Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Ironically, the theme song to the show based in Boston... signifies Denver for me. I was able to slip away to Denver for a fun filled long weekend. My only complaint is that it was too short. :(

Some of you (those only interested in knitting?) should probably just skip this post, as my blog is multifunctional. I'm more than happy to entertain you all with my funny stories featuring my parents, but the blog also helps me remember what's happened in my life.)

I called a cab to come get me at the buttcrack of dawn, 4am, since my flight was at 6am. I arrived in Denver at 1030am, and my friend Preggo (who's not preggo anymore) and her 2 kiddos came to get me. The red headed monster (RHM) has grown SO much since I last saw him, and it makes me sad that i've missed it. Our 'thing' since he was born (actually, before he was born) was to go to Sweet Tomatoes. I wish the east coast had some of these restaurants out here! I got to hang out with them until Stacey and Michelle came to pick me up. It was sooo good to see my grrlz. Unfortunately, they had to endure a half naked red headed monster (um, the dangly bits were the naked bits) b/c they came when he was just trying to go poopy in the potty. He had just told Preggo that "this poopy isn't for YOU mommy, it's for CynCyn." Never has such a disgusting sentiment made me feel so honored. :) You know you love a kid when you're willing to sit in the bathroom with him so you can admire his, um, excretions.

After I said goodbye to the RHM, Stacey and Michelle tooke me over to THE SHOP to see what new inventory had come in... and to see Tiffany and Carmen, of course! The Tepper Jackson bags, the huge selection of cherry tree hill yarn, lorna's laces, all sorts of new goodies. We couldn't stay too long, b/c we had to meet Jeni, Wanda, Nachaele, for dinner, then all of us met up with Joanne, Sheila, Michaele, and Kim, and Tiffany. It was so nice to catch up with everyone, and to see them!

On Saturday, I met up with Michelle, her DH, (almost forgot to congratulate them! it was the first time I'd seen them since the wedding), and Jeni for lunch. We had a HUGE meal of dumplings from Lao Wang Noodle House, and I'm glad that everyone seemed to enjoy (dumplings are just about my favorite thing to eat). Saturday afternoon was spent in a high state of stress and anxiety as I watched THE GAME (Michigan vs OSU), in which the outcome was not to my liking. But I quickly stopped pouting as we sat down for my Thanksgiving dinner. MMMMM. I love thanksgiving. friends AND food. Preggo had invited some of my friends over for a Thanksgiving feast for me, since i couldn't afford a plane ticket for the actual day of thanksgiving. Since she knows how much I love it. It's my abs. favorite holiday. We had roast sticky chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, baked mac and cheese, green bean casserole, mandarin orange salad with candied almonds, and this INCREDIBLE red wine. Smooth, no bite.

Let's not mention dessert (pumpkin cheesecake and apple spice dump cake... plus vanilla ice cream) b/c I was still stuffed when I stuffed that down my gullet too.

Preggo dressed up the littlest one in the Halloween outfit I made for him (Teddy Bear All in One by Debbie Bliss)

It really was a relatively quick knit (the joys of baby knits). I used Rowan cash soft for the body, and fiddled with gauge and sizing. Sorry i can't be more specific, but if you've ever knit a DB pattern, then you know how it is to improvise on the fly b/c her patterns are so shitty. I mean, lacking in details. I couldn't find choc. brown yarn in the same gauge to save my life, and used some mercerized cotton (probably Tahki).
Preggo and I stayed up late chatting and laughing, and it was much fun to surprise RHM the next morning. I got to spend some time playing with him, then went for brunch with Preggo and some of our old work friends.
I met the grrlz at Colorful yarns, then we headed for dinner (so, yes, I was either eating, sleeping, or knitting the entire time) at a Vietnamese restaurant. We headed back to Stacey's to hang out (and knit), and stayed up entirely too late.

On Monday morning, Stacey took me back over to Preggo's house so I could spend a bit of time with RHM and say goodbye. I think I took it harder than he did. We had gone for a nice walk, during which he begged me not to go back to Boston. I think it tears me up b/c I didn't really want to come back either.

Wanda, Michelle and Jeni met up with Stacey and I for lunch, then power knitting at the shop. A shipment of the weekender bags from Tepper Jackson came in, and I couldn't help myself. I got a weekender (Dial) and a couple skeins of Lonesome Stone Alpaca in the River Runs To It colorway. (lovely purple and green variegation). I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of the shop without some souvenirs!






and this project is basically ALL I worked on over the weekend. I had this fantasy of finishing this sweater up before i left, and if I had half a brain, I would've read teh directions more carefully and FINISHED it.


The top pic is the sleeves, which went beautifully. Michelle gave me a great tip for knitting 2 sleeves at once (pin them together so you don't accidentally knit one sleeve twice while ignoring the other). The body of the Robin Hood Jacket... was sorta finished. Except I messed up the hood (used the cable pattern instead of seed stitch) so that will be ripped back. But, all things considered, I'm very pleased.