little miss messy hair

new year, new place

2006-01-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

i've been trying to move this blog for ages. Should have been simple enough, if it weren't for the lack of free-time as of late. But, with the darkroom/office almost done, it has happened. I can now be found at:

littlemissmessyhair.xmasberry.com

Wordpress 2 made importing my blogger posts a breeze, much easier than Wordpress 1.x. MUCH easier! I am still working on a coupple of things (calendar for archives needs to be made active and i still have 270 some odd posts to categorize, header image loads slower than i'd like), but that will always be the case.

Please come visit me! I have categories now, it's really nice, really.

a holiday surprise

2005-12-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

thuy sent a fabulous care package last week, which promptly went under the christmas plant and then not-so-promptly opened to reveal:

mmmiso

check out that gorgeous yarn! i do not think i am knit-worthy, honestly, but i'll do my best. Any suggestions?

Also in the package was a "cute mini case"

kawaii mini kasu

convenient for your desk or backpack,!
(but perhaps only if you are an angel with a huge, heat-shaped head)

Thank you so much thuy! We dined on miso last night!

photo a day - high art

2005-12-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

utah museum of fine arts

the holiday weekend

2005-12-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

i'll admit, i disappoint most people: I do not decorate every inch of the house for the christmas holiday, this year i didn't even do holiday baking (which really just hurts me, since only a small percentage of the treats actually make it out the door when i do bake anyway). I don't send out cards to every person i know (which is a disappointment i need to remedy), nor do i sing christmas carols non-stop from the beginning of advent on. Despite what people want me to be, given my name, i am not into christmas all that much. I love picking out gifts for people, though, and christmas is an excellent excuse for that.

op thought it wasn't too bad a gift (i think)

Other than that, there is one holiday tradition that i really enjoy, one that my family has not done in a number of years but that sop and i revived this year:

may you enjoy the time you have with friends and loved ones

and may you not do too many face plants in 2006!

photo a day - a christmas tradition

2005-12-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

25 dec 2005 - 9:35 and all is well

photo a day - school's out

2005-12-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

photo a day - longest night

2005-12-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

the day the sun stood still

IHS

2005-12-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

i, like possibly the entire knitting world, am in the process of making the irish hiking scarf this holiday season.

This will be for sop's dad, op:

made of nashua creative focus in carmin

hope he likes it...

photo a day - kumihimo

2005-12-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

this is only a test...

made from hemp

snow

2005-12-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

i'll be in a home for christmas

2005-12-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

two of my absolute most favorite things are driving through town and shopping. really. well, standing in line is up there, too, but it really is at best a distant third.

logically then i had a fantastic day, as i had the opportunity to do not just my two favorite things, but the third as well. If someone would have tried to run me off the road while flipping me off, well, the day would have been pretty darn close to perfect.

IF YOUR INITIALS ARE S.O.P. YOU MAY CONSIIDER YOURSELF EXCUSED AT THIS POINT. THAT'S RIGHT. LEAVE. NOW. YOUR EYES ARE NOT WANTED HERE.

i had the day off, and spent the morning seperating threads. the present that sop doesn't know about is a kumihimo neckband for him to put his wedding ring on. So, getting ready for a trial run, i took embridery thread and started seperating and then loading into the kumihimo plate (traditional kumihimo is done on a marudai, but i'm just getting a feel for this, and do not know how much i'll be doing it in the future, and so i opted for the plate and disk method). After an hour of seperating threads and starting my first braid, i realized that i needed bobbins to hold the loose ends - and quickly. If i didn't, i was never going to get to this:

no more tangles instruction

and most certainly not to this:

mmm... twirls

Time to hit the road, as they say. Get the ball rolling, stop dragging my a**, you know what i mean.

Thirty minutes (10 minutes looking, 20 minutes standing in a four-person line) after entering michael's, i emerged with these:

10% more plastic goodness

Since one really cannot have enough of driving in holiday traffic, i decided to do more of these fine activities while i was out. After a short stop to the Library, i headed through town, buying the last gifts on my list and a candle ring to get some greenery in the house, dropping some things off for good will, not recycling cardboard due to the overflowingness of the recepticles and posting a sign for some items i'm selling at REI. But i have to say, i love Steve Hagen's audio book "Buddhism Plain and Simple". I'm an addict of Pema Choedron's, but i don't always quite know what she's saying. When i finish listening to this book, i just might.

Zen state aside.

I got home and pulled out the bobbins, wrapped the first thread around its bobbin securely,let it go and watched it unravel to the floor. Hmm... it seems that these bobbins MAY hold an entire skein of embroidery thread, but only if you don't seperate the threads out. Thank goodness i waited the 20 minutes in line for these. I grabbed one of the boxes that didn't make it in the recycling bin and voila:

today's apad

Now, with the kumihimo fiasco well hidden and sop coming home with FOOD, i can sit by the candle ring and enjoy the smell of pine blended with one of my favorite scented candles:

nothing says holidays like tangy pear

Enjoy your weekend!

photo a day - caution

2005-12-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

photo a day - thoughts of summer

2005-12-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

photo a day - clean

2005-12-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

photo a day

2005-12-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

photo a day - devotion

2005-12-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

photo a day - clear

2005-12-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

on a clear day

panta revisited

2005-12-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

remember the panta? It was a little big. Big around, big across, big at the front and big at the back. Seems to be a theme with me of late.

well, from the moment i read the panta pattern, i wanted to do it in the round. So, this weekend, in the downtime between cutting wood and sanding for darkroom cabinet drawers, i drew it up, made a rough draft, ripped it out and made it again.

I liked the cross-rib action of the original panta, but just didn't want a seam. So this is worked in the round, using short rows to create the wide front. I did the short row sections to appear as purl bumps, as you can see here:

short rows with style

The pattern is quite easy, and formula-esque, ala schmee.

******************

Make a swatch using the yarn you wish to use.
a = stitches per inch (or whatever unit of measurement you wish to use)

Measure your head
b = head measurement

This panta is stretchy, i found i preferred 25% negative ease
c = ease factor (20% neg. ease = a factor of .8, 25% neg. ease = a factor of .75, etc)

Calculate the cast-on stitches (d), adjust up or down to be an even number
d = a*b*c

Calculate 'llama' in stitches(from org. pattern, essentially, how much space between increases in band width)
e = d/10

In my case i had 3.75 st / in and head measurement of 20", so..
a = 3.75
b = 20
c = .75
d = 3.75 * 20 * .75 = 56.25 = 56 stitches
e = 5.6, rounded up to 6 stitches

1. cast on d/2 stitches, PM, cast on d/2 more stitches
2. join into round, being careful not to twist. Place a unique marker at start of round
3. knit one round
4. purl one round
5. knit one round

6. knit to e stitches past center marker slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn forward, slip stitch back to left needle and turn, forming a wrap
7. knit to e stitches past center marker bring yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn back, slip stitch to left needle *NOTE that the second wrapped stitch is done differently than the first*
8. purl to e stitches past center marker, knit the wrapped stitch with its wrap and continue to knit the round.
9. knit one full round, working the wrapped stitch with its wrap when you come to it.

10. knit to e*2 stitches past center marker slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn forward, slip stitch back to left needle and turn, forming a wrap
11. knit to e*2 stitches past center marker bring yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn back, slip stitch to left needle *NOTE that the second wrapped stitch is done differently than the first*
12. purl to e*2 stitches past center marker, knit the wrapped stitch with its wrap and continue to knit the round.
13. knit one full round, working the wrapped stitch with its wrap when you come to it.

14. knit to e*3 stitches past center marker slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn forward, slip stitch back to left needle and turn, forming a wrap
15. knit to e*3 stitches past center marker bring yarn forward, slip next stitch to right needle, bring yarn back, slip stitch to left needle *NOTE that the second wrapped stitch is done differently than the first*
16. purl to e*3 stitches past center marker, knit the wrapped stitch with its wrap and continue to knit the round.
17. Knit one full round, working the wrapped stitch with its wrap when you come to it.

18. Repeat steps 10 - 13
19. Repeat steps 6 - 9
20. Purl one row
21. Knit one row
22. Cast off loosely.

Note that you could make the whole headband wider by adding more short row sections, e.g. add an e*4 section. You could also make the front (center) of the headband wider by working more short rows, e.g. work steps 14-17 twice rather than just once.

Comments or suggestions for improvement welcome.

*******

photo a day - snowy walk

2005-12-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

photo a day

2005-12-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

shiny black vinyl
is much better while the heat
is low and pants long

http haiku

2005-12-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

so, i've been slowly working on moving messy hair to a new space. A space with categories and variable options. In this endeavor, i signed on with dreamhost. While i still am working on getting stuff ready ( the 15 minutes of free time one the weekends has been severely limiting), i received a newsletter yesterday which made me realize again why i think dreamhost is so fantastic. The newsletter was in haiku!

Some samples:

Why can't I connect?
Everything used to be fine.
Is my server down?

Months and months and months
Email has been less than great.
It's fixed, honestly!

When I watch TV
Tivo skips the ads for me.
Now, see what I missed!

http://adsoftheworld.com/

reminds me of the good old days

photo a day - icing

2005-11-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

photo a day - back on track

2005-11-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

remains of the day

peanut butter sandwich made (and eaten) and the day is good.

photo a day - finally

2005-11-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

it is truly about time

photo a day - thanksgiving

2005-11-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

fall light - 24 november

I can remember two 'traditional' thanksgivings in my life: One when i was about 13 at my uncle's farm and the one this year, at sop's sister's house. There may have been others along the way, most likely with my grandparents. I remember ham with pineapple, is that traditional? In any case, many years, my family had steak for thanksgiving. Then i stopped eating meat and ruined that for everyone. I remember the first year i didn't eat meat. My mom was so mad at me she didn't make me anything. I believe i had rolls. She's okay with it now, though.

Now, we get together the weekend of thanksgiving and have soup. I make tortilla soup and my mom makes a soup ( she has a larger repertoire than i, so it varies). My sister brings pie. We hang out, eat, talk, joke, and play cards.

But that is my family. This year, sop and i went to his sister's, as mentioned. Twelve people, two turkeys, two hams and the best green beans i have had in a while. And i learned how to make mashed potatoes. After dinner, while the rest were watching TV or talking about what they were going to buy the next day, sop, sop's dad, and i went for a walk in the cool air with the warmth of the fall sun on our backs. It was a lovely day and i am really thankful i got to have it.

lame apad

2005-11-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

my desk

i've been lame lately, as the above shot shows. honestly, i am really tired and just want the office / darkroom to be done so that we can put stuff away and have a clean house again. I swear, some days i am tempted to leave the doors unlocked so that someone could come in and just steal everything and make it go away. Anyone know of a custom theft program that will leave just the things i say i absolutely want? And if i do not absolutely want the others, why do i think i need to keep them?

i've stopped taking my vitamins. i am hoping to get sick so i can stay home for a week. I think i'll start walking the dog while my hair is wet, too.

photo a day - lost

2005-11-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

photo a day for melissa

2005-11-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

melissa recently posted an apad, and a question, about manual pencil sharpeners. So, when i saw this in the wood shop (the sawdust is from the rest of the shop, not pencils, i believe), well... i had to bite.

photo a day - the boy

2005-11-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

the d-o-g-i-e

crisis

2005-11-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

this is the sight i beheld this morning as i made my tea:

oh no!

an almost empty tin of Lady Grey. And the Earl's not looking so good either.

The sad thing is, i have many many teas in the cupboard. So how has it come to this? I am just a big fan or the Earl and Lady. Should i order more, or should i delve into the other tins of excellent, if not noble, teas and possibly find a new affection?

taking this shot reminded me of my portfolio of tea related photos. which then reminded me of the paper i used to print quite a few of them on and how said paper is no longer available.

The paper is was Forte Warm Tone Fibre with a Semi-Matte surface. When toned with selenium, you get some rich reds in the blacks that worked well to reproduce some of the beautiful tones in black and rooibos tea leaves. Sigh.

photo a day - caught

2005-11-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

caught in the window frost

first frost

2005-11-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

photo a day - not getting out enough

2005-11-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

i really need to get out more

panta

2005-11-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

after seeing melissa's panta success (only two sittings, she says!), and having enough yarn left over from striped madness, i made myself a panta this weekend.

now what do i do with this thing?

honestly, i think it is too wide for my head. but i like it anyway and may make another with either thinner yarn or less stitches. In any case, it's a good hide-your-hair kind of thing when it's even too messy for me!

it's all about the stripes

2005-11-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

i am perhaps a bit obsessed with stripes lately. maybe because of this little tool thuy turned me on to?

in any case, my stripey madness in all its glory:

seven and a half feet of stripey fun

photo a day - leaf me alone

2005-11-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

photo a day - do not leave glass

2005-11-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

another fish takes the bait

2005-11-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

whoohoo! another one bites the apad hook!

yes, yet another person doing the apad better than i - melissa!

photo a day redux - 9 nov

2005-11-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

the dregs

2005-11-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

i don't know if it is the whole work issue, or the remodelling issue, or the dryer, or the tub, or the dishwasher... but i feel like the dregs in the coffee pot that's been on for 3 days. I am tired and uninspired.

And yet, the work thing has worked itself out, and not at all as i thought it would. On the eve of my accepting another job, my boss gave notice. The night before i knew for certain, i suspected and was panicked. I feared, due to some things that had been said in my interview, that he might be going to the same place as i was. It was this fear that kept me from signing while trying to find out the facts. But he went someplace else (well, actually will be going someplace else) and i talked to the dean about the role of web and database development in the College and am staying. What have i learned from him over the past 4 years? Mainly that when someone repeatedly tells you that you are a bad person, there is a chance they may be wrong. I let him convince me for almost 4 years, but i finally realized that the only thing wrong was his expecting me to always agree with him. Having my own opinion does not make me a bad person.

Now we are in the process of restructuring, getting rid of all the things my boss took on just because he didn't want anyone else to do them. Of course, he never got around to doing many of them at all as a result, but hey, at least he was in control. The restructure is both exciting and daunting. I think we can do great things. But i am exhausted.

The office / darkroom remodel, with its many floor-levelings, is almost to the point where we get to add cabinets. The walls are painted, the flooring is in, i've started painting baseboard and door frame and soon will paint the window frames and door. It will be so cool! But i am exhausted.

The tub and dishwasher are unclogged, the dryer unfixed. After three weeks, and multiple replacement parts, we decided to call a pro. If my clothes rack held more than half a load of laundry, i wouldn't care so much. But it doesn't, and i am exhausted.

I have knit, and yet am unmotivated and unfocused to knit. I want to shoot, but all my daylight hours are taken. Once we get the office done and i can put things away, i know i'll have room to do some still-lifes indoors, but for now i am just exhausted.

What i really want is some MAGIC. Yes, the kind that comes in all upper-case letters. The kind that makes me want get out there and DO things. The kind you have to make yourself ;)

photo a day - storm brewing

2005-11-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

photo a day redux - 6 nov

2005-11-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

photo a day redux - 5 nov

2005-11-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

remnants of the rain

photo a day - unexpected sight

2005-11-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

photo a day redux - 3 nov

2005-11-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

photo a day redux - 1 nov

2005-11-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, after seeing what the D-O-G has been up to, i though i better get in one of the better shots of him (Dogie HATES having his picture taken).

just crossed the steet, so life is good

tibbar tibbar!

dogie in charge

2005-11-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah. Guest blogger Dogie here, well, 'guest' is maybe not the right word, but who cares. The messy haired chick is out of the house and well, I deserve some fun. After my gig over on schmeebot, I decided this is a way for me to get heard! Get the people bowing to the D-O-G-I-E!!

If there is one thing that messy-haired chick is good for, it's walks. Well, that and belly-rubs. THE ONE may be my god, but the chick takes me for walks, so I'm trying not to bite her so often. But that doesn't matter. What matters are the WALKS.

So, the other day we headed out for a walk. The messy-haired chick grabbed her magic red jacket and the super-leash and OPENED THE DOOR!!! Alright! I ran outside, letting out a few whoops to let her know how much I approved of her actions so far and started on the daily quest to MAKE MY PRESENCE KNOWN.

gotta claim my territory!!

Oh, walks are good. We get out, I piss off a few yappy dogs, stare down those tough young bucks who couldn't beat me in a hard-as-nails contest if they actually ate nails and i GET TO CROSS THE STREET!!

Now, this is one of my favorite streets to cross. This street is full of action! There are lots of cars, and those cool white stripes!! Oh man, any second now that light is going to change and we will get to cross this street! It is so cool, I think I'll probably sing and dance all the way across just so every one can see how great it is. Oh yeah, that's what I'll do.

don't knock the white stripes!

Alright, now this is where a friend of mine lives, can you see him?

my friend's lookout spot

Did you see him? No? Well, that's because he's not there, stupid. Geez, can't you smell? Well, maybe he'll be there next time I share some insight with you.

Oh man, i know this spot. See that pipe thing? She's going to try and tie me up there, i know it. There are NO interesting smells there at all. I swear , I am the only one who ever gets tied up there. Well, I'll show her. I'm going to lay down right now and she better give be some SERIOUS belly rubs before she even thinks about dragging me closer to that pipe.

no way am I falling for this again

Okay, she won. As you can tell, I am tied up to the stupid pipe and she is going to be gone FOREVER. How dare she do this to me?! She is not THE ONE!

I don't know how she can get away with this

Well, FINALLY. Let's get the show on the road, babe! I have friends to sniff, warnings to leave, leaves to lick! I cannot wait around all day for your sorry butt!

I know what she uses those bags for.

Okay, this is Max. Max is okay, a little quiet, but oh well. Hmm, while he's not looking, though, I think I'll leave him a little message on this pole. HAHA. Young guy thinks he's what it's all about. Snort.

I just left a surprise for this guy.

Now we're back on our street. Almost with THE ONE.

THE ONE is near

Just going to take care of my territory first. You know how it is... It may LOOK the same, but if I'm derelict in my duties, it sure won't SMELL the same.

all mine.

photo a day - HALLOWEEN

2005-10-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

speading cheer this halloween at a neighborhood near you

photo a day redux 30 oct

2005-10-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

cool cat spider

photo a day redux 26 oct

2005-10-26T20:52:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 25 oct 05

2005-10-25T20:19:00.000-06:00

oh no! don't tell me it's

2005-10-24T11:51:00.000-06:00

knitting!

yes, i have knitted (or is that knat?). Actually, i am working on the do-over of the forceful sweater (1/3 of a sleeve to go, thank you very much), but i am adverse to knitting progress photos. Trust me, those 3 inches i got done last night are just not that entertaining.

But, a couple of weeks ago, as i shivered at my desk with the air from the vent blowing down my neck, i determined that i would make a neck warmer. Since i was a bit obsessed with doing a moebius strip at the time, and had just bought Cat Bordhi's A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting, well, the solution was obvious:

made with leftover yarn from forceful

photo a day redux 23 oct 05

2005-10-23T18:43:00.000-06:00

petrified

photo a day redux 20 oct 05

2005-10-20T20:54:00.000-06:00

i am an idiosynchrasy

2005-10-18T12:13:00.000-06:00

the meme is '5 idiosynchrasies'. Tagged is Thuy.

The photo is a pictoral of idiosynchrasy #1. No, it's not that i do not have a pinky finger (i have two, actually), but when i walk, i often touch each finger to my thumb, forward and backwards. As i do this i count, because...

Idiosynchrasy #2

I like numbers.

Many times, especially when walking or knitting, i will count steps or stitches or whatever. If i am walking i'll count in sets of 4 or 8 if i don't think about it. When knitting, well, my counting doesn't have to have anything to do with what i am actually doing. The numbers are the point, not what they mean, don't you know? No? Geez, what is wrong with you?

Idiosynchrasy #3

I like to flex my muscles.

Not at the beach flexing or anything like that. Just every so often i flex a muscle, almost a twitch, except that i am fully aware that i am doing it. It is a NEED. Why? To see that the muscle still works, that it hasn't dropped off? Who knows.

Idiosynchrasy #4

I hate the smell of tomato catsup.

Actually, i hate catsup. But i also hate the smell of it. To the extent that if you are going to insist on putting catsup on your plate i would please ask you very nicely to put it on the side of the plate that is not next to me. Thank you.

Idiosynchrasy #5

I wiggle my nose.

This may be related to idiosynchrasy #3, but i wiggle my nose a lot. Just kind of scrunch it for no reason. Nothing to do with catsup.

And these are the things i am willing to share. Oh dear.

deer hunt weekend

2005-10-17T13:05:00.000-06:00

Last weekend i said to sop, "why don't we go out to the lake next weekend and shoot?" Neither of us has been able to get out and really SHOOT for way too long, so sunday morning, we loaded up the gear and the d-o-g and headed out west.

where the salt runs free

evidence of expert markmen

and with the start of deer hunt weekend here in utah, we headed out with our Canons (oh, and my Nikon and Mamiya and sop's Minolta) and mostly avoided gunfire.

stop here! gun fire just around the bend

after turning around from various 'no trespassing' signs, we found this place:

Clearly deserted but with hints that me may not be the first to venture onto the property.

these guys ruel!

good as new

HX

i sure hope Boyd didn't forget

and dry your hands afterwards

more view than room

exit

getting ready for winter

2005-10-16T10:00:00.000-06:00

with winter just around the corner, and us heading toward said corner at about 80mph, SOP figured it was time to get the wood in the back split.As usual, he managed to entice me into joining him in this evening of fun and hilarity (hilarity provided by my first-ever attempts at lof splitting).

giving in a go

with not much success

and a few (well, not SO few) tries later...

sop has finally made a real woman of me

don't get me wrong, i enjoyed spliiting wood. If you ever need some anger management, please stop on by, i have just the thing...

but look at the master in action...

does he look a little TOO happy?

follow-through

it should be a warm winter after all!

after a day of floor-leveling, paint picking, dog-walking and log-splitting, we settled in for an evening of drinks and cards

don't tell sop, but i am about to whoop his butt!

photo a day redux 14 oct 2005

2005-10-14T20:33:00.000-06:00

photo a day - 12 oct 2005

2005-10-12T11:27:00.000-06:00

photo a day - 7 oct

2005-10-07T11:26:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 16

2005-10-05T23:34:00.000-06:00

someone convinced me today that feet were the subject of the day.

i am so sorry for doing this to you. Be kind, they get a lot of use.

a bad case of the Mondays

2005-10-04T07:27:00.000-06:00

i tend to have a hard time waking up on mondays; especially in the fall. Yesterday was such a day. But, even running late, i was determined to ride to work and not bum a ride on the scooter with sop. My goal with my ride to work is to decrease my actual ride time. I can't control the traffic lights, but what happens between them is largely up to me. I pushed up the long hill, still working the dust from the basement work out of my lungs; the light for the second part of the hill stayed green; i made it through. I heard a crunch. Gravel? A pop. Hmm... I watched my back tire as i continued to grind and saw it flatten.

Oh well, at least i had my pump. Shoot, no patch kit.

But that was okay because i had a spare tube. If i could just release the brake cable so i could get the wheel off. Where were my allen wrenches? Oh, somewhere at home with all the other things i can't find since the move and the basement work.

Oh well, at least i was only a mile away from work.

So i walked to work, setting a ridetime record of 37 minutes, blowing my old record of 21 minutes out of the water!

Late to work and the lights were all out. My colleague T was at a doctor appointment and my boss? Well, you never know when he'll show up - sometimes it's not until the next day, but that's okay with me. Except for the phones. With the help desk out, that left me to deal with phones and every time i got off the phone there were three more messages to deal with.

Oh well, at least that only lasted until about 10:00.

So i tried to take care of some things i had been neglecting. Sent an email inquiring about a package i was expecting, although i wasn't sure exactly what i was expecting anymore as the other person had been busy, and i had been busy and i really should have contacted her earlier. She got back to me saying the package had been shipped, but hurt by the tone i used in my email. I didn't mean it to have a TONE. Really! I was trying to be calm, but i guess i failed.

Oh well, at least it happened with someone to whom i could apologise, not just some stranger on the street. I reviewed some emails, looking for on from my friend C, who always send me things to make me laugh. Then, determined to just focus on the circle flies, or perhaps the male table seller on eBay, i set out to lunch, because food might just help.

The cafe near my office usually has at least one vegetarian soup. That day it was Roasted Vegetable. Not my favorite, but at least it was better than beef stew. But what was that in the soup? OLIVES? Igit. I hate olives. Why on earth are there olives in the roasted vegetable soup anyway? Aren't olives a fruit?

Oh well, at least it was warm.

But today is Tuesday and i woke up as one can only wake up to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The shower was wonderful, the protein shake tasty and the thunder outside well, thunderous. And my tea smelled so good, even as the teapot lid fell off and hot (never boiling) tea gushed all over my hand.

But at least i could run cool water over it.

Yup, it is definitely a Tuesday.

may i have seconds?

2005-10-03T20:39:00.000-06:00

(or 'a little trip to dog lake')

sop on the trail

i do believe it is autumn

my favorites

aspen grove

look in the lower left - quite a bit farther than my last moose experience

our wedding - in technicolor!

2005-10-03T13:56:00.000-06:00

or just plain old regular color.

which means that i finally got the last of the color images scanned, prepped and up on flickr. If you are interested in checking them out, there's a flickr badge in the sidebar.

black and white pictures are still pending, as are the pics from our 'honeymoon'.

forceful

2005-09-30T09:36:00.000-06:00

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.

the way home

2005-09-29T21:47:00.000-06:00

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

2005-09-29T21:45:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 15

2005-09-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

last year's harvest

photo a day redux 14

2005-09-27T21:00:00.000-06:00

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

2005-09-27T17:33:00.000-06:00

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).

a near-knit experience

2005-09-25T11:50:00.000-06:00

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?

photo a day redux 13

2005-09-21T21:05:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 12

2005-09-20T20:10:00.002-06:00

for self-portait tuesday (thanks to seldomever)

tstwmfmbfsop*

2005-09-19T21:02:00.000-06:00

"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

2005-09-19T21:01:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 10

2005-09-18T23:21:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 9

2005-09-16T17:21:00.000-06:00

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

i heart nena

2005-09-15T11:17:00.000-06:00

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

2005-09-15T09:35:00.000-06:00

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

photo a day redux 7

2005-09-14T10:58:00.000-06:00

new apader!

2005-09-13T13:21:00.000-06:00

seldomever is joining the apad list!

photo a day redux 6

2005-09-13T08:32:00.000-06:00

a photo a day redux 5

2005-09-12T11:48:00.000-06:00

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

fall

2005-09-10T20:31:00.000-06:00

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.

photo a day redux 4

2005-09-09T20:27:00.000-06:00

photo a day redux 3

2005-09-08T20:14:00.000-06:00

inspired by thuy

photo a day redux - 2

2005-09-07T08:32:00.000-06:00

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.

photo a day redux - 1

2005-09-06T10:03:00.000-06:00

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

2005-09-06T09:46:00.000-06:00

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.

not a political blog

2005-09-03T09:53:00.000-06:00

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.

finally...the weekend

2005-08-29T09:09:00.000-06:00

work is at its annual beginning-of-new-year frenzy. the wedding, moving, looking for a new job now and then, well, i haven't seen much fun on the weekends in the past month (well, except for the 8th, of course).

This past saturday, sop and i got the basement on its way to being organized so that i can stash my crap down there, and got rid of a few of sop's things as well. Since the yard sale was last weekend, we tried this method of finding a home for the nameless sculpture:

timmy was sculpted by sop several years ago and, well, we have no idea what to do with him. obviously.

after toiling away saturday, we got up sunday with a singular goal: to get out of the valley.

and that is what we did! we headed up to the uintas and hiked up to shingle creek lake and then up into erickson basin, where we lunched with this curious guy:

as the sun started to fade a tad, we headed back down to shingle lake to rest in a grassy meadow we spotted at the edge of the lake on the way up. SOP luxuriated in the soft grass with the warm sun while i took these:

and on the knitting front, i've almost finished this project:

(hint: when it's done, this won't be headwear)

all in all, this weekend was just

a big thank you

2005-08-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

Friday, i received a package. Not just any package: a package amply labeled "FRAGILE". A package from thuy. It came to OUR house, not my house, but SOP was not home, so i waited. And waited.

SOP got home, marveled at how much i had brought over from my house and said, "wow! what's that?"

"it's from Thuy! Let's open it!" said i.

and so we did.

The first thing we found was:

now, before we rush into anything, check out the wrapping paper! Custom-made by Thuy herself! One package said "congratulations holly" and the other said "congratulations shawn". Beautiful. This alone would have been enough. But inside those beautiful packages was...:

two beautiful cups. SOP and i were flabbergasted, utterly and totally, by her generosity (extra thanks for her help on the darkroom fund). i think all we could physically say for the next 15 minutes was "wow". seriously.

Thank you so much, Thuy.

spur-of-the-moment yard sale

2005-08-21T20:08:00.000-06:00

the yard sale: that great event where you put out the things you do not need anymore and other people stroll by and give you money while taking away treasures for themselves. mmm, yeah.

my yard sale: that event where i am made painfully aware that the crap i do not want, well, no one else wants it either. And this hurts. I mean really, those silver and black pants are a find! A FIND!

but my bed, which is also in the yard sale, well, i LOVE my bed. i love it 500X more than sop's bed. at least. but he made his bed in high school and it won 2nd place at the statewide young craftsman show that year and well, it's painfully obvious which bed has to go, isn't it? and i am okay with it. now, at least.

actually, the yard sale did not suck. we had the stuff we wanted to hoist off sell ready to go and at 7 a.m. i headed out to hang some signs. Well, i headed out to buy some tape to hang signs with and then hang signswhile SOP set up items in the yard. By the time i got back from hanging signs, all within a 4-block radius, my bed was sold. gone. vamoosed. abgehauen. i don't even have a picture of it to show you.

probably the best part of this yard sale is that it was more sop's than mine. i mean, most of the stuff was mine, but sop dealt with the people. i went and cleaned at my old house. SOP is great with people. really. I am not. really.

wouldn't you want to come to this man's yard sale?

and, since i do not have many pictures from the yard sale, nor do i have freak stories, like last year (really we had NICE people come. Interesting people! People from Peru, Mexico, South Salt Lake and stuff!), i am obliged to at least post one of the wedding pictures before i head back to the toil-fest that is my job.

me, judge noel, and sop signing the deed.

photo a day

2005-08-18T13:12:00.000-06:00

wow, we are now up to 5 people on the Photo a Day list (in side bar)! Six, if you count me, but i don't think you can count me at the moment. Oh i cannot wait until i have time to post my photos! Life is killing me right now, but then, isn't it always, when you think about it?

on dreams and oaths

2005-08-18T10:18:00.000-06:00

lately, with the wedding, the move and the job hunt and all, i've been having one of my least favorite dreams. this is the one where i have a test in german social history next week and i realize that i never actually made it to the class all semester. i figure, though, if i read the book over the weekend and go to the class this week, i might be okay. except that now i can't find the classroom...

and last year i swore i would never do this again! But guess what we are doing saturday? sigh. Insanity is when you repeat your actions again and again but expect different results each time.

photo a day 10 (kind of)

2005-08-17T11:24:00.000-06:00

sadly, this is not the start of photo a day again for me. but this is on my new route to work and well, it is really a good reminder, don't you think?

caught!

2005-08-09T15:40:00.000-06:00

sallyjo,

though you state that you cannot take pictures anymore (which i highly doubt), i apparently cannot count anymore, which is why no photo a day 4, i guess. sigh.

now, as to what happened to 10 (actually 9), 11 (actually 10) and so on... well, i got busy doing the wedding thing and so i just didn't get it done.

now that the wedding is over you might think i ought to get cracking, but since i will, hopefully, soon be posting images from our not-normal wedding and our fun day of celebration afterward, photo a day is on-hold until the end of the august. By which time i will be moved and partially settled (i hope - so just humor me on this, please) and can work on taking pictures for joy.

photo a day 9

2005-08-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

photo a day 8

2005-08-04T14:47:00.000-06:00

the problem with words

2005-08-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

me to sop:
"as we were filling out paper work today, it struck me that my initials, HC, both come before your initials, SP. And then i thought how H and C come before all your initials, SOP. And THEN i thought how the initial that comes last alphabetically in my name, S, is the same as the initial that comes last alphabetically in YOUR name. Isn't that interesting?"

sop to me:
"what?"