back of beyond

Back in May of 2009, my father and I saw the following vehicle in Shop Rite's parking lot:

I am fairly certain I saw it AGAIN, tonight.  Either that, or there are two minivans in this area that are running around with a piece of siding replacing the fender.  I really do wonder if that passes inspection or if they just haven't had to have the car inspected again yet.

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something--a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things--that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours."

-Alan Bennett, The History Boys

Does oil evaporate?

How long do "Blind child" or "Deaf child" signs remain up? I assume that the family has to ask for the signs, but what happens if the family moves? When the child is 25? Does the local township keep track of these things, or can you probably ignore 30% of such signs?

Who came up with the idea of cooking tapoica? Did they realize it is poisonious raw?

Sunbathing in britches and half-chaps isn't quite the same as laying on a beach, but I'll take it. Especially in January.

I started the day by accidently throwing Honey Nut Cheerios at my boss as she drove us to the barn and I ended the day by accidently locking her dog out of the house.

I'd ask if it is tomorrow yet, but tomorrow starts at 5am.

Somedays, happiness is as simple as a hot shower at the end of a long, but good day. Sore muscles, because they've been used. Falling asleep without difficulty when you lay down because you've done a hard day's work.

Curling up in bed with a good book. (The only thing that is missing is a purring kitteh or four. )

I'm Florid but it is hard to tell at night. There has been frost on the ground in the mornings and I'm wearing just as much clothing here as I normally do at home. But it made it past 50F today, and it is sunny. Plus, the sun sets later in the day.

Right now, I'd say there's a chance of making it throught this winter without my seasonal major blahs. The sun helps. The warm helps. The job helps.

It is good to be me. Even if I am way behind on the Christmas knitting.

Here's to endings.

Here's to you, the person who is always there - you often don't understand, you often don't get it, but that's beside the point.  You get that it matters to me and thus, it matters to you.  You're always there with ice cream when I need you to be.  I hope the new year is full of awesomeness, even though I know you've got a few very tough decisions to make soon.  However, you've got a few really fun decisions to make as well.  (Thank you for not making me wear purple.)

And you, the person who mostly gets it, gets me and the way I think.  While you might not have the life experience to be my sounding board, and I have to tell you when you know if scrambled eggs are done, your advice is almost always spot on.  Thanks for always listening, and for putting aside the fact that you hate hugs.

Thank you for giving a 20 year old such a huge responsibility.  I hope you're proud of me, but I can't imagine that you'd continue to give me that responsibility if you weren't.  You gave me a chance that summer, and that has opened so many doors for me.  Thank you for everything over the years. 

Each and everyone one of you makes me laugh, makes me think, makes me happy to be a knitter.  Someday, I hope to meet all of you, starting with the CHARGE! in the summer.  You are all wonderful, caring, and generous people.  I offer you cake.  (I'd offer penis if I had any, but alas.) (Well, maybe not alas.  I like being female and I don't share my toys very well.)

Thank you for watching crappy TV with me, for watching the cats, for seeing any movie with me, for always being up to do something when I needed to either be not-alone or get out of my apartment.  Let me know if you ever move back to PA.

And to the men in my life:

I miss you.  But I have to be honest and admit that while I really do want to be friends again, I am not surprised it hasn't really worked.  As a friend, you kinda suck at keeping in touch.  Thank you for four good years, though, and for being what I needed for that time.  Thank you for answering the phone when I call.  While we might not make an effort to see each other, I know that I could call you if I needed to, and that means a lot.

I think you are a bit the male version of me.  Your fiancée is a very lucky women, but I think you both know that already.  Somehow, you've always been able to understand me and typically have spot-on advice.  We don't see each other that often, but somehow, you're still there when I really need your shoulder or your advice.  Thanks to your fiancée as well, for sharing you so well.

I'm still not ok with the fact that you're gone.  No one told you that it was time, but you never did want to listen to us.  I miss you, Old Man.  Thank you for being such a stubborn jerk and making me earn everything you gave me.  You taught me way more than just how to ride.  I'm sorry I didn't charge my phone that night, and that you suffered longer than needed while I slept.  I refuse to feel silly for including you in this list, for you certainly had a huge impact on my life.  I promise to get that bracelet made soon.

I really think that you and I have a shot at being good friends.  Thanks for being honest and I'm glad you really DID mean it when we discussed friendship.  You truly are a good man.  I can't wait to see the bachelor pad in all it's de-popcorn-ceilinged glory.  Plus, you still owe me a Super Mario Brothers 3 tournament.

I owe you a lot more than you expect, I think.  You reminded me of a few truths about myself that I had forgotten.  Thank you for entertaining me at work and for the hugs.  Let me know when you end up in Philly, for I know you will at some point.

I miss you, now that you have a social life and aren't around as much.  But I actually got to meet you this year, and for the circumstances surround that, I owe you a lot of ketchup.  Thanks for always being around when I need you, for talking me through things, and for everything ever.

And here's to beginnings that show promise and hope.  Here's to February 1st.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

-Emily Dickinson

really cool plants in the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens

On Thursday, my father and I drove to Virgina to help my mother clear 15' of 'road' in the middle of her 12 wooded acres.

We left at 9:30pm for a five hour drive.

I did, however, discover that I have very good aim with an ax. And that it is very weird to look in your review mirror and see a severed tree trunk floating in midair ... and that it is chained to the back of your pick-up truck.

for some reason, the shadows from the other side of this window caught my eye

I also learned how to change the alternator in a 1999 F-350 Diesel truck, should anyone ever need any assistance in that way. And that if your headlights slowly dim while driving, odds are good that your alternator is going and that you won't make it very far before the vehicle will shut down all on its own. And that such an event can cause your departure time to shift from 8pm on Saturday to 2pm on Sunday.

star lights that looked a little less cool in person.

Also, they make me think of Ikea.

All in all, I would call it a successful weekend as we got a lot of work done with the trees and no one was killed. In this family, spending 48+ hours with each other and no fighting is a major accomplishment.

The Christmas knitting continues - I will need to write another FO post for the pair of fingerless mitts, and I also need to finish up the second pair of socks. I'm on the toe of the first sock, so there is hope. Something won't be finished in time, but I think that shall be my father's hat and he'll just have to deal.

Magically lit berries.  It was beautiful out that night, if cold.

A few random observations:
1. Cats always Know when you are making the bed, and appear out of no where. I swear that I had checked the room for kitties and shut the door, certain that there were none present. Somehow, they made it through the closed door to jump up on the bed and "help."

2. It doesn't feel like Christmas without finals and papers and school. Nothing to really look forward to, other than Christmas in and of itself. And while I like the holiday, it isn't my favorite.

3. Winter sucks. Somehow, I forget every year that I get the Blahs around this time, thanks to the whole day-light savings, shorter days and longer nights, wet winter weather, and the stress of the holidays. Having remembered that this is actually normal for me, I'm finally starting to shake it off, but you'd think I could figure that part out as it happens every year.

4. The smell of a kitteh who has been outside for a while is wonderful when you're curled up and drifting off to sleep.

5. The kitten's paws still smell like popcorn.

I'm currently pissed off, frustrated, tired, and so the negative-emotions list goes. So pictures:

The Specs:
Pattern: Monkeys by Cookie A. 
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarn's Alpaca Sox.



Color: Number 1856, lot 5346 - Greens, blues, a bit of purple, and some PINK.
Needles: Knit Picks nickle-plated DPNs, US Size 1ish.
Start to Finish: Uh... Some time in the fall of 2009 to November 28th, 2009.  



For: My mother, for Christmas 

Notes:  I did these toe-up, using the star-toe from the New Pathways for Socks book.  Garter stitch heel because I didn't want to be bothered trying to hide the wraps.  Not sure about the ribbing at the top - I wanted to try to keep the flow of the money pattern, and I think it works.  Had a hard time binding off loosely, so I did a round of yarn over, knit two together, a plain knit round, and then a bind off that involves knitting two stitches, then knitting them together.  It works, and mom won't care.  Not sure I like the way the yarn stripped, but mom likes it, so who cares?  They might be a mite short in the foot, but that's the problem with this pattern.  Not all that adjustable.

Really, I need to get off my lazy butt and take pictures. And then find the 12-in-1 card reader and upload them to the computer. To upload them to the internet.

No wonder I'm so lazy. Too many steps involved!

But there is a finished pair of Monkey socks, toe-up, in yummy alpaca, that need to be photographed. The ends are already woven in and everything.

There is nearly a finished pair of fingerless gloves, but I'm gonna have to break into the second ball of yarn to finish the last inch or two of the hand and to knit the thumb. And then weave in the ends.

And then knit a second pair, and fine-tune the pattern that I made up on the fly. Or I could just buy a third ball and call it even. I think the yarn is like, $4 a ball. I can afford that. I think.

Also, pictures of the fornicating reindeer hat. And I need to cast on a second pair of socks, which are a Christmas gift for a not-family member. Which means they actually need to be done somewhat on time.

Good thing I have dad's new toy to play with, then ... a Canon EOS Rebel Ti1. Or something like that. Pictures tomorrow, I think. For tomorrow is play-with-new-toy day!