spring has sprung

well i am back from my brief trip to new york city over the easter holiday. i had a fantastic time and stayed with great friends (who live in an awesome apt in greenwich) and only wish that i was weathly so i could actually afford a place in new york so i could be there all the time. we couldn't have gone at a better time, as the weather was lovely and flowers were planted all over the city just for us (well they probably weren't for us, but they were there still). i left thursday night for a redeye flight. i haven't flown in a couple of years and it all came rushing back what a pain it is to fly. i feel to hurried when i have to go through security while taking off my shoes and trying to keep my tray moving down the line. i got a bit airsick but it subsided after a short rest at our friends' apt.

our first meal in new york was at carnegie deli. it was a bit tourist-y but the food was pretty good. my friend's sandwhich was piled so high with meat that i thought it was a joke. really, i think it's pretty wasteful to give all this food when one person (or even two) could not possibly eat it. we carried the leftovers around for hours trying to find a homeless person to give it to but we didn't see any. a friend told me that ny shipped all the homeless to queens, but i couldn't verify this.



we also tried to go to the emire state building but they told us that there wasn't any visibility due to some rain that we had that day. i managed to get this creepy looking picture of it from the bottom, though.



the next day my friend mecaila drove in from albany to meet us and we had brunch at a yummy place down the street called pastis. there was a bit of drama there as some guy in a van backed into a vespa trying to parallel park, knocked it over, picked it up with a waiter standing outside the restaurant, then drove off in front of everyone in the patio dining. what nerve. the waiter ran after him and i hope he got his plate numbers.


mmm i had french toast


fancy schmancy eggs florentine

we spent the day exploring greenwich and soho where i mananged to spend an hour inside purl patchwork, the new fabric store that purl soho opened. they had so many beautiful fabrics and i picked some out so i could try to attempt some sewing. i do have some pictures but they were not on my camera so i don't have them at the moment. i popped into the purl yarn store but didn't get anything, as i had already gone a bit crazy in the patchwork shop. then to ground zero just to see it and a trip to century 21, this crazy discount store that was just filled with people. it was so crowded and people were just insane. it's like they'd never seen a sale before. i actually didn't buy anything there but one of my friends bought 3 pairs of very cute shoes.

sunday was spent on the upper west side having brunch and buying jams from sarahbeth's (i hear they're very good but i haven't tried mine yet). we also got caught up in the easter parade on 5th avenue (who knew that it was a thing to wear crazy hats on easter?). we wanted to go to the macy's flower show but unfortunately they were closed for the holiday. (i am condensing now as i am tired of writing) but monday was our last day and we spent it getting lost going to the subway (but finding some really cute stores along the way) and running around central park. the weather was fabulous again and we went through the park, hitting the popular sights. then a brief visit to the dinosaurs at the museum of natural history and over to chinatown, where i bought a fake rolex for my brother. he asked for one, don't ask me why. then we ran back to the apt to try to cram all of our stuff into our carryon and off to the airport we went. that was a very short version of my trip, even if it seemed long reading it. i had a great time though and can't wait to go back. i will leave you with some random snapshots of new york. hope everyone had a lovely easter!


central park dress made of peeps


vintage toy store window display


seafood sellers in chinatown


the coolest packaged chocolate from chocolate bar (check out their shirts!)


flowers just for us

there's never enough time

i started this post over the weekend but never got around to finishing it. lately it seems like there's just not enough hours in the day to do everything that i want. but i do love that it's not dark when i get out of work now. makes me feel a little less pathetic. last weekend i worked a bit more on the shawl collar of the debbie bliss jacket. it's coming along slowly, but surely. see how odd it looks? hopefully all will be revealed when i am done with it and it'll fit together.



and remember this guy?


i busted out the jaeger vest this weekend, too. it was pretty confusing trying to figure out where the heck i was in the pattern but i think i got it and i've made it up to the armhole and neck shaping. however, i took a look at the finished back the other day and it looks ginormous compared to the front. i am going to pin everything together once i am done to see how it fits but i have a feeling that i may end up re-doing the back piece.

i also started to seam my atacama sweater and realize that i officially hate seaming. it's really not fun and i can almost see why people pay other people to do it for them. how i wish i had a friend who was crazy about seaming. i've only got to attach the sleeves now. i don't know how i really feel about the sweater. it's okay. but the back piece is much more red than the other pieces, even though i alternated skeins. it actually bugs me a lot and i am thinking of overdying the whole thing once i am done. only i've never done anything like that before so i am scared. i'll get a picture in the light so you can all see what i am talking about. and i am off to nyc this weekend for a bit of fun. probably won't get to yarn shop at all or knit for that matter, but it'll be a good time. have a great week!

raves

this is my new favorite knitting book. i'd been a fan of the blog for a little while now but i really didn't know what to expect from this book. what did i get? a book full of wonderful stories, great tips and fabulous projects. i really loved the conversational tone of the book, the great stories behind the projects and makers and the clear and beautiful photography. this book has me wanting to make things that i've never wanted to make. things like dishcloths, spiral rugs, log cabin blankets (there are so many beautiful ones in the book) and felted baskets. it just makes me very excited to knit and make things. i think it's a great addition to any knitting library. below are some pictures of some of the projects inside.


slip stitch dishcloth made from peaches and cream.


a knitted curtain! awesome.


i can see myself making some of these for the house.


gorgeous


more log cabin action


this one is so modern and pretty


rug made from potholder rings


this is made from rag balls. i'd never even heard of rag balls before this.


i loved this afghan when i saw it on mason dixon knitting and i so want my own.

ahhh - the power just went out in my apt! good thing i have candles and good thing i saved this post. one bit of rain and the whole town goes out of whack. i am off to start my taxes before the lights go out again!

sneezy me

i am having a case of the sneezes right now. i think it was from visiting a friend's house this morning who has a bunny. he's very cute and sweet but i am very allergic to him. and i said i would give you all a finished knit almost a week ago and i am just getting around to it. it's been a very long and busy week at work so pardon my tardy post.



pattern: jack from rowan junior
size: made for 4-5 year old
yarn: 3 1/2 balls of plymouth encore worsted in 3335, a light lime green(more green than the picture shows)
needles: bryspun circs in 5US. i knit it flat but on circular needles because it was just easier that way.
gauge: can't remember but it was pretty much what the pattern called for
notes: i substituted a worsted weight acrylic/wool yarn in for the rowan handknit dk cotton. i wanted the recipient's parents to be able to wash it and i just think cotton can get heavy on a small child. the plymouth encore was pretty nice to work with, even with the high acrylic content, and i didn't really have any problems with it. i did the cables without a cable needle and that sped things up a bit. i had a problem with the arms at first because they were not the same length and both were too long. i think i was just measuring poorly, though. actually the ribbed cuff of one sleeve is about 2 rows shorter than the other (for some reason i thought the ribbing went on for 4 rows instead of 6) but i didn't want to do the whole sleeve over again, and i don't think anyone but me can tell. another mistake: i didn't read the sleeve directions properly and missed the part where you were supposed to mirror the cables on each sleeve so it would look cool when put together. instead my sleeve cables all twist the same way. again, i don't think anyone would really notice. i also did a lot of seaming on this one, and, while i can't say i love seaming now, i definitely think this project helped me get over some of my seaming apprehension. here are a few more shots for you to look at....


oooh the same thing but inside out!


close-up of my seaming job. it's ok.

it's already been sent home to my mom and given to the recipient. i've had this thing in my wip list for months now and it feels good to be done with it. to reward myself, i bought a new book by some awesome people today and ordered a bunch of phildar mags last night. and it's been kind of rainy and cold in la this past week so i've gotten a bit of reading and knitting done. i am working on the shawl collar part of the debbie bliss astrakhan sweater. the construction seems a bit odd to me and i am not sure how it's going to fit at the moment, but i am trusting in ms. bliss to get me through this. that's all for today. have a fun fun weekend!

sweets

strawberries are super cheap at ralphs this week so i went and bought a whole truckload of them and made these:



the recipe is easy peasy. all you do is melt some chocolate chips (i used semi sweet and bittersweet) in the microwave with a slice of butter (i think it makes it smoother but you could cut it out). obviously clean and dry the strawberries beforehand. dip them in melty chocolate and put on foil to cool. put in the fridge to harden. i tried to do white chocolate, too, but the white chocolate chips were not melting nice and it didn't work. i am bringing some in to work tomorrow for a birthday at work. i made brownies for the occasion, too. my oven still doesn't work very well but i am very good about watching it. the brownies only burned a teeny bit. i have some knitting finished but i don't have time to blog about it today. however, here is a preview:



i'm off to watch the east coast feeds of desperate housewives and grey's anatomy. happy sunday!

ikea

and i had some issues with ikea today. my fabulous friend took me out to ikea to get this bookshelf because she has a big car. the shelf i wanted i tried to get myself, but i realized that the box was about 7 feet long. no way was i getting that in my car. so we get it, come home and dump out the parts on the ground. we started to bitch about how crappy the ikea directions are and how it's usually 3 pictures with arrows. bad move on our part as the swedish ikea gods decide to punish us for our blasphemy by not putting any instructions in the box. i was so annoyed and we did not want to go back to the store. luckily my friend and i were able to figure it out by looking at the picture online and now i have a lovley bookshelf for all of my knitting books and mags. everything was just crammed into one puny case and the floor before. i feel so much more streamlined and it makes me feel better being more organized. progress pics of my debbie bliss sweater and hopefully a finished object next time.

weekend update

why does the weekend always fly by? last week was such a long week at work. 3 people were on vacation at various time and i basically had to do 3 people's job's at once. i was so happy when friday and st. patty's day finally hit. i did manage to wear green on friday, afraid of what my irish co-worker would do to me if i didn't. i also brought said co-worker to unwind during our lunch break. she's a hard core crocheter who's been meaning to to try knitting and i think she is going to sign up for a beginner class there. i was good, though, and used my gift certificate to buy just one thing. inspired by joy, i just couldn't wait to pick up the new rowan ryc beach book.



i'd love to make this lovely cabled concoction. i am sure i have some yarn that i could use for it in the stash, too. love me some cables.



i also got to see two good movies this weekend. went to see v for vendetta on friday night. very good and very thought provoking. it's a bit heavy handed at times and quite dark but i found it very interesting and well done. hugo weaving is excellent even if you never get to see his face and natalie portman is fantastic always and just looks luminous. i actually went out and bought the v for vendetta graphic novel right after and already, there are some big difference. but they are two separate things and i think i will enjoy both. tonight we saw thank you for smoking, which is only playing at one theater in la right now. it was really funny and witty and i enjoyed it a lot. aaron echkhart was so spot on and you just gotta see rob lowe's character. people like him are all over la. the only bad thing about it was katie holmes, who seem to deflate every single scene she's in. she's just not convincing in anything and i hate that sneer she does. but other than that, it is also a very thought provoking and entertaining film. there's been a draught of good films because the oscars just came by and it's nice to see things picking back up.

just realized that grey's anatomy is on so i must run. hope everyone had a great weekend!

sleevage

and we have sleeves!



sleeves done on the db astrakhan sweater and i have started the back. it's really fun working with this yarn and i like the cool texture it makes. it's so cold today in la. i don't know if it's just my apt but my fingers and toes are just freezing. even knitting wool isn't warming me up. i have to go shopping today to find a dress for a wedding i am in. i went shopping last week but i found hardly any dresses and the ones i did find were way fugly. so if anyone has any tips on where to get a nice dress, give a holla. otherwise, i'll be in bridesmaid hell for the weekend. :(

new addition

picked up a new book this weekend while i was shopping. leigh radford's one skein. i haven't really gone through it yet but i thought i'd post some pics of a few of the projects i like. i have loads of single skeins running about the stash and thought this would be a good way to find something to do with them. it's well photographed (not by me, though, as you can see the blurry pics) and the projects are fun. i think it's a keeper.

post

a few notes on tonight's academy awards. (SPOILERS - don't read if you haven't watched the awards on your tivo yet) can't believe that reese witherspoon won over felicity huffman. so happy that rachel weisz won (she's not a prizefighter, spanky!) and also happy that amy adams was nominated (fantastic in junebug). was happy that paul giamattic finally got nominated for something (even if he didn't win). george clooney is awesome. philip seymor hoffman is great but i would have liked to see david strathairn win. yay for ang lee. he's brilliant. i was disappointed that crash won for best picture because even though it was good, i don't think it was as good as brokeback, good night and good luck or munich (haven't seen capote yet so i can't say). and yay for wallace and gromit winning. i still need to buy that dvd.

now onto what everyone was wearing. george clooney, eric bana and jake gyllenhaal were yummy. salma hayek was hot. what was up with the bow on charlize theron's shoulder? it was massive. i didn't understand michelle william's dress at all, though i did like her hair. and where was all the color? seems like the hot colors this year were black, brown and some sort of flesh tone. c'mon people, it's the academy awards. live it up a little. and that's my mini rant about the oscars. i don't normally watch but i was kind of interested this year. and with the magic of tivo, i can forward through the boring bits. oh - and of course there was jon stewart.jon stewart is always good to watch. that's all i have for tonight. good night, and good luck. :)

yipee-ki-yay

i just got back from seeing 16 blocks, and i have to say that it was pretty entertaining. bruce willis is always playing the grizzled cop, but he's always so good. love me some bruce willis. mos def was quite good, too, and i'd recommend it if you're looking for a decent action/drama this weekend. but at the beginning of the movie, they must have showed us at least 6 trailers. i thought it was never going to end. and nothing looked good except for inside man and v for vendetta. i can't even remember the other ones, they were so bad. wait- there was one for basic instinct 2 with sharon stone trying to look really badass but just coming off as cheesy. were there really that many unanswered questions in the original to warrant a sequel 14 years later? i think not. in other news - i ordered some color cards from beaverslide yarns the other day and take a look:



isn't it pretty? it's really so helpful to have color cards and i find myself ordering them as much as possible now. nothing like ordering yarn and being disappointed when it gets there. but they have some great colors and i am sure i will be ordering something from them soon. well that's all the strength i can muster for a post tonight. night, all.

fuzzy goodness

i got this in the mail last week...


to make this jacket from debbie bliss simply soft...


the astrakhan yarn is fun to work with and makes the coolest texture. it takes a bit of getting used to at first. i kept splitting the curly part with the straight thread it was plied with but after awhile it started to go really smoothly. yes i chose the same color in the book. i've been doing that a lot lately and i don't know why. but i did get a really good deal on the yarn in a random ebay auction. nothing beats a good yarn deal. and i started on a sleeve in the hopes that i won't be banished to sleeve island later on. just get it out of the way. this is how it looks so far:



pardon my messy ends. and i still need to seam the atacama sweater and rip the sleeves on the green one. yeah yeah yeah. i'm having too much fun to worry about it right now. :)

wet socks

wow, it's really raining hard right now. that's pretty unusual down here in southern california. it's so nice to snuggle up at home when it's pouring rain outside. it's supposed to continue for several days - yippee! since i was stuck inside tonight, i decided to buckle down and do a bit of seaming. over the weekend, i finished all of the parts of the rowan juniors sweater i am working on. i've never seamed a sweater so i was a bit apprehensive. i was able to join the shoulder seams using what i think was mattress stitch. then i picked up stitches for the collar. after picking up the stitches i realized that the pattern wanted me to just join one shoulder seam, pick up stitches and then knit the collar back and forth. since i had connected both shoulder seams, i would up picking up stitches in the round. it was a bit fiddly but i don't think there was a huge difference in the outcome.


my first shoulder seam. looks ok to me.


ooh a collar!

so tonight i decided to put at least one sleeve on. i lined it up with the armhole shaping and i was off! but then, something looked odd. after seaming one sleeve it looked like the arm was much longer than the body. i know kids are gangly, but this wasn't right. a look at the pattern tells me that the sleeve should measure 11 inches. how long was mine? how 'bout 15 inches? i thought about just leaving it and hoping the kid had long arms. but then i took the other sleeve out to measure only to find that this one was only 13 1/2 inches long. counting on the kid having long arms was one thing, but long AND uneven? so i ripped out all my pretty seaming and put the sleeves away to be ripped out and made shorter (and the same length). :(


something is fishy here...

and i was so excited to find out that michaels is starting to carry patons merino yarn. i scored two balls of "natural mix" this weekend and am not sure what i will do with it, but i do love me some real wool yarn at the craft store.



and i got the new rowan mag in and was pretty disappointed. i just didn't think there were very many cute knits in there. however, the new kim hargreaves collection is up and i think it's lovely. how i wish she were still at rowan. well i am off to knit and watch 24 now. happy mondays.

brownie bites are my friend

ugh, i so have the headache that will not die right now. but fear not, for i have taken some advil and had a big glass of water and i am confident that it will go away soon. the good news is that i don't have to go to work tomorrow. it's so exciting not to be at work on a day you normally are. i don't have any plans really except to sleep late and get caught up on lost. i love lost, but for some reason, the beginning of the season was so intense that i just started to put off watching it every week. now i am 9 episodes behind (i know i know, practically a whole season) and i have friends threatening to disown me if i don't catch up so they can talk about what's happening. hopefully i will be able to watch a good chunk of those episodes tomorrow. i've also recently become addicted to project runway. i just love watching them make clothes in such a short period of time. i wanted to be a fashion designer when i was in high school and i find the show fascinating. kara was wearing the cutest dress in this last episode and i found out that you can buy it from her website here (it's the kimono dress). i just wish it was a bit more affordable. i am not used to spending that much on a dress so i don't see myself buying it. but damn, it was cute.

speaking of sewing, i recently picked up this book:



i'd been seeing it on various blogs (can't remember which now) and was drawn to the awesome designs in it. i don't have a sewing machine or really know anything about sewing at all but this book is really inspiring me to learn. so if anyone has any other good sewing book suggestions or a recommendation for a starter sewing machine, please let me know. i don't really need another hobby, but sewing is something i've been wanting to do for awhile.

in other news, i am almost done with the last sleeve on the atacama sweater and i finished all of the pieces of the rowan kid's sweater i am making. once i finish the atacama sleeve, i will have a seaming party and do both sweaters. i am a little apprehensive, as i don't think i've ever actually assembled a whole sweater before. well i did do that one debbie bliss baby sweater, but it was made all in one piece. cross your fingers that everything turns out alright. and i apologize for the lack of pictures but the camera is still in the shop.

well my head is feeling a bit better so i think i will read a bit before going to bed. and if you're up, tune in to tbs cause o brother where art thou is on right now. tim blake nelson makes me laugh so much in this. night!

no poison

wow, it feels like the week has just been so long. but i am glad to say that i am back in my apt. the fumigation went well and it doesn't look like we're going to die from any gas left over from it. i still have to wash a bunch of pots and pans but we've pretty much put all of the food back into its proper place and things are starting to look pretty normal again. but my camera is broken and has been sent away for repair. so no pictures from me for awhile. this is my second sony camera in two years to break down on me. thank goodness i bought the best buy warranty on this last one or i'd be screwed yet again. i gotta switch digital camera brands when i get a new one one of these days. those sonys just don't hold up very well. i bought some new knitting/crafty books this weekend but i am just too tired to post about them now. soon, i promise. :)

bang my knee

happy lunar new year, everyone! sorry i've been out while but i took a few days off and went back up to the bay area for the holiday. my mom was very happy to see me and feed me, as usual. the weather was quite lovely up north. i am always amazed by how wonderful the clouds are up there. they're just so fluffy and three dimensional and i just want to touch them. we don't get clouds at all in la (unless you'd like to call the brown haze one big "cloud"). i wish i had taken some pictures but my camera ran out of batteries and the parentals didn't have any aa's lying around and i was too lazy to go buy some. this week has been super busy at work, too, and i haven't had a chance to breathe. not to mention that our landlord called on tuesday to tell us that they were scheduling a fumigation next week, that we had to pack up all of our food in plastic bags, and that we would have to vacate for three days. yeah - let's just say that i am pretty annoyed. this is is the state or my kitchen at the moment:



it's just stressing me out. and our building managment were kind of being asses about it. one woman in my building threatened to move out and/or stay in the apt with police when the fumigation was going to happen. i think they finally settled it but ahhhh, where is all this food going to go? anyone want to come over and help me eat some frozen pizzas? not to mention that i am not even around this weekend because i am housesitting for a friend. she's actually got a really cute house out in sunland with a gigantic yard and a "spool" (i guess that's what people called a spa/pool combo). i also get to take care of her lovely pets: two dogs and a cat.


that's mckenna, a super sweet doggie


this is oliver, the biggest non-fat cat i've never seen. oliver also left me a nice #2 in the bedroom this morning. thanks, oliver.

there's also liddy, the super hyper dog but i couldn't get her to sit still for a picture this morning. it's nice to take care of them but that, and the fumigation is just a one way ticket to stress city. but what's better for stress than starting a new knitting project? after seeing eunny's awesome shedir hat here, i knew i just had to have one. i'd also seen a sample made recently at a yarn store and thought it was super cute but i wasn't into the feel of the rowan calmer the pattern calls for. i mean, calmer's nice and all, and probably great for someone with no hair, but i wanted something with the spring and warmth of wool. eunny made hers out of just one ball of rowan felted tweed and i had one ball in the stash so it was off i went!


i think this color is called melody

i am doing what eunny did and am twisting the knit stitches to give it a bit more definition. felted tweed is so yummy to work with and i can't wait to finish this hat. seems like i must be in a hat mood because i fell in love with allison's we be pirates hat (feb 3 post) the moment i saw it. pirates are awesome and this hat is a perfect thing for a pirate lover. a quick stop to unwind after work yesterday and i came home with this:


blue sky alpacas for my very own pirate hat!

alight that's all i have time for now. have a great weekend, everyone!

warning - exotic meat consumption ahead. not for the squeamish.

i feel like i need to put a disclaimer on this post because i think some people might be grossed out and/or offended by the details of what will follow. so the people i work with love food. they especially love asian food and trying new kinds of food. i guess my bosses have been talking about going to this vietnamese restaurant for awhile. well we eat vietnamese food all the time so why was this place so special? the myth is that is serves exotic meats like snake and kangaroo along with the more traditional chicken and fish dishes. an article mentioned this restaurant recently in an article about where you can eat goat, and the spark of interest burned anew. so we called and had them fax over a menu (which i think they thought was odd)and my co-workers were delighted to find that they had kangaroo, venison, rabbit, snake, snails, squab, fox (apparently now illegal though, much to my co-workers' disappointment) and other strange creatures up for grabs. a plan was hatched and we went out last night to sample some of life's finer delicacies. i was a little apprehensive because the idea of eating a snake kind of grossed me out but i figured that i would suck it up and just eat it. the wait staff was very happy we were so enthusiastic though and thankfully, no one (meaning me) freaked out about the meat or anything like that. we ended up having alligator and venison grilled at the table with some butter and then wrapped in rice paper rolls with vermicelli and veggies, kangaroo stir fried with onions and bell peppers in a wine reduction sauce and snake porridge. we also ordered chicken with lemongrass just in case, but that's pretty boring. everything was really good. the restaurant really knows how to marinate meats and make it tasty. i liked the deer a lot. the alligator was good but it was in such small pieces, that it was sort of annoying to eat. the kangaroo tasted sorta like steak and was dark. and the snake didn't taste much like anything at all, but it's a white meat, which surprised me. we were quite impressed actually and are already planning the next outing, where we will try the famous baked catfish, some goat and who knows what else. ok - here are some pictures:


raw deer meat ready for the grilling


i was the lucky one to grill the deer and alligator last night


more grilled deer and gator


'roo with wine sauce


snake porridge with mung bean - kinda sweet

and to top it off they served us vietnamese jello for dessert (yummy). here are the details if anyone else wants to go (and i think you should. the food it very tasty and you can totally get "normal" meat there, too). it's called phong dinh and it's at 2643 N. San Gabriel Blvd., Rosemead; (626) 307-8868. Lunch and dinner 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. Dinner for two, food only, $15.95–$35 (more with exotic meats).

i think that's enough for one post. i am driving back up north for the lunar new year celebration with the parents. i am not really looking forward to the drive but a few days off sounds pretty cool. finishing up the green kid's sweater. one more sleeve to go!

no work and all play

yes, i was one of the lucky who did not have to go to work today. i don't know why more people don't celebrate martin luther king jr.'s birthday. it's really quite a shame. but lucky me spent most of the day shopping and watching the new season of 24. yeah i watched yesterday and tonight's episode today. i couldn't even knit while doing it, i was so tense. those first few minutes of sunday's episode just floored me. i can't wait to see what happens for the rest of the season. and i love that sean astin is on it this season. he's my favorite hobbit and he was a goonie! clearly i haven't gotten much done lately, as you can tell by my sad lack of posting. i know why they call it sleeve island now. it's like you keep knitting and knitting but it doesn't seem to end. and a sleeve is so much smaller than a back or front. i don't know why it takes so long to knit. so i started the cap sleeve on the jack sweater. it doesn't look like much but it's getting there.



not much else is going on here. the frenzy of visiting friends has finally ceased and i have some more time to myself. it's always a reflective time at the beginning of the year and i don't really do resolutions but i would like to take better care of myself (ie eat better and exercise) and actually finish my knitting projects. we'll see. alright well it's off to bed for me cause i have to go to work tomorrow. geez.

brokeback

i saw brokeback mountain last night and i must say that i loved it. i thought that it might not live up to the hype and the expectations i had given it but i thought it was a really beautiful and poignant film. it was just a really sad love story about two people who could never really be together. you should definitely see it if you haven't yet and i hope that people not in liberal places like the east and west coast give it a chance. go see it now and happy weekend!

the path to hell is on i-5

yes i really thought i had driven right into hades itself on monday night when my friend and i made our return trip from northern california back to so-cal. first off, it had been storming for days and visibility was expected to be low. the rain wasn't actually so bad. it was a bit stressful and a few time i felt like we might slip off the freeway but really, it was nothing to prepare for what came. it started off innocently enough with some minor traffic due to rubbernecking. then we hit more because of an overturned big rig. the winds were vicious and i can only imagine how hard it would be to drive a big ass truck in them when i barely managed my sedan. um, them more traffic due to overturned trucks. then after an hour going about 5 miles, they closed the 5 freeway. okayyy. so we got off and took a break. they opened the freeway. we drove for 10 minutes freely and then massive traffic again. yippee they were closing the freeway AGAIN. this time it took up an hour to go three miles before being detoured off the freeway. we turned around and went back to the place were we had taken a break over an hour before, got on a different, smaller and creepier freeway (one of the streets off of it was called gun club road - not kidding) before finally connecting to the 99 in bakersfield and back to our regularly scheduled freeway. we were really getting delirious and crazy though after about 8 hours (point of reference - the whole trip usually takes 5 hours). we finally got home after 11 hours of pure hell and i had to work the next day. i don't know what i did to piss of the powers about but i hope i never do it again. some pics to show you how we felt:


strangling myself with the seat belt


just strangling


our friend the tumbleweed

i hope this never happens to any of you. off to knit before bed now. pics of the baby sweater to come soon.