bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Good Housekeeping Seal

in the second half of the 90's WAY before it was cool, before dave foley was trying to salvage his career by hosting Celebrity Poker Showdown (which i love by the way -- everything including the Loser's Lounge) i was a member of a women's poker group. we met once a month, in someone's home, the host providing nibbles, the rest of us bringing the liquor. sometimes we had a serving wench in the form of a husband or boyfriend, but they weren't allowed to play. NO BOYS ALLOWED.

the group consisted of some very talented women -- all writers -- poets, novelists, playwrights, short story writers (one is the founder of grub street) and well me. many had local successes and i was always very happy to support them by going to their readings and plays. i was like a proud parent, really.

so the proud parent in me was bursting out of control last thursday when i went to see one of my former poker buddies read from her newly published collection of short stories entitled Calamity and Other Short Stories.

I MEAN HER BOOK IS SOLD ON AMAZON!!!! AND SHE SIGNED IT FOR ME!!! when i think about what this means, i do become a little verklempt (proof that although i did not care for Titanic, that i am not in fact, dead inside).

RUN DON'T WALK and buy her book!!! really truly!!!

by the way, one of the stories in the book was published in January's Good Housekeeping Magazine, the one with julia roberts on the cover, so you know that the stories are wholesome and family friendly too.

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on a totally unrelated topic....another quiz

Angry Girl


What kind of little girl were YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

i did try to read tolstoy in the third grade.

Me? A Wannabe?

thank you shannon, for this little quiz. 

i don't know if i'm happy or disappointed.  isn't that odd?  when i was in highschool in the late 70's - early 80's, i was definitely "nerdy."  you didn't have to obsessed with star trek, be a computer geek (the only computer we had access to in school was this big mainframe that had it's own room with two terminals attached to it, one of which was a dot matrix printer) or even play dungeons and dragons.  i was "nerdy" because i was good in science and math.  that was it.... oh and i was one of 5 people in my highschool who could solve a rubik's cube in less than a minute and a half. 

Snow Day Arts and Crafts

as you may have heard, the northeast had a blizzard this weekend.  we got 22 inches of snow  (a mere fraction than what poor melanie and the mister had to contend with). 

here's rocky getting the hell out of the house as fast as he could yesterday morning (when a dog's got to go, he's got to go).

here's j manning the snow blower last night....no shoveling for him....it's got to have a motor and be loud enough to wake up the dead. 

(i'm sorry i don't have pictures of the new fallen snow from today, but that would have required my actually leaving the house.  i haven't showered or worn anything other than pajamas since saturday 3pm.)

anyway, since boston was pretty much incapacitated by the snowfall, i didn't have work today.  woo-hoo.

so i decided to do something that i'd been wanting to do for a long time but always was too chicken to try.  inspired by feral knitter, i broke out the kool-aid and did some dyeing. 

i started out by dividing some basic natural colored wool (i bought this stuff on ebay awhile back so i don't know what it is) into 1 oz hanks.

then following these directions for microwave dyeing, i soaked my hanks for 20  minutes in hot tap water. 

for the first batch i mixed up the following colors (i think that's orange, artic green apple, grape berry splash, and madtwister-raspberry reaction).

i started out by very carefully pouring the artic green apple in stripes across my yarn but ended up really creating ....

.... quite a mess!

my second batch included orange (again, i'm obsessed with orange these days) magic twist changin' cherry (yes the blue stuff), tropical punch and cherry.

i was a bit less messy this go around. 

finally, this is what i came up with.  batch 1 is on top.   batch 2 below. 

not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  no?

Gloating Free Zone

it's not nice to gloat, so i won't.  but i hope you don't mind if i  do a little "the pats are going to the super bowl" dance!

*dancing*

Go Pats!

(this collage is courtesy of the Boston Globe)

Commuter Hell

i have not had a lot of luck getting to work lately.  yesterday i barely missed my train, and drove in.  it normally takes me 45 minutes to an hour to drive at that time of day.  yesterday it took me 2 1/2 hours.  don't ask me why.  i do not know.  it was sunny.  the roads were clear.

this morning, i made it to the train in time, only to find out that the train was 30 minutes late.  this morning's temperature i believe broke a record.  3 degrees.  now i know that's balmy compared to what our northern neighbors are used to, but still it kind of sucks.  then finally the train comes.  we're riding along.  i've gotten to know this nice woman since we both sat huddled in the mini for warmth earlier on.  we're, i mean, the train is picking up passengers.  we're making calls to our jobs to let them know we'll be a little late.  just 30 minutes.  no biggie.

we pull into the last station before boston, and then we sit there.  FOR TWO AND HALF HOURS!!!   the train's broken, they're fixing it, it can't be fixed, we have to wait 45 minutes for an emergency train, emergency train doesn't come, but the next train in the schedule is coming and it'll push us into boston.  time passes nothing.  then two buses pull up.  two city buses for one multi-car commuter train.  my new friend and i luck out and get seats right away, but in minutes the buses are packed and it'll be another hour before more buses show up.  it's noon before we pull out of the station.  that's when we see that the next train on the scheduled is hooked up to ours-- but it doesn't look like anything is happening.   has our train of doom poisoned the 11:28? 

so now we're packed in a bus on the mass pike, and we're starting to get punchy silly.  and there's a woman up front making a fuss.  before leaving the station she had been yelling at a conductor, asking him for his name.  "WHAT IS YOUR NAME SIR...I WILL REPORT YOU." while on the bus, she was writing furiously.  my new friend wondered if she was an attorney.  was she writing an "i hate the mbta" letter?  was she scribbling down notes for a meeting later on in the day, was she sketching a design idea (that's what i would have been doing)?  WHAT WAS SHE DOING?

she was writing a petition.  she made an announcement, and passed it around for signatures: 

Dear Governor Romney, it began...

We have been sitting on a train for FOOR (sic) hours .....yadda yadda yadda ....  two buses .... packed like SARDINE (sic).

my train buddy remarked that one sardine in a can wasn't too bad of a situation.  *snicker snicker*

the lady got one signature.

1.  the mbta messed up this morning.  their emergency plan needs some work.  i may write them a letter, a courteous letter, spell checked and neatly typed.  but shit happens, and at least the conductors on the train kept us informed.  it's remarkable how if you tell people what's going on, that they very rarely throw a hissy fit, except for ms. hissy-fit-can't-spell-worth-a-damn.

2.  you don't send a petition to the governor of massachusetts that looks like crap and expect it to be taken seriously.  (even if he is a republican who has finally realized that if he wants to get re-elected he needs to actually do something for the state instead of spending all of his time stomping for bush -- how we got a mormon conservative in the state house i'll never know...)

3.  finally, a corrollary to item 1.  shit happens.  what happened today was an inconvenience.  no one got hurt.  i'm not going to get all hot and bothered when just a month ago a big wave wiped out 250,000 people!

HEY LADY -- IT'S JUST NOT THAT IMPORTANT!!!!!!

Fiddling While Rome Burns

war president courtesy of american leftist.

Bag 'n' Trash Talkin'

cathi, cathi, cathi..... like a good steeler's fan, you're talkin' trash on my patriots.  3 years ago when the pats beat the steelers in the AFC championship game, steeler fans had already been booking their flights to the super bowl.   now they're printing up super bowl t-shirts.  not so fast.

the berger may be rookie of the year, but my pretty boy QB and his patriots kept peyton manning, the NFL MVP for 2004, to 3 points last sunday.  the steelers barely managed a win against the jets in overtime.  the jets, a team that the patriots beat twice this season.  remember, football is played by a team. not by a quarterback.

anyway, a box of yarn is definitely in the future, but it may be coming to new england, if tedy bruschi has anything to say about it. 

Patriot Hopes and Patriot Dreams

a majority of americans feel hopeful about bush's second term.   

well i should hope so.  if you voted for him last november, you had better be hopeful that he'll do a good job.  i'm not so hopeful.  but then i didn't vote for him.

anyway, whatever. 

my weekend was a good one.  saturday my friend A and i went to cambridge for my birthday lunch.  yes my birthday was a month ago but A and i have this tradition where we go to the Border Cafe for margaritas.  really yummy margaritas.  and lunch to go with them so that we don't get loopy drunk.  when we both lived in boston, getting loopy drunk was ok because we'd both take a bus home.  but you don't want to get loopy and then get into your car and drive 35 miles home.

then i dragged her to woolcott's.  she's not a knitter ... none of my friends are ... but as i looked for accessories and such  (i bought a cute little sheep tape measure from a nice man practicing his spanish for his upcoming trip to barcelona) she went around touching yarn ooohing and ahhhing.  she's one of those people who doesn't think she's got the patience to knit but it's just a matter off time before i convince her otherwise.    

saturday night J and i and another couple went to see Meet the Fockers.  although  i thought it was funny, j and his buddy thought it was hysterical.  they really are simple, the men are.  throw in a few testicle and "fucker" jokes and they're happy.  such sophisticated tastes are hard to find.

finally yesterday afternoon was spent watching the patriots beat peyton manning like a redheaded stepchild (no offense to any redheaded stepchildren out there.  it's just an expression -- i love redheaded children really i do).  good times.  this means that next week the patriots go to pittsburgh.  cathi and i have a little friendly wager going for next week's game.  a yarn wager of course.  should be fun.  cathi!  are you ready for some football??!!!!  (notice that i'm not talkin' trash or anything.  the patriots don't talk trash.  they don't belittle their opponents.  they don't insult them.  and that's why they win. )

i ended the weekend by falling flat on my ass when slipping in some fresh snow.  i think i sprained my ankle so i've been hobbling around a bit today.  but i don't think it's too serious. 

i'm off for now.  happy birthday MLK.  imagine what good he could have done in the world if he hadn't been killed at such a young age.

Bag 'n' Trash World Headquarters

this morning, while on the train, i noticed that somewhere between Natick and Wellesley (i think) we passed the Finagle a Bagel World Headquarters.  that's what it said on the building.  WORLD HEADQUARTERS.  now my question is this...where do the finagle a bagel people come off having a world headquarters when there are no finagle a bagels outside of the boston metro area?  huh?  are there finagle a bagels in brazil?  romania?  worcester? 

that would be a no.

it's like the World Series.  it really isn't the World Series, other than if you consider that half of the RedSox for example are from outside of the U.S.  but that's not why it's called the World Series.  pretentious pricks.

and sure, when the Patriots win the SuperBowl in a couple of weeks, they'll be called the world champion Patriots.  but how can they be world champions?  beating a team from Indianapolis doesn't really make you a world champ.  just an united states champ.   

hell, i could call this blog bag 'n' trash world headquarters because it is possible that i  might blog in france ... the paris office would be called "bague et trasch" or "sac et poubelle."  and i know i'm read in france ... hi auntie m and kate and anna!  but i don't see a finagle a bagel opening in prague any time soon.

Scarf-o-rama

because of my current girth, i've been avoiding even thinking about knitting myself a sweater.  no matter how beautiful the sweater, i know i wouldn't like the way i looked wearing it.  so why even bother.  instead i decided to dabble in scarves ...

en premier,  zere was clapotis...hunh hunh hunh...

now i'd like to present two more ... from scarf style.

hmmm i'll start with the bad (i am not happy with the bad).

.

the floral trellis...

i made it with crappy chenille yarn that i purchased awhile back on a whim from ebay.  i liked the way this scarf looked in the book, but it appears that proper distribution of the roses is key.  my version just looks stupid and the roses hang about my boobal area in a very unattractive manner.  i'm going to try and see if moving them around helps.

here's the much better...

this is my version of "blizzard," also made with the crappy chenille.  i actually like the way this one came out even if it was a bitch to crochet (due to the crappy chenille).

by the way, these self-portraits are for melanie who complained that i had not modeled clapotis ... hunh hunh hunh.  i hate taking pictures of myself, having my picture taken, and seeing the resulting pictures.  this is my own personal hell.  i hope she appreciates the effort i made for her.  ha!

Vanity UnFair

i saw this and figured that since i had nothing else really to post about (well i do but i'm lazy and tired and if did post what i want to post it wouldn't be a very good post and why do something half-assed if i know i can do it better later...) that i would follow suit. 

so here's my "my stuff" list. 

grooming products

shampoo -- pantene 2-in-1

moisturizer -- neutrogena anti-wrinkle cream and roc night cream (yes i'm fighting tooth and nail against the visible signs of aging, damn it!)

cologne -- chanel no.5 or yvresse by yves st.laurent

razor -- venus

toothpaste -- some anti-plaque stuff that tastes minty fresh

electronics

cell phone -- an old nokia with a red removable face plate

computer -- my 4 year old dell with it's brand spanking new xerox flat screen monitor

television -- 3 sony's of various sizes and vintages

stereo -- a sony minidisc player and a sony sports radio walkman (i do not own a stereo nor do i own an i-pod)

home

sheets -- whatever i've picked up at home goods or what i got with my employee discount when i worked at crate and barrel.

coffee-maker -- braun

car -- 2004 chili red mini cooper -- but you knew that....

stationary -- note cards purchased at home goods/target or that i've made

beverages

bottled water -- um, no.  unless it's got fizz and then it's usually poland springs -- what it means to be from maine

coffee -- french roast from trader joe's or original blend from dunkin donuts

vodka -- eh  whatever gives me a buzz

beer -- harpoon ipa

clothes

jeans -- whatever will fit my fat ass

t-shirt -- old navy

briefcase or tote -- big chambray blue tote from coach from 2 years ago.

sneakers -- sketchers, puma, adidas, nike

watch -- don't wear one, but i've been looking for a big clunky man's watch

favorite place

home, montmartre, martha's vineyard in october, yarn stores, book stores

necessary extravagance

books, photography equipment (although i don't give into it very often), an occasional coach bag, (clearly it's not electronic equipment)

Fur Fly

aren't all three of my furry beasts cute?

and please, do not call PETA.  no animals were harmed in the taking of these photos.

Et Voila!

hunh hunh hunh

i 'ave finished clapotis.  she iz preety, no? 

i will not tell you ze yarn i use-ed because i know you will, 'ow do you say ... mock me. 

i zink ze patron was parfait!  merci kate!

Please Close the Door Behind You

years ago, when my hair was 'large' and my hips not so much, i worked in a medical research lab as a research tech.  the only person lower than me on the lab totem pole were masters level students.   

anyway, research techs, with only an undergraduate degree, doing basic science research, at least back then, made no money.  the boss would promote you, kind of, but would reward you with such a tiny raise that you barely noticed a difference, so in our lab, our manager decided that to keep us happy, he'd give us equipment.  kind of.  i mean, he couldn't really give us an HPLC , a -70 degree freezer, or a centrifuge, but he'd make a special label with our names on it and stick it on the piece of equipment, and then when someone in the lab needed to use it, they'd ask permission.  "maryse, can i put my testtubes of plasma into your -70 degree freezer?"  "why yes, you may.  thanks for asking."  it seemed to keep us amused.

anyway, i seem to have run into a variation of this tactic again.  before the holidays, i met with my boss who proceeded to tell me that my project manager had to drop the project.  he never came right out and told me that i'd been promoted, but basically, i'm taking over her job, continuing with mine, and dropping a lot of the piddly crap that i hated doing anyway.  all in all, a good opportunity for me.  a raise in concrete terms was not discussed.

instead, i got my own office, with 4 walls and a door.  it's no pipetman, but it's something.

A Slothful Holiday

i've been trying to write a post for a week now and i've come up with nothing.  i've also been off from work for a week.  i wonder if the two are related.  not that anything interesting happens at work.

anyway, rather than force things today, i'm just going to wish everyone a healthy, safe and happy new year.