she's just saying...

Pumpkin/Muffin

© 2004 Melissa Hochschild

Old Dog Blues

Sounds like a song title, and it probably is.

Flash dog turned twelve this summer. He's still crazy and obsessed, just not as long. Still loves to charge around for the frisbee and ball and do his tricks like a frisky young pup, but come nighttime, he's a stiff old boy. He's had an intermittent limp for the last six months or so, and it's getting worse. So I hauled him into the vet's again this morning to examine his leg further.

So today he's consulting with an orthopedic specialist and getting x-rays. Of course, $400 just for that - no diagnosis or treatment yet. Ah well. What can you do?

He's been my faithful companion since he was seven weeks old. There was a time when he understood more words than Henry, then it was like having two toddlers, one of whom barked. There were some very trying days during that period and I went so far as to investigate another family for him (Flash, not Henry), but we learned to get along as a pack. My dream was to one day sit on the front porch and watch them play together, and that's now a reality. Flash is happy and snappy and wimpy and limpy and lovey and shovy all at the same time, to which I definitely relate. He's a good dog.

classic Flash shot

Leaving the vet's, I had to tear myself away from a flyer that read: "Want to raise and show a pig?"  I would dearly love to raise a pig -- thank god for suburban CC&R's.

A pensee about birthdays

Today is Neighbor X's 36th birthday. We've been hanging out since just before his 32nd. (Yes, he's very young. And your point is?)

I realized tonight, while missing his party, that we never actually spent his birthday together. Hmmm. Tells you something, I guess, especially in hindsight.

His 32nd happened when we were in the flirting stage. I bought him a latte and muffin and left it by his front door in the morning. The next year when we were finally a couple, he was in Spain for six months. His birthday consisted of an elaborately bungled mail-order sweater and a loving phone call on my part, some sort of debauchery in Barcelona on his. Two years ago, we broke up a week or two before the date. I remember throwing him his present, a racquetball bag, during the scene. He still uses the bag.

Last year, we were once again on the outs, and he had a party at his place without me. That day I left him a bag of homemade marinara sauce, pasta, Italian wine and Parmesan. We got back together two weeks later on my birthday and made it through Christmas, not quite making it to the New Year's finish line.

This year, we talked about being together and an invitation was floated, but I couldn't ignore the reality that nothing had changed and that it was an empty offer.

I like key recurring dates and holidays. I use them to look back, to try to make some sense of my chaotic life. What was I doing and feeling two years ago, ten years ago, twenty? I like to identify some ways I've changed, and use that to affirm that I'm learning and growing. I hate to think that I'm knowingly repeating the same mistakes.

So tonight, I can say that I've broken out of the pain cycle of the last four years, and, sadder but wiser, am moving on. I trust that that knowledge will be enough to keep me moving forward to a better, healthier place. I may never experience those highs again, but I now understand that they're truly not worth the lows that came with.

Get pumped up!

Lots of sports action tonight! The Phillies and Rays resume their battle to the death, and even more exciting, Henry has a flag football game under the lights! Go Rams!

(What were they thinking, scheduling a mid-week end-of-October game at 6:30 at night for third and fourth graders? Just don't be sniffing my travel mug beverage . . . )

Worthless post alert

Top 10 reasons I have nothing to blog about today:

1. I'm too busy doing 4th grade homework.
2. My life is boring.
3. Everybody's hungry: cats, dog, Henry, me.
4. I have just enough time tonight to knit, not blog.
5. I'm kind of down today.
6. No baseball.
7. My knitting projects are a secret til Dec. 26.
8. Dishes and laundry, both dirty.
9. You deserve better.
10. I've run out of things to list.

"Legs" Hochschild

Check out those bones -

Here's the close-up:

I don't even like football much. But watching him is fun.

Never mind

Thank god for being over 50. You come to your senses fast. A moment of weakness, that's all.

So, what about those Phillies? Quite the soggy mess. Makes me glad I don't live back east any more. Sunny and brisk here today - it's a beautiful autumn.

I really appreciate you guys. Just saying...

Let's get back to our knitting.

The Definition of Insanity

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results - Albert Einstein

I can honestly say that I've only made one mistake in the last four years. However, I just keep making it over and over.

Maybe this time, it will be different.

Knitaholics Anon: meeting transcript*

Shot glasses from ravelry

"Hello, my name is Melissa and I'm a knitaholic." (pause for greetings)

"I learned to knit while watching my mother, aunts and grandmother. It was a family habit - I never questioned it. I knit in moderation throughout my teens and 20's, then was dry for a number of years. Watching my sister knit a scarf with the new eyelash yarn in 2004 was what got me started again. That yarn was so different, so enticing - I thought I'd just make a few scarves for fun. I had no idea where that would eventually lead.

"I was managing a scarf now and then, but slowly, inevitably, other projects started creeping in. My first bender was with a poncho out of turquoise cotton chenille. Just a gift for a niece - I could handle it. Then I found this lovely coral cotton - it had such a silky sheen, I was hooked. Another poncho followed. Gradually my stash grew - skein by skein. Just one here and there, no major single purchase. Still, I was balancing my knitting with the rest of my life, and never touched the needles all summer (I'll talk about my gardening addiction at another meeting). Then, I took a sock class. Socks! Completely innocent and practical! I felt virtuous working on them, then giving them away. I learned a few more techniques, including using two circular needles at once. That led to regular needle buying and hoarding Addi Turbos by the pair.

"I started a knitting group to enable my habit. It's a loose-knit gang, and together we share binge after binge. I even found myself going to a weekend knitting seminar, surrounded by knitters, talking about knitting and indulging in the practice day and night, even during meals. I reveled in it all. Then I found the secret internet knitting sites. Knitting blogs, knitting webrings, free patterns, all the enticements of yarn right there in my home office. You all know what came next: Ravelry.com. I surf for patterns late at night when everyone is asleep. Downloading instructions, joining kinky yarn groups, chatting on forums, sharing tips. I'm close to hitting bottom.

"Now, I live the unraveled life of a knitting addict. I crave the needles night and day. I sneak my habit at work, at football practice, even in darkened movie theaters. And what do I have to show for it? Fingerless mitts! Boleros! Felted entrelac! Nothing I can actually use!! What's it all been for?

"I keep telling myself I can get over it, once I finish this last 'work in progress.' But of course, now Christmas knitting has taken ahold, so the next two months are already down the tubes. And I catch myself already planning my January binge: a Shetland tweed cabled jacket just for myself. With a zipper. My garden is dead, my child has nappy hair, my dog needs a bath. Still I keep knitting.

"OK, thanks for listening. I feel better now. There's just this little ball of Noro I need to take care of ..."

*With apologies to those struggling with more destructive habits. A suggestion: take up knitting - it keeps your hands busy, takes all your money and leaves you no time for anything else.

Nothing, zero, zip, zilch

Well, that's it, dear readers; it's happened. I have nothing to say this morning. I'm a blank. So, apparently I'm blogging about having nothing to blog about, which is very "meta" I guess, or else really boring and pointless. So therefore, I invite you to blog for me today. What do you want to talk about?

Wait, I can make a reader meme out of this: pretend you have a blog and write today's post. Go!

We got press!

We're getting famous!

The Oregonian has a great knitting blog full of knitterly happenings in the state, and today they featured the Bend Knit-Up. Click to see:

I'm so proud I'm getting teary.

Though she got it mixed up about my Red Sox. No biggie. Just don't tell Jacoby or Dustin.

Why I'm for the Phils

Explanation of why I'm rooting for Phiadelphia this World Series, even though I was born in Pittsburgh:

1. They're Neighbor X's team, and I got to know them while hanging with him. The relationship is over, but the baseball loyalty remains.
2. They (rarely) play the Red Sox.
3. They're super cute! Have you seen them?
4. No way I could root for the Rays! Even if they are American League. Just can't do it.

However, I will never call myself a Phillies Phanatic. I hate cutesy misspellings.

Top Ten: Happy Homemaker edition

Here's a quickie:

Top ten main dishes I make for dinner:

1. Pasta with pesto sauce. This is (strangely) Henry's favorite food. He'll eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner, and even after dinner. I have to buy the bulk jars of pesto from Costco in order to afford this. I add fresh tomatoes to get a little more nutrition in it.
2. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, homemade with turkey sausage added.
3. Pad Thai. This is easier than it seems, using jarred pad thai sauce. It uses a lot of pans though.
4. Fish tacos. Easy.
5. Caesar salad with grilled salmon. Another surprise is that Henry loves salmon. Praises be! I make a killer Caesar dressing that I've perfected over the last 25 years. Secret ingredients and all.
6. Lemon chicken stir-fried with veggies.
7. Zucchini risotto. My sister Susan's award-winning recipe, minus the heavy cream and 1/2 the butter.
8. Roast chicken on the grill. No clean-up.
9. Grilled teryaki tuna. Super easy, with Japanese sides.
10. When we're out of time, Spaghettios or chicken pot pie. For him, not me. I go to cheese, crackers and a glass of wine.

(PS: I don't eat beef or pork, which is why meatloaf isn't on the list. Henry can if he wants, but I don't cook it.)

I'm fine, really

It's okay, I'm at the acceptance stage now. The Bosox showed what they can be capable of, it was down to one game where anyone can win, no blowout, good baseball, good long run, it's all ok.

Go Phils!!!

Baseball, TIVO and the eTrade baby

BIG baseball game tonight, if you just beamed in from another planet.

Unfortunately, it's the same time as Henry's Sunday Night Park & Rec League Flag Football Game. Oh boy. TIVO time! If you don't have a TIVO (or other digital video recorder), go get one. I'll wait. It will change your relationship to TV completely.

The advertising community was slow to grasp how TIVO and the like will soon wipe out the current broadcast advertising paradigm, built on :30 spots priced by ratings and daypart. They're beginning to get it now, but no one has an effective alternative. We still buy airtime based on the Nielsen books, hoping that our creative is so compelling, people won't fast forward through it.  Right. The only spot I slow down the fast-forward button to watch is the baby and Blackberry eTrade commercial. I could watch that repeatedly. And any beer spot with a dog, pretty much. And my stuff, of course. I don't have anything running right now, but stay tuned...

So, nobody text me about the game tonight, please. I'll stand far away from any dad with a cellphone, to avoid possible score updates. Then I'll come home, assume the playoff position, and watch the inevitable Bosox victory. Yes!

Little Honey: new Lucinda Williams cd

We interrupt this non-stop baseball blog for a brief musical interlude.

P.S.

Figuring out how to include an audio clip in the previous post took about an hour. Just for you, my dear readers.

Hope it works.

UNBELIEVable

Notice to knitters: this blog has been co-opted by baseball til the end of October. Stay tuned for the return of knitting if I don't die of a heart attack before then.

Meanwhile,
Oh! My! God!!
If you saw the Bosox/Rays game tonight, you know what I'm talking about. If you didn't, I can't begin to describe it.

We live to see another day...

And oh, Monkey, hope you didn't choke on your cookies . . .

Top Ten Tuesday: Thursday hottie edition

This post will expose me as a shallow girly-girl chick worthy of the title "Pink Hat" as they say in Boston, but so be it.

Top ten MLB hotties:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury. Yes, he's a baby. I'm not saying I want a deep meaningful relationship with him, just that he's super-cute. Now if I were 24 (or even 34) ...
2. Johnny Damon, traitor to the Red Sox nation that he is
3. Alex Rios
4. through 10. The Phillies line-up: Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Greg Dobbs, heck, even Jamie Moyer.

The World Series could be fun to watch, even without (shut my mouth!) the Bosox.

There is no joy in Mudville

How am I feeling? Sick, sad, disappointed, depressed, down, stunned, hopeless - shall I continue?

The Red Sox are being crushed. There is still a slim outside chance that they can make the series. They'd have to sweep the next three. I'd say it was impossible, but they have done it before. This time, though, I don't think so.

I was going to blog about the weird experience a friend and I had at a trendy bar in town this evening, but I don't have the heart. I'm going to pour a bourbon and knit in bed.

Go Phillies. Woo hoo.