Here’s looking at you!
(A self-portrait from 2005.)

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The window lights!

See what we’ve got? Not just one set of vertical blinds, but TWO

So now we can cover up the Palladian window when the sun is blinding … which is most of the afternoon. Or when it’s particularly cold outside. So, yay for us!

It was kind of weird seeing people over there while standing on the second floor, though…

And Chappy is just exhausted. This installation thing really cut into his nap time, you know? And he’s not as young a puppy as he used to be…

Of course, he’s still probably tired from his long walk in the park on Saturday, the first time we’ve been there in MONTHS.

We were sad to see these trees had fallen, though. Mom called them the “huggy trees” because the two of them were so intertwined with each other. Together to the end (sniffle), though it looked like they brought four or five other trees down with them at the far end. It was like a mass suicide of trees. (Or murder suicide? I wonder who investigates this kind of thing for trees?)

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Some Furry eye-candy.

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What better way than to sing the theme song? “March Forth: The Grammar Song”

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Yes, that’s me with Rachel’s new book.

You DID know that our very own knit-blogging friend had her new novel published, didn’t you? It came out yesterday. How to Knit a Love Song.

Romance isn’t my usual genre, but I’m nothing if not supportive of a fellow knitter-writer, so naturally I bought a copy. It came today, and I read the whole thing. (What? Like you didn’t already know that I’m a fast reader?)

The book begins with Abigail driving up to a rusty gate, ready and eager to claim her inheritance. Her dearest friend and mentor has died and left her a cottage … the problem? It’s uninhabitable, and her nearest neighbor (the dreamy cowboy Cade) is hostile, to say the least. His house, her cottage, and the ranch he runs all belonged to his aunt–a woman who seems to have a remarkable similarity to Elizabeth Zimmermann. She, Eliza, is described as being one of the great knitters of the last century, famous for her ingenuity and fearlessness.

Against his will, and hating every minute, Cade lets Abigail sleep in his spare room while she gets her cottage set up, and it doesn’t take long for sparks to fly. Cade is furious about his aunt having broken up his property. Abigail is just relieved to finally have a place to call her own, and a chance to get away from her ex. (Well, more of a stalker, really.) She is determined to turn the cottage into a yarn shop, and Cade is just as determined to prevent it.

Of course, things don’t go as the two of them planned, either of them. There are a series of events that throw them together–a torrential rain, a bat, a stray alpaca, a fire … and they both recognize their attraction.

Are the basic plot points kind of predictable? Well, yes. Except for some minor details like Betty being a natural spinner, and Abigail’s perfect charm for the farmers at Tillie’s, I wasn’t really surprised by any of the things that happened … but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an enjoyable book. You did a great job, Rachel!

But, what I really want to know? What happened to Clara after the scene in the alley? And, did Betty ever come back to spinning?

If you didn’t already know, the book is available from Amazon.com both in paper and in a Kindle edition.

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Hey, look at that–the fronts are the same lengths as the back.

Do you know what that means?

They’re ready to join together so that I can continue knitting this in one piece. I’ll be very happy indeed to be able to knit the rest using only one strand of yarn at a time, with no dangling needles to get in the way.

I just have to figure out how many stitches to cast on for the sides. As you know, my Celtic Dreams was too large–which is why I ended up ripping it out not that long ago. What I’m trying to remember … back from 2006 … is, how much did the blocking on the wooly board stretch the sweater in the first place? Because I seem to remember it fit better before that? There’s no question that the wooly board stretched it … which, of course was the point, but I won’t be doing that again!

Hey, you DO know that today is Rachel’s publication day, right? The day her brand-new book, How to Knit a Love Song comes out? What are you waiting for? Go get it! I’ve ordered mine!

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1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

8. Writing to Learn by William Zinsser

9. Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

10. Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
11. Scout’s Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
12. Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
13. Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
14. Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

15. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
16. Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott

17. Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip

18. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

19. Sock Club by Charlene Schurch & Bet Parrott

20. Nature’s Wrapture by Sheryl Thies

21. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

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I told you I bought some buttons at the new yarn shop yesterday. They each came in little plastic bags, which is good, and all, but those take up a lot more room in a button bin than loose buttons.

(And, yes, my button bin is a disposable leftover-food container. You got a problem with that?)

As we all know, loose buttons are fun to play with, but finding all the matching buttons can be, shall we say, tedious. So, an idea came to me.

I finally came up with a use for that evil Zephyr yarn that’s been lurking in my stash for going-on five years now.

I went through ALL my buttons and strung all the matching buttons together. I didn’t want to use sewing thread because I thought it wouldn’t be strong enough, but I needed a yarn that would be thin enough to fit through the button holes … not to mention easy enough to thread on a needle slim enough to fit. Lace yarn seemed perfect.

Each group is threaded on doubled-yarn. I cut a length of yarn, folded it in half, and threaded it onto the needle at the fold. Then I threaded each button onto the needle, and once they were all there, tucked the tip of the needle through the loop at the far end, and then tied a knot.

When put back in the button bin, sure they all look just as jumbled as before, but I can easily pull out each group of buttons. SO much easier.

Of course, it’s just fun playing with them, too. It’s like I suddenly have dozens of new (tiny) bracelets to wear.

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This was a rare treat–a new yarn shop to visit!

The Blue Purl, right on Main Street in Madison NJ. (Their website is going to be TheBluePurl.com, I was told, but wasn’t actually active yet–but here’s a nice review of the shop.)

I admit, I thought the front was a little off-putting–there’s nothing in the front window except some geometric wire and a sign on the window, so it almost didn’t look like it was open for business … but it is. And the moment you walk in? It’s just beautiful. Tons of space.

I really loved that you can walk around without tripping over displays and various kinds of clutter. The hardwood floors are gorgeous, the built-in yarn bins are beautiful, and the whole place was airy and just really classy. Nice yarns, too–Noro, Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Cascade, just to name a few–not to mention some smaller companies. They had a smallish book and needle selection, but, no problem. It’s a good start. Inventory is hard to come by when you first open, and they’ve only been open about two weeks. The owner (Maura) was really nice, as was the other person working there, Rebecca. (At least, I’m pretty sure the name was Rebecca.) I love it when people are FRIENDLY!

Did I buy something? Of course I did. This skein of gold/orange yarn. I’d say it was yellow, but it’s color name is “Orange You Glad” so we’ll compromise on saying gold. Also a few buttons … because I’m on a button kick.

Other than the yarn shop, Mom and I had coffee (really good coffee, actually) just up the block at a little coffee house called “Drip.” We stopped at Whole Foods to buy some coffee beans because their coffee is not only darn good but remarkably cheap–which isn’t something you can say about many things at Whole Foods.

We took Chappy for a walk–but no extra snow romping. The path to the little playground wasn’t shovelled and I really wasn’t up to trudging through 2-feet of snow in my sneakers to get him to the gate. He didn’t mind though, he was just so happy to be out of the house.

I spent most of the afternoon sorting through buttons … but I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.

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It’s hard to say for sure how much snow we got, but according to the news, the snowfall amount was 11″ yesterday, all of which was very wet and fell on warm ground, so that it condensed fairly quickly down into slush. But then it got cold, and windy, and we got probably another 10″ or so overnight.

So, I got up this morning and waited and waited for the phone to ring from work. (I’m the only one who knows how to change the phone message that tells the employees and customers that we’re closed.) The rule is that we’ll turn the bad-weather message on by 7:00. Well … no call. I got dressed, I made my breakfast, brewed the coffee and … 7:18, the phone rings.

Mom was relieved. She kept saying all through breakfast. “You’re not going to work.” “If we’re open, I’m going.” “There’s no way you’re going to work.” “I am if we’re open.” “You can’t get out of the driveway, you’re not going to work.” … And it’s true, getting out of the driveway would have been, um, hard since there was about a foot of snow out there.

Luckily, the bulk of the snow was over by then, and while it snowed on and off all day, there were moments of sun, too.

I spent some of my time working on my knitting. I decided that the cables I had yesterday were close but not quite right. So I tore the fronts out yet again (sigh) and restarted.

The only real difference is that I inserted a small, 2-stitch crossed cable between the 8-stitch cable at the front edge and the 6-stitch braid. I figure that gives enough difference for the eye, enough contrast. And this is it. I am NOT starting these again! (I hope.) Thank heaven this Black Water Abbey yarn is so darn sturdy.

I also worked on my book. At this point I’m mostly doing tweaks, checking the grammar, editing down some of the more wordy bits. (I know, the thought that I could be wordy is a shock.) I figure it’s darn close to being done … or at least, done enough to be seen by other sets of eyes. I really need to hear whether the story holds together as well as I think it does!

It sure turned into a pretty afternoon, but no, we did not go out for a romp today. Too tired from yesterday! Except for checking for the mail, I stayed in the house–a good, good thing.

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