Monday, October 29, 2007

Pay it Forward


Jacqui is doing this on her blog and I thought it was a great idea.
Here's the blurb:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
Now.
I will get it to you before the end of the year, 'cause otherwise I'll forget. I may even ask for colour prefs from you. So leave me a comment and email me with your addy.
I'm on a sock and hat jag right now. So that's likely what will be going out. But I do have a couple of scarfs on the go too. You never know...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

SNAFU

I really want to thank everyone for their nice thoughts about Loki. It's so quiet around here without him, I'm still not used to it. We got his ashes back yesterday and plan to take him for a last walk in the dog park. Seems like something he would like.
We are trying to remember just his happy little foibles. Like the funny "aroo" sound he always made when yawned and the way he would give the human nearest to him a dirty look when he farted and would make a big show of moving away from the stench.
We've also made a funny/gross discovery about our beloved little doggy and his cat. Uzume has been leaving large dingleberries around the house almost daily for the last little while. This is a seemingly new occurrence. We suspect it is NOT a new occurrence, but that Loki was getting a daily cat poop treat courtesy of Uzume. Funny, but kinda nasty too. Ummm, ick?
So. Like the header says, pretty normal around here, but a little effed up too.
I sum up my workpile like this right now: You know how when people are deep, deep, deep in debt and just keep spending like Rockefellers? Because hey, what's another couple hundred when you're in the hole by hundreds of thousands? That's what my deadlines are like right now. I am no longer panic stricken. I care, and things are getting done, but it's not really registering. I'm that deep in the hole.
There are only four more Nihon classes left in year three and I have two garments to complete. I still have a sweater and shawl pattern to write up for immediate publication. That deadline was last week. The crying over that one happened two weeks ago. I have moved on.
I've decided to shelve the master spinner program for the coming year as I want to try to have my book done and published by February 2009. The monkey keeps asking how he can help. I tell him to come up with the money and just smile and nod when I go completely batshit crazy trying to do this next year. No tiger poking.

In other news, my friend Kerry has published some great baby patterns. Go check out her site, Northern Palm Designs.
I had the pleasure of test-kniting this cutie for her:


And on friday, the charming parcel guy delivered a box full of happy from Lorena. The timing was perfect. The only way that it could have been better is if I could have gone to Rhinebeck with the lot of them. Maybe in a couple of years. I think I may be tied up this time next year...


Anyway, it's a great package. There's yarn. Hand-dyed, handpsun AND hand-dyed and a skein of Great Adirondack. It's all gorgeous and I am greatly honoured to have a skein of Lorena's handspun. She sent me her soap too. Which is good because now I don't have to send her a nasty email about how unfair it is that you can only get her handmade soap if you go to their soon-to-be-open shop in Gainsville called Hanks.
There were Disney cookies (the monkey and I ate them first), the now infamous grape jelly that should come in plastic jars, there's lime jelly too, but it's already in the fridge. And, of course, the Florida Gators cold mug. There's tea from Canada, which is amusing, the florida Bud coaster that I had to make sure Holly didn't take home with her, a Lorna's Laces pattern and a bunch of info from the magic kingdom which I assume is to try to lure me down to Epcot.
Like I need to be lured anywhere warm!
Oh! And the Lime Buds! You can try and pry those out of my cold dead hands. Just go ahead and try.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Loki


1996-2007
He was a wonderful, joyful friend.
We miss him more than we can express.
It wasn't long enough.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Sometimes, life gets in the way...

...of blogging.
It's been insanely busy and wildly emotional around here for the last few weeks.
I feel like a chipmunk on crack. Can't sleep, no appetite, and often, a complete blithering lack of focus.
But I'm still here. They haven't sent the nice young men with the clean white coats for me yet. So it's all good.
First there was the monkey's birthday. Which involved a fabulous meal at the Harbour House. The next day was our anniversary and the monkey's brother joined us for a nice visit and some sushi.
Then, on friday, blog-challenged Janet and Jill came up from Seattle for a kamekaze visit. We braved rush hour traffic and made it downtown in time for the first seating at Vij's.
After dinner it was on to shoe shopping and I got totally lucky. Found awesome little thinline wedge heels in black satin with cream dots and a peekaboo toe. Last pair. My size. Less than half price. The monkey said I should have bought a lottery ticket.
Then we went on to a cupcake shop. I had no idea these things existed. It was a little surreal. And there was A LOT of pink. But we bought some cupcakes (despite the fact that we all felt like we were going to explode from being so full) and went home.
Where we all crashed. And I learned that since joining Fat Losers and eating in a very healthy way, I have lost my talent for digesting lovely rich food.
It was an unpleasant discovery.
Saturday, we trekked into Richmond and hit the Daiso, the Japanese book store, a yarn store and the Japanese candy shop. Had cheap sushi for lunch and I was pretty much done in.
It was a great visit, but waaaay too short.
I did find myself an excellent new knitting bag:


It was only $20! It's lined, has a zipper and inside pockets!
Can't beat that with a stick.
That was last week. This week has been much more quiet as far as friends, but much more insanely busy because of some looming deadlines.
I can't say much about the deadline stuff yet. I really, really want to, 'cause it's sooooo exciting. But I have to keep mum for another month or so.
I can say that I should have some patterns in print very soon. Yay!
I didn't expect this to happen so fast, but it has and I'm just going with the flow. There's been a lot of stuff to learn, a lot of banging my head on my computer desk. A few Eukeka! moments and a lot ripping stuff out. Had to wrestle one pattern into submission. Damn thing just would not cooperate. If it weren't for the deadline, I would have set fire to it!
Because of all this, I've made a few decisions.
Master Spinner will have to wait a year. I don't see how I can do this and manage to take level 6 next year.
I want to have my book in print by early 2009. No more putting it off. Strike while the iron is hot and all that.
I need to go back to a gym. The fat's coming off, but I feel tired and blob-like. The only remedy for this (other than speed, and the monkey insists that's a bad idea) is exercise. Crap.
Our house is too small. I want to find out if we can put a master suite on top of the existing structure. 'Cause hey, writing a book with a house under construction is such a great idea.
So.
Somehow it's friday again. I thought it was thursday. I have no idea what happened to thursday. It may have been surgically removed from my week. Which would explain the large lump on my head.
There is some knitting fit to show others:


It's not exciting knitting, just the stuff that's been keeping me from going completely postal over the last little while. The gray is soon to be Boot socks for Angela. And yes! Those are the new Harmony needles! I really like them. They're warm, smooth and not bendy.
There's another pair of plain socks from some Lana Grossa that I had to have, a red alpaca hat and a little wool hat for my niece.

And because it is friday, and I missed last week I have another bizarre, yet fascinating link.
Ladies, meet Vincent Gallo.
What a charmer.
Almost makes those pork martinis seem like a good idea...