D is for Dad

Not a normal dad. My pops, Steve, is anything but that.

Dad celebrating his daughter's MA graduation. Try explaining this one to your thesis advisor.
I know i've posted this photo before, but I think it sums up the man who gave me 50% of my genes better than anything else.

I am my dad in my moms look-alike body. We have the same goofy sense of humor, the same logical smarts that drive people crazy, and the same diehard love for our athletic teams (ahem, GIANTS BABY).

Pops was born in Madera, CA and grew up working at his parents lumber yard, only to become the first person at Madera High School to play on the Football team and in the Band (his proclimation, not mine). He then attended UCSB for two years and watched them burn down the Bank of America building in IV, then transfered to Cal because UCSB wasn't political enough (I'm making that last part up)

Dad before the Big Game, 2004
He then attended Law School at UC Davis (and is consequently today UCD's biggest football fan), and then received his Masters in Tax at NYU. He returned to Fresno and started practicing law, had the great idea to have a brilliant daughter like myself, and life took off from there.

My parents are divorced, so I didn't have the "traditional" experience growing up. But we've always been close - and he's supported us in the best way he could have. The words "you're a smart girl, I trust your decisions" will always be what I remember about him through the years.

But one of the greatest, most inspiring things about dad is how he truly cares about people and for a lawyer to do that, it's amazing. He's made himself quite a living, but his legacy is apparent to me every day when I meet people, and they ask if I'm Steve's daugher, then go on and on about what a great man he is.



Yup. I am very proud to be my fathers daughter.

Extreme Beer Sleding

See that? That's the awesome haul from my SP7.

• 2 Balls DB Alpaca Silk
• 2 Ball DB Cathay
• Catnip Kit for Viva
• Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream
• Sheep Pez Dispenser
• 'Wine Girl' Notepad
• Lavendar Eye Pillow
• 2 Kitty Cups
• DB Cathay Book

However, there are two things already missing from this lovely package. 1) a bag of sour patch kids, which were torn into immediately upon opening, and 2) a springy cat toy that Viva immediately attacked:

Thanks SP, whoever you are, for knowing me (and Viva) so well!!! And I've already got plans for that yarn - combining the Alpaca Silk with the Alpaca Silk from my last SP for a hat/glove combo, and a baby sweater with the Cathay for Arden.

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So I've been MIA this week because I beat the crap out of myself last weekend with way too many social engagements. Saturday was a night on the town, Sunday I was playing in the snow at Shaver Lake, and at the last minute I got tickets to go see AEROSMITH on Monday night. While TOTALLY worth it (AEROSMITH PEOPLE!!!!), that was the final straw and I've found myself fighting off a nasty cold all week. Of course, this may of had something to do with it as well:

Yes, those last 3 photos depict our interpretation of "Sled down a hill with a beer in hand and no matter WHAT, don't spill it". I got props for my maintenance of a 90 degree angle the entire way down. And yes I am wearing jeans in the snow. That's what we do here in California ;).

On that note, low key weekend ahead. I finished the shrug, but I'm not sure if I really like it or not. The puffy sleeves are competing with the collar. I'll deal with that later.

Since then, I resisted the urge to $$$ and cast on a new sweater w/ stash yarn and a stash pattern. Any guesses? It's in my sidebar, knit on size 10 needles, and I almost finished the entire back last night. Woo.

To all you olympic knitters... your Likkered Up Observer at Wine and Needles in routing for you. May you all [hiccup] finish with time to spare....

Wine and Needles Marathon Knitting

You all may remember I opted for this during the knitting olympics this year:

Well I'm obviously catching the bug in some form because I was up last night until 12:45 sewing the sleeves into Debbie Bliss Shrug. My pattern-morph was an unintentional success. The sleeve caps ended up about 1.5 times longer than the body piece shapings and instead of ripping, I turned them into cute little puffy sleeves. I started to pick up the stitches for the collar but had to force myself to sleep. I was going to take some pictures to show you but hell, I already knew I was going to hate myself in 6 hours.

Yup. Delia no happy in the AM. I must really want that Karabella pattern + Organic Cotton. Funny the way our subconcious talks to us...

I'll also tell you what lots of people already know... Jaywalkers are addicting! I just turned the heel on my first sock at lunch today. And I have also seen the way that is Claudias Handpaints.

Busy 3-Day weekend ahead at Casa d' Wine and Needles: Staining my desk and paint swatching on the walls (finally!), teaching my friend Blake to knit (!!!!), Girls Night Out on Saturday, Shaver Lake for Pasta, Vino, and mountain knitting (my favorite kind) on Sunday night.

Our 70-75 degree February weather has given way to clouds, rain, and frost on my car. I forgot that these drastic changes in weather are a big deal here in the Valley. Anyone remember the CA Citrus Freeze on 1998? Fresno County was declared a natural disaster area because all the Orange trees froze and died.

** We're in that big open space between San Jose and Bakersfield. How the hell did Bakersfield make the map and Fresno didn't???

Anywho....here's where I can't wait to be tonight.

Possibly with a mimosa to celebrate the Anti-Freeze (HA!) of 2006.

Crazy Things We Do For Fiber

First off, I had my first moment of extreme craziness for a ball of yarn. Monday night, at approximately 9pm, I was all cuddled up in my PJ's, sipping some fabulous Pinot and watching the History Channel when my sister called to tell me there was a package for me @ my mom's house. Sock Yarn! I thought. So what did I do? If you guessed 'stayed wrapped up in the cozy nest and watched more educational television with your glass of wine', you're wrong. I grabbed my wallet, keys, and blanket I was wrapped up in, headed down to the car, and drove my ass to mom's to retreive the said package. So here's the haul:



I added the Artyarns I already had for extra umph.

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Here's what else I've been plugging on for the last few days:

This is the Shrug from the Debbie Bliss Cathay book, in Patons Brillant. I went up four needle sizes (yup, the body is knit on size 9's), because I am obviously the tightest knitter on earth, I like the drape of the fabric better, and my girls STILL weren't going to fit into the largest size. I'm doing a Med/Lg hybrid of the pattern, so I'm praying it works out. I took this last night, but I somehow managed to go to bed with the sleeves almost finished. Go Me.


Here's "Light As Air', in Moda Dea Ticker Tape. This stuff snags on EVERYTHING, including my ratty fingernails. Somehow I have managed to misplace about 50 stitch markers, so as you can see, I have resorted to pieces of string.

I racing to finish one of these because I told myself if I do, before Feb. 24th, then then that cute little Karabella sweater pattern and the BSA Organic Cotton can be mine mine mine.


My V-Day gift to myself. I'm not even going to humor myself by telling you about this pattern. I will tell you it's Claudia's Handpaints, color Stormy, on size 1's. Thanks SP!

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PS - If this is how you look on you way TO a concert, you should be worried about the aftermath.

PSS - VIVA, showing you the lovely February weather we've been having here in the Valley. Isn't she just glowing? ;)

More Fun With Rowan

Drunk Monkeys, part deux.

Can you spot the knitted item in this picture? I'll wait.....

Yup, it's that armband thing. Although "arm-band" is used in the loosest sense possible. Instructions: CO 8 st. Knit until piece measures 5 1/2 inches. Cast Off. Cut 20 legnths of fringe 12 inches long. Tie to arm.

Warning: Do not wear armband in the presence of open flames, small children, or feisty cats. May hinder your ability to operate machienery. Wear with caution.

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I'm calling this piece the Lotus flower. The placement of that motif draws eyes WAY to low and is only emphasized by the point beneath it that practically screams "LOOK AT MY CROTCH! SEE! IT'S RIGHT HERE! LLLOOOOOKKKK!!!!!"

No Thank You.

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Is the look on this models face scaring anyone else? That's what I look like when I drink 1.5 bottles of wine, pass out in my clothes at 3am, then get woken up by Viva at 7am. Overheard at my house "whhhaaaatt? Why am I still in my jeans? Why can't I open my eyes all the way? Viva, get off my head..."

Oh and the tank. Looks like dishcloths. But that goes without saying.

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GOOD THINGS.
This is a yummy Lamb recipe. I made it as is, except used less oil and Lamb Steak instead of chops. GOOD SHIT.

And....


You two lovelys should be in my mailbox. Can we talk about payment options later?

Finally, bandwagon.

Rarely, but this calls for extreme measures...

Ok, I rarely post twice in one day, but this is epic.

This is probably going to get me flamed, but have you people SEEN the new Rowan? [link]

I know this has been going around blogland lately, but I am somewhat convinced that the regular designers at the London HQ have surrendered their jobs of creating tasteful, interesting garments to a band of drunk monkeys.

Drunk FEMALE monkeys, who are pissed at their men because I can't imagine a gentleman in the world who would dress like this:

This piece says, "Real Men wear a 1/2 a pink tee over a manly sweater"

This guy is just so pissed off at his headwear that he is attempting to hang himself with his girlfriends trendy cuff belt.

Finally, I don't know about you, but if I am goint to commit a somewhat-significant part of my life to knitting an item, it sure as hell isn't going to involve a slug motif.

The End.

C is for Condiments

I have a VERY strange infatuation with Condiments. Seriously, it would frighten you if I went into the bizarre details of my Tabasco use or if I showed you how many bottles of vinegar I have in my pantry.

Pepperchini's are one of my favorite foods to munch on in front of the TV. I could probably survive solely on bread and dipping oil. I'm convinced I like shellfish so much because eating them almost always involves wine-based broth or spicy vinegar.

I LOVE the condiment aisles at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Cost Plus. Someday when I have a lot of disposable income, this website will be ravengened. Alas till then, I continue to stock my pantry and eat appetizers for dinner every night.

Probably one of the coolest things I've ever done is attend a gourmet industry event with my girl Kaci during her tenure as an associate for a major gourment cookie company. I seriously fasted for 2 days at the thought of the Moscone Center in SF filled to the brim with mustard, olives, taplanade and vinegar...

Just don't get me started on soup. Soups are condiment's big brothers that you can eat with a spoon...

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Also....
On the way to Delia's house as we speak, Claudia's Handpaints for Jaywalkers w/ picot edges and Artyarns Supermerino for Thuja.

Thanks SP, that was such a satisfying purchase!

On actual knitting...
I joined the arms + body pieces on the Light As Air Sweater last night, and although the yarn seems like it snags on EVERYTHING, I think it will be the perfect sweater for cool summer nights. Or next week cause you know, it's like 70 degrees in Central CA right now...

Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses

Guess who drove 30 miles into the Yosemite foothills to see a legend last night?

The man freaking rocks for someone born in 1933!!! Hell, he sounded better than some "artists" I have seen that are 1/3 his age.

I also got the idea in my head that Willie Nelson = shots of Patron. Can anyone explain to me how I arrived at that logic? Because the row of blue-hairs sitting behind us definitely didn't approve. How can you NOT raise a beer over your head when the great Willie Nelson starts crooning "whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses... " [watch video... it's a good one]

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Re: my Fiber-purchasing obcession. I made it to the next paycheck without giving in, and since my WONDERFUL SP was kind enough to send me a gift certificate to KPixie, I'm going for it! I'm thinking sock yarn... yes, definitely sock yarn. I need one more skein on Art Yarns for Thuja socks (and they have the colorway), and maybe some Claudia Handpaints? Is this stuff as good as it's hyped up to be?

Re: Knitting. Not much of that going on lately. I've been a social beast the last few weeks, so I haven't had much more than 20 minutes at a time to knit. Someday soon I'll be finishing something up here. I think.

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PS - I get SO excitied when I open Bloglines and there is a new post from Go Fug Yourself. Jessica and Heather are my idols.