« June 2005 | Main | August 2005 »
July 31, 2005
hot and cold
Ever summer since we moved here, we've threatened to go to the stupid Gilroy Garlic Festival, just so we could say we went. Well, we went. And that's about all I have to say about it, except that anyone who would deliberately go to GILROY WHERE IT WAS ONE HUNDRED AND THREE DEGREES is a big fat idiot. I got sunburned the second I got out of the car, and nearly passed out from heatstroke.
The nice thing about the Bay Area, though, is that if you get in your car and drive for half an hour in the correct direction, you can probably find weather that suits you. After the Gilroy fiasco, we drove down to Watsonville and over to the coast. It was foggy and cool and delicious. We found a random beach and huddled together for warmth on a beach towel and listened to the ocean. And that was great.
Posted by Kate at 7:18 PM | Comments (6)July 30, 2005
and...
I wound up having a really weird and really long day.
I'm just now checking my e-mail for the first time since 9AM - it's now 3:44AM. Good night, and wish upon me the dreams of a sane person.
Posted by Kate at 3:44 AM | Comments (1)July 29, 2005
potter scarf update
So I frogged. It was just too darned stiff. I tried DPNs, but it just didn't look right. Instead, I tried using two 20" Addis. This worked just fine, but I kept using the wrong end needle and making a mess. At one point I used the wrong end of the needle, but instead of being all twisted, all of the stitches were neatly on the needle in a perfect circle. Turns out a 20" US8 would have worked fine the whole time. Ah, well. At least now I'm making good progress.
Despite having a really lovely (but busy) day yesterday, I have woken up feeling all out of sorts. Alanis Morisette's "You Oughta Know" was playing in the dream I was having (most of which I can't remember) when I woke up, and that's not a pleasant song to wake up to.
Anyway, off to work.
Posted by Kate at 9:14 AM | Comments (3)July 27, 2005
no spoilers in this post
So today two people came in for Harry Potter knitting stuff. The first came in to make a Harry Potter bookmark, and we found some dandy Rowan Cotton Glace. Then later these other ladies came in wanting to make a scarf. They rejected everything we had because it wasn't quite the right color, even though we had Cascade 220 in really, the perfect colors.
After they left we all decided that we I should make a Harry Potter scarf "for the store". Nathania wanted Slytherin colors, but we all jeered at her.
So I'm working on this scarf. It's a stockinette tube, then the ends are seamed up and fringed. This is all fine, but we were all out of US8s in anything smaller than 20 inches. So I'm using US7s. I'm about 12 rounds into it, and it's, um, stiff.
Should I frog it and work it on DPNs? Or should I keep at it and hope that it develops some drape as it gets longer? Does Cascade 220 HAVE any natural drape? I dunno. Also, I'm really not liking these short US7 Addi Naturas. The needle part is very short and they feel awkward.
Anyway, that's the news. If y'all are in San Jose tomorrow (well, that's probably today (THURSDAY)), between 5 and 8, come by the store. We're having our open house. It promises to be quite festive.
Posted by Kate at 10:45 PM | Comments (5)July 26, 2005
Dudes!
It's totally my blogaversary today! I can't believe I've been blogging for a year. That blows my little tiny mind.
Anyway, thanks for reading my blog, y'all. During this year I've re-connected with old friends, inspired another to start his own fabulous blog, and I've made some wonderful new Internets friends. All of you are part of my extended support net, and I cherish every single one of you. Here's hoping we meet in person in the year to come!
Now I'm going to have a drinkie to celebrate. Woohoo!
Posted by Kate at 8:35 PM | Comments (6)argh
Does anyone have any Classic Elite Bam Boo yarn in color 4971 (hot pink) laying around? I need about ten yards to finish up my One Three Just Over Three Skein Wonder.
I've finished the arms (I ribbed them instead of doing seed stitch because the bamboo is quite inelastic), and all I have left to do is seam them up and finish the ribbing on the body. I could finish it off with some of my precious Artyarns Supermerino (which might be kinda cute), or I could run up to the Knitter's Studio tomorrow and get some bamboo in another color, or I suppose I could see if Uncommon Threads has some.
Anyway, argh.
Posted by Kate at 7:34 PM | Comments (4)July 25, 2005
over and overture
Guess what HF and did I today? We drove my car! Woohoo! It was great. I enjoyed driving Rob's fancy-pants Audi all over the place, but it's so nice to have my precious Jetta back. It goes VROOM when you give it gas, and all of my music is stored on the not-iPod-thingy, so I don't have to deal with cds. And it's smaller and I can park it without having a heart attack.
HF and the Jetta and I drove all over town today.
First we went to the lady parts doctor for my annual. Interesting things happened there. First I discovered that, while still super fat, I'm not as fat as I'd feared. Then my blood pressure was so low, it was practically a normal reading. Then they said I was anemic. Then I had to have a MAN doctor because my regular doctor was overbooked. It was a little weird, but not too bad.
Then we drove across the bridge to Palo Alto to see my eye doctor. He said that the eye formerly known as HE is looking great and we can create HE2 at any time. It's going to happen next month, I think. Stay tuned for more eyeball-induced crankiness!
Then we went to the grocery store, and then we went to the Knitter's Studio to see if they had any more Classic Elite bamboo yarn in hot pink. Alas, they don't. I sure hope I have enough to finish my One-skein (ha ha) Wonder.
Posted by Kate at 3:35 PM | Comments (3)July 24, 2005
do not attempt to find meaning in Duran Duran lyrics
That was the lesson of the day. I didn't have work, and I declined to go to the theatre, so Rob and I ran errands and stuff. I've been driving his car ever since the Footie became Hurty, so all my cds are in the player. I made a couple of new mix tapes (cds, but whatever) and we listened to them as we drove to get coffee, crap at Fry's, get lunch, to the Stanford Nordstrom, to Andronico's, home to drop off the groceries, to the Stoneridge (where the demons dwell) Nordstrom, to the Walnut Creek Nordstrom (Rob needed a shirt in a specific size), to the hipster Kebab Lounge, and then home via 24 to 880 to avoid the 20-mile backup due to a wildfire on 680 southbound.
We also learned not to attempt to find meaning in B-52's lyrics.
Anyhow, we had a dandy time. At the hipster Kebab Lounge, we discussed our respective lists of Movies You Never Have To Ask Us Twice To Watch (common items: Galaxy Quest, Dave, French Kiss, About a Boy, Love Actually, Bridget Jones' Diary, Office Space, Dazed and Confused, Wonder Boys, The Princess Bride, Ten Things I Hate About You, Swingers, A Fish Called Wanda). Apparently we were having a good time, because the waiter bought us some port after dinner because we were "the happiest couple in here". We were certainly the youngest couple in there at 7:30 on a Sunday. Usually it's packed with 20-something hipsters.
On the way home we listened to my Bad Mood tape (cd) and as the melodic strains of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" filled the car, Rob regaled me with the tale of his crowning achievement - the day he became the greatest Pop-A-Shot player in the whole universe. ("Well, that and I was the first Netrek Hockey Admiral ever.")
It was a very entertaining day.
Posted by Kate at 9:19 PM | Comments (7)July 23, 2005
theatre of the absurd
I should have just stayed at work today. Work was great today. I got the most kickass surprise from my secret pal, and I had great fun picking out yarn for various fun people, and I added seven new colors of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino to the armoire in an extremely pleasing configuration, which gave me great joy.
However, the day all sort of went downhill the second I got to the theatre. Somebody I really love got stomped on, and I all I wanted to do was make it better, but of course I couldn't do anything about it, and then somebody else entirely trashed on me and accused me of not helping out around the theatre. It was so utterly ridiculous that it was almost funny, but that on top of the other crap just pushed me over the edge. I *tried* to be calm about it, I really did. but goddamn it.
Why do I always mess everything up? Why can't I just keep my freaking mouth shut? I'd like to not be me for a while. I'd like to be less stupid and selfish and destructive and horrible. I'd like to stop hearing that I have "a strong personality". Yeah, bite me. So did Godzilla.
I'm shutting up now.
Posted by Kate at 11:17 PM | Comments (2)July 22, 2005
the ridiculous
I was looking for something on my hard drive, and I found this photo. It was taken during Mockingbird after Miss Vicki gave us all the hillbilly teeth. Aren't Vicki and Bob adorable?
Posted by Kate at 1:54 PM
| Comments (4)
the bad
Here's the damage. It really doesn't look like dirt, and it doesn't brush off. It looks sort of like grease, but I can't imagine where it came from. This is the worst of it - there are more marks similar to this about two inches away.
I'm probably going to bind it off and wash it. Dawn and Woolite have both been suggested. Any other suggestions?
Posted by Kate at 1:42 PM
| Comments (1)
the good
So! How cool is my secret pal? I got this amazing package from her, and I've been totally remiss about posting about it!
She sent me some cute books, a spa kit, a sheep full of bath stuff, some great yarn, the cutest sheepie bank (like a piggie bank, but it's a sheep!) ever, some cool cards, a notepad with my initial on it, which is so useful I can't even believe it, and a (swoon) first edition of Knitting Without Tears.
Rock on! I have the nicest secret pal in the whole world. :)
Posted by Kate at 12:29 PM
| Comments (0)
July 21, 2005
similar curses
Yet another rollercoastery day. Some of the highlights:
Arriving at work, spreading out the baby blanket to attempt to figure out Where I'd Gone wrong, and discovering...A HUGE BLACK SMUDGE. And then another. (It looked like mascara or something, but that just can't be. I don't even keep an ink pen in my knitting bag, much less makeup. I was so stunned that I couldn't even cry. I still don't know what I'm going to do about it.)
A little bit of hot, summery rain
Showing a new knitter how to cast on, then watching her apply my knitting advice until she picked up speed and started knitting like a champ
Getting stuck in horrendous traffic
Some brilliant conversation
a nice nap
..and now I'm waiting for some Indian food.
Posted by Kate at 7:09 PM | Comments (5)July 20, 2005
live nude yarn
Oh, my, it was hot today. (still is). Upon arriving at work I was directed to a pile of kid merino to shelve, being the only person not allergic to it. Okay, that was fine. But then...the angora. Nathania and Erin are both allergic, so I volunteered to shelve all of the Noro Kochoran and Transitions. Man, there's nothing like handling angora and assorted itchy things (55% wool, 10% silk, 7% cashmere, 7% angora, 7% alpaca, 7% kid mohair & 7% camel (camel! camel! are you kidding me?) on a hot day to make you want to take off your clothes and jump into a swimming pool.
Alas, we don't have a swimming pool, so I wound up running around with my cardigan unbuttoned over my stupid camisole, which really is underwear. I was feeling conspicuously hooty until Nathania came in, and she was also scantily clad. And so was Erin.
Gentlemen - if you want to see half-naked chicks for free, go to an un-air-conditioned yarn store on a really hot day.
Time for a large gin and tonic. Right after I have a cold shower.
p.s. Here's the whole Noro shipment. This has joined the wall o' Kureyon and Silk Garden and baskets of Cash Iroha, Blossom and Hana silk that we already had. Noro-o-rama!
Posted by Kate at 7:21 PM
| Comments (5)
July 18, 2005
my eyes say "no", but my hair says "yes"
I went to the spa today to get my hair cut and colored. After I was all spiffed up, I impulsively decided to wreck my carefully styled coif by having a massage.
It's a good thing the massage guy wasn't cute, because I was PUTTY in his hands. PUTTY, I tell you.
And I lied. My eyes say "yes", too.
Posted by Kate at 6:49 PM
| Comments (8)
Curse the evil day!
There's some sort of crazy mistake in the baby blanket. I've frogged a bit, but I still can't figure out where I went wrong. It's not a meltdown-scale event, but it's still driving me bonkers because I can't figure it out.
Oh, well. It'll work itself out. Yesterday at work, I helped some lady fix her knitting problem, and I was pretty pleased with myself. So I'm not a total idiot, I guess.
Posted by Kate at 10:33 AM | Comments (2)July 16, 2005
something unpredictable
I've been up and down again for the last couple of days. It's been sultry hot out, which always makes me sort of crazy.
Yesterday I had to take some costumes back to DLOC, and it really wore me out. I was so crabby that afterward, I went shopping. Then there was further crabbiness at the theater. But at least I looked cute.
Today I had my first day with RTE. Their space is fabulous, and Chris and Sean were delightful. I always love the first day of a new show. Everything is fresh and clean, and I haven't had time to lose my tiny little mind. (HI, CHRIS! I'M REALLY NOT A CRAZY PERSON!)
Oh, and, DAMN, did I get a great present from my secret pal! Rock on! (details to come, I promise)
Posted by Kate at 11:53 PM | Comments (1)July 14, 2005
reality sets back in
After a delightful morning, I went to work and wound up having a really long day. It was Lauren's last day, so I was a bit blue. And hot. Dang, it was hot today. It was so hot I didn't even want to knit.
But I did knit. I dashed off to work this morning helter-skelter without my coffee cup or my knitting bag, so I had no choice but to go to Starbucks (twice) and find something new to knit. Artyarns' Silk Ribbon has been singing its siren song to me for ages, and I finally succumbed today and bought a skein. DAMN, it's nice. It feels great wound in the skein, but unwound and loose, it was total sensory overload for my fingers. I almost needed a cigarette after winding it. (We had to wind it by hand, because I couldn't get it onto the swift before it got all tangled up.) ANYWAY, it knits up beautifully. Some ribbon yarn looks kind of sloppy and twisty, but this lays sleek and flat in stockinette. And, oh, the sheen. It just glows in the sun. My one complaint about it is that it snags if you breathe on it heavily, which I did. Did I mention that it's beautiful? It is.
We were open late tonight, so I didn't get to the theatre until the first intermission. I sort of drifted around (listlessly) during the second act, then spent the third act backstage chatting with Mr. Bob and eating candy.
This is sort of a pointless post, so I'm going to bed now.
Posted by Kate at 11:50 PM | Comments (3)borrowed moonlight
I had sort of a nutty day. There's been a mysterious lump on my head ever since Monday morning (well, probably since Sunday night), and it's been aching a little. This morning I woke up and it was just throbbing. My hypochondriac brain immediately said "oh, my god, you have a concussion." So I went and Googled "concussion symptoms". Here's what the CDC had to say:
* Persistent low-grade headaches
* Having more trouble than usual remembering things,
concentrating, or making decisions
* Feeling tired all the time
* Feeling sad, anxious, or listless
* Becoming easily irritated for little or no reason
Geez, it's like somebody was describing my normal state of being. How is a spaz like me supposed to tell if something is wonky or not? Anyway, I napped listlessly (ha ha) on and off for most of the afternoon, then spent a couple of hours sorting through some stuff and trying to get the scanner to cooperate with me. Eventually I emerged out of the fog and made it to rehearsal just in the nick of time to witness the most hilarious brushup rehearsal ever.
Later, Rob and I went to see the Batman movie, which was quite entertaining, although though Rob complained that there wasn't enough naked Katie Holmes.
My head still hurts, but at least it's clearing up.
Posted by Kate at 1:01 AM | Comments (7)July 13, 2005
poker? I hardly know 'er!
Inexplicably, I was not at anyone's theater tonight, so I got to go to TiVo Poker Night (No Longer at TiVo). I came in fifth in the first tournament, but was triumphant in the second.
I had to rebuy almost immediately, then just hung in there and played conservatively until the tables merged. I won a fairly big pot to become the chip leader, then pissed it almost all away as the blinds became gigantic. Then I just kept getting decent hands and playing them fairly well. I went all in with my 10/J and sucked out John's AQ to put myself in the chip lead for the heads-up. On the first hand (against David, who had been playing extremely well all night) I got pocket kings. My Jedi mind trick ("go all in go all in go all in") worked, and David went all in with 46 suited. And I was the winnah! Woohoo!
I haven't played in a live game for months. Boy, it was nice. I sure missed all the guys.
Posted by Kate at 12:19 AM | Comments (4)July 12, 2005
the sky is all serene
For the last, like, week, I've only had a partial net connection. I could google (slowly), read my e-mail, blog and read cnn.com, but I couldn't get to any typepad sites, amazon, hotmail (so i can talk to my SP) or post comments on Blogger sites.
I took matters into my own hands and got Rob to talk me through rebooting the DSL. And, Voila! A net connection! I can finally read about how Kathy used her calculus book as a knitting tool! And Laurie's fried chicken recipe! And how the sock went camping! And that Mouse is having kitten problems!
Ah, normalcy.
(and enough with the g&s!)
Posted by Kate at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)July 11, 2005
the hours creep on apace
Long day today. I had a little (okay, a lot) too much Bourbon at a very delightful party yesterday, thus today my head was muddled.
But Nathania helped me clear it up, and she gave me permission to cheat on my baby blanket by making me swatch some weird yarn. It felt strange to be handling oddly-textured yarn and big needles, but I can't say I didn't like it.
Posted by Kate at 7:21 PM | Comments (1)July 9, 2005
fear of falling
This is another one of those knitting content-free posts where I've sat in front of my laptop for three hours without finding anything eloquent (simple or otherwise) to say. So I'll leave you with this:
"In me there meet a combination of antithetical elements which are at eternal war with one another. Driven hither by objective influences - thither by subjective emotions - wafted one moment into blazing day, by mocking hope - plunged the next into the Cimmerian darkness of tangible despair, I am but a living ganglion of irreconcilable antagonisms."
Posted by Kate at 10:33 PM | Comments (5)Open!
Hey, the show is open. And it works! Woohoo!
Okay, off to work. Miraculously, I am not hung over.
Posted by Kate at 9:23 AM | Comments (5)July 7, 2005
London
I've been sitting here for a couple of hours trying to think of something to say about the news today, but I can't find any words that express my rage and despair and sadness.
So I will just continue to sit here and work on my friend's baby blanket, which is being made with beautiful, resilient British yarn.
Posted by Kate at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)Miracle
Remember how freaked out I was about the show last night? Remember how I came home and invented a new cocktail, the VicoGin and Tonic? No? Is it because I was so traumatized that I couldn't even blog about it? YES!
Yeah, yeah, Bob points out that he pointed out that he knew it'd all come together at the last minute, and deep in the recesses of my cold little heart I knew it would, too, because ALL shows magically gel at the darkest hour, but ohmyfuckinggod, it was wonderful to watch rehearsal tonight and realize, "ohmyfuckinggod, we have a show!"
Posted by Kate at 12:54 AM | Comments (4)July 6, 2005
Progress (or not)
I totally overdid it yesterday. Now the HF is very angry. She and I just had a little conversation.
HF: What made you think you could return all those costumes to Hayward all by yourself? And then you ran around the theatre painting and cleaning and stuff. What were you thinking, you big fat idiot? Stay off of me today or I will make you regret it even further.
Me: Okay, okay, Geez. Look, you're all elevated and propped up on a pillow.
HF: That's better. Now please remain seated at all times.
Me: Can't I even go to the drugstore to pick up my Vicodin refill?
HF: Fine. But make it snappy.
Me: And since I'm out, can I stop by work? I miss my girls and all of the yarn.
HF: Don't make me come up there and smack you.
Me: You're not the boss of me!
HF: (throbs in pain)
Me: Fine, be that way.
Posted by Kate at 11:43 AM | Comments (2)July 4, 2005
sloth
Okay, the not being able to walk around (much) thing is really starting to get on my nerves. I can't even go to the grocery store without having to sit down and rest.
I knit like a maniac all day yesterday until my wrist started to ache, and I'm still not done with the blankie, which is due TOMORROW. Sucks to me be.
On the other hand, Margaret (or My Best Cousin Ever) sent me some Fran's Sea Salt Caramels, which are my favorite candy ever in the whole world, AND some Roger's chocolates. It's like Christmas in July! Woohoo! I ate up the coffee one, but I'm saving the peach. It just smells soooo good.
And Rob went all the way to Borders and got me the new Interweave Knits. Isn't he the nicest honey ever?
Posted by Kate at 6:34 PM | Comments (4)July 1, 2005
avoidance
I needed a little break from the blankie, so I did this:
Also, I'm trying to go without Vicodin for a couple of hours. It's not going so well. HF is very purple and angry and is demanding medication.
(Also also, while I was taking the survey, I noticed something interesting. It asks how long you've been blogging, and I'm apparently coming up on my one-year blogaversary! Who knew? What should I do to commemorate it?)
Posted by Kate at 1:00 PM | Comments (4)