My Middle Name is Patience

Finally! I get my hour back

That most wonderful time of the year is here - Daylight "Saving" Time ends tomorrow night! I am beside myself w/joy. It's like being jetlagged for half the year.

Halloween itself used to be my favorite holiday but in the last few years, no joy. It's not so much about dressing up and having fun as it seems to be an excuse to crazy and destroy stuff.  Just cross your fingers that we get the neighborhood kid trick or treaters this year, it's been dead the last couple of years.

Birdsong is having a Birthday Contest ~ enter here! To enter this particular birthday contest, you'll need to describe a life-changing experience to her...in a private email to  burrobird AT gmail DOT com or by simply posting a comment on her contest page.

Knitting In the Trees

Twined MItts: Aka Larus + Ardea  One skein Cascade 220 and mabye 4 yrds of a contrast color. It took me a week to knit each mitt more or less obsessively but I'm more or less slow.

Two End Knitting by Anne-Maj Ling has more projects and you can get it from Nancy Bush's website. I may have been shopping.....that Greta Garbo shawl is gorgeous. (Cookie, quit giggling. Pinky swear I'll finish Lyra first which means......2012?)

Before the vicious H1N1 virus felled me - wow, that's a virulent mean little thing! I had a 103 fever for a couple of days and was as weak as a kitten - a kitten hacking up a lung. I don't recommend catching it. I wanted a week off but it would have been nice to do something other than sleep for three days. Although who am I kidding? I love sleeping all day.

Anway, before that happened, I was up at Marshall at the Marconi Convention Center State Historical Park being schooled by the likes of Nancy Bush and Sally Melville. I knew I was going to love Nancy's class, I have all her books and I love the historical aspect of her work and I knew that Sally's class was going to be good - I have most of her books too but I was blown away by how much I learned in Sally's class.

And I didn't even do the take-a-picture-of-yourself to make paper clothes for. (Honestly, I'm not big on pictures anyway but I didn't find out I needed it until the final two weeks before the 15th of October - this year it really was a work-up-until-the-last-minute. Much busier than normal too. Next year we are Taking Steps to avoid that.)

But even without that, what I learned in her class about flattering shapes and how to knit to fit was fabulous. I came to knitting from a seamstress background so I have always fooled with my patterns for a better fit but knitting is unlike sewing in many ways and there are some things I couldn't quite figure out. Her set in sleeve alone was worth the price of admission for the whole weekend.

And then there was the views. And the deer! We had three deer traipse by the window of our room one night. Jackrabbits hopped and posed merrily, it was if if they'd been hired.

 

Tomales Bay (from the Marshall Store & a plate of oysters on the back deck)

 

Tomales Bay through the trees at the Marconi Convention Center State Historical Park. If you're in the area, drive up. It's gorgeous and it is a park, so it's open to the public. They do have rooms available occasionally too.

 

The Line Up for Shawls with Carolyn, our Hostess With the Mostest doing her normal speed through. :)

 

Nancy Bush, Sally Melville and Erika in the back row, admiring the projects. Nancy crooked her finger at Trisha, beckoning her to the back,  to get a better look at Trisha's nupp shawl she knit for her wedding. Gorgeous. There were a LOT of gorgeous projects there. I really need a decent camera, most of mine on the iPhone didn't come out. Boo.   

In the meantime, pray that the current version  of the second sleeve on Dad's Cardigan is the final one. It's my cough*whoknows*cough try. Note to self: 

1. A top down knit sleeve must have at least close to the same number of stitches on each side.
2. The second sleeve is not where one should decide to stop knitting a sweater in pattern.
3. It should not be larger, particularly if the yarn is running out and there is no more.....
   

My cousin was out on business again and while he waited for parts to show up, we went to the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda. Wow. Just wow. I had no idea. For one thing, those aircraft carriers are HUGE and this one's been decommisioned for decades. For another, it's the carrier that picked up the crew of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12.

   

Roomy, eh? Yikes.

 

Mobile Quarantine Facility. The crew of Apollo 14 spent two weeks here after their venture on the moon. Hopefully they got along.

 

Possibly the USS Hornet. Possibly the carrier next to it.

Look what Amy aka Knit Think sent me! MN apples! They actually crunch. I'm srsly contemplating moving to MN. If only I could move the ocean with me.

 

Ignore the fact that I look like I have werewolf wrists. Altho- WTH?

 

Current knitting obsession, Spinnity's Larus + Ardea. It's twined knitting, which is basically knitting with both ends of the ball of yarn, alternately, always carrying the new yarn over the old yarn. Weird that the contrast color looks blue, IRL it's a purple/black that Spinnity graciously wound off from her ball of yarn during her class. I still can't believe I brought a single project, no extra yarn or needles to a Knitting Retreat. Normally I carry a set of dpn's on me, just in case and overnight anywhere? Several projects. But if you go unprepared, go with knitters.

What's On TV:

(I think. TV and I are on the outs.) But I'm still watching DWTS Monday nights (Go Kelly! Go Louie!), Castle at 10pm, House between dances.

Tuesday: NCIS at 8pm. I want to like NCIS: LA because it has a great cast but so far it just hasn't gelled for me. Sons of Anarchy at 10pm on FX.

Flashforward on Thursdays. Joseph Fiennes character had better get his act together, the way he's moping around about his wife's future-so-far-not-actual affair would pretty much drive me into the guy's arms. Man up, dude.

September Reading Update:

Cardinal Richelieu and the Making of France by Anthony Levi (library) (bio) 2001. Started 8/26, finished 9/21. The author is known for his lit crit so I'd love to read his take on the literature of the period. Richelieu suffered from migraines, dealing with Louis XIII, his mother and their court? Not surprisingly.

1634:The Galileo Affair by Eric Flint and Andrew Weber, 2004 (library) (Alt Hist) 2004, 675 pages. Started.....? And still not done. I've been reading it in snatches of time and while I'm around 150 pages into it, they're still setting up the plot which is why I think it's been taking a backseat.

September ended up being an uncharacteristically social month between cont ed, knitting retreats, visiting cousin, ancient friends popping up from LA and oh!

I saw Carol Burnett last Thursday night at the Paramount in Oakland. It was billed as an evening of laughter and reminscences, she took questions from the crowd and showed some video clips. I'm sorry to report that when they turned the lights back on after the first clip, I was deeply annoyed I'd left my knitting at home.

Weekend at the Lighthouse

 

Shrouded in fog on Friday

Sunny and warm by Sunday.

Sunset on the marsh

Salt flats as seen just prior to crossing the San Mateo Bridge. (Actual driving across it requires a death grip on the wheel and prayers for no earthquakes.)

Pumpkins at Half Moon Bay

The view from the "teaching deck" (where a sea lion graciously perched for a bit)

Maze and Chevron Hat class

Spinning class - hey, did you know that if you twist your roving clockwise, let it completely unspin expecting the twist to be counter-clockwise, your roving/yarn will separate and the spindle will drop to the floor? It's true! I am so glad I took the class, I may NEVER have figured that out on my own. Srsly. And I didn't dare to even sit at the spinning wheel, I observed. And took pictures.

Twining class taught by Spinnity - this is a seriously cool knitting technique and the fingerless mitts have this just amazing knitted chainmail feel. Not stiff or harsh but solid. The pattern from Knitty (on Ravelry) is Larus and Ardea.

Hmm. I may have another new project going. (I love how the keyboard is in excellent focus but the knitting? Not so much).

Walking the sunset and birding

I had an absolutely fabulous time at the Knitting Retreat. The hostel was nice, the view was spectacular, the knitters - well, were Knitters. Fun, fabulous, literate, chatty, friendly, helpful, knowledgable - is there a better group of folks on earth? (Okay, Readers are up there too but there's a lot of crossover ;)

Wedding at the Hostel (photo op - complete strangers, they were posing in the "Center Council" area at the lighthouse park as I was leaving).   

And when I got home, these were waiting for me:

 

 Ravelry mugs! That I won from Moonfrog. Aren't they perfect? I love that when the cup is filled with coffee, 'disagree' becomes 'agree". That is absolutely not how it is with me, I am perfectly delightful at all times, with or without my caffeine fix.  

This project may or may not have progressed much from as pictured.

I'd talk about television but I seem to be consumed by ....... Dancing With The Stars. I know! But I cannot resist. Kelly Osborne and Louie Vito are my current faves. Well, maybe Michael Irvine. No, Debi Mazer. Amy,  Miss T, notice THE CHAIRMAN:,  Mark Dacascos. Chuck Liddel.

Sunset at the Beach

There was continuing ed.

There was food (Pepper's in Pacific Grove, Flaherty's in Carmel, Wild Plumes in Monterey.) (The picture is from Pacific Grove across from the Seven Gables, where I've decided to retire to. Either there or Hearst Castle.  

Monarch Knits in Pacific Grove had Hanne Falkenburg kits! If they'd've had Mermaid, it was mine. It was a close call w/Diva but I wasn't crazy about the colors.

I walked the beach.

Weekends Weekdays

    Knitting in Public! Check out her sexy glasses combo (she pointed them out). Darn I didn't go back and see if she was on Ravelry, I was standing in a VERY long line for tickets and getting texted to hurry up and come claim my seat. The ferry was PACKED Saturday before last. I was hoping SF would be deserted due to Bay Bridge being closed but oddly enough, no. It was fun wandering the Ferry Building and the Farmer's Market but it was warmer than I expected. I go to the City for the cold. Well. Among other things.

The rest of the weekend was spent in a haze of knitting and reading. I'm reading Anthony Levi's Cardinal Richelieu: The Making of France and jeepers creepers, he never ran across a name he couldn't mention. Not to mention that France was worse than England when it comes to name changes. Cardinal Richelieu started out as Armand Jean du Plessis. Not a startling name change but it just struck me as.....well, I'd never thought of him having any name other than "Cardinal Richelieu". I'm deep like that.  He was named after his two grandfathers.

The knitting haze was almost finishing the sleeves on Dad's cardigan. Behold! Evidence of how two needles become one and an unknittable moebius strip at that. It's not like I did that once or twice either. Staggering regularity.  (It's hidden a bit by the yarn crossing.) That's the sleeve to Dad's cardigan, it's more baby blue IRL and the wonky brocade stitch will block out.

After a week of 90-100+ weather, it cooled down and RAINED over last weekend. YES! Mom and I went to a dollhouse show sponsored by CHAMPS benefiting Children's Hospital of Oakland (where I had several surgeries as a kid) - the dollhouse show was so much fun. It was like knitters with minatures. Vendors, exhibitors, all immersed in their craft and happy to point out details or explain. And I managed to take ONE picture. Argh. But she's knitting! And he's reading!

I have to go to Monterey for a tax class this week. Don't you feel sorry for me?

  Hez, hopping onto the bench covered by the progress to date on the  Curve of Pursuit. The optical illusion bit threw her off at first but now she's leaping with abandon. Oh! And Purling Oaks sent her catnip in plastic bags that I've rubbed on toys but you know what she does? Roots out the plastic bag and starts playing with it! It's hilarious.

Hez sez "I can't stand to even look at you. You're not done with anyone else's project and you're casting on TWO projects for yourself, you selfish chit."

 

Tips for Tomorrow Or Why I don't Get My Post Ideas From Typepad

  Although that might actually be a widget. Whatever, it looked stupid. Tips for tomorrow? Don't stare directly into the sun. Don't take any wooden nickels.

There. Forewarned is forearmed. You may thank my father for these pearls of wisdom.

Doesn't Hez look adorable? She likes the EXACT CENTER of the couch, thankyouverymuch.

One of the problems with starting and abandoning posts then sporadically posting them is trying to figure out what the Hades I had in mind when I was writing what looks like utter gibberish now. (It might still but there was an effort to make it reasonably cohesive.)

It may have something to do with coming to grips with my recent one-of-those birthdays. But probably not.

Brigitte aka Wrapped Around My Finger had a birthday (the 2nd) AND she's getting an orange kitty boy. And she's stalling on celebrating said birthday until this weekend. Good plan.

Bookish links! First up is Aarti'sBooklust, mostly because she's been hosting a Rosie Riveter weekly column on her blog and I contributed to it some time back -  so naturally now is when I link it. 

 - In her own words (as mine were insufficient - you'd think I read enough to turn a decent phrase occasionally) - Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them.
- she still looking for contributors, hint, hint. She writes some thoughtful reviews and is at least as annoyed with some heroines as I am. and has a way with words.

Puttermeister is trying out some interesting lists for books, check them out.

July Books:

Argh. Too hard. (Getting book cover pictures) 1)1633(L)  UF 2004 688p by David Weber and Eric Fint. I enjoyed it, they got out of Thuringia and into France and England finally meeting up with Richelieu, Oliver Cromwell and Spinoza but really, the Ring of Fire short stories should be read before as it sets up 1633. (Bitter about this! bitter! Ridiculously bitter, really but there you are.)

2) The Thirty Years War by Samuel Gardner 1916 (L) Great overview, dated language but it read aloud so evocatively. I should have been an itinerant small town preacher, I'd've loved the sound of my own voice.

Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak in 3)Killing Grounds pb M 1998, 4) Hunter's Moon pb M 1999, 6) Midnight come Again pb M 2000, 7) Singing of the Dead L M 2001, A *0 Fine and Bitter Snow L M 2002, 9) A Grave Denied pb M 2003, 13) A Taint in the Blood pb M 2004. I've stalled at A Deeper Sleep L M 2007 but Kate and Mutt continue to run across murder most foul and their love lives remain convoluted. Actually what I think I like most about this series (other than taking place in the imaginary Park in Alaska which I just find fascinating. Imagine living in a home where you had to stock up for the winter and probably wouldn't see another soul for a month or two? I can't decide if I'm envious or not) is the love between Kate and Mutt.

10) Breathing Out by Peggy Lipton (L) (B) I so wanted to hang out with Pete and Linc and Julie when I was a kid. My dad was a cop, and a cop in Oakland during the 60's and the counterculture was not exactly promoted in my house growing up. Peggy Lipton had what I think of as a typical I'm Not Really Beautiful life, which is to say, I was totally dismissive of her and her suffering until it finally reached me that she didn't have it all that easy and everyone has to fight to be free. (Hey. That might make a cool Tom Petty song).

5 The Solitude of Prime Numbersby Pablo Giordano. I had mixed feelings about this book. Mattia and Alice's parents were completely clueless for two completely different reasons. That poor Alice feels she has to throw herself over a cliff - or at the very least, when she's laying broken at the bottom, she's relieved she doesn't have to compete skiing anymore - made me want to shake her father until his teeth rattled.

Mattia I felt less sorry for but even so, being so inextricably tied to his fraternal mentally challenged twin Michaela frustrated him that while I couldn't believe he left her in the park (with instructions not to move) I couldn't quite fully despise him for it. It was a sad story but beautifully written.

11) The Sword Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe 2005 (SF) (L) It's billed as Sam Spade in Sci Fi and it was, kind of.

12) The Age of Reason Begins by Will and Ariel Durant (1961) (L) Overview of the Reformation era. They have such a chatty style of teaching history, no wonder their books are still some of the best to turn to for historical perspective.

August Reads:

1) Moral Relativism by Steven Lukes 2008 (L). Oh man. I started this is July and it just took me forever to read it. Party because I was questioning what I consider moral standards and how flexible I am in relation to others violating said standards, be it in person, in the past or from a different culture and partly because so many of the moral standards that seemed to be in flux were in regards to women and the treatment thereof. That gobsmacked me. There's a question of culture and morality when it comes to women? And not, say, race? religion? politics? Yeah, exactly. It turns out I'm somewhat inflexible and don't have much problem judging.

2) Ring of Fire by Eric Flint and edited by Eric Flint & a huge group of great guest writers featuring side characters in the main series. Mercedes Lackey had my favorite short story, To Dye Forfeaturing Tom Stone, Grantville's resident hippie.

3) Thirty Years War by Geoffrey Parker 1997 (L) Really, a delightful breezy overview of the military skirmishes in the 30 Years War and those most involved. Just because it took me two months to read 182 pages is completely beside the point.

 Look what Angie (Purling Oaks) sent me! Cow pies! Oh, and some Artyarns fiber, sugar scrub, scented soap and what she claims is "catnip". From her cats no less. Suuuuuure. 

Opal (aka The Akamai Knitter) (she's having a Labor Day sale btw) sent me some Indian Corn BFL fiber and some truly gorgeous orange earrings (the money shot up the page wherein I also discover that the zoom on the iPhone isn't really a zoom but a clip but considering it's a stationary camera lens......  and what she claims is packing fiber but is soooo pretty (it's really not a bright electric blue though. I took an outdoor picture because the colors are generally better and also display my poor pathetic single eggplant. That you can't see.

Hey. I know  Squish (aka Purling Dervish) sent me earrings and I think fiber and no pictures? I am remiss.

Altho -  you all know I don't actually know how to spin yet, right?  I have a spindle, I'm signed up for a class (in a lighthouse! Well, at the lighthouse grounds) but I have not yet spun anything but Fickleknitter's yarn she had (the devious enabler) at Stitches West.

Nothing else was finished (and no modeled shot of Undulating Waves yet either) but OTOH, no new projects were cast on. That statement may only be good until I get home. WANT WANT WANT

This is Melchior (until I'm told her actual name). She loves us and Hez. Hez does not love her. I hope, someday, to get a halfway decent picture of her without Hez chasing her off.

  

Meandering Monday

My Dad is serving as the hand model - look what Joan aka The Fairy Godknitter sent me for my birthday! Oh, you can't really see the purple skeins in the 7 Gorgeous Scarf Patterns kit but when I decide on a stitch pattern, there'll be months of those WIP pictures (as is my wont). Slow and unsteady, that's my motto.

There may or may not have been maple candies in the package but they were, ah consumed prior to documenting. That instant gratification thing and the thrill of discovering a maple candy shaped like a shell tastes the same as a maple candy shaped like a monkey. There was a comparison of notes.

Thank you so much Joan!

This is what I've been doing:

and undoing on the Undulating Waves Scarf:

It's heartening that I can now figure out how to fix it and actually dropped and reknit one of three repeats all the way to the first row of the repeat. I see why I have problems with left and right as directions though - every time I have to check if / means k2tog or if it's \ sKpsso. They're facing opposite directions. I confuse them even now. (When I first started the scarf? I had to put post it notes underlining the rows. People, this pattern is dead easy. Scary.)

KSD is running her annual Knitter's Hunk Award at handeyecrafts - too late to nominate but with 64 entries, your guy has a pretty good chance of showing up. Head over to her blog and vote now - 4 pairs are voted on every 24 hours.

I've been reading The Thirty Years War for the last thirty years - at least it seems like it. It's barely 300 pages and I'll bet half of that is endnotes, index, bibliography and maps but I have this thing about knowing what's going on and there are way too many Hapsburgs, Henrys and Ferdinands, not to mention German city-states, duchies, etc.  It's all pretty fascinating but it's slow going.

We seem to have three new kittens in the neighborhood - they are so cute. They romped through the hole in the fence the other morning - the siamese looking one first,then the black and white who proceeded to play keepaway much to the White Cat's annoyance. Finally the Gray & White kitten showed up and freed the White Kitten from the clutches of the Black & White kitten who then wandered disconsolantly about the hill, pawing at the pine needles occaionally. I may or may not have been calling them Melchior, Ezekiel and Kissinger, respectively.

Hez seems unamused by their presence but she was impressed by their routing and cornering of a mouse yesterday.

It's Good to be Queen

Well, I'm guessing it's good. So far I haven't realized my life-long goal of ruling over a vast and powerful kingdom but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

In the meantime, it's been good to be me. Matching necklace (above) and (below) from left to right, stitchmarkers, said matching earrings, delicious looking picture of a cinnamon roll - that's why I've been craving cinnamon rolls! (as if I'm not always craving cinnamon rolls.....) from Opal The Akamai Knitter at her shop Opalescent Jewels.

A bag from JessaLu , perfect!  (I've been stuffing my mom's stole into it and then stuffing it in my purse - finally it stops catching in the zipper - I have to say one fabulous thing about Misti Alpaca, that yarn is resilient.)

The latest yarn from the Mean Girl's Yarn Club.........oh wait, I can't show you yet.

Knitting update: more done on my mother's stole. More yarn purchased just in case.

The Undulating Waves Beaded Scarf is now a little more than half done. It turns out I cannot count repeats accurately. I have approximately 5 feet of beads still to knit. I wish I'd measured the beads when I first started it.

More done on Fickleknitter's Market Bag. A lot more would've been done if I could count repeats accurately. (Hmm, I'm sensing a theme).

Zippo was done on Curve of Pursuit, the SIL's gorgeous cable scarf that I will probably be unable to part with, Dizzy Blonde Basic Noir Black shawl or my Dad's cardigan.

My cousin flew into California on business this last week so after he was done with work, one night my Dad took us all out to dinner and since he admitted he'd never really been to SF, the next one we took the Oakland ferry over to the Ferry Building, ate at Mijita (scrumptious) and then wandered up and down the wharf. The seals/sea lions/sea creatures are still there but man, there are a lot of them! They've been given their own little enclave now too. We watched a hilarious performer at Pier 39 - okay he was probably more hokey than out and out hilarious but I like hokey.

We probably should've taken the cable car at Hyde up to Powell but the line was practically back to the sidewalk and I had visions of missing the last ferry boat and wandering Oakland, unable to find Jack London Square in the dark. (Which is unlikely but par for the course for things I worry about).

READING UPDATE: So far in August, I'm still reading Ring of Fire (I'm on the last short story by Eric Flint, The Wallenstein Gambit) but I've been seized with the idea that I MUST research the 30 years war so that I'll actually get the alt history bit so I'm also reading The Thirty Years War  by Geoffrey Parker and dragging around Moral Relativism by Steven Lukes because at least that fits in my purse. I am on roughly page 8 on both of those.

 

Hez sez: "I am undercover, you maroon. I know it's the last day of your [*coughing fit*]XX-ies but you'd think you could at least keep my hideout on the down low."