Nintendo Wii, Chase Daniel - What a Score!

Thanksgiving always symbolizes carb overload, elastic waist pants and the kick-off of Christmas shopping. Although I was not one of the crazies who went out at three a.m. on Black Friday, nor did I shop at all that day, I did, however, make a big score today. Woo-hoo. Look what I bought today.
This year, Mr. Effer made one phone call and the guy on the other end of the line, said yep we've got one Wii system, but I can't hold it for you. No amount of begging could persuade this guy. We told him we'd be there in 10 minutes. I slipped on my clogs and we ran out the door. I kept telling Mr. Effer to drive faster, but he would not exceed the speed limit. My stomach was in knots. I just kept thinking that someone would buy it before we arrived at the store, but the guy did indeed hold the Wii game system for us. I profusely thanked him. What a nice, nice guy! This present will certainly make my great niece and nephew, Grace and Robert, very happy. Everyone in the family tried to purchase one last year for the twins, but we all came up empty handed. So this year, they will really be surprised.

So enough bragging on my part. Guess who I am in love with (besides Mr. Effer)? This guy.

Now look at my guy in action.

Oh yeah, baby, that's Chase Daniel, the quarterback for Mizzou. He is so darn cute, 225 pounds of cuteness. So now you know, I'm rooting for Mizzou.... all the way, baby!! He is the one to blame for the six-foot long pumpkin pie scarf that I'm knitting. I just couldn't stop knitting while watching the game last night. Go Mizzou!!!

Have a great week!

Thanksgiving ...

turkey, pumpkin pie and lots of leftovers.

A pumpkin pie inspired scarf

Of course, it would have been lovely for the scarf to be finished in time for Thanksgiving, but deadlines have no significance in my life.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Another Rhinebeck ......

here and gone. This weekend presented with the most beautiful weather one could wish for while shopping for fiber and yarn at the New York State Wool and Fiber Festival. Saturday's weather was perfect: sunny and warm with a gentle fall breeze. Again, just perfect to take the credit card out for an afternoon of sex. After all, my MasterCard, Jake, wanted to be fondled by other hands than mine. What can I say, he's a man-slut! So I gave him what he wished for.


Now I did show some budgetary constraint this year along with some knitter's restraint and only made a few purchases. And I am damn proud of it. It was my first Rhinebeck that I did not fill the trunk of my car with yarn and fiber. Maybe it was because I went with friends rather than Mr. Effer. I had no one to carry my purchases and run them back to the car for me, and I don't think I could have persuaded one of the girls to be my bitch for the weekend.

The trip began on Friday night with myself, Carla, Becky and Liz. We all piled into the van and hopped onto the Thruway. It wasn't long and we encountered some bad-ass rain, but we forged onward and made it to Saugerties and spent the night at the Comfort Inn. Once we arrived, Becky opened a bottle of wine, we put on some tunes and knitted for awhile. We turned in early, so we would be ready for a full day of walking and shopping at the wool and fiber festival.

So without further hesitation, I'll show you some pictures of stash enhancement.




And what's Rhinebeck without a few pics of our fiber friends?

Who's having a bad hair day?



And while at Rhinebeck, I finally met Paul in person, and met up with a couple of friends from the Saratoga Springs area, Jude and Marybeth. Those two are trouble as they are Wild Women of Wiawaka.

Cough, cough,

Hack, hack...... I'm brushing off the cobwebs. This blog has been covered with webs for awhile, and now it's time to get back into the swing of things. Bless me, sorry, I just sneezed from all of the dust!

I have been knitting, just not blogging. The Nicole Jacket by Jane Ellison is drying on the blocking board as I write this post. I can't wait to seam the darn thing. Well really I can wait because I hate seaming, but I am committed to finishing this sweater by the weekend. I did a 3-needle bind-off at the shoulder seams to try and minimize the finishing that the jacket entails.


Last month, I went to the Wiawaka Knitting Retreat in Lake George, NY. I attended in June and had a blast, so there was no hesitation on my part to sign up when I heard there was going to be a second retreat. I didn't think we could top the last retreat, but we indeed did so, having a fun and fabulous time. I believe there were 33 or 34 women in attendance. And again, Katherine Wardle outdid herself when it came to the menu. Her cooking and baking is fabulous along with the handmade chocolates.

There was plenty of booze on hand, and this is my booze stash that accompanied me to the retreat.



And a picture of our bar that we set up out on the back porch.



As evidence that some knitting was accomplished. Here is a picture of Jude (nonblogger) knitting. Susan (formerly a blogger of Needles and Stash), Carol of Saratoga Needle Arts, Suzanne (Knitting Knirvana), and Mary Beth (Knitting Ho) were also at the retreat. Of course we all hung out together and stayed in the Mayflower cottage.



I wish I could share some of the details of the weekend, but Susan swore me to secrecy to protect her reputation! Did someone say, "pants optional?"

I really feel like I made some wonderful friends at the retreat, and look forward to seeing the booze hags soon!

Summer of 2007

With Labor Day quickly approaching, I have been soaking up as much sun as possible. We had a wonderful summer being lazy, hanging around the pool. Although I didn't accomplish as much knitting as I had hoped, I did get some quality knit time. The front and back of the Nicole jacket are complete, and it's just waiting for a collar and two sleeves.
I did manage to find some time to do a little yarn shopping this summer. Last Saturday, Mr. Effer and I drove to Rochester, NY, to the grand opening sale at The Village Yarn & Fiber Shop. (Okay, I'll be honest, he drove and I knitted.) The shop was previously located in Midtown Plaza and now has moved to East Rochester, and the new location is superb. Love, love, love the shop. I can't say enough nice things about it.
They have a wonderful collection of yarns, patterns and f.i.b.e.r. !!!!! I did make a purchase but had to exert some restraint as my stash of yarn and fiber is sinful - although not as sinful as Susan's stash. (I'd link to her blog, but unfortunately she deleted it.) If you get a chance and you're in the area, you must stop by the The Village Yarn & Fiber Shop.

Mr. Effer was totally bored, so while I was inside shopping, he removed the Thule rack from the van. At least he's smiling!
I'll post pictures of my purchases in my next post. But for right now, I need to get caught up reading everyone's blog, and I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Life Resumed

I'm back from vacation; well, back for almost a week now. I've been busy exploring Ravelry and little else has been accomplished. Vacation was fun, filled with boating, swimming, tubing and hanging with family.

Lovely picture of me tubing with my daughter, Kristen. Did Mr. Effer have to snap the shot when my legs were in the air? What was he thinking?

Short post tonight as I need to get caught up on bloglines. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer and staying cool.

On V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!

Yeppers, the Effers are leavin' on vacation. We are excited, sober and packed, and headed to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri to visit family and confirm that I'm still in my dad's will. I haven't kept in touch much, and gee I sure don't want to miss out on any inheritance! So there will be lots of hugs and kisses for my ole' man!

Sammy will be at the kennel and won't have his mommy to take care of him. But.... shhhh! Don't tell him; we haven't broken the news to him.



So while Mr. Effer is fishing, I'll be fondling balls of yarn!



I hope everyone has a relaxing week!