The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's that time of the year again, Gencon Indy starts tomorrow! Can't wait, so stay tuned for gaming goodness :)

What the Hell I've Been Doing All Summer

To say I've let my blog go to the back burner this summer is a complete understatement. Now time to start playing a bit of catch-up.

Hubs and I have been completely occupied by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel complete series DVDs since late June. Please don't do the math and figure out how many hours/days we spent in front of the TV. I have been marking the hours going by with tons of finished knitting projects and don't want to even think about it in terms of hours. :)

Last item off my needles, and largest summer project by far was the Serenity Baby Blanket made for buds Zoe and BP who are planning on starting a family this fall. This took me the vast majority of season 1-5 of Angel to complete, but I just had to knit a project inspired by Firefly, a show by Joss Whedon, while watching another of his series.

True to color shot

True to proportion shot

Mmmmm...cable-y and lacy

Cotton-Ease didn't block so well

Pretty center motif

I loved doing this project! If you want the knitty gritty details, see my Ravelry project page.

With a Little Help

First off, a GINORMOUS thank you to Hubs, Marcus, Mary, Zoe, Sylvia, Phollower, and Betty Please for all your help moving on Saturday. We couldn't have done it without your help. :)

The past 5 or so weeks have been one of the craziest times in my life. I haven't been in the right frame of mind for much knitting, blogging, or much of anything other than pacing or worrying and attempting to escape in DVRed tv shows. I've been helping my mom and sister move and get a fresh start to life that they both needed. The biggest part of that being getting them into a place of their own which was finished yesterday afternoon. I cannot even say what a huge relief this is to me and my family. So, here's to second chances and good friends and family!

I'm Not Dead Yet

Been going through some, well let's face it, shit lately. May's completely sucked. Bring on July! I realize I may be getting a bit ahead of myself but that's the light at the end of the tunnel for me. :)

That's not to say that I haven't been busily stitching away. I have three finished objects I'm just now getting around to blogging.

First up, I've taken up cross stitching. Cross stitching had a bit of a rocky start for me as Bandit devoured two skeins of floss in one night. Let it be known that if an emergency vet ever gives you the instructions to dose your dog with hydrogen peroxide and have him exercise until he pukes that you're in for a long night. >.< This sampler is destined to be hung in our office at home.

Modified "Bite Me" Sampler from the Subversive Cross Stitch book

Also, I've finished the Pinwheel Blanket for Astro Knotts.

Such an easy pattern, but oh so cute and modifiable

Also finished a pair of socks for Mother's Day only 2 weeks after. Loved working the twisted stitch cables in this pattern.

Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road using Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn

And, I'm over halfway completed with a pair socks for Hubs. Only been working on these since January! :-/

Gionormous Hub Socks

I'm sort of between projects at the moment with only the huge Hub socks to work on. I think I may have to pick up a lace project soon, too.

Posting a Question

Do kids still TP houses this day and age? I see there are videos as evidence of the practice's existence now, but I don't recall seeing it in YEARS.

Books!

1) One book that changed your life

Systems Analysis and Design Methods by Whitman et al. Course book for my first systems analysis and design class where I first learned the basics of data modeling which was my first area of computers that I felt that I could excel.

2) One book that you had read more than once
Rather hard one for me since I tend never to re-read books. I have read the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few times, but that's been a few years ago at this point. I've listened to the Harry Potter audiobooks many times, too.

3) One book you would want on a desert island
Probably one of those ginormous Bathroom Reader books. Really, where else would I have learned that Queen Elizabeth and I share a liking for Dick Francis novels?

4) Two books that made you laugh
Small Favor by Jim Butcher. Bob the Skull is awesome!
At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much. The Yarn Harlot is freakin' hilarious. Can't wait for her book tour stop in Indy at the end of this month!

5) One book that made you cry
Oh, only the last 3 Harry Potter books made me outright sob. The Earth is Flat was depressing enough to make me want to cry.

6) One book you wish you had written
Wikinomics by Dan Tapscott. Completely opposite tone from The Earth is Flat, made the US tech industry sound viable and exciting :) Plus, Dan made a very inspiring keynote speaker at the DAMA conference last March.

7) One book you wish had never been written
Bless the Beasts and Children and Moby Dick. I was forced to suffer through these books in high school. Bless the Beasts and Children was such whiny drivel. Moby Dick contained an entire 30+ page chapter describing "The Whiteness of the Whale". That chapter could be summarized as "Whale is white. The end." Talk about long-winded!

8) Two books that you are currently reading
The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson and John Lloyd is my current hair drying read. (Yes, I keep a book for reading while I dry my hair.) Did you know that the nose of the Sphinx wasn't blown off by the Nazis or Napoleon? It was long-gone before either of them!

The Unnatural Inquirer by Simon Green is my current fiction book. Front cover recommendation by Jim Butcher and modern fantasy setting made it look appealing, but I'm just not into it.

Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun is my on-going non-fiction book.

9) One book you have been meaning to read
Next on my to read pile is the Twilight series, so no spoilers, Sylvia :)

Completely Hypothetical, of Course

Say, your dog just ate the vast majority of two new skeins of embroidery floss. A call to an 24 hour emergency vet gives you the advice to give said dog hydrogen peroxide and make him run around in the yard to make him get rid of the floss quickly. You'd be in for a long night. Especially if your dog has a cast iron stomach like Bandit.

All is well now, and I need more embroidery floss to finish my first cross stitch project. All floss will now be stored in a zippered bag. :-/

o.O

Apparently, I write much differently than I talk.