Followers

Saturday, August 30, 2008

2 much fun

Oh, Ravelry! You're such a hoot! Look what I found:
Your fairy is called Gossamer Moonshimmer
She is the moon goddess's messenger.
She lives in spiderwebbed wonderlands and insect grottos.
She is only seen when the first flowers begin to blossom.
She wears tiny black spiders on her dresses. She has beautiful blue butterfly wings.
http://www.emmadavies.net/fairy/default.aspx">
Earlier I found my Pirate Name, which is Captain Anne Bonney. It's from fidius.org's "What's My Pirate Name?". Dumb bunny, I didn't post the result here. Anyway, there really was a pirate by the name of Ann Bonny; you could google her. The Plaidman's pirate name is Mad Harry Flint, and the DiscoDame's is Red Bess Bonney -- which so suits, 'coz she's my red-haired daughter. That's her on the right in the header. So after getting my Fairy Name, of course we had to have 'em for the whole tribe. Here's The Plaidman's:
Your fairy is called Buttercup Elfshimmer
She is a cheerful sprite.
She lives in clover fields where fairy rings grow.
She is only seen when the first flowers begin to blossom.
She wears bright clover green. She has delicate green wings like a cicada.
http://www.emmadavies.net/fairy/default.aspx">
And that's probably enough of that silliness.
Okay, for a laugh, go over to 144 Inches of I-cord & get the Hurricane Party Bingo. When my sibs & I were little bitty kids growing up in western Pennsylvania, my Mom used to open up the front door (locking the screen door! She was a pretty sharp cookie.) and set up our little chairs in front of it during thunderstorms. We loved the light shows! Then we moved to Indiana, where you know you'd better start digging when the sky turned that terrifying purple-green color. Mom was scared of storms there. Now Dad's in San Antonio--hey, Pup, ya still worried about the drought? Didn't think so! Fortunately, Little Sister & her brood are further inland. And Little Brother's in Oklahoma, so I'm not too worried about Gustav or Hannah clobbering him. We finally got some rain--about three days of it, thank you very much! I have been driving the Plaidmobile for two weeks, as Purl (aka the Malibu) had a bad connection in the taillight on one side, and somebody who's home all day every day couldn't be bothered to get it fixed until I finally told him he'd have to, 'coz his car's tires are too worn for driving in the rain! It was scaring the beejezus out of me, driving in the rain! in Nashville (home to all those folks who found their licenses in Cracker-Jack boxes...)! Now Purl needs another bath before I drive her to the office, I will try to get that done this long weekend. If I can rig a tarp to give her some shade, I'll even reapply the wax.

Uh-oh, I've been knitting again! Mom used to knit up these really simple, funky slippers for us kids, and I found a pattern that looks an awful like what she'd knit. So I'm working up a pair, out of stashed acrylic yarn, very bright colors. They are every bit as simple & funky as I remember them. And I thought, "Gee, the powers in the office are shifting our dept. back to a colder area, just when it's about to get colder for a while---these silly slippers would make nice pressies for all for the holidays." I know for fact none of my co-workers are reading this, so they'll be pleasantly surprised. Did I mention how warm these goofy things are? I do want to dress them up just a little, by making a crocheted edge around the ankle & running an I-cord thru the loops (make 'em fit a bit better!). You know I can't just make the pattern, come on now!

Well, I either need to get back to Ravelry, or go knit something...

Sunday, August 17, 2008

3 days...

That's how long it's been since I've been on Ravelry. I think I need a fix. I have actually been knitting: I finished another washcloth in the Plymouth Jeannie, and started a muff for a coworker's little girly-girl. The muff pattern is quite easy, although I had to make a substitution in the yarn. The pattern calls for super bulky weight "furry" yarn, of which I had very little. I have combined two strands of a light worsted boucle & eyelash yarn with one strand of sport weight smooth yarn in a complimentary color. The cuffs were to be in a lighter (bulky) weight, so I took the boucle down to one strand & kept the sport weight. I felt it needed something extra, so I'm adding a pocket on the inside of the muff--the little lady can keep a few small objects or photos in there. I don't think she's quite old enough to need a wallet, as she's just started kndergarten. The pocket consists of a strip of stockinette with two purl turning rows and seed stitch ends. I will fold it at the purl rows, so the ends overlap, and stitch the closed side to the inside of the muff. The overlapping ends should hold the contents inside. The pocket is stitched (tightly!) in the sport weight yarn on US sz 6's, while the muff was done on US sz 11's. Once I get the pocket sewn in place, I'll seam the thing, turn it inside out, & work in the ends. I'm planning on giving it to her or her Mom for Christmas, so no real rush.
I've also done some crocheting, still laboring on the FIVE big granny square stockings for another coworker's grandkids. She's keen on having them look kinda hokey & "homemade", so the simpler the better. I usually get a bit creative in the process of putting the squares together and finishing the top. Last year I put a button near the top, and made a button hole in the hanging loop (made rather long too!) which she liked 'coz she could hang the filled stockings on the kiddies' bedposts.
I have been hinting about a certain knitter with a September birthday (ME!ME!), who might like to have a swift & a ball winder. I've thought about it, and decided that if I can have only one it's got to be the swift. I can wind a pretty mean center-pull ball by hand, but haven't yet found a good place to hang a skein for winding. In a very small house with two cats, there may not be a good place to put a skein for winding. I have one chair that will do in a pinch, but the bending & stretching gets old real quick.
We did not go to the movies this weekend, but lately we've seen the Batman movie, and WALL-E (too cute!), as well as Hellboy: The Golden Army. Nifty effects, some wild Del Torre weirdness, kinda sappy story. Speaking of Del Torre, he's acknowleged in a book the Plaidman & I just got done reading, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire. What a ride! The end left me nearly breathless, it's a shock for sure. It's a collaboration between Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden, neither of which I've heard of before.
What else has been going on? Well, I saw my doctor last week for a problem, which turned out to be something she wasn't set up to handle, so she referred me to a dermatologist. This dermatologist was supposed to call me to get an appointment set up, but never did. Then, the first doctor's staff left me a voicemail telling me when the appointment was scheduled. Excuse me, I don't have input as to the date & time? Both of which were inconvenient; I called the derm dr's office to reset the date so I could see her on a Friday (my day off from work), but she only sees her "cosmetic" ("Botox") patients on Fridays, and wouldn't see me but M-Th, so I cancelled the appointment. Probably dumb, as it usually takes forever to see a derm dr in this town. Anyway, I start calling around, and find one who'll see me on a Friday in October, to which I agreed. Then, this past Friday, I go see my regular dr again, for fasting bloodwork that was missed in my physical, and have to explain to her that I'm not real happy with being told when I will see another dr, and that I have taken the liberty (with my body, how dare I?) of making an appointment with a physician other than the one she wanted me to see. Well, I hope I survive till the middle of October, I tell you what!
Still haven't had my evaluation from my supervisor. The Plaidman is still unemployed. The DiscoDame still hasn't tried to get work. And I think I twisted my ankle on the way to the grocery store today. Boohoo. What else? I got my driver's license renewed, complete with truly awful picture--I think the photo tech's trained to capture our worst facial feature, which in my case is the HUGE double chin. I look like I have a goiter.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

A Mishmash of Milestones

Some milestones I've encountered lately, leading with the Big One:

1. I went to my oncologist for the last time in July; he says I've "graduated from the program" and am now an Official Cancer Survivor. I took his picture! 'Cause I'm not gonna see him again! Can't say I'm sad -- but what do I do now? I've been reading Crazy Aunt Purl, and feel like I need to stop thinking of myself as a cancer survivor, and get a post-cancer life!

2. This afternoon we (meaning I) decided that the sticky tree sap & it's assorted buggy diners had to come off the cars, so we washed both of them for the first time ever. Well, actually, we had put the Neon thru an automated touchless wash, but all that did was make the stuff stickier--it did not actually wash anything off the car. What a nasty mess! We had to get the squeegee from the gas station & clear the windows. So today we practiced,"Wax on, wax off".

3. I completed my 18th employee self-evaluation and turned it in. I swear, I'm going to start saving these things, & just update 'em each year. Personally, I think after 18 years at the same employer I should be exempt from this silliness. I'm running out of ways to toot my own horn.

3a. I am having entirely too much fun on Ravelry. OK, that's not actually a milestone, but I had to mention it. Last weekend, I got on Ravelry about 9 p.m. Saturday, and didn't get off until almost 2 a.m. Nothing could tear me away. The stupid part: I really want to spend more weekend time knitting, but it's hard to knit & scroll at the same time. The Forum Funnies are just deadly sometimes; I loved the thread about the tire-eating goat. Made me want to go out & get some goats, just so I could have funny stories to tell about them.

4. I just found out that my favorite LYS, where I first started branching out into nicer yarns & where I found a friend in the owner, who later sold the store to another very nice lady, is going to change the name of the store. Somehow, the name change seems like a break in the last link to the former owner. It's another one of those events, where the world moves on whether or not we want it to do so. I will still frequent the store; I have other friends there and it's so very close to the office. *Le sigh* I suppose I'll get over it, the next time they have a good sale.

5. A few months back, we found out that one of our old time buddies had moved back into the area (well, not Nash-Vegas, but Hopkinsville). We went to visit a couple of times. He'd remarried, and the gal he was married to also had a cancer history. A few weeks ago she passed away. We did go to the funeral, and I think we should head up there again soon to check on our pal. It's not like he's clear up in New York.

Does anyone else (over the age of 35) still get a bit jittery at milestones? Does it matter whether they're "good" ones or "bad" ones? Dare I hope you still do?