Breaking News: Olympic Training Accident

Athelete Needle Suffers Injury
in Gauging Training Accident.

While knitting a gauge swatch training as part of the US Sock Team, Elizzabetty suffered a horrific needle snap on the Long Island Rail Road this morning. We are pleased to report, however, that neither the Vesper sock yarn nor Elizzabetty were injured in this incident.

Talk about "the agony of... defeat broken needle!"

Confessions of a blogger

I've got a little confession to make. I've been keeping something from you. It's nothing terrible, and I had my reasons (which I'll explain), but it's now time to 'fess up...

Drum roll, please.............................................

On Christmas Eve, I got engaged!

Yup. I told ya'all about the emerald ring, and the yarn that coordinates perfectly. Well, what I didn't tell you is that when Jim bought me that emerald ring, he also put a deposit on an engagement ring. And when he gave me the emerald on Christmas Eve (which by itself surprised me), he also told me that there was another ring for me! I was totally stunned--not that he wanted to marry me, because we had talked about it and we knew that's where we were headed. (We've been together for, like, seven years now.) I was stunned because I wasn't expecting to become officially engaged anytime soon, and I had no idea that he had apparently been planning this for months now.

And you want to hear something really sweet? He brought his son with him to help him pick out the ring!!!

OK, and now my reasons for not blogging about this. (The reasons are cumulative, so please bear with me...)

1. First of all, the week after Christmas there was like nobody in the office, so there really wasn't anyone to tell until after January 1st. (Very anticlimactic, don't you think?)
2. I had the week after New Years off, so everyone would be back but I was be out.
3. We went to visit the ring on January 3rd, and we changed the stone a little and needed to have it sized. We couldn't get it done that same day, and the next time I'd be able to get up there (he bought the ring in Manchester, Vermont, and, of course, I live on Long Island) wouldn't be until this past weekend. I really wanted to be able to tell people we were engaged once I had the ring.
4. Most importantly, I wanted to tell my staff before I told anyone else in the office. I didn't want them hearing it from someone else, and I was afraid they might think that I would be leaving (Jim lives in VT; I live on LI), and that is so not the case.
5. And finally, there are some people in my office who read my blog, so clearly I couldn't blog about it before talking to my guys.

So, we picked up the ring on Monday, yesterday I told my staff, and now it's public knowledge. So now I can blog away!

Pictures? Did you say you wanted to see pictures? Well, here ya go!

Here's the ring resting in some Vesper sock yarn. (I'm using Vesper for my Knitting Olympics project.)

And here it is next to some brushed alpaca. I picked up 6 balls of this stuff (marked down) on Saturday at The Yarn Shop in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. I thought it would look nice with the ring. (Anybody got any suggestions for what I should do with this yarn?)

And here's a few final pictures...

So there you have it! I would have blogged about this sooner, but work got in the way. (We're still working on the book-that-shall-remain-nameless.)

There will be more knitting content in my next entry, I promise. I've got to start training for the Olympics, you know.

B is for...

BUFFETT!!!

That is, Jimmy Buffett! This was taken last summer at a benefit concert at a vineyard on the east end of Long Island.

Here I am! See how close I was to the stage? I upgraded to the VIP section, and it turned out to be the best ticket money I have ever spent! ($150 for preferred seating & parking, wine & dinner vs. $50 to sit on the lawn way back). This was a huge thrill for me, and if I never get to see him in concert again, I'll be happy that I got this opportunity to see him solo!

By the way... there is a knitting connection here. See that bag I'm carrying?


You wanna know what's in it?

The beginnings of this sweater!

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the sweater at the concert. You know why? Because at the time I was not blog-worthy just didn't think of it. The concert happened before I started blogging, and I was so awstruck by how close I was to the stage--in addition to the food (which included lobster) and wine--that I just didn't think of it. Next opportunity...

Another meme

Jessalu tagged the first four people who read her meme (and that, for one, would be me! me!), so here goes...

4 jobs you have had in your life

• usher at a race track
• elevator operator at a yearling auction
• copyeditor for a legal publishing company
• electronic editor for a data conversion company

4 movies you could watch over & over

• Baby Boom
• Independence Day
• The Big Easy
• The Wizard of Oz

4 places you have lived (I'll define this as places that I've received mail)

• West Babylon, NY
• Saratoga Springs, NY
• Whitingham, VT (I kinda live there on and off)
• [I don't have a third]
  

4 TV shows you love to watch

• Project Runway
• Sex and the City
• The Daily Show
• The Amazing Race

4 places you have been on vacation

• Williamsburg, Virginia
• Washington, DC
• Toronto
• Maine

4 websites you visit daily

• CNN
• The Brattleboro Reformer or Bennington Banner
• The National Weather Service (I'm a weather junkie)
• Bloglines

4 of your favorite foods

• Pizza
• Filet Mignon
• Cheese
• Wine (I consider wine a food. And it goes very well with the other foods.)

4 places you would rather be right now

• At a massage appointment
• In a yarn store. Any yarn store.
• Massachusetts (with my nieces)
• Vermont (with my beloved)

4 bloggers you are tagging

• Well, for starters I'll tag Carole. After that, the next three people who read this!

While I was working on my meme, I was on the phone with Jim, and he started giving me his answers to these questions while I was working on my meme. So...

Here's Jim's meme:

4 jobs you have had in your life

• maintenance for New England Power Company
• made pulp in a paper mill
• Elderhostel lecturer
• manager of the world's largest 7-Eleven

4 movies you could watch over & over

• The Magnificent Seven
• Zulu
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• The Thomas Crown Affair

4 places you have lived

• Readsboro, VT
• Northfield, VT
• Portsmouth, NH
• Wilmington, VT

4 TV shows you love to watch

• Stargate SG-1
• Battlestar Gallactica
• 24
• The Shield

4 places you have been on vacation

• Hampton Beach, NH (alot)
• Williamsburg, VA
• Gettysburg, PA
• Plymouth, MA

4 websites you visit daily

• "You mean there's something other than e-mail?"

4 of your favorite foods

• macaroni and cheese made with hamberger
• prime rib
• white polenta and chicken
• spaghetti

4 places you would rather be right now

• Disney World
• National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
• Washington D.C.
• Los Angeles, CA (to visit his son)

4 bloggers you are tagging

• "What's a blog?"

That's my sweetheart!

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OK, time for me to go to bed. Got jury duty tomorrow. Need to rest up for some incomunicado time out of the office that quality knitting time that I'm desperate for hoping jury duty will bring me.

Requesting the pleasure of your company?

Before I go into today's post, I gotta thank all of you for the comments on Thursday's blog. Wow! Six is a record! I got comments from some of my regular readers (thank you Carole, Cassie, and Elsie!), as well as some de-lurkers. (I love people who can go with the spirit of a holiday!) I had the lucky co-inky-dink of posting that entry on the same day I was added to the Knitting Bloggers web ring. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! And can I thank y'all some more?!?

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Now, on to the post for today...

Requesting the pleasure of my company is... the U.S. District Court this Tuesday at 1 pm! I gotta go to Brooklyn for Jury Duty!!!

(What's with the 1 pm reporting time? I've never heard of that before! And how come I gotta go to Brooklyn? Couldn't they have sent me to Central Islip instead? Much closer to home and I wouldn't have to be on a train before 7 am! Don't they know that I am not a morning person?!? Oh man...) OK, I'll end my whiney rant now.

I've reported for jury duty in the state courts, but never the federal court. Fortunately for me, traveling to Brooklyn in no big deal, unless they make me report at the crack of dawn. I just have to change trains or hop on the subway. Unfortunately, though, as often happens with getting called for jury duty, you never get called at a convenient time. And trust me--this is exceptionally inconvenient time. My staff has begun work on one of our products that brings in massive revenue and as to be produced in a nanosecond--or faster! Seriously, though, it makes a huge amount of revenue, and it's a 4,000 page book that has to be completed within the next 2-3 weeks. (It normally takes us 3-4 months to process that much material.) As a result, I'm going in to the office all three days this weekend, as well as Tuesday morning.

I'm certainly willing to do my civil duty, but man, couldn't they wait until [the book that shall remain nameless] went to the printer?!?!?!?!?!?

Oh well, hopefully I'll be finished in a day or so. Hopefully I'll get some knitting done while I'm waiting with the other jurors. (Hopefully they won't make me check my knitting at the door with my cell phone and camera!) Hopefully I'll get dismissed early and I can sneak in a stop at a Brooklyn yarn shop or two? Anybody got any recommendations for something near Cadman Plaza?

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Well, it's going to be a busy week, what with jury duty, the-book-that-shall-remain-nameless, and preparations for meetings in Massachusetts and Vermont this weekend. (I'm gonna get to see Carole this weekend! Woo-hoo!!!) I don't know how much posting I'll get to do, but I promise I'll try and post something. For now, I leave you with a picture...

Some merino roving I picked up at Webs. Less than an ounce. Just so I can play with my spindle...

New Yarn Shop in NYC!

Oh how I love brandy new yarn shops!


Knitty City is located on the upper west side (near that other yarn shop with the not-so-great reputation, although it is better than it was). Elsie told me about this one. They had their grand opening today, but she stopped in last weekend... and bought sock yarn! (Elsie, you must buy more sock yarn...) I'm hoping to stop in sometime soon and I'll give you a report, but from what I've heard it sound like it's going to be great.

Timeliness is...

... really a challenge for me.

:-(

So without further delay, welcome to National De-Lurking Week!


Just a few days late! Shout out to Jessalu for bringing it to our attention!

So, please leave a comment. Even if it's just a "whoa"! Something? Anything?!? (As long as it's relatively clean and tasteful, please. Please?)

Any excuse for Malabrigo

In Saturday's post I promised to show you the Yarn Crack Malabrigo that I bought to make wrist warmers to match the gorgeous emerald ring that my wonderful boyfriend gave me for Christmas. (I love you, honey!) Well, here it is!

The color is Emerald Blue. (See it was meant to be.) Ain't they both purty?

The minute I touched the skein while wearing the ring I had to have it. (Of course, it's Malabrigo, and frankly just touching a skein is enough to justify buying it!) And silly me, I was so anxious to get started on the wrist warmers that I forgot to take a picture of the skein before I wound it into a ball!

Here is the Malabrigo looking out over Great South Bay. So tranquil...

I have to say that out of all the females in my family, I'm so the least into jewelry. My mother and sister love to watch (and buy) jewelry on Shop NBC. (I admit that I too have purchased jewelry on Shop NBC, but I've gotten some really nice stuff at great (low) prices.) Given the choice, I'd much rather receive a gift of great cookware than some sparkly bauble. However, when Jim gave me that ring, it took my breath away like some little girly girl. I do adore it, and I adore him... sniff, sniff

OK, enough mushy stuff. Tomorrow maybe some more yarn, and a first report on a new yarn shop that just opened on the upper west side!

A is for...

... Abbie, my 9-year-old niece and goddaughter. She's a real cutie pie. She's smart, she's very funny, and she's learning how to knit! She lives in Massachusetts, and even though I do get to see her more often than my mother and other sister see her, it's still not often enough for me. I love spending time with her and her younger sister (who will be a future ABC-along subject).

Happy New Year!

We're a few days in to it, but Happy New Year everyone! I know my last post was pretty negative, but I've had a week to lay back and recharge, and I'm not feeling so bad about the late gift knitting. It'll all get done, and some people will receive some random knitted gifts this winter. And besides, random presents for no reason at all are always a good thing, right?

I spent the past week up in Vermont with Jim. Didn't really do a whole lot of knitting, but that's alright. It was nice to just be away from work for a few days. (Although, I did have to call in for a meeting right in the middle of it all. An hour and 15 minute conference call. That sucked, but at least I got to go back to being a homebody afterwards.)

In my next post I'll show you the Malabrigo wrist warmers that I've started working on for myself. You know, new year, new project. The colors in the yarn match perfectly with an emerald ring that I received from Jim for Christmas, so you know I just had to knit something to go with the ring, right? (Please, agree with me, please???) In the meantime, here are some pictures from the last couple of days. There's lots of snow up thar in Vermont, and it really looked awful purty up thar. These were taken while we were driving back from Manchester on Wednesday.

And this was taken out our kitchen window Thursday morning.

Next time, yarn and roving pictures. (I stopped at Webs on my way home Thursday afternoon... you know how it is, right?)