Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Ok, I need something to knit. Possible options to take on FL trip are:

- Another pair of Dream Socks in Lorna's Laces Camouflage (but I need to get pair 1 off my lovely sock needle).
- Something in Pakucho Organic Cotton, but alas, I have only 2 skeins, I think 200 yd
- Irish Hiking Scarf (HELLO? FLORIDA!) - that's out
- Something with that dreaded ball of pink Rowan Calmer (I could make the free chemo cap pattern from Knit Picks)
- Scoop du Jour is wool and I can't bear to knit it at the moment - too hot

Sigh. I would like a small, easily-portable project that doesn't require a ton of attention.
My Secret Pal says a package is in the mail for me! I can't wait!

This was Fiona this morning.
Let's talk about this for a minute.

If a category five hurricane is bearing down on your house, do not stay. Do not think you'll be all right. The strongest concrete house offers no protection against flooding.

I'm just horrified by the news reports - a two-block long section of levee in NO that protects the city from Lake Ponchartrain broke and they are saying that 80% of the city is under water. Swamp, stagnation, disease, filth, people trapped in attics and screaming for help, with no food or water, everything you own gone. Deadly snakes everywhere. Martial law. Bodies from the above-ground crypts floating around in the streets.

It's just stuff, ok, but if I lived in the Gulf area I'd be looking to move to Nebraska or something after this. No way in hell would I rebuild.

I understand some people - lots of people - just couldn't get out.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Go-to list of words used by hurricane reporters and commentators:
Pummeling
Battering
Howling
Grinding
Churning
Bearing down
Drenching
Blinding
Pouring
Devastating

Ok, I'm not trying to be funny but the list of weird hurricane words is another thing I collect, besides goofy hair salon names and things you used to believe were true when you were a kid.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Well, today is a bit of a drag. The lady who cleaned our bathrooms at work was last here on Tuesday. Turns out she had terminal cancer. She died last night at 2am.

Thank God this life is not all there is.

The most remarkable thing about death is that it is necessary. It is one of the things in life we all share - birth and death. Jesus' commonality with man meant that He experienced birth and death. Because He did that, we get to experience His resurrection. It keeps going around in circles for me. Sin is death. He had no sin. The only way He could die was to take our sin upon Himself. And on and on.

If you've just glazed over from that, then just be encouraged today by Philippians 1:

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion in the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel.

Note - He began the good work. He will carry it on to completion in Christ. Please do not be one of those people who think your works can save you. Salvation is the glorious business of God. So is sanctification. Our business is cooperation - and exertion.

Mopey today.
This yarn is so amazingly gorgeous.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

I think I should update my blog, because I always like it when other people update their blogs. But I am trying to figure out what to update it with...

So, I finally have a concrete idea of what to get my Secret Pal, and am going after work today to LYS to buy it. Funny how knitting has so many acronyms - someone who is not a knitter would not know that LYS stands for local yarn shop - and they have just become automatic to me.

Funny how I still have so much sock left to knit. I'm 50% done with it. I need to update my progress bars. I quit the Shedir project. I hate Rowan Calmer. I have one ball of it in kind of a peony pink - if you want it, email me and we'll trade. I'm serious, I can't stand it.

So, the thing I made my SP yesterday, a lady who owns a shop said she gets requests for these items all the time and if I made them she'd sell them. I don't know if I want to do that, but it was really nice to hear someone compliment something I'd made like that.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

I'm so excited! I made something for my Secret Pal today. Something that is knitting-related but not actually knitting!

I really hope she likes it! For obvious reasons, I can't tell what it is!
Fun!

Erik and Beth are moving to Chicago!
Mom and Bill are moving to Biloxi!
No more hassles trying to get to Daytona!
I have a Secret Pal! And I am someone's Secret Pal!
I have too many ideas about what to get her though!

HI TO MY SECRET PAL! :)

Must go make deadline. Pfft.

Friday, August 19, 2005

100 things about me (for the Knitty Secret Pal 5):

(still working)
52. I think I would like to knit something with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes.
51. I always wanted to learn to play guitar but never could do it. I played sax in HS band. Band rocked. I loved Band.
50. Am not embarrassed about being Band Geek.
49. I don't like mohair or fiber that sheds.
48.


100. I desperately want to knit something with Malabrigo.
99. Desperately want to knit something with Manos (cannot believe I
haven't yet).
98. My most-quoted movies are Fargo, Raising Arizona, When Harry Met
Sally and Napoleon Dynamite.
97. I think Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy are really funny.
96. I have redhead skin and look best in warm colors.
95. I have two cats, Grady and Fiona. They mostly leave my yarn alone.
94. I spend a lot of time working in Photoshop.
93. I really like red, dark brown, tan, gold, and chalk (grayish) blue.
92. I don't much like hot weather although I live in the south.
91. I love to cook and trying new recipes is fun.
90. I beat Halo with my 9-year old nephew last May, and have played
quite a bit of Halo 2.
89. My favorite candy is a Snickers bar.
88. I have TMJ so I don't chew gum.
87. I've been coloring my hair for almost 10 years. It's dirty blond, I
color it some form of brownish red.
86. I love LUSH.
85. I'm one of the freaks that actually WEARS Bare Minerals. But it's
great foundation and nothing covers spots like it.
84. I rarely leave the house without lipstick, sunglasses and car keys.
83. I am a true believer in the power of the iPod.
82. I'm a christian and I love to study theology, and if you know me
you will generally hear me harping about false doctrine at some point.
81. I want to knit something with Patons Classic Merino in Paprika.
80. I made it all the way through knitting one of the Girl from
Auntie's cable patterns, which is *almost* as big a deal as beating
Halo.
79. I am mildly dyslexic, which basically affects me in the following
ways - I am an idiot with numbers, and I have to reread things about 8
times to understand them. It often means I can't find things that are
right in front of me (like books on a shelf). But I'm a decent speller.
78. Coffee gives me migraines. I drink green tea (not decaf) every day.
77. I used Aveda Hand Relief hand lotion.
76. I am never without toenail polish.
75. This blog is called Mean Girl because of a comic I drew back in
college in 1992 based on Stick Figure Theater's Hindenburg Disaster
film. I work with a band called The Codenames, and Mean Girl is my
Codename.
74. I wear contacts allll the time.
73. I only wear clear nailpolish on my hands.
72. I *do* own a dvd player.
71. I *do not* own a VCR (what century is this??!)
70. I have a guys red flannel shirt that is going to have to be pried off me when I die and burned.
69. I am a Titans fan.

I'll try to do 31 more tomorrow.

68. I have been known to wear one sock while I'm knitting the other.
67. I use Magic Loop whenever possible, and dpn's only if I have to. Second to ML is two circs.
66. I knitted Hallowig for a friend who lost her hair to chemo. Her kids wear it. They love it.
65. I'm mad that LUSH has discontinued Freeze shower gel. It's my favorite part of waking up.
64. It takes me exactly 7 minutes to apply full face makeup in the morning - moisturizer, concealer, foundation, bare minerals, powder, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, eyebrow shadow and mascara. Now that just sounds wrong huh.
63. My cat Grady likes to sleep on my feet.
62. My hair is curly but I straighten it - unless I am visiting my family at the ocean. Then it's hopeless corkscrews. Kind of surfer hair.
61. Probably my vote for most amazing novel ever written is Anna Karenina.
60. I wear contacts.
59. I have a hard time keeping stitch markers on my needles.
58. I tend to set all my WIPs out on my (gigantic) coffee table. Pattern goes first, then the yarn and then the piece on top of it. Crazy, I know. But it motivates me.
57. I have fired an M-16 assault rifle and went to a WWII reenactment by choice, and enjoyed it.
56. I like Guinness.
55. I was on a rowing crew in college, sat 6th (port).
54. I do freelance design for the local Down Syndrome Association.
53. I would really, really like a Winter 2003 Interweave Knits magazine.

(more later)

Thursday, August 18, 2005

LOOK what I just bought!

This will be a LOVELY pair of short-row heel and toe socks. I love love love Vesper and have been dying to knit with it!

Yes!

Knitty SP 5!

So, there's a blog out there for the Knitty Secret Pal 5 that recommends we answer these questions...I'm so excited!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?Not really a snob about it, but am allergic to acrylic so I do prefer natural fibers.
2. Do you spin? Crochet? Nope.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Sandalwood bothers me, allergic to smoke and acrylic yarn
4. How long have you been knitting? since Feb 2005
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Ok, ok, I'll make one and post it here...
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) orange-vanilla
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Sorta, but my fat-salt tooth is stronger
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? (hides) nothing
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Americana roots-rock stuff, Britpop and yeah, my Mac does it all
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I like 'fall' colors - warm muteds mostly.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Single, taken, live alone, and 2 cats.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To save more money
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Lorna's Laces, Blue Sky Cotton, Patons Classic Merino
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Boucle texture or anything with that kind of kinked-up spin to it drives me absolutely batty
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? cabled stuff at the moment
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like socks a lot, but that would be boring...really I like anything
17. What are you knitting right now? See my sidebar, additionally I'm using up some wool-ease/fun fur to make a cat bed (they are already sleeping on it even with the needles in it)
18. What do you think about ponchos? I don't wear them
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circs
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like INOX the best, but really love bamboo circs as well (just not Clover)
21. Are you a sock knitter? I think we covered this
22. How did you learn to knit? My women's group at church learned so we could knits scarves for the women's homeless shelter, and then I watched the knitting help videos and read stitch n bitch
23. How old is your oldest UFO? I think it's from March
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Like Spongebob. I kind of like all animals except for the crawly kinds
25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
26. Is there anything that you collect? Antique cameras and bizarre hair salon or dog grooming salon names (like Hairvoyant or Shampooch)
27. Any projects you want to make but haven't gotten there yet? Rogue - I'm chicken! Cozy shawl from Knitty. Some warm socks. The Ombre Blanket from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (and the zippy cardigan thingie). Harry Potter scarf for my nephew. Numerous baby things for other nieces and nephews. Want to knit some socks with Vesper. It's so pretty.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Good line from Babette's Feast -

All that is yours, that has been given to you. All that is not yours, that has also been given to you.

I really don't want to be one of those people sitting at the table and scowling and refusing to enjoy the masterpiece put before me.

Major print problems with two issues of mag, and I am not a happy camper today. But at least I am out of the Sweaty Frankenboot of Doom.

I went to see Skeleton Key this weekend. Now let me be the first to say this is just not a good movie. It's kind of "The Others" meets "Freaky Friday." There are a great number of cliches in the movie's employ - old blind black lady with milky cataracts, crazy gas station owner, the hoodoo lady, etc. Of COURSE Kate Hudson's character had a tattoo and a VW Beetle (does anybody really think this makes them an individual?). Well anyway. But then it did a great job of conveying what I have always thought is the oppressive creepiness hanging in the air over New Orleans. And Gena Rowlands was absolute genius. But the idea of body-stealers is not a new one, and the aura of NO was not enough to carry this movie. So the creepy people went into the kids and then the Devereaux and then the other people. It was a malicious, mean-spirited movie in a lot of ways.

If you are looking for a genuinely good haunted house movie, then The Others should be your choice.

Think today I will sign up for NetFlix.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Tonight I knitted Bear Two a scarf - just garter stitch in some white Patons Classic Merino I had laying around.

Bought 1 skein of Rowan Calmer for a chemo hat for friend. Will try to make Shedir. Must figure out if cable rows snake when hat is knitted in round.

UPDATE: Jenna kindly emailed me back and said they are all read right to left - all rows read the way they are knitted. If I could just get my brain around this...

Also sewed on Bear's other ear and started her other arm. I really hate double pointed needles. I probably shouldn't but they are so fiddly. I could have had this bear done days ago if I wasn't so averse to DPNs. For socks, I do magic loop. For everything else I do 2 circs. But these arms are smalllll diameter so I had to give in and use 'em.

Quote of the day:
"I seen how you look at him."
"How? How do I look at him?"
"Like you just seen your first Trans Am!"

- Joe Jr., "While You Were Sleeping"

Enough already. Time for bed.

Friday, August 12, 2005

I just linked to this from Classmates.com. Ok, small note - nobody ever hated high school as much as I did. But if you've come here from there, please leave a comment. It was just bloody high school.

Finished up to Bear's head last night. Now he needs ears, face, and arms.

That slightly disturbs me. I am still wearing the stupid boot. It's hot. But tonight I am going to try to go out somewhere.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Pfft. So I dropped a bowl on my right foot Friday, and thought "that's not good." But it didn't really hurt until Saturday night. Then it got worse. Had it xrayed yesterday and there is no major break; the jury is out on whether there is a hairline fracture. In the meantime I am wearing Frankenboot because I can't put weight on it. It does help a lot, but it is HOT.

In other news, I am just starting the decreases in Bear's head. Woo-woo! This is going faster than I remember!

Monday, August 08, 2005

I finished the baby jacket yesterday! Also am knitting another Bear and have finished body, bottom and legs. About 1/3 way up the head. It's going a lot faster this time now that I have done it once, but I still really hate dpns. Apologies to those who love dpns.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

If you've lived in or around Nashville during the last ten years then you know the story of Janet March's disappearance - especially if you were part of the art community. Yesterday police arrested her husband Perry and are going to charge him with second-degree murder.

I am not surprised.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Good article on faith and science from Charles Krauthammer: here

I just started knitting up the bottom of my red&brown tote bag and can't wait until it's finished!

Monday, August 01, 2005

Happy Monday - I finished the blanket this weekend! And a washcloth. And knitted several rows of my sweater, though not enough to change my progress bar. (Sigh.) I started my second sock, and need to finish the trim on the baby jacked and the red and brown tote bag. I'm not buying yarn for a while, except to get the stuff to make a Bear for Vicki. Probably will get that tonight or tomorrow.

In other news, today I send out my Last Credit Card Payment. Hopefully Ever. I've paid off about $7500 this year, and it feels GOOD. I still have to pay off my student loan, but praise God, I don't owe money to the Sharks anymore. And they are Sharks! I mean EEEEvil. I pay off $1000, they raise my credit limit. I pay off the next thou, and I get a note "offering" to "let" me "write a check" for "cash" - which is really asking me to charge MORE on my account! JERKS!

I mean SERIOUSLY, these people are predatory and desperate and prey on people with money weaknesses. I'm keeping the card for a while just so the jerks have to keep paying to send me statements.

Grr. But Hooray too!