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what? a finished object?!

hello ~ i can’t believe the weekend is over, grrrrroan. i spent large amounts of the past week, particularly this weekend, working on some nasty stuff that i’ll probably post about later, but let me just say for now it involves my car and insurance companies. thank goodness other things happened that were quite nice – such as.. tadaa! orangina is done.

thanks so much to all of you who answered my poll the other day – part of me was very tempted to gift away and/or frog whilst weeping, but i stuck with the winning answer of washy washy washy. and it worked. phew.

this was an easy knit, and i love love lace, but the size problems just proved to me (again! ..wonder if i’ll learn this time!) that i really have to be more careful and spend more time in planning a project. i need to learn to love words like ‘gauge’ and ‘swatch’ and shoot, even ‘measure’. so, yup, i finished knitting this in june, but didn’t have it really done done until august. man, that’s pretty bad. anyhow, more info on the pattern is on the project page – including some upclose pics of the shoulder seaming that some people had asked about.

and the other pic you see here? yup, my obligatory farmer’s market haul shot. what you see there is $20 worth of food, with the honey and eggs making up $5. not only is all of this locally grown, but for the most part, it’s organic and, in the case of the eggs, cage-free. i’m not doing terribly well on the goal of half of my meals being locally produced, i’m probably more around 25% right now. but my pantry and fridge are almost completely cleaned out, and i see a delicious meal in my future – i mean, tonight. yup, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, carrot salad, steamed green beans, and more. ‘goody’ is not a word i like to use loosely, but here it really does apply. ;)

a few weeks ago, i finally sent off my backtack stuff – yup, weeks and weeks late, but kristin of spinning athena was so sweet and cool about it, thank goodness. and happily she seems to love what i ultimately sent, yay.

and lastly, if you haven’t seen them yet – the new phildar tendances mag is lovely lovely, and all kinds of other knitting previews are up too. and some knitty surprises

comment [11]

posted 8 August 05 & filed under orangina

a poll and a tag

first off, thank you for all the sweet comments on my lovely nieces. these two are going to be a handful, i can tell already!

poll: organgina organina! it’s been done for over a month, but i’ve been relucatant to post photos, or even wear it for more than a minute, because it’s just.. well, it’s beautiful! but the fit is.. ok. yup, just ok. really, too loose, too baggy, and i see all these lovely ones out there that are form-fitting and gorgeous. so, my first poll, help me out here!

(for those of you viewing this in bloglines, go here to vote. thanks! )

and now, meme time, brought to you by winnie ;) ..

10 years ago: i was breaking up with my first boyfriend and missing my second one like crazy. yup, i moved fast in those days. i was in italy, hanging out with my sisters, getting ready to spend a year abroad with my older sis. i had long long hair and was really into big clunky shoes.

5 years ago: graduated from college and was driving across the country from maryland to l.a. all alone – top down, music blasting, hair flying, and a speeding ticket in almost every other state. every night, i’d stop at a motel and fall asleep exhausted, the sound of wind at high speeds still in my ears.

1 year ago: knitting! i was trying to grow my hair out, after cutting it uber-short while angry (scissors + hair = not a good idea when in a bad mood), and feeling stir crazy, stuck in los angeles.

yesterday: moody all morning, better by night. stuffed myself sick before going to sleep, realizing i like peanut brittle more than i thought.

today: happy, chatty, following one topic after another on the internet, i.e. browsing like there’s no tomorrow – so fun.

tomorrow: a long day at work, yeehaw.

5 snacks I enjoy: cheese, sour gummies, bruschetta, pizza, ice cream sandwiches

5 bands/singers I like: off the top of my head.. neil young, abba, pet shop boys, stereolab, and black sabbath. ok, not entirely off the top of my head – i’m all over the place, but really any real rock & roll will do, and lots of pop too.

5 bad habits that I have: biting nails, holding face in weird grimaces, not the cleanest of persons, exagerator extraordinaire, too chatty sometimes, especially “random chatty”, you know what i mean?

5 things I like doing: sleeping, reading, cooking, making, laughing

5 things I would never wear: really pointy shoes (i’m definitely a rounded toe kind of person), tapered pants, leather (i’m trying to get rid of what leather stuff i have, all i have left are some shoes..), fur

5 TV shows I like: any nanny shows, gilmore girls, pbs’ re-enactments of olden times (like..), extreme makeover home edition (i get all teary sometimes, especially because paulie is so dang sweet.), and (sometimes) quiz shows like jeopardy, because i like to feel smart or else be really embarassed at how little i know (mood varies)

5 famous people I’d like to meet: nobody. i’d be too shy. oh! ralph nader – he always seems so decent but dresses so shabby and has those sad hooded eyes, i always wonder if he has someone who’s taking care of him, who makes sure he’s ok. kinda weird, but there it is.

5 biggest joys of the moment: my cats (seriously. when everything else is down, i just look around me, and they’re all sitting next to me and purring and i just want to squeeze them, you know?), my family, the potential of the future, the incredible luck i’ve had in meeting some incredible people, knowing that things can change in an instant.

5 favorite toys: my long-lost spinning wheel (sniff), my laptop, my library card (such a dork, but really, i can get all this stuff – satisfy my shopping impulses – for free! movies, books, music, you name it.), and that’s it. only 3. such an adult, huh? tsk tsk.

hope your weekend was delicious! (ha, shows where my mind is – or rather how full my stomach is, yum.)

comment [5]

posted 29 July 05 & filed under more me, orangina

just words

such a tease. i promised pictures, especially ones of orangina, but still nothing nada zip. school ends wednesday, my computer is still at the computer hospital, and i’ve become a reading freak again. ah yes, reading – what i used to do with all my free time until knitting and the internetS came around. and this shift back to reading got me thinking last night.. really, i always knew i was being shaped by all that reading, by all the computer learning and internet browsing, but i never really though about what effect knitting was having on me. granted, i could make beautiful things, and i could spend my time happily knitting for hours without even realizing it. but there have been some serious and mostly great effects. in no particular order:

~ i can deconstruct clothing much better – even though i haven’t finished a single sock, i understand the heel flap, the gusset; i also get why seaming in fitted garments adds need structure sometimes, why one type of yarn/knitted fabric is too heavy for some patterns; how proportional the body truly is, including mine! ;)

~ i can now listen to an audiobook all the way through. this is quite an accomplishment because no matter how i try, unless it’s a big old hardback, i just can’t get into reading while knitting – i would love love to, but it just hasn’t worked yet. but audiobooks – wow, that works. i agree with others (great link, check it out, really!) to not overburden yourself while listening, and knitting is perfect for that – or at least knitting the miles of stockinette we encounter all-too-often in our knitting projects.* i just listened to david allmond’s kit’s wilderness and the old agatha christie murder on the orient express and both were excellent and perfect for knitting. or washing dishes and mopping the floor, too, i might add.

~ because of knitting, i’m not as lazy as i used to be. i used to be able to just sit there and totally be that couch potato for hours and hours – now though, even if the movie is good, i tend to get antsy and can’t concentrate unless i have knitting in my hands. it’s like the old “idle hand’s are the devil’s workshop” – i’m all for just sitting there and contemplating things and just being still, especially in nature, but tv-watching is never and i mean never that. now, though, just like that, poof, the guilt is gone: i’m not a couch potato, i’m a multi-tasking knitter ;)

~ i’m more aware of how fragile and dependent i am on my hands and wrists – after some itty-bitty fidgety cotton knitting, i always get worried and wonder. both of my grandmothers had problems with osteoporosis and my dad’s mom had pretty severe arthiritis. i remember her during the last years, her hands were just permanently all curled up.. that’s really messed up, isn’t it? i’m hoping knitting will keep my hands flexible and limber and all that, but there’s the extreme where i’ll develop some carpal tunnel syndrome kind of thing, especially combined with my computer use and bad ergonomics both at work and at home. (laptops will do that to you faster, i think – one definite negative.)*

ah, there’s more, but work calls. ;) any you wish to add? (check this out too – i’d add a few things for sure, but it’s a great starting list..)

*(if you did see the link, though, i disagree with what he says about listening to harry potter on tape – that’s why i see the movies, to get someone else’s version of the book, but sometimes i just want to hear the words in my head, in my voice, with my imagery – yup, sometimes it’s just all about me.)

* (i’m always horrified to see knitters wearing those wrist braces – i understand often it’s a preventative thing, and that’s good, but still, man, that’s pretty extreme and i don’t want to go there. i’m convinced computers will get better because there’s just wayyyy too many people out there with already-long-term carpal tunnel syndrome issues, so that voice-recognition software will just get better and better and even, hopefully, replace mouse clicking and even typing at some point.)

comment [4]

posted 13 June 05 & filed under knitting, orangina

que viva bolivia!

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“In the latest phase of Bolivia’s ‘gas wars’, President Carlos Mesa resigned on June 6 under heavy pressure from social movements to nationalize hydrocarbons. Peasant farmers are taking over oil fields, transportation is paralyzed and the U.S. Embassy has begun evacuating personnel. On June 9, President of the Senate Hormando Vaca Diez declined the Presidency [as did Mario Cossio, leader of the lower house of Congress], making head of the Supreme Court Eduardo Rodriguez the President and automatically triggering new elections.” (from indymedia.org)

“The indigenous majority in South America’s poorest country has been clamoring for more political power and gas and oil nationalization—in direct opposition to a European-descended elite.” (from wired news)

“Bolivia, South America’s poorest country, has long had its wealth plundered by foreigners. First, it was the realization by the Spanish in the sixteenth century that a small hill in the southeast of the country was comprised almost entirely of silver. For two centuries, the wealth extracted from Cerro Rico in Potosí was, according to Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, “the primary nourishment of the capitalist development of Europe.” Next it was saltpeter, desperately needed as fertilizer for exhausted European soil, and plundered by the English. Then during the second world war, Bolivia’s tin was mined and sold at approximately ten times less the market price, leading to massive strikes, and massacres of the workers, who were only demanding to be paid a living wage. Now, the world wants Bolivia’s gas – the second largest reserves in Latin America. But Bolivians are sick of watching the wealth of their nation stolen from underneath their feet.” (from bolivia.indymedia.org)

~ New Bolivian President Sworn in After Weeks of Mass Rebellion (Democracy Now!)
~ A Decision to Make: Bolivia’s New President & The Response Of The Social Movements (Znet)
~ Bolivia Has A New President (NarcoNews)
~ New Bolivia Leader Promises Poll (BBC)
~ world politics posts with lots of photos (CraigsList)

(... in other news, more pictures coming soon: orangina (such a tease, i know), backtack supplies, pinku hair accessory swap, paris loop (after a year!), and my blonde head. ;) )

comment [4]

posted 10 June 05 & filed under orangina

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