On the eve of Kerri's wedding...

I am wondering if my divorce talk was too hasty.
I asked him last night what he would have said if I told him that I was just tired of being married to him. That it was too hard and I didn't want to do it anymore. He said he would have said he was disappointed in me. I realized that I was disappointed in him, too and that there wasn't any getting around the fact that we have completely let each other down.
In this "taking care of the husband" year I have stopped thinking about him in spousal ways and started (somewhat necessarily) thinking of him as a client. This clinical distance has made me pull away from him and his own distance has made me feel abandoned.
As he is pulling out of this depression (and I am sinking into my own) we are trying to re-learn our relationship and rediscover what it was that brought us together in the first place. I have very little hope and very little faith that anything will (can?) change and there is a part of me that believes we will hit the divorce courts, just a bit later than I had originally thought. I told him this and I told him that I was willing to place what little hope and what little faith I have in him and in us... but that he was in charge of this.
Basically he has to date his wife. He has to stop apologizing and show me that things can be different and that we can succeed.
We'll see... but I feel better about this change in direction than I have felt about anything else that has happened in our relationship over the last few months.

And yes, I did finish the garter. Pictures this weekend, and more knitting content, I promise!

Look! Knitting Content!!

I got my Sockapalooza package!!! Woo Hoo!!

She sent these fabulous socks in a clear project bag (love it) and included a really great needle roll and a set of sock-shaped point protectors. Thanks so much Maureen! The socks were completed in the midst of an intercontinental move, a new job and beginning grad school. Hang in there, girl!



As you can see, they fit beautifully and the colors are absolutely perfect. Blues and greens and

purples with a little pink for fun and they are sooooo soft.








Speaking of socks, I am making good Monkey progress... though I have a measurement issue that I noticed on my last pair of socks. The

person I am knitting for has feet that just happen to be an inch and a half longer than my feet, which means if I try on the socks and they cover my toes it's time to start the decreases.

By the measuring tape they are nowhere near done, but by the foot check they're close. I want
them to fit without being baggy. And yes, the socks do stretch... so duh, right? I'm just worried that they won't be right. But they are pretty. I am going to have to knit myself a pair just like them!


And look!! A FO!!

This is the Garterlac Dishcloth. It was a really quick knit and if you're interested in learning entrelac it's a great way to start. It's small and made of inexpensive yarn. And it's garter stitch so you don't even have to purl. Brilliant!

Somehow last night I managed to do most of my homework for Saturday, knit my Monkey Socks almost to the toe decreases, block Kerri's garter and remember my camera so that I could post pictures. It almost sounds like I'm getting my shit together!

...And why am I in this handbasket??

I should just stick to blogging about knitting. That's not so hard, right?!? Just keep the stupid blog focused on KNITTING. I even have a FO to show off... but I did not bring my camera with me so you're stuck with the ongoing saga of my terminal marriage.

I will try not to be too dramatic.

Last night my husband asked me if I was going to go after his parents' money if we got divorced. Whatever. Even if they were both gone and the money was actually HIS I wouldn't want any part of it. Money is not my goal.

He was angry last night again... and he kept bouncing back and forth between accusing me of not taking our vows seriously and telling me I was giving him ultimatums and then trying to be tender and make compromises. It was quite a performance. He reminded me of a ten-year-old who is unhappy with the fact that his mother is punishing him and tries alternately to force her and then cajole her to comfort him. I don't want to be his mother-figure and I certainly am not in any kind of mood to comfort him.

I wonder if it's too late. I wonder if I could even muster the energy to deal with him if he does consent to counseling. I wonder if I am really just done and hoping that he will refuse the conditions so that I can walk away without being the bad guy.

I just don't believe him anymore. I don't think that he is lying to me... I think that he is lying to himself. I think he honestly believes all of the crap he says.

Wow. That sure sounds like I'm done, doesn't it?

We belong in the "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" column. I never believed those. I was always convinced that the couple would be much better off if they divorced. Like the ones where the men were sleeping around and the women had completely lost interest in sex, or the ones where the wife was angry all the time and the husband was spending all of his time playing golf... I always thought those people would be better off with a fresh start. Maybe I should have thought of that before I got married again, huh? Maybe I'm just not the "marrying kind."

Fall Into Autumn Exchange

Topic #3:
Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

I love the cooler weather and the crisp smells. I like the fact that things seem to slow down - cooking especially. Instead of a quick salad and pasta it's all about the all-day stew or chili. I love Halloween because it involves copious amounts of chocolate. It's odd, because I suffer from seasonal affective disorder so I should hate autumn because it signals the beginning of the "down" season, but really, fall and spring are my favorites. I like the transitional nature of it. I like sweaters and capri pants with sandals. I like not running the air conditioner and being comfortable outside. I love (love, LOVE) going back to school.

Knitting, Nakedness, and D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Dear Blue Moon,
Knock it off already!! The Raven series comes out in November but already there are beautiful, new colors available. I don't have a whole lot of extra cash laying around and I might just have to say something like, "Bean I know you're hungry, but feel how soft this is! And look at the lovely colors!"
I hope that in the future you will save new colors for times when I have stacks of cash available. Or perhaps I should just split my direct deposit between you and Twist.

Sigh.

In other knitting news:
I finished the knitting part of Kerri's garter. It doesn't look like much yet because I need to block it... that's on the agenda for tomorrow. Then I need to figure out what bias tape is and how to install it and then I need to put elastic and ribbon on it. Surely that all can be accomplished by Friday, right?!?
My monkey socks are moving right along. I'm on the foot part of the first one and I'm at the point where I don't have to look at the pattern every row to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Which is nice.
The Clapotis has stalled - mostly because I haven't wound the third skein of yarn into a ball - and I've had more pressing projects.

The slumber party was a blast - I am totally exhausted. The girls swam their little butts off - and at one point (very late, after the rest of the grownups had gone to bed) asked if they could skinny dip. I said that as long as only the people who were comfortable doing it did it then that was ok. I turned the inside and outside lights out and let them swim. I don't know who did and who didn't and after about ten minutes I told them to put their suits back on.

When I told the husband about it he freaked out. He was convinced that the parents would be furious. He said it was the stupidest thing I had ever done (totally not true. I have done WAY more stupid things). None of the parents seemed overly concerned - there were a few surprised faces when I told them all what happened, but all in all nobody seemed to think I was some kind of crazed monster.

Speaking of the husband... I think that my marriage is over. I tried to kick him out last Wednesday and he refused to leave. (What the hell are you supposed to do when you say, "Please leave" and they say, "No." I was sort of speechless). We talked a lot on Wednesday night and basically it comes down to three requests. If he wants to save this marriage he needs to:
1) Stop drinking
2) Get a job
3) Go to couples counseling

He is thinking about it. Seriously. He's got until the end of the week to "think" about it before I take real action. I just want this to be done. You know how once you make a difficult decision you want it to be finished as soon as possible? That's where I am.

I just don't think he gets it. I think he is totally in denial. It's like he thinks that these three demands will just fade away and we can go back to the way things have been. Nope.

I talked to Bean about it and she's sad but she gets it. She has seen how things have been over the past year and she said that sometimes she thought that things were better when it was just the two of us. I agreed. I told her that there was still a possibility that we could work something out, but that we would be ok no matter what. The scary thing is that neither of us are crying about this. This decision has been so long in coming that there really isn't much to cry about anymore.

It's like when someone you love dies after a long illness: when they finally do go sometimes there is a sense of relief mixed in with everything else.

We're in this weird, polite place. He's being overly nice and trying really hard to show me in little (meaningless) ways that he loves me. Here's the thing - I love him. I do. But the only thing he can do to fix this is counseling, stop drinking and get a job. All of the little gestures in the world won't make a difference if those three things don't happen.

Some humor has come out of this though... I was chatting with a friend and we were trying to decide what my new last name should be. In the running are: Pitt, Jolie-Pitt, Depp, Noro, and The Queen.

Oh, and I am keeping the house.

Happy Birthday Bean!

Eleven years ago today I became a mother.
Holy crap, am I that old?!? Apparently.

She was born with her father's cowlicks, my lips, his eyebrows, my hands and her own sense of independence and style.
She has always been patient and quiet and sweet and funny. She has always been able to amuse herself. She has always been beautiful and smart. She has always been quick to make friends.

The last year or so has been tough on my little Bean and she has come through it more gracefully than I ever could have hoped.

Tonight we're having pancakes for dinner and then tomorrow night is the big sleep-over. We're having it at grandma's house because there is a swimming pool and more room. There will be pizza and cake and swimming and giggling.

Fall into Autumn Exchange

Topic of the Week #2
When you knit or crochet dishcloths, washcloths or face clothes, what do you use? Peaches and Cream cotton yarn
What size needle or hook? Usually something between 8 and 10 (US).
Wood? Sometimes what type? Bamboo
Metal? Normally
Plastic? I just bought some Yarn Bee plastic needles to try with my newest washcloth
A specific Brand? Nope
Why do you love that needle or hook so much? For washcloths I am just looking for "available" and "both the same size."
Is there one you are dying to try? Knitpicks new needles are soooooooo pretty, but I'm more interested in their dpn's for socks.
Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for clothes? Nothing particular...
What is so special about it? I look for washable and easy to care for. Superwash is my friend.

Knitting Culture

Tuesdays are for knitting. I like Tuesdays. But this week, Wednesday and Thursday are also for knitting. In theory I could knit with friends three whole days in a row. I like the sound of that.

On The Diane Rehm show today one of the guests said that with the rise of technology that teenagers are using there has also been an increase in the numbers of teenage knitters. His theory is that with all of the virtual creativity there is still a need for concrete creativity. I don't disagree. But is there an increase in the numbers of knitters or is it just that there are more places and groups for those knitters to meet?

I enjoyed knitting when I was just knitting dishcloths all by myself. I don't know if I could say that I enjoy knitting more now that I knit in groups, but it does fulfill that need to knit and that need for companionship. Two separate needs fulfilled at the same time - way to multi-task! There is also a certain comfort in spending time with people of the same culture, by which I mean a group of people with a shared language and a shared history. Almost every knitter I have ever met learned to knit by knitting something flat and relatively small. A washcloth, a scarf, whatever. And we all know what I mean when I say something like "I was in the middle of a k2tog on my monkeys and I snapped a dpn." Now read that again pretending that you don't know knitting terms. See? Common language.

See kids, this is what happens when knitters get an appropriate amount of sleep.

Knit on!

Barbie Cake, Harlot and Sleep...

Here's the cake at home (It's my cake in a box, It's my cake in a cardboard box)

and here is the finished Barbie in all her glory.

I should have taken and "after" shot of the cake-y carnage.

Damn strawberry cakes are good. Especially with beer.

Kerri's bachelorette party was a great success and we all had a good time. You could tell who was a knitter and who wasn't by how much alcohol was consumed. Knitters know that too much of a good thing is bad for gauge. Lara, Andie and I fell asleep around 4am and I got to the station just after 7. Tired doesn't even BEGIN to describe what I was.

I automated the last two hours that I was scheduled to be there and then went home for a nap. About halfway into it the husband woke me, fed me, and let me go back to sleep. I woke up (late, of course) and said, "Why is there a plate on the bed?" He laughed at me and I took a shower....

And then I mer HER!!

She was everything you would expect her to be - funny (of course) and nice and very personable and she even complimented my monkey sock. I managed not to get all sweaty and rambly... I think.

Then I went to Twist to knit and then I went home to sleep and sleep and sleep.

Status Update

It's after 1am and I really should be sleeping. I have to get up at 7 if I want a shower (um, yes I do). Instead I'm watching the BBC series Coupling on DVD. It's supposed to be the British response to Friends. It's funny, but I'm still trying to adjust to the laugh track. "Friends?" "What do you call people you go out with but don't sleep with?" "Men." (Hahahahahah).

Bean's skating party was fun. I knitted and listened to my iPod while she skated. I miss skating. My sister and I used to go skating almost every weekend. While I watched them skate I thought, "Surely there are more absurd-looking things on this planet than me on skates..." I think we should all go skating. Anyone else want to come? I think that as long as I don't fall on any small children it will be fine. (Hahahahahahha).

My homework was entirely unremarkable, except that there was a fuck-load of it and I finished it all in record time. We post all of our homework online and you can read all the other posts. Other than the whole honor thing, I'm not sure what keeps us from cheating. I did all of mine and posted it and then read a few other random posts. I'm more or less on track with everyone's answers... which is a good thing I guess. I noticed some things that others didn't and other people noticed stuff I didn't but we all had basically the same answers.

Cake - well, it doesn't exactly look like the picture I had in my head or anything, but there is cake, it is frosted, and it is in roughly the shape of a Barbie dress. And it's pink. The directions were sort of confusing, and also funny. For example, it says to cut 2 inches off of one of the cake domes. Then it says to freeze it for later. Right. Like cake that is not for a specific purpose is going to make it through the night at my house. Anyway, I cut out a cardboard circle from a cardboard box and covered it with foil, then put the frosted cake in another box with a lid. Hopefully that will keep it safe.

New pajamas - they're in the dryer. Yay!

New cute cupcake pillowcase - it was lost. I tore my room apart looking for it. Every drawer, every laundry basket, every pile of clothing in my room. And I am a messy, disorganized woman. That was a lot of stuff. I finally found it and now it's in the washing machine. On the plus side, I also found some Jaggerspun wool sock yarn that I totally forgot that I had! Woo hoo!

And I had a chance to look at the new Knitty again. And I have bookmarked three yarn websites and two sites for cool handmade buttons. There are two sweaters and a blanket that I need. Want. Need. Want.... Nant? Look at Mr. Greenjeans. And think about it in another color... like Elanor Roosevelt.

One of my favorite women.
All of my favorite colors.



Sigh.


And then there is my Cherie Amour. In one of these. Le sigh. Le pant. Le heave.










Um. Yarndietyarndietyarndietyarndietyarndiet.

Hi, Shelly? When it's time to order more yarn, um, can Twist stock these so that when I break down and buy them (and we all know it's just a matter of time) I can at least support my LYS?!?

(Don't buy any yarn and go to bed. Seriously).

I think I am as ready as I can get for tomorrow. Though, I should have packed something for lunch... Crap.

Have a good weekend!

Maybe it's just me

I'm usually more excited than this.... The new Knitty is out. Woo hoo, right?!? There are some good patterns, but nothing that jumps out at me right away. There are even extended sizes on the sweaters and a really nice lace pattern. Usually I get a little crazy and abandon every WIP I have to find yarn and appropriate needles for some new thing that I MUST CAST ON RIGHT NOW.
Perhaps it has something to do with my yarn diet, or maybe the projects I'm working on now are sufficiently engaging and diverse to keep me from wanting to knit something new...
I'll look at the patterns again next week and see if I get more excited.

I do like these little guys...
I don't know why I've been so into toys lately... I have this urge to knit cute I guess.

I think that these creatures might come in more colors than just white... there might need to be some pink ones and certainly some in purple... Hmmmmmmmm...

My monkeys are progressing nicely. By the way, I did get a VERY prompt reply from Lantern Moon about my broken Stix. At first she said to talk to my LYS and if they couldn't help they'd send a replacement - then almost immediately I got another email from her asking for my address, needle size and wood type. They're sending out a replacement right now.

That is customer service right there! I know that Shelly at Twist would have been right up on the customer service pedestal too, but why bug her? She didn't make the needles! Shelly thinks that perhaps I should try some relaxation before knitting with them so that I don't break any more... I figure that unless I start snapping my metal needles I'm ok!

So this weekend is going to be a little bit busy.
Tonight there is a skating party (lord help me). No, I am not going to haul my fat ass up and try to balance on eight wheels. Nope. Not me. I'm going to knit.
Then I'm baking a Barbie cake for Kerri's Bachelorette Party. (Inside joke).
Then I'm going to do ten tons of homework for class on Saturday.
Saturday I have class from 9 to 4, I'm at the station from 4:30 to about 6:20 then I have to figure out how to get Kerri's Barbie cake to her party without dumping it all over the inside of my car.
Kerri's party starts at 7 - and it's a slumber party (woo hoo!) at a hotel downtown.
Then Sunday I work from 7 - noon and then I have to be at The Yarn Harlot event by 2 because I'm a volunteer!! I might really get to MEET HER!!!
Somewhere between noon and 2 I hope to meet Emma for lunch and SOMEWHERE in there I need to sleep and shower a few times. And also probably pee.
I will be posting pictures... but not of the sleeping, or showering... or, you know, peeing.
Sigh.
Knit on!

I've Got Mail!

I know, I cry poor and then get a package in the mail. It makes no sense.

Shopping and getting mail are two things that make me very happy. Once those two things were combined in the Internet I became addicted. There is something magical about browsing through item after item, reading descriptions, adding and deleting from my shopping cart at will - all in my pajamas and at 2am and with no salespeople or anyone else to bother me. And then a few clicks (and about a week) later I have a present in the mail!
Sigh.
In my defense, it was a very small package, containing only the needles I need for the Monkey Swap Socks - the metal ones to replace the Sock Stix that snapped in half in the middle of a K2tog. I know. I have contacted Lantern Moon (and they were very nice, indeed) and I'm going to let my LYS know. At this point, I don't even really want a replacement. I clearly am not meant to have those beautiful, smooth needles. Sadly, I am too rough. Or tense. Or something.
Double Sigh.
I have finished 14 (of 22) repeats on Kerri's garter, so I'm going to work on that tonight and then it's time to MONKEY again!! The Yarn Harlot will be here on Sunday and I want to try to get a picture of her holding my Monkey swap sock so that I can send that to my pal with her package!! Cool, right? I'll (apparently) be helping out by taking tickets so I have been promised at least a quick "hello." I will try no to go all stupid and I will try to control the sweaty nervous talking thing. And also the gushing super-fan thing.
Oooooh! And I figured out what washcloth I'm going to make for that swap!! I'll give you a hint... it involves entrelac. Cool, right?

Knit on!

Fall into Autumn Swap

Topic of the week
Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I don't change type of yarn as much as type of project. In the summer I tend to knit socks and other small, portable projects. As the weather starts to change I start to think of more cozy projects - sweaters and blankets - things that require lots of time and keep you warm while you're knitting them. When it's cold I love being able to settle in with some tea or coffee and some good music or a movie with a long stretch of knitting in front of me.

Anyone have an extra million dollars I can have?

I am so tired of worrying about money. I am so tired of being OUT of money. Of course, being out of money hasn't stopped me from spending it... and it certainly hasn't stopped the bills from coming. I really thought that getting a second job would help, but apparently it follows the big-purse theory... you just keep filling it up. The husband is sure that he will have a job soon. He has been feeling better and he says he is ready to get out and do something.
Y'all know that I am MORE than ready for him to get out and do something. Despite all six months of evidence to the contrary, we are not a one-income family. And honestly, despite all six months of evidence to the contrary, my husband is a hard worker and a really good employee. I hired him, and he worked under me for years - he was my go-to guy. If someone needed a shift covered, if there was extra stuff that needed to be done he was the first person to volunteer to do it. He was good at what he did. Losing the job at the station was really hard on him - the university wouldn't let us renew his contract a second time after he wasn't a student anymore.
He had another job within the week... that was the call-center job that was so horrible but he did it. He hated it every day, but he did it. And then his dad died and everything recognizable about him went away.
Over the past few weeks he has really started to act more like the guy I married... he laughs more and has been helping out around the house and we have had actual conversations. It is so difficult to trust this new/old him. I'm scared that I'll lose him all over again and I don't know that we could come back from that again. We did it this time through sheer force of will.
I'm glad he is back. I missed my husband and I'm glad he's better at home - I just need him to translate that to the outside world.
I know that money won't fix everything, but I'm willing to take that risk. I am willing to risk the complications that come from too much rather than too little.

Dear World,

Kindly back off and leave me the hell alone so I can knit. It's not that I don't love you World, it's just that I am feeling very... um... is hermity a word? Hermit-ish? (Hermit-a, Hermit-as). Well, anyway.
I have lots of yarn and a few needles that did NOT snap in half and several unfinished projects that I do actually plan to finish (as opposed to those projects that I pretend I'll finish but will actually never see the light of day again). And also? I'm feeling very tired and quiet and would rather knit than work, go to class, cook dinner, clean my house, exercise, drive, sit in meetings that don't involve yarn, talk to strangers, talk to my family, watch tv or babysit.
If you could arrange for me to be put in some kind of comfy holding tank with all of my yarn, my iPod and regular snacks and meals I would really appreciate it.

Thanks so much!

NapKnitter

Somebody Smack Me Hard

Next time I get all weepy about not being able to have another baby. I have clearly lost the knack for it.
My sister came over for lunch today... it was all fine. We talked about nothing important, which is more than fine.
I have never (ever) in my 30-muffle-muffle-years cooked on a grill. How is this possible? Well, I have this basic aversion to the outdoors, what with all of the bugs and the sun and stuff. I also have a tendency to be somewhat of a hazard around fire. Those two things that I know to be true about myself have made me less than a perfect candidate for outdoor cooking. I enjoy outdoor cooking (and indoor for that matter) when someone ELSE is responsible for the outcome and I am responsible for drinking beer and looking happy that someone else is cooking for a change.
But she brought her little grill and then she showed me how to use it. I can now grill over charcoal. Hooray.
But the children. Holy cats, the children.
My child will sit quietly for hours on end if there is either a television, a book, some knitting or something to write with. If all of the above are present I may not even know she is home until she gets hungry.
She has been like this for as long as I've known her (though the specific items she wants have, of course, changed). Maybe I'm idealizing her baby- and toddler-hood. The world may never know.
But these children...
The one-year-old and the two-year-old spent the afternoon climbing on me. When they weren't climbing on me they were peeing on me, rubbing wet cookie into my couch or grabbing random things from the shelves and either chewing on them or throwing them at me.
They refused to eat, preferring instead to climb on me so that I couldn't eat or spit tiny little mouthfuls of food across the dining room.
They can not be stopped.
My sister is not a complacent, quiet mom. She does not sit by and watch these things just happen. There are just more of them than there are of us. And they have more energy. And they're armed with wet cookies and poo.

I need a drink. And a lie down. And my tubes tied. And perhaps my ovaries removed for good measure.

Disaster... Disaster Averted and My Sister Returns

Disaster
Thursday evening was spent at Twist. Andie came with me and a good time was had by all! I have finished 2/3 of my Clapotis... I just need to wind my third hank and I can continue. Meanwhile I moved on to my Monkey socks. I do love them. A lot. I think that once I finish my Monkeys for the swap I might just have to make some for myself.

When I got home (just in time for Tim Gunn's Guide to Style - which I love) I continued to knit my Monkeys...

And here's where the disaster part of the evening came in... A few weeks ago I purchased some lovely Socks Stix at Twist. I knew it was not a good idea. They cost $20 and I prefer KnitPicks metal needles because they stand up to my tension. But they're so pretty and they come in a nice little bag and who doesn't want really nice things from time to time?!?

My Monkey socks are the first socks I cast on my new needles. First and last, I'm afraid. I was in the middle of a k2tog and SNAP! Damn it.

And guess who couldn't find another set of size 1 needles? I did find a size 1 circular Addi Turbo... so in protest, and to keep myself sane, I cast on another pair of socks and practiced the Magic Loop Method. I also went online and ordered another set of size 1 DPN's. From Knitpicks, thank you very much. Why mess with what works?

Disaster Averted
The Sewer guy showed up yesterday. Early.
He cleaned out the line and said that it looked really good.
And the work he did is guaranteed for a year.
And it was less expensive than I thought it would be.


My Sister Returns
While I was at Twist my sister called. Yup, the sister who hasn't spoken to me in a year. That one. She wondered if I'd like to spend time with her and the kids on Saturday. I called her back and we agreed to have a little cookout here on Saturday - just hamburgers and hot dogs. She said we could "talk."
ACK! Who wants to talk? Can't we just pretend nothing happened?
(Just keep knitting, just keep knitting, just keep knitting...)
The Twist knitters were right there for me... they offered to hide behind the bushes when we met just in case I should need them. I think I can handle her. Maybe.

Anyway, she called this morning and we agreed that maybe tomorrow would be better after all. She sounded tired and I have one of those headaches.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

You Don't Want to Come in Here

We're having sewer line issues. Not "Holy Cats, burn down the house!" sewer line issues (yet) but pretty much any sewer issue is a bad sewer issue, right? The Roto-Rooter guys are scheduled to be at our house on Friday. Then all will flow freely once again.

It hasn't been as bad as the old house. The first sewer-related issue we had at the old house featured me screaming into the phone (at the landlord) "There is shit on the floor of my laundry room. Actual shit. On the floor. And also water. Disgusting, shit-filled water!" It ended with me covering my shoes with trash bags and wearing rubber gloves. I removed the washer and dryer and used an entire gallon of bleach on the floor and the undersides of the washer and dryer. (Shudder).

This time the washing machine overflowed and the bathtub drain gurgled ominously as the toilet expressed some reluctance to flush completely. We have established water allocation rules for the family. It seems that everything works the way it is supposed to as long as there isn't too much water flowing at once. Oy.

In knitting news... I am almost through the second skein of Blue Moon yarn. I bought 3 skeins so as soon as I run out of skein 2 I can do 6 more repeats before I start the decrease rows. I can't wait to be done! I'm going to wash it in baby detergent (and pet it and love it...) and wear it at every possible opportunity.

Dear fall, please come soon.

Happy Labor Day

This is what is going on at my house while I'm at work today. Lots of sleeping, very little anything else.
I am working my normal shift and then Andie and Bean and I are going to see The Nanny Diaries. After the movie we're off to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I hope it's open because I am really looking forward to it.



This is what is going on at work today... I am working really hard... on my Clapotis. (Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Heavyweight Socks That Rock in Blue Moonstone). It's big. Really big. And I have another whole ball of yarn. I'm going to keep going though... I like the fact that it will wrap all the way around me and keep me warm. If it gets so large that it's just stupid I'll stop and make wrist warmers or something. I love this yarn.

Did anyone else see the Blue Moon ad in the new Interweave Knits?? They have a "Raven Series" coming this fall. Um, hi? It's fall. Release it already!! I have visions of a big, dark, raven-y shawl! I have been obsessively checking the site but they remain stubbornly on vacation. Sheesh.

Anyway, knit on!

Dishcloth Exchange Questionnaire

Suddenly I can't stop joining stuff... who knows why??

Anyway, this is the link if you are also in a joining mood.

Dishcloth Exchange Questionnaire

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it? I knit... I learned about 7 years ago but have been knitting obsessively for the past two years.

2. Have you made dischloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? I learned to knit by knitting dishcloths and gave them as gifts for awhile. Now I generally knit one or two for myself every so often.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? I use Peaches and Cream. I haven't used anything else for dishcloths so I don't really know what else is out there. Peaches and Cream is inexpensive and comes in a lot of colors!

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? It depends on the project! For dishcloths I prefer straight, plastic needles.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much? I love purples and blues and greens... and pink. I'm not that fond of orange and yellow.

6. What do you like best about Autumn? I love that it is finally cool enough to wear sweaters.

7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! Apple!!

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day? I love the first day of school... the smell of school supplies still makes me happy.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) Yes.

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? Strawberry Newtons, Snickers and anything with peanut butter.

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;) Two cats, 1 daughter (11) and a husband.

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? Crystal Palace Bamboozle... it's relatively inexpensive (accessible), it is machine washable (low maintenance), it comes in a lot of colors (something for everyone) and it's squishy.

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? Facecloths

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) I really like Halloween. We usually sit on the front porch at my friend Andie's house and eat chili (and lots of candy) and knit and pass out candy to the kids. It's a great time.

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? Nope!