The family is here, and it is great to have them! They get along great with the cat and don't seem to mind that I've dragged them to every yarn shop around. I've got my mom knitting wish for her crochet needles, and my dad enjoying his reading time.
We had a great time at my sister's and took the folks to a drag show brunch on Sunday. Fabulous!! And hilarious. I am making mom a new pair of mittens because I made the first ones in wool and didn't realize that she was allergic. Looking back, I should have figured that out before hand. Ah well, now she is getting the pattern she wants, in the colorway she wants all made from llama and silk. I have no doubt that these gloves/mittens will be with her for years to come. Now if I can only get dad to wear his hat....
We drove home in ice tonight from a play and are hoping for snow by morning. It is a definet possibility. We are crossin our fingers and keeping the draps open so we can see when it snows. Can't wait. So long as we don't drive any long distances tomorrow, it is going to be beautiful either way, ice or snow.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Frantic
So I have guests coming to visit and I am in a complete panic. Will they care if I haven't scrubbed the baseboards recently? Not really. They are here to see me and my lovely, newly engaged sister. Here I am running around the house frantic. This morning at 4:30 am I bleached out my trash can. Are they going to even notice? No. And really I hope not.
My Christmas knitting isn't near done, but there has been a development in the sweater for my sister. I've FINALLY figured out the pattern correction for the damn sleeves. It took calling in a Cal Berkeley Mathmatician, an honest to god Artist, a Seamstress, every engineer I know outside of family, and my own creative blend of proportion theory and astronomical calculations. (literally of the stars) And now, I can almost see the end in sight for this albatross. Soon it will be done. But I've been trying to get it finished for this weekend, so I've been knitting up a storm, frantic.
So, two days to go and here is the conclusion I've come to. I need to read a book. I need to paint my nails. I need to cast on a project that won't be due until next fall. I need to do yoga with Annie. I need to take a walk, hang out with the girls, go swimming, relax at knit night and enjoy an over-priced coffee.
My house will not look like a museum or a clean room for creating vaccines. It will be cozy and warm. Where you want to snuggle up on the couch and watch the fire. Sit on a barstool at the kitchen counter sipping coffee and chatting away. You will be over come, upon entering my house, to take off your shoes and run around in your socks. You will snooze gazing out the window, have homemade jam on warm toast, Put a few more ornaments on the Christmas tree, and stick you finger into and taste whatever is cooking on the stove.
You will feel at ease and not even notice that I haven't vacummed under the couch in a month.
And no one entering my house will be Frantic.
My Christmas knitting isn't near done, but there has been a development in the sweater for my sister. I've FINALLY figured out the pattern correction for the damn sleeves. It took calling in a Cal Berkeley Mathmatician, an honest to god Artist, a Seamstress, every engineer I know outside of family, and my own creative blend of proportion theory and astronomical calculations. (literally of the stars) And now, I can almost see the end in sight for this albatross. Soon it will be done. But I've been trying to get it finished for this weekend, so I've been knitting up a storm, frantic.
So, two days to go and here is the conclusion I've come to. I need to read a book. I need to paint my nails. I need to cast on a project that won't be due until next fall. I need to do yoga with Annie. I need to take a walk, hang out with the girls, go swimming, relax at knit night and enjoy an over-priced coffee.
My house will not look like a museum or a clean room for creating vaccines. It will be cozy and warm. Where you want to snuggle up on the couch and watch the fire. Sit on a barstool at the kitchen counter sipping coffee and chatting away. You will be over come, upon entering my house, to take off your shoes and run around in your socks. You will snooze gazing out the window, have homemade jam on warm toast, Put a few more ornaments on the Christmas tree, and stick you finger into and taste whatever is cooking on the stove.
You will feel at ease and not even notice that I haven't vacummed under the couch in a month.
And no one entering my house will be Frantic.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Knitting Nutter on the Road
I went to our knit night Holiday party last night. And received some interesting looks. You see, it all started yesterday morning when I realized that I didn't have anything on the needles that was a no-brainer. All of my current projects require attention, and that just doesn't work at a social event where there are things going on other than my knitting. Must be nice to people. So, I needed something I could work on and chat at the same time. So I started casting on a hat to be felted that I've been planning. It's felted right? Covers a multitude of sins. But I had to leave for work. So I continued casting on while driving to work. This is where my friends and fellow knitters turn and look at me in horror.
I'm not sure if it was because driving while knitting is admittedly dangerous or because I couldn't pay enough attention to cast on the proper amount in a non-sloppy way. I have a feeling that it had nothing to do with safety issues.
So driving home tonight in the rain, I concentrated on only driving. Occasionally, I would reach over to the passenger seat and pet the wool for comfort. That doesn't count as a distraction. Everyone knows that yarn calms knitters down. Its like a relaxation reflex. Like a child sucking his thumb. Pet the wool. Finger the alpaca. Other knitters will understand this. Good fibers running through our hands acts like Valium, instantly transporting us into a "happy" state of mind. Trance states.
Really, I'm not alone in this. I'm not nuts. And if I am, well, the yarn doesn't seem to mind.
I'm not sure if it was because driving while knitting is admittedly dangerous or because I couldn't pay enough attention to cast on the proper amount in a non-sloppy way. I have a feeling that it had nothing to do with safety issues.
So driving home tonight in the rain, I concentrated on only driving. Occasionally, I would reach over to the passenger seat and pet the wool for comfort. That doesn't count as a distraction. Everyone knows that yarn calms knitters down. Its like a relaxation reflex. Like a child sucking his thumb. Pet the wool. Finger the alpaca. Other knitters will understand this. Good fibers running through our hands acts like Valium, instantly transporting us into a "happy" state of mind. Trance states.
Really, I'm not alone in this. I'm not nuts. And if I am, well, the yarn doesn't seem to mind.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Working on the weekend
Here I am today, working from home on a Saturday. I have 60 trillion things to do. I've got to get ready for my parents visit, finish processing some bio-diesel I started last night, get ready for a brunch and soap making get together I'm hosting tomorrow, laundry, knitting for Christmas, and trying to find my diamond earring I lost on Black Friday.
The thing that gets me, is that there are huge, big important projects that I need to get done for work before the new year. You know, make sure all the renewals are correct and everyone gets billed correctly in January. End of the year payroll and financials, etc.. But what does my boss what me to do today? Enter in a bunch of credit card charges from the beginning of the year. Not to make the ledger correct, but so he can see what has been charged all year by his employees. Is this really important right now for the health of the company? We laid off all but the managers on Friday, we can't pay our bills and our only hope of riding this out is large quantities of snow and convincing our clients that we can take care of them if they give us a chance. Who spent $6.11 at a 7-11 in January of 2008 just doesn't seem to be important.
Sorry, it just isn't.
The thing that gets me, is that there are huge, big important projects that I need to get done for work before the new year. You know, make sure all the renewals are correct and everyone gets billed correctly in January. End of the year payroll and financials, etc.. But what does my boss what me to do today? Enter in a bunch of credit card charges from the beginning of the year. Not to make the ledger correct, but so he can see what has been charged all year by his employees. Is this really important right now for the health of the company? We laid off all but the managers on Friday, we can't pay our bills and our only hope of riding this out is large quantities of snow and convincing our clients that we can take care of them if they give us a chance. Who spent $6.11 at a 7-11 in January of 2008 just doesn't seem to be important.
Sorry, it just isn't.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Temptation
Okay, this was completely my fault, I'll give her that. How could I expect her to resist? Did I not realize that my projects are close to heaven for her? Did I not know that she would be lonely and bored home alone all day long? Did I not think that she would want to put her paw into getting ready for the holidays with decorating and the gifts?
See? She was really just trying to help. To be a considerate family member with out thumbs.
Really, I should have been more careful.
.
See? She was really just trying to help. To be a considerate family member with out thumbs.
Really, I should have been more careful.
.
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