I had meant to scan a better picture for today's post, but in the craziness* of the long weekend and the recovery from the long weekend, it never quite happened.

Today's my 27th birthday and my mom would be 56 today. Today's the day I miss her the most, although I tend to miss her any time something ridiculous happens or my boss does something fucking insane (which is pretty much all the time) and I want to tell her about it and hear her reaction. When I was having issues with our previous office manager, I could hear her in my head telling me to not be as visible expressing my exasperation and I did what I would've done even if she was here: carried on acting as I had been all along. But aside from that I miss the advice she would give me.

As Dad drove me back to the apartment Monday night he repeated a story he loves to tell about Mom. Her friend was trying to decide whether she should go back to work after being a stay-at-home mom for a while and asked my mom her advice on what to do. When Mom told Grandma about this, Grandma scoffed "Well you never like it when I give you advice!" To which Mom replied, "Yeah but she actually ASKED for my advice." People trusted her opinion and knew that she thought things out before speaking or acting and her advice would rarely lead you astray. And that more than anything is the part of her that I try to emulate. I'm not always successful, but I hope that by consciously making an effort I'm becoming more like her.

As Grandma likes to remind me, she got married when she was 27. I think I should point out that I technically have 365 days to accomplish that feat. Perhaps tonight at dinner I'll meet the man of my dreams eh? That'll shut her up ;)

*By craziness of course I mean sitting on Dad's couch in NJ, knitting and watching movies for three days straight. Also that cake at the top shows what happens when you put over a hundred candles on a ice cream birthday cake.

Stick a fork in'er!

Miss Enid is done and I couldn't be happier. Ok, I'll admit I haven't put on the buttons yet, but I don't really care, I still think of it as finished. And I now have a pretty sweet alpaca cardigan. Jealous?


Enid Cardigan by Veronik Avery
From Interweave Knits, Winter 2006

Yarn: A Touch of Twist Alpaca, sport weight in Black (from Rhinebeck) approx.1200 yards? I didn't quite use up all of the two hanks.
Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light 3 colors (wool/alpaca blend)
Blue Sky Alpaca Sport Weight (3 colors) (both yarns bought at Yarntopia)

I didn't quite go with the color scheme that I had laid out in an earlier post. But I like the way this turned out anyway. It's a modified bohus-style colorwork and I think the black sets off the colors very nicely. They really pop. The alpaca feels wonderful and while there are areas where gauge issues are apparent, for the most part the fabric looks really good. I was a bit worried about how it would hold up to steeking, but there doesn't seem to have been any problems.

This is my first steeked project, but I liked it so much that I quickly cast on for another from the same issue of Interweave. The crocheted reinforcement was probably a bit excessive on my part, but I really wanted to be sure. So the button bands tend to be a bit bulky where they cover the steek reinforcement.

G-G-G-G-men!

So lest anyone doubt my fandom, I'll describe my day yesterday.

I woke up early. I called out sick. I packed my bag. I took the train. I walked the wrong way. I met my brother. I staked out a spot. And I watched a parade.



My only beefs with these tickertape parades is the fact that they space out the floats with the players way too much and there are huge stretches with nothing going on. Also the thousands of people who show up late and think they have a right to knock everyone who got up early out of the way, even when those people are leaving (let me leave and there will be more room for you!) to go to the after-party at Giants Stadium.


We left at about noon after Eli and Strahan et al went by with the Lombardi trophy. We made a train back to Jersey and got to listen to most of the speeches and the presentation of the keys on the FAN as we drove to the stadium. The only thing I wish I had seen was Strahan "stomping them out" (but more on that later).

I ate White Castle for the first time in god-only-knows how long. And let me tell you, as much as I loathe fast food, there was something about those deliciously greasy burgers that perfectly capped off an awesome morning. The vibe at the stadium was incredible. The lower tier and mezzanine facing the stage were totally full and then there were people up in the upper tier. Nowhere near as many as show up for a game but it felt like it was a million times louder (possibly due to the lack of opposing team fans that can be so prevalent at games.) I enjoyed this because it was dry and with less danger of being crushed. ;)



So now in an homage to Peter King, the entertaining sportswriter and lover of caffeine and New Jersey, I give you the Ten Things I Think I Think:

-Michael Strahan, contrary to some sports radio hosts' complaints (and my Uncle Timmy), was not saying that they "stomped the Patriots." Although that is in fact what he said. The context of that stomping was allowing the fans inside the defensive huddle, or the "Family Circle" as he calls it, before the game. And letting them hear and experience what the defense does to psych itself up. Personally I think it's great.

-But yes, the Patriots handled the loss well as a team. And I'm not ready to scream about Belichick walking off the field. I rewatched the game last night and the clock definitely ran down to 0:00, so I'll let it slide.

-I am willing to reserve judgement on the whole Spygate scandal until more facts come out because it really looks like people had no idea what the story was before they started decrying Arlen Specter for what looked like political grandstanding. It's just a shame that, if the taping of the Rams prior to Superbowl 36 did in fact take place, Belichick didn't have enough faith in the ability of his team to handle them without resorting to dirty tactics.

-I did not knit during the Superbowl, which is probably for the best since I would have been incapable of following a pattern. God-only-knows what aberration my needles would've produced.

-Bloomberg clearly doesn't listen to WFAN if he's calling Bob Papa "Bob Popper" But then again, I guess he has his own radio station to listen to.

-Cousin Kevin will be getting a phone call from me in the near future. Pack attack, indeed! Not that I was ever one to gloat.

-Mike Carey is an awesome referee. I especially enjoyed the flair he added when gesturing to explain which down it was.

Especially graceful when calling "Second down."

-The Scramble and The Catch was just amazing. I still can't believe Eli got out of there and managed to get the ball off. Or that Tyree was able to hold on.


-"We're only going to score 17? What? Is Plax playing defense?"

-8 days until pitchers and catchers report.

G-I-A-N-T-S!

I'm still in a bit of shock. I occasionally catch myself sitting here smiling or tearing up. I'm reading articles about THE CATCH and holding my breath reliving those few seconds in my head.



I was a little disappointed the newspaper guy at my subway stop only had the Daily News this morning instead of the usual big three. I definitely would've bought one of each :)

Last night, I was at a great party. Sporting my Shockey jersey and an inflatable Motorolla headset that was given out at last season's Dallas game. Tara kept asking me to call in some plays when they started looking a little worn out. I take credit for that pretty awesome fake-out Kawika Mitchell employed before he got to Brady.

I'm so proud of my Giants. See you at the parade tomorrow!

Venezia Swatch

Venezia Swatch

We have a swatch! Kinda fun that these are some vaguely Giants-related colors and that I've picked another yarn that seems to match my bed perfectly.

The top half of the swatch shows white as the background color and blue as the figure. The bottom half is blue background, white figure. I'm leaning towards the blue background if only because I think it'll look less dirty? Maybe?

Please, oh please, oh please

go read Subway Knitter's post about her ingenious Charlie Card mittens and their secret nefarious purpose.

People, you do yourselves no credit when you rant and rave and don't bother to actually know what you're talking about before you open your mouths (or start typing away on your keyboards).