Knitting in Transit

Several of my co-workers are about 10 years younger than me. Many of them graduated from college recently and were born in the 80s. Wow. They are young. They don't understand a " Who Shot JR ?" reference, the Space Shuttle tragedy refers to the Columbia , and the Simpsons has pretty much always been on TV. And...everyone on Sesame Street has always known Mr. Snuffleupagus . I didn't think about this until today when I was telling a co-worker how I had been referred to as a " snuffleupagus ". She just looked at me askance. And then I realized...in her world, Snuffy was never accused of being Big Bird's imaginary friend! Everyone always knew him! When I watched Sesame Street, Snuffy always took off before Gordon, Maria, or Bob ever showed up. No one thought he really existed. I think this is a little sad. Never will they be able to say to a friend, whose significant other they have not met: "I don't think she exists. She's a snuffleupagus...

Well, Zoey has been with me for about three weeks now. She has really warmed up to me. She loves to sit in my lap and be petted. Whenever I am holding something, she has to come over and check it out. She'll nip at the remote, my cell phone, knitting needles, whatever it is in my hands. Fortunately, she doesn't seem too interested batting around my yarn or playing with my projects. She may knead the fabric a bit and sit on it, but that's it. Zoey drinks from a water glass (hey, Gretchen and Matt...how did that start?). Matt brought "her glass" with him when Zoey came to live with me. Unfortunately, it looks just like my glasses, so I have to be careful. A couple times this weekend she tried to drink from my water glass. She still likes to sit in the closet... And the bath tub holds a certain fascination for her... I bought her some new toys this weekend and she had a lot of fun batting them around. It was really funny to watch. She's a sweet cat. I wish I k...

I got together with my friend Lucy last night to deliver the Thinking Dress . I was worried it wouldn't fit Mara (21 months). She called me when she got home and said that it fit perfectly and that Mara loved her new purple dress. In fact, I could hear Mara in the background running around and shouting. Yay! In other weekend knitting news, I finished up the right front of the Ribby Cardi. The pic isn't that great. So, on to the back! And then the arms! And then the finishing! I also started the Friday Harbor Socks. I didn't get very far, but here 's the progress. I worked on this while watching Bruce Almighty on Fox Friday night. You might notice something in all these pictures. Why, it's my new table! Saturday morning I went to Ikea , had their $1.99 breakfast , and then bought a table ! When Zoey the Cat tries to jump on it, she sort of slides across.

The Ribby Cardi is coming along wonderfully! I'm about halfway done with the right front. It's a perfect project for bus knitting and social knitting. I could probably finish it up tonight, but since I plan to be home alone knitting, I think I may work on something that requires more concentration. Such as.... The Friday Harbor Socks . I printed up the Errata and will maybe cast on for those tonight. I'm using my Silkie Socks That Rock. In other knitting news, I spent part of Tuesday night frogging all the pieces of the Dragon Hoodie. For you non-knitters out there, that is when you rip out all your knitting. Get it? Rip it..rip it...rip it. I loved this line from Knitty.com: "The term frogging gives the impression of a rather exuberant ripping out of knitted stitches." It was not nearly that much fun. The other thing I try to do when I get a chance is play Ratchet and Clank . I'm on Planet Barlow right now...and about the only the I have left to ...

I know my sister is excited to see more pictures of some of the gifts I received for Christmas, so here goes. First up, my Sox Stix ! Aren't they beautiful? They are Rosewood in a size 3. I'm planning to knit some little swatches with some of my sock yarn and then make a decision about what to knit with these. I'm very excited. I think they are so beautiful...I just want to carry them all over with me. Then I got this! The coolest thing ever, and it matches my red kitchen perfectly. It's a butter bell ! It keeps your butter fresh and at room temperature (SPREADABLE!). Now, I just need to get a salt pig . Maybe not a $30 one tho'. Here it is in action! There were several items I received that had been purchased at the No-Coast Craft-O-Rama. Below you can see my Alpaca, a mug from Jennie the Potter , and a little pin that is so cute. I also got some gift certificates, including one for a new transportation service. I'm looking forward to checking that out. This ...

My dad and step-mom gave me liquor for Christmas! How great is that? Just so you know, this also came with some martini glasses. If they had given me some vermouth as well it would have been perfect. But, you know what Winston Churchill said about making the perfect martini? You fill a martini glass with gin (or in my case, vodka), while looking at the bottle of vermouth. Or something like that. Christmas Eve at my dad's house was a fun, loud, raucous evening. What can you expect when the kids outnumber the adults...and I use the word "adults" very loosely. Emily made these really nice place cards for all the family. She drew a little nativity scene on each one (she made about 20 I suppose), and then wrote a special message on the back. My favorites were the ones that said "I Snow Love You". Everyone had a wonderful time. It was fun to watch the kids open their gifts. Lots of toys for the little kids, and the big kids got new digital cameras. Christmas morning ...

I thought I'd share some photos of the snowy goodness that hit us here in Minnesota this past weekend. I woke up Saturday the 22 nd to a Winter Wonderland. It didn't snow the rest of the day. I spent the day in another wonderland known as Minneapolis - brunch at the French Meadow Bakery , visited the Walket Art Center for the British Television Commercial Awards and Frida Kahlo exhibit, treats at Sebastian Joe's (a sign of a true Minnesotan is that you go and get ice cream when it is 10 degrees out), wandered over to Uptown to see Juno at the Lagoon Theater , and then hit up Bar Abilene for some margaritas! Busy day! The 23rd was another snowy day. High winds, icy roads, and snow, snow , and more snow made for a bad day for traveling. I celebrated Christmas at my mom's house that day, and when I left to head back to St. Paul, this is what it looked like. Needless to say, I did not enjoy the drive back home. I made it safely, and spent the rest of the evening...