Puppy

I miss my cat. Glad to know she has the people there well trained. See how she's managed to convince them to fill a little shot glass of water? She expects it on the bathroom sink everyday. With fresh water.





At least someone is being spoiled. Well, I want another walk. My person has only taken me on four today. I want six.

home

what is it about traveling 400 miles that so completely drains a person? Puppy is feeling it too. Even though she slept most of the day on her new travel blanket and pillow, she is already in bed for the night. I think the trip would have been better if I could have knit instead of drive. Santa should have brought me a driver. Or a yarn boy who could double as a driver. But no, nothing of the sort.

wow. I just noticed how much yarn I need to document. Tomorrow.

and if you are very lucky, I might throw in a project or two that I started for me.

last day

of my holiday with the family.

Puppy cannot wait to get back to her sofa. (She has her own blanket now. This does not mean I will get mine back.)

safe place

I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place.
I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place. I am in my safe place...on the bloody Titanic.

Children's Christmas Mass rocked. Great service. Family dinner that followed? Not so much. I'll let you fill in the details of Christmas Eve Dinner with the family.

so ready

for the holidays to be over already. But you hear that from everyone, with Christmas Eve so close at hand.

actually, I want to open presents under the tree. Are there many shinning presents under the tree at your house? All the big ones over here are not marked for me but for The Twins. I swear, if Christmas (as a commercialized entity) wasn't for the kids, I would be very jealous. Somehow I doubt wither Christ cares what day we celebrate his birth, just so long as the culture does actually remember the event and not use it as a way to pad the economy. All the comic strips over the past week or so have harped that "Merry Christmas" has been substituted by a more politically correct "Happy Winter Soloists." So, I vote next year we celebrate an even more pagan holiday than this one and everyone go to Church where we hear God loves us.

again, I am probably behind on that rant as well. Getting wrapped up in the holidays does that to a person.

and for the first time in 3(ish) years, I broke a self-imposed rule. No knitting Christmas after December 19. I've spent the past week furiously knitting (off and on) a unicorn for the Younger Twin half-sister. I never thought the blasted thing would get finished. Now, I can go back to knitting for me. And believe me, I am. I plan to finish a steeking vest for me next week as a way to destress everything.

I have to say, the unicorn is cute. At a distance.

Puppy

I miss being in college. I have a good thing going there. Get the person up at for a walk, breakfast of eggs and toast, and back to bed. Another walk before the person leaves for the day followed by a belly rub. Back to bed. A walk when my person gets home, a nice meal, another walk, more belly rubs, back to bed.

This does not happen when we are in Arkansas. Nope. No eggs and toast for breakfast. Fewer walks, though I do get more belly rubs if I look sad enough. Then there are these two little girls who think running around screaming is the best thing ever. Appearently my person does not walk them enough.

And because there is a tree in the living room, my person is knitting frantically. Normally, this is a very good thing. She knits and I sleep beside her. Every now and then, I can trick her into making food or going for walks. All I have to do is start helping her knit, then she is putty in my paws. Dogs of the world, take note! When your person is knitting too much, start eye-ing their yarn and smelling it. That should work. If not, gently place a paw on their needles. That always gets their attention. Trust me.

Well, it's been lovely chatting and all but it is time to back to bed.

not a habit

this lack of posts, I promise. Life just got crazed for a moment or two, trying to get things done so I could come to Memphis. But now, I am here and very happy to be on the internet again.

I made it in time for Sunday evening services. The preacher wasn't there, and much to my disappointment, the youth minister had the sermon. Not to talk out of church or anything, but if his interpretation of scripture is valid...I'd like to reserve an aisle seat to Hell, coach will be more than fine.

yesterday presents got wrapped in something other than newspaper. Why is it that I never remembered to pick up holiday gift wrap? I sent the East Coast family gifts in newspaper or it would never have been sent.

my doctors are very happy about the progress I've made. In fact, I might be seeing them once a year very soon. Yea! Meds are fine. I am getting better.

oh! grades came out today. I have a B, B+, A.

I'll take photos of knitting and have a knitting post tomorrow. You have been warned.

it's over. done.

my first semester of grad school. Oh wait. That's not right. My fifth semester as a grad student. Good stars, I've been in how long?

lets just say another semester is over. I thought about writing over the past two-ish weeks, honestly, I did. Then I would realize how much I still had to do and felt the urge to get more of it done. Unlike the English Department, there is not building up to a semester project in the School of Information Sciences (SIS). Which means all the final stuff is comprehensive essays rather than a presentation on a paper that a student has "worked on" all semester and a final draft of that paper (think 15-20 pages) due the day of exams. In some ways, the SIS is easier. Just sometimes it feels like a bunch of busy work. At least all the pre-recs are over, now to get into the interesting part of it.

shock of all shocks, I have not been into a proper yarn shop since Thanksgiving. Translation: I've been shopping in my own stash. I have no clue how many scarves I have made in the last fortnight, just to get rid of some of the yarn.

good news, all Christmas has been bought. Not all of the knitting is done, but the shopping part is. I even sent off a box of gifts to my family living on the east coast. I am a very happy person that it is done. Normally, I have it all done by Thanksgiving.

I went out with a friend last night, nothing special. Just dinner and drinks. Yes, it was a guy. No, it was not a date. But it was fun. There is a chocolate part tomorrow, not sure if I want to go. I'm worn out and have bad luck baking deserts. Who knows.

this time of year

is not one of my favorite times of the year. Besides the over commercialized of the holiday itself, this is the first year of the copyright expiration of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. For those among us who have forgotten, JMB is my favorite author. I highly recommend any of his novels or non-Peter Pan plays.

standing in line at Toys R Us yesterday, I saw that once again, Disney has found a way to make a dollar. Aside from the horrible mis-telling of classic stories meant to scare children into obedience, the company now has a whole movie (plus merchandise) for Tinkerbell. Yes, I know they have had dolls, notepads, and stickers about her and her fairy friends. But when no movie came out and their craft line of the characters was in the sale's bin at Micheal's Craft Store, I'd rather thought they had scraped the idea. No. They have not.

and for some very odd reason, I am throughly angry about this. I do not see myself buying Disney in the near future.

long drive

any way you look at it. 400 miles (or 8 hours) one way. That means 800 miles in 16 hours in 4 days. I am tired.

Puppy curled up on a blanket and my favorite pillow and slept until she needed something. Wish I could have done that. Traffic was not bad either way, somehow I managed to pick the right times for driving.

Puppy's shoulder is hurt but healing. Our Regular Vet thinks she might have scrapped bone when she fell wrong. It is not dense enough to show up on an x-ray (though he took 2 shots to make sure), but Puppy will be just fine. We even have new medicine and will get a phone call on Monday as a follow-up.

I miss my family and all, but I am so glad I don't have to drive back right away. Yes, I did some knitting. No, you cannot see it until January. Not even the dishcloths. It just takes the fun out of the surprise. Sorry!

as written by Puppy

guess what? All month I've been limping off and on, then back off, a few days later back on. My pet is not amused. In fact, she is skipping class tomorrow so we can go to my regular Vet early Wednesday. I'm hoping to hunt down my chiropractor that afternoon for an adjustment.

my kitten Cable has been terrorizing my pets in Arkansas, so I need to set her straight on the realities of life. See if I can convince her to be more subtle. I hear there is a new cat in the family, one who runs an effective reign of terror to my cousin, Sugar. I swear, I leave town for a few months and already the cats have taken over. Do you think they issue belly-rubs? Maybe they can open the door and let me run around outside. Any cats that can lead a revolution in such a short time must be have working thumbs.

everyone here in Tennessee thinks I am the cutest, sweets little puppy ever. And how true they are. I am just so glad my pet took me to the beauty shop last week. Now I look even better for my holiday debut in Arkansas. So don't get too worried if my pet doesn't show up on the internet for a few days, I have to keep my staff busy to get everything done and back in Tennessee before Saturday. Oh the pressure of being popular!

well

the boss lady (read: my owner, Puppy) is at the groomers leaving me free to type.

I have done more than knit, despite what I said yesterday. I have also been working, reading, going to class, and cleaning the apartment. And today, I am doing laundry (again, because Puppy is not here).

it is 26 degrees F but no North wind. Back home, it is 40 degrees F with said wind. I wasn't cold until I saw the temperature. Now, my heavy coat is out and the thermostat is set at 60 degrees F.

can't type. knitting

selfish knitting

which is about 90% of all my knitting. Selfish Knitting can be defined as (but not limited to) knitting what I want, when I want, why I want to. (All these "wants" feels very toddler-ish, maybe small children are on to something here.) And the Selfish Knitters group on Ravelry further notes that knitting for those engaged in the creation or preservation of life are hereby exempt from Selfish Knitting scorn.

so why bring this up now? Because on of the many online knitting magazines has an article defending Selfish Knitting as the holiday season approaches. I firmly believe that all knitters everywhere might need a quick reminder about Selfish Knitting as we frantically throw ourselves into holiday knitting.

for those engaged in Crunch Time at your respected university, remember to take time for yourself. Even if you do not knit...yes, Miss Pirate Librarian I mean you...take time to be excellent to yourself. It may be the end of the year (soon) but that is no reason to go completely insane. Let someone else use the straight jacket this year. It is very rude to use it for more than one year in a row.

and now that I have finished my lecture (what, you weren't taking notes?), I must be off. I still have an hour of knitting before lunch and homework.

lights out

last night, but now they are on again. A storm (not even a very big or violent one) knocked out the power last night. But only this building. Everyone around us had lights. Yet another example of how odd this place is. Definitely not my Memphis-Arkansas area. I'm sticking around here for awhile, if only to attend classes and see what happens next.

Puppy is doing much much better. Her shoulder still hurts but she wants her long walks back. The mattress is back on the box springs. Notice: this is due in large part to her love of getting on the box springs and looking down on the mattress as if to say, "why are you down there? You should be up here with me."

no more group projects for the semester. Yea! Now it is time to start all these "big" papers (8 page max) and organize notes for the take-home-essay-finals.

today is my Saturday, so I cannot work on the above homework. I have lots of important errands to run and jobs around the house to do. Oh well.

Puppy says,

my (left) shoulder hurts. My Person didn't like seeing me limp around the block during our pre-lunch/class walk. I wasn't whining about my shoulder, but she insisted we go see a vet. In fact, she was so worried, that she drove me the three blocks to an Animal Hospital.

there were lots of neat smells in there. I even got to meet some nice dogs who also had foot/leg problems. The mean vet made me yelp when she got to my shoulder but didn't think an x-ray was needed.

now, My Person and I can only go on short walks twice a day. Short walks? Only twice a day? These phrases are very strange and I do not like them at all. I want to go now but My Person is not being nice. She will have to carry me down the stairs, and I don't like that one bit. But it is cool to have the mattress on the floor, 'cause now I don't have to jump up and down so much.

the mean vet even wanted me to be kenneled. Kenneled? I'm from Arkansas Ms. Dr. Vet Lady! Kennels are outside with long dog-runs and a house. Kennels do not belong inside. It's like asking me to wear my fancy shoes to go mudd'n. Yeah, it's that silly. I don't even think kennels exists anymore. Nope. They don't.

this will not be fun...

gunpowder

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I think of no reason why gunpowder, treason
And plot should be forgot...

ok, so its Guy Fawkes Day. (Don't know about Guy? Click.)

but guess what? It is also crunch time. This conversation took place yesterday after class between myself and I.

This week and next are full of group projects.
What group projects?
The ones assigned right before midterms were handed out like candy on All Hallow's Eve.
Oh, right. Those group projects. Which group am I in? What are we doing?
Look at the assignments on BlackBoard.
Oh. I remember looking at those websites the day after the groups were assigned.
Then why didn't I finish them then?
I had plenty of time.
Well, now I don't.
good point. Better get to them.
Don't forget the Labs and big assignment for "Info Retrival."
Is it Christmas yet?
Close. And yes, I still have shopping to do.
I hate crunch time. Nothing but pressure on gunpowder barrels.

a knitting confession

since I was so political when I try not to be (on here. Real life? Don't ask unless you want to debate.). So this is pretty much all about knitting.

you see, I've developed what we knitters like to call startitis. I have cast on more projects in October than I have finished. Normally, I have this amazing Works In Progress to Finished Object ratio. No more than 3 projects On The Needles at a time. Granted, this number does not include all the quick knits like scarves and dishcloths. (Think of it like sock yarn. Yes I have it. No, it is not counted as stash yarn. One of the great knitting mysteries that philosophers, scientist, and mathematicians still don't quite understand.)

so imagine my surprise when I discovered all my canvous WIP bags were full and there was no bag to put a new project in. I had to take inventory. Here is what we found:

Something Witty should be done by now. But I'm doing steeks and did not Bind Off for sleeves. Do I frog or what? The question makes me go work on something else for a spell.

one Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket
I am not one to follow trends or Cast On something just because it stays in Ravelry's Top 10 most popular patterns. So how is it that I started this?

Funny you should ask. On of my schoolmates (who could become mute and I would rejoice) had a newborne right before the semester started. She asked me to make said baby girl something warm since it will be cold soon. There I was, cursing a garter-stitch dishcloth and dreaming of what next to CO. Next thing I know, I'm counting stitches for the blasted thing.

Since then, I've come to my senses. This schoolmate does not pay attention in class, which explains why she is always asking the rest of us questions the prof just answered. Plus, she likes other people to do the work and correct hers.

Now I'm in no hurry to finish this. In fact, I think it will wait until spring when the Matriarchs back home have lots of baby showers to buy. They could remberse the yarn and add my name to the gift. Hey, I'm not charging them labor. That is my contribution.

I have finially finished the first glove and had a group on Ravlery tell me to CO the second glove. But the progress is slow since I complicated the pattern by making the cables a different color. It can only be worked on at home with as little distractions as possible. I just want enough of the light brown to make the bobbles at the end.

Normally, this wouldn't even count as a project. However, I am making an exception for two reasons.

1) stash buster project

2) it is taking longer to knit than it should

I already have a hat in the blue yarn. So I thought, hey! wristwarmers would be cool to pair with the hat. And since I like to knit in LYS using yarn I bought from them, this seemed like a good project. The blue is from Stash back in Memphis. The brown is from Knitting Nest about 30 minutes from the university. I don't feel bad about knitting this at the Knitting Nest because some of the yarn is from them.

And for the most recent WIP. Yesterday the Knitting Fates let me walk out of the apartment without a project or yarn. I discovered that when I pulled into the Knitting Nest parking lot for a quick, 1 hour vacation from life. Then I discovered I had no plastic card on me, only a $20 bill and some lose change. This is just not right people. Just not right.

The yarn and needles were less than $15. But I had no pattern on me. Luckily I remembered a mitten pattern of roughly the same yarn weight and needle size.

i know

I don't do politics. But I have to show you this. Enjoy. I did.

SAFF

rocked! In fact, a non-fiber art person called it a "Star Trek convention for knitting people."

I was overwhelmed by all the color and fiber and animals and people and spinners and...well, you get the drift. The animal that seemed to be highlighted was the alpacas, but they did have other animals of fibery goodness. There was half a huge barn full. My group of 6 spent almost 3 hours wondering around. The crowd seem to be coming in as we were going out. But I am (understandably) sleepy. So enjoy the photos of the day. I'll show you what I bought later. Night!

This was the larger area for us to buy things.



A fluffy rabbit that was for sale



"Hello. I'm an alpaca."



"So are we."



"If you want to pet me, you have to feed me first."