Finished

I finished my self portrait for class. I don't like it completely but I don't know yet how to fix it not looking quite right. I look really stiff. My eyes might be a little big even though I tried to make them smaller last night. I don't know. I guess that's why I'm taking a class. To learn these things.

Drawing class

Class last night was great. We split up into pairs and we had to draw half person's face while they drew half your face. So we'd take turns drawing on the same paper. I have to admit, we looked pretty decent. She did a great job on the flowers that were on my sweater and I thought I did her eye really well. It's fun and the time goes fast. Now I remember why I like art classes. The feeling I have after class is well worth the time and money put into it. It makes me feel good and I always come out of class all bouncy.

On lack of motivation

It happens quite often. Fortunately I worked a lot yesterday. Tomorrow is another day.

Project overload

In addition to the shawl and socks and blanket that I have been working on, I now have a scarf, a hat and some new spinning going. When will this crazy merry-go-round existence end?

The Great Cat Chase of Ought Nine

I should have known. The day hadn't started out well anyway. I got to bed kind of late and then woke up in the middle of the night with a migraine then later woke up with bad stomach that kept me awake for 45 minutes. So when the alarm went off at 5:30 AM I wasn't too inclined to get up. But it was necessary. Two of my cats were scheduled to go to the vet to get fixed and that meant I had to catch them. You see, these cats were rescued and are still pretty wild. Picking them up is the tricky part. Once you are holding them, they calm down. Lately they've been hiding inside the couch just under the springs and so it's difficult to reach them. When I got up I went to the back porch and one of the cats was back there so I shut that door to trap him in the there. A few minutes later the other one came out from under the couch and I managed to chase him into the bathroom where I shut the door. I breathed a sigh of relief as I had imagined that to be the worst part of catching them.

First I tackled Rena. I managed to kind of trap him in a corner, and, wearing welding gloves, I picked him up spitting and clawing and biting and dumped him quickly into the cat carrier and quickly shut the door. Ah, life is good. One down, one to go. I took a break and sat and drank some coffee and watched the news. I'd catch the other cat, take a shower and be on my way.

I prepared myself with gloves and carefully going into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me. Shawn was there, hiding behind the toilet. I advanced and heard the hissing and as I put my hand close, the claws came out. He batted my fingers again and again. I was chasing him back and forth and so I tried to get him in a corner but it was no go. Then he jumped in the bathtub looking for a way out and I had him. I picked him up, holding him with both hands and I realized that I had forgotten my 3rd hand so I could get the door open again. So carefully with one gloved finger I got the doorknob turned without letting go the cat.

I went into the back porch and again the third hand would have been handy for I needed to pull that door shut behind me. I moved it as far as I could and thought 'oh, I just have to put him in the carrier so he shouldn't get away' Famous last words. Since he was still biting, I didn't want to hold him next to my body, I put him down with a hand on him to hold him while I opened the cat carrier. Oops, he got a grip on the carpet and he was struggling and got loose. As he ran around me to the open door I spun around, getting rug burns on the tops of my feet and my knee and he was gone. Back under the couch and I knew he wasn't coming out for any reason.
I cried. Since I live alone, there was no one to help me, no one that could easily come over and help that time of the morning and I had to go pick up my kids for school and get to work.

I picked myself up and got in the shower and got ready and as I got dressed I decided I had had it. The cat was coming out. I took all the cushions off the couch, tipped it on it's side and shook it and banged on it. One cat came out but it wasn't the right one. I looked inside the ripped backing and saw little cat eyes staring out at me. That's it! I grabbed my scissors and quickly snipped away the whole bottom backing of the couch. (the couch was used and free when I got it so that didn't bother me) And there he was, lurking. I grabbed him and went to the back porch, pulled the door shut with my toes and making sure he didn't get too close to floor, I kneeled down to open the cat carrier. My gloves made my fingers to clumsy to open it so I had to slip off the glove. Success! He had calmed down a bit from me holding him closer to my body and he went right in the carrier. I got the couch back in order and made it to work on time. Too much excitement in my life.

Almost

Almost forgot to blog! ;)

Last night

Last night I couldn't decide whether to try a drawing class or not. I'm glad I went. The class starts at 6 PM twice a week and although I have my doubts about my motivation I'm sure I won't regret it when I'm actually there. He said the supplies won't cost more than $30 so this will be by far the cheapest class I am taking. The fee refund I will get will nearly pay the tuition for the class so that's good as well. My younger son is interested in art so I'm looking forward to learning some things that I can share with him.

New semester

Ah, the smell of new textbooks, the empty pockets after you buy them, the new knowledge being crammed into your head. The new semester of college has started again and I'm happy. I love going to school and wish I could full time. Hopefully in a couple months I won't be all run down worrying about classes. Only two years of half time classes til I finish my degree.

Winter wonderland

It snowed Friday night. Really snowed. Cold and windy and blizzardy. Yes, I just made up that word. A good night to stay in and keep warm. The next day was beautiful. This is my back yard. Looks like a jungle out there.

The scone saga

Alternate title: Why you should follow instructions and why you shouldn't stir the dough so much.

I received a nice chocolate chip scone mix for Christmas so last night I decided to bake it because I wanted to eat it. So far, so good.
Since I have made scones from scratch many times before, I perused the instructions noting how much heavy cream to add and the oven temp needed. I turned on the oven, got out a nice bowl, dumping the mix into the bowl. I then carefully measured out the cup of half-n-half that the recipe called for. Wait, what? Yes, it called for heavy cream but all I could find at the store was half-n-half. When you make scones or biscuits (or any quick bread), you add the liquid all at once to the dry ingredients. I did so, then stirring gently I realized I was making soup and it was way too runny. You want the bread to actually stick together. I looked again at the recipe, actually reading the instructions. Ah ha, you are supposed to add 3/4 cup and stir and then add the rest if needed. Oh well, I'll just a little flour. And stir some more. Add some more flour. And stir some more. Just a little more flour for the right consistency. Stir some more. The further instructions say to flatten the dough and cut into wedges but I'm too lazy and decide to just make them drop scones. I bake them for the required length of time then take them out of the oven. Ah, they look good, smell good. I prepare a nice cup of tea and bring a couple scones to eat with my tea. I take a bite and remember why you are only supposed to stir them until moistened. My scones are like chewing on bagels. Great. Chocolate chip bagels.
I need a nap.

How can it change so quickly

I've spent this week feeling at loose ends and not having enough to occupy my time and I just realized that next week I start classes again and that means I will go back to wondering why I never have enough time to do everything. Is there no in between? Tomorrow I will have to buy books for class and get annoyed once again at how expensive the stupid things are. They better be interesting to read.

The furnace

My new little house has a total of 3 heaters. Ok, so far so good. It's the coldest time of the year and I have only 2 of them lit and I turn them down during the day when I'm gone. (Don't worry, the cats have fur coats to keep them warm) The problem is that one of them, if I turn it down too far, goes off. Then I have to light it in the evenings. Besides the fact that I'm all handy around the house knowing how to light pilot lights, it's annoying. Because even though I follow all the instructions and get it lit correctly, as soon as I turn up the thermostat, it goes on, then goes off. Then I have to light it again. Usually the 3rd time is the charm. Although I am all handy, that handiness doesn't extend to knowing what is wrong with the furnace or how to fix it. If I leave it up high, then it doesn't go off but that defeats the turning down the furnace when I'm gone to save money principle. Ah well, we'll see what happens. Spring is coming in 3 or 4 months, isn't it?

Purple Love Hat

Here is a hat I designed last summer. I don't have a picture as I gave it away but I'll try and get another one made real quick. Enjoy and let me know if there are any problems!

Purple Love Hat

Knit Picks, Swish Superwash, Bordeaux, 1 skein, 110 yards
Size 10 (6 mm) double pointed needles (5)

CO 80 stitches
Separate stitches with 20 stitches on each of 4 needles

Rib Pattern

Knitting in the round

1^st row (right side): *k3, p1, k3, p3: rep from * to end.

2^nd row: As 1^st row

3^rd row: As 1^st row

4^th row: Purl

Repeat these 4 rows one time

Knit 2 rounds

Lace panel
(worked over 20 stitches)

1^st row(right side): p2, k9, yo,k1,yo,k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, p2, k to end of round

2^nd and every alternate row: Knit

3^rd row: p2, k10, yo, k1, yo, k2, sl 1, k2tog, psso, p2, k to end of round

5^th row: p2, k3tog, k4, yo, k1, yo, k3, (yo, k1) twice, sl 1, k2tog, psso, p2, k to end of round

7^th row: p2, k3tog,k3, yo, k1, yo, k9, p2, k to end of round

9^th row: p2, k3 tog, k2, yo, k1, yo k10, p2, k to end of round

11^th row: p2, k3tog, (k1, yo) twice, k3 yo, k1, yo, k4, sl 1, k2tog, psso, p2, k to end of round

12^th row: Knit

Repeat these 12 rows once.

Decreasing
(k7, k2tog) around
knit
(k6, k2tog) around
knit
(k5, k2tog) around
knit
(k4, k2tog) around
knit
(k3, k2tog) around
knit
(k2, k2tog) around
knit
(k1, k2tog) around
knit
k2tog around

9 stitches left

Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches.
Pull tight and weave in ends.

Crazy psycho killer cats

The cats. Oh, where to begin. The cats are in my house. I received them from coworkers who had rescued them. That was oh so nice. But, the cats aren't exactly super people-friendly. In fact they still hiss at me when I start to get close and then run away if they can. I've held them all a few times but they are still hissy. They eat really well though, I feel like I'm trying to fill up the bottomless well of cat hunger. Not only do I have these three cats in my house, there are two outside that have a habit of jumping up to sit in the window on the outside. So I've been feeding them a little. They seem to be tamer than the ones I have inside. I'm sure crazy-cat-lady-dom is not far away.

That's it!

The sofa goes on the south side of the living room. I feel all cozy and comfortable in my new house. There was a brief moment of 'uh-oh' when one morning there was no hot water in the tub and it didn't drain either. But it has been rectified.
I've finished the Noro scarf and now just have to block it. A nice gift for someone.
I got a B+ in my difficult Geomorphology class. I'm very very very pleased with that.

And since I'm in a Christmassy sort of mood.....

One month since the last meeting.

And progress has been made. I have a sofa. It's a little broken down and doghaired but it's not bad at all. I'm still deciding exactly where to put it.
I have gotten the Noro for the scarf I was making. Progress is being made.
The 3 cats. You mean the psycho-killer-cats? The finger-chomping-killer cats? They've so far bit everyone that has tried to hold them. Including my mom who has a swelled up sore hand now from it. My finger swelled a little from the bite but not alarmingly so. It's going to take a long time to get the wild out of them I'm afraid.
Babette blanket is still in progress. I have finals next week and then hopefully I can work more on that.
I'm 3/4 of the way through two pillows made with my handspun. I'm very pleased with how they are looking.
I've finished 2 pair baby socks.
I knit a very tiny annoying-to-knit mitten but it looks good.
I knit two tiny hats for a gift.
And I started another pair of socks.
Seems like I knit more if I keep track of it.

I actually won something!

From IdealBite!
I'm excited!

I'm pathetic

I had to run an errand. So far so good. On the way back I stop to buy a Fuze. (delicious, by the way, I love them) So far, but not so good. I decided to buy some Christmas candy to share with the office, ok, not bad, sharing is good. But then in hit me. I wanted something else. Something lovely and delicious. Oh my, visions of Ben & Jerry's. Oh yum! But in my defense, at least I only bought the tine 3.6 oz one. That's just enough in my opinion.

She said I was tagged...

This one's easy, bold the books you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, leave the ones blank that you have no interest in.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye(J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64 - Interview With the Vampire
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91.The Skin of the Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I better get to reading.

Going along

Let this meeting now come to order. Any old business?
Socks from Knit Socks book. Completed and saved for Christmas gift, maybe.
Babette blanket, still working on it. It's looking good and will be nice if I ever get a couch.
The stole is where it was last time I mentioned it.
Road scarf, I'm still waiting to go to a real yarn store to get more Noro.
I've finished plying the wool and I've found a pattern to make a pillow cover so I think that will work nicely.
OK then, any new business?
I moved, more on that later.
I now have 3 kittens, more on that later.
I've knitted one pair of baby socks and am working another pair. No, I'm not pregnant.
I've also been spinning a bit.

I motion we adjourn.