Another Hobby Blog

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Meme Addendum

Oh! I thought of a couple of sports teams on the drive home today!

Panthers, Pumas, and Patriots!

can't tell you what sport they play, what their home arena is, none of that. But I'm relatively certain they all exist! (as well as some sort of team from Paloose) .. except the Pumas. They might exist or they might not. They might just be a running shoe.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Memed Again...

thanks to Basset Knitter again...

...and since responding to the meme is quicker and easier than writing a whole new post... ;)

My name: Peacock

1. Famous Singer: Prince
2. Four letter word:Poke
3. Street: Parsons Ave
4. Color: Puce
5. Gifts/Presents: Pony
6. Vehicle: Pinto
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Postcards
8. Boy Name: Padgett
9. Girl Name: Penny
10. Movie Title: Pirates of the Carribean
11. Drink: Pink Lemonade
12. Occupation: Paper pusher
13. Celebrity: Pia Zadora
14. Magazine: People
15. U.S. City: Princeton
16. Pro Sports: P (hey, people..I don't watch sports!)
17. Fruit: Papaya
18. Reason for Being Late for Work:Pocket was empty (misplaced my keys, phone, etc.)
19. Something You Throw Away: pamphlets left on my doorstep
20. Things You Shout:Phoo!
21. Cartoon Character: Petunia Pig

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Memed Twice, Actually...

...by BassetKnitter

Important music in my life.. music that has made a deep and lasting impact or which encapsulates an important time of my life.

1. Cat's In the Cradle -- Eric Clapton
how I felt during much of my childhood

2. Always Something There to Remember -- ?
the song that was playing at the moment that my horse died from colic at the end of an excruciating 15 hours. Even still when this song plays on the radio (rare little air-time it gets these days, and rarer still that I'm listening to the radio..) I am transported back to the pain of that moment and the bittersweet memory of the time I had with her.

3. Pressure -- Billy Joel
how I felt during most of my academic life and early adult life out on my own.

4. What Happens Now --Evita soundtrack
The song that came un-bidden into my thoughts throughout the time that my ex (of a 13-year relationship) and I were breaking up.

5. Mary Ellen Carter -- Stan Rogers
A perpetual element in my life since the first time I heard it. It's the song that comes into my life each time I have to rebuild after a broken relationship, a lost friendship, a failed attempt at anything. This song, perhaps, more than any other is the one that defines me.

6. I Knew I Loved You -- Savage Garden
The song my husband and I chose for our wedding dance. I'd heard it play on the radio and came home to tell him I thought it would make a good song for us. He'd heard it, too, and had been meaning to tell me the same thing!

I've Been Memed!

...by IndieKnits

7 things:
1. It is my understanding that knitting and crochet are the *exact same* concept, but the difference in tools make some stitch combinations easier with a hook, others easier with the sticks. No, REALLY. When I am using "crochet" stitches along with my knitting, I use my knitting needles to form them. (Knitting with crochet hooks is a tad more complex because of the little flat spot in most crochet hooks' handles and because the hooks are generally so short, but I've done it as well.)
addendum: conceptually they differ in that the expectation of crochet (except Tunisian style) is that only one loop (or set of loops: e.g. star stitch) is live at any given time. The expectation of knitting is that an entire row of loops is live at once. ... Basically, you can think of crochet as a bunch of knitting stitches in which you bind off each stitch *as you make it* instead of at the end of the project. Cool, huh?
2. In 2002 I couldn't knit. Well, I guess I *could* knit-- if I read a book to remind myself of cast-ons and cast-offs.. but I really didn't enjoy it. ... although there is that one lace scarf I made for a gift... but that was a project I *REALLY* didn't enjoy! Especially the fifth time that I had to rip it all the way back and restart because I dropped stitches. Come to think of it, it never would have lived to completion if I hadn't managed somehow to get it back on the needles the sixth time I dropped stitches... It was a project that was altogether too far beyond my skillset to be plausible, but when I took it in to the yarn store to complain and swore that I couldn't knit, they said it was obvious that I *could* knit if I were making lace like that, and I must be lying. phoo. No help at all! ... that scarf was born in 1997, firmly settled in the "I Can't Knit" years. Somewhere in 2002 a school-friend was knitting socks, and I got fascinated. It's been a slippery downhill slide from there onward, and *NOW* I can knit. I can shape things, I can adjust sizing, I understand gauge, I recognize knitting shorthand and charted symbols, I can repair errors in lace work (not just my own, either!)... and of course, I can knit socks. :)
3. When I was about 13, I tried to teach myself to spin on a handmade drop spindle. I'd read about the concept in history books, and they'd said it was possible to spin "with a stick shoved through a potato." When I failed to get the results I wanted, I decided I couldn't spin after all. It was another one of those things that I Just Wasn't Meant To Do. .. Thirty years later, I'm totally hooked. And with the right equipment (and a better understanding of the function of twist) it's surprisingly simple! (note: "simple" does not necessarily mean "easy". "simple" paves the way to "easy".)
4. Art is a much more difficult discipline than science. Science has clear goals, defined steps, and right-and-wrong answers. I most definitely did not choose Art as "the easy route." There are days that I hate it. ..but it is rarely boring.
5. The childhood-dream career paths I most regret not taking: stuntperson, circus acrobat, whale tamer.
6. The childhood-dream career path I am most glad that I did *not* take: garbage collector.
7. My mother wanted me to be: a lawyer. She gave me that "You can be Anything" speech so common in middle-class suburbia... but apparently "unemployed artist" and "perpetual student" weren't what she meant.

I Really Hate....

...that Blogger changed their sign-on protocol. ARGH!

But I finally remembered my password! Ha!!

It's been a busy summer. BSG (Black Sheep Gathering), NWRSA conference in Idaho, Merry Greenwood Players Renaissance Fair, Gig Harbor Renaissance Fair, a visit from my parents, the various fairs (Evergreen State Fair opens on Thursday, runs through Labor Day. I had a shawl that I was working on almost non-stop so that I could enter it!)

I've misplaced my digi-cam cable, so even though I've been taking photographs, I haven't figured out how to get them onto my computer to share with you. .. and my primary computer is losing its hard-drive, so I'm trying to figure out how to salvage what I can before it dies beyond all hope.

Update on my knee: It's doing *much* better! This week, for the first time since the injury, I actually had a 2-hour timespan during normal activity in which I didn't think about my knee! Didn't get distracted by pain, didn't think about how to shift my weight properly. It's a *huge* difference. And this week it rained and my pain level didn't spike! (also for the first time since the injury) Maybe I'm actually going to get better after all!

Tonight: dance class. Tango and waltz and foxtrot still hurt my knee too much to attempt, but I get along alright with rhumba and swing and cha-cha (shorter steps), so we're learning Latin-style right now, and saving the smooth dances for later. I miss doing contra dance but for now it's still too risky. Ice skating is still a challenge-- I take it slow, wear the brace, take Advil before and ice pack it afterward. Perhaps I'll be able to skate in the winter exhibition, though. That would be nice.