Runs With Needles

Distraction

My Internet connection is wonky tonight, so I have no pictures to share. Instead, I will attempt to distract you with other topics.

I've been leaving one word comments on other blogs, so figure I should post this here:

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me — it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

I haven't done this in ages, so here's Friday's Feast:

Appetizer
What is a word that you use that would not be considered common?
Befuddled. I think I use it more in email that in speaking, though.

Soup
What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?
At home: The Far Side
At work: Dilbert and George Carlin

Salad
Name 3 people you speak with by telephone a regular basis.
I'm not a phone girl at all. I don't generally enjoy talking on the phone. I'd rather email or IM.

But, to answer the question, I would say my parents (that's two people!) and my customers at work. That may be why I'm not a phone girl: I'm a slave to the phone at work all day and don't care to be near a phone once I get home.

Main Course
If you could buy a new outfit for someone you know - who would it be and what would you purchase for them?
What an odd question. I would say for my mom and I'd purchase whatever she wanted. She's a casual person, so it would probably be jeans and a polo shirt.

Dessert
What is the last beverage you drank?
I'm drinking Diet Pepsi right now.

Does anyone else ever get the urge to do something a little odd? For instance, has anyone else been so inspired by a show on The History Channel that you decide to memorize The Gettysburg Address?

No? Okay, nevermind.

The Weather Geeks are promising that the heat wave will break tomorrow. It's been in the 90's for a couple of weeks now and the forecast is for a high of 72 tomorrow.

I'll believe it when I see it.

posted by Kathy at 6/15/2006 11:23:00 PM | 7 comment(s)

My third pair of socks is finished!



What: My third pair of socks!
Yarn: Crazy Monkey yarn: less than ½ skein of each color.
Needles: 2
Pattern: Basic cuff down in stockinette stitch. 58 stitches, with heel on 29.
Lesson Learned: See below
Destination: Already in my sock drawer, waiting for fall

I’m going to knit socks with this pattern until I zero in on the perfect sock pattern for me. I’m making little tweaks with each pair that I knit. After just three pair of socks I’m close, but not there quite yet.

To review my lessons learned from my last pair of socks : “I lengthened the heel by adding more knit rows between decreases. Also, don’t decrease so much, or the heel gets pointy!”

These modifications worked well again and I made a couple more changes.

On the second sock I switched to the toe color much earlier than on the first sock:



I like the second sock’s toe better, so will continue to change colors earlier rather than later. The uneven toes would make Leisel’s head pop off, but I don’t mind. (Leisel is a bit of a perfectionist. I tease her endlessly about it, but I really find it quite charming.)

On the second sock I also made the sock a touch longer in the toe and also ended the toe on nine stitches instead of six. This change was subtle, but made the sock just a little more comfortable.

For the next pair of socks I’m going to move the location of the heel. It’s sitting a bit low:



I’m going to move it up a few rows and that should make the heel fit even better.

I cast on for the next pair of socks tonight and cast on 60 stitches instead of 58. That should make the socks just a hair looser on my big clown feet.

All in all, I’m really happy with these socks. I have to put them away until fall, but look forward to wearing them when the cool weather rolls around.



The Damn Heat Wave (yes, I’ve named it) continues so most of my free time is spent in front of the swamp cooler doing this:



Knitting socks and watching the puppy cam.

The dogs continue to enjoy the swamp cooler:



And the cool evening breezes:



Max, as always, keeps watch in the yard:



Kishka needs to learn that it’s too hot to sit in my lap!

posted by Kathy at 6/14/2006 10:58:00 PM | 7 comment(s)

Almost finished.

The second sock is almost finished. It just needs a heel:




More storm clouds tonight:




The storm didn't come this way, so the dogs were able to play outside:

posted by Kathy at 6/13/2006 12:05:00 AM | 5 comment(s)

Whole lotta knitting going on.

The beastly hot heat wave continues. What's a girl to do? Why, sit in front of the swamp cooler and knit!!



I should have this pair of socks finished within the next couple of days. Yay!

Last month I knitted some squares for Grace. Cynthia (Grace's aunt) held a drawing for people who sent in squares.

I won this!



It's handspun, hand-dyed yarn from The Gabby Knitter. It's gorgeous. The skein is 330 yards, so my question is: what should I do with it?

Blogless MJ and I both love Crazy Monkey yarn. We also both have a lot of it! We've been coveting each other's stash and decided to have a swap. I came home with this:



The dogs are the stars of this blog and frankly, it's going to their heads. So today, you get kitty pictures:

Here's Parker....




Here's Romeo....



Just as I was finishing up this post I looked out the window and saw this:



It looked the storm was going far north of here, so I left the bed linens out on the clothesline.

A few minutes later, it started pouring.

Looks like I'll be firing up the clothes dryer after all.

posted by Kathy at 6/11/2006 08:04:00 PM | 5 comment(s)

Slow and steady.

The second sock is coming along slowly. Here it is, posing with Almanzo Wilder:




There was a brief break in the heat wave tonight so I took advantage of it and cooked up a bunch of food:



There's a loaf of cheese bread, scalloped potatoes, fake fried chicken and lemon-lime-garlic-horseradish chicken. This will get me into next week. Yay! No cooking all weekend!


Max has been enjoying the new swamp cooler:




And so has Sam:




Parker refused to pose for the camera. Instead, he tried to head butt it:




I found this meme over at Kaffeinated Knits and it looked like fun:

Ode To Senior Year:

1. Who was your best friend?: Kristi, who I lost contact with about 14 years ago. We briefly reconnected via email a few years ago, but it just wasn't the same and we drifted apart again.

2. What sports did you play?: Yeah, right. I wasn't involved in sports at school, but skied several times a week during the winter.

3. What kind of car did you drive?: A red Toyota Tercel Corolla. This car was a hoot: in the winter it would freeze shut and I would have to climb in through the trunk. Winters are long in Michigan, so I would do the trunk dance for about five months out of the year. I didn't care, though. I was just so happy to have a car!

4. It's Friday night, where were you?: With my boyfriend.

5. Were you a party animal?: Not even close.

6. Were you considered a flirt?: Again, not even close.

7. Ever skip school?: Not even an hour. Yes, I was a good girl.

8. Ever smoke?: Not even a puff.

9. Were you a nerd?: I guess you could call it that. I was more like the girl who never, ever spoke in class.

10. Did you get suspended/expelled?: No, although I did get kicked out of the National Honor Society.

11. Can you sing the Alma Mater?: I'm assuming "Alma Mater" means the fight song and yes, I still can.

12. Who was your favorite teacher?: I don't think I had one. I can't remember one that stands out.

13. Favorite Class?: Math

14. What was your school's full name? Traverse City Senior High School, now called TC Central High School.

15. School Mascot?: Trojan. Yes, I've heard all the jokes.

16. Did you go to Prom?: Yes.

17. If you could go back and do it over, would you?: Hell, no. Not for all the sock yarn in the world.

18. What do you remember most about graduation?: That it was long, very long (I had over 700 kids in my class).

19. Favorite memory of your senior year?: Spring break with Kristi in the U.P. Say ya to da UP, eh?

20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall?: I have no idea what this means.

21. Did you have a job your senior year?: Yes, I was a line cook at a diner.

22. Who did you date?: My ex-husband.

23. Where did you go most often for lunch?: Home. (I lived a block away.)

24. Have you gained weight since then?: Oh my god, yes.

25. What did you do after graduation? : Two years of community college followed by two years of university.

26. When did you graduate?: 1990

posted by Kathy at 6/08/2006 11:50:00 PM | 4 comment(s)

I am speechless.

Have you ever seen something so unexpected and so bizarre that you can’t even begin to explain it to someone?

I was watching The Tonight Show last night and had such a moment.

Thank goodness for YouTube. I don’t have to try to describe it. You can just watch it yourself.


EDITED ON 6/8/06, 20:48

Blogless MJ let me know that my above link is gone. So, check out it out here,here,here,or here.

posted by Kathy at 6/07/2006 05:29:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

Summertime and the living is easy.......

I finally started the second sock.....




And this is my new best friend:




It's a portable swamp cooler and I am in love. It cools off a room (unlike fans) and humidifies the air (unlike AC). I've had it running for three days straight and I just may survive the summer.


I think my dogs are spoiled. What do you think?

posted by Kathy at 6/04/2006 10:18:00 PM | 3 comment(s)