Cialis Ad Featuring Cuba Gooding Jr.

Posted Jun 14, 2007

Cuba Good Jr. discovers the effects of Cialis the hard way.

Stash enhancement and Stitch 'n' Pitch

Thanks to the generosity of the parents of the student I work with, I was able to purchase some yarn for specific projects. Usually I just buy whatever tickles my fancy, but this time I was on a mission - a project-specific stash enhancement expedition:

Here's some fabulous Hemp for Knitting Allhemp #6 in the Brick colorway. This is going to be Orangina. The yarn is kind of stiff right now, but I hear that washing it makes it much softer, and that it has wonderful drape. Even if it's still kind of rough, I'll be wearing a tank under the Orangina, so I ain't worried none.

Here we have some lurvely Koigu KPPPM for the ever popular Chevron Scarf. This project is a bandwagon, and I am happy to jump on, simply for the fact that it allows me to buy Koigu. What the hell else can I afford to make? The Babette? Mwah hahahahahaha. I think not.

My neighbor Regina is muy generosa (yeah, I made that up, deal with it) and for watching her cats she gave a whole freakin' box of yarn!! Yay!! I'll be rippling til the cows come home with this Rainbow Classic. It's soft and fuzzy and perfect for an afghan.

Haven't decided what this TLC Amore is going to be yet; perhaps a layette? I'll think of something. I love this yarn too, so soft.

This Red Heart Kids is going to be a baby sweater, hat, and afghan for a pregnant friend of mine. The colors are perfect because she's not finding out if it's a boy or girl, so this will work either way. And hello, can you say machine washable and dryable?

Now this - this is something special. I love Twinkle's Big City Knits, but I don't like the price of her yarns. This here is Misti Alpaca Chunky, and can I just tell you how lofty and soft and dreamy this yarn is? Oh my God, I love it. I can't wait to make the Best Friend Cardigan with this stuff. The pattern also calls for size 19 needles, and guess what? I got some bamboo Clover 19s in my Stitch 'n' Pitch goodie bag last night! Woo hoo! I was meant to make this sweater.

This is Tahki Cotton Classic, and I'll be making the Lotus Blossom Tank from last summer's Interweave Knits. I have a brown velvet blazer that will look great over the tank, so if I don't finish it by the end of the summer (which I won't, given the projects I have on deck already), I can still wear it come fall.

I am in the home stretch with the Crochet Crop Cardigan. Another few rows on the bottom, a few rows on each sleeve, and then it's just a matter of a few finishing touches such as snaps and buttons. Can't wait to post pictures!

Last night was Stitch 'n' Pitch in Philadelphia! It was really a lot of fun, despite heavy traffic and 95 degree weather. That's WT in the pictures above (tank top and cap), and Liz all the way on the right with her cool pink tote bag.

My knitting buddies from MontCo Sit 'n' Knit! From left to right, we have Aileen, Liz, Debbie (hiding behind Liz), MJ in the red top, and Robin in the sunglasses! These people are friggin' awesome.
Here we have Maria in the sunglasses and purple shirt, and her friend Carol from work. Thanks for coming out Carol!

Here's me looking like I haven't slept in 3 weeks with my darling husband WT. Who's such a good sport? WT is!

Here's the Phillie Phanatic looking at a Phillies' butt. The Phillie Phanatic never ceases to amuse me.
Here is the one gajillionth reproduction of the Liberty Bell. It swings back and forth and lights up when the Phillies hit a homer. It was lighting up a lot last night!

Ah, the chokingingly beautiful haze that signifies the arrival of summer in the tri-state area. Gotta love it. Actually, it was nice last night, because if there hadn't been any haze, the sun would have been shining directly into our eyeballs, and that just would have been really unpleasant.
Yay for the Phillies! Yay for knitting!

Whoever came up with the idea to combine baseball and knitting deserves a pat on the back. A good time was had by all, even though not much knitting was done due to the ungodly temperatures. I cooled down with my $6.50 beer and my $4.50 ice cream, and we sang and talked and laughed and took pictures, and dammit, we had a rockin' good time.

If only the Schuylkill and 95 weren't under construction and it hadn't taken more than an hour to get home...

Knitting goodness

Last night was our second Sip n Knit of the season, and let me tell you, it was great. We had a small group, but we had a new chica come out and join us, and Banana got to play with Liz's kids, and the food was sensational, and a good time was had by all. We sat outside as it got dark, knitting, crocheting, sipping, watching the kiddies catch lightning bugs, and making each other laugh. It was lovely.

I got to go to the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute on Tuesday with my dad, his friend JoAnn, and my good friend Heather. We had a really good time. My only disappointment? You know the famous death mask that is the epitome of King Tut? THE DEATH MASK, in gold and lapis lazuli and carnelian? Yeah, it wasn't there. There's pictures of it all over the place, but no death mask. There was a miniature of it, a coffinette (really, that's what they called it) to hold Tut's liver. But no death mask. *Sigh*

Afterwards, we went to the Nodding Head and pigged out on burgers and French dips and beer and fries with spicy mayo. YUM. We then went to Anthropologie, where I purchased a cute little bird decoration thingy and a mug with my initial on it for a mere $6. For some reason, their clothes are positively outrageously priced, but their housewares are quite reasonable.

Heather and I then went to Loop, where I purchased some Hemp for Knitting to make the Orangina, and two skeins of Koigu KPPPM for a Chevron Scarf. Yay! We also got to meet Craig, the owner of Loop, who told us that about 1100 seats have been sold for next week's Stitch n Pitch Phillies game! It's going to be a good time, I just know it. Craig is a super duper nice guy, and his employees are friendly and oh-so-knowledgeable. I love that store.

Today, WT is in Newark, DE, interviewing for a job, and Banana is at school playing on the Slip n Slide with her little friends. I will be going to either Yarnings in Skippack or The Knitting Basket in Phoenixville to find some stuff to spend the rest of my gift certificate on. Yippee! Pictures to come, I was too damn lazy to post any today.

Talk to youse guys soon!

And now, on a more positive note...

Okay, so I've come to accept the ending of The Sopranos.

Progress is being made on the Crochet Crop Cardigan. I have found my rhythm with the yarn in the shell pattern, so now I can crochet for a while without wanting to burn the project. It looks really good. Another woman, who lives in Boston, also test-crocheted this sweater for Monica, and hers came out really cute. She is also a member of Ravelry and posted pictures on her page. I am looking forward to finishing mine so I can post pictures!

As soon as I am done the CCC, I'm going to return to work on the Green Gable and cast on for the Rusted Root and the Summertime Tunic. I got a generous gift certificate from the parents of the kid I work with, so I made a list of all the projects I want to make and their yarn requirements. I hope to actually buy yarn that I need for a specific project, rather than just picking stuff I like with nothing particular in mind.

My brother just moved to Phoenixville, and now lives approximately 1.5 miles from the Knitting Basket, an LYS. This does not bode well for my bank account. However, it does bode well for my stash. :o)

My last day of work was yesterday, so now I have two months off. Wooooo hoooooo! Banana and I are going to a picnic today with some of the teachers I work with, and tomorrow we'll be going to a party for friends of the family who just paid off their 30-year mortgage. On Wednesday, I'll be going to the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia; I'm going with WT, Dad, JoAnn, and Heather. Then we'll be dining at the Nodding Head, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Squee! The rest of the summer will be spent by the pool, knitting and aging my skin prematurely with a beautiful tan. Ain't life good?

And now, a politically incorrect joke:

How many kids with ADHD does it take to screw in a lightbulb?


...


Wanna ride bikes?

Um, hellloooooo...

What the hell was that existential, Jean-Paul Sartre, cliff-hanging nonsense that was the final episode of The Sopranos? I mean really. Is that the best David Chase could do? I invested 8 years of my life in this damn show for that? Honestly. I've heard that's how he 'always envisioned it.' Gimme something concrete for chrissake. I want murder and mayhem. Or some more closure, something more than what we got last night. How 'bout Tony raking the leaves and keeling over from a massive coronary? Choking on a capicolla (gobbagool), mozzarella (mohtzuhrell), and vinegar peppers sandwich at Satriale's? Throw me a line, David!

Anyhoo, I'm on the solid shell pattern part of the Crop Cardigan, and the goddamn yarn is making me absolutely bat-shit crazy. It is so splitty; I had to put the cardigan down and slowly back away yesterday. I just need to find my rhythm. Then I'll be okay.

No progress as of yet on the Green Gable since the trip to the frog pond.

Got my Ravelry page up and running. I love that site. And Lord knows I totally need another excuse to spend more time on the computer. :o)

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Squeeee! Invite to Ravelry!

Bonjour mes amies!! I am tremendously excited. I just got my invite to join Ravelry! Woo hoo! I feel so popular! I am using far too many exclamation points!!!

Hear that sucking sound? That would be the sound of all of my free time flowing into the computer. Thankfully, I have few things I have to do today except watch The Sopranos, therefore I will be on the computer until approximately 8:59 pm EDT. And this had better be a long episode, because last week was only 51 minutes long. What's up with that?!?

The finger is essentially healed, so I have begun work again Monica's Crop Cardigan. I crocheted the fronts and backs together last night so now I have sleeve holes. I will begin the solid shell pattern today. Yippee! I have to figure out which buttons I'll be using. I got a whole bunch on sale at the Technicolor Sheep during their going-out-of-business sale, and they are super awesomely cute.

Upon re-reading this post, I have decided that I sound like an eighth grader who just found out that the uber-cute boy in her science class, like, totally is into her. Jesus. Somebody stop me.

Yet ANOTHER meme

This one I found on Natasha's blog (link in sidebar, Being Natasha Fialkov). So here we go:

1. What time is it? 8:54 am EDT
2.What is your name? Sally
3.What do you fear most? Something bad happening to my daughter
4. What do you drive? Silver Mazda 3 hatchback
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? No
6. Where were you born? Camden, NJ, USA
7. Ever been to Alaska ? Nope
8. Ever been toilet papering, decorating trees or egging? No, no, and no
9. Croutons or Bacon Bits? BACON; bacon makes everything better. They have to be real though, none of that fake crap
10. Favourite restaurant? Buddakan and Sansom Street Oyster House, both in downtown Philadelphia
11. Favourite flower? Peonies
12. Favourite sport to watch? World's Strongest Man/Woman Competition
13. Favourite drink? Mojitos from North by Northwest in Mt. Airy
14. Favourite ice cream? World Class Chocolate from Baskin Robbins
15. Disney or Warner Brother's? Really old Disney, like Steamboat Willie
16. Favourite fast food restaurant? McDonald's; if I could eat it everyday with no health repercussions, I would
17. What colour is your bedroom? Pastel flowered wallpaper and brown shag carpet. Really.
18. How many times did you fail your driving exam? Zero times
19. Before this one, whom did you get your last email from? Uhhh... I don't know.
20. What do you do most often when you are bored? Watch TV, surf the net, or knit/crochet
21. Who will respond to this post the fastest? No freakin' idea
22. What is your favorite season? Spring!
23. Favourite TV show? Project Runway
24. Ford or Chevy? Neither
25. What are your favourite colours? Cobalt blue, candy-apple red
26. How many tattoos do you have? 4
27. Do you have any pets? 3 cats
28. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who cares?
29. What would you like to accomplish before you die? Travel as much as humanly possible
30. What is your idea of fun? Summer barbecues with family and friends, concerts
31. Favorite music? Where do I begin? Rolling Stones, Gomez, Beth Orton, old U2, Dave Mason, Miles Davis, Getz and Gilberto, ... the list goes on and on.

One step forward, two steps back

I frogged about three quarters of the Green Gable. I tried it on last night, and it was just too big. I know that if I had been lazy and just left it as it was, I never would have worn it. And what's the point of doing all that knitting if you're not going to wear it? So I tore back to the sleeves, and we're going to try again. (Insert extremely heavy sigh here.)

I'm putting is aside for a while and dedicating myself solely to the Crop Cardigan. My finger is practically better, and crocheting is no longer as issue. Let's hope that goes smoothly.

Lotsa pictures n stuff

Can you tell I have a master's degree from that title I just typed? I bet you can, cuz my English is so good. Anyhoo, here is a massively long post about stuff in my life. Aren't you glad you visited?

Ah, Brown Sheep Company's Lamb's Pride Worsted in colorway Blue Magic. To become a sweater at some point this year. Purchased at Twist Knitting and Spinning in New Hope, PA. Thank you Regina, for this lovely yarn - I purchased it with the gift certificate you gave me!

Next up we have some Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in the Cool Blue colorway, which very shortly will become the Summertime Tunic from the Summer 2007 IK. Can't wait to cast on for this one. This yarn is nice and shimmery and pretty and I like it.

Et la piece de resistance, Artyarns Supermerino in colorway Irises, produced exclusively for Yarnmarket. Thanks Dad, for the gift certificate! Yay, I love birthdays! This is going to be a short-sleeved top-down cardigan.

Progress on the Green Gable is being made. One more inch, and I'll be able to do the ribbing at the bottom, finish the sleeves, et voila! ca sera fini. I love the way this yarn smells. It's all, like, sheepy and stuff. In a good way. Not a barnyard way. That would be gross.

Here is the yoke of the Crop Crocheted Cardigan I'm making for Monica. How stinkin' cute is that? I have only 2 more rows, then I can start the body. Her instructions are perfect. I'm using Brown Sheep Company's Cotton Fleece for this. It's kind of splitty, but it's easy on the hands and it's so pretty, who cares?

Here we have some pictures of paradise. This would be a Memorial Day barbecue at John and Regina's house, with our neighbors and family. Our neighbors and family rock.

Here's Anne Marie, Marilyn, Jack, and Todd talking it up.

Total barbecue carnage. Not for the faint of heart.

What barbecue would be complete without cheese curls and knitting?

Warning: Gratuitous cute kitten photos

Carlos sleeping upside down

Joey all stretched out

My pre-birthday present - one index fingered slashed to ribbons

The goddamn utensil that caused the mayhem

So I told you my baby brother graduated from Rutgers, right? With a degree in meteorology? And he already has a rockin' job? How proud am I? Very. I'm very proud. So here we are: me, Glennjamin, and Daddy-kins. I love my family.

Here's a picture of me with the hair I wish I had all the time.

*sigh*

And now for some random flower pictures, courtesy of Regina and John's back yard.

Siberian iris

Peony (my favorite)

And gorgeous red poppies. Who's up for some opium?

Here's the Banana at her 'graduation'. I got pretty darn choked up, I must say. She's known some of these kids for more than half her life. Time to move on though, to the big, bad-ass world of kindergarten.

And here's why I get up every morning, and smile.

Me, Banana, and WT

Virtual Vacation Swap Questionnaire

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why? I'd love to go to Washington, especially Seattle, because I've never been and I want to go.
2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why? Either India or Japan. I'm really interested in the geisha culture and the Japanese crafting movement, and India intrigues me to no end.
3. Have you ever driven across several states/provinces/countries? Yes, no, and yes.
4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it? Yes, I've been to Tunisia, Namibia (before Brangelina made it the place to be, thank you very much), and South Africa.
5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why? I drove with a friend from Germany through Austria to Italy, through Switzerland to Liechtenstein, and back to Germany. It is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen in my life.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain. Every grade school class trip I took as a kid was either to the Liberty Bell or the Franklin Institute.
7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker? The first two.
8. What's your favorite type of yarn? Cotton or cotton blend.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn? Novelty, such as eyelash or fun fur.
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet? Sweaters, tops, and afghans.
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation? Whatever I'm working on.
12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet? I'd like to make jewelry and do pottery. I also paint watercolors from time to time.
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise) Nope.
14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite? I don't have a favorite, but my least favorite is yellow because I don't look good in it.
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)? Sweet.
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know? I prefer tea to coffee, milk chocolate over dark, and that's pretty much it. Squee!