Monday, October 31, 2005

Mwahhahahahahaaaa!

Happy Halloween, everyone!!!!

In honor of the holiday, I thought I would share with you something very, very, very scary! Are ya ready??......

..... Okay, here goes.........................

.....I think I'm turning into a girl! (cue background horror music)

Now, now ... I know technically I've always been a GIRL ... but me?... a tomboy ... ever since the first moment I popped outta the womb!

And yet, for the last week or two ... instead of carrying around my beat up, sportster style purse that I just sling across my body and don't need to worry about ... I've actually been using a (much, MUCH less practical, might I add) girlie-girl purse. (I know, I KNOW .... the HORROR!!!!).

And then ... and then..... just yesterday ... I'm yarn shopping to buy the size 10.5 DPNs and the yarn I will need for the Fuzzy Feet .... and what color do I purchase out of ALL THE COLORS THERE???? ...... I purchase PINK! WTF?!

(*shudder*)

Now ain't that the scariest Halloween story y'all have heard yet??? :)

....

Oh, but speaking of The Fuzzy Feet .....so after I purchased my girlie-pink* yarn yesterday, I plopped down and started working on the first sock. I decided to use the DPNs for the entire project (surely because I am Sock Knitting Genius and not because I'm too scared to figure out how to use circular needles!! ;)). And didn't need to use stitch markers because the different needles differentiated different sections of the sock. Here's how it went (click to enlarge pics):

The cast on (stitches on 4 needles):



After the cuff (stitches on 4 needles):



After the heel flap (stitches on only 2 needles):



A view of the cuff, heel and heel turn (stitches on only 2 needles):



After the gusset (back to 4 needles):



Ready to start the toe decreases (4 needles):



Time to just sew it up (2 needles) (I used the Kitchner's Stitch):



TA DAAAAAA:


Why yes, thankyouverymuch, I DID plow through that "sock" really quick. But let me tell you ... using size 10.5 DPNs after so much time spent using the size 2s, was just plain ole WEIRD. I felt like I was "play" knitting!

Anyway, though I conquered the one fuzzy, don't hold your breath waiting for FFSock#2. I'm feeling the guilt from not working on the Gift Socks which need to be done by Christmas (though GiftSock#3 has been completed ... (that's right ... who's your knitter?!! :))). So FFSock#2 might be awhiles out. We'll see.


*I'm pretty sure that TECHNICALLY the yarn isn't called "girlie-pink". I'm thinkin' it's more along the lines of "Victorian Pink". Of the Lamb's Pride Worsted variety.

Friday, October 28, 2005

This just in .... I'm also crazy

So y'all remember that laugh attack we all had over my truly thinking I could finish 3 pairs of socks before Christmas??!! Uh yeah.

Well ... this next lil ole tidbit I'm about to share with ya takes my insanity to an all new level.

Are ya ready?

I'm ALSO going to finish a pair of THESE!



Yep, just joined the Fuzzy-Feet-Knit-A-Long inspired by Crazy Aunt Purl!

So the By Christmas List is now:
  1. 3 pairs of Gift Socks
  2. 1 pair of Fuzzy Feet

Ah yes, The World of The Preposterous! It's quite the nice place to live. Really! :)


It's official .....I'm either old or a redneck

So I'm just minding my own business last night while out and about running errands.... lalala, lalala ... when I notice that it feels as if something is caught in between two of my back teeth. I'm in my car without any dental devices to assist me so I'm trying to work it with my tongue.

To no avail.

I get home and come up with the (dare I say it?) brilliant solution to eat licorice in an attempt to dislodge this nagging leftover. (Wait, what's that I hear? ... Is that everyone saying "uhhh, but why didn't you just grab some dental floss??" HUSH, all y'all Logical People. This is ME we're talking about. That strangers don't walk up to me on the street and hand me a helmet to wear amazes me each and every day!)

Anyway, as you may have guessed, the licorice didn't work. In fact, I finally gave up and headed to the bathroom mirror and couldn't find the problem due to the licorice coating (man that stuff can fill in the crevices!).

So I caved and grabbed the dental floss. I'm workin' it, I'm workin' it, I'm workin' it. Run my tongue over the area ... still there. And still hard to see the problem cuz uhhhh yeah ... still some licorice.

SO ....I grabbed the toothbrush and started working that trouble spot really, really, REALLY well. Again with the tongue test ..... STILL with the problem! WTF???!!!!

Back to the dental floss. But this time, I look a little closer and I'm thinking ... "why the hell does it look like something is wrong in the MIDDLE of the tooth? How is something stuck THERE?"

So I adjust lighting, adjust my angle, get RIGHT UP ON THE MIRROR (no easy feat ... it's pretty high up and behind a counter) and see the problem ......THERE IS A HOLE IN MY TOOTH, y'all!!! You heard me .... a hole in my tooth!!! WTF?!?!

Part of the tooth ... gone. Don't know where ... don't know when ... don't know if that was a filling ... or if I'm just falling part.

Sigh. Damn old age!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Craigslist bashing is back!


Ah yes, the Craigslist personals. I've been too busy to peruse them lately for blog fodder. But, by request, here are a few of my latest faves.....

Any woman with Big Boobs that is okay with Mr Superficial.

[good to see you've your priorities straight, buddy! And quite the perfect name for you!]

Why can't YOU sweep ME off of MY feet? - 25 (Downtown/SW)

[demanding much??]

Looking for a nice Jewish girl to sleep with!! - 29 (ne pdx)

[huh?]

Nasty boy looking for his forever whore. - 36 (Portland)

[aah. Very, very touching. Just brings a tear to my eye. Sigh.]

MWM seeks Married or Attached Woman - 38 (Portland)

[you suck, Married Man.]

Top Heavy: Look here! and be appreciated long term - 36 (Portland)

[ANOTHER Boob Man. But at least I give this one credit for using the phrase "top heavy". Adds an element of class to it, dontcha think??!]

Wanted: summer girlfriend (Portland)

[Okay, so I read this one ... because hello? ... what? And really, he's "taking applications" for a girlfriend for next summer. Good luck with that, buddy!]

i snort cocain and fuck like a banchie warrior! - 35 (where ever i want to be!)

[Looooooser .... moving on]

no bitchy women - 37 (Portland)

[damn ... rules me out!]

Adventurous $$ MILLIONAIRE seeks companion - 25 (Beaverton / Wash. Co)

[you mean, "seeks WHORE", right? (let's tell it as it is)]

breasts, breasts, Breasts, and MORE BREASTS! - 32

[okay, this one we gotta read]

Reply to: anon@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-10-26, 8:42PM PDT

My mind is focused on one thing. I'll let you guess what it is. I'm not in perfect shape, but I am very good looking. You aren't Twiggy/Kate Moss thin, but you are quite attractive (and not a bbw). I just want to stare at your chest. The anonymity of craigslist allows me to be this honest [uh yeah ... but to actually MEET the person they'd have to see who ya are. Unless you're wearing a mask. Oooh, oooh.... but then you could call yourself the "Boob Bandit" or something!] I really, REALLY just want to snuggle close to your beautiful pair, and if you're smart and witty and wonderful, that would just be the icing on the breast, err, cake.

Only reply if you like that I like to think about ... you know. They drive me CRAZY!

[seriously, dude .. you're 32?? Are you sure you're not like 22? Or 12 maybe? Because it depresses me to think of someone so shallow and such IN THEIR 30'S. There is more to a woman than breasts .... really.]

It's 9 inches - 26 (Downtown)

[speaking of shallow. Here's a man that thinks size is the end-all, be-all.]

I want to spoil a hot sexy smart fun naughty rock n roll babe - 33 (me and you)

[hallelujah! Pick me! Pick me! I love to be spoiled!!! (Oh wait ... that's not Craigslist bashing. Sorry.)]


And there ya have it. It appears that there are still plenty o' crazy men out there!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Things you don't see everyday

So you know when you're really, really, really tired because maybe you stayed up too late on a school night...

.... which was maybe due to your attending a really good concert involving Hot Hot Heat, Weezer and Foo Fighters and then not being able to get right to sleep afterwards because of being pretty wired from the concert and so by the time you actually get to sleep you practically have to get up again
(let's just say! ;)).....

.....And so early that next morning when you're trying to fumble your way to work but aren't really focusing properly just yet and you run across something weird you try to blame it on The Tired and The Blurry and The Way TOO EARLY To Be Outta Bed Today syndrome?!

But yet, in the back of your fuzzy little brain, you're thinking, "I SWEAR I'm seeing a car dressed as a pig"?

Yes? Ever have one of those mornings?? Anyone??

Huh? Really? ... Just me then??

Yeah, well ...... amazingly I was coherent enough to take pictures ... mainly to prove to My Awake Self (once she showed up today (read that: injected herself with much caffeine)) that I wasn't hallucinating and didn't need to seek help IMMEDIATELY.... and, BY GOD, I did indeed see a car dressed as a pig!!!

See? (as always, you can click each picture to view larger)




Look, it even has the TAIL!!!




And a license plate to match!




I love when I have proof that I'm not the only nut in this world!!!! :)

Monday, October 24, 2005

Calling all Naysayers

That's right ... I'm talking to you! You who said that I could never, EVER finish 3 pairs of socks by Christmas! Well, guess what?? I'm already finished with Gift Sock #1! That's right. Finished! HA! How do you like 'dem apples??!

And ... AND .....I'm already started on Gift Sock #3*. In fact, The Ribbing is already done! Whoo hooo!

That's right .... who's your Sock Knitting Goddess. You can say it ... go ahead**..... :)

* no, no ... you heard me right. Gift Sock #3. I figured I could maybe avoid The Second Sock Syndrome by starting with a new yarn color. Ya know, for excitement value. And so the plan is to knit three different colored socks ... then go back and knit their mates. See? It's brilliant, I tell ya, brilliant!!!!! (that is ... until I wind up with three different socks and no mates and hence not even ONE completed gift pair. But let's not talk about that possiblity, k? K! :))

** figured I'd talk smack while I could because I'm not so sure I'll be able to have as much time to knit as I did last week. Last week ... socially repugnant. This week ....not so much. Weird how the social calendar is cyclic like that.


Friday, October 21, 2005

Dang it ... I knew it would be one of THOSE days!

So I wake up this morning to the sound of my alarm bleeting at me. I reach to shut it off and think, "weird that the alarm was set ... it's Saturday. But thank God I get to go back to sleep because man am I tired."

I then start thinking about how happy I am that I get to sleep in and don't have to be anywhere and isn't life grand! But just as the joy of being able to sleep in is fading into the unconsciousness of sleep there is a little voice at the back of my brain saying "don't you think it is weird that you set the alarm on a Friday night? Why would you do that? When have you ever set an alarm when you didn't need to?? Doesn't something seem wrong with this picture? Are you SURE it's Saturday???"

And so my fogged brain worked on this problem for several minutes before coming to the horrifying conclusion that it was indeed NOT Saturday and YES I needed to be OUT OF BED and had a WHOLE 'NOTHER DAY OF WORK STILL. ARGH!

And that's how my day started.

Fast forward to now.

I just found out the work day would be ending with a meeting. Sure, sure .. the meeting is only SCHEDULED from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm .... but what are the chances I still won't be stuck in it when 5 pm rolls around?? Slim to none, my friend, slim to none. Sigh.

Tomorrow IS Saturday though. And I am sleeping in, damn it!!

Friday's Not Yet Caffeinated Ponderings


Self-striping yarn:


WTF?! HOW. DOES. IT. WORK??!!

Because really, I don't get it. I'm using it to make the GS#1* and it really self-stripes. I mean, the stripes are lined up perfectly! But HOW??

Why doesn't some color end up on the row below? I mean, maybe if I was using the sock pattern which came with the yarn and cast on the exact number of stitches it recommended then I wouldn't question it so much. But I'm NOT. I'm using a totally different pattern! And casting on 60 stitches! How is this working??

So what would have happened if I had cast on say 10 more or 10 fewer stitches? Would it self-stripe correctly then?? I'm betting it would. Because my knitting tension is not consistent so more yarn is used for some rows than for others ("Hi, my name is Kat and I suck at the knitting" .... "Hiiii Kattttt"). So really, this shouldn't be working no matter what.

And yet ... it IS. Each row ... perfectly striped!! HOW??? Really ... inquiring minds want to know. It's magic, I tell ya, magic. It completely befuddles me and makes me realize I'm not as sharp a cookie as I like to think. And we just can't have that, ya know?! :)

Come onnnnn, Spring 2007!

Ikea is finally coming to Portland! And I mean FINALLY! Currently I have to drive almost 3 hours to get to the closest one. Which I will do. But it's not something I like to do very often. But now .... Ikea ..... will be practically in my own backyard! Whoo hooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Portlanders love their microbrews ... don't think they don't:

Beer to Flow from Famed Portland fountain

Who me? Live in a ghetto??

Pshaaah. Just because I can look out my window into my neighbor's yard and see this?



At least they're not whitey-tighties. Though seeing this picture does get me to wonderin' why he has two different styles. What do you think makes for a regular briefs day versus an athletic boxer brief day? (And how much therapy do I need to get over the wrongness of those ponderings! ACK! Oh, the horror! The horror!!!!)

DAMN YOU, Portland Concert Scheduler!!!

WTF?!!!! Why are ya scheduling concerts over a holiday weekend? WHY?! I SOOO want to see Yellowcard and yet you've scheduled them to play the Friday night after Thanksgiving! Um hello?! Some people would LoveLoveLove to see them but will be out of town for the holiday weekend. Ya know ... like probably a lot of people in the Portland area. What the hell are ya thinkin?? They're such an awesome, talented band** and yet, me, not able to see them.

And to think I thought it was bad enough when you screwed me outta Lifehouse and Velvet Revolver. You better hope I don't learn how to knit voodoo dolls. Bastard!

Which also leads me to wonder.....

...about this whole "pre-sale" concert ticket farce. I mean, I'm purchasing tickets for a concert BEFORE tickets go on sale to the general public. Which means a limited number of people have access to this presale. So I should be getting offered some pretty awesome tickets. Am I right? Am I right??

So say I log on this morning and start buying PRESALE Bon Jovi tickets right at 9 a.m. when they are first available (let's just say)... shouldn't I be getting access to the best seats (being that no-one else has purchased them yet??) I'm thinking "yes".

But instead, Ticketmaster is offering up seats at the "back of the bus" so to speak. What the F? It took 20 minutes but, after tossing back many pairs of offered tickets and retrying, I was able to get Floor tickets***. Explain that one to me? Why wouldn't I have been offered those first? Why row LL in the second tier at the back of the arena first? If I'm a dedicated enough Bon Jovi fan to drop everything and be trying to purchase tickets RIGHT WHEN THEY GO ON SALE (in fact, RIGHT WHEN THEY GO ON SALE BEFORE THEY REALLY GO ON SALE)... why shouldn't I be getting decent tickets? There is something strange afoot at the Circle K, is all I'm sayin'.

And don't think I won't also make a knitted voodoo doll for the person responsible for this f'd up ticket buying method either. Because of you, I'm going to be NOWHERE NEAR Jon Bon Jovi. Uh hello?! That's a serious offense, my friend. Now how's he supposed to spot me at the concert and realize he wants to leave his wife for me?! Tell me that one, huh?!

Maybe I can convince those Magic Gnomes which self-stripe my sock yarn to take on a new challenge. Hmmm.


* Gift Sock #1
** hello! Their punk songs use violin .... how can ya NOT love that?!?!
*** yes, floor tickets but not up close. CURSES!!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ready for a good laugh?

You ready for this?!

Are ya sitting down?!

Got some tissues to wipe the tears that stream down your face from laughing too hard??!!


Good. Here goes.....


With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it would be really awesome if I could knit up three pairs of socks for gifts this year.

You heard me...... THREE pairs of socks! Knitted by ME! By CHRISTMAS!


(that's okay ... finish your laughing ... I'll wait).

.
.
.
.

(Done?)

Okay. To answer your questions:

1. Yes, I'm serious.
2. Really. Dead serious. Three pairs!
3. Yes, by Christmas of THIS YEAR!
4. No, I am not paying someone else to knit them.
5. Yes, I DO realize it took me almost three months to knit only one pair.
6. Yes, I have done the math and realize that that will mean knitting one sock per one week plus for a total of 6 socks.
7. Why yes, I am slightly crazy and not at all in touch with reality, why do you ask?? :)

But it's GOOD to have dreams, people. Am I right? Am I right?? :)

And really ...I've already got the ribbing done on Gift Sock #1. (a tidbit I'm only throwing into this post because I like to talk about The Ribbing :)) So really, I'm already ahead of schedule! ;)

Now, next week when I still haven't reached the heel for GS #1, I'll reenter the World of Reality and maybe rethink my goal. But for today ... I'm dancing a jig in the World of The Preposterous!!! Care to join me? Chocolate doesn't make you fat here, ya know?! :)

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Hiding out!

So I just finished dog-sitting Friday and Penny for a friend (hi T1!). I had them at my house. Yep, threw two dogs into my two cat household! Can you say "fun"??

Anyway, Miss Emma gets intimated fairly easily by anything out of the ordinary (seriously, god forbid a knee joint make a cracking sound when I stand up or something). So I didn't see much of her the last five days.

CJ, on the other hand, tries to go about life normally and will put up with (albeit very grumpily) having other inferior beings (as she considers them) in her household. So if she wanted a treat, by god, no two dogs prancing around her in the kitchen were going to sway her from standing in their midst trying to get my attention for turkey. The most she did was raise her voice a bit to be heard over the sound of 8 sets of dog toenails rat-tat-tatting on the hardwood floors and metal id tags jostling on dog collars.

Simply put ... she rocks!

However, there did come a time when Friday (the big dog) lunged for CJ while CJ was sitting on the coffee table and that annoyed CJ enough that she too retired from doggie-accessable parts of the house and headed out the kitty door to the garage/laundry room area.

Which is where I snapped this picture! Ain't they cute?! CJ with her "Fine! Take the freakin' picture but then can you please remove those two THINGS from my house, please?!" look. And Emma with her .... well .... errr ....yawning look of oblivion. (she just isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, ya know?!)


Of course, I look at the picture and think "how have I been living with the washer and dryer not lining up correctly??". (perhaps I need to find a 1-800-OCD-HELP phone number number?)

Anyway, here's introducing both Friday and Penny!

Friday says: "here kitty-kitty!" Penny says:"you're disrupting my sleep"


Very cute, tis true?! (Except for that hungry look in Friday's eyes, of course (seriously, CJ is one brave kitty cat, you've got to give her that!))

Monday, October 17, 2005

Random Photos of New York City

Okay, here come the New York pictures!!! Whoo hooo! (I know ... FINALLY!)

Anyway, as I mentioned wayyyy back in my post from New York City, here is the bit about "Budget Hotel or Shithole -- you decide!"

Picture 1. The ENTIRE hotel room .... AFTER they had cleaned it (they checked us in and gave us the key and we wandered up to the 8th floor only to find the bed unmade, wet towels piled on the floor and empty water bottles scattered about. (apparently that's what you get if you arrive before actual check-in time -- only they didn't tell us that the room may not actually be ready and just gave us the key. We just thought we had walked into someone else's room ("Communication" CAN be a good thing, Mr Front Desk Guy. Just sayin')).



Please note the lovely 2 inch by 2 inch television set. With no remote (hello? 21st century??). The tv channels consisted of 3 channels of snow plus HBO. No remote and yet HBO. Strange to anyone else?

Picture 2: The bathroom.




And when I use the term "bathroom", that's using both "bath" and "room" very loosely. Because as you can see, a triangle of a shower (ie no bath), a toilet, a sink and room to squeeze between the three. Almost.

One of my favorite quotes on the trip was from Buck when he first looked into this hotel's bathroom. It was, are ya ready for this?... "crap, I should have brought my flip-flops". Which really sums up the feel of this bathroom perfectly!

Now, now, I've stayed in small hotel rooms before ... especially in Europe. But this place just wasn't clean (Buck was brave enough to open dresser drawers and found things you're just not supposed to find in hotel rooms). Nor were the rooms maintained well (hello? A bathroom door that CLOSED would be a nice thing. Just sayin'.). And isn't it fairly common that you have daily maid service?? It is, right?! Ya know, because fresh towels can be a good thing. Especially when the four you are given to deal with FOR YOUR ENTIRE THREE DAY STAY look like this:




You're noting the big hole I'm guessing? What you can't tell from that picture is that they are so thin as to be almost see-through. Which turned out to be a good thing because that meant they dried quickly. And what with us only having the four for 3 days ... well, thick, plush luxurious towels just wouldn't have done, now would they?!

Sigh.

So what say you? Budget hotel ... or?

But the good news was ... the hotel was only 1/2 block from here:



Time Square! What a place! I found it to be highly entertaining. AND ... they had THIS ... my new favorite store!!!




And do you remember way back when I said that I picked up lingo from places I travel and that I picked up the F word in New York City? Look.


See? I wasn't making it up. It's even prevalent on the souvenirs there!

While on the topic of souvenirs .... a couple of other items I found amusing:

This first t-shirt is obviously alluding to Starbucks. Which is EVERYWHERE there! I. kid. you. not!! Just ask Buck. Cuz you remember how I annoyed him with the "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament" repeatedly while in London? Yeah, well that was NOTHING compared to my "Look, a Starbucks" every 10 feet while in Manhattan. I mean, the first few times amused him ... but after like the 200th time .... not so much! Go figure!!! (*evil grin*)



And this t-shirt needs no explanation from me and can be found at the CNN Store (yep, we did the Inside CNN Tour ... how geeky am I?? :))....




Why yes, folks ... wood IS good.

Speaking of Geeky things .... I, of course, insisted on visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Which is my NEW favorite museum (why yes, even surpassing The Louvre and The Orsay Museum). This place is FANTABULOUS! Well laid out, gorgeous architectural elements and tons and tons and tons of great art! Bring bread crumbs ... it's gigantor!

Here's a picture taken on the Met's rooftop garden cafe area. This piece is Splotch #15 by artist Sol Lewitt who is exhibiting there through the end of October.



And last but not least on The Geek Tour 2005 ...a visit to U.S.S Intrepid.



We found that they had a Concorde airplane on display there as well. Which we went into. I was excited. Cuz ya know, THE CONCORDE. Right? Richie-rich. Never been on.

Except ... look. Tiny. And not luxurious. Granted, it has leather seats ... but other than that it looks like the coach section on your everyday commercial aircraft. I couldn't have been more surprised.



However, HERE is something which does meet my "richie-rich" expectations. Found this at FAO Schwartz. $50,000 for a TOY car for a 6 year old! WTF?!! If any of my readers can afford $50K toys ... I am available to be adopted. Just so as ya know.




Check this out. A number of parking lots in the city stacked the cars like this:




Isn't that bizarre? Great idea to conserve space but good luck getting your car out in a hurry.

Found this sculpture in Battery Park. I affectionately refer to it as "The Boob Sculpture".




And while on the topic of body parts, found this at a local NYC drugstore. The product name is just wrong, people. W-R-O-N-G!




New York is a great town! I mean, just look at these classics:

(Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Central Park)

But for the Love of Beauty, what is UP with all the freakin' trash???



There were piles and piles of it EVERYWHERE. WHY?! Other big cities don't have that problem. And yet, NYC, in front of all the buildings .. piles of stinky trash ... why?

But on a better note, NY has The Pickles (not that I'm a pickle eater ... but I still found it entertaining). Served on the table like most restaurants serve a basket of bread. But this restaurant (I think it was The Celebrity Deli) served a bowl of pickles and a bowl of coleslaw. Which led me to wonder, most peeps probably only eat one or two of the pickles at most, whatcha all do with the remaining ones in the bowl when the customers leave? Do you throw them out ... or do you re-serve them to the next peeps? Cuz honestly, not real keen on either option. One is wasteful - the other is just plain icky. Though if I had to choose ... I'd lean toward the "wasteful". Just my two cents!




Remember when I mentioned on my London Post how Buck and I managed to just stumble across cool things on this trip? Well here are a few of those "things" we found in NY:

First off, Katz's Deli. Home of THE famous scene in the movie "When Harry Met Sally".



See? They even have the table that was used in the movie noted in the restaurant.




And my super dorky moment ... I took a look at this part of the wall of celebrity photos and thought "gee, this one celebrity seems pretty popular. Look at all these folks that wanted to take a picture with him". Uhhh yeah. That ONE guy would be the restaurant guy taking the pictures WITH the different celebrities. Sigh. Luckily the realization dawned on me before I opened my trap and completely embarrassed myself! :)




And then at another time, we're just wandering around EXHAUSTED and collapse onto the first bench we see in some quaint neighborhood. Look up to see this restaurant:



That's right. Serendipity from the movie, errr ... "Serendipity". With John Cusack! LoveLoveLOVE you, John Cusack!

So anyway, that was cool.

AND THEN ... but wait, there's MORE .... we're wandering around and stumble across a movie being made. "The Devil Wears Prada".



And we were allowed to stand directly across the street from the scene they were shooting. So we hung for a rehearsal and then stayed for the shot. And with my super-sneaky, lightening fast and quite professional (might I add) fancy-schmancy camera shooting, I was able to take both these pictures before the actress finished the take. (which turned out to be the One And Only Take, as luck (or bad luck) would have it!)



Uh, yeahhhh.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite photo taken while in New York City. On the Empire State Building's observation deck, I took this shot of Buck with the full moon peeking between his fingers. Pretty cool, eh?!


Sunday, October 16, 2005

I am The Sock Knitting Genius!

That's right ... ya heard me. I am The Sock Knitting Genius - Master of All That Is Knittable. I can leap small stacks of yarn in a single bound! I am more powerful than a Size 1 Bamboo knitting needle!!! I am woman, hear me roar!!!

I, one lone woman, have taken thread and 5 toothpicks and made a Pair of Socks! And not just a Pair of Socks .... they are a Pair of Socks Which Fit!! I am a genius, I tell ya, G-E-N-I-U-S!!!!

Take a gander .... pretty damn snazzy, dontcha think?!

(and hush it to all y'all that want to point out that a true Sock Knitting Genius would not take 2 to 3 months to knit up one pair of socks! This is my fantasy world and in it I am The Knitting Goddess ... and that's all there is to it. Lalalalalalala ... I'm not listening to you tonight, Reality, so you can just go away!!!!!!) :)

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Weirdness

So I just read The Yarn Harlot's post today about the loss of her sisterlike-friend, Janine. (Again, Stephanie, my heart goes out to you).

Her post made me think about death .....and the loss of a loved one ....and related things which I don't very often think about actually.

And it also brought back memories of the loss of my dad (almost two decades ago now) and with it, this story.


So a couple of years ago I was shopping at a local grocery store just like I did every week.

And I was in the bulk food section just like I was every week.

And I was digging out some sour gummy worms just like I had every week.

When suddenly I had an urge to purchase some Bridge Mix candy which I didn't do ANY week EVER.

Bridge Mix was my dad's favorite candy and I had tried it as a youngster and it simply didn't appeal to me. (I think this was because there were some nuts in it and why would anyone ruin good chocolate with nuts?! Just sayin'). So I didn't eat it as a kid and certainly hadn't even tried it again for 15, 20, 25 years.

Until That Day. When I suddenly HAD TO HAVE IT. This candy which I had never purchased before. Ever.

Had. to. have. Isn't that odd?

So I turned behind me on the aisle to dig some out of the bins and suddenly thought ... "how weird ... is today the anniversary of the date of my dad's death?" So I thought about the date and realized ... "no, today is the day before the anniversary of the date of his death. But how WEIRD that would have been had it actually been the anniversary of the date of his death."

And continued merrily shopping (as "merrily" as one can be doing a chore they don't particularly enjoy, that is! ;)).

I finished shopping and, while writing a check to pay for the groceries, discovered that I was wrong. The date actually WAS the anniversary of the date of my dad's death. And got the chills. But in a good way.

Weird when stuff like that happens.

p.s. BTW, Dad ... you were right with regard to the Bridge Mix. That's some good stuff .... even with the nuts! :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Lunch-Time Show-N-Tell

I know, I know what you're thinking. "Holy cow, she exposed herself AGAIN!" But no, my friends, no ... my work actually had a "show-n-tell" of our vacation pictures at lunch today since there were three other people who also travelled the world recently. Yep, a legitimate show-n-tell. Who would have thunk it!?! :)

So anyway, one of the gents travelled to Peru with a group of volunteers to help some of the villages down there. So he showed many pictures of the water filtration system that his wife and he built for one of the medical clinics. They used rock and sand in a series of barrels to cleanse the water. His presentation was very educational and very, very moving.

And mine? Pictures of my shopping jaunts to London and Paris.

Which, of course, was an equally important experience, dontcha think?! I mean, you've all heard about the economic woes both the UK and France are having, right?! That's right! So thank God the world has me to spend my American dollars on helping these countries out. Just sayin'!

Sigh. :)


Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Beach Wedding Weekend

So I went to Lincoln City (on the Oregon Coast) this weekend with some friends for a beach wedding. No, the wedding wasn't mine. Because .. yeah ... I'm still working on getting The Date thing. BUT ... my friend K not only has done The Dates but was now doing The Wedding. On the beach. And it was absolutely beautiful! And had I had the Camera Battery Charger with me ... there would have been some camera battery juice left by the time the wedding rolled around so I'd have some wedding pictures to show ya. But instead, I have pre-wedding photos to share (because really, wedding photos ... who needs them?! But Emma helping me pack to head off for the wedding weekend ... Oh So Important. Right? Right. This is what I'm sayin'.)

So let's check out some of the important pictures, okay??! :)

As I mentioned previously, Miss Emma helping me pack. And please note the ultra sexy plaid pajama bottoms in the foreground. Yeah, I know, I know ... it IS a surprise that I'm still single when I'm obviously just oozing The Sexy! Two cats, knitting, plaid pajamas ..... watch out Angelina Jolie ...




A view out the living room windows of one of the houses that was rented over the weekend. This was "The Boy's" House. Check out this view....




A couple of other ocean shots:



The "Girl's" House was a gigantor Victorian style house. Three levels. Could have easily slept 18. Absolutely gorgeous and right on the beach as well. Here's a picture of one of the rooms to give you an idea (I'da taken more pictures of the house but, by this point, my "almost outta battery" light on my camera was flashing. Uhh, yeah. Moving on.)




A couple of sunset shots off the back deck...



One of my favorite signs EVER. Found this at the bowling alley. Look ... only $30 for a 3 finger drilling!




Lincoln City was hosting a kite festival while we were there. Here are a couple of pictures of that:




And this is what happens approximately 3 1/2 seconds after you give me control of a flying kite:




And last but not least, the women went out for a very nice dinner at a beachfront restaurant called The Bay House. And this tile can be found above the right-most sink in the women's bathroom. Now, not only is that position impossible (well, at least for those of us girls that tried it while we were laughing and pointing at the tile in the bathroom) but I'm pretty sure ....assuming toes cost the same as fingers ... that the bowling alley would charge $30 for this!!



Just sayin'! :)

And there you have it ... The Important pictures from this wedding weekend! :) (sorry, K! Really. I had NO idea the battery would run low this weekend. I had just charged it. I'm guessin' using the camera to shoot that ultra important "talking in helium-funny voices" bit on Saturday night musta sucked that battery right up. Who knew?? I can send you that for your wedding photo album! :))