ew. and also, yay.

Last week I took the week off and spent a lot of time sleeping, snowboarding, and hanging out with the fabulous Auntie Maim, who came to visit. Back at work yesterday, I was sitting at my desk and this guy, who is either funny or creepy, I hadn't decided yet, stuck his head into my office and said, "You're back! I missed your smell."

So now I've decided... creepy.

I didn't do much knitting. In fact, after a really great day at Ski Santa Fe on Friday, Amy and I were sitting around watching Foyle's War, and I picked up my modified minisweater, knit about 10 stitches, and let it drop into my lap. I was that drained. It had snowed on and off all day, but what really took it out of me was the wind. It was ridiculously windy, especially on a couple of exposed trails. But we had a good time and if Shamsi ever uploads the photos, there should be some good ones. Hint. Hint. Ahem. But I'm bringing it to work, because I feel (irrationally) like I haven't finished anything in ages.

Sometimes there are advantages to working for an enormous corporation. For example, did you know that washing your hands can prevent disease? No, really. It has something to do with germs. Bird flu, the coming epidemic that’s going to destroy civilization as we know it, is transmitted via germs. Therefore, if you wash your hands with an alcohol prep pad like the one I received in the mail from my employer yesterday, you can avoid the bird flu and keep our megacorp happy and productive.
Seriously. They mailed us all alcohol wipes. My company is awesome.

In other news, you may have heard Albuquerque got some snow. One night, while it was snowing, I parked under a tree. This is what I found the next morning. (Don't worry, I just backed out slowly and the tree was fine.)



But on the plus side, Sandia Peak opened, and since it’s only 40 minutes from home and I start work at 12:30pm, I got up early on Tuesday and went snowboarding for a couple hours. (It was definitely the better way to start the day than how I started Wednesday. I found a frozen bird on the steps of my work that was unearthed in the shoveling-out that morning.) I started wearing glasses a few months ago and so far this winter I'm on the fence as to how much I need them for snowboarding; I guess if I need them in traffic, I'll need them for tree runs, but I'm dreading the expense of prescription goggles or the discomfort/dorkiness/potential for disaster of wearing my glasses under my goggles, which some people apparently do. For now I'll just squint. Attractive, no?


I haven't been knitting much lately; I'm recovering from my last-minute Christmas frenzy. I knit the toes differently on both pairs of the parental Log Cabin Socks. I can't believe I did that. I frogged back on my mom's shorter sock and extended it, on Christmas Eve, but I left my dad's the way it was, trusting in my mom's assertion that he would never notice. Well, I hope not. But I am working, in stops and starts, on an extended-length Glampyre boobholder/minisweater. (Maxisweater? Ugh... no.) I started it before Christmas, because I'm insane and like to start improvising away from the pattern and trying my WIP on repeatedly right before a major gift deadline, the run-up to which I know I'll spend sitting in airports, possibly weeping with frustration and fatigue. You know, instead of just making sure all the presents are finished and look good and match far enough ahead of time to actually relax.

I saw my best friend from high school, whom I haven't seen or spoken to (unless you count finding each other on myspace) in a couple years, while I was home. She had a gift for me and I did not have a gift for her. I hate when that happens. She crocheted me a sweet lacy hat and scarf (I especially like the hat, it's very Roaring Twenties) that I don't have any pictures of yet. So now I have to make her something. Fortunately for my purposes, she works in upstate New York at a brat camp, where they make the kids sleep outside. Which means they sleep outside. No tent, just a tarp. In upstate New York. All winter. So basically, anything that warms any body part would be a great gift. I'm thinking Fair Isle mittens or Norwegian stockings or something. I've never finished a Fair Isle project that I actually liked and that fit, so this will be a challenge. Any pattern recommendations?

mom's foot, RIP

Farewell, old friend. You'll be missed.

Okay, I'm exaggerating, but my mom broke her foot yesterday. She and my dad had driven out from PA to St. Louis the day after Christmas for my dad's best friend's dad's funeral, and then to Chicago to visit her sister, as long as they were in the neighborhood (the entire length of the state of Illinois being a "neighborhood" when you're already that far from home), and on the way my mom tripped over some uneven pavement in a gas station parking lot and skinned her hands and knees. She didn't even realize she had hurt her foot until they got to my aunt's house in Chicago and she tried to get out of the car. So now she has a temporary cast on her foot and is at a Chicago orthopedist's office for a follow-up as I type. My poor mom, who's very independent and dignified and hates asking for help, is hobbling around on crutches nine hundred miles from home. I know my dad's taking good care of her, but I wish I were there to help.

The picture is her Christmas gift, the Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays, in Cascade Pastaza. (And her skin isn't actually gray, she's just wearing black pantyhose under the socks.) She refused to let me get a better picture. She was busy with the roast beef she wouldn't let anyone help her cook. Aw, Mom.

Clapotis revisited

Thus begins my Christmas gift round-up. It won't take long, I wised up and only knit three gifts this year. Gift the first: the world-famous Clapotis for my sister Katie. She admired mine, so I subtly, delicately investigated what her color choice for such a piece might be (i.e. I sent her a link to the Andean Silk page at knitpicks and said, "What color do you like best? I mean, if I were to knit you a scarf or something"). She picked olive, which is nice on the screen but gorgeous in person. My only modification was to omit one repeat of the increase section to make it a little narrower. I liked the drape of my Clap post-blocking, although I know Kate Gilbert says not to block it, so I blocked Kate's too. She models it fabulously on one of my parents' notorious vintage plaid couches; it goes with her new ipod.

Can I just take a minute to rave about Andean Silk once again? It feels thicker than it is, if that makes sense, it's so soft, and just look at that drape. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be sumptuous--accurate, but also, a word you don't get to use all that often. And if I had to use only one word to describe the picture below, it would be... spectacular.

Get it? She wears glasses.

people, I love this weather.

I have to scrape off my car. The sidewalk is icy. Albuquerque drivers are insane in the snow. And I'm doing a mental Charleston of joy. I can't help myself, I just love winter. It's visceral. The first little snap in the air in the fall is like an alarm clock. No, wait, I hate alarm clocks. Well, whatever, I'm loving it. The downside is, I have to work. I can't bring myself to call in sick to go snowboarding, because I'm such a goody-goody. Dammit.

Anyway, it's sweater weather, so today I wore my LMKG Hourglass and my fabulous new Scout's Swag panta, color Orchid. Look, pretty!
This is, sadly, the best FO pic I have of the Hourglass. I meant to get someone to take a good one at Thanksgiving, but I forgot my camera, and I'm the only one who ever takes pictures. But I will remember to take it home for Christmas. Although, sadly, it'll be a much smaller crowd--no cousins, no aunts, no nephew. But my sister Katie and I need to get a picture of ourselves in our matching Dinosaur Vice Principal t-shirts, and I want to get pictures of all my Christmas knitting being enjoyed by its recipients. Just in case it's the last time they ever enjoy it. (That sounds like there's going to be a Christmas massacre or something. I don't mean "last time" like they're going to die, I mean they may not wear it if I'm not around. In which case I will have to kill them.)
p.s. peep my bloodshot eyes, yo. They match my panta.

cheeseless vs. cheesefree

Long time, no blog.
So earlier I had a craving for my mom's cheeseball, for which I have the recipe, at which I've never looked. I dusted it off and went to the grocery store, struggled through the crowd of people who apparently all had the same idea--"I'll just stop by the store after work"--got my sharp cheddar, bleu cheese, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and onion, and brought it all home. Only then did I read further down the recipe, where it says, "let cheese soften outside fridge 1 hr" and "best after setting for 24 hrs." So starting right now, it's 25 hours before I can eat cheeseball! And I bought two varieties of crackers and everything! And I'm exhausted from the grocery store, where I (stupidly) did not buy anything else but cheeseball supplies! I can't go back there! I can't face it again! I just can't!

I've decided to take charge of this situation. Instead of being cheeseless (i.e., a sad, passive victim in a situation beyond my control), I am declaring myself cheesefree (i.e., a take-charge grrrl with a strong sense of her own agency, who doesn't want any damn cheeseball!). I decide my destiny, and for the next 25 hours, I am cheesefree!

In other words, I'm going to order a pizza, and make the cheeseball while I wait for it to get here.

December, yo!

Not only am I close to finishing my mom's first sock, finished with my dad's socks, finished with any sisterly knitting that may or may not have occurred, and any other Christmas shopping necessary, the yuppie water feature at my apartment building is now an icy pond. Winter is here, bitches! (Sorry, but it's my favorite season and I get a little worked up.)

In other news, I'm about to take an oath never to knit flat again and rip out my Central Park Hoodie because I hate seaming so much, I knit a hat on the plane, I love my hourglass sweater, and while taking Thanksgiving family photos, instead of "cheese," my 85-year-old grandmother yelled, "sex!" Awesome.

what's a holiday without a hat?

Christmas has Santa hats, New Year's has party hats, Halloween has... well, all kinds of headgear. Thanksgiving, according to my sister and me, has a Mexican Disneyland feel to it:

(I finished my dad's Christmas socks and started my mom's. Today, the ankle tube; tomorrow, the heelflap; the day after that or possibly next week, the world!)

this year I'm thankful for Cascade Pastaza

because it is so soft and the colors are so rich.
I'm getting on a plane in a few hours and my mom's pecan pie is awaiting me. Oh yeah, and the rest of the dinner, and you know, my family. (The lineup this year, should you care, is two parents, one grandparent, two sisters, one sister's boyfriend, one sister's fiance, one nephew, one aunt, and two cousins, with another aunt and cousin coming the next day.) I'm excited. I love Thanksgiving. Besides the food and the importance of gratitude and (at my house) the inevitable game of Trivial Pursuit ("Ty Cobb! No, Babe Ruth! STUPID SPORTS QUESTIONS!!!"), there's a nice certainty to Thanksgiving. You know how at Christmas there's always a ridiculous public debate about whether it's okay to wish strangers Merry Christmas, since you don't know whether they celebrate it or not but at the same time the intention is not to offend but blah blah whatever I'm so bored of it and I actually celebrate Christmas. (I can't imagine how dull it must be to people who don't.) Well, you can wish anybody Happy Thanksgiving.

(Also, I thought you'd all like to know that while most liquids and gels are restricted to three ounces, you can carry on all the medically-necessary KY Jelly you want. Go nuts.)

panta!

Pattern: Craftster's ubiquitous panta
Yarn: ? Leftover from a scarf I made last year for Christmas, and I can't find the ball band. I know where this yarn was stocked at Village before the move, but I don't remember the name, so I have no idea where it is now.
Picture: blurry, because my hands will not stop shaking today.
In other news, I picked out the bind-off on the neckline of my original LMKG Hourglass Sweater, having decided the neckline wasn't high enough and was going to fall off my shoulders annoyingly all day long (much like the very disappointing second Hourglass Sweater). I knit it up a big higher and bound it off in stockinette, so that it rolls a little bit, because I will be damned if I will sew down another hem. Handsewing. Blargh. It's blocking now. FO pics forthcoming. I think I'm going to wear it on Thanksgiving. Wish me luck not dropping any food on it. (That won't happen, but that's why I used superwash.)

are you sitting down?

Today in news that will shock no one: my love affair with green continues. The color of the yarn (more Cascade Pastaza, for my mom's Christmas socks) is pretty accurate; the color of the mug and the green chile packet is also; the color of my kitchen is totally wack. It is not yellow. My camera works in mysterious ways its wonders to perform.

er... yeah

This is what happens when you brag...
You don't knit for almost two weeks.
You don't blog for almost a month.
You glance at your WIP basket and shudder with guilt.
And still you do nothing.
I broke through the doldrums yesterday at SNB though--I'm halfway through my dad's second Christmas sock (and no, Molly, my parents don't read my blog--at least I don't think so! if you're reading, Dad, look away!--so I can safely post pics), and going to hit the Village tomorrow to pick up yarn for my mom's socks.
(I've noticed lately that I say "hit" a lot. It's funny because I tease my mom for saying "bop," as in, "We're going to bop over to the post office on the way to the grocery store" and sometimes, even worse, that "we're going to do a bop-n-drop," meaning go someplace and drop someone or something off. Well, I totally do the same thing with "hit." When I'm a grandmother, I'll still be using my outdated slang and kids will snicker--"she's going to hit the orthopedic shoe store?")

i am kicking christmas ass

I probably just jinxed myself, but my dad's Log Cabin Socks (from Handknit Holidays) are going so incredibly fast. I started them around midnight on Wednesday and I'm halfway done with the heel flap. Three cheers for bulky weight socks! I'm using the recommended yarn, Cascade Pastaza, which I picked up at Village the other day. (New shop looks fantastic, by the way--light and bright and spacious. I spent about an hour there and could've stayed much, much longer if I didn't have to get back to El Crappo McJobbo.) Pastaza is soft but splitty; the colors are gorgeous and I had a hard time picking out just one. Cascade doesn't name their colors, just number, but I'm calling this color Pale Blue Eyes a la early REM song, which (not entirely coincidentally) are the kind my dad has.


I'm planning on making my mom the same thing, so they'll have a matched set; I have a major crush on some tweedy dark green, so we'll call that Hazel and continue the eye theme. In other news, it's a gorgeous fall day and I'm going to go outside and enjoy it.

since the movies came out, all the jokes have been done

I had a good time at SNB last night. Got there late and starving, so had to wolf down a sandwich before I could get any actual knitting done, but I put a couple of inches on the second sleeve of my CPH, which I have been neglecting to get some Christmas knitting done. Today I'm planning on hitting the new Village Wools on my lunch break--everybody was raving last night about the space, the skylights, etc. So I'm dying to see it.
And just because:

Your results:You are Spider-Man
Spider-Man
90%
Superman
80%
Hulk
80%
Green Lantern
75%
Robin
70%
The Flash
70%
Catwoman
70%
Iron Man
70%
Wonder Woman
68%
Supergirl
58%
Batman
35%
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have greatpower and responsibility.
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

48 Things
As seen around Blogland:
1. FIRST NAME? Cari
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Baby Carrie (and for my full name, Ma) from Little House on the Prairie
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday. Career- (or lack thereof) related.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When I'm not rushed and get to pay attention to it, I do.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? turkey or roast beef.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so. I talk to myself all the time and I'm always cracking myself up. Plus, I know me pretty well, so I'd understand when I get moody.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I scribble things down occasionally when I think of something I don't want to forget, but I'm not a diarist. (I like that word.)
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup. Appendix too.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Probably.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? First of all, I hate cereal, like corn-flake, Cheerio-type cereal. I can't even stand people eating it in my presence. Secondly, if oatmeal or cream-of-wheat counts, then yeah, one of those.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Enough, yes. As I'd like to be, no.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Black raspberry, strawberry, or coffee.
14. SHOE SIZE? 9
15. RED OR PINK? Both, together
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm indecisive and sometimes shy. And I say I don't care about what people think, but I kind of do.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My granddad, who smoked a pipe, said "hubba hubba," and taught me to tie sailor knots with my shoelaces, all of which I've forgotten; and my parents and sisters, who I live far away from.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Well, if they do, their crush will call them in seven minutes.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue running shorts, black long-sleeved t-shirt, no shoes. (Trying to psych myself up for the gym.)
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chocolate cake decorated to look like a cemetery, with shortbread-cookie headstones and little candy skeleton parts sticking up out of the Oreo-crumb ground. My friend Shamsi made it. I wish I'd gotten a picture.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The gurgling of the "water feature" of my yuppie apartment complex outside my open window.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Summer in the woods.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? An automated voice telling me that early voting starts today. Actual person? My mom.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Shoulders, confidence.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yes indeedy!
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Yuengling.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Snowboarding! Wolf Creek opens next week! (That would make a good chant, if my favorite sport were cheerleading.)
29. EYE COLOR? Blue
30. HAT SIZE? Heh. When I graduated from college, I had to get my head measured for the cap, because I didn't know my hat size, and the lady said, "The caps run large, so most of the girls have been taking small or extra-small.... Ohhh-kay, now you would be a large or an extra-large." So yeah, I've got a big head.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. I just got glasses though.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Pizza. Good for all moods and just about any occasion.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Both.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
36. HUGS OR KISSES? That's tough to say, because I hug a lot more people than I kiss, but I like the people I kiss best. This'll take some thinking.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Strawberry pie or plain cheesecake.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ...
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ...?
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O'Brien, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker, re-reading Back When We Were Grown-ups by Anne Tyler. ...It just struck me, I haven't bought new book in ages.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Rosie the Riveter.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I didn't watch TV last night.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? wind-in-trees, snowboard-on-snow, laughter. Can I get cheesier?
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, but it's a tough call.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Depends what you mean by "home"... if ABQ, then New England; if PA, then Seattle or San Diego.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I'm good at talking people into things.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Baltimore
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Found it on Bev's blog.

random

1. I finished knitting my first Christmas present last night at 2 am. It's all over but the weaving and blocking.
2. A neighborhood strip club (heh) is having a "Nude Halloween Party" featuring a costume contest. [Edit: This is funny to me because there are only so many possible costumes for someone who is nude.
"What are you supposed to be?"
"A baby! What are you supposed to be?"
"Slim Goodbody! Um, with a tan!"]
3. I'm dying for a pumpkin spice latte right now.
4. I really wanted to stop by Village Wools today and pick up some yarn for my next Christmas project but forgot they're closed to move to the new location.
5. It's deliciously crisp outside. I'm busting out the puffy vest.
6. Wolf Creek opens (tentatively, weather-dependently) next Friday! My ecstasy cannot be expressed in words. I love winter!

first in the hearts of his countrymen!

Remember when you were little and saw shapes in clouds?
These clouds I saw on the mountains a few days ago remind me of a powdered wig. Extremely clever viral advertising for that new Marie Antoinette movie? Or a patriotic moment?
Also, this is what I saw when I took out the trash just now. Ahh, October.

I thought that closest balloon was going to land in the next parking lot, but with a burst of flame they went up a little and continued north to Balloon Fiesta Park.

p.s. I'm halfway finished with my first Christmas knitting project. If I knew how to do one of those "pictures after the jump" thingies, and if I thought I could trust Katie not to click on it, I'd show you, but believe me when I say that the color is beyond gorgeous and I like how it's looking so far. Onward!

it's fall!

(...and now I have "It's 5" by Architecture in Helsinki stuck my head. Warning, the link plays music.)

It was chilly enough to wear my new sweater (not handmade, from the Gap, and thanks for pilling already, by the way!) today. This fall I'll be cozy in my new newsboy. Slightly modified from the SNBN pattern, in Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran (and thus, because I still haven't learned my damn lesson and checked my damn gauage, a little too big, since the pattern calls for worsted, but maybe I'll just take the mesh out of the brim and call it a rasta cap), and believe it or not, this is the best picture I could take of it. I have a bit of a sore throat and think I may be coming down with something, which is why I didn't come to SNB tonight. I had a glass of OJ instead. Well, half OJ, half whiskey. Whatever works.

ETA: Oh yeah, it used to have a pom-pom. But not anymore. (See what I mean about "best picture"?)

saturday sky

At the Kiwanis Cabin.
Fake yoga at the crest. (I should've taken my backpack off.)
My girls Shamsi and Wendy checking out the view--the red speck on the lower peak is the top of the Sandia Tram.I'm going to go start my Christmas knitting now.

CPH would never do that.

So I'm trucking along on the Central Park Hoodie. I have the back, both front pieces, and one sleeve done so far, and I'm five inches into the second sleeve. If I can keep up this momentum I may be done by... nope, can't. Don't want to jinx it. Anyhoo, here's how it's looking so far. See if you can spot my totally obvious Grey's-watching, McSteamy-induced mistake, which I lazily decided not to frog back and fix. It'll be my badge of dorky fangirl honor.