Lorenzo Knits A Tomato

For Tom

For Tom

14 years ago...

We froze outside the courthouse.
"Lifted" some mugs and a menu.
Put on our boots,
and danced to this song

I Swear by John Michael Montgomery (frank j. myers/gary baker)

I see the questions in your eyes
I know what's weighing on your mind
That you can be sure I know my heart

`Coz I'll stand beside you through the years
You'll only cry those happy tears
And though I make mistakes
I'll never break your heart

I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear like a shadow that's by your side
I'll be there

For better or worse, till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
I swear

I'll give you everything I can
I'll build your dreams with these two hands
We'll hang some memories on the walls

And when just the two of us are there
You won't have to ask if I still care
`Coz as the time turns the page, my love won't age at all

I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there

For better or worse, till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
I swear

I swear by the moon and stars in the sky
I'll be there
I swear like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there

For better or worse, till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
I swear, I swear

I Love You!

Bits and pieces Part I

So, bits and pieces later I forgot to say what those bits and pieces were, in my 12/26 post!

It's a "Legare 47" antique circular sock knitting machine. Tom bought it in....um....maybe July(?) and it's been "acclimating" in the house. We decided to unpack it on Christmas and see what's what. Everything looks like it's in good shape but we needed to order new needles - there were a lot of broken or bent ones in the box. Needles should arrive next week and then we'll try doing something other than using it as a door stop.

This wasn't a Laurie purchase. I told Tom about Jess's and he got a real bug in his bonnet to get one. (No, he doesn't wear a bonnet. They just don't make them in his size. LOL.) He found the machine on e-bay and I decided that I'd wait to get a spinning wheel and let him have his fun. I've got so much sock yarn that a little crankin' isn't going to put much of a dent in it, anyway. I might even have to get MORE yarn because we'll have to have a machine stash and a handknitting stash. Oh, the horror.

Speaking of horror. I ordered some beautiful sock yarn from an Etsy shop. Don't roll your eyes at me! I used MY Etsy shop money so it really doesn't count as MY purchase, right?

Anywho, I got the yarn today and it smells...no...REEKS of stale cigarette smoke. I was very upset and thought of returning the yarn right away. I wrote to the owner of the shop and will see what she says. In the meantime it's outside on the deck, airing out. If I take the yarn, in it's tied-up-in-a-skein form and soak it in Eucalan or SOAK, will that get rid of the odor?

I've never pre-washed yarn and don't want to have it bleed or anything. It's multi-colored hand-dyed.

Suggestions from the dyers out there?

For Peter

For Peter

So you don't have to get a sore left hand. (You always knew I was a brat.)

Now

Hey Tom! 14 years a-comin' up!

About 11 years ago (Ouch!)

Just a couple of FO's from the past few days.

Unblocked.

Pattern: My So Called Scarf
Yarn: Malabrigo in Paris Night
Needle: Size 10.5

I had already made some Fetching's so just wanted to see what this pattern looked like. I had enough left to make a neck warmer and am going to add a button or something to keep it in place. I like the pattern and will be making a full length scarf at some point.

Pattern: Calorimetry
Yarn: Colrain in Chestnut
Swish in Fired Brick
Needle: Size 7

I made 3 of these. 2 for a friend and one for Tom. This is a really fun project and I had to stop myself from making more of them. Stash yarn has to go somehow, right? They all need a button/toggle and then they're off to warmer climes.

This is my current project.

It's going to be a Koolhaas (from Interweave 2007 Holiday Knits). The yarn is Malabrigo in Verdeazul and, of course, the photograph color is WAYYYYY off. Tom went golfing today and it doesn't look like he's going to stop just because of a little cold weather, so he needs another hat.

This took up a good part of our Christmas.

Not as exciting as some people's day but still pretty good.

Holiday Wish

I wish all of my friends (bloggers or otherwise) a very healthy, happy and Merry Christmas!

I hope you get all you wish for.

Channeling

I'm going to take a moment to channel my Grandmother/Mother.

"Oy vey."

And furthermore...

OH CRAP! Wollmeise (link in German, just for spite) closed shop until January 6th!

Not that I was going to actually BUY yarn, you see, what with the "yarn diet" and all but

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

States

Drat! Woulda been faster without the typo's!

In 2m 9s

Click here to Play

Here cookie, cookie, cookie

I want to make these. (Though there's hardly anything that Deb makes that I DON'T want to make.)

Who's with me?!?!?

Soundtrack Meme

I got this from Michaele's blog. It's neat but I'm kind of worried about what type of shuffle I'll generate. Oh well. If I knit in circles, can my musical life be much worse?

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here’s how it works:
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every section, type the song that’s playing
5. next section — press the next button
6. don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

Opening Credits: "Dancing Queen" - ABBA. (When I was 16 I wanted this to be my CB "handle" but I left it as "Devil Woman". )

Waking Up: "I Just Wanna Be Mad" - Terri Clark

First Day at School: "Ship of Fools" - Erasure (Kind of fitting for a bunch of screaming 5 year-olds.)

Falling in Love: "Because of You" - Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson

Breaking Up: "Without You" - Dixie Chicks (One break-up song that still rings in my head is "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc. Oh, so happy I'm not back in my teens!)

Prom: "Hole in the River" - Crowded House (I didn't go to the prom. Hmmmm.)

Life's Okay: "From Time to Time" - Rascal Flats

Mental Breakdown: "Want Me Too" - Sarah Ayers Band

Driving: "When You Love Someone Like That" - Reba McEntire & LeAnn Rimes

Flashback: "Returning" - George Winston

Getting Back Together: "Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House

Wedding: "In This Life" - Colin Raye (I was kinda hoping my wedding song would come up for this but this is a lot better than if "Don't Fear the Reaper" came up!)

Birth of Child: "Voice Inside My Head" - Dixie Chicks (Not having a child, this one is pretty good.)

Final Battle: "Bitter End" - Dixie Chicks

Death Scene: "No One Is To Blame" - Howard Jones

End Credits: "When I Call Your Name" - Vince Gill (Pretty and sad.)

This was fun, even with only 343 songs in my iTunes, and I listened to a few of them all the way thru.

Now it's YOUR turn!

The Fruit of the Matter

One Bad Apple
The Osmonds
(Jackson)

I can tell you've been hurt
by that look on your face, girl.
Some guy brought sad into your happy world.
You need love, but you're afraid that if you give in,
someone else will come along
and sock it to ya again.

One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.
Oh, give it one more try before you give up on love.
One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch girl.
Oh, I don't care what they say,
I don't care what you heard.

I could make you happy, baby,
satisfy you, too.
But how can I if you won't give me a chance
to prove my love to you?
Won't you just give me one chance?
I'll give you my guarantee that you won't be hurt again.

One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.
Oh, give it one more try
before you give up on love.
One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.
Oh, I don't care what they say,
I don't care what you heard now.

I've been noticing you, baby,
for a long, long time.
And I'm not ashamed to tell the world
that you really messed up my mind.
Girl, to me you're like a dream come true.
I'd rather hurt myself than to ever hurt you.

One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.
Oh, give it one more try
before you give up on love, girl.
One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl.
Oh, I don't care what they say,
I don't care what you heard now.
One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl....

Does the same go for clementines?

(I know some of you are out there bopping, now!)

Shameless

It's SHAMELESS PLUG time!

Tom and I finally figured out the light box photography thing. With much thanks to Shan for her priceless help. I heart her!

Here's some of what's new. (Frankly, it's all new. I had to clear out the shop for some off-line selling.) Click to enlarge or drop by the Shoppe, and drool on them in your free time.

one more

Also a November purchase. 2 skeins Lorna's Laces in Pinstripe.

Bobbi and I determined that if you buy from someone else's stash, it's re-stashing. Which is like a double negative on your stash count!

More yac excuses to follow. :-)

Anyone care to guess what this is? There might be a prize!

I found this at Bobbi's place.

SPICY!

Your Score: Garlic

You scored 50% intoxication, 75% hotness, 75% complexity, and 50% craziness!

You are Garlic!

No offence, but you stink. Pretty much everyone loves you, though. You're smart and pretty hot and you fit in with about any culture. You're a total cut-up; in fact, the more cut-up you get, the hotter you become. But be careful, when you get embarrassed, you turn really sweet.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

So, no more

Maybe no more yarn until April...April-ish. Here's some "Last Hurrah" yacquisitions.

From Wes's nose, clockwise - Fleece Artist Nova Socks in Cosmic Dawn, Interlacement Tiny Toes in Mountain Jewel, Fleece Artist Nova Socks in Marine, Lorna's Laces in Pioneer.

In my defense, I got these from someone else's stash. So I was aiding in de-stashing. That doesn't count as buying yarn, really. Except that I paid for it. Happily!

Happy First Night

It's the first night of the Festival of Lights!
(I found it funny that the web site is "jewfaq.org". Amazing what tickles me, huh?)

Blowin' in the wind

Dear Mr. Wind -

I know you've been having a really good time, today, at my expense.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to take a 3rd tour around the house, resetting the clocks on the microwave/stove/expresso machine and in the bedroom, until you STOP making the power flicker.

I really appreciate the fact that you think it will give me the day off but I've got a MacBook and it doesn't give a crap if the power is out.

Blow Me Sincerely,
Laurie

Love letter

Dear Binky -

I sit here at "my" computer, marveling at your bravery, bendy-ness and kick ass decorating sense. If I was allowed to use the phone I'd be calling Martha Stewart to book you on her show.

I don't know what your Mom is complaining about. After all, you were just trying to get a cobweb or something. It's much easier for you to get up there than for her, right? (Just between you and me, I've read her "A-Team" story and I don't think YOU'RE the one that needs a time-out.) She should be thinking about the time you SAVED her.

It's OK about our date. It's really cold here and I don't want to freeze what used to be my kitty bits off. But we will be together, my sleek ebony goddess.

NOBODY PUTS BINKY IN A TIME-OUT!

All That Glitters

Sparkly Yacquisition (YArnACQUISITION).

I got this yarn at Kraemer's today. It's their Sterling Silk & Silver yarn, with silver fibers.

The real color is a deeper red.
Their website only shows the Natural but they also have it in black and red. Very soft and there are free patterns for a shawl, scarf, socks and a hat.

The postwoman delivered some STR. Ravenscroft (top) and Grawk (bottom). I love me some dark colorways!

Lori sent me a "skeinlette" of Jamieson's Spindrift, to see the "Scratch Factor" for Autumn Rose.

It's more than my pasty delicate skin can tolerate but I'm sure I'll find something to substitute by the year 2010 when i'm ready to start on it.

And Tom got something new, too. When you don't want espresso...and tea just won't do it for you...just one cup from Keurig and you're on your way!

(p.s. The chair says "HI" to all of its fans.)