Blithering Knitiot

I'm where??

You Belong in 1953

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?


I wasn't even born then.

More...

I've been knitting this shawl like I had nothing else to do with my time....  Here is a little photo from this morning while I was doing a little laundry and having coffee:

I'm really enjoying the feel of this yarn, and I've not done much with circular needles before, and I'm liking that as well.  I'm sure I'll be knitting as I watch the Oscars tonight. 

Tomorrow is Monday.  Damn...  I hope we all have a great week!

So...

It's a cold, snowy day...

I've decided to stay in, do some laundry and maybe even pick up the needles and do a little knitting.  Also, fighting a little cold and a stomache bug at the same time makes me not want to do much...

Thank you all for your suggestions for the Patagonia Nature Cotton yarn I showed you in my last post.  I'm still thinking and have done some more swatching with it.  Since then, I've changed directions all together for what I'm going to create for the Knitter Project.  You see, I had attended a board meeting for a local theatre, and in their gift shop, where they feature wares of local artists, was a few hanks of gorgeous handpainted mohair.  And one of them called out to me to buy it.  So I did...

(It's actually a little more golden/mustardy than in this picture - I really can't get colors to be correct on my camera - there must be a trick to it.)

And today I did some swatching and started a simple garter stitch shawl:

I've not worked with mohair before, and I'm finding it quite interesting and fun.  It might even hold my attention enough so that I may even finish it by the due date for the project....

Suggestions...

Okay, so...  I'm signed up to do this Knitter Project for Elizabeth at geeyouknit, and I decided that I was going to use some yarn from my stash.  I decided on these 5 skeins of Patagonia organic cotton, because the colors are really yummy, and I think I have enough to so something substantial.  Each skein has 105 yards (525 yards total).  The problem: what the hell am I going to make with this stuff? 

It's a worsted weight, sometimes tending to thicken toward bulky (13 sts = 4" on US 8-10).  The greens in real life are more vibrant and tending to lean toward yellow/green.  It was a very dark, grey day today, so natural light was almost non-existant.  This shot is a little closer to the real colors.  A little...

I'm thinking maybe a rectangular shawl (if there's enough) or a scarf of some sort.  Something flat that I won't have to worry too much about gauge.  So, any suggestions for a pattern or project will be appreciated.  Oh, and I need to have it in the mail by March 22.  Just sayin'.   Thanks for stopping by, and for any thoughts you may have!  Have a great weekend.

Hey

Just a little post to check in and let you know that I'm still alive and kicking.

For Rodger: yes, the trip to NYC was about the concert at Carnegie Hall, and it was magnificent.  The Hall itself is absolutely stunning and the acoustics are amazing.  We had a center balcony box for Mom and myself and my brother and his wife and friends of theirs.  It was also interesting to hear from the band's manager about working behind the scenes with the Carnegie Hall people.  Not as easy as one might think, but I won't comment on their experiences with them...

I've not posted in a while because school and directing the HS musical "She Loves Me" has been taking up much of my time, and well as the new college position I'm undertaking.  These college kids are a riot!  And not only are they coming to me with some talent to work with, they are loving the music I have picked out for them, and are attacking it with great gusto!  It's becoming a highlight of my week!

Other than that, things are just busy and I'm trying very dilligently to find some semblence of balance, which is always difficult for me even when I'm not as busy as I am at the moment.  I'm also trying a little bit to have a social life, and have met a couple of guys that I've had dinner with - which is really all I'm looking for at the moment.  After one of them called me (after two dinners, which is all I thought was going on) to exclaim "I just can't be your boyfriend!  I can't, I can't, I can't!!!!", I'm thinking:

A.) Maybe I'm going about this all wrong,
B.) Maybe I'm giving the wrong impression, or
C.) The issues here aren't mine... 

After a little phone conversation, the answer to THAT one is C.  Oy...  I'll still  go about trying to meet people and see where it goes...

So that's it for now.  Just trying to keep my head above water and trying to figure out what's next.  I'm feeling pretty burned out by it all, and thinking maybe it's time to move on to something new.  Although I haven't a CLUE as to what that might be...

Have a great day.

A Little Trip

Mom & I had a great time in NYC a couple of weeks ago. 

We traveled by train from Utica, because it was easy and really inexpensive.  Union Station is lovely, with lots of marble and long oak benches:

Upon reaching Penn Station, a taxi took us to our hotel, The Wellington.  The location was great - just a block from Carnegie Hall for Bob's concert, and a short walk to the Ambassador Theatre to see Chicago (John Schneider was starring as lawyer Billy Flynn, and it was his first week in the role.  He was actually quite good...).

We did spend some time walking around NYC, and upon a suggestion of a friend, we went to the observation deck of Rockefeller Center.  The views were just terrific!  It was a windy day in the mid 40's, but sunny and bright!

And from below:

And it wouldn't be a trip to NYC without a little time in St. Patrick's Cathedral:

Mom had a great time, and I'm sure we'll be going back in the future.

Sunday

Good afternoon.  Seeing as I'm a little bored with how my blog looks, and since I haven't really done much with it in a while, I'm trying a new theme to see how I like it.  Besides finding a new look, I've been reading a couple of new blogs that I'd like to share, unless you've already found them, but they're pretty terrific, I think!

Kate Smudges
Kate is all about gardening, stenciling, knitting and writing.  Beautifully written, excellent pictures of her flowers and gardens, and just a wonderful blog to read.

Love, Elizabeth
Rufus Wainwright, stained glass, silly contests and heartfelt essays on life.  She also authors a second blog called Ridiculon.  Check it out!

Fabulon
Fabulon has become one of my favorite new blogs to read.  It makes me laugh out loud, as do the comments left by others!  It's extremely clever, it's fashion, it's design, it's culture, it's gay, it's vintage photos, it's intelligent,  it's biting, and it's certainly not for the faint of heart (there is occaisional nudity and references to the gay lifestyle, so if that's not your thing, don't go there).  Enter at your own risk, but remember, it's FABULOUS!  Fabolun will also lead to you many other wonderful blogs out there on the net which  can also be addicting.  Again, this may not be for everyone, but with my strange sense of humor and theatrics, it's a winner in my book. 

I hope you all are having a great weekend.  I have some stuff brewing at school that should hopefully be coming to a head this week - nothing major, just a disgruntled student and her parents.  Not to worry.  Enjoy!

Hey there!

Happy New year to you all out there in Blog land!  I hope the new year is being kind to you and getting back to work hasn't been too traumatic if you didn't have to work over the holidays. 

I've really got nothing new to report here, life has been very quiet for the past week or so.  The HS musical I'm directing has been cast (not without a little drama, but I guess that's what High School is all about...?), and the actors have been busy memorizing lines (hopefully), and rehearsals will start soon.  Then I will have basically no chances for a social life of any kind for a few weeks (like I had a social life to begin with.  *grin*).  But working with the kids and watching them grow as actors and singers is always a hoot, so it's worth the time spent with them.

I am taking a couple of pesrsonal days to take my Mom to NYC in a couple of weeks.  My Mom has never been to NYC, and we will actually be spending time with a couple of my brothers there.  This man, Bob DeAngelis, a professional Clarinetist from Toronto, is my oldest brother's brother-in-law.  Bob is performing a tribute to Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall, so we thought it was the perfect event to get Mom to NYC!  We heard Bob perform last Spring in Pa. with the Northeast Philharmonic, and it was then that we got the news that Bob will be performing at Carnegie Hall.  So, hotel rooms were reserved, tickets for the event were acquired, and we'll be staying an extra night because Mom wanted to see a Broadway show.  Chicago was the choice, and tickets are now in my grubby little hands!  Oh, and we're taking the train so we don't have to worry about driving or parking in the city.  So, we're good to go!  Mom is VERY excited, and we'll get to see a couple of my brothers and their wives! 

And if you haven't read Mel's blog, a dog named Phoebe needs  our help.  There's a link to the story and how to give if you are able.

That's it for now.  I've been pondering doing a little knitting again, but that's about as far as I got...  LOL!

Merry Christmas

Happiest of Holidays to you, and those you hold dear in your heart.

December

Hi All!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  LOL.  Things here in Pauly World have been scary-busy this month.  High School concert last week, elementary concerts this week, high school musical auditions after school today, tomorrow and Thursday, and I still haven't done much Christmas shopping.  I'm thinking that Christmas packages to go in the mail will shortly be "New Year's Packages".  Christmas with the family in Pa. is this Saturday, so I guess major Christmas shopping is going to happen Friday night.  Oy...  I don't know how I do this, but this is typical for me in December.  I may get Christmas cards out before the end of the week.  We'll see...

Oh, and I'm starting a new little adventure in January (like I don't have enough to do with musical rehearsals or anything).  I applied for an adjunct professorship at a local Jr. college to run a college/community chorus - and I GOT THE JOB!!!!  I will need to do some recruiting, both internally with the school, and outside to the local communities.  I have no idea what I'm going to get handed student-wise with numbers and talent, but we'll hit the ground running and make some sounds.  Basically. I get to build the program and take it anywhere i want to.  It's not a music school, so this, like the other ensembles, are extra-curricular, and we get what we get.  Adding community members who sing will be a big help musically.  It starts near the end of January, so I have lots of work to do picking out music and writing a syllabus.  I think it's gonna be a lot of work, but also the little challenge I need to get out of my little rut.

Like everyone else in the northeast, we've had a little snow.  These are a couple of views from my apartment from Sunday:

Have a great day!!