12.18.2006

Shopping is LOVE.

So, shout out to the Little Blonde for alerting me to an AWESOME sale here today.

I was able to go to an actual physical place for the sale, and got some fantastic things for much less than their original prices (even less than the sale prices on the website).

Indeed, I am wearing the "inside-out jacket (in charcoal)" *right now*! It could not be softer or cozier. Me and Eva Longoria! Shop at the same place! Sort of!

Sorry. I am overwhelmed with shopping giddiness.

Today's project: Got held up on the last sleeve of Pink Sweater Project #2. Will finish it (Oh YES I WILL) tomorrow or die trying.

Today's life observation: Music truly does soothe the savage beast (or wee kraken).

12.11.2006

MEMO

To: My Street
From: Thisbe
Re: Holiday Light Decorations

Dear Neighbors,

Happy Holidays! We in the Thisbe household wish you and your families the best this holiday season, and in the upcoming New Year. In the spirit of the season, we would like to send some heartfelt wishes regarding your holiday decorations, as follows:

1) We wish you would follow the tried-and-true adage that "more is less" or the equally compelling "more is not better" or whatever your mother told you regarding "too much" of anything. Because we are going slightly blind from the sheer wattage of your collective holiday cheer.

2) We wish you would stick with all-white lights (which is, of course, a personal preference thing),** but if you must go with colored lights, we wish they were the wee tiny lights, rather than the largish, 60-watt style lights, which are causing Thisbe to almost drive off the road every time she sees them.

3) We wish we did not have to mention giant inflatable holiday decorations. Indeed, we wish they had never been created. But since someone has a very twisted sense of humor, we wish you would not egg them on by purchasing such decorations and putting them on your lawn. You're better than that.

4) Most importantly, we REALLY REALLY REALLY wish you would leave the animated light-up reindeer at the mall/store/gates of Hades. We can't prove it, but we are pretty sure that they are watching us, and it is creeping us OUT.

Love, The Thisbe Family

PS. Please accept our holiday wishes in the spirit in which they were intended, of good cheer, understanding that holiday lights/decorations are a bit of a pet peeve for us, and we are just poking a bit of good fun at them. In no way are we intending to disparage Christmas, or anyone's enjoyment or celebration thereof. We are not interested in receiving posts about how we are mean-spirited Grinches who hate Christmas. We do not, and we are supportive of the celebration of all winter holidays. Happy Festivus! And, Relax.

**Specifically, we wish you would stick with single-strand white lights rather than the very drippy lights, or the nets of lights, both of which are less visually stunning than you might think to the average viewer, but again, to each his own.

Today's Project: Rows away from completion of the pink sweater project. Also working on a black and silver shawl.

Today's Life Observation: Bad morning shower = VERY bad day.

12.06.2006

Howdy Neighbors!

[Thisbe notes that she has not posted for some time. Mea culpa. I have no good excuse, except that I didn't have much to say]

So it appears as though we have not one, but two sets of new neighbors.** There have been no sightings of the actual neighbors, but several sightings of their moving trucks and several furtive, drive-by or peering-through-my-window efforts to catch a glimpse of them.

I am not sure about the protocol on the whole "go introduce yourself and be neighborly" thing that I feel that I should do. Am I required to bring a baked good or casserole? (Thisbe is not keen on baking or cooking). Do I need to bring PBB with me? Should I just go with the wee kraken?

I am sure there is some kind of Emily Post procedure, but.......whatever. I think we'll wait until 1) The neighbors are sighted on one of the furtive drive-bys or 2) Saturday, when PBB is home.

**This development is particularly interesting in light of the fact that one set of neighbors is replacing the family which contained our affectionately nicknamed "Loud Guy", a man who was nice, but both a close AND loud talker. Suffice to say, when PBB had a headache so severe that we had to take him to the emergency room (he's fine), who was there? Loud Guy.

Today's Project: Pink sweater project #2 is almost complete! I have only 1 sleeve to go!

Today's life observation: Retail therapy. Goooooooood.

11.22.2006

A very Happy Turkey Day to you all...

May your pants be split with the vast amounts of (good) food that you consume.

Thisbe must go cook two corn souffles, but wanted to post a picture of the blue stripey hat.



Enjoy!

Today's Project: The left front of Pink Sweater Project #2 is almost complete! I am hoping to make a great deal of headway on it over the holiday.

Today's Life Observation: You can never have too many Pyrex pans.

11.15.2006

Not so friendly skies.

So this really burns me.

For those of you uninterested in clicking on the link, the gist of the story is that a woman on an airplane was sitting in a window seat (with her husband in the seat next to her), nursing her infant, and a flight attendant came by and offered her a blanket "for discretion". The woman turned down the offer of the blanket, and a short while later the flight attendant came back and asked her to get off the plane.

If what this woman claims is true, and she was indeed, kicked off an airplane for breastfeeding, then I am both horrified and furious. If I had been that woman, the exact same thing would have happened to me, as the wee kraken does not like anything on her head when she is nursing, and I would have no real interest in a crappy airline blanket for that purpose. I mean, it is not as if she was running up and down the aisle waving her exposed b**bs about and spraying other passengers (in which case, I would wholeheartedly support removing her from that, or any other flight).

If you don't want to nurse your kid, then fine. If you don't want to see me nursing my kid, then don't look, and frankly, even if you are looking, I am not exactly sure what you are seeing, other than the back of her head. Geez. I'm not much of a "lactivist", but I really get upset when people act like nursing your child in public is akin to stripping and table dancing.

Today's project: Working on the front of Pink Sweater Project #2. Picture to follow when the sweater gets a little farther.

Today's life observation: Mushrooms growing on your front lawn were a neat fairyland item as a child, but are really, just fungus, as an adult.

11.13.2006

Home again, home again....

So. This past weekend, we went to the ancestral home of Thisbe, to visit the wee kraken's doting Grammy & Big Pop.

Long car ride, to get to the ancestral home. On the plus side, the long car ride always features amusing small town idiosyncrasies (a storage facility with (what appears to be) a giant paper mache beaver out front -- store your things here! Or I will gnaw down a tree in front of you!).

Also, I was quite pleased because I am a HUGE fan of my hometown college basketball team, and this past weekend they played my actual college team at the hometown arena. I LOVE going to games there (Childhood memories! Daddy buys me sports stuff! I get to yell at strangers without repercussions!). Also, Big Pop purchased the wee kraken's first sports outfit for our team (and a matching hat for Thisbe). I am extremely excited to suit her up to watch the games with me. Since PBB (Thisbe's husband, and father of the wee kraken) hates sports, I am thrilled to have created my own companion for watching the games.

Also, I am consistently fascinated with how many people we know when we go out anywhere in the ancestral hometown. When we were first married, PBB & I would go there, and we could not go anywhere without Big Pop knowing someone, and that trend has continued. PBB was completely amazed every time it happened, and vowed that he too would have this sort of local notoriety in years to come. And although I used to take it for granted (since I lived it for 18 years), I am starting to be equally amazed, and also amazed that this trend has extended to the rest of the family. For example, wee kraken & I went out with Grammy for all of 2 hours and ran into 2 people she/I know. At dinner, we saw another family friend, at the game we saw another guy Big Pop knows. I run into someone I know here perhaps once a month, although usually under hilarious circumstances.* And it is not as though we live in a particularly big town.

Today's project: I expected to make major headway on Pink Sweater Project #2 this weekend, what with all of the car time, but forgot to factor in my love of sleeping in the car. So, I got almost nothing done.

Today's life observation: You can go home again. Really. And if you are lucky, your parents will treat you to dinner.

*My favorite example of this is when PBB had such a severe headache that we had to take him to the emergency room, and who should we see there? Our neighbor, who we lovingly refer to as "Loud Guy", because 1) He is loud, and 2) he is a "close talker". You can just imagine how happy PBB was to have that kind of extra support in his time of need.

11.08.2006

IIIIIIIIIIII.........am the very model

Of a modern major chorister.

Yet again, I have committed to performing in a Gilbert & Sullivan show. Why, oh why, do I keep doing this? I mean, I like G & S. Who doesn't? Crazy sexist plotlines? Cross-dressing? A guaranteed happy ending? GOOD TIMES FOR ALL, I SAY!

However, I find that the other members of the cast, (as usual) to put it delicately, are, shall we say, not so much acting to get into the "crazy" part of their characters.

To be fair, this group seems to have a lower crazy quotient than most, but still. It makes me all jumpy and twitchy just to be at a rehearsal. I actually get fidgety. Like a second-grader on a Halloween candy high. Ugh.

In other news, my wee kraken is now sporting two, count 'em, TWO teensy (but kind of sharp) teeth. They made her rather angry and rageful the last couple of days, but now that they are out I think she will return to her regularly scheduled pleasant little self.

Today's project: Work continues on Pink Sweater Project #2. I really like this project. The sweater is adorable and requires a moss-stitch knit for a good portion of it, which is just kind of fun.

Today's life observation: A hummer stretch limo? Can get a flat tire. Big does not equal invincible.

11.07.2006

VOTE! Thisbe is begging you!

OK. So, I am not normally all that political. But for the love of amber waves of GRAIN, I am begging everyone to go out there and vote. I would also like to encourage you all to vote for the Democratic candidate(s) in your area**, but I understand if you would like to continue with the path of our current administration. [indistinct coughing *pointless war* indistinct coughing *failure to protect civil liberties* indistinct coughing *completely unethical*]. Ahem.

Today's project: Working on a new Pink Sweater project for the same small person. I like this one *much* better. I am about halfway through the front.

Today's life observation: "Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos" (from The Simpsons).

**Unless, as in my area, the democratic candidate is a guy that my friends and I routinely refer to as "Crazy-Eyed [Candidate]", since he seems relatively normal, except that it appears as though at any moment in one of his commercials he is going to whip out an axe and scream "Vote for me! Or I will chop you good!" I will (unfortunately) be voting for the Independent candidate instead. Suffice to say that the words "between a rock and a hard place" have rarely been more apropos.

10.29.2006

Long time. No post. Much knitting.

OK. So, sorry about the lack of posting. Not that many people are reading this. But, still, my deepest apologies. The wee one and I have been making many social calls, and attending to various family obligations.

Not to gloss over the last several months, but rather, it makes more sense to just look forward. And specifically, to look forward to one of my favorite days: Halloween.

I have had the Halloween costume for my first child planned for approximately 7 years. I realize that this may seem, shall we say, excessive to most people, but in the words of a great man "I have a dream". And I am quite proud to say, I have made that dream come true. This will probably be one of the few pictures I will post of my wee one, but I could not resist.

STRAWBERRY!!!!!



I have only recently unveiled this exciting costume, and I must say, it has received a great deal of critical acclaim.

Indeed, we were at a birthday party today, and my wee strawberry was quite a hit. Particularly with the birthday girl, who we adore. [Shout out to G! Creator of the infamous and useful phrase "No, no. No no no [with finger wagging]"]. And, in all fairness, the birthday girl was herself pretty awesome in a Yoda costume. She is two. And all-wise in the ways of the Jedi.

Today's project: A curly scarf to take a break from baby knitting (So many babies on the way! Only one Thisbe!). Technically it is crocheted, but whatever.

Today's life observation: A two-year old will really eat anything. Anything. Including a star-shaped candle. Happy Birthday G!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

8.01.2006

The Surface of the SUN.....

....would be a pleasant respite to the heat wave that our area is currently experiencing.

Additionally, we are especially lucky to have significant power outages. Thankfully, our personal home did not lose power, however, a large chunk of US-1 is powerless, making driving anywhere an exciting adventure. Who needs traffic lights anyway, I say.

Also, this weather is totally frustrating for me on an entirely different level, as I am currently responsible for a very small person, who is new to this universe, and who cannot reasonably be taken out in 100+ degree weather. So despite the appearance of sunny loveliness, I am trapped in the house, singing children's songs to a small, bored, person. And frankly? I am running out of songs. Soon she will have to make do with various Broadway show tunes. Memories....all A-loooooone in the Mooooonlight.......!

Today's project: The Pink Sweater Project persists, but has taken a rather alarming turn. I think I am running out of yarn. I am not sure what to do. I may have to cannabalize a hat I knitted out of the same yarn as a sample. But that would be a HUGE inconvenience.

Today's life observation: I have no observation. As I observed nothing. As I was in the house all day. And for the record: you do NOT want me to comment on the limited number of things I did observe.

7.31.2006

The Goat.

So, along US-1, not far from my house, lives a goat. This is rather odd considering that although I live in the suburbs I do not live in a place where people generally keep goats, and this particular goat resides on what is a very busy stretch of road. It is not a place you would expect to see a goat.

I discovered The Goat on the way to the grocery store about a year ago. I was sitting at a traffic light and glanced out of the window at what I initially thought was a man walking a dog. Until I realized that the dog had a beard and was chewing on something. Then the light turned and I had to drive away, but I immediately called my husband to report what I had seen. He confirmed that indeed, The Goat existed, as he (my husband) had also seen The Goat and had even asked our veterinarian about it, and she said that The Goat exists (and apparently receives regular check-ups).

After discussion with other colleagues who live in my town, I found out that goat-spotting is something of an underground game, and it is now with great enthusiasm that I await a trip past The Goat's house to see if he is around.

I have not seen The Goat outside in quite some time, but his owner has thoughtfully placed a table by the front window of his house, and several times I have seen The Goat silhouetted in the window. The Goat seems to really enjoy looking out the window. Every time I see him it makes me happy. For no reason.

Today's project: The Pink Sweater Project beat goes on. I have finished the right side and begun work on the left. I am concerned that the recipient of this sweater will not appreciate how difficult it was to create, considering how simple it looks.

Today's life observation: Simple things really can make you happy. We went to Stew Leonard's over the weekend and I got several very exciting food items, and I was so happy I was practically doing a dance in the checkout line. I love you Stew's! I especially love your grapefruit juice and animatronic dancing fruits and vegetables. ["I am Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say...."]

7.28.2006

Picture People.

Today I went with my sister-in-law, two nieces, and wee daughter to attempt to have a picture taken of the three of them together. I say attempt, because it is not possible to get three children under the age of four, one of whom cannot sit up on her own, to all sit/stand still, look at the camera, and smile. We were only marginally successful, in the sense that we got a picture of all three of them in one frame.

Today's project: The Pink Sweater Project continues. I have completed the back, and I am almost done with the right sleeve and front. For future reference? Garter stitch sweaters may look simple, but may not be.

Today's life observation: If you are caught in a thunderstorm so severe that a shopping cart is moved across the parking lot by the sheer force of the stormy activity, it is best to remain where you are. Even if you are trapped in the mall. Go get some Starbucks or something.

7.25.2006

....and while my tiny wee kraken slumbers...

I begin this blog.

I have long resisted writing any sort of blog, fearing the prying eyes of internet stalkers and identity thieves and whatnot, but, as I find myself with quite a bit of time on my hands, and because I needed to sign up for blogspot to post a comment on another blog, here I am.

I am hoping to use this blog mainly to discuss fun projects that I am knitting, and various life epiphanies/observations that I have while doing so.

Today's Project: A pink sweater I am knitting for a friend's brand new baby girl. [Pink Sweater Project]. The pattern is Debbie Bliss, the yarn is Debbie Bliss cotton dk. So far, the sweater is not difficult, but is irritating because it requires the knitter to strictly count each row. I think I am about halfway through it.

Today's life observation: the more bags you carry, the more likely it is that you will leave one at the grocery store. And the more likely it is that the bag you will leave will be your purse. [Shout out to whoever returned my purse to the Stop n' Shop people without stealing anything from it!].