I love my socks!

My SockPal socks arrived while I was gone last weekend. What a wonderful surprise. My SockPal lovingly included two bars of chocolate from Trader Joes, extra yarn and a cute card. I would've take pictures of the box, but when I came home there was one chocolate bar and one empty wrapper. A little mouse in my house had PMS and ate one of my treats, so we bought a cruelty free mouse trap and set it up. Strangely, we haven't found any mice. Hmmm...

Aren't these beautiful? I am so impressed by her Kool Aid dye job, the pattern, the perfect short row heels and toes, and the length (half-calf). And the colors ... oh, the colors. I am deeply in love. Swoon.



And they fit too. I wore them to work on Tuesday.



Thanks SockPal. I LOVE them! And thanks to Alison for hosting such a great exchange. I'll certainly do this again.

Another milestone

I have reached a bloggerly milestone too! I got my first comment spam. I know ... I know ... it's annoying, but I turned on verification. From now on, you must prove that you're a human, not a droid spammer. However, if you're a droid spammer and want to leave me comments about my stunning beauty and wit, I promise to knit a nice warm hat for your cold metallic head. Your choice.

Errata, really?

It's official. I'm a knitter. I have passed a milestone in my fiberly adventures. I have found a mistake in a pattern. Hooray. After much frowning, squinting, consulting the local experts, and poking my wayward cables with my needles, I am fairly certain there's a mistake in the pattern. Without boring you with the details (although I reserve the right to bore you tomorrow), let's just say that the pattern has an 8 row repeat, calling for a zig, a zig and a zag. Repeat. However, the picture looks like a zig, zag, zig, zag, etc. I tried to simply add the missing zag, but alas, it's not exactly correct. So I pulled the knitting off the needles, introduced it to my trust stitch holders and will cast on for a long experimental swatch on the way home tonight. I'm determined to figured this out, damnit!

As for weekend news -- I'll be brief.

1. MY BROTHER IS THE BEST MAN IN THE WORLD (and mind you, I'm a nasty ol' dyke, so that means a lot)

2. The Mafia-mobile has a new engine (well, its actually new "head," but for all intents and purposes its an engine), a semi-leaky radiator, and a tweaked throttle. In spite of the Bro's amazing skill, the Mafia-mobile ended up in our local shop again on Tuesday and Wednesday for additional work. Dear god, will this ever end? On the good side - the Mafia has a head full of car knowledge and the scratches, bruises and burns to prove it. And -- I looked pretty hot with my head under the hood.

3. Taking a long bus trip is not that bad. The bus didn't smell. Noone talked to me. There were only a couple incidents of old-man-fart-smell that quickly dissipated. I did a lot of knitting and watched a mainstream movie that I would've never watched otherwise.

4. I brought 6 projects (!).
- Little Man socks. I finished one, and left the other to rot in the ziploc. Second sock syndrome? For sure.
- Little Man chunky cabled sweater from Zoe Mellor.
- Roo's socks. Didn't touch 'em.
- BFF&ExGF#2's ponchette? Forgot the pattern at home, but still lugged all 6 balls of Karabella in hopes that I'd find an internet connection at my Mom's house. No such luck.
- Mafia socks in beautiful ArtYarns purpley-olivey. No progress.
- I can't remember the last one. Clearly there was no progress.

More errata drama to come. Stay tuned...

Errata or Sheer Stupidity?

My bet's on Sheer Stupidity.

I spent a good part of the weekend working on Little Man's fancy Debbie Bliss merion aran "Chunky Cabled Sweater" from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots. Unfortunately after two repeats of the 8-row pattern, I'm fairly certain that I'm doing something wrong. Either there is a mistake on the pattern (probably not), or I'm not doing a FC or BC correctly. Danielle and I puzzled over the criss-crossed center cable and couldn't come up with a definitive answer. So I'll search around and I'll post some pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll contemplate whether I should rip to a lifeline (thank god I finally started using a lifeline) or start doing it correctly now and call that section a learning experience. Hmmmm? Thoughts?

In better news, it appears that I have almost tackled the gauge monster. This Little Man sweater is probably going to fit.

8 hours on a bus

It appears that spending 8 hours on a bus will be the cheapest way to haul the Mafia-ass from MA to NY to pick up the newly repaired Mafia-mobile. Damn! I hate smelly buses.

However, that means 8 hours of undisturbed knitting time. Ah ... the luxury.

Here's a poll -- how many projects would you bring on an 8 hour bus ride? What kinds of projects? How many projects could one reasonably fit into a backpack?

I'm thinking of:
- finishing a pair of Little Man socks,
- starting a Little Man cabled sweater from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots,
- starting the ponchette for BFF&ExGF#2 from Poncho Loco, and
- starting the socks for Roo.

Would 4 projects be enough?? I'll probably have to swatch for the sweater and ponchette. Should I bring my entire needle roll? What if I forget one small notion?

I find it absolutely astounding that ExGF#3 would call me neurotic on her blog. :-)

The Socks Arrived

Not mine ... but the ones I knit. Karen over at K-Knit was my SockPal and she got her socks already. I'm such a horrible secret-keeper that I'm shocked I managed to keep this one quiet. Here's a photo of the package prior to mailing:



See that spiral bit of paper? That's where I hid the specs - appropriately placed in the extra yarn so she can redo anything that doesn't fit quite right. After I completed the socks, she wrote about the shape of her feet on the blog. I spent Sept 13-14th trying to decide if I should reknit the pair to accomodate her shapely feet. Then I realized I was being insane. Fingers tightly crossed that they fit ...

* Shout out to Danielle for letting me borrow her digital camera 'cuz I forgot mine. Mommy brain.

Socks are en route

My SockPal emailed yesterday with apologies for the delay. Thankfully she's (he's?) been reading my blog, noticed that I moved, and emailed to get my new address. Thank God someone is organized! It never occured to me to update my address with Alison. eek! So ... Thank You to my mysterious SockPal (with a fake email address) for being so thoughtful. I can't wait to see my new socks, especially because I have NO recollection of what I wrote in my original likes/dislikes email. A great surpise around the corner. Hooray!

Beware Dial-Uppers

I had a wonderful weekend in Philadelphia.

We are actively ignoring the super hard certification test I took on Saturday morning. I won't see the results for 4 (!) weeks, and I'm not sure if I passed. Don't even ask me why it takes 4 weeks to process the damned thing. Say it together now -- if ballots can be read and tallied within hours of the polls closing, the same fill-in-the-bubble answer sheets shouldn't take four weeks! 225 multiple choice vague, easy to misconstrue collections of text questions do not take 4 weeks to score. It was hard [insert whining here], and I'm feeling venomous! We are also ignoring the possible implosion of my homelife. Both are better left alone right now. Happy. Happy. Happy. Are you convinced? I'm not. But ...

I had a wonderful weekend in Philadelphia!

We ate, walked, took pictures, fondled yarn, ate, walked, called friends, engaged in illegal acts in public parks, walked, slept a little, watched TV, ate, walked, shared fantasies of ideal sexual experiences, gossiped, theorized about the meaning of life, walked, and ate. It was divine.

Friday -- Flight Boston->Philly. Startitis set in. I ignored my knitting and bought The Kite Runner. Couldn't find room for my carry-on and had to check it. Got mildly bitchy with the flight attendant and felt guilty about it. Made up for bitchiness by being extra sweet later. [yes, I can be sweet. Shut up! I can!] Got SO many comments from strangers about The Kite Runner, and confirmed the comments by falling deeply in love within 20 pages. Arrived in Philly. Ate Afghan food. So yummy. Drank wine. Slept.

Saturday -- walked about 2 miles to test site, proving that Danskos are the best shoes ever. Took evil test. Pissed and moaned about it while walking to Chinatown. Felt soothed by the amazing noodle bar we went to. Handpulled noodles at Nan Zhou. Yummmm! Hung out at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown, a production of Asian Americans United of Philadelphia. The organizers were 80% Asian, 20% lesbians with Asian kids. Saw adorable kids doing the Lion Dance.



Then we hustled home to rest. Bitching about the test really tired us out. Watched my first episode of Knitty Gritty on DIY network and LOVED it, although the host seems a tad disingenuous. Then discovered Craft Corner Death Match on the Style network and felt conflicted. Wow -- I really want to be on it. Wow -- it's weird. Wow -- the host is an insane screwball. Wow -- that Craft Lady of Steel is kinda hot (in a weird tough Frau kinda way).

Then we walked back to Chinatown for the big Lion Dance and parade.







Walked back home again. Dealt with home-life meltdown lesbian drama on cell while walking (yes, I was one of those people - yuck). Immediately drank large raspberry martini. Cried. Called Mom. Drank more. Showered. Put product in hair. Donned lesbo-chic clothes. Waited for friends to arrive. Decided I looked hot.hot.hot. Went to dinner at one of Stephen Starr's restaurants, Washington Square. Blocked out lesbian-drama by drinking a champagne and pomegranate juice cocktail and licking the rock candy from the glass's rim like a stripper. I don't think anyone noticed my efforts, so I'm probably bad at mimicking a stripper. Ate amazing food and a fabulous green apple martini. Giggled a lot. Chatted. Entered park across street to engage in illegal act. Succeeded in blocking out lesbian-drama. Walked to Tavern on Camac, to prop up the wall and watch all the young lovelies shaking their tight little asses. Drank another green apple martini (not nearly as good as the restaurant's version). Started yawning at about 2am. Got home. Flopped on bed. Died.

Formula for Saturday -- lesbian mom with ever-shrinking tolerance for alcohol + lesbian drama of the highest order = stunning ability to consume martinis and remain upright. Viva la adrenalin!

Sunday -- woke up from horrible nightmare of Little Man dro__ing in a tub (won't even breathe that into the universe). Threw nasty smoky cocktail-ly self into steaming hot water. Focused on project for the day -- art. I spotted this beautiful sculpture in a community garden. I had to snap a pic.



Walked to Loop. Ahhh, and the angels sing from above, I loved this store. Clean design, all white shelves, periodic bursts of color in the chairs. Organized by company. Amazing selection. Best customer service ever. The owner was very sweet and chatty and his dog was adorable. We chatted about bamboo, fondling yarn balls, the injustice of wool allergies, and how both "Debbie Bliss" and "Lorna's Laces" would be great drag queen names. I also suggested that he snag a date on the Yarn Harlot's calendar for the bookbookbook#2 tour. That would bring some excellent exposure to the store. This is how much I loved Loop -- see the owner standing there?



With her extreme generosity of late, I hunted high and low for something to make for BFF&ExGF#2. She settled on the Lace Poncho by Susan Sternlieb from the Poncho Loco piece in Fall '05 Interweave Knits. Then she settled on 5 balls of Karabella Aurora 8 in color 16.



Getting a highly sensitive girl to settle on anything containing wool was a miracle and a testament to Karabella's loveliness.

Walked down South Street to Isaiah Zagar's Magic Garden and took some pics. Unfortunately we didn't catch a workshop because it's a two-day affair. We didn't have the time. But I want to try the workshop someday. However, I got some fun pictures of his work. Here's to you, ChrisQ, I brought home some photographic goodies:

The main Magic Garden location


The walkway into the Magic Garden


A bug on the arch


The side wall


Art


Appreciation


4,000 Poets


Art is the Center of the Real World


This one is a good story. I saw bits of a deep dark blue mosaic over a tall wooden fence. As I got closer, I realized the fenced area was filled with Little Tykes toys, and the mosaic filled the entire wall of the playspace. I crammed the camera into a crack between two slats and snapped only a very small portion of the design. But, I may have captured the best part. Around the 2001 there were square white tiles, and each one was painted by a child. It was precious.



Philly is a city of murals. Everytime I go there, I'm amazed by the number of murals, the quality of them and how well they're preserved. On the way to lunch, I spotted this beautiful mural. It reminded me of New England.



For lunch, I experienced another first - a creperie, Beau Monde. Love. 'Member what I said about anything wrapped in dough? Me loves it. First of all, the menu was divided into sweet and savory. The sweet crepes were made with wheat flour, the savory ones with buckwheat flour.



I had a crepe with egg and andouille sausage inside. Here's the boobalicious headless Mafia shot. Boobs are a wonderful invention.



After lunch, we walked down to Fabric Row. Unfortunately every shop was closed. It was Sunday afterall, but I was a little bummed anyway. Then I spotted this mural and rejoiced.



Then we started the hunt for Sophie's Yarns. I heard from Kathy (via my comments) that it was worth checking out. However, ahem, Kathy, it was neither on Walnut Street, nor near the Liberty Bell. After wandering a bit, I called my trusty 16-year-old-always-on-the-computer-and-loves-me Sister in Law for directions. I must say ... I didn't like Sophie's Yarn. The customer service was dreary and totally unengaging. But they carried nice yarn and tons of books. If you're in town, try it out. Perhaps you'll have a different experience.



After a disappointing yarn experience (don't you hate those?), we checked out a couple of funky antique shops in the area. For that, I thank Kathy for bringing me to the area. Fun.Fun.Fun. But I still had wool on the brain. I yearned for some nice sock yarn, and I had $15 burning a hole in my pocket.

You see, I earned $15.50 by participating in a study at MIT last week. So my Philly yarn budget was $15. Damnit, I wanted to spend it! After bitching about being broke, and enjoying a luxurious all-expenses paid trip to Philly (love that BFF&ExGF#2!!!), I was buying sock yarn if it killed me.

So back I went to the glorious Loop and had to confess that I was back for "another fix." So I bought two skeins of ArtYarns Supermerino in a glorious wine/brown/olive colorway, #114.



OK, you caught me -- I over-spent my budget a little. Two skeins were $18.

Then off to the airport, to stick my head in The Kite Runner and await my quasi-public reunion with my little family.

Usually Wifey parks at the airport curb to avoid the parking fees. Unbeknownst to me, she and Little Man were waiting in the lobby for me. Little Man spotted me first, and started yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" and running through the terminal. We performed the Hollywood arms-outstretched-running-spinning-hug.

I'm home, and my boy's soft little cheek is so nice to cuddle up against.

Philly Love

I'm off to Philly this weekend to take a professional certification exam, and chill with the BFF&ExGF#2. She's already scoped out some excellent Mafia-worthy activities. First of all, The Loop yarn shop is a short walk from her house. Secondly, we might check out this weird modern dance thing, which sounds SO interesting. I'm super excited about the self-guided Mosaic Mystery Tour to look at Isaiah Zagar's amazing mosaic murals in the South Street area. Everytime I'm in Philly, I walk past these enormous murals in utter awe, so it'll be great to spend some time with each one. If you love these mosaics, look at Philly Magic Gardens for information on the preservation project. Of course I'll take a swing by Giovanni's Room and the amazing Chris' Corner kids book store. I've never checked out Fabric Row before, so if I'm super inspired by these shops, I might have to drop the knitting for a couple months and focus on the machine. Speaking of, I need to find a pattern for a frog costume for Little Man's halloween. Note to self - get thee to Joann's.

Of course, there will also be food and wine. Apparently there is already a bottle of wine waiting for my arrival, and the Indian food restaurant on speed dial. I wouldn't be surprised if the wine is breathing when I show up on her stoop. She's good like that. Her tiny Italian Nan has taught her many wonderful tricks with flour, egg and water, so there's a batch of homemade potato and parsnip gnocchi waiting for me. Also, there's rice milk in the fridge, and a Trader Joe's down the street. Ahh ... the love. I'm going to have a great weekend! Hooray!

Do you live near a homophobe?

Check here.

The Katrina Stash Replacement Project

The MIT Stitch and Bitch donated a trunk full of supplies. Click over to the MIT blog to see the amazing stash we donated! Can you donate a little too? Click on the flyer to get a bigger view so you can see how to donate:

All Roo, All the Time

These days, my knitting is all Roo, all the time. Go see her newly finished cute blue scarf. As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm working on a secret project for Roo's in utero baby boy, so I can't post about that. But I can send some Roo-love into the blogiverse. Here's her first scarf, made for a friend a few months ago. Notice the cute flower pins? Love those. I have a couple of the 2004 version at home. Sometime I'll take a picture and post with more Roo-love.



And here's the fall 2005 version of the flower pin, with the button and top-stitch details added. Yes, that's my bust again. I'm all about the boobies these days. This is officially proof to Roo-the-skeptic that I actually wear the beautiful flowers that she makes me. In fact, if you must know, I wore this particular flower 3 times last week, including to work. Should you need further proof, Danielle will vouch for me.



Several months ago, I bought this awesome sock yarn for Roo's preggie feet. Perhaps I'll make said socks before preggie is complete?



In other Roo-news, she has delighted me by asking if I'll teach her to make these awesome fingerless mittens from Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting. Hooray! I can't wait to cast on. I have promised Wifey and BaseballBoyGirl (Wifey's 13 yr old sister) each a pair of fingerless mitts. Can't wait. Yeah Roo. You're getting sucked into the knitting void. Mwwwhhhhaaahhaaa!

Sheelzebub's hilarious videos

Shamelessly stolen from my dynamo friend Sheelzebub over at Pinko Feminist Hellcat:

"Disaster on the Bayou.

The Big Chill in 30 Seconds, re-enacted by bunnies.

This one is funny, until the end. Then it's heart-wrenching.

And finally, here are The Pigeonhawks, with a message about how important veterans are to them."

Headless Boobies

Here she is -- my AC Shawl/Not Knit Round Scarf from The Purl Stitch, which was lovingly lent from a fellow MIT Stitch and Bitcher.



For all you spinners out there, yes, that's a spinning wheel in my house. It's Wifey's antique, inherited from her Gammy. We have no idea how old it is. It doesn't work. It's missing some essential parts, which I might have replaced at some point when I'm financially stable (distant or never?). Tiny holes in the wheel indicate that her precious antique has contracted a case of wood worm, so who knows what will happen to it. At the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, I chatted with a spinning wheel craftsman who is willing to refurbish the wheel for me. Perhaps someday.

A Clarification to Avoid Anyone Bitching at Me

It occurred to me in the shower this morning that, despite the illusion of intimacy, we bloggers don't really know each other well. We regularly make assumptions to fill in the blanks between the written words. I started this blog as a brain dump with little consideration for how it might appear to others. But somewhere along the way, I got a couple of regular readers, and I love that. I've "met" some amazing people and I'm grateful for this unexpected gift. But ultimately your knowledge of my character extends only as far as my HTML code. Therefore ... I'll start being a little more careful in my choice of words. So ...

Before I get any comments about how I'm polarizing the spectrum of sexuality by referring to the "straights" and the "lesbos", let me say this. I believe in Kinsey. As far as I'm concerned, there is a spectrum of sexuality. I consider myself a 5. [anyone else feel like divulging their score?]

I also believe deeply in the politicization of sexuality. The more people included in the movement for gay rights, the better. So ... I use the terms gay/lesbian/dyke/queer/trans/etc to mean anyone with attractions to members of the opposite sex or people that transcend gender distinctions. I use "dyke" to mean all women loving women. Yes, that includes you bi-girls.

So ... I apologize if I inadvertently assumed that anyone was straight or gay based on their current relationship status. Perhaps Local Egg is a big lesbo and married to a man? Perhaps MamaCate is a big straighty and married to woman? Perhaps both are totally Kinsey-3 bi-chicks? Who knows? Who cares?

I'm just having fun here, being sassy and irreverent. I hope you're having fun here too.

Dang Nabbit!

You straight ladies are impressive. Without drawing unnecessary attention to MamaCate's near miss, I must remain truthful and confess that Local Egg receives the prize.

BFF&ExGF#2= Best Friend Forever and Ex-Girlfriend #2.

I wouldn't say "Best Female Friend," because I have precious few male friends and therefore would not distinguish male/female. Sorry my dykey friend. I'm sure you speak the tongue better than most. :-P

I originally imagined the prize would be a pair of black wristcuffs emblazoned with "Big Dyke" in neon green beads. Or a wonder woman outfit with "SD" across the breasts and "Super Dyke" along the bottom of the cape.* But I'm thinking that LocalEgg's hubby might not approve.


*BTW I did create such an outfit back in college for a straight girl to wear to the annual campus Drag Ball. That's drag for her, right? I should scan and post a picture of the attire. It was hilarious. I attended said Drag Ball as a conservative right-wing man with ExGF#1 as a right-wing lady. That was drag for us. I thought it was hilarious. On my ultraPC campus, almost noone else thought it was funny. And interestingly, because the ever-fabu BFF&ExGF#2 participated in the Drag Ball antics, she began the journey to GF#2.

Tibetan food

In case I haven't mentioned it before, Northampton (Lesbian Mecca) is my favorite place on the planet. Wait, Plum Island is my favorite place on the planet. Shit. I don't know. They're both great. Anyway ... during my last trip to Noho, my ever-fabu BFF&ExGF#2 (a prize to the first one to decode my lesbo-speak) Danielle took me to my first Tibetan restaurant, the Lhasa Cafe. Oh the love. Love. Love. Dumplings, piles of veges, spicy broths, deep warm colorful pottery bowls, dumplings, firey sauces with mystery ingredients, and did I mention the dumplings? Wrap it in dough and me loves it. I never thought I'd find food that I love more than Thai from JP's Ban Chiang. Well, I did. Tibetan is my new obsession. Where am I going with this, you might ask? Here --

When "someone" in my house finds her dream job, I'm taking her smart ass for a celebratory dinner to this place. *

*thanks to urban hipster ChrisQ for the link and review.

Secretly Insane & Productive

Job.Money.Car.Health.Katrina.
Once again, I've been MIA. My life is a bit insane. Job troubles for Wifey, money troubles, car troubles, and health troubles for me. Wifey's job troubles are working out slowly. Very slowly. Agonizingly slowly. Money troubles are money troubles. Pay the rent, avoid the utilities for a couple months, cut back on anything unnecessary, turn the damned lights off, stop buying organic for a bit, hit the library, sell some shit on eBay or CraigsList ... you know the deal. Car troubles boil down to this -- one VW wagon minus one timing belt=destroyed engine and a $4K quote. Hah! See previous sentence about job and money. Insert one beautifully caring and loving brother driving 6 hours in a SUV to attach my car to a dolly, sleeping for 2 hours and driving back. Then imagine a couple weeks of this young man searching for used parts online and swearing under hood of wagon. Now ... think of me, a couple weeks from now, trying to get to an obscure location 6 hours away with no money to rent a car and my only car celebrating its new engine. Needless to say, I'll be dealing with some logistical issues all too soon. Most importantly, My Brother is the Best! Health troubles are weird. I have some sort of heart issue. Not diagnosed. Doc seems a little worried, but not freaked. I call on Tuesday expecting to see her within a week or two. Nope, I was brow-beaten into coming within 3 hours of my call, and further scolded that if I had additional symptoms in the meantime (3 hours!), I was to get to an E.R. Fuck that, I'm 30! Anyway, I had some tests done with more to come. I had to cut back on my caffeine intake. Barry's! I can only drink you once a day, and perhaps give you up entirely! Oh the horror! Plus, I have to de-stress. Yeah, right. See beginning of post. I'll get right on that. Bottom line is -- I'm 30. I'm not going to drop dead of a heart attack. Yes, my Grandpa had his first 'big one' (as my family calls it) in his late 20s, a massive and disabling one in his early 40s and a fatal one at 53. Yes, my 49 year old Mom is on meds and closely monitored. But I'm 30! I'll be fine, if I can only stop thinking about Katrina. This was totally preventable. The government has been incredibly remiss in responding. I am delighted that celebrities are speaking out. But once again, I am ashamed to be an American. We can do so much better than this. However, as the job.money.car.health.self-pity.anger rollercoaster circles around in my mind, I'm painfully aware of how lucky I am to have my home and my family. I am thankful. The rest will work out eventually. 'Nuff said. Let's get to the knitting.

Knitting.
I just finished a semi-secret project that can't make it's bloggy debut until the end of September. Roo knows that Baby Joey is getting a Mafia original, but I don't want her to see it until the shower (9/24). Sorry dear readers (all two of you), you'll have to wait until Sept. 25th.

I plan to take the famous headless Mafia pic with my new AC Shawl/Not-Knit-Round Scarf draped across my shoulders. Problem is - it's black, and I almost always wear black. This does not provide many photo ops. I contemplated stripping off today's black shirt and doing a bra shot, but the belly isn't what it used to be. Sorry ladies, I won't be providing lesbian porn this week. [bring on the google hits]

The grind is calling...

New Knitty!

Warning to my wallet and my wife -- the new knitty is up, and I lust after Samus (and it's sister pattern Kepler), Josephine, Revolution, Leaves in Relief, Falling Leaves, Bubby and Astrodome. I have such strangely eclectic taste.

My bank account is in the toilet. Will some please send me bags and bags of lovely fall colors of merino dk or aran, please???

Wunderbar Big Little Bro

Finally -- an explanation for my brother.