Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday Mishmash

The winners of the Fiber One cereal/bars packages are:

 dmop
and

Congratulations!  Please send me an email (40somethingsjourney@gmail.com) with your mailing info so I can give it to my contact.  If I don't hear from you within a week, I'll have to choose another winner.

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While we were in Austin, we ate well - an Italian restaurant the night before the race (Quattro Gatti - we walked to it from our hotel), Red Robin after the race, and on Monday morning before we came home, I wanted to go out for a real breakfast...I'd say about 90% of the time I eat the same thing for breakfast (Fage Greek yogurt, fresh fruit or Craisins, and homemade granola), but I was wanting an omelet.  I used the "Around Me" app on my iPhone, and The Omelettry popped up.  Off we went, and holy cow, was that a good decision.  We each ordered a different omelet and split them...double the tastes!  Plus, they came with a side of pancakes - buttermilk, whole wheat, or GINGERBREAD.  You can guess what we chose, lol!  It was a lot of food (plus many cups of their delicious fresh-ground coffee), and we didn't end up eating again until nearly 7:00 that night.  We will definitely return next time we're in Austin!
The Omelettry - Jeff is pointing to a "mini Beyonce" that was on the roof of the restaurant...click here if you haven't read the story of Beyonce - it's hilarious!

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Knitting update:  The first launch of a knitting project was a resounding success.  And yes, I'm talking trajectory...frustrations grew to an all-time high and my mystery shawl was sent flying across the room.  I've lost count of how many times I've unknitted it - heck, my friend Cary even worked on it for at least 30 minutes, trying to fix one of my mistakes, before she unraveled six rows back to a lifeline.  So you can imagine my ire when I picked it up the next day and, two rows in, discovered that I'd made another mistake.  I tinked back to it but couldn't make it right.  So I unraveled to the lifeline - but somehow I couldn't get all the frippinfrappin stitches back on the needle.  Tried again, and again.  Then the launch took place.  I know Tom Hanks said there's no crying in baseball, but I'm telling you, there was some crying with knitting.
Eventually I picked everything up and stuffed it into the bag.  This project is in time-out until it can be nice again.

Even though I am really frustrated with that project, I still love knitting and was really excited to go to a couple yarn stores in Austin.  On Saturday afternoon we went to Gauge, which was located in a pretty part of town - they even have an outdoor courtyard where you could sit and knit, provided the weather is nice.  Lots of gorgeous yarn there - if I had more confidence in my sweater-knitting abilities, I would have bought every skein of a particular yarn that I loved - Madeline Tosh Vintage, in Baltic color (a gorgeous blue).  I hedged my bets and just bought one skein to make a cowl that they had on display - I love it when yarn stores have projects knitted up so you can see what they really look like, and how the yarn looks when it's knitted, too.
I noticed afterward that the pattern's skill level was "ambitious beginner" - I think that's a pretty good description of my knitting abilities at this point!

Here's the yarn:
Seriously, wouldn't a sweater made out of this color be gorgeous???  Some day...

The next day, after the race (and lunch), we went to Hill Country Weavers.  This shop is located in an old house - imagine room after room of yarn!  I wandered through for quite a while, touching everything, quizzing the patient woman who worked there on what would work for what I had in mind, and referring to my list of potential projects that I wanted yarn for.  Plus, I finally bought the needles I need for a sweater that I've been wanting to make, so I can get started with that soon.
Yes, they are giant - size 17 US.  

 Here's the yarn I came home with...I have plans, big plans, for all of it!
Looks like I was loving the color blue!  The green, blue and rainbow yarn in the top right picture is for a linen-stitch scarf - should be bright and cheery.  Hats are for most of the rest, and I'm thinking a cowl for the pretty blue/gray yarn.

And now, I just have to decide which project to start first!  Fun times ahead...and hopefully, no massive frustrations.  Neither Paco nor I can take much more of that!

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I haven't forgotten about the whole reason we went to Austin - THE RACE.  It took me a while to write up the recap, and it's rather long (no surprise there), so I'll post it on Monday.  In the meantime, I'm running 6 miles tomorrow (only 6 - it's a miracle!) while Jeff is off doing some rock climbing training with the Boy Scouts.  Should be a quiet weekend, with plenty of time to, you guessed it, knit!

Have a great weekend!

20 comments:

  1. What a lovely colors you have bought, can't wait to see the results. While typing this I see my box with my sweater in it from the corner of my eye. Haven't done much knitting lately but every Friday you give me inspiration.

    Had to laugh at Paco's ear :)

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    1. You give me knitting inspiration when I see what you're working on (hint, hint)!

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    2. LOL I can tell you that I did knit yesterday. Will show progress on the blog soon.

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  2. That rooster....that story will live on!
    I still stop every time I see a giant rooster...
    Love your talent for knitting, too, btw!

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    1. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks about that story every time a giant metal rooster appears (which is quite often in Texas, apparently)!

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  3. That breakfast place in Austin is going on my "if I ever get to this city list." Don't laugh, I once put a BBQ place on that list and SEVEN YEARS LATER when Little Helen went to Duke University, we were in the same city as the BBQ place. Score!

    Six miles is a cakewalk at this point, right? Enjoy that - and enjoy your taper this upcoming week.

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    1. Yes, absolutely - you MUST go to the restaurant. Preferably with me. :)

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  4. Ooh, I LOVE the yarns you chose. I love when I leave a place, and without realizing it, all the colors I chose go together so perfectly. That's what that picture of all of them looks like to me. I get a yen for an omelet or some eggy type breakfast about once a year. And I usually like it at a restaurant better than what I can make myself.

    Sorry about the mystery project. LOL at 'nervous dog's ear.' I was wondering what he thought when that went flying!

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    1. Paco JUMPED up off the footstool when it happened, then had to go check it out. Then he was all up in my face "why mom cry?" - poor dog didn't know what to do!

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  5. Given the choice, I'd rather go out for breakfast than any other time - not only is it cheaper, but it usually is really good! Although the last time we went out to breakfast, the coffee was so weak, it was like drinking water.

    Blue is my favorite color - so anytime you want to make me a blue scarf, I'll happily pay for it! :wink: :wink:

    Good luck on your run tomorrow!

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    1. Funny you should say that about breakfast prices, because when the check came, we both were shocked at how low it was considering ALL THE FOOD we ate!

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  6. LOL at the mini Beyonce! That omelet place is so up my alley. I loves me omelets no matter what time of day!

    Your knitting sounds like my plumbing. It is a bit urgent that I get mine working, though LOL! Wish I could stuff it in the closet.

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    1. Lori, I thought of you when we were looking at the omelet menu - you would LOVE this place!

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  7. All your knitting projects have helped spur me into giving knitting a serious try. It will never replace crochet in my heart but it's alright. I've been knitting my first scarf for almost 2 weeks now.

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  8. Poor dog...gets scared when mommy gets frustrated. :-)

    I'm glad you went to the omlettery! Simply because it gave me a huge chuckle to hear the name! That is an absolutely awesome name for a restaurant!

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  9. I want Beyonce! The chicken, not the singer.
    Sounds like a great trip.
    And I'm just impressed you can knit anything. Mine got tossed within a week when I tried to learn. The only thing I knitted was a giant knot.
    LOVE the blue color!!

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  10. You pointing out Paco's ear cracked me up! As did Beyonce! Those are gorgeous colors. Can't wait to see what you make with the wool. Have a great Friday Shelley!

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  11. Knitting takes some patience. I dont know if i could do it. I would probably be throwing things around the room too! Have fun running tomorrow! :)

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  12. As always, I love reading your re-caps of races and knitting. I'm still not getting the hang of my knitting, but each time I read about yours, I get new excitement. I wrote about an article on food science that I found interesting, and I wanted to share. http://www.kaki-fitby40.blogspot.com. I'm trying to decide if I want to read the whole book. Knowledge is power, right?

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