3 Things I Know About Billings, Montana

Tomorrow morning at about a million o'clock, I'm going to visit Billings, Montana for the first time ever.  Here is what I know about it, so far:

1.    Billings is home to Julia Warmer, who owns Wild Purls:

2.    They have real winter there, not just a colder version of rain-slobber (which is what we have here in Portland, Oregon).  That is actual snow in the weekend forecast:

Somebody somewhere thinks highly enough of them as a city to have produced this T-shirt, on the assumption that others think highly of them as well:

Armed with these facts, I'm storming their beaches tomorrow.  I get to meet the knitters tomorrow, and then play with them all day Saturday.  Big. Fun.

My relentless quest for knowledge (okay, eleven minutes searching the internets) yielded the following important Montana-centric information:


            *    The largest snowflake ever observed was 38 cm wide was recorded in Montana on January 28, 1887. That’s just darn near 15 inches. Amazing!

            *    In Montana, the word "ditch” can be used to order a drink. It means "with water."  "I'd like a Jack Daniel's ditch, please" means, "I'd like a Jack Daniel's and water." This is not a joke. In fact, all you really have to ask for is a "Jack ditch." Try it out the next time you find yourself in a Montana saloon.

            *    It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.


And now you, Gentle Readers, are at least as well-informed about my destination as I am.  Just one more service I provide.  Don't know what knitting to take yet. 

Something in Bison?

Thoughts of Spring

The Catkins project is careening toward the finish line, as I prepare for a teaching trip to Billings, MT this Friday.  I found the perfect ribbons for trimming Catkins over the weekend, so now I'm really ready to hurry up and finish it, already.  And then in my e-mail this morning, I got THIS:

That's right, my friends;  My fondest Catkins button dreams have just come true.  These have been created just for the sweater I am making.  I ask you: What could be better than this?  Can't find the perfect buttons for your pussy willow sweater?  Just call up the most talented jeweler you know and she'll whip up a little something that totally exceeds you wildest imagination.  Oh, and they'll be made of fine silver, too, if you can stand it. 

So now you won't get to see the Catkins again until I have it all done - you know the direction it's going, but I still want have it completely finished for the big reveal.

In the meantime, enjoy the view from my desk this afternoon:

Man, I love my new office.  The boss is a little squirrelly, but you really can't beat the atmosphere.

 

A Little Off-Shoulder Number

Catkins progresses...Sleeves are joined and yoke has begun.  Looks a bit Flashdancy at the moment, no?

I'm alternating between Catkins and the swatch project this week, which has been nice for the needle size variation (3 vs 8).  Allows me to alternate which muscles I'm clinching from time to time. 

This week I achieved 2 Full-Time-Mommy Milestones:  I successfully roasted a turkey breast (okay, dinner may have been at 9PM that night, but still), and I scrubbed the kitchen floor.  Well, I actully sloshed water on it creating mud, but I think it's still a win because I got lots of exercise, and the smallies were really impressed.  Not like you should lick the baseboards or anything, but baby steps.

And then I got bronchitis.  Coincidence?  I think not:  One cannot expect to wallow on the floor in the mud without contracting something nasty.  I consider this proof that housework is not only the domain of the uncreative mind, it's also toxic.  Fortunately, it's never too late to swear off.  Good thing I got that lesson out of the way.

This weekend the Snohomish Knitters Guild Yarn Train rolls into town, with my pals Lisa and KT aboard.  I'm meeting them at the yarn shop, and then doing lunch.  If that won't cure what ails me, then nothing will.