texas-shaped waffles

I got back last night from a semi-long work trip to San Antonio. I am a texas (note the small t) cynic from way back. I hate "good old boys" and the wayyyyyyyy to common self-segregation you can see between cultures/races. BUT - I am a sunny girl and so many people there are sunny. How does anyone in texas know when someone is flirting with them when they are all so friendly?

Anyway, our sleepy cheapy hotel actually had texas-shaped waffles (which I resisted but my colleague doused with strawberries and whipped cream) and the actual work part went great. Our committee finished shaping up the 2005 Notable Children's Book List. I'll add a link when it gets posted on ALA. I had some lovely dinners with Henry Holt Books and Roaring Brook Press - also a lunch with Kingfisher Books. I finished a pair of pretty cranberry alpaca wrist warmers and one manly man girl sock.

But how nice to be home and with my boys. E totally grew up in the five days I was gone. When we snuggled into bed last night, he whispered, "I cried for you when you were gone." I know a mama isn't supposed to want her bubba to cry but ohhhhhhhh, that was nice to hear.

miss moo's sweater dress

I am happy to report that Miss Moo's Sweater Dress is 95% done - knitted, seamed, felted, and blocked. We did a test run fitting (which she hardly noticed - she's only 17 months old and very busy!) and learned that the dang shoulder ends sort of flair out in an unflattering fashion - a little too Michael Jackson for Moo. And Moo's mama Marfie always has her looking so fabu that this dress has a lot to live up to! I might need to be bold and actually cut away and make darts in the shoulders. I am a bit nervous since I've never sewn with felt, but I think I'll do a test run and make sure I don't ruin it.

So below: the dress pre-felted, felted and finished, and a close up of the fabu stripe.

irish hiking scarf, deux

I finished my second irish hiking scarf. This one I intended for me - it's so terribly lovely - and a bit scritchy-scratchy! I do have the oddest allergies and wearing this close to my face leaves me with bee-stung lips and a red glow that isn't so pretty. I may need to line it . . . . which would be a good creative venture in itself.

The details: Irish Hiking Scarf, Knit Picks Supefine Alpaca, Winter Berry.

spork along

I am not a great "finisher" of my knitting
projects - I'd rather knit than seam, sew
or block - that's why just the completion of this spork bag is a success. My colleague and blog extraordinaire larissa designed the bag, and blogger all this by hand is hosting the kal.

I used Brown Sheep Wool but of course, didn't save the yarn tags to know the exact colors used - I'll call them bear, pumpkin, and ruby.

The way I attached the buckles isn't perfect but will do. I wanted to have have lots of room on top as I am always busting out of my bag with diapers, wine openers, lipgloss, and various homeopathic helpers for E. I am going to try out the bag at work tomorrow.

oh yes it's blazer night and the feelin's right . . .

I gave Tall House, Double Cup tickets to the Blazer-Cavalier game for Christmas. We made a date night out of it and had a blast. For one, the Blazers won - a rare treat this year. I have trouble being very supportive of our basketball team - how does one actually clap for a man who beat his wife and assulted his nanny?




But Tall House got to see Labron (sp?) James up close - our tickets were great, about 14 rows up on the first level - it seemed like we were sitting with mostly Cavalier fans - all the little kids were buying his jersey and the son of a former Blazer who went to the U of Oregon was playing for them as well, Luke Walton, who is also in this picture. Tall House kept trying to tell me tidbits about King James but since I had tivo'd the Oprah he was on, I was able to surprise Mr. Big with my knowledge of his personal life.



I was on celebrity watch - equipped with my binoculars and keen sense of gossip. I was sorrily disappointed when the only sighting turned out to be Harry Hamlin - he's the third person in on the left with his chin on his hands. I don't think even Paul Allen was there. But the rum and cokes made up it.



Afterword, we went to Montage for classic mac and cheese. We hadn't been there in SO long and it used to be a late night favorite. Since late nights for us now are made up of tivo and 9:30pm, it was quite glam to have a late night supper. We brought lots home for the babysitting grandparents - all wrapped up like little animals. a fun night out!

weekend leftovers

So many fun things to write up from this weekend including a c-list celebrity sighting, good knitting progress, music class, and a date with Tall House, Double Cup. But my camera is in my purse two floors up and all of those cocktails at the Blazer game are kicking in. So for now, just a book review.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Four sisters and their father vacation on the grounds of a mansion having great adventures involving romance, rabbits, and a great new friend.
This lovely, old-fashioned tale is long on charm and wit and will keep readers entranced from the opening chapter with its promises of adventures to come.

The enchanting setting of Arundel creates the warm, closed feeling of a set piece and reinforces the flavor of a Victorian story. While the four sisters have relative safety in the mansion’s grounds to roam, to the girls it feels like a huge exciting world full of adventures waiting to happen. The private hedges, carriage houses, barn and other elements of the property are fuel for the imagination.

I appreciated the liveliness of the characters. While each sister had distinct traits that made them unique, I never felt like the author resorted to stereotypes, but rather tuned in to how siblings in larger families operate to distinguish themselves.

One of the things I love so much about the book is how very little major plot movement there is. This is a story that is really about the kind of vacation any family could take. The drama that unfolds is true and real to childhood and yet has a satisfactory ending that brings completion to the “set piece.”

grosse pointe blank

My friend "M" has John Cusack as #1 on her celebrity one-night stand list. I couldn't resist this poll. Best soundtrack ever too!

Your Life is Like

Grosse Pointe Blank

What John Cusack movie are you?

bowl-a-rama, swim-a-rama

We went to our godson's 6th birthday party this morning - a bowling party for his entire kindergarten class, plus family and friends. E was decked out in awesome day-glo bowling shoes and quite excited about the idea of bowling. They had bumpers up on the lane and our boy scored 30 points in three turns (three times up to roll was about as long as his interest held.) After the party we stopped by E's grandparents and played trains for awhile and watched E run around showing off his super powers. We finished off the afternoon with Big E's first (sniff) swimming class without parents. He graduated to the Goldfish class. I think I was more nervous than he was since he didn't really understand that I wasn't coming into the pool with him. E loves to swim but still has hesitation about putting his face in the water or having water run over his head ("a towel! a towel for my eyes!"). I brought him to the steps of the pool where his class was meeting and he said, "Come on, Mama" when he sat down on the stairs. It took just a couple seconds of reassuring words and he joined right in with the other kids. I've never been so proud or felt so happy than watching him be independent from me in the pool. I am starting to understand how and why parents actually do want their children to grow up and be independent. I was still feeling the strong desire to have E live with us forever (I know most of you are rolling your eyes right now), but watching him listen to his teacher, hold hands and play with the other children, and actually letting the teacher pour a bit of water on his head, made me so fiercely proud and weepy . . . almost impossible to put into words. Anyway, E graduated to Goldfish class and I graduated to a new step in parenting.

library gala

I'm on the library's Gala committee . . . this is my second full year working as a liaison between the Summer Reading Planning team and the Gala team.
Organized by The Library Foundation, the Gala is created and run by a group of the most interesting women I've every worked with. They are a mix of local development officials, publicists, event managers, and society mavens. It's like stepping into a different world from my typical library teams and I love it!
With just a handful of meetings they plan one of the coolest benefits in Portland. This year will be the 10th annual Gala - ten themes in ten different rooms including a chocolate fountain, a piano bar, 60's love shack, and an oxygen bar. All of the proceeds fund our Summer Reading Program -which is really the biggest and best in the country.
I am stepping up my role this year and becoming a host. I am responsible for selling 10 tickets ($150 per ticket) - Tall House, Double Cup and I are going to hold a Champagne pre-party at our house and invite lots of friends we think might be up for a big social night on the town. It's going to be a hell of a party. Now . . . I'm in search of the perfect brown silk ballgown skirt.

multi-tasking for personal pleasure

I feel like I don't have enough time to actually fit in all of the leisure activities that truly make me happy - and at the top of that list right now is knitting/crappy tv/walking. So in an attempt to increase the amount of happiness in my life, I attempted tonight to watch Arrested Development while power walking on the treadmill and knitting my pretty cranberry red Irish Hiking Scarf.

yeah.

attempted.

Sad to say, it didn't work. I can manage tivo and the treadmill or tivo and knitting, but I can't watch tv, knit and walk over 3 miles an hour - and at that slow a pace, the workout is negligible. When I first picked up the knitting, I was just warming up - maybe 3.3 mph. Within a minute my back started to hurt and my arms were all whacky. I thought maybe I just needed to hit my groove-thang after walking a bit. But no, even 20 minutes into the walk at around 3.5 mph, I still faltered right away.

It got me thinking about multi-tasking and how much I love to do two things at once . . . somtimes even three - I can sort of knit, read, and watch tv - but even then, that whole happiness/satisfaction thing is off. I know there are people out there who can find simple joy in doing one thing and immersing themselves in it. The idea of knitting quietly and reflecting on the beauty of craft would drive me nuts. Watching tv without ripping out recipes, flipping through catalogs, or
arranging photos would seem lazy. I guess I just need to comes to term with two and not three as my magic multi-tasking number.

I did find one picture on google of someone who has figured out the walking and knitting thing. But I can't actually embrace him as a roll model. But I thought you might enjoy it.

first day of the year

Our first day of the year was spent sleeping in, having Tall House, Double Cup make us yummy waffles and bacon, watching Peter Pan while organizing all of E's new toys, an afternoon trip to the zoo and, our annual New Year's dinner of steak, blue cheese, spinach, mashed potatoes, and Barbera D'Alba wine, hours of evening knitting while watching the Godfather and the first season of Lost. I am half way through the Moo's Valentine's Day dress. I'm making it a size 3-4 and will then felt it down to a size 2. Big plans.
In the end, hopefully it will resemble something like this.
A very cute felted jumper Marfie and I saw at Janie and Jack. I am making it out of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes - I've changed the stripe just a bit and plan on making E a matching Valentine's Day vest - maybe more brown than Moo's red dress.

croc mittens

I had intended to have these done for E's Christmas
stocking but actually just finished them last night. They are a little rough as I was adapting a thicker wool to the pattern, but I think they'll work great as puppets and maybe special mittens to wear to the zoo. I'll try to snap a picture of E wearing them - he moves to fast it's hard to get him to "look up, please!" We got many pictures of him looking down this year.

I am thissssssssss close to finishing my Spork bag. I sewed on the buckles by hand last night while watching all the DVD extras to Lost. Now I just need to drag out my sewing machine to finish off the strap and voila! Can't wait to actually use it!

finally - my Ribby Cardi

I've been working on this sweater for at least six months - two months of knitting and four months of looking for that last damm skein of "charcoal" yarn. That never showed up so I picked up the collar with "coal" and you can hardly tell. The missing skein showed up under the guest room bed just last week. I'll save it for another project.

Peruvian Wool in Charcoal (and Coal) and Ruby. I feel a bit like a football player when I wear it - I usually don't wear pure wool sweaters - so we'll see if it gets any use besides cold cold cold weather. It was fun and easy to make. Check out the KAL at: http://www.ribbycardikal.blogspot.com/

christmas photobiography

Christmas Eve was a big blowout at Aunt CeCe's. Tall House, Double Cup's family so graciously embraced my family in taking part of their annual party. CeCe's gorgeous house has a view of Mt. Hood from every window and is a consumate party palace. E was surrounded with cousins - and is especially fond of Big D - a very cool six-year-old.


One of the best parts of the night is when Santa comes. It's so exciting to have our very own Santa at the party. E sat right up in the first row to be near Santa and was very excited to sit on his lap. Santa gave him a Mr. Potato Head electronic game - which he later pronounced his favorite present.

Christmas morning was brunch with mimosas, strata, and abbelskivers. E loved his new scooter and distributed presents to everyone.

What a treat to have Nana and Jonesie with us for E's birthday and Christmas. E loves them so much - it makes me so happy to see him play, laugh, and cuddle with my parents.

We napped, cooked, and watched Toy Story in the afternoon and had Tall House, Double Cup's parents over for dinner. E opened even more presents and got right to playing with the t-ball set they gave him. He's such a slugger.

I look forward to the holidays SO much . . . and I feel like I did almost everything I wanted. I didn't make it to the Grotto again, but within two weeks we fit in so many things and still are talking to each other. I am excited for the new year . . . hell, I am excited about every day usually. But having E to watch grow and share experiences with makes everything extra big.

irish hiking scarf

Tall House, Double Cup, loved getting this scarf for Christmas, even if it was a day late. This is my first Irish Hiking Scarf and I can't wait to start another one. THDC's was done with Lion Brand's Kool Wool - soft but very thick and not what I'll use again - an okay practice yarn!

holiday hangover

I am detoxing from the holidays with Diet Coke and a day at my cubicle. I have so many pictures and lots of progress on knitting projects to post - I just need to take a minute to actually download everything.

Quick Summary:
1 ice storm
five celebratory meals
one trip to the emergency room (bil's girlfriend)
infinite glasses of wine
2 knitting projects finally finished
2 knitting projects almost there
1 new knitting project started
3 movies actually viewed at a movie theater
1 pedicure/manicure
1 high tea at The Heathman with friends and Nana


And much much more to detail - but only with pictures.

when it rains

It seems like the rain isn't going to stop this week in pdx. I love the rain . . . in fact, if I had to list the top five things about Portland, rain would fit in there - I adore it - but today . . . it actually got to me. I had a meeting downtown and had to park in an unfamiliar garage. Coming back from my meeting (in the rain), I saw that the elevator to my ninth floor parking spot wasn't working. I thought I would be smart and take the elevator on the other side of the building - which left me off on a whole different subsection of the parking garage. I was trying at all costs to avoid walking back down nine flights in order to cross the block and walk the nine flights back on the "right" side of the building . . . so I went all ALISAS-Jennifer Garner on myself and threw my bag over a four and a half foot wall standing between the two structures. Thinking I was nineteen, taller than 5'4 and a size 10, I leapt (that's being generous) up and over the wall, landing with a small flourish for anyone appalling the roof of the 4th St. SmartPark. I headed back down the parking structure and eventually found my car . . . just a whole lot more wet and a bit woozy from the excitement. I found myself minutes later sitting at King Kong with my mother (working a split shift at the library- so odd) and then back at work by 4pm . . . it was all a blur. Later this evening, I did serious holiday grocery shopping and realized I forgot my wallet on top of my desk at work. I checked out and then told the clerk and called Tall House, Double Cup to rescue me. I finished off the night with a bottle of Clos du Bois and Martha Stewart's The Apprentice Finale. It's almost more than a girl can take.

happy birthday mr. big

Happy Birthday E! I can't believe he's already three! We had a hell of a big weekend planned for this fabulous event. Nana and Jonesie arrived on Friday, we had his favorite friends over for a Roy Rogers party on Saturday, followed by a movie night and cards for the adults, and finally a family party on Sunday - which was cancelled due to the ice storm raging out there tonight. E was in heaven at his party - mostly because his best friends from school were there. It didn't hurt that everyone was dressed up like cowhands either. I asked this tonight what his favorite part of the party was. He said, "opening presents." And his favorite present? "Our new towtruck". His friends gave him such thoughtful gifts - totally fun - and my girlfriends are amazing at picking out fun stuff to share - where would I be without the other mamas?
Nana and I headed off to see Brokeback Mountain this morning and by the time we got out of the theater, the snow had started. By the time we hit the Fremont Bridge, the ice had started. A quick stop at New Seasons confirmed that everyone was out stocking up on chips, beer, and salami - which made us start considering the fact that we really should have checked into the news at least once instead of watching House, M.D. on dvd all night. We arrived home to hear that no one could make the family party - even the mayor asked Portlanders to stay home. So Jonesie started a fire, the five of us split a stockpot of chili and dove into the chocolate cake . . . the best part of E's birthday? Tonight he got out of the bath, wrapped up in a big towel and then rocked in the rocking chair with me for about 15 minutes - the quietest time we've had together in days - it was lovely - and I feel so lucky to have just the very best boy in the whole world - funny, fast, and so smart - inventive, playful, and insistent on what he wants. Nothing compares to Big E!

teflon scarf

I fell in love with the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern as soon as I saw it. I was so excited to start that I gave in to a sale on Lion Brand's Kool Wool which turns out to be too stiff and synthetic to really enjoy knitting with - but the cables are so pretty and the pattern so classic. I can't wait to make the next one - but I am compelled to finish this one first. This is my first knit-along (kal) that I fell like I am actually, truly a part of - not just finding it months after it started and never quite catching up. Check out the kal at: http://irishhikingknitalong.blogspot.com/

and a one and a two and a . . .

Three hundred tubas, our best friends, hot chocolate, a sixty foot Christmas tree. What more does a girl need to get into the spirit?
Well, some lipgloss wouldn't have hurt.