No Tin Foil Hat Here

"You know what they call people who thinks everyone is out to get them?"

"Yeah, PERCEPTIVE".

It means I will move this blog to my own server, permanently. We all know how I feel about Google, and Google WiFi in particular... I could go off on a rant about the Goodness of People, and especially Corporations. Nobody is motivated by anything but their own self preservation. Maybe it comes across as cold-hearted and depressing, but it's what I believe. And I'm allright with it. Privacy is a personal matter to me, and not something I give away just for some measly free internet.

That doesn't mean I don't like to knit for people. I love it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and that's my reward. It's worth it.

After curbing the insane list of Votive Sleeve Christmas Present Recipients, it's down to the core family, and they are DONE!

The latest fun part of this project was making up names for the different color combinations. Marrakesh with turquoise, golds and blues are for my Gramma. Her favorite colors. Light dusty purples, browns and golds spell Victorian Harem. It's such an oxymoron I love that combo. The spherical candles look a little like boobers too, or maybe it's the picture composition...

Going to Pismo tomorrow. 3 hours of uninterrupted knitting, if my mind allows me.

Holiday is fucking over. It is there, and then poof it's gone. G.O.N.E. The months leading up to it with endless hours of work, then going through it, waking up every morning checking everything, sitting on pins and needles WAITING for shit to break. I'm glad it's over, now it's time to decompress, and I'm not entirely sure I know how to do that. But if we're lucky, we get to repeat it next year!

I mean to take this picture every year, this apartment complex do the tackiest Christmas decorations, but at night with the pool reflections, it is so nice... So California...

It's a frigging miracle I have finished the Christmas shopping. After an early treat...

Colder Than O-hi-o

Tell me about it. I had "snow" for one day (not even that); some flurries spread out over two. And then weather in the 50s.. Wtf is up with that??

Back to good old California and 30 degree weather. I kid you not.


It's Frosty the Audi at 7:30 a.m. Thank the Lord for bum warmers. Hell, I even use those in the summer.

San Francisco average temperature in the summer: 59 degrees.

There is still time to knit that damn shedir hat (Knitting funk is sustained indefinately..)



Frosty the park. Absolutely gorgeous leaves. I love the Bay Area in the Fall. (Ok, winter. It's mid-December and we still have leaves on our trees...)

Knitting Funk

It doesn't really stop at that, it's a complete Holiday Funk. I knew it was going to happen, spend two weeks in a strange town and a different state in December, living in a lifeless hotel room, et voila.

How do you fix it?

1. Glogg. (Special Blossa delivery from Sweden! Liquid gold nursed since last January. Divine. Add almonds and raisins.)
2. Nat King Cole.
3. Watch the Grinch and Rudolf, and sing-along. Out Loud.
   
4. Get awesome Holiday Cookies and the coolest home crafted holiday display from a great friend.
5. Find some colored lights and green wreath like things and hang them up.
6. Watch football. (No, that just comes with it being Sunday.)
7. Invite yourself to the above friends company holiday party and wear something SHINY. (Yes, my pants! At Rye.)

(Not necessarily in this order of course.)

Votive made from beads purchased in Buckeye state. One down, five trillion to go. Done before Christmas? Fuck no.



[Wednesday heart Mac.]

Morton's

Is not Mitchell's. But it's allright.

Last evening, and a Happy Holidays from Columbus and High Street!

Time to get ready.

Mmmitchell's

Abridged version:

No knitting done. None. Nada. Ingenting. Picture taking ditto.


Long version:

1. Hanging out at the FC where no daylight puts you in the cocoon where you will never ever see the sunset. Loads of fun. Awesome crew.

2. Went to the pub. O'Shaughnessy's.


3. Window shopping at the Easton mall. Absolutely gorgeous. I just wish there had been snow! Horse and carriage rides. (We had the worst possible service at PF Changs. Hello, My Name is Doorstop.)


4. Mmmmitchell's. What else is there to say, except, I could never be a vegetarian. A bloody steak and an excellent cabernet are close to orgasmic.



[Seems my linux box really ate shit this time. Will fix when I get home. Sigh.]

Day Two in OH

26 degrees in the morning. Nice and nippy.

Good breakfast.

Gratuitous Crafty picture.

The Only crafty thing today.

(And I'm three hours ahead. And used my mittens walking across the street for dinner today! Yey! Need to finish that hat, I can really use it...)

Waiting at O'Hare

It's not so bad when you have your knitting. The tough thing is to not nod off while waiting for the connecting flight to Columbus,OH.


It was dark when we arrived, and light when we left. With everything covered in a dusting of snow. Ah, Snow.


One day I want to visit Chicago for real. Especially in the winter. I love love love cold. And how many knitting benefits come with that?!?!?!?!





Gloomy but beautiful Chicago in the morning.

The Columbus leg was a hop, skip and a jump. We barely got up in the sky when we had to descend.

Encountered some flurries while driving to the office. It was 30 degrees all day, some wind, and a few flakes. Ah, Winter.

Spent the day at the office.

And couldn't believe it. There's a Michael's like half a mile from my hotel! Yeah ! Stocked up on colors I never saw at the Michael's at home.




The Bitty Bunz is alittle fuzzy as you'd expect from angora. The cables are not very defined, but I still love them. Used Eunny's idea of twisted stitches for definition, and it helps.

All in all, it's soft as a bunny's bottom.

RedHot

Arlo's favorite toy. It's been lost behind the bed for awhile, but he found it the other day. At the unplanned Vet's visit yesterday he was 89.1 lbs. Whoops, I guess he's almost 10 lbs heavier than I've been telling people (where they respond "Wow, he looks bigger"; and I just reply "it's mostly fluff"). Well apparantly there's more than fluff to him.


In the spirit of the title which I completely ripped off of our big sale event at work (mmmm cashmere..), and the fact that it's my favorite color, and that it's that season again when it's oh so popular, and the fact that two of the current knitting projects for myself are done with that color yarn, I decided to take some pictures of it.



The socks were made with some acrylic yarn back in '94, when we'd just moved to California, and I needed some pretty Christmas socks! I tried to tuck in the little frayed yarn pieces around the holes in both heels! Yes, they need to be darned!


Living room knitting corner. Complete fluke that the couch and the futon cover were the same color. The tapestry fabric was from a friend of mine who knows how to get samples, I just love that stuff. The super-swedish blanket (guess which one?!) was from my Aunt. Just so cute.


The every day things; work notebook, coffee cup (banged up by numerous intimate encounters with the San Francisco sidewalks), laptop sleeves and my favorite scarf. Still. Finished in 2000 or so, we still lived in the city is all I remember, so maybe '99.. Wore it this past week with the cold weather, and heard "OH, I thought it was machine knitted". Not sure how to take that comment?? But it came from one of the nicest and coolest innovative knitters I know, so I'll take it as a compliment! The pattern was from the Vogue scarf book (that little one), modified the pattern to a much smaller gauge, omitted the fringe, and hunted the yarn forever with the Neck Fondling Rule.


Since I am going to Ohio for work for almost two weeks I figured I needed a hat. No, it's not done, but the yarn name is just the cutest, and it's from Artfibers! Angora, wool and nylon. The beginnings of Shedir.



Well yeah, I should be packing since I'll be on a plane in five hours, but I know how to PRIORITIZE. Spent quite some time today making a list of projects to bring:

• Print O' the Waves Stole (not going to graft the middle, following MD advise! Brought a ton of pins so I can block it in the hotel room if it's finished in time, and sans dog hair, yey!)
• Votive sleeves (packed all the beads and wire!)
• Shedir

Free wireless in the hotel room, and wishing for some snow!!!