Happy Halloween!

My favorite holiday!! Okay, I know you were expecting Elphaba, but two weeks ago we shifted gears. Matt and I love doing paired costumes that play in our height differential (remember Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompa? That was the best!), so this year we're doing a Lord-of-the-Rings-esque archer and dwarf. Our living room has been a flying frenzy of fabric, paint, feathers, and clay. Full pics and details coming soon... Here's a hint: Female dwarves have beards, too!

In the meantime, have a spooky day!

Really?

Work has been slow this week, so I've been home knitting on my Halloween costume and watching a lot of TV and movies. Things I've "learned" include:

1) If you get shot, just take out the bullet and you're fine. Heck, you can break out of the hospital as soon as you regain consciousness and fight bad guys hand-to-hand! Blood loss and infection don't matter, let alone damage to muscles, bones, nerves, and internal organs.

2) If you've overdosed on sleeping meds hours ago, and you're found sprawled out and un-wakeable, all you need is your buddy to induce vomiting. No matter that the pills dissolved long ago and are clearly currently working... you'll be fine in minutes!

3) Genes can change from dominant to recessive as they pass from parent to child. Isn't that clever?

Upcoming book?

I've been thinking about writing a book. It's been percolating in my head for years, actually, but now I'm getting fired up to make it happen. It would contain basic information on how acupuncture works, and how you can use acupressure at home to help yourself and your family. I have a few questions about the content and format, so I'd really appreciate it if you took this 2-minute poll - even if you aren't interested in the book - I need to know that, too!

Your answers will reach me anonymously.

(Sorry about the enormous logo - I can't figure out how to shrink it with the survey software.)

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Rain Trumps Candles

The Paoli Illumination, scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) has been cancelled due to rain. :(

Facelift

Ok, so I finally got sick enough of the pink to overhaul the blog. I even updated my links over there to the right. Yay!

A Few Knitting WINS

One of the “Black Mix” bags I got from the Sheep Shed was black and white swirled together like a soft-serve cone. I separated them as best I could, but there were some strips of roving that were so blended they weren’t worth the effort to separate fiber by fiber. Those went into bag #3. Which I felt strangely drawn to spin immediately. And the whole time I was spinning, I felt intensely compelled to make mittens.

I didn’t think I had enough. I was pondering doing a Fair Isle or striped section with either black or white. In fact, I was so sure I wouldn’t have enough that I nearly didn’t start them. See the ball “left over?” It weighs more than the completed mittens do. I’ve been knitting and spinning since 2001 and I still have no clue how to eyeball how much I will need for a project. sigh

Good news: The mittens came out perfectly the first time, great fit, no 28 revisions necessary. I was considering dyeing them but I believe I like them as is.

Disasters from previous post: The witch socks just got finished off at mid-calf height and I've been wearing them a lot. Very comfy and look great with pants. The cabled socks have been rescued by inserting a few more cables. They're nearly done.

And my latest triumph: A pointy felted hat for my Halloween costume (Elphaba). I just need to firm up the brim a bit.

Parking Wars

Since Matt's most recent appearance on TV, the fan mail has finally died down to mere dozens a day. With his latest blockbuster, however, I expect we'll need to rehire that professional letter-answering firm again.

You can see it yourself on A&E, Parking Wars episode 42, part 2. Funny thing, though, they edited out the part where he showed up before the meter had run out - thus his confused expression when she said he got a ticket. She had started writing him up assuming he wouldn't get back in time. If you listen closely you can hear her explaining they need the car make so they can rescind the ticket. Also, he was wearing a black Utilikilt, no matter what the caption says.

That's our friend Jari in the back. She was trying to hide but her smile is simply unstoppable.