Catch Up

Finally am feeling caught up.

Caught up on work. Work goes in phases -- it's either insanely crazy or insanely slow. Never in between. Just coming off an insaner than insanely crazy spell. The inbox overflow onto my desk at work is no longer and the inbox is actually almost empty. Whee!

Caught up on sleep. Goes hand in hand with the above, in addition to things like the aforementioned disco, orchestra concerts (I play with a local university orchestra), and the start of the holiday party season (attended my first over the weekend).

Caught up on my new favorite show. Sherlock. Check it out. You'll see what I mean.

And more or less caught up on knitting.




I just hope the kid hasn't grown too much since I started it!

Night Fever

What's a gal to do when old friends are in town? The World's Largest Disco, of course!

What a great shot my pal Jim got on his new iPhone4s toy. As for me, well, I was too busy dancing to worry about taking pictures!

On the Bandwagon

The Game of Thrones bandwagon, that is. Recommendations for the series came at me from every direction and finally I succumbed to see what all the fuss was about.

The fuss is well-deserved.

So far, anyway.

I'm halfway through A Storm of Swords (Book 3) right now and have spent pretty much every waking free moment I have with the Starks, Lannisters, direwolves and dragons. Unfortunately, things have gotten in the way of my speeding through to the end like oh, say, work (back to back trials - ugh!) and sleep (unfortunately, much needed when doing back to back trials). Sheesh!

Okay, I admit, I did sneak some time in there to go catch the Harry Potter finale and attend the Chicken Inferno, but other than that, haven't been up to much else.





On that note, back at it I go. Perhaps when I've gotten through to its current end (Book 5, with two left in the series, publishing date tbd), the HBO series will have made it to Netflix. (I don't have cable).

Summertime

Haven't been posting much of anything; lost my mojo just shortly after JazzFest started (though I saw a number of great shows). What have I been doing instead?

Amanda and I have been checking out new (and old) places to bike. It's been made so much easier to venture out since I finally buckled down and bought a bike rack -- I love my Saris Bones, which after its initial fitting to my car straps straps on and off very simply. Yesterday we headed up to Charlotte and biked along the Genesee Riverway Trail and took in the breathtaking views of the scenic gorge. Unfortunately, most of those picturesque views came while traveling uphill and I wasn't about to get off my bike for fear of never making it to the tops if I were to stop! The swans however were paddling along in the river, where the path was level.



This summer has also been a good one for sailing, as I've been able to get out to the lake and race generally twice a week. A couple weeks ago, I helped out on the race committee boat and rocky as that vessel was in the windy waters that night, we perhaps had the best seat in the house.

In "Training"

Some friends and I decided to try and "make fitness fun," as the conventional wisdom goes. We are entered into our first duathalon -- some of us as a relay team and a couple doing the race individually [color me impressed!] I have neither the desire nor constitution to put my knees and ankles through a run and thusly have chosen to be the cycling leg [20k] of a relay team. In preparation, pal Amanda and I decided to check out a new (to us) trail over the weekend and get used to riding again [we've been spinning at the gym]. While we usually hit the canal [tow]path, we ventured out a bit east to check out the Lehigh Valley Trail and what a lovely, pastoral ride it was. We chose a midpoint, rode to the western endpoint and returned for what amounted to approximately a 23k ride. Our next attempt will be at something hilly and maybe, just maybe, we'll be ready for the race [just a week and a half away - yikes!]

Saturday Morning at the Market

Saturdays are traditionally my mornings to sleep in, with no alarm prodding me awake. Yesterday however, despite my best intentions, I was wide awake at some ungodly [for Saturday] morning hour. Of course this doesn't happen to me during the week when I have to get up. At any rate, with the sun streaming in announcing what amounted to be a beautiful spring day, I begrudgingly got out of bed and decided to take advantage of the early awakening and headed out to the Public Market. I must admit that winter lethargy has kept me home Saturday mornings since last fall.

I think this is the earliest I've ever made it to the market -- there were roosters crowing when I got there! I happily stocked up on numerous items including these lovely hydroponically grown tomatoes:



I was directed to this vendor when I ran into my friend Kim, while bemoaning the fate of my beloved Sabres with the Pierogie Guy, who offered his condolences upon noticing my Sabres cap. I had been recounting the sadness we all felt when that OT goal at Game 6 sealed our fate when the woman standing next to me turned. Kim, who shares in our season ticket pool, had apparently heard, "Sabres" and "Game 6" and turned to find me standing there.

Yep, I was there that fateful Easter Sunday, cheering on the boys. Despite the disappointment (which, one is quite used to having grown up with Buffalo sports), I'd have to say they made a nice run, making it in to the playoffs after we had all (myself included) written them off. I'm excited about the new Pegula regime and appreciate all the little changes that have been made thus far, which are clearly noticeable at the home games. (I particularly enjoy the Jeanneret scoring calls that are announced over the speakers). While sad to see this season end the way it did (what the hell happened in Game 7?!), I'm looking forward to next year (ever the optimist) ...

Living Out of a Suitcase

But filled with fun times.

Traveled out west for a friend's wedding out in Santa Ynes, CA.



Stayed in neighboring Solvang and lingered an extra day after the wedding.



Then hit the road to Vegas for a few days before heading back East.



Upon returning thisaways, on a last-minute whim, road-tripped it to Philly with a fellow fan and braved the intimidating Flyers' arena for Game 2. (Losing may have saved our lives).



Next weekend, I plan to chill at home.

Barring any new last-minute whims.

Enter, Winter

Mini-Break

My old roommate was in town for a visit so I took a few days off and we made a mini-break of it. I contemplated working half-days, but I'm never very good at that as they turn very close into full days and frankly, I needed the respite after a few crazy weeks anyway.

We ran up to Niagara-on-the-Lake to catch an unfortunately not-so-ideal production of An Ideal Husband. The weather was unexpectedly gorgeous and we walked around the quaint little town perusing its shops, but the usually solid Shaw Fest performances I'm used to were nowhere to be found in this unfortunate butchering of my favorite Oscar Wilde play. In fact, the only thing that saved this show was the script itself. Despite the [mostly] beautiful costumes [Mabel's outfits were stupendously horrendous] and the intriguing set [but such awful blocking!], most of the performances were flat -- the actors had no chemistry with each other and seemed merely to be reciting lines, rather than acting. We couldn't figure out if they were just having a bad night or if the entire run has been this horrible as all the reviews we were able to find online were favorable, if not raving. Steven Sutcliffe's Lord Goring was the only somewhat engaging character with the exception of Anthony Bekenn's Phipps, who had some of the best deliveries of the night in his very, very minor role.

However, we didn't let the disappointing play let us down and spent the rest of our days stuffing our faces, getting in some outlet shopping, hunkering down with cheesy chick-flicks and just generally being wonderfully lazy.

I got in an extra day of laziness after putting her on the plane and spent the remainder of my holiday on crafty endeavours:



Finished piecing the top and putting together the quilt sandwich. Now, I'm trying to decide how I want to quilt it. And yep, that's Whisper Cardigan in the background blocking. Am so not looking forward to the piles that have likely accumulated at the office during my absence, but I suppose that's inevitable after such an indulgence!

Loving The Wedge

South Wedge, that is.

I've been meaning to check out Hedonist Artisan Chocolates for quite some time now, and what better occasion than to find a little something for my dinner hostess? Yum.

And since I was in the neighborhood, couldn't resist popping into thread and found these sweet little bowls on sale:

Summer Update

Knitterly:



Annual tradition:



Continuing education (new hobby):

All In a Day's Work

before:



after:

Saturdays at the Market

Anyone who knows me knows that mornings are not my favorite time of day. Such as it is, Saturday mornings are that target I shoot for during the week -- the morning I can finally sleep in. However, with gerbera daisies waiting for me at the market, as well as the fresh produce, empanadas and cheese lovers' heaven, well, there is some incentive to get up and get moving out to the hustle and bustle of Union Street. Not to mention the company. My friends are rather religious about going every Saturday and the past two weeks I've managed to make it out and join them for a cuppa joe, a breakfast sandwich and some trolling through the tents. Perchance I too will make it a weekly habit -- now if only I could say that about my blogging!

Anything For Me?

No boxes lying around today so the bag had to do.

Haven't had a whole lot of time lately, but I have been making progress on Lady Eleanor. How much do I love entrelac? Ask me again after I've done another square...



Eleanor will take a little more time, but sometimes, instant gratification is in order. I am no more than a dabbler -- anything beyond beading and a little wire manipulation are beyond my capabilities, but it comes in handy when one needs a last minute birthday present!

Lame

I've been fighting off this cold all week, popping vitamin C, drinking gallons of orange juice while putting in 12-hour days at the office. Today was such a luxury -- sleeping in, napping and more napping. But, I hauled my butt out of the house to wish a dear friend happy birthday. I rarely see Doris and the others what with their kids and my work schedule, so I made a special effort to get out to see them.

What I didn't really consider was that meet-up time wasn't going to be until 10:30PM. Why should that matter? Well, if I had considered the other factors I may have been a bit more prepared for what I was getting into -- the other girls had rented a limo (I opted to drive myself), they had roped their husbands and others into watching their respective kids and the the rendevous point was a suburban "night club."

Maybe it's because it's been awhile since I've gone "clubbing," but I was not prepared for the long lines, music at inhumane decibels and limited elbow room. It also didn't help that I wandered, or rather squeezed, through the club several times without being able to find the girls (all the while thinking, why are all these people here and do they really think this is fun?!).

An unsuccessful texting attempt resulted in me relying on the kindness of some overeagerly helpful men in order to try and find the pieces of my cell phone that scattered when I dropped it whilst messaging a plea for some direction in that mayhem. After about a half hour of shoving through the throngs without any success I managed to work my way out the front door and into the parking lot. I made one last-ditch attempt to locate the birthday girl with a phone call, which worked except that meant I had to wait in what was now a longer line to get back into the hellhole that was making my cloudy head worse. Clearly, I stood out like a sore thumb still bundled in my coat and scarf while the other patrons were very much enjoying themselves dancing, drinking, mingling and ogling -- most sans sleeves and laden with costume jewelry.

Now, I love to dance. I require not a drop of alcohol and usually just start going if there's a beat. But tonight, I just couldn't feel it. All I wanted to do was to get out of there ... so that's what I did. Yes, I'm horrible, but I just couldn't stay. Gave Doris a big hug, promised her dinner in the future, waved to the other girls and was out of there like a bat out of hell. I'd like to blame it on this cold, but I really do think that I've just aged out of that scene.

I'm so much happier now that I'm home and in my flannel pjs, wrapped in my fleece robe with my furry feline friend on my lap. Doesn't get much lamer than that, now does it?!

Slightly Eerie

Hitchock definitely unnerved me. Thusly the chills upon seeing this outside my window yesterday afternoon:



Tis too late in the season for migration, no?

Irresistible

Why I love Parkleigh ...

Welcome, 2010

It's been awhile since I've been here -- have been a little lacking in motivation and inspiration to blog about anything lately, but with the new year here, I'm gonna give it another go and see where it takes me.

I grew up in a house full of plants, though it wasn't until I first moved out on my own that the lack of them in my apartment made me take notice. Over the years I've attempted to counter the brown thumb bestowed on me at birth and have had mediocre results. But, I keep trying.

For Christmas, my mother gave me an orchid, together with good-luck vibes. Apparently even her green thumb has had some ups and downs with these beauties, so I'm supposed to not feel too bad if I can't keep it up, but I am determined. Maybe 2010 will be my year of the orchid ...



I need to knit something. My fingers are itching to do so, but I haven't been able to figure out what they're looking for. I've been repeatedly scrolling through my queue and scouring all pattern resources hoping for that magic pull that says "knit me!" to no avail.

Sigh.

I did however finish the Wildflower socks I started last spring so my handknit sock collection is slowly growing. I read somewhere that once you start wearing knit socks it's tough to wear any other kind. It's true. You can't beat the colors sock yarn comes in and they just feel so much nicer on your feet. They are insanely warm and so are perfect for Rochester winters but my body temperature runs too high to wear them any other time of year.

In the meantime, Pippin has been keeping me entertained with his insatiable need to crawl into any and every box that should come his way. Clearly, his eyeballing skills need work. He seems to think that every box should (and will) fit him.

Chickens & Babies

No summer is complete without the annual foray into Pennsyltuckey and thither we traveled for Chicken Inferno 11...



It's been a year of babies, and I find that my last few knitting projects have been for little ones.

Back in May, Kaia went to Katie -- now the proud mum of Tessa. I left out the lace edging at the bottom and instead added the ruffle to give it a little flair. I thought Katie was kidding when she told me the top half of the dress matched the paint the papa had chosen for the baby's room but while dog-sitting over there a couple weekends ago, I got to witness the nursery in all its glory. I never would have guessed that hot pink could have been done so tastefully, but Josh managed to put together the most wonderful little room.



Jen & Terry are expecting their little bundle of joy in November, gender TBD. So green seemed a good way to go and I figured this pattern will flatter any little gal or guy. I stumbled upon the cutest little frog buttons while perusing the racks at Joann's.



Unfortunately, there were only two buttons in stock and the pattern called for four. I spent forever rearranging the buttons in every possible permutation before settling on the single one at the top. I somehow managed to forget to add the garter edge at the bottom, but even with the rolled edge, I am still very happy with how it turned out.



Pressed for time as well as being a bit burnt out from baby clothes, I chose Elijah for Frankie IV, due to arrive in October to Julie and Frank, III. It truly is a quick knit. I not only finished this in time (shower this morning), but was not up all night cramming to get it done. He was knit up with the leftovers from the cardigan. I was truly loathe to give him away, he's so stinkin' cute. I really wanted to keep this little guy! But, I know that he's found a good home.



With this pattern, I not only learned a new cast on, but I did french knots for the first time. Now I want to put french knots on everything. They're so freakin' easy. And lovely. Picking up the stitches to add each appendage was the most frustrating part - the ears in particular drove me bonkers - but all in all, I loved knitting this. What I found fascinating about this pattern is that with every new addition, it got cuter and cuter and I could not wait to finish it to see it completed. Perhaps that's why it was such a quick knit.

But. Enough babies for now. Maybe I'll finally get some rhythm going on the Whisper Cardigan that I'm making for me that I started [what seems like] eons ago. And maybe, just maybe, it'll be done before it gets too cold to actually wear it.