gotta have it

sometimes a girl just needs a little instant gratification. retail therapy. whatever you want to call it. today at lunchtime i ran out, drove all over hell and half of georgia, and came back with these: crazy aunt purl's drunk divorced and covered in cat hair, which i cannot WAIT to read (LOVE crazy aunt purl--hey girl!), and a beautiful little natural ball of kidsilk haze, with which i will, in my copious free time, knit a branching out scarf as a gift for my lovely work friend janie, who is both awesome and a really tremendous help to me. why i had to have these things TODAY, i am not sure, but i did. and now i have them. so yay! besides, who can argue with the benefits of a yarn store visit at lunchtime. that's just good stuff right there.

ps--that second picture is just there because i like it--love the sunlight this time of day.

time flies

it always seems like we are busiest at the end of the summer--this year even more so because we put the beach trip off till september. since i last wrote anything, we have been on vacation, had many houseguests, and run around like chickens with their little heads cut off. i actually wrote a post about leaving for the beach and failed to publish it. i even put the pictures from last year on flickr in honor of leaving this year. and the pictures from this year? those are sitting on my memory card just waiting around for me to deal with them. in my spare time.

i am so glad fall's here! fall is quieter than summer. there's more time for knitting. it's such a great time of year to cook. it makes me want to be home, work on my house, knit, make stews and soups, dig holes in my yard, plant things, and generally nest. and i think fall weather might be my favorite of all. i don't know though--it seems like i get excited by every season change...

this fall promises to be filled with events that please me. the hippie's friends are coming down the first weekend in october, which is a huge treat. i thought i would be out of town, but plans have changed, and now i will be here to go with them to a hockey game (the first in a LONG time!), and to feed them a big pot of chili and some pies--man, am i craving some apple pie! then in november, i am flying up to detroit to meet my friend kimmie's new babies. we will then drive (with two infants and a toddler--should be VERY interesting) down to NC, where kimmie will be spending a few weeks in our hometown with her mama. hopefully i will get to see my mama, too! i actually really wish my mama would come to see ME, but she's got some travel phobias--i am always surprised to see her further than 8 miles from home.

and speaking of fall--october is looming CLOSE on the horizon--and that means socktoberfest, which will once again be hosted by the lovely lolly (who is sporting a fabulous new haircut). i have promised THK that i will knit some socks in october. i guess since i started my first sock last october, maybe i should finish it this october. (first sock status: the heel on it's turned, and i am through the gusset and to the start of the foot, but i have STALLED...) i can't say i am looking forward to it, but hopefully i will get more fired up. i am way more into making random items than socks--maybe because i don't really like to wear socks... anyway--it's in my knitting future either way. my goal is to have two finished pairs by the end of the month. and maybe the hippie will finish my pippi kneestockings, too. we'll see...

anyway--that's about it for my rambly catch-up post. i have stuff going on that calls for pictures, so hopefully you will be seeing and hearing more from me in the next little bit. maybe i should make october a month where i promise to post every day like i did last november, so i am committed and don't let time get away from me like this. that was awesome...

points of interest

it's been a busy couple of weeks here, people. the hippie got me a new 8G iPod nano for my birthday, and it still has nothing on it--that's how busy i've been. travesty, if you ask me. so anyway--it's calming down, sort of. i am gearing up to head to the beach on saturday, and i can't believe it's already time to go. i didn't even count down this time. so much i still need to do before then! however, i can't let my life pass withouth ANY commentary, so here are a couple of highlights from the last week and a half.

last week we went to a couple of concerts. we saw nickleback, who were awesome. sadly they were playing at walnut creek, a sucky venue. totally worth it for a band that's great, but i swear, that place actually has energy sucking powers. anyway. then we also went to ozzfest. the hippie goes to this every year that he can, and i had never been--i admit i was kind of a tourist. in years past, there have been at least a couple of bands i love at every ozzfest--this year, not so much. however, this was the last year for it, and i just wanted to experience it for myself one time. really--it was TAME compared to how i thought it would be. we met and hung out with cool people, but there just weren't the number of freaks i expected. nor was there any body painting. and the stuff they were selling was mostly--eh, whatever.

the one standout of the day for me was this one girl's piercing. this picture is from my phone, and therefore it sucks, but you can see the ribbon pattern on this girl's back, right? (click on it to make it bigger.) that's 12 steel rings pierced through her back and laced up with a black silk ribbon. holy OUCH, batman! but it was also really beautiful, in a tortured sort of way. i will also say that seeing ozzy osbourne in person was worth the whole hot day. what an icon in the world of rock and roll! to me, it is amazing he still lives and breathes.

now, on a completely different note, i got to meet isaac earlier this week when his parents came over for a little cook out with us and jenn and harry. he's the 3-month-old son of our friends jeff and carrie, and he's cute as a button. his big sister ella was off running around with gabriella all night, so there was no photographing them, but i grabbed the camera and snapped a couple of isaac shots since he was flailing around on the floor on his new blanket. the top one's my favorite because it's the most accurate. the kid is NOT still. however, i also LOVE that expression on his face in the bottom one. he's all--what in the WORLD are you doing up there??? so cute. he's a smiley kicky baby with a sweet nature and a total cutie pie.

and for the record, long weekends ROCK. we need more of those, please.