Things to Do in Denver...

... When You're Dead and 48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? ... my name is on the page ...
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Someone, couldn't tell you who. I was supposed to be Matthew, but I turned out to be a girl.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This afternoon when Bruce Willis is having his last conversation with Liv Tyler in Armageddon. I'm big fat pregnant and I have hormones that can quickly become homicidal, so no comments from the peanut gallery on this.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's okay. The only time I don't like it is for scrapbook journaling.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Honey Smoked Turkey... the honey-er the better.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Oh but hell no. I'd get on my last damn nerve.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Handwritten? No. Electronic? One for each persona.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Are you fucking nuts? I'm terrified of heights falling LANDING.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cocoa Puffs
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? My shoes don't have laces.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I seem to be everyone's strength.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? The most chocolate flavored flavor you can name.
14. SHOE SIZE? 8 or 8.5, depending on brand.
15. RED OR PINK? Red. Scarlet, deep, jewel-toned RED.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my teeth
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? uh....
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Why not?
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, Marc Broussard summer tour '06 t-shirt (brown and blue), Lion Brand Magic Stripes "Sea Stripes" socks.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? 6 sugar-free fudge graham cookies.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The History Channel
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? RED
23. FAVORITE SMELL? My children's hair after they've been playing outside in the sun.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The OB nurse?
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their red hair.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I've never her, but I read her knit blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Bourbon and Coke
28. FAVORITE SPORT? judo
29. EYE COLOR? steel blue
30. HAT SIZE? not a clue
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Red Beans and Rice.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary Movies. The cheesier, the better.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who's doing the hugging and the kissing.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? tropical cake sundaes.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? no clue.
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? My brother.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? textbooks for various classes.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? It's plain blue foam.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? CSI: Miami, Gene Simmon's Family Values, and Justice.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? my children snoring.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, but you need a little Stones now and then for spice.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? which home when?
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? knowing the good people from the bad almost immediately. It's far more helpful than it sounds.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Georgia
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Stole it from In the Long Run, We Should All Knit

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Not for throwing Coke bottles, but because I actually thought about doing the Icarus Shawl as a Christmas present.
1) there are only EIGHT weeks between now and Christmas.
2) included in those EIGHT weeks is my regular schedule of classes, Halloween, my daughter's birthday, closing on the new house, moving into the new house, Thanksgiving, finals week, and graduation. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm scheduled to deliver baby #3 just TWO DAYS after Christmas?
3) I have not done any lace work in anything lighter than worsted, any more repeats than 15 stitches, or requiring a chart. Now is not the time to start in on a large charted lace pattern.
4) I have no money to spend on additional patterns and yarn (see birthday and house in #2).
5) I am on a yarn diet. Stash-busting is a must. The only yarn purchases allowed are in the case of needing one more skein to finish an active project, and that project must be bound off within 5 days of the yarn purchase!

But, Icarus (and, subsequently, Seraphim) will stay on my mind and my "want to do" list. I especially want to do Icarus in KnitPicks Shadow "Campfire" or KnitPicks Shimmer "Maple Leaf" (hint. hint.)

That's just RIDICULOUS!

I decided to make another step in preparing for our move to the house by gathering all my yarn and projects (except those in my knitting bag) into one place so that they could be accounted for and boxed up. After an hour, it reached the point of not even being funny any more as I continued to pull skeins from various spots in the apartment. I seriously need to join a stash-along because when your yarn can completely cover your california king-sized bed, it's more than a little out of hand. To your left is a tour of what's in the closet. You'll find a tour of what was gathered on the bed before it was put away down below. Click for a bigger image with text commentary. =D



I need help. And more hours in the day.

Bugaboo

With the cool snap this week (daytime high of 70! YAY!), I've gone back to working on my March Basic Cardi so that I have something snuggly to wear out until it gets cold enough for my only coat (which is a calf-length wool trench coat), and so that I've have something to keep me toasty in class (since our university's idea of maintenance cycles is that the AC is broken all summer but fixed in time for winter when the heater breaks which is fixed in time for summer when the AC breaks, rinse, repeat). SO.... here's where things get icky...

The directions read:

Shape Armholes: Bind off 5(5-6-7-9-9) sts at beg of the next 2 rows – 73(79-87-95-101-111) sts.

Dec Row (RS): K2, KSP, k to last 4 sts, SSK, k2 – 71(77-85-93-99-109) sts. Rep this dec every RS row 8(8-10-11-12-14) times more. Work even on 55(61-65-71-75-81) sts until armholes measure 7(7-7 1/2-8-8 1/2-9)”, end on WS.

We're good right up until "until armholes measure". By armholes, I'm thinking they mean where my finger is, the row that was bound off when the armhole shaping began. The my paranoia creeps up and asks if they mean where my lifeline is, the row after the decreases are complete. I'm pretty much certain it should be from where my finger is, since when I hold it up to me seven inches above the lifeline would put the bottom of the armhole near the bottom of my ribcage and this is meant to be a more fitted garment. (See pattern and photos)

I guess I'll just put it to the side for little bit until I feel comfortable taking it one way or the other. It's not as if I don't have a pair of socks, a pair of gloves, hubby's geometric scarf, a teddy bear, an Irish Hiking Scarf, and all my holiday knitting to finish anyway. =P