Life is Good in the Pants

Two of my online knitting friends became real life knitting friends last Sunday. Rachel (the one I'm hugging) and Amy met me at Reading Market. We had savory crepes for breakfast (mine was tasty turkey breast with pesto, broccoli, and spinach), walked around the market and the city, visited Rosie's and Loop, had more crepes (blanc fromage & honey) and tea in a lovely little cafe, and generally knit and talked and laughed ourselves silly. All three of us grabbed a skein of "goblin" sock yarn. Very curious to see how those come out. We saw a pig bunny, and a shop window done for Valentine's Day with giant golden fish sporting false eyelashes and lipstick! Our dark walk back to the train station was enhanced by snow flurries. The flakes were suspended dramatically in the air by various spotlights meant to color the ornate architecture. Bonus: My pedometer said 13,500 steps by the time I made it home. So, yes, perfect day. :)

Cold & Comfort

My camera has indeed suffered the January curse, but my cell phone grabbed these: Beautiful ice patterns on Wensleydale this morning, and Matt using the Plushinator as a pillow. Both were fast asleep and smiling (FatBoy smiles by sticking his tongue out the tiniest bit).

Aw, crap.

Our January isn't over. Gromit required new sparkplugs, ignition wires, and ignition coil. Total cost: $1100-some. Sigh.

Here's a little video to keep you from being too blue.

Bush-Whacked

Here's an article that everyone should read in light of the inauguration. And yet more reasons why elephants are ultra-cool. As if you needed more! Someday I'll have one of those in my office. Um, a painting, not a pachyderm.

Knitters are mathy, too! Three pages of sciencey goodness.

January Goals & 4th Annual Breakdown

First the good news... my goals for 2008 were mostly met. I made a beaded lace shawl, fingerless gloves, and a beret. I learned entrelac, Continental knitting, and Fair Isle colorwork. I failed to make a zillion socks or lose weight, so those are back on the block for 2009. I was greatly restrained, SeaSocks aside, and my yarn stash has decreased. I DID get my clinic going: I'm very happy with the growth in my practice and expect 2009 to be a profitable year. It's so awesome to make money by helping people. Seriously - Does it get any better?

Now the bad news. We have not escaped the Annual January Breakdown. So far we've lost Matt's iPod (went for a swim in the sink), the space heater (ai yi yi it's cold in the bedroom!). My phone, camera, and computer are all acting suspiciously, but I've got my fingers crossed. The real killer is the plasma TV. This 10 year old dinosaur was an uber-generous gift from Matt's brother Greg. Who, by the way, is a dead ringer for Lou Gehrig. Anyway, this TV has been on every night, showing us ancient history and goofy British comedy and shoot 'em up action. It's still working, after a 5 minute warm-up, but the right side is fuzzy. I think it's had a stroke. We are just crossing our fingers that it lasts until Matt can moonlight his way to some extra cash. He's just passed the Step 3 boards, which makes him an Official Grownup Doctor so as soon as the paperwork comes through he'll be able to take on even more hours (*groan*). Of course with more people coming to me for acupuncture that will help, too. :)

Holiday Roundup

For Thanksgiving we went to Maine. Nancy (Matt's sis) & Andre throw legendary celebrations and this one was no exception. I forgot my camera, so here are some terrible phone pics. There's Matt & Nancy, and her three gorgeous kids, Hunter, Juliana, & Ben all wearing holiday cracker crowns.

For Christmas we were hoping to see his kids in Oregon, but the crazy airline prices put the kibosh on *that* fantasy. He's going out this month to get some quality time instead. We didn't even make it to NYC, thanks to Mr. Peach's little excursion to the vet. An acute infection sent him into respiratory failure. He needed two days in oxygen. it was insanely expensive but I guess that's why God invented credit cards. It's so good to have him back home and doing fine now. It would have broken my heart to lose him.

Our prezzies were all hand-made this year. I spun and knit up hats, scarves, and mittens. The one project I failed to finish was Matt's kilt hose. I'm still working on them, but when you see the pics you'll understand (think tiny yarn, complicated cables, and giant legs). The red scarf there is 100% mohair spun from locks. It seriously feels like heaven... in fact I heard that it was instantly subjected to egregious sexual advances by a cat immediately after being opened. In Nae's case, a fellow knitter, I stopped at the spinning phase and made her 2 skeins of lace yarn.

Matt outdid himself with the silverwork, turning out a stunning yarn ring for me, and molecule necklaces for all the women in his life. He crafted dopamines & seratonins, the neurotransmitters of happiness, and a one-off melatonin for sister Mary the sleep doctor. Pics of all these are coming... we're going to set up an online shop soon.

Amazing stuff!

I've been too busy to blog, but I promise some catch-up posts soon. In the meantime, here are some wonderful things to see and do and be scared of.

My new favorite blog to read: Woolgathering.