Wow, I just had to add that the temperature just dropped 14 degrees in about 15 minutes, according to my weatherbug. Cool! I am such a weather junkie.

Wow, this is one serious cold front rolling in! I got off the bus about half an hour ago, and stopped in the little park I have to walk through to get home. I could see the western sky darkening and the wind picking up, so I thought it would be nice to sit on a bench for a bit and knit until the storm started in earnest. It was really fun - I got 5 or 6 rows done while the distant thunder became louder, the sky grew darker and the scattered raindrops became a bit less scattered. I love a good storm. When it seemed like the right moment, I put the knitting away and wandered on in.

That was about 5 minutes ago. Just moments ago I heard a HUGE gust of wind and saw that it was dark as night outside my window. I watched a plastic bag fly by, along with the raindrops - all moving horizontally. And suddenly the breeze coming in my window is about 20 degrees cooler than it was outside a few minutes ago. I love when this happens. A beautiful day, topped by a lovely storm. Glad I don't have to be out in it. (Can't say the same for poor sweetie who is in the editing studio at school - hey, I warned him half an hour ago that it was going to happen!)

I meant to take some pictures last night of my WIPs, but didn't get around to it. I got my Regia sock yarn and had to start making my socks. You understand, don't you? The awful part was that just as I had finished casting on and dividing my stitches between the two circular needles, Ryan showed up at my place. I hadn't spoken to him all day (a rarity) because he'd been busy editing a video project for school, so I wasn't expecting him.

Anyway, he was in a tired and bummed-out mood, so I tried to cheer him up for a while. Wasn't all that successful, but at least I tried. Once he left I got back to the socks. Whew, it's slow going on those tiny needles, but I am getting the hang of it and now have about 3/4 inch done. Then I switched back to the cardigan, and those #8 needles felt HUMONGOUS!

Also got a few more rows done on the bus this morning. I have gotten better about not having to look at every single stitch, at least with the larger needles. As long as I only look down when the bus is stopped, I think this is a good way to fit in some knitting time on busy days.

Today is another quiet day at the office, and my boss and his boss are both out for the day. So the other writer and I are hoping to get out of here on the early side. I want to hit the gym before running home to clean up a bit for my cousin Rachel, who is coming to town tonight. She's going to stay at my place while I go to Ryan's. It sucks having an apartment so small that I have to do that, but basically it's like a hotel room with a little kitchen thrown in. Not someplace three people can stay comfortably, and I don't want to spend yet another night without my sweetie!

Finished the right sleeve last night on the lilac "Honey" cardigan. When I was at the Yarn Connection yesterday, I asked the ladies to take a look and see if they thought it was too big, and they said it was fine, that the design probably is for looser sleeves so you can wear a tee or something underneath. I decided I'd buy that reasoning. Plus they measured it and said it was spot-on the pattern, so at least if it is icky, it's not me, it's Rowan!

Cast on the left sleeve last night and got a bunch of rows done before going to bed too late. Did 3 more on the bus this morning. I wasn't sure whether I could knit on the bus, but decided to try after a few stops. Turns out that as long as I only look down when the bus is stopped, I don't get queasy. And since this is NYC morning rush hour traffic, the bus really spends more time stopping than going. I only go 23 blocks, but it takes 15 minutes or so. Any time I can squeeze in a few more rows is good for me.

I am looking forward to finishing this sweater off. I don't have the dread of finishing that many seem to have - I sort of like the puzzle and watching the thing take shape. (Talk to me after I've done a hundred of these and perhaps I will feel differently.) I've never done anything with raglan sleeves before, and this is particularly neat because it's reverse stockinette (purl side out) for the body, with regular stockinette edging on the raglan parts. So it seems like matching up the seems will be kind of fun that way. Maybe I'm just weird. OK, I know I am weird, but maybe this is a manifestation of said weirdness.

Reading more clinical studies today at work, plus coming up with some ad concepts for a client I know almost nothing about and have almost no direction on. Gotta love that. What better reason to procrastinate with some bloggy fun?

Shivering no more!

Just had to share my joy at the new arrival in my office - a ceramic space heater! Our office manager actually dug one up and brought it to me about half an hour ago. Oh happy day! It has made an incredible difference already. I walked out for a bit and came back in and actually noticed it was several degrees warmer in here than the outside world. I'll bet if I close the door it'll be even better. Yay!!

Global warming is gooooood!

OK, maybe it's not really a good thing, but when it's 80 degrees at 9am on April 17, I kind of don't mind so much. It's all very bizarre - middle of April and I am flinging sweaters out of the top shelves of my closet so I can get to the sandals buried behind them.

Of course, the 60 degree air conditioning in my office compensates. I am wearing a skirt, sandals and sleeveless top with a cashmere shawl wrapped around me and a big squishy sweatshirt in reserve. That'll go in an hour or so I am certain. Gotta see about getting a space heater for this place. The whole floor is freezing, but at least my little office doesn't have to be.

Like I said, no knitting last night. And I didn't get to buy my circs. Or get someone to help read my pattern. Grr again. Maybe I will go over to the LYS near here at lunchtime if it isn't too hot to walk. (It's about a 10-15 minute walk from the office.)

Well, must finish reading about the alcoholic rats before my 10am meeting.

Foiled again. Grr.

Once again, I didn't make it to Stitch-n-Bitch. This time, I had to cover for another writer in the office who was out today, and a project he was working on went into hell-mode. I was there to do was read it and sign off on it so it could be printed. Should have happened around 4. By 7:30 they realized there was a major problem with the art, and by 7:45 it turned out that it wasn't going t go out tonight for printing unless we worked on it until midnight, and no one wanted to do that so the client was called and we got another day. So, basically, I stayed there until nearly 8pm only to get NOTHING approved, and by the time I left it was too late to make it to Cafe Des Moines in time to do anything other than sit down, knit a few rows and leave. Grrrrr. I am verrrry cranky.

So I stopped at Bruno the Ravioli King on the way home and got lobster ravioli, gnocchi, pumpkin ravioli and tomato-basil-cream sauce. As I paid, I asked the guy if he thought that would be enough for dinner for one. For a split second he thought I was serious, then he cracked up. Hey, at least I haven't lost my sense of humor. Now I'm waiting for sweetie before I eat, because I just don't want to eat alone even though I am hungry. Should be here any minute.

No knitting's going to get done tonight. Poo. What a waste of a day. Oh, well, not totally. I got my nails done in this color (Essie Nail Polish "Pansy") today. Very cheerful nails. Perhaps I will stare at them until I feel better.

What a beautiful morning! Going to work is so much more pleasant when you step out the door and it's 70 degrees and sunny at 8:30am. I was even in a good mood on the bus, and that's not easy to do.

It seems like another slow day at work. Today I'm reading about a new drug to treat alcohol dependency. Actually it's not new - been on the market in Europe for years, but we're handling the US launch. Interesting stuff. I'd rather be knitting in the park, though.

As advertised, I put down the cardigan last night in order to get some expert advice at Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. I think I know what to do, but why guess when I can get a good answer elsewhere? I started on the blocks but was annoyed with my size 7 straights (I so vastly prefer circs at this point that I can barely handle the straights) that I decided to ditch that and work on the Mom sweater again. Tonight I'll stop at Downtown Yarns before S-n-B and get my sock circs and a size 7 circ. Addi Turbos only - can you tell I just got a decent-sized tax refund?

Great news here for those of you who are dying to see pictures of all this stuff. Ryan's friend Wil has decided to raise some cash by selling his Canon Powershot G1, so Ryan is buying it from him at a great price. That means that for the bargain price of last night's sushi dinner and other favors TBD, I get Ryan's Coolpix 700! It's about 3 years old, so it's not as groovy as the new one, but it's still a 2.1 megapixel and it's what all the other pics I've taken over the past few years are from. All I need to get is a compact flash card reader, since the camera is old enough that it only comes with a slooooooow serial cord connection, which is no faster when I use my USB adapter with it. Anyway, soon there will be many more pictures to prove that betseeee knits!

Yay! The cable guy fixed everything and I am back online. And the TV is back, too. Phew! Glad that's over with.

Now I have the rest of the afternoon to myself, since I'm not going back to the office. I'm a little confused on my cardigan pattern right now, so I am headed back to the baby blocks. Carolyn tells me there are several women at Tuesday's Stitch-n-Bitch who are Rowan addicts and can probably help me figure out the confusing bits. Yay!

OK, here I go for an hour or so of knitting, then off to the gym. And it's 80 degrees right now, so I don't even have to bundle up to get there - hallelujah! I love Spring!

Oy vey, what a weekend! I'll be as brief as I can, since I have work to do. On Friday night, while we were hanging my new blinds, ALL my cable went out! That means no TV and no internet access at home. Argh. I have to leave work to sit home between 2 and 6 and wait for the guy to come fix it. Assuming he can. I have had these mystery outages in the past, and sometimes it's as simple as someone unplugging the cable in the basement, other times it remains a mystery for FAR too long!

Rest of the weekend was busy busy busy. My brother Larry was in town, so on Saturday we had brunch for 11 - my whole immediate family plus my aunt Silvia and several friends. The "old folk" went home around 4 and we "kids" went for drinks and a light dinner. Fun, but exhausting. Last night my parents, brother, Ryan and I went to Blue Smoke for dinner. Larry's a big barbecue aficionado. Great food, great atmosphere. I was so ready to tip over after dinner though - not much relaxation this weekend. I need a weekend to recover from my weekend!

Hoping the cable guy comes on time so I can get to the gym later. After not working out last week because I was sick, and eating all that barbecue last night, I feel the need for cardio! That's a good sign, actually. It's also the most beautiful late spring weather here now (even though it's too early for that). Makes me feel more energetic for sure.

OK, now I have gone and written more than I expected. I think I had blog withdrawal this weekend, since I didn't have internet access. Would you believe I actually signed up for the free trial month of AOL last night and used their dial-up to check my hotmail? A new low, for sure. Have to remember to cancel that before the month is up.

Very little knitting got done this weekend. A few rows on the sleeve - up to the raglan decrease, which I need to pay attention to do. Still afraid it's too wide, but I am plugging away to see how it goes. Worse comes to worse, I frog a few hour's work. Wouldn't be the first time.