New Purchase

Last weekend, I went out in search of an upgrade for my TV. I came home, having purchased a 37" LCD HDTV. Yesterday, I went and picked up and with the help of Lisa, managed to bring it up to my apartment and put it together.

Mind you, I thought it would be easy to just reconnect the cables and turn the TV on, which is what I thought my brother-in-law did when we put his TV together. Guess not. Seems I'm missing something. I think I have to call Comcast and actually get some sort of HD service added to my bill, even though my DVR box is already HD-ready. I swear, why can't electronics be simple?????

The back of the TV has so many color-coded options, but it seems that I don't have the right "color" cables for optimum HD-viewing. Looks like I need the red, green and purple (I think those are the colors) cables and my box never came w/ it and the TV only came w/ the damn plug. Sigh. I'll deal with it later, once I've had breakfast and gone out for a RIDE.

Here are some quick pictures I took last night:

I can't believe how big it is in my unit. Can't wait until I figure it out!

Go Steelers!!!!!!

'Twas the Night Before the Super Bowl

'Twas the night before the Super Bowl, when along the gulf shore,
Steelers fans were praying for "just one more;"

The players were nestled all snug in the sack,
With visions of the first NFL Six-Pack;

Coach Tomlin was young, but wise for his years,
So I drifted off to sleep without any fears;

When at the stadium there arose some strange chatter,
The Cardinals feared, what was the matter;

We heard "Okel Dokel", we heard "Double Yoi,"
We jumped from our beds, our hearts jumped for joy;

He stood at the fifty with a grin ear to ear,
Steelers fans everywhere started to cheer;

Then in an instant to our surprise,

This little old man had tears in his eyes;

He went to the booth and there took his chair,
While Terrible Towels waved in the air;

Then over the airwaves came his shrill voice,
The Steelers Nation began to rejoice;

He said, "I am back, but you know I can't stay,
I just had to see my Steelers play;

From my home up above, I have a great view,
But I wanted to celebrate here with you;

So bring on the Birds, we'll send them a flyin',
On the way back to Phoenix , they will be cryin';

Ben, Hines, Troy , Jeff and all of the rest,
No matter the outcome, to me you're the best;"

The airwaves went silent, the stadium still,
Was this just a dream, it seemed so real;

In our team we have faith, in our team we have hope,
But the game's not the same without Myron Cope;


Written by: A.K. Young
01-23-09

MYRON COPE WAS "THE "STEELER BROADCASTER AND FOUNDER OF THE TERRIBLE TOWEL!!

Moving right along

After finishing all of those projects last month (OMG, it's February already!), I finally had a chance to cast on for a cute short sleeved pattern in Rowan Studio 2 called Martha. Wendy started it. She knit it last year in the Manos Silk Blend and I fell in love with it. Then, Lisa cast on the same project in a gorgeous purple/fuscia color. I had been eyeing this blue yarn and caved. I bought it over the summer and finally cast on this month.



This is my first project working with cables and they are coming out beautifully in this yarn. It's kind of annoying dealing w/the cable needle, and you can kind of tell that one of the cables is messed up. Still, I'm really excited about it.

I finished the back, am 75% done w/ the left front piece and 50% through the right front piece.

My friend at work had a baby back in October. With all of my traveling and unfinished projects, I never had a chance to make her something. I really liked this hat that Mindy made last year in Koigu. So, Friday I stopped off at the Free Library and picked up The Elegant Knitter and cast on for the Soft Baby Hat. Only thing is, I didn't like the way the pattern was supposed to look. Instead, I liked Mindy's inside out version. So, although I knit the hat according to the pattern, I kept all ends on the outside so it could be flipped inside out. I like it much better this way.

This was such a quick knit. I finished it last night. Kind of wish I had a doll that I could try the hat on and see how it looks. It's a great girl pattern. Not so much for a boy. :-)

Lost and Found

The problem for me with cleaning/organizing my apartment is that I get distracted easily. I find something or do something and I get sidetracked and then forget about what I was originally doing. That's why, when I organize my space, it usually looks like a hurricane or tornado went through.

See, I'm a stasher. I like to hold onto things in case I might need them later on, or to just keep the memories alive. I still have training manuals from my days with the PIRGs and the Endangered Species Coalition. I don't plan on organizing again, but what if I need it.

Every time I go home, I find something else that I bring back with me. Actually, I do that for the memories, but also for the survival of the memories since my mom is always intent on purging things and decluttering. We are opposites in that respect. The last time I was home, I brought back my high school yearbook (helpful when folks friend me on facebook and I don't recall the name) and this:



This is an etching I made sophomore year in my graphics class. It was based on a photograph taken earlier that year for photography. Basically, it is me and my best friend at the time hanging out at the cliffs (aka the Palisades). I had forgotten all about this and I just happened to find it framed in my closet in the basement. I swear, every time I go in that closet I find something else I didn't know I had. I'm sure I'll be bringing home my old portfolio the next time. Who knows where that would go!

But I digress. Yesterday, I decided to go thru the drawers of my entertainment unit to make room for my ever-expanding yarn stash (help). While digging thru the drawers I found this back cover for a spiral notebook a used in high school. I'm guessing sophomore or junior year since my boyfriend's name on it.





Can you tell I liked to doodle? Well, that and song lyrics were very important to me. I wrote them everywhere, including the furniture in my room. (another piece of history I need to remember to photograph before my mom throws it out)

I can't believe I saved this. The joy I get from finding these things is the reason why I save stuff. But then the problem is, I got distracted by this and forgot about some of the other things I was doing and my place looks like a hurricane hit again. It never ends.

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year)

It's the Chinese New Year and tonight I spent it up in Allentown (yeah, that's right) w/ Regina and Lisa. Regina's brother's girlfriend's family owns the House of Chen in downtown Allentown and Regina and her husband celebrate the Chinese New Year there every year. This year, since her husband was out of town, she brought some of the girls along to celebrate. Aside from the really long drive and ridiculous traffic, it was a fun evening. I think it was the first time I had Chinese since I have been back from China. The meal did not disappoint. I was stuffed by the time I left.

In case you are wondering, this year is the year of the Ox.

As w/ the end of any Chinese meal, we were given fortune cookies. I go ahead and break my cookie, and then pull out my fortune. I'm figuring it will say you will do well in your career, you will meet the love of your life, you will have good luck, etc. Instead it was something totally unexpected:



I totally lost it and started laughing hysterically. I had never seen a fortune like this. I tried to read it to everyone, but couldn't since I really hate the "c" word. I was practically pissing my pants I couldn't believe it said it. Then I saw the other fortunes and they talked about about getting screwed and such. Obviously, these were prank cookies meant for friends. Everyone at the table got a kick out of my reaction. I really didn't expect this fortune. Just thought I'd pass it on . . .

Finished Project #3

Ta da!

Seriously, I feel like I'm on a roll with finishing all these projects. I'm really not, but it sure is nice to finish some stuff!

This cardigan is another pattern from Rowan 44. It's called Colbert and is knit it Rowan's wool/cotton. Can I first just say how much I love the feel of this yarn once it has knitted up! Anyway, I started this over the holidays and pretty much knit the entire body on the beach or by the pool in Florida. It was the perfect, mindless knitting project.

Unfortunately, I ran into a ton of problems w/ the collar. The first problem was that it was so big that it covered my shoulders. My shoulders are about 5-5.5 inches wide and the collar was 6.5 inches wide. Yeah, that wasn't going to work. I then ripped back an inch, but then the collar kept riding up in the back. So, to solve the problem, Wendy helped me tack or sew down the collar from shoulder to shoulder. It works so much better now. Thank you Wendy!!!!! The collar is still a little wider than I'd like in the front, but that's ok

See, you can't even tell that the collar is sewed down. I got some nice compliments on this when I wore it to work yesterday.

Oh and by the way, thanks, Kate, for taking the pictures last night!

Finished Project #2

Here are pictures of another project I finally finished. I started this at the end of September w/ the goal of finishing it and wearing it for the high holidays. After having knit the back and then ripping it out b/c I made a mistake that I couldn't fix, I put it aside for a while, knowing there was no way I'd finish it. Then, once I finished the pieces, the seaming was a bitch! I had to seam the entire border along the edges and up around the corner. Ugh.

However, I do like the finished product. It's a great little shrug for a lightweight outfit. The pattern is called Bacall and is from Rowan 44. I made it in Berocco Ultra Alpaca Light.

As you can see, I tried it on w/ different summer dresses. Not so sure how it looks on the bright pink dress, but you get the idea of how it should fit.

It should be pinned w/ a brooch of some sort; however, I don't own any. I've always hated pins. Scavenging through my old junk, I found this random pin that doesn't go at all. Just giving you a idea of how it would look pinned. I'll be pin shopping in the future.

Finished object

I just finished this entrelac hat from the Twist Collective's Winter Issue. It's one of their free patterns, called Fourth Grade Hat; not sure why, but whatever. It's made with Rowan Tapestry, the whirlpool colorway.

Entrelac is totally addictive. It's like reading those junk novels w/ 5 page chapters and you keep saying, "just one more chapter," and it 3am. Same thing here. I kept saying, "just one more square," and my sleep went down the tubes.

I have 2 more projects I finished seaming. Once I soak and block them, I'll post pictures.

Holy cow batman

I cooked!



Ok, that's not such a big deal since I make chili and this chicken soup, but these are somewhat easier and can easily be cooked in bulk and stored in the freezer.


Tonight, however, I really cooked.


I cooked fish!


Not just that, but I made it in the oven (I rarely use my oven, opting for the toaster oven instead), in parchment paper, with kitchen string. Hello?


It actually came out pretty well and I ate the whole thing. I tend to take a few bites of things I make and throw them out. That's how good of a cook I am. :-) But tonight was different.

So you must be wondering what I made. Here it is:



The recipe is called Halibut w/ Tapenade in Parchment. I got it from the South Beach Diet cookbook. It was really simple to make, aside from finding parchment paper and kitchen string and trying to actually tie the paper before putting it in the oven. Basically it's halibut (I used turbo b/c the guy at Whole Foods said it was most like halibut), diced tomatoes, olive tapenade, and little drizzle of lemon and olive oil, salt and pepper.

Yum!

It's all about me

Over the holidays Lisa tagged me to do this meme where you list 7 random facts about yourself. So here is goes.

1. I lived in 25 different apartments or homes, in 8 states, before moving to Philly 5 years ago.

2. My siblings and I were all born on Wednesdays between 11 AM and noon. Also, everyone in my immediate family was born on either the 13th or the 14th of the month and my father and I share the same birthday.

3. I applied to art school, and even put together a portfolio of work. I was practical and knew that I couldn't make a living on my art work, so I opted to major in art management and own a gallery some day.

4. I canvassed Tom of Maine (you know the toothpaste guy), but didn't realize it until I left (he was at his mom's house). I was running a campaign office that summer in Portland, ME for the Sierra Club and USPIRG (now Environment America).

5. I own an orange, carpeted mushroom.

6. The furniture in my first apartment consisted of a hammock, hanging chair, 2 extra-large bean bags, and #5 above.

7. In high school, I took the doors off my sliding door closet and turned it into a graffiti wall modeled after Pink Floyd's The Wall.