I apologize, but I will not be posting much about my participation in the Ravelympics, the knitting version of the Summer Games, here on my blog. The item I’m working on is destined for a reader, so it would hardly be fair to talk about it where they can read about it. Their surprise would be diminished and I would be sad to do that to either of us. So, if you’re a knitter (or crocheter) on Ravelry, please feel free to follow along with my progress there.

Suffice it to say to everyone else, I hope that I finish a little faster than when I participated in the Knitting Olympics in 2006.

And in the meantime I will share progress reports only in terribly vague ways, such as, “I have just finished the sixth row.”

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I have just finished the sixth row.

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After work I’m heading to the Sculpture Garden to meet with members of our local team, Team 51, for a few hours of knitting and tango music. I’m really looking forward to it.

Oh, and speaking of the Olympics, don’t forget that in addition to their stellar record on the environment (second only to the U.S., I believe) and their exception perspective on human rights (ditto), China also has an intriguing perspective on neighborly relations (::sigh:: ditto). My fellow knitters and I would like to remind you, as you’re watching the Opening Ceremonies, that NONE of us is free until ALL of us are free. Please feel free to read more here.

I’m feeling a little under the weather today, so I’m going to forgo writing a post and instead send you to the post I wrote for America’s Knitting on D.C.’s Stitch ‘n’ Pitch.

It’s sans byline, but I swear I wrote it. 😉

Mike Piazza, former catcher for the Mets, retires.

I was lucky enough to see him play for both the Mets and the Padres. Even as he headed into the twilight of his career after the Mets, he was still a dynamic player with a dangerous bat and a seasoned ability to direct pitchers in tense situations.

I’m glad that he was able to finish his career on his own terms, and I look forward to seeing him as a coach sometime in the future. (And I don’t care what Tommy Lasorda says, Mike. Go into the Hall of Fame as a Met, please!)

I’ve taken lots of pictures of RFK over the years, since I’ve seen both soccer and baseball there since moving down here. But over the last month, I’ve had the chance to see the unveiling of a spic and span new ballpark.
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This article from yesterday’s New York Times gives ten great reasons why women’s college basketball rocks at least as much as (if not more than) the men’s game.

It continues to frustrate me that women’s sports continue to be thought less of than men’s. Have those naysayers ever seen a women’s NCAA Div I game? These are elite women players with skills to rival their male counterparts (and often brains to surpass them).

Unfortunately, on a personal level, last night my beloved UConn women fell to the Stanford Cardinals. Several of our key players were injured, but, frankly, Stanford outplayed us and demonstrated how much a team can grow over the course of a season. Their 23rd straight win was well-deserved.

It’s painful to have to root for the team that eliminated yours to win the whole thing, but my blood runs a true Husky blue and I just can’t bring myself to favor Tennessee.

I do have faith, though, that it will be a great game tomorrow night. If you have cable (which I don’t), please tune the game in for me and think good thoughts for the Cardinals.

With three hours of sleep, I’m doing okay right now. Check back with me after work, when I have to do some cleaning before my friend Amani comes over for us to watch the first half of Sense and Sensibility on PBS tonight:

1. Sweetpea and I have been social knitters this week. On Sunday we ventured north of the border to the Homespun Yarn Party where we got to put a face with Mia‘s blog (yay!), catch up with Lolly, fondle and buy some yarn (wanna see my purchases?), and eat some delicious snacks to benefit Ravelry. Then last night we joined the Dupont Circle S&B’ers and spent several fun hours with some really talented folks.

2. Sunday night, Rudi and I were lucky enough to have tickets to the opening of the new Nationals ball park. After blowing a lead in the top of the ninth, we came back to win with a home run from third base phenom Ryan Zimmerman. It was particularly satisfying because his shot into center field went into the lower section and certainly would have been caught at RFK.

3. Saturday dawned early and cold for Rudi and me as we got up to cheer on our friend Phillip who was running his first marathon. We were positioned just before the first hill of the course and got to cheer on a lot of runners in the 45 minutes we were outside. A friend had mentioned at one point that a lot of runners write their name on their clothing to enable strangers to offer personalized encouragement, so I knew to look for that — and it was nice to see smiles cross people’s faces when I shouted out to them. And because we were up, we headed to Teaism for a delicious breakfast (before returning home to bed).