Archive for June, 2009

Happiness

June 30, 2009 at 11:20 am · Filed under Finds (all things consumeristic) ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Yesterday evening I had a bright spot in what has otherwise been a pretty bleak couple of weeks.  The apron that I ordered from KatieKate arrived!

And I love it so much.

(the cat puke on the floor behind me – not so wild about that :-P )

The pattern is called “Farm Girl” by MaryJanesFarm.com.  And yeah, I could’ve bought the pattern myself and bought some fabric and stitched it up.  But I’m in an instant gratification mood, and it doesn’t get more instant than a conversation that goes like this:

KateohKatie:  “Sell me ur apronz!! Plz!!!”

KatieKate:  “Send me $25 or I’ll send my baby to kick your butt!  And you must potty train her too!”

KateohKatie:  “Please no! Anything but that!  Here is your $25″

KatieKate:  “Very well. I shall send you the apron you request.  And I will, for now, NOT send my baby after you.”

KateohKatie:  ::great relief::

(that was a reenactment.  KatieKate [probably] would not use her daughter as a debt collector.)

Anyway, I love this thing.

The fabric is just adorable and perfect, and of course the construction is top-notch.

And look!  Pockets!

Yes, my lovely new apron has certainly served to set my bad mood aright.

(Know what would set Jeff’s mood aright?  Chocolate chip cookies.  I think I know what I must do tonight)

PS>Of course, a link to the TexasNorth Etsy shop.  I highly recommend it :-)

Comments (2)

Pretty much the biggest decision of my life

June 24, 2009 at 1:05 pm · Filed under Home ·Tagged , , , ,

On Sunday after lunch with Jeff’s family, we stopped by Big Lots and found a super-awesome coffee table.

I was really, really, really stinkin’ excited about it – even though it was new it *looked* old, it’s a little bit unusualish, (new word.  My blog, I can do that.), and it was DEEPLY discounted.

So we bought it and borrowed Jeff’s parents’ SUV and brought the sucker home.

And once it was in our living room, we realized just how *big* it was.

To give you an idea of the scale of our living room, here’s one from a year ago when we first moved in:

Now, the couch is against that wall where the (ugly-ass) taupe chair is.  In the pictures below the chair is out of sight at the lower left, and the bookcases and stuff are behind me.

(Now, in the pictures below you can still see my ‘lowboy’ chest of drawers which was our old makeshift coffee table, off to the side.  It’s already been moved, so it’s not like you just have a narrow pathway through the living room.  Now the whole area from coffee table to the wall is clear)

In some of these pictures it doesn’t really look all that big, but I promise you it is.

This is how it FEELS:

(feels like it takes up the whole living room)

So now the decision – the part where you come in – should we keep it or not?

Pros:
1)The size is actually great for board games, Jeff’s laptop and law books, or (in the future) for Hooplings to play at.  It’s easily big enough to hold a spread of appetizers, should we ever start entertaining.
2)I like the styling a bunch – it looks old and antique, and if I were going for a *real* antique table it certainly wouldn’t be as sound and sturdy.
3)The drawers are handy, and the shelf underneath is great for holding blankets or floor cushions.
4)To return it we’d have to borrow Jeff’s parents’ SUV again.

Cons:
1)The SIZE.  When we move in a few years, our living room might well be a lot smaller than the one we have now.  Then what would we do?  Our living room now is pretty big, and even it feels like the coffee table is taking over.
2)The grooves in the top aren’t exactly conducive to writing (yeah I know that’s minor)
3)The style isn’t really similar to any of our other furniture – we’re going for an arts-and-crafts vibe with a hint of rural English influence.  This isn’t really that.
4)I’d really hoped for one with glass set into the top and drawers underneath (similar to an Ikea one I’d seen years ago).

So what do y’all think?  Should we keep it? Or should we return it and keep searching?

My idea is to go out on Saturday and check my usual antique stores.  If I see anything at any of them that I like, we could (hopefully) borrow the SUV, return this table and go pick up the new one.  IF I see anything else I like.  Thoughts?

Please help me!  Y’all know I’m completely incapable of making a decision on my own…

Comments (2)

I Don’t Jest.

June 19, 2009 at 3:14 pm · Filed under Miscellany, internet, life ·Tagged , , , , , ,

So I have mono, right?

OK so I HAVE to stay awake at work all day today.

So on my lunch break I walked down to Starbucks (6th and Olive) and bought a nonfat vanilla latte with three – count ‘em – *3* shots of espresso.

Now I’m wired AND sleepy.  This was not smart.

My co-workers are laughing at me.

They’d probably stop laughing if I told them about how I just peed and it smelled like espresso (waaayyyy TMI).  So I won’t tell them.  The laughter makes me feel loved.

But that wasn’t a lie.  It really did (smell like espresso, that is).

HEY.

I need blogging motivation.

Let’s do this:  ask me to take a picture of something – ANYTHING (ummm within reason) and this weekend I shall make it my mission to provide said picture.

Sunday evening I’ll photoblog the results.

Pwetty pwease?

Comments (1)

Tonight

June 18, 2009 at 8:47 am · Filed under Jeff, life ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

I may have something awesome tonight.  IF (big if) I stay awake that long.

Yesterday was my first full day of work since the mono dx.  By about 3:00 or so I was *bushed*.

(Not in the ‘idiotic 43rd president’ sense, but in the ‘just let me rest my head on my desk for one minute and then I’ll be ju………………….zzzzzzzzz‘ sense.)

So what did I do at home?  I vacuumed and made a strawberry rhubarb crumble and knitted for a while.  Duh.

Then I fell asleep on the couch, was awoken some time later by Jeff and sent to bed (per our routine).

So what did I do in bed?  I finished In The Time of the Butterflies and started The Book of Lost Things (which I paid $5.99 for at the publisher’s outlet store, btw), of course.  It is *no fun* being exhausted and unable to sleep – what a miserable combination!

Then I heard Othello puking on the floor by the end of the bed so I leaned over to move my shoes from his trajectory and that woke Jeff up and he thought I was falling out of bed so he helpfully grabbed my ankle.  (This, on top of the previous night’s pinching incident…)

So suffice to say, that today I am tired.  I do wish I could make it a short day, but I probably couldn’t get away with that anymore – work has been incredibly accommodating to me as it is, and I don’t want to strain their good will any farther.

Finally, a hint at the awesomeness to come:

So sayeth Kate.

Comments (1)

OHHHHHHHH

June 16, 2009 at 1:41 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Last night we finally booked our August vacation to Minnesota!  I’m so excited :-)   We’ll be spending 2 days in Minneapolis, then driving up to Duluth for 4 nights on the lake.  I can’t wait!

Any Minneapolis or Duluth yarn shops that are an absolute must-visit?

What about other attractions or opportunities?  We’re already planning on doing the MoA for at least a 1/2 day, and in Duluth we’re probably going to spend a fair amount of time wandering, looking at beautiful buildings and gardens and relaxing on the beach.

It has been too, too long since I’ve been to MN – we (at least) drove through almost every year of my childhood, but I think the last time I was there was about 7 years ago – I was still in high school.  I’m excited about showing Jeff what the state has to offer – I’m sure y’all know that it’s part of my grand plan to live up there eventually ;-)

Comments (5)

I’m an angry little man behind a curtain

June 13, 2009 at 1:56 pm · Filed under Miscellany, internet ·Tagged , , ,

Mono diaries:  Day 12(ish).  Ventured out of the house.  HomeGoods and TJ Maxx.  Found a lovely light cotton blanket.  Exhausted now.  Tonight: rest.

A lot of times, big famous important bloggers will make a post with a list of humorous search terms which have directed people to their sites.  I quite enjoy these.

So much so, that I’ve long wanted to post a humorous list of my own.  But unfortunately, my tiny little corner of the Internet doesn’t garner *that* much attention.

But I’m going to try and do it anyway.

kateohkatie bread recipe

Aww this one makes me happy! I like knowing that someone out there thought of me and remembered my recipe and went to the trouble of googling it.  This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

lilly white apple bottom

That does NOT make me feel warm and fuzzy.  It makes me feel stalked, actually.  HOW DID YOU SEE MY LILLY WHITE APPLE BOTTOM?!  Perv.

big weet butts

OK, seriously.  This search term has been used to get to my site *eleven times*.  That’s just gross.  Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

girls without pants and thunder thighs

Fantastic.  Apparently a significant chunk of my blog traffic comes from people looking for porn.  You know what? I’m just going to give them what they want.  Here’s my pussy.  Now go away and don’t come back.

is ravelry down

Not right now, but this is always a popular search term for when it does.  To occupy you when that happens: 50 Things to Do If Ravelry Goes Down.

wearing pencil skirt okay for job interv

Depends on how pencil-y it is.  Would you wear it in front of your grandmother?  Then it’s OK. (unless your grandmother is the perv who searched for “big weet butts” above)

can cats be mentally retarded

I think this has been adequately answered in the summation of these entries.

red lobster + how to prepare

boil + eat with butter

want to twist my ankle

Why on earth would you want to do that?  A fake fever is a much more convincing (and convenient) fake illness.

dooce

Wait – you Google Dooce and end up at *my* site?  How does that even work?  I think that’s against Internet Physics.  (and, more importantly, should I be flattered or offended?)

i fainted

i sorry

wore lifevest can’t swim

Sounds like you did exactly the right thing.

woman with gigantic legs

GAHRRRH! OK, that’s it, I’m done.

(my gigantic legs and I are off to go make the bed and then knit).

Comments (1)

Exceptionally proud of myself

June 12, 2009 at 12:18 pm · Filed under Miscellany ·Tagged , , , ,

But that’s all I’m gonna say for now.

In a blatant attempt to change the subject, far too long ago I was tagged by this awesome chick to participate in a meme.

And due to the time difference between There (England) and Here (St. Louis, Missouri, USA),  it has taken me until now to tackle the subject.

So with no further ado:

7 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

(subtitle: unless you’re Jeff or my parents, in which case you already know far, far more about me than you care to, or should.)

This shall be an especial challenge considering that I’ve been blogging in one form or another for the better part of a decade (!!) so I am truly challenged to think of seven unique personal facts that haven’t been spewed into the ether at some point already.

1)  About a year ago, I discovered a deep, passionate love for buffalo sauce.  Since then, I have sought to ingest it in as many ways as possible,  except for in its original form.  For lunch today (transparent inspiration – score 1) I dipped some baked chips into it.  And it was delicious.  And as long as we’re being honest, that’ll probably be my snack ’round 3:00 or so, also.

2) When I was in the 3rd grade, we did a science unit on the solar system and I was assigned to be Jupiter and I had to wear a Jupiter costume and at the time I was quite distraught that the costume made me look fat.  To this day, I cringe at the memory (both of wearing a Jupiter costume, and of my 9-year-old self-consciousness).

3) I carry a pocketknife – have for years (any day that my skirt/pants have pockets, that is).  It mainly gets used for trimming yarn while I KIP.  It’s small and ‘girly’ and has scissors and a teeny flashlight and a pen and I <3 it.

4) I frequently sleep with one leg under the covers and the other leg on top.  Then sometimes I roll over and switch legs.  I heartily endorse this system.

5) Even now – over a year after moving away – I would still love to move back to Kirksville and live there forever.  If only we could sort out pesky details like, y’know, “employment.”  Psh.

6) When I light a candle or incense and blow out the match, I’ll then dash to the kitchen so I can run water over the match while it’s still hot, and hear the “hsshtsh” sound of the match going cool.  I love that sound.

7) I psyche myself out way too easily about insignificant things.  For example, I just dedicated the better part of 10 minutes in a state of serious concentration on an coming up with an appropriate #7 for this list, to the point that I found myself completely unable to come up with an idea.

PS>Got confirmation from the dr’s office yesterday afternoon – it’s mono.  I’m using today and the weekend to relax hardcore (sleep and knit) with the hope that I’ll be “right as rain” (by some interpretation of the term) in time to go back to work on Monday and face all the chaos that has certainly ensued in my absence.

Edit:  Apparently I’m supposed to tag 7 people.  Oops.

Rachel!

MadMad!

Ellia!

Stef!

Annie! (if you have time on that busy tour…)

Jennifer!

aaaaand…..

Allison!

Tag! You’re it!

Comments (3)

Except without the dysentary

June 11, 2009 at 12:10 pm · Filed under Knitting ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(side note:  this is my first time actually writing a post in WordPress – usually I write them in Xanga then copy them to WordPress, but I just realized that then Xanga tries to link back to itself all the time, so that’s no good.  So here I go, walkin’ in my new shoes…so to speak.)

In just 2 months and 1 day (not impressive, I know, but still faster than Maude!), I’ve finished my Pioneer sweater.

See?  Pioneer!

I’m really, *really* happy with this knit…I think.
The yarn is LL Shepherd Sport Multi, and I did follow the pattern *pretty* closely (er, as closely as I ever do :-D ).  I added length, and a few increases at each side every few rows past the waist (I think 12 stitches total?), and I coninued the sleeves for a good long while.  I could have made them even longer, but I’m happy with their length now.  Sort of a vintage fit, no?

(as always, more details on Rav)

The only problem (which you can see here)  is that even with the crocheted edging, the neckline rolls hardcore.  And so does the bottom hem.  I hope that blocking fixes some of this, but am also realistic about such dreams.  Blocking can only do so much.

And you know what else “can only do so much”?

Roxie. She can “only do so much” waiting while I sit on the floor and model my sweater.

She doesn’t have a lot of willpower.

And then next thing I know there’s a rubber chewtoy on my lap.

And the tug-of-war must begin!

…and then the ear kisses.

Of course, when it’s *Roxie’s* turn to model, I cooperate and leave her alone.

…or do I?

PS>The reason I’m posting in the middle of the day?  I may or may not have mono.  Awaiting the doctor’s office to call with test results.  I feel well enough to knit and do light chores (and to nap and watch HGTV and take extra-strength Tylenol every 4 hours), but am being quarantined lest I infect the rest of the city with this dreaded ailment.

Leave a Comment

St. Louis RenFest 2009

June 9, 2009 at 4:19 pm · Filed under Finds (all things consumeristic), life ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Honestly, I’m not in the wittiest mood ever right now, but I know I promised a post today so I’ll just get this out there and over with (way to entice the readers, eh? )

I’ll spare y’all the long, drawn-out retelling of our adventures at the St. Louis Renaissance Festival last Saturday.  Been there, done that, y’know?

But it was Roxie’s first time!

She did so good!  She carried her own water bottles, folding dish and extra collar in her packpack.  People kept asking if she was a service dog, though.  Or a service dog in training.

Even though she was excited by all the other dogs and people, she didn’t pull too badly – I don’t know how much of that was the extra weight of the packpack and how much was her fancy new Gentle Leader harness, but we were really proud of her.

That is, until she started hanging out under the bleachers…

Yeah, she’s *that* kind of girl!

The only problem we really had with Roxie was that she would NOT settle down for shows or anything – we had to leave the joust (Jeff’s favorite, next to map-reading) about 10 minutes in because she kept pulling and making a nuisance of herself.  Hopefully by next year she’ll have calmed down a bit (or at least we’ll have trained her to sit and stay) so this won’t be as much of an issue.

There are a couple photos of us, but in one of them my our teeth look *really* yellow (they’re not), and in the other I look horrendously fat, so you don’t get to see those.

Here’s a mime instead!

“Moonie the Mime”, he was called, and made me LOL a bunch.  Very bawdy mime humor.

I was also really happy, because when we went last year there was a booth selling faerie houses, and I really wanted one, and Jeff wouldn’t get me one because he’s mean.

So this year I got one.  Because now Jeff is nice.

It lives in our hallway niche and makes me so very happy.

And I even picked out a faerie to live in it!


Isn’t she sweet?  She looks like she could be a Hoopling!

(BTW – wish I had an explanation for the blurry pictures.  But I don’t.  Suck it up.)

My faerie house is seriously the cutest thing ever – look at the roof!

And the grasses in front of the doorway!

And the plants potted alongside!

LOVE my fairie house!

(All Saturday evening I kept hopping up and running into the hallway niche to look at it some more…I’m so glad it’s finally *mine* )

Jeff and I also have a tradition where every RenFest we go to, he buys me a rose.  This is what he picked out for me this year:

It’s LEATHER!  And GREEN!  How awesome is that?

All my rosies together:

(From left to right:  metal, wood, leather, wax, wax)

Oh and of course…KETTLE CORN!

(I’ve been so good – would you believe I still have some left?  Not much, but some.  A bit.)

I know this wasn’t the most exciting or interesting post ever, but we did have a lot of fun – save the lack of joust-watching .  It’s surprisingly hard to wrangle a dog and a camera at the same time!


OKbai.

PS>I can’t HANDLE those awful pictures!  Srsly…will re-take at home tonight, for my own sanity.  Blurgh.

Comments (1)

The warm-up

June 8, 2009 at 8:41 am · Filed under Knitting ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

This morning I Tweeted:  “Lovely early-morning thunderstorm. Makes me want to go back to bed “

Then, that thunderstorm became a hailstorm, complete with driving winds.  It was brief, admittedly, but certainly not pleasant.  And as it happens, I’d parked my Ahura under a tree the night before, so I got to leave my breakfast (strawberries, vanilla yogurt and hoememade granola), throw on the first dirty clothes I could find, and dash out the door – run like hell! - to my car, rescue it from under the tree (which was threatening to crack at any moment), and park it safely at the side of the house, behind Jeff’s.  It was really exciting, actually.  And my hair was already wet, so that added to the drama a bit.  I felt like I was in a (very short, rather boring) movie.

Thrills!

Speaking of thrills…

I finished some socks! (and took pics of them on Saturday morning when I was really crabby.  I think that these photos reflect my crabbiness.  I have expressive feet, no? )

These are Hedera, out of the sturdy and thoroughly nondescript Fortissima Socka.

I’m really pleased with them; this is also a pair that I’ve been envisioning since before I knew how to knit socks.  I’m glad to see them come to fruition.

…save one thing, which I had *not* been envisioning:

Yup, that’s one eye-of-partridge heel, and one slipped-stitch heel.  Didn’t realize it ’till I was showing them off to Thi in Knitty Couture a couple weeks back, and by then I was almost ready for the toe decreases.

So therefore….It’s a DESIGN ELEMENT!

(that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.)

I also finished another pair, too:

They started out being some little know-nothing socks…you know, just something to keep me busy on the train, to toss on when I’m hanging out at home, that sort of thing.

But in fact, I quite like them.  I put on a turned cuff, which is just sporty and substantial enough.  Just my standard 64-stitch sock pattern; nothing exciting at all.

And I’m all for using up yarn scraps! (The light blue is leftover from these, and the multicolored is a 50g skein of Deborah Norville Serenity that I picked up at Hobby Lobby several months back)

(it also helps when one remembers to do EITHER two eye-of-partridge heels OR two slipped-stitch heels, not one of each)

I’m very satisfied, and I do foresee more of these sporty little socks in my future.  They go great with my Keens, too

As close as I’ll ever come to label-whoring:


In fact, I test-drove these socks at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, right after we finished taking these photos.  I think that post will be coming up tomorrow!

Comments (1)

Older Posts »