There is a Light

And my knitting is found, but not home yet. The abundance of snow has kept me from retrieving my Crystal Palace #8s. Tomorrow is another day, or maybe Friday is another day, since I don't see getting my knitting back until then. But all is well. I dropped the whole kit and caboodle in a chandler shop on Cherokee Street. It was kind of a cool shop (literally), with lots of beautiful hanging lights and one horrid elk antler chandler. I thin the thing that surprised me was the ugliest light had the largest price tag. It is the sort of thing I would expect to see in a haunted house or the most testosterone inspired man cave.

Cuz and Deuce are home. He appears to be figuring out the rules for life on the outside. Again there are more photos at flickr.com on amysuemc76 account. I must admit Deuce is a very cute baby, but I am prejudiced. Could beloved Cuz produce anything else, I ask you?

Off work today because of snow and using companion's computer, which is slow as glacier drift before global warming. But nice to just be blogging along.

Mixed Bag

I lost my knitting today while on Cherokee Street. It is completely my fault for slopping it around like I did, but heck I didn't deserve to lose it. I know it fell off when I was in some narrow little shop looking at some little trinket or such. To be fair, I was not overwhelmed by the project. I bought the yarn to make a scarf for a friend's birthday (one that is already past). The colors were turning out wrong for her so I was knitting with no clue where the scarf would end up, but you know me, once started must be finished (Juno aside). I did not expect for the project to end up on the mean streets of Cherokee. I think the thing I regret most is losing my number 8 Crystal Palace needles. They were the first set of real knitting needles I purchased almost 2 years ago.

Second, if you want to see picture of Cuz's new man go to flickr.com and look for amysuemc76. For a little guy he is awfully hansome.

Carlos Madrid II

In case I missed you somewhere else. Carlos Madrid II was born this morning at approximately 10:20 am at BJHC. He is 7 pounds 4 ounces. From what I have heard mother and baby are doing fine.

Balloonacy

I could blog about how 3 friends were sitting around on a Tuesday night and suddenly boredom turned into an evil plan, but I have a miserable cold and I want to go to bed soon. So instead I will direct you to http://stlrachelknits.blogspot.com/2009/01/balloonacy.html . She did a much better job of reporting my whereabouts, and there are pictures. In the meantime wish me clear sinuses.

Evil is, as Evil Does

So I love my friends, LOVE THEM. But it doesn't stop me from joining in on an evil plan to thwart one of them when an awesome plan is suggested. I don't want to divulge my crime, but let me just say, latex and hot air was involved. Hee, hee, I wish I could be a fly on the wall when our looner crime is discovered.

Urban Eats

Serendipity and hunger collided tonight. I stopped and had dinner at Urban Eats (http://www.urbaneatscafe.com/ ) at 3301 Meramec (yes it is just east of Grand). What makes this fall in the Serendipity catagory is that this awesome little eatery is just a few blocks from my home. I have driven by the place several times in the last couple of months and said to myself and whomever I was with, "I want to eat there, but they are never open." Tonight on my way to some undecided eatery on Grand, the open light was on and after an unauthorized u-turn on Meramec, I was there.

Urban Eats is the sort of place everybody wishes was in their neighborhood. It is clean, bright, and has that special exotic smell of spices and fresh coffee that sucks me in every time. At first I thought that I had made a mistake, it was the unknown menu with the smiling server trying to help me decide what I wanted which made me nervous. I hate high pressure ordering. But once I took a deep breath and listened to John (owner and chef), it became clear that the u-turn was worth it.

The cafe is like an upscale panera location. They give you the option of breads (panini, wrap, or flat bread), protein (veggie, turkey, chicken, or Italian meats), and extras (spreads, sauces, more veggies, and of course cheese). The only thing that costs extra is if you want bacon. I ordered a flatbread pizza with Italian meats and mozzarella. I knew as soon as the plate sidled down in front of me it was gonna be good. The thought just kept running through my brain, "I could, nom, walk here, nom nom, from my house."

Fellow knitters and other friends be prepared I am going to try and make you eat here soon. It was really tasty and did I mention in my not so upscale neighborhood. And my pocketbook was in fact not so distressed by the time dinner was over. I paid for two flatbread pizzas, an ice tea, and a smoothy all for under $17. My smoothy drinking companion was so very busy slurping down her banana / strawberry concoction that she didn't even look up to tell me how good it was. I had to get this info on the way home.

While there I meet 3 of my neighbors and the owners Kya and John. It was like hanging out with old friends. John and Kya delighted me with their insistence that this venture was not to make money, but to improve the business community in Dutchtown and by doing so improving the neighborhood as a whole. I thought thank you Urban Eats and don't worry I will be back.

Casting Spells

OK I am over the holidays. Instead I want to mention what I am reading. At the library (where I work) I found this silly book by Barbara Bretton called Casting Spells (http://www.barbarabretton.com/). It is a paranormal mystery, knitting, romance novel. The fairies, shape shifters, and sorceresses all knit. The heroine has her own LYS called Sticks and Strings and magically while there you always get gauge and never drop a stitch. She also has a never ending supply of roving to spin with. It is all very...well...disneyesque. I wish it was a little better written, it is a little clunky around the edges, but I love the idea of the story. To be a witch, with a specialty in yarn. There is a little yearning on my part at that idea.