The Scottish Lamb

Wicked Is Wicked Good

Having solid roots in New Hampshire I can always tell when someone has lived in New England when they use the word "wicked" in place of "very"....  old habits die hard.  We went to see Wicked at the Gershwin on Broadway last night.  I just went three weeks ago with a neighbor and her visiting friend.  It was so wicked good that I wanted Dan and the boys to see it while Kendra Kassebaum was still playing Glinda.  She's supposed to be finished with her run in a little over a week.

When I first heard about the book and the play I thought it was probably cultish and evil.  Not so at all.  It's HILARIOUS and very entertaining.  Dan and the boys loved it and I swear it was even better the 2nd time around.  We watched Wizard of Oz last Saturday just so we'd be ready.  The whole idea of the story is that the Wicked Witch wasn't wicked at all.  It was all a big misunderstanding.  Glinda isn't quite as good as she's made out to be either.  Let's just say she's a little shallow and self-absorbed... in a cute way.

To see the trailer, click here.

We jumped on the express train at Croton-Harmon.  When we got to Grand Central Terminal we had to make our way through the rush hour crowds across Midtown to eat wicked good pizza at John's Pizzeria (we'll definitely be going back there!).  We were really cutting it close because John's was PACKED to the gills.  Our waitress was terrific in getting us out of there in plenty of time for us to walk a little more leisurely up a few blocks to the Gershwin.

My favorite scene is when Glinda decides she's going to make Elphaba popular.  I found Kendra Kassebaum's version here (this wasn't our Elphaba though).

My two other favorite songs were strong vocal songs by Kerry Ellis (Elphaba).  They were "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed".  Click on the song names to see them on Youtube.

If it's ever playing near you or you're visiting NYC (get tickets early, really hard to get weekend tickets before March), GO SEE IT!  It's wicked awesome!

It's Not So Bad

I just posted on Lucky's blog.  It's his adoption anniversary!

added at 3:00pm - IT'S SNOWING!  It's OCTOBER!  I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.  See it?

After all my complaining about where we live I thought I'd share the positive.  It's gorgeous here.  There's no arguing that.  I'll take you on a tour around West Point over the next few weeks.  Yesterday I went around taking pictures around Lusk Reservoir and Michie Stadium. They are right across the road from each other.  This is less than a mile from our house.  Dan and the boys go by it every day to work and school:

This is the view as you drive down the mountain:

We live right up over the top of that hill.  Really, it's a mountain as the stadium is about 3/4 the way up.  All of West Point is built into a very rocky mountain.

A dedication to Soldiers:

There are benches like this all around the reservoir.  They are donated by cadet classes that have graduated:  A beautiful place to go and relax:

Time to go!  There's Joe coming home from school!

Silken Smoke Cowl

Silken Smoke Cowl in Peruvian Baby Cashemere from Elann.  I cast this on as soon as I saw it the other day.  Quick and satisfying knit.  I only used two balls of the Baby Cashmere.  It's about 8" long.  Could probably have used one more ball, but I'm good with this size.

I Own a Sheep Farm!!

I spent less than $50 at Rhinebeck.  I think that deserves a reward so I bought a sheep farm!  Okay... I bought a share of a sheep/goat farm. After seeing the video I linked to in my last post I did some research on MV Fiber Farm. Susan and Patrick are starting a farm 29 miles away from me up the Hudson!  How could I not buy a share?  That's like taking a kid into a candy shop and telling them they can't have any.  I think it's a fabulous idea and I'm so excited to visit the farm here in the Hudson Valley next month.  I don't even care if there isn't any wool in the end.  It's all about the experience and the whole idea behind a community supported project.  You can read more about it here.

I also just signed up for a Spinning/Dyeing class with Barbara Parry of Foxfire at Webs.  I had no idea Webs was less than three hours from me.  I'm really looking forward to the class.  I bought a drumcarder almost three years ago (I can't believe it's been that long).  And I think it's been almost three years since it's been out of the box.  I actually met Otto Strauch at Rhinebeck.  I was a little embarrassed to tell him I hadn't used it in years and thought maybe it's time to pull it back out of the box.  I'm hoping this class will get me motivated to use it.

Now I'll fill you in on all the changes that are about to take place for us.  We're moving back to Texas in June . Thank God in Heaven, we are moving. West Point is a beautiful place, I love being near my family in New Hampshire, the schools are awesome and my neighbors are great.  But I really... no... really, REALLY... hate the house we're in. They are demolishing these houses starting next year.  They really are that bad.

I think it has a lot to do with my creativity and organization being snuffed out over the last year.  I fully believe that if you love where you live you are a much happier person.   I'm definitely not happy here.  I can't get organized and that drives me nuts.  I get overwhelmed and completely shut down.

I'll miss Fall and I'll miss being so close to New Hampshire but that's what they make airplanes for.

We'll be four hours from most of Dan's side of the family in Laredo and four hours from his sister in Kingwood.   Texas A&M is the halfway point between us and his sister.  Dan's family has a suite at Kyle Field so we'll be there for a lot of games.  Dan flew down for the Army/Aggie game last month but before that we haven't been to a game since Daniel was a baby.   The boys can't wait.  Especially Joe, who started playing football for the Army Junior Black Knights this year.  When I was pregnant with him and we found out he was a boy Dan used to tell people that it was one more chance that he'd be called "Dad" by a Dallas Cowboys Quarterback.  Dan finally got his football player.  Funny that it's the smallest of our boys that decided they wanted to play football.  He may be little, but he's got heart for the game.  Here he is putting the stop on Mini Sink Valley (it was pouring that day):

So that's the scoop of what's been going on around here. 

I Hung Out With Girls and I Liked It....

I know you're all probably tired of hearing about Rhinebeck but it's the only fibery thing I've done in a while so .....  It was amazing.  I didn't even shop.  Not really.   I bought one skein of white alpaca yarn (to dye later) from Times Remembered and two patterns from Green Mountain Spinnery.  It just wasn't about the shopping.   It was about the people.  And dear Lord.... there were a LOT of people.  There were a few buildings that I got to that I looked inside and knew I'd be smushed alive if I went in so I'd turn around and walked back out. 

Knitters are a rare and wonderful breed.  We laughed that Rhinebeck is about the only place you can go and feel someone's clothes admiringly and not get smacked.  Carol and I were standing in the beer line (yes... beer... that was the only short line... really.... it was....) laughing because we were all talking about who's yarn we were wearing in our knitwear, "I'm wearing Kim."  Like we were on the Red Carpet at the Oscars.

This was a much needed break for me.  Girl time is important. In a house full of men, I forget that sometimes.  I got to meet old friends and new friends and friends that I knew for years on the net but never met in person.  That is SO much fun.

After many attempts foiled by weather, I finally got to meet my good Elann buddy, Theresa.  She lives an hour and a half from me and this was the first time we could get together.   The last minute suprise meeting of Daryl (another Elann pal) made my day.  Here's the only picture on my camera from Rhinebeck.  T's son, Timothy (tuckered out), T, me and Daryl.  The picture was taken by Daryl's friend Eleanor who came up on the LYS bus from Philly with her.  Our time together was way too short:

For fear of forgetting someone's name (I'm horrible with names) so I'll keep it to those that I spent the most time with.  If you only knew how bad I am at remembering names...  Kim and hubby were supposed to come stay at our house for the weekend but she ended up coming alone and we made a "girl" thing out of it.  There was dinner at the Eveready with Laurie, Leigh, Margene, Sandy, Terry, and then off  to see a special movie.  I also got to meet Laurie and Mishaele.  The cherry on top was getting to meet Kathy and others at the hotel later. I *really* needed that girl time. 

And all that woolly goodness got my fingers itching.   The thing that did me in was Monica's handspun in a gorgeous blue.  I can't wait to see her finished project.  I can't even remember what she was knitting because I was so in love with the yarn.  She could have just worn the skein around her neck and have been done with it.  Kathy showed me Cheryl's February Lady.  Gorgeous.  When I first saw it I thought, "I KNOW that sweater.... what is it?"  Pfft.  That's how out of the loop I've been in blogging and Ravelry.  I've knit that sweater more times than I can count in the baby version.

Lots of personal stuff is happening and I'll fill you in next post.   It's all good.

Have you all seen this video?  I'm so behind the times, it's probably been all over blogland since July. It's awesome. My heart stopped when the lamb is being born: