PS

So last night my post was patchy at best...I was very very very tired.
I just wanted to Say I met some Totally Wicked Awesome knitters last night. I met a woman who is literally crocheting a river...her goal is to have it fill a room...I'll see if I can get some photos of this thing it's pretty neat. I'm so going back.

So we're getting ready to take a trip to Oregon for a few days of laying by the lake, drinking Huge ammounts of beer and BBQ'n. I think the DSB (Dear Sweet Boyfriend) is really looking forward to a few days of absolutly nothing.

we've employed the neighbor to house sit a bit for us so anyone thinking now's the time to break in and steal the Pizza Hut Commerative Shreck glasses just want to let you know...they're watching!

WEHO SNB.....Randomness and fun

Totally went to the West Hollywood SNB....Ok Random thing number 1..

The upstairs was taken over by a reception of Event Coordinators. I thought it was funny...I mean how much do you wanna bet that at least half of them thought they could have done a better job coordinating that event. I mean the PRESSURE of coordinating a event for EVENT Freakin COORIDNATORS.

2. I totally saw my friend Carolynn at SNB...so I had no idea she went there

3. I forgot to get my parking validated....the parking attendant (who was about 16) lectured me about it then let me slide for 8 bucks when I was supposed to pay $14. It was neat.

So in the long day where I couldn't win I had a few brite spots.

Oh I totally went to the eyedoctor today as well....I'm getting contacts! The eye doctor was not at all amused with my phobia of strangers touching my eyes...she pretty much called me a baby and yelled at me to stop BLINKING....I admire her

Hey Kat!

If you're reading this I have a question for you. Are you free Thursday? Wanna go to SNB?
Call me you have my number!
Cheers.

Hava Hangover

What do you get when you combine great music, good people, a half pack of cigarettes and about a gallon of really cheap chardonnay... you get a good ol' time and a crazy weird hangover.
I'm feeling better now that I've had a cup of Jet Fuel Strength coffee.
I love the King King Club.
Mental note: when I drink a gallon of cheapo oakie wine I'll suddenly get the urge for Sittons and then I'll attempt to eat a Reuben the size of a small child.

Don't let the reviews fool you....we eat there CONSTANTLY!
the food isn't Amazing or anything but the Greek Omelet is like crack to the Boo and I love the chicken salad with Greek dressing...it's so just chicken drowned in Mayo on some iceberg lettuce and perhaps a mealy tomato but It's good to me.
There is a waitress that works the graveyard shift that HATES Nick (cause he's a cheap skate and doesn't tip) but when I come stumbling in at 3am she gets me coffee without me even having to ask. I mean you just don't get that at Denny's.

I've always wanted to organise like a Sunday Brunch meet up and knit and eat omelette's there....they totally let me sit, knit, watch tv and suck down coffee like it's going out of style. Come on Valley Knitters....We should get together and nurse our hangovers with pancakes and yarn!
Speaking of knitting and I can't believe you brought it up....
So I blocked Clapotis! It's Rad...it dried really really fast. I'm excited I'm about to wrap it. I bought this really cool pink Happy Birthday wrapping paper...I'm such a freaking Dork.
Also let me take a moment to plug This product. Soak is rad...you don't have to rinse it out and since all you have to do is just soak it for 15 min it really minimizes the chances of accidentally felting stuff. Plus it doesn't have that "grandma" fragrance that most wool washes seem to have. I used the citrus scent...awesome!

Speed Sock Knitting

I started a plain boring old stockinette sock yesterday and managed to almost get to the heel portion by the time I went to bed. It's just coming off the needles WICKED fast. I just needed a small somewhat mindless pattern for the plan ride today.
Yup I'm going on Vacation...but we have a house sitter watching the pad.
Ooooh and also My shipment from Blue Moon Fiber Arts came. I got two skeins of AWESOME sock yarn. One in Onxy which is, you guessed it....black and another in Lovers Leap which is like a redish colorway....OOOooooh and I got a NEW CAMERA yesterday so as soon as I get back in town a post with actaull Knitting PICTURES...I think both of my readers will get a kick outta that.
Ok I had a looong post about Sock Knitting and size 0 needles and taking a CookieA. class next week but I just lost about 2/3s of the post so both of my readers are missing out on my early sleep deprived witiness.
So I PROMISE...Pictures next post!
Have a great 4th Both of you!

Safe

Just a quick note....I love that I feel safe in my home, safe in my relationship, I love knowing that when I call the Boo he always sounds so happy to hear from me even if he just saw me an hour before.
I love that I get a big hug when he comes home. I love that we can argue and eventually work it out! I love that he's come to terms with the fact that I store yarn all over the house and behind the couch is where the swift and ball winder live.
I love it and I love him and now that I've said that I gotta go to the eyedoctor.

We like to party hardy!

I got an Email from my friend Darla...she sent me pictures of the Boo and Le'ce's b-day luau...just to prove that I do party hardy here's some pics!



Paul, Nik and me....notice how red faced and lop sided I appear...I can only speculate this is after drinking home made grain alcohol provided by a friend who will remain nameless but knows who they are.



Large group photo...Ok I'm really shiny and most of my lipstick is gone...I believe at this point I was drinking mai-tais to sober up from the moonshine...I'm brilliant like that!

Hey Ho...F O

No pics...stupid computer but I will upload some at a later date.
The Giant Clapotis that took over my life and ate the couch and has created strange pink dust bunnies all over the living room is DONE!
Well the knitting is done. I still have the task of finishing unraveling all the dropped stiches.

Things I learned.

1. Anything with drop stitches should not be paired with any ANY yarn containing Mo-hair.

2. I'd totally make it again.

I used Hand Paint Originals from Brown Sheep Company in color HP40 or Strawberry Patch.
About 9 and 1/2 hanks...I have only half a ball left..not bad but I am kicking myself cause I thought my math was a bit more exact than that.

I bought out the entire inventory of it at Stick And Stone which is the big crazy spinning store on Sepulveda.

I knit this Giant thing for my mom. She wanted a big wrap for the cool evenings on the Lake in Oregone. Plus her b-day is coming up and she thinks we've all forgotten about it.
The only thing I regret is that the yarn is a bit itchy. Hopefully she won't mind. I love my mom even though we rarely see eye to eye. She's been ill for the past 4 weeks...so hopefully hand knit goodies will perk her up.

I'm hoping to block it tonight and let it dry for the next 4 days.

When in doubt, fry the sucker

I love Crazy Aunt Purl for this post.
It's come to my attention that people in Los Angeles just do not appreciate Okra. I lived in Georgia, I love Okra, pickled Okra is like crack to me. It's somthing I can stash in the fridge and munch on late at night after a long evening of jello shots and beer. I looooove fried Okra as well, but it's really hard to find Okra in the grocery store unless it's frozen but the frozen kind gets a snot like slimy texture when cooked.

I also love boiled peanuts. It's a total southern thing. Most people have never ever heard of this scrumptious treat from "down there" but in most parts of the south from about late June to early September give or take you can find these beauties at most gas stations and mini marts. Usually they come in plain and cajun. Plain is just boiled forever in salt water where as cajun has some kinda spicy mixture. My big thing was to do a container of half plain and half cajun. I mastered the art of shelling them and driving.

For the record the "good" peanuts are available at the Texaco station at the entrance to Ft. Steward army base near Savannah GA. Also for the record there is sometimes a crazy old guy with a pick up full of watermelon who will sell you one for a dollar...good stuff.
The trick is you have to use green un processed peanuts, in GA you could buy them by the bag in your local Kroger but here in Los Angeles it's a bit trickier.
So this year...round August I'm ordering from These Guys

this year I'm gonna have a boiled peanut party. People either Love them or Hate them...which one are you?

Drunken Knitting

I'm doing the decrease section on this shawl I'm making for my mom and I realised that cheap pinot grigio and row counting do not mix.
I think I've sorta fixed the situation...hopefully the wonky edge will be straightened out by forceful blocking and much swearing and praying.
I have 9 more days to finish this thing before I block it. I figure due to it's sheer size (it's freaking giant she better like it or I'll be forced to fight her)it's going to take a few days to totally dry. I haven't told the Dear Sweet BF that I'm taking over the computer room floor and all of the black bath towels for 4 days.
In other news...I have tons of lemon cucumbers if anyone wants them. I'm the master gardener. I also have tomato's out the wazoo and a few bell peppers that shall eventually ripen if I massage them and promise to take them to hawaii.
Also I've been toying with the idea of buildning a 34 truck.
I've put the idea in Nick's head and he said he'd keep an eye out for me. Hee hee hee.

Love is in the Air

Little Side note....all the birds in the yard are doing it. It's really funny it looks like an avian orgy out there.

you know what they say about opinions

Everyones got one. I was prepared to go on a long rant about how people shouldn't jump to conclusions about people they've never met blah blah (ps. the reason I no longer have my cat that I miss so much is that her health barred her from loooooong distance travel by air...like cross counrty, not because anyone MADE me and she's happy in the home of a dear friend and 3 other cats) but I decided to talk about a super important issue...
Making 10 pounds of baby back ribs.
Holey Moley that's alot of pork.

We are helping throw a friend her 40th b-day party. So the past few days have been spent running to Costco, twice, calling around trying to find a place that can get a keg of Tecate at the last second, searching for a grass skirt and marinating 10 pounds of ribs in a mixture of soy sauce, whiskey and orange juice. It smells so good. I'm going to bake them tomorrow before the party.

It's cool that it's turned into the Party of the Summer. I think at last count 77 people rsvp'd plus their guests and stuff. Cool huh

Success Yes part 3

So...
While I was having the afore mentioned computer issues I took advantage of the fact that I had dug up the area next to the garage and plant a garden...since we live in a nice warm climate and spring had sprung I planted the obligatory summer produce (i.e. Tomatoes, bell peppers and lemon cucumbers)

I didn't just plant a few tomatoes....you see I had a vision in my mind, a vision of baskets full of plump, juicy, vine ripened tomatoes. I pictured giving them as gifts to my grateful friends and family. I pictured my father tipping his hat to me, the true green thumb of the family and I would earn the respect of all my friends who gave me a funny look when I'd go on and on at BBQ's about the improtance of slow watering and adding of egg shells to the soil to prevent cat facing...I had a vision.

I planted 7 plants in a 4 by 4 area. They have taken over....the bell peppers, while coming along nicely have been covered by the two five foot tall (if I had caged them properly they'd be biggger) Golden Boy heirlooms and the Black Brandywines have suceeded in destroying the barrier I build with wooden dowels and twine to keep them off the ground, and off the cucumbers and are now usuing the cucumber trellis as their own.
You'd ask, Why are you claiming success? Well cause today one of the Black Brandywines is starting to ripen!
Pretty much I have about a zillion big green hard tomatoes, and even thought I spent many many years in the south I haven't had the heart to pick and fry them. Everytime I see my parents they ask "And how come you didn't bring any tomatoes for us this time? Come on Good tomatoes are $6 bucks a pound at Gelsons."

They are demanding tomatoes for fathers day and it would be nice to bring somthing other than a few Sweet Million Cheery tomatoes, which are ripe and quite amazing if I do say so myself. So I'm trying my best to nurture the lone pink tomato, hoping it ripens to a deep brilliant burise color by Sunday.

Also, since I have no pets or childern we got a little, neglected Meyer Lemon tree from my parents.

We're gonna plant it today when The Boo's Neice and Nephew come over, manual labor is all part of our plan to break the kid's opinion that our house is the "FUN" house.

This little tree is so like the Peanuts X-mas tree. Every time you touch it a bunch of leaves fall off...I kept saying "This Tree Needs Us!" to which the Boo chanted "People Need Trees And Trees Need People!"

Hopefully we don't kill it...we've already named it Limey....I'm not sure why cause it's a lemon tree but the Boo chuckles about it every time he says it so Limey it is

I'm baaaaaack

So it's bee n 5 months since my last post...it's not for lack of stuff it's just there have been issues with the home computer that have FINALLY been taken care of...still no pics but ou should take what you can get.

So updates...well the Boo and I have Officialy Shacked up! yep were living in sin in the Valley and I love it.

We went to Las Vegas for Viva Las Vegas...it was Ok but I think we're gonna shine it next year and go to Texas for the Lone Star Round up..way cool cars and a good change of scene. The high point of Vegas was our friend Jackie running from security with one shoe on...ps she got the shoe back.

We went to Paso this year...I got stung by a hornet, got the flu and had a good old time.

In knitting news...finishe a pair on Monkey socks but the yarn I used isn't super wash so I'm afraid to wear them.
I've been working on some heart lace socks for the Boo's niece who think's I'm totally cool and I'm getting close to finishing the Clapotis for my mom's b-day which is in 2 WEEKS! AAAAAH

on the 15th me and my fellow hot rod knitter Michelle are attending the Yard and Wine Tasting at That Yarn Store...oh yes did I mention I met another female hot rodder/knitter? She;s cool and she's been dating a friend of mine too but that was after I met her...she has a Dart and is into Scooters...If I were gay I'd so do her.

so thats about it at chez Scrapper. Hopefully when we get a new camera I'll have som FO's to post!
Cheers