Friday Off!

Way back when we were first mapping out days off in our department, I picked this Friday due to the scheduled 2-week audit we were going to have in the weeks prior. Fortunately, the audit only lasted one week, but due to the craziness of Represent and Anniversary, I could use a three-day weekend, and my house once again is a mess. Mounds of laundry, unopened mail, and some old milk and a bottle of Triple Sec stand solitary in the fridge. Yup. I'm no Martha Stewart, but our house is starting to resemble Jake's house in Sixteen Candles when he finds Farmer Ted imprisoned in the coffee table and a pizza on the record player.

And so, after some extra wonderful hours of sleep with the cats this morning, I'm finally up and ready to do things at my own pace. Nice.

Have a great weekend!

Eleven Years as a Weismann...

Yup. Eleven years. And he ain't been murdered yet.

Joe and I spent a wonderful yet exhausting weekend in New York City celebrating our 11th year as husband and wife. Here's but a taste of what we did/saw. Will upload more later. Plus, for you yarny folks, I have my booty from the Represent night, as well as the yarn purchased from the weekend.

This was a wonderful Mexican place on the Upper East Side, Sabor a Mexico. I have read some negative reviews, but I have no idea where they might have been eating. This place rocked. Joe had soft tacos of chorizo and pork, and I had enchiladas of seasonal veggies and cheese. Great Mexican beers (no margaritas, claro que no!), great service, and wonderful place.

MUCH later that night, we went to see Pirates of Penzance at the City Opera. I've loved me some Pirates, ever since I first saw Rex Smith and Kevin Kline in cheezy movie-of-the-week costumes. But MAN this was a great show. View the photo gallery of comments on the Opera Nazi.

Sunday afternoon we saw Spamalot. Yes. Spamalot. I highly recommend it for any Python lovers. The marquis reads, "Cows, Coconuts, Killer Rabbits, Witches (too expensive), and French People." What's not to love?!? More theater nazis in the photo gallery notes.

I'm too sleepy (and still recovering from Represent and Anniversary Weekend) to upload all the pics, but needless to say it was a grand time.

For you yarn addicts (and you know who you are)...

I got this at The Yarn Connection on Represent Day...several balls for a groovy new hat, and others for some headbands/who knows what. I have a problem when I go into yarn stores and don't know what I want to do...I just grab what feels and looks good.

Here's what I got at shop on the Upper East Side. I loved the selection but detested the ladies. If I weren't on such a yarn high, I would have totally left the building. But it was the only shop in our general area. I will certainly name the shop in the photo gallery, but in all honesty they DID have a great selection. I just have oh-so-many stories about their snootiness. Photo taken in the chair of our hotel with guide book.

More later. Too tired now.

...And Now for the Money Shots...

FIT!!!
Holy Cow! It's Guido! And we're making "Fear Me And My Pointy Sticks" Fists! :)

Wonderful knitters were out full force. On the left was a lady from Rhinebeck, on the right was my dear friend for the evening, Meghan, and the lady sitting down was fixing something fair-aisled.
It's these random knitting shots I just L-O-V-E. Like when we all go to The Great Beyond? If we've been good? It'll look just like this...

Meghan's ultra-cool socks AND shoes. She has an open invitation to come visit, especially since she and her man want to fix up an older house in the country. Heh. We'll take care of that... ;)

Knitters, waiting in line. Mind you, this is OVER AN HOUR before the "show."

There was some pre-seating, but there was space for everyone.

The goodness in my lap. Okay, totally wrong way to say that...everyone got a bag that included yarn and needles for knitting a Warm Up America square.

Random over-the-head shot of knittas behind us. I love how they're all just gettin' busy. America, prepare to Warm Up!

This is a (very bad) picture of The Harlot with flash. I just love the audience member applauding with knitting-in-hand.

The Harlot without flash. Sorry I didn't get a brilliant picture of the Bohus. She's just too darned spunky and fun to stand still long enough for my crappy camera to deal with it. Actually, I think she's taking a picture of us and THE SOCK below.

The Harlot, speaking, keeping us knitting and laughing and crying and cheering.

Hey - who's this I see? Could it be...Jayme-the-wonder-publicist???

What I brought back with me - I wasn't done with my square yet. I'm a slow knitter...also got the book and...
Some kickass buttons.

I'm normally not much of a doer. I do my thing, attend the occasional music festival, but otherwise lay low. To all Knitters out there - if the Harlot is anywhere NEAR your area/state/region...You. Must. Go.

Thanks to everyone who made this evening SPECTACULARRRRRR.

Pre-Harlot Goodness...

...to segregate the ME photos from the REPRESENT pics...

This is how I began my journey - at the Beacon MTA station. Not a bad view, though...

Followed my anal-retentive directions to get to the nearest yarn shop (that was on the way to a pub)...


The Yarn Connection, while difficult to find, was quite a delight. The ladies were friendly, the selection was amazing, and I came away with some very yummy items. I just wish I knew what wireless coffee soda was...badump-BUMP.

Ah, yes. The Gingerman. The stuff of legend with Joe and his buddy Russ. Here, a pint of Captain Lawrence Imperial IPA makes nice with my beer sock-in-progress. I just wish I'd known it was 8% ABV before I drank another pint. But that's another story...

The famous Stout pub. Alas, I could not get in - the bar was packed (at 4pm on a Thursday???), and the dining room didn't open until 5. A good thing, though, since at that point I didn't realize how much I needed to NOT drink at that point. On to the YarnHarloty Goodness...

Let's Get This Outta The Way...

But first - one easy WIP that I finally finished - the Knitty Gritty Rasta Hat, as modeled by my dearest Joe...

...and now by me. Don't ask me why my chin is doing that thing. I really don't have a pointy chin. Really. The yarn was purchased at the Union Square Green Market about a year ago during a visit with my dear Snarky friend.

I tried it twice as a scarf, but it really wasn't meant to be anything but a hat. Obviously.

The following photo shows: (Foot of snow + Days of warm weather) x Tin Porch Roof = ice slideage.

Preppin' for Representin'...

Cell phone charged?
Check

iPod located, updated, and charged?
Check

Camera with 2 sets of backup batteries?
Check

Three socks-in-progress, notes, and knitting accessories carefully tucked away in bag?
Check

Cash, train schedule, maps, phone numbers?
Check

Handknitted socks on feet, with gloves, hat, and scarf ready to go?
Check

Counting down every slowass moment before I can hop into my car and zip over to the train station?
Check

I do believe I'm ready to represent.

Wheeeee!

Trying to get Back to Normal

A few updates:

The Thin Mint Cheesecake recipe is here. I highly recommend it. The cheesecake itself isn't minty (just the crust and YUM! Andes candies and Thin Mints in the batter), so it's not overwhelming. I added green food coloring to the batter (since it was for St. Patrick's Day), and it turned out really nice. I don't want to know how many WW points it was.

Speaking of St. Pat's day, we spent it with our Irish friends, the Connors. All the goodness - corned beef, cabbage, ham, potatoes...plus lots of beer, Irish whiskey, Bailey's, games, and staying up until 4:30am. Let's just say things were a bit rough on Sunday, but it wasn't anything a good nap and some greasy fast food didn't cure.

While we were out, the kitties caught mousie #03-2007. No pics due to the...er...graphic violence involved. I guess a couple of the kitties played tug-of-war. Ick. Just what you want to face when you're hungover.

If all goes well, I'm going to be here Thursday evening. I'm totally stoked. I just haven't heard from my boss whether or not I can have a few hours off. I hope I hope I hope!

On-and-Off-the-Needles updates to be added to the sidebar - just haven't been able to get that together yet. Also need to add some buttons that I lost in the big conversion of layouts a while back.

That's about it for now - better get back to work!

Finally Rolling Out of Bed...

...at 11am. After a week-long audit and a craptastic drive home in this -

I treated myself to a goodly bit of wine last night while I made a Thin Mint Cheesecake for St. Pat's dinner at our friends' house. Moving just a wee bit slow this morning. It's also helpful that the outdoors aren't presenting a very attractive pull for my attention...


...and so I rolled around in bed, catching up with old episodes of Supernatural. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki can wake me up any day. Mrrrrow.

I'll eventually have to be productive, shower, and shovel. But for now, it's just me and my coffee.

Rest In Peace, #02-2007

Ah, yes...complain about no pictures, then something nice and picture-worthy happens…

We live in an old house. Old houses have many, many issues – one of which is “settling.” Our main house was built in 1871, and as best we can guess the back addition was built about 50 years later, with our laundry room extension not too long after that. Different parts of the house have settled differently over time, leaving gaps where walls and floor meet in some places. Our foundation work halted the extreme settling, but we still have to work on cleaning up all of the inside issues - cracked drywall, baseboards, and such.

In addition, we have a completely dirt basement. The stone foundation (reinforced with concrete and rebar now, thank you very much) stops about shoulder height if you’re standing in the basement – everything else is dirt. You’re in a big dirt hole. The only things down there are shelves we don’t use, beer that we’re aging, the furnace, the water heater, and spiders. Lots of spiders. I’m still not convinced that no one is buried down there (it has the creepy one-lightbulb-in-the-middle-of-the-room-horror-movie-lighting), and if you can get past the insulation we’ve shoved in different places, you’ll get a peek at our groundhog’s den.

So it comes as no surprise that a house with gaps over a dirty hole in the earth should have critters once in a while.

My first experience was right after we moved – it was the summer of 2001, and I hadn’t yet found a job. I was enjoying my domestic lifestyle and was happily doing laundry, when I turned around to find a little gray mouse on top of the laundry door frame, pretty freaked out and just staring at me. I pride myself in not being girly, but I went EEEEK and ran out of the room, called my husband, then hung my head in shame as he laughed at me.

I pulled myself together, went back in the laundry room, and the little fellow was still there. Hmmm. How to get a mouse off the door. I know – I’ll just knock him off the ledge, into the bathroom trash can, then take him outside.

That’s when I learned the little boogers can jump.

Picture it – me, trying to keep a mouse no bigger than my thumb in a trash can by waving the can around, banging the mouse against the sides, throwing off his trajectory enough until I could get him outside. But I did it, the dizzy mouse scampered away, and I was a happy girl once again.

In later mouse episodes (and yes, there have been a few over the years), I have gone from covering them with tupperware bowls to grabbing them with my hands. Yes, I know, vermin-germs-filthy-nasty – whatevs. They’re little mice. You catch them. You wash your hands really well. Plus, I know they don’t live in the house. How do I know, you ask?

Because we have cats. Four large, scary cats – who, after the first couple of run-ins with mice, dusted off their natural instincts and became Protectors of the Home. They don’t eat them – they don’t even mean to kill them. They just want to PLAY. Once, Otis and Dobby were PLAYING with one and pushed it off the top step, onto the hardwood floor 10 feet below. They ran down, looked at it, pawed it, then looked at me as if to say, “Sorry Mom – I broke it.”

When a poor, unsuspecting mouse finds its way into the house, all of the cats hone in on the rustling and don’t leave their post until it ends badly for the critter. We get a few each year – mainly when some drastic weather changes are in the air (like yesterday was almost 70 degrees, and tomorrow we’re getting snow) and they go looking for warmth or food. Then they find that they’ve ended up in a special Mouse Hell from which there is no escape.

So this morning, I realized something was amiss when none of the cats were in bed with me. Chilly morning + no cats in bed = something has their attention. Then I heard the jingle of Otis’s collar as he and Dobby were playing outside the bedroom door.

Wait a sec. Otis hates Dobby. Goddammit.

Turn on light – see cats look up, and notice the little gray something in Otis’s mouth.

“Dammit, Otis – why’d you have to bring him up here???”

Otis (with muffled speech): “But Mom – aren’t you proud of me? I’m King of the Jungle!”

Dobby: “Hey – I helped, dude!”

And thus begins my morning. Waking up to the 2nd mouse of 2007 (the first one was in January).

I bet everyone wants to come visit now, eh?

EDITED TO ADD: That's a fist-full of Kleenex upon which the poor guy is finally resting. Not sheets, as it appears in my hastily-cropped pic...you sickos...

Bear with me...

Yes, I know, I know, I've been the totally rude Porch Mistress lately. But there are reasons, I swear! First of all, we're being audited this week (at work, I mean). So at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is type or stare at a PC. And I've been so busy at work, I haven't even been able to do non-work things online during the day. Oh, the horror!

Secondly, I've been getting ready for tonight's meeting in the Village concerning our Comprehensive Plan. Yes, alas I cannot say no to our officials, and not only am I on the Planning Board but this CP Committee as well. I love our village. I love the people, the homes, the businesses...everything. And I inherited enough of Dad to get involved and make sure Montgomery can grow into something even more beautiful. We had our first public input meeting tonight, and it went very well. It warms my heart to know that others feel this way - whether they've lived here for generations or for just a few years, like myself. Sure, there are a lot of uncomfortable moments when politics and personal feuds get in the way. But having grown up 20 minutes from just about everything (although I really did love growing up that way, Mom!), it tickles me to death that I can walk to...5 delis, 2 coffee shops, 1 bakery, 1 pub, 1 martini bar, 5 top-notch restaurants, 4 pizza places, 1 liquor store, 1 grocery store, antique shops up the wazoo, the post office, the Village Hall, all of the schools...you get my drift. I love the Village of Montgomery. Please come up and visit sometime so I can show it off! :)

And because I've been pictureless lately, I leave you with something I totally scammed from my Angry Noodle friends...May you and yours have a happy, peaceful day - I promise more updates (esp knitting) very soon.

I Just Might Be Insane...

Because I think I'm going to do this...

Yup. Ride a bike. With other people. For 30 miles.

Most of the other folks at my company are going for the 60+ miles, and I'm not that loopy. But I'm thinking...just THINKING...that I might be able to train for 30 miles decently between now and July. Plus, it would certainly kickstart my WW motivation and progress.

Any thoughts?

Two Random Conversations Today...

Me: "Does my hair look funny after being in the hat?"
Joe: "No, but your lips look funny after being in the red wine."

Joe: "Beth! BETH!!!!"
Beth: "I'm in the bathroom! What is it?"
Joe: "I have head! I HAVE HEAD!!!"
(This after opening a bottle of the dreaded flat hazelnut porter - which is evidently flat no more.)

Just another fun day at the Weismann home. :)

Finally - SOMEbody Said It...

I'm a Georgia girl. I'm proud of that. I don't have an accent - I never did. Just a thing. But I'm proud of being from Georgia, because that shaped my life. It still does. We had snow. We had ice. We had tornadoes. We had a high crime rate. We didn't sit around in a bubble of nice people with a slow twang. That being said...

...for all the times my New Yorker coworkers felt sorry for "that southern girl" having to drive in the snow (uh, hello? it's not ME I doubt - it's you crazy soccer moms going 60mph over icy back roads with a cell phone to your ear - illegal in NY, I might add)...

...for all the times I didn't pay attention to the forecast and went to the grocery store on my normal night of the week, only to floor it past the packed parking lot...

...for all the times my school-teacher neighbors didn't have to go to work because there was a dusting on the ground...

...for all the times I had to suffer through the endless list of school closings on the radio and TV in the mornings...

The lovely Yarn Harlot has so eloquently said what I've been dying to say for years...

Here's a hint, you harsh New Yawkers. The term Steel Magnolia was coined for a reason. We kick ass when we want to. We're just more polite about it.

And I Wasn't Even Drinking!

Today marks Day Four of extreme WW back-on-track-ness. Gained 10 lbs over the holidays, and they're not too anxious to leave again - especially since my love of good food and good drink usually breaks down my flimsy willpower. So I haven't even had a beer or glass of wine in four days (gasp!). But since it's Birthday Weekend at the Weismanns, that will certainly change - mine is tomorrow, Joe's is Sunday, and we usually celebrate the day in-between (since that's the one full day we're the same age).

So earlier this week, when I was oh-so-proud of myself for being soooo very good, I did the typical Beth-is-a-clutz move to bring me back to earth. Hard. This move, carefully crafted over many years, is usually performed when slighly inebriated and going down stairs. I just miss the last one. Who knows why. Tuesday night, however, I missed two on our back stairway (not to code, steep, and winding) - my big, flat feet went right out from under me, and I smacked onto the cold, hard kitchen tile. I thought, "This is how people die. Joe's out of town, I'll hit my head and black out, and the next thing you know my coworkers will find me days later after my cats have eaten my face off." Yes, I'm just a bundle of sunshine in my own mind...

Very slight sprain on my sprained-so-many-times-I-just-roll-with-it right ankle, but otherwise I'm good to go. Just couldn't do much on the treadmill the last few days.

On to happier things - like knitting!

I'm starting on the Beer Socks for Joe to wear at the TAP-NY Beer Festival in April, but they're toe-up, and I get nervous about that. So I was going to start a trial pair with this lovely yarn my good buddy Sharon so lovingly sent to me. Then I realized Hell-to-tha-No, I'm saving that yarn for our special Snark-a-long later this year. This sock yarn is way too yummy. So I decided to go with this yarn - purchased on a binge in St. Louis - didn't really like how it was looking and not fond of the feel. Mom wants some colorful light-weight socks, and these will be perfect for her, I think. I'm also thinking about making myself this rasta hat. Just because.

That's about it for the random thoughts...I guess I'd best get back to work, since I'm...er...at work...

Betharoopie's Songs of Snarky Love

I recently participated in a CD exchange for Valentine's Day and totally forgot to print out the song list for the CDs. The one thing they all have in common is having something to do with the emotions surrounding love - even if it is just a song I associate with a memory of love. Here they are, in alphabetical song order:

All You Need Is Love--The Beatles
Always Be--Jeffrey Gaines
Amie--Damien Rice
Angie--Tori Amos
Annie's Song--John Denver
Another Night (Radio Mix)--Real McCoy
Beautiful Girl--Peter Droge & The Sinners
Beth--Kiss
Black Coffee In Bed--Squeeze
Blue--The Jayhawks
Breakfast at Tiffany's--Deep Blue Something
Bring Me Some Water--Melissa Etheridge
Caged Bird--Alicia Keys
Careful--Guster
Celebrate Me Home--Kenny Loggins
China--Tori Amos
Crush--Dave Matthews Band
Crystal Village--Pete Yorn
Dagger Through The Heart--Sinéad O'Connor
Diggin' On A Road--Sonia Dada
Dirty Work--Steely Dan
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind--Joan Osborne
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me--Oleta Adams
Don't Lie--Black Eyed Peas
Eleanor--Vigilantes Of Love
Evangeline--Matthew Sweet
Fall At Your Feet--Crowded House
Galileo--Indigo Girls
Girl All the Bad Guys Want--Bowling For Soup
Girlfriend--Matthew Sweet
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy--Jason Mraz
Goodbye To Love--The Carpenters
Gravel--Ani DiFranco
Groove Me--King Floyd
Have A Little Faith In Me--John Hiatt
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You ?--Chieftains & Van Morrison
Head Over Heels--The Go-Go's
Here In My Heart--John Berry
Home--Michael Bublé
How Good It Can Get--The Wallflowers
I'll Cover You (Reprise)--Tracie Thoms / Jesse L. Martin / Cast Of Rent
I'll Have to Say I Love You In A Song--Jim Croce
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me--The Jayhawks
I've Got A Crush On You--Sarah Vaughan
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)--Stevie Wonder
I Could Write A Book--Harry Connick, Jr.
I Want To Hold Your Hand--The Beatles
I Will Follow You Into The Dark--Death Cab For Cutie
In the Meantime--Spacehog
In The Mirror--Yanni
In Your Eyes--Jeffrey Gaines
It Had To Be You--Billie Holiday
Last Beautiful Girl--Matchbox Twenty
Let's Fall In Love--Louis Armstrong
Light Of A Clear Blue Morning--Allison Moorer
Long Sweet Summer Nights--The Thorns
Love Of My Life--Queen
Luckiest Man Alive--The Finn Brothers
Me And Bobby McGhee--Janis Joplin
Melissa--The Allman Brothers Band
Memorize--The Bacon Brothers
Misery--Pink Feat. Steven Tyler
More Than Love--Los Lonely Boys
My Kinda Lover--Billy Squier
My Sweet Lady--John Denver
Never Felt This Way (Interlude)--Alicia Keys
No Matter What--Badfinger
Now that I know--Shannon McNally
One Step Closer To You--Michael Franti & Spearhead
Piece Of My Heart--Janis Joplin
Reminiscing--Little River Band
Roses--Outkast
Second Hand News--Fleetwood Mac
She--Elvis Costello
She Talks to Angels--The Black Crowes
Shower The People--James Taylor
Solsbury Hill--Peter Gabriel
Somebody To Love--Queen
Something In The Way She Moves--James Taylor
Soulshine--Warren Haynes
Sweetest Thing--U2
The Blower's Daughter--Damien Rice
The Grass Is Blue--Norah Jones
The Heart Of The Matter--Don Henley
Time--Tori Amos
To Make You Feel My Love--Garth Brooks w/Trisha Yearwood
Too Much Love Will Kill You--Brian May
True To Myself--Ziggy Marley
Tupelo Honey--Van Morrison
Turn Me On--Norah Jones
Unsent--Alanis Morissette
When I Was A Boy--Dar Williams
Winter--Tori Amos
Wish You Were Here--Pink Floyd
Without You--Adam Pascal / Rosario Dawson
You'll Accomp'ny Me--Bob Seger
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away--Eddie Vedder
You Had Me--Joss Stone
You Oughta Know--Alanis Morissette
Your Body is a Wonderland--John Mayer

Catchin' Up with the Camera

Alrighty, then. First off, some pictures of the progress Joe made last week...


Joe removed most of the plaster in the bathroom - you can see the lath, and underneath that, on the exterior wall, is brick that needs to be removed. Back in the day, brick was used as insulation and fire retardation. The problem is, it's pretty crappy insulation.

Joe, after I'd taken one too many pictures. Taking down plaster is nasty business. Lots of particulate you need to avoid breathing.

Now, on to what I did yesterday. The cats and I did plenty of this...

And I also did a good bit of this...

Most of my knitting yesterday was on Clappy, but I can't show you that. I'm almost done, though! Once I started drinking some wine, however, I thought it safer to work on something that wasn't too important. Top left is my entrelac experiment, bottom left is a cloverleaf pattern, but I think I'll rip it out - looks too funky on size 10s (the only needles I had available downstairs - alas, I was too lazy to just get up and get some others). On the right is a simple moss stitch. I had experimented with the Roman Stripe Pattern Stitch that I saw on Knitty Gritty not too long ago, but it didn't rock my world with this yarn.

Watched a few movies - Something New was a total chick flick, but it was very enjoyable. Plus, Simon Baker? Total hotness. Also watched The Lake House. Didn't want to like it, but I did. Of course, you totally have to suspend disbelief, and the story definitely has its holes. But a very good knitting movie. And, as much as people like to bash Keanu, he's really easy on the eyes.

Also got to see a CLASSIC yesterday that gave me nightmares as a kid. Still gives me the heeby-jeebies...

Today is pretty much more of the same, plus of course Oscar-watching. Call it the weekend of guilty pleasures.

Friday! Whoohoo!!!

You cannot beGIN to imagine the joy that is coursing through my veins right now (which of course is a sure sign that the Voldemort of my world will try to squash every last happy sparkle). But that doesn't matter - because I MADE IT.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings I worked on finalizing the reports for my volunteer group so the transition to the new treasurer would be final. Wednesday night was my last meeting, and it was certainly a meeting from hell. Went from 7pm until about 10:30 and ended with people screaming and walking out. Let's just say this isn't the FIRST time a meeting has gone like that. But I handled it all in stride this time because...IT WAS MY FINAL ONE. Went home, had a stiff drink, and slept with a smile on my face.

Thursday night had a meeting in the Village - I'm on several local government committees, and it's a great way to learn more about your community and connect with people. I enjoy it. I'm a total joiner in that respect - I think I got it from my dad.

Work has been holy heckwads, but no matter how painful it may be today, it too will be OVER soon. Nine point five hours and counting. Going out to dinner with good friends, then Joe will be getting ready for a business trip.

WHICH MEANS...tomorrow I'm going to be what I like to call Productively Lazy. Meaning, I'll do chores, but only those that can be done while watching TV or movies. Laundry. Dishes. Opening mail. Paying bills. Picking up clutter in rooms that have TVs (in all honesty, those are the only rooms that have clutter...kind of...). And at some point on Saturday it'll be all about the knitting, the beer, the lap cats, and a chick flick movie. I'm working hard on Clappy but also having fun on my first entrelac experiment. I got some really pretty, on-sale cotton when I was last at my LYS, and I thought I'd try some dishrags of different stitch patterns. Then, when I got the recent Interweave Knits, I thought it would be a good time to just expose myself to the technique - because these socks totally rock.

Sorry no pictures - haven't even hooked the camera up to the PC to download lately. But this weekend is catchup time. Here's a totally random picture that I have at work...a few weeks too late. It was taken in our driveway a few years ago. We have a groundhog who lives under our house - I call him Homer. I haven't seen him come out yet this month, so I'm not so sure that an early spring is in the future. He's kind of handy to have around - he eats maple saplings and mulberries. But he also eats certain flowers and our neighbor's tomatoes. Me, personally - I kind of like having our own little marmot mascot.

Have a lovely weekend one and all!!!

Rough Week, Light on the Blogging...

Lots going on - will catch up later this week or weekend. Suffice it to say I'm just plain tuckered out. Weekend was work on the house and making and drinking beer. I'm resigning from my position at the volunteer organization tonight, so I've been preparing for that transition, and my paying job has been crazy as well.

Thanks for tuning in - will be starting beer socks and Mom Socks #2 soon. Almost in the home stretch of Clappy, which is driving Mom crazy because she wants to know what it is. You'll have to wait for Mother's Day, dearest!

Joe has an update...

Valentine's Day

Well, we survivied. But not without much whining on my part. Here's a pic that Joe took mid-day (while he was working from home, I might add):

Basically, it started as snow in the evening, switched to sleet/snow mix in the morning, became more icy mid-morning, then switched over to snow in the afternoon, stopping around 5pm with about a foot of accumulation. Add some winds into the mix, and you have the drifts that welcomed me this morning:

But it's all good. One of the amazing things (to this Southern gal, at least) is how quickly the roads get plowed once it stops. Granted, while it's still snowing, it's pretty crazy (like during my drive home yesterday), but I have to admit it was kind of fun plowing my badass truck up our hill that had about 6-7 inches of unplowed snow. At least I knew if I got stuck I could get out and walk.

We then went to 88 Charles Street, one of our favorite Montgomery restaurants, where they have the BEST Steak au Poivre (for Joe) and Gnocchi Bolognese (for me). Not to mention the bottle of decent Shiraz, excellent salad, and desserts (mmm...tartufo). After the white-knuckled driving, the constant stress during the day about getting home, and then such a lovely meal with my honey? I was out like a light at 9pm. Didn't even catch Lost live, which is a rarity. Then again, catching up this morning and starting the day with a decent Desmond fix wasn't too shabby. Mrrroww...

This sucks...

...donkey balls.

Observations and rants:

1) Northern folks need to learn how to take a snow day every once in a while.
2) I push paper, keep files, and calculate numbers for a manufacturing facility that doesn't make anything that saves people's lives or helps in an emergency. So why am I here?
3) I do love my badass truck. What I *DON'T* love are stupid people who think that 4-wheel-drive means drive-fast-in-snow-and-ice. I trust myself behind the wheel - I don't trust the soccer mom on the phone passing me in blinding precipitation. I will wave to you as I drive past the ditch you swerve into.
4) It's chili day at work. A half dozen crock pots in the conference room, cornbread, chips, cheese, and hot sauce await.