Into the woods

In which I no longer have to reach for upsides and get in a plug for my favorite basketball team.

I have been experiencing the onset of acute Germanophilia for a long time now. It all started with the innocent charms of German Rieslings, which led us to joining the San Francisco Chapter of the German Wine Society, and then to planning a trip to Germany (probably looking at 2009 for that one).

Closer to home, we have been seeking out German restaurants. Ideally, authentic German restaurants. With good atmo and a traditional feel. It was starting to look like a tall order. Not, like, Tim Duncan tall. But taller than the average dude.

So, when DH happened upon the Tyrolean Inn on the internets, our ears pricked up and we decided to head down there in the very near future. It is far enough away that we booked a room in a B&B for the weekend as well. The restaurant and the B&B are walking distance (okay, staggering. I like to end the meal with a nip of Goldwasser) from one another, and tucked among the redwoods. I cannot wait.

Hump Day

Thanks for the contributions to the list of bay area yarn shops. I have gotten a bunch from several quarters and just need a good stretch of time to plug it all in. I will try to roll out an updated one early next week.


Speaking of updates, isn't it weird that life updates tend to fall into the same three categories, i.e.:




The good;


1. My mom is doing much better, and could be back home this weekend. There were some issues with her blood chemistry/compatibility with the anti-coagulant medication that have kept her in where they can observe her progress more closely.


2. Haven't been knitting nearly as much as I would like, in an effort to not stress my wrists. I am focusing nearly all of my energy on the BSJ, which is much much fun:






The cows are loving it. Look how cute they are. You can get a herd of your own here. This is from a couple weeks back; I'm actually just about to the bit where you knit on the center stitches for a while, and then do the picking up bit.


3. My poisonous mood of early morn has given way to a slightly sunnier disposition. This is probably to do with going to the gym (finally!) which I hate to admit because I rather dislike going to the gym and eagerly await the day when doctors come out of the woodwork telling us exercise is bad and we should all stop doing it.


4. I scored lunch (nice made to order turkey sandwich, banana, diet coke) for five bucks and change! Am I overreaching for good stuff? Probably.


The Bad (in which I nevertheless look for upsides);


1. Laundry night. Well, actually, laundry night has a shiny new allure since we started bringing a bottle of wine and glasses to the laundromat. We usually bring some K&L find that wasn't very expensive and we have never had before... and often turns out to be very good. And it is togetherness time which has been thin on the ground lately. So it's mostly goodish.


I am leaving it here anyway, because if there is anything as tedious as going to the gym and hamstering away on a cardio machine, it is doing laundry.



2. Our disposal de garbage decided to stop working for the second time this year. So, I get to sit around on Saturday waiting for someone to swing by and fix it. Nice that, as renters, we don't have to fix it ourselves though. Also, knitting and/or spinning time!


and the Ugly.


Ah, MUNI (San Francisco's craptacular public transpo, now styling itself as SFMTA). To me, it will always be MUNI, which is onomatopoetic for that foul stench that sometimes hangs out at the Pine/Davis/Market street intersection.



Ironically, I take MUNI to and from California's greatest public transportation thingy: Caltrain. Caltrain, where civility mostly reigns, you can have a drink (spirituous or not), and generally remain un-annoyed/appalled from San Francisco all the way to Gilroy if you so desire. MUNI, on the other hand, is the transpo equivalent of experiencing a deep, burning rectal itch during a refined social event. There's nothing you can do, so try not to think about it and hopefully it will go away.



I am considering getting a bike and riding from home to Caltrain, and then from Caltrain in SF to work. I have never been a fan of the two-wheeled torture device present-day humans call the "bicycle," but I think I could get used to it, considering the alternative (which is MUNI. I already ruled out hiring a car and driver).

A Knitterly Tour of the Greater Bay Area

As part of a whole other project, I wound up compiling a selected list of yarn/fiber shops in the San Francisco Bay Area (to include San Francisco, the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Monterey).

I do not have any entries for the north bay counties (e.g., Marin, Solano, Sonoma, Napa, etc.). If you have any recommendations, I'd be delighted to include them.

In the meantime, HERE is the first draft of something I hope to continue updating. Enjoy, and happy shopping!

Whoo.

Thank you for your kind thoughts!

My mom had a stroke a couple of weeks ago. At first, we weren't sure what was going on, so there was a lot of panic and worrying about what It was. Fortunately, as these things go, it was pretty mild and the prognosis is excellent.

With all the long BART and car rides, ER sitting, ICU sitting and waiting room sitting, I finished that herringbone lace scarf I have been "working on" for months. In progress pix are on ravelry (jendickinson is the name), and FO pix coming soon to the blog and ravelry. It looks great. I even put beads on the fringe.

My mom is still in the hospital, and my jenny-do list is long. More later!

Offline for a while

Just letting everyone know I will be offline for a while -- taking a break from blogging, Ravelry & the KR forums while we deal with a family emergency. I will still be checking email once a day, but that's about it.

I am hopeful that all will ultimately be well, but if you would keep us in your thoughts and prayers....

--J.