Saturday in bed

I woke up this morning, right at 9am and had that funny feeling that I had slept in. Such a wonderful feeling...

After taking Mr. Kendall out to tinkle, I decided to declare Saturday in bed day, and have promptly amassed every thing I need to spend the rest of the day in bed - my laptop, my knitting, a whole bunch of books, and of course, a snuggly Mr. Kendall.

It is going to be a good day!

I am going to knit, and write, and read, and listen to NPR, and heat up some vegetarian pasta e fagioli soup later with some crusty bread. Does it get any better than this? I think not.

On another positive note, I went out to dinner with a bunch of friends from massage school last night, and not only did I not order an entree that had meat in it, I didn't want to order an entree that had meat in it, and to be blunt, we are currently in the one week out of the month wherein I usually demand to be fed meat. Most frequently, it is red meat too.

I think I have been eating vegetarian for a while now, just not consciously. I think the last time I sat down to eat something and knew it contained meat was almost a month ago, and let me tell you, I got hella-sick the next day (damn chicken sandwich tasted good though!). We'll see how well this all goes over the next time I visit my family! Crazy liberal knitting veggie daughter with lots of dirty laundry and a dog with a small bladder, ah, my parents love me!

Happy knitting peeps - I'm going to go make myself some breakfast, and bring it right back into bed with me! Peace ; )

PS - Still having problems with posting pics, not the lest of which is I am having camera problems. I posted a comment on the Google message board, so hopefully someone can help me help myself. Wish me luck!

Hooray for #95!

I was on my way home last night when I heard about this, and while my first natural reaction was to think about the baby she just had and how she would grow up without a mother, my second thought was "Holly-freakin-luya, I CAN'T watch TV so I DON'T have to listen to this for the next two weeks non-stop!" Something in my mind tells me that her death is probably just as big, if not a bigger story, than any of her other wild and zany antics.

I will admit to having watched her show when it was on E!, and feeling terrible about myself every time I did so, whatever. She put herself out there for that one. The point I am trying to make, and I admit this will not be coming back around to knitting, is what we value as a society, what we are sold, is crap.

Ironically, I was reading John Irving's book, The Fourth Hand last night (look it up on the list!), and there is almost an entire chapter devoted to a journalist's response to the weekend JFK Jr.'s plane went down into the Atlantic. I don't want to give anything away about the book, but it seemed kind of fitting that the character was concerned about the same things I didn't want to have to see last night - the train wreck that the media makes of what should be private family grief. It was very interesting reading it from his perspective as a journalist and what he thought of the situation. (Good book, by the way.)

I'm just thinking this morning about what sells, and what information gets out there, what we are force-fed while watching TV and the messages that come across our eyes all the time. You may not always be paying attention, but the information is there just the same.

People are always surprised to find out that Fight Club is both my favorite movie, and my favorite book (yes, it was a book first!). They look at all five feet nothing of me, my knitting probably in my hand, a my little dog and my lap, and they say "You like Fight Club?" And I say "Um, yeah, I do." It isn't quite so much about fighting each other with your fists and beating the crap out of one another - that, I think is what our lives are about in general, figuratively speaking. What that story is saying, is I don't want to be a part of this crap-ass culture that puts values on such stupid stuff.

Granted, not everyone is enveloped in the "mass media culture," but enough people are that it makes it difficult not to be. All I know is that I was sad I missed Grey's Anatomy last night, but glad that the only information I had about Anna Nicole Smith dying was the one story I clicked on from MSNBC. I can only imagine the coverage this will get, and I have to ask "Why?" The answer, I think is because it sells, but what is it selling? That is the real question.

All I know is that not being able to turn on the TV has caused me to not want to turn on the TV, and I am super happy about that. It's almost like I have given myself a present, the gift of tuning out. So for that, I say thank you to myself, and invite you to join me in the fun - you probably need a break too. Pick up your knitting or your favorite book, and just spend a night being quiet, and see what you hear. It's kind of nice, trust me.

Look at the Yummy!!!

Aren't they delicious??

These fingerless gloves may just be my favorite thing I have knitted in, oh, I don't know...FOREVER!!! The way the pair of them keeps my wrists so warm and toasty, it almost makes talking on the phone all day at work less of a crap-fest.

I went to the S&B at my LYS last night - so much fun!!! I have been to a S&B before, but never in the presence of so much yarn. I know I will sound like a newbie when I say that all the yarn was a little distracting and I wanted to just get up and walk around and decide what I want to work on next. I just wanted to touch all of it and take it home with me...but alas, I was a good girl. I did decide, however that I think I want to make the messenger bag from Knitting for Peace out of several shades of Noro alternating through the project...we'll see!

As for tonight, wish me fortitude as I try to not watch TV on what previously had been the only night of the week I intentionally plunkered down to watch specific shows. It's only twice that I will miss them, and remember, I can still watch Grey's on the laptop tomorrow! Peace out kiddies - Happy Knitting on the Kniternet!

Strange Dreams, and the Heat is On

Last night I was playing fetch with Mr. Kendall, and my aim was a little off. I threw the toy and it hit the wall in the area of the thermostat...No big deal I thought. Shortly there after, I sat on the couch to read a book by John Irving (I am going to kick my list's arse!), and quickly was overcome with the feelings of sleep. At 8:15. See what happens when there is no TV!

Well, I gave in to my sleepiness, took off my glasses and drifted off with the gentle sounds of my furnace kicking on. Lets just say I had an weird dream last night, and in an odd way, it did include knitting.

I dreamt I was back in high school and mega-pregnant, like 15 months pregnant my belly was so big. My parents and I were living in the same house we lived in when I was in high school, only it wasn't the same high school I went to. It seemed like it was a school down in NYC - do you know how when you dream sometimes, you just "know" that you are someplace? it was one of those types of things - well anyway, I am living in upstate New York, going to high school in NYC, massively pregnant, and guess who is my doula. That doesn't even compare to what came next, because I think this guy was either my baby daddy, or I was a horny little pregnant girl and was trying to work on #5 with him anyway. Either way, not so much my style. In the end, I can't even remember if I gave birth in my dream, so I'm just stuck being eternally 15 months pregnant, lol.

Yeah, that was a weird dream, and I kept waking up through the night to the sound of the furnace being on, and kind of surprised that I wasn't cold with just the one blanket I had on me, so when I woke up this morning, I looked at the thermostat. Apparently, last evening's game of "fetch" should be renamed the "accidentally turn the thermostat up 20* game."

I can't wait for the NiMo bill. The only time it will ever be that warm in my apartment, and I slept right through it. Oh well, at least I had a fun dream from all the heat!

PS - Obviously, there was no knitting last night with the going to bed at 8:15 and all, the fingerless gloves will be finished and photographed for tomorrow, I promise!

What is this post about???

I had a FANTASTIC idea about a post for today. Last night before I got into bed, I was thinking I had an awesome, thoughtful idea to post on here for today. Now, my mind is mush.

What I can tell you, is I have the first of my fuzzy yummy wrist warmers done, and the second one should get finished up at work today. I can't even describe to you how wonderful they feel, their soft delicious woolly fibers cradle my forearms and hand and prevent my wrists from hurting while I knit, I mean type, all day. How, you may ask, do I know this if I only have one of them done? Because I wore the first one all day yesterday while I was working on the second one, duh!

Well, as you can see, #85 on the list is going along fabulously. I also decided to pursue #95 when I got home last night from my Writer's Group and discovered I had gone all day without watching TV, I said "What's another 13 days?" I unplugged the surge protector that all my TV electronic crap is plugged into - lets see how much my electric bill goes!

I talked to my friend Alicia last night, and we made tentative plans to work on #51 and #62, possibly within the next few months. I am super excited - those are two of the goals I am most looking forward to! We have decided to go here, but other than that, no decisions have been made. Who knows, perhaps going here will help me with #5 too, lol.

I have also decided to tinker with the photo posting options on here and possibly send an email if I can't figure it out, so hopefully soon my dear reader(s), we will have a proper looking knit blog with tons of pictures throughout the post.

Okay, its time for me to get in the shower. I leave you by wishing a Happy Birthday to my Dad today. Please don't ask me how old he is, I really am not sure and it would require me doing math. You may know I am not a fan of math, but I am especially not a fan of it at 7:30 am. Hugs and kisses and happy knitting on the Kniternet! (and Happy Birthday Dad!!!)

# 85

You may have noticed that I joined the 101 things in 1001 days meme-along. It just seems like such a good idea - it's been a very long time since I sat down and made a huge list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in a time span that goes beyond a month. It was super hard thinking of 101 things to do, but I think the list reflects well on who I am and where I am, and also who I hope to be in the future. I don't think anything on the list is too "out there," and I think they are all things that will make me a better/stronger woman.

That being said, the very first thing I decided I could do was #85...Staring today, I will blog everyday for the next two weeks. I read somewhere once that it takes two weeks to turn a task into a habit, so I am hoping that through the series of "Two Week" goals that I have made for myself, I will be able to set up some good long-term strategies for being a better, healthier person.

On to the knitting! I have realized that for a "knitting blog," there has been a sorrowful lack of knitting on here lately. For this reason, I bring you pictures of the red scarves...All SIX of 'em!

Four of them were done in Lion Brand Homespun, two were done in Patton's Voodoo (discontinued). There is a cabled scarf (my first cables!!! - how I fell in love with doing cables...), a garter stitch keyhole scarf, two plain garter stitch scarves (one Homespun and one Voodoo), one Very Harlot Scarf, and one scarf worked horizontal in garter stitch.

And apparently, I can not figure out how to put my pictures IN my post, they all just float up to the top. Anyone have a suggestion on how to stop that?? Oh well, at least there are pictures, right? Happy Monday kiddies, and happy knitting on the kniternet!

How I Spent My Saturday Night, Part Deux...

Okay, I am probably not the only one who thinks it's kind of sad that I am posting about last Saturday on THIS Saturday, but this my dear readers has been an eventful week.

Let us start at the beginning, with the wedding I attended last Saturday night. You may have been able to discern from my lover-ly cross stitch piece that it was not a boy-girl wedding. It was in fact, a commitment ceremony, because I live in New York and we are stupid here and don't let people who love each other get married! (breathe...) Anywhoozels, I was privileged enough to be invited to my friend's commitment ceremony, and it was wonderful.

I have this thing about gay people getting married. First off, I don't like that they have to have a "commitment ceremony" because they aren't allowed to legally get married. It sounds like they are being sentenced to a mandatory stay at some nasty-arse psych hospital. Semantics aside, it's time for some math...

Now, most information I have ever read on the subject says that about 10% of the population is predominantly interested in sex with partners of the same sex. Okay, so then you figure that only a percentage of them ever come to feel comfortable enough with those feelings to be free to act on them in a way that would allow them to form a loving relationship that leads to wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone.

For the sake of argument, lets just assume that out of the 10%, 90% are out there, actively looking for love (I just pulled this number out of my arse for purposes of conversation, I have no idea on the actual numbers, bear with me...). So out of only 9% of the population, if you are lucky enough to find someone you want to make and share a life with, that gives me hope. As someone who has been heterosexually single for quite some time (wait until the novel gets published, you will all understand), it gives me great hope and strength to think that out of that small percentage of people, two people could find each other and fall in love and get married. It just makes me happy and it makes me want to dance.

So that's what I did on Sunday evening at my Christmas party - I was happy and I danced. I also drank Cosmos. Actually, I asked for a Cosmo, and I swear to gawd this woman poured ice into a plastic cup, dumped some cheap vodka in it and threw some cranberry juice in. No triple sec, no lime, no martini glass and Dear Lawrd there was ice in it.

I had two of them.

Point being, if I wanted a vodka cranberry, I would have asked for one.

It was a really great party though. Sadly, any of the pictures taken of me do not shed a great light on the fine, upstanding moral person and knitter that I am. Lets just say the only pictures I've seen so far involve me, my friend Amy and a chair...good times! On a brighter note, there is one picture of my ass that looks great - yeah for yoga!!

However, probably the most eventful things that happened this week was that I quit the restaurant. I am now down to only having one job, two businesses and a novel to publish. I went to talk to the girl who makes the schedule to ask her to take me off for next week, and found out that she had already done it. My last day was Wednesday night, and for a while, I was kind of sad about it, like wanting to cry about it and stuff. I feel better now, I knitted my way through it.

Now, I am going to focus on the massage practice and looking into starting a charity knitting group. I am on my way to a new LYS today to see if they know of any charity knitting groups in town because I haven't heard of any of them. As far as this weekend is concerned, I am doing my taxes. When I say "doing my taxes," what I really mean is doing all my bookkeeping and receipt checking for two businesses for the entire calendar year of 2006. I am off to Tar-jay to buy sustenance (i.e. Red Vines and Sour Patch Kids) - wish me luck and big tax returns!

Happy knitting on the kniternet kids - I wonder if I can knit and use an adding machine at the same time......