Mama Nature

I haven't seen the television in a week. I haven't read a newspaper. I have read a few cnn.com articles. The devastation in the world this week is beyond anything that I can begin the comprehend. What makes it worse is to understand that for the survivors the suffering is not over. Disease, famine, finding shelter. How do you rebuild your lives after this? We had 9-11 but we had someone to direct our anger toward (or misdirect it in many cases.) This? This is just out of control.

I have been trying to keep up with the news, without coming across visual representation of it. Why? I'm not sure. I wonder if seeing the pictures of what happened is some sort of penance that we should pay for being lucky. I wonder if not seeing the pictures will make it less real? We're so visual with our news - the memory of those planes hitting the towers is burned into my memory. Do I need a visual of this to grieve, to better make sense of it? I don't know. For now I think that all that I can imagine is probably equal to the devastation that I would see.

Mother Nature is powerful. It's wrong to ignore the possibility of natural disaster in any of our lives. Global warming will change what we view as "normal" in our world. What can I do beside send aid to those in need? I can petition my government to recognize that unless our country works with the rest of the world to curb industry and emissions disasters such as these could happen more frequently. It may not be in my generation, or in my grandchildren's but it will happen someday and it scares the living crap out of me.

Small world, big blog, lots of knitting

With all of the announcing the new job excitement I forgot to tell you the coolest part - HOW I GOT THE NEW JOB. The past few weeks as I've shared my fun news with friends and family we've all marveled at the pure beauty of "how things happen."

Disclaimer: I truly believe that all things happen for a reason. There may or may not be a master plan but in the end all that occurs to you works out. If not for you, for someone near you in your universe. To me it is one of the only ways the world can stay balanced. This is not to say that there is no right or wrong.

So, a few months ago I was riding on the T and I saw a woman knitting miles and miles of I-cord. I was late (the new way of life post marriage to a slow southern man) and was a bit harried. I noticed a red plastic bag and thought to myself, I have seen that bag before. I rushed off the train and zoomed on to work. At work I spent my usual morning waking up and checking email. My blog was in its infancy and there was little action on the comment front. This morning I had a sweet comment from a woman named Elisa. I traveled on over to her blog and whoa and behold - this was where I had seen the red plastic bag?! To make a long story short - I met Elisa not long after at the Circles Anniversary Party. We hit it off and got to talking. During conversation I whined and moaned like I do to any stranger about my desire to find a new job and this and that and blah and bunk.

Well...Elisa suggested then, and again later, that I give her my resume to submit to the organization that she worked for. Being the frank on a bun that I am I let her know that indeed I would take her up on that and she must not offer unless she was serious as cancer about this service. You see, as most of you know, a resume submitted by an employee gets you a phone call. A resume submitted to HR gets you a nice long stay in a manila file folder that absolutely does nothing for your complextion.

Resume submitted I prepare for the long, albeit now shorter, wait to a phone call. Two days later - I am told to contact a hiring manager. Two days later I'm asked to come in for an interview in two days. Two days later I go for the interview (in my new suit, yah new threads) and spend not the two hours I was told I would spend there...but five hours with four different people. Miss Elisa treated me to some much need nourishment somewhere in there but really, at this point, it's all a blur. I've never been through such a mentally exhausting day. My thesis defense was less of an effort. One week later I was offered the position. Two days later I accepted. One day later I notified my current employer. Two weeks after my interview. I start in two weeks.

Not much time. Funny how things fall into place.

No knitting = No blog = no blog friends = no opportunity for new job = whining and complaining Bookish Girl.

Crazy huh? Thanks Elisa, you rock.

btw - I can't access my email, so if you're trying to get to me, wait on...I'll be home soon.

I'm in a Hotel and I have Wireless

I'm filled with big plans. Update the blog (lots of posts in my head.) Update the sidebar. Create a finished objects page. etc etc etc. Family, what family? Didn't we drive 13.5 hours just to lie around in a hotel?!

I have permanent underwear creases on my ass from sitting for so long. The trip was scheduled to take 11.5 hours, which sucks on anyone's watch. Traffic in every city between Bowling Green, KY and Rochester, NY brought us closer to 13.5. Thank goodness the dogs are at my parent's house. They most certainly would have eaten us before reaching our destination. My conclusion, anywhere south of Cleveland, no idea what to do with snow. Huh, plow shoulders, what for? God forbid someone NEED TO DRIVE IN ONE TO ESCAPE CRAZY TRUCK DRIVERS.

My favorite thing about our most recent trip to KY (my hubby's birthing ground)? He can be the translator for a few days and I don't ever have to even talk in public.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all! I'm in Upstate New York being shuttled from family to friends to family to friends. It's been a fabulous holiday. I hope you've had the same. We're off to Kentucky tomorrow. No worries, I've got the name of a yarn shop in my purse ready to visit. Rob said, "Why do you have to go to so many yarn shops? Aren't they all the same?" My answer: They're fun! He finally figured it out, "Is it like going to guitar stores?"

I swear you could see the light bulb go off in his head.

Love to you all and Happy Holidays!

Is that coal in your stocking, or are you just happy to see me?

Rob made me swear to high heaven, all of these saints, and even dead football players that I would not spend more than $25 on his Christmas Gifts. He agreed he would do the same. Being the person that I am, I had known what I was going to get him for months. As it turns out, they are backordered - forever. I'm screwed. To make matters worse. The man picked me up from work last night with an "I just went shopping grin" on his face. I asked him if he spent more than he promised. A little more was his response. I had to pull each of his teeth out and when I threatened his fingernails he finally told me how much more.

I'm really screwed. However, I think he is more screwed (screwed worse?) 'cause all of those dead football players are going to get him when he gets to heaven. He should have never made me swear on them.

I think he's getting this for Christmas.

Hmmmm, Chocolate.

What kind of insanity is this?!

I thought I would go through the list of knitable gifts that I intended to make. knit, knit, knit - Christmas is in 3 days - knit, knit, knit.

I went a-looking for the post with the master list. I published it on November 23rd! For crying-out-loud, where has the time gone?! And how in the world did I have it together enough to publish that a full month ago?!

I'd be more freaked out, if I had the TIME.

*Please ignore the fact that this is the same post in which I complain that all of YOU do not post enough. Yes I am a hypocrite; the first step is admitting it to yourself. The second step is to recognize your error and change your ways. Learning from your mistakes is very important. So why the hell don't you people post more often?!*


THE LIST

1. Mom's caplet (100% done)
2. Dad's scarf (75% done)
3. Sister's Banff (The conversation with myself over this sweater went something like this: I don't want to talk about it, I just don't, okay?! Just leave-me-alone. I can't take it anymore. No, I won't tell you what happened. It just did and it was awful. Oh, look, ice cream. As you can see, you'll have to wait for the rest of the Banff saga.)
4. Brother's wrist warmers (done)
5. G-ma's scarf (100% done)

Added between then and now:
6. Flower washcloths (40% done) more to do as time permits
7. Booties for Gus (80% done)
8. Treats for random friends: Scarves? Mittens? Hats?

I'm actually not worried. This was all a ploy to put more drama in the blogworld. I'm confident it will all get done. Except for the Banff - that may take some counseling to get through. Anyone know a good knitting therapist?

Knit, knit, knit – Christmas is in 3 days – knit, knit, knit

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

Ahh, another week, another song. This particular song is well suited for today's post. I have some fabulous news that I've been hiding...

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!

Leaping lizards, this is the best Christmas Present Yet.

Basically, I'll be moving from a little itty bitty environmental non-profit to a big huge cancer research non-profit. This is a great opportunity for me. I had hit a ceiling in my current job and it was dragging me down. Everyday. I have to say that the blogs were a great salvation. The humor and talent out there is enough to keep anyone who is sick of their job afloat. I'm afraid I've become a bit obsessed with them. Well, this new position will hopefully lead me to the land of opportunity and all that jazz. I'm super excited about it and will keep mum about the details. I'm nervous to jinx it. In fact, writing this before I start is really difficult for me. If it backs fires I blame you...

The elves have been busy. I had a super great weekend and once again, it was filled with all things blogland. Julia has done a great job summarizing her year of blogging and knitting. I too have been enriched deeply by all of the talented and crazy bloggers out there. It's strange to have a community over the Internet. For some bizarre reason, one which can only be understood when you're in the moment, it works and it feels great. I came across the blogs while googling for help with knitting techniques. What I have found is not only that but people who will stand up for what they believe in, people who find humor in the most mundane tasks, people who love the spiritual process of working with ones hands, and people who support one another in spite of not having a warm body to hug. I am blown away by these people and am inspired by all that they do - knitting and otherwise. I've had the pleasure to meet a few in person and it's amazing how well we all "click." All the best to each of you this holiday season!

My weekend in dashes:

- Meet up with Melanoma, Stitchy, Jenny and some of Jenny's friends... These girls are crazy. Melanoma is not covered with any sort of cancer however, she is sick and was weaning herself off Afrin. Her Rogue is coming along nicely and its beauty may just have been the final factor that pushed me onto the bandwagon. Stitcy was kind enough to bring a Stitchy original mix cd with her. This girl is crazy, her mix has Salt 'n Pepa singing about pushin' it next to the Andrews Sisters. Sacred and profane and oh so fun.

- Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit, Christmas is in a week, knit, knit, knit, knit.

- Decide to ditch Anna and go for something a bit lighter. Ahh, the siren song of funny, witty novels drew me to the shelves. I came home with three titles this weekend: Straight Man by Richard Russo, An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender, and Watermelon by Marian Keyes. I added this to my funny stack at home: The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Any other funny novels to suggest, they must be well-written? I've done David Sedaris.

- Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit, Christmas is in less than a week, knit, knit, knit, knit.

Flower Washcloth from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Faulk

- Watched Shrek 2, not as funny as the other one, but good to - knit, knit, knit, Christmas is in less than a week, knit, knit, knit, knit - while watching

- Made fun tags. Templates found here (*link at home, I'll update it later*) and here (this was found via Blue Blog, thanks Alison.) This is what the finished project looks like...


blury...sorry....just pretend you had a few drinks...



I used my eyelet tool and some chain that I had leftover from wedding stuff. I think they look great. I didn't take any "before wrap" pictures. Here is the after wrap....



I love to wrap packages. So fun.

- Had a fabulous day with Elisa and Mike and our friend Alan. Football on a Sunday with good friends is pretty great. Elisa and I snuck over to Circles where I picked up some yarn to make my Gma a 80th Birthday shawl. We also gorged ourselves with Chinese Food...yum Chinese Food. A treat I can't always have (I'm allergic to MSG - it's not a pretty sight.)

- Lastly, I won my first yarn contest. Yippy. Okay, the truth is that my husband won the contest for me. What can I say? The man has a creative mind and all of this yarn around the house has given him "ideas". CrazyDaisy's husband let out a cry for help and how could my husband not come to the rescue of knitting widower in need? That's just the kind of guy he is.

Eh, hem...I swear I didn't hold his breakfast hostage to get him to enter the contest....never, I would never do such a thing.

I leave you with our Christmas Pig. He holds guard over our tree with the freshly wrapped gifts behind him.

Random Post #1

You see, a post is only random if it is labeled as such ...

First off, this in an excerpt from an email my sister sent. I love that so many in the world try to keep up the Santa spirit:

In addition to providing missile warnings and air defense for the United States and Canada, NORAD tracks Santa's progress. It all started when a Colorado department store printed the wrong phone number for a "Santa hotline" on a promotional flyer, and CONAD (NORAD's predecessor) was flooded with calls from children eager to talk to Santa. Rather than disappoint them, the staff took it upon themselves to track Santa on their radar and keep the kids informed of his whereabouts.

Nowadays, you can keep tabs on Santa on NORAD's Web site:

***

In other random news: I finished The Kite Runner. I was not impressed. It entertained me, but the story was missing something. Haven't put my finger on it yet. Maybe it was too predictable? I'm pretty dense when it comes to symbolism...perhaps I missed something that should have been obvious? I would recommend it, only because it is an interesting peek into a culture that becomes more important everyday.

I also picked up and finished The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Christmas knitting has left me with a lot of time to read and watch old movies. This was my bookclub's December selection. I enjoyed this one and read it in about four days. There is no end to the misery a family can cause you. I truly identified with the attachment to the Earth. I may not be as OCD as the main character, however, I do feel this tie to the land and environment. I get a bit grumpy if I stay inside too much.

I'm off to read the Oprah notes on the novel, in hope that I'll gain some new insight. Dare to mock me and I will put a pox on your head. Whatever beef anyone has about Oprah, she has been great at spreading literacy among adults. Her most recent picks have all been classics, albeit, of the trashy romance novel type. Which I happen to think are the most fun to read. East of Eden, trash. The Good Earth, all about the sex. And now, I've picked up Anna Karenina....25 pages in and we've already got tortured love and affairs amuck. Ahhh Love, the feeling that spans place and time. All in all of the three Oprah picks that I've read (or am reading) there are/is a lot of sexual tension and affairs in many of these picks. However, this doesn't mean that they are not wonderful books, classics that have brought inspirations to others.

***

On the end of the year list/book front:

I recently came across this site. It compiles all of the Best of Book Lists into one tidy list. I think I'm over the whole "best of thing." (I'm so fickle.) Having not read most of the novels listed it's hard to judge whether they deserve the acclaim. I do love Phillip Roth and have been thumbing his latest book since it came out. Curse that damn book allowance!

***

Lastly, I purchased two knitting books. Thank you all for your suggestions. I picked up Vogue Knitting and Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. There is a third on backorder; I'm hoping it'll come in before I loose my discount (next week!) I finished The Good Earth while at the bookstore earlier this week. I decided I was going to pick up a new fiction book (in spite of the stacks I have to read at home.) I thought that I should try to find one of the many that you all have recommended in my comments the past few months. Get this, none of them were in the store?! Crazy huh? So, I went home and pulled Anna Karenina off the shelf. Nice light reading for the holiday season. Humph.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

For all of you who were wondering, the "I will hug him and pet him and call him George!" line (which is the real line, not the one I quoted) is from Bugs Bunny.

KLV named it first and kudos to her. I had a hunch that the character in this cartoon was modeled after the character George in The Grapes of Wrath (*wrong title, thanks Harry, not sure where my head was*) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Once again, KLV brought the internet to her and found out, indeed my hunch was right (go to the FAQ). Literature touches so many aspects of our lives, even if we don't recognize it.

****

Despite my best efforts I have been making considerable progress on the Christmas List. In fact, I would venture to say that *gasp* I'm almost done. Almost done with the knittable gifts, we have yet to tackle the other portion of the family tree. All in good time.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages...Time to watch Bill Cosby do a picture page with you...

Ahh, I have fulfilled my required task of the week, the song is now stuck in your head. Insert evil grin here.

This is a portion of the blocking that happened last weekend. The whole house was covered. I have to admit that I really enjoyed this. As well as all of the weaving in of ends/seaming etc. I found it to be as satisfying as knitting the pieces. Am I a crazy person?

Here are the scarves folded and ready to go. The top is for my friend Laurelyn, the middle my Gma and the bottom is my mom's:

I decided to knit up some wrist warmers for my brother. I had some Big Kureyon in my stash (which is rather small.) I swatched up and adapted the Voodoo Wrist Warmers from Knitty. I love knitting with this yarn. My first time (a Noro virgin, ohh!) and I have seen the light. I could never understand what all the hub-bub was about. It is pretty amazing to watch the colors come through with the subtle changes and the texture of the yarn...it's way fun. However, the Big Kureyon is a bit think-n-thin - something I wasn't expecting.

Did you notice the sunlight in this picture?! I actually saw sunlight this morning. It's freakin cold out - but the sun is shining and I am seeing it! I'm trying to ignore the fact that the reason why I'm seeing the sun is because our car is dead AGAIN and I'm waiting for a tow truck...

I've completed over half of my Dad's scarf. It's taking a loooong time to knit this one up and I've finally memorized the pattern repeats. What can I say, I'm a little dense. This picture is super dark, but it's the only way to see the texture of the cables. My gauge has loosened up quite a bit, so it's going a lot faster.



I leave you with this cutest picture ever. Gabby has adopted Elisa and Mike as her new favorite people. She just got up and posed for this perfect pic...

Who says Mistle Toe isn't a Drug?

Rob and I decorated last weekend and took a bunch of pictures. I love Christmas and all things Christmas. It's just so much fun, everyone being nice to everyone else and everything.

Here are a few of the fun pictures....



My sister, Margaret, and Santa (we actually took this over Thanksgiving at the Tree Farm)

Rob and our Tree

Our Tree (notice the star is from 1970...)

I love Nativity Scenes. My mom gave me this a few years ago.

Me, high on mistletoe, dancing to Christmas Tunes

What's Christmas without a little lovin'...

What's Christmas without a little yarn in your tree. I've discovered the beauty of Noro...

My Hero

(I love this picture. I figured out why Rob picked out such bold colors for "his" rooms in the house, they make great backgrounds!)

Reverse Flash, the man of my dreams, has been a busy boy. Not only is he struggling to save The Bookish Girl, he's also off trying to rescue kittens in the rain/cold/sleet while walking uphill in 8ft deep snow drifts. Both ways! We almost had one on Wednesday. The little bugger ran the only direction we didn't have covered.

Is there some secret kitten language that we can use to convince them that we are not vicious murderers? This must be what they think because the look in their eyes is pure horror. Little do they know that we want to move them from the freezing cold into the arms of a family who will love on them and hold them tight and kiss them and call them George.*

We had a dramatic rescue this past summer. We had our friends Erin and Kurt over for a grill out. Around midnight we walked them to the front door with our dogs in tow. As we exited the house we spotted mama cat walking down the street. Now, both of the dogs are fascinated with cats and REALLY enjoy chasing them down. Not their greatest quality but one that is difficult to train out as at least one of them is part hound. Before we could corral her back into the house Rya (hound woman) chased the mama and spooked the babies who, unbeknownst to us, were hiding under a parked car. The kitties ran down the street along the curb only to be greeted by a storm drain....which one fell into. It takes us awhile to figure out what's going on. At this point we realize that there is a kitten in the catchbasin, drowning and crying.

It sucked.

I ran up to the house to get the dogs in, grabbed a flashlight and ran out. And what before my eyes should appear? Rob's legs sticking out of the storm drain. On either end of those legs were Erin and Kurt. The three of them had used their super-human adrenaline strength to pull off the catch basin grate and Rob was hanging head first trying to grab the kitten.

The catch? He couldn't see. It was pitch black. We screamed to him....LEFT, RIGHT...directing him toward the scared drowning kitty (who thinks we're going to eat him.) The second catch, we have an illicit connection in our storm drain system, illicit connection = sewage. All’s well that ends well, we caught the kitten and eventually we all recovered emotionally. However, I think we were so thrown off by the whole thing that we didn't quite know what to do with him (and the other kitten still hiding.) We ended up letting them go, we knew their mother was near.

As winter approaches the idea of kittens outside gets a bit scary. As I mentioned yesterday, there is one in particular who we think is without its mama. My husband, the greatest man in the world, managed to catch it yesterday!



Ain't he cute?! He went directly to the humane society and was immediately greeted by warm hands. He wasn't scared of people and will likely be adopted soon. However, we think we may know the source of this kitten's genes....



This is the face that our cat Kumar made when I questioned him about his sex life. Now you tell me, how in the world does an indoor cat with zero access to the rough city streets sire a kitty like this?! We'll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now anyway...I think his look screams guilt!



In knitting news....Dad's scarf is just about half done. We had knitting night last night. This is a horrible picture of Kris and Barbara (the only one I took that wasn't blurry), my knitters in crime.



I adore our weekly meetings...they are hilarious and fun. And best of all, I received my first gift of the season. Kris gave me the bestest present ever! I decided I'm going to do one pattern a day. Who's with me?!



*I don't quite have this quote right but does anyone know where it's from?!

Check it out!

This is Juli*, of my 100 list #72-74 fame. She learned to knit over Thanksgiving! I can't tell you how cool this is. My friends Emily (the drunk license checker) and Allie (Gus's Mom) have also learned to knit. We also have an expert knitter in the crowd, Ms Marne. This means one thing and one thing only - our Annual Beaver Reunions (see #32-38 on the 100 List) will be knit-tastic!

I haven't been knitting. I'm just about at the end of the Kite Runner (link on the sidebar.) I'm a crazy person at the end of books. It's hard for me to do anything but read. This one left me feeling blech in the beginning. It's turning out to be a fabulous story. Has anyone read it yet?

So, I need some advice here. I'm just about done with my time as a bookseller at my local independent bookstore. I love working there but the time commitment is driving me bonkers. I'd like to take advantage of the last days of my discount and get a bunch of knitting books. Recognizing that I'm po' and must get the most bang for my buck are there any essentials out there I should invest in?


*Juli just moved to Colorado, the Boulder/Denver area. Are there any friendly knitters out that way? She's really cool, I swear.

Greetings from the face of the earth...

Never fear, I am alive and well. The Bookish Girl is in quite a pickle. But me? Well I'm fine as a cheap-ass bottle of wine. An update on the heroine's plight will be added soon enough - patience is any super-hero's greatest virtue.

I've been knitting. It has been keeping me relaxed, sane, and on my way to nirvana. Life is happening over here and I'm not stopping it. No sir-ree Bob. Now if only I could tell you all about it. Alas, the one limitation of the internet - you never know who's a-reading.

On to bigger and better things:

End of the year book lists.

I have two more to share with you.

The first is from the Boston Phoenix, they do a fabulous job of noticing some new/newer short story authors. I love the short story. I haven't read them as much as I used to but will argue their literary significance to the death. Secondly, Ron Charles of the Christian Science Monitor reviews some great books of the year. I love reading his reviews and have never been disappointed.

I was going to do a list of the best books that I've read in 2004 but I only started keeping track this summer. How in the world such an obvious OCD task escaped my routine is beyond me. The fringe on the carpet* is perfectly straight, but I have no idea what books I read in the beginning of this year. Of the ones I remember, The Bone People by Keri Hulme is up there (link on the sidebar.) I'm still trying to process that book. The characters live with you. They are incredibly well developed. In fact, I can think of few other books that do this as well as Hulme. There are three main characters: a child, a woman, and the child's father. Some of them take part in some despicable acts. However, at the end of the day - as a reader I still liked them. This aspect of the novel, coupled with the unique prose, has left me still thinking and longing for more. I highly recommend it. Be aware that it is a challenging read, emotionally and physically.

Robby and I are trying to catch some stray kittens in our neighborhood. They're wily little things, they think we are going to kill them. Anyone have any advice? Our next attempt may involve a have-a-heart trap. The poor things are crying through the night, which tells us the mama is no where to be found.

* well, it would be straight if I had fringe on my carpet.

Banff, the sweater that could kill

When we last left The Bookish Girl she was frantically trying to determine whether she had enough yarn to complete her sister’s Christmas present – the elusive Banff. The second thrilling installment of the Banff saga continues below

(dun, dun, dun, duh...)

While Culina lies in wait The Bookish Girl wallows in the misery that is another four years with President Bush. Unable to face any intelligent mathematics, schematics and/or measurement she throws caution to the wind and pushes on with her knitting with no real plan in mind. This is her first mistake.

She is carefree and barefoot in her adventures (her husband, Reverse Flash, continues to hide her aimless shoes.) As she finishes up the back of the sweater, thus completing the third piece of the puzzle, she remembers that a local yarn store carries the exact yarn she’s missing. She slowly curbs her enthusiasm with the reality of working with a second dye lot. This would be no small obstacle, but armed with her knitting books she would persevere. The important thing is that SHE WAS IN REACH OF MORE YARN. The sweater would be conquered and completed. It was an ah-ha moment that gave her the confidence to cast on and begin the front, the forth and final piece of the puzzle. This was her second, almost fatal mistake.

The following weekend The Bookish Girl rushes (as fast as one can with a husband called Reverse Flash (the slowest man in the word)) to her local yarn store, The Snow Goose. She fights the blue hairs and carefully chooses three skeins of variegated loveliness. How lucky she is. How fortunate. She compares the yarn to a completed piece of Banff. Ahhh, love at first sight. The dye lot is off, but Banff (and the Bookish Girl) will survive. Her care is paid off when she examines the hank to be sure the color is even throughout. The plastic card is brought out, her signature is procured and she gloats at her good fortune, the third time’s a charm. The fatal mistake had been made; never ever gloat in the eyes of Banff because SHE WILL WIN.

Back at the ranch, Reverse Flash, worn out by The Bookish Girls speed and resolve lies down for a nap. When he awakes he sees this:



With this lying two feet from her outstretched hand.





"Bookish Girl…noooooooo."

Now, Reverse Flash may be slow, but he ain’t no dumbwit. He immediately sees that the yarn, while the same color, has different labels. Upon further inspection he realizes that the yarn his beloved has been knitting with is label "Chunky" and this nomenclature is curiously missing from the Stupid Snow Goose purchased yarn. While he’s not sure exactly what this means, he slowly realizes that his literacy minded love has been foiled by Banff. He pictures her happy with Banff. He knows he can save her. He pleads to the yarn Goddess as he dons his Bookish Girl Hand Knit Sweater (its small nature accentuates his rippling biceps), "Give me direction oh Great One.”

Will the Goddess reply? Will Reverse Flash be able to “spring” into action? And where are The Bookish Girl's shoes?

All of this and more will be answered in the next episode of

“Banff, the sweater that could kill”…..

(dun, dun, dun, daaaaa)

*no animals, yarn, or humans where harmed in the production of this episode.

Gotta work off the sugar headache...

1. I’m not a joiner but Elisa inspired me this morning.
2. This is the second 100 list that I’ve done, the first was done this past summer.
3. I am very interested to see how they compare.
4. I have a horrible sugar headache this morning
5. I combated it by having more sugar
6. I think I have a problem
7. I am 28 years old
8. I was married when I was 28
9. I moved to Boston in 2001
10. I have lived in Georgia, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Texas
11. I was born in Texas and moved from there when I was 1
12. I went to undergraduate school in Ohio and graduate school in Georgia
13. I hated living in Georgia
14. I love that I lived there
15. I met my husband at a dog park in Georgia
16. He was a bit goofy
17. He still is
18. I love this about him
19. I am complicated
20. As an adult I am finally learning to accept myself
21. This has been a long journey
22. My husband has helped me reach this goal faster
23. He loves me unconditionally, except when I don’t rinse off my dishes before I put them in the sink, then he hates me.
24. I am a neat freak
25. I love to be organized
26. Clutter sometimes takes over my life
27. I have amazing friends
28. I have had the same best friends since the 7th grade
29. We are separated by distance and sometimes never talk but the thought of them makes my heart warm
30. It took me a bit to settle in to college
31. I missed home
32. I made some fabulous friends there
33. We call ourselves the Beavers
34. This is not meant to be pornographic, it refers to Beaver Clever
35. We have a monthly Beaver award. For whoever is the biggest dork of the month
36. I win it a lot
37. It took me many months to prepare Rob (my husband) to meet the Beavers
38. They are a bit overwhelming
39. My family is crazy
40. For real
41. I love to be with my parents
42. They argue a lot when they drive in the car
43. Secretly, they enjoy it. Not secretly, we don’t
44. They are excellent role models. Both in life and in their marriage
45. I strive to make them proud
46. I know I have and they tell me often
47. My dad can do anything
48. My mom is the strongest woman I know
49. They did the best they could in raising us
50. It is difficult for me to understand my brother
51. I am working on this
52. He is mentally ill and has improved his life dramatically since seeking help
53. It was hard to grow up with him as a sibling
54. I often felt ignored
55. I think I try to make up for his faults by over achieving
56. I don’t want my parents to think that they’ve failed
57. I used to defend him when I was little
58. When we were young I was often the only one who could understand what he was saying (he used to have a speech impediment)
59. Most of my family suffers from depression
60. We’re all very open about this
61. My sister often challenges us to be more open about it
62. It’s interesting what genetics can do to you
63. I’m missing my eye teeth and I have no wisdom teeth
64. I inherited this from my maternal grandfather
65. He was an alcoholic
66. Apparently the missing teeth mean that I’m further evolved
67. So there.
68. I believe that everyone is special and different
69. These difference should be celebrated
70. I hate ignorance or uninformed opinions
71. I try really hard to see both sides of a story
72. My best friend Juli was really good at teaching me this
73. Juli is really funny. She once farted in front of a cop after being pulled over. He asked to see her registration. When she reached over to pull it out she farted. He didn’t give her a ticket.
74. She tells this story a lot. To anyone. She is not shameful about her foibles
75. I love this about her and I have learned to adopt the same policy
76. Everyone makes mistakes
77. There isn’t one person who hasn’t tripped in public at one point in time
78. I really hate it when people don’t take responsibility for themselves and their actions
79. Or when people judge others for something they do themselves.
80. I can’t wait to have children
81. My husband is 13 years older than me but looks and acts like a 20 year old
82. We better hurry or he’ll be an old man before the kid is 20.
83. I am nervous to raise children
84. There is so much to screw up
85. Rob won’t have kids while we live in Boston
86. He says city life is too hectic
87. We are poor
88. We live in a marginal neighborhood
89. This is okay with me most of the time
90. The Boston Police do not respond to our calls
91. This is not okay with me and makes me very angry
92. My husband was mugged at gun point on our street
93. It was very traumatic and only a month after we had purchased our house
94. In that same period of time I was electrocuted by our washing machine, my car was broken into, we discovered our house was wired to kill us and/or burn down, I lost my engagement ring (which was my husband’s mother’s wedding band), our washing machine broke and the company refused to honor our warranty, our cat got sick, our dog got sick, we were in a car accident, and we were married.
95. It was an interesting year
96. We are glad it’s over
97. I love to knit
98. I get obsessed with things
99. I love to read and now, I love to knit
100. I am a perfectionist
101. Knitting enables me to continue to be a perfectionist
102. I’m in love with my dog
103. She’s the funniest person I know
104. Unfortunately, she is not as amused by me
105. I like to talk
106. And therefore, I have to cut myself off here

Thanks for reading! That was fun. I definitely feel a bit weird putting this out there. What’s the opposite of voyeurism? Exhibitionism? Hmmm, interesting.

Start Me Up

Whew. So far today I have had a huge cup of coffee, two and a half donuts and two cans of sugarfied soda. I am wired for fun. How I allowed myself to consume such things? Don't ask, because really, I have no idea how it happened - it just did. Sometimes it's better to not ask such questions of yourself.

I am unable to focus on anything. However, according to Sugar.org sugar does not cause hyperactivity:

The belief that sugar consumption causes hyperactivity - or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - is one of the most common and pervasive of all sugar myths, despite literally dozens of studies refuting any connection between the two.

After examining all available scientific evidence, the Food and Drug Administration's Sugars Task Force concluded in 1986 that there is no evidence sugar consumption causes behavioral changes in normal children or adults. More recent studies have confirmed this finding, including one that found that sugar might actually induce a calming effect.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports, "Reducing or eliminating sugar to treat ADHD has widespread support among lay persons and in the lay press. However, controlled trials have not shown that the ingestion of sugar has an effect on activity or aggression in normal or hyperactive children." (American Family Physician, Sept. 2001)

So why has this myth persisted? Because, say some, parents still believe sugar makes their kids hyperactive. A study published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology found that parents who think their child's behavior is affected by sugar are more likely to perceive their children as hyperactive when they've been led to believe their child has just consumed a sugary drink.

Kerstin, I did it...I did a blockquote!

My ode to sugar and my response to Sugar.org (and also to contribute to my weekly goal of introducing a new "the hell that is a song that stuck in your head"):

If you start me up
If you start me up I'll never stop
If you start me up
If you start me up
I'll never stop
I've been running hot
You got me ticking gonna blow my top
If you start me up
If you start me up I'll never stop

(Don't read too far down in the lyrics 'cause all those things your parents accused rock-and-roll of being, yeah...well this song proves that they are true. It also proves that this song really isn't about sugar. *gasp*.)

Have these "researchers" (if that's what they call themselves,) never been on a plane with a 3-year and their mother who feeds the kid candy to keep it quiet?! Yah, well I have. And it is counter-productive.... sugar does make 3-year olds stuck in planes more hyper.

It's a drug I tell yah.

Hmmm, I think I'll go home and make some cookies.