Sunday, August 30, 2009

Minus One


The tooth leaped out during the morning toothbrushing, much to our surprise.
I sewed like mad yesterday to finish the tooth pouch.

The tooth pocket side:


And the treat side:


I am about 90% satisfied with it. There are couple spots with wonky sewing but all-in-all, I'm thinking it will hold together until all the teeth fall out of Kidlet's head.

Friday, August 28, 2009

A post in which I discuss a whole lot of nothing. Oh! In other words, the usual.

Now that school has started, all I want to do is craft. I started sewing up a tooth fairy pillow since Kidlet surprised us all with a loose tooth last week. A really loose tooth. I decided I'd better get sewing right away.

Kidlet picked out the fabric (a cute ginghamy fabric with fruits that I thrifted a couple of years ago) and she helped design it. So far I have the treat pocket 80% sewn. I still need to embroider and attach the tooth pocket and then sew the little pillow together. I am surprised at how cute it looks, despite my lack of sewing skills. My sewing machine still languishes at my Mama's place so it's all by hand. For her tooth treat, I'm giving her a coin and a little tiny ceramic animal I picked up at the antique store for a couple of bucks. Kidlet is a collector (wonder where she got that from?) and these tiny animals are her newest collection.

I whipped out the above mouse last week. The pattern is from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits I. I knit it out of a worsted weight yarn so he's more giga-mouse than sweet mousette, but I think he came out remarkably well.

Still working on the endless legwarmers but I'm almost done with number 3. Then it's just one more to go! Woo!

I'm also knitting Ishbel from the aforementioned Whimiscal Little Knits I. I'm about to hit the lace section and I'm a little nervous since I've heard there's a discrepancy in the written instructions and I'm not a chart person. I guess I'll have to try and ferret out the problem or just teach myself how to read a chart (which is what I really should do anyway).

I'm already daydreaming of what project is next. I've got 3 sweaters in my head (Lisel, Audrey in Unst and Novak) and I'm already deciding what yarn to use for Damson. But first, I need to decide if I'm knitting anything for anyone for Christmas. Not so sure about that since I think I'm the one that enjoys the finished results of my knitting more than anyone else.

And then there's that sewing thing. I'm kind of digging it. Two free patterns came out this past week, from Claire of Loobylu and Alicia of Posie, and I'm thinking of taking a stab at them (stab at the projects, not at me with an embroidery needle...heh).

***

The dreams have not stopped. Last night (when I actually was able to sleep), I dreamed of a deluge that ruined a couple of walls of the house. Ummm, that dream was way too easy for me to decipher. Kinda spooky, really.

***

School is killing my post-concussive head. I've had headaches for a few days now. The class looks fairly straightforward and not particularly challenging, which is good for the aforementioned head. However, since it's a women's studies/sociology course, the readings are not quite the sort of thing with which I am familiar. It takes me far longer to wade through them than it does a history text. Sigh.

***

I am reading the most charming book I have ever read. Should you need a heavy does of charm, Autonauts of the Cosmoroute is for you. Pablo Neruda says of the author, "Anyone who doesn’t read Cortázar is doomed. Not to read him is a serious invisible disease, which in time can have terrible consequences. Something similar to a man who has never tasted peaches. He would quietly become sadder . . . and, probably, little by little, he would lose his hair."

***

Ok, that really wraps it up. I just put on The Jam, which was my Friday morning listening for a year when I was 14. This song in particular. Enjoy your weekend, all.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Dreams

I've been dreaming, dreaming so much, every night. Last night, I was back in Nebraska with my Mom and Dad. I did lots of driving in an extremely icy parking lot. Due to the snow storm, we speculated whether we'd make it to Colorado. We ended up at an antique mall and my Dad was saying funny stuff. I sure do miss him.

Kidlet says she dreams of flying nightly.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

First Day

Yesterday was Kidlet's first day of school but it was nothing new for her since she's been doing this for two years already. Today is my first day of school but again, nothing new as I've been doing this for well over twenty years (not consecutively, thank goodness).

Farewell to morning knitting and going to bed early! Farewell to watching House of Elliot! Farewell to every scrap of free time I had! O, how I will miss thee...

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Crystal Blue Sparkle Day


The swimming was like diving into a tall glass of ice water. Perfect.

Vanilla malt and fries. Yes, yes, yes.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Moments

Just watched episode 16 of Radio Lab's Shorts podcast. Totally made me cry a little.

Sunday

Really, what a nice day. I awoke after a very tossy-turny night, full of weird dreams but that was swept away by coffee and beignets at the market downtown. Then a trip to the museum where I snuck in a portrait of myself with Gerhard Richter. Here's a little description from the museum's docent blog..."In the early 1990s, Richter created a series of mirror paintings using blood-red, color-coated glass that reflects whatever comes before it—whether it be the paintings hanging opposite it in the gallery or museum visitors walking in front of it. In undertaking this series of mirrors, Richter joined a centuries-old conversation in the field of Western art about whether artworks actually depict an authentic reality. Richter once noted that a mirror painting, “is the only picture that always looks different. And perhaps there's an allusion somewhere to the fact that every picture is a mirror.”". Pretty cool, eh?

We went home, I read and knit a smidge. Then I got rolling on the sno-cone syrup (made from the lovely berries above). Sadly, I think we need a new ice grinder. It was more of a slightly-smashed-ice cone but that syrup! Tasty.

Kidlet made me one of her zen bouquets...the morning glory opened this morning.

In a moment of "when's Daddy going to be home?", I had the idea to pull out a 'how to make really big bubbles' article. It worked pretty well, as Daddy rolled up on his bike fairly quickly after (flat tire delayed him).

After a dinner of portabella mushroom burgers with pesto mayo, roasted potatoes and cauliflower, we went for a desert walk. We used to do this nightly two years ago. I think we need to add it back into the mix, at least once a week.

That's a family portrait, by the way. Hubs is upper right, Kidlet is lower left.

This weekend, I started to feel a little more like myself. I enjoyed cooking again (the best pizzas I ever made, maple and blueberry parfaits). I was able to claim pockets of time for things I wanted to do and I wanted to do something other than sleep. I wasn't as irritable as I have been the past couple of months (just my usual cantankerous self, heh). This morning I awake with a slight headache and the same old ear-ringing but maybe the cycle has been broken. I'm on the mend and happier times are ahead? I'll say yes.

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Old "5 Things Friday"

Bringing back an old chestnut because making lists makes Ani happy.

Reading...Our Man in Havana, Graham Greene. Greene is one of my favorite authors. I'm having a stall in my summer reading list so I picked this one up off the shelf as it was one that I purchased ages ago but had not yet read. After a slow start, it has turned into a very humorous read.

Wondering...about the second spring of the backyard tree. When we came back from vacation in the middle of a three-week heat wave, our tree dropped all its leaves and it looked like it was game over for the season. I looked outside one morning and said "what is that little pinky-red thing going on with the tree?" Turns out it was blossoms. The tree is getting a new set of leaves and is blooming. If we have a long summer-y autumn (as usual), maybe we'll get some fruit which never happens with the true spring because a frost always comes along and kills all the blossoms.

Watching...The House of Elliot via Netflix. Every morning that I have a little time, I plop on the couch and knit a couple rows of Ishbel and watch. 20s fashion, light intrigue and romance...I'm sold. BTW, Ysolda is putting together another collection! I'm in...

Making...pizza this weekend? Tomorrow might be cool enough to turn on the oven (low 80s).

Listening...I spaced out on the highway drive this morning and came back to reality two freeway exits later with this going through my head.

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Mood most foul. Sick of post-concussive syndrome and headcolds, dreading school aka "the end of what little leisure time I had", overwhelmed by stuff.

Note to the cosmic forces: yes, I see your message everywhere, to give in and let go, but you've got to give me some time to adjust. Just allow me that courtesy, ok?

Still trying to get a decent photo out of the new camera. But I've got patience. It'll come together (just not today).

I'll be back when the foulness subsides. I am hoping this will be sooner, rather than later. Perhaps making some homemade sno-cones will help...

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

More Words...

Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons,
It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth.

--Song of the Open Road, Walt Whitman

via Bean

If you have time to read the whole poem, I highly suggest it. Definitely a spirit-lifter.



Monday, August 03, 2009

Words I Need to Remember

"At the worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived."--Rose Macaulay, via The Writer's Almanac, August 1.

To Our Neighbors in Oxbow Loop,

Hello, campers!

Nice evening for camping, eh? Many people seem to think so as this campground is pretty full. Since there are so many of us here enjoying the outdoors, a few rules may be in order. Oh! As a matter of fact, there is a board listing the rules of this area 15 feet away from your site! How perfect! Did you see this one? "Quiet between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m." Ahhh....you thought it meant "quiet after 6 a.m., in case of hangovers" (which you will most obviously have). Also, you may want to know that fireworks are prohibited on Tahoe National Forest land.

Next time, you may want to consider your neighbors when you go camping but don't worry about us, we won't be here.

--The Previous Occupants of Whistle Punk Loop

We tried to camp on Saturday night but ended up leaving at 1 a.m. due to some crazy party people. Sigh. At least we had fun, roasted marshmallows and saw a couple of deer before the exodus. Next time, we'll know to try a more remote destination.