my friend molly will have received the package by now so i think i'm ok to post this. so they like their vikings in minnesota, i like that, we like our patriots here in new England, it's like we're all kinfolk. Now, the grape-flavoured vest took far less yarn than i expected. But what to do with the rest? Allow it sit around, taking up space, mocking me for my poor planning and foolish, wasteful spending? No silly! Make it into something!
As a matter of fact, i also had some yellow leftover from kristen's sweater too. It's perfect Vikings yellow! How utterly serendipitous! So. I used the same pattern as kristen's. i'm a bit nervous, because i think the one for Riley Roo is a bit too large. but it's the 2-3 year size, and i followed the destructions exactly! Well, mostly i followed them exactly. i did the sweater top down, on one needle, rather than doing as pieces and seaming. it's really easy to do it that way. send a message if you need advice. I'd like to reemphasize my complete love of the Peace Baby!Pattern It's well worth the investment of a donation to the worthy cause, and the pattern is really useful.
Perhaps Molly will be able to email a snappy snap of the sweater in action, dear readers, so you won't be stuck with just an ugly maroon hanger.
better ones! There is something sublime about tasty baked goods. like spaghetti and meatballs, they are comfort food, at it's most effective.
I love brownies, but i'm moderately particular about their texture. i like them to be dense and fudgey, but i also like them to have a bit of chewiness to them too.
so on sunday i had this inexplicable urge to make chocolaty brownies. I tried to talk myself out of it, but succeeded only in making the craving worse. I searched my cupboards for brownie mix. even an ancient box. nope, nada. Then i remembered an old every day food magazine dedicated to brownies. tada! but alas, it called for 8 oz of chips, and i only had about 4 (strangely, i did have cocoa in the house). no probs, i found a jar of nutella hazelnut spread tada!
so they came out fantastic! my oven runs a bit hot, so next time i'll have to cut back the temp, but these came out so nicely. it's 100% as easy as making them with a box. no more brownie box for me. the only added step is melting the butter and chocolate together.
this year we are home, and it's nice but... I would like to be a dubliner. Or perhaps a dublin suburbanite. I dunno if you'lll be able to see the pics very well, i should have done a more thorough selection, but i don't to take any more out. As it is, there are tones of great things i've left out. Like Marianne and Dad completing the race, and the great cappuccino at the mall, whilst i was so jetlagged i almost tipped right over.
We had a fantastic trip, anyone who is worried about travelling with people should travel with marianne- she's swell. Travel with me Mam and Dad too- they're swell, even though on a couple of occasions i did my best churlish teenager routine, they didn't tell me off, not once!
I'm saving to go again, just you wait and see. the next trip will have a car i think. hooo hoo hoo! you'll know it's us by the white-knuckled co-pilot!
I'll tell you. Today is one week for the US General Elections. The elections are important, it is your responsibility to vote- just as your right to free speech is a right, your right to vote is equally important. With great power comes great responsibility, no? You've got this great power- choosing the next president. you've got to fulfill your responsibility and make your voice heard.
Whether you're conservative or liberal, i think you'll have to admit that the past eight years have simply not worked well. Our budget is in ruin. Our international reputation is laughable. Our employment situation is frightening. Just about every single area of the health and future of our country and society is on the brink of collapse. Conservative or liberal, I don't think i'm saying anything profound when i say the last eight years have been a failure.
I'll not pretend i'm still on the fence, you already know that. I'm for Obama, and i think you should be too. His plans for the tumultuous economy, his goals for foreign relations, and his expectations for health care are more feasible. The purpose of this post is not to get you to vote for obama, it's to get you to vote at all (well, it's also to get you to vote for obama)
Should you still be on the fence, here are some handy sites: Obama Official McCain official Bear in mind, these are the campaign sites, and should be a taken with a grain of salt.
there are an abundance of great news sites available, but the ones i like to use are these: bbc's coverage FactCheck newsweek My friend Ernest says the economist is a good site as well. I've not used it very often, but he wouldn't recommend trash.
so the point of this is this: Voting is so empowering! Take advantage of it. do a bit of research, you'll find yourself becoming more aware of your world, and what you can do to change it. Google has a fantastic tool for finding where you go to vote, Find it here
I'll climb down now, from my stump. But before i go, i'll just quote Bob Schieffer (and his mom), go out there and vote, it will make you feel big and strong
So. I really want to make a vest for johnny. i know, it's a bit nerdy- a vest, but that's ok. i had a rowan pattern, but it was so hard- all sorts of “knit as for back until you get to here…, then proceed as follows” blah blah blah. Blech. So there is one in debbie bliss’s essential knits for kits, i’ve got that on order from the library, but i’m impatient, what can i say. so i settled on a lion brand pattern.
I went with only a single cable, on the right front. I like asymmetry in my sweaters. I also worked this on a single circular needle, rather than two straights. when i made the peace baby, i decided that i just don’t groove on seaming, and if i can avoid it, i shall.
Now, some mods to the pattern itself. the sizes don’t go quite high enough, so i sort of guessed on the number of additional stitches to cast on to fit a 6 year old. Too big is ok, he can wear it a bit longer. i just don’t want it to be too small.
i suppose it was a moderately boring project, as a mostly stocking stitch sweater will be. Knitpicks yarn is great to work with. It’s very predictable and dependable. i really like it.
Argh! i finished a good bulk of this sweater, and the dumb thing wouldn’t fit over his noggin! arrrgh! No Problem. I undid one shoulder, and put buttons on it to so it can be opened up.
and then, guess what i learned! over a lunch break, i learned how to properly pick up stitches. My other attempts have been unhappy at best. but this time, like a great muse descended upon John Milton for Paradise Lost, so to did the knowledge for picking up stitches.
I finished this sweater in about a week. not too bad. i finished it last night before soccer. (incidentally, if you need a girl to play indoors, send a message) My newly acquired skill of picking up stitches helped me immensely. i’m going to send it out UPS to the recipient today.
it's a long time since i've posted a snarky sports post, for a number of reasons. i'm trying to move away from the jerky fan syndrome. if last football season taught me anything, it's how to win and lose sportsmanly. The Uefa soccer last summer, and the olympics a few weeks ago have helped me evolve into a sports fan, more than a team fan (though i do still wish every yankee would trip in the batters box, and make errors in the field).
All that being said, For the love of god and all that is holy! would you please pinch hit for Jason Varitek! He is a Shitty Hitter! He was 1 for 17 in the first six games of the series! 1 for 17! Why would you ever use the three run homer the other night as an indication that he's got a hot bat? ARRRRGH! pinch hit for him for crissakes! who cares that kevin cash or that other guy will have to catch in the ninth? Papelbon is a top tier closer. If Paps can't figure out what to do without varitek calling his pitches, we've got additional problems.
The sox have painted themselves into a corner- we have a glaring deficiency in that position. Plus, since they have been so reluctant to spell varitek, none of our other catchers have had good opportunity to learn how to call the game the way he does. so we've doubly hurt ourselves. What will happen when Varitek's knees do finally call quits?
I know, i'm on a lonely island, everyone and their grandmother loves jason varitek, and what i'm saying is tantamount to heresy, but sweet georgia brown, he is a terrible hitter. fine, he calls a good game, and he keeps the infield together. Fine, he has good rapport with his pitchers. Fine Fine Fine. But he is almost a guaranteed out at the plate. He looked like a rusty gate in that AB in the 8th last night. How is that helpful? how is that at all helpful when the game is 100% on the line, and we need a hit?
I was apprehensive right from the start. Sunshine is much more egg yolk than i expected, and allspice is much more flat brown than i expected.
I’m wasn't at all sure the resulting sweater will be very nice. It certainly wouldn’t be very babyish. But i figured, i would have to continue on, with an amount of trepidation.
I knitted during the dodgers/phillies, and then the two sox/rays weekend games. Then i had to put it all on hold to help cover the pool, so not too much knitting was done. but i did get started on the embroidery, for which i did decide to go with embroidery floss.
Now, the yellow and brown are pretty…. well not very pretty. The yellow isn’t my favorite, and the brown isn’t either. So i really needed the embroidery to pull it all together. Embroidery isn’t really my strongest skill, but i do rather like the way it came out. I really do like the way the brown is tied in with the yellow now. I’m actually rather pleased with it.
I had a pretty hard time with the neckline. my skills don’t yet extend all the way to sewing icord as i go along. Plus, i’ve only got metal dpns; i knit very loosely on metal needles, so the icord was sloppy and taking a long time. So, i tried crochet around the edge. no go. looked terribly sloppy. So in the end i simply picked up the stitches all the way around and knit 2 rows then bound off. The button loop is half double crochet.
So, my thoughts: this is a great sweater, and a great pattern. it could become a go-to pattern for me. I would probably rework the instructions to be a top down, done in the round. Like many other people, i’m not crazy about seaming. i love the yarn, it’s very predictable and pleasant to work with. All in all, i think the project is a success.
my friend molly is great at posting super snappy-snaps and video of family functions. I'm working at it, but i'm not really a great photo hound, so sometimes my efforts fall a bit short of the endzone. My latest go was confounded because i had the camera set for night time snapshot. Well, Pooey.
but that's ok, i did manage to get a good one of the littlest googie with first birthday party muffin, appropriately mooshed into grossness.
You see, initially we planned to go apple picking to get cider doughnuts, peanut-caramel apples and a few for pies. Alas, the entire town of Stow had the same plan! Parking was a snarl, and I do not exaggerate when i say everyone and their grandmother were at the Honey Pot Hill Orchard. It also was terribly muddy.
So we decided to move to plan B. Plan B meant Nana Mary got apples from ferjulians, Other Nana went to get donuts from HoneyDew, i stopped for peanuts and caramel ice cream topper, and we all went to heidi's house.
It was fabulous B-Day party for the fall birthdays of the family. YAY!
so, here are some more snappy snaps from my home town. The Assabet river is a meandery river, it's not terribly attractive, and it's got snapping turtles in there. But every so often, it puts on it's nice outfit and looks quite photogenic. The only thing missing from the snaps are the swans who live in the little islands down in the fog there.
now, I know, i'm not terribly smart. Especially in terms of money. I don't really understand what goes on on wall street or day to day at a mortgage bank. I don't really now exactly what they are all talking about.
But one thing i do know, if you don't have the cash, you can't afford it. If you only make $2000 a month take home capital, you can't afford an $1800 mortgage. So here's me; subscribing to a pretty sound economic policy, While all of the rest of the country, the money boffins, and the presidential administration en masse, were involved in this horrible and delusional vortex of business and even life on spec.
i'm really sorry, but I'm moderately hacked off that the people whom i entrusted to run the country and its finances didn't see this coming. I've been living within my means since i moved out on my own four years ago. Why the fuck hasn't everyone else? could it be because the ringleader of the current administration is short sighted? It's human nature to for people take the lead of those in charge; and it's little wonder we became a nation of spenders and squander.
Over the years i've made a practice of saving and saving for major purchases. I've become more smart and logical about how and when i spend my money. I make informed decisions, and i do not by an Audi if i can only afford a VW. But the rest of the country seems to have been transfixed by The Precious.
People like myself, and joe schmoe iowa corn farmer have a lot to be hacked about. We are paying for people who had unrealistic financial ambitions. While it's immensely too bad they've lost their shirt, it's an absolute travesty that i should have to lose mine as well. I'm not above helping people, but i do have to express my complete and whole dissatisfaction with those who initiated, exacerbated, and are right now perpetuating the problem.
I'm not at all sure about this buyout program, and truthfully, i would like a debate to take place to help explain it to me. For the past six years we've had a smoke and mirror economy, and it's time for some transparency. Now is not the time to postpone a debate senator McCain, now is the time to lay your cards on the table. Show me what you've got, because if you think for one minute that I'm going to vote for you simply because you talk about change you are wrong. I want to know what you plan to do- break it down for me, simple economics style.
so, now that Ernest and Sarah have been married, i feel i can post the snappy snaps of the gift i made for them without letting the cat out of the bag. The wedding was on saturday, and i don't mind saying, it was fantastic. Easily one of the most fabulous, sweet, heartfelt, genuine, happy and fun weddings i've attended.
initially i wanted to do reusable fabric grocery bags, but mom gave it the thumbs down. oh dear. but i don't like to give cash for gifts. To me a gift is a gift, i like it when some thought is invested, both when i'm the recipient, and especially when i'm the giver. I like the gifts i give to have sentimental meaning, yet are more useful than decorative.
so, i settled on a quilt.
I do hope they don't mind the gift is handmade (some people do you know). I went with blue and white, because i thought they were the colors of the wedding, but as it turns out, the wedding was way more fabulously colorful than that; i could have used any color pallet and it would have been appropriate. but that's OK.
I personalized it for them, and put the date of the big event on there too. Congratulations, Sarah and Ernest!
so. it was a morning just exactly like this- chilly for the am commute, but promising to be a bright, warm and crisp, beautiful early fall day.
around nine or so i lost my internet. I remember being aggravated. then i remember martha telling me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. I remember calling my mom to tell her to turn on the news. I remember not getting a single shred of work done that day, and feeling on the verge of puking.
I remember that in a blink of an eye, life was different. The world was different. No-one is safe from a sucker punch. A girl can't insulate herself from the sting of the cute by turning her down. A mom can't really prevent her son from making poor decisions. A husband can't really prevent his beloved from dying. But one thing we all sort of forget is that we also can't avoid a sucker punch. As humans, we try to keep our wits, and make contingency plans, and make an effort to keep everything well thought out, so plays from behind are our only weak spot. A play from behind ultimately changed the entire world.
New york is different, The travel industry is different, the entire world is different. That girl and the boy who turned her down; the son and his mom who worries for him; the husband, his beloved. But mostly the families; They are all different. We are all different.
I am.
I don't know that there is anything to be gained from September 11. I like to think at the very least we could see first hand how racism and hatred are catastrophic; the most vitriolic and damaging of all personal values. But I don't know.
Yes i do. I learned it.
Hatred has no place for me. I will not foster it, and i will not tolerate it with those i hang around with. I sincerely hope others have banished hatred from their being, but i can't be responsible for that. I can lead by example; and i'm going to do so, I started seven years ago, and it's my responsibility and honor to carry on doing so.
this is a nice snappy snap, no? One to put on the fridgerator at their mom's houses.
too bad the world of Quarterbacks came crashing down all around us in the form of Kansas City Chiefs. Uh Oh. This could be very bad indeed. Even if it's not a surgery situation, it's a still pretty bad scene.
So which words do i use most often, well, i'm pleased to report they aren't curses, and they aren't really affiliated with complaining. that makes me smile, because i am sometimes concerned that i spend too much time whingeing.
here is what i love about having a nifty camera that i couldn't really afford, but can keep in my pocketbook ready for action: I can grab snappy snaps when they magically appear.
I like to try to get the most from life, and capturing simple gems of niceness is one thing i like to do. So here's one that i'll share with you. i went to my Public Library yesterday, and as i was walking up the little knoll, this nice little picture of wood square appeared.
So. Last week, i posted the blue dress. my first go at sewing a project for a purpose. It went well, and the dress is totally wearable and very nice. the trouble is, on further observation, i feel it looks too much like a hospital gown- and while hospital gowns perform an honest, noble and necessary function- they aren't entirely appropriate for a wedding.
To that end, i tried it again. I went back to the fabric place in framingham to have another look at the blue fabric (it had to be blue because the stole that i've made is blue- and knitting takes me longer than sewing, so i really wanted to use that, as it was 7/8 complete).
alrighty, i really thought i was going to strike out on the fabric- am i the only one who thinks apparel fabric is really pretty nondescript and nothing to write home about these days? so on a whim, i decided to give the home dec dept a look round. and sure enough, i found this duponi silk sort of stuff- it's not too stiff, and it's quite nice- dressy and formal, without going overboard.
it's a tiny bit short, but this is the prelim shot, i didn't realize i was making it so short, and wonders of wonders, i didn't chop all the excess off before double checking. it's also way crooked, one side seam was 30" and the other was only 27" so i made both seams 27" and hemmed up to 26. so it still might be a bit short, but too late now.
I'm glad i did the Cotton one first- i got my legs under me, and was able to make this second version much better. this second version has fewer mistakes, and the craftsmanship is a bit better. on top of it, i was able to complete it in an afternoon- less than an afternoon, i started around 1.00 and it was compete around 3.30 or so.
Whatever you call it, Blue is the colour. It's my favorite. I drive a blue car, i have a blue living room, a blue blogspot background, and now, i've got a blue dress. this is the dress i made for sarah's wedding.
I used the pattern i mentioned before, but i did make some modifications. i made it so there are no gathers at the side. i really tried to make those look nice, but no matter which way i did it they still looked like i got my fabric tangled on the machine plate, and it didn't look nice. What i really love about the pattern otherwise is that it's totally doable. i won't go so far as to say it's entirely free of strife; it's a good pattern for someone of my skills- a good place to learn more clothing techniques but it wouldn't work for a person just starting out- the directions are not clear enough. there is some sewing intuition called into play.
the dress is super wearable, and even though i had a tiny miscalculation and went a little crazy with the shears on the hem line, and it's only because god was smiling on me that night that i didn't ruin the dress.
the other thing i like about the dress is that it looks like a wrap dress, which i find rather interesting, but it's not a wrap, there's a zipper in the back (which; incidentally, came out PERFECT!) so it's way easier to put on and more comfortable to wear than a wrap dress which ties.
so all in all, this part of the wedding outfit project is a cerulean success. now to complete the shawl.
so i have to admit, it's becoming very hard to be a manny fan. He says some daffy things, and to some daffy people, and even i have to confess, i'm beginning to see (and be okay with) the very real possibility that manny isn't going to be a red sox much past this afternoon.
That is all i have to say, because it's so long and drawn out that i don't have the fortitude to type the entire thing, but if he's so unhappy, and he's such a detriment in the clubhouse, then the sox have no choice but to deal him.
For the record, i do not for one minute belive the current loss has anything to do with manny's behavior. if pro ball payers can't separate themselves from off the field activities for nine innings then they need to find new work.
If Drew, and Crisp, And lowell' and varitek, and ellsbury's current hitting slumps are the result of manny's behavior, i'll eat my hat. If wakefield's getting shelled vs the yankees, and the same with Dice-k a few days ago are the result of manny being in their head, then they are not as good as we thought they were. Just as it takes a team to win a ball game, so too does it take the team to lose it.
That being said, I'm beginning to see that the list of cons with keeping manning is beginning to be longer than the list of pros. If manny were to zip it and simply pay ball, i don't think so much venom would be sent his way. But that ship has sailed, and now we're on the verge of sinking.
I don't expect the sox to pick up his contract options, and after yesterday, i think the possibility is even there to be dealt today. too bad, because this is also what we got out of manny:
* 9x Silver Slugger Award winner (1995, 1999-2006) * 12x All-Star selection (1995, 1998-2008) * 2x World Series champion (2004, 2007) * World Series MVP Award winner (2004) * Led AL in batting average in 2002 * Led AL in home runs in 2004 * Led AL in runs batted in in 1999 * Has the most career grand slams of any active player
in 2004 alone, he
• hit a two-run homer on April 25, providing the Sox all the offense they would need to win 2-0 and complete the three-game sweep in New York.
• went 4-for-5 with two homers and five RBI against Texas on July 10.
• hit grand slams on August 20 and September 10, giving him 17 for his career, fifth-most all-time.
• had two homers in the Red Sox' 10-7 win on August 31, as they opened a big series against Anaheim.
• led the American League in home runs (43), at-bats per homer (13.2), slugging percentage (.613), and OPS (1.010). He also ranked second in extra-base hits and at-bats per RBI, third in RBI, and fourth in total bases.
• joined David Ortiz to become the first pair of teammates in baseball history to each have 40 homers and 40 doubles in the same season.
2004 Postseason Highlights • hit safely in all 14 of the Red Sox' postseason games. Dating back to 2003, he hit in 17 straight postseason games, tying the major league record.
• drove in at least two runs in each Division Series game, hitting .385 with two doubles, a homer, and seven RBI over the series.
• In the ALCS, Manny hit .300 with a double and three runs scored. He was 2-for-3 with three walks in Game 4, and was 2-for-6 in Game 5.
• went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Game 1 of the World Series. In Game 3, he hit a home run in the first inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Then in the bottom of the inning, he helped Pedro Martinez out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by catching Jim Edmonds' fly ball and throwing Larry Walker out at home plate.
• batted .412 in the World Series and was named MVP. He became the first World Series MVP in Red Sox history, since the award was not given out before 1955.
Alrighty, so i've got the pattern, and i've got the fabric. I've also gotten the invite, and the event takes place on September 13, 2008. That means i have just about six weeks to finish the dress and the shawl.
here are the latest photos of the shawl. It's more like a stole, since it's not as wide as i thought it would be, but i think it will look nice. I'm going to block it when I've used one whole hank of malabrigo lace weight- i think that will be an ideal length.
Incidentally, This malabrigo lace is much nicer than the frog tree i used on the last project. The price point is better also- frog tree is rather spendy, and it doesn't have nearly the yardage a hank of malabrigo lace, and the malabrigo is a bit less scratchy to me. but- live and learn, as they say.
sunny days, chasing the clouds away! Here is what i love about sesame street: everything.
There is no children's show that is more clever, creative, educational, and relevant than Sesame street. Any way you slice it, it is a show that fosters learning, tolerance and humility to children. Very often i wonder if more adults should watch the show more often.
What i enjoy about sesame street is how famous people enjoy working on the show also. there's a wiki list here.
And have a look at this great song feist did.
Right now i'm on my way to where the air is sweet.
I'm really sorry, shoving the travel secretary notwithstanding, it seems that people are more than interested in smashing manny ramirez to little tiny pieces.
have you seen this gem? I'm really sorry, but where is his credible witness? This is really beginning to be bothersome to me, when his own media seems willing to hang him out to dry. This could have been left exactly where it was posted, but no, TATB has to post the link, and make baseball and manny fans like me all agitated.
This seems to be as much hooey as crazy bob lobel dished a few days ago. Perhaps i'm missing something, and there is some credible person backing the guy up on this, but sometimes i wonder if people (the media) get off on making up stories about him.
I get it, manny gets a free pass sometimes; alright, often even. but come on. I'm aggravated with myself because i'm so heated up about it, because it's so far removed from useful sports reporting but WTF? If you are a sports reporter, report the fucking box score, and the fact that many was pretty good in the night's game. Don't fucking try to get your stupid fucking blog picked up nationally on the coattails and at the expense of a famous person.
God i'm so mad i'm swearing like crazy.
to be clear, i don't condone the shoving of the travel agent guy; but come on, all the other "incidents" lately have been 100% exacerbated by the media, including nesn (dennis eckersly)
Are we interested in a pretty tight AL and AL east, or are we only interested in manny? How bout this? he's one of only three players who had hits in anaheim, is that not more relevant?
blah blah blah.... Trouble is, this might do just that.
So Dear Sarah and Ernest are getting married in a few weeks! And since they are so kind, they've decided to let their soccer hooligan friends join them for the ceremony and reception. As is the case with all girls, (and probably for guys as well), i'm beginning to agonize over what to wear.
For me, shopping for clothing almost always ends in tears. It's so unpleasant- especially when one is shopping for an important event outfit. So, in an effort to avoid some unhappiness, i've decided to make a dress to wear. This could be a tall order. But on top of that i've decided to knit myself a shawl to wear instead of a sweater. yipes. This is a pie in the sky plan, and it could very well end in as many tears as shopping; but why do something the easy way, when you can make it oh so much harder for yourself?
So. i think it will be something like this one: B4723, though i've never used a butterick pattern before. Also, the fabric it calls for is not the kind of fabric i've purchased (This dear readers is why you should never buy the fabric first).
This is the fabric i've settled on. it's rather casual, D'you think too casual for a wedding outfit? I figure the cut of the dress will make up for the casual print, i hope? I'm planning on making it this weekend and next so perhaps i'll post photos and take a little opinion poll.
The thing is, Manny isn't the first loon in the sox clubhouse- he just happens to be the most talented loon. He's also not the first to say things to reporters about their contracts- papelbon has done it as recently as this past spring. A contract isn't based on a player's personality- if that were the case we would still have dave roberts, orlando cabrera and we would still be saddled with kevin millar and shea hillenbrand.
Contracts are based on performance- Manny's has been pretty consistent, and consistently good. Additionally, anyone who thinks a player in a contract season is going to throw an at bat (bob lobel) is on qualudes.
I don't appreciate the shoving incident any more then anyone else, but if I'm an asshole to a kid in the warehouse, I've got to appologize to the kid, not to the whole town. True, John henry has his hands full when dealing with manny and his personality foibles, but henry has benefited from manny as much as manny has from the free pass he gets. John henry's team is better with manny. the sox will not be as good without manny in the batting order. Henry will have to decide if the personality is too big a con for the long list of pros manny has to offer.
Sure manny gets a free pass often enough, but he sure enough does get a much greater ration of shit when people are hacked with him (and historically it seems lobel has always been keen to dish out rations). As fans we are never willing to look at things based on wins and losses. We want our players to do goofy spots on nesn, we want them to be good with our kids, hustle down the first base line. We want them to give interviews with cheer; and when they do, we want them to use good language. We want them to be likable.
That is naive and the recent article illustrates that the media is a major reason why it's perpetual. I want Manny back next season, and i'm willing to pay him an appropriate amount of money to hit bombs.
So, edgar and i went to the ball game yesterday. I scored a pair of tickets from a very gracious vendor, Source 4. we had a good time, the recent rennovations to fenway allow a nice breeze to blow in from right to left, so it's not nearly as hot as it used to get. But i'll be glad when they renno those old grandstand seats. yipes. I'm not terribly tall, and still there was nowhere for my short legs to go. the Sox won, despite papelbon's best efforts to give it away in the ninth.
I got a nifty new camera pecifically for the game, and boy am i glad, it takes fab photos!I a should have taken more of the batters, but i didn't, i'm a dumbhead. I also should have taken some of us (even if for no other reason but to get evidence of a yankee fan at fenway having a good time!) dear readers you'll have to be satisfied with game shots. This of course is manny ramirez, he drives others crazy, but not me, this fanny is for manny.
here's pedroia catching the throw comin'down
and sally's future son in law ellsbury (she just has to figure out a way for him to get in touch with her daughter).
oh, i nearly forgot; dice-k matsusaka pitched. He doesn't throw gas, so it's a bit hard to watch sometimes, because he's a moderately finesse style pitcher, I rather find hardball pitchers more comforting, but he got the job done, and he was very good, since the offense seemed to have phoned it in a bit. Note to Sean Casey- no more stretching singles into doubles, you aren't nearly as fast as your mom told you.
A short while ago i posted the tea wallet on a crafting site. Sometimes i'm moderately disappointed because there have been some misrepresentations with other tutorials. i'm going to hold off posting version 2.0 there until i get the pdf made. Truthfully, a pdf really shouldn't be necessary, because it's as easy peasy a project as there is, but sometimes directions are useful.
so without further ado (and without further sour grapes) here it is, tea wallet 2.0
These ones are a bit different, rather than slots for tea envelopes, they've simply got a pocket and a flap cover. This is to accommodate nekkid tea bags as the GlitterKitty so lovingly calls them (she's the person for whom these were made). i really enjoy making things like his because they are a great way to use up scraps. They are a fun project.
so here's my sherman. He's a terribly handsome cat, though i have to admit, i'd rather like it if he would stop being social while i'm in the bathroom.
he's a good cat, he's very pleasant, and he doesn't even scratch or bite very often, unless i tease him.
So i needed to make a new tote bag for myself, it was supposed to be like this one here but as it turns out, it's not really like that one at all, the shape is very different. But i rather like this one anyway. it's smaller thatn the big satchel bag i use when i go on interviews, yet it's large enough to carry a small knitting project and all the other crap i've gotta cart around. it's quite sunny and bright, rather cheerful. i like it.
To my afore mentioned desert island discs. I would also please like to bring the entire Weezer Library.
When i was in college, my roommate had the blue album, and i loathed the music. What can i say? I was still a WAAF Listener. But people can learn! People can learn to appreciate new and clever and truly creative music and lyrics.
Fast forward to the also afore mentioned 2005 foo fighters show. that's where i learned how to love the Weeze. since then thy have gone into regular rotation, and i listen to it very loud indeed. I just recently got my hands on the red album, and i think it's my favorite, there isn't a dead spot on the record, and most of the songs are really rockin. I like my records to rock, I like he soul searching as well, but i really like my music to be rockin.
So debra came over on saturn-day to learn how to sew. I had to teach her on my little engine that could sewing machine. my machine really needs to go to P.C. Vac and Sew for a tune up. But debra persevered and went home with a super nifty tote bag. the fabric is a super pair of stripes and toille. We did use a pattern, i thought it was a mccalls pattern, but now i can't find it on their site. the pattern called for also including a hidden pocket, but i felt that that was a tiny bit too advanced a concept for a first date with a sewing machine. Perhaps next time.
Debra did a really great job of sewing, i did hardly any of it. She even did the tricky bits of sewing around the top seam, with all those layers of batting and fabric. She wasn't even put off by how long it took, and how moderately boring it can turn out to be. I'll have to see if she can send me a photograph so i can post it, I'm a Dumbhead, so i didn't take one at the end of the lesson.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the footballer i spoke of earlier. he's got a wiki page here.
he's terribly good, but he's terribly melodramatic, and people often times are angry and bitter when his team beats theirs (my friend dave is still bitter over win against england in the World cup 06).
but Uefa Euro Football is indeed exciting. According to soccernet.com, This is how the groups line up as of today:
I'm not so skilled at keeping track of this stuff, but from what i've heard, #1 plays #2, and Group A plays Group B, while C plays D in the next round, which is a knockout round. so Croatia will play Turkey (incidentally, Turkey beat the Czech Republic whom i predicted would advance. So really, don't listen to me!), and Portugal will play Germany. Yipes. That be some football!
Now, from what i gather, Group C is all sorts of up in the air, with the exception of Holland; they advance as #1. here's the qualification explanation. Group D is a bit tangley too, though not as much, nor as exciting. Essentially it's must win for all teams playing today, making for some excellent soccer. check them out on espn360.com. They are all on at the same time, to avoid any sort of match fixing. I'll be streaming today, for sure!
So, even though saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day i made myself a shirt. It's a very easy pattern
I did make an alteration to the length than is shown in the refece photo, I'm too short to really wear something long like this, and the additional length really didn't look good on my hips, so i made it more like a blouse, and it mostly fits perfectly.
It took me the better part of saturday, since I'm really only beginning to sew clothing. but I'm pleased with the results and I'm sure that the next one i make will really look nice, and won't take nearly as long.
And when the urge to sew hits, i like to take advantage of it. I'm beginning to dabble in clothing, as you have already seen, Niece Kristen got a few dresses a few months ago. This time Niece Caitie is going to be the recipient. (incidentally, Kristen wore the pink swirly dress in public the other day, and i have to admit, though it looks cute on a hanger, it looks way better on a cute baby! I've heard that clothes make the person, but the opposite is true, kristen makes the clothes!)
anyway, here are the two things i made for Caitie: this is a a summer dress that looks like it's the same pattern, but it isn't. I suppose i could have use d the same pattern, but i'm just learning, so i didn't realize they were so similar until i already had it purchased. The biggest difference between this pattern and the one from before is that this calls for a zipper in the back. the next one i make i'll probably use the first pattern, and make it so the straps are buttoned or snapped, like before, so the other girls won't have to fumble with the zipper in the back (too much of a PIA for a little girl.)
I had some of the blue polka dots left so i thought i would make a top to wear with jeans or shorts on a summer day. So from the same pattern i made this:
I also wanted to try something i've had in my head for a long time. Should I ever get married, I'd like the bodice of my dress to have something like this- so the front looks like the breakfast at tiffany's dress, but in the back, the straps would taper to about 1/2 inch wide or so, and then go straight along the shoulder blades. This shirt was an exercise to see if it's possible. I suppose it sort of did. I have a feeling a more experienced seamstress could figure it out much better than i can. But it worked pretty well for a child's summer top.
I am a simple person. I do not like complication. I like a balanced checkbook, and prompt answers to questions.
I am a fan of National League Baseball; but not of any NL team. Soccer and baseball are my favorites, I could watch them all day, Football is ok, but only on sunday afternoons when the Patriots are playing, otherwise, I'll take it or leave it.
I love to travel, and I love knowing and learning about far away places and the people who live there. It could be general nosiness, but i'm not sure.
I like to sew. i like to make purses and bags. If you need one, let me know.
I cannot abide with mean spirited people, and i do my best to not hang around with them or to become one myself. Kindness is much easier to express than unkindness. I find that it really is hard, lonesome work to be a jerk.
