Urg. The cashmere

I've been told that cashmere can be QUITE warm. Well, I wanted to knit Juno but it turns out that it's using a DK weight yarn DOUBLED! Well, my cashmere is about DK weight and I'm going t ohave to double it? It's doing to be damn warm! I think I need to find another pattern that doesn't necessarily require that I double the yarn since I don't want it that warm. Anyone have any suggestions?

2009 already?

The year flew by. Can't say I had all that many good memories of it. Well, whatever, it will be a new year soon and hopefully there will be some changes to come.

I decided that I'm going to spend New Year's Eve counting my yarn. Yup...I kinda see myself as Scrooge McDuck, except I'm not trying to hoard all the yarn in the world, I'm just there counting and counting and counting. I joined a "Stashalong" for 2009 in the hopes of having a net loss of yarn in the house next year and a better wardrobe. Any old projects that I have no interest in is getting ripped. This includes the Great American (Cashmere) Afghan. So, in order to do this, I need to know exactly how much yarn and fibery things I have in my house. It does make me a little nervous to think of it all. I bought another large rubber container tonight in the hopes of gathering it all together.

First project to start off for the year is going to be using the cashmere. I'm thinking of knitting the Juno cardigan from Rowan 40.

Very lucky indeed

Well, no damage to the car. There was just a lot of snow and ice packed under the car that was throwing things off balance when the speed got higher.

As for all the Christmas knitting, Lynn got her pair of mittens and Tina got 1 mitten. I should be finishing up the second mitten today and then I can relax with the knitting! Maybe I will start swatching up something using the piles and piles of cashmere I have from the Hunt Valley Cashmere club.

Two knitting related things I had gotten were the books "Sensational Knitted Socks" and "The Knitter's Book of Yarn". I was excited :)

A time to give thanks

Yeah, normally that's Thanksgiving but I do have something to give thanks for today.

It's been snowing all week and the roads in RI are a bit icy. I was trying to switch lanes and when my car started moving over, I realized I was going too fast and that there was ice on the ground and lost control of the car. The car managed to not hit the car in front of me, turned 270 degrees on 95 and was stopped by the snow packed along the center median. When I let go, it was an interesting moment because there was some sense peace and I had said "Let go and whatever will happen will happen." The car stopped. The cars on the highway behind me were far enough behind and going slow enough that I saw them slow down because they all saw what had happened. I was able to start the car and pull out and keep going. I was about 40 minutes away from Providence and managed to make it here okay. I couldn't see any damage to the body of the car but I know something did hit because the car now shakes when it goes above 50mph. So, very very lucky and much to give thanks for today. I do think that my mom was watching over me because it really could've been a lot worse than it actually was.

The question now is...how am I going to make it back to Virginia. Will the car be fixed in time?

Mmm...jersey....

It was sitting on my door step when I got home tonight. I'm so excited.


My very first game worn Cornell hockey jersey. And now, even though it is labelled Sawada, I need to verify that the name plate matches the actual era of the jersey.

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? - Part 2

And I was home for enough time to pack a new suitcase and I was off to Memphis.

Reshma and I had signed up for the Memphis St. Jude Marathon. I finished in 6 hours and 23 minutes. Not bad considering I hadn't run in about a month. Downtown was empty. It reminded me of St. Louis in how lacking in people it was but it was not as bad as St. Louis. We did go to Graceland. I love Elvis. I really loved Elvis when I was in high school but because of an unfinished school project, we never went. Well, now I get to go. Whee! Pictures are here. While I was there, I did have a peanut butter and banana sandwich - Elvis's favorite.

Scenes from Memphis:


OMG, I look crazed and starving. Reshma did a good job on the picture!

Gold Lame suit!

Chili cheese fries from Dyer's, as featured on "Deep Fried Paradise" on the travel channel. It was truly tasty.

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? - Part 1

Anyone remember that computer game that became a tv show?

Anyways, I've been busy. I went to Hawaii! The pictures are here. A week seemed like it would be a long time before I got there but it all went by so quickly. It's amazing to see the different climates on the various islands. We started on the big island and saw the volcanos, drove through the rain forest side of the island and drove up through the mountains where it was cold, a bone chilling cold. We stayed in Waikola Village at the Hilton. It's a beautiful resort.

After that we were in Maui for a night. The Hana Highway is a trip and you need a lot of energy and concentration to drive it. The beaches and the waves were amazing. We ended in Honolulu at Waikiki. We stayed at a hotel that overlooks the beach - ResortQuest Waikiki Beach. There was a cute bellhop and they did a breakfast by the pool every morning. Each room also got 2 insulated lunch bags so you can take breakfast with you. We caught a surfing competition on the North Shore. Those waves were HUGE! The last day was spent at Pearl Harbor looking at the Bowfin Submarine, the Arizona Memorial, and the USS Missouri. It really makes you appreciate the men and women who serve in our military and the conditions that they live in while on duty.

Leaving you with some scenes from Hawaii:


Saddle rd on the Big Island

Surfers in Maui

Waikiki Beach at night