Best week ever?

On Thursday night we drove over to Adrian's to pick up the wheel: I don't think I can fully express how totally thrilled I am with this wheel. Aside from how gorgeous it is (the special edition "honey" finish, which I'd never seen before, is perfect) it's already such a joy to spin on. No headaches, no cursing; I can sit down and relax and treadle almost effortlessly. I understand how it works, the bobbin-lead system makes sense to me. As soon as I put it together (with no problems) I started to spin the rest of the Mangoes BFL roving. I was able to spin it very fine right away, varying between laceweight and sportweight in the slubbier parts. I finished it up today: Then split it onto two bobbins to ply. I plied it a little too loosely in the beginning but I'm quite satisfied with what I have: Of course, I have no idea how many yards I have or what weight it is, really. It's drying now, after a nice soak, so I'll swatch with it a little later. All spinning fun aside, it's been a busy week. Work was a little crazy and it felt like I had a million other things to do. My good friend Alex, who I hadn't seen since freshman year (he goes to Tufts, which sometimes feels like a world away), came over for dinner on Wednesday and it was beyond lovely to see him again. We were very close in high school and it's sooooo great to see him doing so well! Yay Alex! Then on Friday both of my sisters came into Boston, from NY and NH, to celebrate our birthdays (all of which fall in September and October). We had dinner here on Friday (complete with 3 bottles of wine) and yesterday we went to the MFA for a couple of hours. After that I gave Amy a knitting lesson. Only one problem - she's a lefty! I was teaching her to knit English, like I do, and it looked like she was really struggling, so we switched to Continental. I think that's working out better for her, and now she's on her way to a garter stitch scarf in some blue Valley Yarns Monterey that was sitting in my stash for way too long. Last night was the topper, though: dinner at Sorellina. What a place! I'd been dying to go there ever since it was reviewed on the Phantom Gourmet, but it would only happen if I found a few hundred bucks on the street. Well, let's just say that my sister is an incredibly generous person, and the three of us had what I think was an unforgettable meal. Sorellina is elegant and lively, the room is striking and modern and the service was very agreeable. But the menu is the star; I started with the tuna tartare (incredible, perfection), Amy had the arancini, and Melissa had the romaine salad (the dressing was too fishy, she said). Then I had the veal, Amy the pork, and Melissa the chicken - we were all quite pleased with our choices, I think. Amy picked some phenomenal red wines (a barolo and a petite syrah) and dessert, well, it was decadent. If you're ever planning an extra-special evening, Sorellina is the place to go. I'm very glad I have another day to recover from this week! We might try to see The Departed tomorrow. I can't decide whether I want to spin more today or attack the ends on Brocade... or take a nap! Oh, and a little postscript - you can now visit my blog at www.cinemaknits.com!!!! No need to update your links or bookmarks, it's just site-forwarding for now.