Home away from home...

This was the lovely view from our room in New York:


Actually, the room was great, what was outside the window left a little to be desired, though. Which is ok, cause really we were there to see shows, not sit in the room and stare out the window. The shows we were able to see (in this order) were: Avenue Q , Forbidden Broadway SVU , The Drowsy Chaperone, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time at the theatre seeing some really awesome musicals. The Drowsy Chaperone was by far our favorite. If you get a chance to see it, YOU MUST!!!! Avenue Q is also a must see - extremely clever and funny.

Now, we also met up with friends who live in NY. This is the view from the balcony of their apartment:


Another friend who lives in NY works at the Metropolitan Opera in the costume shop, and we were fortunate to get a tour of the costume shop and other areas of the Met. It was really amazing to see what goes on behind the scenes. I think opera might be on the agenda the next time we go to NY...

And I'm sorry to say that we didn't get to a yarn shop while in NY. We were having a theatre fix, which hasn't happened in about 5 years, so we were really focused on plays, and eating, and plays, and eating, and plays... Well, you get the picture! LOL!

Again...

Yep. I'm off on another little getaway. This time a few days in New York City to see a couple of Broadway shows with some very wonderful friends that I don't get to see very often. We've all worked together producing, directing, or performing in shows over the past 15 years, and every now and then we like to see somebody else producing, directing, or performing in shows. Since we're going to be gone for several days, my Lizzie gets a little vacation as well. She will be staying with my brother and his family. They have a dog and two cats, so she'll have lots of fun playing with them. She's very good with other animals, so I know she'll have a great time.

Can you just get in the car so we can go?? Huh?

See ya soon!

Favorite Color Swap

So, since we have recieved our Favorite Color Swap Pals, these are the questions we were asked to answer.

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire
1. What are your top three favorite colors?
I tend to like earth tones - greens, reds, golds, browns
2. What crafts do you really enjoy?
I knit, and have in the past crocheted.
3. What products do you really covet?
I really have grown very partial to INOX dpns for knitting in the round.
4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things?
I swim at the local gym (regular swim trunks, no speedos for me...), and I also am very active in the local community/high school theatre scene directing plays.
5. Is there anything you collect?
Not really a collector, unless your talking about adding to the yarn stash. In the past I used to collect pressed glass candle sticks, but after having to dust them constantly, I
gave that up....
6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol?
Pisces/Rabbit
7.What are your favorite…
…scents/smells?
Lilacs in the spring, anything citrus.
…types of music and/or bands?
I listen to a lot of choral and classical music, more so than current pop music. it depends
on my mood what I have in the CD player.
…authors?
I don't really have a favorite author, but I read a lot of biographies and non-fiction.
…animals?
Dogs, of course, and I'm thinking about getting a cat to keep my dog company.
…places to shop?
Anyplace unusual or out of the ordinary. Antique shops, flea markets.
…season?
Fall, then spring is a close second.
…yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies?
Favorite yarns? I appreciate good wool, wool/silk blends.
…candies or goodies?
Yes.....
8. Do you have any wish lists?
No
9. Are you allergic to anything?
No
10. Do you have any pets? What are they?
A dog - Lizzie. She is a chow/shepherd mix.
11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy.
Anything that's not here that my color swap pal thinks he/she needs to know can ask me.

So, there you have it, in a nut shell. Feel free to ask about what you don't see....

Saturday Sky???

This is the view from my living roon this morning. I question the sky part. I'm sure there's one up there somewhere, but with all the rain and thunder and lightning, it seems to be hidden. We also have flash flood warnings as well, so I'm just assuming it's gonna be a very wet, very dark day. *sigh*

Oh, the little red mission style house is for sale. Would anyone like to buy it for me? I'll be your friend.... hehehehe....

Pondering... Over Coffee

Good Morning! So, since I mentioned I got some SOHO Tweed this past weekend, I thought that maybe those of you who actually knit (cause it seems I'm not one of them at the moment) would like to see what I came home with. I got 6 skeins, 3 natural with flecks of browns and yellows, and 3 skeins of a beautiful deep green with flecks of purple, yellow, and a little red.
Now I just need to figure out what they will become. Am I the only one who sees yarn, has to have it, buys it, and has no idea whatsoever what to do with it? I'm assuming not... I'm sure that sometime when I'm holding it and studying the colors and textures it will come to me in a vision as to what this lovely little bundle should become.

And for Diana, a little close up:

(Oh yeah, Dave has a Cafepress shop. Or I think he still does. Ask him about it, I'm sure he'll let you shop there... Hehehehe......)

Back Home

So, I'm home. The weekend in New Jersey was really awesome! Saturday was spent in Cape May, wandering, shopping and eating. What a lovely little tourist town - lots of little shops to browse in, and little cafes and restaurants to eat in, and I even found a nice little yarn shop and came home with several skeins of SOHO Tweed! WooHoo!!! And yes, postcards and souveniers were bought and sent....

Sunday morning was spent at the beach. It was HOT! We got there a little after 9:00am, and the sun was brutal! We found quite a nice open area to lounge in, and by the time we left, which was about 11:30, the beach was packed, and they closed the beach parking by 10:30. The line of cars waiting to get in to the beach when we left was astounding! It's quite a hoppin' little place in the summer!

This was the beach when we first got there:

The afternoon was spent at the home of relatives of my friend Eileen. They were going to an afternoon family gathering, so they let us use their house and pool for the afternoon while they were gone. The pool was wonderful, and we felt like we were at our own private resort:

So, between lots of wandering, shopping and lounging in the sun and the pool, it was quite a relaxing and fun weekend.

But the thing that made it the most memorable was the wonderful people I was with. I am really very fortunate to have very kind, loving friends. Eileen's relatives, with whom we stayed, are some of the most delightful and people I have met in many years. I have never felt more comfortable with people I have just met, and I can only hope that when anyone comes to my home, that they feel as welcome as I was made to feel this past weekend. It was like coming home from a long journey. Eileen's Step Mom, Edda, said she can't remember being around a group of people who spent so much time laughing. Which is what we do best...

I think we all came home with some wonderful memories....

Not much going on...

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I posted anything. Maybe because I've done practically no knitting. I've been goint to Physical Therapy religiously, piddling around the house in little spurts to get more things thrown out or organized, reading lots of blogs, walking Lizzie and brushing her and giving her a bath, and just everyday ordinary stuff.

I am taking a little excursion this weekend with friends to the Jersey Shore. Shopping, tooling around, going to a beach, and pretty much relaxing and laughing like idiots. And maybe taking a little knitting project to work on... Should be a fun time. We'll be back Monday night, and hopefully I will have some pics to share. And maybe a fun story or two to post about. Have a great weekend, stay cool, and see ya naxt week.

NOT Saturday's Sky

Why is this NOT Saturday's Sky! Well, first of all, this is Friday. Secondly, I took this picture yesterday, Thursday (while I was organizing my stash). And lastly, I never signed up for Saturday's Sky, so this is my own little silly curve on it. (Please forgive me, but I couldn't resist...)

Have a great night!

Organizing Stash

I've never been good at organizing. Ever. I just don't think that way. I deal really well with clutter, and I don' tmind having a few things out of place. So, now that I have some time, I decided to attempt to organize my life and throw out stuff I don't need. I also decided to try to organize my stash so that I could fine yarn I bought easily, and to see what it was I actually bought or was given.

I have this odd little room in my apartment that about 7' by 18'. Yeah, odd. And it's been paneled with knotty pine, and has a wall of built in shelves. These shelves are not very deep, and not very fuctional at all. So, what I ended up doing was to use them for video tapes, CD's, and my stash and knitting books. I have several baskets stuffed with yarn. One for yarn from Dave, and one for yarn from my Dye-O-Rama buddy Cayli, and other baskets for purchased yarn, and little things I have been working on or swatching. I also have yarn in the wardrobe closet (the acrylic stuff I won't admit to most people that I have - so it's tucked away so no one will be offended...), and on top, vases with knitting needles, and a wire basket of some swatching. If you look closely, there is a very old "Alka Seltzer" bottle next to the little lamp. In it are my Grandmothers tiny crochet hooks she used to make doilies. They're like a little treasure. I have no desire to crochet anything with those tiny hooks, but they're nice to have.

This wasn't very easy for me, and I'm sure someone who is "anal retentive" would probably walk in and arrange it all differently, but for now, this is where it is, and this is where I'm keeping it. For now....

Unusual

So, still getting shit thrown out. No big news there.... But, I did something this afternoon that I never do. Ever. After walking Lizzie and doing a few little odds & ends around the house, I crawled into bed and read. Yep, a book. And not a biography, as I am wont to delve into, or something historical and non-fiction, but a novel. A fun little read called The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran. And I read for about 3 hours. I'm kinda shocked, I gotta tell ya. I never read expect in bed before I go to sleep. Oy... But it's a fun little book, and I'm amazed at the Italian dialogue that is recognizable (there are a lot of Italian references, and one of them is lyrics to an Italian art song I teach the kids). So, I guess it kinda grabbed my attention....

And I did get a little more done on my recycled bathmat. I'll post a pic when it's finished. And I have a plan in the making for my Bitchin' Mittens, so that's next on the needles, I think. Have a great night!

Still Purging

Ok, so I'm still in my "purge the apartment till it hurts" mode. It's kinda become addiction-like. I have to throw things out on a daily basis or I don't feel like I've been productive. Yesterday I took a load of stuff to the local dump - including a broken recliner and a very old, very thread-bare nasty oriental rug. No, it never was a nice rug, so it was ok to let it go. I'm always amazed at the things I've held on to over the years. I keep thinking that if I continue in this manner, I WILL find Jimmy Hoffa and solve the mystery.

I did start a quick knitting project today. It comes from a neat little book called "The Comfort Zone" by Juliet Bawden. It's not a knitting book, but it's got lots of projects for the home, and this little project happens to be knitted. It's a VERY simple little bath mat, in garter stitch, knitted out of scraps of fabric instead of yarn. It's very cool! For fabric, I'm using an old king size bed sheet (I no longer have a bed that big, so the sheets are pretty much useless) which has stripes of muted blues, greens, purples and golds. I've cut the sheet lengthwise with the stripes so the mat has a quasi striped effect. Oh, and it's knitted with size US 13 needles. It's like knitting with telephone poles after the US1's I've been using for those socks (which I've put on the back burner for a little bit. I think I'm going blind from the small stitches). So, I should have a new bath mat in a day or so, and then maybe I'll have the notion to get back to those socks....