Just Checking In

I had been pretty regular with my posts until last week.

I visited an old friend on Saturday in Michigan.  She took met to City Knits where I  bought a strange looking hook.  It is called a Handy Hook and promises to be a more comfortable experience.  It is endorsed by the crochet association international.  Whatever that is. We walked two blocks to get to this great yarn store. I was really bummed that it had the Adriafil yarn that I ordered from the UK.  Next time, I will call Michigan since it isn't too far away. 
I am too lazy to take a picture.  Just imagine an orange peeler with a hook on its end.

We spent a hour longer at the LYS because I insisted on checking my Ravelry stash  via my PDA phone.  I wanted to buy some yarn that I needed for my stash.

This is the yarn I wanted to add to my stash. My two year long search has not found any new skeins.
☜ The store had the color in bulky. I always find it in bulky.   I needed chunky.  I spent 45 minutes trying to check my stash online.
It would not load on my phone.  I tried and I tried and I tried.
I was going to just buy the yarn and hope for the best but I wanted to absolutely sure of the weight.  Besides, they were having a sale!!!!!

Finally, the salesperson (eager to close the register) confirms that that yarn is sold in the weight that I wanted. So, it was possible that I needed the heavier weight yarn.  I reluctantly left the store.
 Later at my gf's house, I checked my stash on her laptop.  I was wrong. 
☜This is the color that I actually have. No wonder I can't find anymore of it.  It looks like a BR flavor.  I held up the saleslady for almost an hour over the purchase of yarn that I didn't need at all.  And all I purchased was a crochet hook. 

BTW the colors really look different. Really different.  Like the difference between purple and pink.

My gf has a digital tv and a laptop but she is unable to make the two pieces of equipment talk to one another.  So we ventured into the cold and wet weather visiting store after electronics store to find the adapters necessary to make it work.  She needs a vga to hdmi adapter.  I determined that the adapters that she needs can only be found on the Internet for 80 bucks.

I unveiled for her my new invention. I am calling it the Hooker's  Ball . 

My father worked for GM for enough years to retire.

As a technician for the engineers, he invented tools that would help factory workers to make the cars.  On occasion he made tools designed to reduce joint stress.

I asked him to reinvent the crochet hook for me.  I explained the who "cripplemecrochet" AKA carpal tunnel problem and he said "all you need to do is make something that will change your hand movements." 

I went to Joanns and purchased these styrofoam balls. inserted a knitting needle down its center and jammed a larger crochet hook into the hole.

Voila!

Ize invented it.  

I am not sure that she was convinced.

After my wonderfully wet visit and on my way home, I began coughing.  Having allergies, mixed with warm March weather and carelessly making my body's defenses  work harder leads to Bronchitis.

I have two scripts for antibiotics, using the inhaler every 4 hours, the nasal spray twice a day and something for the cough.
I have been miserable.  Today, I feel as if I can lift my head above a cloud.
I am feeling normal.
And incidently, I have completed three books and one project.

This is the dagmar shawl in berroco zodia aries. 

The Zodiac has been discontinued. Thank goodness for Ebay!

This is a close-up of how I joined the strips.


It was fun to complete but my shoulder began hurting while holding the hairpin lace tool.  I need to ask Dad about that.... 

Frizzy thought
Is Oprah trying to replace morgan freeman in voice over work?

Dirty Dirty fur

Dirty Fur
So much has happened recently. It will take a few posts to cover everything. And I am sure that more oddness with occur.

I started this blog because I thought my life was just too silly not to share. Four or maybe five years later – nothing has changed.

I am branching out into a new fiber hobby. Spinning my own yarn. Dude gave me two trash bags of first and second cut alpaca fur. His cousins have pet alpacas.

It is filthy. These animals are not being raised for their fur but as pets. So no care was taken to ensure that the fur is maintained, relatively clean, etc. i was assured that the alpacas were white but the contents of the bag of dirt, burs, sticks and straw was tan in color.

I pulled out a huge arm full of filthy fur last Spring.

I washed it in my tub with some cheap citrus scented dish soap. That was a interesting. There was so much dirt , vegetable matter (VM), and grit that I feared for the pipes of my 87 year old house. But I had started and I could not stop. I filled the tub seven times before the water took on a beige color. I cleaned the hair trap 20 or so times to permit the water to flow out of the tub. I was so tired, I did not think I would finish but I knew that it would be long time before I pulled another armful of fur out of one of those trash bags. I will never use the tub again. Since my municipality has converted to automatic trash pick up, i will use one of the old cans to clean the fur using lingerie bags.

I dried the fur on the balcony. Of course, while it dried and I was at work Mother Nature felt it funny to send a scattered rain shower into my neighborhood. Even funnier, is that she sent pretty strong gusts to blow the sun umbrella out of its clamp. Nice…. The neighbors watched the umbrella fly around the backyard. I know this because the teenager met me at my car to share the funny story with me when i arrived home that day.

Latter, I bought sunflower seeds and filled the birdfeeder. No more storms or gusty winds after that. Mother Nature looks out for her own.

I picked the fur while on the balcony to allow the fur and straw to fly around for the birds to gather for their nests. See, I learned. I gave back to the animals

Dude asks about my progress with the Alpaca yarn at least twice a month. He claims that his cousin wants to see what I have made with it. He admits to me that he promised them that I would make them a blanket. I suggested that he not pimp my talents ever again.

During our trip to GA to visit my sister, he offered to help me prepare the fur. Good thing he got sick. There was no way, I was going to fool with that fur on vacation.

A few weeks back, I took the washed and picked yarn to a spinning group meeting. The gals demonstrated carding to me.

They also asked me if I cleaned the yarn before carding it. Several commented that perhaps this yarn was not worth all the prep work. Some suggested that I was only committed to preparing the fiber because I wanted to impress Dude. Many asked if Dude was worth all of this trouble. This went on for HOURS. They had turned my efforts to expand my fiber artistry into a lame attempt at gaining favor with my boyfriend and his family.

I persisted and look what I madeabout a dozen or so rolags.

I started spinning it last week. I promptly broke my spindle by trying to force the shaft into the whorl as it appeared in the picture. I am guessing that the shaft was poorly made and it was clearly too big. I am going to wait until the next spinning meetup and have the gals help me.

Driving in my Sleep

I have been having a new reoccurring dream theme. In these dreams, I am driving a car. It is a stick shift. the gears are shaped like this

Gear one and three are at the top. Gear two is on the bottom on the left. Gears four and five are on the right. In these dreams, I have a hell of a time trying to drive. And for some reason, I am always the one who is driving to an appointment and we are late. I have not been able to google an analysis of this theme. It is disturbing me.

Not to mention that I had a variation of the dream during yesterday’s Sleep Study. It was my third sleep study. This time there were tubes coming out of my nose (2) going down my pant leg, stuck to my stomach, on my neck and on my jaw. Those tubes were new to me. I guess they were checking for snoring, teeth grinding, leg movement, breathing, and sleeping position. This time, unlike the previous studies, I spoke in my sleep. This time, unlike the previous studies, I was video taped. Ugh.

I am waiting on the results. I have learned that I move my legs in my sleep due to low ferritin levels that I have probably had since my last study in 2008. I wonder if my leg movements during the study coincide with my nocturnal five-speed driving adventures.

Crafty Update

A hat and scarf set has been completed for one of the nieces.

Takes a bow It was fun working with this yarn. I had to model this myself.

And one for the nephew I talked Dude into modeling it for me.

and the other nephew There is a hat and a scarf there.

and a scarf for me This one was knitted. I am working on the hat and gloves.

Chortis and Wafel

Grandparents are a delightful blend of laughter, caring deeds, wonderful stories and Love.
-- Author Unknown

A few weeks back I visited my grandmother. I think my mother and I get our hoarding of our favorite things weakness from my grandmother.

It used to be like stepping into a time warp when I visited her. In the last few years, she has painted and updated all of her living room furniture. But that is just one room.
The furniture in the dining room is older than I am. There are things in there that I want. She has the brandy bottles that would be more useful at my house. In them is colored water. Yes, I was hurt to know that there wasn't any 30 year old brandy in those bottles. She uses them as decorations. I pointed out to her the layer of dust on them in an effort to convince her that she would not miss them. She said, "so what."

It is difficult to convince my grandmother to part with things. I will continue to try.

I agreed to clean one of her bedrooms for her. It wasn't one that she liked to enter. She kept it closed all the time. As we walked up the stairs she handed to me latex gloves.
I asked her, "what is in this room?"
She told me that she had cleaned 13 trash bags of junk from the room the week before.
At the top of the stairs she handed to me a heavy duty trash bag. I asked again, "what is in this room?"
She told me to look out for titles, certificates and other important papers but throw everything else away.

I entered the room.

I cannot begin to explain to you the mess that was that room. It had been my mothers as a kid. Over the years, it had become a depository of stuff and had been shut. The only person who entered the room was my grandfather. As he has dementia, I did not know what to expect when I went through the stuff in that room.

I found a polaroid camera.
Does that tell you anything?
Okay, how bout this.... I found several 8 track tapes and a player.
I found hair nets and rollers that probably belonged to my mother.
I found medicine tins of alka seltzer.

Grandpa liked to eat in private. We found scores of snack packages opened and unopened. Lots of pop cans.
I also found mouse turds. Lots of mouse turds
Lots of mouse turds
Lots and lots of mouse turds
and evidence of mice

I yelled for grandma to explain this. She told me, very calmly, "Oh yeah, I find a dead mouse everyday in there. That is why I have the mousetraps."

WHAT

I thought I was going to be sick. I refused to sweep the floor for fear of agitating some mystery bacteria. I kept pushing her away when she would come at me with the broom. I would pick up the food bits and papers but I would no longer clean behind or under anything.

She offers to turn on the fan for the smell that I unearthed. I panic. I certainly did not want the mouse turds to be swirled around the room. Heaven forbid more smells to find. I begged her to open the window. She refused because the windows had no screens.

I took a double take.

No screens?

I couldn't believe that her mind was on bugs in her house and not the possibility of a mouse running past me. I sighed.

Then I found her original mortgage papers.
In 1956 she and Grandpa bought their first and only 3-bedroom home on a double lot for $68 a month. She told me that was high back then. I giggled cuz the house looked almost the same.

I found my mother's birth certificate and then my uncle's. I learned that in 1951 my grandparents were Negro. By 1954 they had become Colored. We both laughed, we figured that my parents were probably Black when I was born but my sister was African American when she had children. So much for census taking.

I came across some paperwork for a Wafle. I asked her about Wafle. Who was she?

Grandma told me that she her father was dyslexic. Pause. I didn't know where she was going with that.
During her early 20s she had gone to the Health Department to request a copy of her birth certificate. On it she had been named Wafle. Not Mabel.

Get it?

I laughed so hard, I had to take a break from cleaning.

After two glasses of homemade blackberry wine, I resumed cleaning and found a birth certificate for Chortis. I snorted and asked about Chortis.

Chortis had been my grandfather's name at the Health Department. Not the name Curtis that he gave to my Uncle and later my cousin.

I started laughing again and I was pretty much done cleaning for the day. So we went out to dinner where she told me funny stories about my grandfather, who is now in a nursing home.

I am fortunate to have had my grandparents for as long as I have.

Crafty Updates
I finally completed the kimono.
I still have a lot of the yarn remaining and I might make another to get rid of it. The kimono was fun for a short time but mostly, it annoyed me.

I pulled some yarn out of my stash after I attempted to organize my yarn room. It really isn't supposed to be a yarn room. It began as an office. When I lost the basement, I started storing my yarn in it. Now I call it the yarn room. Perhaps, it should be names the Yarn Room of Doom.

I can't go in there to use the computer. I end up organizing my yarn or my tools. I can't enjoy myself in the yarn room anymore. No mindless Net surfing, records organizing or letter writing. Now it is all 'find the missing skein' or 'make room for six more balls."

Digging around in my red yarn box, I found this skein of handspun. Since I also unearthed an afghan hook, I thought that I would make a shawl out of it. I had to contact the spinner for more yarn. I didn't calculate my yardage needs before I began the shawl. It is an endless cycle. I am not following a pattern just playing with a afghan technique I found in a book. I am hoping to make a curved edge. Let's see how it goes.

When a Hooker gets Sticky

My knitting update. This is what happens when a good hooker goes all sticky.


I would like to write about the great kettle issue. I received the bestest yarn in a Cancer Swap last July. This is what I it looked like when I wound it. The two larger balls did look different but I attributed that to the technique.

I went to the website and found this swatch for the colorway
. As you can see it looks different than the wound balls.




I didn't know what to think. It was my first skein of kettle dyed yarn.


I finally found a pattern that I wanted to use and I thought that I had plenty of yarn for it. I selected the Dummy Clap. Of course, being a newer knitter I grossly underestimated.




So, I used my handy google skills and ordered two new skeins in the same colorway.






This is what I received. Looks a little different, right?Kinda like it doesn't freaking match at all. right?
Where the original skeins were purple this is lilac. Where it was orange - this is lemon . Magenta becomes rose. Satisfaction becomes Nightmare. What am I to do?
People dared me to start a thread the Ravelry Big 6 about the dangers of kettle dyed yarn. I didn't accept those dares.

It was suggested that I frog the 30 inches I have so far and restart using all 4 skeins at once. As a newer knitter that mortifies me.

So, I went on UK sites and ordered 3 skeins of the yarn in the equivalent colorway. I am hoping that the UK sites have the darker version. If not, I will have a total of seven. Somehow I know this not going to work in my favor.

And this the year that I was going to be prepared for my mother's birthday and have her gift sent to her early.

I should have just crocheted it. It would have run out a lot sooner.


Update!
The colorways from England are an exact match! The colorway for the states had two notations for the colorway (704 and 668). The ones from the UK had one (668). I matched the second set of numbers and it was perfect.

I would also like to mention that CableFreak has honored me with my very own colorway!

Perhaps a yarn diet

I am struggling with a hoarding addiction. It has taken over my thoughts. Sometimes my dreams. I waste precious work hours researching different varieties and their effects.

Two weeks ago, I made a sale with a local dealer. I made a connection with her last summer. She had some of her stash with her. She let me sample it. It was yummy. This month, I called on her to provide for me a specific order for a client of mine. Originally, I was to meet her at her business but we worked out a plan for me to meet her at her home at a specified time. I went to the bank because she preferred cash. I drove around a bit completing errands and got a little turned around while trying to find her house. When I entered her home she explained that her stash was upstairs and that I should tell her what I am seeking and she will bring to me samples. Someone else came by while I was there. The other customer went to the back door. the seller excused herself for a few minutes. After about 15 minutes I left her home with my Conjoined Creations hank for my swap partner.

I would love to write that I haven't purchased any yarn since. I had forgotten that I placed a bid on a hank of Ebay yarn for the same swap partner. Within a week, I had two hanks of similar yarn for her. What a mess. I should also admit that I bought a third hank for the swap early in January. It was this super cool artyarn. After I received her questionnaire I decided to purchase a different style of yarn for her. So three hanks later, I have to decided which one she will receive.

I figured that last year I spent more than $600 on yarn. Just yarn. If I combine beer, vodka and rum with shoe purchases for this year, I fall short. The only costs that rival my yarn purchases are my allergy shots and related appointments and meds. I have seriously considered giving up on the allergy treatment regimen. Definitely not the beer, vodka, rum or shoes but I could do without the shots and just take the pills. Despite this, for 2009 I have resolved to significantly cut back on my clothing purchases. Oh dear. I am talking about money when I began talking about yarn.

There is a reason for that. I have rationalized that I could have in my possession a new ceiling fan, a new floor rug, a new hair color, and a paid off furniture bill.

So along with my resolution to refrain from buying new clothes until I lose ten pounds, I have decided to stop buying yarn until I buy things that I need for the house or pay off a bill. The third resolution was to begin to use my stash before buying more yarn.

One resolution will probably remain unbroken until the department store inventory sales at the end of this month. The second resolution was never considered as viable. The third resolution was a lie.

I suppose if I continue to buy yarn, I could take the money from my lunch and grocery budget. I would lose weight and still have my fiber.

Admittedly all the yarn I have purchased in 2009 was for projects for friends, family and swaps. So technically, I am not hoarding additional yarn for myself. Oh, I forgot about the glorious yarn I purchased from Japan. It is so pretty. Here take a look at it. One day, one day soon, i am going to attempt those gloves.

I am terrible at holding back. I wanted to make a Dummy Clapotis for my mother. Instead of using stash yarn of which I had a lot, I ordered extra balls of a yarn that I liked from and Ebay vendor. Of course, I forgot that I ordered the extra balls, decided to use another stash yarn of which I had plenty on hand. Now I have yarn arriving next week that will be added to my still growing stash.

This weekend my aunt who is recovering from knee surgery asked me to take her out of the house. Cabin fever had hit her hard. We went to a tea shop. I thought fiber artists had an expensive habit. Tea enthusiasts spend crazy money. My aunt spent $34 in half an hour on I loose leaf tea. She purchased two ounces of this fabulous blend for me. I am resisting the urge to buy more because I can't afford another passion.

Another boring Summer

Long Hot Summer

The past few weeks have been torture for me. First there is the escalating humidity and heat. Then the mosquitoes continue to keep me from weeding my garden or generally enjoying the outside. I have banana peppers that need to be picked. Carrots that need to be thinned. Collards that need attention. You should see the weeds. Of course, my lawn needs to be mowed. Anarchy complained about it yesterday. I suggested that she find someone to mow it. I could care less. I think lawn is stupid. It doesn't attract butterflies. I asked the young lady staying with me to get one of her male suitors to mow the lawn. She laughed at me. I still say a man isn't worth the price of salt if he is unwilling to mow your lawn.

I planted Cannas and cucumbers along the fence between our homes. The cannas will act as a natural fence and the cucumbers will keep both families happy. I am bribing my neighbor into shoveling my sidewalk next winter with summer vegetables. Do you think it will work?

I have been working on a plan to rid myself of these extra pounds all summer. I have lost nothing. nothing at all.

1. There is yoga on Mondays - with this new instructor I am finally enjoying yoga.
2. a minimum of two days a week at the gym weightlifting and elliptical machine - with a good vampire book and mp3 player
3. on cool days I attend dance lessons - there is no air in the building
4. I garden, and of course- when I am not be sucked dry
5. I craft - for God's sake, stop me from buying more yarn.

I joined the campus gym. After work, I shed my career clothes for lycra and cotton. I usually run into students that I know. It used to bother me that they could make out my body type in my athletic clothes. As if they had additional personal information. I call the college students at the campus gym, the "Beautiful People." The slim 20 somethings and their lackadaisical attitude towards sweating. Or the slender athletes that are grooming their perfect muscles. I can deal with all of that because I am not the only frumpy looking person there. I do not mind using the machine between to former cross-country runners with abs of steel and legs of iron if behind me there is another out of shape 30 something professional employee. I like seeing the 40 year old alum playing pick-up basketball with the fraternity boys. I enjoy taking yoga with retirees. What I do not like is the smells. I am convinced that some of students work-out even if they haven't showered in a few days. I have been sent off the machines more than once because of just plain STINK. Neither music playing from my ear buds nor a good book can distract me from smells that emit from the unbathed.

This summer I have been pretty busy with craft projects. My birthday passed. It was fun. I asked for $7 to buy yarn from those who insisted on bringing gifts. Hey, my needs are simple. After six years, my favorite local yarn store is closing. I had been shopping there since 2005. I thought that it had beat my bad luck. I was afraid to patron the store because in my history all of my favorite yarn stores close soon after I shop there. It happened to me in Detroit, in Stow, in Akron and finally in Toledo. What is the Frizzy Hooker supposed to do about a local yarn store?

Crocheted TV displaying Pitfall

I am just a girl

Well I did it.  I thought that I had officially crippled myself.  I had been working very hard to complete my sister's baby blanket.  My hand has been swollen for about 8 days.  My co-worker, who had a previously life as a rehab therapist, told me to go to the doctor.  Now I am taking steroids and anti-inflammatory medicine. I may have to go to therapy. So all of those projects to the right - are on hold for about a month.  Well at least I didn't get tendonitis from making something as ridiculous as this What is the purpose of this or this LOL This was cute until I realized that it must have been made by some nutty vegan.      So, here is one for you. Also, I spent $80 bucks to learn why my garage door does not close.  I haven't oiled it since I had it installed four years ago.

Claire Strikes Again

Electric Devices

Projects

Continuing with my haunting by electric devices, I will tell you the tale of new car. Perri - the periwinkle Vue, came with XM Radio, OnStar and hands-free dialing. I have yet to be impressed by these innovations. I am still listening to NPR, PRI and BBC news. I am still rotating my favorite CDs. The only person that has so far benefited from the XM Radio was my 8 year old nephew when we tuned into XM kids. Actually, I enjoyed that station as well. I love signing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "I Went to the Witch Doctor." A college student explained to me how to program my radio stations. Because as you know, I believe that there will always be a college student that will explain new technologies to me making manual-reading unnecessary. when I had a two students in my car, we tried the hands-free dialing. First, let me explain to you what nonsense it is. This is from the website Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road with OnStar Hands-Free Calling. OnStar has the only built-in, hands-free wireless calling system of its kind, providing you with a safe and reliable connection. A single button-push for safe driving Better connectivity in areas of limited cellular reception Fewer dropped calls Calls sound better, since they're controlled through your surround-sound speaker system All of that for about $.15 a minute. Seriously. My car has its own phone number. The dealer tried to tell me that it was a safer way to use a phone while driving. I tried it for myself. Imagine yourself and two people about 12 years younger who tend to know everything. You want to impress them with your fancy calling feature. You say "Dial 555555555" for about 20 minutes. Each time Claire, the call-assistant, gets it wrong. Now, I may write with bad grammer but certainly I don't speak it so poorly that Claire can't connect a call. (I wrote about Claire last year and I spelled grammar wrong on purpose) I really hate Claire. She messes up an otherwise delightful day. After 20 minutes of this, I am so frustrated that I am driving recklessly and my passengers are bent over with laughter. They told me to get a bluetooth headset. Which as you readers know, I used to despise. I don't want homeless technology when I just want to be able to talk on the phone when I am in the car without causing a wreck. I did some "research" on EBay and found a New Bluetooth Hands Free Car Kit Speaker for cell phone. I know, it is bluetooth and I hate bluetooth technology. Even so, it is cheaper than hands free dialing and it works with equipment that I already have. It goes into the cigarette lighter. I love it but it has annoying feature. when I first got it, it would retrieve my calls while I was in the house. In other words, I would press the green button on my cell phone and the call would be transferred to the bluetooth speaker. At first, I thought my phone was simply broken. I reset it. I charged it. Yet, it continued to "drop" my calls. it was two days before I realized the bluetooth as catching my calls. Two days.... I finally read the manual and learned that its range was not one meter but 10 meters. Why? If it is a hands free car kit why does it need a 10 meter range? if it plugs into your cigarette lighter, why does it need a 10 meter range? Stop reading if you are a man...... You probably have noticed that I have been sharing with you my progress on various yarn and reading projects. My greatest fear is to never finish things. So, I am sharing with you to motivate myself. I wanted to share with you the pretty yarn that I am using on the baby blanket Mondial "KINDER BABY" knitting yarn - in #588 pink, blue, medium blue, white multi, 70% new merino wool, 30% acrylic, Doris "VULCAN" knitting yarn (color-pink and blue multi) 100% viscose I am attempting to create a diamond pattern. Wish me luck!

Frizzy Hooker Yarn Stash Afghan Blanket Now if I could just finish this one! Picture coming soon. Christmas was two weeks ago. I B Knitty Great Escape Cape I am so lazy. It has been almost done for two weeks. Baby Blanket About 8 inches completed. This is the close-up of the design. Knotted Openwork Shawl Still working on it. IBF Reader

In my lap

On My Lap

Projects

I read this in the Sunday Paper 2007: Are we turning the page on reading? By CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI BLADE STAFF WRITER Which got me thinking, as we look back on 2007 and consider the year in books, has print finally turned a corner? Two of 2007's biggest publishing events left a wildly divergent picture of the future: On the positive side, the year's unquestionable blockbuster was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - which sold 10 million copies in 24 hours and left wags wagging about how Harry created a generation of readers. On the negative, the National Endowment for the Arts released a study, that America is reading less for pleasure than ever before - particularly young America. But don't feel bad: The French published How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, which became a hit over here, too. (I bought this book for my roommate) What you saw less of this year, thankfully, were bitter polemics - though Stephen Colbert had a huge hit with a parody of one. One could argue, however, that O.J. Simpson's If I Did It, finally released, is bitter and polemical; it's also a hit, having sold more than 100,000 copies since October. That said, so concerned are we that kids are overly obsessed with celebrity and not getting out from behind computers that another hit of 2007, The Dangerous Book for Boys, was more or less a manual for being a child. My favorite book of 2007? They asked me to pick one. Three books come to mind: Alex Ross' The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, an unlikely, engrossing history of classical music and how it shaped rock and hip-hop and how we hear in general; Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End, a moving first novel with a keen understanding of hive mentalities (written in the cultish "We") that, after The Office and Office Space, rescues office novels from the usual satire. And the best: Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a buzzsaw of an immigrant novel that skips from high culture to low, from its hero's family legacy in the Dominican Republic, back to his pitiful life in the States as a fat, virginal, Lord-of-the-Rings loser. Funny and moving, told in a zippy combination of Spanglish, pop-culture shorthand, and literary flourish, Diaz's first book in a decade is so vibrant it's likely to force a reconsideration of the immigrant saga - and America. Contact Christopher Borrelli at: cborrelli@theblade.com What was your favorite read of 2007? On my lap at any given time you will find my belly, having gained quite a bit of weight this year; a ball of yarn; a kitty; or a good book. This Year, I have read or heard. Books 1 through 4 of the Vampire Huntress Series. Books 6 and 7 of the Southern Vampire Series The entire Harry Potter Collection Pornology Right now, I am finishing up two yarn projects. The knitted cape has completely worked my nerves but I am finally down to the last two buttons. The yarn-stash blanket proved to take more time that I had allotted for it. It will be complete this week. Thank god. It is driving me crazy. The wrap has suffered because of the baby blanket. But it will be on my lap today. Happy New Year

Frizzy Hooker Yarn Stash Afghan Blanket Now if I could just finish this one! I B Knitty Great Escape Cape I finally finished the collar and now I need to add the buttons and it is done. Knotted Openwork Shawl Should be getting back to this one this week. Frizzy Reader