This Sucks.

The last few days have been taxing on me. I'm not really one to air dirty luandry on the internet, so I'm not going to go into details, but there are some major family issues happening with my family. It is really bumming me out. It's a painful ordeal, and I'm stressed. I'm biting my nails again. My sister called me last night in tears, which only exacerbated the whole feeling crappy about it. Thank God I have a supportive man- he cuddled some with me and let me cry, and then we had some vodka and koolade and played Tiger Woods Golf on the PlayStation. It made me feel better- I don't think I would have been able to sleep with the weight of all that is going on on my mind. I'm still all stressed about it and it makes my stomach hurt. I hope everything works out okay, but I think it will be a messy affair. I guess all I can do for now is pray and be as supportive as I can from hundreds of miles away. I miss my family.

Fall is Coming

The temperatures are dropping, the leaves are starting to change, the air has that crisp, clean feel. Don't forget the State Fair! Last Sunday, we went to the Fair. It was a lot of fun! We decided ahead of time to cheat on the diet- it was nice to have corn dogs, pizza, Navajo tacos, and candied apples (my favorite!). Joie had a lot of fun too. The New Mexico State Fair is a lot smaller than the Minnesota State Fair, but still a lot of fun. I wish we could go back to Minnesota just for the Fair there, though- I sure do miss cheese curds and everything you can imagine on a stick- even alligator! I resisted the temptation to buy $40 worth of beautiful hand spun, hand dyed alpaca yarn. It was good times! Here are a few pictures of Joie enoying herself in the grass and stuffing her face with fry bread- yum! This kicks off my favorite time of the year. I love the fall and winter, and everything that comes with it. After the State Fair, my birthday is right around the corner- October 14th, if you want to send me presents *nudgenudgewink*. A few weeks later, and Halloween is here- I love dressing up and having fun with friends. This year, too, I get to dress up Joie, and that should be a lot of fun. The weather continues to get cooler, and soon I get to wear comfy sweaters and retire my flip flops until spring. Thankgiving rolls around, and food and family all gather together and we can offically start listening to Christmas music. The Christmas season is officialy my favorite time of year. I love the decorations, shopping, music, the smell of cinnamon and spice and evergreen trees mingling. Presents carefully wrapped in festive paper and bright ribbons. Finding that special gift for your special someone. Seeing family who you only see once in a while. Decorating a tree with memories in the form of ornaments, sparkly garland, twinkling lights, and of course, candy canes. The cheer, the sales, the festivity- oh I can hardly wait! Christmas makes me all warm and fuzzy. Now have a new reason to celebrate as well- Joie's birthday! This year will definitely be a special one. On the fiber front, I have been working hard on Christmas gifts- more dishcloths for my Grandma, and a Super Secret Spy Gift for a friend- one of many to come! My poor crocheted wrap has been a bit neglected, but with cooler, wrap-appropriate weather on the way, I will be picking it up again soon. I also organized my "stash", if you want to call it that. 90 percent of the yarn I have is designated to a project, and the rest is leftover yarn or bad acrylic (Red Heart- yuk) from when I first started knitting and really didn't know to at least buy the soft acrylic. I have lots of knitting in my future, with Christmas gifts that I have decided to make. Not everyone is getting knitted gifts, though- only you special people. I also finished my topi, I just need to put the plastic mesh in the brim and sew it so I can wear it- then I'll take pictures and show it off. On that note, I'll get back to the Super Secret Spy Gift...

Remembrance.

5 years ago, many of us spent the day staring at a tv somewhere, shocked into silence at the horror that was displayed there. For the unlucky ones, the horror was knowing that a loved one was gone forever. Today I remember quietly how I spent my day, the sadness that I felt, the rush of emotions that came with it all. I hope you will take time out of your day to remember, too. Im ny remembrance today, I hope to honor a man I do not know, nor never will. His name is Thomas Joseph Sgroi, and he died in the Twin Towers where he worked. He was 45 years old. I have not been able to find much out about him, but I know there is a family out there that misses him. You are all in my prayers.

Book Review & Knitting Update

Alrighty! I recently finished the book Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. It started off a bit slow, but about halfway through I really got into it. Not my favorite book he has written, but still very enjoyable. The story was fun and different- it is about a girl who joins a losing army, and discovers that almost her entire squad are also women imporsonating men for different reasons. It is one of Pratchett's Discworld novels, The first of which I have read. I will definitely read more, because I enjoy the settings of them, and Terry Pratchett is a wonderfully funny writer. All in all, I would say 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. The book I started after finishing Monstrous Regiment is Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. It is a story about a family of circus freaks. It is a bit morbid and twisted, definitely not for the light-hearted, but I am really enjoying it. I am about halfway through it already. I love how it is an absolutely beautifully written book, but the story told is not a beautiful one. Here is an example of how sublime the writing is: I sit. She draws. Wearing only my blue glasses I am not cold but my skin rises against exposure, rough as a cow's tongue. The cups steam upward into the pale air. Our island is the size of two canvas chairs and a small cluttered table. We are marooned in the breathing bareness of the room. Darkness rolls out around us, seeping into the distant softness of the grey walls. The curtians shift slowly in their own whiteness, as though the light pouring through them has a frail, moving substance. She is gnawing an olive pit and frowning at the sketch pad in her lap. The wild hair torching out of the edges of her face mesmerizes me. The millions of hairs in a dozen smoldering tones are as alien as her size, the outragous length of her. My mother, Lillian, is seventy inches high. I am thirty-six inches high. "How tall are you, Miranda?" She looks up to focus on my chin, frowning, and says, "Six feet," mechanically before her eyes twitch back to the paper in front of her. Watching her work is confortable. I feel invisible again, as though she had never spoken to me beyond "Good morning." She is not interested in my identity. She doesn't notice it. Her eyes flick impatiently at me for a fast fix-a regenerative fusing of the image on her retina, the model she inflicts on paper. I am merely a utensil, a temporary topic for the eternal dicussion between her long eye and her diliberate hand. Downstairs in the first floor front, Crystal Lil sits sliding the magnifying gas back and forth in search of the focal point. The walls around her are slathered with the crumpled glitter of the old carny posters. A dozen glossy young Lilys smile, kick, and reach for the curving gold name, "Crystal Lily," that arches against midway blue above her. Dressed in white, a paper Lil arches her back against a blue-green sky spangles with stars. Stripes of arsenic-green wallpaper peep between the posters. The picture she paints with her words is magnificent, I can see everything clearly in my mind as I read. I'm devouring this book! If you think you can handle some morbidity and circus freaks, I definitely recommend this book. On the knitting front, I finished one dishcloth out of six I have planned to make my Grandma for Christmas. They're pretty easy to whip out, so I should have them done soon. I also crocheted my sister a scarf, but I'm not posting pictures because it's a Christmas present. I'll maybe take some and post pictures after Christmas. I'm determined to get a few gifts knitted for Christmas, and have made a pact to only keep one thing for myself on the needles (or hook!) and always have at least one gift going. Right now, I have a few things going for myself- the crocheted wrap, Topi, and a hat with the leftover yarn fron my sister's scarf. I didn't have enough yarn left over, apparently, and I need to get some more before I can finish it, but it almost done. Topi I just need to pick up again, and then I'll be working on the wrap as I work on various Christmas gifts. Pictures to come once I finish things!

Wowee!

I got my package from my "secret" pal for the Favorite Color Swap yesterday, and it is magnificent! Her identity wasn't really a secret because I ran the swap, but I was pleased as punch to get a box goodies from my dear friend Erin. Here is a picture of my haul! If you can't tell, my favorite colors are pink and orange. I got some fabu notecards to feed my addiction (yes, I really am addicted. I don't think I'll send all the own in my lifetime. You can never have too many, though!) and some great yarn- the pink is some Paton's Wool, destined to become a cute basket-weave knitted bag lined in black (someday soon, hopefully), and the orange is Lion Brand MicroSpun. I know, all you yarn snobs are gasping and looking away in horrow, but I love acrylic yarn, and this is buttery soft and swanky. I've decided it will become this scarf and add some funk to a somewhat elegant lace pattern. Although, the definite highlight of this package was the mahvelous fabric- I am so in love! The colors are totally me, and I know I want to sew a needle case and all that, but this stuff is so awesome I may make purses out of both fabrics, just so I can show it off! Here is a close-up of the fabu fabric: I really do love it. I bet you do too. I bet your jealous, even. Heh heh heh...MINE!! ALL MINE!! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!! *chokesnortlecough* Ahem. I'm done now. I also sent out my pal's package last week, and did snap a picture of it all ready to go. My pal was the lovely, talented, purple-and-pink lovin' Lyndsey-Jane over at My Knitting & ME. She's already gotten it, so you can go take a look at her blog to see the goodies unwrapped. It was a lot of fun to shop for nifty purple goodies for her and wrap them all up. Aren't swaps fun?! I'm kind of sad that it is almost over. All I have left to do is make sure everyone has sent and received packages, and that's almost over with. It was chaotic and crazy in the beginning, but I will definitely be doing it again- probably sometime in the beginning of the new year. In other cool news, I submitted my post about my frilly girly dice bag to Yarnival- the new online blog carnival thingie (she explains it much better than I do- go check this out), and it was chosen! I know it's not really that big of a deal, but I sure think it is cool. It is probably as close as I will ever get to having anything published. So yippee for me! Thanks again, Erin, for a wonderful surprise- you're the greatestest!