Saturday, December 30, 2006

Saturday Sky - 30 December


Yet another lovely Saturday - this one in central Ohio.

I hope your transition into the new year finds you surrounded with family and friends. I've been visiting with family for much of December, and am a wee bit discombobulated. Yes, I finished the scarf. More on that when I find time. :)

Happy New Year, my friends.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

I'm Quirky

Lynn has tagged me with the 'How Weird Are You?' meme. Thanks, dear, for coaxing me to display my weirdnessess for all to see.

It goes like this... “THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

As I have always walked a bit outside of the mainstream, I long ago decided that I'm quirky, not weird. YMMV.

1. I'd rather spend quality time with my computer than watch network TV.

2. Unless what's on is something Whedonesque.

3. I was quite shy as a child, to the point of physical pain when thrust into social situations like school. I was also surrounded by adults who seemed to think desensitizing me was the answer. Ah, well. At least I know not to do it to my son. Lingering remnants of this: I hate to talk on the phone, unless the person I'm talking to is chatty. I'm perfectly willing to hold up my end of the conversation if the other person will do most of the heavy lifting.

4. Since I was very young, I have a tendency to lose words while I'm talking. Not the same word each time, and in no discernable pattern. I'll be talking along, and a perfectly normal word (e.g. "road") will drop from my vocabulary. I can drive on it, point to it, look at it, but cannot find the stinkin' word for it. I've become adept at talking around it.

Me: "We need to cross the horizontal hard surface with cars on it. Hold my hand."
Child: "You mean the ROAD, Mom?"
Me: "Road! That's it! Yes, the road. Hold my hand."

My children are so proud when they fill in for Mommy. What's doubly frustrating is when they fill in the wrong word and I can't think of the right word to correct them. Heh.

5. I still want to be an artist when I grow up. Maybe someday I'll actually take a class.

6. I can't do anything and listen to complex music at the same time. I forget what I'm doing and sit, mesmerized, instead. Now, your everyday radio sort of music is all right... hum along and knit.

You know, I found it extremely difficult to think of stuff about myself. I kept wanting to tell you about my kids instead. Does that mean I don't want to share, or that I'm one of those moms? Hrmmmm.

At any rate, now you know. I'm sure I'll think of something amazing I could have told you instead, you know, right after I hit 'submit'. I'm not going to tag anyone, just as I don't send along email jokes. I enjoy reading them, but I don't want to bother anyone else with them. I'm quirky that way. So, if you'd like to play along, consider yourself tagged and let me know you did. I'd love to hear how quirky you are, too.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Saturday Sky - 16 December




Welcome to the south. 75 degrees and beautiful in northern Florida.



Tuesday, December 12, 2006

A Frog Says, "Rip-it!"

A Cautionary Tale for New Lace Knitters


This is what an incorrect sl2-k1-p2sso looks like.
This is what a correct sl2-k1-p2sso looks like, after you re-read the directions and discern your mistake. sl2 together. TOGETHER, folks.
This is how long you - okay, I - can knit, thinking “I hope that blocks out…” before re-reading the directions and actually seeing what they say.




This is what the scarf looks like now. Thirteen days. I can make it. Gotta go now.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Saturday Sky - 9 December

Blue as blue can be. It was actually crisp here today - the high was in the high 40's. The kids could have worn their hats, if only their heads were bigger. :)

I'm thinking sport weight yarn and some fair isle... AFTER the holidays, of course. Still knitting on pressies; can't start something new now!

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

I'd Burn it in Effigy...

...but it would smell too much.

While up in Ohio last month, I was hit with the urge to knit. Anything. NOW. So, when we went into a store for something else and Tweedledee fell in love with some yarn, I agreed to make him a hat.

So what if the yarn is little ugly. And fuzzy. And acrylic. I'm okay with that. I buy the yarn and new needles, and set to work. And lose stictches. It's impossible to tell a knit from a purl in this stuff, let alone find a dropped stitch. The dropped stich mocks me; I know it's there, but it hides. It gloms onto nearby stitches with its fuzzy little fingers, promising to run a bit later when I stop looking for it. Ah, but I KNOW it's there. I won't stop looking until I've frantically pushed and pulled on every part of the hat, trying to get it to run a bit so I can SEE it. Insidious little bugger won't move. Oh well; it's only been 5 inches. I'll fix that stitch. Cackling, I frog the entire thing and start again. Five inches and another lost stitch later, I do it again. And, yes, a third time, albeit without the cackling this time. It is not lost on me at this point that I could have made the hat twice over by now.

So, I proudly claim defeat and knit this instead:

It's too big for him, and it makes me cringe because the cast on is too tight. But, he loves it, and that is what counts.

Started:21 November 2006
Finished:2 December 2006
Pattern:You must be joking.
Yarn:Lion brand Lion Suede, Color #110 (Denim). Less than a skein.
Needles:Clover 7" bamboo dpns, size US 8
Notes:Decreased every row at top to see what a boxier hat top would be like. Don't do that again. Bamboo needles with suede yarn is grippy-yarn-overkill. Didn't need ends to keep stitches from slipping off the needle, but also had to fight with the yarn. Don't do that again, either.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Saturday Sky - 2 December


OK, so technically it's Sunday, but here's a photo I snapped from our car on Saturday afternoon. If you look in the middle of the photo, you'll see what I was trying to capture: a sundog. Here it is a little closer-up:



Hope you all had a lovely day.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Shhhh! He's twacking a meme!

OK, as doctoral theses go, this guy has a cool one - he has postulated the way a meme spreads on the 'net. He wishes all of us to participate by spreading this little nugget around the blogosphere in a way that he can track. I'm not one for pleading or cajoling, but do consider participating. I remember being a grad student, and the more data the better! Besides, he has a sense of humor:

"...a script I've written will track this meme (via Technorati) across the internet in 10 minute intervals. It will record the number of links to this post, register their authority and create a database the very size of which will cause my poor processor to fall tumbling, in flames, down a steep cliff. (So be it. We all must makes sacrifices in the name of science.)"

Heh. Go forth and help. His plea and instructions are here.

(For anyone who cares, I found this meme through Mamacate's blog.)