This 'N That And A Contest Winnah

Thanks to eight episodes of "Pillars Of The Earth", "The Social Network" and "The Kids Are All Right" (there's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back), Wheelchair Wrap #4 is finally done. Although it only took me two weeks to do this one it seemed more like two years. Maybe because I've done four in the last two months. That's a lotta crochet.

Now all I need to do is find a box big enough to pack four of these monsters in, put together a "Valentine's Day" box for one of the residents of the nursing home and ship it all off to South Dakota. And then my contribution to the Cohen Nursing Home Valentine's Day Celebration will be finished. February the Yahoo Elders group is supposed to be doing squares but fortunately I have a pile of squares already done. Except for the eight million ends that need to be woven in. I've also started a baby sweater but more on that another day.

The big winnah of the Happy Anniversary, Weaving Inn contest is WendyR3!. Congratulations, WendyR3, please send me the email address you'd like your Knit Picks gift certificate sent to. My email address is Sakkasie@hotmail.com

And finally, here's Doug, having a little Sunday afternoon nap. I so very much wish it wasn't Sunday night.

5 Years, 504 Posts

It's hard to believe. Five years of blogging. When I first got word of this "new" trend called blogging I thought it was the height of arrogance. You post stuff on the Internet about YOURSELF? Why in God's name would anyone, outside of your immediate family perhaps, want to read about you? And some people were doing it EVERY DAY. What the hell could they possibly find to talk about? Why would you want to read about people you didn't even know?

Jeebus, was I wrong. Although I haven't posted every day, I seem to have found plenty to talk about. Plus, way back in 2006, if you did any kind of craft it seemed to be de rigeur that you had a blog to display your creations. Or pictures of your cats.

Then Ravelry came along and seemed to take the wind out of the sails of a lot of bloggers. Why bother talking about your latest knitted hat on your blog when you could just post it on Ravelry where thousands of people resided? I miss Red Dog Knits. And Sock Pron. And hey, I don't even know those people!

So yeah, five years. To commemorate this momentous occasion I did two things today. Well I've done one so far. I caved in to the hype and bought a skein of Wollmeise on Ravelry. If you don't know what Wollmeise is, good for you. If you do, please tell me it's everything people say it is. Thing number two is, of course, a giveaway to celebrate my big blogging day. Leave a comment between now and 6pm PST tomorrow for a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Knit Picks. I don't get a lot of comments but I know there are people out there reading this silly bit of nonsense because my blog counter thinger tells me so. What have you got to lose?

Happy Anniversary, Weaving Inn.

Successful Stew

This food photography - not so easy. Going by the picture below you might be led to believe I've started eating dog food. Fear not. It's actually Slow Cooker Beef Stew. And it was good. Very good.

Beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and peas, num, num, num. I incorporated a number of suggestions from other people who had already made the recipe but next time I think I'll just prepare the recipe as it was exactly written. The only complaint I have is that it was a bit salty. But that may have been because I added a packet of McCormick's Slow Cooker Beef Stew seasoning as per one person's suggestion. I don't really care for those instant seasoning thingers, I always wonder what's REALLY in them.

Regardless, I managed to eat the entire pot over the course of a few days. Well not the ENTIRE pot - the ratties like beef stew too, ya know. I think this weekend might be chili weekend. Or maybe split pea soup. My Allrecipes queue is starting to rival my Ravelry queue.

Events Occur In Real Time

Alas, one of the great love stories of all time has come to an end. After eight years, Jack Bauer and I are no more. Last night I watched the final episode of 24's season 8 and now I am lost.

Jack, lost without me too.

Jack and I have been together longer than my marriage lasted. We were together when President Palmer was assassinated. I was there with him each time Jack uncovered another spy who had managed to infiltrate C.T.U.. Without exchanging a word, we both knew that President Logan was a scum sucking piece of filth. And not once did I ever say, "Jack, nuclear weapons AGAIN?"

Now he is gone. On the run from the Russians, leaving Chloe behind to protect his family (including his whiny daughter, Kim). I've returned the DVD to Netflix and cleaned up the wet Kleenexes. Life goes on. But I know, that until the day I die, all I'll have to do is close my eyes and his voice will come to me, "Damn it, I'm running out of time!"

Today's Blog Post ...

... is brought to you by the Mission Santa Clara.

The boyfriend's son has to do a project on two California missions. It's due in two weeks and it hasn't been started yet. So yesterday we took a trip to Mission Santa Clara, home not only to a very lovely mission but also Santa Clara University.

I didn't have my camera yesterday so I had to go back today and snap some pictures. I figured since the kid had already been to the Mission this wasn't technically "cheating." Although maybe he should have been the one to take the pictures. Oh well, what do I know about kids and school these days?

The Mission is surrounded by beautiful gardens which made me quite happy since I love to take pictures of flowers.

Unfortunately my camera takes horrible inside photos so I can't show you how gorgeous the Mission is inside. However, if you live in the area it's definitely worth a visit. The Mission is very popular for weddings although from what I understand you have to be affiliated with the University in some way to get married there.

On the way home we saw a church with a sign that read, "Prayer - God's Wireless Connection Without Roaming Charges". I like a church with a sense of humor.

Hey Meret

OMG, I actually blocked something!!!

Yeah, I'm surprised too. This is Meret from Woolly Wormhead. If you're not familiar with the name Woolly Wormhead, she is an amazing hat designer who has something like 140 designs on Ravelry. Meret shows up in 3500 queues. I'm a little late getting on this particular bandwagon.

I used Stonehedge Fiber Mill's Shepherd's Wool to make this. It's 100% wool and goes for the princely sum of $10.00 or thereabouts at Green Planet Yarn. 250 yards. It's a great deal. And it comes in lots of pretty colors. I wish all the little eyelets showed up better but I need a bigger blocking plate. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this pattern from start to finish. Which was good, considering how many times I had to tink back. It's been a while since I've done any lace knitting.

But here is my dilemma. Normally I make hats for the Rez. But they don't especially want lacy berets. Little cold there. I won't wear it. I don't wear hats, I just make them. So is there anyone out there in the Internets who would like a purple lacy beret? Anyone? Free of course. Leave a comment if you want it. Seriously.

Oops

It has been a prickly week, no doubt about it. Work is NOT going well and if I could jump ship right this instant, believe me, I would. But alas, there are cats, rats and fish that need food so I'm stuck here for now. Not to mention that my green card has expired so any job hunting is on hold until I come up with the $450.00 to renew it. So that's my excuse for not blogging for a week.

Last Sunday I actually made something in the crock pot! Yay, April! I made Meat Lover's Spaghetti Sauce. It was OK. Not great, but OK. I don't think I'll make it again though. Although I did learn that marjoram plus ground beef is a definite win. I don't know that I'm crazy about the way ground beef seems to separate into little tiny bits when it's cooked for a long period of time. I did brown it beforehand but still ... little tiny bits.

Tomorrow I'm making Slow Cooker Beef Stew. Isn't that exciting? But no celery, ick, I don't like celery in beef stew.

In knitting news, I'm working on Woolly Wormhead's Meret beret. I thought I was finished on Wednesday but then OOPS, screwed up on the decreases. I am soooo decrease challenged it's not even funny. I think the key, when knitting hats on 2 circs, is to switch to DPN's on the decreases even though you don't really need to. At least I hope that works for me. Also, chatting at Knit Night when you're doing decreases on a lace hat is never a good idea.

Win Win

I got a few balls of Wool Ease today ...

... and Andy got a new box.

It (the yarn, not Andy) was on sale at JoAnn's online for $2.49 a ball, compared to $3.29 regular price at Michael's. When you factor in the cost of shipping, it wasn't that great of a deal. However, all the Michael's around here carry the same 10 or 12 colors. And trust me, I've knit at least one project out of each of those colors. I wanted some new colors, damn it!

So I got two balls of navy and seven other assorted colors. Even the pinks are different although they don't really look it in my crummy photo. I think I got enough to make a few hats. That's if I ever finish Hat #2 of 52 which is coming along rather slowly. Which is to be expected I suppose since I'm knitting it on US 2's with fingering weight yarn. What the hell was I thinking? If you're doing a challenge you go with the fast and the furious, not the tiny needles, thin yarn routine. Here it is January 14th, I've made one hat and no crock pot meals. I am a 2011 failure.

Here We Go Again ...

Yes, it's another Wheelchair Wrap. Number three for those of you keeping count. This is my favorite one so far. I love the color of the yarn (Dusty Purple) and I think this particular yarn (Vanna's Choice) lends itself well to the pattern. It's very cuddly and squishy. However, I used an "I" hook instead of my regular "H" and the shawl is a little on the large side. Plus I ran out of yarn with one and a half rows left to crochet so I think I'm going back to an "H". Fascinating, I know.

One of my New Year's resolutions was to make at least one meal a week in the crock pot. Here it is the 12th of January and I've made squat. But all of that is going to change! CindyLouWho brought me this awesome cookbook tonight, all for my very own, and I'm excited!

There are like a bazillion recipes in this book, with multiple versions of some dishes. That way if you don't like Mary's take on chili, you can try Linda's. I really, really need to start cooking again; as much as I love Stouffers it's gettin' kind of old. And really, how much work is it to cook stuff in a crock pot?

And the gifts just kept on coming tonight at Knit Night. Kerry brought me three skeins of Wool-Ease which will make wonderful hats for the Rez. So hooray for good friends and another finished WIP!

Tuesday Tidbits

Not much to report today. Here's a scarf I finished last year. It seems like it took forever but according to my notes on Ravelry, it was about six weeks.

It's the Double Bump Scarf which I knit using Wisdom Yarn's "Poems". It's a relatively inexpensive yarn that tries to emulate Noro but without the extreme thick / thin thing that Noro has going on. Less roughage as well. The pattern was fun to do but I had a hard time watching TV and knitting it at the same time. But then, I'm kinda stupid like that. The pattern also makes a nice dishcloth if you're in need of a dishcloth.

Bought two more books on writing today on Amazon. Because I already own about 30 books on writing. Hope springs eternal and all that rot. But these are more "writing in your journal" oriented. I think I only have about 15 books on that subject.

And finally ... further proof that my being crowned "The Crazy Rat Lady" isn't far off - I went out for dinner tonight and got an extra order of mashed potatoes and gravy to take home for the rats. Yeah, I'm frightened too.

Fuzzies

Here are some better pictures of the fuzzlets. First up is Stevie!

Stevie is the braver of the two babies. He's especially fond of peanut M&M's and wrestling with his brother. I think he's going to grow up to be long and lean, unlike his chubby brother.

This is Jordi who's never met a meal he didn't like. Usually baby ratties are very cautious about trying new foods since, as we all know, rats can't vomit so what goes in, stays in. Since Jordi took up residence at Chez Insanity, he's had a steak bone, a chicken bone, peanut M&M's, yogis and some veggies. I'm hoping he grows up to a big squish.

In knitting news I'm working on Wheelchair Wraps 3 & 4 as well as Hat #2. It would appear I've gone from being a process knitter to a product knitter. I'm not so sure I like the change.

A Whole Lotta Fur

I can now say I know what 1,000 rats in one place looks (and smells) like. Rats upon rats upon rats. Big rats, baby rats, pregnant rats, one eyed rats, happy rats, not so happy rats. They were all at Andy's Pet Store last night. It was mind boggling.

Everywhere you turned there were piles of rats all sleeping on top of each other in over sized cages. Then there were the single cages with rats who didn't share well with others. And the babies. OMG, the babies. Most only one month old. When they're that young they look like full grown mice. Little widdle faces with skinny tails and bright pink noses. How could I resist?

Well so much for that New Year's resolution. Although, all things considered, I think I showed remarkable restraint. I adopted two and the boyfriend adopted one. I got the guy in the crappy picture above, he is now known as Little Stevie. He is a beautiful dark gray color with that adorable white blaze. His brother, who is Mr. Acrobat, has not been named yet. He is an agouti capped guy which I know means nothing to most of you. Think brown head, white body. The boyfriend got a blue/gray boy he named Willard, which is a really stupid name if you ask me.

When I left home this morning they were both buried under the bedding in their cage. At one month, they haven't developed any kind of fear with regard to humans so it won't take long to socialize them. Not to mention the fact that it's absolute joy just to hold them and kiss those pink noses. I am such a failure.

One Down, 51 To Go

Five days into the New Year and hat number one is done! I finished this last night at Knit Night. My apologies to Melissa and Cindy for not bringing my knitting bag with me and having to borrow uhhh ... stitch markers ... a pen ... scissors ... a darning needle. I mean really, how hopeless can one be? Anyway, this is Ellen's Knit Hat knit in Wool-Ease (of course). Originally it was going to be for The Ship's Project. Until I was half way finished, checked the FAQ for the The Ship's Project and read, "No solid gray hats." So off to the Rez it will go.

Today I am taking the boyfriend to court so he can sort out some child support crap. This trip will be fraught with peril. Not because he's going to jail or anything but because, two doors down from the courthouse, is where North Star Rescue is keeping 1,000 rats that they rescued from a hoarder in Southern California who is actually being featured on that A&E show. I have seen pictures of some of the rats in residence. They are beyond adorable. There is a maternity ward. With baby ratties. Baby ratties are cuter than kittens. Have I mentioned one of my New Year's resolutions was no more animal adoptions? I think that if I were to enter the building my head would explode. Wish me luck in finding the strength to go straight from the courthouse to my car.

We can always hope.

The Hat Of Much Sadness

I've knit a few hats in my knitting career. From Fair Isle to ribbed, from slouch to striped. I've even designed one or two. So could someone please explain to me why I'd ever be under the impression that 110 yards of worsted weight yarn would be enough for an adult size hat?

Here we have The Hat Of Much Sadness, aka The Hat Of Bad Planning aka The Hat Of Wishful Thinking. I really, really thought I'd have enough Crystal Palace Merino 5 (a lovely, albeit slippery, superwash yarn). But as I got about four inches into the pattern, (Rib-A-Roni, my current hat pattern obsession) I came to a shocking realization. I was going to run out of yarn. Shocking, I know.

I probably could have bought another skein with the same dye lot since I purchased this yarn less than a month ago. But noooooo, it had to be finished now. So I dug another yarn out of my stash and knit on. I even added a few rows of the Crystal Palace at the top to make it "look" as though this was what I'd planned all along. I also screwed up the decreases which is why Lydia is not modeling this particular hat.

Wove in all the ends and then realized. I'd just knit a hat with a combination of superwash and non-superwash wool. What is the point of THAT? Jeebus. Maybe I'll go back to scarves.

Wrap Deja Vu

Hey, it's like reading yesterday's post all over again. Yep, it's another Wheelchair Wrap. I love this pattern, can you tell? It's so ridiculously easy to do yet I think it makes quite a pretty shawl. I am ten rows away from finishing the third one and I have the yarn to make four more.

I used *cough*Red Heart Soft*cough* to make this one. Let me tell you, there's nothing "soft" about Red Heart Soft. Think boat twine with a sheen. But nursing homes seem to like acrylic and let me tell ya, this IS acrylic. I think, in the event of a nuclear blast, you could probably use this wrap as a shield. Because not only is it ickrylic, it weighs a flipping ton. Well perhaps not a ton, but it's heavy.

In other news, January 27th marks the 5th anniversary of this here blog. 5th? 4th? If I started it on Jan. 27th, 2006 is this the 5th anniversary? I'm not so good with the anniversary calculations. Anyways, I imagine there will be a contest. And then of course, next month is the birthday month which means I need to figure out some charity contest and oh my goodness, I think my head is going to explode from all this thinking.

Maybe I'll give away some rats! Like ... Celeste! Who has suddenly gotten all lumpy which means a trip to the vet. As some of you may recall, Celeste is the Holy Terror of my Rat Pack and was put on this earth to give me nothing but grief. She's quite outdone herself this time around though. And perhaps we'll give away Tink who likes to "taste" various parts of one's face. With her teeth.

Nah, I'll just give away yarn.

Hooray For 2011!

It is a new year. Finally. 2010 was not one of my better years, which seems to be how it was for many people. I shall look back on 2010 as The Year Of Illness. From a rogue virus that sidelined me in June for three days, to the Famous S Cluster (sciatica, scoliosis and spondylothesis) to my current malady, Pseudo Pneumonia, which I have had since Thanksgiving. Yes, this wasn't one of my healthier years.

However, being stuck on the couch was good for the crafting. I probably made more "stuff" this year than ever before. I didn't meet my goal of 25 scarves for the Rez but I'm pretty sure I made 25 assorted objects for my Indian friends.

This is my latest pattern obsession - The Wheelchair Wrap. I wish it was called something else because I keep thinking it's something that should be wrapped up in a tortilla with cheddar cheese and lettuce. We (me and the Yahoo group I belong to) are making them for a nursing home on the Rez. I'm on my third one.

I have also joined the 52 Hats In 52 Weeks challenge on Ravelry so expect to see a whole lotta hats. That was one of my resolutions, 52 hats in 2011. My other two resolutions were to blog every day (which I've already failed at) and to make one crock pot meal a week. I am determined to master the slow cooker. If for no other reason than it would be a God send in the summer when even heating something in a pot on Medium on my stove makes my apartment unbearable. So if you have any great crock pot recipes please send them my way.

And hopefully I'll keep up with the blogging. Happy New Year, everyone!