Back in Time

I was recruited to be the demo spinner at the Historic Goshenville Miltown-Hickman Plank House! It's only a one-day event but I'm super excited! I'm plotting my table of explanatory props and a basketful of natural yarn to show off (they said I could sell some, so I'll be ready for visiting knitters / crocheters). I'll hide my blue hair under a bonnet, take the paint off my toenails, and *bam* I'm ready to go. They're even feeding us volunteers with accurate colonial food made on site. This weekend I'm meeting with my hook-up, Delores, for a costume fitting.

It's Saturday, Sept 19th from 11-5 at the Plank House, 352 & E Boot Rd in West Chester. There will be lots of other demos and fun historical geekery including a functioning forge. Come play!

Tucson Piggies

Matt is visiting his parents and snapped these out the kitchen window. They have an amazing place on the side of a mountain, and are surrounded by wildlife. Having St. Francis hand out some pig chow doesn't hurt. As always, click to embiggen.

And the rocket's red glare...

Pyrotechnics by Matt, photos by Jari.

Gettysburg, yet again

Me, Matt, friends Derek & Jari, their kids Jared & Jalane, and my Mom all converged for a fun day. The new Cyclorama exhibit is terrific! Crazy rainstorms evolved into dramatic skies.

Knitting words together

I whipped up the following haikus for a Spin-Off contest:

Feel the Summer sun
Slipping soft through my fingers
Becoming Fall warmth

And for the lighter side :) ...

Wild fuzzy mohair
Blends with silk, just a touch of
accidental cat

These follow a spur-of-the-moment response to Franklin's limerick post:

There once was a knitter named Sharon
Used a hat to hold down the hair on
The top of her head
When she got out of bed
She knit them of wool and of Orlon.

Well... except that I wouldn't really use Orlon. But hey, I needed a rhyme and completed the whole thing in about 10 seconds.

What have I been up to?

Well... Working, a LOT. I get home about 7:30 most nights and my newsletters seem to be a huge hit. Which is awesome. And reading. About elephants, and more elephants*, and various British monarchs of yore, and fairy tales, and ...

We've been hitting art museums, and I'm finding myself discovering new favorites and swooning in front of masterpieces I've seen a hundred times in books and on TV. I know it's been said ad nauseum but they are so different in person.

I've been antiquing with Matt, where we found a great bunny print that's an old Purina Rabbit Chow ad. He found an old glass bottle. I discovered a silver artist I like.

The cats and kids are doing well. Mom has had a rough time. She's dealing with missing Dad, getting laid off, and her dog's cancer. Send her some love, please.

Oh! Matt ordered me a WooLee Winder! Here's my rave on Ravelry. So yes, I've been spinning, too. The "misty forest" colorway I did with Rachel last month came out a lovely soft grey.

* Elephants are incredibly smart, social, and playful. There are two sanctuaries for them in the US where they simply get to be elephants. I've talked about this issue before here. Poor depressed & anxious Bamboo is still at the Woodland Park Zoo, despite the Tennessee sanctuary's offer to take her on their dime.

A Weekend of Color

It was an eventful, artistic weekend. I went to NY to visit Rachel, dye goddess extraordinaire. We turned 2 lbs of pure white merino and nearly a pound of silk into a riot of color. It's amazing what you can do with only 10 colors! The purplish silk was an overdye job - the rest was from scratch. The other silk (so hard to photograph!) came out a perfect Monet-inspired watery blend of blues and greens. I'm planning a lace shawl for that. The rest is still a mystery.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Matt added a little panache to his already-perfect left thigh. He gently modified this ancient Lascaux cave painting about a year ago and has been waiting for the right artist. Finally! It's perfect for him, with his history of archeology, history, and art.

Now I'm working on my design... designs... hmmm. A binkying black bunny is a must, probably on the scapula. And I'd like an SPQR, but I'm not sure about where to put that one. Matt says lower back, and I actually like that, but it would clash with the rabbit. I could combine the two concepts with a reworked Roman mosaic, but they are two very different things to me.

New Books!

The girls at The Spirit of Yoga were so sweet last month. I don't know if it was the stress of losing Dad or a celebration of my birthday, but they gifted me with some credit at Barnes & Noble! With my long history of cheapskatism, I tend to source my reading materials at Paperbackswap.com, thrift stores, and lending libraries. I walked in there feeling like I held Wonka's Golden Ticket... such an abundance of choices!!

Matt grabbed a Hemmings Motor News. I nearly got a picturebook of Michelangelo's work (I SO love his Libyan Sibyl) but wound up with the Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, #6 in the Outlander series, and Battles of the Crusades. That last one should be helpful in putting together a story I've been writing in my head for a year or so, about a soldier in the Crusades. I had been thinking of it in prose form, but last night I dreamt the opening scene. Now it's a screenplay. :)

On a completely unrelated note, Want to see something impressive that'll make you giggle?

Can we get some 02 over here, too?

Matt's got a nasty pneumonia, and we spent last night at the ER. He'll survive. In fact, he was home today goofing off, watching movies with titles like "Godzilla Vs. Destroyah" and "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell." I almost wished I were sick too so I could hang out with him... but between the horrible wracking cough and the painful flicks I'd be forced to watch, in the end I was glad to be at work.

Oh and by the way...

I lost my phone. My new one looks like a Star Trek phaser or a huge slick black cockroach, depending on your perspective. It doesn't know anybody's numbers and needs to be educated. Can you please call or text me, identifying yourself? Email works, too.

Fun News / Sad News

Matt & I flew down to Tucson for his mother's surprise 80th birthday party. I love his family, and it was great to see them, including some new ones who had shown up for the big event. I finally met cousin Sabrina, a charmingly quirky girl who not only speaks Knitter (yes, she's on Ravelry!) but is returning to her home of Portland, OR this month! Now I'm even more eager to get back. Mom was indeed surprised - her expression when she saw us through the front door glass went Stunned... Confused... Elated!

She was thrilled to have us there, but even more astonished when we arrived at the country club for dinner and BAM there was nearly her entire extended family, past business partners, old neighbors from decades ago, etc. Even her brother was there, after her daughters told her he couldn't make it. My sisters Mary & Nancy did an incredible job with the flowers, cake, etc. Brother Greg showed some serious talent editing together a century's worth of photos and music. We all stood up and gave Mom our stories and best wishes. I told the story of putting needles in her bum 5 minutes after meeting her the first time (she was hurting from a hip replacement) as an example of her openness. Some people teased her about her early cooking misadventures, while other spun tales of her incredible brain (she worked with some of the best minds in Nuclear Physics, but her beautiful knit Christmas stockings somehow went unmentioned).

The down side: All the excitement of planning the secret shebang took a toll on Matt's Dad. He had a heart attack and missed the party. That was a real disappointment, but between dinner and the slideshow we got him on the phone and passed him around so he got to speak to nearly everyone from his hospital bed. We visited him Sunday before we flew back out and looked better (pink and smiling). Amazing what O2 can do.
He should be getting a cath today. Updates when I have them.

Dad

Brilliant. Cranky. Telecommunications engineer, and a team writer of ISDN, the original Internet protocol (I'm probably using the wrong terms here, but he wrote what made the WWW work). Lover of Thai food. Husband of my Mom for over 40 years. He was sometimes abrasive, but we always knew we were loved. Cleaning out his desk I found pictures of my sister and me all over. And notes... "Tell Sharon - WWI airplane exhibit at Long Beach airport." He was proud of my flying and other adventures.

On Valentine's night he took my Mom out for a romantic dinner. Then the chest pain got worse and she finally convinced him to go to the hospital. He was told years ago that without a stint / bypass he would die, and he made his decision. Hadn't seen a doctor in two years. He coded and passed 15 minutes after their arrival. He got his way: No surgery, no ICU torture.

You did good, Dad!

Life is Good in the Pants

Two of my online knitting friends became real life knitting friends last Sunday. Rachel (the one I'm hugging) and Amy met me at Reading Market. We had savory crepes for breakfast (mine was tasty turkey breast with pesto, broccoli, and spinach), walked around the market and the city, visited Rosie's and Loop, had more crepes (blanc fromage & honey) and tea in a lovely little cafe, and generally knit and talked and laughed ourselves silly. All three of us grabbed a skein of "goblin" sock yarn. Very curious to see how those come out. We saw a pig bunny, and a shop window done for Valentine's Day with giant golden fish sporting false eyelashes and lipstick! Our dark walk back to the train station was enhanced by snow flurries. The flakes were suspended dramatically in the air by various spotlights meant to color the ornate architecture. Bonus: My pedometer said 13,500 steps by the time I made it home. So, yes, perfect day. :)

Cold & Comfort

My camera has indeed suffered the January curse, but my cell phone grabbed these: Beautiful ice patterns on Wensleydale this morning, and Matt using the Plushinator as a pillow. Both were fast asleep and smiling (FatBoy smiles by sticking his tongue out the tiniest bit).

Aw, crap.

Our January isn't over. Gromit required new sparkplugs, ignition wires, and ignition coil. Total cost: $1100-some. Sigh.

Here's a little video to keep you from being too blue.

Bush-Whacked

Here's an article that everyone should read in light of the inauguration. And yet more reasons why elephants are ultra-cool. As if you needed more! Someday I'll have one of those in my office. Um, a painting, not a pachyderm.

Knitters are mathy, too! Three pages of sciencey goodness.

January Goals & 4th Annual Breakdown

First the good news... my goals for 2008 were mostly met. I made a beaded lace shawl, fingerless gloves, and a beret. I learned entrelac, Continental knitting, and Fair Isle colorwork. I failed to make a zillion socks or lose weight, so those are back on the block for 2009. I was greatly restrained, SeaSocks aside, and my yarn stash has decreased. I DID get my clinic going: I'm very happy with the growth in my practice and expect 2009 to be a profitable year. It's so awesome to make money by helping people. Seriously - Does it get any better?

Now the bad news. We have not escaped the Annual January Breakdown. So far we've lost Matt's iPod (went for a swim in the sink), the space heater (ai yi yi it's cold in the bedroom!). My phone, camera, and computer are all acting suspiciously, but I've got my fingers crossed. The real killer is the plasma TV. This 10 year old dinosaur was an uber-generous gift from Matt's brother Greg. Who, by the way, is a dead ringer for Lou Gehrig. Anyway, this TV has been on every night, showing us ancient history and goofy British comedy and shoot 'em up action. It's still working, after a 5 minute warm-up, but the right side is fuzzy. I think it's had a stroke. We are just crossing our fingers that it lasts until Matt can moonlight his way to some extra cash. He's just passed the Step 3 boards, which makes him an Official Grownup Doctor so as soon as the paperwork comes through he'll be able to take on even more hours (*groan*). Of course with more people coming to me for acupuncture that will help, too. :)

Holiday Roundup

For Thanksgiving we went to Maine. Nancy (Matt's sis) & Andre throw legendary celebrations and this one was no exception. I forgot my camera, so here are some terrible phone pics. There's Matt & Nancy, and her three gorgeous kids, Hunter, Juliana, & Ben all wearing holiday cracker crowns.

For Christmas we were hoping to see his kids in Oregon, but the crazy airline prices put the kibosh on *that* fantasy. He's going out this month to get some quality time instead. We didn't even make it to NYC, thanks to Mr. Peach's little excursion to the vet. An acute infection sent him into respiratory failure. He needed two days in oxygen. it was insanely expensive but I guess that's why God invented credit cards. It's so good to have him back home and doing fine now. It would have broken my heart to lose him.

Our prezzies were all hand-made this year. I spun and knit up hats, scarves, and mittens. The one project I failed to finish was Matt's kilt hose. I'm still working on them, but when you see the pics you'll understand (think tiny yarn, complicated cables, and giant legs). The red scarf there is 100% mohair spun from locks. It seriously feels like heaven... in fact I heard that it was instantly subjected to egregious sexual advances by a cat immediately after being opened. In Danae's case, a fellow knitter, I stopped at the spinning phase and made her 2 skeins of lace yarn.

Matt outdid himself with the silverwork, turning out a stunning yarn ring for me, and molecule necklaces for all the women in his life. He crafted dopamines & seratonins, the neurotransmitters of happiness, and a one-off melatonin for sister Mary the sleep doctor. Pics of all these are coming... we're going to set up an online shop soon.

Amazing stuff!

I've been too busy to blog, but I promise some catch-up posts soon. In the meantime, here are some wonderful things to see and do and be scared of.

My new favorite blog to read: Woolgathering.

A Night at the Theatre

I've been remiss on not blogging about Poe Evermore at the Mount Hope Winery. You go from room to room and see a different Poe story enacted or poem read at each stage. It was our second year and we loved it!

Last night Andy took me out to Iron Age's production of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. They had an interesting approach with the characters - Most of the actors played multiple parts to emphasize the multiplicity of the mind. The acting was great, the staging spectacular... all and all very impressive for a tiny community theatre. Andy's friend Steve McLean did the majority of the Hyde heavy lifting.

When you need a good laugh...

Try the Cake Wrecks (professionally made errors and artistic disasters, and also some spectacular gorgeous edible sculptures) or Fail blogs. Nothing cheers you up like laughing at someone else's colossal mistake, no? This video made me cry from laughing.

Yes!

Rather than add yet another ETA to yesterday's post, here's a new slice of beauty:

An anonymous black man on the “L” in Chicago put his own spin on it when he announced to a car full of strangers: “Rosa Parks sat down. Martin Luther King marched. Barack Obama ran. And my grandchildren will fly.”

History, today!

"This is your victory!" President Obama told us, and he is absolutely right. I am so proud of this country... so proud that people overcame those ridiculous lies and their racist fears to choose a man who stands for hope rather than fear. I literally felt that heart-swelling sensation in my chest. Still do! Yes, I cried when it was announced last night. It was a Great Day, and I'll always remember it.

ETA: A great little blogpost by Christopher Buckley

ETA: Tragically, it was not all good news today. California's Proposition 8 was approved, depriving same-sex couples of the rights that hetero couples enjoy. I can't understand this. The conservative argument against these loving, long-term relationships are based on religious dogma. Aren't we supposed to have a separation of Church and State? How are personal lives any business of the government? There's bad news from FL, AR, and AZ, too.

Autumn Cowl

I love cowls - all the warmth of a scarf, but hands-free and no chance of catching it in the car door. And no need to take it off before cleaning the litterbox.

This one was a quick knit, just random rows of different stitches.

Halloween 2008

Last night was pretty low-key. Debbie is visiting from Phoenix, so we went for a nice dinner. Somehow I didn't get around to decorating the house this year, but Mother Nature took care of that for me. This is our back yard! We had a fantastic picnic out there today and fell asleep looking up at the leaves.

Tonight, we join Danae at the Mount Hope Winery for their Poe presentation. We went last year and it was fantastic.

Also, some bold squirrel or bunny enjoyed our front step pumpkin.

Acrochordon Removal

I got to do some surgery! Matt had a big ole skin tag he wanted removed. A little lidocaine, a flick of a scalpel, and it was gone. So fun!

Obviously there was more involved, but I had a doctor right there to explain every step. He proclaimed my knifework "excellent" and doesn't think there will be a scar. Looks like all that needle-handling has paid off. :)

Portraits of Obama

Callie Shell has been taking photographs of Barack Obama for years. There are some really beautiful shots here, of his family, of the quiet moments between the flashbulbs and confetti. Keep clicking "show more images" - they just get better and better.

Wrapping Matt in Moss

For the Boy's birthday, he scored a handmade scarf. The official name is "Pointed Moss" because, well, it's moss stitch and the ends are pointy. But the nickname is "The I Must Love You Scarf" because not only did I give up my luscious Camelspin (silk & camelhair blend, in a subtle chocolate / pewter / ebony colorway), but I worked 6 trillion seed stitches on microscopic needles. Having seen his face afterwards, though, it was totally worth it. Next… the “OMG I Must REALLY Love You Kilt Hose.”

I wrote up the pattern: Email me for the PDF if you want it.

Rockin' Tunes

Matt and I were hanging out tonight, doing our usual movie while surfing / knitting thing. He stopped the Scrubs DVD to play some iTunes music for me: Halloween Classics (Naxos Rights International) is a collection of terrific classical tunes by all the big Philharmonics. When "Hall of the Mountain King" played, I was reminded of a recent "Mad Men" episode and asked Matt to find me an all-piano version. We stumbled across The Brian Setzer's Orchestra album, Wolfgang's Big Night Out. This entire set just blew my socks off... it's like hearing the Glenn Miller Band, reincarnated and shakin' up the joint. Sheer beauty.

Note: I can't find the Halloween CD online but obviously it's on iTunes... go digging!

Three Boys in a Tree

The Delaware Beaches

Patient-turned-friend Andy (channeling Liz Taylor) invited me and some other girlfriends down to her week-long beach rental last month. Peggy (blue windbreaker) and Susan (white hoodie) became instant friends. We were up all night watching the VP debate, talking politics and men and laughing our butts off. Also, there might have been some chocolate-dipped potato chips involved. And maybe smores. But I'll never tell.

I could only get away for 3 days, but WOW did we pack a lot in. The house itself was in Lewes, right on the water. The entire area is peppered with adorable Victorian houses in a all sorts of fun colors. There's a cute little shopping district there, and some great seafood restaurants of course. We ferried over to Cape May, NJ and did more shopping. We did Rehoboth Beach, too. I was highly restrained, and purchased no shoes at all. A small quantity of fudge did come home with me, but I was clever enough to giftwrap it for Matt so I had help eating it when I returned to him.

All in all, a much-needed break and quality girl-time. As I told Matt, it was like Sex and the City, only with real women I actually wanted to spend time with. :) Thanks, Andy!

Walking Amongst the Dead

Then Danae's tour continued on to Laurel Hill cemetery. You know those photos of old gravesites with ornate sculptures of angels and animals? A lot of them come from here. I'm not happy with most of the pics I took, but here are a few, including a shot of our lovely hostess.

An interesting headstone caught my attention as we drove around one corner... the name on it was "Adrianne Balboa." I wonder if that's where her name came from?

Bartram's Garden

Our friend Danae, a great source for local historical sites, took us to see America's oldest botanical garden. John Bartram collected plants from all over the world and built a fantastic horticultural experience. The flora here was so different from that of Europe that he and friend Linnaeus had to build a new cataloging system (remember him from Bio class?). Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin all hung out here and took tea.

Much of it is overgrown, but the parts still intact are beautiful. The architecture is pretty cool, too.

Middle Earth invades the living room

We love our movies, but most of our in-home entertainment comes from watching the critters tear through the house. Adding a vertical dimension to their play quadruples the fun: They rocket straight up, all wild-eyed and bushytailed, then shoot back down and disappear behind the couch. The problem is that, for a major piece of furniture, most cat towers are butt-ugly. Except for those amazing tree sculptures. We've always wanted to get one, but haven't been able to find $600-1000 (!) in the couch cushions to devote to our furkids.

Matt got fired up and hit Home Depot again. He's a superb engineer! Giant concrete forms, plywood, carpeting and a billion brackets later, here we are. The tree is impressively stable: No tremors even with violent feline shenanigans. I Sharpie'd the staples to disguise them as natural bark variations. There are 4 hidey holes and 6 platforms, and an inside passage (that was my idea - the rest was all Matt). The top half of the big tree is hollow and has spiraling steps inside, so the boys can actually pop out onto the canopy as an alternative to leaping from level to level. Only Figgy, with his full complement of claws, can simply walk up the outside.

It's not uncommon for multilevel battles to take place, either for sport or to claim a prime spot. The left-side stump is Peachy's favorite sleeping site, but if he's aching he uses a cave, which traps some heat for a toasty nap. Fatboy hasn't made it to the canopy yet, but he loves the bigger "shelves" for snoozing.

We still need to cover the inside surfaces, but I wanted to get pics now before they're too dark to photograph properly.

Total cost: $150

This Old Car: DIY Auto-style

We spent the weekend working on paint. Specifically, sanding down orange peel to a dull flat surface, then polishing the glow back on. This requires many, many, many gradations of sandpaper, rubbing compound, polishing compound, wax, second coat of wax... you get the idea. My arms feel enormous and are toasted like a s'more... I can barely lift my laptop! The right side is completely done now. The left ... Next weekend!

Done professionally, this job would have cost up to $1500. Our cost: about 200 smackers.

Preston's interior: Compare his stately new grey carpets and microfiber console to the old garish red. We finally got tired of the scarlet fuzz everywhere from the rugs disintegrating, and this is a vast improvement over the "pimped out" look. We used carpet from the Homo Depot and leftover material from the headliner project. Total cost: $50.

Taste of Britain

Matt, Denise, Gwyn and I took Preston out to collect Shaun from the car vet (Thanks Trevor!) and spent the day at the Taste of Britain car show. Preston has a lovely new interior, which I got terrible pics of so you'll have to wait. We did that ourselves last weekend. Which means Matt did it, except for me cutting carpet, screwing and unscrewing panels, and holding stuff while he sweated and cursed.

Shaun is running beautifully now, despite a rather alarming Windex-bottle-sized spray of diesel under the bonnet. It's a wonder we made it home without running out of fuel or bursting into flames. I think his new fuel pump isn't seated properly. We'll do some diagnostic work tonight.

Gwyn spotted the "food entry/exit" opportunity and snapped pics of a lot of car butts. She'd never been to a show before and was properly entranced.

Denise rode with me and captured the oh-so-pretty Amish countryside as we passed (barely) the horse-drawn buggys.

The wake of the storm

After the girls left, with all that traveling (including lots of little local trips to show them the Philly area and Baltimore), and still missing Blackberry*, we really needed some down time. For me, that meant more lace knitting. Here's what makes Matt happy:

*The cats are going nuts. She maintained the peace when Fig played too rough - now he's a roiling bundle of raging CoonCow. We really need another bossy bunny, but the landlord won't let us get a replacement rabbit. Not that anyone could replace her ... but we need a 24/7 police force here!

On to Maine!

Next we took the girls up to Maine for the annual Rose Family Reunion. This featured incredible cooking (by Matt's sister Nancy and her Andre) and tons of tiny children and pets running rampant.

We toured the tall ship Friendship. I was remiss in my picture-taking (it's hard to hold a camera while cracking a open a lobster) but at least I got Yanna (short for Juliana, Nancy's gorgeous daughter) and Mom.

We also played around with a metal detector and found some old blacksmith nails in the yard. Unfortunately the real motherlode - the colonial trash heap - was back in the woods behind a deer fence and we couldn't get at it. Next trip?

RoadTrip Beyond Ridiculous

The girls (Maddie, 15, and Gillian, 12) came to visit from Oregon and holy cow have they grown up. Both have teenager bodies now instead of being the stick kids I saw last. Gillie in particular has really changed. Both girls have a distinctive clothing style that makes me wish I were cooler. Oh well, at least I have my blue hair. We celebrated by throwing them in the back of the taxi and driving all over the country.

First, though, we had an awesome sleepover party with Denise and Pheobe involving Cherry Slush, chocolate cake, and pulled pork. G (right) & P served grog in the pirate room.

Then, off to Gettysburg. I took this pic of Matt and Gillie from behind (aka Lopey) because of the contrast with this one.

Blackberry is gone

She died today. I'm just heartbroken. Rabbit GI systems are sensitive and hers was no exception. I can't begin to imagine the house without her... she was the bossy bunny glue that kept us all in line. She saved my life 6 years ago, when I was in so much pain with no hope of recovery (stupid doctors!) and she kept me laughing when all I wanted to do was cry.

She taught me that bunnies are intelligent and playful. She also taught me that you may have to learn another language to talk to someone - just because they're different doesn't mean they have nothing to say.

I know she had a superb life (three obedient cats and staff to clean her litterbox frequently) filled with binkies and general happiness. Her death was not painful. And I love that she was getting more touchable, to the point that she would jump on the couch when I was knitting and demand a massage. :) I’ll miss her so much. Already do.

We buried her at Valley Forge in a gorgeous wooded area with deer and lots of bunnies. She likes lots of room to run.

Va Beach, and unbeaching the whale

My motivation is in high gear right now. I love everything about my life except for my weight, and that is coming off. As we all know but don't want to admit, there's no magic pill... it's all about consistently eating less and moving more. Which I have been doing. As a result, my clothes are getting looser. Yay!!

Last weekend Matt & I met my parents at their Virginia Beach timeshare. They have a cute 7th floor, 2-room suite with a balcony overlooking the ocean. We had a great time scarfing down seafood, walking on the beach, and creating Diet Coke geysers. We had such a blast that even the Man on the Moon was smiling.

I don't know what the heck my hair was thinking in that group shot.

Coming home: A perfect example of why I left Virginia. Note the close-shaved head with rattail, belligerent expression, wrist-on-wheel driving technique, homemade tats, multicolored POS American car. Behind him, one thing I do miss about the South: Waffle House! We didn't stop, though. See first paragraph. :)

Summer Reading

With all my patients "down the shore" as they say here, I've had plenty of time to catch up on my reading. I seem to be focusing between 1750 and 1900, but it's not intentional. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

1776: Historical documentary of this critical year. Also mentioned here.

Slammerkin: A slammerkin was a loose dress: It was also slang for a loose woman. An 18th century London girl turns to prostitution. Not for the naive, unless they're willing to be educated. An appreciation for fashion "threads" through the story.

Widow of the South: I picked this up from the Trade-A-Book pile at work when I had two minutes to kill. I was immediately sucked into the story and had to borrow it. Beautifully written!

One of those meme things.

Terri tagged me!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
In 1998, I was struggling to make my first marriage work. Jon was a sweet guy but we were utterly unsuited for each other. He's a prototypical Taurus: Earthy, short-sighted, workaholic, loyal... at least he was. Then he kind of went nuts (PTSD from his time in the Army), started doing drugs and cheating on me. Anyway, in a last-ditch attempt to save us, I followed him from my awesome life and job at a women's gym in VA to Pheonix, AZ so he could attend motorcycle mechanic school. Two months later it was splitsville. I hated it there, but I met my amazing friends Tracy & Lisa, and my sublimely perfect-for-me husband Matt there. So THANKS, Jon!
I was working full-time as a certified personal trainer, and also attending school for my medical pre-requisites. With straight As, baby, despite my crazy schedule and divorce. And I climbed a mountain (Squaw Peak) every morning for a workout. Geez. What happened to HER?

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today- not in any particular order?
Convince the Department of Motor Vehicles that Preston is a 1982, not '80 as his registration states.
Send broken camera back to eBay seller.
Get some exercise (daily).
Start sock project for this weekend's roadtrip.
Hold Killer Rabbit while feeding her treats (daily) in an attempt to train her to be a SnuggleBun.
Establish PayPal account for the Rose Family Clinic.
That's 6 - I'm a busy girl!
3. Snacks I enjoy:
I love licorice (avoiding it and other treats since I am losing weight and happy about that). Recent fave: 30 calorie popsicles!
4. Places I’ve lived:
Multiple places in NY, VA, AZ, OR, WA, and FL. Single residences in NJ, GA, and IA. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh - DUH! PA!
5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Beyond the obvious (set up my family and loved ones, etc):
Fund an elephant refuge,
Run a national campaign to increase awareness of OMM
Travel a LOT
Have a personal chef
Have a personal mechanic and a garage full of toys a la Jay Leno.
6. What are some jobs you’ve had:
Pizza maker, retail (software, jewelry, Nature's Gifts), professional outside sales, personal trainer, Domme, office manager, knitting instructor, and now acupuncturist.
7. Peeps I want to know more about:
I don't tag people... But if you are willing to play, consider [your name] here.

No Rover, No Rover, Send Clover Right Over...

Still no sign of Shaun. The mechanic's been too busy to play with him. Grrr.

Denise fell madly in love with Clover and asked if she could have her. I wanted to say no, but Blackberry has been considerably less affectionate. I thought they were going to bond well but the tiny killer rabbit kept biting Clover's butt through the cage. Clearly it was going to be a long ordeal towards uncaged friendship with no guarantees of success.

Denise is perfect for her - sweet, maternal, playful, and generally wonderful. We brought her over last night, and WOW is that one happy bunny! Somehow she just knew she was Home. She instantly stretched out, feet sprawled and tail relaxed (bunny-speak for "I'm secure and content"). All evening long she was binkying, flopping, and generally amusing us with her joyful antics.

Lost: $200 (her previous owner kindly shared the vet bill with me), a skein of silk yarn, and lots of work.

Gained: The incredible experience of knowing we saved a life, and turned a lonely neglected bunny into a supremely gleeful one.

What an awesome deal! If only people were so easy to rescue, huh?

What a difference 30 seconds makes!

Last night Matt & I went out on a date. I was working late, so we met at the theater near my clinic. Hancock is great! Funny and surprisingly touching. I love Will Smith, and Charlize, well, let's just say she's holding up her end of the marquee.

Anyway, coming home we took different paths. I was maybe going a little faster than usual... just a tad.... 80 doesn't seem outrageous when you're trying to beat your husband home to prove your route is quicker, does it? As I pulled off 202 onto the exit ramp, I heard a strange hollow screaming. Turned off the radio... no ... that's my car!

I was slowing down anyway (there's a stop sign at the end of the ramp), but I started to pull off to the side when SCREECCH!!! The wheels locked up and I skidded to a halt. The drive train was completely frozen. I couldn't even push it forward. Fortunately a Good Samaritan helped me push Gromit backwards off the ramp to get out of traffic. Then I had a 3 hour wait for a tow truck that could deal with nonturning wheels. Thus my post-date snuggle was preempted for a night of waving cars past and slapping at bugs, but at least I got an all-over check for ticks when I finally got home.

Gromit is now sitting at AAMCO, who rebuilt his tranny in March. Obviously something failed there, and they'd BETTER pay for it. Just a little earlier and I could easily have been killed on the highway. Yikes. As Gwyn said, who would finish my lace?

PS- Yes, I'm knitting! I've been monogamous with the Swan Lake stole - two pointy ends, with beads - so you'll have to be patient if you want to see an FO.

OMG! There's nothing left!

Of Clover OR my wallet! $407 later, here's the "after" pic. The muttonchops are a riot. Don't you think they make her look like Wilford Brimley? Maybe they were afraid to do her face after 2.5 hours. Note Peachy's patented stop-drop-and-roll technique for making friends.

Lucky 4-pawed Clover

Ravelry's Catsnrabbits is the winner! I feel rather silly, actually, since Blackberry was named from Watership Down*, and when we got Hazel we immediately went to the same source. It was a disaster. Hazel and Blackberry were each convinced that THEY were Supreme Ruler and the other should DIE! The bites were vicious... fur literally flew. Hazel had to go. :(

Fortunately, Blackberry and the new girl seem considerably less interested in each other. We've set up multiple caged exposures, with treats to distract, and they've been fine. No grunting, no lunging, and only a few thumps the first time. YAY!!! I have hopes that soon they'll be friends. Fatcat is certainly fond of her.

But I digress! A yarny prize (with extras) is on its silky way to Miss Catsnrabbits (who is also named Sharon and lives close by). She pointed out that Watership Down contained an Angora doe who was rescued from a hutch! Her name is Clover.

Runners-up were Peppercorn and Anise. Love them both, but Clover was just too perfect.

Speaking of, she's at the vet's now getting shaved. They were concerned about her being so underweight (5.25 lbs instead of 7-9) but now that she'll be able to eat properly she should recover nicely.

Breaking news: The vet just called. They spent an hour shaving her, but she's stressed out and they want to stop for now. Poor bunny will have to stay overnight and get trimmed in stages. The fur is matted so tightly next to her skin that it's a real hassle to get at without cutting her. I'm glad they're being so careful - also glad that I got my stimulus check yesterday!

But I'm really grateful that Nancy happened to be moving and decided to rehome her. Poor girl could have overheated or starved to death. She's lucky indeed.

* Watership Down is, like Animal Farm, really about humans. I love it for the exploration of what happens when disaster strikes a community. Some panic, some act, some crumble, some become leaders or despots. Mr. Adams didn't really know rabbits, though. He claims they have no sense of humor. In his stories, the only laughing bunnies are insane. In reality, they have a riotous, teasing character. I suspect he only experienced them as prisoners in hutches, not whole happy beings. And the females in his stories exist primarily as baby factories. If you can ignore those problems, though, it's a great book.

Darn it, we're keeping her!

The heck with foster... She's hopped her way into my heart. And Matt's too. He's dubbed her Better Bun. Cute as that is, we need a real name for her. I like Abigail but he wants something different. Here are two more videos of her in action to assist you.
She's very active & curious, but laid-back. She's been great with the cats and even during the brief caged intro to Blackberry (other bunny). She uses her litterbox perfectly (thank you thank you thank you). She looks fake, as most Angoras do. The way her ears rotate and snap into position, particularly, makes us think of an animated remote-control rabbit (this led to the suggestion of Rachel, after the gyndroid in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, in which people keep robotic pets. It was made into the movie Blade Runner).

We have a sort of accidental "fruit salad" theme going with Blackberry, Peachy, and Fig. Our cars are named for Wallace & Gromit characters.

Right now she's horribly matted - her mouth was actually felted partially closed, which may explain why she's a bit underweight. After a few trimming attempts we've decided to take her to the vet for a thorough shaving & checkup (worms, teeth, etc).

The person who comes up with her name will get some delish yarn from my stash. I'll accommodate your tastes in fiber and color as best I can. You might even get some of my handspun. I'm working on a varigated gray angora/silk/merino blend from DragonFibers right now, which is quite appropriate! Non-knitters, I'll make something for you. :)

Yes, Matt said "She tasted my arm." They were little licky bunny kisses.

4th of July, 2008

Fireworks (more pics here) with Gwyn (brunette), Denise (blond), and Pheobe (tiny one). The highlight was the watermelon sorbet with chocolate seeds and a lime rind. Yowza!

In other iced sweet news, I was enjoying a popsicle, and the handle asked "What do you give a snake with allergies." Before I ate down to the answer, Matt, Gwyn & I generated the following responses:

"Vick's Viper Rub?"
"I don't know, is she still covered by COBRA?"
"Or some sort of sliding scale!"
"Maybe it's not really allergies, maybe he's got ereptile dysfunction."
"Did it aspirate something?"

The official answer: anti-HISS-tamines.

Rescue Bun aka What's Hop, Doc?

ETA: She's litterbox trained!
This rabbit needed rescue - what could I do? She's a 4 year old spayed female, very healthy and happy at first blush. She desperately needs a trim - most of that fluff is matted - but I think she'll be just fine.
Her name was Madeline, which we need to change because we already have one (Matt's older daughter). Since we acquired her on the 4th, in Philly, I'm thinking something Revolution-oriented. Betsy is too obvious. Suggestions? At the mo, leaders are Abigail (for Mrs. Adams) or Philly's own Esther Reed. She organized a group of shirt-making women to clothe freezing soldiers. Plus then we'd have an Esther Bunny (ha ha).

By the way - This rescue was intended as a FOSTER - so if you can take her or know someone who can, please do so before I fall too far in love. We probably don't need 5 pets.

Sparklies, part deux

Girlie joined us for this one. :)

Matt, a former advanced weapons designer, noted today that he "like[s] explosives designed not to destroy humanity, but rather make it go woooo!"

History, in perspective

You all know I'm a total history dork. It's not dry facts to me - it's life. When we climbed around on the USS Constellation, I was feeling the heaving waves, hearing the screams and shouts and booming cannon of a pitched battle at sea. Likewise, in Colonial Williamsburg I tried to imagine living in a fledgling colony. It was a comparatively well-to-do city by the time of the American Revolution. I'm guessing that it was a hard but generally good life... unless (of course) you were enslaved.

I just finished reading 1776 and loved getting to know General George Washington as a man. The more famous paintings of our Founding Fathers were done late in their lives, but forget the aged, severe geezers we know from school. Mssrs. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc were virile young men during the rabble-rousing that led to the birth of America. Take a peek at George in 1774 as captured by Charles Wilson Peale. By all accounts, our first Commander-in-Chief was superbly athletic, charming, and cut a dashing figure at horse. "Founding Father," yeah... more like "Who's your Daddy?!"

Sparklers!

We just went outside and played with the fireflies. They were everywhere... in the grass, in the trees, on the roofs... we made some blinks of our own. :)

Me, Bluinated

Summer haircut, and my first-ever color!

Celtic Fling Thing

Yesterday Matt, Denise, Phoebe & I went to the Pennsylvania Rennaisance Faire. Pheobe was a very cheerful child - I got some great smile pics, but I love this one because it's funny.

It was their Celtic Fling weekend. That means all the usual jousting, pickles on a stick, silver jewelry, and Wiccan- and pirate-themed ceramic mugs, plus the added bonus of men and boys in all sorts of kilt-like objects. Most of them were not actual tartan kilts, or even Utilikilts... they included hijacked sister's skirts, cheapokilts (they just don't hang or move properly, due to inferior fabric and design - to the educated eye they're pretty funny), and of course swathes of plaid material simply wrapped around the hips.

The Fling also included a dance meet. Originally this was a sport based on traditional Celtic dancing, but it now involves the bizarre costuming of young girls in freakishly bright dresses and Lil Orphan Annie curls.

The birds of prey were amazing. I was utterly captivated by the falcons (notice how everyone's focused on what's in the Lure bag!) and the owl was gorgeous, too.

More Space-&-Time Travel

This time our destination was Colonial Williamsburg and the Jamestown Settlement. The wig with feathers is to repel water in the rain - how cool is that? We saw an unbelievable concert by Dean Shostak featuring the glass armonica, my favorite instrument. Actually now I may have a new favorite: The Grand Armonica. He also played some new instruments that he and his friends developed, like oh, a glass violin!! And glass handbells!!! And some freaky sculptural noise makers that we all got to play with.

The Governor's Palace copied its look from Hampton Court, as you can see. The firing mechanisms were all removed from the guns, though!

The Colonial Parkway between the two cities is essentially a gorgeous exposed aggregate driveway. It's twice the distance of the straight highway, but guess which route Matt chose?

Baltimore and back

Last Wednesday Matt wanted a roadtrip. We zoomed down to Baltimore, saw the USS Torsk (submarine, 1945) and the USS Constellation (last sail-onlt ship built by the Navy, 1854), had a delish sushi lunch, and got home in time for my 4:30 appointment.

Catching Up

Seems like every time I've had a second, Blogger has been feeling ill. Let's try this again:

1) Matt graduated from his internship and is now officially a resident. This means he does call from home now, instead of working 36 hr shifts, so he might actually stay awake for our dates! He and Amy (the other intern in the pic) have been gone all week on a medical mission to Honduras. It was organized by a church and the religious stuff is pretty heavy-handed (his technique to avoid surgery with a little boy was labeled "divine intervention") but they did great work there. I get him back tonight!

2) I'm really feeling like a sole proprietor these days. The calls are coming in and the book is filling up. I even bought Yellow Pages advertising (my clients say they use it - who knew? I haven't opened one in nearly 10 years).

3) We went to Longwood Gardens. Impressive... how I imagine Versailles, both indoors and out.

4) We went to a car show on Memorial Day in Gettysburg. You declared your allegiance with either the North or the South and parked in the appropriate lot. Seriously, those people are still fighting the war! The hot rods were killer: Check out the bowling trophy & bottle opener on the RatRod, and the flames that begin inside the engine compartment on the sleek one.

5) Blackberry's been getting superfriendly. If we're on the phone and I say "I gotta go, my bunny is demanding a massage," it's not a euphemism for anything. :)

Obama clinches the nomination!

Yes! I'm so excited. I didn't think he'd be able to beat Hillary's money. I sure hope we can whip McCain too. Wanna help?

And now... a mailing list!

I'm building a mailing list for the Rose Family Clinic. Sign up to receive monthly updates about news, events, and occasional health tips. Your privacy is important to me: Your information will never be sold or distributed.

Must See Videos

We interrupt this blog to bring you two videos by Basement Jaxx, a London band with some seriously genius visual taste (or access to them).

SeaSocks, summed up

I've just spent the evening going through the 1000 pictures I took over the past two weeks. Don't worry, I won't make you look at all of them. Here are a representative sample: More to come! That's me second from the left in the Zipline Gals shot.

Car content

Matt & I went to a show - will look up the name when I'm less fried - our favorite was the bronzy-red Cadillac (top three pics). The fins were moved inside... it was unique and truly beautiful.

Neither it nor Preston won any prizes. In fact none of our favorites received official recognition: The awards all went to local guys driving 70's muscle cars. It was a cute little show, though, and they're certainly entitled to their own taste.

More knitting content - Barack Ollama

This is a graduation prezzie (from internship to residency) for my amazing husband. I made Ima Llama for our 1st Anniversary and he loved her. This one is a half black, half white (get it?) homage to our (hopefully) next president. His necklace reads “B. Ollama.”

It’s unusual for me to make the same thing twice but with all the joking about Ollama around here it seemed inevitable.

Oh, and here's a sweater I made for the cruise, which leaves FRIDAY!!!!

Knitting content

There's no point in an amateur like me blogging about Maryland Sheep & Wool. I'll take the Inego approach and sum up rather than explain: Tons of friends. Truckloads of yarn and fiber that wanted to come home with me. Adorable kids and lambs and bunnies. Outrageous foods. Products ranging from sublime to obscene. Slow bus. Great day. :)

A Delaware discovery

Today Matt & I went cruising around randomly and stumbled upon the Hagley in Wilmington, DE. This is where the DuPont family first built their gunpowder factory in 1802. Inside is a collection of highly detailed dioramas, with real gears and water pushing stuff around. The second floor is a beautiful display of wartime factory posters. The top story discusses DuPont's evolution into a chemical firm.I'm sure when active it was a noisy, filthy, hellish place, but now it's a lush green park with a fascinating history. Right along the Brandywine River (their power source) are the ruins of the old buildings and demonstrations of the simple machines used there. The workshop is still active, complete with drive line across the ceiling. They make gunpowder daily and test it (we happened to catch the test - it was a good batch!).

Overall: Highly recommended!

Unfortunately we both forgot our cameras, so these are from Matt's iPhone. I guess we'll just have to go back! Lots more pics here.

Must... return.... to Portland!

Custom-blended yarn by the pound!

Need I say more?

Just voted!

The PA Primary is today. We walked over to the elementary school and cast our votes for Ollama. Matt really hopes he chooses Al Packer* for a running mate. I snapped some evidence of spring on the way back. Actually, except for the ultra-determined road weed, they were all taken in our yard.

*Not a real person. Sorry.

Halp! I'm knitting as fast as I can!

I leave for Sea Socks and the associated Seattle frolicking in a few short weeks... my excitement falls short of urinary accidents, but only by picometers. However! Somehow before I leave I have to finish:

1) Mohair "Glacier Sweater"
2) Felted slippers for contest
3) Matt's graduation-from-internship prezzie (it'll happen while I'm gone, sadly, I just found out!)
4) Darn it, I wanna make a market bag for MDS&W and my general travelings. I have the perfect natural cotton for it.

Somehow I don't think it will ALL get done... but I'm going to try, so if you see me online tell me to go mind my knitting. Please?

Girlie Made a Gay Man Sweat!

NOTE: Both Heathercentric posts have evolved to contain more fun!

Finally! Today was the day we'd been waiting for. It was the Big Event that finally made Heather come visit: Franklin's photo shoot for the 1000 Knitters Project, a collective portrait of our community. Mr. Habit is a hysterical writer and cartoonist. He spins (sorry) lurid tales of Delores, a smoking, hard-drinking, promiscuous sheep, and Harry, a shy ball of sock yarn. Photography is just one of his many talents. This one was at Wool Gathering, a cute shop in Kennett Square. I ran into some blog readers, Sandi (who's come to my Fiber Nights), and even a client! Click on the outside pic to see the sheep purse.

I showed off my red mohair shawl. I had to wear my sheep sneakers, too, although of course they weren't in the pic. See how long that scarf is? He's up to the low 500s now. Heather sported her Mmmmmalabrigo scarf. It's actually still on the needles, behind her back. Shhhh, don't tell!

Girlie is of course not a knitter, but she sat and chatted with Franklin about her tats when he asked. She showed him the rest of Hello Kitty and was rewarded with a dropped jaw and a glistening brow. Then she broke out her her hook as an act of civil disobedience for the Crochet Liberation Front.

Afterwards the three of us continued on to Amish country: Intercourse and Bird in Hand. The scents were, um, fertile. We saw lots of incredible old buildings, folks traveling by horse & buggy, and even more traveling by motorcycle. The no-helmet thing is always a Darwinian shock. Lots of gorgeous quilts and quite a few hideous ones, including machine-made copies for stupid tourists. How can you not see the difference?

In one of the junk shops, which was packed to the faux rafters with little wooden signs saying things like "Kiss the cook," we spotted a pentagram-shaped votive candle holder that was mounted upside down. Girlie explained to the owner that some of her customers might construe that as satanic. In the process, she identified herself as pagan. The woman actually thought she meant she was in a biker gang and had never heard the original use of the word. Heather and I exchanged wide-eyed stares and somehow managed to help her remount it (from the provided iron loop) right side up and get out of the store without laughing in her confused face.

We also found a wool & weaving shop where they did their own dyeing. Great colors, but the base wool was rough as unshaven legs.

Of course on the way home we hit Rita's. Root beer gelati...mmmmmm!

Another great day, zooming around randomly, following our noses. Wonder what'll happen tomorrow?

Fred, that last one's for you.

We almost saw Obama

Heather, my superawesome friend from Seattle (she appears many times in the earlier episodes of this blog) came to visit. She arrived Thursday and we (Matt and I) swept her off to South Street for a cheesesteak at Jim's and a brief foray to Rosie's. Then Friday, Heather & I railed into Center City and explored the historical district. We intended to see our next President speak, but upon hearing that 15,000 others would probably be in line ahead of us, we opted out. Betsy Ross house (the flute player was hot), the Liberty Bell, Reading Market, Chinatown... we did it all.

We spent a rolicking half hour with a hand spindler, Ruth, chatting about fiber arts and Scottish history. She had the most adorable puppets made of her handspun. Her extensive fuzzy flock included a rabbit, a sheep, and even the Nessie, who sported fringed eyelids and a tartan kilt. We chatted with another lady who was wheel-spinning linen at the Betsy Ross house. She said we could have her job when we pried it out of her cold, dead hands.

We even hit East Market for some clothes. Yay for fun stuff in bigger sizes! Then Friendly's for dinner (she's never spent time on this coast so I wanted her to taste all the local color). More tomorrow...

Girlie Tastes the Peach

What can I say? Fred's a madman.

World travel in a Volvo

Girlie and I had one of those random leaf-in-the-wind days yesterday. First she took a box to the post office, which I had labeled "Fragile: Live Faeries," and met a boy named Keegan who had just learned to whistle. Pretty soon everyone in line was telling stories about the magical contents of their parcels. Wish I'd been there for that.

The title of this post was nearly "An elephant and a midget are driving this car...". Skor is outfitted with an Oompa Loompa doll, who is now clipped to the right visor and looks like he's flying Superman-style. Ganesha meditates on the left side of the dashboard: An appropriate locale for the Remover of Obstacles.

We set off in search of a yarn shop in Conshohocken but a traffic disaster found us rerouted to Manayunk,* land of the world's worst street "singers." We shopped in India, Tibet, Latin America (some of the inventory still had its "Made in Indonesia" stickers, but the Spaniards vs Incas chess set was awesome), and the Mediterranean. I found a funky little menorah made in Israel, which made me very happy. We found a super-amazing surprise for Matt, so you have to wait to hear about that unless you email me.

We decided to push on to the yarn store, but by then it was closed. We wound up driving randomly through cute little neighborhoods. Spring has sprung rather violently here. We went from winter to muggy heat in 2 days! Tooling around with the windows down and no real destination was supremely fun.

Random comments log: "Was that a loaf of bread?"
"What? Where?"
"On the side of the road!"

"What's with the enhanced police presence?"
"I know! It's like a double order of bacon!"

"Generally, women who shuffle their feet appear to be highly unintelligent."

"Why does that gym have a fat gay guy on its logo? And what's with the funny hat?"

Then we stumbled across Ikea, so we took Skor to visit his native people and snagged some cheapo kitty dens.

Sharp eyed observers will note that the Peach is wearing a no-lick collar. The cut under his throat kept reopening. You know how cats love to get in that 69 position and gut each others' necks? Plus as it healed and itched he was scratching it open. We are hoping that this will finally allow it to close. The outside of the collar is now covered in claw marks, so it must be doing something!

The party continued into the evening. We visited our buddy Ken for Chinese, hottubbing, fire, and photos.

* Yes, these are real town names. Other local weirdness includes Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, and Uwchlan.

I'm on TV!

Well, not really, but I bought some advertising from a company that puts flatscreens in businesses. I get 15 seconds every 10 minutes. Mine is going into a gym a mile from my clinic. All the treadmillers and bicylists will be staring at it along with the regular TVs. What do you think?

Make the Right Choice

I think there's a very good chance that history will look back on this speech much as we look back on Dr. Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech. I sure hope we have President Obama to lead us forward next year!

Such a crazy week...

... and it's only Tuesday!

1) Skor! is an awesome car. Dad put a lot more work into him than I expected, and boy do we appreciate it.
2) I have moths. My art room has changed from a pretty yarn store to a cedar-scented, plastic-encased warehouse. :(
3) I launched my website!! It still needs some tweaking, but I'm very happy. Feedback appreciated.
4) Check this out!
5) I really need some sleep.

Thanks, Aunt Joan!!!

Yesterday Girlie and I trekked down to Fairfax, VA to visit my family. Matt was on call at the hospital, so he couldn't join us. It was (maternal) Grandpa Joe's 86th birthday, so I made him a kippah. It was a good-sized party, attended by Grandpa's wife Alisha (obs!), my <------ Mom & Dad, their giant White Shepard Mosby, (paternal) Grandma Rose (that's her first name, my maiden name is Silverman), and Aunt Joan & Uncle Mike. Alisha used to be big into crocheting, so she enjoyed talking to Girlie. I'll have more family pics to post once my parents send me theirs (hint hint). Joan just bought herself a new car, so she was sweet enough to give us her old one!!! It's a '90 Volvo 240DL, and in beautiful shape. She got a jaunty cranberry hat in return. My Dad put some work into it (thank you SO much!) and now we actually have one car per person (Shaun is still being lazy). As for the naming process... what else do you call an enormous surprise Swedish gift? Skor!

(Please forgive the excessive use of parenthesis in this post.)

Squeeee!!

Can't keep quiet any longer... big surprise coming!

Art inspires more Art!

Laura over at The Unique Sheep (love that logo) recently held a photo contest to spark some spring-themed colorways. I won - Twice! Here are my pics and the yarns they spawned.

The French lavender is from our neighborhood in Mt. Tabor, back when we lived in Portland, OR. I used to go for walks all the time and just snap shots of the neighbors' foliage.

The sheep were taken in England, on our trip to get our latest taxi, Preston (see blog archives for April 2007). These particular sheep were between Stonehenge and Bath. I grabbed the tufts of wool from the fence to share with my VY&T knitting / spinning circle back home. I also brought them cheese and crackers from Harrod's in London. Need to go back!!!

10,000 Reasons Not to See a Movie

I have some advice for everyone: DO NOT SEE 10,000 BC.

Um… it was bad enough that the bad guys had metal technology and domesticated horses… there was a sabertooth cat with about a 4’ long skull… then they walked from Siberia across China to the Middle East and Egypt in a few days. Pyramids being built 5,000 years too early - by MAMMOTHS?? Oh, and a telescope, which was invented in the 17th century. Nice.

The plot and characters failed to interest me, too. Don’t bother. Really. Not even worth a rental.

Stumblebums

This morning, Girlie and I heard a deafening bang and shout from the bathroom. Matt had bashed his elbow on the door. Five minutes later, he nailed the same elbow on another door frame.

We went downtown to goof around, yarn shop, and get cheesesteaks. I, somehow, hurt myself opening the door at Rosie's. As we were coming home, Matt tripped on the stairs to our front door.

"I'm staying away from you guys today," Girlie announced.
"Yeah, we're the Klutz Clan." I responded ruefully.
"The Two Klutz Klan!" she laughed.

Fair Isle, I have conquered thee!

Non-knitters may not understand, but I am inordinately proud of this baby-sized hat.

I taught myself to knit Continental so I could do Fair Isle with one color in each hand. After a few minutes practice, I cast on in two colors of leftover sock yarn, not expecting them to look good together, and not expecting to actually like my first attempt. I wasn’t even planning to finish it, honestly! The crafting gods were smiling upon me: Not only did the colors look all autumny and wonderful together, but my tension seems just fine. It doesn’t pucker at all.

It’s Tam C, unblocked, and I don’t know if it’s the blocking or the gauge but it’s definitely not tam-shaped.

Good News / Bad News

YAY: I've found my way out of the Horse Latitudes! The two-handed mosaic knitting acted like a jet engine. I'm cranking along on this hat - it's AWESOME - and planning a secret surprise for my Grandpa's 85th birthday. Hey Roxy - that stitchmarker look familiar?

NOOOOO: Our "reliable" car, Gromit the Jetta, lost it yesterday. I had to walk home 3.2 miles in the cold. We're awaiting the final judgement, but estimate about $2K for a new tranny. Meanwhile, the three of us are dependent on Preston.

So I'm stuck at home (had to cancel another day of appointments) but at least I'm having fun. Girlie is sick, so calling in to work was actually a good idea for her. She's been sleeping for two days straight. Ha! I'm finally gonna catch up in the FO category!

ETA: Rebuilt transmission actually cost $3500, including a new clutch plate.

The Knitting Doldrums

My little clinic has been mega-busy the past few weeks. My brain is exhausted... I just can't tackle those socks. You know... the ones I started on last year and still haven't turned the heel on? In short, since I finished the Fire Blanket I've felt stuck like a Yugo in a tarpit. With a broken axle.

I have lots of great yarn, and a million things I want to make, but nothing seems to ever get done. This has been particularly frustrating with Girlie holding up a new Finished Object every ten minutes or so. I have two sweaters mostly done, and no desire to finish either. Instead, I'm hankering to crank out a bulky comfy cardi for the few cool evenings left. But then again I should wait, because it IS March already, and hopefully next winter I'll need a smaller size... I wind up just surfing Ravelry endlessly, reading about fiber art more than creating it. And adding even more projects to the already overburdened queue.

I did spin my Enchanted Knoll roving into yarn for Ravelry pal Eva in Germany I've marked entrelac (frogged, as I disliked the project, but I learned the skill which was the goal) off the list. Today I taught myself Continental knitting, and started a kid's hat using two handed knitting (a different yarn in each hand, switching back and forth to create a colorwork pattern). Purling left-handed for the brim was a challenge, but it was really fun once I got the rythym of it.

What I really need to be working on are my slippers of the Sea Socks contest. I have a concept in mind and it'll take a while. But I've already started that colorwork tam. Oh well. I almost don't care... it feels good to be productive again!

Lili Von Schtup in the house

I'm so tired...

But it's a really good tired.

I had a long day, lots of appointments and door-to-dooring at doctor's offices. This is actually kind of fun, since I tend to make new friends, but it does take its toll.

I was on my way home when a desperate voice called me. Back pain... needed an acupuncturist... now? So I turned around and went back to the clinic. The session brought his pain from 5 out of 10 down to zero. Yeah, baby. That's awesome. That's why I do this.

*smile*

Girlie the Wonder-Hooker!

Remember when Girlie decided to teach herself crochet to retain her sanity through quitting smoking? Her artistic skills have increased exponentially - I'm so proud! AND despite some truly massive stressful events in her family life, she is still tobacco free. YAY!!!!!

This is a recent set she cranked out in like 2 minutes, no pattern. Could I be any more in love? I took the pics. :)

Oh yeah...

Downloading the yarny stuff, I found some older pics on my camera. Here are the Stripey Guys snoozing on the back of the couch, and Mr. Peach in a rare Glamour Shot moment.

And on my birthday, Matt decided to commemorate his affection for his One True Love:

Fiberlicious

Playing catch-up: Here are two of my recent projects. I'm not quite decided on the beaded beret. I didn't use a pattern, just made it up as I went, and the drape / fit don't thrill me. Opinions and suggestions welcome! The yarn is Tilli Thomas.

Girlie made me the lovely rose by bending some sterling silver wire around a crochet hook. Her talents never cease to amaze me. I'll use it as a closure pin for the mohair sweater I'm working on now.

The silk yarn didn't photograph true to color, but it's a rich deep purple and teal silk. 1 oz, 240 yds of teeny navajo ply. I didn't think I was going to like it as I spun the singles (lots of slubs in the hankies) but plied it's super soft and has a great sheen. It'll make a gorgeous shawl. I keep recalculating the yardage... somehow it seems like it should be a lot more. Hmm.

Shaun needs a good vet.

Help! My poor little truck isn't doing well. His starter crapped out on me. Took me ages to find a diesel one (the petrol ones won't work, so instead of $10 I spent $300). $350 of labor later, the "mechanic" (I use that term very loosely - we will not be going back to these guys) caused an electrical storm in the dash that has robbed me of my right taillight. And he still won't start. We had a similar problem when they worked on Preston, but they said they knew Rovers so we gave 'em another chance. What was I thinking? They couldn't even figure out how to start him. Instead of calling me, of course, they wired up a temporary glow plug starter. Idiots. Now it's looking like the starter was just fine to begin with. They didn't even diagnose him properly.

Snarl!

The Rover guys are all far away. I live in Paoli on The Mainline, home of new American cars. Shaun is sitting at the bottom of the hilly driveway, so a push start is a challenge. Please, does anybody know a real mechanic with common sense? Who's used to diesels and can shepherd electrons competently?

OMG!!! Bunny Panties!!

I'm not generally the sort who flashes her underpants on the Internet - it's not that kind of blog - but who can resist Panties of Power like this?

The penquins were a $2.99 bonus. :)

Even Plastic Hellhounds Need Couture

The girls at Mason-Dixon are running a contest called "Teeny Project Runway." Basically we had to dress an inanimate object (not a bear). I was inspired to clothe Cerberus. He previously battled my Roman army in the buff, but check out his duds now!

PS - This is a publicly-judged contest, so please VOTE FOR ME!!

UPDATE: I didn't even come close to winning, but it you check out the stars you'll see why. Amazing stuff. Some people have far more creativity than responsibility in their lives, if you know what I mean!

Tyrannosaurus sex

A discussion on Ravelry about knitting anatomically correct animals led to a post offering these two fascinating articles on dino-sex. I must say, though, that the comments are just as amusing. People are so stupid! :)

Sheer Lunacy

These pics are so awful they're barely worth posting. But it was a magical night: Went out to see the lunar eclipse and found crunchy, fake-looking snow on the back porch. The sky was clear, the stars were brilliant. The moon looked like a blood orange. The snow, impossible to photograph properly, was a collection of tiny perfect cut-out hexagons. Amazing. They looked like shiny plastic props.

A little taste

Fred's at it again. Personally, I think he's represented the size differential quite accurately.

Mercer Museum

Today we went to the Mercer Museum, a huge concrete castle filled with 40,000 tools and artifacts from American life early last century. Room after room after room, each with a theme. Some of my favorites: The collection of spinning wheels, swifts, looms, and other fiber acutrements. The medical stuff. The accessories exhibit, including those little overshoes for bad weather. See the space for the heels of her shoe? So cute. Girlie was entranced by the navigational equipment. Matt liked the cast iron fence posts. Somehow we wound up on the roof.

Our next hobby

Today we visited Scranton's Trolley and Steamtown railroad museums. We've always really liked model trains, but today we found out about "live steam" engines. These aren't electric - they have actual scaled-down steam engines. How amazing is that? You can literally look into the firebox in that pic. The detail on these trains was staggering. Weathered and painted with excruciating care, the more powerful ones pulled long strings of boxcars with ease, puffing and clattering along just like the big guys. As I explained to the guys there, we've been doing "full scale" hobbies with the cars, but I know our future holds mini-railroading. It was so cute to see them shoveling coal into the fireboxes with tiny scoops. It's a great combination of aesthetic crafting and engineering science. Check out the speed in this video I took: Notice the wood- and coal-laden engines in the foreground.

It won't be this year... we're gonna hafta be rich. Ridiculously rich. These things get complex!

Oh yeah... the big trains were cool too. :)

Happy Love Day!

We're staying home tonight and making steak & shrimp fondue. Yum!

Tagged like a half-price skein of silk

Shawnee got me. We were Secret Pals way back when.
"Here are the rules, and they must be posted to your blog.
Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog."

These things are always a challenge for me. There's no shortage of weirdness in my life, but my friends & regular readers already know most of it. The rest I have to keep quiet due to an arrangement with the Justice Dept (kidding!). So... the bizzaro car stuff, the fiber addiction, Matt's ex having a wife of her own now, Girlie, our meat-eating bunny, my powerdwarf status... that's all old news. But I've been tagged, and must comply. *ahem*

1) Carrot cake is my favorite. With cream cheese icing, of course.
2) I once out-shot a Special Forces (Green Beret) team captain.
3) I've hunted for food. I only ate squirrel once, though. YUCK.
4) If I could have any brand-new auto in the world I'd take a SmartCar.
5) I have an extremely sensitive sense of smell.
6) Although I have always abhorred cigarettes, and give free smoking cessation treatments as part of my mission to put the tobacco companies out of business, I am a smoker in about 30% of my dreams. Past life, maybe?
7) Tomatoes make my hands hurt. I order white pizza now.

Tagees: I really hate putting people on the spot. And most of my bloggy friends have already been nailed. Let's make this a voluntary tagging, shall we? This means YOU!

Charming Creepiness

Girlie, Matt & I ventured out to New Hope, PA today. It's a cute town with lots of offbeat shops and old architecture. After an overpriced lunch, we found TearDrop Memories. This is a peculiar little store, long and narrow, that gets stranger the farther back you go. Old photos and Victorian birdcages yield way to memorial jewelry (pictured: the mesh is hair from the deceased) and antique medical instruments for both humans and animals. Greg took great pleasure in showing us his pump for draining bovine udder infections and the ultra-rare sheep chastity belt. Then there were the old anatomy texts for embalmers (emphasis on the vascular system, natch).

Every inch of the place revealed another set of startling treasures. If you're looking for the memorable and unusual, you can't go wrong here. But please, when considering a birthday gift for me, skip the infant death mask, okay?

Logo-tastic!

Eons ago in acupuncture school I dreamed up a logo for the Rose Family Clinic. Many extended begging and threatening sessions later, my superior-in- (nearly) -every-way husband finally did the Illustrator work. I just ordered a huge stack of new cards. Just in time - With all my aggressive marketing I am literally down to 10, aside from that box with the horrid typo.