You got me turned inside out

I was out of town yesterday so no blogging for me. I was tired, exhasted in fact. Six hours on the road, six hours in meetings and five hours of sleep the night before (thanks to the damn grandfather clock that GMIL bought us that chimes on the hour and half hour) didn't contribute to my problem. I shoulda just crawled into bed. Could I have slept peacefully? No, because DH was a screaming maniac while the Hokies were getting their asses handed to them by Georgia Tech * (H, go to the next star to skip the football banter - tee hee). I admit that I'm a raving lunatic about football so I had to stay up and see who won. The Hokies couldn't lose in front of Michael Vick. Oh, the shame. I couldn't forsake my boys and they needed a lot of good Karma so I ran upstairs at half time, put on my lucky Hokie Jammies and willed them to win. By fourth quarter the mojo began to work, and they pulled off a serious comeback to spank Georgia (If I've offended any GT fans, please accept my apologies). The Jammies rule! I will use them again in the future to fight the evils of opposing teams. * But wait, there's more. If I was going to stay up to watch the game, I HAD to knit. Houndtooth bag was whining and I'm determined to conquer her. I begrudgingly picked her up, took a deep cleasing breath and began to knit away. And you know what? I got the hang of this two stranded thing! I was trying to make things too difficult, twisting my strands to force them to lock together. Now the stitches lay flat with little or no pucker. Here's the inside so you can feel my pain...



And here's the outside...



I really like green eggs and ham, I really like them Sam, I am :) I'll have to put Houndstooth away for the weekend since Mom will be here to visit :( But I've stopped calling her names and we understand each other better. I guess I'll be casting on another project for the weekend since "Moon" is probably going to my GM and she'll be here too. So many choices, so little time (that knitting days counter is stressing me out).

Got in a little S.E.X. whilst in Richmond yesterday. I bought this little cutie - a skein of Manos - for me for my birthday (happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me).




I can't decide if I want to stir it in with the alpaca silk...



or frappe it with this other skein of Manos...



Or fold it with this Cascade 220...



Okay, I now realize that there's too much Burgundy in my stash. I was a bit disappointed while visiting this yarn shop (which will remain nameless to protect the innocent). I had a wonderful conversation with the woman working the store, their samples look great, their selection is growing and is impressive. The smell of cigarette smoke completely gagged me while I was there. I'd read at KR recently about someone who had a similar experience. I'm not sure if its the same store or not but I just wanted to cry for all of the poor skeins subjected to this torture. It seemed like the smell was coming from the back room. The clerk reeked of it which leads me to believe that she's the culprit. She went into the backroom to retrieve a photo of a sweater that she's designing and even the picture reeked of smoke. Ugh, I'm not sure that I'll go back. The second I left the store, I smelled my poor little skein. She's fine, don't worry, but I was so disturbed that I didn't buy more yarn for the fear that my car would smell on the three hour trip home. I love visiting this store because its easy for me to get to, has great hours and I can stop by on the way back home. Should I say something to the owner? I'm torn. I've never had this problem before.

Well, I've gotta run to prepare for the weekend invasion. The tween invasion Halloween party is from 7 to 11 tonight. 5 boys, 5 girls all under the age of 12. Raging hormones for four hours. Mom, GM and Dad arrive from Chesapeake at noon on Saturday to see our new house for the first time since we moved in. I've also decided to have "Thanksgiving" with my family - because you can give thanks anytime, right? - since they won't be back up in November. And yes, its a surprise (I'm in surprise mode this month for some reason). What was I thinking? Can I whip the house back into shape in 12 measily hours after the tweens scurry out of here? Will IM survive the weekend? You may find me rocking in a corner come Sunday night. Stay tuned for the update on Monday.

And now for something completely different...

I am a sucker for funny stuff. I watched reruns of Monty Python and the Benny Hill show the entire time I was in high school (what were my parents thinking?). I love Adam Sandler movies, Vacation and Christmas Vacation, Jay and Silent Bob, South Park, The Family Guy - the list goes on and on. I found this little tidbit on KR yesterday and its still stuck in my head. So now of course, I want to pass it on to you. The Llama Song. It makes about as much sense as the "Fish Heads" song I recall hearing back in Junior High.

If you want more funnies in your life, I highly recommend Homestar Runner. My DSS #1 turned me on to HSR last year. I love StrongBad's emails. Everyone needs a little runner in their life. I'm also a big Happy Bunny fan but it seems that fewer people have an appreciation of HB than me. Oh well.

Now on to Part II of my blithering from Monday:

Top Ten Reasons Why its was great to live in SW Virginia last week...

10. Guys who drive pickup trucks and look like Junior Samples from "Hee Haw" will regularly hit on you. No, I'm not joking.

9. You have to drive off road for almost eight miles to visit friends who live "up the mountain".

8. Birthday parties can include pet chickens.

7. Even though you live in the "city" wild animals like deer, bobcats and foxes come to graze in your yard.

6. You actually can consider buying a miniature sheep and keeping it as a pet in the "city."

5. The nightsky looks like you can reach up and touch it because there are so few city lights to obscure the view.

4. Good ole Southern Hospitality is in full force so much so that if you come to a four way stop sign, you may end up there forever.

3. You find out through friends of friends that they know people who locally raise Alpaca (be still my beating heart)

2. It's far enough away from MIL and GMIL that they only visit once in a blue moon - yippie!

1. Never has something dying looked so spectacular as the foliage peaking on the mountains and in the valleys of SW VA.

I've decided that I'm not going to "dis" MIL on the blog anymore. She's not worth my time and it will be my luck that one day she'll find this site. She did behave herself this trip which is rare. Or maybe it was the Vodka and other misc. alcohol that lessened the impact. GMIL behaved also except she implied to DSS #2 that witches must have brought me since I was born on Halloween. I had to stop and say "WTF????" She tried to dig out of that one. I think we all knew what she meant.

On the knitting front, The Colorwork Project from Hell is slowly progressing.

Progress on Houndstooth tote 

I had to buy a Kasha (note: "had to") so that I could keep up with the pattern repeat. Trust me this project is NOT fun to frog. If it wasn't for my mom, I'm not sure that I'd continue it. I'm in serious Zen mode in life and in knitting. Which means, keeping things simple and keeping the stress level low. Having to wrestle with yarn is not in keeping with my knitting Zen. I WILL find a way to knit in harmony with this piece. I think I need to stop fighting it and let it just be. Work beckons...

Attack of the Killer Ladybugs

I chuckled yesterday when I read about the invasion of the ladybugs over at Jen L's house. I'd seen a few of them here and there but nothing threatening. Silly MonkeyKnits, I thought, they're just a few harmless bugs. That was until my house was savagely attacked when the sun came out yesterday afternoon. A few made their way onto the windows and by the time I went to pick up the boys from school, they had covered the siding, the walkways, all of the screens and were starting to - gasp - find their way into the house.


How, you ask? I still don't know. DSS #2 started counting them every 10 minutes. 10, 20, 30 - when would it stop? And as quickly as it began, they were suddenly all gone at sundown. Even the ones that had made their way into the house. I've never seen anything like it. They've started on the windows again today. I'm extremely bug phobic and am just cowering on the couch casting sideways glances to make sure that they don't come near me. Don't worry, my Buddist friends. I will not harm a hair on their tiny heads. I believe in the sanctity of their little lives and have ushered several of them back outside :)

Did I mention that I love all things Celtic (I'm convinced that I was Irish in another life)? DH was so kind to buy me a huge stash of alcohol (I think he knew that I'd need it to get through the MIL invasion) which included a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. Now, because it has so many carbs, I've only used it sparingly (which is hard when I want to chug the whole bottle - such creamy numminess). But I did enjoy a wonderful cup of fresh ground French Roast with some today whilst listening to wonderful new age Celtic music. Makes me want to rent Riverdance :)

On the knitting front, I made some headway on the Houndstooth bag. This is a picture of the bottom and a couple of rows after I picked up the stitches for the sides last night.



It's growing on me especially since I'm seeing some progress. Good thing DH was out of town last night or he would have thought that I'd lost my mind. I constantly found myself tangled up in yarn while I tried to carry the non-working yarn behind the working yarn and keep the two strands from getting tangled (don't cross the streams, don't cross the streams). Through the fog, I finally figured out how to make it work. This is the biggest stranded project that I've taken on to date, so I'm trying to remain patient with myself. I've started two slow holiday gifts, though :( I need a "quickie" for my next project or I'll rip my hair out by Christmas. I added a countdown counter to blog margin to keep me on task. Heaven knows I need it.

Thanks for all of the Fall Foliage photos. I posted a link on the side to the photo album that I'm continually updating with new pictures. I've also added a few of my own that I took on Sunday during the brief period of sunshine. I leave you with this shot of the moon peaking its head out before the sun went down yesterday. I'm looking forward to the total lunar eclipse that we're going to have tomorrow night. Break out the blankets and enjoy!

Moon over the Blue Ridge at twilight 

Everybody sing together "Let the sunshine in!"

So I'm watching "Hair" on Sunday (thus the title of this entry), sulking because the sun that the weather man had promised was nowhere to be found. Seeking solace in Treat Williams' nakedness was good enough for me in that moment. Then I got depressed because the commentary made by the end of this movie is so relevant with regard to our current Iraq situation - BUT I refuse to get into politics in my blog sooooo...The hippies start singing "let the Sunshine in..." and you'll never believe what happened. The sun started to shine! Yes, it was short lived and the fog returned two hours later but the sun shone its little face just long enough for me to rejoice. Spirit works in mysterious ways.

So, you ask, what have you been up to you lazy slacker since you haven't posted since last Wednesday? Well, knitting goddesses, lots of things. Shall we begin? Let's shall :)

First things first - I'm counting down to my 35th -ick- birthday which is Halloween. I must admit that I dislike Halloween because it always stole my birthday thunder when I was a kid but there's not much I can do about that can I. However, this year, I get an extra special prezzie: My Mommy, Daddy and Grandma are all coming to visit! I haven't spent my actual birthday with my family since I was in high school. I can't wait. DH and DSSS are asking me what I want. So many choices, so little time. I want a ball winder, a swift, some cashmere, Lorna's Laces Angel, to learn how to spin, a knitting chair, to quit my job and be independently wealthy so that I can stay home and knit all day - do you think they can handle all of that? My fear of telling DH what I REALLY want is that he'll see how expensive all this knittng stuff is. I may just plead the fifth and let them figure something out. I'm really not picky. I'd be happy with a buttercream icing cake and a fork :)

What else, you ask? Why I cast on for my mother's houndstooth bag Sunday night also known as the colorwork project from hell. It's two stranded colorwork (black and off-white) that will eventually be felted. I'm doing okay but not great. I screwed up one of the pattern repeats and will have to frog back three rows (I somehow added a stitch which threw the entire pattern off). It also takes a while to get used to what tension to use so that it won't pucker too badly when its felted. I'll post pictures once I pick up the stitches for the body of the bag. Then, you'll actually get to see more of the pattern. I'm going to have to order more of the Cascade off-white (its number 8010 in case you ever need a white that felts) from the boys at Threadbear so that I can finish this project. No one seems to have it in stock around here :( The good thing about placing an order with them is that I may throw in some Diakeito that I've been dying to try. The yarn maven at the LYS told me that its much softer and yummier than Noro. I can't wait to try it (yeah, I know I'm on a yarn diet but I'm going to knit holiday gifts with it - OKAY!

But please tell us more, you ask. I'd love to but I need to get some tuition paying work done. Consider this part one of the misadventures of the Muse. Tune in for part two when our heroine expounds the virtues of living in Southwestern VA, explains how Belvedere and Courvoisier (you gotta say it like the "Ladies Man") can get you through the invasion of the MIL, more fall foliage photos and why everyone needs a little "runner" in their life. Until then, knit like there's no tomorrow...

Turn, turn, turn

The leaves are quickly turning here in my little parcel of the world. They are so beautiful. I will take and post more pictures once the sun comes out again (if anyone is listening up there, we're tired of rain and fog). I need those SAD lights in a bad way. My energy has truly been zapped by the grey monster of dreariness.

Just a titch of knitting on "Moon" last night. Here she is in all her glory (I honestly lost the camera after the birthday party).

"Moon over the Blue Ridge" 

I'm battling a fever and aches again (so's my itty bitty DSS Alex). I also had a Junior League meeting that sucked up my entire evening. I did manage to zip by Bath and Body Works to use my coupon for free holiday goodies. I got a tube of Vanilla Bean Noel and some mega body butter. This stuff smells good enough to eat (DH agrees). Ooooo! They also have a new line called Tutti Dolci. These all smell like some of your favorite desserts - Creme Brulee (this one is the BEST), Sugar Wafer, Angel Food Cake and Chocolate Fondue. Can you tell that I'm on a diet? Dammit, if I can't eat these goodies, I can at least smell like them :)

Welp, need to get back to work. Have a day :|

I'm back in the saddle again

I can't believe how busy last week was. I found my house cleaning muse and have been working like the tazmanian devil to get the house straight before the hoardes of visitors descend upon us for the next three weeks. It started last night with Suppa Club that I hosted at my house. Seven of us did yoga for an hour and then ate some yummy spa cuisine. It was so very relaxing though I must say that the yoga was far from easy. What a great workout! Next month we're going climbing at a local indoor rock wall. I can't wait! I conquered one of the walls last year and am ready to begin a new, harder one.

On the weight loss front, I've lost 8 pounds! I can't believe it. I've actually lost 10 because I gained two pounds the first week. While I'm told that I can count that, I'm only counting the 8 (it makes me work harder). The CORE program has been fairly easy to stick with and even when I've been "bad", I can offset it with exercise. My goal is to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year. At this rate, I shouldn't have any problem though I know that my worst enemy is my holiday baking. I hope to combat the urge to sample all of the batters by mixing and freezing them between now and mid-December. That way, I'm not doing so much damage in one week (which is how I usually do it) and can bake the goodies right before I either ship or gift them. The goodies don't hang around, I can't easily eat frozen dough and I stick to the program. Sounds like a good plan, let's see if I can follow through.

And finally, this wouldn't be a knitting blog if I didn't post some knitting updates. The "Moon over the Blue Ridge" shawl is quite lovely though it is progressing v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I promised myself that I would finish it before picking up another project. I realized that it would make a beautiful poncho/shawl so I may fit it with some buttons so that the recipient has the option to do either. I have almost all of the yarn for my holiday projects. I would like to start on my mother's after the Moon. I'm knitting a beautiful felted houndstooth bag and matching mittens for her but still need the off white before I can get started. I also have a wild hare to finish my knitting room just so I can organize all of my yarn. It seems like the stuff is multiplying. How did I end up with so much yarn and still manage to think I need to buy more? Wait, that's because there is no such thing as "too much" yarn (she says covering her ears and singing "la la la la la, I can't hear you"). Happy knitting all and keep sending me those pictures of fall foliage...

Fall foliage on the mountains of Salem, Virginia  

(Edited with updates) I'll show you mine, if you show me yours...

(Edited Update)
I will continue to take photo entries until November 16th. All entries will be posted in the photo section.

Voting will open on November 18th and will end on the 23rd. Winners will be announced on the 24th. So far, I have some variagated sock yarn and handmade stitch markers as a prize. I hope to add more goodies over the next week. Thanks for all of your great pictures.

IM

Fall Foliage, that is (get your minds out of the gutter). After seeing all of the sky pictures out there, I thought that ya'll might be interested in seeing the fall foliage as it changes in the mountains of SW Virginia. I'm also very interested in seeing what it looks like in your part of the world. You can include knitting or landmarks in your pictures, whatever floats your boat as long as fall foliage is featured. Send me the link to your fall foliage pictures in the "shout outs" section of this post. In November (after most of the leaves should have changed), I'll hold a contest where everyone can vote for their favorite picture. We'll include several categories including best amateur photo, best professional photo and best photo with knitting. The winner(s) will win some yet to be determined knitting swag. If you would like to destash and offer prezzies as part of this contest, let me know via email - indigomuseatverizondotnet. Let the exihibitionism begin!

My 100th post!

Today is my 100th post since I began my blog. In honor of this momentus occasion, I'm previewing my new look for the fall. Courtesy of quixotic pixels, I have a new template. I'm still tweaking it so if you find that something is missing or a link doesn't work anymore or if you just don't like it at all, please let me know. I hope to have a favorite things section soon in addition to a UFO/FO information page.

Quick knit update: I started my holiday knits this weekend (yes, Rogue is still languishing in my new lantern moon basket. I promise to finish you soon, my dear) with a snazzy shawl I call "Moonlight over the Blue Ridge". It's a modified feather and fan pattern similar to the Collinette afghans, et all in various purples and blues. It's very pretty though I haven't decided who to give it to yet. I bought a ton of yarn and have it separated into bags for the various projects. My next project is to do some serious stash busting to whittle down my mountain of yarn. I also need to special order some Cascade 220 colors since the LYS was out mostly the off white that felts. I'm so excited about knitting more than scarves for people this year.

That's it for now. It's a busy week here at the House of Muse so I may not make to my blog often. I have to get the boys ready for their school's annual camping trip and I'll be out of town Tuesday and Wednesday. I plan to check out a new yarn shop in Bedford though on my way to Richmond this week. I've decided that my mission within the next six months will be to visit every yarn shop in Virginia. I don't have many more to go and will post my opinions as I have time. Take care all and have a great week!

Wishing for Margaritaville

Close your eyes for a minute with me. Do you hear that? Warm ocean waves, lapping at your toes. A light breeze swirls your hair around your face, the faint chirp of seagulls. Wait there's more...I hear steel drums playing in the distance. And the smells...ahhhh, coconut tanning lotion, salt water, fresh steamed seafood. The sun is beaming down on my face and the only thing with me is a never ending margarita. No phone, no work, no kids, no problems (needle rips across the record). Dammit, it was all a dream. It only feels like I'm in the Florida Keys because I have the heat cranked up (yes all of you heat hold outs - I turned my heat on last week) to 76 degrees. Its so warm in here that I just know any second Buffet is going to show up and play some beach music just for me :)

Anyhow, since its a long time until I get to the beach again (why DON'T I live in the keys? Oh yeah, those pesky hurricanes), I might as well enjoy the fall. Here's my plug for Virginia Tourism: Everyone should come visit the Blue Ridge Parkway while the leaves are changing. It's beyond words. Plus there are lots of great towns and cities to see along the way. For more info. or if you can't make it and want a virtual tour, check out the virtual Blue Ridge. If you come through Roanoke or Salem, be sure to go to the top of Mill Mountain and visit our giant neon star. And the view ain't half bad either :)

In case you haven't noticed, I need some blog help. I just can't figure out how to fix this template so I need to either develop or seek out another one. The problem is that I'm afraid of losing my archives and I just don't want to spend tons of time working on it (it would cut into my knitting time). Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks to all who mentioned that those light bubs (that's how we say "bulbs" in the South) really work. Is there a particular brand that I should use? One kind soul even suggested the tanning bed. Do black people use tanning beds? I never have but would be willing to try if it would help me make it through the winter :) Keep in mind that this part of Virginia isn't as well, er, broad minded as other parts so I'm trying to imagine the looks that I'd get if I showed up to one of the tanning booths around town.

Finally on the knitting front, I finished a baby sock last night while watching Lost in Translation. Strange movie. Not bad, not great, just strange. I love the satisfaction though of finishing an object by the end of the evening. I need more of these instant gratification projects. I also need to do some serious stash busting this weekend and get cracking on Christmas presents for the family and friends. There are only 78 knitting days left until Christmas - yikes!

Happy knitting everyone. Jimmy and his band just pulled up out front and I need to help them unload the van. Wasting away again in Margaritaville...

Homer modeling the finished Rogue hood 

Front View of Homer in Rogue 

Knitting swag from my KRSP Jessica - Thanks! :)| 

My first ever socks in Koigu!| 

Thrummed slippers for DSS#2 (the one on the right needs to be seamed)| 

Photo of Salem, VA sky for Sandy - http://www.sandysknitting.com/ 

Melancholy Muse

I'm feeling kinda down today. I found out last night that one of my child advocate peers and good friends is moving to Charlotte, NC in three weeks :( I'm so sad that everyone seems to be moving away. I know that this happens and she's moving for a better job opportunity but I just feel so alone and isolated right now. Life is hard enough but its even harder in my opinion if you don't have special people to share it with. Sometimes I feel too old to keep making new friends.

I also think that this sudden jolt of Fall is wreaking havoc on my physiological well being. I'm sure that I'm a SAD candidate as the lack of sun makes me so lethargic during this time of year. I've promised myself that I'd get one of those special lights so that I can at least fake my body into not getting depressed. Its hard though when so many people I love are dealing with so much right now. Sorry to bring everyone down. I promise not to whine the whole fall and winter in my blog about this. I just had to get it out of my system :)

I was very pleasantly cheered to receive a final package from my secret pal, Jessica. She has really spoiled me. She sent a beautiful lantern moon basket. I now have something wonderful to store my projects in (instead of random piles all around the house). AND a beautiful coffee table book "For the Love of Knitting" - I can't wait to actually read the book. I've only stared longingly at the photos so far. AND (drumroll please), four balls of DB Silk Angora in burgundy. Now Jessica is a mind reader because I actually bought some of this yarn in the SAME color when I visited Knit Happens last weekend. I've been agonizing over what to make with only a couple 100 yards of this swooshy yarn. Now I can knit a real project for myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jessica. ((((((((Big Hug))))))) I'm wishing you and the little bun in the oven the very best :)

On the knitting front, I'm wrapping up a batch of RAOKs that I hope to get in the mail by Friday. It's nice to send a little piece of myself to a total stranger. What a neat way to make the world feel a tiny bit smaller. I'm finally feeling well enough to pick up Rogue again. I so royally screwed up one of the sleeves when I knit while sick that I promised myself not to knit again until I was feeling well enough to focus on what I was doing.

I'm slowly getting pictures and hope to post some later in the day. Have a great day and happy knitting :)

Missing in Action Muse

Wow, this is the longest that I haven't posted in months. Just a quick overview of what happened last week:
Monday - I started to really feel the effects of the crud I brought home from NoVA but overall a normal day
Tuesday - the day from Hell. The Roanoke Valley dealt with tons of rain from Jeanne and subsequent record breaking flooding (check out the photos). I couldn't get out of my neighborhood (the rivers/creeks on all three sides over ran their banks) to pick up my kids from school, once I got out late in the day, it took two hours to get back in. To top off the day, we sustained water damage on the first and second floor of the house around the fireplace. Sometime during the storm, the phones went haywire and my DSL service was suspended. It requires an act of congress to get it reactivated and so the waiting began and I was without my connection to the outside world for three days.
Wednesday - the clean up began. Roads were still difficult to navigate and several have sustained heavy damage and are crumbling. I get sick as a dog and just crash on the couch. No internet, no work and no "heavy knitting". I managed to get most of my "thrumming" for the thrum-a-long done. Thrumming is not only fun but SO cool. I must find a source for fleece (I confess that I had to use pencil roving which is a no-no but I had no choice. Please don't send the thrum police to take me away.) so that I can knit these properly. Everyone who has seen them wants a pair now (the test slippers that I knit are for DSS#2).
Thursday - Got slammed catching up with the work backlog. No knitting though I did enjoy the debate.
Friday - The crud hit me again like it had a vendetta against me. I had to rest because I had a work presentation on Friday in Richmond. In my fever filled delirium, I decided that I had to learn how to make socks. I dreamed about socks off and on all day while the fever spiked repeatedly.
Saturday - Drove through BFE Virginia (I admit that I hate I460 which is country roads, flutuating speed limits and local cops with their greedy speed traps. Gimme the interstate so that I can set cruise control and listen to the NPR or my CDs). Anyway, the workshop was poorly attended and I feel like I wasted my time. Had it not been for the fact that I was able to visit my dear friend E (the one going through a divorce), I would have cried because I was only 40 minutes from the Fall Fiber Festival and really wanted to go :( I managed to get some knitting in while gabbing with E and her sister and made some RAOK gifts.
Sunday - Zipped back across the state, did church with the fam and then knitted the entire afternoon away. I grabbed some koigu and baby angora silk from my stash, found a great sock tutorial and made my first sock. Its a baby sock made out of Koigu. I also managed to make a teeny sock too since I was so confident that I had this sock thing down. I'm so proud of myself. I've learned so many techniques in just the last 6 months (cabling, lace knitting, socks, reading complex patterns). I'll pat myself on the back since I don't have a knitting buddy to cheer with me :(
Monday and Tues - Work and a trojan computer virus grabbed me by the short and curlies and didn't let go until today.

Sorry for the long wrap up but I felt like I needed to explain my long absence. Glad to return and I'm slowly catching up with all of my blogger buddies. Sorry that I didn't post this yesterday (tuesday) but I finally figured out that the computer virus was screwing with my ability to post to Blogger.