Pictures! At Last.

Here's what I've been up to lately:

The Zebra sock and heel about to be turned. I finally got the second Addi turbo needle. To be fair, Patternworks was zippy with their order fulfillment, I'm just impatient!

And then last night, I finally got around to making myself a copy of the purseket. I used the left over (really lightweight) denim from the apron I made SpiceGirl for her birthday and a batik-looking remnant bought a while back. I used seriously heavy interfacing to give it stand-up-ability!

|
2004-04-01, 7:48 a.m.

Village of the Arts

Down in Bradenton, the city found a great way to reclaim a beat-down old neighborhood. For the past 5 years they've been transforming tiny Cracker houses into art galleries and studios. About 80 percent of the artists live and work in their studios. When we visited his folks last weekend we toured the Village of the Arts. The four of us had a wonderful time bumbling around the old neighborhood. Apparently, Hubby and family lived in that area for a little while before moving down the road.

Outside the galleries, the artists also decorated the sidewalks. Sometimes it was wiggly scratches in the concrete, sometimes they painted a tiny mural.

The houses are painted in Key West style: bright teal, yellow, purple and other tropical colors.

On the first Friday night of each month, they have a gallery walk w/ trolleys, music and art. How cool.

|
2004-03-31, 8:15 a.m.

Taxes, I Banish Thee

Finished the tax prep last night. Yahoo!

As a treat, I knitted on the Zebra sock.

Resisted the urge to purchase more sock yarn from Elann.com.

And because I can't find enough to do (yeah, right), I joined a lip balm swap on one of the forums I visit. I'm thinking of either making Banana-Split (chocolate and banana flavors) or Kiss Me, Damnit (a more grown up flavor to be determined). Should be fun. I've been a lip-balm/gloss/stick junkie since Bonne Bell and I were both young.
|
2004-03-30, 8:05 a.m.

Can't talk....taxes.

Spent the evening preparing my taxes. Big fun. I'll be glad when it's over with. We meet with the accountant on Thursday.

|
2004-03-29, 9:43 a.m.

Weekend!

Sometimes you get to the beach, sometimes you get to the yardwork for your elderly (shhh, don't tell them) in-laws. (shrugs)

We cleared a patch of yard instead.

Eventually I got a chance to say hi to the water when we went to DeSoto landing point. It's where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico. Mangrove trees grow into canopies over the walkways they put in recently. Some of the areas original wildness prevails so you can duck around the mangroves and wander up the coast line. Jean-in-Law showed us where she had recently painted/drawn/sketched and went picking out new venues.

Bonus: Jean gave us one of her acrylic paintings! It's gorgeous. I love decorating with the art of folks I know.

Knitting news: Made a boring dishcloth while spending time with the family. Just busywork knitting. Hope the new Addis get here soon.
|
2004-03-26, 8:06 a.m.

Spring in My Step

We're going on a road trip this weekend. Should be fun and I think both Fatso the cat and I will be glad for a break from our daily pill routine. He's getting more adept at holding, then spitting out his pills.

Compulsively checked on my orders from Elann and Patternworks today. As if that will make them show up faster. Der.

The beach calls...
|
2004-03-25, 8:09 a.m.

I'm No Techie

Tried yesterday to add Haloscan commenting to my blog to no avail. I gave up in frustration after following the directions which didn't work.

Will probably give it another stab later.

The car was a cheap fix: more Freon. It only needed a half-can. It was under $50 to fix. Hurrah!
|
2004-03-24, 3:27 p.m.

3_Words: Grounds For Divorce

Ok, saw this article on the Chronicle.

See, for an experiment, he should have seen if he could do this w/o the wife's income and undoubtably the family's support. yesh.
|
2004-03-24, 7:45 a.m.

Off the Yarn Wagon

Ok, confession time: I fell off the yarn wagon yesterday. Bought a bunch of cotton/elastic skeins from Elann.com. Enough to make pairs of socks for me, hubby, me and the Support Goddess (yes, again). My Local Yarn Store is having their annual yardsale. I may give it a miss so I don't break the bank again. It's hard to believe a year's passed already since their last one. That one was held the day Hubby graduated w/ his Ph.d. I snuck out of the relative-laden house in the wee hours to buy bargain yarn.

This time, on the anniversary of his defense, I'm going to burn the PostIt notes that were a huge part of our life during the dissertation process.

Yellow, pink and green notes covered almost every flat surface. Books were flagged seemingly on every page with some sort of vital note on a sticky piece of paper.

As a graduation gift to me, he presented them all to me last year in a Godiva chocolate box to "Do with as I will."

I think a ceremonial blaze is appropriate.

Knitting news: Worked on Zebra sock. The new Addi Turbo needles still aren't here. sigh.
|
2004-03-22, 8:31 p.m.

Washer Update

The washer is fixed. It was a simple fix for the repairfolk to do. Hubby got to watch and learn how to open up the cabinet of the washing machine. I told him that we basically paid for him to get lessons in fixing the washing machine, a worthy investment. :-)
|
2004-03-22, 8:26 p.m.

Pictures of iPod Cozy, sock in progress

iPod cozy for the Fabulous Chase. I was going for glamour here. Pattern from Stitch & Bitch.

My first real-sized sock on 2 circulars. Pattern from the class, yarn from One Fine Yarn, Cascade Fixation zebra stripe.
|
2004-03-22, 8:02 a.m.

When Things Break

Our first response is, can we fix this ourselves. Usually that means I point Hubby at it. He pokes it, prods it and then thinks about it. He's fixed so many different things that I'm truly convinced he can do anything. Car brakes, pouring slabs of concrete, flat tires, dripping faucets, screening in porches. The list is too long really.

But the washing machine is still dead. We've called in the professionals who will charge a heinous amount to look at it, but I remind myself that we're paying for a House Call and for someone with years of specific experience to fix it, fix it right the first time and keep us from flooding our apartment every time we wash clothes.

And then the a/c on our car broke. For folks up North, this is laughable this time of year, but summer begins here, in about 5 minutes. It's not running cold anymore. Drawing on my many years of auto experience, I think this is the cheapest fix of all a/c problems. It needs a recharge of whatever Freon is called these days. We can't do this ourselves either. And that's OK.

Knitting news: Finished the iPod cozy for the Fabu Chase.

Worked on the socks some more, but the bamboo needle is making me buggy. Can't wait for the other Addi to get here from Patternworks.

Today, I'll probably break down and buy more sock yarn (cotton/elastic combo) from Elann. Good prices and down South, cotton gets you more wear than wool!
|
2004-03-20, 6:38 p.m.

3 Words: Deep Fried Oreos

As Hubby says, in an effort to expand our culinary adventures, we split a plate of deep-fried Oreos. It was incredible. Gooey and chocolate and served with a generous dusting of powdered sugar and Hershey's chocolate syrup. YUM!

We visited Rusty Miller. Broke the bank and bought a slightly larger serving dish and a tall coffee mug that is holding my iced green tea.

Rode in a school bus to the Garden Show since the parking lot filled up before the show even began! It was a lulling effect. Back in the day, when the earth was young, I rode a school bus 45 minutes one way to High School. Lots of memories there. Being on a school bus this time was much better. No bullies, just Hubby. We opened up the window as the big yella bus rode down a dusty backroad. Azeleas popping with color on both sides of the road and wild dogwoods showed their spring whites. It was lovely.

At the show, there were two full-time serious soapers. I said howdy to both and wished them a great show.

All in all, a beautiful day to be in the garden.

Also, a shout-out and happy wishes to my buddy Karmen, who got married today! Woo hoo, welcome to the dark side.

Knitting news: Made real progress on the black/white sock on 2 circulars. It's moving along. Saw that the LYS (local yarn store) is offering a class in fairisle knitting. I'm sorely tempted.

Happy Spring!
|
2004-03-19, 4:10 p.m.

New Toy at Work! & Some Knitting

We got the Adobe CS here at work and it ROCKS!!! I've been playing in Illustrator CS and have managed to produce:

cool, eh?

Knitting news: Managed to connect my sock on 2 circs and am semi-happily knitting ribbing in the round in zebra striped yarn. I ordered another Addi Turbo needle in US#5 b/c the bamboo is driving me buggy. The yarn catches on the join... very frustrating to me. Bring on the Turbos, bring on the speed. I am not afraid.
|
2004-03-19, 8:03 a.m.

Spring Garden Show Wish List

This weekend is the Spring Garden Show here in town. I've previously pedaled my soap at this fair, but decided it was too much work for too little reward. It's a great show to ATTEND, however.

I'm looking forward to:

• a chance at another deep fried Twinkie

• Rusty Miller's pottery. Beauty & practicality at wonderful prices

• wandering around sniffing herbs and goggling at flowers

• saying "Hi" to fellow soapers who haven't given up on this show yet

The weekend is but a breath away, but first I have to get through the day.
|
2004-03-18, 8:24 a.m.

Sleepy Girl

Didn't do squat last night.

Read my trashy novel for about a half-hour then slept. ALOT.

Today, I hope to really read those 2-circulars instructions I found online and try that. I can't get to the knitting store this week. Maybe next week...
|
2004-03-17, 9:44 a.m.

You Know Spring Break's Over When...

The students come back to your apartment complex and are searching the dumpster for their gerbils!

"Dude, where'd my gerbils go?"

I *wish* I was making this up.

And Hubby is getting to read some of the worst journals from his students ever. The most recent batch mentioned that America is the greatest country in the world because this student and her friends can go 4-wheeling in the local mud bog. (!)

Knitting news: I'm having a hard time with the 2 needle thingy. I've cast on three times for the same sock. The good news is that I'm getting lots of practice with the knitted-caston. Joining is puzzling. I think I may have joined properly last night. We'll see.
|
2004-03-16, 8:14 a.m.

Socks on 2 Circs, Reprise

I tried starting my socks on 2 circular needles last night. Using the zebra-striped black, white & gray Cascade Fixation yarn and the US#5 needles, I cast on and then couldn't for the life of me remember how to join them! (smacks forehead here) Will attempt this again with more sleep in me and the Support Goddess by my side.

In the meantime, I offer up the website I found that has socks on 2 circulars w/ photos (socknitters.com)
|
2004-03-15, 10:39 p.m.

Reason #2,459 To Hate My Apartment Complex

The Day After The Party. Those are beer bottles on a poor dead azelea bush. It's art to some, I'm sure.

|
2004-03-14, 5:29 p.m.

Grape Ape Socks Done!

Finished the Grape Ape socks for Children In Common.

Accompanying these socks will be some Beanie Babies:

Also here's a picture of my first sock knit on 2 circulars. The heel is freakishly long, but that's OK, it was just a demo.

|
2004-03-13, 6:34 p.m.

Kitty Update & Sock Class

Fatso is again lounging in his favorite chair--outside on the porch on a beautiful spring day. He's on two kinds of meds, which I get to deposit into his unwilling maw twice a day. Hubby doesn't think Fatty takes too well to being pilled by him. Lucky me.

The sock knitting class (Socks on 2 Circulars) was great. Charlotte is a natural teacher. Two folks who signed up for the course weren't there, so it was just us two students. In about 3 hours, I made a toddler-sized sock. It was so fast. And now I can't wait to try that technique on other projects that would use DPN (double pointed needles).

So, once I finish the iPod cozy for Chase, it's off to the races using some of that plug-ugly Cascade Fixation yarn I got in a grab-bag to make myself a pair of socks.
|
2004-03-12, 8:30 a.m.

Sick Kitty

Fatso on a sunny day on the porch surveying his domain from a canvas chair.

My poor old Fatso-cat is ill. He's a very lazy cat usually. But when he was not even interested in food, of course we worry.

The vet says he's got crystals in his kidneys and inflammation in his lungs (which would explain his wheezing & gasping for breath recently). She (the vet) says it's all treatable though. Thank goodness.

|
2004-03-11, 7:59 a.m.

Soon, Sister, Soon

You really can decorate a whole house in Hello Kitty gear. From Target:

I remember collecting embarrassing amounts of Sanrio stuff as a kid.

|
2004-03-10, 8:04 a.m.

The Last Temptation of Yarn

Yeah, right... the *last*. I think I'm in love with this new elastic/cotton yarn that Elann is coming out with in a few weeks. Ooooh, the colors. And the fact that it's cotton. I love cotton and down here in the South, summer starts in about a month.

Here's wishing Karmen a safe trip and a great wedding day. I can't believe it's in only two weeks!

Knitting news: Worked on a dishcloth. Whee. I'm determined to finish the GrapeApe socks this week so I can ship off them and the Beanies.