Fyberduck Is Awesome
I simply cannot say it enough, she is. Would you like to know why? Not only is she knitting me socks, but she managed to have my socks fondled by none other than my favoritest author of all time, Terry Pratchett. She even took photographic proof!
How about them apples?
Even if I don’t score her as a partner in the Craftster Discworld “Fall-ing For Pratchett” Swap (we get partners today) I am still going to send her the item I taunted her with to entice her join up, the item of which still remains a mystery. By the way, if you have never checked out her patterns before, do so now.
I don’t actually have much more today. Its been pretty quiet around here. However, I do often wonder… whatever happened to Hypercolor? And……. wouldn’t Hypercolor make an awesome yarn?
Success Is Just Another 4 Letter Word………
Done!! And just in time! This morning I grafted the toe on the second sock, and heck… I even wove in the ends. This afternoon the postal carrier delivered my celebratory stitch markers. Woohoo!
And Stepherz is right, the stitch markers are pretty enough to be jewlery:
Preeeeettttyyyyy…… man am I a sucker for shiny (the extra gold bit on the left is a heart charm my kids gave me, I just couldn’t take it off).
Lately I’ve been trying to make space around here. Our house was a good size for 2 people, maybe 2 people with a wee third. Its currently getting a little cramped around these parts, so I’ve been going through our belongings and getting rid of stuff we don’t need anymore (maternity clothes? right outta here). In my cleaning exploits I discovered something from my past long ago…………..
My very first ever knitting attempt.
You’d never know by looking at it that its worsted weight yarn, or that I knit it on US size 8’s. Though you can easily find where I dropped a stitch or two, and see how teeny tiny my stitches used to be. I used to knit on just the very tippy tips of the needles, and my tension was so tight that the acrylic screamed and squeaked for mercy as I pushed forced stitch after forced stitch onto my needles. My hands ached after each go at a row. To think I went from that, to this:
Makes me a very happy girl.
There’s A Bat Moon On The Rise
I woke this morning from the strangest dream, let me tell you. Currently, the Mister is working a swing shift where for two weeks he works morning (7am-3pm) and then for two weeks he works nights (3pm-11pm). He has just started the morning portion of his swing shift today. When he works the A.M. shift I somehow end up getting up with him around 5am and talk with him until he goes to shower and leave, then I go back to sleep. Typically though, my contacts remain out and so these early early mornings, though enjoyable, are extremely blurry.
Now the dream, I dreamnt this morning….. in hazy blurry no contacts vision no less…. that my house was infested with bats. The dream specifically went that I heard some commotion, went downstairs to check, and found the Mister swatting at an infestation of bats in my kitchen. They had escaped into my kitchen from a ginormous hole in the wall located behind my microwave. As he swatted and chased them they just sort of hung around grabbing onto the walls with their freaky little wingy arm claws. When I woke up I reflexify patted my head to see if there were any in my hair. You’re all welcome to try and divine/interpret the meaning behind the dream. My current theory is its my subconcious telling me not to cook or something freaky will happen to my hair.
In other news, I have Dragonlady Designs stitch markers on the way. As I told you previously I am a Stitch Marker Ho, and generally if I want to remember something specific, or reward myself, I get a set of stitch markers. By the time the Stitch Markers get here I will……………..
……………………….have fully completed my first pair of socks, made all on my own, with no help!
With Virgin Sock Voyage v2.0 I had some issues. The yarn was awesome. The pattern was great (even after that whole forum questioning of ‘Do I Slip 11 stitches?’). I still intend on finishing the pair (not even having started sock #2 yet). Thing is, I really had to pay attention. So while it was awesome laundromat knitting, it wasn’t Stephieface Were-Athon knitting. In any case, by the time the new stitch markers arrive the “blood moon socks” (get it? get it? from knitting them while watching a were-athon) will be completed, and I can add these puppies to my collection:
I think….. I think with all this sock knitting…. that I’ve succumbed….. succumbed to the dark side.
The Stephieface Were-Athon
Boy! I just watched a were-athon and man are my eyes tired!
I’m not a big scary movie fan, heck I’m not usually a serious movie fan either (give me campy or give me death!) I usually stick around the comedy strata of the moviesphere. I really love laughing.
However, Halloween is coming up soon, and once again I’ll have to undertake the construction of a multitude of Halloween costumes. To get in the Halloweeny mood I decided to watch a Were-Athon.
What’s a were-athon? Its a movie marathon of nothing but werewolf movies. I’ll avoid most scary movies like the plague…. but give me a good ole werewolf movie and I’m totally in. The ironic bit about this is as a child I was terrified of werewolves, believing they lived in the bushes in front of my house.
So, I watched me some:
Underworld (1 and 2… Michael Sheen…. ahhhhh)
Van Helsing
American Werewolf in London
American Werewolf in Paris (Tom Everett Scott… oooooo)
A recent DVD acquisition of Dog Soldiers (Kevin McKidd and Sean Pertwee….the character Spoon [my favorite]…. the only thing missing from this awesome Scottish werewolf flick is kilts)
Currently, I’m debating about adding Cursed, and Blood and Chocolate to the Were-Athon rotation. I’m dubious of Cursed because I just can’t buy into Christina Ricci being a werewolf if Johnny Depp is not involved somehow. Blood and Chocolate is iffy, it breaks my imposed singular rule about Werewolf movies which is people turning into actual wolves and not slavering beast man things. I expect a big hulking beastie that glorifies the whole Man/Wolf thing, not a wee wolfie. I can’t see in my mind 180lb men turning into 60lb wolves…. this is why I had a hard time with Lady Hawk (though I loved it, I think people should still retain people attainable sizes- its why I’m not a Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter fan) though the werewolf lost boys in Blood and Choclate are super cute. Its an iffy.
The Mister said no Howlings, and I have vetoed all Teen Wolf movies. Its proving to be a good time. The character Spooner in Dog Soldiers had the best quote so far when it comes to people who fight lycanthropes, “I hope you get the sh*ts from eating me ya bastard.” Its very much what I would say to a werewolf attempting to chow down on my good and plenties.
Because werewolves are absoloute suckers for good and plenties.
Whew! I Just Moved Here And Boy Are My Arms Tired.
Yeah, what the title said.
Avast!
This here be my wee exhaltation that it be “Talk like a Pirate Day“. Arrrr. Yet I can be postin’ an entire entry with this here pirateering affectation, this be all piratical discourse you’ll get from me this day. Arrrrr…..
I’ve started designing stuff for the upcoming Terry Pratchett’s Discworld swaps I’ve signed up for. The first being the Craftster “Fall-ing For Pratchett” swap, hosted by esmerelda. I can’t go too nutty, not yet receiving any partner info, but I can get some preliminary stuff ready (like knitting charts and stuff). Once again though, no revealing until my partner receives their package… so not until almost Halloween. If Fyberduck participates and I scored her as a partner, I already know one thing that would be going in the package (wink wink, nudge nudge, harass harass, tempt tempt).
I know its odd for those of you have never read the books to really understand why I love them so much, and why Discworld swaps are the only swaps I’ll really ever participate in (though I could be coerced into a Firefly swap or two). Do yourself a favor, if you have never read any of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, go and pick one up. Its a funny sarcastic fantastical read. Its a series you don’t have to read in order, but you can if you’re like that. You will have a favorite character somewhere in the world, be it Granny, Nanny, Sam Vimes, Carrot, The Librarian, or The Luggage. So go to the library, the Half Priced Book store, or Borders (heck… even Amazon) and pick yourself up some Pratchett.
My favorites in the series so far:
The Witches (Granny, Nanny, Magrat, Agnes/Perdita): Maskerade (for you Phantom fiends out there), Carpe Jugulum (for all the gothy kids I went to highschool with), and Wyrd Sisters (for you Shakespeare fans)
The Wizards (Rincewind and the Luggage) The Last Continent
DEATH (DEATH and subsequently the DEATH of Rats) Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, and Thief of Time
The Night Watch (Sam Vimes, Nobby nobbs, Carrot) any of these… these are my favorites in all of the books, Fifth Elephant and Guards Guards being my personal favs… along with Where’s My Cow?
Small Gods is awesome too.
Here we see The Luggage doing epic battles with Darth Vader.
I’m also making socks, Sachi has lead me down the dark path of sock knitting with her chants of “one of us…. one of us….”
Abscondation!
Absconded with from Housewife With Yarn Stephanie…..
The career meme…
1. Go to Career Cruising, www.careercruising.com.
2. Put in Username: nycareers and Password: landmark.
3. Take their “Career Matchmaker” quiz.
4. Post the top twenty results.
5. Put the careers you have seriously considered in bold.
6. Italicize any that are part of your current job/career.
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I find it interesting that most of my results are teachers/instructors or therapists.
Weighty Issues
This past weekend gave me some insight into what I think about my own body. Last summer, before I became pregnant with Daniel, I had this favorite pair of jeans that I actually was only able to wear for 1 week comfortably. After that, they became jeans I had to Suck It In in order to wear. This weekend I went out on some errands, and as it wasn’t laundry day yet I grabbed the first pair of jeans I could find… the Suck It In Jeans… and put them on. Pants that last year prepregnancy I had a hard time sitting comfortable in were now able to be taken off without even unbuttoning them.
Ah… what’s my secret you might ask….
See, after having Danny and getting my tubes tied, I went home. While home for the first week I discovered something terrible, something awful, something that was just no good…. I couldn’t drink pop anymore. I don’t know if its from the Tubal Ligation or what, but now if I drink pop not only will I get an extremely bad case of heartburn I will also get excruciating stomach cramps. This goes for any carbonated beverage of any type, including wine coolers and beer. So, since Danny’s birth its been juice, tea, coffee, or water.
In addition to no pop, my eating habits have changed too. Most foods look and smell nasty now. I eat mostly fresh raw fruits, veggies, and melon. I eat certain meats… like turkey… but no more particle meats (like bologna or hot dogs). I end up eating half of what I put on my plate because after a few bites it all just becomes “nasty“.
While these new found eating habits are better for me all around, I still miss the act of enjoying what I’m eating. I look at what I eat with indignant distaste, I’m eating it because I have to- not because I really want to. Believe it or not I find myself glaring at my food, wishing it were something else and not what it is.
Bananas never answer when you angrily demand to know why they can’t be a chili cheese dog.
I Need To Rack My Brain, But My Dungeon Is Currently Out Of Service
I mentioned a post or two back about how I’ve enrolled myself in two Terry Pratchett Discworld swaps, one in October and one in February. Even though the swaps haven’t officially started yet, now is when I have to start racking my brain for new ideas on stuff to send. The Mister agreed that while the D.o.R is super awesome, I need to come up with something new. What to do? What to do?
A Foreign Country Right At Home
I have no knitting progress to speak of, so I thought I’d tell you about something that occured to me this morning as I was doing errands…..
I had stopped at the local grocery store this morning to pick up some milk and other whatnots. As I was leaving I looked over to one corner of the parking lot where I never ever park. I don’t park there because this part of the lot is filled with men sitting on the back of their cars, or sitting on their van’s back bumpers with the tailgate up.
Now, you may think I’m driving by a tailgating party, I mean… really… I DO live in Pittsburgh afterall (Go Steelers!). However, the game was yesterday and there aren’t any playing fields nearby. What I was driving by was…. Jitney Corner.
I know, unless you’re from Pittsburgh or the area roundabouts… you have no freaking clue what a jitney is. Coming from Northern Virginia myself, when I moved here I thought people were having fun at my expense, that is until I learned that the phone number I was given when I got my first Pittsburghian apartment used to be a jitney number…. then I quickly learned what a jitney was.
A jitney is a taxi cab, and in places like Pittburgh and Detroit, a jitney is an unlicensed taxi cab. An unlicensed taxi cab is basically… dude with car. When I first started getting the jitney calls, at 3am no less, I had no idea what people were saying to me. It was if they were speaking some unknown language at me. I had already struggled with the native language barrier between myself (a not quite southener) and those I worked and played with (native Pittsburghers). Things like:
- Pop v. Soda- in Pittsburgh Pepsi and Coke are Pop, in NoVA they are Soda. Ask for a Soda in Pittsburgh and you will be handed a glass of carbonated water.
- Gumbands v. Rubberbands- In Pgh its a gumband, in NoVA its a rubberband. Not ever hearing the term “gumband” before I was severely confused when a coworker asked for one… is it Spearamint flavored? Is it Blink 182?
- Gutchies v. Underwear- both are used here actually, but I was scratching my head when a coworker had mentioned in passing about a customer, “Jeez, that lady needs new gutchies.”….. I began to ponder when exactly I would need a boob job for my own gutchies…. or was it a tummy tuck?
- Spicket v. Faucet- again, both are used here in Pgh, but I questioned a friend’s choice of beverage when she asked for water “from the spicket”… while I’m all for reliving my childhood summers on occasion, why my friend would want water from the thing I attach the garden hose to… I had no clue.
- Grinnie -”Whoa! Did you see that grinnie?!” a grinnie is a chipmunk, but I was convinced it was some sort of lizard or something because all I ever saw when someone said that was the underbrush moving from something small running into it… a la that scene from Jurassic Park2 with the velociraptors in the tall grass.
- Jumbo- bologna…. again I had no clue. Chipped ham… I have an idea what creature produced said lunchmeat. “Jumbo”…. yeah, no. I thought it was particle lunchmeat comprised of every meat there was, like Gumbo but lunch meatier.
- City Chicken- Now, the first time I was told that I was being served City Chicken for dinner, I was beyond confused and I was even a little bit scared. I thought “City Chicken” was Pigeon. That whole day as I stood at bus stops waiting for my bus, I snuck peeks at my fellow passengers whenever a pigeon landed nearby to see if they licked their lips in hunger. When served the fried “city chicken” later that night, I thought it had skewers in it to class it up. Later I learned my weariness to try it was worth nothing, “City Chicken” was nothing more than “Breaded Pork Loin on a stick”.
… I had thought that a Jitney was a local term for a sex act of some sort- which was why I was being asked to deliver a Jitney on the corner of Such and Such… I was certain these were obscene phone calls, eveidenced even more by the fact that I received most of these calls after 2am (you know, when the bars close). It wasn’t until the day after St Patrick’s, after complaining of a night filled with being woke up constantly for calls about jitneys, that I was told a jitney is cab.
One night, after finally discovering what a jitney was, I kept getting phone calls from a very persistant woman. I told her I was not a jitney and hung up. She called back calling me a liar and then proceded to order me to such and such to pick her up. I told her again that I was NOT a jitney and hung up, to which she called back again… admonished me for hanging up on her… and ordered me to come pick her up. Finally, tired as hell knowing I would have to get up for work in 3 hours, I told her to wait for me I’d be there in 30 minutes and hung up. I then disconnected the phone from the wall and got my number changed the next day. Then, even luckier for me, I moved 2 weeks later and was given a new phone number. That phone number used to belong to a morgue…. thank God! the phone hardly ever rang.
And, after grocery shopping, when I drive by jitney corner I think of this “woman in a strange land” time of life, and laugh and laugh and laugh.
I still won’t eat City Chicken though.
