Sunday, August 26, 2007

i'm yarn torn

so, no, the nz blanket is not done. but, it's 1.5 squares away from being done. and no, the baby blanket i started for a girlfriend is not done either, but it's an easy project (garter stitch all the way), so it's easy to pick up whilst watching the mariners.

but, i've bought this pattern and am anxious to get started. it'll be my first sweater, and i want to not only love the yarn but love the final product. the sad thing, though, is that i just got back from a visit to two LYSs and didn't find any yarn (in my price range) that fit the bill perfectly. karabella aurora 8 was the closest, but i'm not 100% sold. which tells me to keep searching.

the pattern calls for a worsted weight wool blend, something like alpaca/merino/silk. i didn't really see any that i loved. so i moved on to consider di.ve teseo which comes in pretty colors, but i'm afraid it's too heavy (wool/microfiber). the yarn i really want to use is cascade pima silk, which i adore after using it for toots's baby blanket. but the knitting lady assured me that it was not the right choice because, being cotton and silk, it will be heavy and drapey.

gak. what to do? yarn suggestions are appreciated.

off to work on one of two blankets.....

Saturday, August 25, 2007

laying down a tasty beat

the guy next door is holding a garage sale today. apparently it's not been going very well, because he's now pulled out a stand up bongo drum, and is pounding on it with two wooden mallets. is this similar to a rain dance? is he attempting to conjure up garage sale goers, trinket trackers and junk gypsies?

alas, i fear his garage sale entertainment is not working. i think he should get that mariachi band back.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

history, i suppose...

in may, our ISP was having a sale on domains, and i proposed to mickey that we should buy "asteriskforbarry.com". i didn't know what i'd do with it, and plus, we also debated about whether it was fair to single out barry over all the others who admit juicing. in the end, we didn't buy it, and i'm fine with the decision.

i don't support barry bonds if he juiced. i don't really even like him as a player. he's never really done it for me, and lately he seems so bitter and arrogant that i can't stand to look at his surly mug.

oddly enough, though, despite this, a little tiny part of me, at this moment, feels a tiny bit of sympathy for barry bonds and the treatment he gets, not only from the press, but also from mlb upper management. while i haven't seen selig's statement on tonight's accomplishment, i did read with disgust the milquetoast response barry got from selig on 755. selig could have been a bit more congratulatory, or at least more polite. mickey's theory is that selig's response means that mlb knows something that the rest of us don't know. i am not sure what i think of that theory, but can see his logic there.

nevertheless, today history was made, like it or not. i just sure wish that i felt like celebrating it. i just can't find it my bleeding baseball heart to do so.

Monday, August 06, 2007

867-5309

mickey observantly informed me that today at 5:30:9 was the jenny second.

8/6/07 5:30:9

get it?

Sunday, August 05, 2007

photo magiq

i finally got around yesterday to uploading our vancouver pix to flickr, so enjoy. what a great trip that was.

speaking of photos, i love the magic of digital photography. it's so fast, so economical, and over the years has allowed me instant gratification for photo viewing after a vacation. i'm not willing to invest in a professional grade digital camera, though, so normally my photos look quite good, but not jaw-droppingly amazing.

we took exactly one roll of film on our vacation to paris and london this year, and just today i had those pix developed. i'm kicking myself now for not taking more film, because the pictures were astounding. the clarity and detail mickey captured with them was gorgeous. there is one photo of big ben that made me feel like i was standing in front of it again.

while i don't think i'll give up digital, i'm definitely ready to recommit to film. i know i'll end up carrying around two cameras, but after looking at this set, it's totally worth it.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

business time

we watched this several weeks ago and forgot how funny it was until our friend neffry reminded us of it on wednesday. i've watched it four times since then...and will probably watch it four more times this weekend.

Friday, August 03, 2007

sweet, sweet mariner lovin'

as if wednesday's game wasn't awesome enough, tonight's victory over the bo-sox capped off a fun week to watch baseball as a mariners fan. i'm telling you -- 2 of 3 from the angels, and maintaining position at 1 out of the wild card. now, if we can hold up against daisuke tomorrow.... oh, to be in seattle this weekend....

oh, and one more square of the NZ blanket done. two more to go. i can't find the ball of yarn for the last square. guess i'll deal with that when i get to that point. which will probably be in probably another 4 months. frick.

update: just read this post by a rabid reds fan, and though i don't share a passion for this particular team, i do consider myself a devout follower of the church of baseball she references. plus, it's the most enjoyable writing i've read in a long while. huzzah!