In California we’re living with a drought. Showers are often far in between. I don’t get out all that often, so I don’t mind waiting to shower for a day or two. And beyond walking a couple of miles every morning I’m not breaking my back or a sweat. Just a little when knitting frustration comes along. So when Stephen walked into the house with a friend we had not seen for 100 years it was embarrassing and wonderful!
I’m waiting for my next surprise because I’m all showered and freshly clothed now. Bring ’em on. It was so, so good having that instant connection again. And she knits!
Do I need to say more? I got to show her all my latest knitting and we looked at each other’s ravelry pages. How crazy is that? And the have yous and did yous and on and on. I think I didn’t let her talk. I was overflowing. She was a good sport.
And now I’m reading her blog. And I’m liking it. And I have frogged the socks several times now today and am starting over again. Did I say she knits? I look differently at knitters. No, no, I’m not saying we’re better. There is a sisterhood or brotherhood or is it a knitterhood?
I’m still 60 and hating it. When I have to communicate with someone who has never seen me before I feel like explaining that my 60 is nothing s/he can imagine. I listen to the Pixies and dance and would still go into a mosh pit for a few moments and take my pants off at a Muse concert, not.
I’m not my grandmother’s 60. I’m my 60 and still not liking it. 60 defines me more than my massive heart attack or bypass surgery. Life is strange. Knitting makes sense. Did I say she knits?
The shawl for the mother-in-law is finished. Birthday coming up soonish. I’m ready. I made the Alice’s Embrace but used half the amount of yarn asked for. How could that be? Acrylic Marble yarn with number 13 needles makes a generous 20 inches by 60 inches shawl. Did I miss something? Probably, but all is good.
I could complain, but I should know better. I don’t fall asleep easily under the full moon. I’ve known this now for how long? But do I pay attention? Nooooooo. I go right to bed, don’t fall asleep, realize it’s a full moon, then play games, read every news story online in English and German, read all the blogs I like, check online order status of various purchases, check Facebook, read a little in a book, and repeat the above just in case there is something new. I know, I know, being in front of an electronic screen does not help with the falling asleep process. But not wanting to wake up Stephen, I like keeping the light off. That only leaves the iPad or getting up. And I’m way disconnected from being upright by now that it’s not an option anymore.
Next month I’m planning on a full moon pajama party knit night going until the last one of us is too tired to hold any needles. We’ll see if this comes off the ground.
My yarn purchase yesterday was acrylic yarn for an Alice’s Embrace shawl for Stephen’s mom. Since she’s allergic to wool, or was at some point in her life, and her husband does the laundry and probably has never heard of hand wash knit items, I think acrylic is a good choice here. Plus, I’ve been lusting after those big skeins of cheap yarn.
Progress is amazing. I feel like Alice in Wonderland knitting with those number 13 needles and chunky yarn. But it’s also tiring moving the big needles around when one is used to number 2s.
OK, OK, here is a picture of the shawl so far. All 43 cm or 17 inches of it.
and other body parts. We have to come to an agreement if we plan to keep on living together. I’ll try to treat you nicer and you keep down the noise. Agreed?
Neck, I’m especially talking to you. The last few days you’re acting like you forgot how to hold up a head. You’ve done it the last 60 years, come on, did you forget? Am I not treating you right? Talk to me in other modes than pain please. I’m willing to listen. If you throw this pain my way you make it difficult for me to listen, all I want to do is scream and take pain pills.
And Back, thank you. 5 weeks of pain was enough and I got the message. But you, too, please don’t come down crashing so hard on me, gentle reminders will do it. And Back, one more thing, that drip water system needed to be put in. And yes, it involved lots of bending down and all and yes, you’re 60 now, but come on, give me a little slack.
Neck, you did see what I made for you, right? Isn’t it lovely? So start treating me that way. And please do stretch a little instead of hiding between my shoulders, the shawl will look so much better that way. You know, the way Toby does it. He is a role model to all necks around the world.
This was an interesting pattern. Like with most patterns that say read through the directions first, I ignored these words and headed right to cast on. I mean what could go wrong? I can knit and purl and do yarn overs and cast on and off. I can knit 2 together, even through the back loop. I can weave in the ends, I might not like it, but I can do it.
I did read enough about the pattern to know I might not have enough yarn. So I improvised and reversed main and contrast colors at some point.
Then I came to the part of changing directions in knitting. I can do that, too. But the math seemed wrong somehow. I did what I do best in times of trouble, eyes squeezed shut I knit on, one row at a time. If I follow the directions all should be fine. Most of the time this works, not always just mostly, but I have to give it a try. It worked this time. I now realize my math mistake, but calculating while knitting is not my strong point.
What has me flabbergasted is all the yarn I have left over. And I did recount the repeats and am good there. I don’t knit too tight, so that’s not an explanation either. For now I’ll have to let that one go and enjoy the shawl.
I love summer! It’s the vegetables. So many, so colorful, so tasty. At every meal Stephen recites what on the table is from our garden.
At the same time I’m starting to be sad because I know it’s coming to an end. We had an early start this year. Probably has everything to do with the drought. Early start, earlier ending.
There is a wind at times and a little yellowing of the leaves that has nothing to do with nitrogen deficiency. The pile of tomatoes on the counter is getting smaller. We are getting caught up. Eventually there will not be enough.
I’m not a preserver. It’s just not my thing. And, I don’t have enough veggies in the garden to do that.
But I do cook and have a look at dinner the other night before the tomatoes were added.
On the Halloween gnome front, progress has been made. It’s becoming tedious. There must be a lesson in there somewhere.
The flash went off while taking the picture and it turned the purple into blue. I have a long way to go.
Last night we watched a movie on netflix that is still haunting me. The movie is called “Die Welle” or “The Wave” in English. It’s set in modern day Germany and adapted from a real life occurrence at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto in 1967.
Being born in Germany puts lots of history in the baggage I carry around. I want to believe that if by chance I end up in a social experiment I would act in a way that would make me proud. But that is hubris, right?
In the movie last night I could see myself for the first time not necessarily being a hero. The most chilling scene was the students marching in place and in step to disturb the students below. A lesson in how to create an enemy. I highly recommend watching it.
It used to be that I had bad days. As I get older these days draw out and it’s more like bad weeks. I’m in the middle of such a period right now.
The latest happened exactly two weeks ago when I reached into our cooler and ended up in agony on the floor with lower back spasms.
I know from experience that if I don’t break the spasm cycle I’ll be out for weeks. So instead of heading to San Francisco, we head to the hospital. A couple of shots later, I barely make it out to the car. For everyone who’s had that, you know. For the rest of you, light a candle to the higher being of your choice.
Self-medicated me then heads from San Jose to San Francisco, where we had arranged a house exchange for a few days.
If you saw a woman the next day bent over like a 110-year-old or someone who’d lost their contact lenses, walking toward Imagiknit, you guessed right, that was me. But it also was the last time you saw me on the streets of San Francisco. Though Imagiknit is only a few blocks away from our house exchange gig, I never made it back as I promised. Instead, I tested out the comfort of their couch. All 5 days.
As any knitter will know, I had along so many knitting projects and yarn, I could have stayed there the rest of the year. Also, it’s no fun knitting on your back. I have no idea how the time washed over me, mostly in a daze or asleep from the medication.
Totally in awe of myself, we somehow made it back home. And exactly two weeks after the cooler incident I’m still in pain, on heavy-duty doctor-approved pain medication and in my chair in front of the computer for the first time today.
You’re caught up. I wish we could catch up with our tomato abundance. At the time I took the photo I was delusional, thinking this was a lot of tomatoes. We have at least three times as much now, and they keep on ripening at a pace I can’t even walk at.
The tomato below is a deep purple-red, fleshy and exquisite.
When something happens, something unexpected, I usually find out that I’m not alone. Thanks to the interwebs I find my experiences duplicated over and over.
A few weeks ago a friend and I were chatting in our living room when we heard the strangest of noises. To be honest, neither of us had any idea what it was nor had ever heard such a sound before. We did eventually figure out it came from outside. And this is what we found:
It turns out that exploding patio tables are not all that rare. We’ve had this one long enough I don’t mind having to get a new one. In wood, please. Imagine sitting at the table eating when this happens.
In other news, I put in a drip system in the garden, probably contributing to the back issue. It would have been so much easier to do with starter plants, but always going for the hard way, I was digging around mature plants trying to find their stems and the right placing of the drip in 100-plus degree heat.
No pictures of knitting today? I finished a hitchhiker shawl made with Wollmeise yarn, ok, the ends need weaving in, but who’s looking right now. I finished a pair of socks, again, I have to close up the toes. There just might be 5 pairs of socks needing a similar finish. I feel the holidays starting to breathe down my neck.
This pony is also learning a new trick, toe-up socks. Got some Socks That Rock heavyweight yarn. The problem is that the pattern Spice Man from Yarnissima I’m using doesn’t accommodate the thick yarn. I’m making it up as I go. And I’ve reached a point of stuckness. I have no idea what the pattern is talking about. Where do I do the decreases? The solution is making another pair of socks in thin sock yarn and following exact directions so I can tell where the decrease happens. For sure not where I tried to put it. As my friend Meg says, there’s got to be someone out there who is contorted enough that it will fit. Meg, I don’t think that holds true. At least not with anyone I know.
Someone recently asked about a baby sock pattern. I just scale down my go-to sock pattern. I love the littleness and cuteness. And did I mention they are super-quick to make?!
Confession time. I got more fiber to spin. But I have a good excuse, really. I love Inglenook Fibers. And my first ever hand-spun hand-knit item left me a few yards short. Probably because I can’t spin exquisitely thin yarn yet. I’ve been looking for months to find a fiber that I could finish the cowl with and finally: success!
Time to get off this chair and into something more comfortable.
This is not the first time I write about the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of creating colorful and fantastic sand mandalas only to destroy them afterwards to show the transitory nature of the material world.
Well, I thought I understood this lesson the first time around, so why did I have to destroy months of work? This is much bigger than the sand mandala that can be made in a few days. But I don’t want to quibble, a lesson is a lesson and supposedly good for me. Eventually I will understand, right?
This time at least it had nothing to do with knitting. That is coming along as splendidly as the summer heat allows. For reasons other than total insanity I’m knitting with acrylic yarn. Yes, plastic. And I’m not sure if the heat or the plastic are making my hands sweat, but that yarn clings to me like a leech. It does not slide across my fingers. A very yucky feeling. If I weren’t a yarn snob already, this would convert me. But stop, does the wool yarn slide in these temperatures?
For now enjoy a picture of crochet items that eventually will form a garland. No, I did not make them all, it was and still is a group project.
The Hotshots went to their first fire in Southern California and are back already. I managed to break my toe at the lake and still suffer while walking. Apparently it’s going to be swollen for the long run.
My 60th birthday came and went without major disasters. I managed to dance and have lots of fun, but not enough visiting with friends. Perhaps I should not drink that much next time. Oh, wait, there will be no next time, 60 only comes around once.
The garden has been growing. Not as much as I would like, that would take serious fertilizing. I have neither green thumb nor green mind to really know what would make the veggies take off. Veggies and I seem to have a truce and try to get along. So far we have harvested a bunch of zucchini and are watching the tomatoes getting bigger but not redder. There is still lots of time and it’s just my impatience.
My Tomato Jungle
Look to the very left and you’ll see the tomatoes. Also notice that we’re not watering anything else but the veggies.
Yes, it’s because of the drought. Yet I believe all of us could water what we want in our gardens and it would have no negative effect on the water situation. What would make a difference is big agribusiness and their water use. Having been subsidized for decades they put in watering systems that make absolutely no sense in this state or world. Watering during daytime and over a big area, compared to drip irrigation or something similar, lots of water evaporates and puff, all gone. OK, whatever. The sooner this planet is without us, the better for it. So go use it up! Oil, water, whatever your heart desires.
I’m glad I took pictures of the garden a while ago, otherwise I would swear there was no difference. Obviously I can be wrong. It’s like knitting. You knit and knit and that damn thing does not grow. And all of a sudden, oops, you’ve got a few rows too many. Compare it to all the tomatoes that get ripe all of a sudden. You wished for them but now there are too many. OK, lame comparison.
Knit in Public Day went so-so. I loved sitting on the boardwalk and having some wonderful experiences. But the masses I was expecting to follow the treasure map through town were otherwise occupied. I need a world view adjustment. Most people don’t knit. They think it looks cool, or at least they say so, but will have nothing to do with it.
Does this mean I will give up? Noooooooooooo. Got to start on a younger crowd. When colors and sparkles are still fun and there is time for play. Perhaps I’ll sit outside and invite the younger generation.
Where did I sit? On what’s called the Boardwalk or Parklet. But parklet reminds me too much of piglet. Here is a picture that I found online, but I’ll give credit to Mr. Hart from The Union, a local paper.
Now imagine, what I consider to be the most beautiful part of town is considered an eyesore by others. They say this is not historical. Really? Are we not going to leave any history behind? Too busy protecting someone else’s history? I therefore call this part of town the hysterical district instead of historical district.
It’s so appropriate, I have to show you another borrowed picture. Most likely from the same photographer, but I can’t guarantee that. A before and after picture. And believe it or not the history buffs in our town like the before. They are so angry with the lights across the street they had them removed.
They are working on removing the wooden boardwalk too. They prefer parking spaces. Makes one speechless.
A little facebook rant and I’ll get out of your face for today. I’m not on facebook anymore; being a control freak, it did not suit my needs. Instead of getting happy birthday greetings directly, I got them through Stephen’s facebook page. I’ve not changed my email over a decade, so there is no excuse.
So what makes people take the time to write to Stephen to wish me a happy birthday instead of writing it to me? What’s the message?
A little knitting news. My birthday got me some yarn and lots of promises for yarn. People get it: I LOVE YARN AND FIBER!
I have not used up my birthday money. But I have been spending time online making plans. Big plans!
In the meantime I’m settling for another Hitchhiker with Wollmeise.
Oh, oh, a movie recommendation. It’s a documentary and fits right in with the World Cup. The name: The Two Escobars, streams through Netflix. It’s the story of Colombia and Soccer. I had no idea! I remember watching that particular World Cup, after all it was not all that long ago: 1994. But I had no idea! How could I have been so blind, so ignorant and downright dumb? Is that how evil happens in history? Obviously it helps to know.
That movie also reminded me how sanitized our media is now with images. And how real life and movies don’t share anything. I’m stunned and I had no idea!
The good, was really good yesterday, I was able to visit Toby’s workplace. And everyone on his hotshot crew was extremely welcoming. I’ve never met a nicer bunch of guys, brings tears.
They even suggested a picture, and since I was able to hide behind a sign, I was all in.
The next part of the day did not go quite as well. I went to spindle camp, organized by someone in our guild, a retreat at Lake Francis. It started out fine enough, a bunch of women sitting together spinning and having fun. Then to the lake to cool off in the afternoon. Surprisingly the water was just the right temperature for me, a trick not easily accomplished.
As I cautiously, but not cautiously enough, dared walking further and further out into the lake, I slipped. There was this slimy band all around the lake and since one could not see bottom, it proved treacherous to me.
Just slipping would have been fine, but apparently my toes decided to go in various directions instead of the orderly let’s all do this together. And see the picture below to what I think is a broken toe.
Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Today was going to be a work day for me. Going around town and putting up flyers for the Knit-in-Public Day. Instead I have to relax and just hang out and give this foot a rest.
Knitting and spinning is on the agenda instead. Not bad, I only wish I could do this at spindle camp by the lake.
Don’t worry I won’t leave you with this ugly toe image on your mind. Instead check out my latest stash acquisition of Western Sky Knits yarns. I’m acquiring yarn faster than any Ferengi ever thought possible.
And with this image I wish you a wonderful and productive day, if not with knitting then with something equally wonderful you enjoy doing.
No pictures today. I switched computers and am trying to catch up learning this new computer and transferring or migrating all my stuff to here.I could dig deep and embarrass my kids with old photos, but I think I’ll keep my relationship with them.
I’m not one to praise myself but a while ago I took some damn good photos at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. My guess would be that unless your battery ran out, or you forgot your camera, you’ll get damn good photos.
Want to see?
Yesterday I picked up some goat and sheep poop for our garden from a friend. I can’t wait for the weekend to apply the manure. Who would have guessed I can get excited about shit.
I will not post pictures of the garden yet, there has to be a visible growth spurt before I share.
No knitting in a while. But a buying spree this weekend. With The Birthday coming up, I splurged some and then some and then some…. Perhaps Stephen should change his paypal password.
Some of my purchases should arrive this week and I’ll try to share at least photos with you.
Knit in Public Day coming up! What is everyone involved in for the day? Could I inveigle anyone? I love that word! I want to go around and inveigle everyone! No, I had no idea about this word before but I misspelled involved, a typo, but I had to hit the control key to get the right spelling and there it was, inveigling me, the word inveigle.
And before I totally fall apart, got to go and be productive.
Me, who has something to say about everything and anything, is speechless. How did this happen? Blogging is not easy I tell you.
First there is life that constantly gets in the way. Life that is not interesting enough to blog about. Do you really want to hear how not dealing with the garden in fall makes triple the work in spring now? Go and have the last laugh, yes, I’m paying for taking it easy back then.
You want to hear about my frustration of not being able to control myself? I don’t get it. I want to control everything and everyone that comes into my life, yet I fail with myself.
The list goes on and on and if I were a good writer I would give three examples. But I’m not and I don’t care. No need to undress myself any further in public.
Since this blog is very much fiber focused I should tell you lots of news since I have been knitting. One of the loveliest knits around is the Derecho by Laura Aylor. Though it’s big and work, it flew off the needles, so much so, I was very tempted and still am of making another one. I got over it though. Here is a picture in the making of it. Unfortunately we either had gray days or I was busy in the yard and forgot to take pictures. But this one gives a pretty good idea of what it is about: stripes.
Instead I bought a new pattern: Hitchhiker by Martina Behm. This was a pattern I was never, ever going to make since everybody and their aunt had made it. I’m a late-bloomer, there is a reason why. Unfortunately I only have the yarn to show for now. I used a Miss Babs Yowza skein, color Berlin, and knit away until I ran out of yarn. Since I am a loose knitter I only got 41 points. What can that mean?
Here’s a picture of the yarn with a picture of the actual object following in the next days when sun allows. I thought I was making this for myself but wanted to have a look at it on another person, usually Stephen at our house. He looked so handsome in it, it will be his.
I’m working on socks, lots of socks. Pictures at a later date, too.
Oh, almost forgot the best part in my life. Though I counted on it solving all my life’s problems, it came close, but no proverbial cigar, perhaps a cigarillo. We went to Ikea to get my yarn shelves. Three of them. You know the ones, shelves with cubicles. I now have a 4 by 4 and a couple of 2 by 4s. The problem is the yarn keeps on falling off the shelves since I pack it all in plastic because of the possibility of dreaded moths. And I must have moths. An item I had not looked at for almost 8 years or more had holes. Who else but moths. But no sign of them, well, except for the holes.
The next purchase was little plastic tubs from Costco that fit into the cubicles. To be honest, to see that much yarn out scared me a little. I’m sure I’ll get over it, but it does incentivize me to use what I have. Of course I will never show that room but to other yarn addicts. And you all keep mum here, ok?! Otherwise I’ll never show you the pictures.
I’m part of a fiber guild in our area and host a knit night on Thursday evenings. That’s a happy making event for me. I’m enjoying it, anticipating it, even with the aftermath of clean-up which I delegate to Stephen. I could say lots about Stephen, and it would all be good. He is superman, so perhaps a knitted cape would be in order. But he is superman with lots of home made socks. That counts.
The fiber guild gets together one Saturday a month for spinning and other joys. Well, I started hosting the other Saturdays for now. I’m sitting around here knitting and spinning most days and it is a joy to get a break from Netflix streaming. Actual conversations I can participate in.
