Unraveling

Fraternal

Sock One

Sock Two

They make a pair. 

Not exactly alike, in terms of the colorway, and not exactly alike in ways I do not care to point out.  They are Pleasantly Fraternal, which is good since they're on their way to Mr. Celia's brother.

Pleasantly Fraternal Socks

The pattern: Michele Wyman's Twinkle Toes Socks for kids and adults, which I committed to memory in 2001.
The yarn: Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch (70% wool 23% nylon 7% elite), colorway #701

Cast on: around Thanksgiving
Cast off: January 29, 2006!

I was so happy, I cast on for this.
Well, actually I cast on on Saturday night, but all I had left to do was Kitchener the toes. And you know the rules: friends don't let friends Kitchener drunk. That would just be reckless.

Motherly Pride

I can finally post about something that has been going on in the House of Unraveling since well before Christmas.  Early in December, first thing in the morning (before breakfast even!), Mr. Celia and the Boyo received a Fedex package containing legal documents. It was a complaint, filed by Mudd Jeans, against the Boyo's two domain names: muddyboy.org and muddyboy.net.  Seems Mudd Jeans thought muddyboy.org infringed on their trademark: Mudd.

Now, we all were dumbfounded by this.  The Boyo has his own blog, and uses the domain for internet gaming, but he is not a commercial site.  Makes no money from the two domains. And, friends, he IS muddyboy, has been for years.  I offer in evidence:

and

But what I found amazing was the Boyo's ability to deal with the situation, once he got over his initial reaction.  I'll let you imagine what that was like. By the time we came home from work, he had read the whole brief, researched his rights on the internet, and determined that the complaint was bogus.  Mr. Celia asked him if he'd ever considered the law as a career option.

We sent the brief off to our lawyer to review and the Boyo began to prepare a response.  It was quite a response.  We did a little editing, emphasis on little, and sent the response off to our lawyer, too. His advice was to send the response as is. So we did. I want to stress right here that the Boyo is nineteen years old. He didn't roll over and play dead, which is probably what we would have done.  No, he figured out what needed to be done and he did it. Asked for help when he thought he needed it, but in essence, it was his battle and he fought it.

The Decision came yesterday. They lost. He won. Much jubilation in the House of Unraveling. I couldn't be more proud.

And Mudd Jeans, I have one thing to say to you:

Baby's First Addi

Yup, I succumbed to the sireeeen song of the Addi Turbo.  This weekend, (after I finish the Second Sock, I promise) I will cast on for this.

And check out my sidebar.  Only 9 days until Super International Pajama Day.  Are you ready?

Thief!

Mr. Celia "thinks" this is my pillow.
It is my new, fluffy duck-down pillow, bought by myself several weeks ago in order to end the pillow-thieving controversy that has divided our king-sized bed.  You see, Mr. Celia is a thief. He stole my other pillow, the one with the dust-mite cover, and "gave" me the two king-sized feather pillows we bought when we got the bed.  He stole it quite a while ago and I have been making do with those sorry-ass cheapo limp pillows that he substituted for my nice fluffy down pillow. "So?" he says, I  needed it. I think I've got the right pillow combination now." Harrrrummphh!

Then, when Mr. Celia was gone visiting his mother, I used my original pillow and found the right pillow combination for me.  I slept very well. But then he came back, darn it. So I high-tailed  myself down to Ikea one night and bought myself a brand new duck-down pillow.  The one pictured at the top of this post. It's not hard to tell which pillow is which. My new pillow is the fluffiest one of the bunch, with a brand new white ticking. No, not hard to tell at all. I am sleeping very well on this pillow.

And last night Mr. Celia "thinks" it might be mine?

Here's how he'll know:

That's right, markin' my territory.  Get your own damned pillow!

Behinder

The  hurrier I go, the behinder I get...
Sometimes it is just better to face the music and realize you're headed in the wrong direction.  The sooner you admit it, the sooner you can turn around and deal with it.

Like yesterday.  I was in the staff meeting, happily working the gusset on Sock Two, when I got the feeling something wasn't right.  But I didn't have Sock One to compare it to.  No, that was back in the knitting basket at home. Should I stop knitting and risk dozing off in the incredibly boring and redundant fascinating budget discussion? Or should I continue on, compare the two socks later at home and risk possible major gusset ripping?  The quandry was distracting me from the crappy important subject matter of the meeting, so I laid my knitting down friends.  Laid it down. Put it in the ziplock bag, and listened. 

Later on at home, I compared the two socks, ripped back the gusset (only three rounds!) and got it right the second time around.  So, I'm a little behinder. But back on the right path.

Double Tagged

I was tagged by both Kimberli and Nathania on the same day! Guess I'm supposed to participate in this meme:

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.

one by one
Cj's Knitting Basket
Emy's blah blah blah blog
Purls Beyond Price, KimberliNY
Unraveling

Select 5 people to tag: No really, I know these things are akin to chain letters and they take some time, but there's nothing like direct questions to learn more about folks.

Vicki, Nicole, Cordelia, Christine, Daphne

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was in graduate school, surrounded by all these bright young archaeologists and thinking, "Who's gonna want to hire an old broad like me?"

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Finishing up a big, fun interpretive project  and thinking, "HAH! I can't believe an old broad like me can have so much fun and make so much money doing what she loves to do!"

What were you doing 1 hour ago?

Walking up Russell Street in the dark with the weiner dog.

List five creative things you want to achieve this year:

1. Knit a cabled pullover for Timothy.

2. Knit the Pirate hat for Owen.

3. Landscape the back yard.

4. Knit and felt a rug.   

5. Bake some kick-ass gluten-free cookies.

List five snacks you enjoy:

1. Guacamole and Chips

2. Apple Wegdges and Cheddar Cheese

3. A handfull of almonds

4. Cafe Au Lait Jellybellies

5. Soy Delicious Purely Decadant Mocha Almond Fudge frozen dessert

List five things you would do if money were no object:

1. Buy a house at the beach.

2. Buy a house (in Berkeley) for each of my kids.

3. Have someone design lots of cute shoes I could wear with my orthotics.

4. Circumnavigate the globe.

5. Hire someone to clean my house every day.

List five bad habits:

1. Almost always late.

2. Reading blogs at work.

3. Wearing shoes without my orthotics.

4. Impulsive casting on.

5. Wine.

List five things you like doing:

1. Knitting.

2. An interesting project at work.

3. Going to see live theater.

4. Yodeling.

5. Dancing at parties.

List five favorite gadgets:

1. Nikon Coolpix 8800

2. Nikon Coolpix 2500

3. SanDisk ImageMate card reader

4.  ISight

5. New digital kitchen scale

Name one thing you like about yourself:

I am a go-with-the-flow kind of gal.

Olympic Fever

I have been watching with interest while Olympic Fever has swept the knitblogging world. Jen and La, Vicki, Daphne, Sedie... Aw, hell, go here for a list of the multitudinous bloggers pulled into the vortex of the 2006 Knitting Olympics.

I'm sorely tempted. I like a good challenge. And I looked through my stash, considered patterns, checked the calendar ( I have two Mondays off during the Olympics), thought about how good it would make me feel to complete a project and...thought about how dumb I'd feel if I didn't finish. And then I realized, I failed the Olympic Trials. Here it is, January 19th and I still haven't finished my Christmas knitting. Not one project finished and given to the recipient. Now, I could and probably will finish them all well before the Olympics begin. But tell me, please, would you pick me for the team? I wouldn't.  I am not a monogamus knitter. I don't think I have it in me to stick to one project and one alone for sixteen days straight. And I really disappointed myself with the Christmas knitting.  I don't want to set myself up for something like that again.

Then I read Norma's reaction, and then I found Stitchy's (I couldn't put my husband through it either), and The Knitting Fiend, and I started to feel like I'm in good company.  Then Margene, I just love Margene, issued an alternate challenge, in the spirit of Eddie the Eagle. "Eddie gave the Olympics his best shot even though he could not win. He trained and played his best, while he had fun and enjoyed the process.  If ever any athlete was about the journey it was Eddie.  If you want to knit during the games and enjoy your knitting, without deadlines or duress, you can join me in an Eddie Along. It’s all about the process here.  Pick a project, knit for the love of it and soar like Eddie. If you finish…good for you, if not, you win anyway." 

Now this I could do. And it just so happens that yesterday I was cruising through the ABC Along ring, I found Princess Knits and saw her completed Charley. This is the pattern I've been looking for to knit up the kilo of espresso-colored cashmere blend my brother and I bought at School Products during the Republican Convention (yes, that was in the summer of 2004). And I already have Rowan Magazine No. 37! So, during the Olympics, I will be soaring like Eddie , taking advantage of those two Mondays off and  knitting stitches of love into a sweater for Timothy. If I don't finish, at least I'll get a good start. If I do, woo hoo!

And one more thing: Go see Kimberli's post from today. It'll get your blood boiling.

B is for...

Blue Tarp Roofs

This is my brother's garage.  Note the blue tarp roof.  It has been this way since I can remember (note: I am almost fifty four years old - I don't remember as much as I used to).  To be fair to my brother, he has had a lot on his plate the past few years.  And you know what? A blue tarp makes a damned good roof. At least it lasts the rainy season.  And a blue tarp (hell, multitudes of blue tarps) is way cheaper than replacing the roof and takes lots less time to install. About October every year, the blue tarp roof disintegrates and shreds of blue tarp litter the back yard. That's when my brother knows it's time to put up a new blue tarp roof.  Just in time for the rainy season.

Now take a look at this:

This is my garage.  Note the blue tarp roof.  We have been planning on a new garage roof for three years now.  But the garage needs seismic retrofitting first. And we also plan to shingle and paint the outside, too. Mr. Celia and our friend Mr. Handyman put up a ridge beam this fall, which took a lot of time and energy for a guy who works full time outside the home. A lot of time and energy. There was no time or energy left to do the roof, or even get someone else to do it.  And the roof was leaky, really leaky in more than one place.  And this is the manly space, where tools are kept and men do manly things.  So over the holidays, just before the rain began in earnest this year, Mr. Celia went up on a ladder and put a blue tarp roof on our garage. By himself, with tools. We are very proud of him. And the blue tarp roof will hold until later this year when we can hire someone to put a new roof, a real roof, on the garage. Because all that work takes time that could be spent, say, practicing the mandolin and guitar in the basement, which is much easier on the body than all the lifting and pounding effort that a new roof would take.  And we'd rather all that work takes its toll on someone else who is younger and more resilient than us.

Now take a look at this:

That's my brother's blue tarp roof in front and my blue tarp roof in back.  Yup, they are right next door to each other. We are the blue tarp roof enclave in the Land of Unraveling.

Now, there is a real advantage to having a blue tarp on your garage  roof:

Makes it really easy to spot from w-a-a-a-a-y up high.

Today's post brought to you by Anne's ABC Along.

Knitting Out

Was the perfect antidote to the post-girlie blues. There were tables full of knitters when I arrived and we systematically took over most of the restaurant - table by table. It was a pleasure to see many knitters I'd already met.  Rachael, of course, and Becca, Jeni, Elizabeth, Christine (and her mini), and my darling Pamela. It was also a pleasure to meet so many new (to me!) knitters: Nancy, Cheryl, Nicole and Cordelia all have blogs.  And the blogless: Martha, Erin, Lauren, Gwen.  And several tagalongs and people I didn't get a chance to meet  (There was a whole table of moms and their young offspring, I didn't get to).  I did not bring a camera, so if it's pictures you're after check out the many other bloggers who did.

A quick trip to Article Pract with Ms. Pamela (I picked up Loop-d-Loop and some Cotton Fleece for this) and I was back at the Temescal Cafe for another go round.  Such interesting people. I am all inspired to clean up the knitting area, finish old projects, and start new ones. And I have the
afternoon off to do just that!

Oh, and one more thing.  Sandy has me looking up:

This Bird has Flown

Yup. And I dropped her off at the airport.  Usually, she wants me to go in with her.
Wow.
Now I'm off to Knit Out.  That's just what I need.