lifelong knitter

Extra Prayers, please...

I'll be down the road a piece by the time you read this post. Up at the deepest dawn and on the way to the Printer to Proof the Prints. Prolly won't have slept a wink, just too excited and nervous and freaked out from the events of Yesterday. I spent six hours by the phone waiting for someone to call me BACK after they left a "your son had a rough weekend and a major meltdown at work today, we need to TALK" message. I called everyone I could think of who might know what ACTUALLY went on. Got everybody's voice mail message. Went into that horrible downward spiral that begins with "OH MY GOD, now I'll never be able to...." before I caught myself. Wing stabilizer flaps and all that. Pull UP out of the dive, do NOT allow this to spin out of control. More waiting. I anagrammed my maiden name....
SHE KNIT A REBEL GUY
KNIT A BEER, HE'S UGLY
KNIT BAGEL?,HEY,SURE!
KNIT GAY BLUES HERE...
okay, giggle. That's better. Just for the record, there were 27 others. I was in a pretty steep spiral. Cleaned something obsessively. That ALWAYS helps. Got a bunch of really annoying paperwork out of the way. Halfway done with the Critter Knitters blankie. Mindless knitting, while pacing, and waiting.
Checked to see whether the phone actually had a dial tone.
Yep.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call me back....
Nothing.
SO then I started to do the Analysis drill.
My cell phone and my email are working perfectly fine and there is not a single message
from the People Who Call when there is An Actual Emergency.
So, ergo, there must NOT be an actual emergency. My Mommy Radar Indicates No Actual Emergency.
This must have been a test of the emergency notification process.
That's it. Okay, but would it have been too much trouble for at least ONE of the people to call me back and let me know that everything was really OK?
You'd think after 20 years of this I'd be better at handling it.
NOPE.
Something happens (even if it is just a RUMOR) to one of my babies and I'm just USELESS.
The bathroom is spotless, and lots of laundry got done and blogs have been surfed.
That was Yesterday.
Today I'm On The Road Again,
back in the saddle.
Even Cowgirls get the blues, sometimes.
UPDATE: On Thursday, the Boy's Cable stopped working. On Friday, his VCR died. On Saturday he went to a dance and the techie guys came to fix the cable. He got a new VCR. Monday morning? Network crashed. Okey-dokey. I think I might have had a major meltdown myself. Add to all of this the yearly AUDIT was going down, and I guess everyone can be forgiven for not calling me back. Apology accepted for leaving that message. She just wanted to know if there was anything they could do if this ever happened again.
God Forbid. I said, "well, YES. Pray Hard. That's what I always do.....and KNIT."

Mercury Retrograde

Yep, that's it. Mercury is retrograde and so, sadly, no pictures.
Actually around here, the technical term for why this happened is: I WAS RUNNING MY MOUTH, not the camera. (So what else is NEW, you might be asking...*hee*)
The Knitting group was fabulous. I had a really nice time getting to know Cathy, as she was gracious enough to pick me up and drive. We're about the same age, have kiddos who are about the same ages and even share a remarkable childhood experience. Amazing. I just cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have this blogging experience to counteract my usual Odd Girl OUT feelings of isolation.
Best part of the group? Listening to the story of the young woman who flew to Iceland (hey, it's ONLY a five hour flight, she giggled) for three days and came back with enough sock yarn for NINE pair. She was working on her first toe up model for the boyfriend in grad school she moved here to be with...and it was just SO gorgeous....I took Salt Peanuts with me and made it up to the armhole on the first front.
sigh. I'm a Really Happy, happy camper.
Knitting, Auto racing, fell asleep to Barry Zito's hypnotic pitching on Sunday night Baseball.
All in all, a delicious weekend.

Synaptic firing

I opened my mail yesterday and WOW! In addition to some wonderful pictures that made me SMILE (how did these kids get so grown up, so GORGEOUS?) dear sweet Debbie sent me the Double Knitting book with the Pony pattern. I dove in, and last night spent seven innings Learning Something New. Something SO completely new, that my brain hurts this morning. I made the four practice swatches and just marvelled. I'm embarassed to tell you how many times I said "This is just SO cool." I know I've opened up a whole new set of neuronic pathways here, which is ALWAYS a good thing.
I'm very excited about this afternoon, too. I'm going to my first Local Knitting Group. Cathy is going to come pick me up...I woke up way too early thinking "what should I take to work on? Nothing too complicated because I am going to want to get to KNOW everybody, but nothing too boring, or they might not invite me back....." Stay tuned Knitting fans, pictures tomorrow!
Hope your day is filled with Blessings....

Remains of the Day

Cubs Win!

Wild Thing is exhausted...so many Sporting Events, so little time. While I'm out getting batteries for the camera I'd better get some for the remote as well.
Best Baseball Moment? Back to back JACKS by Sosa and Alou to WIN...goose bump city.
Worst Baseball Moment(s)? The Deep Pockets Derby at Fenway. You could buy a LOT of Little League Uniforms and some Base Running Manuals with THOSE payrolls. UGLY. That's all I gotta say about THAT.
In the Equal Time department...Will Jeff Gordon Three peat at the paperclip that is Martinsville, or will someone ELSE take home the Grandfather clock? Keep those cards and letters coming....
While Wild Thing was singing and dancing and clicking that remote, I managed to knit two afghan squares for the Mason Dixon project. I lost track of how many I've ripped out....for some reason, SQUARES bring out the absolute persnickety Worst in me.
I'm halfway up the first Front of Salt Peanuts and at the risk of repeating myself redundantly, I LOVE this sweater! The front lace cable edge is pure genius. I just giggle every time I finish a WS row and see the results. That is just.so.kewl.
What can I say? I'm easily amused.

What a GREAT idea!

Chelsea, over at the small hands blog, had such a great idea, I just can't stop thinking about it....let's play spot the blogger at MSWF! Make a tote bag or badge or t-shirt featuring your blog button so we KNOW who you are! Just for practice, today I am going to the Redbud Festival with Daughter Bird, and I shall be wearing my purple "I knit, therefore I am" t shirt from Knit La Jolla. I love this shirt.
Wild Thing has received some fan mail requesting equal time for auto racing. Oh yeah, don't you worry, motorheads...the Month of May is nigh upon us. You KNOW I'd be doing a whole lot more commenting on F1 if it weren't the all Michael Schumacher, all the time, show. With that little preamble, Wild Thing says today's cutest winning pitcher award for last night goes to...Al Leiter! Hitting aint, as they say, his strong suit, and with an oh eighty seven batting average, he WALKED, setting up a series of comic events giving his Mets the win. Seeing him standing there on first base with that omg I'm on BASE look, just made Wild Thing SING!
Speaking of singing, I went to itunes to download Wild Thing some backup and just cracked up over the kids version of Wild Thing. Got it. Right next to Jimi, the Hendrix, live from Fillmore East. I'm going to knit Wild Thing some dredlocks, perhaps. In my spare time.
Which there isn't much of these days, just the way I like it. Marcia asked "how in the hoo-haw" I get it all done, and the truth is, I've ALWAYS been this way. I am terrified of being Bored. I cannot BEAR to sit still without something, usually more than one thing, to DO. I must be Productive to be truly Happy...and besides, it's FUN! Certainly, I DON'T get it all done most of the time. I just figure if I knit a few rows while I'm waiting for the dryer to *finish* and pull a few weeds while I'm taking out the trash, and read a few blogs in between appointments and look up the scientific name for Bird of Paradise while I'm on HOLD, I'll learn something new. Which is, of course, IMHO, the cure for being sad.
I try not to take myself seriously. Life is just too short, and there are PLENTY of people who can whine SO much more negatively and choose to have MUCH bigger Issues than I could ever deal with...I agree with Carolyn See. People will leave us,disappoint us, even Die sometimes, without our permission and despite our best efforts to be Good Enough. That said, she decided to put Fun First. Every day. Oh, and write.
So May it BE.

Who's that blocking...

at my back door? Why Salt Peanuts, of course.
I LOVE this sweater. The Bergamo is luscious once it is knit into fabric. Before that? BE CAREFUL. The wonderful wool tape has teeny tiny little threads at the end of each and every ball which snag on every conceiveable (and a few inconceiveable) surface(s). This tendency is absolutely irresistable to (my) CATS. Forewarned is forearmed, knitters!
Speaking of which,
How many KNITTERS does it take to change a light bulb?
The one in the oval office is not.too.bright.
IMHO.
If I want to hear a Bush speak intelligently about other countries,
I'll go hear NANCY do her Estonian sock lecture.
(stepping DOWN from the soapbox now....)
You might be wondering who that is there in the corner....
INTRODUCING Wild Thing!
She will be delivering Baseball Commentary
(with a side order of LOUD Singing and Uninhibited Dancing)
this season right here on this blog.
Directly from Knits From the Heart,
sans EARS...cuz she doesn't want to HEAR
herself sing.
*hee*

Twice Blessed

Yesterday was amazing. I'm still not sure I have processed it adequately, but I want to share it before I get distracted by something else...and go off on a tax rant.
It poured yesterday morning. Not just good for the garden rain, but street flooding, vision obscuring SHEETS. I was a little worried. The three hour drive included a section of road infamous for accidents, known simply as Death Valley. I sat quietly for a few moments and checked my internal warning system. Everything seemed to be okey dokey. I loaded the artwork into the Mommymobile, took daughter to work at the library, got gas and checked all the vitals at the service station and took off.
To say I was nervous would be the understatement of the week. Almost since the beginning of my blog, there has been a sweet, supportive voice in my comment and email box. Encouraging me to write, to share the experiences with my children and my art. Annie simply made me feel better, about myself. I shouldn't have been nervous, but worried that in person it would be different, and then I'd lose that special magic. The printer's reputation preceded him, and I'm ALWAYS nervous about showing my art, but I learned a long time ago in gymnastics that if I'm NOT nervous before a performance something is terribly wrong. The three pieces I chose to take with me are among my favorites, highly personal pieces close to my heart. I debated whether I was more nervous for annie to see them or the printer.
Sure enough, halfway into the trip there was a truck flipped over, mere moments before I would have been right behind it. The first of the emergency vehicles was already on the scene, and a small portion of one lane was available to funnel all eight previously packed with the usual truck traffic. Little less than a five minute delay, I thanked the Angels watching over me and continued on. I sang and prayed for the next HOUR as I really wanted to Just Get There in One Piece...THANK YOU!
I pulled into the Parking Space directly in front of the Barnes and Noble where I was to meet annie. I do mean Right in Front...Rachael and Ann both know about THIS. A very good sign, indeed.
I wore kiwi...partially because I needed the comfort of being wrapped in knitted prayers, and hopefully so annie would recognize me. We hugged and talked and I never even drank my coffee because we just talked and talked....it was just so amazing. Neither of us had a camera, but I am not sure you can actually capture a moment like that on film when you are one of the participants in this kind of miraculous meeting.
My brain alarm went off and I asked her what time it was...OMG. I was going to be LATE for the printer! I ran for the truck and grabbed my cellphone to call him. It was still a minute before we were supposed to meet. He sounded relaxed. "I figured you'd be really late" he said "Accidents have the freeways at an absolute crawl..take your time, I'll be here."
Before I left the parking lot I showed Annie my artwork. By this time the sun had come out and it was perfectly beautiful. She was appreciative, but I wished I'd had the rest of the afternoon to keep the deep meaningful conversation going. I left with the most beautiful gift, and a new Friend.
Only took me a few minutes to get to the printer's studio, located in an amazing small town, straight out of a painting itself. I gathered up the pieces and climbed the stairs...strangely not nervous at all anymore. Once I get out on the floor, on the stage, in the Light, I'm fine. The place was immaculate and on the walls...oh.the.ART. I should have been completely intimidated. I shook his hand and we began to talk the techie talk of Principles of Parallelism and large format cameras and levelling with lasers and mirrors and the miracles of Printmaking and all of the people we knew in common and what I was looking for with my work...he spent Two Hours with me, encouraged me NOT to make notecards but to do a limited edition series of prints on canvas with the one painting and reproduce the other work on paper in an incredibly gorgeous setting...He's even willing to photograph the difficult sculpture subject and make a digital file so that someone else can make it into promotional material. I go back next week to do the proofing process and he'll have the work READY the day before the Festival. Ordinarily this wouldn't be possible, but apparently it is Supposed to BE.
I drove home, singing in the sunshine, and arrived exactly on time to pick up daughter at the library. She jumped into the truck and said breathlessly "How did it GO, Mom?" Great, sweetheart, absolutely GREAT!
I was so excited I finished the back of Salt Peanuts and then didn't sleep more than a few minutes at a time, dreams of paintings yet to be kept waking me UP.
Blessings, this day as always, to you and yours....
Namaste.

660 is OUTTA Here!

BARRY BONDS and WILLIE MAYS and the passing of the torch....what can I say? I am a proud, proud Baseball Girl!
I'm off to see the WIZARD this morning....Just so happens he had an opening today (although he will be closed the rest of the week) which WILL allow enough turn around time to have Prints for the Festival! Tune in tomorrow to hear about macro focus and color saturation and lasers and all kinds of new geeky giclee printing technology...I'm JUST a little excited (can you TELL?) Three hours each way BY MYSELF with my paintings in the Mommymobile....singing hymns of JOY.
Extra bonus...when he was giving me directions to the studio he mentioned a town I would go through and I did the SQUEAL...if I time it right, I'll be at Annie's house at lunchtime. How kewl is that?

Red,HOT!

I won a contest over at margene's blog (for a recipe, no less....well, okay, a recipe for COFFEE) and she sweetly sent me this RED Fixation which will become a java jacket from the pages of Magknits, cuz I just want to make EVERYTHING Mariko makes, don't you?
Just in case you are wondering, YES, I am all about the word count these days. A thousand words a day, five days a week...it's the only way the book will get written.
Here's the Big News:
I've been invited to be a Featured Artist in a local Fine Arts show. They want me to "paint in public" during our Dogwood Festival in two weeks which draws a BIG crowd every year, weather permitting. I had just been wondering in my Morning pages about my paintings and which direction I should be taking them in. Over the past few days, since the invitation, things have just fallen into place (as they always do when something is Right and Meant To Be...) and I will be making a trip to a giclee printer one day this week. I'll be doing a very limited run (prolly a series of ELEVEN!) of two of my favorite paintings, along with a larger run of notecards. I've noticed over the years that while this Festival is VERY well attended and people spend a lot of money, it is usually on the less expensive items like notecards and prints.
Wish me luck,
Wanted y'all to be the First to Know!