My Middle Name is Patience

Sunset at the Beach

There was continuing ed.

There was food (Pepper's in Pacific Grove, Flaherty's in Carmel, Wild Plumes in Monterey.) (The picture is from Pacific Grove across from the Seven Gables, where I've decided to retire to. Either there or Hearst Castle.  

Monarch Knits in Pacific Grove had Hanne Falkenburg kits! If they'd've had Mermaid, it was mine. It was a close call w/Diva but I wasn't crazy about the colors.

I walked the beach.

Meandering Monday

My Dad is serving as the hand model - look what Joan aka The Fairy Godknitter sent me for my birthday! Oh, you can't really see the purple skeins in the 7 Gorgeous Scarf Patterns kit but when I decide on a stitch pattern, there'll be months of those WIP pictures (as is my wont). Slow and unsteady, that's my motto.

There may or may not have been maple candies in the package but they were, ah consumed prior to documenting. That instant gratification thing and the thrill of discovering a maple candy shaped like a shell tastes the same as a maple candy shaped like a monkey. There was a comparison of notes.

Thank you so much Joan!

This is what I've been doing:

and undoing on the Undulating Waves Scarf:

It's heartening that I can now figure out how to fix it and actually dropped and reknit one of three repeats all the way to the first row of the repeat. I see why I have problems with left and right as directions though - every time I have to check if / means k2tog or if it's \ sKpsso. They're facing opposite directions. I confuse them even now. (When I first started the scarf? I had to put post it notes underlining the rows. People, this pattern is dead easy. Scary.)

KSD is running her annual Knitter's Hunk Award at handeyecrafts - too late to nominate but with 64 entries, your guy has a pretty good chance of showing up. Head over to her blog and vote now - 4 pairs are voted on every 24 hours.

I've been reading The Thirty Years War for the last thirty years - at least it seems like it. It's barely 300 pages and I'll bet half of that is endnotes, index, bibliography and maps but I have this thing about knowing what's going on and there are way too many Hapsburgs, Henrys and Ferdinands, not to mention German city-states, duchies, etc.  It's all pretty fascinating but it's slow going.

We seem to have three new kittens in the neighborhood - they are so cute. They romped through the hole in the fence the other morning - the siamese looking one first,then the black and white who proceeded to play keepaway much to the White Cat's annoyance. Finally the Gray & White kitten showed up and freed the White Kitten from the clutches of the Black & White kitten who then wandered disconsolantly about the hill, pawing at the pine needles occaionally. I may or may not have been calling them Melchior, Ezekiel and Kissinger, respectively.

Hez seems unamused by their presence but she was impressed by their routing and cornering of a mouse yesterday.

It's Good to be Queen

Well, I'm guessing it's good. So far I haven't realized my life-long goal of ruling over a vast and powerful kingdom but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

In the meantime, it's been good to be me. Matching necklace (above) and (below) from left to right, stitchmarkers, said matching earrings, delicious looking picture of a cinnamon roll - that's why I've been craving cinnamon rolls! (as if I'm not always craving cinnamon rolls.....) from Opal The Akamai Knitter at her shop Opalescent Jewels.

A bag from JessaLu , perfect!  (I've been stuffing my mom's stole into it and then stuffing it in my purse - finally it stops catching in the zipper - I have to say one fabulous thing about Misti Alpaca, that yarn is resilient.)

The latest yarn from the Mean Girl's Yarn Club.........oh wait, I can't show you yet.

Knitting update: more done on my mother's stole. More yarn purchased just in case.

The Undulating Waves Beaded Scarf is now a little more than half done. It turns out I cannot count repeats accurately. I have approximately 5 feet of beads still to knit. I wish I'd measured the beads when I first started it.

More done on Fickleknitter's Market Bag. A lot more would've been done if I could count repeats accurately. (Hmm, I'm sensing a theme).

Zippo was done on Curve of Pursuit, the SIL's gorgeous cable scarf that I will probably be unable to part with, Dizzy Blonde Basic Noir Black shawl or my Dad's cardigan.

My cousin flew into California on business this last week so after he was done with work, one night my Dad took us all out to dinner and since he admitted he'd never really been to SF, the next one we took the Oakland ferry over to the Ferry Building, ate at Mijita (scrumptious) and then wandered up and down the wharf. The seals/sea lions/sea creatures are still there but man, there are a lot of them! They've been given their own little enclave now too. We watched a hilarious performer at Pier 39 - okay he was probably more hokey than out and out hilarious but I like hokey.

We probably should've taken the cable car at Hyde up to Powell but the line was practically back to the sidewalk and I had visions of missing the last ferry boat and wandering Oakland, unable to find Jack London Square in the dark. (Which is unlikely but par for the course for things I worry about).

READING UPDATE: So far in August, I'm still reading Ring of Fire (I'm on the last short story by Eric Flint, The Wallenstein Gambit) but I've been seized with the idea that I MUST research the 30 years war so that I'll actually get the alt history bit so I'm also reading The Thirty Years War  by Geoffrey Parker and dragging around Moral Relativism by Steven Lukes because at least that fits in my purse. I am on roughly page 8 on both of those.

 

Hez sez: "I am undercover, you maroon. I know it's the last day of your [*coughing fit*]XX-ies but you'd think you could at least keep my hideout on the down low."

Oh, Fringed False Hellebore!

Doesn't that sound like a great Shakespearian oath?

I'm using it now, I had a lovely well worded post that Typepad just ate. Grrr. I've already abandoned my July Book update post because just putting up the books read and thinking of something to say about them was getting to be beyond me. You can look forward to ignoring a July/August book update sometime in the near future. I don't know, the way August got here out of nowhere, it's probably going to be October next time I blink.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny so Adri and I set out to find some decent weather. We decided to visit the U C Botanical Gardens because we'd been talking about it for ages and neither one of us could remember the last time we'd been there. Back in the 70's? Never? It turned out to resemble more well-kept manor grounds where the flora was labeled but beautiful nonetheless. I pulled out Mom's Stole and KIP'd while Adri read the paper as we sat on a artfully located bench at the top of the gardens and enjoyed the view. The fog even crept in. It was glorious.

But you can't eat the view so we headed down the valley and over to Chow's in Lafayette. It was only a supreme act of willpower that I didn't visit The Yarn Boutique while I was there.

In other news, I was the guest blogger at Aarti's Booklust last week for her "Rosie Riveter" weekly column, In her own words: Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them. 

If you're interested in participating, leave a comment at Booklust and let Aarti know. I chose Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury but Guinevere, Eleanor of Acquitaine, Anne Shirley, Scarlet O'Hara and Princess Diana have been featured.

I'm halfway done with my Heather Undulating Waves Scarf (Ravelry link) that I won from the Fairy Godknitter, lo these many moons ago. I had grandiose ideas of finishing it last weekend but my knitting reminded me that was foolish pipe dream. I did get enough done without mishap to plan on beading the ends of Mom's Stole, if and when I ever get there. Beading is fun. I'm going to turn into a beading ho like Lorraine aka The Sheriff of Knittingham.

Burn Notice finale tonight! I'm scared to watch, what if Fiona and Maddie die in it? But without a VCR or DVR, it's either watch through my fingers or find out what happens and then watch Saturday morning. Hmmm.

 Mad Men premieres Sunday (AMC 10pm.) Knittin Brit in WI was telling me about The Colony on The Discovery Channel (Tuesday nights at 10pm) that I think I caught a bit of the other night - looks pretty interesting, seeing as how much I like the apocalyptic. It's a reality show, more or less, that takes a look at how people react when a catastophe leaves them with nothing (quoted pretty much verbatim from Richard Huff at the Daily News)

Little of this, little of that

San Francisco in the dawn's early light....or 9:30am. Close enough. I went into the City via BART Saturday to meet up with Bev and Jewel, finally! and get in a yarn crawl. The yarn crawl ended up being ImagiKnit - which alone was a crawl in itself. I think we were there for three hours and never noticed the time. I found some yummy J Knit  and Jewel picked up what I think was some Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn for herself and as a gift while Bev stayed strong and bought only for others. Bev's sister in law Karin came with but i can't remember what she bought! We talked shop  - it's so much fun to for a chance chat with a fellow tax preparer. After we wore out ImagiKnit, we walked a block or two over to Dolores Street Cafe (yum) for some much needed late lunch then Jewel dropped me back off at BART, because typically when I'm out having fun, my head sabotages me. Okay, possibly it was also from staying up half the night most of the week finishing off books and then working like a fiend. But for some reason, I like the first theory.

I also finally made it to the Farmer's Market at the SF Ferry Building! It's only been there for ages. The Oakland Ferry doesn't go directly to it until noonish and for some weird reason (I commuted on BART for something like 15 years) I was leery of BART. But BART worked beautifully, I barely waited for a train either way, maybe because it was 9am and 60 degrees on Saturday morning rather than noon and 102 degrees on a Sunday afternoon? the Embarcadero station is only a block away. Some of the more crowded shops inside the Ferry Building have booths outside, Acme Breads, Cowgirl Creamery. (Farmer's Market SF Ferry Building)

(My backyard garden. Darn, I forgot to take a picture of the Mystery Vegetable Tree.)

In knitting news, I'm still knitting Mom's Stole, the SIL's cable scarf, Dad's Cardigan, my beaded scarf and the Curve of Pursuit. I'm making no discernible progress on any of them.

There is nothing on TV. Well, Law & Order Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight on Sunday, The Closer on Monday, Warehouse 13 tonight, Leverage on Wednesday, Burn Notice on Thursday, Eureka and Mental - both on at 9pm on Fridays, argh........see? Practically nothing.

The NCIS repeat about Vance's past is on tonight. Don't miss it.

Look what I got for my birthday!  Early, I admit. I just couldn't wait, especially since I crunched the numbers and can't get to Sock Summit. (Airfare tripled. That eats into my stash enhancement which is probably not a bad thing but geez). From Opalescent Jewels.  The necklace itself is gorgous but the clasp! For once, I can get it on and off all by myself.

I finished The Age of Reason Begins, 1633, The Solitude of Prime Numbers and A Taint in the Blood ( Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak) and then spent a couple of listless days trying to figure out what to read next. It's not that I have nothing to read, it's that I have so much I want to read! The short stories, Ring of Fire (which should be read between 1632 and 1633, btw), the next to last (so far) Kate Shugak book, A Deeper Sleep? Mike Carey's Dead Men's Boots? Moral Relativism by Stephen Lukas?  Any suggestions?

I ended up stacking them all next to me and knitting on the Curve of Pursuit while watching a press conference on CNN. Robert Gibbs is loosening up.

Hez sez "Why would anyone eat vegetables when there are tasty loafers like these around?"

Baths and the Beach

Hezekiah got a bath last Thursday!  She seemed somewhat distraught about the whole process.   Luckily, she didn't roll around in the dirt after I left for work, she settled for glaring at me balefully from the nice hot cement walkway.

By the time I came home, she was dry, clean and sassy. She might not have enjoyed the process but she loves the outcome.

I'm attempting project monogamy on the advice of Cookie and so only took Mom's stole to the beach.

There is no discernible progress.

I might have cast on too many stitches and it'll be a ginormous stole. Good thing I found more skeins.

I did KIP quite a bit. On the beach. At the lodge. By the Bay. More at the lodge. There was a really sweet garden in the back and there must've been five hummingbirds there at all times, along with chickadees, finches and.....y'know. Birds. Chirpy cute birds.

This may be the only photgraphic evidence of my two day trip to the Point Reyes Seashore. There's no cell phone reception there (at least not for my iPhone - AT&T) so consequently, I kept leaving it behind (and also let it die). I did bring the camera but I still can't find the camera cord. Bah.

The beach was wonderful. Deserted and cool.

Oh, here's a handy beach tip. If your sunscreen says it expired in 11/07, it probably won't work. My face, feet and shoulders are fried. Luckily it's not a bikini kind of beach (not that you'd catch me in a bikini these days) so my rolled up jeans and tank top meant that I could still sit and lay down. Very important on vacation.

We drove up the Tomales Bay to eat at The Marshall Store in Marshall. Well, we actually drove up the coast and ran across The Marshall Store, which was a stroke of luck. They had the best oysters and fish tacos and cheese........if they hadn't been closed Tuesdays, we'd've gone back to slurp oysters on their bar overlooking the bay.

(Picture cadged from their site.)

 On the way home we stopped and had a picnic lunch at Samuel P Taylor Park. There was a visiting group of maybe fifteen 7 to 9 year olds that were wading in the river and tracking a water snake's progress. (Alas, it was a snake in the water and not a figment of their fervid imagination which meant there was no way on God's green earth I was going to take my shoes and socks off and wade in the water myself.)

Some of my blood tests came back. Other than having iron levels that are fluctuating from low to practically zilch, I seem to be okay.  I had an ultrasound yesterday that the tech pronounced good. (inner organs, not pregnant! As if. )  I've got two more tests to go so cross your fingers for me.

Wow. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both dead today? 

Ten on Tuesday

Before I read everyone else's and cadge their better list,

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things You'd Bring On A Deserted Island:

How long am I on this deserted island? Does it have electricity? Decent housing? A deserted library? Yarn store? No wonder I don't do these. So many variables. Assuming that I'm shipwrecked, for say, a month and it has a decent deserted cabin/cabana/quaint mansion sans pythons etc, I'd take:

1. My pillow

2. Hezekiah

3. Books. The rest of series or a classic I've always meant to read? War & Peace?

4. Knitting. Finally I could finish Mom's stole and Dad's cardigan. This should hold me for months. In fact, I shouldn't be allowed off the island until I'm done.

5. My linen and hemp stash. It could come in handy for fishing nets and new clothes & it's always good to knit from the stash

6. Coffee. (A place without Starbucks? Hard to imagine)

7. a huge brimmed hat

8. sunglasses

9. the new iPhone coming out this week

10. a big beach towel

NCIS tonight! Repeat, of course but at least it's the latest season. Hawthorne premieres tonight at 9pm on TNT. Pardon, I meant HawthoRNe. Oh for pity's sake. I do like Jada Pinkett Smith though. Too bad Mental is opposite it. For a show that looked peculiar and silly, it's turned out to be pretty good so far.

Other than Burn Notice and The Closer, that's about all I've been watching other than NCIS repeats. Oh! Anyone else watching The Next Food Network Star? I love that show.

Knitting continues on WIP's, all for other people, all interminable. How is it possible to knit for hours and have nothing to show for it? I'm not even frogging. Just knitting and knitting and getting nowhere.

Currently readingThe Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, after finishing Jumper by Stephen Gould. I have a feeling for once, I'd like the movie better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER! *

Isn't he adorable? He may be a wee bit older now.

Angie,  holding her specially imported nutmeg thyme unless she hates the picture, in which case that's a random organic gardener at a high end Farmer's Market in a San Francisco hotel lobby. (It could happen.) (No pictures of me until I reach my picture taking weight again (doubtful) but especially since I had a lovely salivary gland **infection and my face was puffed up (well, half of it) like a .......puff fish.)  Angie was nice enough to be seen in public with me anyway. Lots of public. Cable cars. Cheesecake Factories. Street walking. Irish urchins. Tasty Salted Pig Parts.

She came bearing gifties. I showed up late. Check out those stitch markers! [Edit: Hey! What happened to the swag pic? Gah.] Sweet! That's a kitty cat face on the button/pendant at 6 o'clock in the picture. Too cute.  But I did provide cable cars and Bay Views and considering it was 94 degrees when she landed in San Francisco, a pretty nice wind chill factor for strolling the wharf. Okay, it was a wee bit chilly but I'm not the hardy Midwesternenne. 

She was knitting while waiting for me but no knitting commenced once I got there. We almost attempted Urban Knits Studio....

Other than Not Working, Wining and Dining about the City, what have I been up to? Not really catching up with everyone, I'm sorry to report. (Like you can't tell.)  I will! Eventually. I keep getting distracted by the almost finished Mary Tudor

(which reminds me, GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND FINISH KNITTING THE BUTTONBANDS YOU LAZY SOW).

Ahem. What was I saying? Oh yes.Knitting. Hiking and sightseeing and nature. Friends and family. Reading. Mindless television watching.(C'mon, it's me. There will always be mindless television watching.) Let's just say that Chuck had better get renewed and Tony Almeida better have a really, really, really good reason. (Pictures: the trail is Phillips Loop in theRedwood Regional Park, click here, Bay Area Hiker for pictures and some other hike info in the area. The other is the playground of the elementary school in Canyon.)

OTOH, TV appears to be breaking up with me (the old; it's not you, it's me). You don't believe me? Life on Mars, cancelled. Life on the bubble. The Sarah Connor Chronicles killed Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green),  effectively killing my interest in the show. (OMG, is that how old he is? Urgh.)

NCIS.Ziva loves Tony - does Tony love Ziva? And who IS that guy?  No, not that one. The other one.

Gray's Anatomyis making me cry for Izzie. I hate Gray's Anatomy. Why do I have to watch it? Why?

Being Erica. I want to be Erica. Well, I want to be me but getting to do what Erica does. (The link has video so it is not a stealth surf).

Knittin Brit in WI sent me her copy of House at Riverton complete with the English spellings and a bookmark direct from The Totnes Bookshop in Devon. I can't decide if I'm more charmed by the bookmark or the book, which was a pretty riveting read considering the pace is stately and the book is long.

Okay, okay. I always want to know What Is Going On  & the suspense was making me crazy. I stayed up until 2am finding out the last of Grace's secrets. I managed not to read the ending but at 599 pages? Amazing. Sometimes the endings are baffling but in this case it would have spoiled the book and it was such a good read it would be a shame. B+ 

Cute kitty sighting. Like a baby Nerissa (who is basically a baby herself.)

Other April reads:

Dog Days and New Tricks by John Levitt. It's Louie I love but Mason is hard to resist. A jazz musician in the City fighting Black Magic? Swoon.

Play with Fire by Dana Stabenow (5th in the series) Do not read this one if Christian fundamentalists make your blood boil or you are a Christian fundamentalist. It's a pretty compelling psychological mystery exploring relationships, religion and racism in Alaska. I heart Kate Shugak (and she would cringe to hear/read that). Of course, it's really Mutt that I love best. I'm sensing a trend. (I might have peeked ahead to see what's in store for Mutt and while she's okay, there were some other twists I did not see coming. Relax, Chris, I haven't read them out of order. (It hurts her [thumps chest] HERE when I do that.)

I've just started Suits Me: the Double Life of Billie Tipton by Diane Wood Middlebrook. She's written a bio on Ted Hughes that I wanted to read when I ran across Billie Tipton. Can you imagine? Having to live life like that in such utter secrecy? Famous to boot.

Finally finished Lover of Unreason: Sylvia Plath's Rival and Ted Hughes Other Doomed Loveby Yehuda Koren. (I keep writing Tom Hughes. Shades of old As The World Turns?) Assia starts out so spoiled and selfish it's hard to feel any empathy for her but by the end of the book, I almost admired her. If she had only had the self reliance that would have let her stand on her own she might have been a true force. As it was, she was something to be reckoned with but felt she was nothing without a man. And, naturally, a particular man. Too bad she and Sylvia Plath decided on Ted Hughes as that man.

Crow Goes Hunting by Ted Hughes

Crow Goes Hunting

Crow
Decided to try words.

He imagined some words for the job, a lovely pack-
Clear-eyed, resounding, well-trained,
With strong teeth.
You could not find a better bred lot.

He pointed out the hare and away went the words
Resounding.
Crow was Crow without fail, but what is a hare?

It converted itself to a concrete bunker.
The words circled protesting, resounding.

Crow turned the words into bombs-they blasted the bunker.
The bits of bunker flew up-a flock of starlings.

Crow turned the words into shotguns, they shot down the starlings.
The falling starlings turned to a cloudburst.

Crow turned the words into a reservoir, collecting the water.
The water turned into an earthquake, swallowing the reservoir.

The earthquake turned into a hare and leaped for the hill
Having eaten Crow's words.

Crow gazed after the bounding hare
Speechless with admiration.

*It is still April, right? I'm not too late! For me. Happy Birthday!

** Swine flu. THIS is a level 5? What, there are 28 levels? What colors are they? Geez.

Insert Not Too Clever Title Here. Thanks for the Tip, Typepad. Gah.

  Button choices for the V pointed charmer, currently sporting buttons from [gasp] Joanne's Fabrics. I know, I know. I'm a button snob.

And because it's been a long long time:

TV: Not that' I've been awake the last week to watch much or understand any of it - was it just me or did Lost, *The Dollhouse or Battlestar Galactica make no sense whatsoever? This week the TV is going off at 10pm. Stupid Daylight "Saving" Time.

*The Dollhouse makes no sense to to me under the best of circumstances. I've grasped the concept, it's the relationships/point that eludes me.

Tonight (Sunday March 15) Kings has its two hour debut at 8pm. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Monday: 24. Finally, no one on the show that I have to flip the channel the second they appear, although the FBI couple are starting to work my nerves.

Tuesday: NCIS, of course.

(The structure is the new Walnut Creek LIbrary. Eventually) Wednesday: Life and Lost. Why are they both on at the same time? Life wins, Lost is better when they repeat it with that scroll catch up at the bottom.  I love that scroll catch up bar. (What's that actually called?)

Thursday: Bones at 8pm and then heaven help me, Gray's Anatomy at 9pm. I hate myself but there you are. Plus it looks like Izzy is actually dying! Dying! Be still my heart.

Friday. Oh, Friday. Friday is a very sad, sad day. So. Sad. Battlestar Galactica is repeating their Monday (the 16th) special at 7pm and then the very final two hour season FINALE episode at 9pm. (I think they're airing last Friday night's ep beforehand which is very very nice because I have no idea what was going on. Thank you Daylight "Saving" Time. Everyone! Run up your heating and electric bills in the morning and DO NOT SHOP in the evening. 

Somewhere in there is also endless hours of Senate/House/Congressional Hearings that I'm finding endlessly fascinating and Being Erica, a CBC show but airing in the US on  Soapnet. Fun premise. Her shrink sends her back in time to work out her issues.

There's been knitting but not much progress. I finally took Mary Tudor's sleeves off the two circs and onto dpn's thus decreasing the time it took me to knit one row from 30 minutes down to ten. I still can't believe it took me thirty minutes to knit one row of a sleeve. Practically at the cuff. Mind you, I'm a whole five more rows since last photographed but considering I'm working day and night and still actually reading some blogs (in the most haphazard manner EVER), not half bad.

Brigitte sent this darling thing to Hezekiah.

Hez sez "I know it's not a real mouse but it is fun to carry around and torment. Never in front of a camera though! The Oath of the Hunter, y'know" (which is very annoying, let me tell you - The Blog Photographer).

Little of this, little of that

The following are links I ran across trying to track down a place (other than in front of my TV) to watch the Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday.  Not many in my neck of the woods, other than Walnut Creek, oddly enough but FYI for anyone else that might be interested in the area. Possibly the Sunday papers will have some more that aren't already sold out.

San Francisco: Inauguration West at the Metreon in SF Morris Day & The Time?  Cool.

San Francisco Public Library in the Koret Auditorium.

There's a special viewing in front of the Civic Center.

Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration Skaters' Ball San Francisco.

Burlingame Public Library

Inauguration Day at Lark Theater, Larkspur (although it's sold out)

Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek (sold out)

Oracle/McAfee/Whatsis/Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Barack'n Roll Inauguration Party, Oakland CA (East Bay Young Democrats)

 This is Dad's cardigan. The bizarre patterning is a purl diamond pattern that I really wish I hadn't bothered with but no way am I redoing it now. I'm hoping it blocks out. I'm reasonably sure it's never been blocked. Just stuffed into a pillowcase.

The sleeves are plain stockinette and cross your fingers I have enough yarn because I think it's Pingouin, not that I have a ball band, and I know I got it on sale at Betsy's in Lafayette when she closed her doors. (After a woman who must have thought she was in reverse drove a few feet into the store, barely stopping at the counter at a bearing post)

If it is Pinguoin, it's scarcer than hen's teeth. So it's going to get stretched w/Cascade 220, if it comes to that. 

Don't even start on the bizarre shaping. There are ends to be woven in that make no sense to me at all. I'm trying to figure out when I did this. I'm pretty sure it's not the first year I learned to knit, but it might as well be. There's a lot of short rowing going on though, thankfully. Dad is, well, Santa Claus shaped.

  Mary Tudor in her corrected (and heavenly lit) state. See? I did reknit some of it. I just haven't knit much more.  The shaping looks a little......more like shaping. Oh! Did you see the Virtual Yarns drawing?

Lisa at Knitting by the Sea came up with what I'm going to adopt as my slogan for the year (sshhh to all of you who are asking incredulously - year?)

TELEVISION: Did anyone catch Battlestar Galactica last night? Wowza. Poor Psychon USA.  I'll be watching you later.

Sunday night "Keys to the Castle - France" in on HGTV. I can't wait.

24 on Monday - I wasn't going to watch this season but I injudiciously flipped it on and was immediately sucked in. Just pray that Audrey doesn't show up this season, I'd like to be able to get through the whole season for a change. House is back on Mondays at 8pm, finally it's not up against NCIS on Tuesday (a repeat this week). I'm still enamoured w/Leverage at 10pm on Tuesdays, I just wish they'd tone the pairing up down a notch. Wednesday at 10pm the second season of Damages has started. Glenn Close is just mesmerizing. Thursdays: Bones at 8pm on its new day. Grey's Anatomy at 9pm although geez. Is it possible for this show to do ONE storyline that I don't feel like heaving shoes at my TV set?  Burn Notice starts its new season at 10pm. Finally! (Thursday, ( also my mom's birthday. Hmm. It may be too late to knit her anything.)

Hez sez: "mewp mewp mewp". But very, very quietly. (translated mostly means no way is she going to come back in the house *this morning, she was trapped! all day! in the house! when it was sunny out yesterday. The horror. 

*this morning being days ago. Yes, we've been suffering through 70-80 degree weather all week. I know you feel for us.