Will Pillage For Yarn

Bridal cascade

2011-04-05T19:07:00.001-07:00

Bridal cascade
Originally uploaded by honeyandollie

Hello, Goodbye

2008-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

This seems to be a theme lately, at least I know I'm not the only one to pick up stakes and move over to other hosting sites. I've had this blog a long long time. I've outgrown the name, I've outgrown the idea and really, I'm just more than ready for a change... so off to Wordpress I go and I do hope you'll come along with me

Please update your Bloglines and other feeds to http://eightfoldrabbit.wordpress.com, and join me over at Honey and Ollie, I'd hate to lose you!

Welcome Back to the PTA

2008-08-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

Back when my kids were in elementary school, I was a busy PTA mom. I chaired committees, held Book Fairs, went to meetings, led a Brownie troop, coached soccer (two kids, two divisions, 4 years of hell) and did Little League.

And then the kids went to middle school and I stopped doing everything. Had a long bout of crippling depression. Spent a few years letting myself gently come back from that. Got separated from Mr. Yarnpirate. Went back to work. Didn't have any time.

So now we've come full circle. #2 Daughter's new school has a very active PTSA and involvement, while not mandatory, is strongly encouraged. And what the hell, right? I can pay my $10 annual fee and show up to a few meetings. While I was ponying up the annual fee, I noticed two words on the Student Interest packet. "Knitting Club" they read. Those two little words.

"Oh you have a knitting club?" I asked the parent volunteer.

"Actually, the parent advisor moved away at the end of last year. We need an advisor to run the club, I left it on the list because it was so popular I hoped someone would step up." she said.

That's when my hand shot up in the air and I began jumping up and down and squealing, "Oh! Oh! ME! MEMEMEMEMEMEME!!!" and doing the pee pee dance in the hallway.

I'm supposed to contact her in a few weeks, when things calm down, to set it up.

#2 Daughter is still not speaking to me. Because apparently NOTHING is worse than your mother jumping up and down and squealing "memememememe!" in the hallway on registration day, in front of everyone. Not even khaki is that bad.

So yeah. Welcome back to the PTA. I'm kind of excited. It feels good to be stepping up and back into that role. I'd missed it. I just hope that they don't make me wear khaki!

Also as an aside? Nothing is better than sending your ex husband a text that says, "By the way, you just joined the PTA." and getting back a panicked "I just did WHAT???" I suppose that eventually I should tell him that I wrote "Can not volunteer." next to his name on the membership roster.

Eventually.

2008-08-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

We drove to #2 Daughter's prospective high school this morning for what we thought was an early appointment with the registrar to attempt to register #2 Daughter for the upcoming school year, which starts next week. It was unsuccessful. We are going back tomorrow when the registrar will hopefully show up for work which she didn't do today.

We *did* get more paperwork to fill out, the student handbook and all manner of Very Important Information.

The new district has a uniform dress code policy. Khaki pants, white or black collared shirts (polo or button up), black, brown or white shoes (no heels), no fun socks, and only black, grey, khaki or green/gold sweaters (no hoodies).

This came as some surprise and the shock prompted some tears on the part of #2 Daughter who, like her mother, is a bit of a nonconformist. Once the tears passed, there was The Ranting.

"It's like, that movie. Jump back. Kevin Bacon. Oh my god. Do they allow music at this school? Dancing? I bet there's no dancing. And it's like that movie with that guy in front of the bank yelling 'Attica! Attica!'"

"It's a school uniform. It's not like you're going to be rattling a tin cup across the prison bars, dear."

"KHAKI PUTS BARS ACROSS YOUR HEART, MOM."

And so it went, at length, for several hours. I took her out for French toast and we went on a quest for khaki. Which was somewhat fruitless, however going online I discovered that Lands End had a couple of pieces. I did get her several cute white and black blouses at H&M, all in uniform code. But I am stuck for where to find really super cute junior sized uniform appropriate khaki bottoms. Gap was a total strikeout. Kids sizes abound, but junior sizes, not so much.

Why not black? Or grey? Why khaki???

"I'm spending the next FOUR YEARS in KHAKI, mom. I might not make it to NYU. I might DIE OF KHAKI."

"No one in the history of EVER has died of Khaki."

"Well I'm a TREND SETTER. Actually? No. What I am is a khaki covered loser who will never get a boyfriend because why? Oh yeah. KHAKI"

"That's okay dear. All the prospective boyfriends will be khaki covered losers too."

That's when she threw a sausage link at me and I decided I probably should stop talking. Unfortunately, because I was driving, I could not ask the waitress to pour a healthy slug of pre-khaki whiskey in my coffee. Shame.

Disgruntled

2008-08-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Not that I need it? Not that I'm particularly deprived? It's pure impulse and desire speaking here...

I am never going to ever get a skein of Wollmeise to knit up.

Just one little skein of Wollmeise, that's all I want. Please oh please shoppers at The Loopy Ewe, couldn't you just leave one little skein for me when stuffing your carts full of ginormous Wollmeise purchases? Pleeeease?

Hmph.

"Of a little,
take a little,
manners so to do.
Of a little,
leave a little,
that is manners too.

My grandmother used to say that. She was talking about Congo Bars, not yarn, but you know the principle is the same.

It truly is a case of sour grapes, because I'm just crabby over missing the update by like, an hour. It's not like I lack yarn. I am surviving just fine without Wollmeise. Maybe this is a life lesson in being happy in the face of lacking The Most Glorious Sock Yarn In THE WORLD, Ever, In The History Of Ever.

I could actually get some Wollmeise and maybe hate it after all that fussing. Somehow I doubt it, but I'm going to try to convince myself that it's possible.

2008-08-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

There's been a change in the wind this year. Something in the water? I don't know. But it is a shift.

Getting things done. Not letting things languish. Finishing what I start. It's kind of nice and feels a lot like moving forward. Moving out of Culver City and up to the Fortress Of Solitude (aka Casa Fabulous) was a real kick in the pants. I registered for college, three weeks into the semester and I am doing well in my classes. I think I can. I know I can. I am. It's here. It's now. I started.

I signed up for yoga. I signed up for 8 weeks of bellydance. I decided I wanted to do and live and be rather than have a lot of plans and unfinished business, and then I went out and began to do.

I've struggled with crippling depression on and off for my whole life, and I don't know what's shifted in the last year, but I don't feel like I'm struggling quite so hard anymore. Maybe it's just that I've accepted certain limitations and so I don't spin my wheels in the deep soft sand now. I find the places where I can get traction, where I can move, and I focus there.

I still spend huge swaths of time alone, quiet, nurturing my need for down time. But I've learned that it is possible to get out and do, around those islands of solitude. In fact, it may even be that it is necessary to get out and do, to balance the quiet.

Things seem more in focus. I feel pretty good. I think I'm actually pretty happy, though it's hard to quantify because it isn't a feeling I'm really used to. But I think that's what this is.

It is a lot of work this being happy. It takes effort. I have to kick my own arse a lot of the time to get that stuff on the calendar, get in the car, get it done, to do. Maybe that's the point. Maybe that stuff isn't supposed to be easy and the point is to make it work anyway. I have no idea. I just know, it seems to be working.

It feels a lot less like trying not to fall off of a tightrope and a lot more like easily walking across something a little more substantial. Actual rocks under my feet. Stepping stones that stay where I put them. I don't want to get too cocky because that is when you fall down, and I don't want to fall down... but I feel like maybe, I won't fall down? If that makes sense.

Of course the beautiful thing about depression is, you don't trust it for a minute and you're always looking out for that thing that's going to knock you on your keister, right?

I'm trying not to go there. And just keep walking forward.

2008-08-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Things are heating up here in the San Gabriel Valley and I don't mean temperature. I mean, I'm getting BUSY.

There has been a lot of driving about, proving residency, getting permits and applying to our school of choice in the new district. We don't want to go to our home zoned school - the state took it over last year. If Gov. S can't make a budget, I don't want him in charge of my daughter's HS education. That is for the youngest. The oldest is going to homeschool her final year of high school, and take classes at the local junior college concurrently. Actually, because she has taken extra courses all along, and because she's met all but 4 senior requirements and passed her CAHSEE, she'll be graduating in December. Her second term at college in the spring will be her first term as a fully fledged college student, a full semester early.

Go girl!

I am really hoping she will parley this into admission as a junior at a local state uni and continue until she earns a BA, but she has some hare-brained plan to "travel the world!" after graduating with her AA degree in Graphic Arts, then move to Canada and finish her BA up there as a guest of the folks who brought you the Yarn Harlot.

I am also registered in college classes this fall. With any luck I'll be applying to nursing school in about 3 semesters, once I get a few math, chemistry and bio classes out of my way.

Anyone know a good algebra tutor in the SGV?

On Monday, one of the cats sprouted massive allergies, swelled up, got scabby, explosive in all the wrong ways, and had to be rushed to the vet. He is okay, though we're still not sure what he's allergic to. At $400, I will not be running the blood panel to find out. A shot of steroids, an overnight in the hospital, fluids and some special hypoallergenic food will hopefully help. Between Senor Scabbersons, the kitten and the other two cats all needing their own special snowflake food, breakfast time is exciting around here now.

And of course... knitting.

The blocky pink baby cardi is coming along nicely. The other front panel is going to be a darker pink, with contrasting pockets and sleeve bands on each front panel to tie them together. The button band, neck and hem will all be that pale pink. I think it will be very modular and cute when it's done.

I am also really enjoying the Loksins! pattern. Lace socks are always a lot of fun and knit up so quickly.

I am knitting this one up in Dream in Color Smooshy. The charted parts are extremely simple and fast. I got this pattern from a secret pal a few rounds back and am finally getting to enjoy the knit. A great on the go sock!

And now I'm off to help #1 Daughter get sorted for her college assessment tests, and then to go buy birthday presents for #2 Daughter, who turns 14 tomorrow and expects something wrapped in ribbons to commemorate the occasion.

EZ FAIL

2008-08-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

There are times when you look at something you've been knitting and it is so lopsided, so wrong, so completely NOT the way it obviously was intended to look, that you can only mutter something dire under your breath and rip it off the needles.

RIP, Baby Surprise Jacket. We'll try it again when I am not quite so full of EPIC FAIL.

Hello Baby Garter Stitch Cardi from Erika Knight's Cherished Babies book... you are my old friend! Please assuage my ego and heal the wound inflicted by Baby Surprise!

2008-08-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Oliver Rumblestein, PhD in Prrrrr seems to be settling in just fine and has, in fact, made a conquest.

Oh Mittens. You're so easy.

I took this for Lucia when I was up Eureka because I always enjoy her flower pictures so much and wanted to share one back.

Have opted for no fringe on the Lady E, as I think my friend would probably appreciate something a little less fussy (and less apt to dangle ends into a teacup) so it is washed, gently blocked, dry, all the ends are woven in and I'm calling it completely perfect.

It's so dramatic and amazing looking and what really blew me away was how much the Silk Garden relaxed and softened after a soak in some woolwash and a gentle blocking (by which I mean, I stretched it gently into place on towels spread on the rug, but did not use blocking wires or pins or get aggressive at all.) The piece really grew!

It totally got the woolwash treatment because of the kitten spit issue. Mere steaming would not do. While I was knitting it over the last year, Mittens would curl up on the seat next to me and knead/nurse on the end. So I really hope that my friend doesn't mind her knitwear being a surrogate kitten mother in a previous incarnation!

2008-08-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

Have embarked on Baby Surprise Jacket. Stop. Am dubious. Stop. Not sure, but think I am knitting origami. Stop.

Y'all... I'm going to get a sweater out of this, right? It's not like some huge cosmic Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting joke, right?

Finishing last, but at least I'm finishing.

2008-08-04T11:07:00.001-07:00

I've sort of been on a finishing frenzy over vacation and since I got back. Lady E, Charade and my spiral rib socks are all cast off the needles and done. No pictures yet, but soon. The Rosebud Cardi is next up to get finished, and then I'm casting on a pair of Loksins and a Baby Surprise Jacket.

It is really nice to get all the old stuff done and off my needles and out of the back of my head!

Photos soon, particularly of Lady E. She's so dramatic, I need the help of one of my teenagers to play model.

Of course there is fiber in Northern California!

2008-08-03T01:48:00.001-07:00

It was not all beaches, trees and good eats. Oh no. I was a good knitter, too!

I finished my Charade socks:

I am so pleased with how they came out, the yarn and the colorway and the pattern are really a perfect mix. They remind me of men's suit socks except those waves of green, turquoise and fuschia/purple subtly spiraling through make them very unsuitlike. It's good I finished them. For all that we had the blue skies, it never made it above 70ish and my feet were cold all the time. I ran out of hand knit socks on the day I cast these off. Talk about timing! Go me!

While I didn't find any stores that had the kind of wide and eclectic selection that you might find at A Mano or at Wildfiber, I did find a few yarn shops on the North Coast. One of them was particularly excellent.

Boll Weaver in Henderson Center was a fantastic fiber resource. The owner was knowledgeable, the store was well stocked with a wide selection of what I like to think of as basic foundation yarns for knitting and weaving, there were plenty of spinning fibers (including locks from local sheep!) and the largest selection of Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks (semi local dyer/spinner in Willits, CA) I have ever seen, hands down. Yarns and spinning fibers, all in a myriad of weights and colorways from that artist, who is one of my favorites. The shop also carries a nice array of Ashford wheels and some spindles.

Shipwreck in Old Town Eureka (on Third between F and E) had a small selection of commercial yarn. What rocked my socks was the small but respectable array of local handspun yarns in different fibers. Also a fantastic collection of handsewn bags, aprons, dresses, and vintage treasures. I was enchanted. And the owner sells on Etsy! If you want whimsy? Go here. Their prices are insanely good for what they're offering.

Foggy Bottoms Yarn in Ferndale CA (on Main St.) was a yarn store I was really excited to visit. I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed overall. The store was very dark, had a really horrible pervasive mildew smell upon walking in and those two factors didn't make me want to buy a lot of yarn. They did have a large selection of Mountain Colors yarns and an impressive wall o' Noro. A skein of Bearfoot did make it home with me from this shop, as my goal was to spread my tourist dollars to as many LYS as I could, while traveling.

Not bad, if I do say so myself.

I did not make it to either Fabric Temptations in Arcata or Generations Yarn in Fortuna and I'd hoped to. Next time for sure. I hear that the former is quite spiffy.

Anytime you can combine vacation with yarn shopping, I really think you should.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

2008-08-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

We are home again, after our wonderful trip through California's wine country and up into the Redwoods. I hadn't been home in over 6 years, so this was long overdue and very much anticipated.

It is very hard to live without all this, even though I love Los Angeles.

I probably do not want to eat again for another week. I think I'll spend the next month fasting.

There are some amazing places to eat up in that area and we hit a lot of them while we were there!!

One really amazing thing about the North Coast this time of year is that there are flowers blooming all over. It's a coastal area, gets a lot of rain and fog, and so the flowers are not year round. One of my favorite things is all the wildflowers near the highways, and how people's yards become a riot of color. You learn to appreciate these things when they are not all the time. I love LA's eternally blooming jasmine and hibiscus, but there is something precious when the blossoms are fleeting.

And of course, you really can't visit the North Coast without paying homage to the coastal redwoods.

Or, the, um... livestock. In this case, Babe the Big Blue Ox who stands at the Trees Of Mystery just outside Klamath, CA. Total tourist trap but every child who grows up in Humboldt or Del Norte Counties gets forced to pose under Babe's big blue self eventually.

We people come and go, but the rocks, beaches, headlands and redwoods endure.

It was nice to be home. And then nice to come home to LA, even though the drive was 14 hours. I will probably not let 6 years stand between me and the North Coast again.

Please sir... we'd like some more.

2008-07-24T19:31:00.001-07:00

IMG_1595
Originally uploaded by Kimberly Jennery

Meet Oliver.

Formerly known as Zang, he will be making his home with us upon our return to LA. Because... how can you resist that face???

We are quite ready to be heading out on our road trip. Just getting a last few things done here and there, washed, sorted, packed... Trying to decide which yarns and patterns to take which is always difficult. I want to pack a million things, but honestly how much knitting time will I have?

The plan is to leave early tomorrow and get as far as Healdsburg. It used to be that when you saw the sign for Healdsburg, it meant that Santa Rosa was coming up soon and that meant Denny's, a burger, and a chance to pee. Now apparently Healdsburg is synonymous with wine, Michelin starred restaurants, and is sort of a fantastic Wine Country destination type place.

Who knew?

There is also a yarn store in Healdsburg, according to the internet. I am ridiculously excited. I have this feeling that the entire drive will reveal a very changed Hwy 101.

See you in a week!

Where The Wild Things Are. And I ain't talkin' a Lisa Souza colorway, either.

2008-07-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

Day before yesterday, my daughter was sitting on her porch (she has a small porch and backdoor) and walked back into her room to grab something. She noticed a small face peering in her door and then a raccoon walked into the room. They stared at one another for a brief moment, while the penny dropped that OMG a raccoon was standing. in. her. bedroom. and then they both took off in opposite directions (fortunately that meant outside for Mr. Raccoon.) Also, I got in rather late the other night and as I pulled into my driveway, I noticed a rather fat skunk waddling across the lawn. It walked under my car and I had a rather bad moment of, "What to do???" but fortunately Mr. Skunkersons eventually waddled out the other side and disappeared into the neighbor's yard. I also saw a bat.

Then I read this and this and this [contains dead Mrs. Deer picture] and holy shit, THISI realize that, um... We Are Not In Kansas Anymore.

Or rather, We Are Not Alone.

Whatever movie tag you want to use, the fact remains that it is somewhat exciting up here. But in a kind of in a "Gosh I hope it remains exciting in other neighborhoods and not actually in mine or in my yard or anywhere near where my kids walk home from the bus." kind of way. Because I am really not all that Back To Nature.

All we ever saw in West LA was the occasional possum.

The kitties will, of course, be remaining Indoor Only Kitties.

2008-07-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

nos·tal·gi·a [ no stáljə, nə stáljə ]
noun
Definition:

1. sentimental recollection: a mixed feeling of happiness, sadness, and longing when recalling a person, place, or event from the past, or the past in general

2. things that arouse nostalgia: something, or things, intended to arouse a feeling of nostalgia or to evoke the past in a way that arouses nostalgia

3. homesickness: a longing for home or family when away from either ( dated )

[Late 18th century. < modern Latin, "homesickness" < Greek nostos "homecoming" + algos "pain"]

There are times when I miss the Humboldt Bay area so much it hurts. So much that it is like a fist in my stomach, tears well up and I have to take a deep breath, just stop in my tracks for a minute and wait for it to pass. I haven't been home since 2002 which seems like such a long time. I have lived in other places longer than I ever lived there, but it is still my home in a way that no other place on earth will ever be.

The air smells right there, in a way that no where else on earth smells. Mingled scents of forest and ocean, the cool grey fog and occasionally the funk of pulp mill coming from the bay. The streets and the structures there are imprinted in my cells. I don't need a map to find my way about town. I have an internal compass, always orienting me towards home, never letting me lose my way entirely.

I'm desperately homesick. Nostalgic. I can't wait to go home. And I am going home, finally, for a week at the end of this month.

The funny thing is? Part of me is really dreading the drive up there and I am dreading being away for so long. I will miss my little house in the San Gabriel foothills, I will miss my kitties and my dog. The idea of 2 days on the road with nobody else to share the driving does not charm and excite me the way it did when I was twenty and loved nothing better than the battle cry of "Dude! Road Trip!"

I think that's just a matter of sucking it up and getting my head around enjoying the drive. I'm going to make it a slow 2 days, stay in a hotel and take the scenic routes (mental note: bring dramamine for the kids.) I will be driving up with the youngest, and the oldest will fly in about midway through the visit. I will take them to my favorite beaches, redwood groves, and marshes. We'll walk on shady trails of russet and emerald and I'll bitch that the blackberry vines are not ripe yet. Maybe we'll see some elk.

There will be pictures.

I don't actually have any good pictures of home myself right now. But I thought I'd link to some flickr streams from people I like who were recently up there. I don't have permission to put the pictures directly in this post, but I do recommend that you take a look at them. They're amazing.

Nisaa's pictures are lovely. And so are Klwaltons. And then of course, Joe Decker's work is beyond compare.

This is where I came from. This is what made me. What I'm missing so hard today that I can barely breathe. It's at times like this I think to myself that I want to just rent a moving van, throw us all into boxes and flee to the north. Then sanity prevails and I remember that the kids love LA, their dad is here, our lives are here, I love Pasadena and my little cottage in the hills, there's no work in Eureka and also no pho.

Nostalgia sometimes just trumps sanity is all. I am glad I am going home this month. Not a moment too soon.

A pet peeve

2008-07-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

You know what bugs the shit out of me?

People styling themselves "Lord" this or "Lady" that in everyday life, when they aren't actually some kind of peer.

It never fails to put my teeth on edge.

About the only exception to this rule for me is if someone is playing Faire or SCA and the title is a matter of the character they are playing. And then it only doesn't bug me as long as we're at an event, IN costume, in character. Once the closing bell rings, I ain't playing no more.

Certain Wicca groups also use titles as a matter of degree, and IN ritual space, IN that context, it doesn't bug me quite as much (though I've never been a fan of degrees) as it does when some random schmoe goes around calling themselves "Lord or Lady So and So."

I don't know why this makes me want to throw cake at them, but it does. It makes me want to yell, 'Look, the internet is NOT a magical fairy land of golden make believe!' very loudly, and that's not nice, and it also takes their fun aw
ay. And why do I care? Why would I want to do that? It is a classic example of "whatever floats your boat" and really, if Mary Sue Pootieschmidt from Topeka wants to style herself "Lady so and so" on teh intarwebs, I really should not care. But it never fails. Teeth, gritted, eyes, rolling so hard they could be marbles.

We all want to be the pretty, pretty Princess. We all want the fluffy dress. Maybe it's that? And hey, that's ok.

This is a very small concern, in the face of rising oil prices, cost of living, elections in Zimbabwe, and the fact that I need at least another plastic tub to get my yarn unpacked and there's honestly no place in my new house for another plastic tub to reside.

It just itches me and I'm not sure why I care. I can't solve it. But I think I just thought of where another plastic yarn tube might be hiding.

2008-07-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

I am piggybacking off of a post from Faith which answered the question, "Okay LA folk... time to tell me... what are your favorite things about/in Los Angeles? Especially your favorite hidden secret stuff that maybe only locals know of. Or super good deals or scenes that make you happy. Stuff that actually makes you stop for a second and think, "Man, I love this place" whether you want to or not."

Oh man, there is so, so, so much that I LOVE about Los Angeles. I love this town so much. Actually, I historically have had sort of a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles, but ever since I moved to Pasadena it has turned into pure love. Sure, I wish there was more choice in the way of easily accessible tribal bellydance classes (unlike the Bay Area, tribal capital of teh world) but it's a small complaint when stacked up against the bounty that is spread out before me on any given day.

I love The Hollywood Bowl. I've seen many shows there, but the best was when I took my mom to see Willie Nelson two years ago.
A Mano Yarn Center
The Original Farmer's Market
All the other farmer's markets!
Surfas
Mr. Marcel at The Original Farmer's Market (they get their own line, the cheese counter alone is worthy of high praise!)
Landmark theatres!
Cafe Brasil, on Venice Blvd.
Cafe Buna, on Washington Blvd two blocks west of Lincoln.
Hiking in Solstice Canyon
Griffith Park, specifically Fern Dell
The Huntington Library
The Tudor House
Craftsman homes in Pasadena.
Pasadena!!!
Olveras Street
Philippes french dip sandwiches.
Dim sum in Chinatown
Wacko Soap Plant in Silverlake.
Pho in the San Gabriel Valley.
The Shack in Playa del Rey for burgers.
The beach.
Westminster Dog Park.
Little India crawls in Artesia.
Dodger Stadium
and all my friends who live here and make it home.

These are just a few of the things that make Los Angeles/Southern California wonderful, to me. There's so much more to do and see.

Like Randy Newman says... we love it!!

Pasadena stories

2008-07-05T19:42:00.001-07:00

Took a bit of a walking tour around parts of Pasadena today, culminating in this nifty Yucatan style Mexican restaurant called El Portal. Very delicious eats. They had cochinita pibil.

Yes, the chef is still alive.

Yes, I will marry you if you know what movie I'm talking about.

After some hot salsa, cool margaritas and a split Yucatan sampler platter, we decided to walk around a little bit more. This place reminded me a lot of Diagon Alley, done California style and I think when referring to it as a place to go, that's what we are going to call it.

Oh yes, these are a few of my favorite things. And how delighted I was when I walked out the other side onto Colorado Blvd and discovered a few more of my favorite things...

The little tea shop wasn't serving hot tea, but they had a huge selection of loose leaf teas and all manner of teaware.

Something tells me we'll be heading back to that stretch of Colorado Blvd pretty soon.

A quiet and crafty Fourth of July

2008-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the sensation that someone was driving Mr. Pointy right into my skull by way of my right eye socket. As a result, I did not much feel like driving down to the Westside for The Handsome Cabin Boy's block party. No fireworks, pour moi.

I've been a little at a loss, all up here in the hills in mi Casa and today was no exception. I haven't been really sure what to do with myself, with one kid at camp and the other out being a social butterfly. It occurred to me that a time will come in the not too distant future, when I live alone and quiet will be the default setting. And I will have to eat balanced meals and go to bed at a normal time and deal, anyway, without the children to keep me on track. Perhaps this is what they refer to as "empty nest" syndrome. If so, I'm here to say, it is a weird adjustment.

I suppose there is no time like the present to adjust, however.

My friend K posted a link to a recipe for brown sugar glazed ribs recently, and I decided to give them a try. Had to alter the recipe slightly as I started them late and lacked some of the ingredients, but even altered, I gotta say that these were some of the best ribs I have ever made. You should try them if you are of the meat eating persuasion.

I should have taken some pictures. But. Um. I ate them. The ribs, I mean, not the pictures.

There is also a peach/blackberry cobbler

which came from this recent Kitchn post. The plan is to eat that with some ice cream, but I'm so full of ribs and my Grandma's potato salad that I may have to wait and have it for breakfast.

No knitting. But a little crafting did occur while I watched me some Harrison Ford in Patriot Games.

So yeah, it's been an all American Fourth Of July here at Casa Faaabulous, with BBQ, cross stitch and action movies. Who says you need a crowd to have a party?

Moving...

2008-06-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

We have finally moved OUT of Casa de Slumlord and IN to Casa Fabulous.

There is squee.

It is so totally serene and lovely.

And all our stuff is there.

There's a little cafe with free wifi near my house, so I came down to post an update, check my email, do some banking... and realized that my outgoing email is totally not working. If you've written me lately, there may be a reply sitting in the box not getting to you. Please don't feel ignored! No internet at the house until the 30th sometime, so I am not available via email. If you are fortunate enough to have my cell number, by all means give me a call or a text if you need to get a hold of me. And I'll keep trying to get those emails out.

The best part? Realizing, slowly, that we really DO get to live there. That we really ARE going to wake up there every morning. That it really IS our porch, our yard, our kitchen, our fireplace. Sometimes you don't realize how awful things are until you are out of them, and all I can say to that is, we are well out of the awful.

2008-06-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

I did not knit in public yesterday.

We have two bathrooms. One of these bathrooms is "the cat's bathroom" by which I mean, the litterbox sits on top of a vinyl cover in the shower stall, and we use the master bathroom to shower. This is a space saving tactic in a small apartment and it has worked well for many years.

I thought.

The children are responsible for cleaning the litter box. And I thought that they were carefully sweeping up any excess cat sand that may have tracked out of the box and depositing it into the bag with the rest of the cat mess, and then putting *that* in the trash.

Imagine my surprise when I removed the vinyl cover to start scrubbing tile and get the bathroom ready for our pending move-out, only to discover that the children have very carefully been lifting the vinyl and sweeping the excess sand into the conveniently located hole in the bottom of the shower.

No, no, it's okay. I'll just wait here while you process that, and then you can laugh.

Because as we all know, clumping cat sand + water = cement. In my drain. In a rental. So you can imagine my dismay. You can maybe imagine the yelling that might have taken place, and the pulling out of my hair, and the gnashing of my teeth.

I believe the words "What the FRAK were you thinking? Augh!" might have been uttered. Once or twice. As well as "Kitty litter plus water make CEMENT!! AUUUUGH." and also "You have just cost me THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THIS. AUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!" and then there was some more gnashing and rending and tearing and we worked back around to "What were you THINKING?" and that was fun.

So I did not spend yesterday knitting in public. No, I spent yesterday with a shop vac, a length of flex hose, a roll of duct tape and an actual real Rocket Scientist, sucking clumping kitty litter out of my shower drain.

Actually, the Rocket Scientist did all the work. One thing I have learned when an engineer is on the job, just back the hell off and let them do their thing. Answer all calls for flashlights, lengths of garden hose, screwdrivers and cold drinks with alacrity, but otherwise, bugger off.

This task took the Rocket Scientist longer than you might think. But the drain, it is clear.

Then, I went out with a cute boy, and I drank mojitos in public. And I ate a Warm Chocolate Thing. And I had a steak. And while I was doing this, the children got to stay home and have leftovers. And I did not feel one bit guilty.

So I guess yesterday, for me, was WW Drink In Public Day. And after the kitty litter in the shower drain, I can only say that I earned it.

My Get Up And Go... Let Me Show You It.

2008-06-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

Oh wait. No. Never mind. I have none.

That's right. Monday morning dawned bright and beautiful and full of floppy arms and flailing. I keep looking at all the cleaning and packing yet to do and my only thought is... DO NOT WANT. Also, MEH. It is noon and I am still in my pajamas, looking at furniture on the internet.

Very similar to how I react to it being finals, actually.

Knitting has slowed to a glacial pace and it is the same boring projects, all the time, around here. Lady E is coming along nicely, if slowly. I have about another 9 inches to go and then she will be ready to wash, block and THEN I will add some fringe and THEN I will give her to my friend M and there will be much rejoicing. I actually got Charade #1 mostly finished at last week's Stitch N Pitch game, but then it sat around in my knitting basket waiting for a Kitchener. Which it finally got during the Traditional Friday Night Scifi Channel Palooza.

But I will not post pictures because well... you've seen 'em. And wouldn't it be more interesting to see them finished, in some arty sort of photographic display? Sure it would.

And then... on Saturday... there was the senior prom. OH MY GOSH, prom. In this case, a picture is absolutely worth a thousand words.

But just in case? Here's a thousand more...

Life. Put your art into it.

2008-06-05T17:58:00.001-07:00

Shelves are painted and now we move on to embellishment fun. I'm sort of making this up as I go and I really don't know what I'm doing until I do it.

I have this friend who I met through another friend via the internet, the way you do these days. And this friend, she lives such an artful life. From jewelry made out of reclaimed bits, button tables to the book she is writing, she is this little dynamo of creative energy, always coming up with something and I think she is probably one of the most soulful people I know. She is just always on fire with some idea or another.

I kind of aspire to be her when I grow up. And it is so easy to compare oneself to someone else, isn't it? To think, "Oh one day I'll be like that and then things will really be amazing and I'll live this artful life too and be a creative amazing person. One day." and I think it is sort of our human condition, really. To project into the future.

Except I started looking around my house, because, you know, hel-LO? And I realized, I kind of already do live that life. It comes and goes in waves, but I do, and I am, and I can.

I am not an uncreative person. Yet I constantly hold myself up to other people and come out wanting, come out short somehow. And I just wonder why the hell that is.

What scale exactly am I using? Where the hell did it come from? Why do I constantly sell myself short?

I don't think I'm the only person who does that. I think it may be a very common human condition. Personally, I think I'd like to be quit of it. I think I'm going to look around my house more often and think proudly, "No shit. I made that."

I think that the trick is really to live like that too. To look at your life and say, "No shit. I made that. Ain't it grand and in out loud color?" and I think the secret is, you have to do it now. You can't project it into laters.

My artful life may not be making me rich, but I need to remember that I am actually living one.

Taking a break from all that packing...

2008-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

... because there's only so much you can throw into boxes before you start dreaming about boxes and maybe in your dreams one night a giant moving box with teeth is chasing after you through the hallway of your apartment which has mysteriously gotten longer and longer and is NEVER GOING TO END and you wake up in a cold sweat and realize that maybe you could take a break from packing and it would be okay.

So there was Stitch n Pitch last night, which was fab. Naturally my boys in blue whipped the snot out of the Colorado Rockies 8-2. There was much rejoicing. As my friend Mr. Easy E once pointed out, it's a lot more fun to walk out of Dodger Stadium while Randy Newman is playing "I Love LA" than it is to walk out to the organ lady. There were quite a few knitters there last night from all around the local Blogosphere. I went with the gals from A Mano Yarn Center again this year. I am normally the girl who wins nothing, and surprisingly, I won a bag o' Tofutsies sock yarn last night. Well, actually, I'm still the girl who wins nothing. Mr. Easy E won it, and he doesn't knit - I have informed him that seeing as how I was holding on to his raffle ticket, he's shit out of luck and I'm splitting it with his wife. It was quite a jolly evening!

And I've been repainting a bookshelf and old CD cabinet to turn into, er, a bookshelf and a curio shelf for my new dining room which is going to be so brightly colored as to perhaps require protective eyewear.

SO you take a crappy old CD cubby from Ikea that you got for free and instead of putting it into a landfill... you prime it... and you paint it... and then you wait for the paint to dry.

After a second coat of all colors, the plan is to face the cubby shelf in a dark blue, and the bookshelf in fuschia. I shall fill the bookshelves with cookbooks, tea books and books about food, and the cubby shall be filled with whimsical china. And then I believe the dining room stuff is done. I may or may not decoupage or freehand them with further designs. The landlord said we are go go gadget go for stenciling in the kitchen. Maybe get all moved in and see how I like it.

So that is what goes on around here when I'm not shoving stuff into boxes. Moving in less than three weeks. OMG.

2008-05-30T19:43:00.001-07:00

I have no yarn blogging for you. My stash is entirely packed and it was a real eye opener about just where so much money has gone over the last few years. The various sock clubs do seem to do a really nice job of taking the edge off my acquisitive yarn urges, so I am hoping this will serve as a reality check the next time I'm in a LYS and get the hurt for a hit of merino.

I have my Lady E, a Charade sock on the needles, and the BMFA S2S kit I am spinning left unpacked. If I get time to work on projects, that's going to have to suffice. And you've seen those before, so, ho hum, right?

I may not have yarn blogging, but I do have pancakes. And apple stuffed french toast. And cinnamon chai latte.

Life is good.

2008-05-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while about my daughter's headaches - mostly because the drama with the school has passed us and we are doing great with Independent Study aka homeschool.

Today we saw the pediatric neurologist and we love her. Very good doctor. I wish I'd had the insurance to see her earlier. There is some juggling of medication going on and we are essentially going to be trying to strike a balance between getting the effects we *want* (no headaches) vs. side effects we can live with (because no drug is side effect free.)

For all the complaints I've had about the school, lack of insurance, out of pocket costs for drugs, wonky medication side effects, the state attendance board, blah blah blah blah infinity - I have to say that we have, from Day One, had absolutely top notch medical care from the practitioners we've seen. Our GP has been fantastic and now this other doc he referred us to is equally fantastic.

We may still not know exactly where we're going, but we're in great hands and I'm really reassured and encouraged.

It's a huge blessing and I don't take it for granted, not one bit. I feel very fortunate to have access to such great healthcare so easily, yes even if it is very expensive, I have it, and I just want to express that. Thank you Universe, thank you doctors, thank you insurance, thank you employers with insurance plans, if thanks are appropriate I am rendering them.

We really are pretty lucky here in this country. I need to remember that when food prices and gas and everything else makes me feel more like a "have not" than a "have." In all the ways that matter and more, I have what I need.

2008-05-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

I've got to admit, I am maybe a little bit ADD with the moving. My house is a bit ripped up and that makes me feel anxious. Unable to focus, even more than usual. That's saying something, as I am Anxiety Queen on the best of days. I'm more than a little bit OCD on some fronts and having my house in such flux is horrifying on levels I can't even put into words. My functionality over time really does depend on certain structures remaining constant and when there is change on this level, I have to work extra hard to get things done.

In each room there is a packing project. Maybe two. Or three. Here there are pictures being dusted, sorted and boxed, over there are things getting washed and dried and carefully wrapped in tissue. Piles of clothes, faire garb (I don't know why I am holding on to the bodice I wore two sizes ago...), books, papers, yarn, art crap... OH DEAR GOD THE ART CRAP. Scrapbooking stuff, beads, fabric, floss, you name it I probably have it in a Tupperware bin. I found three years worth of old Mary Englebreit magazines in the bottom of my Art Crap Chest, dating from like, 1999 - 2001, seriously. I am totally gung ho when I start each packing project, then I find myself distracted and wander away to something else. All day long. Round and round I go. Quite a lot is actually getting done, but it feels disjointed and vague.

I am driving myself somewhat crazy, but finding it impossible to focus enough to do it any other way. I am excavating these layers that have been relatively untouched for several years and I feel the need to spend a little time on each layer as it is unearthed. I am revisiting the person I used to be. There are some things about her that I want to invite back into my life. I am trying to pick and choose which doors to leave open. Some of them I am choosing to keep closed. It is a journey.

****

When my grandparents died, their home was filled with Stuff. Most of it had history, had a story attached. Most of the stories we knew. Some of them were mysteries. In the end, story or not, it all ended up scattered. In the end, you can’t take it with you. I am trying to remember this, as I gaze upon my hoarded treasures. I need to use them while I’m still here or let go of them so someone else can enjoy them.

Crazy Aunt Purl had a great post today about stuff. Go read it, it's really awesome. I've been wrestling with the same conundrum all week. I think having less will make it easier to live a little more harmoniously. Unfortunately? I need to buy some specific new stuff for this move. This has been weighing heavily upon me. Polar bears going extinct, recession, gas, resources are limited. I feel guilty for buying more stuff when I know it is better not to consume. I have a lot of guilt for wanting more stuff.

I guess the way I’ve rationalized this to myself is to say that where there is need, I'm going to buy good stuff that is not as disposable instead of cheap crap so maybe I won't need to replace it in 5 years. I am going to take better care of what I have. And yes, dammit, if I have stuff that can be repurposed/remade/reused to some other function, then gods bless it, I'll make that work out too. I've got some *great* ideas to reuse things already on hand. My brain bubbleth over with projects. There WILL be tutorials!

In the end, I think that it is all about finding that balance. I am a hoarder. I can admit it. If I have one thing, then I want all those things. One teacup in a cute pattern is not enough. I want a set of four. One adorable tiny ceramic rabbit is not enough. Please I want ten. One book in a series? No, I want the whole series. And now I'm getting rid of so much stuff that seemed so damn important at the time. I am thinking of all the money I spent on that stuff and how utterly useless most of it is to me now. How meaningless. How much of it was based in wanting the trappings rather than the substance.

It isn't that stuff is bad. Stuff isn't bad. It's that sometimes, stuff gets carried away. I get carried away. There's absolutely such a thing as too much of a good thing. Boy howdy. /art stash> /teacups> /ceramic bunnies>

My battered, second hand dresser that I bought 15 years ago at a yard sale finally gave up the ghost. One side split wide open. One leg has been missing for years and I’ve been propping it up with an old copy of I, Claudius. It could probably be salvaged with wood glue, clamps and a block of pine. I'm not going to fix it or replace it. For the cost of a few extra hangers and a couple of baskets, I was able to reorganize my clothes so that they all fit into my perfectly functional wardrobe.

After all, who needs a dresser and a wardrobe? I really don’t. That they didn't used to all fit means I’ve probably got too many damn clothes. Or something. And on the plus side? Now I get to re-read I, Claudius.

I’m not on a Stuff Diet. But I am trying so hard to make better choices about how I consume. I am working at being a thoughtful consumer, working harder than I ever have in my life. I'll come away from this move with less stuff overall and I think I'll feel ok about the balance I am trying to strike with what I do end up buying. I think I will try to hoard less, or at least be aware that to hoard is my natural compulsion. I will try to be less of a Smaug about Stuff.

Like my buddy Linda says, we've got to do it for the polar bears.

Heloise?

2008-05-25T23:47:00.000-07:00

This blog is about to turn into Hints From Freakin' Heloise, just be warned. There may not be much fiber for the next few weeks.

There might be some SCIENCE, though. We've been doing some quantum type experimenting.

Seriously though, I am in the grips of I WANT and GIMME. Mainly, I want some new stuff for the house. Nice stuff. Made out of solid wood, not particle board. Stuff that maybe I didn't pick up off the parkway as I drove through someone else's neighborhood. At the same time, I really love my savings account and I want that to keep growing.

After a frenzy of internet "wish shopping" I have settled on one or two things that I must replace new, but have also come to grips with the fact that I can't have everything I want if I plan to keep reaping the benefit of compound interest or maintain any kind of emergency fund. Which, given that I still have a very sick child and my return to work is a vague "sometime in the fall" date to be determined later, seems like a really wise idea. So... I've just gotta make the old stuff work. To this end, some old things are going to be repurposed, refinished and re-used in interesting ways.

There are Big Plans afoot. This is mostly a teaser, I have to buy some paint and things, but once I've got the stuff I am going to be posting some neatoriffic crafty tutorials!

1. Turning a bland old Ikea CD cubby storage shelf into a fun, colorful storage solution for children's china/a tea set.

2. Refinishing a pair of vintage (the finish is oh so ruined by hard wear and use) nesting tables into two units - a boudoir vanity table and laptop stand - both with added storage. They are currently doing duty as a microwave and plant stand, respectively.

3. Creating a multi-purpose unit - laundry folding table/storage for laundry supplies and catbox concealing space - out of... well, either out of an old Ikea desk or some old metal shelving, I'm still working that out.

4. Taking an old pillowback sofa that is impossible to slipcover without spending a fortune, and turning it into a smooth backed slipcovered sofa that is comfy and looks fabulous and brand new.

5. Turning a plain unfinished wood stool into a colorful, DDLM themed plantstand.

What makes me really happy is, some of this stuff was free to begin with. The tables, the couch, the Ikea CD cubby. I didn't pay anything for them, they were all hand me downs from friends or family. So not only am I keeping them out of landfills, but I am extending their useful lives a few more years with minimal outlay. Go me!

It's turning into an obsession, I'm afraid. The children are starting to protectively hide their things when I walk past them, looking speculatively around for stuff to hack into new incarnations.

Also! This is for sale:

Dusty Strings FH26
3.5 octaves, full set of sharping levers and soft case. Made of flame maple. Uses nylon strings.

It needs a tuning fork, has a small ding, and needs a new full set of strings, but is otherwise in perfect condition. It retails for $1965 new on the site. I am asking $1350 but will consider other offers. It was a gift, I love it, but it's unlikely I'll ever have time to really play it again. I want it to have a life, not sit in a case waiting to be played. This is the perfect practice harp or a small harp to take to events.

If you know anyone who might want it, drop me a comment or an email! akingprawn AT gmail DOT com

2008-05-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

Through one bobbin and 1/4 of the way through the second, as the BMFA Sheep 2 Shoe Kit continues to completely eat up all my concentration and attention. I am afraid that other projects might be languishing in their baskets.

Actually I pulled it out last night but only got a couple of squares done. We were watching an entrelac-hostile movie.

Today I get to pick up the keys to my new house! I am SO excited! We will be completely moved in as of the 20th. The wait, it is almost over... I wish we could rent the truck today!

Internet dating.

2008-05-14T23:44:00.001-07:00

Some of you may remember my little foray into internet dating a few months back. Well it has sparked some interesting email exchanges, I've met some nice folks, made a few friends and my Screenwriter and I have been dating now for almost 7 months thanks to internet dating, so I am mostly complimentary about it.

However.

Every once in a while, you get something like, "I have nice teeth and have never been to prison." in your inbox and you sit there and stare at the accompanying picture and you read that line over and over and you think....

"What??? Is it just that I am breathing and female? Is the breathing even important?[link nsfw]"

I'm so totally quitting while I'm ahead.

2008-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be cleaning out my closet for the Goodwill run I am planning to make this weekend. Instead, I am having some quality time on the couch with a few cats. Typing is slow going.

Things came to a head with the Culver City school district this week and some drastic changes (not ones I'd planned on, on Monday) came about on Friday. To make a long story short, I am once again a homeschooling mom. Hopefully this will be short term, as I do believe that the youngest thrives in a school setting and it is my dearest hope that she will be healthy enough to return to one by 9th grade. We had to pull her from the school because the idiocy was relentless and I really just could not take it anymore.

In a nutshell.

Monday/Tuesday: Doctor and school nurse both suggest independent study since child has missed the previous 3 weeks of school. I am resistant to the idea, but think about it.

Wednesday/Thursday: Child not reacting well to current medication. Very depressed. Can barely get out of bed. Side effects not great, we are not seeing a return to school in our near future. I call school, ask about independent study. Am referred to the district independent study program. Am told that the program is full. Call the school back. Ask if there is any way we can do something through the school resembling independent study. Am told no, absolutely no, there is no way. My child must come to school physically, and teachers are not required to send work packets home. Call the independent study program back. Beg. Cry. Get put on waiting list. Call school back, beg, cry, no wriggle room. Does not matter that child is too sick to attend school.

A friend who runs a private school in Northern CA offers to enroll E in her school through the end of the year, maintain grades and a transcript, and help me with curriculum for the last 5 weeks of the school year, and will support us with paperwork when she enrolls in high school next year, god willing. For free. Just because she can't stand watching the fuckmuppetry any more. I take her up on it. I throw in the towel. I take my ball and go home. E is no longer enrolled in the Culver City school system. We are heartbroken. We tried so hard to be compliant. They made it so hard for us.

Friday: E sleeps through the night for the first time in 3 weeks and wakes up migraine free. Gets out of bed. Wants to shower. Cleans her room. Resembles a normal teenage girl rather than a zombie. Makes me wonder how much the stress of dealing with her teachers and school was contributing to the sleep disturbances that are contributing to the migraine disorder. Side effects from meds are not as bad today. She isn't crying all the time and zombified on the couch.

Friday: I am forced to quit my job so that I can focus on my child's health and education. Thank god for having savings that will cover a few months of lost income if we are very frugal. I cannot stress enough, save young, save early, save 10%. Compound interest is your friend. You will thank it one day when it saves your ass. Cry all the way home from giving notice but know that I have a good reference and that management is sympathetic at least.

I see a light at the end of our tunnel.

I am half expecting some nonsense from the District over this, but I'll worry about that if it happens. The main thing is, we're now free to focus on what we should have been focusing on all along. Getting E well. We have an appointment with one of the best pediatric neurologists in Southern CA set up later this month. We will get this under control.

In the meantime, I have to dust off my algebra hat, we have a LOT of catching up to do.

It isn't happy ending to our little saga, but it is, at least, on the positive side of the spectrum and a nice way to end this horrible chapter.

2008-05-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to rip into one of my BMFA Sheep2Shoe kits. The colorway is Pink Granite and I'm loving how it spins up. Like butter!

Today has been spent working up my resume, which is going badly. I hate writing resumes. I hate selling myself. I don't feel particularly marketable.

Yesterday, I plied, washed, thwacked and set some twist.

These are the silk/alpaca blend singles I was spinning up earlier in the week. They've been Navajo plied (on a spindle) and I've got what looks like maybe a sport or DK weight yarn as a result. Very happy with it. Bloomed up beautifully and has a slight halo. Can't wait to make something yummy out of it.

So guess which thing I preferred doing? I'm here to tell you, it wasn't all those hours spent cursing at MS Word and my crap employment history!

I'm going to go read Jobhopper by Ayun Halliday again. It seems fitting.

Kromski. Better than Prozac.

2008-04-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is what I do when my blood pressure starts to rise.

Funny how two batts can be spun up so differently, isn't it? Both of them are from Enchanted Knoll on Etsy.

Trying to get these singles nice and even was not helping me relax. So I stopped trying.

Out came batt #2, Black Magic Woman, and turning it into a thick and thin novelty style yarn was a hell of a lot of fun, not to mention way more relaxing.

There's about 2 oz of fiber on each of these bobbins:

500 LB Gorilla, ad nauseum

2008-04-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted about the 500 lb gorilla a.k.a. the Culver City Unified School District a.k.a. SARB (well, technically, they are two gorillas, which means I am dealing with about 1,000 lbs of gorilla here) in a while.

There is gorilla poo everywhere.

My youngest, despite having medical revisions made to her IEP, despite bringing up her grades from F's (due to missed school, 2-3 days a week she's down right now, she's a smart kid but you can't pass if you aren't there) to C's across the board (and is trying to raise them higher), going to Saturday School, getting extra tutoring and in all ways trying to stay compliant with the district attendance office by bringing in a doctor's note for every. single. migraine. is still on the shit list with SARB (state attendance review board) and we have been referred to the next step of the SARB process, which is a meeting at the police station with various smaller gorillas, where they will decide if we are to be referred to the District Attorney for prosecution. I'm waiting on the date and time of this hearing. Apparently if we are referred on to the DA, it will be community service and a $250 fine every time she is marked absent/truant.

This has not raised my blood pressure at all. Well, much. Okay a little. And my cardio condition has returned with a vengeance, as has this massive sense of overwhelming anxiety, so my health is starting to suffer along with hers.

My oldest, having gone on a wonderful (we thought) "school approved" field trip to the Deep South for 10 days, has been marked "truant" for those dates. Because... *drumroll* the district approved the first trip on which all the other CCUSD students got to go. Since our girl had strep throat and was ordered not to fly by our family doctor, she had to make the trip up on a later date or we were out the $2,500 we'd paid for her to take the trip.

Seems obvious, right? Make the trip up, $2,500 well spent, everyone happy, one enriched child with a once in a lifetime educational experience.

So here is where this gets fun. The district will now not approve her make up trip as a "field trip" because it was out of state and she was not chaperoned by a CCUSD teacher and because we didn't get board approval before she went. We didn't know we needed to get it and since everyone was assuring us that this was an excused field trip for trip #1, it didn't occur to us or to the group putting on the trip that we would need special dispensation for her to make it up. Massive miscommunication? Yes. Massive clusterfuck? Absolutely. Our fault? Not really. Shit happens. I can't even communicate how stupid this is.

This? This, my friends, is the kind of bureaucratic b.s. that brought down the Roman Empire. Only instead of gladiators, we have America's Next Top Model. All we need are Visigoths and we're so there.

*head* meet *desk*

SO we've been referred to SARB for her "truancy" too.

*head* meet *desk* a little harder.

The good news is, her teachers (universally sane and rational beings) see the stupidity in this and are allowing her to make up the work she missed and are not grading her down for her unsanctioned foray to the Deep South. The school is going to allow her to go to Prom, even though technically her truancy makes her ineligible. So there's a little reason and milk of human kindness there, and a willingness to see beyond the snarl of bureaucratic idiocy.

I'm just done. Pasadena cannot happen fast enough. Two more months till we are out of this school district, and while SARB will follow us to the new district, we are going to be starting fresh and know the ways to avoid that particular gorilla in future.

Big damn gorillas are all het up. Oy.

I can haz cottaj pls?

2008-04-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

Oh hai, u can haz cottaj!

Our new house!

A New Spot For My Spinning Wheel

2008-04-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today I drop off the deposit for a 3 bedroom cottage that the girls and I are going to be renting in the hills above Pasadena. There's a tiny scrap of yard for the dog, two rosebushes, and a redwood tree. We will have hardwood floors and a fireplace, plus a kitchen to make tea.

When I walked into the kitchen, there was a dish sitting on the counter that the old tenant had not yet packed.

It was my Grandma's china pattern, the "everyday dishes" she used until she replaced them with something involving pheasants that wasn't half so charming.

This, I believe, was a sign from G-d, the Universe, or something, and I knew the house was meant to be ours. So we asked for it. And the Universe (and, also, the landlord) said, "YES!" and I know in my heart that it was totally Grandma who made it happen. Because she would want us to have a charming cottage with a tree and a yard and floors and a mantel, as those things would fit her vision of what she always wanted for me.

Also? New landlord = total rock star. I mean, he's not a rock star, but, he's a really nice guy and I think I'll enjoy being his tenant.

There is so much squee and joy that I can barely contain myself. We move in June.

We are SO having a knitting day/spinning party in my new yard when I get all my stuff moved!!!

2008-04-26T09:43:00.001-07:00

There is this very odd feeling, after you experience something very sad or very intense, as if your regular life isn't quite fitting right. Very normal things really feel odd. I think that's been the weirdest part for me. I am kind of determinedly having a very normal morning. The youngest is off at Saturday School playing Breakfast Club, the oldest is off at a sleepover and I am having some tea and quiet time with the dog and the kittens.

It's been a lot of heavy and no knittin' on the blog the last few days and part of me feels like I ought to apologize, but I'm not gonna because, as I said to someone else a few weeks back - as a rule, people read these things because they are interested in the person writing them and that includes the very real stuff and not just the yarn. So it's been real.

And now there is some yarn.

We really are at the "This is the Stole That Never Ends" point with Lady E. I've got 3.5 skeins to go, out of the original 10. That is some knitting accomplished there. Last night I pulled it out of the basket and put another two tiers in. The kittens, Tiki and I watched Dr. Who and Battlestar Galactica while Mittens enthusiastically made biscuits on the part I wasn't knitting. I am going to have to wash this in Soak before I give it to the person I am making it for, he got one corner a little moist with kitten spit. I'm going to be focusing on this till it's done now. I have to finish it so that I can get started on....

Kayla's Baby Surprise Jacket. Stopped in at A Mano Yarn Center yesterday to pay for my Stitch N Pitch tickets (they're almost gone, you should get yours!!!) and this Manos Stria leapt into my arms along with the Elizabeth Zimmerman book. Yes, it was post cat retail therapy. Something soft and pink and hopeful was just what I needed.

And there's been a little spinning off and on as the mood strikes me.

Took my new Kromski lace flyer for a test drive and this is what I'm getting. I think these singles may be a little underspun but we'll see when I get to plying them up. I've been struggling with the difference between "yarn" and "twine" but know that eventually I'll get it right.

This is spun up from some batts I got off Enchanted Knoll on Etsy. They are "Hot Mama Batts" and include alpaca, silk, cotswold and glitz. Also, some dog hairs and maybe cat hair, but we added that here, it wasn't part of the original batt. Really fantastic to spin up. Soft, fun, the colors are amazing.

And is there ever NOT a sock? No. There is always a sock. Another Charade, in STR lightweight RookY.

Life goes on. It just does. You wake up and there is hot tea and a sleepy dog and the kid needs to go to school and maybe you have to work later, so you just get on with living it and take a deep breath when you need to. I think maybe that is the biggest thing I've learned as I get older. Life goes on. It doesn't stop. It doesn't slow down. If you blink, you will miss it.

2008-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to the vet and our old boy Puff will take the long Cat Nap. Our Very Good Dog, Pekoe, will be waiting for him on the other side of the Bridge when he arrives.

The oldest asked me to pick her up at school early so she can be there, so I will. She will hold him while he goes to sleep for the last time, because he is her kitty, her first kitty and he has been her Good Companion since she was a little girl of two. This will be hard for her, but I think it'll also be good for her to understand the other side of having a pet. That this is the hard part and you're as obligated to do that for them as you are to provide food and water and pettins.

In our old neighborhood, he roamed around outside and he was a regular Six Dinner Sid. He had several families on our block. There was one neighbor, a single guy, who kept a bowl and cat snax for him and on weekends Puff would come over and stroll in and they'd watch movies together. He was that guy's part time kitty. He worked really hard to provide companionship to all those people. We didn't find out about this until he was shot in the back, with a BB gun, by some neighborhood kid. We put up reward posters asking for information about who'd done that to him. Suddenly we were deluged with phone calls from neighbors saying, "We don't know you, but we know your cat." and telling us how he'd come by for dinner or snacks or just pettins. And people dropped off bags of salmon treats at our house and he had more snacks to fuel his recovery than any cat should have.

Once he followed a neighbor to the movies, 5 blocks away. The neighbor missed the previews so he could bring him back. Once he showed up 3 blocks away, and followed a woman into her house at 6am on a Sunday morning, demanding breakfast. She called us to come get him. His hopes of being Seven Dinner Sid were thwarted that day. When we'd have garage sales, he'd sit on the lawn and people would stop just to pet the big fluffy tuxedo cat, and then they'd buy our stuff. He was 28 pounds at his heaviest. He had friends on his terms, not just because he was ours.

He did not kill me when I made him wear antlers at Christmas. Every year for 11 years. Antlers.

"Sure. Go ahead. Laugh while you can."

He's been a really good cat. I'm going to hang on to all this, these memories that make me laugh so hard at the Person he's been. Today we are going to say goodbye and let him go and that's going to be really hard, but it's going to be okay. He's had a really good run. 18 years.

We love you, Puff. You've been the very best kitty.

She's not heavy, she's my knitter

2008-04-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

At first I wasn't angry when I read this post. I thought, "dude, bad idea. Way to go with the stupid." The more I think about it the more it really bothers me. I dislike it when the space around me gets sexualized without my consent - ie, someone leading someone else around on a leash, in collar and cuffs, at Faire. Am I sex negative? No. I just don't want your peanut butter in my chocolate in a venue that peanut butter is not what I consented to. If I want peanut butter, I'll go to the peanut butter club and consent by walking in the door, mmkay? It wouldn't bug me at, say, Pride or the Folsom Faire while we're talking "public" either, because I am giving consent just by showing up and participating.

It bothers me that the writer seems to think that people "putting their assets on display" or "wearing skimpy costumes" are somehow implying consent to be approached or touched. And I'm sorry but that's just craaaaap.

If I wear a short skirt? It's not an invitation.

If I wear a low cut shirt? It's not an invitation.

If I wear anime cat ears and duct tape, it's NOT AN INVITATION.

I hate it when perfectly well meaning men say to me that they don't understand why women get all het up when they're cat called for wearing a short skirt. Here's why.

Because.

Because women are not objects put here for the delectation of others. Wearing a short skirt does not make them culpable for someone else's lack of respect for boundaries.

A friend of mine asked this question in response to the brouhaha about whether or not this Open Source Boobs Project was okay. "When was the last time you were afraid you were going to be raped?"

I don't sit around, obsessing about "Omg, I might be raped!" and it is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about, but the plain truth is, I have been sexually assaulted in my life. The sense of unsafety, of potential danger and of the possibility of it happening again is never NOT in my lizard brain.

This fear is why I walk with a fistful of keys clenched between my fingers when I walk through the dark parking lot after work. Why I will wait and get onto another elevator if there is a man who feels threatening getting onto the first elevator, as that would put me into a small space alone with him and I am afraid.

This is why I don't walk my dog after dark.

This is why I am afraid that my daughters might one day drink too much at a party and maybe go to lie down in a back room to sleep it off - because they might wake up to someone who thinks that "unconscious female" implies "consent to have sex."

It could happen. It has happened to other women.

It has happened to me.

I *hate* the idea of privilege. I hate that it exists. I hate it. I resist the idea and I don't know what to do with it or about it and it makes me feel powerless and frustrated that it is even there. So I don't throw it around in arguments or debates as a rule. Kind of like bringing the Nazis into an argument. Argument is automatically over when privilege comes into the discussion because you can't really argue with it. For all that, I gotta say that it's some kind of fucked up straight male privilege that makes an otherwise seemingly intelligent person think that a woman in a skimpy Princess outfit is somehow inviting him to walk up and ask if he can fondle her tits. That people "putting their assets on display" are somehow safe to assault.

"They can say no." he says. But the damage is already done when he asks the question. I do give him kudos, also, for actually editing his post and saying some of the things he's said in retrospect. I don't think that he meant any harm with the OSBP, but good intentions make great cobblestones. Damage done.

How many of the women at this con really weren't okay with it but felt pressured into participating or simply felt pressured to be silent about it while it was happening around them? How many of them really felt empowered by the experience? I wonder.

I like the idea of the Open Source Swift Kick In The Balls Project. Except not really, but, the way she writes is brilliant.

2008-04-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

G... is for the Grove.

This is a mall. It's totally a planned out space that is supposed to mimic an old fashioned downtown or perhaps Main St. Disneyland, but really it is still a mall. They pipe old school jazz and show tunes out on speakers hidden in the planters, and there is a fountain that dances in time to the music. Don't you just think you'd like to walk around in this area with some Frank Sinatra playing, getting your retail on?

The statuary is particularly graceful. I love this statue so much and every christmas they build Santa's Scary House Of Horror around it and you can't see it for about a month. I am always kind of sad about that.

I am also always a little nervous about the statues ever since I watched that Dr. Who episode in season 3 called Blink. I just wonder, you know?

I spend hours here several days a week, dealing with the public and wearing very conservative clothing that does nothing for my complexion.

I spend a lot of time looking at this because there's a clock just above it that slowly ticks down the minutes until I can clock out and leave. Yay clock! I love your slow and inexorable ticking towards my freedom! Tick faster, ok?!

2008-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

The most excellent Stick and Stone has gone out of business. This means there is no store in the LA area that is solely dedicated to things like spinning and weaving and specifically non-knitting fiber arts. Which isn't to say they didn't have knitting stuff too? Just, they were mostly on the spinning side.

I'm sad. The natural barrier of "going over The Hill" into the Valley kind of precluded frequent visits. I wish I had supported them more, spent more money and been a more active part of their community. It's important to show up for the little brick and mortar guys and I think the internet makes it easy to forget to do that.

I supported their going out of business sale, at least. Everything in the store was 30-40% off. I'm reliably informed that the new lace flyer for the Kromski will spin like the wind. Can't wait to try her out.

This is what I look like without makeup. Totally sleep deprived. Exhausted. That's ok. You all love the real me, right? You don't need eyeliner.

The POINT is, my hair is looking fabulous and it shines purple in the sunlight because the Hair God just did his magic again. I haven't gone to my Hair God since before J moved out, and today I just thought ya know, screw it, I need some pampering. So I have a fresh coat of paint, lost about 6-7 inches of length (and it feels like about ten pounds lighter, holy cow) and had a blowout. Swingy fabulosity, just in time for summer! My forehead, fingertips and ears are also dyed a fabulous shade of violet but that'll wash off in a day or two. While I was there, I got a free neck massage and a hand massage and I feel kind of fantastic.

I will forever be completely faithful to My Hair God. I will light joss in front of his picture, I will scatter rose petals before his feet as he walks. There is no other Hair God but My Hair God. Bigoudi Salon, y'all. Ask for Chris. He's so worth it.

It so totally makes up for waking up this morning and discovering that the kittens had shredded open a bag of South African mohair, and spent the night rolling in it and playing with it all over the bedroom floor. Somehow, even though it was happening less than 4 feet from my bed, I slept through the whole entire thing. Sadly I did not capture it on camera. I wish I had. The whole thing was rather spectacular.

Pillars Of Atlantis... DONE!

2008-04-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

These really were a joy to knit and a very simple, yet clever, pattern. I love the way the ribbing flows into the cables that flow into the smooth pillars that extend down the feet.

I love the way the cables hug the heel.

I love this yarn, the colorway, the soft feel, suddenly all the raving about Fleece Artist yarns begins to really make sense. It totally is that awesome.

I had the rather distressing sock epiphany that I knit these on needles that were really not quite right for the yarn. It gave me this wonderful squooshy soft fabric that is juuust a titch looser than socks ought to be. I'm noticing the same problem with my Tempted Pin Up Girl socks. I knit both on #2's. For durability, next time, I think I'll try #1.5's and see if that makes them feel more durable. Tempted's base yarn is very similar to the Fleece Artist 2/6 merino yarn I used for these (in gauge and also in fabulosity.) So, mental note, go down half a needle size the next time I use either yarn. These are soft merino 2 ply sock yarns, they want to be knit a little tighter for maximum sturdiness.

Looks like these and also the red Tempted socks are going to be worn mainly around the house and not see a lot of heavy outside action. But that's ok. I need something cuddly and gorgeous to wear with my pajamas anyway.

Apparently the teenager's luggage is still wandering around the Deep South without a chaperone. I do hope it doesn't get in to any trouble.

2008-04-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

What To Do or Not To Do In Airport Terminals.

1. When sending your teenager off on a cross country flight alone, DO get a pass so you can accompany her through Security and to her gate. She will want you to buy her things on the way. She will also want you to point things out like, "Why don't you take all your metal off now while we're far back in line, so when we get to the head of the line we won't be That Guy and hold everyone up." and "Make sure you have your ID with your boarding pass so you can get through the checkpoint quickly and easily." and stuff like that. She will want you to do these things so that she can eye-roll dramatically at you.

2. DO NOT burst into tears after you hug her goodbye, and rush up to the gate agent and say, loudly, so that EVERYONE in the line can hear you, "Are you SURE this is flight number XXX going to $destination?" while ignoring the blinking, scrolling red LED sign that reads "FLIGHT XXX TO $DESTINATION" that is flashing over said gate agent's head.

This will cause your teenager to turn around from where she is standing in the boarding line, look horrified and say at the top of her lungs, "MOTHER. MO-THER. Oh my GOD. If it were the wrong flight, they'd tell me when they saw my boarding pass. JEEEEEZ."

Loudly.

While everyone in line is trying not to laugh. And the gate agent is failing, so actually, laughing.

3. Do not, then, sniffle and say, "Well. But. You're my BAAAABY. I have to make sure."

This is guaranteed to cause the teenager's eyes to bug out even larger than you ever thought they could bug, and she will moan, "MooOOOoOOm." and then practically run down the little gangway to her plane where she can be far away from you.

Secretly? She will actually love that you did this. Because it 1. makes her feel loved and 2. confirms her worldview that you are a world class dork and therefore she is cooler than you, in fact, this will confirm that somehow, she is cooler than everyone else on the plane.

I know this is all true.

I also know that Delta Airlines terminal at LAX is ridiculously crowded at 4am on a weekday morning and I know that Delta Airlines lost my child's luggage while the school group she was meeting temporarily lost my child. In a large metropolitan airport. 2/3 of the way across the country in the Deep South.

I think it's an auspicious beginning to a 10 day trek along the Civil Rights trail. Yep.

I'm just gonna sit here and knit on this sock. And wonder why I'm getting such tight gauge.

2008-04-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine linked to this blog: Fresh Mouth today and I found it to be a really interesting read.

Decided to make a "Cauliflower Cheese" with the $5 cauliflower (and it broke down depressingly into not a lot of cauliflower, too) which is somewhat over the top and amazing. I've made it before and something similar to what I make was suggested by Ragnar in comments to my last post, so why not. The children were dubious about the idea at first, but I really like it. I based tonight's concoction off this recipe, but then totally changed everything about it. Because I am more about the guidelines than the rules.

Mixed berry cobbler for dessert. Om nom nom nom.

So the big news is that the kids and I are moving out of Casa De Slumlord ("Howl's Poison Castle" as one of my friends calls it) and over to Pasadena sometime late this spring or early this summer. We are leaving the Westside entirely behind us. I've lived within half a mile of my current apartment ever since I moved to Los Angeles in 1996 so Pasadena will be a little bit like another planet. It's an adventure I am really looking forward to. I'll miss my peeps on the Westside at A Mano quite a lot, but there are rather a lot of knitters and some yarny goodness happening in the San Gabriel Valley and it'll be fun to get to know some new faces too. Plus, that is what freeways are for. To go visit old friends.

Having abandoned Planet Goth for sparklier pastures, Space Lady So-chan is exploring the Technicolor Nebula Of Rave.

this too shall pass.

2008-04-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know what the problem is with these dratted Pillars Of Atlantis socks but I've had to rip out and reknit the heel on the second sock because *again* it was too small. the leg was about 1/2 an inch shorter than the other one. I'm not sure how I did that, I swear I measured. It seems to be much better now and long enough. Heel is turned and we are zooming along towards the toe.

Mostly I just wanted to say, I paid $5 for a cauliflower today.

Not an organic cauliflower.

Not a fancy cauliflower.

Not a cauliflower with the face of Jesus in it. It was not made by Prada or Coach. It is not stuffed with rubies.

Just, a regular, run of the mill, garden variety cauliflower from Ralph's. Which happened to cost $5 because food prices in Los Angeles are hello CRAZY! and also insane and slightly inflated and stupid.

I probably would not have bought said member of the vegetable family if I had done the math in the produce dept. but once I got it up to the register I was sort of stuck and didn't want to be That Guy.

Now I have to find something amazing to do with the damn thing (besides steaming) to feel like I got $5 worth of cauliflower.

2008-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sent the Martian Death Crap on it's merry finally (I love you, Azithromycin! Call me!) and am starting to get my house and life back under some semblance of control.

...dot...dot...dot...dot...

BWAHAHAHAHA.

Ok, no seriously. Trying to. During my enforced sojourn on the sofa, I realized that many things have spun out of my control and haven't been attended to. Things like finances and the apartment and the children and grooming the cats, my filing, expiration dates on canned goods, etc. You know, stuff like that. So I've started trying to retake a little bit of control over those areas of my life that were overwhelming.

I threw out a bunch of National Geographic magazines, went through my canned goods for expired crap, and organized my sock yarn into STR/not STR bins. Cleaned all the leftovers out of my refrigerator. Vacuumed up the drifts of cat hair on the living room rug. Began the arduous process of shaving one 18 year old Maine Coon who is a little too matted to groom.

I still can't find all my tax paperwork, the bedroom is a disaster and as yet, there are empty shampoo bottles cluttering up the bathroom windowsill. Still, I feel like I've made a good start in reclaiming my life.

Trying to get back in the habit of planning actual meals, as opposed to "open a bag of something frozen from TJ's/reheat/serve." Trying to cook those meals. Trying to shop for those planned meals. Trying to budget to shop for those meals. And btw? WTF is it with free range eggs being >$4 a dozen? IN WHAT UNIVERSE are eggs >$4 a dozen? It's not like there aren't enough eggs to go 'round. Hello, gas companies? Stop affecting my eggs. Kthxbye. Also please fuck off the rest of my grocery bill. Your high prices are driving my basic foodstuffs through the roof. While I am quite sure that the money I save by not buying takeout every day will more than cover those price increases? They're still riDONKULOUS.

Sometimes you wake up and realize you've drifted a little bit off center. That your plan isn't working because you stopped working at it. That you must once again cultivate mindfulness even though you'd rather be surfing Ravelry for sock patterns, catching up on Battlestar Galactica or reading the latest Livejournal spinning community drama.

This must be what being a grownup feels like.

I have nothing better to do...

2008-03-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Martian Death Crap II: Zombie Boogaloo has me on the couch still, looking a little blue around the edges. And since I called in sick to work, again, I am just gonna have to amuse myself in a non-athletic sort of way.

Thanks to my commenter in the last post who pointed out that it IS possible to pull out, reknit and regraft a toe.

A good excuse to watch more Battlestar Galactica.

Besides, it's like, totally therapeutic.

or something.

Didn't take long.

And it means I can keep my new Fleece Artist socks for myself. Which I really wanted to do. Now to cast on #2. I am halfway to socky nirvana.

Slow down. Enjoy the journey.

2008-03-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Not the best view ever.

Hard to photograph your own foot and heel. But, isn't it a perfectly lovely heel? Love how the cables run down it and snug it up to fit just right. Now that I've done a cabled/patterned heel flap, I wonder why they ever seemed so intimidating.

Because I am an impatient knitter, I tend to knit things just a little short sometimes. I just want to get to the next section and mix it up a little. I bargain with myself "Ok, just half an inch more...." and sometimes I am a little optimistic. And wrong. Sometimes I forget how huge my feet are. Well, darnit, this sock was no exception. Looks like these are going to be a gift for someone with a slightly smaller foot than mine. I know just the person would would appreciate them, too. They aren't unwearable, they just need a scootch more room to fit the way I like them. Nothing more heartbreaking than all that work and realizing you won't enjoy the finished project.

Some things I need to remember when knitting socks for myself:

1. My toes are stupidly long.
2. My feet are stupidly long.
3. My heels are stupidly long.
4. I have feet like a jackrabbit.
5. Knitting patterns are not written for people with jackrabbit feet.
6. Make them longer. Every time. Shut up. Just... make them longer.
7. That's not long enough. Knit another half an inch.
8. Put the sock down and pick up something else if you are not going to knit that half an inch more. Do NOT...I said do NOT start the toe yet. Put it down.
9. Calm now? Great. Knit another half inch.
10. Jackrabbit feet. Live with it.

I knit the pattern as written for a size 9-10 foot, but went up to #2 needles and I think if you used smaller needles you might have to add pattern repeats around the ankle. At least one, maybe two. I know I would. This pattern fits VERY snugly because of the cabling. Probably not a bad idea to swatch for gauge or at least try it on a lot and make sure it fits while you're making it.

I am officially now in the camp of Fleece Artist LOVE. I think what makes this particular colorway insanely fabulous is really the colorplay and subtle variegation. I really like how they all work together.

2008-03-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Martian Death Crap II: Zombie Boogaloo continues to kick my arse. Enough so that it took me a few tries to cast this on and get the ribbing count right. However, I've got everything sorted and it's coming along fine.

Probably not going to be the fastest knit in history but it sure is purty...

Pillars Of Atlantis socks, in Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino sock yarn, "Blue Lagoon"

Or... just Ravel it!

Today we give thanks for matzoh ball soup and the awesome boyfriends who bring it to the ailing knitters, for inhalers and for azithromycin.

2008-03-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day? She must be sick.

Well I am. Martian Death Bug II, Zombie Boogaloo, to be exact. And man is it no fun. I actually don't feel so bad as long as I'm flat on my ass. The minute I get up and do anything, fuggedaboutit.

I did manage to knock out the second Broadripple, so now I have a pair. And the toe on #2 is beautifully Kitchenered, thanks to this link here which someone hunted up for me in comments a few posts ago. Thank you! I'd forgotten this site existed. Some of us learn better by watching and then doing. I'm definitely one of those folks. It's hard to make heads or tails of a picture in a book.

I love STR but I don't love the way it pools - sometimes I can't find a stitch count/needle size/pattern that ensures a nice even striping action. These striped beautifully on the first go but were too tight. Making them larger completely buggered up the striping. That's ok, I still love them, I just think the ripple pattern would have been awesome if the striping had worked out better.

I think the pooling is probably in large part why I adore Tina's very wild colorways in the skein, but tend to almost always prefer the semi solids and watercolor waves when knit up.

I have a skein of Fleece Artist in "Blue Lagoon" that I am currently carrying around with me, trying to find the right pattern. Those will be May's socks. Blue, for May Showers.

You know you are a Knitter when...

2008-03-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who has been resisting the siren call of knitting for a few years now. Who finally picked up needles and yarn against her better judgement, and got hooked. A friend who, I don't think, will ever look back to her days as a NON knitter with anything but a vague sense of "What was I thinking?"

Like all beginners, she is maybe a little unsure of actually calling herself a knitter yet, because she is still learning some very basic things. She's afraid that she lacks some basic, fundamental know how that separates knitters from players. Maybe she is afraid we'll all look at her and say, "Nuh uh." if she tries to assert that she has a place in the club.

I'm here to tell you, she's got a place in the club.

Girlfriend was knitting in her living room last night when gunfire erupted across the street. Her boy was yelling at her to get down and what did Girlfriend do? Before she stopped, dropped, and rolled? She calmly finished the few stitches that were left in her row, because she might drop a stitch on the way down to the floor. While the bullets were flying. I'd like to also point out that this was beaded knitting and she had to seat a bead on one of those stitches while all this hullaballo was in motion. And she worries that she's not a Knitter???

I don't think she has to worry. She's one of us, all right. God help her.

I am now hunting for Kevlar yarn and have a vague idea of knitting her an Aran flak vest.

no knitters were harmed in the making of this anecdote

2008-03-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Broadripple, one of two!

Confession: I totally fudged grafting the toe. Probably because I've never done the freaking Kitchener stitch before and after attempting it here I wanted to throw something out the window. Repeatedly.

On sock two of two, I will take it to my LYS and beg them to teach me to Kitchener a sock toe properly.

Learning and growing, learning and growing, I am a learning and growing knitter, right... new skills are important.

That said, I absolutely LOVE this heel and the pattern is really fast and fun, so the knit as a whole has been enjoyable.

Speaking of wanting to throw things out the window? The Friday Night Knitter's Club didn't exactly go out the window, but it did hit the wall with a resounding smack. I was so disappointed. Anyone who has been wanting to read it, I will send you my copy for free if you want it, just drop a comment - it may be more to someone else's taste than it was to mine!

the stupid continues

2008-03-20T23:58:00.001-07:00

Today's public school drama involved my daughter's PE teacher forcing her to do jumping jacks even though she told him she had a bad headache and was diagnosed with migraines and could she please walk laps instead. "NO." he said, then forced her to do jumping jacks until she had to run to the bathroom to throw up. Because the jumping jacks, in the bright sunlight, triggered the migraine that she'd been trying to hold off. Then? He refused to let her go to the nurse until one of his aides took pity and took her anyway. I had to come get her and she missed another day of school, including the academic classes she needed to attend today to get homework packets and makeup work turned in. All because someone needed to prove he's the boss of his PE class.

Yeah, ok Big Man. You've got a huge one all right. And you pick on little girls and make them cry, too. We're all in awe of your sheer damned manliness.

When I phoned to complain about this, her counselor told me that the only way we can get her exempt from PE is if she "breaks something." To say that I went ballistic is an understatement.

My daughter then offered to break her arm, if that would help.

Fortunately, she won't have to resort to that - I finally think I found the right combination of people to email. I went over some heads and it seems like now I've struck the right note, I've cited legal statutes, I've pointed out that she has an IEP we can amend, and I did so to the right people, FINALLY. We're finally in compliance with the truancy review board, so the nasty letters have stopped. We may have action. We may have resolution. Or at least, improvement. Fingers crossed, please!! The school nurse is in our court, the IEP coordinator is scheduling an emergency meeting and hopefully these things will help.

We started her on a new beta blocker to try to get this under control, as the med we'd had her on previously was not helping. Fingers even more crossed that perhaps this is the magic bullet.

I need this to be over and sorted. I'm pulling my hair out. It's taking a terrible toll on everyone, especially my daughter. I'm lucky to still have my job.

Sometimes life isn't fair, and you just go on and make do. And try to make it better. And you knit a lot, just because that helps.

the daily fiber

2008-03-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

except not exactly "daily" because this has been languishing on the Kromski for about a month.

Yep, it's February's fiber, Plums and Berries from Smoky Mountain Fibers. I'm about half done with this luscious little bump that is thus far spinning up in shades reminiscent of the juicy middle part of a nectarine or maybe a peach.

Gotta finish spinning up the other half of the bump and then I will ply that too. It wants bathed in woolwash and perhaps some conditioner, perhaps a little bit of abuse and then a nice long hang on the washline. There is still a lot of energy in that there yarn - it'll relax a bit after I wash and beat it. Bloom and soften. Then it might want to be a pair of socks. The three plies will give it a little more structure than my usual two ply handspun attempts, which thus far seem to be better suited to soft lacy things.

I spun the singles on my Kromski and then navajo plied them off the bobbin using my Schacht Hi Lo spindle. I can two ply on the wheel just fine, but haven't developed the knack of making three ply yet. I honestly still prefer my spindle for plying as a rule and feel I get better, more consistent results when using it.

2008-03-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

F is for.... well it's for Fiber, of course, but it is also for Fearless.

Fierce, Fabulous, and Female.

I am referring to the L.A. Derby Dolls of course, and they are so totally my pick for "F" this week. Women athletes competing hard, full contact, freaking fantastic!

Except I don't think it counts, simply because these aren't pictures and I didn't take them. That's ok. I guess we'll just call "F" a twofer and I'll dig up some actual pictures tomorrow. For now, enjoy the view. It's Fine.

And go catch a roller derby match if you can possibly find one in your area. Support some local athletes who are all about having Fun and looking Fly while doing it!

2008-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

*****SPOILER!!!*****

Or...

WHY I LOVE MARCH!

Because March seems to be a Sock Club month. RSC is shipping this week, Seven Deadly Spins arrived yesterday, Spinning Bunny is shipping this week, and today's mail brought TEMPTED YARN!!!

So I was rearranging some fiber bins, like ya do, and my oldest walks in to the room. Stops, looks at the fiber and says, "Well... I'm not going to say that you've acheived SABLE, but I'd say that's at least half the stash you'll need to exceed your life expectancy." and then walked out.

*sniffle*

She knows the lingo.

I'm so proud.

Starting to think about which clubs I want to save for next year and budgeting accordingly. Any sock clubs you just can't live without?

Also? Tempted. Whose club I will jealously maintain my spot in, until she chooses not to have a club any longer!

It's really hard to get reds and blacks to photograph true, with or without a flash. This picture does NOT do the yarn justice. Ms. Tempted's yarns are beyond compare!

2008-03-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just a warning that a little further down in this post there will be a picture of my kit from the Seven Deadly Spins Club and if any of my fearless blog readers are in that club also, I don't want to spoil it for 'em. I think everyone got theirs, but you know... manners is manners and I aim to be mannerly!

So we'll start with Broadripple.

Which I have frogged entirely and reknit with some additional pattern mods and much gnashing of teeth.

The pattern was written to be knit up with 56 stitches, on #3 needles. Since I was using STR mediumweight, I figured that'd be fine. It was, if a little tight, until I got to the instep. At which point, not so much with the fine. It was way too tight. So I wept and gnashed and frogged the entire sock (sitting in traffic at eleven on a Sunday night, on the way to Highland Park to pick up Daughter #1's antibiotics from the place she'd left them that morning, argh.) and cast back on (sitting in more traffic on the way home from Highland Park, waiting for the CHP to clear an accident, at about eleven forty five on a Sunday night.)

Boy am I glad I did. I ended up knitting it as written (and now wish I'd kept the ribbed top, I liked how it looked better) but added 2 stitches per needle - hiding the two extra stitches on each side of the "ripple" section. It works just fine.

The striping is not as even and nice as it was with the original attempt, there is a little pooling and more of a spiral around the sock going on, but it's acceptable.

The other mod I made to the pattern was I extended the heel flap about 10 extra rows. I think it'll give me enough room in the instep, as the gusset will be longer. The heel is a lovely slipped stitch affair that I think is very pretty in this yarn. I'm not sold on the top down/flap heel at all and still totally prefer to knit toe up, but it'll do. I'm trying to shake myself out of my sock rut and knit patterns the way the designers intended with heels and toes that require me to learn new skills.

Love the Broadripple pattern, but it definitely seems to be written for someone with very tiny feet! I think I'd actually like to try it out in STR heavyweight, knit on 4's, but as written. Would be a nice pair of house socks.

And then... there's the Seven Deadly Spins Club package for March.

Sock yarn... jellybeans... mini sock blocker... needle protectors... patterns... a pen... and did I mention, the jellybeans? And honestly, just look at that sock yarn. OMG. Gluttony. The package is "Gluttony" and all that color, yes, it really is.

I'm trying to not buy yarn much at all this year because of all those aforementioned doctor bills, so for the most part I'm just enjoying the clubs I signed up and paid for last year. It's enough to feed my inner yarn ho, but let me save some money. I'm not gonna say Yarn Diet because I always fail miserably at that? but, I'm trying.

And when Yarn Club comes with jellybeans, well that's just EPIC WIN.

Incredible frustration with the 500 lb gorilla.

2008-03-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned that my youngest is experiencing some ill health lately, and we have been fighting with our school district about it. I think yesterday I threw in the towel and gave up. Or at least it feels like I did.

My youngest suffers from what we're pretty sure is "chronic daily headaches" which is usually just a really bad headache but triggers into a migraine 2-3x a week. She has a headache every. single. day. without fail. She is never not in pain. We are trying various medications and treatments but thus far nothing has clicked for us to prevent this. We are on the medication carousel of experimentation.

Naturally, it's translated to some missed school. A LOT of missed school. We have 17 absent days this year and some of those are being treated as truancies by her school district. That's our fault, btw, the truancies - she didn't get doctor's notes in on time and I didn't check up to make sure she'd handed them in - now they can't go back and clear them. But beyond that, we have enough absences that a note from me is no longer considered adequate, and so we must have a doctor's excuse any time she is kept home from school. Policy dictates. Stupid policy. If we don't have the doctor's note, it's truancy and the next step is prosecution.

With no health insurance and migraines that keep her home at least once, usually twice and sometimes even three days in a week, one can imagine how all those visits to the doctor are adding up. Then add in all the days of missed work with no pay so I could take her to the doctor. We've started sending her to school with the headaches, just so she'll be marked present in homeroom. For some reason, if she's marked present at day's beginning and then sent home by the nurse, then even if she misses the rest of the day, she's not "truant." Usually she starts throwing up from the extreme pain around her first period, goes to the nurse and is back home in bed by 9:30 - but nobody is squawking about that up at the school because it means they get their ADA money so it's not counted as "missing school" in their books.

Baffling.

We're doing our best.

I've been fighting and fighting and I am tired. Yesterday I got a phone call from my kid, who was hiding in a bathroom with an illicit cell phone, in tears, because the nurse was refusing to let her phone me and kept sending her back to class. She had a migraine. Couldn't stop vomiting. We don't keep her medication at school because it knocks her out for several hours - she can't take it and go back to class. They don't want her taking it in school and then sleeping in the nurses office. Ok fine, but then let her come home, right? Seems obvious to me.

I think what irritates me the most, no, what enrages me the most is that my child was denied access to a parent. That's never okay.

Yesterday I realized that the school district is a 500 lb gorilla and I cannot win. Worst of all, my child cannot win. I can't win this fight. They have more resources, more time, and they just don't care. So fine. They win. We're out of options. I can't face prosecution. We've made so many mistakes in this process, failing to document things adequately, failing to insure that Em got those notes in - now we're 4 months from the end of the year and kind of screwed. By our own mistakes as much as by the district's stupidity. I own that, sure. Don't like it, but I own it. I've never had a chronically ill child before - it's a learning curve.

I just wanna know...

When did school administrators become more important than the parent?

Since when is a parent's word not good enough to excuse a sick child?

What in the hell is up with this bureaucratic nightmare that the public school system is becoming?

Why do they seem content to allow her to fail, as long as they get their state money? I've already been told that they are passing her on to the 9th grade even if she flunks every class due to her illness. That doesn't seem right to me. Of course I don't want her held back, but, she's going to go into the 9th grade behind and at a disadvantage and they're sort of... FINE with that.

The only people who aren't fine with it are her teachers - bless her teachers, who are working with us via email and allowing her to make up work and learn as best she can. Her marvelous teachers, who are just quietly supportive of her and trying their best to be helpful.

I've already mapped out which classes she'll need to repeat in 9th grade and she'll probably get some time at Sylvan or a similar tutoring center this summer, just so she's got some parity with her fellow freshmen in the fall.

Did I mention, I'm baffled?

It was somewhat ironic to me this week when the state supreme court upheld that homeschooling is illegal law. I'll be watching that battle with interest as it moves into appeal. Not that I want to homeschool, but with our system as broken as it is, you'd think the state would be trying to create more options for families, not less.

Back to your regularly scheduled knitting now... thanks for listening!

2008-03-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Naturally life is not complete with out socks on the needles, right?

Broadripple Socks
Knitty, Summer 2003
Socks that Rock mediumweight "Love In Idleness"

pattern mods:
1x1 twisted rib top
1x1 twisted rib on heel flap

Done!

2008-03-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Falling in Love socks
Magknits February 2007
Tempted Yarn's "Pin Up Girl" Dec. 2007 sock club selection

Mods:
I used a figure 8 cast on for the toe, and added two extra stitches between the purl stitch/cable sections traveling up the side of the leg - added after turning the heel. This gave me a little more room, which was necessary. If I knit it on larger needles with heavyweight yarn, I'd take the stitches out probably, but as written it stood to be a little tight in the yarn/needles I chose.

This was an absolutely delightful knit. The yarn is squishy and a wonderful true red and the pattern repeat was easy to memorize and fast.

Shoulder angel or shoulder devil?

2008-03-06T22:33:00.000-08:00

Abandon everything.

2008-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

"This much we know: God is failing.

Or more accurately, God is mutating. Changing. In flux. Becoming perhaps slightly less appealing as a dogmatic force of rigid closed-minded sit-down-and-shut-up paternal scowling and becoming perhaps more fluid, interesting, dynamic, unspecified, something you actually want to take into your heart and into your mouth and lick until you find the rich, creamy center and then define that taste for yourself, blissfully independent of what your parents or priest or president tells you, until you reach that point of deeper knowing where you can't help but go a-ha."

Want more? Mark Morford will give you more...

Also, while we're abandoning outdated memes and diving into the juicy center of what is real and true and healthy and good for us, how about rethinking health and well-being at any size? Kate Harding over at Shapely Prose wants YOU to submit to the new and improved BMI project! I have friends who have had the lap band, who have had surgeries, who have dieted, who are fat and skinny and in between, and you know, what I am about is acceptance at any of those places. In being healthy, which I don't necessarily think is always linked to an arbitrary set of numbers. I have friends for whom, getting surgery literally saved their lives and man I am so grateful for it and for their continued existence on this planet. I have friends who are, by the numbers, obese, and yet are healthier than some skinny people I know.

I just think, it's time to rethink health and how we look at, talk about and treat our bodies. My vote is for "with love, at any size." to start. Where you go from there, from that point of love, that is really a deeply personal journey and yours to choose and make. Nobody has the right to judge it for you.

Heady stuff for a Wednesday.

And also because I am a crazy cat lady, there's this.

ABC's and 123's

2008-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Well, D and E actually, and 2 in one post.

D is for Dia De los Muertos and all the little skully odds and ends that I collect for it that live all over my house during the rest of the year when it isn't November 1st.

This being only a fraction of the delightful collection of skullyliciousness that graces Casa De Yarnpirate, of course!

And then there's E which is for Evil.

Wait, no, I actually meant those shiny glass objects which avert the Evil Eye. Of which there is also an extensive collection, Chez Rotten Kittens Local #27.

I am currently voiceless and continue to incubate the Crap Virus From Hell, but fortunately have the next 3 days off work and do not plan to do anything but rest, drink soup, watch as many episodes of How Clean Is Your House as I can, (omg Kim and Aggie = best guilty pleasure evar) and squirt the cats with the Bottle Of God, since I can't actually yell at them to stop being naughty.

Oh, and knit. I'm gonna do that too.

2008-02-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

Perhaps when one leaves this on the counter:

One should not be shocked to find this on the cat:

Finished and cast off the first FIL sock, and cast on the second. Yay! I have a toe!

and the air was so thick you could chew...

2008-02-29T12:13:00.000-08:00

Is it so wrong that even with air quality this hazy, I love my city and all the views? This is looking out towards Santa Monica from the top of the Grove parking structure, and the two tall hazy buildings are in Century City.

Yesterday was all grey and shades of blue, hanging in veils over the buildings in the distance.

In other news, "chronically ill child" and "school district bureaucracy" do not mix well AT ALL. I just can't even go in to how difficult this whole situation is and how unwilling these people seem to be to work with us or even really return my phone calls.

Frustrating.

A Camera Emergency

2008-02-27T21:22:00.001-08:00

Why this method of cat dancer storage:

is no longer a good idea.

Bad kitty. NO cat dancer.

Seriously. Mittens stood there on the ground looking at it and meowing, and Honey went and got it for him.

It has been a big day for the squirt bottle of God.

After, of course, I got the pictures safely in the camera.

I Can Haz Heel!

2008-02-27T08:01:00.002-08:00

Yesterday was all about climbing that socky Mt. Everest, turning the heel. Two heels, actually. A short row heel for the second spiral rib sock and a flap and gusset heel for the Falling in Love sock.

Actually, I really like to turn the heel. I begin to get impatient and excited as I pass the toe and begin to get close to my goal. I try the sock over my hand, "Is it ready now? Now?" and I measure it with a tape measure, "Well it doesn't *have* to be much longer does it? Now?" and I have to coax and negotiate with myself, "Just one more pattern repeat and then you can start." and ignore myself asking "Okay now? Are we there yet?" yet again when I'm only halfway through the agreed upon repeat.

Turning the heel makes me happy. I carve out space to do it, sit down and give it my whole attention. Oh hai, this be serious sock knitting. I are serious sock knitter.

It's that all important midpoint of the sock that indicates to me, "In fact, you will not be knitting this forever." and usually by the second sock I need that reminder. Short attention span, party of one.

While I am still full of love for the short row heel which fits my narrow feet better than anything else, the gusset and flap heel is beginning to grow on me. I do not hate it as much as I used to. There is an elegance to the gusset increases, the way it gently arches up beneath the pattern.

After two gusset and flap heels in a row, I've become quite comfortable with the technique - which will open up that world of nifty patterned heels that I've seen on Ravelry and in magazines. I am dreaming of heels with delicate cables, intricate stitch patterns, heels that do more than just sit there. I am thinking about heels that kick ass and take names.

Yes, see, that's rather plain. I am thinking about garter stitch or seed stitch. There's all manner of ways to dress up a flap heel, aren't there? I being to see the light.

If this keeps up, I may have to invest in a pair of clogs to show off all this socky goodness.

my new favorite pattern

2008-02-25T10:36:00.000-08:00

The One Day Beret pattern is my new favorite pattern for hats. SO easy, so fast, so great to fit over my big curly hair without giving me hat head.

It truly is a joyous thing. I've already cast on another in Beaverslide Fisherman's weight, in the prairie aster colorway. I think that one is for a gift.

January's spiral rib STR socks in Spinel have succumbed to Second Sock Syndrome. Ribbing gets old after a while. Ho hum. Yawn. SO, you know, naturally.... I cast on another pair of socks to cure the ennui.

Falling In Love socks from MagKnits. Which pattern I have adapted with a figure 8 cast on, knit on 4 needles rather than 3. Not sure about the heel. I'll figure it out when I get there. In this case, I may need the extra room from the gusset and flap. Colorway is "Pin Up Girl" which was featured last December in the Tempted Handpainted Yarns sock club. This is the softest, squooshiest yarn ever, not to mention the colorway is PERFECT for little lacy hearts and cables. Yum.

My youngest has been kind of sick lately - well, really sick - and she's missed a LOT of school. So we're consequently kind of screwed with the school district and they are threatening legal action. I am not sure what to do. I am unbelievably stressed out and the conflict between trying to deal with this AND keep my job is sort of ripping me in two. There really isn't a solution except to stay the course and try to have as much grace under pressure as I can. So that's what I'm doing.

And knitting. I'm knitting a lot. Because that helps.

2008-02-23T08:44:00.001-08:00

It has been pretty darn cold all this week. Naturally, every single wool hat or cap that I've knit in the entire last few YEARS of knitting has disappeared into some teenager's (or the other's) room, not to be found. I don't feel safe excavating in either of those sites, not to mention I haven't got the right permits for a dig of that magnitude.

But I digress. "I'll just whip up a little something." I thought to myself early this week. And so I tried casting on my own improvised slouchy beret, then I tried the pattern over on CAP's site (but since my yarn and needles were different sizes, that involved math and I ended up with a beret that would have fit a bull elephant) and then it occurred to me... OH! Ravelry. Duh!

And thus, the One Day Beret pattern was discovered and cast on and it was Good.

The pattern was originally knit up by the designer using two separate skeins of handpaint, alternating each row. I liked that idea. I also liked the idea of using up the 3 skeins of Noro Cash Island that I had in my stash, but they were all the same colorway. No problem, this being Noro, they all wound up into balls with the colors starting in different places. I can work with that! The result is a hat that is sometimes sharply striped with alternating but complimentary colors, and sometimes (there in the middle in particular) the stripes are so close as to blend almost perfectly together. It's exciting to see how things are lining up.

Plus the center is nifty and the increases create this lovely spiral/nautilus effect.

Thank you Ravelry! Thank you previously unknown knitwear designer!

Also? I just wanted to say, it's not that I'm accusing anyone? I'm just saying it's suspicious is all, when the bowl of flowers that usually sits on the DVD player isn't all of a sudden and there are cats up there instead.

The dog obviously pushed it over to make room for them. Maybe I am accusing someone. Bad, bad, bad dog.

J'accuse!!!

2008-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Now, really, I'm not accusing anyone of anything? But....

I'm just sayin, is all.

Things I Love About My City

2008-02-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

or, The best view in Los Angeles

I didn't know we were having a lunar eclipse last night until I got out of work and rode the elevator up to my car on the 8th level of the Grove's parking structure.

"Huh. Moon looks weird." I thought to myself. I was tired, I was hurting, I just wanted dinner, so I took a moment to appreciate the view, got in my car and didn't think another thing of it.

I didn't know we were having an eclipse until I stopped for the light at Fairfax and Venice a few minutes later, looked up and realized the shadow had grown to cover almost all the moon.

"Huh. We're having a lunar eclipse. Go figure. " I thought to myself. Naturally every blog in my feeds list was all "OMGlunarECLIPSEcool!!!!1!1!eleventy!!1!" later that night.

Living under a rock, party of ONE. Thank you.

It was a pleasant surprise and a little reminder that magic creeps up on you sometimes when you don't expect it. That the natural world is still a mystery and still has the power to affect people profoundly. My attention was briefly captured, enchanted by the changing moon, and then the changing lights dictated that I had to drive in the wrong direction to watch it any further. But I knew that the mystery was still unfolding behind me in the sky, and I smiled to myself the rest of the way home about it.

The eclipse that I didn't realize was happening was gorgeous there at the top of the parking structure at The Grove. That is one of the most magical locations in all of Los Angeles, by the way, if you've never seen it.

First off, I love it because only one time in my entire year and a half of working at The Grove, has that floor ever been "full" with no parking spaces. You can always find a parking spot on the roof at The Grove. Always. They close off the roof during the week most of the time so you have to have a pass card to park up there. It's empty and safe. I love it. The public usually only gets up there on weekends and Fridays. Otherwise? It's ours.

That really isn't the main reason why I love the roof of that particular parking structure though. The main reason I love it is... the view. It is hands down, probably the best view in Los Angeles. On a clear night, you can see 360 degrees all around. From downtown and Dodger Stadium to the east and Century City to the west, the hills in the north and Park La Brea popping up just to the south, with all the city laid out like a jewel box all around - you cannot beat that view. On the 8th floor of The Grove parking structure, the noise of the city falls away and there is instead a hush. The sounds of traffic and people are muted to almost nothing, maybe a vague hissing like the ocean when it is very very quiet. You're in your own private world up there.

I call it the deep breath at the end of my day.

I wrote this to a friend a few months ago, trying to explain how important that moment is to me, the moment where I step off the elevator. Before I walk to my little car and get in to drive home. The moment where I just stand on the roof and breathe and let 8 hours of retail slide off my shoulders and come back into myself, not me the shopgirl, not the smiling persona I wear in the store, but just... myself. It is my favorite moment of the day, in my favorite spot in Los Angeles, and lucky me, I get to do it a couple of times a week. It never gets old.

"When I step up onto the roof of the carpark, I am surrounded by light. It is high enough that the noise and stink of the city are filtered away, fall down, there is nothing but clarity, silence and the shiny jewelbox that is my city at night. I can see to the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other sides. The buildings glitter all 'round. I take a deep breath and that is when I exist. It's the moment where it all falls away, there at the end of my day. I step between the worlds and come back to myself again."

I love My City. And it somehow doesn't shock me that one of the most magical, beautiful places to appreciate this city, with our love of the automobile and all things new, shiny and for sale, would be.... at the top of a parking structure in the middle of a shopping center.

Somehow, it fits.

17

2008-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

17 years ago today, I was waking up (about now, in fact) and realizing that "Oh holy shit, the baby is coming." Seeing as how I was several days overdue, that made me happy. Because, you know, I was kind of done feeling like I'd be pregnant forever. I wanted to see my feet again. I'd missed them.

16 hours later (and no drugs) my life changed forever in the best possible way.

Happy 17th birthday, baby girl.

You're just as beautiful today as you were the day you were born. But more verbal. And you have more hair.

I love you more than words can say.

C is for...

2008-02-17T12:09:00.001-08:00

"C" may be for "cat"

but "C" is also for "cow"

and for "Cranes"

I folded 1,000 of these back when the US first invaded Iraq and prayed for peace with each one. Some went to friends, some went to the graveyard at Manzanaar and some are still in my house. So far, my wish hasn't been granted. I may have to fold another 1,000.

"C" is also for "complete" as in, it feels good to COMPLETE something like a pair of socks!

I love these socks, I love Cookie's patterns, but I really really do NOT love the heel gusset and flap. They don't fit my feet well, too wide, as is obvious in one of the pictures. This is fine and comfy in a pair of house socks, but if I'm knitting a pair to wear with shoes, I'm definitely going to stick to my tried and true short row heel. That one never fails to fit juuust right.

Now I'm off to the salt mines, where we are doing our post holiday, pre-fiscal-year-end inventory from hell all night. Please God, let there not be a million recounts. I've been precounting all week. I might just cry.

In which I am a big damn geek.

2008-02-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

I've finished February's socks! Twinkle Toes by Cookie A in STR heavyweight... the yarn that wears like cast iron. These are the BEST house socks. I want to make a couple pairs of these in different colors, they're perfect for warm feet on a cool evening.

Now? I just gotta finish January's. Ahem. I'm about 40% into the second sock of that pair. I'm such a slow knitter. But I think I'll get them done by the end of February and still be caught up. It occurs to me that maybe I want to knit more medium and heavyweight socks if I'm angling for a pair a month. "Knit like the wind!" is not an axiom that applies to me.

Today at Chez Couch Potato, in the name of getting knitting done, we've watched 3 eps of Dr. Who, caught 2 eps of Torchwood, watched Hitch and then watched all 3 Sarah Plain and Tall movies on the Hallmark channel. This truly was a day of doing fuck all.

Blink is quite possibly one of the scariest, most nail biting eps of Dr. Who I have *ever* seen. Sweet creepin zombie jesus. At once point I jumped, screamed and almost impaled the cat with a knitting needle. I am going to be SO very sad when David Tennant's turn is up and we get a regenerated Doctor. I really like what he's done with the role. I loved, absolutely ADORED Christopher Eccleston in the first season, but Tennant? He has totally become my Doctor.

Picture of socky goodness tomorrow when I a. have decent light for my camera and b. find my memory card. Also "C" is for...

Chain me to the sofa...

2008-02-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

Oh well never mind, I'll just hang out there of my own free will!

Took today off work and spent it sleeping, knitting, drinking tea and watching action movies because I have been nursing Teh Ick and wanted to nip it in the bud. It was a fantastic idea. I feel almost human again. And? I finished the first Twinkle Toes and cast on the second. This is a miraculously quick knit. Word.

So unfortunately, #1 Daughter didn't get to go on her once in a lifetime trip with The Sojourn Project because she actually caught Teh Ick and is home flat on her arse with a bad case of strep throat. We're trying to get her in on the next trip in March if they'll let her piggyback on with another school. Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned tomorrow (or Saturday) for "C" is for....

Oh, and if you're anywhere near the Austin, TX area? They just announced the 2008 Browncoat Ball. Better get yer tickets fast though, because they've only got 250 of 'em!

Free to a good home

2008-02-13T12:06:00.001-08:00

One slightly used chicken wire, paper mache and googly eyeball fungus, about 4.5'x3.5', has been living in an art museum and now needs someplace else to live.

Bonus if you can come get it.

2008-02-13T11:56:00.001-08:00

I recently wrote a rant about periods and "have a happy period" and pads with wings and I am discovering that this is a very universal issue for a lot of women. I've seen a lot of similar rants and complaints, but this one? This takes the cake. This WINS. This woman should get cake.

This letter, an actual letter written to an actual person at a maxi-pad company, won some awards and I want to kiss the woman who wrote it.

Or, you know, just send her some chocolate and back away slowly.

Best. Letter. EVAR.

I'll be in my bunk

2008-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

And then I'm moving to France.

Eat more fruit, y'all. [NSFW - and if you don't want to see hot girl on girl on boy on figs, lemons and bananas action, you probably shouldn't watch it. Also, if you don't like fruit, just skip it.]

I love the French.

I LOVE THEM.

Please pass me a papaya.

2008-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Spinning is a little like alchemy.

Fluff plus twist equals string. Can't wait for string plus twist to equal two ply. That's my favorite part.

Delicious!

February's socks (even though technically I didn't finish January's pair yet.)

I gotta confess, I'm not nuts about this particular yarn with this particular pattern. The striping thing does not work with the lacy thing. I'm beginning to really feel like about 75% of the time I am not so nutty about the striping STR colorways. I like the solids a little better. Of course, I've got more of the striping colorways in my stash, natch! But it's a fast knit and this is the only skein of heavyweight STR that I've got in my stash. And that's why I'm doing them, so I can finish both February's and January's pairs by the end of the month and be caught up. Heh. They're house socks. House socks are good. Of course it's February which means we're edging up into the 70's and 80's in Southern CA so I won't be needing house socks again until November, but....

call me a Girl Scout.

This website made tea come out my nose.

2008-02-12T11:21:00.001-08:00

I ganked this image from the folks over at the Be My Anti Valentine where you can get hysterical cards to send your most precious loved ones on this upcoming day of celebration.

Now, don't get me wrong. As much as I hate Valentine's Day? I LOVE Valentine's Day. It is always big heaps of fun for me to play with paste and pink glitter and when I think V-Day, I think "Oh yay art project!" and make with the paint pens for days. And that, for me, is about it. Valentines Day is, to me, another excuse for glitter, chocolate and silliness. Or not, if those things aren't really where my heart is at on that particular day.

I love it because it is fun. I loathe it because people make it into an obligation. I loathe that I spent so many of my years buying in to that crap. I celebrate the fact that in rejecting it, I could reclaim the parts about it that I enjoy.

For one thing? It doesn't necessarily have to be about couplehood. My favorite VDay ever was the year we all dressed up as fairies and handed out toys, candy and cards to random strangers on Hollywood Blvd.

If I could do that every year? Oh my god, I'd be so happy. Best Valentine's Day EVER. Just a big group of friends doing some random act of silliness, with pizza thrown in after and waaaaay too much body glitter.

I do not like the idea that it should be about Big Expensive Things. Having this obligation that you've gotta get all decked out in slutty lingerie you paid too much for at Vickie's Secret and ya gotta blow someone because they gave you a diamond? NOT FUN. Feeling like you have to give someone a diamond or feeling like THEY have to GIVE you the diamond or they just don't love you? NOT FUN. How about, all manner of WRONG. I mean come ON. It's a Wednesday. Or a Tuesday. Most years, it's a work night. You might be tired or have a headache and suddenly there's this whole expectation that you're gonna ante up a bunch of crap or put out and pay huge bundles of cash for a prix fixe dinner at a restaurant you normally wouldn't eat at, well that whole expectation puts me right in a crappy mood.

NOT FUN.

I'd rather go have a fancy dinner some night for no other reason than I wanted the fancy dinner right then in that moment.

I'm kind of about keeping it simple, really.

Forget the diamonds. Forget the slutty, overpriced lingerie. Forget feeling like you are obligated to make it bigger, better, more expensive. Unless these things make you authentically joyful, turned on and happy and you're not doing it out of some sense of obligation, in which case, hells YES make with all that stuff.

Forget feeling obligated to put out, because sex is never fun or nice or really great when you're doing it from the standpoint of the calendar, Hallmark and Madison Avenue all dictating you should. Sex it up because you really want to. Or not. It's okay. Let it be juicy and real and great because you are really happy to be there with each other, which may or may not be that particular calendar day. Seriously, it's okay. Don't do it just because they spent two months salary on a piece of rock so now you have to or you're ungrateful. Don't expect the best blow job of your life because you ponied up with the good stuff from Skip and Steve down at Robbin's Brothers.

These are crappy expectations to put on someone you love.

Don't get your knickers in a wad if they *don't* spend two month's salary on a piece of rock.

Question why the rock matters.

For the record? I like diamonds. Think they're pretty. I think if diamonds were given to me by a lover or partner out of nothing more than, "Hey this is beautiful and it gave me joy to buy it and it didn't set me back or put me in debt or damage me to get it, and I hope you like it." then I might just jump for joy. I'd probably do that joyful jumping over a bouquet of flowers or a hot cup of tea, too, so long as the flowers or tea did not cause debt, came in love and it made the giver happy to procure it for me.

And I wouldn't care if they came on VDay, my birthday or on a Tuesday or - in the case of diamonds at least - never at all. I think I'd be really sad if there were never hot cups of tea or random flowers. I think on the scale of what I'd rather have more of in my whole life, I'm gonna go with the tea and the occasional dandilion.

It's the expression of love that is authentic, that makes me happy.

How about a blow job for the sheer damn joy of giving (or getting) the best blow job ever! Just because it's fun and it feels good and you're happy to be there!

Dinner, or not, at a place you feel comfortable, which might just be pb&j in your living room, over mutual laptops or with Dr. Who on Sci Fi. In PJs.

Pink glitter, or not.

Whatever you do, or don't, just have some damn fun, ok? Have it be what's real for you, and that may be on the 16th or the 23rd or it may coincide with the 14th. Have a nice time.

Even if it's just with yourself. Because that's the other loathesome little piece to the Valentine's puzzle. The insinuation that you are broken or less than okay if you don't have someone to put all these expectations on.

It's okay to be alone on Valentine's Day. Or not alone because you're actually hanging out with way too many cats, but the cats are the only ones keeping you company and they'd give you diamonds if they could but do you *really* want to go digging in the litterbox for diamonds?

And go check out the Anti V Day card site, just for giggles. But maybe put the teacup safely away from the laptop, first.

Got chunky weight yarn?

2008-02-09T16:52:00.001-08:00

Mix it up a little and make some yarny dreads if you're sick of knitting!! These are made up with a combination of Cascade Magnum, some Noro Lotus and some handdyed thick and thin dready looking yarn that I got from Ashbet over at PsySheep (sadly not making dreads these days, alas) and it is lovely and UV reactive.

Naturally, the grrrl looks better in my blue dreads than I do. Hmph.

I've actually had these for a while, but she looked so good in them, I had to show 'em off again. I'm working on a pair in acid green/yellow. Woo!

The Day Of Spoiling

2008-02-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

When I got back from the funeral, I decreed that the girls and I were going to have A Day Of Spoiling. And so we did.

It started with taking the oldest to Velvet Grip for her 17th birthday present. More ironmongery.

That is, she says, all the ironmongery she wants on her face. Thank god, sez I.

Then the next day, we all shlepped out the door to the Santa Monica Promenade and The Day Of Spoiling Commenced. This started with a lavish breakfast at Cafe Buna, with berry french toast, mexican mochas and bacon, but we inhaled our breakfast before I remembered I had the camera in my purse.

They both look really sad to be there, I know.

No trip to Sephora is complete without a little streetside primping, after.

And naturally there is some spoiling for Mama on a Day Of Spoiling. Bath bombs, Karma soap, Cupcake and some Angels On Bare Skin, please!

There was also some Urban Outfitters and a trip to Borders to spend gift cards, but nothing particularly photo worthy happened in either location.

It was not a day of spoiling for one organ grinder and his monkey. It was a day of making lots of money.

I wish I'd gotten pictures of the ice cream, strawberry, banana and dark chocolate crepes we had to tie off the Day Of Spoiling, but we kind of inhaled those before I remembered we had a camera. That seems to be a theme with us.

It was a lot of fun. We're all pretty game to make this a tradition!

Why didn't I vote today?

2008-02-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

Because at 8:30am when I arrived at my polling place (which had moved and took some trouble to find), they had me listed on the rolls as "Green" instead of "Democrat."

I changed my party affiliation when Bush stole the election from Gore, and I re-registered as a Democrat. I know I was a registered Democrat on the rolls in 2004 when I voted in that primary, because I voted a Democratic ballot.

How in the HELL did they have me down as Green today, 4 years later? I haven't changed my party affiliation or re-registered.

I didn't vote. They wouldn't let me vote the Democratic ticket. I get that the rules is the rules and I respect the rules? But some clerical error meant that I got no vote today.

I am sad.

Obama, you would have had my vote.

Yes we can.

2008-02-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well the first month of 101 things in 1001 Days has passed and I only crossed off one thing on the list. I am on track for some of the ongoing goals and way off track/failing at others. It's definitely obvious to me where I need to put my energy, anyway, and that it's very easy to let myself get sucked into stuff like Ravelry or the internet and put off doing things I've made commitments to myself about doing.

The new month starts today. Actually, it started yesterday, but for my purposes, today is the day.

I am going to have to finish January's socks before I can start February's and because of the short month, those are SO getting knit in a heavyweight sock yarn!!! The SOCKDOWN! challenge for February on Ravelry is to knit using a heel technique you haven't used before OR a pattern from Eunny Jang.

I'm going for the heel. I don't think I can knit a pair of Eunny's socks in one short month. Those people are NUTS. I think I may try a Sherman Heel, which is a top down technique and since I rarely knit from the top down, it'll be good for me to learn. Combine that with a medium or heavy weight yarn knit on larger needles, and I think I can knock them out by the end of February.

January's skein was a success and February's fiber (super wash merino from Pigeonroof Studios) is prepped and ready to start spinning, I'm hoping to spin some today. I'm planning a 3 ply sock yarn, plied off 3 bobbins using my lazy kate, as opposed to a navajo ply. I am amending that goal to include a different fiber preparation (batts vs. rovings, etc), fiber type (merino, coopworth, alpaca, silk, etc) or plying technique for each month's skein.

No, really, I'm finishing!

2008-02-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well it isn't finished yet, but I've made some good progress on Lady Eleanor. She's coming along beautifully.

I'd say she's not quiiiite about 2/3 of the way done. Almost there.

She is getting rather long!

I could not be happier with how she is knitting up. While these colors are a bit bright for me, I think they will be cheery and happy to the person I am making her for, and I can't wait to find a colorway to make myself one of these babies. I may do it in Iro, for a really luxe and thick winter wrap.

2008-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well it's been the All I See Dead People Channel, All The Time around here, and I'm ready to move on back to some yarny goodness and let all the sad stuff sink back to the murky depths of Not On My Blog.

I have FIBER!

There are some other clubs I belong to as well, and this is what was waiting for me when I got home from all the sad stuff.

Spinning Bunny yarn

Spunky Eclectic roving

Funky Carolina roving.

There was also some Sumptuous Sock Yarn in there, but I can't get the colors to come out right, so I'll wait till I can do them justice. I am a huge fan of the sock and fiber club. It is like free fiber. Except not free because you paid for it, but long enough ago that you've forgotten the pain.

I tell ya, having all that yarn on the dining room table was enough to get ME to forget the pain. Not to mention the kids baked a gorgeous cake for my return, took me out to C&O for pasta and I was plied with Chianti until I was nice and relaxed. I love my little family. I missed them!

I got a great whack of knitting finished when I was away dealing with all the funerary fun. No idle hands, here.

Liesel, which is being worked in "Ivory" Handmaiden Casbah Sock, and a pair of spiral ribbed socks being worked in "Spinel" BMFA lightweight, and a little stripe of "Tanzanite" at the top. No internet access and a lot of emotional turmoil are goooood for the finishing of the objects.

Last but not least, my BMFA Rockin Sock Club yarn arrived and I have put it at the bottom of this post here, so as not to spoil it for anyone. It's GORGEOUS. I love it. I can't wait to knit with it.

My trip to parts north culminated yesterday in meeting friends at Zachary's for pizza in Berkeley and then a pre-airport dash to Dark Carnival to load up on books. I almost had to jettison my clothes, as a result. That is a dangerous bookstore. The flight back to LA was pretty uneventful, except for the part where I was convinced we were all going to die because of turbulence on our descent. I think that might have been the worst flight ever, or the worst 20 minutes of an otherwise okay flight.

Seriously.

It's so good to be home.

2008-01-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

I should probably elaborate on my funeral musings, lest people think I was singularly insensitive and unmoved by the occasion. Let me first say, that I am really profoundly bothered by open casket funerals. Death, I think, is private.

We get to the chapel, and there is my grandpa, lying there for all the world to see. It took me a full 10 minutes to work up the courage to walk IN to the room. I could not look, it was hard and emotionally scary to see MY grandpa like that. So I sat and tried to act like it was ok and not look. Meanwhile, everyone else was walking up, kissing him goodbye, tucking stuff in his pockets and talking about how "wonderful" he looked. And folks, he looked NOT like my grandpa. He looked dead. And that was not wonderful to me. He was wearing too much makeup. He looked like a wax doll. I did not like it. I did not want to be there, in that room with a dead grandpa. I felt about six. I felt a pout coming on.

Everyone kept offering to hold my hand and walk up with me, so I could pay my respects. But I had paid my respects by buying a plane ticket, renting a car, writing a eulogy and showing up. I paid my respects by speaking.

I did not want to be there in that room, with a dead grandpa in it. I did not want to tuck candy in his pocket or kiss his cold cheek. I respected him enough to not want to see him like that. That is not how I want to remember him and now my last vision of him is cold, dead, in a box, in a suit I never saw before, wearing too much makeup.

MY grandpa did not wear makeup, he wore cardigan sweaters and he was not cold.

My elderly auntie and other relatives kept saying, "he is only sleeping. He's just sleeping peacefully."

And THAT is when I lost my shit a little bit and said that NO, he is dead. And that it was ok, because at 92 you can be dead and it is sad, but not something to gloss over with platitudes. It just is.

Part of life.

Not sleeping.

Cue insensitive (but funny in my brain) comment about how if he wakes up I am aiming for the head. And yes, listening to Lime & Violet's "Jesus is coming" bit on the plane at 6am that morning DID plant that one in my subconscious, I am sure.

Auntie looked upset. I apologized and said yes, he looks peaceful. Auntie pretended she had not heard zombie humor. I pretended he looked wonderful. Family harmony prevailed.

At 92, I feel like, he's doing what is natural. His knees don't hurt now. He never has to be sad again, or worry or be lonely. And that is okay, at 92. I don't mind that he passed on. We all do. May we be so lucky to live so long and so well. Don't have to pretend it is a nap. And for god's sake, let it be private and let the dead have their dignity. Which is why, naturally, I reacted with the I'm so going to hell now humor. Because I am all about the dignity.

I did go look. I did say goodbye and pat his stiff shoulder. I wish I had stuck to my guns and remembered him living instead.

Then we all drank punch, ate ham and it was over.

I have knit a sock and 12 repeats of Liesel. I want to go home and see my kids and my kittens. I do not want to be here any more.

2008-01-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

I am safely in the Central Valley, for my Grandpa's funeral. This is my one chance to be online and the connection is glacial. I have a lot of email to return when I get home. If you have not heard from me, don't be offended. Cows move faster than the DSL out here.

One note. WHen at a family funeral, and an aging aunt tells you that the deceased is "just sleeping." just SMILE AND NOD.

Do not tell her that no, he's really dead. In a box.

Do not elaborate and tell her that if he wakes up and tries to get OUT of the box, that you are going to "aim for the head."

This will make your aging relative uncomfortable. This is bad manners. Save the zombie jokes for the wake. When everyone is drunk.

The funeral was lovely. Zombie jokes aside.

ABC along

2008-01-24T16:08:00.001-08:00

The ABC along is helping to save my sanity. Allow me to explai... er, no. It would take too long. Let me sum up. Everything that could go wrong with my grandfather's funeral, thus far, has gone wrong, culminating in my not being able to traverse the Grapevine because of snow, therefore not being able to get to the funeral.

To this end, I am flying out freakishly early in the morning, renting a car and driving like a bat out of hell to where the funeral is being held. And I declare the obstacles to be DONE because I need to get there now, with no further hijinks, no more hilarity and absolutely no more arse marmotry.

I give you B.

B is for...

Buddha and also Bottles

Guanyin is actually a Bodhisattva and not the Buddha. But please note that one of the Buddhas is holding a bunny and "bunny" starts with "b." And bottles are cool. The more vintage, colorful or interesting, the better.

and BAD. as in, "BAD KITTY. Not on the counter."

Go ahead, punk. Make my day!

2008-01-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

So what are the top ten blogs you read every day? Your "Make My Day" bloggers? I have so many on my blogroll, some are good friends and others are people I haven't yet met but enjoy a great deal. I pretty much squee and jump to read all of the blogs on my blogroll, but these are ten that really do make my day when a post comes up.

L.A. Is My Beat! Ellen Bloom's blog about fiber and her adventures around town.

The Yarn Harlot Well, duh.

Crazy Aunt Purl Who doesn't love a little CAP?

Enchanting Juno

Back Yard art, inspiration, and yarny goodness. It's a daily treat, especially since she's blogging more these days about her 101/1001 journey. I am particularly enjoying the ATCs and general creative goodness.

Franklin Dolores, talking sock yarn and all around very funny, nifty guy.

Eating L.A. LA-centric eats.

The Smitten Kitchen OMG swoonworthy recipes, pictures and tutorials. Food Porn extreme.

The Rotund Fat positive commentary, acceptance and health at any size. This girl got mad props in the NYT article about blogging in the fatosphere yesterday, and I am SO proud of her. She works hard.

#10 is... well you know who you are, sweetie. :-)

2008-01-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

How pleased am I??

I am so pleased with the results of my studio day! While I am sure that it will relax a bit after I set the twist, it's still really plied about as tightly as I wanted and I think the skein is fairly balanced. It is exactly what I was going for. I'm so pleased.

I spun two bobbins - being careful to preserve the colors and paying attention to the transitions and then plied the bobbins together so they lined up - things not being exact, of course, I have some of one bobbin left over. Suppose I'll andean ply that together later and have a mini skein to add to the project. Lovely transitions that will heather up between the stretches of color. It's going to be a lovely scarf. I think it's going to bloom really nicely and be nice and squooshy soft when it dries.

Have not decided which fiber I want to spin up for February's skein. Am going to rummage through bins later today and ponder the question. Will probably take the last of that Strawberry Fields that I've had languishing on the Bossie forever, and finish it while I'm at Mom's over the weekend. I'm sure there'll be a good bit of downtime from funeral business where I'll want something in my hands.

2008-01-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

Studio day today.

Completed an ATC, did a little art journaling, played with some ideas and different media, rewrote my grandfather's eulogy, then finished spinning up the wool from Sachi and got a lovely squooshy two ply DK weight yarn out of the dealio. So there is January's skein.

A few goals met - if not crossing anything off the master list, it was at least all going towards satisfying a few of the ongoing tasks.

Pictures tomorrow when I have natural light to take them in.

Grandma Thelma died on Sunday, I just found out tonight. She was not really my grandma, but she was my dad's sister's mother in law and I spent a great deal of time around her when I was younger. I didn't see her at all in later years, so do not grieve for myself, but I feel badly for my cousins and aunt and uncle. They were a close knit family and saw her often. We all lost our in common grandmother just about this time last year and it brought our little family back together a bit. Now I have lost my grandfather and they have lost their grandmother and we are all suddenly orphan grandchildren, all of us cousins, all in the space of one short weekend. It is an odd and sad synchronicity.

I will be lighting a candle for Thelma tonight.

Life, it goes on, and we are all fleeting things, really. I guess that makes the connections we make all the more precious.

2008-01-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

Today was the big show at MOCA. My girl had a piece in the SICKNASTY show that was an adjunct to the Murakami exhibit. That piece will go into a larger, multi-school showing after the 2nd, which is when the SICKNASTY thing wraps up.

I am not sure what we'll be doing with it when it comes home from the museum. I don't think I want a 5' tall mushroom with huge googly eyes, in my living room. It might put me off my morning tea. It might even, dare I say it, displace yarn.

Some of the work was quite directly derivative of Murakami's work - I think the grrl's piece is a good example of this. Other pieces were somewhat indirect - they took themes of media and pop culture and then made pieces around those themes with a sort of Murakami twist.

I am not sure what is going on with my grandfather's funeral. I'll be heading up to Modesto at some time within the next 3-10 days, I am sure, but aside from that, I have no clue what is going to happen. All I've wanted to do for the last two days is sleep. Family can be difficult.

Resquiat in pace

2008-01-19T16:53:00.001-08:00

James Ross Hilton
2/20/1916-1/19/2008

We had a kind of complicated relationship, but he was my grandpa and I will miss him.

Everyone Else Is Doing It

2008-01-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

So why not me?

I'm doing 101 Things in 1001 Days

You can read all about it here if you are so inclined. I'm setting up a separate blog for it so as not to get overly spammy here, though there will doubtless be some overlap of blog posts and pictures, depending.

In other news, saw Sweeney Todd last night and now I can't get the bit about Mrs. Mooney's Pie Shop out of my head because she uses pussycats (and them is quick!) and my favorite threat when the kittens are being naughty is that I am going to bake them into pies. With a nice bubbly gravy.

So that was a good laugh.

There've been some real ups and downs in the last few weeks, but I'm pretty happy overall. I have been seeing someone pretty fantastic for about a month and change now, and that seems to be going fairly swimmingly. Internet dating kind of worked out, eh? Plus The Handsome Cabin Boy is well though I see him infrequently, because he is busy training for the AIDS Ride most of the time now.

The oldest has a piece at the MOCA (LA Museum of Contemporary Art) that was installed last Tuesday and will remain on display for about a month. Official artist's reception is this weekend from 2-4 and if any locals are interested in going and seeing the show (it's put on by the AVPA at Culver High School) just drop me a comment and I will get you details. It's an adjunct to the Murakami exhibit, so you can get in and see his stuff at the same time!

The youngest was mugged for her backpack on school grounds last week. The culprit made off with her iPod and other belongings, but she was unharmed and responded by getting spitting mad. The boy who perpetrated the act was twice her size and a high schooler to boot. Such a Big Man On Campus, he had to mug a 13 year old middle schooler? He is as yet uncaught and will probably remain so as the school is doing nothing about it and are understaffed as far as security guards go. Little Miss Feisty tried to run him down and get her backpack back after he took off. I am glad she didn't catch him as that is a good way to get hurt, but we all do admire her gumption to try. We have, of course, already replaced the iPod - which was her big Xmas present this year. How much does it suck to have it stolen less than a month after?

Public schools, I am telling you. Infuriating. They're both taking self defense classes this semester.

And off I go to knock some stuff off my list.

2008-01-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

I swear to god I don't know how those two skeins of Handmaiden got into my shopping cart at The Loopy Ewe. A kind of sickness, it just came over me. "Cashmere. Sea silk. Meriiiinoooooo.... springy leafy green!!" the voice whispered in my ear. "Come on baby. You know you want some."

And... and... I did. I wanted it bad.

So I got it.

Ayeah, that "I am not buying any new yarn until I destash a bit." is going really well for me, here, heading into 2008.

ABC Along

2008-01-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

I missed this last year! The ABC ALONG all fresh for 2008.

A is for...
Art supplies... watercolor pencils, ink, brushes, and pencils specifically. Impossible to capture the boxes and boxes of art crap I've got stashed around the apartment but I do seem to accumulate lots of tools and stuff related to making everything from fabric to clay to fiber arts and a bunch of stuff in between.

Artisan handcrafts... handspun yarn, a glazed pitcher made with my own hands, and art made by other people - muertos from Oaxaca, a stained glass child's toy from the Renaissance Faire.

Artifacts... from childhood - a miniature spinning wheel that belonged to my grandmother, sent to me by my cousin when he learned that I love to spin.

Art Trading Cards... my new time suck. This was just a doodle, having fun and getting to play with new pencils. Prefect's Bathroom. Remember Moaning Myrtle?

I'm trying to do something creative every day in 2008, whether it's spinning, knitting, painting, sketching, beading or some other craft. Last year was all about letting the ground lay fallow. This year I'd like to get into making art again. Not for sale necessarily, but for myself.

It seems to be a theme I keep seeing repeated. Lots of folks out there trying to reconnect to their creative spark and give it the worth and weight it deserves.

Have a Happy Period!

2008-01-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

IN which I pull on my ranty panties...

Tonight I had to run to the drugstore so that I could buy some “feminine hygiene products” because in a house with 3 women of childbearing age (ok, two of ‘em had best not be bearing any children until after grad school and I’m done but you know what I mean), we tend to run out real fast.

SO there I am, in the “feminine hygiene” aisle, staring at this vast array of plastic wrapped, colorful, over-packaged products in complete bafflement. And I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share with my readers.

First. “Feminine Hygiene products.” Ok, nuff said. How about “Stuff for when you are bleeding because you’re a girl and that happens.” or just “Maxipads and Tampons” there in the aisle header.

Second. Wings. On maxi pads. Okay? Who thought that up? Who thought little plastic sticky wings were a good idea? This is not a remake of Aladdin for my vagina. I am not going to fly anywhere. It is not a whole new world. Why then, I ask, do I need wings? Can someone answer this question?

“To keep your panties fresh.” I am sure some Madison Ave. exec is muttering. “Duh.”

I am here to state, for the record, that wings don’t help with the freshness issue. What wings do is get all stuck the wrong way and then when you try to adjust things, they stick themselves to the bottom of the pad and become unusable. Then there you are, in the second stall in the ladies room, swearing at your panties and wondering why your coworkers all look at you funny when you walk out. And if you do by some lucky chance get the wings wrapped around there right, creating a little plastic freshness ensuring panty burrito, the odds are very good that at some point during your day (unless you have a Brazilian), a stray hair will work its way into the adhesive, creating a very painful pulling sensation that must be rectified immediately. And there you are, casually limping into the nearest broom closet or bathroom to fix things but trying to look as if you haven’t a care in the entire world.

“Well gee whiz, Martha Sue. That there gal sure does have a curious hitch in her gitalong.”

Thank you Madison Avenue, I’ll skip the panty burrito. The only reason I might want wings anywhere near my panties is so that the rabid mongoose currently residing in my uterus can hop on and fly away, back to rabid mongoose cramps land.

Third. Little adhesive strips that read, “Have a happy period.” I’m sorry? Have a happy what? What is that all about? Please refer to item #1 and the part where I talked about the rabid mongoose. There is nothing you can write on my hygiene products that is going to help with that. Unless I suddenly get a houseboy with mad skills at hot fudge sundaes and foot massage, I probably am not going to have a happy period. At last put something helpful on there like, “How about a nice cabernet?” or “For God’s sake, eat some chocolate.” or even “Put the .22 down and go take a nap.”

Madison Avenue, I don’t want pink plastic or cartoons, cute little sayings, quotes, pearlescent coverings, tampax dusted with pixie dust or symbolic flowers. I don’t need six sizes and absorbencies of ultrathin now with super absorbent power and wings and a cute quote on the back plus flower fresh perfume. I am not embarrassed by my body’s functions and do not need these things to make the experience more palatable to myself or anyone else. BUT I am a little abashed when I have to stand there blocking the aisle for ten minutes scratching my head and trying to figure out which box of “hygiene” products has been specially formulated for my specific needs while some pubescent box boy unpacks aspirin 7 feet away. That process is not palatable to me one bit.

If you’re going to try to make the experience a little nicer? I wouldn’t say boo to a complimentary Ritter Bar or 3 pack of Godiva truffles inside each package. Or a coupon for a nice Merlot. That would not be overkill, in my book.

And for god’s sake? Lose some of the plastic over-packaging. I really don’t want to destroy the environment over this.

Next time on The Too Much Information Channel… trying to buy over the counter yeast infection treatments. Why they keep that shit locked up behind plexiglass and why I always get the one clueless male checker who has to shout across the store “What kind of YEAST CREAM did you want again, lady?” when I have three frat boys in the line behind me, is beyond me. Hilarity always ensues.

2008-01-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Got the camera back! And here, in glorious 2 ply color, is my finished yarn from Funky Carolina's "Unearthed" roving. Her colorways are so very pretty. It's definitely more underplied than I wanted, which is what I figured would happen after setting the twist. I think the main problem is that I've been going too fast. I need to slow it way down when I'm plying. Naturally, this means I need more singles in order to properly test my theory.

This is going to be some gothtastic sock yarn when it's all said and done, y'all. "Enough With The Girly" dyed by Sachi. Eggplant, plum, charcoal and deep deep green, subtly shading one into the other. Gorgeous.

More than anything these days, just having a little extra time to sit down at my wheel and spin for a little while makes me feel happy.