Friday, November 30

All squirmy inside

Every time I see an ad for Sweeney Todd on the television I get a little giddy. It makes me feel all squirmy inside. (Maybe that's a little TMI.) I can't wait to see the movie.

Speaking of television, this new show Tin Man is starting on SciFi this Sunday. It's supposed to be all Oz-a-rific, The Wizard of Oz turned on its head in a different sort of way than Wicked. I'm kind of pumped because both Zooey Deschanel and Alan Cumming are on Tin Man. And as everyone knows, we — the hip, cool and groovy cats I hang with — used to toast to Alan Cumming.

Also, the office stinks. Reeks, even. See, there was an old gas station on the northeast corner of the block we're on. Its latest incarnation, up until July, was an ISP. Anyway, the building had to be torn down because the soil underneath was contaminated from all the gas. Well, the county tore down the building in early October, maybe late September, and the ground sat there all muddy and forlorn looking until this week; they finally started digging up the contaminated soil.

It smells disgusting, kind of like rubber cement but really it's diesel. It seeps into everything. I can even smell it when I walk outside my house, which is five blocks away. It disgusts me. I hope the smell is gone soon, as it's kind of hard to work when your office smells like ass pieces. I feel bad for the vet I take my cats to, though, because his office is right next to where they're digging. It's got to be 1,000 times worse inside. Bleh.

Anyhow, I'm off, as I just got paid and must deposit my moneys in the scum-sucking hole bank. Cheerio, and Alan Cumming to you all!

Wednesday, November 28

It's a Breeze!

Dear friends, I give you the Breeze socks.

Breeze socks
My mom's feet suit these socks so much better than mine!


Also, I've been working on Bellatrix as well. This is the most recent picture I have, though I've actually turned the heel on both and am shaping the gusset.

Bellatrix socks
Blurry photo of Bellatrix! (I made it small so's you don't see how blurry it really is.)


That's all I know.

Wednesday, November 21

Squooshy beds and turkeys

I have been having issues with pain in my lower back lately. I decided it is due to my bed, which was chosen for its stunning deal instead of its stunning sleep support. Since I have a guest bedroom (which I lovingly call the Poop Deck) with an actual bed in it, I have slept there for the past few nights. It has made all the difference in the world. (Also, that bed is actually two mattresses stacked, and it is quite squishy.)

And it's snowing today. I am not the hugest fan of snow, but that's only because it looks disgusting after it's melted a little and gets all driven through and slushy. It looks quite pretty today.

Needless to say, snow wasn't my happiest surprise this morning. When I got to work, I asked our circulation driver, who is probably close to 70 years old, if he had ordered the snow. He said that he indeed had, because he wanted to go out on his snowmobile. (He was just teasing; he does not own a snowmobile.) We laughed.

I volunteered to make potatoes for tomorrow's food fest. I'm planning on using a recipe I found last week for a potluck I went to. A few pounds of red potatoes, cut up and boiled with garlic, then smashed together with some mayo, Parmesan cheese and parsley. I think instead of parsley in my No Fuss Smashed Potatoes I'll use dill; it's one of my very favorite seasonings.

Anyhow, I'm off to see the wizard, or some such thing. Be sure to check out last year's Thanksgiving message. It's a hoot! ("Eat us! Hey! It's Thanksgiving day!")

Monday, November 19

Dr Who scarf done!

It's officially my dad's birthday, and sure as the sky is blue, I finished the Dr Who scarf. Wanna see?

Dr Who Scarf


I don't have an action shot on my dad just yet, but if you want to see an action shot and a scary expression on my face, here you go.

Other than that, I've been working on my mom's Breeze socks and a little more on my Bellatrix socks. (I would have linked those to their respective Ravelry pages, but there are no photos yet, so there's no point.)

I've joined the group on Ravelry called The BobBoosters, which is kind of a warm, fuzzy, make you feel good group. I also volunteered to coordinate a Bobmas Eve party for Iowa Ravelers. Bobmas Eve is Thursday, April 10, because Ravelry was born on April 11. (For non-Ravelers, Bob is the owner of site creators Casey and Jess.)


But now I have to go deal with customers and answer phones in the front office because of some really stupid work stuff.

Thursday, November 15

Oh, it's Thursday!

(Never could get the hang of Thursdays.)

Not a lot going on right now. I've been working on the Dr Who scarf, which is now up to my gallbladder scar when doubled (about 7 feet total, I think). I think I'll do a few more color sections, maybe an additional two feet or so, add the fringe and call it done. After all, my dad's birthday is Monday, and it's been a bit chilly out. I'm sure he'd enjoy a scarf to wrap up in.

I also cast on a pair of Bellatrix socks last weekend for the November Sockdown (which is on Ravelry and is something fyberduck created). I'm using the Skacel Trampoline yarn that my mom bought for me when she and dad were on holiday in Utah for their 25th anniversary. The yarn is stretchy (as the name implies) and black, purple, blue and green.

As for the needles, I'm using two new Addi lace circular needles, which I bought Saturday at my LYS. They're 9,000 times better than the inflexible Susan Bates circs I was using, though the cables are much longer and feel a little gangly. I could probably do two pairs at once on them, if I wanted. (And I might want, I might.)

That's all I know. BAS is coming to visit this weekend after All-State. Hooray! Must clean house, must clean house.

Thursday, November 8

Whovian Wrist Warmers and a meme

First, the knitting: I present you with one completed Whovian Wrist Warmer!

Whovian Wrist Warmers


Knit in garter stitch on size 8 needles with worsted acrylic. The very same worsted acrylic I'm using on the Dr Who Scarf. I just needed to take the edge off.

The warmers are just a rectangle with a buttonhole-style thumb hole on one side. Very easy. Kind of bulky, though, but nice and warm. (And I need warm at my house. I refuse to turn the thermostat above 60 degrees.)


Secondly, a meme I saw over at lisslo's blog.

An interesting animal I had
I've owned cats, fishes, and dogs. Oh, and a mouse I caught once in our house. And a lizard thing I won at a county fair that died a month later. The most interestingly named pet award would go to Obie, I think. As we were driving out to the farm to get her, my mom said, "We're going to get the D-O-G." My brother, who was probably two at the time, said, "O-B-D?" And so that was her name, Obie for short.

An interesting animal I ate
I tried swordfish once in Greece. It tasted like fishy steak.


An interesting animal in the museum
Museum animals, eh? How about zoo? I always kind of like the big cat houses. What's really cool, though, is the Henry Doorley Zoo in O!-town, because there's a huge rainforest there.

An interesting thing I did with or to an animal
I helped my mom dress her dog Chloe as a reindeer once.

An interesting animal in its natural habitat
Well, I watched one of my cats chase a bouncy ball for 10 minutes last night, and that was sure funny. Especially when it got stuck in a box.

Okay, I thought my answers would be a little more interesting than they were. Feel free to answer this meme on your blog!

Monday, November 5

Also into cats!

Last night, after coming in to work to fix my desk drawer and did the unthinkable to my computer, I sat down to watch a little Addams Family Values and Firefly (the second disc, with "Shindig," which is fast becoming one of my favorite episodes). I decided, as there are very few days left until Nov. 19, I ought to work on my dad's Dr. Who Scarf.

After finishing three color sections, it reaches from the floor to just under my nose. That's 504 rows and 21,168 total stitches. Boo ya.

Lastly, I'd like to share some misheard lyrics with you, courtesy of BeChaotic's YouTube video. The song is "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fallout Boy. The part I'm most interested in is the last section of the chorus.

The real words
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate,
Oh so intricate.

What you hear
I'm a little man
And I'm also evil, also into cats.
Also into cats ...


That is all.

Sunday, November 4

What makes the muskrat guard his musk?

Courage!

The Wizard of Oz was excellent. My brother is such a cheese ball. (Or a ham, if you're not vegetarian.) My mom and I nearly busted a gut a few times during the performance.

Not all of the hilarity was due to the Lion, though. The special effects were very creative. After all, how would you simulate a cyclone in a stage production? Why, you'd put the house on casters and have two stage ninjas stagehands physically spin it around while Dorothy's inside, of course! How about the fireball the Wicked Witch throws at Scarecrow? Flash paper! And all the smoke when the Witch suddenly appears out of thin air? Fire extinguishers.

The production was great. I loved it. And Chloe makes a fantastic Toto. She's a star.




So Saturday I got up insanely early (6 a.m.? What?!) with the family to do some early shopping at Kohl's. (Our family has this wake-up-early-and-go-shop sort of bug. I think it's contagious.) Well, when we got back to town, I was surprised by a package on my doorstep ...


Look at all these things I get to play with!


Fyberduck sent me mail! You can see three different yarns (one of which I can experiment on with dyeing), stitch markers in the foreground of the orangey hank of yarn, pirate stencils and a pirate car freshener. (It's called Funky Fresh, and the package reads, "Freshly Swabbed Deck Scent!" Seriously.)


I love the stitch markers. I'm starting to have a stitch markers by Fyberduck collection.


I mean really, how cool is that?


She sent me autumn, all fiber-fied!


These are screaming to be socks. I'm pretty sure the orange-purple-red yarn will become Kaylee socks. It just screams "Firefly" to me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Fyberduck! I love it and I can't wait to play with it all!




By the way, I did some spinning. Finally, from all that lovely alpaca Fyberduck sent me last year. I have to admit, despite the instructions, I confused myself a little. After I exercised a little Google-fu, I figured out what I was doing differently and changed.

My First Handspun!
Look! An Iowa quarter! How fitting.


Here's another shot so's you can see how varied my spinning was. (I listened to three different Tori Amos discs while spinning, so I'm not surprised terribly.) My next goals are to even out my tension and the spin. I don't think I need all those coily spots.

My first handspun yarn!
32-ish yards of single-ply handspun glory.


I'm so proud. I think I might knit it on very large needles in stockinette so you can see all the differences in spin. Then I'll frame it or something.


What a fun weekend. Hee!