Weird stuff on email

No knitting content today - well, ok, I finished a LB Homespun shawl for my neighbour, but that's not exciting. It's a really yuck (to me) shade of green. Now it's done, but I have two balls left over (no jokes, please!). They may go along to my secret-giftee along with the kool-aid scarf.

Now, weirdness. I've recently set up a new email account on a web-based service that I shall not name here (spam-suckers, die!). And so far, spam-free. But the site has advertising. And today, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an ad for "Breastfeeding Bands" - some kind of bracelet thingy that you can wear to help remember which side you nursed on last, for how long, etc. Which is scary, because I right now know at least five VERY pregnant ladies. But I am SO not one of them! And really, of all the weird stuff on the internet, that's gotta be top 10 for me. So, had to share with y'all.

And while I'm ranting, (ok, I'm going to start ranting...) why the holy Hades is it that one CANNOT buy a copy of ANY Erma Bombeck book in ANY of the Chapters or affiliated stores in the Ottawa area? Ok, granted, the lady (god rest her) has been dead for some time. Yeah, so's Shakespeare, and you've got his friggin' books. And granted, most of her books were written in the glorious gawdawful 70s when the phrase "stay at home mom" was a redundancy. But godDAMNit! They're timeless, funny, wonderful books and I REALLY wanted to get a copy of "Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession" for one of my very pregnant co-worker ladies. Not happening. Pissed me off.

And there I will stop, because frankly kiddies, it's been a pretty rough month and December's not looking much better. There will be upheaval and annoyance and more stress and less sleep than November had (which was too damn much and not near enough, respectively). All I can say is thank heavens for my knitting, otherwise I'd be smoking and drinking again - which would probably kill me inside a month. Now, the fact that I'll be knitting from stash for the foreseeable future is a consolation (actually, a challenge! There, how's that for positive spin?), because to be honest, my stash is LOVELY. Every time I open a bin, I get happy surprises because I've forgotten what treasures I have in there. It's like unpacking Christmas ornaments... no, wait, let's not get into that. Christmas is, to be blunt, F'd up this year. (ok, not so blunt, but I try to stay PG on here!). Yeah, my dream Christmas is right out the plasti-filmed window. Screw it. I've got my knitting.

The Harlot cometh... (or, why it's cool to be a knitter)

So Thursday last, the Ottawa / Kanata area (well, the two Yarn Forward stores area) was visited by her Royal Knittiness, the incomparable Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee. I was totally prepared to skip work to attend, but didn't need to, as the Kanata event was in the evening. Stupid me, left the house without my camera, so these pictures are courtesy of Tara (thanks again!)

Stephanie arrived to a throng of knitters, packed into chairs and on the floor and pretty much everywhere. The "opening act", Louise (manageress of YF), tempted us with yummy new yarns to admire and fondle before the main performance. When I first saw Stephanie, I had two thoughts:

1) This woman looks tired. Bless her for being here.
2) My GOD, that's the WEDDING SHAWL! And with a t-shirt, how totally cool that is!

Stephanie's "talk" was all about how knitters are not cool, and how that is patently BULLSHIT! I love the idea of being a jock, not a "crafter." Woohoo!

So, the photos: First up is Her Harlottyness fondling my Knitting Olympics Shawl (which was, incidentally, admired by many there, so I had a fat head for that. Other people's stuff was gorgeous, I took the compliments gracefully for once). Notice I hold her book atop mine, as is right - she's thrice-published, I'm a novice. :)







Next, is La Harlot taking a picture of my book, which I signed to her since she was gracious enough to sign mine. Hers to me: "Obsession is normal." Mine to her: "Obsession leads to publication." I felt so legitimate as a writer! Oh, and thank GOD I was holding her sock needle-end-up. How humiliating would it be to drop the Harlot's stitches? Yikes!






Third and final is Me and Steph - two writers, two knitters, two crazy ladies with shawls that we agonized over and probably wear far too little. I'm bending my knees a bit because she was feeling short - least I could do! What a sweet person. Oh, and weird thing - for a little wee person, Stephanie has the most amazing DEEP voice! Of course, that could have been the tiredness. Get some rest, Harlot. We love you for making the trip.