little miss messy hair

2005-09-30

forceful

have you ever forced something? Wanted something so bad that you just kept going with it, convincing yourself that you were being too concerned, that things would change?

i did that.

i bought some manos yarn. After the tstwmfmbfsop incident, this one was going to be for me. And i was going to use a knitting pure and simple patten that i liked (even if the model does look like she is going to puke) so that i didn't have to think very much either.

Well, the pattern wants 4st/in. The manos wanted to give me 3.5 st/in after blocking. So i forced it. That yarn gave me 4 st/in after blocking and was HAPPY about it.


But not really. Every time i wear the sweater, and i have done so twice, i can feel that the yarn is not happy. I need to stop fooling myself.

Let the yarn be free! The frogging may now commence.

2005-09-29

the way home

usually, i bike to work. This week, the pull of the comforter has been extremely great and i've bummed a ride with sop on the scooter instead. Today, it meant i got to walk home in the fading fall light.





photo a day redux 16

2005-09-28

photo a day redux 15


last year's harvest

2005-09-27

photo a day redux 14

"Sir?" - "That's MA'AM, to you"

It was time for the monthly fill-up this weekend. Stopped by the Tesoro on the way to the freeway and did the dreaded deed. My car is a mid-grade kind of girl, if you know what i mean, so while she indulged in her favorite, i washed the windows. Engrossed in the process of squeegeeing, i heard a voice behind me. "Sir? Sir?!", someone on the sidewalk called. Fully aware that my hips aren't THAT narrow, i continued to squeegee, rounding the front of the car to find the woman on the sidewalk looking at me, calling "Sir?".

I looked at her. "Is that working?" She indicated the car wash.

"I have no idea", I replied.

"Is that working?!", she asked again.

I looked over my shoulder again at the still-present car wash and said, "I do not know".

"No? Okay." She sighed, and started to walk away.

Now, why i did not leave it at that, i don't know. But, i piped up, "I DO NOT KNOW".

"Oh, okay," she said and walked off to ask the next person she came across (presumably also with no affiliation to the gas station, but maybe this one was actually a sir).

2005-09-25

a near-knit experience

Last Thursday I left work early to go up to Logan, Utah for a Christine Lavin concert.

We had hoped to leave extra early to avoid the exodus out of Salt Lake that occurs each day around 5:00, but for one other reason as well – it would be fun to make the knitting circle. You see, Christine has a knitting circle before her concerts. She also has an essay in ‘KnitLit, (too)’ I had found out on Wednesday.

Well, for various reasons, we made it to the locale just before the show started. Enough time to get our tickets, drink some water, and grab our seats – we thought.

But we made it in time to pop in and check out what the people there were knitting, say hello to Christine (who is knitting a shawl out of something that looks like that recycled sari silk to me, but is something different made by a lady in New York) and THEN go to our seats.

If you don’t know who Christine Lavin is, check out her website. If her music is not really your thing, I would still recommend going to her concert if you get a chance. All I can say is:

1. Batons
2. Sing-a-longs
3. Sensitive new-age guys

What more could you want?

2005-09-21

photo a day redux 13

2005-09-20

photo a day redux 12



for self-portait tuesday (thanks to seldomever)

2005-09-19

tstwmfmbfsop*

"the sweater that was meant for me but fits sop


remember this? i do. this was the sweater where i woke up with a rib pattern in my head and tested two different ways of doing the yoke decreases to find what i wanted. This was the sweater i wanted SO bad.

This was also the sweater where i ignored my knowledge that Elsebeth Lavold's Silkkt Tweed loosens up a lot when blocking. This is The Sweater That Was Meant For Me But Fits SOP.






he's got a love-hate relationship with himself going on...

apad redux 11

2005-09-18

photo a day redux 10

2005-09-16

photo a day redux 9

and i'm starting to get bored with all the sidewalk shots...

2005-09-15

i heart nena

after waking up to the nena CD "wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich", i decided to have an all-nena-all-day sort of day. got to work and did the basics: checked email, created a few tickets, started on a new script, etc. and then i remembered the "jamma nicht" CD. Had just popped it in and put on my headphones when my boss walked in to the room to the accompianment of "ganz gelassen". It was to my own private enjoyment, and would have also been even without the headphones, as no one else in the office speaks german, that he strutted around while nena crooned (only much better):
"but one day i'll be easy going
walk past you without hating you
i will wish that you'll see for yourself
what a giant asshole you are.


how very fitting.

this is really one of my favorite nena CDs. quite positive and her voice is nicely in the foreground, not overpowered by accompianment or background singers.

nena, thank you for making this day bearable, even though i must work with the man WHO TALKS IN CAPS ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

photo a day redux 8





i seem to be looking down a lot this week...

2005-09-14

photo a day redux 7

2005-09-13

new apader!

seldomever is joining the apad list!

photo a day redux 6

2005-09-12

a photo a day redux 5



also, check out the apads going on at the sites in my sidebar. wow. there are some really great photos out there.

2005-09-10

fall

as i walked out from work this evening i was hit by the scent of autumn: a bitter sweetness permeated the air. I think of pumpkins and hallowe'en and jumping through freshly-raked dry leaves and wonder where the summer went.

2005-09-09

photo a day redux 4

2005-09-08

photo a day redux 3


inspired by thuy

2005-09-07

photo a day redux - 2

a few days ago, thuy asked me what she should do for her photo a day. i gave her the assignment of taking a picture of her desk in a way you do not normally look at it. Since i have not been as good at the APAD as thuy has, it has taken me until today to complete that assignment myself. These are the only decorative items i have at my desk. I say "these" because what looks like one thing is actually two acorns - one nested in the other. These are from different types of oaks, as you might have guessed, however.

2005-09-06

photo a day redux - 1

long live photo a day.

Time to get back on the stick and take a photo a day. As you know, photo a day is all about getting out (or in) EVERY SINGLE DAY and taking photos. Sure, i could have posted from my hoard (and believe me, i have a hoard of photos), but that would be against the purpose of APAD and not nearly as fun. So, after the lapse, here we go with my photo a day two:

gauge issues

much like the beautiful sweater i made for ME, but fits sop evry nicely, these turned out a bit too big:


but unlike MY sweater, that fits sop very nicely, these were supposed to be big, so that they could become these:

through the super-fun magic of fulling.

2005-09-03

not a political blog

i rarely comment on politics here. lately, i rarely comment on anything, unfortunately, since i am spending my time going through boxes and looking for a job, but i think we all know that is NOTHING compared to what a lot of people are going through right now.

events like the Katrina disaster always amaze me. Amaze me in the fact that life goes on. The world doesn't stop, even though it feels like it should. People are still worried about deadlines and shoes and the best deal for their money and all that kind of crap.

Although several leaders in the south have said that americans do not care about Katrina because it is blacks who are suffering, i do not think that is true. I think that your average american is just worried about the people, donating to organizations they believe can help these people when they themselves are so far away. As for the federal government, however.... Well, Bush certainly doesn't care about the poor. And when i say poor here, i mean poor in relation to himself. The man does not reallt care about ~96% of the population except in trying to get their children to enlist and their dollars into the pockets of his beloved 4% while making sure that they have less food to 'put on their family'. Our president cut his vacation short by ONE day, i guess he wanted to make sure he got to jam with a country singer to get in the mood before flying over the affected areas. While the people of america are trying to help organizations, the leaders of the government, and of many of the cities affected are bickering over which paperwork needs to be filled out. Last night, a national talking head (perhaps more of a talking hairdo in this man's case), was arguing with a senate member that the mayor of new orleans had not filled out the proper forms. The senator replied that when you want to help people, and you are not getting what you need in order to be able to help them, you TELL them what you need! The fact that this is not happening makes me believe that the feds do not really WANT to help, they just want to blame.

I feel frustrated in this because all i can do is donate money. It seems so little, so impersonal. I try to think about the people there and try to mentally remove their pain when i donate, but i still feel helpless. I wish that the people suffering were those who profitted off destroying the protective wetlands and reefs instead of those who just live in the city, trying to live their lifes and survive. Really, it is wrong for me to want anyone to suffer, but if it has to be anyone, why not those who helped make this disaster possible?

and you now know why i rarely comment about politics here. I am way too opinionated for my own good, which works if you know me personally, but not so much if you just know my words. This is a place i come to try to present a positive front. Express the joy i feel in life and my interests, regardless of the other crap that happens to me and others, but right now, it seems very pointless, even though i know it is the joy in life that gets people through times like this.