Friday, February 22, 2008

New FO's...I haz dem.







By now I am sure the whole world has discovered "I Can Haz Cheezburger" and its doggie sister-site, "I Has A Hot Dog." If you have NOT, you are ordered to go IMMEDIATELY HERE and after you have wet yourself laughing, don't bother to change your underwear before going HERE for dose two. If the pictures don't do you in, the captions will.

Anyway, the title of this post was a no-brainer after spending WAY too many hours surfing those two sites. I find myself lapsing into LOLspeak, the official language of these cats and dogs and I can amuse myself for hours in the process. As I have said often, I amuse easily.

All of our crappy weather lately has given me some great knitting time so things have been flying off the needles...um, except for the DNA scarf which is the slowpoke in the mix. But, yes, Meredith, I AM still working on it. You should be able to wear it sometime before the first heat wave of the summer hits. (Damn cables!)

So, in no particular order, here are the latest creations:

My "Hobo Gloves" (at least that is what hubby calls them).


(Dog fur splotch on left glove is courtesy of Isla...didn't see it before I took the pic and was too lazy to take another one after I removed it.)

They are actually called "Hooray for Me" gloves by Marnie MacLean and the pattern is here. They will be great for taking pictures and doing other things outdoors where I need to use my fingers. One of my friends commented that they are good for picking your nose outdoors. Uh...yeah, I guess. (awkward silence.)

My new sweater.



This used some Lopi Lite that was in my stash just waiting for the right fair-isle yoked sweater pattern to cross my path. Thanks to Norah Gaughan and Interweave Knits (Fall 2003), the stars aligned and *voila* I have a new sweater. This was a relatively easy knit that I spent all of our snow day last Wednesday working on. I finished it at around 9:30 that night and discovered that I had bound off too tightly at the neck and couldn't get it over my head! I was ready to shoot myself. But, once again, the wonderful internet knitting community came to my rescue and I found a site about the stretchy bind off which worked like a charm. Phew!

And finally, there is Francois the Lobster.



He was a cute and quick knit up for the Valentine's package we sent off to Meredith. He was also a free pattern and the link to him is here. He was a big hit and a lot of fun to put together.

You may be asking yourself, "Where can I get all of these spiffy pattern ideas?" Well, I'm glad you asked. If you haven't discovered Ravelry.com it's time you did. As a knitter or crocheter you will find yourself in a cyberwonderland that will change your life. Ravelry offers you an on-line community where you can log your projects, catalog your stash, list your future ideas in a queue and keep track of your knitting/crocheting library. And you can see everyone else's projects, stash, queue and library as well. If you see a project you like you can click on it and see where the pattern came from and what yarn was used to create it. There is a HUUUUUGE list of groups you can join with some of the most amazing and unusual affiliations. Are you a Joni Mitchell fan or a Procrastinator or an Empty Nester or a Smartass Yarn Ho? Then there is a group for you with an active discussion forum. There is even a feature called Radar where you can see all of the posts to every forum -- and there are hundreds of them -- as they appear in real time. It is a truly amazing site. The only caution I throw out is that it is dangerously addictive. With over 40,000 members you will be tempted to spend inordinate amounts of time that could be otherwise spent knitting or reading or eating or sleeping or being gainfully employed on the Ravelry site. But I guarantee you it will be enjoyable time spent.

The site is the brainchild of a Boston area couple, Jess and Casey, and their adorable Boston Terrier, Bob, the site's mascot. Since it is technically still in the Beta testing phase, you need to add your email to the request list to be added manually to the group, a process that can take a few days. But it is well worth the wait. Visit the site here and check out the screenshots, ooh and aah over all of the features and put your email address in to get added to the group. You won't regret it!

Here is one more shot from "I Has a Hotdog." God, I love those two sites!!!








loldogs are funny dog pictures!

Monday, February 11, 2008

My Civics Lesson

Yesterday was caucus day here in Maine. I wasn't originally planning to go for two reasons: 1) I had a dress rehearsal scheduled for the Vagina Monologues (You KNOW there's a post in the future about that experience!) and 2) I am an Independent and not a registered Democrat. The rehearsal was cancelled at the last minute and I found out that I could declare myself a Democrat at the caucus. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to participate in a very exciting process.

So at 2PM I headed into town to the caucus location. I parked a few blocks away and walked the short distance to the school. I didn't wear a coat, hat or gloves because I didn't want to be stuck carrying them around. But, of course, I DID bring my knitting. The weather had been sunny and mild but clouds were beginning to move in. I turned the corner and was faced with the sight of a line that stretched around the block from the school entrance and didn't seem to be moving. I decided to take my chances and joined the line. Immediately I struck up a conversation with a delightful young woman ahead of me. Everyone was in good spirits despite the amazingly long wait. Suddenly the weather took a major turn for the worse and we were in the midst of a blizzard. Here is a shot I took of the line:



It was a slow process but we eventually made it to the door...a full hour and forty five minutes after I got on line. It was now 4:00. The volunteer staff passed out flyers, stickers and reassurances that we would eventually get in, but the crowds were obviously much larger than they had expected or than the building could accommodate. This is a shot looking back at the line from the front steps:



It was at this point that I learned that I needed to get into another line to register as a democrat. So I peeled off and headed up the stairs and down the hall to join that line. It went down the hall, up the stairs to the second floor, up the stairs to the third floor and down the third floor corridor. But at least we were indoors and warm. I was soaked to the skin so the warmth was very welcome. And as an added bonus, when I pulled out my knitting to pass the time, the man ahead of me introduced himself as the Inventory Manager at one of my favorite yarn shops...Sweet! He gave me some "inside info" on their spring line, including some new sock yarn that promises to suck some money out of my wallet guar-un-teed!

We finally made our way into the registration room and up to the table. It was now 5:15, a full three hours after I joined the line. The room was packed beyond capacity. I snapped a picture as I finished my registration.



At this point, an announcement was made that all of the caucus rooms were filled beyond capacity so we would not be able to get in. Our only choice was to get in yet another line to fill out an absentee ballot that would be taken into the caucus rooms so our votes would be counted. It was disappointing not to be able to actually participate in the discussions and votes but at least our choices would be counted. The problem was that the line was more of a swirling, milling crowd elbowing its way up to a small round table. Organization was not the strong suit here. But, surprisingly, the mood was still upbeat and positive...no whining or grumbling. People were gracious and patient. At about 5:45, I turned in my absentee ballot and headed outside. Unfortunately, with all of the lines and crowds of people heading in so many directions, I got totally lost and finally had to ask directions. Eventually I got outside, headed for my car and went home. Despite my frustration I still felt very energized and excited about being involved in the democratic process, at whatever level. It was an afternoon well spent, in my opinion!



Obama carried Maine by a significant margin. Over 4000 people showed up for the caucus in Portland, about ten times the normal turnout. The energy and excitement was palpable and it was such a refreshing change from the "business as usual" politics that we have endured for the last few elections. Regardless of the outcome, it is an affirmation of democracy and the reason why this is still the best system in the world, warts and all.