What kind of oil are you gulping?

From Ideal Bite, a reminder of how we can all do something small for the environment.

Creating that plastic bottle of H20 you chug after a workout involves water pumping, bottling, plastic manufacturing, label printing, shipping, store refrigeration, and advertising. And that's before you drink it and throw it away.

On the sticks

This is a fun scarf I have been working on here and there. I bought this yarn (Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe) in Asheville over the summer knowing I wanted to make a scarf. I thought that would have been something along the lines of this Zig-Zag scarf, minus the color change, or something similarly diagonal. I did not really like the way the color of this yarn was working, but I did want something more daring than a straight rib because I really like this yarn and wanted to do it justice.

This pattern is called open wave lace, from The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey. I found this book a few years ago at a used bookstore for $2.00 and it is such a great resource.

On a completely different note, I was downtown shopping today after my volunteering gig at the American Art Museum and saw a shockingly ugly cross dresser. It was like your father put on a pretty turquoise flouncy skirt, matching sleeveless blouse, the sneakers he wears when he mows the grass, your mother's ugliest pink lipstick, his handbag, and he's ready for a day downtown. If you want to dress like a woman put some effort into it please! Besides my freight, I had a very good shopping day.

NYC Weekend

I tried out the newest cheap bus to NYC, DC2NY this weekend. It was comfortable, only $40 round trip, the stop is a block from my office parking garage, so it all worked out beautifully.

My friend Del moved to Conn. for a new job so I went to go see him for about 24 hours. We had a blast tooling around the city. I think I finally figured out the subway which is such a bonus. We hit the Metropolitan Museum and the roof deck where there is some art and drinks! And a great view. We had dinner at an African restaurant in Harlem that night. He was thrilled to see so many Africans around, being from Nigeria and all.

On Sunday we did not get a very early start so it was a little rushed. We stumbled upon Artie's Delicatessen in the upper West Side for some breakfast and then rushed around the Natural History Museum for about an hour before having to get back down to Penn Station so I could catch the bus back.

New York is such a wonderful place. Activity abounds, and the culture of the people who live there is amazing. So much fun. We are already planning my next trip when we will explore Soho, Tribeca, and Greenwich Village.

Why do I get such pleasure from throwing away his toothbrush?

I broke up with Doug this week. We weren’t going in the same direction so I had to end it. He wanted a casual relationship dressed in a serious relationship’s clothing. Kind of strange, actually, that was a first for me. Nice guy, he just needs a little time to get his new life formed. I told him pretty much right off that I am looking to get married. Not to him necessarily, but that is the goal. Casual if fun, but I am done with it. No hard feelings.

But I get such pleasure in throwing away the toothbrush. Wonder why?

Gift knitting

I am planning on making some felted bags for Christmas gifts this year. My experiment with the French Market bag was a success this summer so I will continue felting. There are so many neat things out there including these flower embellishments. People are so clever. I am always amazed and inspired.

This time I am going to try the Buttonhole Bag from Mason Dixon Knitting. Here is some yarn I bought when I was in vacation in the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. I like the heathered colors, I think that will give the solid felted fabric some depth and interest.

K-Mart ad sends the wrong message

Have you seen the back-to-school ad from K-Mart? The little girl is going to do well in the new school year because her clothes look so good. The little boy is going to do well because he has a backpack for all of his books.

What’s up with that? These messages of materialism and girls needing to look the right way to do well in life start so early. It is very discouraging.

It is still summer, people

Why is it that the first time the temperature drops below 70 degrees in this city everyone pulls out their winter clothes? It makes me laugh, every summer. I saw dark jackets, sweaters over long sleeve shirts, and what could have been wool pants on the bus this morning. Don’t worry people, was have a lot of 90 degree days ahead of us!

I am back from my vacation to Asheville and the Outer Banks (N.C). I had a wonderful time, saw so much great fine art and crafts, bought pottery and jewelry and a quirky painting in Asheville. Relaxed on the beach and saw some beautiful scenery on the Outer Banks. The 1,863 miles of driving was worth it. But you won’t see me behind the wheel for a little while. I love my car, but we have had enough together time.

I also did some yarn shopping, at Yarn Paradise in the Biltmore Village in Asheville, and I stumbled across this neat little yarn shop in Manteo, in the Outer Banks, called Kimbeeba. I found some nice (read: cheap) felting yarn there for some Christmas presents I am going to make.

My test of the mini clapotis is a success I think. So successful that I am considering making the full size version. Is it too much red, though, at full-size?

Summer Vacation 2007

My solo adventure to North Carolina starts Thursday morning. I will be on the road by 6 AM to reach Asheville by mid-afternoon. Part of the trip will be on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway which starts in northern Virginia and goes all the way to the Great Smoky Mountains. I will have plenty of music to listen to and David Sedaris’s books on CD to keep me entertained. I do not do well on long car trips so I think this will be my biggest challenge. I get bored and antsy holed up in a car for too long.

I am keeping myself free most of the time to explore the city of Asheville but I have booked a half-day whitewater rafting trip on the Nantahala River and I found a couple of yoga studios. My first stop Friday is a massage to unkink after the long drive, I expect it to take 8+ hours. Asheville is home to the Biltmore Estate, home of the Vanderbilts, and I am feeling more of an obligation to visit than any desire so that will be Plan B on Sunday. It looks interesting for a couple of hours which does not justify the $40 admission fee. I think I am going to have the most fun wandering around visiting the shops and art galleries and trying all of the different restaurants I have been reading about in downtown.

After 3 full days in Asheville I jump back in the car for another 8 hour drive, due east, to Nags Head in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Ahhh, the beach. To me nothing is more relaxing than a chair and an umbrella on the sandy shore. Everyone in this area (Washington, DC) goes to the Outer Banks but I have never been.

My biggest angst last night after finishing all of my laundry and burning some CDs was what knitting projects to bring. I am still plodding along with the ballerina wrap sweater, I am mid-sleeve-#2, so I am definitely bringing that. But I want to bring something else. I swatched some sock yarn I bought last year for a possible go at the mini-Clapotis reworked by Yarn Dreams. It’s a possibility. I like the colors, vibrant for a winter scarf.

When it rains it pours

This week has been a whirlwind of social activities. When it rains it pours! Does that happen to you? I met Kani, from IntellectConnect, on Monday at the Four Courts; dinner at David Greggory with my friend Linda who was here from Florida for a few days; Wed. I bailed on MeetUp; Thurs. is yoga night. Tomorrow I volunteer and then go to the Walters with Christina. Sunday I am meeting Young Dave, finally, for a beer.

The Highlight

The trip to Gettysburg last Saturday with the Capital Hiking Club was so much fun. Our guide, Larry, was a wealth of information. And there were other Civil War buffs/experts on the hike who added even more information.

All of the people in our group were so pleasant and easy to talk to. Ages ranged from 10 to 70-ish, men, woman, singles, couples. In the end I am so glad I went alone. I had invited the Craiglist girls but no one ended up signing up. That group is getting on my nerves, but more about that later. If I had been with people I knew, I don’t think I would have mingled. So alone can be better.

And I even got a date out of it! Bonus. I was totally not expecting that.

Tonight I am off to Sears to buy a new garbage disposal. My glamorous life!

Knitting

I posted the before and after dimensions and pictures of the French Market Bag to Flickr (see the box in the right column). I would say it shrunk about 25% in the felting process in the washing machine. I have a feeling it won’t shrink so much when hand-felted. But I need to do some experimenting.

First Felted Bag

Knitting

Here’s my finished French Market Bag. Isn’t is cool? I am really excited about this felting thang. I am thinking Christmas presents.

Here’s the before picture so you can see how much is shrunk. Pretty dramatic.

When I was in RI last week I used my mother’s washing machine to perform my first felting experiment. I would say it was a success. I feared that the two purples that I chose were too subtle next to each other but they aren’t at all in the finished piece.

While this whole thing was easy to knit and the felting is cool, the shape of this bag is not going to be that useful for me I don’t think. The sides aren’t really that high and the straps aren’t long enough.

But next time I will know how to alter the pattern. I also think the next time I will hand felt which will give me more control. The washing machine was pretty rough and I left it in about 8 minutes, a little longer than I had wanted, but I got distracted watching “What Not to Wear.”

Love that show. And the few episodes I caught when I was getting my fill of cable TV at my parents house featured very willing and cooperative participants. Sometimes they are awful, kicking and screaming through every step, from new clothes, to hair, to makeup. Jeez, they are making you over, have fun with it.

Dating

Well, I think I am inadvertently online dating again.

In my daily scouring I regularly saw a post on Craigslist for Seeking Intellectually Curious Who Love Fine Arts? Have you seen it?

So I click on the above mentioned post to find intellectconnect.com, a new free online dating and friending site. I questioned whether I was smart enough for these potential dates. But I jumped in (I think the FREE was the hook I needed), created a profile, and then kind of forgot about it. Until I got a response a couple of weeks ago from a man who seems charming, nice, looking for friends, likes cultural pursuits, lives nearby in Woodley Park. So we are meeting next week for a beer.

I say inadvertently because this past spring when Gabriel just simply stopped calling and returning my calls, after a year of dating, I decided to take a break. So my focus has been on meeting people to do things with, like hiking, museums, going out to dinner, all the things you do with a boyfriend but without the complications of actually having to consider another person. (Yikes that sounds selfish. But you get my point.)

So I met that group of women on Craigslist and I have become involved in MeetInDC and meetup.com, and a few other things. And it’s all coming together, the work is paying off and I am meeting some new people and have some fun things on my calendar.

Like tomorrow I am going to Gettysburg with the Capital Hiking Club. I have never been to a Civil War site – shame on me, living in the South and all. I don’t know anyone on the trip, but that’s part of the adventure. I have an introverted personality so I have to force myself to do social things by myself. This will be a good exercise for me.

Just for laughs, I recently trolled around match.com, the old stompin’ ground, and all I saw were the same old faces, reading the same old profiles (“I am comfortable in a jean and a tux,” “I SCUBA dive and climb mountains, all in the same day,” “Looking for my soul mate as long as she looks like a super model”) so I give up on the online dating scene.

I had fun over the many years on match, met tons of men, went out on tons of dates, but I am done with that.

Speed Dating Virgin

My friend Corey tried speed dating for the first time last night and he is hooked. He is already setting up the next venue, insisting that I go with him.

Have you tried it? Was it worth it? Did you meet interesting people?

Tell me what you think. I am actually considering it. I really have nothing to lose.

And Rob Brezsny keeps telling me to reinvent myself every week this year.

Bookmark review

Every once in a while I check in with my lengthy knitting blogs bookmarks. If there hasn’t been an activity in a couple of months I delete it, knowing that is will be replaced by something equally as entertaining.

So here are some of the highlights of this evening’s tour:

A quilt made out of leftover sock yarn at Mya Finari Posts

SaunShine has moved to NYC to follow her dream of fashion design

I always enjoy seeing what the Knit Smiths are up to

Ysolda is so eloquent,

I’m still in love with the fabric that the Rowan Bamboo Soft makes, even if the splitting is a total pain in the arse. But it feels like a much loved, well worn t-shirt.

Sweaters for Squirrels – this is good for a guffaw

I am disappointed with the Daily Knitter, the new site from Interweave. There isn’t anything there, really, that I have not already found somewhere else. And the free patterns are weak. I will give it a little time, but if there’s no improvement in the depth of content .

This finished Sunrise Circle Jacket is gorgeous, such attention to detail, such a great fit.

Happy 4th and a day off in the middle of the week

A day off in the middle of the week is weird. Last night I kept thinking it was Friday.

I got my fill of George, Brad, and the crew last night when I went to see Oceans 13 in Georgetown. And the added bonus was Julian Sands! I remember falling in love with him watching “A Room With a View” at the Copley Place movie theater in Boston when I was in college. The strong silent type gets me every time. Throw in an English accent and I am putty.

I had heard that O-13 wasn’t very good, the story was flat, the acting was OK. But I really liked it. Granted, if the actors were all average looking I probably would not have liked it so much. There is something about a well-dressed man, you know? Even an OK looking guy can ratchet it up a notch by wearing clothes that fit and are stylish.

I am headed down the The Mall this evening to see the fireworks. In the 12 years I have lived here I have never been. Crowds are not my favorite thing. But I also feel like I need to do it once in my life. I will just do my yoga breathing and I should be fine.

I can actually see the fireworks across the street from the St. Alban’s church property. There is usually a pretty good crowd over there every July 4th at 9 o’clock. But it’s so far away, it is nothing like being there. And I love fireworks.

Vida is muerta.

Or at least crooked. The needle layed across the front shows how crooked it is. Yikes!

How did this happen? Could it be the reverse stockinette? I am scratching my head. I rinsed it in water and blocked it but I am not convinced that will solve my problem. I am going to query the KnitList. They know just about everything about knitting. (Amazing wealth of knowledge on that listserv.) And I really don’t want to start the front if I have to change something dramatic to make it symmetrical.

I bought some sale yarn from elann.com this week. This Highland Peruvian Wool (in Dusky Purple and Wisteria) is for my first French Market Bag (free pattern here). I have been wanting to try felting for a long time now, but I think my block has been a lack of a washing machine that I can control (I use the machines in my condo).

I know I can hand-felt but the machine looks a lot easier. So in a couple of weeks I am going to R.I. to see my parents, and celebrate my mother’s 70^th b’day, so I am going to try it out on her machine. Now the pressure to get the back knit in time. I also hope the colors aren't too subtle. I didn't want to the obnoxious color-scheme route because this bag is kind of large.

There is a nice gallery of finished bags here. Too bad the blog owner isn't still posting finished pics.

I also bought Berocco “Hip Hop” on sale for $5.25 a skein. I love the colorway of this yarn, my pictures don’t do it justice. I might try felting a swatch of this to see what happens to the colors, if they melt together in an interesting way, or not.

Fun in D.C.

Yesterday was Smithsonian day. It’s Folklife Festival time here in D.C. and I had more fun than I thought I would. I did my regular volunteering gig in the morning at the Freer Gallery and stuck around, got some lunch – ugh, 30 minutes in the Mekong Delta food line – which took the edge off the maddening food line, and hung around to listen to some live folk music.

I heard some great bluegrass (Whitetop Mountain Band) and got my fill of all types of Irish music including my favorite Highland pipes. Robert Watt was great and very dramatic with his bald head and funky glasses. Four Guys and a Dog were great, too, go see them if you can. Fun, lively, toe-tapping, people out on the dance floor, they had the tent rocking.

Out of 50 million single women

These “find your perfect match in one week or less” shows infuriate me. I couldn’t watch more than 27 minutes of “Science of Love” on NBC tonight before shutting it off. The producers make women look like weak, squeaky, I-need-a-man-to-have-a-fulfilling-life creatures. (And let’s not leave “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” or “The Age of Love” out. Are there anymore shows on the networks that I am missing?) Are they so desperate for a date that they have to go on national television, and, often times, drag there cookie-cutter families along for the ride?

For drama, there is always the element of woman versus woman where the competing women putting each other down, criticize, and make judgments about people they don’t even know. And the men think they can find The One on the first (blind) date. They all come off looking so sad and pathetic.

Where does Kelly Ripa’s husband and host of the show get off saying that out of 50 million single women in the United States, the scientists found the perfect match for football player guy? I was not in that pool of possible winners. Were you?

These shows simply perpetuate the myth of Prince Charming will sweep me off my feet and everything will be perfect. But worse than that, these few women that appear on these shows make us all look ridiculous.

One of DC's hidden treasures

I have found one of DC’s hidden treasures, the tower at the Old Post Office Pavilion at 11^th and Pennsylvania NW.

Corey and I were eating lunch there today after visiting the National Gallery. Corey noticed a sign for a Tower Tour so we checked it out.

First of all, and most importantly, it’s FREE.

And the view is amazing. You can see so much of the city. I bet it rivals the Washington Monument. We saw the Shrine, the new baseball stadium, the airport, Roslyn, a gorgeous view of the Lincoln Memorial, all along The Mall. It was awesome, you must visit.

In other news

A man after my own heart, the Mayor of San Francisco is cracking down on single-serve water bottles:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19378595/site/newsweek/

Welcome Summer

It was a beautiful night to welcome summer at Alliance Française La Fete de la Musique. Can you get over this weather? Three of the C-list girls and I went to sip wine and listen to a wide range of music. It was fun, mixing with French-speaking people from around the world. Two of the acts played outside which was lovely.

Knitting

I am still ripping out the Tivoli top. All of the decreases are now causing me to pull all of the ripped out yarn through on stitch. It’s maddening so I only do a few inches a night.

Elann.com is having a sale on some wool, $2.25 a ball, so I am going to knit up a French Market Bag (free pattern from Knitty) and bring it to R.I. when I go in July to felt in my mother’s washing machine. I don’t have control over the cycles on the machines in my building. Amanda’s squatty sidekick is another cute (free pattern) bag I might try - and I am also thinking Christmas gifts. I am dieing to felt! And the color selection of this sale yarn is huge.

Young Dave Follow up

When you last read, Ellen McCarthy, writer for the Post, responded to my request for Dave’s email, after I saw him in last week’s Weekend Section. She did not have his email address so she called him, above and beyond the call of duty, and told him I had gotten in touch with her and she gave him my email. As the days drifted by I thought I would not hear from him. Et viola, yesterday he send me a sweet message. So it was good to hear from him and my goal was completed, simply to say hello, glad you are doing well.

I love making my own pizza

with my garden-share plum tomatoes, all red and ripe

and the oregano and basil, fresh from the window-sill, all green and fragrant

But pounding out the dough sucks. Is there an easier way?

Young Dave cont'd

On Saturday I told you about my finding an old flame in a story in the Post Weekend section. I wrote the writer, Ellen McCarthy, to see if she could put me in touch with Dave. She sent me a delightful response on Sunday, explaining that she did not have his email address but she called him to get it. Apparently he was excited to hear about me after all these years and took down my email address. And Ellen wants the scoop!

This is all so funny. I truely just want to say hello, glad you're doing well. And I so appreciate Ellen's kind response. I am too quick to assume people don't care.

That’s right, garden tomatoes

Again this year I am participating in Community Supported Agriculture, which is organic, locally grown produce. I pick up my weekly share from Stoney Lonesome Farm on Thursdays in upper NW. It usually goes for 18 to 20 weeks.

This is week two and the share has included spring mix lettuce, turnips, radishes, red and green peppers, sugar snap and snow peas, garlic scapes, braising greens, and tomatoes. That’s right, tomatoes. There is a neighboring farm that grew them in the greenhouse this winter.

Last year we were inundated with Swiss chard and I was bracing myself for it again this year. But luckily so far no chard, hip hip hooray. There is nothing worse than giving away a chunk of your vegetables every week. I scoured my cookbooks and Internet last year, looking for interesting ways to disguise, errr prepare, the chard. But every time I ate it, it tasted like dirt. DC Food Blog is now wondering what to do with all of the greens in the share, too.

I wasn’t sure what to do the turnips, but then I remembered this dish I have made before with carrots, potatoes, red onions, turnips, some spices and lemon juice. It is so good, I am glad I had a reason to make it. Love me some root vegetables.

Young Dave?!?

So I was flipping through the Weekend section of the Post a few minutes ago and I came to the feature story about all the ways to meet people in D.C. when you are feeling at a loss for friends or people to do stuff with. I can relate, that is how I met the Craigslist girls (we have our second date tomorrow, btw). I glance at the picture of the two outdoorsy looking guys and read the caption, “A few years ago, Dave Connolly, left…”

What?

Young Dave!?! Yup, that’s him alright. In all of his youth and cuteness.

I got back up off the floor, caught my breath, wiped the tears from by eyes and dove into the story about Dave’s quest to meet people in D.C. I could tell the story myself. He had these two friends that recently had married and moved to Seattle and he talked about them all the time. He really missed them – I wish I could remember their names. I think they started w/the same letter.

A while back I met Dave on Craigslist and we dated for a little while. He was much younger than me, about 10 years, so I dubbed him Young Dave so my friends could remember who I was talking about. I remember watching “The Ring” with him. That is the last horror flick I have watched. He was so sweet, but the age difference was pretty evident. He was probably 25 at the time.

But I would love to say hi to him, see how he is doing. I emailed the Post reporter who wrote the story and asked for his email address. What do I have to lose?

Another small-world DC story.