Yarnivorous

to laugh at the next door neighbour cos they can't back down their driveway? Even after 20 years of living in the one place. They drive a small car. The driveway does a dogleg at the bottom. It has trees and shrubs on either side. There's always a lot of backing and filling. The other day they hooked the bumper skin off their bumper bar. They backed too close to a tree on one side of the driveway and to get away from it turned the wheel hard. Of course then the nose of the car pointed towards the tree and the bumper skin got hooked. The more noise it made, the harder they backed until they hooked it right off. If they had just gone straight, they would've been fine. Made their little car look a right mess with its bumper dragging on the ground. I guess I can only laugh if I know I would've done it differently!

OMG! What is that thing?

G'day all! If only weekends came with extra weekend! Of course some might argue I have very very very long weekends, that I've had a never ending weekend for the last three years (can you believe it is three years since I last worked full time? I can!). This weekend has been relatively unproductive. I carded up a big bag of fleece to spin. I ironed and ironed and ironed and ironed squares for the quilts I am working on. Oh gods, the ironing! (Technically pressing and sometimes it is pressing!) Very over that part of things. I sewed maybe 20 squares together. I knitted a sleeve of the shop top. I have to tidy up the back and finish the duplicate stitching of the third flower on it. It is almost half done, just as well too cos this is the third week of knitting it and I'm over it. The first of Nathan's birthday socks is done, the toe is complete on the second, now just for the rest of the it 8-) I bought fantastic vegies and stuff at the farmers' market an...

G'day all! There is nothing like a dame... and this is nothing like an FO! But it is moving right along. I knitted from the second aqua stripe whilst waiting for the bus, sitting on the bus, waiting for the bus, sitting on the bus, waiting for the bus, etc. The yarn is one of the Online stable. As with most of the German/similar sock yarns, I doubt I could wear this sock, so it is just as well that this is an Undeserving Husbandly sock. I have to put in a protest vote. I want a new body. Yep. My protest vote is against myself. I had a very nice, if late, lunch of left over mild curry from Sunday night. It was very pleasant and I gobbled it up, as much as you can gobble anything that involves lots of runny stuff that needs a spoon not a fork. Half an hour later? Bang! Two hours of extreme twitchiness and funny stuff happening around the base of my ribcage. I am starting to wonder if my gall bladder is dodgy, along with my gut and both my shoulders. (Shoulders? R bicep ...

G'day all! I would like to show off the massive progress I've made on Nathan's socks but really? Another 1.5 repeats is not exactly exciting. Instead you get to see some other stuff. Like the red tank I am making for myself. It is a mixture of the Ballet Camisole that used to be on Magknits, now on Ravelry, and Soleil from Knitty. (Yep, too lazy to put the links in. Oh ok, I've added the one for Soleil as I do have the page handy, like one of a thousand tabs on Firefox.) I am knitting it with an 80% cotton 205 wool blend from cascade. I've been working on my Mystery Stole 3. For months it looked just a little further along than this: Then it looked like this (black line to give some idea of where it was before I picked it up last week after it guilted me into doing something about it): And two days ago it had this extra bit on it: It now has even more repeats of the flower motif. We've had some visitors recently: (This devil came in the front door and when ...

G'day all! oh boy oh boy! A hummer has discovered the feeder I put up last week! So excited! And no it isn't one of the monstrous vehicle type hummers - wouldn't want one of those hanging around my back patio (or the front one, or anywhere near me actually). I've been eyeballing the local hummingbirds and wondering if one will come visit if I entice it, and it is and it has - the amount of sugar water in the feeder has gone down over the last day (since I re"filled" it, actually). It had a last sip after sunset last night and before when I was weeding the "garden" it hovered around the feeder and checked me out. I took a while to decide to feed the beasties - I don't think it is right to feed wild things in general but we don't have hummers at home and this is the only way I'll get to see one relatively close up. I'm told only one will come to the feeder cos the type we have here are territorial. We'll see. I've also go...

G'day all! If any locals see a blonde woman gripping the steering wheel too hard in a new burgundy Sentra and randomly using the blinkers and the wipers, that will be me. I'm probably be trying to remember which is right and left, hence the random use of the wiper-washers as I'll be flummoxed and in Australia the indicators are on the other side of the steering wheel. The apparently random use of indicators demonstrates that I don't know where I am going and still can't tell left from right, so there are likely to be shouts of "NO! The OTHER left!" echoing from the car. I drove around for an hour and a half yesterday trying to find my way around town without a map. A map is a Really Good Idea. I still don't have one but we did find the enormous Wholefoods out in Cupertino without a map. And when I got lost, I did eventually find my way home - I had thought that the main roads are mostly a grid system, but I found some "main" roads that di...

Do-dodo-do-dododododododoooooooooo! Canada has been real but it is time for us to Get Real. Hope the planes know the way to San Jose cos I am not flying one!

G'day all! We are in Waterloo, an hour out of Toronto, Canada. It is snowing. It is white outside. With any luck we will have a white Christmas! Hooray! Plus we have an internet connection. Even bigger hooray! I have been knitting lots, though you would not know it from my output. Three socks and a half, with that half needed for tomorrow. Plus I need to get some more stuff made/bought as presents for Christmas. Ack. I only have 12 hours. I'd better get cracking! Have a Merry Christmas! I have lots of trip reports to make on Coloradoan Dreaming. And some knitting to show. And yarn crawl results. Did Toronto yesterday. If I remember the pictures. Ooops. anon!

G'day all! This is a particular message for those of you in the USA. Sorry to those who read this post without knowing it doesn't have much for you, unless you want us to pester someone as our train rumbles by. If we can wrangle our finances into some sort of order, we may end up doing a Grand Tour (thanks to cheap Amtrak passes) of the USA this month and early next month. So far we've been offered a place to stay near the Twin Cities MN for Thanksgiving, Philadelphia, Phoenix AZ, San Diego CA and a couple of other places that don't seem to have Amtrak anywhere near them. Anyone else got a spot or want to meet up in between trains somewhere? We are loud and brash Australians :-) On short stays we are relatively neat and try to keep things clean. Admittedly I am a PITA cos I can't eat dairy or gluten or various flavour enhancers and detest HFCS (everything with it in it tastes like tropical bubblegum, not my fave flavour! Plus it is just plain icky ;-). Oh and ...

G'day all! You all know that I *love* love LOVE colourful stuff. If it is rainbow coloured, I am like a butterfly drawn to it. (If it is shiny and rainbow coloured, well I am almost beside myself). So I've been knitting these socks in a yarn that will not be mentioned cos while it is lovely to knit with, mostly, it also has some flaws from the unusual material that makes up 30% of it. You saw the butterfly bow sock a week or so ago, and I would like to show you the new sock in a different pattern! Oh yes, a different pattern, which I think really helps highlight the luridness of the sock. So pretty! Plus I have some new lurid yarn, indeed two skeins of happy yarn, that I am itching to cast on with, but I forgot to take photos of it before DH ran away with the camera last night. So now I am at a loss - I can neither show you the finished new sock, nor the new skeins of yarn that I have to play with. I don't want to wind the yarn before I get a shot of its happiness. ...

Arrrrr me hearties! It be International Speak Like a Pirate Day today. ArrrrrhhhHH! So what be a poirate's favourite letter? "P" - it's just like an "R", but only has one leg! What's shiny, golden and sounds like a pirate? Pyrite! An oldie but a goodie: A pirate walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened, you look terrible!" "What do you mean?" the pirate replies, "I'm fine." The bartender says, "But what about that wooden leg? You didn't have that before." "Well," says the pirate, "We were in a battle at sea and a cannon ball hit my leg but the surgeon fixed me up, and I'm fine, really." "Yeah," says the bartender, "But what about that hook? Last time I saw you, you had both hands." "Well," says the pirate, "We were in another battle and we boarded the enemy ship. I was in a sword fight and my h...

G'day all! My new obsession: My old obsession is complete, for the moment. I need to spin some more yarn and make it just that little bit bigger. Or lose some weight. Since I am quite happy with my weight, I will blend up some yarn (in absence of the original hand painted stuff, though I do have more of the plying yarn) and knit some more onto the edge. No pics yet - the weather has been, ahem, interesting since I finished it. Sunny at first yesterday then a nice big fat cloud came in and gave us a bit of rain. Only 8mm (1/3 inch) but beggars can't be choosers and it has made the garden perk up some - we had only had about 5mm for the entire month until yesterday. Now we've had 13mm. Only 45mm to go until we reach the average, or 37mm for the median. I showed off my obsession at the spinners' guild meeting yesterday on their show and tell table. It got a clap! Applause means it is good. :-) You need to see a random picture of our eggplants being eaten by slugs...

G'day all! Wednesday in Fort Collins. What a fun day, once I worked out how to call someone (little tip for self in future - take the area code off the front. Works much better that way!). So eventually I figured out how to contact Kristi and she took me off on a yarn crawl. It was at this point that I decided that I would be quite able to handle the people in Fort Collins - remember I am a bit shy, honest! - and make a new life there. I had already met Nathan's new boss and his wife and kids, and we got along just fine. One thing I found was that the people I met were such positive people. We keep getting caught in the mire of worrying about the mortgage and worrying about the climate and worrying about our plants dying and worrying about Nathan's thesis. It doesn't make for a healthy atmosphere. Another thing - they understood my accent and I theirs. This was a bit of a difference to nearly 10 years ago when I went to Wisconsin and most of the people there loo...

G'day all! We are back from Colorado. We had fun. Co seems like a nice place to live. Just as well too, cos Nathan has been offered the job and has accepted it. Yee-har! Now we have to do all the visa stuff. I am expecting Nathan's will be easy - they can show he is the only person for the job after interviewing 24 others. Me? Well I don't want to just be a stay at home spouse. I don't want a full time job either cos I want to have fun and see stuff and hang out in yarn stores cos the FC yarn stores are hang-out-able in. This is going to be one helluva move. I won't be seeing eucalypts and my lovely plants for a while (unless we go to California, where Nathan saw them everywhere). I will be seeing BIG mountains. We went the highest we ever have "yesterday" (it feels like yesterday but we crossed the dateline and gained a day so it is two days ago on the calendar but only one night has passed for us. Confused yet?) when we went to Estes Park. I ...

I'd be halfway to the US by now! (argh, our host is down, so no pics today! Dang, cos I have THE BEST shot linked below.) G'day all! Tomorrow morning we get up at an ungodly hour and head off to the airport. We have to be there by 8:30am, which means slap bang in the middle of peak hour. Plus after our recent tunnel fire traffic will be chaotic. I had thought we had to be there by 10:30 but because we've just lost daylight saving and you guys have just gained it, it changes the flight time by 2 hours. So I am faffing around flapping instead of getting anything done. I have bagged up some fleece that is finally dry and tossed it back into the fibre room (yep, literally tossed). I have located the tops someone in the US is buying from me - they are coming on the plane. I have not yet done my washing but Nathan's clothes are all clean. I need to get my only two decent pairs of pants washed. I am hoping that I'll get a chance to go shopping in Fort Collins - I need ano...

G'day all! You know how I was whinging about the short days coming up on us here in the southern hemisphere? Well I take it all back. Give me short days. Give me numb fingers and a purple nose (reminiscent of an alcoholic's but alas without the alcohol). Give me COOLTH! I want to feel COOL! It is 28 degrees at the moment and nearly 10pm. That is hmm, let me go consult the thermometer for you in the imperial age... 82F. It is frigging hot. It got to nearly 35 today and this is supposed to be autumn! (BTW, autumn began here on the 1st of March, not on the equinox.) It was humid too. What is with the humidity? Melbourne does DRY heat not this lousy humid stuff that means I drip sweat, oops I drip *glow* And I can't have a shower still. (Good news about the bathroom here ) Cats are sorted. Our cat sitter is available next week. Hooray! Thank you to those who have offered assistance and meet ups next week. It is great to hear from you! (And if anyone knows Krist...

G'day all! All things being equal, as day and night are today, I'd prefer to be in the northern hemisphere. You guys will now have the day longer than the night. We are heading the other way. I am a long days girl and hate this time of year. OK, so I get more crafting done in the evenings when there is no sunny evening. Still, I like being able to potter outside or have a lazy barbecue without having to turn lights on (Nathan has set up a string of party lights through a tree so we can eat outdoors still!). There is one thing I do like about winter - that is that I get to see sunrise and sunset. That is really nifty. And if it is cold enough, we can go cross country skiing in the mountains. And the footy is on. And I can wear the woolly things I've spent summer crafting. Cycling is somewhat less pleasant - my hands get very very cold, as does my nose, if the temperature is below about 15C. Most of the things I like doing are less pleasant and involve rugging up....

G'day all! Some interesting comments on my ramblings post. Never fear, unless you cuss and swear your way through every post, I am likely to read your blog if you have one. I may not though cos I may not know your blog. Dropping the odd word is ok, just not talking the way some people do. Why is today's blog post titled constriction? I seem to have been pondering things a lot recently. We have no money cos I don't have a job and have only worked for 2 months since last July. (Yep, I've been dysfunctional all that time ;-). I have been applying for temping roles left right and centre but so far no dice. It means my budget is very restricted. OK, I don't really need to buy much stuff but a new pair of casual pants would be good cos my old ones are nearly worn through (like see through bits) leaving me with only one pair unless I wear tracksuit pants (v unstylish). More noice GF/DF food would be nice (but fattening). I don't really need yarn or fleece o...

G'day all! Why is it that when I am out driving, if there is ONE derro on the road, they will be in front of me? (I should not say derro - it means a homeless person who enjoys a bit more plonk than they should. Yes they drink to self-medicate. Yes it is very sad. Yes I have occasionally given them money - heck, if booze is all they have, they may as well enjoy it.) Why do I seem to attract the people who have to slow to a crawl at every street corner to see if this is where they should turn, or the person who thinks that if wiping off five (kmh) means the road will be safer, wiping off 20 will be even safer? Or the person who thinks that since I drive a small car, I am slow? I realised the other day that I drive like my mother. I learned a lot from my mum's driving. Like always try to be polite. You can't always be polite but don't do that lovely thing of sitting at the right hand turn arrow (US equivalent - left hand turn) until it turns yellow and *then* take...