Run on Sentences...

book reading

Tuesday night I was finally face to face with Poundy.   I was my typical charmless self that I usually am when I meet bloggers face to face.  No matter what I said it seemed to come out sounding stalkerish.   When I said I had been reading her site for two years I mean how cool she is that she has held my attention for two years.   But it came out sounding like I had been watching her everystep for two. whole years.   So if she never comes back to sf, you can blame me. 

She kept her promise and did draw me a cartoon. 

30 Days x 2

Not to beat a dead, 30 Days, horse, but at the end of last night's episode they showed previews for next week's show.  Guess where it is?  San Francisco!   My old hometown and my new home all in the span of one week.   How cool is that? 

30 Days

I have book club tonight so I can't watch 30 Days but I'll be sure to tape it because tonight's episode is set in my hometown.  (It's the episode where they send a Christian to live with a Muslim family.)  Sort of.   The website doesn't know quite what it's trying to say.  At first the episode recap says that it takes place in Dearborn, MI, which is my hometown.   Then later it says that they will be "just outside of Dearborn"  and later still it reveals that he is actually staying with family in Canton, which is another town or two over.   The funniest part is that it describes Canton as a "suburb of Dearborn"  He he he.  Like Dearborn has enough attraction to have suburbs.  Next time someone asks where I grew up maybe I'll just say Dearborn and expect them to know where that is because, hey,  it has suburbs! 

Knit In

You know how you have a Saturday To Do List that rarely gets completed because you're busy doing other things like taking a nap or knitting or catching up on your Law & Order SVU episodes?  No, you don't?  It must just be me then.  This past Saturday I overcame my usually distractedness and was able to cross almost everything on off of my To - Do list because I had the best motivation.   I bribed myself with a Sunday of all-day, guilt-free knitting, if I finished my To-Do list on Saturday.  And so I did!  Fortunately, Joanna hosted a Knit In so I could knit with good company, great food and lots of knitting advice whenever I needed it.  It's so nice having 7 people all tell you that something will be fine that you've worried over.   7 people can't be wrong!  I got to Joanna's at 2pm & didn't leave until almost 8pm.  I didn't realize how late it was when we left, this staying light out late really has me fooled.   No wonder I got so much knitting done.  The other social knitters were Rachel*,  Silvia, Nathania, Nancy and a couple other people whose names I simply cannot remember.  Sorry other knitters - It was great meeting you, really!  Fathom harvill  was there too.  I can't remember her name, but I remember her blog name.  Close enough, right?

This weekend was so much fun that I'm thinking I should try that strategy every weekend.  Or maybe hire a house keeper so I can knit all day both days?  Hmm... very tempting.

*I forgot my camera, but Rachel had hers. 

Pistons Fever

Deeeetroooit Baaasketbaaaallllll!

Go Pistons!

These games are giving me panic attacks.  I'm such a nervous game watcher.  I talk back to the tv, make mindless comments, a few pleas and still I don't know all the rules so I'm befuddled by some calls.   This annoys my sister to no end.  She says that she can't talk to me on the phone when I'm watching the game.  She says that I act just like our mom.   So I call my mom and we freak out together.   

Guess what I'll be doing tonight? 

Game 7 ... Bring it on! 

Go Pistons! 

Finished Coworker Baby Sweater II

I've had the knitting done for weeks now.  I sewed the ribbon onto the bonnet over the weekend.  The sweater was more of a challenge.  The lack of buttons on the pattern bothered me and I searched for other closure options.  First, I was going to sew ribbon to the button bands and then attach snaps or buttons and use my sewing machine to add sewn buttonholes.  It turns out that the button bands on this sweater match no ribbon know to man.  Or at least no ribbon known to me and Beverly.   Then, I thought about using the sewn buttonholes & buttons without the ribbon.  I even did a sample on the swatch.  But I worried about the stability of buttons & buttonholes without ribbon on this teeny tiny yarn.  I know it's only for a baby, but still.  I also worried about messing up the buttonholes and throwing all that knitting work down the drain over a badly sewn buttonhole.   

Buttonholes have never been my thing.  I used to sew whole garments and then beg my mom to do the buttonholes for me.   The sewing machine I have now has automatic buttonholes which makes me even more nervous because I push a button and the machine just goes on it's own without much control on my part.  (someday soon I'll get back to sewing and force myself to learn how to do button holes like a pro)    So with this monkey/sweater on my back and my co-worker's due date looming I knew I had to do something this week (her last day at work is Friday!) .   Monday I debated about hitting the gym after work or going to knitting group.  Knitting group won out just so I could get ideas on this sweater.   I made the right choice, for it was knitting group to the rescue!   Someone suggested I-cord button loops.  Armed with a viable alternative to sewing, I decided Tuesday was the night.  I went to Beverly's and stocked up for Plan A, B, & C.  (shank buttons for buttonhole loops,  hook & eye tape, & hem tape to sew onto button bands instead of ribbon, not a bad replacement but they didn't have pink so I bought white which left me kind of cold) 

I tried the I-cord first.  It was too thick to work with the dainty buttons I bought.  But I liked the idea of it.  So I went to my Vogue Knitting book and tried some of their suggestions.  Those didn't work either.  Finally I tried the crochet button loops as described for Candy.  It worked! 

I did the single crochet along the both button bands edges because it had the added benefit of stretching out the garter stitch bands to their intended length.  (HA! no blocking for me!) I think it makes the whole garment look more finished.  (although honestly it could have used a good blocking) I can see more crochet edges in my future. Here's a close up of the finished closed sweater. 

The pattern originally intended for it to be finished by just a ribbon through loops in neckband that you tied around the baby's neck.  I didn't like that idea, which is why I went through all the button trauma.  And although I liked the look of the ribbon in the neck band I wondered about the wash-ability of it.  At this point it was already 1am and I figured if I was going to be a perfectionist, I might as well go all out.  So I added little baby snaps onto the ribbon and the inside of the sweater.  It allows the ribbon to stay put, while also making it completely removable.   

The finished sweater & bonnet turned out just as wonderfully as I hoped they would.  They are so very sweet that I hated to give them away.  Fortunately I have a whole cone of the yarn left.  I wonder if it's enough for me to make a sweater like it in my size?   (no bonnet for me, thanks)

The pattern is free here.  Check the finished projects section if you want even more info. 

retail therapy

Sorry blog.  I’ve been working like crazy this week and I’m sad* and neither makes for a good blog post.  Last night when I was desperately trying to go to sleep** and I couldn’t get my brain to be quiet I kept composing blog posts in my head.   So, in the interest of my sanity and mostly my sleep, I’m posting. Do you hear that blog?  I had blog guilt over you.  And I couldn’t sleep because of the guilt.  See, I really do love you deep down.  I wouldn’t feel guilty if I didn’t care.     

I was so tired and worn out yesterday that I just couldn’t bring myself to do laundry. I needed to do laundry so I’d have underwear to wear to work today.   So I did the next logical step (logical at the time I mean) I bought more underwear.   I’ve been meaning to buy more anyway…..   My sister just yelled at me the other day when I told her I’m still wearing underwear that I had in college (6 years for those who are counting)  Well actually her exact words were  “Do they have any elastic left?”  Yes, as a matter of fact they do.  Not much, but enough for bumming around the house on the weekend.

Meryvn’s is having a sale and I’m loving the cute hipster style undies, and let’s just say that an hour and $60 later I finally made it home.  When I got home the shopping glow had already worn off, I was sad again and I was feeling guilty over the money. But just now I realized that $60/hr is cheap compared to the going rate of therapy  and this way I got new underwear. And every time I go the bathroom today I smile at my new unmentionables.    (baby blue w/ orange trim.  Go Tigers!)

*partly my normal doom & gloom self pity party, maybe a little bit of allergy lethargy thrown in (my sister just thinks it’s caused by my mood) and partly something else which, no, thank you very much I do not want to talk about. Because if I talk about it that will make it seem more real and the last thing I want it to be is real.  It may seem like a tease to elude to something it this way.  I’m not trying to tease but I couldn’t explain my absence without at least touching on it. I’m sad.  I’m not talking about it now. Maybe in the future.

** When you’re looking for apartments and you think hardwood floors are charming, remember this.   Apartment building w/ poor maintenance + hardwood floors = much squeakiness from the upstairs neighbors when they are walking around at midnight and you’re lying there wishing they would just go to bed so that you can go to sleep soon.

i'm just not that into blogging right now

The trip was wonderful.  Seeing old college friends is always great.  Although the amount of babies in the group is astounding.  And then they ask about me and I'm all, well, I finally put up a profile on match....   the disparity in the places we are at in our lives is astounding.   But the babies are really cute.  I'm going to have to make more baby sweaters.

Wisconsin was beautiful.   The fried cheese curds were good, but sadly I did not bring any back.  I was very excited to watch a big thunderstorm roll in over the lake and then run inside just before we got soaked.  It was perfect.  Did you know that thunderstorms are very rare in California?  I felt very cheated when I found that out after I moved here.  I love thunderstorms and miss them so much.   Really, it should be posted on big signs at the state line and on airline tickets. 

Warning:  No Thunderstorms ahead.  If you like drama in your weather, don't move here. 

And the fact that there is no summer in San Francisco?   Cruel.  I don't miss the shorts weather since I'd be in my office wearing work appropriate clothing most of the time anyway.  But all the water around and no time to ever really enjoy swimming in it?  Funny.  Very funny.  Now quit joking and stop the fog.   

This post trip week has consisted of little more than work and sleep.  And watching the Pistons, of course. I have gone grocery shopping.  (after getting so desperate I ate some 4 week old gorgonzola melted onto a slightly older tortilla. verdict:  not bad)  I have not unpacked my suitcase.  It's sitting just inside my front door where I though seeing it all the time would encourage me to unpack it.  It has not.  The most it has done is given me a good hamstring stretch as I step over it while ignoring it yet again. 

I listened to the audio book  He's Just Not that Into You while on my trip.  I thought it would be full of really bad advice that would at least be good for a laugh but I liked it way more than I thought I would.  It's written by two people who also wrote for  SATC so it's at least humorous.   The basis is that a woman is way too good to be with a guy who doesn't treat her well.  A theory that I've always had but then again maybe that's why I'm terminally single?   It's smart and no nonsense and pointed out all the reasoning that I give for guys in my head and calls it for the bull shit that it is.  The last chapter says what I was thinking all along.  Great advice in theory.  Really, really hard to do in real life.

The best part though is my new catch phrase.  It's the perfect answer to anything.  My friends are going to be very tired of hearing it in the near future.    I can hear the conversations now...

friend:  so i went to the movie theater and the guy gave me the wrong change

me:  forget it.  he's just not that into you

---------------------------------

friend:  And then I spotted a parking space but this other guy got there first

me:  he's just not that into you

------------------------------

friend:  It was so gross.  At the gym this guy didn't even wipe down the machine after he was done with it. 

me:  He's just not that into you.   Or wait, maybe that means he is really into you?   Which one is trump?   A snarky pseudo self help book or an old Seinfeld episode? 

work takes up too much time

I enjoy only working three days a week, but the trouble is that I'm trying to do 5 days worth of work in that time.  Sorry for not posting.  I finished knitting the baby bonnet over the holiday weekend and it come out cute.  I just need to buy some ribbon and then sew it on and it'll be done.   I'm going to sew ribbon onto the button bands of the sweater too.  What I don't know yet is if I'll then pound snaps onto it or sew buttons on & use my sewing machine to make buttonholes.  Any preferences out there? 

Here's the un-ribboned version:   

I'm taking the red eye tonight to Chicago and from there going to Wisconsin for a wedding.   Because I worked 12 hours yesterday I still have to go to the bank, the drugstore, do my dishes & pack.  But my ipod is loaded with a play list labeled 'sleepy' that is 4 hours long.

The commercials may say that Happy Cows live in California, but I know which state is the Dairy State. Cheese curds here I come!