Category Archives: Randonymity

Randonymity

Mysteries of the Supply Cabinet

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Bad day at work? Didn’t get that raise you wanted? Have no fear, the supply cabinet can help you end it all:

Yes, very puzzling, isn’t it? Why would a small regional telecommunications company have rope on the shelf below the pens and pencils?!! All we can come up with is, well, trimming staff levels through providing alternatives…

“I can’t bear to look… No one’s about to use the rope, are they?”

For any of my coworkers who are considering the rope as a viable alternative to continued employement here, let me offer these wise words from Dorothy Parker (who I just learned yesterday was a knitter!):Résumé

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

Project Spectrum, Randonymity, Those Cats

Is this the end of my Stashalong road?

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This week, while I was sick, several packages arrived for me at work. Three, to be exact. In the interest of not boring you to tears, the arrival excitement has been distilled down to this:

“Oh boy, someone sent me toys!” (shhhh… I’ll break it to him later that this isn’t for him…)

The first two packages were part of stuff swaps. I sent Anmiryam copies of some very obscure out-of-print patterns and she said she’d send me “something fun”! Indeed – it’s the gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill Supersock on the right below (color Dusk). Thanks, Anmiryam! (Please ignore the blob, which was not received in any of the aforementioned packages.)

After I got my new digital camera, I swapped my old digital camera with Eileen for “something fun.” What she sent me is on the left side of the picture above. (Mostly – the two amazingly decadent looking Legacy Chocolates truffles are tucked into my freezer, waiting my return to tiptop health.) Near the top, you will note a lovely reddish-pinkish ball of Cherry Tree Hill laceweight mohair silk, which will handily take care of the first color challenge (red & pink) in Project Spectrum!

The pattern and Clown sock yarn are for a sock yarn baby sweater – I’m on a quest to find the perfect sock yarn baby sweater, as Eileen is well aware, since that quest led to our “meeting” here in blogland! Additionally, that Clown sock yarn might take care of the second Project Spectrum color challenge (orange & yellow). Bless you, Eileen!

“This isn’t really what I thought a Clown was. How puzzling…”

And the last package… Well, Kim, this is the one that might have me out of Stashalong. Two skeins of black Brooks Fiber Farm Four Play wool silk blend.

I had five skeins of this yarn, ordered at the end of December with the rough idea of making a sweater for myself from it at some point and without realizing that I had the bare minimum yardage to make a sweater from it. When I started swatching for the Hourglass Sweater (my project in the Knitting Olympics), I started with yarns that I had plenty of in my stash. Alas, I either couldn’t get gauge or couldn’t get a pleasing fabric with those yarns. Finally I wound up a skein of the Four Play, swatched, and knew I would be using it for this project.

By the pattern, I would have exactly enough yarn for the sweater. Unfortunately, even the pattern corrections mentioned that some people found themselves running significantly short on yarn… Oh oh. When Kim posted a list of Stashalong clarifications, I thought, well, maybe it would be ok… I contacted Brooks Fiber Farm to see if they had any skeins of the same dye lot left. They did, but just two or three, making it pretty much then or never to get more yarn for this project… So I ordered it.

Do I stay or do I go?

Randonymity

Captivated

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I braved Lucky Elevator #13 for this post…

For the past several months, I’ve been pondering a new addition to the elevators of the nine-story (including basement) building in which I work… tv. Yup. Little flatscreen tvs in the elevators, complete with informative blurbettes, commercials, the weather, stocks…

Fortunately, there’s no sound… yet. The “Captivate Network” is obviously playing on the “captive” audience of elevator riders. But really, maybe this would be more effective in a taller building?!

Sorry, no Chaos picture… I’m at work and it’s just too crazy being back after being out for the past few days. He sends his regards.

Randonymity, Those Cats

Seventh son of a seventh son…

23 Comments

I was tagged by RoxyKnits, so here’s another meme (my definition: mind virus, spreading from person to person with amazing ease). New policy, as inspired by the oh-so-clever Imbrium – I’m not tagging anyone. If it sounds fun, go for it. We all need fresh blog fodder at some point, right?!

Seven Things to Do Before I Die (shamelessly lifted from my response to a previous meme)
1. Take a bicycling tour of Spain
2. Redo my kitchen
3. Learn Spanish (preferably before the first item on this list)
4. Complete my WIPs or admit that they’ll never be finished and rip them out
5. Bike across the United States – probably in stages
6. Meet someone I want to go out on more than one or two dates with
7. Become an exceptional knitter

Seven Things I Cannot Do
1. Tumbling – one of the great moments of high school was having mono and missing the tumbling unit one year
2. Get my blinds perfectly level – they all slope downhill to the right
3. Snap out of this ennui that has infected me for the past year or so
4. Get inspired to do home repairs or improvements – I would so rather hire it done
5. Break my addiction to Orville Redenbacher SmartPop! Kettle Korn
6. Eat bananas (ewwww)
7. Eat gluten (celiac disease)

Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging
1. The fabulous people I have “met” via blogging and have come to enjoy and care about in a remarkably short time
2. Gets me writing, which I’m good at but haven’t done for years (beyond dreary technical documentation for work)
3. Got me interested in learning more about digital photography to improve my skills
4. Snapped me out of my knitting slump
5. I feel as if I’m part of a community
6. Allows me to express the “storyteller/entertainer” part of my self
7. Gives me something extremely interesting to do while I’m waiting for boring queries to run at work

Seven Things I Say Most Often
1. Get off the table!
2. Why are you meowing at me?!!
3. Where is SRM?!
4. It’s data entry, not rocket science.
5. Is it Friday yet?
6. I’ll have a large soy mocha, no whip, no bean.
7. No cats on the table!

Seven Books That I Love
1. White Noise – Don Delillo
2. High Tide in Tucson – Barbara Kingsolver
3. His Dark Materials (a trilogy) – Philip Pullman
4. the ever-increasing Newford books – Charles de Lint
5. Bellwether – Connie Willis (hysterical, yet led to one of the best discussions ever at my bookclub – because everything was on topic)
6. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King (she makes Sherlock Holmes sexy!)
7. Blue Jelly – Debby Bull

Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again
1. The Matrix (original)
2. Fight Club
3. The Princess Bride
4. The Fifth Element
5. Amelie
6. Playing by Heart
7. The Crow

Ok, this was a completely separate meme from Hedgeblog, but since it has the seven thing going for it… “List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now.”
1. Little Drop of Poison – Tom Waits (from the Shrek 2 soundtrack)
2. Drinking Again – Haley Bonar
3. Attagirl – Bettie Serveert
4. I Need Some Sleep – The Eels (from the Shrek 2 soundtrack)
5. Lie Detector Test – Sage Francis
6. Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It – Belle & Sebastian
7. Interstate 5 – The Wedding Present

Yes another meme, this time from StrangeLittleMama… Modified to fit the theme of sevens, of course.
TenSeven Things My Friends Like That I Don’t
1. Watching TV
2. Doing home projects
3. Going out to bars
4. Bananas
5. RPG games
6. Gardening
7. Running

And if you made it all the way to the end up that, your reward is… a gratuitous Chaos picture! (Gosh, what a surprise.)

Randonymity

Info on my circular knitting needle case

18 Comments

When I posted about my beloved circular knitting needle case earlier in the month, a few people were interested in more information.

At the time, I wasn’t sure where to get the cases, since Happy Bags, Etc, doesn’t have a web page. Jeanne originally found these bags at Knit on Pearl in Jackson, Wyoming, and I called and ordered mine from them, too. However, I got the last one they had and they didn’t have information on how to get more.

In October 2004 I stopped at Village Wools in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and discovered that they carried these knitting needle cases. Recently, the inimitable ScoutJ started to work at Village Wools and was able to confirm that they do still carry these! Apparently the bags are made by a local woman.

Anyway, if you are interested in purchasing one of the bags, you can call Village Wools at 505-883-2919. (I actually just called and ordered a second one in royal blue…) The cases are $35.00 plus shipping and come in a few different colors – I think it was red, purple, teal, and royal blue.

Plus, I got to talk to Scout (aka Jamie if you’re calling the store)!!! How cool was that?

Randonymity, Those Cats

By special request, with rambling

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CynCyn wanted to see a better picture of adult Diablo and his “horns,” which have faded to a very pale grey. I don’t have that many pictures of D, but I think you can sort of see the horns in this picture:

Here’s a picture of Riley and Diablo from last summer. Nope, my brother wasn’t trying to make pressed cats… can you figure out what they were up to?

I’ve been haunted all week by discovering that poor RoxyKnits put a Chibi needle entirely through her finger and out again. Ouch!! To give you a better idea of how horrifying this is, I’ve included this picture:

Notice how large and blunt that needle is?!

I’m a bit happier today with the not-so-red Anne Jaywalker – the fuschia had vanished for a few inches, but now it’s back.

Before I do any swatching, I’m going to knit a hat – Coldwater Collaborative is collecting hand knit adult sized hats, scarves, mittens, or socks to donate to People, Inc., for mentally ill homeless adults. (You might remember that one of my goals for the year is to knit more for the community – this seems like a very worthy project.) I’m using some Lamb’s Pride Superwash that I dyed with Wilton’s icing colors – it’s been a while, but I think I used Leaf Green, Sky Blue, Royal Blue, and Violet:


“I can’t decide – do you think it brings out the green in my eye?”

KellieN of Australia, who’s been reading this blog since day one, has just started her own blog! So, Kellie, we haven’t heard anything about a Team Australia for the Knitting Olympics yet…Edit: Thanks to mrspao for creating a Team Midwest button for us! Check it out!
Knitting, Randonymity

As my mind flits hither and thither

24 Comments

It’s just one of those really unfocused days… You know the saying “she jumped on her horse and rode madly off in all directions”? That’s me today. You have been warned.

First, some knitting.

(“Where are the cat pictures? What’s with this knitting stuff? I’m here for cat pictures!”)

Ok, Snowball, how about a quick cat story instead?? I forgot one very important part of yesterday’s tale. When the kittens were born, it was very obvious that Diablo was a boy. Very obvious. No question at all. None. Chaos/Hoho didn’t look like that at all. So, we figured we had a little black girl kitten, who would grow up to be just like her mom… until about week eight, when they arrived. Oh. My. I guess the kittens weren’t quite as perfectly Yin and Yang as we’d first thought.

Back to the knitting. I’d like to get some feedback on my not-so-red Anne Jaywalker. I’m not sure I’m loving how it’s knitting up. What do you think? Of course, in the interest of self-preservation, it took a lovely photograph.

Anmiryam has been staying very focused in the comments, always asking for more detail about what I’m tossing around for the Knitting Olympics. (I know that she’s looking for ideas for her Olympic project – if you have something especially in mind for her, you should definitely drop by and let her know.)

Edit: mrspao has created a brilliant button for Team GB! (Hmm. I wonder if I could move in time to use it??) If you’re a British knitter and have been contemplating the Knitting Olympics, now you’ll be able to proudly compete againt Team Canada.

Um, I briefly contemplated an Eris pullover, but after some swatching, it turns out I don’t have enough of anything in the right gauge in my stash. Since I’m in Stashalong, that takes Eris right out of the running. (Hi Kim! I haven’t purchased any yarn since December 31, 2005… alas, it was delivered last week, so I don’t have that to look forward to anymore.)

Some other things I’ve been tossing around… I have a Woodlands Tunic kit from several years ago. The yarn with the kit is scratchy, lanoliny, purple Briggs & Little stuff. I so do not like lanoliny yarn. I might bathe the skeins this weekend and see if that helps. Oh, and the pattern no longer really appeals to me. But other than that…

The St. Seraphine Knits Simply Stunning Lace Shawl. It’s knit from the point up, so I can use up all of whatever yarn I pick. It’s more complicated lace than I have ever done. I wouldn’t be able to read while knitting it. I have 500 yards of black/green/blue Brooks Farm Harmony or 800 yards of a laceweight black/grey silk – neither of which will make a very big shawl.

The Hourglass Sweater (I am apparently the only knitter in the blogospher who hasn’t knitted this yet). It’s a simple sweater, but looking back over my project list, the fastest I’ve finished any sweater is one month – and that was from bulky yarn in the round. I have some black Brooks Farm Four Play (I just love the name of that yarn – so clever!) that I have to swatch to see if I can get gauge. I also have enough Dale Svale in black or lavendar for this sweater, if I can get gauge.

So, this will be a swatching weekend (it’s all training, right?!). Doesn’t that sound fun, Chaos?

Randonymity

Four score

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Tagged by Lynda. I don’t think I’ve done this one before, but they’re starting to blur…

Four Jobs You’ve Had
1. Motel maid (two days)
2. Medic (91-A), US Army Reserve and Minnesota National Guard
3. Timber marker and fire fighter, US Forest Service
4. Senior systems analyst for a small regional telecommunications company (current)

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
1. The Matrix (original)
2. Amelie
3. The Fifth Element
4. As Good As It Gets

Four Places You’ve Lived
1. Orlando, Florida
2. Hill City, South Dakota
3. Itasca State Park, Minnesota
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota (current)

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch
Um, I don’t watch any TV shows and haven’t for several years – so this will be TV shows I used to watch.
1. The X-Files
2. Ally McBeal
3. Star Trek Deep Space Nine
4. The Simpsons

I’m adding this one to offset the TV-centric question above – Four of Your Favorite Books
1. To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis (or Bellwether by Connie Willis)
2. Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint
3. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Four Places You’ve Been On Vacation
1. Seattle/Olympic Peninsula/Vancouver, British Columbia
2. Sante Fe and Taos, New Mexico
3. Hill City, South Dakota (the Black Hills)
4. Glacier National Park, Montana

Four Websites You Visit Daily
1. Bloglines (you can see how out-of-hand this is by looking at the bottom of my sidebar)
2. Google
3+. Well, #1 covers lots more sites…

Four of Your Favorite Foods
1. Chipotle chicken bowl
2. Chiang Mai garlic pepper stirfry
3. My own gluten-free pizza
4. Tum Rup Thai green curry stirfry

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. On my bicycle in Spain
2. On a warm, sunny beach in Mexico
3. Taos and Sante Fe
4. At a cozy knitting retreat

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging
1. Jeanne (I keep trying…)
2. Mama_Tulip
3. “me” from Bermuda
4. RheLynn

And for today’s gratuitous cat picture, here’s Chaos with his beloved sparkly red mouse (please leave a comment if you know where sparkly red mouse has gone – things are very sad around here right now) on one of my favorite knitted items ever:

Randonymity, Reading

I have crushes on fictional characters…

35 Comments

Yes indeed, I have crushes on some fictional characters. I’m not talking about characters in tv shows or movies, but about characters in books. Characters described by the author, but whose final form exists only in my imagination.

Come on, admit it – if you read, then you do, too.

One of my particular favorites is “Roarke” from the Eve Dallas mysteries by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. Roarke’s a way sexy bazillionaire who lives in NYC, circa 2059. Here’s a description from Origin in Death:

His face – the strength, power, and yes, the beauty of a fallen angel with no regrets – was framed by the thick black of his hair. His mouth – full, carved, irresistible – smiled as he came toward her. And those eyes – impossibly, brilliantly blue…

Ok, that reads a little trashier out of context than in… wait, who am I kidding? Sheesh, it leads to several pages of steaminess. *fans self* Trash all the way, baby.

My other particular favorite is “Ranger” from the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich. (Are you noticing a naming trend here?!) Ranger’s a bounty hunter/man of mystery in Trenton, NJ, described in High Five as follows:

Ranger’s…features are Anglo, his eyes are Latino, his skin is the color of a mocha latte, and his body is as good as a body can get. He had his black hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was wearing a black T-shirt that fit him like a tattoo and black SWAT pants tucked into black high-top boots.

Why, yes, I would be a sucker for the tall, dark, lean, and handsome bad boy type. How’d you guess?

Any fictional favorites you’d care to share? Hmm?