Make Me

A Buncha Random Stuff

1.  The Craft Fair Season is Ovah! Hallelujah! I am so pleased!  I did well.  I wish I'd done better, but I really can't complain. Wednesday's show was okay despite the driving rain. I'd post my one manky photo, but I'm too lazy to do the work.  Each show it's weird what sells and what doesn't. My cards really didn't move this second show and I usually manage to sell about half. I think I'm going to look around for 3-5 good shows to do during the year and get involved that way too.  If my stuff sells better in person, then it's kind of stupid of me not be out there.

2.  Two work parties involving alcohol in one day is not a good idea. 'Nuff said.

3.  Got a really cool present for my mom last night.  Hope she likes it. Can't tell you what it is cuz every once in a while she pops in here.  Let's just say, she thinks she knows, but she doesn't know.

4.  I've lost 10 lbs!

5.  I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to crown Miss Lean & Green Self-Sustainable Machine 2008. After a week of sleeping in layers (and I mean Layers) of hat, sweats, socks, two comforters in my below 60 degree apartment, I've grown tired of waking up in a cramped fetal position (hee hee, I typed "fecal") and turned on the heat two nights ago. I have never slept so soundly. Add to this my rejection of "green" lights that left me squinting and my avid dislike of my complexes laundry facilities featuring the front-loading HE washers that don't agitate enough to properly clean my clothes and have me removing flecks of food off my "clean" dish towels with my fingers - this means I'm transporting my duvet and not clean enough for me sheet across state lines this Christmas to wash in my mother's top-loading washer with it's soaking capacity and long wash cycle.  Just say "no" to dingy whites.  Hmm. Apparently I'm not Miss Proper English Sentence 2008 either. Oh well.

6.   I've been having a problem with my Typepad account - comments haven't been showing up in my email, or they've been going to my spam folder.  Hoping to rectify that by switching email accounts.  I remember Jillian had this problem and she switched to Wordpress.  That would be nice since it would be a goodly savings, but both logical blog names for me are already taken there.  Sorry I haven't responded to your comments, some are lost forever, I'm afraid!

7.  Stacey asked if I was going to have any hairpins for sale in my Etsy shop. Only the button, the button cover ones and the crochet ones, I believe. And any others I come up with on my own or that are "fair game." Not any that are part of the challenge that I didn't come up with myself. I don't want to steal anyone else's idea and make money off of it. Also, I don't want to go in to the hair pin biz.  I just got the pins as a curiosity from Rings & Things to have a bit of fun.  BTW,  R&T is sending me a prize package in the next few days so I hope I get some entries (read: an entry).  It's going to be a surprise, so I'll post here as soon as I know what the goodies are.

8. This has been the laziest day ever.  I have done nothing but feed my virtual computer pet today.  Oh, and a load of laundry.  My house looks like a sub-standard Michael's exploded.  How is it that even though you try very hard to keep all the squidgy bits of paper, fabric and beads to nearby waste containers, they still manage to end up all over the place?  I found a fabric yo-yo in the kitchen the other day.  Once I woke up nearly choked by my knitting - makes you wonder if anyone has ever been done in attempting "one more row" late at night. Addis through the aorta.  Strangled by sock yarn. Although, checking the stats on Ravelry, I don't think asphyxiation by stash is one knitting related death that can be far behind.

Day of the Abnormally Large Bugs

It's been a low-key kind of day.  Except for watering the plants, not much has happened. 

I was about to go out on the balcony to water and check on the laundry (that Wonder Wash is great! It really gets clothes clean!) when a HUGE beetle flew into the sliding door. It was a bit discombobulated for a bit, flying around but not really getting anywhere before it finally flew away. But I got a chance to look at it while it was stunned and flopping about on the ground. I'm willing to bet it was nearly two inches long.  If I hadn't been busy being all icked out, I would've snapped a photo.

Then out the front door I went to water the Hibiscus.  Something fluttered and moved. There was noise.  It was a HUGE grasshopper!  Huge!  See! I wasn't joking!  I decided not to take my trash out while it was still around. huge bugs that make noise when they move about totally freak me. Getting this picture gave me the shakes I'm still battling as I type this!  If it got in the house I'd have to move out until for sure it was gone.

Anyway, I was wondering what had been eating my aphids. That hibiscus was a regular aphid condo.  i saw one ladybug over the summer but I didn't think one ladybug could munch that many aphids even if it were bulimic. Then a few months ago there was a grasshopper of normal dimensions but it was quite dead.  This guy over here is about three inches long and the body is about an inch high.  Interesting at a distance, not so much when it is outside your door.  I wouldn't be surprised if the thing knocked to come in.

There have been so many bugs this summer. What is the point of living in southern California if I'm going to have to deal with bugs on a regular basis?  Eariler in the spring we had an outbreak of beetles on campus. Big black beetles that were like stink bugs. All over the place. In my office - like they wanted to be enrolled or something.  Now, because they've spread some sort of bargain rate manure all over the eight pieces of available lawn that haven't been slated for new buildings, we have flies.  Scads of flies.  A bevy of flies? A pride of flies?

Last week I was standing under a pine tree and something BIT me.  Ick. If this is going to be what summertime is like from now on, I'm done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to barricade the door in case Grasshopper Greg decides to storm the castle. *shiver*

What I Found on My Desk or Just Call Me Lady Link-o-Lot

I found this fascinating: Bicycle Spinning Wheel

But that doesn't mean I'm going to spin. But you spinners out there might want to take note of all the spin stuff on Etsy. Cool huh?

Etsy is like a never-ending bowl of soup. There's just stuff and more stuff.  I knew there was a blog, but I never really looked at it before.

In other news, I'm set to organize my drafting table today.  This is where my computer sits in my living room.  At the moment it is covered with yarn I photographed for Ravelry, earrings that still need to be listed on the Lazy Lima Bean, packing materials, pens, about 5 different lip balms (I'm a hopeless addict), the remote for my AC, rulers, Kathie's heart charms, a jar full of Swarovski crystals I don't know what to do with, a box of square tags, the postal scale, stamp pads that don't fit in the drawers, a Swiss army knife, two emery boards, a Roma tomato, cell phone charm blank (?) business cards, about 1,000 yarn bands, colloidal silver spray (for my sinuses), a bag of three wooden shaker pegs, yarn scraps, a color wheel (so that's where that is!), ribbon from Global Gardens, scrap paper, stickers, a photograph of my grandparents from the 50s, a plumbing bill from 2002, tomato soap from Karen's Soaps (smells like tomato leaves!_, Louis Armstrong Christmas CD case, a teensy canvas blank, a Sims2 brochure, a Far Side comic, a brown shrink plastic square, a packet of bush bean seeds, wearble mini scrapbook kit, packet of Emergen-C Vitamin C drink mix in Cranberry, my old library card, a tin of mints, a Hello Kitty notepad, a Christmas notepad, a mini highlighter, cilantro seeds, a big tub of Amazing Glaze, my missing red hoop earring, instructions for a Sony USB flash drive, a brochure from the Park Bench Pattern Company, a template for a small paper purse gift tag, my 2007 W-2, an unfinished earring, a key to who-knows-where, hand cream, drill bits, a tagua nut bead, quarters, plant tags, a Magenta rubber stamp, dust and crumbs.

I dunno. Maybe it doesn't need to be cleared.

Cheerleaders Bad

Just a quickie. 

We get a variety of different camps on campus during the summer: weight loss, golf, basketball, drum major, computer, cheerleaders. They stay in the dorms and are there for at least a week if not more.  The eat in our cafeterias - three meals a day.  Everyone is pretty well behaved. 

Last week we shared our caf with the cheerleaders. Thought it would just be noisy but OMG! These cheerleaders were like Feral Pigs!  They threw food, wasted food, made a HUGE mess in 45 minutes that hundreds of undergrads don't come close to in a 24 hour period. Overturned cups, deliberate messes, uneaten, unopened food. Just a big crazy mess.  The staff had to come out with carts and trays to clean it up.

And let me tell you, those girls have some food issues.  There was no middle road. Either they had a diet of fried foods or a lettuce leaf and half a jicama slice - and then they had to debate the calories of said jicama.  Cheerleader mamas?  Watch your girls. And teach 'em some manners, please.

Of Palms and Cactus

Had some free time before a party last night.  Decided to use it taking photos using the different settings on my camera.

This cactus was fascinating when I first saw it in 1977. It's just huge. I wasn't really fiddling with the settings, just took it really fast as I was on the way to the bead shop.

Playing with the zoom feature. I was across the street from this palm, about...50 feet away? I'm terrible at judging distances.

The landscape setting says it makes the blues and greens more so. 

Poochie Cuteness

My friend Jeff showed up at my office the other day with this.  A basket full of cuddly cuteness.  I tried to steal her but even though she's a teeny little thing, people seemed to know she was missing.  She fell asleep inside the folds of my sweater.  And I only sneezed a little.  Maybe the severity of the allergic reaction is directly related to the size of the dog?

I'll leave you to your "squee" now.

C'mon Already!

I'm ready for Fall.  Bring it on.  Summer?  I've had enough. No, it hasn't been crazy hot. I'm just tired of summer.

I'm tired of wearing skirts and tank tops.  I want to wear a sweater.  Or jeans.  Sigh.  Jeans!  I want to wear my handknit socks.  I want to wear my store-bought socks. I want to wear boots.  I want to stop kvetching about the heat. 

I want to curl up on the couch under a blanket with a book.  I want to stop worrying about my plants drying out (I do have 2 now).  I'm tired of the hum of the air conditioner.  I'm really in the mood for a new season of Project Runway!!  (whine!)

I want Fall!!

Brisk breezes, (whoops!  I'm sorry - that's winter here in So Cal!) I want to wear a cardigan and eat apple crisp and watch reality tv without guilt.  I don't want to see swimsuits hanging in Target when I go in to buy toothpaste.

The sad thing is that six months from now I'm going to be hankering for summer.  I guess I just can't be satisfied....

Last night I took out my knitting books and searched for the perfect fall sweater.  I wasn't able to find The One, but I am narrowing them down.  I think I will wait until I get on Ravelry to make a final decision (I'm 41 on the list!!!!!) 

Speaking of Ravelry, I'll be taking a serious look at the stash tonight and making some strong decisions about what to keep and what to let go of.  And I'll be taking the photos so I can start posting as soon as I get my invite (oh! the anticipation!)

1492

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  And that's also my number in the Ravelry line.  Arrgh.  I hearby declare that everyone in blogland cease and desist talking about Ravelry until such time as I become a member.  Could you do that for me?  Thanks. You're the bestest.

I do have knitting progress - but I had too many photos on my camera so I have to make some space.  So here's a bunch of random photos.

My neighbot gave me a hibiscus plant and the flowers are usually just the peachy color, but I just got some more colorful blooms recently.  They're like little floral surprises!

 

 

 

Here's the rainbow we saw last month in Mission Hills.  No rain, no hint of rain or dampness, just a pretty rainbow!

This was next to my car in the parking lot at work.  Um, yeah - it's a thong.  I hope there was nothing going on against my car....

My friend Jackie and I went on a walk last week and this is the view from one of the houses.

Can you imagine this being your backyard?  There is a trail that goes down the canyon and straight to the beach.

Had trouble getting good shots of the hangliders - this is the best of the bunch.

In Knitting: I've been working on hats for the silent auction and will have pictures of those soon.  Also am still working on my Waving Lace sock (just turned the heel) and will have to photo that tonight.  Took a break from Isabella for a bit but will start that back up this week. 

Got the new Vogue Knitting - not that impressed.  There aren't that many patterns that really interest me. I'm excited about the new IK though - the glimpses from the website are more to my liking.  The compsed mitts are darling and I like the Sweetheart vest and Tangled Yoke cardi.  We'll see what I really think when I get the magazine.

I like the sock patterns too. The Genome socks are a definite on my list. And maybe the William Street socks.  I seem to have been hit by the 2nd sockitis bug - I've got one diamond lace sock complete, half a Waving Lace sock (Erin's turned out cool!) and am waiting to turn the heel on my Wyvern.  Maybe I should just start a new trend and wear combos of my singles.

Went to the (Animal) Fair

Went to the fair yesterday with my friend, Sara.  After all I ate, I barely managed to roll into to work this morning and eat my cinnamon roll.  I introduced Sara to my fair strategy - first stop, Australian battered potatoes - mmmmm!  Then roasted corn. Then something new (strawberry shortcake).  I was really gonna try the Krispy Kreme Donut/chicken sammich, but I "chickened" out - actually, I just wasn't that hungry.  And I did give serious thought to the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, but well - I'd just had a Monte Cristo sandwich last week and it seemed like overkill.

We went to the critter cabanas and saw these little cuties.

     

And then it was a trip to the craft and hobby exhibits where I searched and searched for Jeannie's knits. I found this

    

I think this is hers, but I'm not sure.

Then I found this

   

And I said to Sara, "this may sound pathetic, but I know what pattern this is.  It's Rogue.  And I know cuz my friend Wendy made one just like this - same color."  And just before I was about to say, "how dare this HACK copy Wendy's Rogue.  Where is she? She's going down!" I noticed that it actually is Wendy's Rogue. By Wendy.  And looky there, a 1st place ribbon.  Way to go with your bad self, Wen!

Finally, here's a random pic of my breakfast.  Toasted bagel with tomato (that's pronounced "tow-mah-tow") and Jarlsberg cheese.  I honestly don't know why I took a picture of my breakfast. In fact, I don't even remember taking the picture at all.  Am I getting senile?

I said a couple of weeks ago that I was anticipating good news.  Well, the cat can finally be let out of the bag!  I've gotten a new job!  Yay me!

I'm still with UCSD, but now I'll be working with graduate students and not development.  My dream come true!  I can't wait to start on the 16th.

I'm working solidly on Isabella. Mom's birthday has come and gone, and I'm only halfway up the back.  It goes quickly enough I guess, but with all the stockinette, I have to take breaks more often.

My friend Johanna took me to dinner last Friday to celebrate the new job (hence the Monte Cristo). I picked the Studio Diner.  Sometimes you just feel like diner food, you know? It was so good!  And really yummy fries.  Andy why yes, it was just enough fried food, thank you for asking.  But the truly decadent thing I had was the Root Beer Milkshake.  Oh, I am salivating just thinking of it!  You know how if you have a root beer float - that first sip is just all rootbeer?  Well in the milkshake version there is much ice cream and everything is blendied and it's a root beer slurp in every sip.  Better than an Orange Julius, Kathie!  And I know how much you love those!

We're supposed to have a heatwave in the next couple of days.  For you folks in Arizona and Nevada and other blistering, surface-of-the-sun hot places - it's supposed to be in the 90s.  Mebbe the high 90s.  I will be lying in a tub of cold water sipping mojitos until it passes.  Until then, I still gotta lotta blog reading to do!

Cheesiest?

Two nights in a row I've had dreams about Kraft Easy Mac.  I think I should be worried.