And speaking of yarn, I'm currently in the process of trying to knit a nice baby blanket for DH's sister's as-yet-unborn offspring. I haven't knit for a good ten years, so it's a bit of an undertaking. Does anyone know any nice, simple patterns that might work?

I'm a crocheter, so Anne's a better resource for you, Jars. But, I'm sure she's got tons.

ETA: But, I will say, pick a nice, soft, bulky yarn that will knit together more quickly. I really love Reynold's Blossom for baby blankets.

A good, super bulky yarn is something called "Big Baby" by Muench. It's microfiber (and machine washable) but feels like really, really good wool.

Jars, a good, simple baby blanket pattern is to cast on just three stitches, and work back and forth in garter stitch (knit each row). Slip the first stitch of each row, then increase in the second stitch. Repeat this row over and over (making a triangle) until the sides of the triangle are as long as you want the blanket to be wide. Once you get to that point, change to slip the first stitch of each row, then knit the next two stitches together.

That does sound easy, Anne! Thanks! I was considering checked squares, but I don't know how neat they'd end up, considering how out of practice I am.

It works really well if you find a bulky yarn that's variegated in texture and/or color. I hope it goes well!

Ugh. I turned on the heat yesterday, and it has completely triggered my allergies and asthma in a bad way. This probably means that the heater needs a new filter, which means I'm going to have to call the landlord. But, before I can call the landlord, I must do some general picking up around the apartment and CLEAN the kitchen. Also, I should probably get the air conditioners out of the windows so he doesn't yell at me about the heat escaping.

And, all of these lovely things take time--time which I can't seem to find right now. But, if I don't want to end up in the hospital with a horrible asthma situation (or back on steroids! ICK!), I have to make these a top priority.

Where's my cabana boy?

all our house-buying~ma Cashmere

Fred Pete - much pet ma (and a wave from 1/2 of the Philadelphia crew)... hope it all works out for Teddy!

Annotated bibilography to infinity and beyond!

I hope everything goes well with the house, Cash. Then we need pictures.

Also, transplant~ma to Teddy.

vw, you may just be reacting to the burning off of the stuff that accumated in the ducts over the summer. That will go away soon. If your landlord doesn't change your filter once a month, you should thwack him. (When I'm writing my energy use columns, I can't use the word "thwack.")

Once a month, really?

Scrambled eggs w/sweetcorn, pizza-flavoured crunchy anchovies, sliced Thai 'cherry' tomato and cashewnuts. With Tempura seaweed on the side.

Followed by dessert of peanut-butter-and-preserved-plum (not plum preserve) sandwich.

(...er, and a Kit Kat.)

...why yes, this is indeed cuisine from the school of What's In The Cupboard. And it was very nice, and reasonably nutritious, even!

I never cease to be impressed by Thailand's approach to Crunchy Snackfood. 'Cause in the UK, the humble potato has pretty much got it covered. Yes, you can buy cornchips, but they are vastly outnumbered by potato crisps. Yes, you can also, in some posh/healthy places, buy OtherRootVegetable crisps, or wheat-based crisps.

But what you CAN'T buy in your random corner shop is crunchy bags of crisps made from cuttlefish/pork/prawns/coconunt/fish/seaweed/bananas/tamarind.

The preserved plums, in particular, are almost too delicious to bear - the moist, sticky flesh, the tart, tangy combination of sweet/sour - ngah.

Ahem, anyway, sorry, you probably didn't need that particular snapshot from Fay's book of fusion cuisine, eh?

Meanwhile, however - Daisy, congratulations on Budapest! It's at least ten years since I was last there, but, gosh, it's one of the prettiest of cities! You'll love it!

Susan - nice one!

Stephanie - glad to hear your wee 'un is looking better. Hope she continues to improve.

Omnis - funny, the first F2F I attended involved Buffistas taking over a Hollywood bowling alley, many of us sporting tiaras and/or corsets and/or period costume. But I don't think it was as a dice-rolling alternative.