ackkk

it's like really late and i should be in bed, but i am listening to knitting podcasts. cast on to be exact. I need to go to bed because i have to get up really early to do laundry and go to the beach. i have no clean clothes and my apartment is a mess. i need to clean the litter box and write reports. the reports can wait. i do need to check email. oh well. i guess i need to work. if havent' knitted today. but i have thought about it :-)

sitting

as i sit here, i can feel every ounce of fat on my body. it feels like it anyway. i miss the flow and suppleness of the body i have lost and never thought i would miss. i could bend and flow. i could walk for miles, up hill and down, without pause. now, i gasp and wheeze. my air constricted by the mounds of flesh that restrict my breath. i feel trapped.
i want to explore. i want to travel. i am hemmed in by my fears, an invisible gate that pens me, close to home. my pastures the asphalt expanse that is washington, maryland, virginia. i long for the open spaces and freedom of the new. the adventure. anywhere but kansas.
maybe i should just start with a walk.

knitting podcasts

Oh, I finished the red fishermans sweater. Guess I need to change the profile!

I have spent the last couple of hours listening to knitting podcasts. I think I have lost my mind. It's really strange. I think it appeals to the inner vouyer in us all. You are sitting there, listening to someone elses conversation. I wonder if this can relate to the recent reports on the increased loneliness of people in the modern age. That so many of us communicate via email and meet in cyberspace. Oh well, regardless, it's amusing. Currently listening to Lime and Violet and it's kinda interesting. They have links to some cool sites on their blog which is how I found my current project. I am working on a pair of socks. I started them over and found a reasonably simple pattern on magknits. I'll take pics when I have more than three rows done.

Went window shopping today and picked out my new hydration pack. Sticking with the camelbak. I knew I would. I am such a consumer, I always go for the known label. The REI brand is not much cheaper so it's not that big a deal, and I actually do prefer the color (cherry red) and the style of the camelbak. It has the same number of pockets but the bladder goes into a separate back pouch whereas in the REI unit, it goes into a pocket in the main pouch. I want it in a separate insulated pouch, ya know? Cold water should stay relatively cold for summer hiking.

I am so looking forward to the hike and the beach camping. I wanna find some info on what I should take with me. Really I just want to go shopping :-)

a new day, maybe new habits?

Today I got up late, did my reports, emailed them (actually it) out and left to visit my stores. A very productive day. I also found my missing reimbursement check. It was at one of the stores. I had totally forgotten that they sometimes sent them there. L could not be expected to send me a note saying I had a check there. That would be too much. Anyway, I think I need to start on one of my projects tonight. I don't know which. I just need to start something. Maybe I will work on the sweater. It's been a while since I worked on that one.
This last month has been pretty good. I have been hiking almost every weekend. It's been great. I love the walking. I am almost tempted to hike alone, but that seems foolish. Maybe I can get the kids to go with me.
Next week we are going camping on the beach. I am so looking forward to this. I loved it last time. I need to plan what I am going to take.

I'm going hiking, I'm going hiking!!!!

Well, I fell like part of a group now. I am officially signed up for the 2006 Estrogen Event. Kelley and some of her friends of long standing go hiking every year and this year I have been invited! Nice. I can't wait. Now I have to build up my hiking chops and make sure my lungs are ready. this means walking everyday and hiking every week. Lovin' this idea. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the allergist for another flonase Rx. I will also mention that the maxair inhailer is not particularly effective. Or it doesn't seem to be. I am sooooo excited!!!!!!

pedometers are the pits!!!

Okay, I am now wondering if my pedometer is wrong. I have been up and down the stairs 4 times (okay, 3) and I know I have taken more than 18 steps!!!!!!

Anyway, yesterday Imani, the kids and I went walking along a very short stretch of the AT. We started at the Washington Monument


and walked until we were tired. Rather, until Imani sat down and decreed it was time to go back.


It was a beautiful day, albeit a little on the hot side. We intended to leave early, but one thing led to another and we ended up leaving very late. 3 hours later than intended to be exact. The drive up was lovely. The kids were cool. Tendai was very excited about the concert she saw thursday and told me a little about it. Aparently she had a great time and I missed quite a show. Well, she promised me family values tour in September and that should be quite fun too.

I wish they lived closer, then we could hang out more. But I'll take what I can get.

everything old is new again.....

Okay, I chose another template for my blog and after much debate, I am back to the old one. It's almost amusing. All that inner debate and playing with it. Oh, well. I am off to work. Enough play time. Today I need to get quite a bit of work done and make sure my reports go out on time. I also need to make sure I start my new project. I think the socks are going to become plain, instead of cabled. The big cable sweater is wearing me out. I yearn for the simple, meaning just a plain old boring stockinette stitch. The shawl is no better, all that counting. I just bought this lovely blue tape yarn. I kinda like it. I don't think I like the sweater I bought it for. Too boring. I'll play with it and see what I come up with.

something new today

Today I went hiking with K. We went further than before and I feel great! I wish I had taken my camera so I would have pictures. I bought new boots and they felt very comfy in honor of the occassion and I totally don't regret it. We were hiking along the canal on something called the Billy Goat Trail. There were rocks to climb, trees to dodge and it was totally cool. Next time I need to make sure I have a light shirt with long sleves. something that buttons down the front. K suggested I go to some travel site that I have already forgotten the name of to get one. I'll look around. I'm kinda tired now so I think it's time to stop and go to bed. I think I'm going to see if I can get I to go hiking next week. Maybe we can hit part of the appalacian trail.

*sigh*

how the heck did I end up volunteering to pick up my sister from the airport? this is going to be a long night. i hope my brother in law feeds the kids before he drops them off. i am going to be stuck in traffic for hours.

mental wanderings

the other day i was sitting in my sister's living room knitting my big triangular thingy, when we started talking about knitting. i had dragged her and other fam mems to the sheep and wool festival a few weeks ago, where they were stunned by the plethora of colors, varieties of yarn, things you could do with it and the prices. i managed to make it out of the festival without making a single purchase, thanks in large part to my mothers presence. it kinda sqelches the urge to spend. i then began talking about my current project and the various yarn shops i frequent. one of the ways i decided to make the traveling i do more bearable was to frequent yarn shops. i regularly travel to philly, pitsburgh, louisville, dublin/columbus, boston, princeton and baltimore. i try to visit one yarn shop each time i visit any of these places. i haven't really been to to many stores in the philly area, but i have found some great and not so great stores in the other areas. there is one shop in partuclar that i go to here at home, but only because it's close. the yarn variety leans strongly towards the expensive, and the quantities are sometimes limited. the service is good, the sales people and owner knowlegeble. but i much prefer springwater fibers. they have a nice selection and a good quantity of inexpensive, but really nice yarn. i have fallen in love with felting and they have a great selection of yarns for felting. i really have a problem with taking $40 worth of yarn and shrinking it. i would much rather use like $20 worth. and it's not the price, it's the little teeny skeins that you have to buy so many of. and the price of all of those little teeny skeins. that's why i like springwater. they also have a great collection of books. a lot of stores have very few books, these guys have what amounts to a reading roomful of books. the only other store i have been in that compares is a shop in boston, whose name escapes me. they had two good size bookcases with one copy of each book they carried. you would take your book selection to the counter and they would go in the back and get you a purchasable copy, and return the store copy to the shelves. very nice. and great yarn too!
enough for now. must go running.

new projects, oh boy!

Okay, I am now totally nuts. I have 6 projects going at the same time.
shawls no.1 (big triangular thingy) & 2 (big circular thingy, that I don't really have a pattern for)





sweater i have been working on for too long.
gloves pictured in previous post.


new sweater for lisa, just about to start.



socks for me.










lisa's sweater has to be done by the 1st of july so she can wear it in new orleans on our vacation. i think she will like it. the shawls, who knows when they will be done. the poor socks are in the same boat. i would love to have the triagular shawl done by the trip, but it may not happen. the sweater......well, i started it 3 years ago, frogged it 3 times and now am starting the front portion for the 2nd time. it can wait until it's cooler so i will take my time with that one.
on the health front, no weight loss but i did eat better today. i think instead of trying to eat so many of so many things, i will supplement everything with kagome juice. i love kagome and it comes in soooo many healthy and yummy flavors. plus there is a dollar off coupon in the mango sprouts book so i won't feel quite so guilty about buying it so often. anyway, off to knit!

I should be sleeping.....

instead i am sitting here downloading (or maybe uploading is the more appropriate term)pictures to the internet. I am very happy to find that my 4 rolls of film have not been lost and did arrive at snapfish. they have been developed and are winging their way home. now i can send the next 4 rolls. i was suprised to see what they were. i didn't remember some of them. imagine my happiness to see a picture of aunt k. she was laughing, as usual. she was such a beautiful spirit. i think dad's death made her death easier to bear. it helped that i said good bye to her so much earlier. i miss her still. dad i will always miss. the anniversary was friday. i don't remember if i thought of him. i think he was helping the plane though. i really appreciate it. love you dad! miss you always.

my co-workers suck!

Okay, I plan this trip to take teamleaders from the different stores up to the bakehouse in boston. now at the last minute, most of them drop out. how sucky is that!!!??? some of them didn't even tell me, i found out when I called them. what a bunch of losers.

arrrrrrghhhhh

Okay, I just ate an entire pack of Aunt Gussies chocolate chip cookies. Now, the only thing that is not so bad about that is the cookies were sugar free spelt cookies. But that was the only good thing.

what am i knitting now??????

I have no idea what my next project should be, or what I should finish next. I really think I need to go to work now.
I am going to try to go to the snb tonight. I haven't been in sooooo looooong. I need the company of fellow knitters.
Imani's hat recieved such rave reviews. Her co-workers think she needs a bag to go with the hat. Not a bad idea! I am working on the gloves now. I know, it's warm out and the last thing one thinks of is wool, but I like them and their irregular pattern. It was the tail end of the yarn. I want my next new project to be a shawl. I am working on one now, but I don't like the color. I think I will like it when it is done. If not, I'll give it away.

I am also really happy that Lisa came by last weekend. She really helped me tidy up and now may apartment is visitor ready. It's also tenant ready. It's so comfortable to come home to a place where they is so much less clutter. I love it. It makes me want to get rid of stuff and tidy more! I still have loads of stuff to do, but at least the space is cleaner than it was. I can actually sit on my sofa now. My papasan chair is clear and has been that way for a whole 5 days now. Just one book on it. Have to move that asap!
The cat seems happy too!

tax day, ewwwwww

I am on the internet, listening to a knitting podcast, watching tv with the sound off, and knitting all at the same time in an attempt to avoid doing my taxes. I have to do federal, mass non-resident and dc. Why do you have to have mass taxes taken if you don't live there and barely work there?????????
Anyway, I have discovered the joy of toe-up socks!! Now, this is not the toe-up found in slang, meaning extremely drunk or wasted. This refers to socks knitted from the toes up! At last I can try on socks while knitting without thinking boy, am I stretching the ribbing on so and so's socks.
I am also very happy to say I am 3lbs lighter!!! Regular meals and lots of water.
Yippeeeee!!

mmmmmmmmmmm............snackin' after midnight...

Just made the yummiest snack. It's like, 2:50 and I am still up. I need to be sleeping, but I can't. I am hungry and that I can fix. I was sitting here thinking I had nothing to eat in the house, when I spied the tiny bag of dried tortelini, a small cup of sundried tomatoes, onions, garlic and clarified butter. Instant snack! I cooked the pasta and dumped in a couple tomatoes to rehydrate/soften. I heated the butter and slowly browned the garlic and onions (both thinly sliced). I tossed in the drained rehydrated tomatoes for a couple of minutes. Drained the pasta, dumped it in a bowl, tossed it with the butter mix and some s & p. Yum. Now if only I could go to sleep...........

Beautiful day

It's a beautiful day and I spent all of it inside. Well, I was sleeping for most of the day, which I think I needed to do. I haven't been sleeping well this week, due to a killer travel schedule. My plan is to spend a few hours this evening re-writting my schedule so I have a much lighter travel load for the rest of the month. The flight back from Louisville was awful. First there was the "everybody take shelter" announcement, followed by the "you can come out now, but be prepared to go back" announcement (there were 3 tornado cells in the area). This was followed by a very bumpy take-off, a scarily bumpy flight and an equally bumpy landing.
I had the niece and nephew this weekend. I had a disagreement with the niece. I spent several hours childishly not speaking with her. She has her moments when she is a real pain in the ass. Usually she is cool around me, but this weekend................... I guess it's part of being 14. Very glad to have the house to myself once more.
A little cleaning, a little knitting, a little meditation and maybe some yoga.

a rainy day in ky

Well, it's drizzling here in louisville. I am exhausted. I couldn't get to sleep last night, too much on my mind. I need a nap now, but I just can't get myself to go to bed. I have no cash, and I want to go to the yarn shop. Having no cash is not a bad thing. My stash is way too big, and since I started knitting again, shopping has become an obsession. I have more yarn than I do projects and that ain't good. The stuff is just sitting around my house, attracting and collecting dust, which just aggravates my allergies. Somethings gotta go. I think I have hit the wall. Nap Time!!!

ooooh, cake!

Today I made a cake for big sisters birthday. Well, actually I made two cakes, over the course of 48 hours. I made a strawberry and cream cake with vanilla whipped cream and strawberries macerated in Gran Marnier in the filling and chocolate dipped berries on the top. I also made a cake with two layers of Daquoise sandwiching a marnier syrup spiked genoise, all covered with a marnier spiked buttercream. It was delicious. Everyone loved both cakes. I especially loved the buttercream. It came out the way a buttercream should, like pure velvet with a light creamy buttery flavor. Much better than the recipe I have used at work.
This was the first time in a while I felt compelled to make a cake, let alone one so ambitious. It felt good, really good to make it and see the response from the group. I think I miss that connection with my 'customers', so to speak. It's what I really enjoyed about catering. Seeing that response to what you do, is food for the soul. Maybe that's what has been missing about this job. I make nothing with my own hands and I don't get that immediate feedback. It's not mine, so there is no connnection to the product. I need to get back into the kitchen, it's what I enjoy.