Can you believe it? A knitting picture:

Disregard wonky camera angle; it really is a rectangle


I got 12 skeins of this (6 skeins of Deepest Black and 6 skeins of Moonlight Blue) to make 2 of these. The only problem? This alpaca is sending me into a histamine hissy fit! My nose is totally stuffed up and my eyes are watering the entire time I work with it. I'm ordering a bottle of this to see if dust mites are the problem. I've got the 2 black rectangles blocked and ready to sew. The 1st blue rectangle is done; the 2nd is 1/3 done. Heaven help my nasal passages 'til I'm done. Nasal Update! We're having a "Cold Santa Ana Wind." Usually Santa Ana winds usher in 80-degree temps. We're having a cold version, and it's wreaking havoc with my sinuses. Phew! I didn't want to blame the yarn, ya know!

Letters from Home
My mother sent me an email, informing me that my stepfather became a bit concerned while shopping recently in a Columbia Sportswear Factory Outlet Store in Portland. Apparently, there were 2 large dogs in the store (think: lab or shepherd size), and they were not service dogs. My stepfather asked the girl behind the counter about it, and she rolled her eyes at him and retorted, "Well, they're on leashes!", like that was the issue. The "back story" here is that basically, dogs are taking over Portland. Dogs, dogs everywhere you go. And they're being afforded more common courtesy than the average human being. That's the issue being taken up by my stepfather.

This being said, I must let it be known that my stepfather has a very, um, unique sense of humor. Rather than get mad, he got the email address for Columbia Sportswear's customer service department, and wrote them the following email (under my mother's email addy):

Dear Columbia Sportswear:
While shopping your company store, in Sellwood Or. I noticed two big dogs leashed to their owners. I'm concerned if this is safe? I have a monkey who I keep on a leash. He likes getting out, now I'll be able to bring him along. Also, my son has two four-legged reptiles who will enjoy the warmth of your store this winter.
Please reply,
Thank you, Judith

And Columbia replied!

Incident #041128-000138
Thank you for your request. Our consumer services department will reply to your request soon.

Power to the people, man. Happy Monday, everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Another Weekend, Another Triathlon
This time we're at lovely Lake Perris, about 1-1/2 hours northeast of San Diego.

Lake Perris, 6:30 am ...


... and about 1 hour later (7:30 am), with swimmers heading toward the lake


A Sea of Swim-Capped Heads are all I can see ...


Here's my darlin' man, coming in after the 27-mile bike portion:


And here he is in the Transition Area, getting ready for the 4-mile run:


Our team did very well. Felipe, one of the coaches, won the event, and another teammate got 1st in her age group. This was DH's longest race in terms of distance, and a challenging race in terms of the course itself. We lucked out with the weather; it was overcast and chilly until about 1pm, when the sun came out. But the next day the temperatures dropped dramatically and it rained all morning. That would have made for a very miserable race for participants and spectators alike!

I did do some road knittin' ... and even some spectator knitting! I'm sure the competitors were wondering about the crazy woman standing by the side of the road, knitting away, yelling, "Good job! Keep it up!"

Happy Monday, everyone.

There's some sort of powerful Force Field laziness that's keeping me from snapping pictures of the oh-so-nearly-finished Panera Throw. But whatever this Force Field is apathy, it seems to require a woman stronger than me to conquer it. I'll try again tomorrow empty promise.

And by the way, my maternal grandmother invented the word "snarky." She used it since I was a little girl, whenever I acted up. "Don't get all snarky, now," she'd admonish me. So I claim snarky for Nama.

No time for pictures of the Heinous Yarn Shortage Incident. Allow me to entertain you with another example of Crimes Against Yarn. May I present:

The Kevin F. Sherry Sweater Project (link via Freakgirl).

On the First Day of Christmas ...
...my parents gave to me (pretty appropriate for RockStar, dontcha think? Yeah, so did we.)

Happy Monday, everyone. Lurid tales of running out of yarn and pulling out of hair to follow soon.

Don't Look, Marcia!
'Cuz we're talking garter, here. Acres of wide open garter. To stay motivated during the endless garter-fest that is the Panera throw, I've compiled a list of Garter-Related topics:

Garter snake

Most Noble Order of the Garter: Knights of the Garter, Ladies of the Garter

Star & Garter

Garter belt

Getting Gerdie's Garter (movie, 1927)

Ye Harte & Garter Hotel

The Red Garter Bed & Bakery (former bordello)

Yellow Garter Band

Green Garter Band

James Garter (oops, Garner)

Ah, that puts me in a garter frame of mind. I'll leave you with pebbly pix, featuring 42" of Grade A Prime Garter:

Looks like a freshly plowed field, don't it?


Gorgeous Garter, as far as the eye can see!


Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Lotsa knitting progress on the Panera throw (on Skein 8 of 14), but no time for pictures this morning. Maybe manana? Hokay.

Does anyone else have recurring dreams? I have 2 that recur fairly frequently, and have for many years. One involves houses. I dream up the most labyrintine(?) houses possible -- rooms leading into rooms leading into more rooms. The decoration style varies, too. For instance, last night I dreamed that my father, sister and I were heading to the beach for a weekend, like we often did when we were kids and young adults. However, we drove directly onto the beach in our car and picked a beach house from any number scattered along the shore. Apparently, one could just drive up to these houses/cabanas, open the door, and stay there! For free! What fun. The one I dreamed up had rather '70s decor -- avocado green Herculon covered furniture (ew!) and paneled walls (double-ew!).

My other recurring dream theme involves freeways -- specifically on and offramps. I dream up ramps that soar hundreds of feet into the sky and curve across rivers. BTW, in real life I have a fear of heights. Veddy interesting!

The weight loss saga continues -- I'm down 17 lbs. as of this morning, but I'm a bit dehydrated, so it may go up a pound from all the water I plan on drinking today. The Medifast boogie is boring, but it's certainly effective.

And I ran yesterday! Total of about 3 miles, and I ran about half of it. Knees are holding up *so far*. Keeping fingers crossed.

Happy Monday, everyone!

5:36 pm Update: OMG! I've made it onto The Monkey's blog list! Now I have to be interesting and amusing! Oh heck. I'll just be myself. I'm sure he'd approve of that. He's having a birthday. Go wish him a happy one!

Mondo fuzz in the mail. On top, Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair in Tranquil. From Elann. On the bottom, Lion Brand Chenille Sensations in "Amsterdam Print," from Smiley's Yarns:



Not sure what the Jo Sharp mohair will be for ... it was too good a buy to pass up, so into the Stash-o-Matic it goes. I purchased 6 skeins of the chenille; I'm thinking of making 2 scarves (3 skeins each) in a ripple (feather 'n fan) stitch for my mom and sister for this winter.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
The Panera throw continues apace. I'm finding that like most ribbon yarns, Berroco Suede likes to twist while you knit it. After a frustrating evening spent untwisting every row or so, I happened upon a solution:



I popped an elastic ponytail band onto the ball, and spool out about a yard at a time for knitting. Works like a charm. I just attached Skein 6 of 14 last night:



Happy Tuesday, everyone. Get out there and vote!