Blogaversary contest

If you like, I will announce the winners of the Blogaversary Contest that occurred over a month ago, and being basically a sloth, I've taken forever to get around to finding prizes and matching them with winners.

So I'm going to announce the winners. I don't remember exactly what yarns I chose, but I'll try to match them up correctly.

Courtney, of course, gets a prize for sending the most people. Hers is a hank of beautiful Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, large loop boucle, in the colorway (I think) Carnival. It's gorgeous, yellows and reds and I think purple and blue and probably some green. There's enough for a nice big old scarf, and it's really warm.

3rd place goes to Turtle, not sent by Courtney, who wins two balls of Knit Picks sock yarn, colorway Coral. Beautiful stuff, and it does make some nice socks. I used part of a skein (not one that I'm giving away!) on the toes and ruffle of my Red Wagon socks.

2nd goes to jennygirl, sent by Courtney, who wins three balls of Knit Picks wool (can't remember the name of it) that's good for felting, baby blue. I was going to knit and felt some bags and bowls and things and never did. So jennygirl profits from my laziness.

1st place is Georgi, who wasn't sent by Courtney, somehow! She wins the cd, Last Train Home's Live at IOTA (which happens to be where we're going tonight and Sunday, to see Last Train Home live at IOTA), and six balls of Knit Pick's wool (same type as jennygirl's) in the colorway Hyacinth, I think. I was going to knit and felt a bag for my sister, never did, so Georgi, it's yours! I really really hope that you'll like Last Train Home.

So, ladies, please send me your emails so I can get your shipping information. Who knows when the hell I'll actually send the stuff out, but you'll get it before say, Thanksgiving. Better make that Halloween, huh?

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who entered. You've given me many new blogs to read and new friends.

Contest update

Good grief, you people came out in droves!!! 89 of you, to be exact. This is going to be a real job to figure out!

Courtney has 30 entries, the most by far. Many others came from other sites or brought people with them. I am overwhelmed (in a good way) by the number of people who took the time to stop by and leave a comment.

Since there are so many entries, I'm going to give at least 3 prizes in addition to the "grand prize" of yarn and Last Train Home's cd, Live from the IOTA.

I can't promise when I'll have this all tabulated, but I'll do it this week.

Thank you all for coming here and leaving a comment. I really am excited about all the new blogs I have to visit to enjoy!

Now, off to see if Tom (who does "do math") can figure out a way to chose the winners easily!

My desert island cd and a contest

I need to post photos and thoughts about the Last Train Home shows in Roanoke and Ashland two weeks ago, before I totally forget about it. New guys in the band for those shows, cool restaurant in Roanoke, lots of driving.

Remind me if I forget, okay? I want to have a contest of some kind to give away LTH's newest cd, Live at the IOTA, but I don't know what kind of contest. Okay, how about whoever comes up with the best idea for the contest--by Saturday night, July 5, midnight, gets the DVD Live at the IOTA? Then later I'll have the contest for the cd. I'm leaving for Florida on Tuesday morning, so I'll be doing well to pick the winner for the DVD on Sunday.

This cd is my desert island cd. For years I've tried to pick just one cd I'd want with me on a deserted island (like there'd be electricity for a stereo; maybe there'd be some kind of mp3 player that's solar-powered), but I never could come up with just one. This is it. I can listen to it over and over and over, and I will. Over and over and over.

On the road again

I don't remember the last time we stayed home for the weekend. I'm not complaining, just wondering. Let me see if I can remember where we've gone.

Last weekend we went to Ashland Coffee and Tea on Friday night to hear Tom Russell. (I'm too lazy to link today.) He's a fairly good singer-songwriter, but not much of a showman. The next night a guy that Tom likes was going to be there, so we bought tickets for that show.

Saturday night we heard Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun at the same place. My sister, Joan, and her husband, Scott, came with us (I begged them, just in case the show was as boring uninspiring as the Friday night show). This one was a lot of, well, fun. Bill is only 60 but looks considerably older, and for an old guy, he sure can rock. (Remember that this is coming from a 55-year-old.)

The weekend before we went to Saturday night and Sunday afternoon Last Train Home shows in Arlington.

And, this coming weekend, we're going to Johnson City, Tennessee, to hear Last Train Home again, then spend the weekend at my cousin's hotel, the Skyline Village Inn. Maybe go to Biltmore on Saturday afternoon (if I get out of bed) or, if the weather's bad, to one of the gem mines in the area.

I think that we'll actually be home the following weekend, unless some show pops up. But the first weekend of May we'll go to a benefit in Richmond (I don't remember what it's for) headlined by Bill Kirchen and Jerry Jeff Walker. We went all the way to Belize last year to see 3 Jerry Jeff shows, so Richmond isn't such a stretch.

Maybe by that time, it'll be warmer and we'll be able to spend some time outdoors on the weekends. I can only hope.

Eavesdropping at the IOTA Club and Cafe

Wow, I thought I'd probably gained 10 pounds this past weekend. Saturday morning we stopped at Tom's sister-in-law's house to visit with family and friends (support for the 1st anniversary of Tom's brother's murder), a celebration instead of mourning. Gary's remembered for what he lived for, and I hope that his killer is remembering what he did last April and wishes it hadn't happened. Not that it changes anything.) and there was lots of food--good food, and I tried to limit the bad stuff, but for a celebration, I don't worry about the content too much!

Then we headed off to Arlington to the IOTA club, with a stop in Fairfax to check into our hotel and try to rest a little. We're not used to staying up till 10, much less 1 or later, so we hoped to take a nap. But since we'd never been to the IOTA and it's Last Train Home's home venue, Tom called to see what time we should get there. 5 p.m.--"It's filling up fast, man, it's going to be busy tonight. You'd better get here as fast as you can."

Crapola. So off we went to find the place. I'm not familiar with Arlington at all, and it's been years since Tom's spent much time there. I was pleasantly surprised; it's got lots of little and big stores, tons of cafes and restaurants of all types of food, and since it was a pretty evening, many people out with their dogs, kids, strolling the streets, eating outside at the restaurants, shopping.

Got to the IOTA, a tiny, tiny cafe with a club room, standing room only except at the bar, to get our seats. Guess what? NOBODY was there yet, except a couple of people in the bar watching the sound check. Guess the guy who answered the phone was amused. Anyway, we got to hear Last Train Home get ready for the show, which was fun. Okay, okay, I'm an overage groupie.

So we went to the Container Store, which I'd never seen before, to get some ideas for our future yarn/book room when our master bedroom is finished. They have a shelving/storage system, can't remember the name now, that's incredible. They'll design the system free; the components aren't cheap, but we're not designers and this seems to be sturdy, attractive alternative to tubs of yarn and unmatched bookshelves (did I tell you that I broke the shelf on one of our bookshelves when I shoved one too many knitting book onto it? No? Okay, then, we'll pretend it didn't happen).

We went back to the IOTA early and got our table in the cafe. With Tom's bad back and knee (he's had two back surgeries), he isn't comfortable on a bar stool, so we chose a small--and I mean maybe 4' square small) jammed against other small tables. We took our time, ordered an appetizer (they have a small menu, but the food is extremely good), a while later our dinners. We were almost the only ones there till around 8:30, when it got really busy.

It's a great place to eavesdrop on conversations. I mean, the tables are so close together, and the people are so loud, that it's impossible to ignore them. Even with my limited hearing, I could see and hear what was going on around us. The couple two tables down (which means they were maybe 4' from us) were evidentally on their first date. I'm betting there won't be a second one. The guy either got really drunk really fast, or he had a bad speech impediment, and he was incredibly ignorant of social niceties, especially for a date. He was leaning over the table, reaching for the girl's hand most of the dinner, while she sat with her back as close to the wall as she possibly could without sinking through it. I think she really did want to disappear. I couldn't see her face and wouldn't stare (oh, how I wanted to!); Tom sat facing a mirror and could see everything in the room. When Dreamboat went to the restroom, I asked Tom what his date's face showed; he said she looked anxious and ready to run.

Dreamboat kept mentioning his mother and how much this girl was like her. That's always a smooth move, Romeo. Near the end of their dinner, he started in on politics and how wrong she was in her beliefs and proceeded to call her "sweetheart" in a condescending voice, explaining her errors in judgement. She snapped and screamed, quietly (good for her!!!) but in a high pitched voice, several sentences that I couldn't understand, then she was quiet for the rest of the dinner. She just tried that melding act with the wall. Poor girl. I felt so sorry for her. I'm guessing that whoever set them up for this obviously blind date will no longer be her friend.

So, anyway, the point of this post is to announce that, in spite of eating like a pig all weekend, I maintained my 4-pound weight loss. Good thing I'd lost that 4, or I'd be back to the starting point.