Drat. How did I get sick now? I haven't gone anywhere. =(
Hung out with Michelle today. We went to Steak n' Shake for dinner, which wasn't too bad, surprisingly. Anyhow, we were bored, and went to Borders. In a fit of nostalgia, I bought myself one of the installments of the Redwall series. I used to love those. It was my goal to own the entire set at one point, but somewhere along the line, I stopped reading them. I think it was after I finished Lord Brocktree for the second time. (Of course, this was probably back when I still had an attention span.) Or was it Triss? Anyway, I still have Rakkety Tam, Loamhedge, and High Rulain (or whatever) to read. The book I got was Rakkety Tam, and--get this--it's a SIGNED copy! Squee! And my day got better. We went to Half-Price Books, because Michelle wantedto see if she could find a copy of Howl's Moving Castle (the novel the movie is based on). Couldn't find it there, but she did get a copy of the next book in the series she's reading at the moment. I snagged a boxed set of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a two-dollar CD (the Pocahontas soundtrack). I was aiming for the old covers from THG (before they made that movie), because my sister lost that version (and refuses to admit it :/) As for the Pocahontas soundtrack, we have it already, on cassette. (Somewhere. Anyone who wants to look for it can be my guest.) But I think it was pretty much the last good soundtrack Disney had. (Hunchback of Notre Dame had some good bits, as did Mulan, but overall, meh. Of course, Lion King had the BEST. It's Hans Zimmer. Of course it's amazing.)
We also watched The Illusionist at her house. I liked it, more than I thought I would. Andthe ending...I won't give it away, but--wow, I was not expecting that.
Anyway, I'm leaving either Saturday or Sunday. It's been nice being at home. A nice, long break from school and thinking. Not to mention--real food! However, yes, there have been times that it's been strained, made worse because of the fact that I didn't have access to my/the car. It's been a little irritating, getting used to doing things on my parents' terms rather than my own. That, and the fact that most of my friends left last week. (Tasha went back on New Year's Day, basically.) Michelle has January Term (Obies...), and is interning at the county environmental services thing. Last Friday, I just went and visited teachers (I had NOTHING better to do.) It was nice seeing them again, though. I often wonder whether they're actually genuinely happy to see old students. :P Thing is, I haven't been able to do as much stuff as I wanted over the break. I WANTED to go back to the salle and pester people there, read, knit...it would help if I had the car (at least for part of it), and that I hadn't spent who-knows-how-long on the computer. Yeah. I suppose it will be nice to see people again...maybe not my econ prof, but...
Friday, January 12, 2007
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Projecty-ness and new books!
So I thought I'd get some knitting done over the break. Of course not. I don't know what I spent it doing.
Project breakdown as of 3 AM, January 8th 2007:
Gryffindor Scarf (SS/CoS-style): 16% done (3 and a bit of 19 stripes).
Irish Hiking Scarf: 75-80% done.
Fetching 2: 66% done.
Stockinette scarf: 45% done.
Toe-up socks: 40% done.
What happened to the hoodie? I think it died. It's not working. Any ideas as to what to do with 4/5 balls of Homespun (in a discontinued color)? :P
Things that need to be cast on:
Fetching 3 (Will be in Lion Brand Wool-Ease (worsted) in Blue Heather)
Fun Fur Fingerless Mitts (Fetching-based) (Patons' Decor in Black, Lion Brand Fun Fur in Copper)
Second toe-up sock (Patons' SWS in Natural Earth)
Socks for Socktopia.
Yes, I joined a knit-along. Unfortunately, I need to decide NOW what I'm doing so I can at least buy the yarn and/or needles. The themes for January are "Celebrate good times", "blue monday", and "snowflakes and starry skies". The "snowflakes" would be a perfect opportunity to learn Fair Isle, I think. Or I could do a plain pair of blue socks, maybe with some cable-y things. I don't have sock yarn in the stash in any color. I have a skein of off-white wool, and a dye-able skein of the same stuff in white, so I'm thinking white socks with snowflakes around the cuff. :)
In other news, I have some new books, both fencing-related. One is The Inner Game of Fencing: Excellence in Form, Technique, Strategy and Spirit by Nick Evangelista. It's an interesting read, if at least for some different perspective. (I was taught by a "trigger the light"-variety coach. The instructors at the salle (I miss them!) and Evangelista are technique-oriented.) (Not that I don't like my high school coach. He was great, just not necessarily as a sabre coach.) The other is By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen, a British(!) sabre fencer(!!). I've flipped through it, but I haven't had a chance to actually read it yet. Looks good, though.
I have a giant list of books I need to read:
Project breakdown as of 3 AM, January 8th 2007:
Gryffindor Scarf (SS/CoS-style): 16% done (3 and a bit of 19 stripes).
Irish Hiking Scarf: 75-80% done.
Fetching 2: 66% done.
Stockinette scarf: 45% done.
Toe-up socks: 40% done.
What happened to the hoodie? I think it died. It's not working. Any ideas as to what to do with 4/5 balls of Homespun (in a discontinued color)? :P
Things that need to be cast on:
Fetching 3 (Will be in Lion Brand Wool-Ease (worsted) in Blue Heather)
Fun Fur Fingerless Mitts (Fetching-based) (Patons' Decor in Black, Lion Brand Fun Fur in Copper)
Second toe-up sock (Patons' SWS in Natural Earth)
Socks for Socktopia.
Yes, I joined a knit-along. Unfortunately, I need to decide NOW what I'm doing so I can at least buy the yarn and/or needles. The themes for January are "Celebrate good times", "blue monday", and "snowflakes and starry skies". The "snowflakes" would be a perfect opportunity to learn Fair Isle, I think. Or I could do a plain pair of blue socks, maybe with some cable-y things. I don't have sock yarn in the stash in any color. I have a skein of off-white wool, and a dye-able skein of the same stuff in white, so I'm thinking white socks with snowflakes around the cuff. :)
In other news, I have some new books, both fencing-related. One is The Inner Game of Fencing: Excellence in Form, Technique, Strategy and Spirit by Nick Evangelista. It's an interesting read, if at least for some different perspective. (I was taught by a "trigger the light"-variety coach. The instructors at the salle (I miss them!) and Evangelista are technique-oriented.) (Not that I don't like my high school coach. He was great, just not necessarily as a sabre coach.) The other is By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen, a British(!) sabre fencer(!!). I've flipped through it, but I haven't had a chance to actually read it yet. Looks good, though.
I have a giant list of books I need to read:
- Silent Spring (Rachel Carson)
- Against the Grain (Richard Manning)
- Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)
- and now, these. (and whatever else I have lying around)
I'm not going to get a chance. I'm back in Cleveland in a week. I did get my biology textbook...
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
what did I expect, anyway?
I went back to my high school fencing club today, and was somewhat disappointed. Crappy footwork, minimal discipline, and people who are generally apathetic about the whole thing. Not to mention last year's sabre newbies...weren't there.
I don't know why I expected anything different, at least on the footwork and discipline. Hoch (the coach) isn't very big on form or footwork. He'll teach enough so that people sort of get the idea, and then moves on to bladework. (He's very much a "whatever gets you the point" type of fencer. And coach.) He left correcting up to the upperclassmen, most of whom had at least a year of fencing under their belt. And that leads to the discipline. Back in the day, we had some authority--5 seniors who knew what they were doing. We could look after ourselves and the rest of the sabre team. I can't speak for the foil squad, but at least we did work for most of the time. And people actually listened. This year, there are 3 seniors. Two of them know enough about fencing to lead at least footwork, but only one of them shows up, according to my sister. And they're all foil fencers. The sabre team would be okay if the people from last year showed up. I know they're busy, but I'm in college, have far more work than they do and I go to practice more often than they seem to! So that leaves a bunch of n00bs trying to teach themselves with minimal instruction from Hoch. (He was an epee fencer in college, so he works mainly with the foils.) It's UGLY.
On the bright side, there is one girl who's pretty good. Now Hoch just needs to get her a jacket and mask.
I don't know why I expected anything different, at least on the footwork and discipline. Hoch (the coach) isn't very big on form or footwork. He'll teach enough so that people sort of get the idea, and then moves on to bladework. (He's very much a "whatever gets you the point" type of fencer. And coach.) He left correcting up to the upperclassmen, most of whom had at least a year of fencing under their belt. And that leads to the discipline. Back in the day, we had some authority--5 seniors who knew what they were doing. We could look after ourselves and the rest of the sabre team. I can't speak for the foil squad, but at least we did work for most of the time. And people actually listened. This year, there are 3 seniors. Two of them know enough about fencing to lead at least footwork, but only one of them shows up, according to my sister. And they're all foil fencers. The sabre team would be okay if the people from last year showed up. I know they're busy, but I'm in college, have far more work than they do and I go to practice more often than they seem to! So that leaves a bunch of n00bs trying to teach themselves with minimal instruction from Hoch. (He was an epee fencer in college, so he works mainly with the foils.) It's UGLY.
On the bright side, there is one girl who's pretty good. Now Hoch just needs to get her a jacket and mask.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
The Kool-Aid gods must hate me. :(
Or, how to get pink variegated yarn without trying.
I have been playing with Kool-aid over break, trying to dye myself some nice dark red. It's worked, except for the dark and the red. The first batch (1 skein Patons' Classic Merino in Aran, 2 packets Black Cherry, one packet sugar-free Cherry) turned out a salmon pink. Nice, except that I hate pink. And it's a subtly-variegated salmon pink, because a)I don't have a pot large enough, and b) I tied it too tightly. It was dyed at three AM, so maybe I have an excuse, but I suppose that it might have to turn into a Liesel for my sister. (She looks good in that color, anyway.)
The second batch (dyed in the hopes of a purple--most of one skein of the same yarn above, with 2 packets each sugarless Cherry and Grape) turned out mostly a dusty rose/washed-out wine color, lighter in some places (I used the same pot...) and with the same skein-tying issues. I have no idea what to do with it. I wouldn't wear it, and neither would anyone else I know. But knitting with it is out of the question at the moment--it's horribly tangled. I am vaguely reminded of intestines. I'm thinking of overdyeing it with black cherry or grape, but I don't know.
If I'm not intended to have either red or purple yarn, would the Kool-aid gods kindly tell me?
I'm going to buy several packets of black cherry tomorrow. Hopefully it'll go better next time...
I have been playing with Kool-aid over break, trying to dye myself some nice dark red. It's worked, except for the dark and the red. The first batch (1 skein Patons' Classic Merino in Aran, 2 packets Black Cherry, one packet sugar-free Cherry) turned out a salmon pink. Nice, except that I hate pink. And it's a subtly-variegated salmon pink, because a)I don't have a pot large enough, and b) I tied it too tightly. It was dyed at three AM, so maybe I have an excuse, but I suppose that it might have to turn into a Liesel for my sister. (She looks good in that color, anyway.)
The second batch (dyed in the hopes of a purple--most of one skein of the same yarn above, with 2 packets each sugarless Cherry and Grape) turned out mostly a dusty rose/washed-out wine color, lighter in some places (I used the same pot...) and with the same skein-tying issues. I have no idea what to do with it. I wouldn't wear it, and neither would anyone else I know. But knitting with it is out of the question at the moment--it's horribly tangled. I am vaguely reminded of intestines. I'm thinking of overdyeing it with black cherry or grape, but I don't know.
If I'm not intended to have either red or purple yarn, would the Kool-aid gods kindly tell me?
I'm going to buy several packets of black cherry tomorrow. Hopefully it'll go better next time...
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