Strange but true ...

Deep thinker? Maybe sometimes.

More going on in my head than others'? Oh yeah, all the time!

You scored as Luna Lovegood. You're an extreme introvert and because of this, are also a deep thinker. You ponder things others would never dream of pondering and stand with your beliefs without backing down. You find it more valuable to daydream than to socialize, because there's so much more going on in your head than others'. Most people don't understand it, but you seem to prefer it that way.

Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test

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Grrrrreat!

Well, here is my one hundredth post, and I'm pleased to be able to do some show-and-tell.

Here are the socks I've been working on, complete and ready to wear, shown on both sides for your viewing pleasure.











As you can see, they are pretty close to matching, though I didn't even bother to try and get them to match. This is only the third pair of socks I've made for myself, and I think they turned out quite well. The yarn is Opal Tiger, which I've had for a couple of years (at least - I knew I'd get around to it one of these days!), and the pattern is the pattern I use for nearly every pair of socks I make, the Socks for the Whole Family pattern from Yankee Knitter. I worked on them mostly during lunch hours at work, and occasionally while watching a movie or TV program. I finished one in February, and the other one this past Friday night. (I have now completed more things already since January, than I have some years for the whole twelve months!)

Not only that, but ...

A couple of weeks ago, when it was my birthday, Karen and Sebastian were very apologetic, because the gift they wanted to get for me had not arrived in time. I know how that feels as the gift giver, because you don't want someone to think you were too lazy to get something in time. But as the gift recipient, I enjoy receiving gifts later, 'cause it's a lot of fun.

Tim went up to spend the morning with Sebastian today, and brought back two birthday packages for me. One was a bag full of little samples of fancy shampoos, hand creams, etc., and a nice Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer pin from Avon (which as it turns out, was for me from a friend of Karen's. Nice, huh?). Then there was a larger package, and when I opened it, I laughed out loud, because here's what was inside:

I'm not sure you can see what it says, but it's Shut Up and Knit" - is that great or what? The Molly hanger is modeling it, because I am in no condition to model anything, since I've been prepping for three days for a medical procedure tomorrow (nothing major, just annoying). But I think Molly does quite a nice job of showing it off, don't you? (Yes, I know I have glare from the flash. Don't push your luck right now by pointing it out to me ...)

I cannot tell you how much fun it was to open the packages, and how the shirt cracked me up! It says the same thing on the back, so I can spread the message coming and going ...

Between finishing my socks, and opening my packages today, a weekend that was otherwise less than stellar turned out to be pretty good after all. Thanks Karen, Seb, and Lucy!*

**Lucy is their sweet kitty cat. Like ours, she helps to send cards and give gifts.

Queen of the Bloody Obvious ...

(Which is either a direct term, or a paraphrase from "Fawlty Towers," one of my all-time favorite shows.)

Today I had one of those experiences that make you think to yourself, "Duh." This one was related to knitting. I walked down to Sophie's Yarns during my lunch hour, because a) it's less than a 10-minute walk, b) it was a pretty day, c) I wanted to pet the cat that lives there, and d) it's yarn store! There was a woman there, who had laid out several afghan squares of varying colors and patterns, and was working on joining them to make an afghan for an upcoming auction to benefit one of the elementary schools nearby. (On an unrelated note, remember when elementary schools were grade schools?) Anyway, she was making slow but steady progress, and when I commented on how nice the individual squares looked, she said that different customers had knitted different squares, and she had come in to put it all together.

And do you know what she was using to do it? Well, instead of trying to find a color that would coordinate with the various shades of the blocks, or using the ever popular goes-with-everything-black, she was using a subtly shaded variegated yarn. The really intriguing thing was, that of the pieces she had already worked, the yarn looked really great, like it had been individually chosen for each piece. When I saw this, it was a light bulb moment. Because one of my, ahem, "long-term projects" is a block afghan, and I've always wondered once it was finished how I'd decide what color to use to put it together. I had sort of assumed black or dark brown, which would be fine. But [someday] when I actually get to the point of finishing it, I think I'll at least consider variegated yarn.

You're probably thinking, wow she's a real rocket scientist, but it was a revelation to me ... and I can't wait to tell my friend Sharrie, who usually experiences these "Duh" moments with me. Inevitably, one or the other of us will see something, and be amazed at what a good idea it is, and then realize that it's, well, bloody obvious!

You may remember that I mentioned last week that Tim had brought home a copy of The Natural Knitter: How to Choose, Use, and Knit Natural Fibers from Alpaca to Yak, by Barbara Albright. Well, I loved the book! And rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak, I encourage you to visit Carol's blog, and read her review, because she says it all much better than I could. The book is not just a great read, it's aesthetically very pleasing, sort of like a coffee-table knitting book, if you will. One thing that is encouraged is taking advantage of the numerous small farms, companies, etc., who are trying to be socially conscious while providing quality products. As a matter of fact, she advocates trying to find the places that are local, not just for the convenience, but as an act to preserve the environment. A couple of days after that, a friend sent me this link: http://www.localharvest.org/store/wool.jsp, which is not just fun to browse, but will let you take a look to see what's near you, or just out there in the universe if you are interested.

Moving to yet another topic, it seems that everyone is wearing their thin skin these days. I've noticed in some of the knitting blogs I have read this week, both bloggers and some of their readers seem to be taking things very personally. I even read a comment on one blog where the commenter said that they "shouldn't have to read this kind of trash," because they disagreed with the blogger's opinion. Which begs the question, was this person being forced to read the blog at gunpoint, and threatened with immediate death if they held a different opinion? I read, hear, and watch a lot of stuff every single day, and unless it's something that I am required/obliged to pay attention to, I just skip the things that don't really interest me, or that upset me, or that cause me such aggravation that it's not worth it.

On another blog, someone was criticized for saying that they really enjoyed working with yarn that had some silk content. In the comments to that post, several people seemed to take offense because they didn't like/couldn't afford silk yarn, and accused the blogger of being a yarn snob. (I always suspect that these are the same people who are always making prounouncements like, "Well, a knitter would never do/say something so unkind. Knitters are nicer than that.")

Anyway, it's just an observation on my part. And if it offends you, well then stop reading ...

I noticed that this is my 99th post, which means the next one will be number 100 ("Duh"). Who knows what golden nuggets I'll have to dispense in that one ... I mean, anything could happen!

Joseph and the Amazing Ricotta-Filled Pastry

So yesterday was St. Joseph's Day. No parades, no one dressed like a carpenter. I have always felt that St. Joseph didn't get his due. Part of the reason I didn't post a picture of him yesterday was because in all of the ones I saw and considered, they either had him a) as a very elderly man, or b) with Jesus. The poor guy, he's either got one foot in the grave, or is background for his kid - it's just not fair. I remember I was on a one-child crusade to give him equal time vs. Mary when I was around ten years old. I would always try to get my parents to sit on his side of church (meaning next to the altar with his statue); however, they liked Mary's side of the church better (quoting my mother: "It won't change a damn thing if we sit over there"). At Christmastime, the Nativity scene was *always* covering up St. Joseph's side - which really made no sense, since everyone was so focused on Mary anyway, covering up her altar wouldn't have been a problem! Finally, I accepted the fact that unless we were members of a parish called St. Joseph's, he would always be sort of sidelined.

(You may have noticed that my bouts of religious zeal have very little to do with actual religion. What can I say, it works for me.)

Anyway, when we moved to Philadelphia, we were introduced to an aspect of St. Joseph's Day that we were not acquainted with:

Zeppoles!!

These are incredible. They are similar to a cream puff, except the pastry isn't exactly puff pastry, like in a cream puff. They are filled with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. You can get them here at the Termini Bros. bakery in the Italian Market on St. Joseph's Day only, and the place is so festive, it's worth it just for the experience, even if you don't want to get a zeppole. (Now, why someone wouldn't want to get a zeppole is beyond me, but that's their business ...) As far as I'm concerned, the zeppole gives St. Joseph some extra recognition on his feast day, and the best part is, you don't even have to go to church to get one!

(You may have also noticed that I particularly enjoy events related to food. See parenthetic comment above.)

As you may or may not know, March 19 is also the traditional return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano, California. Which leads to a favorite family story. My niece Lauren was driving from her college in Santa Barbara late one Friday evening down the freeway in California, to visit her parents in Orange County for the weekend. She called my sister late at night, upset because she was lost, and had missed her exit. My sister said to let her know where she was, and she could give her directions to get home. But Lauren was so upset, my sister realized she would need to drive to wherever she was calling from, and let her follow my sister's car home. So she said, "Well, OK, I'll come and get you. Where are you?" To which Lauren replied, "I'm just off the exit for San Juan Cappuccino."

I tell ya, it just writes itself.

Erin go bragh!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May those who love you, love you.
And those who don't love you,
May God turn their hearts.
If He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So you will recognize them by their limping.