Yarn Real Estate

Again I've fallen into silence, and again I can blame it on my camera. My Fuji Finepix S5000 worked for me without complaint for the past 4 years, and all of a sudden it just stopped. I'm hoping to get it fixed, but my guess is the bill for rehabilitating it will cost close to the price of a new camera. Ah, well. Of course I hate to blog without an accompanying picture, thus the silence. However today I found my way to a website that sells what is destined to be my yarn stash's new home, and I thought it was cute enough a picture to blog about.

Thanks to Favorite Colors for linking me to this great website, which also offers the slickest mail sorting station I've seen in a while. There's something about industrial-strength, utilitarian school products that I just love....

Citron Razor Cami in situ

Weekend Bits

This weekend is all-around lovely. It started early, thanks to "summer Fridays" at work, which means I get to leave at 1 pm. From there, I ran some errands and then headed to a big sample sale of various designer jeans brands. Oops, I bought a pair of tough-looking Taverniti So skinny jeans and a pair of light-weight, wide legged Chip & Peppers! Ah, New York, I love you and your sample sales.


Today's weather was totally perfect- mid to high 70s, fluffy white clouds and sunshine. I swept and mopped the apartment, did laundry, the walked around in Central Park a bit and read some more of Knitting Heaven and Earth. And I finished weaving in the ends on my Razor Cami. Perhaps there will be pictures to share soon?


Now I'm enjoying some cool cantaloupe and indulging in a The Hills marathon on MTV. In a bit, I'll work some more on my Lacy Bolero (the yarn pictured above is for the bolero). I need to finish it soon, since the yarn for K's baby girl has arrived, and I need to get her project started before she grows out of the size I'm planning on knitting!

Who's got the button?

This morning, I decided (as I often do) to treat myself. I logged on to Etsy and flipped through all my favorite sellers. It didn't take long for me to settle on Laura from veronicabuttons. This is my first time purchasing from her, and I cannot wait for my little ceramic buttons to arrive! I was just reading Lydon's Knitting Heaven and Earth last night, and loved her explanation of her creative process and how she often designs a garment to compliment a beautiful button or other detail she's already selected. I know what she means now. I don't have any knitting in the queue that will fit the buttons I just bought, but I will FIND something for them.

Hmm, tornados in NYC?

This morning at 6 PM we experienced a seriously intense storm. The rolls of thunder were so fast and thick I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began. The rain flash flooded the subway system, and I finally made it in to work at 12:30 PM today, after tromping around in rainboots in 80 degree weather with 88% humidity, trying to find an open train station, giving up and watching the ridiculousness on tv for a few hours, and attempting again once some of the train system was up and running again. I find it funny that whenI mention to a New Yorker that I'm from the northwest I often get, "It rains like 95% of the year over there, doesn't it? Why would anyone want to live there?" when the sudden, violent and tropical summer rains here are so much worse. Granted, it seems that this kind of weather wasn't always typical here.






On the up side, while monitoring the MTA website for updates this morning, I casted on for another summer knit (think I might be hooked)! This time, it's the lace bolero from Kelly's blog. I'm using the orange yarn pictured in my latest Elann delivery- Gedifra Beauty Cotton in Marmalade.

Photos!

Ahhh! I figured out what was ailing my camera, and now I'm posting the pictures that coordinate with all the things I wrote about in the last post.

1. DUMBO and the Strange Fruit performance:


2. a One Pot Wonder with Farmers Market produce:


3. Homemade icecream!:


4. Red Saltwater sandals:

Hair raising

I cut my hair yesterday! It feels great to have it off my sweaty neck for the summertime. Please excuse my greasy look. I'd just come back from walking the dog early in the morning- pre shower.

It's been 3 months since Cinder joined my family. He's such a good boy!

Bored at work....

You Are a Pinky

You are fiercely independent, and possibly downright weird. A great communicator, you can get along with almost anyone. You are kind and sympathetic. You support all your friends - and love them for who they are. You get along well with: The Ring Finger Stay away from: The Thumb

What Finger Are You?

Quiet on set!

Walking Cinder yesterday, I noticed neon signs posted all over our street, warning that a crew would be filming a movie there Monday-Wednesday. We've seen several film crews shooting since living in New York, but never on our corner! Better still, it's two very funny women from SNL, as the ClintonHillBlog points out.

At long last

A whopping 2 full weeks after returning from my visit to Portland, I'm finally posting. Part of the delay is my fault- exhaustion from work around the apartment and with the dog, and part of it is Time Warner cable's fault- our service had been out since May 14 due to a hurricane-like down draft (climate change, anyone?) and then several fruitlless attempts for their service people to fix the problem. Anyway, I'm wired now!


My visit back home was fantastic. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I'd actually forgotten how completely green and clean the northwest is. I looked around with wonder and saw that there wasn't a SINGLE plastic bag stuck in a tree!

I spent some really great time with my sister, the newly minted mother, and the rest of my family and friends in the area. I had a quality catch-up with my good friend SH in Seattle, old college buds Er and A, my cousin and his girlfriend who live in Portland, my amazing grandparents, and with my geriatric cat, Libby, who's spending retirement "on the farm" (my parents house, which is not on a farm).

Most important, though, I met my adorable nephew for the first time! Lil MC and I spent lots of my visit together, just getting to know one another.

We danced barefoot together on the grass

We smelled roses in my parents' backyard

We drove to Salem together to introduce Lil MC to his great grandparents

We (reluctantly) tried on hand-knitted head gear

We smiled and stared at Lil MC's Pepere

We stared at Uncle T

We shocked everyone by doing push-ups on Dad's chest!

We smiled and silently laughed

and we took LOTS of pictures!

Some other images from my trip:


Er and I met up for a late lunch and walk around Hawthorne St., of course visiting the Powell's there.


A and I (freshman year roommates) had brunch at the Bread and Ink and I bought some recycled silk sari yarn


I TOTALLY took advantage of my parents' peaceful, spacious yards and patio, sitting outside to read magazines, sip coffee, and take pictures of my feet.

Sigh. It was an terrific time. Action-packed, yes, but still restorative. I can't wait to go back.