Stupid Sinuses

I've had some miserable sinus thing going on for about a month now. I've been knocked out by headaches. If you see me and I'm grimacing, don't worry, it's not you.

Yesterday was spent at an all day spin-in at Weaving Works. I got a little help fixing the connection for my treadle. It was too long and the making treadling a real chore. My wheel is behaving much better now. I had one of those days where I didn't quite have the touch with the fiber. My rhythm was off or something but it was a bit of a struggle at times. I have just a little bit of the blue/brown merino that I have been spinning for a few months left to do.

Today we did a little exploring. It was opening day for the West Seattle Farmers Market. We don't go to West Seattle often and Seattle magazine had a little article this month on it. The market was nice and very similar to the other neighborhood markets we have in Seattle. Someone from the rather twee-named Coffee to a Tea with Sugar was giving out free mini-cupcakes. I had a mocha one and it was dense, moist and rich. Very nice. The balloon man was there.



There was also a horse-drawn carriage taking people around. We never figured out where it went or where to get on. We stopped at Bakery Nouveau which has been getting great reviews. It's the head baker from Essential Baking Company which I love. It's a lovely little shop. More heavy on pastries than sandwiches. Although they were just bringing pizzas out as we were leaving. The pastries--apple danish and chocolate croissant--were deliciously flaky and light.

I've had a bad run of Netflix rentals. First I got Mr. Show. I found it unwatchable. Honestly, I let it go for a while but I couldn't stand it. I skipped to the next episode which was also completely unwatchable. Popped it back in its envelope. Then I tried Little Murders. I like Jules Feiffer; I like Elliott Gould. Couldn't stand this. Could not bring myself to finish it. So then--now I was really going out on a limb here--I got Battlestar Gallactica. I hate sci-fi. Like hate, hate, hate it with very few exceptions. But everyone keeps raving about this show and saying it's not really sci-fi. So I tried it last night. I didn't hate it. I also was a little more interested in knitting my shawl. I also foolishly thought that "Battlestar Gallactica: Season 1: Disc 1" would be the beginning of the series. But no! Battlestar Gallactica: The Miniseries is the beginning so I kept asking Wes to explain everything to me. Of course, he hadn't seen the miniseries either. But he has seen the 70s tv show so he had some sense of what was going on or what the heck a Cylon was.

So with all the headaches, spinning and running around I've made very little progress on the shawl.

What Flowers and Huh?

If you look closely at the sidebar you will see something completely amazing. There is ONE work in progress listed. One. A single project. There are no socks. There is no sweater. There is a one. It is Frost Flowers and Leaves and I have not taken it out of its bag since early December. Marti sat patiently with me on Thursday night while I tried to figure out what row I was on and which of the 83738403647 markers in the project indicates the beginning of the round. I did find the right place and marker. I've now knit several rounds on it. I would take a new picture but it still pretty much looks like this.

Friday Fun

I pity the fool who doesn't like this commercial!

Getting Soft in My Old Age

When I got the Knitty surprise email this morning and read the words "knitted parasol" I was smacking my lips thinking of Thursday fodder. But I like it. It's totally cute. I must be losing my touch.

In fact, I like all the surprises.

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

Some magazines never fail to deliver the Thursday fodder.

All hail the queen of the tacky twinset.





And a picture of what would happen if you fed yarn to your cat.


This is what you would find in the litter box although hopefully without the cellphone.


And if you didn't clean the box for a few days you might find this (again minus the phone).

I don't want to get in trouble by naming names so let's just say that this magazine's name rhymes with "Shit n' Bile."

Happy Birthday to Me!

I was very bored marching on the treadmill at the gym today. I decided I need an mp3 player despite how evil they are. Fortunately this Creative Zen MP3 player is priced to be disposable. I needed a little something for my birthday.

Dalarna

Pattern: Dalarna from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Fleece Artist Basic Merino Sock in Burgundy
Needles: US1 Addi Turbos
Changes: I made the leg slightly shorter. I was a little worried about the amount of yarn and I also just like my socks shorter than Nancy Bush. Very simple pattern. Just what I needed.

I Learn Something New Every Day

Until this morning I did not know that John McCain was married to Malibu Stacy!

Spelling Hivemind?

Why have I seen moral and morale used in each other's stead what feels like a dozen times today?

Listen up people. It's the moral of the story. Not morale of the story. A story does not have morale, only people have morale.

Technical Mid-Life Crisis

First I was Twittering.
Now I'm Yelping.
I'm trying to keep up with those young'uns.

Miscellaneous Catching Up

Trying to get caught up here...
I've been working on my sock yarn leftovers blanket. I keep it in the car and knit on it at meetings, standing on the playground, in line at the grocery store, etc. This weekend I transferred it to a longer needle.



So far I've used Lorna's Laces in Black Purl, Vera, Mineshaft (I think) and have just started with the Fortissima I overdyed last fall. The colors are a lot more subtle in real life.

I just finished the gusset decreases on the second Dalarna sock. Should finish those up in a few days. I also got my yarn for the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan from Lace Style. I picked up the swatch cap I was working on for Am Kamin and realized I did the last few rows wrong. I need to rip it out and get going again but my attention has drifted back away from that project.

In completely different news, I finally used my little pink Laptop Lunchbox.



I packed pot roast (very tasty with tomatoes and mushrooms), whole wheat couscous, carrots with salad dressing for dipping and beets with balsamic vinegar, blue cheese and pecans. I did put some plastic wrap around the container with the beets to keep everything from getting stained pink. It was all very delicious, nutritious and the most adult lunch I've had in a long time despite the pink lunchbox. It was actually more food than I could eat. Two thumbs up.

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday: Work, work, work, work, work! Sale is huge hit. Very busy and tired.

Saturday: Work, work, work, work, work, work! Sale gets huger. Debbie brings a cake to work. Co-workers and customers sing happy birthday while I ring up sales. Then dinner with Wes and the kids at Blue Onion Bistro. Very tasty and kid-friendly but kind of expensive. Finish winding Shetland wool bobbins.

Sunday: No work. Ahhhhh. Drop off all wound bobbins. Find out Wes does not have to go in to work for an emergency meeting. Ahhhh. Entire family walks to Green Lake and around to the playground. Play at playground. Play frisbee. Ride bus home (free for Earth Day!). Shower. Ahhhh. Leave children with sitter. Ahhhh. Go with Wes to Volterra for divine dinner. Ahhhh. Get killer headache. Scrap plans to see Year of the Dog. Go home and fall asleep on the sofa.