she's just saying...

As the French say, "comment?"

Hey! I think this qualifies as a  on Friday post!

Just when I think nobody but fowl-wear fetishists read this blog, I get some great comments on my posts. The posts I think will get lots of comments often don't, but other random ones stir my readers up.

Hear's a shout-out (do people still say that?) to my most common commenters:

Kathi D. She always entertains, she gets me, she's a great commenter and blogger, and her blog is my must-read every day.

YrBigBro, aka Steveh, aka Henry's uncle, aka any number of aliases. He was an early reader and a frequent and generous commenter.

Susan, my big sis. Occasionally ascerbic, but always honest and thoughtful.

Chris the Monkey, who does witty and elaborate photo illustrations on his own blog; even if he is a Yankees fan.

Elise and Jen, Bend women compadres who I never see but am in touch with via facebook, twitter, blogs and the like.

PJ, Sarah, Julie and Cindy, wonderful knitters and wonderful friends.

Together, the above folk account for probably 90% of my comments, and I hope I show up on their blogs as much.

Everybody else, please say hi now and then! Clearly bloggers are narcissists and attention-seekers; otherwise we wouldn't be broadcasting our blatherings to the interwebs. So we love knowing you're out there.

my sister knows my weaknesses

PS: I forgot KG! but that would make 11, so I wouldn't get my Top Ten tag. Hey, Kevin, thanks for reading/commenting! One of my first!  And your dad says hi.

waking up down

Snowshoe, our lynx, really doesn't like snow.

Oh, the blues again. No boyfriend, no health club, no money, no excitement, no interests, no time. It must be March. Or close enough.

I've arm-wrestled with depressive moods before. Sometimes I win, sometimes the mood prevails.  My depressions are not the scary black holes some writers describe, but more of a flatline effect. My old therapist could recognize them, even when I couldn't, because I would start to lose interest in everything. There's a psychiatric term for it, even: dysthymia, basically a low-grade low. It comes and goes. Pharmaceuticals can help, but not always enough. 

What helps most is Henry, the cats and dog, movies, knitting with friends and work - anything that takes me out of myself for awhile. What helps least is alcohol, Neighbor X troubles, boredom and helpful friends who recommend odd diet regimens.

It's snowing here, which I love. It looks great and feels festive and cozy. That helps too. Things will get better - they always do, before they slide downhill again.

I'll bet you think this post is about you

In the face of my big sister's disapproval, I must admit that Neighbor X and I slid back into seeing each other again for the twentieth time a few weeks ago. Just dinners, wine and closeness, all very nice. I enjoyed being courted and felt content to not define it, just enjoy my best friend.

Then last Monday after my knitting retreat he invited himself up for dinner and told me he was moving to Portland. (In an odd coincidence, he told me the exact same thing exactly a year ago after I returned from my knitting weekend then. Either Valentine's Day, my knitting or February in general seems to trigger this reaction. Hmm.) He then wanted to talk about how we were going to move forward in the six weeks or so before he left.

It was clear to me that "we" weren't going anywhere, so what would be the point of continuing to see him other than the thrill of masochistic pain, which contrary to the evidence I'm not actually into. So, no contact seemed appropriate.

We've had the ritual last phone call and last email, the porch-to-porch exchange of Tupperware, and the careful avoidance of the mailbox at key times. We've done this so often that it's not even ludicrous anymore, it's just routine. (Getting back together is never routine, though, which is why we kept doing it.) Now I'm waiting for him to leave, and looking forward to spring and a return to the garden.

Speaking of the garden, the trees and plants have once again been fooled by our February thaw into thinking that spring is near. They're budding and sending up shoots, lulled into life by the recent warmth and soft rain. They don't seem to recognize the false spring or know that hard winter will return again with snow and ice in March.

I'm irritated and saddened by their naivete, as inevitably they'll get frost-burned and come up all stunted in April. You'd think by now they'd learn to wait for the real thing. I don't get it.

Clearly...

Or not so clearly, I need a better cameraphone.

busy day

Everybody's having fun...

Free Day at the Museum

Just opened and already crowded. Wow. It's normally $10/adult in the winter and $6 for kids, so a pretty good savings. Most of the visitors today only come on Free Day, so it opens the museum to many who would not otherwise be here. Nice. But crowded. My advice - if you can afford it, come on a regular day. Updates later...

not your normal office sign

I'll bet you don't have a sign like this in your office.

Though maybe you need to.

A (blasphemous) adoption memory

 Ten years ago today, I got a phone call at work. The woman on the other end of the line said: “We have a baby boy for you! But I have one question I need to ask you first.” I prepared myself for a tax issue, a concern about my boyfriend, something on my medical form, but was not prepared for what came next. 

“Do you take Jesus as your personal savior?”  That stopped me. 

Clearly they were trying to ascertain if I was Christian. I had been evasive on the adoption forms and the required autobiography, and they were now pinning me down. My agency did not require a particular faith, but the Texas agency they were working with did. (Their website states: ... the policy of the agency is to place our children in Christian homes where both parents believe that their salvation is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God as written in John 3:16. Very specific.)

So, standing there in my office, I stumbled on about God loving everybody, going to the Unitarian fellowship, etc. She said, “Right, but do you take God as your personal savior?” I realized she was trying to give me an out, changing “Jesus” to “God.” I thought about the newborn baby in Texas waiting for me; contemplated my principles, and said: “Yes, I take God as my personal savior.” I anticipated some vengeful God who I didn’t believe in sending down a lightning bolt through the phone.

“Good – just stick with that,” she said, and started to discuss travel plans.

.

How not to hold a baby

Henry and Clementine, February 2009

Random things I learned this weekend

herringbone braid
short row garter stitch heels
modified conventional bind off
braided cast on
designing traveling cables
three-color fair isle on two hands
color dominance management
Viking rune patterns
horizontal purl braid
Japanese short rows
driving to/from Tacoma sucks (I already knew that)

Photos to come. Bet you can't wait!

Vikings who knit

Learning new stuff is always exhilarating. Elsebeth Lavold created this technique and taught it today. Expect intricate traveling cables in all my future projects...

Fiberfill-y

Made it to Madrona! It's at the Hotel Murano. There is a lot of cool art here, plus this horse wearing a lampshade. We've been shopping at the Market - filled with fiber artisans selling their handspun yarns, handmade spinning spindles,glass needles (not for the butterfingered), etc. We're just about to go into our afternoon workshops. I'm not at my sharpest after driving last night, early this morning, and wandering around boothes inhaling yarn fumes. Got to get focused for intricate cablework: "Viking Knits."

slow slog through sloppy snow

Made it to Portland on our pilgrimage to the Madrona fiber mecca. Five hours of driving over the pass through the snow in the dark. We're toast!

The (not-chicken) whippet jumper

Still needs some alterations, but very handsome!

I see some fiber coming my way

Tomorrow afternoon my friend Hildy and I are headed up to the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat in Tacoma, Washington. I attended last year for the first time, and I remember how mortified I was to tell people that I was going to a knitting conference. This time I'm fine with it, which says something, I guess.  It's billed as a retreat, but it's really a conference, in that there are hundreds of people, banquets, workshops, a vendor market, etc. all in a big moderne hotel.

It's a pretty funny scene, as there are loud and raucous knitters of all shapes, sizes and ages knitting furiously everywhere. In the restaurants, at the bars, lounging around the lobbies, drinking and knitting into the night. (Plus spinners, who I don't really socialize with.) Quite a colorful bunch. I'll post photos for sure.

My classes look to be challenging and varied:

Basic Viking Knits
Latvian Wristers
Short Row Wizardry

I had to take Latvian Wristers just so I could say the name a lot. Sort of like Buddy the Elf saying "Fernando." Latvian Wristers.

Can't wait!

Latvian Wristers, courtesy Beth-Brown Reinsel

Peppermint Teacake, a.k.a. The Black Gimlet

REAL NAME:
Melissa Trier Hochschild

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s and father’s middle names)
Elizabeth George

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Lester Moritz (could it be more perfect?)

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Hoc Me

DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Pink Kitten (This should actually be my porn name)

SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Trier Fox Chapel

SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Black Gimlet – yeah, baby!

FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
MeHo (very fly, actually)

STREET NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Peppermint Teacake (not so much street cred)

ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name)
Flash Albany ROCKS

PORN NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on- OR- state you grew up in)
Cracker Field Club ( And this should be my detective name)

GANGSTA  NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Melizzle

GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Bob (probably better than Black Muffin)

STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Gio Fudge (pronounced “Jo”). Hot.

---------------------

You guys have to try this - it's mindless fun, and who doesn't need more of that?

Post your best names here!

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Their commercials suck, too.

Escape from Antcatraz

The inevitability of this post was set in motion the moment the ants arrived in their tube, ready to get busy and start farming.

They've actually been pretty lethargic ever since they realized that their frenetic digging and tunneling ended them up in the same blue gel, a few inches away. Since then, they've hung out down in the clubhouse, apparently on strike. If we open the lid and blow softly on them, they get stirred up and run around for awhile before the futility hits them again and they go sulk.

Things being how they are in a (almost) ten-year-old's room, it was surprising it took this long for a flying stuffed animal to knock the farm off the bedside table and upside down on the floor, with a crack in one corner and the lid knocked sideways. Screams of panic brought me tearing into the room, where instinct caught hold and I started stomping on escaping ants. (I justified it to Henry by saying it was illegal to let them loose in the wild and we'd start an epidemic.)

We probably ended up with 8-10 casualties, a paper towel stuffed into the hole and the ants taking attendance and reconstructing their gel towers. Henry doesn't want them in his room anymore, and I have to say I spent the next half hour brushing imaginary ants off my arms and legs.

Everyone's a little shook up from the event, and I'm counting on a knock on my bedroom door at 2 in the morning due to nightmares about ants swarming over the bed.

Baby Surprise

Ha! Got you there - this is a knitting post! This is an iconic pattern called the Baby Surprise Jacket.

Isn't it cute? Photo doesn't do it justice. It was a ton of fun to knit. (If that phrase confuses you, I'm guessing you're not a knitter.)

For Clementine, Henry's Big Brother's new baby.

95 movies

Monkey in a box tagged me for this on Facebook. I love it when people provide grist for the blog mill!

First of all, this is a really odd list - I have no idea what the criteria were for these particular movies to be included and others not. Except, they all seem to be the 32-screen cineplex kind, vs. the highbrow stuff I watch. Yeah, right. I did get to 95...

Some of these are kind of embarrassing to check off, but I credit those to in-flight movies where there's no escape. And having a kid. He's old enough now that I can drop him off at the theater, so my count is going to start to lag.

Okay, here goes:

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list ... put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, etc. etc.

You're supposed to tag others, so I'll tag my blog buddies over there on the right. You know who you are. And Bill. And Mark.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane

(X) The Princess Bride
( ) Anchorman
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth--
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
(x) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp

(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch

(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(x)The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
(x) Robots

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) King Pin
( ) Never Been Kissed
( ) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) KING KONG

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
(X) Flubber

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
(x) Son Of The Mask

(x) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
(x) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x) Curious George

(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon--
( ) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
( ) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3

(X) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2

( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring-
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers-
(X) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King--
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

( ) Basketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later--
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld

(X) Kill Bill vol 1--
(X) Kill Bill vol 2-
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes-
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness

(X)Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith---
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor--

(x) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
(X) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon---
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

Well, I hit 95. More than Monkey.