She Loves to Knit

Zumanity

Another Side of Cirque du Soleil, since you asked, Karen....

But first you have to hear the prologue.  Before we left for Vegas, Rick and I went online to purchase tickets to a show.  Tickets to all the good stuff runs around $100 a seat, once you include tax and all that jazz, so one show was all we were going to splurge for.  We both wanted to see one of the Cirque du Soleil shows, and we selected Mystere.  It is billed as "an overwhelming sensory experience. It is in constant motion and features high-energy acrobatics, evocative dances, colorful costumes and vivid lighting. It is a feast of colours and passions, of beauty and frailty which recalls a distant past and speaks to the future. It breathes rhythm and music. Only at Treasure Island in Las Vegas."  Sounds great, no?  So, we made our reservations online for SUNDAY NIGHT, and all we had to do was pick up our tickets at one of the several ticket kiosk locations in Vegas and we'd be good to go.

Except that somewhere along the line, we both forgot that our tickets were for Sunday night, and we both somehow thought that our tickets were for TUESDAY NIGHT.  God only knows why.  Sunday, after my amazing hot stone massage at The Spa at Mandara in Paris Las Vegas (more on that to come...) and another 8 hours of class for Rick (who got the better deal?) he decided he wanted a deli dinner, so we headed down to New York New York. 

[Mom's on the phone....]

If you read my earlier Vegas post, you know that we saw a free show on Friday night, when we first arrived.

Home, Happy and Jet-Lagged

Well, Rick and I got back to Bflo. late Wednesday night.  The children, the dog, the cat, and the house were, thank God, all in one piece.  We had a wonderful trip, including a few crazy experiences.

Anyone know any guys in Bflo. with shaved, totally tattooed heads?  There was this yahoo on the plane from Bflo. to Vegas who didn't stop whooping and hollering the whole (5-hour) flight!  Thank God for ipods.  Otherwise I would have gone totally insane.  And, yes, the flight attendants on Southwest kept serving him drinks.

Alas, we arrived in Vegas, picked up the rental car, drove through rush hour Friday afternoon traffic to Caesar's Palace, our home-away-from-home for the next 5 days!  Exhausted, we quietly enjoyed a margarita and crabcakes at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and thought we would probably wander a little through the casino at Caesar's and call it a day.  Except that as we walked back through the casino, a woman came up to us with two tickets in her hand for that evening's 9:30 PM  Celine Dion show.

No gimmick, no come-on, no time-share.  She begged us to take the tickets, told us they were already paid for, and practically shoved the tickets into our hands.  Then she turned around to her friends and did a happy dance.  Turns out she and a bunch of co-workers from Minneapolis were in Vegas for some kind of convention and 2 of the people in their group had, unfortunately, gotten food poisoning the night before and couldn't make the show.  We were dressed like slobs, could barely keep our eyelids up, and would never had shelled out 90 bucks apiece for Celine, but the show was great!

Rick's conference kept him busy sessions for 8 hours Saturday, 8 hours Sunday, about 6 hours Monday, and part of Tuesday as well.  What did I do while he was in sessions?  Walking and shopping, shopping and walking.  I did a TON of walking while in Vegas, which I'm sure helped my cardio, and even with the wonderful meals, I weighed in this morning with a loss of over 3 lbs.!

But, back to Saturday.  I spent hours perusing the upscale stores in The Forum Shops.  I really don't like "malls" but this is way above the average suburban shopping mall.  It is unbefreakinlievable.  Upscale, designer, elegant, and unaffordable.  But beautiful!  You know how you flip through Vogue and those other fancy ladies' magazines when you're at the beauty salon getting your hair colored?  And you gaze dreamily at all of those top name ads?  Well, all of THOSE stores were there.  Dior, Perla, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Chopard, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Bvlgari, Lalique, Judith Lieber, David Yurman, plus Coach, The Gap, F.A.O Schwartz, Kiehl's... the list just goes on and on and on!  And I didn't even mention the restaurants, yet.  I thought on the way in that I'd maybe spend the morning there.  But, I ended up spending the whole freakin' day!  Didn't buy much on the first tour through.  (But, hell, its attached to Caesar's, where I was staying for the next 3 days!  I knew I'd be back....)

Stay tuned for more on the LV trip... I can only post so much in one day!

T Minus 1:20

As I begin this posting, it is 10:40 AM on Friday, 3/16/06.  The taxi is coming at noon.  The taxi that will take my DH and I to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, where we will board a Southwest flight to... LAS VEGAS!

My suitcase is packed:  underwear, bathing suit, cover-up, sneakers and work-out clothes (yup!  no tkd for 5 days?  maybe I'll go running somewhere... or walk/jog/walking,) 3 pairs of cropped spring pants, a couple of decent short-sleeved t-shirts, one nicer beaded colorful t-shirt for wearing to "The Show."  Sexy nighties.  SANDALS, haha!  (Easy ones for walking.)  Make-up has yet to go in.  Vitamins.  The copy of the New Yorker magazine that arrived in yesterday's mail.  The copy of Oprah magaszine that I picked up at the supermarket the other day.  The 12-lb. Guidebook to Southern Cal. and LV that I hauled out of the local AAA.  (Why does the darn thing have to be so HEAVY?  C'mon, I'm taking it in my carry-on!)  My camera and charger, my cell phone and charger, my palm pilot (my cheapy one that I hate, but hell, my whole life is in there.)

What I couldn't find is the padded pre-addressed pre-stamped mailing envelope that I also stick in my carry-on when I travel... just in case some TSA agent doesn't like my knitting needles.  Damn.  Of course, I have my Silk Bolero in progress...

Ain't she sweet?

I am so PSYCHED!  Concerned about the kids, of course, but they're in good hands.  And we're only a cell phone call away.  (For whatever that's worth.)

Unless there's some free internet cafe around with available computers, I guess I'll be offline 'til I return late next Wed. night.  *Waaaaah!*  Will post pics (some) and share stories (some) when I get back.  You know what they say... What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!  Hugs & Kisses to All!  Love you, Miss you.

NAYY, but a Great Knitting Bag

NAYY (No Affiliation, Yadda Yadda)... but this has turned out to be my favorite knitting bag (and I have a boatload... felted ones I've made myself, bags made for knitting, bags not made for knitting.)  It is plenty roomy, and has not only a zippered compartment on one side, but also that little coin-purse-on-a-string.  I use mine for all those little knitting gizmos you need to have around... little pair o' scissors, tape measure, point protectors, stitch markers.  The bag is hand-painted cotton canvas, strong but very lightweight and SO colorful! 

This is the Matisse Mood -- the print that I chose.  My friend Karen has one (or more than one?) in one of the doggie prints.  Adorable.  Where to find these wonderful bags?  LRW Designs, the website of designer Lynn Weinberg.  She also makes clothing and household goods, as well as several other styles of purses and totes.  I just think they make wonderful knitting bags!  (And I get compliments on mine ALL the time.

Tell Lynn I sent you.  (Not that she knows who I am... but I am on her mailing list.)  Oh, and did I mention?  She runs sales every now and then.  Get on her mailing list and find out when the discounts are!

        Inside zippered pocket

I'm a VICTIM of Credit Card Fraud!

That icky swan thing pictured below is so heinous, I think it scared the needles outta me for a few days.  I've only made very minimal progress on the second glove, although I did get the three middle fingers joined together.  Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to pull those loosey loopys in the fingers any tighter, so its just not... that... great.  Oh well.

However, I did wind up a ball of Alchemy Silk Purse in Evening Pink this morning... thinking I might begin that Bolero jacket (an Alchemy pattern) and take it with me to LAS VEGAS the end of this week! (The yarn and the pattern, not the jacket... it'll be WEEKS before the jacket is done.) Yes, my darlings, I am flying to the Sin City with my husband for a couple of days.  He has a seminar to attend, and a hotel room at  Caesar's Palace, woo-hoo!  That leaves me with four days to tour and shop and relax... oh, and play the nickel slots.  Anything more than that is too gamey for me.  BTW, if anyone has any suggestions on what to do in Vegas, please leave me a comment or an email!  I would love to hear from you.

In the meantime, I believe I have been the victim of credit card fraud!  I got a message the other day on my answering machine from a guy at CDW (a huge online computer/software retailer) asking me to call him at an 800 number about my order.  I didn't remember ordering anything, but I did call back 'cause sometimes I am nice that way.  I left him a voicemail saying I had no idea what he was calling in regards to, but that I was returning his call.

Didn't get a call back, but a few days later, a UPS truck arrived with a package for me from them.  Now, I do a fine bit of internet shopping, and it was possible that I'd ordered something a while back and forgotten about it, so I signed for the box.  But, when I opened the box, I knew for sure that I hadn't ordered the fancy-ass Logitech computer mouse that was inside.  I checked the packing slip.  It listed my name and address, the last 4 digits of a VISA account in my name, showed the mouse for $102 and also showed a camera lens on backorder for over $1540!  The same guy's name who had called me was printed on the top as the internet salesmen.  I called him right away.  This time my message wasn't quite so polite.  It was more like, "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS -- I DIDN'T ORDER ANY OF THIS AND WHY AM I BEING CHARGED FOR IT, YOU BETTER HAVE SOMEONE CALL ME BACK IMMEDIATELY!"

I heard back within mere seconds.  All he asked me was whether I had or had not actually placed these orders.  When I told him no, he said that they have been experiencing this, and that:
#1)  I should immediately call VISA and cancel the credit card,
#2)  I should NOT give the package to UPS if they come back for it, and
#3) he asked for my email address (which I gave him) so he could send me information on returning the
mouse.

Apparently this scam, once somebody gets your name, address, and credit card no., is to have merchandise shipped to you (I know... it makes no sense...) and then they intercept the return.  OR, perhaps, they call back and change the shipping information for the much more expensive item which is currently on backorder, so that when the expensive stuff gets shipped, it does go to the thief.  I'm not sure.

Anyway, I canceled the card right away, which was a little bit of a pain in the ass, mostly because the customer service rep for VISA was in India and we had but a wee bit of difficulty understanding one another.  Thank God the card is the one I use once in a while for my own stuff, and not the one that Rick
and I share.

Out of curiosity I called the NYS Attyorney General's office and talked to their Internet Bureau and then to Consumer Fraud.  Neither of them had a clue about this.  Hadn't heard of it.  Couldn't tell me what to do.  One of them gave me a number for the fed'l gov't to report identity theft, but at 4 PM there was no answer (why am I not surprised?)

So, that's my weird story.  Thankfully, it does not involve death, disease, or broken bones.  I have since obtained a credit report which shows me, at this moment, in the clear.  I also bought a wastebasket paper shredder, although I haven't set it up yet.  I must have the last 5 or 8 years worth of checks and bank statements and stuff waiting in the basement office to be S-H-R-E-D-D-E-D.  What fun!

You Knit What? She Loves to Knit Style

It was bad enough when Bjork wore this to the Oscars in 2001, was it not?

Must we now have this?

I confess I don't own any of Nicky Epstein's books, but they are quite highly regarded in the knitting community.  This, however, scares me!  Makes me want to throw some cracked corn in its general direction and then RUN!  Very fast.  Very far away.

Still here, still knitting

Can you believe I paid 40 bucks for these brand-new jeans at Old Navy the other day?  Pre-ripped!  Whoopee!  Aaaah, but that's the fashion.  And she's wearing a smaller size than she was just a few weeks ago, so how could I say no?  The shawl she is modeling is very-recently completed Ribbon Triangles, Knit One Crochet Too Pattern No. 1000.  I made a major yarn substitution, using about 2-1/2, maybe 2-3/4 skeins of Noro Silver Thaw, Color No. 5.  It was a mindless knit, perfect for t.v. watching (remember that thing of a week or so ago, that Winter Olympics?  That I watched zillions of hours of, mostly with knitting in my hands?) or knitting while watching J-Daughter at TKD, or talking to friends.  On my Lantern Moon rosewood 11's, it was a complete pleasure to do.  If you haven't treated yourself to a pair of "luxury" needles -- these are the ones to consider!  Like buttah, I say.  Want to see a few more views of the shawl?

Still looks very Mexican to me.  Not that that would be BAD!  I just don't want to look like I'm wearing an idiotic costume if I ever wear this.  (See here to really make you puke.  This stuff should be outlawed.)

So, now, what comes after the shawl?  One of the UFO's now tucked neatly (well, tucked) into the upstairs linen closet?  Or something I thought earlier this winter I would want to knit and purchased yarn for from Knit Happens in VA, or from Yarns Unlimited in Sewickley (Pittsburgh,) PA?  'Course, I still need to finish the gloves I'm working on first, but I always want to know what's coming next!

The right glove is done, except for the cuff. 

What do you think... ruffle edging?  Simple rib?  Same yarn?  Trim it with something different?  I wonder if I have enough left over of the yarn I used to make that little beanie hat to do a trim on the gloves... or would that look really stupid?  Probably I'm better off if I do a self-trim or choose a solid for the cuff.

The only thing that is bugging me is the looseness of the ladders on the sides of the fingers from that unusual I-cord finger creation.  I'm hoping that once I get this puppy off the needles, I can turn it inside out and maybe use a crochet hook to get under there and pull some of the loops tighter.  Although how I secure them once they're tightened?  I haven't figured that out yet.

Here are the fingers, and thumb, for the left glove.  I will definitely try to tighten these up before I connect them all together!  (Great... then I'll have one tight, smooth glove and one lumpy, weird one.)

COMPLETELY UNRELATED COMPUTER QUESTION:  Anyone out there using Thunderbird for their regular email who has successfully set up an Inbox on there for their mac mail?  I've followed the directions given on the mac.mail.com site at least ten times and I just can't make it work.  I want to be able to read my knitting and blog email (for which I use [email protected]) without having to go to the mac webpage and log in.  Why can't I get it to work on Thunderbird?