20,115

That's how many stitches remain on the Flirty Ruffles Shawl. I'm beginning to think I am cursed until the damn thing is done. I managed to get two rows done tonight. That doesn't seem like much until you realize there is 2,235 stitches per row. I went to SnB with nothing else to make sure I work on it. 8 more row plus the bind off....let's see if I can get this ruffly monkey off my back.

I should be off to bed now. I don't think the gin and tonic was the best way to settle my stomach.

Productive of sorts

Sorry I've been quiet for so long. Its been a little nuts. Work has been busy. I've not been getting as much done as I would like. Some days its like running through porridge. The other morning the opening manager couldn't get out of their driveway because of the snow and called me to go open the store. Unfortunately I was still naked at the time and said it would be a little while. That just threw me off for the rest of the day. Its been nothing but Mondays in that building for a while.

I have been far more productive here at home. (when I'm not coming home dead tired). I finally finished a project for a friend of mine. She asked me to paint these little table and chairs for her grandchildren, design totally up to me. I obsessed over how to do it and ran through about 40 different and elaborate ideas until I settled on this. Simple but cute. The pattern is from some fabric I adore. I plan to use it on my walls somewhere in the house. I'm all but done with these. I just need to find a space to spray lacquer them. Its too cold in the garage and I'm afraid of the flammability factor in the basement. I'm a fireman's daughter and Dad would kick my ass if I blew up the house. I finished these while watching a Dark Shadows marathon of my own making. I'm almost done with Collection 2.

I've done some knitting but can't show it. Gifts. I know I'm suppose to be doing some selfish knitting but I'm struggling where to begin on that front. I had so much more to say but have forgotten most of it. I'm a bit spacey today. Toodles.

Chaotic Meanderings Of A Wannabe Dreamer

How fitting when a random generator hits the nail on the head. Today's title has been brought to you by the Blog Title Generator. The only thing closer would be the Chaotic Meanderings of a Premenstrual Migraine Ravaged Bitch Queen. Yes, today is not going so well. I started spotting yesterday and I have the migraine this morning. Apparently no baby for us. Plus I didn't sleep very well last night because of work. I either stressed about work or had work related dreams. Man that pisses me off. I had such a wonderful several days off...the first day back in a row of five and I'm already a ball of stress, clenching my jaw and tight little shoulders. Bah, screw them.

Being that this wonderful time of month is imminent for me, I want to pass on some sisterly advice. I haven't bought a pad or tampon in over 3 years! Yep. Not a single one. I use a menstrual cup and they are the best things ever. BEST. THINGS. EVER!!! Personally I use the Diva cup but here is also the Keeper and the Moon cup. Check out the links. I will say I have horrible painful and heavy periods...or rather I did. It hasn't cured them completely but they are shorter and lighter. And the best part is that my chronic girly infections (UTI's and yeast) have stopped. I sound like an infomercial, don't I. Sorry but I can't help but feel the need to share this advice. I could go on and on about my feelings about how menstruation is portrayed and we are taken advantage of by the "feminine product" industry, but I won't. I'll spare you that. Here's a great book on it though, aptly titled The Curse. Here is also a fabulous essay by Gloria Steinem that I first read in college: If Men Could Menstruate. It really makes you think, then it really pisses you off. I think I'm in angry feminist mode today. Must be the subscription to BUST that Obsidian Kitten got me. (btw, got my first issue, love it!)

Anywho I also make my own pads. . This is where I got the idea. I've altered their instructions a bit. I've ditched the whole terry cloth idea and make mine all out of flannel. I'm mostly telling you all this because I'm about to make a new batch and I so have to show off the fabric. I couldn't resist this fabric. I may go back and buy more to make some jammies. I know it is pink but it balances that out with Princess Leia armed with one hell of a blaster. Here are the other two fabrics I have used in the past. The ones with the cats say "glamour puss". They are so comfortable and it helps when you feel crap and are leaking like a sieve to know you are armed with Princess Leia packing a blaster or Glamour Puss gear. I'm planning on some leopard print but I am having trouble finding that in flannel. If you make your own just remember to buy regular 100% cotton flannel. NOT the stuff that is flame proofed for kids pajamas. We are trying to have less chemicals in our system. Not more.

I'm sure this whole post seems bizarre and messed up. You can can just chalk it up to being hormonal with a migraine on a lack of sleep if you like. Or just realize the freak in me is starting to show through.

Knits at noon

Good god how did it get to be noon already?!?!?

I do have some knitting to show. I finished the baby hat and booties as well as the blanket for our friends baby.

The hat and socks are from Debbie Bliss The Baby Knits Book and are done in Debbie Bliss Merino DK. I ran out of blue and had to frog the whole hat to cannibalize the earflaps to finish the socks. I knit the hat in the round as opposed to flat as the pattern is written. Why do seams when you don't need to? I also added a row of crochet around the edge of the hat to tighten it up.

The blanket had more adventure as well. Once again I ran out of the blue. But this time it was mystery yarn. All I know is that it was a kitchen cotton but couldn't find anything to match. I had intended for 5 rows of squares. Then I planned on the border with a verigated but nothing matched that blue. So I did a seed stitch border in the cream. That I know is Lily Sugar 'n Cream.

I have a few WIPs to finish but I am looking for my next project which has to be a selfish one. Hrm...what to knit. I'm always at such a loss when I finish a project. I sort of flounder around looking through my books and magazines until I get my needles going again. I'm often like that at the end of a show as well. Not sure what to do with all of my free time. I am making an effort to finish all ongoing projects around the house by April 1st. I have several furniture projects cluttering up the basement.

Bah!

The new yarn store near me is closed on Sunday's. Doesn't that figure. I'm also on the hunt for a pattern for my skein of Lorna's Laces sportweight. The intended pattern calls for worsted. So the hunt is on.

I've changed my colors again. These are much better. More icy, like outside.

Cooking and colors

As you can tell, I've been playing with my template. I'm not happy with the colors. I still want to create a three column template and I wouldn't mind a patterned background. I just need to figure out how the heck to do all that. In the meantime these lovely jars of my home canned goods have become sauce. My domestic superpowers continue unchecked as I made a pot of meatballs and used the extra ground meat to prepare a meatloaf to cook tomorrow night. I even wore an apron! What is going on here?!?...(and no Jenny I didn't weave in the ends as I went. I did on the black and red one though.) And my mother would be proud to know I was listening to my goomba cd while cooking all of this...all that was missing was some guys sitting around talking about whacking someone.

Ah Freedom

Sorry about the freakout on the last post. Its been a stressful week. Monday/Tuesday kinda went like this

7am: get up and go to work at store
6pm: get out of work head home and have dinner
7:30ish -9pm: lay down and try to get some rest
9:30pm- arrive at theatre and start painting
8am-finish painting and leave theatre
10am- fall into bed
1:30pm- get up
2pm- shower and get dressed
3pm- have your employee call out for the following day due to the impending snowstorm then your boss call and tell you the auditor is coming tomorrow and you need to be to work at 7 am.

yeah , it sucked... and worse yet. After driving to work in a snow/ice storm she never came!!! we did about $600 the whole day and they closed the store at 6pm. She's suppose to be there today and I am off today. Completely off. No theatre, no store, no driving to another state, no going to the hospital to have them shove stuff in me. Off and home alone with the kitties.

*sigh*

I may even scrub out the tub and take a bath with the lovely lavender stuff from Obsidian Kitten. Until then I'm in cooking mode. I'm making homemade sauce and meatballs and stuffed shells. I'm in a goomba mood today. So come on over and bring your knitting. Its all about good food, warm fires and relaxing.

ahhhhhhhhhhh

i just got a call that we will be (almost definitely) getting the auditor in the store tomorrow. damn damn damn. I'm there first thing in the morning. And my other full time person isn't going to be coming in due to the snow. Double damn. Can I just fast forward to Friday and skip all this???? Please!!! How come I never miss the auditor?

And now I have to be in an hour and half early.

Hey, guess what

Today is my little blog is 1 year old. Awww isn't it cute. Looking back I find that I haven't posted as much as I would have liked. I also need to be taking far more pictures. Those are goals for this year. I'm also going to whipping out a new look soon.


Just for fun, here is me on my first birthday. (look at all that hair! and all that pink!!) I love the demon-baby red eyes as well.

Today l learned...

that soy milk can get lumpy just like regular milk.

two more days...

just two more days to get the set done....

4 more until I have a true day off!

Domestic phase

I'm experiencing this weird domestic goddess phase. I decided to take last night off from painting since I was an hour late getting out of work and completely exhausted. I figured on a restful evening and an early start today. So I stayed home and did dishes (many that had been sitting there for a while), three loads of laundry (I even mended my love's torn clothing that I found when folding it!), unpacked the maternity clothing my sister-in-law gave me (she's cleaning out all that stuff and sent it in case I ever want it) and repacked it in a plastic bin, packed up the leftover's for love's lunch today and knit 2 squares of a new baby blanket. *whew* We never did manage to get to bed early, though I slept very well *wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean, know what I mean*

Today I was up fairly early and had a very productive morning painting before they had rehearsal. And I kept up on dishes. I also nearly made some bread but realized I didn't have time for it to rise. Its only a 5 hour break between painting shifts. I could have done much this afternoon, but decided to take it easy and knit while watching The Man in the Iron Mask. I'm just working on a baby blanket to go with the hat and booties. These are out of some random kitchen cotton (the natural I know is Sugar and Cream, the blue I have no clue). Isis grudgingly agreed to help model.

I'm starting to realize that I can stop and take some time for myself and don't have to be on the go constantly. It's a start. Well I must be off to eat before I start flinging paint again. Ciao.

Quasi-alive

Thanks everyone! I am feeling much better today. Not quite the way i want to lose weight though. And it put me a day and a half behind on painting. That's where I was for the last 13-1/2 hours. Lots of progress made but still very behind. The whole sick thing also has another negative aspect. I am a recovering anorexic/bulimic and the not eating for 2 days with lots of vomiting thrown in doesn't quite help in the recovery. I did eat some today. Not as much as I probably should have. But its a start. I'm a little scared to. Just like since the (stupid) traffic ticket I'm paranoid and think every car around me is a cop, I now think every food is potential poison. Or maybe my love was checking out my life insurance policies again. Hrm....

I did manage some knitting during my couch time yesterday. I finished the baby hat. Pictures as soon as it is blocked because right now it looks like its for a mutant baby.

ugh

apparently i'm dealing with a bout of food poisoning. I vomited from about 5pm last night until 8:30 this morning. I really should be painting but can't do much beyond lying on the couch. I'm slowly trying to reintroduce stuff into my stomach. The tea seems to be staying down and I may try soup shortly. What really sucks is having to take care of myself when I'm sick.

I hope all of you are well.

Thank you

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and words. In the end he didn't go with me. The procedure was *quite* uncomfortable. Without going into too much detail I have rather tiny anatomy. And when you try to put all those instruments in me, its not fun. I thought I would cry when the radiologist asked me to turn on my side. I felt like hell the rest of the day. Love did come home at lunch to see me, before I headed off to a hellish night at work. I won't find out any results until the end of March.

Yesterday went well. 13 hours of muslin covering and painting the set. I came home early today because I once again feel horrible. I wish I would just throw up so I can go to sleep. I wish my love were here to take care of me. He's away visiting his mum for her birthday and won't be back until Monday. (I stayed behind due to all the painting work to be done.)

I'm gonna crash on the couch for a while.

fiasco

That is what life is becoming.One big friggin fiasco

Here's the knitting fiasco since I promised some knitting. I started this project as gift for a friends new baby. I made a earflap hat in blue with a grey topknot. Then I made the sox and I was about a yard short of blue to finish the sox. *sigh* so I ripped out the hat, used one of the ear flaps to finish the sox and now restarting the hat with grey earflaps and topknot with blue body. Annoying to say the least. It is the cutest hat from a Debbie Bliss book. The kid in the picture wearing the hat is just adorable.

Work is a huge fiasco that I just can't talk about. That's one thing that sucks about being manager. Knowing all this major information but not being able to discuss it and pretending that impending doom isn't on its way. So glad I won't be there for 4 days, especially since it will all hit the fan on day one of my weekend off.

But not a real weekend off. I'll be painting like a madwoman. That is if the damn set gets built. Hire help they say. Why, NOTHING IS BUILT YET!!!!! Are we suppose to paint the air and just smack the scenery into it when its built! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Yes folks this is my chosen career. I still like it better than retail.

Tomorrow is my test at the hospital. I'm having a HSG done. I'm still freaked out. Actually my freaking out has nothing to do with the results. I've thought very little about the results. I'm irrationally worried about the test. Maybe because the last time I spent time in the hospital it was just a wee bit stressful. I had also hoped the test would be on a day off so I could pamper myself after. Nope...gotta close the store that night. My love and I have been 'discussing' if he will accompany me or not. He asked if I "needed" him for it. I replied "physically not really, emotionally most likely, but it was up to him" which is woman-speak for "yes you idiot I want you there, but since you obviously don't want to go, I won't straight out ask you to come. " Hopefully he's been studying his woman-speak dictionary. I think the reason I'm unable to ask him because my fear of the whole thing IS irrational and I'll just feel guilty if he takes time off and the whole thing is no big deal.
AHHH! I just read the side of the bottle on the antibiotic I have to take tonight before the test. "do not lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking this medication" Damn damn damn...i just wanna go to bed. *pout pout*

*sigh* I guess I'll go kill some time on QDB...at least I'll feel smarter.

Purple

Dark Purple

To others, you seem a bit dark, mysterious, and moody. In truth, you are just a very unique person who doesn't care what others think. And you really enjoy your offbeat interests and friends. You've decided that life is about living for yourself - simple as that.

What Color Purple Are You?

I don't think this will surprise anyone.

busy bee

I know I said I would post pictures and I will. Just been crazy busy between the two jobs and all the doctor's appointments. There will be a real post soon. I promise.

Found and bled dry

Well, we did find it. Apparently I put it on the corkboard in the office so I wouldn't lose it. That sums me up quite well. I do something to try and prevent a specific action and that is exactly what happens. It was found and I went and had my blood drawn. Thursday is the test that really has me on edge for reasons I cannot explain. Its a simple procedure where they flood the uterus and fallopian tubes with dye and take a x-rays to see how things look in there. I'm really freaking out about it and I don't know why. What makes it worse is that I can't have sex between now and then. They might as well tell me not to eat in that time period. Actually I think I could manage that better. Not that you really want to know any of this, but I'm not deleting.

There will be knitting pics later. I've been painting this morning and really need to shower before I touch anything.

I would lose my friggin head

But until that happens I seem to have lost my paperwork for all my in/fertility testing. Maybe this is a sign. Or maybe one of us threw it out. who the hell knows...or gnomes. Its stressing me since the blood work has to be done tomorrow. I have the paperwork for his test (and the sterile cup) but not the lab papers for either of mine.

and it is damn ass cold. too cold to do anything but cocoon myself in the down comforter. ugh.

Morning

I am slightly irritated this morning. I got up early on my day off to take love to pick up the truck from the mechanic. (Finally the damn truck is fixed!!!!) Then I headed off to the high school. I had planned to squeeze a few hours of work in despite it being a longer rehearsal day. Usually they start at 3...today its 1. I get there and they didn't lay out the flats as I had kindly requested. No I am in no way squeamish about moving heavy objects, these suckers are 12.5 feet tall double sided MDF faced (read really friggin heavy). So no painting this morning. Which puts me further behind. I'm getting a little fed up here. I have no shop. I paint where they have class and rehearsal and the damn shows keep getting bigger and bigger. Something has to give.

So now I am home with a pot of Russian tea, the laundry going and the day to myself. I think I'll clean the house until my jeans are clean and dry then head out. I'm thinking Goodwill (i need clothes) and the library. Perhaps I'll make my hair appointment at the Angry Chair. I need to do something with it soon, or I'll take scissors or a razor to it myself. I just don't know what to do with it. I didn't have a plan for it past my friends wedding back in July.

The State of the Union

So the state of the union address is tonight. I am not going to go into my politics here (though I'm sure you can guess some of them) Frankly I don't trust any of them. I have a slight (i'm sure love would argue with the word slight) tendency to be a little conspiratorial. But just because I am paranoid doesn't mean I don't have reason to be. So I always make a point of listening or watching it. And then I end up yelling a whole lot. More than I do at hockey.*gasp* Sometimes we make a drinking game of it (when watched on TV) Pick a word or two and when he says it, drink. One year love picked "weapons of mass destruction" and I drank every time the man smirked. Boy, did we get smashed that night. So have fun and remember...

Its here...

I realized a moment ago that I hadn't seen Loki for a bit. I've been up and down doing laundry and she has a bad habit of getting locked in the basement. Nope...I was getting worried until I saw this:




Its official people (despite a lack of snow) WINTER IS HERE!

Knee sox

So I went a little crazy at Target last night. They had knee socks on clearance. I LOVE knee socks and they have become difficult to find. I've not yet knit some but that's on the selfish knitting list. And I was thrilled to find socks with something other than fluffy kitties or other froofroo themes.

The sock monkey socks cracked me up so I overlooked my usual pink ban. Actually the color has been growing on me lately. I have developed a slight interest in scrapbooking too. I'm either pregnant or have developed some new girly mental illness.

Weird

Weird things about me. I'm not sure where I saw this first (or last) but its worth a shot.

1. I cannot sleep with the closet door open. In fact I make my husband sleep on the side of the bed next to the closet. I guessing this stems from seeing Poltergeist at a very young age. Let him get sucked into the netherworld. His screams will wake me and give me a chance to get away. :) And when the bedroom upstairs finally gets done, we are switching sides of the bed so he is again closest to the closet.
   
2. When punching in a time on the microwave I refuse to use round numbers. No 1 minute 30 seconds here...its 1:48 or 1:23. Why should these numbers suffer because they aren't easy math?
3. I drink pickle brine (from kosher garlic dills) and I love it.
4. I have no nails on my pinkie toes. They were removed for medical reasons.
5. I can fall off a ladder, hit the wall I am painting, hit the ladder again, hit the wall again and hit the floor all without spilling a drop of paint from the container in my hand.
6. I can identify most brands of paint and polyurethane by smell alone.
7. I will often skip, rather than walk, from point A to point B. Even at work.
   

Actual knitting

I promised some knitting pictures today and here they are:

The bag was a holiday gift for one of my employees. She s Loves pink. I'm still having a few issues with the piping on these bags. I will try an attached i-cord next time. I was rushing to get this done in time so i didn't really have time to work it out. I typically do these out of Cascade 220 but this time I used Patons Classic Wool. Very different texture. The Cascade tends to felt in a rather smooth finish, this was kinda nubby. Not a bad thing, just unexpected. It reminded me of boucle fabric, especially with the pink and black, I thought 'Chanel suit'. This experience makes me want to gather all kinds of yarn and felt swatches to have a sample book for reference. I did love the texture for these bags. Though it did take longer to felt it. However here is picture of my nifty drying method for felting. All it requires is a stool, a floor vent and a wooden spoon. Rather efficient and it confuses the cats.

This is the black and red miter square blanket that was in my hands much of my time at the hospital with my Dad. This is done in Lionbrand Homespun. As soon as I saw their new colors I knew I would be doing this blanket. It needs a little blocking before its truly finished.

I have a few more projects before I start my selfish knitting. I plan on starting my me projects in February.

Why?

Why as an adult do I need to write my name on my food in my own fridge???

Before I went away I bought a box of ice cream sandwiches. I've been craving them like crazy. Love asked if he could have one, my reply was the usual when I buy a food I am craving. Help yourself but don't eat it all. Fast forward to my return, an evening after a long day at work (read auditor showed up on first day back) and love asks if he can get me anything. "ice cream sandwich" he shies away and mumbles something. The rat bastard ate them all on me! So today I bought two boxes...one for me and one for him. I will track how many are in my box and beware if any are missing. grrrrrr

on a totally different note my avatar's costume change is in honor of us watching firefly. My love got it for Christmas. I almost forgot how much I loved that show. Damn them for canceling it!. mmmmmm.....Joss Whedon is my master now.

oh yeah...knitting pics tomorrow

Happy Birthday to me....

I live in a...tree???

Happy Birthday Elvis, David Bowie, Steven Hawkin, and ME!

Yes it is my birthday and I'm 30. My mother didn't even know how old I was this year! The celebration aspect has been somewhat delayed due to Dad's surgery and such. We had a meeting tonight at 6pm so that kills most dinner plans and I'm not drinking right now so the bar would be no fun.

Maybe I'll just pop on over to the Webs site and by myself a boatload of yarn....

Just about everyone else has done a New Year's list. Since its only a week later I kinda consider my birthday my own new year. So here's mine (I will add things periodically as I think of them):

• Learn to play chess (and checkers). yes i am the only freak on this planet above the age of 3 who doesn't know how to play checkers.
• Switch to a new and better GP.
  
• Get up to date with all doctors visits and medical stuff
• Knit at least 1 sweater, 1 shrug, 1 shawl and 1 bag for myself. And yes they should actually fit me.
  
• Exercise 3 times a week.
• Get back on track with a healthier diet
• More fruit/vegetables-less red meat
• More homemade-less convenience food
• More fiber-less things like dip and gravy

• Indulge my 4 year old self at least once a week
• Get my finances in order
• Have a body of artwork to show by next October

That's good for now, I think.

I'm back...

And my Daddy is doing great! He was out of the hospital in record time. I even have pictures of everything (but don't worry, I won't post them). He insisted on the pictures. Yes, much of my weirdness comes from him...but not all.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts and words of support. Now I can breathe a little.

Off again...

I'm heading off shortly to see my family for a week or so. Tomorrow is Dad's surgery and I'm not sure if I'll be able to post much.

I will be knitting however. Sitting around in a hospital full of nervous energy...I should get a fair amount done. Here's what I am bringing.

THE SHAWL...I'm still on the damn ruffles but it is almost done.
The black/red mitered blanket
The blue twin socks (nearly done)
a smattering of baby hats and booties.

My goal is to finish all this other stuff before I start on a run of selfish knitting. Yes, my vow for 2007 is to knit something for myself! probably with skulls on it. I have yet to knit myself a sweater...all I own made by my own needles are 3 pairs of socks and several scarves. I have a stack of patterns waiting in the wings and a stash in the hope chest (which love found the other day...now that it is cold enough for sweaters...oops) . I'll be 30 on Monday so my new year kinda starts then.

I'll try to update while I am gone. Happy knitting. (sorry if this was rambling...not quite focused at the moment)

What are the odds...

of twins?!?
This happened completely on accident. The yarn was balled without consideration of color. I merely pulled out an end and started knitting. Trust me I couldn't do this if I tried. The yarn is foliage by Berocco. It was bought intended for my feet, but now it will be on my mums.

Good day/bad day

I had today off from the store and the plan was to get up fairly early and head to the school and start painting the show. That didn't quite happen. I had changed the time on my alarm so I didn't have to be up quite so early but then forgot to turn it on. What actually woke me up was the smoke detector plummeting to a not so graceful landing on the tile floor below. No clue why...maybe all the times it has randomly gone off late were cries for help and just couldn't take it any more.

I had a pretty good day paint wise. I over came the the drawing obstacles that were thwarting me on Christmas day (yes I went and worked Christmas day)
This is what I started with. My love and I had snapped a 1' grid over the flats on Christmas. I cover the renderings with plastic wrap and draw the same grid in scale on the plastic. From this I draw on the flats with charcoal. Usually the drawing is done on kraft paper (especially if one is painting on fabric) which is then transfered to the scenery. The paper is more forgiving and even comes with a grid printed on it. For the sake of time and money, I was doing this directly on the flats



I started on the sky and finished the drawing while that dried. Once the charcoal was what it should be I go over it with Sharpie. and then flog away the charcoal. That is the fun part. This is my flogger...I inherited the leopard print flogger but it has become one of my trademarks now. Basically it works like it sounds...you hold the stick and flog away the charcoal.


Once that was done I laid in the base colors on the wall. Then a little more work on the sky. It is nice when you can rotate on a project. Really half the job is waiting for paint to dry.



Then some detail and shading on the wall.






Last I threw some green down to base in the bushes.






The play list for todays painting was as follows:
First a little NPR then CD's
Enigma-MCMXC A.D.
Medieval Babes- The Rose
GreenDay - American Idiot
Evanescence- The Open Door
Rob Zombie- Hellbilly Deluxe
System of a Down- Toxicity

So the bad part of the day. Other than the late rude awakening. I got a stupid traffic ticket. I turned left out of the school like I always do...except you're not suppose to between 3:30 and 6:30 weekday. Now this normally isn't an issue for me because I'm never leaving at that time. Rehearsal is typically 3 to 6. So I'm either already gone or just showing up at those hours. Well school is out right now, so there I was, not even thinking about it and now I have a ticket worth $103. I feel like such an idiot and irritated as hell. With so much going on in my life right now, and so much stress, I know I am on the verge of my breaking point. I'm trying to keep this ticket from being what cuts the thread on my sword of Damocles. *breathe*

Waiting is the hardest part...

I'm down in the studio waiting for a bag to felt. So I thought I would write a few words.

First I want to amend the gift list from my secret pally. She also gave me domiKNITrix. I forgot it because it rocks so much that I hid it away until I was done knitting holiday gifts. I was too tempted to knit a boatload of stuff for me. I actually squealed with delight when I realized that the cover is black vinyl. Mmmmmmmm.....black vinyl.

Christmas was lovely. Getting up to be at work at 6:30 this morning wasn't.

Its cold and I hate winter.

And in two weeks I'll be 30.

Need I say more?

Tis the season for...

(to quote my Dad) PRESENTS!!!!!

And I have made out like a bandit lately.

First was the lovely box from my PRGE (not so) secret pally Obsidian Kitten.
The spray of real lavender sits on my night stand. A bag of homemade kitty treat mix for when my girls decide to be good. Lavender and oatmeal soap with two candles graced by a spunky Catwoman action figure. Chocolate...oh the chocolate...one bar is Belgian and the second is Swiss. The Swiss one is called Art Bar and a portion of the sale goes to Art Education programs. How could you make chocolate more perfect. And then there is the Homespun handknit hat made of "llama/corridale & mixed wool" And it fits perfect. (maybe I'll get a pic when love and I are home the same time.) Thank you thank you thank you. You were the perfect secret pally even though you weren't quite so secret. It was fun to pretend though.

Then came Yankee swap night at our stitch n bitch. There is a play by play posted here by Karen. I ended up swiping my final gift which was brought by Amy. It is a Knit Picks pattern for a cup cozy and coasters in a beautiful snowflake pattern. I admired this when she was knitting some of her own a few weeks before...little did I know. She also included the needles needed and enough yarn (Knit Picks Telemark ) to make a set in green, red and blue. I can't wait to knit these.

And then to top it off, my love won 5 free yoga classes at his company holiday party. (I couldn't go, I had to work) He gave them to me since yoga really isn't his thing. I guess that Lorna's Laces from O'Kitten is going to be made into yoga socks sooner than I thought!

First lines

I got this meme from my kick-ass Secret Pally.

What is the first sentence you posted at the beginning of each month in 2006?

January:
(Didn't have blog then)

February:

And so it begins...

I have been meaning to start this thing for a while.

March:

The Gnomes are back

You know...gnomes...those pesky little critters that move stuff around your house.

April:

Paint & Yarn

That's what it has mostly been about lately.

May:

I know I haven't blogged in a while...i'm a bad little blogger.

June:

The Lusty Month of May

Tra La!
(bonus points to you who know what that is from)

July:

ever onward

6 is done despite having to rip back to the life line 3 rows in.

August:

I'm ok

Thank you everyone for your encouragement.

September:

Punk Rock Gift Exchange Questionaire

Here it is ...in all its freakish glory.

October:

Busy Season

Did I mention this is my BusySeason?

November:

yep

a lot has happened. Halloween has come and gone.

December:

Calendar days

I just bought our 2007 calendar.

There it is. It is amazing to see that there was knitting content once upon a time. I'll have to get back to that...someday.

What I really want for Christmas...

is a homing device for my mug of tea. Damn thing keeps hiding on me!


I know I've been quiet lately. I've been a bit of a wreck and not in the right mind to post. I found out last week that my Dad (who is the coolest Dad in the world, btw) needs open heart surgery for multiple bypasses. So I've been crying on and off consistently since then. His family doesn't have the best track record for heart stuff. His parents both died young. My aunt died at 49. My uncle had a bypass last year. And everyone is on meds for heart disease. Plus the timing has my morbid sense of doom activated since everyone in my life tends to die this time of year.

So what I really REALLY want is my Daddy to be ok. I'd even give up my stash for that.

(have to go...crying again)

Deck the Halls

Last week was spent moving furniture and this week is decorating. Christmas is both a good and bad holiday for me. It is second to Halloween in my favorite. The good parts of Christmas are romantic and fun. Being a divorced kid, it had its really bad parts...fighting over who got me when. That and lots of people in my life die at Christmas.


Here's our tree. Yes its a fake one. I do fake for several reasons. One, I don't like killing trees for my own entertainment. There are enough stupid people in the world who deserve that honor. Two, they are messy and Isis won't stop drinking the water. Three , we have an active fireplace and its not worth the fire hazard. (can you tell i'm a firefighter's daughter)



One of my favorite parts of our tree is the topper. It is pure retro. That is the tree topper my Mom had as a kid. Inside the globe is a cylinder of lighting gel that is blacked out with a pattern of different colored translucent stars. That sits over a light bulb and the heat of the bulb makes it spin. All those lights that you see on the wall shift in and out of colors. It drives the cats nuts but its absolutely beautiful when the room is all dark. Mom and I use to just curl up on the couch together and watch the tree.


This is my new addition this year. I have a bunch of the vases left over from various centerpieces. I bought all the glass ornaments with my work discount, filled them and lined them up on the mantle. See the knitted Santa face stocking. One of my cousins (2nd cousin I think....who really cares...a cousin is a cousin) knit all the kids in the family a variation on that. His beard and the fur on his hat are angora. Wow...that stocking is almost 30 yrs old!

That's all for now...I have to go get ready for work. I hate being an adult sometimes.

Calendar days

I just bought our 2007 calendar. We alternate who buys it every year to avoid any disputes. I always agonize over the buying of the calendar. It's going to be a fixture in our house for the whole year; I don't want something that sucks. The top runners this year were the Magnetic Poetry Calendar,Pin Up , Boris Vallejo, Klimt.
Instead I settled on this one. Its pretty, informative and has the moon phases on it. I hate it when I get one with out the moon phases on it. Especially when my cycle is in sync with the moon. Like it is now...It was a full moon last night and I'm fertile. That's pretty close to lock-her-up crazy. All I need is a cupcake, a fit of giggles and a slurpee and/or a margarita to push me over the edge. Watch out!

Kittens for Christmas

Damn, damn, damn! Another person backed out of taking some of these kittens off our hands. I really don't want six cats right now. This is what I get for being nice and saving them from the coyote. I may just wrap them up and start sending them to family and friends.

Here's some pics of them. They are warming up to us. I think after some time they will be fine as house cats. I don't recommend them for people with children, or people who insist on picking up and cuddling their cats. These are the kind of cats who must come to you. We are also insisting that they are adopted in pairs...you take 2 or 4. I don't want to split them into singles.

This is Juno (or Junior since she looks just like Momma). She's the first one who would eat out of our hand. Unfortunately for our hands she would try to drag it off when she was done eating.



This darling is Phaedra. She's by far the bravest and the most comfortable with us. She's also the only long hair in the bunch. She's the first out to eat and the last to run away.








This is Sam. He's the lone boy and rather shy. He watches you constantly though. He likes to sit up high. Out in the garage he was the one who would climb the ladder or jump on the higher cabinets. He's also the only one to attempt to leave the studio...I do believe he's seen the rest of the basement a few times.



This is Spec. She's the 'fraidy cat and the hissy one. She's also the one famous for the paw in the face while they are eating. She's usually the first to run and cram herself back into a corner.

Adventures in moving furniture

Suddenly the bookcase was harder to move...

Black Friday and beyond

Ugh! Well its over but really it is just the end of the beginning. I survived Black Friday. I had to close on Wednesday night...we were there until about 11pm setting the two day ad. Then I was at work 5~friggin~30 in the morning on Friday. I should not be seeing stars in the sky when I go into work. The next day was a 7:30 and the last two were 8:30...but I pulled an open to close last night because my closer called out. I feel like I fought off a band of drunken bloodthirsty vikings. I didn't kill anyone for those of you who have wondered. I came very close with the jackass who was both lying to me and haggling for a better price. First rule, if you want me to cut you a deal...don't lie to me. Especially about my employees. Asshole!

But now I have two days off in a row. woo hoo! and I'm missing a big corporate visit in all of this. I'm planning on some shopping, some knitting, some painting and a bunch of furniture re-arranging and maybe a touch of Holiday Decorating.

I have a feeling we will be staying here for Christmas. That is both good (not having to drive 5 hours either direction) and bad (depressing with out all the family on a holiday). I've not had a Thanksgiving with my family since I moved out here in 1999. I've either been stuck with a retail schedule or in the middle of loading in a Christmas show.

But here's something that I knit in the last week. Its a scarf for a gift so I can't say too much. Its done out of the Patons SWS which is soy and wool. It is a single ply. I really like the feel and the sheen. Being a single ply it is a little splitty, but I would knit with it again. The stitch is just a double moss stitch, but it is one of my favorites. It's easy but it has a lovely texture.

Well I'm off to get things going...its a gloomy day and hard to get motivated.

Happy Turkey Day!!

I hope you all have a lovely day and if you need me to bail you out of jail for killing any relatives, I'm here for you. It's like I've said before....I don't care who I look like. I'm adopted.

Cheers!

Pies!

I had every intention of blogging yesterday but I was in pie making mode. All of that also included a huge trip to the grocery store. Unfortunately the guy bagging my groceries cracked the bottle of sour mix. I poured it off into another bottle but it wasn't big enough for all of it so I was forced to have a few whiskey sours while baking. Ah, the sacrifices I make.
The pies are a big deal this year because last year there were none. The oven decided to die 2 days before Thanksgiving. It would do that every now and then but this time it was forever. Luckily the stove top still worked, and even better we weren't expecting guests. We survived however...I got a small turkey breast and cooked it in the crock-pot. Everything else was done on the stove or in the toaster oven.

But not this year...this year we have a HUGE turkey and a shiny new oven. So we have pies.

I also have pics of the kittens to post, but unfortunately I have to work tonight...

Tarot card quiz

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Thwarted yet again

So I'm downstairs felting some gifts and I thought that this would be the perfect time to get my new to me computer set with my stuff. Love got me my own jump drive and I'm all set to transfer all my bookmarks and documents and such...except for one hitch. I don't see the usb port. I'm use to those being in the front and there isn't one there. Now I may be completely dense on this, but i'm not about to start shoving my jump drive into anything that looks like it may fit.. Good for me that I married a computer genius. Too bad he's working like a bazillion hours the next few weeks.

Inspired by Lani, here's a my knitting wish list of future projects:

Gatsby Girl Pullover
Liv
Ljod
Belle Epoque
Gyrid
Ballet Wrap Cardigan
Fur Trimmed Wrap
Union Square Market Sweater
Veste Everest
Ballet Wrap
Tubey
Corset Tank Top
Icarus Shawl
I Do
Anouk
Hedera
Very Tall Socks
Knucks
Cigar
Bambozelle
Marley's Ghost
Womb

So that's enough to keep me busy for a while. That's not counting all the gift knits that lay before me.

*sigh* I have a crush...

Last night I realized that I have a crush on Cary Grant. Love is loading in A Christmas Carol and I really won't see him (except in small glimpses) for a few weeks. So last night I made myself some dinner and sat down with my needles, some wool and some movies. I watched Charade (I adore Audrey Hepburn as well...And I must have that wardrobe!)...once done I decided to make it a film fest and popped in An Affair to Remember. (again...i need that wardrobe...especially that first dress she is in).
And it dawned on me that I have a crush on Cary Grant. My love looked at me with his usual "ok, I married a freak" look that he as been perfecting lately. He already knows about my Johnny Depp crush. I guess its better than having a crush on someone I can actually interact with. And besides...it keeps me home on the couch and out of the yarn stores. Though I really need to invest in more old/classic movies. I absolutely adore them and not having cable they are rarely on my tv. These are my only two with Cary in them. My only Audrey as well. I know...shame on me.

The knitting went well...I can't say much or show anything yet as it is a surprise.

Lacking in knit

I'm sorry about the lack in knitting pics lately. What little knitting I have been doing has either been boring furry scarves for charity or secret present knitting. I should have something soon. But here's something that I created in my shady past.

These are the first pair of socks that I ever knit.

arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

i want one day, just one friggin' day where i can go into work and not find 10,000 mistakes by my people. Today I was greeted with the fact they have been ringing in our custom orders wrong...no wonder our numbers suck. this is not fucking rocket science....it's retail. its not that hard!

damn you html

I'm trying to do some blog changes and i just don't get this html stuff. and I don't know where or how to get help. It also doesn't help that my house is slightly smoky to the self-clean cycle running on my oven.

But on a positive note the rain is keeping me from having to rake all of this