Wallace & Wendolene & Christmas Stockings

Matt loved my Wendolene so much that we had to accelerate our plans to acquire our second London Taxi - Wallace. He is definitely a masculine version of my cab, from 1967. He has a new, powerful Chevy V6 and lots of chrome. There are lots of other differences - some small, some large - and they have completely different personalities and drive feel. Better photos will be coming, when Matt is off work during daylight hours!

In other news, Blackberry has started using the cat tower. Fig is growing out his mane, tail, and bloomers. I made my first sock, then followed it with five others to decorate the Christmas tree. There's one for each resident here. I matched the yarn, size, and shape to each. Matt's is handspun gray wool. Mine is rainbow. Blackberry's is black angora rabbit. Thoth's (hard to see in the pic) is glossy black wool with an enlarged belly. Fig's has mohair to represent his fluffiness. Skwatch's (the PP is for Peachy Pie, his most-oft-used nickname) is small and slim, and I made a mini Thing 2 to represent his favorite toy, lost in the Dreaded Flea Cleansing of late 2004.

Pics of ME!

Matt and I actually went OUT last night! He stayed awake for most of it, too. I snapped these before we headed out the door, since it's pretty rare for me to get gussied up these days.

Oh, and I've decided to make the most of the little free time I have, and try to build a life. I've got a small bunch of queer girls coming over for Lost on Wednesdays, and may attempt to start a weekend knitting group here. The lesbian knitters here meet on Tuesdays, which I can never make. I figure two hours on a Sunday can help me psychologically bootstrap for the rest of the week.

As for my 24 credit academic load, I decided it was too much and I should split my courses over the next two years. Then I realized it wasn't the science that was giving me fits (I LOVE the science!), it was the stress of maintaining my straight A average (those "team" exercises are a killer when your classmates are happy with a C). I solved the problem by deciding to audit three of 4 classes. I'll still do all the work, and yes, I'll still pay tuition, but I won't risk getting a B. I'll still learn and prep for the MCAT, but reduce my stress. So - I'm back into it for another 24 in Winter quarter. Yay!

"We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty!"

More pics of the Winter Wonderland

The drive up, Matt ventures into Richard Scarry's world, and the view from our room. I love living here. The Northwest is heaven itself. :)

Driving in a winter wonderland

Matt's hospital whisked all the residents off to a lodge in Snoqualmie Pass. It was a weekend off we both desperately needed. The cab did beautifully in the slush and snow. As one of the British residents remarked, "You can drive those over a glacier!" They have quite a reputation in the UK, but I shan't be putting Wendolene up against a Hummer anytime soon. Oh... and a few gratuitous kitten shots.

Knitty's photo contest

Well, I didn't win. *pout* Here's a link to the finished calender: http://www.cafepress.com/knitty.34759783

You can click on "View calender pages" and see the pictures they chose. I love September! I personally think mine rocked and one shoulda snagged the cover, but hey, that's just humble little me. We were each allowed three entries, which had to highlight a piece knitted from the Knitty site. Here are the ones I submitted back in August. I had a hard time choosing between the 6 or so amazing shots of Leo & Kate (fellow acupuncturists). Aren't they gorgeous?

Oh - and for those of you with sharp eyes - yes, that's my handspun yarn in the basket. The blue is corn silk and really glows!

Pole dancing and pole cats

Stripey cat top level conference, and Matt and the girls practicing their Batman scaling technique.

Homespun family

I did get a few emails from people wanting to see my handspun yarn, so here it is: Please click on the pics for a MUCH better view. The green is a triple ply merino. I have three skeins of that, and I'm inordinately proud of it. The rainbow is a color mix (varied wools) plyed with a soft synthetic glittery black (purchased). It'll make a perfect fancy evening shawl. The white is silk, single ply. The varied browns are all exotic fibers from a "taste test" class. It includes everything from vicuna and cashmere to raccoon (!). Super soft! I was experimenting with a longer twist on that one so the 2 ply looks almost like a single. The 2 ply grey is natural mystery wool I picked up at a yarn swap - I've got six of those. The red / blue 2 ply is another merino mix - 6 skeins of that. And the little ball is silk, not nearly as muddy as in the pic. It has a lovely sheen and the colors are like watermelon tourmaline. Alas, only a smidgen of that one. Any suggestions for projects are welcome!

The girls, Gillian and Maddie, had a great time at Gasworks park on their visit. They were here the same time my parents were, and we all piled into the cab. We also went to the Science Museum at Seattle Center, where I took the fall Needle shot.

Retro-Post: Fig & Graduation

These pics predate the taxi's arrival, thus the title. I graduated from OCOM on Sept 2 with a Master's in Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture. Trafiglio Q. Havalina joined our family in the last few days of August. He's a Maine Coon baby and we expect him to grow to an impressive size. And since nobody gets away with just one name, he's also Fig, Spazzboy, and Talky the CoonCalf. He thoroughly trounces the other boys in their cattle battles, but when the bunny gets into it - WOW! She charges him, rams him, leaps at him with a flying sidekick like Bruce Lee! He's convinced she's utterly terrifying, and runs for it. Then they all collapse in a big friendly pile.

I know I promised pics of my homespun skeins, but I'm busy.... and I suspect it's more of a priority for me than my faithful readers. Raise a hue and cry if I'm mistaken, and I'll adjust accordingly.

My new life: Pretty #*%^*&* awesome!

Seattle is great. I have a sweet, brilliant, sexy husband. A completely unique and funky car (honestly, there's not a single other auto on the planet I'd trade it for... and that goes double for the husband). I live on a quiet, beautiful island. I'm finally on the road towards my MD, at a school with small classes and great teachers. My furry kids are all having fun amusing me. I get to see my skin kids soon, and my parents are even visiting. To top it all off, I just bought some KILLER alpaca for $1/oz. Yee-HAW!!! I even got a phone number that ends in "i-ply" - Life is GOOD!

More pics of my spinning coming soon, I promise! The rainbow sweater, too, as it progresses... which right now is pretty slowly. 24 credit hours - biology, physics, chemistry, and organic chem - are taking priority. Speaking of which, I need to go relearn trig right now. Bye!

Ima Llama

Matt & I have this joke... "I'm a llama!" I made this for our 1st anniversary. I'm lucky enough to have a man who adores my work - he declared Ima to be a "lovely lovely prezzy" and is thrilled with her. She does stand up by herself, BTW, he just wanted to make her sit for her photo shoot.

Fruit salad

Skwatch (aka Peach, Peachy Pie) and Blackberry celebrating interspecies love. Proof that we can "all just get along."

Catnip Frenzy

I made this little cat toy while watching movies with friends. It seems to have gone over well. Note: This event occurred before Thoth's medical emergency. He is now recovering nicely and punching Blackberry in the face whenever she hops by. The last pic is, of course, the post-party coma in an utterly trashed room.

Thoth spends the night in jail.

Poor guy was vomiting, constipated, lethargic, and VERY grumpy - not his usual gregarious sumo wrestler self. After 30 hours at the cat hospital he finally came home, none too happy with his new haircut. Hey, IVs are a GOOD thing, Fatboy! Attention knitters: I am getting serious about selling my yarn stash to pay for this horrifying bill. Call me!

The Vole, and Thoth wears a hat

Matt and I were walking on Sauvie and found two dead voles. They were extremely soft and plush-looking. It was driving Matt crazy that we couldn't touch them. We conducted some basic forensics to determine the cause of death (no visible injuries), but, lacking the proper equipment to complete our investigation, pressed on in our hike. It was a wonderful moment in our joint geekdom. To provide a reminder, and the opportunity to touch a swollen vole, I made this for my sweetie. Oh, and that's Thoth modelling a baby hat I made for a post-partum classmate.

London Cab

My REAL cab should be landing in Tacoma on 8/30. Customs will keep it for about a week to check for heroin and bombs and tsetse flies. The plush cab (hard to tell in the pics) is complete with curved hood, chrome bumper, suicide door handles, and grill detail. I sent it to the restorer as a gift.

Alien Squid Woman!

Another monster. She lives with Maddie, who's 12. The Alien Squid Woman also has a scarf to match her sweater.

Fish Woman!

One of my monsters, created from odd ends of yarn and time between classes. It's hard to see in this post but I used short-row shaping to create breasts on the front. She now lives with Gillian, 9.

My first attempt at Blogging...

Everyone wants to see what I'm making, or at least I tell myself that, so here it is! The little bags are spinning wheel oil bottle holders. They were quite popular and I've given them all away to other spinners.The rainbow stuff was my first 2ply yarn. The hat was a gift for my acupuncturist I made from all natural wool. I later made him a scarf from the leftover ball of yarn. I love this hat (and scarf) because it was the first project I planned from start to finish - I bought the roving with the design firmly in mind. Yay!