| 28 Minutes and $28 |
[Dec. 22nd, 2008|11:04 am] |
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This morning it took 28 minutes from the time the doors opened at the DMV and $28 to renew my driver's license.
I'm not sure which was the best part. The 28 minute start to finish or the fact that I am wearing a handknit scarf in my new photo. |
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| Latest Obsession |
[Dec. 7th, 2008|10:07 pm] |
An on-line friend has been knitting these clever little elephants during the last year. Most have gone to children in foreign countries. A few weeks ago a friend of my friend was trying to put together items for homeless school kids who are so poor that they literally have nothing. No shoes. No tooth brushes. Certainly not toys. These kids don't live in a third world country. They live in Kentucky.
So I tracked down the pattern and started to knit a couple to help her out. Then I knit another one and again, one more. Then I knit a couple more. I have only stopped knitting them for this group because the little guys have to go in the mail on Monday.
This is the funnest thing I've done for charity ever. If this kids enjoy the Nellyphants even a quarter as much as I've enjoyed knitting them, the world will be a much happier place.
Tip loves them too.
Will you please excuse me? I think I need to go knit another Nellyphant.
X-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) teddystutz |
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| Performance Art |
[Nov. 9th, 2008|09:58 pm] |
Dear "Lady" in the Middle Seat of my Recent Southwest Flight,
Brava! Brava! I really did not expect to see such a fine piece of performance art today.
From the moment that you asked the nice guy in the aisle seat if you could sit next to him until you intimately shared his personal space as we waited to deplane, you rarely missed a beat.
The start of your performance really set the stage. I haven't seen a woman slide across a strange man's lap like that outside of a pick-up bar. He had been so willing to stand in the aisle like a gentleman too
Too bad you couldn't see the appalled look on his face when you rubbed your scrawny little buttocks up and down his leg after you dropped the back of your phone on the floor under my seat.
Another nice touch was the way you left your mobile phone on during take-off. The real piece de resistance was when you threw the phone into your purse when it rang.
However, I must say that you did start to lose it when I asked you to turn off the phone. Your snarled remark of "I NEED a ride from the airport. I do this all the time. It doesn't do anything" was at odds with your over dressed, over tanned, over bleached hair, bad girl attitude. Or maybe it wasn't. Who am I to say?
You missed a delightful conversation between our aisle mate, his friend across the way and me while you were in the lavatory. We were trying to out what you were doing in there for 20 minutes of a 50 minute flight. They thought you were trying to send a text or make a phone call. I think you were puking-up your dinner of Southwest pretzels and 3 oz. of Coke. Given your sketching during the other 30 minutes of the flight, I figured you were both bulimic and had forgotten that there are no longer actual drugs in Coca Cola.
Did you notice that our aisle mate leaped to his feet to allow you back into your seat? He had been threatening to pretend to be a sleep but decided that the invasion of his personal space wouldn't be worth it. Kind of a joke really, since you glued yourself to his backside during the deplaning process.
I must admit I felt a bit guilty when my driver was there to greet me and take my laptop case when we reached the baggage claim. You had kept up your disdain for me, the mere mortal sitting by the window seat, until then. I hope your jaw didn't get bruised when it hit the floor.
Did your ride ever arrive to pick you up? Last I saw you, you were sitting on a bench outside the terminal.
Sincerely, The 'Bitch' by the Window
x-posted to teddystutz |
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| Lots of Photo, No real content |
[Apr. 5th, 2008|10:56 pm] |
Work was crazy last week but at least we have a weekend. Next week, I'm no so sure there will be any days off. Here are some photos I took today at the Jade Market to distract you from the fact that there is very little written content.
( More Behind the Cut )
x-posted to the usual places. |
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| Jade Market and Lang Kwai Fong 5.0 |
[Mar. 30th, 2008|07:21 am] |
As anyone who's read this blog since my first trip to knows, I love me some time at the Jade Market. I love roaming up and down the aisles of jade, pearls, beads, tourist trinkets and more jade. I remembered to take a few pictures this time too. Next time I need to less shopping and more photography. It's cheaper too.
Sorry this picture is so small. It's too blurry larger. My favorite stall owner, May, took the photo for us.
We ran into a bunch of other Disney folks in the market then headed to Lang Kwai Fong for a Mexican Food fix.
Where we say this. It gives a whole new meaning to the word bag lady, doesn't it?
Gratuitous Lang Kwai Fong shot
After a sinus clearing meal of nachos with spicy salsa jalapenos, we headed home. dreadpiratetate, I thought of you when I took the following ( Offensive to Some Photo )
cross-posted to kniterotica |
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| Lunch |
[Mar. 27th, 2008|09:27 pm] |
Eating in the cafeteria here is always an adventure. The BBQ pork and rice is always safe but monotonous. Even the sandwiches are a little odd. However, we make the best of it.
This is my friend Doug posing at the sandwich counter.
I have a feeling that work cafeterias every where look pretty much just like this.
x-posted to teddystutz |
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| Easter in Hong Kong |
[Mar. 24th, 2008|05:45 am] |
Yesterday, one of my co-workers tried to set-up an Easter Brunch at one of the fancy hotels in downtown Hong Kong. It was too last minute for anything traditional, so we ate at a Japanese restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel. Grace made a joke about the Easter Bunny's lack of appearance but the joke was on her.
Or maybe the lack of appearance joke was on the rabbit. That is one ugly bunny suit!
After lunch, the group divided along gender lines with the women going to the Ladies Market and the men going to Wan Chai, home of the Hong Kong Nudie Bars. However, they came back with computer equipment so maybe they went to Mong Kok instead.
Several of my friends were on the hunt for, ahem, designer handbags. I followed along to sight see. Negotiations took a long time but I was prepared.
Two locals were fascinated but pleased about me knitting in public. I think they may have been knitters but not familiar with knitting on two circular needles.
Last but not least, here is the view from my room. I was wrong yesterday when I said it faced my old apartment. It faces the city of Hong Kong.
x-posted to teddystutz |
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| keeping active |
[Oct. 17th, 2007|02:30 pm] |
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holding the name for my name switch. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 26th, 2006|05:18 pm] |
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Teaching myself Intarsia pretty much sucks. I haven't given up. I'm just sayin'. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 7th, 2006|07:28 pm] |
Now that the Divine Miss E is back in school, you'd think I'd have more time to knit and blog. No such luck. I'm going into the office more days than I expected, I've done a whole bunch of errands and the driving is maximized, what with trips to school twice each day, driving to the library two to three times per week, driving to dance lessons twice per week, driving to work, driving to run my errands. Why doesn't this place have a decent public transportation system. Sometimes I really hate Orange County and Southern California in general.
Here are my current WIPs. That hat has had the top knit and re-knit. I just can't decide what it needs to be. The sock is just past having the heel turned. I missed placed the book (it was under the seat of my car)and lost momentum. The scarf is a pattern I've knit before but the yarn is new to me. It's wool and soy. None of us, including my parents could figure out which part of the soy is used. Bless Google, the internet and the Crackberry. While driving around Palmdale, I was able to look up the information. Soy fiber is made from the "soybean dregs" that are left over from the process used to make tofu. A whole conversation ensued about whether anything in the world was truly synthetic when all items are made from materials that come from the earth is some way, shape or form. Either way, I like the yarn.
I generally use whatever is at hand for stitch markers - Contrasting yarn, little slivers of colored drinking straws, (clean) hair elastics. Today I broke down and made these little guys. Nothing particularly original or particularly well executed but they get the job done. I really like the rough polished peridot. It is from the Jade Market in Hong Kong. I have a bunch more and may make as set. You can see a fourth marker in the first photo. It has a blue bead with a little crescent moon and some stars on it.
I'm hunting for the perfect baby yarn for my first ever baby sweater. Everything is either far to difficult for a new mom to care for, is too sklunky to consider or doesn't have the contrasting colors I want to use. Maybe when Velona's re-opens after their vacation. |
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| Aargh |
[Aug. 24th, 2006|09:55 pm] |
I have been haunting all kinds of knitting blogs of late. I am not a knitter. I have knitting needles of all sorts. I have yarn. I have a knitting bag and I have knitting books. I have knit several socks. I have a funny (to me anyway) knitting blog name. But I am not a real knitter. Yet.
I am trying to learn to knit lace, thanks to all these blogs. I have some "Lacette" by Paton. Maybe I should try to teach myself to knit lace with something so fuzzy. This stuff which is only 25% mohair wants to felt like nobodies business. Not so good for tinking - a term which I learned reading knitting blogs. I am doing a lot of tinking as I learn to knit lace. Eventually I will post a picture of my poor ratty little experiment. I know lace has to be blocked but can mostly fake lace weight be blocked? Maybe I'll experiment with the stupid cotton sock yarn that I dropped in the mud in Seattle. |
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| Finding Yarn in Hong Kong |
[Aug. 17th, 2006|04:59 pm] |
About five months after the knitting bug bit me, I started to travel quite a bit for work. During the first major trip to Hong Kong, it never even occurred to me to try and find yarn shops. Besides, I was so stinking busy, who had time?
Long about the time that I left on a tour, I had been bitten by a second bug - the "good" yarn bug. The allure of novelty yarns waned (no doubt to wax again around Yule) and the quest for fine yarn began. I made it a goal to try and get to an independant yarn store in every stop the tour made. It didn't happen, what with the crazy schedule and all. On the other hand, I did manage to go to yarn stores in Tucson, San Diego, Seattle and Portland.
So during last week's business in Hong Kong, it occurred to me. HK must have yarn stores. It was owned by the British, for crying out loud! A little Google here, a little map research there and Voila, two yarn store within walking distance of an MTR stop.
After getting turned around several times, I finaly managed to find one shop. Tiny, hidden on the second floor, full of people knitting - none of whom spoke English. Who needs English when you can point at fiber and hold up what you think is the appropriate sized needle? The models in the store were exquisite. All were far beyond my abilities. I didn't think to look at any of the pattern books. I assumed they would be in Chinese.
After much pointing, I left with something I thought was wool and little something else. I took the balls to work hoping that a co-worker could translate the labels. L was able to do that for me - despite the label being written in Japanese not Chinese.
I like how the high gloss on the dresser reflecting the labels.
See how the Chinese characters are made of yarn? Love that!
And, my current WIPs:
The second sock from the yarn I bought in San Diego and another slip stitch hat. The hat is from some Patens Classic Wool and a fancy ribbon yarn from Seattle called "Cleo" in "Denim". Hopefully the finished hat will match my vintage Pringle of Scotland coat. |
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sleepy