September 24, 2005 at 8:17 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
I figure it’s time to show you some evidence that I’ve been knitting. Some days I only do a row or two, but I daresay I pick up the needles every day.
Bad Penny, which I’m modeling here, took me weeks to finish. First, I broke my size 5 Denise needle when I was coming home from vacation. (Remember that?) Then when the replacement arrived, I became frustrated working in the round using the smallest Denise needles. The cable is nearly as big around, and it was a pain because it was so difficult to slide my work along. I was much happier when I switched to Addi Naturas.
To get gauge, I had to use size 5 for the body of the sweater, and size 3 for the ribbing. Cotton-Ease is a bit thicker than the yarn called for in the pattern. Those little stitches kept me busy through many DVDs, but I was glad to be able to work on baby stuff periodically as a break in the routine.
Speaking of baby stuff, Sister #4 is scheduled to deliver her second baby (and first daughter) in a few days. I decided to make a sweater and some booties for the little one. (Click to see the full-sized photos, of course.)
The pink booties ended up being much bigger than I had expected them to be. SpiritMan says the baby’s 3-year-old brother could probably wear them, but that’s an exaggeration. I’m having trouble visualizing how big baby feet are supposed to be, but I’m guessing they’ll fit in about a year. I decided I needed to make a smaller pair, so I knitted the multicolored ones. They look a little big, too.
Truth be told, I can’t really remember how big newborn body parts are. I have a vague idea of the overall length and heft, but otherwise I’m lost. That’s what happens when you get to the point where your kids can look you in the eye. (And borrow your shoes.)
September 23, 2005 at 1:29 pm · Filed under foxxi
Carrot chunks on the stairs. More nasty evidence on our bedroom carpet. Hacking sounds coming from near the front door, followed by slurping. Three clean-up jobs before the day even began. Another hack, and a foul puddle on the rug.
Then, after returning from my morning drive to the high school, a pea-soupish puddle in the kitchen and another behind the door to the garage. And yet another at the bottom of the stairs.
In one puddle, a two-inch square of rawhide, which may or may not have triggered this yakfest.
Tomorrow, a trip to the vet.
September 22, 2005 at 12:01 pm · Filed under blather
I think I could fix a flat tire by myself now, although I shouldn’t need to for some time. Of course, Tuesday evening I did not possess such confidence about matters of car care. Moon and I were heading home from her music lessons, and as I listened to her chatting away about school and such, I noticed the car was handling differently. I turned from one busy street onto another, rolling to a stop right out of the intersection. We had a flat tire. And basically, I panicked, because it was dark out, I didn’t have any handy phone numbers, and I couldn’t remember ever seeing a compartment for a spare in our trunk.
A cop pulled up behind us, asked me to pull s-l-o-w-l-y into the turn lane, confirmed that we had a cell phone… and left.
Once upon a time, just for kicks, I enrolled in an auto maintenance class at the community college in Hometown. Oddly enough, the instructor had been one of my high school classmates. He had been one of those quiet gearhead-slash-burnout kids back then, but was quite the authority in the classroom. We learned the difference between a crankshaft and a camshaft. I vaguely remember changing spark plugs on a disembodied engine and doing a brake job on a big ol’ ’70s-era gas guzzler.
I’m pretty sure I learned how to change a tire, but the time lapse (and my panic) rendered me useless. So I called a towing company, and a nice young man charged me $55 for the job. (He found the spare.) The next day, I took the car into the shop – and drove home with four new tires.
I’d much rather spend the money on yarn. Or Michael’s Frozen Custard.
September 15, 2005 at 7:55 pm · Filed under spiritual
Okay, so even though Pete and I had been talking about the Unitarians for months, our plans to start going to the UU church over the summer kind of faltered. Mostly due to my affinity for sleeping in on Sundays. After our vacation, we decided that it was time to really check the place out. We’d visited there a few times, but hadn’t really gone on a regular basis.
I also was having a hard time visualizing what it would be like to be “real” members. The service is very different from the ritual that I had become accustomed to as a Catholic and then an Episcopalian. The faces in the congregation were unfamiliar. It helped to know that open minds resided behind those faces, but still.
Then one Sunday we went to church and saw that the week’s theme was something to the effect of “What being Unitarian means to me.” During the service, several different people from the congregation went to the podium and spoke about their spiritual journeys. A youngish guy talked about being a devout Methodist but always questioning his own beliefs. A cute teenager told a funny story that ended with a kind of a punch line about Buddhism. I felt a real kinship stirring in my heart. Then a distinguished elderly man with a booming voice went up to the podium, spread his arms wide, and said something in Latin.
This obviously wasn’t his first time speaking before a congregation, he said. He was a former Catholic priest. I was astounded to hear his story, which included a complete break with organized religion — until his wife coaxed him into checking out the UU.
After the service, I looked around the room and saw those unfamiliar faces in a different light. Any reluctance I had melted away. Pete and I ended up introducing ourselves to the ex-priest, and we discovered we had a few things in common:
- He had been a priest in the diocese where we grew up.
- He had been editor of the diocesan newspaper. The same newspaper, coincidentally, where I landed my first job out of college. (I stayed there four years.)
We also talked with the music director, another great guy. And we haven’t missed a Sunday since. (We also signed up for the new UU orientation, so I think that means we’ll be official in a few months.)
The weird thing is knowing that nobody is going to think my weird beliefs are very weird. But it’s also cool.
September 15, 2005 at 3:49 pm · Filed under fitness
In case you’ve been wondering, I’m still getting up at 6 am for an eye-opening workout at the Y. I kind of dig driving over there when it’s still dark out… it’s like I’m headed for some secret adventure.
Yesterday, though, I must have been a bit groggy or something. I grabbed the bottle of thyroid medication for my first-thing-in-the-morning-empty-stomach dose, opened the lid, swallowed a pill and took a few swigs of water. As put the bottle back in the cabinet and turned to walk away, I thought, hey, that was a capsule.
I accidentally had grabbed my OCD medicine, which I had already taken the night before. The main side effect? Drowsiness. That’s why I take it before bed. Duh.
Most of the day, I desperately wanted to lay my head on my desk and go to sleep. No such luck, though, because it’s still crunch time at work. Lesson learned: pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth.
September 12, 2005 at 9:04 pm · Filed under fitness
You might be wondering how Project: Morning Person is going. Well, the answer is pretty frickin’ awesome. Not that those first few days of hauling my butt out of bed at 6 a.m. were easy. And going to step class after being away for more than a year? Pretty comical, actually.
But somehow I feel more energetic and upbeat than I have in a long time. Maybe it’s the extra few hours of sunlight. (I’m not hiding under the covers until 8 or 8:30 anymore.) Or maybe it’s the endorphins from the extra exercise I’ve been getting.
In any case, I’m actually looking forward to my morning workouts. And that’s cool.
September 5, 2005 at 8:09 pm · Filed under blather
Ugh, I’ve been trying to figure out PHP and mySQL stuff for the past two hours, and I’m throwing in the towel for the night. This weekend, I accomplished a number of things…
- I reconnected with my fabulous friends ALF and Isabelle.
- I finished a pair of Too Big Booties for Niece-to-be #4.
- I went to Taste of Madison with Pete (he had to work in a media booth). Pros: Added another notch to my “hometown events” attendance list. Cons: Beer smell, sweaty crowds, fat shirtless guy with cartoon penis and “I’m horny” markered onto his chest.
- I worked out twice.
- I drove around aimlessly with Moon, talking about all kinds of stuff.
- I knitted the collar on my Bad Penny sweater, even though I’m still working on the main body of it.
- Renewed my cellphone contract and added a second phone for Moon. Picked out matching flip phones (actually, camera phones). Explained to Peter that just because Moon has one doesn’t mean that he needs his own.
- Made a much-needed haircut appointment
Hey, aren’t you wondering about that photo?
August 31, 2005 at 11:58 pm · Filed under idol
Yep.
Geez, he’s tall.
August 31, 2005 at 1:50 pm · Filed under spiritual
I just finished emailing several key people at my current church — to let them know that I’m going (with Pete, and hopefully our kids) over to the Unitarians. It was tricky, because I wanted to be courteous without seeming like I was being all dramatic (i.e. “It’s such a tragedy I’m leaving … I know you’re all broken up about it.”)
Pete and I have been talking about this all year, but a service we went to on 21 Aug was the real deciding factor for us.
And I’ll tell you about it later, after our trip to Milwaukee to see the American Idol tour. Go Constantine!
August 30, 2005 at 10:36 pm · Filed under blather
Drum lessons. Unitarians. Ice cap. Lunch. Elliptical trainer. Mobius. Furniture. Tiger. American Idol. Sleep.
August 26, 2005 at 4:38 pm · Filed under moon (rachel), peter
Moon’s registration for high school was actually pretty cool. (I wrote about it elsewhere. Let me know if you want the link.)
When I took Peter to middle school registration a few days later, it didn’t bring on such feelings of nostalgia. More like raw dread… as when we were being taken around to the classrooms by a 7th grader who pointed out the detention teacher, prompting Peter to respond, “I guess I’ll be getting to know her pretty well.”
I *think* he was kidding.
Anyway, for those of you who are awaiting parenthood (Jeff) or watching your sweeties go off to kindergarten (Sis#1)… Moon’s registration set me back $101 for fees, and Peter’s was a whopping $280 (including bus fare). Plus about $150 for their school supplies. Start saving your pennies!
August 23, 2005 at 8:48 pm · Filed under astrology
I get my horoscope delivered right to my Gmail box from astrocenter.com and tarot.com. Because, you know, if one of them sucks, then I always have a backup so I don’t go around self-fulfilling the sucky prophecy.
Anyway, you’d think the stars were trying to tell me something.
Some changes with regard to your career situation could make a vast difference in your resources. This could involve a raise or promotion in the works, it might involve opportunities for freelance work outside the job, or it might even imply a new job, perhaps in a creative field. Whatever work you do is likely to suddenly seem more emotionally rewarding than it’s been before, and should boost your spirits considerably.
Huh. I guess that means I’ll be doing great things, eh?
Don’t let up now, for you have the power to accomplish more than you realize. Others are relying on you and it’s not in anyone’s best interest for you to let them down. Don’t try to do everything at once, even if you believe you can. Instead, move with heightened self-control to make your energy last for the entire day.
Okay, I get it. No laziness here. (Hey, I haven’t even had a chance to write about the weekend.)
August 22, 2005 at 8:42 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
No pictures yet, but I’m thisclose to being finished with the baby sweater from the Summer 05 IK. I just need to add the ribbon closure. (The ribbon is in a bag on my dresser.)
With the half ball of yarn left over from the sweater, I started a pair of booties. It was the perfect amount for one bootie, which means I’ll be putting in another Knit Picks order. Of course I’ll need to get some extra stuff so I can spend $30 and get free shipping.
As a quick and easy distraction, I made a Special Companion from some yarn ends in my stash. It was nice using size 10.5 needles for a change, although they felt like baseball bats after not knitting on anything larger than a size 3 for two weeks. I’m using it for SpiritMan’s business cards. I think I’ll knit up a few more – pink would be perfect for my own cards.
In progress: iPod cozy #2 and Bad Penny (awaiting my replacement Denise needle). The weather was nice enough (read: almost fall-like) for me to consider taking out my bulky wool and starting the second sleeve of Banff. But I think I need it to be another 10 degrees cooler first.
August 14, 2005 at 7:46 pm · Filed under family, moon (rachel)
We had quite the busy day on Friday, which also happened to be Pete’s 40th birthday. He celebrated by taking Moon to her extra bass lesson and then donating blood. We also gave him some alone time while we shopped in the afternoon and baked a cake. Pete chose Imperial Gardens for his birthday dinner. It was all very nice and low-key.
Peter had his first drum lesson Tuesday, and Pete realized he’d better retrieve the drum set from the back of the basement this weekend. More than six months ago, we crammed most of our extraneous items into the area that we didn’t plan to finish. Until yesterday, it was almost impossible to get to key household implements such as the water heater.
It took some squeezing to get to where the drum set was located, snugly tucked away in its dust-covered cases. I stood and watched, overwhelmed with the mess and disarray. Once the drum set was out, it seemed logical to move on to vacuuming and dusting the next item. Sorting the piles of junk nestled between boxes. Moving shelves and boxes to newly-cleared areas.
By dinnertime, I’d taken a whole carload of junk to Goodwill. We now have usable storage space. Have I ever mentioned how much I love that sort of thing?
Today, as you might surmise from the photo, was Moon’s master class at Good ‘n Loud. It took place at the new store on the east side of town, and I must say, it’s quite snazzy. Pete served as lead singer for most of the songs. Moon made an impressive showing. And we even had additional family in the audience — SpiritMan’s mom and Sister #3 drove up for the afternoon. (Their hearing still seems to be intact, thankfully.)
August 10, 2005 at 10:48 pm · Filed under peter
I still want to sleep until 10 a.m., but I’m successfully resisting. We’re pretty much back to the regular routine. Our sunburns have healed. Moon had her bass lesson last night, and Peter had his very first drum lesson. Which he loved. Now we just need to get the drum set dusted off and back in place, since it’s currently packed up in the storage area of the basement.
Ugh, that strongly resembles housework.
This morning, I took Peter to the dentist. To his surprise, he needed to have a new set of impressions. This did not go particularly well. He accused our favorite assistant, Melissa, of using too much plaster goo in the mouthpiece. He ripped it out of his mouth, ruining the impression and tearing a small piece of upper palate skin in the process. Then he threw up.
The rest of the day has been more enjoyable. I wish I could trade our weather for San Diego’s, though.
August 7, 2005 at 10:10 pm · Filed under knit/crochet, vacation
When I was packing, I had a tough decision to make. Do I put extra needles and yarn into my knitting bag, or should I assume I’ll just work on one project during the flight home? I was only about an inch or so into Bad Penny, so I figured it would be a waste of space to tuck the other stuff into my bag. I left the Addis and the Shine in my checked luggage.
Less than an hour into our flight, I broke a needle. $#%@! Four hours sitting on a plane, with no project between my hands.
I’ve put Bad Penny aside while I send my size 5 needle to Denise for a replacement. I cast on for the super-secret Shine project (okay, a baby sweater for Sister #4’s progeny-to-be) as soon as I finished unpacking.
Murphy’s Law, anyone?
August 6, 2005 at 1:22 am · Filed under vacation
Today we ventured out for lunch and to buy souvenirs at Hard Rock Cafe, but otherwise stayed put in the hotel room until evening. We wanted to experience Sea World after 6. The energy was definitely different — more of a party atmosphere. Lots of sparkle.
Peter sweet-talked me into going on a water flume ride with him, and we were completely drenched. I’m a sucker for a kiss on the cheek and a sincere hug, I guess. I shivered as we wandered around and went to the last shows of the evening. After the fireworks at 10 p.m., I was ready to go. However, some of the performers from Riptide (dance/percussion ensemble) had come down from the stage after their second show, and they were messing around and showing off for the few people who were left. We stayed and listened, and I took a few photos.
It’s midnight now. In four hours we’ll be packing up and heading for the airport. It seems like the week just began. The kids are making sad noises about leaving San Diego, but I have a feeling that as soon as they lay eyes on the Madison skyline, they’ll realize that they were homesick after all.
I will, too. It’s been a great vacation, but coming home is a reward in itself.
August 5, 2005 at 6:45 pm · Filed under vacation
I spent the first several days here pronouncing La Jolla like a midwesterner, until the guy at the car rental place looked at me with amusement and asked, “You know it means ‘the jewel’ in Spanish, right? In Spanish, the ‘j’ is silent.”
Ah, La Holla. “And the double-l sounds like ‘y.'” Yeah, I took foreign language in high school. Five hundred years ago.
Anyway, we drove there yesterday and enjoyed a scrumptious Italian meal, breathtaking views, and a kayaking adventure with Hike Bike Kayak. La Jolla is a sporting paradise — every other shop sells surfing equipment and offers lessons. We stopped at Surf Diva, and if I’d been a better planner I’d have scheduled myself some surfing instruction. As it was, kayaking was enough of a challenge.
Moon selected me as her kayak partner (we asked for two tandem kayaks), which she promptly regretted when I flipped us over just after we made it off shore. Neither of us could manage to climb back in, so the guide told us to drag the kayak back to the edge and we started over. Moon looked as if she wouldn’t mind staying on the beach, but she gamely took her position in the back of the kayak and we set off again.
By the way, salt water tastes terrible, and swimming while dragging a kayak is harder than it looks.
In some ways, falling in was a good thing. We were less nervous about something going wrong, and we didn’t have to imagine what it would be like to flip. We worked pretty well together. After paddling about a mile out, we ventured toward the caves and were treated to the sight of a family of sea lions sitting on the rocks. The alpha male was quite vocal and decided to take a swim. Our guide warned us not to get too close to him. Peter took his warning quite seriously and reprimanded his dad several times. His dad was more worried about heaving his guts into the ocean, having neglected to take his ginger before the trip.
Moon remarked how relaxing it was to be floating on the water, with the waves (those nausea-inducing waves, to Pete’s point of view) lapping around us. When we finally went back to shore, I was sad to leave the ocean and suggested that we come back and frolic. Peter readily agreed, since he had been very jealous when Moon and I were dumped into the water. “You’re supposed to get wet when you’re kayaking,” he told Pete. “We are still way too dry.”
So after we brought our paddles back to Hike Bike Kayak, bid our guide adieu and gathered our stuff, we headed back to the beach. Peter went chest-deep into the water, and I could easily picture him on a surfboard as he taunted the waves. I was thigh-deep when I looked down and saw a stingray next to me. It did that cool ripply thing with its wings/fins. Pete, who was a few feet away, said, “Look! There are four of them!” and I spotted the group. They were just inches away from my legs.
I freaked, and ran (leaped) toward the beach, praying that I wouldn’t land on any of the critters. As soon as I was safe, I decided I needed to see another one, they are that cool. Did I mention there were jellyfish, too? Lots of them. Some were beached. Peter decided to save one, with the help of a girl about his age and her trusty bucket.
Moon had seen a jellyfish earlier and thought it was a disembodied heart. She figured that the sea lions had been fighting, which seemed rather logical at the time.
Don’t underestimate the sea. And respect the kayakers. (Want to see more pictures? Here you go.)
August 5, 2005 at 1:10 pm · Filed under knit/crochet, vacation
I’m sure you’ve noticed that something has been missing from this week’s posts. Yes, I’ve been knitting – did you have any doubt? I actually finished my second sock during the flight (not that I had much left to do – I’d already turned the heel). Here are the twins in their glorious finished state. Of course I brought the first sock along. It didn’t seem right to separate them.
Now I’m working on Bad Penny in blue Cotton-Ease. Unfortunately, I haven’t finished much of it. In my optimism, I brought three balls of yarn PLUS pink sock yarn and two Addi Turbo circulars. They’re all still in the suitcase.
Here’s something else I haven’t shown you. My bodacious knitting bag. She. Is. Awesome. I’ve had many compliments from non-knitters, even though she seems a bit lengthy for a regular purse. The color is perfect. I’m so glad the first Zelda was too small, or I would have never scored the last Molasses Dot Zelda Grand in stock at DreamWeaver Yarns. (Wanna peek inside? I’m sure you do.)
August 4, 2005 at 12:56 pm · Filed under vacation
Since we had a rental car, we decided to attempt to view the sunset at Coronado Beach. Moon heard the word “beach” and elected to stay in the hotel room. Driving over the bridge to Coronado was a breathtaking experience. My mind flashed to an image of us going over the edge, and it was reinforced by a sign advertising a toll-free number for suicide prevention. I couldn’t help but picture a free fall into the bay. Although the view of the lit-up skyline was quite spectacular, I was relieved to get off that bridge.
Getting to the beach by car was a breeze after having walked it the day before. Peter couldn’t resist the allure of the sea and immediately ran into the water up to his knees as we shouted, “Don’t get your clothes wet!” The water is much colder after sunset, by the way. I had hoped to step on the AWOL retainer, but no such luck.
The Hotel Coronado is lovely at night, but our camera only does a so-so job at capturing it. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.
We hadn’t had any ice cream for a whole day, so of course we had to stop at the Mootime Creamery. The crowd lined up outside was an excellent sign, as was the seemingly local nature of the establishment. We each ordered a cup with no mix-ins. For some reason, Peter chose raspberry sorbet, which was great until he ran into some actual fruit pieces. I made up for the trauma by getting him a Jones Soda. (I looked for a bottle with the photo by Heather, but none were to be had.)
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