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Sunday, April 29, 2007
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Oh god. It can't be time to go back to work already! How can my vacation be over? It's just too gruesome...
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 Knitting Schwag
Many, many thanks to my Secret Pal for the lovely package awaiting me this week! I received a Japanese knitting magazine, a pretty postcard, a clutch-type bag/pencil case, and four balls of Rowan cotton. I'm already using the bag to organize my knitting bits and pieces (tape measure, scissors, etc), so that's really going to come in handy! But what in the world am I going to make with that bright yellow cotton?! I'm leaning towards socks right now, just because I can't bear the thought of using Rowan for "warshcloths." Any other ideas?
 And this here's some of the stuff I picked up for myself on the trip. The three books are all from Amazon, and I conveniently had them sent to my Mom's house to save postage. There's also a metallic needle/stitch gauge that I picked up at Yoder's in Shipshewana. The green sock is knitted out of Austermann Step, which I got at "Ewe-Nique Knits" in Goshen. It's impregnated with jojoba and aloe vera, which makes it very soft and nice to knit with. The pattern is from the Favorite Socks book. I had planned to give them to my Secret Pal, but now that I've checked her size I think they might be a bit big. I may have to keep these for myself! I also got some cute Fimo stitch markers in Goshen, and a couple pairs of never-before-seen 12" Addi Turbos for sock knitting. (They're seriously tiny. That's what the red sock is being knit with.) So yeah, the red. It's my Koigu. I'm actually knitting the pattern on the cover of the 25 Favorites book, and it's turning out so pretty. The Koigu is twisted tighter than I realized, and combined with the tiny needles and the lacy stitch, my hands are really aching. I also finished one other project on the trip: the Jo Sharp stockings. I actually did mine out of leftover Superbaby Alpaca, and I think they look super sexy (even without the ruffle to be sewn on the top).
Friday, April 27, 2007
Me and Emma and her Postcards
So do you guys remember Emma? She's the little girl who lives near my Dad who broke her leg two years ago. To help her pass the summer, her parents came up with the idea of collecting postcards. My Dad passed the request on to me, and you guys came through in spades. Well, on Easter I finally got to meet her! She's obviously all healed now, and her Dad lugged over her scrapbooks so I could see her collection. Folks, she received over 650 postcards from all around the world! I saw mine, Stefanie's, Max's, Bridget's, and many more. It was amazing. I also got a picture with her! [more...]
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BAH! So boring old Chris won The Biggest Loser last night. I thought he (and Michael) looked terrible. You could tell they'd basically just starved themselves with very little exercise. Neither of them had much muscle definition at all. Chris looked like one of those anorexic lollipop-headed women! I think he went about 10kg too far. (The official site has much debate over his tactics.) I much preferred my boy Marty, who I predict will have no trouble getting dates now. Sure, he's a bit goofy, but he's a nice guy who looks super fit for his age. I was also amazed by Munnalita, not least because she appears to have gotten a really good stylist. Her audition tape made her look like a drag queen, and now she looks ten years younger and a lot sexier. Good on her!
Books I Read on our Trip:Read on for my thoughts on each. [more...]
Thursday, April 26, 2007
I can't believe I forgot to mention this! So on my last day in LA, my sister and her friends took me out to lunch at... Moonshadows in Malibu. Which means nothing to you until I tell you that it was where Mel Gibson got infamously tanked on the night of his arrest. HOW COOL IS THAT? Nobody could tell me what Mel was drinking, so I had to settle with a mimosa.
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 Trip photos are up!
Even though I'm still suffering from cripping jet lag, I managed to prop my eyes open long enough today to post the pictures and commentary from our trip. I made a special point of linking to the hotels and restaurants we liked, so if you're heading to Orlando anytime soon, you might be interested. And at long last, you'll get to hear the story of our adventure at Space Camp!
I've just learned that today is Hug an Australian Day. Luckily I got that one covered. Every day is Hug an Australian Day around my house. (Link courtesy of Amy.)
Huh. It appears that someone has coined a word - "nervio" - to describe the sensation of loving someone so much you want to squeeze them to bits. Or, in my case, being so enamored of a baby's chubby thighs that you want to eat them up.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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 Saying goodbye and coming home...
It's hard. It's always hard, but this one was awful. It's funny; I wouldn't have been so sad had I left a week earlier. During the big crazy family holiday crush of Easter, it was easy to fall into old patterns and relationships. I found myself getting stressed out and annoyed too easily. Snookums speculated that it was because I didn't get to be the star of the show: everybody wanted to see the baby. There's probably some truth in that. I got in a few cuddles with Penn myself, but I was happy to recede into the background and let others fight over him (knowing I was going to have one-on-one time later). Eventually Snookums came home, and I headed to LA for three days of "living with the baby." I promised the Snook that I'd be a gracious guest and try not to fight with my sister too much. He needn't have worried. That was probably the first three days I've ever spent with Amy without us arguing once. (My Mom nearly fell over when I told her.) And it wasn't like we were holding back; it was more like the old petty crap just suddenly didn't matter out there. I got to see what it's really like for her, how much work raising a little baby actually is. I also fell in love with that little boy. Yeah, he's fussy and exasperating at times... but when those wandering little baby eyes land on you and he just SMILES in happiness at seeing his Aunty Kris... Let's just say it was really, really hard to leave. (Amy's write-up is here.) But now I'm home, and the reality of the situation is what it is, you know? Right now this is our life and that is theirs, and the best we can do is share it however we can.
That said, it is nice to be back in my house, with my bed and my cat and my own Dear Husband. Photos and a full vacation write-up will have to wait til I fight off this jet lag though...
Saturday, April 21, 2007
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California
I've been in LA for just over 24 hours, and I've already fed the baby (twice), given him a bath, and assisted with a hellacious poopy diaper (which was orange because of the pumpkin I fed him). Don't worry; we took photos so you'll see the hilarity. My sister also took me to Wildfiber, where I finally got my hands on some Koigu. I've been on a bit of a sock knitting kick on this trip. Anyway, only two more days til I go home!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
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Snookums is home, and CouchCam has returned!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
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Back home again in Indiana...
Well, I'm back at Mom's but my heart is winging its way to Sydney with the Snook. This is the first time we've been apart in over six years. It's weird. I'm having a good time with my family though, and I'm looking forward to a few uninterrupted days with my new nephew. I got him an awesome T-shirt at NASA and an Ugly Doll in Chicago. I'm planning to spoil the little bugger rotten.
Anyway, last week Mom dragged us all to the JC Penney Portrait Studio, and it was just as hellish as you might imagine. We did get a good photo of me and Rodd out of it though...
Have a good flight, Snookums. I miss you already.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Just a very quick post from the Orlando Airport... We've had a great time in Florida, and I'm pleased to report that the Astronaut Training Experience at Kennedy was EVERYTHING I DREAMED. You'll be hearing all about it later. (And oh yeah, I took plenty of pictures.) The eighty-degree weather was nice too, especially after the snow of Indiana. Now we're heading back to Chicago and going straight to Wrigley to catch a Cubs game this arvo. Back into the cold!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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It turns out my garments are on display at the Easter Show! Veronica just e-mailed me photos of them. The Kitty Kat Cardigan is next to Veronica's blue ribbon vest, while the Cabled Hoodie of Doom is high up at the back of the next display case. I'm glad they got shown! (Thanks to Veronica for sending the pics, which I'll post as soon as I can.)
Monday, April 9, 2007
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Happy Easter! I think everyone in northern Indiana is at church except for us. (We're heathens.)
Saturday, April 7, 2007
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Has anybody been to the Easter Show yet? I'm desperate to know whether my stuff's been displayed. I've looked through the relevant Flickr photos but there doesn't seem to be much knitting in there.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
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It's snowing here. SNOW. Greatest vacation ever.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
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Such. A. Bonehead.
It was like a scene from a movie. It was Monday morning and we hopped in the taxi to go to the airport. "You want to check and make extra-special sure we have the tickets?" I joked to the Snook. He got them out and had a look. "Uh, something's wrong," he said. He handed the itinerary up to me. I looked at our flight time, nope, all good there. Then the day: SUNDAY. As in: 24 hours previously. "WHAT? This has to be a mistake." No, my friends, we friggin' got the date wrong. I wish I were making this up. I hyperventilated all the way to the airport where we frantically called our travel agent Nick. I also found an Internet terminal and was able to trace down the mistake. We'd originally planned to go on the Monday and Nick had e-mailed through the itinerary. Then when we'd actually gone in to pay for the tickets, we discovered availability to leave the previous day. So we switched it. When I made my super-duper anal Google spreadsheet of all the trip details, though, I unthinkingly based it off the original e-mail. Hence, we ended up at the airport 24 hours after our flight had left.
I've got nothing but great things to say about Nick at Flight Centre and David at Qantas, though. The two of them were able to switch around our tickets (at, yeah, a not inconsiderable cost) and get us on the Monday flight. We also had to spend about seven hours hanging around San Francisco airport yesterday. But we're here and everything's okay. We made it.
Be sure to always check your paper tickets, kids.
Monday, April 2, 2007
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The bags are packed and the taxi's been ordered. We're off! America, here we come...
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Heh. I totally fell for it.
 April Fools
Happy anniversary to my best friend and co-conspirator. It's been seven years since that fateful night at the Leopard Lounge, and it's nice to be reminded of how lucky I've been ever since.
Of course, I nearly forgot. Yesterday afternoon I suggested to the Snook that we go out to dinner on Stanley Street, simply because we still had to pick up a Hard Rock Café shot glass for my Mom. (Don't ask.) "Shall we go someplace special since it's our anniversary?" *blank stare* "Oh, hey, yeah! Let's do that." So we ended up at Voiaj, a place we'd been meaning to try for a while. The decor is very eclectic and, frankly, kinda wanky. But in a good way. I mean, the menus are actually pasted inside old hardcover books, and the wine glasses are silver goblets. The walls are all painted red and none of the chairs match. You get the picture. It was very cozy though, and I give them mega-props for really carrying through on the theme. The menu items were incredibly varied and everything was tasty. I had the dukka-encrusted goat's cheese to start, and then the kangaroo fillet for the main. The Snook had the salt-and-pepper scallops and the Tunisian duck breast. I also had an "Inca Fire" cocktail, but it was a bit medicinal for my taste. We shared the cheese plate for dessert, but it wasn't anything lifechanging. Overall I'd say it's a great concept and I'm glad we gave it a go, but it's a little over-priced for what it is. They should move it to Newtown and reduce the prices by a third; I can see it really taking off.
Oh! And since the restaurant was taking part in Earth Hour, most of our meal was eaten by candlelight. Very romantic.
Created and maintained by Kristine Howard ©
2000-2008.
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