The YarnMonster Has A Special Day

It's Jessica's birthday!

If you see her, wish her a Happy Birthday

I'm Soooo Popular

To borrow a line from Miss Jessamyn. I've found a counter! Perhaps one day I'll find one where the sponsor link isn't so glaringly obvious, but for now it's just find and dandy. If you have a counter you love (I know, one's love for html code can only go so far) let me know about it. Meantime, visit, and visit often.

So, went to the bank today to cash in the two $20 traveler's checks. And lo and behold, they were two £20 traveller's cheques. More money, woo-hoo! Tho now I have to find an American Express Travel Office to turn them in. I think there may be one downtown. Google was no help.

Also went to Debbie's book tour thang at Housing Works. And you would not believe how much yarn there was for one or two dollars a ball. Well, lemme show you:


And that wasn't all of it.

This is what I came home with. Don't know what's up with all the blue and orange. The bag is full of ten skeins of Patons Grace, and for one dollar for the whole shebang I just could not turn it down. Might turn into a charity giveaway. The multi colored ball looks a lot like Artyarns Ultramerino 4. I love love love the soft blue wool, if I could find more it would become Blizzard, but I think it wants to be a lacy scarf or cozy hat. The blue ribbon is shiny, and y'all know how I react to shiny, or glittery. Freaking catnip it is.

Anyway, came home, made mashed jerusalem artichokes for dinner, and parsley soup for later. I made it up with no recipe, since apparently no one has thought to make soup out of parsley and put the recipe on the internet, but I think it turned out lovely, albeit a touch salty. I neglected to make it with vegetable broth, and threw in two bullion cubes. One would've been enough. Oh well, can always thin it out a bit. Would be nice with tortellini for dinner tomorrow, if I can resist the lure of the new Thai restaurant on 8th street. Mmmmm, Thai food. Cheap Thai/Vietnamese food with a sake bar.

Hell, I can always freeze the soup.

I'm Po. And Crazy.

After taking an Ambien, I should be put to bed alone and locked in without any form of communication to the outside world. Because, apparently, I say and do really stupid things about half an hour after taking the friendly little pill. Like, text messaging people that I barely know to inform them (ok, him) that I was now going to bed. Or developing a sudden fondness for eating breadcrumbs with a spoon. Or writing extremely embarrassing emails, to wit:

“hey babe, sorry to hear about the situation, What kind if supplies are needed, adn who shoyud they be sent to? Between all the teachers here i know, the news producers i wrok with, and the crafty people always looking for a place to send materials or finished projects to....hey, youo never know.
sorry for all the misstypings, i'm ambiened up and ready for bed. call my cell wehn you get a chance, i'm working at cbs alllllllllll day
we, the artists and friends and collaborators can do only so much. let;s go after the big guns!!!!! you'd be surprised how lovely and generous they really really are.
talk tp u soon
a drugged up jill
(buy hey! fun to talkto)"

This is me on Ambien. I didn’t even remember I had written this; I found it on my MySpace page when checking out some other stuff. Needless to say, I haven’t received a reply. He’s probably calling the mental hospitals.
And I won’t even go into what I say to people.

So, worked yesterday. It was 11 hours of crocheting. Crocheting into the back loop produces very very tight stitches that are almost impossible to fit the hook into. I’m taking a break and working on another project for Debbie, this one is the bag with the orange on it. But one of the guests we had on the news was a gent named Joseph Jaffe, a media consultant who I think will really change the way we see advertising and media. He has a blog that is fascinating and offered to link up to my humble little ramblings here. I haven’t emailed him yet, I don’t quite know if I’m ready for thousands upon thousands of people to see this. Maybe after I get a counter.

For those of you South Park fans that don’t have cable (are you a fan, Claudine?), definitely check out his blog. The entire episode of the controversial first episode that’s supposed to air tonight is on it. Episode twice in one sentence. Well, good thing I was no English major.

On another note, anyone going to the HousingWorks yarn sale thing? I was planning to, and I still might, but I just looked in my wallet and saw only four dollars. Scrounged around and I’m going to try and cash forty bucks worth of traveler’s checks from when I lived in London eleven years ago. Do those things expire?

And on an up note: Melting equal parts gorgonzola cheese and butter and drizzling said mixture over popcorn is absolutely devinely delish. Will serve at next movie night. Whenever that may be.

Done!

I am just so extraordinarily proud of myself today, I just may bust a gut.
Laundry, done.
Floor vacuuming, swiffering, and mopping, done.
Caught up with a few friends, done.
Dinner for sick neighbor – in the works, will soon be done
All day gig at CBS for tomorrow – booked.

Oh crap. Just went and tasted the couscous. I halved the recipe, but forgot to halve the amount of salt. Crap, crap, crap. Okay, rinsed the couscous, added a bit more water. We’ll see what happens. Can always redo it, couscous is cheap. See, that’s what happens with pride. Damn.

Remade the couscous, with the smaller grain stuff. Seemed a bit bland this time (figures) so I added in dried cranberries.

Insurance crap, done.
RSVP to bat mitzvah, done.


Enough for a bit, Headed out to SnB.

Updates to follow.

In search of local watering hole.....

Today, I had inertia. So I only cleaned the dining room and hallway. I prefer to think of the glass as half full. And I broke my mop. That’s some damn serious cleaning there.

So after cleaning for an hour I realized I deserved a well-earned break and went to go meet Jenn at the Point. On my way over I decided to catch up on my podcasts and listed to Episode 15 of Cast On. Dave of Chub Creek was guest hosting and oh my he was hysterical. Seriously, I was walking through Washington Square Park and I had to hold my cell phone to my ear so it wouldn’t seem as if I was sputtering and laughing hysterically at thin air. Tho, this being Crack Square Park, it probably wasn’t too out of place…Seriously, listen to the Ed and Ethel sketch and let me know what you think. I’ve now subscribed to his cast so I can hear more. Anyway, back to the Point. Jenn was having a spacey kinda day and left after an hour or so, so I headed home and Jo called, and we decided to meet up and have a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ drink. Went to a new place in the ‘hood called Jack. The fondue was good, if small, but there is almost nothing bad about melted cheese, and décor was lovely. But chock full of older gay men from Vermont, and honestly, not my type o’ crowd. Anymore.

So, from there we checked out Cedar, didn’t even sit down. Went to Reservoir, had watered down grain alcohol with maraschino juice, which bore no resemblance to the vodka with a splash of cranberry that I had ordered. Decided that we absolutely had to find a local place for us that wasn’t a restaurant bar. The search continues.

List for tomorrow: cleaning, taxes, make casserole for neighbor that had surgery, SnB, then post knitting cocktail at Swift. Oh, and buying a new mop.

The Copy-Right Infringement Party

Don’t you love having dessert before dinner? That’s how I feel about writing about the party. I’m full. I’m a bit sleepy. The dishwasher is churning and the countertops are clean. The leftovers are packed away and Katy has already blogged about the party so I figured I’d better get on the stick and write something.

And I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough food…. Didn’t even get to make the couscous. Or serve the almond pound cake. I have a big bowl of whipped cream in the fridge. Anyone know if I can freeze that stuff? Thanks to all for bringing stuff. Debbie for the pastries, Lynette for the cookies, Michelle for the veggies and green apple martintis (had one of those after everyone. Thanks to all who brought drinks, and candy and goodies. Forgive me for not mentioning all by name, I’ll show pictures instead. Lori and Debbie

Jenn, looking surprised (or maybe just tired, hmmmmmm????) and Jewel and Jessica

Katy, and lotsa lotsa lotsa books

I only took a few, since I spent most of the time sprawled on the floor looking thru books, and apologizing for Jezebel. Can’t believe out of those thousands of books I only found two patterns, and I can’t find the copies. Oh well, fate. And speaking of copies, thanks to Claudine for manning the tempermental copier. I think I’ll give it a few days of rest.

And I might have finally found something to do with the hot pink thin/thick yarn Iris gave me. What do you think of this? If anyone knows of any good patterns for seriously thick / seriously thin yarn that looks like this:
Let me know. The Tic Tacs box is there for scale. And since it’s also pink.

This is what happens when I have guests. All the make-up crap that normally lounges in the dining room ,taking up space and multiplying gets shoved in a corner of the bedroom. I really, really, really need a contractor.

Ok, ok, I know the photos are not aligned prettily. Sue me, I'm beat. I'll maybe re-publish tomorrow.

ooooh, ahhhhh, yummmmmmmmmm

Oh my God I’m in heaven. Ice cream heaven. Which I haven’t visited in about 3 years or so. The problem with trying to call one’s self a foodie is when one has so many damn food restrictions. Dairy being one of them. But today whilst shopping at the Food Emporium (which Julie Powell rightly calls the grocery the devil visits when he can’t get to Dean & Deluca’s) I found Soy Delicious Purely Decadent Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. Oh my yum. Oh my goodness. I’ve really, really missed ice cream. And now I’m totally screwed because I know the existence of this luscious pint o’ calories.

On another note, I am going to bitch about my lack of employment quite regularly on this blog. Because not two hours after I posted the last one, I had gotten two calls for gigs. Union, decently paying gigs. Huzzah!

And referring to my “sweet, sweet, Ambien” remark of yore, check this out. Science sucks.

So, just about ready for tomorrow’s middle eastern feast. Just have to pick out the serving pieces, figure out what to make for dessert, and find pizza dough in the morning.

I’ll write more interesting things later.

PS: Julie Powell, by the way, is the girl who decided to cook all of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. I’ve read her book, and now I’m doing things ass-backwards and reading her blog. Fun stuff. Highly addictive. Thank god I can’t have that much cream.

ZZZZ

I'm ti-red (that's pronounced tie-red. Why? Who knows, just how I say these things). Now that sounds like a lot of whining, which is something I promised myself I wouldn't do on this blog. But hell with it, it's my damn blog and I'll whine if I want to. I'm still dealing with the whole insomnia thing, didn't fall asleep till after five am today, woke up around 11:30. Don't want to start depending on the Ambien (sweet, sweet Ambien) and somehow I'm able to rationalize it with stuff like, Hey, there's a wrap party tonight and I'll want to stay up late anyway. I think a gig will help in this whole sleep regulation thang. Fingers crossed.

On a whole 'nother note, it's new neighbor day! Yes, Miss Jo today has moved into the 'hood, about 3 blocks away, and I predict that all sorts of mayhem will ensue. And I can't wait. Saw her apartment today, it's small and sweet and gets tons of light and has floors suitable for ice skating on. Still a wee bit slippery from the refinishing. And there's a roof deck, scene to be of many cook outs and drinking binges while enjoying the sunset over Jersey and knitting.

Speaking of knitting, most of you who read this know about the shindig Sunday. Tomorrow is my day to plow through the recipe file and make a shopping list. Yay! Get me your book lists and I'll get you a list of what books you can leave home and what I may ask you to bring. I'm thinking that I'm not going to want to deal with getting soda and stuff, so I'll probably job that out. And Lorie has already emailed me back saying she'll join us. And I just got an email from Katy with a gigunda list of books she has available. I'll let you know which one you can leave home Katy, don't want you pulling a hernia or anything.

So, that's about it for now. Just waiting for Jule to get here from Jersey and then we have some running around to do before the par-tay tonight. Think I'll crash out on le sofa and watch the Sorpanos premiere. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a cute distraction, found this website with silly little games. Knock yerself out: Orisinal

I'll let y'all know if anything interesting happens.

ZZZZ

I'm ti-red (that's pronounced tie-red. Why? Who knows, just how I say these things). Now that sounds like a lot of whining, which is something I promised myself I wouldn't do on this blog. But hell with it, it's my damn blog and I'll whine if I want to. I'm still dealing with the whole insomnia thing, didn't fall asleep till after five am today, woke up around 11:30. Don't want to start depending on the Ambien (sweet, sweet Ambien) and somehow I'm able to rationalize it with stuff like, Hey, there's a wrap party tonight and I'll want to stay up late anyway. I think a gig will help in this whole sleep regulation thang. Fingers crossed.

On a whole 'nother note, it's new neighbor day! Yes, Miss Jo today has moved into the 'hood, about 3 blocks away, and I predict that all sorts of mayhem will ensue. And I can't wait. Saw her apartment today, it's small and sweet and gets tons of light and has floors suitable for ice skating on. Still a wee bit slippery from the refinishing. And there's a roof deck, scene to be of many cook outs and drinking binges while enjoying the sunset over Jersey and knitting.

Speaking of knitting, most of you who read this know about the shindig Sunday. Tomorrow is my day to plow through the recipe file and make a shopping list. Yay! Get me your book lists and I'll get you a list of what books you can leave home and what I may ask you to bring. I'm thinking that I'm not going to want to deal with getting soda and stuff, so I'll probably job that out. And Lorie has already emailed me back saying she'll join us. And I just got an email from Katy with a gigunda list of books she has available. I'll let you know which one you can leave home Katy, don't want you pulling a hernia or anything.

So, that's about it for now. Just waiting for Jule to get here from Jersey and then we have some running around to do before the par-tay tonight. Think I'll crash out on le sofa and watch the Sorpanos premiere. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a cute distraction, found this website with silly little games. Knock yerself out: Orisinal

I'll let y'all know if anything interesting happens.

Bad Girl

I am such a tool.

I told everyone about this charity baby hat knitting thing I wanted to do, I emailed people about it, I frigging baked for the damn thing, and I slept right though the entire event.

However, it was for a good cause, or really, a fun cause. The designer that Gino styles for, Andrew Buckler, dressed the DJ that played at Pasha last night. Now, I didn’t even get there until 1am or so (was supposed to get there at midnight, but who knew it would be so fricking difficult to get a cab at 12:30 on a Saturday? Plus traffic, horrendous traffic). So I get there at 1, tell the doorman I’m with the DJ (love that!), get in without waiting in line or paying (love that even more!) and walk into what seemed to be the biggest Sweet 16 party I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I felt old. And there was more hair gel in the room than at a Cure concert. But I found my way to the party, and the night commenced.

Here is Tony looking cute in a cab. And exhausted, we ran blocks and blocks to find one!

As soon as I got in, this chick from a website called World DJ took my photo. I’ve been all over that website trying to find it, but I guess their photo editor has little taste.
This is an approximation of that photo (ok, ok, I just thought I looked cute Saturday night. Holy bronzer, Batman!)

New to the whole party group is a couple Gino zeroed in on at a dinner a month or so ago. This couple is so damn cute, you want them to star in their own TV show. Mark and Melissa. He’s a trader, she is an amazing photographer and is studying Spanish. They live in a fabulous apartment around the corner from me. And did I mention they’re English? Here is Melissa, Melanie and me, being friendly. PS: Melanie is an amazing handbag designer. I covet, and you will too.


Sometimes Gino just needs a good kick in the ass. Or three. (I would’ve shown a picture of Gigi, but he was having a bad hair night. And friends need to respect that)

So, after the hours of dancing, where I seemed to attract mostly retarded asian midgets (some of you might find that offensive, but you were not there, and the drinking of table service vodka, and the arrival of a group from Long Island wearing t-shirts with pictures of the DJ printed on them, we decided that the shark had been jumped and headed out. To Mark and Melissa’s! Where more alcohol was consumed and we all tried to see if we could put our legs behind our ears. Gino won. I won’t show the pictures.

Finally stumbled home around 5am, thank hosannah they live literally two blocks away. Ate a bag of Japanese rice snacks, blocked out the sunlight, and passed out.

There will be no charity kntting today.
Biscotti, anyone?

I'm Back, and Karma's a Bitch

Hello darlings…

I’m so so sorry that I’ve been a away for a week, there’s been drama. Boy drama, of course. Let’s just leave it at I had a fun few days while on location, but that was then and this is now and I am so much better off this way. And I am actually starting believe that. Heh, heh. Heh.

Anyway, other than that kind of fun, the Vanities decided to get silly, take advantage of the blizzard and make snow angels! I tried to post the pix of our snowangels, but alas, there's not enought contrast, and it just looks like lumpy snowscapes, BUT here is Linda and me being oh so snowbunny cute.

So, let’s see, worked for 3 days in an unheated mansion, found a great Brazilian restaurant in Stamford, had some minxy fun, earned a few bucks (No! Not that way!! For make-up!). All in all, I think everything evened out. Until Monday.

Monday, I was hit by a bit of stress. And instead of drinking myself into oblivion, eating a half pound of feta, or taking various prescription medications, I decided to crochet a scarf. It’s from the Happy Hooker book, but I think I’ll just call it the 3 Hour Stress Scarf. It would’ve been the 3 and a Half Hour Stress Scarf, but I ran out of yarn and could do scallops only on one side. Oh well, I still like how it looks. I brought to Job #2 to steam and block it out. And the adorable Johnson (yes, that’s his name, and he also said I could list his email address in case you want to tell him just how cute he looks in my scarf. And how he looks great with eyeliner on) modeled it for me, without complaint or embarrassment, but with true rock star attitude. But, I think I imbued it with so much negative energy that I just can’t hold on to it. It’ll go either as a gift, or to be donated to Rent when they do their Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS auction. Yeah, charity. That’ll turn the Karma around.

I strongly believe in Karma, I think that it meshes well with the Golden Rule. Those two things, and if only people would be more polite, and have common sense, it would make things just so damn much easier. And, as long as I’m dreaming, I’d like a new laptop computer. And a car.

dinner? nah

I've discovered that one doens't need to fix one's self a dinner if one is making biscotti.

Hopefully there will be enough left for tomorrow.

A quiz that got it right

I'm back! More details later.

You Are New York

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture. You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you. You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?