Last night I was a mime, today I have a cold. October 30, 2007 ~ 10:04 am
Posted by Julie in : Assorted Ailments , comments closedAnd that about sums up my life right now.
I’m going to be leaving work a bit early today after I get a project done, head to the drugstore for medication, head to the grocery for OJ, and head to the vet for medicine for Joe, and then I am going to hibernate. I will call out for food, and I will lay around tonight and tomorrow (I had the day off anyway) so that by the time I need to go to Madison Square Garden to see the Police tomorrow night, I will be happy or at least less miserable. And then I have an off-campus meeting on Thursday, so it’s important that I’m feeling better for that.
Wish me luck…
Twice October 29, 2007 ~ 9:19 am
Posted by Julie in : About a Julz, Urban Family, photo safari , comments closed
It is a good day to be a member of the Red Sox nation, especially in New York City, surrounded by disgruntled Yankees fans. I’m celebrating by wearing my beat-up Sox cap, bought right after they won the 2004 World Series (do not slight me as a bandwagon fan, if you live in NYC you know that they were impossible to find here before then). I think it may be time to buy another one in celebration.
Also, my man Terry Francona? Vindicated. And yes, he is my man. We grew up in the same hometown and I went to school with his nephew.
And just when you think the day can’t get any better? Cute baby pictures! We took Samang on her first carousel ride this weekend at Prospect Park’s Halloween celebration (thus the costume).
If the child had only been looking at the camera, this would have been a Christmas card. 
With Grandmama:
Still teething. Horsies apparently teethe on their hooves.
Tonight I get to be a mime on stage. I’ve never been on stage, with good reason. I cannot tell you how happy I will be when this is over…
The knit fever is upon me. October 26, 2007 ~ 4:00 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness , comments closedAfter a summer of sluggish (if any) knitting, the cool weather and dreary days have got me on a knitting kick again. I’m working on Glorianna (oh, how I wish I could link to Ravelry so you non-knitters could see the pattern…) for Rick’s sister in Sea Silk. It supposedly has anti-inflammatory properties and I think it will feel good against the spot where her trach tube incision was. Plus, I loves me the Sea Silk. After this gets done, there is a Clementine to be knit for my sister-in-law (again, the absence of a Ravelry link is driving me up a fucking wall). And then hats and scarves and socks that are Christmas gifts. And then I can attack the stash! I’m wearing my stupid wrist splints at work now as well as to sleep in because I find they keep me from aggravating the carpal tunnel…which means I can squeeze in knitting time!
I’m finding myself crazily drawn to socks and lace. They are my “things,” maybe because they are the biggest holy shit! types of knitting. Lace, for instance, looks like utter dreck while you’re knitting it, but then you block it and holy shit! It’s lace! Socks are similar - you’re knitting along, knitting a tube on four sticks, basically, and then you do a little fancywork with the yarn and suddenly holy shit, I made the yarn turn a corner! It’s a heel! This is the kind of entertainment that never gets old. Plus, it’s perfect weather for wool socks right now.
And here is where we have a problem. I have this little 10% off coupon from the Rockin’ Sock Club that I’ve been sitting on aaaall year. We’re a little over 10 days from the launch of the Raven Series, and since those of us in the RSC have gotten a little taste of it, I know this means I am 10 days from getting the most out of that 10% off coupon. And then there’s the stuff I’m going to buy off of Knitpicks to finish out the Christmas presents. After much deliberation, I’ve decided that the Wii is not meant to be for right now. I was holding off until November so that Mercury would be out of retrograde and I could once again buy something with moving parts that wouldn’t go wonky on me, but it’s just as well. Because now I have more money to spend on the fiber addiction.
I have chosen fiber over tech. Help me, I think I may be headed back to the colonial era. Also, this might be a sign of the apocalypse. But when it comes, and we all have to live in caves, you will want to be in my cave. Because I will have yarn to knit us all nice warm socks and hats and fiber to spin more yarn should we run out. Perfect to get us through a nuclear winter.
Send out good vibes for Aimee October 25, 2007 ~ 10:48 am
Posted by Julie in : Deep Thoughts , comments closedI just got a phone call from ESC, telling me that Aimee’s dad is in the hospital having emergency surgery. There’s a post over at Aimee’s blog telling what’s happening, at least as far as anyone knows at this point. Aimee’s family has been having a really crap year, and they really didn’t need something else to add to it. Send out some good thoughts, wishes, prayers, whatever, that her dad makes it through this okay.
ETA: I just talked to Aimee, and they still don’t know exactly what is going on. Her dad is still in surgery, and no one has come out to tell them anything. We’re not sure if this is good news (maybe they found something and are fixing it) or not, but she could really use all the love you can send her way. The family is all flying in, so she will be surrounded by them soon, but I think that she could use the support of her blog family as well.
ETA again: He’s out of surgery now - they found and repaired a quarter-sized perforation in his stomach. They think the perforation was a response to a neurological issue - he’s non-responsive right now.
ETA 3:22 PM EST: Aimee’s dad has woken up and is able to respond with nods to questions. He’s still intubated and pretty drugged up, but he’s definitely responding to them now - this is apparently huge for an ICU patient. Keep sending out the good vibes!!
Rhinebeck in pictures October 24, 2007 ~ 11:39 am
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Urban Family, photo safari , comments closedI finally got my act together this morning and uploaded the Rhinebeck pictures! So, without further ado… (pictures behind the cut, clicky for bigger)
Bananas are HOT. October 23, 2007 ~ 10:45 am
Posted by Julie in : Coupledom, Random Insanity, Rick , comments closedThere are no pictures of Rhinebeck here today because…well, Rick and I went to our favorite Mexican place in the city and our friend Sergio is now head of waitstaff and made sure our margaritas were strong. And then he got us free shots of pineapple tequila. We love Sergio.
Conversation with Rick this morning about my matching yellow bra and unders (I never ever have matching undies. I basically make sure the that bra isn’t going to show through the shirt I’m wearing and grab whatever unders my hand meets first in the drawer.):
Rick: Wow, that’s nice! You look kinda like a banana. (Realizes that this is not, in fact, a compliment, and tries to rectify it.) You know…in my imagination.
Julie: That is so not sexy. That is perhaps the least sexy comparison I’ve ever heard. Bananas are not sexy.
Rick: Well, you look like a hot banana!
Yes, because that made it all better. I only wish I could blog the earnest look on his face as he said this, trying to make amends.
Re-entry sucks October 22, 2007 ~ 12:15 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness , comments closedI am back in the office today and not happy about it. Coming back to work after Rhinebeck? Like coming back after a long vacation. Sucks to the extreme. I played the hermit a bit yesterday as well and didn’t leave the house at all despite the perfect weather. This is why I have lots of windows - I can open the blinds and throw open the windows and get all the sun and fresh air I would outside. Except I can be watching TV while I do it. In effect, I sunbathed all day on my couch while watching Degrassi and old musicals and chilling with the cats, who were very happy to have me home. Next year, methinks I will take Friday and Monday off and make it a true long weekend, and somehow figure out how to stay in the area Saturday night so that I can go to the afterparties and go back to the festival on Sunday.
We had a wonderful time at Rhinebeck, even though the getting there was a little hairy. Took off from J’s place around 8 Friday night, and little Miss Samang decided she was not. having. it. Not happy to be in the car, not happy to leave Baba (Daddy) behind, not happy that Mommy wasn’t riding beside her (I was her co-pilot in the back seat as J drove, and while Samang likes me, I am NOT MOMMY). We made it to the end of the block and Samang was screaming in rage. A Chinese firedrill and I was in the driver’s seat and J was in back with the baby. (I don’t have a lot of experience driving in the city, which is why we didn’t do that to start with.) I drove to the entrance of the BQE, by which point Samang had fallen asleep, and we did another Chinese firedrill, this time to put J behind the wheel and me in the front passenger seat - it’s a long trip and harder to stay awake when someone isn’t up front talking to you. Samang woke up briefly when we were in horrible traffic in the Bronx and screamed again, but we had to let her cry it out. Extremely hard on Jordana, but we made it and the kid fell asleep again. We drove on through the pouring rain and the flooded streets of Pittsfield and pulled into Rick’s at about midnight. Sat up talking and playing with Samang (who was wide awake and her usual happy self when we got into the house, then went to bed).
Woke up around 8:30 on Sunday and didn’t head out until about 9:45 because of one thing and another, but I drove like a bat out of hell down the Taconic and got us into the parking lot at the festival by 11:15 even with hellacious traffic through the center of town. Waited in another huge line to get in and made a beeline for Building A where The Fold was. I was going to get some damned Socks That Rock if it killed me. Surprisingly, unlike last year or even MDSW, there were quite a few colors left when we got there. All mediumweight, but I was able to snag some Azure Malachite (I’ve been coveting this for a while) and some Atomic #6 - I’m thinking I may hop on the bandwagon and try out a Chevron Scarf with this.
Looked around in vain for Grafton Fibers (where the hell were they? We never found them!), then went out to the blogger meet-up where I finally met my twin Necia (we share the exact same birthday, although we figured out that she was born about 12 hours earlier than me), saw Jessica again, met the FemiKnit Mafia in person along with her friend Danielle, and met more bloggers than I can possibly remember. This year I tried to be a little less shy and say hello to everyone, and it worked. Passed out some Moo cards as well.
After that…we wandered and wandered and wandered. Rick had given me some cash because he’s a lovely boyfriend like that, so he basically bought me a swift. I have been wanting a swift for ages, but they are expensive (came out to $87 with tax), so I haven’t bought one. So everyone join me and say “Thank you, Rick!”. I bought 8 oz. of scarlet bamboo to spin, a book to teach myself Magic Loop, a braid of Blue Faced Leicester in Sapphires from Cloverleaf Farms (because buying out half their stock at MDSW wasn’t enough), 6 oz. of a gorgeous BFL/Cotswold/Mohair blend, Mohair locks, some Heal My Hands as a present to Jordana for coming up with me…and I think that’s it. Oh, and food. A chocolate chip cookie, a chicken and portobello wrap, cheese sticks, some beer, and a wonderful dinner at the Grill across the street from the fairgrounds. And Jordana bought me a bottle of Seyval Blanc from one of the wineries who had a table there.
Funny story about dinner - Jordana and I were having a very nice dinner (Madeira chicken for both of us), the baby was sleeping, and I see a flash go off. I say “That’s a blogger somewhere, I wonder who it is?” Turn around and it’s my friend Jenny, who had been having dinner behind us - we were literally three feet away from each other and had no idea! Got to talk to her for a few minutes and then set off on our way back home. I think we finally rolled in around 11:30. Another very long day, but such a good one!
Like I said though, next year? I’m figuring out a way to stay overnight. Also, the baby? She likes animals. All kinds of them. And she thinks people looking at her upside down is very funny. In other words, she was a positive joy on Saturday. I think we have another fiber convert on our hands - she likes colors and she likes the way yarn feels. We’re raising her right.
T minus four hours till we get the hell out of Dodge! October 19, 2007 ~ 1:55 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness, Drama Queen, Shorty , comments closedIn preparation for our little theatrical mime-stravaganza “Everyone’s An Asshole” next Monday (details will be up next week for anyone who wants to see it), I went out and bought 45 pieces of poster board on my lunch break. Poster board in large quantities? Heavy and unwieldy. Really looking forward to the commute home this evening. In the rain. Not. (Nothing like a little Wayne’s World quote to get you through a rainy Friday, says me.)
Jordana and I are off to Rick’s this evening and then to Rhinebeck tomorrow morning. If you’re going to the blogger meet-up there, I’m going to be wearing my yellow and white Steelers cap and will be accompanied by a tall beautiful woman with dark hair (Jordana) and the cutest baby in existence. If we miss you at the meet-up but you see us wandering around the grounds? Stop us and say hi! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone!
It’s that time of year again October 18, 2007 ~ 12:36 pm
Posted by Julie in : Craftiness Is Next To Godliness , comments closedOne word: Rhinebeck. I’ll be there Saturday, and I swear the wool fumes have already gotten to me - it’s all I can think about at this point. I’ve spent the past hour printing directions, checking out who else is playing Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo, cruising the Ravelry boards so I can talk to other people who have Rhinebeck Fever, planning which booths I want to go to first…what can I say? I loves me a fiber festival. I especially loves me a fiber festival where I will get to meet up with fiber blog friends and this is that kind of festival.
I am so not going to be productive anytime before Jordana, Samang, and I head upstate tomorrow night at 7. We’re using Rick’s place as a crashpad, getting in late and leaving early so we can spend a full day at the festival before dragging ourselves home. And I do mean dragging - we were dead by the time we got home last year. Of course, we had driven up that morning and gotten stuck in horrible traffic, but still. Dead. Sensory overload. All we could do over dinner was sit there, look at each other, pet our acquisitions, and drink some caffeine. We didn’t even have the energy to talk.
This year, we hope to avoid some of the tiredness by heading up the night before, but we’re also bringing a four month old with us. I think we’re going to end up exhausted anyway. But hey! We’ll have cute pictures of the baby with farm animals! And yarn! And roving!
Hi, we’re 36 hours away from it, and I am already slap happy.
Best doctor’s visit ever October 17, 2007 ~ 10:50 am
Posted by Julie in : Urban Family , comments closedI had a doctor’s appointment this morning to draw blood and test for high cholesterol and check out this thing I have going on with my left eye where it’s always dry and a wee bit crusty. (I like to save up my ailments until there are quite a few of them before I visit Dr. Jed - that way I get more of a bang for my buck.)
So I’m sitting in the waiting room, knitting on a sock that I am determined will be finished by Friday so I can wear it to Rhinebeck on Saturday, and I hear “Hey, I know this lady!” I look up, and there are Jordana and Samang. Jordana, Thabs, and I all have the same doctor so the chances that we would meet up there are not astronomical, but they’re pretty freakin’ high all the same. We had absolutely no idea that we had appointments at the same time, and since I haven’t seen Jordana or the baby since my birthday, it was a very happy surprise. So while Jordana got her blood drawn, I got to play with my goddaughter - much more enjoyable than knitting a sock. And this chance meeting means I get to see J four days in a row - tomorrow we have a meeting to work on our performance, Friday night we’re driving up to Rick’s to crash (it’s much closer to the festival, and free!), and Saturday we’ll be doing Rhinebeck.
Between that and the fire drill my building is going to have in ten minutes, this is a red letter day.
