Just to show mom...

Although I did do some knitting today I didn't take any pictures of it...just finishing up the Sophia Tomten. I saw her today at Griffin's 1st Birthday party and thank the Gods it looks as if she'll still fit into it. She's so cute and tiny. And I managed to get some in-my-arms time with the Grif. He smelled like birthday cake:) He is the most gentle baby ever.

So why am I here if I don't have knitting pics again? Hey, 'I do what I want,' and what I want is to show mom my new hair...

The roots were a half inch and the bright red was very different than my fawny brown and ever graying natural...so I dyed it dark, dark, dark brown yesterday and left some streaks of red. Wasn't happy with is this morning, though, and had no black left, so I dyed the streaks dark fuchsia (showing up hotter pink here I guess) and a few thin pieces light red.

Tomorrow Mr. G and I are spending the morning filling out paper work for my doctors appointment on Thursday, and planning a trip to Boston:)

When I am knitting what do I read (yes, if I'm not doing something really crazy, like an evil lace, I read at the same time. Many people do this). In addition to the Twilight series and some comic series I'm reading the book I just got...around ten years old me thinks...

Hysterical! Like the beginning of the Fisher King but way more creatively bizzare and silly. I also picked up the Graveyard Book...Neil Gaiman!!:) and a discount art book og Gil Elvgren's pin up art! Hubba hubba...and my avatar is featured inside:)

Super Busy...No Pics

Pepper moved yesterday. The whole week was all about getting her ready for it. It was very tiring. I never realized they (my sister and brother-in-law) have so much crap:) The things we accumulate. As a bonus I've been running regular migraines.

The 4th of July was very nice and surprising. Usually Mr. G works, but he was off so we BBQed. I invited a few people but didn't expect anyone b/c I knew some go to the same BBQ each year, or they were busy...but we had nine people. It was a very nice surprise. Griffin, my friend's son born last July 8th, stumbled around my house and I just adored watching him.

I can't believe Griffin turned 1 on Wednesday. I thought about him all day long, and the stressful time my friend had waiting to get pregnant, and couldn't help think of my own difficulties. Spending time with Grif or seeing other women w/ their babies doesn't make me sad or bother me. I like to see others happy; it makes me happy.

Fittingly, but coincidentally I attended a Resolve meeting Wednesday night, migraine blaring like my own personal internal car horn perpetually honking in my head. Resolve is the National Infertility Association. The group meeting (confidential, so I ain't sharing and hard for me 'cause I'm super shy) really guided me to feel more hopeful. I wasn't depressed, but I had kinda given up. I was waiting for Mr. G to come around to be comfortable, something I was thinking about long before I found we had problems having kids of our own...actually before I met Mr. G. I made an appointment to go to a fertility clinic next Thursday to consult w/ a doctor that specializes in infertility. I'm kinda private about this stuff...can't imagine posting this...but I'm going to.

The following day my girlfriend from work is going in to the same place to see if she's pregnant. Please pray to your respective gods for her. Even though I don't think the gods will pick to bless her w/ a child b/c I prayed more I do believe in positive energy. And, after all she's been through, I can't believe she still has any of her own left...but she does. She's just amazing and with an adopted son I can see what a great mom she'll be to a second. Now that I'm crying I will sign off.

WhAt?

I did not make this up. This is real.
And Maven of Fiber Pron asked about New Hope. It is just across the state line b/w NJ and PA. The NJ town bordering it is Lambertville, of Abandoned Lambertville high school fame. We tried to drive by the school but couldn't get close and I got chicken:( It's a nice day trip for anyone in the area...small shops, intimate places to eat, etc:)

New Hope, PA

Today Mr. G and I went to New Hope, PA. Behold, a gathering of my day's booty and the reading material I took with me. Not wanting to tote Eclipse around I raided Mr. G's comic collection to find the next volumes of Fables.

The white bag contains FUDGE! I can't recall the small shop's name.
The bag is from a New Hope LYS called Twist Knitting & Spinning. The store has a nice variety of yarns and the people are very cordial and helpful.

I dug up some Ellyn Cooper's Yarns while there. It's not available where I live and I was really pleased - this was the only colorway in the boucle, but I love it. Her colors are so vibrant! she needs a web site!!:)

I was almost ready to ring out when I came across these...

I first saw the Zauberball on Jenny Leggings blog. She described is as slowly transitioning b/w one color & the next. I had a hard time finding them.

All this while I needed BSJ yarn and wasn't finding anything I liked. I had to stop at Michael's & get the Cotton Tots yarn that I love!

That handsome man in the picture on the left is my late Tio (Spanish for uncle, yes, I am latin). I did not intend for him to be in the pick...but this one was the only shot with the yarn in focus, and why would anyone mind that adorable smile. He was an amazing guy, an absolute perfect example of a good human being. I love you, Tio!

...It's a Wonderful Town

Mr. G & I went into NY to see the Extreme Mammals exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. We've only been there together once before, but separately loads of times, and I never get tired of it. Life astounds me.

While there I always walk by three exhibits, one of which I did miss this time. I love the gemstones and minerals exhibit, but we did need to get back to do yard work and I have seen it a gabillion times, and I did want to make one lovely stop before lunch - get to that later - so I passed.

Another stop I make each time is the famous whale room. Not for the whale, though.

When I was young I'd always walk towards the back of this huge room right towards one particular display, followed by sister Pepper of course. The display was behind glass like the others and poorly lit. It would take a long time for your eyes to adjust to the deep darkness of the display...happening slowly. You'd likely be looking around the whole glass pain to spot something and I heard people many times insist that it must be under construction and walk away.

And then your eyes would finally get used to the inkiness and you'd see one grapefruit sized eye staring out at you - a sperm whale fighting a giant squid in the depths. It was terribly fun.

Last time I went the museum had removed the glass and put in some lighting. There was even a child...totally unafraid...crawling around on the floor of the display. I had no camera today so if you're pissed that I pilfered let me know and I'll remove it.

Shot by cerdsp on flickr

My third mandatory visit when I go to the museum completely befuddles and terrifies me. Yes, both, at the same time. If you go in to the North American Animals exhibit you'll see gigantic creatures like moose, the grizzly, towering, tremor inducing sights. Around the left side though, just beyond the jackrabbits is a display that glows with blue light. That one is the only thing left in the museum that scares me. Not the whale, not the squid, this...

Shot by peterjr1961 on flickr

See, looking at them like this...they're just cute. Not scary at all. Besides, I love dogs. It's the blue light that makes them creepy. Every time I go I say to myself, 'this is going to be the time that I'm going to walk right past them, look inside and see them, and walk away at a reasonable pace.' I pooped out again today :(

Shot by wallyg on flickr

Mr. G walked ahead, having seemingly forgot that last time we went he had to gently guide me past, with his arms protectively wrapped around me. I was going to try, but then couldn't. I had to wait for his eyes to meet mine across the crowd and he must have easily read the embarrassment and terror on my face.

He came to get me and instead of the protective embrace I expected he pulled me in front of the display, my eyes bolted shut, and urged me teasingly to open them. How a few years of marriage changes things:) I feel stupid saying, or rather typing this, but I couldn't control how afraid I was. I even yelped, 'NO,' so loudly I feared others around may have heard.

Laughing at myself brought me to tears...yeah, it was hysterical, when I was finally away from the blue light:)

The Extreme animals exhibit was great. All about special, specific adaptations that made certain species throughout history particularly unique. The one below was suited for the tropical climates...of the North Pole millions of years ago.

Shot by edenpictures on flickr; a family of 3 that have great pics of NYC

Now lets get to the important stuff...the short stop after the museum. Before eating lunch we walked to Knitty City, a yarn shop quite close to the museum.

I needed a few DPs...

...and I'd been wanting some solid or semi solid sock yarn (none on sale:( I'm so cheap...

...and I got three needle or small project bags, one for Lupie, one for Pepper, and one for myself, their pick...

...and Mr. G persuaded me to get this tank. It was on sale:)

If anyone commenting has any interesting stories about the American Museum of Natural History or any other museum trip they've made please share...

Hedera & Lesser Known Skeins

Took a break from the Clapotis this afternoon and started the Hedera socks from Knitty. I've been eyeing them for a long time, and had all that Jitterbug. Just incase they do fit her Royal Lupie-ness when I'm done I'll leave the "for" part empty in Ravelry. I added an extra knit stitch in between each repeat to make it a bit more roomy. I got the idea from Tiphanie on Ravelry who did only one pattern repeat. Not the same thing, but looking at her pattern brought me to thinking about altering the pattern by adding more stitches and how I'd do it.



I also tried to work on the Lesser Known Skeins site. LKS is a Ravelry group my mom made for people who have blogs but weren't getting many visitors. Anyway, there's a bunch of very talented people who belong to the group. I love to hear stories, and reading blogs is just that, so I have benefited from it's creation. Lupie (aka mom) has thought about a page for a while so I've done a little work so far.




I took a background from thecutestblogontheblock.com and made some extra graphics...I hope they're okay with that. I could have made my own bg and made graphics out from there...but I really liked the bg I picked from their site. I originally got the link to their site from Plumpy.

Clapotis...Almost Forgot

How have I been able to work on the clapotis in the car, while watching tv, and while reading (even comics!)?

Soul Knitting has this great spreadsheet you can print out as a guide.

Screenshot of Soul Knitting's Clapotis Spreadsheet : Get file here.

I'm making the clapotis in the size written in the pattern, so this works nicely, but I can see how one could easily adjust the spreadsheet if one were making a smaller scarf or larger shawl version of the pattern.