Friday, April 27, 2007

Overheard in the bagel shop

10 to 12-year-old boy: "I would like a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese, pickles and capers."

(bagel-shop employee spends a few minutes making *sure* that is what he really wants, very nicely, until the boy's mother mentions that this is what he always orders)

Then the mother orders: "An everything bagel with plain cream cheese, please."

10 to 12-year-old boy: "You like *everything bagels*? Eeeeeew."

Thursday, April 26, 2007

A Good Thing

Today, New Hampshire approved civil unions. Well, you know, except for the actual signing, but that is expected to go off without a hitch.


*****Edited to add*****

What I find the most interesting is the stark illustration of the same information garnering completely opposite reactions. From the WaPo article:

"Nevertheless, opponents of same-sex marriage look at what is going on in New England and express growing concern. 'The more states that do this, the less radical and more plausible the idea may appear in others,' said Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council."


My reaction? EXACTLY.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Remember the victims

I don't have much to say about the Virginia Tech tragedy that hasn't already been said by someone else. I also very much agree with Grunt Doc that we need to focus on the victims rather than focus on the perpetrator.

The New York Times has started a list of profiles of the victims.


Read it. Remember how they lived.

Monday, April 16, 2007

A sign that I might have a problem.

I had a long day at work. Loooong. I got home to find out that the sock yarn that was shipped to me a week ago *still* hasn't arrived. I am generally cranky. I don't have time to go to the gym tonight like I had planned. I am working on the third re-knit of the first sock in the current pair I am knitting.

The solution? I ordered some sock yarn.

Sigh.

Friday, April 13, 2007

A lovely morning stroll

Matter-Eater Lad is in Chicago at a conference with our one-and-only car , so I have had to walk to and from the Light Rail station these past couple of days. It is less than a mile, and a very pretty walk overall. Here are some pictures from my phone (I can't download camera pix at work):



The image quality is iffy, but you can see that it is quite scenic. That's all I have for today.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

A knitter's highest complement

My youngest sister has been asking for more hand-knit socks. Well, all of my sisters have been asking, but she asked most recently. Then she put this post on her blog.

I knit her those socks less than a year ago--they were the second pair on socks I ever knitted (Crusoe from Knitty in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Tropical Storm-- the same yarn that Elmo models here). What a complement it is that she wore them so much that they are wearing through. I am always afraid that when I knit for someone they will save what I give them for a special occasion (I am not speaking of delicate lace shawls here, which of course are treated slightly differently) rather than enjoying what I made for them and realizing that I can always make more. I guess my sister, at least got the message.

Of course, she is going to have to wait for more socks. I have to finish my MIL's birthday socks, knit the socks for my pregnant friend, knit a wedding veil, and about eight billion other projects between now and July. There may be some mixed messages going out around here.

Friday, April 06, 2007

I laughed and laughed and laughed.

I was just discussing knitting with one the the partners at work (his wife knits and organizes charitable knitting and he was very gently trying to find out if I would be interested in participating). I mentioned that I mostly knit for other people, because then it feels like I am accomplishing something above and beyond my own pleasure related to knitting (and buying yarn, and designing patterns, and so on, but I didn't get into that, because right now he thinks of me as being sane).

Then he said, "That makes sense. You can have too many socks, so after a while you would want to give them away."

TOO MANY SOCKS? I think he missed my point.

Knitting Content

Enough about the weather. Stupid weather.

(I know I am normally quite informal in tone and with grammar on this blog, but do the above couple of sentences sort of read as if they were written by an eight-year-old? I thought so.)

In the past few weeks, I have finished a couple of these:




and spent far too long on the Most Boring Socks Ever. I did learn something from those socks, though--I can deal with a boring sock pattern, but I really need to like the yarn. This usually means that I like both the colorway and the hand of the yarn itself, but it can just be the hand of the yarn if I am knitting for someone who likes boring socks (a/k/a Matter-Eater Lad). I was so bored with those socks that it took me *two weeks* to finish them.

Now I am using the Summer Skin Sweet Georgia yarn to make socks for my MIL for her birthday (which is next Friday). Plus, my friend L is pregnant and in the hospital with breathing problems, so I may cast on some socks for her this weekend. She's in Florida, so what else can I really do? These will be sort of prayer-socks (like prayer shawls), except, you know, L is an atheist. Which means that I will be knitting them to make myself feel as if I am doing something to help, and there is something to be said for that. Plus, then L will have socks!

My friends and I went to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's talk at William-Mitchell Law School Wednesday (she's the Yarn Harlot--see the link on the right? She is very funny.), and I will post about that once I upload the (not very good) pictures and finish thinking through what I want to write about feminism and knitting.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

There should be Cherry Blossoms.

Oi! Weather! It is supposed to be spring here. It is frakking *April*. Over the past few weeks, everything has been slowly thawing:






to the point that two Mondays ago there was very little ice left on the lake, and it was 80 degrees F out, so I could sit on a bench by the lake and knit and watch the sun set:













Lovely! This is too warm for so early, but at least it is a step in the right direction. It is spring! There should be cherry blossoms! Ok, maybe not in Minnesota, but you know what? I used to live in DC, and this time of year there should be cherry blossoms.

Why do I bring this up? BECAUSE IT WAS 15 DEGREES F WHEN I LEFT THE HOUSE YESTERDAY MORNING, and 19 TODAY. IT IS GOING TO BE IN THE THIRTIES DURING THE DAY ALL WEEK AND IT SNOWED SQUEAKY WINTER SNOW ON TUESDAY. THIS IS NOT RIGHT.

It is time for it to be spring, so I would appreciate some spring weather around here.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

PSA (Seriously)

I am taking time away from knitting The Most Boring Socks Ever:


for Matter-Eater Lad (ok, I finished them last night, but I am not quite over the boring-ness yet), to let all of you know about this amazing program in Minneapolis. Museums! For free! What a great program!

I am also admiring my Sweet Georgia sock yarn:

for a dose of not-boring.