He's the best.

It's been a tough week.

I guess it's just the time of year and all the gray days that we've had lately, but let me tell you, I have been feeling so blue and depressed. It's...well, it's depressing. I don't particularly like feeling so heavy and hopeless. I know it will pass, it always does. But right now it is just hard.

I thought that the whole getting the shop done thing would make me feel like a million bucks. It's been hanging over my head for so long. I've been saying, "I'm going to get an Etsy shop up" for a good year or so. So to finally get it done was quite the personal accomplishment. Of course there are always the berating voices. Why didn't I do this a year ago? Or at least last fall? Why am I so bad at taking risks? I try not to listen them too much, but this week they have been the loudest voices around. And you don't even want to know what they are saying. I mean, I don't have a job and I am almost 40 and I don't even know what I want to do besides knit. So yeah, you can imagine what the voices are saying.

Anyway, the whole shop thing kind just sent me in a bigger downward spiral. My expectations about it were way too high so when I made my big announcement and then nothing happened it was really disheartening. I don't know what I thought. I guess that I would have a sale or two and that some friends would mention the shop here and there and it just didn't really happen that way. And I felt like somebody had broken my heart into a million little pieces.

That said, I did get a few nice notes from people, a mention over at dangerousmeta (Thanks Garret!) and positive comments from my family. And I am grateful for those kind words.

Yesterday I spent the day knitting (and wondering if I should even bother at this point) and thinking about what I can do to get over this mess. And get on with my life. And well, that's what I have to do. Just get on with it. Keep moving forward, working at this thing I love and maybe also figure out what else I can do. (That's a tough one for me.) Because part of me feels like this is a sign that I am not going in the right direction. I don't know. I'm too old to be this clueless.

As for the shop, I'm not giving up on it. I realized that I shouldn't have had any expectations at all. Not about the shop and not about people. Ventures like this take time and I am sure eventually I'll sell a few things and all the time and effort will suddenly feel like it was totally worth it. I like what I do and I don't need to give up just because things didn't go as I hoped. I watched a movie about Coco Chanel yesterday (not the latest one, this one) and it made me feel better. Not to say that I am anything like Coco, but it was the right kind of movie for me to watch. She didn't give up after a few failures. She just kept doing what she loved and worked hard to make herself into what she wanted to be. Nothing is impossible.

February. I think February is always hard.

And today, well today I don't feel much better and it's still gray outside. But I'm just going to keep going. I'll run and eat and water my plants and finish the bag I am knitting and eat dinner and read and go to bed. And who knows, maybe tomorrow I will feel great!

Thanks for letting me share.

[After I wrote this, I made my tea. The little saying on the tea tag said, "May your inner self be secure and happy." Made me laugh.]

Getting organized.

In early January, I received another big order of yarn and realized that keeping it in the big bag on the floor wasn't ideal. I felt bad about taking away Rocky's yarn bed, but something had to be done. I ended up buying a bunch of plastic ITSO cubes at Target and stacked them up in the closet in my office. The perfect solution! Now I can organize my yarn by color, sort of, and get a better view of what I have in my stash. A very happy thing. Of course now I am already running out of space because I went a little yarn crazy last month. I would really like to get some more cubes, but I have to sell some things first plus I don't have a lot of room left in my office to add more storage. But the cubes are great. Although buying them was quite an adventure as I was alone and only two cubes actually fit in a cart. I managed to stack up four cubes on the cart and carried the other two in my hand. It worked alright until I went out to the parking lot. All the bumps in the pavement made it difficult to keep the cubes steady in the cart. I am sure it was a very funny sight. (And of course no one offered to help. Not that I really expected it, but if my husband was at Target and saw someone struggling with 6 cubes, he would definitely help. He's a gentleman.)

The Big Day.

At long last, my Etsy shop is up! Please check out the Mad Orange Shop. I have loads of felted handbags and bowls, plus a few one off things and some postcards printed from various Polaroid images. The selection will always be growing as I am always making new things. I have lots of ideas in the making and now the "getting it started" part of the shop is done, perhaps I will have more time for experimenting.

This shop has been a long time coming and I am not sure why it took me so long to get it going. A bit of fear, I would say. And I'd like to say that now I have breathed a big sigh of relief, but not so much. Now my shoulders are all tensed up wondering how this little shop will be received. I know, I know, I need to just let it go and carry on. But this is what I have been doing for the past year. Knitting and felting and hoping to get an online shop going. And, well, what if nobody buys anything? EVER. Then what? But better to have tried than to have not taken the risk, right? Right. Always better to take that risk.

*Big sigh*

So I hope you will take a peek and even if you're not in the market for anything now, maybe keep it mind for down the road. I know times are tight for most people these days.

I will probably be posting updates as I add new things and you can always find the shop link over there in the sidebar.

Cheers!

Everything is going to be fine.

My friend Jami Attenberg has a new novel out called The Melting Season. It's a great read, perhaps my favorite of her books so far, and it's gotten quite a bit of press. She's getting ready to head out on a book tour so please go see her if she has a reading in your town. And go by the book. Sadly we won't be able to attend any of her readings, but we are hoping to catch up with her in Las Cruces for a night as that's the closest she'll get to us on her drive from San Diego to Austin.

Anyway, awhile back, Jami asked her artist friends to create something inspired by the book. After my initial panic, I did manage to come up with a nice idea and created the cross stitch piece in the above photo. It was quite a lot of fun to do and I'm happy that Jami invited me to the project.

Read more about my piece here and see (or listen) to the other pieces here.

(Now I have this hanging on the wall above my computer as a reminder that yes, everything is going to be fine.)

Snow and more snow.

We had a lovely snowstorm today. It started snowing at around 7:30 this morning and just stopped a little bit ago. It never really stuck to the roads, but we have plenty in our yard. It's almost up to Rocky's chest! He's been insisting on going out on adventures today no matter the weather conditions. Such a little snow cat, that one.

Letter.

My contribution to the latest Words To Shoot By. Please go check out all the fabulous photos!

These photos are all of letters that my dad wrote to his parents. The first stack is from his college days, the second from his time in Vietnam and the last is a couple of postcards that he sent when he was away at camp at age 12 in 1952. I have a whole box of these and more that I still have yet to go through and read. The box includes a lot of carbon copies of my grandma's replies to my dad. I love that I have this stuff and can't wait until I have the time to really go through it.

I think it's all so fascinating.

Also, I am so grateful that Steph invited me to be a part of this collaboration because I am not taking many photographs at all lately and this at least forces me to think about something a couple of times a month. It's good.

Frank and Josephine.

My grandmother and grandfather. This photo wasn't labeled in the album but based on the other photos, I am guessing it is c.1938 in San Francisco. And it is perhaps my favorite thing in the whole album. A photo booth strip! Of my grandparents! In 1938! I love it.

The whole album is really incredible. My grandfather loved to take pictures, much in the same way that I do or so I am guessing from the shots in the album. He seemed to like to document things, take lots of photos of his wife and friends and play around with light. I have no idea what type of camera he was using in the 1930's. The pictures are all quite small, maybe from a Brownie? I'm slowly scanning the album and I'll be posting all the shots on Flickr and some here too.

My grandfather was a geologist and worked for the government his whole life. He took photos of the Golden Gate Bridge while it was being built! And he worked on the Hoover Dam project as well. We also came across slides of an atomic test explosion, but I don't have those to scan. (On the same note, when my dad was a boy scout in Nevada, his troop went on a field trip to watch one of the tests. Crazy.) It's all fascinating to me and I wish he was still around so I could talk to him about all these things. He died in 1979 when I was nine years old. At that age, I was more interested in his collection of magnets than asking him about the different cameras he used. That's just how it goes sometimes. My love of vintage cameras and photography makes me feel a little connection with him though. Perhaps he grins when he sees me taking Polaroids of myself in the mirror just like he did.

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe we're already 7 days into 2010! Hope the year has gotten off to a good start for you.

My apologies for the lack of words around here, but we're laying low, working on various projects and trying to stay warm. I've been knitting day and night, trying to get many bags made so I can start up my Etsy shop by the end of the month. My goal this week is to get 4 bags knitted and I think I'm going to make it. Might even manage five! Then next week, felting and on to more bags, perhaps some new patterns that I've been trying to work out in my head. Sales have been pretty much nonexistent at the shop which is frustrating, but hey, that's retail for you. Hoping Etsy gets things moving a little bit as cash is getting tight around here. If only I could convince the cats to go out and get jobs. But no, they would rather nap all day. Alas.

As for things I want to accomplish in the new year, I still haven't even written them down! But they've been floating around in my head for weeks. One of them is that no matter how obsessed with knitting I am, I have to try to get out of the house at least once a week to do something that is not work or errand related. This week's outing was taking two of my nieces and their friend to lunch. They drove up from Albuquerque to visit before heading back to college and while we didn't do a whole lot, it was great to see them. They are just so hilarious. We had lunch at Second Street Brewery and then they all played Wii games while I sat back and watched. Very entertaining. No, really, it was. I wish I could see all the nieces and nephews more often.

Another thing I'd like to get done is the scanning of the album of old photos that my aunt lent to me two summers ago. Scanning is not my favorite thing to do, but I've been trying to dedicate an hour to it every evening. I've been pretty good about it except for this evening. I am writing this instead. I just don't feel up to scanning. I don't know why I dislike scanning so much. Perhaps if my scanner wasn't always full of dust and hair, it wouldn't be as annoying.

This weekend will find me knitting more and watching the Wild Card games. The Steelers may be done, but we keep watching until the very end. I guess I'm rooting for an NFC win this year. Go Saints! (But I'd be okay with a Vikings or Cowboys win as well. And don't tell my dad about me rooting for the Saints!)

*

I can't believe tomorrow

is the last day of the year. Of the decade. Crazy. I also can't get over the fact that I will be starting a new decade of age as I turn 40 in 2010. I know, I know, it's 9 months off, but it's on my mind. FORTY. It doesn't upset me, it is just strange. I remember when my dad turned 40 and my mom threw him a surprise birthday party. They were grown ups. I still don't really feel like a grown up. Which is okay, I guess.

Anyway, I'm not really good at end of the year posts. Last year I wrote that I felt pretty neutral about 2008 and I guess I feel the same about 2009. It wasn't a bad year by any means, but it doesn't stand out as a great year either. (And sadly, I only accomplished one thing on the list I made at the beginning of the year, the knitting one. Didn't even manage to get my ass to the eye doctor.) I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished with my little knitting business, but I also regret not doing a whole lot more. My approach to having a craft business is way too timid. I need to work on that. That said, I'm also really surprised that so many things sold at the shop over the course of the year. That feels really good.

I don't know, I guess I spent most of 2009 at home. Knitting. And watching A LOT of crime shows. We didn't travel enough and we hardly hiked at all. But the trip we did take was loads of fun. I'm glad we got to drive to the beach. It was a nice adventure.

And oh oh oh! We had lots of visitors throughout the year which was a lot of fun. We had a blast with CC and Dana in July and while we didn't have enough time with Sheryl and Rebby, the Earthship experience was amazing. So maybe not enough vacations, but definitely some great staycations!

So the highlights of 2009? Winning the SuperBowl! Our anniversary dinner at Terra. Caroline's high school graduation. CC and Dana coming out to Santa Fe. Mom's 70th birthday party. Sheryl and Rebby (and sisters) visiting and taking us to the Phoenix Earthship. Road trip to South Carolina with a stop in Winston along the way. And knitting. Knitting all the time and getting excited about new ideas and selling things.

We're spending New Year's Eve with my sister and boyfriend. I'm really looking forward to it. I couldn't tell you the last time I was with my sister on NYE. I've racked my brain and I seriously can't remember a NYE with my sister. I guess it must have been back when she still lived at home. (She's almost 10 years older than me.) So it's been awhile. Tomorrow is going to be fun.

Happy New Year to all! Have fun and be safe in your celebrations.

Christmas Eve.

The sky looked so pretty this morning.

I do like poinsettias.

My dad always buys my mom the most gorgeous poinsettias for the holidays. So very red and lovely.

My funny little poinsettias didn't bloom until the spring. I don't know what they'll do this season. One has a few red leaves, but it's not really in bloom. They're just confused.

Woo-hoo and Phew!

We won, we won, we finally won! But good lord, it was so heartbreaking to watch the Steelers lose the lead in the fourth quarter. Please, no, not again. And our defense? Still not happy with them. At all. But Ben looked good. (Imagine how much better he would look with a stronger offensive line!) And after that unbelievable on sides kick, I actually still had hope since there were a little over two minutes left and we all know what Ben is capable of doing in that situation. And it all worked out. That catch by Mike Wallace was the SuperBowl all over again. He reminds me so much of Holmes as a rookie and, well, with the catch last night, methinks he is going to definitely be a great asset for the Steelers in years to come. I know our play off chances are super slim, but I'm just happy to have a win.

Today I had to run some errands for Santa. It went pretty smoothly, but I couldn't believe the amount of traffic. Ugh. Makes me glad that I do most of my shopping from home. Later, after lunch and some laundry, I started yet another bag. My favorite thing to do. Now I am taking a break for this, some banking and dinner making. Tomorrow I have to get groceries and then there will be more knitting. Wednesday I have to make natillas and scalloped potatoes for Christmas festivities. And Thursday we'll head on over to my folks' house for the usual farolitos and what not. I can't believe that Christmas is Friday. And that the end of the year is so near. The end of a decade no less.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Words To Shoot By.

Recently my friend Steph Parke asked me to be a part of her photo collaboration blog Words To Shoot By. Steph is an awesome photographer (check out her Flickr stream) and I was delighted to be invited to participate. All of the photographers involved are incredibly talented and you should definitely check out the blog as well as the links. The word for today is "tradition" and you can see my submission above. I actually haven't been taking many photographs lately so this project is definitely a bit of inspiration and a kick in the pants. Yay!

Oh yeah, and I got a hair cut too!

Nothing but sunshine in Santa Fe.

I'm rather jealous of all the snow that the eastern part of the country got. I like big snowstorms! But here it's all sunshine. There's not even any snow in the forecast for the week. (And don't get me wrong, I'm all about sunshine too, but this time of year a good snow day is nice too.)

I had hoped to sleep in a bit this weekend, so of course I was up at six both mornings. Sigh. Oh well, at least I have more time to get stuff done.

The week sort of flew by, as usual. I was mostly busy with knitting, although I did do some running around as well. And I worked at the shop one day. I've been having a hard time getting anything done at home because all I want to do is knit. Knit, knit, knit. I'm still obsessed with stripes which is fun. I like finding colors to mix and trying to use all my leftover bits for a bag. I'm down to the last dregs of the huge yarn order I made in October. Only a few colors left. But no worries, I just made another huge order. HUGE. It's going to be crazy, I think. It's a little overwhelming to have so many choices, but it'll be good. Lots more stripes and new colors to use. And Rocky is going to be able to burrow in for awhile. I keep telling myself that I am going to take a week off of knitting so that I can work on some other projects, but it just ain't happening. Maybe after Christmas. I have some books that I need to study so I can learn some new techniques. And I still have to get the damn Etsy up. I am kicking myself for missing the holiday season, but oh well, it'll happen when it happens. I'm excited about getting it going and selling some things directly.

I haven't played with the Wii in over a week. There's just no time. And it kind of messes me up which is a drag. Last Saturday night we went out with a good friend of mine who was in town for a few days, and after some beers and pizza, we came back here to Wii it up. The bowling is great fun, but something about the way I throw causes me to get this weird hip pain so I'm not so keen to have it happen again. Last night my folks came over for dinner so my dad could watch the Cowboys game. (Still can't believe they beat the Saints!) They got a bowling game going before dinner and I stayed out of it. No fun. But I love that my parents actually like playing the games! My mom LOVES the bowling. And she rocks at it. I haven't even been back on the WiiFit since I've just been running outside. I am sure it is going to scold me next time I turn it on.

Today I plan to do a bit of cleaning, felt some bags and then it'll be time for Steelers football. Which sadly I am not that excited about. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fair weather fan. I know one has to take the bad with the good. I love the Steelers and will always love the Steelers, but I am kind of done with them this season. It'd be nice if they would at least win out the rest of the season, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It sort of seems like they don't care which I guess makes me not care. At this point I am looking forward to off-season changes and what not and a fresh start in fall 2010.

Well, enough of my babble! I'm off to shower and get things going. Happy Sunday!

flickr faves

It's been awhile since I've posted Friday flickr faves. Here are some for Saturday!



1. Untitled, 2. 52/365, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Offenbach, 10. swan, 11. sunlit, 12. A Lone Tree, 13. spruce, 14. sunday night football, 15. I'm Not Done, 16. Lazy Days of Summer, 17. Untitled, 18. time to go out, 19. Untitled, 20. Crocodile, 21. the mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice. ~bhagavad gita, 22. Untitled, 23. IMG_2057, 24. IMG_2138, 25. IMG_2224

Created with fds flickr toys.

Stripes and more stripes.

Okay, one with no stripes. I know I owe you a bit more of an update, but I'm just super busy right now. Knitting and running errands and taking care of holiday related things. There just isn't enough time in a day.

I fought back today.

Okay, so I should have gone running today, but I decided to tackle the WiiFit again. It went better than yesterday, although my balance still kind of sucks and I seriously have no coordination. Nonetheless, I do the stretches and what not so it is still a work out whether the sensor thinks I am doing well or not. And now I am so incredibly sore, it hurts to do just about anything. Apparently one should do these things in moderation. But not me, I pushed it to 59 minutes today. Those strengthening stretches seem so innocent, but man, they have a painful aftermath. But it's good. Running is great for me, but I think it's good for me to be stretching and strengthening some new areas. We'll see how long it lasts though.

As for the rest of the day, I did a bit of cleaning and then finished up a bag and knit up some bowls. We watched Julie & Julia which was cute. I particularly enjoyed the Julia parts with Meryl Streep. She rocks. On the other side, I think I vaguely remember coming across the Julie/Julia Project blog back in 2002, but I never followed it. I don't think I could ever cook that much. Unlike Julie & Julia, I love to eat but do not like to cook. I would much rather have someone cook for me. And luckily, I have someone who doesn't mind cooking for me. I told him he needs to try some of Julia's recipes. I don't think he appreciated that suggestion.

And tonight, football. Which I am halfway dreading because three days is not long enough to recover from the anger over the last loss. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I am halfway embarrassed to even wear my Steelers gear to the bar. (We're going out tonight.) I mean, four losses in a row? Two of them to two of the worst teams in the league? Ugggghhhh. Let's get a win tonight and salvage a tiny bit of dignity. Please.

The Wii kicked my ass.

Things are busy around here. If we're not busy being busy, we're busy slacking off.

Last week we started talking about getting a Wii. I got it in my head that it might be a good way to exercise indoors when it is too cold to run. So after deciding that we should think about it until after the holidays, we went out and bought one yesterday.

We had a hard time getting the remotes to work at first and I was ready to take the damn thing back to the store. But we got it worked out eventually. Then I set up the WiiFit which I was pretty excited about until it told me that I have a WiiFit age of 55. 55? Come on! But it's all about balance on that damn board thing and I don't have very good balance. At all. Or coordination. Which is why I have never liked aerobics and things like that. Which is why I run. Outside.

The weight/BMI results seem pretty right on though. We added the cats too, of course, and their weight results matched the results from the vet. Sadly they are not allowed to do training with WiiFit. They are both bored to tears from being inside so much lately and could do with some extra stimulation.

Next up, bowling! Loads of fun, but good god, I can't even lift my right arm today. Apparently I am a little too realistic when throwing the ball. But it's fun. I'm not really a video game kind of gal, but the sports stuff is entertaining. And my one video game love is Super Mario Brothers and so that's the one I got and yes, it is addictive. I spent a good part of the evening playing it. And while I was drinking my tea this morning.

So yeah, it's great to have this thing that is a total time suck in our living room. It was 9 degrees this morning so I decided to work out with WiiFit and it took 90 minutes to do a 45 minute work out because they have so much damn crap to tell you and press "A" and on and on. Annoying. I did quite a few of the strength exercises, a few yoga things and a lot of the aerobics stuff. My favorite by far. The hula hoop thing is great, but of course I can't catch any of the hoops they throw at me. I love the running. Big surprise there. And the boxing was fun too. I suck at the step thing though. And some of the results are frustrating. For example, on one stretch I finished too quickly and put my foot down before I was supposed to and it said I hadn't done anything at all. Yeah, right. All in all it is not as satisfying as running outside, but let me tell you, I have been crippled for a good part of the day. Apparently I have a lot of muscles that I never use!

I would love to get into the yoga stuff, but it's hard to concentrate and breathe when you are trying to see what you are supposed to be doing while balancing on a stupid board. I'll keep trying, but I don't have much hope in that department. I'm kind of interested in the other work out thing they have, Active, or something like that, because it doesn't involve the balance board. We'll see though. I have to remember that this is something I will only do when I can't run outside.

I did knit all day today and finished up another bag. I have four ready to felt. I feel like a dumb ass for not having an Etsy up yet as I keep getting inquiries about my work. Must get that done. Too late for holiday shopping, but still. Get it done.

Anyway, it's Wii and knitting and movies. Come on over and bowl with us sometime!

And a few more.

I have three more ready to felt and lots more new ideas! Productivity is pretty good these days, although I did play hooky yesterday and went over to my mom and dad's house to check out the new computer. Sales are picking up a little bit too. Three bags sold at the shop, two special orders are done and there was one surprise sale via the internet. Yay!

Never fails to make me smile.

A little showcase of what I've been doing.

And there's lots more! I'm thisclose to being ready to put some bowls up on Etsy, just need to work on my photos. I am not good at merchandising type photos. Really into stripes lately, as you might notice. Stripes are fun.

I almost bought a fish today. But then I didn't.

I really want a fish.

I've wanted to get a beta fish for as long as I can remember, but I always talk myself out of it. We do have two cats after all. I suspect Simon might enjoying fishing if given the opportunity.

That's Dudley up there in the photo. He belongs to my niece, Cassidy, and he visited his Grandma and Pa's house for Thanksgiving. He hung out by a photo of my mom's irises on a high shelf in the old butler's pantry at my parents' house to avoid being knocked over by the somewhat hyper chocolate lab, Katrina. (Who, for the record, knocked my dad over when we arrived for Thanksgiving Eve dinner. Luckily he fell onto her bed so his landing was cushioned. I'm mad at her though. She's been knocking my parents over a lot lately and it worries me. They're in good shape, but they're not spring chickens anymore.) I think he liked the view. On Thanksgiving morning, I got up on chair to look at him and take some photos. He freaked me out by staring at me and making his eyes bulge out. The Polaroid shutter scared him. Sorry Dudley! The whole staring at me thing threw me off, but eventually I determined that no one had fed him so he was probably trying to communicate his need to eat. Not so different from the cats.

My other niece, Caroline, also has a beta fish, but she left him at home. After traveling with her from Las Cruces, I guess he didn't feel up for the drive to Santa Fe. His name is Patrick. I have never met him. Apparently he is half the size of Dudley.

Anyway, I figure if my nieces can keep fish alive, I can too. I just need to figure out a good spot for the fish bowl. I've already got some names picked out. Heath or Mewelde.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I got my hair cut a few weeks ago.

Not that you can really tell here, but I had my stylist take off 3 or 4 inches. My head was just feeling too heavy. I was super tempted to go back to a pixie cut, but I decided that might be too drastic. But maybe next time. Much as I love wearing braids, I am getting kind of tired of having long hair.

Yesterday was not as productive as I had hoped. I got sidetracked helping my parents with some stuff and it took much longer than I expected. (Not complaining, just saying.) Felting also took forever and was completely stressful. Knitting is so relaxing, but the felting part makes me crazy. Things never quite come out how I expect and usually it all ends up being fine, but when things are still wet, it's hard to tell and I have a tendency to get upset and think I have ruined everything. I use the same type of yarn most of the time and it still blows my mind how differently the same patterns turn out. I guess maybe it has something to do with the dyes in the yarn. I try to felt things in batches because I hate wasting water for one bag or a couple of flowers. It's also uses up our electricity, running the washing machine for so long. But when I do a bunch of things at a time, it's hard to keep an eye on the clock and sometimes that leads to the overfelting of things. Because I'll be wringing out and shaping one piece and totally forget that I was supposed to stop the machine after 3 minutes. So. Maybe I have to be more wasteful to make the whole process run more smoothly.

Today I think I am just going to knit. Will is going to be cooking for a good part of the day so I figure I might as well put off the cleaning until tomorrow. So it should be a relatively stress free day! Yay!

Football and stuff.

One good thing came out of yesterday. No, two. The Bengals lost to the Raiders. This brought much glee and shouting to the house after sitting around with long faces because the Steelers lost to the Chiefs. Quite the embarrassing loss. But misery loves company and now instead of feeling disgusted with the Steelers, I can make fun of the Bengals. I'll take what I can get. And I really, really hope that Ben's head is okay. That one does not need anymore concussions in his life.

The other good thing is that I knit 4 baby hats while watching all the football games. That's getting some work done.

Today begins some of the prep for Thanksgiving and all of the excitement. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as it is the one holiday that I get to see both my siblings and their families. (Although this year we will be missing Leja, my oldest niece.) There is always much laughter and the kids are endlessly entertaining. I can't wait.

But first, there is much work to be done. Today after I run, I have errands to get done, some felting to bust out, laundry and other chores around the house, and maybe one more baby hat. I guess it doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it's going to consume most of the day. Felting always ends up taking way longer than I expect. The three bags I have to felt today are special orders and I am a bit nervous about how they are going to turn out!

Anyway, I gotta run now. Got a phone call that put me behind schedule.

Sunrise at the beach.

flickr faves

1. when light leaks, 2. Untitled, 3. Mystery film, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. 00065, 7. Untitled, 8. mamiya try-out, 9. Easley, 10. Untitled, 11. striae, 12. peechee, 13. Nora, 14. Hollywood, 15. comet, 16. Untitled, 17. Untitled, 18. Untitled, 19. three overhead, 20. Untitled

Created with fds flickr toys.

As seen on Craftzine.

I absolutely love this typewriter key jewelry at The Weekend Store.

Eight years since the day we met.

And it's still so much fun! It's hard to pick a few favorites out of the 470 pictures I have in my Flickr set, but here's a random selection. Really every photo that I have of Will makes me smile. He truly is the best!



Created with fds flickr toys.

Read some old offline

archives from 2001 and good lord, I can't believe how often I used to write about sex.

I also babble incessantly in a very different way than I babble now. It was all rock shows and love and good friends and rock stars and love and boys and whoa. My life is so quiet these days, it's hard to imagine the "I went out the past four nights" life that I used to have. But ahhhh, such funny and good memories.

Here's an excerpt from November 14, 2001:

well, i can't get into blogger right now so i am writing this in an email to myself and i'll try to post it later. as if you need to know that little detail. this just must be A Tired And Late Week for me, because i am tired and late again this morning, and last night i did not drink mas cerveza and i put my booty in bed at the usual time. (get your mind out of the gutter - not that kind of booty - although, that would be a nice treat - i am just talking about the booty that i sit on every day, all day, at work etc. and perhaps your mind was not even in the gutter. i know mine was. yesterday, when i was riding home from work, i had a very eight-year old boy/beavis & butthead moment. i've been needing air in my tires for a couple of days and so i finally stopped on the way home. as i was riding up the hill, i was singing a little bike riding song about how happy my tires were to be filled w/ air and as i was doing this, i hear 'squeak squeak' and i think, 'oh, well i guess i need to lube my chain as well.' then i laughed. heh. i said lube. my chain. heh. lube my chain. i need to lube my chain. i probably shouldn't be sharing these things w/ you, should i?) but i still slept through my alarm. maybe i am just worn out from the past two weekends of partying like a rock star. i can't be too worn out though, because if you are keeping track of things, you know that this weekend is Another Big Weekend 'round here. friday night the johnsons big band is playing at the gallery and saturday is the Big Show at gooskis, starring crazee & heaven from brooklyn, the human brains, and the fabulous dirty faces. and the jBB are playing again on sunday. three nights straight of some of my favorite Rock Stars. what a lucky girl i am! thank god next week is a short week and i'll have four days to catch up on my sleep. speaking of - i can hardly believe that next week is thanksgiving! where the hell did this year go? it's been kind of a crappy year for me - well, not crappy, but hard - but i don't feel ready for it to be over. although i don't really know what 'being ready' for a year to end really means. don't have much of a choice in the matter, do i? nope.

oh shit, guess who is sitting here babbling so much that it is now way past my shower time. uh yeah, that would be me. again. i zoned out big time on my run again. i left the house and then all of the sudden i was halfway through my run, thinking, 'how did i get here? am i running?' and as i became conscious of the fact that yes, i was running, i immediately became very sleepy and wanted to dive into a big pile of leaves, curl up into a ball and take a nap. mmmm....naps. and right now all i want to do is crawl back between my cozy flannel sheets and curl up w/ rocky, all nice and warm and sleepy w/ sweet thoughts drifting through my mind. but alas, i must shower and go to work. if i'm lucky, the day will fly by again and before i know it, i'll be taking the damn spanish test that has been hanging over my head for two weeks now. and then it will be thursday. i like thursdays.
posted @ 9:07 AM link to this

Little did I know what that Crazee and Heaven show would bring to my life!

Yesterday was an all-around

depressing day for football. The Steelers looked so bad and lost an important division game. AND Troy got hurt again. Although as Lamar Woodley said, "The season didn't end today...There's a lot of football left to be played." It ain't over until it's over, but nonetheless, a depressing game. My brother's Broncos lost, dad's Cowboys lost. Thankfully the Colts pulled it out at the end of the game and beat the Patriots. One bright spot to the football weekend.

We went to Bernalillo on Saturday to watch my nephews play soccer. That was fun even though we about froze to death. But between soccer and football, I didn't get any work done over the weekend which I feel a bit guilty about. I have A LOT to get done this weekend and on this Monday morning, it feels overwhelming.

One thing at a time, right?

Mondays are my chore day and I rarely look forward to the vacuuming and mopping that needs to be done. But both are on the agenda for today. Also the watering of indoor plants and laundry. Then, work.

But first, a nice run in the cold and sunshine.

Beach finds.

Wednesday.

Errands before lunch.

Sewing flower pins after lunch.

And then we both felt like getting out of the house. (Errands don't count.)

So we had a few beers at Marble Tap Room, then dinner at Cowgirl.

We should have come home for dinner. Cowgirl didn't make us sick as usual, but it just wasn't satisfying. It's so close to us, I wish we enjoyed it more.

And then home in time for Criminal Minds. Gavin Rossdale guest starred and the show opened with him doing a cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

The beers and the dinner out kept me awake for quite some time last night. After sleeping better for a few weeks, I haven't been sleeping all that well again. AGAIN. Fall asleep fine but wake up at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and just lay there, awake. I don't like it. Even if the kitties are snuggling with me.

I wish sleep would be my friend.

Hi.

I haven't been feeling particularly bloggerly lately. Part of me wants to forget about this site and part of me wants to keep it going.

So.

I am going to try to write a bit daily again. Or every other day.

My days are all so much alike, sometimes I don't have anything to say at all. Basically, I get up and spend some time online, run, knit, eat lunch, and then knit some more. I usually take a break at four and then sometimes after dinner I knit some more.

It's not boring to me, but it's boring to write about.

I'm exhausted today. Monday Night Football will do that to me. Will made tempeh chili again and it was delicious. I had mine over Fritos. The game was stressful and exciting and WE WON! Now I am already stressed about Sunday's game which is kind of The Game of The Season at this point. It's a must win if we want any chance of taking our division.

Anyway. Football.

Today I felted for a good two hours and it was frustrating. Nothing ever comes out quite right and it makes me feel like throwing in the towel. Then things dry and it all seems better. But man, felting is tough for a perfectionist like me. It is just so unpredictable. Even using the same yarn, over and over, things do not come out the same. It drives me nuts. Some yarn of the same type that I always use, felts for crap and I have no idea why. It's not that I want things to come out identical, I just wish that things felted more consistently. Like that last batch of flowers came out beautifully and then this one didn't. For no apparent reason. I also probably shouldn't felt when I am overly exhausted.

Then I sat down and started sewing together the flower pins. Fun, fun.

And now, I am taking that break.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Five

Check out the entire Fall 'Roid Week pool here!



1. ascent, 2. London, November 4th, 2009, 3. Untitled, 4. Cobwebbed Cross, 5. Untitled, 6. Roid Week Day 5, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. youcantunafish, 10. strange shadow, 11. Untitled, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. when we remember to be lit from within, 15. gulls, 16. Untitled, 17. Untitled, 18. lost world, 19. fly., 20. it all went horribly surreal..., 21. cure, 22. Polaroid Week, 23. 836 ways, 24. Nodding Artichoke, 25. the atlantic, 26. ride, 27. Untitled, 28. Newsstand

Created with fds flickr toys.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Four

1. Untitled, 2. Louisbourg Lighthouse, 3. I hate flowers, 4. wonderland, 5. Untitled, 6. flowers / bank, 7. burning words # 1, 8. Untitled, 9. circuitry of the wolf., 10. chandelier, 11. I Wish You Were Real, 12. me and freddie, 13. Succulents, 14. Untitled, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled, 17. easier said than done., 18. just because something isn't what you intended doesn't mean it's a mistake, 19. Backyard, 20. and light, 21. Super Colorpack Sunset, 22. Mildenhall Woods - 'Roid Week Day 4, 23. Forest Spirits, 24. 27th!, 25. Reading in bed, 26. lone, 27. overgrown, 28. roadtrip outtake, 29. Empty, 30. Untitled, 31. Untitled, 32. Virgin of Guadalupe, 33. Yellow Kitchen

Created with fds flickr toys.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Three

1. Fern and Orchid, 2. The Traveller, 3. polaroid week #3: this was me..., 4. Straight a Head, 5. London, November 2nd, 2009, 6. Untitled, 7. Roid Week Day 3, 8. white sky and shadows, 9. Untitled, 10. They toil not, neither do they spin, 11. edge of light, 12. the mister's polaroid, 13. Untitled, 14. Maura, 15. Bloom, 16. El encantador del caballo., 17. vast expanse, 18. Lilly, 19. El encantador del caballo., 20. Untitled



1. London, November 2nd, 2009, 2. lollipop, 3. Raaawr, 4. Water's edge, 5. catcher of dust, 6. autumnsongs: 9 - great lines, 7. Shenzi, 8. acorns and oak leaves, 9. hillside, 10. wild, 11. spy, 12. l'aurore, 13. Untitled, 14. Untitled, 15. .9537, 16. Untitled

Created with fds flickr toys.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day Two

1. 365: 11/2/09, 2. tripping the light, 3. dissys, 4. Putt Putt, 5. area_51, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. [15/52] fdt - in a bed of leaves, 10. this is home, 11. Golden leaves and a tiny greyhound paw, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. goodbye, summer, 15. slow growth, 16. trees + trees, 17. -, 18. On The River, 19. cloud and olive leaves, 20. Yallingup



1. Untitled, 2. sometimes they whisper, 3. It started feeling like October, I got stranded on the road..., 4. ., 5. Fall Roid 003, 6. Untitled, 7. Downtown TZ, 8. cats eye, 9. Hanging upside down from the fence railing offers a new perspective, 10. wading, 11. poppy pola, 12. Untitled, 13. infinity pool, 14. Untitled, 15. pedestal, 16. Untitled, 17. watching a Polaroid developing, 18. library butterfly

Created with fds flickr toys.

Fall 'Roid Week, Day One

1. 31 weeks, 2. An indelible mark, 3. Sussex, July 23rd, 2009, 4. Untitled, 5. Little Pumpkin, 6. fire burst, 7. Untitled, 8. felted bowls, 9. if you are a dreamer, start out like a sailor, 10. Thinning mist on our walk, 11. Untitled, 12. Llyn Ogwen, 13. sunset at our beach , 14. happy roid week!, 15. Ducks on Lake Bled, 16. Tania (with beer), 17. two worlds, 18. His master's voice, 19. california coast, 20. reverie, 21. Polaroid 28, 22. Untitled, 23. Untitled, 24. lapin, 25. Untitled, 26. meltinggg, 27. Leaves over the path, 28. Tower of Babel, 29. misty morning, 30. Untitled, 31. Night Blur, 32. Untitled

Created with fds flickr toys.