Just a quick note to say:

I actually blogged every day in January!!  Woo!  So cake for everyone!!

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”

The basics: Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!) Many thanks to Jenn for hosting this brain exercise!

Here are Jenn's rules:

Structure: While Haiku may be written by some in other styles, for THIS meme only 5-7-5 is acceptable. At least one of your haiku must be in this format.
Theme/Prompt: We have a new prompt each week, and your haiku needs to be related to it, if not include the actual word in it. Feel free to leave a word suggestion in a comment!
Linking: When you post your link, link to the blog post with your haiku, not to the main page of your blog.
Reciprocate: If you participate and post your link on my website, you must have a link back here on your post. It’s only fair.
Folks not complying with the above risk having their links removed. Don’t make me be all “Grrrr” and stuff, it makes me grumpy! Thanks for your cooperation!

This week’s theme is: Craft

 Jim Henson, NerdWars

6 new challenges each month

created in yarn!

Water, Barley, Hops

It takes much skill and know how

For the perfect beer!

 

Mystery Pictures

My cousin Norman, the most avid of the genealogists in our family has been looking for a picture of our great-great grandfather for his entire adult life.  He has gone to some bizzarre placees searching.  he has spent a day working on a hog farm!!  This past weekend while he was visiting, and we were discussing the desk I mentioned the other day, my sister popped up and went to her room.  She had a stationary bag with some pictures in it that she had found in the desk.  There were a bunch - but 4 pictures were labeled in the back as George.  One of them had the Civil War tax stamp (taxing pictures was one way they raised funds for the war.)  So Norman went from no pictures to 4!

George as a child

George at 18 or 19

George at 45

George with friends

The motleyy crew

So here's a picture of the bunch of us at my mom's house over the weekend. Left to right

Curt, Anna, Joe, mommy, Norman, Me, John

Procrastination has its pluses.

Last year, my mom was going to toss the bottom half of my great grandpa's secretary desk because it was in a place that got wet and had water damage.  I have a lot of great memories with him at that desk. So I took it to refinish.  I didn't have time last summer- and I need to do it outside.

She has the top half in her hallway being used as a bookcase and said I can have the top when the bottom is finished.

Yesterday, I got together with my cousin Norman and his son John and I found out that the desk has been in my family since at least the 1850s. My cousin has a picture of a newspaper picture from when my great-great-great grandfather was elected to state senate. The picture was taken at that desk. And in Normans opinion it didn't look new.

So he thinks I shouldn't refinish it. But should find a way to just repair the damaged part.  I agree - although part of me thinks since I knew my great grandfather had it when my grandfather was born in 1910 and was willing to refinish how does another 60 yrs change that?

Hooters

My friend Grace - Lovincomfortknits on the blog bar on the side is a monster knitting machine.  She makes more monsters than people who work on horror movies!  Of course her monsters are friendly not scary.  For a while now I've been teasing her about all her monsters. BUT...



I have recently been knitting owls.  First I knit the small ones (great use for scrap sock yarn - and since they use 2 colors - I can use scraps from my hexiflats.  The big owl is leftover yarn from my Too many Muppets mitts and my Flourishing Cowl test knit. I don't know how many I'm going to knit.  Unlike monsters there is no putting together needed- just a kitchener stitch at the top of the head.  I use the same cast on I use for toe up socks - so no seam at the base.

So anyway - I am currently blaming the Angie-  she goes to Temple - Temple's mascot is an Owl, they are referred to as the Owls.  So blaming my Owl for the Owls.

Missing Curt

Curt's been gone for 2 nights.  Last night he was in Atlantic City for some geeky, nerdy, computer/education conference.  Blech. And does he send me a "miss you" or "goodnight" text?? No he does not - He sends me a text that says -"abondigas"  (he saw them on food network  once - liked saying the word - enough that I was ready to kill him ) and was having that for dinner.

Last night he spent in a sleep clinic.  I am sure he has sleep apnea - and I am sure it is getting worse.  He's asleep when I get up for work ( so are most other people unless they are still up from the night before) and he snores.  a lot.  But he sounds like he stops breathing and then makes a snorkely gasp noise and starts breathing again.  And the more such noises he makes the more he complains he is tired.  We both go to bed around midnight on Friday and Saturday - it's his normal bedtime and I don't want to be WIDE AWAKE at 3am.  I'm awake between 4:30 and 5.  Sometimes I get up for a couple of hours and get back in bed for a nap around 6:30 or 7.  Then I wake up again around 8 - 8:30. And he's still asleep.  He'll come wandering out around 10.  Once my friend and I were trying to be very quiet - in an Elmer Fudd  be berrry berry quiet - I'm huntin' wabbits! kind of way to see how long he'd sleep - he came out at 11:52 - we were kind of oping for noon.  So was the Angie - cause then he couldn't make fun of her for sleeping until noon or 1 or...

It's kind of weird.  Even though I go to bed 2 hours before he does, and wake up 3 and a half hours before he does - I  still don't like being alone in the bed for that  3 hour overlap..

Three Irish Girl mini's

Last fall, Three Irish Girls (they make hand-dyed yarns) announced they were retiring some of their colorways, and there was a sale on those colors.  Now one of the knitters on the GoFastKnitLeft group on Ravelry - for NASCAR fans is seriously addicted to TIG yarn.  I tease her all the time about her yarn and button stash (seriously she buys buttons by the pound!)  Anyway since a lot of us are knitting hexipuffs/flats out of sock/fingering weight socks - she suggested that we get together and buy all the colors and split the hanks into mini-skeins.  She even volunteered to do the weighing and winding and mailing.  I've been wanting to try TIG yarn, I keep hearing great things about it, but I also hear great things about  Wollmeise and I really can't stand the feel of that yarn while knitting.  I am told it gets better after blocking and with subsequent washing/ blocking- but as I give away a lot of my knit items ( I am what's classified a process knitter - I like the process of knitting as opposed to a project knitter who has joy from finishing a project) really the fun part of the yarn is the knitting and I don't enjoy knitting with Wollmeise.  ) I anticipate knitters with torches and pitchforks at my door momentarily.

As anyone who has gone yarn shopping with me - I seriously touch - All. The . Yarn. The touch is almost as important as the color.  And  I will pass on the perfect color if I don't like the touch.  So I hesitated and ever bought TIG since there aren't any stores around here that have the yarn to pet.  This group purchase seemed to be the perfect solution.  For a reasonably low price - I would get a mini skein in adorn sock yarn in each of the discontinued colors.  I can make my flats (and some owls & ornaments too) and see how I like the yarn.  I figured, If I really hated it - I could always send it out as swap goodies.

I did realize up front that this yarn would take a while.  They dye the yarn to order - they would need to dye enough for all of us- send it to Jen, she would have to take the time to weigh, split and wind all of it- then ship it.  So I paypal'd her my share and went back about my business.  She did say something when she got the yarn, and then the occasional comment when she was working on it. I really wasn't worried about it- it's going to take me a long time to finish the blanket - and it's not like I don't have miles of yarn already in the house to play with.

Yesterday when I got home - I checked the mail.. yawn.. boring... I saw i had pm' (private msgs) on Ravelry but didn't open them until almost 5pm.  One of my messages was Jen with my tracking number!! Yay!! Happiness!!  I went to track my package to see where my goodies were and it said delivered at 3:07pm (I got home at 2:30) Put pants and shoes back on to o back to the mailbox, opened the door and there between my door & storm door was this:



I didn't even have to get dressed grrr.  It was already dark - so that is not the greatest picture light wise - but it is grey and raining this afternoon - so even less picture friendly.  I'll let you know how Ilike it when I cast on - but it pets really well!

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”

The basics: Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

Here are the rules:

Structure: While Haiku may be written by some in other styles, for THIS meme only 5-7-5 is acceptable. At least one of your haiku must be in this format.
Theme/Prompt: We have a new prompt each week, and your haiku needs to be related to it, if not include the actual word in it. Feel free to leave a word suggestion in a comment!
Linking: When you post your link, link to the blog post with your haiku, not to the main page of your blog.
Reciprocate: If you participate and post your link on my website, you must have a link back here on your post. It’s only fair.
Folks not complying with the above risk having their links removed. Don’t make me be all “Grrrr” and stuff, it makes me grumpy! Thanks for your cooperation! Thanks Jen for hosting!!

This week’s theme is: Silhouette

 

Looking to the East

Something will forever be

Missing in the sky.

 

 

Even in shadow

I see you steadfast and strong

Always there for me.

anonymous mask

cannot block fiery gaze

of competitors.

 

Nerd Wars

I've talked about NerdWars before.  It's a 3 month long knitting/crochet/weaving/spinning game/contest.  It's actually helped me come closer to my knitting goals, because when the end of the month looms, I pic up my project to finish.  It has been great helping me finish projects - both because of the end of month deadlines, and because so far, every round three has had a finish a WIP challenge.  Since every month includes a "giving geeks" category- it has given me new places to donate my craft.  ( I should say I love to knit, but socks, fingerless gloves, some shawls and bags are all I keep for me.   I don't really wear hats or gloves or sweaters,, and I have enough throws to last my life - so most of my knitting gets given away) Plus, I have made a bunch of friends in the group. Second only to my NASCAR knitting friends.

Some people get confused when I tell them about NerdWars.  They think for instance if you are on the Star Wars team - all you can make is lightsabres and deathstars and yoda hats.  Or if you are on the Harry Potter team - all you can make are owls and brooms and golden snitches.  That isn't really how it works.  There are 6 challenges every month.  You can do one, you can do all - While there is a badge  for "melting the cube"  doing all 6 projects it isn't necessary or expected. There is also a badge for insane over achievers like your's truly for doing all 18 -

But really the challenges are sometimes simple sometimes not.  There was a square challenge under giving geeks.  I put together a lapghan - not in time for the original charity I had in mind- so I donated it for Christmas for a local nursing home to give to a resident who didn't have gifts or visitors.  Some people just made squares and donated them to warm up america or other put squares together charities.  One person made rectangle kitty toys for a local shelter.  Another challenge was for the number pi.  Some people knit/crocheted pies, one person spun a yarn of beige, red & white - the crust filling and whipped cream of a cherry pie.  I made a tea cozy with stripes of 3,1,4,1,5 (pi in stripes) and fastened it with a pie shaped button.

You get extra points if you tie it into your team, but that's like extra credit when you were in school.  For example - the lapghan was the colors of the stripes on Ernie's shirt from Sesame St.  I made the tea cozy when I was on Team Bazinga for the Big Bang Theory - and Sheldon has been trained by his mom to offer tea or a hot beverage to people.  Really they are quite liberal with what they allow as  a team tie in.  Multi colored stripes were tied to the rainbow Connection from the original Muppet Movie.  Fingerless mitts were perfect for Scooter - the backstage manager to wear at the Muppet Theatre.

There is also a dissertation.  This is a larger project which is going to take the better part of three months.  Again this is optional.  Some people do a dissertation but none of the monthly challenges, some do a few challenges and the dissertation. Some (yeah there goes my type A personality) do both.  I like doing a dissertation because it gives me added incentive to avoid the startitis I can sometimes get and actually finish a larger project.  For example, I don't think I would have finished my Hey! Teach sweater in three months other wise.  And believe it or not - the wedding dates of my sister and brother wouldn't have been enough for me to finish the wedding shawls - they would have gotten them by their anniversaries ( the 8th is shawls right? LOL)  And like other things - we so love out badges - and there is a silver participation badge for getting over 50% and a gold one for finishing.

Last tournament I volunteered to be the manager of a team.  I'm pretty good with behind the scenes stuff -  even at work I make the most awesome of support staff.  I had told the captain that the end of November beginning of December would be kind of tough because of said weddings - but other than that I was there with her.  Unfortunately real life and internet issues kind of took her out for the second half of the tournament.  I didn't realize how long she would be gone - and how much a void that created until I think it was a bit to late. Some of the team splintered off to form a disney team - and some seemed to wander away entirely.  Those of you that know me well - know this sort of thing causes me to go into an analytical, fix it, better plans for next time mode of thinking.  I stalked the more successful teams to see what they were doing.  And I have a plan.  ANd I inherited the captaincy, and I have a awesome co-captain to help keep the tram chatting and happy, and there.  But for this I need a team.  As of Monday, our team still needed a nudge to get enough players to field a team. Not an all out panic recruitment, but a nudge.  This is my real issue.  I suck at recruiting.  I hate recruiting.  (almost as bad as I suck at & hate fundraising) That's what our old captain was great at - recruiting.  I am trying, but I hate and suck at every minute of it.  We have a great team concept.  Jim Henson.  There is so much to tie into -

I really hope we can field a team.