The Fug Monster

Went with my man to meet his family down in Phoenix this weekend. I had a great time, and his family is wonderful. One of his aunts took the following photo of us, and I would normally say it is very cute... of him anyway. I look like a total fug monster, and it depressed me greatly. Can't I take one attractive picture? Just one? What will happen with the wedding? Am I going to feel like a fug monster in all those photos too? *le sigh*. :(

click to see scary, unedited version

Bento, no Knitto

So, busy with life = not knitting. And not knitting = not blogging. Or apparently that's the equation that I've inadvertently proven. I haven't done much knitting since finishing Calorimetry. I really want to get back to working on the Sandy Cardigan from Big Girl Knits. I keep seeing everyone else's sweaters and I'm getting jealous.

I did get back to making bento lately. I don't have a photo of my latest creation, but here is a particularly tasty, recent one.

Top is leftover cajun chicken pasta from a recent Red Lobster trip, along with sesame green beans and cucumber flowers. Bottom is spinach, tomato, cucumber salad with piggie of dressing, cheese stars, and some Koala cookies, strawberry gummies, and a few apple wafers. Yum!

And it's finished.

This pattern was a bit annoying in that it came out huge. I actually went a needle size below my gauge so that I could avoid that. Oh well. Nothing a little thin elastic can't fix. I could always button the button in the next rib or so up to tighten. Either way it's a great looking pattern, mega warm, and I'm in love with the color. It took one skein plus a few yards of Patons Rumor in Hibiscus Heather colorway.

Calorimetry

Well, it's just about finished. I still have to weave in the ends and sew on a button, but the knitting is complete. I will be posting a pic of it tomrrow, when I can get outside to take a good photo.

Not much else is going on around here. Cats are their usual selves, house is still needing a good scrubbing, and I still haven't gotten around to making more bread.

Squeee!

It's being sized! It's being sized! It's being sized! It's being sized!

I will be receiving it on Valentine's Day.

So excited.

Soft and Pricky

I got a lot more done on Calorimetry. I think it will be finished by the end of the weekend. I'm in love with Paton's Rumor. It's just sooooo soft and lovely and wonderful. I don't remember the name of the colorway at the moment, but it's a gorgeous dark rose heather.

And also, The Boy brought me 12 long stem roses today! He came home from work carrying a huge white box, and there they were. I love him so much, he's so sweet. No special occasion today. I had him take my photo with them, even though I looked like crap. He says "I bring you flowers all the time because you never look like crap to me." *swoon*

Dum Bells...

"Dum dum da dum" that is. I haven't posted in awhile because I am planning my wedding! August 12, 2007 baby. It's been crazy nuts over here, getting the major things booked and planned. Now that we have a venue, a caterer, and a baker I feel like I have time to breathe. And knit. I'm working on a Calorimetry for myself out of Paton's Rumor. Soooooooooo soft but kind of a bitch to knit with. I hope it doesn't come out ginormous. I am using relatively small needles because a lot of people I know have had trouble with the finished garment being way too big even though they got gauge. I have a huge dome, so I don't really foresee a problem, but I want it snug so it doesn't fall off. I'll probably finish it this week.

Also, I'm now working just a few hours a week as a teaching assistant for my advisor in his first level programming class. After feeling like a moron in my other classes, it's nice to show up and actually know what I'm doing. Plus the silent looks of awe and worship from the kids who are totally confused is great fodder for the ego.

School and snow hit all at once

Well, the first week of school is done. I only fell once, and thank goodness it was into soft snow. The only thing I hurt was my pride. Seeing as I fall once a winter at a minimum, I'm glad it was into snow and left me completely unbruised. We're all cozy and settled in here for the night. There is a big winter storm moving in and is supposed to snow all weekend. Good news for the skiers I guess, since this is opening weekend for the Arizona Snowbowl. I am happy too, because the weather is a valid excuse to stay inside, bake bread, and play World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade all day. I mean, I do that anyway, but y'know... nice to have a valid excuse.

Oh, and check out this boss mouse pad my grandma sent me. I seriously dig this.

Mom's Present: A Great Success

I gave my momma the hat and fingerless hand warmers I made her. She LOVES them. Wore them all day. Actually, less than 2 hours after she put them on, she had already got a compliment. She said she wants to show all her coworkers and brag about how awesome her daughter is at knitting. While I'm flattered, and extremely pleased that she loves the set, I laugh when she says I'm awesome. I'm far from awesome. In fact, half the time I MacGyver my knitting into looking presentable. But I have to say I'm really pleased how this set turned out. The hat is my own pattern, which I am going to attempt to write up very soon and post. The mitts are modified from this pattern. Whatcha think?

Holy Snowdrifts, Batman!

It's official, I have returned from my hiatus on blogging and knitting. Winter break has that kind of effect on me. Everything gets put on hold except watching TV in my pajamas and eating freakish quantities of food. But my beloved mother's birthday shocked me back out of my knitting slump. I never did finish the hat I promised her for Christmas... actually I never even started it (BAD HOBBIT!). But in a grand effort to redeem myself, I have a hat and wristlet set knitted and waiting her arrival on Monday. They're knitted in Noro Silk Garden, in my very own, very first pattern! Can you believe it? Me! I made a pattern! Well ok, the wristlets were a pattern mod from someone else, but the hat is mine. My own. My precious. I can't post photos until she actually receives, and even then it will be a challenge to capture her on film. She's one of the rare, elusive ex-Texas homecoming queens. And while aging has treated her very well and she is still gorgeous, she still dodges the camera at every possible chance.

In other news, Winter '07 officially started on January 12th. I don't count the 1st - 11th, since we had absolutely no snow. None. But a large winter storm moved our way, and dumped about a foot of snow on the 12th. I spent about 20 minutes just brushing massive quantities of snow off my car. My father eschews all things winter-y, and seemed generally amused at my irritation with the car-snow scenario. He keeps up this weird hope that, the more he pokes fun at the weather here, I'll magically realize that winter sucks and I should move back to the desert. But I have a better solution to all of this: I just need a garage. I don't mind the cold or the having to warm up the car. I just mind having to spend 20 minutes of my "could be sleeping" time brushing off a snowdrift.

Christmas in Funky Town

Despite erratic weather patterns, we had a semi-white Christmas. The snow was sad and tired (and half melted), but it was there and that's what counts. My parents came here to spend Christmas with me and The Boy. SantaDad brought the cats a whole box (I mean like a shoebox) full of packages of treats. They, as usual, seemed to ignore most of what was going on, but Tweek ripped open a whole bag of treats before we saw it coming. So now the treat bags are hiding in the pantry, away from prying little jaws. Our Christmas tree was knocked over only a couple times, which I think is an all-time low. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the general loafing around.

It was a good haul this year too. I got a new Bernette sewing machine, an immersion blender, some bento toys, a silpat, and some bread baking books. Mom also bought me The Sims 2 Pets, which has been eating up most of my time lately. I've been cultivating my own personal musk over the last few days. It is my general tendency to take showers when I leave the house, but usually when I have no where to go I just marinate. Natural oils are good for the hair, and my skin dries out easily after bathing. But mostly I blame The Sims for the current state of funkiness.

The Sickness has now settled upon The Boy. I was pretty miserable all through the holiday season, and therefore have done any knitting (or anything productive, for that matter). And then The Boy got a fever last night, so it doesn't look like knitting is on the near horizon either. Actually, I've been going through a crafting slump. There are days when all I think about is yarn or knitting, and I can't sleep because of the visions of Bearfoote dancing around my head. But then there are times like this, where I haven't knitted and for some reason I just don't want to. The slump usually lasts a couple of months. What I need is to find a project that I'm REALLY excited about, and that should get me going again.

2006 has been pretty good to me, bringing me a wonderful man and a tweaky little kitty. 2007 is shaping up to be even better, with an engagement ring, a graduation, and a wedding. As always, I'll be posting the highlights. Until then, I'm going to go soak in a tub with my new Lush products!

Holidays and Head Colds

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I really haven't gotten anything done that is note worthy. Mostly I've been trying to purge my head of mucus, which has taken almost all of my energy. I've been planning Christmas dinner too, since my parents are coming here. It's their first Christmas at my house, so I want to make it special. Mostly I've been sitting at my computer playing World of Warcrack, with tissues and decongestants handy.

Look what it did yesterday!

This...
... and this!

New springform pan!

My mom gave me this awesome-o springform pan. It's nonstick and it has a glass (glass!) base so it's really pretty. It also came with a fluted insert for making Bundt, but since I don't make Bundt, I decided to christen the pan in a new way. BUTTERMILK DINNER ROLLS!

Finally free.

For better or worse, finals are finally over. I spent the first couple post-exam days in a groggy state of binge sleeping and computer gaming. But then I was able to snap out of the stupor and finish The Boy's Christmas Gloves. They are the Unisex Gloves pattern from One Skein, and are knit in Tahki Torino in color 116. The Boy looooooves them and they passed their first test today in keeping his fingers warm as toast. I wish I could boast such success out of the hat for mom. I might end up frogging it and starting over. I dunno. Anyway here are some photos of the lovely gloves.

I know, I know

*grumble grumble* finals *grumble grumble*

I'll get a post up in the next couple days, honest.

Another day, another loaf

Well we ate the sandwich loaf pretty dang fast. I decided to make another loaf, but I didn't have any milk so I used a more basic recipe. The loaf came out looking pretty much like the red-headded step-child of my baking career. It tastes ok though. I don't think I let it rise long enough. Oh well, live and learn.

And no, I haven't done much knitting other than stuff for chistmas presents. Nothing is done yet, so I have no photos to post. Bad Hobbit.

My first sandwich loaf

I've been baking a lot lately and last night I made my first white sandwich loaf. Now, most of my breads come out all wonky shaped and not much capable of being a sandwich bread. This one came out perfect! The crumb is very nice, and the crust is a little crisp but not so crunchy you feel like you're gnawing on a piece of bark. And the color and shape is perfect too! Yay me! I'm going to make this loaf a lot. It was really really easy, and no sponge to care for or anything. I do want to make bread with a bread sponge sometime, but this is definately an easy "start in the early afternoon, and it's ready by dinnertime" bread.

Baking Results!

Mmmmm. Zucchini brownies and Linzer cookies. Both were a real success. I highly recommend them. Also, Flagstaff is still gorgeous. Snow's melted off the ground, but there's still some on the peaks. Here's a view from our living room.

Knitting progress is slow but sure

I've been working on so many non-knitting related things lately, it's been slow going on The Boy's x-mas gloves. But here is the one I finished over Thanksgiving. They really don't take long. If you knitted in a marathon, you could do it in one day. Or like me, it'll take you 3 damn weeks. They aren't made from "one" skein either. It's going to take 2 and a partial 3rd to finish. But then again, they're small balls and the book probably used a huge one (huh, the book has huge balls. y'all know, I had to say it). Anyway The Boy also has huge......... hands (tricked ya!) so that is also why the gloves are gobbling up yardage as we speak. I have the second glove cast on and half the cuff finished. This weekend I'm going to sit down and finish it completely. And none too soon, because it got COLD here in Flagstaff. Observe: