I don’t knit. My mom and sister crochet and I don’t do that either. I never can seem to maintain interest in that sort of craft. I’ve tried embroidery a couple of times and keep meaning to do some for RenFaire but… I can do sewing but I’m not very good at it. And yet I keep planning sewing projects. I have an obi that I’ve bought all the materials for and haven’t done. It’s covered in cat hair now, but I swear I’m going to make it! One of these days… I keep thinking things like ‘y’know it would be cool to make a jacket out of a patchwork of Hawaiian shirts’ or ‘I could make an under-kimono to fit those two kimono with the longer sleeves’ (it’s that or get an under-kimono meant for a young lady’s really formal kimono). Yes, all my mental projects are related to my geekdoms…
Very cool. I’m a big knitting freak as well.
Recently I’ve started a cardigan; however, I’m not following a pattern, I’m just sort of knitting to see what I come up with. I’m using a really pretty dove grey mohair yarn which would be fantastic EXCEPT because I’m just making things up I need to pull out my work periodically. Mohair does not like being frogged. I now have about 3 little wads of mohair that will NOT turn back into yarn.
Oh well - I bought about 4 times as much as I need for the project. 
I’m going crazy with the voices in my head. On one side is the voices saying “Woohoo! You’re gonna be on a cruise in two weeks! Have Fun! Enjoy!” On the other side are the voices of panic reminding me that DH is unemployed, that the unemployment payments are actually below minimum wage, that the mortgage is due the day after we get back, and that we do not have enough money to pay said mortgage.
I have no idea what we’ll do next month.
Aside from that, we went bowling yesterday.
{{{gotti}}} I know how you feel, I’ve been in that place way more than once! Oddly enough, though, I’ve found that if you just say “fuckit!” and go have fun it turns out okay more often than not. It’s like the very act of throwing up your hands and surrendering to the moment jogs the universe into kicking down something you need. YMMV, but as the insanely non-politically correct joke tells us, “When rape is inevitable, might as well enjoy it!” 
Dotty, this is me reading that post about your MIL and the car seat—> :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::smack:
Welcome to the MMP, wishy! No introduction required, everybody’s welcome here–we’re nice that way, darn it! Pay no mind to the squid & goat, chocolate goes to FCM and swampy gets the beervages. Did I miss anything?
Mork, it made complete sense to me! How are YOU liking WinBloze 7? Is it stable? Did they keep the Vista “look” or go with something else? I think we have a copy of 7 around but I’m always hesitant about anything that is both “Windows” and “beta!”
I haz a grrr about my new headphones–I replaced the nonfunctional rechargeable batteries (those things are friggin’ SPENDY!) and the headphones worked great–for about ten minutes. There was a burst of static, then nothing. Dammit. Now I have to ship the fucking things back and wait for a replacement. Oh well, overall my shopping karma is quite good…
I think it’s gonna be laundry day–w00t. Washing machine still on the fritz, still taking clothes to the laundromat for washing then drying at home. This round I also have a bunch of dusty stuff that was in the library/junk room that needs washed as well, so it’ll be a huge batch to schlep. Joy, I say, joy. :mad: We really need to figure out this washing machine thing. Sure wish I were better at appliance repair, but such is not my expertise…
It’s a very pretty day out there, nice and sunny. Weather report says it’s supposed to rain, though, but my weather widget says the air pressure’s at 29.97 and rising so good luck with that…
I took the doggies up to my friend’s property yesterday and they had a fabulous time running around like idiots. Bear got chased by the neighbor’s donkey, which was hilarious, but then he started chasing back which is a total no-no. Nobody got kicked, so I guess it’s an overall win! I burned things… They’ve been trimming trees and thinning out the neighbor’s tree lot which is becoming a fire hazard as well as a leg breaking hazard for the hoofed set. Consequently there is a humongous pile of crap to burn and I gave full vent to my pyromaniac tendencies…
Well, ought to get productive I guess–later!
gotpasswords–I am the same way. I need a new car, soon (as in the calendar year) and I look at cars and think, hey, that’s an idea–I bet I’d get a good deal on that, and then I think, how can I even think of that when we are in the shape we’re in?
It’s very destabilizing.
I did read Dotty’s story re the carseat and I think I blanked it out due to sheer shock of such stupidity. Thank god she done saw the light, Dotty! Now let’s hope she is strict about it with HRH and doesn’t let her out of it (like my SIL. “they don’t listen to me” she whines). :mad: (SIL has taken to talking about her kids in front of them–and not all of it is good or positive. I saw her Saturday. I’d like to say something about it to her, but given my situation, it may not be appropriate–and frankly, she’s far down my list of stuff).
I bought a journal, but am postponing the crying in favor of a nap. The world needs more naps. Also, I was listening to the news re Australia and am horrified re the fires. Those poor people. :eek:
Errr…what does MMP stand for?
A knitting MMP! Yay! I haven’t posted in forever, but I spent my weekend starting a sock, not liking it, tinking it and starting a different pattern that I like much better. I also bought some new needles and books from knitpicks and read some knitting blogs, and generally doing nothing that didn’t including knitting somehow. Except for the staining/sealing of my new unfinished quilting frame. That I did on Saturday on the deck. 70 deg F in KC on Feb. 7th? Wild.
Happy Monday all. Now I wish I was home knitting.
MMP: Monday Morning Post. Or, That Basket Where You Can Post Anything Too Mundane And Pointless For MMPSIMS, but yanow, TBWYCPATMAPFMMPSIMS was too long.
Google images of “encaje de bolillos.” You’re welcome.
does so
:eek:
I have no patience for that kind of precision. Tangles tangles tangles!
That’s bobbin lace. It’s on my list of things I’d like to learn when there are no longer small people in my house. (along with stained glass)
I want to do stained glass too, but my friend says we can’t do any crafts that involve more than 500 degrees farenheit. She’s no fun at all.
**Nava **that looked way too hard for me.
I have had a difficult time with my children lately. I think I am losing my mind.
Random thing: I have someone on my MySpace page that I don’t know who she is. I think she is a doper. I know I could ask her outright, but the mystery is fun. Plus I feel like I am snooping into someone’s life. There’s nothing sinister or tawdry, just normal stuff. But it is interesting.
Oooh! You know what’s sweet? My Facebook thingie pulled people out of my e-mail account and asked me if I wanted to ad them to my “Friends.” So I found a fellow doper this way and she is WAY cool! We have tons of weird stuff in common. So I’m all for stalking other Dopers…you know, in a friendly way.
Jumping back into the MMP
I really want to learn how to knit, and I found a bunch of how to’s on Youtube that look pretty straightforward, now all I need are needles. What would be a good size to learn on? I already have the beginnings of a stash, from when I was re-learning crochet. I used to have a Knifty Knitter that I used to make hats on, but I eventually got bored with it and I kept losing the hook. I assume square things are easiest to learn on (scarves, blankets, etc.) but I really want to knit socks. I can’t find socks that don’t have that really tight band at the top, except the ugly diabetic socks, so I want to make my own.
Missy the cat is getting spayed tomorrow, finally. I found a vet a few towns over that is a lot cheaper than the ones in town here. Like 1/3 the cost.
So next paycheck Buffy and Sparky, the dogs, get their shots, and there will be enough left over to take Buffy to the groomer for a real haircut, instead of the butcher job my Mom and I do to her.
I spent the weekend cooking and filling up the freezer. I really need to rearrange things in there, I have more to try to shove in. I made chicken soup, pot roast, and sketti sauce with meatballs.
Lean back and enjoy the rape? Sounds lke a weird idea. Especially when it’s at the hands of the bank.
Back from my first appointment with physical therapy. She seems nice enough - don’t know if she’ll turn into a physical terrorist or not.
Imagine that - my back went boink back in what? September? And I have just now finally had the first appointment. She promises no miracles - after all, squashed and partially escaped discs tend to stay squashed and in the wrong place. Still don’t have any decent meds, and my doctor has not exactly ruled out the possibility that the only actual fix might be surgical. I’m just afraid what it might cost - I’ve already spent close to $1000 that I don’t really have for doctor visits and the steroid injection that didn’t help all that much. I’ve half a mind to hire someone to find my father and send him the bill, since it’s his genes that caused all of this.
Speaking of crafts… DH is able to plug along with whatever sewing, quilting or knitting that he wants to do from the comfort of the house. He just finished up a knit cap for our newborn nephew. I’m anxiously awaiting nice weather so I can put blades to bois. (No, not the youngish lesbians that have co-opted the word “boy” and spell it as “boi” but the French word for wood.) There’s a toy chest sitting on my workbench that needs refinishing and retrofitting with safety hinges so hands don’t get crushed by falling lids. Kids these days, needing fancy safety hinges… Why, when I was a kid, my toybox had a lid that probably weighed 25 pounds and there were no bumpers, cushions or anything else soft and squishy about it.
I finally spent my Christmas yarn money today on some CPY Mini Mochi, in Intense Rainbow. I just cast on for a reversible eyelet and mock cable scarf with it. It’s nice and soft so far. It’s very, very pretty yarn.
I’ve been in that unemployed daze, where the days run together. It’s been nice, though. I’ve gotten lots of knitting done and have been trying out new recipes. There’s really not much out there, job-wise.
My jaw has almost completely recovered, so I guess it really was due to work-related stress. Go figure.
My landlord managed to not mow the violets this year, so I have a tiny patch of them in the front yard. I ought to take some pictures.
Well, all I can say is that registering for the SAT is as stressful as taking it. Plus, the descriptors for the classes don’t match up with the classes #1 son’s taking. There is no spot for Broadcasting (we put filmmaking instead. Now, what kind of place has a slot for filmmaking that doesn’t have a spot for broadcasting?) and I won’t torture you with the English options. He is registered, though, and we got a local HS (thank god, since the test starts at 0800). It is not his HS, though (but it’s closer to our house–it’s a Catholic one).
I have to make dinner now. I drifted for a bit re the nap (I know you are were breathless with anticipation to know my movements this afternoon) and now must make an early dinner so as to get to the awards ceremony on time. I take the 0648 tomorrow morning. That shouldn’t happen…
And I called the doctor to make an appt only to find that I already had an appt. Aricept here I come.
That yarn is scrumptious.
Sure, square things might be easier. And it might be good to do one first so that you get the feel of knitting before starting something that LOOKS complicated. But I am walking a woman through her very first knitting project ever, which happens to be a sock. She didn’t even know a basic knit stitch when she started. You can absolutely start with this if you want to. It might take a little patience, but if you just follow a simple pattern, you’ll get the feel of it right away.
Don’t let anyone tell you it’s “too hard” for a beginner. That kind of junk comes from people who want to feel like they know something you don’t know. They don’t.
I wish you were here, I’d walk you through a sock too!
Bleh. This was a very non-productive work day.
But on the bright side, I read a lot of Miss Manners’ columns.
I wanna go home and do something useful.
Oh, I was productive all right.
About 15 hours (on and off) of productive :mad: :eek:
It’s now 1 AM and I am finally calling it a day.
Thank OG tomorrow we have a day off. Plan for tomorrow is:
Stay in bed as late as possible with a pair of early birds around (wife and daughter).
Go vote (we have our national elections tomorrow)
Drive to J’lem to visit older daughter at school
Get back to Tel Aviv by about 4:30 PM so aforementioned early birds can get their skins to the local cosmetician.
Take little girl for orthodontic checkup and a pulling of a lingering baby molar.
Meh, on second though, not as restful as I would have hoped.
And this is even if work doesn’t intervene… :rolleyes:
Night, y’all! 