well duh...

...tell me something i -don't- know :-)

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

4 year WIP -- done!!

i started this christmas tree skirt 4 years ago -- November 2002. i started a few months after getting engaged, and hoped to get it done in time for our first Christmas as an engaged couple. yeah i know, i get sappy sometimes! anyway, i got a lot of it done in that first month or so, but not in time for Christmas 2002. so i let it languish in the WIP pile and thought maybe i'd get it done in time for Christmas 2003. well by that time the wedding was called off blah blah blah and i was SO not interested in finishing it. in the WIP pile it stayed until this past Friday night. i realized that i was SO CLOSE to finishing it, and decided that now was as good a time as any to "get 'r done!" and here it is, under mz's newly decorated christmas tree:

one word meme -- no cheating!!

this is gonna be a challenge and i'm not sure i'll be able to do it but...here goes!!

(stolen from lisa)

1. Yourself: fun
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): who?
3. Your hair: curly
4. Your mother: wise
5. Your Father: calm
6. Your Favorite Item: Yarn
7. Your dream last night: s-e-x*
8. Your Favorite drink: mojito
9. Your Dream Car: tuareg
10. The room you are in: livingroom
11. Your Ex: whatshisname
12. Your fear: snakes
13. What you want to be in 10 years? alive!
14. Who you hung out with last night? me
15. What You're Not: hungry
16. Muffins: blueberry
17. One of Your Wish List Items: camera
18. Time: 11
19. The Last Thing You Did: typed
20. What You Are Wearing: jeans
21. Your Favorite Weather: hot
22. Your Favorite Book: mockingbird
23. The Last Thing You Ate: pudding
24. Your Life: fun
25. Your Mood: content
26. Your best friend: n&n
27. What are you thinking about right now? knitting
28. Your car: pontiac
29. What are you doing at the moment? typing
30. Your summer: Short
31. Your relationship status: single
32. What is on your TV? closer
33. What is the weather like? chilly
34. When is the last time you laughed? earlier
35. Who do you tag? Anyone

* Stash Enhancement eXpedition

all this for $20?

yup, you read that right. i got ALLLLL the yarn in that pile for $20. a friend of mine told me that there was yarn @ big lots, so you know me, i promptly went to see what i could see. there was a big yellow bin with a ton of yarn. it had been pretty well picked over, but i found 20 balls of this bernat galaxy yarn for $1 apiece. here's proof:



i don't remember the names of the colors i got but i now have a bunch of a nice reddish color, some in a dark gray color, and a few in a purply color. i've started knitting up the red in size 15s. i need a nice new looooooooog red scarf. this stuff fits the bill.



i just can't pass up a bargain like this...especially on yarn!

in other news, mz went dancing again last night. had a great time at this little spot called Due Amici. it's an italian restaurant, but they had a cozy little area adjacent to the eating area that had a dj and salsa dancing. the fellow i danced with the other night called me up and asked me if i'd like to go. i did. and we danced. a LOT. i was sweating in places that i didn't know i -could- sweat. but it was soooo much fun. a couple of folks mentioned that we dance well together, which is a fine compliment since i don't think i'm all that good! but practice makes perfect, right? riiiiiight.

speaking of practice, i'd LOVE to go to chicago in february. if at all possible i am SO there!

she's a dance dance dance dance dancin' machine...

y'all might remember that last summer i started salsa dancing on a fairly regular basis. well, like i do on most tuesday nights (as my busy schedule allows), i got dressed and went to the dance hall. i walked in, greeted a couple of friends, and went to the bar. joe, my favorite bartender, made me a deeeelicious margarita and i sat back down at a table. the beginning of the night is usually pretty slow. last night there were LOTS of people, but not many who were actually dancing. so i sat there, sipping my drink, and feeling the vibe of the place.

as i was sitting there in "chill" mode, i saw this tall, attractive fellow that i hadn't seen before. i kept my eye on him as i watched him dance. he was oh so smooth, i could tell he was having fun! yeah, before long i had decided that i'd like to dance with him before the night was over.

not too long after i made up my mind, here he was at my table, asking if i'd like to dance. i said, "sure!" but in my mind i was thinking, "hell yeah i would!" :-) i took his hand and followed him to the dance floor.

wow. this fellow was good. he led, and for the most part i did what he led me to do. it was easy. it flowed. even though he is waaaaaayyyy taller than me (even in my high high heels), dancing with him wasn't awkward. i've danced with tall guys before and it was pretty much a disaster LOL but not this time. he adapted, and it was almost like the height difference didn't exist. all i could think was wow. i wanted to dance with this guy all night...

...and aside from a couple of breaks for cold water and a quick trip outside for fresh air, that's exactly what happened. one dance led to another, and to another and before i knew it, the band was playing the final song of the night.

haha you don't think that was IT, do ya? of COURSE not! we exchanged business cards, and he walked me to my car. we said our good nights, and that we'd look forward to seeing and dancing with each other again soon. too bad he has to work saturday, cuz i invited him to come with me to a friend's house to watch "The Game."

when we got to my car, i handed him my key, and he graciously unlocked and opened my door, closed it once i was in, and waited until my car started. mz just loves it when a man knows how to be a gentleman. that speaks volumes.

so anyway, that's all i will say about that. my feet ache, and my legs are a little sore ... that's what i get for dancing in 3-inch heels all night. but i had a great time!

reading knitting blogs is a good thing!

so i was over at my girl kelly's blog and i spotted this fabulous shrug:




isn't it lovely? methinks i need one in some shade of red!

another FO ... woo hoo!

check out the rainbow toddler socks:



i don't know if i will give these away or keep them. i've decided to start a stash of baby clothes for the babies i don't have yet :-)

the beginning of a baby hat

so last night i finished up my red socks (which my feet totally love, by the way!), and have a lot of yarn left over. i remembered that i have a lonely ball of "forever jacquard" sock yarn that in red, gray, white and black. so.... being the fabulous auntie that i am, i decided that my cuddlebug needs a hat to wear while he's cheering for the Ohio State Buckeyes! here's what it looks like so far:



i'd also like to make a hat for cuddlebug's 3-year-old brother (who doesn't have a nickname yet), and maybe some baby socks for my other nephew who i will meet for the first time christmas (he doesn't have a nickname yet either!).

guess i better knit faster, cuz instead of starting stuff, i'm SUPPOSED to be on a finishing spree to finish up all these languishing WIPs!!!

my red socks are finally DONE!!!

and here's a picture to prove it:



i started these in march 2005 (i think), and finally finished them. they are so warm and cozy...i promise the next pair won't take so long!!

i'm bored!

it's friday night, and i'm sitting @ home, watching tv, knitting, reading blogs, taking quizzes, and posting to my semi-orphaned blog (i promise to get better). i need a life!!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. If you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard. (mz's comment: this is particularly interesting because i'm from OHIO!!) What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

48 things (that you could probably care less) about ME!

I stole this from Amy's blog :-)

1. FIRST NAME? eboni

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no, but i LOVE my name

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? last week when i was moping around feeling sorry for myself. but i'm SO over that now, thank goodness.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? yes...most of the time.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? smoked ham. smoked turkey. roast beef.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? hell yeah!

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? besides my blog...yeah i have a lovely moleskine journal.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yep.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? like whitney houston said, "hell to the naw!"

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? eh, i'm not much of a cereal eater but lately i've been hooked on stawberry fields from trader joe's.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no, so i untie them to put them on. go figure. i've always done stuff the hard way.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? sometimes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? i love most any flavor of ice cream. it's one of my many favorite foods!

14. SHOE SIZE? 9

15. RED OR PINK? red. or crimson. or scarlet. pretty much any shade of red :-)

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my IMPATIENCE!!! i really gotta work on that!!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My granddaddy.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? no! steal it from here if you want, and put it on your blog...i'll read it there!

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black v-neck tee shirt, dark blue jeans and white socks. no shoes.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? slivered almonds. yeah i really need to fix dinner!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? watching yesterday's episode of "grey's anatomy." thank goodness for dvr!

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? RED!!!!

23. FAVORITE SMELL? i have a lot of favorite smells. right now my favorite is lavender.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my momma.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? their smiles :-) i love when people have smiles that just light up the room...

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? well i haven't met her but she's a knitter, and i haven't met a knitter i didn't like!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? lots of favorites. iced tea. iced tea w/lemonade. mojitos. pepsi with lime.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? i love watching NFL football. GO STEELERS!!!

29. EYE COLOR? brown

30. HAT SIZE? damn if i know!

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes. since i was 12.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? i love to eat. not terribly picky. hell it's probably easier to tell you what i DON'T like: olives. raw tomatoes. brussel sprouts. beets. avocadoes.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? either one. depends on my mood.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer!!

36. HUGS OR KISSES? both. i'm greedy :-)

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? ice cream!

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? who knows?

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? i dunno....

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? the fourth harry potter book. can't remember the name of it.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? i don't use a mousepad, i have an optical mouse.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? grey's anatomy. great show.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? um, if i tell you that would be WAAAAYYYY too much information...

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? London, England.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? being a good friend...does that count?

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Ohio

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from Amy's blog.

making progress!

If you've been paying any attention at all, you've noticed that my neat little progress meters over there on the left have not moved in AGES. It's not that I haven't been knitting...I just haven't been knitting on any of those projects. I've been knitting up some burp cloths for my newest nephew, a few dishcloths for my mom, and other little odds and ends. HOWEVER, the past couple of days have been solely devoted to my FIRST SWEATER (yeah, see it over there with a measly 20% complete?!). I have the back finished, and most of the left front now. I asked my friend to rip out the left front for me so I could start over, after all I hadn't touched it since December!! So the left front is nearly done, and if I'm lucky I'll be starting on the right front later today or tomorrow. I'm determined to get this thing done, cuz I'd love to make more sweaters for me, my family and my friends. There are several cute sweaters in the Vintage Knits book that I'd LOVE to make for myself. What a fabulous way to add to my fall/winter wardrobe!

In any case, I'm in Ithaca, NY for a conference. Found a neat little yarn/fabric store yesterday called "Homespun." Since I don't have any meetings to go to until 6:30 this evening, I thought I'd wander around downtown and see what neat stuff I find. This is a neat little city, and Cornell U. is an absolutely beautiful campus! Almost makes me wish I had come here as an undergrad...or that I work in the stunning Mann Library. But it's giving me inspiration for how to get folks at my university interested in building a new Agriculture Library. Ours is nice, but it's old, and we could do SO much more for our faculty and students with a 21st-century library.

Well, enough of that. It's a gorgeous day in Ithaca and I'm going to go out and enjoy it.

Ciao!

big ol' box of loveliness

so, as a belated birthday present to myself i ordered the palette yarn sampler from knitpicks. it came yesterday, and just LOOK at it!



i'm not nearly ambitious enough to try the fair isle cardi yet (although i have been itching to knit fair isle), so i'm not sure what i will do with it. so for now i'll just look at it (without drooling on it!), and wait until the perfect project comes to me.

yay!

new baby buckeye fan!

i know the pic is a little fuzzy, but will you PUHLEAZE look at my brand-new nephew?! in this pic the little guy is a day old. the outfit is courtesy of his favorite auntie (=ME...although he doesn't know it yet haha). my bro is an OSU Buckeyes fan, and so i just HAD to buy the baby an appropriate outfit for his pictures. i have this perrrrrrfect sock yarn in my stash that is scarlet, gray and white...it's not enough to make myself a pair of socks, but i kept it around for a reason! it should be enough to knit up a hat for this little angelface, and maybe a set of pint-sized mitts for his little hands. yay! now back to the burp cloth i'm making for him, from Mason-Dixon Knitting, which, by the way, is one of my new favorite knitting books. it's funny as hell, i was sitting in bed reading it the other night and i was CRACKING UP! if you haven't already jumped-on the M-D bandwagon, i suggest you do so. quick, fast and in a hurry.

special gift

tomorrow afternoon, my baby brother is going off to college. the good think is that he will be close to home, only about 20 minutes away. last weekend he asked me if i would knit him a scarf. well of COURSE i will! he asked for a deep red yarn, and i chose red heart burgundy. i'd rather have chosen a nice merino or something. even though he does laundry very well, i think acrylic is the best choice! anyway, i agreed to knit him a lovely scarf and we made a deal that i could use any pattern i wanted. i have been dying to knit besotted. i cast on for it today and knitted just enough so that the X and O pattern showed up and i couldn't WAIT to snap a quick picture. wanna see it? here it go:



i don't know when i'll actually be finished with it, but i'm aiming to have it done by the time he comes home for winter break. i hope it's a nice little reminder of how much his big sister loves him!!

crazy about babies

i dunno what is WITH me lately but i've had this strong urge to knit baby stuff. few weeks ago i had this dream that i had a baby girl...except i didn't give birth to her. in the dream i was in a rush to leave for work and i opened the front door and damn near tripped over this beautiful baby girl. i mean she was an infant...newborn! she was wrapped snugly in blankets and was lying in a basket of some sort...maybe longaberger? haha so needless to say i'm all like, "what the helllllll?" i called my boss and said i had a problem and that i wouldn't be coming to work. i took the baby (i called her lil bit) to my momma's house so we could figure out what to do. well later in the dream it became clear that the baby wasn't listed as missing, no one was looking for her, no one could find her mother, so the dept of children's services said i could adopt her...and i did. so just like that i became a mommy. weird.

ever since then i've been itchin' to knit baby stuff. these socks are for little jasmyne. my SIL is due to have a baby boy on sept. 15. my other SIL just had a baby boy in july. and i found out today that one of my friends is pregnant. so i guess i have all the reasons i need to knit baby stuff, huh? last night i dreamed that i made a blue and white baby sweater so let me go stash diving to see what i can find!

viva las vegas

i recently returned from a whirlwind trip to beautiful las vegas, nevada



i was there for work (a meeting of the Natural Resources Information Council), and managed to have fun as well! NRIC is a small group of librarians who work in the area of natural resources. some of us are academic librarians, some work for government agencies, and some others are with non-profit organizations. most of the 10 of us who attended the meeting are new to the group, and it's always nice to have small meetings where you can get to know your colleagues. i'm looking forward to helping to plan and organize next year's meeting, which will also be in las vegas, and hosted by UNLV.

aside from the obvious attraction of the las vegas strip, the las vegas area is full of beautiful natural areas. just a short drive from the strip you will find desert (of course), mountains, canyons, wilderness areas, etc. i'm looking forward to seeing some of these attractions next year.

my best friend drove up from long beach on monday and we had a late dinner at denny's, which was just a short walk from our hotel
. might not seem like a big deal to y'all but denny's is kind of sentimental for us. it was one of our hangout spots after college, when we were both still living in oberlin. and it was near a SuperKmart...both were open 24 hrs. anyway, there are plenty of 24 hr spots where i live but there are no denny's so i couldn't resist going there at least once while i was in vegas. okay twice.

i did a -little- gambling. got a "feeling" about a slot machine, but in $5 and won $15. that was pretty much it for me. that money was enough to pay for my dinner that night so i wasn't complaining. that's just about all the gambling i did. i am a sore loser, and i hate losing money so i was content not to keep feeding the slots. we did have a craps lesson, and now i underststand the game more than i did before. probably could have played for a while and come out ahead but i kept my money in my pocket. the better for shopping with, my dear.

i took some cotton yarn with me (to knit dishcloths) but didn't pick up my sticks very much at all. however, since i've been home i've whipped up 2-1/2 cloths...yay for me!

bye for now...

just call me 'the enabler'

so today, my coworker and i went to the french quarter to stroll around and see what we could see. unfortunately i don't have pictures yet but once i get 'em i'll be sure to put them here.


we went souvenir shopping at some little shop on decatur st. then we made our way to cafe du monde in the french market to eat some beignets. yum! if you're not familiar, these are square pieces of fried dough that are sprinkled (or more like dumped) with powdered sugar. soo freakin good. some places serve have them filled with fruit. they were hot and sweet and just delish! there's a painting in the restaurant that says "it seemed like an ordinary day until i had coffee with jesus at cafe du monde." hahaha i'm not a coffee drinker so in my mind i will substitute coffee for beignets.

after that we went to a cute little yarn shop called quarter stitch. i first heard about it a few years ago when i bought some yarn from a fellow blogger. i ended up buying a pair of cute knitting needes (the last thing in the world that i need...besides more yarn!). but the best part of it was that my coworker learned to knit!!!!!! we sat there for about 2 hours while she worked on her first project (a garter stitch scarf), and i wandered around petting yarn, ogling the pretty needles and chitchatting with fellow librarians who stopped in to shop. what fun!! she bought needles and some pretty green yarn (i think it's cotton twist), and as a matter of fact she's sitting here knitting now, and she's doing great! i feel like a proud mother hen :-)

that being said, i'm gonna go get my knitting while we watch "breakin" on dvd (y'all remember that movie? it's truly a blast from the past LOL).

next time i post, i'll be back home in good ol' columbus. i've enjoyed NOLA, but i'm really happy to be going home!

librarian gone loopy

guess where i am this week...THE BIG EASY!!

the flight here was just a mess. my plane out of columbus was delayed due to weather. my colleague and i got to the airport like 2 hours before our flight was due to leave. however, comma, right when it was time to board the plane, here comes a thunderstorm that prompted a delay due to lightning. apparently there is some FAA rule that states that the guys unloading and reloading cargo from the plane cannot be out there doing that while there's lightning. the rule is that there has to be 15 mins without lightning before the cargo process etc can continue. okay. so we finally got on the plane we were delayed again because the plane needed fuel, but there was more lightning. finally we were on our way to atlanta, where we had to run across the damn airport so that we could catch our connecting flight, only to find that it was delayed as well. sheesh.

so then we got to NOLA and it was hot hot hot. and humiiiiiiiid! air's so thick you can slice it with a knife. we got into a cab to head downtown, only to find out that the cab didn't take credit cards. so we had the cabbie take us back so that we could find a cab that took credit cards. FINALLY we got a cab and headed to our hotel. got caught up in some traffic but finally made it to canal street, where our hotel is.

my baby brother, who's stationed here in the US Navy, came and swooped us up and we all hung out for a few hours. he took us to this awesome little sno-cone stand that has the absolute BEST sno-cones i have ever had! yesterday i had one that tasted just like an orange creamsicle, and today i had one that tasted like strawberry shortcake. yummy! my bro says he goes there every day...i can see why!

today we went to world famous bourbon street! what an interesting place. first of all i'm still tripping about the liquor laws here. you can walk around with liquor, beer, etc, as long as it's not in bottles. it has to be in a plastic container. whaaaaaaaaa? you got it kids, mz had an opportunity to walk down bourbon street with a cup of beer in her hand. we stopped into a blues bar where this old guy was singing and playing the hell outta his guitar. he was funny, the way he was singing and flirting with my friend. i will certainly post pics later.

but anyway, to get to the knitting content of this message...finally!! i decided i wanted to try to do loop stitch. took a picture of it, wanna see it, here it go:




i can SO see myself making loopy stitch pillows for my living room, or bedroom! yay!

all moved in!!

yay!! my move went smoothly (thank goodness) and i'm all unpacked and settling in nicely. here's a pic of my kitchen:



very soon i'll be getting a new fridge ... notice how the doors open -away- from the kitchen instead of towards it? well, one of the maintenance guys came to switch it around but then it didn't seal correctly. PLUS it's not a frost-free fridge (what the...?) so i will be getting another one soon. for now it's fine...it opens the way i want it to and that makes life easier and more convenient.

once i get some of my pics hung up (thanks, anthony!), i'll post more pics of my lovely apartment!

bye for now...it's time for mz to eat lunch :-)

tagging myself for a meme -- AMENDED

so yeah, i am reading some blogs and came across this meme and decided to tag myself. enjoy!

(amended 5/25/06: apparently i didn't put MY answers in the books section the first time i did this. sorry 'bout that! -mz)

Seven things to do before I die:
1. learn american sign language
2. knit up my stash LOL
3. get married and have babies
4. learn to sew
5. live in one place for more than 1 year
6. read everything on my list of stuff to read
7. go to africa

Seven things I cannot do:
1. make and stay within a budget (hahahaha)
2. pass up a bargain (especially on yarn!)
3. assemble a computer
4. knit a sweater without serious anxiety
5. resist jumping in puddles with my nephew
6. say no to my grandmother
7. be patient!!!

Seven things that attract me to my husband:
uh, what husband?!

Seven books that I love:
1. to kill a mockingbird, harper lee
2. the color purple, alice walker
3. anything by eric jerome dickey
4. beloved, toni morrison
5. pushed back to strength, gloria wade-gayles
6. the meredith gentry series by laurell k. hamilton
7. the lord of the rings trilogy, jrr tolkien

Seven things I say:
1. hell, and then no!
2. what the fuck? (or any of several phrases with the word "fuck." i think that's high on my list of favorite cuss words)
3. hi friend!
4. karma's a bitch
5. are you kidding me?
6. how (or when) the hell did -that- happen?
7. seriously?

Seven movies I've loved:
1. The Color Purple
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. The Women of Brewster Place
4. any Spike Lee Joint
5. Finding Nemo
6. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
7. The Rocky Movies...all of 'em :-)

now i should go stir my spaghetti sauce.

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm heading off to spend the day with my mom, grandmother and sister-in-law. I think we're gonna cook a nice family dinner. i hope y'all have a fabulous day celebrating as well.

revelation

y'all know i'm packing and getting ready to move next week right? well i have come to the conclusion that i MUST pack up the one skein of yarn and the one pair of needles that i intentionally left unpacked. i did this so that on my "packing breaks" i could have a little something to do. wellllll, if i don't pack the yarn and needles then knitting will be ALL i do, in true mz. procrastinator fashion. last night when i came home, i had every intention to start taking apart my desk. but what did i do instead? i ate dinner (a chicken pot pie), then cozied up with my knitting and an episode of "criminal minds." at this rate the rest of the packing/throwing away/organizing/etc will never get done. so tonight, the one skein of yarn and the one pair of needles (my FAVORITE pair, incidentally), and the two knitting pattern books (oh i didn't mention those earlier, did i? ooops!) will be banished into one of the boxes that are already filled with yarn and books and magazines and WIPs so that I will have nothing to do BUT pack/throw stuff away/organize/etc.

-sigh- it's gonna be a long week.

okay so i bought a knitting book

twice a year, the library where i work has a huge book sale. hardcovers for $2, paperbacks for $1. on the last day of the sale, though, you can get a box or bag full of books (any size box or bag you want) for $5. so. i went and got a ton of romance novels for my bestest friend. it'll cost me more to send them to her than it cost me to buy 'em! anyway, whenever i go to anywhere that's selling books, my first instinct is to sniff out the knitting and crochet books! anyhoo, this is one of the 3 books i got for myself:

Amazon.com: Books: The Complete Book of Knitting

it's the second-to-last thing i need, next to another cookbook! i bought it mostly cuz it was almost free, but also for the stitch dictionary in the back. and technically i don't need that either since i have several others. but since those are all packed away in a box somewhere, i figured this little indulgence wouldn't kill me :-)

and speaking of boxes, i need to go work on packing up the kitchen. later, taters!

this is priceless!

in an effort to de-stash, i was thinking about giving away some of my yarn to friends. but now with these hiding techniques, i don't have to!

= = = = =

Lily Chin's Top 10 Ways to Hide the Stash


1. Tape a bag of yarn to the underside of all the chairs - who'll know???

2. Put a slipcover over a bag of yarn, stick it on the couch, call it a pillow.

3. Remove the cushions of the couch, stuff with yarn instead.

4. There are narrow books that don't reach all the way to the back of the bookshelf That dead space behind such books is good for several skeins.

5. Do you wear ALL your shoes at the same time? No, stick a skein of yarn in each unworn shoe (boots are great for this very reason).

6. Everyone has clothes in the closet that are never, ever worn. Sew up the bottoms of the garments, insert yarn. Do not forget to sew up bottoms of sleeves. There's enough in each sleeve for more than a bag's worth.

7. Never cook, only order take-out or go to restaurants. You've now got the whole oven!

8. Look to the china cabinet. That large soup turrine? Maybe a bag. Large teapot? A few balls. Covered dish? The same.

9. The freezer is advantageous for fuzzies such as angora or mohair. Make sure to place in plastic bag first. This is known as the high-fiber diet!

10. Get a really large box and fill it up with lots and lots of yarn. Put a tablecloth over it. Voila, instant dresser (but you can't get your feet underneath it)

under the radar

damn has it really been over a month since i've posted? sheesh. guess i got some 'splainin' to do!!! life is kinda chaotic at the moment. i'm moving in about 4 weeks so i'm in a state upheaval now, as i pack and "liberate" myself from stuff i don't need (i.e., throw $h!t away!!!). bear with me, in a few weeks i hope i'll be settled in the new place and busy knitting and doing all the other stuff i love doing knitting, cooking, baking, gardening, reading, etc.

until then...

mz is still here

good lord i didnt realize it'd been so long since i've posted. and this ain't gonna be much of a post either cuz i am one tired homegirl!

on the gardening front: i got morning glories that are growing nicely. even the lavender is doing alright. the sweet pea is blooming, too. but still nothing in the spearmint pot. guess i'll have to give up on that and just buy it from a nursery this spring!

more later, taters. mz is sleepy!

spring's coming!

and in honor of that, behold mz's indoor nursery! i decided to get my gardening groove on, even though i don't have a "real" garden anymore (boy do i ever miss my house, but i will never miss all the drama & stuff that came with it!! that's a whole other story). so i planted seeds ... no not THOSE kinds of seeds! i planted spearmint, lavender, morning glories, forget-me-nots and black-eyed susans. black-eyed susans are a little tentative about growing for some reason but i think this is the universe's way of telling me to be patient. morning glories are coming up like crazy and i'm loving it. i even got little lavender seedlings coming up through the dirt and i'm sooooo happy. i've -really- been wanting to see something happening with the spearmint (i have a newfound love affair with mojitos!!), but so far there's no action. i won't despair cuz generally if i can't make something grow there is no hope. yup, just call me mz. green thumb! later this weekend i will plant the sweet pea seeds. i am really looking forward to going to the spring plant sales at Chadwick Arboretum, Franklin Park Conservatory and Oakland Nursery. these are usually around mother's day, and so me and my mom decided to make it an annual adventure. i'm planning to really pretty up my balcony this spring. i'd love to build some flower boxes along the railing, and then morning glories and moonflowers growing up the railing. should be real nice. i will also put out some other herbs...definitely rosemary (another favorite), oregano, thyme and whatever else i can dream up...

it only took nearly a year...

but red sock #1 is done! here is proof:

and believe it or not, i actually started #2!

i swear to GOD!!!

if i have to rip that stupid hot water bottle cover ONE MORE TIME i'm gonna scream. the good thing is that now i should have pretty much figured the damn thing out. the funny thing is that the challenge for me is supposed to be knitting from a chart but the chart part is actually easy.

enough for tonight. my hand hurts and i'm sleepy.

ps -- don't you just LOVE grey's anatomy??!

what is WRONG with me??!

i can't seem to read this pattern properly to save my life! i was making pretty good progress but didn't read the instructions correctly for where to increase. sigh. guess this isn't meant to happen today!!! i'm already like 2 days behind. maybe it's hormonal. maybe i just need ice cream. maybe i shoulda done a bit of olympic training. i'll go cast on again...AFTER i re-read the directions!

woo hoo!

looks like i got my comments working again. there was something wrong with the code i think. what i did was create a new blog, copy the comments code, paste that into the code for this blog and tada! methinks it worked. that fake blog has been properly deleted and now y'all can comment to your heart's content!

back to laundry and knitting :-)

rip it baby!

so yeah. i started my knitting olympics project today instead of yesterday, and had to rip it like 3 times already. the first time, i started the ribbing with k2 instead of p2 like the pattern said. rrriiiiipppp. the second time i didn't keep track of where i was in the pattern and got lost cuz i forgot that the chart i'm knitting from only shows odd-numbered rows. rrrriiiippppppp. the third time i didn't do my increases where i was supposed to do my increases. rrrrrrriiiiiipppppppppppp. damn and double damn.

so f*ck it. i put the needles down, turned the tv off and came to type up a quick blog entry before i take my tired ass to bed. shoulda just come home right after my 2pm massage and taken a nap, which was my original plan. when i wake up and decide to get out of bed tomorrow, i shall try again.

maybe.

let the games begin!

I am so exited. Today I went to buy yarn for my Knitting Olympics project.

Hmmm, I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago. Suppose my body and brain would mind terribly if i stayed up another hour so I can cast on at midnight? :-)

finished in time for valentine's day

i don't have an official valentine, but in any case, i will be all ready with this cute, very red scarf!

knitting olympics

i am SO doing this. haven't heard about it? scoot over to yarn harlot's blog to read more!

i'm gonna do this hot water bottle cozy (it's the last pic on the page). been dying for one of these forEVER and this is just as good a time as any to actually do it. that way, this time next month when i'm all hormonal and insane, i can curl up with my hwb in its cozy little cozy and get myself feeling good again!

good sunday

what a way to spend a sunday! after dancing last night (i got home around 2:30am), i sat up for a while, knitting and watching "all in the family" reruns and knitting on the basic baby blanket. finally dragged myself to bed around 4am, slept soundly until, i dunno, 10-ish, then dozed off and on until noon. got up and went to get cozy on the couch in preparation to watch my STEELERS whip up on the COLTS. what a great game so far! i've been working on the left front piece of my cardigan and it's going well so far, except for the ribbing ending up being, or at least looking, a wee bit shorter than the ribbing on the back piece. how'd that happen? to rip or not to rip ... i vote for not :-)

i may end up going to a movie later ... i thought "the producers" would be a good one to see. i put a call in to my friend. left a message and haven't heard back yet, so ... i may end up staying cozy on the couch and getting a lot of knitting done!

knitting and dates

i have a date this weekend. i take my knitting dang near everywhere i go, and mentioned to a girlfriend of mine that i will probably take it with me, even if i don't actually pull it out and knit. she says i absolutely shouldn't, but in typical 'eboni' fashion, i said, "why the hell not?" she says it would be rude. but i told her straight up that if we end up watching football or something, there is NO way i'm leaving the knitting at home. football, beer and knitting makes me one happy girl!

so give me your opinions. knitting or no knitting on a date? this is a date with a guy who i've become friends with over the past few months but i think this will be our first real "date." help a sista out!

happy new year and all that

in honor of 2005 -finally- being over, mz decided to overcom her fear of knitting a sweater ... let 2006 begin in style! this is the zippered jacket (no. 22) from vogue knitting (winter 2004-05):

this is the back. can't remember exactly which day i started it (maybe it was the day after christmas), but i finished it today.

here you can see the nice detail in the center of the back piece.

and this is the cabling detail for the armhole shaping.

after a nice dinner of lasagna and wine, i shall cast on for the left front.

happy new year, friends. i pray that your stash remains abundant, all your patterns are error-free, and that inspiration is plentiful.