Spazzmanda

My friend Fox had her baby yesterday, I’m looking forward to meeting her today. I’m so excited! Girls are fun. Which means I finally got off my arse and finished “Norberta” last night (it only took me until 1:00 AM but I want to take it to her today.) This was a free pattern from knitty.com that I’ve been working on for a few months on and off. Mostly because of all the pieces but also because of a false start, you see I used an acrylic boucle double stranded and my first start with the gauge was so freakin’ tight it was practically bulletproof. So I started again and blah, blah, but here she is, a dragon fit for a princess. (I gave my version a little hairdo.)

I embroidered all the details (since it is for a baby and all- safety first!)

In other news, I have to work tonight (feh) and tomorrow I cut out my Halloween costume. More to follow on that… I seem to have convinced myself that I’m capable of sewing a garment so, er, we’ll see. Luckily my mom has agreed to help, if indeed I do require it!

I’m so proud. My mother completed her shrug.

Isn’t it beautiful? I’m so pleased with her work that I could just pop!

My mother visited last night. We had such a fun time. She wrote a lovely guest column for the blog about my preparing her dinner late last night… oops.

Guest Blog Column by Rebecca Ann:

Boo. Could you just die? His name is freakin’ BOO?! See the little teefers? And the button on the wings, I think I’m going to have a stroke from all of the cuteness… call an EMT… tell him to bring vodka… STAT.

I’ve already ordered my pattern at Mochimochiland, have you?

On another note, working until midnight at the old grindstone for a special event, then bright and early for Art in the Square here in good ol’ Gainesvegas so no sleepytime for this gal in sight. But lots and lots of cultural fun and raising awareness in the arts and all of that crap, so come on out and see me at my booth tomorrow and stuff, kay?

I have come home from paradise and things are much like I’ve left them. No, things are much better. This trip was a much needed escape from everything, it was heaven on earth with the most wonderful beach companions I could ask for. We rode bikes, ate seafood, oreos and ice cream sammiches, floated on noodles in the ocean and I enjoyed a peace the likes of which I haven’t known since (CONTENT DELETED SINCE I’VE GROWN UP A BIT.)

This is what fishing looks like:

And bike riding

And the house:

And my favorite girl:

OH! Of course, AND my finished shawl (I did manage to get my windswept photos of my finished stormwater shawl.) I wore it to warm me from the air conditioning and here on the beach, it is a very good wrap. I didn’t knit a stitch, but I read two and a half books and floated and sampled many daiquiri flavors…

I’m ready to return to the land of the living now, some minor post-vacation depression was nixed by a lovely, relaxing visit with my mother today. I’m good to go.

Guess who did a radio interview this morning?

Yes Ma’am. That’s me on a local Christian station talking about work stuff. Pretty neat, actually. I’ve never done anything like that before and it was a 30 minute interview so I just kept on talking. (It wasn’t very hard at all.) Look closely at the FINISHED stormwater shawl. Yuppers. I finished and blocked that beast last night, I just couldn’t wait one minute longer. (More to follow.)

So you had better do as you are told.

You better listen to the radio.

Nope, still not painting and the house is a disaster, but I don’t care. (Well I do but there is only so many hours in each day so I’m just not going to care and continue living in the bedroom until further notice.) I do seem to be making progress on my stormwater shawl.

The colors in these photos are crap because it is raining and I needed a surface to spread out, which was the bed so the lighting doesn’t really show how pretty the silk really is. The good news is I only have a twee little bit yarn left! The bad news is that it is two balls so that amount is really doubled.

(There’s the trusty quarter…) I think I can complete this in 17 days. Crap, I have to block it too, but I’m thinking a pin and spritz will do nicely maybe rather than a full on submerge. Any thoughts fellow knitterz?

So, I had dinner with grandmother last night. She says such colorful things. Like she wants some brunswick stew but not the “fake” kind that mother and I made her last time.  She said “Use the recipe that was my husband’s, your grandfather’s, you know what’s his name….. Jim.” Funny stuff.

In the hub-ub that was last week, I forgot to post this picture.

The lovely Claudia bestowed upon me some really beautiful lace weight yarn. Over 1400 yards of some very “Amanda” colors and I just love it. It is nice and smooshy. But now I suppose I shall have to make something lacy with it. Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe something this fall will inspire. Thanks for the yarny goodness girl!

Do you like my flat-leafed parsley? It is the only thing other than the “vegetable” that seems to be thriving in this heat. What do you do with so much abundant parsley? I finally had to make a jumbo batch of pesto last week and freeze it so the basil crop wouldn’t go to waste. All my hopes for summer cooking have long since been obliterated what with no one to cook for and no desire to eat. Feh. Maybe fall will be better.

I got home from my wicked cool yoga class tonight only to find a mysterious and smuooshy package. I saw it was from a little slice of heaven on earth, Knitch, only the finest yarn shop in Atlanta. Inside was this:

A pattern for a shrug and some of the most beautiful beaded silk I’ve ever seen. (I’ve been coveting this yarn for, like, ever. But it wasn’t in the budget on my current yarn diet.) I thought to myself: “Self?”  “Did I win something???”

Nope, my fantastic friend Jen (of Sugarchef.com) sent it to me as a pick me up. And boy howdy, it is the perfect end of an almost perfect day. I had a good day at work, a good evening at the gym and now I have some silky, sparkly lovliness to occupy the rest of the night.

Jen, I can’t thank you enough. You are truly a wonderful, wonderful friend and I’m missing you lots.

Ok, one close-up for the road:

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Have a great weekend!

Here it is all close up an pornographic:

Makes you all tingly just looking at it. I’ve found my knit groove again and am focusing on selfish knitting for ME! (Thank you lord it only took me three weeks.) I started the Gigi sweater from the Summer 2008 Knitty using some luxurious hand painted yarn I purchased some time ago at Knitch in Atlanta, which is where I went today with the beautiful and funny Jackie and Claudia. I met some loverly new knitting friends and I finished the ribbing for the back of my sweater! I really miss Atlanta sometimes, maybe I will move there again, who knows? But the traffic is a nightmare and I really have come to love Gainesvegas, the town is cool and I have many good friends here.

I’ve had a wonderful (and mostly drama-free) weekend, although it is very unfortunate that I must reiterate to all the haters out there to leave me and my life and my memories the hell alone. I don’t need or require any more dirt, my current life post-trauma is just not all that entertaining, so please, please, PLEASE just watch some soap net, ‘kay?

More good news, the “misery diet” would seem to be paying off. Unfortunately my boobs are shrinking (Shari says “firming” but whatever) but also shrinking, apparently, is the rest of me. My jeans are all too big already and I’ve had to cinch them up an extra notch on my belt. The gym is not only a life saver for how I’m feeling (particularly when I’m trying to sleep at night) but also with the nifty butt-firming, ab-toning side-effects. Which is all very good for the self esteem, that quite frankly was shot to hell, and whose wouldn’t be when their partner strays from their relationship? Through my unhealthy obsession to follow the fall-out, I came to the following conclusions that I thought I’d share with the blogiverse. (It is really very cleansing…)

(CONTENT DELETED SINCE I’VE GROWN UP A BIT.)

Mom came over again and we painted some more. Still not finished. This is going to take a long, long time.

Here is the progress of her RUG that she is knitting. (Who knits a rug? I wouldn’t be able to bear someone putting their feet on something that took this much time, but whatever floats your boat.) I think it looks like Uncle Sam’s lower intestine, but I’m assured it will be rug-shaped.

She then made me this salad, which was very appetizing even though there were no tomatoes.

I’m mad today. Mad is better than sad. Sad sucks.

Angry is working for me today.