a day in the life

My partner, who I will refer to as "Spanky" here at the blog for reasons of my own, which is really dumb, cause if you want to, you could probably find out what her real name is, is working again. She has a high-pressure job, but works only intermittently. When she's working, I don't see her much. Sometimes she comes home in the middle of the night, if the job is really intense. Right now it's just starting up, so she's still on semi-regular hours, and I do get to see her for a few hours in the evening, which is nice.

Anyway, the dogger and I have started to develop our own coping strategies. I am trying to take her on longer walks when I get home from work, so that we each get some exercise. Then we come home, and I make dinner and feed her and the cats. Then they all have little naps, and I knit.

Usually, I watch a movie, since we have Netflix*, and I am a movie whore. Spanky isn't into the movies so much, so I see a lot of them on my own. She likes the major ones, but for little indies and foreign flicks, I'm pretty much on my own. Anyway, right now, we have Capote and In Cold Blood for a chilling double-feature, which I really want to share with her, so that has to wait for the weekend. I'm still waiting for this one, which I think is going to be really good knitting fodder, except for maybe the subtitles... But I think I can manage.

So anyway, right now, there are no viable movie options, and I hate watching reruns or bad TV, and we don't subscribe to cable (Netflix is cheaper and usually keeps me suitably entertained), so I've been listening to a lot of knitting podcasts. Right now, I've downloaded them all to my ipod, but some of them are too low to hear while I'm in the train or walking around Manhattan with the trucks and busses and other assorted noises, so I've sort of saved them for when I have time to listen at home. And I find that the time after dinner and before Spanky gets home is just enough time to hear one or two, if they're short.
I started listening to a new one today, called At the Yarn Store, which I think I'm really going to like. It's done by this woman who owns her own yarn shop in Virginia--Holly Spring Homespun. I've only listened to the first show, but she seems to have a good idea of what she wants to cover, and is a pretty good, authoritative interviewer. I really got a kick out of the interview she did with the yarn rep, who sounds like she smokes ten packs a day... We have sales reps at work too, and I imagine this is kind of what they go through as well, only they sell books rather than yarn. To tell you the truth, repping yarn sounds like it would be a lot more fun. Anyway, I think I'll keep listening.

The other one I've been trying to catch up on lately, although god only knows why, is Aussie Knit. I'm still on the fence about this one. This girl sounds like she would be a lot of fun to know in person, but she drones on and on, and sometimes I find myself losing patience with her. I do think she's got some good points, and mind you, I'm only up to episode 3, but that's because I can only stomach one at a time. She talks so slowly, and sort of whines between words, stringing them all together. Anyway, those are the ones I've been listening to today. And actually, I'll probably stick to them both for a while, especially since none of the other ones have updated lately (I know there's a new Cast On or two, but I've already heard them--those I can listen to on the train...).

More on the actual knitting soon, but I don't really have anything to show yet except three inches of the cuff of one of Spanky's Regia silk socks, and it's not really much to look at as it's really plain. I'm going to have to rip out the sushi purse, because the annoying assistant that eats in the lunchroom at the same time as me made me so irate today that I accidentally made a big hole when I went to increase. I was going to tie it up later because I'm going to felt it anyway, but I think I need smaller needles anyway, so... Riiiipp. That's all for now. Stella says "Good NIGHT!"



*If you want to be my Netflix friend, that would be rad. I only have one, and she likes really "inspirational" movies. While I'm all for the schmaltz, you have to cut it with other things, you know? Leave a comment if you do, want to be Netflix friends, that is... If anyone ever reads this, anyway.