Fare thee well, 2007

Wow. I can't believe another year is gone. I just got used to writing '2007' on my checks when I pay the bills.

I can't complain about this year. I went back to school (again). Banana started kindergarten. We all went to Sante Fe. We had a good summer. My dad sailed across the South Pacific safely and lived to tell his tale. My brother graduated from college and got a good job that very day. I still have a good job. We got two cats, both of whom are still alive. We have our house. We have our jobs. We have our health. We have each other. I've got family, friends, love, and art.

What more could a girl ask for? Happy New Year to all of you, my friends.

Quite a long post

Like everyone else, we've been quite busy around here chez DaisyFrog. We've gone through an expensive, harrowing ordeal with one of our cats, but I'll save that story for another day. Or maybe I won't tell it at all, because the little bastard now appears to be fine after eating something that disagreed with him.

Anyhoo, how about some FOs?

This here is a lovely tea cozy crafted for my brother. Being the Renaissance man that he is, Glennjamin enjoys his daily tea, and so I made him a tea cozy. The gray is Plymouth Encore Worsted, the red is Malabrigo, and the pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I crocheted it instead of knitting it because it needed to be finished in a timely fashion. I am fairly pleased with it, although it is a bit large. Whatever. Glennjamin seemed pleased.

Here is the same thing, this one for my father. This was also crocheted (hdc) in Plymouth Encore Worsted, and the size came out better on this one. I created a very subtle pattern by crocheting in the round in one direction for 3 rows, then reversing for three rows, and so on. I am pleased with it! This was a quick and easy project.

This here is a bear for my cousin's son who is about 17 months old. The head and body are done, I just need to crochet the arms and legs and sew it together. This is loosely based on Camilla Engman's Bedfellows pattern from The Happy Hooker. I think it's going to look pretty dang cute when it is finished.

Here is my first Bainbridge Scarf, pattern by Minty Fresh. Again, it is crocheted instead of knitted. I created the ribbed effect by crocheting through the back loop only on each row. I'm happy with it except for the little tassel-y things at the end of the ties, but I broke the yarn too short, so I didn't have enough to weave it in. Stupid on my part. I am making another one of these in dark green mercerized cotton. Please excuse my waddle in the above picture.

Tis the season to treat oneself! These books were availabe on Amazon.com for only $10.17 each; how could I resist? The patterns in Lacy Crochet are really pretty and not too futzy or prissy in my opionion.

The patterns in Amigurumi appear to be well laid-out. I need practice in crocheting various shapes, and this book will most certainly provide me with that practice!

My family was waaaaaaay good to me at Christmas this year. I got some music - if I weren't married, and if Eddie Vedder weren't married, I would marry him based simply on his cover of "Hard Sun". Holy moly, that is one mighty fine song. And who woulda thunk that Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are a vocal and artistic match made in heaven? Not me, but that they are. Whoa. And I haven't listened to Gomez or Norah Jones yet, but honestly, how bad can they be?

And of course, I got me some booky-wookies. (Not like Chewbacca, no.) I love Crochet Me. It is one mighty fine book. I am definitely making the Victorian Shrug/Wrap from the cover. I also love Amy O'Neill Houck's Babydoll Dress. *Le sigh* So many patterns, so little time.

I think Annie Modesitt is brilliant. I don't like all of her patterns, but I admire her creativity and lack of attention to the rules. This book is gorgeous. There are about 10 patterns in here that I want to make.

My neighbor Anne Marie gave me this book, and it friggin' ROCKS. It basically gives you recipes for eighty bajillion sweaters, with different options for sleeves, bodies, pockets, cardigans, pullovers, collars, and whatever else you can think of. I will be using this A LOT.


This here is Dulcinea. You may remember me mentioning that my dad has a Blythe doll named Bridget. I knit her an outfit. When Dad first got Bridget, I really thought he had gone around the bend. But the more I looked at her, and the more I looked at other Blythe dolls, the more I realized that I actually kind of liked them. A lot. So my dear Dad surprised me and got me Dulcinea for Christmas. She is a Medieval Mood reissue, just in case you were wondering. She is pictured above with Hemingway.

Dad also got me this Jizo statue. Jizo is the protector of women, children, and travelers; coincidentally, I happen to be all three of those things. Neat, huh? Isn't he cute? He will be residing next to my happy fat Buddha.

And now for the piece de resistance. Oh yeah. Those are roller skates baby. Quadline Dominions with 100 mm wheels. Are they sweet or what? WT got these bad boys for me for Christmas, and I LOVE THEM. I can't wait for the weather to get nice (oh wait - I live on the eastern seaboard. That won't happen until June) so I can skate my ass off. Literally. My ass needs to be skated off, as well as my waddle and my spare tire. So not only am I going to kick some retro 70s ass, I'm going to look good doing it. Okay, maybe not look good WHILE I'm doing it, but I'll look good AFTER I do it. I'm sure I'll look like a moron while I'm doing it. Because that's how I roll. Ha! Get it? Roll? Roller skates? Tee hee hee!

I need some sleep.

***

So you may or may not have noticed that my yarn diet ticker is missing from the top of my blog. Yeah, I blew the diet about 10 days before it officially ended. Whatever, good enough. I will probably start a new diet shortly. So you wanna know what I bought?

• Cotton Ease in Almond for Zephyr Gal's Juliet
• Cotton Ease in Indigo for Zephyr Gal's Tree Jacket
• Red Heart Soft Yarn in Off White to make a layette for my cousin's wife
• Red Heart Heathers in Blue to make a layette for our pregnant lesbian friends
• Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in Vivid Green and Cool Blue (blue in stash) for Edna Hart's Marly Boatneck from the latest issue of Knitscene
• Casco Bay Sport in Pale Blue and Brick Red for Regina Rioux Gonzalez's Singular Tee, also from the latest issue of Knitscene
• Classic Elite Four Seasons in Barn Red and Natural to make Cathy Carron's Cabana Tee, also from the latest issue of Knitscene (can you tell I like this issue?)

I also at some point want to make (from the latest issue of Knitscene) Katie Himmelberg's Phiaro Scarf, Kathy Zimmerman's Wildflower Tee, Ann Budd's First Time Tube Socks, and Cecily Glowik's Pebble Hoodie. Because, you know, I have all the time in the world.

***

I can't believe that Christmas break is almost over and it's almost time to go back to work. I am going to see friends this weekened, and Banana and WT and I are going to Longwood Gardens on Monday. Monday night we are hosting our annual New Year's Eve bash, where Anne Marie comes over, gets drunk, laughs silently, and slaps her knee. A good time is had by all.

I wish you all a lovely rest of your holiday season, and a wonderful 2008, where all of your dreams come true. :o)

Thanks for stopping by.

Benazir Bhutto

I have to admit that I don't know much about Benazir Bhutto. The first I heard of her was when she ended her self-imposed eight-year exile and returned to Pakistan. Upon completing some superficial research, I find that she faced many difficult challenges: charges of money laundering against her and her husband, being ousted from office twice, attempts on her life, the murders of two of her brothers, the inability to fulfill campaign promises.

But something about this woman struck a chord within me. From the first time I saw her, I was taken by her fearlessness. On her first day back in Pakistan, an assassination was attempted. The bombing killed many of the people who were protecting her. And still she marched on. She was unafraid.

It's so rare to see someone in this day and age who believes in something so much that they will pay any price to see their dream realized. And that's what Benazir Bhutto did - she paid the ultimate price. Now her children have lost their mother, her husband has lost his wife, and Pakistan has lost a fearless fighter for democracy.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Deck the halls with boughs of horry

Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra

'Tis the season to be jorry

Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra

May all your dreams come true this holiday season!

Bjork wears crochet (and wears it well)

She's a wacky chick, that Bjork. I think I'll wear my makeup like this for the holidays.

Oh wait. I don't wear makeup. Nevermind.

Christmas meme

welcome to the holiday edition of getting to know your friends!

1. wrapping paper or gift bags? both

2. real or artificial tree? artificial :o( because of the cats

3. when do you put up the tree? usually 2 weeks before christmas

4. when do you take the tree down? some time in January.

5. do you like eggnog? yes, if it's homemade

6. favorite gift you received as a child? red 10-speed.

7. do you have a nativity scene? yes, Banana just made one out of construction paper

8. hardest person to buy for? my dad

9. easiest person to buy for? my daughter

10. worst gift you ever received? clown-head chia pet

11. mail or email cards? mail, but not this year or last

12. favorite holiday movie? The Christmas Story.

13. when do you start shopping? right after thanksgiving

14. have you ever recycled a present? oh yeah

15. favorite thing to eat during the holidays? Uhhh... everything?

16. clear or colored lights on the tree? colors

17. favorite holiday song? Hmmm... I'll get back to you on that one, there are so many good ones

18. travel or stay home? stay home

19. can you name all of santa's reindeer? no

20. angel or star on the tree top? star

21. open presents 12/24 or 12/25? One on Xmas Eve, the rest on Xmas day

22. most annoying thing about this time of year? missing people who you can't visit with

23. do you decorate your tree in any specific theme? no

24. what do you leave for Santa? Nothing. This year we will be leaving "9 fresh carrots" for the 8 reindeer plus Rudolph :o)

Fiber paradise

Behold. Feel free to genuflect at any time.

This is a private yarn stash, peeps. PRIVATE. As in, owned by one person. Jebus. This room is bigger than my house, and it's full of yarn. Good God.

I found this over at MochiMochiLand, via Ravelry. I believe it belongs to her mother-in-law. I wish I knew her mother-in-law. I would visit her a lot. She'd never know if a skein was missing here or there, right? I can't imagine she would.

***

I wrapped almost all of my Christmas presents today, with the exception of WT's and Banana's. I'll wait until they go to bed. I also cleaned my kitchen, cleaned my living room, vacuumed, washed the sheets on the beds, and even washed the slipcover on the sofa. I've been quite the domestic goddess today.

I'm going to go crochet something. Have a nice night!

Christmas cookie recipe - best ever

Christmas Tequila Cookies

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup (two sticks) butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit (dried cranberries or raisins)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all purpose flour
1 liter bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (silver or gold, as desired)

First, sample the Cuervo to check quality.
Take a large bowl.
Recheck the Cuervo just to make sure it is of the highest quality.
Pour another 4 ounces Cuervo in a measuring cup and drink.
Turn on the electric mixer.
Beat one cup of the butt er in a large fluffy bowl.
Add one teaspoon sugar. Beat again.
At this point, it is best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK.
Try another 4 ounces, just in case.
Turn off the mixerer thingy.
Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit, picking the frigging fruit off the floor.
Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with ascrewdriver.
Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt or shomething.
Chekc the Jose Cuervo onsh more.
Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.
Greash t he oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.
Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.

Cherry Mistmas!!

One month to go; finish-itis

I've set a new record for myself. I haven't bought any yarn since August 8th. Not even a little bit. Nothing on sale. Nothing to finish a project. Zip.

Whew.

My next crochet/knit goal that I am setting for myself is to finish everything that I currently have on the hooks/needles. This would include:

• the Green Gable sweater
• three afghans
• a toy for my cousin's son
• three scarves
• a shrug

I also need to unravel my Green Tea Raglan sweater, as it is too small and itchy and I know I'll never ever wear it. I would really like to finish all of these projects before I jump into anything else, especially considering that many of the projects that I have lined up for myself are relatively involved. As I mentioned previously, I'd like to make two sweaters for WT (although Liz warns me to pace myself here; she knows what it takes to make a big ol' sweater for a big beefy husband!), two sweaters for the Banana, and myriad projects for myself including gloves, hats, sweaters, and vests. And I'd also like to make at least one Vintage Stripe Afghan.

I'm going to go ahead and make my New Year's resolution today. I am going to have finish-itis, instead of start-itis. I am going to finish all the projects I currently have in progress, and I then will not have any more than four projects going at the same time. I think this is reasonable.

Thanks for stopping by, and, uh, go Eagles.

Fluffy.

0000fluffy, originally uploaded by jbsky3.

Bwahahahahahahaha

Absinthe makes a comeback

You know, I've never tried absinthe, mostly because it's never been available to me. I feel a special kinship with this liquor, though. My master's thesis was about American expatriates in Paris during the 1920s (les annees folles), and absinthe is often mentioned in their writings. This article in the New York Times details the resurgence in popularity of this lovely drink. And I'm trying to think of where I saw it, but I recently found somewhere an absinthe dispenser (for lack of a prettier term). It was a lovely work of metal and glass, four spouts, and a clear bottle to hold the absinthe.

I want to try this stuff! Surely some of the fancy-schmancy restaurants downtown will be carrying it shortly. Who's in?

I'm done!

Since Sunday, I have completed a 6-page online portfolio, a video, and written three papers. Everything is due in class tomorrow. It feels soooo goooooood to be finished this work and know that I have more than a month off before I have to go back to school again. I'm going to go to bed now, knowing that I am free!!!