Archive for February, 2007

Is It May Yet? 28Feb07


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Cause I’m certainly ready for it to get here! School has been kicking my butt this week, I’ve had major homework assignments due almost everyday, and I’m working on another big one that’s due tomorrow. I don’t mind too much, since I actually like all my classes this semester, but all this homework does cut into the knitting time…(who am I kidding? I’m in class for 2-3 hours everyday, I get plenty of knitting done!)

Sometimes I wish I could be a dog though…I mean, doesn’t this look like fun?

attack of the crazy beard!
Emma has the crazy beard down to an art form
"I didn't do it, I promise!"
"But it was fun Papa!"

And after today, I almost got down on the floor with Dallas to help shred the toy. Remember the car accident I was in a few months ago? Well the lady finally got around to filing the claim, and I went to see the adjuster today, only to find out that she’s hired a lawyer and changed her statement…she now claims that the accident was my fault, even though she admitted guilt at the scene. So now that means that this stupid claim will be dragged out over the next few months, along with a special investigation to determine who was really at fault. Ugh. I thought this was already taken care of! Even the claims adjuster said that he thought it was a bit ridiculous that she had called in a lawyer for a small accident. Now that means that I have to get my insurance involved, in case she tries to make a claim against me, and most likely both our companies will end up battling it out over who has to pay what.

That’s about all that’s going on, and I have homework awaiting, so I should get back to it. Oh and it’s 10 PM, so that means it’s tea time at Chez Adam! I think I’ll have Ginger Peach tonight, that should make the homework a bit more pleasant. ;)

wireless communications is lots of math!
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Phew! 25Feb07


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Man am I tired! Has it really been since Tuesday? It seems like that last blog post was about 5 minutes ago, that’s how fast things moved this week. Between homework, work, wedding prep (more on that in a second) and Yarn Nerd stuff I’ve been quite the busy bee. I only finished dinner an hour ago, because I’ve been cleaning all day!

Why you ask? Well it all starts with wedding prep. The astute among you might remember that my brother got engaged back in August. Well the time is nearing, and we’re now two weeks out from the wedding. (I’m trying my hardest not to wig out completely…) My brother moved into his new apartment yesterday, which means that he moved out of my house as well. I took the opportunity to move my office into his old room, since it’s very conducive to yarn dyeing, and I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. ;)

So check out the new digs! It’s a very sunny room, and the closet has tons of room, not to mention three clothes bars which work great for drying yarn! It’s not terribly well insulated, so it’s cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but it’ll be fine since I won’t be sleeping there. Oh yeah, and it has a separate entrance on the front of the house, how cool is that? I should totally get a neon sign that says “Yarn Nerd” and hang it in the window.

the yarn winding table my studio closet is huge!

I wasn’t content to just move though…I’m a total neat freak, so I ended up cleaning the whole house from head to toe. It was like pre-spring cleaning day around Chez Adam…no baseboard was left un-vacuumed, no toilet left unscrubbed and no trash can left unemptied. So now 4 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, and 3 bathrooms later, I’m pretty pooped out! (I guess I should have picked a smaller house!)

I think I’ll make some tea and settle down for a little knitting, especially since Arcade Fire is on SNL tonight! Wanna see what I’m working on? It’s just a little shawl type project that I’m making as a gift for a friend. (Details blurred since they’ll most likely read this.) I’m knitting it with my 900 MHz Sock Merino in the new Raspberry Sherbet colorway. It’s the first time I’ve knitted with my new base yarn, and I must say, it’s quite nice!

blurry knitting!

Have a great weekend! What’s left of it at least!

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Monday Bites Back 20Feb07


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So just when I thought I had cured my case of the Monday’s with some handknit socks and copious amounts of coffee, Monday decided to bite me on the butt.

I went down to UNM for my afternoon class, and found a rare parking spot on a side street that has no parking restrictions (!). I was quite happy as I walked to class, plus I arrived early and got a good amount of knitting in during class. Well, my bubble was just bound to burst…and when I walked back to my car I found that my glove box had been ripped out of the dashboard and was laying on the floor. I quickly checked to see what was missing, and found that my beloved iPod nano was gone. :(

I must have forgot to lock the car (I swear, that never happens!), because there were no signs of breaking in. A would be thief must have walked by, seen the tape adapter in the cassette deck and decided it was his lucky day. Unfortunately for me, that means that sessions at the gym will be much less entertaining until I can afford a new iPod. But at least that was all that’s taken, and my glove box is definitely repairable, all it needs is a new lock and maybe some hardened steel reinforcement.

So I went home, refusing to let Monday get the best of me.

I had yarn to wind, a seemingly normal activity…but Monday struck again! I wasn’t paying attention (that happened a lot yesterday) while I was winding a skein out of a center pull ball with my electric skeinwinder, and that’s when Monday got me. The one ball suddenly morphed into two balls, which began to rotate around each other like two binary stars.

Needless to say, that became a giant tangled mess in about 2.1 seconds. I tried to untangle it for about 15 minutes but it was futile, and I had to cut off the tangled part. I figured that it was unsellable, but lo and behold it was actually 380 yards! Only 40 yards short of what it should have been, so it could have been much worse.

Plus, my Monday misfortune is now your Tuesday good fortune! I’m going to offer the aforementioned skein at a discount to the first commenter who wants it, for only $19.00. It’s 380 Yards of 900 MHz Sock Merino, in the Berry-licious colorway. Even though it’s not my standard yardage, it is still plenty for a nice pair of socks, as long as you don’t have hobbit feet. Here are my lovely (and uncooperative) models to show it off for you.

enough with the yarn! "whatever are you doing papa?"
Emma: "I’ll get you for this…" / Dallas: "Huh, what?"

Get it while it’s hot people! If you’re the first commenter to claim the skein, I send you a Paypal invoice for $19.00 + $4.05 shipping, easy as that.

Here’s hoping that Tuesday is a lot better than Monday :-/

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A Case of the Mondays 19Feb07


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“Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays…”

Yup, it’s true, I do have a case of the Mondays. It’s not terribly bad, it’s just that after a weekend of hanging out and having a lovely time, I was reluctant to enter the rat race again. But such is life, right? You can’t exactly carve out a living by cleaning house, going on walks with the dogs, going to church and hanging out with friends. Plus, if I only did that stuff all day long, I think I would probably go crazy out of boredom. It’s good to have an occupation, you know, to keep you occupied.

I did also manage to get a bunch of yarn dyed and some knitting done, so that was very nice as well. I’m hoping to get all this yarn prepped and ready for a shop update on Thursday or Friday. I’d love to get it up sooner, but I have lots of homework this week, so I need to be realistic with my time constraints so that I don’t promise an update that I can’t deliver. I’m also planning to unveil a very cool Yarn Nerd Exclusive on Friday as well, which I think you will all be very pleased with. I think it’s butt-kicking cool and I hope you think so too :)

So after such a lovely weekend, it’s always a bit sad to go back to the grind. But never fear, for there are a few simple cures when you too have a Case of the Mondays. My favorite remedies? (Warning: Crummy cameraphone pictures of my cubicle ahead, approach with extreme caution.)

  1. Hand-Knits → Nothing brightens up your day like looking down and remembering that you are wearing some cozy hand-knit socks. In this case it’s my Malamute socks, made with yarn dyed by the very talented Georgia. So soft and cozy, it helps me remember that despite the cubicle, there are still good things to be happy about.
cozy socks
  1. Hot Coffee → No, not the video game exploit, the actual thing. (If you have no idea what that was a reference to, there is still hope for you, so embrace it!) My biggest secret to maintaining sanity in the workplace is simple. Delicious coffee. Start with fresh roasted beans, brew them in a French Press for a lovely cuppa, then pour into a gigantic thermos and enjoy mini coffee breaks all day long. So simple, yet so effective. Mmmmmm!
coffee breaks all day long

What are your secrets to coping with the Mondays? I bet knitting over lunch could be quite effective. ;)

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Soup and Sore Muscles 15Feb07


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I have both tonight! After a strenuous afternoon at the gym, I was in the mood for something warm and comforting, so I made some Chicken Tortilla Soup. Mmmmm, so tasty! Especially when you have fresh tomatoes, avocados and bell peppers for garnish. And now I have some tasty lunch for tomorrow! I also made some Rum-Glazed Whole-Grain Banana Tarts for dessert, but they got eaten before I could get a picture. ;)

mmm, chicken tortilla soup night!

Now that I’m finally over last week’s nasty virus, I’ve finally been able to get exercise in these past few days. I really missed not being able to go to the gym last week, I never thought that would ever happen! I’ve started lifting weights, which has seemed to accelerate the weight loss, despite making it painful to walk the day after (i.e. tomorrow!) So far I’ve lost 7 pounds! It might not be a ton, but I look great and am super pleased with my progress. Now I just have to catch up on my Runagogo mileage!

In Yarn Nerd news…thanks so much for your comments and e-mails! The opening was better than I could ask for, and I’m overwhelmed by everyone’s support! I’m so glad that Yarn Nerd is finally open for business, I’ve been waiting for the big unveil for quite some time now. I still have lots to come, so stick around to see what comes next!

There’s still 8 skeins left in the shop, so grab ‘em while they’re still around! And there’s still one hour left until the contest closes, so go register and enter to win some yarn! I’ll be announcing the 5 winners tomorrow, so good luck :)

Alright, I think I’m being beckoned to come to bed…have a great week!

come to bed Dad!
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