bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Oh Christmas Tree ...

  with three whole days to spare, i do believe that i'm done.  finished.  fini, finito.  well, done with all of the important stuff.

i've done all of my christmas baking -- most notably butter nut balls for my company christmas party last week (or "delectables" as i call them -- bite sized balls of cardiac death covered in confectioner's sugar).

i've done all of my christmas shopping.  i still need to finish wrapping and i have two gifts that need to be mailed but i'll do that after christmas.  i mean who says that christmas gifts have to be on time?  it's like an extra surprise!  don't you think?

i've done all of my christmas knitting.  yes, i've been knitting but no one and i mean no one is getting a knitted or crocheted gift from me this year.   remember the little sweaters i was talking about making?  well i made some.  38 of them.

each one different.  the hangers were made with glittery pipe cleaners for a little festive touch.

here's a close-up of a couple on the tree.

and finally, here's this year's tree.

just little tiny sweaters, shiny balls, and lots o' lights. 

i think that my possessed cat likes it. 

Thank You Everyone

my birthday was a quiet one.  j had to go to work and i spent the day putting up the tree and finishing up some christmas shopping.  since i actually like being by myself, it was all good. 

i do want to thank everyone for wishing me a happy birthday.  (see?  it pays to advertise...)

thank you vera, kim, elisa, bron, kate, claudia, margi and anna!

and finally a special thank you to cathi.  i thought the mini people had sent me the fun mug and wacky cards the other day, but in fact it was she.   

Snow Day

today, i took a personal day to celebrate my birthday.  i was originally planning to take the mini back to the shop to have some tweaking done.  and while she was getting worked on, i was going to meet a friend for lunch, do some last minute shopping at faneuil hall and downtown crossing, get a manicure, just have a totally "me" day.

but i woke up to this. 

so i think i'm staying local.   

The Pressure's On

so it's one week until x-mas and this is how far i've gotten with my x-mas decorating.

exactly.  i've done nothing.  that's where my tree is SUPPOSED to go.  i guess i've got work to do today because if i don't get this area cleaned up and the tree decorated this weekend, it ain't happening.

but i have a very good reason for the lack of x-mas spirit.  december is a busy time in our house due to the fact that between thanksgiving and christmas we also have 5 birthdays to celebrate (that's including mine which is in two days.  have i mentioned that?) .  last weekend, we went to our twin nieces' birthday party.  here they are wearing the ponchos i made them.

 

oh this is fun.  when you bring a mini cooper into the bosom of your family, you also get great surprise gifts from the mini people.  yesterday i received some funny  mini trading cards/stickers (that kind of remind me of wacky packs from my childhood)  and this very fun mug.

see, it comes with paint.  you paint the mug and then when you like your design, you set it by baking it in the oven.  isn't that cool?  i love the mini people.

anyway, i'm really off this time.  gotta motor.

Bag sans Trash

i have a lot of stuff to write about, but pictures are required and i haven't had a chance to download them from my camera.

so in the meantime i leave you this quiz that i got from Annie Modesitt.

I AM 12% WHITE TRASH! I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box. Take the WHITE TRASH test at Fuali.com

hmmm, i do have an old white chevy sitting in the driveway.  but it's not my chevy per se and it's in the driveway, not on the front lawn.

Oh I Don't Have Time To Knit...

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

i meant to post the results of this quiz on friday, but then the day got away from me, and then the weekend came. 

friday night i did nothing. i just sit on my ass and knit.

saturday, i cruised around town and in my cruising, ended up in the shop of a local craft celebrity, Kathy McMannis, author of Rag Wool Appliqué: •Easy to Sew •Use Any Sewing Machine •Quilts, Home Decor & Clothing . she was very friendly and we chatted about how she started out and what it was like owning her own shop (she's had it for 3 months and has been keeping busy with custom embroidery orders for the local highschool and businesses). anyway, it was kind of cool. maybe i'll buy her book and have her sign it for me... right next door to her place, is my town's only yarn shop. i really really really want to love this little shop, have my picture up on the wall, have the owners wave to me when i drive by, come by for a sit with my Big One from dunkin donuts .... sigh... but it's not going to happen as long as OVER HALF OF THEIR INVENTORY IS THAT HEINOUS FUN FUR NOVELTY CRAP!!!! they also had a bunch of baby yarn. my guess is the bulk of their clientele answer to the name of granny or nana. i did buy 2 skeins of very pretty dark pink cascade, since i felt kind of guilty just coming in, making retching noises at the wall of fuzz yarn, and then walking out.

saturday night, j and i went across the street to the neighbors' annual holiday open house.  this is the third year for me.  the first year, we had just gotten engaged that day so i spent the evening showing off the crazy ass 6 carat cubic zirconium that j had just given me (to be traded in later -- he had wanted to surprise me, but he had also wanted me to pick out my own ring, so he decided to get me something fabulously fake).  last year i got drunk, spilled red wine on the carpet, and ended up with a mother of a hangover.  this year, i behaved myself, but came close to going postal on the nicolette sheriden of the neighborhood when she asked me to make her a fuzzy assed novelty yarn shawl like the one she was wearing.  i told her that i'd be happy to teach her how to knit one herself, to which she replied, "oh i know how to knit, i just don't have time."

i've heard other bloggers talk about this...i didn't realize how infuriating it would be to be on the receiving end of such a comment.  'yeah lady, i have so much free time myself that i'd be more than happy to knit you some fuck ugly shawl out of yarn that i can't stand on needles the size of tree trunks that hurt my hands while you prance around showing off your navel ring to my poor husband who is nice enough to help you around the house (because your ex-husband is a loser) but who is afraid to go over to your house alone because you make him "uncomfortable." '

no i did not tell her that.  i think i did say though, "if you have time to sit on your ass, you have time to knit."  was that rude?

Sweater Factory

everyone and their mother are knitting up little sweater ornaments.  check out alison's weasleys (dec 7, 2004 post).  and there's these; and these ; and these; and look here!  so many tiny little sweaters.

well, i too have been knitting little sweaters.  i've got quite a pile going but i don't think i'll show them until i'm totally done.  i'm hoping to have enough to cover our entire tree, perhaps as a garland.  we'll see.

Oh-Two-One-Three-Four!

it's a sad day when something from your childhood disappears.  Zoom has been cancelled.  it's true, that i didn't even know it was still on, and had i not read this article i would have been oblivious to it's demise, but still.  it's a sad day.

i thought the kids on zoom were really cool.  (yes, i was a HUGE dork as a kid and very uncool). they wore orange and yellow striped rugby shirts (this was the 70's -- no one wore rugby shirts) and one of the girls, i don't remember her name, wore her blond hair really short and she wore big button-like earrings.  although i had pierced ears, i wasn't allowed to wear big earrings like that. 

it's on zoom that i learned what a self-addressed stamped envelope was, and i learned how to do that thing with my arms that really serves no purpose other than to amaze and shock your friends and family ... those who didn't watch zoom anyway.

and you were encouraged to send them letters, although i never did.  "SEND IT TO ZOOM.  BOX 35"oh"  BOSTON MASS OH-TWO-ONE-THREE-FOUR!  SEND IT TO ZOOM!"

by the way, 02134 is the zipcode for allston, a very popular student neighborhood of boston.  and when i see an allston address, i can't help but hear in my head a faint voice singing (and it's the only thing i hear in my head by the way) oh-two-one-three-four.. send it to zoooom!

Christmastime Is Here

to get too and from the train station, i have to drive for about 20 minutes through a couple of towns.  it's actually quite a nice drive and i've found a couple of shortcuts so that i don't actually hit traffic unless i get stuck behind a school bus.  my route takes me through hopkinton center which is very "new englandy." and i pass by some beautiful old farmhouses.  but now the lights are up.  and everynight on my way home, more and more of these houses are awash in lights.  and i love lights.  even the really tacky, neon baby jesus in the psychedelic manger tacky lights (there aren't many of those in hopkinton.  there seems to be a rule about being tastful in hopkinton -- my town, however, does not seem to have that rule).

another sign of christmas of course is the gazillion catalogs i get in the mail.  i very rarely order from one but every now and again something intrigues me.  last night i got a mini catalog.  yes, not only can i drive a mini, i can outfit my person in full mini regalia.  these slippers particularly intrigued me.

kind of freaky, huh. 

also in my mailbox was a small package from alison.  a few days ago, she held a little contest and i actually won some lovely sock yarn.  how cool is that?  i don't know how to make socks, but i can certainly learn how.  i can use the tutorial that appeared in an old issue of knitty a couple of winter's ago.  thanks alison!

last night, i finally made j watch the daily show.  jon stewart was mocking tommy thompson's press conference where he gives his resignation and says that he can't believe that terrorists haven't already attacked the food supply, yadda yadda yadda.  j turns to me and says, "did he really say that?"  "yep."  "why would he say such a thing?"  "don't know, maybe because he had an audience and since he's resigining, he can say whatever he wants.  i mean what are they going to do, fire him?"  "do you think no one's listened to him in the administration?"

YES BUCKO THAT WOULD BE MY GUESS...

i think we'll be watching the daily show everynight from now on.

finally, dude, does the fact i found this fascinating make me a dork?

Everyone's Home

all is well now.  the mini is home.  it's with trepidation and sweaty palms that i drove her home in the falling snow.  i've driven in snow maybe twice in my life so although the roads were not yet bad, since the last time i drove her, i ended up smack right into a tree, i was a tad nervous.  she looks great.  and i'm happy.

not much to report over the weekend.  i didn't end up going shopping friday night but instead went out for a few beers with some coworkers, which was fun.  i don't do that entirely enough.  sunday i went to visit allison, who just turned a month old.  i brought her a very cheeky looking sheep. 

the sheep's mouth is a little crooked but so is holly hunter's and it hasn't stopped her.  i got the impression that allison's grandmother wasn't too impressed.  she was much more impressed with a hand knit sweater that a friend of her's had made.  HEY GRAMMY, I COULD HAVE  MADE A SWEATER, BUT INSTEAD I MADE A SHEEP! allison will end up liking the sheep and dragging it's sorry ass all over the place until she goes to camp in the 7th grade.  that sweater will be worn twice before she grows out of it.  so there.  put that in your pipe and smoke it.

i also finally got to find out who my secret pal was.  thank you brenna for the wonderful gifts.  now that i know for sure who she is (i kind of guessed early on -- i'm super sleuthy that way) i'm doubly impressed that she found the time to spoil me. 

Peter

this morning, since the plan was to pick up the mini after work, i was going to drop off the rental and say "good riddance ugly dodge neon."  but for some reason i didn't.  i even told a co-worker that i was nervous.

well peter called about an hour ago to tell me that while the mini was getting her final rub down and dust off, one of his guys accidently scratched her freshly painted hood.   she needs to get buffed.  and that means i don't get her before monday. 

i may have to go shopping to make myself feel better.

I am Sheep

first of all, i want to thank claudia for the countdown link.  yay claudia!  (by the way, i've only started yaying here.  i'm not really much of a yayer in person. )

second of all, since i rarely have an original thought in my head, i figured i'd also post a 100 things list, like everyone else.  (i already have a list in my "about" page but it needed a little tweaking).

1. I will be 42 years old. Going on 23.
2. Turning 30 was difficult. Turning 40 was surreal. To me turning 40 was like becoming a man. Totally ludicrous.  .
3. I am immature. Luckily I don’t look my age. Which makes it slightly less embarrassing to friends and family (my teenaged nieces – heh heh) when I act like a teenager.
4. I’m a late bloomer. I got married for the first time October 25, 2003.
5. I got my driver’s license the Summer of 2001. On the first try.
6. I never thought I would get married. But I’m glad I held out and didn’t settle. I found my soulmate.  Superficially, we have very little in common but somehow we complete eachother.  What qualities and talents one lacks, the other has.  So we make a great team.
7. I didn’t learn how to drive until I was 38 because I was too afraid to and I never needed to.
8. I finally got over my fear of driving when people told me that driving wasn’t nearly as scary as riding a bike in rush-hour Boston traffic…which I used to do.
9. I own a 2004 Chili Red Mini Cooper. I LOVE MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Duh.

10. My husband drives a 2001 4x4 Chevy Silverado with an 8 foot bed.
11. Despite the fact that I think his 10 miles to the gallon truck is WRONG I love him anyway. He torments me by saying that if he ever won the lottery he would buy a HUMMER. He enjoys tormenting me.
12. I’m relatively tall, need to drop about 40 lbs, have blue eyes and brown hair.
13. I would like to cut my hair short again. Although my husband hates short hair, it’s the extra 40 pounds that keeps me from going for the scissors.
14. My husband doesn’t seem to mind the weight. He likes the boobs.
15. I have a BS in Biology and an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. I’m a data coordinator for a large health policy national cancer study.
16. I work with MDs and PhDs so I usually feel like an underachiever.
17. If I were to do it all over again, I would have studied photography, graphic design.
18. I don’t think I have very much natural artistic talent, however
19. I’m very hard on myself.
20. I’m pretty outgoing and enjoy speaking in public.  On the myers-briggs test I’m considered an extrovert.
21. I also like to be left alone and hate being touched. My husband thinks I could be autistic.
22. I’m a perfectionist but rather than be a type A personality, I procrastinate, or don’t do anything at all, so I don’t have to deal with the disappointment of not being perfect. All of that insight without years of therapy.
23. My favorite colors are red and sky blue.
24. I love bright colors in general like orange, celery green, hot pink, purple. For the first time in my entire life, I’m into chocolate brown.
25. My parents were born and raised in France and immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s.
26. My younger brother and I are both French and U.S citizens.
27. My parents and brother live in France now.
28. I think the French are misunderstood and are not nearly as rude as Americans think they are.  And most do in fact use deodorant now.  It is the 21^st century after all.
29. I was born in New York City. And grew up in Texas, Southern California, Northern New Jersey, Paris, France, and Tehran, Iran.
30. I lived in Tehran before the Iranian revolution. I really liked it there and was extremely sad when we had to leave.
31. No, I didn’t have to wear a veil.
32. I know maybe 3 words in Farsi: “Garbage man” and “garbage” being 2 of them.
33. I speak French fluently. It’s been 20 years since I’ve lived there, so I’m very rusty.   
34. When I’m in the States I miss France a lot, especially the architecture and beauty of the country. But when I’m there, it makes me realize that the US is home.
35. I speak a minimal amount of Spanish.
36. I get into a lot of trouble for blurting things out without thinking. Or for saying out loud what everyone is thinking.
37. I’m opinionated.
38. I can’t watch G.W. Bush on television.  He makes me want to throw things at the television.
39. I think that everyone who voted G.W. Bush back into office is WRONG, and selfish, self-serving, short-sighted, and delusional. 
40. My husband voted for G.W.Bush.  As much as I love him, I think he’s also wrong, selfish, self-serving, short-sighted, and delusional.  Especially delusional.
41.  Nothing that anyone can say in support of G.W. Bush will change my mind. 

42. I took 7 years of piano when I was a kid. I was more of a technician than a musician. When I gave it up, my mother said I would regret it when I was older but I never did.
43. I learned how to knit when I was 7. My mother taught me. I did a little knitting in high school and college but then didn’t pick it up again until about 5 years ago.
44. I enjoy the process, but because of this pesky perfectionism and procrastination problem, I’m not as prolific as I’d like to be.
45. I like alliteration
46. I also crochet but get very frustrated because most patterns available are ugly. But they’re getting better… much better.
47. I’ve lived in Boston since 1986.
48. I love Boston. It’s European in feel, without being overwhelming like New York.
49. If I had a lot of money, I’d live in New York City.
50. I love San Francisco as well, but it feels really far to me.
51. I’m a Northeastern, liberal, snob. I’m ok with being a snob, and very proud of being a liberal. 
52. For my husband, I sold my Boston condo and moved to the suburbs.
53. I don’t hate the suburbs as much as I used to.  Drivers honk a lot less than they do in Boston..
54. But I still feel like Eva Gabor in Green Acres when I’m in the suburbs.
55. I was raised Catholic and my mother insisted that I complete all of the sacraments just so I could be married in the Church by a priest.
56. We were married instead in a civil ceremony by a very good friend of ours.  He was our Justice of the Peace for a Day.

57. I’m culturally still a Catholic but I’m not at all religious. 
58. I love taking pictures. But I hate having my picture taken. Friends say I’m a good photographer. I’d like to be an excellent photographer.
59. I like to go to movies set in the 50’s and 60’s because of the “look” of them.
60. I love old movie musicals like An American in Paris with Gene Kelly.
61. When I was a kid I wished life were a movie musical, with people spontaneously breaking into song.
62. I use the subjunctive verb tense even in English.
63. It irks me when people say “I could care less.” IT’S “I COULDN’T CARE LESS” PEOPLE.
64. I do not have a Boston accent.
65. I know how to say “chicken” in 8 different languages.
66. My favorite accessories are bags and purses because you don’t have to try them on.
67. I’m a realist. My husband says I’m a pessimist.
68. I get slightly depressed in the winter. I think it’s the lack of light.
69. I’d like to have a child but am afraid of not being able to handle it and of being a bad parent and raising a brat. Or raising a child who hates me.
70. I’m very competitive. I realize that I’d be a much happier person if I weren’t so competitive.
71. I also have a bit of an envy problem sometimes – the grass is always greener syndrome. I’m not proud.
72. My favorite season is the Fall.
73. I’d rather be cold than hot because I can always slip on a sweater or put another blanket on the bed.
74. I love to sleep.
75. I love to eat.
76. My favorite binge food is greasy Chinese and I love Vietnamese cuisine.  I really don’t care for sushi.  And yes, I’ve tried it.
77. I’m a decent cook. Being French, one could say it’s in the genes.  But I get easily distracted so I burn things.
78. I like to cook but I hate cleaning up afterwards.
79. I’m a lousy housekeeper.
80. I’m not particularly neat or visibly organized. But I’m extremely organized in my head.
81. I hate clutter but find that fighting clutter is like fighting entropy. You have to put too much energy into the system.
82. I’m probably just lazy but hate to admit it.
83. I tend to buy things in multiples. If I find a shirt that I like, and it comes in more than one color, I will buy it in more than one color.
84. I think about going back to school to get certified to teach but I don’t want to take a pay cut.  Also, see 82.
85. I love beautiful old houses and walking through cities and towns with interesting architecture. 
86. I’d like to open a yarn shop/café/bookstore someday, just so I can be surrounded by things that I love.
87. I watch way too much television.
88. I started knitting and crochet again so that I didn’t feel guilty for watching television.
89. I hate the concept of reality TV but I was obsessed with The Apprentice.  Apprentice 2 is a little less interesting to me.  I think this second group of apprentices are kind of lame.
90. I have size 11 feet, so in many instances, I’m better off just wearing the box the shoes come in. 
91. I also have a “freakishly” large head.
92. I drink my coffee black with no sugar. And I drink a lot of it.
93. Dunkin Donuts over Starbucks any day. Starbucks is kind of rough when you drink your coffee black.
94. I have 3 cats and 1 dog. Well the dog belongs to my husband.
95. The dog is afraid of the cats. Ha!
96. I sometimes wonder if I have ADHD. I’m easily distracted.
97. I’m excellent at multi-tasking.
98. I’m a bit of a tightwad and wish I made more money.
99. I’m afraid of becoming destitute.
100. I should have married for money but I married for love.  Even if he did vote for Bush.

19 More Shopping Days

oh don't panic.  it's not 19 more days until christmas.  it's 19 more days until MY BIRTHDAY!!!!  count 'em 19.  (by the way, does anyone know how to create a countdown calendar that i can put in one of my sidebars?)

anyway, i know that i'm way too old to be counting down the days until my birthday -- most people my age prefer to forget their birthdays -- but c'mon, when can a day be totally about you?  you you you you you.  without having to do anything other than exist.    plus, when your birthday is so close to christmas, like mine is, you're making up for over 11 and a half months of watching everyone get presents and you're just sitting there...  then finally december comes along and everyone is going insane with their holiday preparations that unless you make a big fuss and start sending out "x many days until my birthday" emails to all of your friends and family, they'll forget.  they always do.  my mother was in labor for 18 hours with me and yet she still forgets.  lovely.  not that i'm bitter.

so i'm saying it loud, and i'm saying it proud[ly].  it's [almost] my birthday. 

don't worry if you forget, i'll remind you...