The Knitted Brow

water dragon new moon love bubble

2012-01-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

Since all hope of catching up with the events of my last 3 weeks is washing away in my 2 flooding creeks beyond the yard, I will simply post a cold-hard-facts post. Bo-ring, I know, but we play catch up with a minimum of drama.

Knitting: Aidez, back completed and pretty. I love the sheepy Ecological Wool, and the big fat US#10 needles. I do not love traveling trellis cables, as they require me to pay attention to the ever-changing status of seedstitch fill and which cable to use to cause all that traveling. But I do like cabling, as evidenced by this little bit of cozy comfort:

I joined in the madness of the Outlander Fans annual swap, centered around Diana Gabaldon's book characters and storylines. This little coffee cozy is a product of a swap-related activity, in which you and a partner are "dancing to the same tune" so to speak. I have been using it nonstop, since taking the fiddly thing off the needles, and I've decided that a coffee cup cozy is the ultimate Small Luxury, especially when it is knitted up in one's own handspun - the remnants of the shetland that decorated my Riverrun Shawl.

I'm still in the commuter marriage, which has been a blessing and a curse, depending on the day you ask me. P was offered an early retirement buyout from the Feds, and is considering taking it - it wouldn't happen til 2013, but that event is one which profoundly affects where we live - on one salary(mine) + one pension(his), the Washington, DC area becomes too expensive to enjoy. He'd take a year off and then go back to work as a private consultant, but we're thinking to just locate that work down here in Atlantis. My hard-working husband has been kicking around retirement for awhile, but thinking it would be a 10 year plan, as he gets increasingly fed up with the government service. As in Education, the golden heyday of Federal Service is past. So we're running the numbers, but the current plan is to stick out the commuter marriage til mid 2013, keep the Atomic Lodge as our home base, and then decide whether to stay here or move to some cheaper, possibly more rural place in VA, closer to my Olde Country.

After a day of heartfelt sadness over not going back up to the Love Bubble of the DC area, I experienced a wave of profound relief at not having to plan for a Big Move this year, and a wave of joy at the idea of being able to live in the Atomic Lodge for at least another year. I don't think I'd been letting myself feel the love for awhile because it all seemed so temporary. Now, I look at the redwood ceilings, the boulders, the green woods, and I feel a balm, a loosening of my frozen heart.

All this was hard to explain to the NoVA friends, of course. "How could you possibly stay there?" When I explained the whole ECONOMICS of the thing, there was understanding, of course, but closing the door on the Love Bubble plan was hard. I do have friends here, but settling into a place takes time, and I am still in the midst of that process, here.

I drove up to the Love Bubble this weekend, a drive which included 150 miles of blowing snow, and a return trip of socked in fog and stinging cold drizzle. It was punctuated by happy times visiting the King Memorial on the National Mall with P and a very old friend from CA, reuniting with DisKnit for a couple of joyous hours, bloody marys with my old cocktail circle in Shirlington, and good times hanging with my husband in his corporate apartment in Ballston. I took Ella, and learned that she is a great apartment dog, and that having a big dog in an apartment with no backyard is a hassle I do not want to deal with. She enjoyed the travel and the constant attention, however, and I do love spending time with my aging grey lady. Cricket stayed with the babysitter and played frisbee and tracked mud in the house all weekend. DC gets snow and ice, Atlanta gets rain and mud.

Now I'm back here, taking a day off from my 2 McJobs (which I will discuss in detail, later - suffice to say that neither is paying me what I am worth, but both are fun and not too taxing) and trying to embrace all that I have to do around the place.

Happy Chinese New Year! Happy New Moon! May the energy of the Water Dragon bless us all with prosperity, peace, and health!

An experiment

2012-01-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

How can anyone look at this yarn and not be happy? I just love Noro in all its crazy psychadelic beauty. This Kureyon sock skein is full of Easter egg candy colors that are just begging to be knit up into some silly springtime socks that go with nothing, therefore going with everything. It was a gift from my knitter Patty, who insists she didn't know what to do with it. (hoard it! pet it! sniff it!)

After a careful assessment of my stash - holding fast at 2 big Rubbermaid tubs and a file box, and my finances, holding fast at not very much money at all, I have decided to Not Buy Yarn in 2012. I have mulled over this long and hard, the past few days, when I was considering resolutions and affirmations for the coming year. At first, I made the pledge secretly to myself, and then decided it would be too easy to break if it were my little secret; I tell myself all kinds of stories and they contradict each other all the time. This would be another one. Nope. I'm putting it out there. It's an experiment. Souvenir yarn is no exception. Festival yarn is no exception. A year of not buying yarn. No exceptions. I am allowing myself a reasonable amount of spinning fiber, IF I am spinning consistently.

There. I committed to it.

Mostly this is an experiment, to see if I can do it, like the No Bottled Water commitment, and the No School Cafeteria Food pledge, and various slow food efforts I've made. Putting it out there helps me to take it seriously. It's also a challenge for me to delve deep into the stash and handspun and knit it up. I have more yarn than I want or need, and yet I love it all. So I'm gonna let all of it be enough for now.

In other news, I have finished the mitered mittens, including cutting into the knitting to place the thumb. I'm happy with how they turned out, and really, cutting into them wasn't too bad, and accompanied only by a cup of Tension Tamer tea and the latest episode of Downton Abbey, which is obsessing me, as I catch up with old episodes in order to prepare for new ones. The mittens are warm and slightly scratchy, and when our weather changes - supposedly temps are warming up by Friday, I will give them a good soak in Eucalan and hair conditioner to soften them up a little. If I had to do this project over again, I'd make them a little bit shorter. No one needs a gauntlet that long, do they?

Meanwhile, I march along on Aidez, enjoying the knit, but it's a big sweater, so the progress is slow and uninteresting to the casual observer. To folk looking to knit a chunky aran cardigan, it's an easy knit so far. I wish it was done already, as these temperatures in the teens and twenties at night are daunting. I am making full use of my little stable of hats, even wearing them indoors.

Hoping for sub work soon; the district just started back to school today after the Christmas recess, and I'm still being entered into the system, I'm told, so no sub calls yet, but I'm hopeful and ready to start working. I've ironed all my pseudo-professional outfits and hung them up in the closet, readjusted my bedtimes (9:30pm) and wake-ups(5:00am) and organized some lunch likely food. If you build it they will come, I'm told.

vacationing and knitting and flowers galore

2011-12-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

I am on a writing roll, and am waiting for my salted caramel sauce to heat up for tonight's decadent dessert (ie, poured over vanilla ice cream) and uploading pictures from my camera; surely the slowest process in my life these days. Creep, creep, anticipation...just came back from knit night at Starbuck's, where I worked on the latest of my smalls - a pair of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Mitered Mittens.

Look, Ma! No thumbs! EZ suggests we knit these without thumbs, and then add an afterthought thumb by locating the location and snipping a stitch and unravelling a thumb-sized number of stitches and picking up and knitting on. I am trying to cultivate fearlessness and faith, in equal measures, so I am going for it. But not without a stiff drink in hand as I snip.

Isn't this Kureyon pretty?

We are enjoying the quiet aftermath of the holiday, with the tree still up for a couple days more and nice things being eaten, like salted caramel sauce, and bison flank steak, and a truly lovely Amador County Barbera to drink. Knitting and dog frisbee and the reading of Olive Kitteridge at a leisurely pace.

There were plenty o' flowers for the holiday, both the show-stopping amaryllis,

and the more subtle beauty of the white tulips contributed by my sister:

It's been so warm outside this fall that the paperwhite narcissus that I planted out in the backyard are starting to bloom, about 2 months early. Grrrr, what to do? Enjoy them, I suppose, as Winter is finally here, and our morning temperatures are in the 30's now, with frost on the ground. Brave narcissus.

My sis and I cast on for our long-planned knitalong of Aidez, which is the French word for "help" I think, which means we'll be helping each other along. It's a fun aran cardigan, knit up in plump Cascade Ecological Wool - mine in brown, my sis' in grey. I was quite stressed in the beginning of this project, as I ripped and re-knit the beginning cast on and the set up rows a couple of times before I got it right. I think I angst too much over cables, and how they play out in a left-handed knitting scenario. In the end, I decided not to reverse my cables, but to knit the whole thing as written, and just let it twist and fall where it may. I did drop a needle size, based just on "feel", as I cannot see this thing being knit on US 10 1/2, even though Brenda's looks great and plushy. We shall see how it comes out. Here is a bit of detail. Apologies for the washed out picture. The brown is a much richer, sable-y color. I think it's called Java, but I'm calling it Walnut.

I think this is product knitting, as opposed to process knitting, as I want this cozy cardigan very badly.

a little bit of history

2011-12-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

A funny thought...many long years ago, I was sitting up in my office, on a snowy December evening. We had just moved to Virginia that summer, and I was surfing the web on my spiffy new laptop - a little blue clamshell iBook. I did not have a blog, though I had kept a paper journal since high school. The year was 2000.

I was trying to figure out how to force an amaryllis bulb to bloom indoors, and I came upon this site Waking the Amaryllis, which was essentially, a page out of someone's blog. It was the first daily life online journal I'd ever seen, and I was dazzled and inspired. I raced over to a free journaling site, the now-defunct-but-then-all-the-rage Diary-X and started The Secret Beaver World, which became my online journal for 6 years, til D-x crashed and ceased to be. The rest is history, as they say, but the Waking the Amaryllis page is still up there, and I am growing an amaryllis under my skylight now.

The holidays have floated by in a happy cloud of ham, visiting relatives, cold rain, gifts and friends. I am ready for the comparative austerity of the new year and a return to the good habits of more sleep, longer walks, doing some work and new knitting projects, which will be documented here tomorrow. Along with the amaryllis.

full moon fever

2011-12-10T19:23:00.001-05:00

...er, not so much. I am completely lacking in firepower, due to a Flexeril I took last night to combat a tension headache, aching shoulders and back. I always gloss over how badly this drug and I get along, even though I am loose and relaxed today, with the headache banished. I'm just not very animated. Damn the halflife of chemicals in my system! I'm feeling a nap right now, and it's taking everything I have to do a blog entry instead, but I've got things to say, so sleep, especially unnecessary, chemically-induced sleep, will have to wait. Besides, it's the full moon, and I heard owls in the woods tonight, so that's reason enough to stay awake.

It's all good, though. My district is hiring me back as a substitute teacher, so there's a possibility of money on the horizon. This means I have to go to a most-of-the-day training next week, in order to hear the lectures on dress code, professional conduct, ethical behavior, etc. that this employer likes to lecture on. I have heard it all before, twice before from these very people, in fact, so I may bring along some knitting to do surreptitiously whilst it's going on. Subbing means that I'll have to do some pavement pounding in order to drum up my own work, so I'm getting psyched up to go out and sell myself at my neighborhood schools. I'm grateful for the upcoming possibility of working, though, particularly at a job that leaves me some flexibility.

This past summer, I knitted Ysolda's Rose Red beret in some Madelinetosh vintage. I was so ambivalent about the FO that I didn't wear it for awhile, and threatened to frog it - it just seemed waaay too big for my already-big head. I felt like I needed some dreadlocks to tuck into it to justify All That Hat. But I blocked it out instead, and decided, once it got cold, to give it another chance. After all, I don't like frogging things, and repurposing yarn is something I just never quite get around to taking care of. Blocking made Ms Rose look a lot nicer, and I think I might just let her hang around.

Apologies for the no-makeup look. I was playing around, and then realized that I liked the way the hat looked in the pic - rather Green Beret-ish, no? But seriously, I could have used some lipstick! The pattern is very well-written. I knitted the size medium, but think it produced a gi-normous hat. Might have been the superwash nature of the yarn that contributed to that; all I can say is that it is generously proportioned. But the yarn was lovely, and the Tart colorway is just gorgeous.

Now that the weather has turned, I've been all caught up in cooking "cozier" foods. I roasted a chicken last weekend, with the intent of making several meals from my effort. I've been really trying to eat cleaner meat, so this was a Springer Mountain bird, bought on sale, and roasted over a bed of root veggies: potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips and rutabagas. Rubbed with a mix of olive oil, garlic, chopped rosemary and thyme and roasted at 400 for 1.5 hours.

Amazingly delicious. I read somewhere about letting the bird sit out for several hours before roasting, so that the skin dries out a little, and so that everything comes to room temperature, and I did this. It ended up being the crispiest bird I've ever made, and yet the meat was actually quite moist.

From the leftover chicken and veggies (after a dinner, some meat nibbling and broth making) I made a chicken pot pie, using Chelsea's biscuit recipe (with some modifications) for crust. I used some of the broth to make a gravy to mix with the meat and veg and covered it all with rolled-out biscuit dough. A serious dish o' comfort food, and one that will be revisited around here throughout the winter. Super easy, once you have the meat, veggies and broth available to assemble the whole thing, too. I roasted the chicken with that plan in mind, and I think that's the way to go; I couldn't see myself as being organized enough in the kitchen to just whip one of these puppies out with stuff laying around.

Remember when I was going on and on about this being a mast year for acorns? Well, here are some new ones I came across yesterday, on a walk with Cricket. They are about an inch in diameter, with a rather rough, prickly cap. The acorns seem smaller and very tightly embedded in the cap. I'm fascinated by the variety of oak trees in our area. I suppose this will all mean a huge spike in squirrel population around here next year.

Blogging, and hearing the owls have given me a little bit of energy, so I'm going to go make some tea and watch my new Netflix dvd: Pedro Almodovar's "All About My Mother."

November into December

2011-12-04T20:23:00.000-05:00

November roared by; a beautifully warm, acorn-and-leaf-filled haze. Before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving, and I loaded up the dogs in the CRV and drove up to VA, to hang out with my family, and meet up with P for Thanksgiving.

My mom and I went out for lunch at a rural German restaurant. Fantastic sauerbraten and wonderful dark beer, in this cozy place on a cool foggy day.

I loved the fog. Everything was so hushed, in this blanket of mist.

Our family went out to Thanksgiving dinner at the Hotel Roanoke; yummy buffet, too much food. Our family is very small on my dad's side; neither my sis nor I have kids, and my one cousin on this side of the family is single, too, so it was me, P, my mom, my 80 year old auntie Lucille, my sis, and cousin Chuck. Nice to do things with these folk, and I feel we need to be together more frequently, which should happen after I move back to VA next summer.

My trip to VA also included getting together with a high school friend, hiking with Mr. Cricket on a rails-to-trails trail in Rockbridge County, where he saw his first cows - something he did NOT like in the least. Lots of outdoor time, lots of knitting, and coziness over the week. My sis and I fit in an all-night Lord of the Rings movie marathon, and we went out to hear David Wilcox in a small club in Roanoke. It was nice to hang out with my husband for a few days, too. I am suffering from not living under the same roof with him, this fall. This house seems too quiet, too overwhelming at times.

Last monday, I drove from VA back to GA. An 8 hour drive, 6 hours of which were made in a hard rain. Not fun. I left late, and arrived home late, and just released the dogs from their car prison (or so that's how they described it to me) and came upstairs and fell into bed. Nice to be back, even if it is in a too-cold, too-quiet house.

Some frosty leaves in the front yard yesterday.

The oaks are nearly bare, now, and it seems winter is upon us! I have managed to do a little Christmas shopping at craft fairs, thrift stores and such, and am knitting along on gifts for P and my mom.

This little village, being set up at the German restaurant, added to the wintry coziness.

2011-11-09T11:02:00.001-05:00

Some nice fall things going on around here, new colors, new endeavors and surprises abound!
I have been taking a daily early morning ramble with Ella; she is good off-leash, and relatively harmless, unless you are a bunny or a squirrel, so we walk a little loop of hiking trail back behind the house. She is more often than not a little limpy these days, but being outside in the crisp autumnal air livens her right up! We have returned from our stroll and in spite of being a bit sweaty out on the trail, I am now chilly - enjoying the last of the coffee.

Here are the current colors in the woods right now. November is Georgia's October, I've decided. It really doesn't get going around here, leaf-wise til November, which is kind of a treat for those of us who like to take things slowly.

There's been some knitting - more than a little, most of it for Christmas, but I am sneaking a little mindless sock action in there for me. I taught myself the Turkish cast-on and started a new toe-up sock. My gosh, where has this cast-on been all my life? So easy, so unfiddly. I am going to experiment with an afterthought heel, as well, as one of my knitters assures me that this, too, is an uncomplicated thing to do. I love these fall colors! The yarn is Spirit Trail Fiberworks basic sock yarn, marinatating in stash since 2006, and the toe is done in Knitpicks Stroll. I am renewing my commitment to knit socks for myself this winter; slowly but surely.

Finally, a seriously surprising surprise.About a year and a half ago, I grew some shitake mushrooms on a log from a kit I gave myself for Christmas. This was an easy little project, and I kept it up for a few months, and then, last fall, as the job ate my life, I harvested the current crop of mushrooms off the log, and put them down under the bed in the guest room to rest (the log has to have a period of dormancy for a couple of weeks between fruiting cycles) and simply forgot about them. The 2 little logs lay under the bed collecting dust and dozing for a solid year. This weekend, I was cleaning the guest room in an attempt to set it up as a sewing room, and discovered them there, with a fresh (though dehydrated) crop of 'shrooms!! Nice to know that Nature goes on doing her thing, even as we are sometimes oblivious to it.

I've harvested my dried-up shitakes, gonna rehydrate them for some miso later on, and have soaked and set up the mushroom scheme again. The logs are springing a new coating of mycelium even as I write this. I can't wait.

Other things not photographed, but worth mentioning: I've been applying for jobs, with no real movement forward, (merely notes from school districts saying "hey we've got your application - be patient") I've made homemade pizza, I went to the apple orchard with Jessie again, to get some Arkansas Blacks, a favorite apple variety. The orchard had harvested all the apples, so the only picking we did was picking up the bag of apples off the shelf, but still, they were locally grown and a good keeping apple, or so I hope.

Even though the time has changed, and our days are ending an hour earlier, I'm trying to take full advantage of this Indian summer, it's been in the high 60's this week, and is just glorious. Planting bulbs, long walks with Mr. Cricket, who is back in his boot camp-esque training class on Tuesday nights. Project Z is more or less successful; the real challenge will be whether or not I can sustain it if I were to find work. I am feeling good, though, and not napping; in bed around 10 most nights, and up around 6 most days. Much easier to do with an early hour of daylight!

moving forward

2011-11-02T09:25:00.002-04:00

Fall is most definitely in full swing, now, with leaves turning golden, and acorns raining down upon us. I have never seen so many acorns as this year - a "mast" year, I believe they call it. In truth, this pic was taken at the Atlanta History Center, but our front yard is much the same situation, and all over Atlanta, we are covered with the bitter nut. I wish I had some pigs to fatten up on my little 1/2 acre. Though Mr. Cricket enjoys munching a particular tiny acorn from our Willow Oak in the backyard.

Ms Acornbud's visit to The Atomic Lodge was a blast. We managed to do a lot; thrift shopping, eating Indian and Korean food, a trip to Asheville,NC to meet up with my sister and fellow Atlanta Knitter Jessie for SAFF and general Asheville joy. There was a visit to the Atlanta History Museum, and plenty o' spinning and knitting. And probably a lot that I'm forgetting to mention, including a Malabrigo hat that Ms. 'Bud whipped up in no time and left for me to enjoy. I will post SAFF pix (mostly llamas, alpacas and sheep) later. Project Z was slightly abandoned for the week, though I think I got a fair amount of rest; didn't really suffer. Now I'm back on the horse, though, and am feeling fine as frog's hair with all the sleep.

I ended my physical therapy a couple o' weeks ago, and am on my own with my mostly recovered knee now. It is pretty much back to normal, though hours on my feet, and a change of weather causes it to flare up with shooting pains, and I can't do Virasana or any of its variations, without putting a rolled up towel behind my knee for support anymore. It was never my superstar pose, but I was always working hard on it, and now I'm just a lot more careful. I made my physical therapist some fingerless mitts. She's also a "Game of Thrones" fan, and we spent a lot of therapy hours deconstructing "A Song of Ice and Fire" so I thought some black fingerless mitts to wear on The Wall would be appropriate.

This was such a quick knit. I used this pattern, and a skein of black Cashmerino Aran, and whipped them out in about 3 hours. A short snort for a gift, and equally important, that grrroovy FO feeling that seems to be so rare in my life these days.

And now, something from the "Weird Stuff in My Woods" category:

An appropriately named Bigleaf Magnolia leaf. For the record, I wear a size 7 1/2 shoe. Supposedly, this tree boasts the biggest flower in the USA, as well, though I have not seen it bloom.

As part of the upgrade of The Atomic Lodge, we ordered some Adirondack furniture, which I had the pleasure of assembling. I do love to build things - easy things, mind you. I wish now that I had taken wood shop in high school instead of art, even though I was an art major in college for a whole year. I think shop might have gotten me farther in my self-sufficiency path, whereas I can reasonably assure you that I didn't learn a whole lot that I didn't already know, in my high school art class. Which made being an art major in college something of a challenge, though I did okay - changing my major more because of changing interests and the desire to take a whole bunch of psychology and anthropology and other -ology classes in hopes of getting a job in my field. Anyway, I digress, and here is one of the chairs, modeled by the handsome Mr. Cricket, who really likes to hop up on things.

I am starting to do a little agility with him, not because he has had a renaissance in temperament that will allow him to enter a trial, but because he is a smart dog, who needs to learn things beyond barking and aggressing.

More good times, and I am creaking along in my job search for flexible, part time work, being told by 2 school districts that my subbing application is "in progress" and I should hear something soon. Gah, these people are slow!! Meanwhile, I'm still enjoying not working (I saved a LOT of my salary last year in preparation for the possibility of unemployment) and doing the domestic goddess thing. Dog training, cooking, decluttering, yardening and knitting take time. Still, it will be nice to see a paycheck again, someday.

Project Z redux

2011-10-18T08:40:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago, I started working on the lifestyle habit of getting more sleep. I called it Project Z. I went to bed by 10pm, and got up at 6am or so - if I deviated from that, I tried to make sure I got 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. The change in how I felt and functioned at work was dramatic. I managed to maintain it for about 9 months, and then, it spun out, maybe because of my crappy job last year, maybe because I got slack, less vigilant, who knows? My hypothesis is that because I worked long days, I was staying up later, sometimes to do schoolwork (especially during grading periods) but sometimes to catch up on life, or pleasurable downtime; knitting, reading, watching tv. Then summer came, the knee dislocation came and I got less exercise, which further screwed up my sleep; less tired, I sleep less, but become more tired, if that makes sense.

So I'm taking it back!! Project Z will ride again!! I've been a fervent reader of Leo Babauta's Zen Habits blog, and have been struck anew by his emphasis on making small changes that turn into big changes over time. I did a lot of reflection on what needs to improve right now in my life...more exercise, less internet surfing, better eating, more knitting, cleaner house, more time outside, finding a job I like, getting a better handle on Cricket's behavior, daily yoga practice, fewer cupcakes, more consistent spiritual practice, reading more, spinning better, blogging, being better at composting from the kitchen, saving more $$ for retirement, oh the list is endless! Leo wrote that in his experience, picking ONE THING to work on til it became a good habit - about 4 to 6 weeks, and then maintaining that one, worked better than making a lot of little changes that don't really stick, because you spread yourself too thin. I think that's a good point. I think the change in the way I felt a few days into Project Z was SO big that I really want to reinstate this positive practice.

Now practically speaking, this is a tough week to start such a thing. For one, Ms. Acornbud is headed my way in just a couple days. No way are we not gonna stay up late, and even though I anticipate her jet lag might make her sleep in, I can't guarantee that. For another, we're headed to Asheville, NC for SAFF, and rooming with my sis and Jessie, and I don't see the four of us tucking in early in a hotel room this weekend. So I'm gonna just try and focus on being well-rested in a catch as catch can way, and then, next Tuesday, when I'm home alone again (and this will be a sad thing) I'm gonna put my ass into bed at 9:30, with the knowledge that I certainly won't sleep at 9:30, but will probably knit or read instead. I think, for the time being, I'm not going to let myself nap, mostly because I think it contributes to the further jacking up of my circadian rhythms. So this Project Z is the thing I'm gonna focus on from now til about December 1, to see if I can reset my sleep. I forsee some bumps in the road, with P's returns to the ATL, and Thanksgiving and such, but overall, I spend most of my time home alone, and most of schedule is my own to control.

I feel like I needed to write it down here because I want to hold myself accountable for actually starting to make this change, but reading other peoples' writing about personal changes can be dull, so I offer you a couple of other things to contemplate:

Autumn is coming to Georgia, ready or not. I am ready to dispense with the heat, and have been really enjoying our 80 degree days, as opposed to our 95 degree days. Tomorrow, it is supposed to be only about 60, though, so that will be a fast forward into fall. Not sure I'm ready for that.

Behold the amazing thing that is Hanami. Completed, blocking in my spare bedroom. What a long strange knit that turned out to be. I love it, but am honestly not sure how much I'll wear it. It seems too fancy. But still...Hanami!!

Time for oatmeal and some laundry.

these are a few of my favorite things...

2011-09-21T17:55:00.000-04:00

I have been productive this past week, in spite of the fact that P has been home, and we've spent more than a little time just goofing off doing little in the way of productive activity. Eating out, watching silly tv, grilling meat, walking the dogs...

On Ravelry, I have been taking part in a KAL of knitted objects inspired bythe book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" " called The Knits' Watch. I knitted the Peaks Island Hood, re-naming it the Green Dreams Hood. I'm very pleased, though you wouldn't know it from this silly, overly serious photo of me. But dang, the ultra alpaca in my favorite shade of dark green is soft! The tea-dyed antler buttons are the perfect crowning touch. This is a knit I will wear and love.

Also made for the Knits' Watch, because I was trying for Ranger status, was the Riverrun Shawl, which is actually the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl, for those interested. This is knat from my handspun, about 350 yards of corriedale, from Maisy Day Handspun, overspun and then overplied, so not a very soft knit, but pretty. I edged it in my handspun shetland, because I ran out of yarn a bit early. I wish it were bigger. I wish it were softer. That said, I am enormously pleased to be knitting my own yarn!

Tonight I made sushi. I had some Nova lox in the fridge that needed eating, and some cutiecumber, avocado, green beans and carrots on hand, plus some old nori sheets, so I decided to whip up a few mixed up rolls to munch on. A quickie omelet fried up to add more protein and we're in business. Ugly rolls, but I can't complain. Sushi is a rare treat around here, after several years of eating it as a go-to snack food in Hawaii.

I spent the afternoon at the vet's office with Miss Ella, whose right back leg went out this afternoon. I feared neurological problems as it was jerking and she was unable to walk, but it turned out she had a very deep, infected cut between 2 toes on that paw, which she'd helped along by licking it into a hot spot. A thorough irrigation, a plethora of antibiotics, pain meds and an Elizabethan collar later, and she should be on the mend. My poor good girl... she is not happy, but I am relieved.

I am off to knit with my knittahs, this evening.

slow progress...

2011-09-05T11:08:00.005-04:00

...on all fronts. Knee is getting more bendy, by a few degrees each week. I'm more active and able to do things, now, but there are fresh accompanying aches and pains. I have gone, in the space of about 3 weeks, from 60 degrees of bend to about 105. I can now drive a stick shift car again, and make a full revolution on the physical therapist's bicycle, though I have yet to dare to get on my own bike for an actual ride. Sleeping comfortably is still the hardest thing to do, as everything I do with the knee in bed seems to make it hurt. I am off all pain meds, though, as I wanted to hoard a few for emergencies.

In other news, our crazy backyard reclamation project trundles forward, with boulders, gravel and mulch in varying states of application:
(click to biggify the photo) We took out 7 trees, which provided a little more light, and have designed a lawn-to-be for some shade tolerant grass to grow. That's the dark composted area, which will be tilled and planted next week. Did some grading to prevent some of the dramatic erosion that's been happening on the property since we tore out the half-acre of ivy 2 years ago. The gray gravelly area will be the site of the firepit - probably just a bowl or barrel to contain said flames. We splurged and bought some boulders from Tennessee to shore up some of the erosion and define the firepit further. And most importantly, just because I like rocks and wanted them around. The boulders are definitely my favorite part of the project; each has its own face and personality; some have lichens, some have mosses on them. Our shed is in, and waiting for all the tilling and dustmaking to die down so it can get its fresh coat of paint - "Tea Leaves Green" exterior latex, by Valspar. I will probably paint (read this as "have painted" as I am not a house painter) the house this color next summer, as well. The current plan is to renovate and beautify, and probably use this place as a rental house, til the market improves or until P retires and we move back to the ATL. It feels a little mixed, to be doing work on a place that I love and have loved living in, for someone else to occupy, but the yard HAD to be improved; it was eroding away to weeds and mud, and I am having fun with it. Moving to the DC area will be a happy thing, whenever I do go, though I am enjoying being here thoroughly. I am currently researching shade tolerant perennials to put in the yard, and welcome all suggestions. Trying to focus on workhorse plants that will spread, wild natives (besides poison ivy and greenbrier and blackberry) and flower for birds and insects.

My mom and I were moving our woodpile the other week, from below the firepit to the far side of the shed. We found many, many snake skin remnants on the wood. Apparently, the pile had been a nest of snakes - I had only seen the family of chipmunks that lived in there, but they must have provided incentives for the serpents to move in. My mom saw a snake wiggle off the tarp I used to cover the wood with, but she was rather matter-of-fact about it. When one is in the Georgia woods, there are going to be snakes! The only snake I've seen around here (in my patio doorway, to be precise) is the feisty Northern Ringneck Snake. Of course I imagine the snakes in the woodpile to be all copperheads and rattlers, but that's just that stinkin' thinkin'.

On the knitting front, I just finished the 7th repeat of the hated Hanami basketweave chart. My love for this pink alpaca is undiminished though, and I look forward to finishing this, and getting out to see some cherry blossoms in it next spring! Here is a progress shot of my shaky little basketweave. Please disregard a couple of obvious visible errors. You'll hardly notice those from the back of a galloping horse, I assure you!
I am also knitting on a couple of other projects. On Ravelry, for the Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire forum's Knit's Watch KAL, I am working on Ysolda's Peak's Island Hood in dark green Berrocco alpaca, which I have renamed the Green Dreams Hood, in honor of Bran Stark's shamanic dreams. I LOVE this pattern, LOVE the yarn and am so looking forward to finishing this so I can wear it this fall. I ordered some antler buttons for it, to enhance the rustic appearance, because the Starks would not really be wearing foo-foo scarves, what with living in the harsh northern reaches of Westeros, and all. End of my fangirl geekiness for this entry, I promise.

P is home, and we've been enjoying the long weekend, doing at-home projects, errands and going out to eat. The man is coming here for pho, which I think is silly, as there is excellent pho in the DC area, but whatever... We checked out a new-to-me brewpub yesterday, and I had a most excellent scottish ale, which made me a little nostalgic for my homebrewing days, but just a little. I think the presence of good brewpubs in my area are the reason I DON'T homebrew anymore. That and the fact that I am only a pretend beer drinker. I like brewing, as I like all chemistry experiments, but I never drank enough to justify the gallons I brewed. Yes, friends will graciously take gifts of homebrew, and there are parties to go to, but I am done brewing for now. But not done with the sweet, strong wee scots ale, let me tell you.

the long hot summer

2011-08-19T09:08:00.006-04:00

It's been 2 1/2 months since I've last posted, in a summer when I fully intended to blog regularly. Sigh. Admittedly, I have been writing in other venues, but I've fallen off keeping this here chronicle up to date. Perhaps the most important event of the summer is the one that would have given me the most time to blog; on July 15, I fell, due to a rubber slipper accident (slippah + puddle o' watah = trouble) and dislocated my knee. A trip to the emergency room later, and I was in an immobilizing brace for 3 weeks, and now am doing 2x weekly physical therapy. I can bend the knee about 80 degrees on a good day, but am working hard to get it back, learning to walk like a normal person again, drive (automatic transmission for the time being) and generally being careful around the house and yard. My job search has been put on hold til I can get through the PT, and figure out driving.

Meanwhile, P moved to DC for his new job. He'll be back the week of Labor Day. So far, we are weathering the long-distance thing okay, though of course I will be thrilled to see him, and feel it's been to long a separation. I will try and visit him once a month, starting in September/October, and it will be nice to visit my old stomping ground of the DC area again, as well.

I am working on the landscaping project in a revised fashion; I had a shed put in and had 7 trees removed from the yard. Next step, to grade and till part of the yard and sow a mixed cover of grass, clover and various shady wildflowers on the flat part of the yard. Then Leslie, my landscaper and I will work on a firepit design, and I'll put in some more perennials later this fall. I'm not really pro-lawn, but our yard has gone from ivy jungle to dirtpatch wasteland in 2 years, and it's time it had something better and prettier; we're suffering from erosion and thorny noxious weeds are getting a beachhead in. I have to move our woodpile over the next few days, and I'm not looking forward to it; seeing as how I know this process is going to reveal far more spiders and snakes than I really want to encounter, and I am phobic of neither.

My mom came in from VA to help around the house during my lamer days, and she'll be here about another week. We've gotten along well, relatively few political/religious arguments and harmony for the most part. I will miss her when she goes home, though I will also certainly rejoice to have my own house back.

There was knitting: Ysolda Teague's Rose Red Beret; a fun, easy knit in luxurious Madeline Tosh Vintage. I also finished the Amelia sweater, spun up a whole bunch of polwarth wool (my treadling leg being the uninjured one) and read 2 more books from the "Song of Ice and Fire" series. I am taking a break from those books now to catch up on my slow trundle through Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" books.

My sis came to visit at the end of July and helped me to start the beaded cast on for the Hanami Stole. I'm knitting it in some pinkish mauve Misti Alpaca. This will be a pretty shawl, though I'm not sure how much I will actually wear it. I'm envisioning it softening up a chocolate brown or grey dress.

A last pic, taken earlier this summer, before I got my "sporting injury", taken while hiking along the Chattahoochee river: I didn't expect to catch her, she never really stood still.

summer thoughts, summer things

2011-06-01T08:55:00.008-04:00

So school's out. And I seem to be managing okay with one post per season, but since I'm in summer mode, I shall try to step it up just a wee bit here. First things first, some shots of Amelia in progress, just to show you how Cricket-colored she really is. Cricket is looking very sweet in that pic, sniffing the dirt and being all puppy-like. Dogtor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde every day, in every way.
And also a pic of my newish Birkenstock clogs (because I can't wear boots all the time) which caused a mild disruption at work.
See I got them thinking I could wear them to work. And I got away with it for weeks, wearing them with black pants, dark socks, like they were traveling to my repressive school incognito. But one day, I wore them with some brown corduroys, and my boss, she of the power suits in every color of the rainbow, was in the classroom watching us teach. And I could tell by the look on her face that something wasn't going well, even though the other teacher and I were working hard and the kids were relatively well-behaved. The next day, she followed me into the copy room and said "I need to let you know that those shoes you were wearing weren't professional." Arrrgh. I will not rant and rave about this now that I've quit the job, but damn, lady, neither are your 3-inch burnt orange acrylic nails either. Especially that chipped one...

But now it's summer and I'm happily unemployed, and figuring out my next plan in a life that's gone all crazy here. In spite of my two degrees and multiple credentials and lengthy years of teaching, I can't seem to see any joy in the thought of returning to a classroom next year. Not sure if this is temporary or permanent, and so I'm hesitant to launch myself full-on into the search for a full time job just yet. Lucky for me no one's hiring yet anyway. I am thinking my dream work would be a part time teaching job or maybe just a lot of tutoring or working in a learning lab or something. I'm also in the process of applying to GA State University to do some coursework to get certified to teach English as a Second Language, but the program is competitive and I'm late to the game, so it might not happen this fall. All this is complicated by P being offered his dream job in Washington, DC. My husband and his nomadic career are a challenge to me at times. Fortunately, he is indulgent to me in other ways, and so we are going to manage this thing slowly. I don't really have another move in me just now. In spite of the fact that I despise the educational system I've found myself in right now, I despise more the fact that Work causes no small amount of disruption in a life that I otherwise quite enjoy. So P is going to take the job, we're going to keep the Atomic Ranch, because we both love living here and it's a better investment this way and there will be a long-distance marriage for the next year, which we have survived before and will survive again. I will be spending some time in DC (this makes me happy) and he will be spending time in the ATL - and then after the next year is up, we'll figure out what we want to do with the Atomic Ranch, and whether we want to move Lock, Stock and Barrel. P thinks he's found a condo that works okay for the new job, walkable and bikeable to work and dog-friendly, in case I should drive up with the beasts. So this summer is one of a lot of uncertainty and figuring out the New Normal, a process which will go on for some months, at least. Even if we were to sell the Rancho, it would be months before we could put it on the market anyway, and so this approach makes more sense. I love the DC/Northern VA area a lot, and would happily go up there again, just not yet. I'm not ready to face that Beltway Buzz of energy, the extreme population density, and the cost of living. Atlanta seems somehow softer and easier right now. The Atomic Ranch works well for the dogs, and of course the dogs are what we keep first and foremost in mind when we go a-house hunting.

Project Spectrum Red Month of May came and I started Kiri, which, right after I blogged it, a few weeks ago, dumped me hard. I could NOT get the stitch count right to save my soul, and so it was hurled into a corner and I am finishing up Ysolda's Rose Red beret in some lovely Madeline Tosh yarn that my knittah Debbie inspired me to buy at Stitches. The yarn is ALL THAT, as everyone had been telling me, though my stash of other things is substantial enough that I won't make a habit of it. I will blog this as soon as I cast off and get some pics. I'm hoping desperately that it fits, and that I have enough yardage to finish it, so dear readers light a candle for me and hope along with me.

Even though life "feels" insane right now, I am pretty positive and happy at the moment. I did what I set out to do, which was to survive the year from hell, and I am looking forward to the changes and new adventures coming up. And hopefully more blogging.

project spectrum kickoff: lace brain

2011-05-03T22:21:00.002-04:00

For the resurrection of Project Spectrum, I am knitting a project which I began some years ago - Kiri, a shawl by Polly Outhwaite. I must admit a fascination for this rather simple leaf lace shawl, knit big in my favorite yarn ever, Kidsilk Haze. I started this back in 2007, in some Jo Sharp Rare Comfort and the project was too hard for me, or I didn't have "lace brain" or something. It totally dumped me, causing me no end of grief and fretting. Now, resurrected, on a whim, about a month ago, and brought into the forefront, for Project Spectrum, the color study that is the brainchild of Lolly, but has become a huge thing, with a facebook page of its own. The color for May is red, and I figured this would fit the bill nicely. It may be more pink than red, but is pleasing nevertheless. The yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Spray, in Vino. The knitting is pleasing and I am not being dumped by it anymore. What can I say? Lace brain.

my new boyfriend

2011-04-05T11:23:00.004-04:00

I figure if I'm not working hard on this house cleaning project, I might as well post about my favorite new/old thing...

Chris got me all excited about Mr. Bento, the handy dandy lunch carryall while I was still living in HI. So upon my arrival in GA, I acquired one. But the nature of my work (part time, coming home for lunch) didn't necessitate it til this year, when all I did was work and found myself with not a lot of time to eat and not wanting to go into the teacher's lounge to heat food up. Enter, Mr. Bento, my new boyfriend! A handy dandy way to serve a multi-course meal at work. The only thing missing, as far as I can see, is the glass of wine that I was able to enjoy last year when I was working part time. sigh...the compromises we make. It DOES necessitate some advance organization to use this setup. The little bowls stack into a main container, and the bottom two are thermal, so if I heat food up it keeps them warm. I usually layer the bowls as such, starting from the bottom: soup, rice or quinoa w/ veg n' meat, a salad or fruits, and the final smallest bowl holds stuff like nuts, cheese, hummus, or on rare occasions, yogurt and granola. Once the food is organized, it's a cinch to eat a decent meal at the desk. I never thought I'd be so spun about being shackled to my desk, but Mr. Bento is soooo cool. Another co-worker has one, and she is equally thrilled with him. It has helped me to keep my food portions reasonable, as the bowls aren't tremendously big, and has also forced me to keep it interesting. Mr. Bento can be acquired at Amazon, or in your local H-Mart or other purveyors of Japanese innovatia. He is not cheap, for a lunch box, alas, but love has its price, and anything that keeps me eating leftovers and out of the school cafeteria or off the vending machine porkskins (no kidding, I love them) is a significant life improvement.

Here is what grows outside my acupuncturist's office door. Prickly pear cactus, complete with its fruit, known as "tunas." They are edible, but I wasn't sure at what point they become ripe or how to eat them, so I didn't harvest, though I was a bit tempted.

2011-04-02T16:59:00.004-04:00

After a cold, rainy week, the sun is out and it's getting lovely again. This crocus pic is actually a few weeks old, but I'd forgotten that I had planted them last year, so they were a total surprise to me when they came up randomly in the yard.

The house is fragrant with banana bread; my knitter Kathy served the BEST banana bread at a little knit gathering a couple of weeks ago, at her house. I altered the recipe ever so slightly, by adding chocolate chips, but it is a fantastic version of a food that I am not known to love.

Spring break is on, and I am several kinds of happy, having had pho for lunch, and a lazy day of desultory kitchen cleaning and puttering. P is planning on grilling a steak later on, and we have the fixings for mango margaritas hanging out on the counter. I promised an update on Ameliaand the progress I had sorta made on this. I found the lost pattern, and realized that I had knitted waaaay past where the button hole shaping is supposed to begin. Okay, not that far. Like 1.5 inches. I am going to leave the length, and work 2 buttonholes, and then start the sleeves, raglan shaping, etc. My plan is to knit like hell over the break and the next few days and try to get this puppy off the needles, as the twisted rib is sucking my mojo out, and I just want to be done with it. Besides, I need a pretty Cricket-colored sweater.

cooking quinoa

2011-03-29T21:28:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday to Chelsea! So if you happen upon this page today, roll on over and give her some love. In fact give her some love anyway - she's one of my favorite blogs!

In my effort to have interesting things to eat, during my week alone, I did some cooking tonight. I've been playing around with quinoa, and tonight toasted it up in a skillet, then cooked it in the rice cooker with broth. I stir fried some onions, shitake mushrooms, red pepper and yellow squash up and mixed them in. Added a shot or 2 of Bragg's liquid aminos for umami purposes, and voila! A nice pilaf for lunches, to go with my borscht and salads.
The pot o' grain, cooked in the broth:

Frying up the veggies

The finished product, ready for packing into Mr. Bento.

I also have my completed sock #1 to share. I did a contrasting heel n' toe on these because I was afraid of running out of yarn. I'm not sure it was necessary, but I think it looks nice. The yarn is a little pooly, but it isn't that noticeable in person - and I like its mossy, underwatery colors. The contrast is Knitpicks Stroll sock yarn in the Basalt heather colorway.

Next up, but not tonight, an update on my Amelia progress, which can resume progressing on, as I've found the pattern again. It had fallen under the bed, right at a crucial juncture, and so I quit knitting it for a couple o' weeks til I found it again. My goal is to knit HARD on this over spring break, and maybe come close to finishing it. We'll see.

blink and you'll miss it

2011-03-28T20:56:00.008-04:00

Spring, that is. I can't possibly hope to catch up with the past 2 1/2 months in which I haven't written a single word that I didn't have to, not even a damn grocery list, so all I'll say is I hope that I'm back. And spring, too. Because it's turned cold and rainy here in North Georgia, and somehow, the cold of spring feels much worse than the warm of winter, even though, truth be told, the cold of spring is warmer than the warm of winter. Somehow, chill temperatures on still cherry blossoms just make me want to huddle for a few more weeks.

So I'm huddling now. In bed, or rather on bed, nursing a sore ankle, from an unfortunate stumble of the parking lot of my workplace this afternoon. Nursing a bowl of borscht, and a huge glass of water. Swatching some crazy Rowan Cork for my knitting group's KAL of the Shalom sweater. I'm in love with this yarn, which I got in a trade from Blogless Michelle. It's been marinating in stash for a year and a half, because I didn't know what to do with bulky weight acid-green soft fluffiness. Enter Shalom, and the KAL. Can't decide between needle sizes, though and I think I'm over thinking it, as the sweater isn't that fitted, and I am notorious for knitting things too big. So I'm just trying to find a fabric that pleases me.

When I'm not swatching, I'm closing in on finishing a pair of socks, the second of which I will share here: It's Lavender Sheep Superwash Merino, in a color called The Cascades. Gorgeous. My classic plain vanilla sock recipe; 60 stitches, top-down, stockinette, roll top, #2 needles. The sock I knit most often, the most utilitarian ones. This yarn is yummy to knit with, and the combination of divine yarn and lovable needles (the Kollage square DPN's again) may yet make me a sock knitter.

In other news, I did not renew my contract with my school district for next year. I have disliked this job since day 1, really, and figured that getting out was a smart thing to do. Too much paperwork, too much stress, not enough love for my top-down admin (hey, I like my socks top-down, not my bosses!!) or the lack of a positive, thoughtful work environment for anyone. I have about 8 more weeks of school to go, one of them being Spring Break, and one of them being Big Over-Emphasized State Test, and then I'll be free, free, free. Free to scramble around and hunt for a job, but this time, I resolve to try harder not to fall into the desperate spin of angst and fretting that the job hunt always triggers in me. Resolve to savor my down time, and do my research properly, so that I may feel love, not hatred of my life's calling.

P is traveling, to Mississippi and Alabama this week, and I'm holding down the fort at home. Life is good.

dutch breakfast and a long-awaited fo.

2011-01-13T15:21:00.004-05:00

Dutch marzipan stollen for breakfast is an idea I wholeheartedly support. I found this bread in a little dutch store in Helen, Ga, on our New Year's eve daytrip.

We got whacked with a ferocious storm this past Sunday, snow falling hard and fast and then a heaping helping of sleet, ice and freezing rain - the dreaded wintry mix. It's all conspired to close school for 4 days (I'm hoping for a 5th) and bring Atlanta to a screeching HALT! which of course is just fine with me. All this shut in time has enabled me to finish my long-languished Central Park Hoodie:
I knit it with 12 skeins of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, purchased from Acornbud's stash. Acornbud, who enabled this sweater big time by hooking me on the Silkroad crack a couple of years before, just by ooh-ing and coo-ing over it in my presence. I gotta say, I adore this sweater, and its buttery colorway, Vermouth. It is warm and soft and squishy. It is a scoach too big, and I am having some misgivings about gauge, but everytime I put it on, it immediately cheers me and restores that "I am a knittah!!" feeling. Which is something, in the dark days of winter, let me tell you. The buttons are a grey and yellow vintage button donated by my knittah friend, Debbie.

So I've been off for a few days, with little else to show. I made some Guinness braised shortribs from a recipe I got from my brother in law, via Facebook. These were so good that I neglected to photograph them, but I assure you they aren't pretty, and they will be made again here at the Atomic Lodge. I played a bit in the snow and ice, and have been spending quality time with the dogs:
It remains seriously cold here, in the 20's, and so we really aren't outside that much, just to feed the birds and putter around in the yard. Our street is still iced in and our driveway remains treacherous, though of course we're taking the CRV out for necessities like pizza and milk. It's all supposed to melt away tomorrow.

buh-bye 2010!

2011-01-02T21:36:00.013-05:00

2010 was right up there with 2005 and 2007 as one of the more, ahem, challenging years of my life. It started off auspiciously and then just spun right out in a sea of sickness, stress and inertia. I am damned glad to see it good and gone, even though I was raised not to wish one's life away nor begrudge the time I'm given. Goodbye 2010, helloooo beautiful fresh new year!!

I like new beginnings. As pagan, I celebrate Samhain as the end of the Wheel of the Year. I celebrate the rebirth of the sun at Yule, and I will embrace the Year of the Rabbit when Chinese New Year rolls around. January 1st is one of my favorite days, in spite of the fact that the whole Christmas season generally feels like too much.

Good things, and generally successful ventures in 2010 included: good employment mojo, in that I found work that pays me well, which is something, in these economic times. I was successful in not drinking one drop of bottled water for yet another year, and in continuing to cook mostly from scratch, and carry my homemade lunch to work on a daily basis. I got the Louet wheel, and learned to spin, opening up a whole new world of crafty love. I knat mostly from stash, and didn't finish much; the Citron shawl, the Pink Ariann sweater which I promptly frogged, a few dishcloths and a couple of hats. I went to Stitches South with my sister, bought a lot of spinning fiber and fell in love with Kollage square needles. My Malabrigo buy-in venture rewarded me with a healthy stash infusion. I continued the Dog-A-Day campaign of working one dog each day, and braved the weather, hot and cold to get Mr. Cricket out and about, facing his fears. He is somewhat calmer and less aggressive, though we still manage him cautiously around strange people. I rode my bike a fair amount, and re-connected with my old friend Elena. Leah came to visit me, and I took a couple of road trips up to my Old Country. I did a whole lot of yoga. I found an acupuncturist who has done wonders for my health and stress issues. I continued my Project Z - the quest for more and better sleep, and am a healthier woman for it. I discovered dolsot bibimbap, which is my new favorite food. I bought a pair of Frye boots, which make me feel taller and tougher. I read a lot of books and I learned to use Promethean projection technology at work. I went to Boston for a week and hung out with my husband's totally fun family. I got a new digital camera and am having fun with it.

Not-so-successful things included knitting a sweater that, in spite of a gauge swatch, was astronomically big on me, taking a job that is just kicking my ass six ways to Sunday, and promises to do so until mid-May, when I leave it. I pulled an intercostal muscle that took a long time to heal. I got sick with every upper respiratory thing that crossed my path. My weight rollercoastered up and down - I swear, that same 10 lbs came and went 3 or 4 times. That isn't actually a bad thing; I've made peace with my body, for the most part. My altar got dusty due to my scanty spiritual practice. I did little to landscaping improvements and I pretty much failed at my housecleaning quest, except on vacation. Family weirdness abounded. I bought yarn which I didn't need, and am now at SABLE status for sure.

Resolutions? I usually make them for Mind, Body and Spirit, but this year, I'm not sure what to resolve. These are the things that are feeling like a logical next step, though:

1. Not buying yarn, and knitting exclusively from stash, including my handspun. Festivals excepted, but I mostly buy fiber when presented with a choice, these days.

2. Not buying new clothes: my job has required me to follow a dress code, and I'm just sick of shopping for nice clothes. I've built a decent wardrobe of 'business casual' clothes and now it's time to stop. Shoes excepted.

3. Yoga at home - I'll still take classes but I'll use more podcasts and dvd's to help me practice more regularly on my own.

I have a lengthy list of other resolutions which I'll spare you for the moment. These are the big 3. Somehow, it seems to be setting myself up to crash and burn if I lay the whole list out here. Something about that adage of "to know, to will, to dare and to keep silent" I guess...time will tell.

I leave you with an offering from my fabulous new blue camera:
These spider plants cast shadows that remind me of the Calder mobiles at the National Gallery.

Ella using Cricket as her pillow:

detached.

2010-10-08T20:37:00.008-04:00

The digital camera has shipped, but is not yet here. I am enjoying a 3-2-1 margarita on a night when it is still warm enough to have the house opened up. Cricket is hanging out on the couch with me. Red potatoes are baking in the oven and we'll have some leftover rotisserie chicken and green beans for dinner. All is peaceful.

It is a furlough day; ie, one that the school district is not paying us for. I wish I could say I have used it constructively, but I have done little but knit on a sock, investigate a Korean restaurant on the Buford Highway - from hence known as the BuHi (sounds kinda Korean, doesn't it?) and pick up around the house a bit. And make drinks for my willing spouse, who is all caught up in baseball playoffs, following the pipe dream of the Braves going to the series, since the Red Sox are only going home. One thing about the 3-2-1 margarita...I always add more than the required 2 parts citrus juice, because I think it's healthy. I generally treat tequila with the utmost respect, and this drink #2 will be my last one. Hence, it will remain my friend. Hopefully.

I still detest my job. This has been intensified by the fact that I've spent the past week (after hours, that is) keying in grades for my million students for the upcoming report cards. Process to be repeated in approximately 5 weeks. I have got to work smarter on this grading thing, instead of leaving it all til the last minute. Job hatin' aside, I am finding a certain detachment at work, these days, which I suppose is a bit of a blessing. I don't like detachment, feel like the more connected I am to people, situations, things, the happier I feel, but in this case, it all feels just a little saner and healthier to not give a damn what happens. Now I can see deadlines and not panic, sit in meetings where outrageously stupid things are said in a detailed analysis of our team's lesson planning process and not feel like I'm lost in a bizarre netherworld of administrative mental masturbation. No. I can silently send energy to my coworkers and think that I only have 7.5 more months to go before this becomes part of my past. I have never worked for administrators who didn't support my thinking, my work, my way of dealing with children. But it seems this principal cares for nothing but how we are planning to make that test score in April, and any little trip-up, flaw or blip on the horizon is seen as a fault. She's in the classrooms daily, unnanounced, and taking notes, browsing our lesson plans, and mandating this and that. Detached is good. Like a loose balloon, floating around, uncatchable, soon to be gone.

I am mentoring a student, a funny, sassy 3rd grader who was retained because she cannot read, and failed the standardized test that ensured her passage on to 4th grade. She just qualified for Special Ed. I've been her math teacher, and am enjoying spending time with her - she's a good kid. She's going to be fine, I think, she has a lot of spirit, and a strong family. It's these little things that make me think that maybe I don't want out of education, after all, that there's still good work to be done. Our school has an all time low of teachers volunteering to mentor students, in part, I think, because of all the paperwork demands on them right now. My coworker Fish was saying that the mentoring program used to be much bigger.

I have been listening to the Avett Brothers ongoing. Here's my current favorite song.
Which could sum up my feelings about my career, these days.

dispatch from the virtual mall rat

2010-10-03T10:35:00.009-04:00

Fall is finally here, and the weather is crisper and cooler. It's supposed to get down into the 40's tonight. I marvel at how quickly it changes here, from infernal miasma to crisp-almost-too-cool-golden October.

I just ordered myself a new digital camera. Not a fancy one, no SLR, but a pretty decent little point-and-shoot that was highly rated by various consumer reports. The price was right for this new toy, and so I jumped. I am so tired of my old (10 years!!!) digicam's sad image quality and extreme sluggishness. Time to let that faithful servant move on to a new home. I don't know if this will ever turn into a real photoblog, but I've been inspired by some friends' 365 projects, and wanted a camera that was way less trouble.

I also ordered a pair of Frye engineer boots, which I found on sale at Amazon. Now I had some Dingo boots very similar to these in 7th grade, where I got made fun of for wearing boots that only boys who lived on farms wore. I loved those boots, even though I took no small amount of petty redneck fashionista bullying in school for wearing them. I was decidedly not a fashionista. Then, throughout high school and college, I wore hiking boots and cowboy boots and faux tall Frye boots with flowered skirts. Through my 30's, I wore the witchy-looking lace-up gothygoth black boots. In my 40's, leather and rubber LL Bean duck-hunting boots. Now, at last, the boots of a life's longing. So much cashflow therapy, yes, I know, but I'm finding work so painful that I'm compelled to at least enjoy the fruits of my labor. Also, there will be the secret pleasure of wearing some kick-stomping boots to work. If the freaking fashion police allow it...

All this footwear splurginess will ensure that my future fashion finds originate at my local Salvation Army for the rest of this year, I imagine. Or spring from the depths of my sewing machine. At least there will be a camera to document it all.

Knitting...I haz it. The fleece artist sock is coming along pleasurably, even though CPH is stalled, still. I have decided I really do like knitting on dpns. And I really LOVE the Kollage square needles I'm knitting them on, too; metallic and very fast, no drag, but also no slipperiness. My sister convinced me to check them out at Stitches South. But I did drop one at the Variety playhouse last week, during an Aimee Mann concert, and nearly had a heart attack. But LO! and behold, the square needle did not roll!! Flat surfaces to the rescue. More love, more surprises. The yarn is pleasurably squishy, too, though the dye job is faded; I'm certain I will have one bright sock and one considerably duller sock. But cozily nestled inside my new boots, that just won't be a problem.

I have a day's worth of report card grading to do, and a long walk to take with Mister Cricket. He needs more exercise, it's clear, as he destroyed his bed down in the basement this week. Just tore it up. He frequently fights with his bed, and moves it from place to place, but this is the first time he's ever wreaked such havoc. Then Ella came along and ate some of the fiberfill from it, which triggered an enormous bout of puking, that used up every bit of Nature's Miracle we had in the house. Fortunately, she kept all the puking downstairs on the tile floor and throw rugs. Now both dogs are healthy, and we are down one dog bed. But Ella's incontinence is being medicated successfully, so she is back to sleeping in the bed with us. All's well that ends well.

Summer into Autumn

2010-09-26T08:58:00.003-04:00

Where has the end of summer gone? Last night the heat, which has been 90+ since May, finally broke. For the moment, it is in the 60's, rainy and breezy. I have never been so grateful for a change of season in my life, I think. Somewhere along late July, I simply stopped going outside in the yellow haze, and it is a welcome change to be able to open the windows again!

Where to begin? I think it's time to get something out on the table here. I do not like my new job. Not even one little bit. What looked great on paper, and in the interview; a math teacher working with kids in 1st - 3rd grades, is the most difficult, unsatisfying thing I have ever endeavored. Not because of the math, not because of the kids, I will say that, first thing, because people are quick to ask if it's a 'difficult population' and I will say it is, but it's not that. I have long held that kids are kids are kids. Some have had more life experiences and better upbringings than others. Some have longer attention spans, some grasp things more quickly, but in any classroom, there's usually a range of strengths, and there's always hope.

The school culture, the district culture, is killing me. I don't know where to begin, so I guess I should begin with shortly after I was hired, and began the orientation process, I started to have some weird feelings about the district. I knew they were always in the news with corruption scandals, accreditation scandals, etc. but I didn't think that would touch me. At the orientation, we were basically lectured for an hour by our new boss about "professionalism", posting lesson plans, checking email, coming to work sober, using best practices, not eating in classrooms...oh the list is endless. It sounds random, because it was random. No encouragement, no thanks for taking on the "toughest job you'll ever love," but basically the "you will straighten up and fly right" message from the get-go. At this orientation, which lasted 2 full days, we were not given a break for lunch either day. On day 2, I wised up and brought a lunch. People, this is a first. Everywhere I've ever taught, if you were going to be at a district function for more than an hour, you were fed something. If you were going to be there all day, you were either fed a meal or you were released to go get food. Or warned that you'd be brown-bagging it...so orientation (which I call indoctrination) was a bust.

Then there was the arrival at my school site. And a meeting with my principal, during which she graciously shared the dress code, which was iron clad, and violations of which would result in the teacher being sent home to change clothes. Which forbade me to wear denim, even as a jacket, shirt or skirt, fer cryin' out loud. Only dressy sandals were permitted (goodbye beloved Birkenstocks) and capris and cropped pants were strictly forbidden, unless they were part of a matching suit with jacket. WTF? Khakis are allowed to be worn on Fridays, and then only with a shirt in the school colors of blue, yellow or white. Now I am a fairly casually dressed teacher. My last job, at the Very Progressive Prep School, and of course teaching at my funny little school in Hawaii, made me even more casual. Jeans, shorts, birks, short skirts, casual, comfortable was the name of the game. Nothing in my closet worked for work at this new job. I dug around Macy's enormous sale racks, and through my trusty local thrift stores and came up with a few options that worked together. I washed and mended my worn hippie gauze skirts, and sadly put my beautiful white linen cropped pants that had once constituted dressed up for work to the back of the closet. I hoped my stable of Dansko sandals would pass inspection.

The dress code, once I had assembled the necessary ingredients; a long black knit skirt, 3 hippie-fairy (my friend Mindy's term) gauze skirts, some black pants and my trusty old brown linen skirt + assorted tops and blouses, was definitely do-able.

The next red flag was the idea of "bell to bell" instruction. That is, one does not take any time to do classroom business, attendance, lunch count, reviewing the schedule, etc. with kids before instruction begins. There is no time built in for class meetings, recess, (yes, you heard me correctly) or enjoyable routines and rituals that have long been a part of the classroom and have given teachers time to bond with their kids, as well as accomplish routine tasks. I move from class to class with math supplies on a cart, and see small groups of kids in each classroom. Students identified as having problems in math, as evidenced by low test scores. Not a problem, until my groups got bigger than the groups who were working with the actual classroom teacher... again, though, we were usually able to work this out.

Every teacher has some amount of release time during the week, for planning, for prep, for simply being able to have a cup of tea and breathe. I'm being honest here. Sometimes, all you need is that cup of tea and the silence of the classroom for the 45 minutes the kids are gone. At this school, though, the prep times are taken up by mandated meetings, with the principal, the AP, the learning coach from the district. Minutes are taken and submitted for each meeting that the principal does not herself attend. My own release time is somewhat better; it comes at the very end of the day, so I DO sneak back to the math lab to plan, to breathe, to check e-mail. But I'm acutely aware that my teachers don't usually have that luxury.

Then there are the mandated attendance at evening functions; one of my biggest beefs about working in a private school last year. In all my other public school jobs, there were basically 2 or 3 nights a year when we were required to stay past our contract hour and on into the evening. Performances, curriculum nights, back-to-school nights. Here, they come at least once a month, and we are allowed to miss one per year. Again, WTF? Invariably they fall on a Thursday, which affects my yoga class. Grrrrr.

Lesson plans for the entire week are required to be posted online by 7am on Monday. Grades are required to be posted online every week (I am so behind on this it is not even funny) and report cards are issued every 4.5 weeks. I have an enormous amount of paperwork to do and submit and deadlines are relentless and strict - something is late and you get icy emails reminding you that the deadline was yesterday... Staff meetings are weekly, and lengthy, and one is not allowed to do anything but sit in rapt attention while the presenter presents. No discussion, no grading, formality is the word. I am constantly taking piles of work home to finish, and have an increasingly large "caseload" of below-level students to plan for, across 3 grade levels. I try hard to keep my workdays to 9 hours, but it takes all my effort.

When I've discussed the craziness of this all with my coworkers, their attitude is one of "that's the way it is" or "that's how she likes it". In other words, beat down. Tired. Everyone feeling the stress, everyone stressing out on each other. Never a day without some sort of drama revolving around the chain of command, school protocol or district mandates.

This is a very abbreviated list of factors that I'm finding deplorable. Any one of these conditions would be bearable. I've been teaching for 16 years. I'm no stranger to the craziness, long hours and hard work of the job. All of them together, and too many damn mandates is making this into the job from hell. Of course my body rebelled. Of course I stopped sleeping and cried at the drop of a hat, sometimes at work. Of course I started having repetitive hamster-wheel thoughts about nonsense. Of course I put myself into the capable hands of my local 5-Element acupuncturist, who is not inexpensive, but whose needles and compassionate guidance are, at the moment, assuring my day-to-day survival, while I make other plans. We talked a lot about the mind-body-spirit of organizations, on Friday, and she observed that my workplace, toxic as can be, appears to be influenced by "bladder energy" - the sense of urgency coupled with fear. I think she hit the nail on the head. For me, she recommended a detox - breaking up with wheat and dairy and sugar. More needles than I've ever seen, much less gotten stuck with, and herbs to come. So if I can't change the culture of the workplace, at least I can be a little healthier in it.

I will leave this job at the end of my contract year. I would leave it now, but I don't really believe in leaving my students and co-teachers in the lurch, and quite frankly, the money's good and I need the money, if only to get me through to the next step.

I am wondering if I even want to be in education at all, anymore. For the past few years, I've been acutely aware that teaching has gotten less and less fun for me. It's been less about the creativity and compassion, and more about the accountability and test scores, which have never been my thing. I like assessment, but like it as a means to inform day-to-day instruction, not as a whip to be flogged with. Maybe 17 years is all I have to give to this field of public education. Maybe it's time to move forward into something new. I don't know. The thing about teaching, and school culture is that it is not a thing that is readily advertised; it's what you find out about after you've signed the contract. If you're lucky enough to work in a place where teachers have voice and empowerment (my past) you can influence it. If not, you do the job and get the hell out at the earliest possible opportunity. Or you stay in it, and endure.

I'm feeling less fear and worry these days about it. Knowing, in my heart that I've been a good teacher, and that I'm working now in a situation which doesn't support me being the best teacher I can be. I'm not afraid to fail in this job, though at the moment, it feels like a bit of a free-fall. I will look for more work after this year. I'll not rule out other teaching positions, but with far more information wrt school culture. I'll be shameless about asking about that in an interview. I'll also look for part time jobs, and tutoring gigs. I think my own sense of urgency and fear about unemployment in a time in my career when people should be lining up to offer me jobs, blinded me this summer. I knew things would be tough, and I just wanted a job. I did not let myself consider the toll it would take on my life, the household, the things I enjoy doing.

I've also been investigating, finally, the idea that's been kicking around on the back burner for several years, which is getting some training in massage therapy, or some other holistic health related field and just changing careers. I've been flirting with this since about 2005, but kept putting it off, worrying about the money, worrying about retirement, wanting to (ahem) 'stay the course'. Now I realize that maybe this course is destructive. Lots of things to consider, lots of options and things to prepare for, were I to jump ship and do something different. P is supportive; he has transferred from job to job because, in his words, "I've had about all the fun I can have in this current position."

So this is where I am now. Breaking up with my favorite foods, sleeping better, doing my damndest at a job I feel no love for, following the Hippocratic Oath in my classroom practices, investigating my future. Knitting a bit, spinning a bit. I finished Citron, and am working on my Central Park Hoodie again, and a sock from my personal sock club - you know the one where you bag up all the sock yarn and close your eyes and pick a skein...jackpot!! Beautiful Fleece Artist merino, colorway "Cosmic Dawn." 72 stitches, plain stockinette.

summer's end

2010-08-06T22:37:00.004-04:00

Summertime done come and gone, my oh my... it is a rainy night (the first in a looong time) and I am lounging here in bed with my Faithful Shadow, which of course, is Cricket's title. I guess Ella's would be The Cutest Thing Ever or The CEO and Board of Directors. After my last installment, which involved the ecstatic news that I would be working at the Salt Mines full time, I proceeded to enjoy the last two weeks of my summer. A little bit of work, but really, I avoided it for the most part. Hung out with some pagan friends, hiked and swam at the pool a little bit, continued my seasonal cooking and farmer's market shopping, evidence of which is shown here:
I think I post a picture of caprese salad every summer. I know i take one every summer. My latest, greatest farmer's market find, however, is the lemon cucumber. I'd show you a pic, but I've eaten them all, and the market's tomorrow. Little roundish cutiecumbers, yellow in color and lemon-sized. Cut them open and find that they are green inside. Very exciting, and the basis of many a satisfying lunch this week.

Oh yeah, and I turned 50. Is that not mind-blowing? Here's to the next 50 years. My birthday was low key, which is how I like it, a welcome change after the past few birthdays, all of which seemed entirely too eventful in unexpected ways. This year's merely involved some hanging out, reading, and movie going, to see the tense, beautiful-but-ugly Winter's Bone, which was terrific.

After a summer of the complete and utter lack of knitting mojo, I took a little break from the insurmountable pile of UFO's that were whining at me and making me feel guilty, and yielded to the understated, lead-by-example peer pressure of my knitting group, and cast on for Citron, that viral shawl, in a warm orange yellow merino from my stash.

I'm making good progress on it, and the color is cheering. I love this yarn; Knitting Notions Classic Merino Laceweight; it's soft, though not as soft as Malabrigo. It is the yarn I knit Icarus from, and I think it wears very well and stands up to daily use. I'm feeling a fascination with lace knitting, at the moment, and am trying to decide what shawl to do next. I like Citron's simplicity, I wouldn't exactly call it lace knitting. But lace takes concentration, and I'm worried about my undivided attention over the next few months.

The new job has kinda sorta begun. I am not teaching yet; I've been busy working at school, registering students, reading data, setting up the math lab, which I share with another specialist, a hilarious woman I'll call Fish. My teachers are very nice, and the administrator is strict; a real velvet hammer type. I like her, though, and think we will work well together. I cannot say the same for the district level admin. This district is a big freaking mess, full of nepotism, corruption and smokescreens. My plan is to do my job, lay low, and enjoy the kids and the math. On the topic of math... I've heard so many teachers remark in passing, how they dislike math. It surprises me, and I realize that while I may have been a kid who was not a good math student, I am an adult who loves teaching it, and enjoys its rhythms and beauty. When did this happen?

This job promises to be much more data-driven than other teaching jobs I've had; I will spend a fair amount of time testing kids, reporting and analyzing progress and recordkeeping. I can't decide if this is a disaster waiting to happen, or a chance to hone my techie kungfu skills.

Acornbud sent me a care package.

From left to right: A slipper floor cleaner; you wear it as a slipper and scrub the floor - very clever, that. Cupcake card, handmade. Mac nuts, which have been consumed already, and a lovely skein of fingering weight yarn from The Lavender Sheep, colorway "Cascades." Delightful things that made me totally homesick for my friend, and the Land of Aloha.

A question for Acornbud: Isn't it time for a Totoro Census?

summer whirlwind

2010-07-18T13:46:00.005-04:00

The goodies from the latest Soap and Dishcloth Swap on Ravelry. My swapper, Sillyghirl was most generous, and she made the soap herself!!

I've just returned from 2 weeks of road tripping up to VA. Enjoyable, though for the most part, I got no break from the East Coast's infernal heat and humidity. It is one long, hot summer, here in the Urban Forest. Even as I write this, we are enjoying prodigious claps of thunder and oh man, is it ever muggy out! You know me...I love to comment on the weather.

I guess the biggest news on the horizon is the news that I've found a job for the upcoming school year. In my travels to the Land of No Internets (aka my mom's house) I was running off to the public library every day or so to borrow their wi-fi so I could apply for jobs online. Feeling sorry for myself, as I didn't feel like I was in a very good space to submit these applications - total vacation mode, sloooowww internets, little time to give to it, etc. But upon my return to GA, I got a call from a principal who asked me to come in for an interview for a math specialist position. The posting had classified this as a part time job, but in the interview, it came out that it was indeed a full-time job, and I got it!! Yeah-baby, good interview (I love panel interviews...you're always guaranteed to connect with one person in the room, that way)and the only one I've gotten called for this summer. I went to it thinking that I was rusty, and no matter what happened, it was good practice. So, I'm continuing to ride this math train, one I'm rapidly feeling better about, since I would never have said I was a "math person" whatever that is. I like teaching math, though, and am always kind of surprised by teachers who don't think it's fun. I mean I may be counting on my fingers and toes and using a calculator to balance my checkbook, but I can teach the stuff. So now there's a lot less time to lay around and knit and surf the internet, but there's money that'll be coming in and not a minute too soon. And did I mention that I have to be back at work on August 5?! That seems just crazy, but GA schools get out for summer in mid May, so my summer of non-job angst is only gonna last 3 more weeks. ugh. Time to start sucking the marrow out of life.

Been knitting, but finishing nothing. More on that in another entry. I seem to be stuck on Sleeve Island with CPH, and everything else is just in a nebulous state of nonfinishment. I know sustained effort is the base of FO's, and I've been too distracted for this, but I guess I'm working something out here. Leave me be! My promised NO MORE STARTING STUFF period has been adhered to, in spite of the siren call of such goodies as Citron, Garter Yoke Cardigan and another Swallowtail...

Cooking is going somewhat better. With all the summer produce rolling into the markets, I've been eating well and cooking a lot. We've been through the blueberries, with the resulting cobblers, smoothies and pancakes, seen here in an undressed state: and now we're on the peach binge, with homemade peach ice cream coming up this evening. There's the basil bounty coming up, and even a few local, ugly-but-delicious heirloom tomatoes.

knitting experiences

2010-06-30T17:27:00.002-04:00

Here's a little meme I found on Ravelry. Kind of a rundown of all the knitting experiences I've had or am planning to have.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and plain text for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
JewelryKnitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

If you're given to memes, I encourage you to indulge!

a party girl ---not

2010-06-27T09:51:00.011-04:00

Summer is here in full swing, and I realize that I did not know what an Atlanta summer is like, based on my experiences last year. Last year's August and September were all I knew of the GA summertime, and since it was mostly cool and rainy, I was thinking I could do this. But here and now, in the mid-90's, with this astonishing humidity and strong southern sunlight? All I can say is "damn." It is what Hawaii would have been if the blessed miracle of the tradewinds would ever turn off. But here we have no wind. What wind we have is not a cool sea wind, but a muggy movement of air.

I am working on channeling my dad's famed love of hot weather, inspired by Reya's fortitude in the heat, and forging out into it, but I am not loving it. Mostly, I'm just a bit daunted by the idea that it's only June and maybe this will continue all summer? No. NO. Meanwhile I am inspired to put mint into the ice water, and wear only tank tops and sunscreen, and somehow we'll make it through this inferno.

Last week, P and I went to Boston for a family reunion of sorts. His brother and sister are big Jimmy Buffet fans (I can't bring myself to say "Parrothead") and the family reunion was taking place at a Buffet concert in the area, rather, at the all day parking lot party that accompanies such an event. I have had my party girl days, but this one was a bit much. Heat and dust and more alcohol than you could shake a stick at. My BIL has a motorhome, and we took it, and rigged up a couple of tarps for shade, and made margaritas and served up a fantastic potluck. All good fun, but the concert didn't start til 8:00 and we arrived at noon. Fortunately there were our fellow parking lot dwellers to amuse us. It seems that in spite of Buffet's age, a large portion of his fan base is in the twenty-something range, or in the category of "wish I was still 24." My SIL made about a million Jello shots for the event, and we realized that perhaps amongst ourselves, we were maybe too old or too smart to consume all of them. So we loaded 'em up on a tray and went walking around the parking lot giving them out to astonished recipients, who bartered lovely things like tequila shots and grilled shrimp for them. Uh, yeah, of course I'll take a skewer of grilled shrimp for these Jello shots... and I do like tequila. When we finally got to the concert, I found Buffet to be quite good, and good natured, though I do not get the glorification of the pirate lifestyle at all. Oh, I am all about pirates. But let's tell the truth about the harsh life at sea, it ain't no Jimmy Buffet concert. He didn't even say "Arrrgh" once!

I should probably explain that this song is one of my favorites, and that any mention of "party girl" brings it to mind. And I am more of a U2 fan than a Jimmy Buffet fan. And I just think Bono is sooooooooo gorgeous in this video. The hair tossing, beefy, leather vested Bono is my favorite morph of him, and he is All That in this clip. Are he and the wife still together? I hope so.

Incredibly, we were not hung over the next day, which enabled us to go out to the islands in Boston Harbor, a cool respite from the blazing heat of the city.

It seems this entry is all about heat and parties, no? Let's look at what's partying on the wheel these days:
The Clown Guts roving, all predrafted and ready to go for my fractal spinning experiment.

The singles:

And the results are in!

The roving was Ivy Brambles Merino in the "Impatiens" colorway, and was nice to spin. 320 yards of roughly sportweight 2-ply yarn. Very pretty, though my plying is somewhat inconsistent.

Now I'm prepping some undyed Coopworth to continue the Tour de Sheep Breeds I'm conducting. I am liking spinning the more natural wools. I've got a lot of this coopworth and am hoping to get some major yardage out of it.

I am a bit spacy this weekend, due I think to the lunar eclipse, a migraine which I successfully treated, and a huge reiki share that I participated in on Friday night with my local circle. Good fun, and very inspirational too. The moon was gorgeous, and we built a fire and stayed outside til the wee small hours of the night, making s'mores and telling tales. Then I had to get up at 5:30 am to take P to the airport. He's off to Florida to look at some oil for a week. The result of all this has been utter uselessness on my part. I've only been able to knit a few rows on a dishcloth for a swap, cook a little and putter. Which is okay, because it's summer.

a birthday

2010-05-13T17:40:00.004-04:00

Ella will be 12 tomorrow. It's hard to believe I've had her for that long, and yet I can't easily remember a time in my life when she wasn't along for the ride, offering head butts, opinions and sweet puppy kisses. My dogs are each so very different that i don't bother to try and pick favorites, now; each occupies a place in my heart. Ella's breeder remarked to me, when I had her as a bouncy young thing that "You will look back, years and dogs from now, and understand that she is the best dog you'll ever have." Gotta love a breeder who is kennel-blind, no? But she's right, she must be right, I think. Even with only a few years past... anyway, for my sweet gray old lady, who still loves walking in inclement weather,swimming, rolling in goose-poop and worse, catching frisbees and begging incessantly for whatever handout she can talk you out of, a huge Happy Birthday! And many more.

I have a 3 day weekend, my treat after an altogether too-long three day work week. I know that sounds awful to those who are working longer weeks, but really, I had a job interview, gave and graded upwards of 50 tests, had to teach a model lesson before a jury of my peers, dealt with weather and temperature extremes and generally was tried and taxed beyond my tolerance. I have nothing planned, beyond a little grading and a little knitting. I am open to ambition and events coming up, namely the making of banana french toast for breakfast tomorrow morning, as I have a going-stale loaf of home baked bread and some overripe bananas on the counter.

It is a hazy, too-hot, too-muggy day, uninspiring. In conflict with the new moon, which is supposed to be an extremely auspicious one for all kinds of beginnings, but I find myself still mired in the middle of things I need to finish. Fortitude for the long stretch, that's what I ask. Fortitude.

luck turning round

2010-05-05T21:10:00.005-04:00

I came home late today, late for me, anyway, at 4:30pm. I work half time, so 7:30 to 4:30 is a grueling day. Working part time has played havoc with my work ethic as well as my bank account. meh. It'll change soon enough if I'm lucky, and if not, well, I enjoy the downtime.

Anyway, I noticed that our front yard has become wildly overgrown. We don't own a lawn mower anymore, and we pay a guy to mow, but he's been crazy busy with his other job lately, and so hasn't gotten around to us. I do like the meadow effect of the yard all filled up with clover and dandelions and forget-me-nots, though, and so it's really no problem. We have so much clover that the grass was fragrant, and I decided to look around for bees. 20 minutes yielded one bee. One bee in a yard that should have been buzzing audibly. Was it just the wrong time of day? Or is (and I do believe that this is more likely) colony collapse syndrome hitting them hard here? Sad.

I did find a four-leaf clover, though, which made me happy. P suggests that finding one on Cinco de Mayo is extra lucky. I hope so. I did not win the $266 million lottery last night, but maybe today things are turning around...

Last entry, I promised you fibery goodness, and I intend to deliver. I have really been enjoying spinning different types of fiber on the Louet, and I was determined to buy myself a good cross-section of fun fiber to play with. I had a bit of a budget, and a bit of a space concern, so I truly didn't go crazy (did I?) with it, but I think I found some fun stuff:
I was totally seduced by these shiny happy colors at the Ivy Brambles booth. Merino, soft, fragrant and with the irresistable name: "Impatiens". Sometimes I look at this pic and think it looks like clown guts, but I think it will be fun to spin up. I think I'm going to use this to try this fractal spinning technique I've been reading about. There are lots of examples and discussions of it on Ravelry and if you google "fractal spinning" a lot of blog entries come up, so I'm feeling inspired.

Here's some 80/20 Blueface Leicester/silk from Carolina Homespun. I fell in love with the color and feel of this lovely stuff. It's so shiny and soft. I'm currently spinning it up, and while I like it a lot, it isn't as easy to spin as the pure BFL I've spun up earlier. The silk makes it a little slicker and I find myself swinging between spinning fairy hair and sportweight singles. Getting some consistency is a challenge. I'll ply it up, so it won't be a huge deal; I'm finding that plying, while a bit boring, is vastly improving the appearance of my efforts.

I wanted some undyed, more natural wool, so I got some Coopworth roving from Carolina, as well. I like this pretty brown. I've been reading Clara Parke's "The Knitter's Book of Wool" about the different sheepy breeds and qualities of wool, and learned that this breed was developed by crossing Border Leicester and Romney sheep. The natural colored ones are allowed to be registered in the USA, but in Australia and NZ only white ones are allowed. I'm told it's easy to spin, and good for outerwear.

Some Merino/silk from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm. I'm completely smitten by these gothy colors. I had been browsing a display of Socks that Rock yarn, and had fallen quite in love with the Raven Clan colors, but had resisted buying any sock yarn for my stash. When I saw this roving, I couldn't resist. I also got a wee bag of firestar shiny glittery stuff to spin in with it.

My husband is working round the clock, these days, as his office is handling wildlife refuge issues for the Gulf oil spill, right now. Reports are grim, and sad, as oil reached land, finally today, on some islands where brown pelicans are nesting. The pelicans had recently been removed from the Endangered Species list, because they'd been doing so much better, after nearly dying out, several years ago. Very sad, this spill, and a little surreal, right now.
***ETA: Correction: Oil has reached land, but has not been seen on the islands where the pelicans are actually nesting! That is good news!

I leave you with my current favorite Avett Brothers song. This changes from day to day, but today it's Perfect Space.

green things and a Stitches report

2010-04-27T15:32:00.010-04:00

Lots going on around here. Work has been intense, and as much as my job is not my dream job, it does occupy my time and my mind. I have nothing lined up for next year yet, and it's starting to grind on me, although my common sense side reminds me that I have NEVER, EVER gotten a job for the next school year before July, and so I'd better strap on my waiting shoes and stop bellyaching about this little blip in my employment life. While arguably happy not to think about repeating this year's job again, I do appreciate the paycheck and the freedom that part time employment brings. meh. Onward and upward.

I have been working faithfully on the NRN Central Park Hoodie, and am done with the back and nearly one front. This is an easy, soothing knit. The Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed is a joy, soft, rustic and the greyish yellow (grellow?) is pretty. I'm hoping that I chose the right size to make; I've heard all kinds of things about how this pattern runs small, but I do know this yarn grows a little bit, and I am so gun shy after knitting up Ariann and having it grow into such gigantic proportions. Ariann is frogged, by the way. My sister came down for Stitches South and graciously frogged it and skeined it up. It's been packed off to our friend Niki, as a gift. Niki is a pink fiend, and a relatively new knitter. I will not be defeated by this pattern, and have some yarn in stash that is slated for Ariann Redux, but it's not gonna happen right now. But CPH WAS the perfect antidote for being burned by a tricksy pattern, I gotta say. Here's an older pic of the progress:
It's full-on spring here, with our woods gone green, and more pollen than you can shake a stick at. Every day, something new is blooming and changing, and the weather swings wildly from mid 80's to low 60's. I felt a mosquito the other day, but they aren't back in force yet. Lots of new green things in my house, these days, too.
I took advantage of the Webs spring sale to stash some pretty green Berocco Ultra Alpaca. I have never used this yarn, and am not so knowledgeable about the ways of alpaca, but I love the peaty green color and am pretty dazzled by its softness, too.

A new plant we've acquired, as well; a kind of sword fern. Note the new little baby fiddleheads down in the center of the cluster.

So, as I said, my sis flew down so we could go to Stitches South here in Atlanta. We had a great time. I took a class, "Complete from the Top Down" taught by Barry Klein, the owner of Trendsetter Yarns, and who is one of the top ten men in knitting according to Knitty. He was a great teacher, and the class was terrific. We worked on a little top down sweater. I didn't get very far, but I learned a lot about increasing, decreasing and raglan shaping, which are things that have confused me, in the past, as I've blindly followed patterns without much understanding. Stitches was generally a joy, though my wallet is considerably lighter, after a lot of shopping for spinning fiber. The fiber purchases will be blogged later, as they deserve their own attention. It was fun to see the "faces" of knitbloglandia at Stitches. I finally met and chatted with the lovely Rachael and bought her book. I also spoke with Carrieoke and saw her adorable baby, though it was really just the top of his head, as he was snugly wrapped and sound asleep. Team Ravelry was out and about and handing out Ravelry buttons. I bought a few notions; Kollage square dpns, stitch markers, needle tips and a skein of Euroflax linen that was priced so low that I couldn't walk away from it, especially seeing the Ilene bag my sis was making.

Today is my last day off from an unusual 4 day weekend. Sorry to see it end.

spring's promise delivered

2010-03-30T20:59:00.010-04:00

I've been feeling a bit prickly, the past few days, disappointed in Spring's wimpy weather so far. Things seem to be turning around, though, and it's supposed to be unseasonably warm - even in the 80's, the rest of the week. I'm looking forward to it; I've got some new little shade plants to put out. Today I planted some new hellebores, which I don't expect to do much, as I got them out late. Tomorrow, hostas, lungworts and cyclamen bulbs. All this perennial planting and bulb growing is sort of a distraction to me from my real mission, which is figuring out to do with 1/2 an acre of dirt and shade. I think I need to subdivide it into bedded areas which I'll fence off from the dogs, at least temporarily, and try and establish some shade-tolerant groundcover. It feels overwhelming.

We had some tequila, limes and oranges leftover from a tequila-lime chicken dish that P. made last week. I made a drink, using the 3-2-1 Formula: 3 parts tequila, (1.5oz) 2 parts lime juice,(1 oz) and one part (1/2 oz) Cointreau. A sort of margarita, though I didn't salt the glass. Extremely yummy and sippable. I'm going to make another one, this weekend, adding in fresh squeezed orange juice in addition to the limes. Gotta figure out the proportions for this new drink, though.

On Ravelry, I'm in a group for soap and dishcloth swapping. I like the idea of swapping yarn and knitted things, but most swaps I've checked out have impossibly high spending requirements, and too many rules. This group runs a periodic swap that involves sending someone a knitted washcloth, and a bar of soap. Nothing more, nothing less...a $10 maximum spending limit. I knitted this cloth for my partner:
My swappee sent me this: I love the butterflies and the soap, a deliciously grapefruit-lily scented one, is handmade from a North Carolina Cherokee Indian village. It's currently scenting my stash of laceweight yarn, til my current shower soap runs out. The swappiness was a thrill. It's been just a drop in the bucket of cool stuff that's been coming in the mail, lately; a wheelwarming gift of some blue-faced leicester roving from Opal, my Stitches South registration... not to mention the spinning fibers I've been ordering. Here's a peek at the last of the lilac n' lemon romney drafted up and ready to spin: and a look at some of the singles on the bobbin. I spun it all up and plied it. Seems to be a light worsted weight. I think it looks like marshmallow peeps. So seasonal.

Is anyone else as ridiculously happy as I am about the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans? "Release the krakon" is our new household phrase for letting Cricket outside in the mornings.

a gratuitous blog

2010-03-28T13:01:00.003-04:00

Whoo-eee, the blogging mojo, it has not arisen in a coon's age. I've been working (something about writing 45 narrative report cards just turns the brain to jelly) and cooking (scratch pancakes, carnitas, whole wheat scones, kale chips...) and spinning up a storm on the louet, which is still nameless. Nevertheless, in spite of no writing, there has been some sporadic knitting. Here is a progress shot of Talia, who is finished, now, except for the picking up stitches and knitting the edging of the armholes, which for some reason, is a process that scares me. I have a hard time doing this in a pretty way, and even though I believe in the forgiveness of black, fuzzy yarn, I keep putting it off. For a person described as brave, I am kinda chicken like that.
This is a fun little knit. The Lamb's Pride is one of my favorite yarns to work with, even though it sheds nasty mohair all over the place. It is just about the perfect worsted single. If I could spin a single this pretty, I'd just plotz with joy.

P and I have both been cooking with all our hearts, of late. Even though more complex things have been made, my old standby of doing veg on the grill is still making its appearance. I made a sort of asian marinade for these things; mirin, shoyu, grated ginger, garlic and sesame oil. A great foil for the portobello slices.

Spring is here, and our 30's and 40's have turned into 50's and 60's, with an occasional heavenly dose of 70 degrees. I feel myself coming back to life, with the return of the sun, though Georgia is rainier than I'd like. Is it the year? Or is this the Seattle of the South that no one ever mentioned to me? P and I both agreed that after this rainy, rainy winter, we realized that all our talk of moving to Portland was just talk, and that we'd just collapse in sodden entropy in such a steadily gray and rainy place. oy.

I leave you with a recipe for something I've recently been experimenting with, the kale chip. I took a bunch of dinosaur (tuscan, lacinato, black...its names are many) kale leaves, and carved out the thick central rib, so the leaf became like a long "V" shape. Then I put the leaves in a bowl and poured a couple Tbsp. of olive oil on them, a splash of cider vinegar, and a good toss of sea salt. Using my fingers, I massaged each leaf with the oil mixture, so they were quite coated. I spread 'em out on parchment paper on a baking sheet and stuck 'em in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes, til they became crispy. Took 'em out and consumed while they were still warm and chip-like. YUM. I love cooked kale, and didn't really need an excuse to eat it, but these salty, vinegary, crispy treats are my new obsession. Great with a cocktail, or just as an emotional eating alternative to the Ben n' Jerry's, if you need variety in your diet! I think you can do it with regular curly kale, though it might be more challenging to get the ribs out, and get them nicely coated with the oil. I think I could also do them on the grill, too, but it might require more vigilance and temperature tweaking.

spin sugar spin

2010-03-13T21:58:00.007-05:00

It's the end of my spring break, which of course, is the saddest thing. We took a long (too long!) road trip up to VA, to visit my mom. 350 miles is too far to drive in one day on rather boring highways, with 2 antsy dogs. Thank the goddess for Starbucks and the Avett Brothers! Which isn't feel-good music at all, resulting in our 9pm arrival at my mom's all kinda glum, not because of a bad drive, or lack of joy in seeing her, but because of the twists and turns of "I and Love and You". Ah, well, it was nice to get out into the country, again, anyway. We went to church the next morning for a dedication service. My family was donating some projection equipment in memory of dada. Nice to be back in the old home area, running into high school friends, distant relatives and folk whose names I couldn't tell you, but whose faces are indelibly engraved upon my childhood memory.

So, weirdness, in VA... We grew up kind of out in the boonies, and wildlife abounds around the house. Deer, fox, possums, skunks, snakes, raccoons, the occasional bobcat, you name it. Anyway, it being spring, it was the mating season for skunks, otherwise known, in the Virginia vernacular, as "polecats." They are nocturnal, and every night, about 10pm, they'd come out, and do whatever it is they do, the main thing being distributing their scent all around the house, our cars, and the general surrounds. I do not remember this phenomenon, growing up; the story is, that our across-the-road neighbors, who operate a cat rescue of sorts, have managed to attract the polecats with all the catfood laying around. Nice... but not so much. Especially with 2 prey-driven dogs who needed to be walked. Somehow, we managed to avoid being sprayed, and each morning, the smell would be either very faint, or gone. My mom says this goes on through the early spring.

Otherwise, the time was spent hanging out, knitting, reading the thoroughly absorbing "Angels and Demons," watching the Oscars and playing frisbee with the dogs, and just catching up with my ma and her adventures. Somehow, in one of the endless frisbee games, Crick managed to slice open his foot on some unidentified sharp object. It was across the pad of a hind paw, in a place that was impossible for stitches, so he's on antibiotics and instructions to keep it clean and dry. Once back in GA, we were greeted with the usual 3-day downpour, thus necessitating the purchase of these: Little nylon and leather booties called "Muttluks" are just darling, and kind of a pain to put on. It took him a few minutes to learn to walk in them, he kept raising his feet really high in a hilarious prancing motion. The cut is healing, and once our weather dries out again, he can go barefoot once more outside. Apparently, paw pad wounds take a while to heal up. He seems unfazed by it, and it was only by the distressing tracks of blood all over the house that we even found out he'd been hurt.

I joined Chelsea in a slacker's knitalong of the Noro stripey scarf, a la Jared Flood. Here's my own effort.
I am using 2 colorways of Silk Garden: #84 and #47. Not sure how I feel about the way they are meshing, but that's hardly the point, with Noro, is it? Chelsea is farther along that I am, because she was a Noro virgin, and so entranced by the everchanging dazzlement. Jaded Noro whore that I am, I am slogging along at my usual crawl.It was called a slacker's knitalong, due to the lack of rules and deadlines, much akin to our Icarus knitalong. I like this approach, as I am invariably the last horse across the finish line. Still, the Noro moves one right along. This may use up all the Silk Garden in my stash! Not counting the yarn I'll gain from frogging my Klaralund, which I've fallen out of love with, while not falling out of love with the pretty green colorway.

Hawkheart is pushing through the final throes of wrapping up her American Life, to begin the Costa Rican Life, and sent me her spinning wheel; a rehoming of sorts. She used to be a spinner, long before we became friends, but had gotten away from it in recent years. We became friends, teaching together at my first school job, back in the early 90's, sharing passions for dogs, reptiles, birds, tarot, sushi, bicycling, aquariums...but incredibly, not the fiber arts. I knew the wheel was coming, eventually, but didn't expect it quite so soon, but I welcomed it with open arms, nevertheless...

A Louet S10, made in 1987, and still working like a charm. Quiet, with the exception of a tiny, endearing squeak, which I will try and track down, and smooth to spin. I might add here that I have spun on a wheel exactly two times before this. Once, my freshman year in college, for about 5 minutes, and once at Opal's, where she very patiently taught me not to be afraid of the wheel, and not to cry when all I could spin was tight little coils of the Novelty Yarn from Hell. Opal has been the spinning enabler in my life, first getting me hooked on the gateway drug of spindling, and then moving me on to harder stuff. And now the pretty Louet, nameless, thus far, occupies the clamcave, and is happily munching up my modest little fiber stash.

Things I've learned... colonial top is easier to spin than the corriedale I have. I am getting a callus on my fingers from drafting. I don't know if this is to be expected, or if I'm exercising some kind of death grip that isn't really necessary for the process. I am not spinning big scary coils anymore, and am actually starting to have some fun with the whole thing. Here's a progress shot:

Next up, tomorrow or later this week...some kitchen adventures and another WIP!

sorting hat

2010-03-13T08:55:00.002-05:00

For Barb and Chris...

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."

Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

My Ravenclaw sisters. A supposedly very "scientific" quiz. Lots of questions, too! Like taking the Harry Potter Myers-Briggs. Yeesh.

Snow and self-betterment.

2010-02-18T18:25:00.004-05:00

I think our season might be turning a corner. A pagan I used to practice with, Michael, celebrated a ritual with us that he called Vita! In Vita! attention was given to awakening the trees in the garden and surrounding woods, by striking them firmly, yet lovingly, on their trunks with decorated staves and sticks. It was a fun ritual, and usually performed in mid-to-late February, about the time that the maple sap starts to flow. I feel like it's time for Vita! right now, as our days are ever so slightly more light, and longer, I'm seeing new birds around and everyone seems to be singing a new song outside. Today it got up into the 50's. I can safely say that I think I have survived this winter, though there may be yet more to come.

We had our snow last Friday, about 3 1/2 inches here in Chamblee. It was spectacular. This is a pic of the woods across the street from our house. I love how beech trees look in winter, and how they don't seem to lose their papery leaves until the new buds push them off.

The view from the Clamcave window out into the backyard, the woods and the woodpile:

Ella loves cold weather, and will stay outside in falling snow until it piles up on her back and head. She also has been known to lay down in it.

This is Cricket's second snow. He had a good time in this one, and actually was seen frolicking in it. The first snow, he would hurry outside, do his business and race back in, but this time around, he relaxed a little bit. It looks like he's catching snowflakes on his tongue in this pic.

So I am caught in Spring Fever's thrall, and have big plans for enjoying the weekend's supposed 50's and possible 60's weather. I'm going to take my bike out for a ride, and enjoy the sun. I'm trying, somewhat vainly, to regain lost ground in my Ravelympics race...I havent knit in 3 days, due mostly to having too many math papers and tests to grade, catching up on lost sleep, yoga, and perhaps the most critical reason...disgruntlement at having lost my current favorite stitch marker, a red "maneki neko" lucky cat stitch marker that was given me by Opal. I lost the damn thing in the depths of our leather recliner chair, and it refuses to give it up! I turned the chair upside down, on both sides, I shook it, I dug around in it, to no avail. This chair, so comfortable, is all scarred, ripped and a little bit falling apart, but we love it so. It has also eaten quite a number of row counters, countless dpn's, stitch markers, highlighters, and a small fortune in pocket change over the years. It has consumed cell phones, iPods and car keys, and mercifully regurgitated those last critical items back up. But alas, the red lucky cat is not to be seen. I have other stitch markers. I'm just bitter, I guess. That this all happened at 1 am on Monday night is also part of the disgruntlement. I guess that's actually Tuesday morning. I had a long weekend off work, and so was being all crazy with bedtimes, in my Olympic zeal.

Nevertheless, I'm determined to get back up on the knitting horse tonight, and try and crank out some more rows on Talia. I'm enjoying the knit; I like the Lamb's Pride yarn, and really love the pattern, so I'm motivated. I doubt I'll medal. But it was a good way to get me started and jazzed up about a project.

Another project I've been working on is the photographing and uploading of my big scary stash onto Ravelry. I'm about 1/3 of the way through that project right now, and am kind of enjoying it. Seeing it all up there makes me realize that I really have no business buying yarn, like ever again in this lifetime. At least with it all up online, I won't have to go diving into it to contemplate future projects, though there's nothing like fondling one's yarn to get the motivation going...I have my sister to thank for all this stash documentation; she started putting hers up, and in true sibling rival fashion (I'll do it if you'll do it) I had to get in on the action.

The sleep project continues with some success. I feel better. I have fallen off the wagon a little bit on the weekends, but make up for it with a nap, and am usually back in bed by 10 on school nights. I haven't had a significant headache in a while. I've cut waaaay back on sugar, too, and carbs in general, and that's helping a lot, too, I'm sure. But I wonder when the compulsion to stay up til 1am or the impulsive desire to eat cupcakes goes away? I can put myself in bed at a decent hour. I note that I feel better, think more clearly, am less cranky and achey, but I still want to stay up late...I guess it's a life pattern, and 40-something years of nocturnal tendencies don't disappear in the space of a month. We won't even analyze the cupcake thing.

My husband used to humorously describe my permanent student status/gym-going/good habit-seeking as "self-betterment." I feel like I'm in some kind of sweet spot for considering options for self-betterment, these days. I know it's a newish moon, and Chinese New Year, and that Mercury has gone direct again. So I'm riding this happy energy of the lengthening days. Could be a function of only being partially employed, though the job feels like it has totally exploded all over my spare time. In a flush of enthusiasm over making positive changes in my life, I went and took myself off Facebook for the duration of Lent, too. That can only be a good thing. I'm missing it, but more like missing it as a thing to do, a compulsion, not necessarily as a thing that brings me pleasure (like a cupcake). I didn't give up blog reading, or Ravel-ing. A girl's gotta have some pleasures in her life... I love Facebook for connecting with old friends and keeping myself amused, but have recently just been blown away by how much time I was spending on it, and by how I was tipping over into potential meaningless drama. Time to get some distance.

For Chelsea: My tomato soup recipe comes from here. I'm going to make more tonight.

Waiting for the white stuff.

2010-02-12T10:55:00.003-05:00

You may remember, if you are as old as me, those bumper stickers that people used to have back in the 70's, that simply said "Frodo lives!" Usually on the back of old volvos, driving around funky towns like Davis, Asheville or Hilo... maybe because I'm teetering on the brink of Ravelympics, about to knit something for the Lord of the Rings fandom's Team Middle Earth, or because I'm planning my long-awaited party of a Lord of the Rings reread, but I kept thinking of the phrase "Ariann lives!!" this morning as I continued to dither about how big to actually make her collar, as I still have a bit o' the yarn left. Anyway, my feelings of being strangled and consumed by this sweater have lessened somewhat.

We area all sitting around waiting for a "big" dose of winter weather here in Atlanta, as it's calling for up to 2 inches of snow to dump in the metro area in the next 24 hours. I am astounded and gobsmacked by the walloping that DC and surrounds got, in the big snOMG event last week and before. I'm even kinda over being jealous, as that much weather, repeated that many times, just ceases to be any fun for anyone. I cancelled a trip up to the Olde Country today, as my mom's driveway is reportedly a sheet of black ice, and snow is piled up everywhere around there, too. I'm a little sad, but far less stressed than I would have been, had I been trundling up the road for that visit. I'm a bit sick of winter, here, but if it's gonna stick around, at least bring me some o' that white stuff!!

This week has been parent-teacher conferences at my school, and sweet baby Jebus, were they ever grueling! Most parents were lovely, but doing the meetings (45 of them) at a round table with other teachers, and pretty much back-to-back for 2 days straight, took any voyeuristic joy out of seeing just how far the apples were falling from the trees. There's only so many times I can hear myself saying the same damn things over and over again, and listening to my coworkers do this, too, just made me want to scream. The few crazies we saw, though, were buffered by having the whole team at the table, which was good. We were also able to have our boss call us into (ahem) "meetings" if the conferences were anticipated to be potentially too long. I left work yesterday at 4:30, feeling like I needed to take my brain out of my head and scrub it. Mercifully, a 2 hour nap and a nice yoga class full of forward bends took care of some of that chatter in my head, and what was left was dispatched by a tall, cold Dos Equis draft and the 2 hour premier of the new season of "Survivor: Heroes vs Villains." Now I have a 5 day weekend beginning, so I'm ever so relaxed and happy.

I've been contemplating a severe break from the internets, at least temporarily. I blog rarely, and so taking a break wouldn't really effect this site, here, but I've been looking back on the past 15 years or so, and remembering the days when I felt like I had time to tackle refinishing big pieces of furniture, paint rooms in my house, bicycle 40 miles, go to the gym, keep a clean house, garden a bit, take fun day trips and cook ambitious things like souffles and empanadas. Funny, it turns out all this stuff was going on back in my pre-Facebook/Ravelry/long bloglines mindless internet timewasting era. Imagine that! I actually have some "gotta do" type projects that involve the internets; job applications, photographing and uploading the prodigious stash to Ravelry, Those things, however, do not involve hours of idle chatter on Facebook and surfing Rav for potential projects that I'll never get around to knitting because I'm online so damn much, goofing around. I need to get some balance, here!!

Trying to figure out how this will look, what the parameters will be, can I manage it informally, or do there need to be strict things like the use of applications like Leechblocker and Freedom software put into practice. I kinda think that might help. Anyway, stay tuned for more on this. Or less.

I'm off, now, to bring in a load of firewood for the evening's fireside knitting, and to contemplate dinner (I'm thinking homemade tomato soup) and some housecleaning.

messing around with webcams and cauldrons

2010-01-18T10:44:00.001-05:00

contemplating the cauldron
Originally uploaded by cricketella

For ravelry.

ten things

2010-01-12T08:43:00.010-05:00

Got the inspiration for this post from Lolly and decided to give it a try.

1. I am prone to insomnia, and have always been a little protective of my sleep; I get headachy and a bit crazy really quickly, upon sleep deprivation. My summer and entire early fall was affected by irregular sleep patterns, and I'm only just now getting back on trac. This year, in 2010, I am making a serious effort to get 7.5 hours per night. I'm about a week into Project Z, as I'm calling it, and it's going well, except for having to fight the temptation to stay up watching late night tv, and hanging out with my husband, who remains a confirmed night owl. I'm following the experiment going on over at Mason-Dixon Knitting, as Ann tries the same thing. Mostly I'm noticing that I DO have more energy in the morning, I haven't had a migraine in a week, and that I'm waking up several times a night and remembering dreams; I must be awakening upon the end of REM cycles? Going to bed early is complicated, though, and involves some planning. Last night, I totally thought I'd blown it, because I got sucked into watching a show on tv about Hoarding, and didn't go to bed til 11. So I re-set my alarm for 7am, and got roughly a good night's sleep... oh yeah, my computer isn't allowed to be in the bedroom after 8pm. I am usually (if a week's worth of sleep practice can be counted as usual) on my bed by 9:45, now.

2. I am fascinated by, and a little afraid of colorwork, in knitting. My knitting resolution this year (besides that monogamy thing) is to try to knit some colorwork. I've got Fake Isle and
Selbu Modern queued up to try, later this winter, and hope to cut my colorwork teeth on some cute hats. My knitting group is kicking around the idea of doing a colorwork knit along in the coming months.

3. I'm a bit of a phone phobe, and would rather email than call people. The huge exception to this rule is with my sister. We text some, but talk a couple times a week; long rambling conversations that usually take place when we're multitasking. Of late, we've been discussing knitting, a lot, and domestic challenges. Last night's random ramble took place in the grocery store, as I was desperately searching for Boboli crusts. Probably I would have been more efficient at finding them, had I not been involved in this babbling on the phone.

4. I adore cooked greens. Seriously, my favorite food, and I think the frequency of them in my diet compensates, somehow, for some of the sugar, animal fats and alcohol that also appear in there. Bitter greens just make me happy. Stir-fried with garlic and red pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice or mojo sauce, tossed in pasta, scrambled into eggs...yum. I think I might have weirded my family out a wee bit, when I served them on Christmas day. I've got a huge bag of collards in the fridge as we speak, just waiting to be cooked up with some black-eyed peas and cornbread. I'd say it's my Southern heritage coming out, but I didn't really grow up eating them in any huge amount, but it is definitely a passion in my kitchen.

5. After years of owning dogs (nearly 12!) and my readers know what a fervent dog geek I am, I have to say, I don't care for dog parks. Part of it is having a dog who is stressed out and snarky with other dogs his size, and who frankly regards little dogs as prey items, but another part of it is just that I see too many irresponsible owners, fights happening (or waiting to happen) and they are not for me, nor my dogs, both of whom went to dog parks regularly, in their time. I occasionally will take Ella, who enjoys a walk-through and meeting and greeting other dogs, though she does not play with them, usually, and still obsesses over frisbees more than her own species. I have also used them to work with Cricket on training issues, just outside their perimeter, or even in the park on a longline, but by and large, I avoid them.

6. I love thrift shopping, but dislike the smell of the thrift store. My finds get immediately washed and rinsed with a liberal dose of lavender oil, upon arrival home. I have not done as much thrifting in Atlanta as I would have liked to, thus far, and need to rectify that situation. Maybe today...

7. Yoga has made me more conscientious about pedicures, even if I give them to myself. The time spent looking at my feet has made me appreciate a nicely polished toenail. In decidedly non-yogic fashion, a topic of conversation in my current yoga class, these days, is comparing various toenail polishes. I didn't start it, honestly. Not sure what B.K.S. Iyengar would have to say about it.

8. Ella sleeps in our bed with us, but she always, always waits for us to give the "go hup" command to jump up on the bed. Cricket doesn't sleep in the bed at night, though he is allowed to lounge on the bed until bedtime. He's too big, is a complete space hog, snores loudly, and his presence provokes too much middle-of-the-night growling and grumbling, and watchdogginess from the cranky Ella who needs her beauty sleep. He cheerfully goes to his crate after the last trip outside, and is rewarded with a biscuit. I grew up sleeping with dogs in the bed, so it seems a normal thing.

9. What started me on the path to knitting, was the purely emotional purchase of a big bag of old knitting needles, at a yard sale in Davis, CA. My friends' housemate was moving to back Denmark and he was getting rid of all his stuff. I was perusing through the tables of his worldly goods, and saw that he was selling his deceased mother's knitting supplies. Mostly needles, and a few skeins of yarn. It made me really sad to think that this part of her legacy in life was just going to some stranger... though I didn't know her. The needles were the old Susan Bates colored aluminum straight needles, in different sizes, and I was thrilled by how pretty they were. The yarn was nondescript, acrylic mostly, with a ball of grey wool. I bought it all for about a dollar, and promptly stashed it off in my house, not to be touched for 3 years or so. Later, my friend Nora and I decided we'd teach ourselves to knit. I broke out the needles; big long pink #8's, and the ball of dark grey wool, which reminded me of Ella's fur so much that I used to pretend that it had been spun from her clippings. I don't use those needles much anymore; I prefer my Denise circulars, or the Lantern Moon straights, so I passed some of them on to my sis, when she was teaching herself to knit. I kept the dpns, though, and the stitch holders, and sometimes think of that Danish lady who used them so long ago to knit her son's sweaters.

10. In 5th grade, I had a kind of mean teacher. I used to ask a lot of questions about what we were going to do next, why things were the way they were, how things worked, etc. One day, she said "Kim, you're really nosy." in front of the class. I was only a little embarrassed, because I'd heard from my grandma that being nosy was kind of rude, and I knew I DID ask a lot of questions... but later, at a parent-teacher conference, she told my mom that I was "really inquisitive" and spun it out as kind of a neutral thing, if not a downright good trait. I never liked her much and felt sorry for her daughter, who was my age, for having to deal with such a snappish mom. A wall of orchids at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (the botgard, as we call it) which has a big orchid show going on at the moment.

monogamy and continued cold snap

2010-01-09T19:15:00.010-05:00

It's crackly, crispy cold outside. Temps ranging from early morning teens up to the high 20's the past few days. Cold for which I am entirely unprepared. Needless to say, my mom's Christmas gift of silk thermal underwear was a gloriously timely thing, and I'm layering like crazy. I had convinced myself that this is an unusual phenomenon in GA, but apparently we get a really cold snap every year or so, and people just seem to suffer bad amnesia or something. Nevertheless, the sunshine remains encouraging.

And, and, and...it snowed Thursday! Off and on all day, and into the night, all told, about an inch. Dramatic ice on the roads and sidewalks. My camera battery has died and I haven't taken any pics, so you'll have to take my word for it. Best of all, we got a snow day from school!! For an inch of snow? This is a crazy new world, but hey, I do not complain about impromptu days off, ever.

Knitting continues apace...I knit a few smalls, around Christmas: the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, which I didn't make so slouchy, and don't have a pic of thus far. But it's getting heavy wear. This is a pattern that seems to be viral; I was first made aware of it by my sis, and then my knitter Jenn has been rocking it hard this winter, as well. You know how I am for viral knits. I also knit Toasty, out of my fetishized stash of Noro Cash Iroha.
They are very warm, but I fear they're taking a beating...funny, I've knit a few sets of fingerless mitts, and ended up giving them all way. Toasty is for me. There's also a pattern on that site for Toast, a simple stockinette armwarmer, which I've been tempted to knit, in some luxe cozy yarn, say something long that runs from wrist to bicep, so I could simply continue wearing my uniform of short sleeved t-shirt through these bitter months... I love the Toasty!!

And now for a topic that has never been dear to my heart... monogamy. Gosh, I love that old '80's video of George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" where he, in all his bisexual gorgeousness, writes "MONOGAMY" across the sleeping lover's back in red lipstick. Don't tell me you can resist George in that fleeting moment... but monogamy? Always a toughie for me. Either I wasn't or my boyfriend of the moment wasn't, and it varied, back in the day. Till I took those wedding vows, and now it's a non-issue. I am a monogamous woman. But as a knitter? Never has happened. I have always knit all over the place, on a dozen different projects. But lately, it has seemed, through the knitting of the smalls, and the good examples of friends, who seem to knit monogamously on one project ongoing, and finish lots of stuff on a regular basis, that monogamy is the way to go... So for 2010, I am experimenting with knitting monogamy. Of course this means that upon completing Star-Crossed and Toasty, that I return to my girlfriend, Pink Ariann. So it's all Ariann, all the time. I'm halfway through sleeve #2, now, and intend to be joining that sleeve and finishing this sweater up in the near future, because there are NO DISTRACTIONS on the horizon, if you can believe that. I put the Central Park Hoodie away, and frogged the damn Simple Yet Dullsville shawl, and have started to attend to my Ravelry queue a little more conscientiously. My plan is to finish Ariann, then work on CPH feverishly, til the Olympics. Then, I actually am going to cheat a bit, as I'm planning Talia for Ravelympics. I'm knitting on Team Middle Earth, from the Lord of the Rings Fan Forum on Ravelry, and I figured a vest was both a reasonable and useful project. I'm making it in the recommended Lamb's Pride yarn, which I love.

So, knitting monogamy... just an experiment, but still, stranger things have happened. I leave you with a blog recommendation: Use Real Butter, which I've been cooking from and enjoying for a couple of months now, and a couple of pics from my walk with Ella last weekend, before the snow grabbed us: Doesn't this pine bark look like bricks?
This same Nandina bush has appeared earlier this fall in this blog. It's got a decidedly Holiday feel to it, now, though.

Hail the new, ye lads and lasses...

2010-01-05T11:10:00.003-05:00

Thanks for the compliment on Swallowtail. I didn't even realize I'd blogged it. I was trying to, but the entry wasn't showing upon blogger when I was in the process of doing it. Flickr and Blogger don't want me to know that they're secretly friends, I think. Hmmmm...

Happy New Year. A merciless cold has set in here in north Georgia. Temperatures in the 20's, teens and single digits by night, and suddenly my enjoyment of winter is coming to a screeching standstill. Mercifully, the biting, crackling cold is accompanied by brilliant sunshine, and a cessation of the endless mud and rain that had so plagued my days in 2009. So while I'm wearing long underwear and lots of clothes, I'm also not mired hopelessly in my own weather-related depression.

I've joined the working world, at last, with my math teaching gig starting up yesterday. I'm off Tuesdays, a situation I hope to remedy by subbing in local public schools, but am still completing the background checking, fingerprinting, etc. I went in to the math gig yesterday, for a faculty meeting and to look at some student work. It looks doable, though again with the mixed feelings about the culture of private vs public schools and where I want to put my energies in the long run. But a 2010 resolution is to spend less time in the winding halls of my head, and more time in the present, so I'm putting those angsts away for the moment and working to enjoy the kids, the math and the paychecks that will be rolling my way with happy regularity.

A few loose ends pictured here:

The first Christmas tree I've had in years! We never bought them in HI, because imported evergreens are a major source of insect and organism pests in the islands. I realized I'd left all my lights back at my old job, so I had to go out and buy new ones. I wanted all blue, but found the last pack of blue lights at Target, and felt the tree needed more lighting, so hence the colored lights. All the ornaments are old; collected over the years, gifts from students or from my childhood trees... The star is one that I bought in Sacramento, on a special ornament mission with DisKnit. It was really nice to sit in the living room with the lights off and enjoy the reflections and shapes the lights and ornaments made.

Remember the Christmas cactus I repotted for my mom last year? The one that had been in my family for seventy-odd years? Well, this fall, I brought it here, as my dear mom is not a coddler of houseplants. I kept it outside til November, and then brought it in to its current place under our skylight, where it proceeded to bloom for the first time in years, and earlier than it usually does! It was normally, in years past, a Valentine's bloomer, but the conditions and coddling with Miracle-Gro spurred it into action. A happy surprise, especially since I've been too lazy to force any amaryllis or narcissus bulbs to bloom indoors this year.

Also in the unfinished business category of things finally getting done, I spun, washed and skeined up the last of the blue and brown Romney roving. Got about 100 yards of worsted weight for my troubles. I think I'll do a felted project with it; as it's too scratchy to consider making something to wear. I had hoped washing it with hair conditioner might soften it up a little, but no go. Still, it IS pretty.

Ella appreciating my handiwork.

A goal for the new year is to take more pictures and to blog more regularly. Any progress is progress, I'd say.

fast away the old year passes

2009-12-31T21:12:00.001-05:00

100_1188
Originally uploaded by busykitty

dispatch from the clamcave

2009-12-09T21:19:00.005-05:00

Cricket, doing what I'd like to do for the next 2 months straight...
Sticking my nose in here, because I was reminded by dear Chelsea that it's been over a month since I posted. Thanks for caring enough to check in on me, hon, and I assure you, I'm fine, just in my usual December funk. We won't even talk about November, which wasn't bad, all in all. But December? It's triggering a litany of whines about things that are plaguing me.

I got the Swine Flu, about 10 days before Thanksgiving. Spectacularly sick... what I thought was mere allergy turned into an overnight 102.5 fever, and screaming sore throat and coughing. After that came general nausea, that I think was kind of a reaction to the Tamiflu, which, nevertheless, is a wonder drug. It took a good 10 days for this thing to really run its course, during which I lived on soup and kiwi fruit, slept more than I ever thought possible, and knit not at all. I feel all behind now, in spite of the fact that I'm not on any kind of serious schedule in my life; it just feels like I've lost some time, somehow.

Knitting...I swatched for the Central Park Hoodie, out of lust and curiosity, in Cascade Ecological Wool. Before I knew it, I'd knit an entire sleeve!! Seriously, folks, #9 needles, plump worsted in a soothing chocolatey color and an easy-easy cable can be so hypnotic! I've put it all up on a high shelf now, to marinate while I finish that suddenly abandoned Swallowtail Shawl, and Pinky, which is the new name for Ariann, and some other Christmas knitting, which cannot really be discussed here, just yet. Pinky has a sleeve completed, and one more to go, and Swallowtail...just starting the nupps part. Fun! I had to rip a little, as I was knitting too tightly. V-ron had warned me that I wanted to do the YO's loosely, and she wasn't kidding! So I hope I'm on the right track now. We'll see, later this evening if I've done it right...

I wouldn't be true to my blogging self if I didn't mention that the Seasonal Affective Disorder is kicking my ass this year. The combined darkness and cold (relatively speaking - 40's - 50's aren't REALLY cold) plus the rain, plus the fa-la-la commercial Christmas season with its lights and spend-spend mentality are really making me just want to crawl into bed and sleep til about mid-February. Hell, I'd even settle for mid-January...ugh. This, and the impending anniversary of my dad's death, just makes me sad. Using the usual remedies, plus trying to maintain an at-home yoga practice, and hanging in there, but seriously, let's just finish out 2009!!

I managed to hammer out a decent workspace in my office-cum-store room, and my sis and I named it The Clamcave, as a play on the term "mancave." It is cozy, and quite possibly, the warmest room in the house, mostly because of its cavelike structure, and extremely low ceiling. It's still housing the camping equipment, and most of P's library (what's wrong with this picture?) as well as all my teaching stuff, but there's a bit of room for a daybed, an iHome stereo, and my stash, and its got a little window that gets evening sun. Amazing how fast it gets messy, mostly due to the small space, which should be a big space, but see aforementioned storage capacity...

I've had a couple of interviews at a very highfalutin' private school, for a position that I'm not at all sure I want, at this point. I have to go in next week and teach a sample lesson, which would normally have me in a complete tailspin, but I'm not convinced that I'm a match for this school, so I'm not exactly fretting over it. P says he heard through his work grapevine that the parents at this particular institution are a nuisance. It could go any way, I think. I could, in the process of teaching the lesson, fall in love with the kids, and being back in the classroom, at such a fabulous place, or I could further convince myself that a low-key teacher from the trenches and ghettos of public schooldom is no match for the rarefied atmosphere of elite education.

I want money. To buy new hiking boots, to take a road trip to visit Lauriedarlin', to indulge my taste for Malabrigo without counting pennies. To show myself a good time, and to pump up my sad little savings account. But I'm just not sure I want the hassles and the pressure of this fishbowl job. Arrrrgh, between a rock and a hard place.

The Hawaii house finally sold, for real and true. Nice to have that second mortgage out of the way! We did not lose our shirts over it, and can now think about scheduling a kitchen remodel, new hardwood floors, and building a shed for this place, over a 5 year plan. The shed will come first. Mokihana had asked me, some time ago, if I missed Hawaii at all, and the answer is yes, decidedly so. I do not regret the decision to move back to the mainland; but I miss the beauty, the warmth, the incredible light that comes in a place that's so surrounded by sea and sky. I find it almost painful to look at pictures I took, there, sometimes. I keep thinking, when I feel especially stuck or SAD, that "an hour on the beach could cure this." I miss my friends, the flowers, the pidgin, the food. I miss how much of my life took place outdoors, there. Cooking, eating, leisure time. I think I spend a fair amount of time outside here, even in less than perfect weather, but it does not compare, even a little bit! I miss the aloha, even though Georgia is not without its version of aloha spirit.

On a happy note, today was beautiful. High 60's, breezy (in a way that Georgians called "high winds") and sunny. The SAD was chased back for awhile, and I went outside and planted the remainder of my bulbs, and walked around the woods with my dogs, who made much ado over a dead squirrel they found. I stripped ivy off trees and knitted on a stealth malabrigo project out on the picnic table. I watched juncos and wrens scuffle around in the leaves, and ate leftover Indian food. The balm for December...

window into fall

2009-11-05T14:47:00.003-05:00

Just ate lunch, a salad I grabbed from out in the world, while doing errands. Am feeling very virtuous, as a result, and hey, Chik Fil-A, in spite of their spelling, has a really decent grilled chicken garden salad.

I'm working on job applications and trying to get my teaching credential. It is an agonizing process that I can't seem to completely finish, so I give it a bit of time each day, all the while, measuring my ambivalence about working, when there's so much to do around here. Hoping a walking/biking distance part-time job will come as a result, but clearly, more elbow grease is needed. But my bank account ain't getting any fatter, so I keep pushing.

I planted hostas, ferns and coral bells (heuchera) in our backyard, and am awaiting the arrival of more shade perennials by the mail. In addition, my yard guy and I took out a whole bunch of young skinny baby trees; mostly beech and maple, thus opening up the backyard. Because it's so shady back there, I'm not really going to rake, but just let the leaves fall and mulch it. Right now, it's entirely covered in leaves and our trees still seem to have 75% of their leaves waiting yet to fall. I am thinking I'll have to rake some, or at least blow the leaves where I want 'em to go.

Knitting on Swallowtail, mostly, these days, but trying to touch Ariann occasionally. I'm thinking to put her on the back burner and knit the Central Park Hoodie from my stashed Cascade Ecological Wool; it's whining at me and I want a cozy brown hoodie more than I want a lacy pink sweater at the moment. But first, the holiday knitting has to be tamed somewhat. Being poor, I'm thinking if I can muster it, (ie, if I can get off damned Facebook long enough) I will give mostly knitted gifts for the yuletide. I've got some ideas and am feeling fairly motivated. But then... come Boxing Day, the hoodie commences!

Tonight is yoga. I have fallen quite in love with Iyengar yoga. I had always taken Ashtanga and Vinyasa classes, and loved the endless rounds of sweaty sun salutations. But I knew my form in my poses wasn't always the best, and felt like I needed a more disciplined practice. Hence the Iyengar, which is slow, precise, and sometimes grueling, but seems to be teaching me things about patience, adjustment, and opening up. I do need to work harder at having an at-home practice, though. The optimum location here seems not to be in any one place, though. My office is nice for standing poses, but doesn't have the clear wall space for some reclining poses I want to do. The living room has the wall, but is just kinda dark...I wasn't thinking "yoga room" when we bought this house, clearly! That's an excuse, now, isn't it?

The afternoon is being spent in cleaning house a bit, roasting some root veggies, and dog walking. Oh yeah, and putting the new flannel sheets on the bed.

We went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden to see the Henry Moore sculptures exhibit. Amazing. This one is my favorite, because of its pastoral setting, and the view of Atlanta's high rises through its window. It was such a beautiful day, right before Halloween. I am still in love with the fall, here, in its slow, stately march toward yellows and browns.

Halloweenish

2009-10-31T22:37:00.003-04:00

Stealthy Christmas knitting:the Swallowtail Shawl, in Schaefer Ann.

And a happy end of October/Halloween/Samhain/Daylight Savings Fall Back time to you!

fungi and a progress report

2009-10-21T09:22:00.003-04:00

Fall mushrooms in our woods:

I do love the mushroom. I don't eat the ones I find out in my rambles, only the easily recognized morels I've found in Northern VA, but I used to have a neighbor in Arlington who was a great forager of various local 'shrooms. I just don't feel confident of my own ability to find edibles in the fungus family yet. Still, I love the look of them, and take every opportunity to drag P around the woods checking them out, on our hikes. He's actually starting to notice them and point them out to me, now, too, a great victory in the department of making my obsessions contagious! Anyway, fall is the time for finding mushrooms; sunny days after a lot of rain and it seems they spring up out of nowhere.

Knitting is fairly unproductive these days. I'm doing it, and nothing seems to be growing. Meh. Ariann grinds on slowly. I should call her the "minimalist cardigan" since minimal is the effort I'm putting on her right now. I'm cheating on more smalls; this time, a cowl out of some Woolarina handspun BFL from the stash. I started it last week, and knitted it nearly up, then decided it was too big around and ripped it back and re-started it on #8 needles at 75 stitches. Better fabric, and a smaller circumference. Mindless stockinette makes for pleasure, and this pretty wool needs no real technique other than knitting up. I'm all about the utilitarian garment right now.

The waking early and the walking are going okay. Ella is the dog of choice on the walks, as she lends herself to just walking; no training, no corrections, no thought whatsoever toward how she's behaving. I walk and she walks. Cricket will come along on some of these, but he requires considerably more handling, and so he's getting his own excursions that are more leisurely, and involve frisbee and off lead time, too. Getting up early is progressing, too, even though the cold, and a couple of headaches this week have threatened to derail me. I soldier on, though. I'm very challenged by going to bed early, I realize, and am totally denying myself my lifelong habit of an afternoon nap, these days, in order to facilitate the re-set of the body clock. Sad, but necessary for this project. I hope the early morning hours will be reward enough to compensate for this loss. I've been putting the walks in the normal nap time (3:00-4:00) which is helping a lot.

Did I ever blog about reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love" this summer? I don't think I did. My sis loaned it to me, and I'd been waiting for a couple years to read it. I'd be really interested in hearing what other folk think of this book. I struggled with it. I so loved the idea of the book; after a harrowing time in her life, a woman sets off for a year of travel and self-exploration centered around food in Italy, spirituality in India, and pursuit of pleasure in Bali. But it ran all amok in the telling, and kinda left me cold. I wanted more food, more religion and more Bali, less of the author's self-centered navelgazing. It gets touted by some as a self-help book, but few of us can afford to help ourselves to a year in Italy, India and Bali, now can we? Now there's a movie coming out about it, which really chaps my hide, because my girl Julia Roberts is starring in it, which means I'll have to go see it. And probably, it will be like "Twilight" as a movie. A movie whose book I found a bit grating, but which worked just fine as a pretty little escapist chickflick. With a good soundtrack. Gotta love that Twilight soundtrack.

Today is all about cooking up the food in my fridge. Squash casserole, black eyed peas cooked with bacon, grilled chicken. I'm also really craving some scones or muffins or some breakfasty baked good, so will peruse my recipes for some inspiration there, too. Something that will involve the craisin, the grated orange peel and use of my carefully hoarded stash of walnuts. Something that will fuel my impetus to keep getting my ass out of bed at the crack of dawn.

small pleasures

2009-10-19T07:57:00.004-04:00

It's turned from rainy to cold here, and after serious resistance from my frugal self, who is trying to acclimate to the march of autumn, I turned on the heat. Or, rather, sent P to turn it on Saturday morning, when the household temperature had reached 58 degrees. I'd been doing okay, as long as I stayed busy, took frequent trips outside, and employed my handknits in the battle against the advancing chill. My nose felt cold, my cheeks felt rosy, and I was wondering if I could make it to 55 degrees. But it was the getting out of bed in the morning that was the challenge, and the thought of taking a shower was unbearable. So we turned the heat up to 65, which seems to make it liveable without being too tropical. I may crank it up further, but for now, it just feels like a huge relief.

Ariann has been getting some love. I'm not 100% thrilled with her, but my need for warm sweaters supercedes my perfectionism, in this case, and I'm nearly up to the point where I leave the body to make the sleeves, again. But I've also been continuing to indulge my need for smalls, and last week came up with these darling things, from a skein of Kureyon that Blogless Michelle swapped with me for some of the frogged Rosedale.

Details: Maine Morning Mitts: The Knitter's Book of Yarn
Noro Kureyon,#215, #7 dpns.

I love these milky, muted colors, which remind me of mist or smoke overlaying a landscape. The Kureyon 215 colorway is a favorite, though please note that the mitts are definitely fraternal, not identical twins. No color really repeats itself. I had 2 skeins of this yarn, and thought at first to dissect them to make 2 identical, or at least more similar, but the 2nd skein had a different sequence altogether, and at that point, I decided to just surrender to Eisaku Noro's greater wisdom, and go with it. Took a little less than 1 whole skein, and was a pretty easy knit. They've gotten quite a bit of wear, in their 3 days of incarnation, and promise to be a favorite.

Next up, a cowl, in some Woolarina handspun. My quest for woolen warmth, and my shopping of the stash continues!

After a hard struggle last week, with a Monday of crushing depression, I'm starting to crawl out of my hole. The Hawaii house has a buyer, and things are progressing nicely. I am still unemployed, though feeling like this, too will end. Cricket graduated from his training class, and is strongly recommended to continue with his training, which I'm all too willing to do. I'm feeling like things are moving forward, now, if a bit slowly, instead of mired in a horrible muck of stuckness.

I'm working on 2 little life improvement projects right now:

1. Going to bed at a decent hour and getting up earlyish. Since I've moved to Georgia, I've been sleeping in, til 8 or 9 am. It's shocking, unless you consider the fact that our house is in deep shade, and because we're on the far western edge of the time zone, it doesn't even start to get light til around 7am. I've also fallen into P's nocturnal schedule, and have been staying up til 12 or 1am each night. Just crazy. He sleeps in and drives into work around 9 so he can avoid Atlanta's crushing traffic, most days, but it all just leaves me feeling like the day is wasted and I am really worried about how jacked up my body clock is getting. So I've begun the march toward more self-discipline, and an earlier bedtime. A little harder, with the onset of cool weather, but the reward of being up early, while the house is still dark and quiet is worth it.

2. Taking a walk each day. One would think this was a no-brainer, with 2 dogs, but it isn't. We live backing on to woods, with a trail which leads to a meadow, and often I just stroll the dogs back to the meadow and throw the frisbee til they are worn out. Not really exercise for me, though it does grant a certain amount of peace and joy, being out in nature. But by nature, I am a sluggish couch potato, and the walk is more a fitness thing. I'm trying for 30 days of brisk walking, which, if it goes well, will kick over into the Couch to 5k Running Program. I have no designs about running long distances, or even ever more than 5k at a time. But I like to run, at least for a short while, and am looking to get a little fitter, a little stronger, and this looks like a gentler way to do it.

I thought by putting these two things here on the blog, I'd actually be a little stronger in my commitment to actually stick with them. They are my two big projects for this moon cycle, and I'm thinking if I can sustain them for a lunar cycle, they're pretty close to becoming a habit.

P has gone to Denver for a week, and the dogs and I are facing the cold together. I've got 80 bulbs to plant, this week, and my friend Joni and I have a pumpkin patch trip planned for the end of the week, if the weather holds. Last night it was 37 degrees. I brought in the spider plant and the Christmas cactus, against the off-chance that they'd freeze. I do not like this unseasonal cold, and 37 degrees is as cold as I'd expect Atlanta to ever get, and I'd accept it in January, but by gum, mid-October needs to be a little bit warmer!! Especially during the day! Ah well, it's calling for snow in New England, so I should muster some gratitude.

Today's missions are the making of chicken broth, from a roasted chicken carcass I've got laying around. I'm jonesing to make bread, but I just feel I'm not quite organized to do it today. Some housecleaning and the training of the Cricket.

rain complaints mostly

2009-10-14T14:18:00.002-04:00

Hard downpour, a sore throat, and interminable online job applications have me in a cranky brain fog. My dogs are languishing; it's like they've given up hope of ever running around outside on green grass again. Extreme sad sigh here.

Working on things like job apps and business stuff is not easy for me at home, office or no. I found a place about a mile from here with free wi-fi, and tomorrow, I'm going to make some use of it. Meanwhile, letting my pedicure dry, getting ready to do some stair pushups (my new fun fitness pursuit) and gearing up for a visit to the public library, because anything's gotta be better than sitting around watching the rain pour down...

My new strategy of getting up early worked out so-so today. I got up, got coffee, but wasn't especially productive. See aforementioned rainstorm and sore throat. I actually stayed up a little too late knitting a fingerless mitt. Yup, I succumbed to the siren call of the Maine Morning Mitt, in some Kureyon I had laying around in stash. Pics when I comlete #2.

craving candy, but soup is smarter

2009-10-13T13:43:00.002-04:00

Blogging definitely works better when one does it more often, I think. Sort of like knitting, which is a thing that Ariann is teaching me. Knitters I knit with in Roswell are probably snickering, as this past Sunday, I announced my burning desire to frog Ms. Ariann and walk away from her. But I felt like I needed to check with Chris, first, and Chris is busy with many things on her plate, and shouldn't be called upon to make critical decisions about Ariann right now, so I knit on. And on. Admittedly, my problems with this sweater come when I pick it up and knit awhile and then put her down for days on end. Ariann is a harsh mistress, and wants my full attention. So, even though one day I love the candy pink, and the next day it makes me want to puke, or scratch my eyes out, I am trying to serve her well. While ignoring the come-hither calls of some Noro Kureyon and the Maine Morning Mitts pattern, or the beckoning of Swallowtail shawl in some Schaefer Ann...Ariann owns me now. But I post no pictures of her, as you will only feel sorry for me, when you see what minimal progress I have made, after my one-step-up-two-steps-back phase of last week. Suffice to say, I am not burning up the needles on this project, and it's not Bonnie Marie's fault, either.

Fall is here, and it's cold. Low sixities in the daytime, rain, or feeble sun. Low 50's at night, necessitating closed windows, and a fleece blanket on the bed. Leaves remain mostly green around here, but acorns are falling, and the squirrels are working themselves up into a frenzy. Someone asked me if I'd seen kudzu here, and what did I think of it? I'm stunned by it, by how much of it there is, (and I don't really think GA is deep kudzu country, is it?) It seems to grow on the edge of the forested areas, so it must like sun, and it makes these fantastic sculptural shapes of the trees. Leaves appear in a triad, which upon first viewing, caused me a big panic, when I thought it was a new kind of poison ivy. Closer inspection revealed that while the real poison ivy grows around here, this wasn't it.

I wonder when it was introduced? I think it must have been post-Civil War, and imagine that Sherman didn't see it, as he rolled over Atlanta. I don't especially like it, think it's invasive as all hell, but it does form graceful curtains down from some of our taller trees in the meadow by Nancy Creek.

Unemployment continues, in spite of my efforts, and I'm trying to cheerfully accept this time in my life, knowing that when I start teaching again, I'll feel my ass being worked off, and recall fondly this down time. The long-awaited depression came rolling in last week, and greeted me like an old friend, which, in fact, it was. I'd been expecting it this time, though, and it didn't hit me like a train, but merely caused me to up my quantity of St. John's Wort, lengthen my dog walks and try and keep the house a little cleaner. Which is kind of a "fake it til you make it" approach, but it can work, given patience and perseverance. Wearing my handknit sweaters has helped immensely, I have to say. Another reason to keep grinding away on my harsh mistress, I guess.

I've found myself in a fair number of skirmishes, recently, not all of them my fault, or so I would like to believe. One of them happened on Facebook, as I made a political comment, which provoked a firestorm-y rant from someone whom I shouldn't have friended, because I've also been the subject of her religious rants in the past. I tried to play it down, but for a few days, it really bothered the hell out of me. This person tends to run off at the mouth, and is quite conservative, politically and religiously. She lived down the hall from me in college, when we were both young and silly and while not friends, she was a good acquaintance, who dated a guy I knew and liked. When she appeared on friends' lists, I friended her, having no real reason not to. Or so I thought. Now? not so sure I want to read her ranting and scolding. Yes, we agree to disagree, but lets do it respectfully and try not to involve too much of our personal bitter baggage, no?

When I drew the 9 of swords tarot card today, it hit me that I'd been torturing myself unnecessarily over this interchange. Self-flagellation is not pretty, is it? Nice to be reminded that I am, in spite of worries about what people think, my own spiritual (in a loose use of the term) authority in this world. Again, tarot to the rescue, in unexpected ways. I'm reminded that I hold the tools to break through a lot of what's been bothering me, in the form of meditation, reiki, yoga, and general spiritual pursuits. More time at the altar, and less time on frakkin' facebook are what's called for in my life, I'm well aware.

Felicity is done, and loved. I teeter on the brink of gifting her, and fight the temptation to knit numerous other smalls, but for today, I wear her.
Yes, my cheeks are chipmunky in this picture, aren't they? I like it, though, as it seems to show a smug satisfaction in having knitted such a fabulously simple hat.

It sounds like DisKnit is thinking of leaving The Knitted Brow, to pursue writing elsewhere. I hope she drops by with a farewell post, but who can say? She has a lot on her plate, too.

I am reading The Knitter's Book of Yarn, and it is a fabulously informative book, full of technical information about different yarns, and how they get from animal or plant to knitted garment, and the qualities and taxonomy of yarn in general. There are nice patterns in the book, as well, and more than a few smalls to tempt me, like so many knitting bonbons...

chill

2009-09-30T10:46:00.003-04:00

It's 64 degrees inside this morning, and I'm opening the house up, because I'm certain that it's warmer outside! The east coast is having a snap of fall weather, as P said it was cold in DC yesterday. Well it could be that we're just hothouse flowers, transplanted from the tropics, but it does feel nippy, and the Must Have cardigan has finally felt like something other than overkill!

Back when it was warm, aka, last week, I broke out the ice cream maker and whipped up a batch of vanilla ice cream.
Was intending to make a fig/lemon recipe, but my figs were few and not really that luscious, so I satisfied myself by eating them with chevre instead. What we made, this dreamy french vanilla, involving a cooked custard and real vanilla bean, was yummy and consumed with some hot fudge sauce. I have a problem with maintaining the texture of my homemade ice creams; they go a bit icy in the freezer. My research reveals that maybe 2 eggs in the custard are insufficient. Mayhaps 5 or 6 are needed. Yeesh. I saw a recipe that called for 8, suddenly making 5 eggs seem not all that excessive.

Pleased to find another spindler in my knit group. It gives me the motivation to go on with this silly little fascination of mine with making small amounts of inconsistent (ie, Novelty Yarn) and wrecking my wrists in the process. I have spun up all the blue and brown Romney, and am now in the process of plying it, which goes slowly, and with much attendant wrist and elbow soreness. I will post the finished yarn, which I don't think is going to make my hoped-for 200 yards goal.
I do think this roving is really pretty drafted up, and I'm hoping the yarn itself will soften upon washing, as it's a wee bit scratchy now.

Because of the (ahem) chill around here, I started knitting Wanette Clyde's Felicity hat. I had some Cascade Dolce in my stash, and I'm hoping it's enough, since I sized up the needles to #6 and #8. The Dolce is my new true yarn love, soft, shiny and strong all at once. I have never knit a hat I liked, due more to mismatches of pattern and yarn and gauge than any real dearth of good hat patterns out there, but I'm hopeful for this one, as my hat buying days are over, or so I intend them to be.

More coffee is called for at this point.

fall cleaning and planting

2009-09-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

Temperatures are plunging...50's in the morning, and we're supposed to hit the 40's by mid week. Brisk. I actually closed the bedroom windows last night, and allowed the dogs to sleep on the bed for warmth. I found this poplar leaf and dogwood berry on our deck this morning.

Today, tomorrow, the rest of this week is about finishing the unpacking and setting up of my office, finally! I took a room in the basement, a rather large bonus room, to use as a studio/yoga room/office. But it's been the holding space for boxes o' stuff that we haven't gotten to, and enough is enough. I'll still store camping equipment til the shed is built, but am going ahead and setting up part of the space as an office. There's a bed, too, for napping.

I bought 40 mixed daffodil bulbs and 20 purple crocus to set out in the yard. Later, some Hostas and some other perennials will go in, launching my Perennial Landscaping Efforts.

bug du jour

2009-09-28T10:04:00.008-04:00

This is what I found out on the deck this morning when I went outside. Not sure what sex it is (Blogless Michelle? Chris?) though I hope it reproduces and spreads all over the area, as they're one of my favorite insects ever. It was sluggish, and so was I, with the weather this morning being overcast and in the low sixties. Fall has come, after days and days of torrential rains that have put Atlanta on the map. Our meadow, featured last week, became ever more flooded, and we discovered a wee leak in our roof, that hopefully, will be repaired under our roof warranty.

Lots of rain means lots of potential mud in our house, and Cricket's paws are testament to how much of his time is spent outside, holding canine smackdowns in the gladiatorial arena that is our backyard, complete with dirt floor. We keep towels by the door, and wipe paws off before they come in, but some mud gets in, anyway, and our carpet is taking on a nice patina of grunge. Hopefully it will spur us to replace it with the dreamed-of hickory flooring, sometime after the kitchen re-do.

I started knitting the Monkey sock a while back ago, in the yarn that my co-blogger DisKnit sent me. It is a good match for our surroundings. A little pooling of the colors, but in a good way. The Monkey is a rather addictive knit, even though I'm no sock knitter. I might actually finish these!

While we're on the subject of knitting, I may as well confess that I'm having some issues with PinkAriann. I've made some ugly, uncentered buttonholes, and inserted some un-called-for decreases adjacent to the buttonband. Then, when I clumsily tried to add back in the missing stitches, with my favored kfb increase, more ugliness ensued. In a less shocking color, in a different part of the sweater, you know me; I'd leave it. I'm notorious for just making errors and following the rule of "It Won't Be Noticed From the Back of a Galloping Horse" which kinda just slides right over the fact that I haven't ridden a horse in 20 years. Nevertheless, I can't take this full-frontal ugliness, so it's being frogged back to just before the buttonholes and I'll proceed from there. I'm gonna proceed with knitting the sleeves, while the frogged ugliness marinates, on the theory that if I finish 2 sleeves, I'll cheerfully repair the body. It IS an enjoyable knit, which is why, no doubt, I soldiered on cheerfully, leaving mistakes in, willy nilly.

This past weekend, P and I endured a 2 hour drive, in a dark downpour to go to Athens, to see The Decemberists, which was a big thrill. I've been a fan of their epic storysongs for a few years, and they have a crazy new album, "The Hazards of Love" that they performed, as a sort of rock opera, in its entirety at the show. Great fun, gorgeous atmospherics, courtesy of a simple backdrop, a smoke machine and lots of good lighting. I'm really happy about the plentitude of musical offerings in Atlanta. Yayness.

back when the sun was shining

2009-09-21T16:44:00.006-04:00

Was it last Sunday when the sun last shone? I took a walk with Ella to get some shots of our woods and meadow:
(as always, click on the pic to biggify)

The spiders have been working overtime, this week, to maintain rain-damaged webs. This is a pretty one.

The notorious yellow daisy, of festival fame. Our meadow is full of these flowers.

I like the quiltlike pattern of this golden leaf, a harbinger of the fall to come.

Nandina berries. They should turn red or orange in a couple months.

We've had a few days, since last Tuesday, really, of heavy rains, thunder and lightning. Today, unpacking a box, I stumbled on a bag of nicely dyed Romney roving. Very rough, almost felted, but so beautifully dyed that I'm back to spinning it up, anyway. I'll ply it and see what comes of it.

weekend

2009-09-12T19:51:00.008-04:00

It's the little things, isn't it? Even not working, I love the weekends.

Today, we went to the Yellow Daisy Festival, at Stone Mountain Park. Which I thought would be fabulous, and maybe would have, if not for the fact that every one else in north Georgia had the same idea. Plus, I did not know it would cost $10 to park at Stone Mountain. And didn't know it, til we'd braved horrendous traffic to get to the entrance. The festival was free, though, with music and people watching, some of it irritating, as it was a real draw for families with ginormous strollers to amble through the sweaty crowds. I didn't have much money, and having just unpacked a house with far too much of my stuff, didn't feel the need to buy much more. I did get some nice hand-dipped beeswax candles, and some lavender and spearmint soap. But all in all, the Yellow Daisy Fest has demystified itself for me into a never-to-be-repeated experience.

Strangely, there ARE yellow daisies that grow everywhere here. I have never seen this variety, and knew only the classic white-with-yellow-center oxeye daisy.

I finally remembered to take a pic of our house. Here it is, the Atomic Lodge.
Note the flat roof, and the multilevels. It's almost always this dark overcast shady look, here, which can be a bit disconcerting, except that it adds to the cool, and the light coming in the windows is rather green, due to all the trees. I am dreading the leaf fall, a little bit, and wondering if it might just be a matter of letting them fall where they may and just raking them off walkways and grass, but in the back, leaving them to mulch themselves out? Still trying to decide a final answer, but I know one thing...those leaves are coming down! I read somewhere that a mature poplar tree may have 20,000 leaves on it. Yikes. Deciduousness is exhilarating. I do know that I will love the winter light, it was one of my favorite things in Arlington, when all the leaves were down, and our house was luminous inside, due to the sunshine, that we never saw during the summer months.

And a gratuitous Cricket shot:One of the things we are learning in the new class we're taking, is to send the dog to a spot and have them hold their place with distractions. He is watching Ella playing frisbee with P, and was extremely distracted, but held his stay really well. When I released him, he was so intent on watching the frisbee action he didn't even hear my release word! The training is fun, and is helping me to be less frustrated with my crazy dog. Meanwhile, Cricket is already more manageable, and I feel a better bond with him. In our earlier moves, I always took classes with Ella, upon arrival at the new place...she seemed to fall apart as badly as Cricket upon changing venue. She is a little crazy right now, still, but I'm trying to concentrate on the dog who is a danger to himself and others, so it's Crick who's getting the formal training. Ella goes on the fitness walks and we're mostly managing her craziness with some at-home obedience work and exercise. She seems a lot younger, here. I think she likes the woods and all the swimming.

muscadines and scuppernongs

2009-09-11T10:55:00.002-04:00

These showed up in our CSA box the other day. A few days before that, driving around up in the mountains, we stopped by a little roadside market, and I saw a basket of the green ones. Had no idea what they were, and gave them a sniff. Once I smelled them, I was able to identify them, because a friend in Hawaii, Mel, had given me some muscat-scented tea.

They are a native American grape, with an intense fruity smell. The skins are thick and a little bit sour, and they have seeds, 2-4 in each fruit. Supposedly they have crazy amounts of antioxidants and super phyto properties that immediately turn your life around and make you a better person. I am eating them, and actually loving them. I think part of what I love is their appearance, they're so pretty, with that bronzy yellow-green nestled up against the reddish black. Purple n' green, my favorite colors, but with an earthy twist.

In the wake of the destroyed smaller digital camera, I'm back to using ol' clunky again. I should dig out the manual and try and figure out how to actually maximize its capabilities. I'm trying to take more pictures, and am wondering if something like Project 365 would inspire me, or just feel like a horrible burden? Has anyone done this? Were you able to keep up with it?

My main project for today is just to keep working on the house, cleaning and organizing. I can't believe what a beast moving is. I should know from experience...

k-brow: summer into fall

2009-09-09T22:16:00.010-04:00

It feels like fall here, even though I'm told that fall is a lengthy process in Georgia, and the temperatures are still in the 80's. But the nights are cool and crisp, and yesterday, I saw some ripe fallen acorns on my walk with Ella, so I can hope, and look forward to a change of seasons, at last.

Pink Ariann progresses enjoyably. The color is not growing on me, but I like the rhythm of the stitch pattern, and the Cascade, never a favorite yarn of mine, is knitting up nicely, and is squishy and cooperative. I feared for its future, for a few days this weekend, as I was so ambivalent about its color, all of a sudden. But now, Bonnie Marie Burns' elegant pattern writing has taken over, and I'm enjoying the knit. I may overdye it, though, when all is said and done.
Here's a progress shot, though admittedly, I am quite a bit farther along than this one, of several days ago.

My old companion, episcleritis, the nasty eye inflammation, has resurfaced again, with a red, swollen right eye. I went to a new opthamologist today, one who proved to be extremely nice. We talked about possible causes, having ruled out, in HI, all the usual associated suspects of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and tuberculosis, Chron's disease, etc. He remarked that it was his suspicion that it was triggered by stress and anxiety, and that once activated, was hard to banish completely from the body. Maybe so. I'm on another round of steroid eyedrops, which provided immediate relief, though I'm to take them for another 15 days, then we'll see what happens.

The Nuuanu house has not yet sold, though we have had some recent interest in it. There are some problems that have also surfaced, as a result of the Federal appraisal process, that we have to address, that I won't go into here. I'm trying not to angst too much about it; I loved the house, but just really want it sold now, and want to have only one mortgage, asap. It appears we may not completely lose our shirts over the damn thing, but whether we sell it to the Feds or to a private buyer, remains to be seen. Anxiety and stress? Not me...

When I went to the Olde Country, one of the things I brought back down with me was a big box of homegrown tomatoes. We've been eating gazpacho, toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, and that most delightful of summer treats; the caprese salad. Thick slices of dead-ripe tomato, topped with a slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped basil. Yum. This dish really only works at home. The times I've ordered it in restaurants, it's never as good, the tomatoes never as ripe, the flavors somehow flat. It's a rare treat. I am coming to the end of those Virginia tomatoes, though I have a box of wee yellow cherry tomatoes from our CSA that should do nicely for a chopped version of the same. The CSA isn't the one I wanted to join, here; that one must be joined at the new year. This one is fine, for now, and we've been enjoying weekly surprises in the box. This week brought some mixed potatoes and beets, fresh peanuts, apples, lettuce, a bell pepper, and muscadine and scuppernong grapes. The grapes are deserving of a blog post in and of themselves, though, so I won't elaborate much on them here, other than to say that they are native American grapes that bear no resemblance to anything I've ever eaten in my life. More on them later.

Our house is taking shape, slowly. The kitchen is too small, but I've rigged up the florescent lights on top of the cabinets, and now it is light. I'm enjoying cooking again, and am trying to focus on summer produce, which is easy to do here, with so much coming in. I'm still knitting with the local knit group, at the cute little cafe in Roswell. Nice to connect with other knitters. I still have avoided all LYS, but am planning some hats and mittens knit from stash. I realized, going through my closet, that I have a fair number of sweaters, and perhaps should knit some smaller items. I've been recently inspired by Gay's focus on the smalls, little projects that can be quickly completed. My Ravelry queue is growing!

One more episode of "True Blood" before the season ends. I'm not sure what will rush in to fill the void...maybe I'll take up "Dexter" again. I left him midway through season 2, and am curious to see what he's been up to...I am loving True Blood so much! (Warning: spoilers ahead) Just when I think it's gone over the top, and I'm starting to disconnect from it, something marvellous happens, like Godrick's departure, or that wacky and thoroughly likeable vampire queen shows up. This show is such a pleasurable escape.

I've been spending too much time on Facebook and on Goodreads, too, and am going to have to re-activate Leechblocker or some other such timesuck prevention measure, I think. Both have re-connected me to friends in real life, though, so I hesitate to be too terribly draconian about them.

My bed, and the latest book, More Than It Hurts You call to me. I have to kick the dogs off though.

k-brow: moth and owl and little else

2009-09-03T21:54:00.003-04:00

Last week, I saw a fluttering in the backyard. I thought it was a small bird, and went out to investigate, and found this guy:
I put him up on the side of the house for a better shot. It's a Tuliptree Silkmoth, a male. Callosamia angulifera by any other name. Handsome, no?

We also heard a Barred Owl, last night, verified with the iPhone birdcall application. Very cool. I'd heard screech owls in the area, a few weeks ago, but was thrilled with "who, who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?" call of one of my favorite owls.

I wish I had happy news to share about Pink Ariann...I couldn't figure out which size to knit. I'm torn between a 38 and a 40, and have a track record of knitting sweaters too big for me. My front porch is size 38, but I wanted some ease, but didn't want to swim in it. I cast on for the 40, but was knitting in on #6 needles, to reduce its size a scooch. But alas, the fabric I was getting was just too stiff. I hadn't swatched (I know, I know...) but Chris convinced me that maybe I needed to stop all this dithering and start with a swatch. I did so on #7's and got gauge, as I knew I would. I think I'm gonna knit the 38. It's lace of a sort, and will open up a bit, I think.

So back to casting-on couch.
Progress pix tomorrow, I hope!

k-brow: a pink sweater in the making

2009-09-01T17:52:00.007-04:00

What a drama queen I am. Laying out a big "this is how it's gonna be" post, and then running off to VA and not blogging for a solid week. Apologies to all who might have been waiting for the "more blogging" I suggested. Pah!

Thank you for all the nice comments. I appreciate the openness and support of my people! To Acornbud, Blogless Michelle, Chris and Opal...I miss you more than I can say, and in so many different ways. I feel very blessed to have such dear friends in Hawaii. May, I'm sorry we didn't know each other longer, in the face-to-face realm. I will definitely be following your art and whatever else you put up in the world. Chelsea and Mokihana, thanks for the encouragement. I feel like I know you both in person, dear blogsisters.

To DisKnit; you are always welcome to post here, I will leave you up as co-author, though I won't be miffed if you don't post. I have other means of keeping track of your adventures. I know you're busy; inside the Beltway has a way of eating one's life. Mayhaps you'll come south for a visit?

So, I ran off to the Olde Country for a week, flying into Lynchburg, VA, visiting my mom, visiting a very old friend for too short a time, hanging with my sis, eating chili dogs, shopping for yarn, ( I bought NOTHING!!) picking blackberries, and in general, relaxing and enjoying being off the grid. I took the small Canon camera, fully intending to document the trip, but upon arrival in VA, discovered that I'd broken it! The view screen on the back of the camera doesn't work anymore, and shows fragmented images. It may still take pix; I was so horrified at the event, I just shut it off and put it in my bag. I have to investigate getting it repaired, as it belongs to P, who doesn't use it, but still...I loved that little camera. So no pix of the dinner-plate size mushrooms growing in my mom's neighbor's yard. No pix of the gorgeous wayside flowers, or the beautiful Virginia countryside. Nor of my sister and her friend, nor of the incredible mountains of North Carolina, on my drive back down to Georgia. Just fond memories.

I have to say, the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee just kick ass. They are so much bigger than the Blueridge along the Shennandoah Valley. I was amazed by them, and really enjoyed my drive back home! The new truck, my dad's 2004 Toyota Tacoma, is just great, tackling the steep hills bravely and not guzzling too much gas.

I'm home, now, and it's in the mid-60's outside, and overcast. I am cold, and am wrapped up in Lady Eleanor, and drinking wine, in the papasan chair, which is my indoor perch of choice these days. I present to you my outdoor perch of choice:
I've never had a hammock before. It's the most relaxing place to be! But too cold this evening to be out in it. I'm almost tempted to make a fire. We do have wood...

In my last weeks in Hawaii, I hung out a bit with Chris, and we observed that we tended to knit the same things, not always in a deliberate knitalong, but we seemed to have the same knits on our radar as well as on our needles. Klaralund, Lady Eleanor, February Lady, Clapotis...yes, I know, those knits are viral, and everyone knits them. But we decided to do a real knitalong, of Bonnie Marie's Ariann cardigan. Not just a sweater knitalong, but because we both had screaming pink yarns in stash...it became a Pink Ariann Knitalong. Today was our official cast on day, and I had intended to blog it earlier and call all and sundry to join in, but as you see, it's come to this. I cast on for it this morning, promptly messed it up, and ripped it. I will re-cast on just as soon as I finish this post, which was also on my to-do list today. So, if you want to burn some pink yarn in stash, or just want to knit Ariann with us, jump right in. No rules, no deadlines, nothing but sweet, cherry-bubblegum pink knitting. I wound up 6 yarncakes this morning. This is Cascade 220, purchased for $4.00 per skein at Ben Franklin's, back in the spring, making this an affordable indulgence. I like Bonnie Marie's designs. I don't know why I was unable to count this morning on my original set-up row for this sweater. I think with this glass of wine and the evening's coziness, I'll make a better start.

k-brow: saying what needs to be said

2009-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

Worlds Collide, or This Entry Has No Pictures

I haven’t blogged in awhile, except for backdated entries in an attempt to make some acknowledgement of the passing time. Now, as I try to compose an entry and get back into the habit, some thoughts come to mind. This entry is for me, mostly, but want it here in The Knitted Brow, as a reminder of sorts.

I’m making the transition to life in the Urban Forest/Glop fairly well. Urban Forest is the term I gave, back when I was living in Arlington, to those places we’ve always made it a point to live; wooded areas adjacent to a large city. The more wildlife, nature spirits and trees, the better. “Glop” was a term I borrowed from Marge Piercy’s book “He, She, and It,” that lovely dystopia. It is used to describe urban sprawl, specifically all up and down the East Coast. Let’s say from Boston down to Miami, all linked by freeway. In Piercy’s book, the Glop was solid urban sprawl, and one needed to take a bullet train to get through it, but here and now, we’re still dependent on the dinosaur ooze of fossil fuels.

So. Transition. Living in the house I’ve come to call the Atomic Lodge, due to its 60’s modern construction, redwood ceilings, and woodsy setting. All our stuff’s been delivered from Hawaii, and we are in the process of unpacking, putting away, weeding out, and throwing away, giving away, wishing away. I purged personal possessions in Nuuanu before the move, but am feeling the need to continue that process, in this different house, with less space for storage. Everything is being re-evaluated, its value, useful or sentimental, weighed. The space issue, and the fact that we are looking at a probable kitchen renovation in the coming year, make the purge a good thing. Let’s face it, P and I have a lot of stuff. Some of it could use a new home.

So here, at the end of a summer in which I’ve mostly been alone, mostly been working on breaking down or setting up housekeeping, I’ve come to realize that in doing so, I’ve spent a lot of time on facebook, connecting, re-connecting, and generally defining myself to a hoard of people I don’t see all that often. We’re talking YEARS, kids. It has me thinking about who I really am, and whether this blog reflects that. I don’t give my blog address out to just anybody. Well, since it’s a public blog, that statement isn’t entirely true. But more correctly, relatively few people in my face-to-face life know enough about the blog to find me, unless they hunt me down, via Ravelry or some other such means. It’s not a super-secret blog. It’s a discreet blog. Knitting friends in Hawaii read it and inspired it. (yo, Chris, are you reading? Please read me!) DisKnit reads or doesn’t, but of course, is welcome to contribute. My sister reads. And a whole host of blogfriends, some of whom I’ve met through the blog read it. That said, I’m a pretty private person. I do not desire to share my ramblings in cyberspace with family beyond my sibling, who knows it all anyway. I want to reserve the freedom to write of things that strike my fancy, without fear of evangelism, argument, or judgement, no matter how evangelical, argumentative or judgemental my own entry may be.

In my facebook life, I re-connected with a lot of very Christian friends. I do not define myself as Christian, though, for a pagan, I would say that I am very Christian-friendly. I like Jesus, I like churches, I like a lot of Christian liturgy. I won’t take the Christian label because I do not believe Jesus is the one and only savior of the world and people’s souls. I cannot accept that my acknowledging and honoring other gods and goddesses, an alternate spirit world, and non-Christian practice is going to damn me to hell. This is one thing people need to know and accept about me, and it’s been the hardest thing to share with folks from my Olde Country, high school and past. Truth be told, I always had pagan leanings, and finding other people, books and groups to practice with felt like coming home in a way that nothing else ever has. Even as I define myself as “solitary pagan,” I would say that I enjoy meeting and celebrating with like-minded folk in a circle is delightful, and something that I hope to find here.

On religion, though, if you are family, or of a fervent evangelical nature, I would say I’m of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” persuasion. Moving back into the Bible Belt has me feeling like I just need to put that thing out there on the blog.

I write all this down because I’m trying (if thinking about it and composing entries in my head is trying) to get back into the habit of blogging, and due to a dearth of knitting content, am considering a re-format of sorts. I don’t want a separate blog. I have readers, The Knitted Brow is all tangled up as part of my identity, and I have too much going on to maintain multiple blogs. So as Aunt Pam said, so many months ago, I’m still trying to drop it down, here, without fear of backlash.

I’ve been meeting with a little knitting group, the past couple of weeks at a lovely coffeehouse in the Roswell area. It’s helped take the sting off missing the Aloha Knitters and the splinter groups I knitted with. As with any new endeavor, the challenge becomes one of figuring out how much to share, while continuing to maintain one’s identity, which is ever-changing in the new homeland.

So…dear reader, if you’ve always read me, read on! I hope to be here more often, with whatever comes to mind; knitting, dogs, domestic pursuits, spirituality, creativity. Be forewarned, there might not always be pictures. I’ve been so hesitant to blog, at times, because I don’t have photos to illustrate the entry, and I’ve recently heard and read a couple of remarks made by folk who didn’t seem to be too happy about blog/forum entries that lacked pix. This particular corner of cyberspace is for ME, and sometimes, there aren’t pictures. I’m just sayin’.

Also, if you read something that offends you, rest assured that: (1) it’s my space, my party (okay, DisKnit’s too) and I’ll say what I want to, and (2) I like to write, unedited, at times, and am a woman who changes her mind with amazing frequency. So if you don’t like it, click on outta here, but if you come back, you might find me taking an entirely different tack on things.

All that out in the open. Feel free to comment, or not. Of course, like all bloggers, I’m a bit of a comment whore. Not a very good one, judging from my comment history, and not always good about leaving the comments in other blogs I read. But we’re all trying.
More interesting content to follow.

k-brow: an open letter to Nu'uanu

2009-08-01T10:06:00.000-04:00

Dear Nu'uanu,
I fell in love with you the day we met. I was intrigued by the idea of living for a time in Hawai'i, as I had never really considered even as a vacation spot; preferring the less expensive, though farther flung locales of Bali, Java, and Sumatra.

Somehow, after a week's vacation, and househunting, I stumbled upon your cool valley, with the lush green banyans, and mists pouring down over the Pali. When the rest of the island was hot, you still offered morning rains, and gentle breezes. Most of the time. I am forgiving and forgetting the howling nights of wind, and screens blown out of the window in the dining room, time after time. I will also forget the standing water in our yard and the mold growing on the furniture, not to mention my Birkenstocks.

Now that it's time for me to take my leave of you, I know you've been slyly showing me your best, with a wink, as if asking me, "Are you sure you're really ready to give me up?" Y'know, Nu'uanu, sometimes, I just don't know.

It's hard to leave a friend, especially one who's seen you through some of your hardest days, as well as your best ones. You were there, as my home, the day I found out, so shortly after moving here, that my friend Christie had died. You were here to return home to, each day, after I fled what was surely the most frustrating job I've ever had. You housed us generously, and were here, the day we brought baby Cricket home from the airport, feral and un-housebroken.

You brought me friends, other residents of your valley, who appreciated your charms. You also ensured that I wasn't ever alone in my house, bringing me hordes of rats, centipedes, roaches and a mongoose. Not to mention an army of toads, geckoes, anoles and skinks. My guests complained that they were unable to sleep through your symphony of doves each morning. But why would anyone want to sleep through one of your slow, sweet dawns?

So, dear Nu'uanu, I take my leave of you. I cherish the memories, and hope I return often to visit. Take care of yourself, dear cool, breezy valley.

So much love,

K-brow.

k-brow: dog and distraction

2009-07-18T16:33:00.009-04:00

I like this picture of Ella, who looks like she's laughing.

Sometimes I feel as if I am too tangled up, energetically with my dogs, more so than is healthy. I've done ritual work with them in mind, put hours into their training and care, and worry about them, more often than not. But as Acornbud would say, it is what it is, and so we continue. I think this picture of the shadows shows how enmeshed we are as a pack.

Friday, I shipped Cricket to Atlanta. All week, I'd been worrying about it, dreading the moment when I would put him in his crate, and watch him be hauled off to the belly of the plane. Cricket has traveled before, and done very well, but it doesn't lessen the worst-case-scenario thinking, and the general sadness of being parted from my dog.

I had groomed him, clipped his coat, applied tick and flea meds, taken him to the vet for his rabies shot and travel health certificate. The night before he was to go, I took he and Ella to the Nuuanu schoolyard for a long run, in the beautiful evening light. I gave him lots of reiki the evening before, and just spent some time telling him about his journey, how it was gonna be. The day of the trip, we took an hour long walk, well before he was to leave, so he'd be tired, but cooled down for the travel.

I'm happy to report that Delta Cargo's Pets First program does well with dog shipping. The people at the airport were incredibly nice, to me and to my prickly dog. They let me keep him out of the crate til time to take him away, were concerned about his height and head safety in the crate I had for him, and were even jovial when he displayed a bit of temperamental alam when a guy bumped into him with a box. They bumped me up a crate size, from extra large to giant size. It was a crate big enough for me to ship in. His head still was close to the top of the crate. Cricket is a tall dog with a long neck. Bystanders were commenting on the enormity of the poodle. I think when folks hear the word "poodle," a small white yappy dog comes to mind. Something in a tutu, perhaps.

Then, when they came to take him away, he began to bark, not hysterically, but just repeatedly. I cried a little and wished him well and godspeed. They wouldn't let me watch him board the plane, (I couldn't go out to the passenger area at the regular airport where the plane was parked, about 1/2 mile away) but I waited at the cargo bay, and they told me when he was boarded. It was a beautiful, cool, overcast, breezy day, perfect for shipping a dog who suffers in the heat.

Then to console myself, I went to Savers and did some thrift shopping. Scored some shirts and a sweater. I came home, played with Ella, who seemed mystified that I'd spent the whole damn day with her packmate and rival, only to returned home without him, carrying a bunch o' stinkin thrift store clothes. I explained to her about cashflow therapy, and how a flattering glitter Roxy t-shirt can erase a lot of worry for a short time. Later, I gathered up my wine, chocolate and knitting and drove over to Chris's house for further distractions. We ate creamy brie, sushi, drank wine, knitted on our respective February Ladies, and discussed all things Harry Potter. Her husband came home, and we discussed Dexter. Hey, I have obsessions for everyone!

So I headed out to come home around 11:30pm. I went out to my car, opened the passenger side door to put in my knitting, and glanced across the car at the drivers seat, where I just happened to see...a huge centipede ambling slowly around exploring the seat. I shrieked, Chris shrieked, we stared in horror, and I sent her to go get the spouse, (like he was going to bravely fight the 'pede) and he came out and stared in horror, too. We were transfixed for a minute or so, and decided we had to get it out of the car, but it was dark, and there were so many places it could slither off to, if it were frightened. Believe me, I was NOT going home with that centipede in the car. It must've been 6 inches long.

Finally, I took a ziplock bag I had, screwed up my courage, and put it over my hand, and quickly reached out and grabbed it. I turned quickly to hurl it out into the yard, and hit Chris, who was standing behind me, looking over the shoulder. She screamed. I screamed. Fortunately, I did not let go of the 'pede. Then I threw him down, and dispatched of him quickly. Yeeeesh. If I had sat on him he'd have bit me. If I'd been driving, and he crawled on me, I'd have had an accident for sure.

Got home, showered, and went to bed, but I was too angsty to sleep, so I read, til P called at 1:00am to let me know that Cricket was safely in Atlanta. Ahhhhhh...

Such a day.

k-brow: party time

2009-07-12T15:51:00.011-04:00

Last Saturday, Acornbud had a get-together of some friends at her house on a rainy, misty day. A nice gathering, up in the Dowsett Highlands of Nu'uanu. We just hung out at her house all eve, with margaritas, grilled meat and veggies, heavenly salads and decadent dips and then Lilikoi brought some tequila-lime cupcakes. As vegan as I am not, the offerings from that cookbook "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" continue to thrill me. Anyway, it was a great time, one of the memories of Hawai'i that I will cherish. Here are some pics. I am a lazy photographer, so they are just random things: (as always, click to biggify)

It was off and on rainy and cloudy, and really pretty cool when there was a breeze. I love these clouds. I'm enamored of the juxtaposition of white-grey-blue these days.

Here's the patio behind her house. It's lush and green, with old mosses growing up between the stones.

Acornbud has some crazy orchids blooming on her patio. This one is all curly and convoluted. I will miss the very commonplaceness of orchids, when I move to the mainland, and I think they'll be a plant that I'll actually try and have in my new house. I've always grown things like pothos, spider plants, cactus, etc. but here I haven't bothered to have houseplants, except for the occasional orchid, which lives its blooming life indoors and then goes outside when it goes dormant.

Party girls (counterclockwise from left) Teri, Barbara, Maureen, Opal, and Dayna. I think Maureen and Opal are pointing at the flowers, but they might just be debating something else.

There was also knitting. I am still slugging along on FLS, and her neverending sleeve. I say sleeve, because we aren't even at the second one. I am just finishing up #1 now. I will buckle down and finish this sweater to wear on the plane, I must finish this sweater to wear on the plane! But just as a backup, I have Clapotis, which is serving magnificently as a bed blanket on these breezy nights.

k-brow: empty house

2009-07-10T15:47:00.006-04:00

The movers have come and gone, and now I am living in a mostly empty house, getting geared up for the final push of this transfer of my life, from the islands back to the east coast. I like being in the empty house, surprisingly. Without all my stuff around, I find myself breathing, gazing at the surrounding beauty of the valley, really catching the cool misty breezes. Very nice.

An update on the headache sitch…I had my visit with the Kaiser neurologist on Wednesday. Or, as my mom calls it, the “neurosurgeon.” The neurosurgeon prescribed me a powerful new migraine med called Maxalt. I have to say, I’m pleased with it, having already had the opportunity to try it out. Joy. It’s a melt-on-your-tongue kind of pill, that has a pleasingly minty/bitter taste. Fast acting, good-tasting; what more can one ask? Neurologist doc was very nice, giving me all sorts of practical advice for handling the migraines and the tension headaches.

I’m now without reliable internets, though I can steal from a very slow wireless network somewhere in this ‘hood, I’ve found. Its very pokiness and wavering signal make reading blogs and socializing on Facebook difficult, though, and I’m only really using it for email. Good for me to take the internet diet. I have no patience with slow networks, so I won’t be waiting around for this one.
Cool and rainy seems to be the order of the day today. I breakfasted on papaya, and am gonna inflate my aerobed and try and catch a few more z’s.

k-brow: turning energy around

2009-07-05T14:48:00.007-04:00

True to form, Hawai'i is delivering the perfect summer weather that makes me want to stay here forever, or at least until my 4-seasons soul starts longing for winter. Perfect clean mornings, washed by the nighttime rains. Soft breezes scented with plumeria.Yellow flowers that can't help but make me smile. A lot. Though I'm still embroiled in getting ready to move, and am delaying my days of beach lounging this week until after Friday, there's that promise, too.

I think I'm about to turn a corner, finally, in this packing, though it's the little stuff that remains, and little things can be daunting, too. Still, I'm enjoying the solitude, the little excursions to dump recycling, go to Goodwill, run the dogs. The Nu'uanu schoolyard has been utterly empty, mowing has ceased, and so the grass and clover have been lush, making it an altogether pleasant place to hang out with dogs.

I've knit so little in recent days. The mojo has departed, which is unfortunate, though I can only guess that it'll return after all my furniture is gone and I have no tv. Then I'll have to take it to a cafe, I guess. Though I am saving our most comfortable camping chair to stay here with me, and it looks like I'll be around until at least the 25th, due to contractor slowness. That's okay. I don't mind. I've got FLS to finish, a scarf that is a gift for my dogs' sitter, the long-missing-shoulda-been-finished-by-now Neapolitan second sock, and the Simple Yet Effective Shawl, and the Cursed Koigu Chevron Scarf to finish. All, except for FLS, small projects that pretty much fit into one little bag, and will do me until September or so, when my stash and Earthly Possessions return to me in Atlanta

Megan gave me a loaf of homebaked sourdough a couple of days ago, and I've been pretty much living off it. So much for La Vida Low-Carb, which will have to wait til Atlanta. This bread is amazing, and I have been just eating it with unsalted butter, for the most part, with the occasional cornichon pickle or slice of feta. I've never tried baking sourdough before, preferring the dense, honeyed whole wheat offerings of the Tassajara Bread Book, but this bread makes me wonder if that's a direction I want to explore... A perusal of Megan's blog (check out those Day Geckos!) reveals that she's done a lot of trial and error experimentation to get this fabulousness. Still, yum.

I'm trying to turn some energy around here, today, by getting as much extraneous stuff out of the house as possible. Old towels going to the Humane Society, a recycling run, more stuff to Goodwill, bulky things kicked out to the curb for the trash guys to get this week. I think, as more stuff flows up the steps and off the property, the packing will flow. I've written in the past about this place being kind of an energetic sink, it's at the bottom of a very steep hill, where things can flow in, but don't always cycle out, mostly because one needs to carry them up the 31 steps to get them out. It has made it hard to be motivated to purge. My own energy is up, though, and in spite of a low-key headache, which I think will unwind with exercise, (though not necessarily heavy lifting) I feel like I can face it today.

k-brow: shoyu eggs

2009-07-03T05:15:00.003-04:00

When P and I were traveling in Indonesia, years ago, we used to eat a lot of Padang food. Padang is a style of meal, where the foods are served in many little dishes, curries, sambals, fried rices, etc. One of my favorite Padang dishes is the curried egg. An egg is hard boiled, then peeled and cooked again in the curry sauce. I've made these curried eggs, and they are quite wonderful, but I didn't want to make curry, in this heat, so I made some shoyu tamago. Or maybe it's tamago shoyu...soy sauce eggs:
This treat couldn't be simpler. Hard boil and peel 4 eggs. Mix together the following ingredients:

2Tbsp shoyu
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger
pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbsp rice vinegar or mirin
1/2 cup strong green or black tea

My own recipe was really more or less to taste. One needn't be so precise.

Put the peeled eggs in a ziplock bag and pour the sauce over them. Zip it up and set it all in a bowl. Turn it occasionally to ensure even distribution of the sauce. Let marinate for 24 hours. Or however long you can wait. Then take out, slice and eat. Yum.

k-brow: bucking up

2009-07-01T03:51:00.009-04:00

I am cooking up a big pot of dog stew in the kitchen: soft meaty pork neck bones, chicken hearts and gizzards, mung beans, barley, celery and sweet potatoes. In my efforts to eat up all the food in the house, I'm having to actually shop for food to complete recipes and meals. Meh. It's stretching my kibble out, anyway. I love cooking for my dogs. When the high-end kibble that I typically feed my dogs started basically doubled in price from what I'd paid for it on the mainland, I realized that there was no obstacle to my going out, shopping the farmers markets and Chinatown, and cooking up stews and brews for my beasts. Everything that comes here by boat, in a container, is expensive. Local (or local-ish, in the case of chicken and pork) is fairly affordable.

It's been a tough week. Last week, as we were gutting out the rotted wood in the bathroom, we found live termites crawling up and down the doorframe. I'd hoped to avoid this scenario, particularly as these guys were identified as subterranean termites, as opposed to drywood termites. Our house had been fumigated for drywood 'mites and we had a warranty for that type of treatment. Naturally, this particular infestation wasn't covered by warranty. Arrgh. Another spendy step on the road to selling this house!

Social insects fascinate me.

The 'mites, the continued rat trapping, (which has been successful, I suppose) and endless grind of sorting, purging, packing and cleaning, without feeling like I've yet turned a corner, is a grind. The corner will come, soon, I think, as we resume some contracted work later this week. Lacking a corner, combined with the endless chipping away, has made me sad. The sadness has been layered with the sadnesses of deaths, hither and yon. The passing of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson - icons of my teen years, the death of a dear friend of my mother, last week, and today, the passing of Jake, Reya's beloved gold puppy... Death draws lines, divides our lives into eras. The "before" and the "after" phases.
I want sweetness, light, gentle healing, for my mother, my friend, myself.
I want this:

Honey At The Table

It fills you with the soft
essence of vanished flowers, it becomes
a trickle sharp as a hair that you follow
from the honey pot over the table

and out the door and over the ground,
and all the while it thickens,

grows deeper and wilder, edged
with pine boughs and wet boulders,
pawprints of bobcat and bear, until

deep in the forest you
shuffle up some tree, you rip the bark,

you float into and swallow the dripping combs,
bits of the tree, crushed bees - - - a taste
composed of everything lost, in which everything lost is found.

- Mary Oliver

I keep my pictures on iPhoto as a screensaver for our desktop computer. The other day, I walked into the office, after the termite discovery fiasco, to see the unexpected picture of my dad on the screen, looking particularly sassy. The shot had been taken the day we moved from Virginia; we'd stopped by my parents' house to spend the night before we drove west. The old man seemed to be saying "buck up" and after the momentary stunned gasp (I so am not prepared to see his face these days, and yet, I cannot remove him from the screensaver - I need this) I guess I bucked up. It's advice that keeps coming 'round. Reya says people are resilient, even as she survives the most awful loss imaginable to a dog lover. I hope to be. Resilient. I embrace the creaking-yet-lively Ella, and savor the moment, her sweetness. She moves away and asks "where's my ice cream?" Dogs are so in the moment, really.

I pine for the pines of Georgia, for the reunification of my primary pack, all under one roof again. For closeness to my family. And I mourn, in advance, already, for the goodbyes that are coming up.

Bucking up here, as best I can.

k-brow: a tune-up

2009-06-22T04:40:00.006-04:00

More of the dog ice cream party here. As always, click the pic to biggify.

Listening to lots of progressive rock from the 70's tonight. Renaissance, Genesis, King Crimson, as well as the progs of the New Millenium; Joanna Newsome and The Decemberists. I do love iTunes, particularly to feed the prog-rock fangirl. Yum.

Little else to report. I ate cupcakes. Did a huge recycling run this evening, and took the dogs out. I am slowly finding my mojo again, through sheer necessity.

Lord, but I need a brow wax! Or at least a good sit-down with the tweezers.

k-brow: something for everyone

2009-06-21T03:00:00.012-04:00

A little break in the cleaning action, as P returned to HI for a few days to turn 50, and to tie up loose ends. We haven't been especially productive, and have spent the time he's been here, mostly hanging out, or visiting old favorite Oahu haunts. Last night, we went to dinner at Roy's, the restaurant of local boy chef Roy Yamaguchi. Yum. I had the best cocktail I think I've had in a very long time. Later, P ferreted around the internets and found the recipe for me. Maybe to get me to stop talking about it, since it's been a major topic of my obsession, since:

ROY’S HAWAIIAN MARTINI
A signature cocktail and most welcoming beginning to any Roy’s experience.

1 ripe pineapple, rind removed
2 cups Skyy Vodka
1 cup Malibu Coconut Rum
1 cup Stoli Vanil
2 oz simple syrup or liquid sugar

Place one inch slices of pineapple into one gallon container. In a separate container, blend Skyy Vodka, Malibu Rum, Stoli Vanil’ and simple syrup. After sugar is completely dissolved, add to sliced pineapples. Let stand at room temperature for at least three days (the infusion process gives the beverage a subtle pineapple taste). When ready to serve, for each drink, fill a martini shaker with ice, pour in 4 oz. of Hawaiian Martini mix and shake aggressively. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple. Serves 6.

I will be making these, for sure!

Father's day is tomorrow, and I have to say, I've never before been conscious by how many ads for dad-type stuff there are out there. I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow. I've been really sad, lately, about my dad; it sneaks up on me, unexpectedly, at times. I'll see little things that remind me of him; a display of gorgeous tomatoes at the farmer's market, a fishing rod at the hardware store. Or I'll hear my mom complaining about a rabbit in the garden, and I'll think of how he'd have recommended just going out and shooting the damn thing. My sweet cousin messaged me on Facebook a few days ago, sending love and support for the coming weekend, and it struck me that we're in the same boat, now. Sometimes I get so caught up in my little shut-in world, that I don't stop to consider how I'm almost never alone, in my situation.

I am cranking out the last rows of the body of Miss February Lady. No idea, really, if it'll fit okay or not, just confident that blocking will erase a world of woes, should it come to that. I've recently come to the conclusion that I am at SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy) status, and I need never buy yarn again. A happy place for a knitter who's just gone unemployed, unless she's a knitter who likes to shop for yarn, and I do. But last week, as I emptied the yarn dresser out, and lovingly packed those many, many skeins into the two big Rubbermaid tubs, it hit me that I've got lots to knit, in the coming year. And incredibly, nothing which will suffice for the Whisper Cardigan. meh. I've got other things in the pipeline.

Still no move date. The coming week holds some more handyman time with Randall, and some decisions to make about how much home improvement I can afford. I'm still under budget for this place, and for the Atlanta house, too. After a banner week, in which I trapped 4 rats in 4 days, I appear to be done with rats. I know the recent rain may have lured them back outside, though, so I continue to set and place the traps diligently, in hopes of conquering this problem once and for all. I've been locating the rat nests and stashes around the house; mostly under sofas, behind the big green hutch, and in the pantry. I found the gnawed top of my dog biscuit jar, a crime I had wrongly accused Cricket of committing, some weeks ago. I found the remains of my Easter candy, as well as some shredded vacuum cleaner bags in the pantry. Mercifully, the rat bastard left me 3 bags intact, which hopefully will get me through this move and into the Atlanta house.

A friend, a few days ago, was talking about resurrecting her blog, and turning it into a type of gratitude journal. I have a hard time sticking to any one format for my blogging (witness the paltry attention paid to knitting, these days) but this is an idea which intrigues me. Some things that I'm grateful for at the moment:

The NRN
Broken screens as an excuse to run my air conditioning
The cousin, who's been a tremendous moral support to me, lately
Jo Sharp
Showtime On Demand
Tricycle Daily Dharma
The return of Nu'uanu's rains
The plethora of lizards here: skinks, anoles and geckos!

Cricket is grateful for the rare treat of the Frosty Paws canine ice cream. He's a slob, though, and just tosses his trash around.

On to my dinner of chips, guacamole, asparagus, pineapple and ramen noodles. Yes, we are well-fed here at Chez Nu'uanu Estate!

k-brow: sarong living and media check

2009-06-15T01:41:00.005-04:00

I'm unemployed at last. With 3 paychecks coming over the next 6 weeks, it could be worse. I finished up at school, and have been trying to muster houscleaning/purging/organizing mojo, with mixed results. The heat and post-school exhaustion have conspired against me, but I'm getting a bit done, and finding my rhythm. Also, continuing to trap rats, and ferret out their little hiding places within my house.

Some lovely knitting in public yesterday, for WWKIP Day, and then Blogless Michelle and I hung out and ran around, picking up a big dog shipping crate for Master Cricket, who will soon be flying the friendly skies to his new home in Atlanta. He'd outgrown the one he'd traveled in from Australia. Blogless' brother-in-law generously gave me one from one that dear, departed Emma had used. I gave him some pinot noir in exchange. Win, win.

One of the great joys of summer and not having to be anywhere in particular, is sarong living. Two years in West Africa and time spent traveling in SE Asia have made me a dedicated sarong wearer. Cooler than a skirt, and somehow more versatile, (it's a dress! a towel! a blanket!) I am all about the sarong these days. Oh yeah, and I'm drinking my coffee iced in the mornings, in an attempt to keep cool.

Crazy violet toenail polish: "Jiggy" by Creative Nail Designs. Some salon stuff I scored via my sister's Beauty Supply connections. I am always all about the shades of purple, these days.

Little else. I have taken advantage of our Showtime On Demand to marathon season 1 of "Dexter" which was grimly pleasing in a rather scary way. I never thought I'd get sucked into a series about a vigilante serial killer, but Dex's do-good attitude about his hobby, and his mad forensic skillz, plus that terrific supporting cast just hooked me. Now it's on to season 2...

This video, Roseanne Cash's "The Wheel," was posted on the Owl's Wings blog a few days ago, and I am just bedazzled by how many tarot images there are in it. I love the song, and adore the tarot-ness of it all. Enjoy.

Rosanne Cash More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

I wonder if it's just some director's brilliant idea, or if Roseanne is an aficianado of the cards?

I'm off to fry some rice for dinner, with veggies. Broccoli, red peppers, edamame n' bacon! Yeah, I know...bacon's not a vegetable.

k-brow: hillbilly exiled

2009-06-09T03:45:00.009-04:00

Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth?
But just leather on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it

Likewise it is not possible for me
To restrain the external course of things
But should I restrain this mind of mine
What would be the need to restrain all else?

—Shantideva

I am a big fan of Tricycle magazine's online Daily Dharma. You can be, too.

School is over, though my work isn't nearly done. Fatigue, crushing heat, and a sore knee forced me to flee early today, after an emotional goodbye to some of my students and their parents. This job, with this age group, drives me crazy. The kids are biologically programmed to rebel and fight me at every turn, but are so young still, that some get teary when they tell me goodbye. Arrrgh. And the parents...I love the parents, all about my age, and funny as hell. Am I glad to quit the job? You betcha. But I'll miss the parents, now, especially now that I'm not accountable to them. And the kids, well, the 11 year old is a thorny, feisty creature.

I came home and slept off my Keneke's food coma in the breezy heat, and then got up and played with the dogs and drank more ice water

I am watching some History Channel marathon of "Hillbillies: The Real Story" about my people. Fascinating stuff. Feeling a little sad that my experience of teaching American History is ended,for the moment, but more than a little jazzed about going back to hillbilly land, if only for a drive-by.

A little shot of a graveyard angel, from my Oahu Cemetary walk:

I promised knitting, and I am a woman of my word:
(click my pix to biggify)
The Simple Yet Effective Shawl, in its tadpole form. A bit of a tedious knit, but I like the stripes caused by alternating skeins. Noro is addictive. Kureyon sock yarn is a bit like knitting with twine, but I know it will soften up.

Miss February Lady, almost done with the body. The true color is the more purple version above, with a little help from the touch-up features of iPhoto. I love this pattern, memorizable lace is a beautiful thing.

I need to go to bed, nap or not. My sleep is all jacked up, still, due mostly to silly aimless naps and coffee drinking and general craziness. But tomorrow is a long, intense day of working my ass off, so I should admit to that, eat a salted caramel and just take myself to bed.

k-brow: been awhile, hasn't it?

2009-06-07T05:10:00.009-04:00

I still tag my entries with "k-brow" in the hopes that DisKnit will return, but then I haven't been exactly an exemplary blogger, myself, now, have I?

I tell you, it all hinges on the damn camera, on how it seems like too much work to shoot, download, upload and narrate my life pictorally. If I could just log in and write, then it seems like it would be easier. meh. I think I'm just overloaded.

P has moved to Atlanta, and is living in the empty Atomic Ranch. I am wrapping up life here, though it seems to move at an incremental pace, as school creeps on. It will go faster, after school is out and I can dedicate my energies to getting ready for the move.

Two more working days (not counting tomorrow, which I will spend, in its entirety, in the classroom) and I can walk away from this job, which has been such a trial for the past 3 years. Of late, it's been particularly odious. The students have been just plain mean to each other, a co-worker has been giving me the silent treatment, because I openly disagreed with her about someone we'd interviewed to be my replacement. The interviews went badly, and I eventually just took myself off the committee, after realizing that I really didn't care, and didn't need to care whom they hired for next year...

I am spending tomorrow, all day, in the classroom, in hopes of getting the major bulk of my work done, so I can leave on my last paid day. I do not want to give any more time to my employers. It will be nice to be at work with no one there, to print out the report cards, to pack up closets, to sponge all the dead ants out of my desk and clear out my cubbies. Try to remember what it was like to love teaching, love having my own classroom. Try to sort out whether this is a huge sea change in my feelings around my career, or just this crazy job, these past few years. Time will tell.

I've been getting together, sporadically with the knitters. Dinner with Acornbud and son, who knits not, spinning with Opal, finally making it back to knit night, and hanging out with Barb and Lilikoi and sampling the joys of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt.

Knitting has been going on, if sporadically. February Lady for at-home, and Laura Chau's Simple Yet Effective Shawl for out and about. Pix to come when I get around to it.

My war with the rats continues. They are winning, I think. I caught one last week, but my remaining snappy traps are bent out of shape and I need to replace them. I'm thinking about going with an electronic trap, which my friend on Maui recommends. It's expensive, but re-usable, and if it raises my catch rate, it'll be worth the cost,(about $40 + batteries) since now, the rats are springing the snappy traps and eating the bait, some nights. Rat drama seems to be a major topic of conversation amongst the catless denizens of Hawaii, amusingly enough. I had a discussion with my auto mechanic's wife, last week, and she was sketching out the differences between roof rats, Norway rats, and mice, for me. It seems I've gotten one Norway rat, 3 roof rats and about a dozen mice, if her taxonomy can be believed.

Now, kind readers, to reward your patience, as I document the sorrows of my spinsterly life of rat-battling and child wrangling, I have some pix of life in Nu'uanu:
A beautiful temple here on Nu'uanu Avenue, about a mile from our house. Isn't it just gorgeous? I wish my house looked like this...

A favorite dogwalking place, the venerable Oahu Cemetary. Especially now that the pink trees are in bloom. I do love me a graveyard.

The latest pic of our stream. Note how dry it is...we haven't had much rain in the past weeks.

The most photogenic member of our household, looking ahead.

I am off to bed, to rest up for tomorrow's toil. Insomnia has been plaguing me a bit, but I'm hoping to get a few hours tonight...

k-brow: feed the fangirl

2009-05-18T00:50:00.004-04:00

In light of the fact that I have no current photos to post, here's one from Christmas, when P and I went to a strange little town out in West Virginia, on a drive. Most of the stores were closed, alas. Because there were some incredible antique/junk shops in the area. I think the place was White Sulphur Springs? Somewhere just across the VA border. Anyway, a purple pimp hat, and a reflection of P, reflecting on such things.

Utterly lacking in mojo of any kind, I found myself making yarncakes this evening from all my laceweight. Sometimes it gets me knitting. Tonight...not so much. The Schaefer Anne is a mean bitch to roll. It tangles up and catches on itself in the swift, and I did my share of growling and cussing as I wound it. Still, it's pretty, even if it doesn't send me rushing for my needles. It's been a sort of lost weekend, with Speech Festival and a whole lot of sleep. I did bathe and clip the dogs, but for the most part, I've been in some sort of low-key hibernation. I don't understand it, but hope it passes soon.

We closed on the Atomic Ranch, and P is camping out in it this weekend. Says it's very quiet and peaceful and green, there in the urban forest. I can't wait. Alas, there's 6 weeks of contracting, building, cleaning, painting and packing in store for me, before I get that pleasure. Gotta somehow find the wherewithal to pull out of my personal stuckness.

Acornbud and I went to see the new Star Trek movie, on Tuesday, at the IMAX theater. Now I have always been fond of the series (in all its incarnations) from way back, though it usually takes a back seat to my more modern sci-fi obsessions like Battlestar Galactica. But a re-imagined and rebooted version of the series has set my not-so-inner fangirl all a-flutter once more. Okay, I think the villain, Nero, could've been a bit scarier, but the conflicted Spock was spot on, and Kirk was obnoxiously pleasing with his swagger and daddy complex. I am happy, and no doubt will see this film again. Gotta feed the fangirl.

My current favorite beach, again, that nameless Windward side park, with a long curve of sand, and a sweet little bay.

k-brow: response

2009-05-07T23:09:00.004-04:00

Thank you for the nice comments on Must Have, and the congratulations on the house. I'm very happy about both!

Must Have was knitted from Paton's Street Smart booklet, from 6 skeins of Paton's Classic Merino in Dark Natural Mix. I used US 6 and 7 needles. It was not a hard knit, if one knows how to do cables, but it definitely took some concentration. The charts for this pattern suck eggs, but the written directions for the cabling are excellent.

I prefer charts for lace, but written descriptions for cables, I think.

Here's an outside shot of the house, and its cool roofline. It's a tri-level, with lots of woods out back.

Vog continues here; stinging eyes and sore throat. I'm actually thinking of not running the dogs this eve, just because of the ickiness; it must be affecting them, too. I will hang out with them outside, though and let them poke around in the woods so they feel like they've gotten some kind of workout.

Star Trek, the Movie is out. I'm antsy to see it. But P is in Atlanta...my moral dilemna is whether or not to sneak out and see it on my own, or with geeky friends here (Acornbud? Did you read this?) or hold out til he comes home...though he may be seeing it in Atlanta as I write this. Arrgh. The trials of the long distance marriage are already kicking in...amor de lejos es para pendejos...

The weekend is shaping up, nicely. Some knitting tonight at Mocha Java, and some more knitting at Bluewater Grill in Kahala Saturday. The Pet Expo at the Blaisdell Center all weekend - shopping for dog toys and hanging out with agility friends. Some pre-packing, some mousetrapping, The Tudors, the requisite beach time...I'm just looking forward to the good mix of downtime, social fun and no work to speak of.

k-brow: little update

2009-05-07T03:17:00.004-04:00

So yeah, I finished Must Have. Must Have taken me a lifetime to do it. But it is warm and cozy and pretty and I am pleased with myself over this.

It still doesn't have buttons, though, because in spite of being the woman with a grillion buttons, I don't exactly have a bunch o' matching ones. I sorted all my buttons out, a couple weeks ago, searching for the magical seven that would transform this sweater into a Fully Finished Object. Nah. But I did have fun admiring the spoils of my grandma's button box and several yard sales.

It's been so long since I've posted that quite a bit has happened that I should probably catch you up on. First (well, in my mind, anyway) I've been sick. Off and on since mid-March. A flu, an eye inflammation, just endless exhaustion. I think my life has gotten way too complicated, trying to teach and figure out this move at the same time. I've been pretty gentle with myself, though, and am coming out of it, I guess.

In the meantime, with our ranch house in Atlanta, there proved to be so many complications, triggered by the home inspection and our recalcitrant sellers, that we terminated the contract. Sad, too, until we found out that the Modern was back on the market. So we made our original offer again, and it was accepted. So now it's the Atomic Ranch, again, and I'm happy, though trying to see the lesson in all this; this falling in love with a house, losing it, letting go, bouncing back, and then getting what I wanted all along. Always with the analysis of attachments, yeah? We close on the house in about 10 days. P will attend, I am here in HI, which has turned nice and sunny, with a whopping dose of vog, which I guess isn't really nice.

Beltane came and went. Celebrated in low-key fashion, as is my custom. But a pretty altar.

I had all kinds of things to say here, but they seem to have dissolved. I should probably post more often.

k-brow: grillin' and chillin'

2009-04-11T00:51:00.005-04:00

More veggie grilling
In answer to the questions about my veggie grilling...I take asparagus, zucchini, onions, peppers, whatever veggies I have on hand, and I just hit 'em with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Sometimes, if I'm REALLY ambitious, I mince some garlic, or use sesame oil and herbs. I used to just brush them with salad dressing, but recently, I'm trying to eat more very basic, simple foods, so it's usually just the olive oil and the lemon juice.

I pre-heat the grill to about 500 degrees and then just put the raw veggies on and grill away. Sometimes, (but not always) I brush the grill itself with olive oil, first. I grill the veggies about 5 minutes, grill lid closed, on high, and then check them, turning them with tongs.

With peppers, I start them with the outside skins on the grill first, and then when they get sear lines, I turn them and do the other side.

With asparagus, I start them spread out, and then as they get more done, I pile them together. You have to make sure they're perpendicular to the grill grate so they don't fall through.

I grill and taste and grill and taste till everything's done, and not too burnt.

Expect a lot of shrinkage. What looks like a huge amount of veggies cooks down rather quickly, so grill more than you think you're gonna need. They make good omelet fillings, salad additions and snacks.

I have not grilled eggplant. I'm a little afraid of it, having had the good, the bad and the ugly with this nightshade. I'm thinking to start experimenting with it, as I had some superb eggplant milanesa at Soul de Cuba in Chinatown the other night. And I like Baba Ganouj, so I'm thinking that grilling the eggplant may just make it palatable.

Today, I've spent the day entertaining my handyman, who came to give us estimates on rebuilding our rotten deck and termite damaged bathroom. These things are liveable for us, at this point, but the house cannot be marketed with them as is, in this economy, so we're tackling them as major repairs. Those, and the replacement of the dead dishwasher (though in truth, we get by just fine washing our own dishes) and the repair of the ailing washer are just big investments that we are biting the bullet and making, in hopes that they help to sell the house. My handyman reminds me that houses don't come up too much in Nuuanu, and by the time we put it on the market, it'll be hot on Oahu, and Nuuanu will seem cool and green and welcoming to all comers. I bought the house in June, and used to sit in our condo in Waikiki and watch the morning mists pour over the pali and envelope the Nuuanu and Manoa valleys and dream of living there... now, of course, I go down the hill and head east to Hawaii Kai to see the sun, and breathe some dryer air, but all things change as the seasons change.

It feels like we are in some crazy nuclear winter these days though. Maybe it's just that I work on the Windward side of the island, which gets lots of afternoon cloud cover and due to my cross-Ko'olau lifestyle, but winter seems to still have us in its grip. Cloudy, low 70's, and I've worn long pants and long sleeves more here now than ever before. I usually work in shorts or skirts and tank tops, but this spring, it's not the case. Craziness. The shawls and sweaters are definitely getting a workout.

A sweet shot of Ella sleeping.
She seems thinner, and less muscled, these days, though her senior panel at her annual physical revealed robust health and good physical condition for her nearly 11 years. She sleeps more deeply, now, too. Cricket is most definitely in his physical prime, these days, big, very fast and powerful. His fearfulness with strange people and dogs makes him a constant worry out in the public sector, but I feel like I have to walk a fine line with him; keep the stress threshold down, expose him in a safe, pleasurable way to as many new sights and sounds as possible. It takes more energy than I think I have, sometimes. When he gets to Atlanta, we'll resume working with a trainer, privately, this time, to deal with the reactivity. I know the trainers who do that work here, and feel like the venue isn't a good one for him; I want to work with someone new, someone I don't have a history with, too.

The prospect of moving has triggered all sorts of questions and wonderings...

Will I have to dress up more for work? And wear makeup?

Should I sell the CR-V here, and just drive my dad's truck, which he left to me, in Lexington?

A new place seems to be the ideal situation to start new patterns, to keep the good stuff, and to cast out the not-so-good. I think this is what's keeping me working on this move so far, as it seems, at times, altogether too much to face.

Must Have is stitched together. Photos to come this weekend. I'm not 100% thrilled yet, but as you know, my FO's grow on me. I love the sheepy smell of it, but it's gonna get washed and blocked, because I want to squeeze some length out of it.

I'm swatching for the February Lady Sweater, with some Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed. I love the yarn, though it's DK nature worries me a little with gauge issues; the pattern calls for worsted yarn. The Silkroad is a pretty fatty DK though, and I nearly have gauge with #7 needles, and I'm told that the pattern sizes run big, so I'm pretty ready to cast on. Time to knit something purple.

k-brow: feed your head

2009-04-08T00:53:00.004-04:00

So many things, these days, are restoring my energy and joy. I am a moody person, by nature, and go up and down, with the moon and as the wind blows. Recently, though (probably with lengthening days and a steady diet of supplements and nettle infusion) I am more "up" than "down."

Here are a few things that are making me happy recently...

Reya's blog, with its recent series of entries on spirit guides, complete with tonic and recipes is giving me food for thought. I highly recommend her as a regular read, especially if you're interested in the seasons, shamanism, or photography.

I swear, would starve if it weren't for the gas grill. Most of my dinners cooked at home involve, if not the Le Creuset dutch oven, the big rusty gas grill. Asparagus and red peppers, from Costco. Basted in lemon juice and olive oil and eaten right off the grill.

My neighbor's bird of paradise flowers are blooming. Just gorgeous! I see it on my daily stroll with Ella, who likes a little walk away from the ever-bouncy Cricket.

Red and green foliage in Waimea. I don't know what this tree is. It has fat shiny leaves.

This pic, which I took last fall. A pile of opihi, or limpet shells that I found on the Big Island. I wish I'd taken some, but for some reason, I thought they might be kinda stinky, and I was roadtripping in a rental car, and wasn't sure of my ability to get them back to Oahu without complications. I have never eaten opihi; apparently they're hard to find, and quite delicious. Somebody had themselves a little feast.

Aloha Shorts is this terrific local storytelling program on our NPR station. It's on every Tuesday, at 6-ish, and is a wonderful showcase of the voices and experiences of the islands. I will definitely try and get this show through some streaming source, once I move back to the mainland!

Off to cook dinner now; leftover potato-kale soup and salad, with fresh-baked bread.

k-brow: spring breakin'

2009-04-05T23:27:00.006-04:00

My spring break is winding down to a close. I'm trying to get last minute bills paid, laundry done, lunches for the week planned and organized, and am doing a fair job of working through my to-do list.

After we recovered from the jet lag and sorrow of losing the beloved Modern, spring break has turned out pretty nice.

We went to Blogless Michelle's art opening at the Chinatown Boardroom on Wednesday night. She'd painted an ukulele that was in a show of local artists. The Blogless One was fresh in from Wisconsin, and didn't seem worse for the wear, though I wonder if she crashed later? I gave her tea and a shower and she trundled on down the hill with husband and baby to her opening, which we attended later. Great fun, and it's amusing to see how different artists painted the ukeleles.

We put an offer in on our backup house, and it was accepted. Though this is a pricier house, it needs far less work than the Modern would have, in terms of updates, fencing, flooring, etc. so we are pretty much breaking even on what we'd spend. Which is far less expensive than housing in Hawaii, Northern VA or California, given the adjustments for the times. The new house, which we shall call El Rancho Sur (remember, now, I'm currently living in Chez Nuuanu Estate) for want of a better name. So El Rancho Sur is a ranch house, with a big tree-filled yard, a screened in porch, and a white brick fireplace. Assuming everything goes well, we'll own it by mid-May, and P moves in at the end of the month. I'll follow in late June or early July, depending on when Chez Nuuanu Estate sells or when I've had enough of sun and sea...

We took a road trip on Friday:

We went to the North Shore, via the H-1, coming through Wahiawa, stopping for excellent Mexican food at La Palenque, then through Haleiwa and on to Shark's cove and Sunset Beach. We made a stop at Ted's bakery for chocolate haupia pie, and I spotted Pamela Sue Martin, the actress who used to play Fallon on Dynasty. She was eating pie and looked happy to be doing so. Then we proceeded to drive, through Kahuku, stopping to get banannas at a roadside stand; hoping for lilikoi - passionfruits, but no luck, and on around the Windward side of the island.

We stopped at this gorgeous beach park, that looks like a scene out of "Lost". Not sure what it was, maybe Heia?

It was getting stormy.

The sand was very hard and packed, a perfect place for a walk down the beach.

We were alone, except for a few surfers and these two, who were trying to warm up after a swim. We walked too far down the beach, and got caught in a rather cold rain, and raced back to the car, absolutely soaking, and drove on home, to warmer clothes and potato-kale soup for dinner.

There has been knitting going on, and even the attending of the Mocha Java Knit Night last Thursday, after a cheering dinner at Genki Sushi, with Opal and her mom, and Dayna and Barbara. I've been on a knit night hiatus, of late, preferring to cocoon in my own house with my own food, but spring break has me feeling resilient and social, for a change.

I'm finishing up the button band of Must Have, and will stitch it together tonight or tomorrow, for a final completion of this sweater which has been too long on the needles. I fear it may be too short, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have just added 3 or 4 inches to the pattern, right after the ribbing, since there's no shaping whatsoever on this thing. My final verdict is that it is a fun knit, with some design flaws, namely the fact that it wouldn't have killed the designer to mirror the cables, and add a little waist shaping. When I began the pattern, I had no idea how to really plan for those things, and so didn't do them, followed the pattern verbatim. It's been 1.5 years on the needles, though, so I'm happy to power through this UFO. I think I'll be able to squeeze some more length out of it with wet-blocking, and will certainly wear it, as it's soft and cozy, and utterly comforting in color and demeanor.

Whiteout conditions and sheeting rain coming off the pali have me worried about my planned grilled chicken and asparagus and red pepper dinner...Really, it's white outside, with a fine mist pouring into the bedroom windows before I shut them. Arrgh. Will this winter never end?

Gonna go put some rice on, now, and pretend that it's just a passing shower.

k-brow: back from atlanta

2009-04-01T12:53:00.002-04:00

So I'm back. My whirlwind trip to Atlanta was more work than play, I've gotta say. We must have looked at 60 houses, due to a real estate agent who really does her homework, and my husband's need to see every damn thing on the market. We made an offer on a house we'd been admiring for 2 months online, one that P had actually visited twice before, on previous trips to Atlanta. Incredibly, the day we put the offer in, other offers went in for it, too, and ours wasn't accepted. It was a 60's modern, unimproved, on a huge lot. I was heartbroken, in the way that one shouldn't be over househunting. I cried loud and long, yesterday, when the realtor called and delivered the sad news. I was so sad, because we could have made the offer weeks ago, and we just waited, saying "it's too early, we're not ready yet." It was too early, but even if we'd made it 2 days earlier... Now I'm over that, though I think it will be a long time before I can drive by that cool house, once I'm in Atlanta. No other moderns on the market to speak of, though, so I think we'll write an offer on one of our backups. So much for my dream of the 60's kine atomic ranch lifestyle in the Deep South. I think the backup house is a normal ranch with a screened in porch, and a fireplace, though, so it's a happy compromise. It's a nice house, with a shady yard and some ethnic restaurants not too far away.

I really have to get my head out of the hypothetical imaginings that the real estate search always triggers in me. Like the job search, I can't put energy into it, unless I visualize vividly, the new life in the house. The meals cooked, the way the dogs look lounging on the floor of the living room. The way the light will fall across my bed in the morning. All that thinking and projecting causes me to fall in love, which invariably breaks my heart a little when the offer isn't accepted. I think I need to be more Buddhist in this endeavor, practicing nonattachment. Or more Wiccan, setting some energy loose in the Universe to work on my behalf, in the best way possible. And then, trusting in that process. This "I see it, I want it, I can see us in it, and I love it" approach is painful.

P says "toughen up". But he was sad, too, as he's the great fan of modern architecture, and is, in fact, the one who got me to start considering it.

I give you P's creation of "cheezettes"- little cheese turnovers made with feta, cheddar and the leftover filo dough. Great cocktail food, and a decent lunch with salad. Our friend Janis' mother makes the BEST version of these; I think she uses puff pastry and stuffs them really full with a mix of cheeses and herbs.

Our dishwasher died an untimely death last week. Nothing like having to replace an appliance when you're trying to make a move. The wiring was shot on it. But while the repairman was here, he found evidence of mice and rats back in the dishwasher cavity, and so the war begins anew. I had caught a rat in the snappy trap last week, and last night, my mousetraps were all sprung but caught nothing, so I suspect it's one of rat bastard's relatives. I've patched all the holes I can figure out that might be giving them egress, but apparently they're doing well in the house, or they have another way in. Dammit. The appliance repairman remarked that living against the mountain as we do, we couldn't avoid having vermin. And even last night, driving up our alley, I saw a mouse running from neighbor Vernon's to neighbor Barbara's yard. Grrrrrr...

Nevertheless, it's spring break, and even when I'm sad, I'm happy. I finished one of my jolly neapolitan socks; just need to graft the toe, and cast on for sock two. I haven't really felt the knitting mojo, but my 8 hour flight from Atlanta to Honolulu left me no choice; I had to knit that sock. I guess I'll be grateful, come next November.

Today, an attack of my teaching storage room, and a great purge of school and teaching stuff that I just don't really use. I've been dreading this part of the house clean up, as it's the biggest mess ever. A tarot reading yesterday focused on the Justice card, and the message of making decisions with wisdom and discrimination. Does the decision call for severity or mercy? I think severity is the order of the day as I attack that room. Not a lot of time to do it, since I'm lunching with Charlene at 2, and Blogless Michelle is coming by later to use my shower so she can go to her art opening, clean, after a daylong flight from Wisconsin. With a baby. Yikes. The woman has more fortitude than I do, that's all I can say.

Off to be severe with my stuff.

k-brow: there are no words

2009-03-21T02:33:00.003-04:00

in this here blog:

Grass Doe

Just amazing, beautiful pictures of people, places and food.

k-brow: oh look, a meme!

2009-03-20T23:14:00.003-04:00

I'm on spring break now and feeling lazy.

1. Can you cook? What?
I'm a good cook. I specialize in soups, stews and peasant foods, for the most part, but am also able to bake bread, cakes from scratch and biscuits.

2. What was your dream growing up?
To be a hippie chick and live outside of Blacksburg, VA on a little farm with chickens, horses and goats, with my guitar-playing soulful boyfriend.

3. What talent do you wish you had?
Some sort of musical talent.

4. Favorite place?
In all the world? Probably the area of the country where I grew up. Close contenders are: the Sonoran Desert, the island of Java, London.

5. Favorite vegetable?
Kale. Homegrown tomatoes.

6. What was the last book you read?
"The Friday Night Knitting Club". meh.

7. What zodiac sign are you?
Leo

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
Ears pierced.

9. Worst Habit?
Procrastination.

10. Do we know each other in real life?
Many of you do.

11. What is your favorite sport?
I am not sporty, by nature. Dog agility?

12. Is a glass of water half-full or half empty?
Half-empty.

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me (after we called for help, of course)?
Oh, just talk your ear off.

14. Would you share an embarrassing moment with me?
Um...no doubt.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you:
I constantly look for ways to break tiny insignificant rules.

16. Do you have any pets?
2 poodle dogs.

17. Can you read a book upside down?
uh...why do you want to know?

18. What time is it where you are now?
5:23 pm. Time to walk the dogs and figure out dinner.

19. Who was the scariest fairy-tale/children movie hero ever for you?
I was terrified of pictures of a cyclops in a children's encyclopedia.

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
I'd be more muscular.

21. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
your conscience.

22. What color eyes do you have?
hazel.

23. Ever been arrested?
I had a warrant placed for my arrest for a bicycle traffic violation, but I paid a fine and got off without going to the pokey.

24. A cop or a robber?
Probably, in spite of my sneaky ways, a cop.

25. If you won 10,000 pounds/dollars today, what would you do with it?
Maybe do some repairs on my house. Take a trip to Japan. Bring my sister along.

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
Dubble bubble.
27. Favourite fastfood restaurant?
Taco Bell, and in Hawaii, Zippy's.

28. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Knit. Read. Daydream.

30. Do you swear a lot?
Hell, yes. More than I'd like to.

31. Biggest pet peeve?
Gosh, I can't think of anything that really bothers me at the moment.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
Eclectic.

33. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

k-brow: court intrigues

2009-03-17T03:45:00.004-04:00

A weekend dedicated to the migraine, and too much fioricet, resulting in more sleep than any one person needs. I feel better now, and actually managed to get a few things done, knitting, even. But I'm left with the residual feeling of deprivation. Now back at work, all I can think of is that Spring Break is coming, and not a minute too soon.

This thing, this theme of "Keep the country country" cracks me up. There are very few places on Oahu I'd call actual "country", and certainly Sunset Beach/Waimea, where this pic was taken, isn't one of them. But I do get the gist of it, that desire to return to a simpler time, or at least to preserve what simplicity remains. (as always, click to get biggety-like images)

Speaking of old times gone by, and simple stuff that's gone completely crazy in these modern times...

Our school is having this crazy spring fling with a court and everything. A court. Here in the islands, there's this practice of choosing a king and queen (formerly on May Day) and princesses and escorts, in the elementary schools each year. Like a prom, only not with the dancing and dates and suchlike. But definitely an opportunity for sowing the seeds of princess behavior. Hell, I've heard it's even done in preschools. It's a little bit precious, especially as it gets all mixed up with Hawaiian language and culture studies, at least at our school. The queen has to do a special hula, and each class that performs (because it's nothing if not a huge freakin' performance opportunity) has to bow to the court before the performance. It's some crazy stuff, and coming right hard on the beginning of break, end of the quarter and right before state testing. I complained about the bowing thing, today, and got a good warning about trying a little harder to not mess up the authenticity of the fete...showing proper respect to the court, etc. Oh man... while I like royalty and all, and DEFINITELY think our queen is a good kid and one who deserves every honor, this court thing has gone a little over the top. My bowing complaint was mostly because it didn't flow with my class's performance, which requires them to start offstage, not onstage. Nevertheless, I sucked it up and choreographed in a little bow. I know not to mess with royalty. Or traditions at this school. It's just that this mix of European royalty tradition and Hawaiian culture played out in school customs is something I can't quite get my head around.

I am counting the days. Oh lord, am I counting the days. I am so counting the days.

Lest this turn into a rant about things I don't really mean, I feature now a shot of the burgeoning Nuuanu stream, the very one that runs through Acornbud's backyard, and on downhill into our own neighborhood. I go to sleep each night to the sound of this creek, and it is very full right now, with all the rain we've been having. It is more natural uphill, in our 'hood it's this fenced in culvert thing, as pictured. Still, the area is lush and green. Occasionally, one sees ducks hanging out, and I think our resident toads do their breeding there.

No knitting to show, I am trying to finish Must Have, so I can wear it on my endless flight to Atlanta. But our jade plant is responding to the newfound sunshine with a touch of red.

k-brow: lion or lamb?

2009-03-15T05:12:00.006-04:00

Thus goes March. Yesterday, sunny and cool; possibly the most beautifully perfect Hawaiian spring day I've ever seen. I got sunburned standing outside at school, coaching my students through their dance practice. Today, it's cold and rainy again. Rain all day, and temperatures back in the 60's. I had a migraine, leftover from yesterday, and spent much of the day in fitful sleep, aided by the miracle of Fioricet. Awoke at 5pm, declared myself cured, and took the dogs outside for a sunset frolic at Nuuanu schoolyard.

It was Pi day; 3.14, so P made a pie; Bstilla, to be precise:

So yummy, accompanied by a green salad. Too rich for dessert, though I am eating a bit of dark chocolate with a cup of red zinger tea now.

Because of the all day sleep, I'm not the least bit sleepy. I'm sitting up, shrouded in Lady Eleanor, Ella at my feet, watching first a fascinating show about ancient architecture on the History channel, and now the movie, "Yentl" on Showtime. Knitting on this sweet confection of a sock:

The elusive Trekking 126. It's been lounging in stash for a couple of years. I think, at one time, it was discontinued or in high demand or something. I love its colors; neapolitan, or like that Brach's coconut candy that's so hard to find. The pattern is the basic sock recipe from Sensational Knitted Socks, which is my sock bible. Knit 3, purl 1, top down on 2 circular needles, size US1. Trekking is my go-to sock yarn. I own others, but it is this yarn that I most frequently knit up into socks.

I'm feeling sock-positive, these days. I am not one of those knitters who knits exclusively socks. You know the ones. But moving to the mainland, I'm thinking that a few pairs of handknit socks could be a good thing. It would chew up some stash, as well.

I've seen the new Knitty, and I love the Reverie and Sourwood Mountain patterns. Especially Sourwood. I will knit those mitts. I've got the perfect yarn for them, a deep green Jo Sharp Silkroad DK, in stash. Another portable project for one burnt out on hefty undertakings.

I am going to Atlanta for a few days over Spring Break, week after next. Might as well go see the place where I'll be living...looking forward to the getaway, looking forward to spring on the East Coast, but oh my, do I fear that nonstop flight from HNL to ATL!! Endless time in the air. I'm already making a playlist for the iPod; I've corralled the perfect book; Wally Lamb's "The Hour I First Believed", and I've got the socks and the UFO Chevron Scarf to finish. And still, it will be an endless flight, in coach. Thank the goddess I have an aisle seat.

I love this movie "Yentl." It's about a woman in eastern Europe, in the early 1900's, who wants to study Torah. Barbara Streisand cuts her hair, and somehow convinces the men she's a young boy and goes to seminary, only not seminary. I guess it's yeshiva. Anyway, good stuff, for an escapist night. We have the love interest of Mandy Patinkin lighting up the screen as well.

I went to Knit Night on Thursday, mostly because errands took me there, but also to wish Acornbud a happy birthday. She ended up gifting me with a bag of lavender flowers and some homemade soap! Heavenly stuff, both. The lavender is destined to be stuffed into a sachet, and the soap is too pretty to use, but I guess I'll have to. I hadn't been to Knit Night for weeks, and I haven't particularly missed it. It feels like too much, the working all day, coming home and running the dogs and then racing out to Ward Center. The group is bigger, now, and it just seems easier to curl up on the couch and light a stick of incense, brew a cuppa and knit in my own peaceful house, most nights. There is the social dimension, though. I will play it by ear, this Knit Night hiatus.

In a total non-sequitur, yesterday, at school, at lunch, we were talking in the teachers' lounge about how I would miss local foodstuffs. I remarked that I was very consciously making sure to keep Apple Bananas, pineapple and papaya in stock all the time, now to enjoy while I'm here. Two of my coworkers remarked that they never ate fresh pineapple here, but preferred the canned! I nearly fell out of my chair. One remarked "I don't like to mess with it." Hey, I'll mess with it. I was always a fresh pineapple eater on the mainland, though, it seemed more like a splurge or a rare treat, there, rather than diet staple that it is here.

We found daffodils in the Safeway today. 'Tis the season.

k-brow: i am elinor dashwood

2009-03-10T00:45:00.003-04:00

Take the Quiz here!

I was so honest taking this quiz, it wasn't even funny. But I was hoping to get Anne Eliot, who is my favorite Austen heroine. Ahh, well, I won't cheat.

Cold. Rainy. Frozen lasagna in the oven. Gonna go finish the Clapper and do some schoolwork.