sound stitching

In no particular order...

2009-06-22T12:33:00.005-04:00

Dear Ann Budd...

2009-01-21T11:58:00.002-05:00

I take back most of what I said about you.

I still haven't liked anything I've made from your patterns and your so-called "Handy" pattern book is still not handy, I maintain.

But...

Your "Handy Book of Sweater Patterns" is all I imagined it would be and more. There were actual yardage guidelines in there, and plenty of direction regarding neckline variations. I'm still disappointed by the first book, but maybe I was expecting too much since it took an entire second book (large too) to give me the info I was looking for.

So, my faith in you is restored. I know you were worried.

Dear People I Hire...

2009-01-15T15:34:00.001-05:00

Stop sucking. Really. I don't enjoy firing and I really don't like looking for new employees when the ones I have should, by all accounts, be competent.

I find it hard to believe that you just now found out your performance schedules. For the record, two of them have been posted since this time last year and the other would have been listed in the group's contract you signed in August.

And if you can't keep track of your rehearsal schedule, maybe it's time to pare it down a little. That's not admitting defeat, it's being smart. You are no good to ANYONE if you can't make it to your commitments on time and prepared.

So now it has come time for a "Come to Jesus" talk, as my mother likes to call them. You are an adult. Your decisions should be your own and you should be old enough that your decisions should be sound ones. You will decide what is important to you and you will realize your limitations and you will commit yourself where it is most prudent.

Or I will do it for you.

No love, once your friend but now your boss with a rapidly failing temper and one hand on the 'fire' button,

MsMerino

Dear Ann Budd...

2009-01-12T01:22:00.005-05:00

Oh, the ways you have failed me. It turns out your "Handy Book of Patterns" is not as handy as one might assume.

I am planning a sweater by an awesome designer, but plan to make it long-sleeved as it will probably get significantly more wear that way. The pattern includes directions for the long sleeved version, but only includes yarn requirements for the short-sleeved version. Fair enough. But since the yarn I'd be buying is only sold in cones, I'd really like to know what to expect. It's no fun having one long sleeve and one capped sleeve. Looks damn awkward, I'd imagine.

So I mosey over to my pile of knitting stuff where your book happens to be at the moment, thinking that since your book is so handy that I would be able to open it to the part about sweaters, choose the same gauge and size, and magically have a better idea of the yardage I'd need. Now, wouldn't that be handy? Indeed, it would.

BUT NOOOOOO.

All this handy book says is that you will need anywhere from 550-3000 yards depending on size and gauge. Holy hell, but that is so far from handy it's not even funny. Also, I've yet to make anything from this book that I actually like.

Handy my ass.

Ms. Merino's Guide to Midwest Travel

2008-12-23T23:00:00.002-05:00

Do...

Check the weather. It's no fun being surprised by weather.
Check your car. It's no fun being surprised by your car.
Check the time. It's no fun being surprised by the time.
Check your itinerary. It's no fun being surprised by your itinerary.

Don't...

Be surprised by the weather. Those meteorologists went to school to know what they're talking about. So the odds of what they predict is about 50-50. So don't be surprised when what they say comes true. Or doesn't, for that matter.
Be surprised by your car. Check the oil so the engine doesn't get mad. Check the windshield fluid levels so you can see when everything goes to hell. Also recommended is a sense of reality when gathering everything to take with you on your trip. Your trunk will never successfully channel Mary Poppin's bottomless carpet bag. Shed a few tears and then move on.
Be surprised by the time. Your watch and all your clocks are in fact NOT plotting against you when you look at them only a "few minutes" after you looked last time only to find that your "few minutes" was actually a "few hours". There are most likely clocks that are plotting the downfall of humanity but they are, mostly likely, not your clocks.
Be surprised by your itinerary. Or rather, the complete disintegration of your itinerary. Trying to schedule last minute errands, work, travel, and a holiday get-together looks great on paper. Not so much in real life.

So, how do I know to make all these wonderful tips? Oh, personal and recent experience.

How things went so wrong:

The weather. It sucks. Rainy and then freezing and then raining again and then more of the freezing.
The car. It sucks. Or rather, I suck for keeping so much crap in it. This is nothing new, but always surprises me when I go to pack.
The time. It sucks. I will never understand how walking out to the car takes over 8 minutes. To any physicists reading looking for warps in the time-space continuum, I have found one.
The itinerary. It sucks. Or at least mine did today. It started so well. I got to Tammany's and made it to work a minute early (woah!). And that's when it started to go downhill. Because of the weather, my part-timer couldn't get to work on time. Because of the weather, I had to spend 20 minutes scraping 1/8" of ice off my car. Because of the weather, it took four and a half hours to drive 30 miles.

That's the short version. So I'm vacationing in lovely Anderson, Indiana in the middle of an ice and snow and rain storm. I'm sooo excited. Not really. The roads were terrible and they only salted them after things had frozen. They were so bad that I was slipping and sliding after inching forward a few feet at a time. Go Indiana. So tomorrow the plan is to finish the drive home. Hopefully not at the same pace. Because I'd like to get to Detroit sometime before the new year. And then back to Indy of course where the kitties are fuzzy and hungry.

One more thing from yesterday.

2008-12-20T11:36:00.002-05:00

One more thing that I forgot.

Disgust: Whoever declared that 10 pounds equals one dress size (ie lose ten, go down a size) is an freaking idiot. Should I ever come across the guilty party (who I'm sure is a man, because no woman would ever declare something so asinine and obviously untrue) I shall kick him in his ouchie parts. So yeah. Go me. Only took me 30 pounds to lose a size. This man should cower in fear and ne'er show his face.

Things from today.

2008-12-19T22:22:00.004-05:00

Confusion: Canadian geese. I'm not confused by their existence (and people say God doesn't have a twisted sense of humor) but more by the fact that I saw a flock of them today. About 20 of them. Flying in V formation. But I saw them flying at 9 at night. And I saw them flying north. So it seems like they're confused too.
Disappointment: Starbucks Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate. The Signature part? Blech. We are, all of us, a result of our upbringings. Thus, I expect my hot chocolate to taste like sugar and milk chocolate and even more sugar. I can appreciate the idea of going all gourmet with designer drinks. But dont't. mess. with. my. hot chocolate. Also, the Salted Caramel? Not so much with the caramel because there was none to be found actually in the hot chocolate--lots of disappointment here! And the salt was found sprinkled on top of the caramel on top of the whipped cream on top of the hot chocolate. There's nothing like sipping your hot chocolate and crunching on a big piece of salt.
Shocked: Put the icicle lights up at work today and tried to finagle a way to get an extension cord from the outside to the inside without getting the cord stuck in the door. Instead, managed to use the metal door to slice completely through the extension cord WHILE IT WAS PLUGGED IN AND ON. Note to self: do not repeat. Luckily, I wasn't touching the door, no one was hurt, etc. But the loud pop and big flare and burning smell were a bit of a surprise.
Torn: I went with Tammany to a yarn store today for a felting adventure (more on that below) and was hoping to find a color card for Cascade 220 so I could order some yarn for the Amelia cardi. The first time I'd asked for one the ladies working there had no idea if the store even owned one. Very helpful. There was one today but...there were only a few dozen colors. For a yarn line that has probably closer to a hundred. So not all that helpful. So the torn part is this: I know of a store that has a complete color card for the solids and heathers of 220. But it's not the store where I would be buying the yarn. Shady or not shady?
Fulfilled: Or full-felted if you want to be cheesy about it. The felting party was a complete, nerve-wracking success. Two pairs of Fiber Trends felted clogs knitted and now two pairs felted. There was some serious anxiety on my part because 1) if there was disaster, I wouldn't have enough time to make more in time for Giftmas and b) if there was a disaster, I'd have to buy more yarn. Normally I'm all for buying yarn but gift yarn is different and yarn money is kind of limited.

What Tiny Tim Never Understood.

2008-12-19T11:13:00.003-05:00

And that is why the bebbeh Jeebus cries and I call it giftmas.

Now here's hoping I get some really good stuff. Teehee.

What does it say about me?

2008-12-18T18:50:00.003-05:00

That when I see the Yahoo logo...

...and the skater girl goes skating and jumping and spinning across the pond...

...I will keep rolling over it to see what happens and end up kind of disappointed that she doesn't end up falling through a hole in the ice? Hmm.

Holiday guilt.

2008-12-18T14:32:00.003-05:00

If there is one thing that is universal, it's guilt. Even more universal (if that's possible and for now let's assume it is) is holiday guilt. This is what they should put in christmas stories that you hear by the fireside and in winter jingles that are supposed to perk you up but just end up being depressing when you hear them in November.

Today's guilty dilemma: the donating of the blood. I will always be thankful to my mother for dragging me along as a kid with her when, like the decent person she is, she donated her maximum four times a year. It always surprises me that donating blood is still so sweepingly unpopular. I remember in high school that it was the cool thing to do because you got an awesome sticker that had magical powers to make people be nice to you because you gave. I don't know if it's the fact that you have to take a measly 30 minutes out of a busy schedule to go and give someone a pint of life or if it's something completely different. But I do think that our lives (and society in general) is all about convenience (fast food, anyone?) and donating is often seen as too much of an inconvenience.

Well. Imagine being the one injured and needing a transfusion. Those things are just so inconvenient too.

Anyhoo, my holiday guilt right now is split. See, I have this big list of knitted things to finish before the big G (Giftmas, or Christmas for all you still fooled into thinking all this commercial crap is done in the name of Jeebus). And to get all of it done, I'm going to need my left arm.

And therein lies the conflict. If they take blood out of my left arm (because apparently that's the only one that works) I will fall even further behind. Which is not good.

But...I can always knit after the holidays (though dammit this was going to be the year I got stuff done) but if someone needs blood it's not like they can wait, ya know? So yes. I am going. I only considered postponing for about 3 seconds. But I still feel the guilt that I was willing, even for 3 seconds, to put fiber (some lovely fiber at that) above someone's bleeding ulcer/severed arm/ruptured spleen.

So when my family is making fun of me (don't you just love family...*grumblegrumble*) remind me to show them my HUGE AND AMAZINGLY UGLY BRUISE that I got while saving someone's life.

PS--Oh, and for today's knitting content...

Forgive the crappy Photo Booth picture but that's the back of the Misbehavin' vest. ALMOST FREAKING DONE. That finishing of objects thing I mentioned? It might happen yet. The blanket is on row 109 of 121 and if I don't make it all the way through the chart I won't be disappointed at all. It shall be all blocked and pretty this Saturday (thanks to T for the use of her tub and carpet woot). I still hate gloves with a passion previously unknown to man and beast, but they shall be done too. Also, clogs will be officially done tomorrow! when T and I going a-felting. Woot!

Totally reasonable? Or...

2008-12-16T11:29:00.003-05:00

Overly optimistic and foolishly suicidal? You decide.

There are 9 days left until Giftmas. 9. That's it. And while I am closer this year than any before to actually finishing everything on my list, that little voice of reason in my head is screaming hysterically, "What the hell were you thinking??? You'll never get everything done!!! Abort! Abort! Abort! Assume the fetal position and begin with the desperate tears!"

Well. That voice is mighty persuasive, let me tell you. But my will (otherwise know as a ridiculous sense of determination) is strong and I shall persevere.

The List (with most recent (but not really all that recent) pictures):

Fibertrends Felted Clogs for Cousin 2 -- DONE!

Fibertrends Felted Clogs for Cousin 3 -- DONE!

Hannah Hat for Cousin 3 -- DONE!

Broadstreet-style Mitten/glove things for Cousin 1 -- not so done and make me feel stabbity. Note to self: quit it with the gloves. You don't like them, so don't think that this time will be different.

[no picture...imagine a half-done lonely single glove in navy blue yarn]

Swirling Gauntlets for Cousin 2 -- not so done but rather fun

Hemlock Ring Blanket for the grandparents -- not so done but getting there.....sloooowwly. I've figured out if I do two rows a day between now and Giftmas I can get it done. Just realized that I didn't factor in the bind off. *twitch*

Misbehavin' Vest for mom -- not so done and the pattern writer makes me feel stabbity. You cannot write "as the spirit moves you" on a pattern and not expect me to take your name in vain.

Dr. G's Memory Vest for pops -- not so done and in fact barely started. I've accepted that there is no way that I can get it done in time, especially with everything else. But as the smaller stuff gets done, I can at least get started.

Brigid socks for aunt 1 and 2 -- not so done....and these are from last Giftmas. Yes. I suck. I know and I've moved on from this.

And there are a couple of pairs of socks for the grandparents which were what they asked for with their Giftmas coupon from last year. Yeah, not in a rush on either of these. Oh well.

On the non-fiber front, I was really hoping to have a new job at the beginning of the year. There is a certain degree of suck and awesome with the new job but overall it would have been a good move. But I haven't heard from them since November when they said they were going to be hiring over the next 7 months. Don't they know I have a schedule of my own and they must follow it? Economy being what it is, it'd be a great opportunity to save money and work a somewhat more life-fulfilling job. But I am grateful that I still have my job and am not unemployed and filing bankruptcy and living on the street and can still afford the essentials (read: lovely yarn).

Back to the fiber. It calls to me. Did I mention that it tells me shameless lies? It does.

From the Detroit Free Press...

2008-11-04T23:35:00.001-05:00

Pardonnez-moi???

2008-10-27T22:58:00.004-04:00

Anyone else sooo not ready for this???

"We've only just begun..."

2008-07-01T21:45:00.003-04:00

Seriously. Summer started yesterday, pretty much.

Right now it's 9:45 p.m. And it's almost completely dark outside.

What the freaking fuck.

It's like summer's already over. Or something.

Okay I just depressed myself a lot. On to happier things.

Come on, baby, light my fire...

2008-06-02T00:05:00.003-04:00

I'm continuing the random titling from yesterday. Go me.

Today was Stitch & Pitch downtown at the Indy Indians game.

There was no sunburning to speak of. So, even though they lost to the Mud Hens, I'm counting today as a win.

There was much knitting. I had the remains of the May Flowers yarn from ThankEwe that I used for my mom's mommy's day socks (which I totally forgot to photograph before gifting...whoops). Tam was working on her second Augustus Gloop sock, to which I admit I'm kind of partial. There was someone right behind us who was learning to knit and making some great progress, too. (Hooray! ¡Arriba la Knitting Revolución!) We got some free stuff courtesy of Stitches & Scones. Okay, it was novelty yarn. But my sense of thrift (or what some might term an obsessive attraction to all things free or discounted) still has an appreciation for it.

Hmm what else to mention...perhaps...oh...just maybe...THE RED WINGS GAME 4 WIN?!?!?!?

WOOOOOO.

Seriously. I can't wait for Game 5 (Monday at 8 on NBC). Favorite and most nerve racking part of the game? The 1min. and 28sec. that the Wings were down by 2 men.

That's right. A freaking 5 on 3.

Wings only allowed 1 shot (with no score) during that power play and almost had a goal of their own. I bow down to their hockey greatness.

Also, before I go to bed so that I can get up and go to work (boo work and its internet-less-ness), I found the Quit Now Challenge. Pretty much you pledge to give up an addiction of your choice (or more than 1 if you're brave) for one month. And since it's June that's only 30 days. Well, 29 for me because I'm starting a day late.

Anyhoo, I'm going to give up/change behavior regarding the following. Let's see how long I last. Woot.

(ETA 7/1: This part deleted because I did, well, none of what I said I was going to and I don't want to shame myself. That is all.)

That's all I've got for now. I reserve the right to alter goals as I see fit, so there.

Time for bed. Boo work. Here's hoping we have power (okay, I might be kind of wishing we're still without power) and internet. Dear god or god-like figure, please give me back the interwebs...the compulsive internetting mentioned above is only regarding internetting spent at home. Work doesn't count, says I.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel...

2008-05-31T17:36:00.007-04:00

from top to bottom:

succulents--blue carpet sedum, cascade sedum, jelly bean sedum, and two hens & chicks

succulents chilling in the window

near--gerbera daisy in third bloom (woot!), far--begonias, way far--aloe

dwarf hidcote english lavender...from seeds! i grew those!

big growing thing--orange mint, wee barely growing thing--genovese basil

Yay plants I haven't yet killed! The succulents and the orange mint--which smells absolutely AMAZING...I can even smell it in the other room--are recent purchases from Habig (local garden mecca store). Also purchased two ferns--autumn and dwarf holly--that have joined my lemon button fern in my shower window.

What's left of it, that is.

This one's not my fault. At all. A lovely little caterpillar decided to have half of my fern for lunch. And then decided he liked it so much that he made his cocoon there.

Bastard.

So. The little bugger took a flight out the window and my fern is taking it all in stride by trying to seed my ENTIRE SHOWER. Really. Little black seeds all over the window sill and tub.

Lovely.

Oh well.

That's the plant report until something either very good or very bad happens. I'm planning to order a bunch of seeds from Seeds of Change. I'm not really set up to grow veggies so I'm thinking just herbs. Though I do want to try some lettuces and an upside-down tomato plant.

Oh, and because someone complained about the content of this blog...or lackthereof...

yarn: hand-dyed by ThankEwe in Scuba Dive

needles: 4 US 1, 2.25mm

These are the completed hockey socks...that I started in March. Granted, I finished them in April. But yes, I suck so I'm only just now posting them. Eh.

ETA: Oh and if you're wondering...there is no cleverness involved with the titling of this post. That's just all I could think of.

Don't bugs talk to each other?

2008-05-27T00:00:00.004-04:00

By now you'd think they'd have spread the word that bugs that dare to venture into my domain don't last very long. That they'd at least chat each other up.

Ant: "Yo Bob, haven't seen Chuck in a while. You heard from him recently?"

Earwig: "No, Janice, haven't seen him since he went into that crazy bitch's apartment. You know, the one that plays one hell of a squeaky clarinet. Come to think of it, Frank went in there last week and I haven't been able to find him either."

Ant: "Strange. Think it's a coincidence?"

Just now, I found a big sucker that looked like this in my kitchen.

How dare it.

Needless to say, it be dead. And I may have loudly proclaimed "Eww!" upon first seeing it but at least I did not squeal and scream like a girl.

It's the small victories in life, after all.

I heart the Harlot.

2008-04-29T23:11:00.010-04:00

Like you didn't already know that, right? Today/tonight was sooper terrific. I'm pretty sure it'll take me days, nay, weeks (okay I might be exaggerating) to process and recover from tonight's festivities but, man, was.it.worth.it. A quick run-down of the evening.

3:30ish

Picked up Tammany and made our way to the Barnes & Noble in Carmel.

3:45ish

Got to B&N, played with the basket o' buttons, selected one (green, woo!), and purchased the four books by the great (we're not worthy) Stephanie Pearl-McPhee that I didn't own. I'm still not sure if I got scammed by the cashier dude (talked me into buying the B&N membership card...10% off stuff or something).

4:00ish (there was a lot of -ish going on)

Found our seats, and most will never believe that we were not the first people there...for a reading by a knitting humorist. Seriously.

^first pic of the night...Tammany begins to question my mental health, I think.

4:45ish

Tam and I get in line for book signing tickets. Again, not the first to arrive.

5:00ish

Back in our seats. The countdown begins anew.

^These are the lovely knitters who were "lucky" enough to sit near us. Ha. They were indeed lovely people who put up with my strange computer photo-taking. Love you guys, seriously.

6:00ish

Still awaiting the arrival of the Harlot. Lots more people have arrived. See?

^more of the wonderfully patient and obliging knitters

6:30ish

The drawing-of-the-names for door-prizes donated by Stitches & Scones. And.....I won one of them! Woo! Two balls of Panda Wool in Basil Curry (#443), a ruler, a Circular Solution port-a-pocket bag, and a coupon for 15% off a purchase at SnS. Woot!

^Ooh! Lookit! 15% off! Oh, the damage I could do...

^Hmm, what shall I make of this (free!) sock yarn?

^Bet you didn't know a bag could double as a hat like that. Ha.

6:45ish

Final pictures taken of the audience. I amused some and annoyed others, I imagine. But, I enjoyed myself, ha!

7:00ish

Indiana freaks Stephanie out as we (finally) execute a group wave (as seen at baseball games) in her honor. Stand-up routine follows. Huh.Larious. Seriously funny and clever lady.

9:00ish

Got to meet Stephanie, had wonderful conversation regarding Post-its, had all my new books signed, she worked my compy (same as hers) and got some pictures with and without the sock.

2008-04-25T10:31:00.001-04:00

cross your fingers...i know i've got mine crossed. can't say why just yet...but cross 'em just in case. now excuse me while i go over there ==> to hide and mumble to myself in the corner. thanks.

Meet Liam.

2008-04-21T11:25:00.001-04:00

Liam Wolfgang Sebastian Plank. Really. What were they thinking?! Anywho....Meet Liam.

The requisite cute, happy baby picture.

You can't understand just how much this picture brands the kid as a Moreno. The ears, the nose (oh, the nose), and the general look of suspicion.

Yep. He's a Moreno.

And the last....which I must admit is my favorite.

Hello, angry baby full of bitterness! Welcome to la familia! You'll never be able to escape!

No, seriously...

2008-04-02T05:24:00.002-04:00

...Why am I still awake at FIVE FREAKING THIRTY IN THE MORNING. Can someone explain, pretty please? I've been trying to sleep for almost two and a half hours without success. Seriously, what up with that. Lame. Boo.

Fin.

TasteBook=Genius

2008-03-06T10:17:00.002-05:00

I am so beyond thrilled to have found this thing called TasteBook.

[insert imaginary screen shot here because blogger fails at life]

It's such a great idea. It is an online, build-your-own, fully customizable cookbook. You can choose the cover, the title that you put on the book, all of the recipes inside...it's awesome. It's $34.95 for the spring-apart binder (so that you can add and remove recipes) and 100 printed recipes.

Seriously. (!!!)

Recipe sources include epicurious and several popular foodie blogs (like SimplyRecipes, where I found this). You can also make custom print outs that fit in the binder of your own recipes with your own pictures and order additional recipes after purchase. Or, if you create one as a gift, you can add, say, 30 recipes and give the other 70 to the giftee to choose for themselves.

I am truly impressed with this thing...and I have a feeling that this will become the standard wedding gift. Freaking awesome, this. Folks at epicurious, I bow down to you and your genius.

A Puckin' Great Weekend.

2008-03-03T22:04:00.008-05:00

Yes, I had a Pucking Great Weekend, well-deserving of capitalization. My mom came down to visit for the weekend because my cousin was in town playing in a hockey tournament.

Three games of hockey in 36 hours.

It. Was. AWESOME.

I had forgotten just how much I love watching hockey. The sounds of the skates cutting the ice, seeing fully grown muscular men flying after each other, even the semi-funky smells of a building-sized refrigerator. Not to mention the throw-down-the-gloves fights. Oh, yes. Especially those. Turns out I'm quite the bloodthirsty fan. Heh.

But like any good knitter--especially one practically from Canada, as Michigan is more Canadian than most will admit--I did take some yarn and sticks with me. I started a toe-up, short-rowed, plain stockinette sock using some yarn I bought from ThankEwe on Etsy in Scuba Dive. Dood, I am completely in love with this stuff. Super soft, wicked colors. And the good news is that I have three more skeins from her in different colors. Yessss.

top: photo of Scuba Dive yarn from ThankEwe's etsy listing

middle and bottom: Scuba Dive at home after the games, in the recliner

I made it all the way to the heel in three games. My mom was making fun of me (nothing new, that) because at the end of the third game, which went into sudden death overtime, I was knitting faster and faster. And then they won the game--and hence the tournament--and all was good with the world. I was kind of disappointed for a while because my cousin is a senior and had been playing Indiana University in hockey for four years and I just found that out. Seriously, I could have gone to his games! B-ton is pretty much right next door. Lame. Non-lame, though, is that he's taking the family college plan and sticking around for a fifth year. Hoorah, now that I know he'll be in town I can go to the games! I'm ridiculously excited about that, I think. And he'll also be in town over the summer with the hockey camp that he works with. But for now, his team is heading to Florida to play for the National Championship or something, and they're hoping for a three-peat. Woo, go DU! Woo, hockey! Woo, sock!

Edited to fix an overabundance of verbs. My bad.

Chivalry is dead.

2008-02-12T22:41:00.002-05:00

Today wasn't all that remarkable, as far as days go. That is, until I tried to leave work.

I turn off the shop lights, shut down the computer, set the alarm, lock the door, ponder the fun I will have scraping a quarter inch of ice off my windshield, walk to my parallel-parked car...and just stare at it for a while.

Well, crap.

The lovely and thoughtful motorist driving the car in front of mine felt the overwhelming need to park their car a mere SIX AND ONE HALF INCHES FROM MINE. (Yes, I measured.) This might not have been a problem had the lovely and thoughtful motorist driving the car behind mine not done the same.

I'll say it again. Crap.

So I did the logical thing and sifted through my options.

Wait in the store for one or both of those fine people to show up and kindly move their vehicle that I might move mine. Nope, too much like a doormat. I'd never forgive myself.
Walk home. Nope, doable but hell...it's cold.
Go check at every restaurant in a two block radius for the owner and politely request that they attend to their car. Nope, not my job, and I most assuredly would not have been polite. And it's cold, remember?
Use my little Saturn to, ehrm, "redesign" the cars' bumpers to the point that I have enough room to maneuver. Nope, while this would be oh-so-satisfying...I doubt I'd have the balls to go through with it. Plus, in all likelihood, I'd only end up redesigning my own wee plastic car.
Go back in the warm store, call the police, let them tow the car, and then go home. Yep, this is what I went with.

So, an hour after I tried to get in my car and leave, a cop shows up. Sirens blaring and lights flashing and everything. So the cop went and did cop things, including #3 from above. She managed to find the Schmuck that had the bad judgement to park his car illegally behind mine. (Did I mention he was parked illegally? Yep, he was.) So they come back as I'm scraping my car, which was about as much fun as I figured it would be (read: no fun at all), and it turns out that Schmuck is a Horizon league referee in town to ref the Butler Basketball game, I assume. And the following conversation unfolded as I scraped my car:

Schmuck: "Hey, that your car? Young lady, that your car?"

Me: *unbelieving stare at the ridiculous amount of belligerence in his tone*

Schmuck: "What's your problem?! There's plenty of room. A little effort next time, huh? I'm parked legally. I don't know what your problem is. How much room do you need?"

Me: "Well, enough that I can actually move the car without getting your silver paint all over my bumper. Two feet of space would be great."

(Did I mention he drives a silver Ford Escape? Yep. So anytime you see a silver Ford Escape in the midwest, feel free to key it for me.)

Schmuck: "You got two feet. There's a foot there *gestures to the front of my car* and a foot there. *gestures to the rear* That's two feet."

Me, after some more staring: "Actually, it's only 6 1/2 inches. I measured. Pft. Is that the kind of judgement you use when you ref games? No wonder you're still stuck in the Horizon league."

Schmuck, now very red in the face: "Fine, let's go. Move your car."

Me, not so much staring anymore as coming up with creative new uses for the extendo-windshield scraperbrush in my pissed off little hands: "Uhm, no. I still have to close my shop and finish scraping my car."

Schmuck: "Are you kidding? You had an hour to do that."

Me, beyond caring, totally losing it, and gesturing wildly with the aforementioned scraper: "Dude, you are the one who blocked me in, wasting an hour of my life. Yaknowhat? You're on my time, now. Stop complaining."

Schmuck, not taking this well: *manly groan of frustration and contempt followed by him getting into his car, slamming the door and moving it back about 8 inches, turning it off and getting out in a very pissed off fashion*

Copper, who until this point had just been watching and being police-like: "Sir, you're now parked illegally. Please move your vehicle."

I cannot even begin to express how much I laughed when the po-po made the guy move his car AGAIN...and to the parking lot not 150 feet away.

So, I finished scraping my car, closed up shop (again), and finally got home over an hour after closing time.

Where I promptly opened a bottle of shiraz and got my drink on. Two-buck Chuck saves the day.

Fin.

Bestest Valentine's Day Evar!

2008-02-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize it is not yet February 14th...what's your point. I heard about the Need a Little Knitting Romance Swap thing on the Lime&Violet message boards and thought to myself, "Hey why not?" So today...I got my package from my secret swap partner. And she is fabulous!!!!

You can check out the rest of the pictures I took on my flickr (because blogger is waaay too slow and I am waaay too impatient and I'm sure that's no surprise).

This was a great surprise at the end of a less-than-inspirational day and my gifting partner Jenna (does that makes sense?) is so far beyond amazing it's unreal. So, serious thanks go to her for this awesome swap!

ETA: I will shamelessly admit that I have tried out both of the lip balmies and the notepad is already on my fridge. I will show some kind of restraint, though, and save the chocolate for Vday. Hooray!

"Wait...What?!?" Moment of the Day, 29 Jan

2008-01-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

From Yahoo! News , article entitled "First Antarctic marine census launched":

U.S., New Zealand, and Italian marine scientists began a two-month voyage to Antarctica's northern coast Tuesday as part of the first-ever census of Antarctic marine diversity, Prime Minister Helen Clark said.

Anyone else see a problem with this? Let's think...it's freaking Antarctica. Couldn't--nay, shouldn't--all coasts be considered northern? For that matter, would Antarctica even technically have more than one coast?

ETA--For the record, I didn't even finish reading the article because I was so bothered by the first paragraph (can one sentence be considered a paragraph?). I do have some intention of skimming the rest of it at some point, someday. Maybe.

holiday knitting

2007-12-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

Brigid socks from Goddess Knits. 4 pair.
Cashmere Neckwarmer from Kim at Yarnabuse.com
Fair Isle Gloves. Pattern from Ann Budd's Handy Book O' Patterns and chart from Vogue Stitchionary Vol.3
Dashing from Knitty
Shash-busting iPod Cozy from Bonnie at Toward the Blue Peninsula. 2 small cozies.

Oy. Okay. Ready go.

(Oh and if you have any ideas for my grandparents...feel free to suggest.)

check the counter above

2007-07-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

i claim this as vacation yarn. that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

le sigh.

ugh headdesk

2007-07-06T06:30:00.000-04:00

i'm such a joiner...i joined mystery stole 3. i don't even wear stoles. nor do i have the yarn or the time to make a stole. my reasoning was this: i don't have to make it right now and i'm such a pattern collector that i might as well. (seriously. i have about a bajillion patterns saved to my favorites folder and i often just sit and look at them all.) ugh.

joiner! *points*
(ps...sign ups for ms3 close on friday...you too can be a joiner...i'm an enabler too did i mention that?)

on the sockapalooooza front, i'm half an inch away from heel-flapping sock #1...it's about time. i'm doing pomotamus (is that how you spell it? it never looks quite right...) for my sockpal. i asked her if there were any patterns that she liked but won't (or just hasn't) made for herself and this one was on her list (thanks to my sockpal for this idea!). but really pomotamus almost killed me 4 times...that's the number of times i had to RIP IT OUT. note: tofutsies doesn't take frogging well. not at all. but it is uber pet-able and has a really soft wool smell...i'm starting to love the smell of wool...very comforting...go figure. i was hoping to be able to dye some yarn for my sockpal and then knit her socks from that but after spending over $250 on trips home (still trying to figure out how i'm going to afford gas to go home for the graduation party extravaganza) and 2+ months of unemployment (and my former supervisor failing to sign my last time sheet...still arguing over this) the dyeing is on hold........

i want to dye NOW

i'm not impatient at all...hokay enough posting...have to move more stuff to the new apt tomorrow...such a pain in the ass...but i'm hoping to be able to sleep there tonight...or at least by saturday. we'll see. cross your fingers that it rains already so there's no death by humidity.

you know you're getting old when...

2007-07-04T01:50:00.001-04:00

...the one thing that made summer the bestest thing ever is now the FREAKING BANE OF YOUR NOW-MISERABLE EXISTANCE. What is this tool of pure evil? This incessant proof that there is nothing good left in this world (yarn and puppies and coffee excepted)?

THE FREAKING ICE CREAM TRUCK.

That's right. The ice cream truck. Not too long ago (okay last summer) I still enjoyed this personal yummy delivery system. I even tolerated the midget people that tried to get in my way and cut in front of me in line. But now? IT'S ON, ICE CREAM TRUCK MAN.

I CAN ONLY TAKE SO MANY HOURS OF 'OH SUZANNAH' AND 'JOY TO THE WORLD' (seasonal relevance, anyone?) BEFORE ALL MY SUMMER GOODWILL IS SPENT AND THE ICE CREAM TRUCK MUST DIE.

Oh, and let's ignore the fact that NONE of the kids in the neighborhood ever buy ice cream. But really. Moral of this post?

THE ICE CREAM TRUCK MUST DIE.

Fin.

boredom is evil

2007-06-27T17:55:00.001-04:00

ever just want to dye your hair red? or pink? or purple? i don't know why but right now i could really go for some chunky red highlights...hmm...

step 1 get job
step 2 make money at job
step 3 pay bills
step 4 buy yarn
step x after everything else go all crayola on the hair

ps--don't you love how just about anything can be turned into a predicate adjective? i do.

head goes all splodie...whimper

2007-06-26T10:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, do you ever see a project/item/pattern that really just has you staring and drooling and mumbling to yourself? And gives you the ridiculous feeling that you should genuflect before your computer monitor because you really aren't worthy?

That's what this blog does to me. Holy crap, there are just not enough words.

Aaaaaaaand...I think I'm going to have to take a class on Fair Isle this fall because REALLY...it can't be healthy to lust after a handful of pixels. However I can completely rationalize becoming emotionally attached to a bunch of knotted wool. And I'm okay with this.

(PS...blogger formatting is REALLY starting to piss me off...does anyone else have this problem? Maybe now I'll finally use my HTML for Dummies book for more than decoration. Then again maybe not.)

okay, okay...

2007-06-23T20:58:00.000-04:00

i got tagged by tammany so here goes...

The Rules:
Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (only the month and day). Find three events, two births, and one holiday that occured on your birthday. Then tag five friends. Sounds easy, no?

My birthday is March 8 (Pisces)

Events:
1. 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion
2. 1917 - The February Revolution breaks out in Russia
3. 1918 - The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating pandemic.

Births:
1. Don Carlo Gesualdo, 1560-1613
2. Aidan Quinn, b.1959 (yum)

Holidays:
1. International Women's Day (well, not in the US we don't have this one...but we should...hell, everyday should be International Women's Day!)

I tag...
anyone who wants to do a meme...

Oh! And I tag my secret sock pal should she read this...

pictures!

2007-06-23T00:19:00.000-04:00

the pictures above are: monkeys in cth earth, ochre/saffron hand-dyed sock yarn by yarntart, my scarf for scarf circle III, modified sport-weight jaywalker anklets (by grumperina) in zen strings aloha, and menehune cobblestone socks (from crystal palace) in dream in color wisterious

also.....

SUMMER OF SOCKS HAS BEGUN!!!!!! WOOOOO!

i'm excited can you tell? :) yesterday at thursday with tammany (no andrew though he was apparently in chicago...and that's okay because last thursday he was a little on the annoying side sad but true...doesn't quite get that we thursday (yes thursday is now a verb) to relax and chill and hang out NOT to get all stressed about work things) i cast on breeze from knitty so i'm on my way! woooo!

sock plan for summer of socks:

breeze from knitty already cast these on with knit picks essential in navy...this would be the frogged baudelaire yarn
pomotomus from knitty in swtc tofootsies (squee) for my sockpal (shh don't tell!)
more monkeys from knitty (i love knitty don't you)
gothic spire by cookie though this might make my head go splodie)
rainy day socks from magknits
sodera knee high socks
more fun than cables socks
guitar man socks for dad in knit picks essential in black because my dad for some reason doesn't think he'll wear lime green socks...heh heh he will if i make them!

okay i think i should finish all these before i try to add more to the list...oy i might be dead by the end of the summer but my feet will be warm and pretty :D peace out!

no idea where this came from but there it is

2007-06-19T01:23:00.000-04:00

my mom is amazing.

she's my guardian, my balm, my sounding board, my center, my inspiration, my conscience, my savior, my best friend.

it makes me sad that i would (and do) take advantage of her and that i'll never be able to repay her for everything she gives and does for me. and that i seem to be having my teenage rebellion phase in my twenties.

i miss my mom. which is bizarre given she and i argue about something or the other (healthy arguments, mostly) within fifteen minutes of meeting. but really, when i grow up and have children i want to be to them what my mom is to me. i don't think that happens very often and i wonder why i'm so lucky to have that relationship.

so on this, the day after father's day, i am thankful for my mother.

(i guess my dad will have to wait for mother's day for his sappy post)

KISS MY ASS NAPKIN I'M DONE!

2007-06-18T01:07:00.001-04:00

WOOOOOOOOO!

Whos' done with the napkin? I'm done with the napkin!

I know, took me long enough. Even so...Tammany and I agreed that two half-finished projects equaled one done project...and I don't care if that's cheating. Just deal with it. Ha!

So the projects I finished...

1. Menehune Cobblestone socks from Crystal Palace in Dream in Color Smooshy Wisterious
2. Modified sport-weight Jaywalker anklets by Grumperina in Zen Strings Aloha
3. Frogged Button-Up wristlet things from Crystal Palace in Lambspun of Colorado yummy yarn in this melon color...kind of sad because it's 55% mohair and I seem to be allergic. :(
4. Felted Clogs from FiberTrends in Cascade 220 (I'm counting this as 75% done) and Roza's Socks from Grumperina in Claudia Handpainted Earthdot (working on the leg of the second sock)

Can I just repeat
WOOOOOOOOOOO!

Oh, and even better, one of the LYS is going out of business so everything is 50% off...Okay that's not really a good thing for them but for me it is (yo=broke).

50% off addi turbos anyone?

Oh, and I suck at this scarf circle thing...very first send-off and I'm late. :( Hopefully I'll get that out on Tuesday...that's only four days late...that's not THAT bad right? Oh well. I'll not suck on the next send-off, how about.

I think I'm going to be making myself a lot more anklet sock things...they're fast, I can get about two pairs of them per skein and they're definitely more summer-friendly. However, I am planning Eunny's entrelac knee-highs from Interweave for the winter...I'm probably nuts for wanting (okay, needing) to make these. Oooo, and Rhiannon by Cookie. That one too. And anyone else think that Vinnland from the Anticraft would make great knee-socks?

PS...someone fix my left index finger because for some reason it hurts...if you know why, please share. I'd love to know how I managed to injure myself without noticing.

Okay all for now...the job hunt continues.

(will post pictures as soon as i have enough money to buy film and develop said film or get steal Tammany's camera because mine rides the short bus)

everything explained and COMPLETE loss of faith...read on

2007-06-13T22:58:00.000-04:00

So things for me have been really up and down the past few weeks...okay few months....and now i know why. *sigh*

Warning: probably plenty of T.M.I. in this post...just letting ya know

Okay, so...in high school I was diagnosed with diabetes....fun. This was after a year of seeing a bajillion doctors and having them each diagnose something new...pseudo tumor and hepatitis (not like the bad ones...just means a virus of the liver) after a liver biopsy with NO effective anaesthetic and plenty of other stuff that I've blocked out. Okay. Diabetes. I can handle that.

So that was sophomore year in high school-ish.

Anyway, years go by...and I'm able to control everything with just diet. Hormones suck in many ways but at the time they seemed to have settled down. I was off meds and boy did I feel sooo much better without them. Thanks to them I'm allergic to the sun and often have GI issues. (See? There's the TMI.)

So that was about a year and half, maybe two years ago. I stopped testing my blood sugars about four months ago (which in retrospect was not the best choice but no lectures please). I was feeling probably the best I had in years (with no meds, coincidence?) and all the female plumbing had started to work again (more TMI).

So then things aren't going so well. I'm tired, thirsty, and peeing all the time. I'm hungry an hour after I eat but I'm not gaining weight. I didn't really notice until I went home and drank a three-liter bottle of water in a day and a half. I tried to test at home but had no strips...it seemed okay to leave it to when I got back to Indy. Again, probably not the best choice but oh well. I get home and my numbers are OFF THE FREAKING CHARTS. I have never in my life had numbers this high. So, thank you hormones.

So I took a trip to the local urgent care clinic (because really I shouldn't have numbers that high ever...that means something is really wrong) and they started to freak out which I was figuring would happen but you know how you always foolishly have a small reserve of hope that it's really not that bad...maybe my strips are bad or my meter's broken...or I had stuff on my fingers when I tested...34 times. Hey, it could happen. But now. Fears confirmed. The nurse lady was really nice, gave me a hug, and explained that I would have to go to the hospital's ER next door because this was a problem that needed to be fixed. That's okay, I kinda knew that was coming. Still sucks though.

Just FYI, when numbers are that high, they need to come down NOW. That said, I will continue.

This is what should have happened. I should have been seen immediately as per my special rush paperwork and the fact that the nurse called over to let them know I was coming. I should have been tested again, poked for blood work, and hooked up to a saline and insulin drip. Then they should have kept testing me every-so-often to be aware of my numbers.

But of course, that's not what happened. This is the complete loss of faith I was talking about. Yeah, complete loss of faith in the emergency medical field. The urgent care people, great. ER, NOOOOO. I was made to wait for about half an hour before I saw someone (and the accident victims wouldn't arrive for another hour so I know they weren't busy). Then I had to ask/beg/cajole/yell at them to freaking test my blood. The doctor wasn't even going to do blood work. Um, hello?!?!? I was not given insulin, which while that's not my idea of fun was probably a good idea. So I left with a prescription for an exorbitant amount of drugs and a HIGHER BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL THAN WHEN I SHOWED UP. Anyone see a problem with this?

So, pretty much my sugars are sky high and I'm acidotic and no one is smart enough to do anything about it. That's right. While the people who can help are playing paper football at the nurse's station, my kidneys and liver are eating themselves. I'm happy about this, of course. Stupidity runs rampant and this is apparently not a problem. In fact, one nurse told me that it was a better idea for me to see them in the ER where they did nothing than to go to an endocrinologist WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS AND IS CERTIFIED TO TREAT DIABETES. Stoooopid.

I don't know. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of stuff but I'm still plenty pissed off a day later. I'm taking the drugs they prescribed yesterday but my body barely makes any insulin so my sugars are still way too high. But at least I have an appointment with a REAL DOCTOR in two weeks.

Moral of the story, in the past four months or so, as my plumbing starts to work and all the hormones re-level themselves, my pancreas has all but stopped making insulin and I'm now treading a fine line between Type II and Type I diabetes. I'm excited. But at least that explains everything...the fatigue, thirst, headaches, hunger, emotional ups and downs. So hurray. That's all. I'm still pissed beyond belief at the horrible standard of treatment I received. Yesterday was in no way a good day. Feel bad for my mother who got to hear me cry over the phone about all this. Repeatedly.

And I'm still feeling like crap.

The end.

(wow there was a lot less TMI in this than i expected!)

today's tarot card...definitely reflects today's sunny-ness

2007-06-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

same tarot card as before but less scary

2007-06-07T02:04:00.001-04:00

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

2007-06-07T00:37:00.000-04:00

Just posted about this on the LnV mb's...but OH. MY. GAWD. I heart cupcakes and knitting and now I can have both at the same time (!!!). This lady is an official artiste *said in a bad French accent*.

Cupcakes+Knitting=Amazing

apparently i'm a scary tarot card

2007-06-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

rantrantrant

2007-06-03T03:30:00.001-04:00

well, right now i'm visiting the family at home (the non-indianapolis home that is...so confusing sometimes)and i'm BORED...i know. this is nothing new, really. but i'm at home with plenty of knitting but you can only knit for so long before your hands cramp and scream "DOOM!".

it would be nice to just be able to TALK to someone...my dog doesn't talk back...and if she does that's when i finally have myself committed. this may happen yet. also, would be nice to talk to someone MALE. love tammany and everything but geez. i think the final straw for tonight (i'm going to bed early because of le frustration...grr) is that eharmony pretty much rejected me. screw 'em. and i don't have $40 to waste on that

so now i'm bored, frustrated with life, and lonely. also it would be nice if the men i talked to weren't LOSERS. i'm sorry, but being the bag boy at your local supermarket for 9 years...while your perseverence and dedication to your store is somewhat admirable...*shudder*. i think i'll pass. sorry, but i'm not yet that lonely.

but yeah, almost done.

the napkin of doom can kiss my ass. i went and shamelessly bought 2 circular needles so i can finish one of my projects on the napkin. yep, i've decided needles don't count. oh well. but really. these socks were a pain in the butt and now i can't get enough of them on the circs. woo.

that's it. peace out.

(oh and did i mention i'm major pms-ing right now and oreos are my new best friend? woo.)

forgot about the awesomeness

2007-05-16T13:50:00.000-04:00

so i forgot to post about this last night but i went shopping at old navy the other day (i'm a bad hippie) and got lots of shirts and a pair of jean capris (really cute gaucho things) but the best part of the day was when i went to try on my usual size and....drum roll....it was too big! woohoo!!!!! somehow i managed to drop a size on top and bottom...not sure how that happened but i'll take it! woohoo go me...now here's for trying to stay that size. woot!

holy crap i suck at updating...yeesh

2007-05-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, well hi world. I'm still alive and knitting. I know you were all worried. But seriously, end of the school year = crazy even though I didnt' really accomplish much this year. But that's a different and far more depressing post.

KNITTING!

Woo, I've accomplished quite a bit for me. I finished my Monkey socks in Cherry Tree Hill Earth sometime in late March/early April. No picture yet but it's coming, promise. They were my Mom's Mom's Day gift and she loved them. No, I didn't keep them for myself even though I was reeeeaaally tempted.

Also, one Menehune Cobblestone sock done...using Dream in Color yarn...mrrowr. Yummy yarn. Almost done with the leg on the second sock which is encouraging. This means that I'm making good headway with the 4SAS KAL. I'm hoping that makes up for me totally (and unintentionally) blowing off the Quick Fix KAL. Oops, my bad.

NAPKIN OF DOOM!!!!

Grr....such good intentions and now such misery. Ps...Napkin of Doom is a pact that Tammany (aka Yarn Diva) and I made to not buy yarn/yarnie products until we get some projects done. Man it sucks! But I'm getting there. I can buy yarn when I finish the Cobblestone socks, the bane-of-my-existence Roza socks (not really but I complain about them a lot even though they're pretty), my second FiberTrends clog and then felt them, and either socks for my dad, another pair of socks for me, or the Falling Water lace scarf (probably not this one...the pattern is great but man the yarn is not my friend). So yeah, lot to do but since it's either knit a lot or never buy yarn again...guess which I'll choose.

All for now...wow I haven't bought yarn in how many days?!? Curse you napkin of doom!

oh man have i sinned...

2007-03-27T00:17:00.000-04:00

...but it's soooo worth it. today was great because my yarn from the LOOPY EWE came today!!!! sooo excited. the mailman knocked on my door but because he's the world's shyest door-knocker ever i didn't hear him and only realized he was there when he was walking away. which is not good! because when that happens he takes my packages back to the post office and i have to wait to play with new yarn... :( so to avoid the waiting period i chased him down the sidewalk in my pajamas to get my yarn. he looked a little surprised and slightly nervous at being chased but too bad. it takes a lot to get between a yarn ho and new fiber. but in the end i got it and all was good in the world.

i got two skeins of claudia hand-painted in earth dot and one skein of zen strings serenity in aloha. so excited. see pics below.

i also purchased a cookie sock pattern...gothic spires...droooool. i don't know that i'll ever have the concentration to make them but gawsh they're purty (!!!). i don't know what pattern i'm going to use for the earth dot, but since the ZS yarn is sport weight and not as long on the yardage i think they will be some summer sock footie things. yay!

let me just add that sheri from the loopy ewe is amazing. not only did she get my yarn to me in two business days but she sent a little note with my yarn that was just too sweet. i can't say enough nice things about her and her store.

the peachy-orangey-salmony goodness in the second picture is my yarn from lambspun of colorado (it's not really as orange as it looks...stupid flash making things freak out). it's a 55% merino-45% wool blend...yummy. i just want to hug it all day long. i'm planning to make a moebius-cowl thing with this...probably using the pattern from a magazine i got...can't remember which one right now. i spent the end of spring break in fort collins, colorado doing an audition and visiting my cousin. his parents, my aunt and uncle, were on vacation so we got to hang out. it was a good time, especially since i hadn't seen him in almost four years. i forget as i get older that my family gets older too...and at the same time cooler. it was fun. mike's a blast and he bought me lunch. so of course i told grandma that he was such a gentleman and treated me to good food so he should be expecting a little something extra for his birthday or christmas from her, i imagine.

so i have no finished projects to show...boo...i should really finish something sometime soon. like the christmas gifts that i gave to my cousins and then took back so i could finish them...oops. i've promised myself that i will start christmas stuff earlier this year...which means more than two weeks before christmas would be good. i'm awesome like that.

lesson tomorrow at 9AM...BOOOOOO. that's way too early. oh well. all for now. i'm peacing out. later fools. bye.

yay loopy ewe!

2007-03-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

yay my yarn from the loopy ewe shipped today! squeeeeee! really excited...didn't need the yarn but since when does necessity have anything to do with fiber. yay yarn!

freaking out...

2007-03-15T03:22:00.000-04:00

okay it's late so this will be quick. i'm in monterrey, where tacos are cheap and tasty, the weather is 78 degrees in march and all is well in the world. NOT. i have an audition scheduled for sunday. which means i get to fly back to indy tomorrow as planned but get on yet another plane on friday to go hang out with my cousin in colorado and play this damn audition. i am really starting to freeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaak ooooooooouuuuuuuuuut. FREAK OUT. it's a little last minute which doesn't make it any easier. as it is, when i get home i have to do laundry so i have something decent and non-smelly to wear (always a good first impression...[audition panel member]: "okay so who did you like?" [other person]: "yeah i totally liked that smelly chick"....or even worse "i hated that smelly chick)

yeah i'm calm like a cucumber. or something. will have to remember to take the sock yarn on the plane because i definitely forgot it this time...whoops. no socks for dad yet. and now he wants a longer scarf. i made him a short scarf because he asked for a short scarf but now it's too short. whatever. i fixed his sweater that busted a seam in ten minutes flat so he could wear it to work that day and he never said thank you. screw that. whatever.

i never did get my margarita.

all for now. i'll be sure to freak out some more tomorrow when i'm running around my house like a crazy person trying to find all my damn music. wheeee. peace out.

wow. that was fast. one whole blog post in under 10 minutes.

FREAK OUT.

couldn't resist

2007-02-21T16:24:00.000-05:00

Okay so Pickles today was hilarious (that's a comic by the way)...but I felt it was lacking a certain...I don't know what. So I tweaked it and am damn proud of my efforts.

So drum roll....

Here's the original for those who are interested. That's it. It's the little things in life that make me happy...like yarn. Mmm, yarn. I might have to post this on the L&V message board...hmm.

All for now, happy knitting.

PS-I think I've come up with something for lent...if only just to give up something. Okay it's not really giving up but whatever. I'm going to make one charity item a month and read a book that's good for my brain once a month. That's the goal anyway. And, yes, be nicer to other people, don't swear as much, yada yada...that's all implied. Hooray. Peace out.

i got my crack fix...yessss

2007-02-16T00:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, so...today was mediocre at best, if only because it wasn't a snow day. Orchestra was fun as usual. Really, I just want to play my horn all day. But I was completely exhausted after only an hour of playing...stoopid fever. I slept all afternoon and I'm still tired...mostly just achy. Fun times.

Yesterday was probably the worst Valentine's Day I've ever had...it was going so well. It was a snow day, I watched cartoons and movies all day, took a nap...then I went to try to dig my car out of the snow hills made by the plows. They are AWESOME and plowed the snow AROUND my car...not the best idea. I drive a Saturn. There's all of a 4" clearance on my car. Best part, though, was when I locked my keys in my car. And it was running. And my house key was in the car. And my roommates were out. Due to the new car starter, the doors lock automatically now. So when I got out to scrape some snow from under the car (did I mention I didn't have a shovel?) and closed the door...doom. Luckily some neighbors down the way were nice enough to let me stay in their apartment and called their road service to unlock my car. I felt bad because their dinner was cooking and was ready just after I came in. But I got to watch American Idol (normally wouldn't have but it wasn't my tv after all). Of course, mere minutes after my car gets unlocked and the neighbors help me move my car (they really went above and beyond) and I go inside, I get a call from both of the roommates. Ha. Convenient. An awesome evening overall. After all that, I then had to go to the gas station and put gas in the car because it was just sitting there, running, for almost two hours. Went to Walgreens after that for some Advil and cough drops (my foray into the Indiana winter wonderland didn't help the cough and fever I'm sure) and some Gatorade. The gatorade pretty much made me nauseous but it'll help keep me hydrated.

Wow, when I post, I really post.

If you made it this far, fair yarnies (don't know where that came from), read on.

Tuesday (snow day #1) I got the privelage of driving around the east side of Indy trying to find the damn post office so I could pick up my and Tammany's crack from Knit Picks. That's code for yarn. For the record, McCoy street does not connect with Franklin Rd like the resident office said, nor does it connect with 56th street like my roommate said. It, in fact, is this little spit of a road that connects only with Pendleton Pike. The roads weren't bad but, man, Indiana drivers suck when they drive in snow. Well, the suck at the driving anyway. But, in the end, I got the yarn and wound it up on the same day because it's sooo yummy.

Plans for said yarn:
Andean Silk Twist in Campfire, 2 balls: will be an abbreviated version of the Legwarmer socks from Knitty
Shine Sport weight in Turquoise, 8 balls: will someday be the Ballet camisole that I found on Knitting Pattern Central. I'm real excited.
and last...drum roll...
Essential sock yarn in Navy, 2 balls: WILL be the Baudelaire socks from Knitty as well. I am IN LOVE with this pattern and I will make these socks or die trying.

A couple weeks ago I bought some dark grey Skacel merino lace weight yarn from Mass. Ave. The guy at the counter said to just "give it a little shake" when I go to wind it and it'll be lovely. NOT. The stuff is now the bane of my existance. It's gorgeous and soft and merino and lace weight but it's a real pain in the sticks, if you know what I mean. It's currently in 2 wads in the bag. I unknot it a little bit at a time when I feel brave and have time to waste. Sad.

So that's life up to now. I'm going to bed to hopefully not be a sicky in the morning (yeah like that'll happen).

Oh, I also have to add 12 more minutes of music to my recital...lame! But at least I didn't have a lesson this week. Yesssss.

All for now.

today should happen everyday

2007-01-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

Hokay, so...today started off well. (And I actually mean that too!)

I always listen to Karl Haas's "Adventures in Good Music" program and today's show was about Schubert and Schubertiana. It was fantastic.

TANGENT...

So the other day I was listening to Karl Haas on the way to school like every other day. It was a Strauss special and he was closing the program with "Also Sprach Zarathustra". Here's the awesome/creepy part. I was driving on 46th at the Boulevard stopsign and just as I turn past the little curve in the road and see the Butler entrance the radio plays "dah...dah...dah....DADUUUUUUUUUUUUH!" I believe this to be a sign from some supernatural being telling me to turn around, go home, and go back to sleep. Did I? Of course not but it's good to know that even God doesn't want me at Butler anymore.

BACK TO TODAY...

So the Karl Haas program was fantastic and then Composer's Datebook came on the air and said "American composer Philip Glass..." (I got real excited) "...was born today in Baltimore, MD." Today was great if only because it's Philip Glass's birthday. I composed a birthday song based on his music. Those of you that know the opening theme from Act III of "Photographer" (I know it all too well) know most of my song already. And the text, in minimalist style, is just "happy birthday" over and over again. I'm brilliant, I know.

In music history, I actually had good answers for Dr. Briscoe's pointed questions. That never happens. Theory was fairly boring except that we looked at a Chopin Prelude which is happy. World music is always fun for me. We listened to some capoeira music. It was sweet.

Then I had lunch with a friend...the same friend that I haven't been happy with lately. It was special. I went home had a lovely nap and went back to school to work in the lab. The lab was actually a relatively good time. I got a really nice compliment from a student...she said that she was glad I was working because I actually seem like I don't mind helping out. I guess the other staff people aren't that friendly. It's true, the atmostphere of the lab is greatly changed from last year, due to changes in management, faculty, absurd dictator-rules. (We miss you, Emily!)Whatever. I'll take compliments where I get them.

Then the best part of the evening...
drum roll.............................................
I got a check for the MTTC proctoring I did earlier in the month...and it was almost $300 more than I thought I was getting. As Libby put it, "now you don't have to get rid of cable." Okay that wasn't MY first thought but it works. I'm (so far) resisting the urge to do something stupid and splurge lots of money on some kind of yarn and fancy looking sticks...we'll see.

:)

Also cool...Friday's pay day. Yay!

:)

All for now.

2007-01-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

Hokay, so...I was really hoping for a snow day today...but...no dice. Go figure. I need to learn how to break the school's heat system so we can having a freakin' snow day. SNOW DAY. NOW.

Anyway, the helmetliner is all but finished...just those pesky yarn ends. It's always so much fun until the yarn ends.

So there you go. It was so cold this morning when I was going in to school (did I mention that today was NOT a snowday) that I looked at the liner and thought "ooh, this looks warm..." and almost put it on...but I resisted. I was cold...would have been anyway. Oh well.

And here's a pic of my cousin's scarf. I blame this for me hating yarn ends...only a bajillion to sew in. And not that I've mailed it to him yet...whoops. It's on the to-do list.

As far as friends and such go, lately things have been unsettled. I don't like feeling belittled and patronized, and with one particular person that's what I get day after day. If she and I are walking together somewhere, she will always make sure to walk at least 2 feet in front of me and talk without looking at me. Then, when I ask her to repeat herself because she wasn't talking in my direction and I don't have bionic hearing, she gets pissed because I'm not listening. She also gets pissed when I don't feel like joining her in something, like visiting the computer lab or going to get something out of her locker...we're in college now. We don't need a buddy to go the bathroom like we did in kindergarten. WTF. Half the time I feel like I'm a substitute for someone else, and she's just putting up with me until someone with better things comes along. This is not so good for the self-esteem. Whatever. PS...I don't want to see you stretching in flesh-colored tights, or bend yourself into suggestive poses and then glory in the attention. Also, because you insist to be a complete bitch to me, you don't get to complain when I return the favor. I don't do it often because it's most often not worth it. We'll see what happens. I felt bad today because I was pissed at this person and someone else thought I was mad at them instead...oy. Hooray. I'm excited. Not. Whatev.

Also, I hate lessons and it really galls me to keep taking lessons because I don't need to...but I do if I want to present a recital...ugh. Mr. Rossi and I almost had it out today...hehehe. It was pretty awesome from my end.

Okay that's all for now. I currently have a sock on the sticks but other than that, nada. PS again...I think I'm in love with lace the way Tammany is in love with socks. This can't be good.

More later, peace out.

Apparrently it's impossible to buy a damn sub on a Sunday.

2007-01-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

Update time. Woo. It's Sunday night and it's clearly impossible to buy a damn sub on the east-side after 9. What the hell. So much for my cold cut combo. :(

Tomorry begins another week of hell...I mean, school. Or could they possibly be the same thing...hmm. Orchestra's tomorrow and Clark will be back which means that we just might get stuff done. Nothing wrong with Andy but the orchestra doesn't really like him all that much. Whatever.

At home, things are kind of sucky right now. I'm trying to figure out the money side of life which means I'm realizing just how much money I don't have. Each month our cable bill is $25/person which is really money I don't have. Since I don't need cable I have a hard time rationalizing paying for it when I could use that money for something really necessary, like food. Or yarn. But I have a feeling the roommates won't like that. Oh well. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime I owe over $240 because we didn't pay the cable bill last month. Getting the money to pay the cable bill is going to be FUN. IPL also caught up to us so now we owe them almost $70. I asked Libby if she or Stacie would mind putting the bill in one of their names because EVERY OTHER BILL IS IN MY NAME. That's not cool. When we pay late (which we seem to do a lot) it doesn't affect their credit, it affects mine. Things were kind of snippy and bitchy but whatever.

Meanwhile...

I'm almost done knitting a helmetliner for a soldier in Iraq that my grandparent's "adopted". Thanks to Tammany, my Knitting Fairy Godmother, I now know how to pick up stiches and such. Which is helpful. I'm trying to figure out what to do with some Malabrigo yarn I have as well as some Ultra Alpaca yarn (yummy). I still have to rip out the lace scarf I was making as a Christmas gift...yeah, it's almost February. I know. It'll get done. Eventually. Oh well.

That's about all for now. Peace out.

Oh! PS...I blame the Diva for this...I LOVE LIME&VIOLET. That is all. More next time.

slacker...here's post #2

2007-01-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

yes i'm a slacker and i haven't posted since thanksgiving. oh well.

so it's day 2 of the semester and i'm already ready to be done. no joke. i don't really even want my degree that much. don't get me wrong i want a degree but i don't care what it's for...not good. i was very disappointed that we didn't get a snow day yesterday...the first day of school (ignore the fact that all the snow was melted by the afternoon...doesn't count).

but yeah. i'm very frustrated with butler in general. i love orchestra. in fact, the only reason i'm still at butler is maestro clark. i hate, though, that we can barely sightread quarter notes and that no one seems to care that we suck. very few people are seriously engaged during rehearsal. why pay money to waste time for six hours a week? you can do that for free at home. you can be sucktastic for free at home. you can talk and joke and sleep and be drunk for free at home. so don't do it in rehearsal. grr.

also, i'm putting together music for a recital in april (the 29th to be exact, at 2:00 p.m.) and already my applied teacher is saying that he won't let me do the music i picked last semester. funny...it was okay over break but now it's not. far be it for him to be...oh i don't know...supportive of ANYONE. yes, the music i chose is difficult overall. but the problem isn't the difficulty level, it's that he doesn't know the music and he's not willing to learn new things. grr.

at least i'm not in wind ensemble. hahaha. that makes me so happy i can't even explain the extent of my joy.

on the knitting front, i was very busy over christmas break. i made the odessa hat and the eyelet lace elegance hat (in dulbin and wisteria knit picks swish superwash, respectively) for two of my cousins. made a diagonal stripe scarf with decor yarn and am still working on a lace scarf for my cousin (have to frog the entire thing...booooo), socks for my mom and socks for my dad. had some major knitting burnout after christmas and am trying to relocate my knitting "mojo" as Tammany calls it. pictures to come.

that's about all for now. i'm off to work in the lab in a little bit. boo school. boo mr. rossi. boo string players. boo butler.

Pasame la botella...

2006-11-23T02:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, first post. Don't blow it. Nobody reads these things anyway right?

Hokay, so...I'm in Monterrey, Mexico visiting my dad and his significant other. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and I won't be there to spend the holiday with the family...not that broken up about it. I saw and caught up with everyone. Yes, I wish I could have spent more time at home but really...all we do on Thanksgiving is go to my grandparent's house and eat a pot roast. Not turkey. And it's usually just my grandparents, my mom, and myself. Not a bad thing but it's not the big family get-together like it used to be. We all have our own lives and that's okay. Whatever. I'll be home for Christmas and that's what counts. PS...I get to actually eat turkey tomorrow. I didn't know that they had turkey in Mexico...they don't in Mexico City but apparently they do in Monterrey. Thank you Costco.

But yeah, I'm having a good time visiting. Haven't done anything special though tomorrow I get to go shoe shopping. Yay! And I get to have Tacos Alameda...yum!!!!! You don't know tacos until you've had the full eating-in-the-streets taco experience. Can't wait.

On the knitting front, I finished the scarf for my dad. His response was: Me encanta, me encanta! (That means I love it, I love it!) He's only taken it off twice since he got it yesterday(which is foolishly brave since I've seen how the man eats). The picture above is the scarf, and the one to the right is my dad modeling said scarf. But I'm glad he likes it. I was worried it wouldn't be long enough especially because I have 10" of yarn left and no way of getting more. Whoops. Lesson learned for next time.

For any knitters out there, I knit this on Artful Yarns Jazz in Miles on US9s using the Alpaca "Furry Goodness" Scarf pattern I found on knittingpatterncentral.com.

And now...time for bed. I'm going to need my sleep if I'm going on a shopping spree tomorrow...yessssssss. So Happy Turkey Day, everyone. Be thankful to your divine figure of choice and be sure to thank him/her/it for the many awesome things in this world (be sure to mention family, friends, puppies, kittens, knitting, and tacos).

sound stitching

In no particular order...

Dear Ann Budd...

Dear People I Hire...

Dear Ann Budd...

Ms. Merino's Guide to Midwest Travel

One more thing from yesterday.

Things from today.

What Tiny Tim Never Understood.

What does it say about me?

Holiday guilt.

Totally reasonable? Or...

From the Detroit Free Press...

Pardonnez-moi???

"We've only just begun..."

Come on, baby, light my fire...

Rapunzel, Rapunzel...

Don't bugs talk to each other?

I *heart* the Harlot.

Meet Liam.

No, seriously...

TasteBook=Genius

A Puckin' Great Weekend.

Chivalry is dead.

Bestest Valentine's Day Evar!

"Wait...What?!?" Moment of the Day, 29 Jan

holiday knitting

check the counter above

ugh *headdesk*

you know you're getting old when...

boredom is evil

head goes all splodie...*whimper*

okay, okay...

pictures!

no idea where this came from but there it is

KISS MY ASS NAPKIN I'M DONE!

everything explained and COMPLETE loss of faith...read on

today's tarot card...definitely reflects today's sunny-ness

You are The Sun

same tarot card as before but less scary

You are The Moon

apparently i'm a scary tarot card

You are The Moon

*rantrantrant*

forgot about the awesomeness

holy crap i suck at updating...yeesh

oh man have i sinned...

yay loopy ewe!

freaking out...

couldn't resist

i got my crack fix...yessss

today should happen everyday

Apparrently it's impossible to buy a damn sub on a Sunday.

slacker...here's post #2

Pasame la botella...

I heart the Harlot.

ugh headdesk

head goes all splodie...whimper

rantrantrant