Resolved.

Here's the obligatory new year's resolution post. Only, resolutions mean you are going to do something. (Or stop doing something.) Exercise more, eat less junk, less time on the computer, knit from stash, knit every day, knit something every month, whatever. The thing is, despite the fact that I whinge (a LOT) about not having enough time or enough laundry done or whatever, last year was a pretty damn good year. I met a new love, got a new job, moved to a new city. Ran a 5k. Survived having a kindergartener. Survived having TWO talking children. Survived combining a 5 bedroom house and a 3 bedroom condo into one three bedroom condo (plus a coupla storage units). Survived moving towns in the middle of the hottest month of the year. Lost weight, gained weight. Tried new things that I loved (helloooooo sushi) and not so much (goodbye, mushrooms). Went to a mall and neither died nor killed anyone. In short (yeah, I know, too late), I had a grand year, and I hereby resolve to keep on keepin' on. Cuz really, what else is there? Catch you on the flipside, my lovies.

August is the time for not-knitting. Since I can’t access my own blog from work (am writing this in a word processor) I can’t go back and look for info, but I vaguely remember late-summer doldrums in many of the past years. I know that last year at this time my knitting was stalled out and I picked up an appliqué kit I had stashed. Well, I think there’s something going on here:

· First, it’s nasty nasty hot out there. (Forecast for today, 113º + 40% chance of storms = Teh Yuck.)

· Second, it’s all Elizabeth’s fault with the quilting.

· Third, I should have known better than to tell Lynn about it, cuz she offered a bit of encouragement, and then hearty laughter when I broke down and ordered a block-of-the-month appliqué kit. (It’s amazing how effective she is as the shopping accomplice even when she’s 100+ miles away.)

· Fourth, this is the time of year I start thinking about late fall and winter and wishing it was cold enough to need a blanket. For a reason I can’t determine yet, working on a blanket and wishing it was cold enough to need a blanket is better for me than working on a scarf and wishing it was cold enough to need a scarf. (The frustration of the B-Side sleeves is still fresh and taints the knitting of the OFA red scarf I have OTN anyway.)

I was having fun with my little snowman last year at this time anyway, but I put him down because I didn’t have the right color thread to do the stars and moon. Yesterday I stopped off at JoAnn’s, and $20 and some fall decorations later, out I came with my thread. Which turned out to be too light which didn’t matter because I had the right color after all and I dunno why I didn’t use it.

So, I am back to the snowman, and later in September I will begin to receive the blocks for the kit I ordered yesterday.



Now I just need to find a decent thimble.

And we won’t talk about the plans I have for the bed quilt…


Oh, and SOMEONE decided Smacky-In-Basket was insufficient. These will have to do - my phone camera is slow and the lighting was bad (and the kid never. sits. still.) so they're blurry, but you get the idea.

Happiness is...

• making visible progress on my second sleeve.
• seeing the gazillion year old dude lifting major weights and running on the treadmill at the gym.
• heading upstairs to see where T went, having gone up to tuck in Bug 20 minutes before, and finding them both asleep with Bug's arms around T's neck.
• heading to the gym here after 6 weeks or more away, and finding that I didn't lose any of my progress.
• the running euphoria that is coming back, that makes me want to giggle for no reason.
• the way that Smacky enjoys not only the taste, but the smell, the feel, and the sound of the cream cheese on his morning bagel, judging by the way that he gets it EVERYWHERE.
• the fact that, even when both kids are overcranky and it's hot and we are in the middle of shopping and everyone's a little snappish, T helps me keep my sense of humor and I really do love every minute of it.
• that for every afternoon like the previous bullet, there are 10 or 15 that are filled with giggling, laughing, wrasslin', dinosaur rides, castle building, book reading, baby-cheek snorgling, snorting, tickling, and general happy chaos.
• trees.
• leaves on trees.
• wind in leaves on trees.
• dappled light on ground from wind in leaves on trees.
• shade around dappled light on ground from wind in leaves on trees.
• the soothing sound of sitting in shade around dappled light on ground from wind in leaves on trees.
• rain.
• thunder.
• lightning.
• homemade sangria.
• store-bought beer.
• wine sales.
• emails about eggplant baby hats and HowIsItThere'sANeedleSizeIDon'tOwn?
• old friends.
• anniversaries.
• new friends.
• milestones.
• my big boy talking about going to kindergarten.
• my little boy, talking. o.O
• my love, talking, laughing, snuggling, sleeping, or sitting in companionable silence whilst (Hi Annie) engaged in our respective hobbies.
• making a friend snort milk out her nose with my low-brow humor.
• laughing.
• smiling.
• grinning.
• smirking.
• new favorite music.
• new favorite artists who play smartass songs.
• music that not only makes me sing along and dance, but that inspires me such that I realize I missed the details of half a set because I was daydreaming about fabric and quilts.  (It would have made a better story if I'd been in the mosh pit while I was daydreaming, but I'm only just doing the concert thing, so gimme a break, mmmkay?)
• the fact that T not only doesn't groan when I (or mostly Bug) mention Christmas, but he actively engages in the conversation and now we know where the tree will go, that the fake tree will be on the patio, and that there are all sorts of details I've wanted to do but never had time for, that I will now have aid and abetment for.
• baklava.
• hummus.
• green chile.
• snow.
• rocky road ice cream.
• iced coffee.
• chocolate milkshakes with bailey's and kahlua.
• good books.
• good music.
• good people.
• good food.
• good combinations of the above.
• new perfume.

A remedy for yesterday, plus Eye Candy

A big longer than yesterday's video, but OH. SO. WORTH. IT.



(provided to me by Cindy)

(ETA: apparently the comments aren't working right. if you feel inclined to comment and can't, lemme know and I will bug the ID people more...)

Work through the pain

Thanks to Lynn in Tucson for inflicting this upon me sending this to me...

Lene made me

Okay, she didn't really, but the one she posted reminded me of this. Not the same sentiment, but parts of the same whole.

I am standing upon that foreshore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails in the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, "There! She's gone!" "Gone where?" "Gone from my sight, that's all." She is just as large in mast and spar and hull as ever she was when she left my side; just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at that moment when someone at my side says, "There! She's gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

(Attributed to Victor Hugo, among others. See discussion of origins here.)

Splendor in the Grass

Okay, it's about time I introduce you to the new ladies in my life.

Meet Sage.



Meet Isolde. (Isolde is too much woman for me so I'm sharing her with Lynn in Tucson, who sent me with money to Taos and said DON'T BRING ME A FLEECE. So I only brought her half. So there.)



Sage is a moorit CVM from Windy Hill Farm (no site). When they shear, they shear down the middle, then down the sides, so her fleece was shorn in half. In the top picture, one half is tips up, one half (the taupe) is cut ends up. I was just going to take pics and blog, but she was so pretty lying there, I had to play with her some. Currently, she's soaking in a hot bath. She was a dirty girl (she was wearing a coat, but still) so she's changed a bit after her wash down. The brown is still deep and chocolatey, but her tips have washed out almost white, and her undersides are a beautiful silvery taupe, with some cinnamon bits. All in all, she's one sexy sheep.

Isolde is a silver Corriedale from Gleason's Fine Woolies. (No, I do not have another silver corriedale fleece at home. I do not know what you are talking about.) She has amazing crimp, and while she wasn't skirted as well as Sage, she's reasonably clean too. I expect she'll lighten a bit when we wash her. Lynn couldn't resist and took a bit of her home last week from knit night (why yes, I do bring 12 pounds of greasy wool out to the bookshop, why do you ask?) and washed, carded and spun her up. From Lynn's description, I'm going to get lots of pleasure from Isolde too.

Taos was wonderful - my stepdaughter met us there and took the boys so I could spend the whole day with Angie. We visited every booth, ogled the sexy cowboy spinning yarn with his boots off, ate cinnamon pecans and smoothies and kibbees and green chile and had more lemon drop martinis than this woman will admit to. (Angie stuck with the margaritas.) I got to meet Wilson, who seemed nice, although a little dazed by all the wool fumes in the air, and Bug got to see a shearing demonstration, and pet angora rabbits and pick out his very own yarn for a hat. (Pic of that later, I'm due back to rinse Sage in a bit.)

Living in Arizona

Inspired by Squish and Nora,

How to tell if you're from AZ

1. You notice your car overheating before you drive it.
2. You no longer associate bridges or rivers with water.
3. You can hear the weather forecast of 115 degrees without flinching.
4. You can be in the snow, then drive for an hour...and it will be over 100 degrees.
5. You discover in July it only takes two fingers to drive your car.
6. You run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace.
7. The best parking is determined by shade.....not distance.
8. You realize that "Valley Fever" isn't a disco dance.
9. You can make sun tea instantly.
10. Hotter water comes from the cold water tap than the hot one.
11. It's noon in July, kids are on summer vacation and yet all the streets are totally empty of both cars and people.
12. You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
13. Sunscreen is sold year round and kept right at the checkout counter.
14. You put on fresh sunscreen just to go check the mail box.
15. Some fools will market mini-misters for joggers and some other fools will actually buy them. Worse.....some fools actually try to jog.
16. You can pronounce Saguaro, Tempe, San Xavier, Canyon de Chelly, Mogollon Rim, Cholla, Gila and Tucson.
17. You can understand the reason for a town named "Why"
18. You can fry an egg on the hood of a car in the morning.
19. You know hot air balloons can't rise because the air temperature is hotter than the air inside the balloon.
20. You see two trees fighting over a dog.
21. You can say "Hohokam" and people don't think you're laughing funny.
22. You see more irrigation water on the street than there is in the Salt River
23. You have to go to a fake beach for some fake waves
24. You hear people say "but it's a dry heat!"
25. You buy salsa by the gallon.
26. Your Christmas decorations include sand and l00 paper bags.
27. You think a red light is merely a suggestion.
28. All of your out-of-state friends start to visit after October but clear out come the end of April.
29. You think someone driving wearing oven mitts is clever.
30. Most of the restaurants in town have the first name "El" or "Los."
31. You think 60 tons of crushed red rock makes a beautiful yard.
32. Your house is made of stucco and has a red clay tile roof.
33. Vehicles with open windows have the right-of-way in the summer.
34. Most homes have more firearms than people.
35. Kids ask, "What's a mosquito?" (ETA: NOT TRUE)
    
36. People who have black cars or black upholstery in their car are automatically assumed to be from out of-state or nuts.
37. You know better than to get into a car with leather seats if you're wearing shorts.
38. You can finish a Big Gulp in 10 minutes and go back for seconds.
39. You take rain dances seriously.
40. When it rains, everyone smiles and talks about the great weather.
41. When you drive two miles around a parking lot looking for a shady place - even in the dead of winter.
42. You feed your chickens ice cubes to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.
43. You "hug" a cactus only once in your lifetime.
44. When you have to look up "mass transit" in the dictionary.
45. A hundred ten in the shade is sorta hot, but you don't have to shovel it off your driveway.
46. A haboob happens.
47. Petrified doesn't mean scared.
48. The temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly.
49. You've lived in AZ your whole life and have never been to the Grand Canyon
50. You would give anything to be able to splash cold water on your face.
51. You can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
52. You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
53. You realize that snowbirds aren't really birds at all, but just really bad out of state drivers that you learn to hate
54. There are only two temperatures, hot and hotter
55. Even thinking about not having air conditioning makes you sweat
56. You travel out of state and any sort of humidity nearly kills you
57. You have no idea why 48 other states (Hawaii doesn't do it either) insist on changing their clocks twice a year for this thing called "daylight savings time"

Bread fail, stoned children, and an ode to the letter K

I think I am the only person in the world (seriously, it's even in Finland) who hosed my loaf of 5-minute artisan bread. (I think it was too hot in my kitchen, and I left it out too long.) My grapefruit sized loaf remained grapefruit sized even after baking, but I ate it anyway and it was DE. LISH. US. Seriously, must do it again. (And it was dense as all get out, and I think I gained four pounds from eating my one-pound loaf. And I don't care.)

****************

No, not my stoned children, and really, he was legally stoned by the oral surgeon. Remind me to bring a video camera to my kids' health appointments from now on.



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Cookie (do I really need to link to her anymore? you guys know Cookie.) gave me the letter K to list ten things I love.

1. Knitting
2. Knitting lace
3. Knitting socks
4. Knitting sweaters
5. Knitting hats
6. Knitting wool
7. Knitting silk
8. Knitting alpaca
9. Knitting cotton
10. Knitting buddies

What, too easy? (You would be saddened to know how long it took me to realize, hey, KNITTING starts with K...)

Okay, the real list.

1. Knitting (duh)
2. Key lime pie
3. Koalas
4. Kayaking (seriously, I need a lake)
5. That you can attend KNIT school
6. Kissing
7. Karma (only when the bad stuff isn't aimed at me!)
8. My kids (OMG that took an embarrasingly long time to come up with)
9. Kauai (must go back)
10. Knitting (cuz damn, I couldn't come up with anything else!)

***************

I'm playing the sock-club-from-stash game, starting on the first of March (hence, only doing ten). I have nine pattern/yarn combos picked out, and the tenth yarn. What pattern would you suggest for this?
ETA: nevermind!

A bit of crap, a little hate, and some Warm for Joan

First, the Warm.


(This was days ago - it's actually cool, gray and rainy today, which I love - will mean some fantastic allergies wildflowers for Joan.)

Second, the Hate.

I have discovered that I can EITHER have a life, or be caught up on the laundry, but not both.

(I said it was only a little bit.)

Third, the crap. (It's not really crap, most of it is awesome, but I'm tired of saying "Hey, I have some random stuff for you.")

Item 3.1 - Opal is way extra talented and I gots the goods, yo. (Ooh ooh, when I looked up her shop to link, I see she's having a sale!)


My photography does not do it justice. It's the perfect length, weight, sparkle, and it matches my earrings, though not the shirt I was wearing.

Item 3.2 - The other day, I went shopping at Ross, and when I stepped in the door, it was suddenly 1987. Sade was playing, and I was looking through such gems as these. Click for embiggenation, if you dare.


If you can't tell, the blue one has a tie painted on it, with a faux vest that says Rock and Roll. The white and black one is self ... (what did we call that, belted? tied?) with a plastic t-shirt ring off to one side.

Item 3.3 - Hey Cookie, I'm watching you.


And also, yes, I'm wearing neon orange eye shadow. And I'm rocking it.

Item 3.4 - I spend way too much time on YouTube these days. At least I haven't resorted to MAKING gems like these. Forget it. I can't even inflict this damage on you as a joke. Know that there are people out there with more free time, more access to bad music and lolcats, and less care for the rest of humanity than I have.

Item 3.5 - But I could watch this every freaking day and still laugh.



Item 3.6 - I will probably continue to embed videos in my posts until I get to the end of YouTube. And Vimeo.

Item 3.7 - Squishy sent me this (to show me the bridesmaid dress I will be wearing to her Texas Cheerleader Wedding) and it's too horrid not to share, point, and laugh. (As far as I can tell from various urban dictionaries, the use of which forever dooms me to geekdom, a chav is a white trash, gang banger wannabe, particularly one who leaves the education system and enters the welfare system at a young age. And a caravan is an RV.) I kinda wonder how the bride felt being interviewed for the "Outer Limits Tacky" article - if she took the "they're just jealous, cuz it was awesome" attitude, I might love her just a little.

Item 3.8 - I have actually been knitting a bit, and might soon have a looooong overdue FO.

love and hate.

Things I love:

• That my kid saw the ice cream truck at the park the other day and shouted, "Look Mama! The Song Truck!" and continued to call it that even after Daddy bought him ice cream from the window.


• That the little battery-powered train ride that goes around the pond at the park is Bug's idea of high-living.


• The way Squeak pops off after he's finished nursing, all milk-drunk, eyes rolling back in his head, milk dribbling from the corner of his mouth.


• Taking advantage of the weather and the lack of responsibility to enjoy myself.
  
  
  
  
• That when he's offered a gum ball from the box, Bug spends a good several minutes selecting the right color, going so far as to almost bite into one before he changes his mind and grabs a different one.


• Velvety purple petunias.
  


• Jackie Chan movies.


• February in Tucson.


• That people have no compunction about making fun of people who behave badly. (Warning, video NSFW, though the article is) I kinda want that on my iPod.


• That after six tries, I believe the heel on my second La Charade is done properly and at least resembles what I did on the first one. (Notes would have been handy.)


• That Squeak is finally starting to gurgle and coo like a happy baby, instead of alternating between "I'm having a giant poop" grunting, crying, and utter silence.


• As much as I love Bug and Squeak, the DH had his nethers snipped yesterday and I will be pregnant no more.


• The ribbon thing. Anyone know where I can learn this? (Note to Squishy: I'm wearing those teal/black hot pant things to your wedding.) (Prolly NSFW, but what do I care about that?)
  
  


• That when that song started playing, Squeak grinned and cooed.


• Somewhere a fun office environment exists (even if it's not *quite* this fun) and there are people who like their jobs. And I want to meet the SILF guy. And maybe steal his t-shirt.
  
  
  Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.(I know this is old, but it gives me hope.)


• This idea. I am too late for January, and I will use February to finish up some SIPs (that's socks-in-progress, y'all) and take my time to arrange for ten packages for the rest of the year.

Things I hate:

Um, I can't think of anything right now.

In the mood to start something.

But first, I am sucktastic because I forgot to blog about La's birthday (which was last Sunday) until JUST NOW. (Okay, that's not true. I remembered plenty of times, but I was either in the car, nursing a wee babe, or there were teenagers using my computer.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LA! (Go now, wish her a happy birthday and tell her to post more cuz we miss her.)

************

I had thought that I was going to have my new year's knitting resolution be along the lines of ignoring WIPs, a la Joan, and that when a new project captured my fancy I was just going to GO for it. In fact, I was so wired about this idea that I decided to cast on something new on 1/1. I have 2700 yds (which seems like a lot, so let's call it half that) of sport weight soy chainette yarn in a dull gold, and I have 900 yds of Shine worsted (cotton/modal) in Terra Cotta that I'd originally bought to be Bombshell (I think, now that I see the yardage called for I'm starting to wonder, and it might be best in a yarn that has some memory anyway). I could do Broderie in the soy. I could find some other yarn to use for Picovoli, which I might be able to finish before my brother's wedding on the 31st. Maybe Mary Jane, sans boob-flattening stripe across bust? I could take my bit of Christmas money and go buy a whole whack of Silky Wool and knit something else entirely, but here's my problem. Nothing is calling to me. Help a girl out?

***********

I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans today, thanks to the stomach flu and the breastfeeding. They aren't comfy, but they're buttoned. :-D

***********



I think my little men look alike at comparable ages.

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DH did indeed manage to get the floor in, and since the only one member of the couple in question came for Christmas Eve, we didn't have to go buy a new bed. He finished the floor with a whole day to spare, and I think he did a smashing job, don't you?



***********

Finally, our trees are changing.

Over and out.

Well, it's finished. The reason I hesitated to mention the idea that we were planning to move to California in the first place, several months ago. Friday we walked away from the deal and told the broker and the real estate agent we were no longer interested in the property. That's not entirely true - we were still interested in the property, but we weren't interested in jumping through any more (ever more shady) hoops, increasing fees and doubled closing costs, a monthly mortgage payment that was suddenly $500 more than they'd estimated, and my lack of job. Today was the last day of the extension for closing, and we told them that due to all of the above, we were no longer able to purchase the house.
The realtor and the broker were...unhappy. I am thanking my lucky stars that they had DH's cell phone number and not mine.
I was so thrilled to have the weight off my shoulders that I was bouncing off the walls all afternoon. I still think DH is sad about it, and to be honest, I am a little too, but it seems that when something is so painfully difficult, maybe it was never meant to be.
So, we're going to take the rest of the down payment and closing costs, finish paying off some debts, have a little fun, and finish what we'd started here at home. I think the thing I learned best from this whole exercise is what I was no longer willing to pay for. We downsized our life and our expenses quite a bit to finance this operation, and I'm not willing to let myself get back to where we were. I like living within my means. It's a new thing for me.

Part of the "have a little fun" was to go to the first Tucson wool festival. (Actually, there's been one at Withers' farm for several years, and that was today also, but this is the first time there's been a festival sponsored by the guild.)
I left my camera and my wallet (!) in the car whilst walking around, but after lunch (at the Cow Palace nearby, natch) I remedied the wallet situation and visited my new BFF, Ken. Check out my new pretties.





Orifice hook, lap bowl and supported spindle. I thought the supported style might allow me to spin finer stuff. (Like the baby camel that Lynn In Tucson is currently trying to convince me to blend with silk.) You know, once I learn how to use it.
And of course, the obligatory fiber-on-feet shot.

A day at the lake

We spent last weekend at the lake, and it was just what the doctor ordered. The Bug played in the dirt/mud/weeds to his little heart's content, and I sat in the shade and knitted a bit. We even got out on the lake for a couple short rides, but the combination of wind and lots and lots of rain for our area made the lake choppy, and full of debris. It's the highest I've ever seen it, just a foot or two shy of the high water mark, and has been low for so long that there are whole acres of trees underwater. Sunday we went up to the north end of the lake, drove to the marina to get gas, and made our way back to the launch.



The wind came up and kicked the waves up while we were in the marina, so what was a short little cruise there took three times as long to get back, fighting 4-6 foot swells the whole way! (For perspective, our little boat is 14 ft long.) I sat in the back, snuggling the Bug in his ginormous life jacket, and when I wrapped my sweater around his legs to keep him warmer, he decided all was well with the world and took a little nap. I don't know if it was because I was snuggling him or because he thought it was boring, but the level of this kid's fearlessness has me worried for his teenage years.

Here is a little panorama I made on Sunday. (It's a bit more than 180 degree view - the bridge was to the southeast of where I was standing, and the other end of the photo was due west. Click to embiggen, if you like.)



We had such a grand time while we were gone, and we all played so much, we were completely worn out when it was time to go.



And for Joan, who wants pictures of green, I present my lunch. Ahhh, avocado.



Pictures of actual knitting later, when I take the time to photograph some. (A bad blogger, I am.)

A whole week.

It just slipped on by. Nothing special happened, but it was all nice. I knitted, I sewed, I snuggled on the Bug, I enjoyed the sunshine, I enjoyed the rain when it got cold (yeah, a drop of 30 degrees overnight is cold no matter how you slice it).



It doesn't look that impressive in my little cell phone photos, but the clouds were covering most of the mountains and that snow level was down to 3000 feet. (I think my part of Tucson is 2000-2500, so it was close.) Thursday our high temp was at 3am, and our low was at noon. Heh.

Saturday we packed up and went to the lake. The little lot was green and soft and damp, a far cry from the usual hard pack that is my yard at home. The Bug had a grand time kicking weeds and running free and poking sticks in the mud, and I had a beer and some camnesia. There was knitting, a little stitching, and a lot of kicking back and watching the campfire. I wish I was still there now.

a bunch of crap and some links

I decided to get off my butt and take some photos. Alas, none of them will do much to warm Joan up, since it was just at dawn and the sky was cloudy anyway. Still, it's yarn and Bugs and that's always good in my book.

First off, I have some of Judy's Arequipa in the Atlantic colorway. This stuff is so soft I want to eat it. Or stick it in my bra. I rubbed it on Bug's cheek and he said, "Soft for Mama!" Yes indeed, it's all for me! It's being turned into Anne's Gust scarf, and it's so delicious I can hardly stand it.



(Forgive the craptasticness that is that photo. The yarn has a bit of halo, but it's not THAT fuzzy.)

Next up, we have the beginning of the Year of the Hat. This is Cascade 220 Paint in some colorway I forgot to look up. It has plums, browns, rust, and all shades in between, and will (most likely) be a Coronet for SIL R. (The picture didn't capture the colors well - those bright red streaks are actually a muted rust.)



The Bug blows you a kiss.



Joan sent me a little You Make My Day bloggy thing. She said something about my willingness to break the law at her behest. You know, only the best for Joan. :-) So I'm supposed to list 10 blogs that make my day (besides Joan's, of course) and link them for your enhanced reading pleasure. This is hard, since I don't read blogs unless they DO make my day, but I'll try to narrow it down a bit

Here you go:

1. Center of Gravitas. I always learn something, and no one does teh snark like GayProf.
2. Frank Notes. The man is a crafting genius, and I gain a pound every time I LOOK a picture of his cake. (Yes, actual cake, that is not a euphemism, you sickos.)
3. Purling Dervish. For the Def Leppard bed socks alone.
4. Shut Up And Knit. Because it's Cookie. And I like the abuse.
5. Cabin Cove. The colors! The spinning! The asses!
6. Knitspot. I want to be Anne if when I grow up.
7. The Seated View. I hate it when she posts things that make me think.
8. Smatterings and RiverRim. I'm combining these two because I love them for the same reason - the peaceful beauty of the pictures and the amazing work they both make look easy.
9. What Housework. Piggies and cows and peacocks, oh my! And Milo, and pumpkin pie from scratch, and Real Vermonter yarn, and buying local... It goes on and on.
10. Trailing Yarn. I love that she complains about not having enough knitting time and whips out all these (handspun) sweaters all the time.

Warmykins*

Yes, I have some photos to make Joan and all your northerners feel all warm and toasty. It's not actually warm and toasty here, but you can't tell that from the pics.
These were all taken as I walked to lunch in the office park where I work. As always, click to embiggen the warmykin-ness of it all.


Look! Grass! And it's green!


A pathetic picture of a purple pansy patch. (Hey, Mel did it, so can I.)


Oleander buds. (I don't feel the oleander love most of the time, but they're some of the earliest flowering trees around here. Most of the rest of the trees are just starting to bud leaves.)


A collection of bright flowers. The big yellow poppy things make me happy.

And since I have no knitting content, I will leave you with this quote my boss said the other day. I can't remember how it came about, but she said, "I'm out of yarn. I am going to work on something else for a while." I will let you ponder that for a minute. Out. Of. Yarn.

*I don't know where I got that word, but I like it and I say it all the time and it's my blog.

Additional randomness

Yesterday, the DH cleaned the back yard. There were a ton of leaves, the dead pool, the dog yard cleanup, etc. The Bug helped Daddy clean all morning, and when it was all done, he played in the muddy water from the pool. No, it wasn't really warm enough to be playing in water outside, but that doesn't stop this kid. I think he was a walrus in a former life.




The havoc wreaking was not limited to outside, of course.
My eyelet sleeve:



Extreme close-up of the problem:



That, my lovies, is a broken cable. [sob]


Last night we went out for a date for the first time in months. (I think we've hired our babysitter three times since the Bug was born.) We went to a bar where our friend's band was playing. They had a guest singer.



I, of course, brought the knitting. Because I am hip like that. Obviously, I couldn't bring the sleeve - too big, too broken, not good bar knitting. I brought the sock I started the other day with my fab Dizzy Blonde yarn that La gifted me over the summer. I was loving the toe, and then I started on the pattern, and another problem occurred.



Forgive the crappy photos - I am too lazy to take more. Now, I enjoy the pooling. I am a fan. I think it's neat. But when one side of the sock is one color and the other side another, I feel like I'm not getting the full effect of the yarn, ya know? Besides, the colors I like best (deep purple and salmon) were on the bottom. Riiiiiiiipp. I had to sit there for, like, an HOUR, and all I had to do was listen to music and drink beer! Oh the humanity!

Random photos, more or less

Three feet.



High speed.



Why I can never find my crochet hooks when I need them.



Concentrating.



I can't effing believe this is my life.



I'm too sexy for my pants.



Star Wars Baby Nerd humor.



Why we won't survive the Bug's childhood.

New Year Firsts

It's the new year, and I have some firsts.

First project finished:


Husband sock #1

First project cast on:



Husband sock #2

First dye project:



Leftover MIL cashmere lace, dyed for MIL Mother's Day project

First thing I'll regret later signed up for:



First Bug photo: