Fun and Games with Girls and Boys

I had a really great weekend!
Saturday morning I woke up early and took the bus downtown. I spent the better part of the day walking on State Street and Michigan Avenue, going in a bunch of stores and trying on clothes and buying fun little things - earrings, a $5 purse, lotion that smells like cake batter and makes me want to eat my hands - you know, the essentials!
I haven't been clothes-shopping in such a long time, and it was a wonderful treat. I also bought a pair of jeans, and it's absolutely disgusting how happy these jeans make me. They're a pretty dark wash (hooray! all of my pairs are severely faded!) and the best part is they FIT. Maybe it's just disgusting to me that I'm so excited about clothes that fit. Shouldn't that be a normal part of life? Oy. I've finally discovered why all my other pants seem too big. I've gone down by 2 sizes (yes, really). So it's great to have pants that aren't always slipping down. :)

Saturday night was full of, well, fun and games with good friends. We hung out at the campus pub because they have great games. See evidence below:

1. Nicole and I basking in the rosy glow of Le Pinball Machine - our favorite activity (well, both basking and playing are high up there on the list of fun things to do).

2. Steve demonstrating proper pool cue form: "It's like a spear! Shoot from the hip and poke people's eyes out!"He didn't actually say that. He's a very nice boy.

3. Steve taking his turn at shuffleboard while I try to make him lose with the powers of my mind. It totally worked!

4. One of my favorites - Nicole pretending her pool cue is a caveman's club and that she's getting ready to club some women and drag them off to her cave. We were both laughing so hard that the picture turned out incredibly blurry. Game nights should always end in hysterical giggles!

I have knitting to show, too, honest. I just took so many pictures of game night that I forgot about the sock...
Hope you all had fun weekends. What have you been up to?

5 Senses Friday

Sight
Campus trees in bloom and new grass - so many shades of green
Daffodils and Magnolia trees in bloom

not my photo; go-go-Google image search!
A Lorikeet in the park (no kidding)

Smell
Unpleasant: sun-warmed gardening manure wafting through the window in a mid-afternoon lecture
Pleasant: Incense at last weekend's Easter Triduum services
(Some of) the dusty old books donated to the library
Laundry detergent and dryer sheets

Taste
Electric Lemonade at SevenTen with the girls
New toothpaste
Pineapple Orange juice, just not right after the toothpaste!
Cadbury mini eggs

Sound
Kids laughing and playing on the swings down the block
The satisfying whirr of a rowing machine at the gym
The "flip-flop" of my first flip-flop-wearing day of spring

Touch
Cotton & Rayon yarn for my new OSW (FO! FO! Pictures tomorrow!)
The top of my head warmed by the sun
Curling up under the covers again after hitting the snooze button. Twice.

Here's to sleeping in and knitting all weekend long! Hope you all enjoy :)

Lots-o-Updates

SPT and a little bit of

It's starting to be spring around here! I'm wearing tank tops again! Also, I'm wearing some of my favorite earrings, made for me by my younger sister. They are a very cheery April Project Spectrum yellow.

About the eyes: Dr. Retina Specialist said "Yes! You appear to be having a decrease in vitreous (fluid inside the eyeball), which usually doesn't happen until people are 40-50 years old, and the edges of your retina are weakening in a lattice-like pattern because you are oh so very nearsighted." Apparently in 85% of cases the vitreous pulls away without dragging the retina along, so I'm supposed to see Dr. Retina Specialist again in June, when he will check on the progress of the vitreous, and we are both hoping my eyeball doesn't fall to pieces in the meantime. If I get more flashing lights and floaters, I will go back and get some laser reinforcement for my poor little retina that is getting pulled about in all directions. Oh joy. But at least I know exactly who to see, and at least the "visual disturbances" from last week are happening for a reason. In other health-ish news, I finally got back into the gym this afternoon, and it felt great! It's nice to think that the rest of me is in good shape, even if my vitreous is acting 20 years older than its actual age.

On to the knitting (and spinning!), which are much more pleasant topics than retinas detaching and Dr. R.S. talking about lasering my latticework. I did some more spinning and used up that fiber from my pirate pal. Even though my other pictures are really dark, here is some proof that the sun is really and truly visiting Chicago right now:The green had a very different texture and was a lot harder to work with (I wish I knew what kind of fiber each color was. I think they were all different - any guesses?), but overall my work last night turned out much better. What do you think?
And the first Sockapaloooza sock is officially finished! Here is a picture pre-toe-kitchenering. It looks a little bit big on my foot, which is perfect because (AMAZINGLY) my sock pal's feet are even bigger than mine (No offense, sock pal. Big feet are good for balance. And for kicking things).

That is all. More tomorrow...

Socks! Socks! and something new...

Sockapaloooza progress. Yes, Jaywalker it is. Now that I've turned the heel, I am fairly sure it's going to work out (knock on wood), and I can move ahead with confidence. And speed, since I only have a week and a half left!
Look, Ma - no holes

The sock looked hungry, so here it is being just a little bit cannibalistic.

And now for something new and exciting!!! Well, I found a little tutorial online, and I tried. I made....
A mess (but it's kinda cute, right?).

But some parts aren't so bad!

Just ignore parts like this.

Have a great Monday :)

5 Self-Portrait Pirate Eye Patches

What? I think I've left this little blog a little too long and now I have 500 things to talk about all at once. And the pictures to go with it!

To creatively combine the missed 5 senses Friday and Self-Portrait Tuesday, here is a story about sight and a picture of my eye, taken last night at 10:30 when I got home from the ER. Can we say DILATED? Can you even tell my eyes are green? Oh my goodness.

So obviously I am fine, but I've been on the lookout (bwahaha) for signs of retinal detachment since my optometrist pointed out that, because I'm extremely nearsighted, I have some areas of thinning on my retina. For the past week I've been having some of the symptoms she also warned me about - random flashing lights, increased numbers of little weird floater things in front of my vision - and then yesterday afternoon they got worse and I developed a pretty wicked headache in the afternoon. I called the student urgent care advice line people to find out if it could wait until the next day and for some/any eyecare place to be open, but they sent me to the ER. Luckily there was an optometrist still hanging around after my 4 hours of shuffling through triage and registration, so I got to see her and have a pretty thorough exam. Final word? My retina looked okay to her, but I have an appointment with a retina specialist on Monday afternoon.

Obviously talking about eyes brings me logically to the question of eye patches and pirates. Isn't that what you would talk about next?! I received my Pirate Booty early last week from Heather, and I am so in love with everything, from the packaging

to the YARRRRRRN (SOCK YARN! I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!)
there was an OSW pattern to go with the cotton yarn! I totally already started it :)
to the chocolate - uh no picture, cuz I ate it. It was really really good!!! With raspberries in it! Yum.

to the neatest thing yet -
Look! It has sheep! I think this counts as being pushed into a new obsession, and y'all are the witnesses I didn't start it myself :) hehehe... Thanks so so so much for the fantastic pirate goodies.

Updates on the Sockapaloooza socks tomorrow (promise). Happy knitty weekend to everybody!

The (Sad) Story of a Sock. With a happy ending.

Sockapaloooza Sock, take 2...
After I realized I was not going to have enough yarn to make the pair of socks I had first envisioned, I decided to switch yarn and make the Pomatomus Socks from the winter edition of Knitty (btw - the new Knitty is up! Check it out!).

Everything looks fine in the twilight picture of unstretched knitting,

But the addition of flash and a little bit of stretch reveals that all is not well.
HOLEY SOCK-KNITTING, BATMAN!
Holes the size of dinner plates! Or hubcaps! Or anything that is way too large to be a good thing on a pair of socks! I think that either I am really bad at yarnovers, or something is screwy with my particular combination of yarn and pattern and needles. I'd like to think the latter, but any suggestions for tightening up yarnovers would be appreciated anyway.

Riiiiiiiiiip.
Trying again - they seem ok so far. I may have been lulled into a false sense of security by the chocolate (It's Ritter with cappuccino-flavored goodness inside. You would let yourself be lulled, too.), but the knitting was still going well today without chocolate, and hopefully this will be it. I have one more option up my sleeve if this doesn't work, but I'm really going to hope these turn out ok. I won't really be able to tell until after I turn the heel. Wish me luck!
Here is the happy ending to our sad saga:
One thing this weekend was a definite success. I made another pair of Sweet Mary Janes (head on over to the knit-along site being coordinated by Jen of Piddleloop).

These ones are all for me, and I plan to wear them as slippers every time I come home to my apartment, because they are just so comfy :)

Happy knitting! Talk to you tomorrow...

5 Senses Friday

Over at The Glass Doorknob, someone had the most genius idea! As you all know, I'm just a copycat, so here's my first version of 5 Senses Friday (hopefully a regular installment to recap the sensations of each week)...

sight:
New shipment of art books at the library
Slightly blurred vision from wearing glasses instead of contacts
Favorite classic movie duo

smell:
Sniffable yarn! (April 4 entry)
Spicy garlic
Vegetable-y chinese tea
Freshness right after rain

touch:
Gritty pulverized concrete from construction outside
Unexpected raindrop on my eyelid
First warm breeze of the year
Slurping angel hair pasta

sound:
Click-click of metal dpns
Parking lot construction outside my window at 8am
Insistent drip of a leaky faucet
Satisfying rustle when leafing through a book

taste: (because I wanted to save the best for last)
Mushrooms sauteed with garlic and olive oil
Pinto beans and guacamole in a burrito
Mashed potatoes with ketchup
English muffin and milky coffee with a friend

Hope everyone has a happy, knitty weekend :)

Yellow there (hahaha)

Arg, so late at night and I still have some more homework to do! Hopefully at some point this week I'll have a chance to write the longer post that's spinning around in my head. For now, take a gander at some yellow things, in the spirit of April's Project Spectrum, and I've also included a picture of me for Self-Portrait Tuesday.

I was really surprised to find how many orange and yellow things I could gather up from around my apartment. If anyone had asked me a week ago, I would have told them I own nothing yellow, because it is my least favorite color. I would probably also have shared a random fact that I read somewhere: Yellow is the favorite color of a majority of (polled) mentally disturbed people. So when I was looking around my room and noticing all these orange and yellow things, I almost didn't recognize the place! It made me think about how my apartment probably gives off a different picture of me than I think it does (do I read way too much into little things? why yes, but it's fun!).

I should have known that I would have a lot of yellow, since I have a modest assortment of SpongeBob items, including the awesome barrel of monkeys/barrel of SBSP and Patrick Star game from Secret Pal4 (I just signed up for SP8! I can't wait!). I also have some yellow-ish yarn, and you can see my really neat highlighter with sticky tabs up there on the right.

You may also see my Sockapaloooza yarn lurking sadly in the background. I hadn't finished the first sock before I knew I would not have enough yarn to complete the pair as planned, and since this was a hand-dyed skein, it's really unlikely I'll get another with the same colors. So I've started Plan B and I'll let you know how it goes.

More yellow things that surround me every day - Vegetable Fest Meals! I love my veggies.

This is me.

While I am not yellow or orange, I really like that I almost don't recognize myself in this picture. It made me consider what other people must see when they look at me, and it's enough different from my self-image to be thought-provoking.

I'm hoping this April color theme will continue to be an eye-opener, and I plan on actually sticking to the SPTues project in the hopes that it will have something of the same effect.

Enough analyzing pictures; time to analyze Biblical passages and Greek papyri. Back to the homework!

Little Critter

I have pictures of a recent project to share... meet Pirate Lil.

She's from a pattern at The Thrifty Knitter (just scroll down), and I think she's absolutely great! She took one night last week, and she's specially made for the Booty Swap - I'll explain later, but I have class pretty soon, so I have to make this quick. My mods include the eye patch (crocheted and of course removable) and the anchor tattoo in timeless olive green. The package is going out tomorrow with a bunch of other piratical treats, and I'll be sure to get pictures of the whole shebang before I send it.

I've also have some news that's really exciting for me and probably not so exciting for everyone else... but TADA! First weight goal met, and it only took, uh, 6 months.

April Showers. Or Lack Thereof.

As in, I did not take a shower when I woke up this morning (EW). Combination of laziness and lots of stuff to get done today that I felt I needed to start right away... like buying shampoo. Can't take a shower without shampoo. Also, on a less-TMI-style note, it's not raining! We've actually been having really and truly warm weather for the last few days, and I'm definitely enjoying it.

To close out my Project Spectrum March participation, here is the finished pair of pink stripey ankle socks. They'll be lots of fun to wear!














I also got the yarn for my Sockapaloooza pal, and I decided to make up a pattern so her socks will be unique. Here's a progress shot (shh... I don't think she knows who I am, so it's okay to show pictures)














what do you think of the colors? They're more accurate in the picture below (ahh, I really need to stop taking pictures at night!). Spring-y, no?














One more question for all y'all who wear socks :) Since this eyelet pattern makes for a slightly bumpy fabric, do you think I should continue it on the top of the foot or make it a "leg-only" motif? Do you mind having textured socks? Do you even notice? Feel free to vote in the comments!

Back to knitting for me... now that all the chores are finished, I can have a lazy Saturday night. Happy Crafting, all!

PS. to PegLeg Peg - Arr, not to worry, matey! Pirates aren't afraid of delay, only of scurvy. Plus also sea monsters...