How do you spell relief?

N-O S-C-H-O-O-L! That's how! Now before you think that I don't like my job, allow me to clarify things. I love teaching. It's the other crap that bugs me! Most of the other crap deals with misplaced priorities on the part of the "powers that be" within the school system and my school. That is a very long rant that I don't care to bore you folks with! So I won't! We had no school today because it is Rosh Hashanna. Holidays and snow days are "freebies" as far as I'm concerned! That means that I am not obligated to do housework on those days. I will confess that I ran some errands today. I had a bunch of little nitpicky errands--too many to do after work--so I did them all today. I also got my nails done!


Everything old is new again!

I ventured into Nordstrom to replace my favorite all purpose neutral lipstick by Smashbox. Imagine my frustration when I found out it had been discontinued! For those of you who don't know--I LOVE lipstick! I carry no less than four tubes plus the matching lip liners in my purse at any given time! Fortunately I found out that I can find some discontinued items on the Smashbox website and they had my color so I ordered 3 tubes! I felt that I could not walk out of Nordstrom without a new tube of lipstick however so I stopped at the MAC counter. I love MAC lipstick. Typically I buy a new color every spring and fall so I decided it was time. Funny thing was--every color I saw that I liked--I'd turn it over to see the name only to realize that I already owned it! I'm lipsticked out! Go figure! So I went home and pulled out my plastic box under the bathroom sink which contains all my lipsticks that I'm currently not wearing! It was like I had a whole new selection! I came across this one and trust me when I tell you that the color looks a lot brighter than in the photo!

This baby is RED and I mean like Gwen Stefani or Christina Aguilera RED! It's that color that is reminiscent of the 1940's! It is called "Red Hot" and it lives up to its name! I bought this a few years ago and wore it maybe once or twice because I thought it was too bright! Well, when you get nearer the grave than the cradle, your idea of "too daring" changes. I tried it on with a touch of lip glass over it and decided that I rather like it!

It is not as neatly applied in that photo as it typically would be. Lipstick like that takes 3 traffic lights for me to apply on my way to work! I think I will start wearing this color again! Why the hell not!

I have a new assistant. You've seen Sophia, now meet Sylvia! I've decided to stay with the "S" names.

Sylvia was living in the trunk of Ems' car. Ems said that her hairstyle was a "fashion mullet"--not that I ever thought a mullet could be in fashion! Sylvia is fortunate not to have to deal with some of the typcial female problems--menstrual cramps, thigh bulge and saggy boobs--as she has no body. In the photo, she is resting on Mikey's carrier. Sylvia will come in handy when I need a hat model. One of her siblings served this purpose last winter and can be seen in my FO gallery!

I did something today that I rarely, if ever, do. I bought stash yarn! When I buy yarn, it is for a specific pattern. I always get a pattern first then I either have a preconceived notion of what I want for it or I go on a search for the perfect yarn. I have to love any yarn that I get as it may be years before I actually get around to making that particular project. If I really love the yarn when I purchase it, then I usually love it when I get around to knitting it! I was in my LYS and stumbled across a bin of discontinued yarns. I found this Silky Tweed by Elsebeth Lavold.

I had never seen this yarn before. It has a rustic appearence and the color is that of old faded denim--bluer than the photo with flecks of browns. The fiber content is 40% silk, 30% merino, 20% cotton and 10% viscose. I picture this as some sort of tunic so I bought 10 skeins, each having 130 yards. By the time I got home, I realized that this would be perfect for Sahara. I will have to play with the gauge because this is more of a dk and Sahara calls for worsted. I truly love that pattern and I think this would be perfect with some matte finish pewter type beads. Great to wear with jeans! I'll have to play with it when I actually get around to working with it.

A strange kitty thingy--Mikey and Samantha love turtle sticks! What, you may ask, are turtle sticks? They are this little gray floating things that I feed to Elvis. Every morning I go to get Elvis up, which involves turning his lights on and giving him some turtle sticks. Without fail, Mikey and Samantha rush over and start begging. So, softy that I am, I always give them a few.

They look totally unappetizing, if you ask me. They are little gray thingies about 3/4 inch long. When I looked at the ingredients, however, I saw that they are pretty much made of fish which explains the attraction! I guess they are like kitty candy!


I need to get back to Fifi. I have about 10 rows left in the body and then I just have to finish the sleeves and block her.

Bushism of the day:
"Laura and I really don't realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis." --George W. Bush, CNBC, April 15, 2000

Kitty Cam:
Greg sometimes gets impatient when I am on my computer. Here he is showing his frustration by sitting on the table, which he is not allowed to do!