We arrived at our cabin at 11.15!

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Jason at Hardee’s

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Almost to Texarkana

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The Afterparty Bill from Saturday

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Seriously, I have NO idea how on earth Stephanie handles her whirlwind book tour. I am exhausted from just one day. Whew! Anyways, on to my micro recap. My disclaimer up front, I *know* I will end up missing the name and/or URL of someone I met today. For those of you that made it to the afterparty at Guero’s and saw the length of our bill, you will know why. The total, with tip was $440. Yes, $440. After waiting for the book signing outside, we were obviously ready to have a few drinks. I think I tossed it in my bag when I left, I’ll have to look and see what our bar tab alone was. Whew! (All drivers were responsible and didn’t drink, so it is all good. Good thing we carpooled, huh?)

Katy without a blog & I left for Austin last night just after 4pm. We arrived just in time to be stuck in traffic on 35. Fun. We finally met up with Julia and Staci at Threadgill’s just after 7pm. I accidentally tried Fried Green Tomatoes. I had ordered the Fried Pickles (shocking.) and they brought them out. I couldn’t hear the waiter when he asked before setting them on the table, but I said that they were for us. I tried one, and commented to Katy that not only were they hot, they weren’t very “dilly”. Staci had stepped away from the table, so when she returned she tried one too, after I warned her about the not very “dilly” thing. I thought the pickle texture looked strange, but just couldn’t figure it out. When the waitress brought our entrees, she looked at the “pickles” that we had not eaten and apologized for someone bringing us the wrong appetizer. Doh! It all made sense why they weren’t very “dilly” when she told us that they were, in fact, Fried Green Tomatoes. See, and everyone thinks I never try new things. The pickles were in fact “dilly” when she brought them out to us, although we were too full to eat them by then.

After dinner we speed walked over to the Congress Ave. Bridge to see the bats. Ok, they walked their regular pace, but I am the munchkin of the group so it was speed walking to me. We got to see the bats leaving for their nightly hunt, which was really cool. Then it was back to Julia’s house to spend the night. She is such a fabulous host! I am forever grateful for her opening her home to us.

This morning, we all woke up bright and early and headed in to downtown to see Stephanie! I really can’t put the experience into words for you. She is just as funny as her books and her blog. You can tell she has this sarcastic, dry sense of humor, and I just love that in a person. She photographed the sock, she talked, we laughed, she talked some more, we laughed some more. It was really a lot of fun, and I highly recommend seeing her when she visits your city.

At the end, they passed out tickets so that we wouldn’t have to stand in line at Hill Country Weavers while we waited for the book signing. So we shopped, talked, the beer drinkers drank beer, we talked some more, laughter all around. Great fun. Eventually, I went in to the book signing area, and waited with great anticipation to meet her up close and personal. (Pretend there is a picture here. My card reader is packed for my vacation, so photos will be coming soon.) It was finally my turn, and I was so excited I was talking a million miles a minute. “Hi, I’m Christine from Big Pink Cookie. I do a podcast too.”

She turned and looked at me and said, “OH! I know you!”

Get OUT! (If it had been a Seinfeld episode, I would have shoved her like Elaine shoves Jerry. That probably wouldn’t have gone over very well.) Then, the cincher? When she said that I’m in her Bloglines. Gasp! (*Hi Stephanie!*)

I should insert here that I have blogged a lot longer than I have knit. I have met many web celebrities at SxSW over the years. There were annual parties at Bruce Sterling’s house in Austin. Austin is the city where I meet “famous” people. I know that their fame generally doesn’t make them any different than the next guy, unless it is one of those rare occassions where it turns them into a total ass. Stephanie, obviously, is so not an ass. Still, you would have sworn I was meeting George Clooney and he said he knew me for how I reacted. I know she is really just one of us, which is why I enjoy reading what she writes so much. But I’m still on a high from that moment.

Then I gave her a snowglobe that read “Texas Snowman” on the front. Water, a hat, a carrot, coal. (No snowman to be seen.) I had written today’s date on the bottom along with a note, “Don’t melt!” That was when she whipped out her camera, thrust her sock at me, handed me back the snowglobe, and took my photo after I hastily added my own traveling sock to everything that I was holding. So if she posts the photo (I hope she does!) and I look like a complete idiot, just remember I was recovering from the whole I know you thing.

Then she signed my books and let me gush over her some more. For those of you in line behind me, I’m sorry I took so long. Hopefully I helped you out and took photos for you if you needed or something to make up for it.

Afterwards, Kristen, Abbe, Staci, Tina and I walked over to Guero’s to get ready for the rest of the group. We met up with the knitter in the green cow tipping t-shirt (another name blank) and Tamara without a blog. Then a whole lot of other people joined us, so in no particular order: Katy without a blog, Alicia, Sarah (see the pink plaid sock bag? Yeah, it is right here on my desk. It is AWESOME. Thank you Sarah!), Julia, Caro (who brought me a FANTASTIC credit card / business card case that I immediately put to use and showed everyone who would look at it, because I love it so much!), Kelly, Amy, Susan, my other fellow Houston knitter whose name has run away again on me, the Houston knitter whose name I never found out, Janna and the rest of the San Antonio crew - Kim, Susan, Mary, Enid, another Kim, Amy, and Claudine without a blog - along with their Ken doll that wouldn’t stop mooning us when we took his photo. Ok, he did sit still long enough to hold up my sock for me.

(Imagine more pictures here.)

After we ate and I took everyone’s cash and made change and marked off people’s food on the looooong check, we all said our farewells and parted ways. Katy & I returned to HCW so she could browse through the shop while it wasn’t packed with people, and then it was time to head back to Houston.

It was a fantastic trip. I had such a great, great time. Thank you again to Julia for being such a wonderful hostess. I promise, next time I’ll eat the eggs. Thank you to Katy for going with me and making the drive so much fun. I still have “Take On Me…” stuck in my head, 16 hours later. Thank you to all the knitters who came to the afterparty - it was a blast and I’m so glad you took the time out of your day to help make it that way. And thank you to Stephanie (and Storey Publishing) for coming to Austin and prompting over 200 knitters to gather today. I think every single last one of us had a fabulous time.

Now I must sleep, as we leave for our family vacation in the morning!

The Yarn Harlot at Congress Ave. Baptist Church today in Austin, Texas.

With my lack of knitting in July, I knew I had to sign up for Jeanie’s latest project, UFO August. Do you have UFOs? Join us and get them done!

Here is my initial UFO list, but I might find some lurking in the corners over the next few days, so I’m waiting to post my final list over there. I will prioritize it then.

- Trek-Along socks: started in London, these socks have now seen London, Wales, Houston, Austin, and this weekend the first sock will meet the Yarn Harlot back in Austin. I will start the second sock next week while in the Ozarks. I might even finish it there!
- School Survival Clapotis: I “rewarded” myself with Lion & Lamb at the end of the school year. I’ve discovered that it is not a fun thing to knit if you are hot. I am past the half way point (I am using 4 skeins, not 3 to make it longer), so this should be done soon if I work on it.
- Lady Eleanor scarf/shawl: Just 30 more rows/sections of Entrelac to go. (In other words, a lot.)
- Tara’s “P” socks: will work on these in addition to the Trek-Along socks on my trip. Mmmm… Koigu.
- The Amazing Lace Sheep Shawl - sadly neglected, and I haven’t been doing my Amazing Laces posts either. I’m so bad. My shawl would probably fit a Barbie right now. Ok, maybe an American Girl doll if I blocked it.

Of course, I have the usual startitis right now. I look lovingly at my sock yarn and dream of other socks I want to knit. And I want to start my Eris sweater. Then there is that felted purse I want to make. But I must - MUST - finish all of the UFOs first.

I have meant to post these for over a week now, but I had Mike take them off the memory card for me and I didn’t know where they were on the desktop computer. (Turns out that they were right where they should have been. Oops.) I put all of my renovation photos into one set on Flickr. You can check them all out here.

Speaking of Mike, his post today about the future of board games is quite amusing. Just thought I should direct you to that.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I’m wide awake at the wrong hour of night, again. For weeks, this has been going on. It has allowed me to read a lot, so that is a good thing. But I would prefer to sleep at night. Anyways, I didn’t want to read any more tonight, so I am killing time on the internet. I hear a rustling sound out in the kitchen. I assume it is Murphy (aka “Big Fat Cat”) out there, tossing around a scrap of paper or something he has found. The noise gets louder. I realize Murphy is in the corner of the living room. Chloe is in her doggie bed. Mona is perched on the arm of the couch right behind me, where she likes to sit when I am here. Mike & Jason are both in bed, sleeping like normal people.

So WHO is making that noise?

Right as I start to walk to the kitchen, a huge roach runs from one side of the room to the other. Too fast for me to even do anything about it. This roach was so huge, I might have mistaken it for a tiny mouse if I hadn’t seen it up close and way too personal. Huge. Huge. Huge. (I should add that a “roach” here in Houston is actually more of a water beetle, not a disease carrying creature. They are still gross.)

I’m surprised that Mike & Jason are not awake now. My scream was a little loud. Fortunately, they are still sleeping.

I, on the other hand, may never sleep again. I’m not afraid of bugs normally, but this was the exception. Consider how much Mike hates roaches, I’m sort of glad he slept through the whole thing. I suspect he will be calling the exterminator tomorrow.

At this moment, the plans are set for the “Harlot After Party” at Guero’s Taco Bar at 1412 S. Congress Ave., just a block away from the Congress Avenue Baptist Church where she will be speaking from 10am - 1pm. (Ah, the irony … the Harlot is going to be talking at a church!) However, after looking at the site linked above, I’m worried that they won’t have a place to put us all. So I am calling them back in the morning, just to make sure. The guy that I have been talking with sounded very confident that they could accommodate us. Plus he said that they like rowdy knitters.

I decided this was the best option because at 1pm, we will all be ready for lunch. It is close to the church. The food is good - I have eaten there before. So I think we will all have a good time!

Spread the news, spread the word, post to your blog if you have one - knitters or non-knitters, bloggers or non-bloggers, everyone is welcome to join us! If you are coming, let me know so I have a rough estimate to give them on Friday. If you are bringing friends, let me know that too. I’ll bring nametags. And since I have planned these events many times before for bloggers, it is a good idea to bring cash to pay with. It just makes it easier for everyone in the long run.

The Harlot is coming! The Harlot is coming!

I know, I haven’t talked about knitting much lately. Know why? I haven’t been knitting. I knit a few rows last week at the ATC meeting, and a few rows when I was in Austin back before the 4th of July. That is it. How sad is that? This is going to have to change this week, and then I need to get a project or two ready to take with me on our upcoming vacation. But before that, I will be driving to Austin at the end of the week to see the Yarn Harlot. Wheee! And really, I can’t head off to do that without a sock in hand. I was going to try to finish my current sock, but since it is the sock that has seen so much action - visiting sights all over London and Texas - I think it needs to meet the Yarn Harlot as I get down to the toe of the sock. Then I can bind off and start the next sock at the Yarn Harlot After Party.

I was feeling a little off today. I think it is the lack of knitting. The serenity of the bedroom helped though. That has been the trade off for my knitting time, obviously. It was a worthwhile trade. Maybe after our vacation I will paint the living room.

Are you coming to Austin to see the Yarn Harlot? Want to join us for the after party? Let me know so I can get you all the details! (I will post them here tomorrow - I have one minor thing to finalize first.)

A few months ago, Elaine sent me an e-mail about making Artist Trading Cards. We have all the paper, all the supplies, and all the creativity that we needed to make it happen. Unfortunately, we never seemed to have the time or the energy. This summer, things are changing around here, and we are both on a mission to do things that we keep saying we want to do. So yesterday, she e-mailed me that she had made her first ATCs and she was going to the meetup for the Houston area last night.

In my “make it happen” mode, I wrote her back and asked if I could join her.

About an hour before I had to leave, I decided to follow her lead and put together two cards of my own using an imperfect photograph from my photography class. I cut it down to size (2.5″ x 3.5″) and then I used Mike’s flashcards of Tibetan words to write “to be famed/renowned” on them.

… yes, Mike took Tibetan in college. It was the only elective he got to choose that wasn’t fulfilling a degree requirement for his Chemical Engineering degree from Rice. He wanted something radically different. Why take something boring like French when you can take Tibetan?

Last night we went to the ATC meetup, and it was a blast! We definitely made up a diverse mix, but with one common thread of being creative people. The conversations were interesting and diverse, and we had such a good time. It was fun looking at everyone else’s ATCs, and when I got home I couldn’t stop thinking of ideas of cards to make.

Do you make ATCs? Would you? Want to trade? Flaunt your inner artist a little. It is only the size of a playing card - you can do it!

I have a secret. Redoing the bedroom was to bring me peace and harmony, but there was also a hidden plan. I needed to train my husband. Well, rather than training him, I needed to give him alternatives to bad habits that we had developed. See, we had a couch and two chairs in our bedroom before (I told you it was a huge room), and they always ended up being dumping grounds. I constantly complained about Mike dropping clothes on the couch next to his side of the bed. It drove me nuts.

So I took the couch away.

Now? No option. Clothes are getting put away. We are both enjoying the beauty of the bedroom and I’m looking forward to giving the rest of the house the same treatment. I see painting happening in the living room in the near future.

Little did I know that I was using tricks that the animal trainers use. I gave him an alternative and took away the annoying behavior. It seems that I needed to read “What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage” earlier. [via Tara.] Just pretend your mate is an exotic animal, and you’ll be all set. Who knows, it may even bring out the inner animal in you.

(I should note that Mike is fabulous, and really - if the worst thing I can complain about is clothes on the couch, I have it made. It probably irritates me twice as much because I do the same thing. Well, I did. Before the room transformation.)

When I was visiting Tara in Austin, we went on a grocery run and I bought salad goodies. One of the items that I picked up was Newman’s Own Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Dressing. It blew me away. It was fantastic. It was wonderful. It was quite possibly the best dressing I have ever tasted. Yum, yum, yum.

I brought the half of the bottle I didn’t use home with me, and Jason & Mike loved it just as much as I did. Now it is all gone. And my local Kroger doesn’t carry it.

Of course, I turned to the internet. I was going to call Newman’s Own and ask them where I could find it, but thanks to their website I could see every store in a 10 mile radius that has it. All of them are Randall’s stores - and I bought it at a Randall’s in Austin - so on Mike’s way home from the office tonight he is going to stop and pick some up for me. Yeah! I can’t wait. Seriously, this stuff is that good.

(Yes, my life is so exciting this week - I turned on the computer for the first time in 4 days just to find salad dressing.)