Mooning

I finished the moon last night! Well, except for the optional filling, which I began. It requires a lot of sewings, but I need the practice. It is really fun putting the beads on, which I never thought I would say. I should be able to finish it on Friday. Then let the bobbin winding (for the heart) begin! I think I am beginning to retain some of the techniques. I just have to keep working on projects to reinforce them. That's how I finally became proficient at knitting - I stopped letting myself take a long break from it.

Yesterday did not hold a massive amount of knitting. I think I added about 2 rows to the Swamp Socks and that was it. I did not take a lunch because I had a therapy appointment in the afternoon, and after that I went to the coffee shop and sent out my resume like a woman possessed. I also sewed some more on the giant tent cover for Dickens. I hope that no one judges us on our sewing ability.

I have borrowed season 2 of "24" and spent last night (after soap and lace) yelling at the tv - "Just drive away! why are you getting out of the car? why are you running away from the people on the street who can call the police?" But I like Jack. I don't think they planned on it, but the things he does are hilarious.

Tonight is sock class and yoga. A pleasant evening if I can find some clean yoga clothes, otherwise it will be me and "24" again.

I Love a Rainy Day

Wow, I actually spent a weekend out of the house, and made all my obligations for the weekend. And best of all, I had a great time. Friday night and Sunday afternoon Mandy and I made soap like mad in preparation for the Dickens Festival this weekend (see sidebar for link). We will have two new scents to show off - MangoApricot and Amber. Yum. We also have a sewing project - making a new cover for our tent. We found a cute fabric at the store and started pinning and stitching last night. It is so cool (to me) that I have a machine, that works, that I know how to use. I didn't know how to sew at all before last autumn. It makes me motivated to go back to quilting class on Mondays.

Saturday it was up at 4 am to go to Denise's house and pile in the car with the rabbits for a trip to El Centro for a rabbit show. It was really neat. So many rabbits! And guinea pigs (cavies)! And snacks! I even got some knitting done. I am eager to get Olive (the angora rabbit) all groomed and gentled and see if there is a showable bunny under all that wool. Even Mr. Whiskers might be a contender - just have to get him and ear tag. I didn't bring home any rabbits, but I had a little accident and came home with a new guinea pig. At least he was free. He has a fault, so can't be shown, but is a sweetie and might breed show pigs (his sire was showing that day). Denise and I threw around names and decided on Seamus MacCavy. I learned that if I go to another rabbit show without a show animal, I had better bring a pet to hold so I don't bring home anything else!

Sunday I also worked on lace with Fran. She unworked all the wrong stuff in the turn and the cloth stitch back to the arches, and I reworked it all, and went further last night. In fact, I managed to make it all the way to the start/finish. And in only 3 hours (not including chatter and pie breaks)! On Tuesday I will sew it together and work the filling (with beads) and then it will be done, done, done. I am rather pleased. Again, it is amazing how fast lace goes when I sit down and do it.

I managed to work through the 3 movies I had at home this weekend. They were all bad. "Northfork" was dreary and disappointing. The movie was fine (a little wierd) but the blurb portrayed it as more of a comedy and it was not. The story is about removing the last residents from a town that is going to be flooded because a new dam was built. The second movie was "The Machinist", about an insomniac. I had heard it was good, but I found it to be slow and dreary and dark, and when it looked like one person was going to get run through a machine because they didn't do lockout/tagout, I turned it off, took it out, and put it back in the envelope. Not the movie for me. Number 3 was "Dust" with Joseph Fiennes and David (swoon) Wenham. It was the best of the bunch, but still not stellar. A woman tells her life story to a burglar and the story (of wild west men joining the turkish rebels or something) is told in flashback. There was a lot of shooting and thumb-breaking. It might be time to recover with some romantic comedies.

All Quiet...

I got to scamper off from work early yesterday and deliver a proposal in Pomona. Lucky for me, it was practically on the way to Brea, where I had to go after work anyway! So I was early to go pick out my thread for the bobbin lace project I will be doing at the Winter Lace Conference. I am pleased with my choices and also to have that chore out of the way. Now I can start winding bobbins.

There was a flurry of finishing in the knitting department yesterday. I worked in the ends of the Watermelon Tourmaline socks, so those are done by any standards. I sewed down the picot hems of the Calamity socks and remembered (after I was done) that I did not make an effort to keep the yarn loose while I did so, and had socks that were too tight at the top to go over my heels. Some un-working in ends and futzing with the hem were in order and they are now wearable. I finished the first Tuscany sock, but couldn't find my scissors to cut them from the skein so I have to take 10 seconds to do that before I can start sock #2. I also added a couple rows to Mandy's sweater (see how responsible I am?). I have been sneaking rows onto the green Icarus shawl and am close to moving on to chart 2, where the really lacy part begins. It will feel like real progress to do something besides "k7, shuffle, k7 shuffle" for 210 rows or more.

I watched a show on PBS last night about the man who invented the lobotomy. Scary, sad, and amazing on many levels. Even I drew the line at the fact that he lobotomized a 4 year old. The whole icepick in the eye socket was amazing - it takes a special (not the good kind) of person to think that is a good idea. Basically it sounded like he was pithing people. I am glad I am crazy now and not in the 40s. Speaking of which, I did not have my appointment today, as my therapist was snowed in. I have had a good week, so I am OK with that (I think), but I will see her Tuesday and Friday next week.

I continue to listen to "Thank You, Jeeves" in the car and am enjoying it immensely. I have got to start looking on half.com for used audiobooks, though. $30 a pop (well, $20 after coupon) adds up fast. Anything that makes me laugh out loud during the day is OK by me.

I am going with Denise to the rabbit show this weekend. I think it will be fun and different. I might just bring my spinning wheel and get some work done. Or a spindle. There are lots of things I could be spindling. The rest of the wool for the gray sweater, for example. The one that was supposed to be done by Autumn of 2006. Yes, 06. Sigh. All I have left to do are 1/3 of two sleeves (knit at the same time on one circular), the sewing up, and the collar.

Also on the docket for the weekend are 2 soap making sessions, a lace making session, and I would like to get my butt to yoga on Sunday. I missed my Wednesday night class two weeks in a row and was glad to be there this week.

Ecal, Ecal, Ecal

So I went over to Fran's for lace night last night, and instead of knitted lace (we are working on Icarus shawls), we worked on bobbin lace. Fran worked on her Iris and I plugged away at my moon. It has been in progress for over a year and I really need the pillow free for my classes in February. I laced, and laced, and laced, threw out pairs, whined and struggled with the turn, and laced, and laced, and brought pairs back in, and turned in around 10pm. But before I left, I took a moment to admire my handiwork.

Then the world stopped.

Way back, way back the last time I worked on it, I finished the arches and resumed the cloth stitch in preparation for the turn. But I didn't notice that I was supposed to rearrange the bobbins and put the metallics back in the middle instead of over on the edge. It didn't say it in the pattern and I had my previous work under a cover cloth to keep the threads from sticking on the pins. So now I have hours and hours of work (well, maybe 5 or 6 hours) that have to be un-laced and redone. And I was so close to the end! At least I saw it when there was still time to fix it, and not when it was off the pillow.

I know what I am doing on Sunday.

Good and Boring

Another good but not very thrilling if you are a blog reader kind of day yesterday (and today too). Actually, it is just shaping up to be that kind of week.

Used some coupons over at Borders and picked up "Fawlty Towers", a couple bluegrass cds (why are they always in the clearance bin?) and a Jeeves & Wooster audiobook. I think that will keep me entertained no matter where I am for quite a while. I looked at my little pile at the checkout and said - this is my life. A little odd, a little old fashioned, a little intellectual, and that is the way I like it. No reality tv for me! Well, not since "Temptation Island" anyway.

Knitted a few more rows on the shetland shawl. It is called "Legends of the Shetland Seas" but I am going to call mine "That Scottish Shawl" after the play by Shakespeare. The pattern is surprisingly easy, especially considering how much angsting I was doing. I just have to look at it one piece at a time, and the instructions are set up that way. No looking ahead and getting freaked out allowed. It's just knitting. It can't hurt me. The yarn is absolutely fantastic (Alpaca with a Twist "Fino", an alpaca/silk blend) and it is warm and soft and cushy. I hate to put it down. It is the same yarn I made the Adamas shawl out of (somewhere in the archives there is a post called "blockhead" with pictures). I chose the "seaglass" colorway and I think it suits a sea-themed shawl well.

I also put in a few rows on the green Icarus for good measure, and worked on Mandy's sweater today. Everything will get done eventually. I resisted all sock knitting yesterday. I need to find my little hanging scale to divvy up the yarn for the Tuscany socks.

Things are good today. It is cloudy but not drizzly, cold but not windy, pretty calm at work, and the cats got fed. I had some technicolor nightmares last night (including a plane crashing outside the building we were in), complete with sound effects, and didn't sleep very well, but am perky now. I had some Deep Thoughts about relationships and why they work or end and that made me feel some empathy for Mr. Fixit. Specifically, I realized that there are things about my job that I really like and there are things that make me want to run screaming from the room. The stuff I can't stand is outweighing the stuff that is rewarding, and I am going to have to move on. It makes an interesting parallel to why relationships work or don't (I think, anyway). Sometimes you just have to choose, and you have to live with that choice.

The Longest Day

Wow. I did nothing this weekend. It was great.

Friday was open spinning night, but we all brought knitting. I worked diligently on the Watermelon Tourmaline socks (I. Hate. Feather-and-Fan.) and ate pie. mmmmm. Then it was home and more knitting and settling in to watch "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" by the Reduced Shakespeare Co. It was pretty funny - very similar to the style of the acting groups at faire (Dogs in Doublets, Sound & Fury). They spend half the show on "Hamlet", which got boring, even though it is my favorite play.

Saturday dawned gorgeous, I made some breakfast, and settled in to watch "24: Season 1" on Mandy's recommendation. I had been studiously avoiding it. I also picked up some lace knitting and made great progress, although it didn't come out to a large % of the finished size. "24" ended up being pretty engaging and I ended up watching the entire season over the weekend. These folks get a hell of a long battery life on their cell phones. And none of them save numbers so they can see the caller name before they pick up. And they are whiny, whiny, whiny. But I enjoyed it and look forward to watching season 2 next weekend. The other project for Saturday was to wash all my handknit socks that were in the pile - whew. It was nice to have a selection to choose from this morning, though.

Sunday was also warm and sunny and a leave-the-door ajar kind of day. I watched "Jay Leno - Certified Car Nut" and finished the Watermelon Tourmaline socks before putting "24" back on. Jay has some really neat cars - steam powered, really old, really fast, really souped up (one has a tank engine in it!), even a jet powered motorcycle. It was fun to watch. I really, really want a Tiger Sunbeam - I was even thinking of cleaning out the garage this weekend (although I did not). I got about 2/3 of the way through a sock ("Tuscany") in Fiesta Boomerang yarn and my own pattern. I love this yarn. It is soft and squashy and beautifully dyed. For good measure I also put about 5 rows on the green Icarus shawl - this is my least favorite project after the WT socks, and I am slogging through it. I will be glad when I can hand it off to the store.

So, I got nothing done outside of some cooking, sweeping, and sock washing. I will try to be more productive this week in the housekeeping arena.

Are We There Yet?

Well, I came back. Fortunately my appt was an hour later than normal, so it is only 3 hours until quittin' time. Plus 15 minutes to clean the fishtank.

I made a detour to the market last night and bought food and potted daffodils. Yay! I made dinner, watched some PBS, and knitted away, happy as a clam. I had a little accident and *cough* startedanewproject but it kept me from burning down the office or moving to Mexico, so I am not upset with myself.

Tonight is spinning night - you are all invited - and I think I will bring my wheel for a change. It needs some exercise.

Then I have NOTHING planned for the weekend. I am so excited. I was thinking about it today, and might take Dozer-dog to a dog park or dog beach, but I am not telling him and getting his hopes up. I could stay home and read, or snooze, or weave, or clean, or wash the car (that might not be optional at this point), or spin, or watch tv, or go to the knitting store, or go to yoga, or any number of other things. It will be a surprise to everyone, including me. I should go to the farmer's market Saturday, and do some job hunting, but even that is fun.

Slog Slog Slog

This craptastic work week continues. Even I get depressed going on about it. I think I will find $1.65 in pennies (to buy a coffee) and spend some more time job surfing at the Coffee Depot. And I am going to tempt fate and go to the grocery store tonight and make real food for the first time all week. I miss salad.

I had a good time at the OC knitter's gathering. I was not quite as boisterous as usual, but I did go (!), I did talk (!) and I did knit (on the sweater!). Somehow we managed to seat ourselves by project color - I was at the purple table. A couple of times I leapt up to run over and pet someone's project :) only at a knitting group.... There were some great yarns out and about. Anne had a whole bagful of samples that she acquired at TNNA, so I got to pet some of the yarns everybody has been buzzing about. I recommend the Paca Peds. I also did a spot of grocery shopping and then braved the mighty winds to go back home. They were vicious in OC, but non-existent in Riverside until a couple hours later, when it woke me up. That is some serious wind.

I can hardly wait to go to my session tomorrow. I have desperately needed a shoulder to cry (whine) on this week. Even my trip to the psychiatrist yesterday was unfulfilling - I hate the days she is running behind and we have to fast forward our check-in. It may be one of those days where I don't feel well enough to come back to work afterward.

Lemmings

The 3 OC knitting groups (or maybe 3 of the OC knitting groups) are converging on the Whole Foods in Tustin(ish) tonight, and I managed to snag a spot. I have been looking forward to it for a week now and it is going to be a great time, which I sorely need after this miserable excuse for a week. I love the WF, there is a Peet's Coffee across the street, I am going to meet fresh knitters, and I heard a rumor there will be man knitters too. Maybe I should have worn something more alluring than my Steelers hoodie. I feel like a gian piece of Mac-n-Cheese. But I am snuggly and warm, which is a good tradeoff.

Last night I went home, made some tomato soup, and watched a dvd of historic car races. Yes, it reminded me of summer with Mr. Fixit, but they were all good and happy memories. No sad mooning for me! Over that, anyway. I also got some knitting done, but did not push myself. Progress on Mandy's sweater continues at lunchtimes, and I will work on it tonight at the knit together. I can add about 1/2"-3/4" (4-6 rows) in an hour.

It was difficult to go to sleep, not bcs I wasn't tired, but bcs I knew the sooner I went to bed, the sooner the next workday would arrive, and maybe, just maybe, if I stayed up all night it would never be tomorrow. Then this morning I had to drag myself kicking and wailing out of the house and into the car.

OK, wish me luck at knitting night!

Crappy Crappy Day

Apologies to Don McLean. Big ones.

Just a quick note before I go home and drink. Job researching did get accomplished yesterday. And a good thing too, as today sucked. Big time.

OK, drinky poos are calling.

No ReEgrets

Sorry, no exciting birds at the post office today. I have found a new route - through the construction zone - that adds maybe 5-8 minutes to my trip. I approve.

I know I have said it before, but I am really done here at work. It is like I work in Opposite-Land. Everything I say, do, or am told is the opposite of what I think I am saying, doing, or hearing. Instead of finding someone to take over the proposal part of my job, they found another person to make more proposals come in, and now I have to do them for two people instead of none. And acted surprised when I freaked out. It is time to move on. I am setting a goal date of 2/22/07 to be out of here. Sooner would be fine too, if the right opportunity arises. So it is off to troll for positions tonight. Is there anything fun available over at LAUSD?

Before all that mess, it was a mostly good weekend. Friday we made soap for a bit (including a new scent - Apricot-Mango - which is spectacular) and then I think I did some chores or went to bed early. Saturday was our Riverspinners meeting in the afternoon (I spun on my charkha) and some weaving before and after. And I walked (!) to the store to get some dinner fixin's. I need to do that every time! Sunday I was felled by a headache that advil just did not touch. Ow.

There was a small amount of knitting. Mostly it was a weaving and spinning weekend. I realized that I can get smaller blocks of color by spinning a puff of one color after another on the same spindle, instead of filling the whole spindle with one color. Duh. So I worked on some brown-white-green-white-brown (etc) naturally colored cotton dishtowels. It worked like a charm. I also read more deeply into "Learning to Weave" and toodled around with a twill pattern on the next dishtowel. Imagine my surprise and delight when it came out like I hoped! Well, mostly like I hoped. But if you saw it, you would say, "look at that nice pattern you added there", I promise. Also, my charkha spinning has improved greatly, as I spin several times a week instead of a couple of times a year :) Who ever knew that practicing would lead to improvement?

So except for my piece of crap job, I remain a happy camper. Tonight is scheduled to be yoga night, but I may spend all evening at the coffee place using their wifi connection to hunt down a new gig. Remind me to call the optometrist and dentist this week.

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

I always build some extra time away from the office into my therapist session days. Usually it is afterward. Today I managed to get home in time to weave for 20 glorious minutes before heading back. Well, 18 after I fed the birds and scooped the catbox. I don't know if weaving goes really fast or if time actually stands still when I am at the loom, but I am continually amazed at how much I can get done in a short time. It felt like I was at it for an hour. I bet, as I get better and faster, this amount of progress will seem slow, but I am enjoying it right now. I love switching the shed, I love throwing the shuttle, I love placing the weft and beating it into place. And then I get to do it all over on the other side! I was very hopped up on life and caffeine this morning and verychattyveryquickly at session, and now after a weaving break I feel all calm and smoothed over, but still happy. Spinning and knitting used to do that for me too, until I got to the point where I could do those things on "autopilot" and then my brain would start finding things to think / worry about.

Tonight is a soap night, but there will be weaving when I get home. Tomorrow I plan on making a trip to the farmer's market, having a nice french toast breakfast, making spice cake, washing the car and going to the Riverspinners meeting. Sunday Fran and I have an afternoon of lace planned. I have got to finish my moon before Winter Conference - and that is suddenly very, very soon.

Last night I watched disc one of "All or Nothing at All", a series with Hugh Laurie as a con artist. The show is pretty bad, but he is great. You feel sorry for him at the same time as you know he deserves the hole he has dug himself into.

Mood overview for the week - I am busy, I am productive, I pet the pets, and I am happy with that. Not feeling like there is a hole where Mr. Fixit was has been a long time coming.

Stashed Away

So, when we last left our hero (that would be me)(quit giggling), I was bemoaning the need for some red socks. Last night I went home and on a whim I opened the sock yarn stash drawer. Much to my surprise and delight, there were 2 skeins of RED sock yarn right on top pile. I am now going to knit like mad on the socks in progress that are hogging the size 1 needles so I can free them up and get moving on the red socks.

Pair that up with the fact that I got the "Bit of Fry and Laurie" dvd the day after I posted about it, and I am starting to get drunk with power. I feel the need to post about the lotto next and then buy one ticket.

Yesterday I was in pain from a pulled something in my shoulder and did not stay for yoga. I chatted with everyone, managed to fold some blankets (I love folding the blankets; it satisfies my OCD), and then went home to take it easy. I did a small amount of knitting, I watched some "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and I was out like a light by 8:30. I believe Dr. House will be visiting tonight. Other plans include setting out the trash bins and making some spice cake. Oh wait, I should hold off and bring it to the Riverspinners meeting. I was wondering what I was going to do for a snack-to-share.

I have been caught up and somewhat bored at work this week and have been Ravelry-ing like a woman possessed. I love to read the forums. I apparently do not love to take pictures of my projects. Today at lunch I worked in the ends to 3 pairs of socks that have been waiting for a while now. They are now ready for pictures and being worn soon. Today was so warm that I actually regretted wearing wool socks. I might need to keep a backup pair of regular socks in my drawer.

Interesting sighting today - there was an egret at the post office. The grassy median, to be more specific. It was quite the elegant sight, and had a look of "I am lost, but I am not going to ask for directions". I figure it has been displaced from the little canal by the air force base, as they are doing construction there. I love that little canal - I always see ducks, egrets, ground squirrels, and lots of redwinged blackbirds.

Keeping Busy... Not

Well, I never thought that this would happen, but not only have I been caught up at work for over a week, I am wandering around looking for things to do. Not obviously, of course, or I might get assigned something I don't like :) Even the fishtank is clean.

Same old same old in crafting land - making progress on the sweater. Tonight my sock class is cancelled so I am going to take a little time to weave before checking in the yoga class tonight. I tweaked my neck at some point this week, so I don't think I will stay. I think I will take a bubble bath and / or put the heating pad on my shoulder.

I made ziti again last night. Here is my quick and easy, no fuss ziti recipe. I stole it off a cooking show and modified a bit. If it is easy enough for me to make, anybody can make it!

1 bag ziti (16 oz)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (25 oz)
1 hunk mozzarella cheese (8-16 oz)
ground beef (1/2 lb)

Make the meatballs - put the ground beef into a bowl and add salt, garlic, onion powder, pepper, oregano, or anything you prefer. Mash together well. Pinch off little bits of meat and roll into balls. I like them to be about the size of a marble. In a skillet, heat some oil and fry the little meatballs. Drain on paper towels.

Make the ziti - in a large pan heat water and add ziti when it starts to boil. Reduce to a simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking, and drain when the zitis are al dente (or really soft, if you prefer)

Cut the cheese into slices and set aside. The first time I made it, I used 8oz and it was not quite enough. Last night I used 16 oz and couldn't use it all. I think 12 oz is the magic number. I cut it in hunks the other time and did not get total cheese coverage. Slices was better.

In an oven safe casserole, layer the ingredients (sauce, ziti, meatballs, cheese) until they are all in the dish or you run out of room. Put in the oven at 350 ish for 30 minutes or so until the top is nice and brown.

Pour a nice glass of merlot and enjoy!

Quiet Day

A quiet day today and not much to report. I ran some errands and did a little weaving last night before my massage appointment. I like weaving. I like watching the fabric appear as if by magic, and at an amazingly speedy rate. I like advancing the warp and watching the spindle empty of yarn. In knitting, sometimes it feels like I will never get to the end of a skein. And joining is easier in weaving too!

Progress continues on the purple sweater. It makes good lunch hour knitting. I can't get away from it and it is the perfect complement to listening to the radio. I was getting dressed this morning and decided I need a pair of red socks. There was just an ocean of brown and blue in my sock drawer today. I did NOT buy yarn for them online, but rather started a list of "things I could buy but should really make as I have the fiber and the dye". So red socks is at the top. And I miss spinning for myself. Even though I have been spinning, and I have been knitting, I have not been spinning any yarn that I then knit with. So sad.

No big plans for the week except for a RiverSpinners meeting on Saturday afternoon. I will get some spinning done and I will bring the table loom and cotton fabric for show and tell. Whee! Next week there is a big knitting gathering at the Whole Foods I was talking about yesterday - I am trying to get a place. It would be nice to meet a single, available male knitter. Or three. Or even a man-who-likes-knitters-and-shops-at-Whole Foods. And if nothing else, there is a Peet's Coffee right across the parking lot (the nearest one to me, actually).

Weekend Recap and Soap Schedule

From the comments - we will try to update the Soap Plantation website with our upcoming events this weekend. Meanwhile, I will keep everything posted in the sidebar under "come smell soap". I try to put in links to the events when they are available. We also take suggestions for events if you know of something fun!

From the weekend - I had a spectacular weekend. Pretty much everything went pretty much according to the plan. Friday I bustled about the house and tidied up the front room and the kitchen and did a lot of laundry. I like laundry - it pretty much does itself until you get to the dreaded folding part. It was wet and rainy here most of the weekend, which was fine with me, but the dogs disapproved, especially Miss I Hate Getting My Paws Wet. I was pleased with my tidying progress, although it could always be better. It is amazing to me how much progress I can make in a short amount of time when I buckle down.

Saturday I got it together at a reasonable hour and headed off to the Orange County Museum to see the "Birth of the Cool" exhibit before it closed. It was indeed quite cool. There was music, art, movies, furniture, and more. I really liked the tv show section (I saw "Gerald McBoingBoing"! That took me back...) and the art of Helen Lundberg. She is going on my list of books to look for in the library. I got to see the Soup Can and the Chairman Mao pictures by Andy Warhol, and 3 short movies by Charles and Ray Eames. There was an adjoining exhibit that was more modern, and I was not too keen on that. Performance art is just not my thing. I like my art to look like something and to be somewhat orderly. But I liked getting out and doing something, even if I was on my own, and I am going to resolve to do cultural stuff more often.

On the way home I stopped by the BIG Whole Foods market and had a look see. It is still packed with many tempting goodies, and many people who take up all the parking spaces. I got some grocery staples and made a nice breakfast the next day.

Sunday was weaving day and Denise came by to look at my Walling loom. We managed to get the harnesses working and the treadles tied up, but we are still stumped by the brake assembly. It just does not make any sense. Pictures soon. Really, if I had some clamps or a bungee cord, I could warp it up and start weaving, but it would be nice to have it working propoerly. I also need to go to the store and get a ratchet thingy to tighten all the nuts and bolts. But getting the harnesses working was a major achievement for me - it needed quite a lot of tweaking, and with very little weaving experience, I would never have know what to tweak.

Knitting did occur, although not all of it was responsible on-task knitting. I also got in a few shots of weaving on the table loom while waiting for Denise. I think I will make more progress tonight. I also managed to watch 2 more dvds of "House" *sigh* I don't know what I will do when I am all caught up. I did start reading the Sherlock Holmes books this weekend, tittering at the things they used in "House" and generally enjoying reading. Another thing I don't do enough of.

Today the spectacular-ness is wearing off, but I think that is mostly because I am bored out of my mind here at work. Sigh. There is a new guy, who I am positive I know from somewhere, but I can't place him. It is driving me mad.

Scampering Off

I guess there is still time for one more post before the weekend is upon us. I am still having a good week and am looking forward to the weekend. I am going to a museum on Saturday and Sunday is loom assembly day. Other than that I am keeping it open. If I book too many obligations I get antsy and end up doing none of them. It is nice feeling good again and I would like to keep it that way! I received a couple more "House" dvds in the mail and I bought a couple books at Borders ("The Complete Sherlock Holmes" being one of them), so I think I can keep myself occupied. Maybe I will go crazy and pick up an audiobook at the library.

I discovered yesterday that I can *finally* listen to bluegrass music again without falling apart. I have been avoiding music-with-words, especially bluegrass, which tends to be maudlin, because every single song I hear seemed to remind me of Mr. Fixit in some way or another. It is nice to be able to channel hop on the radio and belt out tunes at the top of my voice. I don't take the words personally anymore.

Knitting progress on Mandy's sweater is good and knitting the patterned part in the round is MUCH easier than flat, where I had to read the pattern from the other direction and reverse the symbols in my head at the same time. It will be nice to have it done and see it on a real person.

I have been finishing up a few knitted UFOs around the house (on the sly) and starting a couple more things (also on the sly), so I must be getting back to normal. I just don't feel right if I don't have far too many things going on, but I am really enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling of finishing a project and wearing it around. Maybe later this year I will even dig into the box of unfinished cross-stitch pictures. There are a bunch that I adore that are in a half completed (or more)(or less) state. It would be fun to see them framed and up on the wall.

I guess there is one more goal for the week - to organize the wool / yarn / dye stash and get dyeing so I will have some more roving and yarn for sale! It will be so much easier when I know what needs to be dyed /spun and what is ready to go out the door. I am feeling like cooking up some fun springtime colors.

Blah

Blah blah blah knitting blah blah blah yoga blah blah blah cats blah blah blah. So predictable.

Just yesterday I posted about Season 1 of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and when I got home it was waiting in my box of Christmas-presents-they-had-to-mail-me-because-I-was-under-a-rock. How cool is that? There was, sadly, no yarn. I popped it right into the tv (after knitting and yoga) and settled in for some knitting. It is definitely the funniest one.

It seems there is no Arts Walk tonight, so I will be home doing chores, tidying up, setting out the trash bins, and then weaving. I have one more disc of the current audio book waiting for me. I have to find out if they save the world or not. It is a Clive Cussler novel, so I bet they will.

Apparently it is supposed to rain this weekend. I am in favor of that. Saturday I have big plans to go to the Orange County Museum of Art and the farmer's market. There is a nascent plan that Denise is going to come over on Sunday and help me finish putting together the floor loom. Even if I don't warp it up right away, it will be reassuring to know it is assembled and ready to rock and roll.

Looking Forward

I have been having a good time lately. Last weekend I warped up the loom and have been weaving industriously with my own charkha-spun cotton singles. I have the ingenious shuttle (from New World Textiles) that allows me to just drop the spindle in and weave away - a good thing because I do not have a bobbin winder. Yet. I am amazed at how much progress I am making, and how much fun I am having. I get all set up in the bird room, and have a book-on-cd playing, cocoa on the table and dogs at my feet. Life is good. And the best part is that soon I will have dishtowels. Special thanks to Denise for nagging me and to Fran for the loan of her warping board.

I watched "The Queen" this weekend, and found it OK. It was well-acted, but I am no Diana-phile, so the whole premise was mildly annoying. I also finished the last season of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". They are easy on the eyes, but season one was the best. "House" season 3 starts arriving tonight *wheee*.

Some knitting also occurred - on the sweater and on sock #2 of the watermelon tourmaline socks. I finished sock #1 in July and then suffered a sudden bout of second sock syndrome. tonight is sock knitting class at Knit N Stitch, and then on Friday they are having movie night, where I anticipate good sweater progress will be made. Bring on the merlot.

This week's big adventure is to go to the market and get canned goods to pay my library fine for the book I have had since the Hawai'i trip. Then I can get a new book and some books on cd which I will actually read instead of carting around everywhere and not reading.

I had a long talk with myself about Mr. Fixit last night and feel better about the whole mess today. I haven't been posting about it much because everyone is sick of hearing about it and I get a lot of pressure to "get over it" and find someone new. However, it is still difficult for me and I am SO not ready to try dating again. My ususal habit is to have about a year between relationships, and if that is just how long it takes, that is going to be OK. I am sarcastic, standoffish, and impatient with some things, and highly sensitive about others. Highly. That is just how I was made.

Anyway, I should get some work done at some point today. Or at least clean the fishtank.