A doll and a clown

I can now post the picture of the doll and clown I finished for my cousin's daughters. Both dolls were printed fabric patterns that I partially put together a long time ago.

When I found the doll in my drawer, she still had her clothes patterns, so I just sewed them up. I couldn't find the rest of the clown clothes, so I bought the two fabrics and thought up the patterns myself. I ended up redoing almost every article of clothing at least once to make it work like I wanted it to. It was really fun even though I was frustrated a few times. What a good experience! Merry Christmas, cousins!

One project done

Well I finally sent off a package today that marks the finishing of a project that's been stuck in my brain since February. After Christmas, I'll show pictures of my little creations. I don't want to ruin the surprise for the receivers!

It's December already!

I can't believe it's the sixth of December already. I am just not ready for Christmas this year. I'm still working on cards, the annual ornaments are still in the design phase, and there are several people I have no idea what they'd like. Argh! It seemed like I was just waiting around for Christmas to roll around last year. But this year it seems like it should still be early November. Oh well, I guess they don't call it the Christmas rush for nothing!

Reminds me of my Dad's Christmas lights

For many years when I was growing up my Dad would put up Christmas lights outside. But they weren't ordinary Christmas lights. He set up the different strings to be controlled by a computer so he could make a dancing light show for the whole neighborhood.

He had always talked about putting the lights to music. I found this video on Google that is really fun, and it's a little reminder of what Dad's show was kinda like. If he ever would put the lights to music, knowing him it would be a beautiful orchestral arrangement or maybe something a cappella. Here's to you, Dad!

Heather's scarves

Here are two scarves I finished for my best friend Heather. Her birthday was this month, and she would have turned 28. She died in a car accident on the way back from our senior (high school senior) Disneyland trip together. I knit them for her Mom and myself so we could wear them and remember her.

I presented them to her Mom today and she picked the more narrow one. She was touched by the thoughtful gift. Happy Birthday, Heather.

Such a cutie!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Macy all cuddled up in her blanket. Too cute!

Finally done

I finally finished the blue fuzzy sweater. It's too big. But it was a good experience to get the whole thing done. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to take it out or give it away. I might make a scarf out of it. I just don't know yet.

Twenty inches

I didn't think I was another six inches along, but I guess so. It's getting to be a challenge to stuff it into the bag. It's quite fluffy!

Macy has been so clingy lately! But who could resist her? I wish the lighting was better. I'll get my husband's help next time. He's the photographer of the family.

Scarf out of leftovers

I had some leftover black chenille from the scarf for my sister-in-law, so I thought I'd try a moss stitch scarf for myself. I'm using size 3 needles to get a closer weave. But I'm getting really bored with it. I feel really stressed with three projects on the needles, and one needing to be sewn. It's not even relaxing to work on the blanket anymore. I know some people love having ten or twenty projects going at once, but I think my limit is closer to five. Plus I have other craft projects circling around in my head wanting to get out and worked on.

So I'm just going to push through and finish a project. I'm thinking about trying to finish the blue sweater. A friend at the knitting group urged me to bring it to the group to work on the seams. But I'm kinda itching to start it this week. Maybe tomorrow I'll start.

On to socks!

I thought I should try knitting some socks. I saw someone knitting with two circular needles at the knitting group, and she made it look so easy! So far, so good. She suggested size 1 needles. We'll see how they turn out. I might end up knitting tighter on later socks or I might go down a size.

I picked this yummy brown color mix to go with some new clog-like shoes. I don't have any brown socks for them yet.

Knitting link

One of my most favorite knitting blogs to read is Wendy Knits!. She posts very regularly and is a knitting whiz. She also has a pattern for a very cute kitty bed for felting. Not to mention that her cat looks a lot like Macy!

BCC - something everyone should know about

I would like to spread the word about BCC, the blind copy function in most email programs. When sending an email to a group of people, it's a good practice to send it to yourself and BCC the other recipients. This way each person that receives the email will only see the sender's email address. The recipients' addresses will be hidden from each other.

If an email is sent with everyone's addresses listed in the TO: field, the addresses are visible to all recipients. If just one person decides to use that information maliciously, then it can start a chain reaction of spam and unwanted emails. Even if the original sender is careful about whom he/she sends email addresses to, it only takes one person to make a headache for all the other recipients. To real technical savvy people it's considered common courtesy to BCC all group emails.

It's coming along

I have about fourteen inches completed on the baby afghan. It's really a joy to work on. The right side row is patterned, but the wrong side row is all purl, so I get to count on one row and just relax on the other. It's a repeat of ten rows, and I'm finally getting to memorize the sets.

My husband finally joined the blogging world

Woo-hoo! Please welcome my husband to blogging by visiting to his very own blog. He got really frustrated with it. He said he's going to poke fun at it now because it gave him a hard time. Hopefully if some of my readers pass along some nice comments to him then he will feel loved and welcomed!

New link to my Mom

I added another link to my Mom's expanding blog sites. It's fun to see her having a good time exploring this new thing. She too has elected to go the anonymous route.

I've thought about segmenting my posts into separate blogs. But I have a hard enough time keeping this one updated. For now it seems easiest to just have one place for all my thoughts and knitting pictures, which by the way I will post a picture of the baby afghan soon. It's coming along quite nicely.

To be anonymous or not to be

I've been thinking lately about anonymity in my blog. Should I post pictures with faces? Should I announce my location? Should I advertise when I will be on vacation and leaving our home vulnerable? Should I post last names? For all of these questions I have answered no for now. I feel like if I expose these identifying facts that someone out there will think about taking advantage of it.

But then I run into a wall with my posts. If I leave out some details, it's okay, but sometimes they make the story interesting and more fun. And pictures with people in them are always more fun.

In my wanderings around other blogs, I've noticed different levels of anonymity. Some show pictures, last names, and locations. Some create false names for their acquaintances and never show pictures with faces. Some knitting blogs show pictures of just the torso with the completed sweater or scarf. It seems like the blogs geared towards more traffic tend to be more anonymous.

I guess for now I will stay as anonymous as seems reasonable. Does anybody have more thoughts about this subject?

Aimee needs...

It's been a few days, huh. Well, I just found this cool thing to do and post on your blog. Google Your Name needs as in "Aimee needs" and post the top ten. Very fun!

10. Aimee needs a foster home.
9. Aimee needs more than one sandwich!
8. Aimee needs to get a brain.
7. Aimee needs more cheese.
6. Aimee needs a break from life.
5. Aimee needs no introduction to music lovers.
4. Aimee needs to move to Florida.
3. Aimee needs to run for dinner.
2. Aimee needs your help.
1. Aimee needs a visit from the Clue Fairy.

One of my favorite foods

Have I ever mentioned I love Kraft Mac & Cheese? Ever since I was a kid it has been a stand-by for me. I almost always have some in the cupboard for those times when I don't feel like cooking, which have been very often lately.

Does anyone else love Mac & Cheese like I do?

The Island review

We saw The Island a few weeks ago, and boy, was it fantastic! Good acting, good plot, great chase scenes, and good suspense. And I love it when a bad guy turns good at the end!

I give The Island an A, and it will be a must buy DVD.

Yet another project

Here's a scarf I'm knitting for my sister-in-law's birthday. She picked out the yarn last weekend. It's a dark purple fluffy yarn with a black chenille. It will be very warm, soft, and cozy. I might have to make one for myself!

I'm somewhere around one-third done. I started it at some friends' house while we were all sitting around chatting. Good times!

Finished Hardanger piece

Okay, so I can finally post a picture of a Hardanger project I've been working on for 4 months. It was a surprise gift for my husband's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. So obviously I couldn't post updates or pictures in case they might see them.

The stitching dimensions are 11" square. I sneaked color preference from Mom during ordinary conversations. When we presented it to them, she asked how I picked the colors, and I said "you picked them." She didn't remember the earlier conversation; it was quite cute!

New links

Take a look at my Mom's blogs, listed in the Friends and Family links. She's new to blogging. I finally convinced her to sign-up with blogger to leave comments on my blog and to create one of her own. Yeah, Mom!

Blue sweater update

I finished the knitting on the blue sweater. The two sleeves are even the same size! Now I just need to block it and sew up the seams. At least I think I need to block it first. Not really sure.

Spoonerisms - a family tradition

My parents have always had fun with spoonerisms. Especially my Dad. For example, when we're working on the deck and the block between the joists doesn't fit, he says "it foesn't dit." Or when he declares what we're having for Saturday breakfast, he says "blueffles and waberries."

When my husband was introduced into the family, it sometimes took him a minute to decipher the phrase. But since we've been around my parents more while working on the deck, he's gotten into the swing of things. Now while we're at home, he practices them. So while we're at my parents' it's a funny back-and-forth between my Dad and my husband. Welcome to the family!

Pics of new project

Here's the pattern example and the yarn. Isn't it a pretty lavender? So far I have ten rows finished. I'm really excited to work on this; I'm trying to get the other projects done so I can work on this full time.

First sleeve

Here's the first sleeve for my sweater. I'm kinda anxious to get it finished to see what it will look like.

New project

Today I started a new knitting project: a lavender baby afghan. I bought the yarn, pattern book, and my first set of circular needles. I started tonight, and I discovered it's going to take awhile to finish. There are 176 stitches on one row! So far I've completed 2 rows, not including the casting on.

I will post pictures of the pattern and yarn tomorrow.

On my blue sweater, I have finished the first sleeve and barely started the second sleeve. It still looks way to big to fit me right. I'm kinda frustrated with it right now because it doesn't look like it will fit and I knit it all for nothing. But I'm still going to finish it, and we'll go from there.

New scar

About a month ago, I went to the dermatologist to ease my mother's prodding. My Mom kept insisting I have this one mole on my left cheek checked out and probably removed. It's been important to keep a good check on my moles because my grandma had malignant melanoma, so it's good to remove all irregular-looking moles.

During the appointment, the doctor removed 5 moles total, including the one on my cheek. About a week later, he called me and said the pathology report came back showing irregular cells in the mole. He suggested I have more removed by a plastic surgeon to make it less noticeable.

After an initial appointment for the surgeon to take pictures of the surgical site, the doctor did the procedure and applied a steri-strip. I went back a week later and had the superficial stitches removed and another steri-strip put on. So now I have a new scar. It's about an inch long, very flat and smooth. I haven't been able to get a good look at it, but my husband assures me the docotor did a very nice job.

On the patio

Tonight we grilled chicken on the BBQ and ate out on the patio. Then after dinner, we decided that to take advantage of the nice weather before it gets too cold we should sit outside some more. So my husband got his Star Wars book, and I got my stitching (and my blanket because it was a little breezy).

There were several birds that came to eat at the feeder, including House Finches, a Blue Jay, and a Nuthatch. We enjoyed ourselves out there until finally my husband said he was too cold. That is a rare occurrence in our home!

Bewitched review

This is a good, funny movie. It has lots of twists and turns, and it ended differently than I thought it would.

Will Ferrell was terrific in this role. Usually I don't enjoy his acting. For that matter, I usually don't like anybody from Saturday Night Live.

So I give Bewitched a B+. Although I recommend renting it. It's not necessary to see it the big theater.

Meet Macy

Meet Macy, our cat. She'll be four next month.
In this picture she is lying upside down on our bed.

Back to school?

Recently I've thought about going back to school. There is a university that's very close. I've also thought about going to a massage school. Before my husband and I got married, I had talked about becoming a masseuse. My husband really liked that idea. Go figure! I had forgotten about it and was talking to him about going to school again, and he reminded me about the massage thing.

I requested info from a local school today, and a woman from admission gave me a call. She's sending an information packet, and I'll see what the program involves, how long it takes, etc. I'm excited about learning more about it!

Where's George?

While commenting on another blog post about internet obsessions I found a friend that keeps a www.wheresgeroge.com score. I left a comment under his comment and said that my husband does that too! Then today the friend called me and asked if it was me who left the comment! Oh, it's so fun to be connected!

If you haven't heard of Where's George yet, check out their site. My husband really enjoys watching his rank in the state climb with every George hit. His current score is around 120 out of about 2000 people in our state.

Look through the window

I have been realizing lately that I don't know what I'm doing. Sometimes it feels like I have a lack of goals and desires. But other times I know what I want to do and do whatever it takes to get there. This has been an issue with me for a very long time.

Tonight I kinda had an episode, but my loving husband was here to comfort me and hold me. I am so very grateful for him and his willingness to work with me through whatever it is that I feel I need to go through.

Sometimes I feel like I have to keep a smiling face on my blog. But I guess it is more an exercise of shining the light through the window to show my soul and what goes on in my world.

It's frustating at times because I have so much I want to say and so many thoughts going through mind, but I have have a hard time expressing them all. Maybe it just takes practice. So I guess I will try to share some honest thoughts and feelings along with my knitting projects.

Signing up is a good thing

Just so you know, I have my blog set up so that people wanting to leave comments need to sign up with blogger. I do this so I can know who left the comment. For some reason I'm really paranoid about having anonymous comments on my blog.

It's really not that big of a deal to sign up with blogger. You don't have to create a blog if you don't want to, just a profile (I think). I have had a very good experience with blogger. They don't sell your email, and they have a pretty cool help section to discover all the neat things you can do with your blog. Plus it would be cool if you did decide to keep a blog because then I could put a link on my site to your site! Wouldn't that be fun?

So, to sum up: sign up, leave a comment, create a blog, have fun! Thanks everyone!

A little farther along

Here is the front and first sleeve so far. There's not much to look at on the sleeve, but it's coming along.

Comments - what a good idea!

In the blogging world comments are very desired. They show what readers think and promote regular posts and creative ideas. I try to add fun posts here and there to spark interest. I just wanted everyone to know how much I appreciate comments on my blog.

Started first sleeve

I have started the first sleeve. Twice. The pattern calls for an increase by knitting in the front and back of one stitch. I looked in one book and didn't understand the drawings. In another book I didn't understand how it related to the first book. So when i did the first row with increases I messed up somehow. I went a few more rows and decided that just wouldn't do. So I took out the all ten rows and started over. This time I think I got it. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Whoops

Well, I get to learn how to pick up dropped stitches. I dropped a few on the left shoulder on the sweater. I tried to pick them up correctly, but it doesn't look right. Luckily I know a local yarn store that gives free help on all knitting questions. I will be visiting them soon!

Thankful

I've been thinking lately how blessed we are to have clean water every day whenever we want it. Fresh water is a rare commodity in third world countries and in the hurricane disaster areas in the Gulf Coast.

I cannot comprehend what it would be like to lose everything and not be able to communicate with family and friends. My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by this catastrophe. If you feel the same and would like to help, please go to the American Red Cross and donate. And be thankful for the simple things we have in life, including food, water, and our family and friends.

To the shoulders

I am now to the front shoulders on my blue sweater. I will probably finish the front today and start on the sleeves. Exciting!

Sniper 2 review

Another movie we watched recently was Sniper 2. I liked Tom Berenger in the first Sniper movie, but this redundant sequel was dull and empty, oh, and not to mention predictable.

I hope to see some better movies soon.

The Medallion review

We watched The Medallion with Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani, and Lee Evans. It was so cheesy and corny I was glad to be knitting so I could zone out. Lee Evans (he played small roles in Fifth Element and There's Something About Mary) simply overplayed his character. It was painful to watch.

I usually enjoy Jackie Chan, movies, like The Tuxedo, Around the World in 80 Days, and Rush Hour. But Lee Evans absolutely stunk up this movie and ruined it for Jackie.

Knitting group again

I went to the knitting group again this week. I was surprised to see that there were several different people there than the week before. It was quite a lively group with lots of chatting. And there was something about cheesecake that night... almost everybody had a piece!

I enjoyed myself just as much as the time before. It's so nice to be able to have some time set aside for knitting each week!

Product of four skeins

Here are the pictures of the front and back of the blue fuzzy sweater.

Fourth skein done!

Last night I finished the fourth skein on my blue sweater. I'm stoked! I have finished the back, and I'm about 3 inches about the starting of the armholes on the front. I will post pictures later today.

It's so fun to see results!

First time to a knitting group

Last week was my first time to a knitting group. And the consensus is: what an awesome idea! I got to knit for several hours, meet new people, and see other knitters' projects. The knitters met in a winery/coffee shop/gallery. They serve very good coffee there! I can't wait to go this week!!

Something funny happened... I was sitting in a draft, and because I'm usually cold I was extra cold in that spot. I was trying to think of something in the car that I could use: a blanket or sweater, etc. Then I remembered I had finished the back of my blue soft sweater, so I pulled it out of my bag and put it around my shoulders. I got to wear my sweater! It was so warm and cuddly that I am really looking forward to finishing it and wearing it whole.

Personality Disorder Test

I don't know if this test is actually serious or not. What do you think? Were you able to answer the questions honestly (another question that should be on the test)?

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Moderate
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	Moderate
Avoidant:	High
Dependent:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Information --

Learning to draw

After seeing the beautiful paintings of the lady at the fair, my interest in drawing and painting was renewed. I've started to learn to draw many times during my life, but I always determined I didn't have any talent. I gave up even though my Mom (a wonderful artist) always insisted that good art comes from practice.

When I saw the artist's paintings at the fair, I remembered what my Mom had taught me and decided I would start drawing again and not care if the product was good or not. I will pursue the enjoyment of the act of drawing.

I borrowed some drawing instruction books from the library, and today I sat down with pencil and paper and started going through the lessons. I had about an hour together alone with my art. I enjoyed myself very much, and I look forward to the next adventure.

County fair

We went to the county fair recently and had a blast. We enjoyed looking at the different quilts and knitted pieces in the craft hall, and found a wonderful painter in the art hall. She does immaculate work, and I bought a matted piece and a greeting card made by her prints. We walked through all the halls of goats, sheep, pigeons, ducks, chickens, and roosters. We saw some horses, too.

We rode a few rides. I liked one called El Nino which went in circles and upside down, but I went by myself because my husband thought he might not enjoy it as much.

Overall we had a good time. There were lots of people so we stood in line for the rides, but the weather was great. Sunny and warm but with a cool breeze.

Macy thought her rhino was dying

I have a funny story today about our cat, Macy. As I was sitting here reading some blogs, I heard Macy's "play with me" meow. She will sometimes meow and waltz into the room carrying a stuffed toy or string in her mouth. Two of her favorite stuffed toys are a catnip-filled flannel square with tassels, and a little rhino (or hippo, not really sure what you would call it). She usually comes in and drops the toy, sits down, and stares at me until I drop everything and throw the toy or dangle the string.

Today was different. I heard her meow, and it started out like usual, but it got quite insistent and then almost urgent, like life-threatening serious. I think, maybe she's trapped in something, or maybe her tail is caught in one of the various fans we have set up. So I run out to the other room and kneel down to where she's sitting looking at the rhino. I told her "I thought you were hurt or dying" and kind of gave her a look of love - "I'm glad you're okay", combined with a look of "don't do that again." But she doesn't look back with remorse for worrying me. Instead she looks between me and the rhino on the floor, and I finally see what she wants me to see - the stuffing was coming out of Rhino's back seam. I believe she was trying to tell me Rhino was dying, and that she couldn't play with a dead toy. The seam had been loose for several months, and I kept saying "maybe I should fix that." Even when my Mom was staying with us she said "maybe Grandma should fix that." Well, today I figured it had gone on long enough, so I told Macy "I will fix Rhino today." I just finished sewing up the seam and showed her the healed toy. She is now laying contently on her shelf in front of the window. Mom saved the day!

Ack! I've been tagged!

So I was sitting here thinking of something to do, and I thought I would catch up on Melissa's blog. Her last blog entry was about how she was "tagged" by someone she knows to answer some questions about books... Before I read her entry I clicked on the guy's name to see what tagging was all about. I had a good time reading his and some other links about the same thing, all the time thinking well probably Melissa won't tag me. And then I read Melissa's and got to the bottom where she tags other people and I glanced through it and didn't see my name. And then... I read more carefully and sure enough, I was tagged. And I thought "No, she didn't."

Anyways, I will take this in fun, just as she did. So here goes.

Number of books I own:
Um, I don't know, and if you'll excuse me I really don't want to count them. Plus, most of them are in our storage unit in Portland. Side note, we're moving all our storage stuff down closer to us next weekend (August 20-21) if anyone wants to volunteer. ;)

Last Book I read:
I've been borrowing books from the library, but besides the craft books, I can't remember the last book I finished. I started reading Don Quixote because it was listed first on a list I found of 100 greatest novels of all time, and I also picked up the history book, The World Since 1500, but like I said I didn't finish either of them. Another book that is on my nightstand is The Eye of the World, the first in the series The Wheel of Time. I started reading this series after high school. It only had 7 books in the series, but now it's up to at least 10 now. I wanted to start the series over, but it's not keeping my attention like it did almost 10 years ago.


Five books that mean a lot to me:
1. The Bible
2. The Vogue Knitting Quick Reference This is the best knitting book.
3, 4 and 5... Well, I guess I don't have that many books that mean a lot to me. But from reading the other tagged bloggers I found a few suggestions that I will pick up from the library and see if I can actually finish reading a book.

Now, if this was on movies, I'd be all over that.

This is the part where I'm supposed to tag five other blogging friends... Sadly, of the blogs I read, I don't know the authors well enough to feel comfortable passing this on to them. The only person I would tag is Melissa, but there's no touch-backs. So the line ends here.

Batman Begins review

We saw Batman Begins last week, and I just want everyone to know what a good movie it is! I highly recommend seeing it. It has a good plot, very good actors (I was surprised that I actually like Katie Holmes' character) and lots of good action and fighting. It is different from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin; it is less cartoon-y (more realistic), and the girl doesn't have the wishy-washy "do I like Batman or Bruce better?"

It was not just another Batman movie. Instead, it was the Batman movie that you want all the others to be like! I was very impressed and will definitely buy the DVD.

Taking a break from knitting

I decided to take a break from knitting for awhile to finish some other projects. It always feels good to finish something!

Here are the three scarves I mentioned. 

Three scarves done!

I amazed myself this weekend by finishing two scarves which makes a total of three. The first one was a pink frilly froo-froo yarn. The other two were a mix of two yarns each; one was purple with red and pink highlights, and the other was black with white frillies. I will post pictures later today.

My Mom's knitting project

My Mom is staying with us this week. She brought along her knitting project: a cream yellow baby afghan. The pattern is nine blocks of different stitches. I'm really impressed with the way it is turning out so I'm thinking that will be a project I will do in the near future. It's so fun planning out my next projects!

Project: blue, fuzzy, and soft sweater

I started a project for myself over the weekend. I'm using yarn that is the softest I've ever felt. The sweater pattern is simple: ribbing, stockinette stitch, a square neckline, and straight arm seams. It should be fun.

New title

So I've finally decided to declare this a knitting blog to track my knitting achievements and trials. However, I will probably mention other goings on just because I want to, and I have the awesome power of saying anything I want. :)

I figured out the picture thing...

Thanks to my friend Melissa for telling me about Picasa and Hello. That was quite easy to post the pictures.

I figured out that it took me a month to knit the baby sweater. I was happy with how it turned out, except I know that next time I will do some kind of reinforced buttonhole stitch. They are kind-of flimsy and I'm not sure they will last long after putting it on and taking it off a baby several times. We shall see. It was fun to finish a project in such a short amount of time.

Finished baby sweater. 

Here's the sweater on a bear model. 

This is another bear model showing a hat I finished awhile ago. 

Baby sweater sleeves

So I started the sleeves this weekend. The pattern says to knit them on regular needles, but I thought I'd try double pointed needles in the round. As a beginning knitter, I wanted to see how that went. So far, so good.

Maybe later I'll figure out the picture thing and post a few photos.

I thought this was incredibly funny.

I'm originally from Portland. I moved to Springfield about a year ago.

You Know You're From Portland, OR When...

Two-thirds of the people you know are from California, yet there is no sun. You can list five reasons why Starbucks is evil. You blame everything that's not right on ex-Californians. You remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power for every winter weather event for the last five years. You know what and when the Columbus Day storm was. Bonus for having been there. You go to a coffee bar and see two guys get into a fight over who makes the best India Pale Ale. You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. Bonus for embroidered stuff. You can go a whole week without seeing the sun or a person of color.. You have a bookstore, coffee bar, and brewpub all within walking distance of your house. You think downtown is scary 'cause you were panhandled there ... once. When you drive out of town, every other guy in a pickup looks like the governor. When you drive out of town, even the Hondas have gun racks. When the weather gets above 50 degrees you put on your shorts, but you still wear hiking boots and your parka. When the weather gets above 60 you replace your hiking boots with sandals. You think people who use umbrellas are wimps. You can recount more than five anecdotes about why the East Side is a crime-infested jungle ... OR ... You can list more than five reasons why the West Side is a boring, snobby, white-bread suburb. You know what it is in between the East Side and the West Side, and how to pronounce it. You are sitting at a red light surrounded by Subaru Legacy Outbacks. A tree or mudslide has ever damaged your house or car. You live equidistant to a symphony hall, a winery, and a volcano. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Portland, OR.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here



More cool things for your blog at Blogthings

Started a baby sweater

I started a new knitting project: a cute little baby sweater. I picked it to learn more knitting techniques on a small project. Michael's had some pastel variegated yarn that I thought was so cute!

I'm excited to work on my new project!

Learning to knit, again

Growing up, my Mom tried to show me how to knit several times. I would start a small washcloth project, but I never finished one. Then I decided to learn on my own. I borrowed a book from the library and started and finished a washcloth. I was so stoked!

From the excitement of that success, I decided to try some more projects. I bought a Learn to Knit kit that provided yarn, needles, and instructions for a baby hat and a pair of booties. And, guess what. I finished those too! However, I learned the importance of guage. I knit the hat on size 8 needles, and it's kind of big for a newborn. I knit the booties on size 3 and liked that much better, so currently I'm knitting another hat on size 3 needles. And I also decided to expand my skills by knitting the hat in the round on double pointed needles. So far I have 3 rows.

All in a month's time. I think this time knitting is stuck in my brain.

New to blogging

Okay, so I admit I am new to blogging. I first heard about it from my Uncle Brian. He is a big techy and knows all about new fun going-ons. Then I hear from my friend Melissa, and she created a blog for her preparations for a missions trip to Germany.

So I thought I could spend a few minutes creating a blog. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm always game for new things. I'm not sure if blogging is supposed to be sort of a journal, or more of a newsletter type thing. Please bear with me, and maybe we'll discover some new interesting things.