Activity

We've been doing some redecorating. Hubby has been painting and we bought a new great big couch.

You can see some of the old furniture waiting to be taken away, plus Ruthie's crate. Hard to find a good place to put a Ruthie-sized crate. She only uses it about once a month, so maybe we'll just put it in the garage.

We had to move the bookshelves to paint, so I took the opportunity to reorganize my books. Here is the hobby- related bookcase.

I hope Blogger will let you click on the pic so you can read the labels. I can't figure out why sometimes clicking on pics works with Blogger and sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, I have a lot of knitting books. But look! There's a little empty space! In my house, empty bookshelf space acts like a vacuum, pulling more books towards itself, because nature abhors a vacuum (and I abhor vacuuming, but that's another story).

For the craftroom/guestroom, I bought some sets of wire crates to store my yarn addiction stash. I thought I was capable of assembling them, because I have before. But 2 hours, a temper tantrum, and a sore hand later, here's what I have:

&^%$!! (Yes, some of the back pieces have fallen off). I give up. I guess Hubby can finish that project tonight. Then I can move my stash into its new home. Only one problem--it will now be out in the open, in one place, and Hubby is going to realize just how much yarn I own. Well, he can't complain too much, because this is what his work-out room looks like:

This is only one corner, but you get the idea. The whole room is filled with Simpsons crap. Which, I might point out, cannot be knitted into useful items.

Ruthiekins

No new knitting to post today, so here's Ruthie instead, fresh from the groomer. Yes, she's already slightly slobbery, but that's what ya get with Ruthie. Her fur is very, very soft and they put a purple ribbon on her collar. Sorry about the eerie eyes--my red eye fixer doesn't work on green-eye.

My Weekend.

I haven't knitted anything all weekend. Friday night hubby hosted a fantasy football draft party, and I took refuge in my bedroom, where there's no good spot to knit. I did do some junkfood reading, though: The Devil Wears Prada.

The I woke up Saturday with a head cold or sinus infection or similar misery, and I feel just too yuck to do anything, even knit. And I'm feeling sorry for myself because I have too much going on at work to call in sick tomorrow.

So instead, here are some pix of some items my Mom just made. They're all made from 100% Saint fur, and they will be auctioned off at the next Saint National, proceeds to go to rescue. Saint fur makes lovely yarn--it reminds me a lot of angora, actually.

Loot

My parents took an anniversary trip to Orcas Island, and brought me this. It's kid mohair, so it's very soft, and it's such a wonderful blue color. I haven't decided yet what it wants to be; for right now, it's sort of a pet.

Envy

I'm supposed to be writing a book. Well, several chapters of a book (it's an Intro text, and I have 7 coauthors). Two of my chapters are due in October, and I promised myself I'd have them done before school begins. One of them is mostly done, but I'm struggling with the other. I'm only about 20% finished with that one, and classes start in a week and a half. I'm not sure what my problem is. My last book I managed to write all by myself in just about a semester. It probably helped that I was pregnant, and so I knew I had an inescapable deadline facing me. And also, that book was really my love child, whereas the current project is a (mostly) fun and interesting project--more like stepchild, to stretch the metaphor.

I regularly read Yarn Harlot's blog, and today she's struggling with her book, too. Still, I'm having trouble empathizing. At least when she takes a break from writing to pursue knitting-related activities, she can convince herself that it's all research for the book. Unfortunately, I can't. And any research I would do for my book would be much, much less fun. Plus, she gets to do book tours and talk about knitting. Me? Boring professor.

Okay, but I promise. Today I will write a bunch of pages on court structure and jurisdiction. Woohoo!

More Procrastinating

I am really, really trying to get some work done today. Really. But my mind keeps wandering, and so do my fingers on the keyboard. And two men are currently sweeping off the roof of the building outside my window, which for some reason is incredibly distracting. Did you know tumbleweeds can end up on the top of a 1-story building?

So anyway, here's what I've been doing this morning:

• Slate has a nifty Middle East Buddy List online, which you can use to help you sort out the Israel/Palestine/Lebanon mess (good luck on that)
• Charity Navigator rates charities of all kinds and has information on philanthopy
• You can knit for the greater good and donate warm items to Afghans for Afghans or the Dulaan Project (which ships items to Mongolia). I also found a link on the Afghans site to a new book, Knitting for Peace, which sounds pretty cool. If you click through the Afghans site, Amazon will give them a % of the sales price.
• Time Magazine picked The Human Clock as one of the 50 coolest websites of 2006. I think it's a terrific timewaster. Also on Time's list: Cute Overload and a Jackson Pollock page (click on your mouse to change colors).
• Archie McPhee. If you visit Seattle, you should go to their store. If you don't visit Seattle, the website is still fun.

Not working

The fall semester is soon upon us, which is why I spent today mostly not doing work. Here's a few things I found while dawdling through various blogs:

• The best treehouse. Ever. Too bad I don't have $18,500 burning a hole in my pocket, and a bigger yard.
• This artist knits and crochets with yarn made from human hair.
• CraftBits has lots of free patterns for various crafts, including knitting. The pictures aren't very good, but if you want to make a purse out of a bra, or knit a cherry pie, here ya go.
• The new CRAFT magazine and blog.
• The ghost table. I want one.
• Clangers. More Clangers. (Thanks, Knatolee!)
• Flying Spaghetti Monster church made out of LEGOs.

Progress

I have been busy! I have finished a mystery project:


And one sock:

And all that activity has just exhausted Ruthie:

A while back I complained that I had postcards on my wall from 4 continents, but not Australia, Africa, or Antarctica. Well, look what Nathalie in Cairns sent me! Thanks, Nathalie!! That's so cool! Only 2 continents left. Do they even have postcards in Antarctica?

Buzz

I was once phobic about bees and wasps. I've overcome that phobia, and in fact I even enjoy visits to my garden by honeybees and humungobees. I'm less enthusiastic about wasps, although a couple weeks ago I happened to witness a paper wasp eating a spider egg sac only a few inches away from me (I was on the other side of a window) and that was pretty cool. But I have no place in my heart for yellowjackets. Just a couple weeks ago, one stung me on my leg for absolutely no reason. I didn't even see it until it was stinging me. So this just gives me major heebie jeebies. Check out the photo--it's like something from a horror movie.

And speaking of horrors, People For the American Way has launched a new blog that keeps us udpated on the right wing's latest shenanigans.

Sock Wars

Yarn Monkey has initiated the Sock Wars. I won't be playing because I am a slow knitter and I'd be killed off really fast. But for those with with quick fingers, time on their hands, and a competitive streak, this sounds like fun! And unlike real wars, in this one the dead get a pair of socks out of the deal.

Daytrip

We visited the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito today. As you can see, Thing 2 was able to explore her potential as an artist. She's quite good at painting...her face, her clothes, her arms, her hair, etc. I love how for kids this age, it's all about the process, rather than the result.


And if you get to run around like a maniac, climb onto boats, and make a lot of noise? So much the better!

100 Things About Me

1. I was born in Illinois, but only lived there until I was 8.
2. I am an Aries, born in the Chinese Year of the Ram.
3. I have a JD and a PhD and have finally paid off my student loans.
4. If I could pick any job in the world, I'd pick Successful Writer.
5. I like to look myself up on Amazon.
6. My combined Amazon and Powells wish lists are over 200 items long.
7. I am addicted to buying books and yarn.
8. My mother taught me to knit when I was 17.
9. I never learned to tie shoelaces properly; I can only use bunny ears.
10. For almost a decade, I have not eaten mammals, reptiles, or ducks.
11. I still eat fish, chicken, and turkey.
12. My favorite cuisines are Indian and Thai.
13. I like making lists.
14. I love to travel.
15. My first trip outside the US (unless you count Tijuana when I was 3) was when I was 33.
16. I have studied 6 languages other than English, but I'm only fluent in English.
17. I hate being an obvious tourist when I travel.
18. I tend to plan things well in advance.
19. I'm good at meeting deadlines.
20. I used to procrastinate, but now I do less often.
21. I can't stand to eat scallops.
22. I wish I could sing well.
23. I wish I could draw or paint well.
24. I hate how my ears stick out.
25. I have naturally curly hair.
26. I always wanted 2 children.
27. Most of my pets have been named after Supreme Court justices.
28. When I was little, my favorite tv program was Emergency!
29. I've read almost all of Stephen King's books.
30. Isabel Allende is one of my favorite contemporary authors.
31. Mark Twain is one of my favorite dead authors.
32. I would get a tattoo if I could decide on something good enough to permanently imprint on myself.
33. I hate going to the dentist.
34. I am pretty far to the left, politically.
35. I am just a shade over five feet tall.
36. I don't wish I was taller, but do wish I was thinner.
37. I have an abnormally narrow spinal column, according to my MRI.
38. I cannot roll my r's.
39. My favorite flavors are caramel, lemon, sour cream, and pomegranate--but not all at once.
40. Sometimes I like to cook.
41. I have never been athletic.
42. I hardly ever watch network tv.
43. I do like to watch tv or movies while I knit.
44. I get annoyed when people mispunctuate or are grammatically incorrect in their writing.
45. My dream travel destinations are Bhutan, Botswana, and the Galapagos Islands.
46. I think I would have enjoyed being an anthropologist.
47. I have spent almost my whole life in school as either a student or a professor.
48. My first job was at McDonalds.
49. I was once robbed at gunpoint while working at a deli.
50. I remain very calm in emergencies.
51. I am mildly claustrophobic.
52. I am also mildly phobic of heights, but only over water.
53. I am a poor swimmer.
54. I owned a boa constrictor named Carlos for several years.
55. I lived in Nebraska for 5 years when I was in graduate school.
56. My earliest memory was making a cake with my grandmother.
57. I love the smell of coffee, but rarely drink it.
58. I love to shop at office supply stores.
59. I owned a '55 Ford pickup for several years.
60. My first car was a '71 Dodge Dart.
61. Now I drive an Acura SUV.
62. I rarely wear makeup.
63. I buy a lot of soaps.
64. My favorite dessert is cheesecake.
65. My childhood wasn't even remotely dysfunctional.
66. I tend to have eclectic tastes in almost everything.
67. I listen to a lot of NPR.
68. I never learned to type properly.
69. I am a night person.
70. I like to stay in hotels.
71. I tend to be quiet in social situtaions, until I know the people well.
72. I like to sleep in a cold room.
73. I like to spend time with my parents.
74. I wish I were more patient.
75. I'm not very good at doing nothing.
76. I think I have a strange sense of humor.
77. I have way more yarn than I need.
78. I've had a web page since 1994.
79. I like to try new things.
80. I met my husband when I was 15.
81. I like to garden, but don't have much time to do it.
82. I own a lot of cobalt blue glass.
83. I am especially pleased that Daughter #1 loves to read.
84. I am an extremely easy person to shop for.
85. When I was in high school, I wished I was more popular.
86. I broke my little toe at summer camp when I was 9.
87. I almost always wear flat shoes.
88. I have blue eyes.
89. I love to do craft projects with my kids.
90. I almost named my older daughter Etana.
91. When I got married, I kept my last name, and took my husband's last name as my middle name. This confuses people.
92. I love to visit the ocean.
93. I don't understand really religious people.
94. I have never had a speeding ticket, although I drive fairly fast.
95. I am exceedingly trustworthy.
96. Sometimes I get tired of having too many responsibilities.
97. I don't want to not have pets.
98. I have to make myself only read one book at a time, and only work on one knitting project at a time.
99. Sometimes I don't feel like a grownup.
100. I am currently putting off doing actual work.

Names

There is a child in Thing 1's gymnastics class (a blond-haired, blue-eyed child) named Cherokee. As far as I know, she's no relation to Thing 1's classmate, Cheyanne (yes, spelled like that). And Thing 2 has classmates named Rocco and Kairo (yes, spelled like that). Hubby has a distant relative who named his daughter Tiger Lily. What are these parents thinking?!? Anyway, here's a whole website devoted to horrible baby names: Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing. My advice for those who absolutely MUST name someone Sharmonica or Bayne or Miykayleigh: get a pet.

Top Secret & Superheroes

I have nearly finished the Top Secret knitting project. It's my own creation, you see, and I plan to submit it to Knitty. I think it's a really cool idea and I can't believe nobody's thought of it before. Which means either A) I've experienced a stroke of brilliance, or B) I'm eccentric and slightly delusional. I know hubby's voting for B, but what does he know? Anyway, if it doesn't make it into Knitty, I will eventually at least post it here.

Meanwhile, yesterday Thing 2 was pretending to be a superhero with "superstrong muscles." When I asked her her name, she flourished an invisible cape and replied, "I'm SUPERMARKET!!" And then she dashed off to save the world from...uh...high grocery prices??

Which reminds me, the other day I caught 2 seconds of a tv program in which contestants apparently are trying to be superheroes of their own design. So this made me start thinking about what my family's super identities would be and our personal kryptonite. Thing 2 has already named herself (her kryptonite is bedtime), and I think Thing 1 would have to be Obstinate Girl (kryptonite = getting sent to her room) . Hubby is clearly Projectman, who can be stopped in his home improvement tracks only by...sports on tv. And me? I fear I'm probably Responsibility Woman, otherwise known as She Who Is in Charge of It All. And my weakness? Hah! Superheroes never reveal their own weaknesses!

What's your super identity?

It's good to be 3.

Venting

My inlaws are in town for the weekend, which means hubby and I got to go out and see a movie yesterday. Unfortunately, he chose Miami Vice, which is the most boring action movie I have ever seen. Unless you are entertained by people trying to looking stylish while endlessly discussing the details of drug deals, skip this one. Colin Farrell just looks skanky, Jamie Foxx doesn't get to do much of anything, and nothing much happens for over 2 hours.

The people sitting next to us at the theater apparently thought this was a good choice for a movie to bring their 4-year-old to see. Nevermind that most of the rest of the screens were showing things like Ant Bully and Monster House; I guess this kid needed to see (boring) sex scenes, (boring) drug deals, and people getting blown to bits. And actually, the kid sat patiently and quietly for the movie, which is better than his parents did. They spent the whole time either talking on their cell phones or text messaging, so I constanly had little lit phone screens waving around in my peripheral vision.

Tonight we're skipping the movie and just eating out.

Copycat

Knatolee posted a wonderful picture of herself at age 5 with her dog, Gina. I don't have any knitting pictures to post (I'm working on something top secret), so I'm going to shamelessly copy her idea.

This is me at about 3 or 4 with Otis.

But if you don't want to look at this, instead you can click here to read about a group of nursing home residents in Australia who knitted the contents of a 1950's house.

Phone cozy

Here's the phone cozy. I probably could've felted it a bit more, but it fits my phone just right as is. I sewed a snap onto the i-cord so I can attach it to the purse.

I used it today, and I'm very pleased with it. Of course, the purse hasn't yet had the chance to accumulate all the crap that purses seem to accumulate, plus nobody called me today, so I don't know for sure how well my diving-phone solution will work.

Oh, and in case any of you want to attempt your own cozy: CO 30. Knit 26 rows in stockinette stitch. BO 27 stitches. Put last 3 stitches onto dbl point needle and work i-cord for about 3 inches. BO. Fold rectangle in half and seam botton and side. Weave in ends. Felt. Sew snap onto end of i-cord and top edge of cozy, right near i-cord base.

More crawlies

This little lady was on the side of the house this afternoon. She's about 3 inches long.

Got a Brand New Bag

This is my purse.

It's been my purse for over 2 years now. I got the pattern here. I like it a lot because it's exactly the right size to hold my stuff, and it's been very sturdy as well. Thing 2 used to put rocks in it and I wouldn't notice right away until I realized my purse was extra heavy.

But there are problems.

First, it's getting a little ratty-looking after 2 years of schlepping. Second, I'm getting bored with the colors. Third, the strap has always been too long, and I never managed to do anything more elegant about that problem than just tying a knot. And fourth, my cell phone always makes its way down to the bag's depths and hides, and then when it rings, I can never fish it out in time.

So I knitted a new one, using the same pattern but with a few changes. I used Reynold's Lite Lopi instead of Lamb's Pride. And I'm really liking my new colorway. I also replaced the strap the pattern calls for (just a long stockinette strip) with a 5 stitch i-cord. Here it is, inside out and pre-felting:

The little matching bag on the left is to hold my phone. I also attached a little i-cord loop to the inside of the big bag:

The plan is to loop the i-cord tail on the little bag through the i-cord loop, so the little bag will hang inside the big one. That way my phone will have a harder time hiding from me. Here are the bags after a couple trips through the washing machine:

I decided to add a tiny bit of bling, too. So I knitted in some little beads:


Now I just have to decide whether to shave off the fuzz, or leave it au naturale. What do you think?

Ewww.

You know how I claim to like crawly things? I really do. But I think that this would exceed the boundaries of my tolerance.

Leapin' Lizard

That lizard was back yesterday and today. I guess it must be living on our patio. The Things have named her (?) Lindsey. She's just plain adorable--about 3 inches long, tail and all. I've seen her eating miniscule bugs.

This is obnoxious--suddenly Blogger is showing my posts waaaaaay down at the end of the page, where you have to scroll forever. I dunno why. Anyone know how to fix this???

Yep.

Academic Geekiness: Highest Fashion Geekiness: Moderate Internet Geekiness: Moderate Music Geekiness: Moderate Geekiness in Love: Low Movie Geekiness: Low Gamer Geekiness: None General Geekiness: None SciFi Geekiness: None

How Geeky Are You?

I'd have to say this is pretty accurate (except I think my General Geekiness is higher). Seriously. I have a collection of Sigmund Freud toys (including the one I knitted myself). I have--more than once--used the word pedagogy in a sentence. I have emailed my friends articles from The Chronicle of Higher Education. And I have spent every single semester since I was two as either a student or a professor.

This 'n' That

• I went to the dr. today because my hand's been bothering me. He's pretty sure I have both carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. He gave me an anti-inflamatory for the tendonitis, and we'll be scheduling a test for the carpal tunnel. I was kind of bad, though, because I told him I spend a lot of time writing and typing, but I sorta didn't mention knitting. I didn't want him to tell me I couldn't. Yes, I know, very mature of me, but sometimes I prefer to live in denial. Actually, knitting doesn't bother my hand anyway, so I think it's probably okay.
• You know how I mentioned humungo bees in my last post? I saw my first one of the season the other day, buzzing around my head as I was on the back patio. These guys (actually, this one was a girl) are amazing--you look at them and think there's no way they could actually fly, but they do. They're like something out of a cartoon. Also buzzing around yesterday was a large red dragonfly. The Things were in the pool, and the dragonfly was delighting both of them by zooming right over their heads.
• Anybody know anything about bed sheets? I'd like to buy some nicely luxurious ones, but don't want to spend $800. I know thread count matters, but that can't be all, right? Because Target has 600-thread count sheets on sale for $30 this week, and that seems way too cheap. What's the deal?
• I want one of these. Which is stupid, because it's not like I spend much time in the laundry room. Still.
• I got a new camera phone. I haven't figured out how to use it yet. I haven't even activated it yet. But I'm enjoying looking at it and thinking about how sci-fi the whole concept feels.
• I suddenly really, really want a Print Gocco. But apparently they're not being made anymore, so if you want one, you'll have to pay someone way too much on eBay. There is a Save Gocco campaign. Maybe if enough people sign the guestbook they'll bring it back. Spread the word!

Creepy Crawlies

In the past couple of days, I've become slightly addicted to a website called "What's That Bug?" All sorts of interesting creepy critters there. I'm generally a big fan of little creatures. I was delighted to find this praying mantis on my lemon verbena yesterday. Isn't she cute? I was beyond thrilled to spot a tiny little lizard scurrying across my patio the other morning (too fast to get a picture, alas). I'm quite tolerant of the assorted spiders that find their way into the house. I welcome bees to my garden--even the Humungo Bees that zoom impossibly around like small helicopters. I've even pretty much overcome getting freaked out when I spot a black widow hanging around. But there are a few creatures I can't stand: the zillions of ants who are always trying to move in with us, the icky little pantry beetle things that just appeared in Ruthie's cookie jar, and the individual yellowjacket that stung me in the leg last week for no reason at all. Oh, and they're not creepy, but I've come to intensely dislike the pigeons that have moved onto my roof and are crapping all over my roof, windwows, and patio.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me

Fun with the Constitution

I found this site while I was actually doing work today. Not only can you learn about the Constitution, but you can play Bill of Rights Golf, Constitutional Trivia, or Who Wants to Marry a Founding Father? I get James Wilson of Pennsylvania--woo hoo!

Little FOs

It's too hot to even think about knitting a big project, so I've been working on some little ones instead.
So here we have a felted mobius basket in Manos, and also a felted needle cozy. The cozy's made from leftover Manos and also leftover Kool-Aid dyed yarn, and the pattern (such as it is--this is really a no-brainer!) is from Cat Bordhi's Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. And I guess the good thing about living in an oven is that these guys dried really quickly when I put them outside.

Can You Say "Global Warming?"

What's really depressing was that this wasn't even quite our high temp today--it actually topped out at 112.9.

We keep our thermostat set at 80, but as you can see, our poor A/C can't quite keep up with these temps.

Blech.








****************************
On a totally different note, I don't know whether I ever posted a pic of my brilliant decorating idea. This is one of the walls in my study:

The pictures you see are actually postcards, and the frames were about $1 each. The postcards are from my own travels, and also my friends' and family's. They come from 4 different continents (if anybody wants to send me one from Africa, Australia, or Antartica, I'd be very pleased!!) and 12 countries. I like the juxtaposition of one from Spokane next to one from India. My whole study is decorated in a bit of a travel theme, so this was a perfect idea. And my darling hubby did all the measuring and hanging. :-)

Mmmmm. Chocolate.

I'm here to testify: Icelandic candy bars taste wonderful, even after melting and then resolidifying in the fridge. Makes me want to visit Reykjavik. Thanks again, SP!

Surprise Goodies Arrive!

Such excitement! My package arrived today from my Secret Pal!

I loooove the colorway of this yarn. I don't think the picture can capture how gorgeous it is. I'm going to have a lot of fun deciding what this yarn wants to be.

And, as if that weren't enough, my Secret Pal also noticed that I like foreign candy and she included a candybar from Iceland! I've never had Icelandic candy before, and I notice that the wrapper coordinates with the yarn. Unfortunately, it was decidedly non-Icelandic outside when the UPS guy delivered my package--it was 108 degrees, as a matter of fact--so I've had to put my candy in the fridge until it returns to a less liquid state. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Thank you so much, Secret Pal!!!

************

On a completely different note, I'm going to gloat. Too bad, North Korea! So sad, Canada! Nice try, Zimbabwe! But we have the most embarrassing head of state on the planet. Yeah! USA rules!

A Good Day

So I went to Petaluma today, and I got to visit a new yarn store and an old favorite.

The new shop is Philato, and it's in downtown Petaluma. It's a pretty tiny store, but the owner was extremely friendly, her daughter was cute, the other customer in the store was holding a sweet tiny dog, and the yarn that Philato does carry is very nice. I spotted Lorna's Laces, Art Yarns, Noro, and something made from corn. I finally came away with some Lite Lopi.

The old favorite is Knitterly, which is also in downtown Petaluma, just a couple blocks away. It had moved since I visited last. As always, the employees were very nice. With enormous effort, I restrained myself from buying some of the lovely angora that was sitting near the door, so tempting....I did, however, get a pair of long bamboo size 9s to replace the broken one.

While in Petaluma, I also managed a visit to Copperfields bookstore and Jungle Vibes, lunch at Hallie's, and the company of a good friend. It was a good day, even though it was something like 100 degrees out, and A/C is scarce there.

Treasure

Thing 2's room has an underwater theme. I recently decided it was missing a vital component: a treasure chest. So I bought a plain wood one at Michaels, which I stained, painted, and bejewelled:


I even glued an assortment of treasure to the inside:

I'm particularly happy about the jewels inside the box. They were actually part of a set of pool-diving toys, but hubby banished them from the pool because they kept jamming the pool vacuum. I'm happy to have found a good home for them. Thing 2 hasn't seen the completed project yet, but she was very excited to see it in progress yesterday.

While I was gluing and glittering last night, hubby was finishing painting the kitchen. We're both pleased with how it came out. I'm not sure how well the color will show up in this picture; it's a light terra cotta color called "chimenea". Next job will be the living room (which has 20 foot ceilings--should be interesting!).

And, on a completely different note, and via Boing Boing, they have some interesting ice cream flavors in Hungary. And no, this has nothing to do with the fact that I happened to be visiting Budapest 4 years ago when I first became aware of Thing 2's existence (thanks to a nasty case of morning sickness plus temperatures hovering around 43 degrees Celsius).

Knitting Misery

Thanks for the needle sympathy! As Lauren pointed out, I used it as an opportunity to visit a yarn store. Unfortunately, my LYS had only short bamboo needles in size 9, and I prefer long. So then I tried Michaels, which carries long bamboo needles, but was out of 9s. Has there been some sort of bizarre run on size 9 needles?? This pretty much exhausts my local needle sources, but I am planning a trip to Petaluma (and Knitterly) on Monday. Maybe the size 9 fad hasn't hit there yet.

Meantime, I forged ahead on a circular needle. Because of my eccentric needle-holding method, I prefer straights, but the circular will do in a pinch. But then I decided that the back of the shell I was knitting was too long, so now I'm going to have to frog it. Sigh.

%@*&%^!!!!

I Scream

Okay, I have a new favorite ice cream: creme fraiche. I had some at The Slanted Door in San Francisco and decided to make my own. I ended up improvising a bit from a few recipes I found online. Here's what I came up with:

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream
2 cups creme fraiche
2 cups 2% buttermilk
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

Whirl in blender until smooth. Chill for a couple of hours, and then pour into ice cream maker.

Seriously, I could overdose on this stuff. I'm sure it'd be delicious with cherries or berries or chocolate on top, but at this point I'm mainlining it.

I'm working on a knitting project, too, but it's going slowly because hubby's painting the kitchen, and I get to be his assistant. That means that as soon as I'm settled comfortably on the couch with my knitting, he needs another brush or more tape or something, and up I get. Oh well, at least I don't have to paint, and the kitchen looks really great. Instead of white, it's now a light terra cotta color. Pictures to come.

Tourists

So I know in my last post I was all snobby about touristy things. And Pier 39, etc are as tacky as ever. But I gotta tell you, there are a lot of worse places to spend an hour in July than here:

This pic is from the Red & White Ferry Bay Tour. I think the highlight for Thing 1 was passing just under the Golden Gate Bridge. As we did, she shouted, "We're at the edge of the United States!"

We saw pelicans and cormorants and the back of Alcatraz, and then kept pace with this cargo ship which had just arrived from China or somewhere.
I should also mention another touristy thing in SF worth visiting: Hyde Street Pier. It's run by the National Park Service, and it's a true bargain. You can walk around the pier for free, and if you want to go on board several historic ships, it'll cost you just $5 (free for kids!). I'm not particularly into things nautical, but who could resist climbing onto a 120 year old sailing ship, a big old ferryboat, or a 99-year-old tugboat? Kids can clamber all over the ships and touch nearly everything, and both times I've been there we've practically had the place to ourselves. Across the street, inside the same building as the Hotel Argonaut, is the free Visitor Center.

Here you can see Thing 1 at the helm of the Balclutha. That sweater she's wearing is the one I made last fall from the yarn we Kool-Aid dyed. Several people commented on it yesterday, and she enjoyed pointing out the flavors. The guy at Oakville Grocery was so impressed he let her pick out any candy she wanted. :-)

One last tourist-related comment. I've noticed that there are certain people who are instantly identifiable as foreign tourists, long before they say a word. Case in point:

I wonder whether I stick out this much when I travel abroad?

Totally Tubular and My Personal Tour of San Francisco

The new Knitty is up; this issue has lots of socks and hats and other small things. C'mon, don't you need a sock monkey hat or a pair of angel wings?

Several months ago I bought some yarn at Artfibers in San Francisco (one of my favorite yarn shops). The yarn was sort of a tube-shaped ribbon, and the girl at the store showed me a really nifty way to begin a new ball of tubular yarn. You sort of stick one end into the middle of the other...or something. It seemed so simple at the time, but now I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it. Anyone know??

And speaking of SF, I'm off there again tomorrow, this time for with Thing 1 for a back-to-school treat (we have year-round school here, so she starts 2nd grade next week!). We're going to stay at Fisherman's Wharf and do touristy stuff that a 6 year old will love (eg, Pier 39) and that I would never do on my own. And this makes me think about the fact that each of us enjoys a place in our own unique way. For me, for example, a perfect tour of San Francisco would eschew cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead, I would do some or all of the following:

• visit Artfibers and Imagiknit
• eat my way through the Ferry Building, especially on a farmers market day, and buy stuff at the craft booths across the street
• browse for books at City Lights
• enjoy a view from somewhere; I especially like views of the Bay Bridge, which I think is unjustly overshadowed by the flashier Golden Gate Bridge
• browse on Union or Chestnut Streets
• spend a lot of money at Flax (the paper room alone can keep me busy for an hour or more)
• eat someplace ethnic
• hang out at Ocean Beach; maybe a beer at the Beach Chalet while I'm there
• do something that is truly Only in San Francisco--Beach Blanket Babylon, maybe? Tea in Golden Gate Park at the Japanese Tea Garden? People watching in the Castro? Get winded walking up a sidewalk with stairs? Shop for cheap trinkets in Chinatown?
• visit a museum. I haven't been to the new de Young yet, but SFMOMA is a longtime favorite
• eat dim sum, preferably with a Chinese friend
• ogle the cute Italian waiters while drinking espresso at Caffe Trieste
• pick up a real estate magazine and remind myself that the valley's not so bad

Where to stay for this dream trip? Hotel Triton or Hotel Vitale; Hotel Argonaut's very nice, too, but not close to anything on my list.

4th of July

In our neighborhood, the 4th of July is celebrated with dunk tanks

and with water slides

and with bounce houses

and with barbeque.

Everybody is damp and smells like sunscreen, hot dogs, and popsicles.
Tonight, of course, there will be fireworks (and lots of melatonin for the dog).

Gimme Your Stuff

On someone else's blog (I forget whose) I found a link to Gimme Your Stuff. Sounds fun! I'm in California's Central Valley, and I can offer:

• snack foods, such as flavored almonds or chocolate
• other foods from the area (jams? honey? olive oil?)
• knitting magazines
• a variety of kinds of yarn
• stuff with the logo of my local university (California State University, Stanislaus)
• other stuff from northern California (Yosemite, San Francisco...)
• books
• local magazines or newspapers

What I'd like:

• snack food or candy from countries other than US
• Curly Wurly bars!
• souvenir snow globes or floaty pens from anywhere
• yarn
• any decorative item unique to a particular area
• children's picture books in languages other than English
  

Mystery Solved

Here's Thing 2 and the mystery item from the other day: a knitted, felted Gerbera Daisy. It's from a kit I got for my birthday back in March. I can't blame you for not guessing this one!

A Weekend Break

No correct guesses yet on the mystery item from the other day. :-) But it's almost done, so I'll post the solution tomorrow.

I spent the weekend with some girlfriends in San Francisco, basically eating, talking, and being massaged. We stayed at the Hotel Vitale (same place I stayed in March). We never managed to stray more than about 2 blocks from the hotel. Here's the view from the 5th floor terrace:

We had dinner Saturday night at Faz, and lunch Sunday at the Slanted Door (which has claypot chicken to die for). And for dessert? Fleur de sel caramels from Recchiuti (Ibrought some home to share with hubby, but we are selfishly hiding them from the Things, who wouldn't fully appreciate then anyway):
I gotta say, sometimes life is sweet.