Goin to Puerto Rico...

We're off to the great PR on Tuesday. Which means that instead of blogging and putting up pretty (and completely non-existent) pictures of my knitting, I am packing and cleaning.

I also had a hellacious week at work last week, so I'm trying to put all the bad energy and vibes behind me.

I have my vacation knitting picked out. Of course taking way too much with me, but I have to have some level of a security blanket. Scoped out the yarn stores in the PR (there are approximately 4 listed on various sites).

Villane is going quite nicely. I'm about six inches up one sleeve now.

Can't wait to go! I hope you all have a wonderful week and a half while I'm gone.

Hugs!

Spring Bonanza

We played hooky from household chores today and went to the botanical gardens to see the cherry blossoms.

The path leading to the cherry trees:

A teaser cherry tree along the path:

The Bronx River:

A Magnolia blossom:

The first view you see of the cherry trees:

Blossom bonanza:

Poetry in the children's garden:

(There is no more snow!)

The exit from the children's garden. It reads "I'll tell you the sun rose/ a ribbon at a time"

Happy spring everyone!

(yes, I am still knitting. Still working on the Villane. It still looks much the same as it did last time, except about 12 inches bigger.)

Keep Marchin'

(completely non-knitting related give-away near bottom of the post)

As promised, here is a picture of the Villane in progress:


Not very exciting at this point, I know, but it's moving along quickly and I'm enjoying the colors. This is the Whales Road colorway in Malabrigo Worsted, and for some reason it is reading a heck of a lot more blue than green in the photo. Can't win em all, right?

Anyway, I'm feeling a little better today. Less cranky.

I'm starting to get my ducks in a row, finishing our tax return, applying to replace my stolen social security card, cleaning up my desk at work (for reasons I won't detail here in the event any of my employers are reading my blog), learning more about my digital camera, designing more sweaters in my head, and just generally working on stuff.

It's been a long-standing pattern for me to take care of stuff for other people (like all of the above) long before I actually take care of myself. So I'm trying to get myself in the headspace of taking care of me, too. Gotta remember to do that once in a while, right?

Anyway, the lyrics to the song Keep Marching by Raphael Saadiq popped into my head:

when there's nothing you can do
when there's nothing you can say
'cause everything aint' going to go your way
if you're feeling kind of strange and you want to lay it down
and it's hard for you to keep your feet on solid ground

you got to keep, on ... keep marchin'
keep marchin' on

In honor of getting myself moving towards a better mental space, I am giving away (via iTunes) four copies of the above song, and one copy of Mr. Saadiq's full album to random folks who post a comment by midnight EST Friday, April 16th. If you're not familiar with Mr. Saadiq's music, this particular album has a 1960's/1970's soul/r&b feel to it. Think Barry White/Marvin Gaye/Al Green/etc.

Also, it's very good to knit to.

And finally, a picture of my completely irreverent daughter:

Some things that are weird

I am seething with irritation and anger right now. Jaw clenched, teeth grinding, muscular tension all over the place.

What's weird? I have no idea why I'm reacting this strongly. I had a minorly irritating incident at work. My daughter is being exceedingly clingy and needy tonight. Things that I generally deal with quite well are today seeming like the worst and most horrible things in the whole entire world.

So. Prescription:

1. Mac & Cheese for the kiddo for dinner. I'll eat her leftovers.
2. Knitting.
3. Watching Dirty Jobs on Netflix instant. (thank you netflix instant)

Also weird? I've discovered that I'm sleeping with my hands curled up into little claws. I have no idea why. And my hands HURT in the morning. Probably related to stress.

I would post a picture of the Villane (which is going really well thus far), but the aforementioned daughter is running into the room screaming about the latest disaster of the minute.

Shall get to it soon. I promise (promising both me and y'all).

Oh Damnson

Damson II - The Revenge of Damson has extracted its revenge on me. This project (my second Damson) is compltely and utterly FUBAR. (Which is my favorite acronym of all time. Stands for F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition)

Anyhoo, my stitch count is off, my stitches are off, the entire project is off, and it's making me feel like crap.

So I put it down. Again. I think I might end up frogging the entire effin thing and just starting over again. It's really pissing me off.

What do you do in this situation, Virginia? Why, I immediately dive into another project!

This time I am making Villane by the lovely Suvi Simola. She blogs here at 50 Villapeikkoa and does absolutely amazing stuff.

And, for the one picture (absolutely not knitting related) in this post today, I give you a little shot of my neighborhood:

You know, just in case there was any doubt about what this store is selling (you know, aside from the fact that the window is full of butt bosting devices on mannequins) they had to put it on a gigantic red awning right out front.

I think it's subtle.

Easter Parade

We went downtown for the Easter Parade this year. It was pretty fabulous. Lots of amazing hats. Of course we got no photos. We decided that next year we'll dress up in some outlandish getups so as to fit in.

Here we are in our Easter Fabulousness at Rockefeller Center. I was channeling Morticia Addams (as usual), and I wore my wonderful whisper cardigan underneath my jacket. So excited to be wearing handknits:


We saw the archbishop or somebody else important come out of Saint Patrick's today. I lifted Georgia up so she could see what was going on and she was unimpressed until I told her the guy was famous - like Hannah Montana. Then she thought it was cool.

Here's Georgia in her Easter dress and hat (both courtesy of Grandma):



Such a polite reserved young lady...


NOT!



Random shot of the demolition of the old Yankee Stadium, for those who are interested in such things:

And lastly, actual knitting news! Finished the February Lady sweater last night and even sewed on the buttons. WOO!

So that's three sweaters finished on the year. I'm feeling pretty productive.

Still life with sweater and cat:


Happy Easter, folks!

Also...

Rest in Peace, Dad.

(that's George at about 17)

We lost him four years ago today. Of course, he HAD to have the last laugh...

Excuses, excuses

I've had to lay off knitting for the past couple of days because after I finished on sleeve on the February Lady, I discovered that knitting that quickly on tiny circulars really destroys my fingers.

So I've been reading and plotting future knitting projects.

Also been feeling remarkably craptacular with regards to my poor tummy over the past few days, which makes for a complete lack of desire to blog.

Yes, yes, I am going to the doctor. My appointment is on Monday.

Will come back with pix this weekend, I think.