Monday, January 14, 2008

Crazy Weekend-- Mad Monday

For the life of me I don't really know what to start with. I can tell you this, the weekend was a blur and my coping tools are shown above. Caffeine free diet Coke, and a really nice red wine. Not necessarily in that order.

The Cliff notes go something like this:
  • It is COLD
  • wedding show weekend
  • my cards are done
  • Cable Luxe perking along
  • socks not so much
  • I met my new plastic surgeon

In a liddatiddle more detail, it is dipdog cold! 32 F is not necessarily super cold but when you factor in that it was SEVENTY last weekend I think I just forgot momentarily that it was winter. When the winter weather came back I was caught unprepared. I am happy to be able to wear my Mitered Square sweater that generates such heat to run you out of its' woolly splendor into your skivvies in no time! Because of the cut of the sweater, it does not do a very good job hiding my post holidays less than flat belly.

My belly has not been flat since 1971, but we won't go there.

It was another wedding show weekend and I have to tell you I'm tired. Schlepping and packing is one thing but 99.9% uber high end brides is another! I love my brides but they do make me a winkie weary around the edges. The everpresent bridal fashion show was incredible at this event (as were the deserts. Refer back to less than flat belly). It's a wonderful treat to see gowns from Vera Wang, Reem Acra (my favorite) the always chic Carolina Herrera, Amsale, Kenneth Pool, Christo's, Monique Lhuillier, and Ulla-Maija. I wish you could have seen the beautiful details and superior workmanship, what lovely gowns! My favorite gown was almost mermaid shaped in its construction of allover lace and a tank inspired bodice. There was what looked much like a deep flounce around the bottom of the gown, around knee level. This flounce is detachable and the dress underneath is just puredee chic. I have seen a couple of these dresses around but I can tell that this style is getting ready to come into its' own. Soooooooo--- Cable Luxe (above) took a back seat to brides/work, and frankly, by the time I got home I was just too tired to wield needles and needled to just putter and decompress a bit.

But Cable Luxe IS coming along. I'm just working straight in pattern for a good stretch. I have to admit that even with the two cable patterns, there is an enormous amount of knitting in rows that don't cable! I guess that is one of my favorite things about cables--- they always look much more tedious than they actually are!


The socks are coming. Very slowly, which is surprising owing to their simpler than simple style. Maybe it is that they are boringly simple---- not a lot of inspiration to pick them up? It is for me a dance---- a dance between the need to have something that is packable and small, and totally mindless to whip out a row or two and not have to remember where you were or why----- but then it is dullsville. Oh well, c'est la vie! I am beginning to have the dreaded second sock fear that perhaps just maybe I should have split and weighed the yarn so I can be sure that I will have enough mileage for the other sock.


Work started bright and early this cold Monday morning with a meeting at 8 a.m. I didn't even have time for a cup of tea and a nice cup of Twinings Irish Breakfast is what keeps me running. After the meeting wrapped I was super excited to get to the lab for pickup because in the midst of the orders of the day were my new logo CARDS! Cute as pie, woo hoo. If you see me around, ask for one!

And while we're having that cup of tea together I'll dish for a minute about meeting my new plastic surgeon! HA! Remember, weekend at a chichi bridal show------- so the high end vendors there were not just for the brides but some for the MOTHERS! So it was with my new doctor. We talked neck over a quick 10 minute sandwich grab--- actually I talked with his wife. She is young and does not have neck issues believe me, but that lucky *B* never will! I just loved her. We started talking about my mother's neck which I have inherited and hate. Yeah, like I never talk about that. We talked about where my Mom had her work done, you know the place on television that is the in and out lovely neck emporium? The place that has her neck pretty much back to square one? Well I didn't know that they were not board certified, and really to expect much but a temporary high dollar job is asking too much. So we got down to the knitty gritty of necks. And more. I really think I need to go in JUST to find out the $$$. If for no other reason than the responsible reporting of aging knitters and their options! Right? I'm sure it is huge bucks---- but I want to know. I need to know.

I finished the show thinking that hey---- for a new neck and maybe even a mini lift I can drive this car for awhile longer! I'm not a car freak anyway, my needs are small------ good yarn, great needles, the occasional Starbucks---- and a wonderful neck! :) So I get into the car and would you NOT know it? The sucker will not start. Nothing. Nada. Friends were graceful and kind enough to collect me, jump the car and point me to the battery store but that was a stretch as it was almost 5 on a Sunday afternoon! The end of the story is that once again, I dearly HATE to be a woman alone in any sort of car joint. They see me coming and I don't know enough to argue knowlegeably. I can only follow my gut. And I think these particular men were trying to lie to me and make an extra buck or two. Time will tell. I did leave with a new battery wondering if the old buggy would hang in there long enough for me to trade in this old model for a new one----- at least the neck!

Ack! What's a girl to do?

I'll be joining knitters this evening for Kate Jacob's reading and signing "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and I'm really looking forward to it. Knitters, chit chat, coffee, knitting projects to oogle all add up to a great evening.

A great way to close a mad Monday and a wild weekend!

5 comments:

Melissa Morgan-Oakes said...

I always have more trouble with plain socks than complex ones. The plain ones seem unending. I did be Mine from the book on the plane to keep my brain moving!

Virtuous said...

Loved the Cliff Notes!

Jenni said...

My neck is always what worries me. The "English" chin, or lack thereof, runs in my family.

Allison said...

Tina, about that fear of too little yarn for the socks -- if you have a second set of needles, weigh the yarn, sock on needles & extra needles and then weigh just the sock on the needles. If you have a kitchen scale you can do that often, otherwise you're stuck with a quick stop in the post office lobby.

The other thing I've done in the past is to wind a new center-pull ball from the free end and start knitting the second sock (or take all to the scale and try to get the new ball the same weight as the sock & old ball). I never cut them apart so I can use the last little bit possible.

Anonymous said...

Oh Tina,
Thank you for . . .
1) making me laugh so often.
2) letting me off the hook about writing my own blog. You do it so well, the world doesn't need me to communicate regularly with it. I'd be an old English-teacher-environmentalist drudge with no sense of humor.
3) for the carrot cake recipe. I've been making Great Aunt Shirley's recipe for over 40 years (yes, it's very good), but I didn't even know there was such a thing as sour cream frosting. I've been decking it with cream cheese frosting.

And something to consider regarding your neck . . .
TURTLENECKS! That's my preferred aging-gracefully-work-around. You're a knitter. You have infinitely creative pointy objects. They, on the other hand, have knives. You can rip out. They can't. Think of all the dashing designs. Think of that great Dick Tracy character whose turtlenecks were so long that they covered his mouth. Drat. I forget his name. [But I'm a sissy where knives or hospitals are involved.]

Now . . . about the jowls thing . . .