The Blizzard of 2010

Hipknitta here. I've been sort of busy. My day job, the one that provides the money for my knitting, interfered with my blogging and knitting. That's okay. I knew that I will find the time eventually to blog and today's the day!

The East Coast was hit with a blizzard yesterday. It started to snow gently around 11:30 AM as I drove to the supermarket. Blizzard = shopping for groceries. Neal went to another supermarket and we ended up texting each other when we found that our designated stores were out of what was on our individual lists. Eggs were gone as was celery. We came home, put the stuff away and proceeded to cook. I made chicken soup and he made turkey chilli. My soup was put on the deck so that the fat will rise to the top. In no time it was covered with snow. The blizzard started. The winds screamed through the woods and the snow was falling horizontally. No one should have to go out in weather like that...unless you have a dog. Yes, the dog needed to go out so one with his sweater and bootees and he was off. I took for his earliest walk. He loved the snow. He came back with a white beard. Neal and Ben took him for the later walks. Both times he was reluctant to come back in the house. Amazing. Maybe he's part husky? Here he is getting ready to go out into the blizzard to "do his business" and yes, I made his hoodie!

So what has this hipknitta been up to since I last posted other than work? I entered my first crafts fair. It was a learning experience but the one thing that I learned was not to do it at a senior center. A lot of seniors thought that I should bargain with them. They somehow ignored the prices on my wares and to their disappointment, my prices were not negotiable. I did like the customers who picked up my items and said, "I'll take this!". I had three like that. Restored my faith in people who appreciate handmade and one-of-a-kind items. Check out my etsy page at www.baasheep2.etsy.com. I have a lot of new jewelry and a new rose-colored sweater and hat set. I'll have more coming. Just give me time.

In the meantime,I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are not suffering too much from the blizzard. Remember, here comes the sun!

Hipknitta's First Crafts Fair

Forgive me, readers. I have been so remiss about writing on my blog after promising myself that I would try to write a few times each week. Well, this hipknitta got a new job. This hipknitta has hardly been knitting because of this new job. Believe me, I am so grateful for this new job and my boss is a knitter as well. When she found out that I wasn't knitting, she said, "Oh my God! What have I done to you?" She made me a very conscientious teacher this year who is trying her best to get through to her students. Things have finally slowed down where I can pick up my needles. However, I was unable to even think about writing an entry.

So I got a new job. I got a new car because my Kia Sedona died on the highway with over 176,000 miles on her. I got to sit in the back of a police car for the second time in less than 5 months. There isn't a lot of legroom back there. Now I'm going to try a Crafts Fair. I was invited during the summer by someone who saw my wares on Etsy. I took the plunge, sent in the money for my space and on Saturday, this hipknitta goes live! I'm looking forward to this because it will definitely be a learning experience. Guess who's going to be there with me? Yup, hipknitta's husband. The only positive I see in this is that I will be able to go to the bathroom in peace!

If you are in Rye this Saturday, please stop by to say hi.

CHECK OUT THIS DOG!

This hipknitta does not spend her whole day knitting. I do get out and do things. Sunday was one of those days. Neal and I met his brother, Roy, and his wife, Vicki in a small river town over the TZ Bridge. We never get to see each other because we are two hours away from each other and it is a big trip. They have a dog and we have a dog. These doggie cousins are not meant to be together so unless we both have someone to walk the dog while visiting, we're not going to get together too quickly. We had a delicious brunch and caught up on each other's lives. They went to Hawaii and the pictures were unbelievable. We've been to Hawaii and it always amazes me how beautiful that state is. I mean, I still have to remind myself that it is a part of the United States. After everything, we walked around and saw this dog across the street. We walked over to Knuckles. That was his name. He weighed 180 pounds and had paws bigger than my dog's head! His tongue could be the new logo for the Rolling Stones. He was a Boerbel, a bull mastiff that originated in South Africa. These dogs guarded the farms of the Boers. Get it, Boer-bel?

Ladies and Gentlemen: Here's Knuckles!

Knitting & Confidence

What the hell does that title mean? Robin, is this going to be a motivational blog entry? No, people. It's me talking about what's on my mind. Go back to my page and it will say that this blog is about knitting, rants and streams of consciousness. I was just thinking about my knitting and how I sometimes have to deal a with lack of confidence in my favorite hobby. What do I mean by that? I know that I can knit like a mofo! I am good, no, very good! I produce really nice things but now that I'm starting to promote them, I've started to doubt my abilities. Why? I ask myself all the time. Is it something from my childhood? Did I have an incident that made me this way? I can't think of anything. Is it that I'm just not a good self-promoter or salesperson? My husband is a great salesperson. I hear him on the phone all the time doing his recruiting thing. He speaks with such confidence and integrity. He has a stellar reputation in his field. Maybe that's it. I'm a good knitter for myself and maybe not for others. Freud, are you listening?

In order to get over this lack-of-confidence hump, I decided to put myself out there. I am listing things on etsy.com (I'm www.baasheep2.etsy.com) I list my items with such pride because I love the way they turn out. I once had to bring one of my sweaters into the fabric store to get the just right button. People were coming up to me oohing and aahing over the sweater. I felt like a million bucks! I walked out of there, with the buttons, feeling like the best knitter in the world. I couldn't wait to list it. Now that I did, everyday I look at my e-mails hoping for a message saying that it sold. I swear it's like the lottery, waiting for your numbers to come up. I must admit that I get a little rush every time I check! Then when I see that the message isn't there, I give a little sigh, talk to my dog and move on.

I feel by writing about this in this very public forum, I am doing a little self-therapy. It's amazing that as an adult, how I can feel this way when I am a confident person in all my other aspects of my life. Maybe it's because my knitting is very personal, it's an extension of me. I wonder if artists feel the same way. So ends my rant of the day. I thank myself for the space and I'm off to check my messages. Peace out my readers!

I'm Ready to Hurl

Knitters don't like to stop knitting, no matter what is going on around them. We are the species that always says "Just let me finish this row" to put off requests others make of us that would make us put down our knitting. Today, I had to put down my knitting. I went into my kitchen to get a piece of paper and noticed that the pad was wet on the bottom. I figured my husband spilled something and didn't wipe it up. No, I wish that was the case. There was a watermelon sitting on the counter and when I turned it over, the thing literally threw up all over my counter. Guess it was a bit rotten? (My husband is a fruit and veggie fanatic) It was so disgusting and smelly that I really thought I was going to lose it. Then I realized that the juice slipped between my stove and the counter it was sitting on. I had to pull out the stove and almost lost it again. I won't go into detail but it was horrific what was doing there. Two rolls of paper towels and one Magic Eraser later, I cleaned it up. My stomach is still feeling queasy.

The moral of the story? Put the goddamn watermelon in the fridge!

hipknitta is back!

Oh my people, where has this hipknitta been? I apologize for the long, long stretch of time between posts. It's been a very busy time for me and unfortunately it was not related to knitting even though I knitted throughout this time. But I am back, with a vengeance to rant, rave and ramble about knitting and anything else I deem as important to me!

My creative juices have been flowing. I designed a baby sweater and hat set that I absolutely love. Even my older son was impressed. That was a big deal for me! I saw the yarn and this idea popped into my head. I was very pleased with the results. You can see more views of it on www.baasheep2.etsy.com. I hope someone out there loves it as much as me to gift a baby with it. I also knitted a sweater that uses a traditional feather and fan pattern.
I have a more unisex cardigan on my needles as I write this which should be done by the end of this week. Stay tuned.

Now for my ranting: First, the oil spill in the Gulf. I'm not a very political person but I heard a commentator last night say that this disaster was a fight between the politicians and the oil companies. He was hinting that the politicians were bowing down to the oil companies with the Coast Guard spokesman, Thad Allen, acting as a mediator. Seriously, the political machine should have just come down on BP and make them work their asses off to get that cap on sooner. It made me physically ill to watch that oil gushing into the sea. I can't even imagine how the people living on the shores of the Gulf feel. It will never be the same.

My husband and I are temporary empty nesters while our boys spend the summer at camp. We decided that we would starve to send them away because it is that important to us. However, our older son is now a "leader-in-training" and his tuition is a lot less than our younger one. We just got back from visiting day and I miss them more than ever for some strange reason. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. It's just me and Shadow who is taking a long snooze on the couch. A shout out to Tony and Katie for taking such great care of him while we visited the boys. Shadow spent the weekend with his bitches. I will be knitting them hoodies to keep them warm in the winter. Ohh, perish that winter thought! Being an empty nester means that when I clean an area, it stays clean. I find that I have a lot of time on my hands and need lists to keep me organized and focus. Yes, knitting is on that list. I have to clean the boys' rooms because let's face it. They're pigs.

So let me go back to my list to see what's next. But rest assured. This hipknitta is back!

Celiac Disease Awareness

Hey! See that badge over to the right? That's the badge to raise your awareness about Celiac Disease. Don't know what it is? Just click on the badge and you'll get all the information you need to know about this disease. I know at least 5 people who have this disease. It's becoming more and more common. So educate yourself and find out about it. It's not contagious. Since my brother-in-law and my good friend both have it, I have modified a lot of my recipes so they can eat gluten free in my house.

Thanks for your support!

What Happened to March?

I can't believe it's April 3rd. I complete neglected my dear blog for an entire month. Can I think of anything that stands out in my memory? The only thing I can remember was that both of my boys were selected by their basketball coaches to play in the rec leagues' all-star game. That was a very proud moment for Neal and me.

I am presently on Spring break and seeing the light at the end of that Passover tunnel. This is not my favorite holiday but I'm surviving. It's not like I have to walk through a desert for 40 years or anything like that. At least the weather is nice. Shadow and I went for a long walk with his girlfriend Isabella. I love walking around with another dog.

Now to knitting: A woman at work is due next week. I have deemed her sweater-worthy. I found a cute pattern from Lion Brand and worked it in a blue cotton.I think it came out pretty well. I found some buttons today and I just need to block it. Then it will be all ready for the new baby. Today I gave our next door neighbors their baby gift. I made them a blue ice and chocolate swirl hat with matching booties. I hope they liked it. It's really for the fall. Their baby is adorable.

Did I mention that I'm still working on Neal's Cobblestone Pullover? I'm avoiding it more than working on it. I'm also knitting a pair of socks from Judy Sumner's absolutely cool book which uses Japanese patterns. I am so loving it.

My kids go back to school tomorrow. I still have two days off. I am going to go buy some shoes for some affairs we are invited to. Then I'll knit!

More Snow Pictures!

The view of our deck.

Shadow in the Snow!

Did you ever hear Sting's song "Shadows in the Rain"? Well, here's my version called "Shadow in the Snow". I know, corny but tough. Here's Shadow greeting his long-legged girlfriend, Lucy.
Shadow is on the trail for something.

Who's Tired of Snow? I am! I am!

We had a major snowstorm and it left tons of snow in it's wake. Here are some pictures of our day and our neighborhood!
Here's Neal looking very happy! I don't know why because he has to clean off all of that snow!









Here's a view of our cul-de-sac with Elijah's friend walking down the road.
























Our house with a newly shoveled path that was covered again in less than an hour.


































Looking down the road. Little did we know that there were roads closed due to trees down.

Catching Up with Depeche Mode...Only Kidding. It's Me!

My, my, my. How time flies when one is busy! I can't believe that it's the middle of February and I haven't blogged. Where have I been? What's been happening? Do you really want to know?

January was a tense time with Ben taking midterms and needing constant prodding to study. It truly sucks when your mother is a teacher. But the nagging and his studying paid off and he did well. Whew! Must separate, must separate...

February is turning out to be a fun month. On February 7th, we celebrated Shadow's one year anniversary of living with us. It's amazing how fast that year went. I can't imagine our lives without him. I made him "Snickerpoodle Cookies" for the special occasion. He loved them! I gave them out to all his doggie friends since the recipe makes so many. I think he knew it was a special day. Here's what those delicious treats looked like! You can see Shadow give Neal a High Five for the cookie!


That's all for now.

Happy New Year! A New Hat for Neal!

Happy New Year, People! Let's hope 2010 turns out to be a great year full of health, happiness and an improved economic outlook. That way I can buy more yarn!

For those of you not on Ravelry, here's the Urbanista hat I made for Neal. The pattern comes from knitty.com by Wooly Wormhead. It was fun and once I got the hang of it, quick to knit. Neal loves it! Here are some pictures:





Now he doesn't have to wear one of the boys' hats I made when they were in elementary school!