Yarn Utopia

Can you hear me now?

2009-01-14T06:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes, it is time for me to stop putting off the formal announcement of my new digs... After all, they are not all that far away.

So - if you subscribe to this blog via a feed reader or have it bookmarked, please redirect yourself to the new location: Carpe Lux!

You'll notice from time to time an older post from the transition period going live as I mark them public, and eventually I hope to get the archives over here easily accessible in the Wordpress format. For whatever reason, I haven't been successful in importing them. I decided after all this time with Blogger that it was no longer meeting my needs as a publishing tool (no offense, Google/Blogger - but unless I want to code a whole lot of things by hand, Wordpress is just easier) so I finally made the switch. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions and whatnot at the new site!

Not dead yet...

2008-12-30T14:49:00.002-06:00

To those friends and followers - yes, I am still blogging. Not here, though - and not nearly often enough.

Life, as it has a tendency to do, has definitely gotten in the way of my writing regular posts, AND I still haven't made my new blog public as I intended to do a couple months ago.

So, for those of you still reading - my abject apologies on my severe tardiness of updates. I am still tweeting madly, of course (social media is addicting, apparently), and I will have the new blog visible to all by the end of the week - come heck or high water. If I don't get it done while on vacation, it'll end up waiting a long, sad time. :D

I suppose that makes this my New Year's resolution... Heh.

Things that make you go hm

2008-10-10T13:50:00.001-05:00

You know, even if it is a sports team...why? -- Cynthia

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax...

2008-10-07T06:09:00.002-05:00

...and whether pigs have wings.

So, fine - there are a couple lines left out of that quote. I just happen to like those two lines. :D

I've been horribly behind in blogging here, mainly because I've been totally caught up in microblogging over on Twitter. After all, when you can say it in little spurts from your cell phone, whenever you want, you don't have to remember it all for one big post later.

It's not just about the tweets, however. Life has been a bit crazy - mainly due to work stuff. The job has kept me hopping for long hours, which means I've put off housework. When I get around to doing that, I put off "computer chores". Hopefully over the next couple weeks things will stabilize, but rehearsals just started for the Christmas concert for TCC, so no telling. (This is going to be one awesome concert, BTW. Just sayin'.)

In the meantime, I need to get my to-do's together -- perhaps posting a list here will remind me of what I have planned. Originally I was going to take next week as a vacation, and perhaps get a few of these knocked out as well. (Well, I usually try to take a week off at my birthday, ya know.) Plans changed, naturally, but perhaps I can still get myself organized. So here goes:

Finish new blog template and move the posting over there
Finally unpack the rest of my books
Organize studio
Set up loom/sewing table
Sort those boxes of to-be-filed or to-be-shredded once and for all
Empty out storage unit
Sell or donate old desk, dresser and coffee table
Finish knitting sweater for JJ
Finish table runner for dining room
Get curtains!
Install the digital thermostat
Have ceiling fan installed in bedroom
Get a pedicure, for goodness sake

Egads, as I think of it, more and more things keep adding themselves to this list. Those are some of the big hitters, though.

Remembering Grandma

2008-09-22T17:34:00.002-05:00

It's funny how you never really think that someone will ever leave this earthly coil. You may or may not be particularly close to them, but when they die, it still hits you somewhere below the solar plexus. God reminds us of our own mortality that way.

My grandmother was not necessarily my favorite person, I guess. She wasn't the sort to make you cookies and milk every day. She was more of a realist - if you fell she'd point out what silly thing you were doing that caused you to fall rather than scoop you up to kiss away the hurts. Still, she was a character I remember from my childhood. We'd go visit her when we could - not every summer or holiday, but pretty close to every year or at least every other year we'd see her for a few days. I remember her eclectic taste in decorating, and the wild gifts she'd give on occasion. Many of the gifts were borne of a need to give something, even when she didn't have a lot of money - some of those I still have, like a very cool costume jewelry necklace from the 40s, which at the time I was entirely certain was a joke. She'd tell us interesting stories from her childhood - but more often we were out playing in the yard with the cousins while she had a beer and talked with the adults.

I think in many ways she is that fireball from southern movies - the one who you both aren't quite sure you want to be related to and yet can't imagine living without. The one you get jealous of other people for having stories about. Stories you wish you could tell, and some of which you can but some of which you embellish just to make them seem more real. Maybe we do that to all of our memories - romanticize a bit, fantasize a bit, keep the good bits and let the bad ones fade out.

Anyway, regardless of the times I was exasperated with my grandmother, I do love her, and I will miss her. I am glad that she is no longer in pain - suffering for the sake of prolonging life is no way to live, and apparently she felt the same. Rest in peace, Grandma, and go with God.

I need new clothes

2008-09-22T06:33:00.003-05:00

Losing weight isn't a bad thing, but I hate it when one of my favorite things doesn't fit any more. You start that battle of "how long can I wear this and pretend it still looks good on me before I have to give it up" game, realizing that you could, in fact, just go out and find a new favorite as easily.

...and before some of you harp on me about getting things altered, I've thought about it. I don't sew well, however, and the services of a professional seamstress/tailor would run as much or more than just buying a new shirt or outfit occasionally. Besides, my seamstress won't tailor jeans - and that clunky 'take in a chunk in the back with a quick seam at the waistband' that used to work when you were young doesn't look so hot as an adult.

But who will I share my booty with?

2008-09-19T06:13:00.002-05:00

Arr, mateys - it be time for International Talk Like a Pirate Day once more.

Of course, that be hard to sustain. I be short on sleep, what with hurricanes a-blowin' and long shifts of work and all.

Ptui. Back to normal speech - type - whatever. My houseguests (evacs from the Houston area due to Ike) went back home yesterday. I think they still don't have power, and from the pics I saw there is going to be some damage to the house to clean up, but hopefully it is minimal. I haven't heard back from them yet to see whether the interior of the house was okay or whether a lot of water got in, but I do know they at least have a place to stay for the next few days that does have power so they are in a tenable situation. Lots of prayers go out to all still trying to recover! I've been blog-silent mostly due to keeping them company (with a very active little 6 month old) plus work has been insane lately and looks to be a bit busy for a while yet. Life is fun - see you on the flipside!

A Day of Remembrance

2008-09-11T06:40:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that it has been seven years since a horrible tragedy struck NYC on a day much like today.

On a morning much like today I was sitting at work when the news broke - a plane struck one of WTC towers. Someone pulled a television from the test lab and set it out where people could watch and suddenly we were riveted in disbelief to an unfolding live horror story, sure that somehow this had to be some sort of Welles-ian joke. Even when prodded by management to not make that the focus of our day we all kept wandering back to take in the ongoing news coverage - or surreptitiously checked whatever newsfeeds we could get over the internet.

Today is not about politics. Today is not about our petty squabbles or minor upsets. There are real problems in the world, and real heroes that go out to make a difference. Remember what precepts our country was founded on, and remember those who sacrifice themselves to make this world, and this nation, a better and a safer place. May God bless us all.

Recipe for One

2008-09-10T08:38:00.002-05:00

Got this from a friend (and if anyone knows the original attribution I'd be happy to link back to them - otherwise it is a gift of the interwebs because I see it on far too many blogs to know who wrote it):

EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR ONE (1) WHEN YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE CHOCOLATE

3 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

NOTE: Here's another version; this one uses self-rising flour and the comments have variations.

Health

2008-09-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

Just found adult gummi vitamins at the store. Insanely happy.

LittleBigPlanet

2008-09-06T18:58:00.001-05:00

Why I love LBP: the sacks are knit! *crafty geeky gamer love*

More quotables

2008-09-06T18:12:00.003-05:00

This time from L:
"I like saying 'son of a biscuit' - it implies the possibility of sausage gravy."

Reposted from a tweet. :D

So hard to say goodbye to yesterday

2008-09-06T11:33:00.002-05:00

The larger this blog gets, the more unwieldy it is to continue to use Blogger to manage it. I've yet to find a good dropdown code that works with my site to show the archives in manageable form, as the one piece of code I did have stopped working over a year ago. I still haven't figured out whether it was a fatal error on my ISP's part or Blogger's part that caused the issue. Add to that the fact that occasionally FTP updates from Blogger simply fail (at one point the epic fail was because my site was too big, even though I was only trying to publish a post at a time) and the failures are getting more and more frustrating, and I think it is time to move on and make a change.

At any rate, my webhosting service forced an upgrade on me, but now that means I can actually use PHP and Perl and such on my site --- which means WordPress, baby. It will take me a bit of time to get everything set up on the new blog - and decide how I want to move forward with it - but I've decided it will be ready to go no later than my birthday. That gives me just over a month to get off my duff and get the code cleaned up, plus get my archives here straightened out so that the transition isn't so painful.

Of course, I will post a redirect link so that anyone who is currently hitting this blog directly will see the notice of relocation. However, anyone only subbed to the RSS feeds will have to update their links once the change is made...

Change is good - it revitalizes the soul. Let's see if I can make this one with fewer snafus than other changes I've made lately. Heh.

Are you a foodie?

2008-09-03T17:33:00.004-05:00

Snagged from Lauren (edited to add a line I deleted by mistake when changing the first list from numbers to letters...)

a. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
b. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
c. Cross out or italicize any items that you would never consider eating.
d. Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. ~~Black pudding~~
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanous
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (I don't know - I might have? I love cheese!)
17. ~~Black truffle~~
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. ~~Brawn, or head cheese~~
26. ~~Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar ok, so I only pretended to smoke
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. ~~Oxtail~~
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46. ~~Fugu~~
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. ~~Sweetbreads~~
63. Kaolin (uh, the clay? otherwise, don't know what this is)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears, and funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. ~~Roadkill~~ (at least, not knowingly - eww)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (in Jamaica, no less)
100. Snake

So there you go -- more adventurous than most, I'm sure... I severely dislike mushrooms and entrails but I'm usually willing to at least try just about anything. Thankfully I am not allergic to anything and I love spicy foods, so I've gotten to try some rather interesting combos when I've traveled, and to date no serious appointments with Montezuma. Then again, I also travel with a mini-pharmacy. Aside from the travels, I grew up in a highly diverse cultural center and I now live in another, so I still get to exercise my palate. You never know what cool things you'll find in someone else's kitchen.

It's life, Jim, but not as we know it

2008-09-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

Well, got the news from Mom today -- Grandma definitely does have a spot of cancer on her lung. It's not large, and due to other issues (including the fact that she just keeps getting pneumonia) the docs are opting not to treat at this time.

I think Mom has come to terms with it, but she's still going up there to spend a few days with her mother, for which I am glad. She (Mom) was really distraught when she first heard that it *might* be cancerous. Truthfully, Grandma has had so many health issues lately that I am amazed she is doing as well as she is, but she is definitely hanging in there. I don't know what the expectancy is, but all prayers are welcome. As cantankerous as she is, I imagine she'll be with us quite a few more years. :D

Well, THAT'S annoying

2008-08-31T15:44:00.001-05:00

Finally got the opportunity to try to assemble my new coffee table...and it's damaged. Very disappointed. The box was beat up but it didn't look like it would be gashed through...

Blessing the bed

2008-08-29T22:13:00.001-05:00

V decided she needed to spoon on the bed since they did it for L's place...

Quotables

2008-08-29T21:50:00.001-05:00

Quoting Moonrose: "Playing RockBand I look like an epileptic monkey. It was awesome!"

WTF

2008-08-27T18:51:00.002-05:00

I'm beginning to feel as though moving here was a horrible, horrible decision.

I mean, I know everything about a move doesn't automatically go smoothly, but come ON. Lately every last little thing is going wrong. The phone company made the worst transition ever with my service. The previous residents were apparently horrible trashdwelling pigs that left all sorts of problems that I keep finding (although the leasing office has been great about addressing them, this is true).

...and the latest nail in my coffin comes from the energy company. I was happily a customer of Austin Energy for the entire time I lived at my prior residence. Their rates are extremely reasonable and I never had a problem with billing or getting service response when necessary. Now my options are all companies that charge a heck of a lot more (twice the rate, actually), and when I got my first full month bill - no, not full month, only 29 days - for almost twice what I was paying the old utility company I about choked. I knew that my bills would go up from having a larger place (not to mention having a washer and dryer here) and that the rate I signed up for was slightly higher --- but they are charging me significantly higher than what I thought I agreed to. After talking to multiple unhelpful "not my department, let me transfer you" type weenies, I finally get to a customer service answering machine with a message - "due to high call volumes, please leave your name and number and we will call you back." No estimated time, nothing. I have high hopes for this one, I tell ya.

Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. I need a drink.

And...finito!

2008-08-24T11:09:00.001-05:00

Bathroom Rug
Originally uploaded by Cyndiva.

Here's the "professional" photo of the finished rug, in it's final resting place. I haven't yet put the rug gripping tape on the underside of it, but I am going to run it through the wash once first, then place the tape. I might use something else for gripping though, since I am not sure that the gripping tape is washable...and this rug will certainly hit the wash more than once in its lifetime.

For whatever reason, the two blog entries I sent over from my PDA phone never made it - this rug was completed yesterday afternoon, so in plenty of time to qualify for the Ravelympics entry. Now to head over there and post the results. :D

Going for gold

2008-08-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

The rug, she is done! Here's a teaser photo from the cellphone - I'll get a good shot with the big camera later tonight. -- Cynthia

Hrm....

2008-08-23T09:59:00.002-05:00

I posted from my cell yesterday but it never showed up... Shame, that. I suppose I'll have to redo it and take real pics instead of the cheesy PDA cam. Ah well.

The Olympics are almost over and I may (MAY) just finish my Ravelympics project on time. Between spending time with a friend who had her first child and work stuff, not to mention still trying to get the new place in some semblance of order (oh, it's getting there, it just takes more time than I really thought it would) I haven't done nearly as much on this rug as I'd thought --- and I picked a fast crochet thinking that I could finish it off in an evening or two. To be fair, most of it was done in a couple pretty quick hunks of time -- and then it languished -- and then I picked it up and rushed through a bit more -- and then it languished -- and so on. I've only got the outside edge to finish now, plus weaving in the ends. Once that is done I think I am going to toss it in the washer on HOT to shrink it a teeny bit, since it is 100% cotton, as it is a bit looser than I'd wanted even if I did go down 4mm in hook size. What can I say, I am a loose hooker.

Pics to come later when I finally get my camera down - not much later though, since the deadline is looming!

I has a sofa

2008-08-22T14:08:00.000-05:00

Woo! I is a big gurl now. Ok, enough with the lolcats speak-- but I am really happy with my new sofa. Much happier than when I bought it, even. It's bigger than it looked in the store...

In which she learns to spellcheck

2008-08-19T19:04:00.002-05:00

Sometimes those fingers move faster than the eyes. One of these days I'll learn to double-check before hitting the post button on a site, especially when I don't always get the option to edit. At any rate, I finally got around to running a Wordle cloud on my Flickr photostream, and here it is:

What are you waiting for - get over there and have fun!

My weekend

2008-08-18T07:23:00.002-05:00

Yes, it was a busy weekend... I built furniture, got some olympics crocheting done, got more unpacking done, and even got to spend more time with some friends who are new parents. Would likely have done more of that last if I could have but circumstances allowed, but it was not to be. However, they probably would have gotten sick of me anyway. :D

The picture is of my new etagere for the bathroom. Technically I'm not sure it is strictly an etagere, as that just means shelves in French, I think -- this will actually have a cabinet on top as you might be able to tell from the hinges and should stand nicely behind the toilet. I'm hoping the legs are wide enough that I don't have to bolt it to the wall as the instructions state -- a point that was NOT made on the outside of the box. Between that and the "easy assembly" label (which LIED!) they did include, this has been an interesting project so far, but it is getting done. It at least is fitting together better than a media shelf I built, and the back of it (save for that very visible middle seam) is much better quality than the back of the bookshelves my nephew and I put together a couple weeks ago.

Later this week I should get my new sofa delivered, with a coffee table as well - so yay for new furniture that I didn't have to assemble! After that, no new furniture for a good long while - although there are still more pieces I want to add/replace, my budget is done for now. My next focus will be on getting my old desk and coffee table up on Craigslist finally, plus getting some stash up for sale on Ravelry like I'd planned before the move. It will get done, it will, it will.

As far as the crafting goes, the Ravelympics project is almost done -- a round and a half left to go on my bathroom rug, and the (censored) for (censored) is more than half done - I am on the colorwork, which is slow going and not easy to take as a traveling project. Once the rug is finished, which should be tonight I think, that will be my only in progress item -- everything else is pretty much in UFO status.

...and I just looked at the clock and need to dash to work - so I'm off!