Unintentional radio silence

Sorry folks. This has been a crazy week. I know you love the lunacy (why else would you be here?), so:

Monday (3/24): My partner in crime at work is scheduled to go to the UK on 3/25. Picking up extra work was done. Go home, clean for six hours for Tuesday’s event.

Tuesday (3/25): Sign off on the closing papers on the condo. Work, work, work. Chaos started at 8AM. Purlescence Booth Bunny dinner at the house. (This was a raving success. Chloe’s husband barbequed, there was much in the way of good food, good wine, superior company. Andrew was shocked that the house was as tidy after they left as it was when they arrived.)

Wednesday (3/26): Migraine. Slept all day, went to Purlescence for a chair massage at 7.

Thursday (3/27): Condo closes, officially. Crazy work stuff. Coffee with an old friend from HS. Knit night at Purlescence. Partying in the parking lot. Get home about 10:30PM.

Friday (3/28): Doggie playdate. WFH. Dexter marathon. Food, coffee, donuts. Dinner at Forbes Mill with Tika to celebrate the closing of the house. Small world experience after dinner:

We were stopping at the Apple Store in Los Gatos so that Tika could get a case for her nano. The sales clerk helping us looked suspiciously like my First Crush Ever- and I know that FCE has two younger brothers.

So, I said, “Are you FCE’s, younger brother, D?”

He was, understandably, confused and a little worried. I explained that our moms had worked on volunteer stuff together, and we got caught up. It doesn’t feel small worldy when you live in the town you grew up in, but I know that FCE is married and living in Oregon now.

Saturday (3/29): Oversleeping. Exchanging the intermittently ringing phone for a new one. Plying at Purlescence. Niece’s 13^th bday party. Twister. Candid speech:

Ok, as my readers, you will appreciate this. Or, I hope you will.

I have four sets of in-laws, and two sets were at the bday party. The kids range from almost 16 down to 8 years old. The older girls were baiting the youngest, who flounced over to me and asked, very clearly:

“What is a virgin?”

“A what?” I thought I had heard her incorrectly.

“A VIRGIN. What is it?” Nope, I heard that right.

“It’s someone who hasn’t had sex yet. Why?” I answer honestly, and then follow her back to where the girls are sitting, discussing the very interesting topic of sex and virginity.

The conversation goes a few places, and one of the SIL’s is there, and we’re answering their questions. Halfway through this Q&A session, I realize that my other SIL (#2) is going to murder me for being honest with her kids.

Oh well. I’m of the opinion that children should get their information early so that it has maximum impact on them. Be honest, clear, answer their questions, and hopefully they won’t become parents before they intend to (or contract any nasty diseases).

My SIL2, on the other hand (the not-present one), is of the opinion that not talking to her kids about sex will keep it off of their radar. So, I quietly told her kids that they should ask their parents about these things, and if they still had questions, they could come and ask me. Kids should have someone who is going to be honest with them about the important stuff.

Sunday (3/30): Pedicure at Le Spa, Campbell. Relaxation. Reading. Pretty toes. Spinning and laundry at home. Helping Humanity charity ball at the Decathalon Club- with the in-laws. Terrible food, good music. The “sex talk” comes up in conversation. I prepare for a swift and terrible death.

The SIL (who was the other adult participant in the sex talk) and I start telling SIL2 about the previous night’s discussion. SIL1 paid me the highest compliment by telling SIL2 that I answered the kids’ questions “very anatomically and academically”. Score one for me!

We left the ball a little early, watched Superbad, folded laundry, and spent a couple of hours of necessary prep-work.

I'm hoping to get back on the blogging-more-regularly-about-good-stuff wagon. Stay tuned!

Hallelujah! It's all over!

As of yesterday morning, the condo has been SOLD! It is OVER!

The new house is neat as a pin (in the public areas), and we're going out for a nice dinner date tonight. Champagne all around!

Hubris

One of my favorite things about Sam is the ridiculous kinds of fun we have together. He went through that [unavoidable] unpleasantness known as adolescence, and it appears that he’s come out the other side as a nice man.

Anyway- part of the fun we have together is that we have a similar sense of humor. Take me, and make my sense of humor a million times drier, and you have Sam.

This is the conversation we had Friday:

Sam: You know what’s a great word? Hubris.

Me: Totally. But it’s should be pronounced “ooobris”.

Sam: Haha.

Me: Or we could do an even more pretentious pronunciation. “ooobreee”.

Sam: That’s both pretentious and perfect.

Per your request

Jocelyn requested details on how I spun the Creatively Dyed Yarn I reviewed last Thursday.

I spun it on my Schacht Matchless, Lancelot. (He likes to dance, a lot.) I spun the yarn on the Fast Speed whorl (on the 13:1 ratio whorl), and plied it on the Medium Speed whorl (on the 11:1 ratio whorl).

The individual strands were (more or less) abut 40 WPI- I held them up against my VIP fibers card, and I’m too lazy to count more than that. This is a roving that lends itself very well to fine spinning, but I’ve been working on thickening up my spinning.

(I spun some silk earlier this year at over 65 WPI and decided that counting very fine WPI is not my idea of a good time.)

I spun it worsted, with an “S” twist, and plied it “Z”. I let the singles sit on the bobbins overnight (at least), and once it was plied, I let the yarn sit on the bobbins overnight before winding up the skeins.

I set my yarn by filling my sink with warm water, a few drops of Soak, and I let it sit in that for about fifteen minutes. I squeeze the excess water out of the yarn, and then hang it to dry in my kitchen.

Once that’s done, I make a little label noting what the yarn is, what the yardage is, and what the color is. Then the finished yarn goes into the Bag O’Handspun.

A little OCD? Perhaps. Knitting OCD is a virtue, right?

Stolen from Nathania

What Jasmin Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Ok, seriously. Whomever is doing this needs to stop following me around.

Creatively Dyed Yarn Review Part One

One of the booths that I got caught in was the Creatively Dyed Yarn booth. I didn't actually buy any yarn from her, I bought some of her roving.

Product: SW Merino Tencel 4 oz

Product Description: 50% SW Merino / 50% Tencel. Color RMT9

Bought from: Creatively Dyed Yarns, at Stitches West 2008

Price: $15

Photos:

Comments: I love her colors. I am a big fan of handpaints that are a little more impulsive looking, and the roving I bought was intended for socks- so having to match more than one bump was not a concern of mine. If you want perfectly even and uniformly dyed bumps, go elsewhere. Hers are for the free of spirit.

They spin with the best qualities of silk (or tencel, really) without any of the hassle. She uses a really excellent base roving- it's equivalent in quality to the Crown Mountain Superwash base roving, which I love.

She uses some unusual colors to accent the main colors, but it works out beautifully. (So, for those of you who rip out colors you don't like out of roving, don't. You'll be sorry.)

The first color I chose to spin didn't have any bleeding issues- but the bump was predominantly white. When I spin one of the others, we'll see how they compare.

The price point is in the right range, and she makes sure that each bump is at LEAST 4 oz by adding a chunk of roving into the braid. Though it's not totally uniform (which is fine), she makes sure not to short her customers, which is awesome.

Any questions? I'll be happy to answer them.

Part two of the review will come once the socks are knit and washed. Stay tuned!

Margaritas are the new Prozac

I’d like to thank everyone who offered me emotional support the last few days. Rachel pinged me yesterday and determined that margaritas were a necessity, so on my way home, Andrew dropped me off at Chevy’s to meet her.

We ended up there during happy hour (woo! $3 margaritas!), and it was a very happy hour. We drank, discussed gender politics in the workplace, and ate pub grub.

After one margarita, I felt better. After the second, I felt AWESOME. I went home, sat at the spinning wheel for a while, and slept like a rock.

Today is looking much better. Thanks for sharing the love.

An addendum

After I posted yesterday, I blew a tire out on the freeway during rush hour, and then proceeded to super-glue the palm of my hand to the previously damaged headphones.

Andrew, though he did not greet me with a stiff drink (and I only noticed Rachel's invitation for sangria this morning), he did make me dinner while I detached myself.

Upside:

If you find yourself adhered with superglue to something, run warm water over the affected area, and put SLIGHT tension on the object you are adhered to.

Mama said there’d be days like this

I’ve had a rough couple of weeks. Not unmanageable, but I’m starting to get burned out, and a little crazy. Example:

I had an appointment set for March 7^th, but Dr. B was sick. I rescheduled for (I thought) the following week. The 21^st. On the 14^th, I arrived in my FIERCE shoes. I stand in the check-in line, only to realize that I am a week early.

Fortunately, when brains fail me, I have my looks to fall back on. I called Andrew as I walked back to my car.

J: Tell me I am unusually beautiful today.

A: Of course you are.

J: I have to be having a pretty day.

A: Not so smart today?

J: Nope.

A: Okay. Have fun at knitting.

When I arrived at Purlescence, I sat down to cast on my newest lace shawl, and had to do it twice. Obviously, counting to 67 was too much for me. I completed the first repeat successfully, and went home before I caused any additional havoc.

Fast forward to this morning.

I came into work to find my cube in a state of disarray. I keep my cube pretty tidy, and I like my things set up a certain way. When I get set up to boot up my machine, I find my lamps unplugged, my dock not connected, and my stereo headphones broken with a note.

I’m normally a pretty cool cucumber. I call telecom (as I was instructed to on the note), and explain that these were not cheap, company issue headphones, they were my spendy personal ones- and they would need to be replaced, stat.

While I’m waiting for them to think up a solution, I start plugging in my lamps. I clipped my finger on a piece of metal, and don’t realize that I’m bleeding everywhere- until I looked down. I get everything cleaned up and connected.

I have a bulb burned out. Great. No big, we have more bulbs at home.

My headphones have been discontinued, so I’m going to have to find some “equivalent” ones. Ok, I have the internets at my disposal.

I hope Andrew meets me at the door with something strong.

What I did for love

...Or...

The Black and Tan Sock Project

Have you ever been part of a “love test”? Rewind. Let’s define a “love test”.

You’re in a bar. Your girlfriend is slighted by a Look from a guy who is twice your size and all muscle.

“If you love me, you’ll punch him in the face,” says your girlfriend.

You have two choices: One, punch the giant guy and risk imminent pain, or Two, show through your actions that you love the original state of your face more than the girlfriend. That’s a love test.

Love tests don’t require the “if you love me” at the beginning. They’re very tricky, and the unspoken “if you love me” sometimes hangs menacingly over your head.

When Andrew and I started dating, I told him that under no circumstances would I knit him black socks. (I had a friend that was so desperate to knit for her husband that when he said he wanted plain, black-black socks, knit on 00 needles, she did.)

Andrew has terrific color sense, so for the first six-ish years of our relationship, he chose gorgeous gemtones. Once he started working in a more formal environment (slacks, dress shirts, dress shoes), the brighter socks didn’t work quite as well with the corporate culture.

Very sweetly, Andrew asked for black-ish socks. Not black-black socks, just … predominantly blackish socks.

I was torn. On one hand, I could just tell him that he’s no longer getting handknit socks if he wants black ones. On the other hand, I could continue to knit him the bright socks that he already picked out, but he would wear them on the weekends. When it’s cold out. On the third hand, I could come to a middle ground and knit some black-ish socks.

When it comes to knitting for men, what I have noticed is that if you knit what they want, the way they want it, they will wear it. If you ask them what they want, and it’s a fingering weight black sweater, and you knit them a bulky, bright purple sweater, you can’t complain that they don’t wear it. You can’t complain that they’re not a gracious gift recipient if you knit the opposite of what they want.

I found some yarn that was both “black enough” and not too boring to knit, and five pairs of black-ish socks later, Andrew made another request.

Tan socks. Tan-ish socks. To match the other sets of slacks.

My lack of enthusiasm was palpable until last night- when I saw that Purlescence had Casbah in a lovely… tan. While I haven’t worked with the Casbah yet, I can’t give you a fair and balanced review of it, but I am positively chomping at the bit to cast on.

Black and tan socks. My love test. I pass, right?