Sunday, December 31, 2006

the last recap (plus one last kvetch) for 2006

(2:27 pm...edited to correct globs of missing text and links at the end of post. Damn blogger.)

Sorry, but before I get to the bloggy recap, I'm gonna kvetch. Don't want to hear it? Don't want to be grossed out?? Fine. Just scroll past the ~~~~~
Okay. Here we go:

THIS FUCKING TITTY BURN IS KILLING ME!!!!!!

It's on my right boobie. It begins about 3 fingers down from collar bone, and it's about 3-4 inches wide in most places. The bulk of it is topside, but there is a blister on the underside of the aereola (sorry so graphic, but how else does one explain it). Do you have any idea how hard it is to let a burn in this location "air out"??? Yes, I have literally been trying to find unique ways to dress so that I can let one boob hang out. It's lovely. One burned up boobie hanging out of a tied up crop top. Do you have any idea what it's like to have a burn on "pendulous tissue"??? When you can't wear a bra because it hurts to much?? And your girls tend to not only head south, but east and west?? And you use crutches and a wheelchair so your burnt goods are brushing up against hardware and your moving arm?? And it hurts to knit because you have to bring your arms in front of yourself to much?? Grrr!!

THIS SUCKS. And it might prevent me from going out tonight to join TheMIG in a New Year's Eve Celebration. He can't stay home with me. He's the sound engineer at an event that I would really enjoy going to (world beat music and "Gothic Bellydancers"...whatever those are...but I'd like to see it). If I decide to stay home, there isn't even any Dick Clark to keep me company.

At least I have my own "supplies".





Yay. I can sit here and toot my own horn all alone. Get giggly and laugh at myself. Whee.
Wait. I know. I can stalk Cara's blog and wish her Happy Birthday in every time zone.

Gah!! I AM SO CRABBYPOOPY!!

Thanks. I needed to get that off my chest. (bwahaha!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay. Enough of that.

Here's a recap of what happened on this blog this year. Format first seen at Monster Yarn a few weeks ago, but it spread like a wildfire.

The First Sentence Of Each Month For 2006

January
I never make New Year's resolutions.

February
we are mid-way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, call it what you will (Groundhog's Day, St.Brigid's Day, Imbolg, etc...)

March
Science--It was storming last night.

April
Welcome to my “This is Not a Review of the Rakkasah” Review....

May
Now that I'm occasionally walking upright with the prosthesis (no crutches or wheelchair), I have found myself wanting one of those little wrist bags for carrying small knitting projects in.

June
"Can I ask You something?"

July
Okay.

August
I got home last night, and today has been all about adjusting to life on the home front (ie going from kid-less into mommy-mode at full throttle).

September
Crikey.

October
Cathartic Ink told me to go tag myself.

November
NaBloPoMo.

December
Click and Read here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, in trolling my own blog for those headlines, I rediscovered some of my favorite posts.

Kitty Ears Hat as The Necklace.

My successful change of habit (hey Mom! It's December, and I'm still making my bed!).

My favorite dance photos of the year (mid-post).

My best whining.

My favorite words of wisdom I'd like to spend more time reflecting on.

The post that got the most hits.

I hate admitting this because it almost killed me, but...My best month of blogging.

And last, but not least...My favorite self-portrait:




Good thoughts to all for Joy and Prosperity in the coming New Year.
See ya' in 2007 ;-)

Saturday, December 30, 2006

recap, take 2

Yesterday I recapped the 2006 Holiday Season.
Tomorrow there will be a Bloggy Recap to shut down 2006.
But for today, I feel compelled to Recap This Year In Knitting and note some thoughts about what I plan to do with "all things string" in 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

2006 FO's
I had no intention of making a grand master tally of what I had knit this year. For starters, who the hell cares?!?! Secondly, it seemed like a surefire way to bum myself out for being such an underachiever. I did not knit much this year.

But that recent chunk of time I had with no dial tone...?? When I couldn't get online, but still felt compelled to be perched at the computer...??
Well, I purged/organized files and photos.
And do you know what I discovered?

I did do some knitting this year.

Nothing epic. Only small items. But more items than I had remembered knitting. 6 hats, 6 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of armwarmers, 7 scarves, 8 warshrags, 15 toys or misc items, and 1 baby sweater.

For the Head: Fish Skull Hat, Big Kids Hat, Hallowigs (1 + 2), Beret, Meathead
For the Feet: 4 pairs of Vanilla Socks in Mega Boots Stretch (for me, Karen, TheMIG, and MyFK), Mock Cable socks, Fancy Lace Socks
For the Hands: Koigu Arm Warmers, Gauntlets
For the Neck: Knit Round Scarf, Latifa, Cowl, Branching Out (1 + 2), The Bride’s Boa Thingy (knit on commission), Swirly Scarf
Warshrags: Round (3), Mason-Dixon Ball Band (1+2+3/4), Alien (1)
Toys+Knick-Knacks: Jess Hutch Robot, Jess Hutch Squarey, Felted Catnip Mice (5), Miniature Felted Pumpkins (3), Korknisse, Spring Flowers (2), Baby Blanket Square, Bookmark for James
Garments: Baby Surprise Jacket

Still on my needles:
TheMIG's Trekking Socks (on the heel flap of sock #2)
Forest Canopy Shawl (I've done 14 repeats, using laceweight, which means it should be time to add the border and block this baby, but I think I'm going to add a few more repeats to make it bigger than a "shoulder shawl")
The Shumps (probably at about 75%, and I think I need to wait for a lawsuit shift before I have what it takes to finish them off)
Jaywalker's in SLM's HandDyed (freakin' LOVE the yarn, and LOVE the pattern...got gauge, and it fits perfectly on my foot...but the pattern doesn't have enough stretch to get over my heel...so I need to frog and reknit in the larger size, and I am so cranky about it because it is so damn pretty I don't want to rip it out. But rip I shall. I just need to wipe the pout off my face so I can buck up and start over. I want. Those. Socks.)

2006 UFO's, Their Fates To Be Determined
The Olympics Shawl of Shame (so near, and yet so far...but I may finish this off yet. If I can only remember what the fuck needle size I was knitting with, as it is on waste yarn now, and I can't find one single friggin' note anywhere about what size I was using. Gah.)
A Mason-Dixon Hand Towel (Linen may lovely after washing, but I am not enjoying knitting with it one bit. But I want the towel. So I dunno.)
MyFK’s Spiral Socks (These need to be frogged. Permanently. The yarn itches, and his feet are getting huge now anyhow).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2007
The Year of the Stash

Funny thing. I wrote this post about my stash, about how I justify yarn purchases by only buying yarn for specific projects, the end result being a basket full of goals never met. A day or two of writing that entry, I figured it out.

I have too much yarn.

I never thought I'd hear myself say that. I really buy into the notion that one can never have too much yarn. But really. I do have too much. Not as much as some. But too much for me. And swear at night that I can hear the chattering of little hanks and skeins, tucked away in their new underbed storage boxes, whispering to each other while I sleep. It's driving me nuts.

So I decided that in 2007 I would try to knit primarily, if not solely, from stash.

About 2 seconds after coming to that conlcusion, I discovered that a good portion of the blogosphere was doing the same thing. It's even a Knit A Long.

The first thing that ran through my brain was, "Holy Crap...the yarn stores must be warned. This could get ugly." But clearly they've gotten the memo (and Rabbitch, my love, you crack me up).

My second thought was that I'd be in good company if I joined in on this "yarn fast"...so why not. Misery loves company, right?

Then I took a closer look at the "rules" of this KAL. Now, I understand that they are meant to be ammended to fit our own indivicual needs and "isssssssues", but I can see that I'd probably have to rewrite them entirely to have any success whatsoever.

For some reason, sock yarn does not count. Ummm yah. Sure. Okay. Then I can join the Socks That Rocks Club (I had already signed up November 3rd, so it wouldn't count anyhow. I'm a STR virgin and I deserve a new drug don't I? Besides, I got enough Channukah gelt from mommy+daddy this year to cover most of it--thanks guys!).

You get a free get of jail one time card. Grand. So blowing a huge wad on a one time purchase for say, a sweater, or Lizard Ridge...or hey, why not both?? If I do it at the same time...that's okay, then. Right?

When they first posted this, it only applied to yarn purchases. Fiber was excluded. And I just got an email that the Clemes & Clemes wheel is finished. So the yarn money is going to shift to fiber money anyhow. Silly me.

They don't even address hoarding thrift store sweaters to be frogged and reknit.

And what is this shit with a 9 month year that ends in Septemeber right before the (their local) big yarn festival? Isn't that kind of like binging after you come off a diet and regaining all the weight in a manner of days?? This makes no sense to me. But whatever.

So.
I am a joiner? Or am I not a joiner?
Hmmmmm.
I know I like the little sidebar buttons.




What to do. What to do.
Well, here is what I had decided on doing, even before I saw the damn KAL. A public declaration. Just to remind myself.

* My intention is to knit up some of the projects in queue I have already bought yarn for.
* By year's end, my intention is to have a stash that takes up less space than it does now.
* My intention, if I am overcome with the compulsion to spend money on my craft, is to put it towards books. Classic books. Design books. (can you believe that I don't even own a stitch dictionary, for crying out loud?)
* This year I intend to knit my second sweater, and also an intermediate/advanced patterned shawl. Yarn purchased for either of these is fine (provided I've saved for it)...but thou shall not purchase the yarn and fail to cast on for weeks, either.
* I do not intend to pass up small purchases of gorgeous yarns by small artisans who spin and/or hand dye. But I promise to be reasonable about it.
* My intention is to get creative and crafty with the samller bits of yarn I have on hand.
* My intention is to put a little extra focus on reducing the sock yarn stash. My foot is cold.
* My intention is to swap or donate the stuff in my stash that I will not use, but for some reason, hoarde and hate letting go of.
* Yarn purchases for charity knitting does not count, provided I actually intend on knitting and donating immediately after purchasing.

There.
Now it's in writing.

Let's not call it a resolution.
I never keep those.



Friday, December 29, 2006

the 2006 holiday season recap

A record must be made. I need to be able to look back on this holiday season for years to come.

Hopefully a couple of these may explain my absence as of late. I'll let you guess which ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This would be the year that the phone jack in the livingroom managed to get ripped off the wall, and in the process of doing so, it somehow managed to short out any other usable jack in the house. This mostly meant no internet access. It also meant (thanks to my local phone company), an ALL DAY/12-HOUR repair appointment window today. When I complained, I was told to accept it or wait until January 2nd for a visit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This would be a year with Return of The Sun Cookies (yay!). These are made by KS, a dance student and member of the Sabah Ensemble. She usually brings the cookies to our Circle Dance for the Winter's Solstice. Every year I look forward to unfolding my shiny little indiviually wrapped package...and savoring the flaky, buttery, ball of sunshine.

There have been a couple years (okay, it might have only been one year, but apparently it traumatized me) where she didn't make them. I always find myself a bit lost without them. A solstice without cookies is sort of like a Groundhog's Day with no Phil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year that I was hanging out watching a DVD with MyFK and noticed his feet out of the corner of my eye...



...and they didn't look like little kid feet anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(I'll spare you the photo on this one--be thankful)

This would be the year that the French Press exploded and spewed boiling hot water all over my right breast, causing 2nd degree burns, a rush visit to the doctor, and whole lot of discomfort.

I now have "BooBooBoobies".
And a new bottle of pain meds.
And possibly some new scars.
Lovely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year that I spent Christmas Day with Donna. We were in the same boat: single mom, kiddo gone for Christmas. She came here to TheShanty du AmpuT, I whipped us up some brunch, and then she treated me to a movie (Apocalypto). She also gifted me these lovely handmade stitch markers. Lookie...some have bellydancer bells on them!



I had a grand time. Good movie, good company. This was my first time going to a movie on Christmas day. I was surprised how crowded it was! It was also the first time in a loooong while that I've entertained a guest here.

Not counting TheMIG. Whom I always entertain like a guest when he comes here. Even though we've been together 3 years now. Our secret to long (hot) happy life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the first year since he was born, that I wasn't with MyFK on Christmas morning. I missed sharing his excitement of Christmas morning.

Also notable was the fact that Santa didn't even touch the plate of cookies I'd left out for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year when I almost blew Santa's cover.

In an attempt to have my son be grateful for his presents, I told him, "You should be thankful. Some kids dont get anything for Christmas. Not. One. Single. Thing."

To which, after a long silence, he replied, "Nothing?? Not even a present from Santa? Why not?? Can't he find them? Is it because they don't have a tree??"

Ummmm....uhhhh....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This would be the year when the day after Christmas, at 1:30am, TheStoopids (ie my wonderful doggie-doo-doos) earned their keep.

They scared the shit out of someone who hopped the fence into my backyard. I believe the intruder's intention was to break and enter through the back door, and then open the front door to let his buddies in (they were waiting in the SUV parked out front).

But that plan was foiled because when my doggies bark, they sound like Cujo.

I'm hoping next year to have Santa looking for us in a new neighborhood.
The sheriff is getting sick of me calling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year MyFK chipped his front tooth off, and had it skillfully replaced with some sort of white filling material. You wouldn't notice it unless someone pointed it out to you. When he is full grown, it will be switched to a stronger crown.

But the day after he got the tooth fixed, MyFK became very sullen and tearful because he will never (well, not until he gets the crown upgrade) be able to bite into an apple again, eat corn on the cob, or rip open a bag of doritos with his teeth. It was difficult to me to see him so sad, partly because it was tough not to project my own lost body part problems on him. Finding empathy was not a problem.

MyFk has decided losing half a tooth does not make him an amputee.
Maybe a ToothUTee. Jury's still out on that one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year I spontaneously joined my parents dining out on Christmas Eve, and had the best seafood risotto I've ever eaten. We think going there may be our new holiday tradition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be there year that I had an intense flashback of a Christmas moment 3 years ago...when Ken, my (ex)FatherInLaw (MyFK's paternal grandpa) and I shared a moment alone in the livingroom. He had just been diagnosed with cancer a couple of weeks earlier, and was given 5 months to live.

It was to be his last Christmas.

All of the gifts had been opened, and MyFk went outside to play with his new football. Ken and I were sitting next to each other on the couch, and without saying a word, he just sort of slumped over, put his head in my lap, and without saying a word, just sobbed. He died a couple of weeks later.

He was a very good man. And I miss him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This would be the year I swore up, down, and sideways, that I would not buy a Christmas tree. MyFK was going to be at his dad's, and I was focusing on Solstice and Channukah...so why bother??

And then I still bought a tree.



How was I to resist??
A pre-lit tabletop tree, from Tar-zhay for only $2.99?? (they were sold out and this was the discounted display model)

MyFK begging didn't help. He wanted it so badly he even offered to pay for it with his allowance money.

Decorated with the smaller of our personal ornaments, the plastic little piece of consumerism is actually quite adorable, and in the end, it brought much joy to our home this year.

Friday, December 22, 2006

teehee

It's been a good long while since I've posted an actual AmpuTeeHee here now, hasn't it.
I wonder why that is.

Perhaps the way I present in public somehow cuts down on the amount of idiotic shit people say to me. It's also possible that at this point I've heard it all and it takes a whole-host-of-stupid to catch my attention.

But here's a good one.

If you are new here, it would do you well to understand that my idea of funny usually involves a whole lot of sarcasm and irony, and stupid people are as funny to me as a good night at the comedy club.

This is for real. Happened Monday.
Names not changed to protect the innocent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Picture your resident AmpuT here, at an outdoor strip mall, cruising wheelchair style, sans prosthesis.

I'm on on the sidewalk, rolling up pretty quickly on the heels of a mom and her two kids, a girl of about 5 years old, and a boy who's probably 3 or so. They are holding hands, mom in the middle, so they are sucking up pavement triple wide. There is oncoming foot traffic, so there is no way for me to pass them, but I'm in no rush, so I slow down and casually hang a few feet behind them.

The little girl hears my wheels, turns to look me over, then pulls on her mom's hand and whispers very loudly, "Mom! That lady only has one leg!"

The mom, in a bit of a pissy tone, says, "Scarlet. I can't hear you. Speak up."

So Scarlet, in a regular voice, but lips pursed and mumbling says, " Mrmmm, that ladeeee ernly has one lggg!!"

To which mom sternly and loudly replies, "Scarlet! You need to speak clearly if you want to be understood. Now, say it again so I can hear you."

Poor Scarlet. "MOM. THAT....LADY.....ONLY...HAS...ONE...LEG!"

StupidMommy stops dead in her tracks, yanks poor Scarlet's arm, bends down to get in her face and says, "Scarlet! That is rude!"



Jeez, mom. DUH.

There was more, but I didn't bother to stick around to hear the rest of it.
I felt super sorry for the kid, but mom had me cracking up.
I know. I'm a little strange.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the record, there are awkward moments like this (almost daily...no shit) when I am able to say hi, or chat a little bit, and maybe only just give the kid an understanding smile. I do believe that taking that time to do any of those makes a whoooole lotta difference in that child's view the disabled world. I have no proof in most cases, but I know for a fact that time spent at MyFK's school has made an impression for sure. MyFK's classmates don't even look at me sideways anymore, and always rush up with big hugs when they see me.

When I can spend a moment or two with kids, they typically get to see that I'm pretty much the same as anyone else, and they even get to ask the questions the grown ups are dying to ask, but don't ("well, what did they do with your leg after it came off??!"...gotta love it).

Most parents are glad that I make the time to connect. I've even had a few thank me and tell me they were glad I said something, because they hadn't prepared themselves for this particular lesson, and my saying something saved their arse.

But then there's times like last Monday on the sidewalk, where I am very clear that the StupidParent is going to feel even stupider if I intervene, and probably bitch at me for getting all up in their parenting business.

Too bad.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

return of the sun


Winter Bouquet on Altar

I grew up observing both Channukah and Christmas. Since MyFK is a child with parents of two different religious backgrounds, he gets to celebrate both, as well. Channukah with me, and Christmas at his dad's. For MyFK 'tis definitely "the season".

I enjoy all of the Jewish holidays (and would never in a million years pass on mom's latkes or her seder meal at Passover), but left to my own devices, you'd probably find me only marking the changing of the seasons.

If I lived alone, Yule is the only "holiday" this season that I would be observing.

Tonight I get to Circle Dance with the members and students of the Sabah Ensemble...our ritual for honoring the darkness and the transition back to the light.

Tomorrow, the first full day of winter, will be spent sipping mulled cider, eating gingerbread cake with whipped cream, and bringing in a few boughs of greenery for decorating.

~ Happy Winter's Solstice ~

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

not much smiling going on around here

We did not settle yesterday.
I'd really like to tell you all the details, but most things can't be disclosed here. Who the hell knows who's reading. Here's what I'm pretty sure I can safely say.

I can tell you that Mediation Man is still working on finding a resolution by having several follow-up discussions with all parties, so it aint over til it's over. It is entirely possible that good news may still be on the horizon, riding on the waves of the mojo y'all sent (thank you everyone!). There could still be some activity this week, but probably not next week due to the holidays. There may even be activity in the first week of January. But once we get much further into January, all players start preparing for a trail.

I can tell you that there is still a high probability of heading to trail, however I can also tell you that one of the key players has a reputation for offering settlements right before, and even during trials. So again, it aint over til it's over.

I can tell you that I felt MediationMan worked very hard to reach a resolution. I perceived him to be very skilled at his career of choice. He took the time to immerse himself in the details, and I felt he kept asking all of the right questions until he felt he had a clear understanding of what was actually being said by me and my crew. It was clear to me that he was doing the same thing for the other side, too. He seemed neutral and fair.

Have you ever had those people in your life that really listen to you, totally maintain an open mind so that can receive more information, and are able to draw multiple conclusions? He was that kind of guy, squared. I mean, I could almost seeing him wearing some type of Mediator Supersuit (I am Mediator Man! Tatadaaaaaaaa!!!). He even took the time to pause amogst the legal-ease to spend a moment with me to have a human to human exchange.

I can tell you that my attorneys are A-Class representatives, not that I didn't know that already, but seeing them in action in this setting, witnessing their strategic processes, reconfirmed that for me.

I can tell you that in my eyes, things did not go badly yesterday. In my eyes, my case still feels strong. Maybe even stronger. I got to hear a little bit of the other side's argument. I think mine's better.

I can tell you that there were 12 people involved yesterday, many with competing interests, and it's very hard to get that many people on the same page, which is a general way of explaining why yesterday didn't end with a resolution.

I can tell you that personally I was doing alright mood-wise, until I called home in the afternoon to say hi to MyFK and see how things were going, only to find out he had left school early because of this:


that would be an adult, front tooth you are looking at

My Favorite Kid (who actally at these moments becomes "Your Son" or "Your Grandchild") was rough-housing with a friend at school and fell forward and chipped his front tooth. Lovely. And expensive. And also where I spent my afternoon today.

But back to yesterday, when I got the news...there I was stuck in the stupid little room, and that's when I really started feeling poopy. I'd been keeping the poopyness under wraps, and having something non-legal in front of me to focus my feelings on just sort of opened up the emotional channel. Wanting to leave to go be with my baby and not being able to was upsetting. I kind of went from a simmer to a rolling boil at that moment, but I didn't show it. I worked with it somehow (I think that's when the chocolate made an appearance).

Also, I can tell you that this morning I feel like a parolee who has been denied. I feel like yesterday was a chance to break out of what feels like my own personal hell, and I feel like not only is my release not happening, but my return to Anxiety State Penetentiary is going to herald even more stress as they are about to take away my yard-time.

I feel like knowing what I know about myself so far through this process, the likelihood of a trip to the darkside is on the horizon. I feel like sitting still will kill me. I think I have to keep moving as much as possible over the next few weeks...really getting out there, being with friends, being outdoors...I think if I don't do that, I'm in trouble. So I'm going to do it. But it's hard. I really would like to crawl in the corner right now, and the weather isn't making that any easier. I'd really rather be all about staying home with a blankie and cocoa and a pile of dvd's during the next few days of ChristmasChaos.

But I believe that for right now, too much time to think is going to be a very bad thing. Being that I do a lot of that knit-think-knit-think-knit thing so much, I'm even considerring not knitting for awhile. Or if if DO knit, I might need to consider more technically challenging projects with high mental distraction value. I'm not entirely sure comfort knitting will work. We shall see.

So. That's me.

I've been out all day keeping busy. Now I'll go read some blogs and find out about you. Then I'm off to Stitch N Bitch for the night.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

this blogpost brought to you courtesy of our sponsor, insomnia





Thanks to all who saw my request for mojo and are workin' it.
Today's the big day.
It's oh-dark-thirty and I can't sleep. So blogging it is.

This is how it's been explained to me...how today will work. We'll probably all be in the same room for a bit, and the MediatorMan will go over general guidelines and formalities. Then my attorneys and I will go off into one little room, and the defendants will go into their separate little room, and the MediatorMan will go back and forth from room to room all day long, telling us what the other side had to say about...well, everything.

The whole process has been described to me as similar to what happens while bargaining at a car dealership.

"Mr.Salesperson, I would like the 0% apr with the leather upgrade and power everything, please."

"Ms.AmpuT, I've reviewed it with my finance manager, and we can give you that rate and the leather, but not the power package...although for you, I'd be glad to throw in the plushy floor mats and a 'new car' smelling deodorizer tree."

You get the idea.


My attorney tells me that there will be many hours spent in this little room with no activity.
He has even directed me to bring knitting (my kinda guy).

Being that I have no laptop (major drag on a day like today) this is what is in my satchel to keep me entertained and distracted (I doubt anything will keep me calm):

The I-Need-To-Be-Mentally-Engaged Knitting Project.
The Lace. So that the open spaces remind me to breathe. (update: I'm on repeat 10 of what I think shall be 14....woohoo!)

The I-Need-Me-A-Hug Knitting Project.
TheMIG's socks in Trekking XXL, so that I remember what feeling safe feels like (update: I'm on the cuff of sock #2)

The Damn-I-Wish-I-Had-A-Friend0-With-Me Podcasts.
I have been saving a few podcasts up just for this day. In the earbuds: Cast-On, Sticks and String, Lime and Violet.

The Please-I-Can't-Take-No-More-Words Music.
Also in the buds: Marvin Suicide, and Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser.

Can-I-Leave-Here-And-Come-To-Your-World Toys.
Nintendo DS loaded with Animal Crossing and Nintendogs. So I can pick weeds, go fishing, and pet cute little puppies.

Real-Food-Isn't-Working-Rations.
Chocolate. Two flavors.

Ok-Now-I-Need-Help .
Tiny little pills. 'Nuff said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carrie the Barefoot Cobbler tagged me with the meme that is just flying everywhere around the blogosphere...so fast I almost have whiplash...you know the meme, the one where you describe 6 strange things about yourself? And then tag a bunch of other people to do it?

Well, I already did this. Not officially with this run. But I did it.
Wayyyy back in October. And I've decided it counts.
Read here.
It even has pictures. Awww.

I am now supposed to now tag 7 people and have them follow my lead.

I hate to do this (and nothing personal Carrie, my love!), but I aint doin' it.
I was the one who broke chain letters, in elementary school. See, I did it the first time. The one when you were in 6th grade and you sent a dollar to the person on the top of the list and then were supposed to be rich? Nada. Zip. I am sure this is why I am poor today.

I don't even know 7 other bloggers that are un-tagged!! (unless Mister Randumb is out there and needs something to play with). I could probably find a few bloggers if I spent some time on the computer, but see above: Today is not my day for that. And by tomorrow, anyone left in my circle of blogs will have been tagged anyhow.

This party-pooper has spoken.
So it be written, so it be done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And last but not least...
You ever wanted to see TheAmpuT dance but couldn't make it to one of her shows??

Here ya' go.


Lifted from Cara.
Who I swear to god, says jump, and I say how high.
"Knit lace!" says Cara. I knit the lace.
"Rip the lace!" says she. I rip it.
"I'm playing this tweakin' online game!"... so I click and I get sucked in, too.
"Buy my stuff!"...I do. (totally awesome, btw...and I think sold out...but you can always ask)
"Click here! It's funny!"...and I do. And it IS funny (if you didn't click that link of me "dancing" you are totally missing out).

Lady, if I'm ever rich enough to hire a personal motivator, and you need a job, you've got it bagged ;-)
Just don't go askin' me to do yer dirty work.
Although clearly you know who to call if you need a hit man LOLOL.

Monday, December 18, 2006

well, hello!

I just sort of found out by accident that the new Yarnival was posted yesterday...and I'm in it!(it's a link to my post about the rescued blankets)

SO: If this is your first time visiting, hi and thanks for stopping by :-)

AND: This isn't an actual knitting blog. I definitely do knit and post about it. But I also write about lots of other things. I ramble, I whine, I'm prone to foul language, poor grammer, and way too many elipses...but whatever. I have made a host of friends via the on-line knitting community...but I primarly post for myself, so that I have a way to remember who I am when I am old and senile.

ALSO: I did an entire month of posts for NaBloPoMo, so if you want know more about me (and my neighbors) than you could ever stand to know, paruse November. I've been recovering ever since, so December's entries have been few. Pardon the dust.

OH: I have difficulty replying to comments because your email addy doesn't always make it to me via the blogger comments. If you'd like me to write back to you, please be sure to email me (link in the sidebar).


Happy Knitting!

pass the mojo, please


Short on time...but not on stress. That legal mediation thingy date has arrived once again. It was supposed happen last month, but it was cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow.

I asked for your help last month (click here to see my original request), and I'm going to ask for it again, because, well...I do believe in this sort of thing.

If any of you out there are willing to do whatever it is your faith calls it that you do: prayer, positive thoughts, intention work, chanting, drumming, mojo, majick, lighting candles, whatever...

If you are into it, and if you have a little extra to spare, I'd love it if you could send the big juicy love vibes out my way once again. It all starts tomorrow at 9am and will probably last all day, for those who focus using particulars.

Thank You ~ Thank You ~ Thank You!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amidst the preparations for tomorrow, I did take a few minutes today for myself to make that little faerie pictured above. A Little Being-of-Light to keep me smiling and in a postive mindframe. I made her with stuff I had on hand...roving, scissors, thread, and a felting needle. Fast, easy, adorable! Tutorial for her found here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel like I have a whole lot to say here, on this blog, to myself...thoughts I'd like to record. Every little area of my life is having a little growth spurt right now, and there is a lot being stirred up, especially in the creativity department. Be prepared for a series of essay style posts....probably all rambly.

Writing all this stufd down is the very first thing on my to-do list for Wednesday and beyond.
It's even more important than knitting right now, if you can believe that ;-)

Friday, December 15, 2006

the reason for the season

Bloglines suggests that most of you ended up here by following a trail of yarn, and if you are a knitter, you can skip this, because well...who doesn't read the Yarn Harlot.

If you are here for the other stuff, the gimping, the dancing, my whinin', or just because you love me (yay!)...then please do read THIS POST by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

She describes "The Reason For The Season" in an encompassing an eloquent way (no surprise there)....and she is on a fundraising mission for a worthy cause. Whether you dontate to her chosen cause or not, I hope her post will encourage you and your family to give a little this season, to whomever it may be.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

behind

I have skipped many important things in the last week, trying to speed up recovery time. To what I mentioned in my last post, you can add: visiting the convalescent hospital, a third pilates class, a therapy appointment, and Stitch n Bitch.

Clearly, I am not winning, because I still feel like crap-o-laaa.

I didn't help that yesterday and today I had to play catch up and run around all over town finishing up holiday stuff. Why??

Because holidays around here do not allow for 10 more shopping days until Christmas.
Holidays around here start tomorrow at 4:51 pm!!!!
GAH!!!

Where are the Channukah Elves when you need them???

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

whinin' and bobbin'

I'm starting with the whining.
Because it's my blog. And I can.

Waaahhhhh....I am sick!!! I started feeling "the tickle" on Friday...I layed low all weekend with the Airborne and Zicam trying to keep one step ahead of it...I passed on a golden opportunity to hang out with Donna & Son...I skipped my pilates class...I missed another meeting of the local spinning guild (that's 3 now)...I stayed home and didn't get a whole lot of anything done the whole damn weekend...not even knitting...because all I could manage was trancing out playing WeffRiddles (thanx buttloads, Cara) and TheRoomz with TheMIG and MyFk....oh and three nights in a row now, MyFk has woken me up around 4am....and I'm totally exhausted...and I'm very cranky...and today I am now totally full blown sick...and all I wanted for dinner was some damn toast and I practically just burnt the damn house down because I'm so tired that I forgot I had put bread in the toaster and instead of toast I now have briquettes and now my house stinks so bad I can even smell it through my stuffy nose...and...and...and...

Ok. I'll shut up now.
Onto better things!:



That's yesterday's haul.
(looks like I'll be eating PB+J for awhile to make up for it)

A Katie-A-Go-Go for plying on the run and storing in small places, a loooovely Bosworth (midi) spindle, and two balls o'roving from Three Bags Full. The blue-ish one is "Peacock Tales" (merino, tussah silk, silk noil), and the black-ish one is "Butterfly Blend" (merino, tencel, silk noil)...both about 120g each. Morgaine suggested these fibers because she thought they would be a good match for my level of (un)experience.

Speaking of Morgaine of Carolina Homespun, is she totally cool, or what??!! I was a little nervous at first, but it didn't take long before she had me totally cracking up. I made some pretty effed-up looking "yarn", both on the spindle and on the wheel, and she just supportively said, "Hey. This is GOOD yarn! It might not be exactly what you had intended, but it is still good yarn."

When I tried to get going on the spinnning wheel and was fumbling around not being able to do everything at the same time (at this point treadling and simuntaneously drafting makes me feel like I'd be failing the patting my head and rubbing my stomach game), Morgaine chuckled and assured me that if I can bellydance on one leg, well by golly, I shall be able to spin.

We unearthed a few body mechanic issues that I will need to think about once I get my own wheel. Yesterday Morgaine put me on a single treadle (like I'd ever need a double), but of course, treadles are typically set up on the right of the wheel.
(Hint: I don't have a right leg. I have a left leg. )
So when I spin, I've either got my left leg reaching across to my right side, throwing me out of alignment, and causing leg cramps...or I move the wheel over and position the treadle in front of me, but then have the working bits of the wheel (must I add "orifice" to my vocabulary?? gah!) off on my left side, but when I do that, I'm prone to twisting my upper body or overworking my arms.

Additionally, I was sitting on one of her backless, three legged spinning stools, and Morgaine observed that when I am treadling with my left foot, there is no right foot to help me balance (I was working sans prosthesis), so I expend some uppper body energy maintaining my balance. Oh, and I also fell off the stool when I was getting up. Ha! Graceful. Like a gazelle.

I'm sure I will figure out what works for me, but I can see that I will need to do some tinkering.

Near the end I was feeling a little bit over saturated by all of the information, but all in all, I had a seriously great time over there. It sure was special to get the private shopping time with her. I can't imagine what the chaos must look like at her booth during a fiber convention.

I've been messing with the spindle off and on all day (not with the new fiber, but with some stuff I picked up a few months ago), and it's just fun fun fun.



It would seem I've been bitten.

Now let's just hope I can someday knit with what I make.

Monday, December 11, 2006

let's hope this isn't a really bad idea

It seems to me that sending a FiberJunkie like me to Carolina Homespun during the She-Still-Has-Holiday-Gifts-To-Buy-For-People-Whom-Are-Not-Herself....well, it's just an accident just waiting to happen. Don't you think?

But off I go. I have an 11 am meeting with Morgaine who's gonna teach me some spinnin'. On the drive over there, I'm sure I'll be chanting all the way, "I'm really not going to buy anything...I'm just going to learn....I'm really not going to buy anything....I'm just going to learn..."

Umm yah.
Right.
I'll post about my inevitable failure later.

So why go there today to learn to spin, you ask?
But doll-face, you have no spinning wheel!

Well, actually...I almost do.

Several weeks ago, I was chatting with Beanmama at SnB, and she tells me that she found a wheel at a thrift store avery long time ago, but it needs some love. A cracked flyer and a missing tension screw and probably a few other issues. She said if I knew a woodworker who could restore it, and if I did, she'd love to pass it on.

Well, as it turns out, I do know a woodworker who is into this sort of thing. My dear friend's hubby Michael is totally into the antique tool thing. He belongs to a group of folks that only use old hand tools, and I think he even has some sort of treadle or bicycle operated saw or something. I mean, he's really into it. He's done a few very helpful things for me over the past couple of years. He made wooden seats for my wheelchairs (which to most people sound horrible, but let me tell you...they are wonderful for dancing), and he also restored a found pair of antique crutches, and adjusted them to fit me perfectly. I looove them. Next time I'm not on the fly and there is some good light to shoot them, I'll try to remember to post a photo. Gorgeous.

Anyhow. I asked Michael if he'd be into restoring the spinning wheel, and as it turns out, he is. Like totally into it. So into it that he's found out that several of his hand tool woodworking buddies have partners that are into the fiber arts. So into that he even took the wheel to the local Spinning Guild, and I have gotten reports back from people who saw my wheel there...hahaha.

Here's a progress shot.




It's a Clemes & Clemes.
This is gonna be fun :-)

But. I figure I should learn how to spin a bit. No?
So far, I only know how to use a spindle, and "using" is a misnomer.

Let's hope this isn't a bad idea. I swore I wasn't going to get all geared up with new hobby stuffs.

Friday, December 08, 2006

laaaaaace

The storm that the weather people said was supposed to roll in on Friday?? It rolled in today. Today. As in Today, Friday. That's why skies were blue Yesterday while I was making that idiotic blog post about it. Yesterday was Thursday. Duh. I knew that. Somewhere in my head. pparently I couldn't keep track while watching the news. Or posting.

Whatever. It ended up being a beautiful day yesterday, and today it is getting very blustery out there...right on target, just like they said...and I have ciders and/or wines to mull tonight while I cozy up with my video tape of the fake fireplace.
Yes.
For real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So. Can you guess what I did with the lace?

Michigan J Frog ( see him in action)

I frogged it.
(I know there are a couple of non-knitters out there reading, and just to explain...when one unwinds all of their hard work, they "rip-it...rip-it". Hence it being called frogging.)

I was positive that I was at least ripping back to that little loopy thingy. It may appear small in the photo, but it seemed big enough to snag a finger through, and trying to ease it into the fabric wasn't working one bit.

Between the time I had written the entry on Wednesday, and the time I actually posted it on Thursday (delayed by grief), I found myself leaning more towards ripping all the way back to the earlier mistakes, but I was still undecided.

So I made the post.
And within about 2 minutes time, Cara comments, "rip it".
And I say to myself, "Okay."
And I get up from the computer, pick up the shawl, and without even blinking, I rip it.

The whole transaction sort of reminded me about this little game I occasionally play with myself. Every once in awhile, when I can't make my mind up about somthing, I will flip a quarter. Not that I am actually going to allow a coin toss be the deciding factor. I do it so so that I can test my response to the outcome. For example, if it lands on "tails" and my gut reaction is either, "awww" or "phew!"...well, that is some really good information.

But it never occurred to me to flip a coin over my knitting. And the directive to "rip it" was sort my quarter flipping "phew!" moment.

I frogged back to the edging errors, got the stitches back on the needle and then I knit a few rows. It was an immediate relief.

While I was knitting, I was thinking about the fact that in life, it's not often that I am presented with the opportunity to fix something I have fucked up. How often have I ever been granted a "do-over" pass. How often have I heard myself say, "if I had a chance to do that again I would (whatever)... ". And on the rare occasion when I do get a second crack at fixing a fuck up, it's most definitely not granted as quietly or forgivingly.

I mean, the shawl had a mistake, and I had an actual chance to fix it. So why would I not fix it? I also see this as one really good opportunity to try to teach myself to break an old pattern. You know, like how in life...when we keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Like me and the edge stitches?

I knit a couple repeats yesterday, came back to the computer, enjoyed all of your comments, and had a laugh that's Sara's mind was tuned in to my wave length.

So today I'm just about back to where I was when I frogged. And I haven't missed another edge stitch yet. And I'm not using a stitch marker.

I'm just paying attention ;-)



Thursday, December 07, 2006

wwyd?

(the un-post from yesterday)

Part 1: some thoughts about knitting, lace, and life.
Part 2: a knitting dilemma within the lace.

Both full of rambles.
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Part 1:

The suggestion to cast-on a lace project? Genius. I am definitely having a seashell, kind of Gift From The Sea, sort of moment with my knitting right now. I love it when I can knit along, noticing the parallels between what is in my hands and what is happening in my life.


One topic of discussion as of late, with TheMIG, has been about intimacy, and how each of us defines it. We have different definititions, go figure (although I think we've determined that they do not appear to be entirely at odds with one another).

For me, having intimacy in a relationship inlcudes some form of knowing/understanding/loving/supporting, all of the parts that comprise who I am as a person. But it also means having an awareness of how the seemingly separate parts of my life relate to one another (and it goes both ways--I want to be able to see the same things about you, too).

Imagine some sort of schematic. My life could be a drawn as a bunch little boxes, each of them representing one of the many roles I fill. Partner, mother, lover, dancer, teacher, friend, family member, volunteer, etc.

Some people only know me as just one of those roles. I believe it is entirely possible for a person to feel an intimate connection with me, even though they only have access to just one of the boxes. For example, people whom I perform with, but whom I do not know outside of the "dance box"...I would say that some of us do share an intimate relationship with one another, in relation to dance. We experience a profound connection or understanding of one another through movement. There is a depth of knowing.

It is an entirely different type of relationship for me, however, when I have a person who has access to many, most, or ALL of my "boxes". And it is extremely special to me when someone who knows about all of the boxes has a working understanding about how all of those boxes are interconnected.

That's the schematic part.
You see, there are little web-like lines connecting the roles in my life. If I come from a day of volunteering at the convalescent hospital and I have a bunch of feelings about being there...well, they may end up being filtered into a choreography. If you knew about both the volunteer box and the dance box, and could mabye see the lines. If you knew about even more boxes, you'd see that my volunteer work is not only generating seeds for creativity, but it is also affecting how I see myself and my disability, how I see my family members, how I see political activism, yadda yadda yadda...you get the picture.

If you have an understanding about all of my boxes, and if you see the integration and connections between them, as I do, I feel you will have a deeper, more intimate understanding of who I am. In my personal definition of intimacy, we will have a more intimate relationship. It has something to do with feeling "seen", and I am sure "understood". There is a whole 'nother bit about how my boxes probably have lines connecting to your boxes...but that's a whole 'nother discussion.

Now, there really is not one box in my life that isn't connected to every other box. I do not believe that I have a single function of my self that stands alone. In fact, some might argue that I might even be a little bit overly integrated. I've never been the type to check my life in at the door when going to work, and vice-versa, sometimes to my demise.

So. How it relates to knitting.

In my mind, my life (normally/on a good day), looks like a nice organized schematic, with skinny little lines connecting my boxes, almost creating and openwork sort of spiderweb (ummm...like LACE??). But there is so much going on in my life right now, if you look at the schematic of my life, it's got a whole lotta big fat marker lines connecting the boxes. Everything is affecting everything. For a few weeks there, life was not looking like a spiderweb, but more like some sort of smothering cocoon. In addition to big fat connecting lines, there were just too many damn lines. It seemed that the lines were even going back and forth and repeating in layers. The lines connecting the different parts of me were so intertwinded, I couldn't see between them. There was no negative space. I could barely move without one thing affecting another, and I became fairly immobile (ummm...like knitting with worsted wool on US#3's maybe?).

Starting the shawl has been a saving grace. It's repetitive, but not mindless. There is something grounding about occasionally counting stitches when coming back on the purl side...almost like chanting. As I work, intricate beauty falls from my hands. Lace is organized. It's complex. But in some ways it is quite simple. There is something there about the order of things. Lace makes sense. All of the shapes and the open spaces line up. There is negative space...spaces between the shapes. There is form in the positive spaces--shapes in between the spaces. The twisting of the yarnovers....they have somehow reminded me to find both the spaces and the healthy connections between my boxes and their intereconnecting lines. There is room in there.
When you hold lace up to the sun, there is daylight.

It is grand.



Except now I have a lace boo-boo and I have to rip some of the shawl out. But that's okay. This shawl has clearly become process knitting. I don't mind a re-do (except I worry about overworking the yarn). But the question about ripping back now begs the ongoing question about my need for perfection.

So on to Part 2 of this post...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2:
WWED??
(What Would Eunny Do?)
there a many of lace worthy knitters out there, but Eunny had a good ring to it ;-)

Here is a section of the shawl, on it's 6th repeat. There are mistakes. See them?


Let me say a few things about this lace before I point out the mistakes:

This is not my first lace.
I've knit lace socks, two Branching Out scarves, and (I hate to even mention my lonely unfinished symbol of failure) the Knitting Olympics Shawl (of Shame) was lace, too.
This shawl is easy lace.
This pattern was touted as being good for beginners or a relaxing joy-ride for those with experience. It really is. I'm beyond needing the chart (it's a very easy repeat) and it is very easy for me to look a the stitches and read the flow of the pattern.

In every lace project I have worked on though, I always make the same mistake, and this shawl is proving no different.



When I'm purling back on the wrong-side...when I'm supposed to knit the first two stiches of that row and the last two stitches of that row, to make that tidy little border...I always forget to knit those last two stitches.

When I was doing the Branching Out scarves I finally just threw in a stitch marker so I would trip over it every time I got to that point in the row. But I thought I'd outgrown making that error and was fine without using one for the shawl. I swear to you, I checked the border of the shawl every repeat for that exact error and didn't see the mistakes. Maybe there are evil knitter elves coming in and night and messing with it (they should drop the knitting and go clean my kitchen).

Anyhow, I found the mistakes late at night. I spent quite awhile deciding if I could live with them, and let go of needing all things in life to be perfect. Before you ask...no, I don't feel I could drop down and fix them. One stitch is an edge stitch, and I don't know how to drop down on an edge stitch, and the other stitch is next to a yarnover. Seems like a royal pain in the arse, if you ask me.

In a moment of self-acceptance, I concluded that I could live with the errors, and let them go....throw in a stitch marker to trip over while working on the rest of the shawl, and move on. Letting go of the mistakes, let me tell you, is a very different response for me than my normally anal self. But the body of the lace looks great, and the errors seemed relatively unnoticeable, even to me.

And so there I was... happily letting go my internal struggle with perfectionism.

And that's when I turned the knitting over and saw this.



Hmmm.

Now, I've been looking and looking and looking at this little loop, and I am pretty damn sure it was caused by a tension problem. I think that somehow I just didn't pull up the slack on a stitch or something. There is no dropped stitch, no hanging yarn over. The lace pattern has been examined, and it is on track. This little loop just "ended up here". The elves did it. I just didn't see it because I've only been examining the front of my work, and not the back (good lesson).

This little loopy-loo is only 1 repeat back and, because I am anal, I have a lifeline in there. Of course the mistake is two rows below the lifeline. How lame is that. But still. Not a huge deal. I don't have any big stress about ripping or tinking or whatever it is I need to do to go back far enough to fix the loop.

But here's what IS gnawing at me:
I am now struggling with the compelling urge to rip back beyond the 1 repeat to fix the loopy-loo....and to go all the way back to the 2nd repeat and fix the edge stitch issue, too. Might as well, if I'm ripping, I might as well rip, right?

On one hand it feels like allowing my perfectionism to win, on the other hand, it feels like who cares...more process knitting could be good. But the question of whether to rip or not rip has had me sitting here NOT knitting on the shawl for 3 days now.
And that's stoooopid.

So now what?
What Would YOU Do?

i don't get it



The weather people having been warning all week (including this morning) that a huge storm is rolling in today around noon.

This was taken at 9:30 this morning. Not a cloud in they sky, and a beautiful moonset. It is now just about 11, and the sun is still shining.

I don't get it.

Monday, December 04, 2006

business as usual

Back to having things that I want to write about but not finding the time to sit and type them up. Life is moving so fast that by the time I do have a moment to park my ass and post, everything is already old news or things have shifted. That’s one benefit that NaBloPoMo had going for it. At least forcing myself to make daily posts kept me current.

Surely there must be a middle ground, though, Peoples.
If you find it, lemme know.

I originally had this plan to start off December with this cute little post that was to be a NaBloPoMo recap. I pulled up my archives for all of November and started to tally all sorts of innnnteresting* data:
the total number of posts written
how many photos I uploaded
number of meme's
how many posts had gimping content
how many had knitting content
how many had whining
how many met my goal for creative writing
how many had imroper use of elipses and parenthesis (should we bet "all of them"??)...hahaha...
Unfortunately, every time I tried to tally this nonsense I kept losing my place around the middle of the month. Either I can't count above 15 or it began to drive me nuts to see all the little cross-hatches that prove that whine more than I knit.

Okay, so there's another thing NaBloPoMo was good for. A bright little flashlight peircing into my dark little world.
Useful information ;-)
I am pleased to report, however, that most of my posts met my creative goal, and that is gooood.
* you have to say "innnnteresting" in the style of Bugs Bunny giving a "permanananent" to that big orange hairy monster dude for that to make any sense at all

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Updates For Those Keeping Track:

Antique Horse at Tilden

My Mood. I have positively turned a corner mood-wise in the past week. Stress is still the undercurrent, but I am most definitely in the “my glass is half full” camp for a change. Yay!

It's about time and it feels damn good.

I attribute the shift to: The many of you who commented and emailed me just to ask how I was doing (thank you--it means more than you know)...Team MIG/AmpuT smoothing out the rough edges in places that have been, well, basically fucked for awhile...sitting in the sunshine...a night at the Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round (photos scattered about this post)...pairing sassy winter leggings with cute mini-skirts and boots (well ok, boot)...a can of spagghettios...several sessions at a new Pilates class with a teacher I just totally dig (she is doing a fine job with finding one-legged adaptations and/or allowing me the headspace to find them myself)...the coming and going of my monthly hormone-zone (if you or someone you love struggles with PMS, do click here for some very funny YouTube)...high-speed internet--wheeee!!...and lace knitting (more about the lace in the next post).

Themed Trees

No Neighbor Problems. I haven’t heard a single peep out of TheNeighborGuy since the Thanksgiving drama. He is avoiding me, which is good, and apparently I am doing my own version of The AvoiDance. It took me every piece of silverware to realize that I have been letting the dishes stack up (longer than usual) because when I stand at the sink and look out the window, I have to look into his yard. I’m thinking it’s about time to add dishwashing to MyFK’s chore list--he’s shorter than I am, though not for long. Or maybe I need to knit up a Mason-Dixon window curtain.

A Knitting Themed Tree!

A Rescheduling. If you've been in mojo-mode for me (and if you are, I do appreciate it greatly), the lawsuit mediation has officially been rescheduled for December 19th. I’m not holding my breath, though. I'm not about to wind myself up so I can get disappointed again. I've heard that December means scheduling conflicts and things like this often get pushed into the new year. I'll keep updating.


Carousel Frog

MyFK’s First Report Card of the Year. 4th grade. It came home with the comments, “…is doing very well and is at or above grade level. He is interested in many things and is very knowledgeable. I would like to see him be less emotional; he gets frustrated and tearful over things that are out of his control. He should RELAX!”

Hmmm.

Wonder who he picked that up from.




Sunday, December 03, 2006

get hoppin'



Now that NaBloPoMo is over, I'm rather enjoying the extra time for knitting over blogging, but I shall return! Meanwhile, here is a very important knittus-interuptus:

Carol, the Queen of Black Bunny Fibers made an announcement on the Black Bunny Hop-A-Long blog:

I'm going to draw a name on Sunday and give the winner a free Black Bunny Tote Bag (and maybe there will be a surprise inside...) To be eligible, all you have to do is be part of the Bunny Hop by joining the blog.

I just got an email from Carol that she is going to push the drawing back to noon on Monday. So go sign up! That's all you have to do! I highly recommend you order some yarn, too (you can get some at the etsy shop or through Rosie's Cellar). You wont reget it. The fiber is grand, and Carol's dyeing is delicious.

I know that suggesting y'all go sign up lowers my odds, but I'm really into sharing the fiber love, kids. I've used BBF for several projects now, and absolutely adore it:

The Lace Socks











The Shumps (in progress)











...and now The Shawl. That I haven't blogged any photos of yet. But will soon. But I'm too obsessed with knitting on it to take the time to type about it. Here's a pic I took when I finished the first repeat, and I am on the seventh repeat now.











Cannot recommend it highly enough!!

Move along now. Time's a wastin'.

Friday, December 01, 2006

faster than a speeding meme...

Click and Read here.

Then you do it too, because I said so.
(If you read far enough, he asks me to beg you...but it's hard to get on your knees when you only have just the one...so just do it, will ya?)

Then do the ping-thing.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

cold hands, warm heart


This post was all nice and ready to go yesterday, but Blogger swallowed it whole while I was uploading the photos. And yes, I was a dumb-dumb-doodyhead, and wasn't typing/editing somewhere outside of the BlackHoleThatIsBlogger...so I lost the whole damn post. I've already beat myself up, so no need to do that.
So here's the post, in it's new form, and it's written in the style of my pretending that today is still Wednesday, not Thursday.
Just in case you are keeping track of what I do every day or some shit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is cold here. Very cold. Not Kathy or Lene's sort of cold. But definitely colder than we are used to here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Last night several communities had temps below freezing, and it is expected to be colder tonight.

Unrelated to the cold, this morning I woke up 2 hours before the alarm went off. I spent the first hour or so trying to get back to sleep, but my mind was prattling on and reflecting back on this past November-full of daily blog posts, reminiscing in particular about the things that I had wanted to blog about, but sadly never did. I wondered if maybe I could cover any of those topics in the two days remaining...then came to the conclusion that I would probably drag my ass out of bed and still not blog about any of those unwritten things, but instead write about how cold it was.
Day 29 of 30.
Take the easy route, I say.

After an hour mulling all of that over, I finally gave up trying to fall back asleep, turned on the morning news and listened to the reports about the cold weather and cold people, while I propped myself up to knit a few rows of lace. I was so friggin' cold with my top half outside of the blanket, that I started layering on the handknits. At some point I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Over my purple plaid pajamas and red t-shirt, I had put on my striped Noro poncho-esque thing, my beloved sheepy armwarmers, a blue hat with kitty ears, and even though my foot was under the blanket still, I knew that it donned a pink and orange sock. I was a prime example of a "fasion don't". I looked like a bag lady. A very warm bag lady, thankful for all of her handknit woolies, true.

And that's exactly when it hit me that one of the unwritten posts was completely linked to the cold weather, and then I got a wild hair up my arse to do something about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The UnWritten Entry, Now Written

A few weeks back, I was reading Lene's blog, and near the end of this post about her knitting, she wrote:

"...I wonder, that when I get old, will I look back into my days and wonder why did I spend all my life with these tiny loops."

I spent days contemplating this thought, and I'm not even going to bother getting into my brain-farts here, because I'm already sick of hearing myself think, and I'm sure all of you knitters (or any others of you out there with your own similar interests) have probably at some time or another asked yourself this very same question.

But somewhere during those few days of contemplating, a timely thing happened that deepened my thought process.
I made a trip to the thrift store, and I ran across these:



























A whole bunch of hand-knit and crocheted blankets.


Abandoned.
I whole bunch of time, money, creativity, love, and little loops.
Sitting there.
Marked from $2.99 to $4.99 or so.
(btw, the hand quilting was marked $39.99-$69.99...interesting).
I was so struck by them hanging there, that I even photographed them all that day so I could write a post about how seeing them made me feel. Which of course, I never did.

I spent another few days thinking about those blankets. And I'm not going to go into any of those brain-farts, either. Again, anyone who has a hobby can probably do their own thinking and my hands are too cold to type it all out for you now anyhow, so your are on your own to ponder, ok? Sorry. LOL

Anyhow.
That's when it hit me.

I need to rescue the blankets and deliver them to the rescue shelter. I need to give the lonely abandoned blankets full of love to the lonely abandoned people who need love.

So after I got MyFK off to school, I went to the ATM machine, pulled out twenty bucks, and went to the thrift store. I'd like to have spent more, but me thinks ye might be needin' to be savin' up for thee gas bill, eyee?

I think it had been about 4 weeks or so since I'd first seen them, and almost all of the same blankets were still there. Upon closer inspection, some of them were just lap blankets and too small to wrap around a person, but most of them were just the right size to cover a single bed or a cot, or to wrap around a person without it dragging eveyrwhere (I was a bit irked that someone was buying the bright yellow one just as I rounded the corner, because that was my favorite...I almost tried to talk her out of it...I hope she takes it home and loves it to death).

I decided that I would do the delivery of the blankets to the rescue mission bit after picking up MyFK from school. I figured I may as well get some mileage out of this and get some parenting done at the same time...and it was going to be a double whammy because he was having a friend over after school for a playdate, so they were both going to get the living lecture.

On the drive down to the shelter, I gave them both the whole schpeel. The handknits, the stuff that goes into making something, the cold, the homeless, being grateful and giving, yadda yadda...and that's when MyFK asks:
"Where we are bringing the blankets for donation?"

And I say: "To the Bay Area Rescue Mission."

And his friend says: "When my mom and dad went through their divorcement, my mom had to stay there for awhile."


And the lesson of the day suddenly became a whole lot bigger.
For all of us.













Wednesday, November 29, 2006

things to think about from young and old

First, from the old. This came from Ellie, a lady at the convalescent hospital I have met in passing when going there to visit James.

AmpuT: Hi, Ellie! Remember me?

Ellie: Uh...hrmmm...

AmpuT: I came to here one day and we talked for awhile...

Ellie: Whaaa??? I can't hear that well. (leans in to bring her hearing aid to about 2 inches from my lips).

AmpuT: I visited you one time and you showed me all of those thing on the windowsill of your room (she has a very cool collection of things that would make even an uber-grump smile).

Ellie: OH YES! You are the bellydancer! You came to my room and looked at my things, like that blanket I made. You are the one who crow-shayyyys...

AmpuT: I knit.

Ellie: What??

AmpuT: I KNIT. I DO KNIT..TING.

Ellie: You made that hat for Robyn.

AmpuT: YES. (big visible nod to go with it).

Ellie: Well, of course I remember you! It's just that I'm 94 and I can't hear that well.

AmpuT: Ohhhh, that's okay!

Elllie: NO. IT. ISN'T. (pause) It's horrible! (longer pause) But I'm glad you come talk to me anyhow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And from My 9yr old Favorite Kid:

AmpuT: Ok, this is your human snooze alarm ringing. Your 10 minutes are up. It's time to get up and ready for schoooool....

MyFK: Ohhhh, maaaaan! NO WAY has it been 10 minutes.

AmpuT: Yes it has. Look at the clock.

MyFK: (whining) I wasn't even having fun. How can time be flying?


(think about that one for a bit)

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

this had better count as a post

I'm angry, depressed, pissy, pms-y, hurt, weepy (did I say pms-y?)....and I just don't care to write a blogpost today because I am sick at tired of hearing myself be sick and tired.

I'll try harder tomorrow.
Maybe even twice to make up for today.
And then again, maybe not.

Oh. And thank goodness for knitted lace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Your Stress Level is: 78%

You are prone to stress, and you're probably even pretty stressed right now.
Life's problems seem to pile up on you, and this often makes you feel depressed and burned out.
Learn to take time to relax and enjoy life, even if things are stressful. It's the only wa you'll get through the bad times.

Monday, November 27, 2006

death of squirtle

NO!!!

Mr.BunnyMan & Zip

(My pups don't even dare sniff them for fear of my wrath)

Hmmm, perphaps something here...

The wall o'stuffies at ThriftTown

(toys that have been loved so long they have worn spots shall never be used as snacks; instead we purge through for the cast-off junkie stuffies from state fairs and such)

Squirtle it is.








Fuzz Flying.
Happy Doggy.
Messy Yard.