Mar 29, 2009

Yes, I really am this immature



But I saw this and couldn't stop giggling.


I am a 12 year old.

Mar 28, 2009

Give me a Y... Give me an A...



I'm knitting I'm knitting!!

It has been ages since I've picked up the needles to do anything.  Partly because I've been so hideously busy, and partly because I just have too many hobbies  to devote enough time to any of them.  But I've missed my yarn so much and I'm happy that I finally broke into the stash and looked around.

Of course the stash is like a museum visit,  but I'm not doing stash knitting.  I felt like I had to buy something new.
Just like I always do. I'm facilitating economic recovery, don't judge ;)

I went to School Products yesterday where I picked up some yummy 50/50 Yak/Merino blend in a textured looking brown (with rust tones blended in, much more nuanced than it appears here It is is color #4.  I also picked up my eleventeenth size 8 Addis.  I don't know where any of the others are.  I suspect they are in the same vortex occupied by the cat's toy mice and most of my odd socks.

And I will be knitting the house pattern - a ribbed baby raglan turtleneck. 
Which is cute and squishy and probably won't fit any children I actually know but its small and has more than a 50 percent chance of being finished so i'm knitting it anyway.

I've come to understand that most knitters have completion issues on projects, and that it is often caused by the desire to start the next new wonderful thing, but mine are more often than not caused by the following:

1. I make a mistake, and spend the next 3 inches of the project wondering if I should ignore it or go back and fix it. 
2. I decide to ignore it, after all noone will likely notice it but me.
3. I change my mind and decide can no longer ignore said mistake because in my mind it has grown to be a giant angry blemish on the face of my otherwise happy garment.
4. I procrastinate un-knitting because that isn't nearly as much fun and put the project aside.
5. I lose the row counter that tells me how far along I was on this project so that..
6. When I pick it up again, it seems too confusing to go back and deal with it.

So it sits, with the needles in it.

Which is how i end up with 15 million row counters I can't find, a lifetime supply of duplicate needles and a list of unfinished projects.

But I'm an optimist.
I've already cast on this sweater.
And I've already made my first mistake (in 2x2 ribbing no less.. how is that even possible?!)
We'll see how far I make it.




Mar 24, 2009

We have a winner! (or two)

Kostia is the winner in category one (for the most specific answer, and she correctly identified 'store brand")
Stephanie in category two. (you would have won this even if others had entered I think, Inspired! :)

More on what you have both won  later this evening an when I'm home from work!

Congrats both!




Mar 22, 2009

Fighting the Sunday Blahs

With a teeny tiny contest.

Here's how it goes.

I went to the "other" supermarket in my area yesterday and saw the following sign.
Evidently the A & P guy has been moonlighting.



Your job is to post in the comments  and tell me what product is being sold here. (winner 1)
Or to give me a really amusing wrong answer. (winner 2)
you can also email in your comment to thomasp5ina@gmail.com

If more than one person actually enters, and gets the right answer  I'll use some super scientific method of determining the winner. (eeny meeny miney mo) So don't hesitate to answer if you see your answer already.

Its actually pretty easy I think.  

Winners will get their choice of

A. A mug tailored just for them from cafepress
B. A wee little garden gnome kit (blame  @rickenbakr ) for this suggestion
C. Something from my yarn stash if you are a knitter.

You have until Monday at midnight.
PS I'm keeping the comments in moderation until all entries are in :)






Mar 21, 2009

Stuck in the Car.

There are so many ways that technology has changed my life over the last 16 years - The ability (curse) of being able to work from wherever I am,  improved communication, food ordering, reviews, etc, the list is truly endless.  But there are very few technological advancements that that I appreciate as much as the ability to instantly identify music.

Remember before Google and Shazam. back when you'd hear a song on the radio (usually in the car) and if the DJ didn't announce the song title before you were out of earshot, you'd probably never be able to identify the song? I hated that.  I always felt like there was so much good music that I simply lost because I never could figure out what it was. 

Some of my favorite songs, came from times that I'd just refuse to leave the car (or wherever the radio was), until I knew what I was listening to. (This made me very popular with the driver,  especially during no-commercial marathons).  Without exception, if a song compels  me to sit there, unwilling to leave  until I have identified it..  it will be a song I listen to for the next 20 years. (so far)

1. Driver 8 - REM.    Driving (passengering in my case) down Huguenot Avenue in Staten Island, sometime in late 1985/early 1986. when I heard this on the radio and couldn't believe how much emotion Stipe had in his voice, particularly since he didn't oversing it.  I had no idea who R.E.M. were, really,  and there was no way I was leaving without the name of the song.

2. The Obvious Child - Paul Simon.   This one, I recognized the artist right away, but Rhythm of the Saints had just come out and I had no idea that he'd released a new album.  The drums just completely captivated me, and his relatively gentle voice over such large music was irresistible.  While he got much more acclaim for Graceland, I will always love this album, and this song remains a pick-me-up when I need it. I saw him in concert on this tour, and it was a stage full of musicians, I think four drummers played this live, and there he was, in his t-shirt and baseball cap, looking small but sounding huge, and never once getting lost amid the 20 or so people on stqge with him

3. Hotel Yorba - The White Stripes.    My boyfriend at the time lived on Long Island and I remember sitting in his truck outside his house until the local modern rock station identified who this was.  It sounded like nothing else current, and I spent much of the time trying to figure out if it was an old song I hadn't heard before, or something new.   I've always been a sucker for countrified rock, and this song (which reminds me still of the Kink's Muswell Hillbilly) was just a perfect blend of genres. That coupled with the anguished tone in Jack White's voice  pretty much made me an instant fan.

Now that I have Shazam on my iPhone, I can tell what a song is in 10 seconds.
I'm grateful for the ability to find the songs, and I know that anyone who drives me is grateful for the ability to get out of the car in a timely manner. I do hope, however, that I can still be as engaged by a new song, even if I don't have to be trapped in the car to do so.


Mar 8, 2009

What drugs is the guy at the A & P on?

After week of the flu follwed by a 6 day coughing fit,  we're back.

I started listening to some music, and should have a music post tomorrow,  but today was about grocery shopping.

All day.

First there was Costco, where I ate something that my body may never forgive me for (one of those sausages), and then purchased a lifetime supply of everything.   I know this place is supposed to save you money, but I can never seem to get out of there without spending a bazillion dollars.  And no matter how much stuff we actually buy we never seem to end up with actual, edible food.  

Then, after a brief visit to the pool at the Y.. since we didn't actually have groceries after the Costco trip..it was off to the supermarket! 

We have two major supermarket choices.. The Stop n Shop, which has a good selection and the worst music I've ever heard.. or the A & P which has better music, but a rogue sign printer who can't spell. Actually I'm not sure its just a spelling problem, more like a spelling, typing and abbreviating problem.

Today's visit was the A & P and I had a lot of fun reading while listening to the oldies.. (seriously, this is the better choice musically - the other has unsigned easy-listening artists)
First up we have something that I read as  Trogly Bastard (which makes just about as much sense as what it does say)

Then we have some morning-inspired tea



Right.. and the only word i can make out here is 'booty'... in which case that is a good price

No.. I don't know why he's a schmuck and I do not know how he came to fart apricots

Um  what?.



I'll be back tomorrow with a music post if I can ever recover from listening to "Kiss Me Through the Phone".