Oh no I di'nt!

Yesterday I went to a Superbowl party down in Sahuarita at one of my co-worker's neighbor's house. It was really nice of him to invite me, and I really appreciate how the people in my lab have stepped up to take care of me in my husband's absence. I love 'em! Anyways, the whole group is really into poker and, apparently, they play pretty frequently (at least it looked that way because they were pretty good). I'm a poker novice and was convinced by my co-worker to play.....he even put up the $10 to buy me in. I wish I could tell you I had a great streak of beginner's luck, but I lost. Good thing though, my co-worker won the whole pot (over $100, but I'm not sure how much)!

But I had another chance. Before the game we were given questions to answer and we got a card for every one we predicted right (heads or tails, who would lose the first turnover, who will lead at halftime, etc.) The person with the best hand at the end won. Well when it came time to look at everyone's cards, I was talking to my co-worker's wife, so we were oblivious to everything that was going on. We noticed when we heard celebrating going on across the living room.

"Wait!" we shouted out, "you haven't even looked at our cards! How do you know you won?!"

"You better have better than a pair of kings!" she shouted enthusiastically, challenging us.

"How about a pair of ACES?!" I yelled back as I pulled the cards out of my pocket.

A whole bunch of shouting and laughter broke loose then as I walked over to show my cards. Yes ladies and gentleman, I, the person with the worst luck in the world and who never wins anything, won the pot! Wasn't as big as the poker one, but $60 is pretty damn good if you ask me. I only felt bad that I burst the poor woman's bubble.

So......what can a girl do with $60. Hmmmmm.......think long and hard. Pay bills? That's no fun. Go grocery shopping? Yeah, but until I need to this money will be burning a hole in my wallet, plus I can't even close it! Only when I was leaving work did the idea plant itself in my head.........and I headed straight to Kiwi. I'm a yarn addict! Did I not just get tons of yarn on Friday? Yes but, I found a pattern for this yarn. I already had 2 skeins of it at home and bought the rest of Kiwi's stock for Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I've been wanting to knit this one for so long! I just had to get this yarn when I saw someone else on Ravelry made a beautiful one using it!

So here's a picture of this luscious yarn. It's 40% silk, 30% cotton, 20% merino extra fine, 10% viscose, and 100% pure bliss for this girl! I can't wait to start!

I'll finish with a couple pictures from today's walk with Sammy. It rained pretty much all day here and our mountains got some snow.

The Santa Rita Mountains south of us

The Santa Catalina Mountains north of us

A lost cause

That would be me! After a week of doing alot of background reading about C/EBP in order to prepare for my presentation for lab meeting on Friday, I wanted to unwind a bit. I was free! Add to the circumstances that it was payday, and you've got a cause for SEX (no not that kind, you with the dirty mind! Stash Enrichment eXpedition) In other words, I got the impulse to visit my LYS (local yarn shop), Kiwi Knitting Company, in order to add to my yarn stash. I have to admit, once I step in through the door my wallet is in grave danger of becoming a bit lighter. This day was no exception. I splurged on some Lorna's Laces sock yarn, Crystal Palace Kid Merino, and some other pricey hand-dyed sock yarn. Damage: over $60. I hope Jon doesn't see this post. "More yarn?!"

Kiwi is a charming, small yarn shop converted from a beautiful older house and is located in the historic Sam Hughes district in Tucson. When I first arrived in Arizona, I was going through withdrawals and terribly missed the access to all those yarn shops in Seattle (among my favorites: Weaving Works, Hilltop Yarn, and Acron St.) Here in Arizona, people look at you like you're crazy when they see you knitting away with wool in the middle of the summer (still haven't acquired a taste for cotton yarn yet, unfortunately). This boils down to very little yarn shops in the Tucson metro area. I wandered up and down the long expansive streets visiting the three yarn shops in town......one way up north, one way out east, and Kiwi right...in...the...middle. Out of all three, Kiwi struck a cord with me. The atmosphere is wonderful there and I get the same fuzzy, warm feelings when I step in there that I got when I visited Hilltop Yarn--probably because they both are situated in charming old houses in quiet calm neighborhoods. Plus, Kiwi features its very own Airedale, Rocky, who proudly models his handknit sweaters that his mommy knit for him.

Whew!! My blog posts always end up being so long....probably because I don't post that often. I just can't tear myself away from my knitting. I let my pictures do their storytelling. I made a collage of random and some colorful pictures I took because they caught my eye. Here are the picture labels going across:

1. Jon in front of Saddam's "Hands of Victory" monument.
2. Colorful peppers and onions from a dinner I made for myself last week.
3. Sammy wanting to come into the office after I blocked him out with that box.
4. Progress on my Annetrelac Socks made with Noro Kureyon sock yarn.
5. More peppers, garlic, and onion.
6. My recent yarn splurge.
7. Close-up of my Annetrelac's.
8. Surprise bouquet of flowers from Jon.
9. Sammy paw prints on our sliding glass door.