what????

it is raining. outside my sliding door i heard drips and thought the hose was left on. nope. it is raining. in july. in southern california. on the drywall we left propped on the garage door. because we thought it would be okay because it is: 1) july 2) california. i am changing this blog to a weather report and commentary on the state of our earth as viewed narrowly through the experiences of a little slice of land in the foothills and a woman obssessed with the weather. oh well, at least i might get some knitting done.

add: it did not rain long and i did very little knitting before that other weather came back.

where i knit

well, as things go i have been knitting less and less. i don't know...is it the 100 degree weather with humidity ('oh', we southern californians say 'it is hot here, but a dry heat, a dry heat'. welcome, global warming. come wreak havoc on my hair and knitting speed.). the other distraction, let's call it, is this project. this was once a functioning bathroom with challenges; leaky shower, some slight tile cracks, overall though it was doing okay. once we determined the need for a new shower, i, in my usual fashion decided to replace it all. like, all. so, down to the studs it goes, repair some ubiquitous termite damage, design it. ta-da, new bathroom. of course, the replacing is coming along as expected, painfully slow. the good thing is we do all the work ourselves. it sounds like that would be bad, but i do not hold with waiting on contractors, etc. i prefer to wait on the husband. and i think it is fun. so, eventually these bits will be put into the currently annihilated space pictured above and it will be a soothing, joyfully complete bathroom. eventually.

so, onto knitting content. i have been working on colchique in the hopes to finish a project i can wear at completion. i have been somewhat lacking in finishing projects that are season appropriate. the as before mentioned USMP was seamed in may. just weeks before sweltering heat assailed us in southern california. i finished the corset pullover from IK in, oh, october of last year. it is white, and cotton, to boot. never been worn. i seem to have sizing issues. i knit on gauge, i check against my body, i imagine lovely draping garments, i try on and tug, pull, twist, and toss aside. it must be body image issues. so, there are plenty to be photo'd at a later time. but as the title said: where i knit... my backyard. my mum is a horticultural therapist and my p's live with my husband and i. this guarantees that we need not worry about tending the out of doors around our home. she has spent years gathering plants of all different walks, painstakingly bringing them to health, she loves them. and i love to take advantage.
this here chair is a find from years ago, someone was tossing 4 and i made my husband (let's just call him mcd, my fond nickname for him) pick them up. with help, of course. but we have dragged them around for years and eventually i want to coat them fire engine red, but for now rusty and yet, oh so comfy. this is one spot. the other is my bench. both spots get lovely sun and shade at various times and give me a sense of actually knitting some of the vibrancy of color and scent into the pieces. i truly believe that the environment can affect and be incorporated into my knitting. i like to take pieces on our various trips and travels and knit a few stitches of the place into whatever is on the needles. it may sound a little funky, but i am sure there are many that just know what i mean. there is an interesting movie out titled 'what the bleep do we know?' one part focuses on water photographed at the microscopic level. i'd hate to relay the story incorrectly, but basically a monk blessed the water, they photo'd it again and compared it to regular water. the blessed water had arranged itself into almost mandala- like formations. next, they labeled bottles of distilled water with labels reading "chi of love". "thank you". "i hate you". when photo'd 24 hours later the formations were amazing. the chi of love water really struck me, i could not take my eyes off of it. i digress. it seems i tend to do that. i may have to change my title, eh? to mamie writes bits. ah well, we'll see. in defense, there was a bit of knit content. i'll leave with a bit more knitting, my colchique progress, what little there is. i do love it already. knitting with some blend of phildar wool/acrylic picked up for a cool $2 at our local retirement center rummage sale. required a little airing and febreeze, then aveda spray, but all in all, the cheapest sweater i will have made to date. i was worried about supply, but i bought 8 skiens (yep, 8) and so far the back has barely used 1.5. she'll be right. adios til next post.

adding on

it seems like i have come to the place where i wanted to be a year ago when i thought i wanted a blog. i have messed around with flickr, doodled with picasa, downloaded cd after cd of pictures i thought lost forever. i always wanted to share in the world of blog but felt uneducated and a bit shy. it is a world of some anonymity, some fame, and just plain old sharing. i love researching the knitting aspect of the blog world, it endlessly fuels my desire for the next project, the next best yarn, spinner, dyer, writer and creator. i constantly scroll around my favorite haunts, my beloved knitters that i have never met. i have yet to really photo my f.o's, so many piled up in a plastic underbed box, because really, i live in california and it is currently 102. all i can say is USMP in 100% alpaca (frog tree,mmm). it is going to my sister up in arcata. anyway, the gist of it is, i am going through some little changing things in life. time on my hands, some accerlating demands, some slowing. but i want to do this and share some things, maybe with just those that i know. not just knitting stuff because a) i like writing about lots of stuff and b) um, pictures, i need to take pictures.i swear i have lots of f.o's. ask my bff ana. so,onward ho. hopefully i will check back before another year passes. by the way, the pictures are from a trip to ireland in 2001 (recovered from cd's my nosy father copied from my hard drive years ago...right before it failed. i love my daddy) we spent a month in a small rental traipsing around the margins of ireland with no real purpose onther than to eventually make it around. we did, it was loveley, but obvious from my attire, a bit chilled. february/march on the isle was fascinating, quiet, and cold, cold, cold. i'll eventually blog more memories on the assorted trips we have taken over the course of our relationship. before they start slipping off into the back areas of my brain.

nano life questions

Life On iPod Shuffle : found this meme online and just got the lil' black nano. we call it darkness, it is just so cute and vaguely mysterious. some questions are slightly irrelevant to my life, but it made me see my musical taste(s) in a different light.


Put your iPod on shuffle and hit the next song for each question.

How am I feeling today?
your only friends are make believe (the bloodhound gang)

Will I get far in life?
lightness (death cab)

How do my friends see me?
clampdown (the clash)

When will I get married?
thoughts of a dying atheist (muse)

What is my best friend’s theme song?
bem, bem maria (gipsy kings)

What is the story of my life?
dangerman a.k.a. high wire (madness)

What was high school like?
kinky reggae (bob marley & the wailers)

How am I going to get ahead in life?
the auld triangle (dropkick murphys)

What is the best thing about me?
stigmata (peter gabriel)

How is today going to be?
explosivo (tenacious d)

What is in store for this weekend?
limp (fiona apple)

What song describes my parents?
citizen c.i.a. (dropkick murphys)

What song describes your grandparents?
rock the house (gorillaz)

How is my life going?
last cup of sorrow (faith no more)

What song will they play at my funeral?
i love you (g. love & special sauce)

How does the world see me?
love sucks (the adicts)

Will I have a happy life?
swing on this (alice in chains)

What do my friends really think of me?
vous et moi (django reinhardt)

Do people secretly lust after me?
in my place (coldplay)

How can I make myself happy?
it's tricky (bloodhound gang)

What should I do with my life?
fiesta (the pogues)

Will I ever have children?
a lack of color (death cab for cutie)

What is some good advice for me?
before night falls (peter gabriel)

What is my signature dancing song?
shy kind of guy (gogal bordello-check em out at myspace music, gypsy punk. rad)

What do I think my current theme song is?
shut up (blood hound gang)

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
butterflies & hurricanes (muse)

What type of men/women do you like?
we never change (coldplay)

What kind of kisser are you?
don't understand (john butler trio)

What’s your style?
possession (danzig) sweet.

What kind of lover are you?
blackout (muse)

What would be playing on a first date?
good time charlie's got the blues (waylon jennings)

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
be aggressive (faith no more)