Coffee, Sleeping, Monsters, and Knitting Are a Bad Combination

Another pictureless post. I'm sorry, dear readers. There was no delivery from the Yarn Fairy today (it's Columbus Day, a Federal holiday, so my Canadian and European readers understand why I'm barren). However, I do have some things to discuss.

I was talking to a dear friend of mine who happens to be an indie dyer (outstanding doesn't even come close to describing her work) and my long-lost sister (or so we've decided). She told me something that came as a bit of a surprise - that I was showcasing indie dyers' work to the point where I was actually helping their businesses and influencing sales of their work. I got to thinking about it and decided that I would take it one better. If people are reading my blog and buying yarn based on my choices (and I know its true - I've received letters from readers telling me just that), I think it would be a good idea to actually review the yarns I receive. That way, people will have my opinion on them (for what it's worth) and one more way to help judge if a yarn is good or not. So beginning with the next delivery the Yarn Fairy brings - or my stash if he doesn't bring any tomorrow - I'll be listing all the specs of that particular yarn, as well as my impressions of it. If I have the time to knit up a quick swatch, I'll include that information as well. Might as well take this thing to the next level, no?

In addition to yarns, I'm also going to begin reviewing books. I'm a voracious book reader. While many of them are boxed up, I've decided that I need to put my studio together. My flutes are out, my sewing machine cabinet is sitting there, so it's time to get everything organized so I can work in there. It's hotter than hell in that room during the summer, but we're definitely into fall (my apologies to those of my sisters who are sweltering to the point where their pantyhose are melting onto their thighs) with temps in the low '60's during the day and down to the high '30's-low '40's at night. It's finally nice in that room, and if I open up the blinds, I have sliders going out to the pool to the south and a large window facing the east. There's enough natural light in there to start a fire. Anyway, I had a library of about 500 books (not just knitting/crocheting - also books on Native American culture, metaphysics, etc.) in my old house and had to leave most of them behind due to weight and cost (heavy sigh). I did, however, bring all my knitting books, so I just have to unpack them. They've all been read - now all I have to do is scan them to refresh my memory and write a review. What do you all think?

Don't forget that tomorrow is the first day of the destash pictures. I'll be posting two separate posts - one for general gum flapping and the other for destash.

Never say that I'm not the queen of segue when it comes to such gems as "gum flapping". This brings me to the title of this missive.

Last night, I didn't get to my knitting until very late (it was after midnight). Since we had slept so late, neither one of us was sleepy. Or so I thought. Hubster brought me a cuppa, so I set my knitting aside and settled in to drink it. No problem. I picked up my knitting again and began to work on it. Then I noticed that my eyes were burning and a little heavy. I chalked it up to allergies (I don't really have any, but what the hell?) There's a lot of crap flying around what with the sea breeze kicking up in the evenings. The second cuppa arrived. Great! Down went the knitting. Up came the cup.

Down went the cup.

All of it. In one huge, dramatic splash.

I had apparently fallen asleep while drinking my coffee (yeah, I'm the only person in the world who drinks coffee and falls asleep - caffeine has never bothered me). Unfortunately, that huge, dramatic splash went all over me, the Monster, and worse - my knitting. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I immediately pushed up my dripping sleeve, grabbed a dish towel (I keep one on the chair arm just for such occasions), and gently soaked up the couple of drops that lingered on the ball of yarn. Whew. They didn't sink in, nor did they stain my work. The Monster, however, was a different story.

That damn thing is made of microfiber over foam, which acts like a giant sponge whenever anything falls on it. Scotchgard? It can kiss my wide flat ass. It doesn't work with epic dumps like this one. Hubster came over, helped me out of the Monster (I was crying at this point and wringing out my sweats, which also act like a giant sponge), and tried his best to dry the seat. Nope. The Monster wasn't having any of it. All he was able to accomplish was to mop up a little of the coffee. The rest remained firmly entrenched in the fabric, the foam, and probably the floor (I'm sure it was dripping underneath).

I got cleaned up and changed into jammies, at which point, Hubster had put the People Bag (it's this enormous fleece thing that you step into - it zips from the bottom to halfway up, and then has snaps to further put yourself in it) on the seat so I could sit down and continue knitting. It made my ass hotter than hell, but it was better than not knitting or having to try to knit in lousy light. So I sat there weeping (and trying to keep my knitting away from all liquid at this point). And then I fell asleep again. For about five hours.

The worst part of it all?

I missed the last half of "The Devil's Rejects". Good thing I've got it on DVD and have seen it 100 times.