Friday, November 27, 2009

Update

I'm having the time of my life at my uncle's place in the Louisiana bayou's swampland! I have a fantabulous bunch of pictures to show you of a bayou Thanksgiving---and I'll post them when my mother and I return to Texas, on Monday. I hope everybody had a great Turkey Day---and I'll see you when I get back!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

All Aboard the Amtrak Train....

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If you miss the train I'm on,

You will know that I am gone,

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles,

a hundred miles, a hundred miles,

a hundred miles, a hundred miles,

You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

("Five Hundred Miles", Peter, Paul & Mary)

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On Sunday, Blaine took me to Union Station in the wee hours of the morning to catch Amtrak's "Missouri River Runner" train to St. Louis, Missouri, for the first leg of my trip to Texas. The train station was decorated beautifully for Christmas.

When I got settled and the train began chugging along, I bid Kansas City adieu....

Most of the stops between Kansas City and Missouri are charmingly small, podunky little towns.

Sometimes the train stopped or slowed to allow a freight train to go by.

And as the scenery went by, I knitted. And I found out that it is possible to follow a fair-isle chart and drink tea while knitting on a bumpy train ride...

I love how the train travels along the Mighty Missouri River, but some of the other scenery is breathtaking as well.

The Mighty Missouri River, in all her glory....

After a 7-hour layover in St. Louis (where I stayed in the First Class Lounge for what seemed like an eternity), I boarded Amtrak's "Texas Eagle" train, which is the overnight portion of the trip. After I ate dinner in the dining car (the daily fish selection, since I'm on a diet), I sacked out in my little room. The porter had kindly made my bed for me. He put my suitcases on the bunk above me.

And then finally, Monday, after a lot more stops, I arrived at my own stop---where my mother awaited on the train platform. And then we went to her gorgeous home, where I immediately headed for my bedroom---which I dearly love--- and I took a much needed nap. (I never sleep very well on the train, for some reason.)

I love my bedroom. (And guess what? I found some yarn in my closet that I didn't even know I had, yahoo!)

Next stop: The Louisiana swamp, to my uncle's place, where we'll celebrate Thanksgiving, yahoo again! (Which we'll only be able to access by 2 separate boats, down the alligator-laden river, since his place is under water from the river flooding.) (But have no fear, his home is built on 20-foot pylons for just that reason, since the river floods every year.)

P.S. Here's the Christmas "stocking stuffer" necklaces I made for my mother, my sister, and my niece. Hope they like them.

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Friday, November 20, 2009

The LYS Who Shall Not Be Named...

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NOTE: To anybody who wishes to comment, I'm going to be on the trian for about 24 hours--- but I will print your comments as soon as I arrive at my mother's home. Thanks---

Okay, I am irked. And you tell me if I was out of line.....

I'm on a Kauni kick and I want to take some with me on my trip to Texas & Louisiana. I want to start another cardigan, in a completely different color scheme than the one I just finished. And although I have plenty of the EQ (the multi-colored colorway), I want to use a completely different colorway--- for a completely different type cardigan. Since I have a lot of the color ET, the purple/black/grey one, I decided on that. But I wasn't sure I had enough.

There's a local LYS near here, in Olathe, and they are the only one of the three LYS's in this area that carries Kauni, albeit their stock of colors is limited. So I went down there to look for what I needed. The reason I knew they had Kauni is that I had bought some of the EQ there recently on a yarn-petting venture.

So I went back to them, looking for the ET color. They didn't have any ET, but they did have a couple of skeins of a similar colorway, one which is black/light gray/dark gray. So I grabbed a skein of that, intending to use it for the cardigan's ribbing, buttonbands, and collar.

And then, once I got home, I got to thinking--- like I usually do when I get home from an LYS---and I decided I wanted one more skein of the yarn for "insurance", to ensure, without a shadow of a doubt, that I'd have enough yarn to finish the sweater. I frequently buy too much yarn for my projects but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry, right? And I knew that the LYS had one more skein of that colorway.

And I felt a little urgent about it since there was only one more skein of that color left at the LYS; thus, I wanted to hurry up and grab that skein before it was bought by somebody else. And furthermore, I remembered that Blaine was going down that way in a little while to take his niece to a volleyball game. So I decided I would ask him to stop by the LYS to pick up the skein.

And here is where I made my first mistake.

I called the LYS.

When a lady answered, I asked if she would set aside that particular skein of the Kauni for me, while explaining that I would send Blaine to get it. She said okay.

Then..... I made my second mistake.

I realized that, having been to that LYS recently, buying yarn that Blaine knew nothing about--- (I had hidden it in the Magical Closet)--- that if Blaine went there he might.... er... find out about the fact that I had been there recently buying bunches of yarn that he knew nothing about. And Blaine tends to harp loudly and endlessly about how I have "too much yarn" and that I "waste entirely too much money" on adding to my ever-growing stash--- and I really wanted to avoid such soliloquies....

Ergo.... I didn't want the LYS to blow my cover. Surely you can see what I mean? One wrong word to Blaine in there and the jig would be up. I wanted Blaine to think that the yarn skein he was picking up for me was just a lone skein that I needed to finish a project--- and not part of a greater Kauni conspiracy.

So I jokingly requested the following of the lady who answered the phone:

"Hey... uh.... I know this sounds crazy... but... uh... when Blaine comes in there to pick up that skein of Kauni, could you.... uh.... heh....could you kind of NOT mention to him that I've been in there lately, buying some other Kauni yarn?"

And then there was a long, silent pause on the other end of the phone.

I wondered if the lady had accidentally hung up the phone.

So I repeated myself.

"Um... you know.... it's just that he nags me a lot about buying too much yarn, ya know what I mean? And ...uh.... I sometimes buy yarn and .... and.... I hide it. You know the score... where you hide the yarn somewhere and just pull it out later--- like it's been there all along? And then he's none the wiser, thinking the yarn was old yarn? You know?.... huh?....you know what I mean?"

But the blasted woman STILL wouldn't say anything!

"Are you still there?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm here," she replied in a snotty voice. "But if he asks me straight out, I am NOT going to lie to him."

WHAT THE HELL?????

What kind of sanctimonious idgit was this? Is she mad? Doesn't she know that approximately 45% of yarn sales in the United States of America are bought on the sly--- hidden from husbands who nag a woman about buying too much yarn? Hell, a hateful turncoat like her could ruin it for the rest of us stealth-yarn-buyers!

And for crying out loud, all I meant was for her to NOT OFFER the information that I'd been there recently. It wasn't like I was asking her to lie under oath, under penalty of perjury, to a Clinton-esqe Congressional Impeachment Hearing, if you know what I mean.

("No, Your Honors, I did not sell yarn to THAT WOMAN!!)

I was so mad that I decided to take the bull by the horn.

I hopped into the pickup truck and blasted my way down to see this stupid, traitor LYS woman, completely forgetting that I was wearing sloppy, raggedy sweat pants and a "Hooters" sweatshirt. When I arrived at the LYS I strode in, picked up the skein of Kauni, and then went to pay. There was a smiling lady at the cash register.

"Are you the lady I spoke to on the phone about the Kauni?" I asked.

"Um.... no....it was somebody else," she replied, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Well then, let me tell you that she was entirely RUDE to me," I exclaimed. "And because of her I don't think I'm ever coming back here!"

And then the lady lowered her voice, obviously in an attempt to keep a group of nearby employees from hearing (but I know they heard anyway), and she replied, very sincerely: "Truly.... I am sooooo sorry about that...."

So I paid for my Kauni and politely bid her goodbye.

(I was hoping she'd say something else so I could yell: "I SAID GOODBYE!" a la Fez in the TV show "That 70's Show" , but she didn't.)

(But I have always wanted to use that line....)

Well.... so now I can't go back there because I threatened to never go back because of that rude woman. I don't care. I can order any color and any amount of Kauni anytime I want from Astrid, although I'd have to pay shipping for it, which is kind of a downer but I'll sacrifice. And for all other kinds of yarns there are two way better LYS's around here that have a much wider selection of all other yarns--- and nicer employees.

So HHHMPH on her!

Hey.....I've got an idea! Remember that "Seinfeld" episode where Elaine was treated rudely in a store? She then went to a rival store, bought a bunch of their stuff, and then went back to the original store and pranced around outside their windows, holding up all the stuff she bought, in order to gloat to them about how much money they "lost" by irritating her.

So that's it! I'll go to Yarn Barn in Lawrence, buy a bunch of Cascade 220, and then return to the Olathe LYS where I'll wave all the Cascade 220 over my head in front of their windows, yelling taunting epithets like: "See how much yarn I bought from a NICE LYS? See how much business you lost, Rude Woman? A pox on you!!"

No?

Well, it was just a thought....

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Monday, November 16, 2009

All Things Great And Small....

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The day was very cold. It had snowed in the night, but in the morning the temperature rose to just above freezing. And so the snow melted. But although the snow had gone away, it was still chillingly cold outside. A good knitting day....

And then I saw the neighbor cat at the window.

I felt sorry for the cat because it was so dang cold outside. It was cold enough so that, even with our thermostat set at 70 degrees F., there were still icy drafts in the house which made me shiver and put on an extra pair of thick house socks.

As the little cat sat on the window ledge, looking at me through the window, my heart was disturbed because I knew the little thing was probably very cold. And I simply couldn't understand why the cat's owners would leave it ouside in that weather. So I went out on the front porch to comfort it, and it looked at me so sweetly--- and so forlornly. When I went back inside the poor thing tried to get into the front door with me. And that convinced me that the cat wanted to come out of the cold and into the warmth of the house.... any house.

And the little cat looked hungry....

And let me tell you---I cannot bear to see any animal in distress or suffering. I can't abide it. It hurts my heart. And so I really couldn't stand the fact that this pretty, sad looking little cat was cold and hungry, and was clinging to the ledge of our window in order to stare, pitiously, at myself, Little Baby, and Leonard--- inside our warm house.

Suddenly I decided to remedy the hunger situation. So I got the container of tuna fish out of the refrigerator---the container which holds Leonard's and Little Baby's tuna fish. And I gave a big plate of it to this neighbor cat. And he (or she) was so hungry that he practically inhaled it---and then licked the plate over and over to get every last little drop!

I know, I know, you're not supposed to feed somebody else's cat because then it will keep coming back. But look at him---he's too thin! I don't think he has been fed enough...

And so I fed him. Shoot me.

Then I had to tell Leonard and Little Baby that I had less tuna to give them when it came time for their meal. Needless to say, they weren't exactly thrilled, as you can see on their accusatory faces when they saw the smaller-than-usual portions of tuna....

But I simply smiled and told them:
"It won't kill you to share. Remember---not every cat is as fortunate as you spoiled idgits!"

(I don't give a rat's patooty if they're mad at me.)

(Hell, they're always mad at me for something anyway, so fooey on them.)

(And although Little Baby has perfected her scathing "disgusted at Bo" expression to a fine art, I'm immune to it.)

I decided not to tell Blaine that I had fed the little waif-cat our own cats' good, brand-name tuna fish since he is so ultra cost-conscious and is constantly lecturing me about saving money. I certainly didn't want to have to suffer through another one of his lectures about how I continually "throw good money out the window". And I also didn't want to hear him harp about how you're not supposed to feed stray cats "because they'll keep coming back". But I couldn't help mentioning the plight of the little cat when Blaine came home from work that day.

"I saw a poor little neighbor cat hanging around," I told Blaine, trying to instill some pity for God's precious little animals into his head. "A pretty little orange tabby. The poor thing was freezing--- and was staring into the window at us. I think his owners are cruel for leaving him outside on a cold day like this. And he looked thin.... and hungry."

"Yeah, I've seen him around..." Blaine replied, a sad look coming over his face.

And then, after a slight hesitation, he added: "You fed him some tuna fish, didn't you?"

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Will Somebody Please Muzzle Blaine For Me?

Y'all.... I have LABORED over this dang jacket. (You can click on the picture if you'd like to see it more closely....) (Or not---I'll understand...)

And I think I finally got it the way I want it, thank God---and it dang well had BETTER be the way I want it because the dadgum appliques were more expensive than the whole damn jacket, which was partly due to the fact that I bought the jacket large. (I like my jackets to be somewhat over-sized.) I wanted the jacket to be "just so" because this is the jacket I'm going to wear on the train to Texas next weekend.

(And don't worry--- in all the umpty-zillion years my mother has met me at train stations, bus terminals, or airports, she has been mortified by far worse than this, believe me....)

The train trip to Texas is a long one (approx. 24 hours) and includes a 7-hour layover in St. Louis and an overnight portion from there to Texas. But I'm going first class, so I will have a little room with a bunk bed to sleep in for the overnight leg of the trip. The weather will be cold, thus the need for a jacket.

Understand, when I "decorate" a piece of demin, be it blue jeans, a jean jacket, or a black leather biker jacket (which I wore in my biker days), I tend to adorn it a la my music preferences. I really like some of the music from the 60's and 70's era, even though I was too young to enjoy it when it was new.

Which means I like the "hippie" look, as you can see. None of the applique's are politically motivated one way or the other--- I just put on colorful stuff that looks 60's and 70's-ish, if ya know what I mean. Hippie-ish. Like they came out of a Peter Max poster or something...

(Is 'hippie-ish' a real word?)

Anyhoo, I decorated this jacket, front and back. And while I toiled on the floor, meticulously placing and ironing the myriad of patches, Blaine made his usual sarcastic remarks.

"All you need now is a big red nose and some huge, floppy shoes."

Har-dee-har-har, I told him. I get it---"clownish". Very funny. (Is 'clownish' a word??)

I tried to ignore him.

Or I tried some retorts of my own, like: "You're such a card---you ought to be DEALT WITH" or else that age-old favorite: "I know you are, but what am I?"

Finally, I finished the jacket and put it on, "modeling" it for Blaine. I figured he'd had his say and didn't have any more witty insults to lob.

"How does it look?" I asked, twirling around so he could see the front and the back, thinking I was looking rather cool and hippie-ish.

"They didn't have any 'joint' appliques?...."

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Vexation....

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Okay, I'm vexed.

(Plus, I've always wanted to use that word....."vexed"...)

My idol, my heartthrob--- my gorgeous Castiel (the melancholy angel on the TV show "Supernatural" ) hasn't been on in the last several episodes.

What gives, Supernatural producers? Where is my Castiel? I miss him terribly. I hereby demand that Castiel be returned to his rightful spot of giving angelic help to Sam and Dean Winchester through their weekly difficulties in saving the world from monsters, ghosts, and demons.

Isn't he just the dreamiest thing, with his big angel wings?

(I can't help it---you know how I love my "eye candy"....)

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Magical Closet Strikes Again....

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Things are getting messy around here as I try to figure out which knitting projects to take with me on my trip to Texas & Louisiana, where I'll spend the holidays with my family. (Blaine will come and join us in December, when he can take some vacation time from his job.) I'm leaving in two weeks--- on the dratted Amtrak train.

No, I cannot fly---I am petrified of flying. (And on the Amtrak I can get a whole room, so that I can lie down when I want to.)

Anyway, I was poking around in the Magic Closet when I found a mysterious bag---and when I opened it I found a UFO which I definitely need to finish. It's a shortie "cropped", drop-sleeved fair-isle cardigan (which I'll have to steek) knitted out of Kauni yarn. Instead of using one colorway staggered in different areas of the color changes, to achieve that wonderful "waves of color" effect that Kauni is known for (like in the Ruth Sorensen cardigan), I mixed two different colorways to see what would happen. And I have decided I like the effect. I mixed the multi-colored EQ with the purple/black/grey colorway (ET, I think.) And you can't tell by this crummy picture but the ribbing on the cardigan is 4 st cables, which I thought would be interesting.

Also in that bag I found 5 more skeins of EQ and 2 1/2 hanks of the ET--yahoo! More than enough for another sweater or two.

All that is left to do is to finish a sleeve. And also, I have an interesting plan for the buttonband area.

As usual, Leonard is too nosy for his own business.

Soooo....the question is....should I take the UFO cardigan on my trip? I am only allowing myself one duffel bag of knitting for the trip. I have a bunch of red Cascade Eco Wool that I was thinking of knitting myself a totally red cardigan out of---but that bulky Eco Wool sure does take up a lot of packing room.

Hmmmmm.....I have that unfinished psychedelic shawl that would scrunch up into a stuffed duffel bag quite nicely....

And the Kauni scrunches up good.

And the wondrous Magical Closet has many more undiscovered prizes....

I just don't know....

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Monday, November 09, 2009

"The Boyfriend's Letter-Jacket Sweater"....

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One of the things I used to do in high school (but not college because I had my own by then) was to wear my boyfriends' "letter jackets". Now, I can't remember all the particular boys' names but I do remember how I loved their letter jackets. The jacket was always way too big, the sleeves way too long, and it was always emblazoned with umpteen "JV" and "Varsity" patches for whatever sport the guy was involved in---the more patches, the cooler. (You can click on the picture if you want an up-close look.) (Regard the buttonband facings---the durn things drove me nerts.)

(Once I wore a marching band member's jacket (a drummer guy named Denny), a beautiful letter jacket which had musical instrument patches on it instead of sports ones. I did so love to see Denny accidentally fling away a pair of drumsticks in the middle of a song-- but then quickly pull two new ones out of his strap pockets like Pancho Villa pulling out additional guns, and then resume his drumming with nary a missed beat....)

(It was sexy....especially when the song was "25 to 6 to 4" by Chicago...)

(Denny was a nice guy but I think I... um... left him for a running back on the football team, a muscular guy named Carl. It had nothing to do with a preference for either of the two jackets at hand--- but it had everything to do with the fact that the running back had a cooler car and gorgeous big brothers.)

(Huh...I guess I do remember their names....)

Where was I?

Oh yeah. The Boyfriend's Letter-Jacket Sweater.

Anyway, so I knit the thing too big for me---and I made sure the sleeves hang down off my shoulders the same way a too-big jacket's would. And the sleeves are way too long (which are no problem since the ribbing is flexible and snug enough to hang onto my wrists/arms wherever I want.) And I put varsity stripes on one sleeve---but also couldn't resist someone's suggestion to stick some fair isle patterning on the other sleeve.

(I know, I know....letter-jackets most certainly do not ever have fair-isle patterning on them. But they would if I had invented the letter-jacket.)

Then I went to the sporting goods store and asked for all kinds of sports letter-jacket patches. They gave me bunches of them for free! They're not sewn on yet as I am still deciding on placement. And then I put silver buttons on there to resemble the silver of the snaps which close real letter-jackets.

Anyhoo, that's the story of the Sweater-Which-Refused-To-Be-Sock-Monkey.....

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A Day In The Life of Bo's Cat, "Little Baby"....

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8:00 a.m.:

10:00 a.m.:

12:00 p.m.:

2:00 p.m.:

4:00 p.m.:

Tuna-Can-Opens O'Clock:

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Friday, November 06, 2009

Bo's Haute (Psychedelic) Couture...

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Good Bye,

Hard Life,

Don't Cry,

Would you let it ride?

("Let It Ride", Bachman, Turner Overdrive)

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Okay, I'm in the "preparation" stage for my big upcoming holiday trip down south.

It's back to the train tracks of Amtrak because I'm leaving soon to spend Thanksgiving with my mother at my uncle's place in Louisiana. Then we'll head for Dallas, as we're all going to spend the Christmas holidays at my sister's home. Blaine will meet us there shortly before Christmas when he can take his vacation days. Should prove to be a fun holiday season!

And it should prove to be quite an adventure when my mother and I go to Louisiana for Thanksgiving, since my uncle's home is not accessible by land right now. As you may have seen in my blog post, "Voyage into the Swamps", my uncle lives on the banks of a tributary of the Ouachita River, which has flooded the entire area. Thus, we will have to boat our way from civilization, down the river, to his home, which is safe from the water since it's elevated on 20-foot pylons.

The reason it will be an adventure is because the river is full of hazards such as floating logs and... well... alligators.

Yeah, there are tons of alligators in that river. My uncle has spotted many of them on his property, since he raises specialty roosters and hens, a favorite temptation of hungry 'gators. He says the last 'gator he spotted on his property was about 3 feet long.

I'm not really frightened to go on his boat---my uncle is more than handy with his shotgun. And I definitely wouldn't mind having me a pair of 'gator cowboy boots. (I think a three-footer would be big enough for a pair of size 6 1/2 cowboy boots, what do you think?)

Except I may have to fight my mother for it since she wants a 'gator handbag with a matching belt...

Anyhoo, I'm trying to get all the things in order that I'll take on my long visit with Mom and my family. I need to travel light on the train, but I need enough stuff to last for a month. Not only do I need to do a thorough assessment of what knitting to take, but I need a good sturdy, cropped "rodeo style" jean jacket, which I bought yesterday. (Not the one below--but that one shows one of the way girls decorate their rodeo jean jackets.) (Mine is the one pictured at the top of this post.)

For the shopping expedition, I took the truck and dashed my way around Overland Park and Olathe yesterday, looking for the perfect jean jacket. (And don't worry, I didn't run over any orange cones or construction workers.) Actually, I was feeling pretty good yesterday. Don't know if it was the crisp, sunny fall weather... or the new med Fred stuck me on, who knows....

I live for the day Fred thinks I'm "okay" enough to allow more than 2 weeks to go by between our appointments and he quits fiddling with my meds. (I tell myself he schedules me so often because of my scintillating conversation....)

Where was I?

Oh yeah, I was tooling around town looking for a jean jacket.

Oh, and let me just throw in here that I think certain people will be glad to know that I've been trying to improve my driving since all the hate-mail I got after my road construction debacle. And I think I did pretty well yesterday.....except I am wondering if it counts as "bad driving" if one accidentally goes "in" the "out" lane at the Chik-fil-A drive-thru? It could happen to anybody...

Don't worry--I didn't break my diet. I only ordered a Diet Coke.

Remember that time I pulled into a Sonic booth with Belinda and knocked off part of the ordering loudspeaker? That was definitely an OOPS moment.... (and again, it could happen to anybody....)

Anyway, as I drove around yesterday, I blasted my favorite oldies station on the truck's stereo system. I love oldies, preferably from the 70's or 80's. I don't like today's music because it all sounds alike to me. In fact, I got into a music-blasting competition at a stoplight on the corner of 119th and Pflumm with a girl who was blasting her own radio's music. I won the competition, but I'm not sure if it's the fact that my speakers were louder or else it was my deafening "Rebel Yell" as I peeled rubber when the light turned green. (According to Civil War lore, rebel yells are supposed to be "intimidating". I learned my rebel yell from a Virginian girl named Mary Norpel.)

I think my rebel yell sounds less like a ferocious Civil War Confederate and more like a deranged drugstore cowgirl....

Oh, and one more thing about loud music contests from a vehicle at a stoplight. I told you I like oldies. Most people blast the latest music at stop-lights--- but I blast Santana, The Hollies, or Rod Stewart.

Anyhoo, I found me a good "Wrangler" jean jacket--- a sturdy, cropped "rodeo style" one just like I wanted. But, the thing is, is that for some reason I am unable to wear a plain, unadorned jean jacket....

Fred says it best: "Bo, you just love to wear those wild, crazy colors, don't you?"

(Maybe THAT'S why Fred thinks I need a new med and frequent appointments! Maybe he's waiting for me to walk into his office wearing Talbots or Lands End clothing.... or maybe a pastel colored preppie crew-neck sweater with a short strand of pearls?....Would I be "cured" then?)

Yeah, I do love bright, "crazy" colors---and I don't think I'll ever be cured, heh....

And I'm in an arts & crafts mood right now--- so I'm going to have a lot of fun doing this jean jacket similar to the way I did the above pair of my jeans. I'm going to put some iron-on patches on it to make it "wild and crazy", albeit there's not much room for patches on the jacket due to its seaming.

I think I love to adorn clothing with patches for two reasons. One, I got the idea from a guy at an AA meeting I used to go to in Texas. He had a jean jacket covered with patches like my jeans there, and everybody wanted his cool jacket. He had to wear it all the time because he was afraid that if he took it off and laid it down, somebody would take it. (I did those jeans shortly after seeing his jacket.)

(I used to wear those jeans into the Emergency Room where I worked on my days off, to chat with my buddies, but they told me not to wear the jeans anymore because they were afraid it might "cause a seizure" in a patient....)

So below are some of the iron-on patches that I have to select from to put onto this jean jacket. (I found them all in the Magical Closet.) They're all sequined, except for the large "pink poodle" patch, which I may put on the back of the jacket, dunno yet. (And I'm partial to the "peace" sign and the skull, go figure---must be something strangely Freudian there....)

Actually, I wish I could have found a particular plastic bag in which I've been saving umpteen Harley-Davidson biker patches, but I think I left that bag down at my mother's. I'll have to save those for another jacket, either a leather "biker" jacket or another jean jacket.

The second reason I love patches on my garments may have developed in my salad days, when I was in college and wore cheerleader uniforms with school lettering patches on them. Actually, I went through five (yes, five--- I took my time and wrote my thesis early while in my last year of undergraduate study) years at the university while wearing various cheerleader uniforms with patches, a different uniform for every season, whether football, basketball or wrestling. (Sorry the pic is in black & white but that's how it was in the Yearbook.)

Or maybe it's the new med, who the hell knows?....

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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

T. M. I., I'm sure.....

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Oh, Holy Hannah!

Much to my regret, I just walked into the downstairs bathroom...

Sigh...

Am I the only one with a man who thinks of the bathroom as an extension of the living room? After Blaine left for work, I entered the downstairs bathroom and found the following items strewn helter skelter about on the floor and the sink counter:

1. An ashtray and lighter;

2. A half-empty coffee mug;

3. Four magazines, "Popular Science", "Popular Mechanics", "My Ford" , and some strange computer magazine called "Networkworld" ;

4) A calculator, and

5) A flashlite.

It's driving me NUTS trying to figure out what he needed the calculator for. Why would anybody need a calculator while they're sitting on the pot?

Knowing him, he was probably trying to cipher the exact number of squares of toilet paper I've used compared to him, since he's always harping about how I "waste" toilet paper.

(And I don't EVEN want to entertain any thoughts about what in the Sam Hill he needed the dadgum flashlight for....)

When I go to the bathroom, I go in there to do what bathrooms were invented for---and that's it. I don't sit around in there contemplating the universe, reading, doing mathematics, or other pursuits. But Blaine is in there for what seems like eons. And I'm wondering what in the heck he'll put in there next---a flat-screen plasma TV mounted on the wall?

Hell, he spends so much time in there as it is, that if there was a TV on the wall I am quite certain he'd NEVER come out...

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Sunday, November 01, 2009

The Suburbs of UFO City...

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I found the above folded up sock project when I was in my "Magic Knitting Closet" yesterday looking for something.

It's amazing the things I find when I go looking into the Magic Knitting Closet. It's a huge closet in which Blaine has built multiple levels of shelves on all three sides for my substantial yarn stash. Additionally in there are bags containing untold numbers of UFO's, knitting supplies, knitting books and pamphlets, and reams of personal notes on which I have scribbled down ideas for projects, my personal knitting designs, and actual patterns I've come up with.

I call it the Magic Knitting Closet because you can close your eyes and blindly put your hand in there--- and then always pull out something interesting.

Anyway, I unfolded the project and found these UFO socks, fair isles made with umpteen different balls of sock yarn, in a wild fair isle experiment. Of course the two socks don't match. (And you don't even want to KNOW what a bitch it was to weave in all those ends.....)

I don't know why I don't go ahead and finish these silly things. My niece would absolutely drool at the mouth over them. (She loves what she calls my "wild and crazy" socks.) One thing I like about them are the heels. They are simple heel flaps but somehow I like them better than some of the ones I've knitted more recently.

And durn it, but wouldn't you know, I found no post-it notes in the little sack I found them in, notes which I usually include with UFO socks declaring the numbers on how I knitted the heels and/or toes.....

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