Photos of the Kids

I wanted to share some photos I took of the kids this morning.

Monkey and the cacti.

See Charlie in the middle? (in the other window) He's their buddy.

Such a pretty boy.

Warshington

Friday was George Washington's birthday so I made cupcakes and brought them to work... well actually this was just an excuse to experiment with a new recipe using my co-workers as guinea pigs. I can't post the actual recipe because it's from Weight Watchers, but it is a "dark chocolate cake" recipe made with {drumroll please} sauerkraut! Yes that's right - sauerkraut. It was actually pretty good and healthy, too, except for the cream cheese frosting part. Very moist, not much fluff because there were no eggs.

Now where's that George Washington hat?? Mom, do you have a photo of someone (me) in it?

Give a Pooch a Home

*UPDATE 4/30: Camille has decided to keep Pez as a companion on the road! I'm so happy. Everything worked out the way it was meant to be :)

This is Pez. I met him in 2003 when he was just a
few months old. We lived together in a house and we were buddies. My friend and former housemate is his mom. He is a beautiful, loyal, strong, and sweet companion. Unfortunately for Pez, my friend (his owner) is an artist and has decided to start travelling around the country and she will not be able to take him along with her.

I know that everyone has pre-conceived notions about pitbulls, but I have to post this because he is a dog that I love.

If someone in my area adopted him I would definitely be interested in visiting and spending time with him.

I helped raise him and now is about 5 or 6 years old. He is very loving, loyal, and sweet. He is also very high energy - like most pits. He is definitely comfortable around cats and has been around them most of his life. He doesn't always get along with other dogs, though. He loves to play ball and chase squirrels.

Here is some info from his owner: Pez is a five year old boxer/pit bull mix who's loyal as can be, smarter than the average dog and loves to have fun. He plays well with most other dogs but will sometimes assert his dominance with other male dogs. His strength is impressive and this summer we started doing dog pulling (a dog sport that the dog is hooked to a weighted sled and then the dog pulls for 16 feet). He has his own harness and loves the sport. He's only done it a handful of times so he needs training and strength building but with the right handler and practice he could easily compete. He loves obedience classes and would make a great agility dog, too.

If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in adopting Pez, please contact me for more information. You can post a comment on this blog.

There is also a beautiful tortoise shell female that needs a home. She is very calm and sweet and would probably do well as an only cat. I can get a photo of her if there are any requests.

Here are some more photos:

Here he is as a puppy going to his first peace rally!

snuggling on the couch watching TV

Pez rolling in the grass with his friend, Neo.

Celebrating

This past weekend I completed all of the knitting on Steve's cardigan! Now all that's left is weaving in ends, sewing seams and hems, blocking, and putting on a zipper. He's tried it on and I think it will be quite lovely. I'm so tired of knitting on it. I have been working on it every night for the past few weeks and was trying to knit so fast that my forearms would often ache the next day. Knitting someone a sweater is truly a labor of love.

If you haven't listened to Franklin Habit's essay (on Cast On) "The Sharper End of the Needles" about knitting for loved ones, take a listen.

P.S. I love Cast On.

There's an old wives' tale about how if you knit your boyfriend a sweater you are sealing your fate... you will break up sooner rather than later. It's bad luck. But I've already knitted Steve a sweater (and we DID break up but that was a long time ago, and after a few months we UN-broke up).... I found it the other day... it's actually one of the first things I ever knit. And I just made it up, so it's all mis-shapen and huge, and furry, and green, and..... well, it's the complete opposite of a sweater that a hetero-late-twenties-male would choose for himself. We laughed when we found it. We decided it's going to our "house sweater". You know that one that your mom or sister puts on when they are visiting and feel chilly?

Last week we did a lot of celebrating. On the 7th Steve turned another year older. We had a very nice evening that included dinner with his brother, Tim, who happened to be in town on business. We went to the new Uncommon Ground on Devon and it was lovely! A bit expensive... but still very nice. I'll have to yelp about it. Then we went back to our place and the boys played video games until midnight. Steve really enjoyed it. AND we had cupcakes from Kim's. YUM! Probably our favorite bakery in Evanston.

And over the weekend we celebrated seven years as a couple! So, in honor of that... here's a little photo montage of us over the years... go ahead, laugh at the hair-do's.

Revelations

An ice storm hit us with full force last night leaving us to trudge through the slush and sleet to work, our faces pelted with stinging ice flakes - but I still love the mid-west. I'm used to this weather. I enjoy the changing seasons, and that means having some days where the world outside my window is covered in a cold white glaze... much like the glaze on a sour cream cake... The only thing that makes me really mad is when it's sub zero and I have to wait 20 minutes outside for a bus. But for now the snow is fine with me.

Here is a view of the library from kresge... and it's still coming down... big wet flakes of snow - yum!

The power went out in the library last night and I was (not so secretly) hoping that it would not have come back on, so I could stay at home and KNIT! It's very important to mention that without this weather, I would not get nearly as much knitting done as I do.

Which brings me to a discussion about my current project: Avast cardigan from Knitty for Steve. Now tomorrow is Steve's birthday, and though I have been knitting like a fiend, I am still not finished :( It's not a surprise - he's seen me working on it. I have accomplished a huge amount in just the past week. I made the second sleeve, attached both sleeves and am now almost finished with the yoke. I apologize for the low quality of this photo.... it was taken with my phone.

On Sunday night, after attaching the sleeves and beginning the initial decrease rounds of the yoke, I had a bit of a knitting revelation. In following the directions of the pattern, my ssk and k2tog were not looking right.... not slanting the way they were supposed to. And I realized... the way that I wrap my yarn around my needle when I purl must be different than most people. I've just always done what is most comfortable and fastest for me. But I think it reverses the way the stitches are facing when I flip it over to the knit side and start knitting. In the round, this would not matter because I'm always working on the RS of the fabric.

Is this common among other knitters using the continental method? Does it matter as long as I understand what the pattern is telling and I reach the same outcome?

Then I was trying to calculate how many stitches would be knitted in the yoke section... to try and figure out how long it would take me to finish this part. In my younger math-whiz days I would have known how to calculate this.... where's my genius sister when I need her????

If I start with 312 stitches in a row, and decrease 8 stitches every other row, 30 times... how many total stitches is that??? I did it the long way and came up with 12,032. So if anyone out there knows the formula for this problem let me know!

At this point I am just about ready to do the collar, front bands, lower hem, weave in ends and block! Then there's some seaming... then finding a zipper... okay so there is still a decent amount left in the home stretch. But I'm ready to wrap this up and send Steve out in the blizzard with a wooly cardigan to keep him warm.

Wintery Weekend

Dude, I'm totally feelin' the winter blahs. It's not so much the snow and cold as it is the lack of sunlight.... the days lately are gray and dull.

Last weekend was much nicer. Sunny and 35. Talk about a heat wave. I actually went ice skating with Kristen, which i haven't done in about 5 years, and I wasn't too rusty.
I did alright. My feet were a little wobbly since they don't have women's sizes or half sizes.... I ended up in a MEN'S TEN! It was a tad too long but mostly it was way too wide. I'm thinking about buying some of my own skates.... maybe I would skate more often. I found some online that are only about $35.

There were a lot of small children skating (more like the act of running with blades on their feet) with helmets on. Lots of people doing the windmill... ummm.... I didn't fall once. And I think I burnt a decent amount of calories.

Here is Kristen on the rink at Warren Park. Only a few blocks from my place. Plus they play music!!!! Reminds you of the old days at the roller rink.

Another shot of me. I actually enjoy winter when the sun is shining.

This weekend is the pits. There is about a foot of dirty snow everywhere. It's easy to get stuck if you are driving. The only thing that is keeping me going is my knitting... oh yeah, and a couple of glasses of Pinot doesn't hurt either.

So, did Phil see his shadow today or what????