Now We're Cookin' with Gas

You may have already noticed; I have a very broad definition of "tomorrow."

I have really good excuses.†

For one, the 50 feet of cable "enhancing" my "wireless" connection became a game of hide and seek‡ yesterday§ and I finally gave up and went to a movie.

For another, I've been home "working" for the last three weeks and, upon realisation that I only had one more day to do fun stuff while other people were working, I finally gave up and went to a movie.

And, well, I've seen four movies in two weeks now¶:

1. Benjamin Button was sepia-toned# and it made me cry for about 45 minutes.
2. Marley & Me was tenser than I had anticipated and [spoiler] the damned dog dies,†† so I cried for about 45 minutes.
3. Seven Pounds contained about three seconds of lighthearted‡‡ and I didn't cry for 45 minutes, but I did tear up a little and I had a headache from all the heavy.

I needed something with no crying. So I gave up and went to a fluffy movie.§§

[SUMMARY: Apparently, I'm very sensitive.]

But enough about me. Let's see what my friends at Nintendo thinks of me.¶¶

My friends at Nintendo still wants me to use and enjoy my DS Lite.

My friends at Nintendo sent me a Christmas present.

I reacted largely the same way I acted when Kirby hit my doorstep: "Oh, my. A package. A square, white package. Am I expecting a package? It doesn't shake all that well, so it's not, like, a puzzle or a Chinese Checker set. Who do I know in West Hollywood? The address looks vaguely familiar -- do I have an outstanding perfume order. Could this be Luckyscent? No, Luckyscent uses FedEx, not UPS. The box is certainly an interesting size... could it be one of the books I ordered? Or is it too square? Too thin? It's too flat to be yarn. A knitting book, maybe. Did I order a knitting book? Whatever could it be?"

[SUMMARY: OPEN THE DAMNED BOX ALREADY!]

And it was this##:




Not only does it have a cookbook's-worth of recipes, you can search by ingredients, calories, ethnic cuisine... and there are movies. Little movies about how to do cooking stuff like julienning or poaching or how big a dice actually is.

And shopping lists and prep instructions and step-by-step instructions and any time there's a term of art, they have a link you can click to see the definition.

They even have a place you can tell it% things you won't or can't eat and will filter recipes to suit your tastes. Or allergic reactions.

Also?




It has my *name* on it.




For someone who never had much truck with video games,††† I think I've done pretty well for myself.

[SUMMARY: Apparently, I'm influential.]

I'm the luckiest little geek-aspiring girl ever.

*************

Blu Notte - Bulgari‡‡‡

Marin says: There's an astringence at the beginning that smacks of rubbing alcohol, but it's a little different. Unlike a lot of edt's that use an alcohol base, this is sweeter -- almost nutty -- in a way that feels more like a note rather than the second ingredient on the list.

It burns of nearly as quickly as that rubbing alcohol thing, and it's an interesting citrus. Lemon-lime? I immediately think lime, but... remember those bottle caps candies? The ones that looked like bottle cap-shaped SweeTarts and ostensibly tasted like various sodas? This reminds me of the 7Up bottle cap candy. Lemon, lime, more impressionistic than realistic, sweeter than actual 7Up. So not *exactly* lime.

I'm this short, I think. I really like it as a whole, I'm just very caught up in all the individual trees and forgot to tell you the name of the forest.§§§

It's tangy, citrusy and sweet, but not a vanillic sweet or a big, round, amber sweet. In fact, it's just this side of too sweet for my taste -- in a good way. The citrusy part bumps it into an almost spicy range, and there might be the tiniest bit of wood streaming along underneath it all. In fact, it might be sandalwood, what with the sweet and the spice and the wood.

The final wisps have a slightly astringent, powdery thing going on.

The Perfumed Court says: A lush Oriental floral fragrance that is a blend of galangal,$ vodka,$ iris and dark chocolate.¶¶¶

†FOOTNOTE (crossed): You would expect no less from me.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): Making it a "connection."

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): The *real* yesterday, as opposed to my broad-spectrum "tomorrow" version of yesterday.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): There was a time I saw 100 movies a year. I believe I've seen more movies in the last two weeks than I saw in the past three years. There's something very "breakthrough" about that.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Both in colour and in mood.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): I know, I know, but Brother and I had had the conversation months ago about how nobody ever writes a dog book where the dog doesn't die. I said, "Marley & Me..."

He said, "The dog does too die in Marley & Me."

"You read the book?"

"No, but it's about a dog, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"So the dog dies."

Since it had been awhile since I read the book, I allowed how's I may have forgotten something, since mostly what I remembered was Marley eating the drywall.

A couple of weeks ago, I recounted to Dad the above conversation.

He said, "Marley & Me... Marley doesn't die."

"That's what I said! OK, Brother is smoking crack."

So when Marley started getting old and slow in the movie and the foreshadowing was beating me about the head and neck, I leaned over to Dad and said, "You told me the dog doesn't die."

"For my sake, I really hope he doesn't."

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting with my the neck of my hoodie pulled up over my nose, sniffling and scrubbing at my eyes.

"You OK?"

"The damned dog died, Dad."

"You really didn't remember the dog died?"

"You SAID he didn't. I TRUSTED you!"

The moral of this story: the responsibilities of parenthood do not disappear with age. You still can't lie to your kids.

BTW? This may be the longest footnote ever.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Though, despite the unfortunate plotline (and I mean both the heavy melancholy of it and the sad state of it), had an absolutely stunning acting performance by Will Smith.

§§FOOTNOTE (two reel): With the glut of movies hoping for Oscar noms, I was convinced I was going to have to see the stupid sparkly vampire movie... then the even stupider-looking wedding movie... but settled upward on "Yes Man." Which wasn't great. But probably better than sparkly vampires or slapstick weddings. Though if you see "Yes Man," do what I did: blur your vision and twiddle your mind a little and picture John Cusack in the lead role.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (drums for a rimshot, please): Such an old joke. Didn't stop me.

##FOOTNOTE (pound and pound again): You may have seen the commercials in which Lisa Kudrow makes kung pao chicken with a four-year-old.

†††FOOTNOTE (who needs three joysticks?): Despite being generationally placed at the ideal time to be a video game junkie... I played pinball at the bowling alley after school while everybody else was playing Pac Man and Tron. I know I've told you that story before, but, hey -- I'm old and feeble (I just copped to being bowling alley aged in the naiscent era of video gaming) and will be inclined to repeat myself. Repeat myself. Redundantly.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): Yes, I talk to my Nintendo.

‡‡‡FOOTNOTE (all tracks lead to Rome): Bvlgari Blv Notte, if you prefer.

§§§FOOTNOTE (leaves swirling): Let's call this particular forest "Sylvia." That's really funny if you took Latin.

$FOOTNOTE (on the money!): Once I read what galangal is, I am giving myself credit for 7Up SweeTarts. In my head, galangal TOTALLY smells like 7Up SweeTarts. And I think "deliberate rubbing alcohol" pretty much equals vodka. AND I can't believe I got powder in any form and didn't immediately assume iris. That's just not like me.

¶¶¶FOOTNOTE (truffles on a stick): Wow, did I NOT get dark chocolate. Though that might account for some of the sweet that wasn't vanilla.

Lalala Stillaknitblog Lalala

Oh, yes I did. I F'd an O.†

A pair of size 13 men's socks.‡

ANOTHER pair of size 13 men's socks.§




I fancy y'all are as sick of seeing my couch, my chairs, my porch as I am,¶ I took the pictures at Bag Lady Katherine's house Sunday.

On her chair.#






Particulars:

Pattern: Rippling Dunes Socks by KellyK Designs††
Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock in Pebble‡‡
Needles: US size 3
Method: Two at once, toe up§§
Size: Men's 13. THIRTEEN. And about 11" of leg. But I really liked the pattern. It's one of those that has enough mindless stockinette (four rows out of every six), but then a set-up row and a simple cable row to keep things interesting.

I am only hoping Brother has glanced at this post, seen it involved knitting and moved on. I don't need him remembering his Father's Day socks from 2005 are still unfinished while I have managed to finish two pairs for Dad.

Dad did not choose to make me try intarsia in the round. This is his reward.¶¶

Call me Spindoctor Marin.##


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): F'd it's little brains out. Heheheheh.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): For those of you scoring at home, that's roughly six cubic centahares of stitching, known in layman's terms as "an assload."

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Also for those of you playing at home, that's two full assloads of stitching for a man who announced his recent engagement to me VIA EMAIL.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): You may not even care, but I like to imagine your world revolves around my knitting pictures, so I feel good about expanding your horizons.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Which has a horse.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Dad picked it out himself.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Though I thought it was Beach, hence the slightly misnamed "Low Tide Socks."

§§FOOTNOTE (what a spin): The only way to fly.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (clubbing?): And this is my justification.

##FOOTNOTE (pounded like and F'ing O): Please? I think it'd be a really cool nickname.

I've Gone Batty†

Well, now, I was going to chat about incoming mail and how wonderful it is, but more wonderful incoming mail came Saturday and I didn't get a chance to photograph it before the camera battery died, so let's talk about outgoing mail today.

[SUMMARY: *gasp*‡]

I actually knitted something. This may not shock you so much, but I really haven't knit for about a month. No reason, just didn't.

But I'm back with a vengeance.§

Once I got this little guy done...




...I got all inspired and I wound up the remaining yarn for the Low Tide Socks and unscrambled what I screwed up on the Purple Prose scarf.¶

Who wouldn't be inspired by this little lopsided face? these sweet wings?




[SUMMARY: Awww... wookat da bat!]

I also made my very first stitch markers. Note the Dracular theme:




So the outgoing mail was almost as much fun as incoming mail.

[SUMMARY: You have your pleasures, I have mine.#]

Did you notice how I hinted there may be multiple posts this week? I bet you're thrilled.

Multiple is good.††

*************
Yohji Homme - Yohji Yamamoto

Marin says: Mmmmmm... licorice and lime. I know that probably sounds awful, but trust me, it's lovely. Similar to bay rum, but edgier than most bay rum scents because of the distinct licorice.‡‡

As the brighter lime wisps off, a powdery cocoa smell is revealed. Actually, it's very much like the patchouli in the Angel line, where the chocolate notes in the patchouli are emphasised.

Eventually, it becomes a powdery cedar with a hint of chocolate, which (come to think of it) may be a patchouli.

Oh, wait! Old books! Mmmmmm...

The Perfumed Court says: Yohji Homme is a fabulous gourmand scent with notes of licorice,$ chocolate,$ coffee,$ rum,$ cinnamon, sandalwood, amber and leather.$ And this is not just for men; ladies would love this one too. The perfect winter scent!!§§

Hans says: I smell licorice in that. And spice. Spicy licorice.


†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Alright, you caught me... ship has sailed. It probably started when I decided my freshman year in college I wanted a bat tattoo. I've only gotten battier since.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): That would be *gasp* as in "*gasp* how many more commas could she have possibly used," rather than, "*gasp* I simply don't believe it!"

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): The Dracula swap on Ravelry made it all possible.

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): I have made excellent and noticable progress on each.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Heheheheheheh.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): That's what she said.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): And because most bay rums are like Old Spice in terms of edgy.

$FOOTNOTE (on the money): Ha! Got one! OK, counting coffee + leather as books. Trust me, it's pretty close.

§§FOOTNOTE (a graphic representation of the boggling of my mind): Why? Why two exclamation points? WHY?

Play that Funky Anthem, White Boy

Before we talk about all the things I'll be finishing, let's talk about something I'll be starting:




Out of this:




Which wasn't supposed to come in until the beginning of September, but my pusher, Sylvia, lured me to the House of Fuzzy Crack Friday to pick it up.†

This yarn is 30% rock.‡

When Sylia got the sample cards for this, it didn't matter how much yarn I already have. It didn't matter how many projects are already on my needles. I started thinking of knitting something out of rocks.

My geology-lovin' little heart grew three sizes that day.

And I liked the pattern when I saw it in the new Interweave Knits and was considering what to knit it of when the Yarn of Rocks came in.

So happens the pattern's even written for that EXACT GAUGE.

[SUMMARY: Fate.]

And before we get into things I'll be finishing, let's take a quick look at a couple of things I'm in the middle of. Like this:






That's the Malabrigo Lace Secret Pal sent for my birthday, and I finally found a project for it, the somewhat inelegantly-named "Scarf with French trellis border from Weldon's 1890 and bramble leaf center."

I'm calling it Purple Prose.^

Then there are Dad's Low Tide Socks, which now have heels§ and a little bit of leg.¶




I used a new heel method# that I really like: Short row, with no wrapping and turning and picking up wraps. Look how pretty it is:




But I'm not working on those projects for a little bit while I complete my Ravelympics events.††

Oh, look how much a knitblog this really is!

[SUMMARY: Just showing off.]

I completed one event in WIP Wrestling‡‡ mostly on Saturday,§§ and did fuck-all on my other WIP Wrestling event.¶¶

I wove in the ends on the Malabrigo slippers that are -- technically -- a Mother's Day present for my grandmother, and washed them and stuffed them with washcloths to block them into some form that didn't look like crumpled paper.

I then sat down to knit the acorn embellishment. I determined that said embellishment mostly resembled an oddly-coloured, hand-knit sperm, so I decided to leave the embellishment off.




Sunday morning, when they were dry, I took them out to get artsy photos of them for the blog and Ravelry.

I believe I succeeded in stirring up bees more than I succeeded as an artist, but I think I should get an A for effort.##

[SUMMARY: I did little, yet accomplished so much.]

I had already determined my final event in the Ravelympics would be the Sweater Sprint, because I wanted to knit a skull sweater for Tallest, Hairiest Nephew's birthday.

I found a skull chart on Flickr (the skull designer is on Ravelry under the same name)...

...and then I went to Barnes & Noble at lunch and found a series of kids' books called "Vampirates."

So THN is getting the books too and I'm modifying the skull to have fangs.%

I'm giving myself a little pat on the back††† for remembering how fun and quick the colourwork was on the Monkey Pack and how dreary the miles of solid stockinette was.

I started the back of Vampirates and am saving the skull part for last, just to treat myself.

[SUMMARY: Old dog, new tricks.]

I fully embrace my dorkness in getting excited over something called Ravelympics.

Mostly, I embrace the fact that the threat of public humiliation in the face of failure of the stated objective is a powerful motivator for me. So I'm confident I'll finally finish the Lizard Ridge and have THN's birthday present done on time.

Know thyself.

†FOOTNOTE (crossed): OK, I was going there anyway and she hadn't actually managed to get the email out to me before I showed up on her doorstep, thumping a vein and jonesing for yarn, but I'm going with "lured" anyway.

‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): See the label?

^FOOTNOTE (careted): Note the lifeline. I am smarter than I look. After three frog sessions, I'm smarter than I look.

§FOOTNOTE (swerved): No longer dick warmers!

¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Technically, the It Happened One Night phase.

#FOOTNOTE (pounded): New to me.

††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Being a competitor is really hard. You have to devote yourself to the competition. You can't be distracted by rock yarn.

‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): Grandma's Blues, the 100m freestyle of my WIP events.

§§FOOTNOTE (flip turn): Lizard Ridge, the 800m IM of my WIP events.

¶¶FOOTNOTE (two little Ravletes on the podium): I'm disciplined, not insane.

##FOOTNOTE (pounding to the finish line): Kinda like the Special Ravelympics.

%FOOTNOTE (percented): I have it on good authority that I'm not just playing to my own inner eight-year-old boy. THN will be thrilled. Brother and eBeth both say so.

†††FOOTNOTE (gold, silver, bronze): Another one.