My Middle Name is Patience

Beautiful Beautiful Blue Skies

Stolen from Good Girls Kill For Money Club (Authors, not assassins). (I think).

• Your favorite word? Taught
• Your least favorite word? Try
• The word that is the most fun to say? Defenestrate
• What word should be banned because of overuse? Whatever

Tara tagged me way back at the end of May: 

• Who’s your all-time favorite author, and why? Alice Hoffman. Jack Higgins.
• Who was your first favorite author, and why? I'm not entirely sure I knew books had authors. I did like Edith Nesbit, Noel Streatfeild, Elizabeth Enright along with Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames (Yes, I realize the last set are series and not authors) Do you still consider him or her among your favorites? Now this is a peculiar question. Do I reread them? Yes. Are they still my favorites? Well, my tastes have matured somewhat.
• Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why? Jim Butcher and Deanna Raybourn.
• If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth? See above and add Allison Weir, David Starkey.
• Are there any you’d add on a moment of further reflection?  Undoubtedly.

Bridget tagged me  with this one. Rules: You must answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four others

• 1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
• 2. Your significant other? Imaginary (or: Furry)
• 3. Your hair? Short
• 4. Your mother? Aquarian
• 5. Your father? Loyal
• 6. Your favorite thing? Books. Yarn
• 7. Your dream last night? Crazy
• 8 Your favorite drink? Coffee
• 9. Your dream/goal? Hobby
• 10. The room you’re in? Cold
• 11. Your hobby? Reading/knitting
• 12. Your fear? Legion
• 13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Upright
• 14. What you’re not? Dating
• 15. Muffins? Bran
• 16. One of your wish list items? Castle
• 17. Where you grew up? Suburbs
• 18. The last thing you did? Type
• 19. What are you wearing? Clothes
• 20. Favorite gadget? Remote
• 21. Your pets? Peculiar
• 22. Your computer? Square
• 23. Your mood? Moderate
• 24. Missing someone? Yes
• 25. Your car? Serviceable
• 26. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
• 27. Favorite store? Amazon
• 28. Like someone? Yes
• 29. Your favorite color? Now?
• 30. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
• 31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Courthouse Skies. Smoky. California is on fire. It's a little scary when you can't go outside because of particulates. I've never even heard the term in connection to air. Air that I breathe. I have never been so happy to see blue skies in my life. The smoky pic was last week, the other was this morning.

Sock I was knitting on during Jury Duty:

Sock (12 st Ribbed Lace from Sensational Knitted Socks) started after deciding above sock looked pathetic and frogged it. I am however, deeply in love with the Eye of Partridge heel flap.

Sock as of this morning, modeling gracefully against the basil and ......some other herb.

It's only now I realize how much that resembles the Horcrux Socks (you'll have to scroll down). Oh well. The other sock patterns in my queue need a solid color or the cables/lace/patterns won't show well.  

I'd post a pic of Hez but either no batteries work in my house or I really did break my camera dropping it off the bookshelf. I wouldn't mind terribly breaking the camera, I hates it. Any suggestions for a moderately priced camera that takes decent pictures of socks and cats?

Memes and Crabbing

Brigitte tagged me:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Geez. Pretty much what I'm doing right now. I can't decide if that's depressing or progress.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today - in no particular order? To Do list?

3. Snacks I enjoy - spoonfuls of peanut butter, almonds, insanely complicated Martha Stewart recipes (I made the pineapple mousse yesterday  last week. If I'd just READ the recipe first, I'd've never attempted it. But it was pretty yummy.) (Not that it's gone yet). Corn chips.

 

Note:  I hate Typepad's "improvements". It's so SLOW.

 

4. Places I've lived - Wow. All mostly within a 30 mile radius. Oakland, Concord, Lafayette, Walnut Creek.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire - buy more books and yarn. Travel. Squander my money shamelessly. Put air conditioning in the local High School's multi use room. (The hottest day of the year, I was at a concert at the HS. It hovered around 104 for four days and not a lot cooler at night. (That's 40 degrees celcius.) Thankfully the heat wave broke but now I'm cold. I know, whine, whine. ) Make one of my charities happy. Although a billion dollars isn't going to go that far for that long in CA. Check out the gas prices from May 2nd. I tried to get an updated picture last night, but evidently gas signs require posing and special lighting and possibly a sacrifice to photograph well.

 

Gas is $3.99 for the cheap grade as of last night. 

 

6. Peeps I want to know more about (by blogname) mumblings, Red Shirt Knitting (click just for the puppy videos), Twig's (mis)Adventures in Knitting, Knitting By The Sea, WIP Insanity, and Wound Too Tight.

 

Along the lines of LOLCats, check out LOL Manuscripts.

 

 

See the  Cute kitty! The darling snuggling cat in the previous post is Portia, the brother & SiL's new kitten and this is......either another picture of Portia or her new sibling, Halo. Cutie pie, eh?

 

 

 

Hez sez: Wake me when summer gets here.

See her? Snuggling under the covers? Good thing I don't tuck my sheets in. 

 

 

 

I was dragged to the Peddler's Fair in Martinez on Saturday, where it was a much cooler 101 degrees. The fair itself wasn't that impressive but I FOUND A CHAIR! Finally. Great price, super comfortable, fits in my bedroom.

Yes, Hezekiah loves it too.

 

Crabbing about TV: So far, all the shows have ended with death, teams disbanded or a cast members dying or being carted off in chains (metaphorically speaking, hopefully). This is an annoying trend and if EVERYONE is doing it, it's NOT pushing the envelope, dear Network Executives/Writers. It's a cliche. My only hope is that they kill Jack off tonight on Lost, proving that there really is teeth in network decisions and karmic justice.

 

 

Crabbing about Typepad: If it takes me AN HOUR to edit a simple post, I'm not going to be able to blog EVER. This is ridiculous. I've switched to HTML to type, let's see how it shows up when I switch back to "rich text". No, that is not a misuse of quotation marks.

 

 

Crabbing about Knitting: I want the lace edged top, the cable cardigan, the Jaywalkers I started last summer to all be DONE. Preferably without any further effort from me, because like Don Juan, the thrill is gone and I'm fascinated by another.

 

 

Crabbing about Reading: I'm on a non fiction kick but took a fiction break to read Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, as it's roughly in the current time period of obsession. While I did like it, I was annoyed by the Grail plotline and the fact that every character in the story acted like a spoilt, silly git in order to further the plot.

 

 

Worrying about California: Keep a good thought for the folks in Santa Cruz and the firefighters - there is a pretty raging fire going on down there right now.

Two and A Half Memes

Not exactly two and a half, but I liked the writers swap of Two and A Half Men and CSI (The Original) last week. It's not as if either were groundbreaking or fabulous, I just enjoyed the writers having fun. Hopefully they had fun. I loved the CSI quote Grissom had "Death is easy. Comedy is hard."

Marji tagged me.  The meme?

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and acknowledge who tagged you.

Oh, the nearest book? And not the one I'm reading? Okey doke.

In 1962 he purchased a large home in California. Thereafter he spent a considerable amount of time and developed substantial connections in California. Although he maintained important connections in Nevada throughout the years involved, the SBE held that he was a California resident in 1962 and in subsequent years. 2008 Guidebook to California Taxes.

Bookfool tagged me with the Six Random Things About Me. Random is my middle name. You think I make no sense blogging? You ought to talk to me. All over the map.

1. I hate endnotes in books. Footnotes, people! Footnotes.
2. Cable reruns. I live for them. Currently: CSI.
3. There are books and knitting projects in my Earthquake Preparedness kit
4. I overuse exclamation points, ellipses and the word/letter I. You should read this before I edit it.
5. I can't wait for all the pretty flowers to die this year. Yes, yes, all very beautiful but they're trying to kill me.
6. It generally takes me three or four or five tries to get those verify your comment codes right.

Tagging (by blog names): Knitting & Television, Bron's Blog, Jenny's Corner, CJ Knits On, Educating Petunia

I finally finished Queen Isabella! She really did lead a fascinating life, although she and her husband both let their lovers ransack their kingdom and their good sense. I was wildly amused to discover that Roger Mortimer, Isabella's lover, was also the first Earl of March - the Marches being the family of Lady Julia Gray in the Silent in the... series by Deanna Raybourn that I read during Queen Isabella.

Well, not read, was read to. I had Silent in the Grave on my iPhone and while I was flat on my back with that stupid vertiginous migraine, I listened to Ellen Archer reading it.  I have to admit, I was deeply prejudiced by Harlequin being attached to the book and almost didn't listen to it at all but I couldn't understand a word Christopher HItchens was saying. There were a few confusing passages in the book where I'm convinced she contradicted herself in a matter of paragraphs, but I'm not sure if it's because being read to is so vastly different than reading a book.

I enjoyed the book enough to run out and pick up the second in the series, Silent in the Sanctuary. England in the 1880's isn't my area of historical expertise (not that I have a historical area of expertise but there are some periods I know better than others) so I couldn't tell you how historically accurate the books are, but they certainly were a fun romp. I just hope the romance doesn't get dragged out ad nauseum.

Books read in March:

The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez. Deft but not groundbreaking.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Twisty. Dennis Lehane knows how to write a thriller.

Flashforward by Robert Sawyer. Interesting take on time travel.

End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenary Grimwood. Reminded me a bit of the best of William Gibson.

The Coma by Alex Garland. A little hallucinatory, is he in the coma imagining it all?

In Big Trouble by Laura Lippman. Not the first Tess Monaghan mystery but my first introduction to her. Now to read the rest of the series.

Next by Michael Crichton.

Science Friction by Michael Shermer. Science vs all sorts of things. Michael Shermer has a knack for explaining complex theories.

Babel 17 by Samuel R Delaney. The power of language was never better expressed in a novel.

Killing Time by Caleb Carr. I wasn't too impressed. The female character was so one dimensional that it took me completely out of the story which was a bit ludicrous anyway. The dangers of the internet, gene splicing and time travel.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I really enjoyed her essays on reading.

April:

• The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry. Kind of a combination James Bond/dystopian future book.
• Temptation by Jude Deveraux. One of the few romance writers I unabashedly enjoy.
• The Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson Tucker. 1970 dystopian novel. I could see the '60's influences on the book, the turn the future (2000) took wasn't one that I'd run across in other dystopian books.
• Black Order by James Rollins. A Sigma Force novel. I was forced to go out and buy more in the series. A thriller along the lines of Robert Ludlum without the exclamation points.
• The Know It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the Room by A J Jacobs. Not so humble but engaging.
• Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Gladstone
• Queen Isabella: Treachery Adultery and Murder in Medieval England by Alison Weir

Currently (re)reading: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W Tuchman. I'm reading these in chronological order! Completely by accident, I assure you. A Distant Mirror follows Enguerrand de Coucy VII, a French noble married to the daughter of Edward III (Isabella's son) also named Isabella. She was quite the pet of her father too, so it's hard to believe the historical tales that Isabella of France was the She-Wolf of legend. It's a nice change of pace to be in France this outing.

Television - is continuing to annoy me. WARNING! PROBABLY SPOILERS!! Booth's life is hanging in the balance on Bones, done in by a mere stalker? They'd better not kill him off. I hate that kind of cliffhanger. Cheap tricks. I still love Dr Sweets though.

Brothers and Sisters is back on Sunday nights but I was too annoyed at having whatshername turn out not to be the bastard child of the patriarch to watch.

House spends an entire episode entertained by strippers only to realize at the end that it's Amber whose life he's trying to save? What's with all the strippers anyway?

On NCIS, Ziva thrown by killing a serial killer that very nearly killed her. Really? She made some statement about how the Mossad were not all assassins but considering how pragmatic her character has always been about death and dying, it didn't track.

Ed Green gone on Law & Order. [sob]. I love Linus Roache and Jeremy Sisto though. I'm getting used to the new guy.

Lost. Geez, Lost leaves me lost most of the time. As long as Locke, Sayid and Sawyer are on it, I'll probably watch but I have no idea what the heck is going on anymore and really? I don't care. The plan all along was to kill off Rousseau? Huh. The real question is why won't they kill off Jack? Why? That would be pushing the envelope.

Starbuck is the Angel of Death? Tyrol's haircut. Hate it. WHO IS THE LAST CYLON? I want to know.

Knitting? What knitting?

Mostly Books But Also The Possibility of Me Walking In Front of a Bus

If it's April 1st then that means that April 15th is actually going to arrive, doesn't it?

Doesn't it? Because seriously, if it doesn't, that bus looks mighty inviting. Maybe I'll just board the bus, as opposed to stepping in front of it. Terrible thing to do to a bus driver. Way too much paperwork.

Look at all the lovely Tess Monaghan's that the lovely Knitted & Purled sent me eons ago. The end of February in fact. I'd never read Laura Lippman's mysteries before, I really enjoyed meeting Tess.

For a change of pace, no quiz. A book meme! via Teabird:

1. What book are you reading right now? Science Friction by Michael Shermer.

Wow, I drafted this awhile ago. I'm actually reading The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry as my carry-'round and Fraction of the Whole by Stephen Tolz.

2. What was the last book you read on a plane? Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. Finally, a period of time where I just sat down and dove into it. So much better than indulging in my normal "we're all going to die" airplane chatter.

3. What was the last book you read on a roadtrip? Most of the road trips I do the driving. But I've listened to audiobooks occasionally. The most memorable one was a trip up Hwy 1 with my ex best friend listening to a Jude Deveraux romance and the book ended at EXACTLY the moment we pulled into the motel parking lot. Hwy 1 gets really creepy at night when it cuts back inland and I swear, we saw a cemetary on the coast that evening (twilight, naturally) that has never been there since.

4. What was the most unusual place you found yourself reading? Unusual? I read anywhere, any place, any time. Once, trapped in an elevator, but IMO, that's a pretty normal way to occupy your time when you can't get out of a tiny stifling place suspended nine floors above ground.

5. What books would you take to keep you occupied on a two-week vacation to the beach? Whatever books I'd take to keep me occupied on a two week vacation in the mountains, or in Europe or on the way to work or......whatever I was reading at the time. The real question is, what knitting projects would I bring?

More books to indulge in my favorite knitting stitch obsession - Annie Maloney's books at Needlearts Book Shop. And the packaging was so darling too, brown paper package tied up in ribbon. I torn it off for the books inside in a hot second though. The cables are just amazing.

.

The progress on V - notice how there's only one buttonband?  (Well, maybe you can't notice, considering the quality of that picture, but there is only one. Now.)

Before? Cleverly, I'd knit one on each side.

In fact, not just knit it, I actually said "OMG, I don't have the buttonband on this!"

And dropped stitches to knit it in.

About fifteen rows later I noticed that I was knitting a buttonband on both sides. GAH. It took me most of the month to get that far too.

Hez sez: "Why are you knitting and reading when you're home when you've been neglecting me so horribly? by never being home? I refuse to even look at you, you neglectful thing."  She utterly refused to pose in the tulips outside too, even with cat treats as an incentive.

My Own Little Pitiful Party....

Oh well. Better that I'm gainfully employed. And SIL's birthday is Friday (Happy Birthday, SIL!), my parents 50th Anniversary is Saturday and Easter is on Sunday. I plan to work through all of them.

But look! Look what I did!

I have even cast on for the left side. And knit a row. Mind you, it's four stitches, but it's started. I'm just shocked I've gotten this far what with the insane hours I'm working.

There was a brief moment of panic when I held it up to me and realized how low cut it was going to be but.....there's that little thing called swatching (*cough*the sleeve*cough) that shrunk up a bit in length when I heaved it (gently) into the washing machine so I deliberately made the back longer. I'd just forgotten in the ensuing years....

From Purling Dervish:

You Are Peppermint Flavored Gum

You have a sharp mind that is always churning. You are mentally hyper. You're always thinking of something. And while your mind is always on, you're not the most physically active person around. Some people make mistake you for being lazy, but the truth is: you never relax. You tend to get so deeply into your projects that you ignore everything around you. You are creative and cutting edge. You love telling people about your newest ideas and discoveries.

What Flavor Gum Are You?

See? I never relax. Just because it looks like I'm lying on the couch staring vacantly into space, I am DEEPLY THINKING. And I do love telling people my newest ideas and discoveries! Sometimes I have to follow them down the road for several miles before it's all carefully explained to them.......

No, that's not blurry, why do you ask? I might have swatched for a ribbed pullover that I'm going to have to make up the pattern myself. Aren't the colors lovely and Spring-like? It's the tape yarn I was going to do the Joan Vass top out of before I realized how much I loathed the way I look in raglan sleeves.

And from Pick Up Sticks:

What Carrie Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Strive? I do not strive for perfection. I merely obtain it. Hahahahahahaha.

Hez, not so much playing with the giant mouse that has moved into her condo as bemusedly cleaning her shoulder. She occasionally runs by and whacks one of the crackly ears but that's about it.

So. Is it August yet?

Daylight Saving Time Is Evil

Firstly, DST is an evil, evil practice and must be abolished. Even my computer is ignoring it.

Secondly, found at chitta'svrtti's:

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Odd, you'd think they'd be used to me always being right by now....... and I love theories and dreams! But yes, it's true. I am utterly brilliant. Just ask me.

That's how far I'm at on the front - almost done! With the rightside. Then the left side to do but with any luck, I'll have all the numbers and it'll be smooth kniting. [knocks violently on wood. Well, my desk. It looks like wood. CE].

I'm not super happy where the buttonband binding ended up on the  pattern but it does have a nice big floppy collar so it's not really going to matter. And could I have taken a worse picture? Oh yes. Do not underestimate my skilz.

TV. Jericho tonight! 10pm CBS. I cannot believe who they killed off last week. Just breaks my heart. It's not doing fabulously in the ratings and I'm way sad about that but I wish they'd concentrated a little less on The Bomb and Who Dropped It and more on What People Do When The Life as They've Known it Is Over. Only in Jericho? Not so much. Nice allegory on Iraq though.

The Grumpfest

Just for Lorraine:

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

What Planet Are You From?

It would have been more helpful if it had said something like "If you seem to be in a complete grumpfest it's possble that a humongo attack of PMS is happening and try, try! to have no contact with the outside world."

Too late. So on top of being a total grump all week (and shhh, still, really) I was sideswiped on the way into work the other day by a poor woman who was back in the state to have surgery. The damage is pretty minor but I cannot stress enough to you, the joy of being Not At Fault. Almost enough to mitigate the grumps, but not quite.

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You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Oh, that's nice. I only understand what's going on when....oh, wait. That might not be as bad as I thought at first. Oh, the Grumpfest. It continues. I made the mistake of defragging my computer this morning - I have hopes of it being done by May.....

The Unending Mitten & the iPod Meme

After you read this meme, you have to do it, too. (So, not stolen. Tagged. By A Fistful of Stitches)

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here’s how it works:
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every section, type the song that’s playing
5. next section — press the next button
6. don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

opening credits:

Should've Been a Cowboy by Toby Keith (when this song came out I hated it. Hated it! They were make believe movie cowboys! But you know, I should've been.)

waking up:

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers

first day at school:

Beer For My Horses Toby Keith and Willie Nelson (No way. Beer? Yuck.)

falling in love:

I Still haven't Found What I'm looking For - U-2. (I did NOT cheat! So cool).

breaking up:

Rockstar by Nickleback.

prom:

Superman (It's Not Easy) Five For Fighting (?? I didn't even go to the prom. Bad shuffle)

life’s okay:

I Love A Rainy Night Eddie Rabbit. (I do and it is)

mental breakdown:

Feeling Good by Michael Buble. (Oh, that figures.)

driving:

Shop Around by Captain & Tenille (Driving? Wouldn't this have been better for Prom? And quit snickering. You all have Captain & Tenille on your iPod's too. Don't you? Doesn't everyone? )

flashback:

Walking After Midnight -by Patsy Cline (that'sthe perfect song to blast after a big fight)

getting back together:

You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls

wedding:

You'll Accompany Me  by Cornbread Red's Bluegrass Tribute to Bob Seger

birth of child:

One For My Baby - Frank Sinatra. Seems fairly appropriate (other than my childless state) until you realize the other half of the song is "and one more for the road")

final battle:

In The Air Tonight - Genesis (I think I like Theme music)

death scene:

Holiday Music??? a lecture by Prof Robert Greenberg (Bah. humbug)

end credits:

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. Oh, I could not have picked a song I'd like better.

The Second Mitten! Huzzah! Doesn't it look innocent lying there? The deceptive thing. I had to redo it four mittens over. First, my normal inability to count messed up the chart set up pattern and now I'm working on my fourth try finishing it off.

  I think. I know I tried to do that "Loop The Live Stitches Through With A Crochet Hook" trick when I had something like.....fourteen live stitches left. Uh, too many. Rip back.

Then I completely disregarded the pattern because at that point, easy! Who needs to look at a pattern? Yeah, easy to get the pattern completely wrong. Rip.

Next I bound it off, in pattern, right amount of stitches.......except for those two stitches a few rows down gaily hanging out waving at each other. I have no idea how I can drop stitches and NOT NOTICE for rows and rows. No picture, darn it. I ripped it back (somewhat savagely) before I thought of taking one.

I'm trying not to think about how much I like the rounded mitten top better. And see? Whole, unharmed dpn's! So far. [darkly].

Not to mention, I was a wee bit worried about running out of yarn - I still have to knit the thumbs you know. Who WHO is following me around stealing my skeins? I don't buy single skeins. Ever. EVER.

Hez sez: "I'm guarding this skein with my life. See? [zzzzzz]Don't be such a worrywart. There's more than enough here to finish the mitten and knit the two thumbs! [aside] If you have cat thumbs like me."

The By-Product of Tight Knitting.....A Christmas Meme! Well, not Exactly....

Tragic, no?  That's three out of five in the set! (I have more than one set, thankfully. Or there might be more carnage.) But I'm filing down the ends and sealing them off with nail polish and they'll be starting their new lives in the witness protection program (well, did you SEE that abuse?) as glove needles. One of these days.

Another tragedy - which needle do you think was the right one to pull out? Where were you when I needed you? (No biggie, honest. Wool stitches just sit there and wait for you.) Wow, that color is really off.

On a jollier note........more or less shamelessly stolen from Knit Think...... The Christmas Meme!

• 1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags. I've been known on occasion to use paper bags. From the store of origin.
• 2. Real or artificial tree? Tree? Geez.
• 3. When do you put up the tree? When someone brings it over.
• 4. When do you take the tree down? When it catches on fire?
  5. Do you like eggnog?  Yes! Yum.
  6. Favorite gift received as a child? A pony? (No pony.) Wow. I was either an ungrateful little thing or I never got what I wanted.
• 7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, the one my grandparents had.
  8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad, except for the last couple of years, oddly enough.
  9. Easiest person to buy for? Me.
  10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Maybe it's my memory. I don't remember worst either. Oh! I know! The year my first husband bought me four hubcabs. So. Whelmed.
• 11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Christmas cards??
  12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "Christmas in Connecticut" or "White Christmas"
  13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? All the time. Early. Possibly Christmas Day.
  14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably.
  15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Egg nog. Oh, eat? Pfefferneuse.
• 16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?. Lights?
  17. Favorite Christmas song? Silver Bells.
  18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. Home! Home. Hopefully.
  19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?! Yes. Can you?
  20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Trees have tops? Wouldn't a nice sweater be better?
  21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Historically? Whenever my dad got called in to work, 4am one memorable Christmas morning. Nowadays? Christmas morning.
  22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Shopping malls. Although it's kind of a year round thing.
• 23. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? Are you kidding?
  24. What do/did you leave for Santa? Cookies and milk. If he's quick.

Hez sez: "Thanks for the great idea, Chaos & Mayhem! I love my horizontal scratcher. I don't see what it has to do with the couch though. Do you?"

TV and A Two-fer

Shamelessly stolen from Literary Feline:

• Two names you go by:
  1. Carrie (Because it's my name.)
  2. Ma'am. It's a little disconcerting, but at least it's polite.
• Two things you are wearing right now:
  1. My Hugs for Snicker's scarf
  2. Jeans
  
  Two of your favorite things to do:
  1. Reading, of course. You didn't see that one coming, did you? (I didn't even have to change her answer).
  2. Knitting.
  
  Two things you want very badly at the moment:
  1. To be able to knit at the speed of light
• 2. And read at the same time.
  
  Two favorite pets you have had/have:
  1. Sheba. I think I'm going to miss her forever.
• 2. Hezekiah. But I'm so happy Hezekiah insisted on joining the family.
  
  Two things you ate today:
  1. Spinach Souffle
• 2. My mom's home made dinner rolls. YUM.  Clearly a breakfast food.
  
  Two people you last talked to:
  1. My mother.
  2. Marlene
• Two things you're doing tomorrow:
  1. Working.
• 2. Knitting
  
  Two longest car rides:
  1. From California to upper state New York/Canada.
  2.  California to Pennsylvania in a moving van hauling a car trailer with my brother and their puppy-cat Hopi. (Genetically a cat, temperamentally a Lab).
• Two favorite holidays:
  1. My birthday. What? It is too a holiday!
• 2. Y' know, other than that, I'm not a big holiday person. Oh, Columbus Day. Great shows on the History Channel.
  
  Two favorite beverages:
  1. Coffee. Not just a beverage.
• 2. Egg Nog

What's On TV This Week? Other than freaking festive Christmas holiday programs.  I'm already annoyed that my Sunday afternoon Columbo episode got bounced for "One Magic Christmas". I can hardly wait for the December to get here.

Sunday: I think I'm just going to watch Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel until Cold Case comes on at 9pm then:

Brothers & Sisters at 10:01 pm. Stunt Casting! Lyle Lovett, Steven Weber, Chevy Chase all guest star. This is one show that works guest stars in pretty seamlessly, Danny Glover was fabulous and understated as a Republican spinmeister Kitty called in as a favor.

Monday: Sadly for my anti Reality Show cred, I'm hopelessly hooked on Dancing With the Stars this round. All three should in the semi finals but as good of an entertainer and trouper that Marie Osmond is, I want either Helio or Scary Spice to bring home the hideous giant disco ball.

Heroes at 9pm. Second to the last show of the season. The season! I hope the writers strike ends soon. Right when the show starts to finally gets its footing.

Journeyman at 10pm. Part Two and possibly the episode where Jack stops being a complete %^&*_. But don't get your hopes up. The one good thing about the writers strike, shows like this have have a better chance of getting renewed just because they're in place.

Tuesday: Everything is on Tuesday. NCIS. Bones. House. Dancing With the Stars Results show. Mega Disasters.  Anyone else addicted to Mega Disasters on the History Channel? I love that show. It makes me think life's not so bad. Look what could happen! Yowza. And it's just a matter of time........

Wednesday: Project Runway - although is it new this week? It didn't look like it in my TV Guide.  CSI NY.  Modern Marvels: 70's Tech at 8pm on the History Channel then Lost Worlds following it. There was Tech in the 70's?

Big Shots is on ABC Thursdays at 10pm? I've meant to catch that show - great cast - but never have.

Friday Night Lights and Stargate Atlantis Friday.

Movies:

Speaking of life's not so bad, the new movie I'm Not There - a 'reimagined' biopic of Bob Dylan practically made me suicidal. Well, if I'd been in a suicidal bent. Since I'm more contrary than that, it made me want to see the glass half full, look at life through rose colored glasses, dance through fountains clutching a rose in my teeth humming gaily...etc, etc. 

Wow. Talk about a thoroughly depressing mean-spirited movie. The little booklet they handed out prior to the movie called it "hauntingly lovely" - hauntingly lovely? Not a chance. While it seemed that the movie quoted him verbatim at times, the Bob Dylans portrayed were not seeking, exploring, discovering and writing about himself and his times, they were devoid of humanity, compassion, empathy or spirit. Hated it. 

One scene in  the movie typified it for me. "Robbie" (Dylan as portrayed by Heath Ledger), his wife and another couple are having a meal at a restaurant overlooking a park. They spar over whether women can be poets. 'Write the nastiest thing you can think of and I'll do the same.' Robbie directs his wife. 'Why?' she asks, understandably confused and repulsed. 'We'll compare. I can bet that yours won't be as nasty as mine' (I should pull this out of quotes because I'm quoting from memory and I've probably got it a bit wrong, but that's the gist I came away with).

What the ---? Nastiness is the true measure of a poet? You have got to be kidding me.

It was nice to see Don Francks as a hobo, riding the train with the Woody persona. And I have to say that the actors portraying the various Bob Dylans were all really amazing, but the whole of the story.....just harshed my mellow.

I can understand the frustration he must have felt being boxed in a corner by his own success. The idiotic questions asked of him during press interviews were suitably stunningly wide of the mark - how on earth would he know how many other protest singers there were? They're assigned numbers? Unreal. But the Dylans in the movie weren't of the man, they were of the myth.

Thankfully for my lifelong Bob Dylan crush, the "rocdoc" "No Direction Home" was playing on VH1 last night.  Give me Martin Scorsese & the real Bob Dylan over Todd Haynes and his versions of Dylan any day. Even if it was an inspired idea he couldn't pull off.

Next post: Hopefully Enchanted and knitting FO's. Except that if I keep casting on or mooning over projects to cast on, I knit so much less on current WIP's. And they don't seem to be finishing themselves off, the lazy things.