It's a wonder I ever get anything done around here...

...given what I have to put up with. Realizing that holding my arm with his front paws didn't work Frisky has now taken to pinning down my arm:


"No knitting! No!"

Despite this I did manage to finish a cotton tank (click for specs on Rav) for myself.




Also started a cute wrap out of some Araucania Nature Cotton I've had kicking around. More on that later...

Bagged!

Hmm...thought I could get away with lurking and snurfing but, sigh, I got bagged by Ericka of the Pointy Sticks. Thus I am coming out of blog-ernation long enough for a meme.

*Never* let it be said that I welched on a meme tag.

First, a gratituitous chihuahua shot:


"Hey, bro, what d'ya know? Hows about a little turkey jerky?"

And now, the meme:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Hubs and I had just sold our first house (tiny new construction) and bought a second (large fixer-upper in a *fabulous* neighborhood). I was about 7 mos pregnant with my second babe and the house, which had looked pretty great before we owned it, was turning out to be a money-pit nightmare of poor maintenance and problems. A crazed pregnant woman in a dirty house in the heat of summer with a two-year-old in one hand and a paint scraper in the other. Oh yeah. That was me.

2. What are 5 things on my TO-DO list for today? Ooh, this is actually a good day to ask me that question! Go to elementary school to help make silhouettes of the graduating class, write, read (Sisterhood, Interrupted by Deborah Siegel), go out to lunch with hubs, go for a swim with the kiddos after school. Don't I sound fabulously fun?! (NOTE: Today is an anomaly. Also note I left out "pick up dog poop" and "scrape unknown sticky substance off of refrigerator door handle".)

3. Snacks I enjoy: Oh, man, what don't I like? Minute Maid raspberry lemonade ice pops, roasted red pepper hummus with pita chips, ice cream of almost any kind, mozzerella cheese sticks, veggies and dip...the list goes on...and on.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Buy a summer house on Cape Cod, spend some time in California, breathe a sigh of relief that the kids' college tuition would take care of itself, and see to it that the Women's History Museum in Washington DC becomes a reality.

5. Places I have lived: Ottawa, Canada. Narragasett, Rhode Island (on the beach). Salem, Massachusetts. Caen, France.

6. Jobs I have had: beach parking lot attendant, aerobics instructor, summer camp counselor, kitchen designer, college instructor, research assistant

Bloggers I am tagging for this MEME: The ADD Knitter, witchypoo, Vivian, and Rima - if you haven't been tagged already - because I'm really looking forward to reading your responses! :)

No more Mrs. Nice Guy...

It's been awhile...I have been beyond busy, but in a very satisfying and productive way. Finally have made some good progress on my research - and have jettisoned most of my old obligations in order to make time to do so: reduced my teaching load; got hubbo to take over our finances; dropped PTO, most school related volunteering, and all housecleaning. But did I give up knitting? Nay. Proof:



The free pattern can be found here. I've listed other specifics on Rav. Drops is an unbelievable resource - so. many. patterns. Their yarn looks nice as well.

Okay, now back to work. Hope you are enjoying the Spring as much as I am :)

Dogs on Thursday on Friday *Plus* Demonic Cookie

Well, well, is it Friday already?


Sigh, another perfect evening - if only all those "others" would go away and leave us in peace.


Oh, yes, now a little to left please.

"Mom?!" "Yes, honey?"


Curses...durn hoomans!

And now, a miracle of nature that I simply had to share. If you liked the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich, you'll love...




Satanic sugar cookie! Mwahahaha!

In knitting news, I'm working on some things I can't show just yet (gifts), but I will probably post on Ravelry this weekend. Happy Spring :)

You Must Be a Genius...

....to read my blog, apparently:



See - we really DO have a lot in common. Besides knitting and all.

See you 'round the blogs, genius ;)

PS: I totally stole this from Lynne.

Holy Cannoli, What a Sale!

Webs is having an Anniversary sale - such bargains! Staples like Cascade 220 and superwash even. Get thee to the mecca or at least go do some drooling:

WEBS YARN SALE, PEOPLE

This PSA brought to you courtesy of YawnOver.

Support

I have been too busy to blog much lately, but just had to take a moment to pass this link on. I want to give others the opportunity to support a fellow knitter as she works to raise money for a cause that is far too close to her life.

I don't have much of a readership, but if you do, please, please consider posting this link. Every dollar counts in fighting this horrible, invasive disease.

Thanks - and good health to us all.

I'm Just Wild About DOT..

A Day in the Life of a Busy Chihuahua:


SNOW!! Come on Dad, hurry!


Whee!


Whew - time to hit the shower...


Dig a hole...


Watch for intruders....


Hey, you want a piece of me?!


And finally, a little joyful writhing just because. Happy DOT!

And now for something completely ridiculous...

...I give you the knitted notebook cover:



You know how sometimes you knit something because the pattern is somehow compelling, and sometimes because you have to have the thing the pattern produces? This is definitely a case of the latter. I just wanted a fuzzy wool sweater for my notebook. Because yes, I am a giant nerd.



After knitting it this weekend I realized that the notebooks I planned to use this on (I have two old ones and thought the cover would come in handy) are actually much larger than 5x7. Doh! :) So, for now, it's covering Max Weber. The Protestant work ethic, capitalism, and some warm fuzziness all rolled into one, sigh. Not sure Weber would approve...

And now, a PSA from Frisky:


"Sorry, I'm busy drying off from my bath! Dogs on Thursday will return at its regularly scheduled time next week! See you then!"

Dogs on Thursday

"Dreaming of turkey jerky...mmmmm"

Happy DOT. The shawl continues to occupy my knitting time, and Frisky continues to occupy my lap :) SSDD, lol.

Spring!

Well, not really, but soon. Look what we saw in our cherry tree yesterday:





Eastern bluebirds. So adorable.

Also, we noticed today that it was still light out at 5:30 pm. Barely, but some light was definitely still visible. Good, good stuff.

Lest you think that between Frisky and the bluebirds we've gone completely Wild Kingdom here at Yawn Over, I give you the new love of my life:



Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl by Sarah Bradberry, in Manos del Uruguay. (Click here for some Manos versions on Ravelry.) Oh, the wooliness. Oh, the rippliness. I simply cannot put this down. I have not experienced this level of project monogamy since...never. How long will it last? Stay tuned...

PS: Many thanks to Kat with a K for patiently explaining to me which end of the shawl is supposed to be the pointy one - before I tugged the whole thing completely out of shape :) Yes, I am clueless!

DOT: Cheap Fun with Chihuahuas

Also, now that my mom received her Valentine's Day Malabrigo Loafers, I can post about them here. SO comfy! And the pattern is fantastic, click here for the link. There are three different embellishments and options for men's slippers too. And it's Malabrigo! Seriously people, what more could you want?





Happy VD, and Happy DOT :)

Aye Carumba, It's Cold Outside! DOT.

"Brrr...! Hoomans sure do come in handy."



"But thank God for cashmere!"



Top secret loafer project done - check out my Ravelry page. Also finishing Thorpe.3as we speak. And finally! frogged the Einstein coat - good riddance :)

Dogs on Thursday: Social skills...

...or lack thereof.


Frisky: "Bark, grrr, growl, slobber..."
Lucy: "Kiss my grits."

ETA: Lest you find yourself worrying about Lucy:
1) She outweighs Frisky by a good 5 lbs or so;
2) Her growls are about an octave lower; and,
3) She is a talented boxer with a penchant for hitting Frisky with a quick two-paw right-left smack to the face.

Believe you me, the smart money is on the cat.

Dogs on Thursday and Thorpe Love

Remind me again why I live in New England?


"Nobody knows the trubbles I've seen...oowwooo"

Did you know: With just a bit of finagling, your neckwarmer can double as a warm yet stylish chihuahua snood? It's COLD out there! On the plus side, though, it's the best winter ever for handknits. So many opportunities, and so many grateful recipients. Like Frisky, for instance.

In knitting news, I'm wishing I'd nominated Thorpe for a Bobby award. It is the perfect winter hat; quick to knit, warm, practical, and equally cute on guys and girls. Not only do my sons love theirs, some of their friends have started hinting to me how much they love them too :) Amazing that we have so many free patterns to choose from - so many talented and generous people out there!

My last Thorpe is too big for my little guy (though he insists on wearing it), and I am still mad at the yarn. As soon as I can get my hands on a skein of Malabrigo Chunky (LYS is fresh out!) in something close to red I'll be Thorping once more.

Happy DOT :)

ETA: Oops - guess I never posted about the second Thorpe, see below - full sob story available on Ravelry

Thorpe and Dogs on Thursday

News flash: LOL dog runs out of turkey jerky:



Halp am out of treats - gasp! - please send more thx.

Below is a project I just had to cast on yesterday - it is so fast and the pattern is very well-written. DS #1 hath already claimed it for his own. Something tells me I will be making more of these.



Pattern: Thorpe
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande for the trim.
Needles: sz 9 dpn and circ, sz G crochet hook

I'm Back...

Hello :) I am finally home and beginning to feel better.

What I've learned: listen to your body - no matter what the doctor tells you. Anyone who suggests "waiting it out" as a strategy for dealing with extreme pain is to be avoided. Put your foot down and insist on high quality care.

I say this because, in addition to everything else that has fallen by the wayside these past few weeks, I have wasted valuable, valuable between-semester knitting time. My pitiful progress:


Lobster cloth for my mom, because she asked. It's a paltry reward for coming up to frigid New England from her warm winter retreat to sleep in a cot in my hospital room and watch endless episodes of What Not to Wear between rounds of walking me to the bathroom. Also, folding 1,000,000 loads of laundry, humoring the chihuahua, buying my kids Hef-style bathrobes just because, and generally being super-nana. Thanks, mom. The lobster is in the mail.


Another Bib n Burp set, this one for DH's cousin. Check out the dragonfly button :)

And that's it. sigh. Now I must hit the ground running with teaching and school as the semester kicks into high gear. After perusing the latest issue of Knitscene and getting caught up on my Ravelry trolling, I've quite an impressive wish list of projects to address. Hopefully February will be a whole lot less painful - and more productive!

Dogs on Thursday

I finished my multi-directional diagonal scarf. I love it, and Frisky does too:

Wha? Huh? zzzzzzz...

Also, thought you might like to have a peek at Frisky's rockin' New Years' Eve:

Wha? Huh? zzzzzzz...

It's good to be the chihuahua.

Gift Along 2008

See link in sidebar.

Yikes - a Meme!

Vivian tagged me for a New Year's meme! I am pretty boring, Vivian, but here goes ;)

New Year's Eve -- do you like to stay in or go out?
When I was younger I wore the lampshade, but now dh and I would rather cosy up at home with the kids and the dog.

Do you like to stay up or just go to sleep?
Always! Stay up!

Any special plans this year?
I was sick, so we had to plan our extravaganza around laying on the sofa. We all watched Mythbusters and the Three Stooges marathon together. At midnight, we watched the ball drop and drank ginger ale out of festive polka-dotted champagne glasses. Frisky used me as a nap mat. Woo-hoo!

What's your favorite New Year's memory?
Y2K - dh and I experienced a small moment of Y2K disaster panic in the final hours - I seem to recall that we ran out and bought some bottled water and batteries. It was exciting and the water lasted for months :)

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?
Not anymore, not really.

Feel like sharing them?

Do you do anything special on New Year's Day?
We just hang out and play cards and board games and stuff. Usually, the boys build a lego model of the new year (eg a 2007 out of legos).

I'll tag Cynical Knitting Gal and Brit Knitter if you haven't been tagged already ;)