Procrastination Alley

Okay, I'm not in an alley, the title just popped in my head and it amused me...I am easily amused. I should be reading the last 10 pages of my reading for Senior Seminar, in the book "Examining Cultures Scientifically". Now, don't get me wrong I like this book a lot. It has been making me think. Specifically, it has been making me think about what theory I adhere to in Anthropology. Also, some essays we have been assigned are pushing me in the direction of thinking about these things. It is really making my head hurt, and I can't stop thinking about quantifying culture, what is it that changes when cultural changes happen, etc. I guess that it is probably a good process, albeit painful, because I am coming into "professional" thinking, and no longer look in a book for information. Mostly because I am becoming very critical of some of the things I look up. Here's hoping that the pain of professional development doesn't last too long. And here's a random cartoon to distract from the fact that I just wrote a blog about not just nothing, but a lot of boring nothing.



You may laugh, but Orangutans are pretty damn smart, despite all that they lay around like hairy deflated footballs.

In which I return to the blogosphere.

I have been doing stuff. I have been busy. This semester has been crazy. I am just going to start with last week, and try and keep updated from now on. For example, on Saturday I went to a performance of Carmina Burana, and it kicked ass. Last night Sylvia and I went to "Viva Violins" which was a quartet of lady violinists from the National Symphony Orchestra. We had to drive to the Conway library, but it was well worth it. Programs are below. I have fallen in love with the piece by Ravel that they played. I'll look for it at work.




Yesterday afternoon, I climbed Pinnacle Mountain with my friend J.P. We were going to go in the morning, but it was wet and nasty. About half of this week (which is spring break by the way) has been nasty, rainy, and stormy. Its supposed to be severe tonight. Back to the point. We were going to go early but it was gross so we cancelled. However, by noon I was super bored, hadn't seen a drop of rain despite the overcast, and told him I was going despite the weather. He agreed and joined me.



It was pretty difficult climbing the mountain. I am not in the best shape, but I run 2 or 3 times a week. I had to rest on the way up, and today the front of my thighs (especially the left one) are killing me. I need to make tackling this hike a weekly thing, definately. I really really enjoyed it though, and the hour we sat at the top was the best, the landscape was beautiful.

Back at mi casa, Spring is in the air. Here is our dogwood, which is in full bloom:


Our azaleas are beginning to bloom, and they will be super pretty very soon.

While I was taking the previous pictures and the upcoming sock pictures, nosey Ditto watched me.

Here are a couple of shots of the socks I am working on now. The are Paton's stretch socks, a cotton/wool/nylon/elastic blend. The color is 31306, so creative, right? I am looking forward to being able to wear them not just when its chilly. I was so excited when I heard about this cotton blend. They are actually going really fast. I started them (from the cuff, which I did months ago) on Wednesday, and they are already pretty far along. Hopefully it won't take months to finish. I told J.P. I wouldn't be finished until this summer most likely...he was suprised how slow a process knitting is. I'm pretty busy so not everyone is so slow, but yes it is relatively slow...

But totally worth it.

It has come to my attention that I have no organization in my knitting stuff...so I have decided I need to go through the yarn stash AND the WIPs...and I am going to frog what I won't finish and organize the rest. I may take pics...either way it seems like a good idea.

Finally, the gloves come off (the needles)

I have been working on these things since about July. I had to completely re-knit the second one, as the first time I knit it it looked as if it were meant for webbed fingers. I am pretty pleased with the result. He still needs to come and get them of course.

I felt pretty bad as I was taking so long, and we've already had some pretty cold weather. However, the friend I made them for has the worst memory in the history of the world and they were almost like a new surprise for him when I was finished. I'll see if he will model them when he comes to get them.

And, since it is the new year, I have had resolutions on my mind. I am not one of those people who makes a resolution for the year, I make them as a lifestyle change. For example, "loose weight" is not a valid resolution. My only resolution last year, however, was "be healthy". I have done a pretty decent job of that, I try to make sure to get plenty of vegetables and whole grains in my diet. I also starting going for multi-mile walks in June, and have been running since September or October. I have not really lost much weight, about a pants size, but I feel SO much better and my clothes fit better, and I have way more energy. I also feel less stressed and depressed, especially compared to last year at this time.

So, I will list a few resolutions that I would like to incorporate into my life.

1. Try new things, and try things I tried before and didn't like again.

2. Knit more.

3. Enter and run in a 5K before the end of the year--I can already run that distance, but I want to build up speed and of course officially enter one. I am hoping to do that by November.

4. Whenever possible, anything I need to buy I will buy either used, locally, or handmake. I have already started on this, as I spent a little extra yesterday to buy honey made in Arkansas instead of cheaper Kroger brand honey that has been shipped across the U.S. This means that I will have to make the effort to go to the Farmer's Market every week this summer (which will contribute to healthy living as well), and will need to make sure the sellers are the growers, not just distributors of stuff from places like Georgia or Washington. Today we went to the thrift shop to get a canister for our coffee (we have been using a paper sack!) rather than get a new one from the dollar store. In the end, the situation was win-win-win-win-win because A) Canister cost 75 cents, rather than a dollar B) The used canister is way cuter than anything at the dollar store C) Did not buy a new product that was manufactured and shipped from overseas D) Thrift shop donates all proceeds to a charity called Our House which works to keep families that find themselves in poverty and bad situations together and E) Sylvia found a really nice two-piece suit for $6.50, it was an Isaac Mizrahi for Target that was probably originally $50 to $60. It looks like it was worn once.

So I am already trying to live by my new resolutions. I think its a good thing.

This is what saving money and creating less waste looks like. Pretty cute, huh?

Yes we did!

I am so proud of my country. The great majority of Americans banded together yesterday (and in the previous days of early voting) and sent the message that WE are the ones with the voice, and no amount of scare tactics or mudslinging can distract us, WE decided what direction we wish our country to go in the future.
This country can now get back to being the great nation it is. Hopefully we will regain some of the respect other nations once had for us. And we can get a little self respect as well. I proud to say that my president is Barack Hussein Obama.

Sleepytime on the busyville express.

So, I have been really super busy. And I am extra sleepy, as a result. I just woke up from a 2 hour nap, and am still pretty sleepy. But I have stuff to do! I am going to post, too. I have so much to talk about!


Like the fact that I met Richard Leakey. Yes, THE Richard Leakey. Photographic proof below.

He is a very charming man. But most importantly, I am pretty sure he is the smartest man I have ever met. Thats saying a lot for me (I admit sometimes I am a total jerk about these things, and maybe am not impressed by the intellect of much of the general public). I was so starstruck, considering his "Origins" was the first science book I ever read, and he is the first scientist I ever knew of. Yes, I knew who Richard Leakey was before I knew who Einstein was. Thank you, Daddy. And that copy of "Origins" now bears the signature of Dr. Richard Leakey on the title page. I can't tell you how unbelievably awesome this is.

So basically, this was a huge deal and I am now very happy. Considering I saw the remains of "Lucy" in Houston last April, I don't know how 2008 could get any better!

Okay, on to more recent things (Dr. Leakey was here October 8th). The dogwood tree by our driveway is starting to blush out. Its so pretty when its red. I think I took pictures of it last year. I will try to this fall, too, as it wasn't as dry this summer so it may even be prettier this year.



On to more knitty news. Sylvia was using some kind of yarn that she got at Michael's that goes from fine to chunky and back again. She was trying to knit a shrug or wrap or something and ran out near the end. So what does she use it for? A wig? Order in the court! Judge Sylvia is going to kick your ass!

I am pretty sure this is the biggest smile I have ever seen out of her. We all thought that putting knitting on your head is hilarious. Maybe you needed to be there. Or we are just very goofy.

Ysolda Teague, a great designer from Edinburgh, designed some grown up booties and is offering the pattern for free until November 1st. I saw the pdf and said GIMME THAT. Such a quick and easy knit, and a great way to use this wool yarn.

Sorry for the poor photography. Photographing your own feet is very difficult.
Although they give me funny square toes, they are comfy and nice. I thought I made mine a little too big because they felt like they were about to fall off, but they haven't yet. I highly recommend them, and am making a pair for my sister for Christmas using Paton's SWS. I'll post those when I finish.

I also made some sideways dishcloths the other day. I totally love this pattern. I have linked to it before, but I can't recommend it enough. Its so simple, and so nice. Because it is garter stitch, the ribs created are great for scrubbing that stubborn cheese left on the side of the casserole dish. You can see I got a little excited about the Sugars N Cream colors. The one on the left reminds my roommates of Sprite.

And for the first time in literally months, its a brand new episode of Cats on Tuesday. Enjoy!

I am totally blown away by the cuteness inherent in the Ditto. She can't do anything wrong that she can't schmooze her way out of. Including sleeping in people's laundry.

Rainy.

So. After weeks of bright sunny weather I woke up this morning to rain, lightning, and thunder. The lightning and thunder didn't last very long, and it has been drizzly/sprinkly off and on since then. As you can see, our flowers are in the end of the year slump. The rain isn't helping matters.

One thing about rainy days is how sleepy they feel. Apparently if you are a cat, this is especially true.
Poor Stubble is trying to sleep. So what do I do? Harass the piss out her! Here she is peeking at me with her little mean kitty eye. She's probably pretending to sleep, hoping I will give up and go away...

Wake up sleepy cat! I want to take pictures and harass you endlessly! Poor kitty, just oh-so-tired. She worked so hard sleeping all this morning, I should feel guilty for disturbing her rest.

This picture is so cute. At this point I think she was like, OK, really, go away stupid human.

In other cat-related news, Ditto apparently loves my knitting bag. She doesn't often sit on the couch, but she probably thought that the bag was hiding her. Look at those glowing eyes, she takes some creepy pictures:

She doesn't quite understand why she bothers to let us associate with her. She forgets how much she enjoys kitty kibble. We never forget how much she enjoys it. For that matter, all you have to do is look at her tracter-trailer sized butt to see how much she enjoys kibble.

Poor kitty. We love her though, even though she takes up more chair space than some people I know. Look at the cuteness!

Time to begin again. Bring on the FOs.

First day of Autumn. Mmmmm I love it. Our computer kicked the bucket about May, so thats where I've been. I just got a new computer a week or two ago, so back to the blogging. I have a couple of FOs, its pretty exciting. That will be the topic of this blog. I plan on a Cats On Tuesday for tomorrow.

First is my mom's new slipper socks. I knitted these from a pattern in the book One Skein Knits. I need to update my Ravelry book list, as this is just the first of a few books I have picked up on knitting. These were knitted from Red Heart 100% acrylic. I have been knitting her slippers from this for while, since it is washable and cheap. However, they wear out rather quickly, stretch out rather quickly, and I HATE KNITTING WITH THIS CRAP. I am such a tight knitter, I have been trying to relax it a little. However when I was doing the cables on these suckers it was soooooo squeaky. So, I think that next time I am going to try to knit her something in either a wool-acrylic blend, a washable wool, or maybe even cotton. I am concerned about the stretchability of cotton, but if they seem a little stiff I will just knit them with a strand of elastic or something. I have nothing but good things to say about the pattern. It was simple, quick, and did use less than a skein of yarn. I have made the little spiral bag from it for my mom (sorry didn't take pics before I mailed it to her) and Sylvia made the ruffle caveat, a short little ruffled scarf. We were both pretty happy with the book, and I can recommend it without reservations.

Now for my favorite FO, my socks! I used one of the sock yarns I got on sale at Yarn Mart, my LYS. Its Berrocco "SOX", and is a washable wool blend. As you can imagine, since I live in Arkansas, these have yet to be worn outside the house. They are so very warm. I can't wait until its cold enough to need them! I think they look beautiful, and I am now in love with sock knitting. For this pair, I used a simple rib stitch pattern.

I have a few WIP as well. I am making a pair of gloves for a friend. He saw my socks when I was working on them and wanted some colorful stripey gloves. And he wanted WOOL. I told him he is going to have to hand wash these, but we'll see how long they last until he accidentally felts them. These are being made with Paton's Wool, I think they're gorgeous. They are pretty warm, too. I need to finish the thumb and then move to the fingers on the second glove. I could probably do it in one sitting, but I am not in a hurry as it is still around 85 F here. Also, something else has captured my attention...

I love you sock knitting! I can't stay away from you! I have started something harder than a ribbed pattern, I am trying out Monkey by Cookie A. I am a little unsure if it is turning out right, we'll see. It looks okay now. Everyone on Ravelry has said it's super easy, but I don't trust my skills in lace making (more appropriately, lack thereof).

So thats whats up in the world of knitting. I have a lot going on with school as well. I have started another journal about a project I am envolved with, Primate Enrichment. It is mainly for my use, since I will probably have to do some sort of presentation about my work and need to keep up with it. Feel free to check it out. More on school later, its time for homework.