Helsinki Complaints Choir

The beauty of a foreign language is presented in a most interesting way

Batik quilt fabrics and blocks

 

I've been collecting fabrics for this little quilt for some time now, and finally I think this is it. The squares are three sets of batik 5x5's of turtles, fish and butterfies. It's going to be fun.

It's Here! All the candy colored yarn I'll need

First meme socks
My first ever justforme socks are made with this regia color 

This just arrived from The .The Knitting Garden and I'm so happy to have found a color I thought was gone forever. Now, I need to sit down and knit, knit, knit. Well, ya, I'm going to watch Jane Austin and Miss Marple tapes, too. What a life. *sigh* I'd like to have my knees, back and Gungo Ho energy back but knitting a lot and hand sewing are marvelous things, too.



What are Labels? I might go code tweaking, too. Code Tweaking is fun stuff.

DH is off spending the day with his little Mom. She is doing well and I hope this continues. What a blessing that she has all her children close by and they all help her to cope. She's on the mend after a fall. She is half Italian and half Irish, so cute, tiny and chipper that you just have to love her but she is also very determined and is such a "Mensch". I hope that's right. (It is) I'm not sure about my Yiddish words but there is a site for them here. What fun they are, but don't get them wrong! Oh no no no!

Lookie! Geology!

I have no idea what is going to happen here... Blogger is not acting in a normal screwy fashion. It's misbehaving in a completely new way.....

OK. The smaller, unexpanded picture is blurry, but not the expanded one that happens when you click on it. The strata shows very clearly. One of the signs at the Springs said that they get several earthquakes daily. All of California is that way but mostly we feel only things about 3. Don't worry, that won't even knock a ball of yarn off your lap. But, The Big One, the 8+ that they have been promising us, will.

 

Borrego Springs Park

This is at the Eastern End of the Mountains















This Park has campgrounds connected to it and the walk is .6 of a mile from the campground. I was trying to figure out how far I walked that day and my friends and DH agreed that it was very near to a mile though my estimate was 9 miles. heehee. I am in this new walking blog thing and am supposed to do my best to walk 100 miles by April 1st, 2007. If it were 2008, I just might make it!

For my DDs who love the Desert

Borrego Springs Park Interpretive Walk

We did a mini stash trip

Ah... Water Lily from the LYS




















A and I took the Jeep out on a stash run, well, a mini stash run. Jeeplie likes to do these things as much as to go off roading. I say mini stash because, you see, I had dug through my yarns a few days before and became a bit shocked at what I've got. It will take me 5 years to knit up the sock yarn alone. Yes, I am a slow knitter, but still....

We also visited The Quilted Rose, a very nice LQS, and I came away with a beautiful batik backing and sashing material for the batik baby quilt I'm making for my little grand niece. It's a perfect match for the theme as it is yellow and gold with butterflies in a typical batik looking fabric. I'll take some pictures of the batik squares, some are butterflies, that I bought *cough* a year ago *cough that are going to be the focal points for it. My little grand niece loves bright colors and this is going to be a fairly bright quilt. While we were there at the store, A found the Oriental fabrics room. Then she looked around somemore and found a beautiful Geisha Japanese quilt that was stunning. It really should have been in the Santa Clara show! I would go back and take a picture but I think it needs to be seen in person. It's really gorgeous.

Stash Building

My friend Annie came to Cal

A brought me some beautiful Debbie Bliss Yarns, a pattern called "Fetching" from Knitty.com (we both exclaimed how much we love Knitty.com) that she herself is making, and a gorgeous pottery bowl at Raven Pottery, which is old and rather famous, too.

A and her DH came to our city to look around and see the sea, the mountains and the scenery. I just can't describe what a delight it was to have them here, go sight seeing to the Ocean at Torrey Pines, Cabrillo Lighthouse, La Jolla all lit up and tony looking, and to take a Jeep trip out to Borrego Springs, through Julian, our local colorful Apple picking region, to the desert floor. As we went through the part of our forests that were devastated by the Cedar Fire, we tried to describe to them the beauty of that once upon a time prime forestland, It was the first time I'd even been back through it after having to be evacuated from the fire. I'm so grateful to all the fire fighters who saved as much as they did save of our city and the cities around as well as the fairly famous mountain town of Julian. It's an old gold mining town turned into apple orchards and many wonderful things.

Hundreds of fire fighters made a stand in historic Julian and stopped the fire from coming into it. One of them, from a company in Novato was killed in the defense, and his Captain seriously burned, though he did survive. I have the deepest respect and admiration, and yes, outridght love for, fire fighters. From the earliest time that I can remember they have been my heroes.

Winter Wonderland?

Your Winter Look is Casual

You go for warmth and comfort, yet still manage to look great

What's" Your Winter Look?

Rho had this on her blog, and so, shameless blog raider that I am, I stole it! It's still cold here at 58 degrees during the day. We are searching out spots of sun to bask in, like the little desert lizards that we have become. I think it was the Chai Tea and Ugg boots that might have made us twins, Rho.

Today was a good day for knitting

I re-cast on the ribbing for the glove and this time it's right. I'm glad the teacher I met at the Nursing Home didn't look at that ribbing to closely.

I'm not strictly knitting, as the title implied, but my knitting buddy and her sweet, funny DH came to visit San Diego, and we all met face to face for the first time. We had lunch at a local fish market that is really popular, and then went sightseeing a bit before heading to Torrey Pines trails. It was fun climbing around hillsides in Torrey Pines but even though they were well marked trails I was pretty tired at the end of it. My aches tell me I've spent too much time in front of a computer!

The threatening weather turned fair, with no clouds and lots of sun, even though it was very cold for SoCalians who are sun seeking reptilian types for the most part. It will be a fine day for the Zoo tomorrow and maybe a run down the to the Aircraft Carrier Midway for the guys and a yarn and quilt fabric sprint for Annie and me. I'm taking some small flat plastic with me just in case I find some irrisistable batik for a baby quilt I'm gathering pieces for. As you have been told somewhere recently, I'm sure I told someone, I'm on a yarn diet. Buhahahahahaha! *cough*

Annie brought me two lovely skeins of a lovely and soft blue Chamerino by Debbi Bliss, for making some sweet, cabled, fingerless gloves like ones that she just finished. I noticed that it is that same soft blue of her eyes. She also gifted me a gorgeous blue bowl for my "art" photos, which was made by a pottery artist who is near her home. I was completely bowled by her kind gift. IF you can forgive a pun from an old, out of shape hiker who has had too many double strength tylenol, I'll now wobble off to bed.

New Postcards for the Winter 2007 exchange

Well, OK, I haven't been knitting, darn it. I have to admit this looks a lot like a velvet painting from Mexico. Oh ICK!

But, Anywhooo, these are done and go out tomorrow. No one from my PC group reads here so I'm home free! I will take pictures of the rest of the post cards as soon as possible.

This has been a very strange day. You know how strange you feel when you fall asleep in a chair, and have a bad dream? That's what happened today. My dream was about jewelry; I was being questioned by what appeared to be the FBI, you know the black suits, etc, about some ruby earrings I had sold some couple who were probably scamming me. I never sell that sort of stuff, but I sure can tell a ruby from a painted piece of metal, which is what these cute little dime store earring were. The ONLY part of the dream I did love was that we were moving into a big two story house that had a wide mahogany staircase in a center stairwell into a sort of huge entry- you know, a mansion. I was trying like crazy to stay asleep so that I could take some measurements for my next life. I want that House!

New Developments

Thanks to DH the insurance is now all straightened out. I can now see my own Optometrist again, without incurring a huge bill. My eyes are getting better with rest and using the computer a lot less. That is good and bad. It's bad because I LOVE my computer and online games, but good because I can get more done in other areas. The good part is that I get more knitting, sewing done. Ah well yes, ugh... vacuuming, cleaning, dusting is getting slightly more attention, too, which is good because all of that had been getting neglected because of my sore old back and wrist. On a happy note, tile floors make it easier to vacuum the dust bunnies out of the corners, and out from under the bed, but Tile sure does show dirt. The floors need mopping. Visitors must avert their eyes.

Jessie, hi, and obtaining health care has to be horrid for self employed people. So costly! I feel for you in that. I look at two of my kids and see what they are going through if they get hurt or sick. Luckily they live in a small city that really cares about low income people, and it has a plan in place to help them with health care. Sharon, hi there. The US should have spent it's money on it's people, and not what it's been doing for decades. I won't go into my feelings on that, though. Actually, I could have gone to my Optometrist but would have had to pay half a month's salary for care plus glasses. We are retired now and it's nice but the $$ are limited. I'm following the regimen that he recommended for "mature" eyes now, with hot moist compacts in the morning, eye drops, and resting the eyes more. Too much close work, and computers are supposed to be especially bad because we blink less when we are using them, for one thing.

KNITTING ALERT!

I frogged the second glove. The ribbing came out wrong with two knit stitches together. I have no idea why my eyes couldn't pick THAT up. Anyway, I start anew. Yesterday, before the frogging, I took it with me to the nursing home. While I was sitting in the lobby in the sun, knitting, a friendly woman came by and stopped to tell me, " It's so nice to see someone knitting socks again." So, I told her that I did knit socks but that these were fingerless gloves and showed her the finished one. She complimented my knitting, and so I ask her if she also was a knitter. She told me that she was a knitting teacher for many years, and that she was really pleased that knitting had taking off again. I said that I was pleased, too and that a great side effect was that we now had so many wonderful new yarns because of the market for them. We talked about our kids and about how some of them were now taking up knitting. This was a very sweet encounter so I say that taking your knitting and KIP is an amazing, friendly, and energizing thing to do.

Right now I'm working, working, working to finish the last of the post cards for the winter exchange. I'm painting them all. I'm not going to be doing anymore for quite awhile. I will expend all my energy nagging DH about the kitchen. We were going to go down today to look at Home Depot to see what they had in the way of replacement doors but it can wait. My DMIL took a spill and the kitchen can just hang fire. With decisions made about all the changes, the wall in particular, it feels like it is really going to happen, now, though. Nice feeling!

What am I up too?

I'm a pretty sorry poster lately but I've got an excuse. My eyes are wigging out on me, I'm trying to get several things done in the sewing room and in my knitting, and to look after my sweet, aging and sick little doggie as well as my sweet, aging and sprightly DH.

I need to have an eye exam and probably new glasses because my knitting and reading is making my eyes blurry and sore. Or, maybe it's the lilies blooming? Anyway, there's three things you just can't live without! What would life be like without flowers, knitting or reading?

The problem is that I was without any health insurance for two and a half months at the end of last year and the beginning 2007 because of a bureaucratic screw up after a merger. That meant that I couldn't go see my Optometrist, PCG, or anyone I wanted to see at our clinic. We are still trying to get our primary care physician changed back to the correct one. DH was on the phone for hours for nearly 3 solid weeks to get this far, going through voice response systems over and over again until I thought he would go mad. If we were rich people we would have told them to .. well, he would have told them to... well, you know, what to do with themselves. hehe

I'm trying to avoid, ignore, pass over, let lie, and otherwise stay away from the daily news flogging at the electronic news stands of our nation, i.e., the online newspapers. Also, I'm really trying to to read less at bulletin boards, unless it's about knitting or sewing. I love to read everyone else's posts and all. But, it takes an amazing amount of time to read them let alone compose a post to a topic. There you sit, obsessing over every word so that you don't ignite a flame war. There are people out there carrying around lit sticks of dynamite, I tell ya!

I'm concentrating on reading my blog list, which consists of not only the ones I've linked to, but dozens of others, too. I'm hoping to take a daily swing through both of the KR and UFO Lists because there are some fabulous knitters out there who are a great inspiration, and some really funny people who give a daily dose of hilarity to a life. Oh Lordy, do we need to have a daily dose of hilarity!

Gretchen is back on the needles after a good old fashioned frogging. She will now behave. And, thanks to you, Pugknits, for the link to figure eight cast on, there is now no ridge. When I'm out at least 20 rows I will post a piccy.

I've run my hand over the stitches on Aran Isle, and since it didn't bite me, I'll try to not threaten it with the frog pond or the sharp thin blades of the dressmaker's shears. I'm really going to try to straighten out the pattern and knit this thing this year.

One short fingered glove

I've been knitting, reading and constructing post cards.

The latest ABC MeMe

I picked this up from Rissa, of Rissa's Pieces, who got it from Joshilyn Jackson of Faster Than Kudzu blog

A- Available or single? I am singularily unavailable, have been for years, and am glad of it.

B- Best Friend? Mary Jane is my best friend, and we share a love of digging up, cutting up, and grinding of rocks. We like to make jewelry, selling it in the freeze-your-butt-off winter shows as well as the hot-as-hades summer ones. We also like baking nice tasty stuff, and gardening, and RVing with friends. We are pretty close when we remember to call each other.

C- Cake or Pie? Absolutely Pie! I like savory meat or cheese pies and sweet berry pies, cream pies and fruit pies. Lemon Meringue is the most fun pie to make.

D- Drink of Choice? Earl Grey, and it has to be decaf because it's all my stomache can stand anymore. Earl Grey tastes good with Pie!

E- Essential Item? I would not like to try to live without my camera. Second place has to go to my knitting needles, but you will have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers if anyone tries to take them away from me.

F- Favorite Color? Yellow. I can't wear it but if I could, that is what I would wear nearly all the time.

G- Gummi Bears or Worms? I don't eat non-chocolate candy because the carbs aren't worth it to me. Are there chocolate gummi bears? I would eat them, but not worms. nooo noo nooo...

H- Hometown? Hollywood. It's the closest thing to Hometown I will ever have. I was conceived there before my Dad was sent off to boot camp and my mom followed him around the country.

I- Indulgence? Chocolate French silk Pie. Jacuzzi whirlpool bathing in candlelight.

J- January or February? February because that's when the Carolina Cherry trees bloom and they are the hallmark of Spring for my city. I love to see their white blossoms all over town.

K- Kids and names? Kids, four DDs, I will only say that they carry names of classical English actresses or authors, with the addition of my DD2 having the name of my favorite maternal auntie.

L- Life is incomplete without? Learning to love unconditionally. For me, that is the be all and end all of perfect surrender to the deepest laws of the universe.

M- Marriage Date? October 26th, and I am the one who always forgets the anniversary. DH brought roses home late one day, and I was watching him come to the house with them, thinking, "What on earth is this all about?" It was our anniversary. He gets the biggest kick out of surprising me on that day with a card or flowers. I've remembered only once in 43 years, and that's because I had to get the baby sitter.


N- Number of Siblings? Two brothers and one sister. One brother died a long time ago but we always remember him. My sister, brother and I are close emotionally and we get along well. We always did. My brother and I protect our "little sister".

O- Oranges or apples? Anymore, I can only eat apples. I like them raw or cooked. They are lovely and have a delicious fragrance. We used to go pick them in two of the more famous mountain communities in SoCal, Oak Glen and Alpine, that you can do that in.

P- Phobias/Fears? Fire! Brush fires and House fires. I watched a farm house burn down a couple of farms away one night when I was three, and I just absolutely freak about fire.

Q- Favorite Quote? "For God hath not given us the Spirit of Fear, but of Power, and of Love, and of a sound Mind." 2 Timothy 1:7..

R- Reason to Smile? People who are kind and humorous, both family and friends. Also, my darling little golden bear of a dog.

S- Season? I like Winter. It's the only time it nearly the perfect temperature all day in the house, and the air gets clean and crisp in the winter here.

T- Tag three people! I'm not sure who may have already done this. Lynne who lives on the edge of the woods in the New Jersey wilds, or Allie who knits away in the USA, or AR who is really bloggin' hot this month!


U- Unknown Fact About Me? What I haven't revealed about myself before, I might not want the kids to know! Sheesh.. let me think about this one. I used to sing solos in grade school and high school in the choirs. I kept singing after I got married but the kids know that already.

V- Vegetable you hate? The only vegetable that I can't stand the smell of is the black eyed pea.

W- Worst habit? Eating burned popcorn. I love it really carbonized, and it's probably not good for a body.

X- X-Rays you’ve had? Many, many ex-rays of my legs, back, lungs, and CTs of my head from childhood to the present, with ex-rays of my broken wrist and hand being the most recent.

Y- Your favorite food? Any sort of cheese.

Z- Zodiac? An fabulous and useful inflatable boat I would love to have. Yes, I know :O) I was born in the Cusp of Capricorn and Sagittarius. Born under a bad sign.

Extreme Designing

This is a new design for those knife wielders out there. I am working out the details of the clever cross-the-palm pocket for holding stilletos and, er, maybe sharpened spoons and forks for you shut-aways.

Back to real knitting news: At one point last night, in my normal zombie state of late night knitting, AND with fuzzy thinking full on, too, I thought I was following the pattern closely. However, I ended up with the pinky stitches on the same side as the thumb nubbin. Oh my! That would never work. Sooooo, I just did what I had to do to get that pinkie back over on the other side of the hand, where you see it now.

I can't WAIT to re-misinterpret the pattern for the right glove. The glove has now grown a pinkie nubbin, and I am trying to figure out what all the nonesense in the pattern, between the pinky and the thumb, actually means, and how I'll get back from the edge finger. Fear of small circumference knitting is developing.

As many have said in the KR, "Slog ON!"

I changed that blog title...

The thing always bothered me as it was so awkward.

This is a political rant because what is happening has made me so angry that I'm not going to ignore it anymore.

I am freaking out about how fast things in the planet and in my country are starting to rip. How can more troops solve a problem that they never created? Was civil war in Iraq part of the cynical plan from the beginning? Was it something akin to calling for an uprising among the Kurds and Southern Shiites after Desert Storm and then abandoning them to their horrible fate?

When will someone tell Bush and Cheney, all their sycophants, and all their "have more" friends that they are very bad for our country, and this to their faces?

When will Americans be able to hear what the whole rest of the world knows about our leaders and the breaking of international law that stretches back for years?

I'm sorry, I can't knit well because my hands have been shaking in rage for quite a few weeks. I can see it in my ribbing and I'm tired of keeping my mouth shut; it's just that simple.

To any anonymous poster, if your rebuttals don't stay civil or helpful, they are gone....

Here's your glove B.

I think the thumb is long enough, yes? Now comes the hardest part, the fingers. I used a pattern off the web that is hard for me to follow but it looks like a good pattern, by E I Dimbleby. So, it's just me. The yarn (Juvel from Germany- a DK superwash wool) is a little rough and splitty but it will settle down nicely after they are washed. I know one thing. They are going to be nice and warm.

Second in Accidental Art Series : Horsey!

Accidental Art, from the Yard Rock Rock pile

 Knitting report:

The fingerless glove is up to the thumb and, except for operator error on the part of the needle wrangler, the glove would be pictured here. A knitter must eat or it can't think well. Off to forage!

Accidental Art 1

I'm doing an occasional series of Accidental Art