WIP Wednesday - 5/23/2012

Lordy...It is almost the end of May...That means it is almost the end of MadMay.  I've got two projects to finish before the end of the month.  (And to think that I was contemplating a third...)

The Saroyan is just a bit past halfway today.  Sorry for the crappy picture.  If you click on it, you can see it better (and larger):



The Lazy Girl has a long way to go:



I have a boatload of knitting to do.

MK out.

Ten on Tuesday - 5/22/2012 - I'd Rather Be Knitting

It's Tuesday!  That means Carole has a new topic for us, and today it is 10 Things You Wished You Liked.  Here are mine:

1. Snow skiing – My whole family skis and all are good at it. I just have a real problem with an activity in which an ambulance awaits at the bottom of the mountain.
2. Filing and paperwork wrangling – Ugh!
3. Cleaning house.
4. Exercising – I wish I could find an activity that can keep me fit, but is really fun.
5. Gardening – I tried it last summer, but the triple-digit temperatures really knocked the wind out of my sails…plus, it is an ongoing activity for those who like their garden to prosper…
6. Ironing – I used to like it…I don’t know what happened…I do it now only out of necessity.
7. Crocheting – I know some crochet stitches, but I am nowhere as fast or as adept at it as I am with knitting; so, I don’t really enjoy it.
8. Eating capers – I am Greek, and I think I am supposed to like them, considering that there are some Greek restaurants that seem to use them liberally.  It is a royal pain picking them out of my food...so, no thanks.
9. Riding roller coasters – I have motion issues in general, but I just did not enjoy riding the all two of them I have ridden in my life. Other people seem like they are having so much fun…but, not me.
10. Going camping – I would love to go camping if I had indoor plumbing, running water (with the option of heated water) and electricity….so, I’ll just stick to traveling in my RV – It’s like a really nice hotel suite on wheels.

MK out.

FO Friday - 5/18/2012

Can anyone guess what this picture means?



Need another clue?



How 'bout another?



And another?



The never ending socks are done, done and done!!!



I don't like how funky some construction methods can make a sock look...The foot of the sock looks really stubby and short because I used the high instep option.



If the sock looks sexy on the foot though...I have no complaints.



Pattern - Aragorn by Janneke Maat
Yarn - Moorland on Madelinetosh Tosh Sock
Needles - 2.5mm - TAAT on 2-circs
Comments - I love, love, love them.  This yarn is squishy and always a dream to knit.  Despite the fact that the pattern requires much concentration and the dark yarn color/twisted stitches/cable twists combination was challenging, it really was a fun knit. I would highly recommend anyone who might be interested to give it a whirl. 

I may make these socks again, but not this year...There are too many other things on the sock-to-do list...



Have a great weekend!

MK out.

I'm Going to Camp!

Camp Loopy, that is!!!  You can read about it here and here.

I never went to summer camp as a kid.  There just weren't enough dollars lying around...nor was it something in my parents' realms of consciousness.

Anyway, because I must not have enough on my plate, between studying to recertify (something that I had wanted to do last summer) and cleaning out houses, doing repairs and getting them ready for the market and the mountains of paperwork that needs taming...I thought I'd squeeze in a little more deadline knitting...

It came to my attention that another baby had been born and since I have to make a gift anyway, I decided I could participate in Camp Loopy and deem the gift my Project One.

(Well...why the heck not?)

I found a pattern I liked - Clara by Louisa Harding.  I even have the Louisa Harding yarn that was used for this pattern...but one has to use yarn either purchased from or carried by The Loopy Ewe...and this particular yarn doesn't fall under either category.  So, I had to go shopping.

Darn...Shoot!

I found some pretty yarn by Rowan/Amy Butler called Belle Organic DK in the Peony colorway. (It is a soft and squishy wool and cotton blend.)



The yarn came right away...



...with my camp pin! 



Since my yarn is a purply color, I am in the Purple/Red Canoe Group.

Now, I just have to wait until May 27th to start...

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 5/16/2012

It's that fun time of the week again, when I pull out my projects to see how they are all going.

I've made good progress with My Tarty Scarf.  I weighed the yarn ball last night and there are 56 grams left - exactly half of what the ball weighed before I started knitting with it.  It's probably a good thing, because I am exactly halfway finished with the project.  I am keeping good thoughts that it will indeed be enough to finish...



The Turquoise Cardi is coming along.  I am almost to the point where the pattern says it is time to do the edging and bind off, but I don't think it will be long enough.  I have an entire skein of yarn that hasn't been caked - so, I have more than enough to make it as long as I want...



The Lazy Girl Shawl is fun to knit...I just haven't concentrated on it much since I cast on.  I've made a mistake...can you find it? I am not going to rip back and fix it.  I figure it is my reminder that I am not perfect.



Finally, the Aragorn socks are heading towards the finish line.  I've turned the heel and am happy to report that the end is in sight. 



What is on your needles?

MK out.

Movie Monday - 5/14/2012

Let's get to it!

Zoe Saldana stars in Colombiana. When she was a young girl, she witnessed her parents being killed by a gangster's thugs. She grew up knowing that she would someday bring down those who were responsible. It was very predictable and just "meh."

Contagion, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude law, Kate Winslet and others, explores how easily global viruses can spread. It sure shows how unprepared humanity is for a pandemic outbreak of illness...in dramatic, Hollywood fashion.  That being said...Scary!

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky, in French with English subtitles, is chiefly about the affair between these two creative people.  Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen star as the principles and do a fine job in their roles.  The costume and fashions are superb.  The scenes are beautifully shot.  The only drawback…the story (or maybe the way the screenplay is written)  is not very interesting.  Meh.

Life, Above All - in Sepedi with English subtitles - is a very powerful film about courage and grace.  Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka) is a 12-year-old girl living in a town not far from Johannesburg, South Africa who has to grow up fast.  The rumor of AIDS is swirling around her, and she is the one keeping her family together, as her mother is ill and her stepfather is never there.  Her best friend Esther (Keaobaka Makanyane), who has to prostitute herself to make a living, isn't really helping her reputation with the neighbors.  It was very, very good.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a Woody Allen film, with the usual neurotic-type characters searching for answers and other people in their quests for happiness.  There are many good actors in it - Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, Gemma Jones, Frieda Pinto and more.  It isn't one of Woody's best films, but it was entertaining.  I liked it.

MK out.

Happy Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day out there!!!

Every year, I think back to my very first Mother's Day, 26 years ago today:

I was newly married to my family - The Husb (for those of you who might not know) was a widower with three kids - and they were all so excited to celebrate Mother's Day. The kids were 9, 10 and 11 at the time and had asked me all week what I wanted to do for my big day. They made me breakfast in bed and we watched a tape of The Wizard of Oz - one of my all-time favorite movies.  They were so adorable...

Then The Husb, so proud of himself, announced that we had tickets to the Texas Rangers double-header that day!!! We were going to see them play the Yankees!!! During the heat of the day!!!

(The exclamation points are meant to be read as my sarcastic excitement.)

So, we went.

It was hot.

The kids kept running to the restrooms and bringing back wet paper towels to put on the backs of our necks. We forgot the sunscreen. Everyone was getting sunburned and cranky and hot - except for The Husb, of course.

Finally - we left during the fourth inning of the second game.  I cannot believe we lasted that long...

Things have come a long way since then.  The past several years, Mother's Day usually found us celebrating with my mom, MIL and daughter with her family - usually at a restaurant or at the club.  Now, that I am the matriarch of this family, we are still finding our new way.  We went out for dinner with our daughter and her kids last night.  Today, The Kid is coming over to spend time with us.  We will be grilling steaks and hanging out.

Before he gets here though, I will be doing what I like best:



I am going to start The Lazy Girl Shawl with my beautiful new yarn that is so squishy to feel and pretty to view.

Hope y'all have a great day!!!

MK out.