The Dragon Knits

I do it myself. Or why I need to get up 30 minutes earlier these days

2009-09-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Ah, 2. What an age.
The vocabulary skills are blossoming. The fine motor skills are improving. The independence is rearing is ~~ugly~~ lovely head. And yet the full mastery isn't quite there yet. But the knowledge to TRY is.

Practically every other sentence I hear from G these days is, "I do it myself". Okay kiddo. Go for it. And about 95% of the time he gets it. The other 5% when there is a portion of the task that he's still just too little to get done himself? Armagedon! Holy terror attack batman! The wailing, the screaming, the extra 30 minutes just to TRY until I finally hear a "You hep mama".

You can't tell a 2 year old I told you so.

They don't remember what you told them anyway.

I had to start getting up earlier in the mornings to make up for the extra time it takes to get G to walk to the car, climb up into the car, climb up into the carseat. And that doesn't even take into consideration that it's getting into coat season and he wants to put that on by himself now too.

I love it though.
Every extra minute of sleep I have to lose to see him gain and grow and learn.
Each time I make a comment about what a little person he is, he gets bigger and becomes more of a little person. He's my baby, but boy is he a little boy.

The real perfect house

2009-09-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

It's not that I was trying to lie to myself about the other house.
It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty nice. I could have lived there.
I just turned out to have some issues.
Big issues.
Issues I can't afford to fix.

Two days before the inspections my dad's friend stopped by to tell him they were ready to sell their house. I had known it was a possibility when I started my search, but sort of forgot about it because they didn't know when it was going to happen. And it happened then. Two days before the inspections. My dad mentioned it in passing, and I didn't give it too much thought. I had my offer in. I was getting inspections.

Saturday when my (incredibly awesome, I will totally refer her to anyone in the area needing a) realtor stopped by our campsite (yes, I'll say that again, she drove out to our campsite while camping in a local state park) to have me sign my response to the inspection findings (i.e. please fix all the big stuff) she asked what my thoughts were if he didn't want to fix things, would I up my offer? Pay for half? I told her we'd wait to see what the seller's response was first. I didn't want to increase my offer, and it had nothing to do with the suspician that the house wouldn't appraise for what I had as my current offer. And I don't have the spare money to split big repairs. My mom mentioned their friends house again, and I think I sort of half-heartedly acknowledged the remark, but was still under the assumption the seller would certainly pay for the big stuff and I'd buy this house. My mom wanted to know if I wanted to go look at their house anyway, just to see it. I said probably.

Monday when we got back from camping I had a message from my realtor. I didn't listen, I just called her back. The seller wouldn't pay for anything really. She asked what I wanted to do. I told her I needed to think about it. I got off the phone and asked my mom to call her friend and see if we could come look at her house. That afternoon.

So we did. After G's nap, we headed down. My first thought upon walking into the house and seeing just the kitchen was that it was going to be out of my price range. But I kept looking. And I asked what they wanted for it. And not only was it in my price range but it was on the low end of my price range! I finished looking through the house. The three bedrooms, real bedrooms with closets and heaters. The two full bathrooms, one off the kitchen on the first floor and one on the second floor. The very spacious dining room and living room. The bright sunny eat-in kitchen. Oh and the real honest to goodness wooden doors to every room. Throw in a usable basement, a nice yard, and negotiable appliances and I was sold. SOLD.

I called the next night to set up a time to come talk price with them and last night we sat down and talked price with the appliances and now my realtor has that price and is working backwards to create the offer. She hasn't seen it yet, but I know even my realtor is going to flip over this house.

I fell in love after talking price. I walked through the house again and really looked at all the details and the work put into it. I fell in love. THIS really is the house. THIS is the perfect house for me and G. And I didn't need to convince myself of it, I just know. I won't be in by Halloween, but I will be in before Thanksgiving and settled and ready to decorate by Christmas! I can't wait to have my own Christmas. The last time I really got to celebrate was 2004. And while last year I celebrated with G at my parents house, this year he and I will have a real Christmas house of our own.

And if there was ever an example of another door opening when one door closes this is it.

The name plate

2009-08-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

You know how you see on houses those cool name plates?

"The So-and-So's
Established 1995"

Well, being that I'm finally buying a house (yes, offer placed, offer accepted, more on that later I promise!) I thought it might be fun to get one of those for my new house.

Problem?

Who am I?

Am I my current last name? Because that was given to me by my soon to be ex. And I'm not entirely sure I want to be that anymore.

Am I my maiden name? Because then I won't have the same last name as G! And my sign will only reflect me, and not HIM, and the house, the HOME is most certainly his too. It's not just me.

Am I someone who has yet to be determined? Because I do plan to be part of a larger group. More kids. Loving doting partner. Maybe a kitten.

Screw it, I think I'll just get one of those signs that says something like "Live Laugh Love" and call it a day. Because really, I'm getting a house and I get to make a home and I don't care what name you put on it, it's going to be full of LOVE and Laughter and I plan to really LIVE there.

Also? House warming party at my new place some time early November! I can't wait to show it off.

North on I-79

2009-08-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I drove off for another business trip. Up to Cleveland. A portion of my drive was the same drive to would make to and from school while at PSU in Erie. Tuesday's drive was uneventful, and I'll admit the part that should have been familiar wasn't at all.

On my way home though, as I approached I-79 from the other side I thought to myself, "What would I do, if I could hop on 79 from this side, and head back into my college days?"

There were so many choices I made back then, over 1o years ago. What if I made different choices? I started dating and eventually decided to marry my soon to be ex husband there. I lost my connection with a guy friend who I had once thought I would end up with. I choose to switch from an education major to a psych major.

What if I headed back up 79 from this side and made some different choices? Would I still have my G? Would he be the same light of my life? Would be older then 2? Would he still have that determined personality and give the same wonderful hugs? Would he even exist? Would I change those decisions if I knew he wouldn't exist? That's the hardest question to answer. I could answer it either way, and depending on the day be totally confident in my answer.

I didn't head up 79, I drove right past it. Another 2 hours to my house instead 2 hours into my past. When I got home I was greeted by a great big "Mama!" and G took my hand and led me to the toy box to show me the puzzle he put together with Bubba. I shared a piece of pizza with G, and was beyond the moon excited to be back with him.

I'm not going to feel guilty that some days I wish I had taken a different path, even if it would have led me away from my G man. I can't really change my path anyway, and thinking about what if's are fleeting anyway. It was just that sign for 79 that took me back a bit more, for a bit longer than I've let myself go. Blame it on the drive, the long and boring drive.

Last day at work, 4 days 'til baby

2007-05-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

It's just incredible how quickly the time has flown by! I'm sure it has a lot to do with how easy it has been to be pregnant. I had very little morning sickness. I felt fabulous, no majors pains or that sort of thing. I had heartburn, and in the past few weeks my hips have felt like they're going to pop off, but that's not even THAT bad. Yes, I had gestational diabetes, so I couldn't gorge myself on krispy kremes and other treats, but that's probably why I only gained 29.5 pounds, spot on for weight gain. Of course after such a fabulous pregnancy I'm going to have to have a c-section, what with the stubbornness gene this baby got from his daddy, but even that isn't all that terrible in the grand scheme of things!

This weekend my parents come in and I'll be gathering up some last minute things we need. We're having some friends out Saturday for the last childless (for us) cook out. And I'm going to try to take as many pictures of my big old pregnant belly as I can so I can always remember it. I can't believe it's been 9 months since those first 8 tests came back positive. It was right after DragonCon, right after going home to PA for a PSU football game, it was surreal for the longest time. It still is surreal. There's a little baby in my belly and in 4 days he's coming out and I get to see what color his eyes are, how much hair he has, what his nose looks like. I'm on the verge of tears constantly just thinking about that. I'm scared and so extremely excited about it all. I have no idea what life is going to be like after Tuesday. I can't even begin to imagine! But I can't wait to find out! And for pete's sake I'm going to be a freaking mother! For the rest of my life I'm going to be a mother! Wow...just wow....

Well, I don't see me being very productive today at work. I have on my agenda to go say farewell to a lot of friends on campus who I used to work with, and I'm sure it'd be good if I finished up some queries I have laying around, but if I don't, I'm not going to stress too much. I have bigger things to worry about from now on.

Speachless Knitter

2007-05-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

About a year or more ago, I started teaching ladies in my office to knit. We started with a plain old basic wash cloth. We've made hats and most recently a felted bag. Most have branched off on their own projects and what used to be one day a week lunch lesson is more of a nice little knitting group. It's been fabulous to watch them learn to knit and learn to LOVE to knit. Plus it's been great to have a little built in group to knit with as a little break.

Today they surprised me. I was in tears (not too hard to do to a 8.5 month pregnant woman) and speechless (a very very difficult feat!).

Together they all worked on individual washcloths that two of the ladies then pieced together and bordered to make a BEAUTIFUL baby blanket. The extra washcloths were given to me for baby's bath times.

I can't tell you how much this really meant to me. I couldn't even tell them. It was the most amazing wonderful gift I've ever received. So extremely special.

I took a few pictures with my phone to show it off.

They don't do it justice though!

Let's just say I'm glad I won't be watching it happen!

2007-03-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

The birth that is!
We watched some seriously graphic births in our first birth class Monday night. Damn...all that streeeettttching!? Holy crap. Looks pretty painful! I'm just glad I won't be watching my poor patootie going through that. Feeling it is one thing...I think if I had to see it happen the pain would be 100 times worse!

In all honesty, I'm actually looking forward to the birth. I'm excited. I can't wait for the experience. I know....I'm sick.

And how was my weekend? This is how my weekend was:
I fell out of bed. No I wasn't sleeping, I was crawling into bed, leaned to far over, and sloooooooooowly slid down until I hit the bed frame with my ass-cheek and then hit the floor. The bruise is absolutely impressive! This was Friday night. Saturday morning I woke up with my first, and worst charlie horse evar! Add to that my sinuses were tingly, so I knew I'd end up sick sooner or later. Sure enough Sunday I felt like death warmed over. Today I'm finally able to walk straight, sit without pain and breath through at least one side of my nose!

Oh SNAP!

2007-03-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

What's that you ask?
Well, it's a rubber band of course! One that's obviously snapped!

But why in the world would you be taking it's picture you ask?
Well, it's visual proof that my belly is probably too big for the pants I'm wearing!

You see, I was using the above pictured rubber band to hold the top of my pants together, since they are pre-pregnancy pants, and I cannot actually zipper them or button them completely. So under my lovely belly band I have them held together by this wonderful marvel of technology. Until about noon time. I felt the snap, but it didn't register in my pregnant mind what it may have been. Until I moved, and realized my pants felt a wee bit looser. Lifting the belly band to investigate, this little broken bit fell out and my ego completely deflated. *sigh*

I found another rubber band to get me through the day, but I think this means these jeans should be packed away for the next year or so.

Project updates

2007-02-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

Well, both big projects are moving along nicely. Both are about 2/3 of the way completed and I'm feeling really good about the progress being made.

Of course the first of the big projects is the baby blanket.

If you can see, I've started on the second yellow patch, and once I finish that it's the last bit of green and we're done! It's really looking nice. It's so soft and lovely. This baby is going to have an abundance of blankets, two hand made, one by me, one by his bubba (my mom). It feels good to be making something just for him.

And the other big project is the baby!

This was just after my 30th birthday a few weeks ago. The bump is definitely growing steadily. It's hard to miss that I'm pregnant now. I'm still feeling fabulous, with just a few minor complaints, which I won't list because it's just not worth it! It's really becoming very real now, and the time is flying by. It'll be baby time so soon, and I'm grateful that the baby's room is finished, the blanket is mostly finished, and the other small projects I have going aren't too complicated. Well one is a bit...I'll mention that here in a sec. It's nice to know I won't have the stress over anything major in the last few weeks I have left.

So, the other projects....well, I'm replicating a baby wall hanging that hubby has from his birth for this baby. It's cross-stitch, which thankfully I'm familiar with. No learning curve there. I'm batting that out quickly and shouldn't spend too much time on that. I'm planning to have it finished in a few weeks so when my parents come to visit I can get my moms help framing and matting them both and hanging them in the room. The other project is birth announcements. In my infinate wisdom and finite time frame, I decided to use stamping to create the announcements. No, I've never done any stamping, nothing remotely close to what I'd like to make. So I have my book, I'm trying to get ideas, and then I'll need to buy supplies, learn what I want to do, and then pump out probably 150 announcements. No worries though! I'm sure I'll get it done in plenty of time. Especially now that I decided I can wait to learn to quilt and quilt a baby blanket. *grin*

Squish, bump, kick....

2007-01-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

Just a few weeks ago I actually started to feel this little guy moving around. It was very subtle at first, and I have to say completely strange. Over the past few weeks it's gotten a lot less subtle, until this weekend. I was sitting on the couch with Nate, knitting a little on my blanket (which I hadn't touched in weeks) when "pow!" (picture that in comic book style) the little booger belts me but good! A jumped, looked at Nate and then laughed a bit. I moment later "bam!", again with the belting! Of course then Nate put his hand on my stomach and he got all quiet and calm (that's right boy! Fear your father! hee hee). By the end of the weekend, we had both felt him quite obviously on the outside. He's a kicker...and he's a mover too. One night I felt him up to the left of my belly button, the next night down to the right. He's all over the place! I'm glad he's still got room to move, it won't last long!

In knitting news:
I've only added a bit more to my blanket, but I have picked it back up, so hopefully it will move along a bit more now.

Other fun stuff
I started a prenatal yoga class a few weeks ago, and last week I started a belly dancing class. Both are great! I love the prenatal yoga class because it's a bunch of pregnant ladies, and at the beginning we talk about how we're feeling. I've met a couple girls who are due around the same time as me. The belly dancing is just plain old fun!

Boy oh Boy!

2007-01-08T10:45:00.001-08:00

Yup!
It's a boy!
We saw the little bits on the ultrasound this morning!

I've been working on more and more baby socks. I even bought some lovely sock yarn this weekend (Sock yarn doesn't count!). I love the little socks. Now I should make a nice blue pair!

Baby socks...the new baby bootie!

2006-12-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, thanks to Wendy's wonderful sock pattern and a few frantic phone calls to Lisa, I finished a pair of adorable baby socks! I've never been a bootie fan, they're just too froo-froo for me. But the socks, they're just mini's and they are just way too cute! And damn quick too. They're so easy and quick, I even weaved in my stray ends!

So here they are, all alone, and sitting on the feet of my pregnant teddy bear at my desk:

I have more yarn with me to start my next pair...and my next...and my next...and my next....who knows when I'll stop! *evilknitterlaugh*

Progress on the blanket

2006-12-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

The baby blanket is coming along very very nicely. I've started on the second color, yellow. It moves along quickly, and even though now and then I miscount and get a bit off, it's still a very easy pattern.

This is the blanket today, before my lunch time knitting:

Baby Brain

2006-12-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

In the past month I have, on more than one occassion, discovered after leaving the bathroom that I forgot to zip up my fly. I think I just get so excited I can get the buttons closed one more time I forget about the fly!

This I believe....

2006-12-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

I firmly believe that all pregnant women, whether we've met before or not, should automatically be friends. If on pregnant woman declares herself to another pregnant woman the more pregnant woman should welcome the less pregnant woman into the pregnant club. A pregnant woman should never be cold or snooty to another, or brush her off with an air of indifference. We should all be in this together. I will reread this several times as I progress through my pregnancy to insure I will always have be an open friend to all pregnant women.

(PS: I do not expect that we will all sit down to coffee together and chat for hours about maternity clothes and morning sickness. But is it too much to ask to act interested and open. You've been where I am going and it's nice to have a warm face that's just as excited as I am. You know who you are. Bitch)

Inspired!

2006-12-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on the baby blanket (yes, Lisa, lucky you I found a pattern! *thpt*)
I have about 6.5 inches finished. Only, oh, say 33 more inches to go. It's a pretty fast knit though, and so pretty and so soft.

And I'm already planning my next projects. I was inspired after reading a new blog I stumbled upon, JoFrog is Knitfrog, who happens to be a new mom (I'm very much attuned to all things baby, mommy, and preggy at the moment, as it should be) and I found her blog through Knitty bloggy baby bumpers, a group I hope to join up with shortly. Anyway, back to the inspiration. Ms. Jofrog had knitted matching socks for her and her new bub, and the bub socks were the most adorable teeeny bitty things I've seen. So much cuter than silly baby botties. And to top it off, I've been meaning to start a new pair of socks...and while yes, I still have not closed the toe on my first sock, yes just one, I plan to soon move to these itty-bitty bub-alicious baby socks. I just need to dig out that Ann Budd sock pattern thing I have to see if I can make them small enough. Oh, and incase you were wondering, my inspiration only goes as far as the mini socks. I do not plan to be as ambitious as Jofrog and knit myself a matching pair. At least not in the near future! I'm realistic folks!

Imma knitting fiend!

2006-12-11T05:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, lace. I gave up on it. I'm such a quitter. Maybe I'll finish it some time this month and give it away as a gift. But I was realistic. After not touching it Monday or Tuesday I knew I'd never finish it in time for Friday night. Ah well.

I did find a lovely baby blanket pattern though! And I've been knitting away at that. I just keep rubbing it on my cheek, it's so soft. I'm using some inexpensive acrylic yarn I picked up with a gift card and I think it's just perfect. I knew I'd find the perfect pattern if I just kept looking. And how's this for knitting karma: My boss had started a baby sweater long ago, and when she found out I was a knitter (and teaching a few people in the office to knit) she asked if I could take a look at the sweater as she had made a mistake and didn't know how to fix it. When she finally brough it in, she couldn't even remember what the mistake was. With the help of another office knitter the mistake was found, and I fixed it for her, found her place in the pattern and invited her to sit with our knitting group so she could finish the sweater. Of course the pattern for the sweater also had a pattern for a baby blanket. THE baby blanket! So I got a copy of it and off I went this weekend.

My husband has confiscated the laptop for work (it is his work laptop anyway) so I have to wait until he's done before I post pictures, but I will get some pics up of my projects soon.

And thank you all for the warm welcome back! It's good to be missed, and be assured I definately missed all ya'll too!

Oh my goodness a new post!

2006-12-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, anyone STILL checking my blog is in shock!
And I'm going to try to keep up with the blog too.

I'm actually knitting, infact I have 3 projects that are mostly complete! The streakers shrug from Interwieve Knits in my lovely Manos, one sock with some knitpicks sock yarn, and my most insane attempt, a lace shawl in some mohairy unnamed yarn I got from a friend when she was moving. The shawl I started on Sunday, with the hopes of completing it by Friday for a holiday party. Hah! Yah, right. That just ain't gonna happen. So it may end up a gift for someone. But I will finish it. I started the madness, I will end it. And then I will never ever ever touch lace again. Nope. Not at all. I admire you ladies who knit lace! You amaze me! You're knitting chi is strong! Mine is weak. I celebrate when I get through just one row without extra (or not enough!) stitches. Never have I sworn more.

Oh yah, and there is this other project I'm working on. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it, but it seems to be going well. Nice and smooth. That project you ask? Well, I plan to debut it sometime in June. And technically it's not just my project, my husband helped, and continues to help. Okay, okay, I'll tell you (if you don't alreay know and most of you probably due...hee hee freudian slip!)....it's a baby! After a few years of trying, a few months of not preventing, and a period of time we figured it would never happen, it did! And yes, this is primarily a knitting blog, but I will definately be spreading a bit of baby around, since that's just my life right now!

Birthday Girl!

2006-02-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

Yup. Me.

Does that look like a 29 year old to you?!

Me neither! *grin*
But yes, I am 29 years old today. Yay me! So it is perfectly acceptable for me to be vain on my birthday.

We're going out to celebrate tonight with some friends and some drinks and maybe some dancing too!

So I have done a little knitting since the last time I posted here. Actually, I'm teaching 5 people to knit in my office. What a challange. Not because they don't catch on quick, but I've never taught knitting, or been to a knitting class myself, so I'm finding it really difficult to explain how knitting happens. But they are all enthusiastic and they keep telling me what a great teacher I am, so I'll keep teaching them!

So, yah, any knitters in the Chapel Hill area who want to go out with the Birthday Girl tonight, I'll be at the West End Martini Bar around 9 tonight!

DragonCon!

2005-08-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone else going to DragonCon in Atlanta?
I am!
8 more days baby!

*Yes, I know I've dropped off the earth. I'm still there, but it's looking up. I start my new job Sept 6, after a weeks vacation, including DragonCon. I haven't been knitting, and bad person that I am, my final SP package still has not be packed up and sent (yah, I probably gave myself away if my SP reads my blog). I even have a thank you gift for Susan, but haven't packaged that up either (Susan, I need to get your mailing address too!) Plus I started my "13th" grade biology and chemistry classes at night, Monday thru Thursday. Wow, I won't even get into how terribly awful the guy is who "teaches" my chem class. It makes me cry. So there's my update. If you're going to be a DragonCon, email me before Thursday! I'd love to meet up!*

WELCOME ZACHARY!

2005-08-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

I have a new NEPHEW!
He was born today!

Way to go Paula (and Brian)!

My parents are now GRANDparents and I. Have. A. NEPHEW!

*and at this point this is all I know, information from my teary mother just 15 minutes ago*

7lbs 13ozs, 23in long, born at 6:28pm.

Pictures as promised

2005-07-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

*Warning! Picture intense posting!*

The baby sweater I made for my sister:

This was our weekend fun last weekend with Bronwyn and Ian. This is a trick taught to us one morning while sitting on the porch with some very dear friends after a night of imbibement. Flying June Bugs. First, you catch a June Bug, and let me tell you they are quite abundant around these parts. In fact only after I moved to NC have I seen beetles this large! They're light Japanese beetles times 10. They don't bite, and I don't think they actually eat as destructively as the JBs. Anyway, catch a few, and with thread tie the end to a back leg, right up against the body. It's kind of oookie, but just wait for the fun you'll have! Then you just let 'em go! They'll fly around in circles in their "kite" string and many laughs will be had as you duck and try not to let them land on you. (Yes, it's hard to see the bugs)

Tying the bug up, a primer in pictures (click for biggie goodness):

This is Inca in the vetch field behind my parents house.

Here's an shot of the field. In the winter it's great for sledding. But the walk up is long and hard...we usually joke about putting in a little mini ski lift to pull us back up after the ride down.

This is Obi out on the dock at the Cabana Boy's parents house. Obi is terrified of water, but he's even more distressed to be seperated from his daddy. Nate swam out to the dock and I took the paddle boat out and Obi paced the shore for awhile. Then he just said fuck it, and jumped in and swam out. Getting him to swim back was interesting.

Here is our sexy new van, a 2005 Honda Odessey EX-L. Her name is Moya and she is wonderful! Great ride, some sweet comfort, and plenty of space. We'll be taking her down to Atlanta GA for DragonCon in September.

And the pictures you've all been waiting for!
First, the unopened "blue" box. So very very sparkly! Or Glittr-y as the case may be.

And the contents! Note the blue theme throughout? All the yarn is just spectacular, and I can't wait to knit it up...once I decide on what it's going to be!

The funny thing about that scarf is, in the card Suzanne calls it "something that feels like a cat". I made my husband feel it and his first response.....yupper, "feels like a cat"! Love it! I can't wait until it cools down so I can wear it.

So I hope you all enjoyed all the pictures. I suppose I'm kind of like picture camel. I save up all my pictures for one big release. I guess that's more like a reverse camel....

Amy, I did see on your blog where you were Suzanne's SP! At first I thought, "wow, what a coincidence that she's sending her packages to a Suzanne!" I also saw her packages on her blog. I'm so glad you spoiled her as much as she spoiled me! She really does deserve it!

Blue blue blue

2005-07-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

Nope, not sad! That was just the color theme of my third SP package! And I promise promise promise I took pictures of it, and once I get my lazy butt around to uploading them (really, no excuse since we have high speed internet now) I'll put them here. Everything was so pretty and soft and just wonderful. My wonderful (not so) Secret Pal Suzanne has really really spoiled me, and made my first SP participation fabulous. And she's going to make me fabulous too, or atleast help out...because some the lovely Rio yarn is going to become a skinny scarf which I hear is all the rave in the UK! *wink* The Drake likes to be on the cutting edge!

Now, not that I was tagged with this, but I found it on a friend's blog.

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy
Pronunciation Key
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncracies. Then, if you wish, tag five people from your live gerbil or friendslist to do the same.

1. Never leave the house once: Nope, I always forget one thing or another and have to run back in to grab it. I think my personal best was 5 trips back in before I was ready to go. But I do say I get it honest. My dad is the same way!

2. Soooooo: And I hate this one. When I talk I start and/or end most sentences with soooo. Especially on the phone. I'm trying to stop this one.

3. Stuffed animals: If my husband wasn't there to stop me, I'd still be buying stuffed animals like a kid. I love the cuties! Thank goodness I knit now! I can just make my own cuties!

4. Makeup: I refuse to wear it. Hate it. Hate it I say! It feels horrid. On super special occasions (Halloween, really) I might put on some eye shadow...lipstick a little more often (though I've developed a super-love of flavored lip glosses). I am the Un-Girl.

5. I am the Un-Girl: I know, I said that already, but I have to say it's a subject all it's own. I like dresses, but I hate heels. I like nail polish and long nails but I also like digging in the dirt. I don't wear makeup, but I like to look pretty. I can't think of any other category I've ever fit in...I'm not preppy, or punk, or goth, or boyish....I'm an un-girl, one who is girly in her own non-girly way.

Now, I've gone and tagged Lisa, Heather, Amy of AmyLovie, Amy of GoodtobeGirl, and my longshot tag Crazy Aunt Purl. Muahahahahaha

And the winner is......

2005-07-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

The Honda Odessey.
We decided it was the best for the price, nice and comfy, good extras.
Barring any complications we'll be signing the paperwork this evening and driving the new girl home. My new girl. Woot!

Yah, cause the last new vehicle we bought was the cabana boy's Dodge truck, which was cool, but his. Then I got the sub, which also was cool, but used. Now it's my turn. I picked the color inside and out too. And it's real purty. Leather seats even! Not that we wanted them, but the best gas mileage only comes in the leather seat model. Ah well. Heated leather seats. I'm not complaining!

Dan Irving: Anywho - my Dad owns a Honda Odessey and I have to say, while I'm one of those gas-guzzling SUV owning types, if I *was* a mini-type I'd have an Odessey. I've helped drive the van up to Long Island NY where the other half of my family lives and it was a pretty comfy trip. Edumunds shows a consumer rating of 9.2 which isn't too shabby. My dad isn't very mechanically inclined (in fact he is somewhat retarded in that aspect) but he's been able to keep the regular maintenance intervals. The van is about 5yrs old now and still runs really well.

Glad to hear it! The reliability and longevitiy was definately a factor.

Helen: can't help you much...we had a Dodge Grand Caravan in '92, kept it til 2002. Bought another one. had a MAJOR accident (2004) and man, hit a guy, hit from behind by garbage truck and two other vehicles and ended in a tree...when i went back to see the van, i was amazed at how beat up it was..and i tell ya, our injuries were totally minor compared to the look of this mess...man. unbelievable. so i hope your choices are as safe as ours! we are now on our third Grand Caravan

The rental we have now is a Caravan. It's not bad. Sounds pretty safe too! Didn't get too good of a rating from Consumer Reports though (none of the newer American vans did though). We've got one Dodge, and decided to go foreign for this one. Wow though. Wow. I have a whole new respect for safety ratings, air bags, and all that now. Really really glad to hear the Caravan has served you well!

When the car is the only thing you can complain about, you know you're golden

2005-07-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Really. I have to say that after all the complaining about losing a great and wonderful car, I'm just happy I'm not complaining about losing a great and wonderful partner.

And we get to go car shopping now! We got the replacement numbers from the other guys insurance company, so now we just have to sit down and crunch the numbers. But we're really leaning towards the Honda Oddessy. Yes, it's a mini-van. We do after all have two very large dogs. And hopefully some day some we'll have kids too. So rather than take our settlement and spend it on a crappy car to just "get us by" we figured we might as well buy a good, dependable, safe (side curtain airbag safe) vehicle now. We'll probably be making a few sacrafices for it, but it's not like we've never done that before. We'll get by.

I have to say I was pretty anti-mini. I have never desired to be the soccer mom type. First the test driving started to turn my opinion. They really are spacious! And comfy. Almost decadent really! Then we paid a few extra bucks a day to get a mini-van for our rental, then drove 9 hours to PA for family reunions. I have to say, it was the best trip we've had. The dogs has plenty of space. With all the seats down we could move around to get stuff we needed from our luggage (oh, luggage = rubbermaid bin. Yes, we travel in style) and if a nap was needed we just crawled back with the pups and snoozed in comfort (well, it's not soft-bed-comfort, but it's better then wehavetoomuchcraptoevenreclinethedameseats uncomfort!)

I have finished project pictures galore on my camara, but I just haven't gotten around to getting them off. My sister (who I got so see in all her baby belly glory! Hi P! It's a BABY!) got the sweater I made for her baby and by the pictures, I think she liked it. I hope she did! And the bear too. I have a picture of those to put up. I got the felted bag bug again, and knit up a bag with a little turtle intarsia bit. Kinda mixed and matched patterns, and came up with a cute little tote, that I still need to put the handle into and maybe line. But it's done and cute. I'm on my second repeat of the decreases on the clapotis, and it's looking lovely. I did 15 drops instead of 12 during the lengthening section, but only 5 of the 6 increases, so it'll be a bit thinner but longer. I couldn't resist showing it to my mom, even though it wasn't done. I just had to show her the beautiful alpaca yarn. I think she liked it! *grin*

Oh, if anyone out there reading drives a Honda Odessey let me know how you like it! Or a Toyota Seinna...that's our #2 choice.

2005-06-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

You put $1200 into a great car that runs near perfect but just happens to be about 12 years old, and what do you think happens? It gets totalled.

It's a good thing that's the only thing we can complain about though.

I was at home. I had just got in from de-flowering the garden and was in the process of emptying the dishwasher and ran outside to have a smoke. And the phone rang. It was the cabana boy, who asked if I wanted to good news or the bad news. The good news was he was walking, the bad news, the Subaru was totalled. Some kid pulled across two lanes of stopped traffic into the third lane where Nate was moving at about 35mph.

I had to drive 30 minutes. Some things about living in BFE really do suck. I knew he was okay and talking, but that's all I knew. I had my mom on the phone with me (on speaker phone, I wasn't taking any sort of chance) to keep me calm while I drove there.

Nate's okay really. A lot beat up, some bruised knees and sore muscles. Thank Subaru for making a good safe car.

It just sucks a lot to have our wonderful safe car is now totalled, and it's going to be a hard task to find another just like it for what pittence I'm sure they'll end up giving us for it. Oh, but we'll be making sure they know that in the past month we put over $1200 into our baby.

Monkee, this one's for you!

2005-06-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

I was out and about for my job today, and ran across a store.

In case it's hard to see (which is highly possible, seeing as I took the picture with my phone camera) the sign on the store says "Monkee's".

See Monkee, it's all yours! I suggest you go claim it and turn it into a yarn store. While I like shoes and all, the area this little shoe store is in sure could use a cozy yarn store, maybe with some outside tables with umbrellas to sip coffee from the cafe across the way, while knitting and people-watching.

political with a bit of contempt...no knitting, sorry

2005-06-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, if you have anything along the lines of a white magnet that says "bigot" or maybe "asshat" on it, I'd love to have one. There is a car that parks in the parking deck of the hospital/university I work for that has this bumper sticker on their car. It makes me fume everytime I go past it. How hateful and evil. I would love to slap something over it to show what a bigotted statement it is.

Not that I think it would change their opinion, but it would make me feel better.
*scream*

Sooooo many good things!

2005-06-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I should mention this is going to have a LOT of pictures. So if you don't have high speed dial up (WHICH WE DO! but I'll get to that in a bit) be patient.

First we'll start with Saturday. If you've read Lisa's blog you already know that we took Heather, who is new to the NC area, on Yarn Store-palooza. We had a great time, and made a really great new friend. The highlight of the entire trip was definately finding Shuttles, Needles, and Hooks in Cary.

Yes, that is a stove. The store is in an old house, and with all the nooks and crannies to stuff yarn in, it was like a treasure hunt!

Lisa and Heather checking out the amazing (really really amazing!) stash.
I can't wait to go back again.

Then today. Well today started kinda crappy. I had to meet with my boss for my yearly eval. Not too good. And I knew it wouldn't be. I won't go into why or how. But finding a new job will definately bring some fire back into my gut. And I let my boss know this, and that I was looking. He gave me his full support, and let me know not to worry that I'd be replaced before I found some other place to go. A good and bad meeting all in one.

When I came home things definately brightened up. My lovely lovely cabana boy had finished some garden work to make our beans very happy. He also put up a new bird house so we can lure more blue bird families to our back yard. We already have one that's returned from last summer, so it will be fabulous to have more. Oh, and the returning family has already hatched out one nest of babies, and there's another waiting in the box now too. He cooked up some lovely dinners for the week too. Some amazing soup in the crock pot! Want the recipe? Just ask! But I warn, it's a long long list. Oh, and he suprised me by opening up my blog and willy nilly clicking links...and guess what?! They all opened in a FLASH! Yes! Our DSL modem came today, and the Cabana boy had it all hooked and set up. So I bring you my Dragon blog from high speed heaven! But that wasn't all! As you may have seen, I love my hummingbirds. We have three feeders. Well, we had three. Now we have SIX! Yes, six feeders for the mean beasties to fight over. We had a nice sit on the porch watching the drama while downing a few beers.

And not to top the boy, but last and not least was my next package from my Secret Pal! It was shimmery and shiney and sparkly, perfectly fit for a blue dragon like myself!

Lovely smelly lush message bar, sparkley yarn, kidsilk,

a wonderful Debbie Bliss pattern book

, wonderful smelling candles that say Knit Goddess on them

(SP, did you put that on yourself?!) and NORO SILK GARDEN!

Yes, you can all become green with envy now. My SP is the best. Yes, I rolled around on the floor professing my love for my SP wilst rubbing Noro on my cheeks. Yes, my cabana boy professed his confusion.

I have a few more pictures, but the Cabana boy is threatening to eat my dinner if I don't finished up with this blog thing and go spend time with him. Oh, and speaking of Cabana boys, SP.....

Beary Beary Good!

2005-06-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

I hate when I forget my sunglasses on a super sunny day!
I forgot just about everything this morning. I had to run back for my gym clothes.
What I didn't forget was every single thing I need to work on the next bit of beary goodness!

The first bear hanging out with me at work.

I think I'm going to have to make myself a bear too, because I'm going to miss this little guy when I finally send him up to my sister!

2005-06-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

and your inner dragon is a ....

Topaz Dragon
In the war between good and evil, a Topaz Dragon tends to walk the fine line of Neutrality.

When it comes to the powers of Chaos vs. those of Law and Order, your inner dragon is a risk taker and answers to no one.

As far as magical tendancies, a Topaz Dragon's nature does not lend itself well to the ways of Magic.

During combat situations, whether by spells or by claw, your inner dragon will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Dragon Description:

The Topaz dragon makes it's home on temperate islands and coastal regions. This particular gem dragon is widely known for it's impish behavior and charm.

Unless something specifically interests or affect them, topaz dragons tend to be indifferent to happenings about them.

When born, a topaz dragon is a dull yellow-brown in color, infused with streaks of blue. As the dragon ages, its scales harden, darken and become translucent and faceted. A topaz dragon shines brightly, giving off rays of amber and blue light.

This Dragons favorite elements are: Topaz, Beauty, and Charm

Sent to me by my SP, whose blog is not listed on my site. *grin*
From DragonHame

Hummingbirds are back, a Jayne hat, the Dragon Lair is where it's AT!

2005-06-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, was that bad or what! I had that title stuck in my head since yesterday afternoon, I just had to use it! It came to my while enjoying a Yeungling on our wonderful porch, watching the hummingbirds beat on each other. Hummingbirds really are vicious creatures! We have three feeders, and they still fight each other for food.

So yes, yesterday the hummingbirds were really back. I saw atleast 2 red throated males, and a female. Those buggers don't usually stay in one place long enough for pictures, but one likes to hang out on the windchime, so here's a couple not so good pics.

I had my feeders out for probably 3 weeks, and they just started coming yesterday. Could be because after 3 weeks I finally changed the food. I'm sure it doesn't take much fermented sugar water to get a hummingbird drunk!

I'm also so very close to having 3 projects finished. The bear has a face, I just need to better attach his arms. Here he is before face

The baby sweater is all seamed (and I have to say I did a kick ass job on the seams!) and just needs the buttons.

And I started the Jayne hat for my cabana boy Friday, and am so almost done with it! I would have finished it Saturday evening but I kept drinking the Yuengling, and I didn't want to mess it up, so I put it away for the night.

I did some gardening too, my other summer love.
Look away if you're squeamish, I'm going to show the big wolf spider that hung out with me while I weeded.

Okay, bug all gone now. Here's what I was weeding.

So, in Crazy Aunt Purl style I have my very own crazy neighbor story. Let me first start by saying, me and the Cabana boy are easily the most normal people in our little country neighborhood. Just a run down:
First there's the husband and wife who both hit on me on the same night while the cabana boy and I were being nice neighbors and hanging out with them.
There is the extremely large (large=obese) man who deems it his business to be in everyone elses.
The two men who feed stray cats and therefore have over 100 feral cats hanging around their house and the neighborhood.
There is the very nice couple who we've hung out with on several occasions who seem sweet, but are extremely bigotted and prejudiced.
There is the couple who are stoned pretty much 24/7.
There is the crazy lady, who used to have a husky that ran loose all over the neighborhood, and now has several cats. She has moved from renting one house to renting a ginormous house right next to us.
And then there is couple with literally a pack of dogs (where one dog killed another, so they replaced the dead dog so the pack would still be large enough) and the woman should probably be in the loony bin, and the dogs run everywhere. Oh, and they put up an invisible fense, but the dogs never have the collars on, so of course it didn't work.

So the story involves Crazy Lady, the pack of dogs and their family, and fat man. And two cop cars. The story goes that the pack of dogs mauled Crazy Ladies cat, so Crazy Lady called the cops (we live in the middle of nowhere, there is no animal control). The pack of dogs family was informed they needed to contain their dogs. So they went out and put up a shitty green metal fence, whilst shouting obsentities at the Crazy Lady. Crazy Lady came over to tell us about this yesterday afternoon too. The dog family was finishing the fence up yesterday too, and apparently the loony wife started yelling at Crazy Lady again, so Crazy Lady called the cops. The cops came out, and then the fat man appeared. You know, cause it's exciting and he needs to be in everyone's business. Two cop cars. With blinking lights and everything. I can see how the fat man was drawn there. I was almost drawn there! I stood on a turtle pen wall and watched a bit.

Finally the cops left. Then they came back. And Crazy Lady called us to ask if she could (drive over her yard and) use our driveway to leave because she didn't want to drive by them. Then the cops left again. Then Crazy Lady came home. By this time we were relaxing again on the porch. And then Crazy Lady called again. This time the Loony wife was apparently sitting on their porch staring at her through binoculars. And the story ends there. For now. Wow, what a bunch of wackos. The cabana boy and I are just going to laugh our asses off at it all and try to stay the hell out of it.

And I'll leave you all with this picture. A huge mamma cooter laying eggs on the side of the road right down from our house.

"Don't do it mamma! This whole neighborhood is bonkers!"
*yes, the color is very purple. It's from my phone camera. bleh*

Thanks to everyone on the compliments on the Xback. Rachel, it is a tattoo, a butterfly. My first one too. I love anything that shows it off!

SPAzuredrake said...Loving the x back! Looks great with flip flops - you still haven't a link to my blog..... ;) And that bear is toooooo cute...... SP, I have to say I spent almost an entire day going through the blogs on the knittyheads blogring trying to figure out who you might be! I was quite unsuccessful though.

I'll leave you with one more picture, again. Inca lounging, as she so loves to do.

Cute and Cuddly

2005-05-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures.

First the cute Xback made its debut this weekend. It went out clubbing at Legends in Raleigh with friends. Please disregard the flip-flops, I really wore a strappy pair of sandles, but I was trying to save my feet for dancing.

My cuddly Billy Bear lounges during a knitting lunch with Lisa. He's still missing his face, but that didn't stop him from getting plenty of attention everywhere he went.

It's a bill! It's a magazine! No! It's a SP package!

2005-05-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm all giddy, my first SP package came today!
Thank you Secret Pal, I love it all!

All wrapped up in pretty blue paper, it looked so lovely.

My wonderful SP sent me some beautiful Rowan Summer Tweed in the prettiest purple. And I just picked up some knitting books at the library, so I'm going to find the perfect tank top to make from it!

And food stuff! Luxxie Green & Black's Dark Chocolate bar...I did express some restraint and only immediately at a few bites. But that is not going to last long at all! Plus Vanilla Chai Latte! I think I'm going to try a chilled latte this evening while I wander the pages of the knitting books. And tomorrow morning a nice hot cup for the ride to work.

I think the coolest part of my gift was that is came from the UK. It's like getting a piece of somewhere far away.

Thank you Secret Pal for a wonderful gift!
And just as I'm typing this up, I realized I forgot the card. So I went over to open it. SP it is such a cute and funny card! I'm going to put it in my office! I tried to take a picture to share.

And don't worry about being late, I didn't think it was late at all! But I'll always accept chocolate as appeasement anyway!

*hug*

Evil Kitty agrees. It was a great gift, and I have THE best SP!

Not a very knitty weekend

2005-05-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Not that is was bad or anything.
My cabana boy is helping a friend build a tree house. For his step kids. Yah. Right.
The new digi camera come Friday, so I took a few pictures, but now we have to get the 'puter set up so we can download them. And by set up, I mean the cabana boy needs to plug in the cable for me.

So back to the tree house. It's pretty cool. I never had a tree house when I was a kid, so it was fun to be up high. And speaking of up high. I seem to have developed in my old age a pretty severe fear of heights. Yah, it sucks. I don't know how that happened! I probably hate roller coasters now too! Damn!

I left the boys to play while I went to the local farmers market. There was some lovely lovely lovely locally sheared and spun Corriedale wool yarn from Long Haven farm. $16 for over 400 yards. If I hadn't spent all my research money I would have bought some. I will buy some at some point though. Just because I like to support local yarn. I also picked up a few things for the final box to send to my SP. And that's all I'm going to say about that! The Carrboro farmers market is pretty nice. I like to walk around, look at all the fruits, flowers, veggies, cheese. But I wouldn't necessarily say you save any money by buying there. Again, I like the idea of supporting local farmers, but personally I think the prices are a little on the high side because of the locale. The people in the Carrboro/Chapel Hill area are willing to pay more for something "rustic" or "farmy". There's another farmers market in Raleigh that I've only been to once, and don't really plan to go back to (too far, too messy to drive). There's also one in Greensboro, that I've only been to once and I can't wait to go back. I got a good deal on some goat cheese (and I love me some goat cheese!), and the thing was freaking huge! You could probably fit about 3 Carrboro farmers markets in the oustide area, and they have buildings too. And the prices really are a good deal. Course then you have to make up the difference in gas. And I'm not going to get into that.

Anyway, I did a few more things in town, went back to check that my cabana boy and his friend hadn't fallen or anything horrific like that, and eventually we headed home. Where we proceeded to sit on the porch, then watch some tv, all while drinking beer.

I also stuffed my Billy Bear Saturday, and attempted to attach his head. It was a complete train wreck, so Billy Bear is still in parts. I have no idea how to attach a freaking head. I'll have to do it soon.

I keep saying this, but I promise pictures. I still haven't taken a picture of the finished xback. I need a picture of the progress on the seed stitch jacket for the baby, too. And Billy Bear in parts! As soon as the cabana boy sets up the 'puter, I'll be right on it! I promise!

From Amanda "Katsu isn't listed as a favorite band!!!!! I guess they're too new. Fight on State!
Okay, I must have been gone far too long! Katsu sounds familiar, but I don't remember them. *cry* Boy do I miss State College! P.S. (I love) U. We Are!!

And thanks to Amy, Helen, and TuxedoTabby for laughing along with me. I'm definetely one of those people who look around for someone to giggle with when I trip over a crack or my own two feet.

What's on the 60" projection screen TV
Hey, it's my new feature! Movie suggestions. We watch A LOT of movies. We are Netflix junkies, and not to brag, but about a month ago we bought a Sony Grand Wega, 60" rear projection TV. It is amazing. Weekends we watch tons of movies, so I figured I'd fill you all in on the ones that I loved.

This weekend it was Team America: World Police
If you like to fall off the couch laughing, this movie is perfect for you. It's made by the same guys who made Orgasmo and South Park. You can even recognize some of the voices. The songs are priceless. It's just a fall down laughing great kind of movie! Defintely highly recommended for those with a good sense of humor and who can handle puppet sex. "America! Fuck Ya"

We also watched Kinsey
This movie was about a pioneer sex researcher. A really great movie with a lot of parallel to what's going on now with the (lack of) sex education.

Foot in mouth syndrome

2005-05-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this happened last week actually, but I was telling the story to Lisa at lunch today, and she about fell off her chair laughing, and I promised her I'd put it up on my blog so the rest of the world (what bit that reads my blog atleast) can have the joy of laughing so hard it hurts.

Now, mind you, both incidents happened on the same day, infact within a 10 minute span.

So, I'm walking over to the hospital from my office. I take the scenic route, crossing the street and up the little hill, under the sky bridge from the parking deck. As I cross the street a man with his little son in a wheel chair are on the corner. They ask me where the dental school was. I pointed up on the hill, the building at the end of the sky bridge. Now, as Lisa would say, work with me here...the building really is at the top of a hill. There is one set of steps, the sky bridge (from the parking deck), and the turn about for cars to access it. Father asks me how they get up to it. My response? First damn thing out of my mouth?

"Well, you can't use the stairs".

Yes folks, that's exactly what I said to the man with his son in a wheel chair.
I did point out the turn about access too, so I'm not a complete imbecile.

On my way, into the hospital, and back to the elevators. Again, work with me. The elevators in the hospital are brutal! They take no prisoners when closing, and sticking your hand in to stop the doors is like taking your life into your own hands. Okay, so I get on the elevator, and then hold the door for the elderly woman maneuvering her elderly husband in the wheelchair onto the elevator. Elderly woman says to her husband "are you in dear". I give them the affirmative, ask what floor they are going to, then say, "You gotta watch out for those [elevator] doors, they'll take your leg off!" all cheery and joking like. Elderly wife says, "Oo, that's bad, since he's already lost one leg."

In my freaking defense, the man had pants on. He must have had a prothesis or something, I swear I didn't even notice!

So, yah. My mouth and brain are usually a wee bit disconnected.
There ya go.

Moving up the technology ladder

2005-05-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Crappy digital camera that usually shuts off instead of taking a picture? REPLACED! New digi camera on it's way, all 4 megapixels and all. Found in the virtual sale bin at TigerDirect.

Crappy dialup internet access? GONE! Or will be by June 16th! Finally Bellsouth has deemed the boonies we live in worthy of a technology upgrade!

A camera I don't have to release the sailor on and an internet connection that doesn't make our friends laugh at us...yup, that means more pictures uploaded and more surfing from home. Shit, maybe I'll actually start working at my job again!

I'm on the lookout for a package coming from the UK. My lovely SP gave me the heads up that it's on its way. She also mentioned her blog is not listed with the blogs I frequent. Ah Ha! A hint! *scratches head*

2005-05-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

I love it! It's all me baby!

You Know You're From central Pennsylvania When...

You think driving from Johnstown to Ebensburg is a long trip.

"Hey Yuz Guyz" is a greeting.

You take time off of work/school for the entire 3 days of doe season.

You know the location of the following towns, know someone from them, and have spent time there: Altoona, Clearfield, Penns Valley, Port Matilda, Centre Hall, and Tyrone

You've taken deliberate field trips to Penn's Cave and Horse Shoe Curve.

You know what to do when your Mother tells you to "Red up your room."

You feel the only good bands out there are Rude Dawg, Velvetta, Wrench and HotWax.

You know the time and location of every Wing Night in a 10 mile radius.

You complain about people who are on the news crying about their wet basements after a hard rain and reply with a comment like, "That's not a flood, Johnstown in '77 was a flood."

There are pictures of you as a small child with the deer your dad or grandfather killed.

You think people from Philly or Pittsburgh talk funny.

You own an original Terrible Towel.

You don't understand what all the hype is about for Rolling Rock. You've been drinking
it for years.

You consider an exotic vacation a trip to the Jersey Shore.

Your version of the English language contains no form of the verb to be. For example, "the car needs washed" instead of "the car needs to be washed".

You're 45 years old, have never been outside of Blair County, and don't see the need to leave.

You don't understand why all sports commentators don't sound more like Myran Cope.

Words like: hoagie; chipped ham; and pop actually mean something to you.

You can use the phrase "Firehall Wedding" and not even bat an eye.

You think Altoona is a "big city"

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from central Pennsylvania.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here

More cool things for your blog at
Blogthings

Yarn pOrn!

2005-05-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

From my shopping spree Friday first we have the lovely lovely manos:

Mmmmm...*drool*
Not too sure what that's going to be yet though. Aren't those colors fabulous! I love the combination.

Next we have some Lion's Pride Chunky

that will most likely become a felted purse. Another great color combo too, in my opinion.

Then there is some Oh-So-Soft Inca Alpaca

I'm not going to say what this is for, but mom, if you read this...please forget you saw it.

More Lion's Pride, worsted weight

for Nate's Jayne Cobb hat.

And while I was all excited, loving my yarn, Obi and Evil Cat showed their complete and utter lack of interest.

Silly animals!

And a little bit late, here is some of the yarn I got at the swap

which is a bit more green than it is blue in person. I've already started it up in the seed stitch jacket, and I like the way it looks. If you were the one who put this in the swap box, I'd love to know more about it. It said it was overdyed, but it also seems like it's hand spun? Maybe not. But it's a nice yarn, and I think will make a great sweater for my new niece or nephew.

More Jackpot!

2005-05-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say, the SEX was wonderful!
Even though Lisa couldn't join me.

Here's a blurry picture from camera. I promise better ones from home as soon as possible.

Some Manos, some Lamb's Pride, some alpaca. Some SP yarn too, but that's not in the picture, lest I give my identity away!

I did stop by so Lisa could pet the yarn. She needed it after her rough week at work.

It's always good to have some yarn to pet when you are having a stressful day at work!

Rachel, I am a huge Firefly fan, and can't wait for Serenity! And most of the cast will be at DragonCon, so I'm really really excited for that! Ooooooo, I want to meet them!

Amy, I would have enjoyed company, SEX is good, but SEX with friends is best! *evil grin*

Jackpot!

2005-05-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

In so many ways, too!
I just haven't had any time to post though.

First, we'll take you back in time a bit...to last Saturday.
I promise to get some pictures up from the Knittyboard yarn swap box! In the meantime Lisa has many nice pictures on her blog you can check out. I did swap for some lovely overdyed green cotton/wool yarn. Enough to make a seed stitch jacket for my sisters baby. Plus a skein of Lamb's Pride that is going to become Billy Bear from a Debbie Bliss pattern. It is so so soft! I think the bear will be so lovely!

After the swap we stopped at the dump. My dump has this great thing called a free shed. It's the easy way to dumpster dive folks, I assure you. We check it out everytime we're there because you just never know what your going to find. Like this time! A huge bright pink and purple knitted blanket! Wonderful acrylic, squeaky goodness. I need to get a good picture so you all can appreciate the color...the first thing I thought was WOMB!

And today will be the S.E.X. day to end all S.E.X. days! Hopefully Lisa will be able to accompany me to Yarn's Etc (~~~send in your grades all you silly non-sending-in-grades people~~~) where I will spend a good bit of money on yarn. Yesterday I completed the highest paying study I've participated in so far! 8 days eating only what they give me, two days collecting my own freaking pee in bottles, and 2 overnight stays in the hospital topped off with 2 mornings of an IV in my arm. This yarn is well earned, that's for sure. I've got my mental list in my head (Mom's clapotis, SP yarn, Jayne hat, Manos) and I'm just itching for a big big yarn forray! I do promise pictures!

The other half of the payoff went to buy our passes for DragonCon. My first time, and I am so excited! That's what the
Jayne hat is being made for....my personal cabana boy is going to do a Jayne costume (pretty easy too), I'm going to be Kaylee. And if anyone has a paper rainbow umbrella or knows where to find one, please let me know!

Look at me! I'm Vested!

2005-05-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that sound like someone just gave me a whole lot of vests? O I hope they're knit vests! Lovely knitted vests.

Nope, it just means I've been working here at the university, for the state, for 5 years. Yesterday. Exactly 5 years on May 4. 5 years plus 1 day today.

*sigh*

So I'm vested. I think that means I get all my retirement money, or something like that. I know it means I now get 11+ hours of vacation per month. Woot. If I had been accepted to stupid nursing school I'd be leaving this joint in like 5 more days. Stupid nursing school.

And I haven't been knitting at all this week. Any free time I have (execpt the free time I steel at work for web surfing and blog posting) is spent studying for my Nutrition final on Monday.

Monday I take my final, Tuesday I take this apptitude test for a nursing school. I need to review my geometry before that, cause I don't remember squat. And if freaking highschool dropouts show me up, I'm going to cry. This is my last chance for nursing school this year. If I don't get in, it's on to a 2006 acceptance rally.

Saturday a few NC members of the knitty board are getting together at Weaver Street to rummage through a Yarn exchange box. I'm rather excited. I bought a few skeins of random yarn at Yarn's etc, and I'm thinking about trading them in for matching skeins to do Clapotis for my mother. Or another Honeymoon Cami for myself. I'll have to see what I can find.

Oh, I've been tagged!

2005-05-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks Amy, I actually enjoy these in a perverse sort of way!

Here's the rules:Pick 5 of the following and then complete the sentences. Then pass it on to 3 more of your blog friends! But no tag backs! The Premise (pick 5):

If I could be a scientist
If I could be a farmer
If I could be a musician
If I could be a doctor
If I could be a painter
If I could be a gardener
If I could be a missionary
If I could be a chef
If I could be an architect
If I could be a linguist
If I could be a psychologist
If I could be a librarian
If I could be an athlete
If I could be a lawyer
If I could be an inn-keeper
If I could be a professor
If I could be a writer
If I could be a llama-rider
If I could be a bonnie pirate
If I could be an astronaut
If I could be a world famous blogger
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world
If I could be married to any current famous political figure...

Here are my answers:
If I could be a farmerI would own sheep, alpacas, rabbits, goats, chickens, and horses. I'd spin yarn from the sheep, alpacas, and rabbits, and make cheese from the goats. I'd ride my horses everyday. I'd open a little country store and maybe a bed and breakfast too.

If I could be an inn-keeperI would own an inn somewhere in a little town in Germany. I'd make sure to say hello to all my guests and help them enjoy their visit. I'd have lots of yummy food and beer to feed them, and myself too. It would have a beautiful view of the town from every window, porches to retire to in the evening, and soft down comforters in soft colors.

If I could be a bonnie pirateI probably wouldn't steal much from people. I'd just drive my pirate ship all over, visiting every country and enjoying the food and beer.

If I could be a psychologistI wouldn't be having all these problems with choosing a career! Stupid not-getting-my-PhD. Oh, and I'd do research, on schzophrenia and multiple personality disorder because they have always fascinated me.

If I could be a chefI'd be fat and happy.

I tagged Lisa...now I just need 2 more...

Friends, knitting, and cabana boys

2005-05-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

A great weekend! Saturday was knitting with Lisa (urbanpagan). We knitted all over the place. First we checked out the bead store in the Carr Mill mall. Then over to Yarn's Etc. We sat and knitted there for a few minutes. Then over to Tyler's for our own little Stitch and Bitch. No one else showed up by the time we finished a plate of Tyler's fabu homemade potatoe chips, so we headed off to pick up some bacardi and coke, and went back to my place to sip drinks and knit, and watch a few movies too.

We even had our very own Cabana boy!

Lisa met the turtles too, and you can see a bit more of that on her blog.

Then Sunday was a non-knitting day. We mulched two more of our fruit trees (we have 11), put some slate in the herb garden to keep the dripping from the roof from eroding all my herbs. Then after a trip in town we planted a few more plants and walked all over our property weeding. What a happy feeling I had yesterday sitting on the porch, tired and happy after a great day working in the yard.

For Zib: You can keep turtles inside too, they just take much more work. I'd be happy to give you more information if you're interested.

Now for something fun
I don't usually post these thingies (although I do almost all I see). I found this one on Wendy Knits and I like the results! Yup. 23. My exact age! *wink*

You Are 23 Years Old

23

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Box Turtle Care

2005-04-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

I know, it's very much not knitting, but I just spent time on an email to a woman interested in keeping turtles as pets, and I get this question quite often it just would be kinda nice to have a place it's already written somewhere. So if you are not interested in the care of Box Turtles, please just skip this here post.

I would suggest an internet search. Unfortunately the books the library probably has will be quite out of date, with very little information on keeping turtles outside, which is where they do best.

The basics for keeping them outside are pretty...well, basic. If you don't
want them to go anywhere you need to build a wall. It doesn't have to be
tall, ours are about 1' tall, but it does need to go about 1' into the
ground, as turtles can be diggers if they get the gumption. They also need
to have a water dish that they can get in and out of easily. They will go
in and soak in the water to drink, and it can be deeper then them but not
too deep. Plants are nice, but be careful to get plants that aren't
poisonous (you can do a internet search for poisnous plants for animals).
Hibiscus is one of our favorites, lambs ear and hosta's are good too.
Strawberries would be fun for the turtles. A nice mulch/dirt/leaf pile is
good, so they have a soft place to dig and bury. This is also good for
winter hibernation.

A food dish is good to have. You want to feed a good variety of fruits and
veggies. You can "stock" the area with earth worms. Plus any other bugs
that wonder in on their own. But be careful...if you live in an area that
uses chemicals on lawns or gardens, bugs could carry that poison to the
turtle! There's not much you can do to stop it, just be aware of that. We
don't use any chemical anywhere on our property, to keep our turtles safe.
You can also supplement with diet dog food on occasion, for protein. But
you don't want to use that too often.

For baby turtles you will want some sort of cover. We used chain link fence
pieces on hindges secured with bungie cords. They let plenty of sun and
rain in, but no bird or mammal can get in and eat the babies, which does
happen if the babies are not protected. Once they are about 3-4 inches,
this isn't as much of a worry.

We usually do not hibernate our babies the first winter. We bring them
inside and keep them in a tank of mulch with a water dish. After the first
year they are left outside all year long. They hibernate through the
winter. We do check on them before they go down though, to be sure they are
well (no runny noses, ear abcesses, or gloppy eyes). And if the winter gets
all funny, like it did this year, keep an eye out for babies who are fooled
by the warm weather. They should be brought inside for the remainder of the
winter.

Adults are usually a bit easier to keep for a beginner. Babies can be
finicky. We lost 2 this winter. Unfortunately it just happens. Adults are
a bit more hardy, less heartbreak.

Also, be prepared to be the sole care taker of the turtle. We usually tell
people who are thinking about getting a turtle for their child that if they
themselves don't want a turtle then don't get one. If the adult doesn't
enjoy taking care of the turtle, it usually doesn't get taken care of.

Most of all, do research and learn and get everything set up before you get
the turtle. You'll know what you're doing, and the turtle will thrive
because of that!

*pictures added specifically for blog*

Did you knit that? Did you knit that?

2005-04-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Picture the Verizon wireless guy.
Yah, that's me and my knitting obsession. I am not content to keep it to myself, I must discover if the lovely cabled cardigan was handmade, or if the stripey socks were a gift from a friend or a department store. I'm relentless.

I knit prominently in public so as to draw the attention of everyone in the hopes another fellow knitter might approach me! The aluminum needles work well as they click nicely.

And I will cross the street if I spot an obviously felted knit bag. And I will start up a knitting conversation with the helpless young girl carrying said bag. And I will ignore the frightened look in her eye as I ask in quick-fire succession "Did you knit that bag?" "How long have you knit?" "Do you go to SnB" "Have you heard of Knitty.com?" And I will ignore the sigh of relief said young girl emits when I turn down the path away from her. Yah folks. I'm determined and I have no fear or social graces!

Beware closet knitters...I will find you and out you...I will strike up my annoying "do you knit" conversation based soley on a scrap of yarn I may or may not have seen hanging out of your backpack!

Oh, and the Xback is coming along slowly. I have a friend with a birthday coming up, so I need to work on a gift for her for a bit. Ah, new yarn!

I impressed my mother

2005-04-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

My parents are in for the weekend visiting from PA. They just got here yesterday. So of course as soon as I got home I went through the progress of showing my mom all my knitting projects. The unfinished CheesyLove, the one Cut Your Teeth sock, my finished Honeymoon Cami, and the Xback tank. I almost cried when my mom told me how nice all my knitting was, and how much I have improved. She said "You must have inherited this talent from my mother". Shit, I'm getting a little teary thinking about it now. Even my dad was impressed. I felt 10 feet tall! I never really met my grandmother, she died when I was 1 or 2 years old. It's a wonderful connection to her, the knitting.

I'm still plugging along on the Xback. I'm almost to the end of my first ball of ribbon, and I've got about 6 inches I think. I'm hoping to finish it before my class ends so I can show it off to the girls in my class, who've been watching me knit it before class starts.

Xback progress

2005-04-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

A picture taken on my camera phone at work.

I got a good bit done this morning while having blood drained from me for research!

It's not a super good picture, the color is a bit less pink in real life. But you get the idea!

New yarn, new knit-along!

2005-04-20T03:55:00.000-07:00

I stopped into my LYS yesterday. I have to say my original intention was to buy a 24" US4 circ needle to start the pretty spring cover up on Knitty.com. They didn't have a 24 incher though, so I bought some yarn instead.

I'm starting the Xback from Knitty, and have joined the knit-along too!

I should get some pictures up tonight (the camera batteries died before I could get the pictures off the camera *grrrrrr*), but the yarn is super yummy! Very girly, and I can't wait to finish this one.

My gauge is off, of course. Too many stitches. I mean really, I can't see how I can make my stitches any tighter, I just don't understand how my gauge is so off. This pattern calls for US11 neeedles, I'm on 9, and still have a half stitch too many. So I'll knit the size down from what I was planning on knitting, and hope for the best.

100 things 'bout me! work in progress

2005-04-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

1. I was born and raised in the same small town in PA, and never left PA until I moved to NC 5 years ago. We plan to move back to PA as soon as we can.

2. I have a BS in psychology but never went back to get a PhD, and now I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I grow up.

3. My sister is due with her first baby in August, which is odd because I always thought I'd be first. My SIL is due with her second in September.

4. I was raised a catholic, but am now an atheist, but I'm usually to afraid to say it because I live in the biblebelt.

5. Other than our house mortgage we have absolutely no debt, and have no credit cards at all.

6. I have 2 German Shepherds, and I think every dog I see that is black and tan is a German Shepherd. When we visited Germany I just called them Shepherds.

7. I graduated from Penn State, so did my husband, my sister, her husband, my BIL, and my SIL. My mom and dad worked there, as well as 3 of my dad's 4 brothers, and my grandfather. Roar Lions Roar!

8. I wish I was more girly, that I dressed up more often and wore jewerly, but I never do.

9. I'm a clinical research coordinator, which means I get to work with patients in medicial research.

10. I have 4 tattoos; a butterfly on my shoulder, a turtle on my thigh, the chinese symbol for turtle on my back, and my wedding band.

11. I listen to pretty much any music except rap and the real twangy country.

12. But I did download Snoop Dog's "Drop it like it's Hot" (or something like that) because it made me smile.

13. I'm doing a medical exeperiment now where I can only eat the food I'm given. It's going to pay $400 and I'm going to buy a lot of yarn with that.

14. I eat fast food way more often than I should. I tell myself that I should cut back, but I have very weak willpower.

15. I smoke, and have smoked since I was 16. It's a nasty habit, I know this, but I've not been successful in quitting. See, weak willpower.

16. I was a cheerleader in highschool and part of college. I wish I still could be.

17. I also twirled baton in marching band in high school.

18. I've been married for almost 6 years (Aug 14).

19. My husband and I keep turtles in our back yard. They mate and breed and we sell or give away the babies.

20. I should be working now.

21. I'm awful with finances, but somehow I'm the one in charge of our checking account.

22. I love pens and pencils, and paper and folders. If I could run an office, I'd spend all my money buying office supplies.

23. I have my motorcycle license. We used to own a Harley Davidson, but we sold it so we could save money to send me back to school.

24. I am terribly absent-minded.

25. I love football. Penn State football, and NFL. The Buccaneers are my #1 team, I also like the Texans and the Steelers.

26. I love to garden. I have a huge vegetable garden, herbs, and even some flowers. My gardening philosophy is very darwinistic, "If it can't live with minimal attention, it's just not a very strong plant."

27. I have an evil cat that plots my death, and the death of all living creatures in her house.

28. I started knitting in winter 2000, but didn't do much for the first few years. It took me until 2002 to finish my first sweater.

29. I am a pack rat.

30. I always smile around others, even when I'm in a bad mood.

31. My husband and I have just learned to can, so the a lot of our big veggie garden is put up so we can eat it over the winter.

32. Our dream is to move to the country and build a big hobby farm with goats, chickens, sheep, rabbits, horses and of course alpacas.

33. I've only ridden a horse once (not counting the pony rides at fairs) but I love horses and want my own some day.

34. I love goat cheese.

35. I love to bake. Breads especially. I'm awful at regular cooking though.

36. A lot of my food preferences are based on texture as much as on taste. Applesauce makes me gag and I hate green peas.

37. I talk to my mom at least twice a week. My family is very important to me, and it's hard to be so far away from them.

38. My husband and I once were so obsessed with playing Diablo II online that we ate potato chips and mayo for dinner.

39. I love good beer. I'd rather have a well brewed beer than a well aged wine.

40. I love to dance. And I usually dance in my den if the mood strikes me. I love music that you can dance to.

41. I suck at house cleaning.

42. I need to buy new black sandles...and maybe some colorful ones too (See #8).

43. I love summer. I love sandles and sundresses.

44. I am always hungry.

45. I color my hair on a pretty regular basis. I've done that since I was in high school.

46. I love cold bedrooms and warm comforters.

Secret Pals for everyone!

2005-04-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, the assignments have been made. I've been given my Secret Pal (who you ask? Pssshaw! It's a secret of course!), and I've gotten a little hello from mine. What a wonderful time of the year!

Amy, thank you for the offer to come knit-nanny with you. You've given me the idea to hire myself out as the cool knitting friend! For just $25 an hour, I will come and hang out with you and knit. You don't have to be a knitter, I'll be the knitter, and you can say, "yah, she's my friend. And she knits!" Call now! Operators are standing by.

Dani, my ultimate goal it to move back to Central PA, where my family, especially my pregnant sister, all still live. It's a difficult place to get a job though. Unless you're a nurse that is. Tons of nursing jobs!

Random plea for rescueing

2005-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

To anyone in central PA:
If you have a job that will pay me roughly close to what I'm making now, please email me.
I need a new job, and will do almost anything. I'm good with people, and I am adaptable.
Working with people is nice, but so is working with backhoe's so I'm open for change.

Boy do I need out of here. I've been pretty down since my rejection, my immune system decided to let some horrid bugs have a party in my belly for a few days.

And as much as I want to be a nurse, I want out of this job more. Please help me!

And if all else fails:
does Calgon actually take you away? Or is it just pretend?

Finished Cami

2005-04-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

I finished it off Wednesday night.
It felt good to completely finish a project (unlike poor cheesylove, sitting neglected in my basket).

It's a bit uneven, at the straps, but nothing I ever make is perfect, so I'm happy with it. It feels a bit heavy, so we'll see how it wears in the real hot weather. I made the straps a bit wider then the pattern, so it hides my unmentionables well. Overall, I'm really pleased with how it came out.

Now, what to make next. I have a whole list of baby items to make for the two new arrivals to my family, and even a few for Juliet. I want to make another tank top too, a free tank I found on White Lies Design, the Shapely Tank top that looks nice. Of course I have that lovely Noro, and the cut your teeth socks. And then there's all the loverly patterns in the spring Knitty! I could go with a project I have yarn for, or I could buy more yarn for something too. The decisions are endless! Too bad the depth of my wallet isn't. *pout*

That's a negative big buddy

2005-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Yup.
They said no.
UNC emailed a resounding "hell no".
So sorry, Charlie.
Negativo.
Nada.
Nyet.

And they say there's a nursing shortage.
Bah.

Bastards.

Dammit.

Fear not, I've already sent in two applications for local community colleges. An Associates RN is just as good in my book as a BSN.

But Dammit anyway.

A trip down memory lane....

2005-04-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

So the Camo yarn got some rave reviews, which made me think, "Somewhere I have a photo of the sweater I made with it." Off I went to search all my photos for the camo sweater.

I found it plus a bonus!

First the bonus.

The first sweater I ever made. Note the arm cuffs...one has a lovely ribbing, one does not. I finished the second sleave and realized I had forgotten the ribbing. I decided I was to lazy to undo the entire thing so I left it that way. Charactor!

And now the camo sweater!

I made this for my first neice, Juliet.

Well, that's the trip down memory lane. I hope you enjoyed it! I did. It was cool to find my first sweater. I'm so impressed I actually took a picture of it!

And now for something a bit more current.
My progress on the Honeymoon Cami:

2005-04-01T03:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome! It's Flash Your Stash day! And to kick it off, my Masters (of ceremony), drum roll please.......

Evil cat and Obi!

And now for the FLASH:

Knit Picks Yarn

Andean Silk, an Alpaca and silk blend. I bought it for the Honeymoon Cami, but it was too heavy, and too warm for a summer top. I'll probably need to buy more to make anything with this yarn. 7 just isn't enough really.

Wool of the Andes, a 100% wool that felts great. I bought 4 skeins to make a pair of fuzzy feet, but only used 2. So I have enough for another pair if I get around to it.

More Wool of the Andes. The cream color I got to make the hearts for Cheesylove.

Sock yarns

I've actually started a pair of socks with this color.

fun stuff

Cha-Cha in purple! Sent to me from Rothane. I plan to make a scarf, but probably not until the fall.

100% wool from frogged college sweater. This is what I have left after making a skull bag, and most of a sweater!

acrylic

The girl, she is calling to you..."knit with me...please." The call of the Acrylic siren.

I love camo! I actually made two adorable baby sweaters with this stuff. I bought out the supply then, cause I thought it was so fun!

Cotton

Left over from a hat and scarf I made for my Pappap.

Special Yarns
Yarns that I'm not sure what I'll make with, but whatever it is will have to be good because these are my special yarns.

Natural 100% Alpaca that I have left over from making Clapotis.

Mmmmmmm...Noro. My first skein. A gift from AmyLovie

Well, I hope you enjoyed the yarn pOrn! For the full list of Flashers, just follow the button at the top to the Knitty board message.

*disclaimer: I meant to include a picture of all my roving, as that is potential stash yarn, but apparently it didn't get uploaded, so I'll have to show that off another time.

Hip Hip Hooooray! It's Secret Pal 4

2005-03-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

You may notice the lovely new button to your left. Yes folks the Knitty boards SP4 is slated to begin May 8. I can't wait!

And just for shits and giggles, here's my SP4 questionnaire in all it's glory!

KNITTING & FIBERS:
1. What is your current skill level (beginner/adv. beginner/intermediate etc.): I think I'm leaning more toward intermediate, with maybe a toe still in adv. beginner.
2. What are your favorite fiber colors? Greens, blues, and purples, and natural colors
3. Are there any fiber colors you absolutely do NOT like? If so which? I haven't come across anything I haven't liked so far!
4. What are your favorite fibers? I love Alpaca, and silk mixes.
5. Do you have any unwelcome fibers (stuff you just don't need more of or like?) I'll knit with anything, but I do have enough stash of synthetics stored up, so I don’t really need any more. You only need so much acrylic.
6. What is your Dream Yarn? A natural locally spun Alpaca. Or wool even. I love the idea of locally spun yarns.
7. How do you feel about novelty fibers (both the yarns and the items made with them)? They're fun I think. I have some that I plan to use, but haven't had the chance to do much with it yet.
8. What is the next thing you want to learn (techniques etc.) on the needles? I'd like to try cables, and I plan to do my first pair of regular sized socks (as opposed to fuzzy feet sized).
9. What item(s) do you knit the most? Unfinished sweaters. :)

WANTS & NOTS:
10. Allergies: Do you have any food, fiber, smoke, pet allergies your SP should be aware of? Nope, none at all.
11. Do you have an Amazon.com or knitpicks.com wishlist you'd like to share with your SP? If so please add the URL: My Amazon Wish list

12. What is on your Cool Stuff Wishlist (knitting or not): Current knitting magazines, yummy teas (green and oolang), nifty needle holders, small bags for holding stitch markers and other notions when I’m on the go with my knitting, cute patterns for baby gifts
13. What about stuff you don't need at all? There is absolutely nothing I don’t need!
14. Do you have hobbies other than knitting (tv, sports, collectibles, fave things)? I garden, I have a huge veggie garden every year and several flower beds.
I like wild flowers and anything that attracts hummingbirds. I have a small collection of turtle pins that I put on my lab coat at work.
15. Books you would like (knitting or not): Anything interesting on CD (or mp3). I don't read because I'd rather be knitting. Instead I listen to books on CD as mp3s on my player while I knit. I love Tom Robbins, but I'm open to any interesting fiction books.
16. For those of you who live outside the US, is there anything you'd like that you can't get your hands on?
17. In the event your SP lives outside the US, is there a particular yarn,
etc. you can't find in the US? Anything unique to a region or locally made. Even in the US, I love locally spun yarns.

FAVORITES: Who/What is your favorite...
Chocolate: Godiva, anything with toffee.
Muppet: Rigel (from Farscape)
Flower: Sunflower
Ice Cream flavor: Rainbow
Fragrance: Clean, rain, fresh mulch
Shoes to wear: flip flops
Type of garden: Vegetable
Animal: Alpaca, Horse, Dog
Beverage: Tea, German Rauchbeir

RORSCHACH ETC:
19. If you were candy would you be sweet, sour, or cinnamon? sour
20. If you were a fruit which would you be? strawberry
21. Are you a Java Junkie? Sort of. I love flavored coffee, but can’t handle caffeine.
I've also recently become a tea junkie!
22. Your birthday, in case it falls during the swap and your SP wants to send
you a card: Feb 10
23. Do you have a personal mantra? You need to put down the knitting and [clean/cook/study].
24. How do you really feel about socks? I'd prefer not to wear them if I can avoid them in the summer, and I love warm socks in the winter.
25. What is your shoe size? 7.5
26. What kind of music (and/or which artists) do you listen to when you are
happy? 80s hair bands and rock ballads, current girly songs, like Avril Levine (see #27)
27. Rate yourself on a girly/fruh fruh factor from 1 - 10: I'd say a 3, but I'm actively trying to get myself to atleast a 6!
28. What languages do you speak (besides English)? None. I took Spanish in high school, but only remember a little bit and I've tried to learn German, and even have the CDs at home, but never got past disc 1.
29. If you could have any "super power" which would it be? To be super fast and to squeak every time I move.
30. You're given $10,000 for traveling. Where do you go and why? First I'd go to Germany, anywhere small town in Germany. I love the food and the beer, and the towns are so beautiful and unstressed. Then I'd go to Venice Italy, again, because it was beautiful and relaxing. And I didn't ride a Gondola the last time I was there, and I regret it.

Well, hope you enjoyed this compact little bio of me! I can't wait to get my secret Pal. I've got my money all squirrelled away to buy lots of fun stuff!

Count down to nursing school

2005-03-24T04:18:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't been accepted yet.
Yes, I'm probably counting my chickens before they hatch.

But this just makes me happy to look at.

If I get accepted, this is the time left until I would start my classes.
I wish I could make one for the time left before I find out if I'm accepted, but freaking UNC takes their sweet old time getting those notifications out. I may call and see if I can get a better idea of when they go out then "end of March, beginning of April". Well that's pretty vague thank you!

I'm so impatient really. I just want to know. I had a mini...well, I don't want to call it a panic attack...it was really just a heart flutter when I realized how close I am to knowing.

Oh, for sanity's sake! Send me my acceptance letter now!

'Tis the season!

2005-03-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, the time of dirty fingernails has arrived!
I dug my first bit of weed out of my herb bed yesterday. It felt wonderful to have my hands in soil again. It's nice to see my perinnial herbs coming back, it'll be great to cook with fresh rosemary, parsley, tyme and oregano, amoung others. Next weekend we'll borrow a neighbors tiller, and get the raised bed ready for veggies. I'm excited for another summer of growing. Last year we learned the art of canning, and this year I think we'll perfect it!

Unfortunately yarn and dirt don't mix well, so when the time rolls around for gardening and yard work, my knitting tends to fall to the bottom of the list. It hasn't happened quite yet, as I'm working on a summer top, which will keep me knitting for a bit longer. As part of the Honeymoon Cami KAL, I cast on my stitches along with the rest of the group. I'm up to row 7 of the border. The yarn is knitting up nicely I think, although I know my gauge is .5 stitch per inch off. I'll keep checking the sizing as I go and make adjustments if I need to. Oddly enough I had a dream last night that I finished the Cami, and it was the size of an XL t-shirt...kinda looked like one too really...in my dream. Very odd. Anyway, the pattern has you knitting together yarn overs you create the round prior. Boy, if you YO tightly that can be a real bitch! Gotta remember for the next batch to YO nice and loose.

Another sign of spring around this dragon's lair is the activity of the turtles outside. Currently we have over 30. But with the prospect of moving back to PA some time in the future, we're decreasing that number. We'll have a smaller number to focus on, which will be nice. When our turtle numbers grow to such a large amount, it gets to be more of a job then a hobby to take care of them.

The ones were selling are listed here:
Spotted Breeding pair
XL breeding Eastern pair
Sub-adult pair Wood turtles

They're really wonderful turtles for hard core turtle enthusiasts. Just incase anyone who reads this knows of any hard core turtle enthuiasts.

Releasing my inner Sailor

2005-03-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, that means I'm going to swear up a storm. And while typically my sailor usually only comes out when I'm knitting, this sailor-fest has nothing to do with fibers. No, it's an employment sailor-fest. You (if there are any yous who read this blog) have been warned...if you are easily offended, get out while you still can. I will remain a sweet innocent in your mind forever that way.

So apparently I haven't kissed enough ass in the basement for those ladies to deem me worthy of the most basic level of courtesy. While I may call you out, I will do so in the most nicest, kindest way possible, but apparently these wenches only want pure unadulterated ass kissing. If they were male, they'd want a good old fashion dick sucking and nothing more. Only the fact that today is Friday, and it's mid afternoon, and I'm out of here in a little over an hour kept this petite darling from yelling to all those in ear shot "GET FUCKED". No seriously. Stop talking to hear yourself talk, and fucking listen to what I'm saying. Get off your fucking holier than thou self, shut the fuck up, and...and...and....

*sigh*
So I sort of feel better. It's very hard to express the full extent of my frustration. Vulgarity really does help. I do promise these sorts of Sailor posts will be rare. Overall I am a sweet pussy cat, to a fault probably. Sometimes it makes me feel better to cry, now that I have a blog, it makes me feel better to swear. It's like screaming at the moon, in a more quiet way, that I can get away with in my office.

Hope I didn't scare anyone away.
All better now!
*grin*

Ooo. Dentist soon, and than off to Yarn's Etc to sit and knit! *wriggle*

The Honeymoon Cami KAL

2005-03-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

So true to my word, I sat my butt down and played with photoshop. I came up with two buttons for the Honeymoon Cami Knit-a-long.

Here is the first one:

And the second:

I will also put them on the side of my blog. Anyone is welcome to them, just please download them off of my server first.

And for more info on the KAL, check out this fabulous blog!

With very little to do with knitting....

2005-03-15T03:52:00.000-08:00

Just a little bit of knitting today.
Saturday was SnB at Tylers. Again it was Bronwyn, Lisa, and myself. We had a great time of course, with yummy garlic fries and even yummier skull bags, socks, and a sweater! I finished the main body of my CheesyLove, and have to seem the shoulders. I hate seaming. I did a pseudo-grafting on one shoulder, and then unraveled part of the other side to do the same, and just stopped. I have a feeling poor Cheesy may sit like that for a short time. Ah well. It was in the 70s this weekend, so I need to start working on a summer top, like the Honeymoon Cami! Infact I'll be taking part in a Honeymoon cami KAL starting Mar 20th. I'm in charge of getting the button made too, so I should get my butt in gear tonight to work on that...

I also have knitted 4.5 of the little mitered squares for the Cut your teeth socks. Lisa, I may be calling on your for your help with these! The squares are fun though. It's so neat how they come together.

Okay, well, I suppose that was a bit more then a little knitting.

But the most fun I had this weekend happened yesterday. And yes, I know it was Monday, but since I took the day off, it was still part of my weekend. We met some friends who've moved quite a distance away for dinner. Where you ask, did we meet for dinner? Well Hooters! It was so fun. It was my first time at a Hooters, and I was pretty impressed. Most of the girls were attractive, with very nice bodies. I suppose you have to have a nice body, as the "costume" is quite tight and revealing! But then, that's the fun of Hooters! I wanted a Hooters t-shirt for myself, so upon the request that it be tight, I purchased one at their little gift store. And proptly put it on, again at the urgingo of Mr. Drake. Our waitress was happy that I had actually put it on right away, because as she said most people just buy them, and hardly any put them on while they're at Hooters. So a few minutes later, the entire staff of girls was over at our table arranging chairs in front of us. They asked me to come stand on up on a chair with them. They then announced me as an official Hooter's Girl! Can you believe it! It was so awesome! Then I got to sing a song with them *If you like Hooter's and you know it*. EEEEEEEE! I had a blast! I'm so proud I got to be an official Hooter's girl for the night!

Here's a pic of my friend Shannon and I after I was done singing with the staff.

I'm the one in the Hooter's shirt, of course.

Unfortunately, I drank about 3 big tall glasses of iced tea, and got home with the shakes. I got very little sleep last night, and I'm freaking exhausted today. And I thought I was being a good girl, not drinking beer! Shit, I ended up feeling just as bad, if not worse! Oh well, it was a good time!

I went, I spun, I loved it!

2005-03-11T04:28:00.000-08:00

Lots of great tips and ideas from the spinning class last night at Yarn's Etc! Pre-drafting my roving I think was the most helpful. Should help me to get a less thick yarn. I need to work on putting a bit less twist in my yarn too, but I'm sure that will just come with practice. I've got some loverly, highly energized yarn now that I spun on my very own. I was so proud of myself! I'm sure it's not enought to make anything, but I'll probably knit it up into something anyway! If anyone is ready this and has any ideas of small knitting projects for uneven yarn (*grin*) just let me know!

We worked with roving and sliver (long i sound!) on the drop spindles. There were spinning wheels there too, but I really just wanted to keep working with my drop spindle and get a better handle on it.

The lady teaching the class also showed us some other fibers you can spin, beyond the wool/alpaca/silk fibers. There was soy silk, made from what's left over after making tofu. And corn silk. Both were very very soft. She had camel fur! How cool! And come nylon to add into other roving to make neat effects. I really did have a fun time.

I will take some pictures of my own spun funky yarn and put it up, maybe tonight. I was just tired getting home after the class. It ended at 9pm, which sadly is my bed time normally. Not to mention on the way home there was a freaking fire truck on it's side blocking the road, so I had to spend a few extra minutes going around that on alternative roads. Really. How the hell do you roll a fire truck!

ooooooo It's spiiiiiining class day!

2005-03-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

*dance*
I've got one of my drop spindles, and some roving here with me.

I'm all ready!
I can't wait to learn to spin. I have so much roving at home I want to make into yarn!
You know, because I have sooooo much free time on my hands. *giggle*

I promised and I'm delivering!

2005-03-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

This post is full of pictures! Just like I promised.

First a quick hello from the poochinis, my two spoiled Shepherds.

Obi, the big white wonder

and Inca, my sweety-pie

Now on the the knitting!
First is the cashmere sweater I found while thrift store hopping with Lisa.

Next are two pictures of the Cheesy Love, in progress.

a close up of the hearts

Two more sweaters I found at thrift stores.
First a 100% cotton sweater

and a cotton blend sweater

here's the yarn I got from the blend sweater

Finally a few completed projects.
The completed Fuzzy Feet that I've mailed off to my cousin who had her baby this past Wednesday. An added joy was that her husband who was in Iraq for the second time came home just yesterday!

and a close up

Then there is my lovely Clapotis. These are some neat "artsy" type pictures I took. I used these to make my neat new button.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this picture-full blog post.
I'll try to keep up better with pictures. I've found that ftp-ing my pictures up is much quicker!

I promise pictures, really I do!

2005-03-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

Lisa, I'll get the picture of the wonderful 100% cashmere sweater that I bought for frogging tonight! I just wish I could take a picture of how wonderfully soft it is! Yummy! Infact I'll get pictures of all my yarn finds while thrift store hopping! *Oh, and on a side note, I had my stinking digi camera in the skull bag the entire time!*

Plus I'll get some pictures up of my Cheesy Love sweater. I finished the row of hearts and have started on part of the shoulder. I'm so excited, it looks so loverly! And I'm so proud of my Intarsia! Not only that, I taught myself continental knitting while I was doing the hearts. I'm so happy!

Thursday is my spinning class at Yarn's Etc, and I'm super stoked about that. I have so much yummy wool waiting to be spun.

Last but not least, I've signed up to be part of the Knitty boards Secret Pal 4. I've already put a bit of my spending money aside in preparation, and I can't wait to get my assigned SP! Of course I won't be able to tell any of you who read this on the off chance I give away my secret! But I will be able to squeal away on here when I do get packages, so that's a plus.

So my assignment tonight is to put up pictures. Check back tomorrow to see how successful I was!

possum...doing what possums do

2005-02-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

This is a totally unknitting story:

We live out in the sticks, and have quite a few wildlife guests through the year. Recently we have a possum that can be seen frequently strolling through our yard, as well as our neighbors. *And according to animal control, possums rarely get rabies, and there is no known case of them spreading it to a person, I know this because I've called. Possums are supposed to be noctornal. So a daytime strolling possum was cause for alarm from us with dogs*

Saturday we let the dogs out to run while Mr. Drake and I lounged on the porch. As our crazies are wont to do, they bolted around the side of the house. I decided to check out their adventures. When I came around the corner, I saw two dogs crowding around a grey fuzzy thing on the ground. I called the mutts back (many times, they were really really interested in the fuzzy lump!), and then went over to investigate. There in the grass was our possum...dead as a doornail. Oh gross! I called Mr. Drake over, and informed him he would have to dispose of said dead creature and please do it soon so it's not too disgusting. He agreed to rid the yard of the fuzzy thing when dusk came (so he could just sling it back into the woods).

Dusk came and Mr. Drake grabbed a work glove (for grasping the tail) and I grabbed a flashlight so we could find the thing. We walked to the back and I swung the light around the ground in the approximate area I had seen the fuzz earlier. We walked back and forth, and saw nothing. Our first though was that something big had come to dispose of the possums body before we got there. Ah well. Atleast it's not in our yard. And then something accurred to me! To Mr. Drake I asked, "Hey, don't possums play dead?" Well they certainly do! And they have a very convincing act! It certainly fooled me! The dogs probably came upon it while it was strolling, and dead it played until we and the dogs were away...then I'm sure it hopped right back up and resumed it's strolling! What I would give to have been there to see that happen! I'm just glad I was able to restrain my urge to poke it with a stick!

Now for the knitting
I don't have any pictures. I hate my dialup at home, it frustrates me, and so while I take pictures, I just don't upload them. I will post more pictures soon, I have many. I just need to face the monster that is our slow as molassess dialup connection.

Saturday I went thrifing for sweaters to recycle. I have a few goals in mind. I was shocked to see that Burlington had about 13 thrift stores in the phone book. I jotted the addresses down and set out. At about the third store, a thrift shop that benefits battered women, I bought two sweaters both shades of blue. One was a cotton acrylic mix, the other a cotton, angora, acrylic mix. Both will be used for summer tank knits. One honeymoon Cardi, and one that I just might design myself (we'll see). My other goal was to find a natural colored 100% wool sweater to frog and dye with kool aid. That I did not find. But I also did not hit 4 thrift stores that were on 4 random streets. So in a few months maybe I'll try again. I did find one store with tons of what looked like old dorm room furniture and lots of housewears. Another was more of a "this box fell off the delivery truck, we picked it up and now are selling it to you" type place. I bought Mr. Drake two pair of work gloves for a buck each. I'll be checking back on that place too!

I've just started the cream hearts on my CheesyLove sweater, and it's looking pretty decent. I'll take a picture of that once I'm a bit further into the hearts. I've not decided if I'll do it with sleeves or not...it might depend on how well I estimated my yarn yardage!

And in a couple of weeks I'll be going to the spinning class, and I'm really excited...the walnut husk dyed wool is seriously calling to me!

Now, March starts tomorrow. And hopefully March will be the month I find out I'm accepted to nursing school. At the latest it will be mid April (UNC says end of March, beginning of April, which means mid April in translation).

Auntie X3!

2005-02-24T04:14:00.000-08:00

I love being an Aunt. It's so much fun! This is my first neice Juliet.

Isn't she beautiful! She'll be one in April.

My younger sister is also expecting her first baby in August. I can't wait to become an Aunt again! They won't be finding out if it's a boy or girl, so I have no idea if I'll be getting another neice or my first nephew.

And last night we got a call from my husband's brother. They are expecting again. So little Miss Juliet will have a brother or sister come September! It's fabulous news!

It makes me a little sad though too, because we are all so spread apart. Juliet and her parents are all the way on the West Coast! My sister is in PA, and I'm here in NC. I really do wish for all of us to be closer geographically soon. Of course if I get accepted to nursing school, we'll be heading back to PA once I finish, so that gets me close to my sister atleast. Her baby will be atleast 2 by that time.

So how do I tie this all up to knitting? Well 2 new babies means baby sweaters, and booties, and bonnets! So much potential! I have to finish some of the projects I have currently, but I'm always on the lookout for a nice soft sweater to frog or a sale on lovely baby yarns!

Live to knit....

2005-02-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

A while back I said to my husband (and to several others since then) that being a knitter is very much like being a Harley owner. When you own a Harley (and we did for about 3 years) you are part of a great big family. Sure there are the ones that look down on you for having a bike that's "smaller" than theirs, or that you couldn't buy the most expensive brand of exhaust pipes, but overall they are a bunch who will bend over backwards for their own little (huge?) family.

I see the same bond since I've become a knitter and gotten more involved in knitting communities, online and in real life. From the Knitty board, there is Random Act of Kindness thread. I've sent out a few of my own, with more on the way. And it's so much fun to know that you get to make someone smile, even if it's just with a bit of left over yarn or some small thing like that. But then I was RAoKed myself! The first one I mentioned a few days back, from Greymalk. And just yesterday I got two more packages. I was floored at what I found in them. Both contained wool for me to spin. One was a corriedale wool that was practically straight from the sheep! It was died with walnut hulls and just absolutely beautiful. I couldn't stop touching it! It made me feel giddy and just so happy! Then I opened the second package! Another good bit of wool and a drop spindle! Oh yah, and chocolates! Mmmmmmm. Just absolutely amazing! The corriedale wool was from CMTigger, and the wool and spindle from Kathy. And if they read my blog by chance, Thank you both again so very very much!

But it's an amazing cycle, because I feel so good recieving, I want to pass a long that feeling, so I've been looking through the lists to see what else I can send along for someone else.

Now, I'm sure there are very few Harley owners who will just give away an extra fatbob tank or double seat they have laying around. Maybe the knitter family is even better than being part of the Harley family!

Live to Knit...Knit to Live!
Knit on man!

*Lisa, muahahaha, you have stumbled onto my evil plan to force you to purchase more yarn then you need, start more projects than you can count, and have to learn to knit with your feet to keep up!*

Blah Blah Blah

2005-02-18T05:24:00.000-08:00

I have been so blah these past couple of days. I'm still knitting my fingers off, but I'm just in a funk. It's mostly job related, and I hate that it spills over into my personal space. Thankfully it's Friday, and I'm feeling a bit rejuvenated already!

Here are some pictures for you.

First, Yarn pOrn!

This is the Knitpicks yarn I ordered.

And this is some roving I bought Saturday after the SnB.

I still need to take pictures of the lovely roving that came with my drop spindle.

And finally, the finished, but not yet felted Fuzzy Feet from Knitty.com

And a close-up

I also took some really lovely pictures of my clapotis, but I don't think I've uploaded them to my server yet. I will though, because I'm quite proud of how they turned out. I'm not a real photographer, but sometimes I get lucky. You can see a little preview in my button (that you are all welcome to take and link to me!).

Ahhhh....good days

2005-02-15T04:02:00.000-08:00

First, I promise I took many pictures this weekend of my new yarn. Saturday I also bought some roving, in preparation of my drop spindle arriving, and I took piccies of that too. Some of the yarn pics turned into my wonderful brand-spanking-new banner up there at the top *points up* see? Nice huh? I made it all by myself, with only a few annoying questions to my computer guru husband. And I also made a new button *points to the right* See? You can take it if you like. Link to me! It would make me very happy! And yes, that is my clapotis! Thank you for noticing, even though it is quite small. I'll post the original full sized foto soon, and you'll see it's a really lovely pic. I used this wonderful old rocking chair as a prop, and well, I have to say it looks rather artistic! Something I'm usually not!

On Saturday I also went to the SnB at Tyler's in Carrboro. Much fun with Lisa and Bronwyn! Lisa remembered her camera, and she took some pics you can see on her lovely blog. Bronwyn and I then went to Yarn's Etc, where I picked up the roving. Then off to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Feista Grill! Bronwyn and I brought take out home to the hubbies and we feasted! Some more knitting, and then we made Bronwyn and Ian watch The Forgotten. One of the best suspense/horror movies I've seen in a long time. It made me scream 4 or 5 times, and I even screamed the second time around too. It's just that good!

Sunday was Birthday Feast Day. Breakfast was eggs benedict. Then while I played on the computer making my banners, I snacked on crackers with cream cheese and caviar (black lumpfish) and goat cheese. Sooooo spoiled. Then for dinner it was sirloin steak (wrapped in bacon), scallops (wrapped in bacon), asperagus, and roasted garlic mashed red potatoes. Oh so yummy! I picked out all the foods I adore.

Yesterday was a super great day! First I won two balls of Paton's Cha-Cha in purple from Rothane on the Knitty boards. Yea! I was dancing in my office! And then yesterday my drop spindle came! And the lovely purple roving! I was dancing some more. The spindle and roving are from Annie Mays Ebay store and I highly recommend her. Like I said the roving was beautiful, and she included some samples of other rovings she offers. The alpaca made me want to drool. I couldn't stop rubbing it on my cheeks (does that make me odd?).

And to top if off I got a RAOK from greymalk, again from the Knitty boards. I'll take pictures tonight, but I got a lot of great stickers! Plus FUNDIP! I love FunDip! Willy Wonka Rocks! And two lonely size 10 dpns, that survived a dog chew! I'm so lucky. And I have to say I've never met any other group of people, beside Harley owners, who feel so much like family even when you've never met them in person.

It came! It came! weeeee

2005-02-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

My knitpicks yarn came last night! Perfect timing for the birthday girl! It is beautiful yarn. And it's my first huge yarn purchase! I'll be offering up the yarn pOrn after this weekend, when I can take some outside pictures in the sunshine! I actually made myself go do my evening *chores* before I allowed myself to open the package, and by the time I was done I was practically drooling over the bag! I danced around a bit while opening (carefully though, since I was using sissors). After it was open I piled each color of yarn together and just stared at it for awhile. I did rub a few skeins on my cheek too. Mmmmmm....decadence!

Plus, yesterday I ordered a drop spindle and some roving, that should ship today. I can't wait to try my hand at spinning!

And finally, Saturday is the SnB group at Tyler's in Carrboro. As long as my feeble mind remembers I will take my digi camera and get a real, non-blurry picture of Lisa and I!

I promise pictures of it all as soon as possible!

Do do do....it's birthday day!

2005-02-10T04:26:00.000-08:00

For me!
What a birthday though! I'm at work...and hungry. I'm fasting for a research study. I'll actually be doing my celebrating Saturday though. With feasts! Special ritzy foods all day long, including my absolutely favorite indulgence...Caviar!

Since the Chinese New Year was just yesterday, and 2005 is the year of the Chicken, I thought I'd go find what the year was I was born in. And wouldn't you know it, I was born in the year of the DRAGON!

I'm still waiting for my Knitpicks order to arrive. It shipped Monday. I'm so itching to start a new project! I've been working on finishing the sweater I started in the recycled yarn from the college sweater. Only I've lost all interest in it, for some reason. I just need to finish it and get it out of the way.

So not a very exciting post from the birthday girl! No new knitting, no fun parties. That's fine though, because Saturday will be great! I can't wait.

Oooooo, free publicity!

2005-02-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Sooooooo.
I just listed a ton of ju...er...really great stuff on ebay!
My ebay sales

I'm cleaning house, so go check it out! You know what they say!
On person's trash is another person's treasure!

And I didn't think I'd have anything to blog about on the weekend without any real knitting projects!

Silly me!
Now go buy my crap!
Evil Nasty cat says so!

*smile*

It's fun to show off!

2005-02-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky to have a very cool knitter friend who works a block away from where I work! Lisa wanted to see my finished Clapotis, so I took it over to her office to show off.

Here's a blurry picture one of her office-mates took with my not-so-great camera phone.

Come on.
Wave to the pretty knitters.
WAVE!

Thank you. *grin*

Okay, it is blurry, but it will have to do until one of us has our real digi camera.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Knitty for a bagel

2005-02-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

I went to show a coworker the knitty site, and she gave me a bagel. And not just any old bagel, a bagel straight from New York! Yum!

Apparently my Clapotis is the talk of the office! There are a few knitters around, and they all wanted to know where I got the pattern. I've even had two people ask me to knit one for them!

Oh, and did I mention I recently purchased what is probably going to be the largest amount of yarn I've ever had in my possession recently? Oh, I hope it ships soon! I want it!

Clapotis, she is finished!

2005-02-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

I finished it last night and I love love love her!

*Please pay no mind to the red eye demon modeling the Clapotis*

And now I will be observing a project fast. I need to focus on an upcoming test in my Medical Nutrition class, so I won't be working on any knitting for the time being. Or at least until the large order I just placed at Knitpicks arrives!

And for the obligatory Public Service Announcement!
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Oh! My first tag! Wheeee....

2005-02-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Ground Hog's Day!

So Lisa tagged me today, and being that it's my first, I'm not too upset about it. *grin*

1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
179 songs, 1.6 days worth. And that's only up to the start of G artists

2. The CD you last bought is?
er....well....um...I'd say it was probably Chumbawamba when I was still in college. Yah, it's been a while

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
No clue, some radio song from WBBB, the Buzz, from Philipsburg PA. I have their web radio on all day at work.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you
Sistinas by Danzig, I love the haunting-ness to it.
Coattails of a Deadman by Primus, a super fun song, made even funner when you listen to the lyrics!
Just a Man by Faith no More, Mike Patton is awesome.
Easy Like Sunday Morning, again Faith no More, it's our Sunday Football ritual song.
Hey Ya by Outkast, it's my fun work out song.

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
Wow. I'm so new to the blog community that I don't really know many people!
So I first passed it on to Holly because I noticed she hadn't posted to her blog for a while (and she's one of the few people I recognize from the knitty board, and she seems like a fun person.
Then it was Jen because she was the most recent person on the knitty board to post about her new blog.
Now, for the third person, I'm stupped...so if anyone has any suggestions for people who should be targeted for this tortu....er...fun! Just let me know!

Okay, and now for today's adventure. You know how in the morning when you get up, you never think that the day might hold some oddly sick twist for you? That was this morning. Now, we know our Subaru is not long for this world....or atleast won't be without new clutch plates. We're sort of babying her since she's our low-gas car, and it's just nice to have two vehicles too. But she's been showing her distress more often, and this morning was no exception. So you'd think if something were going to go wrong with the car, it'd be that, right. Nope! Coming up an on ramp all of a sudden there was a clumpish sound coming from the front left of the car. We pull over and Nate walks around the car looking for the source. The tires look fine, so we pull a bit further up, for more light (because it's not even 6:30 yet, and very dark out). Ah ha! A stupid bungy cord had found it's way into our front wheel well! Silly bungy cord. Nate pulls it out and we both hear *pffffffff*. Yes folks, that was from the hole where the hoke of the bungy had embedded itself into our tire. So onto the task of gathering the tools to change to the spare tire. After a very dirty fight with the jack, it was all ready, and the tire was changed, and the spare was on. We started off, giggling at the way the car leaned a bit to the front left. And then it happened. Another clunkish sound. We pulled over AGAIN, and would you believe that the spare tire had gone flat! In a matter of 100 yards, flat.

Long story longer, we got a friend up out of bed and while I went to catch a bus into my office, friend came to take Nate and the tires back to our house to hopefully be repaired.

Now, the part where you look back at the morning. "Yes, Nate you should where your (much warmer) pea coat" "Nate do you have your gloves?" Those are just a few of the things that should have been said, but weren't, because why would either of us even think we'd be on the side of the road twice in the span of 20 minutes!

Oh, knitting news? Well, I am so very close to finishing the Clapotis. I'm really anxious to get it done, to the point where I've blown off all studying for the only class I'm taking this semester! Oooops. I just want it all done! I love it already! I want to wear it!

And I'm waiting for the next round of guinea pig money to come in, because I've got myself a yarn order all ready, and it's a doozy! I promise to take pics when I finally get it.

No knitty, just pretty!

2005-02-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Pretty puppies that is!
I've added myself to the Purling Puppies blog ring, so in honor of that, I am presenting my two lovely puppies!

Meet Obi and Inca!

Obi is the big white wonder, and Inca is our meek black and tan. And yes, they are both German Shepherds. They are my sweeties and they are quite spoilt, as you can see. On a knitting related note, I am trying to collect enough of their fur to try and spin into yarn. I'm keeping them seperate too, as I hope to dye the yarn I may get from white Obi.

I'm also collecting fur from the evil cat Meteor, or Meat for short.

We have many turtles as well, but putting pictures of them up would take way too long, since we have over 30.

So those are the creatures I share my life with, aside from the husband.

Good Drop, Bad Drop

2005-01-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

The Clapotis is coming along very well, as you can see in these blurry photos I took in my office with my camera phone.

I'm not having any kind of drop stitch stress that I've heard can occur. Infact, it appearred I was a bit drop stitch happy. As I glanced at the Clapotis full length last night, I noticed one little stitch head sticking out about 2 inches from the top. BLAST! How did I end up doing that! I got it all picked up and back on needles, but now I'm afraid that it will do terrible damage to the Clapotis, as I'm pretty sure it's the stitch NEXT TOO the drop stitch. I suppose I'll just keep on going and hope for the best.

I'm really really itching to keep knitting the Clapotis. It's very close to unbearable to be at work, not able to knit more. Luckily today is my short day, so only a few more hours and I'll be off to wait for the bus home, and I can knit then!

I got to knit good bit of Clapotis this morning while I pricked my finger 8 times for a research study. It's so wonderful how it works out. I get 2 hours to knit (in amoungst the finger pricking) and I earn $50 to buy more yarn with! I can put up with a bruised fingertip or two (or three) for a couple of days for that!

The weather outside is frightful, but the knitting is so delightful

2005-01-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

It's the second weekend with a Saturday SnB group meeting, and the second weekend with ice and snow forecast for Saturday. I made the trek into Tyler's for the meeting anyway, but it wasn't the weather that stopped the group from meeting (well maybe for some it was), it was Tyler's yearly staff meeting. The place was closed! I was really looking forward to showing off my first felted project, the skull bag from Helloyarn.com.

So back home we went (after some errands). And glory of glories I got all my knitting pictures uploaded into my photo album. Slowly but surely, because everything with dialup is slow.

So I'll show it off here first.
In all it's glory, here is my finished skull bag!

Hooray!
It didn't turn out totally wonderful, but I like it anyway. The white and grey yarn didn't want to really felt, they still have their stitch definition. The maroon felted wonderfully though. Odd that.

The skull bag was knit from some recycled 100% wool yarn that I got when I frogged an old sweater I bought in college. I got over 1300 yards of it, so I'm also doing a sweater.

I think if I have enough of the maroon left over I'll make myself the Fuzzy feet from Knitty.com

And just one more WIP to show off. The clapotis I take to class and knit. It's portable because it's small, so very perfect for on the go knitting.

I'm knitting this in 100% alpaca that I picked up last December at the Knitter's Underground in Centre Hall, PA. The yarn first started out as a scarf, but I frogged that pretty quick, because I wanted something really wonderful for this yummy yarn. For a while it was a really fun poncho, but the stitches were so big and open, I kept getting it snagged on things. So I frogged it again, and finally found Clapotis and thought the pattern would suit the alpaca just fine. I'm really liking it so far.

So as the rain and ice come down, I'm off to work on some knitting.

Do I really look like I know what I'm doing?!

2005-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't you know it, I went home last night, took many many pictures of my yarns and WIPs, but when I went to the computer to upload the pics to my photo album, the dial up crapped out. And now our entire website is down! It's a conspiracy I tell you! If it's all better tonight I'll surely add some pictures, but who knows!

Now, I take a class three days a week. I make a semi-point to leave a few minutes earlier then really necessary, because then I can sit and knit before the class starts. I take my clapotis with me, and it's coming along, a little at a time. Well today, while I sat there knitting away, one of the girls in the class approached me. She said she had noticed me knitting, and wondered if I could answer a question for her. She was a new knitter, and while working on her scarf noticed it got tighter, pulled in a bit. So, I guess I really do look like a knitter who knows the ins and outs, else she wouldn't have asked me right!? But I don't think of myself as that knowledgeable, or atleast not enough to explain stuff to other people. I offerred my educated guess, gauge issues, and even offered to take a look at it if she wanted to bring it to class. I also told her about the wealth of information on the internet for learning how to knit, and about the local SnB group.

But I'm still just astonished that someone would think I could offer help when it comes to knitting! Oh, my little girl, she is growing up!

I'm learning!

2005-01-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'm learning I think. It's slow going, but hopefully this weekend my web designer husband is going to give me a crash course. So next week be on the lookout for even more improvements!

But, now on to something knitty! My pre-felted skull bag. It was supposed to be a knit-a-long with a friend, but she had some problems finding yarn (and needed to finish another project first) so I decided to go ahead with mine. That way when she got stuck, I'd have already been there and could help her.

This is my bag all finished but without the handles prior to any felting:

The felting is all done, well sort of, and I'll be getting pictures of that up tonight. I need to put a lining in it too.

So yea for my first knitting related post with picture!

Welcome to The Dragon Knits!

2005-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

A very long time ago, I had a blog, but I never used it.
Let's hope this time around things are different.
This time around I have cool fun stuff to post about.

My adventures in knitting!
I'd consider myself an intermediate knitter. I taught myself to knit about 4 years ago. It was slow going for the first few years, but I seem to have picked it up with a vengence. I'm trying more complicated projects and I'm falling in love with more expensive yarns.

To that end, I have made the decision to guinea pig myself out to pay for my yarn habits.

Now I just need to figure out how this whole blog thing works!