Big Changes and Big News

I'm moving, yes, but not the way you think. Big Man and I are splitting up. It wasn't amicable at first, but it is now. I'm not moving to LA anymore; I'm moving to Charlottesville, Virgina, home of Juniper Moon Farm! My amazing friend (and the farm's owner) Susan asked me to move in and be her assistant in exchange for room and board.

Clio and I and my wonderful sister (who's flying in to make the drive with me) will be starting on our grand adventure this weekend, and should be at the farm sometime next week. If I can get my camera to cooperate (currently, the pictures it takes look like Salvador Dali painted them), I'll share pictures of our trip and our new home soon!

Miscellany

We got a house! To rent--never in our lifetimes could we afford to *buy* this house. However, it is AMAZING--1926 Spanish style, many many original fixtures (like leaded glass windows, built-ins, original Batchelder tile fireplace)--and is in a great neighborhood, and our landlady seems really lovely, and it's less than 1/2 mile from the beach, and overall I'm thrilled! Pictures once I get up to LA again (well, Redondo Beach, technically).

It is going to require some paring down of our belongings. It is technically the same square footage as this apartment, but it seems MUCH smaller. However, I don't mind having to cut back. We've needed to do so for a long time, so it's refreshing.

The house is small enough that I'm not even sure where, exactly, to put the cat's litter boxes. Someone on Ravelry suggested this toilet-training kit to me. I was immediately prepared to dismiss it. However, it's only $30 for the kit, and I would love to be done with litter entirely. Plus, it's obviously hilarious to see a cat use the toilet. Anyone have any experience with this? I'd love to hear about it.

Moving on up...

To the east side...well, not really. We are moving on up the map, though, to LA! Big Man accepted a job in El Segundo, and we'll likely be out of the San Diego area entirely in 2 or 3 months. We're both pretty excited and nervous about it, though for different reasons. He's nervous about his new job (more responsibility), and I'm nervous about how to condense and move 7 years' worth of STUFF out of here!

I'm likely to be selling/wanting to get rid of some things, like novels and other books, maybe some crafting items (though not likely any fiber or yarn!), and maybe some kitchen gear. If I get these things listed somewhere public like Craigslist or half.com, I'll be sure to post a link.

In the meantime, I get to figure out how we're going to work out our life for the next few months. And yes, I'd say we're finally (maybe) getting our piece of the pie :).

it's been a while...

And things are different. I have a craft show tomorrow, so I'm madly knitting for that (except right now, when I'm typing) and hoping I sell every bit of what I bring. Thanks to the terrible economy, we'll likely be moving in a few months, though I don't know yet if it'll be for a job or back in with my mom in Maryland. Clio the Wonder Kitty has a urinary stone that should have, in all ways, killed her, but she's perfectly healthy. I am sort of holding my breath to see what our future holds. I'm excited to find out, whether it's good or not so good. Either way, it'll be different.

A taste of things to come

Here's a few photos of some of the handspun yarns I have listed or will list during this week in my shop. They're going to be priced MUCH lower than normal in order to get some cash flowing into my anemic bank account.

hi there

Wow, it's been a while, eh? I've been in quite a long, drawn-out funk. I'm not a fan of my job (anybody want to hire me? For anything?) for several reasons, and it's affecting my brain pretty heavily.

However, this weekend marks the first weekend I have off since I told my boss "no more weekends!!". Even though this means my hours are being cut roughly in half, I can't tell you how happy I've been since I got off work Friday. It's completely worth it (not to mention the fact I'll actually get to spend time with Big Man again).

One sign of this happiness is that I'm interested in spinning again! Oh, I had done some during the bleaker days, but I wasn't *excited* about it. Now I am. Due to the hours being cut, I plan to work hard and get things listed in my Etsy shop at enough of a discount to (hopefully) ensure they sell just to get some more money coming in. I'm just spinning my fingers off, and it feels great. I owe a local Ravelry/LSG friend a debt of gratitude for getting me going, as she is paying me to custom spin some rovings she fell in love with.

I plan to take photos tomorrow, as this afternoon was spent spinning and napping (and, I kind of forgot I was supposed to take them). I hereby swear to post photos on this blog in the next few days of beautiful fibery things. Oh wait! I DO have a picture of the skein I test-spun for my Ravelry/LSG friend!

50ish yards, 4oz of hand-dyed merino from Fat Cat Knits, her colorway Deep Woods (I called it Sea Glass)

And just for fun, here's my buddy Sampson at the Wild Animal Park (where I met said friend this morning). I don't really know if it's true, but I like to think he remembers me, as every time I go into the aviary he hangs out in, he always comes right to the front of his tree and hams it up and looks like he wants to jump onto my shoulder. I say this because I've observed him from the entrance (where he can't see me), and he just sort of hangs out on the tree not doing a lot for other folks. I do usually spend at least 15 minutes talking to him every time we go.

Today he danced for me! I'd never seen that. Of course, that was when my camera died, so you'll have to move your head up and down in front of this photo and pretend.

He's a hyacinth macaw, and part of the reason I realllllllly want a big bird. His beak (and a lack of funds and space) is part of the reason I don't have one. I'm a weenie.

Maybe the lifting of the funk will mean more blogging too--it feels fun right now, whereas in the past it felt a bit like a chore or duty. Here's hoping! Now I'm off to spin some more...

You must eat this NOW.

Immediately, drop whatever you're doing and go straight to the nearest grocery store. You MUST try this flavor of ice cream.



I know it's been out for a while, and I'm late to the party. But it's soooooo gooooooooooood.

Also, if anyone knows where I can get my hands on some Ben & Jerry's Coconut Seven Layer Bar ice cream (short of going to a scoop shop), PLEASE let me know!

I'm a thief.

My lovely friend Susan has a recurring feature on her blog of "Probably Something You Would Like". I'm stealing that idea to share some things with you that I like, and hopefully you will too!

I adore Smitten Kitchen's blog. LOADS of wonderful recipes, all very well-written and photographed, and I have yet to find a problem with anything I've cooked. Well, baked, as I usually go for the goodies. I also bought some of her prints to put up in my kitchen. They look lovely, if I say so myself. Well, if you ignore the horrible rental "white" paint and the ugly window.


The artwork found in AmberAlexander's shop is *amazing*. I'm in love, and want to wallpaper my wool room in her prints. I especially like this one of an octopus.

Artwork property of and courtesy of AmberAlexander

Lookit this amazing fiber bowl! It's machine stitched on soluble fabric, and is just astounding to me. ChocolateFrog really is an expert at this most unusual art.

Image courtesy of ChocolateFrog

Not Always Right kills me, every time. Customers say the darndest things!

You've probably seen this before, but I lurve it. The kitty makes me happy.

Well, I think that's it for now. I don't get out much anymore--work, sleep, sometimes on my days off I get to cook or do fibery things. I'll see if I come up with anything interesting for a post next week--if not, maybe this will be an intermittent feature!

Friday Funny

I snagged these from this month's issue of Vegetarian Times.


A couple sits down at a diner. The husband orders a burger, and his wife gets the veggie burger. The waitress yells back to the cook " Two burgers, one regular and one de-calf!"

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Why did the tofu cross the road?






To prove he wasn't chicken!

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A man walks into the doctor's office with carrots in his nose and broccoli in his ears. He says, "Hey doc, I still don't think I'm eating right."

Well, hello there.

I am still here. Things have been, well, a bit topsy-turvy in my head the last couple of months. I'm trying to straighten myself out and settle down. It's slow going, but it is going, at least a little bit.

I've been trying to get used to my new job, and doing some knitting, and some spinning, and lots of nothing too. I might have a finished object to show you, but, well, someone has been holding me up.




That's the inside of the finished back of my Estes Vest. Clio decided it was wonderful and the perfect bed, so it has been naught but a bed for some time now. I've also finished one side and part of another, and will be buying a skein of grey Lamb's Pride to make her her very own bed, so she can stop usurping my knitting.

I'm going to try to post more often. I did hear a good joke recently, so look for a Friday Funny this week. Oh, before I forget--I'm going to Rhinebeck this fall! For those of you who aren't fiber fanatics, Rhinebeck is the informal name for the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival, and it is one of the two biggest on the East Coast, if not in the country. I'm considering it research, as I'd really love to make a living traveling to different markets with my yarns, and selling online and wholesale in between festivals.

Till next time, keep knitting, spinning, spending time with your loved ones--whatever it is that makes you tick and keeps you happy!

Virtual Cat

Because I forgot to take the camera to the beach this weekend and because I've done nothing but knit, watch Mythbusters on DVD, and that single beach trip, I have nothing to show you (though if the sun stays out, I'll snap some pics of the finished back of my Estes vest). However, I figured we could all use some time with a snoozing kitty, who is ever-so-happy to have me home all day. You might be able to hear her tiny little snores. If not, she's still calming and cute. Hope it brightens your day even a little.

Friday Funnies

A three year old walked over to a pregnant lady while waiting with his mother in the doctors office.

He inquisitively ask the lady, "Why is your stomach so big?"
She replied, "I'm having a baby."

With big eyes, he asked, "Is the baby in your stomach?"
She said, "He sure is."

Then the little boy, with a puzzled look, asked, "Is it a good baby?"
She said, "Oh, yes. It's a real good baby."

With an even more surprised and shocked look, he asked...
"Then why did you eat him?"

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Three guys are driving in a pickup, two in the cab and one in the bed. Suddenly, a deer jumps into the road, so the driver swerves to avoid it and drives down an embankment into the river. He and the other guy in the cab swim out as the truck sinks. To their horror, as they reach the riverbank, they realize the third guy is nowhere to be found. They’re just about to dive into the river to save him when the third guy final pops up and swims to the shore. “Sorry,” he says. “I couldn’t get the tailgate open.”

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What do you call two men sitting on a window sill?







Kurt and Rod.

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Three fonts walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and say "Shove off! We don't serve your type in here!"

what, you want I should update?

So, it's Thursday. Time has gotten away from me, moreso than usual. I do have a few pictures (however terrible) for you, and I will post them now. Let's see, how to begin...

I went to Stitches West. It was really great. I want to be a vendor next year. I think that makes me insane (especially since I just looked at the prices for vending this year, eep!). I nearly forgot to take photos, and the ones I took are sort of blurry. Believe me, these two are the best of the bunch. Sorry, but if you squint you'll see it clearly!

Yes, it was crowded. Yes, it was weird being one of the attendees after working so many other types of conventions. However, as it was a crowd of women, I could see over almost everyone!

Standing on a chair near one of the back corners. This was a relatively *open* area--it was PACKED in some of those booths!

I think this was The Bagsmith booth--those are US50 wooden needles. She could've killed someone with them. The rug to her left was knit with roving and those needles.

What's that? You want to know what I bought? Why? Oh, living vicariously, ok. I had set aside some of my tax refund to take to Stitches, and boy am I glad I did! I used almost every last penny of my budget for the trip, but I paid for all my gas, food, and of course yarn with it. I've got some captions on the photo (click on it to "embiggen" so you can actually read it). Also, please try not to be distracted by the colors of my bedspread. Nowhere else was big enough and light enough to take the photo!

click to make it big enough to read the captions!

• I have no idea just yet what the Malabrigo is for, though there is enough of the Brillante for a vest (I think) and enough of the Melilla for a short-sleeved sweater (I think--maybe even elbow length). I simply could NOT resist those colors. Yes, I know it's a softly spun single, and yes I know it will pill. I don't much care though, and I'll shave them as necessary!

• The Knitting Notions should be plenty for a cabled vest, I believe. Hand-dyed--there are gorgeous tonal variations you can't quite see in the photo.

• There's another enormous skein of Eco-Wool for Big Man's sweater, but that was being swatched from and therefore in another room (did I tell you I want to make him a hoodie? And that he wants it baggy? Thankfully he likes the looser/bigger needle swatch!).

• The sequin thread will be plied with some plain black thick/thin (like these yarns) and I think I can get two skeins out of it, and the two green wool/stainless Habu cones are to (eventually when paired with two cones I already have) make myself a Sea Tangles sweater.

• The ultra-fine stainless--I can't wait to try that! I want to spin a textured single of...maybe merino/bamboo, and let that thinner-than-a-hair wire wrap around it as I spin it back the other way. It'll be sooooo coooooooool. I have to find the perfect fiber, though...ooh, maybe I'll corespin and then let the wire wrap! So many decisions.

Not much else is going on right now, honestly, I'm applying for jobs, freezing myself because I feel like not using the heat (but leaving the silly windows open) is a great money-saving measure for some reason, and deciding if I should make my own bread every day (is it more cost-effective? Doing the math today). ETA: I just called my local warehouse store, and a 25lb bag of all-purpose flour is $6.29. That is roughly $0.26 flour cost PER LOAF of sandwich bread. Guess who's never *buying* sandwich bread again! Off to try making a loaf right now to ensure I'm good enough at it that this would be a worthwhile purchase.
I've been doing loads of knitting on my Estes Vest, and have nearly the whole back done. I know it's faster than if I were doing it with finer yarn, but even using the Lamb's Pride Bulky and US10.5 needles, all the tiny cables in the honeycomb are slowing me down. It's such a cool pattern, though, that it's worth it. Plus, it's going to be a REALLY warm vest--I'm excited.

And because I know you've missed her, here's another shot of Her Furry Highness. It's from yesterday, and she was resting hard. Doesn't she look tired from all her exertions?

Friday Funnies, Matey!

These are courtesy of my Seester, queen of silly jokes. Thanks Seester!

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Why did the pirate cross the ocean?





To get to the other tide!

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A pirate walks into a bar with a paper towel on his head. The bartender asks "what's with the towel?", and the pirate replies "Arrr! I've a bounty on me head!"

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How much did the pirate pay for his piercings?





A buck-an-ear!

Wednesday, huh?

What a long strange week it's been. Let's see...

1. I am now part of the 7.6% of Americans who are unemployed. I kind of knew it was coming, but it still stings. On the plus side of things, this means I probably have more time for spinning and knitting till another job comes along!

2. I'm going to Stitches West this weekend. Actually, I leave tomorrow morning. I'm driving up, picking up a fellow Raveler about halfway. it should be loads of fun, especially as I have a portion of my tax refund to spend as I wish!

3. I have not yet begun to pack for this trip. I don't even know what knitting projects I'm taking, and I have to do a load of laundry. I am sure I'll forget nothing (yeah, right). I will try to remember to take photos, though.

4. I don't know that I even have 4 things tonight, much less 5. It's been sort of a draining afternoon/evening. Did I mention that when I got to the rental car place directly after work, that location had closed and *no one told me*? I was, um, "annoyed". I was able to go to another nearby location and get my silly rental car though.

5. Hey look, 5! But nothing substantive to post, so here's a picture of my cat. Again.

Another one bites the dust...

Hopefully I've now gotten that song stuck in your head, because I'm evil like that. Another week has flown by. Thanks to my pinkeye (which seems to be resolved now, thankfully) and some goings-on at work, I had a three day week this past week, and I'm going to have another one this week because I'm going to Stitches West!! I'm pretty excited, though it doesn't really seem real. I've already made up shopping lists for all the yarn weights and yardages I'll need for all the different sweaters I want to make. If you actually clicked through, you'll see two men's sweaters. Yes, I'm convincing Big Man he wants a sweater. Considering how tall he is, I think I now qualify as a masochist. At least they're both done in worsted weight yarn, so it won't be too awful.

I'm also excited to see many of my online friends from Ravelry. I'm road-tripping up and picking up a lovely Raveler about halfway up, and it should be a lot of fun. I made loads of muffins this weekend (more on that later) and intend to take quite a few with me, both for delicious snacks and to ensure I have something to eat in the mornings that doesn't come from Starbucks!

The only sad thing is that I don't think I'll have much in the way of internet access while I'm gone, so the virtual world will have to muddle through without me somehow!

Yesterday (and Friday night), I decided I wanted to bake. As Big Man will testify, I don't usually do things in a small way when I cook. I should probably sign a contract to cook for the local firehouse (though they would probably take exception to my vegetarian meal planning). I looked in my cabinet, saw that I had 4 kinds of dried fruit, and decided I would make muffins. I don't think I've ever made muffins, but that didn't deter me. So, when making muffins, the recipes usually make 1 dozen--muffin pans only have 12 cups, so why not? However, if you're going to take the time to cook one dozen, why not make TWO dozen? I mean, really, it would be silly not to. Right? Right?

That's a 5.0 cubic foot freezer. Sure, there is some other food in there (like Big Man's Lean Cuisine, which will go to work Monday and be replaced with more muffins, see below). but there are also approximately 60 muffins stuffed in there too. Oh, and about 4 cups of cookie dough (see it perched precariously in between the top two bags of muffins?) because 8 dozen muffins weren't enough.

This is why we discussed getting a small chest freezer last night. That's about 20 blueberry muffins that wouldn't fit in the freezer yet, plus a few of each flavor to be eaten sooner rather than later.

Since I was waiting to go to the specialty store on Saturday for the sparkling sugar to sprinkle heavily on top for that lovely sparkle and delicious crunch (though it turned out they don't carry it anymore, phooey), Friday night I made Olive Oil muffins from Smitten Kitchen's blog (which is amazing, go look). I cooked mine too long, as I'm not used to making muffins, but they're still just wonderful. I imagine they'll be perfectly delightful with a salad or soup, or, well, anything. I didn't use fresh zest, but rather splashes of citrus oil. It's wonderful stuff, and just the thing for adding flavor when you don't have fresh fruit handy, or when a recipe would suffer for too much liquid added. Take note: a little goes a loooooooooooooooooong way!

On Saturday, after discovering I wasn't getting any prettifying sugar, I came home and started baking. First up were Sour Cream-Apricot muffins. It says it makes 1 dozen muffins. When I doubled it, I had enough for 2 dozen muffins and to fill a loaf pan (if somewhat shallowly). This is ok, actually, as they're delicious! Despite me (again) cooking them too long, they're very tender and delicately flavored. When I chopped the dried apricots in my food processor, I added some candied ginger to the mix (and should've added a bit more). Note: if you make this recipe, the dough is much more like biscuit dough than batter, and will seem EXTREMELY dry til you add the soaked apricots, so do not skip the soaking! Also, they don't really rise almost at all, so feel free to fill the cups FULL.

The line-up, L to R: Olive Oil muffins, Sour Cream-Apricot muffins, Cherry-Lime-Almond muffins, and Blueberry-Lemon muffins.

Next up were the Cherry-Lime-Almond muffins. I used the same recipe for these as the Blueberry-Lemon muffins, but modified it to suit what I wanted. Disclaimer: I think I'm going to try a different recipe next time, as this wasn't quite right (though not bad!).
Trader Joe's makes a neat product called almond meal (though I expect you could find it lots of places) which is ground almonds that you can use to replace part of the flour in your baked goods to provide an almondy flavor without the chunks. Obviously, I used it here, or else I wouldn't mention it! I used both the lime oil and some lime juice. I only made up a small part of the total liquid called for with lime juice and made the rest up with water. Even so, the batter was VERY limey, but it mellowed out some on baking. I chopped the dried cherries in the food processor again, and again added some candied ginger to the mix. Also again, I needed to add more ginger! I again cooked them too long (noticing a pattern?), but they are very flavorful nonetheless. I really like the lime in particular, and the cherry flavor becomes more noticeable as they sit.

The final contender was Blueberry-Lemon. I also used some almond meal in these, but didn't feel like including it in the name. I actually used real lemons in this one, so no lemon oil for me! I scraped the zest of two lemons and used the juice like I did with the lime. I added a good bit of powdered sugar to the liquid, though, to make up for the intense tartness of the lemon juice. For these, I used dried wild blueberries (I love Trader Joe's!), and they're so wee I didn't chop them. I finally learned from my mistakes, too, and took them out sooner than I thought I should, and they have the best texture of any of the group. The blueberries are wonderful bursts of flavor, and I wholeheartedly recommend them, even if they are a bit pricey.

Finally, the cookie dough was my old fallback, modified of course. I added chopped good-quality dark chocolate, dried cranberries, and delicious tulip poplar honey (thanks Dad!) instead of the egg. I usually tip in some shredded coconut too, but I didn't have any. I have no idea how these bake up, because I don't think I've ever actually cooked them. I always just eat the dough. Oh don't look at me like that--I know you've done it too!

Oh, right--I'm supposed to talk about yarn and stuff, huh? Well, though the twist hasn't been set yet, I did some spinning amidst the baking this weekend. This is spun from FatCatKnits' last installment of the first merino club. It totals 4oz, though it is obviously in two yarns. The thin two-ply is spun from what wouldn't fit on the bobbin when I did the single. I had thought I wanted to do a N-ply, but thought the colors would look good and tweedy as a two-ply.

Approximately 45yds/2.6oz of the single and 80yds/1.4oz of the 2-ply. Approximately.

I would also love to know what your favorite online or local yarn store is. I have another huge batch of promotional postcards to send out, and would love your input on who you'd like to see carrying my yarns. Sadly, I can only do within the US right now, as selling wholesale internationally is a bit much for my feeble brain to comprehend at the moment!

Friday Funny

René Descartes walked into a bar and the bartender asked if he’d like a drink. He replied, “I think not” and *poof* he disappeared.

Have you heard about the vampire who decided to be come a poet?
I hear that he went from bat to verse.

What's orange and sounds like a parrot?






A carrot!

Wednesday!!

1. I'm nearly out of jokes for Funny Fridays! Someone help! Ok, the internet will probably be useful in this endeavor. So will my Seester, queen of goofy jokes. I'll be ok. I think.

2. My eye is much better, thank you. Antibiotics are pretty amazing.

3. The scarf of doom was used to great effect--lookie!

That's my old friend Katie in the middle, dressed as Rikku. She's accompanied by her friends Mary and Lauren dressed as other characters from Final Fantasy X-2. See the scarf of not-doom-but-awesomeness? She wears it well.

4. Due to upcoming changes in my life, you may get to see more yarns, FOs, and blog posts! Hurray! Or, you may not--I don't know yet what precisely is going to happen.

5. I don't normally post things like this, but it made me laugh today. Hope it makes your day a little brighter too.

Hmmm.

Welp, I was worn out Sunday and didn't post. Last night, I didn't much feel like it. I still don't tonight, but think I ought to. So now, I'm going to simply caption pictures rather than writing. So I think I shall. It's good to be da king.

Point Loma, the westernmost point of land in the continental US. That pic is for you, dad.

See, I told you we went whale-watching. That right there is the best picture I got. Sure, we saw tails and blow-sprays and flukes. But no, I couldn't get a single one on film.

A replica of the schooner America, who gave its name to the America's Cup race when the title was snatched from the British in 1851.

Look, handknits! See the neckwarmer? You saw it a few weeks ago too. The sweater was bought on clearance at Target. Can anyone explain to me why a sweater made of 60% cotton/25% wool/15% acrylic is the itchiest damn thing I own?!?

A nook-u-ler submarine. They can go 30 YEARS without refueling!! No, that's not a typo. YEARS. I know what I'm doing when the zombies come.

Lazy sea lions. They're sunning on some docks that date from the 1950s and are used for holding live bait.

Part of the SD skyline and the USS Midway. Though it's slightly cut off, the width of the Midway is nearly 26 stories. It's just over 100 stories long, twice the allowed "height" of San Diego skyscrapers due to FAA regulations.

Super delicious "Car Bomb" cupcakes I made for our LSG/Ravelry get together on Sunday. They have Guinness in the chocolate cake batter, whisky (that I didn't use) in the chocolate ganache filling, and Bailey's Irish Cream in the buttercream frosting. They are AMAZING, and you can find the recipe here.

That's all I've got for now. Have to save something for tomorrow's post of randomness, right?

Friday Funny

A neutron walks into the bar and asks how much for a drink….. barman says “for you, no charge”

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What does the H in Jesus H. Christ stand for?

Haploid

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What do you do with a dead chemist?

Barium.