Archive for ◊ September, 2008 ◊

30 Sep 2008 downsizing
 |  Category: personal  | Leave a Comment

We’ve come to a point in our life where we’re starting to look at the slim possibility of building a home that better fits our needs.  With the current financial crisis, we may not actually do anything simply because we may feel it prudent to take on more house, but we haven’t ruled out the possibility yet.  We’re cleaning, and fixing, and (as is inevitable in these sorts of things) downsizing.

Some of the books have gone away, to be purchased by other people and loved in another home.

Some of the books have gone away, to be purchased by other people and loved in another home.

Clothes and useful household items we’re not using have been donated to the charity store.  I’d been hoping to be able to hold onto these books until the public library can accept direct book donations again, but they’re really not at that point yet and the books had to go now.  I took them to Half Price books and used the money I got for them for white paint to freshen up the basement walls.

I even hired the Ninling and the Ninlette to help.  The Ninling did a bunch of yard work for us and the Ninlette helped with some inside and outside chores.  They earned every cent they were paid.

Tonight we talked to the builder about what we might want.  He’s going to run some numbers and see what he can do for us.  If it works out, we may be building a house.  If it doesn’t, then my current house is spruced up and nicer for us in the meanwhile.

29 Sep 2008 project monogamy project monotony

The Sarah Blanch Feather shawl continues to grow.  I’m on the seventh pattern repeat now.  Two more pattern repeats after this one, and it’s ready to block.

I have a rule about only having one project on the needles at a time and working on that project until it is done.  I call it “project monogamy,” and it’s the best way for me to get finished objects. Simply put, I work on one project, and only one project, until it is done.

In this particular case project monogamy has turned into project monotony. While I’m expecting this shawl to be very petty and I will look forward to wearing it, I’m no longer engaged in the process of knitting this piece.  Maybe it’s the long rows.  The pieces is cast on along the length and then rows build up the width.  Maybe it’s the fact that it’s all garter stitch broken up by the occasional row of dropped stitches.  Maybe it’s the combination: long rows of not much else than garter stitch.

knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit

knit, knit, knit, knit, knit, knit

Whatever it is, I’m ready for this piece to be off the needles so I can move on to something else.

28 Sep 2008 more mellowcreme bliss
 |  Category: personal  |  Tags: ,  | One Comment

Blame Ninniachriel.  This is all her fault.  She suggested the idea and I had to get more mellowcreme pumpkins to try it.

Of course that meant I had to eat some of the mellowcream pumpkins, too, which directly lead to the sugar fed fantasy sequence which follows.

more…

26 Sep 2008 mellowcreme bliss
 |  Category: personal  |  Tags: ,  | 2 Comments

I don’t want to know the truth (according to wiki) about mellowcream pumpkins.  I don’t want to know they’re made of mostly corn syrup (bad), though according to the Brach’s label, at least not the high fructose kind (possibly worse).

It’s my “must have” candy of the autumn season.  I know not everyone agrees that they’re great.  They’re too for me sweet to eat more than one or two at a time and certainly too sweet by alot of people’s standards. They’re certainly not vegan due to the real honey flavoring, and they’re not vegetarian due to the geletan content.  Even if you loathe them for reasons of flavor or dietary concerns, you can’t deny they’re adorable.

fields of mellowcreme pumpkins

fields of mellowcreme pumpkins

I dream in heaven, there are of fields of vegan honey flavored mellowcreme pumpkins you can eat with no tooth decay, no weight gain, and no belly aches. I’ve overdosed on mellowcream tonight, but it’s okay.  I can space out the rest of the one pound bag I bought throughout the remaining weeks until Halloween.

25 Sep 2008 balloon!
 |  Category: personal  |  Tags:  | One Comment

When we were girls, Pookie always loved it when hot air balloons would drift over the house.  She would hear the balloons fire and go running from the house shouting “Balloon! Balloon!” and looking all until she spotted it high in the sky.

To this day, when every I see a hot air balloon I think of Pookie, running out of the house, her piggie tails flapping in the breeze, exuberant and free, yelling “Balloon! Balloon!”

A balloon went over my house so low that we could see the lovely couple in it very clearly.  Rosie and I waved hello and they waved back.  I was concerned they were going to land in the neighbor’s back yard.  Then I realized I was an idiot and they were aiming for the parking lot of the building where I work, which is within a stone’s throw of my house.

I ran inside, got my camera, and snapped some pictures as it came down.

more…

24 Sep 2008 foliage in goblin flower

Pattern: Foliage by Emilee Mooney (knitty.com = free)
Yarn: Goblin Flower Homespun by Collette at the Lazy Perry Ranch (snatched from Ninniachriel’s stash)
Needles: US7 / 4.5 mm
Modifications: None

Yes, I loved this yarn enough that I snatched the only remaining skein of it in existance from my sister and made myself a hat to go with my mitts and neckie.

more…

23 Sep 2008 i call her vera
 |  Category: crafting  |  Tags: ,  | One Comment

I have this problem with making hats.  It’s not that I can’t make hats.  I can and the majority of them are darned cute, too. (Really, I have no problem with modesty.  I’m not currently practicing it, but I have no problem with it in theory.) The problem becomes photographing the hats once I’ve finished them.  I hate to resort to the popular “mirror shot,” and I hate to depend on my roommate’s schedule to get pictures taken, because her schedule isn’t always as timely as mine, so I “hired” myself an assistant.

more…

19 Sep 2008 kitty post friday
 |  Category: nature  |  Tags:  | One Comment
Sully and Fezzie sleep in my knitting chair.

Sully and Fezzie sleep in my knitting chair.

When we brought home Sully, I hoped he and Boo would bond and snuggle together in a cozy pile of kitty goodness.

It didn’t happen.

To say that Boo is not overly fond of Sully is an understatement.  It’s a wonder she doesn’t claw his eyes out.  I used to count it a good day if Boo would sit on the same couch as Sully with a human Maginot Line between them.

Now that we have Dust Bunny and Fezzik, things are different.  Bunny and Fezzie are the closest of littermates and Sully is like their big brother, fondly watching over them.  My dreams of kitten cuteness overload are regularly fulfilled . . .

. . . usually in my favorite chair.

I suppose nothing’s ever perfect, but kitten love comes mighty close even if it is in my favorite chair.

18 Sep 2008 cream verity
Isn't this a great button and button band?

Isn't this a great button and button band?

I made Ysolda’s Verity in Paton’s Classic Merino Wool.  My friend Amy K. “stole” it before I could get a better picture because I didn’t want to take the classic “mirror picture” and didn’t have any way to model it’s goodness.

Now I’m going to have to knit another for myself.  This time, though, I have a plan to prevent future “theft before picture” fiascos.  I call her Vera.

17 Sep 2008 whatever happened to toad?

Mostly,  I’ve been trying to get my migraines under control.  I’m now seeing a neurologist and she believes things are pretty serious.  Given the recent study that shows migraines can cause brain damage, the number of migraine episodes I’ve been having a week and my current condition, I agree with her sense of urgency for getting things back under control.

I’ve been really dilligent about following my care instructions and educating myself about the recent breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of migraine. I’ve been getting out away from my desk at work twice a day for breaks and at lunch.  I’ve even been taking my meds dutifully.  Usually, I’m not so good at that.

She said to take it easy and do things I find relaxing and refreshing.  I’ve been doing a little knitting, and not much of anything else.

Sarah Blanch Shawl in Feather

Sarah Blanch Shawl in Feather

more…