Knit Addictions

Yarn to the Rescue!

In the parental/family situation........things are a little better.  I have found out that rising tensions are normal (not that it helps to know that really?) but at least it's calming down this week.  whew.  my mom has her pain under control although the med dosage is rising.  She is still coherent and definitely seems to thrive when I'm here which makes me feel really happy.  :-)

My niece has a little pomeranian named "Bear" who pines for her whenever she is gone....here he is in the hallway where he sticks his head on the rails above the stairs and looks longingly out the window wondering when she will return...............

Bear recently had a haircut so he doesn't look quite as 'bear-like' as usual.  but he is kinda cute huh?

I'm on a 10 nights in Minnesota/4 nights in Los Angeles schedule.  crazy and maybe a little exhausting.  But for now, I'm holding up.  My last visit back to LA was sooooooooooo awesome. Bam whisked me to the beach for not one but two glorious fun filled, sun thrilled days.  We biked, talked, laughed..........and of course had the obligatory soy cappuccinos......it was like soul therapy. 

Back here again, I made a trip to the ENORMOUS Needlework Unlimited!  Whew!  Just try walking out of there without spending all the money you have and more than you have.  The yarns just go on and on and on and you keep finding more of them just when you thought you were done looking it all over.  Karen, the owner is INCREDIBLY helpful and so enthusiastic.  Just an amazing yarn experience.  I love that store.  Of course, I did have to buy the new yarn from Berroco.....Vibe.  (along with a few other items! ha!)

Last visit here, I went to the Burnsville SnB and had a gas!  Unless something crazy happens, I am definitely planning to go again tomorrow night.  What is it about knitting in public with other yarn addicts that is so appealing?  I have no idea.  But I like it.

The only two things I am really really missing everyday..................BAM and our rock n roll.
Damn.
I miss my man.
I miss playing noisy loud music.
But I know I'm lucky to get to take care of my mom and help bring my dad over here for visits.  (which he LOVES and totally perks him up!)
Sigh.
So having said all of that........okay, my guitar will still be there in a few months when this is over.

Oh, the other thing that saved me in Minnesota?  Ikea!  Yep.  I know it's totally "Consumerism-Share".  Yep, that's who I became the day I went there.  But honest.  I needed a proper bed!  When I arrived I was stuck with an inflatable bed and was practically falling out of it every night.  Now I have the least expensive (notice I didn't say cheapest?) futon bed.  A little on the hard side but it converts to a low sofa by day and guess who sits and knits on it by her new el cheapo Ikea lamp?  Yeah..........the room is much more zen now and it's calmed me down.

Now could I soundproof the garage and put an amp in there???????????
okay okay.  I know...............

hmmmmm.........in regards to the book...............I have found great inspiration for writing on this blog!  If you like to write (which we knitters seem to like to do?!)......check it out.  excellent writers blog.

Flowers, Fatigue and Fearlessness

Here is a shot of the flowers and bird feeders on me mum's balcony. 

ain't it purdy?  my brother and his family got it all set up a couple of months ago and my mom can see it all from her bed. 

The fatigue set in today.  I won't go in to private details but we had some family drama today and I feel really bad and ....well.......it's a long story.....but quite frankly, .......I'm exhausted now.  Needless to say, tensions and stupid words fly high at a time like this. 

re: Fearlessness........I am in search of it.  Anybody have any to spare??????

Okay.   Too knackered to write much.  Thank you again for the awesome comments and raves about OCD.  Loved it all.

The Green Green Grass

Wow.  There's a lot of us toilet roll anal retentive people in the world!  Funny thing..........I'm here in Minnesota now.  At the end of a long day, about 1 in the morning last night, I finally got ready for bed....used my niece's bathroom.  Guess how the toilet roll is hung?  Yep.  THE WRONG WAY!  I just sorta chuckled to myself and left it.  But today, ....I will simply have to right that wrong.  And possibly bring up the incorrectness of it all in polite conversation.  The world must be educated one person at a time on toilet roll hanging!

It was really hilarious to read everyone's comments about their own personal OCD's.  Thanks for sharing.  Nice to know we're all weird?!

THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME
Anyone remember that song?  Kinda country........anyway,.......here's a shot of my parents backyard which I can see from my bedroom.

My mom and I used to sing that song in harmony with really exaggerated bad country accents.  Brings back funny memories.  (Imagine perfect harmony but over the top Hee Haw attitude.  We thought we were comedic geniuses but I'm not sure if anyone else was laughing!)

Arrived last night.  Uneventful flight.  I actually got to LAX early thinking Orange Alert so the lines will be really long. I was dead wrong.  But glad I was wrong.  The lines were all short and it was a light travel day with the plane 1/3 empty.  Hooray!  You know what THAT means.............Nobody in the seat on my left so I could knit without jabbing that left needle into anyone!!!!  (I take the window on the right side of the plane for knitting purposes....seems easier.)

That's a close up of the uber pink explosion of Berroco Suede.  I can't talk about what I'm knitting since it's supposed to be for the book.......but I can tell ya........they recommend a 5.0 mm needle size and I ended up (after many frogged attempts and swatches galore) using 4.25 mm!  It was the only way to get the stitches to lay close to each other.  I do love the look of the Suede yarn.  For the book, it will probably NOT end up pink ..........but it was what I had on hand.......gee, I wonder why?

THE MINNESOTANESS OF IT ALL
Well, the morning was quiet.  My mom is back to having better moments.  They took her off of some dreadful medicine that made her completely loopy.  I'm talkin...........LOOPY!  So now she is better and she even ate a decent breakfast!  A couple of neighbors stopped by to say hello.  They started dissing on the Davinci Code....something about how evil it is.  I almost burst out laughing.  But I kept schtum just cuz there's no reason to aggravate my mom.  But hey, the book is gonna be a film directed by Ron Howard starring Tom Hanks........so obviously, yes, so very very evil.  Anyway...........you know what I mean.

TA
Thank you for the lovely comments as always.  I read every single one and since my time online has been so limited I have not written back to you all like I should have.  Gonna go visit some of your blogs again......

DUH
Like everyone else is talkin.....the new KNITTY is up.  Always a source of inspiration......

PS
Didcha notice the two pics in this post?  green and pink..........hmmmmmm.....now what band does that make you think of?  .....god save the queen.................yeah.  i need me some sex pistols right NOW!
itunes here i come.

Me & Howard Hughes

This is not a complete non-sequitor..........this is a knitting blog.  I knit, I watch movies while I knit.....so....

Have you ever seen a film that just stays with you and you find yourself thinking about little aspects of it at the oddest moments?  That's what happened with "The Aviator", the Leo DeCaprio starring flick about Howard Hughes.  First of all, I have to admit my naivete when it comes to Mr. Hughes.  I had no clue that he had influenced commercial aviation to such a large degree.  The man was truly driven.

Lying in a hospital bed with injuries from crashing in to a Beverly Hills home on one of his test runs....he redesigned the hospital bed! 

I also found his "OCD" or for those of you not in the know........."Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" ....well, I found that very interesting and started using it as a verb.  Like......"Oh, I'm just OCD-ing right now".  I do realize it is a VERY serious problem and I'm not making light of it at all.  But I did find myself worrying......

• the fact that I HAVE to have the looroll aka bogroll aka toilet paper hung so that it rolls down and not up.........I mean, I will change this in people's homes and in public restaurants.  It bugs me that much.   I keep telling myself it's logical.  You don't want the roll to go the other way, it just isn't logical, right?

  

• the fact that if we're out in a restaurant and some sort of beverage is served with a cup and saucer (cappuccino perhaps?) I MUST be sure there is no 'mess' under the cup.  This prevents drips landing on my clothes, you see.  This of course, extends to everyone at my table.  I have been known to lift people's cups and put napkins on their saucers if I see a spill going on there.  I think of it, once again as preventive and simply logical.
• the fact that as soon as I return from the Blockbuster Video, I must wash my hands with warm water and soap.  I think that is just common sense.  I mean, all those hands touching all those videos and you can hear everyone sniffling and sneezing and see them wiping their noses in the shop.  Ewwww.....it just grosses me out!  Logical again, right?
• My only true anxiety comes from the simple act of driving over a bridge. 

• 

  Any long bridge...say longer than 2 blocks....and I start to sweat and panic.  The Richmond Bridge in San Francisco is sheer torture and terror for me.  All started when I crashed my 1970 Mustang on a hill in a blizzard in the Arizona mountains.  Me and an 18 wheeler.  He won.  But that's another story.  Point is.....I've got this bizarre anxiety/panic attack that happens when I'm driving over bridges.  Very unsettling.

So those are my particular 'eccentricities'.  I do not for one moment think I have OCD at all nor am I belittling it.  But seeing the film did make me think about those little quirks and I sort of understood how it could all get bent out of shape. 

Basically, I feel like I have various odd things in common with Howard Hughes............thanks to him, my mom has a comfortable hospital bed in her living room and I am getting on a commercial flight and flying non-stop above the turbulence ....to go and visit her. 

What would Howard have done with knitting needles and yarn? 

Hats off to all the mad geniuses in the world..............

The Stuff We Don't Talk About

It seems there are certain things one just doesn't talk about in polite society.........like.....
DEATH, SEX, MONEY...........those things!

Well, screw 'em.

Starting with DEATH............
It sucks that both of my parents are so near their last breaths.  It makes me think really weird thoughts.  Thoughts I never knew would enter my head.  Like really really wanting to own a home.  I seem to be in search of stability that I never looked for before.  Also, fears of being alone and lonely.  I've already gone over the not having kids thing.  Yeah, I'm gonna be a non-parent.  Well, I guess I AM a non-parent.  It is still a weird scary thought and process to accept. 

I'm flying back on Friday to help with my mom.  She is sleeping in a hospital bed in the living room now and somebody sleeps with her every night.  So I will join the team to make us three and we will rotate our sleeping duties.  It's scary to go back.  I want to run as far away as possible.  I want to go on the road with a band.  ANY BAND.  Just get away from responsibility.

And yet........didn't I just say I wanted to own a house?
Sheesh.
I suppose confusion is part of the 'process' of losing your parents. 
Sigh.

Let's move on to SEX
My wonderful niece used her discount priveleges to get me new bras from Victoria's Secret.  Sounds bizarre, I know....but hey, it was a great deal and ya know what?  Their bras are absolutely wonderful.  Having been on the 'tomboy' side of life for many years........I've recently discovered the advantages of wearing a long peasant skirt and having nice lingerie underneath my tough exterior.  I feel PAMPERED!  It's awesome. 

As for sex itself?  I only have my own take on things.........never go to bed mad with each other.  don't keep a tally of wrongs.  learn forgiveness.  don't use sex as a tool of power.  GET LAID with someone you love on a regular basis and your dreams will feel possible.

MONEY
Weird thing.  The greed for it IS indeed at the root of all evil.  But money itself is just a thing.  It is worth what we 'agree' it's worth.  Ohhhhh....the concept of it all.  It's crazy but I've been spending my time either knitting or reading finance books.  Trying to face my fears of that 'stuff' which is what I usually refer to it as.  That 'stuff' that other people deal with and other people understand but not me.  Well, that is changing.  Yes.  I have read, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" (interesting concepts...a little too hard sell...but got me going)..."Creating Wealth" (a lot more useful applicable action advice but not terribly useful in LA's real estate market....I mean....hello?  a house for under $200,000?  doesn't exist here.)....."Think and Grow Rich"....this book is verrrrry interesting.........written a long time ago with some very unusual concepts....closer to "what the bleep" than to most finance books...........and finally, my fave "Start Late and Finish Rich".  This one has hit home the most so far.  Also joined www.morningstar.com and have been reading the news and studying in their free classrooms. 

Does money go with knitting?
Well, it does if you want to buy yarn?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"All You Need Is Love".  True...........but you still have to get off your ass and make that love earn money somehow.  Money doesn't matter if you have it.  Money is so important when you don't have it.

That's my concept.
End of money part.

BATMAN
Saw the flick.  Loved it.  Had to change seats cuz some homeys walked in with their ho's and literally whispered LOUDLY NON-STOP.  Popped open their cans of Coors that they snuck in to the theater and everyone was terrified to say anything to them.  I think the whole theater sighed with relief when halfway through, they realized they were at a film not a bar and they actually LEFT!  So I kind of missed the first half due to desperately trying to ignore their comments and chatter and inappropriate laughter and snickering and burping.........etc.  In spite of all that...........this film was excellent.

KNIT
here is a WIP.......I can't really say what it is........but you KNOW I love black and pink.  It's actually two totally different things that were sitting on the couch together.   he he.

And because she is my mom...........another pic from my last trip there:

Did I mention that when I first started knitting I made her a scarf and everytime we went out...she would practically grab people and say, hey LOOK AT MY SCARF.  My daughter made this.  Yes, she did.  And point to me where I would stand glowing in her proud mama vibes. 

Ya gotta love knitting for the ones you love.
xxxx

A Little Freeform Babble

So I just have to write something after all the caring comments and emails...........wow.  Ya know what is really amazing?  My mom so completely does NOT think she is beautiful.  It's almost like an ongoing thing for me to convince her that she is.  She just 'pashaws' it.....but now I have all of your comments to throw at her!  and believe me.........I will!  She is a wonderful woman.  So graceful and elegant.  In that way...I'm so NOT like her.  But I definitely have her musical sense and her compassion.  And her love of games. (she can whip ANYONE's ass at cribbage!.....in fact......one time on an airplane............well, suffice to say, the whole plane and the pilot ended up watching the game!) 

anyway, you can tell how much I love her, huh.  yeah.  I do.

I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm in a good mood and not crying and .....well....I'm just gonna blog it.  frog it.  dog it.  and sod it.
ha!

First off........THE TRUTH ABOUT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
I've just discovered the hellishness about this sweetener.  They use it in all those Big Gulp things and super size drinks and it's even in Hansen's "natural" soda.  You can find it in loads of stuff aimed at kids, of course.  The thing is.........it's cheaper to make than sugar.  And the scary part?  Your body does NOT read it as sugar but your mouth finds it sweet.  So after consuming something with it, you want MORE, MORE, MORE....!  This stuff is in so many things.......ketchup........cookies,....my personal fave: tofutti cuties!  :-(

HFCS is linked to so many scary things.   It's unreal.  I thought I was already living pretty clean...but I wasn't looking out for that.  It's in a LOT of stuff.  Read your labels.

So what to do?  avoid it.  get the 'real thing' baby.  use sugar when necessary.  at least your body knows what the hell it is.  Skip the chemical substitutions at all costs. 

Wanna read more?  Try this one....or type it in to google and let me know what other scary crap you found. I just hate how they save money and use junk they try to pass off as 'edible'.  Gimme a break. 

IN THE STUDIO
We've been recording some friends of ours the Ballard Brothers (Rick and Brian) who are collectively known as "Falls Church Garage".  Very cool Americana type rock n roll.......ala Tom Petty meets the Replacements with Nirvana and Tom Waits.  All kinda rolled in to one.  Very very cool stuff and Bam n me play on the album too.  Everytime they come to record I have a great day!  That's a good sign, eh?

ON THE NEEDLES
Oh.......well, dammit all.  I can't really say much now.....cuz of the darn book.  hmmm....let's see...I got some mad Crystal Palace combination of wacko yarns for a great big thing in black.  (involving of course, a skull and crossbones.)  I've got another project on the go with pink Suede from Berroco....it may not end up pink for the model though.  Of course, I happened to have pink on hand.  (gee...I wonder why?)  hmmmm.........oh I know.  I made this mad thing that was supposed to be a capelet but I only had one ball of yarn (Suss Cotton.........verrrrrrrry yummy) and it ended up being like a ...hmmm...thing that sits on your shoulders sort of.  I dunno.  But I gave it to my mom and she loved it. 

OTHER STUFF
We are launching our first knit related product in the next few months.  Been working on that a whole lot!  OMG!  How could I forget?  I played drums in a friends music video that Bam directed, shot and edited!  How is that for wacko?????????!!!!!!!!!!
you can see it here:
www.bam13films.com  click on 'director' and then click on Robbie Tart.
he he!
Verrrrrrrrry fun.

NEXT WEEK
I'm leaving for Minnesota next Friday.  Planning to stay longer.  Just have to ........
I'll be reading your comments again while I'm there..........they give me strength.
thank you.