iGotta

I've been coveting the iPhone ever since it came out. But I opted for a Blackjack because of it's Outlook Exchange capabilities. While having access to work email and appointments can be a godsend, it can also be a curse. AND, surfing the internet on a Blackjack is just plain bad. I may as well be back in the early 90s surfing the internet on a 14.4 modem with a web browser that can only display in simple html with 8bit graphics.

So now that the new iPhone has Outlook Exchange there's no holding back. I mean why not have a *toy* that is also a productivity tool? Why not infuse some extracurricular activities with a phone?

iGotta have one!

Quick Observations: Cars & multitasking

I've written before in my old blog about the art of multitasking in cars. But today was the first time that I saw a woman plucking the grays from the top of her head while we were waiting for the Fremont Bridge to go down. What was odd was that she wasn't simply pulling the hairs out with here fingers, she was actually using a tweezer. It was almost like she was planning on using the time in her car to do the plucking.

Quick Observations: Squirrel Sabotage

I really think that the reason squirrels were put on the planet were to distract dogs from pooping; at least that's the case for Trixie.

The itch is coming back

I started knitting about 7 years ago. The feel of the fiber in my fingers, the clicking of the needles, watching fabric turn into garments, and the satisfaction of learning new stitches was so addictive. It didn't take me long before I was a self proclaimed knitting addict.

Then came along Blogging. What a perfect forum for me and others to rant about just about anything. Observing the world around me and sharing tidbits from my day with total strangers was so much fun. Blogging also offered me a place to archive and journal my knitting projects. Oh what wonderful creative outlets. Knitting and blogging became fun and healthy obsessions (well and expensive at times too... couldn't pass up a nice skein of yarn). My first blog was aptly titled Obsessed in Oakland. Check it out...

But then life, as it often does, got in the way. Well I guess I have to take the blame. Other obsessions like work, house renovations, and career simply took precedence. I guess you can call them life obsessions. Eventually, as you might have read, relocating to Seattle and starting a new job became priorities.

A year and a half later the old obsessions are reawakening. Blogging and knitting are on my mind practically on a daily basis. I'm hooked on Ravelry.com (thanks Mom), knitting a bit more (although I wish it was more frequently), have a queue of knitting projects waiting to start and 2 projects on needles. No longer can I claim to be a monogamous knitter. But that's okay, at least that old familiar tactile feeling is back in my hands.

Work has been taking up a lot of my time and I may not be knitting as often as I would like, but I'm proud to say that I am now happily Obsessed in Seattle.

BTW, if you're a knitter and you haven't stumbled upon Ravelry.com yet, you must have a look at the site. But be warned, it's addictive.

Nice weather and knitting

(post started 7/6, completed 7/11)

Sheesh has it been 5 months since I last blogged? I won't bore you with all the details, mostly because I most definitely lost my entire audience. Suffice it to say that I have been extremely busy at work after starting with a new group and new set of projects, and had back surgery.

We survived our second winter in the PNW and just recently celebrated Summer Solstice, which in Fremont (a really nice neighborhood just across the bridge from our house) is a huge deal (a little more on that in a minute). We kept hearing that the winter and spring weather had not been typical. Well, ummm, we heard that last year too. Is it global warming? Well whatever is causing the weather to be so bad, please STOP. I hadn't been very down on the weather up until now but last night I had a dream where I found myself yelling, "ENOUGH ALREADY!" about the weather. So I guess my subconscious is telling me something.

Now don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here ...



... especially when you get to see Rainier in all it's glory. That shot was taking at the top of Queen Anne, which is officially our neighborhood. I mustn't mislead you though, we are on the north side of Queen Anne which is a short drive or a nice walk to the vantage point that overlooks the view of Rainier and Downtown Seattle. We took that picture a few weeks ago when my brother- and sister-in-law T, Cheryl, and nephew/Godson Alek visited from NJ.


(Me, Alek & David with the Space Needle and Downtown Seattle in the background. Rainier is just off camera to the right)

We had a fabulous time with the NJ crew. David spent time with them touring many of the Seattle sites like the Duck Boat land and water tour.


(check out the duck just behind Alek)



That's the truck/boat that you ride that starts on land and then actually goes on to Lake Union. Lake Union is right by our house.


(The boat on Lake Union)

They also visited the Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (that's a mouthful), Pike Place Market, while on "the duck" passed by the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, the Space Needle, and a lot more. They actually saw more than I have, which speaks to how busy I/we've been.


(passing the the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park and "Eagle" by Alexander Calder with the Cascades in the background)


(Cheryl, me, T and Alek outside the SAM, taken on a different day)

I think that one of the highlights of their visit was the Fremont Solstice Parade. Here are a few pics from the extravaganza.


(The parade traditionally starts with naked people with painted bodies riding on bikes - ouch)


(The "official" start of the parade)


(Sexy "Unicorns")


(Close-up of a float. BTW, all floats are "people powered". None are operated by cars making the parade very green.)


(We loved this costume)


(Trixie got into the action. Well, ummmm maybe she was a bit overwhelmed.)

Alek saw some yarn he liked at the weekly Fremont fair and asked if I could teach him to knit. His knitting curiosity was contagious... T and Cheryl wanted to learn too. So we all stopped at a LYS (local yarn store for the non-knitters out their) on our trip to Bainbridge Island and picked up yarn and needles for the crew. On the morning of their last day in Seattle we had a group knitting lesson. Everyone did an excellent job learning how to cast on, knit and cast off. I was especially impressed by how quickly Alek learned. It was my first time teaching an 8-year old to knit, well, a whole family.



I can't wait to see their finished projects.

Knitting again, kinda

So I promised that I would keep up blogging, at least more than I had been. Another promise I made to myself was to knit more. The needles haven't been moving too quickly admittedly, but they aren't collecting dust either.

Several months ago, well maybe a half a year, was when I made the promise. I did complete one project back in the Summer. It was a baby blanket for my cousin who was expecting a baby boy. I furiously knit to complete it for the baby shower which fell on the same weekend that we were celebrating my great-uncle's 90th birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't finish it in time but had enough done to at least show Amanda what to expect.

I am proud to say that I did finish it just shortly after Cash was born. In my haste to get it to Amanda, I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished piece. Well just the other day I received these in my inbox ...



The first thing that came out of my mouth was, "He's so f'n cute!" And the blankie ain't so bad either, right?

I do have 2 other projects on needles: a scarf and a sweater. The scarf is nearly done. But I can't say the same for the sweater.

Multi-tasking Gym-ette

David encouraged me to return to blogging yesterday. So I figured I would add this entry about a funny thing I observed at the gym last week.

My routine includes some cardio and strength training. Friday as I was "running" on the elliptical I was distracted by the woman who was "running" next to me. I'll start by describing her look. Imagine a pretty in shape 30ish blond, with a ponytail, wearing a somewhat revealing but not provocative workout outfit (conveniently tucked up shirt showing her back tat). You know, kinda Barbie-like.

Now the gym I belong to is not one of those pick-up gyms. The members range in age from kids to the elderly, and various degrees of body types. Barbies are really far a few between. So you can imagine that this one stood out a bit.

Step in her friend/trainer. They started talking and since it was packed and I was so close to her I couldn't help but overhear parts of their conversation. Keep in mind that my hearing sucks now and I didn't have my hearing aid in. So their conversation was loud. What stood out from the conversation was her name. To protect her anonymity let's call her Betty Sue Harrington. It was one of the Anglo-Southern-Like names. I thought to myself, 'what a perfect name for a Barbie.'

But all that is only back story information to help clearly set the scene for you. What was amazing was what she was doing while running (and pretty fast I must say) on the elliptical. She was listening to her iPod, changing her song selections and texting on her phone. I immediately had this funny thought... I was so tempted to tap her on her shoulder and ask if she could twirl a baton too.

Imagine a Barbie who can multi-task.