lifelong knitter

Attention Wizard of OZ knitters...

Artful Yarns has a new addition to their Cinema series...
AUNTIE EM!
You can thank me later.

xox

Hey, Reading Rainbow Fans!

After Reading Rob's blog, I have to agree that what I am making is technically more of a stole than a shawl. "Shawl" evokes images of pointy things with fringe (for an absolutely awesome example, and not just because I am a HUGE E.B. White fan, surf over to The Keyboard Biologist's blog....woweee!) "Stole" on the other hand is a rectangular ,just slightly off the shoulder, shrug type garment. N'est pas?
Last night as I was happily knitting along, doing the wave, as it were... the Boy known to the experts as Non Verbal appeared. "Mommy is Knitting! " he exulted, rocking the recliner to the absolute edge of its' limits. What is Mommy Knitting? I asked, holding up the object of waviness. More rocking, more thinking...and then "HEY, Reading Rainbow Fans!" Well, yes! Right you are, Child of Wonder. For lots of reasons....it is certainly rainbow colored and yes there are fan shapes and gee whiz, for a person who is not supposed to be able to Think Critically (him, not me ;) this is a Darn Good Name for this project. Once again I am astounded (take THAT oh Experts of Neurology and Speech pathology!) and filled with gratitude for the many abundant Blessings in my life.
We DO love Reading Rainbow! So much so that we purchased a video for our local Public Library. We have this wonderful program...you can purchase something in honor of someone and they put a special bookplate (or video plate in this case) naming the honoree.

xox

What is the RDA for Irony?

That would be Recommended Daily Allowance if you have not had any caffeine yet this morning. How Ironic is it exactly that I am knitting myself something with Charisma? Or that I am positively determined to order MORE (much, much ,more) of this fabulous fiber.....

xox

How COOL is that?

Way Cool. Way, Way, COOL.
As in Call the Vatican, we have ourselves a Miracle!
Those of you who snort at the little sign I have hanging up which reads EXPECT a Miracle, this is the place where you get to hear me say I TOLD YOU SO.
"Thanks" goes out to my Youngest Sibling, who gave me that little sign eons ago.....
and all those who prayed with me yesterday.
NOW.
Before we get all huffy and everything, YES, I read the Pioneer Woman with the Cell Phone blog each and every morning, and YES today is no exception and YES I am chagrined.
My lack of air conditioning for one whole day does NOT rank anywhere up there on that scale of 10. I lived almost all of my life without the darn "convenience" and I am not so selfish (we prefer the term Inwardly Focused, but that is another story for another day...) to think that this is a Really Big Deal. I am just a Mother of the Fierce variety who bares her teeth at the idea of her child having Needless Seizures. It scares me, to be perfectly frank.
I am most grateful to live in a place where I can publicly express my beliefs and am free to listen to yours, without Judgement or Censure.
Just thought I'd save you the trouble of humbling me.
Can I go back to telling my funny stories now?

xox

Wave bye bye

Okay children, let's wave bye bye to the Big Red Planet....that's a nice Planet, move along now. I've had just about my limit of things breaking and people saying brightly "well, you KNOW, Mars is closer than it has been since the Stone Age!" Yes I know that. I was in Junior High School then. I remember. End of retrograde. PLEASE.
I am home today, waiting (not so) patiently for the Miracle which might be the Arrival of the Evaporative Cooling Unit. I'll keep you posted. My plan is to get some very annoying but necessary paperwork dealt with, some laundry done, and of course, to KNIT.
While I'm telling Wizard of Oz stories, thanks to Em, I just cannot resist the temptation to bore you with this one:
When I was contemplating The Big Move which resulted in our current place of residence....I got out the map to show my then Kindergardener what this would entail. I began to trace the route we would be flying and saw her close her eyes and begin to mutter something over and over again. What is it? I asked..."oh please, please, please, Let It Not Be Kansas" she said in a Highly Anxious voice. Well NO, I said, it is in actual fact NOT going to be Kansas. "Thank you thank you thank you" she whispered fervently. Whatever are you so worried about dear child? Her eyes welled up with tears. "I was trying to be brave Mother but Kansas, well you know, I couldn't have stood it...because (small sob) everything there is still in Black and White!"
Soooo, if you have a Favorite Movie and you watch it a lot, be prepared for Big Impressions to be made on minds of Small Children.
The End.

xox

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

NEW BUSINESS
It has been brought to my attention that the links to the original yarn used in the Shawl that started all this are NOT WORKING. Therefore, I suggest a quick consultation with Rob over at Threadbear. I think he is doing the shawl as well and I'll just bet he has a few helpful ideas! :) I'm not sure which link to use...could someone who knows him pass this along? Danke.

xox

If I Only Had a Brain

Yikes. Overheating definitely diminishes my snapses ability to fire. Whew...anybody know the formula for calculating decreasing brain function?
When the DSL guy was here to replace the THIRD box fried by Lightning he said "Haaaaaaaaaay. You're one of them thar Early Adopters Types we learned about in installation class, aintcha? Ever Beta tested anything?"
Oh yes, that would be ME. As soon as everyone has ONE, I am So utterly bored with mine...I have moved on long ago, really I have, I'm into something New and exciting. Except when it comes to Knitting. I have no idea why. Under normal ordinary circumstances, Now that Everybody is Knitting, I would Stop as a matter of Principle. Really, I would. Just lie down until the Fad passes and then happily resume my Nutty Habit of a Hobby. I have tried applying reason to this dilemma, but it does not seem to be working. I just HAVE to Knit. Even though it is now Hip and chic and all of that. For some reason this just Delights me. YAY. More novelty yarn for ME. I absolutely ADORE the concept that a whole gaggle of girls who are my childrens' ages are knitting Amazing, Stylish garments that they look tres fabuleaux wearing. I am inordinately PROUD if you must know the truth.
This also runs in the totally opposite direction of what my child calls the Usual Lecture. I once heard a very loud stage whisper directing a guest NOT to under any circumstances YAWN or Roll Your Eyes during the time that Mom is on her soapbox doing the feminist lecture because there are Consequences. Of the Early Bedtime, No Dessert variety. Watch me try to keep a straight face. Watch me Fail miserably. If you find this kind of thing entertaining, stick around. Soon I will be rolling on the floor, laughing helplessly.
They have my number and they know how to use it.
Just last week I knocked on this child's door. I was granted permission to enter. I asked permission to ask a question. "Actual, or rhetorical?" was the response. Excuse me? "Is this an ACTUAL question requiring an answer, or will you be telling me what you want me to know? That's RHETORIC." Mind you, the radio is on, there are six reference books spread out on the bed and said child is doing Homework. At no time does the child stop what is being done to make this statement.
It is SO genetic.
Actual. This is an Actual question requiring an answer.
What is it about knitting?

xox

SURF'S UP!

De Beeg Waves, dey be breakin' on de North Shore, brah! It feels like Hawaii in here, hence the dialect. It is 103 degrees (F) with the wind chill and the A/C is not working. Due to the Laws that govern such appliances at my house, the part in question (otherwise known as The Source of The Problem) IS (as always) JUST out of warranty and must be ordered. On the day before the Long Weekend during which no Actual Labor takes place. Yep. What we have here is a Problem with a capital P. I calmly (really, wink wink) explained to the helpful Service Manager that I was not being just a Whiney Customer. My son has seizures, which are controlled by medication, one of the side effects of same being a lowered tolerance to Heat Stroke. I do NOT intend to spend the Holiday Weekend in the ER. Been there, Done That, Have the Tee Shirt, thanks anyway.
So, Faithful Reader (dare I use the plural?)I would greatly appreciate it if you are familiar with the idea of intercessory prayer...You would repeat after me.....
"PLEASE. Let the Big Brown Truck bring the Part. Tomorrow. Thank You."
As You Were.
So, instead of working on the Ribby Cardie, which has been rechristened FRED....and which is really at the hot and heavy stage...being as it is WOOL and all...I decided to calm myself down with poetry and the Shawl of Waviness. I am smitten with this pattern. Clear, well written, easy to follow. YAY. Love that. Plus, anything that induces Ocean Imagery is much appreciated at this time of Unbearable Stickiness.
You may notice in the picture (if you are detail oriented) the Thing I Spent My Birthday Money On. The Ebony Circular. The Big Brown Truck brought the box just in time for me to begin shawling along.....have I mentioned how much I am enjoying this? Really.

xox

Morning musing

"To feel most beautifully alive
means to be reading something beautiful,
ready always to apprehend
in the flow of language
the sudden flash of poetry."
Gaston Bachelard

xox

Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain

I stayed up WAY too late last night arguing with my Inner Child, AKA Danger Girl. (sigh) SHE wants to join the Grammar Avengers! "Come on, it will be FUN, a club for Smart Girls, and we'll get to wear the Cape!"Yes, but the whole point of this blog is to write without editing, or being edited. Remember? No Red Pencils allowed. If I want to use a cute colloquialism, I'm Free to Do so. I KNOW the rules and I like to break them sometimes. All of them at once, occasionally."Don't be such a GEEK. We have our own Strunk and White...we love to craft a clever phrase..and HEY, what about the time someone actually listened to one of your famous ethical social justice RANTS, huh? With some careful editing, as I recall, it was actually used in some awesome Closing Argument, and you did that SWOON thing!!"ADVANTAGE< DANGER GIRLWell, yes (blush) I did do the swoon thing, but that's Different! MATCH POINT< DANGER GIRL,QUIET,PLEASE>All right, here's my offer. We'll LURK politely, and read the sites we LOVE and submit our application in say, a month? Now let's get some SLEEP. I have to actually function tomorrow and I am exhausted.
"Can I have another drink of water and a story? The one about using egregious in a sentence? I LOVE that story."
Okay, one drink. ONE Story.Then we are going to Sleep. Agreed?
"The ring leaders name is Em. As in Auntie Em. We need to join."GAME,SET,andMATCH to DANGER GIRL!
CRAP. See Em's blog for details.

xox