Knitting Resolutions

Happy Holidays everyone!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful whatever-they-celebrate. I myself spend much of my time in Maine unconscious. Apparently I had a touch of consumption and had to take leave to my sickbed. Or in my case, the couch buried under crocheted afghans. Whoops, there I go coughing up my spleen again! I do have a few finished projects but since I can not get to flickr at work (bastards!) I will have to show them off at a later date. I am especially fond of the tree I made for Meg since I am all about silly, kitschy goodness.

Which brings us to the subject at hand. Resolutions. Every year, I go out and buy a few sheets of pretty stationery and an envelope. Then at some point on New Year's Eve I take a few minutes to write my big life (with a capital "L") resolutions and then I seal them in the envelope and write on the outside "Do Not Open Until December 31, the next year". Then the next year I open the envelope before I write that years resolutions to see how I did, re-resolve, chuckle at my stupidity, etc... I have been doing this for over 15 years now and it is now just one of the things that I always do.

As much as I do love to knit I do not think knitting will appear on the Big List this year unless I suddenly resolve to become an alpaca farmer, which does not seem likely. But it struck me that I have some knitting resolutions for the upcoming year and unlike The Big List these I will share.

Don't Apologize For Anything I Knit

A few weeks back I said that in the upcoming year I was going to knit like a grown up. Stop making toys, only make mature, sophisticated items. Well, screw that. I'm me. I like toys. I like silly and kitschy and weird. And as long as I find happy homes for my toys (so I don't become crazy, old, stuffie lady with her apartment full of toys that watch you as you walk from room to room) then I should be okay. I will also make other mature things but I won't feel bad about knitting what I like.

Treat Myself to Nice "No Purpose in Mind" Yarn

I almost always buy yarn with a specific project in mind and thereby focus on price, gauge, number of skeins needed etc...instead of just allowing myself to go "Oooh pretty, me like-y, must have" . Actually I do almost all my own shopping this way and almost never splurge on myself. As stated earlier, screw that. I deserve it and this year I am not going to forget to remind myself of that.

Knit for Who I Am Now, Not Who I Want to Be in the Future

I am not going to put off making that pretty sweater because I keep saying I want to wait until I am a smaller size. Pretty self-explanatory and clearly the whole weight issue is an item better suited for The Big List.

Surround Myself with Amazing, Supportive Knitters

This actually should have gone on my list last year if I had one because now I can pretty much check it off. I was very, very lucky to find a group where they are cool with whatever you are knitting and whatever yarn you are using and understand that knitting is about enjoying yourself and others and what you are doing rather than passing judgement and causing drama. And it's great that they laugh (a lot) and bring food. Now all I have to do is stay funny and charming and don't break any copy write laws and they seem willing to put up with me.

As with all of my lists, I reserve the right to add more on later. I hope you all have a Happy Healthy New Year and may all your skeins be knot-free.

The Bastards

So I managed to travel to and from Albany without having to complain about my company to any major degree. In fact the people I met with there were great and I was glad to finally meet them in person.

But then I get back to the office and as I am doing some blog reading I am noticing that pictures don't seem to be appearing on a few of the blogs. Not all, just some. Then I am on Ravelry and I notice none of my pictures are appearing. Hmmmmm.... I click on Flickr. And I get a big message saying this is a Forbidden Site. Wahhhh!!! Not only can't I get onto that site but any picture from that site is blocked. In the case of ravelry that is ALL of the pictures. Is it just Flickr? I click onto Snapfish - blocked.

I am now going to be forced to do my ravelry browsing and blog reading at home! How will I fill the hours of boredom I have at my office? When I have horrible days at work I usually look at a few Michelle photos (my niece) to make me smile. Now I can't. I am sad - so very, very sad. Trust me, I am pouting.

The only bright spot of today is that I an evening with my SnB'ers and some margaritas to look forward to that may take away some of the pain.

Scariest part of this is the realization that this may be the thing that truly motivates me to take action and get serious about looking for a new job. How screwy is that?

A momentary knitting pause

I had to take a quick break from my knitting to work on this embroidery piece. The project it's for is Super Secret so I can't tell you who the recipient is but I really like how the Diner Girl came out so I had to share her.

I can't seem to stop!

Clearly I have a problem and I'm willing to admit it. I can't stop knitting toys. Luckily my latest creatures are off to good homes and will not hang around my apartment taunting me with looks of "Aren't you too old for this?"

In my stash busting I came across one skein of Lion Thick & Quick, yes just one skein. Why did I buy this? When did I buy this? What the hell am I going to do with this? Thanks to ravelry I found the Berroco Air Bear pattern. So this little guy who looks a bit more like a fox than a bear will hopefully bring a smile to some child's face. I am doing some charity knitting for Christmas in the City that I found out about from lickmysticks on ravelry.




And then while my cousin (a recent knitter) was going through my knitting books and patterns over Thanksgiving she goes "Oooh robot" and I knew that I was going to have to make her one of the Jess Hutchison robots. I gave him a heart in duplicate stitch which I think turned out very well.

Rules of Sarahland - Part I

One of the problems with New England winters is the lack of sunlight. These days I get up when it is still pretty gray and get home when it is dark- very dark , which happens around 3:30. Well, maybe not but it feels like it. I have found that my picture taking has suffered because of the darkness since my apartment is apparently very poorly lit. Soooo, I have no pictures to offer up to the blog gods and therefore tend to put off posting altogether. So this will be an all word post, those of you who need pictures please feel free to doodle along and submit your drawings.

Last night at SnB (that's Stitch n Bitch for you, Meg)the rules of Sarahland came up and someone actually wanted to know what they are. Beware of what you ask for! I can't really remember them all right now and new things are always likely to rile me up, which is why this is Part I. Here we go with more proof why the men in white coats are going to take me away.

BTW, Rule #1 is always Rule #1 but the rest are in no particular order.



By Decree of your Benevolent Dictator, I declare these the rules of Sarahland


1. No Public Spitting - Ew! Must I really explain this?

No hotcupping - see rant for punishment


No ear piecing for children under the age of 2. - I just don't like it.

No fruit in/on bagels. I was tempted to only allow the following bagels be served at all in Sarahland: plain, onion, garlic, salt, poppy seed and everything, but I figured I'd be a kind ruler and realize that maybe not everyone was raised by nutty New York Jews. But after a co-worker was trying to explain the virtue of an Au Bon Pain blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese I was forced to make the no-fruit rule. I mean he's from Kansas for pete's sakes! What does he know about bagels! Punishment to come - probably will involve sisal rye seeds and gefilte fish.

No male over the age of 16 will wear their baseball cap backwards unless they are a baseball catcher. Special dispensations may be granted for moving days, room/house painting. Related sub-rule: no one over the age of 5 can wear a baseball cap sideways. Really, you just look like an idiot.

Just a Quick Catch Up

Just a quick update on a couple of completed projects.

I finally gave my sister her overdue birthday present, Argosy. I am 90% sure she liked it and well, at least it's not black. I think it's really pretty but since she keeps getting things that are well-meaning but wrong she has had a lot of practice pretending to like things much more than she really does.



And I also finished up my Knucks this weekend. Geez, could I just knit everything from Knitty?

I am still torn on how I feel about them. I knit them with Berroco's Uxbridge Tweed which is a thicker yarn than the pattern called for. Which makes them nice and warm but a bit bulky. I am glad my first foray into gloves worked out okay, I mean there isn't a thumb coming out of the palm or 7 fingers on one hand so I like them in that respect. It's just that I'm just not really excited about them. I suppose it's likely to happen after a few projects you just have one that is functional just not flashy. Oh my, I think my gloves are Jan Brady. Well, now I just feel bad for them being a fellow middle child and all.

C'e Il Grande Cocomero, Charlie Brown!

For those not versed in italian, the title above says "It's The Great Watermelon, Charlie Brown!" I'm pretty sure they have pumpkins in Italy so I am not sure why it was translated this way unless it's just for the fact that "il grande cocomero" is just so much fun to say. Repeat it a few times you'll see what I mean.

I wish I could blame the following on some sort of drug-induced state but I can't unless too many candy corn can be considered mind-altering I have no excuse. It started last week when I saw the pattern for these really cute felted pumpkins. And since I seem to have a strong affinity for small stuffed toys and they are such a simple, quick knit - I made one, then another and somehow ended up with four. Really it's all just a blur. But does the insanity stop there? Um, no.

The Great Pumpkin was on last night and since I had my own pumpkin patch at this point it only seemed fitting to re-create it. But who to fill the role of Linus Van Pelt? (Always a favorite of mine probably due to blankie issues). So below are my casting sessions.

Yeah, I've lost it. And right now my sister is giving me that look. But if I can't be kooky on Halloween.....ah crap I'm kooky every day.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mini Sock Monkey


Boober the Fraggle


Bunny Peep

I destroyed a UFO!!!

This is not really as exciting as the title suggests but I've learned from my local news stations that it's all about an inticing promo to get you to tune it. My favorites being "Balloons. Why are they so deadly?" and "The Hidden Dangers of Wearing Crocs" - story at 10 on Fox 25!

Whew, back from that tangent....for the non-knitters out there who read my blog (Meg) a UFO is an Unfinished Object. For some reason, my longest UFO ever has been this Brea Bag. It knit up really quickly last November and I loved the way it turned out. And then it sat and sat. It sat while I tried to find a handle for it. And it sat as I tried to find the perfect button. And then is sat for a hell of a long time waiting for me to sewing the lining. Apparently there was a very localized earthquake that seemed to bury only my sewing machine.

I never found a leather handle I liked that didn't cost 2x more that the yarn itself - so I went with a braid of I-cord and there is no perfect button, I decided simple- so as not to distract from the pattern. And it in a fit of neat freak I unearthed my sewing machine. So 11 months after casting on I present my bag.

Happy Birthday Marsy!!!!

Today is my sister's birthday and while I may (or may not) have made her something pretty I can't post pictures yet since she hasn't actually received it. So to fill up this space I'll share a few reasons why she's a cool big sister.

1. She will always be older than me, a bummer at age 12 but looking pretty good now.

2. She doesn't complain when I call her waaaaaaay too many times at work.

3. She gives me 2,000 googly eyes as a gift because she knows I will love it.

4. She is amazingly creative , far more than I could ever be.

5. She proves that there's someone normal who came out of our gene pool. The rest of us are playing Marco Polo in the deep end until we are all pruny.

6. She has put up with my request for a pony far longer than most people would.

7. She knows the difference between icing and frosting (well, now she does).

8. She is a great mom raising a truly amazing kid.

9. It's pretty easy to make her laugh hard enough for beverages to go up her nose. Every smartass (me) needs someone to crack up at family dinners.

10. She know she has to be nice to me or else I teach her daughter the bumblebee song.

I gave her a copy of this picture a few years back but it is really one of my favorite photos ever and damn, aren't we adorable?

Is It Fall Yet?

I was forced to miss Stitch n'Bitch last week because of a business trip to Philadelphia. Trust me as the bumper stickers say "I'd rather be knitting".

It wasn't really that bad, I would to have liked to see the city itself but there really was no time for sightseeing. And my boss was far more interested in watching baseball in the hotel sports bar than venture downtown for a decent meal. My boss is not one to understand that I would much rather be in my hotel room reading Crazy Aunt Purl's book and ordering room service than in a amazingly loud sports bar watching a team I care nothing about. So I feigned a headache and escaped to enjoy my book. I really liked CAP's book but I also find a lot of my neurotic-self in her blog so I am not surprised. Not so much a knitting book as a memoir but very moving and inspiring and hilarious.

I finished up my Danica scarf last week but as it's been either freakishly 85 degrees or raining (neither a good thing for wool)I have not had a chance to wear it outside yet. I love the way it turned out, the Patons SWS seemed to know to change colors perfectly aligned with the squares. And how kick-ass does my first try at entrelac look? Okay, I'm bragging, but I've been around Grandma "Look at my beautiful sweaters!" Harriet this weekend.

Note to self: next project less picking up stitches. I am not a fan of having to pick up many, many stitches.

Finally!!!

Yay! I finally got my invite to ravelry!!!! Just in time for the weekend. Maybe this will give me a good excuse to organize me stash!!! I think I should remember the mantra, if I'm too embarassed to post it on ravelry maybe it should not be taking up room in my apartment. Yeah, I'm taking to you tutti-frutti boucle!

Must go do work instead of play online. Really!

Crazed Knitting Girl

So my folks picked up this poster for a french yarn company at a recent auction. And instantly I had an connection with her. She has brown frizzy hair, chubby cheeks, speaks french, is knitting and is just a wee bit possessed. And I know under that cute dress and she has short stubby legs. Stick a giant bow on my head and we could be twins!

Forgive the not so great picture, I was eager to make her into an avatar (yeah, I'm a geek) and since my mom had not gotten around to taking her picture for their site yet and my dad went out and snagged the photo the auction place used. Trust me Mom's photo would have been much better!

Since I don't have my french-english dictionary handy I am currently using the internet to figure out exactly what it says. (My huge dictionary is at home, the remnants of being a french major). Oddly enough what I thought was a poster for a brand of wool seems to be for scottish(as in the nationality) wool. Maybe that is the name of the wool. The phrase on the diagonal means "non-shrinking wool", so I guess it's superwash? Then along the bottom it says "Ask for our wool in fine stores".

My parents had bought the poster to sell but my mom has offered to give her to me (I do have a birthday coming up...) but I am not sure if I would want to see her crazed eyes staring at me every day. I have to think about it.

Playing Giant

This is a quick and silly post but this project makes me smile and since I have had a crap-tastic day so far anything anything that makes me smile is a good thing.

Saturday was freakishly hot here. What's it doing being mid-90s in September when earlier in the week it was like 60? It was clearly too hot to work on a wool scarf which is my current project while watching a Netflix movie.

So last week, I came across a too cute pattern and I remembered I had a really small ball of Koigu as a remainder from a project 2 years ago. Not enough to do anything real with but just enough to do this. Yes, it's technically a Christmas ornament but it was also just too cute! I just had to make a teeny hanger too!

It's Not Easy Going Green

I'm taking a little liberty with the words of the wise sage, Kermit the Frog. I've been taking small steps over the past few months to lessen my carbon footprint, as they say. As my light bulbs burn out, I've replaced them with CFL's, I bought a single-serving set of silverware and mug for work to use instead of paper cups and plastic spoons.

And when I get my iced coffee every morning I do not ask for a "hot cup". A what? For those of you who are not Dunkin' Donuts regulars I will explain this new and stupid trend. There are those out there who ask for a styrofoam cup for hot coffee to place their plastic iced-coffee cup into. Apparently actually touching a cold, damp cup is too much for some people to bear. Some DD's charge extra for the cup but it really is a rarity. And at one of the Dunks I frequent they automatically put your iced coffee in one. Besides being bad for the environment, they waste money for the business which in turn will be made up by me when they raise their prices(again!) So I make a concerted effort not to get these cups.

In Sarahland, if touching the iced coffee cup is too much for you then clearly you don't deserve the iced coffee. And if you do ask for a "hot cup" there will be appropriate Sarahland punishment, such as having to drink luke-warm Sanka with french vanilla non-dairy creamer. Yuk!

Whew! I'm stepping off my soapbox now and leaving my ranting for another day.

What all of this was leading up to was my lastest finished project the Everlasting Bagstopper.



I have a gazillion (I'm in accounting that's a real number) plastic bags in my apartment. So many at one point that the door to the closet they are kept in wouldn't close right. Another item I think breeds when no one is looking. I thought this would be a great project to use up some of the Lion Cotton in my stash and try to lessen my plastic bag intake.

The pattern is from the most recent Knitty. There are a whole bunch of string bags patterns out there but I liked this one since it has a solid bottom and is knit in the round. It was a very easy knit and I brought it along as I started going to my local Stitch n Bitch over the past 2 weeks. I will talk in more detail about that in another post but I feel bad talking about these great people for the first time in a post with one of my crazy-ass rants. Knowing me...it will turn out that they are all "hot cup"-getters and I'll be banned from all future meetings.

I did finish it up at SnB after getting help with grafting from the Daft Crafter. I even got to test it out that night since I walked part-way home with Craft Pirate and stopped a Whole Foods for an inaugural use. It worked well, stretches a lot and my cookies and cheese made it home safely. And at Whole Foods you get 5 cents off for bringing your own bag. Whoo-eee! At this rate I will save up enough after one year for an iced coffee - no hot cup.

Harry Winston Has Nothing On Me Necklace

So I finally broke my habit of making toys and actually made something grown-up. I took a half-day Friday and after eating a bit too much dim sum (oy!) I found myself in Harvard Square at Beadworks. And while I did say I wasn't buying any yarn for a little while I never said anything about beads!

I remembered this pattern "Harry Winston Has Nothing On Me" from Lily Chin's Knit and Crochet with Beads . And have a whole bag of random crochet cotton I bought from the local church's thrift store near my folks in Maine for a whopping 10 cents a ball. (This was during the few weeks where I thought I could crochet. Although some people say it's easier than knitting I just can't seem to get it right.)

Anyway, turns out the beads I bought looked great with this brown crochet cotton from the thrift shop stash. After accidentally spilling the beads all over the floor (whoops!) I was on my way. I really love the way it came out and it turns out I have a purple shirt almost the exact color of the beads. Can't wait to wear it and show it off!

How Nautie of Me!

My crazed stash-busting continues....this time with Knitty's Nautie. Because what grown woman doesn't need a knit nautiloid? He's a bit smaller because the pattern called for US 4's and I don't have those in DPN so I did it in 3's. I figure it is against the whole "no shopping until stash is worked down a bit" if I go out and buy needles.


What I have noticed is that all these random projects are done on DPN's and my knitting this way has improved quite a bit. Much less of the dreaded ladder that plagued my earlier DPN projects. I was looking at yet another knit toy that was knit on straight needs and was like "yuck- all that seaming!"

Even though I keep whipping out these small projects the random yarn stash still does not seem to be getting any less. Maybe acrylic blends breed when no one is looking. It could happen!

Look at My Foot!

So my stashbusting continues! My mom bought me a whole lotta skeins of Lion Boucle when I first started knitting. Why? It was really "reasonable" - translation: super cheap. She was being so supportive that there was no way for me to refuse, hence more boucle than I really could ever need. I made a few scarves but unless I wanted to make many, many more I had to find some other way to use more of it at time.

Luckily Lion must have added new patterns to their site or I just had totally missed this one for Slipper socks. Sure, what else do I want to knit in July but warm, furry socks?

So these are my first socks I've ever knit and while boucle hides my mistakes it also was a pain in the butt to knit with DPNs. Don't think I caught the sock-knitting bug that many others have but maybe I'll bust out another pair of these since they were a quick knit and I have several more skeins to go.

And since no one ever wants to look at my foot, I used one of my favorite models, Bo the stuffed moose, to show them off.

Stashbusting Snake

I am not allowing myself to buy any new yarn until I do something with all the random bits of yarn that I seem to have accumulated. Since I don't have enough of any one yarn to make anything big and I have a short attention-span in the summer for knitting I figured a toy would be good. This is the very simple snake from Jess Hutchinson's Unusual Toys for You to Knit and Enjoy booklet.


So this snake with the sweet face needs a home. I really don't need any more stuffies at the moment and my niece is normally the recipient of my knitted toys. But I think her mommy would bop me on the head if I gave them one more thing that would require packing in the next few months. So he's up for adoption. Leave me a note or shoot me an email (my address is in my profile - I believe) and he's yours.

Lists and Books - My Dorky Heaven

So here's the thing, I love lists - always have. Shopping lists, to-do lists, movies-to-see lists...As a young girl, I was slightly obsessed with checkboxes and my family has been known to mock me about them to this day. So fine, I included things like "Wake up" "brush teeth" but that was only on important days like the first day of school or camp, etc...

But my favorite list of all and the only permanent, long-standing list is my Book List. I don't remember how the Book List started but it was some point after college I started keeping a list of the books I had read. Initially I just wrote down the title but starting in January 1998 I included the date I completed the book. So I'm going along keeping my list and then a few years back over a dinner the topic comes up and my sister goes, "I keep a list too" and then my mom says "Me too!". Clearly there is something on the XX chromosome in our family that triggers this sort of thing. We were all doing the same things unbeknown st to each other for years. Eerie....

My mother and I have proceeded to debate our lists. Not the content mind you but the actual list format themselves. Mom keeps a file on the computer with author, title, main character names and a synopsis. She can not understand how I can just have the title, it drives her nuts. - an added plus for me.

So last night, I am at book club and found out about this site Good Reads. It's a site to list your books and see what your friends are reading. I have only just started entering books but I can this will give me much list-fetish joy to come.

Check out the Good Reads button to the right and it will connect you to what I'm reading.

My Mother's Daughter

Melon
Originally uploaded by Sarahland

So I went to Haymarket Friday after work to see if I could find some inspiration for a dish to bring to the cooking club I was invited to. More on that a bit later...but something rang in my head as I walked around. It was my mother's voice saying "did you buy a melon?" Leaving Haymarket without a melon is a cardinal sin in my mom's book and since the cantaloupes we looking good a cantaloupe joined me for my T trip home.

But being myself instead of my mom I had to put my own spin on it.

Hence, Melon with Googly Eyes.

Are you Smarter than a Fourth Grader?

A co-worker in my department has a son in the fourth grade who gets these weekly math challenges. I must say for a fourth grader are pretty hard. Usually they are solved with algebra (which they have not learned yet) but the kids are challenged to try to figure it out anyway they can graphs, guessing, pictures etc...Now my co-worker gives these word problems to several of us in the department to work out. Usually it takes me a few minutes to kick out my basic algebra skills and figure it out.

The first time we did it, my co-worker couldn't solve it herself but insisted that my answer had to be wrong because I did it too fast because apparently the rest of my department took over a half hour to solve it (their answers were wrong by the way).

The second time I was critiqued for not showing all of my work . We have yet to do one where I haven't had to explain how to get the correct answer to at least one person.

I know I sound really bitchy and condescending. I fully acknowledge that not everyone is good at math and I'm totally okay with that there are lots of things I can't remember from school. The thing is all of these people work in my department - the ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT!!! They are paid to work with numbers all day and should not look at me oddly because I remember how to do simple algebra!!!

So here's the problem. Feel free to post your answers in the comments.

A magic money box doubles any money put into it and then adds $1. Kara put some money in the box and the box did its magic. She then took this new amount of money and put it back in the box again. After the box did its magic again, Kara took of $31. How much money did Kara originally put into the magic money box?

Washday

Now for something completely different....

I am posting things all out of the order in which I took the classes but that's because it all depends on what I have photos of. Some things require me getting to a scanner and I just haven't managed to do that yet.

Compared to the piece I posted a few days ago this one is on the other end of the spectrum. This is from my class "Washday" with Pamela Huntington. First of all Pam is just wonderful as an instructor, she really wants everyone to enjoy themselves, learn something and most of all have fun. I have to say she was generous both of material things (an amazing amount of supplies) and of spirit. She was the perfect person to have my last class with.

The class was a bit more on the craftier rather than arty side so I was more at home. We painted the frames, cut out and put together paper dolls and then collaged the background, mine pretty simply but I really wanted three dresses on my clothesline. I wasn't sure about the baby but everyone in class loved him so he stayed. Thanks Dad for letting me raid your ephemera! The dresses are all hand sewn and embellished by me and then the ones on the clothesline we dipped in wax. It's hard to see in photos but they are all stiff and gives them a really neat look. And I got to use my Liquid Nails again! Woo-hoo! Michael de Meng would be so proud! Had to make sure that fence wasn't going anywhere. Oh, check out the little goose peeking out of the fence - I love him!

Again, I really like her but she's not so weird.

Message from the blogger

Sorry to interrupt my regularly scheduled ramblings but I was fiddling around with my blog options and I realized that I had it set so only blogger members could post comments. I have now changed it so anyone can post now.

So, comment away! Really! Go ahead!

No, it's okay... I'll just blog in the dark....sniff...

Can you tell Grandma's been helping me with my guilt trips lately? She's a master.

She's weird and I like her. That's it.

This is the way I described my finished piece at the group discussion and share at end of Michael de Meng's "Soda Pop Icon" workshop.


First off Michael de Meng is totally the rock star of the mixed media, found art world or it least that's how it seems to me. He has groupies, is totally captivating, looks good in a pair of jeans and is pretty easy on the eyes.

Thanks to some generous people from an earlier workshop I had soda cans for this class. Most folks know I never drink soda and I was ready to make Marsy chug a few cans but there were none to be found in the hotel vending machines, bottles only! This was the only large class I took and clearly some people were taking several classes with him so I walked in a bit intimidated by that alone.

He spoke for a few minutes during which time I realized that he was a total rock star and then it was like ready, set, create! I crushed my Diet Mountain Dew can (Ew!) and then sat and stared at it trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Clearly a lot of people had prepared for this far better than I had and had tons of doo-dads and such to work with. (These were also the people who pounced onto the stuff he brought as well, not making a lot of room for those of with less - bad sharers!)

Not until I found the doll head and arms amongst my stuff did I get a clue of what I was going to do. Clearly it is in my DNA. Quick tangent here, totally appropriate since I am speaking of my Mom, Queen o' Tangents. But I think this one makes sense. When I was younger it was not unusual for someone to come over to my house and find a bowls of fake fruit with a pair of doll's arms sticking out of it or legs or in one case a really large head. Mom got past her body part and faux food stage although they still have a mannequin in the living room and fake deli sausages hanging from the kitchen ceiling so maybe not.

Okay back to Virginia....so my bizarre, slightly obscene soda can icon was born. She's got a totally different vibe than his work (check it out, it is really great - even if some people think it's too "muddy") and everyone else's in class. But Michael was awesome and totally supportive and has introduced me to Liquid Nails (how did I live without this?). He taught an amazing amount on color theory that I will surely use. And at the end of class we put all the pieces on the table where he asked everyone to say a quick thing on their piece and then he told us what he liked and worked well on each one of them. Even mine! Apparently my painting technique was quite impressive. Must be because I had no clue what I was doing! But I now know how to make things look rusty and patina'ed (is that a word?) with paint.

So all I had to say was she's weird and I like her. Sounds a lot like me.

Funny post script: I'm holding her in the elevator back at the hotel and someone else from Art & Soul is there and looks at it and says "That's cool - it looks like you." (Huh?!?) My reply "My boobs aren't that big."

Art & Soul - Part I

I am back from Art & Soul and it was great! I am sure that this is the first of several posts about it since I still have to take photos and/or scans of my masterpieces.

Things were a little wonky in the beginning as our luggage enjoyed a longer stay at the Philadelphia airport than we did. We flew out of Logan down to Philly okay, a few minutes late but with enough time to catch our 1:20 connection to Newport News which was unfortunately in a terminal at the other end of the airport. We go and check the departure time as we get off our flight and it says "Delayed". We take a shuttle to the other terminal and we spy the Chick-fil-A in the food court area, we figure we can grab a bite for lunch no problem.

As we get to the other terminal, I check the departures again and this time it says that our flight that our 1:20 flight is now leaving at 1:05. Yes, early. Since when do flights leave early? I actually ask some strange man if I am reading things correctly and apparently I was. They start boarding just a few minutes after we get there and we can see them loading the luggage on the small prop plane. Marsy then says "I don't see my red suitcase". Which was true since both of our suitcases were most probably making their way from Terminal B to F but when they got to F, whoops!, out plane was gone. Early!!

Since we checked into the hotel in late afternoon there were little choices on where to eat and the stress of all of our missing supplies (and underwear). I will spare everyone the details of our descent into mopiness and the crankiness of some people when they don't get anything to eat for lunch. Our luggage was due to come in on the next flight, get to Virginia around 4:30 and make it to us in time for our evening class. Yeah, not so much. The next flight was delayed and we had to make head off to class sans supplies. Luckily I in my class the instructor had most of the supplies we needed and the people in my class were generous, very sympathetic to my situation and were good sharers. Marsy was not so lucky and really could have used her own tools and had bad sharers. People who say they are going to share but then don't.

Our luggage finally arrived about 15 minutes before the class ended. And I found myself finally exhaling the breath I had apparently been holding in all afternoon. Did I mention we hate US Airways? And Philadelphia?

Stay tuned for more arty goodness and culinary adventures....

It's that time of year again!

Bust out your crockpots and Velveeta it's time for my office's Cinco de Maio celebration!!!!

Since May 5th is on a Saturday you're assuming it would be on Friday the 4th then? Oh no, that would only make sense. It is today Thursday the 3rd. Why? Who knows? It's always on Thursday. This tradition led to one of my favorite work quotes ever when I overheard this gem last year.

"Wait, since we're celebrating on the 4th shouldn't we be calling it Cinco de Quattro?"

So as with all of my office functions (including our holiday party) it's a potluck. Unfortunatly whoever made the scrumptous treat made of Velveeta and ground beef called "Monkey Brains" in the past did not make it this year. Mmmmm......Monkey Brains

Last year's big highlight was the chili contest. But wait, you say that chili is Southwestern and not Mexican? Ha! Mexico, New Mexico same difference. This year "Mexican food" apparently means anything spicy. Macaroni n' cheese with jalepenos throw in, jerk pork, jambalya and rice (Cajun-Mexican same diff).

I have to say my favorite things this year were the items not made. Crush Boy stops by my desk yesterday and says "How's this sound for the potluck? Some ground beef, browned and then put inside jello? Red jello of course, like salsa." I say that all that's missing is the grain alcohol and we've got a party!! Clearly he is kidding so there no Beef Jello shots to be found. But the brillant co-workers in my department do not understand sarcasm.

T: Crush Boy has made Slim Jim Stew for lunch.
Me: Huh?
T: He put Slim Jims in a crockpot with boiling water and now those guys are all making fun of it. Ask him about it!

A little later....

Me: So what did you make? I heard something about Slim Jims?
Crush Boy: I took Slim Jims put them in a crockpot of water added cheese and some spices.
Me: So has anyone actually eaten any of this?
CB: Well, no since I didn't actually make it. But I've got all of them convinced that I did (nods his head toward my department). Slim Jim Stew. Ha!

I swear if I wasn't crushing on this boy before I so would now. The fact that he has them convinced he would make something so vile and be proud of it is awesome. I pretty much didn't believe early on. I am not seeing this 20-something, barely-cooks, brings Ramen noodles in for lunch, guy actually owning a crock pot.

Felice Navidad! And have a happy and healthy Cinco de Tres!

May already?

So after I actually let people know that I had a blog I'd figured I'd be compelled to write more often to make up for the years (yikes!) of horrible correspondance with people (particularly college friends). Yeah, that didn't see to happen. So it's time for a quickie update to relieve my non-blogging guilt.

Last Sunday I went to see the play Confessions of A Mormon Boy in the South End with my friends Linda and Meg since we are intrigued (Linda may be obsessed) by all things Mormon after we read Under the Banner of Heaven in book club last year. The play was good and I love spending Sunday afternoons in the South End but it does make we wish for an extra million or two lying around to buy a brownstone there.

I've been running around like a mad woman trying to gather all my bits for this art workshop thingie, Art and Soul, that I am going to with my sister at the end of the week. I need four different types of glue, two of which I am convinced will be confiscated at the airport. I have been getting photos made into transparencies, calling my parents with odd requests for things from their treasure trove o' crap to be scanned and crashing my computer with my attempts to do too many things at once with the photo editor. I must chill.

I am sure I would have spent last night stressing myself silly about sorts of crazy things but luckily Meg's dad is in town for a conference and and they invited me out to dinner at the Beacon Street Tavern. Yum! I have to say, beet risotto - really good. Not to mention some kickass pan seared scallops encrusted with a horseradish-y sauce.

Well, I better go and do some work. Feel free to leave me comments (please, please) so I know that someone, anyone is reading my ramblings.

Oh and tomorrow is my office's Cinco de Maio lunch celebration (yes, on the 3rd) so I am sure I will have some crazy story to tell.

Too Much Chocolate?

Is it possible? Can I really have too much chocolate? Oh yes.


Last night I went to a Girls Night Out to the Chocolate Madness fundraiser that NARAL Massachusetts does each year at The Cyclorama in the South End. Some of the best restaurants and bakeries in the Boston area make chocolate confections for an amazing all-you-can-consume extravaganza. There were so many delicious goodies that I can't even begin to think about what was a favorite. They do have a program and I was thinking "Maybe I should make little notes so I remember what I thought about each thing." Ha! And waste a hand that could carrying a plate of chocolate? I don't think so. I have to say some of the highlights was a very charming Gordon Hamersley and his Chocolate Mousse Torte, the Smores from Grill 23 and Bar and the homemade peanut butter cups, oreos and their own version of the Hostess cupcake from Flour Bakery.

For my sister, I had to get the obligatory cupcake photo although I have to admit that a cupcake was harmed during the taking of this picture. As I snapped a photo of the wonderful cupcakes from Lulu's Bake Shoppe, my plate flipped over and it was "Pastries down!". A very sweet older gentleman (I think a friend of the women at Lulu's) provided me with napkins and as I finished wiping frosting off the floor (sniff) I got up to see that he had gotten me a new plate and started collecting the items that I had dropped. How charming!

I do have a bit of a sugar hangover today and the idea of anything sweet is a bit too much. I even skipped my daily iced coffee! But it was so worth it.

Oh, I had to come back and edit this to add that while walking to the T to go home I managed to fall in the most splendid form. I tripped and just when I thought I was okay a muscle in my calf went "Oh hell no!" and twitched and I was flat on my face. Meg was very nice and blamed the uneven brick sidewalks of the South End but we knew the truth... I was drunk on chocolate. I'm okay, an ouchie here or there,I'll survive....maybe a truffle will help.....

How do I respond to this?

This is one of those work stories that I would normally call me sister with in the middle of the workday to ask her if I am in bizarro world again. But since her clan is down in Orlando visiting Mickey Mouse...who we kidding, she's going to see Princesses. If Mickey or Eeyore happen to walk by that's a bonus but all my niece really wants to see are Princesses. So Marsy's loss is your gain and I really need to get this out of my head or it may bounce around in there all weekend like a pinball machine. And since I recently told new people about my blog other people besides my sister may actually read this. Feel free to comment. Really! I am a big ol' comment whore and as you see have so very few....sniff, sniff.

Since we are all having performance evaluations the talk of jobs and satisfaction is all floating around my department. So I'm talking with Coworker T and the conversation includes this...

Coworker T: I love my job. Do you?

Me: I like it but I don't love it. (Sidenote: to say I like it is being very generous but I digress...) What is it exactly that you love about it?

T: I like doing the mailroom and helping on the phones.

Me: But you work in accounts payable, you do the mail room for like a half hour a day and you fill in on the phones may once a month at most?

T: Well, I like when I can do nothing.

Me: Uhhhh.....okay.

That pretty much sums it up. She should be quoted on one of those motivational posters with a sunrise. Just so wrong.

Can't wait until my evaluation on Monday when I most likely will get in trouble again for doing my work too fast and looking for more things to do.

Sublime Tea Towel Tour '07

I have just completed my portion of the Tea Towel Tour. Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching, whose patterns I love, posted a message on craftster for some testers for the new tea towels she may carry. So I signed up and just finished my piece. There are 12 of us who will each embroider something on the towel and then send it on to the next person. I love the idea of a shared work like this. I can't wait to see how it develops.

I also have this urge to have like a concert tee shirt with Tea Towel Tour 2007 on it. Ya know with all the cities listed on the back. 'Cause you know nothing is more kick-ass, rock 'n roll than embroidery and tea towels.

Even though I picked the sushi pattern as my freebie (a thank you to the testers) I had to go with the Veggies for my contribution. First of all I needed something pretty straight-forward and quick as this week is oddly busy and I didn't want to hold up the towel. Also I love the little apple, something about him always makes me smile.

As for the towels, they are really good to embroider on, have nice even seams and are a good thickness so hopefully they'll be carrying them soon. Aren't I a good spokesperson?

If you want to keep up with the tour, check out its' progress here.

Stitch on!

Happy Feet

Yay! I finally get to post this project. I made these Twinkle Toes from the Winter Knitty for Michelle for Hannukah. But I never actually got to give them to her because I kept having to frog them, I believe it was 3 times!

One time - 'cause they just sucked, one time because I managed to turn the page incorrectly so I knit it half with the toddler directions and half with adult, whoops! And after finally knitting up two whole slippers I realized they were way too small and had to re-do them in the child size. Whew!

Then it turns out that I never got a chance to see Michelle until her birthday this past weekend so they became a birthday present. In a highly surprising move, she let me take one shot of her feet and then they were whisked off to the dress-up box until the next time she plays ballerina.

Felt Beads

I was a bit stressed last night over really silly stuff so I figured a good way to chill myself out would be to do something crafty. I haven't done anything since my craft stuff is all in piles in my entryway since I emptied the office to paint it which I so have not done. Idiot!



Anyway I needed a quick project that I would not linger in my "Works in Progress" heap. I realized I had a few felt beads I had already made and never strung and I also made some new ones. By the end of watching Veronica Mars I was awful pruney but I had a finished project. The purple ones are coming out a bit grape-y in this picture but you get the jist.

So I made this bracelet with some glass beads I had hanging around.

Pink and purple....hmmm...I wonder who those are for?

Faster than a speeding paper tray....

It must be because of watching 'Heroes' or maybe just 'cause I am mind-numbingly bored at work but I started thinking about what my superpower would be if I had one. Clearly it would be nothing cool like flying or being invisibile. I'm pretty sure it would be something like being able to clear paper jams out of the copier with my mind. Useful, it's true and yet completely lame. Where is Gleek when I need him?

Happy Slushy Valentines!

So I went to an author reading by Christopher Moore last night and I have to say he is hysterical. Another author who doesn't actually read at his readings which I am finding are usually a bit more entertaining. I've read several of his books Lamb, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and my favorite holiday book ever The Stupidest Angel. And he has a great website where he recommends other fun books to read while you are waiting for one of his to come out.

While he touched on many topics what I came away with most is a new phrase to add to my lexicon. He was telling us about pitching ideas to tv execs who wanted to make his books into shows when he suddenly has an FI moment. FI moment? When you suddenly realize you are talking to a fucking idiot. Like people being dumber than bags of hammers I know that I will start muttering under my breath "It's okay you're just having an FI moment - it'll pass." Not very PC or genteel but this is from a man whose new book is called You Suck.

Random thoughts

Apparently there is going to be a storm on Wednesday, Valentines Day. That made me think that Mother Nature is clearly single. Then I thought, wait, that makes her a single mom, since you've never heard of a Father Nature. No wonder she hates Valentines Day! Some guy knocked her up with hurricanes and tornadoes and then took off, probably leaving her for some young chippie without monsoon issues.

Unless maybe she just didn't take his name and kept her maiden name. I mean what if she was married to Father Time? Then she'd be Mother Nature-Time and that sounds way too much like some cheesy kids show segment.

I don't know...these are just the things that pop into my head sometimes....All I know is I better wear boots on Wednesday.....

Yummy weekend!

So this weekend packed full of some new culinary delights. Friday night I tried out UBurger in Kenmore Square, I'm not sure it lived up to the hype since I had seen glowing blurbs on it in the Globe Magazine and Phantom Gourmet. But it was a good, cheap burger and the french fries and onion rings were really good. All in a all a good spot when I am craving the red meat.

Then Saturday after seeing the Fashion Show exhibit at the MFA we all headed over the Squealing Pig (I love the name it's so very Deliverance). Oh, I should mention the museum trip, a small exhibit with gorgeous dresses, the John Galliano for Chanel were wonderful - how can you not love dresses with sequined skulls along the bottom? But I am not sure if it was worth the hefty ticket price so if you can get in free go - if not get a copy of W.

Back to the vittles....I had the yummiest sandwich at the Squealing Pig, roast chicken and onion with smoked gouda in a pressed panini-type sandwich. Pretty much it could have been blah, blah, blah....smoked gouda. I am my mother's daughter. There's a note on the menu that the bread for the restaurant is made at Clear Flour Bread. So Meg asks me if I go there and of course I am clueless. Turns out its right on the Brookline/Allston/Brighton edge. So instead of heading home Meg and I decide to find the bakery. She's been there before and always gets lost and this time was no different, we find ourselved wandering around the back roads of Brookline searching for bread.


Finally, we make it there and our quest was totally worth it. It's a teeny, tiny bakery that can maybe fit 6 customers. We waited outside until we could fit and were rewarded with the most amazing smells and sights. Focaccias, baguettes, brioches.....including heart-shaped baguettes for Valentines Day. I treated myself to these great poppy bread sticks made with garlic butter and a single chocolate-chip cookie. And the best news of all is that they're open 'til 8pm during the week and are right on my way home!

Piggle

My favorite muse is my niece Michelle as she is always fun to make things for and since she is small they are not overwhelming time-wise. (Except the elephant that I stayed up all night to finish for her birthday, but that's my fault for not reading the finished size. Who expected him to be a foot long? )

Anyway, I was having a tough time figuring out what to make her this year for Hannukah and then the Winter Knitty came out and my problem was solved. For the girl who live in ponytails, piggle was the perfect thing.

I have to thank my sister for the photo since the only time Michelle wanted to wear the hat all weekend was while I was in the shower. I have been told that since then, she has asked specifically to wear it to school where she has been ooh'd and aah'd over. And she announced proudly that "My Auntie Sarah made this for me". That of course makes me melt.

They Said What???

"Read? I don't read. My brain works too fast for me to read." - L.

As told to me by a co-worker when asked about book groups. Boy, am I glad to be slow-brained.

There was a little girl with a little curl...

I came in this morning with my haircut, a good haircut, a shorter by like 6 inches haircut. And do I get any acknowlegement at all....uh no. Either they are clueless or they are doing the stare at me for a good half a minute but then they don't say anything at all. I must remember that most of them have very little taste, if any, and that I don't need their approval but it would be nice for someone to even notice it happened even if they don't like it! But apparently in bizarro world that just doesn't happen.

So in conclusion - they suck.

Thrown for a Fruit Loop

So I'm in the kitchen at work rinsing off blueberries for breakfast and I'm chatting with a co-worker and in the course of this conversation she says "Can I try one? I've never had one like this before." Yes, I have to admit I was somewhat horrified that someone had never eaten a fresh blueberry before only in muffin form. This is someone from Boston! It's not like the Maine blueberries have a far way to travel! Then she says she only likes bumpy berries - meaning rasberries or blackberries she's not sure which. This is why rickets is coming back! (I think rickets is the new scurvy).

It's okay, I'm good now....then I started thinking that someone could then think the same about me (horrors!) since there are lots of fruits and veggies I've never had or say I don't like even though I haven't tried them again as an adult. So I decided that I am going to work this year to try every fruit and veggie that I normally don't eat. I figure with Haymarket and the 88 at my disposal I can end up trying some really weird stuff.

Bon Appetit!