Thanksgiving Grub Crawl!!

So at home we have an activity called a Pub Crawl, where participants pace their night and their drinking between a number of different establishments, sobering up (a little) on the walk between each one and enjoying each others company and the changing scene in each pub.

For Thanksgiving this year, my friends and I had a GRUB CRAWL!!! We had a different course at each house, spending a while at each house to socialise and digest, and truly I think it has to be the best Thanksgiving I've had so far. I know it is only Thanksgiving number 3, but I truly didnt think anything would be able to beat Disneyland last year (yup, that's right, my best mate got me over to her pad for turkey last year and then flew me to D'Land for the happiest 3 days I'd had in a long time!) But even the natives were saying that it was up there with the best turkey days they'd had...

2.00pm (EST) Course No. 1 - Starters at Jonny and Raul's flat


Here's the gang, tucking in to seasonal salad, beautiful soup and homemade corn biscuits. (Knatty Knitter is represented by her ball of sock wool).


A little Scrabble, a little knitting all to help the food go down...and by the end of starters we had one sock finished.

5.30pm (EST) Course No. 2 - Main at Jillian's (with beautiful assistant chefs, Julian and Summer)



More than one use for a sock toe!


The Happy Turkey Dance!


Merriment making (students dont have TVs).


Please note that for the ENTIRE day of Thanksgiving the heavens poured down upon us from above...making the trip between each flat more of a 'monsoon-jungle-safari' adventure, than a brisk city jaunt in fair Boston. It all added to the fun and DB and I couldn't help feel that the lashing rain had been sent from home, just for us!


8.30pm (EST) Course No. 3 - Desserts and Cheese at PARISA & KAITLYN's!!!! YEAY!!!


Please note the truly 'student' surroundings of fairy lights, seats as tables and 3 men to a couch :)

Speaking of pie, the ones in the pic are only half what was there as we had another table full (real table too, not a chair). We had blueberry, 2 apple pies (one of which was my apple pie and Athens said it was the best apple pie he'd ever had...such a friend!), pumpkin, coffee cake and Kaitlyn's 'Mystery Train' pie with a brie and pecan filling, sooooooo goooooooooooood...


Kolya got the coveted ball seat...



12.30am (EST) - Official end of Grub Crawl (that is 10 and a half hours of eating!)


Here are the gang, tired and full, but none the worse for wear! (And about to start watching 'Batman Begins' when the faders leave...Yeay for no school!)

And so the night ended, us all a little chubbier, but definitely even firmer friends, with memories to share when we're old and toothless and no need to eat for the next week! It was the best...I would highly recommend this way of eating for any larger meal or gathering. It shared out the cooking and cleaning, everyone got to play hostess with the 'most'ess, the socialising between courses wass brilliant (my sides still hurt from laughing), the walks in between revived and refreshed us and meant that by the time we got to the next stop we were all a little bit hungry for the next course, so we eat way more than we would have at one sitting. It was also the best excuse ever to spend an entire day in the company of family...maybe not by blood, but these people are definitely family!

School's OUT!

Phew! Made it through this demi-week and am ready for some R&R, pronto. Kolya's here too and we've been having a blast, dodging homework and teachers who's classes I've ditched :) Went to our first ever Ice Hockey match on Monday night, was great fun. What an atmostphere! The Boston Bruins were playing the Florida Panthers. Er, we lost...but that's OK because it was a good game and we got to sit at the very back of the very top balcony, we were soooooo high. Bestest view though for lil ol' me :) And I even busted out a little knitting between periods. It was a pair of socks I was making to pacify myself, I've been jealous of all the nice things I've been making for others that I thought it was high time I had a project on the go for me. Hardly the selfless knitter I should be (oh Brooke, you put me to shame).


Yeay, look at them go! While I'm here I have to post a pic of the amazing apple pie I made of the early thanksgiving dinner mates and I had last Friday. I was pretty proud I have to say, considering it was my first time making pastry without my mother onhand to save me from disaster. I managed the feat with only 2 cuts on my right hand (it's OK ladies and gentlemen, I'm a lefty!) and reports came back good so I was happy. I know it doesn't look quite normal, being square and all, but early on my Ma decided that circle ones just didnt last long enough with so many mouths in the house and making the slices square made it easier for us to help ourselves without destroying the rest of the pie, and so was born the square pie :) I even put little leaves on it and a heart in the middle, the dinner's hostess is heart crazy so it was just for her.

Knitting has knida been put on the back burner recently, waiting for the holiday for me to get back into it. My sockret pal socks have ground to an almighty halt. I really challenged myself with them and I'm not sure if I'm able for it now, but I'll be damned if this pattern beats me. The Christmas knitting was going great as well and then also dried up, have to get back into it, just don't want to make everyone the same things you know, what my gifts to be a bit more personalised and thoughtful than that. The only thing that's made any progress at all are the socks I started for myself. I'm using them as an opportunity to learn toe-up sock knitting and I LOVE IT! Think I'm going to make all my socks this way from now on.

Aww, I had to show you my knitting bag that my mother sentme over from home with Kol. I was given it for my 21st birthday by a friend of hers who doesn't knit anymore (crazy woman!) and I just love it, it's so cute. Wooden handles, bright red and with a mouse stealing the cats tail for yarn on the front...YES!! Too groovy! Speaking of nice parcels, I got one today from my Secret Pal...Hello Secret Pal...smarty pants even put that down as their name so I couldn't figure out who they were. SUch a sweet parcel, filled with a wee letter (Garfield, baby!), a purple circular needle holder, 6 beautiful blue stitch markers and the kitchest 'Pilgrim' salt and pepper shakers for my Thanksgiving table!! I bet she put them in their so I blend in better with the natives :)

Thank you so much for such a wonderful parcel, you obviously know me and my humour well. I couldn't stop beaming after opening it. Everything in it was just perfect.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow everyone. I'm spending it with my other international friends and few American's who were left as school so it's going to be gooooooood!

bored

at work, so bored...life sucks right now...in 2 hours time it will all be fine but right now, I want to curl up and die! My next class, is going to be so bad. Don't have the work done, it is sooooo overdue...dont know what I am going to say to my teacher. he is going to kiill me, in front of everyone. I'm an idiot, why do I let things like this happen and then have to dread things like this, feels awful. and I cant skip the class to get out of it because i did that last week! I'm screwed! I can get it all done at the weekend but I still have to liv ethrough the next few hours and i dont want to.

On the up side, tonight i am going to eat like a queen...a friend of mine is having an early thanksgiving dinner so she could cook for all our mates. it's going to be amazing. and i baked an apple pie for it, from my mothers own recipe and i just hope it came out ok. And then Sunday....oh Sunday...I cant wait!! just have to get through these next 2 hours...OK here I go...wish me luck :(

Frou Frou

frou·frou also frou-frou (frū'frū) n. 1).Fussy or showy dress or ornamentation. 2). A rustling sound, as of silk.
[French, of imitative origin.]

Since last we spoke many lovely and not so lovely things have happened (mainly homework/school related). I went to an Imogen Heap concert on Saturday night and she RULESSSSSSSSSSSS! for those who don't know her stuff, she's an amazing singer-songwriter, electronica extraordinaire. She was part of the duo Frou Frou (best known for there song 'Let's Go' on the Garden State soundtrack). In concert she was amazing and suprisingly enough I actually got a spot where I could see over everyone (all 5' 1'' of me!) Anyway you must, must, MUST check her out.

I have been very lazy and at many times this week thought about taking photos of my knitting but have never got past the thinking stage. I've started all my Christmas knitting in the vain hope that I might get it all done, not before Christmas day itself, but before my FINALS!! Fat Chance, I hear you say. I know but if you aim for the moon, you land amoung the stars (meaning I might actually get it all done for Christmas day and that would be pretty astounding in itself) So far I have finished one crotcheted scarf and 2 pairs of knitted mittens. Photos to come shortly, I promise. This ofcourse has meant that work on my sockret pal socks has slowed to a snails pace. My poor pal is going to be waiting awhile me thinks.

Today I went ot the Boston Museum of Fine Art (MFA) for the first time since moving here, which is such a crime considering that I get in free as a Berklee student and its 10 minutes away walking from where I live. But better late than never! And it was just wonderful, such amazing artifacts. Didn't even see that much of it as I was only there for an hour but it was fab. Lots of ancient Persian artifacts, all safely behind glass and looked after with the utmost care, yet looking just like the family heirlooms at home that my sibling and I have dunked in tea and dropped on hard wood floors. I think I'll be more careful from now on :) More on the MFA in a later blog...have to learn how to make links on my page first before I can post that one, but its knitting related and will blow your socks off. heehee, I'm such a tease.

And lastly, while I am writing this blog I shoudl really be doing crap loads of homework that I havent done yet. This is like weeks old stuff and I am in so SO much trouble with my teachers over probably. But life is busy and to be honest the things I have been doing in place of the homework are just as, if not more important, and completely related to my major and career choice after. sang backing vocals on a friends album last night and got to see the inside of a professional studio, and watch a master engineer at work. Then ofcourse I shamelessly introduced myself, told him my major and enquired about interning there in the summer. Two birds, one stone, baby! Ofcourse as we were leaving the studio, who was coming in but Bow Wow (aka Lil Bow Wow) laying down some tracks for R Kelly's new album. Not my cup of tea musically, but seriously rich, seriously (MTV) famous.

Well I should go do homework. I need to be a good girl and get everything I possibly can done before Sunday, so I am all caught up and relaxed and have nothing to do because...on Sunday...KOLYA ARRIVES!!! YEAY!!! Darling Boyfriend will be here to visit for a whole 10 days and .I.CAN.NOT.WAIT.!!!! AND he has expressed an interest to learn more knitting...I hope he's not joking, how cool would that be :)

I am woman! I am invincible! I am tired!

It's felt like a long week, even though I get tomorrow (Friday) off. I am so glad I can sleep in tomorrow, my head is killing me. I've caught up with all my classes, talked to teachers in classes I didnt think I was doing well in and all is now right in the world...hopefully! However a nice full long-weekend of homework lies ahead of me. I love what I do but sometimes I wish I was doing something I found extremely easy and could party loads and do very little homework like the other normal uni students do. I wish I didnt feel so much pressure to achieve above and beyond because I am one of VERY few girls in my degree and am always having to prove myself. I'm in bad form because I forgot some stuff in a studio session today and my fellow engineer didnt take it well and basically relieved me of all my duties. I should have been prepared and not forgotten, but it wouldnt have taken him a second to remind me, allow me to correct myself, thus learning (interesting concept in a school!!) and then allowed me to continue. Instead I get shamed and I feel rotten about it. And he thinks I'm an idiot now.

It is very difficult to achieve constantly under this kind of pressure. Constantly being pushed to prove yourself, to prove that you should be here, a woman in a mans profession, is extremely wearing and sometimes I want to scream. The fact that I am a human being should be proof enough of my right to be in any job I wish! The contemporary music industry however doesn't agree with me, and the music production and engineering business doubly doesn't agree with me. It has a tiny percentage of women working within and the majority of those are in administrative positions, not actually doing the producing or engineering.

Well not I!! I will have my freakin' cake and eat it! I will have a fabulous career and knock the socks off anyone who doubts me. I'll have a family as well and it will be hard but I will do it and be happy. I will also be extremely tired and only ever get to knit when there is a snow day or during childbirth. And so ends my rant :) now to sleep for a millenium...ZZZzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzz

UFOs, FOs, WIPs and Porn! Oh Baby!

In line with my new vows to never abandon my blog for so long again, I felt I should take this time of new resolutions to take an inventory of my own knitting to date. I had never heard of a 'stash flash' or 'yarn porn' 'til I read other peoples blogs and I want in!! Unfortunately, after sorting out all my scraps from my skeins, I discovered I don't really have much fo interest to flash. I think if I just took off my top it would be more interest (I have a lovely set!)

Hmm, lets see what we have here. Well I have the lovely skein I was gifted by my sockret pal. Beside it are some wine red skeins of sock wool I treated myself to on my last trip to my LYS. I'm not sure whether to make socks or I was thinking of cool sleeves, like the hand/wrist warmer things. My flatmate pointed out that the Pomatomus pattern I was working on would look lovely on wrists too. I have 2 skeins of nice white suede, leftover from the hippy purse I crocheted from Stitch n Bitch: Happy Hooker (photo of it below). Everything else basically was gifted to me by a friend who bought yarn bulk online and didnt want all she got. Most of it is Lion Brand blends and some novelty yarns in the top lefthand corner. Think I'm going to use it all to make Yule gifts. The novelty yarn is super soft and machine washable so think it would make nice little slip-on socks for around the house, maybe for my sisters, and the rest will probably become scarves, legwarmers, wristwarmers and other such giftable items. Actually the 2 big skeins of yarn, dark green into purple and deep red, that make be good to make the Preppy Jacket I've wanted to crochet from Happy Hooker, if I could get my hands on a little more. All in all, its not a very exciting stash, full of odds, ends, half finished balls. I would love to own more natural fibers, and handdyed beauties but considering a lot of this is made up of gifts, I'm doing ok. I'm a student and I can live with the fact that I can't afford nice yarn yet...in time I will...in time :)

Here's a pic of my sockret pals sock-in-progress. I think it looks not too far off the pictures in the pattern so I'm pleased. My thrid sock ever is coming out grand. Like the colour too, lilac isn't usually my thing but now I see it knitted up its lovely for socks and I think my pal will love it. Just at the heel flap now, little nervous about the heel, but nothing will deter me from finishing this. I have already ripped it out FOUR times to get it as good as this and there is no way I'm turning back now. It does look pretty good on my hand, now that I see the photo. Interesting :)

I also finally got round to blocking the jumper (sweater!) I knit last spring break, Tubey from Knitty mag. Such an interesting pattern, so much fun to make and then I don't get round to finishing or blocking it when the knitting was finished! I even adjusted the pattern and put some pretty cables on the front. I was so proud of it but I think the weather turned after the break and I had no impetus to finish what I had started. It still needs some adjusting, the neck is a little too wide and low but that is easily altered. Should do it soon as it's perfect jumper weather in Boston right now. Sorry about the awful pic!

The perfect college girl sweater - flattering, practical and colourful!

I also blocked my crocheted hippy bag this weekend. I had blogged about it last month but its finally done and wearable and now the weathers cold and I just feel its more of a Spring/Summer bag. Boo hoo! I was thinking about giving it to my Mammy as her Christmas present. She loves to crochet and is soooooo good at it, and its my second crocheted item ever. It would be nice since she taught her lil lefty daughter to crochet.

And finally the crazy UFO that I just can't bring myself to finish. I tried the 'Sox on 2 Sticks' pattern from Knitty and said I'd give them to my flatmate. I finished the actual knitting a month ago and can't bring myself to sew them up and be done. They're pretty groovy looking and it was a good pattern, but I think I like my dbl points better for socks.


I'm really pining for the wool I had to leave at home due to luggage restrictions. Really fluffy mint-green yarn that wants to be a lacy knitted top with pointed elven sleeves and a long pointed hood. I also have a GIANT ball of aran yarn, thats black with green and blue flecks in it. Was thinking about it as I drifted off to sleep, how nice I'd look in a fitted jumper, with a deep v-neck in that yarn, and have enough leftover for a set of matching legwarmers. *Sigh* it's a lovely dream, but it will just have to wait til the Winter holidays.

OMG, I forgot to say, my Darling Boyfriend (DB) sent my a wee parcel the other day, with sweeties from home (mmmmm Haribo and Fruit Pastilles), a girlie mag, my knitting diary that I had left at home, the new Corrine Bailey Rae album (phenomenal, you all need to hear it, light, sunny music to lift the soul) AND a letter in which he included 'plans' for a knitting room in our house when we live together. My DB...

1). volunarily wrote about scary future stuff!!
2). would actually let me have a room devoted to my knitting and music!!
3). wants us to live together!!

Well, I never! It was just amazing and wonderful and I was so happy and taken aback by its sweeteness. Like we have talked about our future and that we are very serious (would need to be, what with this crappy ocean between us) and that 'one day' (far off in the future so as not to scare anyone too much and make it more easily managed) we would get married and live together. But this was just to sweet. I love him so much!! AND I get a knitting room in the future...**Doin' a little Dance**

WTF, mate?

To my lovely Knitty Knatty friends, I am so sorry for my extended disappearance but be sure you're sitting comfortably, with your cup of tea...here's the catch up!!

So life has been well hectic these last few weeks. In school-land, it was midterms week this week, so I've been working hard studying for such incredible subjects as Traditional Harmony, Counterpoint and Digital Multitrack Recording. I'm crazy!! But I love it, so what can I do :)

On the knitty-front, I got my first SOCKRET PAL PARCEL a few weeks ago and let me tell you, it freakin' rocked.
Look at all that goodness!! I gotst Burt's Bee Lip Glosses (all different flavours, I'm currently working my way through raspberry), halloween 70% dark chocolate (heaven!) and a skein of hand dyed merino 'Fleece Artist' and a set of bamboo dbl pts to knit it up on!!!!

Seriously, is that not the most goregous colourway you've ever seen! I'm so excited about owning that I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. Any ideas greatly appreciated! Well, there are enough for a pair of socks and I don't own any of my own knitted socks...but I was thinking something a bit groovy, like gloves, but dressy ones...just not sure. But what I am sure about is a love, love, LOVE it and my sockret pal is the ultimate!! Thank you Pal-io!


In other knitting news, I'm working on my pair of socks for my sockret pal, and have decided to do a lovely lilac version of the Knitty pattern 'Pomatomus'. I'm nearly finished the first leg, but either I can't count or there is something wrong with one of the charts in teh pattern, but I've improvised a little. Anyone knit this pattern before, insight or help would be welcome. I've set myself quite a challenge, considering this is only the third pair of socks I've ever knit!


On the home front, I love living with my flatmate, Kaitlyn, and feel that she is too beautiful not to go into this superblog...so here she is...so lovely!


We also invested in an espresso machine not long ago, as we were basically keeping Boston Starbucks in business and blowing our rent there, AND just the other day I made the perfect latte, with the perfect foam top and I just had to share it with you all...I was very proud!


Halloween was a blast. All students were celebrating this weekend, as it fell midweek and conflicted with exams, but that certainly didn't lessen the fun! Friends of mine had a fancy dress party and I went as a 'Grey Angel'...well I just don't think I'm good enough to be a full white one! Think the angels from the film 'Dogma', they're more my style! And its a line from one of my songs (ww.myspace.com/parisar) so it seemed appropriate.


And as promised since I'm posting photos, this one is for you Brooke. I said I'd show you my recent nose piercing and here it is, though now I've swapped the ball for a very fetching little diamond :)

Last but not lest, it is officially the two week count down til Kolya, my lovely, is back in Boston to visit!! YEAY!! Can't wait to see him and hug him and kiss him and knit him...I mean love him! But truly it's going to be phenomenal. He's been having a rough time of it at home and I feel really helpless out here, not being able to help. I can't even be supportive on the phone, I just screw it up, but when he comes over I am going to lookafter him so good and we'll have a lovely thanksgiving here together. Only my third thanksgiving EVER! And on that note let me leave you with a picture of home Kol's Dad took from their garden. It'ss of the lough our village is on and looks across to the Republic of Ireland and the mountain range there. Just so beautiful, it makes my heart feel awful full!