Wastepaper Basket Liners

How crazy is it that we buy things MEANT for the trash. We buy these liners to THROW THEM AWAY. Somewhere, probably in China, there is a factory churning out these disposable bags. The boilers are chugging away; belts, fed by the electricity grid, roll on, and miles and miles of trash comes out. Here are pictures of a Los Angeles manufacturer's factory. HMMM. Not in China.

New Mushroom

Ain't it a beauty? I don't know what it is, but this is one of the more recent mushrooms to pop up near my office.

I used the company camera (which had a mind of it's own) to take this picture. None of the other pictures are publishable. (This one was the least blurry.) Anyway, there are several crazy colorful colonies of fungi burgeoning on this lovely plot of dirt.

I can't wait to see what comes next, now that it is raining. I'll try to get some clearer pictures at lunch with my little digital camera.

Warped Loom and Cancelled Class

The loom is warped, the yarn is waiting, but there it stops. I cannot "Make It Work." This old brain suffers extremely every time I look at a weaving book. Jack type looms, countermarches, counter balance. way too much information. And I don't want to just make a plain weave.

I hoped by now I would be well on my way with all things weaved, but the class at the local community college was cancelled for lack of students. So here is my pathetic loom, collecting dust in Twin B's room.

Yikes, he is back from school next week!!
AND, what you don't see in the picture is my knitting machine on the same table.

Too Much Stuff

I am at the edge of one part of my life, contemplating what is next. I look around and see my home filled with the stuff of four people; some of these things have not been used for many years, but I cannot let them go. I gladly accept that my children have become adults, they have no more uses for their toys. Somewhere in the fog this small, insecure, weepy voice whimpers to me, "One day there will be children in the house again." And I, sentimentalist that I am, listen.

What got me started dreaming of the simpler life, you ask? I was listing my books in Ravelry. Some people haven't read this many books in their lifetimes! And there is no way I'm letting ANY of these puppies go! Back when I had my three-years-to-live cancer scare, I told Twin B that some of these books would fetch a a small fortune on ebay. (A small fortune for him is $100.00). Now that the scare is only an occasional panic attack, I am back to my collective ways.

So, if that old wind blows my house down, I'll have more that the usual mess to clean up.

Ravelry

I finally got my invitation to join! Oh joy! I am now a part of the most extreme awesome online community of knitters, spinners, weavers, ahem crocheters, and fiber artists! Number 54,883!
Excuse me while I do my happy dance.
If you want you be part of this, go now and add your name to the waiting list. Go. Now.

Ravelry

No-cable Needle Cable Knitting

Letting Stitches Fall

Friday night at the bi-monthly knitting guild meeting (BKGM) we members were treated with a demonstration. First, let me tell you something about our little group; the skill levels of the members could fit into an inverse bell curve. New knitters and experienced knitters are nearly equal in number, and just a smattering of knitters of intermediate skill.
I couldn't watch. It was very painful to see the new knitters trying to develop a new concept. Some of the more experienced among us became equally confused.
Here's how I see it.
For those knitters with world views that allow them a relaxed approach to life, this could work. It takes a leap of faith to let those little stitches just hang there, waiting their turn, as well as a zen-like confidence that they won't just slide down the rows before they can be slipped into their new place. Myself, I am too high strung. I have enough stress in my life for three people, NNCK is not something that I want to do.
Those who can, and do, must be goddess-like. Stephanie can. Annie Modesitt also can.
In my research, I found two basic techniques.
Wendy knits drops first, then knits, while Grumperina knits first then drops.
For me, I'll stick to the extra needle. Oh, and the other accessory I found most useful, a hair scrunchy (for my wrist) to hold the cable needle while it is idle.
Here, Mary Saunders published a nice scrunchy pattern to knit.

New Birthday

Well, for the last half a century, give or take a year or two, I celebrated today as my birthday. From now on, though, I will celebrate every February 10.
02/10/06 was the day the surgeon removed all those icky cancer cells (along with some parts that were very dear to me.) So, on my next birthday, I will be TWO!
And it will be just like starting over.

stolen car saga

The end of the toyota. DD doesn't miss it. she's only been slightly inconvenienced by the theft. Me, I miss my DD. She's kinda stuck without her car. A visit that takes two hours by car will take half the day by public transport.
With all those high end suvs, bmws and volvos parked around her, why did her little toyota clunker get stolen?
What kind of brainless numbnuck does it take?

Rainy Day

There is so much going on in my life these days that I can barely keep up. If the start of the year was ominous, then it will be awhile before things settle down. The current crisis is really just a minor nuisance, but it is just one more thing that I feel incapable of dealing with right now.

I came home with a frozen pizza after class and my number two son dutifully went about the making of dinner, while I did other chores. twenty minutes later he comes to tell me that the oven is not heating up. My first thought was, "I am so glad I chose not to make a birthday cake for the twins, or this would have made me crazy." My next thought was unprintable. I guess now I'll have to wash all those dishes so the oven repair person doesn't find out the real truth about my housekeeping habits. I wonder, should I sweep up all the dog hair, too?