Have you ever realized just how much you rely on electricity on a daily basis? I don't think we do until we have to do without it for an extended period of time. Yesterday, those of us located in central Ohio (and other parts of Ohio) had to deal with Hurricane Ike -- Who would've thought that a Hurricane would rip through Ohio?! Last night Columbus had gusts of up 70 mph! Crazy! There are over 300,000 people in our area without power -- with no rhyme or reason behind whose out and not (other than trees hitting power lines). For instance, I have absolutely no juice at home but work (10 miles away) is up and running. Believe it or not, this is a wonderful thing as I can charge all the battery operated devices I need (like my cell phone!). Part of the problem at home is finding a place to freeze 50 lbs. of cow that will go bad left at home! Thank you, friends with power, Thank you. I do have to thank my lucky stars that this is Ohio and not Texas. At least all I lost was power and a few tree limbs -- not an entire city and everything I own. My thoughts are definitely gearing towards the people who were involved in the real Hurricane Ike!
Oh, neglected blog, I fear I have left you to fend for yourself for far too long. Nevermind that I have not had time to clean the house, weed the garden, paint the garage, or practice. I have merely kept busy watching the Olympics, wearing 14 different hats at work, and preparing for the back to school season. You see, all the kids that are starting band or orchestra need me to have all their instruments and supplies ready for them (not to mention what the teacher's need as well). When one can't focus anymore the detritus of daily life ends up on the back burner!
However, I started you so that friends that are not within lunch distance can be hip to what is happening in my life and if I ignore you for too long they will not know what I'm doing. So in an effort to bring everyone up to speed (on both the great and small), here's what went on since the end of July:
1. Lots and Lots and oh boy, do I mean LOTS of meetings!
2. Had fun trying on bridesmaids dresses (thx, Kristen for letting us have some
say!)
3. The annual Clambake and family fun:
Here's the nieces and nephews: Is it strange that the better picture is the silly one? And yes, Ellen if you ever read this, I'm getting ready to play guitar!
4. Got my hair cut! So glad it's short again!
5. I know this may sound silly but it made my day -- I found paper clips in the shape of treble clefs at Staples!!
and last but definitely not least:
6. Had an AMAZING girl's night out dinner with Rachel, Kim, Megan and Kristen at the Melting Pot. Gotta love Fondue!
Closing note, worried blog, I promise that I will not let you falter. I will try my hardest to keep you maintained and happy. I will let you into my routine so that you will not be neglected again.
Arrgh!!! I can't believe that it's been a week since I last posted. I must do better, I must do better, I must do better. Sometimes it seems like the world is out to grab all of your time and patience so when you finally get home all you want to do is sit in front of the tv or curl up with a book and escape.
Anyway, the most fun that has happened to me this past week is that I 
have been adopted! The neighborhood friendly cat (seriously, the most friendly outdoor cat ever!) has seen fit to accept all the lovin' that I can provide to him. I believe that he roams the neighborhood in search of someone to pet him. He will just walk right up to me and present his belly for a nice rub or stalk my hose as I'm watering my plants, knock me over as I'm weeding or just sit on my porch railing to peer into the house. He's just a little Romeo! I have no idea what his actual name is but Romeo seems to fit for me!
and I'm a knitaholic!
Ok, Ok...I know it's been at least a week since I posted anything here but I've had lots of other things to occupy my time. Between crazy work (yuck!) and summer fun, there's always the enticement of new things...
Anybody with a hobby that you truly love to do will understand what I'm saying right now -- the new items that come out for your choice of activities can be the most detrimental things ever introduced to you. They make you want to set down whatever it is that you are currently working on (whether that is your hobby, your work, your household chores, etc., etc., etc.) and dive into using your new toys! When the box of new needles and yarn appeared on my doorstep all other things got pushed to the back. I couldn't start the second sock of the pair I'm currently working on, I couldn't clean my house, I had a really hard time putting down the new needles and yarn to go to work...grrrr.
It's not that I don't love the projects I'm currently working on. It's just that the soft, colorful yarn is staring at me in the face and I can't get the new needles to work right with my other projects. The new additions are calling to me to use them and they make it very hard to ignore them. They scream over the dirty dishes in the sink, are much neater then the clothes that need to be ironed, and much more beautiful than the weeds taking over my garden!
Oh well, now I'll have another pair of socks that will need to be finished and not enough time to do the housework! (Why can't the dust bunnies clean up after themselves?!)
So what happens when it is over 90 degrees and the elephants at the zoo are feeling playful?
So I am finally getting to the sock post that I meant to do almost 2 weeks ago! The sock adventure started when my friend, Megan came to me asking to help her learn how to knit. She wants to eventually knit cool & pretty socks. Since I had only ever made one pair of socks I figured that I should be really sure how to knit them before I had to help her. I had seen pictures of this beautiful yarn and wanted to try it.
So when Uncle Sam sent me money to stimulate the economy I took a field trip to the Yarnmarket to get some. I ended up getting this and one other colorway (that pair is currently under construction). The colors are absolutely beautiful!!! So bright and strong!!! Even though this yarn is beautiful there are a few issues that I was bothered by. While knitting with it it twists and almost knots if you're not really careful about it. The other thing I'm not so sure about is the fact that it is not machine washable. Time will tell if the socks hold up to wear and wash.
I had bought Cat Bordhi's book, "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" because I loved the different swirls and patterns.
I chose the riverbed pattern for these socks with all the increases located on the bottom of the foot. The stripes are awesome and the transitions between the colors amaze me.
Altough, they do make an odd pair -- but who cares?! The best part is that they fit like a glove (oh wait, that should be like a sock!). Anyway, with the way that Cat Bordhi presents her patterns, it's incredibly easy to adapt the sock to fit your foot perfectly! Even adjusting for different arches. Now I just need to wait until it's not 95 degrees so that I can wear them!!!! (not that I want the cold weather. I'm happy to let them sit for a while.......)
So yea, for the first pair of awesome socks! There will definitely be more to come as the other color that I bought is already being worked into a different style of sock. :)
The time has come once again for the annual trip to Goodale park for food, music, arts, politics, and Hippy activity has arrived in Columbus. Coinciding with Pride weekend, Comfest brings those of us who enjoy people-watching wonderful oppoutunities. For instance, a fight erupting over a stolen guitar between two guys that was policed by a woman wearing no shirt (and yes, that is legal in my city)! As one friend put she was trying to make them "use their words" instead of fists. We were all hoping to see a brawl...as long as it didn't get too close.
Comfest is also a cool place to get inspiration for your own art (they had some cool shadowboxes with cutouts of animals on -- easy to imagine making your own!) and a place for local artists. One of my favorites is a candle maker that goes by the name of Irie Lights. His candles are not only beautiful and wonderful smelling but last forever. I buy one every year and try to make it last til the next year! 
There was also a stall set up that I could not get away from without purchasing anything. Walking back from getting my funnel cake (mmmm....funnel cake) I stumbled across a yarn booth!!! The woman running had just started spinning her own yarn and some of it was beautiful. Luckily, it only being a week away from my birthday, I still had some money left to spend. So at some point these two hanks will each make a pair of socks for me!! Hopefully, I like the way that these knit up as well as the color so that I can support another local artist! Good Luck Steph'spun!!!!
So even after an early night because of the threat of rain (at least we didn't get soaked) Comfest has come and gone for me for another year. Sitting with friends, yelling at each other 'cuz the music is loud, people watching, imagination stimulus, source of local goods, good food (mmm.....funnel cake) and an entire crowd there for local people.....what more could you ask for on a weekend?!