Brenda's Buttons

I'm not the only, nor am I the first, but I still feel compelled to post the buttons I've earned from Camp Cast-on.
So here.

I've been an asshole about my knitting.

I've tried to impress others with my mathematical skills (in knitting).

I've nearly killed muggles by talking about knitting.

I podcast about knitting (and other stuff) at Craftlit.

If at all possible, I drink while knitting.

MacGyver Level I--paper clips, binder clips, hair doodie bobbers as stitch markers.

MacGyver Level II--use of bamboo skewers and pencils as needles.

I am, in fact, working on a book RIGHT NOW
(or, actually, I'm avoiding working on it by blogging on this page).

The Environment

I know I've mentioned this before, but my Dad's a geographer. I grew up pH testing dirt for fun. My Dad's area of expertise is desertification--the fact of/process by which deserts around the world are growing...annually.

So, global climate change, blah blah blah...that's not what I'm here to argue.

What I'm here to say is this:
Whether it's our fault or not, can we all agree that using up finite resources is...well...um...stupid.

I feel like calling a spade a spade today--and this is a Royal Flush of spades.

If we can agree for a moment, that the climate is changing, well...that would be a good start.

Lots of things are demonstrating this fact. Animal populations are decreasing in some important animals, growing seasons are changing (which directly affect some animals), even the times when Vermont Maple Syrup farmers tap their trees have changed dramatically over the last thirty years.

Okay, if we can agree that those things aren't lies, then we can continue.

We know that things like...burning coal for heat have an effect on the environment. After all, we know that the famous London Fog--thick as pea soup--was actually caused by heavy particulate coal smoke creating an inversion layer over the city that trapped the moisture and created the fog. So we know that our actions can change the environment--even in small ways, even temporarily.

Okay, so if we can agree on that, then we can move on.

We know that since the beginning of the last century our dependence on fossil fuels has increased dramatically. Fossil fuels are finite resources. Dependence on anything that will run out (even decades from now) is foolhardy. New technology will have to replace the current technology--it's not an if, it's a when.

So, why not now?

1) We know that sucking on a tail pipe will kill you
2) We know that we are dumping the stuff that will kill you into the air (which we all have to share) at extraordinary rates
3) We know we're all in this together--it's not a local problem
4) We know in our heart-of-hearts that whether we are causing global climate change or not, that the first three things listed here are true.

So.

Why not try to do something about it.

IF the climate change we are experiencing is natural, then so be it. We'll adapt or we'll die. It's that simple.
BUT.
If there's even a small chance that WE are the culprits, then the above listed points make it ridiculously plain that we need to at least try to do something about the problem.

Even if we are wrong, the outcome will be a cleaner environment for ourselves, our children, and our children's children.

And I don't buy the "it'll kill business and cost us a fortune" argument.
The auto industry said the same thing about seat belts.
Seat belts have hardly been the downfall of the auto industry.

We are nothing if not an inventive people. Let's have some of the billionaire boys from the Dot Com boom start hosting competitions for the best non-fossil fuel engine. Let's create a reason for kids to learn science. Let's find a way to make it all profitable. Let's start making kits to retrofit houses to rely partially on solar, on wind, use grey water, include cisterns. If those things are cheap and available and save families money--we're all going to be better off!

Why aren't there solar panels or wind generators on the roofs of the Projects in NYC? Even a small cut in energy sucked off the grid in a city that large would have a huge impact on the economy. And if the power companies were the ones (a) selling and (b) maintaining that equipment, then they wouldn't have to worry about becoming obsolete.

There are lots of ways to make a dent. And even if you don't believe we're causing the climate change, you can't avoid the need/desire for a cleaner environment for our children.

We can not afford to be a short-sighted, adolescent nation any longer.
It's time to grow up.

Kippot

I don't have patterns, but I was pretty certain I'd be able to find some. These are my successes:

Do-It-Yourself Kippot

Basic Knit Kippah

Star-of-David Kippah, and version II

Stars-and-Stripes Kippah

Pretty basic crochet


A pattern from a page with such a horrific background that I (a) couldn't read the pattern until I copied it here, and (b) got a headache.

Yarmulka

1 ball #10 size 10 crochet cotton. & size 7 hook.

Start with a little thread circle & crochet 8 sc into it: then pull the thread to close the circle tightly. Mark the first stitch, then work on continuous rounds. rnd1: 2sc in ea sc around. 16sc rnd2; sc in ea sc around rnd3: 2sc in ea sc around rnd4:sc in ea sc around rnd5:*sc in next 2sc, 2sc in next sc* around rnd6: sc in ea sc around rnd7:*sc in next 3 sc, 2sc in next sc* around rnd8: sc in ea sc around Continue till it's the desired size. All even numbered rounds are simply "sc in ea sc around" Odd numbered rounds are increases. with ea round the number of stitches between ea increase grows by one. End by working sl st into next 2sc & then ending off.

Useful:
How to keep scarves etc on your head

How to make head coverings look stylish

How to tie a Teichel

And then, just because it's so cool and I stumbled on it:
Clapotis hat!

SPS +

SPS! This time I remembered!

Boys are sleeping, head is stuffy (thanks to a surprise cold) but the day has gone well.

I was asked to teach about 12 kids at the Synagogue how to spin and knit/crochet a kippah or yarmulke. We've got four Sundays to do it in; today was the first. The kids are...um...hyper. But some of them are shockingly good spinners (two boys, two girls) the rest are going to take some time to work with.

We were able to dye their fiber, but not dry it. So I'm still cooking bags and bags of fiber (which is fine) and will salad spin it tonight...or something.

I was able to get a GORGEOUS California Red fleece from a local source (thank you Melanie!)—a fleece that took second in a NJ competition (and I can see why). Light lanolin, soft crimp, tiny micron count. And she tells me this was a cross breed to produce better meat, then whammo! They noticed it had great fleeces!

The kids weren't freaky at all about getting their hands dirty, or wet, and they loved that they were going to get to dye. It took too long (and not enough room in the dyebath--I should have brought the crockpot too!) so they'll have to wait to see their hand-dyed fiber until the next class. But that's good. Let them live with a little anticipation.

I'm writing different things now, and it's a relief, actually. I needed a break, but I also need an income. This has been a nice change. I'm writing passages now, and occasionally benchmark tests. Compared to the curricular work, it's a breather.

And now, life is pretty much just anticipating going to SOAR, getting into some cool air (though it's been lovely here in the mornings and afternoons), and getting a chance to learn. I'm starting the packing process now, which seems ridiculous, I know, but I don't stress if I just leave a suitcase open for a couple of weeks and randomly think, "Oh, man! I need to take this!" then toss it into the bag. Otherwise I tend to forget too many things.

Sadly, Andrew's birthday falls when I'm at SOAR—and I know he's reading this—so I'm working on something for him while I'm gone.

And that's about it. I've got papers to grade, passages to write, things to pack, fiber to dry (and spin), gifts to knit, and a house I really MUST tidy up before leaving Andrew alone in it.

Newsflash!

Sad news.
A sorority sister of mine (long story for later) just found out that her husband, the sold breadwinner of her family, has pancreatic cancer.

I don't have to tell you what this means, right?

He is undergoing chemo, but their insurance sitatuion is tenuous. He's a freelance writer.

PLEASE, check out their auction. Friends, family, strangers, are all donating things for them to auction to support the family in this horrible time.

If you see something you like, please bid. If you'd like to donate something or some service, please contact me at MamaOKnits [at] gmail [dot] com.

And thank you for your understanding. I wouldn't come to you like this if it weren't serious.

Oh.

And my maiden name was Hutchinson. They don't know me from Ordover.

Obligatory 9/11 Post

Read here
and here
and then of course, here.

Leadership kids who "ran" from the building—all helped to safety by the kindness of strangers.

And the southern view you didn't see on the news.

9/24/2007
O, I just HAVE To respond to the coward who anonymously left the comment below that "911 was an inside job.There were no planes,as none of the kids mention the sound of a 767 at 800 feet on full power."
_I_ mention it, dolt. I'm the only one who was in the room who had anything to compare the sound to (WWII movie missile sounds--my kids didn't watch movies like that) the kids, quite frankly, were too busy thinking they were going to die to try to find a parallel.
If you weren't there then leave off with your idiotic comments or learn to listen. There is no one who could create a conspiracy big enough to convince all of NYC to lie. Really. We're a bunch of loud mouths and we call it like we see it. It's just not possible to shut us all up or stop us from saying what we saw.
Really.
Or better yet, instead of chickening out and leaving ghost flames on the blogs of innocent folk, go talk to the guys who were working construction in Jersey who watched the second plane plow into the South Tower, knowing damn well what was going to happen when they saw it bank over Staten Island. White as sheets, they were, and still shaking hours later.
But I'm sure they were planted for my benefit.
I'm sure the plane's engine on the building of my school (Yes, I saw it. Yes, I know what a plane's engine looks like) was a plant too.
Hell, I'll bet you think it was Mosad.
Oh, how I wish to be alone in a room with people like you and about seven of my students.
THAT would be a inside job.

Part Deux:
To my Anonymous poster—thank you for coming back. I actually respect that quite a bit. Usually Folks-Who-Flame don't bother.
I'm so, SO sorry because I've clearly left you with the misperception that I support the "genocidal Bush regime". This is not true. In fact, it was rather telling to watch the numbers from the 2000 and 2004 elections roll in. While the NYC has been voting Republican since Giuliani ran (and NYC is notoriously NOT a Republican town) NYC rabidly voted against Bush.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who was in or around 9/11 who trusts that man.
I'm well aware that what we've been exporting to other countries has not been...hm...our best and our brightest.
And as for serial numbers—not being a professional conspiracy theorist I just went my five senses and inductive—see plane #2 go into the building then see a plane engine on our roof. Maybe not more than circumstantial evidence for you, but since our elevators and stairwells were kinda small, and there were no cranes in the vicinity...yeah. I believe those were planes going in.
Do I think that absolves Bush?
No.
Do I think he wanted to go into Iraq long before 9/11.
Yes.
But I also think Mohammad Atta et al flew planes at civilian targets that morning, not Bush.
There's lots of room in the world for dumb people to make lousy choices.

hand spun!

Baby Jessica's sweater begins. . .
HeatherViaPhone

SPS

Life, don't talk to me about life...

Life is both boring and terrifying all at once.

There's no work at work, so I'm not going to make enough this month to pay the bills.

At all.

Then there's the boring part. I have a lot of "stuff" to do, but most of my time is so fractured with teaching Thing 1, running around with Things 1 and 2, now teaching (which, when I'm taking the bus is a godsend of unadulterated time), and then...the stuff I do to myself (spinning, knitting, podcasting).

I'm trying, in the middle of all that, to find time to write--for publication--and that's what's got me right now. I need more than 15 minutes here or there, or an hour at night when I'm wiped out, to get the articles done and the book draft done.

Blah blah blah.
Bitch bitch bitch...

And in the middle of it all, I know I'm one of the luckiest people on the planet.

Self-Portrait Sunday

Video Killed the Radio Star

There is something so sweet about this group...

Overwhelming Ennui

I have a vague idea of why, but really, the important thing here is that I am completely overwhelmed by melancholy right now. Yeah, AO is traveling, and that's always a bummer, but it's more than that.

I know on last year's podcast of this time-ish i mentioned feeling this way and here I go again.

This time, however, I think I sussed it.

It's the light.

I remember distinctly how, upon moving to NYC, I could see the seasons in the quality of the light. Something about the angle of it...the way it filtered in the windows differently...you can see Fall coming.

I know it's still August and even in NY there's a good chance that nice weather is at least a week or two off...but...the light is changing here. I can see it. It's distinctly different in the morning and evenings. Beautiful. It's the approach of Fall.
But...
It's 100° out.

Seriously.

Okay, now it's evening and it's not...well...hell, maybe it is. I know it won't be for long. But it'll only get down to 78° or so tonight and my Web Weather Monitor tells me tomorrow will be 102°.

This is not Fall.

I never really did the "season" thing before, having grown up here in the Southwest, but eleven years in NY... it's... it's very very hard to lose that. I suppose it's something primal... something... internal. I don't know. All I know is I'm sad. And it should be cooling off. And I miss my seasons.

In October sometime, the nights will start to cool off, and we'll have some days that are in the low 90s and it'll be dry again. That will be nice. Then, by November, we'll be sitting in sweaters around the fire pit at night.

But that should start in a little over a month...not a little over two. And I should have Jackie and John and Liisa and Professor Eval with me (a little Eval must enter every life).

There's something in my body that's telling me one thing while my environment is telling me another.

I wonder how many years it will take to erase this?

In the meantime, I'll just be...like this...

Up Again...

This time it was me being stupid.

I watched Zodiac with Andrew.

So...here I am. Why? Because there is also a hellacious rainstorm going on...it sounds like it just took out our rooftop satellite dish.
Ah...more fun for tomorrow.

We need the rain, no doubt, but I can hear the beating the house is taking. I'm tempted to go out on the backporch just to see how bad the flooding is in the wash...I just heard the gate smack itself open/shut again.

I wonder how long it will take the boys to wake up scared.

Ah well...if my eyes weren't so bleary I'd go knit...tra la la...

Polygamous Knitting

I can't settle down onto one project. I'm working on my I Love Gansey socks (which are lovely) and I'm working on the Guyabara shirt for my DH. And I'm working on my Huck Lace table runner (on the loom) and I'm...oh yeah, teaching a course at the UofA...

Too much, I imagine. If only it ALL created an income!

LOL

More soon...

NOTE TO SARAH 09/27/07:
There's definitely a discrepancy b/t the Guyabara shirt picture and the pattern. The purl 2 edging on the front panel of the shoulders is missing, they have you pick up stitches in the wrong color for the diamond panel, they tell you to slip stitch the collar with the wrong color, and my gauge was off, too (yep, with the Louet linen!).

I got gauge horizontally and left it at that. For the rows, I was rather unconventional.
I knit the first panel to the schematic measurement--since my row gauge was off--and then I went ahead and crocheted the following panels together to be sure they matched. I guessed on the front panels.

They have you put EVERYTHING on stitch holders, so I figure I can even it all out before I do the bottom hem (which is also badly explained in the written instructions--they call it a facing).
I also think it would be okay to have the back a little longer than the front since there are slits at the side seams.

I'm going to post some pics and specific instructions here on what I'm finding out, but it won't be until this weekend or early next week.

I feel your pain!
Heather

Thank you, Thank you, and thank YOU!

I just wanted to send out a big thank you to the people who have written to see how I've been (eh), ask if I've seen a chiropractic doctor (not yet), and to find out how the computer situation is (better).

More soon, and many, many thanks.

And the Sunday Self Portrait

What the storm hath wrought...

This is why I've not been online. And why no SPS...until now...

We've been hit by two storms, the first knocked out our internet. This one took chunks of our yard.

HeatherViaPhone

What time is it???

If you look at the date stamp on this you'll wonder if I'm out of my mind, up again at 2:29am.

The simple answer is, "I have no idea."

I am normally a Very Good sleeper (ask my husband).
I rarely have insomnia. I need (NEED) eight hours.
And yet...here I am.

I even swore off Diet Coke today after lunch. I had a glass (or was that two) of wine tonight and well over the recommended eight glasses of water. Tonight, to relax, I knitted more on the Victorian Lace Sock (from Six_Sox) and achieved the start of the toe decreases. I'm actually quite happy about that since I'm not loving this sock and will put it away (Second Sock Syndrome rears its ugly head) until I have fewer things that I want to do.

I have the Mystery Stole (not such a mystery now), Hogwarts Sock Swap Two, and my sister's Squid Hat, and another pair of Horcrux socks for Jan, and...o the weaving, the spinning, the spinning/knitting Jessica's hoodie (and o dear Lord, I have to think of a design to put on kangaroo pocket!!!). And with all that to tempt me, you should be musing to yourself, "mmmm, I wonder why she's not watching reruns of 'Bewitched' and knitting on the MS3?" And you would be right to ask that. It's where I WANT to be.

But I'm in pain.
Real nasty pain.

It's been like this for three weeks, and I cannot for the life of me figure out what's up. My neck and shoulders are like unto rock. My lower back is doing some weird occasional nerve pinchy thingy, and because my neck and shoulders are going, they're tightening the whatever to my wrists.
And they hurt.

A
Lot.

Trust me. I'm sitting here ergonomically. I've adjusted a number of times. There is no explanation. I'm not stressed (any more than normal). I've not been under the same writing schedule that I was under. I'm simply baffled.

Tomorrow, the hunt for an acupuncturist begins. If I can carry a tank of needles with me and put them in my own wrist when I need to knit (like now) that would be great! I wonder if they can do that...

Redwood creek Pino Noir. Surprisingly

Redwood creek Pino Noir. Surprisingly good.
HeatherViaPhone

Start of SPS

Yeah, so I'm a little late with the first SPS, but better late than never.


Check out Rosmarie's blog. Amazing work she does.

And, you know, we are the Borg.

Surprising Ending on the Survival of the Fittest

Huck Lace!

Second warp. three days of warp.
HeatherViaPhone

frank's diner. the best dive in Tucson!
HeatherViaPhone

Of Naps and Nighttime Knitting

I should get more sleep.

My husband will crack up when he sees this because, when he's home, I generally get eight hours (without which, you really don't want to be around me...really). When he's gone, though, I putter. I am able to putter my circuitous way around the house, putting up pictures, making things right, gradually going through drawers and filling boxes with Things To Go Elsewhere--not that they ever GET there...
If he were here it would only make him nervous. So. I save the putter for his trips.

But then, while puttering, I'll glance at a clock and see that it's nearly eleven p.m. and I've not knitted or woven or spun or...anything. And I get rather jittery and my hands start to twitch. And I stop whatever I'm doing pretty much mid-stream, and sit and knit. Or weave. Or something.

I've found that without question I sleep better after knitting etc. at night. I imagine it's something about the Alpha Waves or some such thing, but whatever it is, it works for me. Right now I'm in catch-up-sleep mode, Andrew having just returned, and I should take a nap. But instead, I'll probably finish warping the loom for the Huck Lace table runner.

So goeth the nap.

The runner had better be worth it!

OffTN: Syd's Horcrux Sox
OTN: Victorian Lace Sox, MS#3, Pomotomus (I'm so polygamous with my knitting...must be the influence of HBO's Big Love--Andrew will be glad it stops at knitting).

Oh, and speaking of Big Love, if you have HBO watch I Have Tourettes but Tourettes Doesn't Have Me.

Goofball Singers

I'm typing today while our babysitter sits outside, watching the boys swim. They are goofy and they have both inherited a love for (and a talent with) music. They are also genetically programmed to be completely ridiculous. They are making up songs at the tops of their lungs, but unlike other kids I've heard who just do this to make noise, they are working out choruses and refrains. They are actually and truly making music. They even fade-out purposefully at the end.

I'm trying to do the same thing myself right now with weaving. I've found four contradictory books/articles/patterns on Huck Lace and I have been trying to work out the math to make the table runner look the way I want it to.

I have little confidence that this will work, and a part of me wants to sleigh just a small bit of it, then test that. It's going to be a huge struggle if I have to re-sleigh the whole thing. But then...I'm still in the 'learning experience' part of this. We'll see...

I think I need to take a lesson from my sons, though, and just dive in and start singing.
Loud.
And clear.

OTN: back to Pomotomus socks, and almost done with Syd's Horcrux Socks.

Warped

Where have I been?
Warping.

I'll have pics here later, but for now, know this: I'm an idiot.

No really. I found out from Syne Mitchell of Weavecast that I took on a ridiculously difficult first project. This surprised me not at all. I had some linen on cones just sitting around so I thought I should use it. I warped with that

Then I wove four placemats--plain tabby, then twill (1/3 and 2/2) and had a ball.













I had no one to tell me that I was insane to start with linen. Probably why it came out just fine. If I don't know it's impossible I won't know I can't do it. I started the same way with knitting. It Is My Way.

And I think the placemats came out pretty well, all things considered. I would NEVER have chosen that color on my own, but like I said...I had cones lying around, so...

Now (again, becasue I'm an idiot) I'm warping 22 epi crochet cotton into a double sleyed Huck Lace table runner.

Um.
We'll see.

But that's where I've been. I've actually had to organize my nights, and I try to weave only when Andrew's out of town because it's (a) not silent and (b) not something I can do on the couch and, you know, I kinda like being near him.

On the knitting side of my life I'm fixing the length of my "Springtime in Paris" socks from the Six Sox KAL. I love these socks. I love that they're Tofutsies yarn. I hate that they're too big. So the night I started Harry Potter x7, I did a little experiment and tried pulling the toe out to see if just stretching the sock would make it fit better.

It did.

So now I've inserted dpns, ripped out the toe of one of the socks down to the dpn, and am reknitting the toe. I'm already excited.

I've also started on my Pomotomous sock again. I think the beast will last forever.

I've also GOT to work more on MS#3. Sigh.

Oh, and then there's the day job. And soon there will be homeschooling too.

And the Philosopher Podcast that's taken me forever to edit. Because I laughed too much. A good reason to edit, but also a good time.

Soon.

Off to that day job.

Why I'm no further with the mystery shawl. . .

Horcrux socks, part two (for Syd)
HeatherViaPhone

Balanced three ply!

A night's work
HeatherViaPhone

'Why Do They Hate Us?' - washingtonpost.com

'Why Do They Hate Us?' - washingtonpost.com

Perhaps the calmest discussion of said topic I've ever seen.

Testing a new Blogger Widget

LOVE the Mac. 
This is a test run for a new widget...

Harry Potter Socks!

From my sock swap buddie!
HeatherViaPhone

AND MORE!

More Taylor Mali

Now I know his name!
Courtesy of J. Damany

Victorian sock progress

Just a little more. . .
HeatherViaPhone

Definately not a thong!

row eighty four
HeatherViaPhone

From a Student

Here's why I love my NYC kids. This is what they send me:




And there are two more GREAT videos here.

Love the Sock!

victorian sock with flap.
HeatherViaPhone

Andrew

I don't usually post about books here, but I need to send out thanks to my NorCal buddy Madame Liederhosen who sent me the book The Time Traveler's Wife

I've been in a very weird zone for the last 36 hours since finishing the book.

I know I'm far from the first to be affected by the book...the word "haunting" comes to mind...and maybe it's just because I recently turned 40 and that age seems to be something of a turning point in the book, but, there's something else too.

Part of the book is taking on the problem of fate and free-will. Part of it is just a rockin' love story. My personal weirdness is with the latter. I'm down with fate/free-will.

See...I'm one of the lucky ones. I married the man I was supposed to marry--not that there weren't some great guys along the way (there were) but I wasn't supposed to marry them. I think they would agree.

So, knowing that I'm one of the few, and feeling the affects of age, and now reading this (truly wonderful book) I'm reminded quite viscerally that every time this man I love gets onto an airplane I'm pretty-well terrified until he's back home with me.

His grandmother used to admonish the family not to talk about being happy or lucky too loud for fear the evil eye would take it all away from them. It's something akin to that.

And the weird funk isn't because we're "so much like Henry and Clare"--we're not (though he does run every day, and he does dance as though he were in a mosh pit), but we're also the same ages now that they were at the end of the book, born roughly the same years (she's younger than I) and so we shared much of the same cultural markers, etc.

Anyway.

It's a great book.
Everyone should read it.

And mostly, I'd be really interested to hear how it affected you, since it really, really affected me.

Birthday Meme!

I've been tagged by RogueTess via OneTwoManyProjects. This one doesn't require too much effort apart from deciding which three events you deem worthy of mentioning. I think I'll be tagging NaptimeKnitter, AccordionGirl, and Agathon but if you feel like playing along, here's what to do: go to Wikipedia and type in your birth date (omitting the year). Then share with us (at least) 3 events, two births, and one holiday that share your special day. It's easy and fun and we might just learn a thing or two...


Here's mine.


EVENTS:

• 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
• 1809 - Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weavingstraw with silk and thread. (YOU GO GIRL!)
• 1891 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.

(It was really hard to pick! Of course, Cinco de Mayo* is kinda ubiquitous, but Gandhi was freed from prison, a stock market crash in the late 1800s started...lotsa cool stuff!)

BIRTHS:

• 1813 - Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (d. 1855)
• 1818 - Karl Marx, German political philosopher (d. 1883)

HOLIDAY:

• International Midwives Day.

*1862 - Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla.

Row 37!

On row thirty seven. . . not bad for two hours sleep last night . . .
HeatherViaPhone

addendum: It's absolutely obscene how much these pics look like THONGS! As If!

For those who notice, you'll see that I'm up at 1:15am...this is the second night this has happened. I am completely (I can't think of a better word) exhausted but can't sleep at all. Perhaps I'll try reading.
Perhaps a Benadryl?
Perhaps a mallet on the head?

And here I was planning to get up early to work...HA!

Yeah, I know...but it's not a thong...HA!

One night's work on mystery stole three!
HeatherViaPhone

HOGWARTS SOCK SWAP--SECOND YEAR!!

It feels so good to graduate! And so many things at once! SAWP, Hogwarts. It's all magic.

And now!
The New Gig!

But first--the homework:

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire—Second Years

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?
Ravenclaw

2. Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference?
Shoe 10
Foot length 10
Circumference 9-1/4"

3. List your three favorite sock yarns.
a. Socks That Rock
b. Socks That Rock
c. Tofutsies

4. Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand?
Absolutely, I'm actually not that picky, but I do live in AZ where it's HOT during the summer and in the 40s-50s during the winter (down into freezing at night)

5. Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn?
I'm easy. Now that I'm getting into lace socks I find that my variegated looks lame.

6. What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash? I'm generally a bluesy/purpley/green kinda gal, but the only thing I can't handle is orange.

7. What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?
Lace lately. I need to get back into Fair Isle. For my person, I'm into ribbed and lace (they seem to fit better on me)

8. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.)
Yes and yes (cats).

9. Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?
No and no (though I love cats in person).

10. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
Heck yeah! We are the world!

victorian lace socks. such as they are. . .
HeatherViaPhone

How Cool Is This?!

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Dropped off the planet, or something?

Yes.
I've been busy writing. And--in fact--I'm going to go take a break for my hands and wrists because I've spent the morning working (to make up for writing during the week days) and I'm SORE!

There will be more soon, though, I promise. I've been WEAVING now too--I warped the loom ALL BY MYSELF.

Can you tell I'm proud?!


Off to shower (You'll be happier, promise)...

Just lovely...

Rescued!

I found my book!


Teaching Writing: Craft, Art, Genre by Fran Claggett with Joan Brown, Nancy Patterson, and Louann Reid

An Interview with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, writers of Pirates of the Caribbean

And a little more...

An Interview with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, writers of Pirates of the Caribbean

Close-Up: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio on 'Dead Man's Chest'

Close-Up: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio on 'Dead Man's Chest'

Well, anyone who bitches about the film should read this and shut up.

Nice to see them get a chance to tell it like it is.

Clapotis Begins. . .
HeatherViaPhone

Who killed the honeybees? | Salon News

I still think it's WiFi...
Who killed the honeybees? | Salon News

How I spent my Saturday Morning

In trying to avoid the slow pace of the Blogger picture upload, I tried to use the iWeb feature of iPhoto and screwed myself in the process. Now you have to go here to see what I did.

My personal vision of hell
HeatherViaPhone