KnittyOtter

Prize Post #5 200th post contest thingy and What the hell day is it anyway...

So a few days ago this thing called my life/work/ThisNewUnEndingHeadache sorta threw me outta whack. I know, back to the outta whack. I am so the fuck out of whack that it's almost like I never had any whack to begin with.

Anyway this has precipitated a slight change of plans in my plans. Contest plans that is. See I have totally sucked the butt off a monkey and have yet to read all of the blog contest entry thingies. I know. It's nuts over here. I blame Cookie and her delicious CCSR's. Mmmmm So damn yummy you'll just keep casting onto new pairs of socks. It's madness. For a brief while I was considering casting onto all my size 2.75mm DPN's  with toe up socks. Just cause I think that's my new favorite part of the sock. Maybe I'll just make little toe cups and mattress stitch them all together for some kind of funky ass thing and then I'll call it art. What? You've seen some of the shit they call art these days. My connected toe cups can't be worse then that. Then I realized I wasn't making much sense and decided not to go through with that plan. A bunch of other stuff happened in there as well, but it's work stuff and therefor will not be mentioned on the ol' blog here. I will however say this... I hate the very stupid. That could also apply to some personal stuff as well I suppose... tra la la la la.

So anyway back to  the blog contest changes. Instead of having the final entries be in the system by Tomorrow night  I'm moving it back to Monday night. That way I can have time this weekend to read all the stuffs, reply to emails and whatnot and also finish posting the rest of the prizes. I may also go ahead and throw in some more swag for the prizes. Cause it's all about stash reducement over heres. (That sounds like a fake word, but I'm just going to let that slide for now.)

I'll adjust the original post in a bit to reflect the change of plans. Sorry about that to anyone who was looking forward to a Sunday revel.

So anyway the 5th prize to be reveled today is a brand new shiny.... (hang on while I pull up my photo folder and see what the hell I took a picture of earlier) Never been used Knitting Related Books. Here's the dealy, you (the 1st person who comes up on the random generator thingy) gets to pick two of these books for themselves and the one book left over goes to the second person who is selected. (Tomorrow I will show what else the second person gets as well.)

So yeah, which of these books would you want? *L*

In other news this reminds me of someone evil, well sorta evil. ;)

Tune in tomorrow for more prizes, a recap and the discovery of my inability to end a phone conversation in a normal way: How I learned to embrace my inner robot. ;^)

Prize #4: 200th Post Contest

Hiya! Sorry about all the unreturned emails. I will be getting on that tomorrow morning... the life it eat the head when it's not the most optimal time for it. Eh, we go on.

So today's prize is a set of needles and stitch markers. It's a set of Clover Takumi DPN's. Size US 0 / 2.0 mm. Never used from my stash of needles. I bought these back when I was a new knitter and all these snobby knitters told me that you are only a good knitter if you knit on a size zero. So wanting to become a better knitter I got the zero's. Turns out when you knit as tight as I do size zero really doesn't do much for you. Not on socks at any rate. So they have pretty much no use for me.

*edited to remove rant about stupid butt monkeys*

It's hot and I'm cranky. :P

I'm also including five stitch markers from my little box of stitch markers. I can't remember where they came from, but as I have some super special stitch markers from my best friend, KnitWit Momma and Good to be a girl I figured I'd give away some of those that don't seem to find their way into the rotation of use. They are pink hearts. ;)

It's been hot here today. When I went outside to take the photo sweet little TKK went with me so she could have a roll in the old catnip. She took a step outside and decided it was not for her and went back inside. This a cat who has been locked inside the house away from the nasty smoke. o.0 She's been harassing me to get outside for days and she didn't even want to hang out and play. So yeah the A/C is going and it's lovely inside. But just knowing it's hot outside irritates me. *L*

Here's the current sock I'm working on for SoS. It's the same pattern as the last socks I knit for Cookie. They are my Dizzy Otter Socks.  I'm using Cookie Cutter Short Rows for the heels and toes and doing them Toe up. The ones I knit for Cookie were cuff down and flappity.

Okay I'm going to get back to my knitting. I have three pairs of socks going right now. They are all in various shades of blue yarn. Two of them are blue with brown yarn. o.0 I told you the life it eat mah head. That or the cat, she was licking my face again last night. I has a flavor!

What day is it anyway? This week seems like it's been going on for ages and ages. o.0

Prize #3: 200th Post Contest

The Third prize for my 200th post contest is a limited edition sock yarn from SWTC and a print off of the pattern that was made for this sock yarn. It was on a CD with other patterns for their limited edition sock yarn but I am not giving you the CD. :P (I have a few of the yarns for the patterns on the CD. Sweet!)

50% Superwash Wool
25% SOYSILK brand fiber
22.5% Cotton
2.5% Chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells!)
8 sts  = 1"
needles:       US 2 (2.75mm)
425m / 100g ball
machine wash and dry

Pattern: Pedal Pusher

This yarn reminds me a lot of the Russian Sage we have growing in our yard.

Clickety Biggety!

I love this stuff. It smells sooooo good. It's weird though. Most people around here think it's Lavender. I guess I can see that, but some of them are total asses about insisting that it is Lavender. Trust me, I know lavender. This is not it, though lovely it is.

I like this yarn a lot, but I have several skeins of the Tofutsies and I just can't have that much stash right now. It's become a burden. A weight on my shoulders to be knit up. In fact today I returned $270 worth of yarn to a local yarn store today. Granted they gave me store credit so it's still out there in the void, dollars waiting to be knit up. But at least I can use it for specific projects... or Winter Holiday Presents. Not for me to knit up mind you, but to buy my knitter friends their. ;^)

That's what this week is about to me, Stash Reduction. All the yarns in this giveaway are from my stash of yarn. After this I will have a few yarns that if anyone is interested in a swap, so long as you aren't some kind of socially and interactively challenged nut job that is, that would be cool.

Speaking of the socially and interactively challenged nut jobs of the world, if you come to my blog and post rude and completely clueless remarks or even say something to the effect that my blog makes you want to vomit I can pretty much guarantee you will not be winning any prizes here. Random generator true, but I don't have to include you in the mix.

I would also like to address the issue of some other blog out there announcing my contest as their own and then changing the rules of my little contest here to suit whatever delusional fantasy they have in their head about how this works. I never said I would be choosing a favorite for the second place prize thingy or that I was doing a co-blog contest. (WTF?!) Whatever y'all do on someone else's blog will not effect the outcome of what I do here. The second smaller prize will be randomly generated as well. It's not that hard to see what I'm doing here and if you want to reread what I said I would do, please see this post.

This was supposed to be fun and easy. I hope it's still fun for y'all.

In order to play along you'll need to go read this post and answer that questionnaire. Post the answers to the questions on your blog and then link your post into the comments of Saturdays post or leave your answers on Saturdays post in the comments.

In other news Cookie is right again. She is ALWAYS right. It fucking boggles my mind. I must never forget this. Ever.

(Isn't Zarzuela's roving that Cookie posted today just gorgeous! I need to learn to spin...)

Also Dave is a true fucking sweet heart.

And in Monday Loves, I love the rain that fell here a bit ago. That was a nice change.

I still hate stupid people though.

See Otter's can be cranky too. I'm feel'n down right smackety to be honest.

Prize #2: 200th Post Contest

Well post 201 doesn't feel any different than any post prior to 200. Or it could just be that I feel like hell today. *falls over dead* (Trust me it's better this way)

Anyway the show must go on, though brief it will be.

The second prize after the ultra fabulous Duet Sock Yarn is a Della Q bag. It's just the perfect size for socks in progress. :D

Pretty Nifty eh? Very bright and colorful. So that's the second prize for the 200th post contest.

In order to play along you'll need to go read this post and answer that questionnaire. Post the answers to the questions on your blog and then link your post into the comments of yesterdays post or leave your answers on yesterdays post in the comments.

In other news this is the mutant carrot we pulled up a few days ago.

He's not so much of a mutant, just a bit naughty looking. He was pulled up to make more room for a tomato plant. The tomato plant already has 4 little babies on it. I'm going to eat them raw when they are ready. I love tomatoes!

The Carrot was a little early but tasted pretty damn good. We made a wish and pulled him apart. I imagined the crunching sounds he made were tiny screams. *evil grin*

:P

Okay that's as much weirdness as I can exude today. I'm going to go knit on a sock and try not to feel as crappy. The sock will help with that right? ;^)

200th Post: Getting To Know You Contest!!

YAY!! This is my 200th post. You know what that means, the Super Fantabulous KnittyOtter Contest is starting! Here's how it will work, you fill out the questionnaire once between now and EDIT July 21, which is next Monday Night (until 11:59 pm Pacific :P). Tuesday morning/afternoon of the 20th I will announce the winners. Yes there will be TWO winners. One will be the grand prize and the second selection from the random generator will receive a single skein of yarn and a knitting book.

Everyday from now until Monday I will post one of the prizes to be included in the grand prize selection. That's a lot of prizes! :D

The first item listed is a skein of Duet Sock Yarn & an Original Pattern from the Swell Yarn Shop's Lucky Lurkers Sock Club.

The colorway is Spring Frost and the original pattern that came with the sock club yarn is called Snow Bunny. Here are some Ravelry projects using the Spring Frost colorway as well as pictures of the sock pattern in use. :D

Pretty Nifty Eh. Tune in each day for more exclusive sock yarns to be given away as well as the other goodies going to some lucky winner in my attempt to reduce my sock yarn stash in a fun way. ;)

Now for the Questionnaire that you will have to fill out in order to get a chance at winning. I'll fill it out too so you can get to know me better as well. ;) You can either fill it out in the comments or fill it out on your blog and link to the post in the comments of this blog post.

Getting to Know you Contest Questionnaire:

1.) How long have you been knitting?

I started knitting March 25 2006 at 6:00 am. *L* It was the day I decided I HAD to learn to knit. Keep in mind I had been up since 2:00 am not able to sleep. Yeah, it's weird over here.

2.) How long have you been knitting socks?

I started my first pair of socks on June 6, 2006. I finished them August 5th and they were pretty bad... the stitches were twisted... just awful. o.0 My second pair was MUCH better.

3.) What do you do with a problem like Maria?

Well seeing as the convent couldn't hold her I'm thinking some duct tape and a continuous loop dvd of Barney or whatever annoying Disney movie is currently popular should blitz her mind enough that she won't cause anymore trouble. *evil grin* Oh yeah that Maria shouldn'ta messed with me.

4.) What is your all time favorite sock yarn?

I'm not sure. I have a lot of sock yarns that I haven't had the time to try out yet. (hence part of the reason for this de-stashing in the form of a contest. It's too much!) I'd have to say with what I've knit with so far though Cabin Cove & Claudia Handpainted are my favorites. But like I said I have a lot of yarns that I think will be great knit up, though I haven't tried them personally. *blush*

5.) Toe Up or Cuff Down?

After using Cookie's Faboo Cookie Cutter Short Row Tutorial I am all about the toe up socks.

6.) What's your favorite color (this week or for all time)? Do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I'm all about color when it comes to yarn. Trust me. Unless it's fuschia or royal blue. Bleh.  Such a turn off.  I'm also not too into pastels or most yellows.  Okay so maybe I am only about bright colors that I like. *L*

7.) Do you have a pet(s)?

Yes, I have the worlds most wonderful kitty cat, TKK. And George, but since he isn't cute or soft I don't really think of him as a pet. ;)

8.) Babies: Oven Roasted or Barbecued?

Are we having a BBQ sauce or a mustard based sauce? Who wrote this question? o.0

9.) Besides socks what is your favorite type of thing to knit?
Hmmm I really like hats and scarves. Though socks really are my favorite thing at the moment. I like sweaters and all that too, but I need to get myself into a more organized place to start something like that up again. I've got some lovely silky wool to make the honey a sweater. Maybe I'll get on that at the end of summer. :D I'm also enjoying most of my efforts into the lace world. Most of them...

10.) What's your favorite scent?

Hmm my favorite scent right now is a lovely Honey and Citrus perfume from L'Occitane. I love their fragrances. :D My other favorite perfume is Manifesto and it kinda smells like Basil and Black Pepper. *L* I  also love Vanilla, lavender if it's a yummy lavender and not overly harsh, Geranium, Tangerine, Lemon Verbena, Lemongrass, Mint, Coconut, and fresh springy scents. I don't care for patchouli or strong floral scents. Think more earthy tones than fakey chemical.

11.) What music are you really loving right now? Like a song or a band?

My brother Rendogg recently (as in Monday) introduced me to a Swedish Glam Rock band called The Ark. Damn that is some catchy stuff. It is stuck in my head. (In a good way, not in a banana phone way. :P) I had to download the album (is that what the kids are calling it these days?) from iTunes.  I rather like One of us is gonna die young, Let me down Gently, Hey Kwanogoma!, Deliver Us from Free Will, The End, This Piece of Poetry Is Meant to Do Harm... er I guess I rather like the whole album State Of The Ark. I will be exploring their other music later this weekend and in the coming weeks. LOVE.

12.) How many pairs of socks have you hand knit?

A whopping 9 pairs. Hey, that's not too shabby. *L*

13.) What's your favorite treat? Salty or Sweet?

Hmmm I'm not sure. Depends on my mood. Salty and sweet, but I think I like salty better. Chocolate is always nice. Though is the summer it's a bit too melty. Fruit with honey is rather nice. :D Throw it on top of some yummy flax and pumpkin seed granola with a bit of greek yogurt and that's pretty much heaven. Well weird dairy heaven. I don't want to stay at that heaven, just visit it every now and then. o.0

14.) What was the most interesting thing you smelled yesterday. Not good or bad necessarily, just the thing that stuck out most so that you actually took notice of it.

Well My honey's cologne. It's yummy. It was on his neck lightly, just so in that way that makes a girl's heart start to race... er that and on the way home from the movies the smell of smoke outside was a bit much. *cough* I'm surprised I can smell anything at this point. :/

15.) Needles - DPN's: Wooden, metal or plastic?

Depends on the project. For a basic sock, without a pattern that calls for a lot of KTOG's I use my lovely plastic Bryspun. Otherwise If I want a pointy needle I use my Harmony needles and if I'm not flying anytime soon I'll use the metal options.

16.) What is your favorite sock pattern that you've knit? What do you recommend?

I don't know. I've done pretty basic socks so far. Although since doing the Cookie Cutter Short Row Socks I'm feeling much more adventurous. *L*

17.) The last Question: If you were stuck on a deserted island who would you want with you, what knitting would you want with you and would you ever want to leave?

I'd want my honey, he's a bit like Macgyver. How hot is it? Probably something cottony. It depends. I hate people so if we had everything we needed to survive happily maybe I wouldn't want to come back. You never know. Ooo if it was like Nim's Island I'd be totally happy to stay. *GRIN* Everything you need and a Satellite Net Connection. That'd work for me. *L*

Hmm that is an odd number of questions to ask, 17. I guess that makes me odd... or that I wrote this up late/early/something. :P

Okay so those are the questions. You can answer them here in the comments or on your blog and link that post to the comments of this post.

Tune in tomorrow to see what the next prize is.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Approaching Post 200!!

Wow. Can you believe I'm almost at my 200th post? This is my 198th post. o.0

You know what that makes this the perfect time for... a contest prize giveaway!!

Just think if I hadn't taken that unexpected break earlier this year I'd have hit this ages ago... c'est la vie.

At any rate I feel rather blog refreshed. It's fun again and a break from my daily pile o' things to do. :D

So now for something even more fun. I want to get to know you. Yes, YOU. Everyone of you whether you are a reader/commenter/emailer, reader/lurker/shy and everything in between. If I know you very well or not at all please come play along.

I'm going to post  a list of questions. Nothing too invasive or anything that would make you run away screaming. I'll even answer it myself to get us started. ;) I'll leave the contest open for one week. And 7 days after the contest starts I will use a random number generator thingy to select the winning commenter based on the order that you commented. 

Now part of the prize to be given away will be sock yarn from my stash since it is The Summer Of Socks. :D This will also help me alleviate some of the sock yarn stash pressure I have as well as place some fabulous rare yarn in a home that will hopefully love it and have time to knit it. The first yarn that I speak of is from a sock club I was in a long time ago. (Long time ago being more than a year... but less than two as I have only been knitting two years and am certain I wasn't in a sock club before then. :P) It's a sock club I am no longer in, if you are looking around at my site buttons trying to figure out what it is. Nope, this is a club you have to be almost lucky to get into. ;^) The exclusive club yarn will also come with the original exclusive club pattern that was made especially for the yarn. Pretty sweet eh.

But that's not all. There will be other sock yarns to go along with the rare club yarn. It will be a sock box of otter love extravaganza, featuring not only sock yarn and implements of sock knitting, but also special treats to keep your feet soft, happy and pretty this summer so that when sock wearing season rolls around your pampered tootsies will be well prepared to slip into your super soft yummy handknit socks. :D

I would recommend knitting some Cookie Cutter Short Row Socks with the prize yarn as it is a super awesome technique & tutorial. Tomorrow I'll be posting my first pair!!

(If a male knitter wins the foot care package can easily with just a few small mods be customized as well, so men don't feel like this isn't a contest for you also. *wink*)

Aside from the dedicated sock yarns I have already selected to be given away as prizes here, your answers will help determine a special yarn that I will choose from my stash that I hope will suite your style and personality.

Pretty faboo eh?

Now if any of you have ever received Otter Given Gifts then you'll know how much I enjoy this sort of this and that I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself.   :P

Here are some past examples of Otter Gifts, Otter Sock Yarn that Dave knit into Socks, The Carrot Bag & Goodies for the Woolen Rabbit during Knit Sock Kit Swap and Jewel Tomes with her kit for the Knitters Tea Swap.

Of course Cookie and some of my Local Reno Girlies can also vouch for the faboo-ness of my gifties. (And yes y'all have to enter. *pokeyhugs*)

I'm excited about this. It's gonna be Fun Fun Fun! For me and hopefully for you. :P

Now this post is 198 and the contest starts at post 200. So get ready for the action to start!

Giftie Socks and a Hazy Saturday Sky

When I was seeing Cookie last Saturday I finally gave her the socks I knit for her last year. Plus the ones I knit for her during the current year.

I had some mailing trauma last year, that's why she didn't get them sooner. o.0

Here are the socks I knit for her last October during Socktoberfest. I think I finished knitting them a day or so after it ended. I took my sweet ol' time weaving in the ends though. I believe I did that in January or so.

Clickety Biggety!

Both pairs of these socks were knit with lots of love and respect for my best friend. The ones above are in fact my second attempt at knitting her socks. You may recall the overly tight twisted stitch socks I knit for her in 2006 that were my very first socks. When I knit her these socks I wanted to make sure they fit her and were super comfortable. I hope I succeded. She tried them on in front of me and I think I got the first part down pretty well. :D

Pattern: Hiiumaa Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I didn't do her color changes, just used the basic construction of the pattern and made contrasting heels &Toes. This is the perfect basic cuff down sock pattern. :D This is the same pattern I used for my Honey Socks.
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, 100% Superwash Merino. The variegated colorway is Country Garden and the solid color is Mulberry.
Yardage: 420 yards/4oz per skien. I have enough leftover of each yarn to make myself a semi matching pair with a solid sock with contrasting toes & heels in the variegated yarn. :D
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony DPN's US 2 / 2.75mm
Again? Of course. I love the round toe and the eye of the partridge heal on these socks. They are easy to fit anyone and rather snazzy if I do say so myself. ;^)

These next socks I started knitting in January around Cookie's birthday. Everything but the toes on these things were finished in April or May. What can I say my knitting had been hit or miss for a bit of time there. Life ate my head. o.0 I finished the toes, wove in my ends and washed/blocked them the evening of June 20.

Clickety Biggety!

Pattern: My Own Dizzy Otters Spiral Ribbed Socks. It's just a basic spiral ribbing along with an eye of the  partridge heel and a round toe. Though I considered doing a different type of toe. But seeing as I completed these socks the Friday night before we were going to get together I went the simplest route.
Yarn: Seacoast Handpainted Superwash Sock, 100% Superwash Merino Wool. The colorway is Cherry Fizz.
Yardage: 560 yards, There is a bit left as I didn't want to make her super tall socks since I don't think she likes that sort of thing.
Needles: My beloved  Bryspun Double Points - US 2 / 2.75 mm. I love these needles SO MUCH. I wish they had a 2.25 mm, but they don't go down that small. *sigh*
Again? Heck Yeah, I need to write up the pattern while I'm at it.

The yarn for both of these socks came from Deluxe Yarns here in Reno. :D

Didn't Cookie do a great job modeling and photographing those socks?! Those are super faboo photos. When I grow up I wanna be able to take a good modeled sock photo.

In other news the California fires are still going and their smoke is still here. While it is not as bad as Cookie is dealing with, we had blue skies today and yesterday, it is still a pain in the ass. Or the lungs as the case is.

Here's my Saturday sky photo taken around 10:30 or so.

Clickety Biggety!

That doesn't look too bad at all in comparison to Cookie's Sky. o.0 It just looks weird because normally you can see the mountains in the distance and everything in between.

Here's what our sunset look like on Monday. The honey called me over to have a lookie. It was very odd, looked like the sky was on fire. The photo really doesn't capture how eerie it looked.

Clickety Biggety!

Well off to go get some ice cream with the honey before I get back to knitting on my Cookie Cutter Toe Up Short Row Socks. I am loooooooooving these!! :D

Break on through to the other side...

Things have been crazy busy. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Lots and LOTS have been going on. Mostly good. Some confuzleing. Some sad. And some things happened so fast my head hasn't stopped spinning yet. I could try to pick through the mess of a maze that is my brain to try to explain it here. Or I could hit the highlights and not worry about getting it just so, just right in the explaining.

Here we go.

My computer, Lightening hasn't been feeling so well lately. Lightening is a Dell. Purchased several years ago. He's not totally dead yet. I think he'll be okay for a while yet. Though we did kinda sorta run out of space. First I picked up an external harddrive and moved over all my pictures and music. I may have moved the knitting patterns over as well.

*pause*

The above text was written on November 26. o.0

Needles to say things go even crazier busy and here we are on December 26.

*starting again*

Hi New Readers, Last time on the blog I posted about Walnuts and Gold...

<.<

>.>

*waves at everybody from the Winter Knitty*

Star Athena posted a pattern called Quant, an enterlac headband. She used my Entrelac Tutorial to help her learn enterlac and then went on to create that gorgeous little number. I thinks I need to make myself a Quant. *GRIN*

That's pretty awesome. I've gotten some really lovely feedback from people who used my tutorial to learn this. I know I have been super sucky at not returning emails (of any sort) lately so thank you to those who emailed me. (and I'm sorry I sucky at the email returning)

So in the last two months I've done lots of stuffs.

Briefly I shall list the happenings:

Got a new Laptop: MacBook Pro - LOVES IT MUCHLY - though I am still mainly using my good 'ol Lightening... because I haven't set up my printer to the new computer yet. Haven't even named it yet. o.0 Any ideas?

And yes I already feel vastly superior to all you Windows Freaks. :P

(Just kidding about that last bit)

Finished breaking my cell phone the rest of the way. I guess there is a limit on how many times you can drop the damn things before the crack open. Considering I had that phone since 2003 it wasn't a bad run.

The post office has lost a box that I mailed earlier this month. The box contained two knit items. A Chunky Baby Alpaca Scarf and a Two Color Fair Isle Hat. LOST FOREVER. :(

That kinda crushed my Christmas spirit. Among many other things. Feh.

If a knit blogger knits something and doesn't take a picture of it to post, did it really happen? o.0

There were other gifts lost in that box as well. But those two things really burn my butt.

I was out of town for 11 days. It was the best of times and the worst of time. Literally.

I got to spend a week with Rendogg, BUT I also had to see people who suck and deal with some really shitty stuff.

Which leads me to this next part. I hate most people. Seriously. Especially the ones who are the crazy bad xtians and god freaks. Stupid  People Suck. 

I actually had one asshole tell me that Christianity is the ONE TRUE religion because Xtians are the most persecuted of all the religions. o.0 WTF?!

I had another tell me what a horrible person I am for living in sin.

The shitty thing is even if I did get married they'd just tell me how awful I am for not procreating. And if I had kids they'd find some other way to tell me I'm not good enough so fuck them all.

Feh. SIck of stupid bad Christians. I know it's not all of them because I know some pretty decent people, who just happen to be Xtain also. So I know being a good person can be done despite that flaw. (ha ha, it's just a joke, no panty bunching please)

I'm just sick of people telling everyone else how to live when they don't have a fucking clue how to do it themselves in the first place.

A bunch of other stuff happened to, but that was a lifetime ago and maybe even a different person ago. Time and Experience have a funny way of changing who we are from moment to moment. Now I just have to figure out who I am today and go from there.

Oh yeah there were Holidays. They came and went. Thanksgiving was fine.

We are still in the middle of the Winter Holiday. I spent the last few days with my Honey and Kitty.

Winter Holiday is what happens from December 21 through January 1. It's whatever you want it to be.  I'm sick of being told what to do during this time so I will just call it  My Winter Holiday and leave it at that.

The 24th and 25th the honey and I opened some presents to celebrate the lengthening days. It's really more a celebration of being home together away from all the stupid people.

One of the cutest things to happen this Holiday Season took place Monday night after I set all the presents out around George. It all started when TKK was very interested in the presents and was rubbing all over them. Eventually she found one she liked the bestest and started opening. Thankfully the honey and I were in the room and witnessed the whole thing. *GRIN* (and I suspected the giftie was hers anyway :P)

She opened this pretty little sparkley purple box. She was a kitty on a mission. A very happy mission. She told the box how much she loved it by rubbing her cute wittle faceykins all over it until she finally got it open. Inside was a purple wooly mousey filled with CatNip from her sweet Auntie Cookie. Watching how happy she was brightened my mood up right quick.

I caught TKK snuggling with Mousy when she didn't know I had the camera out.

Here's a shot of TKK more composed with Mousy and George watching over her and the gifties.

Thank you, Cookie. She WUVS her new wittle friend and carries it around in her mouth. :D (Though she said she wasn't pinning any shawls out for you. Something about opposable thumbs. *eyeroll* They always have excuses for not helping with blocking. Good Luck with Clive Owen on that one. Maybe he can Block it for you Nekkid... if so can I come over? *grin*)

After that things picked up and I was in a MUCH better mood. That and knowing how lucky I am to have the people I love the most love me back.

So here we are today. I'm sorry for not posting for so long. That sucked ass, btw. If I'd known I would be gone for long I'd have said something. But I kept thinking any day now... time just got out of hand. Funny how that happens sometimes.

Blink and you'll miss it.

Valentines & Pod People

I don't really have anything against Valentines Day. It's not a romantic holiday to me though. I don't feel like making a big show to my honey. I'll buy him a little something, but it's something he'd want any day of the year. No baby blue thong with elephant ears to hang off his dangle for my man. They even have one that is a cow face for the front of the man area. o.0 Who designs that shit anyway? Worse who is attracted to cows that is buying the stuff?!?!!

People are strange. Cookie made a funny point in her post today about how men start freaking out at a certain time and buy anything, anything at all to give to the person they have ignored pretty much every other day that year. I saw a PERFECT example of this when I was out today. A young man was walking down the side of the road, looking miserable, carrying a stuffed ape toy that held a red heart that said I love you on it. Think his girlfriend will feel the love? Will her heart be overflowing with love renewed by his token of devotion and commitment. Or will she wonder if he knows who the hell she is. Why he had to be a selfish prick when he went to hang out with his friends to play X-Box rather than hold her when her pet pookums passed away.

I think people don't get it. The card/candy/stuffed crap & cheap drug store jewelry people aren't helping it any either. I'd say no wonder men and woman are confused about this day, but then again just plain being nice and considerate to one another everyday shouldn't be so damn hard. Common sense, even if you have to stop and think about it sometimes isn't that hard to get.

Having said all that I'm spoiled rotten. Don't tell my honey this but he has ruined me for anyone else. Not that I want anyone else, just say'n. He is good to me everyday. He cleans without being asked. He does a lot. He mostly understands or tries to when I am down or grumpy and need to be left alone. He encourages me to go hang out with my friends. He is loving and awesome. Not perfect mind you. No one is and I don't expect him to be. He's probably nicer than I am. I'm trying to be nicer. I'm trying to put him first the way he seemingly naturally does with me. I'm trying to be understanding when he is tired or grumpy and I encourage him to explore his interests as well.  That is my gift to him everyday. To try to be as good to him as he is to me. But like I said, I am spoiled rotten.  Today when I was out I grabbed a bottle of nice Scotch for him. He is easy to gift for. I didn't get it because It's hearts and little chubby angels day. I got it because it's a simple pleasure he can enjoy... that won't take up shelf space. :P Seriously we are still organizing over here. *L*

The people I tend to think about on this day are my friends. To me it's more about general appreciation. I appreciate my honey for all his wonderfulness to me everyday. I appreciate my Cookie for her awesome gift of friendship everyday. I appreciate my wittle bundle of fur for allowing me to be her human.

I got a few gifts to show my appreciation for people, but failed to make it to the post office. That's fine though. Just cause somethings late doesn't mean it doesn't have the same intent or joy infused with it. :D

Speaking of the mail... I received a very nice package in the mail today. I'll give you a clue: PINK BABY ALPACA!

Clickety Biggety:

It's from My Best Friend if you can't tell. ;^)

I can't wait to give the pattern a try with that luscious pink baby alpaca lace weight. Mmmm Baby Alpaca. It's crazy soft. I think I'm in love, but then again I've always had a thing about Baby Alpaca. ;^)

I really need to get my brain together so I can start knitting with all this fabulous yarn I've been acquiring. *L*

In other news this morning I met up with Rachel and did the Gym thing. I walked on the flat gerbil wheel thingy 1.48 miles. On the recumbent bike thingy I did 1.05 miles. I'm invincible. Wheeeeeeee!!!

In addition to being uber proud of myself I had a great time talking with Rachel, although I'm fairly sure I'm really dorky and maybe talk and laugh too much. Let's hope she hasn't noticed what a goober I am eh. *L*

Anyhoo so at the gym the treadmill has a calorie counter that tells you how many you burned. I don't recall how many, but it was still less than you'd think. Sooooooooo much easier to add 'em on than take 'em off. Sheesh!

After I left the gym I hit one of the many Starbucks between my house and anywhere. I needed a coffee fix, not that it helped mind you. I'm still a walking zombie.  You'd think coffee that strong would jump start my brain. But maybe that's their plan, have us all be walking zombies. Have you ever seen people at Starbucks order? Something isn't right. They walk up and in a monotone voice tell the coffee person they want a Non fat half caff tripple grande light syrup extra foamy caramel macchiato. It's fucked up. o.0 I'm not even sure what the hell half of that means. I know what a caramel macchiato is and it's pretty yummy as it is.

So it occurs to me these people have their own language. Their own code speak. It's weird.

Plus there are five down here just at the south part of town alone. They reported that in the paper yesterday! o.0 I pass two everytime I go anyway. There are 3 within two miles of me. You could triangulate my location based on Starbucks. Seriously.

I think I've figured out what's going on. They are Pod People. Starbucks has drained them of their blood (and $5 per coffee drink) and replaced it with the roast of your choice. Coffee for Blood.

They are Pod People. o.0

So anyway as I was walking into one of the Starbucks I pass on my way home I thought of all those little calories I had just removed with such great care. Did I really want to drink them back on within moments? No. No I did not.

So I walked up to the Barista and ordered a Non Fat, No Whip, *2 pump Peppermint Mocha.

I guess I'm a Pod People now too. o.0

*there are normally 5 flavor syrup pumps in the peppermint mochas

Eye Candy Friday - Umm what day is it? o.0

 

Where did the week go? o.0

These long bank holidays need to stop NOW. Someone somewhere in blogland, though I don't recall who mentioned that these short weeks felt longer than the regular weeks. I think they (whoever the heck they were) were onto something. I am beat. Put me in a coffin and tell everyone with a grudge against me it's dancing time.

I did have a good week though. I think. *squints* From what I can remember of it that is.

Yesterday I had a BLAST. :D Nearly killed myself but it was super fun.

I went swimming. YAY! Otters love to swim ya know. ;^)

Sore as heck today though. *L*

I also got to hang out with some faboo knitters last night. Always a good time.

Anyways so it's Friday and that means cool unexpected pictures... or something. It's candy it can be any flavor you want. :P

Oddly I have Ohio Flavored Candy. I don't even want to guess what that tastes like. Ann Care to hazard a guess? Hehe.

Here's a weird ass tree my brother and I found one evening when we were looking for a cool place to grab a few drinks. Did not find it on this street even though it was so ripe with promise as the tree surely shows.

Weird huh. Yup. I never had a tree scowl at me before like that. o.0

Here's some art that fell out of the sky perfectly on this spot in Ohio. I figure alien's were trying to give the place some culture. (clickety biggety)

Ohio it's a weird place. Oh and yeah Ann and I are going to get together in a few weeks. (I really should email her the details. *L*) Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!

In other news I have gotten some kick ass mail this week. *winks @ Dave & Scout* Thankies! More on alls that laterz. ;^)

Oh! Y'all need to go check out Scout's Blog post from yesterday. Check out the new Cookie Colorway. *GRIN*

Finally I wanna show y'all some awesome hand knit gifties I received over the winter holiday season from Cookie. Thankies Sweetie!! Best kind of Eye Candy for a Friday if you ask me. 

Here are the Cabin Cove Alpaca Fetchings that Cookie knit for me. (clickety biggety)

I have no idea how I lived without these things. I'm serious. Fingerless mitts have made a huge difference in my ability to not freeze my ass off and still be able to type, knit and a million other things.  :D LOVE THEM MUCHLY. Plus they kick major ass.

Next up are the socks Cookie knit me out of Knit Picks Sock Garden in the colorway Hydrangea. SOOOOOOOO comfy. I love wearing handknit socks. You just feel all special and like your floating on air.

My feetsies never got cold, over hot or weird and I wore them in shoes for about 15 hours last Saturday. (I was out all day long and it was a VERY cold day.)

In fact last Saturday I was out wearing 4 Handknit Items. These new Cookie Socks, Cookie Alpaca Fetchings, Hatty the Hat and the pink and white Irish Hiking Scarf. :D

Well that's the photos and the start of another weekend. I hope to have lots of knitting. Even if it means finishing up that damn Noro Scarf. I hate it SO MUCH. I got a splinter from it Wednesday night. o.0

I've got an extra skein if someone wants to make a trade. Rumor has it there are some people out there that actually like the stuff. *L*

Wheeeeeeee!