1 Day Early (or 6 Days Late)

Ok, I didn't post last Thursday so I guess I'm either 1 day early this week or 6 days late. I like to think that I'm 1 day early...

Fact 1: We had a great time in Colorado last weekend. Although it was a lot of driving (approx. 7 1/2 hours each way) I'm really glad we went. Colorado is beautiful and so green compared to New Mexico - it was a nice change of scenery. We got to spend some time exploring Fort Collins and Boulder. Well, I actually got to explore while Brad played cricket (the good news is that they won their game on Sunday against the top team).

Fact 2: I'm reading another book at the moment - I think it's called "Dancing in the Dark". I know it sounds pretty bad. It's just your basic crime novel and I picked it up for $4.99 from Costco so I can't really complain. It just flows along so it was perfect for car reading on the weekend.

Fact 3: One thing I didn't do in the car was any knitting! I know it's hard to believe. I'm currently working on my first toy - a variation of Kate from Knitty. If it turns out ok I think I'll send it to Charlotte, if not I guess it can sit on my desk at work. I also need to think of a good name for it - I'm thinking something New Mexican. Any suggestions?

Fact 4: I think I've gone crazy. I bought some yarn to begin knitting the Icarus shawl from the new Interweave Knits. Help... what have I got myself into?

Fact 5: My buddy Meg is leaving for Boston this weekend. I wish her lots of luck and happiness and hope that we get a chance to visit her while we are in the U.S. Without Meg and my Albuquerque Knit Night girls settling into life in New Mexico would have been much more difficult - plus I wouldn't have learnt how to knit! THANKS Meg!

Fact 6: I'm trying a new recipe tonight - spicy orange chicken. The recipe is from the Super Food Ideas magazines that mum sends over. I'm trying to make something new every week or two. The last one was yummy - a chicken, tomato & olive casserole.

Fact 7: I got my ticket to go and see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot) on Thursday July 27th. To celebrate the occasion, I also bought her book "Knitting Rules". The book is going to be for my birthday, along with another I bought on the weekend.

Fact 8: It rained. Twice. I know.... it's amazing. We've been lucky both times and the worst of the storms haven't hit our area. We saw a spectacular lightning show though and even got some footage on our camera. There are more storms expected tonight.

Fact 9: I'm not really a fan of soccer..... that was until the world cup started. I guess it's hard not to get involved with all the excitment and when your own team does so well. We actually felt pretty patriotic when we heard our national anthem and saw all the aussie support over in Germany. Good job boys - we're proud of you!

Fact 10: Salsa dancing is going well and we're getting better (I think). It's been three weeks now and we've learnt some pretty funky moves. Brad says it's "ok" but I can tell he's loving it!

It's Back

For all my fans of the fabulous "Ten Facts on a Thursday" - IT'S BACK.
So without further ado....

1. I've just finished reading "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. You know, the one that was hailed as a masterpiece when it was released and then as a piece of rubbish when they found out that some of the work was fiction. Well, whether it was true or not I enjoyed the book (I must have, it only took me about 2 weeks to read it). At first I thought it was pretty full on (it's pretty graphic in it's descriptions and let me tell it's not pretty) but I think once I got over that I was able to really get into it. It was a pretty amazing story considering how out of control he was. I'd definitely recommend it (I've sent it to Jo if anyone in Oz wants to borrow it).

2. I've finished knitting my broadripple socks and they are in transit on the way to Australia. I hope they fit and that Agnes likes them. I'll post some photos once they have arrived at their destination.

3. Seeing as though I'm into knitting small things at the moment, I'm in the process of making some hand warmers. And because I'm the dork that I am they are going to be two different colours. I actually didn't intend for it to happen that way, but when I realised I didn't have quite enough for the second one I didn't really have much of a choice. Oh well, some extra colour will cheer me up in winter.

4. Last night we watched the AFI's count down of the 100 most inspirational movies of all time. This meant listening to Brad for three hours saying "How did that movie make the list?" and "That's not inspirational movie - now (fill in the blank) was an inspirational movie". And I must admit I did agree with him about a lot of their choices. I think he was most disappointed that "Schindlers List" only made number three, which is pretty funny seeing as though he never even wanted to see it. Since I made him watch it with me earlier this year, it has now made it into his top five movies of all time!

5. Tonight we are heading off to salsa dancing lessons. That's right - you read it correctly. We've been talking about it for a while now (well I've been doing most of the talking) and UNM has some classes running for the next 8 weeks. Hopefully there won't be too many squashed toes tomorrow.

6. Last Saturday was world wide knit in public day. I ended up heading down to the Flying Star on Rio Grande to join some fellow knitters and knit proudly in public. We knit for a while and then headed out to Edgewood for the Fibre and Farm Tour which was great. Jeannie, Pamela and I made it to 6 different studios and farms where we saw demonstrations of weaving, spinning, yarn dyeing. I bought some alpaca yarn which is just so soft I can't wait to knit with it. It is a yummy caramel colour and the best part was that I got the see the alpaca it actually came from. The tour also inspired me to try my hand at dyeing some of my own yarn. I think I'll start with some basic kool aid dyeing (for those in Oz, kool aid is like a powdered form of cordial - think tang). Hey, you can only try these things right?

7. Brad is at the dentist today. The bad news is that a tooth that he received a filling in about 6 months has broken again and needs to be refilled. The good news is that the electric toothbrushes we invested in 6 months ago seem to be paying off. Brad said his cleaning went well yesterday - no stabbing and bleeding like the last time. Lets hope mine goes just as well next month.

8. Our Seattle trip is all booked, including our train tickets to Vancouver for an overnight stay. I can't wait! I think I'll even begin the official countdown - 15 days to go!!!!

9. Good news - we found an equivalent to ice-magic! During our New York trip we were reminiscing with Simone and Tim about eating ice-magic as a kid (how you would put that bit extra in the bowl so it would freeze and you'd be left with a nice big chunk of chocolate). Well the other week we found Magic Shell - ok, it's not as good (doesn't freeze so well in the bottom of the bowl) but on a hot summers night it does the trip. (By the way, they also have Reeses peanut butter flavour).

10. Charlotte continues to keep growing and changing so quickly - I wish I was there to see it. She is now eating 3 meals a day and has learnt to sit up by herself. I've put some photos of her up by my computer at work so that I can see her everyday (though I'm sure she looks much different now)!

Knitting Content on a Sunday

Brad is out playing tennis at the moment so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update you with some knitting content.

These are a couple of beanies I knit for Charlotte (my almost 6 month old niece) and Bonnie who was born in March to my friends Gary and Sandra back in Oz.
Pattern: Polka dot booties & hat (obviously without the polka dots) from "Adorable knits for tots" by Zoe Mellor.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

This is the flora scarf which was knit way back in March for my mum for her birthday.
Pattern: "Flora" from Knitty.
Yarn: Rowen Soft Baby (I really love how soft it is).

And finally, this is a bag which I made for my sister Jo for her birthday in April.Pattern: Felted Pocket Book (my first attempt at felting) from "Bags - A Knitters Dozen". The flower was my own addition and is a modified version of the flora flower above.
Yarn: Lambs Pride - Worsted (85% Wool, 15% Mohair) in Mulberry.

So there you have it, some of the things that have kept me busy in recent months. I also finished a pair of socks this weekend and only have a button to attach to my little green top. On the needles at the moment are some hand warmers (yes, I'm getting in early for next winter).

In other Albuquerque news - it is HOT! Today was expected to reach 96 degrees (36 degrees C)!. Last night we went to see X-Men 3 which was pretty good (7.5/10). Not sure if I mentioned but last week we saw the da Vinci Code. Given all the bad reviews, suprisingly both Brad and I really enjoyed it. The other two movies which we would like to see (released in July) are Superman Returns and Pirates of the Carribean 2. I'll let you know what we think...