Necklace! And a month of posts!

A peek at a new project I'm playing with- shrinky plastic pendants.

-Before baking-


-After baking and being turned into a necklace-


I'm really fond of these. I'm hoping to put some up in the shop soon, after I pick up more (and I think, different) chain tomorrow.

And in other news, I'm doing Nablopomo again, which is to say I'm hoping to post everyday for the month of November. It'll be a good exercise.

Sketchies!

Charlie and I dropped my sister and brother off at the airport before dawn Monday morning. It was a great visit, and I wish they were still here.

Alas, they are not, and perhaps it's not such a bad thing, since I've been very busy with work this week. And not the art half of my work, but the more out of the house half that is yarn related, teaching knitting and crochet, finishing needlework for some clients (just some weaving in ends and blocking) and working out some new patterns I hope to sell. And when I wasn't doing those things, or normal household sorts of tasks, I was trying to fit in a nap here and there, because it's been kind of non-stop action for a least a month now, and I'm starting to get worn down. Therefore, I don't have any new toys to share at the moment (soon though, hopefully). What I do have is sketches for possible future toys, which are pictured above. I know I enjoy flipping through other peoples sketch books, so I hope you enjoy a peek at mine.

Pollywog

Pollywog is one of two toys I finished this morning (the other being a bird that I'm not sharing just yet). Originally she was supposed to be for the next shop update, but I can't bring myself to part with her. She has the goofy charm that makes me love what I do. Plus she works as a companion piece with a toy I made for my dad's birthday of a seamonster king (Mighty King Neptune!, so there's that too. Other toymakers out there- am I the only one who periodically makes a toy she just can't bear to give away?

And! Speaking of that shop update, I know it was supposed to be last week. Which clearly didn't happen. And I'm betting it isn't going to happen this week either, since I have my sister and brother arriving for the weekend in a few hours. So I'm aiming for next week. I'll try to make it extra awesome.

Oh! And I have the twitter now! Link in the sidebar! I'm on that way more often than this, what with the taking less time and all.

Seattle was awesome.


There was chowder.


And lots of galleries. (This is the one my work is in!)


And lots and lots and lots of art.

Best of all, there were so many kind, incredible people, amazing people who's business cards I need to dig out of my bag so that I can send emails and post links and generally keep in touch. Which I will start working on. Tomorrow. Right now it's time to make some lentil soup.

Fish!

Hey there! New posts coming Monday, and a store update sometime next week.
And in the meantime, if you're in Seattle this weekend, check out Plush You! It should all be great, and I have some pieces at the Anne Bonney, and made the "S" for the sign at Blue Bottle. So yeah! That's exciting. I'm flying up there tomorrow morning for the weekend. Huzzah!

(On another note, I think the above picture may be the best I've ever taken of my work. So of course it was taken entirely on the fly, in one shot. Go figure.)

Aaah! I was so caught up in making art that I forgot to put any of it on the blog. Here's today's/last night's work. More faces! A head! And some hands!

pro and con

Pictured is a future tomato/current blossom from my garden. It's sort of tangentially related to the post, and it's nice to have a picture up there.

Good for today-
- Way, way better running times than I was expecting. I'm running a 5K in July, and today is the first day I started to think there was a possibility of me running the whole race instead of just most of it.
- Got my gardening done. Two more tomatoes, a replacement basil, a japanese cucumber, a bell pepper, and a marigold all put in their proper pots, plus a succulent repotted in a bigger new home. Plus I did it all before the sun hit the patio, thus making for a much more pleasant gardening experience.
- Actually remembered to buy dish soap at the store. I've been forgetting this for several store trips now, so remembering this time was a relief.
- Picked up books at the library, including one that's been held for Charlie for almost a week. I love the library.
- Going to the comic book store. They didn't have what I wanted today, but they thought they would have it in soon. Plus I love browsing there. And the employees are super friendly.

Bad for today-
- The return of the heat. The Los Angeles area had been having such nice, cool, wet weather the past few weeks. I'm very sad to see it go. I'm not a hot and sunny person.
- Tom's of Maine apparently no longer makes the toothpaste we like in the flavor we like. So I got stupid peppermint instead, but I am not happy about it. I realize it's ridiculous to be angry about it, and do see the humor in my grumpiness, but I'm very particular about my toothpaste.
- I feel bad calling peppermint stupid. It isn't peppermint's fault they stopped making the SLS free cinnamon-clove. And now I'm having guilty anthropomorphizations of toothpaste flavors. Lovely.
- The sewing of toys is not working so well today. It's a very tangly thread, hot office, stupid pieces not fitting kind of work day.

All in all, I'd say good out weighs bad. Huzzah!

Art in progress

Some toy progress has been made today, if not as much as I was hoping for. Other responsibilities keep getting in the way. Perhaps better luck Thursday morning? (Tomorrow is pretty packed with other stuff already.)

In other news, I made cookies! Shortbread specifically, in fun shapes thanks to all of the cookie cutters I've received recently. I'd include a picture of those too, but my kitchen is pretty dark.

First tomato!

See that little red jobber there? That's my first ripe tomato of the season! It's on my mystery tomato plant, that when I bought it at the L.A. Arboretum came with a label that read ""sugary" tomato". It has flourished, and seems to be a red grape tomato. And as you can see in the picture, he's got some friends ripening too.

My little patio garden in general is doing well, which is a pleasant surprise. In the past, I haven't had the best luck with plants, but I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. I've only had one plant die this year. And it was a basil that I'm thinking was screwed up to begin with, or it just wasn't trying, because I certainly was. But the rest of the plants are thriving and happy, and where appropriate, blooming.

So I have a whole post in my head, complete with pictures, about haircut day and running and biking (these things are all related, I swear), but it will have to wait because I am currently being freaked out/fascinated by a big wasp that's stuck in the space between my sliding glass door and the screen. It's right next to the computer. Right next to. I put the dog out of the office just in case it gets in the house. I can deal with getting stung myself, but I don't want that to happen to my little guy. I tried to get a picture of it, because it is really interesting to look at, but I can't get the camera to focus on the wasp and not the screen. It isn't the world's best, my camera.

And now it seems to be gone. I really hope it found it's way out again, both for it's sake and mine.

This toy was made for my brother, in celebration of his graduation from college. My baby brother now joins our older sister in the realm of personal trainers.

It was a really fun piece to work on. I worked out a new pattern based on one of my old one, and I've already used it a few times since this toy. It comes together very quickly, but looks very tidy and cute. I'm very pleased with it. I also love working with the plush felt, which makes the toys feel a little like tiny wild animals. And above all, making something for someone you love is very, very gratifying.

Back on the pony. Again.

Today I am twenty-nine. And I've decided to use my blog to document this year of my life, the last one in my twenties. I don't know that I'll post every day, but if I hit the 4-5 times a week I'm aiming for, I'll be happy. I want the record to look back on, especially of my art, but also of what's going on in my life at the time.

I'm hoping I can pull it off. In the past, I've posted in fits and starts. I get going at a good pace for a month or two, and then something will happen to make me feel massively discouraged, and I'll stop again. But I'm not giving up. I will keep trying until I make this a habit.

Tomorrow I'll bring out the art (and there's a lot of art going on lately, and lots of cool big art news), and later in the week I'll bring out the active life stuff (I've started running! I run 3-5 days a week, and I got a bike I've been riding too. I'll be running a race in July. I don't entirely believe it myself), and there are other cool things coming up, like a new header and making good on long overdue giveaways.

Today, though, I'm enjoying my birthday. It's been a quiet one, which is really what I was going for. Charlie made me tea in the morning and gave me books and dvds, and since he's gone off to work I've had a peaceful time of reading and snuggling with the animals. Tonight we'll go to Dumpling Master for dinner, and then come home and eat dessert, watch dvds, and drink wine. It is absolutely perfect.

busy busy busy

Oh my has it been crazy around here. Lots of rain (for Los Angeles, anyhow), an out-of-town guest, a gas leak, not having a stove for over twenty-four hours after said gas leak, a dog ear infection, Charlie starting a new job, dim sum awesomeness, seeing Amarcord on the big screen for Valentine's Day, and now finally being able to get back in a more full-time sense to my artwork. And all while trying to decide what I want to do with my career in a long term sense. Luckily, most of that has been fun stuff, and things are starting to calm down a bit. Well, this week end is promising to be jam-packed (we've been invited to way more events than we can make it to), but over all, I think we may be getting to smoother times.

For some reason, I cannot get photos to load to my flickr. And Blogger is no longer giving me any way to load photos at the moment (that area has disappeared) so I guess it doesn't matter much. I have lovely photos of my plants in the rain that I'd love to share. Ah well. Hopefully it will be resolved soon.

Woo, I am exhausted. My brain has been moving a mile a minute all day (and most of last night; thank you lovely brain for that not so great sleep) thinking of possible knitting patterns to devise, and my body hasn't done a lot of stopping today either. So for tonight I share a link to what I think will be my next knitting project of substance (some things are basic enough that I feel they don't entirely count), which for once is a pattern designed by someone else. I have a massive tendency to just make up my own pattern when I want to make something, so my following someone else's instructions is a bigger deal for me than it is for most people.

But I think these are worth it-

Harika socks

Aren't they lovely? If I do end up making them (and it would be a few weeks, probably, before I start) I'll share.

Please.

I am thinking about ghosts.

And the future.

And ghosts in the future.

And ghosts of the future.

The Boys.

Today Charlie went hiking with a friend, and I stayed here. In doing so, I discovered something. Charlie has been around this week, and he almost always has something on producing sound, be it the radio, music, or more rarely, the television. And I had been getting increasingly antsy. It wasn't until this afternoon, having sometime to myself, that I realized that I don't tend to turn on the radio or music until it gets dark. There are exceptions, but for the most part I work in the natural background noise of our neighborhood. What I had been missing was having a few hours of quiet. Also a nap. That nap felt really, really good.

The Return of the Frog Eating Bird!

We saw our frog eating egret friend again on our evening walk! I was able to get much closer this time, although because of the light this time of day he's still a bit blurry.

I was very excited to see him. There's something about him that seems very special. I've really been noticing birds a lot lately. I'll have to read up on them, I'm dying to know more.

Today I am thankful for-

Scrabble- We've been playing a lot of Scrabble lately (open dictionary), and I've really been enjoying it. I'm not great at it, but I'm getting better. And I'm increasing my vocabulary. We've actually been learning so many words with our open dictionary style that we're going to start a list.

Charlie- I'm married to a truly wonderful young man. I can't fully express how happy he makes me. He's so sweet, and so kind, and he works so hard to make our lives happy and secure. I don't know what I would do without him.

My job- I really love what I do. I like working at the yarn store, I like teaching knitting and crochet classes, I like making art. Being able to not only do what I love, but to get paid for it, makes life very pleasant and fulfilling.

The pecan bar from Buster's Coffee Shop- It's like pecan pie, but in cookie form! I love it so very much.

A recommendation tonight, for The Human Face, a BBC production available on dvd. It's presented by John Cleese, and covers not only the physiology of the human face, but also the importance of human interaction. We just watched the first episode tonight, and we loved it. Thanks to Orchid for recommending it to me.

link day!

Today I direct you towards Book By Its Cover. It's really lovely for peeking at the inside of other peoples sketchbooks, which I adore. The different paths the creative process can take are really fascinating.

walk

We saw this guy at Caltech yesterday, eating frogs out of one of the lily ponds! I sent this picture to my bird expert/friend Jean, and she believes he is a greater egret.

I'm just thrilled I happened to bring the camera when walking the dog.

eager

He wants to keep going! Why have we stopped moving?! Must pull!

It is so overcast that when I walked the dog this morning, I could not see the mountains. I can pretty much always see the mountains. I'm giddy. All of these clouds, all of this rain, it feels like some sort of magical present.

First of all, and most importantly, the vet called me on his lunch hour, and the dog is just fine. The little lump on his leg is indeed a histiocytoma, and it will go away by itself in a few months. He said they could remove it, but since it isn't chafing on anything, I'm just going to make sure it doesn't get infected again, and let it do it's own thing in reabsorbing into the body. If it was in his armpit or something, I'd consider the surgery, but it's on the outside of his front leg, just below his elbow. It isn't hurting him. The vet seemed to think this was a perfectly good way to go, so good. No unnecessary surgery for my baby.

In other news, it's raining. It's just lovely. Seriously. I should probably live in the Pacific Northwest; I really, really like rain. Unfortunately, I live in Southern California, land of constant drought. On the other hand, that makes days like today, when it does rain, seem that much more special. Plus it's supposed to rain for a few more days after this, so I'm pleased.

And lastly, I got my copy of Keri Smith's How to Be an Explorer of the World in the mail yesterday. It rocks. It rocks hard. It works very much with how I generally approach the world, so I think it will serve as a nice, gentle reminder when I get stuck in my work. I suspect there will be more on this awesome book once I've played with it more.

No news on the dog yet. They're pretty sure they'll have his results tomorrow. I'm almost positive that the results will be good, but I'm still nervous. So much so that mainly what I got done today were repairs (a throw pillow and a baseball hat, both ripped up by the same dog I'm now worried about) because that's all I could really concentrate on. I have students tomorrow, so I'll call the vet after I teach. Teaching is the sort of thing I can handle when I'm anxious, so that will keep me pleasantly busy.

Expensive Pup

It was back to the vet today for Smee and me. We were there Saturday to have his tick bite checked, to have another possible tick bite (from the same day as the first one) that looked a little angry checked, and to get some Frontline to prevent future tick bites. Today we were back because a certain little someone's possible tick bite was bleeding, possibly because he was fussing at it, and because due to how it was healing I was becoming increasingly sure it was probably not a tick bite.

Today's vet agreed with me. He thinks it's a histiocytoma, but to be sure it was fact benign, he aspirated it. The results will be back tomorrow or Friday. I'm not terribly worried, because he's so healthy otherwise, and the vet didn't seem deeply concerned.

But either way, since someone was not inclined to leave the owie on his leg alone, he gets the Elizabethan collar and bandage. Although if you look closely, you can actually see his owie in the picture, right above the bandage, as I took the photo before I realized his bandage had scootched down. I've since hiked it back up.

I am-
-Still feeling giddy, hours later, about the inauguration.
-Also feeling fairly giddy about realizing that I do have the makings of a fast, easy dinner after all.
-kind of sleepy.
-wondering what smells like poop. Is it the cat box? I sure hope it's the cat box.
-finally feeling a good deal better, after feeling pretty cruddy all last week.
-kind of hungry.
-excited to get back into printmaking.

Haircut day!

Today was haircut day for Charlie. Nothing fancy, just a buzz cut I gave him in the bathroom. I'm a little jealous. I enjoy having a buzz cut, but I'm trying to grow my hair out at the moment. We'll see how long that lasts. I love having longer hair, and for me that starts a chin length. At the moment it's a lot shorter than that, but much longer than a buzz cut, and extremely awkward looking. On the other hand, it has a messy little boy quality I love. So we'll see. But Charlie! He looks great with a buzz cut. It's one of my favorite looks for him.

Tonight I direct you towards a show I saw earlier today at the Hammer Museum- Gouge: The Modern Woodcut. Check out the page even if you aren't in the Los Angeles area or aren't going to make it there (the show runs through February 8). There are lots of images, and a little video walk-through.

A girl and her walrus.

sketchbook

Still sick, but getting better.

diagram

A diagram for a plan that has yet to be enacted, because I am too busy coughing and sneezing.

In progress, although not tonight. Tonight will be spent curled on the sofa in a blanket, because I seem to have caught an awful cold. Despite this, I did some vigorous yoga this morning, followed by dim sum (with the friend who I suspect gave me the cold). That ended up being about the extent of what I had energy for today. Well, I also accompanied Charlie to Trader Joes, but no matter how sick I am, I like having a say in what food is in our house.

I suspect, however, that with tea and a little rest, I will be feeling fine again soon. Which is good, because there's a lot I want to do this week.

Someone loves his washcloth.

An old photo, but the sentiment remains the same.

I drove to work today, which is unusual for me. Usually I take the bus and then the train to work, and the train and then a long walk on the way home. I use public transportation for the usual sorts of reasons- environment, cost, parking difficulties, not really wanting to deal with driving. There is parking available to me at work, but it's a little tight, and my car is boat like and somewhat difficult to maneuver. So I take public transportation, and I feel a little smug, and I get a little exercise in on the way home.

But today I had a lesson to teach at noon, and I missed the 11:15 bus. I probably could have caught the 11:30, but they aren't terribly consistent, and it would be cutting it close. So I decided to go for it, and got in my car, and drove. I found a three hour street spot (huzzah!) and got in in time to get a cup of coffee before I started.

And man, I can entirely understand why people drive places. Instead of taking minimum thirty minutes to get to work, it took maybe seven. And when I got there, I wasn't jostled or jangled. And likewise, I was able to get home quickly, and wasn't exhausted when I got in. My feet weren't sore, and my shoulders weren't aching from carrying my work backs long distances. It was really nice.

I don't think I'll make a regular habit of driving to work. For one thing, I really do believe in public transportation, both in the environmental sense, and also in the sense that it keeps you from getting isolated in your own little bubble. Also, at high traffic times driving is very stressful. But I did learn something today. Driving, for this short distance, is easier on me in a lot of ways. And in the future, on days when I have a ton to carry or am just feeling really run down, I'm just going to suck it up and drive. And it will be okay!

New shirt!

I love this t-shirt my husband got me for Christmas. Actually, I've been loving it on the Buy Olympia website for a long while now, but my hints finally got loud enough. Anyhow, it came in the mail yesterday, so of course I have to wear it today.

I love this whole outfit, actually, and may end up wearing it again when I go out this weekend.

I also love how in this picture, it looks like I have a hair style. I do not have a hair style. I have hair that is slowly growing out of a buzz cut. Although it looks generally cute today, it is overall just sort of there.

Ooo! I am also very pleased that as I fell asleep last night, I thought of a good way to put bones in my armatures with out using JB Weld. A way that will result in bonus hands and feet. A way that, frankly, once I thought of I felt kind of stupid that it hadn't occurred to me sooner. I will share this way once I actually try it out, which should be next week.

plague rat!

tick tick tick

So, a quick post, because we're having guest to a dinner I haven't prepared yet. I got behind, you see, because we found a tick sticking out of the dog, and had to take him to the night vet to have it removed. Luckily, they got the whole thing out (and for free!), but it definitely put me behind schedule. And scared the shit out of me at first, although they said we have essentially nothing to worry about living where we do.

Fortunately for our dinner plans, I'd already finished the above cake when we found the tick. It's a cranberry upside down cake, and very tasty. It's not to sweet, and the color is gorgeous. The recipe calls for an 8" round, and while I can't find my one of those, I do have a lovely heart shaped pan that holds the same volume. Thus, a beautiful red heart. And yes, I do plan on making another one of these for Valentines Day.

eh

Today is an apathy day. I folded a lot of laundry. That was my big accomplishment. Other than that, not a lot happened. Tomorrow should be good though. I'm, um, returning some dvds we rented, and getting some groceries I forgot on my last trip to the store. Man, I really need to get some solid art in there tomorrow. I'm boring myself. Oh well, if nothing else, I'm throwing a miniature dinner party tomorrow (the dinner will be normal sized. It's just a small party. Not miniature guests, just a small amount of people.). That should be good, at least. Now I just have to decide what to serve.

Malibu Creek State Park

Pictures from yesterday's hike!





Also, today marks the first time I've been able to do a decent camel pose in yoga and hold it for more than a millisecond. I'm very pleased, especially because what difficulty I had with it today had more to do with tiredness from yesterday's hike, I think, than it did with my muscles being tight. So yay!

We're off hiking today! I'm a little apprehensive, but probably just because the cloudy weather brings out the lazy homebody in me. But it will be good hiking weather, and I'll bring a picnic!

Resolutions/Goals 2009

I feel I should preface this by saying that I'm not traditionally a big New Years resolution person. So why this year? I don't really know. A lot of things are things that I want to start doing, and it being the beginning of the year is a coincidence. Others are things I want to give myself stronger motivation for. Plus, for some reason, I feel like this will be a big year.

The other thing I should say, going it this, is that I don't consider any of these things law for myself. I reserve the right to chance as circumstance changes. But these are things I'm working towards, as of now.

1. By the end of the year, I will be able to do at least one pull-up, and at least 3 chin-ups. When I was nine years old or so, I was the pull-up queen. When they did our fitness tests, I did seven pull-ups, and I would have done more but they told me to stop. I want to be strong like that again.

2. Yoga in some form, every day. It doesn't always have to be a long asana practice. Some days it will just be focused breathing. But yoga had such a positive influence on my life it the past year, and I want to bring want to bring it into my life more.

3. Write every day.

4. Draw every day.

5. Cut animal products further from the things I eat. I don't see myself ever becoming a vegetarian, but I always feel better when my meat consumption is very, very small.

6. Prepare physically, emotionally, financially, for having a child. We are not planning on having kids super immediately, but it is something coming up in the next few years, and I want to be as ready as I can be. I realize you can never be entirely prepared for something that big, but I can certainly be in a better place than I am now. Which isn't a bad place at all, but there is always room for improvement. And I am now rambling, because this is something personal enough that I feel a little unsure of putting it out there. But it brings me to my next resolution-

7. Be brave. Stop being paralyzed by fear, and stop shutting other people out. Sometimes the risk of being hurt is better.

8. Start publishing (self publishing or have published by others) knitting/crochet patterns. I work mainly from patterns I devise myself. I may as well share than with others, and perhaps make some money doing so.

9. Step up art on all fronts. Life got hard this year, and I let my art slip. I think it was necessary for my sanity, but things are going better now, and art needs to come back full force.

10. Apply for more art shows. Obviously this is part of stepping up the art, but it's important enough to get its own spot. If I want my art to be seen, I need to put it places other people can see it, not just hide it away in my office.

11. Make a quilt for the bed. This is entirely fluffy and without any introspection. I just want to make a big, basic quilt for my bed. It will be awesome.

12. Start a cooking blog/Self publish a cookbook. It might be either/or, or it may be both. I love to cook, and it's another thing I want to share with the world.

13. Help Charlie do whatever it takes for him to pursue his writing. He does so much to help me devote time to art, and I want to return the favor.

14. Make new friends, and deepen existing friendships. I'm still lonely a lot of the time. I'm never going to be a naturally social person, but I can still try to connect with people more.

So yay! I am working! Towards the future!

Happy New Year! Charlie and I spent today in our pajamas, lazing around and watching first the Rose Parade, and then some movies. The Rose Parade, by the way, goes by about two and half blocks from our house, but we prefer to watch on tv, in the comfort of our living room. I'm not a big crowd person, and there's something very cozy about watching it with a cup of tea while wearing a bathrobe.

The movies we watched were fun. The first was Emperor of the North, a 70s movie about hobos during the Great Depression. It wasn't very good, but it starred Lee Marvin, and am currently fascinated by Lee Marvin.

The second movie was a Lon Chaney starring, Tod Browning directed silent film called The Unknown, which was about having arms and not having arms and circus folk. It was deeply, deeply awesome.

Now I am off to watch some Simpsons, still in my pajamas, before rejoining the world of productive adults tomorrow.

Have you voted yet?

Slowly, carefully trying to reemerge. First I was busy, then there was some family medical crisis stuff that I didn't really want to talk about. But of course it was occupying my brain, so there wasn't anything else to really talk about either. But things are starting to get better. I'm still busy, but I'm getting the hang of it. Family members are still ailing, but they are getting better.

So I've come here to complain about how I just had to rip out six rows of careful lace knitting. Luckily, I had woven in a lifeline, so at least I'm not starting over. And I think the project is actually going to turn out beautifully. I just need to remember not to work on a semi-involved lace project when I'm exhausted.

Hopefully I'll be around again. I want to be.

So, I haven't posted in a long while. Nothing bad is going on, it's just been busy, and I haven't been having the writing mood. But! I'm hoping to get back on track soon. Helping this is a restorative trip north this weekend, to go and gawk at elephant seals. If we find some, I'll take pictures and post them here next week. I'm so excited. Elephant seals are awesome!

Feather earrings!

Made using this tutorial, on a break from painting. I plan on wearing them to my teaching job this afternoon.

I really recommend this project. It's super fast, super easy, and feather earrings are just plain awesome. I'm in love with them myself, and plan to make a bunch more.

Ooo! And pictures of my stripey sun hat will be coming soon. It's all done, and adorable, but I haven't managed to get a good photo of it yet.

Success!

As of this afternoon, my yellow stripey socks are done!

Yo! Still knitting those yellow stripey socks. I'm almost done. I'm maybe half an inch or so from starting the toe. I've been working on them when I can, I've just been busy. Which is also the reason for the lack of blogging. But as I am starting to settle into my new, more madcap routine, I'm ready to start blogging again.

Sadly, I don't have a whole ton to say at the moment, or at least not things I would want to say to the world at large.

Oh! I know. Charlie and I started going to yoga again on Sunday after a bit of a hiatus, and it was wonderful. We can really only afford to go to class once a week most weeks, but I really want to incorporate it into our lives more. So I'm using part of an Amazon gift certificate to order a dvd. I'm sure eventually our home practice will be self-directed, but we really aren't ready for that yet. I just know that it's the right thing, doing more yoga. It makes us both feel good. For me, I think it's a more effective treatment for depression than medication or therapy. (For me. Obviously, different things work for different people, and if therapy or medication or a combination of the two are what works for you, than I'm just really happy for you that you have something that works. For me, yoga just feels more effective. Different people, different brain chemistry.) (God am I defensive.) For Charlie, I think it helps him to slow down, which is something he really needs. Not to mention, it helps our posture immensely, which I've noticed cuts way down on my foot pain.

Ooo! And I'm crocheting a sun hat. Which, like the yellow stripey socks, is almost finished. It's also yellow stripey, come to think of it, although it's yellow and gray striped in a much more sedate way. I'm digging it though, and I'm excited about having something to keep the sun out of my eyes.

After those are done I'm going to start another pair of socks, this time a nice alpaca-blend pair for Charlie. I also want to start a lace project. I am all about lace right now, and it isn't reflected in anything I'm working on right now, which is just wrong. It is reflected in my Ravelry queue, which is largely lace sweaters. So I'm pondering my options, and I think I'll be starting on a lace sweater soon.

Hey! I guess I had stuff to say after all, just in a very rambling, semi-random sort of way. I am out of practice with the blogging. I imagine with a renewed regular posting schedule, I will become a bit more coherent. In the meantime, I promise pictures of my projects as soon as they are finished, which should be soon.

Big earthquake, but Charlie and the boys and I are all fine, other than that our phones aren't working.

As of last night, yellow stripey magic loop sock #1 is finished! Yay! And as of this afternoon, YSMLS#2 is started. Huzzah!

I've got to say, I'm enjoying magic loop way more than I thought I would. I may be even switching my sock needle allegiance from my much beloved double points. It's that awesome. Largely because I have less fear of the sock coming off of the needles in my bag with magic loop. I'm very paranoid about that.

So tonight Charlie is for real working late, and I wanted to have the celery with peanut butter I was going to have last night. Except when I went to get it out, the celery (which I bought on Saturday) was all floppy. I don't know that I've ever had celery go floppy like that. I was weirded out, so I threw it away. But now I have to come up with a new dinner plan. I am not pleased. I mean, I have other lovely vegetables that I'm sure are in fine condition, but I wanted that celery. And I wanted a dinner that involved little effort, and would get very few dishes dirty. For now I'm eating frozen grapes and weighing my options.

In good news, sock #1 of my current pair is almost done. I think there's a very good chance I will finish it tonight. The yellow and the stripey-ness continue to delight.

I just realized that the downside of my husband unexpectedly coming home for (late-ish) dinner is that I can not go with my previously planned menu of frozen grapes, and maybe some celery with peanut butter and raisins if I want more substance. Crud. Ah well, he's worth it.

(Note: I was seriously planning on the frozen grapes and maybe celery menu, but I also had nice hearty homemade chili for lunch. So I am not flying in the face of proper nutrition. Mom.)

(Well, not my mom, as she does not use the internets, but I know there are people out there who worry.)

It is the magic loop sock! In progress! I am digging it's yellow stripey-ness so much (It's On-line Supersocke 100 Holiday Color). I can't tell if I'm really going any faster with magic loop than with double points. I've been busy, so I've been doing a round here, a round there. But it's coming along pretty well for having been started Friday late afternoon.

In other news, I actually finished a toy last week after a bit of a toy making hiatus. So I'm hoping to get back on track with that in general. And I have a small painting commission, which will help me keep in painting practice. And thus, I am exercising my art muscles.

In other other news, there is a big pot of chili on the stove with my name on it, and I think I'm going to go eat some.

I think you know the answer.

Guess who taught herself magic loop knitting this morning? And made oatmeal raisin cookies? And discovered that the walk to the train station in summer heat and odd for the region humidity is not fun? And saw a rat climb over her neighbor's balcony into her bushes and is now a little freaked out by that? And is surprised by being freaked out, because she used to have a pet rat?

Yeah, things (other than rat related things, which I'm actually not too worried about, what with the cat and dog around) are going well here. Our household may have some boosts in income soon, which is exciting.

Plus magic loop! Which is actually really easy. Pictures soonish. I need to use it to make something that isn't in a dark, doesn't look like much in a photograph color.

Go, right now, and read this article/recipe about making cold-brew iced coffee. Because cold-brew iced coffee? Is amazing. I made my first batch last night, drank it this morning, and am making a double or triple batch tonight so that I can have lots and lots tomorrow. And if that means that I end up drinking way to much coffee tomorrow, than so be it. It's good. Also, easy.

Not a ton going on here. I working on swatches for a sweater I want to design. While doing so, I am promising myself that I will write this one into an actual pattern with multiple sizes to share with other people if it turns out. By doing so, I feel productive, even though I am just knitting the same little swatch again and again in different yarn/needle combinations while watching tv.

Also, can you tell from the coffee picture that I have a tripod now? My mom had two, so when I visited Chicago she gave me one. When you have shaky hand like me, it makes a difference.

I am always seeking the wonder in the everyday world.

The taste of milky tea.
The silhouettes of the plants outside my bedroom window wake on the closed curtain when the light is just right.
How the same plants look like a lush jungle when the curtain is open.
The sound an apple makes when, having been lightly tossed upwards, it smacks gently back into my palm.
The smell of onions cooking.
The gentle touch of someone's fingers on my neck, as they do up the back of my dress.

I like little things like this, the amazing things that happen all of the time without anyone noticing. Except that I like to notice. It's not a new sentiment, obviously. Lots of people take pleasure in the simple art of paying attention. It makes life good.

Hey! Happy Independence Day! I'm checking in now in case I don't get a chance later, and also because some one (the dog) who is not so independent needed to be taken out to pee, so I'm already awake. Which I guess normally on a Friday I'm up at six, but it's a holiday so I was planning to sleep a bit later than the 7:15 at which I was awoken. Okay, to be fair I was planning to get up around 8am, because for me that feels very decedent. Because I am an adult now.

Unless fireworks are visible from my patio, I don't think I'm going to see fireworks today. Which I'm fine with, since the fact that anywhere in California is having fireworks displays during such a horrible fire season makes me nervous. Although of course they'll do the fireworks without me. But at least I won't have to cram in with a bunch of strangers and get mosquito bites. I'm not a fan of crowds, nor mosquitoes.

At any rate, pretty soon I'll go to the store, and then I'll have a whole lot of cooking ahead of me. But yeah! Have a fun day, no matter where in the world you are.

Noodles!

So! Still hot! And I think I have a cold, or allergies, because my head feels heavy and my eyes are burning and I keep sneezing. But I will keep on going, because I have a lot of cooking ahead of me.

Tomorrow I'll be making a tomato sauce with sausage, a tomato sauce without sausage, and a pesto. To go with them, I will be making a very large amount of homemade pasta. Fortunately, I have Charlie to help in all of this. He's still working on gaining confidence as a cook, but he's really pretty good. It also helps that these are all foods we've made enough times that I won't need to consult recipes, and they're all things I can more or less guarantee will turn out.

Making pasta is so much fun! It's sort of like the Fuzzy Pumper Barber set I had for my playdough when I was little, except that when you eat the end result of this it tastes good. (Well, playdough also tastes kind of good, but homemade pasta is even better.) And homemade pasta is really, really tasty. What with the freshness and the eggs and all.

After a short time making pasta, Charlie and I are already deviating from the recipes we've started out with. I now go with two cups of flour to three eggs, plus a little bit of water, unless the eggs are on the big side. You make a flour mountain, make a little volcano top in the middle, and plop your eggs in the hole like a virgin sacrifice (horrible joke. I'm sorry). You scramble the eggs with a fork, and then start pulling flour into them. When they stop being runny, you start mixing with your hands. When its turns into a dough, you start kneading it. And you keep needing it for about 10 minutes. At that point you either start running through the pasta machine, or you get out a rolling pin and start rolling. Either way, you keep going until it's a noodle type thinness, at which point you cut it, cook it, and eat it. And it's awesome!

It is hot out there. I mean, I realize it's frequently hotter in these parts, but it's still really hot. After walking back from my knitting group I need a second shower. I mean, it's up and down hills and mostly in direct sun, but ugh. It really isn't that far, only 1.75 miles, and in cooler weather is a really pleasant walk. Today, not so much. I'm also just not a warm weather person. My feeling on it is, I can always add more layers, but you can only take so much off before you're naked.

At any rate, I broke down and turned the air conditioning on, which I hate to do. On the other hand, I do enjoy not feeling physically awful, so it's a trade off.

In other news that isn't about me sweating, I continue to enjoy art. And in particular, I am starting to work on my pieces for Crafty Giveaway, which I announced back in May. So if you're one of the recipients for that, you should be getting a package from me in the next few weeks!

Back to work!

It's a semi-blurry photo of a toy that's long from finished, but it's still proof that I am back to work! And I could not be happier. I was getting worried. I came back from vacation, and felt devoid of ideas and stories and images and inspiration. It was like my brain had gone quiet. It will probably not come as a surprise that the thing that brought the noise back, so to speak, was writing about the issue in my sketchbook. It's a reminder that even though I never feel like I'm doing it right (which is in itself a nonsensical thought) using my sketchbook as an art journal is really helpful. I think it will also lead, long term, to me making my art more personal, in a way that I don't always think it has been in years. And that's good.

So yes! Art working again! Happy! Weeeee!

I'm back! Actually, I was back Monday, but due to a variety of boring things I was feeling under the weather and exhausted, and entirely unmotivated to do much. I'm still tired and feeling a bit cruddy, but I'm going the right direction, so I thought I'd drag myself back over here.

At any rate. Chicago and Michigan were lovely lovely lovely, and before that I had a great birthday. The are fun pictures to be shared, and stories to be told, but for today I want to look towards the future. More specifically, I want to look to tomorrow, when I will be using the pasta maker Charlie got me for my birthday!

I am so excited about this. We eat a lot of pasta, and I've been really wanting to make it myself for awhile. We've been making gnocchi, but I want to make noodles. And now I can!

Editing to add-

The point! The point was, food, as a theme. I've signed up for NaBloPoMo again for the month of July, both as a shot in the arm to get me going, and because the theme for July is food. And I love food, both preparation and consumption. And I've been thinking of either doing a lot of food posts here in addition to my art and personal stuff, or starting a separate food blog. So this will let me test out that idea.

See, so it ties in with the pasta maker, which was the point, except that I forgot. My brain is not so great today.

Hey! It's June! It's been nuts here, and now I'm about to have a house guest, and then head out of town. So posting will be sporadic for the next two weeks. But hey, Charlie will probably have a lot of business trips in July, so I should be around a ton then!


I started June off with my very first trip to Disneyland! With a free ticket courtesy of a friend of a friend, because I am not made of money. It was really fun. Like, way more fun than I expected it to be. The fact that it's mainly pokey paced kiddie rides is entirely my speed. Also, not much in the way of lines. During a crippling recession is apparently the exact right time to go to a popular and expensive amusement park if you really want to get the most out of the experience.

The rest of the week was mainly spent working on art stuff and house stuff. The house stuff is boring, and some of the art stuff I can't share as it was made as gifts for people who might see this. But hey, check this guy out.



An ivory billed woodpecker, as requested by my long-time friend Jean. I'll be mailing him off to her soon.

Also, I've been cutting up the paper grocery sacks we've accumulated, and binding them into little books. I think they'll be excellent for drawing in.



So I hope to be back at this soon! And once I'm back from visiting my family, I'll be around here a lot more.