We had quite a little scare this morning that included a trip to the emergency vet. She’s fine, but we think she may have eaten something bad on her walk. The dangers of city life. Whatever it is, she’s been sleeping it off…
Hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!
Still working on my craft room. I’ve been busy posting things to ebay and hoping that they sell cause we all know it’s better to get a little cash then none at all.
Here is a big mess o’ stuff that I’m still sorting through and hoping to get rid of. It may not look like much, but cross-stitch mags and patterns are deceptively small. So much stuff!
Not everything there is going, but a lot of it is.
The worst part is the closet… I shudder just thinking about it.
OK, I’ve seen worse, but I know that almost everything in there needs to go and it’s just so hard sometimes to let it go. So many things just taking up space, but all have some sort of potential or meaning. Ugh!
Then there’s Leeloo. Still trying to get actual in focus pictures of her. She moves so much!
So this evening while I’m fooling with the camera it dawns on me that I always use this camera on auto and maybe I should turn that off and fool with the shutter speed. And there you have it. Picture perfect. Sometimes I amaze even myself.
I’ve been using my tiny little lap tap a lot more lately and it has a nice little tap tap when I type. Even though I sometimes wish I had a bit larger screen I do really like the keyboard on this little guy.
Anywho, yesterday was a day off from work so we lazed around most of the day and then after lunch we headed out to IKEA again. I’m determined to get my little nook room tidied up, purged, and organized. We bought another Expedit piece, you can see it here, and some additional organizational pieces to go in the cubbies. I then spent the rest of the evening putting it together and then mercilessly going through the junk items and trashing, donating, or setting up for Ebay. Feel free to check out my auctions here. My goal is to put up 5 or so items until I run out. I might be doing this for a while…
I may not have gotten much sleep last night, but I felt super productive. Though it is a little disheartening to go in there and see a bit of a bigger mess. I realize that most of the stuff piled up is either leaving through Ebay and if it doesn’t sell it’s going straight to charity, but it really is a lot. I can’t mess around with this stuff. I feel like I’m at critical mass and everything must go! Right now I’m concentrating on the cross stitch items, but once that has been cleaned out the knitting is next. It’s not as bad, but it’s starting to be. I was on a forum in Ravelry earlier and they were discussing completing one sock weight yarn project a month. This was an idea that the Yarn Harlot had put out there last January and it’s a pretty good one. Not sure if it’s doable for me, but I’m seriously considering picking out 12 and creating a project pack with yarn and pattern just ready to go when I’m ready. At least that way I’ll feel like I have a plan for some of this stuff.
As I’m reading over this I really don’t want anyone to think that I have a bunch of stuff lying around and it’s all crap. The real problem is that I really like all these things, but it’s become overwhelming and it just plain makes me anxious every time I walk in there. The exact opposite of the inspiring and relaxing feeling that I want to have in that space. It’s going to happen, but this may take me several months to sort this all out. *sigh*
Today was a day spent almost entirely of knitting and watching TV. It was great! Of course, that means that there’s not much to say today.
So, I’ll be back with something more interesting tomorrow. Or not, we’ll see.
It’s been a nice couple of days here. Last night we went to Yoshi’s to see Clairedee perform her annual Christmas Eve show and it was really wonderful! The music was great and we shared a table with a couple super nice ladies. Good times!
I realize today is Christmas, but even though I tried to make things festive and we ate cookies and pepperoni rolls sent from our mom’s and opened gifts it’s just not the same without the rest of your family. Now, don’t go feeling sorry for us or anything. We had gifts to open and I was able to use the ceramic Christmas tree my mom painted way back in the 80’s. Pretty!
And there’s always the Yule Holiday Log channel. I really tried to take a picture of Santa’s arm coming in and stoking the fire, but I just didn’t have the patience to sit around and wait for the phantom arm to show up again.
What was really nice about today is that Leeloo took a nap mid morning and I was able to get several pattern rows done on the shawl. I am getting really excited about wearing it, but that dang chart is complicated and if I’m not totally focused on it I tend to miss the yarn overs. Super annoying.
In the afternoon we went to see Tron Legacy in 3-D. Loved it! I thought they did a really great job in moving the story forward. Interesting side note, after the movie I mentioned to Joe that I was going to put the original Tron (from 1982) in my Netflix queue and he said it probably isn’t there. Something about Disney being embarrassed about it cause it was really bad. Hmmm… so yeah, not currently available on Netflix and I checked Amazon to see if it was available. So? Yeah, it’s available. But only from third party sellers for crazy prices. No one seems to be selling it retail. Check here for what I found. I find things like this intriguing. It’s like Lucas updating the original Star Wars. It’s just weird. You just can’t compare a movie made today to one made 20 + years ago. Things change. You can’t remake the past. Time to move forward.
Speaking of moving forward. I’ve also been working on my big Noro blanket. I happened to unfold it today, which apparently I hadn’t done in forever. Wow! It’s much bigger than I realized. Heh. I feel like I might be able to finish this thing up sometime in 2011. I guess that makes it a New Years Resolution.
What a lovely day! First I got to spend some quality sleep fun time with Leeloo. She looks so innocent, no?
Oh, am I not supposed to be on the stairs?
It seems that the pillow needs to be “taken care of”.
Totally exhausted. Note that it is apparently more comfortable to not sleep on the squishy pillow.
Later Joe and I went out to a late lunch at La Mediterranee in Pac Heights. Yummy! We had hummus, a spinach salad, and a mixed plate. Would totally eat there again. Afterwards we roamed around the neighborhood and stopped in a couple of shops and just generally fooled around. Then Joe was nice enough to take me over to Imagiknit so I could do some pre-Christmas yarn shopping for yours truly.
I bought some really gorgeous Malabrigo Rios. Two skeins are for my scarf and two are for Joe’s. I’ll let you decide which two belong together.
For Christmas Eve festivities we’re headed over to Yoshi’s for a show. I’ll let you know how that was tomorrow. For now it’s time for a dog walk and dinner.
Our baby is growing up. We went to puppy school tonight a little early for a short puppy play time and she didn’t hug the wall! She actually pounced and chased and acted like an actual well adjusted puppy. I’m such a proud momma. Of course, towards the end the instructor was using her as an example on how to get them to wait for their food bowl (not rush it) and the instructor accidently kicked the bowl and scared poor Leeloo half to death. She wouldn’t even eat yummy treats out of it after that. Oh well, I guess we can’t expect too much after only a few weeks.
I would post some pictures or video of tonight, but we were too distracted by the cuteness. We’ll have to get some next week cause you have to meet the other cuties in her class. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate with all the puppiness everywhere.
Getting ready for an early night, but I made the mistake of turning on Hoarders first. Well, maybe not a mistake since I emptied out a large plastic bag of clothes and miscellaneous items and culled through some old junk jewelry that has been taking up space. Happens every time I turn that show on. Maybe I should watch it more often. Heh.
,rain, go away, come again another day… Of course, that’s like wishing for no sand in the desert at the moment. We have rain forecast for the next foreseeable future.
I would have put the 10 day forecast up, but it looks just like this only it takes up more space. So, with all this rain comes our first real trials and tribulations of puppy potty training. She just doesn’t want to be out in the rain and she hasn’t figured out how that crazy umbrella of mine works. What this actually means is that we go outside more, not less, which is what she would ultimately like. I hope she figures this all out soon.
On a brighter note, I was able to finish the scarf I was working on and now I’m going to concentrate on the Orchid Thief shawl. It’s definitely an at home project, which means I need to look into another simple traveling project. Maybe a vanilla sock with this beautiful Trekking yarn that I bought way back when I first started knitting because I saw someone else knitting socks out of it. That was back in ‘07, it’s probably time to set it free.
On that note, I leave you with Leeloo.
Phew! Spent some time this evening going through all these random piles of paper that I stack all over the place. I really need to keep in mind that the recycle bin is my friend, but I seem to have this fear that I’m totally going to need that piece of paper that I picked up the craft show with that awesome jewelry designers info. Keep in mind that as far as I recall I have not once gone back to these people and bought something. Yet, I hang on to them incessantly. Oh and that’s just one tiny corner of the random stuff that (mostly paper for some reason) that I hold on to. Yet another corner of the crazy I like to air in the sun from time to time.
In other news, I’ve been able to knit a little more the past few days. I’m trying to get back to it and get some projects off the needles so I can move along to bigger and better things. I have a plan… I hope it works!
Before I go, I leave you with little sleepy Leeloo. She is exhausted from her first day of puppy day care at SF Puppy Prep. I’m a fan!
Another busy day. Sometimes I feel like my life is a whirlwind of activity. Mostly puppy activity, but we all know that’s to be expected. I mean, it’s not like I got a puppy and thought she would just train herself. Though, that would have been really awesome!
Tonight we took her to puppy school, which is really more for us than for her. I really have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing, but feel like I have a bit more of a grasp on this training thing now. I’ll let you know in a week or so if I’m eating those words. Heh.
I’ve actually been able to get some knitting time in, which has been so very nice. Nothing too complicated, my Orchid Thief has been waiting patiently on the sidelines for a time when I can concentrate on all that lace. Tinking back is not much fun on that thing and I speak from experience… No, I’ve been working on a nice simple ribbed scarf that I can pick up and put down as the need arises. Perfect for me at the moment.
In the meantime I’ve been daydreaming about some sort of sweater to knit. So far I’ve found two that intrigue me. One is Collins, which of course the lovely tweedy yarn that was used has been discontinued. I’m sure I can find some sort of substitute, but I really don’t like putting that much effort into these things. Then there’s Paper Dolls, which I saw someone knit with Madelinetosh merino light and it’s just beautiful. The only downside to this one is that I’ve not done any colorwork before and I’m not sure I want to experiment on a sweater.
So there you have my knitting and puppy adventures for the day. See you tomorrow!
It’s late and I’ve procrastinated yet again on writing. My brain is tired and I don’t have much coherent to say so I’m leaving you with a video of Leeloo eating her dinner.
It’s been a long fun weekend. We spent time at puppy socials, a people only social, and went to dinner this evening at Zuni Café. I was even able to get in some meaningful knitting time in. I think we’re beginning to figure out our new schedule and able to get back to a semi-normal existence.
Having a puppy is exhausting and a lot of work (I know, duh, right?), but she won’t be this way forever and I’m sure we’ll look back on this with a sense of relief and sadness that the puppy days are gone. Before that happens I’m just going to work on getting a full nights rest!
OK. If you haven’t taken the time to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs you are missing out. We’re not even all the way through and we’ve been laughing like crazy!
You really should be watching it right now. Go! What are you waiting for??
How tired? Did anyone realize that I wrote essentially the same post on the 5th and 6th? Heh. I guess traveling to the east coast for a week and a half (and getting sick), then the day after I get home we drive 3 hours to pick up our little Leeloo. As you’ve probably guessed it’s been non-stop with her highness the bundle of energy since. So tonight was my night to relax. I lounged around all evening and now it’s time for some much needed rest.
See you tomorrow!
So besides playing with the ball of cuteness that arrived on Saturday. What have I been up to? Not a whole lot actually. But before she arrived I was working on this beautiful shawl. I’d made some good progress on it too and now I’ve totally stalled out. I knit one row Sunday night and then ended up having to pull back 3 rows because, really, I’m that awesome.
So here is my Orchid Thief in her unfinished glory. I have grand plans of spending some leisure time this weekend knitting and hopefully at least getting through one repeat before it’s Monday again. One can dream…
Have you tried to take a picture of a feisty fast moving pup? It’s tough.
More blur.
Finally!
Or you just wait till she’s sleeping.
And just so you, she’s sleeping on my lap right now. It’s hard to type a post with only one free hand…
Do you have any idea how hard it is to photograph a moving target?
When she does sit still she must obviously be facing the wrong direction. Obviously.
Looks like I will have to enlist Joe for some decent photo ops.
Today we welcome our new addition to the family.
Say hello to Leeloo (from The Fifth Element). You may have noticed that we did not go with Peaches as we had originally planned. Minds were changed. Oh, and her full name is Lady Leeloo Van Meter. That may not be Joe approved, but it’s going on her papers regardless.
She’s a super ham.
She may have stolen my heart… now if only I can get her to go potty so we can settle down for the night.
I’m flying through the air on my way back home. It’s been a long trip filled with family, friends, and a stop over into the land of crud, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything*!
For the past couple of hours I’ve been catching up on my blog reading. I started with about 140 and I’m down to 42. I either need to cull a few from the herd or learn to skip a few posts here and there. It’s a sickness the way I feel I must read them all or else! I wonder if the world would truly end of I dared to mark them all as read and move on with my day?
Tomorrow is puppy day! We will be picking up or 12 week old miniature schnauzer, Peaches, around 11AM and I think I might die of excitement! This is going to be a tough few months with all my her training and settling in, but I know it will be totally worth it! Keep your eye out for pics… I have a feeling there might be one or two.
* well, I definitely would have traded the crud for a few extra days to visit friends.
Not surprisingly, the topic of productivity came up at work today. During the discussion our manager said his motto is “do one thing”. This really struck a cord in me and I feel like this could be a theme I need to adopt for my everyday life. The point of “do one thing” is to not literally do one thing and then take the rest of the day off, but to be sure that no matter what else comes up or gets thrown at you that you keep coming back to that one thing until it’s done. Then, you focus in on the next item. Rinse. Repeat.
I like this since some of my home productivity issues are due to a spot it and do it mentality. I may have my list of things to get done, but if I walk into the bedroom and see a glass that needs to go in the kitchen I’ll pick it up and take it down. There I see the dishes need washed so I’ll do that, oh and then I need to take those dirty dishtowels up to the laundry and start those in the wash, but I get sidetracked by the shoes that need to go in the closet. My afternoon of cleaning becomes an unproductive hodge podge of half done activities. Yes, those things did need to be done, but they either weren’t priority or were done halfway cause I flaked out half way through to start something else.
Do One Thing
This may be my new motto…
And… she’s back, again. This time with yet another ambitious project.
This month I’m joining NaBloPoMo, which I believe I tried once a while back and if I remember correctly I failed miserably. So here I am, try, try, trying again. This month’s theme is Zeitgeist, which they are defining as “capturing the mood of your culture and your life as they exist right now.” December is going to be a busy month and I expect I should have plenty to write about. Of course, that typically has not been my downfall. My downfall has been actually taking the time to sit down and write about it. I am a born procrastinator. Doing those absolutely non-essential things just so that the essential things can be done in a panic at the last second and with great anxiety. I am awesome.
In order to attempt to cultivate some better habits I have joined a site called Health Month, which is a pretty fun site where you can set goals for yourself and then check in daily to see how you’re doing. I’ve done it for the past two months and did great the first round and miserable the second. I’m back for a third try in December to try and get back on track. My goals being:
Take vitamins 6 days a week
Meditate 3 days a week
Blog every day
My goals may not seem particularly difficult, but for me goal setting can be challenging in my personal time. I’ve never seemed to have to much trouble with this in a work setting, but when it comes to my own time it seems an impossibility. Strange, I realize, but true none the less.
So keep your eyes open and feel free to send me nasty grams if I start to slack off. Motivation is key!
I know everyone has been waiting so impatiently on an update of my craft room. Seriously. This has got to be high drama for the people of the interwebs.
The thrilling part is that I actually did not procrastinate at all on this project*. With Joe’s help I sorted and arranged every picture we owned and tossed the dupes, of which there were many. Once I had a grasp on how many we were talking about I promptly ordered the correct box for shipping. Thursday, after having said box for only two days, sat down and packed it up. I know! All that was left was to get this sucker in the mail Saturday** Well, not entirely all. I’ve ordered a second box that will take care of the remainder and then all of our pictures will be officially part of the digital age!
So what to do with that extra space? I’m sure it will be put to good yarn storage use. Next up is magazines… srsly? Why on earth do I feel the need to save/buy all those magazines? Anyone? Anyone?
I think it’s now time to get back to knitting on Serenity. Cause I’m worth it!
* at least so far…
** the box weighs approximately eleventy billion pounds and I’m not going to haul it around the city on a bus to get it to the post office.
Don’t answer that… it’s rhetorical.
A bit of random for today:
The end.
Here is a pic of my craft room a few weeks ago, before I really started getting down to business.I’m not sure it really shows the layers of minutiae that need to be dealt with, but it was not looking good.
I decluttered quite a bit. Moved things around. Then I started working on the pictures. Now this is a project!
I realized that I have years of photos sitting in books and boxes that we just don’t have the space for. I mean, I would let them have space if I had actually looked at any of these since we went digital. That brings us to a company called Scan My Photos. Brother Joe has used them in the past and had good things to say about them so I’ve decided to just do it. Once the photos have been scanned they are all being trashed. It feels so wrong to throw all that stuff away, but seriously? What good does it do me for them to be hanging out in the back of a closet for another ten years?
This would be a pretty simple assignment if it wasn’t for all the duplicates. I apparently felt the need to own two of everything. This could take awhile…
So I came across this really great blog a while back. I found it pretty interesting, but really wasn’t keeping up with until the past week. Most likely cause I was in the midst of our craziness and knew things needed to go already. Now I’m at the point where things are settling down and I need a little extra impetus to keep up the momentum.
In our new abode I have a room to call my very own. I’ve been calling it a craft room, but well, I want it to be my own personal space amongst the shared. Right now it’s a complete disaster. Not complete, but close. There is no calm zen in there, its chaos. Chaos that needs to go. That means I’ve made a decision. There needs to be a quick and brutal purge and soon. Like starting tonight. Here’s the start to my plan*:
So what’s the reward? Well, this past week while Joe’s parents were visiting we actually walked through a lot of the cool stores here in the new ‘hood. One spot in particular, Nancy Boy, had some really cool vintage furniture and amongst them this awesome 60’s-70’s desk with chair. Love it! Need to have it! But I can’t with a crappy cluttered room that has no personality.
The goal is to have that room in shape in the next two weekends. That’s really pushing my ‘let it go’ boundaries, but that may be exactly what I need.
*Note that Joe may be skeptical about the plan, but I really want my reward that I’m not even sure I’m getting cause I haven’t actually mentioned it yet.
Sunday we drove up to Stinson Beach to see what it was all about. The plan was also to stop in Muir Woods, but by the time we left the beach we were both pretty much ready to head home.
The actual town of Stinson Beach is pretty small. It’s a nice place to spend a leisurely afternoon for lunch and taking a walk on the beach. It was pretty chilly out, or so we thought, but that didn’t seem to stop people from spending time in the water. Water that Joe and I thought was too cold to even walk through. Brr!
Let’s start with some pictures of our drive to Stinson Beach.
A lot of fog in this area. Well, their seems to be a lot of fog in general here.
Wasn’t there a Steven King book about fog?
The water may have been cold, but it was really beautiful.
This was one of my favorites.
And Em, this one is for you. The cutest pugs evah!
Last, but not least. A couple videos of us driving around. I think I see a cool little video camera in my future.
Yesterday I took my first foray into the East Bay via the Bart. Joe needed the car so I headed out to Knit One One in Berkeley to attend the Brave New Knits book signing and trunk show.
I was a little nervous about showing up on my own, but soon realized that this was a really great and friendly bunch! Julie Turjoman was so sweet and really everyone their was super nice. I will definitely be attending other events at Knit One One.
We had a great time trying on the different pieces. It’s great to be able to try on something you’re thinking about knitting. There are several sweaters I would love to try and now I know what changes I need to make so they will be perfect fit for me.
I would post pictures, but it seems that I was too distracted to even think about it. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I was completely derelict in those duties. Oh well, I guess there’s always next time.
Joe picked me up from the event and we headed over to Telegraph Avenue to find some dinner. We ended up at Lanesplitter and had some really great pizza. I think it may have been the best we’ve had so far. Service was so so (we didn’t get a refill on our drinks and Joe ran out), but I felt like it was one of those places where that’s just the way it is and you deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was very friendly just maybe not as attentive as I would have liked. Though, I don’t think that will deter us from going again if we’re in the area.
That’s about it for now. Joe and I are heading up to Stinson Beach today to see what we can see. Cross your fingers that I remember to take some pics!
Some of you may be wondering what is going on in Casa de City* or you may have wandered off into some other corner of the internets. Possibly a corner that gets updated more than once a month.
Our new abode is almost ready for visitors. We realized once we got here that most of the furniture that we actually did bring with us was really not suited for apartment life. And so, the shopping began. Joe and I approach this type of thing very differently. He is the make a decision get it done shopper. I’m the let’s pick a few pieces, see what they look like, find a few more, rinse, repeat, 8 months later it’s done shopper. You can see that we both had to make some concessions there… Thursday our new couch will be here (joy!) and then Joe is going to pick up a new rug that afternoon. Done and done! At least the part that visitors will see.
I think I’m going to miss the fancy cardboard speaker stands…
So, other than 2372 trips to West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and other various stores we’ve been sorta busy. We have in fact missed two events due to our distraction with the apartment and not putting a note in our calendars, but we have managed to make it to some fun things.
A few weeks back we went on a fun trip to Napa Valley with a tour company called Gears & Grapes. They picked us up in the city and drove a group of us to Quixote winery where we sipped some wine, ate some yummy cheese, and were allowed to see where they made their wine. From there we hopped on bikes and for the rest of the tour we rode from one winery to the next, four in total, until we arrived at my very favorite, Tres Sabores winery. That is definitely one I will want to visit again.
The Quixote Winery
A view from the winery
The owner of Tres Sabores had a beautiful garden
And don’t forget the little bababa’s
Our hosts from Gears & Grapes were really great!
I have also recently discovered the joys of Netflix (someone remind me, why do we have cable?). I already thought it was super awesome and then brother Joe called a week or so ago and mentioned he was watching shows on his computer/iPad/iPhone… what? I’m now hooked. In a week I watched an entire season of Dexter, which by the way is a MUST SEE. I had to step away before watching the second season or you might have never heard from me again. Did I mention how cool it is to watch TV from you iPhone on the bus? It is. You should try it.
I did at least do some knitting whilst whiling away the hours watching streaming video. This sock has been in a state of not finished for over a year now. I’ve actually ripped it out and restarted it about 3 maybe 4 times. It must be completed. It must be completed so that I can start on its mate. Don’t even get me started on the fact that there needs to be two of them.
* I’m told the locals never call it SF or San Fran, but it can be called the city.
I’m done with the move, at least for now. Maybe I’ll post pictures of the controlled disaster that was moving day, but right now I want to focus on the fun that is brandied cherries. I mean what’s not to love about brandied cherries?
I came across this yummy recipe on the Craft website (which is a fantastic website, btw). It was on!
So here are the ingredients.
Basically it’s a flavored simple syrup which you use to marinate the cherries along with a generous helping of brandy.
So, here you have it people. The only problem is that now I have to stop and get some additional ingredients so that I can make the drink that goes with it…
Looks like I’m on my way to restocking the bar!
Well Hello from the City!
I’m here, we made it relatively unscathed. Their were some battles with the movers and my lovely bronchitis, but I’m here. Here with Joe in the city of San Francisco.
It’s weird to think that I’ve only been here for about 4 days, but I already feel at home. Besides the fact that instead of 99% humidity at 99 F it’s a balmy 60 F and a tad breezy. Oh and the fact that I’m living not out of a suitcase per se, but more like the floor until the moving truck arrives.
And the fact I keep thinking about stuff that maybe I should have brought with me, like the battery charger for my camera. Oops!
So, the packers came on Thursday and packed ALL DAY. No lunch break or anything. They left us with this… a bunch of rooms filled with boxes.
Friday, the truck was supposed to arrive to load everything up. It didn’t. So, they showed up on Saturday at 6AM. Good enough.
It was strange seeing your stuff out on the street waiting to be put in a giant cross country hauler.
I will admit, it was sad to leave this house, the city, our friends…
Now, it’s off to new adventures. I think we’re ready…
