Busted!

I was on my way to Yarns Etc. to do some knitting when it happened. I got pulled over. WTF?! I knew it was coming too. As I drove through Carrboro, a city cop pulled up behind me. I stopped at the red light and she started talking on her CB. When the light changed and I pulled away... she pulled me over. Doh.

And look at what she gave me! :)



Yup. My very own speeding ticket. In downtown Carrboro. She asked me "Do you know what the city speed limit is?" I replied "45 in some spots and 35 in others right?" Apparently I was wrong. She told me that the last little stretch of road I had just passed through was actually a 25. Doh. As I'm sitting there, blue lights twinkling in my rearview mirror, watching the traffic go by as I wait for my ticket (and I hope for just a warning) a family of three goes walking past right past my open window. So what crosses my mind as they look at me? I yell out "Yup! I'm a criminal!" Yes... I am that brilliant *insert syrupy sarcasm here* sometimes.

So here's the damage:



41 in a 25. Doh. Brace yourself for this part. Here's the fine:



Holy crap! A $50 fine and $100 in court fees?! Oh yeah... I'm gonna go to court for this one. If I'm paying $150 then I want to at least be able to enjoy the smell of the old wood of the courtroom, hear my named called and then hear a gavel bang, and have someone tell me I have to pay the fine. I mean... for $150... I'm getting a show!

*sigh* So I went the remaining 100 feet (no lie) to the parking lot of Yarns Etc. and went in and did some knitting. I finished half of my I Do shrug. Here's a look:



And the back:



I'm very pleased so far. It's hard to see in the pics, but you can kind of see the blue beads. That's exactly the effect I wanted. Enough so that when the sun hit them, you can see them, but subdued enough so as not to take away from the lace. Well, time to cast on for the second sleeve but before I go... here's my obligatory pics of the kitties! :) You know you want to see the kitties...:



And:



Okay, my work here is done. Back to the needles.

An average Sunday.

I stopped by Yarns Etc today and did some knitting. Eric had left to head back to Charlotte for work at about 11 and I really wasn't in the mood to sit at home. I got there and did a decent amount more on my I Do shrug. See...:



I'm halfway through the flat portion of the pattern. I'll probably finish the one side by the end of this week. Well, at least that is the plan anyway. :)

Here's a close up of the lace with the beads:



Wow I hope this blocks out well because I really, really like the blue beads with that black.

While I was at the store, I grabbed the last ball of yarn I needed to start on my Sockapal-2-za socks. I decided to go with some Rowan 4-ply that was on sale:



I'm thinking ankle socks with a rolled over, lace, cuff. What do you think? I think I'm going to do this pattern on the fly too and see how it comes out. We have until September but I'll probably cast on some time this week or maybe on the way to Origins next week. :) I'm so glad I was able to get in on this. I had missed the original sign up day and was pretty bummed. I had really enjoyed the first sockapalooza and had really wanted to join the second one. I was so happy when Alison decided to re-open the sign-up page for another day! Thanks Alison! :)

In kitty news, Velvet and Trouble were pretty good the entire week Eric was home. *shakes fist and grumbles under breath* Damn kitties... So of course, the instant he leaves to head back to Charlotte, they go nuts!

Trouble decides to climb all over the place!:



And Velvet gets into position to attack anything that comes up the stairs:



In response to comments:

Monkeemaven said: "Futon". So THAT'S what they're calling it now... *wiggles eyebrows*

Yes. Yes. That's what we're calling it now. Dirty girl! ;)

Monkeemaven also said: I can't believe you have the gall to call a pork product "barbeque". BBQ is of beef! (why else would they start with the same letter?) Moomobiles, not oinkers! I read that page trying to explain why they misuse "barbeque"... piles of excuses, but they're still wrong.

Hey, I didn't name the stuff! But I will say I think it's uber tasty! :D Remember, I'm a born and bred Yankee. 24 years of my 30 in the Empire State. When we first moved here and went to a bar-b-que restaurant, it must have been painfully obvious that I "wasn't from 'round here" when I kept asking for chicken when they asked what kind of bar-b-que I wanted. *laugh* I know better now!

Hillsborough Hog Day!

I love festivals. Especially ones based upon food! Hog Day is a big bar-b-que (meaning Carolina Bar-b-que) festival. Eric was home this entire week (and it was wonderful!) but he traded his schedule so he could have one more day off so he, our friend Justin, and I could all go to Hog Day. It's kind of become a tradition for the three of us to go. We've gone all three years we've all lived in North Carolina. It's great to go, eat food, wander the booths, listen to the music and just generally enjoy the day. Here's a few pics we took.

Eric and I:



Eric and Justin looking at some ceramic ware:



A nifty bit of art for sale. I love the gecko:



And Justin stopping to look at the honey sticks:



We have a running gag from last year where Justin walks up to this booth and just starts talking in a southern accent. Last year, it was dead on and completely subconscious. This year, we reminded him about it and he swore he wouldn't do it, but what do you know? He walks up, and without realizing it, starts talking to the man behind the table in a southern accent. *laugh!* Eric and I had to leave the booth because we both started giggling hysterically. :)

In knitting news, the whole week Eric has been home, I've actually gotten a decent amount done on my Clapotis. I know, I know. Most of you are going to ask "How did you have time to knit when your husband (who isn't home much right now because of his job) is home?!" Well, he told me the other day (while he was overnight in Cleveland, Ohio) about how much he just misses sitting on the futon with me while I knit. It was simple but damn it was sweet of him to say that. :) So, we've done that every night that he's been home so far. He works on his laptop and I knit and the kitties snuggle up between us. :) So here's how far I've gotten on my Clapotis:



Time to head back to the futon. He leaves for work again in the morning so I want to get some quality futon-time with him. :)

Yarn-a-palooza!

Oh yeah baby! Yesterday Lass, Azuredrake and I all went out in search of local yarn stores. We planned on hitting about 5, but sadly, the fates were against us. I had a few things I had to handle in the morning that made me late picking them both up and then the traffic was completely backed up heading west on I40 and Route 54. To tell you how bad it was, we decided to skip I40 and try to go up 54 and it took us nearly a half an hour to go three miles. I couldn't believe just how bad the traffic was! But thankfully, I had them both with me and the time and bad traffic passed pretty easily. This didn't mean I wasn't swearing at traffic (I -always- do that!) but their presence made it a heck of a lot more bearable. :)

Anyhoo, we went to Needleworks in Burlington first just because it closes a lot earlier than the other stores. As usual, the ladies in there are nice and friendly. I still really like that store. It's too bad they have such short hours.

We decided to stop for lunch and then blasted down to Raleigh and Cary. We stopped at Great Yarns first. I'd never been and it was a pretty nice place. I ended up meeting a woman there that I had met before at Yarns Etc. It was funny when I saw her too. Have you ever seen someone you know and it just starts driving you nuts because you can't remember their name or where you know them from? I ended up going over and asking her how I knew her. :) But enough about that, here's a pic of Great Yarns:



We weren't in there very long. While there weren't a lot of people in there, I kept running into all of them. It was really hard to move in the store. Their prices were about average too and they did have some very nice silk on sale. :) I'd heard a lot about the attitudes of the staff there too and I can say I didn't find them rude at all. But then, I didn't really talk to any of them, I didn't buy anything and we weren't there but for maybe 15 minutes. They did have the cutest felted bear on display though! And I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it! *smacks forehead* Azuredrake was talking about picking up the pattern the next time we were there. :)

We headed off to Shuttles Needles and Hooks next. As Lass said, "It's the Mecca of yarn stores!" It really, really is! I mean... look at this place!



Yes. That's a stove with a mini-fridge on top of it sitting under all that yarn! It's an old two story house filled (and I mean filled!) with yarn. Check out this pic!:



I should have taken more pictures but I was just completely floored every time I went in another room. All of us kept doing the same thing... walk into a new room and say "Oh. My. GOD!" because you didn't think there couldn't possibly be anymore yarn. And there was! And then you went into the next room and said it again!

I will make the 40 to 50 minute drive to shop at this store! Oh yes. And I'm sure I'll do it often. The woman that owns the place said she has been there for 16 years and I completely believe it! There is no way that she could have amassed that much yarn in anything under five years let alone ten. The prices were average but the selection... the selection in Shuttle Needles and Hooks can easily beat any and I mean ANY chain store like AC Moore or Michaels. Hands down. And she has yarns that I haven't seen anywhere else. Goddess Yarns. Tahki. And Noro. Noro as far as the eye can see. Every single room had Noro in it and stacked to the ceiling in some cases.

Sadly, we had to drop Lass off on our way back to Yarns Etc. We thought we would be able to make it but the traffic was still all jacked up so we'll have to check out that store some other time. Maybe we'll meet for lunch again and head over. :)

Not much went on the rest of the night. I hung out at Azuredrake's house with her cabana boy, had dinner, and watched a movie. (Thanks again for dinner!) I didn't do a heck of a lot today either. ;) Eric will be home within an hour and a half so I really, really should try and clean some of the house but *dismissing wave* we'll see just how much enthusiasm I have for that in about half an hour. How much you want to bet I'll be sitting on the futon and knitting in the next fifteen minutes? I'm giving even odds! ;)

Why, hello Lass!

Today, Azuredrake and I met for lunch so we could meet Lass! Here are the three of us in the Children's Hospital:



From left to right is myself, Lass and Azuredrake. I liked Lass instantly! I so hope she gets a job at UNC so we can all meet for lunch and knit. :) And hopefully, I'll let her get a word in edgewise next time! *laugh* I talked my head off! (As usual!)

When I got home, I had a lot of research to do. Tomorrow is Azuredrake's, Lass' and my Yarn-a-palooza Expedition! I had to look up directions for a bunch of stores. We plan to hit Great Yarns in Raleigh, Shuttles Needles and Hooks in Cary, Cozy's in Durham, Knit a Bit in Chapel Hill and Yarns Etc in Carboro. It's gonna be a long, fiber filled day! I can't wait! ;) If we have time, I hope we can stop by Stitching Counts in Mebane and Needleworks in Burlington but they have shorter hours than the other stores and are in the complete other direction of where we are heading so they may have to wait for another Yarn-a-palooza day...

In personal news, Eric will be home on Sunday evening for a whole week. I'm not even sure what to do. Well, actually I am but you know what I mean. ;) It's odd... I've actually gotten used to him being gone for long stretches at a time. Well... mostly. I do hope he gets a line some time soon so he can finally move back home. But of course, no matter what, he'll still be gone for days at a shot. The difference is, he won't have to be sitting on reserve in Charlotte like he does now so this way, when he's out working... he's out working. And when he's not, he would be home.

In knitting news, I haven't done any knitting this evening. But I did spruce up my knitting bags with some of the gifts that my SP sent me. :)

My main knitting bag (also known as my traveling bag) now spruced up with the little witch and the snow fairy. I love them!:



My home bag (also known as my big project bag) now spruced up with the Hello Kitty in Costume and a little Burro:



And my sock knitting bag now spruced up with my Hello Kitty Fairy:



I know, I'm not normally so outwardly girlie but wow I love those little trinkets!

In kitty news nothing really different. Go fig, I still have odd cats. Here's Trouble, attempting to snuggle in some wrapping paper:



And here they both are, hiding under the futon while a storm raged outside. I was pretty surprised they were so calm... but this is pre-thunder boom. Post-thunder boom, they were scrambling even further under the futon. *laugh*



And if you can't tell by those pics, no I am not 'femaleus cleanus the-houseus'. Far from it actually. I miss Eric. He vacuums!

*Insert nifty title here*

Nope. I couldn't think of a damn thing to title this post. Apparently, blogging on medication that can cause drowsiness tends to impede the creative thought processes. Or maybe because it's 11:15 and I should have gone to sleep a long time ago.

Pick one that works for you. Both work pretty well me. ;)

So what did I do that kept me awake and yawning so much I think my jaw is about to unhinge? Why this!:



My Clapotis has been my on again, off again, home project and tonight, it demanded attention. :)

At work, I did a bit more on the I Do shrug. I am past the infamous Row 60:



Any why yes, that is Velvet's paw in the picture. No matter how hard I tried, she was determined to photographed!

Well, these meds are kicking in and I think I should listen to my still recovering body and go to bed. Bah! Forget about bed. Look! Adult Swim is on! ;)

*sniffle, snort, cough, sniffle* Part two.

So I'm home again today. Still feeling pretty ill. Thankfully though, I am feeling better this afternoon than I did this morning.

Especially since I got a package from my SP! I've said it before, but I'll say it again... she's so good to me! :)

Lookie!:



Pretty packages! And what was inside? Lookie!:



Here's a close up:



I love the little witch! :)

And some candy!:



And some yarn!!!:



She mentioned a summer sweater and I agree! I had wanted to make Tempting but I wanted to make it in a light weight yarn as it never really gets all that cold here. I think this will be the perfect yarn for it. :) I'll do a gauge swatch later on and see how it comes out.

UPDATE!

Apparently, I'm blind. I should know this as I wear glasses but there are times it needs to be brought to my attention. My wonderful SP messaged me to take a look in the hankerchief that she included in my package. I did and lookie what I found inside!:



The cuteness! He's about an inch long and going right on my desk at work tomorrow too! :)

*sniffle, snort, cough, sniffle*

I'm gonna choke my colleague. She came to work last week... sick. Now... I'm sick. *shakes fist* Bad thing? I had to use a sick day and of course, I felt like poo for most of the day. Good thing? Lots and lots of time to knit! So maybe I'll let her get off light. Maybe.

Here's my progress on the Clapotis:



And here's a close up of my first dropped stitch:



Woot! I've actually done a bit more since taking these pictures. I'm already past the second dropped stitch. I'm really liking this pattern and the Andean Silk feels great! I think it's going to be really nice when it's done.

In response to comments:

Alison said: I was going to take pics of me walking my yarn, taking it shopping to the grocery store, teaching it to drive. Now I fear Others may think I stole from you. Alas, you are just one twisted lady like me.

Alison, go ahead! Post what you like I say. Personally, I'd love to see you teaching your yarn to drive! Even more so if you can teach it to drive a stick! ;)

Alison also said: BTW, I noticed you had yourself a drink on the table. Not very polite to not have offered your new yarn one as well. Maybe that is why she didn't cut you any slack on smoking you in the games. Think about that for awhile.

Alison, all I can say is, I offered the tweed yarn a drink. It being tweedy and snooty (as we all know tweed can sometimes be) it demanded Pelegrino. All I has was Perrier, since that is what Eric drinks, so it refused any and all refreshment. It did whine for me to go out and get some Pelegrino, but I told it in no uncertain terms that I was in my robe which meant that I was comfortable and would not go out for any other reason!

Michelle said: I blogged teaching my kitty to knit!!

You taught your kitty to knit? Sweet! Does she knit English or Continental? What is she working on now? One of my cats (Trouble) is left pawed. Can you teach her to knit too? I doubt Velvet has the attention span to be able to sit and learn to knit. Maybe in a few years.

Helen said: you never fail to make me laugh. in a good way, of course. hehe. laughing with you, not at you?

I prefer to say I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing near you. *insert devious grin here*

Monkeemaven said: Yikes!! To be beat by yarn... that doesn't really say much about your skillz.

Well now... I got skillz girlie! Serious skillz! It had just been a long day was all... yeah, that's it. Long day. Oh, and it cheated! Yeah, don't forget that! *scratches head and looks around innocently* Yeah, that's it. Yeah. *grumbles something about my skillz and goes to take a hit of Nyquil and a does of Benedryl before going back to knitting...*

Lookie! I got a package from the RAK Adoption Agency from the Land of Misfit Yarn

Yup. I did, I did! Inside was seven balls of Lion Brand Al-pa-ka (Color #252 Oxford Tweed), a dollar bill which I registered on WheresGeorge, and a note. This one:



(For those of you that can't read the note...)

Hello! Here is some yarn from the Land of Misfit Yarn. As much as I listen, it won't tell me what it wants to be. So, all I could hear from it was "If you send me to urbanpagan, at least she will play with me", said in a rather whiney voice. So here it is! Hopefully it will tell you it's destiny. If not use it for a trade! Happy knitting/stashing! ?Me? :)

You know, a few games sound like a good idea. Eric is still out of town and I could use a bit of fun. So I pulled out the backgammon. Here it is beating me:



We played three games and it won every time!

So I pulled out the cards for some poker:



It's label says 30% Alpaca, 30% Wool, and 40% Acrylic, but it should say 100% cheater! Where the hell did it get that fourth queen from?! *grumblegrumble*

So when I lost my last few pennies, I pulled out the Dungeons and Dragons books. Here it is scoring a critical hit on my last Giant Spider:



*shakes head* Who'd have thought Lion Brand made a good gaming yarn. I might have to take it to Origins with me the end of this month! I could use its dice rolling mojo! :)

It was 7:50 AM and I knew it was going to be a weird day.

How you ask? I was approaching downtown Chapel Hill traffic and I had just finished one of those yawns. You know the kind. The kind of yawn that makes you feel like your head is trying to fold itself in half and you have stars in your eyes when you are done, leaving you dazed. But also because as I approached the busiest intersection in the city, (Historic Airport Blvd and Franklin Street) I saw a deer running down Franklin Street.

*blink*

At first, I didn't even slow down since no one else ahead of me was. I thought "Did I just really see a deer? A deer running down Franklin Street in morning rush hour traffic?" Then as I followed traffic across Franklin Street, I slowed down to peer down Franklin Street at the doe running in the suicide lane towards Carrboro. There were some people waiting for the bus on the street corner. I saw that they looked at each other in confusion and then back down the street, at the deer. They had seen it too. I was -not- going out of my mind. Good. I still hadn't gotten to work yet and I was really in no mood to start spiraling into insanity right at that very moment.

Not a heck of a lot went on today though. Well, at least nothing that really seemed odd. Nothing could really top that deer today. *shrug*

I did a bit of knitting but nothing really worth taking pictures of. Instead, I leave you with my cats attacking the tie on my robe:



And a picture from a while ago of Trouble attempting to snuggle in a box way too small for her body:



Oddness just tends to draw itself to me and somehow, I am still not used to it. *Laugh*