28 January 2009

Snow (&) owls


We finally got our snow! Yep, snowed almost all day yesterday. We got our first day off. Then it iced and freezing rained last night so we have a second day off today! Snow days are such a nice and unexpected little break from life. Since it was actually quite treacherous driving yesterday (dropped T off at le Metro and then went to get Sneetch from home), we basically stayed in and I got to finish my owly sweater! I suppose snow days are the benefit of living in a place that gets so cold, as opposed to living in Hawaii or somewhere else where it's warm and sunny year round.

Anyway, I finished the sweater! My little owl friends just need button eyes now. I am leaning towards finding some nice little wooden ones. That would look cute and not too scary, right? I also still have a little more than half a skein left. Not sure what to do with it. Since this sweater only used a skein and a half, I'm thinking I might just knit up another and buy another skein. It's quite nice yarn; a little itchy since it is 100% wool, but it's bulky so it knits up quickly. The best part is that it doesn't untwist. I hate it when yarns do that and your needle points get all tangled.

I have decided that my next project is going to be knitting little bear sweaters with all my tiny balls of stash yarns. Then, I'll sew some little bunnies to wear the sweaters. :) I'm starting with this really pretty forest green handspun yarn that has pretty sparkly gold thread spun in it. I got it in a swap on Craftster and haven't been able to come up with the perfect thing to make with it. I think sparkly sweaters for (yet unmade) bunnies will be perfect.

14 January 2009

Don Quixote


Last night, T, Flea and I went to the Kennedy Center to see Don Quixote performed by the Mariinsky Ballet. We had quite good seats (thanks Daddy!), and it was wonderful. We didn't know it, but it was opening night, so it was a full house. The dancers were amazingly beautiful and so precise it was unreal. The orchestra was perfectly in time with the dancers, and the dancers were perfectly synchronized with each other.

Of course, we were not allowed to take photos, (and I forgot my camera anyway), but I was able to find this photo from the San Francisco Gate). Look at that point and arch! Every time I see a ballet on tv or live, I wish I hadn't quit. But then, I was never aiming to become a ballerina anyway. Flea and I have decided to look into taking a ballet class together next year. Now, I am just waiting to see if T and I will have a chance to see Swan Lake performed by the Washington Ballet next month!

13 January 2009


Still no snow. It's been getting progressively colder, and we are supposed to be getting the coldest air of the season this week, but no snow. We're hoping for "flurries" tonight and "possible light dusting on Sunday." But no real snow. Meanwhile other parts of the nation are being buried in snow and can't seem to shake it. Too bad there's no giant blower device that could blow the snow clouds our way.

In other news, T and I invested in a new bed which has been absolutely wonderful. It's got a 3" pillowtop and we bought 2 sets of new, super lovely sheets. Getting into bed is like climbing onto a cloud. Even T agrees that it's worth every penny. Since getting the new bed last week, we have spent 90% of our time at home in it. The other 10% is reserved for showering and occasional cooking. We've gotten hooked on the show NCIS which has only compounded our desire to never get out of bed. The show itself is pretty good, but the fact that we were able to watch almost all of season 6 on Netflix instantly helps a lot. Speaking of tv, we got a new one to go with our new bed. With the bed being taller and all, we needed a bigger tv so we'd actually be able to see it. SO, now we have a new tv to watch from our new bed. And, since we've figured out how to hook up our wireless speakers to the computer which can be connected to the tv, good luck getting us to do anything outside of the bed from now until... until we finish watching every episode of NCIS I guess.

Not to worry, though. I am still being crafty and productive. I finished my awesome mittens using the pattern and beautiful yarn my sister (Flea) gave me for Christmas. One of these days, I will get a decent photo of them for you. I have knitted 2 presents and am working on a third. I have organized my entire yarn stash (minus some leftover pieces I brought home from work yesterday - working on it) and have been cleaning up photos to be uploaded to Etsy any day now. All I need is to be able to continue along in this mode of relative stress-free crafting for about a month and I think I'll have all my crafting loose ends tied up! Cross your fingers...