I have nothing of great significance to say (which is probably a clue why no one reads my blog) but had to take my shot at being first!

Wow... i'm close to first at least

second!

Dang! See, I always thing of something to say AFTER the golden opportunity has passed.

But anyway, Laurie, I wanted to ask you (now that you are a big-time author and all) do you ever get writer's block and if so, how do you deal with it?

I have nothing important to say either but I gotta say.......

Yarnpants

I can understand why you had to let ANOTHER cat pose for the bookcover, since choosing between your four would have been much to hard-it's impossible to pick one for another.
And I sure hope your book gets to Norway- "4000" pages in English with a lot of newly invented words is just a trifle hard, I believe...LOL
Love your blog, btw!!!

Hey, that pic turned out great! When you have time (haha), could you email it to me? Pretty please? Even though I am smiling way, way too big?

Geez, your bus issues sound unpleasant. I think I would be more put out by the perfume than the sneezing. Too much perfume gives me a sore throat!

Lordy Mercy!! Are Frank's cakes yummier than he is? Now THAT is some eye candy. Whew!

I came out of the closet to comment when you announced your big book news and now I can't stop.

helpme pleazzzzzzze.

You mean there's a free bag of Four Play running around out there? I'm so going to LA this weekend...

Roy T. Cat is the cutest cat on the planet - behind Jack that is :)

At least comments are working!

According to the firewall at work
StitchyMcYarnpants = Pornography
Who would have thunk it?

Ya'll are funny!

Anna Liza as soon as I can get into my email I will send it. I am still on hold.

KJ, no, I never get writer's block. I don't think I could, I think I would stop functioning if I stopped writing words down. I never stop. It's sort of crazy, I guess, except now with a book it (luckily) makes me seem less like a weirdo. I know I'm a little eccentric, I used to apologize for it, like I felt bad writing came easy to me. I'm not saying I am good, I'm just wordy. But out of 15,000 words sometimes there is a phrase that fizzes, and that's good enough for me. By the way this is also my philosophy about pictures!! Take 30,000 pictures of your cat and at least one will be good ;)

psychomom... yarnpants!

Dear Perfume Lady,

You are NOT supposed to smell your own perfume. If you can smell it yourself, your perfume has reached toxic, nerve gas levels. Imagine, if you will, this conversation between nose and brain:

Nose: Brain, I have decide that I shouldn't smell the body to which I am attached.

Brain: Why is that, Nose?

N: Well, I would have to smell it all the time and man, that would get tiring. So, I will carefully phase out the smell of the attached body, see?

B: Oh, yes, that's much nicer. A lot less confusing and stinky. Good job, Nose.

Thusly, Perfume Lady, please do your nose and ours a favor and spritz no more than twice per day. If you choose to ignore this plea, I will be forced to spray you with Eau de Cat Pee.

Thank you.

Tyra Banks was wearing Spanx on The View this morning! She even lifted her skirt to show them off! I truly appreciate her openness and willingness to share and all, but my momma would just DIE if I showed my underthings on the national TeeVee! Maybe she doesn't care for the crunches either?

It is so sad, I keep saying, "Tomorrow I will do *two* crunches..." and then I never do. I figure that this thing is a publishing convention, right? Not a weightlifting convention. Surely there will be other people ther elike me who sit on their butts all day? maybe? please?

Why is the world conspiring against me??? Argggh! I've had images of men with three testicles stuck in my head for days and now I need to know WHAT ARE YARN SORES????

I have yarn in my house because although I don't knit, I DO crochet, and are yarn sores something you get from being near to yarn because if they are I am really screwed, or do you have to actually be using it to get yarn sores in which case I am safe for the time being.

But I must know or I will have NIGHTMARES and NAPMARES.

Napmares, hee.

Other Ruth, on Stitchy's webpage she has little buttons, and one has a picture of a girl from the 60s or 70s with yarn pom-poms on her face. It says "Got yarn sores?" It is so darn funny.

Sweet lord, I too lose my eyes when I smile for pictures. I always look so squinty. *sigh*

At least you look cute.

And vinegar guy? That's just beyond gross. Maybe you should just ask the perfume girl something like, "Hey! I love what you're wearing, what is it?" And then "Oh, I've tried that before, but on you it's so strong. Your skin must amplify it."

Passive agressive, thou art my middle name.

I love that you used the word aft! Hope to see you tonight at SnB. I'm so excited about your book-I called my mom to tell her about it and she said "oh my god, buy a copy and get her to sign it so we can auction it off at the library's Christmas fundraiser." My mom volunteers at the local public library (town population: 6,143)which has a very large group of knitters who meet there every Wednesday. Your book might fund that new children's storytime area they are trying to install! I'm proud as punch to know such a supastar!!!

Hi Laurie!

I've been lurking and reading your blog for a while now and you always keep me in stitches (no pun intended.) I can't wait for your book to come out so that I can laugh far into the night. Love your kitties and can relate to the craziness of living in a multi-cat house because hubby and I have five and are living the motto that "Cats are like potato chips, you can't have just one."

Lucky you to be meeting Stitchy! My friend gave me her book for Christmas and I never laughed so hard. She's priceless.

P.S. Princess Lorelai (who actually looks quite a bit like Roy) wants to know where I can locate that tent for her.

Thanks for posting the cute photo of me and Mary Jo. Of course, we will be happy to solve ALL of your problems if you just give us a few minutes, a Bob's Apple Fritter Doughnut and some more Paton's Up-Country!

Thanks for a good laugh. That pic of the cat tent is too much!

Hey Laurie! Can we talk squares? I still have a hand full or so - maybe 10 or 11 - from your grandmother's blanket that we weren't able to use (by the way, I am guessing you haven't been to the post office?...) Anyway. Extra squares. Maybe I could send them to the VT project? How would you and your grandmother feel about that?

handful. One word, not two.

girl.. 80% of the free world has jobs that require them to sit on their rumps all day long... consider it a job perk.

Have your parents painted their magnificent RV to match the cover of your book? Yet? Not that they're BURSTING with pride or anything.

Maybe they could compromise and paint a ginormous portrait of Sobakowa on one side in honor of her dictatorial fabulosity. And your book cover on the other.

There was a vinegar man on my bus last week, and of course, the bus was full and he sat across the aisle from me. And his music was so loud that I could tell he was listening to Eminem on his headphones, and I could have rapped along if I knew the words.

I am a little worried now that I am messing with other people's bus schedules because I take different buses all the time. What if the other riders are trying to avoid me, but they are unable to because of my crazy schedule? I don't wear perfume though, so at least I have that going for me!

yarnpants. hee hee
I make the squinty no eye face too. Sad but true.
Cats in tents are awfully cute!

We have a Purfume Lady on my bus too. We also have Personal Space Invading Guy and Cellphone Girl.

Thanks, Laurie! I know you'll get to it when you can. It's a really cute shot of you and Frank, too! (I mean it, eyeballs or no).

If you have time, go see Lyda's post on our blog today. She 'splains why she couldn't make it to SnB that night. (It all happened the Friday before, but she was still recovering).

You get to meet Stitchy McYarnpants? She's so funny. None of y'all will get any knitting done, you know!

I'm still shuddering about that poor lady who lost her knitting ... I was paranoid about that myself!

Your peppers make me so jealous! I can't wait to have a house with a backyard and a garden so I can do gardeny things like plant peppers.

I have that cheeky eyeball problem sometimes too, along with my remember to tilt your head upward in pictures or else you get extra chins problem.

I hate Perfume Lady! I have one at....my GYM! It is the worst ever to be huffing and puffing on the eliptical and have Perfume Lady next to me on the stationary bike.
Also, Tipper is probably gonna come after you soon if you don't leave Al alone.

A friend of mine also afflicted with the squity/ cheeky condition decided a while ago that she would concentrate on keeping her eyes wide open while flashing an extra-toothy smile for any photos. She now looks like Rosie on crack in every single one of them.

Gimme squinty anytime!

Be it hereby known that Wal-Mart now carries Crinkle Caves, or at least a couple of them that I have been in do. Note that you are looking for a smallish (maybe 8" square), flattish, clear plastic packet with brightly colored fabric inside. If you look for fully-popped-up caves you will look in vain. I found them on a shelf in the cat toys section.

And this too is thanks to you, Laurie, since I never would have paid them any mind if you hadn't talked about them on this here web site. My cat disappeared into it immediately, and was pleased. My cat now loves you too.

I have the same smile--chipmunk cheeks and beady eyes. I prefer to think people won't notice because they'll be dazzled by my lovely, gleaming teeth. ;)

Madam Soba--You were not selected for the cover because they were going for cute and cuddly and didn't want to ruin your good reputation.

The only crunches I do are while eating a bag of potato chips. I guess that would explain the horrible photo of me in a bathing suit that I sent you last year.

Yarnpants has yarn sores. I'm all growed up too.

Yey, Roy! Woo Hoo! A picture of Roy! I love Roy! I wish I could hug Roy! Sorry for my overly enthusiastic and slightly irrational outbursts of Roy adoration, I just can't help myself. Personally, I think Soba agrees with me ... and I know she hugs him, too - I've seen pictures to prove it. If I had his address, I'd send him his own bag of catnip if it wouldn't mess with his alergies. Yey Roy!

Woo hoo! Number 39?!

I can't ride the bus to work because I work in a different county from where I live and I think it would take about 4 days & eleventy-seven transfers to get there but for the last two days I have heard someone, we'll call him Coughing Man)around the corner in the cube farm that has the worst cough I ever heard - sounds like he has a sheep stuck in his throat!

I am at least considerate enough to stay home and work from there if I am germy coughing so as not to share everything in my life with my co-workers

i have the honor of knowing ms. yarnpants and of trying to knit with her. within minutes we end up drinking and eating enchiladas. so you'll have a good time.

but don't have too good a time since i will not be there and that makes me sad.

I'm workin' out in the yard today, diggin' in the dirt and weedin' and ho'in' (hee) and plantin' stuff and having a grand ol' time on this hear lovely and cool day. I had to come inside and get a drink of water and so I sat down and read your blog post today and was very happy to see that your pepper seedlings are jammin'. And once again I'm envious that you had Korean BBQ.

I'm also jealous you get to meet Stitchy McDeb, who I'm betting you'll get along famously with. You two are some of the funniest knit-bloggers alive!

Alas, I turn into a heavy sneezer around heavy perfume. Heck, I'm a heavy sneezer for no reason at all, unfortunately....

Tell Christa to call the airline's lost & found dept., and perhaps the airport's, as well.

today, i encountered ms. pants-so-low-let-me-get-the-name-of-your-waxer on the train.

As a lurker here for at least a cople of years, just want you to know that I pre-ordered your book just now.
Good luck in The Big Apple!
Yarnpants.

Just be glad you haven't befriended Heavy Perfumer or else YOU would reek of it too (on account of you're such an avid hugger and all).

Worked with this guy who BATHED in Polo. Finally got to know him better and had a sit-down with him. He was so used to it, he couldn't smell it anymore and thought it wore off by noon. Actually kept a bottle at work to reapply at lunch! GACK! The office became much more pleasant after that talk.

Yarnpants! yarnpants! Yarnpants!

It sounds like a Monty Python sketch!

I haven't seen too many weirdos on my bus, but then again, I catch the 6:40 and my hair is still wet and my eyes aren't really open yet. Maybe I am the scary one?

SO want to go to S-n-B tonight but we are still moving. The cats are NOT pleased.

I think you should make a cat calendar with your best kitty posse photos. It would sell millions. The one of Soba is one of your best EVER.

Laurie, did Roy's eyes change color? I could have sworn they were blue in all the other pictures...but they look green in the tent!

Laurie -- did you know that the Javits Center is not very far from Koreatown (32nd St. between 5th and 6th Avenues)? Head over there and you will be amidst a massive number of restaurants (and karaoke bars, if you like that). You can eat Korean barbecue until you bust!

Another New Yorker advising you to leave the cute shoes at home and bring comfy, able-to-walk-long-distance shoes with you. (I like Merrell clogs.)

Also, Javits is a huge place and you'll be on your feet all day--dress for comfort and dress in layers. I've attended and worked many trade shows there and my advise is to bring lots of water and your own snacks -- the concession prices are outrageous.

I'll probably be able to get into the show. If so, I'll stop by and say, "hey!"

Hee, there should really be an excerpt from Sobakowa's manifesto in the next book!

The only solution I can think of to your bus woes is to wear a Sars mask. But that's pretty dorky.

Mushrooms are their own food group in my house! Don't fear the mushroom! Honest, come by the house sometime for dinner, you'll see how great they can be!

Hee, there should really be an excerpt from Sobakowa's manifesto in the next book!

The only solution I can think of to your bus woes is to wear a Sars mask. But that's pretty dorky.

i'm a hokie. my son will be a freshman in the fall. i've decided to knit nothing but blankie squares for the whole month of may. maybe it'll help me stop crying.

I think it would of been funny to put the furry dictator's pic on the cover with her little hood and sunglasses. Mind you, you'd probably get harassed at airports after that but it would have been funny.

OMG! I cannot believe know one has commented on how friggin HOTTT Frank is! Me want him! Is he gay, involved, married, divorced.....LOOKING! Pease let us know, Laurie! LOL :0)

Laurie - I have the same problem with the cheeks and the eyes! I began wearing glasses in the 80's - you remember, frames the size of hubcaps -and everytime they would try a pair of frames on me, they would say "smile" and I would and the frames would hop up over my forehead! Dang big 'ole chipmunk cheeks! But, hey, aren't chipmunks the cutest???

You might remind Mdme. Sobakowa that one of Kafka's characters woke up with his ass on trial, and another woke up with his ass under a carapace.You can also tell her that I admire her total control of her limited environment. She is a role model for so many felines (two and four legged.) My person and I are in sync. - at least on this issue. So, I'll now return control to my person. Yo,audie, press send. Now would be good.

Dangit! I bought my kitten a tent and he plopped himself into it once and has ignored it ever since. I've liberally sprinkled it with catnip and still! None of the cats will venture near it. Bah! I also have the same problem with the cheeks and eyes. I end up looking like a happy Buddha when I smile. I figure it's better then looking like some kind of mad zombie fresh risen from the grave.

Hey Laurie - I have a question ... and I don't know if this is the best place for it or not - so sorry to be asking on your blog (which I adore by the way!) - but you seem to be very knowledgable on such things (you know - helpy!!)...or I could use the advice of any other commenters too. I have a pair of baby booties that were knitted by a very elderly grandma who has since went to the grander knitting lands of somewhere else - but the booties - look like little mice - with little knitted ears that are knitted into the pattern - not sewn on .. and the tail is knitted into the pattern too - also not sewn on. I am trying to find the pattern and I have looked every where - internet, books, bootie books ... and since I am still a novice knitter - I don't know if I could even tackle these booties right now (I am currently working on my 1st pair of felted slippers with lots of hand-holding by an expert knitter who works at my company - we meet once a week ... I learned how to make a stitch last week .. woo hoo!) I have been unsuccessful thus far in finding the pattern and was wondering if I could send you a picture to see if you have ever run across these booties - or do you have any ideas of how I might find this pattern. I was also going to take them to a local yarn shop and see if they have ideas of where I might find this pattern. If you have any ideas - please let me know. Thanks!!!

Sue

This is so totally out of the blue, but I have a sense from your photos that you have long fingers and very nice, crafting-appropriate hands. Am I right?

(I know this is a very strange question, but I'm funny like that. Also, my friend who just got engaged was speaking a lot about her crazy man hands last night, so conversation about hands and hand sizes and fingers ensued, and I have stubby stupid fingers and um, I dunno. Just curious.)

You might remind Mdme. Sobakowa that one of Kafka's characters woke up with his ass on trial, and another woke up with his ass under a carapace.You can also tell her that I admire her total control of her limited environment. She is a role model for so many felines (two and four legged.) My person and I are in sync. - at least on this issue. So, I'll now return control to my person. Yo,audie, press send. Now would be good.

Hey Laurie! No wonder you didn't answer my email! Sometimes I end up in the spam folder, I think it's because the email comes from "Stitchy McYarnpants" and the filter thinks it's being smart.

Anyway, is Sunday good? Email me whenever you can to let me know.

I just checked in to my hotel, it's so nice out! Yay!!

Hey Laurie! Thanks SO much for putting the Hokie project up here-we've been getting tons of comments about it! And ugh! Perfume ladies are THE WORST! Did you see that episode of The Office where the one girl smells something horrible and goes looking for it and it turned out to be the lady working next to her? too funny-but too realistic!

Hey Sue, googling brought up Knitting Pattern Central Mouse bootie pattern, but you probably already saw them; they look like socks with mouse ears and facial features. But cute! If you hve the original booties you may be able to figure out how they were made, that may actually be simpler.
Is there something about the name Frank/Frankie that causes gorgeousness and a sweet nature?
Yarnpants!

Tee hee....here a link to REAL LIFE yarnpants!

http://community.livejournal.com/punk_knitters/110889.html

O.K. I love Stitchy myself. She is very cute and has a very funny blog and I love the book too but ... I was really going for the cutest website name on the whole internets and now I am really jealous.

My boss LOVES to spray on more perfume than any human should ever wear in a lifetime. I refer to it as her wall of stank. It's sad that I know when she arrives even though I am across a large room just by her smell.

Maybe Vinegar Guy and Perfume Girl should sit *next* to each other? For sure they won't be able to smell each other, and who knows? - maybe they'd cancel each other out, to the relief of the rest of the bus! :)

first, congrats on the book! so cool!

my kitty, truman, wants to know where i can get one of those cat tents as he has 3 dogs from whom he sometimes needs privacy. he says he wants it for his 1st b-day (on 5/15). any ideas?

i once had a boss who marinated herself in Opium and smoked like a chimney on steriods (and had a voice to match). meetings in her office were a real treat, and you truly could smell her before you saw her. she has since gone on to the great perfume counter in the sky (hmmm...actually, probably to the much warmer one in the "basement"...).

Please feel free to blog about your book five times a day if you wish (that's what I would do if I wrote one, plus I would hawk it to complete strangers on the subway), but THANK HEAVEN you are posting cat pictures again.

I just have to say...

1)OMG, I just HATE the Heavy Perfumers! Especially the ones who you get trapped with in elevators. Though, I'm sure the bus is about as bad.

2)I'm jealous of you having the cute Mrs. Lee as your neighbor. I so love Korean food, I would be on her porch like a stray cat every day if she was cooking over that pit next door to me! :)

2)That's all for now---I'm not very exciting...

LOL Lucia... you funny :)

Kristy I think sending the extra squares to Virginia is an awesome and heartfelt plan, LOVE it.

Heavy perfumers make me sneeze, too, but I had not considered what would happen if Perfumer and Vinegar ever got on the same bus. An explosion, I am guessing.

Oh man, losing my knitting on the plane was my single, biggest fear when I went to Thailand. Imagine being in a foreign country for 12 days with all that time and having LOST your knitting...

Makes me shutter to think...

Long-time lurker here...never posted until now but I love your blog.

My fiance does the same squinty thing. (I love it when people smile with their whole face like that) I imagine you also talk with your hands and sometimes even have to get out of your chair to tell a story.

Anyway, sweetie is a country boy and has funny expressions for everything. About the squinty eye he says, "You can blindfold me with dental floss."

Thank you for including in your blog entry, Jody's comment about the Hokie Healing. All of us in Blacksburg appreciate it so much...take care.

So - this is a day late discussion-wise, but - do you watch "October Road?" Phil - they guy who doesn't leave his house called the pizza place and ordered....a pie!

Nice pepper plants! I just bought one of those greenhouse deals and will be planting some patio tomato seeds tomorrow!

Been meaning to tell you that I can't wait to see the results of those pepper plants in your cooking! Please, oh please, take pictures whenever that occurs! Me thinks they would be perfect in some Tex-Mex!

And I got my kitty the crinkle cave, too, only it's in red. I found it at the local Walmart. He loves to play in it and nap inside, too.

Aw, Soba! Is she not appeased by the numerous profiles of her on your blog? Silly Dictator!

Also, looking forward to your future post on your adventures in New York! I've always wanted to visit. You have yourself the best time on earth and I'm glad that your parents are going with you!

"I love it when people smile with their whole face like that"

What a beautiful thing to say. I've always thought that of myself, and I'm glad to see that others do, too.

I didn't comment earlier about the book - CAP, that's wonderful news, and even though I'm on a book buying fast (not willingly), I will purchase yours.

You are not Hangul (Korean) until you use chopsticks (like moi)....

just sayin is all......

Kamsa hamnida

When I saw your picture with Frank, I thought, kewl, you know that mean doctor from Scrubs:
http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/McGinley,_John_C./

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH that's really scary Katie!

CAP Sweetie, have you tried entertainment for your cruches? There's a world of exercise videos beyond Richard Simons. Tamilee Webb, of Buns of Steel fame, still does vids (http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fitness-Tamilee-Want-That/dp/B00005N8AP/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9194730-4632605?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1177662459&sr=1-1). Knowing she's over 50 will either motivate or depress you.

I think you'd like Noelle, but her DVDs are OOP. They show up new at Ross sometimes.(http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00008PW2B/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1/103-9194730-4632605?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1177658367&sr=1-1)

You can find more than you want to know about exercise videos on the forum at VideoFitness.com.

Every 30-something, divorced, Cheetos-and-yarn-addicted, 4-cats woman needs to add exercise videos to her addictions. It's another lifestyle the world in general doesn't understand.

I think Winnie and Talitha (photos on my blog) would fall in the interested-for-2-minutes camp on the kitty tents. We already have about 6 beds for 2 cats, one of whom doesn't sleep in them. The other rotates.

Congratulations on the book.

The trick to riding the bus is to be odder than the others! Try wearing yarnpants...on a really hot day...and I bet they will move away from you...leaving you with a comfortable, non-smelly buffer.

Love the Sobakowa pic!! Perhaps you could use Sobakowa for the CAP dictionary that could be published as a web download.

omigod -- my cheeks totally take over my face when I smile too -- what IS that??? Darn my big head!

And I thought my cat Max was the only one who howled with ennui...he also thinks he's the center of the universe. Good thing he's neutered & we're 2200 miles away...can you imagine the evil spawn of these two?!

I have to ask...do you have Torrett's Syndrome Guy on the bus? Because he sat by me for a week on jury duty once and I almost came unglued. And he lives on the CA central coast :-)

Hey, I've been enjoying your blog! Congrats on the book, and I love your cat photos. You make me want to go out and buy even more toys/tents, etc for my kitties... but I think then I'd end up in the divorced situation too... our house is full of cat accessories these days.

Those are some unfortunate bus situations. Not too pleasant I'm sure. I hope that vinegar guy doesn't have this one thing I heard about which is something that can't be helped--I read about a woman who just reeked of rotting fish, no matter what she did to try and cover it--it was something physically wrong and she was mortified! If I had that, I don't think I'd ride the public bus, that's for sure--so maybe it's the bad hygiene thing.-09urwter (Agh! kitty just tried to walk across my laptop!)

I know this doesn't have anything to do with this post...but I had to share....

My roommate and I both read your blog daily. The other night we were talking about how you have a book and I said....'Well I guess we're both 'Purl girls'. My roommate gave me a very quizzical look before bursting into laughter. YOu see....she thought I meant 'Pearl girl' as in the commercial for tampons. That would be a different kind of pearl...

Vinegar guy may have the Kavorka and is simply trying to keep the ladies at bay. We shouldn't be too judgy.

Finally feeling up to stalkin' you again... but in a good way, really! Love the pic of you and my BFF Anna-Liza. And I love OtherLisa's idea of you doing a calendar, with the best cat pics and some Crazy Aunt Purl wisdom and maybe a knitting tip on each month's page. And of course, snippets from Soba's manifesto. I'd totally put that up on my fridge!

Ahh... the bus. Ours are mostly clogged with college students. Does anyone else have the ever popular "Oompa Loompa Girls"? You can spot these girls effortlessly and easily. They are orange from too much tanning. Also their hair is bleach blonde. They generally have a bottle of some sort with them (usually water) and a cellphone attached to their ear which they talk into. Loudly... This is why I walk places ;)

If my Mom had patted your back, it would mean she considered you totally part of the family. But we're Japanese so maybe there's a difference there. :-)

Luck & success to you always, Keeper of Sobakowa!

L

Yay!
It sounds like you indeed have been accepted by your Neighbors.
Additionally - when you smile in pictures and gain cheek while losing eyeball, you really ARE Korean. . .
Welcome to the Club!

Now stop hugging everyone and we'll get you the K.D. (Korean ID) Card - and make it official!
=)

Wonderful post! And yes, I will be checking out the squares porjects for the families of the shooting victims. What a wonderful idea. Go volunteers! You could probably get 2000 squares just from promo onm your site.

And I agree with Soba, she should have been on the cover. My heart wants Roy, but Soba would dictate otherwise.

Laurie, there has been some discussion at our house about your awesome grammer. It is agreed that, for excriciatingly proper Cracker Ass McCracker conjugation, you should have said:

"I =done= went and wrote me a book."

Hey Laurie - you'll just have to accept those cheeks as cute - I have the same problem and one person asked me if I was Chinese when he saw my driver's license picture - which was funny because he was looking at my usual (Dutch ) face and trying to make sense of it all. smiling is good for us anyways....

I just read that your email isn't working, Ugh! I wrote you earlier to tell you that Smiley's Yarn Store in NY has Patons Up Country on sale. I think it's the one you like that's been discontinued, but I can't really remember for sure...age is catching up to me!

Dez that was too darn funny. Thanks Tevana for the heads up!!

And I love that idea, "smile with your whole face" :)

I am soo glad I am not the only one who thinks Al Gore is cute.

Oh My Goodness you are making me remember the Commuter Express experiences of a couple of years ago! There was this guy who rode up front and would mutter to himself and snap his fingers LOUD. I would be trying to doze or read a book and SNAP!!! (Jump out of skin, get even GROUCHIER than need be for being on a bus in the DARK at 6 AM heading downtown). I liked the cushy seats on the Commuter Express, but the infrequency and unreliability of the return bus in the evening, coupled with higher price and horrid Diesel fumes from people opening windows in LA Traffic... STUPID I was nauseous and headachy every day. Now I stick to the Orange Line and Red Line, which are more crowded and the riders appear less affluent... and well the seats are harder, but the riders tend to leave each other alone, the timetables are great (6 minutes between buses, 10 minutes between trains), and it's less expensive. Downside, it takes a little longer.... but that guy isn't SNAPPING HIS FINGERS at erratic intervals... and I'm saving $$. Plus, the ride is smoother (better for reading and knitting)and I'm not stressed about running out the door at work and watching the tail end of the commuter bus . I just walk to the train and wait 10 minutes for the next one. Pluses and Minuses, granted, but at least I'm saving money and helping the environment... (looking around, though, sometimes people look really different and scary.... I always feel more calm while knitting, PLUS I have pointy objects in my hands for protection... and some otherwise scary big young men, end up asking me questions about knitting and suggest they might take it up at home, in private, where their homies won't see and think they're Sissies or anything.

Whew! Lots of ramblin... Love your blog!

Congrats on the book!

thanks to Stitchy McYarnparts, "mooseknuckle" is said almost daily in my household.

My husband drives for the Seattle Metro, mostly the downtown and Free Zone areas. He asked me what the difference is between bus riders and zombies.
...
Zombies don't talk.
"Hey!" I said, "the commuters don't talk!"
...
"Yup."

Congrats on the book, Laurie. I"m looking forward to my copy!