Woohoo Secret Pal Loot!

I got a package from my secret pal yesterday. Very exciting stuff. Stuff to make a cool beaded scarf. Some chocolate and a really nice cloth. Even a little treat for el gato loco.















I will get knitting as soon as I am done with the Christmas knitting I have been neglecting.

Scarf update

So I am making a lot of my Christmas presents that I am going to give this year. The only thing I have started so far is this scarf for my sister. I think it is going to get up being a lot shorter than I thought it would be. I really like how it is coming along. I love the handpainted 6 ply merino. This color is paris night and since the two balls I have are slightly different colors I have been switching between the two. I have also woven in a bunch of the ends so I really can't rip it out and start over. Or rather I won't. Short fat scarf it is.

Woohoo... antique faire...

Karrie and I checked out The Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire which occurs the first Sunday of every month. For once, I think I beat Karrie out of bed as she has a wild party night, and I had a pretty early evening. The earlier you get there the more expensive it is to get into the fair so it was just fine that we didn't get there until 9ish as that is when it went down to $5. We were expecting clouds and wind, and we got sun and heat which would have been great had I had sunscreen, sunglass or a tee-shirt. Yes, I believe I was just complaining about a nice day.
There was so much stuff to check out, and I am not sure we saw even half of it before we had to throw in the towel due to sunshine and sleepiness. There was a ton of stuff I wanted but had absolutely no room to store any of them nor did I have enough dosh for most of the things I wanted. I ended up getting two cook books, two really nifty aprons, pair of knitting needles, and a sewing box. I am pretty happy with my purchases.
I got an older spiral folder version of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook and The Wise Enclyopedia of Cookery (circa 1949). Thank god I avoid the unwise version. Arranged like a dictionary, there are convient finger notches for quick surfing and some lovely color photos every one and a while. It contains not only recipes but enclyopedic entries on various techniques and ingredients. Here is pictures some of the lovely plum pudding and fruit cakes to try for Christmas. I think it is worth the $5 I paid for the two books.












The aprons put me in the mood to throw a cocktail party. There were only $3 each. One has a simply pattern with some nice big pockets (it is more cream colored even though it photographed sort of bright white), and the other is this nice retro pattern. For some reason it has a metal half-ring on it. Karrie and I speculated as to what it could be for. She figures perhaps a towel or a spoon could be hung there. I think that perhaps that is where you could attach the leash your child should have on.
















My most expensive purchase was a little flip top sewing box. A simple wooden box with handle on it that has a little shelf for bobbins and such things. I thought it was pretty cute and was able to get the lady to knock a couple of bucks off of it. Here it is pictured with the knitting needles I picked up to work on my mother's Christmas scarf.


Afterwards, we thought we might check out the knitting store in Montclair, The Knitting Basket, which neither one of us had been to before. It turns out that it is not open on Sundays, and it is very difficult to get around Montclair because it is farmers' market day. I think perhaps the highlight of the day was seeing that really creepy "Ask me why I am a vegan" guy who sometimes hangs out at the Albany Bowl get in a fight with the guy who was running the chicken rotisserie stand. I loved seeing that creepy guy getting yelled at so I just had to buy some chicken. That is some tasty murdered animal there. Also got some lovely brussel sprouts, some some other fruits and veg.

All and all it was a pretty good day. I got a little sun burnt, and I am definitely ready for a nap, and I might have a sore shoulder for hauling around two heavy cookbooks for a few hours (not my brightest moment), but I would definitely go again. My mother was definitely envious of my antique fair time as she called me right when I was trying to juggle a couple of large books. I told her she would just have to visit on the first weekend of the month some time and we could go.

Why is el gato so angry?

I guess I must have woken him up or that damn flash has upset him.


Or perhaps he has heard I have been calling him el gato muy loco. Despite the look of the photo, he did not leap from his position and attack. All he did was lift his head up as he tends to sleep in that awkward knot.