February Blues (and greens and pinks, etc.)

Well, February is flying by, which is nice – I want it to be spring!  But I also want it to rain a lot so we don’t get on water restriction, which it looks like we will. Wah. Though I am just one person, so I don’t think there will be too much to worry about, especially since my hot water heater does not support 45 minute showers (SADNESS) and I only have to do two or three loads of laundry a week.

Anyway, here is a meme courtesy of Jennifer, who gave me the letter S:

10 Favorite S Things
(if you want to play, comment and I’ll give you a letter!)

STITCHES WEST: I am super excited about the yearly fiber convention – I even took a vacation day at work to go on the first day!  While I never take any of the classes, I love the market floor.  This year, the usual suspects will be there (Webs, Blue Moon, etc.) but the booth I’m looking forward to the most is one I don’t believe has been there before: Malabrigo! My plans this year re: acquisition are as follows: I hope to score a couple of the Berroco booklets (+ Norah Gaughan #4) and some sparkly Berroco sock yarn at Webs, plus if they have their Franklin sock yarn, I really liked working with that, so it would be nice to pick some more of that up.  I am mostly in the market for sock yarn, in yellow, orange, blood red, and true blue. You’d think, looking at my yarn wall, that I’m set, but you would be wrong.

SUPERNATURAL: This is my favorite TV show right now.  I love Sam and Dean and their adventures.  Season 4 has had its problems, but it’s been pretty solid so far.  Too bad there are no new eps until March! *sob*

SAVIGNON BLANC: I’m sure I’ve had this wine before, but I’ve never bought it before, and thanks to the Valentine’s Day sale at Safeway, I scored a rather expensive (for me) bottle for a mere $6.  And, not being a wine conniouseur [sic] I can tell you that it is pretty tasty stuff.

SACRAMENTO: My favorite California city. Probably because it has copious yarn, beads, and friends! And is close to Placerville.

SAN ANTONIO: My favorite Texas city.  I mean, I did live there for five years for a reason, and that is because it is awesome. 

SOUP: I love soup.  I love potato soup, chicken noodle, vegetable, tortilla, lentil, tomato, whatever.  I eat soup almost every day.

STARBUCKS: While I’ve cut out about 90% of my Starbucks purchases since I bought the house (it really is a redonk expense), I do still love it, particularly the white chocolate mochas.  Thanks to Starbucks I learned the deliciousness of honey lattes, and now make my own, which leads me to…

SYRUP, TORANI: The Honey Vanilla Torani Syrup is a great add-on to your daily coffee.  If you have time, you can froth your own milk, but I don’t have time, so a bit of Coffee Mate and regular coffee brewed fresh along with about a tablespoon of the Honey Vanilla syrup (in lieu of any other sugar you might add) is a great way to start off your day – or end it.  I’ve enjoyed many cups of coffee late in the day with the honey vanilla in it and it’s soothing in that hot-chocolate kind of way. 

SOCKS: You guys know that my favorite thing to knit is socks. I currently have, like, four pairs on the needles right now.  This year, while I don’t have any particular plans (besides “knit copious socks, and also the second sock of the pair”) I do have plans to try out some of the new and wondrous yarn in my sweet, sweet stash, like Malabrigo Sock, Fleece Artist Trail… stuff I haven’t tried before. 

SCARVES: I actually really like wearing scarves, though I hate knitting them because they are boring. Also I have run into the problem of realizing that I really only like to knit with tiny little yarn (fingering weight and such).  Since I moved I lost a critical part of my knitting machine and was really peeved about it until Tuesday, when I opened one of the built-in cupboards in my craft room and there it was, where I suddenly remembered stashing it weeks ago.  I am my own worst enemy.  Anyway, so I had this brainwave where I knit the two ends of the scarf in a cool pointy lace pattern from Knitting On the Edge or Victorian Lace Today or something, and then hang it on the knitting machine and whip out the boring long part.  Now that I’ve found the knitting machine part (the part that, you know, moves along the machine putting the yarn on the hooks, hah!) I can make my dream of a lacy scarf (before Stitches of course) come true!

In related meme news:


You Should Be a Mechanic

You are logical, calm, and detail oriented.

You’re rational when things are chaotic, and for you, reason always prevails.

And while you are guided by logic, you aren’t a slave to it.

You’re flexible when it counts. You are always open to being wrong.You do best when you:

– Work with your hands

– Can use tools, machines, or equipment

You would also be a good architect or carpenter.

Kissing This Month Goodbye, also whining

So this month has been kind of stressful and I am SO BEAT right now that it’s all I can do to not lay down and take a nap right here in my cube. 

I have the biggest cube, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch.

This week in particular has been quite, uh, less than awesome.  I was out of town last weekend visiting my sister on Friday and then she came to stay with me on Saturday, and we got some bad cancer news about a family member and that has kind of preyed on me all week.  I’ve been really tired all week and had two after-work-hours board meetings, one of which was four hours long in a cold clubhouse.  I’m kind of surprised that I’m not sick, to be honest.

KNOCK ON WOOD

Anyhoo, I did a little economy-stimulating in the last couple weeks.  For two months I’ve been searching high and low the greater East Bay for a Nintendo Wii, and lo, I snagged the last one at Target a couple weeks ago. Then, a couple days later I was buying a vacuum and lo, there on the shelf in Walmart was one of many Wii Fits.  So I bought that too. 

And I’ve lost 3 pounds using the Wii Fit. I know, right?

I just found Mario Galaxy the other day (the last one at Fry’s – a trend maybe??) and have been playing that.  I heart that game a lot, even though I’ve played the first few levels twice already on friends’ Wiis, so this is all a repeat for me right now.  I STILL need to hook up internet at my place (am piggybacking the local wireless) and get the Wii online so I can share all my ridiculous Miis and download old school games.

Take a look at my yarn wall:

Sock Yarn / Expedit

That is my sock yarn.

I am not done unpacking and may never be.  I am stuck in a quagmire of boxes, though they are certainly neatened up.  Also: where are the grotesques that I made in ceramics?? WHERE DID I PACK THEM OH THOSE MANY YEARS AGO?

I know not. 

Settled In

Since I last updated, I moved to my new digs! Since it’s right by the municipal airport, I’m pleased to report that there is no noise pollution, and in fact is the quietest place I’ve ever lived. *knock on wood*

Yes, I’m a curmudgeon.

Anyway, there has not been a lot to report because I’ve been unpacking and watching my Direct TV (I love it) and basically settling in for the duration. Unfortunately I haven’t really had much time to DO anything besides house-related projects, but I did manage to work on my Spring Forward socks just a smidge:

Spring Forward Socks

I got the yarn at Stitches last year, and the colorway is Emerald City, but damned if I know what yarn it is, or the yarn content or what. The ball band got lost in the move, but I do recall peacock feathers as part of the band design – if anyone can help me out, I’d love you forever.

The socks are the ubiquitous Spring Forward socks from Knitty. A very simple pattern that only LOOKS complicated, which I appreciate.

I’m also working on a replacement skull hat for my friend Sam, who lost his original hat in Florida or someplace. I’m making a basic plain hat with black Berroco Comfort, then I will duplicate stitch the skull motif on in glow-in-the-dark yarn once the hat is complete. Since Sam has repeatedly bemoaned losing the original hat, it is the least I can do. I have a couple other hat ideas for him as well, since every time I see him hes wearing a hat I’ve made. Which is pretty great, if you ask me. Heh.

What can I say? You show me the knitting love and you get more stuff.

Anyway, the craft room is full of boxes and nowhere near being ready to be used, but I have organized the den area so I have a nice chair to sit and watch TV in: it’s the perfect knitting chair with arm flaps that raise up and little compartments (like magazine holders kind of) on either side. A family relic, I am pleased it has come into my possession.

Now, to tackle UNpacking those 8,234,678 I was packing last time. *sigh*