TV Review: "The Magic of Ordinary Days"

Keri Russell, everyone's favorite college girl of the 1990s, plays a different sort of college student in The Magic of Ordinary Days. She plays a graduate student during WWII who finds herself in the family way and is married off by her father to a simple farmer, played by Skeet Ulrich. The plot itself is familiar to anyone who has read more than one romance novel. It is about a marriage of convenience that turns into a true marriage as husband and wife grow closer through a series of trials.

Since the plot is well worn, the only thing that makes it worth watching is the cast. Sweep back Keri Russell's hair and she immediately becomes the model for a 1940s face cream ad with no trace of "Felicity" to be found. Skeet Ulrich shines as her husband Ray, a strong silent type who wants nothing more than to please his new wife. Mare Winningham plays Martha, Ray's older sister, who knows Livy's situation but doesn't judge her for it; she just wants her brother to have happiness. I like Ms. Winningham and there wasn't enough of her in this movie for me.

The story plods along despite an attempt to inject some excitement. This was done through a subplot involving Livy, two Japanese women from an internment camp, and a escaped German POW. I felt the whole thing was totally unnecessary, especially the internment camp. Although it was historically accurate to show it, I don't think the internment camp should have been included in the story if the subject wasn't going to be given the full attention it deserved.

Overall, I liked this movie. It wasn't a bad thing to have in the background while I got some knitting done. It was treading on Sarah, Plain and Tall territory, and it doesn't stand up well to the comparison. But really, it would take a lot to live up to the performances of Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. It should be showing up on DVD soon, but I wouldn't add it to my NetFlix queue unless I was running low on stuff to watch.

He's at it again

WARNING: there are pictures of me below. I caution you -- I don't wear makeup, I am 100 pounds overweight, and I have whiskers on my chin. If I didn't let myself go like this, you would all be blinded by the beauty that is me. As it is, I still possess a quality that takes men's breath away. If you want to close your browser now to protect yourself, I will understand. However, you would be missing the hat and scarf that my man actually knit for me.


I know that this is a goofy pose, but I was trying to recreate the look from those 1950s pattern booklets.

This photo isn't the best, but it was taken by my 6-year-old son and shows off the scarf fairly well.


ABM used one skein of charcoal Lion Brand Homespun and a Knifty Knitter loom (the green one, just in case you have the set). He only used half the needles to make the scarf and I talked him out of fringing it because LB Homespun doesn't make great fringe. The large yellow loom is supposed to be used for an adult sized hat, but the hat stretches and it fit me just fine.

My loving man did concede that knitting on the loom is relaxing and he understands why his coworkers churn out hat after hat. I'm afraid that I have scared him away from using two sticks and a string, however. He has watched me fret over my knitting so much that he can't imagine how it could be therapeutic at all. Perhaps I could start him out on a diagonal baby blanket and lure him in that way :-).

Side Benefit of Reality Shows

ABM and I watch reality shows. Yeah, I said it and I'd say it again. We used to watch everything that the various networks would throw at us. Real World and Road Rules were Must See TV for us during the first three seasons, and we were glued to our sets for the first season of Survivor. After the first season of Big Brother, however, our affection for the genre faltered a bit. I, in particular, grew tired of all the plotting and backbiting. The dating shows never piqued our interest in the slightest. These days we try to stick to shows that involve the contestants going through some sort of improvement or reflection on their lives. Here is a short list of the ones we watch together:

Wife Swap
Made
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy/Girl
Town Haul
Pimp My Ride
Extreme Makeover
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Project Runway (this is actually one that I watch with M and Kjr)

One of the side benefits of watching these shows is the discussions that we have. When we were watching shows like Survivor, all we said was "I can't believe he did that!" With the shows that we watch now, ABM and I talk about how our lives are similar or dissimilar to the people we are watching. For instance, while viewing Queer Eye the other night ABM opened up about how he appreciates it when I make an extra effort to put on heels and a little makeup. Wife Swap has sparked several discussions about household responsibilities and how they should be distributed. Watching TV isn't always a waste of time.

You guys up north couldn't be satisfied with your own blizzard, could you? You had to share the "love" with the rest of us. The sleet and freezing rain started around 7a. It turned to snow around 11a and came down pretty good for about an hour, but now it seems to have gone back to freezing rain. As you can see from the picture, the kids seem to think it is great fun to sweep off the sidewalk and driveway. That's what happens when you only get one snowstorm a year :-). Actually, they have now abandoned the sweeping and are attempting to sit in a dishpan and slide down our driveway.

SNOW UPDATE: The kids are now trying to create their own sledding hill on the lawn by shoveling the snow off the driveway and the street and piling it up on the grass. Are these kids desperate for winter fun or what?

As most of you probably figured out, the SpongeBob blanket was not completed last night. All I got for my trouble was a little progress on the blanket and a little pain in my wrists and elbows. Fortunately for me, the outing will be canceled because of the weather so that buys me some time to finish it.

I want to take a break after this project, but I still owe the MIL a scarf and mittens to match the hat and socks I've already made. I have the yarn on hand and I really want to make them now so she can have a chance to use them this winter.

Did you notice anything strange about Spongebob? Could it be the fact that his face is still blue?!? I have been working on this in fits and starts since January. As for that yellow triangle -- it needs to turn into a 36" square before I go to bed so that I can stitch the SpongeBob panel to it and hand the blanket over to ABM tomorrow morning. He will be giving it to the new mom after work, so I won't even get to see her reaction. So much work, and I have to rely on my non-expressive man to tell me how she liked it. Sigh.

UPDATE: Thanks to Carrie's instructions, I figured out how to include more than one photo in my posts. I'll get the hang of this blogging thing yet!

I almost forgot

I am knitting furiously, trying to finish the SpongeBob baby blanket. The original plan was to knit a stockinette blanket with a garter stitch border and then duplicate stitch the SpongeBob design in the center. Then I was worried that the design might not turn out well, so I knit a panel just big enough for the design and I was going to knit garter stitch bands to be sewn on around the edges to make the blanket big enough. Now the duplicate stitch is almost finished, I am unhappy with how messy the back of my piece looks. A more experienced stitcher can turn out a piece that looks so good you almost can't tell the front from the back, but I am not that stitcher :-(. I considered buying a piece of flannel and sewing it to the back but I really don't want to spend any more money (As it is, I bought another skein of white yarn--a color I rarely use--because I was afraid that I would run out and I ended up not even needing it.) So, just yesterday I decided that I should knit a full baby blanket and stitch the panel to the front of it. Mind you, the blanket has to be finished by Saturday morning, yet I am crazy enough to think that I can finish knitting a 36" square by then. I'm doing a basic diagonal garter stitch blanket and it is growing pretty quickly, so I have a slight chance of meeting my deadline. Wish me luck!

Knit Picks and other stuff

First off, I want to thank MA for linking to my blog. I think this is my first link. Even though I am not trying to build a readership as large as Yarn Harlot's, it is cool to think that somebody is reading this stuff.

Like a lot of knitbloggers, I got my Knit Picks catalog yesterday. I, too, was amazed by the prices on their new in-house line. Yarn buying has never been a part of my budget (a shock to the rest of the knitblogging community, I know); the majority of my yarn was given to me by the relatives of acrylic-loving little old ladies who can no longer do needlework. I am trying to empty at least two of my three 18-gallon Sterilite containters before I buy anything. Still, the Knit Picks catalog has always tempted me with their "free shipping over $30" and their "try me" prices on certain yarns.

The marketing for their new line seems a little inflated, though. The Simple Stripes sock yarn in particular caught my eye. Here is the wording from their ad:

Simple Stripes
Only $3.69 for 50 grams
Compared to $8.99 for other self-striping, superwash sock yarns

Judging from this description, Knit Picks is suggesting it as a cheaper alternative to Regia which has the same fiber content and yardage. However, Regia and several other self-patterning sock yarns with the same put-up (superwash, 75% wool/25% acrylic, 230 yard/50 gram ball) are selling for at least $1 cheaper than the $8.99 mentioned in the Knit Picks ad for comparison's sake, at least according to my limited research. Lion Brand Magic Stripes regularly sells for $6.50 at my local Wal-Mart, and that has an extra 100 yards per ball. I would be interested in seeing someone do a comparison of Simply Stripes, Regia, and Magic Stripes. Who knows -- if I can squeeze some blood out of the stone that is my budget, I may be able to buy the yarn and do it myself :-).

What is ABM thinking? January is typically the coldest month of the NC winter, and January 2005 isn't letting us down. So why did my husband pick this month to finally clean out our unheated garage? Yes, I know that it is a jumbled mess out there; that is why I moved all my yarn indoors -- in the fall, when we were having freakishly warm weather. He's not just straightening up, either. He has been out in his cold workshop building shelving units to organize all the crap out there. I applaud his effort, but I like warmth too much to stand out there and help him. Bad wife!

I've been tagged!

There is a game of musical questions making its way around the blogs and I have been tagged the Baptist Buddhist, my friend G1. I just love being invited to play! Before I get started, let me qualify my responses by saying that as much as I love music, I rarely buy CDs or anything. I like a lot of variety and the randomness of radio appeals to me so I listen to most of my music via live365, Accuradio, and occasionally music video sites like Launch when I want to find out what the young folk are into. Anyway, here are my answers:

1. Total amount of music files on my computer: I have 10 MB on this computer and possible 50 MB on another computer in the house. I haven't accessed any of this music in at least six months. The bulk of it was downloaded when Audiogalaxy still offered p2p file sharing. I don't own an mp3 player, so music in that form isn't very useful for me. Occasionally, I buy a song from iTunes when one of our friends is looking for a particular track.

2. The last CD I bought: The few CDs I own were all purchased so long ago that I'm not totally sure which one is the most recent purchase. I believe it was Kelly Osbourne's Shut Up. I know, why would a person who rarely buys music waste a purchase on such inconsequential pop? What can I say -- I like her version of "Papa Don't Preach". Her presence also sucked me into watching life as we know it, also.


3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this question?: This answer should tell you a little about my life and schedule right now -- the last piece of music I heard was SIX HOURS ago and I can't even remember what it was. I think it was "Big Dollhouse" from the musical Hairspray.

4. Write down five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you: As other have said, this is tough because my attachment to songs changes all the time. I thought that I would always love Janis Joplin unequivocably, but I am simply not the same girl who wallowed in that "love gone bad" feeling. So here are the songs that work for me RIGHT NOW.

--"Aldonza" from the musical Man of La Mancha. I love the way that she is trying so hard to convince Don Quixote that she is awful, but he refuses to hear it.

--"Unwell" by Matchbox 20. The music is not great, but the lyrics describe my state of mind at least half the time.

--"Smooth" by Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana. G1 was talking about sexy songs on her list. This song has sex appeal in spades. I don't normally like instrumental music because I am all about the lyrics, but this is one song where I could dispense with the words altogether and still get that vibe.

--"42nd Street". It makes me want to dust off my tap shoes!

--"It Sucks to Be Me" from the musical Avenue Q. Are you guys sensing a theme? I've been listening to a lot of show tunes lately. Anyway, the lyrics are a downer but the tune is very catchy. I can hum this song when I am in a bad mood without anyone realizing that anything is wrong. The very subversive nature of that act usually lifts me out of my funk a bit :-).

5. Who are you going to pass this to, and why?: Honestly, I am not friendly enough with people in the blog world to pass this list along, but I would be interested to see how Laura at Poor Miss Finch would answer these questions. I'm also kind of curious about Genia's musical tastes.

Year of the Afghan -- Hah!

This is the last week of January, and I am not making much progress towards this year's goal. The SpongeBob baby blanket is supposed to be finished by the 31st, but I don't get much time to work on it in the evenings. The other two afghans-in-progress are the Gaudy Rambling Rows and the Crocheted Zinnia afghan. They both are too complicated to carry around and work on during my commute. So what did I do today? I started a scarf! I'm working on the Ghetto-G pattern that I found on Mayflower's blog (the picture is in the 04 Sep entry and the pattern is in the 13 Sep entry). I've been itching to do it for a while and I had a really LOUD purple yarn with coordinating variegated yarn in my stashette, but I couldn't find a good reason to make the scarf. Who on earth would I be knitting it for? Today I decided to cast on "just because". It is turning out well, and it will be the very first item in my last-minute gift box. I will get back to Spongebob tomorrow, I promise!

Ghost World; Media Style

I am feeling rather dense right now. I watched Ghost World (starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, and Steve Buscemi) last night. It was an interesting movie but the end confused me. Was the bus at the end real or not? If there is anyone out there who can explain it to me, please feel free.

As for the look of the movie, I loved it! You've heard of little black girls who occasionally fantasize about looking like their Barbie dolls with flowing blond hair (Whoopi Goldberg became famous doing a routine about that early in her career). I was not that kid. I am proud to be black, but if I could borrow the white-girl look for a couple days I would be Thora Birch's character in this movie. The straight black bobbed hair, the pale skin with the pouty lips, her twist on vintage clothes -- I can't get enough of it. Here are a few other cinematic looks that I like:

--Amber Tamblyn as Joan in Joan of Arcadia, when she goes girly with the A-line cotton skirts and the delicately-embroidered twin sets
--Renee Zellweger in Down with Love, especially the swing coats with the linings that match the dresses
--Alyssa Milano's attempt (or that of the show's stylist) to single-handedly bring back the snood, as seen on her character Phoebe in previous seasons of Charmed

Those who have seen me in person would never guess that I have such a love of vintage fashion. I haven't owned a vintage piece since I was a teenager. The main reason is my size. I am currently a modern size 24, so I don't even feel like going through the frustration of trying to find vintage that would fit me or altering anything I find. Luckily I have three daughters; I can experiment on them :-).

Totally Random

My post is going to be a bit random today, a la Yarn Harlot:

--I finally picked up just the right yellow for SpongeBob. Hopefully, I will get a good bit of work done on it this weekend because I am ready to move on to the blankets I have planned for my own household.

--While I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday, I picked up a ball of pink (color name: Strawberry) eyelash yarn called Wild Child. It took me no time at all to crochet a keyhole scarf for my friend/prayer partner here at work. I did six inches last night and finished the scarf before lunch today. The last two hats I knit went pretty quickly, too. Perhaps I am getting faster.

--The touring company of Hairspray is coming my area this summer. I am so excited! I enjoyed the original movie and I love the songs from the show. My best friend loves me enough to force herself to sit through it with me. I can't wait!

--M has to do a project for her Spanish class. It has to be something that shows an aspect of the culture in a Spanish-speaking country. Is it wrong that I am steering her toward something craft-related since I am the one who will be helping her? She originally wanted to cook something, but I vetoed that for two reasons. First, I didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting her meal to school (I don't drive and she has to take three different buses to get to school in the morning). Secondly, I remember that when I was in school, cooking a meal was always the thing that kids picked to get extra credit in language class. It seems like an easy out to me. I want her to actually learn something and bring in a project that isn't going to be like everyone else's. She seems to be interested in the two choices I presented her: papel picado (decorative paper cutting) from Mexico or weaving with a Peruvian-style backstrap loom. We are both leaning toward Peru because we think a lot of kids in her class are going to pick Mexico and because her cousin will be moving to Peru soon.

Do you know who I am?

I've been 'fraid of changing
'Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
I'm getting older, too.
--"Landslide", Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Those first two lines resonate with me, especially now . I've been married for 15 years and I'm not sure that my husband knows me as well as he should. From our very first date, we knew that we had totally different and possibly conflicting personalities. Yet there was something about ABM that called out to me and made me want to build a family with him when I had never even considered marriage before. I eagerly introduced him to the more superficial aspects of my personality like my love of musicals and Chinese food, but I guarded the deeper parts of me that I was afraid he might reject. Even after all these years, I am guarding them still. However, as the third line of the chorus says, time makes you bolder. Perhaps now I am mature enough to open myself up completely and stand up to whatever reaction he has. The time has come for ABM to meet the girl who dreams of being an author, who really feels the lyrics of her favorite songs, and whose love for her husband has grown so strong over the years that it leaves her breathless.

Another note about music and nostalgia

My sense of nostalgia is all screwed up because I listen to music from so many eras. For instance, I just heard "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" by the Beatles and immediately jumped back to my junior high years. That song was released in 1965, two years before I was born, but it triggers memories for me just as if it was released in 1980. When I have "Remember when . . ." conversations with my peers, I have to do a bit of mental sorting because Cyndi Lauper and Connie Francis are both filed under the same year in my mental record collection :-).

I've got the music in me

Moreso than any other January, I have been reflecting on my life and areas that I would like to improve. My current mantra is "It ain't all about me", so I am trying to do less navel-gazing and focus on those around me. Yesterday, my thoughts traveled to music and my kids.

I have a very eclectic taste in music. I know that there are lots of people who think their musical taste is wide-ranging, but in my case it really is. The main reason that I don't buy CDs is that I have trouble picking something that I would rather bring home over something else, since I don't have an unlimited budget. If I did have a CD collection, you would see everything from Marilyn Monroe to the Impressions to Jim Croce to the cast recording of Hairspray to Kelly Osbourne to the Stray Cats . . .

Unfortunately, my kids aren't benefitting from their mother's good taste. They are not surrounded by music as much as I was in my childhood, and I know that early exposure is what shapes your musical preferences. In my opinion, most people stick to one genre of music because their parents didn't make much of an effort to present a variety or they were of the opinion that "we" (black, Southern, Asian, whatever) only listen to a certain kind of music. I don't want my kids to be like that, so I need to raise the level of importance of music in our lives. Right now, these are my kids' musical influences:

--Church (urban gospel)
--Radio Disney (sanitized pop)
--Dance Dance Revolution and anime (Japanese pop)

I remember my own musical influences quite clearly and I want to give them something to remember, too. I want them to know that there is great stuff outside the Top 40. Since I don't have enough stuff to do a "100 things about me" list, I thought I would share a few remembrances of music in my childhood:

--I learned the words to "Hello, Dolly" from a first-grade teacher who had a piano in her classroom and would play for us before class.
--My parents owned a night spot for a brief period, which is where I heard a lot of disco. I also remember my mom and her friends with afros and hot pants!
--I learned to do the Hustle and the Bus Stop in elementary school gym class.
--I first heard Rod Stewart and ABBA on a little transister radio tuned to WABC in New York.
--"Happy Days", "To Sir, With Love", "Grease", and an oldies show on local radio station 61 Big Ways were responsible for introducing me to the music of the 1950s and early 1960s.
--As a teenager, I increased my knowledge of music by digging through the $2.99 cassette bin at the Record Bar and buying the ones with the coolest name or the best cover art.
--I also bought cassettes based on reviews in SPIN magazine, which was supposed to be the new and hip alternative to Rolling Stone (I still have two years' worth of issues in my garage). Those reviews introduced me to Culture Club, Fine Young Cannibals, and Edie Brickell, among others.

So much for not doing too much navel-gazing :-). Perhaps this will inspire some of you to take a little mental trip and recall some of those fond musical memories in your own past.

Been gone too long

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a few days. I guess I'm not doing so well with my "post every day" goal :-(. Working on my SpongeBob baby blanket has kept me away from the computer. I already missed my self-imposed 14 Jan deadline, so now I am aiming for 31 Jan at the latest. Hopefully I can get a pic up of my work-in-progress later this week.

Random Verse

I have been in a very funky mood this week, and I don't think I am capable of a rational post today. So instead I am going to subject to some random verse. It has been years since I have written like this, hence it is very bad and undeserving of the name "poem". However, I promised myself that I would try to post something every day and this is all I've got.
____________________________________________________________

Don't beg him to love you.

Even though every fiber in your body
Is screaming for the touch
Of his calloused hands --

Don't beg him to love you.

He wants to stay,
But only if you don't
Need him.
He can't save you,
And he doesn't want
The burden of trying.

Don't beg him to love you.
__________________________________________________________

Back to stitching the SpongeBob baby blanket, which was supposed to be finished tomorrow. Hah!

This is my picture for the Hayden knitalong. I joined this knitalong by accident; I just mentioned on Laura's site that I was knitting her pattern and the next thing I knew, my name was on the list of participants! So, I couldn't leave everyone hanging -- I had to post a photo :-). The rechargeable batteries for the digital camera have disappeared so I scanned the hat instead. It is not the best image, but at least you can see my color combination. At first I thought that mixing three shades of rose with a white and a burgundy might produce a stomachache (bad wine humor), but I am pleased with the final result. Those with eagle eyes may notice that the slip stitch changes halfway through the hat. That is because I ran out of one of the roses while doing the decreases.

Dani's Turn

Even at a young age, I identified with the song "Rose's Turn" from the musical Gypsy. I know that seems to be an odd song for me to relate to, even at my current age of 38, but hear me out. Although I can be shy and reticent to engage new people, there's always been a fire burning inside of me that has threatened to consume me at times. I need an a outlet, a safe way to satisfy the voice that screams "Notice me!" even as my rational self is saying "Where can I hide?" God gave me the need for applause without a talent that would bring it my way. Music affects me so strongly that I can barely keep still, but I have no rhythm and a barely serviceable singing voice. I thought that writing would quiet the voice, but so far it hasn't worked out that way. Writing is difficult for me when I try to do it "on purpose". I leave more interesting paragraphs in the comments sections of other blogs than I manage to produce for my own blog. (Often I am tempted to rename my blog "The Reactionary" and just write my responses to everyone else's entries!) Currently, I am trying to make my knitting "sing" for me, but I fear that I am the needlework equivalent of a hack. I'm not creative enough to bring anything new; I can only duplicate others' patterns.

Perhaps I identify more with Seymour's lyrics in "Downtown (Skid Row)" from Little Shop of Horrors:

Poor!
All my life I've always been poor
I keep asking God what I'm for
And He tells me, "Gee, I'm not sure
Sweep that floor, kid"

Names that I wish I had given my daughters

Mercedes Pierce
Dulcinea
Zoe

Songs NOT to listen to when you are tired and overemotional

"Goodbye Love" from Rent
"Final Sequence" from Man of La Mancha
"Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime

Don't say I didn't warn you :-).

God's Birthday Gift to Me

I found three silvery grey hairs just above my right temple. Now, most women would be reaching for the Clairol box if that sight greeted them on their 38th birthday. I, however, am excited. Ever since I was a teenager, I've wanted a shock of silver hair in the front like Bonnie Raitt or Rogue in the X-Men comics. These hairs could be the start of a beautiful silver streak :-).

C2's Beaujolais hat was a snap to knit. I've stitched this paperbag style several times. This is a modification of the pattern in Nicky Epstein's book "The Knit Hat Book". The yarn is Red Heart Classic all the way, baby. I was afraid that the variegated yarn would be too busy as a background for the grapes, but the colors are muted like a watermark on a piece of paper. 

Here we have the Kittyville hat that I knit for C1. My pom-pons always look anemic, so I made tassels instead. The yarn is an discontinued one (from the 1980s, judging by the sweater pattern that was on the ball band) called Lana Moro Polo, and the color is a light grey. It is a slightly fuzzy yarn; I think the current equivalent might be Lion Brand Jiffy. The ball band didn't list yardage, but I made an entire hat and barely made a dent in that 50g ball. I might even be able to get a small pair if wristwarmers out of it. 

This is the scarf I knit using Red Heart Foxy, their version of fun fur. I used three strands held together per the pattern requirements, but I could have saved myself some money and used only two. The yarn is very soft and I had to really abuse it before I could make it shed even a little. M was posing for all she was worth, not realizing that I wasn't going to put her face in the picture :-). 

Believe it or not, my husband ABM made this hat. He used one of the Knifty Knitter looms that we bought the kids for Christmas. He has never wanted to learn conventional knitting, but these looms seem to call to him. The hat was knit with two strands held together, an unknown burgundy (that sounds like a cheap wine!) and pale yellow Lion Brand Pound of Love. 

This is my son DJ modeling the mittens I made for him and the ribbed earwarmer I made for his father (my husband -- same guy!)

The mittens were made with the Gifted pattern using Brown Sheep Bulky Superwash in Sapphire Blue. These were really fun to make and I am going to make another pair using Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Charcoal for my MIL. She actually requested a pair after seeing the finished product. This marks a step toward open-mindedness for her because she was firmly in the "Black people don't knit/crochet/cross-stitch, etc." camp when we first met.

The earwarmer is a 2 x 2 rib using an unknown grey acrylic with a faint tinge of blue to it. If any of my Vari knitting buds are reading this, it is the same yarn I used for the purse swap last year. I keep meaning to try a little fair-isle on an earwarmer because I think the small scale is less intimidating.

Next Up: Fotografias!

I can't figure out how to publish all the pictures in one post, so they will cover the next several posts. I'm apologizing up front for the color; I took the photos outside on a sunny day like all the cool knit-blogging kids do, but my white garage door still turned out looking blue. Anyway, I am just dying for you guys to see that I actually knit, instead of just talking about it :-).

Technology can be scary

My DirecTV service was turned off this afternoon. (Yes, I was slack over the holidays and didn't pay much attention to the household accounts. A state of denial is the only way I can bring myself to work Christmas presents into my budget. We're not discussing that now.) This isn't the first time that it has happened to me, so I wasn't exactly distraught. Anyway, they say on their website that you don't need to call in once you have made your payment; it will go through automatically and your service should be back on in about an hour. Usually, I pay it and go about my business, trusting that the service will be there when I sit down to watch some crappy TV show later on. Today I decided to see exactly how quickly DirecTV would restore my service. Let me tell you, it was restored with lightening speed. I had my TV on while I made the payment via the website, and before my high speed connection could bring me the confirmation screen I already had my service back. It was like someone read my mind and knew that I was thinking about making the payment. E-mail that I have sent to myself as a test doesn't show up that fast.

Lost my ability to clean

Why can't I perform a simple task like cleaning the bathroom mirror? I have never been a great housekeeper, but that was mainly due to laziness. Whenever I would summon up the energy, I could do a decent job. Lately, though, I can't seem to clean my bathroom mirrors without making them look worse. I'm doing the same thing I've always done, but now they look like I have been smearing oil on them. I know that I use oil in my hair but I usually back away from glass surfaces before I spray it. Add that to the fact that a floor I've mopped never looks clean, and it doesn't look like I've done much in the bathroom at all. Pooh :-(.

Friday Night!

Do I have something exciting planned for tonight? Well, it is exciting to me, but I don't think the average person would be bowled over. This is the first day in two weeks that I didn't have to work overtime, my bedroom is clean, and I don't have to check anyone's homework. This is a perfect time to work on the first "afghan" of the year, a baby blanket for an acquaintance from church. I don't know the woman very well, so I am really stitching this as a favor to my hubby. I'm putting more effort into this blanket than I usually do for a shower gift, but I don't think this woman got a lot of gifts. She has some things going on in her life that other members of our church don't condone, so I think they shunning her. I don't agree with some of the choices she has made, either, but that is no reason why an innocent baby should go without gifts. It just seems wrong.

ABM has a habit of asking me to make complicated things in a nonchalant way. He has total faith that I can do what he asks if I deign to put forth the effort. This time around he wants a baby blanket with SpongeBob Squarepants in the center. Now, I have never knit or crocheted a character on anything, but he had faith that I could do it so I am giving it a shot. Here is the plan (subject to change at any point): last night I used my Incredible Sweater Machine to knit a cornflower blue panel for the center of the afghan. A quick Google search yielded a free Spongebob chart that was supposedly designed for knitting, so hopefully it won't look all squished when I stitch it. I've already started knitting the black outline and it looks OK so far. To extend the panel to baby-blanket size and to stop the edges from curling, I am going to knit four garter stitch bands to go around it similar to the binding on a quilt. These bands will be the same yellow that I use for SpongeBob's head, unless I run out.

The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow and I don't have to work. If you all cross your fingers, I may be able to get some pictures up on the blog before Monday.

What Blog Do I Read Most?

Surprisingly, the blog I read most often is not about knitting. It is Amateur Gourmet, a foodie blog written by Adam, a law student/playwright. Part of the reason I read it almost daily is pure convenience -- it is at the top of my alphabetical Bloglines list. I always start reading from top to bottom but I don't have much recreational time on the computer each day, so on many days Amateur Gourmet is the only one I read. Saying that I read it out of laziness, though, doesn't give credit to Adam's writing. He hooked me with a post about six months' ago where he was pooh-poohing the trend towards low-carb eating. In addition to posting about his adventures with various restaurants and recipes, he also creates silly foods songs and short film clips. If you are the type who likes to read cookbooks more than you actually cook, you'll like this blog. Check it out!

"Camp"

If you were a drama geek in high school or if (like me) your earliest musical memory involved show tunes, then you should see "Camp". It is the story of a theater summer camp where kids escape being picked on by parents and classmates and enjoy two months of being appreciated for their talents. The flow of the storyline is a bit jerky; it reminds me of those old-fashioned comedians who do 1-2 jokes (setup, then punchline). Ignore the tired plot; the true reason to rent this is the musical performances. I identified strongly with the kids in this movie because I was a kid who was drawn to the emotion behind every song. I feel music much too deeply for a woman who can't sing :-).

You found me!

Here I am! If you are reading this, you probably followed the link from my old blog at Xanga. If not, you're welcome anyway!

A few of you may have noticed that I changed the name of my blog. This is in line with my new theme. With the help of my husband, ABM, I decided on afghans for my needlework theme this year. The fact that a baby blanket is my first project of the year had a little to do with it. This doesn't mean that I am not going to knit other stuff, but I have a goal to complete at least two afghans this year. It may not sound like much of a goal, but it is a big one for me because I get bored with afghans after I have finished about 1/3 of the work. There are two afghans among my UFOs right now that are not big enough to finish quickly, but I've put too much work into them to rip them out without causing myself pain.

As for last year's goal, I completed it! The theme for 2004 was Family Knitting, and the goal was to knit at least one item for everyone in my immediate family (husband, MIL, and four kids). Part of the credit for meeting this goal goes to ABM. I've tried to meet this goal for the past couple years, but I haven't been unsuccessful. About a week before New Year's Eve, it occurred to me that ABM's scarf was the only thing keeping me from meeting it this time. Just as I started trotting out scarf patterns and yarns in a desperate attempt to knit a scarf in a week, my loving husband told me that he changed his mind and what he really wanted was a ribbed earwarmer. He insisted that he didn't change his mind just to help me meet my goal, but I think he did. In a previous discussion, he mentioned that he doesn't get excited about my knitting because I rarely finish things. My hubby is a man of few words, but I think he was happy that I actually completed something.

I still haven't finished tweaking my new spot, so don't be alarmed if you see a few more changes in the weeks to come. Pictures are the next thing on my agenda; after all, what's a needlework blog without visuals?