The Plague

Yesterday it was dragonflies. Not pretty petite blue dragonflies, but big fat ugly dragonflies…swarming our yard. I’ve never seen so many! They fly around really quickly, never seeming to pause. Today? Little bitty butterflies. Everywhere. On the last stretch of my drive, I hit 10 of them. Smack. Right into the windshield. I wonder a little bit what tomorrow will bring.

Regina and I have been talking about starting our holiday knitting…and I finally figured out what I am going to do this year. I hope this isn’t eliciting groans from my friends. But I came up with a great (well, great to me) idea and actually started last night. Actually I started four times last night, once my tail wasn’t long enough for the cast on, then again when I cast on the wrong number of stitches for the pattern, then again when I realized I was using the wrong sized needles. This pattern calls for almost 100 stitches, these weren’t quick mistakes. But I finally got it right, and now just have to get busy on it this weekend and next.

Tim and I have now done the vegetarian thing for over a month (which was the original trial period), and I am thinking of not turning back. I feel great, am happy about my choice and have rediscovered my love for making food. Maybe I was in a dinner rut…but since we’ve done this, I have been pretty ambitious in my meal planning, while having fun with it. A noodle casserole that takes two hours to prepare? No problem! Making two new recipes in one night (something I never did before), piece of cake (well, an hour and a half later). I have been wanting to make sp

Closing Ceremonies

I must say that I was not that impressed with the Closing Ceremonies (Ricky Martin? The best they could do was Ricky Freakin Martin?), and must admit that I didn’t finish Tim’s hat either. I was saving it all week to work on during the Closing Ceremonies and then was struck down Saturday night with the Cedar Fever. Still. With. The. Allergies. Will try to finish the hat this week. I have to admit that I didn’t totally push myself during the Knitting Olympics (if Bode doesn’t have to, neither do I), but did make myself pick up two new knitting skills…knitting in the round and using double pointed needles. I was working my way to doing something besides scarves, and this gave me the little push that I needed. I hope all the other knitters out there feel successful and happy with whatever progress they made.

Oh, because I know they all read this blog (Joey? Call me), a quick note to future US Olympians. If you do not know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, DO NOT PRETEND. It looks terrible. And? We can tell that you just sort of barely mumbled the incorrect line. Chad? Apollo? I am talking to you. Unless you know the song inside out and backwards (like the Italians knew their anthem), just stand there and look humbled, proud and happy. We don’t care if your lips aren’t moving.

I actually made a new recipe tonight to cross off another recipe from my cookbook collection and realized that I only have two cookbooks to go. Well, that isn’t exactly true, I have received two new cookbooks since I put the list up and should probably add those too. So, four left.

Time to rub Vicks all over my face and drink some NyQuil.

The Hat is Too Short

I hope I still qualify for my Knitting Olympics medal if I admit that I am holding off finishing my last hat for the closing ceremonies. Three hats was my goal, and three are almost done. I got a quilting bug 1/2 way in, and have worked on the absolutely cutest, hurts-your-teeth-sweet, quilt that I have made to date. I will certainly post pictures as soon as I am allowed, but you have been warned. It is cute.

Thinking about finishing AJ’s queen sized quilt is also on my mind and I hope to start tackling that soon. I think I finally have all the accoutrements to finish it (Sullivan’s basting spray, quilting thread, new fancy chalk marker thingy, batting, clippy thingies) that all I am waiting for is to block off a huge amount of time to get it started. Once it is started, I can do it in short chunks, but the getting started part will take quite awhile (it includes moving furniture if that gives you an idea…).

All this Olympic watching means I am behind on any Netflix watching, so hope to get back into watching a movie regularly next week. And after AJ’s quilt is done, I am starting to think about some more house painting. Oh, and I am using my breadmachine for the first time today, making Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread. Yum!

The Hat is in the Mail

Olympic Knitting Update:
Two hats down, one to go. At least. The suprise recipient will receive his hat in the next few days though I am very worried that it won’t fit and may have to totally start over, which would be fine. I have started a hat for Tim, but I am afraid that the beautiful black and grey alpaca yarn is too skinny. These little knitting details still escape me. Or I just ignore them and forge ahead, which is way more likely.

Thoughts while I watch countless hours of the Olympics either knitting or not:
It must be the Colorado girl in me, but I love the winter Olympics. I was actually jumping up and down and yelling for a Norwegian biathlon athlete this afternoon as he was passed by a Frenchman right at the end after having skied for almost an hour and having to shoot in between. It was so exciting. I love that Norway is leading the medal count so far. Of course I am also totally impressed by the generosity of Joey Cheek, and the great attitude of the Flying Tomato. It makes me happy that many of the men’s hockey players are going to the women’s games and vice versa. I hate the Italian outfits, but love the German ones in lime green and orange. And I can’t wait for the bobsled to start, I actually had a dream that Vonetta Flowers won again.

Last, but never least…a great big hug.
Happy Birthday Mom!

Hats for Bats

So I am a few days into my Knitting Olympics and all is going well. Better than expected. I finished a grey cotton hat for myself, that I admit I had about 1/3 finished before the Olympics actually started. But for me the great feat was in using double pointed needles for the first time. It felt funny and awkward, and there was more than one dropped stitch, but I did it! I can believe it and it actually fits. I will post some pics this week. I have started on mystery hat #2, and it is going pretty well.

Of course all this hat knitting has meant that I have done a lot of Olympics watching. A lot. I’ve watched everything from Women’s Hockey to Curling. I love all the skiing (downhill and cross country) and the ski jumping. The Nordic combined is one of my personal favorites…I cross ski jumping with cross country skiing. Not far behind is my love for the biathlon…a cross of cross country skiing and shooting! Really. Also? Ski jumping will always hold a special place in my heart as it reminds me of my honeymoon in France. Really.

While I am throughly enjoying the Olympics and love the snow, mountains and such the commercials are getting painful. Save a few local commercials, there are about 10 national commercials on constant rotation including the TGI Fridays one that is sooooo horrible. There is another one, I can’t remember what it is for…the one where it keeps saying “Life takes…blah blah” and the Asian guy eats that really big sandwich? Well, in the beginning of that commercial they show a woman bowling and I swear it is me. Like the took footage of me at an actual bowling alley and added it to the commercial. This is coming from someone who never sees people who look like me, and people never tell me that I remind them of their cousin or something. If you’ve seen it, let me know.

Other than that, reading, knitting, making soup, knitting, painting a little bit, blowing my nose incessantly, and knitting.

The Knitting Olympics

Citius. Altius. Fortius. Yep, that’s me. A knitter with a dream. I am participating in the 2006 Knitting Olympics. The plan is to start knitting something during the opening ceremonies and finish a tough (based on your level) knitting project before the flame is extinguished two weeks later. Since I am not a) a very accomplished knitter or b) really that motivated, I am knitting hats. (Of course here is where AJ would say, “Hats. Hats for bats, keep bats warm…”) As many hats and I can knit, and that probably will be only two. But my first project on circular needles (which I’ve sort of started, shhh…) and my first attempt at using double pointed needles, which scare me. Regina is also participating, knitting a throw blanket, and maybe Thien too…knitting one hat! We are loosely participating on Team Librarian, though it seems that no one has come up with a cool button yet. I got the rest of my supplies tonight, so wish me luck as I start hat knitting on Friday!

Chez Acres North

Even though we adopted him from there, Loki is never happy to go back for his yearly visit. He is still a little mad at me for taking him to the vet, but he is getting over it treat by treat. The vet did say that he has a little tartar build up, and after hearing about Annie’s teeth (Loki’s long distance girlfriend) it sort of scared me. Should I be brushing his teeth? With one of those little rubber finger tip thingies? An actual toothbrush? I can do the nail clipping, but I don’t know about the teeth.

I love early Friday afternoons…the whole weekend stretching out before me. I might make some cheese sticks from a cookbook I have yet to cross off my list. Maybe do a little knitting as well. I found some yarn that I LOVE, and it is knitting up beautifully. And then maybe a movie tonight, curling up on the couch pretending under the fan and the a/c that it is turning fall (which it TOTALLY ISN’T).

Slip Slip Knit

k3, k3tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, sl2-k1-p2sso, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo ssk, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, k3 (27 sts).
That is just one of the line in the knitting pattern that I am currently attempting. It is working out ok…sort of. It is a lace pattern, and I am not really using lace weight yarn, so I don’t know if that makes a difference. Also, I don’t understand the difference between k2tog and ssk. It seems like one way is just a little more complicated! That and for some reason I am a really loose knitter and a tight purler. A trip back to the Barn Yard (Yarn Barn, but it if funnier if you say Barn Yard) to see if I can get some instruction on the ssk. Oh and circular knitting too.

Speaking of crafty, I have my quilting class tonight where we do one different 12 inch block every month. And I am insanely looking forward to it.

Casting On

Let me first just say (to get it out of the way), that according to my cursory web research communists don’t seem to really celebrate birthdays at all, much less weekend long birthday celebrations. Birthdays don’t have enough to do with ‘sticking it to The Man’ or celebrating the workers, as it is more ‘Yay me’ and the communists aren’t really down with that. With that clarified…Happy Birthday Tim! Tim had a birthday this past weekend, turned thirtyfrickintwo. 32. He celebrated by helping someone move in the morning and laying sod at someone else’s house in the afternoon. Sweet, eh? But we did sort of stretch it out over the weekend, making his favorite calzones and persimmon pudding on Friday, and then a movie on Sat night after all the activity, and grilling a rack of lamb avec squash and grilled okra (I know! With the okra!) on Sunday.

Hopefully tomorrow during a “break” at work, I will be able to finish and bind off my first scarf. I made it with just some regular stitches on 15 bamboo needles, which are HUGE. But they were just right for the fuzzy yarn that I picked out. I think it is a little too wide though for my tastes. I have another ball of the same yarn, so I think I will try again, 1/2 the width. Our last knitting class is on Wednesday, and I hope to learn decreases and increases, though I have a hard time listening to any instruction at this point. Plus, our knitting instructor has the strangest background so I am constantly distracted by the totally incredible bits about her past that she just throws out there. Lets call her BJ. BJ mentions that she was a nuclear engineer for 20 years in the military, much of which was in Germany. Ok. Oh wait, she also owned a language school there and has traveled the world teaching international business communication. Oh wait, she now to owns a fiber studio where she spins her own yarn and makes art quilts and knits. I mean, come on. And then last class she casually mentions that she also grew up AMISH. And a few years ago, she wrote a letter to a guy that she grew up next door to when she was 10 and he replied and a few months later…they got married. This stuff? Doesn’t happen to real people. But you can’t just make up ex-Amish nuclear engineers who happen to spin and knit, teach international business communications and who also owns a house in Laguna Beach, which she nicely clarified for us wasn’t hit by the mud slides recently. Phew. I wonder what we will learn in this week’s class?