KnittyOtter

The start of something beautiful...

And more than a little fun and satisfying. :D

I'm doing a Madli's Lace Shawl Knit Along with Cookie, Joan and Carrie.

I cast on way too early in the morning on a flight back east on March 1st. (midwest?, but way further east than I am, so it's back east to me. o.0)

Lemme tell ya, casting on to lace in flight is not as fun as you might think. Thankfully I didn't poke anyone's eye out. Though the Flight Attendant serving me the white wine may have thought I was a bit off my rocker. Granted the wine came on the second flight and I was well into the edge chart by then. :P (It was free, as that is the only reason to drink while flying...)

The yarn is Madeline Tosh Silk Lace Weight in the colorway Tourmaline from the Magnolia Society Club last year. Yummy Stuff!

I am loving this project!!

Oh and here's a photo I took when I was out with my brother Rendog on Saturday. I think we were at our third stop of the day... It was a delightful 73 so we were sitting outside enjoying the fair weather. Granted I only completed one pattern row and one purl row, but still without any mistakes. *L*

I've never given up on Resolution # 10, though I have been letting it slack for the most part. Unless I'm hanging out with Rendog that is. I'm going to see him again next week in Los Angeles so let's hope my liver is up to it. :P

I'm wondering which yarn shops to visit while I'm in LA... *giggles madly as my pocket book tries to hide from me*

Saturday Sky & Wine Tasting in El Dorado Oh My!

I started this post Saturday. I thought about going through and changing what I wrote, but decided not to. So Nyah. :P

Today's Saturday Sky photo was actually taken on September 2nd at the Primus Vineyards. Clickety Biggety!

Ah the Memories.

Recently I had a very wonderful person come for a visit. I've mentioned him several times in the past, though without much detail. He's in the family I choose for myself, and also just happens to be in the whole blood family dealy. Odd how that works out sometimes. heh. For the purposes of referring to him as something other than my brother while maintaining his privacy, he will henceforth  be called RenDogg.

We actually hooked up in a city a few thousand miles from here for a few days before making our way back to Reno back on August 21st. He had a lot of work to do the first part of his time in Reno so we mostly just hung out and watched Harry Potter movies while drinking lots of Éphémère in the evenings when he had some free time. During that time I also finished book seven, the final book of the Harry Potter series. *sigh* So sad to see it finished.

Unfortunately Rendogg had to go back early so instead of staying here until next week as planned he went back a few days ago. So sad to see it finished.

No worries though I should be able to see him a few more times this year if I play my cards right. *Happy Otter Dance* :D

Before he left the Honey and I were able to take him to do some extra fun stuff.

Last Sunday the Honey drove us over to Placerville California to explore some of the Vineyards in the area. There are a BUNCH. We managed to hit 6 of them.

Why yes I did do my duty to Resolution # 10. Heh. The whole time Rendogg was visiting as matter of fact.

My liver hurts. o.0

Here is the Barrel room at Primus. Clickety Biggety!

Our trip to the Placervill Winerys started with Primus Vineyards. (Is Winery really a word or am I just making shit up as I go along? o.0 Wiki says it's real. One more sign I'm not going crazy!) Good starting place, but we found may other wonderful wine experiences along the way that dimmed the shine off the taste of the wines here. I did pick up an interesting bottle of a wine they called Duo. It's a blend of Syrah & Zinfandel. Normally I couldn't be arsed to give a damn about a Zinfindal, but this blend was quite lovely. I think I'll have some friends over in the coming weeks for dinner and serve this. :D We also picked up their 2004 Syrah... but Rendogg and I drank that already. Very good. Nice anytime drinkable red. I think we had that one night while playing a game of Goth. Primus was the only tasting room that cost anything to get in. $5 a person, plus you got to keep the glass. They refunded the fee if you purchased, which we did obviously.

Close up of grapes at Primus.

Our next stop was at a little complex called Camino Wine Plaza that housed four different tasting rooms. We went to two of the rooms. The first one we walked past seemed to be big on Zinfindals and Merlot so we didn't even bother to stick our heads in. When in an area boasting so many options you can be as picky as you want. So moving past whatever that place was we went into a place called Illuminare Estates. We picked up a bottle of their 2005 Petite Syrah which may or may not be saved until Rendogg returns on his next visit. The best part about our visit to this tasting room was meeting the owner. He told us his story and offered us a taste of his upcoming 2002 Pinotage... straight from the brarrel! How cool is that. Well it's hella cool. He used a special device to withdraw some of the wine and put a generous taste into our waiting glasses. Fantastic. Love this stuff. I like it way more than his Syrah. I think he said he would be bottling it this November. I'll be calling an order in. *GRIN*

Within the same complex as Illuminare was a very tasty room called Findleton Estate & Vineyard. I really enjoyed this place. Every wine was very good. Seeing as this was only our third stop and I already had a few bottles of wine I only got one bottle. I wish I had gotten a few things here. I believe we got a Pinot Noir. Rendogg and I drank that while watching Sideways Tuesday night. Heh. One of the reasons I think I was so enamored with this tasting room and it's delicious wines was that the guy pouring had such an engaging personality. He knew his stuff and poured just the right amount. Enough to taste, but not so much you felt bad pouring half a glass out. I know we actually poured a lot of wine out that day. o.0 But since we had so many options and we hadn't had much to eat it seemed like the wise thing to do. Not to mention he kinda reminded me of John Hurt and how can you not love that. ;^)

We skipped the last tasting room here to try our luck elsewhere. We ended up at the Crystal Basin Cellars. This was one of my top two tasting rooms of the day. :D I wish I'd picked up more here as well. *sigh* Oh well it was a learning expedition. I can always order more and/or make another trip up that way. Here we grabbed 3 bottles. Rendogg got a super yummy Barbera (best of the Barbera's we tasted that day in my not so humble opinion. I made a startling purchase of a 2005 Zinfandel. I know. o.0 Weird huh. I wasn't even planning on tasting it, but said why not. I really liked it. We also grabbed a bottle of their yummy Muscat which I believe we drank on Wednesday the 5th.

From there we hit the other top two Winery by the name of Jodar Winery. We were lucky enough to stop in during a Food and Wine pairing event. Fantastic. It was really interesting to see just how the taste of a wine is altered by pairing it with the right flavor. It was fortunate that we stopped in here when we did because we were also very hungry by this point. *L* I enjoyed everything about this place, from the wine to the atmosphere & people. It was an all around excellent tasting experience. I wish I'd gotten more here as well. We got four bottles, a very yummy port that was paired with a chocolate raspberry truffle. We also got some of the chocolates to have with the port later as well. I think this was had during a game of Dread Pirate. Rendogg won. Bastard. The other three bottles we got here will be saved for Rendoggs next visit. They are a very yummy 2005 Barbera, a sweet desert wine called Eva and a unique 2004 Chardonnay.

Our sixth and final stop of the day was the Boegar Winery. This was a good solid winery and I always love it when they have part of the Vineyard on site. Though the tasting counter was large in comparison to some of the places we had been the place was packed with people. I think a bus had just dropped off a bunch of people or something. Either way it was still a very tasty experience. Plus the lady who poured for us told us a great place to have lunch/dinner. Though it was closed as it was Sunday. We ended up at a chain pizza place in desperation. And yes we still managed to have a beer with lunch even though we'd been drinking all day. Resolution # 10 was working into overdrive. *L* They had a lot to choose from and we ended up walking away with a Barbera and a Muscat. I'd like to go back sometime and have a tasting when it's not so packed so I can savor each wine more.

Some great stuff came out of this day trip. Besides the obvious spending time with RenDogg and My Honey I learned a bit about wine and Vineyards.

I also learned since I'm this close there is very little point in buying without first tasting it. Of course this only applies to local-ish wines. It was amazing to me how much a year made a difference in the taste of a wine. At the first place the 04 Syrah was dramatically better than the 05. It also amused me how the smell of a wine could be completely different than the taste.  At Findleton we tasted a wine that seemed almost musty in scent, but was deliciously light in taste. I would have expected the wine to be strong and dry from the scent. Tasting was great, but having the opportunity to smell so many different wines was an experience in itself. I kept trying to get the honey to smell my wine. His taste for wine isn't as sharp as it is for Scotch so he said he didn't see much difference. Now I love the smell of Scotch, well good Scotch, but I can't handle the taste. Too burny. Rendogg is unique in that he has a taste for both. Which is great because I can enjoy wine with him... and beer and just about anything else. Yet he can also enjoy Scotch with the honey. Next time he's here I'm going to be the Designated Driver and take them out for a scotch tasting somewhere. :D

At each stop on our impromptu wine tasting tour we tasted 5 or 6 wines. I'm not sure how much we actually drank  during that time as it became apparent early on that we'd have to take small samples and pour out those wines that weren't as exemplary or when we simply at the end of our palate at that stop. Drinking water and swishing helped us to try as many wines as we did.

It was deffinatly a fun experience doing all those tastings. Something I hope Rendogg and I can do many many more times. There are hundreds of Vineyards up in those hills to try yet. :D

Here are the remaining wines left from our trip up through the El Dorado. Clickety Biggety!

I'd have taken more pictures of our journey if I'd been thinking. Instead of thinking I opted to drink and have fun.

Good Times. Good Times. /Jerry Blank

Saturday Sky, Road Trip & Squishy Balls Oh My!!

Saturday a few knitting friends and I went on a Road Trip Adventure to NorthStar in Truckee California. We were going to go up by the lake (Tahoe that is) but the yarn store we were planning on going to had moved locations. It was likely for the best considering the recent fires and all.

The day started off bright and early. Very early. :P

I met some friends for coffee at 7:30 and hung out for a bit before some of us headed off to the appointed meeting place for the adventure. There were eleven of us heading up the hill in a number of vehicle's. I rode up with MonkeySocks and Freddie. *GRIN*

As that was many days ago I can't tell you all the funny stuff that was said or that happened. Ma Brain Is Dead. *zombie face*

I can tell you that I got a Squishy Ball from Freddie. Squishy Ball of yarn that is. :P

It is the same dyelot of yarn as my honey socks. I may be able to complete his socks in one yarn now. Or at least just have his toes be the solid color and not part of the foot as well. :D Thank You, Freddie!

Here are my squishy balls of yarn and the socks at the River Ranch Lodge.

The photo was taken outside on the Patio where we stopped for lunch. :D

It was beautiful by the river, so here is the Saturday Sky.

Several of us split a pitcher of Rum Punch with our outdoor grilled lunches of burgers and fries. The Rum Punch was yummy and fulfilled the Resolution #10 part of the trip.

Then we got back into our cars and made our way further up the hill to the NorthStar Village.

The yarn shop we were looking for was called Loopy. It had a mix of high end luxury fiber yarns and those kitschy flashy novelty yarns. I'll never fully understand those yarns. Though I did see some that would look great knit up as a shower curtain for someone who just came out of a coma from the 1970's.

I picked up some yarn for a project I saw a sample of in the store. I've never been so excited about a store sample in all my life. When I saw it I almost embarrassed the holy crap outta myself. Thankfully I shut my mouth right fast. Only one person saw what almost happened and she was cool about it. Though shocked as you can imagine.

Upon seeing this fuzzy wuzzy awesomely soft knit object I started to call out to the shop owner. I said in a hopefully not too loud voice, "Hey L...", before I caught myself. I looked down with huge freaked out eyes. MonkeySocks leaned over and with a look of pure horror asked if I was just about to call out "Hey Lady". Sadly I was. I don't know what came over me. I'm just glad I stopped.

I have never called out to anyone Hey Lady, much less a stranger. Too weird. This yarn had a hold of me and was not about to let me leave with my sanity intact.

Now what I'm about to say next may shock some of you. So be warned.

I got... I got... some Loopy Mohair. o.0

I fell in love with this Be Sweet Loopy Mohair.

Totally funny considering my history with the Loopy Mohair.

In my defense it's BABY mohair and the store sample was really really soft. After she knit the scarf she brushed it with a stuff bristled brush until it was all soft and fuzzy.

Plus the colors were my colors.

Did I mention it was crazy soft?

Don't look at me that way. :P

I got enough, and it was damn expensive enough I might add, to make a fuzzy brushed stole/shawl type thing.

Now the last time I knit with the Loopy Mohair I learned real fast the downfalls when knitting too tight. The yarns calls for size 11 needles though, so I think I'll be okay.

Yeah no photo, you'll see it once it starts getting knit up. Which may be sooner than later cause I'm dying to see how it'll knit up for me. :D

After we left the yarn shop we started to walk down to a bead shop, but most of us got distracted by a shoe shop.

They had some... interesting looking shoes on sale for 75% off. There were a few crazy cute pairs. MonkeySocks got some really nifty looking shoes and T got some really comfy looking buttery soft leather shoes. In fact I'd say some of the people were more interested in the shoes than the yarn, and I don't blame them. *L* As for the "interesting" looking shoes there were a couple pair that seriously make me question what the hell the designer was thinking.

I'd call them Burlap Sack Chic. No really they looked like Burlap Sacks pieces that had been chewed up by a dog and then glued over the top of a shoe form. o.0

One of the pair was a set of high heals. Cause you just know you want some raggedy looking burlap sack bits when you go out for a night on the town. The other was a pair of sandals.

Either way it seemed like they'd cause your feet to be extremely uncomfortable. Burlap is not a soft fabric. Weird.

After that we went to the Bead store where I found some really pretty aqua beads and some other stuff and some stuff for earrings. The most important part though was that the aqua beads were also coveted by MonkeySocks, but I got them first.

Let's take a moment to reflect upon this. I got 'em, she didn't.

*evil grin*

Having me for a friend is a tricksey sort of thing. :P

The rest of the day was fun, though after leaving the bead store we headed back home.

I had a super fun day with all my knitting peoples.

Had fun with 'em last night too. :D

Which reminds me, SillyBuns (S) give me your email address.

Well I have stuff I gotta go get on with. Hopefully that will include finishing the Honey Socks. :D

Happenings & SoS/SU&KYCC Socks

Well I finally made it home. Finally. I was gone WAY too long.

It was awful not seeing my Honey and Kitty for so many days. Missed them muchly. I also missed having email access to my Cookie whenever I wanted. That was hard, but it always is. It was also weird not seeing my Florrie and MonkeySocks for so many days. Thankfully I got to see them and lots of other people I missed and adore muchly on Saturday. I was with MonkeySocks from abut 9:20 in the morning until 10:00 at night or so. Good thing we enjoy one another's company so much. *L*

One of the things MonkeySocks and I did  Saturday was attend a really kickass birthday party for a very special friend of ours. It was SOOOOOOOOOO much fun. :D T was turning 70 and her Daughters planned a superb party. Well they claim she was turning 70. Hard to buy it though. She doesn't look 50 much less 70. o.0 Knitting must keep you young cause I know several other people who claim a certain age but don't look anywhere damn near it. Or act it either I should add.

MonkeySocks and I have decided to start lying about our ages. Only we'll round up instead of down. The funny thing is I've been joking with Cookie for years along those lines. I look GREAT for 82!! *L* That combined with the fact I act like I'm 12 half the time and I'll be young forever. W00T!

The party was at a Mexican Restaurant and the food and drinks were super yummy. :D In addition to having her family come in from all over her daughters invited her friends and knitting family. Florrie even closed the shop up early to get there on time. It was the best birthday party ever. It was muchly fun to see all the knitting peoples. (well most, Rachel wasn't able to show up) Especially since a few very special ones will be gone for most or part of the summer. Damnit people. Don't they know they're supposed to hang around handy and accessible for my amusement.

:P

MonkeySocks drove me home so I was able to partake in Resolution #10 freely. Wheeee!!

I did that a lot on my travels. Well when I was with my brother I did. Not too much, but way more than my normal everyday life. Since I was sick most of May I'd hardly had anything to drink. *sigh* I never was that great at keeping New Years Resolutions.

I'll just have to try harder. ;^)

Here is my sock in AnnLand having a few drinkies. Clickety Biggety!

Have y'all noticed that my socks like to drink in AnnLand. Heh. Sadly I wasn't able to see the actual Ann while there this time. See you in the Autumn, my sweet!

Oh and we were sharing the beers so that we could try several. Never even made it to the Otter Head. So much to drink and so little time. *sigh*

Here's a clearer shot of my Dave Socks in Progress. The colorway is Campfire from the Cabin Cove Mercantile and the pattern is Tropicana by Sabine Riefler from MagKnits.

I am loving these soooooooooo much. I was a bit concerned about the pattern at first. Cookie pointed out that we generally wear 72 stitch socks. That is true, but the gauge on these things is so big that it makes up for the lack of stitches. I think I had to use US 5's to get gauge that's how crazy it is. *L* The pattern moves between 11 and 17 stitches for the pattern repeats, so you go from 55 to 85 stitches. Magically it works. *L*

Because they don't have any ribbing on to the top they look kinda big even. One lady recently asked in a shocked manner why my sock was so big. (See now I'd think that was a dumb thing to ask somebody, or at least sorta rude/clueless, what if I had huge feet and ankles and I was uncomfortable about it and she'd said that. o.0 Dear Humans, please think before opening your yappy heads. Thanks, The Rest Of Us. The Common Sense is not so much common these days eh...) They fit very comfortably so far, though If my feet were smaller than average I'd say you'd have to adjust them to be less big though, either through stitch count or needle size and a smaller gauge.

I love how these are knitting up SO MUCH that I'd recommend anyone who got any of the awesome yarns from Dave's Summer Collection to try this pattern with them. It's like they were made for each other. I think they are cool enough yet not too detailed that you could make these for a guy and it'd be okay. I know a lot of people think guys can only wear plain socks, but it's not like their penis will fall off with a little extra flair. :P

These socks fit into two of the KAL's that I'm currently Participating in. The Shut Up and Knit Your Cabin Cove Knit Along which is rapidly drawing to a close, so let Cookie know if you'd have anything going or whatever. These also count towards the Summer of Socks Knit Along.

I started these on June 14th. Cast on during Takeoff. *L* Well the final cast on was during take off. It wasn't until I understood how many stitches I would have during each of the pattern repeats that I finally got it. Well I'd always had it... I just thought I'd messed up. *blush*

Since I cast on a week prior to the start on the 21st I asked my Blog Reader Jody if that was okay to do these socks as part of the KAL. I also explained I wasn't doing the most socks knit part of the KAL. She said that was fine since I wasn't in that portion of the KAL. My hope is that I finish these socks by the time the SoS is done. Although after seeing Cookie's recent Traveler Socks I really REALLY wanna make those. Lots of new stuff to learn with that pattern and they are uber cute. :D So Maybe my personal SoS Challenge will be to finish these socks, the honey socks and the traveler socks. I also still have my second Socktober Sock to finish. Just haven't been inspired by Autumn Colors since last year. I imagine I'll take care of those in August when I start getting Autumn Fever. :D

I've also got the Coral Sweater going and I'd like to finish that up. I've got a bit at the bottom to do yet and then the sleeves and collar. *Happy Otter Dance* I'm so happy with how this is coming out. I may not even mind weaving in all those ends. Heh.

ECF: Pink Edition - Dulaan #9 & Sweater Progress

This is a rushed post, but I wanted to update before I ran out the door.

I've been knitting so much blue this year that I HAD to go pink in order to save my sanity. It was just too much blue. So here are some of the recent pink things I've been knitting on. :D

I have finished washing and blocking all my Dulaan stuffs. More of the big picture laters. Today I want to show you a Toddler Scarf & Hat set I made for the Dulaan Project. These would be completed objects #9. :D

These were super easy knits and took one night for the hat and scarf. LOVE!

It also represents my first Garter Stitch scarf and first time putting fringe on something. *L*

I'm also going to post a peek of my yummy Coral Cotton sweater. It's for ME!

It's kinda hard to see what's what. There was too much light. *L*

o.0 No Really.

I am loving knitting this sweater for myself, although working with cotton is a bit different than wool.

Well no more time to  update. Gotta run out and get some champaign for a celebration laters.

Resolution # 10, after a harsh long month of no attention I am coming for YOU Baby!

*GRIN*

Also many kudos to the lovely and talented Cookie on her one year Blogoversary. You am Faboo, Honey!! :D

Not Dead, no really. Really. :P

So the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I'm not dead. Not even a little bit. Just busy and lost in thought.

I have absolutely NO knitting content to speak of. In fact I think the last time I knit was last Wednesday. *blink* I know. It's fucking nuts.

I dunno. You ever get lost in your thoughts and just need to work things out. Yeah.

But mostly I've been busy. Some good, some not so good. Work and fun stuff.

As for the weekend I left my house to run some errands before meeting up with some friends Friday around 3:00 pm... and somehow didn't make it home that night. Then when I did eventually go home it was Saturday night around 8:30. I was only home for half an hour while I grabbed some clothes and kissed the honey. Then I was off and gone again until Sunday night around 9:45 when I got home again. (Yes there were showers, and a bed provided. Good thing I carry a toothbrush with me everywhere too. *L*)

Needless to say Resolution #10 was being worked pretty well. There was also some Karaoke involved. o.0

I can pretty much tell you everywhere you can go for Karaoke on any given night of the week now, btw. :P

I love love love Karaoke, but need lots of liberating alcohol to be really comfortable at it. heh.

Now I wasn't hung over or anything silly. I never got drunk as that is not only lame but ridiculous to do to ones self. But I did manage to somehow get only a few hours sleep each night. Friday night I went to bed very late and got up very early, as in my daily nature. Later there was a nap involved. Saturday night I was good and got a whole 4 hours of sleep. Blissful cat head free sleep at that. (I didn't just say that. I'll deny it to the day I die. o.0) I was still up crazy early given the hour that the evening came to a close. I'm just not made to sleep past 6:30 am. *sigh*

In addition to the drinking and revelry there was shopping. *grin* I got myself one of those new fangled iPod Shuffles. I was going to get the pink, but in the harsh light of day it wasn't as yummy as I thought it would be. I was drawn to the teal.

Yes the color was the biggest concern I had. :P

At least now I can go walking and not worry about busting my iPod Video.

All in all it was an odd lost weekend. I missed a few things I should have done and feel badly for it. Like checking my email and checking in with various people.

The cat missed me a lot and has since been acting as if we the two components of velcro. Man oh man that cat loves to lick my forehead at night. Last night she just stood on my pillow looking down on me with her weird cat breathe.

Made weirder by the fact the honey got her a bone over the weekend while I was out.

Yes, that's right, he got her a BONE. Looks to be the Tibia of an unfortunate bovine creature.

Photo Proof from Monday afternoon that my shaved cat was licking a big bone in my backyard. (insert snerking here)

Clickety Biggety:

It's weird over here. o.0

She actually needs another shave down. But the weather has turned chilly so I'm waiting. It snowed again last night. Balls to that. o.0

At least the grass is starting to grow back there. She thinks it's her salad bar. Weird-o.

No doubt is left in my mind that our neighbors don't think we're totally nuts at this point. Between backyard photo shoots with George and now TKK having her own bone... Good thing I don't generally give half a damn to the regard other people may have one way or another. *L*

In other news next week I leave for OtterLand. It'll be a short trip and when I get back I'm going to go to the Morrissey Concert on my birthday. Any of you'se locals peoples wanna come along it's at John Ascuaga's Nugget (that sounds dirty to me) on Sunday the 29th @ 8:00 pm. Lemme know as I haven't picked up tickets yet and can get them together or however these things work.

I LOVE MORRISSEY. The Smiths and his solo stuff is some over my very favorite music. The Smiths are my top 3 most listened to bands according to my Last.FM page. Heh. Here's my running total since July 29, 2005. Yes I am this big of a dork. :P Morrissey as a solo artist is #18.

So yeah, that's the general idea of what I've been up to. I need a nap... and the weekend is just around the corner. I'm hoping to take it somewhat easy if you wanna know the truth. ;^)

Saturday Sky & Vikkie Day Oh My!

What day is today? *blink* Where have I been? Lots going on over here for the Otter. It's a very fun time. :D

This past Saturday was an absolutely wonderful day.

Although it was a bit windy and sometimes overcast it was really nice. Plus it was Vikkie Day so it was kickass, just as one might expect a Vikkie Day to be.

Before I go any further let me show you the sky, as seen from the front porch of my favorite LYS.

The day started off bright and early for me. Actually I'm not sure how bright it was then. I got up at 6:00 am and started preparing the Vikkie Day Lunch. I made a baked pasta thingy and salad.  I got to the shop around 10:00 and started drinking lots of coffee and knitting & Chatting with Florrie and another nifty lady who was there.

Guess who was not there? Well two people, but freakishly missing was one Miss Vickie.

How can you have a Vikki Day without a Vikkie? Not like you can just randomly pick one up at the store. *sigh* So that's when the harassing phone calls started. I had to call her twice before she finally showed up. Something about knitting like mad in a crazy sock competition while going to school and needing to sleep sometime. Pfbt! Sleep is for the dead. And the undead. She could'a knit through the pain. :P

(YAY!! Squeee!! I just saw on the sock thingy that she won a prize and I'm such a dork I called her to tell her to check the sock madness blog. Dork History in the making!)

After Vikkie Finally showed up we got to knit and talk and just be plain silly. I'm good at silly so this was mucho fun for me. :D Florrie, Vikkie and I had some of the yummy lunch and then Florrie got back to her stuff and left me to annoy Vikkie all by myself until MonkeySocks eventually showed up. The three of us went outside onto the comfy Patio to knit and talk while we enjoyed the sometimes sunny afternoon. I took a picture of Vikkie while she was knitting. With her permission here it is.

Vikkie Knitting in her natural habitat @ Deluxe Yarns aka Florrie's.

I was stalking her through Florrie's Irises. :P

We knit and talked some more until Rachel showed up after 5:00 and the four of us went to Vikkie Day dinner. I had a few drinks ti further my way along with Resolution #10. *L* I even got Vikkie & MonkeySocks to get a Dirty Vodka Martini. I'm not sure how they liked them. How'd you guys like that? *L* Most people don't care for straight up Grey Goose vodka with a splash of olive juice. Mmmm I love it.  Rachel has people inside her and therefore was the responsible person of the night. There may even have been some yummy Vikkie Day Yarn Giftie involved in the evening. It was a last minute giftie MonkeySocks and I picked up for Vikkie after we noticed her eye balling it all day.

After a yummy dinner Rachel went home and MonkeySocks and I went to Vikkie's to see her yarn and knit things. Also some crocheted things. She has these little crochet purses. One of them looked very much like a Penis Cozy. *snicker*

MonkeySocks drove me home sometime after 10:00 pm... maybe closer to 11:30...

It's amazing how much people can talk about with other people. It was a really fun day and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to meet all these nifty Reno Knitters.

*Blows kisses at all my Girlies* *wink wink*

So yeah still no knitting content. I have been knitting. Just nothing really new to show for it. The Ducky Hat and I are doing this two steps forward one step back thing. Gotta tink back another row. I really shouldn't have been knitting the chart part of his face during the season finale of Battlestar Galactica. D'oh!

The honey socks are going well. I'm doing an Eye of the Partridge Heal and am LOVING it. :D So cool!

Other than that just dreaming about all the cool knit projects I want to do with all the cool yarn I have. *L*

Resolution #10 & the other 9 New Years Resolutions

We are almost at the end of the first quarter of 2007. What the heck. Where'd the time go?

Seriously where the fuck has the time gone? o.0

More importantly how are those New Years Resolutions I decided to call out coming along. *L*

First off I'll how you a picture of my Resolution #10 alcohol stash (Yarn is a stash, what do you call a collection of alcohol? *L*) from our home "bar area". Clickety Biggety!

A few bottles have been added but not much has been drank. Most of this has been purchased when my brother comes to visit. *L* I'm going to need to throw a party or something to really make use of these tasty liquids. Drinking at home isn't that much fun. Plus the honey likes to drink Scotch and other harsh burny things. I'm more likely to mix up a shaker of Dirty Vodka Martini's, a blender of Margaritas or some other frou frou beverage. But it's not very fun to mix up something like that alone. So when the weather is warmer and I've unpacked and trashed or stored the rest of the boxes in the living room I'll be doing that. *grin*

I'll need to practice up on my bartending skills as I found recently you can get rusty if you don't do it for awhile. *L*

I guess I'll start at the top and work my way down the list to see where I am.

2007 First Quarter progress:

1.) I resolve to be kinder to stupid people who annoy me... better still I resolve to ignore stupid people who annoy me. *GRIN* That way I stay sane and don't kill people.

Progress: Well I haven't out and out told anyone off. I don't think I've been too harsh to people that anyone me. No one has cried at least. *L* More importantly have I been ignoring people who annoy and/or piss me off? Mostly. I think. I'm certainly ignoring their presence fairly well, but do I think on the situation? Do I carry that lady further than the river as the old story goes? Sometimes. I need to work on releasing, letting go any anger or ill feelings towards stupid people. So that's what I'll do next, try to only think upon the positive... while ignoring those that have no meaning or impact on my life. My kindness to stupid people is not making them see what they are, by ignoring them I help both of us. *L*

2.) I resolve to not care what people I don't like think as they are pointless and don't really know me anyway, therefore their opinions mean less than the people who are valid in my life and actually know me anyway. Wheeee! Or if I can't not care what they think I will avoid them so as to not know what they think. Yes, this is a winning plan. *L*

Progress: Hmm this is rather similar to the first resolution. heh. I'm doing this really well actually. Recently such an event occurred. No not that thing with the lady that I posted about last. I spoke with her about it as I enjoy her company and wish to continue enjoying her company. She said it was a badly spoken joke and we are fine. No this incident where someone I have no regard or thought for happened a few weeks ago. It was more amusing than anything. Words have no meaning or impact when they come from someone so worthless they carry no weight. It's almost like watching a child have a tantrum about not getting a toy or candy they want. While annoying for a moment it has no lasting affect on the casual passerby. Unless you're at the movies. Then you gotta bring out the duct tape. *L*

3.) I resolve to wear more mascara and lipstick. Rather more often, not more when I do wear them. *L*

Progress: This is too funny! I didn't even remember I wrote this. I'm doing pretty well though. Not that I need to wear mascara or lipstick, but it's kinda like when you are wearing a really cool pair of shoes or bad ass bitch boots. Rowarrr! You just feel different about yourself. I'm feeling okay about myself. Need a hair cut though. My bangs are so long I can barely see anymore. What, it's kinda related. :P

4.) I resolve to call and email people when I think about them, rather than putting it off for a better time. There will never be a better time than now, so why wait... cause by then I'll forget or it will be too late.

Progress: I have been soooooooo sucky on this. Sorry! I really REALY need to work on this. o.0

5.) I resolve to knit a sweater. I'm still waiting on the rest of the yarn before I can get started. It's for Dulaan. :D

Progress: I got in the rest of the Dulaan sweater yarn a few weeks ago. MUCH later than expected. :/ I should still have plenty of time to knit a child size sweater for Dulaan before the July ship date. I'm well past my five knit items that I committed to, but I'd really like to make a sweater to ship out for the upcoming deadline. I also got the yarn to make honey a sweater later this year. :D

6.) I resolve to actually go see Ann rather than just stalk her like the chicken I am. *Bok Bok*

Progress: I did this!!! :D It was AWESOME, despite my own head & her threats of being a serial killer even. *L* I plan on seeing her again in June if possible. *Happy Otter Dance*

7.) I resolve to go to a doctor regarding my tonsils. Considering they've been bothering me since before I moved to Reno I figure I should have them looked at ya know. (been bothering me solid for a few weeks now and getting worse, ick.)

Progress: Um... Lookie something shiny over there. *runs like hell* That'd be a no on any sort of progress... I need to find a doctor here I guess. I'm okay though so no worries. Stupid tonsils.

8.) I resolve to buy myself that new fangled digital camera I've been lusting after this year. :D

Progress: *cue Marvin Gaye singing Let's Get it on* Well y'all remember last August when I accidentally whacked my camera and thought it was broken, but it wasn't. Well at that time I thought I was in love with a camera I found then.  I've been dreaming about that baby off and on, while at the same time exploring many other cameras. Since then I've discovered a lot more about myself and what I want in a camera. I think I've found one I can be happy with... well two, but they are very different but who said I had to be camera monogamous in the first place. :P Anyway my new future loves will be released sometime in May... along with a few others I want to learn a bit more about before making my decision. I won't give you any details now, just that I'm almost ready to take the plunge. Wheeeeeee!!

9.) I resolve to go on a real vacation. Fo reals, man.

Progress: In January I went to Otterland aka Monterey California and then La$ Vega$. I still need to blog about Otterland and post some of those pictures. I still feel like I need some more vacation though. Maybe I'll see if the honey wants to take a long weekend somewhere around my birthday. :D Or not. Maybe I'll just stay home and work on Resolution #10 (tm). *L*

10.) I resolve to drink more. *L* I know sounds odd, but really I don't drink enough.

Progress: January my drinking wasn't as much as you'd think it would be considering we went on Vacation to Otterland & Las Vegas. We were too busy running around doing all kinds of stuff to stop and really have a drinkie. Well in Otterland at least, then I got a cold or something in Vegas and it's not much fun drinking when you feel icky. In February I did one night of decent drinking. The night I was with Ann & My Brother. I had a Dirty Vodka Martini with her and then went and hung out with my brother. He introduced me to a world of Belgium Beer. A yummy yummy world with many possibilities. Around this time I also began having more drinkies out with friends. Then this past weekend I attended a party where Patrón Tequila was the feature beverage. *GRIN* Well that and water. *L* Does anyone need water? Seriously I'll just go grab some for you? *snicker* I didn't drink as much as you'd think. Two and a half drinks really. Partially due, in my opinion, to the fact that I haven't had enough experience mixing drinks in so long.  I'll have to work on that.  Any volunteers for taster monkeys? *L*

I guess I'm doing pretty well with my 2007 New Year Resolutions. As UglyFatLady (who is not a bit ugly, btw) would say, So Far, So Good. :D

I'll leave you with a second picture of the alcohol shelf. Heh. Clickety Biggety!

So how are your New Years Resolutions coming along? :P