Things that make you go: Hmmmm!

So my Papa was in town yesterday, and we went to meet him for a late lunch/early dinner kind of thing. (I kept wanting to say "lupper" but it sounded too much like "leper" - not too appetizing for a meal!)  Anyhoo.  We had a lovely visit, as we always do. It's especially entertaining for me when Mr.Q can join us, as he and Dad both like to "hold court," as it were...so I get to sit & knit, and listen to them both wax on (and off) about work, music, world politics, and if the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings....

(They're both pretty smart, knowledgeable, and articulate, so it's not exactly a chore to listen! Just for the record.)

Anyway.  I'm sitting across the table from them, and I realize: "Hey! Look at that! They're both wearing the sweaters that I knit for them!"  A warm-fuzzy knitterly moment of the best kind.  

They are so sneaky!

And so serious!

And in today's WTF moment, an image from Dad's hotel room.  I have Inigo Montoya in my head: I don't think that sticker means what you think it means!

The thing about knitters....

...at least in the post-Ravelry world (and it's really, really hard to remember that there was a pre-Ravelry world!) is that you meet some pretty cool people.  Sometimes, it's online.  And sometimes, once you've got to know them in cyberspace a bit, you get the chance to meet them In Real Life once or twice. You share the excitement of something new.  You find yourself taken under veterans' wings at an established event.  The next thing you know, you're visiting back and forth across the continent.  

Having been on the receiving end of some very generous hospitality last fall, this weekend it was my turn to play hostess.  The fabulous GlennaC arrived on Friday to take the city by storm.  We have walked all the places, eaten most of the food, done a lot of knitting (and talking about knitting!), and done a lot of fun touristy stuff that you never do in your own city, unless you've got out-of-town company.  Things like....

A brewery tour and tasting!  

Blogging a blogger blogging:

Going for brunch with knitters (First pic's for you, Dad!) 

Seeing some pretty birds and flowers: 

And a very big agave plant  (this one's for you, Mom!)

All in all, a very fine weekend! (The kind that Spirit of the West might sing about...I feel like I need a holiday to recover!)  Apparently she had a big day today, too, but I got to relax at work.  (snort)  Feeling a bit of a sore throat this evening (from all the gabbing, I'm assuming) so I'm off to see if there are the makings of a toddy anywhere around here...Then, likely, a bit more knitting and BSG &/or Firefly....I do enjoy having company in my knitterly geekitude!

Word.

It's alive!

Took my knitting out for a special treat the other day.  One of my classes won a limo tour of the city.  Sadly, I had to go along with them (ha!).  It did mean wearing a skirt (that's me, taking one for the team!) but it was actually kind of fun. (Despite the disco lasers, really bad hip-hop music, and lack of bubbly.) And really, it's not like I would ever have had a chance to sit in a limo otherwise.

The sock had fun, too:

Also, there was off-roading:

But the best part? I was sitting in the very back, where the windows weren't tinted - so people could see into the car.  And when pedestrians at stoplights realized I was knitting in the back of a limo, their eyes got really big.  So very, very big.  Knitting in public, for the win!

Packed full o' action

A quick drive-by report on Sunday.  There were half-naked men on giant unicycles (in sub-zero weather, thankyouverymuch!):

(Besides being cute, he was also quite funny.  Worse ways to spend a sunny afternoon, I must say!)

And there was playing with the new appliance!  Whee!  First there was this:

Then there was this!:

And as soon as Mr.Q finishes the dishes tonight, I'll be busting out the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  No power in the 'verse can stop me!

Wuuuuv...Twoooo Wuuuuv!

A busy little bee I've been!  Spent a lot of time in the kitchen over my holiday.  First, I did a fairly thorough purge of the stuff on the counters, which opened up a lot more space to work with.  It's actually a pleasure to cook & bake now.  hen, my sister got me a rocking rolling pin - I think I have finally whipped pie pastry's arse!  As evidenced by the plethora of petite pot pies, currently residing in the freezer.  (Please note the awesomeness that is my new rolling pin!)

Then, after some drama worthy of a daytime soap opera (short version: Sears catalogue ordering & customer service call center blow goats.  Really smelly, hairy, yucky goats!) I finally got my Xmess present to me...and I have a new best beloved!  First pic shows her true colours; second one, her full, shapely glory:

I think I had originally pictured something a bit brighter - a kitschier, more vintage kind of blue.  But the cobalt?  Is Dead. Fracking. Sexy.  (And it practically matches my current hair colour, which we all know is the first requirement of a good appliance!)


Here she is, modelling some wee baby booties:

I can hardly wait for the weekend...I see some fresh-baked bread in my future!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye...

...But not, in fact, to 2010!  I mean, I could do a long introspective post about the year past and the year to come (guess what?  There would be yarn!  And knitting!)  However, I have a different farewell to make today: My Sis and her wee fambly are girding their loins (or something, I'm not sure I want to know!) and moving across the country (well, okay, only halfway, in the end, but Canada being a Really Big Country, that's still a bit of a hike!).  Her husband has a cool new job opportunity, and it's an exciting change for them.  

I, however, am going to miss the camping, the family dinners, the Mexican Train Game, the laughs, and the baby snorgles.  But for some reason, they didn't consult me about it.  Go figure!  Anyway, here they are - wish them well!

Hasta la vista, hermana mia! I know you guys are going to have a great new adventure!  All of us here at Casa Quimby are sending you off with lots of love, and a free printer.


And just because I can't get too mushy, here's a glamour pic of Sis, for the road: