Planning without a plan

Back into my Grey's Anatomy marathon! Mom loved the shawl, and I've finished a pair of gloves and a dish towel in the past 2 days, along with turning a heel in my dad's sock and resurrecting Wicker. (And boy are my arms tired!). So far, my resolution to finished projects and not start anything new is going well.....

I should be packing for the trip to Tahoe, except I have no idea how long we're staying or what I'll be doing. The Type A side of me is freaking out a little, but the mellower part of me is ignoring it :) M and his friend want to go skiing, and the thought of getting back on skis after 4 years and 2 knee surgeries is a little terrifying. I've known for ages this decision would come up, and I still don't know if I'm going to get back on that horse. So, alot of knitting will be packed.

You think it'll drive them crazy if I map out all the yarn stores between here and Tahoe?

If I don't post before - Happy New Years to all of you!

Happy holidays

Happy holidays all!

And don't forget to relax :)

PS - don't forget about the contest - you've got until the 6th!

A contest!

It's been awhile since I've had a contest, so I figure it's about time. To enter, leave a comment on one of the following (or both if you feel like it!):

• I feel like I want to revamp my etsy shop a little - change the name, the banner, figure out a better way to advertise. Throw in a suggestion!
  
• I've been thinking alot about holiday traditions lately. Are you a fan of tradition, or do you like to change every year? What's your favorite thing about the holidays?

Three winners will be chosen randomly, for either a pair of stitch markers from my shop (your choice) or 2 skeins Misti Lace:


I absolutely love the feel of this yarn - it's as soft as Malabrigo, though not as squishy.

So that's the contest - you've got until noon PST on the 27th to enter! Winners will be announced on the 28th, and prizes, once the winners decide will be mailed out in the new year. Oh, and you get an extra entry if you post on your blog and for each person saying they heard about it from you. If Blogger doesn't have your email, be sure to let me know how to contact your, or email me separately after you comment.

ETA: I'm going to be in and out of town until the 5th, so I'm extending the deadline until Jan 6th. Oh, and I'm adding a mystery prize :)

PS - the sale at my store is still going on for the rest of the month - buy one set and each additional set of stitch markers purchased is 50% off!

Happy Thursday all!

A random Wednesday

I have a thing for cute little gadgets, which made the timer Teresa got me for my birthday perfect! This collection of timers makes me grin.

This is old news, but I love that knitting is in the Wall Street Journal.

The review of this gadget had me cracking up. Technology is so wonderful.

Thanks everyone for your shawl comments. It's still sitting up on my blocking cushions because I like looking over at it every now and again :) Though I'll have to wrap it up soon for the trip to Napa.

I went to see my primary doctor again today after another review with my physical therapist yesterday. They're referring me to an orthopedic surgeon to determine if there's any additional damage the first 2 surgeries didn't fix. Which brings me to my question - does anyone have an orthopedic surgeon they'd recommend in the Santa Barbara - Ventura - Thousand Oaks - LA area? My PT gave me a few names, but having some sort of review from an actual patient would be preferred....

Back to watching movies and knitting!

Finally finished!

A relatively quick knit, though the monogomy of it was driving me crazy by the end. I opted to make the top border shorter and not do the picot edge, partially just to finish and partially because I was running out of yarn. I love the body of the shawl, though I think I prefer the method of the Flower Basket shawl than this one with it's knitted on border. The yarn, Misti Alpaca lace, is very soft and nice to work with. A little splitty, but the overall feel was worth it. And it's done in time for Christmas.....

Though I found out today, via MySpace of all places, that my mom doesn't want to celebrate Christmas this year. I know that the holidays are rough in many ways for everyone and even more so for my parents. Sigh.

I'm looking forward to being done with work for the year - I worked from home today because I've been feeling a bit sick this weekend. I got bronchitis, or so I thought, last year and have had a persistent cough ever since. Not a hacking up lungs cough, but just a hoarse voice that turns into a cough after of talking. Dr. 1 tried me on an inhaled medicine and then sent me to a lung doctor, who did a breathing test and ruled it as allergies. Dr. 3 tried me on a few allergy meds, none of which have made the cough go away. So back to Dr. 1 to come up with another diagnosis, of possible acid reflux. The meds for which have not been agreeing with me, or made the cough go away. There's always the chance that my cat allergies have gotten worse and the meds just can't make those go away, but who knows.....That and having to go back to the physical therapist to re-diagnose my knee make for alot of doctor visits!

Wow, that was quite a digression from knitting :) For the rest of the week, I'll be working on my dad's socks and some other gift knits. Most likely they won't be done by next Tues, but everyone's very forgiving about that :) In the new year - the resolution of no more gift knitting! Or at least, no more last minute gift knitting.....

I swear I'm still here

Work has been incredibly busy lately - whoever says things slow down at the end of the year was lying. I went to Yosemite last weekend - here's a shot coming down from one of our hikes.

Have a good weekend!

WIP update

It feels like I'm a little overdue for a picture post of all the WIPs that are currently getting some attention. So, here goes!
My dad's socks are coming along slowly, as to be expected for knitting two socks at once. The Regia's alright, though I think I'm developing a bias for softer sock yarns. These were supposed to be done in June, and I may be pushing it to get them and my mom's shawl done by the end of the month. But maybe with some focus....
My mom's shawl. I've got one more pattern repeat, 14 knit rows, and then come the border challenge. I've never done a knitted on border and I'm having trouble visualizing how it'll all go down. But, as I always do, I figure I'll just start and wing it. I don't know what it is about lace, but it seems to go so quickly!
This was started as a "Oh! I should make a hat for my trip to Yosemite this weekend!" project. Famous last words! It took me a couple of hours to modify the pattern I'd chosen to a) make it into an adult sized hat and b) make it work with the Malabrigo I wanted to use. At the end of it all, M's roommates were convinced that knitting required some kind of special degree....(eventually I will use my own stitch markers. Well, the ones you see above are mine, but I made them 3 years ago before I really learned what I was doing.)
The languishing Lady E I started in May - I'm on my 7th or 8th ball of Silk Garden, and only a couple more to go. I started this to distract me through the funeral preparations, so I sort of have mixed feelings about finishing it. But after seeing the one I made for my mom, I'm looking forward to having one of my own.
And finally, taking these.....
to these! My friend Michelle gave me Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and it couldn't have been a more perfect birthday present. These were a huge hit this weekend, and I'm excited to try more of the recipes!

Time to walk away from the TV and get some sleep - have a good night!

Radio silence

It's been ages since I've last posted, and alot has been going on. The trip to Puerto Rico was a whirlwind and crazy. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of Puerto Rico outside of the hotel or site, but I've got a better idea of where I'd want to go if I go back. Work has been stressful lately, adjusting to having a new supervisor and projects that just won't go away. Thanksgiving itself was fine, my flight was delayed some but since we never celebrate with other people it didn't really impact much. The day after was my birthday, which was a bit disappointing since my mom forgot until she looked at her calendar (I know, I totally sound spoiled here. But I still get excited about my birthday!). Granted, she's been thinking about my brother a ton with the holidays around, but it was still hard to swallow.

This last weekend was the larger birthday celebration, which involved a trip up to wine tasting country with a large group of grad students, knitters, and wine lovers. It turned out really well, despite the large number of people, and I ended up joining a wine club (I blame the wine). We kept it low key and went out for pizza afterwards, which was really perfect.

Now I'm just trying to catch up on my gift knitting - a shawl for my mom and a pair of socks for my dad. I've got a couple of other projects I'd like to make, but I really need to stick with these before working on anything else! I've given in and ordered more yarn for socks and hats, which means I've been compulsively checking the mail stop at work every few hours :)

And, finally, I'm offering up another sale for the month of December at my etsy shop. Buy one set of stitch markers, all additional sets are 50% off! Just wait until I send you an invoice before you pay though.

Hope everyone's well - thanks for the well wishes!

...in which I whine a little

Friday I had a mini breakdown as I was driving down to LA to a slumber party with my knitting friends. I was on the phone with M, and about to cry because he had just told me to relax and not worry.

Something so simple (and so true) shouldn't drive me to tears. But last week, or more accurately last Friday, sucked.

• I passed the 6 month anniversary of my brother's death with nothing more than an empty feeling - which was quickly replaced with a guilty feeling. And communication with my parents has been falsely cheery (on both ends) at best lately.
  
• My new and improved allergy meds are not doing anything for the cough that brought me to the allergist in the first place (and my nose is running).
  
• I have had credit card fraud for the second time in 2 months - making me worried that my information is out there for the taking. It's strange - the first time someone charged alot of gas to my card, the second time they tried to buy alot of clothes with my other card. I'm not sure what to do at this point.
• Work. Oh work, how you stretch me. There have been structure changes in the last week that directly affected me. There's a trip to Puerto Rico (tonight, actually) to learn about the new process that's stressing me out because a) it's happening relatively quickly and b) the plan keeps changing. Originally one of the more senior group members was going to go, but that got nixed Friday and until about an hour ago it looked like I might be going by myself.
  

/whine.

It's been a rollercoaster weekend, trying to pack and repack and clean and run errands, but it's not all bad. The slumber party was fun, and the food was tasty. Knitting has been happening - I have made some good progress on the Hourglass Sweater, finishing up the lower part of the body and starting on one of the sleeves. Though I think the Claptois, Chevron Scarf, and my mom's shawl will be the projects coming along with me this week. And I've decided to treat myself with the overtime I'll be earning and get some STR - the only hard part is narrowing down my choices!

Etsy update and WIP Wednesday

1. IMG_0836.JPG, 2. IMG_0812.JPG, 3. IMG_0838.JPG, 4. IMG_0828.JPG, 5. IMG_0824.JPG, 6. IMG_0817.JPG, 7. IMG_0840.JPG, 8. IMG_0826.JPG, 9. IMG_0832.JPG

New stitch markers have been uploaded to the shop! And, in honor of Thanksgiving, shipping is free all of this month :) Enjoy!

Here's a shot of the shawl I'm working on, in an attempt to capture how close to Marie's eye color this yarn is. The picture came out reddish because I tried to block the flash, which makes for an interesting shot....


Here's a closeup of the shawl itself - I'm only on the 3rd repeat, and I can tell it's going to be fairly large when blocked!

PSA

Thanks to Ravelry, I found NaughtyCodes.com, which lists discount codes for all sorts of online stores. I haven't tried any that I've found on there, but it looks promising!

back to looking at clothes online at REI.....

I do believe there's been some knitting....

I gave in. I started a new project - but, to be fair, it's a gift for my mom and if I don't start it now it may never be done. And I wanted to start another lace project ;) The Misti Alpaca Lace is absolutely wonderful - so incredibly soft. And while it may be a bit thin to knit single stranded, I'm loving how delicate the shawl is turning out. Good thing I have some more yarn for myself!

I've been carefully resisting all the sales and blog contests lately - I really have more yarn than I can use up any time in the near future. Which may lead to some more destashing.....

It was a quiet weekend. Friday's party was a little disappointing - it ended up just being my boyfriend and a couple of our friends from SB. It seems as we get older everyone has a harder and harder time a) committing to plans and b) showing up. I would much rather people said no in advance than the day of (or via messenger the hour of), when I've already gone out and gotten food and drinks etc. I'm guilty of it myself - thinking I'll really want to go or might want to go and then deciding that I'm too tired. In reality, I'm always tired. But usually when I push myself to go, I end up having a good time and was glad I went.

Sorry, this wasn't supposed to turn into a rant :)

Saturday I did a little shopping - I got an award at work that I turned into a Banana Republic gift card. Which meant an immediate (if not sooner!) trip to the outlet. Saturdays aren't the best days for a trip to the outlet, but I managed to make it in and out with only minor damage (2 sweaters and another pair of work pants which I absolutely adore). M and I went to see American Gangster, which was good, but not as good as the previews had led me to believe. There were definitely some interesting previews before the movie - alot of scary movies coming out!

Sunday we drove up to SB to go sailing. We were short staffed that day, there being only 4 of us to crew, but somehow we pulled it off (and I managed not to get any new bruises!). It was a long race out to the platforms, and bitterly cold with the fog rolling in. However, it was all worth it when we found out we'd gotten 2nd place. A very rare feat for our boat!

In other news, I'll be updating my etsy shop this week with a few more sets of stitch markers. Additionally, it'll be free shipping for the entire month! So stop by and take a look!

Happy Monday - made better by the extra hour we got back this weekend ;)

A different kind of tourism

I intended to save this post for a few more days, waiting for the 6 month anniversary of my brother's death. But I saw this article today in the NY Times: Study Examines Suicide Tourism in New York City. The article examines the total number of suicides committed in NYC, and the percent of those committed by out-of-towners. It goes on to discuss the phenomena of "hot spots" for suicide as being well-documented, and lists the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge as two other popular destinations. (The oh-so-slightly-crazy part of me giggles at travel guide feel of it.) They talk about how suicide is considered a "major, and preventable, public health problem." Barriers, awareness, surveillance, proximity of hotline phones.

Years ago, when I was dating a guy in San Diego, I thought it was strange they had the suicide hotline number posted all over the bridge. It makes so much more sense now. Do I know if my brother would have reconsidered killing himself if there was a barrier? A phone? If the tourist who saw him jump had said, "Beautiful day, isn't it?" I don't, and I try not to think about it.

I've learned alot in the last 6 months. I've learned what drugs can do to your body. I've learned how much my brother had changed before he died. I've learned just how much one person can cry over music or commercials on TV. I've learned about grief and anger and the loneliness that comes when someone you know dies. I've come a long way from this May - trying to be a better daughter, to ask for help when times are rough, to not bottle everything up, and to stop saying yes to everything. I've stopped forming expectations about the future of my family and how we'll all get through this, because I know we're all in different places now.

And somehow, that's given me peace. I've spent the last few weeks worrying about going north for Thanksgiving (and my birthday) and how we were going to deal with the fact my brother won't be there, back from his first few months at college. I can't draw up scenarios anymore, because whatever happens will happen. It's heartbreaking for sure, but you can't plan for heartbreak.

Thanksgiving, for me, was always about the turkey and pumpkin pie. This year, it's more about those left behind.

Wednesday WIPs....on a Sunday?

I'm making a valiant push for the final days of Socktoberfest. I've noticed a trend this year - of making plans for knitting and blatantly ignoring them (Summer knitting goals, summer of socks, etc) But no! I will knit socks in October (and move on to something else come November)


First up, socks for my dad. I'm really loving the yarn, and the pattern (from More Sensational Socks). They're for his birthday, which was in June. So much for timing (Teresa, your gloves WILL be refinished. Promise. Definitely by your next birthday....)


Next up, Red Sox. No, really. If I'm going to watch all this sports on TV, I am going to knit appropriately (until they're done - then I'll move back to my overflowing WIP basket). M didn't think I was serious when I said I was going to knit some Red Sox socks....well, that'll show him :) I've finished the toe, the foot, and the heel. Why did I ever think knitting socks on anything less than a US 6 was a good idea?

So, if you'll excuse me, there's all sorts of football on right now and perhaps a baseball game tonight....

I hear there's only one October....

How happy am I that it's Friday? Not that it's been a bad week, but I love weekends. Tonight I'm going to see Josh Ritter perform at the Natural History Museum (which, according to a coworker is a hip venue) (wow, I just felt older right there). Tomorrow, a quick trip to the outlets where I will resist the urge to spend any more money before heading up to Santa Barbara. I imagine with the World Series being on right now there will be some baseball to watch (while I follow the Cal game tomorrow night online). And of course, some knitting.

I'm not really a huge sports fan, despite how much sports I watch. I don't have many favorite teams (except for Cal - go Bears!), and the ones I do like are based on geography or not an awful combination of team colors more than anything else. And in spite of some of the Red Sox fans I've met (or sat near at an Angels game), I have to admit I like the Red Sox. Why? Because I can knit a pair of red socks while watching them and giggle to myself the whole time. It's the little things :)

I found this website of common errors in English via the Stitchin' Sheep. I have to say, I feel a little dumber....Not that anyone expects engineers to have good grammatical skills anyways :)

Next post - pictures! Knitting related pictures!

We didn't start the fire

It smells like campfire. It's been ashy and gritty and hazy all weekend - from Santa Barbara to Camarillo to LA to San Diego. Looking at the Google Map makes me realize just how widespread these fires are. I feel like this happens every year and we're sort of used to it, but driving over the mountain yesterday and seeing the red sky made me feel like I was an extra in a Lord of the Rings movie (sadly, no Viggo to be found). It's eerie and scary and my hair is responding to the lack of moisture in the air. Teresa and I went for a hike earlier this year in Solstice Canyon, hiking through the ruins of a house burned down in 1982. It was strange, mostly because the house had been so set into the landscape when it was built that it was easy for nature to reclaim it. It makes me wonder what will happen to the houses lost this time around.

In more cheery news, I got a new jacket for snow that has tons of pockets (I'm a fan of pockets). It's passed the approval of the skier - though he said it would be good for "sort of cold" days, which makes me wonder what I've gotten myself into....I also won free tickets to a closed performance on Friday with Josh Ritter. I'm not sure what to expect of a taped concert (or what to wear!), but I'm loving the price :)

Movies?

According to my imdb list, I've seen over 750 movies. Apparently not all of them good...

AFI's top 100 movies. Bold the ones you have seen. Strike out the ones you couldn't finish. * the ones you have seen more than once. (Found via kmkat)

1. Citizen Kane (1941)*

2. Godfather, The*

3. Casablanca (1942)

4. Raging Bull (1980)

5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

6. Gone with the Wind (1939)

7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

8. Schindler’s List (1993)

9. Vertigo (1958)*

10. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)*

11. City Lights (1931)

12. Searchers, The (1956)

13. Star Wars (1977)*

14. Psycho (1960)*

15. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

16. 2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968)

17. Graduate, The (1967)*

18. General, The (1927)

19. On the Waterfront (1954)

20. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

21. Chinatown (1974)

22. Some Like It Hot (1959)

23. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) For the longest time I hadn’t read the book either. People always assume if you’re from Oklahoma you’ve seen/read Grapes of Wrath and you love hearing them sing the theme song from the musical.

24. E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)

25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

27. High Noon (1952)

28. All About Eve (1950)

29. Double Indemnity (1944)

30. Apocalypse Now (1979) “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” used to be my dad’s favorite quote.

31. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)

32. Godfather Part II, The (1974)

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

35. Annie Hall (1977)

36. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)

37. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)

38. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)

39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)*

40. Sound of Music (1965)

41. King Kong (1933) I’ve seen the newer one….

42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

44. Philadelphia Story, The (1940)

45. Shane (1953)

46. It Happened One Night (1934)

47. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)

48. Rear Window (1954)* I’ve always liked Hitchcock movies.

49. Intolerance (1916)

50. Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

51. West Side Story (1961)

52. Taxi Driver (1976)

53. Deer Hunter, The (1978)

54. M*A*S*H (1970)

55. North by Northwest (1959)*

56. Jaws (1975) Surprisingly, I’m not interested in seeing movies about a shark killing people. Strange, I know.

57. Rocky (1976) I refuse.

58. Gold Rush, The (1925)

59. Nashville (1975)

60. Duck Soup (1933)

61. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

62. American Graffiti (1973)

63. Cabaret (1972)

64. Network (1976)

65. African Queen, The (1951)

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

68. Unforgiven (1992)

69. Tootsie (1982)

70. Clockwork Orange, A (1971)

71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

72. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)*

74. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)

75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

76. Forrest Gump (1994)*

77. All the President’s Men (1976)* One of my favorites

78. Modern Times (1936)

79. Wild Bunch, The (1969)

80. Apartment, The (1960)

81. Spartacus (1960)

82. Sunrise (1927)

83. Titanic (1997)*

84. Easy Rider (1969)

85. Night at the Opera, A (1935)

86. Platoon (1986)

87. 12 Angry Men (1957)

88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

89. Sixth Sense, The (1999)

90. Swing Time (1936)

91. Sophie’s Choice (1982)

92. Goodfellas (1990)

93. French Connection, The (1971)

94. Pulp Fiction (1994) I could never get into it. Or any of Tarantino’s films.

95. Last Picture Show, The (1971)

96. Do the Right Thing (1989)

97. Blade Runner (1982)

98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

99. Toy Story (1995)

100. Ben-Hur (1959)

This is what my mornings are like...

Fill up your glasses

Knitting blog drinking game, found via Feather and Fan.

You have to have a good sense of humor going into this - I found alot of things on the list that I do :)

Good thing I just bought all that wine....

Food on the brain

I brought some of my cookbooks in to work this morning to come up with something to make for dinner. Because I have food on the brain. Something happened this weekend to motivate me to cook (I blame the wine tasting) and since that motivation comes along so rarely I figured I should go with it.

The internet is against me - I'm finding alot about baking in my feed reader today:
Vodka Pie
No-knead bread followup
The original no-knead bread

The truth is, I miss the chocolate croissants at the farmer's market in Westwood....it may be time to dig out the Martha Stewart cookbook :)

After I posted yesterday, I found all sorts of eco-friendly posts popping up. Apparently it was Blog Action Day and I missed the memo :) It was interesting to see all the posts about the usual recycling, greener energy, and carbon footprints. Someone also blogged about how participating in swaps and destashing across the country adds to your footprint - definitely something knitters don't want to think about :)

Time to get back to planning dinner....

Monday Monday

Image found on Apartment Therapy

Well, another week back at work. The weekend was nice, I went wine tasting with a friend and her boyfriend, picking up a few nice dessert wines. I used to go tasting more often, but with all that's been going on with sailing and hiking I haven't had as much time. And now there's college football....

I picked up my Hourglass Sweater again, in hopes of finishing it up before my birthday in November (it's good to have goals) So far my wrists/forearms still ache a little, but it's significantly better than it was before. I've also gotten a new keyboard tray and mouse at work, since my physical therapist thinks the tendinitis is more due to mousing than knitting (I tend to agree with her, since I haven't knit more than an hour is the last 3 weeks!).

I've been listening to the Omnivore's Dilemma again, and I'm in the section about organic farming. While I still got a little queasy listening to the slaughtering description, I realized the rest of the chapter really appealed to me in contrast to the first section about industrial farming. This year seems to be the year for thinking greener (my Nellie's Dryerballs arrived last week!) and reducing your footprint, but it's also becoming the year for thinking about what you eat (and not just in a caloric sense). I've always remained blissfully unaware of where my food came from, and I'm beginning to question that...

Happy Monday all!

The wait is finally over

Almost 3 months after the announcement that downsizing was imminent, layoffs were finalized. Across all departments at my site in just one day. And while I still have a job, it was an incredibly difficult day. No one really got any work done as coworkers gathered in the halls to discuss the rumors and later console the affected. My parents have of course been checking in frequently to find out who and when, which has been exhausting. If worrying created food we'd have enough to feed a small country....

Tomorrow, puppy pictures.

An upset

Wow. I can't believe it. Stanford beat USC yesterday. As a Cal fan, I have mixed feelings about this. I'd like to see USC move down in the rankings so Cal can move up (plus I went to UCLA for grad school). But I'd also like to see Stanford lose because, well, go Bears! So I definitely have mixed feelings about this one.

It has been a season of upsets for sure. Stanford, Appalachian State. And Notre Dame broke their losing streak (unfortunately against UCLA)

Enough football. I'm in Napa for the weekend visiting my parents (and doing some shopping). Along movie watching, and knitting. The weather is great, I'm hoping to take some pictures of the leaves here, they're showing more color than the trees down south. And also of the new puppy, who has been following me around since I got here :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Edumakation

The Curious Origins of 9 Delicious Phrases, found via Accidental Hedonist.

Little tidbit on how our expectations color our tastes (wrt food, around the middle of the post)

Bored at work? Check out people's fridges....

Mr. Whippy, stress-dispensed ice cream.

FYI - the workers are the SS office are so unbelievably pleasant. Definitely less stressed out than DMV workers.

Unbelievable

It's been a busy week, mostly because I started going back to physical therapy for my knee which makes for longer days than I'm used to. Where am I going with this? I've had a bag of stuff to give to Goodwill for the whole week now, and I haven't been able to drop it off because they close at 5. So finally I gave up and left the bag outside the dumpster in case anyone wanted a new coffeemaker, grinder, etc.

...I woke up at 5:30 this morning and realized my social security card and some other things may have been in one of the old wallets I put in the bag. I don't carry around everything in my wallet, and I have so many that I use the old ones to hold things I don't need to keep with my (SS card, business cards, grocery store savings cards, etc). This one had the card slots on the outside, which were empty, and a zippered compartment, which was probably not. Of course the stuff was long gone. I know I can get a replacement and monitor my credit report but it was such a stupid thing to do. This is why those cleaning binges are bad.....

In other wallet news, I custom ordered a new wallet a few days ago from JennaLou's etsy shop (thanks to the recommendation from Teresa!) I also made another sale in my etsy shop which is awesome :). I also came across an interesting fact this week - 40 years of research show that grief intensifies and peaks around 5-7 months after someone's death. Which helps to explain what's been going on lately. Well, not so much explain as reassure me I'm still following the curve :) (Insert long discussion on distributions and statistics here. I had a stats class early this week so I'm a little stat-ed out)

And, speaking of unbelievable, check this out. How does she do it?!? Here's more of her work. Absolutely amazing.

Almost Wednesday WIPs

The Swallowtail Shawl, in Malabrigo lace. I can't get over how soft the yarn is! It's addictive - more so than KSH :)
Argosy - this one's been hibernating for awhile. I'm using some yarn that's been hiding out in the stash for awhile (me? Stash busting? What are the odds!)
Clapotis, using the STR Lucy colorway. This one, for some reason, seems to be easiest on my arms. Maybe all the variation in stitches.....
And finally, the Chevron scarf. I really love how the colors go together, though they don't contrast as much as I'd hoped. It's slow going on this one, but I'm really loving it so far.

Time for me to get back to catching up on the first season of Heroes....

Bad blogger!

I'm still behind on taking pictures, but Little Knits is having a sale on some Trekking and I thought I'd pop over and post. I still haven't been knitting much, but I'm hoping that when I do go back to it this break will have helped in the long run.

Not much else to report - the cold is mostly gone, which is great. I went camping this weekend as a sort of reunion event - we went back to Angeles forest and had a great time eating, drinking, and talking (and trying to stay warm!). Sunday found me making banana bread for the first time and working with M to come up with a new meatball recipe. And packing up the second order from my etsy store! As great as etsy is for finding cool indie things, it's huge and hard to stand out from the rest. But so far, so good!

Somewhat off topic, but my mom had some suicide awareness bracelets made and sent me a bunch last week. I have no idea what to do with them, but if anyone wants one I've got 'em.

Time to get back to work - happy Monday all!

Working on a day off

My cold got worse last night so I opted to go in, get my laptop, and work from home for a half day (it would have been more but I'm having trouble logging in now....).

So, I've been busy taking pictures, writing descriptions, and uploading. That's right, I finished setting up my etsy shop. Feel free to take a look and let me know what you think! (and feel free to spread the work as well) This is my first foray into selling, so any suggestions and comments are welcome.


And here, the long-coveted Wollmeise! I got Poison Nr. 5 as well, but for some reason that picture didn't turn out well. When I get up some more energy I'll take some pictures of my Chevron Scarf. Until then :)

I'm baaack

My last day of vacation before going back to work :(

It was a fun week in Maryland. There was sailing, crab eating, beer drinking, and sight seeing. Oddly enough, I missed the rain on both coasts....
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Annapolis and the surrounding area. It's woodsy, but there are open areas around the farms and the water. M's parents have a place on the eastern shore where we spent a night and it was great. You have neighbors, but they're not so close you'd know. It's completely quiet at night, and you'd be best off having some sort of night light because there is no surrounding street lighting like there is in the city.

I've been sailing before in Santa Barbara, but it's nothing compared to sailing on a little two person boat. Speed is completely different, and balance is alot trickier. We were successful in staying upright, which was a huge relief to me :)

The trip to DC was fun - it's crazy to see all the well known buildings all in one place. We went by the Capitol, some museums, the botanic gardens, the Museum of Natural History, and of course the White House. My feet were exhausted by the end of the day, but I got some good pictures out of it.

There was some knitting done as well - I started the Chevron Scarf in a yellow/green Koigu and some blue Sundara yarn. I also managed to get a little work done on my Clapotis on the flight back. The woman sitting next to me turned out to be German as well - she noticed I was knitting "like the Europeans" and commented on it :)

I picked up my new gym bag and tent today at REI - now I'm motivated to start working out again (and go camping this upcoming weekend!). I've also been working hard on creating a stockpile of stitch markers before I open my etsy shop. I've gotten some good feedback from the testers that have been really helpful in deciding what type of design to go with. And for some reason making stitch markers is much easier on my wrists.....

Time to get back to 'watching' football :) Have a good Sunday everyone!

Wednesday WIP

Actually, due to the self-imposed and now doctor-approved knitting halt, I don't have much knitting to report (Ok, I cheated last night and started the Chevron scarf. But it's ok - I can do up to 15 minutes of knitting every other day for a week and work my way up from there!) I've developed tendinitis, which on one hand is good (meaning I don't have carpel tunnel). I've been told to rest, ice, and take Advil (or Aleve. Whichever I feel more brand loyalty towards). I also am being sent back to physical therapy again for my knee. As much as I dislike PT, it's really the only way I'll stick to a workout plan (at least right now. The new gym bag I'm getting from REI may motivate me....)

While waiting on my knitting injury to heal, I'm working on restructuring my life a little. I ran across this link at HipKnits and it really got me thinking. I have alot of baggage in my life (and only some of it emotional!) and it stresses me out. While I will probably not do all 72 things, working on some them has already made me feel better (like cleaning out my email accounts - so liberating!). I'm also taking a page from the book of Allison and making a more serious effort to reduce my debt. This ties in nicely with my efforts to be healthier in that I'll be cooking at home more than eating out.

Back to your regularly scheduled knitting soon....ish :)

Monday madness

Not much knitting to report - my wrists have been giving me problems. I noticed when I got a massage a couple of weeks ago that when my forearms were worked on my hands started tingling. So I gave in and have put down the needles for awhile. It's driving me crazy :) I'm starting to think it may be more related to how I type on my laptop at home or on my computer at work though, since my wrists still ache some.


So instead of knitting I've been hiking and watching TV (or, more accurately, football. And some TV on DVD). I happened to catch Murder She Wrote on the other week and realized how much I'd liked that show as a kid. I had no idea there were so many seasons of it! I also rented Heroes from Netflix and watched the first two episodes last night. I'm not sure if I would have gotten into it had I watched in season. I'll admit I want to know what happens, but the 2nd episode was a little gruesome (and somehow fake) for me. I am however getting sucked back into Top Chef (I even started a group on Ravelry for it) - it's not like the other seasons. For me there's no clear winner or favorite. There's also not as much animosity, which is great.


This weekend's hike was Solstice Canyon. In many ways it's like the rest of the hikes in the mountains - except for the ruins. Well, the remains of a rather large house that burned down in the 1980's. There's something eerie about hiking in the woods and finding the foundation and remaining walls of a house next to the trail. We had great fun wandering around the remains climbing up to the waterfall. I'm slowly but surely working my way through all the parks in the area, much to my knee's dismay. I'm not sure if it's a lingering problem from the surgery, but I seem to be having knee pain more than I used to. M thinks it's a cartilage problem - I'm hoping not!


Time to get back to work - happy Monday all!

FO, WIPs, and moving on

The manly socks are finally done and have been gifted to their owner. A few months late of his birthday, but he seems pleased with them. And decided not to take them on his latest camping trip, because he didn't want to "get them dirty." I wonder how much use they'll see with that philosophy!

I'm dividing my time now between some gloves and socks. With a little work on the Hourglass Sweater to give my hands/wrists a break. I've been noticing some tingling in my arms and some back pain, so I'm trying to take it easy. Of course, this rules out making stitch markers as well, so I really don't know what to do with myself! The testing is going well, as far as getting feedback on how the first set of markers work out. After some initial results, I'm thinking the method Teresa taught me may be more knitter-friendly and that the method I use is probably better suited to earrings and the like.

This past weekend was full of football and movies (and eating!) I watched way more college football than I intended, but really enjoyed the Cal game (I may have to organize a viewing at some sports bar for the next one!) M and I went to see the Bourne Ultimatum on Sunday, which I liked quite a bit. I wasn't as much of a fan of the second in the series, but the third was right up there with the first. If you like action and twists, I'd recommend checking it out while it's still in theater (unless you have a big screen TV and surround sound. In which case, invite me over some time)

My parents seem to be doing well after the letter was published. The Napa paper has a censoring policy on all comments submitted to their site (which the other papers don't seem to be as strict with, given some of the responses to my dad's letter earlier this year) and all the comments I've seen are positive and reaffirm the fact that not much is known about the possible side effects. I'm still trying to deal - feeling somewhat deserted, though I realize no one really knows what to say to me. I'm told this is the awkward point in the timeline - where it's been long enough that other people have moved on and you're just starting to deal with it. Or where people are still giving you distance when you're finally ready to talk. It's been frustrating to an extent - the times I do mention it, no one knows what to say and the atmosphere gets awkward. Society has a hard time acknowledging death and its aftermath in general, at least in a way that doesn't leave the survivors feeling like they should be keeping quiet about how they're feeling.

So I've removed the chip from my shoulder and have been harassing people to hang out with me until they feel comfortable enough to do it on their own :)

And in the interim, I'm getting caught up on my Netflix subscription....I'm still coming up to movies I queued back in grad school!

Letter to the Editor

It's been a little over 3 months since my brother died. As little as I talk about it here or elsewhere, it's always on my mind. My mom has posted a letter to the editor in the local paper, fully disclosing the details of his death. And while I know them all, it makes it hard to see. Not so much because I've been reliving his death this week, but because it makes me sad that this has become my parents' new crusade - a crusade against suicide.

Sigh.

Good thoughts

I've posted about Evan before - but keep him and his family in your thoughts today. Evan went in for surgery this morning - you can read more about him on Allison's blog.

Stitch markers?

I've been making alot of stitch makers lately - you can see pictures of them here. I've been toying around with the idea of opening an etsy store, but since I'm so new to making them I'd like to test them out some. Anyone interested in being a test knitter? You'd get a set to knit with and would only have to provide me feedback on what you think. Drop me an email if you're interested!

Looking for a doula?

For anyone in the Los Angeles area, my friend Peggy has recently started a doula business. I met Peggy when I first moved to LA, and while I can't speak to her doula techniques, she's an amazingly compassionate and supportive person with a great sense of humor. Peggy is passionate about what she does - go check out her website here to read more about why she decided to become a doula and what her philosophy is.

Oh, and in case you needed more convincing - in addition to being a doula, Peggy's also a great knitter. :)

Little League Baseball

Thanks for all of your comments - in the end my friend Teresa is taking 4 of the skeins in a partial trade and I managed to resell the other 2 on the Destash blog. There's some discussion on the Ravelry board about the subs - some people were emailed asking their preferences, some had their order cancelled, others knew ahead of time and included options in their order. I did email the owner asking to return them and she said that was fine, which I was glad to hear.

Not much to report on the knitting front. I'm out of town this weekend, taking a mini-break from work (always a good plan when they announce layoffs I'm sure) and going to a friend's engagement party. I've actually never gotten to meet him in person (we were introduced via a mutual friend), so it's a little weird to be going to his engagement party :)

Oh, and apparently there's a world series in little league baseball....who knew? It's been on since we got here and is totally holding M's attention. At least I have my sock to work on :)

:(

Last week I ordered 5 colorways of Lorna's Laces through an online clearance sale. It came today, but not what I'd expected.....

Turns out after I placed my order, the homepage of the store noted that yarn is going fast and subsitutions will be made if the ordered colorway is out of stock.

And that's what happened to 3 of the 5 colors I ordered. I wasn't notified, and when I emailed the owner she replied that there's a note on the website saying substitutions will be made. And suggested I see if any of my friends would be interested in trading.

I understand that she's one woman running a store - and a store in the middle of a huge sale. But I'm frustrated she didn't email me or just exclude the yarn I ordered that she doesn't have. Instead she's using a statement later posted on the storefront to explain why I'm holding on to 6 skeins of yarn I don't want. I'm considering either trying to trade them or emailing her again and asking her to take them and refund me the money.

/rant

Shout outs

Gradschoolknitter is having a contest for her 100th post - check it out!

Allison (of Supercrafty.com), who I've blogged about before, has some somewhat good news - Evan's surgery for his brain tumor has been bumped up to 2 weeks from now. This change is unfortunately because Evan is showing some decline - so please send some good thoughts their way. And maybe even buy some yarn :)

I'm relieved it's Thursday - it's been a week of minimal sleep so far. And even though I went to bed early, I was woken up by an earthquake this morning. Bringing my grand total of earthquakes felt to 3 :)

Final answer

In this world of amazing conveniences, somehow it takes longer to do things. I received a new credit card last week, and called the 1-800 number to activate it. It used to be, and still is for some cards, that all you had to do was call the number and enter some information. But now they try and sign you up for all sorts of programs. My call was no exception - payment protection, credit monitoring, the works. And they never ask you if you want to sign up, they just tell you they're mailing you the information packet and you can cancel later.

I had to tell the woman signing me up I didn't want it. I knew I was going to get a lecture on how great it was. "But I'm an American consumer, and making uniformed ill-advised decisions is my right," was what I wanted to say. Instead, I settled on some Millionaire lingo "...and that's my final decision."

Somehow, she knew not to argue.

On a more serious note, kmkat posted a link to this blog with images from the bridge collapse. Absolutely amazing to see the extent of damage - it's hard to even imagine.

Weekend update

I've been somewhat remiss in updating lately, so here's a stash enhancement, WIP, and misc. update :)

• Stash enhancement

A gift from Molly, Sundara Yarn. Spunky Eclectic yarn, a prize from Claudia's MS Ride Raffle. STR Lagoon, a purchase off the new Destash blog. Yarns from Handpaintedyarn.com for hats. Bought from Lotus Yarns, who has great names for colorways :) Bought from Paradise Fibers (who were really great to deal with)

• WIP

Manly sock, still going strong. Swallowtail shawl, intended to be worn at a wedding that's already occured (oops!). Generic ribbed hat, can never have too many. Lady Eleanor stole, a prayer shawl of sorts started in May.

• Misc.

My newfound interest in making stitch markers


A new mixer, with which to make more pies (and other things too I'm sure)


Anyone want a one person tea set?

Have a good weekend all!!

We have a winner!

Or 3 :) Congratulations to for gradschoolknitter winning the teapot! Ellen and Nonnahs are the lucky winners of yarny goodness. I'll email you all to get your addresses and get your prizes in the mail some time next week.

From it's humble beginnings as a mobile favorites bar, this blog has documented my knitting through all sorts of events. Going to my first SnB, learning to knit lace, the boyfriend sweater, the ensuing breakup and ACL surgery, learning to dye, the Knitting Olympics, nannying, leaving grad school, another breakup, a new relationship, moving, and most recently my brother's death.

More importantly than letting access my favorite links wherever I go, documenting my knitting, or recording the events of my life these last 3 years, this blog has served as a cheaper alternative to therapy.

No, just kidding! It's served as a place for me to meet people I may not otherwise have had the chance to meet (no matter how close they live to me) It's served as a place for me to share creativity and experiences and find support and ideas. Some of you I've known for years, some of you I've never met. Thanks for reading :)

A quick post

I'll be posting the contest winners in a few hours (go enter!), but this post from Kami made me laugh.

My favorite so far? "If we cannot fight two chickens to the death for entertainment purposes, the terrorists have already won?"

This one is pretty funny too: "I'm impressed by your bold stance in support of the gentleman sport of fetus fighting. If we are not permitted to strap knives onto the ankles of our unborn twins and fight them to the death, then what right will they take away from us next?"

Oh, this is my favorite: "Just a matter of time before they come for your dog and cat.These people have a agenda.This will be the start of the ending for animal lovers.Fight these nuts while you still can."

Happy Friday everyone :)

(There's a similar page here)

Pictures!

A finally finished gift for a friend
Yarny prizes for the contest
More yarny prizes
And a very tiring but very worthwhile hike.