and it's just incredible!! I also love soft/natural fibers, either as yarn or roving.

4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things? photography, spending time with my almost 3-year old daughter, cooking, wine

5. Is there anything you collect? yarn, wine, yarn, poodles, yarn, scrapbooking paper, needles, patterns (especially sock patterns)

6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol? Cancer

7.What are your favorite…

…scents/smells? lavendar

…types of music and/or bands? Barenaked Ladies, Guster, They Might Be Giants, Dave Matthews Band

…authors? I'm up for anything

…animals? cats, poodles, snow leapord

…places to shop? yarn shops

…season? spring

…yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies? handpainted yarns, batik fabric, great scrapbooking paper (basic grey, wild asparagus, bazzil, or Creative Memories/Stampin 'up/TheAngelCompany stuff

…candies or goodies? twizzlers, starburst, sweettarts, orange chocolate, milk chocolate

8. Do you have any wish lists? amazon.com is on my side bar

9. Are you allergic to anything? smoke

10. Do you have any pets? What are they? 2 cats

11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy. I'm really pretty easy going, and like most everything! Don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you need to!

Fiber swap anyone??

One of my SP9 participants has planted an idea in my head. She's asked me to host a fiber swap for spinners, and I would like to see if anyone would be interested in participating?

If you are interested, post a comment and I'll see how it goes! I was thinking about a $30 US minimum...is that too much? Not enough? What do you think?!

This always makes me laugh...

Being from Buffalo, I can't help but love this! The sad thing, is that most of the things listed here are absolutely TRUE!

We, the people of Buffalo (and surrounding areas), hold these truths to be self-evident:

Food

We call them "wings," or "chicken wings" if you want to be formal. Never "Buffalo wings".
Nobody outside of WNY can make decent wings.
It's "weck" not "wick".
It's "pop" not "soda".
They're "subs" not hoagies or heroes or bombers.
A large pizza with cheese & pepperoni shouldn't cost more than 10 bucks.
Everyone knows someone who works in a pizza joint.
Vinegar goes on fries, and blue cheese goes with everything.
Bison Chip Dip is the only dip worth eating.
It's got to be Weber's Mustard.
We all know the Louie's to go hot dog special ...buy 5 get one free...isjust a way to get the drunks to go home.


Dining Out

Everyone knows where "the best fish-fry in town" is.
Everyone knows Mighty Taco is way better than Taco Bell.
Jim's Steak Out is best served at 3 am to a drunk.
The hot dog man on the corner has the best hotdogs in the world.
Except for maybe Friday nights, you don't have to wait for a table.
There is no public restaurant in town that requires a jacket and tie...if there was, we wouldn't go there.
You won't find Grey Poupon on the table.
We don't "valet park" unless there is absolutely no other choice.
Every bar has "happy hour" prices from 4:30 - 7pm Monday - Friday.
Even though no one orders it, if it doesn't have "Genny" it's not a bar.
Anything over $2.00 for a beer is robbery.
The bars don't close until 4:00 am
There's a bar every 10 feet.


Geography & Roads

You call it "the Scajaquada" but you spell it "198".
The most famous address is "998 Broadway".
You still get queasy driving over the peace bridge in blowing snow.
It isn't a real snowstorm unless they ban driving for more than 6 hours.
You carry a shovel and jumper cables in your trunk all year round.
If you drive a foreign car you feel guilty & constantly explain "its made in Ohio".
You think anyone who drives more than 20 minutes to get to work must live in the boondocks.
You get mad when you get stuck in "rush hour" traffic and it takes 10 minutes longer to get home.
You avoid the "blue water tower" during "rush hour" because of the above.
You know Fort Erie is famous for two things: Chinese food and the "ballet".
The roads and bridges have been paid for since 1968 but they aren't ever taking out the tollbooths.
It's inevitable whatever is finally decided on the peace bridge issue will no doubt be the wrong choice.
You rode rapid transit from end to end once just to see what it was like.
Paying $5 to park all day downtown is robbery.
The hookers may be gone, but Chippewa street still isn't for everyone.
You still refer to places like Sloan and Blasdell.
"LA" is Lackawanna not Los Angeles
Canada isn't thought of as another country..it's just over the bridge.
Secretly, you like going to Toronto.



Institutions

You threaten to send your kids to Father Bakers' if they don't behave.
You can pronounce "Weinstein" correctly on the first try.
Even though they haven't done it in about 25 years you're pretty sure channel 7 still makes reference to "pistol packing punks," and you're pretty sure they don't show the same fire every night.
You know Commander Tom's real identity.
You can only name 3 radio stations that have been around longer than 5 years: WGR, WBEN and WKBW. St least you think WKBW is still around, you just don't know what it plays since they got rid of Danny Nevareth.
Everyone says the Albright Knox art gallery is a treasure, but a lot of the stuff in there kind of looks like drop-cloths.
It's the "Hamburg Fair" not the "Erie County Fair and Exposition."
Dingus day is a well celebrated holiday.
You know the wrong newspaper folded in 1983.
You consider JC Penney to be a relatively "upscale" department store.
It's "UB" - not "SUNY at Buffalo, Amherst"
The St. Patrick's day parade means winter is officially over, even if it snows.
There is some kind of "fest" somewhere, every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
A "fest" is just another reason to drink

Sports

All-time number 1 - you hate the Miami Dolphins.
We're sure the NFL is out to screw us. So is the NHL. The NBA already did. So did major league baseball. So did the Big East conference.
Someone must listen to Bison games on the radio you just never met him.
You know someone who knows someone who really knows "the real story" on Jim Kelly."
You have a strong opinion one way or the other on Ralph Wilson.
You can't believe that you once really liked OJ.
None of the new theme parks is as cool as Crystal Beach was in its day.
Unbelievable things about other places
Everyone doesn't pay 8% sales tax or $3,000 property taxes on a $70,000 house???
All golf courses aren't flat???
What's a freeway???
The rest of the country isn't 90% Catholic???
What do you mean we have an accent??? We talk exactly like the announcers on television.
People who live in areas subject to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, wild fires, mudslides, and earthquakes can't believe that we would live in an area that gets so much snow??? Imagine that!!! I guess they would rather drown, burn, or get blown away, or buried alive than shovel for a while.

the morning after.

We had so much fun last night! We ended up at the mall, looked at some furniture, and wandered around Barnes and Nobel. I used a gift certificate I got for Christmas, and picked up Victorian Lace Today and the winter issue of Interewave Knits. Then we headed to Melting Pot for our reservation. We were there about 10 minutes early...but they didn't seat us until almost 10PM! We were famished, and a bit annoyed. Thankfully, they were really great about it, and ended up taking $32 off our bill- essentially our drinks were free! I was really impressed. They were just very busy last night. We did end up with a fantastic corner booth, that was for about 6 people, all to ourselves. The food was incredible too. I really do love fondue!

On another topic, I stumbled across a fun contest on a Susie's blog! Go check it out!

Pathetic!!

We have a babysitter coming in 1 hour, and we have no idea what to do! Definitely dinner out, but where... Hmmm. Somewhere in Bethesda? DC? Tysons? Too many choices! Lets' just hope we don't end up doing a quick dinner followed by the bookstore before heading home at 10. Really pathetic!

EDIT: Ok, so we decided on what to do! We're going to do some shopping, for invites for Celia's party, both the one in MD and the one in Buffalo, and look for a coffee table for the family room. Dinner is at 9:15, at the Melting Pot. Fondue...yummy!! Now, I'm excited to go!!

poetry reading

Here is my contribution to the 2nd annual poetry reading. This is a poem that I loved as a child, and I still think about often.

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

And...I've been figured out!

For the last 3 and a half months, I've been spoiling Kerry, who is one of my SP9 co-hostesses! I felt so badly about not getting her last package out in time, that I gave her a few clues to think about before it arrived...and I'll be if she didn't get it on the first try! I'm curious to see how she got it so quickly...I must have slipped up somewhere!

The clues were:
this isn't my 1st SP, it's my 5th.
my daughter's name isn't Alice (Ally)
I've been reading your blog for about a year and a half.

I tried to be sneaky, but I guess not sneaky enough! She's really good! It's been such a blast spoiling her the last few months, and I know we'll keep in touch (she's kind of stuck with me since we're co-hostessing SP10 together). She's such a fantastic lady, so if you haven't checked her blog out yet, you should!