Monkey WIPs (and a rant)

I’ve been working on my next pair of socks, Monkey (knitty.com). Inspired by another blogger (whose name escapes me right now) I knit both legs first on this one. Now that I’m working on turning the heel, it seems like they’ll be done in no time!

If you’re feeling a hankering for a scary movie, given that New England is nothing but grey lately (though maybe there might be a glimpse of snow tomorrow morning??) we watched 2 really creepy movies this weekend. Stay Alive which while creepy was better than expected. And, scariest movie I have ever seen, The Descent. I am mildly claustrophobic, but this sealed the deal on me ever going spelunking (not going to happen).

I had today off from school, so I went out and did a little shopping. Target was fun, but offered less than I was hoping for. At Kohl’s I found plenty on sale (yay) but when I got up to the register, the cashier did not offer a greeting, had me empty out my bag of items (“You take those out of there” seriously. she said that!) and kept complaining about how hot she was – I was buying a sweater, and she kept saying “I doubt you’ll get a chance to wear this”…. Grr. Then I went to CVS to make some reprints of old photos. I couldn’t make a picture of a photo of my brother and I (circa 1985? 1986?) because it was some dumb Sears studio print. I understand the need and purpose of copyright, but, there are no more of these photos! And even if my mom could remember where / when the shot was taken, the chances that the photographer is still there is slim to none. I think there should be some exception on these sorts of photos. gah. /rant

1000 Cranes

I learned how to do origami in the 5th grade. I have dabbled in it for as long as I can remember. There is something soothing about making those creases / folds in the paper and ending up with something so delicate…I remember reading about Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes… I make them for the kids out of starburst or trident wrappers… I’m actually helping out at the church of several of my students for them to earn a “Honors” in origami… I found the following through nipperknits.com, how can I pass up a knitted crane?.
(quoted from nipperknits)
“So, here’s the plan. Have you heard of the senbazuru? This is a group of 1,000 paper cranes. There’s a legend that completing a senbazuru in a year or less is a prayer for long life and health. Also, in Hiroshima, it is a prayer for peace because of Sadako Sasaki. I’ve been inspired by my friend Ryan doing his last year and by the knit not war [link updated] knitted cranes effort. I want to use this year to fold my own senbazuru as a meditative effort. I think if I can meditate on what it is I want while folding these cranes, it will give me the mental focus I need to make a difference in myself. Everyday as I fold cranes I will think on what I want my life to be like. As I fold cranes I will focus on specific changes I want to make and things I need to do to make a difference in my life. I’m changing my behavior, for the good to be sure, but any behavioral changes are incredibly difficult. I know I’m going to need help, that’s why I’m thinking the senbazuru is the way to go.”
Brilliant. I’m going to knit up one to see, but I would really like to pledge ten.

Yay for Socks!

These socks I’ve decided I want to enter as my “Blue Monday” socks in the January “theme” for Socktopia – I flew through knitting these socks – amazingly! I was so stoked to be done, but I made one too short for my foot! This is the second time I have done this! Gotta learn to actually measure / try it on!! Anyway, in a great show of how my knitting confidence has grown – I unknit my mistake:

And fixed them with success! Dachshund approved.

I used the “Sell your sole” pattern and Speed Demon Yarn by Sweet Georgie (Berry Colorway).
However, I find that the heel bothers me some – not alot, but enough to know that I think I’ll use a different heel next time. It kinda puckers, as Jackson points out:

I want to call these “Blue Monday” even though they are mostly reds / pinks / purples – that’s like the fun of the weekend, and the subtle blue striping (and a little pooling) is the nagging feeling that you will have to return to work.

I don’t really “get” myspace.com, but I am fascinated with it – today I found one of my friends from elementary school!

Groan.

Actually, it wasn’t blogger that ate my first attempt at this post. I was trying to get a photo to show support for the Jets and Chad:

And the game has been a big groan. Oh well. Not being a huge football fan, I’ll recover.

The original intention of the post was to discuss the weekend. Betsy was home (but now she’s gone back down south) and lucky for us, it was the weekend of a big sale at Hopyard Spinnery. We had been to her fall sale and each stuffed a bag. This time though, we split a bag which worked out great. Here’s Betsy full of delight at our finds:

Actually, the photo only gives you a limited view of what you have to poke through – that is maybe 20 – 25% of the bins – and they are full! We tried to have a system to work our way through the bins – and I’m sure we provided much entertainment to the other customers as we exclaimed “Ohh! this is a happy bin” and “I keep picking up this color – the rule is you have to get it when you pick it up more than once right?” When we sorted our goodies, we realized that we had opposite selections. Betsy had a ton of tame, mild stuff. Mine, was wild. I bought YELLOW! Unusual, but I made an effort to stay away from blues / purples, but a few jumped into the bag…

And, she had some new stuff – Bo Peep’s Sock Yarn! –

After that we took a ride to Yarns Down Under – Betsy needed buttons and I had a gift certificate. When we walked in we met Ellyn Cooper – nice lady, nice yarns! There was a trunk show going on! I ended up getting a skein of her yarn with the intention of making the sand-dollar-spiral-scarf (I know that isn’t the name…) from Knitting Nature. I picked up some needles, Cables Untangled (beautiful!) and two patterns to go with the yarn that the hubby got me for Christmas:

I finished my “Sell your sole” socks using the Speed Demon yarn from Sweet Georgia – in less than a week, I have socks! That’s a new record for me! Photos later.

Bogus Breakfast

Bogus Breakfast
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter.

And it got worse from there. I love the 100 calorie packs of food – satisfying, yet keeps me in check. Muffins are my downfall. I was so excited by this – I was hoping for something like the Baby Goldfish but all I got was 2 regular minimuffins. Grrr.

And, at lunch, I tried one of thesetuna tubs – it tasted like tuna so that’s okay, but I felt like I was eating cat food!

I’m trying a new recipie for dinner, so I’m a little nervous.

Knitting wise, I finished a pair of socks using the speed demon yarn, but I didn’t measure the foot properly, so it’s too short / tight! Groan. On football sunday I’ll frog and redo. I want to start a new pair so badly – for socktopia and the sock marathon.

I’m also loving the malabrigo I’m using to make a malagaiter, but I hate the needles (Al Susan Bates)… Oh well.

"Leek-y Chicken With Couscous"

"Leek-y Chicken With Couscous"
Originally uploaded by nutmegknitter.

I made this for dinner. Going to try and also use my cookbooks more this year – gotta try something different.
Book: Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals
Looks: Yummy. Browns / greens.
Smells: Yummy…kind of a tart / wine smell. The couscous smelled good too.
Tastes: Just okay.

First time to have leeks. Didn’t love it and didn’t hate it, but it would be a long while before I make this again. I would make couscous with chicken stock (how is it different from broth anyway??) instead of water. Golden raisins in the couscous were ok.

I started my photoblog for a photo a day! Becca’s Focus – check it out!

Year Behind, Year Ahead

I think 2006 was a pretty good year. I accomplished quite a bit with knitting and gardening. Dan and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. I spent a lot of quality time with my friends. My family can talk about Grampa with more smiles and less tears. Nana looks and feels better. We hosted Easter and Thanksgiving and other parties. The dog started to behave himself a little better even!

Looking ahead to 2007
Money Stuff:
* Watch it. Save it. Avoid buying useless space taking stuff.

Health & Body:
* Do yoga. Write it down on the calendar to keep track.
* Drink more water. Keep filling the SIGG / Nalgene bottles in the fridge.
* Go Green with more products.
* Go organic with more products.
* Use up what you have before buying the next bottle of lotion, soap, etc.

Personal & Getting Out:
* Travel (Ireland, here we come!)
* Grow an even bigger / better garden.
* Take a photo everday (keep a photoblog for the photos)
* Floss (Make dentis appointment)
* Moisturize
* Stop procrastinating.
* Follow through.
* Scan skin.
* Send mail.

Knitting & Crafts
* I’ve come up with an list of the online patterns I want to work through.
* Sort through the books / magazines.
* Keep on crafting.
* Crochet (and amigurumi)
* Embroider
* Use the sewing machine
* Complete the KALs and post pictures!!

Reviewing from my post this time last year (05-06) – short form…
My 2006 List of TO-DOs and TO-DON’Ts

Money Things:
• No more late fees at the library. I mean, really. That is just sad.
It’s still sad. I just never went back to the library. Plan to remedy this
• Stop buying stuff that I don’t need.
Accomplished marginally. Briefly.

The Size Of My Ass:
• Eat healthy stuff Getting better
• Get active – do yoga or pilates, use the weights, the balance ball…Didn’t really do this
• Drink more tea (start drinking white, drink more green)Kinda did
• Drink more water. Sometimes
• Use less sugar. didn’t happen

Personal Good Stuff & Leaving The House:
• Every day, choose happy over sad, free over constrained, liberated over abandoned, and laugh a lot. Wake up the next day and repeat.
• Plant a successful garden – tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, other flowers from seed!
• Go on a trip.Went to DC twice!
• Visit my grandma, at least call her often and send her lots of happy mail.
• Stop procrastinating. Just stop it already.Still an issue
• Moisturize. Constantly. You know you need it (especially when hubby says “I can tell where you lotioned and where you didn’t!) And it doesn’t matter if you can’t reach. Ask for help. Still an issue
• Floss. Perpetual disappointment
• Make a dentist appointment. After the nonstop dental insurance issues with Dan, I have avoided this task. I know there will be cavaties.
• Get a new girlie doctor
• Get a skin scan? Something to make sure the moles and freckles are ok and not bad.Must Do
• Host Easter dinner for the families.

Practical:
• Work hard. Make deadlines a day early. Working hard, but deadlines suck
• Look at all the options.
• Have a positive attitude. Especially at work and with all co-workers. Suit up, show up and act as if….
• Send thank-you notes
• Send mail. Lots of it. Cards, postcards, notes.
• Be on time with mail as needed (holidays, birthdays, etc)
• Make Resolutions List and check it monthly to strike things out.

Knitting & Crafts:

• Make Nana chemo caps (Shedir)
• Make a sweater. Wear the sweater.
• Make the Mac & Me ruffle scarf.
• Make the rainbow scarf from LMKGM
• Make socks. Wear the knitted socks.
• Learn to embroider (You already have the Sublime Stitching Starter Kit, and Stitch-It-Kit)
• Use the sewing machine. Even if it’s only to make stuff for Jackson.
• Learn to crochet.
• Get good at crochet to attempt amigurumi.

Finally… The Not-To-Do List:

• Don’t say “yes” to things just because someone springs them on me at the last minute. Instead, say “Let me think about it and get back to you.”
• Time is sparse, life if short. Don’t waste it on useless things, people, memories, obligations.
• Don’t worry about stuff I can’t change anyway.
• Don’t expect other people to live by my values.
• Don’t compromise my values for anyone.
• Don’t choose the known over the unknown just because it’s comfortable.
• Don’t waste time on stupid stuff or mean stuff. Frequently ask myself “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?”
• Don’t minimize success.