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mercredi, mai 21, 2008

Which WIP to take?

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Yay, we're going on a little road trip to Monterey, CA for a couple of days. I am so looking forward to this little trip, even though it is only 85 miles (136 km) away. I'd like to drop by Knitting By The Sea in Carmel, CA. It was closed (on Sunday) when I walked by the store the last time I was in Carmel (Nov 2007). Although if I were being realistic, it probably would not have a very good experience browsing with DH & Miss M in tow. And anything I may pick up would probably not hide well in my bag. Yes, DH is still "in training".

Anyhow, I need to figure out which WIP to take with me on my little trip. Which do you think I should bring with me?

1. Mom's Vest
I've been working on this since Nov 2007! I have already completed the Back section and the Left Front section (seen here). I'm in the middle of the Right Front section (progress seen here).

2. MIL's Scarf
I'm a little more than halfway done, you can see it here. I made great progress with the first half, then momentum fizzled.

3. Cable Scarf
You've seen a small section of this scarf before where I made a glaring mistake and ended up frogging the whole thing. I have cast on again and managed to knit a few rows.

4. Baby Blanket
I started this in March thinking it would make a nice gift for Shree. Unfortunately, she has already had her baby, so I missed yet another baby deadline. My track record for baby blankets is not very good. However my plan is to complete this one and hope someone will have a baby after the blanket is finished. Sorry, I can't find a photo of it, I don't think I have ever blogged about it.
I can't bring them all due to limited space in the car. It's very odd. The amount of stuff packed is inversely proportional to the person's size. Miss M, being the smallest person, seems to have the most stuff volume-wize. It has been 2 years since our last road trip with Miss M. I think the baggage will be similar, however this time we will not need to bring the Pack-n-Play. We think we found a place to stay where the room arrangement will be efficacious to Miss M falling asleep near her usual bedtime (viz. 8 PM) while allowing DH & I to stay up a little longer with the lights on. The place is supposed to have a separate sitting area containing a sofa bed and a DOOR between it and our bedroom. I'll let you know how it turns out after we return.

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I also need to choose a book to bring with me on this trip. I recently finished reading Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely check out some of her other mysteries. Since I am currently in between books, I need to choose a new book to read and have a few at the top of my "to read" list. Which would you suggest? Or would you recommend something else?

1. 13 Steps Down by Ruth Rendell.
2. A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George.
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
3. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
4. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
5. Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon.
I can't decide which one to bring.

I've already picked up EVO magazine for DH to read; it's a UK based car magazine. I was trying to find Car magazine, another UK based periodical. Unfortunately all the copies I managed to find at the bookstore looked like they went through someone's Cuisinart. No pristine copies to be found, so I passed.



I picked up a Sesame Street Abby puzzle book to keep Miss M entertained while we are in Monterey. I couldn't find a photo of the book, but it is similar to the Elmo book you see above (which Miss M already has and absolutely loves it). These books have five 12-piece puzzles. I love how the backing on each puzzle set is a different color so you can easily sort them.

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Wow, I can't believe I actually won a contest! I won second place in Alana's contest. She is giving away knitting books and yarn. The best part about second place is not having to choose the prize. I must say that whichever book I receive will be the first non-stitch-dictionary addition to my knitting library, of which I have eight. Isn't it awful that I have been knitting for just over 3 years and don't have any "real" knitting books?

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American Idol is coming to an end. I just wasn't too impressed with tonight's show. I was expecting to hear 6 songs that would wow me, and I can't say they did. I think David Cook will win. DH thinks it'll be David Archuleta. We'll find out tomorrow night...

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My goal is to determine the differences between (California) prop 98 and 99 before we leave for Monterey. Wish me luck!

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mardi, mai 20, 2008

Genius!

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What has changed? Just for shishabobs and giggles, I decided to give this a try again and the results are decidedly antithetical to last month's results. I believe it must be a fluke.

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blog readability test


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An apology

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I wanted to apologize to some of my readers, particularly my feed readers, as well as pass on some info about duplicity in the blogging world.

You may have noticed a change in the way you are receiving the blog feeds. I am trying out the "short" feeds to see whether it will prevent blog scraping which I have recently experienced. I used to have my feeds set to "full", which is how I would like them to be, but I am not too happy when someone else takes my entire blog posting -- entire text & photos -- and then posts it on their own blog as if it were their own.

There is one such site which has done this and I thought you should be aware of this site especially if you are a knitter with a knitting blog. knittingclub dot org (no "www" in front of that) takes posts from other people's knitting blogs and posts it on their site. Yes! People do this!!! Can you believe that? Doesn't it make you mad? I am not happy about this at all. Unfortunately, there is no contact info on the site and it does not allow you to leave a comment.

(If you look at that site right now, you will see that two of my blog posts is right there on the front page, showing this post and this post.)

So for the time being, I have set my blog feeds to "short" in the hopes that it will minimize further blog scraping. I am truly sorry for having to do this and I understand how it may diminish the blog reading experience through blog readers.

I suspect that many of the "Big" bloggers set their feeds to "short" partly for the same reason (for example, Yarn Harlot and Grumperina).




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lundi, mai 19, 2008

Help Grace

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Check out Grace's blog, she needs some help choosing a shawl as a gift, and there is a chance for you to win yarn! Then take a look around her blog, she is famous for her shawls but has gazillions of other beautifully knitted projects.

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samedi, mai 17, 2008

Testing - Ignore This Post

Please ignore this post. I'm just testing something in Blogger.

2000 Tobin James Chateau Le Cacheflo Paso Robles
2000 Caparone Aglianico Paso Robles
1999 Caparone Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard
2000 Peachy Canyon Zinfandel Incredible Red Bin 111
1999 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Grand Estates
1999 Morro Bay Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast
1999 Midnight Cellars & Vineyard Zinfandel Paso Robles
1998 Fife Vineyards Max Cuvee Napa Valley
1999 Cline Cellars Zinfandel California
1999 DeLoach Zinfandel California
1999 Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County
2000 Columbia Crest Chardonnay Columbia Valley
Montpellier Syrah California 2000
Borsao Borja 2000
Terre Rouge Tete-a-Tete 1999
Rosemount Grenache-Shiraz 2000
1999/2000 Dom de Montpezat Prestige
2000 Louis Bernard CdR
2000 Hecula
2001 Big House Red
2001 Isabel SB
2000 Feraud-Brunel Rasteau
1998 Guigal CdR
Bonny Doon's Big House Red
1995 Taurino Notarpanaro
Taurino Salice Salento
2000 Bogle Petite Sirah
Guigal Cotes du Rhone
Louis Jadot Beaujeaulais Villages
Parducci Petit Sirah
2000 le Clos du Caillou Bouquet des Garrigues CdR
1999 Altano Douro (Portugal)
2000 Dom. du Vieux Chene CdR
2001 Vina Alarba
2001 Borsao
1999 Snoqualmie Syrah
2001 Anselmi San Lorenzo (Soave)
2000 Texier CdR Villages Chusclan
1999 Chapoutier Belleruche CdR
1995 Ch Pierre-Bise Anjou Gamay
1997 Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma
1999 Pepperwood Grove Syrah
1999 Villa Lanata Dolcetto d'Alba
1999 Lamborghini Umbria Trescone
2000 Capcanes Mas Donis Barrica Tarragona Red Wine
1999 Domaines Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve
1999 Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico
2000 Louis Bernard Cotes du Rhone-Villages
Chianti Classico Castello di Ama ’00 - Castello di Ama
Chianti Classico Castello di Brolio ’00 - Barone Ricasoli
Chianti Classico Doccio a‚ Matteo Ris. ’00 - Caparsa
Chianti Classico Vigna Il Poggiale Ris. ’00 - Castellare di Castellina
Chianti Classico Rancia Ris. ’00 - Fattoria di Felsina
Chianti Classico Castello di Fonterutoli ’00 - Castello di Fonterutoli
Chianti Rufina Montesodi ’01 - Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi
Chianti Classico Grosso Sanese ’01 - Podere Il Palazzino
Chianti Classico Cellole Ris. ’00 - San Fabiano Calcinaia
Chianti Classico Poggio Rosso Ris. ’00 - San Felice
Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro ’00 - Tenimenti Ruffino
Nobile di Montepulciano Antica Chiusina ’00 - Fattoria del Cerro
Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone ’00 - Poliziano
Franciacorta Gran Cuvée Brut ’99 - Bellavista
Franciacorta Cuvée Annamaria Clementi Brut ’96 - Ca’ del Bosco
Franciacorta Satén ’99 - Ferghettina
Franciacorta Cabochon Brut ’99 - Monte Rossa
Franciacorta Comarì del Salem Extra Brut ’98 - Uberti
Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Vigneto Monte Ca’ Bianca ’99 - Lorenzo Begali
Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Terre di Cariano ’99 - Cecilia Beretta
Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Caterina Zardini ’99 - Giuseppe Campagnola
Amarone della Valpolicella ’98 - Corte Sant’Alda
Amarone della Valpolicella Vigneto di Monte Lodoletta ’98 - Romano Dal Forno
Amarone della Valpolicella Roccolo Grassi ’99 - Roccolo Grassi
Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli ’98 - Tenuta Sant’Antonio
Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Casa dei Bepi ’98 - Viviani
Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Sergio Zenato Ris. ’98 - Zenato
Friuli Isonzo Bianco Arbis Blanc ’02 - Borgo San Daniele
Friuli Isonzo Pinot Grigio Gris ’01 - Lis Neris Pecorari
Friuli Isonzo Merlot ’01 - Ronco del Gelso
Friuli Isonzo Sauvignon Piere ’01 - Vie di Romans