Author Archives: zardra

Time Warp

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The closer I get to the end the further away it seems to be*. 16 rows of lace left on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. I think it feels like it’s taking so long because I have my next project picked out. I can’t start the new shawl until this one is done, because I know I would leave the Wool Peddler’s Shawl behind, uncompleted. If I just finish it before moving on I won’t have to worry about it staring at me from the knitting bag I keep it in. Lace does that you know… stares glaringly when you have cast it aside for another project. At least my lace projects do. If you have a deadline for the lace project it mumbles incoherently as well; it knows it shouldn’t be forgotten because it has a debut to look forward to.

I’m still procrastinating on the main part of my secret pal’s last package. This time around I am blaming it on my yard stick going missing, which isn’t really much of an excuse. It’s just that it’s the only long straight edge I have. I’ll either have to find it or make do… most likely I’ll be making do, then I’ll find it when I no longer need it.

*I always think of Waiting for Godot when I think of the idea of approaching infinity. My English teacher even had an inclass demonstration… she put a garbage can across the room and told the student to walk towards the garbage can, each stride was to be half the size of the one before. He could walk forever and never reach the garbage can. For some reason she explained it better than my calculus teacher did.

For whom the dust floats

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The insanity of a trip to Ikea is not too bad when you know what it is you want and when you do it at 6:30 pm on a Friday. One desk, 4 bookcases, and 1 Pöang chair with ottoman. Saturday, I went off to the LYS while the Husband stayed at home, assembled new furnature, and did away with the largest of the old bookcases. Sunday, we moved the other old bookcase out of the living room and replaced it with a bookcase/drawer combo thing that had been in the office. And there was much dust, sweat, and rejoicing to have it done.

Unfortunately, all the dust set off my asthma yesterday and I had to go home early from work. Thankfully, a couple hits off my inhaler did the job. I hate the idea of having to go to the emergency room for an attack; the amount of medicine they give me makes me really ill. The Husband came home early as well to make sure I was alright, and he made me peppermint tea, which helped a lot.

Sitting around taking it easy yesterday afternoon allowed me to finish my Mom’s birthday gift. Then I did a couple more rows on the Wool Peddler’s Shawl… only 19 more rows of lace to go. I’m looking forward to this shawl being done, not because I’m bored with it, which I’m not, but because I want to get started on my Brooks Farm shawl for myself. Aside from the odd pair of socks, I haven’t made anything for myself in awhile. This time it’s my turn to get something pretty.

The plans are layed

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Tonight, the husband and I will be venturing forth to Ikea to partake of their no sales tax sale. There shall be much office furniture buying. And yea, the middle bedroom shall be transformed into his cave (his choice of words, not mine). We’re looking at picking up 2 tall bookcases, 2 short bookcases, and a desk. The desk that’s in there now suffered heavy damage (okay, so 2 legs fell off and had to be glued back on) during the last move. The 2 short bookcases chall go under the window while the 2 tall bookcases will replace the aged bookcases already there (shelves shouldn’t bow, nor should the sides of the bookcase try to separate itself from the shelves). I’m not entirely sure that we’ll be able to fit it all in the car in one go, so I’ll probably take some knitting to keep me company if I have to stand guard over the second load while the husband runs the first load home.

Tomorrow, I shall be leaving him to his own devices to put together said furnature (it makes him feel like a man, so why not?). In the meantime, I shall be scooting myself down to the university to return books (crap, I just remember I can’t just drop them in the book return… one has to be turned in all special like cause it’s from SFSU). I am considering stopping by Peanuts (this tasty, greasy food joint next to the university) to get one of the best Philly cheesesteak sandwiches ever… of course, it isn’t exactly a Philly cheesesteak the way I order it… chicken instead of beef and mushrooms instead of bell peppers, but it’s still got onions and gooey cheese (it’s going to take something like 8 of my weekly points (Weight Watchers) but, damn, it’ll be worth it… way better than the 4 glasses of wine I could get for the same amount). Mmmmm…. okay, now I’m drooling on my keyboard, that’s bad. I only get to get one every now and again since I don’t actually have to go to campus for my classes. Then, on to the LYS for an afternoon of stitching and bitching with the colorful lot that frequents the place, and to hopefully, pick up my new drum carder (must remember gift certificate so I can actually take drum carder home with me). Mmm… drum carder. I could start washing up that merino fleece I just got and then carder it without it taking forever.

It’s been one of those weeks…

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Otherwise, I would have posted a lot more.

Haven’t really been knitting.

Haven’t done any spinning.

On Monday:

  • I found out I got a raise ($0.52 an hour).
  • I found out my grandfather was hospitalised on Friday because he was experiencing breathing problems. According to what my dad (it’s his father) has told me my grandfather’s lungs are like swiss cheese, and both sides of his heart are weakened. There’s talk of a hospice… it could be 1-2 months or 1-2 years… after seeing the results from the cardiogram, the doctor said maybe 6 months. (This is kind of depressing but not terribly surprising… my grandfather has had a couple heartattacks and smoked a lot when he was younger… and my grandmother died in August, right before I started this blog… He’s the stoic one in the family… my grandmother was the backbone.)

On Tuesday:

    I started Weight Watchers…. well, actually I had my first weigh-in. *ugh* I started following the Core plan on Wednesday. Only a couple bumps in the road so far… the soy milk I’ve had my cappucinos made with was not plain like I thought (it’s got a little bit of sugar)… and eating lunch at work is a pain in the ass… a big, giant, pain in the ass. My near-by options are fast food, which is out, and all sorts of fried things. *sigh*

Today:

    For some reason, my cube is freezing… I might need to open a maintanance ticket with facilities. My finger tips should not feel like ice cubes.

Friday and weekend plans

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I actually woke up at 7:30 this morning and felt ready to get up. I wish I could say it’s because I’m finally getting used to Daylight Savings Time (which I loathe with a passion), but I think it’s more likely that I just finally got a good night’s sleep after seeing my chiropractor yesterday. Having my neck and lower back adjusted gets rid of the stiff back feeling I’ve had every other morning this week.

After the storm we had whip through here yesterday and seeing some blue sky this morning I thought it would be safe to ride my scooter to work. My scooter is now getting it’s first bath. Between the wind and the rain pourin down you’d think it was January.

I’m still feeling some knitting blahs and didn’t work on anything last night. I looked at the Wool Peddler’s Shawl and thought about working on it, but then proceeded to completely ignore it. I think I mihgt take the Brooks Farn yarn to the LYS with me tomorrow and see if I can garner suggestions… I should at the very least get opinions. 🙂 If you’ve ever been to the Rug and Yarn Hut, you know what I mean. One important thing I need to take care of while I’m there tomorrow is ordering a drum carder. *squee* The husband and his parents went in together and got me a gift certificate that’ll pay for half a drum carder, and I should be getting my bonus for Q1 in a couple weeks, which’ll cover the other half. If it’s anywere near as nifty as I understand drum carders to be, I just might have to name it “My Precious.”

Speaking of names… I think I have finally come up with a good name for my scooter… Sake. It’s a Yamaha, which means it’s Japanese, and it’s a Vino scooter, which is Italian for wine… so, Sake — Rice wine. *hehe* Bad, I know. But it seems fitting.

The most important part of this weekend will be Sunday. The husband has arranged for a sauna/hot tub session at Watercourse Way in Palo Alto to be followed by massages. Mmmmm….

Nothing to report, not really

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The fiber blahs
Nothing new is really happening on the knitting front. I’m still working on the lace of the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. It’s going much smoother than it was when I didn’t know how to count. Since I finished the Cappucino socks, the Wool Peddler’s Shawl is the only thing I’ve got going. Maybe that’s the problem… it feels weird to only have one thing to work on; I’m used to having a choice. Maybe I should start considering what to do with my Brook’s Farm yarn with more seriousness. Another I don’t know if I want to work on 2 shawls at the same time… especially since both of them would be out of a wool/mohair worsted yarn. *blah* Too similar. Maybe another pair of socks is in order. They’re so nice to carry around in my purse. I also have the Noro that I picked up at Knitting by the Sea with the gift certificate my sister gave me for Christmas (they were having a sale… everything was 20% off… I got 3 skeins of Noro Kuryeon for a felt bag, and 2 skeins of a superwash sock yarn is this great light turquoise color)… I think if I were to do another felted bag out of Noro, I would make it wider than the first one (which I made following the Booga Bag pattern). Too many things to contemplate just for one new project. (And a felt bag out of the Noro would only take a couple days.) I want to make myself a cardigan, but I have sort of made that a reward for losing a certain amount of weight (that is a ways off… although I’m starting Weight Watchers on Tuesday so maybe I’ll get then quicker than I am on my own). I might just make the reward knitting myself a Rogue sweater, and make a cardigan now so I’m not cold at work.

I’ve been wanting to do some spinning, but by the time I get home I feel uninspired. I spun up some singles out of this merino fleece I just got… I washed a small sample (needed 2 soap baths), let it dry, then carded it. But I haven’t even bothered to ply it yet. I dyed some of the light grey romney roving I have thinking that might get me going, but nothing.

It’s a bit frustrating wanting to do these things, but feeling a lack of motivation.

Secret Pal
Maybe I’m feeling the knitting blahs cause I am procrastinating working on my secret pal’s last installment. (Since she isn’t going to get it any time soon… it’ll probably wing it’s way to her closer to the end of the month and the end of Secret Pal 4… I’ll divulge.) The main part of this month’s shipment is going to be a handmade needle case. I am going to experiment first and make one for myself (my needles are getting out of control). But working on this requires getting my sewing machine set up properly again… and possibly getting additional bobbins, which you can just see me rushing out to do.

RAOK
I’m a little worried that I RAOK I sent out last month may have run into problems. I had Delivery Confirmation on it, and the post office claims it was delivered. But the person I sent it to never acknowledged it. So, now I’ve got thoughts running through my head like the postal person delivered it, but only left it on the door step and someone happened by and took it, running off to enjoy yarn and chocolate by themselves. *gah* What can I say, I have an active imagination. I will just have to hope that it did reach it’s intended recipiant, who is now busy rolling around in yarn with a mouth full of chocolate. *grin*

9 + 1 does indeed equal 10

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Cappucino Socks
Les Cappucino Socks sont finis!

I finished them at Lulu Carpenter’s in Santa Cruz Saturday night… sort of. I finished the toe decreases and couldn’t for the life of me remember how to graft the toe shut. So they were officially finished Sunday morning with the Kitchner instructions in front of me. You would think with the number of times I’ve done this I could remember how to do it.

For complete details, see Finished Objects from Outer Space.

The Wool Peddler’s Shawl
I kept trying, but I could not make 9 + 1 = 10. Then, I figured out that I was missing a yarn over. My brain kept it in the equation, I understood exactly where it belonged in the pattern, but I neglected to actually, physically include it in the shawl. So, now the lace portion is truely underway… let the rejoicing beginning.

Scooter
Today I rode my scooter to work… it was fun. *grin* I had no problems with my laptop strapped across my back. I thought it might give me some slight problems, moving around or the weight of it. But, for the most part, I didn’t really notice it.

I have also just gotten word that my new helmet (in wine) is in. The husband, who is taking the day off from work due to stress, is coming to get me so I can pick it up and get lunch with him. I’ll be able to ride home without my eyes getting all teary from the wind… sunglasses work a little, but a visor will be so much better. And it’s red… my favorite color red. *sqeee*

Permitted to raise hell…

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Scooter update
Got up this morning, and after heading to the coffee shop, went to the DMV. The husband came with (I think he really wanted to aovid going into work cause he’s not feeling well — allergies). Got right into line for people without appointments — took about 20 minutes to get to the counter where they gave me the form I needed to fill out and my ticket number (G123.. they were on G67.. fun). I actually only waited about an hour before they called my number, which was amazing considering that the listed wait time went from 51 minutes to 1 hour 29 minutes during my wait. Finally got called, paid my $25 fee, and got to stand in another line to get my picture taken and get my test. The guy puts me into the sytem: signature, thumb print, and photo (*ugh*), and hands me my test. I go off to take it, slightly confused because it’s the automobile written test, not the motorcycle written test. I take it anyway. Get into another line to get my test graded (only missed one question… you’re allowed to miss 6 your first time). This is when the grader dude realizes that I was supposed to take the motorcycle written test. He hands me the new test and tells me to come right back to him… thank goodness I don’t have to stand in line again. I missed 3 questions (you’re allowed to miss 4)… whew, just a little close, eh? But, I am now permitted by the state of CA to drive my scooter during daylight hours, not on freeways, and without passengers. I have a year to either take the on-cycle skills test or take the safety class, which waives the skills test but costs $200.

The book
I have finally gotten my hands on Stephanie’s book (I also finally managed to get a copy of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead on DVD) thanks to a local Barnes & Noble. Amazon, meanwhile, sent me a lame e-mail:

Hello, and thank you for writing back to us at Amazon.com with your
concern.

First, please allow me to extend my most sincere apologies for any
frustration this matter has caused.

I have checked “At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too
Much” on our web site and found that this item was released on March
15, 2005.

Please note that the availability of this item on our web site
is “Usually ships within 2 to 3 days from Amazon.com.”

This item has proven to be a very popular item. We have many customer
orders for this item, and we’ve just begun receiving copies from our
suppliers. We are filling orders as quickly as we can on a first-
come, first-served basis. I apologize for any misunderstanding.

In addition to a wide selection of items, one of our aims at
Amazon.com is to provide a convenient and efficient service; in this
case, we have not met that standard.

I am truly sorry that we were not able to fulfill your expectations
for this level of service. I hope that you will give us another
opportunity to prove the quality of our service to you.

I have already read about a quarter of it — laughing for most of it, horrified on one occasion (that poor grey sweater…), but overall greatly enjoying myself. The husband seems to be getting a laugh out of it, too… but he has begun to understand the wool thing since I knit him socks and a sweater.

Thanks
I just want to say thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. They were great. 🙂

Ups and Downs of a Thursday

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Scooter
This morning I was doing my best impression of an unhappy camper. “Why?” you ask. Well, I got up, picked out a decent outfit, and spent 15 minutes putting on make-up (I only wear make-up for special occasions and when I know there’ll be pictures). I looked pretty cute, too. Then, I pulled up the DMV website to get directions to the branch I was going to… only to discover that they’re all closed today for Caesar Chavez Day. *GAH!* Between the wasted time getting ready and the paper cut I got under a fingernail when I was checking to make sure my checkbook was in my purse, I was not happy. I wanted to scream… I cried instead… stupid hormones. So, tomorrow morning I get to do it all again for the pleasure of trying to get my motorcycle permit. That means another day of nervous waiting. I know I should be nervous, the majority of the questions are ridiculously easy (the only ones I might have problems with are that ones that specifically refer to motocycle things like clutches and gears). No what I’m nervous about is absoluately stupid… I’m afraid I’m going to be made to take the auto written test and not pass it. See? Stupid. But these are the kinds of things that get stuck in my head and continue to rattle around. This is why I started knitting in the first place.

Bookbookbook
I have canceled my order with amazon. It still hadn’t shipped and I kind of doubt it would have shipped tomorrow. A call was placed to a local Barnes & Noble, where a very nice bookseller has put my name on a copy, and it is currently waiting for me to go and pick it up. Guess what my first stop on my way home from work will be… go on guess. *grin* If all goes well, I will be in possession of the bookbookbook by this evening. (It shouldn’t be this difficult to get a newly released book.)

Wool Peddler’s Shawl
I finally say down a couple nights ago to try and figure out what was going on with the Wool Peddler’s Shawl. I frogged back to the setup row, and I thought I figured out the problem when I found a dropped stitch about 6 rows down (the nice thing about the Peace Fleece is the stitches don’t run if you drop them). I used a crochet hook to bring it up, recounted my stitches, 231 the correct number according to the pattern. Start the lace again. Row 1 no problems, everything appeared to fall where it belonged. Row 2 had the same exact issue as before… the pattern wasn’t lining up correctly. It’s a 10 st lace pattern… I have 10 sts… I try to knit Row 2’s 10 sts (K1, P9) and it’s off by a stitch… I recounted 10 sts at least 5 times.. I even looked at the chart. Have I lost all capacity to count? That would be hard luck on a knitter, I think. I have no idea what it is I’m doing wrong. I might give it another go tonight… but if I’m still not getting it, it’s definitely going to the LYS on Saturday.

The Night o’ Birthday Fun

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Yesterday, I turned 28. When I was 18, 28 seemed a long way off. Now that I’ve gotten here, looking back it seems that I am squinting to see back then, while it feels just around the corner at the same time. Maybe I just have a loopy sense of time.

The husband and I carpooled, making a stop for coffee. One of the coffee making people was also celebrating his birthday, so he gave me a birthday hat to wear (it came off before I got to work). I spent most of the day at work feeling distracted and listless; I would have preferred being somewhere else. The husband picked me up at 4:30 so we could rush home, drop off his computer, and pick up the theater tickets. Then, it was off to the city. (Yes, I know San Jose is now larger than SF in population, but I think SF will always be “the city” to those living in the South Bay.)

We got to Millennium just in time for our reservations. I had the Black Bean Torte (whole wheat tortilla, caramelized plantains, smoky black bean puree, rich pecan mole, cashew sour cream, carrot-onion escabeche) as an appetizer, and a very tasty artichoke and stinging nettle gratin as an entree. We got our half bottle of Pinot Noir for half off cause they have a special called “Wine Geek Tuesdays.” Unfortunately, there was no time for dessert because we had to drive down to Union Square to park, then get to the theater for a 7 pm curtain.

We saw The Voysey Inheritance at the ACT Theater. It was a very interesting play, but out of all the ones we’ve seen this season, not my favorite. I had my second Cappucino Sock with me, so I took it out at intermission. It drew the attention of a lady who informed me she had recently learned how to knit. I tried to keep knitting when the second half started up, but it was too dark and I had to put it away.

Because we had been unable to have dessert at the restaurant, the husband whipped up a batch of yummy caramelized peaches on ice cream — a very nice ending to the day.

Overall, my birthday didn’t go too badly… and I do have a nice shiny birthday present to myself sitting in our parking space. Tomorrow, I’m going to head to the DMV early to see it I can pass the written driving test(s). Once I get my permit I can start scooting to work.