Another Hobby Blog

BJP January

2012-01-31T18:56:00.001-08:00

My BJP mandala for January!

Chatter: Stray Cat update

2012-01-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

Stray Cat spent his first day at the vet's office getting his health assessed. He got aggressive at some of the poking and prodding, so they wanted to put him under sedation so that no one (including him) would get hurt. Sedation was also the perfect time to rid him of the horrible mats in his fur, and this is how he came back after his vet visit:

He makes it pretty obvious how he feels about the situation!

He doesn't get to roam the house for now: I have a pet rabbit whose health takes priority, so the stray cat needs to be kept in quarantine for at least a couple of weeks while we get his ear mites and etc under control. I won't be able to assess his long-term potential in my household until after I find out what his stabilized health status is and whether he causes a problem for my rabbit.
In the meantime, the stray cat happily naps away the days on the heater vent.

TAST- wk 4, CQJP-Jan, and BJP-Jan progress

2012-01-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

Week 4 of TAST featured the Cretan stitch. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make enough variations on this stitch to make a postcard interesting, but I surprised myself!

The line at the top I started out just varying the length and compression of the stitches, and then realized that it was reminding me of an EKG or a seismograph reading, so I played around with that idea a little, trying to get it to be more accurate. (This stitch also reminds me of fish bones or snake vertebrae.) I can see that it has great potential as a filling stitch, but didn't really want to play with that idea very much this week-- other things had ahold of my time.

Which brings me to CQJP! I definitely put myself at a disadvantage by waiting until January started to start piecing together my block(s). I've only had about a week so far to stitch (instead of four weeks), and I feel like I need at least a week more. My stitching time during that single week was also impacted by the snowstorm, power outage, and stray cat, so I really should be surprised and pleased at what did get accomplished!

This wedge shape is a difficult one to photograph efficiently. I have to settle for a large photo in which you can get a general idea but can't see detail and then supplemental detail photos.

Since the stray cat impacted my life and schedule so much this month, I decided to commemorate him with a decorative patch. I used a scrap of the light green silk that I had used for piecing the blocks together. I inked the design on with a rubber stamp that I found at a thrift store and a "Stazon" brand ink pad. Then I used single-strand silk floss reclaimed from an old silk sweater and hand-dyed to the color I wanted to outline his features and add some fur. His whiskers are DMC metallic gold- single strand doubled over in the needle, and the brown of his eyes is DMC floss. When I finished stitching the cat, I traced an oval around him, used a heavy-weight thread (handquilting cotton) to stitch a running stitch line over the oval tracing, and then turned the edge over and buttonholed it a stitch at a time to keep it in place. When the buttonhole stitching was complete I trimmed the excess allowances, and I ended up with an applique that was very easy to handle. I blind-stitched it to the block using the same thread I'd used for the buttonholing-- which I believe was a fine Perle cotton marketed for tatting.
Again, the stray cat takes most of my stitching time! Ack! ;)

I used several of this month's TAST stitches to further accentuate this block. I decided that I did not want to limit myself to only using the featured TAST stitches of the month, so you will also find bullion stitches, chain stitch, and other explorations with thread and needle, but I definitely did find ways to incorporate feather, buttonhole, and Cretan in the stitching I've done so far. I still want to add some fly stitch, and I have plenty of room still to do that.
I will still be adding to this block for the remaining three days of the month! (counting today).
I will be leaving the bottom patches of this wedge blank because that is where the peacock's body will overlap the tail fan, obscuring any stitching that I do there.

(You can click on the pictures to see the detail better, and use <"ctrl"> <+> to zoom in -- at least on my browser that works.)

Because of the wedge shaped blocks, I decided to stitch all of my blocks together before beginning embellishment. This makes transitions between blocks easier, but makes the thing as a whole more cumbersome. I also decided that because of the wedge-fan shape I would start from the center of the fan and work outward. This will help keep embellishments and beads from previous months from snagging threads as I continue to work each month. I hope that these decisions will make the project as a whole a little bit easier!

My BJP seems to have wandered, and apparently I didn't think to photograph it right when I finished it, so I will have to add that update in a supplemental post. :P

Chatter: Life Will Conspire to Keep You From Working

2012-01-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I (and many other Artists that I know of) constantly battle is the tendency for Life, or our own habits, to get in the way of our creative productivity.

My own habits are often to blame: maybe it's that my studio isn't clean or organized, and I can't find the pair of scissors that I need, or the fabric I intended to use, or the pattern I wanted to work from; maybe I just don't feel like working, so I fritter away the day with little unproductive distractions; maybe I do feel like working, but I'm up against a creative block and I just don't know how to break through it....the list goes on.

Most of the reasons we artists don't get things accomplished is, truly, our own doing. We over-schedule ourselves, we procrastinate, we wait for inspiration, we insist on perfection, we harbor unrealistic expectations, we overestimate our skill set or underestimate a learning curve... in short, we undermine ourselves at every opportunity.
Eventually, we learn how to curb these habits and apply ourselves with regular effort to achieve brilliant results of which we never could have dreamed ourselves capable. And we get to ride on that comfortable and exhilarating little wave of "I am ON A ROLL!!" (ah, how we look forward to that feeling!)

And that is the moment when Life steps in to undermine us since we dropped the ball on undermining ourselves. Life: that chaotic process that surrounds us and confounds us and even nourishes and inspires us -- that chaotic process with which we are inevitably intertwined for better or worse, which will be our steadfast companion to the day that we die.
For the most part, Life is well-behaved- and by well-behaved, I mean predictable. Gravity works predictably with astonishing regularity, as I am always dismayed to reconfirm when carrying just one too many items on a slippery walkway. I generally reconfirm the solidity of objects in the middle of the night with my little toe.
But overall we like predictability. It gives us a sense of security and comfort. It allows us to adapt ourselves to circumstances we don't feel able to change (e.g. Stockholm Syndrome), or to adapt our environments in ways that suit us (e.g. deforestation). We do this for better (an ergonomic office chair to bring comfort to the hours we spend in front of our computers), and we do this for worse (aforementioned deforestation, possibly as a tangential result of the production of our ergonomic office chair).

But now and then Life is not so predictable.
Of course, Life is extraordinarily complex, and perhaps if we had access to all the data all at once (assuming we even recognized what "all the data" would be!), we might be able to discover that Life is, indeed, thoroughly predictable, and the butterfly in Suriname does, in fact, cause the tsunami in Anchorage.
But in the meantime, snowstorms, floods, and power outages still catch us by surprise (as does, occasionally, gravity and the density of solid objects).

Life throws us curve balls to see whether we can retain our composure. Last week it was snow and a power outage. Last night it was this fellow:

He's a scraggly, undernourished, bone-thin, matted, beleaguered stray cat.
He walked right into my house yesterday.
When I picked him up to put him back outside, I felt how thin he was.
It's still cold outside.
I'm not sure how he would stay warm.
And he hasn't had enough to eat for a while.
But he's very pleasant and well-mannered (or maybe he's just too exhausted to be opinionated).
He's also intelligent.
He purrs a lot.
A LOT.
I mean constantly.
I couldn't put him back outside in the cold.

I opened up a can of chicken and fed him about half of it. I even squished it all up so that if he had problems chewing or swallowing, he wouldn't choke.
Then I gave him space in our bathroom for the night. It's warm and it's dry- perfect for a good night's sleep.

Today I took him in to the vet for a diagnostic.

Apparently he is not so well-mannered when he disagrees with what's happening to him.

The price for the diagnostic doubled.
(They need to administer a sedative for everyone's safety, and want to do all the tests while he is safely sedated instead of spread out a test at a time over several visits).

What we did figure out before he got too rough to handle: he is a geriatric, neutered male with ear mites and a slight heart murmur, and no microchip to track down a previous family of origin.
Oh great.
What am I doing?
This is NOT in the plan!
sheesh.

Week 3 progress: TAST and CQJP

2012-01-22T01:42:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow and power outage put a bit of a crimp in my progress, but before it did so I got a lot done this week!
I spent most of the week putting together my "naked blocks" for the CQJP (Crazy Quilt Journal Project). Originally I had thought that I would make each block (wedge) in the month that I needed it, but for a variety of reasons I changed my mind and decided that I wanted all of the wedges completed so that I could see how they would work together. It took most of my work hours this week, but I got it done:

and I started my stitchwork on one of the wedges:

Of course, it was also week 3 of TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday): Featherstitch.
TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday)

In keeping with past weeks, I made another postcard (4 x 6 inches) featuring experimentations with featherstitch:

I experimented with changing the angles of the lines, with overlapping, with using the stitch on curves, with closed varieties and open, and with knotted varieties.

I also found a moment to add a moment to add a buttonhole ring and a string of buttonhole loops to my week 2 postcard:

So all-in-all it was a productive week, even with the snowstorm. :) I'm a little worried, though- next week I have to finish up this first CQJP wedge, a new TAST postcard, and my BJP mandala!

Urban Skiers, or Why I Don't Drive in Snow.

2012-01-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow started falling a week ago Sunday. It let up a bit on Monday, and Tuesday wasn't bad--the streets were even clear by evening, but the forecast called for another snowstorm Tuesday night, and sure enough, by Wednesday we had more snow. On Wednesday I was working in my studio and took this picture out the window:

Yep, skiers. Right down the middle of the road. Because, let's face it, NObody in the Seattle region drives when it snows. Okay, that's not entirely true, but pretty close. People who live in regions that get a lot of snow like to snicker behind our backs, or point and laugh to our faces about that little quirk of ours which they see as unreasonable timidity. But that's not the full story. Here's the heart of the matter:
We get snow maybe once a year, usually in February or March.
It is usually followed very soon by rain that melts the snow and washes it away.
So we don't have a whole fleet of snowplows on hand for those few times that the snow sticks around for several days.
Because it only rains once or twice in a year and generally melts pretty quickly, we don't get a lot of practice with the whole driving-on-snow skill. Some of us go up into the mountains and keep our skills honed on the snowy passes, but most Seattlites stay in the lowlands throughout winter.
We don't tend to put snow tires on our vehicles, because--hey, we just don't get snow that often.
Our streets have a lot of curves and a lot of hills.
Our streets, especially in the hilly downtown Seattle area, have heated pipes running underneath the streets.
The heat underneath the streets melts lingering snow from underneath, and when nighttime temperatures plummet below freezing, that melted layer turns into ice.
Ice hidden beneath snow.
The rain that sometimes sprinkles across the top of the snow does the same thing-- turns to ice.
We don't have SNOW to drive on! we have ice. It's a little different.
Okay.
Then we have a bunch of people, either transplants who think they know how to drive in the snow because they drove in the snow back in their hometowns-- they're usually pretty smart about it: they figure out quickly what type of not-really-snow conditions they're driving in and they draw upon their years worth of blizzard-braving, ice-storm-enduring finely-honed survival skills -- or locals and non-snow transplants who believe they can drive in the snow because "how hard can it be?" -- they're the dangerous ones.
The how-hard-can-it-be crowd often base their idea that they can drive in the snow on the basis that they own a four-wheel drive vehicle. There seems to be a blind spot to the realization that snow and ice can make all four wheels spin just as easily as it can make two wheels spin. Four-wheel drive means that if any one of the four tires is on a nice surface with traction, you can probably get the vehicle to move, but if all four tires are on ice, well... Heh.
Long story short ("Too late!")...
By the third day of lingering snow, all of the bravado-puffed how-hard-can-it-be types have put their cars into ditches (or streetlamps, or parked cars, or moving cars, or heaven forbid what else), and the streets are relatively safe to drive again.
And by then the snow has generally melted anyway.
So there are a bunch of us Seattlite types who honor the snow in our own very particular "quirky" way: we stay inside, try to keep warm, and shake our heads slowly at the skidding vehicles:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/seattle-drivers-snow-seattle-weather/60361

This time around, we had two snowstorms in a row and then an icestorm before the snow had melted away. We almost never get that combination of weather patterns, and what it meant was that a lot of the snow-and-ice laden tree branches couldn't carry the weight and splintered, taking out powerlines.

Okay, so the picture's not of a tree, it's an azalea bush, and it isn't exactly menacing any powerlines. Think of it as a scale model that I found not too far outside my own front door.
Or I could show you this one:

See the tree branches of the evergreen in the background? Those are head-height branches weighed down by the snow and ice until they drag on the ground.

We lost our power on Thursday morning, and didn't get it back until Friday night. We consider ourselves lucky that it was restored so quickly. :) It sure is nice to be warm again! and to have access to my internet, and lights to sew and read by!

On the plus side, I had a fireplace to cuddle up near on Thursday, so I didn't turn into an ice cube. :)

TAST wk 2: Buttonhole/Blanket stitch

2012-01-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

This week's TAST progress so far! Nothing but buttonhole stitch. Even the crosses are buttonhole stitch-- spokes radiating out from a tiny little hub. The little flower is cut from a lace trim and attached with buttonhole stitch. The little jewel is held in place by a buttonhole cup. I'll have to try to get a better detail picture of it somehow.

I've been spending most of my time stitching up my CQ blocks for the CQJP. In retrospect, I should have finished putting my blocks together in December so that I could be focusing on embroidery and embellishment these past couple of weeks instead. Ah well- live and learn.

TAST wk 1: Fly stitch continued

2012-01-09T17:25:00.001-08:00

I found my postcard! It was hiding beneath my embroidery stitch reference book, of all things. Doh!
I did a little more work on it to finish it up:

I still need to bind the edges before I can truly call it finished, but all the embellishing is done, I think.
Can you believe I used only fly stitch for this one? I'm always amazed at the possibilities for variation just one stitch can hold!

TAST wk 1: Fly Stitch

2012-01-08T02:11:00.001-08:00

For my Fly Stitch exploration, I worked on a crazy quilt fabric postcard. I played around with varying the length of each of the three legs, and with the angles of the legs. I played a little with spacing and overlapping... and then after snapping this photo, I put it down somewhere and forgot where I put it. Argh!! I'd like to do more work on it, but I may just have to wait until it resurfaces again. I'm sure it's somewhere reasonable. I probably set it down when I went to change my laundry over and now it's buried under the socks. Or maybe I had it in my hand when the phone rang and now it's hiding behind the notepad. It'll show up when it shows up. .. or maybe the house gremlins hid it from me. That happens too, you know.

irrelevant chatter: I know it's borscht because it tastes better with sour cream

2012-01-06T16:01:00.001-08:00

The thing I hate about cooking for myself (which is what happens any time I knowingly or inadvertently cook something my husband won't eat. My husband won't eat soup. I don't understand it, but aside from those times where the quickest way to heat up a decent dinner is to drop it all into the same pot together, I don't mind. We all have quirks, and being a choosy eater is a quirk I can live with.)... oops, that was a long interjection! .. okay, the thing I hate about cooking for myself is that when I cook up a decent sized pot of something (which happens anytime you've got more than three vegetables in the ingredient list) I end up eating it over and over and over again for a week or more.
So today I'm eating Excessively Orange Borscht. It was Flaming Fuschia Chicken Soup a couple of days ago, but that was before I'd given up on my denial about the power of beets. Now that the denial has given way to resignation, I'm calling it Borscht because of the beets. That's all it takes to make borscht, right? A couple of beets in the soup pot? and any time you put beets in the soup pot that makes it borscht, right? Now I don't speak much Russian, but I'm pretty sure that if you take the word "borscht" to its etymological roots, it must translate as "Oh great, it's pink. Now what do I do?"
And I wasn't in the mood for Flaming Fuschia Borscht two days ago, and I decided to play around with the color a bit. Silly me, I thought somehow that I'd be able to conquer the Flaming Fuschia. I added cumin and a little bit of yellow food coloring, and tipped the balance into the orange zone. Frankly, it looks like I started applying photo manipulation filters and forgot when to stop. Now orange is a nice enough color, but cumin is a very bright, intense yellow in its own right, and when paired up with the beet juice, I'm pretty sure this resulting orange could be worn as a safety vest. (Which I just might do if I accidentally tip the bowl into my lap while eating and typing at the same time. Still, better my lap than the almost-white carpet at my feet. Better yet, it should stay in the bowl.) Now "Safety Vest Orange Chicken Soup" didn't quite roll off the the tongue, but "Excessively Orange Borscht" is a name I can live with. It's a name that almost makes the bowl's contents endearing even on this third day after creation (with half the pot left for the next three days).
As you might have guessed by now, I am not much of a recipe person. I *can* follow a recipe, and in fact I have a small handful of sacred recipes that I don't mess with: lemon meringue pie, butterscotch-chip cookies, peanut-chicken soup, pancakes from scratch. Those select few recipes are the ones for which I go back to my recipe card every single time and follow it faithfully. Pretty much everything else is subject to whim and experimentation. I have about a 98 percent success rate with my experimentations and whims, which means that only about 2 dishes out of 100 are so unredeemable that I won't eat them (and while I'm not exactly as choosy as my husband, there is definitely a well-defined zone of "edible"). The other 98 run the spectrum from "it'll do, but I hope the leftovers don't last too long" all the way up to "OMG! I *HAVE* to have that recipe!" (which is a real "Doh!" moment because I don't keep notes as I cook, and back-engineering the recipe is never quite as successful as I'd hoped.) I have learned to treat every meal that comes out of my kitchen as a one-off, a fluke event, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy this specific dish because it will never again be seen nor tasted on this Earth (excepting the 7 days of leftovers, of course).
Excessively Orange Borscht is one of those rare dishes, like a good curry, that seems to get better the second or third day out. Maybe it's because the flavors are blending, or maybe it's because the initial shock and distrust are wearing off, but EOB is inching its way up the scale into "Hmm... I might make this again if I'd kept notes... except I might leave the beet juice out next time."
Some of my most brilliant experiments come from desperation, one of those "Oh no, I need to eat again and I haven't gone to the store in the past few days" occasions. EOB was one of those. I was feeling a little sick and lethargic, and what I wanted was a good, honest, therapeutic chicken soup. I was off to a great start: I had a refrigerator full of leftovers I didn't want to eat, and I figured that the worst thing that could happen if they all ended up in a pot together is that I still wouldn't want to eat them, and if my experiment turned out to be one of those 2-%ers, I'd have a good excuse not to. :)

So into the crockpot went:
+ the bones of a rotisserie chicken (from Safeway, I think), with the remaining meat pulled off and set aside for last-minute addition into the soup.
+ a couple of leaves of kale. I like to think that it makes the soup healthier.

After an overnight slow-cook, I pulled out the solids and strained the broth. Then I started adding the stuff that would stay in as part of the soup:
+ chopped carrots
+ chopped celery
+ diced potatoes
+ diced onion (sauteed first)
+ diced bell pepper -- green and orange for festive color
+ a handful of raisins
+ the leftover chicken meat, finely diced
+ salt

The handful of raisins was supposed to have been my exciting "take a chance and see what happens" ingredient. I know that I like raisins in my rice pilaf, so it wasn't even that much of a stretch.

A couple of hours later I got a bit hungry, but the vegetables weren't tender yet, so I made myself an auxiliary snack of potatoes, beets, and kale. Flora, this is where you get to point and laugh, because when I'd been looking through my refrigerator, deciding what to add to the soup, I'd taken one look at those beets and very distinctly thought, "nope. Beets will turn the whole thing pink, and I'm not in the mood for borscht. I'll cook them up on their own in the next couple of days." So naturally when I went looking for an auxiliary lunch, I remembered that I had to cook up the beets anyway, so into the steamer they went along with some potatoes. (The kale I stir-fried)
The beets were delicious. When I tidied up dishes after lunch, I noticed that the beets had sweated a little of their juicy goodness into the steamer's drip tray. I seem to recall a snippet of the train of thought that turned my chicken soup pink, and it went something like this: "Hmm! The drip collector in the steamer has water that's loaded with vitamins from cooking the beets and potatoes. And it's bright pink. I'd better not leave it in the steamer for long or it will turn the white plastic bright pink and I'll have a terrible time getting the stain back out again. Well, I guess I could add it to the soup pot-- it's only a couple of tablespoons: hardly enough to even influence the flavor" and in it went.
+ 2 tablespoons dilute beet juice
It might not have been enough to change the flavor, but it just about instantly dyed every single ingredient in the pot a bright pink (except for the raisins which were dark enough not to show any significant change alongside the fuschia potatoes).
By this time the vegetables were just about tender, so I dished myself up a small bowl to see how the flavoring. It wasn't bad! ...but I just couldn't come to grips with bright pink chicken pieces. Beef is just fine in a borscht. Beef is a rich enough brown on its own that it doesn't suffer from exposure to pink broth. I can't say the same for the chicken.
I felt compelled to change the color somehow.
It occurred to me that cumin has a nice earthy color that might help mute the soup's visual intensity. Cumin is frequently used in chili and has a fairly strong flavor. Since I didn't want to use too much cumin, I supplemented my color adjustment with a couple of drops of yellow food coloring. I also thought the cumin on its own might be an odd flavor to add to the soup, so I balanced it with a dash of cinnamon.
+ cumin
+ cinnamon
The raisins were losing their claim to the title of my "throw caution to the winds" ingredient.
The cumin and cinnamon added an interesting flavor component, but even with the aid of yellow food coloring they couldn't offset the pink.
So I added a dash of turmeric.
+ turmeric
I might have added a bit too much turmeric, because my soup turned bright orange: Neon-, flourescent-, safety-cone orange.
It dawned on me that despite my attempts to adjust the color, what I had in my soup-pot was borscht: almost-entirely-beet-free borscht, but borscht nonetheless.
Now, whenever I make borscht (on purpose, at least), I add some beef stew cubes to the pot. My refrigerator, however, illustrating the lack of foresight that my culinary whims had embodied, was distinctly void of beef stew cubes.
It held no leftover pot roast, no fajita steak brought home from a Mexican restaurant, not even a hint of ground beef.
My refrigerator held exactly one beef-containing product: half a package of Ball Park beef hot dogs.
So I added them.
+ Ball Park beef hot dogs
I started to wonder whether the raisins might not have been the tamest decision I'd made.
And then it occurred to me that perhaps the raisins were the tipping point: perhaps the raisins were the culprit that brought the entire string of questionable choices descending down into my soup pot. If I hadn't tossed in the raisins on a whim of curiosity, maybe I wouldn't have tossed in the steamer's beet juice in a moment's indiscretion. If I hadn't added the beet juice, I would have had no reason to add the cumin, the cinnamon, or the turmeric. And beet-juice or no, the cinnamon would never have gone in the pot if the raisins hadn't already been in there.
It just goes to show how one whimsical, off-handed, ill-considered choice can influence an entire string of choices to follow.
Fortunately, it's not bad. It's odd, to be sure, but it's not bad. It's actually kinda yummy. I just had to give up the idea that it was ever "chicken soup" and just accept it on its own merits as one of those kitchen experiments gone awry.
In the words of John Krakauer (author of Into The Wild), "a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all." Or put another way: It wouldn't be called triumph if you knew you could bank on a successful outcome.

CQJP color palette

2012-01-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

Originally I thought that I would make my CQJP out of quilting cottons. I have plenty to choose from! And I love making crazy quilts from printed fabrics. ... but in the end I decided that I wanted fabrics that have a more sumptuous shine and feel, so I dug out my fancy fabrics and came up with this colorway:

I guess I have plenty of purples! On the left hand side are my "greens" which are more like teal than green. Ideally I would have a lot more of them,but since I don't, I've come up with a tentative plan that should work... I just hope it's "crazy" enough.

irrelevant chatter: soup

2012-01-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Note to self: when going to the trouble of buying lots of different colored ingredients for a festive soup (green and orange bell peppers, yellow corn, orange carrots, green celery and beans, etc) don't put beets into the pot! argh. I ended up with a bright fuschia soup. When I added the beets, I'd thought I would get a lovely bright fuschia broth with all sorts of festive vegetables floating around in it, but no! of course not. Beet juice stains everything. All the vegetables ended up some variation of fuschia. I'd have known that if I'd have stopped to think about it. Doh!

For the past couple of weeks I have been focusing my time and energy on getting my sewing space cleaned up and organized. This week I get to focus on putting together my first CQJP "block" (wedge shaped). Yay!

CQJP planning progress

2011-12-28T14:47:00.001-08:00

Well, for the past several weeks I have been focusing my creative energy on getting my sewing space all cleaned up and organized for the New Year so that once I get started stitching, it will be in an orderly, productive, enjoyable atmosphere. Trust me, this has taken a whole *LOT* of energy and creativity!! In the process of all this moving things around and rearranging things, I seem to have misplaced my favorite little digital camera. ARGH!!!! I had it on December 8, and now I don't have a clue where it is!

It is probably hiding behind the scissors. <-- longstanding household jibe: I have several pair of scissors. One friend once asked me whether I buy a pair of scissors per project. ...of course, she only has ONE pair of scissors, and they're not even very good for cutting paper. :P ...so, since then, whenever I misplace something, my DH suggests, "Maybe they're behind the scissors" and I'd have to reply, "Yes, but which pair?"
... hmm... I wonder whether that joke was worth explaining.

So what that means is that I got distracted from my organization-of-sewing-room task long enough to locate my old (now back-up) camera (that I carry with me on things like camping trips in case it gets dropped or lost), the camera's battery, charger, cable to talk to the computer, etc, etc, etc.

Now at least I can take pictures again! yay!

But that also means that my sewing room isn't quite clean yet. Here's what the room looks like today:

See all the clutter on the floor? All that clutter needs to be sorted, boxed, and put up onto shelves. I'm not even going to show you what the room looked like BEFORE I started this cleaning spree! ..I didn't think to take a picture. But when the sorting is finished and the floor is clear, it will be a nice little space to work in! Yay!!

Nonetheless, I did not let the cleaning spree completely derail me from the project preparation! I found time (and access to my sewing tools) to run a test to find out how much extra length I would need to add to my tail wedges to get them to qualify for the CQJP (which needs to be 36 sq inches per month)

I cut each wedge out of a different piece of fabric to represent the CQ wedges, and then cut a body wedge template out of sketch paper and overlaid the body onto the tail fan. See how much of the centermost wedge the body covers? Yep, that's my problem. If each wedge were unobstructed, my wedge size would already be perfect, but because of the overlap of body on tail, part of each wedge gets blocked, and the centermost wedge gets blocked the most.

Fortunately, there is a fairly simple way (that doesn't involve a whole lot of complex geometry!) to figure out how much extra space I need to add to each tail wedge:

I placed my clear acrylic grid ruler onto my tail wedge, with one edge of the ruler at the center-line of the wedge, and counted each full inch that showed through the ruler, plus partial inches paired-up to create full inches. This picture shows that there are 11 full inches, plus enough partial inches to add up to another 4 full inches in half of the tail wedge for a total of ((11+4)*2) 30 full inches. I need 36 full inches, so I need to add another 2 inches of diameter to my tail wedges 10 or so full inches of CQ space! ha! I do not suck at this math/geometry thing after all! ;)

I am still super excited about this project and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the New Year!

Eye Candy: Rain on Cabbage Leaf

2011-12-24T12:33:00.001-08:00

Eric's Fan Quilt

2011-12-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well, instead of sewing, I've been spending all my free time the past couple of weeks cleaning and rearranging my workspace. It's a worthy endeavor, and I am confident that the investment of time and energy in cleaning now will let my creative energy truly blossom in the new year. :)
Unfortunately, somewhere in the rearrangement of piles and boxes and the sorting of fabrics and buttons and threads, I have misplaced my favorite little digital camera! ARGH!! ...so the picture for today will come from archives that I didn't get around to posting when I should have! ;)

My brother came over for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and we got to talking about quilting (he's started doing applique recently, incidentally), and reminiscing in general, and I mentioned that I'd been doing some cleaning and re-organizing, and had happened across a couple of boxes with his name on them. Well, we dug them all out and sorted through them, and among them was this:

It is a queen-sized fan-quilt that I started for my brother in December 1994. If I get it finished by 2014 it will have been 20 years aborning. My brother decided to give me until 2019 to get it finished, just in case. I wonder if I still have all the pattern templates? I wonder if I have enough cloth in the right colors, or if I need to buy more to coordinate? I wonder if I can remember what the plan, exactly, was! I do know it needs a little freshening up (tricky when it's in pieces) and ironing and piecing and more piecing. I will be chipping away at this project throughout 2012 alongside CQJP/BJP/TAST and assorted other obligations.

CQJP planning progress

2011-12-08T15:21:00.001-08:00

Well, I've spent a little time fleshing out my ideas for my CQJP challenge. I really like the idea of creating a CQ peacock, and I've been using my colored pencils to see what kinds of color patterns I might want to use. Here's one that I particularly like so far:

It will be different, of course, when interpreted in cloth, but it gives me an idea of where I might start.

There are giant white circles in each fan wedge for a reason: I am thinking of creating circular beaded motifs to applique on. I made up one sample motif to see how long it might take me (on average) so that I could decide whether or not to also sign up (officially) for the BJP this year. ... but my conscience is warning me that it might be too much of a commitment to tackle BJP as well as CQJP and TAST and SharonB's journal class and everything else that I need to do throughout the year, so if I can keep my impulse under control, then I will just be an UNofficial BJP participant so that I have one element that I can drop without guilt if my schedule gets too crazy.

Today's challenge: tidy my sewing room enough to enjoy working in it and be able to find all the fabrics and components that I might need/want to use!

TAST and CQJP

2011-12-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I've really done myself in this time. I've signed up for both Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST) on Pintangle.com (Sharon Boggon's blog), and for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP), so now I really MUST keep up with some sort of blogging.

So! I'm thinking that I will combine the TAST challenge with my CQJP and kill two birds with one stone. I'm also oh-so-dangerously considering joining the BJP (Bead Journal Project), but there is a little voice in the back of my head warning me that I'm already way in over my head already, so I am hoping that reason will win out and I'll just do the BJP unofficially if at all.

I started out just signing up for TAST. I figured I would work the stitches on fabric postcards and fabric ATCs to send out for swaps throughout the coming year. ... but then someone mentioned CQJP, and I got excited about the idea of merging the two projects.

I started out thinking about the CQJP in terms of standard squares or rectangles. The minimum size CQ block each month is 36 square inches, which could be a 6x6 inch square or a 3 x 12 inch rectangle... so I sketched out some ideas (in pencil, sadly, so they don't photograph well) in my working journal (thank you SharonB for your fabulous Studio Journal class last year! Which I am signed up for again in February because I don't think I learned enough last time! .. I think signups are still available through pintangle, too, if any of you dear readers are interested). I also played around with the ideas of what a CQ means to me, why I'm drawn to them, what themes I might use, etc.

I want to work primarily from stash, and that shouldn't be a problem because my stash is already threatening to overwhelm me. I might need to add a couple of trims or something along the way, but I think I've got enough fabric, threads, and beads to work with... if I can organize everything I have into a system I can work with. --my collection is a bit of an overwhelming mess right now, and my sewing room is pretty cluttered. So for the rest of this month I'm going to be planning and organizing and finishing up this year's obligations to make room for the start of the new year.

Early considerations of theme possibilities:

seasons, months, colorwheel, peacocks, random, places I've traveled to, bios of friends, self-portrait of techniques I've dabbled in, fairy tales, dance and music...

If I work each month on a 6x6 block and arrange them in a 3x4 grid, that's only 18 x 24 inch finished size. That seems awfully small! ... but a larger sized block seems like it might get away from me. Maybe I don't want a grid, then.

I started looking at wheel shapes, thinking of the wheel of the year, the turn of the seasons:

January = cold, ice, blue and white, bare twigs of brown and black

February = grape hyacinth and daffodils, buds on the tree branches

March = tulips and birds' nests

April = baby bunnies, baby birds, caterpillars

...and so on

I got stuck on some of the months, but I figure that as they arrive, I'd get some clues. ;) .... but that still wasn't completely drawing me into a commitment. I like the idea, but I think I will save it for a different year (and take notes on each month's changes this year in preparation!)

Of course, I could interpret the year in holidays... like 4th of July and Thanksgiving and Valentine's day...but that struck me as a little cliche, and anyway I couldn't think of a good holiday for January (but September would be Talk Like A Pirate day!) ... again, it just didn't grab me.

I still liked the circle format, though, and I could see maybe doing a color progression from the center outward, like a color wheel... but that's too much like Art School again, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with the enthusiasm for a full year.

What about random CQ patches on a circular format? Can anyone say Tree Skirt? Well, I googled some images of CQ tree skirts and that didn't quite spark an interest either. They seemed too chaotic, somehow, and didn't quite carry me to a comfortable inspiration.

How about a kaleidoscope, then? Whee!!! I love kaleidoscopes! I felt a surge of energy and excitement and thought maybe I'm on the right track finally! ... but Kaleidoscopes get their beauty from the regularity, and maybe that's just another paper-pieced geometric quilt, not really a CQ. What if I make each wedge with the same patch shapes and orientation, and assign each patch a gray-scale value (dark, medium, light)... I could have some control, but still have the kaleidoscopic design show through? Hmm... maybe, but if I don't like it three months in to the project, what then? What if it looks too contrived and loses the CQ feel? What if it looks too chaotic and loses the kaleidoscopic feel? Nope. Too much to balance. I want this to be a project that sustains my interest... that has enough of a theme to tie it all together, but still allows enough freedom to explore and make changes along the way.

Back to the idea of squares and rectangles. What if I create a CQ from blocks that are different sizes and shapes? Instead of a standard grid, I could have a more interesting grid. That could be cool...

I stuck with that idea for awhile and might even have been able to be happy with it.

But the kaleidoscopic wedge idea wouldn't go away.

Neither would the idea of peacocks. (hmm. wonder why.)

Then, one miserable sleepless night (those seem to be my best thinking times, actually-- when I'd really rather be sleeping because I've got a busy day in my future and will need all my rested energy, but a stuffy nose from allergies or a restlessness from eating the wrong thing gets the better of me and I can't sleep and I can't relax, and I finally give up and grab a pencil and paper and start scribbling something ANYTHING in the hopes that I won't feel I've wasted several hours of my life the next morning. ...they're also my worst thinking times, too. Most of my late-night ideas seem pretty stupid by the light of day, but every once in a while I get a real gem. This was one of those once in a whiles. I think.) I came up with a fusion of the ideas jumbling round in my head:

Now THIS I am really excited about! I think I can be happy working on this one for 12 months straight, and then be happy proudly displaying the end result for years to come. :)

Welcome Back. :)

2011-10-04T16:05:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. I'm going to take it easy for a little while until I get back into the swing of things.

Right now I am working on a crazy quilt block for a round-robin. These closeups are from the work I did on Lynn's block, which I sent on to Louise last week.

There were originally going to be five participants in this particular round-robin, but two people unfortunately had to drop out early on.

Today I get to work on Louise's block, which Lynn has already worked on:

And next week I start an online Crazy Quilting class with the incomparable Sharon Boggon of http://www.pintangle.com/

Lei Kupe'e

2008-08-26T19:40:00.001-07:00

Last night was the best so far in all of these wonderful nights and days here on the islands! Last night we got to sit in with a hula hulau (group/school) and begin to learn the fascinating art of Hawaiian feather work! It was the chance to connect with the culture that I'd always dreamed of but never thought possible. We were introduced to each new person in turn as they arrived, and each and every one of them made us feel welcome and a part of the group. It is that feeling of Aloha that I most want to learn from these visits to the islands, and last night was a chance to see that spirit in practice as it was expressed to us and also to each other.

oh, and I got to learn some of the basics of feather work too! :) What a bonus. Now I have a whole tin of feathers that I need to tie into bundles within this week so that we'll be able to work on the next step of the project before we have to leave for home!

(pictures will have to wait.)

Sunday was Laundry Day...

2008-08-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

It was also, apparently, Find The Lizards day. On Sunday morning, I found this teensy tiny little hatchling lizard in the corner of the bathroom. He was lethargic and non-responsive. He hardly so much as blinked when I picked him up and he looked so helpless and dried out! So I made a little rehabilitation vivarium for him from a plastic take-out food container. I put a damp paper towel in one corner to give him places to hide and be cool and damp. I put a little dish of carrots inside too-- not because he had any chance of eating them, but because they would also help raise the humidity for him. I put a little bottlecap of water inside too, in case he could drink from it.

Then I went outside and sat in the yard to watch all the grownup lizards going about their daily lizardly duties. I asked them what a baby lizard might like to eat, and a few minutes later one of the bigger lizards saw a grub crawling along a rock and pounced on it. yum. Is it possible they understood the question? Either way, I knew to look for little grubs for the baby lizard. :) .. While I was sitting there watching them, one of the little lizards very bravely jumped onto my foot! That made me realize that it would be really neat to get some pictures, so (after the little lizard got bored and wandered off again) I trotted back in to the house for my camera. (I got a few nice lizard pics, but you'll have to wait until I get a chance to upload them.) I found two little grubs for the baby lizard and dropped them in to his temporary home. The next morning he looked much much better! He was alert and active. He hadn't eaten either of the grubs, but he'd recovered from his dehydration, so I took him outside and let him loose in the planter boxes, hoping that he wouldn't become a meal for any of the other larger lizards!

It brings up conflicting feelings, though. On the one hand, I really enjoyed being helpful for the baby lizard and sharing his companionship for the day. :) ... on the other hand, there are no native lizards in Hawaii. All of the lizards that are found here (except for one very very rare skink that may now be extinct) have been fairly recent transplants-- escapees or intentional releases of "pets." The lizards have made a serious impact on Hawaii's ecosystem (as has everything else we non-native humans have introduced; especially tourism, hotels, sunscreen, and plastic bags). Some of the lizards eat bird eggs, decimating the already struggling native bird populations. Even when they don't eat the eggs directly, they can be a source of competition for common food sources and living spaces. .. and this particular baby lizard was one of the brown anoles that are the most aggressive of the newcomers. The brown anoles are thriving to the point of displacing the once-common (but also not native) gecko.

So I'm torn. Should I have helped the baby lizard? should I have left him to his own devices live-or-die? should I have squashed him flat in a hopeless attempt to diminish the invasive lizard population? should I have kept him as a pet and tried to bring him back with me to Seattle, carrying whatever random seeds or bugs or parasites or diseases or fungi he might have on or in him and risked spreading those unknowns to a new environment where *they* might become harmful or invasive?*

So I guess there are two thoughts I bring out of this experience:
1- It's not always possible to know what the "right" course of action would be, and every action (or lack thereof) has numerous possible repercussions. Some of them we can know about and plan for, others may be completely beyond our capacity to see in the moment or even afterward. 2- ecosystems, like the English language, are complex, dynamic systems that change and adapt and respond in sometimes unexpected or even unacceptable ways to the influences of culture and common usage. So for now I'll use the word "snuck" when it suits me, and will help out the occasional dehydrated lizard baby one weekend and weed out invasive plants the next.

Aloha!

*keeping him as a pet and bringing him home was never a real possibility. It's highly illegal for exactly the reasons I mentioned above. Even worse would be bringing one of my own pets in to the state! There are quarantine possibilities for some of the larger, more common pets like dogs and cats... but ethically I'm not sure even they should be here. Especially the cats as they are more likely to be let wander loose to prey on any number of native species.
..but then I couldn't have squashed him flat either.

A Cozy 80 Degrees

2008-08-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

One of the things I really like about Hawaii is that I can leave an event at 11:00 pm and find that the night-time air temperature is a cozy 80 degrees. On the other hand, one of the downsides is that an hour later when I'm trying to fall asleep, I find that the night-time air temperature is a toasty 80 degrees and that the ceiling fan breeze makes my hair brush across my face, tickling my nose and keeping me awake. ... It's nice to sit back and appreciate that for at least one day, today, this was the biggest of my problems.

We haven't done a lot of beach-going or souvenir hunting or other touristy excursions this trip. Instead, we've connected with the locals. We've gone swing dancing and folk dancing and ballroom dancing. We have spent time with some really great people with whom we'd like to keep in contact. We walked along the beach at sunset and watched the full moon rise over the ocean with some friends of someone we met at one of the dances. With a different group of friends-of-friends, I hiked up a steep and challenging trail to help pull up invasive plants out of a patch of rainforest so that the native plants (slower growing) have a chance to survive. My knee had some trouble with the steeper terrain, but the other hikers helped out with a stabilizing hand. I naively left my lunch in my car, but the other hikers generously shared their own lunches with me. The biggest problem of that day was the 32 mosquito bites. (My knee trouble subsided after several doses of Advil and a couple days of rest. Some of the bites still itch-- and I got them a week ago tomorrow.)

I haven't done as much swimming as I thought I might do... I had imagined myself swimming 2 to 4 hours every day (2 in the morning, another 2 in the evening). Instead, I've been wary about too much sun exposure, so I've only gone for about a 2 hour swim every other day or so. I'm getting a light tan. The nearest beach is sandy without much coral, so no brightly colored fishes. Instead I've entertained myself by looking for man-made debris that gets washed up in the tides --you know, the glass shards from broken bottles, the bits of plastic and metal we humans leave in our wake no matter where we go (and that get carried by wind and wave and weather even into places that we haven't gone). In addition to the broken glass and random unidentified clutter, I've collected 3 pair of slacks, 1 blanket, 4 snorkels, 1 swim mask, 2 pair of swim goggles, 1 pair of sunglasses, 2 unbroken glass soda bottles, and 1 very very nice watch.

I'm not yet tired of pineapples. There's another fresh one on the counter for tomorrow's breakfast. I don't think I've lost any weight. I might have gained some. I snuck in to one of the fitness gyms and ... (* for commentary on the word "snuck" check the footnotes.) ... and put myself onto one of their scales. I think I've gained five pounds. I'm hoping it's all muscle; I've been swimming and dancing more than usual. .. ... .... .....I've also been eating cheeseburgers and shave ice and drinking Dr. Pepper. I suspect my hope is misguided. But I am still able to fit into my swimsuits, so it can't be too bad, can it?

Tomorrow is sleep-in-and-do-laundry day. That's why I got to stay up late and write this entry tonight.

* If you are interested in the grammatical implications of the word "snuck," the following links can shed some light:
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/snuck
http://daggle.com/060221-011328.html
http://languageandgrammar.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/sneaks-snuck-sneaked-in/
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/mcintyre/blog/2007/10/inflect_this.html

While I admire all the effort and skill that went into standardizing the English language throughout the centuries, I feel that sometimes the purists go too far and forget that the English language is a living language, a cultural collective. It grows and changes with time, context, and common usage. It is also subject to stylistic whims (and this is stylistically a very colloquial blog.)

In this instance, I like the emerging variant of the past tense "snuck" because it implies to me a certain (guilt-based, self-serving) furtiveness. Accordingly, if I were implying an honorable need to sneak (e.g. taking care to not wake the children while setting gifts beneath a Christmas tree) I would use the grammatically preferable past tense "sneaked." Isn't language fun?

A Balmy and Humid 80+ Degrees (F)

2008-08-10T13:59:00.001-07:00

...is not something you often experience in Seattle, Wa. Neither are the Tradewinds. Or truly fresh pineapple...

Aloha from Hawai'i, island of O'ahu!

Today I take a relaxing moment in the early morning hours to write this post before my husband wakes up. I've been here just long enough to really start forgetting what day it is. I've eaten 3 whole pineapples over the last couple of days, and will probably eat several more before I have to return to the mainland again. I haven't seen any honu yet (sea turtles), but I will keep looking.

We've found the local swing-dance group and they are incredibly warm and friendly people. It's nice to be dancing again now that the knee injury is finally starting to heal properly! It turns out that my still-persistent knee pain may be being caused by a lower back problem. I've got some new physical therapy exercises to focus on my lower back, so let's hope that they do the trick. I am very tired of the chronic pain, even at a low level.

Today I will go to the beach, feel the sand beneath my feet, the waves at my ankles, the sun on my skin. I will sift through the sand for interesting pebbles and will most likely find cigarette butts and bottle caps. I will throw them into the garbage and will ponder whether my responsibility ends at the landfill. What happens to our trash from there? How polluted will we make our planet before we figure out how to clean it up again?

I have been doing a targeted diet and exercize program for the last ten weeks. On day 2 I weighed 160 pounds. I ate an average of 1200 calories a day and walked an average of two miles a day plus did strength exercizes three days a week. On day 70 I weighed.... 160 pounds. I'd like to think that maybe I traded fat weight for muscle weight, but the inches didn't come off either. The diet and exercize made little to no difference. I still bob like a cork when I'm swimming in the waves. I am still too buoyant to linger at the bottom of the lagoon. Today I will eat a slice of chocolate cake for breakfast. I will weigh myself when I get back home again to see whether or not that slice of chocolate cake (etc) makes my weight go up.

I'm out of things to say for now. I'll try to check in again soon.

Closing the Door on the Past...

2008-08-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

...let's try this again...

I started up this blog to have something in common with my best friend and a way to share my life experiences with her and with other friends (both virtual and RL). When those core friendships failed, this became a very painful and difficult place to be. Too much of my life was something I couldn't put out on a public forum, and trying to focus on the little that was left over felt hollow and false because I had to leave so much of the real stuff out of the picture. So for the past couple of years I've left nearly all of it out of the picture. I had wanted it to be different, but life doesn't always give you what you want, and sometimes doesn't give you what you need.

..... ..... ..... ..... and now that topic is closed. Everything that I post from now on comes from this new perspective. I'm not going to try to go back and post about the things that I'd wanted to post about before. I'm sorry for the posts that never got written. Thank you to those few treasured readers who have contined to send occassional e-mails and let me know that they've missed me. You mean a lot more than I can express. :)

Christmas Meme

2007-09-20T00:30:00.001-07:00

So here goes…all you have to do is answer the questions and tag a few of your friends.

What is your favorite Christmas gift?

I've started a tradition with my husband that both of us appreciate: Throughout the year I buy myself some things that I particularly want, including a big-ticket item (one year a spinning wheel, one year a shop-vac, one year a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer...) I start using them right away, as soon as I bring them home (what's the point of waiting til December?) and then when the holiday season rolls around, I bring them into the main room and put bows on them. I get what I want (when I want!), my husband gets the credit and doesn't have to go shopping.

What is your best memory of Christmas?

Oh! okay, I've got one... I was flying out of town one winter to spend the holiday break with my now-husband. The flight was just a few days before Christmas, so all the holiday house lights and street lights were up. It was a rare coincidence that we'd had a fresh snowfall. (Seattle does tend to get one or two snowfalls each year, but if you do the math, you'll realize that it's not likely they'll coincide with Christmas.) As the plane rose into the air, the beauty of the colored lights reflecting off the snowfall was inexpressibly breathtaking.

Depending upon where you live do you have a hot or cold Christmas?

Last year was memorably cold with our four days of power outage! (and we were luckier than some! Most folk had their power restored by Christmas Eve, but a few unfortunates did not.) Usually it's just wet. Wet and chilly.

Would you prefer to try the opposite weather at least just once?
I've spent time in Southern California for the holidays before, so just making it warm(ish) and sunny wouldn't be a stretch. But I would really enjoy a chance to spend a holiday season up in Norway feeding reindeer and watching the northern lights... I'd also like to spend a holiday season south of the equator-- Australia, perhaps? Hawaii would be nice, of course... and then I'd also like to spend the holiday season in a country that celebrates differently. What are the winter festivals in Thailand or Japan like, I wonder?

What do you prefer in a tree? Fake or real?

Real trees make my allergies act up. Fake trees are *so* not worth the effort! .. these days when I do manage to dress the house, I just string lights and ornaments up from the furniture instead. ...and sometimes I do put up a wee little fiber-optic tree on the dining room table.

What is your favorite carol?

Mele Kalikimaka

What is your favorite Christmas dinner?

I used to make something exotic and unusual for the holiday dinner.. something I hadn't ever tried before. Sometimes that meant a new recipe, sometimes it meant a new type of food-- like goose or quail or venison. .. but then there was the one year in which (unthinkingly) I cooked reindeer stew. I don't think I'll ever forget that faux-pas!

Do you wear a Santa hat at Christmas?

not really. but I do wear season-appropriate socks from time to time.

Have you ever seen Santa delivering gifts?

not telling. ;)

Meme Addendum

2007-08-28T23:25:00.001-07:00

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.

Memed Again...

2007-08-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

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

Memed Twice, Actually...

2007-08-22T17:56:00.001-07:00

...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!

2007-08-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

...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....

2007-08-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

...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.

Just My Luck..

2007-07-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

(from KIROTV's weather advisory email service:)

"The NWS in seattle has issued an excessive heat warning, which is in effect from 12 pm Tuesday to 11 pm pdt wednesday....Temperatures will be 15 to 20 degrees above normal with daytime highs reaching into the 90s across the seattle, tacoma, and everett areas. Wednesday will be the warmest of the two days with highs in the mid 90s to near 100 possible....Hot temperatures will create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely. Drink plenty of fluids, avoid over-exertion, and check up on relatives and neighbors."

Just my luck: today and tomorrow I have to run dye baths all day. :P''''''

...y'know... Ten pounds of roving, all dyed to match, is a lot more of a challenge than I thought it would be! ..Three weeks ago, it sounded like fun! ;)

Heat Of Summer

2007-07-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's been too hot to even think lately! Outdoors it's only in the mid- to high-80's, but indoors it soars above that. I'm never quite sure why my house gets so hot inside, but it does. Downstairs near the garage stays cooler-- and that's where the rabbits are kept right now so that they don't get heat stroke (angoras are at serious risk of heat stroke if the temperature of their environment gets to 85 degrees. Right next to the garage it seems to stay under 80. .. so far.) ... angoraS! did I mention the second acquisition? I don't think I have. It's been a whirlwind of a summer in so many ways.

Fran got a job offer in New York and asked me to take her rabbit. How could I not? You'll remember Fran's rabbit from about a year ago when I bunny-sat it to keep it healthy in last year's heat wave! Three-Legged Cinnamon. She's doing quite well adjusting to her new environment. She even manages to use a low-sided litterbox. She and Freebie both went to the vet recently to get fixed so that they can room together in one hutch. :) I decided that with her handicap she really doesn't need to be trying to care for a pregnancy and babies-- she really has trouble just caring for herself! .. and Freebie never quite made good confirmation (though he has a wonderful disposition and lovely color), so I wouldn't be trying to stud him out to others' bunnies. They will still give lovely fiber throughout their lives, and they are wonderful well-loved pets. I am hoping that housing them together will give Cinnamon some much-needed cuddles and socializing. She never really got over losing her leg and even still, two years later, doesn't much like being touched or held.

Last weekend was Merrie Greenwood Players Rennaisance festival in Richland. It's the first time I've gone to that one-- it's small but rather nice. The weather was very hot, and I did wish that I could loosen my layers and even take off the outermost bodice. It became very apparent how much extra weight I've put on from this injury when I tried to lace up my bodice! But since we were helping out as demonstrators (spinning, weaving, etc), we had to stay in-costume. I think I'm going to split my bodice up the sides and add an inch of inkle-woven ribbon as an extension. I hope it works-- it would be much quicker than making an entirely new bodice!

Weekend before that was Black Sheep Gathering! Lots of fun. I took Paula Schull's class on handcombing and have started to work my way through all the fleeces I've been collecting. I also took a class on lichen dyeing, and one on spinning with the exotic down and hair fibers (yak, cashmere, camel, qiviut, etc) both taught by Judith McKenzie McCuin. If you *ever* get a chance to take a class from her, jump at the opportunity! She really knows her stuff, and she covers an amazing volume in the short time she has. I leave her two-hour classes feeling like I have put in an entire day's work.

Three weeks before that was the Northwest Regional Spinner's Association annual conference--in Idaho this year. And it was HOT! ... I don't know what the numbers were (I never did look that up), but it was definitely hotter than the 85ish we're hovering at around here right now. But such a blast! most thoroughly worth the trip.

more later! must go feed the husband just now.

So I'm Looking For A Project.....

2007-06-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

(having lost my sock at Norwescon, finished a summer top from a cheap ribbon yarn, finished a simple moebius strip shoulder wrap during two movies recently, and not really ready yet to start tackling some of the projects that got set aside in the wake of the injury and related turmoil)

...and I am most delighted to find that I still have several skeins of Get Well Yarn that haven't yet been made into projects! So I hugged those skeins and tucked them aside with a refreshed sense of joy at the projects that await me. :)

I found several projects-in-progress that will stay hidden away in dark corners for a while longer before I decide whether to finish them or rip them back...

...and I found lots of balls of a lovely soft green mohair lace yarn and a lace shawl pattern from (I think it was) Interweave Knits! .. and several balls of beautiful purple alpaca that came with the same package!! What a fabulous surprise!! I had forgotten all about my plan to make the shawl this spring! ...I guess I missed spring, actually, but summer is still a great time to work on a lace project! ...

so I got on my blog and started looking for the back post Thank You note from when this yarn came in... and was horrified to find that I don't think one ever got written!! ARGH!!!! omg! Now I *know* that I sent a thank-you e-mail... (but then, I *knew* I'd written a thank-you post, too! so if I didn't write the e-mail either, boy do I feel sheepish!)

...but it's time to say THANK YOU! again! I was delighted, of course, when the yarn and pattern first arrived (and I think there were other wonderful goodies in the same box, actually!) ... and if memory serves me right (which may or may not be the case, apparently), they were a gift from my SP8, Lacy! ... You remember Lacy, of course-- Lacy sent Flash!! :)

Anyway.. I'd post a picture, but my digicam is still awol. :P

and I can't place a pointer at my previous thank-you post because, apparently, it didn't get posted. well, there's no time like the present! Thank You, Lacy!! I'm so excited to start knitting up the green lace shawl!

Summer Gets SO Busy!

2007-06-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

...and I've misplaced my digital camera, so until I find it again I can't share pictures of my latest endeavors.

Ah well. NWRSA annual conference last weekend was a blast. :) I entered four skeins of my handspun yarn for judging and got a first-place ribbon for each one! wow! I hadn't thought they were *that* good..

I managed to get my exchange fiber projects finished on time, and will have to post pictures of them when I can find the pictures that I took. (those would be somewhere on my computer, not my camera.. my husband transferred them for me and now I need to figure out where they got put.) I haven't heard from the recipient, so I don't know whether she loves it or not, but I enjoyed making it. I entered again this year and got fiber from someone I actually know! It's going to be really fun to work on this year's exchange, knowing who it will be going to!

Right now, fiber-wise, I am very busy. I have one fleece in the washtub (and at least four more that will need washing), yarn in a dyepot, workshops to plan for, and at least four active projects on the needles. I'm also finishing up a spinning project that I started before my knee injury (and can finally work on again!) and am almost well enough to finally entertain the idea of working on a weaving project on the big loom. (pressing the treadles for my loom is pretty demanding on my knee.)

I'm still playing catch-up on all the household chores that got delayed because of the injury, but at least I'm starting to feel like I'm making *some* progress again! I got some of the azalea bushes trimmed back from the wall (and into the dyepot they went), and I got one tiny corner of my bulb-bed groomed, but I still have a *LOT* more to do, and I wonder whether I will be able to complete it by winter or whether it will all be waiting for me again next spring.

Folklife Festival

2007-05-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Memorial day weekend was Folklife Festival weekend-- imagine a country fair but with dreadlocks instead of cowboy boots. It's an annual music and dance and artisans crafts fair. On Friday I did some volunteer work during the afternoon then tried a few dances and listened to some music before heading home.

On Saturday I brought my custom knee brace and better shoes and danced quite a bit. :) I'd been looking forward to that for months, hoping I'd be able to dance all weekend once Folklife arrived.

On Sunday I took lots of Advil and put an ice pack on my knee all day. It performed surprisingly well-- hurt a bit, but not as much as my calf and shin and quads! All in all quite a success, even if I didn't get to dance "all weekend"

On Monday I cleaned house and rested.

The big fiber and spinning conferences are coming up real soon. I'm not really ready yet, but I'm probably as ready as I'm going to be. It should be fun anyway. I'm looking forward to learning new skills and spinning yarns and hanging out with other spinners.

This year's Fiber Exchange project is due already!! yipes! Fortunately I'm ready to turn it in, but you'll have to wait a little longer before I get a post written up about it. I feel like I've had no time to relax since my knee started getting better. I've got yardwork that's way overdue (lots of weeds to pull, bushes to trim back, etc etc), housework that's way overdue, projects that got put on hold... and I'm still in physical therapy twice a week plus finding time for the exercizes at home.

I'm sorry that the blog is suffering at the moment, and even more sorry that I haven't gotten out to look at YOUR blogs! It will happen. Soon, I should hope!

Knee Update: I've Started Dancing Again.

2007-05-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

... not that it's easy, or comfortable, but at least I can do a little of it again.

and I've been back to the ice rink. I get to do even less there-- five minutes gliding around the rink followed by five minutes resting. Nothing fancy, nothing impressive, hardly even exercize. .. but at least it's movement, and I can hope that some day it will come easy again. For now it hurts and it's exhausting. .. and even the return to the rink is bittersweet. The first time was especially difficult, as it hit me as quick and as painful as being run over by a speeding semi truck that the last time I skated, Beth was still my friend. .. or rather, I believed she was. Now she's not.

And like the missing sock, that friendship is gone for good.

In fact, the sock seems to have far more likelihood of returning.

ah well. One adapts to the things that don't heal.

hugs all.

I Have The Dreaded SSS !

2007-05-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

..which would be Single Sock Syndrome!!

(not the more familiar SSS: Second Sock Syndrome-- nope, I rarely have trouble getting the second sock started, finished, usually even to match. The second sock goes great-- I know what I'm doing, I've worked out the glitches on the first sock, the second sock goes by like a breeze.)

My Norwescon sock is still missing!!! ARGH! Lost and found doesn't have it. The hotel doesn't have it. My luggage doesn't seem to have it! WHERE DID IT GO???!

I'm blaming house-gremlins again. ..though I've had remarkably little trouble with them in the past year. .. and I'm not sure "house" gremlins would be the right species, since I wasn't at home when it went missing... so I guess "convention gremlins" would be more accurate.

I've moved on to new projects in the interim, while I wait to see if the missing sock will ever show up...

but I'm not adapting well to the absence of my missing sock! My feet are in a war over which one gets to wear the single finished sock. My fingers are aching to finish the now-familiar pattern. My camera wants to take a triumphant picture of the sock that should be finished now but isn't even here anymore.

Single Sock Syndrome, I guess... the equally devastating cousin to Second Sock Syndrome so widely suffered by knitters around the world.

It doesn't help any that this was a pair of socks that took a devastatingly long time to complete (now even longer and perhaps never to be completed) .. I started the ball of yarn in early October (yes, I'm behind on my posting. I realize that, and I will try to catch up as I can!) ... ripped out that progress in late November and restarted. ripped out that progress in late December and started AGAIN. .. finally settled on a mild adaptation of the Jaywalker pattern and worked on sock 1 in Tucson, AZ while we sat with Keith's father in his final days. ... I made good progress throughout January and February-- those horrible cold stormy winter days of wind and snow-- and didn't bring the second sock with me to Hawaii. .. I did bring *SOME* knitting with me to Hawaii, but I didn't work on it at all (despite its looming end-0f-May deadline), not even on the plane flights. I would have left the fiber world behind entirely for all of March except that I can't. ;) .. I planned a quilt and picked out fabrics, I sewed (entirely by hand! with needle and thread! no machine!!!) a pair of slacks for Keith, I learned to spin sennit into rope, I wove a coconut palm leaf fish... but no knitting.

Maybe if I'd worked on the second sock while I was in Hawaii, it wouldn't have been able to go missing at Norwescon! argh!! Regrets will doom you.

And now it's gone. And it will take me a long long time to come to terms with the permanence of that fact. For now I am still hoping it will come back. Later on, when I am certain that I have done everything possible to find the missing sock and have been fruitless nonetheless, I will, perhaps, settle the battle between my feet by making the Single Sock into a hand puppet.

Then my hands can war over which one gets to wear the blasted thing.

Hugs all!

The Sock I Was Working On At Norwescon...

2007-05-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

...may have stayed there. (pout!!)

I had it with me on Saturday night, but it wasn't in my purse on Sunday afternoon. I did my best to track it down, but no luck so far. (I keep hoping that when I get the last of the odds and ends unpacked and sorted out I'll find it in some unexpected corner-- it's not in the dirty laundry. I know that much already (having already gotten those pulled out and washed) but perhaps it is tucked in with a costume piece or bit of random whatnot.

I hope it shows up again! It was one of my treasured Get Well Knee yarns and I'd already turned the heel on the second sock! durnit!

The Sock I Just Started Is Already Doomed.

2007-05-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

...at least in terms of matching pattern.

It's a stripey Regia (I know I said I don't like Regia, but y'know it's not all that bad when I work it on larger needles! It gets a bit stiff and unpleasant when I put it on tiny needles and get too many stitches to the inch.. but on size 2 (3 mm) it's just not bad at all!

And this was a delightful colorway-- crayola-box bright rainbow of stripes. Like wearing a circus, I guess. ... I picked up two balls of it one day recently when I found myself out of the house with nothing to knit (how did that happen?) and some time to kill.

I cast on for a scarf but didn't like the results, so after a bit of work and a week or two of thinking about it, I ripped back and started over. I cast on for a sock, but I cast on too many stitches (80 instead of 60) for the gauge I was getting but was delighted to find that it was a good start for knee socks! Oh what a delight to think of a circus-striped pair of knee socks!! .. but fate is against me-- there is no more of this yarn to be had at any of the local stores.

So I ripped out that progress to cast on yet again for a more traditional trouser-sock length and discovered that *even though* the two balls of yarn are the same dye lot, the striping length varies substantially! argh! from start of blue (blue-green then pink-yellow then red-orange then blue-green) to end of second blue is 10.5 yards on one ball, and 13 yards on the other! .. I don't know if it varies within the skein-- I didn't check. All I really need to know is that this pair of socks is off to a troublesome start and not likely to get better behaved!

Delighted To Announce The Winners!!

2007-05-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

I didn't get as many responses to my Hawaii celebration "challenge" as I thought I might. (I live in fear of running a contest some day and having a thousand respondents more than I'd planned for!!)

But the Great news is: That leaves me with the ability to share the Aloha Spirit with BOTH contestants! Paula and Mia will each get a box of Hawaiian spirit to share and enjoy! I'll be putting those boxes into the mail by next weekend (or explaining the delay if I don't get it done on time!) and will share a picture of the bounty once I am sure that the goodies have reached their targets!

Thank you for playing!

And yes, Basset, I will come to your blog this week too and see what your son has done!

...pps-- the slow boxes from Hawaii did eventually get here. :) .... so did the priority mail envelope with my final rolls of film that got mis-routed (my fault: I picked up the envelope on May 9 and bought postage for it at an Automated Postal Center that same day-- thinking that I would drop my rolls of film into the mail for processing on the mainland once I got home again. .. but then I realized they'd be at risk for x-rays, so I got the film processed on-Island instead until our very last day. On our last day on the islands, I rounded up all remaining shot film and put those final rolls into a lead-lined x-ray protection bag in a new priority mail envelope (did I mention that I had destroyed the previous envelope getting the previous film back out?), taped the postage (that I had cut out of the previous envelope) to the new envelope, and left it with the hotel desk clerk to drop into outgoing mail for me while I headed to the airport for our departing flight. ... the postcards I handed him the same day got home the day after we did! ... the re-routed priority envelope took more than a week. But considering that I'd bought the priority mail postage two weeks prior and on a different island, I'm just glad that it found its way home at all!

I'm *almost* done unpacking everything! (isn't that a sad comment!) and I am really looking forward to sharing some of the photos that I took. Also, pictures of knitting, weaving, and other fiber news, the post I promised about Norwescon, and much much more!! Coming soon. :)

EWWWWwww!

2007-04-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled across a cool website:
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

It's got lots of pictures of bugs (and identifies them!) ... some are beautiful, some are unsettling (gross, scary, etc) ... and a rare few, I guess, are both.

Now I've got the willies. How am I going to sleep tonight??!

YAY! My Images Are Back!

2007-04-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

I finally tracked down the problem that was interfering with my images! ... or, really, I finally tracked down my husband who tracked down the problem for me. ;)

So Here's The Contest:

2007-04-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

... or perhaps not so much a "contest" as a "Celebration"

Each person who gives me a mailing address (send to: peacockschallengeAThotmailDOTcom) by May 1, 2007 will get a prize. :) ... For the prizes I will be making handmade greeting cards inspired by my travels. I may (or may not) also include a pair of my handmade stitch markers or some such other goodie(s) depending upon how ambitious I feel and how much time it takes me to get things made up. ...

One of the entrants will get a special giftie box with more Hawaii inspired goodies. This person will be chosen at random from the set of names that I receive. The drawing will be done on May 1.

This "contest" is intended to be fun and interactive. There is no penalty for getting answers wrong, nor extra reward for getting all the answers "right."

As usual, clever and unique answers that make me laugh are especially treasured. :)

1. What is a "honu"?
2. How do you spell "humuhumunukunukuapuaa"? ;)
3. For that matter, how do you pronounce it!
4. How DO geckos stick to the walls like that?
5. What's the best treatment for a sunburn?
6. How do you stop mosquito bites from itching!
7. Makai or Mowka?
8. What is your favorite recipie/use for Spam?
9. What is a "nene"?
10. Name the two types of lava found in Volcanoes National Park
11. What would your favorite flavor of shave ice be?

Answer as many or as few of these questions as you choose! Think up others if you wish, and challenge others to answer them! Answers in the comments section-- mailing addresses in email. :)

Mahalo and Aloha!

Easter Weekend!

2007-04-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the Get Well wishes! They've worked. :) .. yesterday I was mostly better except that I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach (but at least food was staying where it was supposed to and I wasn't too dizzy to drive anymore.) Today I feel well again.

Just in time for the annual "what do you mean it's Easter Weekend again already?" festivities. .. that would be Norwescon Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention. The long-standing readers among you (or those of you who are newer but back-read) may recognize the name "Norwescon" from last April's posts-- where I expressed all intent to do a Norwescon review post, but failed to follow through on that intent in the wake of the diagnosis for my knee and the devastatingly solid realization that recovery was not going to be an "any minute now I'll start to feel better..." type of experience.

So this year I'll just have to do the review you didn't get. :)

But first I'll finish up the March Travels review posts and the celebratory "challenge" that goes with it. :)

..but before that, I've got a convention to attend! .. see y'all on Monday! .. or Tuesday if I'm sleeping in and unpacking on Monday. ;)

hugs all!!

(P.S. Also coming soon: this year's Pysanky pictures!)

Flu Today

2007-04-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I don't have it in me to post more than that. I'll be back again soon, when I feel better again. bleah.

Back From Hawaii: Part 2

2007-04-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

Day 16: another flight. More chewing gum. More crossword puzzles. More in-flight photography.

No mongooses! What a weird transition after so many of them for so long. Instead, there are birds! Birds of many shape and size and color. White egret-looking birds in abundance in particular catch my eye, stunningly beautiful against the greenery. We drop our rolls of film in for development while we have lunch. It's too early to check in to our next VRBO-- It won't be ready until 3 in the afternoon. So we drive a bit along the coastline, stopping at random beaches to look at the surf and the conditions. The water's a bit choppy in most places. Swimming is going to be possible only in protected coves and lagoons.

Our VRBO is beautiful! more space than that resort hotel we stayed in and at a fraction of the price! And decorated with beautiful handmade quilts-- made by the owner herself. It's the perfect inspiration to help me finish Keithr's slacks. He'll even be able to wear them before the end of the trip! He won't have to spend the time putting sunscreen on his legs anymore! :) Finishing them will take another couple of days, but there will still be several days beyond that for him to wear them.

Have I mentioned the discovery of Flat Rate Priority USPS boxes? What a deal!! The first round of souvenirs that I purchased (way back in Oahu on day 4) got put into big huge normal shipping boxes and sent by slow-boat rate. ... I'm still waiting for them to arrive today (April 11) ... makes sense as they were going to take "3-6" weeks, so they're really not even late yet. ... but then the fabric store we stopped at in Hilo (big island) suggested shipping the fabric purchases home in the flat rate boxes. WooHoo! ... of course, now my living room is swamped in flat-rate boxes. But *THEY* all made it home before the Vacation Glamour wore off! .. and (bonus!) are available for me to dig out souvenir gifties for the people I adore in my life! Kukui nut oil for Sherry as a thank you for watching my bunny! Sarongs for Fran, for Tara, for Susan... When the slow-boat boxes show up I'll have the other set of souvenir sarongs, etc. and will get those distributed as well. :)

Day 17: St. Patrick's day. Thinking often of Zann-- hoping she's got support at this one-year-anniversary mark. St. Pat's day is as big a celebration on the Islands as it is anywhere else, but we mostly manage to let it slip by unnoticed. We've opted for a day "at home" at our VRBO. And I've finished Keithr's slacks! Yay!!

Also, I've stopped counting pineapples. .. not pineapples in the visual field (like geckos, white egrets, mongooses, etc) or in the auditory field (like tour helicopters and tree frogs), but pineapples in the stomach. If you estimate one pineapple every two days, you'd be just about accurate. I have a weakness for fresh fruit-- fruit that I can *smell* (not that waxed and coated plasticized fruit at the grocery store, but real farmer's market fresh from the tree/field RIPE fruit) and the pineapples smell heavenly and taste just the same. Is it possible to overdose on pineapples? I may find out if I stay here long enough.

So about those absent mongooses. Turns out the mongooses were intentionally introduced to the islands almost a century ago with the intent that the mongooses would eradicate the problem roof-rats that had stowed away on whaling vessels, naturalized to the islands, and severely damaged local bird populations. On the other islands, the mongooses naturalized quite swiftly and can now be seen in profusion. On Kauai, by counterpoint, the mongooses ran into a rather devastating barrier very early in their stay which prevented them from naturalizing themselves to the island. It seems that a dock worker, realizing (a little quicker than most) what effect importing a diurnal hunter to the islands to eradicate a nocturnal hunter would actually have, kicked the crate of mated mongooses right off the dock and into the water, thus preserving those few of Hawaii's birds that managed to outwit the rats.

On Kauai, it is the chicken (freed from coops by hurricanes Iwa and Iniki) that has naturalized instead.

Day 18: Exploring Kauai's North Coast. Ha'ena beach. Pounding surf--hard waves with a high curl. Hoping for a chance to swim, but all advice (lifeguards, locals, etc) said don't risk it. .. so, reluctantly, I stayed ashore. But I had my camera! Took pictures of the waves and got some beautiful results. Also got my first sunburn. Right arm, neck, side of face. (That's what happens when all my focus is through my camera lens!)

Stopped counting chickens.

Shave Ice!! Oh, the yummy yummy treat that is Shave Ice! (not "shaved", but "shave") ... not a snow-cone (wherein the ice is crushed into small granular bits like sand then topped with syrup), but shaved with a steel blade, creating a fine fluffy texture that holds the syrup in suspension! Oh, so yummy. And on the Islands, they do it extra-special-- the stand I liked best put a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream at the bottom, the shave ice next (mango and coconut syrups for me, thanks!), and a super-yummy "snow cap" topping of sweetened condensed milk! .. it's no wonder I managed to gain weight despite the increase in activity!

Day 19: All day on a boat. A powerboat sailing excursion up the Na Pali coast. My second sunburn of the trip. Rounded out yesterday's right-side sunburn with some left-side sunburn to match. Rough seas made for an exhilarating trip! Watched spinner dolphins jump and play! watched bottlenose dolphins swim beside the ship! Watched flying fish dart from the water and glide through the air!! Saw whale blows, and even a whale breech! saw sea turtles swimming along the surface for air (oh they are SO cute with their little noses up above the surface!) Saw the Na Pali coast shrouded in mist (the pictures from the boat trip are not as good as the pictures I took from the air on the way in). Saw huge, violent surges of surf crash against the sheer cliffs of Na Pali coastline, splashing the water at least twenty feet up the rocks. Saw miles and miles of beautiful blue ocean. Got splashed by the waves (I mentioned the rough seas, yes?) Ate a mediocre lunch, offered spare Bonine to fellow passengers, polished off several rolls of film (underwater cameras rock!) and finished the journey with a half hour of snorkeling in deep water. Not the most remarkable snorkeling of our stay. Not the most notable experience of our stay, actually. The dolphins were cool, admittedly, as were the turtles and the whales and the flying fish and the coastline. ... but I just *hate* being herded along in a tour group! MooooOOoo!

Day 20: Ke'e beach-- North shore, west until the road stops. Right where civilization ends and the untamed cliffs of Na Pali begin, there is a sheltered lagoon ringed by a coral reef. The lagoon is perhaps as big as a house, with the coral reef all the way around except for one gateway the size of a doorway just where the Na Pali cliffs start. This gateway is open to the sandy floor 20 foot or so below and threads its way through a maze of coral reef obstacles. The lagoon itself draws an amazing variety of fish (humuhumunukunukuapuaa!) and during my swim I was treated to the brilliant colors of parrot fish, trigger fish, needle fish... more fishes than I can name! and sea urchins, sea slugs, coral of many variety... Ke'e quickly became my favorite place to swim and I learned its underwater terrain as thoroughly as the grounds of my VRBO. On one of our swims I even found a flounder! all cuddled up in the sand with only its bulging eyeballs moving this way and that as I swam above it!! SO cool!!

The other neat thing about Ke'e is that the sea turtles are known to frolic just outside that gateway I mentioned. During the summer when the seas are calm, it is possible to swim through the gateway and watch them. (leaving a required minimum distance between you and the turtles as they are a protected species!) This quest is unadvised during the winter months-- surf gets high, currents can be unpredictable, and every year people drown-- tourists and locals alike-- from the fickle sea conditions.

But I'm a good swimmer, and foolhardy to boot. ... and I was lucky that afternoon, arriving at the lagoon at just the right time in just the right conditions, and the turtles were right there.. just at the mouth of the lagoon, playing in the breaking waves. I cannot begin to describe how much of my soul was healed that day.. how much of my faith in goodness existing was restored by watching the turtles swim and float and frolic. More than anything else, I remember that moment. .. and then the turtles seemed to tire of my presence and I swam back into the lagoon to watch the fishes again.

Day 20: From here on it all blurs. .. some days we were out at Ke'e. Some days we drove down to Lihue to put the film in for processing. Some days we must have stayed at home? ... I don't recall now. I waited too long to get it written up-- the flu, the Norwescon.. -- Hawaii is becoming a fading dream, hard to hold on to. ... but we walked through galleries, looked at artwork, wandered the beaches, swam in lagoons, ate pineapples and shave ice, picked up postcards (even though I'd left my address book at home and most of the recipients will need to wait until postcards and address book occupy the same desktop before they get their note from Hawaii!), took apart and re-sewed the slacks (ah, my dear husband... I do love him!), shot pictures with my camera, counted geckos, tried to ignore chickens (the crowing really is quite annoying!), scratched mosquito bites, and ruminated on the ever-approaching moment that we'd have to pack up again and return home.

Day 21 and 22 were much the same. Chickens, geckos, shave ice, pineapple, mosquito bites, afternoon swims, photography, sewing.

Day 22: BABY gecko!! now that was a highlight... we were sitting up late (I finishing Keith's slacks again, he reading), and suddenly there was a teensy tiny little baby gecko on the arm of my chair! Now, most geckos that we'd seen were about 3 to 4 inches long. This gecko wouldn't be able to reach the far side of a quarter if he stretched himself out flat! BABY GECKO!!!

The islands are a pretty special place. There is a phenomenon known as "Island Time"... wherein no one is ever "late" because time has no meaning outside of the immediate surroundings and activities. It's not a universal phenomenon because there are airline schedules to keep and tourists to molify and the Outside World to interact with... but when you don't have anywhere to be anytime soon and you don't have anyone you're disappointing by not showing up, well.. Island Time creeps into your soul if you let it.

For almost two hours we watched that baby gecko negotiate his way around the room, creeping in and out of tiny corners, jumping from furniture to window ledge, hiding, reappearing, investigating. .. and it was a better show than most Hollywood blockbusters I can bring to mind.

I thought of Zann a lot that day... lizards in the leaves.. geckos in the furniture.

And for the rest of our stay, I checked shoes before slipping them on, checked surfaces before setting things down, and said a little prayer for the baby gecko's safety everytime I sat down on the couch. :)

Day 23: We packed our things and cleaned the VRBO yesterday. Today we return the rented snorkel gear and try to pretend we're excited about going home again. But first, one last swim at Ke'e.

One last.

..it almost was.

Note: The warning signs are there for a reason. Believe them.

Note: The locals know what they are talking about.

Note: The best swimmers/athletes/etc die. --Because the best swimmers/athletes/mountain climbers, etc take bigger risks.

Note: The person who takes the biggest risks should not be the person carrying the car keys.

Note: bare feet are not the same as swim fins.

Note: If you think you know a person/place/phenomenon inside and out, can predict its every nature, whim, and outcome, you are deluded. You simply have not met the circumstances under which that person/place/phenomenon behaves differently. It is impossible even to know *yourself* that thoroughly. ... still, the illusion of knowing gives us a belief in safety, the ability to move forward, to trust, to act.

Note: conditions change.

So here I am again at Ke'e, at the lagoon, hoping against hope to see turtles again. Yesterday I came in the morning.. just after sunrise (hey, turtles are important like that!).. at this time of the month that coincided with low tide. If there were turtles, they were too far out beyond the gateway, and the surf was too rough to risk going past to look for them. Earlier in our visit, three weeks ago, sunrise would have brought high tides. My sunrise swim was a bit of a disappointment-- too early even for the reef fishes. This time it's evening. High tide. almost sunset. The water is warm (about 73 degrees F!), the people are packing up to go home, the lagoon has one or two other swimmers paddling about. I can see the currents. Tiny airbubbles suspended at all levels tell me where the currents are. I know this lagoon. I familiarize myself with the current conditions, what's new at the moment.. what fish are about, how are they acting.. there are bits of flotsam in the water today-- tendrils that look like they might have been part of a jellyfish once. Store that information. Might be important later. The fishes are further in today, not hanging out at the far reaches. They're acting normal-- eating this and that, going about their business, ignoring me. There's a little ridge of the reef sticking out of the water. I haven't seen it at high tide before-- always before there's been enough surface to walk across (Heaven Forbid!! that's death to the reef!! .. but people do it anyway. Some unknowing, some uncaring) out to the far ridge. .. today parts of it are submerged. Take note of that. Might be important later. I wonder briefly what the exact time the high tide will crest. No way to know right now.. should have googled it earlier, I guess. I realize that if I became a resident.. naturalized here myself, became "local" (is that possible for a transplant?) ... that I would Know these things. They would become part of my essential knowledge. As clear and obvious and ever-present as whether it will rain today, or whether the wind is blowing. For now all I can do is watch the water, pay attention to the currents, the fishes, the wind, the waves. It all looks pretty good. Maybe I'll be able to see another turtle today? who knows. The turtle-spotting isn't all that important, really... it's just the whim of a goal I've set for this swim. I could be counting sea urchins or humuhumunukunukuapuaa instead and the goal would be just as valid.

Goals are a way of extending oneself. Some goals are maleable, subject to discard when they don't suit the purpose. Others are not. Some change from one tier of importance to another--usually after a major life challenge. ... If I set myself a goal to knit a pair of socks, I'm not just after a pair of socks! I could buy a pair of socks at Target for far less investment. The pair of socks is the goal I've defined, but the progress toward that goal is where growth can occur. Is this the opportunity to try cabling or lace? is this the time to add beads to my knitting? to reach an in-depth understanding of gauge and its effects on the finished garment? ... at the end, I have a pair of socks... or perhaps I don't. .. but I have more than that-- I have everything I brought to bear along the way. Every technique I learned for the occasion, every discovery about myself--how do I manage time, what takes precedence in importance over this pair of socks, and what gets pushed aside to make room for it, etc. ... today the goal is seeing turtles. It's an unlikely goal, but along the way I'll see more fishes, more reef, more of how the ocean works.

So after a quick swim throughout the lagoon, checking fish populations at various reef edges, I swim toward the gateway. I know this terrain. I am glad for that. It feels like home-- familiar, comfortable... and far enough out that I am away from the casual swimmers. A moment of solitude. I am in my element. I have been swimming in the ocean since at least I was 6... no... before that. I have been swimming in pools since before I could walk. .. almost before I could crawl. Water is my home. I have swum my way out of undertows, riptides, and fierce currents too many times to count. I have been pounded by big waves before, swept by their power against the ocean floor until my bathingsuit weighed 10 pounds more from the sand it was carrying and my mouth was filled with sand too. I have been pushed off of sharp rocks by a sudden surge of a wave and know what it feels like to be ripped to shreds trying to get back out again. The ocean is my friend. I respect it. It may kill me some day.

The wave curls outside the gateway are maybe 3 to 5 feet in height.. the larger ones not all that common. The curls are breaking just outside the gateway, so there is hope that they won't be too much of a hinderance. On one of my previous swims they were breaking right at the gateway, and that made conditions far too choppy, far to jumbled, far too cloudy with bubbles.. visibility was low that day, and in the gateway the wave break caused up-and-down currents that just made threading my way through the reef too risky. Today it might be possible.

The gateway, from all my assembled experience, being the only entry-and-exit point for the water to-and-from the lagoon, has a circular flow. At one level the water will be flowing in, and at a different level the water will be flowing out. Whether the in-flow is at surface or at bottom depends upon whether the tide is flowing in or out. ... or at least, that's my rudimentary understanding of it, and it suffices. Conditions of the moment follow this prediction. At the surface there is a current inward. 8 foot down or so the current pulls outward. It's a moderate current.. not terribly strong.. I wouldn't suggest Keith swim out here-- he's not as familiar with the ocean as I. He didn't used to swim in competition. But it's not bad. My brother might be fine with it. ... but my brother is not the risk-taker that I am, so he probably would opt-out, happy with counting humuhumunukunukuapuaa in the heart of the lagoon. He doesn't enjoy the choppy surf the way that I do-- being tossed around by the waves as if I were weightless. That rocking feeling stays in your soul-- at night, after a good swim, I feel the waves rock me to sleep still. The inner ear keeps an echo of the motion, I think.

It's lightly misty today. The shore is beautiful, and there is a rainbow in the gentle rain. The cliffs of Na Pali look like a fairytale world. Here at the gateway I find my breath catch at their beauty-- nearly sunset, the light low, shining through the mist, lighting up the patches of green vegetation and dark black rock.. I'm treading water here at the breakline, just at the mouth of the gateway, just at the point where the outer edge of the coral reef ends and the start of the high sheer cliffs begin. The break of the waves has made the gateway water too cloudy with bubbles and I know that I won't have the visibility to see turtles today, even if they were here, so that goal has dissipated.. but this new experience of the Na Pali cliffs in mist and sunlight have captured me, and I am delighted! ..and rewarded for my risk-taking. I snap a picture with my waterproof travel camera, knowing there is no hope for the photograph to capture even a fraction of the moment.

Conditions Change.

If there's one thing you learn in life it's this: Conditions Change. Sometimes you have warning and time to prepare. Other times you don't. Sometimes you understand why. Other times you don't. Sometimes you never will.

It's especially that way with people. One moment they're a reliable friend... the next they've turned you aside, done you harm, forgotten you, or just ... Changed. ... Conditions Change. And you find out that under these new conditions they cannot be your friend. Never could. They were your friend only because that condition was never present. That aspect was never tested. Conditions Change.

And sometimes it's that way with environments. A winding road that's a pleasure to drive in a light soft mist on an overcast day becomes a significant danger in a downpour. Coconuts that get just heavy enough suddenly fall in a huge bunch, crushing whatever's beneath. A docile pet, when it's injured, is just as dangerous as a feral beast. Approach with caution. Conditions change.

For me the moment was sudden and unexpected. What had been a gentle, moderate current leading inward was suddenly sucking me outward and briskly! It was the change of a heartbeat. If I'd been any further out, I don't think I would have stood a chance. ... In part I felt the shift because I was exactly where I was. .. if I had been out farther, I might not have felt the shift in time to take action. If I had been out farther, there would have been more distance to cover, more water to fight against, more barriers in my way. I was lucky. Let me start with that! I was lucky. The gods of the sea and the islands were favoring me that day. ... and also, I was prepared. I knew the risks.. or at least I knew that there were risks. I knew the fickle nature of the sea.. though not in this location. I knew my own prowess as a swimmer.. though it has been years since I swam in competition, and since then my knee has been injured... I was lucky. I was not completely un-prepared, but I was definitely far beyond my comfort zone and almost beyond my capacity to survive.

I don't know how to tell you what it felt like... if you've ever been in a comparable situation-- caught in a current that's headed for a waterfall, swept up in an avalanche, sucked up by a vaccuum cleaner... perhaps even echoes of that G-force feeling some sudden-acceleration amusement park rides generate... if you've ever been in a comparable situation, you'll be able to imagine, you'll be able to empathize. If you haven't-- I don't think it's something I can put into words.

The ocean was pulling me outward, seaward. The ocean was bigger. The ocean would win.

A human being is not meant to swim... sure, we can swim, but we're not designed for it. We claw with tiny hands and kick with tiny feet to propel our mass through the water. Fish use their abdominal muscles! Just think if I could swim with my shoulder mass, my abs, my back!! ... Sure my shoulders are engaged, powering the tiny little claws at the ends of my awkward, cartwheeling arms.. and sure my glutes are engaged, driving the levers at the ends of which are my tiny little feet... but they don't act on the water directly. And that's a loss. So much muscle mass! .. and no way to put it to good use in the water. A dolphin my size would have no trouble.

Try this: turn on a garden hose to full blast, now put your finger into the stream and press toward the nozzle. Feel the resistance. ... or try it with a fire hose if you have one handy.. walk into the stream. Feel the resistance. ... Now realize that in both those situations, you have friction and stability on your side. Your finger is attached to your arm, is attached to your body.
The worst that happens in the garden hose stream is that your finger is knocked to the side, out of the stream. The worst that happens in the fire hose scenario is that you're knocked to the ground, skin up your knees. bumps and bruises.

In the ocean current, you go where the ocean takes you. The ocean will win. You don't have friction on your side when you're swimming. The best you can do is make use of the currents!

And let me add, just now, that 40 extra pounds of fat, while adding a voluptuous curvaceousness to a womanly frame, is incredibly buoyant!

Drop a cork and a quarter on your driveway or sidewalk. Now spray with the garden hose. Which moves faster? Which is more at the mercy of the water current? That's Right!! The cork that floats. My extra weight, so ponderous on land, becomes an equally unpleasant impairment to movement in the water! The ocean is going to win.

In the moment of change, of course, I swam toward shore. Swam directly against the current.. not because it's the right thing to do (It's NOT! .. swim to the side, break out of the current!) ... but because swimming to the side was not a real option. Coral reef to the left/east (coral cuts tend to get very infected very easily), Na Pali cliffs to the right/west. Probably a mile swim to the east before the next sandy shore with an unknown terrain between. 44 miles or so of high Na Pali cliffs to the west and then southward, with almost no opportunity to come ashore, and high, pounding surf against the sheer rocks in the interim. .. First choice= back into the lagoon. .. but swimming against the current isn't working. Swimming for my life, with all the strength and reserve that I've got, I'm losing ground. Slowly, but steadily.

I dive for a lower level, hoping to find the sweet spot that travels inward... but at every level the water is coursing outward. .. and the strength of the current is increasing.

Conditions have changed.

It is nearly sunset. Sunset and Sunrise are the worst times to swim.. the predators hunt at dawn and dusk in the low light. The predators hunt in churned up waters. The predators hunt at the mouths of channels where helpless prey are swept by the currents out to deep water. The predators are out there.

The floating bits of might-be-jellyfish suddenly seem infused with significance!

Point of fact: I've never seen a shark in open water in all the times and places that I have swum.
Point of fact: Most sharks that are near the reefs are fairly docile and don't tend to like to attack humans.
Point of fact: if I'm going to meet a shark in open water, it's going to be today, under these conditions!

Sharks attack things that flail, just like cats attack things that run. Flailing signifies injury or helplessness to a shark.. easy prey, less likelihood that the creature can cause significant harm to the shark in return. ... so if I don't make it back into the lagoon, I'll need to stop swimming so hard! Long, easy strokes, strong solid kicks ... not this quick flutter of kick and claw! .. but right now I need the speed more than the endurance, and right now the break of the waves is in my favor, hiding my frenetic activity from the targeting predators.

So perhaps I wouldn't have died if the ocean had won...

I know enough about currents that had my attempts to go lagoonward not succeeded, I would have headed oceanward-- beyond the bottleneck of the gateway the current will disperse, lose strength. .. if I'm lucky enough not to encounter a shark on the way... and that seems relatively likely, then out to sea I might be able to swim eastward, find my way back a mile or two.. or five? who knows.. find my way back to Tunnels beach or Ha'ena.... unknown underwater terrain, but at least there's a sandy shore, so if I get that far, I'd be alright. ... or if the current stays strong, I'll be swept westward and south, past the long stretch of high cliffs of Na Pali. Coming ashore on that stretch, as I mentioned before, would be too high a risk. If I got swept Na Pali side, I'd be stuck waiting for rescue. ... and since it's nearly sunset, that would mean either a special rescue helicopter, or waiting for the next morning and hopefully hailing one of the Zodiac rafts that run the tour groups up and down the shore. (Just what I need--another guided tour. ugh!) ... no flotation but my 40 extra pounds of chub! ;) ... It'd be a matter of treading water all night long, and trying to keep far enough out that I don't get swept into the cliffs. If I were pounded by the surf into the rocks of Na Pali, I'd be hurting. More likely, concussed--and concussed would almost certainly result in drowning, no matter how good a swimmer you are! ... at least the water is warm and hypothermia wouldn't be my first concern. .. but it's also an almost moonless night, so judging the currents and the wave crash and the proximity of the cliffs or reefs would be tricky at best!

...or perhaps I would have.

The threats were real enough to be a significant motivator. I swam for my life. I swam hard, and with all my skill and all my energy and all my reserves and all my knowledge.

And the ocean was going to win.

With this realization, I abandoned my attempt to swim directly into the current, and I aimed instead for the edge of the coral reef.

The coral reef is a fragile community. A reef is made up of numerous living creatures--polyps--each too fragile to withstand the curious touch of a human hand or a careless kick of a fin. Coral reefs are poisoned by sunscreen. Coral reefs are poisoned by cigarette butts, damaged by litter and debris.. Coral reefs are precious.

And my only hope for re-entry into the lagoon was by grabbing on to the coral reef. It's a tragedy that haunts me... that thousands of little coral polyps, minding their own business, living their own lives, were put to death because I took a risk and got caught in a current. A hundred thousand blessings on those coral creatures! I cannot thank them enough for being there, for being my salvation.

This time I swam toward the shore, but slightly westward, casting myself ashore upon the coral reef just at the edge of the cliffs. It was a risky move, to be sure! If I timed it wrong, I'd get torn up pretty badly. If I timed it REALLY wrong, I could get a limb lodged and broken, or I could get thrown to hard and concussed against the rocks.

But I found a handhold, crouched on the edge of the reef, moved as little as possible (to minimize my damage to the reef) and clung like a limpet while I caught my breath and slowed my heart. I let 4 or 5 waves crash around me as I clung there, getting my bearings, evaluating the conditions I find myself in, making my best guess as to how I can proceed.

There is one other fellow in the water nearby.. a seasoned swimmer-- I noticed him earlier. And at the moment I have his full attention. He is maybe 30 feet away, on the other side of the gateway, just inside the reef. He is shouting toward me, asking me if I am alright. I nod, give him the thumbs up. I'm still too out of breath to yell back, but I flash a smile. A moment ago I was most distinctly Not Alright. .. in another moment I'll brave Not Alright again in my beach-ward progress. ... but for just this moment, clinging to the reef, I have air and I have rest and I am uninjured. For just this moment I am Alright.

When I've caught enough breath, I dive forward off the reef, launching myself into the current again for a forward push of maybe 6 feet-- 3 feet covered by the dive, another 3 foot swim against the current before I start to lose ground again and fasten myself to another stretch of the reef. In each of these grabs I am fully aware that I am taking risks. As I reach for a fingerhold, I pray that there be no sea urchins ensconced in the divots, that I meet with rock and reef instead of sea slug! that my timing in the waves be accurate.. not too close to the surge that might tumble me against the rocks or crack my skull or twist my fingers or wrists, not too close to the ebb that might suck me right off the rock before I can fasten my grip, that might drag me belly-first against exposed reef and urchin spines.

It takes three of these forward surges before the ocean stops pulling me outward faster than I can swim. At the end of the third surge, the other swimmer has reached my position, is swimming beside me. He has fins. I'm jealous!! ... what a difference it makes to have fins! Every time I swam this lagoon in the past week I had fins on. Today my feet were bare. Tiny little feet not suited for power swimming! .... but then, if I'd had fins on, I wouldn't have been able to crouch on the reef either, had the need arisen. ... In the moment of need, we make do with what we have.

The ocean still pulls seaward, even though I'm perhaps 20 feet further into the lagoon than I had been when the current first changed. .. Just minutes ago this space right here was gentle water with an inward flow. Now it's a brisk outflow, and I don't have time to rest yet. I no longer need to cling to the reef to keep my position, but I still have to swim hard and constantly to make any progress. At some point I notice that my knee, my left knee, my healing-from-injury knee, is doing remarkably well. A prayer and a blessing for that!

We swim, side by side, beachward. He is evaluating my progress, my condition. He is there if I should start to flag or start to fail, but he lets me swim, unassisted except by his presence. .. and presence is sometimes Everything. A spotter. A strong lead in one's peripheral. If you've spent much time in athletic pursuit of any kind, you know the value of someone who is just There, inspiring you to greatness simply by taking the journey with you. It's not limited to athletics.. I've met the phenomenon in artistic endeavor, in business endeavor, in schoolwork... Today it is a fellow swimmer who pushes me to excel simply by swimming alongside.

As we swim against the current, we talk. He says he was certain I was being pulled out to sea. I acknowledge. I was. Now I'm not. Now I'm okay. He says it's a dangerous current right there, on Kauai's North Shore, in the winter... that summertime maybe it's okay, when the seas are calm.. but never in the winter. I nod. I've learned that now. I mention that I used to swim competitively, that I had become familiar with the lagoon, that I was caught up in my revelry of being able to do Something, ANYTHING physical again after my injury. He nods. "I can tell you're a good swimmer," he agrees, "most people would be panicked by what you went through." It's not that the panic isn't there... it's just submerged. I won't let it show until I'm safely back on shore again. Panic in the water will kill you faster than sharks or exposure or injury. Panic blinds your timing. And in the waves, timing is everything.

Turns out he used to be a lifeguard. He's familiar with the North Shore conditions. He's seen people pulled out to sea before. ... He's pretty sure I wouldn't have died. I think he's of the opinion that so long as I had mastery over panic, the rest would take care of itself. Odds are in his favor. But in that moment, I didn't question the validity of my life-or-death struggle. I had made a choice, and my choice was to live-- to swim back to shore, to go on. Three weeks previous, I might have made a different choice-- might have surrendered to the current and let Fates decide whether I made it home or not. ... But the turtles had swum beside me. The geckos had chirruped me to sleep. I'd thought about Mia while I was swimming amongst the turtles, about Zann while I watched the geckos, about Jewel and Carrie and Laura and Paula and so many other wonderful internet friends who'd buoyed me through this past year.. And now, this day before leaving the islands, I find I've recovered enough to go on.

Halfway back to shore again my swimmer parts ways with me. He heads all the way in to shore, leaves me to frolic some more in the heart of the lagoon. He's confident now that I won't be caught up by the same current, confident that I won't be needing further help.

I made no mistake in all of it. To say that I did would be to imply that I overlooked some crucial bit of knowledge. I didn't. I made myself aware of all cautions, and I made constant evaluations of the terrain and conditions. I was not arrogant-- I never thought the cautions did not apply to me. I paid attention, and I reacted appropriately and instantly as conditions changed. I made no mistake, yet I almost paid dearly nonetheless.

I was missing one crucial piece of information in my evaluations, and as I swum in the lagoon after returning from the gateway, my observations revealed that piece to me. I felt a cross-current now where none had been earlier, where none had been in any of my prior swims.

The tide was still rising as I reached the gateway, as I gazed at the Na Pali coastline and took its picture. As long as the tip of the reef was still above water in many places, the gateway had its circular current, in at one level, out at another. .. but when the tide rose over the reef, the water began to come in over the reef and outward only at the gateway. It's a piece of information I'll never forget! And if you swim, I suggest you don't either.

Ashore again, the soft misting rain turning into real drops. A final shave ice at my favorite stand, then home to sleep before tomorrow's early morning flight. Our last day on Kauai at an end. Our last day on the Islands tomorrow on Oahu.

And as I curl up, contented, beneath the handmade quilt at my VRBO, I get one last glimpse of Baby Gecko.

Day 24: early flight to Honolulu, last day on the islands. Tomorrow we fly to the mainland, the day after that we fly home. One last circuit of the flea market for sarongs. One last visit to the fabric store for quilting fabrics. One last walk on the beach at Waikiki.

Day 25: one last breakfast buffet at Dukes Canoe Club on Waikiki. Drop postcards in the mail. Drop rolls of film into the mail. Long flight across the water. Spend the night in San Francisco.

Day 26: another airplane-- San Francisco to Seattle. ... At some point on this leg of the journey my handwoven palm leaf basket disappears. I am sad. Bits of my dream are fading. The question now becomes how to keep that spirit alive so far away from the Islands. How to live life with Aloha... and to surround myself with people who also live and share and dream with Aloha. ... If I can't live my life on the islands, then I need to find that Island Spirit here.

Addendum: I mentioned my joy at finding flat rate postal boxes! I must add a caveat: Do Not expect a 3-day priority envelope to arrive in 3 days if you purchased the postage at an Automated Postal Center a week prior on a different island! It will take at least a week in transit if you confuse the system in such a way!

I Am Back! (Part 1)

2007-04-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

And what a restorative month it was. :)

(This narrative will give you the clues for the contest. I'll post the contest guidelines themselves at the end of the narrative. Which, it turns out, I'll have to continue working on tomorrow. :)

Day 1 (March 1, 2007): Supposed to be leaving tomorrow. Not yet packed. Still can't even grasp the concept, really. Last year was so completely devastating that I'm not even capable of comprehending the IDEA of "3 weeks in paradise" much less packing for it. Found a bunny-sitter, thank heavens! (after my months-ahead planned bunnysitter had to cancel last-minute) -- a friend of a friend. It would have cost about 300.00 to board the bunny for the time we'll be gone, and there wasn't even room available at this late notice. Sherry the bunny-sitter is truly a welcome blessing. :) Thank you, Sherry! ...and only an hour-and-a-half drive in each direction, which beats the 4-hours-in-each-direction it would have taken to bring my bunny to Fran in Portland (thank you, Fran for being willing and able!!). .. but I could really use that extra 5 hours to finish packing, wash the sink full of dirty dishes, finish up laundry, etc, etc. I feel like a zombie.

Day 2: chewing gum and crossword puzzles, a book to read, and the knowledge that anything that didn't get done doesn't get done for another three weeks or more. I've done the best I can, it definitely wasn't as much as needed to be done, but it will have to do. That's been the mantra throughout this knee injury, and I've tried to fight against slipping into despair as the chores and projects I can't accomplish stack up, waiting for me to heal, getting in my way until then and draining my mood. ..and they'll all still be waiting for me when I get back. At least I got the dishes done. At least I got the laundry washed. The house will smell decent for our return.

Day 3: where is my driver's license? I had it for yesterday's flight. Now it's gone. We've run out of time to look for it. It's missing, we have another flight to catch, and I have no proof of who I am. ... and Keith will have to do all the driving until I can get a replacement. ... At the airport there are extra security screenings because the ID I have isn't current, isn't valid. Long lines. Knee to the rescue -- when I notice the pain, I show my brace and get moved forward, into the handicapped row instead. The screening still takes a long time, but now that I'm sitting, I don't mind.

More chewing gum and crossword puzzles and the same book to read. Ah, the luxury of leg space!! All those frequent flier miles my husband and I saved up from our dating years have cashed in for first-class accommodations on the long legs of the journey. My knee is grateful.

Arrival. Humid air, sunshine. A wait for baggage. I know I've over packed-- it always happens when I wait for the last minute. My preference is to pack 3 weeks ahead. That way I can add things as I remember them, and take things out as I realize I'm not going to need them. When I pack last-minute, there's always something I've forgotten and a lot that I've brought that I am not going to need.

A rental car--an SUV--an unrequested upgrade. Holds the luggage no problem. Lots of sunshine. Hard to believe we left Seattle in a snow storm. Here it's sunshine. Mostly sunshine. Intermittent pounding rain, 5 minute bursts of it, flooding the streets. But then sunshine again. And warm.

I swear I can feel the ground moving gently.. as if breathing with the pull of the tides.

As we're negotiating our way through the streets, I notice a fabric store. Take note of that for later!

Day 4: Jet lag works in our favor. Usually night-owls, unadjusted to the time-change we are waking with the rising sun, ahead of the heat of the day. We head for the flea-market first thing. Every sarong catches my eye. The sarong-sellers are glad I've come. Two full circuits of the flea market. It's quite a walk, actually. The longest sustained walk I've done since the injury. I'm quite surprised, really, that my knee doesn't hurt sooner. Or more. But by 11am the sun is beating down quite hot and my knee and back have given all they can. The sarongs don't matter any more. The hotel room bed matters.

On the way, though, we stop by the fabric store. Keith wants a pair of long slacks, loose and breezy. We didn't find what he wanted at the flea market, so he's promised me fabric if I'll make him his slacks. Fabric! :) How could I refuse?

Well *there's* my driver's license, though how it got there I'm not quite sure... oh well, at least I have it now and don't need to jump through hoops to replace it. And I get to drive the fun windy road I've been looking forward to! yay! Keith is relieved as well. He'd rather I do the driving, usually.

A long nap. An evening walk. A quick swim at sunset. Oh, how I've missed the gentle rocking of the tides! It's really much too cold in Seattle to swim in the sound, even in the height of the summer (though I admit I swam once in March.. or at least I dove under and came up gasping with the chill of it.) A walk down the beach in the warm evening air. A dinner that cost too much. A lazy walk back to the hotel again. My knee is liking the warm air. Despite the long walk that morning, it hardly bothers me at all tonight. Even on the shifting sand of the beach.

Day 5: Another flight-- more chewing gum, more crossword puzzles. The stewardess brings me a cup of hot tea, but we're descending for landing before it's cool enough to drink. Next time I'll get juice. Settle in to new lodgings-- this one a time-share condo that Keith's mother has for the week. How cool is that?! When we picked our dates of travel we had absolutely no clue that our time here would overlap. But it did!! and even better, the condo she ended up in has an extra room, so Keith and I can stay there too! Super cool. A walk to the beach, but the shore is rocky and the surf is a little rough. No swim this time, just a walk in the breaking waves, knee-height. Then a swim in the condo's pool. Too warm. They must keep the pool water at 85 or higher. It's like trying to swim in a hot tub. yuck. The ocean would be nicer if the surf weren't so choppy and the beach so rocky. The ocean temperature is about 75 degrees. Chill to the first touch, but warm if you're actively swimming.

Day 6: Drive halfway up the mountain to a beautiful botanical park for our vow renewal. We're finally taking our (long-delayed) honeymoon, and we wanted to do a vow-renewal to make it special. Keith's mom is there, and her friend Chris. It's super-fabulous. The reverend's husband takes pictures with my camera. The first 36 shots he takes the camera turns out not to be loaded. foo. The next roll of film works fine. The roll afterward jams--doesn't advance--no pictures on it. Note-- if you're going to hire a professional photographer, Let Them Use The Equipment They KNOW!! :) ... He's a sweetheart, though! He's sending pictures he took on his own digital camera. Didn't have to-- it was my own equipment that failed! .. but such a sweetie to do so for us!

After the ceremony, Keithr and I drive out to dinner and a show. The purple taro dinner rolls are delicious. .. and what can I say-- they're purple! how can I not love them? .. Also, I learn the basics of making sennit rope. :) Pretty cool, no?

Day 7: the long, windy drive. Bonine keeps us from getting sick. (That'd be windy- full of winding, not windy- full of wind, y'know.) Stunningly beautiful, of course (that's it's primary claim to fame, after all)--greenery, rocks, and waterfalls, and I shoot many rolls of film along the way. The weather's as perfect as I could imagine it-- a soft misty rain that's not so wet as to make the street slick. The cloud cover diffuses the sunshine, so I don't have to fight against a headache in dappled sunlight through the overhead canopy. Perfect driving weather. Other drivers at some of the stops are complaining about the misty rain, but what do they know? They don't know they're lucky. It's not a drenching rain, and it's not a blinding sun. Couldn't be better. Overall, not too many people on the drive. 5 or 6 cars in a cluster, max, and space between them if you time your stops right. Thread the needle over the one-lane bridges for forty miles or so, then arrive at a town with only two restaurants, one of them attached to the super-expensive resort hotel. The other books up far in advance, so the seasoned traveler knows to pick up snacks at the fruit stands along the way. Tonight's lodgings are the most expensive we'll stay in during the entire trip. They're in that expensive resort hotel. There are other options if you want to stay here for three nights or more, and I would have loved that, but we wanted to spend time with Keith's mother as well, so we only had one night in our budget out here, and there were two options-- prohibitively expensive and snooty resort, or Joe's cockroach plaza with a budget price so low, even the insects can afford to stay there! ;) ... since we 'bought' our airfare with flyer miles, we went ahead and splurged on the resort room.

Being pampered is one thing. Being fawned over quite another. So much constant attention from a well-meaning staff feels oppressive to me! We hid out in our rooms for the evening. It's a lovely set of rooms with hardwood floors and ceiling fans and comfy furniture, and it smells of expensive coffee and fresh flowers and starched cotton. But it's bigger than my first apartment. .. come to think of it, it's bigger than my second apartment too! And while that was a long time ago, I'm just not sure the luxury of a pampered night's sleep is where I want to be spending my money. Think of how many sarongs I could be buying! ;)

Day 8: White surf and black sand. A tumble of waterfalls and freshwater pools that spill at the end into the ocean. An empty lava tube with amazing geological formations. A thousand mosquito bites. (Even paradise has its price.)

At the end of the day, a twilight drive back on that same windy road of one-lane bridges.

Day 9: No luck with the whale-watching plans-- the sea is too rough, too choppy. The boat won't go out. Instead we have lunch at a pricey restaurant that serves good fish and watch the waves break out the window. While we're waiting for a table, I swim in the lagoon and try to take pictures of the fish.

In the evening I cut the fabric for Keithr's slacks.

As we pack for tomorrow's travel, we realize how much of what we brought with us is unnecessary. Unsuited for the climate, bulky, heavy, annoying to carry. We get a couple of boxes and some packing tape and send as much as we can home by mail.

I've quit counting mosquito bites. They're too numerous. I've also quit counting mongooses. Same reason.

Day 10: Another flight. More crossword puzzles (they keep the plane in the air, dontchaknow? ), more chewing gum. The pictures from the windy drive didn't turn out as beautiful as I had hoped. Overexposed a little, I think. It's been a long time since I've used my SLR, and I've forgotten how to get the best out of my camera. I take more pictures out the window as the plane comes in for its landing, hoping these rolls of film turn out better than the previous rolls.

A 4-hour drive to the room we've rented. Actually, it's a house that we've rented, through VRBO.com, and it turns out to be *MUCH* nicer than a hotel room would have been. At least as far as I am concerned! Thank you, Carrie, for the VRBO suggestion! It really paid off. Our drive wouldn't have been so long if we'd just flown into the right airport. .. but we thought our lodgings were on the west side, and they turned out to be on the east, so we had to drive all the way around to north or south (south on arrival, north on departure). Rainy day. Didn't swim. Did walk in the surf, though. Only one day so far that I didn't-- the day of our vow renewal. Too busy that day.

At some point it occurs to me how little pain my knee is giving me. Every once in awhile I ask too much of it, and it hurts enough to change my plans, but when I stop what I'm doing, the pain goes away. At rest, without moving it or poking at it, I don't notice any pain at all! It's a wonderful feeling after a year of constant pain, sometimes excruciating, sometimes almost ignorable.

Day 11: I've quit counting geckos. I'd quit counting tree-frogs too, if I could ever see one. But I sure do hear them. Fortunately, I find it a pleasant sound. We spend the day at home. It's very easy to think of it as home. I make a snack of my third pineapple. Or is it my fourth? I guess I've quit counting those as well. The day goes to doing laundry, napping, a walk around the neighborhood, and sewing Keithr's slacks. It dawns on me that there is a reason I adore my sewing machine-- it has been a very very long time since I have made an entire garment of any kind entirely by hand-sewing. Ah well, the process is rewarding enough in itself. I just hope he gets to wear them before the vacation is ended!

During my shower I get a nice shadow-play to watch. A gecko on the skylight is chasing bugs. So cool.

We walk across the street to the cliff's edge. The surf is pounding against the shore far below-- waves that crash hard against the rock, spraying up 20 feet or more as they break. It's hard to tell how high the spray reaches from this vantage point, looking down on it, but it's easy to know that I wouldn't want to be in that surf, dashed against the rocks.

Day 12: Since there isn't any real beach access in an easy walk from our front door, we drive a bit along the coast. We pass up a warm pool, naturally heated. I dip my foot in, but I'm not feeling like swimming. It reminds me of the super-heated swimming pool at the condo, and it's full of people. I'd rather not be crowded. Lunch at a local diner-- very good. Leftovers for the next few days' breakfasts, too.

I found another fabric store. Does my obsession never stop?

Day 13: Mowka in the morning, say hello to Pele. Active steam vents, drizzly rain. My knee isn't up for much hiking on the rough terrain. Makai in the afternoon. Honu on the sand!! Didn't swim-- surf too choppy, wasn't feeling inviting. Home again in the evening to our VRBO. More sewing. I've stopped counting the times I've pricked my finger.

Day 14: Back up the coast again, past the warm pool, up to a protected lagoon we've heard about. I enjoy the swim. The ocean water, as mentioned earlier, is warm even in the middle of March. At this lagoon, though, it meets with a fresh-water spring that's rather cold. The fresh water floats on top of the seawater, creating a fascinating experience. As I'm swimming at the top of the water, looking down at the fish and the rocks and the coral, I notice my forehead is cold, but my nose is warm! I've felt the opposite quite often in the swims of my youth-- cool ocean currents chill my nose, while the water at my forehead, energized by the sun, feels warm. It's very surprising to feel the reverse!

Honu in the water!! Only a brief glimpse, as he was headed back out to deeper water, and I was already farther from shore than prudence would recommend. I snap my underwater camera and hope the picture is good.

Another mail drop. Souvenirs are much lighter when the post office carries them for you. ;)

Day 15: That 4-hour drive is going to be really annoying today. We have an early flight, so we have to pack up and depart the building by 2:00 am. It's going to be a long day.

The plane lands. We have our bags again. We drop our bags off at the hotel, then drive out to dinner and a show. On the way, though, we stop by that first fabric store again. :) Our rental car this time is another unrequested upgrade. This time to a convertible. Too bad it's raining.

As for the dinner show, I'd been looking forward to it, but it turned out to be different than what I'd hoped for. It was a long day of walking around in a guided tour group. My knee ached, and I felt crowded. Sure, there were fun moments, but if I'd known what it would be like, I would have spent my day differently and saved my money for other things. The food's decent, though, and eventually the evening is over and we can go back to our hotel room.

On April 1 I Will Be Having A Contest...

2007-03-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

(No, not an April Fools Trick You contest, just a contest that happens to fall on the first of April.)
I mention this in advance so that people who want to join in will not miss it. :)

Some of you will already know the answer, so I think I will have to come up with an alternate question just for you.

At any rate, it should be fun. I hope so anyway.

hugs all!

I'm Not Quite Back Yet..

2007-03-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

(for those of you who have asked where I've been lately, and for those of you who have just been wondering, not asking)... but I hope to be back soon. :)

In the meantime, I miss y'all. :)

I have knitting content to share, and non-knitting content galore, but don't have it ready to post about yet, so you'll need to be patient for just a bit longer.

In the meantime, I can give you my (much belated) New Year's Resolution (c'mon, I'm only late by two months. .. only one month if you count the Chinese New Year.) -- I resolve this year to do everything I can to heal my devastated soul from the distresses and injuries of last year. :) All the kindnesses of my Secret Pal people have helped in that corner, more than I've been able to express. Y'all kept me going last year when I needed it most, and I am grateful. I'm almost healed enough to be exuberant and chatty again, so just a little more patience and a little more faith in me is what I ask. It shouldn't be long before I can start being my cheerful, posting self again. ;)

I can also give you the much-delayed Anniversary Knee Update!! :) My knee is **FINALLY** not hurting constantly anymore!! At the moment, as I think about the question, "does my knee hurt?" I can actually answer, "not right now!!" Not even a 1/2 on the pain scale. Not even as much as my blasted mosquito bites. Not even when I poke at it a bit. :) .. ooops.. I guess it depends on where I poke. .. but when I leave it alone, it doesn't hurt!!

It's still achey when I stand on it for too long, and I still put a *lot* of thought into my footing if I'm doing anything unusual (going up and down stairs counts as "unusual" these days, as does sloped or uneven ground, speeding up, carrying stuff, etc.) but most of the trouble now seems to come from the fact that my muscles have lost a lot of strength and mass and practice over the past year, and I feel it. It's still impacting my life quite heavily-- I'm maybe operating at about 40% of normal. But I do allright, finally! FINALLY! :) The moments of pain-free relaxation are a welcome treasure (and new, as of March 1 or so.)

I've finally been cleared to *start* doing all of my desired activities.. but it will be a long time before I'm good at them again. I have permission to get back onto the ice now, but I'll have to spend many weeks just gliding around the rink for short periods of time before I can even think about attempting even the most basic of "tricks" and jumping is a long way off, still. I have permission to start dancing again, and I've done a little of it, but every sidestep still hurts (not as much as just sitting around doing nothing used to, granted), so even the waltz is a strenuous activity right now. My knee is still a huge barrier to many activities, but it's finally healed enough to let me just live the quiet moments in a measure of contentment. :)

If you've never had an injury this significant, I don't think you can begin to imagine what this past year has been like for me. If you have had a significant injury before, you probably know all too well. I've had minor, even moderate injuries before (moderate now = broken bones and a six-month cast / setting time). ..and I'm sure there are worse levels of injury that I still can't even conceive of. I've done my best to be cheerful and strong throughout my pain and recovery, but for some people, that wasn't enough. For those of you who have been patient with me, understanding and generous, who have kept me going with positive comments and cheerful forwards and "how are you doing lately?" queries, I can't thank you enough. You got me through the worst of it, and you got me through the length of it, and I couldn't have imagined ahead of time how bad the worst would be or how long the duration would take. Thank you.

Hugs all!!

6 Weird Things

2007-03-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

A while ago I got tagged with the "6 weird things about me" meme. I thought it would be easy. Turns out, it's not.

The Rules:
THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you.
People who get tagged must blog 6 weird about themselves 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.

okaaaayyy...
six weird things about me, hm?

1. I like strawberry Quik toast. -- like cinnamon sugar toast, but using strawberry Quick powdered milk mix instead. (toast the bread, butter while warm, sprinkle with strawberry Quik powder, enjoy.)

2. I like "milk and honey" -- a tablespoon of honey dissolved into a large glass of cold milk. (option 1: heat a small amount of milk in a mug in the microwave, melt and stir the honey into the hot milk, then pour into a large glass and add cold milk to the rim. option 2: pour cold milk into a large glass, fill a long-handled spoon with honey and attempt to mix the honey into the cold milk. This doesn't meet with much success, so dip the honey-coated spoon into the milk, then slurp off the top layer. Repeat until honey is gone. drink remaining milk.)

3. I like warm orange Dr. Pepper-- pour Dr. Pepper into a microwaveable mug, add 1/4 of an orange, microwave until hot. (fizzes a lot)

That's it. That's all I could think of. And I've stalled for several weeks trying to do better. I know that my mother could come up with more "weird" things, but I wouldn't agree with her anyway, so it's no use asking. ;) (do all parents think their children are "weird" or is it just mine?)

And as for who to tag.. hmm.. well, I was tagged by Zann

so I guess I'll tag:
Rox

...mmm.... how 'bout if I come back to this question later!

hugs all

Oops! Time Passes!

2007-01-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry about that! I got a little distracted around here by some things that needed taking care of, and I didn't realize how much time I'd let slip by.

Let me just say that I have the *very* best Secret Pal! In fact, I've been pretty lucky and have had the very best Secret Pals (plural) all along! both recipients and spoilers have been just wonderful, and I am very glad I've met you all!! :)

But it's SP9 now, so I get to focus on my very best SP9 spoiler! She came all the way out of state to visit ME for my birthday!! ;) and she even brought me some reveal gifties!! (I still need to take pictures.) The chocolate coated macadamia nuts didn't last long! Neither did the chocolate coated Kona coffee beans. (catching a hint here?) .. She also brought for me a wonderful book called Arctic Lace which I am just dying to read! There are a lot of neat factoids about musk ox and arctic cultures in the book as well as some lovely lace patterns.

Actually, she was going to be in the area anyway, since her husband was attending a conference, but isn't is the COOLEST thing ever that she made time during her vacation to go on a yarn crawl with me? Super cool! We had a *lot* of fun! at least, I know for sure that I had fun, and I'm pretty sure she wasn't suffering. :)

It was all made a little more difficult by all the black ice on the roads, and if it hadn't been such a special visit, I wouldn't have wanted to drive at all!

We visited Churchmouse Tea and Yarns on Bainbridge Island, Full Circle Yarns, Acorn Street, and Weaving Works in Seattle, and even a brief stop at So Much Yarn in downtown Seattle, but parking was scarce, and I didn't want to walk far in the cold and the slipperiness (The cold still makes my knee stiff and swell up and hurt.), so I idled the car while Carrie slipped in for a quick look.

At Weaving Works we got a special treat! Apparently, they have a special Birthday Week discount! (I think I knew this, but I hadn't remembered. Carrie saw the sign and saved us a bundle!) And while we were there, she picked up another birthday gift for me!! Sweet! It's a book called Naughty Knits and it's full of patterns for things you just wouldn't find in grandmother's knitting books. Things like a felted corselet!

We talked about knitting and spinning and all sorts of fiber crafts and about Hawaii (which I have desperately wanted to re-visit ever since I was taken there once by my family when I was about 6 years old) .. yep, she's living in Hawaii right now! I am so envious!!! (I'm not sure I'm *really* envious, because when I think about moving there I realize there is a *lot* of my stuff I wouldn't be able to bring with, and then there isn't much of a yarn or fiber supply on the islands.. so I guess maybe I'll resist the siren's call and stay put on the mainland after all.)

Anyway, I had a wonderful time getting to meet my SP9 spoiler, Carrie! What a fabulous way to reveal!! :)

...but I still haven't found her blog. hmpf.

Wheee!!

2007-01-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

I get to meet my Secret Pal (9) today! :)
She's given me so many hints to who she is, but everything's been so busy and chaotic that I still haven't gone through the SP participant's list fully to find her blog. oops. ..
But today she's in town! Really!! visiting Seattle for a conference of some sort, and she wants to spend time with ME!! Wow, that is **SO** cool!
We're going to go visit Churchmouse Yarns and Teas today over on Bainbridge Island after I am done with my PT appointment.

This first week of 2007 is already better than any week of 2006, even *with* the unexpected flight to Tucson. (Says a lot about 2006, doesn't it?)

Oh! and my birthday is day after tomorrow! I'm so excited that my SP can be here for it!

and as if that all weren't fab already-- whatever snow we may or may not have had fall last night/this morning didn't stick! so I can drive in comfort!! :)

hugs all.

Patty's Challenge #4 -- How Do You Feel About Snow?

2007-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Do I like snow? Do I dislike snow? hmm... Well, I think that depends upon the context. Snow is an absolute necessity for downhill skiing (which I am not permitted to indulge in this season), for snow-men, snowballs, and snow forts. It's a lovely way to increase the ambient light at night in the winter-- a fresh white snowfall reflects the moon well enough that you hardly need a flashlight! It's really fun to watch a new puppy or kitten (.. or even a teenager from Los Angeles) experience snow for the first time. So I do have a bit of a fondness for snow, tucked away somewhere.

But on the other hand, snow of necessity requires cold weather, which I do not particularly care for. Snow makes the roadways hazardous. Snow creates extra chores (like shoveling sidewalks, scraping windshields, putting chains on vehicles). Snow impacts travel plans. Snow is difficult to photograph well.

See?

So I think I like snow in a way similar to that in which I like a lion-- in its own native environment, far away from me! Like, perhaps.. in Montana. (that'd be the snow, not the lion. The lion would be in Africa.)

Speaking of snow, we're expected to get another snowfall tomorrow evening and Wednesday morning. This has been one fascinating winter.

(...I'm not sure when we're expected to get our next lion.)

Er... "Last Night"

2007-01-04T01:58:00.000-08:00

means Feb 2, 2007. I'm a late night kind of person and I forget to account for the clock thinking it's tomorrow already. ;)

Father-In-Law Passed On

2007-01-04T01:56:00.000-08:00

at just a minute or two past 11:00pm last night in relative comfort and with his wife at his side. (the rest of us had only just left to go get some sleep! We didn't even make it as far as our hotel.)
Thank you for your kind words and support.

He's Made It To 2007...

2007-01-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

...and my husband and I get a two hour nap before heading back to the hospital.

New Year's Resolution Delayed

2006-12-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that I will be *SO* very glad to say goodbye to 2006 and put it behind me for good. This entire year has been perhaps the very most difficult of my entire life (there are two other years that do come to mind as a close call, but neither one of those held such widespread damage on so many fronts and so constantly.)

Anyway, I was looking forward to a quiet evening of introspection, a late movie (to get away from the fireworks and gunshots of my neighborhood), and some cuddle time with my husband.

Instead we are at the airport, waiting for The Next Flight to take us to my FIL's hospital. He is not expected to see the new year.

So maybe I'll get some time for the introspection tomorrow, and maybe it will be a few days.

Thank you for understanding.

Thank You SP9!

2006-12-30T00:09:00.000-08:00

I got your package on the 22nd or 23rd? I don't remember which exactly, but definitely got here in good time.
The lilikoi jelly is all gone, and the tropical marmalade is half gone. Yum!! a taste of the islands!!! :) I *so* want to go back to Hawaii again! I was there once-- when I was about six years old. Three weeks, I think.. and ten days of that I was so sick I couldn't keep anything down. .. and still the islands live fondly in my heart.
So my very favorite part of this box was the pair of little jelly jars! Thank you!!
And to give y'all an idea how wonderful an unexpected little happens-to-hit-the-mark giftie can be, those little jelly jars held their own in the midst of 4 ounces of super-soft superwash merino top for my spinning wheel! Wow!! so super-cool!, 4 ounces of bamboo top (which I've never tried spinning before and am quite looking forward to!), and a wonderful sampler of cotton yarns (natural-grown colors!) which are definitely destined for my loom! I'm imagining a jaunty spring scarf, perhaps... (although at the rate I'm chipping away at my projects, that'd be for spring 08 at the earliest), all wrapped up in some wonderful wrapping papers! (the penguins are my favorite.) and nestled up against a single-serve packet of some delightful Chai mix (I did remember to keep the package for the photograph. the contents are long gone.)

I haven't had a chance to take the picture yet, so that will follow in a separate post.

And I think I'm late on the thank you for the thanksgiving package! My word but I'm running late around here!! .. My SP9 sent me a very lovely *handmade!* roll-up fabric carrying case for my needles!!! :) (I tried putting paintbrushes into the slots, but that didn't work very well (but did inspire me to add "make a roll-up carrying case for my paintbrushes" to my never-ending list of possible things-to-do)) .. I can hardly wait til the next time I get to travel so I can take a full set of needles with me in their nice new carry-case! :) Maybe that way I'll be able to just buy the Yarn at the LYSs instead of picking up yet another set of needles too!

...

...and Mia, the fudge is gone. All gone, sure was yummy! .. In the spirit of the season I was good and kind and generous and I *shared* that yummy fudge. O:) .. I let my husband have ONE piece! ;)

...

OH!! And PAULA!! Thank you so much for the OrnaMental2 gifties!! I just love the handknit ornaments you made! I tried to wear the angel-girl (okay, well, she *could* be an angel if she had wings and a halo and stuff.. I guess she's just a girl, though) as a hat (would have looked stupid, but sometimes that's for the best, y'know?) but she didn't fit. Instead she makes a really cute centerpiece, and she fits nicely over an empty yarn cone!

I'll get pictures up soon. At least that's my hope.

...

Tune in tomorrow for my New Year's Resolution (in writing this time so I can remember what it IS come February!)

Power Restored

2006-12-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

We got our power back on Monday morning.. roughly 10am. I've been kept busy ever since-- all the appointments I had to make up from the time we were without, and fielding calls from family, and sorting the contents of my refrigerator (hey, I'd been meaning to defrost and clean out my freezer anyway.. I just hadn't intended it to be so *thorough!*)

so my husband and I have been warm and clean and relatively comfortable for the past couple of days. :) .. but there are still some local areas that don't yet have power restored! It was a bad storm. I believe the hope is that everyone will have power again before next Monday. We have borrowed crews and equipment from all over the states helping out with the repairs and the clearing of fallen trees, so the rest of it should go pretty quickly, I hope!

I have a really big Thank You!! to my friend, Raoul, who agreed to house my bunny for a few days so his water bottle wouldn't freeze. :) Fortunately, it was unnecessary as we got our power back the following morning, but Thank You anyway!!! You've been a True Friend this past year (well, longer than that, but it's been especially apparent this past year)-- willing to help, willing to spend time with me, willing to cheer me up watching a movie or listening to me decompress at least twice a month despite your 80+ hour work weeks that you've been putting in since February this year! ... You have given when so few others had time or concern for me, and I *really* appreciate you for that. :) Thank you.

I have pictures to share-- of the recent weather outbursts mostly, but I have to find some time to get them groomed and transferred!

hugs all. Several of you asked after me in the power outage, and it was really warming to the spirit to find those messages in my inbox when I got back onto the computer. :) Thank You! and happy Solstice!

PS- This Is Why We Have No Power...

2006-12-17T22:50:00.000-08:00

link to Wunderground photos

Huge trees downed by the weather took out a lot of power lines and equipment-- just clearing the debris to begin repairing the damage is a daunting endeavor!

Here's a huge thanks to all the linemen and fire crews and other people who are helping us all get through this week!

Power Outage

2006-12-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I wrote that "high winds" update on Thursday, because we have been without power ever since, and our house's power is not expected to be restored for another two or three days, at least.

May I take this moment to say an extra *big* Thank You!! to Zann for the wool shawl! to my current SP9 spoiler for the wristies, the head band, the shoulder shrug, the leg warmers! to everyone who has sent me handknit socks!! and to everyone who sent me sock yarn (much of which has become handknit socks by now!) .. I have been wearing them *all* for the past four days!

No kidding. It is cold enough in our house to see our own breath in the air. We have no electricity, and I have been exceedingly grateful for our gas range top, and for the candles (The candles!! My apologies to each of you who were *going* to get a candle as a gift this year! They're kinda half-used by now, but I can still send them if you still want them! ;) .. once this is over and I don't need them anymore, at least! They've been incredibly useful, thanks for letting me borrow them! ;) )

I'll put up pictures later-- when I can actually get the pictures onto my server. Right now that's just not possible. In fact, it wasn't until mid-afternoon today that we got any sort of phone service at all restored! We now have intermittent use of our cel-phones, at least, but no way to recharge them except by remembering to plug them in to the car when we drive somewhere.

And it's getting *COLD*! .. it's only about ten degrees warmer inside the house than it is outside the house, and right now outside the house (somewhat after sunset but still before midnight) it is 30 degrees, and if it gets that cold inside the house the pipes may freeze. .. for that matter the bunny's water bottle could freeze. Fortunately I made some calls today and found someone who has power and heat and a willingness to watch my bunny for a few days until my own house regains power.

Last night we went to bed under 4 cotton blankets, 1 down comforter, 1 silk cloak, 3 wool shawls, 1 poly comforter, and whatever else we could find! .. *still wearing* our wool hats, socks, and mittens!!

My knee does *not* like this cold, btw. It *hurts.* .. a lot. and it's tight. (thank you again for the leg warmers, SP9!)

But maybe the cold will help keep the stuff in my freezer from thawing out too much! that would be an up-side...

and it's really cool to get 7 days of no power for Channukah this year... just pretty durn nifty timing, if you ask me....

but my husband doesn't like being cold almost as much as my knee doesn't like it, and my husband has the power to do something about it.

So, since I've already asked my in-town once-Friends for help many times throughout this year, and almost every time have received the same exact advice in return: "throw money at the problem, I can't (won't) help you." -- can't clean house because of my knee injury? "hire a maid" can't take care of the yard? "hire a gardener" need someone to watch the bunny for a few days? "hire a pet-sitter" need someone to talk to, commiserate with? "hire a counselor."

((To each and every one of you who gave a better answer than "go hire someone," I treasure your support and your friendship. There are very few of you this year.))

So, knowing from previous recent experience what the answer to asking for help or comfort would be, and assuming that some portion of those once-friends are in electricity-less situations themselves, I just plain set out to do the best I could with the circumstances that exist. No phone, no electricity, no computer, no support, no camaraderie. Some day the power will come back on and things will start getting back to normal. In the meantime, painful and cold as this week has been, it's *nothing* compared to the pain and limitation I suffered throughout most of this year, throughout which quite nearly everyone whom I asked for help turned me away. And I got through eleven months of this year so far-- what's another seven days of freezing?

.. .. so how am I on the computer tonight, typing up this post for all the world to see?

Simple. Keith did exactly what our once-friends would have recommended. He waved some money at the problem to make it go away.

So here I am in a hotel room for the night. I've had a warm shower, and I've washed my hair. And I will sleep warm tonight without my wool socks and wool hat.

If I'd thrown money at every previous problem I had, I wouldn't have had the budget for this one.

And before I sign out for the evening (who knows when I'll get back on again), a great big Huge Thank You!! To Zann and to my SP9 for asking how I'm weathering the storm. :) .. and to R. for agreeing to watch my bunny for the next few days so that his water doesn't freeze! :)

hugs all
--Peacock

High Winds Today

2006-12-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

and also heavy rain.

Power interruptions throughout the region. Shutting down my misc. electrical systems so nothing shorts or drains battery tonight.

Hope y'all are having a better time of it.
...and happy Channukah (in case I don't get back on later tonight.)

Tha nk You, Mia!

2006-12-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

for the fudge. :) all gone! super yummy!!

Patty's Challenge #3 -- Food Recollection

2006-12-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

What To Do:

Write a post about your favorite recipe and what it means to you. You don't have to post the recipe itself and if you don't have a specific recipe you can write about, think about a food memory that you have.

A food memory, mmm? I could tell you about the peanut butter sandwich I made for my brother when I was about five, and he was about three.. y'see, he liked crunchy peanut butter and I didn't. I liked creamy peanut butter (and of course he didn't). Usually he got his way (he threw loud, long tantrums, and mother gave in), but one day he'd been left with a sitter and I was at the grocery store with mother without him. She couldn't remember whether she usually got creamy or crunchy (she also often called me by his name and vice versa, and has only just now begun remembering when our respective birthdays are), so I was able to get her to buy creamy for once!! yay!!!

My brother, of course, pitched his expected fit, but there was nothing to be done about it. The peanut butter was already purchased and wasn't going back to the store. It so happens that I was beginning to "cook" meals (I was really good at frying eggs and I could make all kinds of cold sandwiches) for my brother and I, and I reasoned with him that it was *much* easier to make creamy peanut butter into crunchy peanut butter than it was to take the crunchy back out! I promptly made each of us a peanut-butter-and-honey sandwich, and onto his I sprinkled some of my parakeet's food. :) Insta-crunchy!! He loved it. Mother was horrified.

But she started buying two kinds of peanut butter! (I still prefer creamy, he still prefers crunchy.)

... much much later we learned that mixing the honey into the peanut butter before putting it onto the bread keeps the bread from getting all crystalized and nasty from the honey! wish I'd known that trick sooner!!

Snow Update: Keith Home Safe

2006-11-27T23:32:00.001-08:00

He got back to the car safely, put the chains on, and drove back home. :) Car is safely in the garage again, we're both home safe and wafm, watching the cold and snow on the TV news.

The hail and rain of earlier this afternoon turned into a sheet of ice under the evening's snow-- the driving conditions are worse than I can ever remember here in the Seattle area. Usually if the ground is wet the snow won't stick. So usually if there is snow on the ground, it's snow on dry ground, not snow over ice.

There are a lot of people who are stuck on the roadways tonight. Tow truck estimates run upward of 5 to 6 hours-- and that's for the real problems.

Definitely staying home tomorrow!

Knee Update: I Get To SWIM Again!! :)

2006-11-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

...which is what I was doing just before it started snowing. I was swimming (really Swimming! frog-kick, front-crawl, swimming!) for the first time since my surgery, and I would have stayed in the pool longer had another gym member not drawn my attention to the white-stuff sticking (Sticking??!) to the roads.

so I'm in a much better mood today, having finally had the chance to exercize (and enjoy it!) for an hour.

which means it's time to capitalize on the decent mood and tell you something that happened recently before something else goes wrong and my mood tanks. (apparently my husband's car stuck in the snow is only enough to dampen my mood, not dispell it completely.)

Check-up appointment with my surgeon was last Tuesday (just before Thanksgiving, which might explain the delay before I got to go swimming), and he's pleased with the progress. He shook my knee, pulled it, pushed it... decided it was still attatched. :) He's happy with my range of motion, and says I get to go Swimming again! yay!! finally some exercize (real exercize!!!) that I can *enjoy*!! (not this lifting weights junk that I've been stuck with for the past several months! .. it has it's place as a fill-in activity, but it is *not* my idea of daily exercize! ew!) .. so I spent an hour and a half in the pool doing laps. :) and would have easily spent another half hour had it not been for the snow/hail/ice/rain/sleet stuff.

He loved his socks! :) Loved them, I say!! nearly in tears with joy, if you can imagine! I even got a *hug*!! wow. a hug from my surgeon. How amazingly cool is that??!

He says they're his first pair of hand-knit socks ever and they're already his favorite, even though he hadn't tried them on and so can't really know whether they fit right! .. he said he was going skiing over the weekend and would bring them with! :) Yay!!

So I guess, since my surgeon had to do a patch-and-repair on my knee, it's only fitting that he should get a one-of-a-kind pair of hand-knit socks that endured several patch-and-repair jobs before they even got off the needles!

Let's just say that I was up, knitting, the night before my appointment, until 5:00AM getting these things done. Worth every bit of it.

This is what they looked like just a short week prior:

The astute among you will already have noticed that the heels changed color somewhere along the way.

Yes, I realized with horror that I was *not* (despite careful weighing of the ball of yarn and the sock throughout the progress to be sure I'd have sufficient for the second sock) going to make it all the way to the toe of the second sock, and in fact there was some doubt the yarn I had would actually turn the heel on the second sock. I'd searched all my LYSs in the hopes of finding the yarn to match with no luck, and when we travelled to Tucson for a couple of days to visit with Keith's father, I checked the LYSs there--also no luck. But somewhere along the way I found a yarn that co-ordinated pretty well (if only I'd planned it that way from the beginning! would have saved me some knitting and ripping and re-knitting!)

So with one sock completed, and the second sock knit to the start of the heel, and with one scant week before my next appointment, I realized what I'd have to do...

I didn't really have the time to rip the completed sock back all the way past the heel and re-knit it all, but I needed the yarn that made up the heel and the toe so that I could complete the arch of the second sock!

So I put in a lifeline around the heel, and took it right out!

I picked up the stitches and re-knit the heel in the contrast yarn. There were some anomalies. The untrained eye probably will not notice. The trained eye would notice and forgive.

At Midnight, the evening before my appointment, I thought I had a pair of socks. :) One last try-on on my own feet to be sure (as sure as one can be when the size of one's foot is 4 sizes plus a gender different than the target!)... and was astounded to find out that one sock was approximately 12 rows shorter than the other in the foot length! Yipes!! how did that happen?? .. apparently in the gusset formation of the second sock. .. but again, I was short on time to actually rip back!

So two more lifelines and take the toe right off:

add in the missing 12 rows, and kitchener stitch it back together. :)

It's even hard to tell there was a repair made from looking at the finished socks!
I love kitchener stitch!

First Snowfall 2007

2006-11-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

First snowfall yesterday-- lasted maybe an hour. Big white flakes mixed with rain. Didn't stick. (no surprise)

Second snowfall today--little flakes, big flakes, mixed with hail the size of bean-bag stuffing, mixed with raindrops from time to time. Stuck to the roadways!! (startling, really..) Very unpredictable driving conditions. Many cars in ditches. One of those cars ours. (VERY unpredictable driving conditions-- the hail mixed with snow mixed with rain and ice gives spots of traction and spots of sliding that just cannot be guessed or corrected for.) Thankful for AAA car assistance (though I suspect it will be a long time before they get far enough down the queue to help my sweetie get back on the road...)

Thank goodness I called him to let him know how careful he needed to be!

... ..

AAA wait estimate: 4 hours

.. ...

I found the chains for both cars, was going to put chains on mine and drive the other pair out to him, but it turns out that the chains for my car are unforgivably difficult to work. (I have used many sets of chains before and never had so much trouble! .. of course, my knee is also not up for the challenge of kneeling at all, much less in the cold and wet, either.)

After half an hour of fussing with the chains and not succeeding at getting even one of them on a tire, I gave up. I would have attempted the drive without chains (very short drive, very familiar terrain) except that the sudden and freakish snowfall brought *every* one of my neighborhood's children (and grown adults seeking to behave childishly) out into the streets, and they were not getting out of the way of the few cars that were passing by (not stopping to my attempts to flag them. hmpf!)

Turns out Keithr also timed out on waiting around for me to arrive and was walking back to the house to get the chains.

.. ...

now he's back out in the cold (with new warmer clothing, at least!) trudging back to the car to put the chains on it so that he can bring it home.

Thank goodness for cyalume. (that'd be the glowy green safety light stuck to the back of his jacket so he'll get seen by the other vehicles on the roadway while he's walking.)

.. .. ..

it was rather amusing to see one of my neighbors out for a "walk" on his cross-country skis!

We usually don't get anywhere near enough snow pack to ski on! This snowfall is absolutely freakish. In the 1 hour between the time that I got home and called my sweetie to suggest that he come home due to the weather, and the time that he called me to say that his car was in the ditch (not actually in the ditch, it turns out! he got lucky.. off on the shoulder and close to the ditch, but not needing a winch-out! yay!) **3 inches** of snow had built up on the trunk of my car! **three inches!!!**

That's my car in the left of the picture! That's my car just *1 hour* after I pulled into the driveway!!! *3 inches!*

..and you can tell from the light bouncing off the snowflakes (I love how falling snow photographs!) how much of the stuff was still coming down!

I'm cancelling tomorrow. (well, more literally, I'm cancelling my out-of-house appointments for tomorrow!)

Holiday Doldrums

2006-11-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

I don't like to post unless I can muster a good mood. This holiday season that seems highly unlikely. :I

But I do like the handmade needle holder that my SP9 made for me! :) .. must get pictures soon.

A Hole in my Handmade Sock, Darn It!!

2006-11-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

Imagine my horror when I found a small hole in one of the socks made for me by my SET partner!

(Yes, I checked the house for pests immediately, found none, had the exterminator experts come out anyway, just in case!)

And then I sat down to fix the problem. :)

From this...

...to this!

The hole was in part of the rise (between cuff and heel), and the fixed portion is a little thicker than it ought to be, but you can hardly see the difference! :)

Below are some of the steps involved:

Fortunately, my SET pal (thank you, Cindy!) sent me a little butterfly of extra sock yarn along with the socks, so I was able to repair them in their same yarn!! :)

(don't think I'm going to try to write my own instructions for this technique!! There are some very well-written instructions out there in the world, and I've even searched out a couple of the links for you!)

option 1

option 2

Note-- both "official" sources used a vertical skeleton, I used a horizontal skeleton. I didn't bother to look up the "official" sources when I needed them, I just dragged my best effort up from memory. It worked, though!

Three Weeks of Swap-Bot Thank-Yous!!

2006-11-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

(prelude)

I had intended to get my thank-you notes up today, but it looks like I don't have what I need to do that properly! .. so I've composed a draft, which should make it easier to get the post completed in a couple of days.

Thank you to all the wonderful Swap-bot participants who have sent such lovely and wonderful surprises to fill my mailbox these past few weeks!! I will post a better (more picture-filled) thank you note in a few days! :)

Thank You, Rox!

2006-11-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

My very first real, lasting internet swap pal!! :)

Rox sent me a fabulous Halloween card! and a wintery magnet! (made, I am certain, by her own loving and crafty hands!!)

Thank You, SP8ee!

2006-11-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

(this thank-you is a little bit belated, actually... but every bit sincere!)

My wonderful spoilee for SP8 sent me (for my recovery-from-surgery phase) a wonderful pair of books!

Aunt Erma's Cope Book -- a great read, good for keeping the spirits up when there's no way possible to get everything done that needs doing. :)

and a puzzlebook of Sudoku! I love puzzle books.. and I am very good at Sudoku (and other logical/mathematical solution-style puzzles), so this was a much appreciated choice! In fact, there are still enough unsolved puzzles in the book to make it worth bringing with on the current round of holiday travel! :)

I did discover an interesting fact when the puzzle book arrived-- A fundamental difference in the approaches toward life between my mother and I...

I like to start at the back of the puzzle book (or the text book or the craft how-to book), pick the most challenging puzzle (or project) and do my level best to solve it with little to no idea of *how*. I don't read the step-by-step instructions in the introduction chapter-- I only read the overview on the puzzle concept. In Sudoku, for example, I know there are 9 digits in each of three directions (horizontal line, vertical line, within the square), and that's sufficient to get me going. The rest of the process is a matter of straining my logical circuits until I find the solution, make a wrong choice (and end up with a non-solution situation), or can't press any further and get stuck for awhile. A good puzzle can take me several weeks of 10-minute bursts, and I am always surprised when I pick it up again (after finding myself stuck and abandoning it in frustration) and find that I can still push it forward with the solution skills I already have. I always wonder why I get to these block-points wherein I can't see what to do next? Especially since the next time I pick it up it is so obvious what I can still do! Why can't I see the entire solution set all at once? why do I need to take a break and come back, see things from a new perspective? .. but it's part of the fun to push as hard as I can at something that is a bit (maybe a little bit, maybe a huge significant bit) above my capacity level. I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy the breakthroughs, the "Aha!"s, the laboring over what I know should be solvable. .. and if I chance to get something wrong, I can accept that, because when one is working beyond one's capacity, one is bound to occassionally fail. Easy success does not make me happy--I want reward for my investment.

My mother, on the opposing side, starts at the beginning. She reads the introduction thoroughly (several times if needed), goes through all the practice steps, and starts with the easiest puzzle. She gets her sense of accomplishment from conquering each step independently, understanding thoroughly the workings of each independent process before complicating the situation with an additional factor. She draws enjoyment from working the easy solution and being "graduated" to an incrementally more difficult challenge.

I suppose there is hope that, some day, if we keep to our patterns, we might both meet in the middle.

Thank You, Juli! They've been great fun, and I think of you each time I work on a puzzle!! :)

Patty's Challenge #2 -- washcloth

2006-11-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

sugar and cream, size 7 needles, seed stitch with garter stitch border.

(For some reason I can finish these challenges in plenty of time, but getting the results posted onto my blog takes me *forever*!)

OMG!!! I Forgot the Very Best Part!!!

2006-11-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

(...again with the superlatives...)

There was a fabulous tin sock-needle DPN holder for works-in-progress!! Hand-made by skilled craftsmen using historical techniques, tools, and pattern!

This was such a fabulous treat to find in my box that I swept it up promptly and put it into my project bag with my surgeon's socks! (for which I need to find more yarn before I turn the second heel.. must go on a search today for match or complement)

And then I was trying to say thank-you from my already-shrunk-to-blog-size photo, and I just plain missed seeing it, and it was no longer in the original box, so when I did an inventory I didn't catch the oops!

Here it is, in all its own glory! :)

Oh! and it turns out that my gingerbread was actually banana-walnut bread!! (much to my surprise and happiness when I bit into it!) Maybe my nose was lying? .. or maybe there is ginger in the recipe? either way, it's *yummy*! I had a second piece just now for breakfast! yummers!!

SP9 Thank You!!

2006-11-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I opened my mailbox to find the most amazing package! Yay!!! A package from my current Secret Pal! :)

So many good things to keep me warm!
Gingerbread!! (speaking of which, I'm going to go warm up a slice in my toaster oven, spread some butter on it, and have it alongside a scoop of ice cream! YUM!!!) Home-baked Gingerbread!!!!! :)
Chai Tea!
Really pretty ocean and world themed wrapping paper! (just the thing for my current ATC and Postcard crafting kick!)
The cutest hand-made paper card with flip-flop design! (hand-made by Three Marias)
A really nice business-card holder also by Three Marias! This will be indispensible next time I go to a fiber event! ..
Hand-Knit LEG WARMERS!!!!! really nice cozy leg warmers! (the rolled-up bundles in the upper left corner of the picture) Beautiful color, and they fit wonderfully! They will be my best friends this winter--my knee is already pitching a fit every time the weather turns cold or intense-- and then they will be so nice to wear during warm-up on the ice when I finally get to go skating again!
A felted (also hand-knit!) ear-flap/headband! Perfect to wear when the wind is blowing! The felting makes them much more protective against the wind than my previous head-band had been!
AND!! a Hand-Knit pair of Alpaca driving mitts! :) ((I can never have too many pair of driving mitts! .. one by the computer, one for each car, one in my coat pocket (each coat) for when I'm out walking.. one to loan to a friend, one for my skating bag (when I get to skate again..)) These alpaca mitts are crochetted! and so very toasty that I think I will need to wait for the weather to get colder before I can wear them very much! :) .. they will be perfect for keeping my hands from freezing before the car's heater warms up, though! and the cars already have frost on them in the mornings now.

Thank you so much! I feel very pampered with all of these wonderful hand-made gifties! (PS--I verified your location from your zip code. ;) .. now I just need to start going through the list of all participants and eliminate the ones who can't be you.... )

The Jester Bag!!

2006-11-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

I forgot to draw attention (in my fairy costume pic) to the Jester Bag that was made by my Washcloth swapper!! Isn't it the perfect accessory?? I just *love* it! It was the perfect size to hold my ID and a little cash and a very small project (a pair of socks was a little too big, so I took some tatting instead) and my cellphone!

Thank You, Cindy!!

Happy November, Everyone!

2006-11-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

(...since I didn't wish everyone a happy Halloween! -- too busy with costume details and last-minute swap obligations!)

So.. Halloween was yesterday, and it happens to be one of my favorite holidays. (Because I like playing dress-up! as a fiber artist with a strong background in costuming and fashion, how could I resist?)

My ideas are always more ornate than I can carry out in the time available, but I am pretty happy with this year's results:

I had intended to be an injured fairy with a splint on my knee and some stitched-up wings .. I got the fairy costume finished, but didn't get the scratches and tears for the injury part. ah well.

(The fairy boots were surprisingly comfortable, by the way! .. no rain, so I didn't get a chance to find out how weather-repellant they were, but they were warm enough, and the caulking (silicone-rubber) on the soles gave some cushioning on the sidewalks, and some traction on the smooth floors. I had been worried the caulked soles would abrade quickly on the concrete, but they held up nicely (for the half-a-block walk, anyway!)

We didn't quite decide what Keithr was going to be... (the vampire fangs didn't work right), but he looks quite dashing, don't you think?

I Can't Believe They WORKED!!

2006-10-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Footwear might well be the hardest part of a costume to find or put together! In my experience, the right footwear is almost impossible, especially if you also want it to fit properly and comfortably!

Halloween is right around the corner (3 sewing days left! YIPE!) and I don't currently fit into any of my previous costumes.. something about those extra pounds I've put on this year.

Plus, I need to do something that accommodates my injury.

So! I am planning to be an injured fairy.. with splinted leg and wings.

(This plan relies heavily on my getting the sewing done this weekend! YIPE I say!!)

Two weeks out, I realized that one of the make-or-break pieces of costumery for this endeavor would be the footwear! and that I would not be likely to find appropriate footwear at a second-hand store or costume shop or ..really.. anywhere! at least, not for a reasonable price for a costume piece! that would also be comfortable and fit properly!

KNITTING TO THE RESCUE!!!

I decided to knit-and-felt a pair of fancy slippers for myself!

I approached this task the way I do most of my design work.. with a prayer to the appropriate deity and a Hope-this-works enthusiasm. Fortunately, this is an approach with which I have had more success than failure, and here is the most recent result!

(knitted up large on the left, felted on the right)

They fit!! It worked!!!!! OMG it worked.

Next step: (after felting the second boot and letting it dry) smear the soles with caulk and let dry. The caulk will increase the water-resistance and traction and will help keep the felt from abrading too quickly on the Seattle streets. :)

caulk needs about 48 hours to dry properly. .. I have almost that much time left!

Oh, just in case you'd like to make your own pair, I've included an image of my notes. Good luck deciphering them!! .. If there is sufficient interest, I may be willing to do the clean-up work necessary to make a pattern for sale.

Things I've Made To Send Out...

2006-10-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm barely keeping up with the exchange deadlines! yipes!! signed up for too many, I think.. especially since my physical therapy hitch got solved and I'm out of the house far more than I was when I made the exchange commitment!

Some of the things that are ready to go out (or have already been put in the post!):

The fabric postcard I made and sent out! .. I hope the beadwork survives the mail!

The handmade pincushion prototype for the handmade pincushion exchange. He's not quite the right shape, so I made some adjustments to the pattern before using the real fabric.

one of the three ATC whatnot bags I put together (and still need to send)

and two pair of "Things With Wings" ATCs ... my first ever ATCs, and thank goodness they can only get better! It might be difficult to tell from the picture what they are: there are two firebirds and two dragons. I painted them with acrylic paints, and have mixed feelings about the results. One neat thing, though! The dragons' wings are fabric! I like that touch, anyway.

So you can see I have been busy! very busy. .. but not too busy to appreciate the wonderful things that have been arriving in my mailbox lately!! Thank you all! :)

Other Things That Arrived Last Week!

2006-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

One pair of ATCs (artist trading cards) from the "Time ATCs" swap-bot exchange!! I love them! :) .. I always wish I could do something this simple and fabulous!!

A bunch of odds and ends and whatnots for making ATCs and other art collage projects!

More odds and ends and whatnots!

handmade postcards!! including one hand-drawn, and one made of fabric!

Fabulous!!

Thank You Hot Socks!!

2006-10-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

(again, I am going to prioritize getting this post saved over digging out the necessary links. .. I'll add them in later.)

I got the most wonderful spoiler in Indie's Swap-Bot Hot Socks swap!!

The requirements for the swap were to send "recipient's favorite hot drink" (I chose cocoa), "enough sock yarn for a pair of adult socks," and "something extra."

What a lot of extra!!

Not only are there three flavors of hot cocoa, there are three bars of really good chocolate, too! and a package of some really fascinating snack-mix with peppered pecans and dried cranberries! --very rich, and I can only nibble a tiny bit at a time--but a flavor blend I have never tasted before! sweet and spicy all at once. :)

There are three balls of Patons Wool-Soy yarn (dk weight! perfect for those size 3 bryspuns!!) and two balls of funky novelty yarn to go along as a fanciful cuff! .. and a pattern to that effect! (plus two other patterns that look like quite a lot of fun too.)

There are also a wonderful blue ball of bamboo yarn! so silky and lovely! I think it might be beautiful as a spring handbag? a ball of sparkly special yarn in blues and greens that I could use as an accent for the bamboo, or perhaps on its own, or maybe even paired with: the ball of green linen yarn! which seems far too special to turn into a washcloth (but oh so luxurious if I did..) .. so maybe I will use it as part of my costume for Rennaisance faire somehow? .. and there is even a partial ball of pink cotton! So fun!! So many guilt-free choices!! (I just *adore* partial skeins of yarn because I don't have to worry about choosing the "right" project-- partial skeins and short ends are permission to experiment and play! .. a little bit of this, a smidge of that.. and all of a sudden there are color connections occurring I never would have planned if I'd had enough of one color to begin with! ;) ) .. and there are a couple of odds and ends from someone's sewing/craft basket-- several tiny sparkle-pom-poms!! They're maybe 1/2 inch diameter, and they are so cute! .. I saw some for sale in the pet store last week (would you believe it!) for adding "bling" to your hermit crab! (can you believe it. hmpf!) No hermit crab here, and the bunny won't hold still, so I will have to figure out what else I can do with them.

..and a couple ounces of mauve-ish fleece! (It's really quite a nice color.. very earthy and warm) I will have much fun spinning the fleece into yarn. .. Oh! and a bag full of feathers!! chicken feathers in lots of different patterns and colors! so fun!! I am toying with the idea of adding the feathers to the fleece as I spin the yarn and see what happens!

And a card (with a wonderful note!) featuring a picture of one of her roosters!

Does it get any better than this??

(before you answer that, remember: Flash was a fluke! ;) a really wonderful, very appreciated, unlikely to ever re-occur fluke! .. you can't count him--he's on the far end of the bell curve. ;)

Thank you, Hot Socks Spoiler!! (link will get added later)

Speaking of My Anniversary...

2006-10-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share the beauty!

This lovely bouquet is what my husband brought for me!! :)

And thank you also to my mother for the gift card. :)

Oh Good! I Think I Can Write A Thank-You Note!!

2006-10-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

The first one to my SP9!!

Wonderful wonderful person that she is (I am assuming female, in part because statistically it is most likely)!!

Two of the packages that arrived in my mailbox on the 17th were from my wonderful new SP9 spoiler!! She has amazing taste. :)

One of the packages was drop-shipped from a nearby yarn store, and I'd been told that the package would contain "something to hopefully help your wrists from aching" (paraphrased), so I was suspecting a pair of the Hand-eeze compression wristlets (which I have used in quilting before I learned to knit, and have loved for years!! .. and which are elastic and lycra and tend to wear out over time, so even though I currently have a pair, I was delighted at the thought that a new pair might arrive in the post!) ... but no! Even better!! Three different sizes of Bryspun sock needles! I have heard many good things about Bryspun needles before, and yet these are the first sets I have owned or even worked with! I am delighted. :) They are sizes 1, 2, and 3 (I think--from memory, as I am too intent on getting this post written and saved to spend the time to go check!), and I can hardly wait to try them! They are highly reccommended for persons with wrist strain or arthritis as they are a moderately flexible plastic (casein, I think.. from milk proteins).. and they are highly reccommended for lace knitters as they have a really nice long tapered point that makes K3TOGs much easier than the standard short tapers found on most needles! And it came with an oh-so-cute sheep and lamb card! Spectacular! :)

And on the same day (actually, I think it was Monday, the 16th instead of part of the Tuesday windfall) a second package arrived, also from my wonderful new SP9 spoiler!

I love the wrapping paper with the bugs and the butterflies! .. Just in time to use for an upcoming ATC swap, perhaps? .. and the card that came with everything features an Art Deco window! one of my favorite artistic periods, and one of my favorite artistic mediums! very cool.

And a nice warm collar! Hand knit by my spoiler herself!! It is oh-so-cozy! and I can wear it as a headband when my hair is wet to keep my ears warm! Bring on the cold weather! I have hand-knit garments and accessories to protect me this year!! ;)

And a package of Jasmine tea! I am saving it for a quiet afternoon in which I can steep my pot multiple times and just *savor* the moment. (I have been much too hectic this week: the glitch with physical therapy finally got corrected, so now I have appointments out of the house almost every day again, and I discovered Swap-Bot (and immediately signed up for too many.. like filling one's plate at a smorgasboard) so I am trying to make sure that I get the projects I committed to completed and mailed on time. .. and last time I had a cup of tea sitting beside me while I worked, I made the mistake of rinsing my paintbrush in it. EWWWWW! .. must not let *that* happen to my wonderful yummy Jasmine tea!

And last (but far from least) the most amazing (so amazing, it's just plain eerie!) anniversary present! (My 5th year wedding anniversary was this year, on the 13th, and it was....mmm...much less than what I had been hoping for back at the start of the year before I realized the extent of my injury and its repercussions.)

A framed picture of a wedding cake decorated with a peacock!! .. Yes, that's right, a framed picture of **MY** wedding cake! Mine! Yipes!! That is some extremely impressive sleuth work, there, SP9!! I am duly impressed!

Thank you so very much! I love it all. :) Thank you.

Oh! and the chocolate!! GOOD chocolate!!! Yummy! ... I'm savoring it slowly. Now that I don't have to fear losing it to Beth anymore, I finally get to nibble away at it one bite at a time! :)

The 17th Was Overflowing Mailbox Day....

2006-10-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Since then, Blogger has eaten 5 thank-you posts that I have written, and been unavailable to login at least that many times more!

Today I will try again.

But first, I will post this note, just so y'all know what has been going on.

Let Me Introduce You to FLASH!

2006-10-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is the very last thing from my SP8's reveal package.. and it rocks the house. It is one of *THE* best presents I have *ever* received!! (right up there with the Isis shawl from Zann! and... the unexpected get well yarn from Mia! and ... okay, so every little thing I get is "the best!" for at least it's own brief shining moment.. but... how do you pick favorites, anyway?? Is it possible to say this is "the best!" without hurting someone else's feelings or putting extra pressure on someone trying to pick something "perfect" in the future??)

It's taken me a long long time to find the words to say Thank You for this one.. and I think I'm still tonghue-tied!

I followed the instructions provided, and let my husband do the work of lifting and assembly:

Ohmigosh!! I forgot to say Thank you for the 4 fabulous pairs of (storebought and oh-so-cute!) socks that Flash was wearing!!! I absolutely love them! I've already worn each of them more than once and I am just so happy with the way they fit! and with the fabulously fun colors and patterns!! Thank You!

The first thing Flash did was introduce himself to his cousin-- a little (as yet unnamed) brass peacock I made in a metal-working class during my pursuit of my art degree at UW! I really love the way the makers of Flash solved the challenge of getting his tail feathers to spread and stay spread! --there is a little dowel that slips through all the feathers in their spread position!! .. My own little flashette critter solves the same challenge by spreading like a fan, with a string running through the feather spread. (unfortunately, the thread wears out and needs to be replaced much too frequently. .. also, if I made my little peacock again, I'd put him onto a base to help him stand in all of his positions (his tail goes up into a spread or stays down in either a half-spread or collected position. I'll have to take better pictures of him to share with you.)

My SP8 spoiler *DEFINITELY* went over-budget with this one! Ohmigosh!!! Thank you *SO* very very much!! .. Beth had shown me the link to Flash about a year ago, but she had absolutely no intention of splurging on him for me.. and for that matter, I hadn't yet brought *myself* around to splurging on him, even though I fell in love with him on first sight!! .. I CAN'T BELIEVE HE CAME TO LIVE WITH ME!!!! ... (and I can't *believe* you splurged on him for me, Lacy!! ... I just can't believe it. You did so very very much for me over the three months you were my spoiler, and I am still in shock from your over-the-top reveal!!! I look forward to staying in touch with you-- you have been so incredibly thoughtful with your emails and notes and amazing gifts! You made such a HUGE difference in my life! HUGE!! .. You were an unbelievably generous and compassionate spoiler during three most-difficult months of my life, and I really can't thank you enough! Thank you for geing so kind and generous! I look forward to a long friendship (the next move of which rests on my own shoulders.. like visiting your blog and making comments, writing you emails, sending a proper thank you... all that wonderful stuff!) with you!

ThankyouThankyouTHANKYOU!!! he really is the best present Ever!!! :)

And one last thank you! -- Flash, sitting in his pride-of-place perch on my fireplace hearth, dressed up in three of my Spectrum colorway socks! and the pair of socks from my SockapalOOOza Angel!! (look! the carpet is even clean for this picture!! no dust and fur-balls along the edge of the brick!!)

Thank you, Lacy!! and thank you Spectrum sock yarn pals!! and thank you SockapalOOOza angel! and thank you everyone who has been kind and generous in all your assorted ways!!!

Hugs!!
--Peacock

Today Was Overflowing Mailbox Day...

2006-10-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Indieknits' Hot Socks swap, I got sucked into Swap-Bot! Yipe!! ... lots of fun swaps to take part in! I may have gotten into more than I can keep up with....

Today I went out early in the morning (not so early as you might think from the word "early", or even from the word "morning" really, but earlier than the postman comes by) on my way to physical therapy and I stopped at my mailbox to drop a newly-completed Fabric Postcard into the outgoing mail slot for one of my new swap-bot pals, and when I opened my (incoming) mail box, I found no less than 3 packages just for me! My mail box was jammed so full (the packages were sizeable, but there was also a whole slew of upcoming election junk mail flyers) that I'm quite sure nothing else would be able to fit!

It's a good thing I checked on the way out, because on the way back the postman had been by and there were 2 MORE packages for me!! (definitely would not have fit if I hadn't cleared out the prior mail!)

I am so used to getting nothing but Junk! (store flyers, political brochures, bills, adverts, JUNK!) so today's mail (which definitely includes yesterday's mail and might even include Monday's) was a much-appreciated boost!

I'm not at home this evening, so I can't take pictures, so I haven't even opened most of the packages yet. (I did open one package--it was one of my ATC Ephemera ziplock baggies! fun stuff.)

I can tell you for sure that two of the packages are from my wonderful new SP9 spoiler!! (they both arrived today, and we'll see how they travelled when I open them tomorrow!)

And I think that one of the packages is from my Hot Socks Swap pal! (sock yarn and hot chocolate! Yum!!)

The other (two? three?) packages are from a couple of the Swap-Bot exchanges I joined, and I can hardly wait to see what is in all of them!!

Thank you everyone!!

One Final SP8 Thank-You!!

2006-10-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

I finally have time to sit at a computer and write my final thank-you note for the Over-The-TOP final SP8 gift!!

I've shown you most of the gifties already, but I saved the very best for last!
This is such an *amazing* giftiee that I can hardly believe it is true, even though I walk past it every single day! (It now rests in a prominent pride-of-place location in my living room!)
It is without a doubt one of the *alltime* best gifties ever!!! EVER, I say! .. right up there with my very own horse when I was 13, and the tickets to see Cats when I was 16, and... well, it is just The BOMB!!

... ... ...

Unfortunately, I am not at my own computer, and I have forgotten what I called the pictures, so I cannot finish this post just yet, darnit!!

Just wait til you see this thing!! It is the BEST!!

Thank you, Lacy!!

Thank You, Dishcloth Swap Pal!

2006-10-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Cindy sent me this absolutely wonderful dishcloth-shuffle package!

3 purple handmade dishcloths!! fudge! tingle candies! (multi-colored!!) organic cotton yarn! a postcard of baby Tasmanian devils (so cute!) another postcard with scenic views from Australia! a little tack-pin from Tasmania that will be perfect on my cork board! (I seem to collect fancy little tack-pins.. I like to use them instead of standard office-type thumbtacks.) a cute card with a picture of a labrador retrievier puppy and a nice note inside! Fabulous wrapping paper!! (I unwrapped everything very carefully so that I could save the paper!)

And the sweetest little handbag that *she made*!! purple and gold! and beads and hand stitching!! the perfect size for one small knitting project (like a dishcloth, or a pair of socks!) and my ID on halloween!! Perfect timing! .. and the color will go splendidly with my costume!! (if I get my costume made, that is...) How did you know?! ;)

Thank you, Cindy!!

SP9 Questionnaire

2006-10-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Most of the answers stay the same...

Welcome to SP9!

Below is the questionnaire for this round. Please post your answers to your blog before October 15th. Be sure you post the questionnaire where your pal can easily find it. :-)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I really do not like acrylics or polyesters-- but that said, novelty fibers/yarns are growing on me lately..

My favorites are still the natural fibers: wool and cotton and silk and linen, some of the newer modified natural fibers like ingeo and bamboo, and blends that are primarily natural (wool-nylon sock yarns, for example)

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

anywhere handy. On my bookshelf I have a clear plastic shoebox, and in that shoebox I have some accordion-pleat file folders with one pleat per needle size for my circulars. .. My DPs I keep in old button-tubes (one tube per needles size) in an empty Quik container. My straights are in a large seasonal Popcorn tin, sharing space with my weaving shuttles. :) ... and those are just the places I keep my needles so that I can Find them again! .. as often as not, my needles are running around in project bags or shoved through my hair as a makeshift hair-pin, or fallen into the couch cushions...

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I first started knitting when I was about six (hated it! .. liked crochet, though) ... but I didn't really start knitting until 2003. My grandmother (the Knitter of the family) died that year.. and somehow I started knitting.. and started Understanding it, and Liking it! ... I think perhaps my grandmother is helping from the Great Beyond... ;)

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Amazon

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

I like really light scents. .. most scented candles are much too overpowering, regardless of the scent they are aiming for!
... I like lilacs and vanilla and strawberry... fresh clean wool, of course.. ;) ... the scent of fresh baked-goods... apple cider, a recent rainstorm, lemons...

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

sweet tooth--definitely. :) favorite candy? hmmm... good chocolate, divinity, marshmallows... creme brulee! (oops, not a candy) .. cookies and baked goods!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I spin, knit, weave, dye, crochet, scrapbook, photograph, build things (wood), make garments and costumes, quilt, do puzzles (word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, I do them all)... bead, calligraphy, painting, ... oh, and I do tat after all! .. I figured out last month what I'd been doing wrong, and it turns out that tatting really isn't all that bad after all. :)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like all sorts of music, very ecclectic collection. Yes, I can play MP3s. :)

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I can't think of a color that I really don't like.. every color has merit in the right context. :) ... I do adore just about any color you can find on a Peacock.. but really..bright, muted, grey, browns, jewel tones, neons, jarring, gentle, subtle, bold.. I like them all. :)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

My husband and I have a new Angora bunny (born in May, and oh-so-cute!) .. I got him at the end of September, and he will probably live with us for the next dozen years or so, assuming a long and happy, healthy life. ... at some point I will also get a new puppy, but not yet. Right now I am still getting used to the absence of my Zhenya, who got taken to Virginia by my once-best-friend, Elizabeth. The pain is a little too recent.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear anything that keeps me warm! (winter's coming...) .. I've fallen in love with the shawl that Zann sent--it goes almost everywhere with me these days! .. and I love scarves! (can't have too many, I think...) .. Hats are great.. especially ones that keep my ears warm! .. for that matter, ear-bands are great, too! It's often too rainy to wear a hat that doesn't repel water, but even so, I can always wear one indoors--especially once I get back on the ice rink again. (maybe by February, if I'm lucky. ) ... I haven't had a poncho in years, but I loved the ones I did have way back when... and I think they'd be really fun if they were styled so that they could be worn as either a poncho or an over-skirt... ... it's not cold enough here to require mittens, but wrist warmers come in really handy! especially on cold mornings when I'm trying to type or knit. :)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I'm not sure I have a "favorite" .. I almost always have a pair of simple socks on needles so that I have a small easy project to go everywhere with me... I almost always have some sort of lace in progress... and I almost always have something that requires shaping/fitting.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Right now? well, I haven't mastered the ability to type and knit at the same time.... ;)
On the needles right now (and currently progressing): two pair socks, one beaded scarf, one worsted-weight lace scarf, my Noro shawl (which might be finished, or might get an attatched capelet added on..), the Fiber Trends "spirals" hat (if I can make gauge)...

also on the needles (but not currently progressing): mystery stole lace project, baby alpaca lace scarf, pop-up paws for my husband, Shapely Tee for myself, felted mittens (may become an abandoned project or might get finished.. either way its fate will be decided by the end of the year), Fiber Trends shrug (or did I pull that one already?) which didn't look like it was going to fit right so go shoved away into a corner for awhile, the second sock to match the over-the-top SockapalOOOza colorwork socks that don't quite fit me right so I need to pull back the first sock and re-knit the foot anyway, two dishcloths, a pair of knee socks (set aside for the priviledge of working with my very special swap partners' Get Well yarns instead!), and maybe a few others that I'm forgetting at the moment..

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I *love* receiving handmade gifts!! (and baked goods! ;)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I'll work with all of them these days. :) My absolute favorites these days are Addi Turbos (the longer the better) and Addi Naturas.. (Addis have a really nice cord that doesn't get kinked or cause the yarn to get caught at the connection points.) I also love DPs of almost all description.. and as for straights, I have a mild preference for the shorter lengths (long straights can cause problems with the person in the next seat over at the theater or on an airplane.. ;)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I do own a ball winder and a swift! I can't imagine trying to get by without them!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Oldest UFO? hmmm.... maybe that little beaded crochet bag? (I ran out of beads)... maybe the hairpin lace I started a couple of years ago? ..
I have a tendency to continue to work on old projects at least once a year, and if I don't work on them, I rip them back out and reclaim the yarn. :)

18. What is your favorite holiday?

My longtime favorite has been Valentine's day.. but this year has left me a little cynical and wary, so maybe for this year it'll be Halloween instead: masks and costumes and being someone archetypical.. a theatrical presentation instead of a vulnerable human soul...

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Is there anything I don't? ..hmm... I have a large and treasured collection of knitting and fiber craft books (yet still somehow I have a wishlist!) .. I collect stone globes (orbs, not eggs... though I think that my orbs are collecting eggs because I seem to have quite a few of them even though I've never really asked for any! ;) ... peacocks (of course!!), hedgehogs, and jellyfish... yarn..., fiber craft tools!! (like shuttles and lucets and knitting needles and tatting shuttles!), ... that's what comes to mind today, anyway..

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don't yet have subscriptions to any magazines! (can you believe it?) .. I've been thinking I should get some this year, maybe.. Vogue Knitting, Spin-Off, InKnitters, Ornament, and FiberCraft are all magazines I pick up regularly from the stores and should really think about getting subscriptions for! (I'd probably save money..)

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

.. techniques that are still on my to-do list: entrelac, domino knitting, shadow-knitting, further exploration in hairpin lace crochet, making a sweater (that not only fits but flatters), more experience with cable knitting, really intense lace work (maybe the Peacock Feathers shawl from Fiddlesticks?), and combining knitting with other fiber techniques

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am definitely a sock knitter. My feet are about an 8-1/2 US. I used to be really specific about what I liked in a sock, but that definition is ever-expanding these days... I haven't made any lace socks yet, so I'm not sure whether I'd like them (it seems to me they'd let the cold in. ... but then.. perhaps I'd wear them over a contrasting color nylon?) ... and I haven't made any cabled socks yet, but I have a plan to! .. I am absolutely in love with every pair of hand-knit socks I own--especially the ones that have been knitted for me by othe people! (as a sock knitter, I understand the value of every single stitch that goes into a pair of hand-knit socks!)

I'm thinking that I need a pair of leg-warmers this year, specifically to keep my injured knee warm (and hopefully then it will quit complaining so much about the weather changes and the cold!)

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

My birthday comes around in January. the 12th. Capricorn. Did you know that the Capricorn sign is connected to the Knees? .. fascinating tidbit, that.. I've always had really wonderful knees until this injury.. I'm hoping that when the healing is done I'll have wonderful knees again.. (miserable ankles, but wonderful knees!)

SP9 First Challenge!

2006-10-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

(I'm too late to win, but that's no reason not to play!)

Actor - Johnny Depp, Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer
Actress - Meryl Streep
Animal - Peacock! (also Jellyfish, Hedgehog, Platypus)
Band - Rockapella, Irish Rovers
Book - _Anubis Gates_ by Tim Powers (unless you count fiber art technique books!)
Bubble Bath - ?? not so much. I take showers, usually.
Candy - Cow Tales (creme filled caramel chew)
Color - irridescent, purple, blue, green...
Flower - Roses
Food - Creme Brulee, artichokes, beef stroganoff
Lip Balm - Crabtree & Evelynn lip balm (I think I got it from a fancy hotel?)
Lotion - unscented shea butter
Movie - Pirates of the Carribean, Shrek
Song - I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You (my wedding song!)
TV Show - CSI (the original is best), NCIS, Junk Brothers, Project Runway
Vacation Spot - Hawaii

Freebie: Growing Fast!

2006-10-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

One last update for the evening.. this one because it is timely, and if I let the picture sit too long it might not be accurate anymore!

My bunny is eating everything in sight. A week or so ago he was 3-1/2 pounds. This week he is 4 pounds!! His fur is growing a little, and he seems to be Always Hungry!! .. he eats two big hoppers of Timothy hay, a sprig of parsley, and 1 whole Cup of alfalfa pellets Every DAY!

He's also well on his way to being litter-box trained! Yay!! ... after a brief mis-adventure with the World's Best Cat Litter (made from corn cob, I think and great for his under-tray.. but not good for his litter-box inside his pen, as he thinks it's the greatest dessert ever and ate so much the day he had access to it that I worried he was going to get an impacted gut!) we've settled on Arm-and-Hammer unscented cat litter for his litterbox, and the World's Best (compostable!) litter for his under-tray. :)

Still More To Say...

2006-10-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the post-heavy day!! (I hope you'll agree that (at least for the moment) a post-heavy day is much better than a post-empty day!)

Believe it or not, I still have thigs on the overdue list to write about!! ... I probably even still have some thank-you notes to write, but this batch of posts should take care of a huge chunk of overdue thank-yous!

Thank you to everyone who has been so very patient and understanding while I've been struggling just to get through the basics of life, and have let the niceties slip...

I'm still having more bad days than good, but hopefully the good days will start to increase at some point. .. and getting the good days to co-incide with times that I can be on the computer for long enough to type up proper posts has been an additional challenge (and probably will continue to be, sadly enough) ... so thank you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'll keep putting up posts as I can, and eventually I may even get back up-to-date again!!

Surgeon's Socks.. and Belated Sockapaloooza Thank You!!!

2006-10-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

WAAAaaaaay back in the dark recesses of time, I joined the SockapalOOOza exchange (and knitted up some quite-fancy socks, the pattern of which I promised to share (but haven't yet.. but also haven't forgotten.. but have probably misplaced by now)) and I was a Bad swap participant!! I didn't give a proper Thank-You for the wonderful pair of socks that eventually did arrive! (my original swap partner bailed, but I was matched up with a really wonderful angel who sent not only a pair of socks that fit *perfectly!* (better than the socks I make for myself!) but also a ball of sock yarn and a pattern too!!)

Thank You, (oh gosh!! I've forgotten, and it's not in my email folder!!) thank you, sock saviour, wherever, whomever you are!! (I will find the postcard (someday?) and post your name then!) thank you so very much for the socks and the sock yarn and the pattern!!! Thank you so muh for stepping in to take care of me when my original partner bailed!! Please forgive me for such a late thank-you! (I didn't get your package until after things had started to go Really Downhill, and...well... I've not had a very easy time catching up again with everything that got displaced during that Very Difficult Time...)

But I LOVE the socks! they truly are a perfect fit!! I've worn them several times.. it's hard to pick favorites anymore now that I have so many wonderful hand-knit socks.. but I sure do smile every time I see that Your pair is in my clean socks drawer!! (they don't stay there long, mind you!)

.... .... .....

and I fell in love with the sock yarn you sent! (I haven't tried the pattern yet, but it does look like fun!) ... I almost wish I'd kept the yarn for myself!! (I'm so very greedy, y'know... ;) ) ... but when I realized that my knee surgeon is a secret Sock Connoisseur with a fondness for wild and crazy colors...well... I realized that this sock yarn, sent by my very wonderful Sockapal Saviour, would be *perfect*! .. wild, bright, vibrant colors... but able to carry off masculine, too!!

(I'm still jealous that I'm giving this sock yarn away!! The more I work with it, the more in love with it I'm falling!)

I knitted them up on size 1-1/2 Crystal Palace bamboo DPs, with a 1x1 rib cuff, a 3x1 rib riser and upper instep, and a stockinette heel, sole, and toe. :)

Since I'm not sure that the socks will be a proper fit, I did a 3-needle bind-off on the first sock, and knitted a few extra rows beyond that (rather than butterfly-ing the extra thread (which has a tendency to get tangled sometimes)) so that I would have extra yarn in case I need to pull back and lengthen or shorten the sock for an optimal fit. (I know no one who has feet of the same size to be my test-fitter! ... thank goodness for that sock-size chart that Lacy sent!)

I've cast on for the second sock, and it's progressing nicely. I should be able to finish the pair in plenty of time for my next check-up (in about 4 more weeks!)

Thank you for the perfect sock yarn, oh wonderful sock saviour!! My surgeon has seen the colorway in progress (I had to show him I already had socks on the needle before he would confess to his footsize!) and he loves it!! I think it may already be his favorite pair of socks and he hasn't even tried them on yet! .... ... and if they really don't fit (like if I did something wrong all the way back at the heel, maybe?) .. perhaps I'll suggest he turn them into sock-puppets. ;)

Flash-Feathers...

2006-10-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned the Flash-Feathers pair of socks (you'll find out what that means soon enough...) at least a couple of times now, so maybe I'd better just share a picture or two of how they're coming along:

I'm working on a size 1 Addi turbo, in a 1x1 rib. This is a really cushy sock so far! .. I can hardly wait until it grows up!

August Spectrum Sock Yarn!

2006-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

But the sock yarn for August (I got re-enrolled just in time!) is stunning!

It even came with it's own matching drawstring bag! (the polar fleece blanket backdrop is my own.) The colorway is "Leopard" (if I'm remembering right), and it is *perfect!* .. the colors remind me of the couple of weeks I got to spend in Tanzania a couple of years ago! We saw a jaguar, several lions, some cheetah, endless Serengetti plains grasses, wildebeeste, dik-diks, zebra, elephants... and the colorway of this sock yarn captures that color palette perfectly! .. As I'm knitting the socks that are currently on my needles (the surgeon's socks, and my stripy Trekking Flash-feathers), I am dreaming up the socks that will be made from this fabulous August colorway!

My August swap partner was Penny, and I think she did the most amazing job! don't you?

July Spectrum Sock Yarn Swap...

2006-10-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I missed the memo that must have been posted somewhere covering the change of format for the Spectrum Sock Yarn Swap from an "enroll for the whole set" system to an "enroll each month if you want to stay in the swap" system. I missed out on July's sock-yarn swap (which was the purple-violet month, durnit!) ... so I have no overdue thank-you note.

Sadly enough, I also have no purple sock yarn! argh!! (I did dye some to ship out--it's a really lovely wool-mohair blend...) would someone like to dye up a purple/violet skein of merino sock yarn for me in exchange for the wool-mohair blend I dyed for the exchange? Not only would I really like to have a pair of purple socks to go with the whole spectrum theme, but I also had a plan in mind for the leftovers!

I'll leave this query open for awhile in the hopes that I get someone willing. If that doesn't happen, I guess I will have to just dye up my own skein of sock yarn.. which would fill in the color gap, but wouldn't be as completely awesome as a skein dyed up by someone else!

Also, the sock yarn swap didn't start with the first month-- March was Red-Pink month, and I'd love to get a swap partner willing to fill in that gap as well!

Thanks in advance...
--Peacock

Which Means, Naturally....

2006-10-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

That my May Spectrum Socks are also finished! (This doesn't need to be the case, but I've been working each month before the next.)

Spring green socks, a natural for tennis anklets! .. and then (just a week ago, actually) I finally found my perfect Ladybug buttons to circle the cuff!! (I still need to sew them on, though. ... and they are glass, so that will mean hand-wash only to prevent the buttons from breaking. It's all worth it, though!)

Thank you so much, Staralee!

(I love these socks!! the color is wonderful, and the've knitted up so nice and comfortable!!!)

Long Lost Thank You Note!!

2006-10-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

Way back in early July (in the heart of The Great Difficulties), a wonderful package arrived from my July Spectrum Sock Yarn swap partner, Marg. She was not my original swap partner (that person dropped out), but I'm so glad that she was my eventual swap partner, because I just love the robin's-egg blue (dyed with Kool-Aid packets, I believe!) yarn that she dyed up! .. and not only did this lovely yarn arrive, but in the same package were three oh-so-wonderful posters!!

I *love* them!! Especially the fire-retardant sheep. :)

As you can tell from the fact that the socks are already finished (except for the kitchnering of the the second toe and the working in of all the ends), this is a truly late thank you note!! ... but a MUCH appreciated swap gift!

Thank you, Marg!!

SP8 Goodies!

2006-10-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

So I've been pondering for the last couple of weeks, trying to figure out which of my SP8 Reveal goodies is my second-favorite! (the absolute favorite is just so far out there that there's not even a close runner-up.. not sure there ever will be, actually... my SP8 spoiler went so far beyond Generous, that it should be legendary!)

First off, there's the reveal card!

Now, my SP8 spoiler has sent the most fabulous fun cards throughout the three months of spoiling me, but this one outdoes all the rest! She made it herself!! (I'm sure of it... it's an SP8 card done in a wonderful scrapbooking style... and looke at the adorable little skeins of yarn and knitting needles!!!! OMG! SO fab!) .. her name is Lacy Zigzag! (at least, that's her blog-name), and you should all go over there and thank her for me!! She's been absolutely wonderful!! .. not only does she send Great gift packages, but she's been truly supportive when I really needed support. :)

I've been really selfish in keeping her oh-so-wonderful Reveal package contents to myself for the past month, but I think I'm ready to share today, and I just *know* you're dying to find out what they are!

Another favorite, if for nothing more than the *cool* factor:

Light-Up knitting needles!! Purple light-up knitting needles! size 10.5! Awesome. :) ... I've been having fun this past week trying them out under all sorts of circumstances.. they are very bright, so if you're going to use them in a moving vehicle, try sitting in the back seat so you don't blind the driver! ... They're really great for that twilight-time of evening when the light is starting to fail but you don't want to turn on extra room lights yet! ... or I could imagine having fun with them at a campfire (but I will need to wait for Spring before the weather is right for that attempt! .... or a rave party?? Definitely useful at a dance club nowdays when my knee prevents me from dancing... a good conversation starter. ;)

And these!

Halloween is almost here! and I have some stickers and some paper cut-outs for a scrapbook page!! :) How cool is that? two pumpkins, a witch, and a haunted house! ...now all I need is some pictures of my costume for the year... I'm thinking I'll go as an injured fairy... leg and wing in splints, all wrapped up with ivy leaves...

And this!!

I'm not sure you can read the packaging, but it's a bag of walnuts! from Peacock Farms!!! ... I've already eaten two batches of banana bread with walnuts, and am looking forward to a batch of chocolate-chip-walnut cookies next week for my husband's birthday! (It's an annual tradition to bake cookies for his birthday. :) .. I get the batch with the nuts in it. He gets the butterscotch-chip cookies.) ... (I didn't bake the banana bread-- my mother did. Turned out absolutely yummy!)
..(If they'd been pecans, I'd've made a pecan pie. .. but they were walnuts, so I didn't. ;)

Another knitting magazine!!!

with some great ideas to try.. but my attention was drawn to this fab advertisement in the back pages! Adriondack yarns is using a peacock's tail as their advertising logo!! :) ... I've seen some of their yarns, and I'm absolutely drooling over them. .. they are on the expensive end, though, so I'm waiting to indulge. Maybe a sock yarn or two for my birthday in January? .. and their silk-ribbon yarns are even more pricey!! but oh how gorgeous!!! Thank you for noticing them, Lacy!

Then there's this guy...

A cute little brass-and-enamel Peacock for my holiday tree!! ... for year-round decoration for that matter!!! So Sweet!!! .. maybe I will figure out a way he can live on my spinning wheel so that when I go to spin-ins, people will know right away I'm "Peacock"!

And Earrings!!!

Perfect to go with my fairy costume this Halloween!

Oh, and did THIS ever come in useful!!

My surgeon, who just happens to adore fanciful colorful wild socks, also just happens to have size 12 feet!! I don't know anyone else with size 12 feet, so I don't have a foot-model to work with! My own feet are ladies' size 8-1/2, my husband's are mens' size 9 or 10... but thanks to this handy little chart, I think I can make the pair of socks that are on my needles fit my surgeon's feet! I showed him the sock-in-progress last checkup (I had to, because he wouldn't admit to his foot-size without the leverage of telling him it was already too late to stop me from knitting him a pair of socks...) and he just adores them!! After this post, I will write another to show you the Surgeon's Socks in progress! I used my Sockapaloooza Angel's gift yarn to make them, and I almost don't want to give them away!! (except that at a size 12, they'd never fit my feet... ;)

Then there's *this*, of course....

.. new feathers for Flash! ... I started this ball of yarn last week when I got to the toe decreases for my surgeon's socks and needed a simple-knit project for the theater.. I love the way it's knitting up!! (you'll have to wait until I get pictures) ... The stripe pattern is a really long sequence before repeat, so it's really been fun to watch it work up... but it might be a challenge to get the second one to match--I might do them without worrying about the matching stripes thing. ;)

And this one!!

which for some reason reminds me of spring rains and water droplets on a lake and all sorts of fun ideas! .. I'm saving it until I find (create?) just the right sock pattern to echo the watery concept.

Isn't this the Most Fab reveal box ever???? I think so!! (of course, I think that about every single package that arrives! .. but I think in this case it might be doubly-deserved!!)

Can you see why I've been in shock?!

.... and I haven't even shared the coup-de-grace yet!! You'll have to wait just a little longer to meet Flash! ;)

(Happy dance!!)

Thank you, Lacy!!! You're the BEST! :)

Another Sneak Preview!!

2006-10-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

Of the package contents from my wonderful SP8 spoiler!!

(yes, I'm milking this for all it's worth. ;) can you blame me?)

Every single one of the little packages inside that big huge box had its very own handwritten note!! :)

OFFF 2006

2006-09-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

It turns out I did not manage to fully avoid the siren-song of Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival after all. Fran (who lives in Portland) was going and really put the enthusiasm back into it all... I wasn't sure I'd really get to enjoy it much, but I knew I'd regret not having tried. So I went. Not only did I get to spend some more time with Fran (another devoted fiberholic who (sadly) does not have a blog), but I also got to see Greg and Ona again! (two more devoted fiberholics who carry their passion so far as to own sheep and to teach spinning at the Renaissance Fairs (which is why I ended up at Shrewsbury Fair-- it's Greg and Ona's fabulous booth that I was helping to run.) )

Actually... it's a little bit longer story than that..

See, I returned Cinnamon (the bunny I had borrowed from Fran for almost a month) two weeks ago when we went down for Shrewsbury Fair. Portland's heatwave had really only lasted a week or two, and Fran was really missing her bunny. I figured I'd be fine for awhile in a non-pet household. .. .. ..

I really want a pomeranian, y'see, but I don't want to just get *any* pom, I have certain specifications I'm looking for, and I haven't found the *right* pom yet. I thought I'd be able to just bide my time without any critters around while I looked for my perfect pom.

I was wrong.

no puppy yet, but I just couldn't resist getting some sort of furry friend to keep me company these days.

So I went down to OFFF on a bunny-search. (Keith drove.. long distances in a car are still really unpleasant for me--the vibrations of the car just ste my knee to aching miserably.)

Turns out I didn't stay long.. I bailed out of OFFF before the end of the first day. I only saw maybe 1/4 of the vendors' booths, but that was enough to cost me a penny or two and laden me down with: a bundle of back-issue Spin-Offs, a skein or two of yarn for the holidays, a fabulous scarf you will just have to see to believe! (pictures later.. I haven't unpacked yet), and a couple of new patterns to dream about knitting up. :)

And a bunny.

I thought I'd get a huge, fluffy, fiber-producing, potential breeding-stock doe angora.

This is what I got instead:

He's a runty little black angora male (25% German, 75% French). His brothers are twice his size with four times as much fur. He's underweight, undersize, under-furred, and has been described as a "failure-to-thrive" baby who has been on his deathbed several times throughout his early life, and may not have a very long life ahead of him. It is unknown whether his failure-to-thrive might be due to some sort of internal-organ defect that might just plain kill him without warning some day. He doesn't have his balls yet and possibly never will.. he may never develop a proper coat of fur, and he may never be able to breed.

But he is the sweetest little fellow ever! He is very calm, very patient, very inquisitive, very gentle, and just the most perfect personality you could ask for in a companion critter. :)

Because he's not currently a fiber producer (and maybe never will be) and might never sire a litter of pups, I got him for a bargain!

His name (for the moment at least) is: "Peacock's Priceless Puffball" .. or "Freebie" for short. ;)