Jenn Martinelli Blogging in Boston

Knitting, that is. Anyway, this is a really cute idea, I think. And they are supposed to be sold in Harvard Square! Maybe when I think I deserve a present, or when I sell something and make some money, I will get one as a reward.

Listen, everyone: you need some remedial lessons on some driving rules. Here are some basic rules that you should not only be aware of but also observe. I thought everyone knew these but based on recent experiences I have to believe that almost no one knows them...:

When 2 cars are stopped at stop signs at the same intersection:

If you are both going straight whoever is on the right goes first.

If one or both of you are turning, whoever isn't turning goes first, or whoever is turning right is first and whoever is turning left is last, or if you are both turning right, then whoever is on the right goes first.

When someone is stopped at the end of a driveway or parking lot exit waiting to turn out onto the road, and someone else is waiting to turn into the parking lot:

Whoever is on the road goes first since the other person is effectively stopped because you are supposed to come to a complete stop at the end of any driveway before turning into traffic. It doesn't matter who is turning which direction, the person on the road goes first.

If you are at an intersection at a red light and there is a sign that says, "No Right Turn on Red" then you are not allowed to make a right turn while the light is red. Got it? You are especially not allowed to if someone is crossing the street and has a walk signal. And you are most especially not allowed to if you are also planning to lay on your horn and yell at that person.

If you are driving and you come to a crosswalk either at an intersection or in the middle of the road where there is no stoplight or signal of any kind you yield to pedestrians. That means as you approach it you look to see if someone is crossing or is about to cross the street, and if so, you slow down so they can cross. It does not mean that you keep going at your normal speed of 45 mph but just swerve to avoid hitting the pedestrians.

If you are pulling onto a highway, you accelerate. You do not stop and wait for there to be no traffic. You may be waiting for 10 hours. And you will almost definitely be rear-ended.

If it's night time, please use your headlights.

If you are going to make a turn, there is a magical thing called a "turn signal" or, in Massachusetts, a "directional" which will let people know ahead of time what you are going to do. This way, you will avoid not only getting cursed at, but also causing accidents.

If you don't know any of these rules, then I need to resurrect the idea of the Pickup of Justice. More on that later.

"Just because I have a unique dialect from my native homeland doesn't mean you can make fun of me!"

You might want to look up this word.

It was warm enough to wear just a vest and a sweater outside on Saturday. Now it's 24 degrees. I know that it takes forever for spring to get here in Boston, but it still makes me sad.

I am very very tired this morning. We stayed up late last night trying to finish getting the livingroom clean so we have at least one sane room in our stupid apartment. I think it's basically done but I'm sure Rob will disagree for some crazy reason. The fishtank is clean, everything is put in its place, the cabinets are organized, everything has been dusted and wiped and vacuumed. The only mess that's out is a couple of loose books on a table and a PC that's open because Rob was cloning our Tivo drive. (So that's not my fault!)

Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend. Rob has spring break this week as well as Heather. Too bad we're all so broke or we could have taken a fun trip. Maybe next year.