Ardbeg 10

Today we tried the Ardbeg Ten Year Old, another Scottish single malt. While the boys were in agreement, that it was smokey, more peaty than the. . . Lagavulin I think, I am ambivalent. Islay whiskeys aren't completely my thing, I guess. I liked the Johnny Walker Green, which the guys were not too impressed with--they said it was too smooth, without enough flavor. I liked its smoothness and would like to try the Gold and Blue (which are on sale at Costco right now, by the way), but not enough to purchase entire bottles to finish. Actually, the Blue is $25 off at Costco right now, and it comes with its own little carrying case. Unfortunately, it's completely sold out (go figure).

Women having two sex lives (and personalities), a theory

I was perusing Psychology Today magazine and saw this article but wasn't able to read it until I got home. After all, an Itty Bitty princess can only rock back and forth on her feet for so long waiting for her mom to read a magazine, I'm surprised she was so good for that long as it was.

But basically, the article suggests that women have two personalities, one while they're ovulating (when they prefer more masculine sex partners and well as when they're more likely to take risks), and one while they're not (and they prefer a more sensitive sex partner and less likely to be as outgoing). It also talked about hormone fluctuations and suggested that it was why women were more likely to be moody and depressed. As in, we aren't that way for no reason, but that there's a very good, very specific reason.

It was interesting, but I have no graphic to go along with the post.

Turning the mundane into art

So Hubby got me a Kindle for Christmas. He intended it to be a secret, but it was delivered separately from the Wii Fit he ordered, in its own little box that actually was quite Kindle-sized. And it was delivered while he was away at work, and I was home with the kids. I remember thinking "Oh, that's the size of a Kindle" but was summarily distracted afterwards for the rest of the afternoon. When Hubby got home he was quite glum and then opened the box, assuming I knew exactly what was in it and who it was for. Actually, it had escaped my mind. But he was determined to give it to me that moment, so I have an early Christmas gift that needs a case. I haven't liked any of the ones at Target or Amazon (actually, there were a few off Amazon that caught my eye, but they were the Diane Von Furstenburg ones that apparently, let your Kindle fall out which does not sound very protective). So I started looking at Etsy, and found one that seemed decent except for the fabric print. But today Hubby sent me a link to this California company that makes leather Kindle covers and I'm in love. These look like works of art. And they're (relatively) locally-made (if local can be considered the same state), how cool is that?

I've been trying to keep up with the knitting, but playing with my new Kindle has been taking up precious time.

Making the cut

Last month our family started a new tradition: before going to bed, we take turns saying what we're thankful for. While Itty Bitty is thankful for "Dada come home!" and "Woe woe" (that's "woof woof" for those of you not schooled in toddler talk) and "milk", Bub automatically says he's thankful for his parents, sister and grandparents. Every time. Until this week. After a difficult evening that left him frustrated with his father, he cut it down to "Grandpa and Mom." But a couple nights ago he edited it down to "Grandpa." But last night, he drew a family picture. It shows him with Mom and Grandpa (no dad, no little sister). Hubby's not too offended, and I'm glad I'm still somewhat important to a little boy who knows how to hold a grudge.

Possibly a sweater in my future

I thought I might have to give up knitting sweaters for the next year, but I recently found a pattern that would be very adjustable and forgiving to any changes in size or shape: Hannah Fettig's Effortless Cardigan (I'm afraid I couldn't find it off her Knitbot site and only on Ravelry, so the link will only work if you are a member of Ravelry). Cosmicpluto's Rayne Wrap Cardigan had also caught my eye, but in the former you can see that it's obviously a raglan that just continues on and with the latter, I'm not exactly sure (but here is PlumBlossom's project, who has posted a more illuminating picture in terms of sleeves). I'm afraid of having to pick up stitches and then doing short rows for set-in sleeves; I've done that before and the results weren't too pretty.

So then, a possibility of a sweater in the near future (and woe to those future socks that will have to wait even longer to be knit!) but what about the yarn? Do I want to go with a beautiful and vibrant Madelinetosh, as recommended by Fettig? Or Misti Alpaca's tactiley Tonos Worsted? Or, or, possibly better yet (if such a thing could be possible), Fleece Artist's Blue Faced Leicester? I love Fleece Artist yarns for the fiber, but I suspect their colorways are not that flattering for my skin tone. Nonetheless, this sweater pattern means possibility. To dream and guess and hope.

Smackdown. . . Scotch-style

Recently the boys tried the Macallan Cask Strength v. Glenlivet's 18 year. The Macallan won. It smells positively delicious and I can't wait for Hubby to get a bottle. Today he got Macallan's 15 and Lagavulin's 16 year. I suppose that taste test will take place soon. BevMo sells that Lagavulin for $80; at Costco it was $65. You've got to love Costco.

The Macallan Cask Strength was just amazing though, I've never smelled an alcohol that smelled so good. It was complex, fragrant and smooth.

As to the Overholt, I don't remember that one (no, not from over-inebriation). I just got these pictures so I threw them all up, but I think it may have been from an earlier sampling.

Niches, niches everywhere

Saw this today, I didn't even know there was a magazine devoted to just beer. . . although I probably should have.

Who loves ya, baby?

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a recruiter emailed Hubby, but he was busy writing his thesis so he ignored the email. He finished writing his thesis, he defended his thesis, and lived, somewhat happily ever after, in postdoc land. But the recruiter emailed again, so Hubby wondered what to do. And I said, "It can't hurt to talk to them." So Hubby talked to the recruiter, who wanted Hubby to do a phone interview. And the phone interview turned into another phone interview, which turned into a day-long interview with lots of different people. And at the end of the day, the company gave him an interview gift. Hubby had never gotten a gift for going to an interview, so he was amused.

A couple of days later, the recruiter called to let Hubby know that the interviewers got together and they all decided that they really wanted Hubby to be hired. Hubby was not opposed to seeing what kind of offer they would put together, so he gave the recruiter the green light. The offer was not bad, but not amazing. Still, it was very good and much better than Hubby was making in postdoc land. So he told the recruiter that it sounded good, but he had a couple of questions on a few certain points. The recruiter said they'd get back to him and so Hubby waited and waited. Eventually, the recruiter called back with an amazing deal that Hubby decided he couldn't turn down, so he said yes. So they sent him the paperwork. And then they sent him a gift basket filled with goodies.

I have had a lot of jobs and for the most part, they've been crappy. When I worked for a Dilbert-esque company, on employee appreciation day we were given a CD case (like a cheaper version of a Case Logic one) and they had the greasiest, cheapest pizza in the break room. It was so bad everyone got indigestion from eating it. And it only had pepperoni. But I digress. And then there was the company after that, which had employee appreciation hour. (No, I'm not joking.) They gave us ice cream bars in the parking lot. You could only have one.

So suffice it to say, I've never been sent a gift basket from a future employer. So I'm kind of impressed. And jealous. But either way, the Asiago cheese dip is really, really yummy with the honey wheat dipping pretzels.

FO--Green helmet head to go with the green ribbed baby jacket

The set, together.
Just the hat, finished today (as in, I did the second button and sewed both on).
Close-up of the buttons.

I know I said I'd do a tutorial, but I was so rushed today I completely forgot to take pictures. I made buttons for the Twinkle Rockefeller sweater too, but forgot to take a picture of the buttons. Maybe in another post.

Almost New Year round-up

This year I have completed: seven sweaters (two of which, the Ribbed Baby Jacket and the minImogen, are baby-sized, but I'm still counting them, the rest being the Twinkle Rockefeller Cardigan, Vine Yoke Cardigan, Imogen, Hourglass pullover and Textured Circle Shrug); three pairs of socks (Garter st resoleable socks, Alexandrite Spiraling Coriolis socks and Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern); two shawl/scarfs (Storm Cloud Shawlette and Crayola Baktus); the Isabeau purse; one Star-Crossed Beret, three Aviatrixes and one Calorimetry (so kind of five head coverings/hats). And counting, because it's still November and the year is not over quite yet.

My favorites from this year are the Imogens, both for the process as well as the finished product, the Crayola Baktus (more for its portability and then also for the extremely stretchy and wearable finished product), and the Aviatrixes. No socks made the list. Maybe I'm turned off on socks. So perhaps it would be a bad idea to start pondering a yarn diet for 2011 and work on stashbusting for a year. After all, I have enough yarn for more than a dozen (really, I just tallied) pairs of socks. Although it might get boring just working on socks.

But then I could work on perfecting the perfect architecture. I like Cat Bordhi's Sockitecture book (the first one) but it doesn't seem to be the best fit for my foot for some reason. The (gasp!) no-gusset short-row heel seems to be a good fit for me, but I need to figure a way to also fit in heel stitch on the bottom of the heel since that's where I end up wearing out my socks.

There are socks that have been in my queue forever: the Waving Lace socks and Embossed Leaves socks from IK's Favorite Socks book. Queen Kahuna-method socks. Lace patterns from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks (Oriel) and More Sensational Knitted Socks (Little Arrowhead). I figure if I can make a good dent in my sock yarn, then and only then, can I buy more. And then I plan on buying me some Briggs and Tuffy Durasport and Tuffy.

I have a fantasy, a sock fantasy. Where every day I wear handknit socks. And that I have so many pairs (kind of like that picture of a bunch of different socks from Knitting Vintage Socks) each pair only gets worn maybe once or twice a month, so they don't wear out for a super long time. Of course, this ties into my handknit fantasy, where I wear at least one handknit every day.

And I've wanted to knit more hats and scarves and mittens, but being in Southern California I am not very motivated. And I have the lace-weight yarn for a Whisper cardigan, but I hate knitting in lace-weight yarn, I always feel like I'm about to break the yarn, so while I've started it twice, I need more impetus to restart. Maybe soon.

But. . . I also have gigantic skeins of lace-weight yarn waiting to be made into shawls. Specifically, I have a 250 gram ball of Fleece Artist's BFL 2/8 (in Ivory), and a 150 gram skein of Hand Maiden's Sea Silk (in Midnight). Wait and see, I guess we'll wait and see.

Makeup can be toys too

I picked up these two kits from this year's Friends and Family event (at Sephora). Honestly, I bought the entire Best of Basics set because I wanted to try the Josie Maran Argan Oil without splurging for an entire full-sized container. As to the mascara sampler, I realized post-ordering that they had TWO different mascara samplers, the other with a cute little eyelash curler. Oh well. I think the reason I always want to try different mascaras is because my lashes are so deficient--if I were satisfied with them, I would find that one Holy Grail product and stick with it (for base, it's Jane Iredale's Pressed Powder foundation and for lips, it's Burt's Bees lip balms, Lorac Gloss Sticks for lip gloss, and Smashbox oh crap, I just looked it up and it's been discontinued (which is when the search begins anew), but my HG product had been this but tinted for lipstick. Actually, I just searched for the LORAC gloss stick too, and apparently that has also been discontinued in the past year (because I bought some during last year's FF event). But, I don't use lip products that often--because I'm satisfied with my lips--so I'm probably safe for a little bit longer.

But mascara. My lashes are pitifully short and straight and thin. So I am always on the lookout for a mascara that will thicken and lengthen without smudging, last an entire day and not smudge (I have a huge problem with smudging which somehow does not deter me from wearing eye makeup, although perhaps it should). So I keep looking. My HG has been Fiberwig, but it always clumps. It's not perfect, so I'm still looking.

I already broke open the mascara sampler and started on the Hourglass Superficial. The brush bristles are very short, compared with other brushes, but I like it because it seems to coat my eyelashes well. Also, even though they tout the formula as moisturizing, I find it to be rather dry (not a lot of slip), which again I don't have an issue with, because it has relatively few clumps. I get smudging after a few hours though, and this isn't a crazy lengthening mascara like the Fiberwig (which has actual fibers in the mascara that adhere to your own eyelashes) so it's more of an everyday effect. But for that, I guess it's decent.

WIP pics of a FO --Claret Rockefeller

The fronts and backs cast on, via the Tailored Sweater Method by Tuulia Salmedi.
The sleeve caps picked up and the sleeves completed.
The body, continued.
The sweater, cast off along with pockets but before the giant ribbed collar.

Originally I wasn't sure how to do the pockets, as I was doing this sweater from the top-down rather than bottom-up. I ended up putting the 10 cable stitches on a holder, then doing a crochet provisional cast-on of 10 stitches to continue the body (since the stitches I put on the holders would now become the back, or inside or the pocket), then continue knitting in pattern. After finishing the ribbing and casting off, I picked up the stitches and did the pattern for the requisite ten rows. On the "top" layer with the provisional cast-on, I picked up my stitches and did the rows of ribbing (as in the Twinkle pattern). Then I messily sewed the whole thing together. Because I sew quite poorly--that's why I knit!

I really do need to take a FO pic, maybe after I do the buttons and sew them on. But I'm not impressed with the sweater. It's a shame, because it took from the start of one weekend to the end of the next (just over a week), but I don't love it. In fact, I tried to give it away to my mother (she wouldn't accept it since it was acrylic and holey, but the holes were part of the pattern! But I digress). I think I just don't like bulky sweaters. I felt like Chewbacca. And it didn't feel good (this part is my fault, since I knit this with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick). But it wasn't warm and I had flashbacks of junior high when I had many sweaters but was still, perpetually cold (in hindsight, it was because all but one of the sweaters was made of acrylic and sadly, the one sweater that was made of wool had a pattern of intarsia dogs which, at the time and probably still now, wholly embarrassed me). So what am I supposed to do with this huge monstrosity, frog it? I just might, some day.

A little light reading. . . not

After reading Po Bronson's "NurtureShock" book, I looked for that Vygotskian book they sort of referenced. I also ordered Christine Carter's "Raising Happiness" and decided to start with that. But it made me feel like everything I've done has been the wrong way and depressed me so it's been slow going. Meanwhile, I haven't opened the Vygotskian book. In fact, I'm a bit worried that by the time I get to it, the kids will be out of their early childhood and any elucidation will be moot. So perhaps I'll just take a break from Happiness and get to Vygotsky. Before, you know, it's too late. Unfortunately, this will further cut into my knitting time.

Afterthought Pocket tutorial

For anyone that uh, wanted one (although I'm sure there are others out there, I just figured I'd document my pocket). Basically, I just followed Jacqueline Fee's method which was actually EZ's method, but I took pictures. This is me putting the second (left) pocket into my Imogen. These pockets are vertical, rather than horizontal, so I made slanted pockets so that they wouldn't be perpendicular to my body. So the first thing that I did was decide where I wanted the pockets to go and where the middle stitch would be. My mom helped with that, as I needed a person looking at me rather than looking down at the sweater. I put a coil-less safety pin in that stitch.
Then, I cut half of that stitch.
And I unraveled nine stitches to the left and nine stitches to the right so I had a hole my hand could go through.
And picked up the stitches on two circular needles. Then, I started sewing my slanted pocket, see:
Perhaps I should have waited until my pocket was a bit longer so that you could see more of its slant, but I was excited. The directions say to purl the bottom edge I think, I ended up purling the side the back of my hand would be against (rather than the palm-side) for a crisp edge. And to get it to slant, I made my increases on the "bottom" side of the pocket and my decreases on the "top" side.

Tonight I was hoping to finish the pocket (via Kitchener), but the kids had a play date at a museum this morning and were too hopped up to sleep in the afternoon, so there was no time for knitting today (boo hoo). So hopefully tomorrow.

Why it's harder to be fat and fashionable

Or perhaps that is politically incorrect. The LA Times Image section had an article about why plus-sized clothing was typically so unfashionable. I knew the proportions were different but I guess I'd never really thought about how that affected the construction and drape of clothes in different sizes. It was an interesting article.

One leaf of red cabbage

No graphic, sorry. So we've started putting one leaf of red cabbage into the smoothies and I'm happy to say I can't taste it. I'm not opposed to the taste of cabbage, after all, I love the shredded cabbage in Wahoo's fish tacos (if you haven't tried them, you're missing out but I believe it's a regional thing, like In-and-Out), but it's not necessarily something I want in my smoothie. But it imparts very little taste in the large scheme of things, and it gives the finished product a very pretty color I must say, so we'll say red cabbage is a winner.

Mango is obviously a winner too. A yummy one.

Not meant to be humorous children's books but. . .

The first time I saw the first title "I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much" I was astounded. I mean, they really have books for everything, don't they? And I'm not trying to play down alcoholism, I just really, truly did not expect to find a children's book that addressed such a serious topic. The "Who's Your Daddy?" book is a board book (for the non-initiated, that means it's for toddlers because they can't rip the pages without great effort). It doesn't question paternity, but the title was funny.

A new toy (yes, I know I just used this title)

This is more recent than the stroller, but with a 50 percent off coupon at Michael's I picked up some Sculpey tools (I know, I couldn't find anything better to spend the coupon on). The next time I make buttons I'm planning on breaking these out though; that silicone mat I got (basically, a Silpat for plastic clay) worked great.

A new toy

We got this as a gift a few weeks ago but really only took it out this week. It's a Maclaren XT. We have this Esprit stroller (but in red) that we got in Singapore when Bub was still a bub, I guess it was a knock-off of the Maclaren. I can't knock the Esprit though; I was able to go through airport security holding a baby and folding up the stroller with the other hand. It got really beat up going through airports though, so we'll probably leave this one for nice mall trips and stuff. So far though, so good. It runs smoothly, it's light, my only complaint is the extremely small (and delicate) basket storage. It's nearly useless, the Esprit stroller had a better basket. This one has a larger sun shield, comes with a rain shield, and handles that can be lengthened for taller people. We'll see how it works out.

Grumbles and curses--WIP Rockefeller Sweater

So right now I'm working on Twinkle's Rockefeller Sweater, from Big City Knits. And let me tell you, even with the errata and Ravelry, I'm having a hell of a time figuring out the pattern. Most of the time I hate bottom-up sweaters but for Twinkle, I seem to be able to subdue my feelings, maybe because they're all so chunky and go quickly. And it's only been two days and I'm up to the decreases (under the arms, I think), but now, wtf? These directions are so poorly worded, so poorly written, so FAIL. I can knit a sweater. I've knit sweaters. I've knit socks. And hats, and mittens and scarves. I've knit things in Fair Isle, cables and lace. But for the life of me I cannot knit Twinkle.

I wish I had a Knitting Fairy Godmother who would come and visit while both children were miraculously, simultaneously napping, and explain to me exactly what I needed to do, because apparently I cannot comprehend it even though I have a glorified English degree.

So I'm going to sleep on it. Granted, the only reason I'm up right now is because DH woke me up tonight (possibly more on that later), and I don't know when I'll be able to fall back asleep, but I took a crappy cell phone picture so that I have a graphic to go along with the post. The bottom of the sweater is at the bottom, with the right and left pockets on stitch holders down there, and basically what you see is the back and kind of the front sides of the sweater. Afterwards, the big ribbed collar has to be picked up and knit, which I assume will render the sweater wearable and no longer child-sized.

But for now, I'm at a loss. A big stinking loss caused by lack of Twinkle comprehension. Hopefully it comes to me. And hopefully I bought enough yarn to finish.

FOs--aviatrix and buttons

Originally I was going to knit this for an expectant friend, but since I finished the ribbed baby jacket and have extra yarn, I think I'll knit another one with the matching yarn so that she'll have a matching set.
Earlier this week I made buttons for various projects, this is the one I made for Itty-Bitty's minImogen.
This is the button I made for my Imogen (assuming that I'm going to put a button on it, the jury's still out).
And this is the button I'm going to use for the matching Aviatrix hat I'm talking about. So it'll all match and be good and stuff.

Another winner

So today we tried frozen cantalope in our smoothies. It was good, we have another winner.

Previous winners:
-strawberries
-grapes
-peaches
-oranges
-bananas (in moderation)
-soy (in moderation)
-yogurt (also in moderation)

Losers:
-Soy milk/paste
-a whole banana (it's just too much)

Toss-up:
-dates (they're really hard to completely grind up so you're left with chunks)

And maybe tomorrow we'll try watermelon.

FO--Ribbed Baby Jacket (by Debbie Bliss)

Ta da! The buttons are a little higher than I thought I'd put them, so now it looks like maybe three buttons would have been better. Hopefully the recipient's mother will not mind. But she's in fashion, so. . .
Close-ups of the buttons.

Above, the right side before single crochet edging. And below, the left side after single crochet edging. Because I like to compare and stuff.
So in the pic below, you can compare the two sides. Doesn't curl as much now, eh?
And the pieces before I picked up stitches.
It's a cute FO, but I think I hate Debbie Bliss patterns. The first sweater I ever chose to knit was a DB baby sweater, before I learned what top-down was. It was knit all in pieces (and at this point, I'd really *just* learned to knit) and then I had to seam the frickin' thing. And then, because I hadn't learned that much about gauge, after I blocked it, it had widened to gargantuan proportions so it fit me. It was like a No Doubt-era midrift-baring crop top that was actually supposed to be a baby sweater. So that got ripped.

This was a little better. But I'm resentful part of the allure of this pattern was its supposed "one-piece" construction, but sheesh--you cast on for the bottom of the back, knit the back, then cast on more stitches for the arms, do short rows for the shaping, then put the stitches on a holder, then knit the skinny little sides, THEN pick up stitches for the front ribbing, and THEN you have to sew the sides and arms together? Really? Seems a little fiddly. I mean, surely a more elegant pattern could have been written, but no. So I mattress-stitched the sides and Kitchener-stitched the arms and they came out decent. Also, I thought I was running out of yarn (I'd bought four 50-gram skeins) but it turned out when I thought I was on my fourth ball, I was on my third, so I should have enough for a hat even though I single crocheted around the cuffs and bottom to prevent curling.

The buttons have suns on them, which I suppose is ironic since the expectant mother lives in Seattle. I still have a helmet head (aka Aviatrix) to knit them, but I may take a break from the baby stuff. I feel like I have all of these little projects to do and I'm so behind--I owe Bub a sweater, Itty Bitty a baby blanket, and I'd wanted to knit my brother socks for Christmas. (Unfortunately, he has extra-wide size 11 feet. Yes, I know.) And it's almost the end of October. And Hubby and I started a gym membership and we go about five times a week (which severely cuts into knitting time). And we are supposed to be repainting our bedroom. But more on that later.

I hated knitting this sweater (again, inelegantly-written pattern) so I am *thrilled* that it's over! I'm not even sure why I did it. I'm not sure the mother is the type that would appreciate it. But when I first got pregnant, I wanted to knit so that the baby would have nice hand knits. Hopefully she can appreciate the sentiment.

Oh, to fly international first class

This one was from China Airlines. It was filled with little Hermes scented (Eau D'Orange Verte) toiletries. The bag would have been perfect to me, if they hadn't been so cheap with the handle and actually had well, a whole handle on each side of the bag.
And this one was from Singapore Airlines. It obviously had Ferragamo stuff, including an entire BOTTLE of Tuscan Soul eau de toilette, nevermind the travel sized body lotion, face cream and lip balm (yes, all of the same scent). I'm not crazy for the scent, but I love the little bags. I acquired these through a family member who recently came back from abroad. And now I don't know what I'm going to do with them.

A miss

Yesterday I tried making soy milk with the Vitamix. It didn't go so well, it ended up more like soy paste. So I strained it through some muslin and ended up with about one cup of soy milk. From a cup and a half of soy beans and three and a half cups of water. Yeah, I don't know what happened either. The only good part: I saved some of the unstrained paste and froze it in ice cube trays, put it in smoothies today, and it was pretty good, so I can use up what I didn't strain at least. And some of the plants outside got extra special soy paste compost. . .

Love at first mix

I have to say I love my Vitamix. I know it's just a glorified, super strong blender (two horsepower!), and all I've used it for has been to make smoothies so far, but wow. I love it. I just love it. It's so fast and easy to use (most of the smoothie recipes just seem to be a combination of fruit with the softest stuff at the bottom and the hardest/ice at the top, then blend up to high for a minute or the consistency you want). The results are delicious. And it's so much easier to get in all of the fruit I'm trying to get myself and the kids to eat this way.

A new toy

After lusting for one for three years (or, as Hubby put it "for as long as (Bubby) has been alive), I've got one! Didn't have time to take it out and read the manual until today, but I whipped up some juice (or was it a smoothie?) from almost frozen grapes (couldn't wait), peaches, oranges and strawberries. It was pretty good. But what I'm dying to do is try and whip my own butter. I love good butter. Can you imagine your own, freshly whipped butter? If only cream were on sale right now (maybe soon, since Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up).

When generic doesn't work

I often buy generic analgesics because they seem to work the same and I don't have to deal with recall notices, so I thought I'd try generic popcorn from my favorite local supermarket (opposed to my local supermarket that I'm boycotting). And look at this, there was barely any popped popcorn in there even after the maximum amount of time! A very sorry state of affairs. Next time I will splurge on brand name microwave popcorn (actually, I already did).

Not a winner (on the right)

I found this thin, watery and sour. Very Budweiser-ish (and when I say that, I mean it in a negative connotation). I thought it might be delicious. I was wrong. So we'll just move on. Hubby was just gifted with a 12-year Glenfiddich.

FO-Crayola Baktus

It took more than a year, but I finally finished! Unfortunately, it's too itchy for me. My mother has claimed ownership and I hope she is happy with it, I will have to buy myself another skein to knit socks out of it. I think it would look wonderful as Spiraling Coriolis socks, don't you?

Waiting for hubby to come home

So I took the kids out of the house to wait for Hubby to come home. We decided to walk out of our little cul-de-sac and happened upon an accident. After running home to call Hubby to let him know there was no way he'd be able to get home (the accident was covering the entire side of the street he'd need to come home), I also took some pictures after the paramedics and police arrived. In the first picture on the right hand side you can see the white truck that's turned on its side. Far away in the middle by the two firefighters is the other car, a black sedan. There was a man on the ground next to the car. The blare of helicopters has continued. (Before we ventured out of our little cul-de-sac we were wondering about the hovering helicopter.)

Hubby eventually had to park on a numbered street (the entire intersection was taped off, as were some of the others turning into the major street) and walk home. Of course, as he got close he was stopped over and over and had to explain that he was just trying to get home. And I suppose that was more exciting than watching the trash truck today (which is typically as exciting as a Tuesday gets around here).