Shape It Up! Get It Straight
We are devo.
Oh, THERE you are.
Um. Hi. Sorry it's been soooooooooooooo long. I almost gave it up entirely, this blogging thing, but then, well.
It's just been so insane around here. The HEB is FIFTEEN months old, can you believe it? And he knows a snake says "Sssss" and a sheep says "baaa" and a cow says "dooo" (close enough).
He's almost walking and says like 15 things and signs and knows like 200+ words. He just said "mama" yesterday. He is the most beautiful thing and I love him so!
He keeps me busy though, and when I'm not at work I really like to be with him, and I have no time to blog. I barely have time to knit, although I am doing some of that.
And, I have to admit, I feel really lame about it, but there it is. I feel ridiculous when blog friends have say, TWINS, or MORE and still blog. How do they do it? You guys are amazing! All of you moms and working people and working Moms (and Dads).
I keep telling myself things to feel better. Like, I can't blog at work, or even read blogs at work. I almost never can surf around, because I am too busy.
And I choose to knit when I can, or see the HEB or HE Johnny, or my Mom or Dad or MIL who are all close, or watch Lost or American Idol.
And I have work to do outside of work hours that is keeping me busy.
Oh, and the HEB doesn't sleep always. So I'm super tired.
But anyway, I'm not complaining, I swear, just explaining. I want to blog, but can't keep up.
And then I had an idea.
I then realized that part of the problem was it takes me TOO LONG to blog. It's not worth a lengthy explanation, but I was having to make all my pictures small, so as not to waste bandwidth/space, so I'd put them in iPhoto, then graphic converter to make small but high quality, then upload to MT, (one picture at a time, so so slow...)
I hear you snoring.
And then, I love Ravelry, and my pictures go to Flickr, and it's so fast, blah blah blah.
But I figured out how to link my pics to Flickr, which will be faster. Much faster, cause to upload to it from iPhoto is much much quicker. So hopefully this will be easier.
I'm not saying the blogworld can't live without me. I just miss you guys!
Ow-ool
So, to knitting, I am making the HEB an Owl, because he loves owls, and can say "Ow-ool" or "OHL" (depends how he feels). He recognizes them everywhere. I think the eye is okay.
The Ravelry link is here, and the awesome Hansi with her patterns is here.
You better believe I'm making the Biologist HE Johnny a squid.
So where does that leave us?
So, my dad's socks are finally done, and I'm knitting several fewer things at one time than before, and I am making the delectable somewhat cowl as well:
That Alpaca Silk is really yummy and the yarn store ladies convinced me to knit with brown. I've never made a brown sweater. I always figured I could buy a brown sweater. Ha! Then Ruth at the store said, "you can buy a blue sweater, too."
I could not argue with this. QED.
Well, folks, hope to chat again soon. Working out the picture thing, etc. This certainly seemed faster, so we shall see. Good to talk to you, anyway.
Also, I have a new blog email: high.energy.jenny (at) gmail (dot) com (Just FYI)
Also: my comments don't appear to be working all the time ;-( I'll talk to the techie. So sorry if it won't let you in.
*Oh, and someone commented when this post first went up before I could work on it, and I deleted you by accident. SO SO Sorry!
Woo!
Well hello there. I should have used CSN&Y's lyrics: "Well it's been a long time coming... It's going to be a lo-ong time gonnneee."
So sorry for the long absence. I really really miss you guys, I miss blogging, I miss ravelry, I miss knitting!!! But I love my son, and I work full time. And thus, and so, you see where that leaves me. Covered in avocado, being climbed like a tree, and that's just at work - ba dum ching!
Moms who can blog alot AMAZE ME. Blue Blog Alison mystifies me. She knits AND blogs, and she has a little baby and TWO TWIN boys. For the love of Pete, are there five of her???
But I digress. I wanted to tell you all kinds of things, but this was too funny not to share:
This dear old sweet man...
...now has "the sugar" as they say here in the South. Or Dia-BEE-tees. So, and sorry to complain, and we love the old man, but as if we need more to do, we are now giving Fisher special (READ: EXPENSIVE) food and insulin twice a day.
This has led to THIS:
Yes. His head is submerged in a bag of Barbarito's corn chips.*
First he tried to eat some sugar cookies. Now, it's chips. Look at him. Just look at him after procuring said chip.
This was not staged. The cat is stealing chips and cookies. We had to take it away, of course. Poor diabetic man. But he is doing much better and we hope he will continue to live awhile with us. He will be 15 in October, and we love him greatly.
SONGS! MUSIC!
So of course all this sugar talk made me think of all the songs I could with "sugar" in them:
The song from the entry title - Brown Sugar by the Stones
Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard
Sugar Walls - Sheena Easton - that naughty vixen
Sugar Magnolia - the Dead. What a yummy song
Sugar on my Tongue - Talking Heads. I love David Byrne.
Sugar Sugar - the Archies
Any sugary songs you like? Or sweet? Or Candy? OOH! Like "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young. Or "Sweet Child O Mine". Or "Sick of Myself" by Matthew SWEET. I could go on forever!
But I won't.
Knitting.
Well, I wish there was some. But! it's okay. I have nearly all of one of my dad's socks done, and 3/4 of a secret project done, and for fun I did this:
Entrelac! It's kind of fun! Followed Eunny's directions in IK. It will hopefully someday be a dishtowel for my Mother-in-law. In 2013. Carolyn, you'll have to dry your dishes with something else for awhile. ;-) I'm going to keep on it little bits at a time, though...
And because I am addicted to him.
The HEB. He's so cute I can't STAND IT!
Nine months on the 9th. Sitting. Pulling up to stand. Two bottom teeth. Squealing. He's an amazing little dude.
* Or perhaps corn chips ARE a place for a mighty warrior.
He was chrome... and he said, "Commmmee with me..."
A true Wilco fan is my husband. So much so, that here was his Halloween costume:
I unfortunately had to work the 2pm - 11pm shift. I met up with Carrie and Jacob and crew after for a bit, but didn't have the energy, high or otherwise, to dress up.
Speaking of High Energy - Carrie had a funny story. She helped her bandmates make these awesome Alice in Wonderland costumes. When she brought her sewing machine to help, she realized that typical of most boys they had waited till the last minute to get them done. When she said, "You guys, this might be a lot of work," the guys threatened to call "ELECTRIC JENNY."
Hahahhahaha! Electric. Jenny.
Why aren't you blogging?
I'm been so busy! I know, I know, we're all busy, but others of us find time to blog. Somehow I'm not finding the time!
And then, see, I let it all build up, then I have so much to say that I'm overwhelmed, then I just don't. Stupid, I guess. I need to be better about blogging shorter posts more often. Hmmmm.
Some things I should tell you:
1) I've really been enjoying old episodes of Cast On. I think Brenda Dayne is a genius. I love listening to that show while I knit.
2) I've been watching too much TV. Damn you Directv!
3) I finally got all our crazy house stuff done. Mostly. The baby's room is still in progress, of course, but all the other shelves, etc. are done. I just have a few hooks to hang and curtains to make for downstairs. Otherwise, whew!
So that's all good.
Knitting-wise, I wish I had more to report. I am about 1/3 done with the front of HE John's Phildar sweater. It looks the same as the back, so a picture really doesn't tell you much.
Bridie is almost done, but I am having issues with the neckband.
Also I don't think I can wear it, even though I tried to size it for me now - I hoped the belly part could hang open with the top closed but it doesn't look promising. I am a little sad. And I really was hoping I could make the neck/button band look more professional. Sigh. I will show you more of it soon.
Lastly, HE John has made his first batch of beer!
He loves beer, of all types, and he has a lot of opinions about good beers, what types of beer is good for what weather, etc. So it doesn't surprise me he wanted to make some.
I got to cap the bottles. That was fun! In about two weeks they'll be ready!
I hope he likes what it tastes like when they are done.
Take one down, pass it around...
Hey kids - thanks for the comments on the new site!
For those who can't read it, try emptying your cache. I had to do this when I was using Safari on a Mac, and then it's fine. Carrie and I checked it out in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, on Mac and PC, and it all seems to be working now.
Let me know if there are more issues. Thanks for the reading advice. I started the Dog in Nightime and like it so far.
I had a crummy day at work so I am very tired and going to bed.
I have an ultrasound tomorrow - wish us luck. We are anxious around here. More fertility news when I have it...
Gonna grab some afternoon delight...
WHY my husband decided to torment me with this song is beyond me. OK, I actually love that song. Especially when Will Ferrell and the guys sing it in Anchorman. SO. FUNNY.*
WOO WEE! Looka dis! How fancy it is around here! My thanks to Carrie, my elegant and fantastic friend and webmaster, for her mad web skillz. Contact her if you have web needs. She'll hook you up, for a good price!
So, if you see any broken bits on this site, or if things don't look right, or you see parts of the old web page, let me know, please, so we can fix it!!!
YAY webfuntimes!
UPDATE: While we're thanking Carrie, go over and tell her Happy Birthday!!! Happy Birthday Schmoo!
I don't have new knitting to show, but I did buy three new books today:
I am so bored lately, with everything I'm reading, with movies, with knittting. So. Bored. So I hope one of these books will be interesting. I tried really hard to read this book, I really did, since all my homies love it, but I just can't get into it. I can't buy time travel when it's not in a scifi book. I just can't. Oh, well.
*(If you go to this link, and click the top video, you can hear them sing it. I love lamp.)
so you understand less as the pages turn...*
[SKIP TO THE BOTTOM if you just want knittin']
I rarely do memes, as you know, but I saw this one on Cara's and at Lolly's and it interested me. The directions are to take the list of books below and mark them as such:
"Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of"
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - Currently Reading.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Wuthering Heights - Emily Brönte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (I hated this book.)
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
(Atonement - Ian McEwan)
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Currently Reading
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
I consider myself someone who doesn't read popular fiction, so it's interesting I've read so many of those books. Some of my favorites are on that list. Weird, eh?
Loll
So as mentioned, I am lucky lucky and get to knit a store sweater for Main Street Yarns in Rowan Calmer, the dreamiest of yarns.
I knit my Audrey sweater from Rowan 35 in Calmer, and had a bear of a time getting gauge. In general I struggled with the yarn, but I loved it.
Here's a lesson for you.
The thing is, when I knit that sweater I FINALLY had success in the gauge on US 8's (5mm). This new sweater, Loll, has the SAME gauge, same yarn, so I should be good to go on an 8, right?
Wrong. Just to be safe I swatched, and I need a 10. A 10!! 6mm!! Just a lesson for all of us. Trust no one. Mulder was right.
Start me up
So here's a beginning picture of the fringe and the sweater itself:
Initially I was unsure about this fringe, but now, I think it's gonna be good. Here's an update with the waist shaping:
The pattern is WRONG for sizes 1, 3, 4, and 5. I'm making the 3rd size (medium, I guess) and had to re-figure the stitch count. I will post about this in more detail next time for you, and I have written the people at Rowan so I can show them the error. Kim Hargreaves probably knit the second size, then she or someone else extrapolated, wrongly, I can tell you.
But that's why I'm here, right? ;-)
Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work I go.
*The Shins. Love them.
Hey kids. HEJ is in a bit of a stressful mental state, and blogging and knitting aren't fun just this moment.
Please, then, forgive us this High Energy Hiatus. I love all of you, and am so so thankful for my readers, and I will be back in a few weeks, I'm sure. I just need a breather for a little bit.
Knit On with your Bad Selves,
Love and Kisses,
HEJ
The Clique Issue. Or, WARNING, no pictures.
Hey there, kiddies. I want to post some pics about MDS&W, and tell about the famous folks I got to meet, etc., but I feel conflicted. (And I need to talk about it.)
YOU have guilt? Alert the media.
Yes, well. Here's the thing: I feel guilty telling my excitement and fun times, because if I list all the bloggy types I met, I feel I'm name-dropping. And I met a bunch of people, because I'm ridiculously gregarious, loud, and obnoxious. Therefore, I ran up to people all weekend long and MET THEM, whether they liked it or not. I practically accosted Wendy. It's a wonder she didn't call the police! (I think I frightened Kim, at least.)
So I'm already all over the damn web, and that was not my intent. I didn't meet people so I could be blogged about. I met people cause it is FUN. And every blogger I met was fantastic and interesting and I made lots of new friends.
I have read a few posts lately where bloggers are upset about the "high school" nature of knitblogs. What's so funny is I was not popular in high school and didn't care, then or now! I feel bad that people feel left out, not only about MDS&W, but about the "knitblog" world in general. It is never my intention to make anyone feel that way, and if I have, I publicly apologize.
The problem is that there are at least 600 knitblogs out there, and no one can read them all. No one. (Not even Lauren. Sh*t! I did it again!). And although I work fewer hours than most full-time peeps, I still can only read so many.
For example, there are several famous blogs I have visited but don't read routinely: Claudia, Silvia, Rachael, Lolly. Clearly, however, these women and their blogs are fabulous, so the fact I don't comment or read much isn't a reflection of something bad about them. There just isn't enough time in the day. I would feel facetious to go there to comment just to put my name out there or feel included. That's just silly.
I always feel I'll offend someone I don't read, but I just can't read all the blogs out there. And I am shocked when you all stop by here, cause this whole damn high energy deal is just ridiculous anyway. I'm ridiculous! HA!
Anyway, before I put in a bunch of bloglinks from MDS&W, I felt the need to say that little bit. I love everyone, and hate no one. All is goodness and light. ;-)
And P.S.
And about Carrie and Anne Marie? You should know the three of us live like 5 minutes apart and I see them at least once a week. We are friends outside the blogworld and hang out. I'm very very lucky to have them as friends. Please don't think I'm being blog-cliquey if I talk about them. I just love 'em!
Alright, fine. A picture. Cause you made it this far.
The MDS&W SPOILS:
clickit to make it big-it. (what?)
**And FYI, I'm not fishing for good comments here. Say what you gotta. Let it all out. I can handle it. ;-)