Knit a Life

Sandi

2007-08-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

The strangest thing happened today. At ten minutes to 10:00, one of our managers ran through the office saying, "mandatory meeting in the conference room in ten minutes!" We all filed in to the conference room with puzzled and quizzical looks on our faces. Two managers did not show up, the one manager was obviously agitated and put two boxes of Kleenex out on the conference table. We all shifted in our seats uncomfortably. "What could it possibly be?" "A few people joked around quietly but most of us sat in silence. When most of us were finally assembled, our new director, who has been at his post for all of one month informed us that one of our co-workers, Sandi, passed away last night. For about a second there wasn't a sound as the wind was collectively knocked out of the thirty or so of us all bunched up in that room, then a few sobbed loudly or cried out in anguish and shock. It was a surreal experience. She was 64.

Just yesterday she stood in my office asking me if I had seen a missing file folder. I hadn't, and she walked out scratching her head and talking to herself, wondering where she may have put it down. She was the person that ordered everything. Soup to nuts. Bathroom running out of toilet paper? Tell Sandi. Need a new keyboard? Tell Sandi. Floor mats wearing out? Tell Sandi. She also ran the cashier's office. With an iron fist. You could hear down the halls sometimes squawking like a chicken when the drawers didn't balance. When I moved my office last month, she moved into my old space. I was critical of the fact that she hung a poster of Tim McGraw with a smoldering come-hither expression on his face. Sometimes after she had been to a country-western concert, I'd purposely avoid her because I had already overheard her telling the same story recounting the evening's events in the break room and again at the front counter. A few months ago she generously allowed us to use her office to start our knitting group. We ended up moving it since she had a difficult time attending regularly. She had a crocheted baby blanket she was working on for a little girl who is about to turn 2. She used to joke that she just might finish it before the little girl started high school. Yesterday as I walked past her cubicle, I saw her with her head down on her desk, as I passed, she looked up and her face looked tired, exhausted. Apparently this morning, her niece could not wake her.

Our department is walking around like zombies today. Some people went home. Others just sort of hung around. We shared Sandi stories and alternately laughed and wept. It's such a strange thing when someone at work dies. I've never before experienced it. Some people were very close to her, others, like me, hardly knew her at all, yet I interacted with her almost every day. It's really kind of a surreal and odd thing when life intersects with work. In some ways, we are like family. We see each other every day, we get along or don't. Yet there is a strange facade stretched over the whole dynamic. People are ashamed to burst out in tears, yet we all understand it. At work we are supposed to be calm, cool and collected -- "Professional." Today was a very strange day. We floated around, didn't do much, alternately opened up, then retreated back. We don't know how to "be." We are all trying to find our ways of dealing with the hole that has collectively been blown in our hearts.

Things I Would Have Blogged About

2007-07-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well let's see. I finished a long-languishing UFO, a sweater. (Came out too big, in case you were wondering.) Refrained from buying yarn, although I did purchase a pattern for a sweater (Oat Couture Bistro shirt) and finally broke down and bought the Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Shawl pattern. Saw my first Dodger game. Nursed my daughter back to health (she had a bout with strep). Saw my BFF's daughter get married at the beach. Celebrated my niece's Sweet 16. Got to see the Ballet with her and my kids. (Othello, if you must know. My daughter leaned in to me halfway into the first act as the lead did his first solo and whispered loudly, in all seriousness and with a very concerned tone, "Mommy -- I think that man forgot to wear his underpants!") Fried my shoulders at the beach. Moved my office down the hall. Watered the garden. Harvested a few more green beans. Washed never-ending piles of laundry, especially sandy beach towels. And how could I forget: I helped to start and have been attending a new knit group! We meet on-campus on Thursdays at lunchtime. There is this great room with couches and lots of chairs. I'm meeting a whole new knitting community out at the university! Knitters are always so much fun!
J called me yesterday to let me know the computer is fixed. I should be up and running by tomorrow (we couldn't connect today). See you then, hopefully I'll post a few pics.

False Idol Exposed

2007-07-26T09:53:00.001-07:00

Another Post from the Work Front, Day 30:
I think it was about 4 or 5 days ago. Withdrawal set in. A deep longing down in the pit of my being. A sadness, a melancholy that came from...out of nowhere. There I was, at home, working on a long-neglected cardigan. Suddenly I was deeply, inexplicably lonely. From the depths of my being, a sob wrenched through me as I hoarsely whispered out loud, "I miss my computerrrrrr!"

The next day I picked up the phone and called J, my friend, co-worker and resident computer expert, aka, the man who is holding my computer hostage. He didn't answer. I am sure he must think I am insane because the message I left him sounded like a desperate crack addict: "Hey J, it's me. Um, yeah, so, like it's been a few weeks and I was wondering, like, when you were going to, uh, look at my computer? Yea, umm, so like if it's too much for you? If you don't have enough, like, time? Umm, yea, can you just GIVE IT BACK, I mean, get back to me? Uhh, yea..."

I have yet to hear back from him. My mind is racing. How dare he? How would HE like to go without a computer for a WHOLE MONTH! HE wouldn't like it very much, WOULD HE?! NO HE WOULD NOT!

Does anyone know about recovery programs for computer addicts? Mark my words, if they are not in existence, they soon will be.

My Bible reading these days in Isaiah is all about getting rid of false idols. Hmm, what could it possibly all mean?

Surreptitious Blogger

2007-07-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Psssst! Hey! Over here! It's me! I'm sneaking in a quick blog post from work. It is my only computer connection as of late. Can I just say, I think I was in need of a little vacation from my computer? I have been enjoying the weather, the kids, the beach, and summer in general. Strange to think that the little box sucks up so much of my time. Yes, folks, it's the addict in me. It has to be torn away from me in order for me to stop and smell the roses.

We "harvested" a few green beans from the garden. I bought a cute book on making sock animals and mitten animals. Emi and I are trying our hand at mitten dogs. We had a blast at a 4th of July church picnic with the "world's largest slip 'n slide," lots of food, watermelon, cotton candy and sno-cones. I have almost finished a sock from the Favorite Socks book (Undulating Rib)out of Trekking XXL (shade 107). Oooh, and I have lost 5 lbs. So far. This Friday a wedding. On Saturday it's down to my niece Rosie's for her sweet 16.

But the house remains a mess.

I'm not rushing on that computer. But I'll touch in again soon.

Crash

2007-06-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hi All. A quick note to let you know my computer crashed (again) last night. I'm posting from work just to let you all know. I'll post again as soon as I'm up and running! Truthfully, I probably could use a little break from all the time I spend online. Who knows, maybe my house may even get a little cleaner. Doubtful, but hey, you never know!

I'll be back soon!

Summoned

2007-06-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today I got paid to knit in public. No really, I did. I think most people refer to it as "jury duty" but hey, let's call it what it really is. Jury duty is like a knitter's dream if you work for the government. Which I do. I really was disappointed because I never even made it to the jury box. Now, I was just positive that I would have been picked to be a jury member if I had! I am so neutral and unbiased and more than anything, I come off as mild mannered, but of course, not too much so. They dismissed anyone who seemed in any way opinionated or different. The thing is, deep down, I am extremely opinionated and very "different." But I like to keep all that under wraps. I do however, like to think that I am capable of keeping my bias away from my judgement.

You can't knit in the jury box, though. But still. I could have walked to jury duty since it is only a mile from my house. I could have visited Julie at Knit and Pearl since it is only a block from her store. I'm telling you, I am truly disappointed not to be going back there tomorrow! Ah well, maybe next year.

I did make some progress on a project. I'll show it to you tomorrow.

I Survived Graduation

2007-06-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

I made it. I survived. The hours were not quite as grueling as they had told me -- I worked roughly 10 hours Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I waved traffic by at a stop sign. Sunday I worked the shuttle line, keeping order, answering questions, got yelled at. A lot. The highlight of the weekend was this:
Recognize him from Mythbusters? Yep, it's Adam Savage. He was the keynote speaker for the Engineering and Sciences ceremony on Saturday. Here's how it went down: It is Saturday and the staff are finishing up lunch in this empty theater backstage where they have food setup for us. This is also the area where they dress the chancellor and processional muckety-mucks who sit on stage during the ceremony. So the Science and Engineering group leaves to begin the ceremony and I hear some people nearby at my lunch table talking about Mythbusters. I chime in about how that is my son's absolute favorite show and that's when someone mentions that I just ate lunch oblivious to the fact that the star of Mythbusters was right behind me, that he is the commencement speaker! So I run out to the ceremony just in time to hear him give this great, charming, funny, down-to-earth address to the crowd advising the kids not to get too specialized, not to take themselves too seriously and not to be afraid to start over. It was a warm, folksy talk and worlds better than one of the other speakers who was clearly reading a speech that was so dry you could hear a collectively stifled yawn throughout the first half of her speech and barely hear her over the chatter of the second half due to the bad manners of the audience who, like unruly children, could not even keep still for 15 minutes. After Adam finished his speech, I waited breathlessly with my program for him to return to the staging area and fawned over him like a fifteen-year-old telling him what fans we were of the show and could I get him to sign the program for my son? He was very congenial and signed the program "To Kai: Keep Coooooooool. A S---------g ( that's sort of what the signature looked like). I was so excited I could hardly stand it. Getting stuff like that for your kid is even better than getting it for yourself. That is the first ever autograph I have ever obtained.

The best part was calling my son (who, due only to the fact that his parent's are no longer married to each other, has his own cellphone). It went like this:
Kai: Hello?
Me: Kai, it's me, Mom.
Kai: (Whispering) I'm in the movies, I can't talk.
Me: OK. It's just that I wanted to let you know Adam Savage is here.
Kai: (Whispering really loudly and I could just see him sitting straight up) What?!! No Way! Could you get me his autograph? Please?
Me: Of course.

The rest is history.

I took today off, but I have a sore throat and a bad headache and aches. Maybe my body is just really tired. It was pretty intense. 6 graduaion ceremonies. Probably about 2500 graduates, all told. And lots and lots of people. Everywhere. It's like a rock concert, only with multiple shows. As one group is trying to leave, the next is coming in. Lots of traffic, shuttle busses, maps, port-a-potties. But we made it. I did in fact bring knitting, but not much got done. I finished a hat in the break area between ceremonies and started another. Susan, I did not bring the sea silk because that shawl pattern at this point takes too much concentration. I'm kind of at a funny place with my knitting right now. Lots of starts but no real projects. I think it is a good time to finish up some odds and ends. I have started the Storm Water shawl 4 or 5 times now and either mess it up and need to start over or am not happy with the tension. I need to move down at least a needle size. Size 6 metals were way too slippery. I'm thinking me, ms. loosy goosy needs bamboo size 4 because the 5s aren't cutting it. I love the look of this yarn, but more and more I am discovering silk is not my favorite, and I am not a fan of the SSP. Not even sure if I'm doing it right and the yos next to it are disproportionately huge. I really am a wool-alpaca kind of gal. It's more forgiving. Like me. Heh.

I may take another day. I'm still exhausted and I barely did anything today.

There's A New Sheriff In Town

2007-06-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Okay. So. Tomorrow? If you happen to be at UCSB? And you see a lady who looks like this
who is directing traffic? --DO NOT-- I repeat -- DO NOT -- run her over! Yes, that would be me in my neon vest attempting to keep the peace out there. From what I understand, I have been relegated one of the "cushier" outposts at the bus loop. Not a whole lot going on there. Hey, it's fine with me. I have my lawn chair and knitting packed. They will serve food and I will do my best to remain polite and cheerful FOR TWELVE HOURS STRAIGHT!!! Don't even go there, it's "mandatory." Yup. Then I have to do it all over again on Sunday. By then, my hair will probably be all wild and my vest will be all dirty and there will be a crazed look on my face. Just bring yarn and I'll be nice. Promise.

So if you pray, I ask that you would remember me. I just hope I make it. I took Monday off because I figured two 12 hour days in a row after a 40 hour week, I might just keel over. I'll let you know how it goes.

Fun in the Sun

2007-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

We had fun at our WWKIP yesterday. We met at a park near the beach and I had a chance to catch up with some long lost knit pals. For some time now I have been part of a Yahoo group for Santa Barbara Knitters. I never participate, but I get the emails and read them pretty consistently. Anyway, there was this girl I noticed who joined the Yahoo group and she would often post emails to the group. Here name is Marieke, and in my head, I always thought it was pronounced Ma-REEK. So I get to the WWKIP and there is Ma-REEK. She looks vaguely familiar, but hey, by the time you get to 48, almost everyone looks vaguely familiar. But then I find out her name is pronounced Ma-RYE-ka. Vaguely familiar, no blip on the radar. Yet. I make some remark about the parallel between World Wide Knit In Public Day and Global Day of Prayer (which was two weeks ago). Marieke looks at me and asks me what church I go to. I tell her and a big smile comes across her face. She goes to our offspring church! Then I realize! She's Ma-RYE-ka! My friend's daughter's friend! I hear about her all the time but have only briefly met her once. All this time I've been looking at these posts from Ma-REEK, never knowing all this time that it is Ma-RYE-ka.

That is Thuy (prounounced "Twee"). My daughter says, "Twee. I like that name, Twee." I know what she means. Anyway, Thuy has a cool blog, schmeebot and doesn't post nearly enough in my opinion. She is a really big reason that I blog. She is also the first blogger I ever met whose blog I had read before meeting her.
To her left is Chauntel. She's the one who pulled the local WWKIP together. She and her best bud, Tracy are total characters. They wandered in to the knit group a couple years ago and the rest is history. She is one prolific knitter, let me tell you. And talk about a yarn stash! She is also very sweet and it was fun to catch up.

I tried to get some more pictures of the jacarandas, but it was not the right time of day. I think early morning will work better. I'll try and go out this week. Speaking of which, I have a big week coming up. On Saturday and Sunday, after working all week this week, everyone in my department is required to work commencement. We all have to work Saturday AND Sunday from 6am to 6pm. Then go back to work on Monday. Sheesh. I am NOT looking forward to it. Apparently I am being posted at one of the slower areas of the campus. You can guess what I'm bringing. Yup. A lawn chair and my knitting.

Here is a picture of a pretty rose bud.

Friday Fun

2007-06-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

I think getting packages in the mail is a lot like getting comments on your blog. Only better. Today was a good day. Emi agreed to be my Vanna.
We got home this evening and found a package. From Australia, Mate! We oohed and ahhed at the cool stamps from Down Under. I had recently received a happy email from Rose Red informing me that I had won her drawing! Yahoo!

Check out the cool card she made with her blog picture on it. So. Cute!

We found these inside. We could hardly stand the suspense! One of the packages looked suspiciously like chocolate! In case you didn't know, I adore chocolate. Luckily, my kids prefer weird candy like gummies and suckers. More for me.
Let me tell you, you can get some goooooooood chocolate in Australia! Creamy and rich

And now take a look at this: A simply gorgeous ball of handpainted Merino Cashmere Sock yarn from The Knittery (that's in Australia!) in Dark Reds. I'm smitten. And speechless. And soooo excited! Thank you Jane! You totally Rock!

Now you need to go check out her blog. She has a great post on her 7 favorite items of clothing. I'd join her and post my own 7 favorite pieces, but it'd be a snorefest. Baggy tee shirts, khaki pants, and flip flops for me. And these camisoles I found at Costco that I love. They have a little bra-thingy, well, actually a strip of fabric with elastic built-in and if you are, well, flat-chested like me, you can wear them all summer in comfort. And they come in a gazillion colors.

Time to go hover over some sock books for merino cashmere sock ideas. And to go stroke my pet ball of yarn, yes we will, my pretties. We love our pretty sock yarn, yes we do!

Updated to add: I had a fun idea. I would like to challenge Chauntel, Tracy, Rose and Ana to post their 7 favorite things to wear! As I said, my personal participation in this would be a big yawn, but I happen to think these ladies would have some fun things to share! And ladies, why don't you tag at least 3 or 4 more just for kicks? Anyone else care to share? Jump in!

100 Things About Me

2007-06-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

I know I just did the 7 random things, but in honor of my 100th post, I thought I'd post 100 things about me. Without further ado:

1. I love playing with color, shapes and textures in almost any medium
2. I don't like to do housework
3. I am not very self-disciplined when it comes to doing things that I'd rather not do (housework, paying bills, balancing the checkbook, working out)
4. I used to throw temper tantrums when I was a kid.
5. I am still not very good at controlling my temper.
6. But you'll only see that side of me if you know me really well, or I know you will never see me again.
7. I call people names when I am driving if they make me mad.
8. I am trying to stop doing that because it doesn't set a good example.
9. I am a mother of two who are often in the car when I am calling people names.
10. I pretty much thought I was never going to have kids because I just COULD NOT picture myself as someone's mother
11. Then when I was 32, I was told by several doctors that I would probably not be able to have children. All of a sudden, I felt that my life would have no meaning unless I had children.
12. After three years of trying to get pregnant, I had a surgery and afterward became pregnant almost immediately.
13. Because of that surgery, I had to have my 2 kids by c-section.
14. My doctor calls the location of my incision "my zipper."
15. When I was little, I assumed that I was going to be famous when I grew up.
16. I joined AA 20 years ago in June 1987.
17. I no longer attend meetings because I found Jesus.
18. I became a born-again Christian in January 1995 and got full-immersion baptized on my birthday.
19. I was 7 months pregnant with my son at the time.
20. I highly value integrity, honesty, love and hope, and of course, Jesus.
21. I have an older sister and two younger brothers.
22. The youngest of the younger brothers is 16 years younger than me.
23 Even though I am middle aged, I still feel young and immature, and I don't mean for my age. I mean for any age.
24. I cry really easily especially at movies. When I saw "Terms of Endearment" in the movie theater over 25 years ago, I cried so hard I was hitching and gasping and my eyes swelled up so much I could barely see as I was leaving the theater.
25. When I was pregnant, even a sentimental Pampers commercial made me cry.
26. At certain times of the month, violins playing sad-sounding dramatic music could make me cry.
27. I love food and eating, especially Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Moroccan
28. And See's chocolate.
29. I've always considered myself to be an artist, but never wanted to use it in a career.
30. I like to work with my hands, whether it is baking bread, doing ceramics, knitting, drawing , coloring, painting, making origami, even typing.
31. I am a terrible procrastinator.
32. I never know what to do with paper, like mail that is too important to throw out. It builds up in stacks everywhere.
33. I thin it out by throwing out the junk, but there are always leftovers that I am unsure what I should do with them.
34. When I put everything away, I have a hard time finding stuff.
35. I have to backtrack my logic and try and remember where I would have put it.
36. I have very low self-esteem
37. But I can also be a know-it-all.
38. People tell me I am very likable (even though with the combination of low esteem and know-it-all-ness, I'm not sure why).
39. I do really like people, all kinds of people.
40. Except when they smell. It is hard for me to like someone when they smell bad.
41. When I was a child, I am told that I would not "play" with someone if I didn't like the way they looked. They had to have a certain standard of attractiveness.
42. I am horribly embarrassed by this, even though I think it may actually be true.
43. I am no beauty myself, so don't ask me why I held others to this standard.
44. I am rigorously, sometimes painfully honest, especially about myself.
45. And self-deprecating.
46. I love to laugh so hard that tears come to my eyes and my stomach hurts. I love it when something is that funny!
47. I love how affectionate my children are.
48. My favorite color is magenta.
49. My favorite colors to wear are deep, dusky purple and a certain shade of apple green.
50. I love the smell of flowers, especially jasmine, tuberoses, gardenias and sweet peas. (not together).
51. I also love the smell of freshly mown grass, puppy breath and wool.
52. I always use garden and growing metaphors when I speak, but this year is the first time I have ever tried to grow a garden
53. I have a tendency to buy yarn when I am feeling insecure or uncomfortable.
54. I like to cook without using traditional measurements. I prefer the "pinch of this" and a "liberal handful of that" method of cooking.
56. People tell me that I am a good cook. I believe it is because I like to eat food that tastes good.
57 I make a mean potato salad!
58. I was raised with no spiritual beliefs.
59. I was one of those Asian girls raised in the suburbs who would only go out with white guys. We were referred to in college as "bananas."
60. Nowadays, I hope beyond hope that I would not choose someone because of what they look like or what social standing they have or anything else external.
61. I have had weight and self-image issues my entire life -- although I have only been categorically overweight since Emi was born.
62. I look at pictures of myself from 20 or 30 years ago and remember thinking that I was too fat at the time. I was perfectly fine. What a waste of self image!
63. I like to price shop, especially for big items. Sometimes, I will make the illogical decision of driving a far distance just to save money, and I'm talking a few dollars.
64. More and more these days it doesn't make sense. Thank God for the Internet.
65. I have a pretty good head on my shoulders. I am practical and know how to stretch a dollar.
66. I like to be generous.
67. I used to wish that everyone had to wear uniforms all the time so I wouldn't have to decide what to wear.
68. Then I just decided that I would adopt a uniform-type look and not worry about it.
69. But sometimes I miss being thin and getting all dolled up.
70. I pretty much won't wear heels anymore.
71. Or nylons
72. Biting bugs love me: mosquitoes, fleas, no-see-ums. They will chew us practically to death while others around me remain unbitten.
73. I am considered to be a patient teacher
74. When I used to drink, I would always pay my bills after "having a few".
75. After I stopped drinking, my credit rating got completely messed up.
76. I get along well with kids.
77. I have never been what you would call athletic and really don't care for exercise.
78. I have bitten my nails since before 4th grade,when I clearly remember setting my New Years Resolution to stop biting my nails and failed.
79. I try to pray and read the Bible every day.
80. But I am prone to times of inconsistency.
81. I love to sing really loud and my kids think I am a great singer, but really I'm not, I just know how to sing along in such a way that it sounds a lot like the singer. Like a chameleon.
82. I also like to do imitations of people.
83. When I was a kid, I used to like to make my family laugh by doing imitations of whoever had visited after they left.
84. My mom is my best audience and always tells me I should have a one-woman show.
85. My son is my second best audience and I like to say things that make him laugh so hard he falls on the floor holding his stomach.
86. I do kind of like to be the center of attention.
87. I also like to recount funny things that happened.
88. Of course, it's always more fun and interesting if you exaggerate.
89. But I really try my best to never lie.
90. The other day, the girl at the craft store accidentally over-credited me by $8.00 -- telling the clerk she made a mistake and returning the overage was one of the most difficult things I have done in recent times.
91. This was not made easier by the fact that she didn't thank me or acknowledge what I had done. I felt it was a huge act of integrity. She had no idea.
92. I wish I didn't crave the approval of others so much.
93. I have 4 BFFs. Really.
94. I have a distinctive, low voice that carries -- and I do not like hearing myself on tape.
95. I spend way more time on the Internet than I should.
96. I miss selectric typewriters, ditto machines, carbon paper and "white out" that came in pink, blue, yellow, marigold and buff. But not operating them.
97. I miss when everyone called copy machines "xerox" machines.
98. When I was a brand new mom I one time almost pulled out of a parking space with my newborn son outside the car ON THE GROUND strapped into his carrier!
99. After he learned to talk and he called me in the middle of the night, I would awake from a deep slumber thinking, "Why won't that lady take care of her kid already! Can't she hear him calling her?"
100. Now I respond to any kid anywhere who is yelling, "Mom! Mom!"

Ah! The Jacarandas Are In Bloom Agayne!

2007-05-31T20:51:00.001-07:00

A little while ago I posted about the jacarandas coming into bloom every time this year. I'll take another picture in a week or so -- there is this one street near my house that is lined with these trees and when they simultaneously bloom it is really a sight to see. Here is a shot of a tree coming in to full bloom. Soon, the blossoms will float like little feathers to the ground and leave a beautiful periwinkle snowfall.

Here's a half of an FO: One seaweed sock -- finito! One to go!
I'm glad to say that I have cast on for the mate. These socks are fun. The 14 row repeat made the sock go faster. Here is a picture of the sock on my foot. You can click for big, but be warned -- you might want to wear your shades. The glare from my white legs is pretty blinding, especially up close.

In this photo you can kind of see the clog heel in action. I recruited Emi to be my photographer, who, after seeing this photo exclaimed, "Mom, we've GOT to crop your face out of this somehow! Um, thanks, thanks a lot. Now run along.

7 Random Facts

2007-05-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Niki over at KnitNik tagged me for this meme. Here's how it works:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1) I once saved a person's life. My then-boyfriend and I randomly decided to stop by her house one evening while on a walk. We invited her to come walk with us and come over for a beer. Unbeknownst to us, she had just taken a huge overdose of pills. At my house, when she passed out, my boyfriend insisted she "had a couple too many" and had fallen asleep. Have you ever been unsure whether to call 911? I went back and forth, imagining in my head the paramedics saying, "Lady, you called us for this? She's just had a couple too many and needs to sleep it off!" Finally, when I pinched her on the leg as hard as I could and she didn't stir, I called them. BF was telling me he was going to laugh and tell me 'I told you so' and I was half convinced he was right. It turns out she likely could have died if I hadn't. She was in the hospital for a week afterward, then transferred to a home for suicidals. 3 or 4 years later, as part of her sobriety commitment, she came to me and apologized and also thanked me. I recently ran into her after 20 years. We didn't mention the incident. I wondered how I would have felt if I hadn't listened to my inner voice and called 911.

2) I am a late bloomer. I learned to drive at 24. I didn't marry until I was 32. Started having kids at 36. Finally coming into my own at 48. Never did figure out what I wanted to do when "I grew up." Let's just hope I live long enough to see it all work itself out.

3) I learned how to crochet when I was 9 one weekend while staying at my aunt's. She was making granny squares and I pestered her until she showed me how. I learned how to knit when I was 43. All that whole time between 9 and 43 I kept meaning to learn to knit (see #2)

4) Nine years ago this September, a dear friend of mine died of cancer. She was a committed Buddhist, a leader of very high repute within her community of buddhists. I was a recent born-again Christian. In her final days, the only people she would see were her then 15 yo son, her live-in S.O. of 15 years, a nurse-friend of hers (also a Buddhist) and me. There were literally hundreds of people whom she had counseled and led, clamoring to see her. It was one of the first times in my walk with the Lord that I felt a true sense of assignment. Not to preach, not to live in fear for her salvation, but to daily pray for her and walk as He walked, care for her, love her and bring His Love to her bedside. My Bible came with me every day. When she died, she named me as trustee to her son's trust. She also had me speak at her memorial.

5) Before I came to the Lord, I was a leftist, feminist, Liberal, raised in a staunchly Democrat family. I also explored Buddhism, Hinduism and all kind's of New Age rhetoric. I now eschew all labels: Liberal v. Conservative, Democrat v. Republican, leftist v. rightist, and especially follow-the-crowd politics. I pray before voting, refuse to enter in to arguments pertaining to politics and social issues and cannot stand the close-mindedness I see coming from both ends of the spectrum. Many think that I have become narrow-minded because I have dedicated my life to knowing Jesus more and spreading His gospel. I disagree and see that He has opened my heart to love, forgive and accept in ways I never could before. These days I pray that my example would precede my words - my walk is much more important to me than what I say.

6) I am quite a bit of a show-off and like being the center of attention (as long as you're laughing WITH me and not AT me).

7) My fingers are "double-jointed" (a misnomer). They bend in a strange way. When trying (unsuccessfully) to play volleyball in high school, I was assigned to be a "setter" rather than a "spiker" (the real athletes were the spikers -- they had to be able to jump high). But my fingers kept bending in that weird way which was very painful.

I'll be tagging:

My new blog-buddy, Have Yarn Will Travel
Skeins Her Way -- check out her summer knitting goals contest -- love her designs!
Rose Red Shoes -- so many fun projects, and food!
My Middle Name is Patience -- this woman can READ! But she is not one bit condescending about it.
Bananaknits -- a new cruise buddy! Ask her about her Hanne Falkenberg jacket, it is to die for! One day, I will make one!
String Theory -- again, with the fun ideas and funky finds!
She Seeketh Wool -- another new blog buddy from the cruise! Also? Cutest "About Me" picture ever!

I love blogging. So many interesting people. Plus, you guys understand me. I was at a Memorial Day BBQ today and they teased me about the Sea Sock Cruise! Yep, made fun of me (Not in a mean way, but still)! I told them that you guys understand! You understand the heartbreak of losing a bag with a project and a newly acquired skein of yarn. You guys understand the excitement of meeting a "knitting blog celebrity!" You guys understand what I mean when I say "knitting blog celebrity!"

Happy Birthday, Emiko!

2007-05-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

My baby turned eight today. We had a big to-do in the backyard -- the first in the 15-or so years we have lived here. We decided to do a "craft theme" party. We settled on four crafts -- pompoms or "puffles" as the girls called them, flowers made out of coffee filters, origami "balloons" and cranes and party bag decorating. I had three tables set up and they worked in rotations. I really think everyone had a fun time.

I made cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches which went over like a lead balloon with the girls. Except Emi, of course. Those are her favorites. We had watermelon, pineapple and Asian pears and chips. My friend, aka "Auntie Sheila" brought an ice cream cake and there were a ton of presents. Right now I am so tired I can hardly move. My sister and her daughter came down to help, which was incredibly helpful, they were great. Sharon taught them how to trim their pompoms and Rosie taught the origami. I manned the bag deco table and taught them how to make coffee filter flowers. Emi's got some in the picture above.

Here are the girls posing for a group shot. That's my sister and her daughter Rosie in the background talking to my next door neighbor, Sue. Sue tells everyone she knows that my kids are "the greatest kids ever." Which I just love! I guess somehow she just seems to miss the times when they are fighting like cats and dogs (which I am pretty much sure is always). I keep thinking one day she'll catch them fighting, then have to go back to everyone she has ever said that to and take it back. Well, it's certainly a lot better than having a neighbor who complains about your kids all the time. It's just that whenever she says how great they are, I think I must have a stupefied, surprised and yet somehow pleased expression on my face. However that must look.
There's my baby, growing up faster than I can keep up with her.

Boo Hoo!

2007-05-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Royal Caribbean called me yesterday to inform me that my travel knitting bag never turned up. I am so sad. I guess I was expecting it to turn up. I went over to Kathy's blog and saw that her Koigu jacket was never turned in either. Now THAT is something to be heartbroken over! I guess I just have to move on. Not like there isn't plenty of yarn around here to be knit. I am particularly heartbroken over the loss of a skein of sock yarn called Driftwood by Mama-E that I bought at Marin Fiber Arts. Gorgeous colors. I also had 3/4 of a bucket hat knit up out of this really cool raffia. Best just to move on and not dwell...

Emi's big party is tomorrow. I will take pictures.

Cool Summer Contest!

2007-05-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

I found a very cool contest to enter -- you post your summer knitting goals on your blog and get entered to win this! Cute, huh? If you enter the contest, please mention that you found it on my blog -- http://knitalife-laura.blogspot.com/!

Here are my summer knitting goals:

3 pairs of socks -- one for each month of summer
cotton scrap granny afghan (it's crochet, I hope it counts.)
No New Yarn (does that count as a knitting goal?)
Finish at least two UFO's
Sea Silk Wrap

Ambitious, I know. But hey, you gotta aim high.

And also to give her a plug, I found the contest via this new blog buddy.

Green, green, green

2007-05-21T23:50:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that the kids and I started a garden patch? I have never grown anything in my life, other than two kids. And a dog. I come from people who grow plants. My paternal grandmother and grandfather were plant nurturers. Both my mom and dad are plant nurturers. My mom grows orchids and flowers, my dad has (and this is NOT and exaggeration) 2,000 bonsai trees in his backyard. There were so many of them that he had to build "plant bleachers" on the hill in the back to fit them all. Then he had a shade structure built. At some point, he actually connected a drip irrigation system to each plant that keeps them watered. It was a humongous job, but it freed them up to be able to do things like travel. Before the drip irrigation system, they'd always say things like, "well, we'd like to come visit for a few days, but, well, you know, the trees." Oh, and did I tell you that he actually made each bonsai himself? And that he is a published writer who is currently working on his memoirs? That he had a very successful career as a landscape architect? I KNOW I told you about his collection of Korean soaps. Have I mentioned that my dad is, for lack of a better word, driven?

But I digress. I was telling you about how I have never planted anything in my life. So a few weeks ago, I read up online (don't you just LOVE the Internet?) went to Home Depot and bought soil, a few gardening tools, lumber and seeds, cleared out some of the weeds and planted. I decided to try out this square foot gardening technique. It just seemed to make sense space-wise. In the upper right is the green beans. They seem very happy. To the left of them is the cucumbers and below them is the carrots, which also seem to be doing pretty well. On the lower right is the beets and they just don't seem happy at all. I don't know if they are not getting enough sun or water or what, but they just aren't taking. I'm not really sure if they are getting enough sun, the website says 6-8 hours minimum and I think they only get 4-6. I'm not really sure what I am doing, just watering and looking. Hopefully we'll get something from it. I'll post updates. The jacarandas are coming in to bloom around here. I love how they almost always seem to bloom around the time of Emi's birthday. Have you ever seen a jacaranda tree? They bloom flowers in the most beautiful shade of lavender -- almost a periwinkle blue, but lavender. Then the blooms fall to the ground and leave a lavendar snow fall all over the ground. I'll try and snap a picture of the jacaranda trees down the street. Give it a little time, they are not quite in full bloom yet.

Here is my sock-in-progress. I decided to go for the clog heel. I like the way the pattern repeats seem to make the time go faster. Each repeat is 12 rows. I feel like I am knitting like the wind. Knitting like the wind is a good thing. I wish I really could knit like the wind. You'd see a lot more FO's around this place if I did.

Don't Let the Comments Go Away

2007-05-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Does anybody know why the little "comment" thingy in the lower right hand corner has disappeared? I have no recollection of doing anything to make it go away but it is gone. I thought everyone left me or hated me or something because no one has commented on the past couple posts. I'm hoping it is because you couldn't, not because you wouldn't!

I guess you'll have to email me to let me know "what have I done now?!" It's knitalife@yahoo.com. I wlll checking hourly. Minutely. Please. Don't let the comments go away. I live for the comments.

Updated to add: Okay, the little comment thingy has mysteriously reappeared! But I don't know why it does not appear on the last two posts. Suggestions? Solutions? The only thing I did was check on the tab for "moderating comments" and resaved it without changing anything. But how can I get it to reappear on those past two posts? I'm open to your sage advice.

Late Night Knitting and More Socks

2007-05-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

I did a bad thing last night. I stayed up until 3:30 am KNITTING! Well, knitting and rolling my Seaweed silk into a ball. It got a mongo tangle at the end there and I spent two hours carefully undoing it, not wanting to waste one precious inch of the delicious fiber.

If I didn't work and didn't have kids, that's how I'd live. I'd probably stay up until 1:00 or 2:00 every night, then wake up at 9:00 or 10:00. I know you early birds frown on and even sometimes silently disdain such behavior, but in the words of one of my first true heroes, Popeye, "I yam what I yam" (insert distinct Popeye cackle here).

Here is a pic of the seaweed sock I began fashioning in the wee hours:
If you click on it, you can probably see the texture a bit better. By the way, does anyone besides me LOVE the Britanny 5" dpns? OK, so they are not much more than cocktail toothpicks, but I adore them.

This was my inspiration for the sock. Love you, Barbara Walker! See how she shows both sides so you can choose which side you want for the "public" side? She's cool like that! Anyway, knowing that great minds think alike, I searched the Internet to see if someone had already done the footwork (har har)for this pattern. Turns out, someone had -- at one time, Nancy McGlynn, at a site called Knitting Now had designed a pair of socks using this pattern. The links now give a no access message, so I'm not sure what happened. In any case, I found this great tutorial that built on Nancy's pattern for how to convert them into clog socks here at Fiber Fool. It is a great tutorial and I think that I shall make them clog socks! Thanks, Kristi!

In other knitting news, I don't know if you remember this particular evening when I had so much fun knitting with my friend, Victoria. (Hi Victoria!) But I just could not hang with the two socks at one time on two circs. Too fiddly. Too much navigation and time spent circumnavigating the inevitable tangle of balls and cords. I attempted to reduce this inevitability by transferring it to the magic loop method, a 47" Addi Turbo size 1. This is better, still not ideal. The fiddling has been transferred to constant cord-watching and maneuvering, because if you forget to keep the cords "just so", with ample cordage sticking out at both sides of the "sock clothesline" (that's how I think of it), you end up with one sock that has wandered over to the "danger zone" and gets itself "wound around the bend." This I'm sure makes Absolutely No Sense to one who has not yet traveled the way of the Magic Loop. However, you Magic Loopers probably know what I'm talking about. Tips? Pointers? (Har har, again! What is up with me and the puns today?!)
So there you have it. The eternal dilemma of socks, as I see it. You are either faced with the dreaded second sock syndrome, which does not bode well for us ADD types. Though I am sure that it is somehow a wonderful lesson in follow-through (Baby Steps! Baby Steps! -- who remembers that hilarious movie, What About Bob with Bill Murray?) Do I really want to have to learn the harsh lesson of self-discipline and follow-through in my knitting? Sadly, the alternative is circumnavigating the inevitable resultant tangles and what I am positive is intentional with malice aforethought non-cooperation of the needles and yarn. I'll finish this one out, but I think I'm going to go back to practicing self-discipline (dpns) for the time being.

To top it all off, the way it is pooling is not to my liking.

Son's comment when he saw these socks: "So....why would anyone put THOSE colors together?"

Me: (all defensive) Well, it looked like it would look good knitted up at the time I bought it.

Son: (inspecting ball of yarn) Umm...Mom? This is just a bunch of colors all mixed together. They don't GO together."

I have to say I actually kind of agree with him.Close up of the sock-in-progress.
Close-up of the yarn ball. Since the colors are separated by lengths of blue/purple, the only way I can see that you could really mix them is by interchanging balls. That or make a really fat sock. Not going to happen.

An FO!

2007-05-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

You may be saying to yourself, "Socks? So what's the big deal about finishing a pair of socks?" I think of these as the "ball and chain" socks. Finally, I am free. Last fall I promised myself and you, my dear devoted reader, that I would not knit anything else until I finished the second of a pair of socks. Ahem. I seem to have gotten a little...sidetracked. In any case, better late than never! It was not a simple as it may appear. I wandered so far from these socks that when I finally cast on for the second, I had forgotten how many stitches it was, then, MADE THE WHOLE SECOND SOCK FOUR STITCHES SMALLER THAN THE FIRST. Now these babies are snug, so that second one barely made it over my big toe. Why I didn't see it on the needles, I will never know. What do you call that anyway? I know I'm not the only one -- that weird knitting blindness that causes two socks to come out so wildly mismatched even though they look identical when you hold them up to each other? Same thing with sleeves. And cardigan sides. Do you know how many times I mis-eyeballed before I finally got with the program and started counting? In the case of this lame sock, I was SO CONFIDENT about the number of stitches, that I ONLY counted rows! It then took TWO MORE TRIES. One was about four inches into it when I realized I couldn't live with the different shape of the toe, then I started over AGAIN and was about FIVE inches into it. The whole time I was knitting it, I was saying to myself like a little mantra, "It's just the stinkin' toe, it doesn't have to match perfectly, it's just the stinkin toe, it doesn't have to match perfectly." At the fifth inch, about 1 am on a weeknight, stopped, pulled the needles from the stitches and started ripping. As I did, I'm quite sure I must have screamed it out aloud, "IT MATTERS! IT MATTERS! THE TOES MUST MATCH!!!" So, you see, me and these socks, we' been around the block a few times.

The yarn is Artyarns Ultramerino 4, which I liked so much, I got this:

I was flipping through my Barbara Walker 2 and found a cool stitch called "seaweed." In honor of the cruise and the color of this yarn, I thought I'd try my hand at incorporating this stitch into the socks. I googled it to see if it already existed and, apparently it once did, but seems to have been removed. So I guess I've got to try it on my own.

2007-05-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Emi spent the afternoon playing with mud in the yard and snapping some pictures. Digital cameras are so cool because kids can explore with them and you don't have to worry about all the wasted film and developing costs.

She waited very patiently for this one. I could hear her calling the kitty and coaxing her and trying to get the kitty's attention. Her patience paid off.

That's our Figgykitty. You can really see the butchering job they did on poor little Figgy's ear.

But such a sweet kitty.

Back in Bid'ness

2007-05-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

I very carefully read Leslie and Lisa's comments regarding the supposedly simple task of removing the cover of my computer to fish out the errant memory card. I say supposedly simple task because the thought of getting down on the ground and scrutinizing that mysterious black box made my head hurt. Thank goodness for 12 year old sons! On Mother's Day no less!

He had a bout with some bad clam chowder the other night, poor thing. (I just can't help but thank goodness it ended up on ex's pillow and not mine. Hee-hee!) He looked all pale and peaked this morning, not up for church. As I was leaving I asked if he could puh-lease help a poor mom out and try and figure out how to get the cover off and fish out the pesky memory card. Came home two hours later and was greeted at the door with pale but grinning son, memory card in hand. Yahoo! Hooray for sons!

It's been like this ever since he was five. I clearly remember the moment it happened. It was either Christmas or his birthday and he had just received his favorite gift -- a Lego. It was labeled as being for 8 years and older and it was quite an honor to have received such an advanced Lego for a gift. A little unsure of his ability to build a Lego that required such advanced qualifications, he asked if I could help him build it. Sure, no problem. A little Mommy/son time. So we set out. About four steps into it, as I am happily bonding with my son and building the Lego one step at a time, just like the pictures in the little instruction booklet, he interrupts my happy moment.

"No, Mom. You're doing it wrong."
"What? Of course it's not wrong!"
"Mom, you're putting that piece on the bottom. It goes on the top."
"Wha...?"
"Oh Mom, never mind, you're messing it up. Here, let me."

It was a painful moment. The day that Mom-The-All-Knowing tumbled from her Throne of Omniscience. My son took it in stride. I, however have never really quite recovered.

In any case, I have pics.

First up, I wanted to show you the wonderful yarn that was gifted to my by the wonderful Sea Sock crew. On the right is the hand-dyed yarn from Mama-E. There were three beautiful colorways. I liked this one. It's called Sea Sick. Love it. I'm all about the socks these days. And you know what? That is not all we got. No sirree! They had these adorable knitting bags chock full of goodies! An adorable notebook with a ziplock pouch attached! A pen! Sock patterns! Yarn! A little canvas knitting bag to carry our sock projects! Let me tell you we were pammmmm-purred!

At Marin Fiber Arts I also picked up a beautiful skein of Mama-E's sock yarn in a colorway called Driftwood. Gorgeous. It was my travel knitting. That and some raffia I had picked up at A Mano in LA before I left. I hate to tell you what happened. Left. It. On. The. Ship. I KNOW! Shoot me! Put me out of my misery! I called the ship's Lost and Found first thing on Monday. Haven't heard anything. I refuse to give up hope. I am praying that it returns to me.

I also picked this up at Marin Fiber Arts. It's a skein of Claudia Handpaints Laceweight Silk. I believe the colorway is called "Pistachio." It is luminous. As per usual, the pics do not do it justice. I LOOOOOVE it! I saw this beautiful shawl on the cruise and I was told the pattern is called "Wing of the Moth." Someday, my friend, someday. But first I need to build up my lace chops.

Next up, my goodies from Beehive Wool in Victoria. That shop is a veritable Fleece Artist extravaganza, let me tell you. This is a skein of Peter Rabbit angora that I am making into a simple scarf in a 1 x 1 rib. The halo is extraordinary.

This is another skein of Peter Rabbit that I fell in love with. I know it looks a little like baby yarn, but I simply could not resist. It is not a blurry photo. That is the halo, I tell you.

Sadly, I forgot to photograph a skein of Sea wool Bordello Sock yarn that I brought back for my sister. Beautiful stuff. I have got to get my hands on some more.

And here is my crowning glory. A big o' skein of sea silk in a beautiful shade of blue/green. Enough to make the Storm Water Shawl. From the picture on the label I was pretty much unimpressed with this shawl. It just looked sort of ho-hum to me. But they had it made up at Beehive Wool and let me tell you, I was smitten. It is GOR-GEOUS! The movement! The Drape! Seriously. Had. To. Have It! Then That Eunny totally enabled me and told me I had to have it. So then of course, I did. Seriously-- if Eunny Jang told you that you just had to have that yarn and make that shawl, wouldn't you? You would, trust me.

The Dog Ate My Homework

2007-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is a terribly embarrassing post. I feel a need to tell you why I haven't posted lately. The other night I set out to post some pictures of all the yarn and goodies I picked up on the cruise. Sounds like a good idea, right? OK, so when it came time to plug the memory card into my computer, I accidentally slipped it into the wrong slot. A bigger slot. It sat, suspended loosely in that wafer thin opening, the little card mere millimeters thinner, I immediately realized what I had done. I swore and grabbed something to try and coax it out. A paper clip. Doing my best Maguyver imitation, I deftly unfolded the paper clip and set to carefully fish it out. I instead managed to push it in further and then heard the telltale clinking sound as it dropped to the bottom of the inside of my computer. Sigh. So there it sits until I figure out how to somehow open up my computer and fish it out.

Does that sound any better than "the dog ate my homework?" It's the truth. Sorry. I'll get pics up as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I am keeping busy preparing for Emi's 8th birthday party. We are having a "craft" party in the backyard. We are going to do different crafts in rotations. Macrame bracelets, pompom animals, cards with pretty paper and stickers, and I think decorated cookies. She and I are so excited we can hardly stand it. When I get the memory card fished out of the computer, I'll post a picture of the invitations we made that I decided would be a fun craft for the girls to make at the party.

Cruised Out

2007-05-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Sorry for the long absence. I am now back from my cruise. You'd think I'd be all rested and relaxed. Not! I am exhausted. Remember the 7th grade slumber parties? Like that. Only imagine that it goes on for a week. The fun, the food, the people, the knitting. Paradise. I guess in paradise, there is not much time for sleeping.

Where do I begin? I had the most wonderful roomates, Mary Jane (MJ) and Rose. We were all squished together in a little closet of a room, but they couldn't have been nicer. Patricia, the cruise planner did such a wonderful job. We had goody bags waiting for us upon our arrival -- tote bags filled with patterns, tchotchkes, and of course, yarn! We each got a skein of Meilenweit in shades of red, and a hand dyed skein from Mama E of C*eye*ber Fibers. She's got some beautiful stuff, let me tell you.

We had a wonderful time with classes taught by Amie of Rose by Any, Mama E, and of course the legendary but charmingly unassuming Eunny. By the way, knitsters, her name is pronounced "Ooony," (more like the sea urchin egg sushi), not "You-nee."
So here we are on this cruise and everyone is saying Oony this and Oony that. I'm thinking don't these bozos know how to read?! They're saying her name wrong for God's sake! I started catching a clue right about the time I realized her buddies were pronouncing her name the same way. Doh! Like an old dog, this here girl don't learn me so fast. Eunny however, was kind enough to overlook my mispronounciations.
In some ways, being on a cruise was hard for me. I wore a patch and still got seasick on the third day. Many of us did. It was rather rough. By the fourth day, when we stopped in Victoria, all the sickness was gone and the sailin' was smooth.

But the people were wonderful and there was always a place to plop down, knit and share, laugh and knit some more. On day two we stopped in San Francisco and hopped a bus to Marin Fiber Arts. We were welcomed with more goodies and even a snack bag filled with fruit, nuts, water and the like. So thoughtful! We shopped till we dropped then boarded the ship again. In Victoria, some of us took the Butchart Garden tour. In a word, breathtaking. The tulips were in bloom in what seemed to be every shade possible. Then it was on to Beehive Wool Shop. Can you say Fleece Artist? It was a dream come true!

In my classes, I learned how to make a reverse heel flap which is perfect because I prefer going toe-up and only know the short-row heel. Amie later taught me the turkish cast-on and Eunny then taught me the magic cast-on. The classes were wonderful, Mama E taught color theory and Eunny expanded on custom sock design.

I'm going to have to cut this post short. My daughter is pulling the guilt card out (rightfully so) accusing me of spending more time updating my blog than spending "quality time" with her. When a kid plays the "quality time" card on you, you know that they know too much and that they are probably right. I am off to ride a bike with her.

I will leave you with some pictures. Being a Flickr newbie, I am flummoxed as to why the pictures loaded up in the exact reverse order than I wanted.

One other thing I just HAVE to leave you with: That Eunny is ONE FAST KNITTER!!

Up Next: yarn pics

5 Down, 30 To Go

2007-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

The three pounds of the original 5 lost that came back were gone this morning when I stepped on the scale. Giving up all that flour and sugar should be good for something! No one has said anything and my clothes still fit the same, but I do feel better, even though I can tell I am fighting some kind of bug. I think the bug-fighting has more to do with the fact that I have been going gang-busters for the past two weeks without rest.

I worked a full week before Easter, then put in a 12-hour day preparing for Easter Sunday down in the Children's Ministry on Saturday. On Easter Sunday, I was all up-and-bouncy in my role as 5-6 grade Sunday School Lady. I'm really glad that I don't have to be like the church lady from the old Dana Carvey SNL skits. I get to be me. No clucking and finger wagging here. We had a great service, but when it was over, I was ready to crash. Instead we headed out to my friend's mom's house for Easter dinner. She had gone to all this trouble and even made up Easter baskets for the kids but it was a 45 minute drive to their house. I sucked it up and headed out there and have pretty much been jello-brained ever since.

Monday and Tuesday Emi was sick and I tried out working from home. I have a job that is 90% on the computer, so I can work from home. This was one of the reasons it was so appealing to me. But working from home is no picnic. I feel truly obligated to put in that 8-hour day but there are so many interruptions. Both nights I finished my work at 11 pm. The upside was that my kids didn't have to go to afterschool care and I got to make them nice homemade dinners. Plus, I got some serious errand-running done.

Wednesday through Friday were regular work days. On Friday night Emi had a sleep-over, then on Saturday little 5 year old Elise came over to play with Emi and her friend Manon. Then it was on to a birthday party where I was wrangled in to being the face-painting lady. It would have been very fun but the face-paints were those oil-based gloppy kind and were hard to manage. I was so tuckered out by the time that was over, I fell asleep while Emi and I were enjoying movie rental night together. I think today was a good recovery day. I fell alsleep on the couch for a good hour and I must had got 10 hours of sleep last night. Perhaps by tomorrow I'll be ready to face a new day.

And of course through it all there has been knitting and all the work it takes to procrastinate on housework.

I have managed to stick to the diet very well. You would think there would be a higher weight loss payoff for so steadfastly avoiding such temptations as birthday cake, ice-cream, all the Easter candy, the after Easter-service spread that included these incredible looking frosted cupcakes, lemon squares, pastry squares, chocolate goodies and croissant sandwiches to name a few. Then there were the Easter dinner rolls, pizza, naan (Indian flat bread, my faaaaavorite), donuts at work, cookies after meetings, let me tell you the temptations are everywhere!

The good news is that I have not gone hungry and although I occasionally crave sweets, this really feels healthy and livable. Headaches are now officially gone. It took two weeks.

which is which?

2007-04-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is Emi and her buddy Manon. They met last year at school. This year they are in the same class. The teacher has a hard time telling them apart and will often mix them up. Especially when they dress the same! They have fun fooling people. Manon had a sleep over last night and I thought the girls looked so cute in their little Hello Kitty pjs.

Here is something I am whipping out for the school auction. Kai's class is assembling a travel suitcase with all kinds of cute travel items. I thought I'd contribute an eye pillow. It is a basic cylinder with my now-favorite cast-on for a closed tube (think sock toes, glasses cases, hey, maybe even a hat!). I plan to take a knee high (don't worry, a never-been-used one) and lightly pack it with flax seed and lavendar buds. Then I will cut and sew it to a length that fits in the pillow, then I will kitchener the pillow closed. Voila! Eye pillow! I actually am loving this yarn. It is Lion Brand Incredible in the colorway Autumn Leaves. I loved it so much I picked up 10 balls of it at Michael's. I had to. They were $2.00 each. Don't ask me about knitting from my stash. Anyway, I have visions of a simple bell-sleeved cardigan. Loose stitches. Maybe even drop-stitch. Like one of those 'sixties crocheted vests but with stockinette sleeves. I even like the idea of the crochet-chain tie at the bust. We'll see.

By the way, maybe you're wondering how my diet is going. I no longer eat sugar or flour. It has been over two weeks. Why oh, why is the scale creeping up? I lost 5 lbs. right away. After horrible withdrawals, mondo headaches and just a general yuckiness-feeling, I have crept back up three lbs. I am sure I am eating less. I am not eating absent-mindedly. I am not stuffing myself. Go figure. I think I may not be eating enough vegies. I'm doing fine with fruit. Maybe too many nuts? But I guess I need to concentrate more on vegies. Is this a balance thing? The book didn't make it seem like it was. But it would be pretty depressing to cut all the joy out of eating only to gain more weight, let me tell you.

This Is Definitely More Than Detoxing

2007-04-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I decided to undertake a new diet. The diet is actually more of a change in how I've decided to eat from here on in. After hearing from my Internet pal Julie that she lost 36 lbs (!) by eating this way, I was convinced to try it. Basically, she cut all added sugar and flour products from her diet. Period. I did a mental tally. My favorite foods almost all include sugar or flour of some sort. I love bread, especially thick, crusty ciabattas, pasta, cookies, candy, cakes, muffins, bagels and pastries. The "diet" does allow potatoes, rice, corn, meat, fruit and of course, veggies. Hey, if nothing else, even if I didn't lose an ounce, I figured I'd get this sugar monkey off my back once and for all. The diet is outlined in a book called Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet. (Thanks, Julie! She sent me a copy of the book!) Basically, it is so simple, you really don't need the book. You look at labels and avoid anything with added sugar or flour of any kind. More difficult in some ways than you might think. Easier if you live near a Trader Joe's.

Within the first two days, I lost 5 lbs. So I decided to stick with it. I have been eating with such unbridled lack of self-control for so many years that I felt spacy, strange and disoriented the first few days. I have had a dull, throbbing headache for most of the remainder of the past week, but you also have to remember, I was hit broadside with some devastating personal news, so I can't really tell which is detox and which is shell-shock.

Yesterday at work, I just could not concentrate. It felt like more than just "not wanting to work." I just could not seem to focus. I was hungry but could not get full, craving sugar and just generally frustrated and uneasy. This morning, as usual, my alarm went off at 6:30. I could not get up. At 8:00, I realized that I better call my supervisor at work. I called in sick, even though I could not explain my symptoms,other than a headache and general malaise, rolled over and fell asleep. The next time I looked at the clock, it was noon!

Now I am up, still in my pajamas and it is 1:30 pm. The kids are with Kevin until tomorrow, so I am going to take this day to catch up on housework, blogging, and just generally putter. I just wish this throbbing headache would go away. I really think that the malaise is actually not related to the diet. Besides the wicked headache, I have felt more energetic, lighter and well, just better.

Here's some knitting content:

I decided that the impending cruise was the best reason I could think of to finally get my needles organized. As if on cue, Clara from Knitter's Review wrote about needle cases. She linked to an earlier review that I had seen but forgotten about using soft tackle fishing binders for needle cases. Being a woman of few means and no frills, this appealed to me, even more than the kitschy/chic ones of her most recent review. With my frugality in tow, I clicked over to the Bass Pro Shops website and after much deliberating, clicked and purchased this:
I love it. No, I am not in love with royal blue, nor am I enamored of the flying bass emblazoned across the front. And somehow the words "EXTREME worm binder" just don't quite set right with me.
But I LOVE the plastic ziplock binder pages, and the fact that ALL my knitting tools fit within the pockets. I love the flatness and portability of it.

I didn't want to write on my ziploc pages. What if I decide to change its use? So I printed out and laminated the needle sizes and taped them to the inside of the bag. I'm thinking I would love it more if I could sew a knitting or knitted patch over the flying bass. Suggestions?

Still Standing

2007-04-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hi All. There is a reason that I haven't yet posted the glasses case pattern. It is because I love you so much that I only want the best for you. I wanted to incorporate some improvements. I am testing it out on less bulky yarn, which I think will be better, and making the "pocket" for the second set of glasses roomier, which I think will be an improvement.

In the meantime, Life in that way that only Life can, has intervened and dealt some harsh blows. Nothing that I cannot get through or withstand, thanks to the love and grace of my Hero, my Savior, Jesus. "My grace is sufficient for you" has never rang more true in my life. Please bear with me.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this cruise. The day approaches. 26 days and counting.

Barbara Walker Rocks

2007-03-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? I knew about these books. I have heard about them. La dee da, la dee da, I just thought they had nothing to do with me or my interests. Wrong! Next to EZ, this woman has had THE major influence on my knitting!

I love that I can take a pattern in my head, plug in a Barbara Walker pattern and TADA! FO!

Here is a little something I whipped up.

A glasses case. I had to replace my lost reading glasses and while I was at it replaced my lost sunglasses. Because they dilated my eyes at the eye doctor and I could not see outside because of the brightness.
But you see, they are not just ANY glasses case...
Voila! Two pairs of glasses in one case!

The pattern I used said it yielded a nice, firm fabric, which it does. The yarn? Kool Wool by Lion Brand. The stitch? Barbara Walker. The design? Knitalife Laura. Yahoo!

Adventures in FOs and UFOs

2007-03-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

I had a very fun evening last night. I got together with my friend Victoria. She recently went to this really cool knitting retreat up in Inverness and came back with all kinds of neat ideas and projects. One of them was knitting two toe-up socks at one time on circular needles. I know how to knit socks on circulars. I know how to knit toe-ups. And though I've never done it before, I just knew I could figure out how to do two socks at once on circs. Am I the only one this happens to?Have you ever had a knitter put a bug in your ear? You know, when they are all enthusiastic and excited about something and suddenly it sounds like such an irresistable idea and you just have to dive in and try it? Well, that's what happened to me. Victoria, in her very earnest, quiet, yet cheerful manner got me all worked up over trying this. Somehow, we decided that we just HAD to learn how to do this before the cruise. That way I could impress them all. You know, wow them with my rare talents and abilities. So we got together at her really beautiful house and set out. It was hard going at the beginning. We did a figure 8 cast on, which in my opinion is no fun, even when you're working up one sock. But I prefer it because I'm too lazy to dig out waste yarn and a crochet hook. Somehow we managed to get past the cast-on and each got to about 36 stitches per sock.

Here we are at her dining room table casting on. Believe me when I tell you her house looks like it belongs in Architectural Digest. Both she and her home are very beautiful in a classic, classy way and she has all kinds of really neat things in there.
Victoria and I met when I was working at the yarn store. She came in one day and I felt like I had known her forever. Do you ever have that happen?

Here's the beginning of my socks in Koigu. Look at the cool basket of eggs she has. Those eggs are made out of ceramic! But you would swear they are real eggs. They are the weight and feel of real, dyed Easter eggs. I love that chicken basket they are in. Her house is full of cool things like that.

I'm pretty sure that my hat phase is all petered out. Here is the elusive Kai modeling another hat that I made for my friend Beth. You can see I still have to tuck in the ends. It is made from Regia sock yarn, 2x2 rib until I began the decreases. I made this hat twice because it came out too wide and shallow the first time.

Here is Emi modeling a hat that I made for her. I actually made two of these, one for her and one for her friend Manon, who could be her twin. They like to dress alike. Since I was getting tired of hats, I took a pattern from Barbara Walker and plugged it in. It's called a "purl twist knot." It made a nice texture on the hat, I thought.

In my quest to use up more of my lifetime supply of kitchen cotton, I got on to this towel-topper idea.
Here they are, side by side. One crocheted and one knit. The knit one took about three hours, the crochet one less than an hour.

I prefer the knit one. It has more substance to it. This is the crochet version.
I bought more towels at K-mart, thinking they'd make cute gifts. Seriously, what is wrong with me? My craft stash has a life of it's own.

Last of all, you may or may not remember this. It just wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to, so I frogged it. I knew I wanted it to be a shawl. I knew that I wanted to mix the yarns (mohair and wool, dyed the same color, it's Plymouth Outback.)
With my Barbara Walker Treasury firmly in hand, I perused and imagined and finally settled on the "berried in a basket" pattern. It will be a stole with a wide mohair border (about 6") on each end. There are four rows of "berry" repeats in wool with every fifth row in mohair. I am really liking it on so many levels. Fun to knit. I like the way it drapes. And then there is the anxiety factor. Will I have enough yarn to complete it? Livin' dangerously. That's me.

Shameless Copy Cat

2007-03-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

My big sister(whom I now outweigh by, well, let's just say a lot) used to call me a copy cat when we were kids. Well, I mean, I guess I was. I didn't mean to be, she just wore (drew, bought, picked, liked, you get the idea) really nice things and I just couldn't see how it would be worth having something less good just in the interest of not being a copy cat. So I just sort of bore the title.

And here I am, many years later, and I guess I'm still a copy cat. Blogs are the best for us copy cats. We peruse and lurk and check it out, then we pounce and copy and post. I saw this on Rose Red's blog and just had to try to make one. But, of course, being stuck with having to knit from the stash, I took a dive and found some regular ol' cotton and started trying my best to crank one out. OK, I know, it isn't even half as cute. I L*O*V*E her bag. And the purple one she made for her mom too. But I just settled for my cheapo smaller version and got all excited about the lining. And now I have me a nice lil spring bag to kick around town with.

Here it is showing the lining.
Here's the plain vanilla shot. And remember this all you originals out there: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (At least that's what I tell my kids.)

By the way, here's a shout out to my buddy Kamila. Hi Kamila! Miss you!

Sea Sock Not Seasick

2007-03-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Last week, while perusing my weekly edition of the Knitter's Review, I came across this article. Intrigued, I clicked on the article about the Sea Socks Cruise. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to find someone to go with. No one could (or would). Kevin offered to watch the kids. My parents encouraged me to go. I prayed. And guess what? I'M GOING!!! I can hardly believe it!

I talked to the nicest lady, Patricia, who set this whole thing up. OK, I love her already. She is very funny and enthusiastic and she got me so worked up about this and now, here I am, going on a cruise to Vancouver with no one I know and I am so dang excited! There were two generous souls (much more accommodating than I'd ever be) who offered to let me bunk with them.

I am seeing myself laid out on a deck chair in the sun with a tall fruity cool drink, sunglasses, a straw hat and a sock on the needles. Sigh. What could be better?

I feel like I'm in a dream. If you know me, you know I am not a very adventurous sort. I am so thrilled at the idea of going on this adventure. And I feel so secure knowing that I will be with fellow knitters. I just know it is going to be a blast! I just can't even believe I am doing this. But I am!

So if that wasn't enough, I arrived home from work to find this on my porch swing. It's Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Somewhere I had heard this one was the best and I had this Amazon certificate that had been hanging around since Christmas. Wow.

In my little universe, it just doesn't get much better than that. I am ecstatic.

Bear With Me (Continued)

2007-03-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

Abby, thank you so much for filling me in on how to fix this mess. Now, if I could only sign on the Internet at my house! Yes, folks, I am dropping in to post to you from work because the ding-dang connection at my house is kaput again. It is a simple matter, I just can't seem to figure it out. Should be back on tomorrow, at which time I will tinker and click-and-drag until things are back to normal.

I have a new FO to post too. Pics to follow when I'm back up and running.

Please Bear With Me

2007-03-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

I had the bright idea last night of updating the template on my blog. Of course, it was late, I got the impulse, I clicked that little button...blammo. Blog looks pretty much the same only I lost a bunch of stuff and don't know where it went or how to get it back. Dang.

So if you notice that my link to you is missing, don't fret, (not that you'd notice..) I'll find a way to get you back there.

I have no idea how to get back on the blog rings. They are just gone. And when I lost all the information on my computer a few months back I lost the emails that had my passwords to the blogrings. Great.

I'll just limp along. If you have any suggestions, I'm game.

Introducing Hurley

2007-03-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

Meet Hurley. He is a Pisces redhead who loves sunsets, long walks on the beach and lots of cuddles. He's a good ol' boy who loves livin' dangerously. He's agreed to be the "guinea pig" (sshh! don't say it around him, he's mighty "prickly" about that moniker)for an untested new invention in Mrs. Kahn's 6th grade Invention Fair at Washington School. As the winning volunteer for an invention known as the "Hedgehog Hurler," we can only imagine the heights to which this little guy is going to soar. He apparently beat out his arch nemesis, Fernando Llama in a heated competition as to who would be chosen for this aerodynamic feat of the century.

Hedgehog: Before and After

2007-03-04T23:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot of the hedgehog before felting. Are those hedgehog hooters?

Whatever they were, thank God they felted out. Here is the little fella after felting, pre-stuffing. Gotta go dig around for some polyfill.

A quick, fun knit. Man, but there are A LOT of short rows in that thing. Too many, in my opinion. If I was smarter I'd make another one without such a "full" back. It may be too big for Kai's invention, the "hedgehog hurler." We may just have to go with the "llama launcher" after all. At least now he has options. Options are usually good.

Shrunken Llama

2007-03-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

The only reason why you are seeing this is because I told you I would post it. It is not one of my prouder moments. I overshrunk it on accident. Most felting projects take at least two full cycles in my machine. This one looked like this after one cycle. It is so shrunken, I can't even get stuffing in the neck. It looks like it is made of poo. So sad.

Back to the ol' drawing board. I am presently shrinking a swatch for the hedgehog. This time I am test-felting. See? You live and learn. And like every other felting project I have done, this one is in its third cycle.

It is all made a little teeny tiny bit better by Netflix. I spent an hour or so one day rating movies that I liked. Based on my picks they suggested a BBC series called "Middlemarch." At first I found it very frustrating and could not figure out why Netflix would have recommended it to me. Turns out I had a two-sided DVD and had watched the B side first! There I was so angry at the filmmakers for "assuming" that I knew the characters and wondered why it seemed like I was coming in on the middle of it all. DUH!

After I started watching it from the beginning I really started enjoying it. It kind of cracks me up though when you watch "period" pieces that you can totally tell by the hair and make up that they were filmed in the 1980s or the 90s. One time I watched a version of "Sense and Sensibility" that must have been filmed in the 70s. The men's pants looked like they were made out of some kind of polyester that would stand up by itself. Jane Austen meets the Leisure suit. And the ladies had huge, stiff ringlets like those old time country western singers and huge fake eyelashes. Hilarious. Once you get over that stuff though it is quite watchable. If you like that sort of thing. Which I do.

Progress Photo: Llama Butt

2007-03-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

You start from the rear and work forward. The Yarn: One strand of alpaca sportweight yarn from Village Spinning and Weaving in "Nutmeg." One strand of Classic Elite Inca Marl, "Tobacco Road." Size 10 needles (that's 11 for your normal tension knitter).

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Knitting...

2007-03-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

All other knitting is temporarily on hold. My son's science project is due next Wednesday. His "invention" is the previously mentioned "Llama Launcher." By my best estimates, I think it is basically going to be a catapult. And who is in charge of providing said llama? Why moi, of course! When originally assigned this very essential component of the experiment, my first question of course was, when is it due? I was informed that it wouldn't be needed until mid-March. Well, I don't know about you but to me, mid-March is around March 15. Yesterday at our teacher-parent conference I found out it was due March 7. March 7?!!! I better get busy!

Fiber Trends llama pattern? Check. Size 10 or thereabouts needles? Check. Felting yarn? Check. I'm loaded for bear. Or should I say llama? I started the rear end last night.

For back-up because I couldn't resist the cuteness, I bought the Fiber Trends felted hedgehog pattern. I ran it by my son and he quickly came up with a "new" backup science invention: the Hedgehog Hurler.

Pictures to come.

Knitting Frenzy

2007-02-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking that maybe I'm in a bit of a funk. Depression is a weird thing. It is hard to tell when it creeps up on you. It's super gradual and one day you wake up feeling as if you have always felt this crummy your whole life.

I keep eating. I can tell that I need to exercise but I'm not. I want to hole up and do nothing but knit. I have all kinds of ideas of things I want to knit and not enough time to do it. Sort of a hiding-from-the-world-by-knitting frenzy. I keep thinking that it will make me feel better, but it doesn't.

So there are a ton of knitting ideas and possible projects and I can't get to them all at the same time. Here is just a sampling: A Clapotis out of some Silk Garden I scored for half off. A felted llama (per request from my son. His 6th grade science "invention" is a "llama launcher." I have been asked to supply said llama.) Then there's the felted hedgehog pattern that I just had to have after I saw it while searching out the felted llama in the pattern book. Too cute. And don't forget the afghan for each of my kids to go in their newly painted rooms on their new bed.

I started on the afghan for my son. He picked his yarn in like, two seconds. We decided to make them out of Lion Brand Homespun. Ugh. I'd forgotton just how much I hate knitting with Homespun. But the range of colors is great, and I figure it will go through the washer (and dryer) if need be. Sigh. The sacrifices we make for our children. The color is Rococo and it looks exactly like a bowl of oatmeal spread out in blanket form. I am guessing it will use 6 skeins to fit a twin size bed. The pattern is a simple one. You knit 4 rows, then you k4, p4 for 4 rows. I wish you could see it better than this picture. Emi has chosen blue (will wonders never cease, I was certain it was going to be lavender.

Hers is going to be a different textured pattern which I found here.

As if all that wasn't enough to keep me busy for awhile (and that is only the projects I have thought up in the past couple of days. Don't even get me started on UFOs and other swirling ideas), I saw this sweater in the Chico's catalog. I thought, hey, I could MAKE that sweater! Well, I'd leave off the huge wooden buttons. And I felt challenged to design my own pattern.

I found this yarn. It is called Mister Joe Blanket from Elann. It is a single ply wool blend that knits up at 24/4. I think it would be the perfect yarn for my sweater. And at approximately 2000 yards for $30 it's a steal! Right now,I can only dream. MUST. WORK. DOWN. STASH.

I'm Here, I Really Am

2007-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys, I'm sorry. I really mean to post more often than this. I know, I know, I promised three posts a week. Not happening. I will try harder.

Let's see, it's been 10 days since my last confessi--er, post. It's been really busy. The White Tornadoes, aka my parents came over again. We spent the three day weekend painting the kids room. Have I already mentioned this? We live in a very small house. My kids have to share a room. So I tried to come up with a color that would work for an 11 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. We were thinking orange-ish, but it came out very peach. Kai was not too pleased. But he was such a good sport, I think because anything was better than dirty walls. We cleared out their closet and got a Home Depot closet organizer thing going on in there. Thanks, Dad. We cleared, we painted. Actually, my mom and dad did. We bought a new bunk bed. Actually, my sister did. She drove down to Ikea IN CARSON, no less (far, really far) and drove it all the way up to Santa Barbara. We're talking 150-200 miles. Then, she and my dad built it and had it up by the time the kids came home from school Tuesday. Is my family not completely awesome? It makes me all verklempt just to think about it. Then, if all that painting and cleaning, clearing and building wasn't enough, my mom ironed my clothes so I look all spiffy today at work! My dad also planted the front yard and put on a new screen door. See what I mean by White Tornadoes? It's like that commercial where the cartoon "clean" tornado sweeps through the house and the house is transformed into a beautiful, clean, sparkling home. I'm guessing that you are imagining me lounging on the chaise with a box of bonbons while all this is going on. In my defense, all I can say is this: I didn't have any bonbons. Heh.

Next up: my kitchen, bathroom and yes, folks, my room! Dare I? I'm thinking before and after pics. But it will have to be a secret between you and me since my mom would absolutely die if she found out I was posting "before" pictures. I however, have no shame. Well, almost no shame. I cringe a little at the thought, but it might be fun. Opinions? Votes?

On the needles: hats and more hats. I made a hat from sock yarn, then broke down and bought a skein of yarn to make a hat for my friend B out of Rowan Big Wool. Turns out I'm about 10 (or less) yards short. Ouch. Doncha just hate that?

Hat Mania

2007-02-11T21:02:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I only just feel like making hats these days. But I do seem to be getting tired of them.

This one was for a co-worker. I gave it to him last week and he was very pleased.

I actually set out to make this one for myself, but I ran out of yarn. The idea was to make a wide band of ribbing, then have it poof out a little, kind of like a beret, then come back in again. This would have been a specially made hat to accommodate my large, rather strangely shaped head. Even though I have a big head, it is sort of pointy at the top. I thought it would be a good idea to try and camoflauge the shape of my head. Anyway, it didn't work since I ran out of yarn but it came out kind of cute for someone with a smaller head than I or my kids. Perhaps a toddler or someone with a pinhead, like my friend B. I only say "pinhead" because I'm terribly jealous of her little, ladylike head. I have to stand three feet behind her when we take a picture so I won't look like a giantess. It's embarrassing, let me tell you.

This is the beginning of a hat for my co-worker's wife. He mentioned that she loved his hat. When I asked what color she might like, he said white. So I'm putting a little pattern in to keep it from being totally blah. Can you see it? It's got a diagonal patterning to it.

I don't know why I am so hat crazy. But I really am using a lot of stash yarn up, so that is a good thing.

More Hats

2007-02-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

I have been home all weekend with some sort of yucky virus. Aches, really sore throat and extremely tired. Didn't leave the house all weekend. Luckily, Kevin took the kids for the whole weekend and I just holed up and rested. And knit. And caught up on some Korean soaps. Korean soaps are perfect for that. You can turn them off, doze, watch a little more, knit, doze, etc. I really feel much better, even though my head is pounding.

I made someone another binary hat, which I gave away before I took a picture of it. It looks somewhat like Kai's, only it spells "Mike."

I made this hat for Kevin from stash scraps: It's Bernat Denimstyle, a cotton blend.

I took another crack at a visor hat. This is in some Cascade 220 I had lying around. I ran out of grey at the very end and used some orange at the top. I hope it doesn't look too tacky.

Here is a shot of my paparazzi-shy son who very reluctantly agreed to model the hat for me this morning. I have deleted the blurry, awful shot of me trying to model it and take a picture simultaneously. Multi-tasking is not one of my strong points.

I had forgotten how much I love knitting with Cascade 220. I love the stretchy feel of that yarn. Note to self: One of these days I am going to knit myself a Wonderful Wallaby out of Cascade 220.

I think I am finally coming to the end of my hat run. I have one or two left in me. But that will be it for awhile.

I Got Hat Pics

2007-01-31T21:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I just wrote a whole post with pics of the hats and little commentaries, descriptions, yarns, all the details, and it got all screwed up. In the middle of the post, it just suddenly started underlining everything in blue. After fiddling around with it for what seemed like hours, I just decided to publish, at which point it wouldn't because the html link was broken. Well, yea, I had been FIDDLING AROUND WITH IT FOR AN HOUR!!! I can't make sense of all that gobblety gook! Frustrating, I tell you.
I cut off the top of the hat. But it was such a cute picture of Emi, I had to include it.

My 2nd attempt at a visor hat. This is Lorna's Laces. I also made a beanie for a guy at work out of this.

A binary hat. It says "Kai."

Emi modeling a hat for my friend Beth. Noro Kureyon. Color 150

I love the way the hat begins and ends in this pretty shade of turquoise. Pics don't do it justice. Need. New. Camera.
Hat for co-worker. Should be finished tonight.

Then it's on to another hat in the queue. That's it from me.

Hat Crazy

2007-01-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I have gone hat-crazy. I'm so sorry to be photo-less. I really don't like reading blogs without pics, but there you have it. It started out I made a nice beanie for a guy at work out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in blue. He walked around showing it to everyone, then the requests started coming in. One guy wanted a beanie with a visor. Another wanted one with stripes. I have all this extra yarn laying around, so I really don't mind. They keep telling me to charge them for them, but I don't want to. I like to make them. When I'm getting paid to make them, it somehow sucks all the fun out of it and then I put it off. This way, I can make them on my own time. I really don't like to be told what to do when it comes to my knitting. Suggestions are okay. Requests, I take. Orders, no. Then I saw this. I actually saw it on this blog first and had to make one for my son. It was in black and white and spelled his name in binary code. In between, my best friend asked for a hat and took a dive into my stash and came up with what looked like just enough Noro Kureyon to squeak out a hat. Finished that last night. Somewhere in there, the wheels started turning in my mind. You see, my Pastor is preparing to go on a 40-day fast. I wanted to support him and pray for him during that time, but I started thinking: wouldn't it be cool to knit him a prayer hat? Like a prayer shawl, only a hat. I took another dive and found some Karabella Aurora 8, one skein of cream and one skein of a deep rich olive green. And I got this really exciting idea for a hat. I'm going to try it. And if it works, you'll see it here, even if it has to be a bad picture with the bad camera.

I'm trying to also solve the visor hat puzzle. How to insert the visor and make it sit perpendicular to the hat, rather than facing straight down. I'm working on it. I came up with a version, but I'm going to have to modify. Can you hear the wheels turning? I can. It's all rusty and squeaky. But do you see what I mean by hat crazy?

Boba, Anyone?

2007-01-25T23:05:00.000-08:00

Many weeks ago I blogged about those simple little things in life that bring joy. My niece Rosie suggested bobas. Have you ever tried a boba? You really must the next time you get a chance. Often referred to as "tapioca balls" or "boba tea," it is a refreshing drink that I think originated in Taiwan. It is usually an iced sweetened tea, mixed with milk or half-and-half. In the tea are these dark brown balls, almost black, about the size of a large pea or small garbanzo bean. These balls are the "boba" or "tapioca balls", which are roughly the texture of gummy bears and sweet, but not fruit flavored like gummy bears. When you get the tea, they seal it off so it has a plastic coating on the top, kind of like the kind that comes on a yogurt or cottage cheese. They give you a straw with a large circumference, about a size 15 knitting needle. You poke the straw into the plastic and suck up the tea and bobas. It took me awhile to get used to it. Maybe about two sips. At first I thought they were creepy and clammy, like fish eyes or frog eggs. After about the third sip and chew, I started enjoying the sweet chewiness along with the icy smooth drink. By the end of the drink I was hooked. The next day, when I actually found myself craving a boba, I wondered if maybe they didn't put something in it that makes you addicted. Like the same thing they put in Starbucks coffee. How else can you explain the mass mania? I mean sure, the coffee is good, but sometimes it surprises me the lengths I will go to to procure a Starbucks coffee. Or a boba.

Boba tea houses are really interesting. They are usually very clean establishments and are like a cross between a Jamba Juice and a Starbucks. The menus are always staggering with all these different choices, most of which you don't even know what they are. But if you go, I recommend that you try a boba milk tea (basic black tea sweetened and mixed with half and half and then with the boba) or try a boba snow bubble. A snow bubble is kind of like a smoothie and come in an array of flavors, most of them fruit, but with some others like chocolate and green tea. They are very slushy and creamy like a smoothie, but there are the bobas at the bottom. I know, I know, it sounds weird. But you have to try one.

You can find them in LA and San Francisco where they are very popular. There is often a line going out the door and I notice that it is not only Asians waiting in line for their boba-fix. There is a boba place in Isla Vista, the college town near UCSB. It is an unusual place that also sells Indian food. At first I found this very strange, but the food at the Indian place is actually very tasty.

So try one next time you get the chance. Or don't. You may get hooked.

Ikealand

2007-01-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

How do you describe Ikea? I was emailing my trusty Internet Penpal, Julie the other day and trying to describe the "Ikea" experience (which around here we pronounce eye-KEY-uh. I have a friend who lived in Norway and she says ee-KAY-uh. But we all know she's wrong). The first time I went to Ikea, Kai was in kindergarten. When he went to school the next day, he got up in front of the class for show-and-tell and told a group of wide-eyed kids all about his adventures at Ikea. He brought in the cool clear blue lamp that "had a top shaped like R2-D2" that he got and shared about the "fun living rooms" they had set up around the store and how much fun he had playing in the special kids area with the ball room and games.

For those of you who have never been, Ikea makes me think that those Norwegians really must have it going on. The building is a huge multi-level. At the bottom level is the warehouse and the check-out. After you check-out, there are snack and coffee stands where you can get these amazingly yummy cinnamon rolls and other Norwegian goodies. The upper levels are a jaw-dropping array of every imaginable thing you can possibly think of to put in your house. It is a full-home furnishing experience. Granted, the style is modern, but I think there is something there for everyone. And everything is just so dang inexpensive! As you wander through the levels, some of them are even set up so that you gently spiral up or down without any discernible stairs. And they have set up little decorated rooms all around the place so you can see how their furnishings work together. It is a truly amazing place and you have to go there to really experience it. They have a childcare area where you can drop off your kids while you shop. It's got all kinds of fun kid activities. There is also a cafeteria that sells these delicious Swedish meatballs. We always try and plan the trip around lunch so we can have the meatballs.

A couple of years ago, it had been some time since we had taken a trip to Ikea. Kai had told Emi all about Ikea and she had hung on his every word. She became so excited at the prospect of going, you would have thought we were taking a trip to Disneyland, not a furniture store! On the way, we stopped by my aunt's house for a visit. At one point, I walked into the room just as Emi was telling my aunt, "...and after we shop for awhile, we're going to have those meatballs there that are just a little bit sweet..." and she was holding up her thumb and forefinger to indicate the little "pinch" of sweetness. She was telling my aunt about the "Sweet-ish meatballs!"

So you can see, Ikea holds a special place in the heart of the Knitalife household.

On to other noteworthy news -- I won something today! A $25 gift certificate to the Palace Restaurant! The Palace Restaurant is one of my favorites. It is a Cajun restaurant and they have a great menu. I always like to start with the popcorn crawdads with sherry sauce. Then they bring you a basket of assorted muffins. Then you choose your entree, of which I love the blackened catfish or the filet mignon. And when you go there, you absolutely MUST order the bread pudding. To die for. You have to order it at the beginning of the meal so they can put it in the oven. Then, after dinner, they bring it to your table, split it open and pour this Jack Daniels sauce over it. YUM-MEE! Okay, so my favorite things there cost well over $25. So I guess it's lunch or I have to kick in $25 or so of my own.

But hey, I didn't tell you how I won the certificate. They are having this walking program at the university. So everyone who joins gets a pedometer and you keep track of how many miles you walk every week. You can get prizes and stuff and you can also enter as a team. So my boss set a walking team up for our department and had a contest for the name. And guess whose entry won?

I hear stories about people getting fired for saying too much about their work on the blog. So I guess I shouldn't say the winning team name to protect the not-so-innocent. But trust me, it was a cute one.

WINNAH! WINNAH! WINNAH!

2007-01-21T20:16:00.001-08:00

Finally back on line again! It has been a nightmare, let me tell you. Enough to take the wind out of anyone's blogging New Year's Resolution. But I now plan to get back on track.

And I am pleased to announce the winners of the commenting potscrubber drawing:

May I have a drumroll please?

...and the winners are:

Carrie K.

and

Deliese (my highschool bud!)

Now if you would please both email me your addresses (knitalife@yahoo.com), and tell me which potscrubber you want. I will get those to you in the mail posthaste.

Congratulations to our lovely winners. Carrie, you said you didn't want to be in the drawing, but how could I not enter your name? And I just think it must be fate that you won! So please, pick a potscrubber.

My apologies to the Jayster, who so wanted to win. You know, here at Chez Knitalife, we have to run things strictly by the rules. No playing favorites here. We run a tight ship. These names were carefully written down on scraps of paper by the lovely Emi, then placed in a hat (handknit, natch) and picked -- once again assisted by the stunning Emi, our very own Carol Merrill. By the way, doesn't ANYONE remember Carol Merrill? C'mon, where are all you fellow oldies who were raised in the 60's and 70's by a television set? Okay, while I'm at it, the first person who can tell me who Carol Merrill is gets a potscrubber. But you have to answer before I make a run to the post office.

In other news, my living room/dining room is now a lovely shade of butter-yellow. I just love it. It is all happy and cheerful and makes me feel all warm inside. We made a trek to Ikea yesterday and bought a bookcase. It's actually more like a unit of squares and you can fit these cube-shaped baskets in the holes. We put it together last night (Kai did a very nice job of putting it together). I also picked up some sheer curtains to soften up the look of the blinds on the windows and a few other knick knacks. I am still trying to hang the rest of the curtain rods. It is a pain, but to buy curtains for four windows, with the curtain rods and hardware for hanging them for something like $30 was such a deal and they are looking so cute!

Sorry for the lack of pics. You see, we cleared out so much stuff that the camera ended up in the garage. And I just have not gotten around to unpacking. But I must. Soon. Like tomorrow.

A Telegram From a Stranded Blogger

2007-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Phone lines restored stop But Internet still down stop DSL repairman coming this evening stop Hopefully service restored soon stop Why does having no Internet make you feel like you're stranded on a desert island stop A few short years ago we were blissfully ignorant stop Will announce potscrubber winner as soon as Internet restored stop Please keep commenting stop

Shhhh!

2007-01-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

(Spoken in a loud whisper) I'm writing this post from work. Normally, I wouldn't do such a thing, but because I was unable to keep to my commitment of posting every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, I felt obliged to inform my loyal readers. My computer is out because I had to disconnect the phone lines temporarily over the weekend.

I spent the whole last week cleaning, clearing and then painting the living room and dining room of my house. You would think I was talking about a palace, but no, it is my cramped little bungalow. But there was years and years of neglect that had to be tended to. Now it is all fresh and clean with a nice coating of butter yellow paint on the walls and I love it. Thanks Mom and Dad! It occurs to me that I am of the age when I should be going to their house to help them with things around their house. But no, they came up and helped me muck through all the stuff in mine. My mom painted the ceiling. My dad did one hundred and one odd jobs, including painting my desk, my porch swing and my fence. That, in addition to building storage shelves in my garage. Oh yea, and mom even cleaned out my fridge! You needed a machete for that job! I am so thankful to them and also my sister, aka feng-shui-clear-the-clutter black belt. There are many things that I am capable of doing, but I am really kind of retarded when it comes to stuff-management. Like I am missing the gene or something. I can whip up a mean drawing and capture the essence of a person. But I can't seem to notice the mess piling up around me, or figure out what to do with it.

This past year has been one of the toughest ever for me. And I am so thankful to my family. They have really been there for me. Thanks Dad! Thanks Mom! Thanks Sharon!

Hopefully the home computer and phone will be back and running by tomorrow so that I can do my Thursday post as promised.

By the way, tomorrow is the day I do my drawing for the potscrubbers. Place a comment on my blog and I will enter you in my drawing. (I'm talking to you visitor(s) from Turkey! And anyone else who has stopped by and not yet commented. I know you are out there! I would love to hear from you! I really mean it. Please?

Keep Those Cards And Letters Coming!

2007-01-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, they're COMMENTS, not cards and letters. But they do feel like cards and letters. Thanks to all the people who have commented. It is so nice to know you are out there. And by the way, WHAT A DIFFERENCE A CAMERA MAKES! I took these most recent pics of my scrubbie-madness with my sister's camera. She was up for the day and helped paint the trim on my house. Thanks, Sharon and Rosie! Anyway, she is looking around for a new camera and said I could have this one when she does. Look how much more cheerful and happy the scrubbies look! Who knows, maybe their bright cheerfulness will draw some of the "welcome guests" out to drop a line! The more the merrier!

Since there were SO MANY questions (OK, there were three, but that's a lot for my blog.) Let's have a little Q and A, shall we?

Rose Red wanted to know what stat counter I am using. I posted it in my comments, but for those of you who didn't see, here is the link.

Anonymous wanted to know what materials are used for the pot scrubbers. It is regular worsted weight cotton, like Peaches 'n Creme and nylon netting, the kind that is used for little girl's tutus and wedding veils. It's not tulle, which is a finer mesh. You can get it at the fabric store in every color imaginable for about $1.50 a yard.

So what you do is buy a yard of netting. If you fold or even roll up the netting "horizontally," meaning that you'd have a yard-long roll, then you can cut the roll like sushi (sorry, I'm Japanese. And my mind just automatically gravitates to food) into strips no wider than an inch and a half. Then you unroll the strips and they will be about two yards long. You can tie them together and crochet them into pot scrubbers (see pattern link from previous post). Basically you crochet two disks -- one out of netting and one out of cotton, then crochet them together with the cotton and add a shell edging. Be sure to keep those netting ends inside as you crochet the two disks together, they make a nice little padding. I have been using an H hook to keep the size around the same as the cotton disk, but you can play around with it. Have fun! They are a blast because they are so quick to make up.

Chauntel wanted to know if she could get an entry for every comment she made. Sorry, Chaun. One entry per person. Heck, if the pool stays this small, I'll send one to each and every one of ya.

But keep those comments coming! I love 'em! And see you on your blog! I'll be commenting!

Would You Leave a Comment If I Sent You a Prize?

2007-01-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

OK, I can see that a lot of you are visiting but not commenting. Over 50 yesterday and over 50 today. And yet I only got 4 comments. (By the way, thank you to all the brave delurkers who stepped forward). But I see visitors from Istanbul, Vienna, Paris and Croatia (I forgot the name of the city). And closer -- Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., Iowa, Florida. So many places, so many people. Not enough comments. My astute pal Leslie basically told me you gotta give to get. If I comment on other people's blogs, they will leave comments to me. Being a incorrible lurker myself, I know it is a hard habit to break. But I am asking you. Again. This time with the lure of a prize.

If you leave a comment on my blog, I will put your name in a drawing. For every 10 comments I get, I will randomly pick a name and mail you one of my handy-dandy potscrubbers. I will list the winners a week from today. Winners can email me at the new email addy I set up just for this fun experiment: knitalife@yahoo.com Won't it be fun? All you have to do is comment. Will this work? I'm not sure. But let's give it a try. Anyone who commented on the last two posts does not need to enter. I already entered you.

Any takers?

By the way, I am putting UFOOTD on hiatus just for the time being. My parents are in town and we are like sardines in my little bungalow. But I have been busily cranking out pot scrubbers. They are so easy. And they nicely use up my netting and cotton stash, including the leftovers. Remember that old Star Trek rerun, "The Trouble with Tribbles" where the cute little fuzzball pets were multiplying all over the place until they were filling up the holds and coming out of every crevice of the ship? Well, I was imagining a similar scenario in the dramedy of my life called "The Trouble with Scrubbies" at Chez Knitalife where potscrubbers are tumbling out of every cupboard and closet. It could happen.

I Know You're Out There

2007-01-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Did you know that January 8 - 12 is National De-lurkers Week? Neither did I. That is why I am so late in passing this on to you.
I thought this was great.

Let me say something really quick about lurking. I am a lurker. I have been a lurker for as long as I have been reading blogs. I lurk on a number of blogs. I never feel like I have anything important to say. Plus, I am lazy and just want to read and not have to think about trying to come up with something nice/witty/coherent to say. But I would ask, nay, beg of you to reconsider if you are a lurker on my blog. First of all, let's do away with the negative labels. From here on, when you come here, you are not a lurker, you are a welcome guest.

Okay, and now I will let you in on my little secret. A few days ago I signed up for statcounter and can I tell you guys, I am FLOORED by the number of people who stop in here? Before you get all paranoid, let me just clarify that the statcounter does not tell me WHO you are, but it does tell me geographically WHERE you came in from. I thought it was just my sister, my niece and a couple of friends. Yesterday there were 66 people. 66! Okay, for all you blackbelts out there, I'm sure you are saying to yourself "66! Pshaw! I get 66 visitors in a minute! I get 66 visitors in a second!" Well, let me tell you, I had no idea. None. Zilch. Zippo. Why? Because no one said anything, that's why! Won't you please, please, please say something to me? It doesn't even have to be coherent. Or witty. Nice would be nice though.

Here's a shout out to my knitting sista Joanna, first time commenter and long time friend.

Serendipity

2007-01-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today I had an interesting thing happen. My Internet friend, Julie sent me a card and enclosed two of her killer pot scrubbers.

Let me digress a moment and tell you about my Internet friend from Ohio, Julie. We "met" several years ago over a knitting postboard. She had posted a question about knitting on the postboard and mentioned that she was 43, a housewife and mother and had crocheted avidly for many years and was just taking up knitting. "Hey," I thought to myself, "I'm43 (or was at the time), a housewife and mother and have been an avid crocheter almost my whole life and am now taking up knitting!" So I happily emailed her and told her and we have been writing back and forth ever since! She thought up the perfect moniker: we sign off our letters "yipp," which means, "your internet pen pal." So, she is my yipp and I have come to love her dearly. We have never met in person and have only spoken on the phone a few times. Anyway, she has a wealth of interesting recipes and patterns and is always up to something creative and fun. One of the first patterns she generously shared with me was her excellent potscrubber pattern. People clamor for them. They are positively addicting. Once you try them, you get hooked. They are the perfect combination of scratchy and soft without being harshly abrasive.

Here is a picture of what they look like. They are made out of strips of nylon netting. Aren't they cute? They fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. They get all lathery when they're wet, but really scrub the dishes nicely without scratching.

So back to my story, Julie my yipp sent me these in the mail today. (Thanks Julie! That was so thoughtful of you!)

Then, the phone rang. It was my buddy, Laura. She used to manage the yarn shop that I worked at. She told me that a friend had gifted her with a really cool pot scrubber that she just knew I'd love. Laura was one of the people I shared the pot scrubbers with after Julie shared the pattern with me and she fell in love with them. She described the pot scrubber someone gave her and I became intrigued. She said they were double crocheted flat discs, netting on one side and cotton on the other, joined with cotton. I started searching the Internet and found this pattern. Rather than join on a pre-made scouring pad, I just made one up out of netting strips and came up with this:

I thought it was pretty cute.

Anyway, isn't that a funny coincidence? If it's Tuesday, it must be potscrubber day. Now I just need to "take it out for a whirl" and see how it performs

.

Yikes, I just reminded myself that it is Tuesday. And I do not have a UFOOTD ready. It will have to wait until Thursday. You see, I have a sink full of dishes and a floor to scrub. And it is 11:00. Bye for now.

Elvis Would Have Been 72

2007-01-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Comparatively, I am a youthful 48 today. Okay, that just sounds way too old.

Yes, it's that time of year again. The Christmas rush has subsided, we have rung in the New Year. What's next, you say? Well, that means it's time for me 'n Elvis' birthday. I happen to share a birthday with the late, great Elvis.

I didn't say anything about it at work. I'm kind of new and felt it might have been sort of embarrassing to go around and TELL everyone it was my birthday. Not that it was a secret or anything.

I had a very nice day. Emi and Kai gave me a cute coffee mug, one of those commuter kinds that keeps the liquid hot. And a very cute card with kittens on it -- my daughter's influence, natch. Most of the work day was just your normal workday. I kind of didn't work as hard as I usually do. Did a little bit here and there. But took it kind of easy.

Me and the kids were invited to our friends Carol and Jan's for dinner and it was so nice. My three bestest friends, Beth, Judy and Sheila were there, with families and we all enjoyed a wonderful dinner, and a delicious homemade chocolate cake, compliments of Jan, who besides being a killer computer tech is also a whiz at making and decorating cakes. I wish I would have had the presence of mind to bring the camera along with me for pics of all these lovely people and the cool gifts they gifted me with. I was showered and loved and I feel so special and blessed.

Here is a picture of the finished hat. My son, the paparazzi dodger, wore it to school today. It came out very nice, but I'd like to snatch it off his head and adjust to to be just a wee bit "shallower." You know, pull out the decreases, remove say, 4 -6 rows then close it back up again. In this picture, it looks fine, but every time I've seen it today, the back end of it has been sort of bunched up at the base of his neck. I think I could make it fit just a bit better. He seems to like it as is. Maybe I'll have to do it while he's sleeping one night. Hee hee.

Okay, so I posted this entry, but I just had to re-edit to add this: Seeing my age written down there like that in the blog entry just totally freaked me out. If you are reading this blog and you are saying to yourself, "Dang, that lady's OLD!" Well, join the club, that is exactly what I said to myself when I saw it all posted up there on the blog! Please don't let that fool you into thinking that I am some mature, matronly, middle-aged lady. Quite possibly you'd think that even if you actually saw me. But trust me, inside I still feel like the same YOUNG person I've always been! I giggle hysterically when people fart instead of ignoring it. I get all excited when someone opens a box of candy. I still think a drink tastes better with a straw, even water. And I still try to find ways to avoid doing what I ought to be doing. Oh yea, and I still bite my nails. How can I be 48?!

Let me just say that I really DO want to grow up in some ways. And by that, I don't mean lose my sense of humor. I just mean be more responsible. It is time to not feel like a kid walking around in an old person's skin. Time to pay my bills more promptly (and systematically). Get more neat and organized. Live on a budget. Establish better routines for both myself and my children. Things like that.

10 Minutes Before Sunday

2007-01-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

Whew! I just made it in under the wire. You may recall I made a commitment to blog at least every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Well, today I went down to LA to visit my sister and I just got back and remembered -- I have to blog before the day is over! So here I am. I think the post will be stamped with the time I started blogging, not finished writing it. Which is a good thing in this case.

My sister. She's my big sister in age (2 1/2 years) although I have been bigger in size for almost as far back as I can remember. I was medium-to-big for my age and she was small. I was clumsy and slow. She was quick and scrappy. Everytime we go over to her house she makes a delicious meal. Tonight it was beef stew with her specialty apple pie for dessert. Yum! It's soooooo good to eat again! We took a visit to A Mano Yarns, which is right around the corner from her house. I just love that place. I just had to get some yarn to make a hat for my son. One could say that my "Knit from Your Stash 2007" went completely out the window in less than a week, but I plan to continue on. Where some people are not counting sock yarn, I plan not to count special gifts for people and hats for my son. You see, he actually wears the hats I make him. This gives me much joy. Most of the things I make do not get worn. I am not offended. Even I don't wear the things that I make for myself. So when my son wears the hats I make him to the point where even I get sick of seeing him in them, then that is a good thing.

So I saw this Lorna's Laces Swirl DK in Black Watch and cast on for a hat for him while at my sister's. Here's the start of it:I love this yarn. It would make a killer pair of socks. It is not so soft when you knit with it, but the end result is soooooo soft! I also picked up a skein of navy blue shepherd's worsted to knit a hat for this guy at work. It was a request. With the leftover there should be enough to make up one for my son as well.

On to the UFOOTD:

This is a sweater with a story. At least how I got the pattern is a story. Last summer I was vacationing at Donner Lake where we go almost every summer and winter due to the fact that my generous uncle has a cool place up there. I stopped in at Jimmy Bean's Wool. Laura, the owner, who knows me by sight because I am such a groupie there every time I am in the area, greeted
me and introduced me to "Ann Norling." (I have since found out that it is a psuedonym.) What a neat lady! Warm, friendly, down-to-earth. I liked her right away. I was all gushy and fluttery, like the time Gene Hackman came into the shoe store I worked at back 20 years ago. She was very nice and gave me her newest pattern and signed it too! Can you see it in the upper right corner of the pattern? (Click for big) So right away I bought some Rowan Summer Tweed that was on sale and cast on for it. But I lost interest quickly. I really want to finish it though. I think I would like to make the one with the ruffly bottom on the upper left corner.

I have to go to bed now. I am cross-eyed I am so tired. And I have to get up early and teach a bunch of 5th and 6th grade boys about Jesus. We are having a lesson entitled "God is Like a Chef" and we are going to make a "feast" of chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, corn bread and salad. C Ya!

I am Slowing

2007-01-05T21:01:00.001-08:00

We are doing a really neat thing at church. We traditionally set aside the first week of the year to seek the Lord. We meet every evening and sing, worship and pray. Generally, we also fast. Every person is asked to seek the Lord in what it is they are to "fast." Why do they call it a "fast" anyway? Ever gone a long time without food? Let me tell you, things sloooooowww doooooown. Waaaaaaaay dooooowwwwn. They should call it a "slow." Minutes are hours when you are hungry. Anyway, I am "slowing" this week. Pretty much with me, everything slows down when I fast. Except my temper. That speeds up really a lot. So it is a good thing that the kids have been gone for the past few days. They are skiing with dad. It has been a gift not to have to think of things to make for them to keep them nourished while I am "slowing."

Here's a tip: If you are ever fasting food and your kids aren't and you have to make them something, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT make them pot pies. Even if you hate pot pies, the fact that you are fasting will make those pot pies smell like the most delicious, tantalizing food ever imaginable. Here is what you make them: Egg salad sandwiches. The smell of them will not make you salivate. Even if you are starving. My kids were probably glad to leave. They were just starting with the plaintive "egg salad sandwiches? Again?" Yea, it's that or a bowl of rice with seasoned seaweed (OK, to you that sounds like cruelty, but they love it.)

So I am now on my fifth day of only liquids. I have been subsisting on soy milk, various juices, broth and coffee. Not together. Oh yea, and the "bread of life" aka The Lord. Let me tell you, by day three I was sailing. The whole point of it is to remind us that we are relying on God, not on "things of the flesh" (e.g., food) to nourish us. Everytime you feel empty, it is a good reminder to pray. Of course, usually I forget and blow up and yell at someone first. Then I have to apologize, then pray.

But there is something so special about prayer time when I am "slowing." It's like that red phone on the old Batman series. It's a Bat Phone to God. Or could it be that I am hearing better? Maybe it's like a spiritual earwax removal. Where it's like, wow, I can hear things so much better now! Yea, that's it.

So the big excitement is that we will be ending the fast with celebration, singing, prayer AND soup and bread! I am so excited about this! You see, you can't go off a five day fast with, say, an In 'n Out Double Double. You would get very sick. And since some of the black belts out there are doing water only, they really have to take it easy. Soup sounds heavenly about now. See ya after soup.

Anyone Remember Certs?

2007-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

Well, do you? Those mints? You know, the ones with "Retsin"? It's TWO! (smack) TWO! (smack) Two mints in one! Well, that's what you're getting today. It's TWO! TWO! Two blog entries in one day! Whatever happened to Certs anyway?

Anyway, let's move on, shall we? Here we see the beautiful Carol Merrill, er, I mean, Figgy, posing with my latest completed scarf. (OK, and you get a high five next time I see you if you can remember where we know Carol Merrill from.) The yarn is Karabella and it's a very fine mohair. Because it is sans the silk in Kidsilk Haze and Douceur et Soie, it is not as soft nor is it as expensive. The pattern is from this book, and is a quick and simple knit. I added one or two repeats because it seemed too small and still did not use a whole ball.

And in a very un-Carol Merrill-like maneuver, The Figster became entranced with the swinging cord on the camera, made a play for it, then got her claws stuck on it and in my brand new sweater. Here she is just before she disentangled herself and scampered out of the room in fear and utter humiliation.

And here we have my UFOOTD* (pronounced YEW-fooht, in case you were wondering). It is the back and one arm of a cardigan that I started oooooh about a year and a half ago. The yarn is Encore worsted. The pattern is a really cool pattern that someone gave my sister from Classic Elite. It's Pattern #866 "Unlimited Possibilities in Four Gauges" It has all different weights of yarn and a lot of different ways of making it up (i.e., cardigan, v-neck, short sleeve, shell). It is printed up on this really garish early-90s magenta and yellow cardstock and the models of the sweaters match the era. You would never look at it twice. But when you take a closer look, not at the photos of the sweaters, but at the schematics, you can see that it is actually a very flattering sweater design. I wouldn't have believe it if I hadn't seen the one my sis made up. Of course, she is tiny and could put on a burlap sack and it would look cute on her. But hey, ya gotta be optimistic, right?

*Unfinished Object Of The Day

I Promised I'd Be Back By Thursday, Didn't I?

2007-01-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

OK, so here I am! It's Thursday Blogday and I'm raring and ready to go! I got some time today because I had to take my car in to the shop. Trying to be all "self-sufficient," I caught a bus to work. The mechanic called a couple hours later and said it would be done by the afternoon. So this afternoon, my co-worker said he was leaving early and would I like a ride downtown to pick up my car. I tried to call the shop but it was busy, busy, busy. So I just decided to cut out early since 1) it was starting to rain and 2) you gotta grab a ride when you can get one. So I get there and what do you know? My car is still sitting in the exact same place as where I left it at 8:00 this morning. Am I surprised? Are you? Why did I think mechanics were any different than moi? Of course, they WAIT UNTIL THE VERY LAST SECOND TO GET ANYTHING DONE!!! So I hopped on a bus home and here I am, waiting until my car is done.

But that gives me some time to blog. Yay! I had an idea while riding home on the very crowded bus. I was thinking about this "Knit from your stash 2007" thing. And I was over at Tracy's blog where she is inventorying all her UFOs. And I got my own little copy-cat idea: Every time I blog (on my promised Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and maybe some extra bonus days in between), for as long as I can keep batteries in my son's digital camera, I will take a picture of a UFO (unfinished object) from my stash and give as many stats as I can about it. My goal for the year will be to complete as many of these UFOs as I possibly can. I tell ya, I got a million of 'em. Here's the official button I chose to commemorate my bold and brave attempt.
Just try not to snore too loudly if you get bored by all my semi-finished objects. I really do finish some things. Some of them.

Well, the car guy just called. I'll be back later with some pics. I forgot I had made a scarf-y type thing from Weekend Knits and, of course, my UFO of the day. UFOOTD. Kinda got a ring to it.

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

2007-01-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I'm hoping you have not given up on me. I am back, my computer's back and I have a Blogging New Year's Resolution: to blog at least every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. At this point, without the promise of pictures. So, blogging three days a week, pictures whenever possible.

So. How have you been? I've been fine. The wonderful, marvelous Jan "fixed" my computer a couple days before Christmas. But everything was lost. Did I have a backup? Of course not! I am way too much of a procrastinator to have anything like that! I really don't use the computer for much, didn't have a lot of "important documents" stored on it. But I did lose some pictures. (All the best ones are on the blog, anyway). And darned if I didn't lose all my "favorite places" bookmarks. And people, let me tell you, that thing was extensive! I had it all organized and broken down into categories. "Favorite Places", I will miss you! My dad had the excellent suggestion of me getting a hard disk to back everything up on. They really aren't that expensive. And then I could have everything important backed up on it. Maybe I'll get around to doing that. After I get the earthquake survival kit all set up in the house. Definitely before the 2 boxes of pictures of the kids get arranged into cutesy photo albums. OK, you think I'm being sarcastic, but I'm really not! ...or am I?

Right after we got the computer up, me and the kids took off for Mill Valley to have Christmas with my family. There is a big Christmas Eve gala at my parent's house that is not to be missed. Then, there is a quieter, more staid Christmas Day with "the other side" of the family. On both days, there are copious amounts of food, all of it delicious and there is also the "gift exchange." Somewhere along the years, we started having this "gift exchange" thing where everyone brings a $20 (read $40) gift and puts it in the pile. Then numbers get randomly passed out equaling the number of gifts. The rules vary from year to year and from Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, but basically, number 1 opens a gift and number 2 can either pick from the gifts or steal number 1's. And so on. It gets pretty raucous at times. Over the years there have been some classic moments. Like the time my one uncle enclosed a $20 bill and a framed photo of himself smirking at the camera and "flipping the bird." We still reminisce about that one! In all it's pretty fun, but every so often, the "competitive" aspect of the fun gets pretty cutthroat. Family members will begin to faction off and "manipulate" the swapping of gifts to set it up for their kin to swoop in and take the coveted prize. I've seen it before and it happened this year. (Thankfully, not to me...this time.) Makes you think that maybe the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys started with a Christmas gift exchange. I'm telling you, it coulda been.

Now on to knitting content: Here are a few more of those pot holders I made for Christmas gifts. I got to running around so much the last days before Christmas, I didn't have a chance to deliver the goods! Well, I hope late is better than never! I really like how they turned out and hope to make more of them. It's just that they take longer than it seems like they should. At least when I make them.
Next up is a shawl that I started in Plymouth Outback Wool and Mohair. It is a feather and fan triangular shawl pattern I found here. Since the wool skein is bigger than the mohair, I am interspersing random (or semi-random)rows of mohair, then have the bottom couple of inches be all mohair. I love these yarns. You cannot see the pattern very well in the picture, but my hope was to end up with a warm, casual shawl (denim-y) that I can wrap up in at home or in the office when it gets chilly!

Lastly, you see the beginnings of my Log Cabin bath rug, pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. I am using four strands of Peaches 'N Creme worsted weight cones, colorway "Peppercorn Ombre." It was all they had at Walmart. I got two cones of that and one in natural. But I think I like it with four strands of the ombre, so the natural will be put aside for something else. One can always think of a good use for 100% cotton in natural.

Besides the 50 gazillion other projects I have going simultaneously, that's about all I have going on around here! That's all for now. Back by Thursday. Y'all come back now, hear?

Boo Hoo!

2006-12-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

News update! My computer is mysteriously on the fritz! I am posting this from my friend's computer (Hi Kristen! and thanks!) Hopefully my friend will be able to fix it tomorrow. I'll be back...

I Am Not Worthy

2006-12-09T00:25:00.000-08:00

This has got to be one of the most precious gifts I have ever received.
Tonight, my daughter, all secretive and hush-hush, is scurrying around, asking me which fabric I like best, disappearing for awhile, then reappearing with a needle and thread, asking for help threading and tying the knot. Awhile later she reappears and asks me if I can tie a knot without looking. Uh, no, not with a needle involved. So she reluctantly hands THIS over to me to tie off.

She made me a phone case for my phone! By herself! Look! A craftster in the making! I couldn't be prouder. Isn't it precious? I will cherish it forever.

Here she is posing with her handiwork. No, that is not a scullery maid. The apron she has on is actually what started the sewing bug. She went to a birthday party and they sewed their own appliques on their aprons. She loves it and added some of her own when she got home. She picked up a quasi-do rag thing at the 99 cent store yesterday and is wearing that to complete the look. It is actually very cute and innovative and I thought it could be a neat thing knit up. One half of it is a band of fabric about an inch and a half thick and the other half is a band of fabric about 8 or 9 inches thick. You can wear it to look like a bandanna, or you can bunch it up and it is a thick hairband. There's actually three or four "looks" you can achieve with it, but we only liked those two.

Is It Just Me?

2006-12-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one who gets all crazy excited about sometimes the smallest, most insignificant knitting projects? Take for example, the pears. CRAAAZZZY about the pears.

Now, its the lined potholders. I am all about the lined potholders. Here's my first one:

Per usual with the bad pic. But now I have about 50 million balls of Sugar 'N Cream. And a growing pile of those little quilter's triangles of fabric. And the thread colors are building up. Okay, I didn't buy it all today. But I didn't NEED to buy anymore colors of Sugar 'N Cream and I did anyway. I better get crackin'

This strangely satisfies my little secret sewing bug. I have never been a seamstress and I do not own a sewing machine. But I kind of like hand sewing. Not like I'd make a whole dress or anything. But I like making up little projects like this one. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. One time I made Kai a little satin/flannel comfort blanket by hand. And I often like lining my purses. I know, I'm weird that way. I fully admit it.

Here's a picture of Figgy posing with the potholder.

Well, I guess I better get started cranking out more potholders. I was thinking ... since they are lined, they don't really have to be out of cotton. You could do wool, or silk, any yarn you have around. The possibilities are endless! Yes, I like me some potholders!

You'll see, tomorrow it'll be something else. The trick is to make as many potholders as I can before I get sick of them. Does that make sense? Didn't think so.

I've Missed You

2006-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

No. Really. I have.

There's been a lot of water under the bridge. Driving to SF. Thanksgiving. Lots 'n lots of food. Too much food. Some family bickering. Driving back to SB. Clothes got tighter. Stressed out about Christmas. Work is an escape. Never enough sleep. Constantly behind in housework, time with the kids, cooking, laundry and returning phone calls. Oh yea, and bills. That about sums it up in a nutshell.

So, as a kind of escape, I have been knitting. There are a few hats laying around the house. This is one I whipped out for Emi.

And there are actually three of these pears. One is hidden behind the others. They make up in no time and are very fun.

I got sick of looking at the wet wipes and kleenex box in my cubie and thought I'd cheer up the space by whipping a little something up. It's probably the most expensive kleenex and wet wipes cozy ever. They're made from Colinette Giotto and Douceur et Soie leftover from a scarf that I made. I really like the way they came out.

Here's a close-up.
Ahh, that's better.

And this is a baby blanket I have been working on. It is the greatest tv knitting ever. Straight garter stitch and two strands that you switch around every once in a while. Boring, but great tv knitting.

Knitting. What would I do without it?

2006-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Anyone besides me LOVE the Holiday edition of Interweave Knits? Who knows, it could be the talk of the knitting blogworld or conversely, the bane of its existence. Perhaps even just a tiny speck of plankton in a sea of competing knitting books and magazines. I have no idea. My life is in the midst of a complete transformation. 6 months ago, I was Stay-at-Home-Mom-Lady with a part time job and time to knit and chat, tote the kids around, help with homework, avoid housework and stay busy, even get stressed out because I would take on too many commitments. Now I am Single-Mom-Lady with no time to spare, precious few hours to spend with the kids, make dinner, unwind and do a few chores before falling in to bed, exhausted. So I don't get to see what is happening much in the blog world these days.

In any case, I love this magazine. I am planning to make a gazillion little felted pears as Christmas gifts. And about the same number of little sachet hearts from my leftover sock yarn. There is not one single pattern in there that I hate. And that's saying a lot. Usually there is at least three or four stinkers. At least. In this issue, the worst I can find is an "eh." That is really saying a lot.

I suppose I should be shifting into full holiday knitting and shopping gear. It's going to be an interesting Christmas.

Simple Pleasures Are The Best...

2006-11-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

"...All the little things that make you smile and glow. All the things you know. Life's simple pleasures are the best, are the best, in all the world." Who remembers that commercial? What was it advertising? OK, that is sad and wrong. I can hear the schlocky commercial jingle so clearly in my head but can't remember the product it was advertising.

Anyway, I had a response all ready to post to my comments. This is what it said: Yay! Comments! You guys make my day! You're the money in the newspaper machine! You're the run of green lights when I am late for work! You are the clean flannel sheets on the bed after a hot bath! Simple pleasures rule!

What are your simple pleasures? How about money in the dryer? Or opening a fresh box of See's candy and getting to pick the first one? Here's another one: getting that popcorn husk out of the back of your teeth. Oooh, or what about casting on for a new project?

Let's hear 'em!

Knitting Knews

2006-11-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

I have a few fo's but can't show them to you due to broken camera. OK, OK I hear you. You're saying "Go. Take that camera in." (OK, maybe you're saying it without that dangling preposition, but I know what you mean. And you know what I mean.) I hereby promise to get in to Sears ASAP to see about that warranty with the camera. There. The camera is now in my purse, ready to stop off at Sears at a moment's notice.

I made a hat for Emi out of fun color-changing yarn. I never save the labels. And then I made one for Kai, but it came out too girly looking. Interestingly, it did not look girly on Kevin, so he took it. Then I cranked out another one for Kai and it came out very nice. I had all this Microspun laying around, so I bought some Babysoft on sale at Michael's for $2.50 a skein and started one of these in the blue shade. Last, but certainly not least, I have begun to knit myself a little phone case for my adorable phone. With pocket, for the bluetooth. It is fair isle and will be felted. I'm using Cascade Pastaza from the stash. Oh -- and I finished Figgy's blanket. As you can see, I have really bad knitting ADD. There will be pics coming, I promise. Unless of course, I am out of luck with the camera.

I have been really busy, so I am hoping to be able to keep up with my blog. There is a Christmas play with the kids at church and I have agreed to help. I am sort of in charge of "set design" but I can see the writing on the wall. Let's just say that I am prepared to be wearing many hats. Actually, it's kind of fun. You get all sleep deprived and sort of live at the church. Different people drift in and out and help and you brainstorm and you plan and draw and paint and eat lots of Taco Bell and think until your brain hurt. You pray constantly and especially when nerves get frazzled or some disaster is narrowly missed. You get really close to people, their kids become like your kids and though the stress level can get high, it can also be really exhilirating and exciting and fun. So I'm gearing up.

I am really kind of enjoying work too. Even though there is an extremely high level of disfunctionality going on there. Here's an example: there are like, 20 guys there and about 6 women and the bathrooms are shared. OK, I don't mean co-ed like several stalls or anything. There are two bathrooms, one on each end of the trailer. (Sigh. Yes, I work in a trailer. And yes, it is as ghetto as it sounds.) Each of them have one toilet but on the door is one of those men/women symbols. That is just wrong. Anyway, in spite of the many annoyances like the bathroom issue, the ghetto-ness of the work space, the fact that there is a high level of testosterone and at times you hear things you'd really rather not, kind of like having your cubicle located in a men's locker room. Despite all that, I am really kind of enjoying work. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just kind of like it. The work can be difficult, dealing with difficult people, but we keep it light and laugh and get outraged at the manipulations that people try to pull and we get in spirited arguments, but in a fun way and well, it's just FUN! So that's a good thing. One day I would love to write a sit-com about that place. It is just so rich with characters. I really want to tell you about them. But it'll have to wait.

RIP, Yoda

2006-11-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

That's the family pet goldfish Yoda, back when he was a spry young thing. Emi is posing next to him for scale. That picture was taken over a year ago, Emi is much bigger now. Yoda grew some too, but towards the end, he got this big sore on his head that just kept growing. It was disgusting, really. Can you see how big he is? I have never seen a goldfish that got that big. It was hard to take a picture of him because he was always in motion. He started out as a run-of-the-mill fantail that my dad got for his office. When he retired several years ago, he gave the fish to my son. He just kept growing and growing until soon he was the size of a large russet potato. Toward the end, he was about the size of one of those small kid's footballs, with a large (bigger than his body) tail fanning out.

Anyway, he stopped eating and died a long, slow death. It was horrible. The thing is, you can't flush something that big. And I am too much of a wuss to hit him on the head and end it all. Man, pets are tough, let me tell you.

We are down to virtually no pets now, which suits me now that I am a single, working mom. Skoshi, the family dog passed a year ago last September. I gave Lucy the parakeet to my niece, who originally gave her to us. Rosie's birds had babies a couple of years ago. Poor Lucy was such a lively bird, but when I went back to work, she was just so sad and neglected. So she went back to live with them. They have a cockatiel and another parakeet and I hear Lucy is very content there.

The last to go was poor Yoda, the nearly indestructible fish. I saved him from the brink of death several times, once feeding him with a turkey baster for several weeks. His body was contorted into an almost 90 degree angle and I thought he was a done for, or at least disabled for the rest of his fish-life. The first time it happened, it was very traumatic. Kai cried for days, we prayed over him and, miraculously, like Lazarus rising from the dead, Yoda was completely restored back to health after 2 months of laying on the bottom of the tank, panting and looking like a goner. This happened a couple more times in the course of his fish-life, due to a tank that didn't get the water changed frequently enough. The subsequent times were nowhere near as miraculous or dramatic as the first.

Now we are left with a kind of semi-pet. The semi-feral Fig, aka Figgy, Figlet, Figgy-momma, Figgy-pudding. She mostly lives outside but craves a good rub anywhere from 8:00 to 11:00 pm. She has become so spoiled that she yowls and scratches at the door to be let in. She is rather coy, wanting to come in my lap, but on her terms. She will jump down and run out the door if I pick her up and put her there too soon. I have to begin by petting her on the floor. Eventually, she ends up like a pile of jello on the floor, but it is usually difficult to reach her there. Once she is jello-ish, I can pick her up and put her on my lap, where she will play and snuggle, sometimes for five minutes, sometimes for an hour. Then she just saunters over to the door and waits to be let out. If I don't respond immediately, she is reaching up to the doorknob and scratching.

Her brother Tommy, disappeared around a month or more ago. I hate to think what may have happened to him and keep hoping he'll show up again as mysteriously as he disappeared. Unbeknownst to me, he must have been eating her food because Figgy is fattening up and looks different from the earlier pictures I have of her. It's weird to see her gaining weight because I've noticed the base of her tail is getting thicker. It's not like it's fat or anything, but it is getting wider and thicker. What a strange place to gain weight. Maybe it's like us women with our butts and thighs.

One of these days I'll tell you about Skoshi, the wonder-dog. But he is a whole post in itself. Anyway, RIP Yoda, Skoshi and even possibly Tommy. You made our lives richer and you'll always live on in our family folklore.

"Can You Tell Me Where The Party Is?"

2006-10-29T01:40:00.001-08:00

OK, imagine this: a 1000 or so bleary eyed post-adolescents looking completely dazed and confused driving up in their Beamers saying over and over ad infinitum: "Can you tell me where the party is?" OK, now imagine that it is butt-a** cold outside with a bone-chilling wind and dark. That is how I spent the past 9 hours tonight and last night.

I woke up this morning and started knitting on Emi's hat like there was no tomorrow. I had expected to have more knitting time out there, but those conditions just weren't very knitting conducive. I got the hat finished, but it ended up being too short through the crown. So I made the two Leia "cinnamon buns," then took apart the top of the hat, added on an inch and reknit the top. It took me 5 hours of non-stop knitting and my hands and arms are sore (Advil sore). I guess I'm not a very fast knitter. Those cinnamon buns took longer than I thought they would. I think it is the small circumference and having to keep switching the needles. She ended up being 1/2 hour late for the party, but I finished. I'll post pics soon.

For some reason, I couldn't get blogger to post my post Saturday night, so here is my Monday morning add-on:

I'm more than a little PO'd this morning because I am cranky and didn't get enough sleep this weekend. The "big laugh" around the office is that I "was a wanker" because the sprinklers turned on me and my partner at 11 pm Saturday night. Hello! We are situated 100 yards from the beach (think chilling night wind). We come the second night PREPARED to face the bone-chillingness of the wind out there only to have the sprinklers turn on and soak all of our blankets and jackets! Yea, I guess that's why they stationed US out there while they drove around in their HEATED trucks all night. The nerve!

It's Costume Time!

2006-10-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

You Moms out there all know it. I'm sure many of you are right on the ball and start whipping up creations for your little ones weeks in advance. But for me it wouldn't be the same without the last minute running around. There's something about the thrill of procrastination. Running around to craft stores and thrift shops. Faintly reminiscent of pulling the all-nighter back in college. Actually, I never intend to put it off until the last minute, it just always turns out that way. That's right, I'm talking about Halloween costumes. Technically, our family does not celebrate Halloween. And I refuse to allow scary or gory. But there is something so fun about creating the costumes. Usually we go to a Harvest Festival and parade the kids around. A few weeks ago Kai informed me that he didn't want a costume. Tonight he tells me he wants to be a cell phone. So the fun begins.

And then there's Emi. I talked her into being Princess Leia. I found an inexpensive white gown at the craft store and I'll be making her this, or a reasonable facsimile, out of brown Woolease. Imagine me rubbing my hands together with glee. Pics will follow soon of both concoctions with the broken, blurry camera.

Did I tell you? I am doing something crazy this weekend. Working overtime. Waaaaaaay overtime. Halloween is a huge big deal in the college town adjacent to the university I work at. I have actually volunteered to be a lot attendant out at the university to keep all kinds of "undesirables" from parking on campus. I work my normal day job from 8-5, then start my overtime shift and work Friday from 5pm to 2am. Then again the same 5 - 2 shift on Saturday. Yowza! I think I'm going to be tired. But I get to wear one of those day-glow orange vests. And guess what? They have suggested that it "might get a little slow" so maybe I should "bring something to do". Oh, you mean like knitting? Why yes, thank you, I will.

Hey Nineteen (or is it Eighteen?)

2006-10-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

It could possibly even be seventeen. Yikes, I was young. Who let me out of the house? That is someone's dorm room back in the early days of college. My hair's all Morticia from the Addam's Family. It was a really big deal when I finally cut it. I distinctly remember asking them to cut it like "Mindy" from "Mork and Mindy." The snobby hairstylist had no idea what I was talking about. The 'do was ubiquitous at the time. Do you remember what it looked like?

My friend Victoria had this and a bunch of other photos from back in the day. She had a really hilarious one of the guy who is now my supervisor at work. It looks just like Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," half-mast eyes and all. It was from the same dorm room party as this one. I can't show it to you in the interest of protecting the not-so-innocent.

Oh, by the way. My dad confirmed that my son's digital camera is broken. So that's why the pictures always look so bad! That's the ticket! I need a new camera!

The People of the Town Are Strange, But They're Proud of Where They Came*

2006-10-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaaaack! OK, that was surreal. I know now how the Rip Van Winkle story got written: the guy went to his 30th high school reunion. I had this strange feeling that I had somehow been asleep for 30 years and everyone got older. One of my friends just got back from her 30th a couple of weeks ago. She said she arrived at the hotel and was looking around for the reunion. Someone pointed her in the direction of the room and she said, "No, that can't be it. I already looked in there. They're too old!" It even seemed like some of them were wearing stage makeup to be an older version of themselves. You just wanted to walk up to them and snatch the bald-cap right off their heads. On the other hand, some of them had that "Picture of Dorian Gray" thing going on, where they looked impossibly well-preserved for pushing 50. One gal looked 25 if she was a day and not in that fake shiny plastic face way. That was kind of spooky.

After awhile it got kind of tiring to give and receive the quickie 5-minute interview exchange. It was all kind of superficial, except for a few connections. Quite a few people drank too much. I can't blame them and probably would have myself if I still did that sort of thing.

High School. Four years of your life when you are still an unformed person that somehow in our culture has come to represent some sort of - what - Milestone? Marker? Pinnacle? I could only go once I knew that it no longer defined me, when I truly began to see it for what it was -- a relatively insignificant time of my life. Once I realized that I didn't have to measure up to, compare myself to or surpass anyone or anything, then I could go and see a bunch of people that I may or may not remember, who may or may not remember me, and have fun. Or not.

I had a great time getting together with my old buddies, Deliese and Victoria. We reminisced and got all angst-y about going to the reunion. That was on Friday. Saturday was the big night and was over in a flash. I spent most of the evening catching up with many of my friends from elementary school. Even though we all hung out in elementary school, most of us didn't socialize much in high school, as we started being defined by our interests. Now, 30 years later, we felt comfortable around each other. Familiar.
The next morning, my friend from 1st grade, Jill came over. My mom laughed when she opened the door and Jill said, "Can Laura play?" She moved into the house of her childhood around 4 years ago after her mother passed away. Her kids are now attending our alma mater. Soon after Jill dropped by, Deliese and Victoria arrived and my mom graciously served us a wonderful lunch: "leftover" cornish game hens, saffron rice and salad. The weather was beautiful and we had fun catching up on old times. That's Deliese on the left, Victoria, me and Jill.

I tried to upload a picture of me from "back in the day" but blogger is being mulish right now and won't let me. I'll try again tomorrow.

*Who can name this classic rock tune from the 70s? It was my favorite song from my favorite group of the day.

Tam High Class of '76, Here I Come!

2006-10-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am going. It's on Saturday. I'm driving to my parents tomorrow and coming back Sunday. I'll fill you in when I get back.

Until then, I will leave you with this that I first saw on Crazy Aunt Purl, and then Rose Red's blog:

Four jobs I’ve had:
Yarn store manager
Mary Kay Consultant (car driver - not the pink cadillac -- for 4 years
Manager of Special Projects for Research Institute on Asia/US Relations
Teacher's Assistant in a kindergarten class

Four movies I can watch over and over:
When Harry Met Sally
Rudy
Sense and Sensibility
It's A Wonderful Life

Four places I have lived:
San Francisco
Mill Valley
Isla Vista (college town near UCSB)
Santa Barbara

Four television shows I love to watch:
Grey's Anatomy
Lost
The Bachelor (shhh! don't tell anyone!)
CSI (the Vegas version)

Four places I have been on vacation:
Yellowstone Park
Tokyo
Florence
Cabo San Lucas

Four of my favorite dishes:
Bengan Bharta (Indian eggplant stew)
Kung Pao chicken
Bastilla (morrocan dish with chicken and filo)
My Mom's Chocolate Cake

Four websites I visit daily:
IParq.com (for my job)
The Yarn Harlot
Knitter's Review
The Tamalpais Class of '76 Reunion (hey, they have a list of who's coming!)

Four places I would rather be right now:
In bed
Paris, France
Maui
Heaven

Four bloggers I am tagging
Leslie - Tukats
Chauntel - Firebrunette
Tracy - my name is tracy. i knit.
Abby - Abby Knits

I Love It When You Read My Blog

2006-10-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one? Does blog writing feel somewhat like writing a note and slipping it into a bottle and tossing it out into cyberspace? It's kind of freeing in a sense. Like writing a secret on a piece of paper and burning it. Yet there is that nagging feeling that somewhere, someone may be reading it. Guess that's what keeps me writing. Maybe some bloggers stop because they gave up, figuring no one ever found the bottle laying there in the cyber-sand.

Now I know why the comments are so important. You guys don't know it but I have become a comment-obsessed freak. Coming home and finding a comment (or two, or three) is truly satisfying, in that kind of way that could get really addicting. Like finding change in a newspaper machine when you were a kid. When did I stop checking those things, anyway? Or when someone is scratching your back and they find the itchy spot. Or getting that parking space right in front of where you are going (Santa Barbaran's think of the 5 Points Shopping Center Parking lot and getting that space right in front of Fresco's. Or Starbucks.)

So just imagine how tickled I was this evening to come home and find four, count 'em FOUR comments to yesterday's entry! So I decided to devote a whole entry to answering the comments.

Leslie writes: Laura, very nice phone. My husband put his cell phone in the washer last week, and since it is surgically connected to his hand, he had a new one within the half hour. Sorry the advice on the pics didn't help. Here's one more. I don't know what kind of camera you have, but my Olympus has a setting for closeups, so see if you have that. Where is that camera manual anyway
Camera manual?! You actually expect me to pick up a camera manual? I am much too prideful for that! (OK, OK, I actually DID try to look through the manual for my new phone and could not understand it. What is it about those manual writers? I think they sit around and plot how they can make the instructions "simple but impossible to understand" then sit around and snicker at the thought of newbies like me trying to figure out my phone.) There actually is a camera manual in existence SOMEWHERE in this house, think needle and haystack. But when I find it, I will be sure to peruse it. Who knows, I may be enlightened to decipher some of the heiroglyphics the makers thought up. What does the arrow in the shape of lightning mean, anyway? The camera actually belongs to my son and when we got it for him for his birthday one year, I didn't see why we should spend more than $100 for it. Now I am kicking myself. We should have at least spent $500.

Chauntel writes: I remember~ Til Tuesday, Voices Carry
I am an 80's music junkie.
So you are one of 'those' people. Tracy is one too & she does have some rather odd caught singing moments. She tries to drag my kids into it when they are in her car.
Outdoor pictures not in direct sunlight will get you some very nice shots. Most likely, you will not have to change any settings on you camera. Auto should do just fine (if it has an auto).
Actually, I am embarrassed to admit that I was actually referring to the title of my post. The really embarrassing thing, is that I think the phrase was actually, "New Car, oooooooooooh" (for the oooooooooooh part, the singing voice goes up and down). But I can't remember anything else about the song. Ring a bell Chauntel? Ken? (My brother-in-law and sometime reader who is a music-phile if there ever was one.)
And yes, I am one of 'those.' The thing that cracks me up is when my kids' friends look at me like I am nutso and right away I know that their parents would never do anything so out there.

Tellen writes: Yes, I too am a sing-alonger. And I finally reached a point where I just don't care who hears! The funniest ones are when I get caught singing along with the hold music on the phone... Yeah, that's been good for quite a few laughs. :) So, from one singalonger to another...Sing! Sing out loud! (I am pretty sure that's a song... lol)
I've been known to get those blasted Wiggles show songs stuck in my head for weeks at a time. And caught absent-mindedly singing them out loud! As in: Toddler Mom: "Are you singing that "Mashed Potatoes" song from the Wiggles?" Me: "Um. No."

Whimsical Knitter writes: Loving the phone. LOL, I sing along, too...and I have an atrocious singing voice!
Yes, but did you ever imagine in the shower that it sounded GREAT? I can really sing my heart out in the shower! You catch me in the shower and you just may hear Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart," or Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You." Or even Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walking." I love to sing! Badly, I might add!

Anyone else out there? Give me a shout out, I'd love to hear from you! H-E-L-L-L-L-O-O-O-O-O-O-O OUT THERE!

New! Toy! (Ooooh!)*

2006-10-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Please know that I tried. I tried to take pictures of my uber-cool new toy, er, I mean the pink ipod phone I got today. Blur, blur, blur. I tried Leslie's suggestion of taking the picture while holding the camera stationary. Still blurry. I will try Abby's (and Leslie's) suggestion of taking the pics outside. I have no idea how to change the shutter speed. Maybe from now on I should take all my pictures with my new cell phone!

So instead I copied this picture of it so you could see it. Isn't it cute? I got a matching bluetooth to go with it! Now I get to look like one of those crazy people walking around talking to themselves!

Really, I was not trying to be extravagant. My phone broke last week and it was unrevivable. I figured that it is a practical purchase because I have no tunes at work and was going to go out and buy an mp-3 player or ipod anyway. So, you see, I was being practical. And the pink phone was the same price as the black.

My big fear is that I'll break out in song while sitting at my cubie, lost in the music, forgetting where I am. You see, I am a sing-alonger. Not well, mind you, but I just can't help myself. I have never been a big one for earphones. I already have "a voice that carries" (according to my mom and family) and when there is something being piped into my ears, my voice tends to get even louder. So I am a little worried about 1)forgetting where I am and breaking out in song and 2)inadvertantly yelling at someone when they talk to me while I'm wearing my headphones. I'll keep you posted on this new dimension of embarrassing work scenarios.

*Who remembers that song from the '80s?

I Totally Know My Pictures Suck

2006-10-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

I know. I know! What can I do? I admit it. I am a bad photographer. You should see how many horrible pictures I have taken of my kids. And this is a hard thing to do because they are really very cute. I just don't seem to have the knack. So I apologize for the bad pictures. Because I so badly want you to see accurate portrayals of what I am knitting. Anyway, this is a scarf for my mom. The colors are much nicer. Richer. Deeper. The yarns are Crystal Palace and I have misplaced the ballbands. One is tape, the other, a novelty in the same colors. I'm liking it so far and I hope my mom does too. Her birthday is this Thursday, Columbus Day. The real Columbus Day, not the psuedo-holiday.

Blogging is helping me to realize what a sadly boring and uneventful life I have. These days I spend my time working, then come home, help the kids with homework, forage for food in the kitchen or go out to Taco Bell, fall into bed and sleep until it's time to get up. The most exciting part of the day is at 6:45 am, where I run around crazily trying to get myself and the kids ready and out the door by 7:30. There is lots of yelling, running, clothes flying about and general chaos. We always manage to make it out of the house in the knick of time. Rinse and repeat. Over and over for five days in a row until I am so tired I can hardly stand it. Then I spend a weekend not quite catching up and start all over again. What is there to blog about and when can I find time to do it? Actually, there's lots of time to blog at work but integrity prevents me. Besides, I'm still on probation. I'm joking. Seriously, I am. No, really.

Does Being A Lifer Mean I Get To Be Jennifer Aniston?

2006-10-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a Lifer!

To you, a job is what pays the bills. You put in your hours, follow the rules, and then go home. Occasionally, you consider quitting, but then you think of how bad the job market is and you reconsider. Whatever happiness you get, you get from your life outside the workplace. Relationships, family, hobbies, and outside creative pursuits are what really matter to you. You're probably taking this test at work because you don't have anything better to do.

Talent: 41%
Lifer: 49%
Mandarin: 44%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

Actually, my reality these days is very much more like the guy in the cubicle. Except that I don't have a copy machine in my cubie. Nooooooo. I have to walk ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE OTHER END OF THE TRAILER TO GET TO THE COPY MACHINE!! Yea, and my cubie? It's situated along a hallway. So everybody walks by, looks in, says hi, stops and talks, you name it. And it never fails EVERY TIME I (ahem)-- break wind -- someone steps into my 4' x 6'-including-the-desk-cubie to tell me/give me something and I pray to God that it wasn't a silent but deadly. Is it just me? Am I the only one who has to deal with this? Kind of makes me long for the days of old when I was at home alone with the kidlets and we'd just let 'em rip. Guess I've been away from the work world for too long. Or maybe I'm just more flatulent in my old age.

Bringin' On The Bubbly

2006-10-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

I made some progress on the bubbly curtain this evening. OK, can someone tell me why I can't seem to recreate the same color effects that I had from yesterday's photo of the bubbly curtain? Everything is the same, but it is coming out with the colors all yellow and wrong. Frustrating, I tell you. If you look below at the picture of the magnetic board, you can see what I mean. Taken five minutes apart. Same position, same background, same lighting, same everything. But all of a sudden, everything is all indoor-lighting flash-photo yellow for the curtain picture. I am stymied.

I am so tired, but I promised to blog on the magnetic board. So here it is:

You can see it is not a big deal, but it is really a very helpful tool. I took the chart from the book and enlarged it so that I would not have to strain my aging eyes. Then I just put it on the chart and move the ruler up every time I complete a row. Voila! I am humming on my curtain! I must say I love this bamboo yarn. I like the drape and the feel of it as it is being knit up. And it comes in great colors. A bit spendy though at $15. per ball, in my opinion. But I think it would make a really heavenly cardigan. I imagine bell shaped sleeves, a V-shaped front and a smooth A-line shape. Maybe I should try my hand at designing? Well, let me get through a few unfinished projects first.

I'be Bin Sick Wid Da Code

2006-10-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

I started feeling it last Tuesday and fended it off unti Saturday, at which point I collapsed into bed and couldn't get up. My sweet daughter made these cards for me, which really did make me feel better! Isn't that the sweetest? Sorry they are blurry, the camera is giving me trouble. If you double click on the pic, you can get a close up, but this is what the note says, "GET WELL MOM! Dear Mom I love you I hope you feel Better for work. Thak you for leting us get a prestent on your first pay chack. Hope you feel Better by Monday. Love you Emi" Awwwwww!
I got my first pay check on Friday so I told the kids to celebrate they could get presents. This was very exciting for all of us. Kai got a book and Emi got a CD. By today, I was feeling a lot better. I even made dinner for two families that I had agreed to do earlier in the week. I made salmon, so it was very easy. I got one of those big giant filets from Costco, I think it weighed 3.5 lbs. Then I got some foil and put it in a 9 x 13" pan. I put the salmon in and melted a few tablespoons of butter, threw in 3 cloves of mashed garlic and poured it over, added some salt and baked it for 15 mins. uncovered in a 450 degree oven. Voila! It was so yummy! We had it with mashed potatoes and salad in a bag. Then I made some chocolate chip cookies (from the tube) for dessert for everyone. Simple!

I even squeezed in a little knitting. This is the bamboo yarn "bubbly curtain" from Mason-Dixon Knitting that is going in my cubie. Again, sorry for the blurriness. I like how it is coming out and it is a fun knit. My experience with knitting lace (if that's what you want to call this curtain) got so much easier when I finally broke out my magnetic board. I'll post more about it with pics tomorrow because it is such a cool device and is just another one of those tools that you wonder how you managed without it (actually, I remember how I used to manage without it -- I tore my hair out and swore and threw things because I couldn't keep track of where I was on my pattern).

News Update: I am going to the Reunion. Repeat. I am going to the Reunion. When I wondered aloud to my friend Deliese how I was going to 1) get skinny, 2) get rich and 3) find a cute guy to walk in there with in less than three weeks, she wrote back and said this: "1) weight loss - why?, when we can just wear black 2) get rich - I think Target has some cubic zirconia rings that look the part 3) cute guy - flash pictures of your adorable kids, that will take care of that " Now you know why I hung out with her. She's the voice of reason, plus she's really funny.

Doncha Just Love Getting Packages In The Mail?

2006-09-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

I do! I got this in the mail the other day (yes, I have been trying to get this posted for three days now! I changed my browser or whatever it's called to Firefox and finally ended up getting the pictures uploaded. Sheesh.) Isn't it interesting looking? Of course, I knew immediately what it was. You see, I had bought some 5" Brittany dpns a couple weeks ago (remember?) and immediately broke one upon returning home. I wrote the company less than two weeks later, got a really nice email and the above package containing this:

No, those are NOT toothpicks! They are not one, but count 'em 4 replacement needles! I am as of now a devoted Brittany fan. Love 'em. I thought that was true excellent customer service. Now all I need to do is cast on that second sock ...

In other interesting tidbits in the life of Laura, I got a postcard in the mail today. That is actually an invitation to my 30th high school reunion.

30th. Dang that's old. Anyway, the girl who is in the second row, second from the right? That was my best friend, Deliese. We met sophomore year and pretty much became inseparable from that point. There was another girl, Victoria, and the three of us hung out, talked about boys and went to rock concerts, smoked cigarettes, went to parties, you know. We weren't part of the coveted "inner circle" and we felt safer hanging together. What would I have done without them? We hung out constantly. And when we weren't together, we were on the phone. That was in the days before cellphones, or even cordless phones. Or even long cords. You were stuck in one spot. Couldn't even clean your room, the cord was so short. It was a huge deal to even HAVE a phone in your room. I can remember being able to see myself in the dresser mirror while I was talking on the phone and I'd talk for hours and watch myself talking. I think a couple of times we even fell asleep while we were talking on the phone.

I also remember getting in a HUGE fight with my mom because she refused to let me drive over the Golden Gate Bridge with my two friends to celebrate New Year's Eve when I was sixteen. I couldn't believe she was so strict! Well, all I can say is this: Thanks, Mom! Sorry to have put you through that! I thought you were so clueless and hopelessly square and so uncool back then. Now I see you were WISE!

Anyway, as soon as I got that postcard, I called up Deliese. She lives in NY now and we must have talked for over an hour. We had a lot to catch up on since I haven't talked to her in 4 or 5 years and haven't seen her in 10. I told her I'd go if she does. It's next month, the 21st. Anyone besides me think that's awfully short notice for a 30th reunion? But it's typical. We had such an apathetic class. Sort of ironic, being the "class of '76," bicentenniel and all. I think most of us were just stoned then. I have no idea what our excuse is now. Inertia, I guess.

Here's What My Daughter Got ...

2006-09-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Cashmere.You are sophisticated and luxe. You can often be found in high-end boutiques and hobnobbing with the upper crust. You are one of the beautiful people and you don't let anyone forget it!
Take this quiz!

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"You are Cashmere.You are sophisticated and luxe. You can often be found in high-end boutiques and hobnobbing with the upper crust. You are one of the beautiful people and you don't let anyone forget it!"

You Guys. She's seven. I know. It's distressing. But that really does describe her. She's been like that since the moment she was born. The sad part is that she has a mom who is a cross between dishcloth cotton and mohair. Luckily, she gravitates to her kind like a little moth attracted to light. When she was two she went into my girlfriend's room and came clunking out in these black high heels, eyes wide, exclaiming, "Mommy, you should SEE all of Auntie S' pretty underpants!" Until then, she probably didn't even know that they came in anything other than plain cotton, poor deprived child! She has had her finger and toe nails almost perpetually painted since she was three, and not by me, mind you, I bite my nails! She always seems to find a teenage girl or a mom with boys who wants to play pampering with her. She just loves it. Oh yea, and she has more shoes than anyone I know her age, including lavendar UGGs and flip-flops numbering in the double digits. Just so you know -- I hardly ever (have to) buy her clothes. Everyone just seems to know and she gets given things all the time. That moth attracted to light thing at work again, I guess. I imagine that there are grown-up "cashmere" types sympathetically clucking their tongues in pity at my poor daughter having such a clueless dishcloth cotton mom, so they buy her things. She'll probably do the same for some other deprived cashmere child once she has grown up. And so the cashmere baton gets nurtured, passed and carried on.

A Little FO

2006-09-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so I snuck a little project in there before getting to that second sock. It's coming, it''s coming, don't worry. This is a beret pattern from Greetings from Knit Cafe and the yarn is Blue Skies Alpaca Silk, in "Sapphire". I don't know why they called the color "sapphire." It is so not sapphire. It's lighter and has more green than you see in the picture. This is my first beret and I like the way it came out. Very cute. I can hardly wait to see how it looks on the person I made it for. And I just may have to make one for my daughter because it looks adorable on her. I would have had her model it, but she was already in bed asleep. I briefly considered putting it on her and taking a picture while she was sleeping, but something about that just seemed so, well, perverse. Maybe I should get one of those styrofoam heads to model the hats on. Until then, this little guy will have to do.

I have a problem with making things for my kids. The problem is they hardly ever wear what I make. Anyone else have that problem? If you make something for someone and you don't live with them, then you don't see how much they aren't wearing it. Ignorance really is bliss when it comes to handknits, I suppose. But when they live with you and you have to fight with them to wear it, well that just gets old after a while. Probably the worst one was this fabulous hooded sweatshirt, a Wonderful Wallabee that I made for Kai in this beautiful shade of blue Cotton Fleece. The name of the color was "Emperor's Robe" and it was this beautiful, vibrant deep blue. Then there's the cute, colorful, funky knee socks I knit for Emi. She fell in love with the yarn at the store. Now she tells me "the colors are too weird." And there's all number of hats, slippers and scarves and they are all either gathering dust or tucked in the back of a drawer.

Still, the sight of my daughter in that beret was too precious. And they have that Alpaca Silk in the sweetest shade of light pink. I guess it's like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football. I just keep thinking maybe it'll be different this time.

This is for Rosie

2006-09-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

...because most of you bloggers out there have seen this. But I like it because I love yarn. And quizzes. And it's always fun to retake. Sometimes I get dishcloth cotton. Once I got acrylic. But I'm always happy to get this:

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!

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Argh! I have been trying to post this for three days! And I can't get it to work. There is supposed to be writing under the picture that describes the personality of the yarn. It's supposed to say this: "You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes." If you can't see it, try highlighting it (click and drag over where you think writing should be.) On my monitor, it comes up dark blue when you do that. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the text darker. And it would not center the print either. Pooey, I'm done with that.

On to other things, you may remember the "mystery commenter" whom I guessed (incorrectly) to be my niece Rosie. Well I found out who it was. Of course, it was very wrong of me to think it was Rosie. Rosie after all, knows the correct usage of the word "you're." And would have capitalized the words "Guess Who?" Let's just say the mystery poster got a little hasty and leave it at that. I won't reveal any names, but I just couldn't resist a little poke in the ribs.

Second Sock Gets Shoved Aside

2006-09-16T12:59:00.000-07:00

For now. I have been meaning to make a cat blanket/bed for Figgy for a long time. This is made from Paton's Rumor, which is 84% Acrylic, 15% Alpaca and 1% Polyester. You can't see it from the picture, but it has a little alpaca halo to it. I purposely folded it over so you could see the double-knittedness of it. I have revised
this pattern for my purposes. It is 16" across and I plan to make it roughly square. I think I'll need three balls. I am using size 8 needles, which translates to size 10 for most of you knitters out there. Yes, I admit it, I am a very loose knitter. I purposely chose a "camo" like color since Figgy and her brother Tommy are so dirty. I think it is because of their feral-ness (ferality?) but contrary to what I have heard about cats, these guys are pretty dirty. Not that Figgy doesn't try. She is always washing herself. But they like to lay in the dirt and are usually covered in foxtails and burrs, which I pick out of their fur, day in and day out. I plan to put the finished blanket on my porch swing, which they like to lounge on. Who knows, if they use it, maybe I'll make another. And after I'm done, I promise I'll finish that second sock. No, really. I mean it.

One Down, One To Go

2006-09-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

I finished my sock, now I just need to muster up the oomph to start sock number two. I ended up doing a "waffle rib" for the cuff, which is k2,p2 for three rows and purl the fourth. I did a russian cast-off, which is nice and stretchy.

I'm very tired. It's been many years since I worked a full-time job. It's all starting to come back to me. The "new job" stress-adjustment-thing, where you come home hardly able to speak you are so tired from all the newness. New people to meet, new names to remember, new routines, new things to learn, new office politics to navigate around. You know. Even things like finding out where to eat your lunch and who you should be talking to and who you should be avoiding take up energy. So it begins on Monday and by Friday, you are ready for Saturday. You barely get a chance to catch up and then it is Monday again. Oh yea, that. The Rat Race.

Fun At The LYS

2006-09-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me and my buddy Kamila at the "preview" of Knit and Pearl last Sunday. Kamila is from the Czech Republic and besides being an incredible knitter (you should see the sweater she made for a friend out of black Baby Cashmerino), is intelligent, witty, and very fun to be around.

Last night was knit night and Julie graciously allowed us to use the cute, comfy cozy "living room" in the back of the store. The library knit group has officially been moved to Knit and Pearl. Poor Julie looked a little glazed over from all the excitement of the day, which means she had a good day!

I bought a pair of 5" Brittany dpns, which I loved, then promptly snapped one of them (don't bother asking me what I was doing, because I have decided that I will not admit to trying to squeeze the semi-finished sock over my foot and ankle to see if it would fit.) I am sincerely hoping that Brittany will replace it. I wrote them an email last night. It's kind of weird, like asking them to replace a rather long toothpick. Like the kind you use to hold a sandwich together. And I am trying to forget that I paid $8.00 for 5 longish toothpicks, one of which broke within the first two hours of owning them! So don't remind me. But anyway, I do really like them because the wood feels so nice and smooth and because face it, short needles are the way to go on socks. Which means I have to replace all my "skewers" for "toothpicks." Guess it's just the price we pay in pursuit of perfection.

swatch away

2006-09-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my swatch for the Bubbly curtain for my little cubical at work. That's right, my new job entails sitting on my already sizable behind for up to 8 hours a day in a 4 x 6 cubical, henceforth referred to as "The Cubie." I thought it would be nice to hang a nice little knitted curtain on my window that looks out into a really depressing view of the back of a baseball field. You see a wall and the name of the team in cut-out letters, only backward. There is a breezeway of sorts that separates the back of the field from our trailer. Yes, that's right, "The Cubie" is located in a trailer. Anyway, there is litter in the breezeway and an electric golf cart. I initially thought a Bubbly curtain would be just the thing, but after measuring the space I am not so sure. Turns out my little window is 45" x 35". Kind of a stretch when you are knitting. Then there is the problem of figuring out how much yarn I am going to need. With my initial calculations, I figured 7 balls at 250 yds. per ball. I suppose that's about a sweater. But it's an awfully expensive curtain at $15. per ball! My cubie has another wall, a faux-cubie wall that has a little window on it that is more like 25 x 20. Maybe that is going to be the on that gets the handmade curtain.

I know, I haven't talked much about my new job and with the little tidbits I've given you, you can see why, can't you? I am relying on lots of prayer and a true sense of assignment to walk through this new phase of my life.

Stash Enhancement: A Cure For All That Ails

2006-09-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

I did a little stash enhancing this afternoon! Julie had a little preview for the people who have helped her get the shop together! It was breathtaking. You have GOT to stop by when you are in the area and check out this store! 5 East Figueroa Street in downtown Santa Barbara. The official opening is Tuesday, September 12, at 11:00 am. Gorgeous. Fabulous. Exquisite. I could go on and on.

On the left is some sock yarn, Trekking XXL I have been wanting to try. In the middle we have a skein of Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk. The color has more of a green to it than you see in the pic. I have it earmarked for a little surprise for someone who reads this blog, so I will not divulge that secret yet. And on the right is a skein of Bamboo yarn I am trying out. I was thinking I'd like to make the Bubbly curtain from Mason-Dixon. Im going to have to tweak it a little, first to fit the dimensions of my cubie-window at work, and second to see if the pattern works with the yarn. I am hoping so, because I really like the color.

Before I can start on any of those I have to finish the scarf for the shop. Tonight, hopefully so it can be up for the Grand Opening. I'm itching to take that Bamboo out for a spin! Must. Be. Disciplined.

A Sock in the Grass

2006-09-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

So after taking 50 gazillion photos of my sock-in-progress, I finally got a decent shot. And I mean that in a relative way. Why is the grass clearer than the sock? I am not kidding, I must have taken 50 pictures of the thing and this is the best one! Pathetic, really. It appears that about 50% of my photo-taking lameness could be blamed on a dirty lens. That is what I get for borrowing a camera from an 11 year-old. The other factor is lighting. It looks a lot better from outside.

This is a run-of-the-mill toe-up sock. I used the figure 8 cast-on and I tried out a stockinette stitch short-wrap heel (I usually do garter). Now I just need to decide on the stitch for the cuff. I hope I won't be so boring as to assign it a 2x2 ribbing! Oh yeah, and the yarn is Artyarns Ultramerino4 in "Peach."

Slowly But Surely

2006-09-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but my many attempts to upload this photo from Blogger have not worked. It looks as if it is loading....then all that comes up is a blank. I finally went to Picasa and hit the button that says "Blog This!" Apparently, it works. This blurry picture is a picture of the scarf from Mason-Dixon Knitting that I am making for Knit and Pearl, our newest Santa Barbara knit shop. (Note to self: get a better camera and learn how to use it.) Anyway, the scarf is made from Colinette Giotto and Douceur et Soir. I am having a hard time finishing it since I just made one for Rosie for her birthday. I better just bite the bullet and finish it though. The store is set to open THIS WEEK! Hooray! Hallelujah!

On other knitting news, I decided to start a new sock, mindless knitting to take with me since I had the perfect opportunity to knit-in-public today. I had to attend a 3-1/2 hour class today. I got a good start on it and am in the process of turning the heel.

So, this class. Apparently, if you are getting divorced (or legally separated as in my case), the Court mandates that you take and pay ($50) for a class that wrenches your heart out called Children in the Middle. There were a lot of PO'd people, mad that the government would force them to take a class concerning a topic they feel perfectly capable of handling themselves. And they were pretty vocal about it. I don't know. I kept thinking about all neglected kids out there and the parents who totally aren't thinking about their kids or are using the kids as a way to get back at their former spouse. It's hard not to do, when you're angry in the moment, even when you know it's wrong.

Even though I had a hard time putting aside a whole afternoon for something like that PLUS shovel out hard-earned money to do it, in the end I didn't see it as an afternoon wasted. Except for the part about listening to a few self-righteous, arrogant self-absorbed blow-hards who have to keep raising their hands to let everyone know that THEY have it all together and 'besides, the kids are going to be okay because *everyone* these days is getting a divorce anyway.' I say if *everyone* had to get their left toe cut off it wouldn't make it any less painful. Families don't come with serrated fold-and-tear edges. No, they just kind of get ripped apart. There's not much of a way around the pain. And if I can get something out of it that can help ease my children's suffering, or if someone else hears something and it helps them help their kids, well then it's worth it.

K-Soaps Rule!

2006-09-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the pics I was trying to post last night. It is a picture of the stars of Winter Sonata, the K-soap I am currently watching. I know, the picture looks corny and contrived, but I'm hooked. With all the plot twists and turns, it is enough to draw you in and keep you watching. My sister-in-law ended up watching the whole series back-to-back for 2 days straight!

Still can't seem to get my knitting posted -- Maybe if I try it on a separate entry it will work.

Believe Me, I Tried To Get You A Picture!

2006-09-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I was so pleased to come home from work and see a post from Anonymous who writes: I know your busy but your interfering with my addiction to your posts! What's going on? I like your blog better than Korean Soaps. guess who? So I wrote this great reply and I got all set to publish it and for some dad-blasted reason hit the "back" button instead of the "publish" button and lost the whole thing. I was so frustrated and depressed that I just went to bed.

Anyway, I have only this to say about the comment: K-Soaps rock! I have received the ultimate compliment! If you've never seen them, you really must. They are very similar to Lays Potato chips: You can't watch just one. And they have absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. If K-Soaps were food, they'd be full of transfats. Korean Soap Operas are mini-series that have aired on Korean television and there seem to be a neverending stream of them. Many of them are tear-jerkers and the stories just suck you in. I like the fact that they are G or PG-rated, (much more so than the stuff you see on American TV) and they are fluffy, not stuffy. I'd say if you are a fan of the movie The Notebook, you'd probably be a good candidate for the K-soaps. If you hated The Notebook and thought it was really corny, you might want to steer clear. And if you want to see them, let me know and I'll hook you up with my Dad. He has the biggest library of K-Soaps known to mankind, I think. Anyway, I'm just kidding about that. Not about the size of the K-soap library, but that he would lend them out to you. He guards those things like they were gold. And if you borrow them and don't return them he cuts you out of the lending loop. 'Nuff said.

OK, and of course I have to just take a guess at who wrote that sly, MISCHIEVOUS comment: Does your name start with an "R?" Are you crazy about penguins? Thought so! Yes, I'm putting my money on the post coming from my niece - a charming, funny, cute and extremely talented 15 year-old. She is an accomplished artist, musician, athlete AND gets straight As! I know by now if you haven't met her you're thinking I'm biased, but really I'm not! Oh yeah and get this: SHE KNITS! And despite all her talents, gifts and abilities, she is still completely down-to-earth and likable (although who knows if anyone will be able to live with her after reading this post!)

And you can't say I didn't try: I have been trying to upload a photo of my latest knitting progress for the past hour and Blogger won't let me. Well, actually, it did once, but I messed it up and accidentally erased it (only this time I had saved a draft!) but now it won't let me upload the pic again! I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow. And who knows, by then maybe I can get a picture that ISN'T blurry.

Anybody Know Who Mike Shinoda Is?

2006-09-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

I found this to be completely entertaining though not entirely accurate. I suppose with a 64% resemblance I shouldn't be expecting to see my long-lost twin. But I thought it was really funny to see that this guy Mike Shinoda (who is he anyway?) could pass for my brother (or perhaps more accurately, son). In the picture his eyes look almost exactly like mine! Look for yourself by covering up the bottom portion of our faces. See? And then when I entered another picture, Eva Longoria came up again! (Of course, so did this old Japanese guy, whom I didn't include in my top 5, even though the resemblance was registered at 60%, the same as Tia Carrere.) Anyway, I got a kick out it.

Landscape Progress

2006-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

This is a shawl that I've been working on for a few weeks now. It is the Landscape Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I like it because it is mindless, comfort knitting. It is made from a sportweight alpaca that I got from Village Spinning and Weaving in Solvang. Great stuff at a very reasonable price, something like $22.00 for 600 yards. This is my second shawl from the yarn. The first was a rectangular shawl in a color they call "Nutmeg," a grayish-brown. So my sister came out again to help with the cleaning. Since I have been working diligently the past few days, we really are making a dent in it. I actually took some pictures of my progress. It has really been a great motivator, imagining all the billions and billions of people who might possibly drop in and take a peek at the breadth and depth of my ability to accumulate crap. But I haven't quite had the guts to post it. Like Chauntel says, what if my mom happened to drop in on the blog?
Anyway, I am so thankful for the help of my sister. Since I am clueless when it comes to record keeping and how long to hold on to things, I just hold on to everything indefinitely. It was nice to have her there telling me what to save and what to toss. It feels so good to get rid of stuff, but you should see the bags of stuff that are piling up out at the trash bins! I feel like I've lost a gazillion pounds. I haven't had much time for knitting these days, but I think I will go now and work on that Mermaid Sock. I'll include a picture of it soon when there is a little more progress. I have had to frog it no less than three times since I first posted about it! First, I got about three inches on it, then made some sort of mistake that I just couldn't seem to correct. Then I frogged it, got to about the same place before I realized that I had read the pattern wrong and that there needed to be a bigger cuff at the top. So now I am just about at the three inch point again! It's a good thing I'm not sitting here thinking about how I'd have around 9 inches of sock by now if I didn't mess it up three times. Because that would make me really frustrated. Good thing. Yea.

2006-08-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

OK, how the heck do you arrange these pictures?!! I am so glad that I could get them on here, now I just wish I could move them around where I want them to be! That first picture is of Julie, the proprietress of Knit and Pearl, Santa Barbara's newest specialty yarn shop. She is a kind and sweet person with a sharp eye and good taste. She is busily working to get her shop up and running in September. Yesterday I spent the afternoon helping her arrange her Manos del Uruguay display, the one she is peeking out from behind. Here is another shot of it. Unfortunately, my son's rinky dink digital camera (the only digital camera in our household) just doesn't capture the depth and brilliance of those Manos colors. The next photo is of the "living room." This is the area of the store where we can sit and knit and chat and giggle and pore over projects and laugh and, well, you get the idea. The color of the walls is lighter than the picture and the color of the couch is darker. It is a lovely, light teal/sea green and it is suede! That last picture is of her really cool sock display. I didn't get the top of it, but she is going to hang sample socks from it! It is quite charming and sits in the middle of the store for all to come and admire. By the way, that's Claudia Handpaint Sock yarn in there. Yum! She has got all manner of wonderful yarns in there: Louet Sales, Debbie Bliss, Blue Sky, K1C2, SWTC, Colinette, plus the aforementioned Manos and Claudia Handpaints, to name a few. Our little knitting community is all abuzz. On the homefront, my sister Sharon and her daughter, Rosie came over from Venice (about two hours from here) and we spent the day CLEANING OUT MY KIDS ROOM!!! How's that for family support? We got rid of SO MUCH STUFF! It was so empowering. You guys have no idea. Y'see, I have a lot of good qualities - I am usually really nice and friendly. Love people. I'm a pretty good cook. I'm told that I am artistic, a good friend, loyal and in many other ways very competent. But folks, let me tell you: I am a horrible housekeeper. I mean bad. Messy, sloppy AND dirty. Sorry folks, it's true. When they passed out the "how to be a great, clean, organized person" handbook, I must have been out staring at clouds or something. I seriously missed the boat on that one. Didn't get the gene. I try, I really do. In fact, it seems like I am cleaning all the time. Or at least thinking about it. And I cover it up pretty good. Like, my clothes usually look OK (I think). And my kids are usually presentable. Just don't stare into my van as I am dropping the kids off at school. Or pop in at the house unannounced. So anyway you can imagine how thankful I was to my sister and her daughter for slogging up here to help me. Really thankful. I'm hoping to get through some more of the house tomorrow. It's gonna feel really good to get it done. I shoulda taken before and after pics. Perhaps that's on the agenda for tomorrow. Hmmm....It'll be a big risk, posting my slovenliness all over the internet...but it could help me be accountable. I'll have to take that into consideration. No promises, but I'm definitely pondering the idea.

2006-08-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I can't even go into how frustrated I am after losing one post to God Only Knows Where (I hit publish and then I never saw it again) and then mucking up the other one so badly - accidentally erasing pictures and not knowing how to get them back in there when I was in the middle of the post...blah, blah, blah. Arrgh! Frustrating as all get out. Ok, but I did want to give a shout out to my new friend Abby at BarefootKnits. Look Abby! I did it! OnlyI did this by accident, so I still need your help! Abby is going to show me how to do links. I told you I was a goober at this stuff. She came to our knit group tonight. So fun to meet bloggers in person! I'll try and post again tomorrow about all the witty, interesting, fascinating stuff about Julie's new knitting store that somehow got lost in cyberspace tonight. Who knows, maybe by tomorrow I'll have all new witty, interesting, fascinating stuff to share. In any case, I'll leave you with an overexposed picture of my sweet Fig.

2006-08-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am a
Petunia

What Flower
Are You?

"You are a tried and trusted friend who will be there for your friends when they need you. But you have a tendency to be nervous about doing things that go against the norm."

As much as I hate to admit it, that does pretty well describe me. Booor-ing! But dependable nevertheless. Actually, when I cut and pasted the quiz, it did not print the description, so I had to "retake" the quiz so I could cut and paste it in. Interestingly enough, I came up "hydrangea." So I answered the quiz several more times, changing the answers on the ones that I was "on the fence" about. Surprise, it kept coming up "hydrangea!" So I guess I'm a petunia with a good dose of "show off" hydrangea thrown in. I am a bit of a show off, but basically, pretty ho-hum.

Here is the hydrangea description: "You are just a little bit of a show off and like to prove just what you can do. Every time someone double-dog-dared you, you proved that not only could you do it, but you could do it with style."

Let me know what flower you are!

2006-08-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of a sock I started today. It is the Mermaid sock from Cool Socks, Warm Feet by Lucy Neatby. The yarn is some Koigu that I have had forever. The camera does not capture the colors well at all, but let's just say it is one of those purchases that I keep wondering what was I thinking the day I bought it. The colors are sort of murky pink and barf-like. Not very characteristic of Koigu. I was hoping that making them up into a pair of socks would make me like the colors better. We'll see how far I actually get.

I'm actually a very fickle knitter. Right now I have a 3/4 done shawl, two sweaters, a couple of socks, a scarf and an afghan that I am rotating around. I'll probably finish the shawl and the scarf first, then rotate in another project or two and keep the other things hanging in the wings indefinitely. Once in a while, I will go through and finish most of the unfinished items. But some of them just have to die a slow death in unfinished objects limboland.

Well, the kids start school tomorrow, so I better get some butts in bed. I get a one week reprieve before starting my new job. During that week, I plan to scour out my house. We'll see how far I get.

Then it is off to work -- full time on September 5. I'm praying that it won't be as bad as I think it's going to be. I'm thinking lots of Taco Bell and a REALLY messy house. I'm wondering if working full time won't afford me a housekeeper to clean-up. Wouldn't that be nice?

2006-08-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is Figgy. She is a feral cat that is quickly becoming tame. I am completely enslaved to her. I have never been a cat lover. In fact, I am allergic to cats. Over a year ago, a wild tabby showed up and had kittens out in the no-man's land corner of our yard. My son noticed the kittens romping around from the back window but they would run for cover every time we tried to come in for a closer look. We began to leave food out for them but we could still never get close. Long story short, we now have the two grown "kittens," Figgy, a girl tortoise shell and Tommy, her all-black brother. About a month ago I trapped them and had them taken in to be spayed. Since they are "wild," the vet "tipped their ears." This is some kind of universal sign that the feral cat has been spayed or neutered. Only in Figgy's case, they near lopped her whole ear off! Poor thing, it makes me sick every time I see what they did to my beautiful baby! I'll get a better shot of it next time so you can see the hack job the vet did on her. So anyway, now I am a reformed cat hater, and I am head-over heels for this girl. For the past year, she has been hanging around our house and I would always talk to her and she would always seem to be listening. But no one could get close to her. In the early spring, she had kittens and it seemed that the pregnancy made her more friendly -- perhaps a survival instinct? In any case, I ended up giving her kittens up for adoption and after her milk dried up, she became "wild" again and I was not able to get near her. Then, after I left and came back from vacation, she was her old self again and has been ever since, even through the spaying. Every day she gets friendlier and friendlier. She jumps up on to the couch, walks on my lap and lets me scratch her tummy. I hope to be able to pick her up soon.

2006-08-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it, I am a total goober when it comes to this blog. I have no idea what I am doing and the other day enlisted my 11 year old son to help me get my picture up in that right hand corner. He did a little better than me, but we couldn't figure out why we couldn't get it to work. Turns out, it was working, it just takes a while to work. So I get busy with other things and sign on a day later and - hello! There are three, count 'em, three pictures of me staring back at me as "posts." Yes, hello, that's moi, the three goobers staring back at you from cyberspace! Well, let's hope I was successful in deleting those three posts. That way, you only have to read about my lameness and not have to look at it. My mom and dad are in town. They own the totally overpriced shoebox that I live in and call home. The place has really become run down and we are looking at sprucing the place up and bit and hopefully, expanding as well. We interviewed an architect and a contractor and things are looking promising. Now I just have to plow through all the accumulated junk which has grown at an alarming rate these past ten years. I was a packrat before I had kids, but having kids has just seemed to exponentialize the whole pile-up/ acquisition thing. It is time to bulldoze through the clutter and just get rid of a lot of junk.

Knit a Life

Sandi

Things I Would Have Blogged About

False Idol Exposed

Surreptitious Blogger

Crash

Summoned

I Survived Graduation

There's A New Sheriff In Town

Fun in the Sun

Friday Fun

100 Things About Me

Ah! The Jacarandas Are In Bloom Agayne!

7 Random Facts

Happy Birthday, Emiko!

Boo Hoo!

Cool Summer Contest!

Green, green, green

Don't Let the Comments Go Away

Late Night Knitting and More Socks

An FO!

Back in Bid'ness

The Dog Ate My Homework

Cruised Out

5 Down, 30 To Go

which is which?

This Is Definitely More Than Detoxing

Still Standing

Barbara Walker Rocks

Adventures in FOs and UFOs

Shameless Copy Cat

Sea Sock Not Seasick

Bear With Me (Continued)

Please Bear With Me

Introducing Hurley

Hedgehog: Before and After

Shrunken Llama

Progress Photo: Llama Butt

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Knitting...

Knitting Frenzy

I'm Here, I Really Am

Hat Mania

More Hats

I Got Hat Pics

Hat Crazy

Boba, Anyone?

Ikealand

WINNAH! WINNAH! WINNAH!

A Telegram From a Stranded Blogger

Shhhh!

Keep Those Cards And Letters Coming!

Would You Leave a Comment If I Sent You a Prize?

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10 Minutes Before Sunday

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Anyone Remember Certs?

I Promised I'd Be Back By Thursday, Didn't I?

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Boo Hoo!

I Am Not Worthy

Is It Just Me?

I've Missed You

Simple Pleasures Are The Best...

Knitting Knews

RIP, Yoda

"Can You Tell Me Where The Party Is?"

It's Costume Time!

Hey Nineteen (or is it Eighteen?)

The People of the Town Are Strange, But They're Proud of Where They Came*

Tam High Class of '76, Here I Come!

I Love It When You Read My Blog

New! Toy! (Ooooh!)*

I Totally Know My Pictures Suck

Does Being A Lifer Mean I Get To Be Jennifer Aniston?

I'm a Lifer!

Talent: 41%Lifer: 49%Mandarin: 44%

Bringin' On The Bubbly

I'be Bin Sick Wid Da Code

Talent: 41%
Lifer: 49%
Mandarin: 44%