Author Archives: zardra

Heller Estate Ladybug release

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On June 6th, the Husband and I drove down to my parents’ place in Monterey so that we all could go to the Heller Estate Ladybug Release Party, which they were holding for members of their wine club. The vineyard is up in Carmel Valley… it took us about an hour to get there from Hwy. 1.

Vines

There was wine, cheese, fruit, that sort of thing. I was very upset about not being able to drink anything (vicodin and wine don’t mix), but was glad that that didn’t mean I go stuck driving those hideous winding mountain roads to get there. There were kitties who were very friendly — the orange and white tabby was named Chardonnay, and the grey tabby was named Merlot. Since I spent a lot of time sitting in one place, they seemed to have no problem with wandering over to let me pet them.

We were given a short tour of the winery… the tour was short only because the winery is small. The vintner and the owners talking about making organic wines and what is involved. The vintner even showed us his prize compost heap. Barn swallows nest in the eaves of the building and eat lots of insects. The have owl houses to bring in nesting owls, which along with the cats, help with rodents. They also release ladybugs to control aphids. We split up into groups of two, and each group got a container of ladybugs and a spray bottle with a sugar solution. The instructions were simple… open the container, spray the lady bugs, spray the vines, shake out the ladybugs.


Unfortunately, I found aphids on my chives a couple days later… I should have smuggled some ladybugs home with me.

Loopy Liz

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The painkillers must have made me a lot more loopy last week than I thought they did. One of the first emails I got this morning at work was about an alert not being up on the website. So, I check, yup, not there. But, I was sure I had done it on Friday… it was one of the last things I did before leaving… I thought. Perhaps I had made the necessary changes, but forgot to change the dates it should be viewable… nope, it wasn’t there at all. Oops. I’m still pretty sure I took care of it on Friday even though I now have pretty clear evidence that I didn’t. So, loopiness is the only explanation.

The weekend was thankfully rather uneventful. The Husband and I went to the LYS on Sat for a couple hours. I regaled the usual attendees with the details of my accident soon after which a motorcycle ran into an SUV at the nearby intersection causing all sorts of excitement as cops and an ambulance arrived with flashing lights. This all lead into an interesting conversation of the worst accidents we had ever seen/been in, which for some reason lead into a conversation about stupid criminals. Never a dull moment at my LYS.

Sunday was spent mostly in my pajamas. 🙂 I didn’t get dressed until about 3 pm. Then, we headed out to go to the hardware store, where an adapter was acquired to attach a coil garden hose to the kitchen sink. This was an amazing feat because with this simple hose adapter I can now water my plants with incredible speed. Previously, I would lug pitchers of water from the sink to the balcony upwards of 8 times to get all the plants watered. Now, I simply attach the hose (w/adapter) to the sink and walk out to the balcony, the hose slowly uncoiling behind me. 50 feet of purple coiled hose… it’s a wonder. And, it even came with a spray nozzle with different spray settings… fancy. 🙂 Yes, I truly am that excited about this… come the melty hot days of July, when the plants have to be watered every day or else they crisp beyond repair, I can keep the plants refreshed with minimal effort on my part. If my knee didn’t hurt, I’d be dancing a jig. 😀

Beginning to feel human again

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I saw my chiropractor on Monday, which helped to get rid of most of my upper body pain (it was all coming from my neck). Saw a doctor on Tuesday (not my doctor cause this is the week she has chosen to be in Boston), and was told if it still hurts in a week I should see my doctor, then I was given a sample of Celebrex to help with the inflammation. Unfortunately, I can’t take any of my happy 600 mg Motrin while taking the Celebrex, but the Celebrex did reduce what’s left of the swelling by half… and I can still take the Vicodin (wheee!). And the doctor said I don’t need to wear the infernal brace anymore. I just wish I didn’t have to come into work. I can’t seem to find a comfortable position to put my knee in, and it feels stiff whenever I get up. *ugh* And, of course, my knee, which hadn’t hurt for the first 4 days, hurts now that I’m at work.

At least tomorrow’s Friday.

I think the Vicodin has been affecting my brain… I was putting some arnica on my bruises the other day and got thinking about how I could dye some yarn with a orange-y yellow, a reddish violet, a bluish indigo, and a blue black and call it “Bruised.” It would certainly match the bruise on my hip. It would just be a matter of getting the colors right…. definitely the Vicodin.

I’ve been slowly working on the new shawl I’m doing with the Brooks Farm Duet. I still haven’t gotten to the end of the part of the ball that I ripped out of the Beginner’s Triangle Shawl. I hadn’t realized I had used that much yarn. What I do need to do is come up with a good name for it… Sadly, nothing is coming to mind when I look at the shawl. Purple, blue, and black just don’t bring anything to the front of my brain… and it’s missing the yellow and reddish tones for my bruise colorway idea. *grin* I also need to commit to a lace edging. There are a couple in Heirloom Knitting that I am considering; perhaps whichever one I choose will lend a name to the shawl.

Dope Fiend

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So, I would have posted this last night, but we didn’t get home from the hospital till almost 10 pm.

I had a bit of an accident on my way home from work yesterday. The cars in front of me stopped suddenly. I put my scooter down instead of slamming into the back of a car.

Thankfully, nothing is broken. I was walking (albeit with a limp) and talking after it happened. (I doubt anyone who stopped to help me reads any blogs, but I would still like to put my thanks out there.)

I called Josh to tell him what had happened and he left work. The nice people in the car behind me had called 911 and said an ambulance was on it way, but it never showed. A cop did cruise by, but I guess since I wasn’t still laying in the road he figured everything was cleared up. I’m glad I had my knitting with me, it gave me something to do other than losing it in a Safeway parking lot (Besides, my favorite Elizabeth Zimmermann quote is “Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises”). Josh arrived and it was decided that he would follow me home, then I would get in the car and we would go to the ER.

The nice ER people weren’t too worried about my head, since I had no head pain or vision problems and had been wearing a helmet. The main reason I went was the searing pain in my right knee and hip (the first 2 things to hit the ground). They took x-rays of my knee, but they looked fine. The doctor pronounced contusion and hematoma, saying something about the cartilage on the back of my knee cap. My hip is just bruised (ha, just bruised… the thing is about 5 inches across… ow). I was set up with a knee immobilizer and a prescription for Vicodin and 600 mg Motrin (just so you know, regular Advil is 200 mg)… the Motrin stuff is kinda scary… the instructions say in big capitalized letters “Do NOT lay down for 30 minutes after taking this medication.” WTF?

As the triage nurse assured me, I am feeling pain in places I didn’t know I had today. My shoulders and down the tops of my arms are stiff and sore. I’m going to try to see my chiropractor on Monday to make sure I don’t have any whiplash problems. Thankfully, my knee and my hip only hurt if I touch them. But, I pretty much feel like I would expect after hitting the road at about 30 mph.

Sorry, if this is a bit disjointed… I’m going to blame it on the happy drugs.

The really sad thing is I just started spinning up some roving a dyed a few weeks ago… now I probably won’t be able to get back to it for at least 1-2 weeks. *sigh* At least I’ll have plenty of time for knitting. 🙂

SP5 Questionnaire

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1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
I think novelty yarns have their place, but usually that place is not on my needles. I love natural fibers… fibers that breathe… although I’m not terribly fond of 100% cotton, but I’m willing to believe this is because I haven’t met the right kind yet.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I’ve been spinning for over a year now and still love it even if I don’t get a lot of time to do it. I know enough crochet to do a provisional cast-on without too much difficulty.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I have asthma, so things like smoke and heavy perfumes set me off.

4. How long have you been knitting?
I’ve been knitting for almost 3 years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Nope.

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I am fond of herbal scents… lavender, thyme, sage, rosemary, etc.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yup, but I’ve had to cut back on my intake since I started Weight Watchers in April. I’m not saying don’t send me chocolate (mmmm), but things that are easy to have small pieces of are great. 🙂

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Knitting and spinning are pretty much it these days. I like the idea of being creative, but it doesn’t mean I am… and I’m learning to accept that. 🙂

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have ecceltic tastes… I think the only stuff that turns me off is country and rap.

10. What’s your favorite color? Or–do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?
I like burgandy, french blue, and purple. I can’t stand orange and bright greens (like grass green)… they make me look ill when I wear them, so I just avoid them if I can.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Just the Husband and me.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Sorry, I haven’t figured out what I want to be when I grow up, let alone what my life dreams are yet.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I don’t think I have one. There are yarns I like, but none I go out of my way to get, or find myself always knitting with. I can’t even really say anything like “soft yarn” cause I kind of like the way wool is scratchy… it’s a tactile experience.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I find kitchen cottons make my hands ache… and I tend to stay away from artifical yarns (e.g., acrylic) unless I’m knitting for charity where something washable that won’t cause a potential allergic reaction is recommended.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Again, I don’t know that I have any… I knit lace, I knit socks, I knit preemie hats… *shrug* I think socks are the closest thing to an obssesion cause I try to always have a pair of socks going… they’re a great travel project.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
See question 15. 🙂

17. What are you knitting right now?
I am currently knitting a pair of socks for the Husband and a shawl for myself while working on a shawl for my mother-in-law on the side.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
Not for me.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Depends on the project.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo, wood, or plastic, but no metal hurts my hands like cotton.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
Yup.

22. How did you learn to knit?
Knitting for Dummies.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
A year and a half old… I think.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Dragons.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn, roving, and fleeces. 🙂

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I am currently subscribed to Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, and Spin-off.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Not really…. although I am contemplating getting the 3rd Barbara Walker treasury (I have 1 and 2, and they’re great).

P.S. – If you have any other question I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. 🙂

Bigger and Better Things to Come

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Many thanks to Deb! I’m going to rip back the few inches of the Beginner’s Triangle Shawl and start on an adventure… my own shawl. 🙂 Not like I’m doing anything fancy. I’m going to look around and see what lace edgings I like and figure out the base number of stitches for the edging of my choice. That will probably affect whether I start with an odd number of stitches or even. Deb told me she just did a garter stitch triangle, then a lace edging. This is the basic construction of the Wool Peddler’s Shawl I just completed, so this should be pretty straightforward. Nifty. 🙂

I’m also thinking of starting a pair of socks for the Husband since he has managed to wear holes right through the bottoms of both socks in the last pair I made him, now they were a little bit over a year old and he wore them a lot whenever it was cold out. I think they ran into the problem of the carpet in our apartment being rougher stuff than the wool they were made out of. I picked up a couple different colors of a washable wool yarn that looks to be sport weight, so it should work nicely.

I’m also hoping to get the drum carder out of the box sometime this weekend. I got it a month ago, and it’s just been sitting in its box the whole time. I had been so busy with school stuff that I had to ignore it to get assignments done. But, the long weekend should afford me some time to play.

Now for some peppermint tea… and some painkillers… for the kink in my neck is giving me a righteous headache.

JavaScript rots your brain

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I don’t know why but this week has been exhausting; thankfully, it’s at least going by fast. I blame it on the JavaScript project I’ve been working on for work. My manager had the brilliant idea that now that I had done a website with JS, I must be an expert, so I could easily complete this page for marketing. *ugh* I’ve been working on it since last Friday. At least I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is glorious since the light was in doubt until moments ago. I have been building the page in parts, and yesterday I added the last important part of the JS code, and it didn’t work. Everything was working beautifully, then I broke it. I have spent a goodly portion of today taking things out and adding things in an attempt to make it work goddammit. My manager came up with a way to make it work that was akin to using a hammer to make a square peg fit in a round hole. I’m rather proud of my coding finesse (I would have gone into programming if it hadn’t been for the required calculus classes). So, I spent today working on it, and now, finally, it is working. The only thing left for this project is to apply a stylesheet to make it conform to the company website. For some reason I have a feeling that’s going to break it again… of course, that would have nothing to do with the fact that the company website was designed by someone who has a limited grasp on how a website should be designed for usability standards. Anyways, the JS is working — properly, no less — and now my brain is goo. I have a couple more hours of work left and all I can do is stare at the wall. Hopefully, if I keep my head upright my gooey brain won’t leak out my ears.

Actual Knitting Content
I haven’t done much… haven’t even considered the dropped stitch in my Beginner’s Triangle Shawl. Might have something to do with me wondering if this is the pattern I want to use this yarn for. I thought it would be good because I only have 1000 yds, and the pattern says knit till the triangle is as long as you want it, you’re bored, or you’re half way through yarn. But, I’m still in love with what Deb did with her Brooks Farm, and I’m slightly unhappy with the fact that the Beginner’s Triangle Shawl will have vertical stripes…. *ugh* Perhaps an email to Deb is in order to find out how much yarn she needed for her shawl….

Catch it now before it goes away

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My professor gave me full credit for my final project. Yea! But she has said that she’ll be cleaning out our files sometime this week, so see it while you can. An important note: my website seems to only work in IE at the moment as FireFox has handling issues with the JavaScript I used. I don’t know if it’ll work in Safari as I haven’t checked it on my home machine, but if someone tries it and it works, let me know.

Edit: My professor has removed all my files from the server, so no more pretty website.

The end at last

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This afternoon I turned in my last major project of the semester. *sigh* Quite a load off my back. And since I’ve decided to take a break and not have a summer class (even though it’ll set me back a little). You all saw the paper I turned in last Monday… well, unless you ignored it, which I wouldn’t blame you for doing. 🙂 I had a final a couple days ago. Then, today’s assignment, which was a website for my Internet Technology Tools class. I’d share the URL, but I want to make sure my professor grades it before I go sending any traffic its way. Unlike the paper, the website is all about fiber, so it should be more interesting than the history of the Mountain View Public Library.

Shawl
Meanwhile, I started a new shawl for myself… the Beginner’s Triangle Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. The Brooks Farm Duet is so nice and soft, and I haven’t had too much trouble with it spliting, which was a worry I had before I started due to the way the yarn is plied. It’s going to interesting to see how the colors play out since the shawl is knit side to side rather than top to bottom or bottom to top.




Unfortunately, I dropped a stitch while I was knitting and studying on Saturday. I haven’t had the chance to try to pick the stitch back up… I didn’t have good lighting or a crochet hook when I made the mistake. I’ve been too busy or tired to take care of it since then. Picking up stitches requires so much more concentration than knitting does… at least for me.

Fun stuff
Tonight was a tasty steak with mushroom sauce and asparagus in celebration of finishing the semester. Very nice Pinot Noir… I even splurged and had an extra glass (since I have the points for it).

Tomorrow is going to be a half day at work because the Husband and I have tickets to the 2 pm showing of Episode III in Mountain View. *Woo hoo*

The Weight Watchers diet is going really well… I’ve lost 12.6 lbs so far, which is amazing… it’s really hard to believe that a simple change in my diet has done this. Of course, now the pants that I bought a couple months ago are really baggy… I was able to pull them down without undoing them this afternoon… it took a small amount of work, they didn’t just fall off, but they fit nicely when I bought them. I’m about half way to my 10% goal. I guess this is really incredible because when I tried Weight Watchers 2 years ago I only lost like 6 lbs in 13 weeks…. I lost that same amount in 2 weeks this time around. Okay… I’m going to stop sharing now and go drink my wine. 🙂