Stockinette that Never Ends

As much as I love the sweater that I am knitting, and the yummy dark purple alpaca/wool...I must admit that I am getting tired of the endless stockinette stitch.

I don't think I have ever been so happy to get to an armhole bind-off in my life.

Mind you, I still have two sides for the front and the sleeves to go before I get to the lace panels that I don't know how to do, but that never stopped me before.

Truth be told, I really want to be knitting socks at the moment but I am afraid that if I put this sweater down I will never finish it....and I really do want to finish it so I can WEAR IT!

On another note, my LYS is closing soon, which I predicted 6 months ago, but it still sucks to be right.

I KNEW that space was WAY too big to keep up for the lack of sales.

That, and in these trying times, a lot of people are just knitting from their stash and not buying as much yarn, or are buying online.

This WAS my spiffy little tree with my LSG tacky ornaments.

The tree is now in my closet.

Why?

Fucking cat.

Merry Christmas from the scooper of festive poo.

I Want my Tax Dollars BACK!

Yeah, I know I don't update this thing enough, bite me...I'm knitting.

For those of you who don't know how LIVID the whole concept of bailouts makes me, gather round...because I am about to pull out my soapbox...again.

Starting with our little buddies at AIG.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqyRUyX83Uqg&refer=home
"AIG May Double Some Salaries With Retention Payments "

Excuse me?

"Some executives in the group of 130 recipients will get more than $500,000 to stay through 2009, about 200 percent of their salaries, said the person, who declined to be named because the information hasn’t been publicly disclosed. An undetermined number of lower-paid employees will also get cash awards to dissuade them from quitting, the person said. "

For you kids that don't have a calculator handy, that's $5,000,000...to "retain" the fuckwits that ran the company into the ground in the first place.

So...you run a company to ruin and not only do you NOT get fired, you get TWICE what you were getting paid BEFORE you asked Uncle Sugar for some Tax Payer candy?

There isn't a "FUCK YOU!" big enough in this UNIVERSE to cover how I feel about you fools.

Bend over...I'm putting on my taint-kicking boots.

I am not even going to get into the Big 3 whining about losing money.

Sorry American Auto, but I drive a Toyota for a reason.

I have owned 4 Fords...you couldn't GIVE me a fucking Ford at this point, they aren't worth it.

The SECOND I found out about the Job Bank, where union workers get paid to do NOTHING, I lost any ounce of pity I may have had for the American Auto Industry.

You suck.

Your products are crap.

I would work for Toyota.

I would work for Honda.

I would kiss Tesla's founder's butt in Macy's Christmas Window display for a job.

I would NEVER work for you 3 assclowns.

DIAF!

Wall Street...you are, have always been, and will always be, a bunch of con-artists.

I hate you.

NONE of you jerks should have been given a dime of tax payer money.

If your business is "too big to fail" then it is too big to EXIST!

YES! and BOO!

Okay, now that the elections are OVER, yes, as a matter of fact, I DO have an opinion.

I am glad Barack won.

Hell, I even called a person I swore I would never speak to again, I was so fucking happy he won.

Dingbat Palin, go back to the frozen tundra and STAY THERE!
Seriously...you are a joke....and not a funny one.

McCain, what were you thinking when you chose that dipshit as your running mate?

Barack, you have one hell of a tough job to look forward to, but I TRUST that you can do it.

WE can do it.

Put you Big Kid Panties on, America, WE have a lot of work to do.

Sometimes...I Really Wish I was a Judge

ACTUAL AUSTRALIAN COURT DOCKET 12659—CASE OF THE
PREGNANT LADY

A lady about 8 months pregnant got on a bus.
She noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her.
She immediately moved to another seat.
This time the smile turned into a grin, so she moved again.

The man seemed more amused.
When on the fourth move, she had the man arrested.
The case came up in court.
The judge asked the man (about 20 years
old) what he had to say for himself.

The man replied, “Well your Honor, it was like this:

When the lady got on the bus, I couldn’t help but
notice her condition.
She sat under a sweets sign that said, “The Double Mint
Twins are Coming” and I grinned.

Then she moved and sat under a sign that said,
“Logan’s Liniment will reduce
the swelling, and I had to smile.
Then she placed herself under a
deodorant sign that said, “William’s Big Stick Did the
Trick,” and I could hardly contain myself.

BUT, your Honor, when she moved the fourth time and
sat under a sign that
said, “Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this
Accident”… I just lost
it.”

CASE DISMISSED!

SCORE!!..I LOVE the Flea Market

I found an embroidered Piano Shawl at the Flea Market for $10.

SCORE!!

This is something I have wanted for many years.

I love it!

Bless Them and Release Them

Once in a great while I miss a few people I used to know.

It doesn't really do me a lot of good, but it doesn't do a lot of bad either.

Truth be told, I don't really have any hatred for any ex, though a few of them hate me with the fire of a thousand suns.

Truth be told, no one likes getting left, even if they know very well that the relationship is toxic.

I am glad Dereck found someone he's happy with, because it sure as hell wasn't me...but I do miss him from time to time.

He wasn't a bad person and I never did hate the man...but when it comes down to it, if being around someone makes you miserable, then it isn't a relationship you should continue.
Sometimes a freindship can be salvaged, sometimes not.
In this case, Dereck spent half of our relationship telling me that we weren't friends, so it wasn't too hard to see what was going to happen.
Every time I heard that, a little peice of my affection for him just died.

I am like that.

"If we are not friends, then why am I involved with you at all?" just kept running through my head.

I am glad he found someone that makes him happy.

Too bad it never could have been with us.

Because I left, the man hates my guts.

So it goes.

However, since he has a new girlfriend, it means I can go to the kite-park again without having to worry about the whole "you-left-me-you-evil-bitch..." crap.

THAT is a good thing!

Onward and upward.

PETA has Gone Crazy..AGAIN....

Save the SEA KITTENS?!??

Seriously PETA, do you KNOW how bat-shit insane you are?

You people DO realize that I would eat less meat if you shut the hell up, right?

As it is, EVERY time you clowns come up with a new and interesting way to be a pain in the world's ass, I enjoy the hell out of eating something that would piss you people off.

I don't care if you nit-wits call salmon, "Bambi-Fins", I am STILL going to eat it.

That plant you are munching on had feelings too, you know...but you don't hear me whining "Won't SOMEONE think of the SALAD?!"

The Swiss have lost their minds.

Switzerland Places Ban on the Humiliation of Plants

Wait...What?

"Beat Keller is a molecular biologist at the University of Zurich. Keller recently asked permission of the government to conduct a field trial of a genetically modified wheat bred with a resistance to fungus.
In order to actually gain permission to go ahead with the trial, he needed to hash out the potential threats to the dignity of the wheat."

"The majority of the panel agrees that genetically modified plants are ok, “as long as their independence, i.e., reproductive ability and adaptive ability, are ensured.” In other words, no forced sterility and terminator genes."

“Where does it stop?” asks Yves Poirier, a molecular biologist at the laboratory of plant biotechnology at the University of Lausanne. “Should we now defend the dignity of microbes and viruses?”

"How humiliated is a boiled potato? A peeled carrot? Corn turned into a lowly, tortilla chip meant for dipping?"

Are these people whacked out of their minds?
Do they think this is Day of the Triffids and our food is suddenly going to rise up and kick our asses?

Dignity for plants...you people are making me LOVE mashing the crap out of my potatoes.
You, tomato....swim with your salsa brethren and STFU.
I don't CARE if you like onion or not.

This goes right up there with the whack-jobs at PETA who want me to Empathize with the Poor Lobsters.

(For those of you think I am kidding, behold PETA wants to open a Lobster Empathy Center .)

Hopping Mad!

AIG, you people suck like a Hoover!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438681,00.html

"First there was the $440,000 American Insurance Group Inc. spent entertaining executives days after receiving an $85 billion lifeline from the Federal Reserve, now it's $86,000 for a hunting trip in England as the faltering company reaped another $37.8 billion in taxpayer funded loans."

Excuse me?

I want to kick every one of you dirtbags in the ass and TAKE my hard-earned money BACK!

I DID NOT approve of the farce of a bail-out that was shoved through without any real investigation as to whether it would actually WORK...and obviously, those that got all that FREE MONEY are treating it like it is FREE MONEY.

Has credit loosened up?
No.

Are banks lending to each other?
No.

So we, as taxpayers, are ANOTHER $700 BILLION in the hole...on top of the fact that we are so far in debt as a nation that I can't even count that high anymore...and it is only getting worse.

I don't know about y'all, but I haven't had a raise in 2+ years.
I have ONE debt - my car...and I INTENTIONALLY bought a small, economical car that I could afford.
I am NOT up to eyeballs in debt on credit cards - I have ONE.
It has a $500 limit because that is how I want it.
I pay it in full every month.

I don't really mind paying my taxes, but having my tax-money WASTED pisses me off.

AIG - I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!

That is why he is on my money...

“Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the Eternal God I will rout you out!”

~ President Andrew Jackson to the second US Bank

How many years has it been and yet banks are STILL pulling the same shit?

Boo Bats

Here are two finished Boo Bats.
They are fun little guys to knit because they don't take much time...
...and they are sickeningly adorable.


Other than the Blue Meanie, and the tree, I made all this stuff.

One of these days I am going to make a Blue Meanie stuffie, as soon as all collective brain cells decide to work in unison.
(Stop laughing.)

BOO!

http://mochimochiland.com/shop/items/boo.php

I am knitting bats.

FINALLY!! Off the Island!

Okay, I will miss the view of San Francisco...but that's about it.

No more 55 mile commute to work.

No more jerk-neighbors playing BAD rap at all hours of the day and night.

No more crazy woman next door who yells at her kids all day.

No more shingles flying off the roof every time the wind blows.

No more BAY BRIDGE!!!

Everyone loves to bag on the South Bay, but all in all, I prefer living here.
San Francisco is fun to VISIT, but living there?
Not so much.

SWPPP = meh

Dangit...just when I actually HAVE stuff to babble about, work actually has WORK for me to do.

Ugh....SWPPP documents.

Can you say "endless typing of legal mumbo-jumbo"?

(ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!)

I knew you could.

Meh.

I'll be back.

Elijah and The Manikins

There was a part one to this picture series, but it seems to have vanished off the face of the planet.

D'OH!

Elijah is the cute little knitted elephant.

He was, for the most part, a fun little guy to knit.

There are a couple of tricksey spots where the use of a crochet hook will save one from yanking their hair out, or breaking a needle, but other than that, he is very well designed.

No seams is a GOOD THING!!

Pesky Manikins!

NOM!!

Resurrescted UFO

Nothing like finding a partially knitted project that I have NO CLUE what the heck it was in the first place.

Hmmmm....what to do?

Knitting UFO Resurected into a shrug.

We'll see how well this one works out since I am playing it by ear.

I have a love/hate relationship with Homespun Yarn.

On one hand, it is nice, soft and fluffy...and it is acrylic, so it can be thrown into the wash.

One the other hand, projects need to be tackled with some care because it can be a royal pain to crochet with, and due to the loft, it can make a skinny person look like a technicolor bear.

Three Jelly Babies

Here are all three of the Jelly Babies I have knit so far.

The Purple Guy is the tall one.

Orange is medium height.

Yellow is short and fat.

All in all I think I like the medium sized one the best.

They knit up very fast, which is good because it takes several of them to look right.

Jelly Babies are herd-candy.

Jelly Baby in Progress

This is the small sized Jelly Baby I am currently working on.

This purple Jelly Baby is the large one.

As soon as I get this little guy done, I will have a picture up of all three sizes, and get the pattern written out in a somewhat coherant fashion.

I started making these guys after I managed to talk Mr. Gothric out of the Doctor Who scarf that he thought he wanted me to knit...until he remembered that he is always hot and never wears scarves anyway...and I would rather be boiled in my own pudding than knit ANYTHING over 12 feet long ever again.

I will be content with knitting Doctor Who's power food.

Happy Knitting, Folks.

Do Pro-Lifer's Eat Eggs?

Sick humor?

You bet...but y'all wouldn't have it any other way, now would you?

Big Thompson River-Trading Post View

Big Thompson River taken August 23, 2008

This picture was taken from the little foot bridge that sits behind The Indian Trading Post, about half way down the Thompson Canyon.

The owner's have always been gracious hosts and allowed us to access their private bridge so we could take good pictures of my beloved river.

(Thanks guys!)

Cell Phone Weirdness

Okay, I had NO problem blogging from the cell phone in Estes Park, but it freaked out after that.

Still trying to work it out.

I have a bunch of pictures to post as soon as I can figure the silly thing out, so be patient, folks.

Big Thompson River

Estes Park, CO

August 22, 2008

Yeah, I know cell phone pictures suck.

I don't really have words for Estes Park.

This is the place where we spent most of our free time when I was a little kid.

I haven't been here in 30 years, yet there are some things that I remember like it was yesterday.

Estes Park

We leave for Estes Park in about an hour.

With any luck I will be posting a few pictures from the cell phone today.

This is the town that we went to nearly every weekend when I was a little kid.

At one time we lived in the canyon just down the river....many years ago.

We moved to California not too long after the Big Thompson Disaster...but more on that event later.

Happy trails, folks.

The Dam Store!Thompson Canyon, COAugust

The Dam Store!Thompson Canyon, COAugust 22, 2008

Jelly Babies!

Psssst!! What's my password?

Haven't been babbling much because I can't remember my flippin' password, but somehow THIS computer knows.

All hail the work computer.

I'll be travelling next week so I might actually have something to say for once.

Until then...what's my password?

Josephine the Cocoa Puff Queen

Rrrrrriiibbbiiiitttt!!!

There's only one thing wrong with this sweater....

I hate it.

Nothing like knitting a sweater until it is nearly done before you finally admit to yourself that you despise the thing.

I may like the speed of using larger needles but I simply don't like the finished product.

For this sweater, using the yarn weight and the needle size suggested it was too loose in the stitch and looked sloppy.

Frogging.

All that work...gone in a matter of moments.

Meh.

Oh well.

Better to frog and reknit into something fabulous then be stuck with an icky sweater that will never see the light of day.

Stitches West

As much as I want to go, I am not going to.

I am not in the right state of mind to be left unsupervised in a convention full of knitters and oodles of yarn and spiffy tools.

The words, "Financial Disaster" keep flashing through my mind.

I have pretty good self control if I am in a familliar setting and my choices are somewhat limitted, but at this event the temptations are everywhere and the choices vast.

*sigh*

Being a responsible adult sucks.

Waltzing Mathilda Wingnut

FUCKING AUTOSAVE!!

I HATE that shit~!

I had a nice LONG post written out and then it got eatten by the autosave and turned into vocabubarf!

As I was piucking up Mr. Gothric, I was accosted by an asshole at the Stoplight From Hell.

Mind you...it is raining, grey, crappy, and dark.

This intersection SUCKS!!

In my rear-view mirror is a grey car without headlights on, and a terrified looking driver-boyfriend and his Psycho-Harpy in the passenger seat who is flipping me off.

WTF Bitch?!

I can count to One.

See?

Psycho-Harpy GETS OUT OFF THE CAR to scream unintelligeble obscenities at my passenger side window, then gets back into the car to torture the poor guy driving with her insane shit.

I drive a Yaris.

It has MANUAL WINDOWS!!

Even if I wanted to listen to this crazy bitch's ranting I would have to climb across the seat to roll the window down to do it.

Uhhhh.... no.

To the Poor Bastard Driver:

Here is a little suggestion...

On a GREY day...kind of like TODAY, while driving IN THE RAIN, in your GREY CAR...oh...and while it happens to be GETTING DARK, you might...JUST MIGHT, mind you....think about one little thing, m'kay?

TURN ON YOUR FUCKING HEADLIGHTS SO I CAN SEE YOUR DUMB ASS!!!!

LASAGNA!!!

Grrrr....stupid photoloader....

I went on a cooking binge this weekend, as I often do.

This weekend I made both Lasagna and Chicken Noodle Soup (from scratch).

How Mr. Gothric and I aren't the size of two minivans I will never know...I can cook!

There are a few photos from the Lasagna-Porn series but Flickr and I seem to be at odds with each other.
Hmmm....I'll have to give this a little thought.

If I can make a wicked lasagna I can sure as hell figure out how to post my pictures of it!

GOT IT!!

Are you done yet??!, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

Boil, boil...toil and trouble...ooops...that's a different pot.
;)

Lasagna filling, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

The filling is ready, now if only those noodles would HURRY UP!!
I NEVER use no-boil noodles in my lasagna.
What can I say?
I like it old-school.

Are you done yet?, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

10 more minutes to go.
My stomach is busily trying to devour my ribcage, it smells SO GOOD!!!

LASAGNA!!!, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

What do you mean you need to cool for a few minutes?!?!!!

Yum!, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

Supper Time!!

Silly Putty in Gravy

Nothing like typing a nice long post that is actually somewhat coherant and funny...then the computer decided to go "Ptewy!" and my post went to Mars...or wherever posts go that can never be found again.

Maybe that is what keeps the Mars Rover going way past its shelf-life.

It is running on mis-sent blog posts.

Every couple of months I get it into my head to spoil my cat.

He is an indoor beastie who gets dry food and whatever he can manage to beg from me since begging from Mr. Gothric gets him nowhere.

"I know..." says me, the Dumb Human, "I'll get him a couple of cans of tasty wet kitty food as a treat".

My cat can think into my brain.

He isn't quite as good at it as the last one was, but I know it wasn't MY mind that said, "You don't think I am going to EAT that crap, do you lady? It looks like Silly Putty in Gravy."

He was right.

It did.

He wouldn't even touch the gravy.

Mind you this cat eats pickles and olives...but wet cat food?

HELL NO!

I can't say that I blame him.

He has been my trusted food testor for years.
If HE won't eat it then chances are I shouldn't either and I certainly wouldn't want ANY of that icky wet food!

So...it went into the trash and he gets actual REAL FOOD treats from me instead.

Anyone need a couple of cans of Silly Putty in Gravy?

Squiddyknit!

Squiddyknit!, originally uploaded by st_gothric.

I finally figured out the squid pattern I was having so much trouble with.

Here is Mr. Gothric's Treo cozy....when it isn't devouring the Manikins.

Mmmm...tasty Manikins.

It really is an adorable little thing but MAN that pattern was a pain in the butt to figure out.
(Anticraft ladies, I love your ideas for the most part, but you REALLY need to work on how you write up your instructions.)

Oh...and the photo editor on Flickr is the friend of the cruddy digital picture taker...like myself.
:)

Next project is the 3-Hour Sweater.
The pattern is from the 30's so it is an adventure as well.

3-Hours?

I highly doubt that even though it is knitted on size 15 US needles, which is like knitting with logs to me.

AWESOME Deal!

I have been drooling over this brooch for months...and now it is on sale!

Got a goth you want to make giddy?


It is on sale for $3.99!!!

Myspace Part Two

After getting fed up with myspace and deleting my account about a month ago, I now find that for a few things, myspace has a purpose.

There are really only a few bands that I will cough up money to see, but if they come to town, I want to know.
Myspace is good for that.

I am still bummed that I missed Elvis Costello, but I will get over it.

Myspace also happens to be the one place that I can contact a couple of old friends who don't seem to go online anyplace else.

Live and learn.

I haven't been my usual talkative self as of late because I really just needed to take a break from everything.

I knit a squid...pictures will be coming soon.

T-Bone'd

"T-Bone Burnett has saved me more times than Jesus Christ...and that's a fact."

A great quote from a great friend.

I was thinking about that this morning as I drove through the raging downpour that is drowning the Bay Area with rain, trees, and hydroplaning cars.

This is one of those days that makes me really wish I didn't have to drive all the way back home because it is going to be a LONG, slow, drive.
Friday night is always a hellish drive home but sideways rain should make it a real adventure.

No worries...T-Bone will save my sanity.

All in all I would rather be at home with the cat, human, and a cup (vat) of tea.