Until now, I've always knitted on aluminum or plastic needles.  They're okay...annoyingly loud sometimes and you have to be a bit careful with the tips or you'll split your yarn, but they got the job done. This weekend I bought my first pair of bamboo needles.  They're a LOT more expensive - I can get a pair of aluminums for $3; the bamboo ones I just got were $8 - but boy are they ever worth it. They're lighter, they're quiter and they're a literal joy to hold.  Deliciously...

it's that time of year again.  Time to start thinking about Christmas gifts.  Yes, I know that it's mid-August.  Yes, I realize that Christmas is 4 months away.  No, I'm not insane. My family lives in England, and if I want their box of goodies to get there in time for December 25th (which isn't actually Christs Birthday btw, but actually a pagan holiday that the Christians just commandeered) I have to start thinking about what to get them now because I'll have to mail...

I finished Little Whip's wolf scarf yesterday.  All I have to is it attach it's 'teeth' and embroider it's snout on and it'll be ready to mail off to her. It was surprisingly quick to knit up.  I started it Saturday evening, had the tail finished Saturday night before I went to bed, and finished the rest of it Sunday afternoon.  It's very soft and supple...I'm really very happy with the results (I hope that LW feels the same way!). This afternoon I made a start on ...

When we were younger and stupider, Dave and I got ourselves into a bit of trouble with credit.  There was a point where our credit was bad.  Really, really bad.  We've worked really hard over the years to get things squared away. Yeah, we screwed up a few times with late payments, but overall we've done fairly well, always paying more than the minimum (even if it was only $5 more) and we've put a stop to opening any more charge or credit accounts. Since Dave will retire from...

We has a wave of storms roll through here yesterday afternoon. The boys, Dave and I were out shopping...as we walked out of Target we were confronted with a pitch black sky.  We called Shea, who was home alone, and told her that we had to run by the commissary but would be home shortly. When we walked into the commissary, the wind had picked up.  When we walked out, it was raining hard and the streets were under an inch of water.  I got scared on the drive home because th...

Link The above link is to a website that shows the pictures of people's deterioration in menth addiction.  It's awful to see what meth does to people.  Most of the addicts shown have scabs on their faces from picking at the bugs they percieve to be under their skin.  Some are missing teeth - long term meth use makes teeth really fragile.  Go have a look...then tell me what you think.  

Why is it that when you're really, really tired and for once you NEED to sleep....you can't?  Why is it that when you're really really tired and have finally managed to drag yourself to  the edge of a big, black, comfortable pit of sleep...the phone rings and yanks you back into cold harsh reality again? Why is it that the one time in the past 3 weeks that you're not 'in the mood' just happens to be the day that your husband comes home feeling particularly frisky? Why is it t...

My husband went back to wrok on Monday.  He'd been on leave prior to that, looking after me whilst I recuperated.  I wasn't sure about him going back to work because I didn't think i was ready to look after the kids AND the house AND myself all day.  He and his supervisor reassured me that they would be flexible about things, that he'd be coming home for lunch and would be home around 5-ish in the evenings so I wouldn't be stranded all alone all day. Yeah, right.  Monday h...

The asshole child molestor I wrote about a few months ago had his Court Martial today. I had wanted to attend, but my recovery precluded my being there.  D went, though.  He had to, this dude's his prisoner. He (the child molestor) entered a plea agreement, so there was no trial.  He got 9 years confinement and a bad conduct discharge.  Our daughter said that didn't seem like a lot - so her dad and I asked her if she could remember being 4, because that was 9 years ago.&nb...

 *This is another installment in my series of rants about people who piss me off.* Ingrid Newkirk, for those who don't know, is the woman who founded PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  She's also a bigmouthed idiot who equates a human life with that of a chicken: "Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in salughterhouses." (Washington Post, November 13, 1983) Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this crackpot ac...

I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting knitting patterns.  I like hats and scarves; not only do they knit up quickly, but I can also use a fair amoung of 'artistic' license when I make them.  I've been wanting a cool scarf pattern all year, and I've just now found it: Yes, it's a fox. A fur-friendly fox, and I think it's the coolest scarf I've been in ages.  Better still, the pattern is well within my skill range.  I'm knitting myself one as soon as ...

Polly the cat is doing what she's supposed to do - kill off rodents.  Unfortunately she's not killing off the rodents we wanted her to, ie the moles that are terrorizing our lawn.  In the past month we've lost one hamster to her and tonight we lost Bert the mouse. I couldn't sleep, so I was laying in bed watching Matchstick Men.  Polly was laying next to me purring...and out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of white movement and before I knew it the cat was up out...

I did it!  I knitted our Jake a coonskin cap!  It took me 4 hours on Saturday from start to finish, and I have to say I'm quite pleased with how it came out.  I even learned a new technique - one which will re-appear in my fall collection of hats.  And a side view: Jake loves it; he even slept in it last night.  He's proud enough of it to wear it outside in front of his friends...those of you who have any experience with 9 year olds will know that they...