Randomness to wrap up October.

Stalker Angie has come up with the Kid & Ewe festival theme song, Yarn’s Bound and Wound:

Yarn’s bound and wound, we’re loadin’ up and truckin’,
We gonna drive past San Antonio.
We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there.
We’re West bound just watch ol’ Stalker run.

That is just a taste of it. Read her site for more. Kid & Ewe countdown begins! Will YOU be joining us? EVERYONE is welcome - whether you have a blog or not! Get the details here. November 11th - be there!

The giant paper (17 pages with citations) that I wrote two weeks ago on how to become a pharmacist? I made a 100, including the presentation. I also learned that one can not go to pharmacy school part time as I dreamed, and it might just have to wait until after 2010 when Jason graduates from high school. I’m looking at several other degree options, including Chemistry, Biochemistry, Psychology, Communications with a focus in Advertising, and Photography. All have their pros and cons, so I have some thinking to do.

The Trig test that I took just days after turning in that paper? I did not do so well. We will just focus on the fact that I had a 95 and a 99 for the first two tests and the fact that our final can replace our lowest grade. It will be all good.

If I don’t get a Chemistry degree, I can stop taking all of these math and science classes. It would make my life easier in some ways, but I think I would miss the challenge. Decisions, decisions. Really? I just want to take pretty photographs.

I had more teen trick-or-treaters tonight than kid trick-or-treaters. It was really odd, and a bit disappointing. I like to see the little kids all dresses up. The high school freshman with “I am a Gangster” written on a plain white t-shirt? Yeah, not so much. I made him do gang signs for me though, so that redeemed it somewhat for me.

I called Katy Blogless earlier to work out a deal with her - I am going to trade her chocolate Halloween candy for the fruity stuff. I like things like red Twizzlers, Smarties, and cherry Tootsie Roll pops. She likes chocolate. It all works out well. Jason was sweet and gave me Smarties tonight - he knows how to win his mom over.

Don’t tell my family, but I have hidden a bag of Reese’s Miniatures that I got on sale. I do like some chocolate, especially when there is peanut butter involved. Yum.

I’m actually not a big sweet eater. So just a few pieces of candy will do until next Halloween.

I am going to photograph Katy’s finished knitting tomorrow, so there will be a proxy post here for her. Whee!

Speaking of knitting, I realized that it might be too warm for a sweater at Kid & Ewe. I cast on today for the Forest Canopy Shawl using the most beautiful skein of Anne yarn. I am so excited about knitting this lace!

I have started work on the calendars. Would anyone be interested in a “design your own” calendar where you get to pick the 12 photos you want to be included? Just tossing out ideas.

I hate Daylight Saving Time. I know, I know, we “gained an hour” this past weekend. The only thing it did for me was jack with my sleeping patterns and I have been exhausted all day today. Then again, I have been up for 17+ hours, so maybe that is why I am tired? I need to go to bed, but I need to make sure I talk to Mike before he starts his return adventure to Houston, so I need to stay up for a little while. I have no idea where I am supposed to find him when I get to the airport tomorrow night to pick him up.

Mike comes home tomorrow. He will go from London to Amsterdam and then home to Houston. I’m glad he will finally be home. Maybe I can get some sleep finally.

That wraps up October. Happy November, everyone! Rabbit, Rabbit!

It is all about learning to let go.

A few weeks ago, we had a Flickr meetup here in Houston. I was taking what I call my “point & shoot” photos, where I aim my camera and hope I am getting the shot I want. (When there is room on the memory card, it is fun to play!) Some of the other Flickr’ers were talking about my “technique” and the free photography of it all. I just wanted to share what can happen when you let go.

Sometimes the pictures suck. Sometimes, you end up with this. In the end, it is definitely worth it.

Shot “from the hip” at the Texas Ren Fest, a few weeks after the Flickr gathering. (From the hip and my point & shoot are the same thing with different names. This one was shot from about hip height though, so … well, it fits.)

Even better large. You can even check it out larger than life.

Julia asked in my comments yesterday if I was going to put together a calendar this year. I’ve said for at least three years now that I was going to do it, and you know what? I think this is going to finally be the year. I’m thinking of doing a few calendars actually - flowers, flowers & butterflies, London, Paris, Houston, and a nature shots calendar. Probably in that order. I’ll keep you posted on the details, as soon as I figure out if I’m using Qoop, Lulu or Cafepress to make them. Anyone have experience with any of those? Care to share feedback?

I haven’t finished a single sock in Soctober, and now it is almost over. Oops. It has been a good month though as far as knitting - some sock progress, my sweater, and the baby sweater. So it isn’t all bad. Just no completed socks and still a lot of sock yarn in my stash.

Just because I am completely crazy, I’m going to sign up for Norovember. I have the Noro yarn for my next sweater ready in the wings, and hopefully this will spur me on more than Soctober did.

Speaking of being spurred on, I will probably record the next Pointy Sticks podcast today or tomorrow. I want to get a show out before Mike gets home and lives return to normal.

The photo hunt yesterday was fun, but the sun was too bright for many good shots. It was a beautiful, clear day - so we had to work with it to take advantage of what photographs we could find. The lecture was interesting, but not necessarily the level that we needed. I did learn a few tips on using a filtering device to block out the harsh sun, and tips on using a reflector to get the light where you want it. Plus the class was free, so you can’t beat that. Well, almost free - we stopped at Cold Stone afterwards for an ice cream treat!

I have officially knit a sweater. Sure, it is a small sweater, but it is still a sweater. I made it for Emma, Hanna’s baby that is due in December.

The stats:
Lorna’s Laces Swirl DK yarn in “Happy Valley”
Lorna’s Laces Simplest Sweater for Baby pattern
(Offers instructions for both knit and crochet sweaters)
Newborn size
Knit with US 4 needles, the size they called for in the pattern! (A first for me!)
Gauge: 22 stitches = 4″ in garter stitch

Started on October 13 at the Friday knitting group at Twisted Yarns. Worked on at the Blue Man Group concert that night because the guards didn’t care at all that I had knitting in my purse and I can do garter stitch in the dark. I can now use my hand to measure approximately five inches, so I would know when to stop. I brought a small ruler with me, just in case. I worked on it some more on that Saturday, making it through the first sleeve. Set aside during the school week, worked on again while I was laid up in bed with my sprained ankle last weekend. Finished the knitting on Saturday, October 21. Figured out a tie solution at the Friday knitting group this past Friday (I did a crochet chain for the ties instead of the ribbon that the pattern called for), and finished seaming the sides and sleeves Friday night.

The yarn was quite lovely to work with and I would happily work with it again. I used my Options needles in the US 4 size, and they worked very well. When I had to put the one sleeve on a holder, I just popped endcaps onto the first 24″ cable and knit away with the second one. Could not have been easier!

I am extremely careful about knitting for other people. It takes a lot of time and work, and I tend to be stingy about it. This was a successful gift knit though - Hanna loved it, and pointed out to everyone that I had made it, along with the shawl I was wearing on Saturday. It was fun to knit it for her, and I can’t wait to see Emma in it!

Now I need to step away from the computer and work on my sweater. I really want to have it done in just under two weeks so I can take it with me to Kid & Ewe. (Are you coming to Kid & Ewe?) I’m not sure if I will make it though. One can hope! (Computer time and Bejeweled are NOT helping the cause though.)

Update - to clarify! I am not sure if the *sweater* will be done in time for Kid & Ewe. That is what I am not sure I will make - my deadline of knitting time. I will definitely make Kid & Ewe. Walking is improving daily, although there is some wonkiness still to my ankle. So I will be there, but the sweater might not.

One of my favorite thing about the Ren Fest? The watergardens - I love taking photos of the flowers there. This one is even better if you view it large. More of these to come.

Today, I’m going to a photo class at a local garden with Elaine and Hanna. Yeah! More flower photo opportunities! Speaking of Hanna, now that we have had her baby shower, I can post the photos of the baby sweater I made for her. I have finally knit a sweater! A small one, but it is a sweater! Photos to come soon…

William Shatner “Rocket Man”. I can’t even begin to describe the depth of hilarious badness this reaches. (Be careful, it is on the evil YouTube, and you can get sucked in for some time over there. You know, when you’re not playing Bejeweled.)

Since we are now all hooked on Bejeweled, I thought I would share the link where I found it - you can get it and many other goodies for your website here: Google Gadgets For Your Webpage.

It is dangerous though. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ankle update! It is doing better. I don’t have crutches, and for the first two days I couldn’t find shoes that worked well with the aircast, so walking sucked. Matter of fact, walking to and from class on Tuesday left me in a bit of pain by Tuesday night. Today I finally found my Crocs (they were hiding in my closet) and those worked well with the aircast, so walking was a bit more pleasant. It still feels a bit wonky, but he warned me that it would. I’m not sure if I’ll still be in the aircast by Kid & Ewe, but if I am it should be ok. I can get around, and I can always sit & knit!

Speaking of Kid & Ewe, are you going? It may not be Rhinebeck, or MS&W, but heck - it never will be if we don’t support it! So come share the fiber goodness at our very own wool festival out in Boerne, Texas! November 10-12 - be there!

If I’m not there for some reason, it is because Houston has floated off into the Gulf of Mexico. It is raining AGAIN. With flooding AGAIN. Seriously, this needs to stop. To top it off, my cool temps went away. So it is muggy and wet and too warm. Hopefully the cool weather will return soon, and bring some blue sky with it!

I get addicted to Bejeweled EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. So I decided to be an enabler and share.

I was tired of the old design. I needed a change. WordPress Themes makes that an easy thing, and now I have a new design in a snap. I want to make changes, either replacing the top image with rotating photos of my own (if only I knew how!) or Flickr thumbnails. Something.

For now? This will do.

UPDATE: Props to Geeky for the help - now I have the most recent thumbnails from Flickr at the top of the site. Whee! I might do a rotating banner image in the future, but for now the thumbnails make me happy.

I made the decision last night, and it is final - but I’m not entirely happy about it. I decided that I need to drop Organic Chemistry. I should have done it at the very beginning, as I could tell right away that there would be problems. When I registered, Prof. A was supposed to be my instructor. I had researched Prof. A, I knew how Prof. A lectured, I was set. It was going to be a tough class, but good. I could do it.

Then I walked in on the first day and discovered that I had a replacement prof, Prof. Z. Prof. Z does not normally teach at my school, although he does teach Org. Chem at a private institution here in Houston. He is a nice guy, but his lectures are scattered. There are only so many times in one lecture that you can say, “Oh, wait, never mind - you don’t need to know that” or “Oh, wait, that’s not right.” Uh, great. It is a hard enough subject, but when someone keeps shifting directions on you - it is terrible.

I tried to take Trig online last year, and I learned then that I need a lecture to learn. I am too auditory to teach it to myself by reading alone. I have discovered now that I need a good lecture to learn. I can still quote things I learned in Chem. I over a year ago, but this class? I’m so lost. Beyond lost. Terribly lost.

Mike ended up getting a phone call from me last night with me ready to go off the deep end. I could NOT figure out the material. Reading the book was like reading a textbook I had found and just randomly opened up to the middle of the book. I felt lost. I felt frustated.

I can not take it anymore.

There is enough going on in my life with my family. I do not have 5 hours a day to devote to relearning the parts where I am weak in this course. Unfortunately, I got lost back at memorizing the initial functional groups. They are too important. I can not do it.

I’m even more frustrated because I actually *get* the concepts. I understand why things work the way that they do. Just don’t ask me to draw a ketone for you.

Prof. A will be teaching it again in the spring. It wasn’t his fault that they had him take over a different class and gave mine away. So I’m going to drop this one, and take it again. I’m scared that it will look bad to have two classes that I have withdrawn from on my transcripts, but overall it has to look better than taking a C or even a D in the class. My GPA simply can not handle that hit. In addition, I can’t imagine coming out of Org. Chem I with that weak of a grade and doing well in Org. Chem II.

I hate giving up. But my family has to come first, and I have reached my breaking point. I need to be able to focus on Jason and helping him through his rough patch at school. I can’t do any more than what I am doing at this moment. Hopefully, round two will go better. I’m still bitter about the whole thing though.

As for the Trig class that I dropped last spring? I currently have a 99 in the class. I rock the Trig. Who knew? Here I always thought I sucked at math!

Taken in Austin Texas in 2003. Even better viewed large.

I thought I would get off easy because I have a teenage SON, but I just had to tell him to get off the phone - with the girl next door - and go to bed. Wait. I actually had to tell him three times. I only had to tell him once to get off the X-Box.

Get out! Did that just happen?

I love this time of year. Love, love, love it. It is a nice cool 70 degrees outside right now according to weather.com, 62 according to the thermometer in my backyard, and when it was in the 50s this morning it was actually a bit nippy in my bedroom. I love how it makes my pillow feel all crisp and cool. I love to be able to wear sweaters outside. I love to knit wool, and dream of the cool days ahead.

70 degrees is amazingly wonderful after months of temperatures in the 90s. It feels like we went from 93 to 70 with nothing inbetween.

The leaves are starting to fall off of my tree in the backyard. I love the red and gold colors that they leave behind in the still green grass. (That photo is even better if you view it large.)

I love fall.

Friday morning, I had a meeting at Jason’s school. As I walked to the building, I stepped off of a curb and managed to seriously twist my ankle. I limped into the school, had the meeting, limped back to my car and went home to an ice pack and some pillows to elevate my leg. It still hurt Saturday, and hurt a bit less on Sunday, and a little less today. The strange numb feeling in certain spots on my foot was enough to make me worry that maybe it was more than just a sprain, so I went to the doctor today.

Severely sprained ankle, with an aircast for 2-3 weeks.

At least I’m not hobbling around any more, and the time spent in bed with my foot propped up gave me time to knit more on my sweater. If you compare this to the first shot of the sleeve - before I frogged it - you will see why I didn’t like the pooling. There is still a little pooling, but I’m ok with it. Now I’m just convinced that the whole thing will be too small and it will end up in the “time out” pile because I refuse to knit that sleeve all over again!

Wearing handmade socks makes the aircast all the more tolerable.

It is raining. Again. Just when we could not possibly handle getting any more wet, it starts right back up. Ugh.