This Is Huge!

For me. As a knitter.



See that thing on my knee? That is a sock. My first sock. Up until now I have been afraid to knit one. Here is what happened. About a year ago I started the scarf from this post and I had a terrible time with it. I was trying new stitches along with skinny old sock yarn and I got super frustrated and put it down. But when I picked it back up a year later, the process was a lot easier. I had gotten better at knitting! So when I finished up the scarf and had some sock yarn left over, I swallowed my fear and cast on to the dreaded double pointed needles. This is another reason why I was afraid of socks. Double pointed needles suck! They require a level of coordination that I did not have. Until now! I am sucking it up and learning to work with these things. At first it felt like I had 12 fingers on each hand, but I have been doing it for almost a week, and now it only feels like I have about eight fingers on each hand. That is progress. I screwed up three times and had to unravel it, but it appears that the fourth time is the charm!



It is starting to resemble an actual sock! So far so good. I have not gotten down to the heel yet. I am sure there will be more swearing and throwing of needles across the room, but hopefully I will get through it.

Tune in for the next exciting episode of "As The Heel Turns", where we hear Karla say, "%#$*&!" and "*@#&$%!".

Let's Hear It For Faythe!

I have lived up here for two years now, and fortunately I have acquired a few friends in that time. I love all my Supper Club girls, but it seems that the two that I do the most stuff with are Jennifer O. and Faythe. We all seem to like the same kind of things and we have a pretty good time together. We always find the fun in whatever it is we are doing and we laugh a lot. During our adventures, Faythe is the documentarian. She takes her camera everywhere she goes. And she blogs faithfully about all the stuff we do. Oftentimes (Is that one word or two?) she does my blog job for me, writing about our adventures to the point where I just say go here. Which is what I just did, because Faythe has documented our evening at the Roller Derby with such thoroughness, I don't even have to blog about it. So, thanks to my friend Faythe and her trusty camera. Here's to more adventures!

Why Cooking Is Bad

Victory Amid Boob Controversy

Let's start with the victory--I finished my scarf!! I have been knitting pretty much every evening, every lunchtime and most of every weekend since the Olympics started. I knit until I fall asleep in the chair in front of the TV. And it paid off, because this evening I finally finished that dang thing!



It's really nice. Too bad I didn't enter it into the Fair, it may have actually won something.

OK, now to the boob controversy. Let me first point out that this controversy exists only in my mind, but that is enough for me to blog about it. If you have watched the Olympics at all you are no doubt familiar with the commercial with the Sumo wrestlers that turn into an airplane and fly away. I think the commercial is for some computer or something.



As you can see, these Sumo wrestlers have quite a bit of boobage. In fact, they look just like woman's boobs. And the censors have no problem with these giant man-boobs being shown on network television. But they do have a problem with showing girl-boobs.



Wait a minute, this woman has no boobs. She is so muscular that she actually has pecs instead of boobs. But can we see them? NO! Why not? We got to see Michael Phelps' pecs all the live long day. But we can't see woman-pecs. And we have to look at Sumo Moobs. Do you see the problem here?? The boobs are on the wrong people!! And if that is not Olympic controversy, I don't know what is.



What can be done??

The Olympics Are Wearing Me Out!

I have stated here before that I LOVE the Olympics. Always have, always will. I have several things to say on the subject.

First, the opening ceremony was awesome. We all know that. China kicked the world's ass in opening ceremonies. And they are also kicking the world's ass in the events. Which brings me to my second point. There is NO WAY those Chinese girl gymnasts are 16 years old. They are little girls with purple eyeshadow. I am convinced that the Chinese government altered their documents to make 12 year olds into 16 year olds. I have no proof of this, but because I live in America I get to say whatever I want. Yay, freedom! And what is the big deal about the age limit anyway? All it means is that the real 16 year old gymnasts are having their asses handed to them by a bunch of 12 year olds. Does it make everyone feel better to get beat by girls their own age? I don't get it! Whatever.

Here is the problem with the Olympics. I want to watch all the time, but I work. Plus they are running until after midnight every night and I am asleep in the chair by 11pm. So I have to record it and watch what I missed the night before PLUS what I missed while I'm at work PLUS the live stuff from that night! It is exhausting! I admit that I fast forward through water polo, equestrian events, and volleyball, but it still is very time consuming.

And here is the other thing. I am an idiot. Because I signed up on Ravelry for the Ravelympics. I have to finish a scarf that I started last year by the closing ceremonies in order to win a medal. This is the scarf:



I have been knitting like crazy and am only about half way done. I really want that medal! So I finished a project that was almost done and I submitted that. And I got my medal!



But I am still determined to finish my scarf in time! I tell you, all this knitting and watching TV is HARD WORK!! OK, gotta go turn on the TV and make dinner now. I will prevail!

What I Did On My Summer Staycation

What was supposed to happen was that Leo and I were going to go to Canada because Max was supposed to be in Japan right now and we were going to be international travelers too. But then Japan got postponed and Max wanted to come to Canada too and Leo said that if Max comes to Canada then he won't go. So none of us went to Canada. But I still had half of yesterday and all of today off and now with no plans. So here is what I did.

1) Yesterday I went to the rose garden of Manito Park and knitted with a bunch of really cool people. They meet there every week and I will definitely be going back, it was so much fun!

2) This morning I got up early and Jennifer O. and I drove to Mt. Spokane to go berry picking but the road was closed half way up, so we went to Costco and picked up some blueberries there instead. Not quite the same but fun nonetheless.

3) I watched Paula Deen cook Chicken Pot Pie and Steak Diane on the Food Network. In those two dishes she managed to use almost 2 sticks of butter. She said she uses butter because she can. That sounds like a good reason to me.

4) Now I am going to watch Oprah while I clean the kitchen and then I will cook dinner which will be potstickers because the Olympics are in China. Everyone should watch the opening ceremonies tonight because fireworks come from China and they will probably have the best fireworks show in history!

5) Tomorrow I might throw caution to the wind and get a cup of coffee at the Rocket Bakery and possibly even a pink cookie. Whoa. I also might vacuum the house. Double whoa.

6) Tomorrow night they are showing "Willow" at The Shop on Perry. Bring a chair and have some free fun. And see Val Kilmer back when he was cute.

7) Other weekend highlights will include talking on the phone and knitting. Who needs Disneyland or Cabo when so much fun can be had right here!

Weakly Whirled News

It has been a busy week that has gone fast and slow at the same time if that is possible. Here is the stuff I remember, numbered as usual in no particular order, mostly boring except to me.

1) Well I took the big leap and I entered two knitting projects into the Spokane Interstate Fair! There is no going back now, so I better get cracking. I have already finished the Noro scarf, I would take a picture but I don't want my knitting competitors to see it. (Like they read my blog, ha!) I have not yet started the Ballband Washcloth but they don't take long to knit up so I'm sure I can knock it out by the entry date of September 2nd. This weekend will be spent deciding on and procuring the perfect colors of cotton because I will be knitting the finest washcloth ever known in all of history. Just so you know.

2) In other fascinating news, I have been watching a lot of the Suze Orman show lately. By watching I mean I put it on while I am cooking dinner and barely pay attention to it. I am hoping to get some good financial sense by osmosis.

3) Speaking of good financial sense, I threw $12 away playing Bingo last night with my friends Jen O. and Faythe. It was fun! None of us won anything, but 2 ladies at the next table won $500 between them. We were sitting at the wrong table I guess.

4) The other night at 11:15 pm, Max decided that he had to watch The Blues Brothers, which is one of my very favorite movies. So of course I had to stay up way past my bedtime and watch it with him, which I paid for the next day at work, but I don't regret it because any time spent with one of my kids is time well spent.

5) I would like to say HEY! to my cousin Robin who lives in New York and was kind enough to leave a comment saying hello. Robin, it has been too long! I don't have any of your info so I can't get back to you. Email me at spokarla@yahoo.com , I would love to get back in touch with all of you.

6) It's the weekend! Which means grocery shopping, avoiding housework, enjoying the beautiful weather, and possibly going to the South Perry Summer Theater tonight. Totally fun and highly recommended.

Have a great day everybody!

Summer

Summer is great! Here is why:

1) It is not winter. That is a big reason. Yes, sometimes it's too hot, but I refuse to complain because the alternative is worse! In the summer you don't have to drive 25 on the interstate because you fear sliding off the road, and leafy trees are a lot prettier than unleafy ones. Also, flip flops are better than boots.

2) Everyone sleeps in and stays up late. Except me. And I don't really know why that is great except that it just is. Everything is later in the summer. Dinner, grocery shopping, all of it. I wish work was later too but oh well.

3) It stays warm till bedtime, then it cools down and you can sleep with your bedroom window open and it's SO nice!

4) Flowers!

5) Funny summer TV shows. My current faves are "Wipeout" and "I Survived A Japanese Game Show". Also we have been watching a lot of "I Love Lucy" lately which is hilarious no matter the season.

6) The Farmers Markets. Fresh peaches, mmmmmmmm... Not to mention fresh everything else.

7) Midnight movies at the Garland. Tonight it's Pulp Fiction. Next week: The Goonies!

8) Barbeques! With potato salad and Mojitos...

We still have five weeks left, people. Make them fun ones!

Enhancements For Life

So today Leo and I went to the DOL (that's the DMV for all you California people) to get our enhanced driver's licenses. Leo got an ID since he is only 14. An enhanced drivers license is special because it works like a passport when you go to Canada or Mexico. And seeing how the 2010 Winter Olympics are in Canada, I thought we should be prepared. Because I have goals. Here is the list that I can remember right now.

1) Go see Curling at the Olympics. Now I know that Canadians love their curling so tickets might be hard to get. But even if I have to watch Zimbabwe play Argentina, (probably neither one of those countries have a curling team, I'm just trying to make a point) I will, just so I can see Curling at the Olympics.

2) To catch a fish. I have been fishing several times in my life and have never caught a fish. I would be happy catching a rubber boot or a tire even. So if you read this and live around here and go fishing, take me with you. Because I didn't say I wanted to buy all the fishing supplies, I just want to catch a fish.

3) To walk Bloomsday. I know that I will have to be in a lot better shape than I am in right now. My stupid hamstring has healed to the point that I can resume normal activity, so workouts will be resuming directly. I don't even really like to walk, but I love this town and this town loves Bloomsday, so I want to be a part of it. I got to be in the St. Patrick's Day parade, so I can be in Bloomsday too. Right?

4) To get on Highway 2 going east and stay on it until it ends. Which is Chicago I think. I love the road less traveled.

5) To not spend every penny I make. How nice would it be to have money left over at the end of the month? As long as I am feeding 2 teenage boys, I may never find out.

6) Also I would like to see Led Zeppelin if they reunite and tour, but I would not say that is a goal really, because it is not something I can work towards, I just have to be lucky I guess.

That is it for now. I'm sure I have other goals, but this is a good start.

Canada!

So yesterday I went to Canada with Faythe and Jen O. It was a really long day but a really great day. We left at 8am to do the Selkirk Loop. Faythe was the photographer as usual and her flickr set of our day is here. Here are my thoughts and observations:

1) First of all, Canada is great! Even though it is so close to the US, it is a totally different place, and you get that sense immediately. I got to use the little kilometer part of my car's speedometer for the first time. I like that the speed limit is 100 even though really you're only going 65. Also, the words ending in "er" down here end in "re" up there, so I had fun going to the town centre or the visitor's centre. Which I pronounced "centray" all day even though that was wrong.

2) I was amazed that in a place with such outstanding natural beauty, that there were so few cars on the road. It is really unspoiled up there, which was great, but I don't know why more people don't go, it is so awesome.

3) The ferry ride! You are just driving along and all of a sudden you are stopped at the lake and you drive your car onto a boat and take this really beautiful and relaxing half hour boat ride and then you get back in your car and drive off the boat and you are on your way again. That does not happen every day. Unless you live up there, then I guess it does.

4) I had to find a bathroom so we pulled into this campground to use the washroom at the vistors centre (I sound so Canadian!). This campground was so beautiful that it make me want to start collecting camping stuff from garage sales and become a camper again. This was the campground. Garage sales here I come.

5) Nelson, BC is the coolest town! I could so see myself spending a few days up there. It reminded me of Santa Cruz, totally laid back. I guess smoking pot is legal there, that might explain the laid back-ness. And the wide variety of potato chips at the Safeway.

5) The Safeway! We ended up eating lunch from there because there was a power outage downtown and all the restaurants were closed. This ended up being a great thing. Canada Safeway looks exactly like our Safeway until you look closer. All the labels on every item in the store are in English AND in French! You could totally learn French just from shopping. And the other thing is that they have flavors of foods that we don't have here. Like Ketchup flavored potato chips. And lots of other great flavored chips, I know they are great because we bought them all. In fact, I am eating the Vintage Cheddar & Red Onion / Cheddar Fort et Oignon Rouge flavor right now. For breakfast. Thanks, Canada!

It was a fun day spent in a fun place with fun people, and really you can't ask for more than that. Before the summer is out, I will be going back. Canada is really close but you feel so far away when you are there. And that is a wonderful thing!

Current Events

1) I played bunco last night in the valley, and the fire evecuation boundary was three houses down from where we were playing. It made for a bit of a nerve-wracking evening and we ended up not playing the last round and going home early. Since the fires in Big Sur I have had a hyper awareness of fire and the destruction it leaves in its wake. So last night being so close to the fire, it was almost more than I could take. I came home pretty agitated. I feel terrible for the people who have lost their homes.

2) In better news, after being a sub in the bunco group for a year, I am now a permanent member, taking the place of someone who dropped out. It feels great to be one of the actual twelve and not just a sub.

3) Tomorrow I am going to Canada! Some friends and I are going to drive the Selkirk Loop. This is exciting because I haven't been to Canada since I was twelve. I hear it is beautiful, can't wait!

4) My stupid hurt leg is almost better. They work the crap out of it in physical therapy. I can really tell the difference the next day. I am now walking up stairs like a normal person, that is real progress. One of these days I will be able to bend over to weed the yard, that will be the real turning point, for me and for my neighbors!

5) That's it. Go out and have a fun weekend, eh?

Happy Birthday Susan Lynn

Today is my sister's birthday. She was twelve years old when I was born, which makes her, well, twelve years older than me. She has been an outstanding sister my whole life. Here are a few things that stand out for me.

1) She was a teenager when I was little. She often did the clothes shopping for me because our mom was busy at our store. This resulted in many many cool sixties outfits complete with go-go boots. White ones. Awesome.

2) When I was twelve, she took me on a month long car camping trip across the western US. Now if I were a young adult going on a trip, the last person I would want to drag along would be my little sister. But she took me. In retrospect, I think it was so I could do all the camping dishes every night. But even so, that was a great trip which instilled in me a love of the open road and where it leads.

3) She is great to go to a store with. We make fun of all kinds of stuff. And we laugh a whole lot.

4) She is the best cook. She just whips stuff up! I miss Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas dinners and Fourth of July barbecues.

5) When I suddenly found myself single with two small kids, she paid my mortgage for six months until I found a job. I will never ever be able to repay her kindness and generosity which meant so much to me then and still does today.

I called her early this morning and I figured she would be up since old people wake up early and she was. We talked for a few minutes and while we agreed that she is older than me, there was some debate as to whether she was wiser, so we just decided that she is older and taller than me. I could not ask for a better sister. Happy Birthday Susan Lynn!!



LOVE YA LOVE YA!

Today I Miss My Home

It is not often that I get homesick for the town I grew up in, Monterey, California. But this time of year there are things going on that I miss. The big one is the Feast of Lanterns, which is in the next town over, Pacific Grove. It is a hard thing to explain to someone who doesn't know about it. You sit packed in on the beach at Lovers Point all day watching bands and other entertainment on the pier, then as it gets dark they start the pageant. Oh I forgot to say that everyone on the beach has paper lanterns which they light once it gets dark. The sight of that is amazing. The pageant is about two star-crossed lovers, Koong-see who is a princess, and the poor scholar Chang. Everyone on the beach cheers when Chang appears and boos when Koong-see's father the Emperor tries to split apart the young lovers. In the end, the pair get away and turn into Monarch butterflies, and there's fireworks and Kate Smith sings God Bless America. I have been going to the Feast of Lanterns since I was a kid. Everyone has. I really miss it.
But the real reason that home has been on my mind a lot lately is that Big Sur is burning. Big Sur is a beautiful stretch of coastline about 25 miles south of Monterey. When I was a teenager, many days were spent in Big Sur playing in the river and smoking pot like the rest of the hippies that lived down there. It is a beautiful place. My sister in law Cesca owns a shop in Big Sur called Local Color. She had two hours to move all the art and stuff out of the store on Wednesday before they had to evacuate. I hope when this is all over that she has a store to come back to. The fire is also close to a place called Cachagua. I know a few people who live up there. Many of my brother's biker buddies live up there, they may have to evacuate soon. And even though I am way up in Washington now, this hits me where I live. The fire is 5% contained, and full containment is not expected until the end of July. So if you are the praying type, please pray for my little hometown and the safety of everyone in it. Thanks.

Gas Issues

Here are some things that the price of gas has changed for me.

1) I now carpool to work 2-4 days a week. This has turned out to be a very good thing for a number of reasons. The best one is that my carpool buddy and I have a great time talking and laughing (a lot) in the car. Yesterday's topic was school bus memories. Hilarious!

2) Being in the passenger seat when it's Heather's turn to drive has made for some great I-90 people watching. I saw a fabulous mullet blowing in the wind yesterday. It seems that the people who have mullets are also the people who have no A/C in their car and drive with all the windows down on hot days. Just an observation.

3) I am noticing a LOT of bicycles on the road these days. Not just the spandex sport riders, but a lot of regular people too. Even on really hot days there are a ton of them. Last week one of my co-workers got hit by a car while riding her bike home from work. So to all five of you who read this, please be extra careful and watch for cyclists when you are on the road.

4) What was formerly called "running errands" has now become "taking a road trip", because a five mile drive to the Target at the Y is now an event since I no longer go up there on a whim.

5) Here is a question. How long would it take for a scooter or a little car to pay for itself in gas price savings? Would it ever pay for itself? I know that the answer is different for everyone, but I don't think it would ever pay off for me.

OK, gotta leave for the Park & Ride now, have a great day!

Bing-go

So yesterday we did the whole asian market thing, where Faythe bought the dreaded Durian fruit (her story is here). It was very interesting and amusing sometimes too. As we were driving down Sprague past the bingo hall, Jennifer expressed a desire to play bingo. So plans were hastily made, and last night Jennifer and I (Faythe pooped out after her epic durian battle) ventured into the seedy bingo underbelly of Spokane.

At least that is what we were hoping for. But it wasn't! It was bright, clean, friendly, well-organized and a lot of fun! Armed with our bingo daubers, we each bought $12 worth of cards and sat down to play. We were intimidated at first because clearly we were surrounded by professionals. But the workers were very helpful and before you knew it we were in the zone. We did not have all the bingo accessories that were everywhere around us, but I made a list for next time. Apparently this is what you need.

1) A bingo bag. This will keep all your bingo stuff neat and organized.
2) Bingo Daubers. You need a lot of these, like at least 10. And you need them in many colors so you can color coordinate your ink with your card. I came with a green one and left with a green one AND a blue one, clearly I am on my way!
3) A troll or a Beanie Baby. This is for luck. Not sure if it really works, because there was a lady who won twice and I didn't see a troll OR a beanie baby in front of her.

There are other more detailed accesories, but these are the basics I think.

The bingo hall didn't seem very crowded for a Saturday night, which I couldn't understand because the place is totally air conditioned and it was 90 degrees outside. Plus they have a full kitchen where I went off my diet and ate mini corndogs, they were great! Jennifer and I agreed that playing bingo is a good way to spend a few hours, so now we are looking for other bingo halls around Spokane to try. Any suggestions?



Why carry a purse when you can carry this?

Two Year Checkup

I just realized that as of today we have been in Spokane exactly two years and two days. The novelty still hasn't worn off, I still love this place, and I have no regrets about moving here. The boys and I have made full lives for ourselves here. I have friends, I have a church, I play bunco, all the stuff I did in California I do here, but I do even more stuff here. For example, today Faythe and Jennifer and I are going to go to a bunch of asian markets just to see what they have, then we are going out to Greenbluff for the Strawberry Festival. Now, Watsonville CA has a Strawberry Festival every year, do you think I went? No! This place is a much better fit for me than California was. I'm so glad I'm here!

Moisture! I Need Moisture!

That is a line from Lost In Space where Dr. Zachary Smith is turned into a stalk of celery. But lately it is true for me. I have been on a cream, body butter, lotion and moisturizer bender of late. I peruse amazon and beauty product review websites in an attempt to find the perfect product that will make my dry skin soft and supple, turning back the evil hands of time and changing me back from a raisin into a grape. I prowl the beauty aisles of stores, reading ingredient labels like I know what they mean, comparing one to another, agonizing over which one will be the magic elixer.

What the hell is wrong with me? I have never given a rat's patoot about all this crap up until now. I might be having a mid life issue, it is NOT a crisis. Yet. I think I have finally accepted at age almost 47 that I am not 23 anymore. It has prompted some changes, mostly good ones. But this is just weird.

Anyone have a great beauty product they can recommend?

REM Green Is A Great Album

Especially in the summer. I have this blog bookmarked, and it is a must-read for any real REM fan. Anyway, Matthew recently wrote about "You Are The Everything" off the Green album. It reminded me how much I loved this album, so I am listening to it now. The windows are open and the night is perfect tonight. I love Summer. That's all.

R.I.P. George Carlin

There are no words. No wait, there are seven.



Thanks George.

Terribly Unimportant Things (Mostly)

1) This one is kind of important to me though. I would like to say thank you to all the people who expressed sympathy for my stupid leg injury and especially for the offers to help. You all may be getting calls soon. To help. Because I went to the Awesome Wal-Mart yesterday and it took me like an hour to buy 10 things, I am walking that slowly. If you enjoy walking slowly and going to Costco then call me, because today is your lucky day! I will be leaving as soon as the Ibuprofin kicks in.

2) Here is something! Friday was Leo's birthday, and we went up to The Scoop for some ice cream. I had Apple Mint Sorbet. Outstanding! Oh the hell with Costco, let's go to The Scoop again.

3) Apparently when you tear a muscle in your leg it bleeds. I know this because the back of my leg is black and blue. That also explains why it hurts so much just to sit down.

4) I got a Clarisonic! I have used it once and already I look younger. I'm going to keep using it and looking younger and younger until my outside age matches my inside age. Which is twelve. Plus I am using Olay face products lately, which is just one more way that I am turning into my mother. All she ever used on her face was Oil of Olay, and she looked young until she started looking older, which was like age 75.

5) Max comes back Tuesday. I miss him. Leo doesn't like to go anywhere with me, doesn't he realize how much fun going to Costco with his mother is? I mean, he's 14 now, surely he has nothing better to do than help me decide Hot Pockets or Frozen Pizzas? Please!

OK, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, I'M NOT KIDDING!
6) On August 2nd, Tower of Power AND The Average White Band are coming to play TOGETHER at Northern Quest Casino. WOOHOO!! It goes without saying that I will be there. But will anyone be going with me? That is up to you all. If you want to go with, let me know soon, as I will be getting the ticket(s) in a few days. I really don't want to go by myself, but I will if I am forced to. Don't make me!

(Okay I just spent half an hour on Youtube trying to find a good TOP video to link to but they are all good and I couldn't decide so just go to Youtube yourself.)