i’m a wild child

 i am now, among other things the crazy cool-aid girl.  i needed more kool-aid to finish dyeing some yarn (pics to come later), but the box for the lemonade was empty!  with visions of under dyed yarn dancing in my head i feverishly, and a wee bit obsessively,  scrabbled among the boxes, peering at the back of the shelves, searching for the telltale neon yellow cardboard.  several brave boxes were lost as i thrust them aside, cursing the fact that they were merely blastin’ berry cherry.   finally, at the very end of the last row that i searched i came upon it, the sole box of lemonade.  i grabbed five packets and walked out, my head held high, leaving behind a shelf in a disarray and several perturbed shoppers.

and now for something completely different. someone i took a teen writing class with has decide to start a literary magazine. it looks as though it could be lots of fun for literature inclined children. to learn more go here

we got back yesterday, but before we got on the plane there were the usual security obstacles to be surmounted. we all identified that we were who we said we were and not shape-shifting mutants from the planet zorg, then we went through the metal detector and waited for our bags to be x-rayed. my bag was clean but my sister was subjected to the “hand-search’. when they opened up the front pocket they found pair of foot-long very sharp, very could-definitely-could-used-in-a-threatening-manner fabric scissors. how is it that the airport in albaquerque, home of little but chain stores and a few museums, had found what the security in our nations capitol, home of the president. (however i feel about his policy i wouldn’t want him assassinated, not only would it be incredibly sad, but cheney would be president)so, we spent all of these millions of dollars, and caused millions of people ot be harried and exasperated, so that a ten year old can sneak in a pair of scissors?

before this trip we had always religously checked our luggage for metal items, i didn’t pack mints in a metal tin, mom didn’t wear her clogs with the metal staples in the sole, but did any of that matter? we all fear the wrath of the tsa, but what if there is no wrath and only our fear? what if airport security is the world largest psychology experiment?

everyone is afraid of setting of the detectors and having something fishy show up on the x-ray, but i think that those machines aren’t what keeps people from bringing on restricted items, its the fear. we are all afraid of what will happen so we don’t do it. how effective is this going to be against a terrorist who isn’t afraid?

so, now that i have you all cowering under your beds and swearing never to fly again its time for a trip photo!

i think that this photo is clear evidence that a cult of monkey-worshippers is at work in the santa fe ski basin. we were stopping to take a break when i discovered this idol. not wanting to offend it we all tapped it on the head with our ski pole for good luck. i actually ended up bashing it quit hard, but the monkey god is merciful and did not smite me down

so, today it snowed even MORE! however, today’s snow is much superior to yesterday’s snow. if yesterday’s snow was god brushing out his dandruff today’s snow is god and the angels having a pillow fight. it was sooooooooo pretty. there were these enormous big fat flakes that looked all nice and puffy and soft.

Also, i think i have found the reason for our area’s lack of snow. we were in the car today and the weatherman was saying “this snow is all being caused by this system here, which will hopefully be gone by tomorrow.” EXCUSE ME! did he just say that hopefully the snow will be gone by tomorrow? i think he did. for me this shows just how confused people today are. they can’t think of snow as a magical, world-transforming, substance. they see it as an impediment to their commute. so, now all of those lovely pillowy flakes have turned grainy and icy, which snow has a tendency to do around here, but i’m blaming it on the weatherman.

today, at exactly 10:00 a.m i finished a bouncing baby sock. i think i shall name him norbert. The sock looks, considering my absolute lack of other sock experience, AMAZING! there are some funky bits around the toes where i picked up and decreased stitches rather awkwardly, but overall i love him.

yarn: shibui sock yarn in anime.

Pattern: i used knitty’s custom toe up sock calculator, but added my own details

notes: i added a tail-of-the-whale rib every 5 rows, and added ribbing on the bottom of the foot, the back of the leg, and the top of the sock. i also used the better-bind-off and loved it. it stretches but doesn’t look look lumpy, or stretch out the rib. i loved the yarn, but i do wish that there was more light green in it. however, the cool spiral-y thing that it did on the leg totally makes up for that. i also made the foot about a half an inch shorter than the calculator suggested. i figured out that the sock was to long after i turned the heel, and then had to frog the whole heel and stay up until 1:oo fixing it. so, if you think that the sock is too long trust yourself, not the pattern

i moaned and groan all the way through the sock, but now that it’s finished i think i am hooked. i can’t help it- looking down at my colorful foot, hopefully soon to be feet, makes me happy.

And on the subject of things that make me happy, yarn makes me happy- especially the 9,5 skeins of manos del uraguay yarn and the 900-something yards or bernat cameo that i was given yesterday. it was definitely a happy dance worthy occasion. Also, i learned that i’m not allergic to all wool (YAY), i’m just allergic to cheap wool.

today i looked out the window and suddenly saw that it was snowing, or as they would say in family circus “god was brushing out his dandruff”.  there were these big fat flakes swirling down and the sky was actually sunny.  even though there wasn’t any accumulation the air smells like snow, and just knowing that there was some makes me happy.

the other night i was taking of my shirt to get ready for bed when i swished my head around to free my hair. this would be completely normal except for the fact that i no longer have any hair. By now it is probably sitting in a landfill somewhere. this had been happening to me a lot lately. I slide the hairbrush down the back of my neck where there is now only razor stubble. the weirdest is when i feel hair around my face and unconsciously reach up the pull it back. Each time i grasp a handful of air there is a split-second of utter confusion as to why my hair is no longer there. i wonder if this will reverse itself as the hair grows back. will i end up only brushing half of my head?

( so, switching topics entirely. I FINALLY FOUND A SWEATER THAT FITS!!!!! and, ITS VINTAGE!!!!!!! okay, internet shouting over.)

yesterday was the first night i ever slept in my retro rocket rascal Pj’s. i had more grown up pajamas when i was five, but i love them. i used this flannel by micheal miller. oddly enough this appears to be the only place on the whole internet that sells it. i can’t see why. considering what an awesome product this is i would think that there would be a lot of demand. (but then again i thought that about the Nancy drew fabric and when i finally got around to ordering some they had gone out of business.) The pattern is one of my own design, made out of newspaper. i was soooooooooo happy with how the sleeve cap turned out, as i had tried once before and it looked like AWFUL, but this time everything fit together perfectly. my biggest problem was with the pants, i notched them in instead of out, leading to big wrinkles, but i’m sleeping in them not walking the runway so thats okay.

this isn’t the best picture, but if you look closely you can see the basics details. the front is a wrap top, each side snaps onto the other. the pants are draw-string waisted. at the moment they are held up with a piece of yarn because i haven’t been able to get to the fabric store.

there are certain things that should be knit- sweaters, hats, socks, mittens, gloves etc.- and there are certain things that were NEVER meant to be knit, but have been

Polo and tee shirts are by far the worst offenders.  While they are invariably well made and use tasteful colors, the fact of the matter is that polo shirts are made out of FABRIC! i have no problem with short sleeve sweaters because they have accepted that while they may share a first letter they will never truly be shirts. in kindergarten they teach you to embrace your differences, don’t be something you’re not. So, all of you out there who are about to knit up a stunningly realistic sweatshirt-remember those days where you ate glue with abandon and built skyscrapers out of blocks, and as you remember… put down your needles, put down your yarn, throw away that heretic pattern and go find yourselves a nice sweater.