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October 30, 2005
A Walk in the Park
I awoke to a beautiful Spring like day here in CT! And of course, feeling very accomplished from the get go since we got an extra hour from stoopid DST... Mary, Scott and I decided to take full advantage of it. Who knows how many more of these we'll have before the big chill hits....
We took Kyra and Gracie to the Housatonic Railbed Trail in Monroe. It was perfect! With Gracie in recovery from hip surgery, she needs to learn how to use her right hind leg again and this trail's totally flat and very long, so it was good exercise for the newest addition to the McNally menagerie.... We only did about a mile of it and then turned back , but the pups had a good time sniffing every leaf in the vicinity and pulling tirelessly on their leashes.... :)
Here's Mary and Scott and their bouncing baby girl. She's soooo perty.
And Kyra strikes a pose for the camera.
This was my view for most of our walk.....
Fun fun fun! I'd love a few more weekend days like this one... Just to tide me over until the celebrated thaw in the Spring! Hope everyone got outside and enjoyed this beauty of a day!
Oh - and I got quite a bit of knitting done on this quiet, uneventful weekend! More on that later - hoping to have an FO (or two!) before too long....
Posted by Sarah at 6:36 PM | Comments (3)
October 28, 2005
Fuzzy Friday
I finished the llama wool blend roving that Jennie gave me forever ago!
Dolly Llama
Fiber: Llama Wool blend (from Jennie)
Spun into a 2-ply worsted yarn.
Soooo soft. Very lofty with a light halo of fuzziness..... This is begging to be a shawl or something lacy.... YUM!
Posted by Sarah at 10:14 PM | Comments (2)
October 25, 2005
Apple + Volume = Happy
Picked up the new Fiona Apple album.... and I heart it.
And no, no, no it's not because so many of her songs have to do with having her heart broken by some ape who clearly did not appreciate all she had to offer - or exacting revenge upon said ape - or sometimes missing the aforementioned ape.... NO! Well... maybe just a little.
How amazing music is that it can bring your best and worst emotions to the surface... the most blissful and painful... But even when it hurts, it makes us feel better.
One of my very favorite feelings in the world is hearing a song that makes me wonder how I never wrote these exact words down, because it is exactly how I feel... or how I felt at one time... Hearing a song that speaks to you so strongly can sometimes be a saving grace. For me, it feels like everything in my heart and mind are echoed through the speakers and when it's real good... there are goosebumps and sometimes tears.
So, given recent events and my current state of mind, it's really no shock that Fiona's sparking a little fire right now. But, it's still spooky that a couple of the tracks are giving me those goosebumps. :)
Check it out:
Fiona-Apple.com
Fiona Apple's MySpace Page
Tracks 3, 6, and 8 come highly reccommended - but so do the rest.
Posted by Sarah at 3:46 PM | Comments (2)
October 21, 2005
A Birthday Play
Some emails are just too good not to share. Here's what my sister, Heather, included as a post-script to an email about possibly coming down from Boston to visit this weekend.
PS-If I come over, I will be bringing you your belated bday prezzie. And here is why it is belated: (In play format!)
Scene:
Interior Day, A Boston Apartment
HEATHER picks up her CELL PHONE and calls her sister MARY, who lives in CT just down the street from SARAH, their other sister. The phone picks up after just a few rings.
HEATHER: Hello?
MARY: Hey Sister-Lady. I sure am irresponsible!
Heather: Why do you say that?
MARY: Because I'm lazy and haven't gotten Sarah a present yet. Boy, I sure do suck.
HEATHER: Oh, don't say that. I haven't gotten her anything either. I was trying to get her a knitting thing but the derned store was out of them. I'm thinking a book might be good. Everybody loves books!
MARY: I wanted to get her this really cool dish set but the dollars, they are too much for me.
HEATHER: Hmmm... Wanna go halfsies? I'll split it with you and we can both be saved!
MARY: Hey, that's a good idea! Okay! Say, do you wanna come down for the weekend?
HEATHER: Blast! Bhumika is in town this weekend, in fact she's here right now. I gotta go. Tell Sarah happy happy from me, okay?
MARY: Okay!
End Scene
Less than a week later, The Illustrious Sarah posts on her blog that the gift has gone over well. With one DEADLY snag. The "To" section of the card was filled out accurately. However, in her haste, Mary made a deadly spelling error on the "From" byline. Scott had replaced Heather, rather unceremoniously and without Heather's awareness. This made Heather make this sound: "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG!" And rush out to get an even better prezzie for Sarah, whom she loves muchly.
So, yeah. You get a present from me. And if I have to drive down there and give it to you myself to avoid another spelling mistake, well then so be it.
I heart my verbose family. I heart it the most.
Posted by Sarah at 1:07 PM | Comments (1)
October 20, 2005
Cabled Shrug
Here she is. Fitting a little bigger than when I first made her! (Why is it that when you lose weight, your boobs have to shrink along with everything else? Why can't I pick what parts to shrink? I swear, there had better be some hot shot fancy pants doctor out there dedicating his/her life to this. They'd better have the goods and soon!)
Boobtacular Cabley Shrug
Pattern: Cabled Shrug, by Mary Jane Mucklestone, Interweave Knits Summer 2005
Yarn: Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in Thistle
Needles: US7 and8
Modifications: None, really! Adjusted needle size and that was it!
Comments: Another surprisingly quick and easy project... It's knit in two pices and you use kitchener stitch to seam this puppy up in the back and then just sew up the sleeves. The hardest part for me was finding a pin to act as the front closure!
Posted by Sarah at 12:00 PM | Comments (9)
October 19, 2005
Stash Flash
So, here's my booty.
Get your minds out of the gutter, fair readers! You shall not see my glorious posterior posted on this blog!
At least, today you won't.
Let's take a peek at what came home with me on Saturday:
Oh glory, be! It's more of that lovely merino-tencel from Mountain View Farm. Take a peek here to see how it spun up - it's what inspired me to make this stuff my first purchase and blow a third of my budget in one place! I bought two 2 oz bundles in each Fire and Summer Fields colourways....
It's a cotton explosion! An organic cotton sampler bag from The Good Shepard. I know, I know. Cotton's hard to spin... But I loves me a challenge, I do!
Silky Goodness! Here we have a pound of white Tussah Silk (*drool*) that I plan on dyeing myself before I spin. Also pictured, is Tussah Silk's funky cousin, Soy Silk. Slightly smaller bags, but what tofu lover could resist spinning this stuff up???
And - of course - here is my rule breaker. My rebel. My bad girl coming out to show her true colors. (pretty, pretty colors!) I broke my rule and bought yarn.... I KNOW! I have a shite load of yarn! I didn't need any MORE yarn! But just lookit. They're just little skeins. And you didn't want me walking out of a fabulous place like Morehouse Merino emptyhanded, did you? I thought not. These shall be socks! I am proud of myself for showing this much restraint. I wanted to buy LOTS more.
Posted by Sarah at 3:32 PM | Comments (4)
October 17, 2005
The Happiest Day of the Year
And it ain't Christmas, people.
Ah, Rhinbeck. I so love going to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival! It was just as fantastic this year as last! And despite those billowy dark clouds on the drive up, by 11am, we had blue skies and warm sun!
The Scissor Squad contingent met up at 8am and - of course- it took us until 8:30 to get on the road! In all, we had moi, Eva, Mary, Annie, Christine, Edie and Anne in two carloads and on our way! The Taconic Parkway was flooded out for an exit so we had a little excitement in the form of a detour (causing me to get G-R-U-M-P-Y! Nothing stands between me and Rhinebeck!) but quickly enough we were back on our way.
Then we saw a dog running loose on the highway (YIKES!), so we stopped to try to call him over. He must have been on a mission from God or something cuz he didn't even blink. But, we did try to get the police to come over and pick the little guy up. And once again, we were on our way!
All in all - with two delays - we were only about 30 minutes later than we were shooting for. We parked our cars and then giddily - okay, well, Eva and I in particular were incredibly giddy - skipped in the rain up to the ticket booth with big toothy grins. Wheeeee!
Here are some highlights from our fantabulous day at the festival:
Eva chatting with some llamas.
Some wicked nice wool. Hee!
Mary having a ball tasting some pickles! (her favorite activity of the day)
My friend the alpaca. I wanted to take this guy home and name him Ringo.
My friend the llama.
A picture that I should have gotten but totally spaced would have captured my favorite moment of the day! I got to meet Sylvia Jorrin of Sylvia's Farm fame! I am reading her book right now and was talking her up just that morning to the gals on our drive up to Rhinebeck. I couldn't believe it, but I saw a poster for the book and looked to the left and there she was standing right next to the picture of herself! She is the nicest woman - it was so great to meet her! I told her how much I was loving her book and she was so sweet and humble. She couldn't believe that I knew who she was. I told her that her book is well known amongst the knit/spin blogs and she was totally tickled! Needless to say, that little meeting put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. :)
After a full day of petting and shopping and eating and drinking, we headed over to Morehouse Merino for the wine and cheese and to meet up with the Spiders crew. I had never before visited this shop and I loved it. It's warm and lovely - I can't wait to make another visit.
They even have a backyard with a rushing stream and all! The perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine and relax after a long day. Why, we even had a little scissorina photo shoot!
Here we see Mary. Her turn ons include pickled items, hideously ugly home decor and stabbing wool with sharp needles. Her turn offs include chinese water torture and things that are dumb.
Ah, the ever obiquitous Eva! This lady's turn ons include fox pelts, crawling naked in the woods and big knives. Turn offs? Republicans and nuclear waste.
Indoors was just as gorgeous.
Where's Annie? (She HATES getting her picture taken, but I snapped this while she was unawares. She's in there somewhere) Someday you'll thank me! You need to have some pictures that you actually appear in!
Here's Sandra and Joy saying cheese, pretty as they please.
Me and Mama Wong (can you see tiny Baby Wong? He/She is just a wee little bump!)
What a day! This was fucking fantastic. I loved Maryland because it was HUGE and it was my first time meeting the Lovely Ladies - but Rhinebeck holds a special place in my heart. There's a feeling of community throughout. I chatted it up with various farmers, spinners, dog rescuers... Just like last year, I felt that I left with so much more knowledge than when I arrived! And I couldn't ask for better companions! We Scissorinas split up and met up a number of times - it was so fun to see a few of them occasionally and check back in on what cool stuff we found and who we had talked to.
And Mary and Eva and I have decided that whenever the three of us are out and about like we were on Saturday, we should really have a camera crew just follow us around for a day. We get into the most ridiculous situations and get out of control silly. I love those gals. I'm seriously so lucky that one of them is my sister! Right? Too cool.
Perfect, perfect day. I'll flash my new stash tomorrow......
PS: We missed you Christine!!!
Posted by Sarah at 1:36 PM | Comments (1)
October 13, 2005
Belated Birthday Blogging
I came home today to a fantastic parcel from my cousin Connie and her awesome family! Take a look at what put a huge grin on my face!
:)
Little Vee-Dubs! She knows me so well..... It got me thinking that I never shared the amazing presents I recieved last week from my sister and some of my knitty buds! So, here we go!
My sister Mary and her darling Scott (the closest thing I have to a brother!) surprised me with this amaaaaazing set of dishes for my new place! I have to catch my breath each time I eat dinner..... These are stunning! And they took me out for yum yum Indian food to boot! (If any of you are nearby and have a penchant for Indian, you have to go to Kolam in Newtown. It was so delicious! Hands down the best in this area!)
And then I was surprised with some goodies from some of my fellow Scissorinas! Jennie bestowed upon me a hank of Berrocco Hip-Hop in a bright and funky colorway (I see a little girl's hat in my future!), a bar of sage soap and two hanks of the most beautiful laceweight yarn in the hottest of pink!!! *drool* Oh! And a Hello Kitty wallet which is begging to be used!
Christine showered Lantern Moon goodies on me (I am SO spoiled!) - a beautful silk bag and my very own sheepy measuring tape! AND two sheets of MUPPET STAMPS!!!! One to use and one to frame....
If that weren't enough, Michelle gave me a beautiful bracelet in a very posh little leather box! (I so needed something to keep jewelry in!!!)
And - not pictured because it was consumed at Stitch n Bitch hehe - Eva gave me a bottle of yummy Merlot - and a bottle of Baby Bee's lotion that I have been enjoying everyday!
Phew!
Ladies (and gentleman!), you simply rock my world! I wanted to make a big public display to say THANK YOU! You each brighten my days! I am so lucky to have such great gals (and guy!) around me - I'm truly blessed! :)
Posted by Sarah at 8:52 PM | Comments (4)
Goal!
As many of you are already aware, I love lists.* I actually completed all the tasks on my last publically posted list and am so encouraged by my success that I've decided it's that time again!
Here we go!
1. Decide what to make with the 1500 yards of Blue Sky Dyed Cotton (worsted weight, color: ink) I have lying around.
I have been staring at it. Or rather - it feels as though it has been staring at me. Such lovely yarn! So soft! Such a pleasure to work with! And so much of it even! I feel that it needs just the right something... Something with some body to it... Something with some oomph. I noticed that Skylar is having a similar dilemma. I'll follow her lead and put a call out for suggestions! Anyone?
2. Hang shelves in the apartment - finish unpacking!
These two items are the same to-do as I can do no more unpacking until I have the shelves hung up! There are only a few things left to unpack... but those three little boxes are driving me nuts. It's time to finish what I started! Many of my friends have pulled me aside and confessed that they still have boxes hiding in the basement from that last move 4 years ago - I shouldn't be ashamed of my 3 boxes. Been there, done that! At the last house, I kept "those" boxes in the basement - hidden away from guests' eyes.... and I grew to hate that basement more than anything else in the world. It was like my dirty little secret... I won't repeat that mistake! (Not to mention I have nowhere in my little apartment to hide any dirty secrets - no matter the size.)
3. Make a plan for the Craft Room.
I have a whole extra bedroom! Right now it is filled with books and yarn and fabric. And while the books are proudly on display, that yarn and all that fabric sits in plastic tubs... Practical? Yes. Attractive? Hell, no. I need to come up with a way to spruce this room up, up, up! It doesn't mean that ALL the yarn needs to be out on display... but this craft room needs less room and more craft STAT!
4. Sew something.
It doesn't matter what. Maybe curtains? I give myself a 2 week deadline on this list item. (and only because I will be consumed by Rhinebeck this weekend will I even allow myself that long!) It's time to bust out that machine and make somethin' perty!
5. Start planning a site for the Scissor Squad.
I've recently been inspired by the group site that Stephanie put together for The Spiders! Check it out - it's fab! It reminded me that when I started up Scissorina, I had told myself I would put together a shiny new site for the Squad... Well, I got sidetracked a gazillion times and it's time to put some thought into this! I started looking at some different open source bulletin board programs I'd like to incorporate so we could still have the open dialogue we have now through the Yahoo! group - but it would eliminate all that email.... Thinking cap on.
6. Take a picture of the Cabled Shrug.
Okay - such an easy to-do, but if I don't put it on here - I'll never get it done. Deadline.... tomorrow night! Time to set up the tripod as the regular photographer has taken a leave of absence.
*it's not really that I love lists... it's more like I need them to survive... and I'm just so darn good at makin' 'em!
Posted by Sarah at 2:22 PM | Comments (2)
October 11, 2005
Wine and Cheese and Yarn and Wine
I am glad to announce that we have an official after-Rhinebeck meetup planned!
When I found out that Morehouse Merino (farm of incredible fibers and THE nicest sheep I ever have met!) was holding a Wine and Cheese on Saturday after the festival, I had a sneaky suspicion this might be where the gals might land to relax and gab about the day's events!
So, in conjunction with my gal Kaitlyn, the Scissorinas will meet up with the Spiders (whoa girls! we sound like chicky street gangs preparing for a dance fight!) at the Morehouse shop after the festival!
Wanna meet up? Come on! (We'll all be much less distracted than trying to meet at the festival itself where I, for one, will be chomping at the bit to buy buy buy and pet pet pet!!!)
Details schmeetails....
WHAT: Wine and Cheese with Morehouse Merino!
WHERE: Sheep's Clothing, the Morehouse Merino Shop, 2 Rock City Road, Milan NY
WHEN: After a fiber filled day at Rhinebeck NYS&W Festival (I know my crew ain't leavin till they lock the gates at 5pm!)
Details, directions and COUPONS for Morehouse can be found here. I cannot say how much I adore this company. They are faboo. I can't wait to get a gander inside the store and see my Lovely Ladies of Leisure again....
Posted by Sarah at 1:48 PM | Comments (2)
October 8, 2005
Meet the new man in my life...
His name is Mr. T and he pities the fool who won't give him snacks.
Yes, I am a sucker and apparently the animal kingdom is well aware. This little fella was living in my sideyard when I moved in, dumped by the asshole previous tenant who lived here. It took a couple of weeks to get an appointment at the vet to make sure he was healthy and get him his shots before he could come inside and mingle with Kyra and Flane, but now he's inside and very, very talkative.
And bold.
Here we see him in Kyra's bed. The vet insists he is neutered, but I tell you this cat has balls.
So far, so good though. Kyra loooooves kitties. Luckily, she's not a territorial dog unless someone is trying to deliver my mail or take away my garbage.... then she'll let you hear it. Flane on the other hand.... is none too happy. Hopefully, it will subside and we'll have a happy little fam.
And as promised for weeks, here are some knitting pics to prove that I am still a somewhat productive human being these days!
I finished a whole sock! And am speeding along on number 2.... These are the Cable Rib Socks from IWK Spring '05 in some fantastic Lorna's Laces sock yarn I picked up at the Great De-stash.
And just last night I couldn't resist the temptation to start up a sweater, so here's my meager progress on the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I'm knitting this sucka up in a hemp/cotton blend. Crunchy granola all the way, baby. I'm using the technique from the Aint Nothin But a T-Shirt pattern to knit the hem to save myself from the extra seaming at the end....
That's it for now. I'm off to break up some catfights! ME-OW!
Posted by Sarah at 5:29 PM | Comments (6)
October 7, 2005
Sarah needs...
In the spirit of my birthday. I decided to play a little game that Heather posted on her blog....
Wanna play? You know you do! Go to google.com and type "(your name) needs" Then pick the funniest ones there and paste them in your blog.
Here goes.....
Sarah needs a drink.
Sarah needs to get her life back and establish herself as the person in charge!
Sarah needs a new home right away!
Sarah needs to keep her housing expenses to less than 33% of her take home pay.
Sarah Needs A Cold Shower, Self-Esteem.
Sarah needs friends – she has to learn how to make them.
what Sarah needs is a date, maybe some fun, and if it works out a bit of schtupping. What is schtupping? Do I want to know?
Everyone needs food!
Sarah needs to have quick, convenient food as time is precious.
Sarah needs a total of three oranges for her fruit cup.
Apparently I have some health needs...
Sarah needs to be hooked up to a respirator in order to survive.
Sarah needs a root canal.
Sarah needs a once over by an OB/GYN.
Sarah needs a soft bed, you see,
because she has a hormonal imbalance that makes her think she's pregnant.
And I'm in serious need of spiritual guidance for sure:
Sarah needs a team of committed people to pray for her and her ministry.
Sarah needs to tear down the walls she’s built up between herself and God and to
open her eyes to the Lord’s relentless pursuit of her. Relentless pursuit? Wow. Maybe I should reconsider...
Here are my favorite(and most pertinent) needs:
Sarah needs the help of the notorious Captain Jamie Kerrick.
Sarah needs to set up her experiment by finding subjects and gathering the
materials that she wrote down before.
Sarah needs 0.383 of a month to grow another centimeter.
Sarah needs some insurgent brain cells.
Sarah needs to have more CDs manufactured because of the demand!
Sarah needs cheerleading. No doubt!
Sarah needs to hear your voice to keep the link strong but she does not need to ask you any leading questions.
Sarah needs to don the gas mask when the PC does.
But here is the best and the truest of all:
Sarah needs to kick him in the nuts. (You know who you are. And I know who you are - and I know you don't read this blog, so you'll have no warning!)
Have a chipper day, all!
Posted by Sarah at 1:07 PM | Comments (3)
October 5, 2005
Hee.
Posted by Sarah at 1:25 PM | Comments (5)
October 3, 2005
A Snippy Top Ten
Hee hee. #2 is my personal fave....
1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.
2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans...
---
Re-post this if you believe in legalizing gay marriage
Posted by Sarah at 2:40 PM | Comments (1)