I'm afraid I might be a knitting snob.

Is it wrong to feel like I'm over Clapotis without ever actually making one?

Gotta say, I'm a little dumbfounded.

This is my dog:



This is the most recent thing he managed to get a hold of and chew up:




um.....yeah.

In other news, the first Monkey sock is done! Woohoo!

Now with parentheticals AND footnotes!

This week I've been....

reading: a Rex Stout anthology my mom lent me. I just finished it, though, so I'm now probably going to go out and buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I know, I know-- I'm about a week behind the rest of the country. A friend recently brought up the irony of how it almost feels un-American to have not read this book yet, despite the fact that it's written by a British author.

knitting: Mainly on the Monkey Sock in (as I failed to mention previously) Shibui Sock, color "Anime".

Everything else kind of took a backseat once I started. I can completely see why someone would do this sock pattern multiple times, it's a very addictive knit!

However, I think I'm going to put this one on the back burner and start alternating projects just to keep my brain busy.

The plan today is to finish fixing, seaming, and blocking Ridiculously Pink, complete my first Monkey Sock*, then work on either the Orbit Lace (which means more of my god-awful crocheting) or start another fun summer knit I've been thinking about.

buying: Madils Eden Bamboo for the Orbit Lace project

sipping:Wild Bunch White. I bought it for use in my stroganoff, but it's not a bad wine for drinking either.**

eating:Turkey Stroganoff (yay for lots and lots of leftovers) and Chicken /Shrimp Fajitas. E and I are big fajita fans. Fajitas seem to be a dish that we can make together without stepping on eachothers toes. Maybe it's because we make it so often, but our routine works pretty smoothly-- He takes care of grilling/cooking meat while I make spanish rice and saute the peppers.

needing:Microsoft Excel (can you believe I don't have any sort of spreadsheet program on my computer? The horror!)

*not only is this my first Monkey Sock, it will be my first finished sock ever! I'm so terribly excited! I also feel like kind of a nube for not making a sock sooner, so I'm keeping my exitement a little quieter than one might expect.

**- The above comment was made by a girl who is not necessarily all that big a fan of white wine, and therefore doesn't really know what the hell she's talking about. It tastes good for a white wine.

I love me some links, don't I?

To sum up:

Finished a tiny bit of fixin' on the Ridiculously Pink sweater. Still kind of avoiding it until I can figure out how to make the last dropped stitch disappear once it hits the ribbed collar.

Making my first pair of Monkey Socks with some gorgeous yarn I picked up at Hilltop Yarn Shop, where knitter extraordinaire Kat works! The ethiopian food was pretty darn good too.



Also starting another project, an altered version of Orbit Lace from Knitscene:



I'm pretty much cannibalizing the pattern and taking what I want from it, but I probably should have stayed away from the crochet waistband. Being someone who can't crochet a straight line to save her life, this will probably be the longest and hardest part.


Time to go snuggle up to my boy. He just got home tonight!

Frustration is binding off the collar of a sweater, leaving only the sleeve seaming before it's finished, only to find that you dropped two stitches down near the bottom.

Complete irritation is starting to fix the dropped stitches and dropping five more stitches on the collar in the process.

Goddammit.

I'm giving up tonight, I'll try again tomorrow.

(Even so, I'm stoked that I might be able to wear "Ridiculously Pink" by this weekend. Then it's onto either Coachella from Knitty or the bamboo creation whose details are currently being worked out.)

The boy flew to Alaska today, part of that whole "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" the Navy still requires of him. He'll be gone till the 27th, and although I had the brief urge to sit around being a lazy sad bastard, I've decided to kick my own ass in gear. To that effect, I plan to do a lot of knitting, but also a lot of organizing, a little laundry, some yarn dying, and a whole lot of swimming.

It was nearly a three-digit temperature in the 'Ham today, atleast in terms of farenheit. It got up to around 36 degrees celcius, so the trip to the lake was very welcome. After my long hot dizziness-inducing day at work, Steph and Barbara and I gathered our things and went up to one of my favorite lakes in the area. Though we are blessed to have more than one-- there's Lake Padden, Lake Samish, and Lake Whatcom--- Toad Lake is by far my favorite. It's pretty secluded, so it's less busy, and surrounded by lots of trees and few houses. On a sunny day, it's the warmest water you can find this far north. We swam around until the sun went down and I got to loosen up my tense and sore muscles and let go of the stress and heat of my day.

I plan to spend the rest of the evening with my stripey pink sweater, a movie, a glass of wine, and Gus, if I can get him to chill out for the evening.

I'm glad this week is almost over. Every time I think to myself, well today was kinda meh, but I'll just put it behind me and wake up ready to start another one, the Universe gets all butt-hurt and decides to throw some more random crap my way.

So far my week has including drunk bum temper tantrums, power "half--outages" (where not everything goes off, just the important stuff), being accidentally headbutted in my sleep, prying a slug out of my dog's mouth, and getting a paycheck that was smaller than usual when it's supposed to be the opposite. There's more, but I prefer not to dwell, especially since I've only got so much time to get myself fed and clothed and Gus walked before I go down to the Buffalo.

Huey Lewis, is it true? Is everybody really working for the weekend?

I just got off work. I've had to be nice to people all day, lift a lot of heavy objects, tint a lot of paint, and do all of these things while also helping to oversee the training of two other people, which can sometimes be a full-time job in and of itself.

So my question to E this evening was:

Why the hell would I want to go car shopping right now?!?!

This was not a plan we had for the evening, this is something E decided he wanted to do on our way home from work, so it's not like I'm procrastinating or pushing off something we already had set in place. Nonetheless, I'm apparently evil for wanting to avoid a car lot until tomorrow.

As much as I was looking forward to the opportunity to deal with pushy sales people, a rather opinionated (and now rather snippy) boyfriend, and the idea of having to spend money I may or may not have, I think I might have other things to do. Like that root canal I've been meaning to get.

Not gonna sing a sad song tonight. Gonna dust myself off, gonna do alright

Someday....

...I will finally get my craft room in order.

....I will find the time to knit and spin and maybe even sew and bead.

...I will come home without paint in my hair.

...I will set up that Etsy shop.

....those plants that are waiting to be repotted will get there. Or they'll die first, thereby eliminating the problem.

...I will learn how everyone else manages to juggle their lives, because the more I think about it, the more I doubt that I am any busier or more stressed than anyone else.

"Someday" seems closer than it used to be, but still not quite close enough. I'm grateful for small victories-- every hard-won inch of knitting (even the gauge swatch) and every little bit of roving that manages to find it's way onto a spindle. I'm grateful for summer, because although the busy season at work is starting and won't let up until October, the days are sunny and warm and give me a renewed sense of life. And I'm grateful for Google Reader, because some days being able to read other people's crafty accomplishments is the only thing that gives me hope for myself!

Someday, the phrase "someday I'll do that" will give way to the phrase "yesterday I did that." I'm looking forward to it (and working forward to it even harder.)

I really wish I knew where our camera was. The whole thing is starting to bug me.

don't know what to say about the last week or so. I kind of feel like I'm all over the map emotionally.

I had a wonderful time during Saturday's housewarming bbq. With the help of the wonderful Shelby, I got to make all the foods I love to eat but never have the motivation to make for just myself-- tortellini bites and pita chips (my first attempt!), veggies and deviled eggs and hummus and arthichoke dip. Eric manned the grill while different friends from different parts of our lives talked and laughed and had big glasses of wine. Gus got just about all the petting one dog can handle in an evening, and even got a chance to investigate our friends' new golden retriever puppy.

I realized how generous my friends are-- not knowing that I come from a long line of small army feeders, our fridge was packed with food people brought, and the bar currently holds more booze than when we started. Steph and John, even though they weren't feeling up to attending, still stopped by with tulips and wine. The flowers are still holding strong and I can't help but admire them every time I pass through our dining room.

I looked around my warm little house on Saturday night and felt lucky.

This week, on the other hand, has been one of frustration and fights and changes and uncertainty. Some of the frustration and fights have been resolved, or are atleast on their way towards a resolution. The changes are just beginning. We're hiring a new guy (assuming all of his background checks come out okay), who we're going to be training up from scratch. There's also another big change happening and it was kind of confirmed today, but I still don't know how everything is going to play out, so I'm reserving most of my judgement until I have more information. Either way, it looks like I'm going to be working longer hours and packing more into them. I started to worry about what's going to come, because it seems a lot of important things are up in the air right now where work is involved, but then I decided to stop making myself crazy and just deal with things as they come-- play the hand I'm dealt, as it were. What other choice do I have, really?


...I still wish life would get less complicated for a change though.

My goal for this week is to break out my spindle and roving and get a little bit more accomplished on the "Maple Fire" I'm currently spinning. The last time I picked up was before we got the keys to the condo!

I'm thinking about buying into a CSA farm this year. I've been wanting to for the last few years, but I think I might finally be in a position to do so. There's about a half dozen local farms that participate in programs like this. The idea is awesome-- support a local farm while getting super-fresh veggies every week.

The only drawback is not being able to completely choose what I want or, more importantly, don't want. Some CSA farms give you a list of what they grow and you can specify what you don't really want to see in your share, but not all of them do and some of the customizable ones are way more expensive. Then again, even if I went with one that didn't, I wouldn't mind the challenge of finding new ways to cook and enjoy veggies I don't particularly like and in the worst case scenario, I could give them to our friends. After all, E and I seem to be the only people on the planet who think that mushrooms and onions are gross, and celery and I decided to see other people a while ago.

I want to write about today/tonight, but I feel so crappy that everything I write makes me angry.

The dog is home.

Gus is here, and has been for about a week. He's absolutely adorable, and if I could figure out which box we packed the camera in my blog would be flooded with pictures of him. However, it's been a bit of a roller coaster-- first he was afraid of absolutely everything, like stairs and inside the house and then outside the house and other dogs and sometimes people. He spent his first 7 months on a farm where he was not exposed to any other dogs or for that matter people so he's got a bit of a learning curve.

The first day, it took us half an hour to coax him out from under our truck. Then it took another couple hours to get him to really leave the corner of the living room that he had barricaded himself in. It took us two days to get him to use stairs. We're still working on the leash issue (he's never had one before, and he's constantly testing the boundaries.)

Currently, Gus has been tearing around the house because he can't go outside. He was just neutered on Tuesday and they want him to stay in the house for 10 days. He's like a kid with chicken pox-- he feels fine other than a little discomfort and has all this energy with nowhere to put it. I can't wait to take him outside and let him run, cause he's being a bit crazy.

...and shit, I have to go clean up...well, shit again. I'll finish this later...


...okay, the poop has been cleaned up and thrown out. Such is my life lately.

I managed to get a small bit of crafting in. The day before we got Gus, I sat down and made some of the stitch markers I've been meaning to finish. I made a set for my friend Steph, and a set for either myself or another friend. I originally bought the beads to make a set for me, but I think my friend could use them more. We've all been having some stressful times and I think she would appreciate a gift. The cool thing is, even though I'm a knitter and she's a crocheter (as most of my friends are), the stitch markers will work for both. Instead of jump rings for the tops, I used earring findings that hinge open. Knitters can use them like normal by just slipping them on the needle, and crocheters can use them by openeing the clasp and putting them where they need to go. I love things that multi-task!


This has been an uber-stressful week, the latest in a stressful two months. Most of it has been good stress, but stress nonetheless. Tomorrow will be more of the same, as my schedule is packed to the gills with the multiple sclurosis benefit walk, work (it's inventory day), and a big seder dinner. I often think lately about how nice it would be to actually sleep more than 7 hours. But I made a pact with E that I'll hang in there as long as he does. We even pinkie swore on it. So I guess it will all work out in the end.

We're home.... kinda.

We have survived the move, the furntiture assembly, atleast most of it, and the figuring out of where to put things (there was almost some bloodshed there. At one point we got so escalated E threatened to throw my beloved ugly chair away, the one I've had since the days when I lived in the Blue House, but we compromised and put it in the bedroom until I carry out my plan of eventually getting it reupholstered. ) Everything else should be smoother sailing from there.

Currently, I've got about three hours to get this house slightly more put together before the lady from the Alternative Humane Society comes over. She's meeting us here to fill out the adoption paperwork on our (hopefully) soon-to-be dog, Gus. While the boxes aren't as high as our heads anymore, I' m still a little worried that she's going to take one look at all the moving chaos, brand us as unfit dog parents, and not let us adopt him. It's a silly thought, as they are aware we just moved, but one I'm having nonetheless.

Alright, enough dawdling. My living room and craft room aren't going to unpack themselves!

Spring is finally starting to show up around here! We're actually seeing a few things growing, and even a break in the rain every once in a while. I'm hoping the good weather stays for the next couple of days while we move, it's no fun to move all your worldly possesions in the rain.

We put off packing and took a much needed break tonight. I started to look through a cookbook I borrowed from my mom (the amazing America's Test Kitchen) but started to nod off, so I decided to take a power nap. I woke up six hours later. Guess I needed the sleep.

I'm really sad to be leaving our old place, but I'm excited to be in the new one. It's two sides of the same coin really-- everything is changing and I'm feeling both the good and bad all at once. Overall, I guess I'm just excited about everything-- the new house that we've been working so hard on, spring, and in the slightly distant future-- Victoria Fibre Fest!

We live a pretty short drive from the US/Canadian border, so Victoria isn't that far to travel, and I've been itching to go to some sort of yarn/fiber/knitting festival. I just have to make sure to start applying for my passport very soon, now that the rules have changed. I'm hoping that, despite the fact that I hang out with mostly crocheters, I might be able to get a friend to join me on the excursion. Lord knows E doesn't want to go (and be surrounded by more crazy knitters? Frankly, I think just one is enough for him), and I definetely wouldn't make him.

Either way, there's time to flesh out plans. Right now I'm too busy staring down a living room full of boxes.

I got a much-needed respite tonight. I went and touched up the paint in the kitchen, but after that we went and had some beers (or double rum and cokes as it were) with some friends.

For what it's worth, I finished the kitchen tonight (but only after OCD E went through it. He is very......um.....meticulous.)

(And by that I mean obsessive. He finally started to admit his crazy behavior last night. I think it's progress.)


Tomorrow, I start packing. We have one week to move. And my mantra remains-- "whatever shit happens, it's all worth it."

I'm so full of it.

I vowed to sit down and work out the two patterns I'm working on, but no dice. I have managed to squeeze in about one hour of knitting in the last two weeks. Most of the time that I'm not working lately I've been spending at my second job-- our new house.

So far we've redone the floors, repainted the entire downstairs and the stairwell, made a trip to Ikea for a dining table and other odds and ends, built our new barbeque, and wired outlets so that we can wall-mount our TV. Still on the to do list is finishing painting the kitchen, repainting the entire upstairs, installing some new kitchen fixtures (shelves and racks and such) and closet rods*, building our new Ikea dining table and chairs, cutting our desk down so it can fit into the closet in the 2nd bedroom, and oh yeah, moving into the damn place!

One of the main ways I've been getting through all of it without checking myself into the sanitarium is to look at it as my biggest craft project ever. That seems to help....sorta. Either way, I keep telling myself it will all be worth it when it's done and E and I can plop down on our couch, look around and say, "look at what we did!". Heck, some of it has even been fun, but I'm not sure how much more fun I can take without doing myself or someone else an injury.

"It will all be worth it." The six words that get my through the sixteen-hour day.

*the guys that did the remodel for the seller stupidly textured over every closet rod in our condo. They also install a half a dozen doors and about a mile of trim without sealing any of it. We see them working across the way, and by working I mean "chain-smoking and getting into arguments every 10 minutes."

My summer girl....

We just came back from the monthly AHS adopt-a-thon, and although the dogs we want to adopt weren't there, I'm still pretty stoked that we're getting the ball rolling. We've talked with the humane society folks and are probably going to wait until we've finished working on the condo and are fully moved before going any further, but I can't wait. I'm already envisioning trips to the dog park, summer camping, and afternoons at Toad Lake!

We'll have to see how our new dog(s) get along with Tim and Amber's pets, but I think it will be alright. (Tim and Amber have about a dozen animals, but typically only bring their two dogs, Reno and Vegas, Beaker the duck, and Honeydew the goose when we go camping. They have playpens for them and everything. They're crazy-but-in-the-cool-way pet people.)

All around, I'm really excited by how this spring/summer is shaping up. We are 4 days away from closing on our new house. It's like Christmas, only you make all your presents yourself. In two weeks, I'm going to have more closet space than I can wrap my head around and a whole room in which to put yarn. My job, minus one nagging thing that's been stressing me out, is exactly where I want to be right now. E and I are doing amazingly well, even with all the stress of starting this new chapter in our lives. My friends are wonderful. My family's been great. What more could a girl ask for?

I think I'll go work on the fuzzy sweater and my new pattern project. I'm finally settled enough to sit down and math these things out.

The Random Wrap came out a little bigger than expected, so wrapping it doesn't really work. Instead I basically have a scarf with no ends. Since it wwas a random project, with a random cast-on and a random pattern knitted into it, I suppose I could really only expect a random result. On the bright side, I'm finding that looping it twice around my neck makes it all nice and cozy. Frankly, I love the colors so much I probably would have worn it no matter how it came out.

As an added bonus, it seems making the Random Wrap has renewed my waning creative energy. I went back to the fingerless mittens, and as a result am actually writing my first-ever pattern! I finished the first one while at work today, now to do the second one and see if everything jives the way I'm hoping it will. I also thought of a couple of variations on my initial idea, so I may use some of that "stash-busting, what's that?" yarn I bought a while back to work up those. It's a good thing my friends are as big of fans of topless mittens as I am, because I'm going to be up to my neck in these things by the time I'm done.

I feel like I should be slowly moving from cold-weather gear to something more springy, but Spring seems to have not gotten the memo, atleast in the Northwest anyway. We woke up to a snowstorm the other morning-- about four inches downtown, with a little bit more in the surrounding areas. To a lot of places, like Canada and the Northeast, four inches isn't even worth mentioning, but this town practically shuts down when even a few flakes start to fall.The snow eventually started to melt off that afternoon, and most of the roads were dry by the time nightfall hit, but come on.

As previously mentioned, I LOVE snow. I love snow so much I write it letters asking if it wants to go steady, and even I'm pretty sick of it. So although I am trying to gear myself up for spring, I just don't feel it. Hopefully I'll find my spring-time muse and start making springy things.