Demented and Sad, but Social...

Guess where I'm going tomorrow night???!!! Go ahead. Guess.

I'm going to see The Yarn Harlot!!! In person! Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, writer and knitter extraordinaire is going to be in Pittsburgh at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on the South Side. I have forced, uh, convinced, some ladies from my knitting circle to go with me to the book-signing tomorrow evening. I'm sooo excited!! I plan to take my camera and two of her books that I currently own. I suppose I'm nearly obligated to buy the new book, don't you think? Wonder if I'll be in any of the pictures on her blog. What should I wear? Should I take knitting with me? What should I say? Should I get a picture of us together? Where does one draw the line between admiring fan and crazy stalker? (Then again, it is the South Side, and "crazy" is a relative term.) Will my new-found friends disown me? Stay tuned for more up-to-the-minute information...

In other news...

Claire got her hair cut today! It's been a long, long time since it was last cut. Here are some before and after pictures in this slide show. She looks like such a fashion plate. Don't know where that girl got her great hair.

I always kind of laugh at the people on TV who get their hair cut on some make-over show and cry, but I have to say, when April (my knitting group leader) started cutting I felt a bit light-headed and sad. Don't know why. Claire didn't mind at all! April did a great job. Leave it to a knitter to really give a great precision cut.

Claire is donating her hair to Locks of Love, a charity that collects hair to make hairpieces for children who suffer from long-term hair loss. Most of the children have lost their hair due to alopecia areata, a disease which has no known cause or cure. I'm very proud of Claire for her willingness to share her lovely locks!

For Keith

I'm 100%

You are 100% Pittsburgh.

Great job! There's nooooo doubt about it. You're from Da Burgh. You deserve a reward, so go have an Ahrn City or two. And GO STILLERS!

How Pittsburgh Are You
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Notes...musical and otherwise

Goodness! It's been a long time since I last posted. Here's a quick glimpse of what's been going on...

The Thomas Jefferson High School spring musical, The Music Man, was a big success! This was Christian's first musical and he had a very good singing part. He was one of the school board members that forms a barbershop quartet. There was a lot of singing and he had the uppermost part...he had the best falsetto! We were very very proud of him.

Here's a picture of the curtain call on closing night and Christian in one of his costumes.

We had beautiful weather for a couple of days and the kids got to go outside and play a bit...




Kate and I made another trip to NYC. She took this picture and got to see Phantom of the Opera while I did some shopping and had a fabulous lunch in Little Italy.


This is the felted purse I was working on.
Before...


...and after.


Felting is so cool! It's amazing that it really works! I kept calling Keith down to the laundry room to "see it now!" I finished knitting the purse the morning of our trip and didn't finish sewing on the strap and button until 11:00 PM. (Our bus left at 1:30 AM and returned at the same time Sunday morning...uggh!) I told Keith I was taking that purse with me even if it was still damp! The flap was my own little creation...whoopee! The original pattern had the purse open at the top and I thought that would never do for the city. So, I just picked up some stitches and added the flap and a magnetic closure (which are super cool).

Christian also found out that he was hired by Kennywood Park to work the rides in Kiddieland. He was super excited! He has loved Kennywood since he was a toddler and working there is a real thrill!

Those are the highlights of the last few weeks. The truth is that for the better part of two weeks Claire's been very sick with a cold and an uncrontrollable cough. We had her to the doctor for the second time yesterday and they prescribed a different antibiodic. Hopefully this one will do the trick! She is one miserable little girl and I miss her *BLING*!!

I sat with her this morning and finished up one of the socks I'm giving my mother-in-law's friend, Karen. I found the pattern here. I really love the cable twist pattern.

The yarn I used made them a bit bulky, but they should be lovely for lounging. I'd like to make a pair in a lighter gauge to wear with my new ballet flats.

And, ANNY HAD HER BABY!!! He's soooooooo sweet. Check him out here.