September 25, 2008
Blarg....
Ugh, I've been out of town, work is crazy, somehow I've managed to schedule meeting every night of the week... I am overwhelmed and its obviously showing by my lack of posts. Well, I can't make any promises it's going to turn around any time soon, but I am making progress on Matt's sweater (thank you plane ride to Chicago and back!) and I started a Monteagle Bag, so that should be fun.
Oh - and I think I'm going to stick with my original name for my bike. I did love reading all your suggestions, especially "Charlotte" since I managed to run through a ton of spider webs on my ride yesterday, but I decided it doesn't sound sporty enough for a bike. Plus, I like how this name combines two of my hobbies, sounds sporty, etc - "Mrs. Dash" it is!
Posted by zarah at 8:01 PM | Comments (4)
September 7, 2008
Weekend Funtivities
It took a little planning, but Matt and I came up with a really great Friday night full of funtivities!
First, we watched Grease at the Gillioz, an old restored movie theater in downtown Springfield.
Next, we walked around downtown and took in some of the gallery shows during First Friday Art Walk. This month's theme seemed to be quilts, which was really awesome for me since I am a fledgling quilter myself. Inside the Gillioz was a show by Susan Leslie Lumsden aka the Rebel Quilter. She makes art quilts, but they definitely had some traditional quilting elements in many of her works.
Next, we stopped at Grandpappy's BBQ for dinner, which was nice since Matt loves to try new BBQ places. They do a really good job of matching their meat to their sauce, and Matt really enjoyed his homemade coleslaw.
After dinner, we went to another art gallery that had been recommended to us by the artist at the first quilt showing. The Missouri State art gallery, which normally houses student & faculty work, was hosting an international juried art quilt show. The quilts were quite amazing - I also had fun trying to photograph people looking at the quilts, a la Lolly's recent post.
We still had about an hour before the Mystery Hour, which is a live improv talk show hosted by Jeff Houghton at the Skinny Improv Theater. We stopped into Trolley's (of The Bachelor fame - anyone remember Aaron Buerge from The Bachelor about 5 years ago? Yep, he's from my town) and ran into some acquintances, who invited us to sit at their table. We were regaled with wild tales form one of their drunk friends. It was... entertaining. =)
It was finally the Mystery Hour, so we scurried a few doors down Park Central East and joined the mad dash into the theater. I think it was the biggest crowd the Mystery Hour had ever seen!
Here's Mystery Jeff interviewing new Missouri State head basketball coach Cuonzo Martin:
I stayed up way past my bedtime, but it was a really fun night! I love that we were able to do all this for a great price (the movie was $5 - art galleries were free - the show was $3) and all within walking distance of each other (actually, all within about 3 square blocks.) Yay for Springfield!
Posted by zarah at 6:31 PM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2008
Baby Shower!
Emily's shower was this afternoon, so I can finally post about her gifts that I made!
First up, we have the baby quilt - I wasn't sure what to do since she's having a boy. I ended up going with basic squares and pretty much a palette of primary colors. The back is a really cute green polka dotted flannel.
(By the way - Emily still has 5 weeks before her due date, and her baby's head is measuring in the 95th percentile - pray for her!)
I also made a Baby Surprise Jacket out of Socks that Rocks lightweight. (Emily - I don't think I mentioned this - machine wash cold, air dry, okay?) I turned out really cute, and I have yarn for a couple more BSJs already planned. I think I might make it slightly bigger next time (this one is on Size 5s and it think it's just going to be newborn size.)
Posted by zarah at 4:01 PM | Comments (5)
August 13, 2008
Simple Changes
Me and my crazy ideas. Yes, they usually start with a book or article I've read. This time it was "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. It documents a year-long experiment of her family to live on foods that they grow themselves or that were grown within a close radius to their farm in Virginia. It also gives a lot of interesting and thought-provoking information about the food industry, marketing, etc. At times it got a little Fast-Food-Nation-y for me, but I really like the idea behind it. (Barbara - you had me at homegrown tomatoes! No need for the endless discussion of the fossil fuels needed to plant, fertilize, harvest, and transport bananas to the US for year round consumption!)
Anyway, I live "in town" (not on a farm) and both my husband and I work full time, so I'm being reasonable about all of this, but I am trying to incorporate some ideas from the book into my everyday life. For example - for a long time we have been on a quest to eat less high fructose corn syrup. It's in EVERYTHING!! Even stuff that's not really sweet, like bread. For a while, we'd found certain varieties of Baker's Inn bread at the grocery store that didn't have it, but then they stopped carrying those varieties. Grrrr.
So, I'm going to see just how hard it is to bake bread instead of buying it. Here's my first effort, using this recipe. I mixed it up in about 30 minutes, went out to dinner with some out-of-town friends, then punched it down and baked it after I got home. I let it cool overnight and voila!
Posted by zarah at 5:44 PM | Comments (10)
August 12, 2008
Blargity Blarg
Well, I had a completely different post planned for today, but I had an awful day and I didn't want to ignore it. I'm going to try to blog more often, but it might mean that I don't have pretty pictures of knitting to look at in every post. Anyway - back to my bad day.
I started out not feeling very well - I had to rush to get to work on time and was just really flustered. But then my stomach started twisting into knots due to a series of unpleasant things I had to deal with at work. Some were completely out of my control but at least one was made worse due to my screw-up, which I really, really hate. I know that nobody's perfect but apparently I cannot explain that to the pain in my stomach. Blech.
I'm starting to unwind a bit now, but I'm really dreading I'm going to start reanalyzing everything once I try to go to sleep tonight. For now - a bit of knitting and some Olympics. Ah, that's better.
Posted by zarah at 8:44 PM | Comments (5)
July 26, 2008
Concreteman Triathlon
Swim...
Bike...
Run...
Clearly - I was moving too fast to be photographed!
Good times.... I think I will probably do another tri in about a month. My favorite thing about racing is how it inspires me to train even harder.
Anyone want to join me? Here's the link to the Republic Tiger Tri.
Posted by zarah at 3:13 PM | Comments (7)
July 20, 2008
FO: Monkey Hate Purl, and "I'm still alive"
By my count, this is my third - and certainly not last - pair of Monkey socks. Lene of Danceswithwool said last week that the Monkeys were her go-to, standard sock pattern at this point. I have to agree with her. They fit so well - especially now that I've realized that I have to go down to a size 1 needle to make them perfect.
Project Details:
Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A.
Yarn: Three Waters Farm Handpainted Yarns, Superwash Merino Fingering Weight in the Mediterreanean colorway
Needle Size: Size 1 KnitPicks 32" circular
Pattern Modifications: magic loop; no purls; toe up; toe-up heel flap a la Wendy's Celebration Socks (free download)
Time to knit: Approx. 1 month
Final impressions: This might be my favorite pair of socks I've ever made. The toe-up heel flap is friggin awesome. (I learned how to do it from Wendy herself in the Loopy Ewe Spring Fling.) This beautiful yarn was a gift from LauraB in the Loopy Ewe Spring Fling swap.
So...it's been a while since I posted. I guess I'm just not really feeling inspired to write these days. Probably has something to do with being out of the habit, right? No promises on improving in that area, but I have been keeping pretty busy. In no particular order, since I posted last, I've:
Traveled to Lake of the Ozarks for a Missouri Municipal Attorneys conference;
Traveled to Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia for a family reunion;
Been biking, running, and swimming to get ready for the Concreteman sprint triathlon next weekend;
Knitting (of course);
Working on a new household budget since my husband's promotion and raise have resulted in less income thanks to those fabulous self-employment taxes that now apply;
Buying baby gifts galore for all my fertile friends;
Cutting squares for a new baby quilt, which will have to get done in short order since apparently the baby is due a lot sooner than I thought;
Reading and working on my Style Statement for my book club;
Reading just the first chapter of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and wishing I lived on a farm and thinking that I should learn to can/freeze produce before my grandma gets too old to do it;
Wrangling contracts and contractors at work 5 days a week;
and.... I guess that's about it. =)
Posted by zarah at 5:20 PM | Comments (4)
June 27, 2008
Hooray!
Remember this?
Although quite functional, these cabinets were the bane of every dinner party, where people inevitably ended up in the kitchen, crouching down to talk to someone on the other side.
I'm soooo happy to say, the cabinet project is finally complete! And just in time for the paella party, too.
Maybe it's just my family that has a tendency to start huge projects mere days before company is coming over, but at least I know I come by that trait honestly. (I seem to remember my parents deciding to completely re-landscape their yard about a week before my wedding.)
Thanks to out good friends Joe & Adrianna (and their son Soren, who supervised!) we were able to do this project fairly inexpensively. I love how it turned out!
Posted by zarah at 5:24 AM | Comments (6)
June 15, 2008
Before and Partway Through
28nk-071af222170ba99c67deb23d3bf1f4b9.4855a72e
Originally uploaded by kerner
Here's the "before":
No "after" shot yet, as this little project is still in process.
Posted by zarah at 5:59 PM | Comments (3)
June 6, 2008
Flickr Meme
Flickr Meme
Originally uploaded by kerner
This is so fun!
The rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
I'm tagging Tammy (darthknitter), Kate (anxiousdog), Tammy (Pretty Pretty Bang Bang), and Anne (Shifting Gears - happy retirement, by the way!)
Posted by zarah at 8:11 PM | Comments (3)
May 26, 2008
Thank you
Sometimes you don't know how to express thanks when you see a member of the military cross your path.
Here's how: The Gratitude Campaign
Posted by zarah at 7:21 AM | Comments (2)
April 12, 2008
More randomness
I thought of a few more random things to update since my mini-blog hiatus.
- Rock Band! This is the only video game I have ever enjoyed playing. We already had the guitars from Guitar Hero, so we were able to get the game without spending any money on all the "instruments." A few days ago, my husband sent me a twitter: "I have a present for you." Intriguing, right? When I got home, there was a huge box in the middle of the entryway - I opened it up, and what do you know? The drums for Rock Band! I'm terrible at them, but it will still be really fun to have people over and be able to have 4 people play instead of 3. Plus, I really appreciate having the drums going to drown me out if I'm singing!!
- Twitter. Bad-influence-friend Kate managed to talk Tammy and I into using Twitter. It's pretty fun to get little updates from people throughout the day. I'm zarah on there if you want to follow me.
Posted by zarah at 6:14 AM | Comments (3)
April 10, 2008
I'm here!
Wow, it's been a while since I posted..... Let's see, what have I been up to?
- Trying to stay really focused at work so I don't leave any loose ends when I jet off to Florida next week for a aviation legal issues conference. (And a bit of knitting with the Sweet Stitchin' Betties!)
- Knitting bits and pieces of various projects. I'm not really feeling super-focused on any one project, although I am happy to report that I blocked the H-E-double hockey sticks out of it, and it looks MUCH better now. I finished sewing the hooks and eyes on just a few minutes ago at Knit Together, so I should have finished photos pretty soon.
- Running! (Well, when we aren't getting torrential rains, that is!) I think I've picked out my next triathlon, so I'm pretty excited to get back to swimming and biking, too. I swam last night for the first time, and I felt pretty good. I know it's a stupid thing, but I've finally figured out how to get my googles to quit leaking. Hooray!
Posted by zarah at 7:55 PM | Comments (1)
April 3, 2008
Camp Chihuahua Graduate
Good sit, Lucy! You show those anxious Hua dogs how it's done!
Thanks for the pictures, Kate!
Posted by zarah at 9:05 PM | Comments (8)
March 20, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!
Spring has officially sprung (on the calendar at least!) and that means it's my birthday! Ever since I was a little kid, my mom made a huge ordeal out of my and my sister's birthdays. Now that I'm supposedly a grown-up, I can't quite get over the fact that no one is going quite as overboard as my mom did. So, I do it myself! My parents came to visit me last weekend, and I've got birthday festivities planned for today, tomorrow, and Saturday! I'll report back on Sunday or Monday on the festivities.
Yay! It's my birthday! Happy birthday to you, too!
(No - It's not my dog, Lucy, but it sure looks a lot like her! You can tell it's not her because there is NO WAY she would evee put up with that hat. Trust me, I've tried.)
Photo credit to zurbrick via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:24 AM | Comments (15)
February 28, 2008
Won't you be my neighbor?
In honor of what would have been Mister Rogers' 80th birthday on March 20, Mr. McFeely -- aka David Newell, the public relations director for Family Communications, Inc. (the nonprofit company founded in 1971 by Fred Rogers) -- has a special request."We're asking everyone (including members of the media) everywhere (from Pittsburgh to Paris) to wear their favorite sweater on that day," he asks. "It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you."
Posted by zarah at 6:45 PM | Comments (2)
February 21, 2008
Thundersleet
Thundersleet sounds like it would be pretty cool, until you have to use a sledgehammer to break the ice so you can open your car door.
Posted by zarah at 11:59 AM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2008
Ice Storm Pictures
Posted by zarah at 8:44 PM | Comments (4)
Ice Sucks
I think I have post-ice-storm-stress-disorder. Yesterday we received another think coat of ice (almost an inch!) and lost power for a total of about 8 hours. Last night we went to bed with the sound of limbs snapping and transformers exploding all around our neighborhood. Way too much like the first night of the ice storm last year, where we lost power for 10 days. I really don't think I could handle that again.
Thankfully (!) this morning our power was restored, and they're predicting temps to rise into the 50s by Wednesday. The bad news is that somehow we managed to get way worse damage to our trees last night than last year, when the trees were coated with ice for over two weeks! I'm hoping the winds that we're supposed to get today don't make it any worse.
ETA - Tuesday afternoon - my husband just texted me - the power's out again and a large branch from my pecan tree is breaking my beloved dogwood tree. Dang, dang, dang!!!
Posted by zarah at 7:05 AM | Comments (10)
February 4, 2008
Pretty but boring
Good ole Clapotis.... she's sort of like a model. Very pretty, but not so much with the conversation. But the final photo shoot will be worth it!
In other (random) news....
I'll be starting a new pair of socks soon - another pair of Child's First Socks from Vintage Knits. It's our February Knit-a-long for Knit Together.
Exciting news from my friends Matt and Meredith - they're starting the process of adopting a child from Vietnam, and documenting the process here.
A slightly sketchy looking place in my living room ceiling finally reached a critical mass this weekend. We peeled back the drooping popcorn ceiling texture, and saw a corroded and water-stained drywall above it. That's not good at all..... time to call a plumber, then a remodeling crew to close the hole that the plumber's going to have to make! I don't even want to think about how much it's going to cost.
I taught three people to knit in the last two days!
(See, I told you it was going to be random!) I'm off to bed now, I've got to get up early and VOTE! (Go vote on Tuesday if you're in a Super Tuesday state!)
Posted by zarah at 9:59 PM | Comments (5)
January 7, 2008
That can't be good...
So.... we had some heavy rain this afternoon, no biggie...
Then after work I was innocently sitting in my hairdresser's hair, with the hairdryer blaring in my ears, when the owner of the salon comes out and tells all the stylists to stop working because there is a tornado coming. They kind of laugh, but shut off the blow dryers, and what do you know? Tornado sirens. I'm guessing that was about 5:45pm. Now it's 8:45 and they haven't stopped for more than ten minutes. There were at least 4 big red swirls headed my direction (they're going right up I-44 - aka Tornado Alley) and I think three have passed so far. Luckily nothing too crazy has happened. After hunkering down with another customer and 4 hairdressers, I drove home after the first storm passed. No sooner than I started to open the garage door did the next round of sirens start sounding. Now I'm hanging out in the lower level of my house, which is not a basement, but it's the best thing we've got. Matt is watching an episode of Prison Break on his laptop, and I'm doing a little knitting, podcast listening, and reading. I can't listen to KTTS (the radio station with the - let's call it "most thorough" - weather coverage for too long without getting freaked out, so I turned it off. I figure I can rely on the sirens and stuff hitting the house to alert me to anything really important.
And just in case you were wondering, you should locate your workbench in case of a tornado.
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
Maybe I should go burrow into the yarn stash?
Posted by zarah at 8:40 PM | Comments (11)
Odds & Ends
A random assortment of stuff to start the week:
1. (No, it's not a knitted thong!) I started a new Clapotis last Thursday at Knit Together. Tammy, Kate, and I are doing a knitalong of this pattern. I wasn't sure at first - I kept worrying about the curling, but I think it will be fine once I drop the stitches.
2. I found a new podcast - Sticks & String. The bad news is that he's taking a break. The good news is he has 50 episodes to keep me in podcasts until Nicole & Jenny come back!
3. New Year's stuff - January 1 is an arbitrary date, but I can also use a bit a self-improvement. I'm using Joe's Goals to track how much I'm: eating my veggies, working out, reading, and not drinking Diet Coke (my carbonated beverage of choice).
4. The Firestarter sock is coming right along. I think it's going to be the project that travels around in the car with me. No, I don't knit while driving, but sometimes I get stuck waiting when I'm out adn about, and I am always glad if I happen to have a knitting project in my car.
5. Exercise. I know I've said it before, but I really am going to try to start posting regularly about my running and triathlon training. I'm planning to compete in another sprint triathlon this May, so I've got to get back in shape.
6. Sewing! My mom got me Joelle Hoverson's "Last Minute Patchwork & Quilting" book for Christmas. Lookee! I made a pincushion! It really was a quick little project. I think I'm going to try a tied quilt next.
Posted by zarah at 6:51 AM | Comments (3)
December 6, 2007
Saturday Sky
Enjoy! (Red night in morning, sailor take warning!) This was taken on Wednesday - by Thursday at noon we had icy roads and more on the way.
Posted by zarah at 9:03 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2007
Long overdue update
Yet again I've had a ridiculously long absence from the blog. [Insert excuse here.] I'm seriously considering just giving up the blog and going all-Ravelry, but I think I just need to blog on a more regular basis about stuff other than knitting, and I'll enjoy it more.
Anyway, I'm making fabulous progess on my "Jordan Valley Park" Hoodie (that's Central Park Hoodie, Springfield MO style!). I've finished the back, fronts, and hood, and I started the sleeves. I am trying to finish it in time for my vacation - I leave on Sunday!
In non-knitting news, I have a big announcement! (No, I'm not pregnant, like half the knit-blogging world.) I got a new job! (This explains the airplane picture, I promise.) I am going to be an assistant city attorney, specifically, the "airport attorney." My office will be out at the airport and I will be the attorney on site to handle all the leases, contracts, FAA compliance, construction and everyday problems related to the airport. This is a big change from my previous job, so luckily I am going to get a lot of training. I'm looking forward to a change in pace from private practice, and I think this will be a good move for me.
Posted by zarah at 6:29 AM | Comments (15)
July 22, 2007
Waiting...
One book - two Harry Potter fans.... I read to about page 500 last night, before my husband insisted that I give the book back to him. Now I'm supposedly not getting it back until he catches up with me. (!)
In the meantime, how about some old HP fun - the Sorting Hat!
Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?
Interesting result, because I used to always get sorted into Gryffindor (like most other people, it seems), but I think this is probably more accurate.
And some new HP fun as well - Minty is closing in on her reverse-engineered design of Hermione's sweater from Movie 5!
Posted by zarah at 7:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 21, 2007
Good Advice
May I suggest, if you don't have some already, that you immediately cultivate some knitting friends? Friends who want to go to yarn stores? Friends who want to sit and knit and see your patterns? Friends who just move the yarn in the freezer to put in the spanakopita like it's perfectly reasonable? It's simply, fantastically, the best.“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” -C.S. Lewis.
Thanks to the Harlot for putting it so perfectly.
Posted by zarah at 6:32 AM | Comments (3)
July 20, 2007
Wizarding Fun Tonight!
I'm sure I'm not the only nerd with Harry Potter-related plans tonight! Our local indie movie theater, The Moxie, is showing the Prisoner of Azkaban and teaming up with an independent bookstore and other local businesses to recreate Diagon Alley in downtown Springfield - here's a blurb from the Moxie's newsletter:
On Friday, July 20, our little block of Walnut and Campbell will be magically transformed into Diagon Alley, the premiere wizard shopping district in the Harry Potter series. Festivities will begin around 6:00 pm, and here's what you can expect:
* Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (WELL FED HEAD), an official distributor of the new book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, cordially invites you to #93 Diagon Alley on Friday, July 20th, 2007, for more magic than contained in a Skiving Snackbox. There will be ten ton-tongue toffees to the first ten guests as well as various awards, activities and diversions all over the Alley. Harry Potter books will be released promptly at 12:01 AM. Quantities are limited and we would strongly suggest you reserve your copy today.
* Terrortours (Shires for Hire), #59 Diagon Alley, will be offering carriage rides (weather permitting) throughout our little corner of the magical world. If you ask them nicely they might even take you on quick ride down Knockturn Alley. They will begin tours after 6:00 PM that evening and you will be able to catch them near Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
* Ollivander's - Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC (Springfield Hot Glass Studio), will have an extensive collection of custom magical wands and goblets on display. Open till 8:30 PM.
* Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions (Czar Graphics), will have a fine selection of ready made and custom magical clothing just for you.
* And last but not least, Moxie Cinema will transform into The Leaky Cauldron, where we'll be serving up some butter beer and showing HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Did we mention we're making pitchers of Butter Beer? Don't worry, it doesn't really have butter in it, and it's kid friendly. The show starts at 9pm.
Fun times.... I'll try to get some photos before it gets too dark out!
Posted by zarah at 6:08 AM | Comments (6)
July 11, 2007
Now it's SUMMER
I spy, with my little eye, TWO ripe tomatoes in my very own little garden!!! Yumma yumma!
Posted by zarah at 6:45 AM | Comments (5)
July 4, 2007
Happy 4th of July!
Be safe and have fun!
Posted by zarah at 2:20 PM | Comments (0)
June 30, 2007
Christmas in June
Guess who got a new toy yesterday?
Ridiculous, I say, but he's certainly happy about it!
Posted by zarah at 11:54 AM | Comments (4)
June 28, 2007
Babies, babies everywhere
<--- Remember this? (This is my husband's sister about 8 weeks ago.)
Well, look who decided to show up, right on time!
Welcome to the world, little guy.
(I think his expression is quite appropriate. "What the hey?")
So now I'm auntie Zarah...
I also have a new cousin:
My aunt and uncle's new daughter from China. Isn't she a cutie? This is one of her quieter moments, she's actually a total maniac. Very talkative and quite a runner!
Let the baby knitting ensue!
Posted by zarah at 6:58 PM | Comments (6)
June 8, 2007
Eye Candy Friday
These are native Missouri flowers that my husband planted in a more "traditional" landscape planting in front of our house. It's been raining so much - they're taking over! But they're beautiful, so it's okay.
The light purple flowers are Rose Verbena, and the hot pink flowers are Purple Poppy Mallow. They're growing in an area that gets full sun and tends to get really dry in the summer. I will be interested to see how they do as the summer gets hotter and it stops raining!
Posted by zarah at 6:37 AM | Comments (7)
May 29, 2007
Summertime and summer knits
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I went floating yesterday with three other couples, all of whom brought their kids along. There were more kids than parental units so my husband and I got a kid (Sam) in our canoe. The river was really high and running pretty fast from all the rain we've been getting. Early in the float, our canoe flipped and got pinned under a log with Sam trapped inside. I was sitting in front of him so I had no clue what was even happening (somehow I got out of the canoe no problem), but thankfully my husband kept his wits about him, dove over the canoe, and untangled him from the cross bars and pulled him out from under the water. That was REALLY scary, but thank goodness it turned out fine. Sam was a really good sport about the whole thing (although I'm not sure he'll ever go floating again!)
Okay, so that makes it sound like we had a terrible day, but it really wasn't.
Well... this post ended up being about something totally different than I intended (summer knitting projects), but here's a little glimpse of what I've been working on.
My Hempathy sweater is coming right along... that turquoise string in there is not part of the pattern, it's just marking where I started the armhole decreases so I can match up the front and the back. I thought when I got the armholes it would really start going fast, but the neckline is pretty high, so I'm really only about 2/3rds done with the front. Grrr.... this project feels like a black hole sometimes.
Posted by zarah at 6:29 AM | Comments (4)
May 7, 2007
Baby birdies
About 3-4 weeks ago, I discovered there was a bird living in my garage. It actually had pretty posh digs - a nest of leaves and twigs nestled in an old blanket that was stuck inside a cabinet in my garage. I pulled it out and a nest with five eggs came falling out.
Oops - but I couldn't very well have a family of birds living in my garage, could I?
A couple days later, I found this nest in a flowerbox on my front porch. It's just the bare minimum of a nest, pretty well hidden behind some dead flowers from last year. I think it must be the second round of eggs from the same bird... maybe not, but it makes me feel a little less guilty for the five-egg omelette on my driveway.
IMG_1890.JPG
Originally uploaded by kerner.
Long story short, I've been trying to leave mama bird alone so she could at least raise a couple of little ones without me killing them. And look what I found on Sunday when I got back from being out of town!
Hi babies! It's been raining like crazy here, so there should be some nice juicy worms out there to fatten you up. I can't make any promises about the neighborhood cat that's been skulking around the side of my house, though.
Oh yeah, speaking of babies....
Check out my sister-in-law! Is that about the craziest thing you've ever seen? Matt and I went to KC last weekend for my sister's gradation and I went to his sister's baby shower. I haven't seen her since Christmas, so it was especially surprising. (I couldn't stop staring - did she stick a basketball under there?)
Posted by zarah at 8:13 PM | Comments (9)
April 26, 2007
Monkey hate clean
I'm getting my carpet cleaned tomorrow - yay! But do you know how hard it is to have your entire house picked up at once? (Okay, maybe I'm just a slob....)Posted by zarah at 6:12 PM | Comments (2)
March 20, 2007
You say it's your birthday...
Well it's my birthday, too!
I did get myself a little yarny present.....
(No, not the whole basket - but that's Tess superwash sock/baby, people! For sale within a 20 mile radius of my house!) I found a lovely turquoise skein that I just had to have. (Actually, there was a burgandy one that I liked pretty well too, but someone got it first!)
But the very best gift of all was getting to spend Saturday with my knitty friends Tammy and Brianne!
On Saturday morning we met at my house and drove out to Rogersville, Mo to look for a new yarn shop that opened recently. It's called One City Market and it's in an old house that has been converted to yarn shop, knitting and weaving studio, and - coming soon - dye studio! The selection is really good, and there is lots of room to pull up a chair, knit a while, and chat. I loved the shop owner Lisa's stories about knitting socks for her teenage nephews, who insist on socks made from the yarn that has jojoba oil in it, because they like how it makes their feet soft! I just kept cracking up picturing a pack of teenage boys surrounding the sock yarn section, picking out their next pair. =)
Posted by zarah at 6:06 AM | Comments (12)
January 22, 2007
I GOT POWER!!!!
Please stay tuned for your regularly scheduled knit-blogging.
It came on sometime very early this morning. Yippee! And just in time for Heroes, too. =)
Posted by zarah at 7:48 AM | Comments (4)
January 20, 2007
Storm Stories
Still no power this morning. I finally broke down and faced facts. All the food in the fridge and freezer are, to put it nicely, not good eats. I've actually known this for a while, since we've had an unidentified purple liquid oozing out of our freezer for the past couple of days. I was just too scared to open the door and find out what it was, especially after work, in the dark, trying to find my way through the house with a flashlight and shivering all the while.
Anyway, fast forward to this morning. It's daylight, and I need to clean out the fridge. Sum total of what could be saved? A bag of walnuts and a box of wine. (Yes, I'm that classy. But it was one of the FANCY box wines!) Cleaning up the purple puddle (defrosted frozen berries, I think) turned out to be pretty difficult, but I managed to only splash the stuff all over myself a couple times while sopping it up with paper towels. (As if not having power wasn't annoying enough.)
City Utilities is now saying it will be next Friday or Saturday before everyone's power is restored. I really hope the temperatures stay warm enough that my pipes don't freeze.
I realized this morning that while this whole thing has been incredibly annoying, I do feel like someone's been looking out for me. On Thursday afternoon, the relative that my husband and I had been staying with called me to say "This isn't working out." Basically, my dog was bothering his wife so we were getting kicked out.
I called my uncle Randy, who as far as I knew still didn't have power or water (everyone on wells lost their water when the power went out). Amazingly, his power had just been restored about an hour before I called. His family had been staying at his in-law's house in Nixa, where there was power but no actual in-laws, because they left for Texas just before the storm hit. Since Randy was moving back into his own house, he offered to let us stay at the empty house in Nixa. This is the best possible situation when you are displaced from your house, because you always feel like you're imposing on the person you're staying with and sometimes you just need your own space. As I mentioned before, our utility company is predicting it could be sometime next weekend when all the power is restored. Miracle of miracles, the residents of the house where we are staying are not scheduled to return until then, either. I think that calls for an Amen.
My friend Greg wrote a great narrative about his experience with the ice storm here.
Posted by zarah at 9:34 AM | Comments (2)
January 19, 2007
Still no power and a raglan sweater.
Thanks for all the encouragement you guys! The whole "no electricity for a week" thing really sucks, especially with super-cold temps, but I really appreciate all the nice comments you've been leaving, even though I haven't responded to any of them since I don't have power for my home computer.
This IS supposed to be a knitting blog though, not a whining blog, so.... My custom-fit raglan sweater is coming along nicely, although I've already got a list of things I would tweak when it comes to sizing the pattern. Also, I had almost finished knitting the body, but I decided to rip out the waist increases because I wasn't doing them right and was getting a little hole above every decrease.
Turns out that when you're doing an increase by picking up the running yarn in between two stiches, you have to knit into the back of that stitch to avoid a hole. Actually, yesterday I saw on some blog a description of how to make a right- and left-leaning increase depending on how you pick up the running yarn (front-to-back or back-to-front) and whether you knit into the front or back. I can't remember the details, but essentially you're twisting the picked up stitch to avoid the hole, so if you twist it in the opposite direction it looks like it's "leaning" in the other direction. Pretty nifty!
So, I took a few steps backward on finishing the sweater, but I learned something new! That's fine by me. Hopefully by this weekend I'll have power, and I'll be able to curl up on MY OWN couch and knit to my heart's content. I'll always remember this as the Ice Storm sweater, for better or worse!
Posted by zarah at 6:05 PM | Comments (2)
January 18, 2007
Day 6 without power...
and it is really starting to annoy me. Luckily we've got a warm place to stay, but I'm worried about the pipes freezing, and it's really inconvenient not to be in your own house, and now they're saying on the news that thieves are breaking into the darkened homes, so I'm worried about that too.
AND to add insult to injury, the forecasters are saying we're goint o get 3-6 inches of snow this weekend.
Sorry for the gripe-fest, but I need to vent and everyone around here is sick of hearing it.
Posted by zarah at 6:15 PM | Comments (3)
January 15, 2007
Brrrr
Still no power at my house - but I have found a place to stay that has power (for now). The power crews are supposed to start working today, but the 15 mph winds they're predicting for today can't bode well for all those icy limbs, even if the freezing rain has stopped. Please send warm thoughts!
Tammy's got some great pictures of the ice posted on her blog here and here.
There are a few positive things going on around here - it's not all doom and gloom:
1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash box showed up at my house on Friday - yay!
2. I've been working on a new sweater for myself out of the remains of Cutaway. Great yarn, great pattern, but poor finishing techniques doomed that sweater to never be worn. So, I ripped it during a New Year's cleaning frenzy (with help from ym new ball winder!) and started a top-down raglan. I'm well past the armholes at this point. If I'm stuck out of my house for the rest of the week (with nothing to do and nothing else to knit) I'll probably finish the body of the sweater in no time at all!
Posted by zarah at 6:01 AM | Comments (2)
January 14, 2007
Hunker down
We lost power this Friday night about 8:30pm. We tried to go stay in my husband's office at the church, since it still had power & couches to sleep on, but we had to leave because the church was running a shelter and they brought people from the Family Violence Center over, so they had to clear & lock down the building. Last night we went over to a friend's house that still had power, but trees were breaking left and right in their backyard. One fell really close to the power line, so he was trying to cut it with a chainsaw and accidentally hit the powerline. Somehow he didn't get electrocuted, but the power was cut to their house. We went home adn slept with lots of blankets, and the dog snuggled with us. This morning we tried to go buy some batteries and/or candles, but Wal-Mart was all sold out. Now we're up at my office, which amazingly has both power & internet (but nowhere to sleep).
There's supposed to be "third wave" of storms coming through this afternoon, but we decided we'd rather brave icy roads later today than be stuck with no power in the house all day. So far we haven't had too much damage to our trees and none to our house, but LOTS of tree limps are down all over town and they're saying 90% of Springfield and the surrounding areas are without power. It probably won't be restored until sometime next week (Tuesday at the earliest).
Posted by zarah at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)
December 11, 2006
Crapadoodle
Exhibit 1. My hard drive decided to "fry" itself over the weekend. It was working fine on Saturday - Sunday morning, blank screen. I didn't drop it, move it, or anything. It just imploded. (luckily, it's stll under warranty! But everything on it is gone.)
Exhibit 2. The really awesome sock I was working on for Matt is WAY too small. It doesn't even fit over my heel, so I'm pretty sure it's not going to fit him. Rip. Rip. Rip!
I guess the weekend wasn't a total loss, though. I had a really nice time at the Knit-In on Friday at Simply Fibers, and I finally got to meet Tammy! (and eat some kick-ass peanut brittle her dad made - yumma.) I scored some Aurora Bulky from the sale table, and almost bought a Lantern moon rice basket, before I realized that Christmas is right around the corner and someone might want to buy one for me! (Talk to Carol or Maddie at Simply Fibers for details...!) Of course, Tammy won one of the baskets in one of the many generous giveaways that night. (I of course won nothing. Don't forget this weekend was jinxed!)
On Saturday Matt and I went over to Steve and Tammy Kirks' house (different Tammy) for their annual Wine Tasting/Competition. Luckily for me there were relatively few entrants and I got to pay more attention to the delicious food rather than the wine, which just wasn't doing much for me that night. My buddy Greg has an excellent account of the evening here. Steve and Tammy managed to pull off a great party with relatively little cooking - it appears that the key is finding gourmet chefs as friends, who will each contribute a dish. =)
So, all in all I guess it was a decent weekend, but I'm still mad about my computer. Grrr...
Posted by zarah at 5:28 PM | Comments (4)
December 1, 2006
Digging out
I survived my "snow day" - which actually turned out to be just a light dusting of snow on top of a massively thick layer of ice. (lovely) Right now it's cold and clear, and I think I should probably go into work, but our shovel won't go through the ice coating our driveway and our street hasn't been plowed yet.
We had another couple stay with us last night because they lost power at 7am yesterday and it still wasn't restored by the time it started to get dark. Needless to say, it was getting a little chilly over there. Apparently lots of power lines were down because there was so much ice on them that they broke - luckily that didn't happen at my house. But I know the power near the college campuses was out, so hopefully all the students found a warm place to sleep.
In the meantime, I guess I should show you my progrees on Lizard Ridge. Last month truly was Norovember for me... six squares blocked and another one finished. I really enjoy knitting this pattern, and the squares are small enough to knit up fairly quickly. I don't think I'll have any problem finishing this project as I get new balls of Noro here and there. (PS - I got 7 squares out of 5 skeins, plus about a third of a skein leftover.)
I am trying to remember which ones are the Frankensquares... I'm sure the bottom right is, and maybe the bottom center one too. I tried to match up the colors when I was joining leftover bits so it wouldn't be too noticeable.
Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully I'll be able to leave my house today!
Posted by zarah at 7:55 AM | Comments (11)
November 29, 2006
Brr.... time for wooly handknits!
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
...MAJOR WINTER STORM TO IMPACT EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE MISSOURI OZARKS...
AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE PRESSING ACROSS THE MISSOURI OZARKS TODAY AND TONIGHT BRINGING MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES...ALONG
WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. EVENTUALLY THE TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME CONDUCIVE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET...AND EVENTUALLY HEAVY SNOW.
FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS EVENING INTO THURSDAY MORNING ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI.
GROUND TEMPERATURES REMAIN WARM...SO ICE ACCUMULATIONS ON THE
GROUND WILL BE SLOWER TO OCCUR. HOWEVER ELEVATED SURFACES...SUCH
AS POWER LINES...TREE BRANCHES AND BRIDGES WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO
SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS...AND EVENTUALLY THE ICE
ACCUMULATIONS WILL OCCUR ON THE GROUND. TOTAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS
BETWEEN ONE QUARTER AND ONE HALF INCH ARE EXPECTED. THIS WILL
LIKELY RESULT IN DOWNED POWER LINES AND POWER OUTAGES.
THE FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET WILL TURN COMPLETELY TO SNOW BY
THURSDAY MORNING...WITH TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES
THOUGH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED NORTHWEST OF INTERSTATE
44. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH WILL COMBINE WITH THE
FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW TO MAKE DRIVING HAZARDOUS.
SHARPLY COLDER TEMPERATURES WILL ACCOMPANY THIS STORM WITH WIND
CHILL VALUES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS THURSDAY.
RESIDENTS OF EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE MISSOURI
OZARKS...INCLUDING THE SPRINGFIELD AREA...ARE URGED TO TAKE THIS
WEATHER SITUATION SERIOUSLY. BEGIN PREPARING FOR THIS WINTER STORM
NOW. AGAIN...BEGINNING TONIGHT...ROAD CONDITIONS WILL QUICKLY
DETERIORATE AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE LIKELY BY THE MORNING COMMUTE.
ADDITIONALLY...SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE ON TOP OF THE ICE THROUGH
TOMORROW.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...
SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS.
Ummm... that doesn't sound good. It was 70 degrees when I went to work this morning!
Posted by zarah at 5:23 PM | Comments (7)
November 25, 2006
My life. My blog.
Posted by zarah at 5:19 PM | Comments (7)
November 10, 2006
I love YouTube
Does anyone remember Ugoff? I think this was the funniest commercial ever. Oh wait - I forgot the sponge monkeys! ('Cause "they got a pepper bar!")Posted by zarah at 6:36 AM | Comments (2)
November 1, 2006
Check my pulse
Yes, I'm alive, although you wouldn't know it from checking this blog lately. It feels like I've been busy, but I can't figure what I've been doing. Lots of random stuff, I think.
I also forgot that once Daylight Saving Time ends, I have to start taking pictures in the morning before work instead of when I get home. The good news is, I took some this morning so I will be able to show you some really (not so) exciting stuff - part of the second green sock, a sleeve of the Silk Shrug, and a botched Lizard Ridge square. I keep thinking of other things I'd reather be knitting but I need to finish this sock (it's a Xmas present) and I really want to wear the shrug. So.... the same old projects continue. Check in tomorrow for an extremely similar update, but with pictures! (Can you tell I'm bored?)
Posted by zarah at 6:34 AM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2006
Someone is in my knitting spot!
(Actually, if you count Lucy that would be two someones!)
A few weeks ago, Crazy Aunt Purl asked all the other knitbloggers to snap a picture of their knitting spot. I'm a little late, but here it is! As you can tell, I'm not in it, but that's okay because my sister is... AND she's knitting!
My sister is living with me during October and November while she does her pharmacy rotations here in southwest MO. She has actually been knitting longer than me, but I think it's fair to say that's I've been a *bit* more obsessive about it, and have more advanced skills.
Well, you would think so, anyway. She's currently working on some baby socks for a friend's new baby. I showed her some completed socks and she declared that she hates picking up stitches, so she wanted to try short rows. O-kay. We can try that. Never mind that I've only just learned. And what do you know, she picks it up just like that. She ended up ripping out the first baby sock because the foot was too short, but the heel pretty much looked perfect. This is only slightly ANNOYING when it took me about two years to figure it out. I guess she just had a WONDERFUL teacher, right?
So anyway, we've been having lots of fun squeezing in a little knitting time in the evenings after work. It's great to have a knitting buddy right at home.
(I also love this picture because it shows my dog's favorite activity - sitting very near or (preferably) right on top of yarn. She just likes to be in the middle of things!)
Posted by zarah at 6:01 AM | Comments (7)
October 13, 2006
Hee hee hee.
Posted by zarah at 7:50 PM | Comments (2)
October 5, 2006
Found It!
Well, Amanda Cathleen definitely called this one! As soon as I got my new battery charger ordered, I found the old one! It was in the back seat of my car, along with other random detritus of my life: running gear, empty expandable files, old church bulletins, etc. The new charger already shipped, but it probably won't hurt to have a spare one hanging around just in case this happens again! No camera really puts a cramp in my blogging!
Did you guys watch Project Runway last night? I liked it much better than most reality reunion shows - but I couldn't believe that Keith was trying to say that he was "set up" to get kicked off the show. I don't believe that for a second.
I'll return to my regularly scheduled bloggin tomorrow - the camera battery is charging as we speak!
Posted by zarah at 6:53 AM | Comments (4)
September 28, 2006
Knitter's Meme
Ten knitterly things you may not know about me:
1. I've never knit anything with mohair.
2. I don't like big needles - but size 0's still seem way too small. (Size 1s - no problem!)
3. I became a yarn snob astonishingly fast after learning to knit. The internet can be a dangerous thing! (But you already knew that.)
4. I really like to seam up sweaters. (I think because it means I'm almost done, but I also jsut really like mattress stitch!)
5. I have a lot of finished projects that I never wear. But I'm getting better at picking out patterns that will look good on me.
6. I rarely knit more than three projects at time, but I absolutely MUST have more than one. I get way too bored!
7. I love teaching people to knit, but none of my students have become obssessive knitters. (Much to my dismay!)
8. Sometimes I wish I had to commute to work, so I could have an excuse to knit on the train or in a carpool.
9. I have no desire to learn to knit intarsia or entrelac.
10. I am really good at fixing knitting mistakes.
It was really hard to come up with these - you should try it!
Posted by zarah at 6:55 AM | Comments (4)
September 6, 2006
Working hard...
Busy busy busy these days. I’m finding no time to knit between work and various meetings after work. Then when I do turn back to my knitting, every single project seems to be a long green rectangle. I really need to start those knee socks… but the only yarn I have enough of for such long socks is currently undyed. So that means I have to soak it, dye it, dry it, and get to the yarn shop to wind it. (Won’t they love to see me coming to use their winder for 200 grams of sock-weight yarn that I didn’t buy there?!) Hmmm… it might just be easier to buy something new – I noticed the LYS got some solid Lorna’s Laces in for fall.
The weather is starting to turn a little cooler here, although it’s certainly not “fall” yet. It’s been in the mid-80’s during the day and the 50’s at night. Fall is my favorite time of year – I just love the cooler weather, the trees turning beautiful colors, and the crunchy leaves swirling around the lawn.
I’m feeling the need for a quick, “instant gratification” fall project. (knee socks are probably not too good for that!) I know once a reach some kind of “landmark” on the Cambridge Jacket I’ll get a little more excited about knitting it again… I guess I just need to buckle down and work on it. My husband’s birthday is closer every day – gotta meet my deadline!
Posted by zarah at 6:23 AM | Comments (5)
August 2, 2006
Wheee!!!
It's time for the fair!
I went to the fair Tuesday night with my husband and a couple of friends. It was nice to go on a weeknight because it wasn't too crowded but still all the same fun stuff. We watched a little bit of the "Pork Chop Revue" - that's singing pigs, people! Then we stopped for ice cream (mmmm.... blackberry!) and went inside the E-plex to check out all the crafts, veggies, photography, etc. that people had entered in the fair.
Here's some of the prize-winning produce I saw! There weren't too many of the huge vegetables that I expected to see, and unfortunately most of the veggies were started to wilt from the heat. But I still love a good looking tomato, I tell you what! (Props to Hank Hill.)
I was trying to conserve my camera batteries for the ferris wheel ride, so I didn't get any pictures of the knitting entries, but I have to say... I think I could definitely win a blue ribbon! I need to remember so I can enter next year!
And I'll leave you with a lovely view from the top of the ferris wheel!
And a teaser: I finished the back of the Cambridge Jacket AND I turned the heel on my second Trekking sock! Yippee! I'm that much closer to the end of the all-ribbing-all-the-time death march. Thank goodness!
Posted by zarah at 10:10 PM | Comments (9)
July 31, 2006
Non-knitting Weekend
Do you ever feel like you get in a rut, just doing the same things over and over? This weekend I broke out of my rut - I went camping and canoeing with friends I hadn't seen in almost a year!
Given the choice, I will always take air conditioning and a bed over a sleeping bag and a tent... but you know, sometimes you just need to change things up a little.
My husband and I drove about an hour to the campground after work on Friday, and just hung out and toasted some marshmallows while we caught up on all the news from our friends. We camped out Friday night, then we awoke bright and early when the trout fishing siren went off, letting the fishermen know it was all clear to start fishing.
We whipped up some yummy breakfast burritos (camp food is not haute cuisine but it always tastes so good!) and drove a couple of miles another campground to rent our canoes, since all the canoes at the state park were already reserved.
I guess that should have been the sign that it would be a busy day on the river! Floating on most rivers in Missouri is essentially like attending a frat party in boats. I'm not a big partier, but it did make for some interesting people watching. Despite the crowds and partiers, the river is really beautiful and we enjoyed a relaxing float with plenty of stops to play in the water.
It's really rejuvenating for me to get out and enjoy nature, but I always think I have to plan a trip to Colorado or New Mexico for it to be worth it. The best part about the trip was that we got to spend time with old friends and have a lot of fun without spending much money or even going very far from home! (And, I got to take a shower and sleep in my own bed the next night, a very good thing indeed.)
Photo credit to j o s h via flickr
Posted by zarah at 7:02 AM | Comments (6)
July 25, 2006
Summertime
Okay, okay... I know the blistering heat that's been roasting the entire country probably tipped you off. But guess what? It's SUMMER!
Do you know how I know?
My tomatoes are ripe! I LOVE fresh tomatoes from the garden. Last night I ate sliced tomatoes with cherry tomatoes on top. I love good tomatoes so much that I refuse to eat tomatoes from the grocery store when they're not in season. Sometimes (and I would never tell her this) I plan my trips to visit my grandma based on when I think her tomatoes will be ripe.
So yes, I'm a bit obsessive about my tomatoes. Plus, I really liked how this picture came out.
IMG_1230.JPG
Originally uploaded by kerner.
I guess I can't write a post completely about tomatoes, huh? (Well, I probably could but I will spare you.) This blog is supposedly about knitting and all...
I started another Mason-Dixon dishcloth, since I still have some Peaches & Cream yarn hanging around the house. My friend Laura was at my house last week, and one of our other friends decided she wanted to learn to knit. Laura knits continental, so I decided it would be the perfect time for me to learn a different knitting style. This dishcloth was my practice piece, but I gave up and switched back to "regular" English knitting style after a few practice rows. I just can't keep the tension while knitting with the yarn in my left yarn. Either it's way too loose or I finally get a grip on it and I never let out any slack. Any suggestions?
Posted by zarah at 6:09 AM | Comments (5)
July 3, 2006
Happy Independence Day!
I hope everyone gets to enjoy a day off, family, fireworks, and good food sometime over this holiday weekend! We have thunderstorms in the forecast for tomorrow , but I have some crafting plans in case the weather is bad.
Posted by zarah at 1:30 PM | Comments (3)
June 9, 2006
Happy Friday!
Just a short post today - I'm running late for work, but I wanted to show you a picture of my garden in progress - just tomatoes, peppers, and herbs so far. There is nothing better than a home grown tomato in the summer, so I'm really glad I have a yard where I was able to put in a little garden.
Also, thanks for the all advice on lace knitting and how to wear shawls, err... let's call it a "wrap," shall we? I started over on slightly larger needles and basically caught up to the point where I was before. I think the wrap will be much lighter on the larger needles, anad also go faster knitting-wise.
Have a good weekend, everyone! Don't forget to Knit In Public tomorrow! If you're in the Springfield, MO area, we're meeting at 2pm, June 10th, at Sequiota Park (rain location: Library Station on South Campbell). Bring a lawn chair or blanket and I'll see you there!
Posted by zarah at 8:00 AM | Comments (9)
June 5, 2006
I'm back!
We had a little server outage over the weekend, but I'm back now!
Lots of things to update...
- Started a pair of socks for June Project Spectrum
- Started a tank in Rowan Cotton Tape
- Snatched up some Diakeito yarn on sale at Simply Fibers this weekend... why do I want to knit with wool when it's sooo hot outside? Cause it's pretty....
- Still need to seam the baby kimono - Lu put up a tutorial!
Posted by zarah at 6:11 PM | Comments (2)
May 31, 2006
Picture Time!
Whew! I never realized how important pictures are to my blogging! I am pretty much lost without them. Anyway, as you can probably guess, I finally have a new computer (with LOTS of memory!) so I'm back in action! (So many posts to catch up on.....)
First things first - my sister's wedding! I don't have too many pictures yet, since I was in the wedding, but here goes. The lovely bride...
My great new brother-in-law (yes, he realy is as tall as he looks!)
And what wedding is complete without a cute flowergirl?
Of course, every wedding has its moments (the wedding coordinator got violently ill the night before the wedding - luckily she recovered quickly - and I have to admit there were some pretty cheesy wedding songs performed) but overall it was a fun weekend. My parents had BBQ brought in from Kansas City for the reception - yum! Weddings are always so much more enjoyable to me when it seems like the people getting married know what they're getting into. This happy couple is really well suited for each other and they are really committed to making their vows come true.
Posted by zarah at 6:55 AM | Comments (9)
May 29, 2006
My Sister's Wedding
My sister got married yesterday, May 28th, in a beautiful ceremony in my hometown. I was the matron of honor. It was a very hectic weekend, but lots of fun. My whole family just adores her new husband - he is going to fit right in. That's good, since they're going to be living in the same small town as my parents - hopefully they will still get along after living near each other for a while.
I also got to see a ton of my extended family members, which was really fun. I found out that my cousin Laura, who lives in Chicago, has a knitting blog! I haven't gotten the address yet, but hopefully I will be able to get that from my aunt very soon.
I started working on a blue Trekking sock on the drive to the wedding, but I didn't get past the heel flap since I left the instructions at home.
(Still no photo capacity on my computer yet, so you'll have to live with this pretty picture I borrowed off of Flickr. I promise to post wedding pics as soon as I get my new computer!)
Posted by zarah at 4:21 PM | Comments (7)
May 24, 2006
So you can't grow a boyfriend...
Hee hee! (Hi Elaine!)
So... what's happening at Zarah's place? Well, I've got good news and bad news:
Good news: I'm getting a new computer!
Bad news: My old computer 's memory is so completely overloaded with pictures, files, music, etc. that I can't even download the pics off my camera. Errrr....only one week to new computer, I hope. In the meantime, I'll have to entertain you with random pictures I already have uploaded to flickr.
Good news: I've almost finished the Baby Kimono!
Bad news: I'm running out of yarn. I know, it's cheap kitchen cotton. But I have some other colors - I think the MDK girls might just call it a design element.
Good news: I'm claiming a spare bedroom as a craft room!
Bad news: There's a lot of junk in that room. It's kinda dreary brown. It definitely needs a pretty curtain, if not a new coat of paint.
Good news: I got a sewing machine (cheap!) from a friend who is moving.
Bad news: I don't really remember how to sew. I used to know... back in my 4-H days (elementary school) but I need some guidance. Any suggestions?
Posted by zarah at 6:20 AM | Comments (7)
May 8, 2006
Back from DC
Whew! I got back from DC around 11pm last night. I'll do a full update as soon as I make a dent in my laundry. I will say this, though - it's a great place to visit and I *did* get to go Maryland Sheep & Wool! Hi to everyone I met at the blogger's meet-up!
Posted by zarah at 11:40 AM | Comments (8)
May 3, 2006
Quick post from DC
Hi everyone - I don't have must time to blog (White House tour this morning) but I just thought I'd say hi from Washington DC! It's been quite a whirlwind tour so far, since my husband has to go to a conference on Thursday & Friday. We are trying to jam everything into 3 days. Then on Thursday & Friday I will get to slow down a bit and go off the beaten path, maybe even do some yarn shopping!
PS - Lolly, call me and let's have lunch! (I emailed you my phone number.)
Posted by zarah at 7:28 AM | Comments (18)
April 24, 2006
Rock'n Ribs Wrap-Up
Warning - no knitting content ahead.
A few days ago I mentioned that I wouldn't be blogging much since I was getting ready for a barbeque competition. I figured I would reward you with a mini-photo essay about how I spent my weekend.
First, you're probably wondering: how did she get involved in this in the first place? I am in Rotaract (which is basically Junior Rotary) and they compete every year in Rock'n Ribs, which is a barbeque competition and festival hosted by all the Rotary clubs of Springfield as a benefit for children's charities in the Ozarks. Last year we raised something like $70,000, so it's a pretty big deal.
A few months ago, we started looking for someone who wanted to be the head cook for the Rotaract team. My husband loves BBQ so he volunteered, even though he's not in the club. I helped organize all the other volunteers and everything was falling nicely into place. Then my husband discovered a minor problem - he had a conflict and wouldn't be able to cook. I am apparently the only person in the club with even passing knowledge of making barbeque, so I got the job.
For those of you who stick to knitting and are not familiar with the barbeque arts, here's the basic gist: Barbequeing is not grilling. Grilling is where you put meat directly over hot coals and it cooks pretty fast. In barbequeing, the meat is cooked slowly, at about 200-225 degrees, using indirect heat. Usually the coals/wood is in a separate compartment and it funnels through the cooking chamber then out a chimney pipe on the other end of the cooker. The result of this is extremely tender, flavorful meat. But the downside is that large cuts of meat can take 12-18 hours to cook.
That's why I was sleeping in the parking lot of Bass Pro Shops on Friday night. We started the pork shoulders around midnight and staggered putting the rest of the meat on to cook between 2-8am. Some people in the competition are really serious - they travel all around the country entering BBQ contests. These people are also smart enough to bring a trailer or some sort of semi-comfortable place to sleep. I was fairly ill-prepared for my first competition. I did have a tent, but just a blanket to sleep on and a blanket to cover me. Luckily I conned a couple of people to come out and help me cook during the night, so I wasn't all alone. They monitored the smokers (you have to keep the temperature constant by opening/closing air vents and adding wood/charcoal) so I could get a few hours sleep.
The next morning, another crew of Rotaract club members came in to help me get the meat ready for the competition. (As you can see, we had a cowboy theme. There were many Brokeback jokes.)
We entered all four categories: chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket. In addition, we cooked more meat for serving to the public after the competition. I thought our meat turned out pretty well, but I'm sure it wasn't anything compared to some of the serious competitors in the competition. (I went home to sleep before they passed out the awards.)
Here is my little smoker and our BBQ meat. Doesn't that chicken look tasty? The rest is wrapped up to keep warm so it doesn't burn.
All in all I had a fun weekend, even though I was exhausted from so little sleep. I made some great BBQ (if I do say so myself) and got to know some people that I wouldn't normally hang out with. As you can probably guess, BBQ competitions are generally a male-dominated arena, so I was proud to represent the ladies in some small way.
In case ANYONE had made it this far - no, I didn't bring my knitting, even though I had tons of downtime at this event. One word: smoke. There were about 50 teams all creating woodsmoke for a solid 12 hours. My hair still smells like BBQ, and I just couldn't do that to my knitting.
THE END.
Posted by zarah at 7:12 AM | Comments (4)
April 20, 2006
Rock'n Ribs 2006
I will not be posting again until next week - I am the head cook for my Rotaract (Jr. Rotary) team in a local BBQ cook-off this weekend. I'll be camping in a Bass Pro Shops parking lot Friday night and running two large BBQ smokers all night to produce smoked ribs, beef brisket, pork, and chicken for the competition on Saturday, not to mention a bunch more pork & brisket for the public sampling Saturday afternoon.
So, if you're in the Springfield area, stop by Bass Pro Friday or Saturday - have some BBQ and support the children's charities of the Ozarks!
Posted by zarah at 7:05 AM | Comments (4)
April 16, 2006
peepmobile
Happy Easter everyone!
My husband has had a really long week at work (he works at our church. Easter week = 7 services = tired) so we decided to forgo out-of-town Easter celebrations with family this year. We ended up deciding to celebrat with some friends in Springfield. It will be interesting - it is a totally potluck m