Yay, Me!

I made it over to the Wooden Center this morning for my first "real" workout in almost a month. Did 30 minutes on the elliptical, 15 on the treadmill. Woo-Hoo!

I also finished Mitten #1 last night. Woo-Hoo, again! Didn't want to cast on for Mitten #2 last night, since we were watching The DaVinci Code. I've read the book, but wanted a thinking-free knitting project for viewing during that movie.

I tried to cast on for the back of my Jo Sharp Cable, but ran into a snag when I once again had the Lantern Moon Destiny Circulars problem. When BOTH wooden ends simultaneously detatched from the center cord. Perhaps it's a bigger problem with the larger sized needles, since this is the second pair of US 11's to have this issue.

So I busted out the second half of the hubster's Fuzzy Feet. And finished it! Yay, me yet again!


Here is the cute and talented Baxter modeling my first toe-up sock. Well, the second try on my first toe-up sock. I did 2-3 rounds on this last night too, then decided I'd drop a stitch on those little needles if I tried to knit that and do a movie at the same time


And a close-up of the actual knitting portion of the program.


I've been talking about it for too long without a money shot, so here is my paper pieced Starr block of the month first block! I'll sew the pieces together on Friday night, then start sewing the stars to go along with this month's kit. LOVE this pattern, and all the blocks are equally stunning in my opinion.

I've been running around like a nut all day and "lunchtime" is just about over, so I'd best be getting back to finishing the things I need to finish today. Have a great evening!

[In case anyone hasn't already noticed, I always find myself searching for an ending for my blog posts, then work too hard on it and type out something lame. Save me from myself!]

A 6-Dog Night

The usual suspects gathered at Sandy's house on Friday night for an evening of stitching. I'm a doofus who left my camera in my office, so these photos are courtesy of Lisa. Thanks, Lisa!


Don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Sandy and Deb (Sandy's daughter) have SIX, yes six! dogs. Five are pugs, I believe all of the pugs are rescue dogs. I have half of the names down, and I know Vinny (the only non-pug of the family) and Gertie are not in this photo. I think the big black butt is Louie's, so the other two are either Tatty, Paulie or .... OK. I think my brain just exploded. I have no idea which dogs are in this photo, but they are darn cute!


Sandy opened the evening with showing off her finished quilt top. Ain't it nifty?


Carol bought a Moda "Sanctuary" JellyRoll (roll of 2.5" strips showing the whole fabric line) and sewed them all together. There is one red fabric that we all think "pops" too much, so that's probably going to become a narrow inner border. She bought two packs of the 4" charm squares and will use them as an outer border. These aren't my normal cup of tea, but I liked them enough that I bought the necessary cut fabric when I saw them at Luella's on Saturday afternoon.

And what did I sew? Well, I paper pieced on my Starr block of the month! My main block is done, just needs to be sewn together. I LOVE THIS QUILT! I'll do my best to get the necessary glamour shots taken tonight so I can post them tomorrow.

I also finished both sleeves for my Countess, and seamed the first shoulder of my purple V-neck on Friday afternoon. Someday, I'll have a photo of a finished sweater. I hope!

Meanwhile, it's back to the grind. The hubster and I went to a retirement dinner last night and I got home totally wiped out. It was a great evening, but last night, and this morning, I felt like all of my energy had been siphoned away. I'm trying to hack my way through Monday, go to bed at a reasonable time like a grown-up, and take another hack tomorrow.

Procrastination is an Art!

Yes, I'm procrastinating. I spent my morning helping a co-worker with a technical issue and still haven't gotten in my workout pre-lunch. This means I'd better get over there to sweat soon, or the place will be crawling with ... students. Ewww. (OK, they aren't SO bad. It's just that when there are lots of them you have to wait for cardio equipment and they tend to leave really gross things in the showers instead of using a trash can. Use your imagination).

I re-cast on for my Lorna's Laces mittens, what will hopefully be the start of a mittens/hat/scarf trilogy. I'm enjoying this yarn, but the more I knit with it, the more I realize that the "this would make a cool sweater" vibe I got when I saw a different colorway was more about my love of speed knitting on big needles and not so much about what would truly make a cool sweater.


I cast on at about 7:30 last night, and this is where I was when the hubster got home last night, I looked at the clock (10:45) and realized that if I was going to scrape my sorry butt out of bed at 6 am today to take my car in for service, I'd better get to bed.

The pattern is easy to follow (Ann Budd's generic mitten recipe from here) but when they say a hand circumference of 7", they really mean 7"! I've been trying on said mitten to check length and it is snug. Very snug. Should-I-rip-this-again-or-not snug. I'll make a decision once I get home tonight.

Tomorrow (Friday) is going to be an action-packed day of fun. I'm taking the day off and will knit from when Beach Knitting opens (10:30 am) until about 3 pm, when I do my best Clark Kent/Superman impression, stop at home and get the tools necessary to switch from a mild-mannered overwhelmed-with-projects knitter into a night-on-the-town quilter with a sewing machine, a paper piecing pattern and an attitude ready to tackle any errant seam allowances.

Yep. It's a Friday night at Sandy's house. Look out, we're ready for trouble.

Well, if I have any chance of breaking my way too long streak of workout-free days, I'd better go break a sweat. Wish me luck!

Calm Before the Storm

Hi! Not much content today. Mom and Suzie left this morning to go back home. That always makes me a little sad.

Plus, I am now freaking out just a little bit that it has been a MONTH since I was last working out regularly. This is not a good thing. Gotta get back on that routine tomorrow. Whether I want to or not!

I am now in the portion of the year that feels like ... and is ... the calm before the storm. I have exactly 14 days to call my own before I leave on the first trip of the 2007 season. Of course, as soon as you look a little closer at that time span, I have a retirement banquet to attend this Sunday at 4, which will officially cut in to my knitting time at Beach Knitting this Sunday, and a few other activities that take up chunks of what would otherwise be "free days."

It looks like we're going to have a party for that big football game on Feb. 3 as well. The hubster's team is the NFC representative (chicago), so having a party is his call. I just hope I can talk him in to getting the Sumo bean bag chair in time for delivery prior to the big game. My brother has one of these and they are incredibly comfortable!

Thursday will be a normal work day, then I'll probably take at least part of Friday off. I'm hoping to go knitting for a few hours before heading to Sandy's house for a Friday night of sewing fun. Since I don't yet have the fabric swatch to pick my fabrics for our MM block exchange (pattern here but we aren't using those fabrics. We're picking a swatch that can be sashing and we make sure nothing clashes with said swatch), I'm about 95% sure I'll work on my Starr block of the month that I acquired at Road last week.

I actually have a free evening tonight, so I'm going to take one more look across my desk to make sure I'm not missing any fires that are still smoldering, then I'm headed home to clear some TiVo and watch the NHL All-Star game.

I'll try to take some knitting photos, but there isn't much exciting going on. I've finished the first sleeve for my Countess V-neck (pattern is the V-Neck 4th from the bottom, yarn is the chocolate brown) and have the second sleeve through the first ball of yarn. The sleeve cap shaping seemed mildly funky to me, so I want to make sure Sleeve #1 is correct before I forge on with Sleeve #2.

Otherwise, I cast on for my Lornas Laces mittens but didn't like the left-facing increases I had done, since they left holes, so I frogged it. Who wants holes along the thumb gusset on a pair of mittens? Not me!

Simply to avoid a photo-free post, here is a picture of me with the fantastic quilt of Floribunda, a quilt blogger in NorCal who I read pretty frequently. It was amazing in person. Lots of accurate seams on teeny-tiny pieces. WOW!



And, just for fun, a picture of Irma's knitted teddy bear. He's absolutely adorable, but I don't know that he'd be a project I'd be willing to tackle. Again, WOW!



That's it from my corner of the world. Hopefully things will be less blue and more rosy tomorrow. It hasn't been a great day today. Oh well.

DPUTiger Rewind

Media guide is done (awaiting a proof to sign off). Sleep has been enjoyed. Knitting has been done (sorry, no pics today). Road to California has been visited.

I'm way behind on my blog entries. So I shall try to catch up!

Last Monday (Jan. 15), we had our block exchange for the blue star blocks. Carol had misplaced her fabrics ... and instructions ... when heading out to Friday Night at Sandy's house. They have since been located, but she didn't have time to finish her blocks in time for Monday's exchange. Hey, I understand. I stayed up until midnight on Sunday night to have mine finished in time!

Nonie and Denise were unable to attend. Pics of all of the M&Ms in attendance, with blocks in hand, are here. (Hopefully that link takes you straight to the correct file. Yell if there's a problem, please!) As a bonus, here is a pic of the twins. No, they don't check wardrobe before they leave the house, and yes, they do this with some frequency. It's part of why we love them! :)



In other news, last Tuesday, my mom, aunt Suzie and I road tripped to Santa Barbara to take my Quinn cousin Molly (freshman at UCSB) out to dinner for her 18th birthday. A photo of the three people who ate dinner and at one time or another had the last name of Quinn


Mom on the left, Molly in the middle, Suzie on the right.

We ate at the Paradise Cafe in Santa Barbara. I highly recommend it. My Symons cousin, Barbara, picked the restaurant, since she also attended UCSB and has lived there for quite a while. Symons family relatives:


Mom on the left, Barbara in the middle, yours truly on the right.

Wednesday, I finished my media guide. Thursday, we went to Road. Biggest purchase there was signing up for a paper-pieced queen size Block of the Month quilt from Starr Designs. They don't have a picture of the BOM quilt on their website. Hopefully soon.

I didn't photograph most of my swag from Road. There wasn't all that much, but some of it was pretty cool. I'll try to do that tonight and get back to you. The front and back of my Countess sweater are finished, and I'm into the sleeve cap shaping on Sleeve #1. I started (and finished) a pair of Fetching from Knitty and have them at the office today.

I'm planning to cast on for a mittens-hat-scarf combo in some fantastic bulky Lorna's Laces superwash tonight. I'm pretty sure it's Shepherd Bulky in Rainbow. Yummy! That's about it from here. Later!

I'm FREEEEEEE!!!!!

Yep. The 104-page softball media guide is burned to a CD and sitting in the sports info office patiently waiting to be picked up by the printer. And I'm taking Thursday off to go to Road to California with my mom and aunt Suzie.

WOO-HOO!!!!!

Humble apologies to my faithful, if silent, readers (hi Ole!) assuming that any of you are still checking the site. I've been so busy with this media guide that I simply haven't had time to post. Or do much of anything besides work and sleep. Even my workouts have gone by the wayside over the last two weeks. Next week's goal is to get back into that routine.

So tonight, I'm going to plow through some of the things that have been in my head waiting to be posted for quite a while. Tomorrow, I'll post anything interesting from Road and the "reveal" from Monday night's M&Ms block exchange.


First, as I have just foreshadowed, I had M&Ms exchange blocks due on Monday night. 6" finished stars, two sets of 8. I showed up at Sandy's house on Friday night in this state of preparation


I got one block totally done on Friday night and had Step 1 finished on the second block before I realized that I had been outsmarted by the block. I wound up finishing the second block at midnight on Sunday night after I picked mom and Suzie up at the airport.


Sandy and her daughter, Deb, went to Mexico for Xmas and they brought home presents for the humble sewing buddies. A nifty armadillo from the shell shop (dime included for scale) and an extremely cool little clay catch-all jar. Both made it to my office for photo opportunity and haven't moved. The armadillo is going to live on my monitor stand at the office with my lego elephant and scary-looking lego snowman. Jar will come home once I get some sleep and clean up a little bit.


The other piece of show-and-tell was a gift from one of Sandy and Deb's friends in Mexico. Iguanas are supposed to be lucky. Aren't they lucky to have this guy?


The other news from the last 10 days or so was that we had free Bruin-branded Crocs available to full-time staff last week. Ain't they stylish?

OK. I'm about to fall asleep at my laptop, so I'd better shut up and get some shut-eye. I'll try to check in tomorrow night, worst case on Friday. I'M DONE! I'M DONE! :)

Media Guide Stupor

Yes, it's beginning. I am eight days out from my deadline. The thing is, I keep having things that are out of my control pushed back, so I will now be incapable of hitting that deadline. Well, I'm still shooting for the 12th, then I'll just have to dump in a few photos on the 15th and we'll be in business.

But, there have been some cool things to come out of my cleaning up over the weekend. My knitting stuff is fairly organized, and I have a good idea of the projects that are sitting around and waiting for me. No, I'm not signing up for the knit from your stash fad, but I do have a better idea of what is already in my house, and in what stage of not-quite finished it's in.

Both of the front pieces of my Jo Sharp cable are finished up to the shoulder shaping bind-off. I have a ridiculous amount of yarn sitting in my stash for this project. I blame it on two things: 1. when I bought the yarn, I was a size 18. Now, I am a size 4 or 6. That's a LOT of yarn difference to cover that size difference (who knew that losing a bunch of weight would make it cheaper to knit sweaters? I never thought of that!). Reason #2 is that Beth had me all freaked out that this yarn would be gone forever if I didn't get enough. Yes, I understand dye lots, but even in my larger size, I didn't need 40 skeins of the stuff. But I digress.


Here's what I have left to knit the sleeves, back and do all the finishing. Considering that the medium-sized storage tub is full-to-explosion with this yarn, I think I have way more than enough.


This is the tub of Berocco Touche that is also sitting around waiting for me. The front of this sweater is patiently waiting for me, but I'm having issues with big gaps on my knit/purl transitions unless I crank the yarn amazingly tight. Here's a close-up:


It's a great yarn and I want to finish this sweater, but I think this is going to take a back seat to the colder weather wearables that are in the in-progress portion of the stash.


And finally, the glamor shot of the glass penguin that my aunt Suzie gave me for xmas. Lip balm included for scale. LEGO elephant included because it's awesome, and it lives on my monitor stand in my office, where I took the picture.

That's it from Amy's office for today. I have a bit or two of work to tackle before I can leave without feeling guilty (even though it's almost 7 pm already), so I'd better get back to it.

My Holiday Weekend

This is one of the best holiday weekends, because you can just sit around and watch football for three days. Nothing wrong with that?

(Unless, of course, you are the Hubster, in which case one of your teams stunk last night and the other stunk today)

I enjoyed my team's overtime win yesterday, while I dealt with this:


Yep. I grabbed all of my knitting-related stuff that wasn't already in plastic tubs and dumped all of it right in front of the TV. Then I organized.

Most of the loose yarn is now in tubs, or will be following my Rose Bowl nap. The "best" of the remaining yarn familys and all of my "nearly finished" projects are featured below. I didn't photograph the sock-and-mitten yarn stash, and I'm too lazy to get up and do that now.


Now, I shall explain everything. Follow along like you're reading. Left to right, then top to bottom.

Top left: my green pocket sweater. The sleeves are basted in, so I need to seam those on, seam the armpits and pick up and knit the neck.

Top middle: my stash of Debbie Bliss Cotton DK. I bought all of this on clearance and am sniffing out more of same with no success yet. I want to make a scrap sweater with it.

Top right: My Cherry Tree Hill shell. Again, the shoulders are basted in. It looks big, so I'm a little concerned it's gonna be tooooo large for the current me.

Center left: Countess. I put this aside because doing the side shaping and cable simultaneously was making my brain melt. But this yarn is amazing and the pattern is good, so I'll need to pick it up pretty darn soon.

Center middle: Blue Sky Organic Cotton. It's going to grow up to be an Irish Hiking Scarf. Eventually. Picked it up at my 2nd favorite knitting store on Saturday (Unraveled. Too bad they're in Monrovia or I'd be there all the time. Oh, wait. That's probably a good thing!)

Center right: Alpaca cable. Front and back are finished, but I was waaaaay too tight on my 3-needle bind-off, so I need to rip that out and re-do it. Sleeve #1 is up to the shoulder shaping decreases and Sleeve #2 is a figment of my imagination.

Bottom left: Tahki cotton colors. It's a short-sleeve shell. One sleeve is basted in. This is also low on the totem poll at the moment. Gotta finish the "winter" stuff first!

Bottom center: Beth's V-neck. Needs seaming and neck. Top of the finishing list.

Bottom right: My Cascade 220 stash. In the back are the red/green/white skeins that are going to grow up to be this. Yup. The cover model. In front are three hanks for the stash and the gray tweed on the right is going to be fuzzy feet for the Hubster. He's been patient, so I should get those done.

Well, it's time for my Rose Bowl nap. Better to nap before halftime, then you won't miss anything too critical. ;-) Glamour shot of new glass penguin will have to wait. He wasn't feeling photogenic today and the three shots I took were all out of focus. Happy New Year!

Knitting Progress!

Yes, I actually did some knitting while I was in the 'Burgh. Finished the fuzzy feet for Bigfooted friend #1 (big-footed boy #2 would be the hubster. He's going to wind up trying on this first pair). No photos of those Fuzzy Feet. Hey, they're Fuzzy Feet. They all look the same.


This, however, is FF#1 for the next-to-last pair. I changed the toe a little. Did the decreases differently so they aren't so pointy-toed. I like it better. Knit and learn, right?


I also cranked on my Jo Sharp cable sweater. Above is a progress shot. The longer front piece is ready for the shoulder-shaping decreases, but I decided that I'm Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer when it comes to the instructions for this shoulder shaping and therefore I'll wait until I can visit Beach Knitting and get Irma to help. Yes, I should be beyond this need for hand-holding, but let's face it. I'm not.


Close-up money shot of the fronts. There are eight purl stitches on either side of the 25-stitch cable pattern, but they are all rolled up. Can you say "blocking before piecing?"

I had a few things in my living room jump out at me while I was taking my knitting progress shot this morning. First:


Derf and Baxter. Still playing nicely together. Aren't they cute? (Hey. Most knitters have cats. I have bears. Get over it.)

Secondly, it was all the stuff on our mantel above the enormous pile of knitting stuff and various other fribble fireplace. What do I "collect?" Well, it's up on that little shelf.


Art glass (or "paperweights." Take your pick)


Penguins!

My aunt Suzie gave me another glass penguin for christmas to add to my collection. He'll get a Glamour Shot taken tonight or tomorrow and I'll post it on the blog. I haven't unpacked my suitcase yet, and he's in there.

Why have I not unpacked? Well, yesterday morning I got up and went straight into the office for an un-productive day of fake work. When I got home, Hubster and I went to drop off my engagement and wedding rings to be re-sized so they will no longer fall off of my hand at random moments. This is yet another casualty of my weight loss.

Wedding band was a size 9, and has been since Day 1 (7/12/03). Engagement ring was re-set in August as a size 7.5. When Hubster picks them up later this morning, they will both be a size 6.5. Scary.

We also went out to dinner (Outback is yummy), then went home to watch the end of the bowl games, then watch my employer's men's hoops team squeak out its Pac-10 opener. I barely stayed awake for all of our game, then fell asleep while "watching" the double-OT game across town. Having my body clock on east coast time isn't all bad, though. I kind of like waking up on my own around 7 am.

I'm very happy to hear that Marie has the pattern for my mom's quilt. Awesome! And thanks for the comments. It's nice to feel like someone is reading these rantings. :)

Well, off to sweat then get some good writing done. It's good to have goals, right? If I can sweat and then work efficiently, I may try to get in a few field trips this afternoon (or tomorrow). Ideally, I'll visit here and here, and try to not spend too much money. These would be much more frequent stops, but they're too damn far away from my regular life here in LA.

Happy New Year if I get lazy over the weekend

Back from the Burgh

OK, so I didn't manage to post while I was home. These things happen.

Why do I love this city so much? I don't know the answer, but I know it has to do with more than my family living there.


This shot of the city was taken from Heinz Field during the suck-fest Steelers game on Xmas eve.


I was only able to catch "the pouring of the ketchup" once. It only poured twice. Not a good day for the Black and Gold. Nor is it a good shot, since it's slightly out of focus. But you get the picture.


I wanna make THIS HAT. There's another one too, but I didn't get a pic of it on an actual human and can't find it on any of the Steelers Store websites. Bummer!

The day we arrived in the 'Burgh, I had to felt all the fuzzy feet that I made for family gifts. My dad's wound up too small and I'll have to re-knit. Width was the problem, not length. I'll probably add eight stitches to the round. Also concerned about two of the three pairs that remain to knit. They are both for big-footed boys, so we'll see what happens.


Anyhow, my mom's new washing machine at the condo is a front-loader. Useless for felting. So I had to go over to Eisenhower, to the house where I grew up.

Which was a great big empty. I knew it would be, but it was still hard. I cried (big surprise), but recovered fairly quickly. The new house is perfect for my parents, but it's different and I'm not all that good with change (but i'm improving!!)


Here's what my room looks like. Empty. I enjoyed the felting and will certainly do it again. Of course, I'll have to figure out how to program my home machine so it will agitate at its strongest level for 20 minutes. Easy to do on a "manual" machine.


Finally, here's a pic of the first quilt my mom ever made. It also happens to be my favorite one that she has made, and one that I very much want to duplicate. Eventually.

Now, after an entirely un-productive day at my desk, I'm heading home to start trying to think about what I should do for my exchange blocks. That are due on Jan. 15. Yikes!

Why I Think ...

... that Beach Knitting rocks: As I mentioned yesterday, I was a victim of the amazing separating Destiny Circular needles. I left the office at an "I have a chance" time to get to BK before they closed, but traffic wasn't friendly. I called about 30 minutes before closing time, talked to Joan, and she said if I didn't make it, she'd leave a replacement pair between the front door and screen door in front of the shop. How's that for service?!!! Curious what a busted pair of expensive circs look like?

Tah-Dah! The scary part was that I was knitting away on my cable sweater (oops! Forgot to take a pic. Sorry!), put my knitting down in my lap for a minute, looked back down and I had two loose stitches in the middle of my knitting. YIKES! Fortunately, I got everything back on the needles fairly easily. Unfortunately, I didn't even think about getting a blog pic, I just wanted those stitches safely back on a needle!

... that I hate where I live: Among other reasons, traffic in Los Angeles county sucks. And local authorities do things that let it slide deeper into Hades. For example ... Why couldn't I make it to BK before closing last night? Well, I'll tell you!

Just off of "my" freeway exit on the 405 southbound is a major traffic light. Left-hand turn arrows (these are way too rare out here, but that's another story). FOUR lanes approaching the intersection in every direction -- a left-hand turn lane, a right-hand turn lane and two straight lanes of traffic.

Last night (and this morning), the intersection was just a blinking red light. With the left turn lanes blocked off with traffic sawhorses with big Ghostbuster-type NO LEFT TURN signs. And stop signs on more traffic sawhorses. This created so much of a back-up that the freeway was backed up more than two exits. People approaching the intersection from the west were backed up for almost two miles. This morning at 6:30 am, it was a 10-minute back-up.

Would it kill these people to station a traffic cop at an intersection like this? Even for rush hour? I guess so.

... that living here doesn't completely suck: Um .... uh ... We get some pretty cool sunrises? And I have some pretty amazing friends, at work, at Beach Knitting and at Bearly Stitchin' even if I don't see them nearly enough around my work schedule.

... I can't wait to fly home tonight: Well, I'm excited to see my parents and their shiny new digs. The last time I saw the condo, it was just a shell. Totally under construction. Now it's shiny and awesome and they have been living there for almost a month. Plus, tomorrow is my dad's birthday and I have a haircut at 12:30. Yay!

Plus, there will be plenty of reading/knitting/movie-watching/family time. Gotta love that.

... I need to start my day: I haven't worked out in almost two weeks and that's first on the agenda. Plus, I want to leave the office for a week with a clear conscience and mostly clear desk, so I'd better get moving.

... I enjoy holiday music so much: A lot of it is just plain fun. The religious Christmas music is so familiar that it's really enjoyable. Then there are fun remixes from favorite bands ... Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" to name one. And don't forget music from the other tribe. My favorite? Check out The LeeVees! I saw them at the Barenaked Ladies holiday concert last year and they were FANTASTIC.

I'll do my best to check in from Pittsburgh. Happy Holidays!

Yes, I suck.

I have been a bad blogger. I've been traveling. I've been sick. I have not been taking pictures, blogging or doing much knitting. Humble apologies.

Here's an update: Returned from Hawaii on Dec. 10 at about 6:30 am. Slept until about 1 pm that day, then started doing a bunch of work. Worked all day on the 11th, made it to the M&Ms holiday potluck, only an hour late (sorry, ladies!). Here are pics that Lisa took of a few of the (nearly) finished objects made from our mini-group blocks. They were both AWESOME!

Beth's quilt made from the black-and-white blocks (2nd and 3rd exchanges). Top only

Sandy's quilt made from the red-and-green blocks (1st exchange). Sandwiched, not quilted.

Sandy's across-the-street neighbors who have got to be close to blowing a circuit with all the stuff they have going on out front.

After the potluck dinner, I zipped home and got packed. Left for Omaha on the morning of the 12th. I didn't take any pictures of the Qwest Center or any NCAA Volleyball stuff. Sorry. There just wasn't time, and it really wasn't that interesting.

We returned to beautiful Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 16). Watched the final on TV. Lots of happy Husker fans in Omaha. Whutever.

I did get some knitting done on my Jo Sharp cable sweater, got the pocket placed and was cranking along on Sunday night ... until my Lantern Moon needles fell apart in my lap. Yep, I'm a victim of their problem with the Destiny circulars. I'll sneak over to Beach Knitting to get a replacement pair tonight so I can take them with to Pittsburgh for my vacation.

Oh yeah. I leave for Pittsburgh on a red-eye tomorrow night, arriving on the 21st. Can't wait. :)

Otherwise, the hubster and I visited the Mouse House last night. The halloween decorations were a lot more fun IMHO. We did dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Food was OK. Then, since the place was not in its normal mobbed-by-schmoos state, we went to Build-A-Bear workshop. That's where I met Baxter.

Baxter is DERF's cousin, since I got DERF at Build-A-Bear on one of our first trips to the Mouse House.

Family Photo

Today's final at-home activity (before I left the hubster to tackle a mountain of laundry so we can pack clean clothes tonight) was preparation for my best impression of Santa.

BUCKEYES AND BLACK-EYES! In the fridge ...

On the kitchen table ...

Packed up to take to the office (Yes, Barbara. I used my friends-and-family card. Thank you!)

They have now been (mostly) distributed to happy recipients. And now that I have done my mental stretching for the two things that I must actually write today, off I go. Will try to not suck quite so much while in the 'Burgh.

Aloha!

I have not slept well since we've been here and have been awake for 15 hours already today even though it's only 8:15 pm HT. Please bear with me if I wander in this post.

Why did I wake up at 5:15 this morning? Well, I didn't sleep well (again) because the beds in our hotel are crap and the pillows aren't any better. And I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm was set thinking "I forgot to check what time sunrise is. We planned to meet at 6 to go to Diamond Head, and I don't want to start the hike in the dark!"

Sure enough, sunrise today was 6:57, so we hung around the hotel a little while and headed out at 6:20. By the time we got to the crater, it was definitely getting lighter and we could see easily as we started up.

I remember being exhausted and sore after my last trek up the crater about four years ago. Now I'm probably at least 60 lbs lighter and in MUCH better shape than I was now. I got back down feeling like I hadn't gotten in my full workout today. Scary, huh. OK. Time for Pictures!

Left to right, this is Jessica from OU, Darren (our radio guy) and me at the very tiptop of Diamond Head with Waikiki Beach in the background.

Me, flyin' solo.

Needless to say, it was quite windy this morning. And tonight. This is my first non-Labor Day Weekend trip to the Islands and apparently, winter is windy in Hawaii.

Wanna see the knitting I haven't touched since I left LA?

Jo Sharp sweater, first front, not quite ready to put in the first pocket. I'm also just a few short decreases away from finishing my fourth-to-last Fuzzy Foot for intended Xmas gifting. I'm gonna have one kick-ass felting party when I get my life back.

That's about it from here. Too much shopping (but it's actually fun), lots of volleyball. And hopefully, soon, some dinner and a decent night's sleep. Aloha!

A 65th Anniversary Reminder

Disclaimer: I have 10 minutes to write whatever I'm going to write and post it. The hotel here is adequate at best. No workout room. No internet access. Functional but not particularly comfortable beds. On the up-side, it has the most functional/comfortable teenytiny shower I have ever used and their towels are top-notch.

Sometimes I get so caught up in my job that I forget what's happening outside my little world of sports. Especially around postseason travel.

Which is why I was a little surprised this morning when I turned on the TV for a weather report and discovered the 65th Anniversary remembrance festivities for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I majored in history in college. I enjoy studying and reading about WWII. It has been an honor to share the elevator in our hotel with veterans, giddy with excitement about today's ceremonies. I am thankful that I have been able to speak with these men, even if it's just to say "thank you for your service" and watch their visible happiness when they hear those words. I was touched by Tom Brokaw's keynote speech that I thought was quite appropriate to the occasion, and particularly moved by the end of the ceremony over at Pearl Harbor this morning when they asked all of the veterans in attendance to stand and be recognized.

Gotta go. Hope to have some pics to post tomorrow. Bummed that our rescheduled admin meeting tonight means that I have to miss the team dinner at Duke's. Stupid Trojans.

"The Best Sushi In L.A. ..."

So one of the riffs that Ed and Steve brought up repeatedly during the "Barenaked Ladies are Me" show that Bill and I went to last Wednesday focused on this billboard. Notice the quote is not attributed to anyone. At all.

So it could be anything. It could be "The Best Sushi in L.A. is nowhere near the Universal CityWalk." It could be "Could you please tell me where to find The Best Sushi in L.A.?" You get the point.

Even if Bill and I had eaten at this particular restaurant, I would not be able to render an opinion as to whether or not this really is the best sushi in LA, since I don't eat things that used to swim. Especially raw things. It isn't that I don't like them (well, maybe a little bit), it's honestly that I'm allergic.

So Bill. We had a really great time last Wednesday. I picked him up at the shiny new Galen Center over on USC's campus and even found it on the first try. The same could not be said about our next destination, his downtown hotel. I got pulled over for an illegal left-hand turn while trying to get from A to B, but fortunately got off with just a stern talking to and examination of my paperwork (whew!).

Fortunately, we had a ton of time, so Bill got to change clothes at his hotel, ditch his work bag and we headed off to Universal CityWalk and the Gibson Ampitheater. Got some dinner and headed in to catch the opening act. Big mistake. They were awful in ways I can't even describe. Ed came out and sang a song with them and the only reason that was entertaining was because he was guitar-less and obviously couldn't figure out what the hell to do with the hand that wasn't holding the mic.

In all, I got to spend about eight hours with Bill last Wednesday night, and saw most of the Ole Miss-USC game the following night. I meant to get a pic of the two of us, but never managed to get that done. He's one of my very best friends and I talk to him almost every day, but it was a special treat to be able to go to such a fun show with him and just hang out for an evening. And before you ask, the hubster didn't mind at all (yeah, I think I'll keep him!)

What is this, you ask? Well, it used to be the dark green cable sweater in this post. I love this sweater and I had both fronts and the back (pictured) finished. Now it's all in re-wound balls of yarn. Why? Because it was sized for the "old me" which was six sizes bigger than I am now. This sweater was useless to me the way it was, so I frogged the whole damn thing. Right now I have pocket linings knit and will be taking the yarn with me to Hawaii.

Technicalities: It's Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in forest green. It will grow up to be a Jo Sharp cable sweater (Uproad). Sorry. Can't find a pic of the finished product but trust me, it's awesome.

Oh yeah. I leave for Hawaii on Wednesday noon-ish, returning (probably) on Sunday. I'm hopeful that I can hike Diamond Head on Friday morning with a counterpart from one of the other participating schools. At worst, I should be able to replentish my Crazy Shirts supply, since the ones I currently own and love have the same problem as that green sweater, pre-frogging.

One little special treat arrived in the mail today. I got two skeins of hand-dyed yarn from the Etsy store of adam knits. The blue and yellow one is finger paints and is a thicker gage yarn (above)

while the sock yarn is called "fruit loops" but the hubster immediately thought of "Lucky Charms" so that's not so far off.

Well, I'm gonna watch the rest of Monday Night Football (which I'm sure turtlegirl is watching since her team is playing and it's tied!), sneak in a little knitting then go to bed at a responsible hour (I hope). I'll do my best to update at least once while I'm in Hawaii, but it will all depend on the job. Have a good one! :)