rush of caffeine and fiber

With new coffees to try and several fiber choices to knit from, I am ready to begin a new project or two (after the holidays). My package from Steph arrived (ok, a few days ago...but I've been a bit busy), and I am truly pleased.



Contents included:

1. Interweave Knit's "Holiday Gifts" magazine, which I had been brooding about but hadn't been able to find.


2. Handmade ladybug stitch markers that fit up to a US 10 needle. Surely I won't loose these.


3. Coffee: Peruvian Fair Trade Organic (love fair trade coffees) and "Flying Monkey". I can't wait to try these. Steph says the Flying Monkey is Guatemalan with a hint of "mystery". These coffees are from a local roaster in PA who carries coffee originating from Bali, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda,...too many other countries to list them all.


4. Fiber:

• Louet Euroflax Aberdeen Heather linen yarn--chunky weight, "milkweed" (silver/grey) colorway.

• Jaeger baby merino--DK weight, "charcoal grey" and "pearl" colorways.

• 60 yards of her own (yes, you read that correct) hand spun yarn with bits of pink recycled silk.

As I sat gushing over the contents of the box, the cats were enjoying the box itself.

my owl arrived

My package from my pal from Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 3 arrived today.

Contents:

Uno with Harry Potter characters on the cards. This is coming with us camping! Dove milk chocolate covered almonds. So smooth...they just melt in the mouth, like they weren't worth any calories at all. Italian milk chocolate with almonds bar. I'll have to fight for my half with my husband. Brittany birch hardwood dpn's, 7 1/2 inches, US #2 (2.75mm). Cookie A.'s "Twisted Flower" sock pattern. I have been drooling over this pattern for quite some time. I love the almost Celtic design she has created with this pattern, as well as the way the heel is part of the pattern. Perfect to wear with clogs, where the heel shows.







Point protectors/stitch holders in the shape of golden snitches. They have this wonderful glow and sheen to them in the light. Ravenclaw stitch markers: three with blue gems, two with teeny-tiny golden snitches. Two skeins of Knit Picks, Palette, Peruvian highland wool: marine heather, and wood colorways. My mind is already whirling with a half dozen projects that these could be a part of. A skein of Seacoast Handpainted yarn, 50% merino wool, 50% tencel: kelp colorway. It has hints of purples and greens as well as blues and browns. Quite stunning. Oh, and the handmade bag! Deep blue outside, a shimmering bronze inside, with a pocket (inside) and a button closure. The handle is long enough to sling over the shoulder so that, if one were so coordinated enough, one could be walking and knitting at the same time.

chemically induced knitting

I am ending this year (of swaps) with Knittymama's Coffee Swap III. It's so addicting and so very time consuming to be involved in swaps. My first swap was Knittymama's Coffee Swap II, so it seems fitting to me to end on the same caffeine-jazzed note. My answers to the coffee swap questions (honestly, they are cut-and-pasted from the last coffee swap with only a few minor adjustments):

1. Whole bean or ground? Whole bean. I have a fully-equipped coffee corner in the kitchen which makes this possible.


2. Fully loaded or decaf? Are you kidding? Fully loaded of course (otherwise what's the point?). Caffeine is my "drug of choice".


3. Regular or flavored? Regular. Why change a thing?


4. How do you drink your coffee? Hot and straight up (black), with a curl of the lip if you try to move my mug before the first cup is done. My coffee and I have a morning thing.


5. Favorite coffee ever? One year a student in my classroom brought back from his family vacation in Guatemala a one pound bag of locally grown coffee--it was rich with a bit of a nutty aftertaste. I coveted it and yet, being only a pound, was gone all too quickly.


6. Are you fussy about your coffee? (Fussy? See number 4.) I don't like bitter coffee or the super dark roasted.


7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Homemade banana bread (with walnuts, of course) smeared with low-fat cream cheese. Oh, I can taste it already. Fresh bread just out of the oven with melted fresh butter on top and sometimes a dab of honey. If you are going to go "bad", go with style.


8. Anything else about your coffee preference? Hum...can't think of anything.


9. Yarn/fiber you love? Wool, cashmere, silk, qiviut, angora, alpaca...well, all the wonderful natural fibers.


10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Hate is such a strong word, but it quite fits here: acrylics, man-made-oil-synthetic-based products, and those novelty yarns.
    


11. What's on your needles? Socks (on two circulars), wristlets in baby alpaca, baby cardigan for my neighbor.
    


12. Favorite colors? Blues, greens, browns, dark purples, dark reds. No pastels, no pinks, no bright oranges, no neons.
    


13. Allergies? No, only to things that bloom *sigh* (my garden, my lemon trees, etc.) but it doesn't stop me.


14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? In the order of chocolate (just in case you want to know), no dark chocolate. Please, no dried fruit (it's a texture thing). As far as knitting, I carry my knitting in baskets--oh, I use canvas bags, but they are inside the baskets. Absolutely love knitting with rosewood and birch needles. Bamboo are ok but manufacturer's quality is not consistent. I support fair trade and women's cooperatives for products when possible.

contest called by slytherin prefect

In the quest to have other students at Hogwarts better understand us, we students of the "Sock Swap 2" class were given the task of answering questions about ourselves.

• As a pet companion while at Hogwarts, I would choose a cat (since I really only have three accepted choices). A cat will keep one company during studies, both in the House common room as well as the sleeping quarters, and at night curling into the crook of an arm or knee. A cat could travel in the Muggle world without causing a stir. If one could choose "outside" of the approved list, I would have a sheep (kept safe and away from other creatures such as dragons, of course). It could provide fleece much needed for making clothes for house elves.
• The sweets/treats I would get from Honeydukes Sweetshop in Hogsmeade would be milk chocolate frogs, cockroach clusters (almonds or walnuts), and chocoballs. Ambosius Flume is well known in the wizard world for his variety of fine chocolates.
• In describing my typical, casual, while-not-at-work Muggle outfit, I would say Levis button-up (blue)-jeans (all the Muggles wear them), three-quarter sleeve black, brown, or blue t-shirt, Birkenstocks, hand-knitted socks (in cooler weather), a wool or alpaca pullover sweater in cooler weather or a hooded-sweatshirt.
• My favorite subject to study at Hogwarts would be difficult to say. I have three in top running and which one is top on the list changes with the hour/day. These top three are transfiguration, herbology, and potions. In learning transfiguration, wouldn't it be grand to be able to change into other creatures and experience flying, or climbing a tree, or digging a hole? To wander unnoticed by others? With herbology, one could have a fantastic garden and be able to take care of those nasty Muggle viruses right away. Potions demands careful thought and measurement, like a Muggle chemistry or biology class.
• My least favorite subject to study at Hogwarts would be divination. It is a class only a few can succeed at. Predicting future events carries with it great sorrow and responsibility.
• In shopping for ingredients in the Muggle world for potion making, In kitchen potion making, I would be looking for black beluga or petite golden lentils, Yama Moto Yama "Genmai-cha" green tea with roasted brown rice, whole bean rich unflavored coffee beans, and raw walnuts. Colors of the potions: earth tones, deep rich tones--nothing glaring or flashy. The lentils provide warmth and comfort, the tea and coffee provide cleansing and restfulness, the walnuts provide a surprise in a salad. In bathroom potion making, I would be looking for chamomile, lemon, or patchouli essences which would be used to wash the body or found in a candle.
  

an unveiling

The month of September has started out in a spectacular way with the arrival of several boxes over the past few days.

First, I must say a "wow" and most heart-felt thank you to my pal from KVVS, Cass. Can you just feel the softness? The deep rich color is fabulous. Pure joy at receiving this (Berroco Ultra Alpaca, color 6281):

And then came her box from Tennessee, exploding with the most delightful items (information pamphlets on the National Storytelling Festival and the Center, a pictorial map of Jonesborough, milk chocolate, playing cards with Great Smokey Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains images, a national storytelling mug, "Storytellers Brew" coffee beans, wildflowers seed collection of the Blue Ridge Mountains, "Tennessee Fire" hot sauce, "Tennessee's Best" apple butter, Prairie Home Companion's Pretty Good Joke Book, an early American "Ring Knitter", and two magazines Blue Ridge Country (similar to Sunset in the West) and WNC: Mountain Living in Western North Carolina). I don't know how she knew that I love storytelling and incorporate these skills (not at the same level as those that attend the national festivals) in my teaching. The chocolate and coffee--divine. I can't wait to plant the seeds in my flower bed next spring. The hot sauce will be with dinner tonight, the apple butter for breakfast. The playing cards will be used regularly. Prairie Home Companion has been my weekly "me" time with the radio for over twenty years. The instructions for the ring knitter says it is the perfect size to make rope. I am so buying some hemp and giving it a try. The two magazines are brilliant. They are a magical way to see my pal's part of the country. There is an article in WNC about bluegrass music (one of my favorites). For years I have wanted to learn to play the fiddle. Between this article, and the post in a favorite blog-read of mine, I am going to have to seriously look into a fiddle with lessons! Again, thank you my virtual vacation pal. I treasure my items. This experience has shown me that Tennessee needs to be on my "to do" list of vacation spots.

Following those, two other boxes were dropped off. They had these, for my birthday (which is at the end of the month):

I can't wait to use them. No more begging my knitting pals to bring theirs to our nights-o'knitting.

Books for inspiration and expansion of my creative side:

I can hardly wait for cool weather. They are the perfect catalyst for a new project or two. Amazon is my friend.

hsks3 q & a

An owl has delivered a list of questions to be filled out for HSKS3. I have already been in contact with my spoiler partner and have sent her a small dissertation of information, but I will post these basic answers anyway.

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Why, Ravenclaw, of course!

2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars? I'm starting to get into Addi circulars for my socks. I currently only have 2 - #1's at 24". With dpn's, I prefer wood or bamboo to metal. I have 4", 5", and 6" dpn's, in #1, #1 1/2, #2, #3, and #4. I know, I know, Addi's are metal, but they're circulars so slip-age is reduced to almost nothing. Favorite brands of dpn's: Lantern Moon (oh, yes), Brittany, and Crystal Palace.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? I have read about "Valley Farms" hard bamboo dpn's. I always enjoy Lantern Moon, of course. It would be nice to get #1 or #2 in a 9" or 8". **You do know that there are actually two sizes for #1 and #2...depending if you get the American version or the European version in millimeters? #1 can be 2.25mm and 2.50mm. #2 can be 2.75mm and 3.00mm. In some projects, this can make a difference. Metric is so much more precise.

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I prefer the blue/grey combo simply because I am not fond of metalic yarns. However, a darker blue with a bronze/brown that is warm in tones would be nice.

5. Do you have any allergies? Thank goodness, no.

6. If you are swapping scarves - what is your desired length for the pattern? This will help your partner find the pattern that is just right for you and buy yarn accordingly. Nope. I only received my letter to come to Hogwarts this year. I'm a year one.

bandy, exchange, swap

There are only a few days left to sign up for the Hogwarts Sock/Scarf Kit Swap 3. You have until the end of the month. Spots are left... Go quickly to the site and sign up! I know...it's another swap but it's not secret, so you and your partner get to know each other well. There's no questionnaire to fill out (not that I mind but sometimes, if you are involved in too many swaps, it can seem redundant to say the same thing in three spots). Requirements: make a bag, gather a sock kit, include some other items,--well, you go to the site and check it out for yourself.

notes to pals

Dear KVVS pal:

Here's a hint of an item prepared for your package. Sirani (the cat) is not included but she is part of the hint. She helped in the knitting...can you tell? You must forgive her as she was chewing on her plant and was a little "high".




Dear Sally-Anne:

Nascha, my beautiful owl, was quite tired from a three-day flight to deliver the fibers I ordered on Muggle-net from Madam Milkin's shop. She brought two packages, laying them on a pallet outside my potions shed.




With a simple Alohomora, the paper folded open to reveal:

One containing fibers cast in Gryffindor house colors.




One containing a lushious skein of "Sexy Chocolate Cherry" sock yarn which took flight shortly after I unwrapped it, to land in my blackberry bush. This bush is known to attack anyone who gets too close to it with deadly thorns. After the extraction of the sock yarn, a healing spell was required (not for the fiber but for me). The blackberry plant now is thornless, thanks to yet another spell I found in a dusty book in the northeast corner of the library.

Gathering materials to start soon,

Your partner, Lily Ravenclaw

muggle's technology stumps me

First something fun:

Doris Dumbledore and I were stuck on the moving staircase last night. As we sat there, wondering what we were missing for dinner in the Great Hall, she told me about a wand quiz she had read about in the Daily Prophet. I couldn't resist. Here's the result.




My score on The Harry Potter Wand Test:

10 1/4", Yew wood, Veela core

"A yew wand signifies a wizard of great wisdom and intellect and is very useful in transfigurations. The veela hair as a wand core means that you are slightly unpredictable but very powerful."

First Year's stumbling with the Muggle's systems:

Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress has paired Sally-Anne Clearwater, of Gryffindor, and I up for this term. I was very excited and decided to order my Gryffindor fiber right away. With my owl out hunting and not being allowed to use magic outside of school, I bravely chose to use the Muggle's ordering system of the internet. Since Gringotts doesn't do transactions in the Muggle world, I decided to use my Paypal account, which I know Madam Milkin will accept.

With confidence, I logged on to the site I was ordering from, hunted down the colorways needed, checked them into the "cart", and proceeded to checkout, choosing Paypal as the preferred form of payment. This is where the trouble started.

"Incorrect Email"...no, I've used only this one. I tried two more times. I tried another email account (yes, I have several, all for a different use/reason) even though I knew it wasn't the email I use for Paypal. "Incorrect Email". I tried a different route: I pretended to not remember my email. Paypal asked me for personal information, which I gladly provided. "Incorrect account number." What? What do you mean? I know my credit card number! Thinking maybe I typed it in wrong, I tried several more times. Nope. I went back to Paypal, entered my email, and pretended to not remember my password. I am told I would get a message through my email on security questions, followed by my password. I looked at my emails thinking Paypal sent me an email (I know...but I have hope that the electronic systems intuitively know what I want and will have mercy on me). No emails. Maybe it takes time, so I went about doing some laundry, knitted a little, and came back to the computer. I logged on to my emails. No new emails from Paypal. No personal security questions. No password. Well, let's just wipe this clean and get a new account. No. The system won't let me create a new account because I have a perfectly good useable account already. Big bright red letters formed in words tell me this. What's a knitter to do?

New tactic: I called Paypal (this is not a toll-free number, folks) and got a laundry list of choices (all recorded voice). Do I already have an account (speak clearly into the phone and say "yes" or "no")...yes. Using the keypad of the phone, key in your phone number. Done. Did I forget my password? Yes (why not...). The automated voice tells me to go the the computer and follow the directions to receive an email about my password. Yes, I think to myself, but that doesn't work. I try ignoring that request and press 1 for more options. At this point, my memory is fuzzy. After several tries at circumventing the now-annoying automated voice, I am given an option of staying on the line for "customer service" (what was it up to this point, I am asking myself). Another computer voice tells me I may be recorded. Yes, please record this so that future customers can maybe avoid this dilemma. The nice guy on the line (yes, yes, a real person) walked me through, quite patiently, (like leading an addled geriatric up the stairs), all the processes I had already tried. I kept telling him the email address was wrong in his system. I held my cell phone to my ear with my shoulder (not the most comfortable position) and went through each step he wanted to try with me on the computer. After twenty minutes, two email addresses and three credit cards later: "You're email is missing a character." No, it's the same address I have had for over three years. "No it is missing a character." How could that be? I get email. I log onto it regularly. Finally, he says, "You are missing an exclamation character." Huh? There is no such creature in my email address. After a few more rounds of this conversation, he says "Let's change your email." Yes, here we go. The screen prompts me for the last four digits of the credit card number. I will spare you the long and sorted conversation pieces. In the end, the credit card numbers I thought I would have used, were not the one I used on Paypal. After many tries, the last credit card numbers I put in worked. With a phone call on my land line to verify who I was and a few codes put into the Paypal system, I gratefully thanked the guy on the phone. I changed my email to the correct address, changed my password, and recovered from "cauliflower ear" for being on the phone so long.

I returned to the fiber site, to complete my transaction. The site had said all items put in your "cart" stay there (basicly forever until you delete or order). Nope. I had to go back through, find the fibers and colorways, re-ordering them. This time, Paypal *ding* worked like a charm. I now await for Muggle mail in the large brown trucks to deliver my package of goodness. Gryffindor colors will soon be on needles.

intelligence, knowledge, and wit = ravenclaw

Dear Readers,

I have just received my invitation as a first year to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am in the process of finding and purchasing all the needed supplies listed in my letter. Among them, a pair of rosewood wands in 10 inches, from the mountains of Lantern Moon (Ollivander's Wand Shop was having a two-for-one sale). I have been told that these wands have been made with a core of baby alpaca fiber found in the Andes of Northern Bolivia. However, these longer wands will not be used in the classes of Arithmancy (numbers, equations, and complicated number charts) or Charms (use of wands), so I also purchased 5-5 inch ebony size 1 double pointed wands. From Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions shop, which she has recently expanded to include spun, yet unwoven, natural fibers, I will order the required colors and fiber needed for my pal this first year. Until the quarter starts, I will work with the wool fibers in the colors of my House and my new rosewood wands for practice. Professor Flitwick, who teaches Charms, has seen that Flourish & Blotts has plenty of books on the shelves showing techniques using the longer, larger wands.

Already buried deep in a spell book,

Lily Ravenclaw, First Year.

Oh, my...what am I doing?! I've joined up with about 150 other frenzied knitters for Hogwarts Sock Swap Two. Don't get confused...the "two" represents the second round--however, there will be year ones (like me) who are invited for the first time, and year twos who are returning for the second "year" but are also in "swap two" just like year ones (in "swap two"). There! Clear as mud on a windshield! Sign-up's for new first years began June 15. Send your "internet owl" over there if you are interested in knitting socks as well as meeting new knitting friends. Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress will be waiting.

Questions requested to be answered forthwith:

1. What Hogwarts house have I been sorted into? Weren't you there? Don't you remember? The sorting hat could only have placed me in one house for my first year...intelligence, knowledge, and wit...Ravenclaw was the obvious choice.


2. What is my shoe size? In the US, it's a 7 to 7 1/2. In European, it's a 38.


3. What is my foot length? In inches: (total foot length) 9 1/4 inches; if I had my toes a different color, my toe length alone is 1 3/4 inches. In centimeters: (total foot length) 23.5 cm; if I had my toes a different color, my toe length alone is 4.5cm. (Remember, if toes are knitted in a different color, to subtract that length from the total foot length.)


4. What is my foot circumference? In inches: 8 5/8 inches. In centimeters: 22cm.


5. List my three favorite dpn brands, including the size and length. Lantern Moon "rosewood" and/or "ebony", 5 inches (12.7cm), sizes 1 (2.25mm) and 2 (2.75mm). Brittany, 5 inches (12.7cm), size 2 (2.75mm). Crystal Palace, 6 inches (15.2cm), size 1 1/2 (2.5mm).


6. Would I like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand, size, and length? Sure, yes, of course! I have always looked at Blue Sky Alpaca dpn's, which are 5 inches (12.7cm) in length, and sizes 1 (2.25mm) or 2 (2.75mm). However, I know they are pricey in nature. I have also thought of, but have never used, aluminum or metal dpn's. Sometimes I have wished for a wee, small length to finish off projects. Addi has a set of dpn's that are aluminum, 4 inches (10.2cm) in length, and range in sizes 0 (2mm), 1 (2.25mm), 2 (2.75mm), 3 (3.25mm) (for purposes of socks).


7. If I am in Ravenclaw, do I prefer colors in the film or the book? Do I have a strong preference? That's me! I'm in Ravenclaw! I assume "colors" are referring to the "metal" color. In the film, it is "grey" while in the book, it is "bronze". I prefer grey (or gray). I really do have a strong preference. I would like to be true to the book, but I truly don't like metal-sheened fibers/yarns. If someone was able to find a "bronze" color but not metal in look or feel, that would be fine. That usually brings one back to grey. Bronze is hard to match without looking gold in nature. **Added later: I found a Ravenclaw sock yarn with a warm brown (serving as a bronze) which I find very pleasing. It's at Woolgirl.**
   


8. Allergies? Do I have any? Will my knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? I do not have allergies--not in the fiber department or animal department. I do, however, have two cats, one of which loves to cuddle while I knit (we won't talk about the other, which prefers to eat wool so knitting is highly protected from him). There is no smoke around, near, inside, or outside of my home or me. No. No.


9. Am I an international participant (outside the U.S.)? Am I willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? I live in the U.S. I am, indeed, willing to have an international pal.

K V V S questions

Since we will be spending our time and money finishing up the front terrace this summer (which involves gravel, sweat, sand, sweat, stone, sweat, mortar, sweat, and a few bandaids) a long vacation doesn't appear to be on the horizon for us. In lieu of this, I am willing to trek on a tour with "Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap" (or KVVS as I will now call it). Thank Anne, Jessi, and Sharon for guiding the tour/hosting this summer swap.

The pictures below are in China...no traffic lights, everyone just merges from many to few lanes (notice there are not merge lane markers on the road either).

1. If you could visit any state in the United States, what would it be and why? This is a tough question because there are so many, each with a unique reason. I will say I would visit Minnesota because it is the home of A Prairie Home Companion. I have listened to this live radio program for over 15 years. I don't want to see a live performance. I think it would ruin the pictures that are created in my mind of the scenes of Garrison Keillor's characters. The oral tradition of telling stories is what truly draws me to the radio program. In our society we bombard our minds with pre-made images through television and video games. Becoming lost in a radio show with visions created by my own minds-eye instead of someone else's is...well, relaxing. Minnesota is also known as a state of many lakes. Lakes and streams means fishing. I love to fish. It's the simplicity of a pole, line, and hook, the walk to "the spot" early in the morning or in the evening, the patience needed--being in the moment. It's the same feeling I get when a knitting project is going through my needles and I see the fiber magically transform into an object as it glides between my fingers and through my needles. Just because I can, a second state would be Maine: the moose is the state animal (how cool is that?); 90% of the state is forested; lighthouses; northernmost state on the east coast.
   


2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why? (I can only talk about one? Not possible. Here are my top ones, not necessarily in order.) South Africa: the third most bio-diverse country in the world; eleven national languages which tells me how incredibly culture-rich this country is; southern hemisphere (opposite seasons to me). Scotland: part of an island (the UK); bagpipes; Gaelic language; highlands; part of my own family history; fibers, knitting, and weaving; Edinburgh (love the sound of that name). Canada: close to the US; bilingualism is the law (English and French) which is awesome (two languages are accepted equally); forested woodlands to tundra environment; no national education department (as a teacher I see that as very interesting).


3. Have you ever driven across several states/providences/countries? Yes. Several summers ago my husband and I packed the Jeep (yeah, the Wrangler...the small Jeep) with camping equipment, clothes, and food for a three+ week tour of many western US states (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and back to home in California). I arranged the entire trip putting it in a binder, with dates, places to stay, contacts of friends and relatives along the way, specific places we wanted to see/visit.




4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it? I used to think of China as exotic. Last summer we went there for three weeks, visiting what seemed like most of the country but in reality only small pieces of it (it is so much bigger than you think). There were many things that we saw that one could call exotic but it's just the way people live in that country. We saw that many parts had been westernized. I'm sure it was a very different experience had we been able to visit China 20 or even 10 years ago. In that respect we were disappointed in some ways.


5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why? There are three. Two I have already answered a bit about: our trip to China and our "tour" of many of the western states. China because my husband and I play a "game" where we say where we would like to go and give each other options about that place and times to be there. That's what I thought we were doing when he talked about China. I went along, just thinking we were just "talking and dreaming", when all of a sudden he gave me visa papers to sign and sent off our passports. Our trip through the western states included enjoying many national parks, visiting old friends, seeing grizzly bears, eating huckleberries, climbing sand dunes, and soaking in hot springs. Who wouldn't enjoy such a rich experience. The third travel vacation was when our daughter was five or so. We traveled from Colorado to Nevada on Amtrak for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party. We played card games, enjoyed views, and ate in the dining car. Because the train tracks don't follow next to the freeway, we were privileged to see parts of the states that we hadn't seen before. It was a good time to spend with our daughter.


6. Have you ever played tourist in your home/city/state? Explain. No. I don't like to stand out like that. Even as a true tourist, I try to blend in as much as possible. That's not to say that I'm not goofy and dorky...I have my moments. However, I must say it's good to look at your home/city/state with a visitor's eye and remember how unique the area can be.
   


7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comber, or an amusement seeker? NOT an amusement seeker. Thinking about it I can smell the greasy french fries, stale popcorn, and boiled hot dogs as well as the urine on the boardwalks courtesy of the homeless the night before (that's not a good thing, folks). Museums are a great insight to the culture of the state/country. They are also a wonderful escape to a cool environment in the summer months or a dry, warm one in the winter months. I am always drawn to the museum store for books or items I can use in the classroom to enrich my teaching. Beach combing has to be my favorite because it usually involves fewer people, less man-made noise, and fresh air. Anywhere there is nature and fresh air, I am there.


8. What's your favorite type of yarn? Cashmere, silk, qiviut, angora, baby alpaca, wool...well, all the wonderful natural fibers.


9. What's your least favorite type of yarn? Hate is such a strong word, but it quite fits here: acrylics, man-made-oil-synthetic-based products, novelty yarns, all-cotton yarns.


10. What items do you like to knit? For purposes of this questionnaire, fingerless wrist warmers, mittens, socks, hats.


11. What do you pack, knit-wise, when you go on vacation? Something small like the items in question number 10. I like to take a variety of things because I never know my mood or patience for a particular project. If I am flying, it needs to be needles that can be accepted by the "security" peoples.


12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than knit? Basket weaving/making, quilting, sewing, calligraphy.


13. Are you allergic to anything? Pollen in the air, but yarn-wise or treat-wise, no...no allergies.


14. What is your favorite color? Greens, blues, browns--deep and rich in these colors. Dark purples, dark reds work also as accents. These colors as well as grey/black in heather colorways. Least favorite colors? No pastels, no pinks, no bright oranges, no neon.
    


15. Sweet or savory treats? Good milk chocolate with walnuts or almonds. Hard sweet candies to suck on while I read or knit (I haven't been able to master doing both of these at the same time). No dried fruit. Almonds and pistachios are good.


16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think you partner desperately needs to know? I can't think of anything at this time but reserve the ability to add items as they come to me to my partner. OK, OK...here's a few things I will add that I found others have on their swap questions, and may be necessary to know in order to play "bingo": I have two cats; I live in California (United States); I have a daughter (you can read about her in my blog).
    

goodies from across the Atlantic

The word "excited" seems to be used often (I am as guilty as the next person) so I consulted my handy-dandy beat up looking, bloated (no, really--you know what happens to paperbacks when they get wet and expand to two times their normal size?) Bantam Collegiate Roget's Thesaurus (copyright 1987) for words to replace it. I don't throw this tattered book away because I love the format and font. I look. I do. Every time I am in a bookstore, which is often because it contains one of my vices--books, I look but I can't seem to find the "perfect" thesaurus. One should have a thesaurus that feels right. It's your friend and confidante, not just a book that sits idly by during the writing process. So, I search in my yellow-paged thesaurus for "excited". What I find are words not fitting for the occasion of receiving a package all the way from Europe sent by a fellow knitter and coffee addict. Words such as: aroused, animated, evoked, stirred, kindled. Humm. Maybe I should look tomorrow at my neighborhood bookstore one more time.

My coffee/knitting pal was told my package would take possibly up to a month to complete it's journey. It didn't, thankfully. I was given by the postal service almost that same amount of time for her package to arrive from me. We'll see. Customs and international mail!

I was so delighted to open my package. Just like having a birthday half way through the year. Packages in the mail are always exciting (oops, there's that word again) to get. I don't know if it's having it addressed specifically to me, or the anticipation of opening the box for the unknown inside.

My package contained many more items than I expected. A beautiful mug, which I promptly cleaned and used the following day. English Rose Sweets (how did my pal know that I enjoy little hard candies while I read?). French nougat candies with almonds and pistachios (these are so tasty with coffee). Whittard breakfast coffee (smooth and rich...yes, good with the nougats). Fleece Artist merino wool sock yarn, rainforest colorway--this is so yummy. I can't wait to get my needles wrapped around it. Oh, oh, she also sent me two CD's she made of music, some of which are recordings of a live concert she sang in! I have been listening to them every day in the vehicle as I commute in traffic. As an added bonus, my da Vinci cat now has his own fleece to play with, instead of my knitting. Thank you my dear pal!

caffeine and yarn

*little dance*

I am in Knittymama's Coffee Swap II. So excited! My partner in the swap, during the pursuit of knitting while drinking coffee, lives in the UK! How fun is that?

My answers to the coffee swap questions:

1. Whole bean or ground? Whole bean. I have a fully-equipped coffee corner in the kitchen which makes this possible.
2. Fully loaded or decaf? Are you kidding? Fully loaded of course (otherwise what's the point?). Caffeine is my "drug of choice".
3. Regular or flavored? Regular. Why change a thing?
4. How do you drink your coffee? Hot and straight up (black), with a curl of the lip if you try to move my mug before the first cup is done. My coffee and I have a morning thing.
5. Favorite coffee ever? One year a student in my classroom brought back from his family vacation in Guatemala a one pound bag of locally grown coffee--it was rich with a bit of a nutty aftertaste. I coveted it and yet, being only a pound, was gone all too quickly.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee? (Fussy? See number 4.) I don't like bitter coffee or the super dark roasted.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Homemade banana bread (with walnuts, of course) smeared with cream cheese. Oh, I can taste it already. Fresh bread just out of the oven with melted fresh butter on top and sometimes a dab of honey. If you are going to go "bad", go with style.
8. Anything else about your coffee preference? Hum...can't think of anything.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? Wool, cashmere, silk, qiviut, angora, alpaca...well, all the wonderful natural fibers.
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Hate is such a strong word, but it quite fits here: acrylics, man-made-oil-synthetic-based products.
11. What's on your needles? Lopi pullover with wool and silk, wristlets with alpaca, wool, and cashmere, several socks with superwash wool, fair isle hat with wool and cashmere, scarf with cashmerino (this is in the classroom).
12. Favorite colors? Blues, greens, browns, dark purples, dark reds. No pastels, no pinks, no bright oranges.
13. Allergies? No, only to things that bloom *sigh* (my garden, my lemon trees, etc.) but it doesn't stop me.
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? In the order of chocolate (just in case you want to know), no dark chocolate. As far as knitting, I carry my knitting in baskets--oh, I use canvas bags, but they are inside the baskets. Absolutely love knitting with rosewood and birch needles. Bamboo are ok but manufacturer's quality is not consistent. I support fair trade and women's cooperatives for products when possible.