Sometimes I think you are the funniest person on the freaking planet. "Mt. Dodgerest!"

I share your fear of heights. It is a curse.

Yes, it is the cute guys in tight pants. Baseball ROCKS!

I'm afraid of heights too. As long as no one else is freaking out, I just pretend it's not there and stay calm.

Truthfully, ten dollars is way too much for beer.

You're making me jealous. Our SF Giants Stitch & Pitch isn't for another 6 weeks!

I agree with you about heights. I always volunteer to stay on the ground & hold the purses at the state fair.

That picture of you and Faith, with the field in the background, looks like you two are standing in front of a backdrop, the field is so far away. Very brave of you going all the way up there -- so far that the tight pants are barely visible!

Sara looks just adorable, all healthy and pregnant and glowing. Kudos to her, too, for carrying a baby, in front for crying out loud, all the way up there!

Again, you are my hero, for pushing the hermitudinal envelope and reporting back from the edge.

And, um, Lucy? SF Giants Stitch & Pitch? Is it sold out yet?

You are so cute!

Oh, what fun! Despite your nerves, you do look like you had a good time (maybe it was the lack of oxygen). I wish I could go to something like that, but unfortunately for me, the Red Sox pack the stands without having to suck up to the knitters. I wonder if minor league teams ever have promos like this? Or even better, hockey teams? Something to look into!

Don't you feel like you could just tip over and start rolling and plummeting down over the rows, down, down to the field. Once I get up to a seat like that, I do not move. Won't even stand to let people pass, sorry, might Fall.

Saw you at the game last night and you certainly didn't look terrified. I must admit seeing CAP was one of the highlights of the evening. The seats are so high up in the boonies that baseball certainly isn't the main attraction.

I went to a Stitch 'n' Pitch at the Seattle Mariners stadium last year, only I didn't know it was an SnP until I was in the stadium. They had a scoreboard quiz about knitting in one of the middle innings--fun!

I'm totally with you on the fear of heights thinger. I am stair challenged as well so there's no way I could have scaled Mt. Dodgerest as well as you did.

But I must say, you look absolutely beautiful in all those pictures.

Marilyn, it was fun! You should definitely go. Nothing rocks more than baseball food, and knitting :)

The only real downside was that I was so overstimulated when I got home that I couldn't sleep. I don't know how normal people do it, being sociable all the time and going out on a school night. How do you folks do it???? I'm always like that after stitch-n-bitch, too.

Jo Anne, I asked Faith in the car, "Do you think people could tell I was clutching on for dear life?" and she said no one noticed. I think this is actually the best part of being Southern. We are taught early on to smile when we are inwardly churning. I used to hate that law of female behavior, now I see it is a great asset!! LOL

I sympathize w/your fear, and applaud your bravery! I never used to mind heights, but now get freaked when I hear 'balcony'! It came to a head when I trekked up Chichen Itza, and then had a panic attack and almost could not get down. So disappointing because I had really looked forward to seeing it, and could NOT enjoy the view. Does it bother you when people on tv are shown up high, in precarious positions? Maybe it's only me who can no longer tell difference between reality and tv and has to look away. AHHHH!

The other thing about fear of heights which is SO DUMB but yet I fear it anyway is that I am scared I will somehow someway lose track of MY MIND and hurl myself off or jump or something. Even though I would never do it because it is MY GREAT FEAR. But anyway, I guess that is why they call it an "irrational" fear.

Well shucks, I was watching that game on TV last night! And I have to say, if they want to PUBLICIZE it, they could (a) say something about it on the air, (b) show people knitting, or (c) move you poor people down to the scads of empty seats nearer the ground. I have been seated near the top rows of two stadiums (stadia?) and it's terrifying. Go Stitch and Pitch!

That looks like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers stadium. The top tier is also known as the arctic ice cap in October.

My sons would be so proud of you, we are the baseball family.

You and Faith look like you had a great time, wish I was there to buy a round.

By the way, who were they playing and what was the score? Did you watch the game or did you just go for the fun?

yes! I also have that irrational fear that I will somehow lose control of my own limbs and they will THROW themselves off of whatever high up place I am standing on! It is worse in a stadium with that weird steep angle when you look down, and really bad on that pyramid where there are no railings, a narrow place to stand and lots of people milling about. I was just SURE someone would bump me and I would go tumbling! Yipes, I'm a freak. Must practice the Southern lady repression thing.

I like Kevin Costner baseball movies and hometown baseball when your hometown is not Major League but only a little bitty mark on a map full of your best friends.

They were playing the Brewers and the Dodgers won, wootwoot :) I do think I was the only baseball fan in our row, except for Peggy. I love me some Dodgers!

My M.O. is to scream "yay!" when everyone else does and say, "booo!" when everyone else does. That way people think I'm watching the game. I know the Dodgers won. Other than that, I saw one home run.

I usually humiliate myself when faced with heights.. There was the time I had to crawl on hands and knees to make it across the 3rd floor catwalk at the Denver Natural History Museum. (schoolchildren ran right past me)
and then when I thought I could just "get over it" and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.... yeah, no such luck, I shook uncontrollably and had tears streaming down my face, when I got back to earth, I almost knocked over several vendors with Eiffel Tower souvenirs on my way to lay as flat on the grass as possible.
Gotta Love being 6 feet tall and afraid of heights. ;)

Those super vertical stadiums give me the woozies - I once went to the US Open (tennis) and thought I was going to pass out...first, lots and lots o' people, tiny seats that you squish into, all very close together, it was HOT, and I was at the top of the stadium. EEEEEK. When I stood up I swear it felt like I was going to topple forward and tumble down all the rows below me. Way to hang in there!
P.S. you look really great in the pics...is it the new mineral makeup????

Our old home team (Dukes) used to be the farm team for the Dodgers but now the Isotopes are for the Florida Marlins. I was looking to see if we are having a Stitch-n-Pitch but it doesn't look like it. Sometimes we get free tickets at work for sky box seats and we get to feel rich and important. Think I'll go put a bug in the bosses ear.

Laurie, I have acrophobia (fear of heights) too. I just got back from a vacation to the Black Hills in South Dakota. I learned a few things there.

1) The Black Hills are not hills. They're freakingly huge mountains!

2) I now know why the Badlands are called The Badlands. but that's my favorite place in SD, even with all the big hills and cliffs and large dropoffs there. If you ever get to visit The Badlands, stop at the giftshop/restaurant in the Interior and get an Indian Taco...oh yummy!!

I'm pretty sure I annoyed the boyfriend a LOT while we were in the Black "Hills". I kept telling him to slow down when we were going down the "hills" in his minivan...and I (most of the time) refused to look down the sides of the mountains and cliffs, even tho it was really pretty.

I guess now I dont need to hide all of my myriad phobias (mice, spiders, heights, enclosed spaces, the dark, and open water...I'm ok in a swimming pool tho) from the boyfriend anymore. He managed to get me to actually get out of the car at the Badlands to look at the beautiful views...we walked around at Mt Rushmore, altho I didnt walk up to the very base of Rushmore to get nostril shots of the President's faces...I let the boyfriend do that on his own.

I love the Black Hills, and the Badlands, but why do those hills and mountains and cliffs have to be so tall?

At least when we went to Rushmore Cave (big cave full of stalactites and stalagmites) I managed to get thru the cave without panicking, passing out, or curling up into the fetal position and rocking back and forth while crying and covering my head with my hands. I got almost all the way thru it before my mind started making me imagine what would happen if we had an earthquake or a ceiling collapse or something.

I used to white knuckle drives over bridges or along Hwy 101 on the part that skirts the cliffs and will crumble into the Pacific at the exact moment when I finally relax.

I once scared the shit out of a friend by screaming at the top of my lungs when I went out a door in the parking garage, mistakenly thinking they led to enclosed stairs, and saw the ground fall two stories away from me.

Paxil has helped a lot.

Still, I prefer gravity.

Bridges. Especially bridges over water, troubled or not.

BIGTIME willies.

It was great to meet you too! We're big fans!

Seats B11/Laura and B12/B13/The Twisteds

Oh yeah, and men in baseball pants? I don't know, my husband once wore a pair for fun and I just thought they were the most unattractive pants ever.

I wish I had the ability to throw off the hermitude attitude like you are!! Beer, baseball weenies, and altitude also make me start wondering if I would fall off the cliff and roll onto those people who paid a ton for the close seats.

The new stadiums have super high-powered fast moving escalators. I would always take them up and then walk the concrete slopes of Mt. Minute Maid down. My best effort at burning off the expensive beer.

The Other Ruth - I recently went to FL on vacation, and was merrily taking I-275...I knew it went over some water but thought it was just a causeway...OH NO. Check out the "Sunshine Skyway Bridge" on the internet...worst panic attack of my life. Still not sure how I got over that thing. It is HUGE.

Any baseball outdoors is better than any baseball indoors! I'd much rather go watch the Miesville Mudhens than the Minnesota Twins. The beer is colder and cheaper.

We have an all-employee party each year, usually at the local minor league baseball game. Last year I took my knitting - a one-person SnP. Since then I have come to know more knitting cow-orkers, so maybe we can drum up an informal SnP. Baseball and knitting go together because baseball is a relatively slow game, full of pauses. Football on TV and knitting also go well together, thanks to instant replay. And all those tight ends!

Laura awesome to meet you too!!

I know how I got the height/fear of water phobias.

When I was about 3 or 4, my parents decided to take us on a vacation from Omaha to the DEEP SOUTH (grandparents lived in Buckatunna, MS then) and my older and somewhat evil sister thought that it was hilarious to tell me that she was going to throw me into every body of water we passed by/over. If we drove over the bridge that the creek by our house went under, she said she was going to throw me in.

When we drove over the Mississippi river at one point, she even went so far as to try to grab me to "toss" me out the window. We didnt have car seats for that trip...heck, we didnt have seats. My dad just put me and my sister in the bed of his Datsun pickup truck (covered, carpeted and had padding on the walls after I rolled into the back of the cab after he stopped too quickly once)

Then, when my grandpa drove us into Florida to go see the Gulf, my sister was a really big meanie and said she was going to feed me to the sharks. I have a picture of me and my mom, standing in the Gulf, and I've got a deathgrip on her hand, and I look like I'm going to cry.

I wonder if I can get my sister to pay for therapy for all the torture she put me thru??

WHERE did you get that purse? I LOVE IT.

First - Laurie - oh my. You are so pretty. You look great in the pics. I know you vetted them before putting them on the site, but you truly look mahvehlous.

Second - you want to talk heights? In toronto, in the CN tower, they have cut the floor out of the bottom floor (some 100+ stories up) and PUT IN GLASS - THAT YOU CAN STAND ON. IF YOU ARE CRAZY!.

I remember cautiously putting one foot (no weight on it) and then fussing at Loozer Boy who would put his on it at the same time - as if it might crumble under my massiveness.

Interestingly enough, we observed the following phenom -kids about 4 and under had no fear walking on it, rollign on the glass floor, etc. But about that age, the fear had set in. Must be a learned thing. Or parents are universally throwing their pre-K kids off roofs or sumthin.

Ok, I just bought my ticket to the SF stitch & pitch in July. Now I just have to:
-figure out the public transportation thingy
-start knitting something to take
-save some money for the $10 beer & maybe an oxygen tank

For me, going DOWN the scary stairs is WAAAAY worse than the going up of the scary stairs. Add to the mix that I am the Queen of all Clutzes and you have a very dangerous and life-threatening situation!!

I broke my leg going down the 5 steps of my back porch; can you see the frightening possibilities??

Wow - how creative!! Looks like fun!

When you write your letter requesting a change in altitude, attach the pic of the expectant parents. There seemed to be entire sections open that wouldn't require pressurization.

And you looked TOO cute!!!

Another 'fraidy cat with the heights' here. I saw those stairs in your pics and said no way for me! You are so brave! And you look great in all those pics, especially with the perfect lipstick! (Does perfect lipstick help hide the fear?)

Alicia -- I got that bag from Target like two years ago. I love it!!

And also Laura thank you for not posting any pics of me doing the white-girl boogie during "Bliie Jean" LOL (see: many beers)

You look awesome and I love your handbag!

Perfect lipstick helps mask many things ;)

Did you knit a baseball cozy? That looks like so much fun - if you're the type who likes scaling mountainsides.

Laurie--I second the emotion that you are so pretty!

MichelleinCO--Chichen Itza, what a great place! I went there in 1972 (as an infant, of course. Oh wait that would still make me old! Actually, I was 16.)

Our guide actually pulled out a guitar and sang us a song about tourists going up Chichen Itza and being afraid to come down. It was mighty funny till we got up there ourselves.

But no one would admit it because our elderly school librarian, who was one of our faculty chaperones, had beat all us girls to the top and charged back down again like it was nothing. We backed down, holding on to those chains, and pretended we were just being a little extra careful, that's all.

How is it that I did not know of the Stitch 'n Pitch, what with living not 5 minutes from Dodger Stadium and reading multiple knitting blogs daily? Damn and double damn, AND it was possibly one of my last chances to have a true Dodger Dog before they are replaced. I am so sad.

I just wanted to say I would totally help you lobby/sign a petition/whatever it takes to get us closer to the ground nexy year.

I knew from last year that we would be close to the summit, and I almost didn't go cause of my vertigo issues. (BTW..it's not the HEIGHTS i'm afraid of...it's the FALLING from said heights that's what I am trying to avoid!!) Then, last night I get there (mentally prepared for the scariness) and see that not only am I way too high up for my comfort, but I'm also THREE rows away from death..er..the front! So, when you ran by and said you couldn't talk because of the height, i totally understood!

And I want to applaud your bravery...when i get to a summit like that, I don't get out of my seat until it's time to leave!! (even no matter HOW badly I need to use the restroom...if I get up, there's no way you'll get me back there!)

I am SOOOO looking forward to the Rockies Stitch 'n' Pitch, though the Rox suck and the Dodgers are pretty good, so it won't be nearly the same experience. Still, knitters.

I am not afraid of heights, but my badassery is still mildly afraid of spiders and terrified of singing in public. How badass is that?

Laurie - Mr. Twisted and I are BOTH afraid of heights and I therefore have nobody to catch me when I faint from the vast heightiness - I have to stay conscious in order to catch him! Thanks for joining us for a photo! (Seats 11, 12 & 13) You are beautiful, both inside and out, and you made our night!

Debbie

Did they win?

Now I want to arrange an Stitch n Pitch at a Spinners game. The Spinners are our local single-A Red Sox affiliate, and they 1) are much closer to home 2) have reasonably priced tickets and parking 3) play in a stadium whose top row is maybe 20 feet off the ground. And they still have hot dogs.

I was out of town for the Nationals Stitch & Pitch but it looks like you had fun (or maybe you were just spaced out from the thin air). I totally agree that there's just something about being AT a ballpark versus watching on tv, and it isn't just the taking out of a second mortgage to pay for your beer consumption.

anti-gravity being the mother of invention - or something like that - I think you should invent the "knitting needle flask", whereby you can take in liquid fortication beyond that $10 beer to sustain you on your next trek up to the knitter's summit. :)

Looks like a fabulous time! I love baseball (the Red Sox in particular!) and would adore attending such an event!

Those high seats scare me too! But how did you drink 4 cups of coffee and beer and . . . is there a bathroom up there? Or does fear freeze your bladder at those heights?

Laurie, Richard is scared of heights, too. He spent most of the night trying not to look down!

I nearly died when Gwen climbed down over the bottom row and leaned over the railing. Really. My heart stopped. Also, is that last photo the one about which you said, "that's the worst photo ever of about thirty people"?

Your post made me laugh and laugh - I think it was the 'tiny humans at earth surface' labels that did me in. Sounds like a fantastic event, even with fear of heights!

OMG OMG OMG Thank you for the brush with greatness. We are huge fans, faithful daily readers and to think we were sitting 3 seats away from you. We were giddy all night! What an honor that you included our the pic on your blog. You were so sweet to come over after we passed you the note. You are our Natalie Maines, we didn't want to seem like stalkers though... :)
Thanks again,
Jerry & Debbie

Great to see you last night! That picture of you and Faith is awsome it looks like you are floating way way high..... almost as if you have a backdrop behind you. But I know it was real.

It was so very scary up there and I too was more scared of the stairs going down and tripping and just flying right down .... but somehow I made it. Maybe the climb up and down the stairs equals in calories consumed and burned of the obligatory "Dodger Hot Dog" I had to eat. It was good but the indigestion it gave was not. Maybe next time I might rethink the hot dog bit.

But a good time was had by all.

I was at SnP (section 47, row H -which i guess stands for heaven b/c that's how high it felt). I would have loved to have met you but I guess you were saved from my stalker ways (where were you sitting?). Great pictures and I totally agree w/ you - knitters can make any event wonderful.

OMG! Sylvia (another) - I TOTALLY AGREE!!! I know it is probably not true - but I feel like if I lean forward at all - in about 3 seconds I will have tumbled all the way down to the field which is REALLY far away! Have to go potty - nope - it can wait. Want to look around - nope - sit back! You want to get past me - climb on over honey! Going up and down I have to walk behind my husband - CLUTCHING a handful of his shirt in my sweaty hand! I am actually dreading taking my kids to something where we have to be up high! My older one has similar fears to me - but teh little one is CRAZY! NO FEAR! And I will probably have a heart attack!

It's been years since I was at a ball game. I always hated those high ass seats. I am in fear of heights.

One foot off the ground is too damn much. The height of my heels is as far as I like to go. *L*

Glad you went and had fun. :D

Laurie,

Take binoculars with you the next time you have to sit in the stratosphere section of the stadium.

I am afraid of heights too. As one gravity lovin', earth bound Southern gal to another I can tell you having binocs in my bag is the only way I can achieve any resemblance of coolness while I'm trying not to clutch and cling to everything within arm's reach. At the first hint of panic, I pause wherever I am and dig out the binocs. Then I pretend to look at something terribly interesting down on the field. Suddenly the ground doesn't look so far away. I can breathe again, and then I can move again. Once I'm situated in my seat I do this a few more times until my brain realizes that I have the magical ability to make the ground rise to meet my feet. hee. Then I'm totally ok after that. Try it sometime.

How cool...we had our Asheville Stitch and Pitch last week(pix on my site). Of course our stadium was TINY, absolutely no risk of nosebleed, but the beer was only $1 (evidently thirsty thursday, lots of hot beer loving boys to watch).

OMG! was that a whole other level I saw above you?? They don't make things (other than indoor shopping malls) that big here. Thank goodness.

I'm always afraid that I will slip on the steps - not be able to catch myself and will hurtle off the damn things. I will then fly over the people and land splat on the turf/floor. I will be darn hurt - but not soo hurt that I won't feel the instant humiliation followed by the ongoing humiliation that will be the coverage of the clumsy woman who did that on the news and in the news papers. People will tape the coverage and clip the newspapers and gift them too me & I will never live it down.
Wonder if it's a very rational fear?

>>The other thing about fear of heights which is SO DUMB but yet I fear it anyway is that I am scared I will somehow someway lose track of MY MIND and hurl myself off or jump or something.<<

I have that same fear. Usually when I am on a bridge, which is why I am terrified of bridges...and stadiums.

I agree about fear of heights and climbing forever - I had never been that high up in Dodger Stadium - once I was wedged into my seat with my knitting and bags, I felt pretty safe -

it was a fantastic time though and I certainly recommend it to anyone who knits!

Seriously: two of my favorite things on earth are baseball and mountaineering stories. (Note "stories." I do not actually mountaineer, except from my couch, while watching "Ultimate Everest" or reading something by David Roberts.) So I really, really enjoyed Mt. Dodgerest. :) Knit on, you crazy diamond!

Ahhh, Mt. Dodgerest, made me homesick for L.A. I used to go to many games. I think we have a Stitch 'N Pitch here in Sacto some time this summer. Good on ya for making it up to that top level (shudder).

Di

Looks like you had fun. I'm not a baseball fan, but if I was, I'd be pissed off that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim do not have a stich n' pitch.

OMG, Laurie, I am so with you on the fear of heights/might fall if I move thing. I had a panic attack a couple of years ago while driving down I-75 through Kentucky on my way to Florida (first time) when I realized the road was on TOP of a very high mountain and there was nothing but a thin, low guardrail separating me from certain death. I hugged the mountain in the passing lane driving 45 mph cursing the locals who honked at me as they whipped their Dodge 350s around my tiny Sunfire at 90 mph. When I made it down the mountain, I stopped in Knoxville for a full two hours to regain consciousness.

I can't even stand to watch other people at great heights. As a child, we went to the Kennedy Center (D.C.). Not good. I stayed inside rather than venture onto the rooftop (you could read the fine print on the undersides of the planes going by every ten minutes, for Gosh Sakes!) and freaked when I saw kids around my age walking along the EDGE. I fully expected to see one of them plunge to his death 10 stories below. Needless to say, high-rises ain't my thing.

In that one picture, you are twice as high as the tops of the palm trees. Too high, too high!!!!

I've come to the conclusion that the words scenic overlook, majestic or some other such adjective are merely euphemisms for "way too high up for you". There ought to be a website for fear of heights travelers that points out all the bridges, mountain passes and other routes that may incite panic attacks. That way I wouldn't have to trace every new venture on Google maps, trying to figure out if that's a mountain or just a hill.

Well, a few years back.. the first time that I had lived in Seoul- I went to my first 'baseball' game.. oh, what an adventure.

It all happened.. when I was somewhere far, far from the military base in Seoul, Korea w/ a girlfriend.. and I suddenly heard this lady chasing us down the sidewalk.. yelling.. "Hey, you girls speaking in ENGLISH! STOP!!"

Come to find out- she had been here a few months w/ her American husband, who was the manager of a Korean baseball team. She knew no other Americans and invited us to a baseball game the following Saturday night.

After she lured us in w/ the treat of getting to sit with her in the PRESSBOX/etc. I figured.. "Sure, why not!"

So, knowing that the off-base 'uh, food choices' would be somewhat limited at best.. I brought some more traditional American foods to eat and to share.. (she was quite grateful for that too. I had chicken salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, and brownies... and 1/2 frozen water bottles so it would stay cold. I also brought her a gift from the military base (or America in a foreign country) that most people might be really, really hungry for, after living somewhere for 3 months, a big bag of M & M's.. as a thank you for the admission and sitting in the press box adventure.

Wanna know what the big differences of a baseball game in Korea and America was? Of course everything was announced in Korean, and apparently no one had determined that it's not a good idea to ALLOW the 'fans' to toss lit firecrackers into the stands and onto the baseball field. (still happens) Humm, firecrackers + drinking + large groups of people = not a good thing. It was crazy.

Also, want to know what the traditional food snack choices for sale? No peanuts, no popcorn, no hotdogs.. no, but, you can get all the flattened, leathery, stinky, dried squid that you want! Stinks to high heaven.. just imagine all the stinky fish smells of the world.. dried into a 'fish' air-stinker.

Just picture boh 'flattened' dead roadkill squid.. all smooshed and dried flat.. that is if squid would be on a road and get hit by a car.. that's what it looked like.

Glad you're feeling better.

Wasn't the goodie bag great! I never expected so much loot... I think we clearly got more than our $12 ticket price in fun stuff. I opted for the $11.00 beer... hey, if you're splurging THAT big, why not go top of the line for $1 more, hey?

We were telling my friend about your blog and your upcoming book and hoped to see you there.

LOVE the description of Mt. Dodgerest and base camp , earth's crust and oxygen supply.

thanks for keeping us entertained!

Aunt Melissa
http://auntmelissaskitchen.blogspot.com/

Oh my gosh I just bought my tix yesterday to see the Phillies Stitch n Pitch! I was so proud and bragged to my hubby that I got the tix for $20 a piece, then I told him where we were sitting and he laughed at me. Out loud. But he is ultimately a good sport and will be braving all the knitters to watch a baseball game. He was in awe at the media attention this has gotten so far, and I can't wait to show him your entry. At least the bad seats in Philly are only on the second level! I guess they figure we won't be watching a great deal of the game...what a terrible assumption!

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting on the bandwagon & I'm totally going to be at our Stitch 'n Pitch in August!

wow, those are like the worst seats in all of baseball. I feel for you. :)

I never heard of a stitch & pitch...maybe Detroit isn't cool enough. Or they are afraid of what we would do with the needles!
Y'all are wearing long sleeves? Isn't it hot there? It is a scorcher here.
Last season we went to a Tiger's game and it was like 100 degrees, and there was no shade. I can't imagine knitting in that heat! We passed on the $10 beers and had many $3 waters. Yee hah!

"The other thing about fear of heights which is SO DUMB but yet I fear it anyway is that I am scared I will somehow someway lose track of MY MIND and hurl myself off or jump or something. Even though I would never do it because it is MY GREAT FEAR. But anyway, I guess that is why they call it an "irrational" fear."

I too have that stupid overwhelming idea that I might throw myself over the guard rail! I am so relieved that normal sane persons other then myself have this disorder! I think it deserves a high quality name...............

Lets see if I can fly disorder...that's the ticket!

And don't get me started on driving over bridges..or all of those ne'r do wells who get up in the middle of an airplane flight to go to the restroom...don't they know they are going to tip the plane over?

You are so far up it looks like you were photoshopped into baseball field pictures. But good on you for getting out of your comfort zone and seeing the boys of summer in those cute little outfits..

Oh, so maybe it isn't so far out of your comfort zone. :-)

Dude, I *totally* empathize on the heights issue and "stairs of death!"

Wow! You really were up there!! I forget that not all ball parks are Fenway, where you can see pretty well even from the nosebleed seats. Oh and I'm afraid of heights too and I give you major kudos for going all of the way up there...I would not have. My husband has season tickets to the Boston Celtics and they're really nose bleed. I'll climb up them but he has to do the beer runs...though, I don't drink much of that because then I'd have to go down by myself to find a ladies room and That Is Not Going To Happen. You look gorgeous in the pictures, btw.

We didn't officially meet, but I'm glad you made it! (I was sitting next to Sara N. and in front of Peggy.) It's a good thing you weren't in the very front row - I'm not particularly afraid of heights, but those seats were dangerously close to the edge!

LOVE me some baseball. I am notorious at a local pub, when, during a College World Series game some years back, I vaulted off my seat, pumping my fists in the air after an incredible LSU Tigers outfield catch, and broke a ceiling fan blade. Fortunately, it fell on one of my friends who was too tanked to notice.

Also, my ball of sock yarn launched off my lap and zipped across the pub, and I had to lurk around on my hands and knees to gather it back up. 8-)

LSU's football stadium is now taller than it is wide, which is dizzying. It makes me feel like someone is going to push me. Hate. It.

Fortunately the baseball stadium is more human-sized.

I am totally weird about heights. Natural heights? Cliffs and canyons? Bring it on -- I love the mountains.

But manmade precipices? Perilous stairwells? Industrial catwalks? EEK!

oh laurie, you look just so cute in all those pics. you're so photogenic!

i love love love going to baseball games. i went to a red sox/yankees game at fenway park last month and it will go down as one of the best memories for me. i'm actually thinking of going to the astros stitch-n-pitch later on this year. hmmmm.. this recap makes it all the more tempting.

You couldn't pay me to go on this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6470000/newsid_6470400/6470453.stm

And yet people are paying around $75 for the 'privilege'.

Aileen--couldn't pay me to go on THAT bridge [Sunshine Skyway Bridge], either. [There's a reason I'll probably never see the Florida Keys. Those people are NUTS.] I would be puking, screaming and crapping my pants.

This is why no one wants to take me anywhere.

Oh! What was in the goodie bags?

And shouldn't it be Need learts?

[I was pretty sure it was two words.]

Wow, that post brought back memories! Growing up in So. CA I attended many a Dodger game! Now this was back in the days of Steve Garvey and Steve Yeager, but still Dodger games!
We had a Stitch and Pitch here two weekends ago, but it was not with the Baltimore Orioles...it was with the Hagerstown Suns...not quite so grand or interesting....

Heights do not thrill me either, especially in the nosebleed seats. What a fun time at Stitch and Pitch. I go to Fenway regularly and always knit in the bleachers. There isn't a Stitch and Pitch happening in Boston, probably because the Red Sox sell out every game and the team management doesn't care about events like that. They know they'll sell the tickets.

Then, again, we are 10 and half games ahead of the Yankees. I can't whine too much. Wahoo!

My bf likes to sit in the cheap seats at shea stadium, he says he likes to sit with the regular people. really I think he just wants to laugh at me going up those itty bitty cement stairs holding on with both hands! while kids are flying up and down the stairs past me. I fear falling down those stairs, not so much the pain but the humiliation!
I get my revenge though when it's time to get food because he has to climb the stairs holding everything so i can clutch the rails.

Dodger stadium + all the knitters = EAT THE WORLD. Or at least too many Dodger dogs and perhaps some nachos and ten dollar beer. I didn't exactly say hi cos we've never met and you know, OMGPONIESOMGFAMOUSKNITTERCELEBRITY!1eleventy!, but I was sitting right behind you (next to the gal who had the fab Bernat pink camo yarn) so, um, hi!

Baseball & knitting? yes. severe heights? Oh, please no!

I went with my husband to see the Dalai Lama at the Pepsi Center in Denver a few months back. Nosebleed seats, right under the rafters. I was fine as long as we were sitting down, but getting up and down the stairs was No. Fun. At. All.

The Dalai Lama was awesome, though.

What a great combination - glad to hear you mixed beer into the equation as well.

I'll be at the Giants S&P in late July!! Can't wait.

I'm not afraid of heights, but OH MY GOD those stairs were steep. And I'm way to large a woman to be hauling my cookies up and down, even with the promise of beer and weiners.

I second Uccellina's statement: You and Gwen climbing down to the front row seats totally had me holding my breath. Because, you see, I did that at the Colliseum once and, well, 300 U2 fans laughed at the fat woman tumbling down the stadium. It wasn't pretty and I feared for you.

Yes, I was scared also but I had to go to the bathroom SO BAD. Stupid coffee then beer combination.

Cute guys in tight pants. Plus beer. Plus many woman who had plural beer. And whom are armed with sharp pointy sticks.

That's why you were all so high up. any closer to the field and the poor guys would be chased down, held at double point, and made to withstand measurements for Willy Warmers.

Laurie, you look freaking fabulous. Love love love your non-diet and now I'm thinking of trying it myself.

It's not the height for me, it's the fear of falling from those heights!

mmmmm. tight pants.....

Man, I wish the Sox did Stitch n Pitch! That looks like so much fun!

I wonder if there's going to be a Stitch & Pitch at the College World Series this year. (I live about 15 miles from the stadium where the CWS is held every year)

I'm not a big fan of baseball, but my boyfriend is. I'd go to a game with him if I could sit there and crochet.

Do you ever go to see the L.A. Kings playing hockey? Could you wear you socks and mitts at the rink or is it warm? Anne in PEI canada where we had flurries yesterday and snow last week!!

Stitch n Pitch. That sounds like such a fun time!

I, too, am afraid of heights. I feel your pain.

"Cute guys in tight pants. Plus beer. Plus many woman who had plural beer. And whom are armed with sharp pointy sticks.

That's why you were all so high up. any closer to the field and the poor guys would be chased down, held at double point, and made to withstand measurements for Willy Warmers."

OMG - beverage alert! Please warn us next time.

Sounds like fun. I know the owner of our local baseball team. I'm going to call him and see what he can do.

Thanks you so much for the laugh. I felt like I'd been to Dodger Stadium myself.

I'm not much of a sports fan but that sounded like a fun adventure. I'm southern too and if I had some southern girls to go with it sure would be fun!

I wish I knew how in the world you can just go to Los Angeles and afford to find a place to live.
I've heard it's sooooooo expensive there.

I see Lucy already mentioned the SF Giants Stitch 'n' Pitch. That's the first thought that came to mind as I read your post. I know last year they gave away tote bags to the knitters.

lol @ buckwild crazy.

You look fantastic! Your sane eating plan is clearly working.

I think for me it's steepness, not heights that bother me. Mugar Omni theater at Museum of Science? Once I'm sitting it's fine, but those stairs my God they are steep.

No Stitch and Pitch in Boston but Yarn Safari is arranging a tour to Manchester NH, Fisher Cats vs Sea Dogs for Knitting Night.

You are just looking so happy in your pics lately! Not sure why you're so happy--- the book maybe? Your life smoothing out? - but girl... I'm glad you're life is good ;)

Your writing just toally cracks me up - and is responsible for the tea that came out of my nose and onto the keyboard. Mt Dodgerest! You are so funny!

I can't wait until I get my hands on a copy of your book.

PS: I agree with Tracey - you are looking fabulous in your photos!

ditto--you are so funny! do you talk in person like you write?
I had the same experience at a Cleveland Cavaliers (GO CAVS!!) game. Had no idea the seats went up that high and was a bit dizzy!

Hey laurie,
my wife and i aren't big fans of heights either, but we decided to skydive, and it was the best experience ever!!! We still don't like heights, but we would skydive again in a second!

That's so cool! We don't have that in here yet, but we do have "Bark at the park" where we get to take our pooches. This year was fun except for the two huge dogs who were sitting 2 rows behind us and kept barking our ears out. Good thing baseball it's more of a visual game!

I missed last week's Stitch 'n Pitch at the Washington Nationals game -- I really wanted to go. I love knitting at baseball games. I'll have to bring my knitting with me to a Richmond Braves (AAA) game sometime this summer.

Dear Purl (not your real name of course)- I have been reading your blog faithfully for a couple of months now & I wanted to finally introduce myself! My name is Erica (I love cats!)- I am a former yank, transplanted to Texas(mine are Smokey & Orange!), where I have been almost 9 yrs now(they hate each other with a hate from the deepest part of hell). I lovelovelove your southyness, your knittery, and especially your sly & oh-so-clever integration of the verbage of your soul with the actual language of (most of) the people of this planet! Congratulations on your book- I hope you sell a million copies. I have a special knitting project I am considering proposing to you in the near to medium-near future, if you take commissions as such- as I am not woven-textile inclined in any form. In the meantime- I wish you many victories and that everyday would feel like your birthday! (in reverse of course)
Thanks for the fabulously entertaining blog. Reading it is so much more fun than everything else I am supposed to be doing between 9 and 5.

I don't even like being in the gods at the theatre, I feel sure I'm going to topple out and tumble down over all the other theatre goers. I'm not a fan of steepness, or stadium seating where you can see right down through a dizzying array of metal scaffolding. I feel sure I might fall through the gaps even though I am in no way a small girl.

You look like you were coping just fine. Richard, who has obvioulsy no southern gal training, looks just how I'd have felt if I'd been up there.

Yay for knitting and all that ... but what I really love from this post: Your purse! So cute. And you look really happy in the first picture (maybe cuz of the super cute purse?!?)

i am exactly the same way when it comes to heights! i doesn't help that i have an inner-ear disorder that makes me feel like the world is swirling when i'm up high. if you can tough it out, then i figure i can tough it out in the nosebleed seats too! :-D

Oh man...I'm kicking myself for not going even at the urging of my knitting group and the loveley ladies at the LYS where I buy sock yarn. Darn darn darn!
Next year