I’m My Own Grandma

I just read back over my 30 things about me. What a downer! She’s dead; he’s dead; they died.

My family will attest that my dear Grandma at the end of her life had that to say of just about everyone. It became a family joke (shows you what kind of family we are, oops).

So here are 30 more light-hearted things. Then I’m done, I promise.

1. I am good at making up nicknames. Everyone in my family has at least seven or eight given by me.
2. I would eat french fries everyday if given the opportunity.
3. My favorite part of the day is that first sip of scalding hot coffee in the morning.
4. I love the ping that tells me I have received email.
5. I love to hear my brothers giggle when they watch Mystery Science Theater 3000.
6. I’m going to have to knit really fast to make up for not knitting for twenty years.
7. I think my sister is one of the most beautiful women on earth.
8. I love to watch my daughter run and play.
9. I want to have a house on the beach someday.
10. I asked my son when he was little if there was anyone sparklier than he, to which he replied, “No.” He’s right.

11. My kids are hilarious, even when they don’t mean to be.
12. I wonder about things–like who thought up cake? Or chocolate?
13. I talk all through movies.
14. I love to sing.
15. I love the anticipation of Christmas Eve.
16. I danced on snowshoes in front of the Prime Minister of Canada at the opening of the Canada Winter Games (I think it was 1979).
17. I am weather-impaired. Weather reports will not stick in my head.
18. I love the smell of rain.
19. I like children’s books better than adult books most of the time.
20. I love red hair.

21. I love dark chocolate.
22. I wonder why sometimes watching sports makes me cry.
23. Nothing is more boring to me than politics.
24. I get the giggles at very inappropriate times, and I have a hard time stopping.
25. I have seen the movie Persuasion so many times, I think I have it memorized.
26. I think the ability to make people laugh is a bigger turn-on than looks.
27. I envision the rest of my life filled with writing and knitting.
28. I want to travel more.
29. I love my church.
30. I’m painfully shy (although no one who knows me believes that).

TMI?

Kerrie at HipKnits is posting 30 things about herself as a celebration for her upcoming birthday. She challenged her readers (and tempted us with a prize) to share 30 of our own things.

Here goes:

1. My birthday is November 14th.
2. I was eight days old when JFK was assassinated.
3. My mom remembers what she was doing when she heard the news.
4. I remember what I was doing when I heard that Elvis and John Lennon were dead.
5. I have lived in 29 different places (counting college dorm rooms).
6. I have two sisters (one in heaven) and two brothers.
7. I have a B.A. and an M.S.
8. I am a certified Montessori teacher.
9. I am not currently using any of those degrees.
10. I have a male Yorkie and three male cats.

11. My female Yorkie died a year and a half ago.
12. She was fourteen.
13. I miss her every day.
14. My parents and my siblings (except for one) live in Manitoba, Canada.
15. I miss some things about MB (prairie sunsets and sunrises). Not the cold.
16. I love Chicago, which is where I live now (well, a suburb of Chicago).
17. I have two kids, a boy and a girl.
18. Two kids is just right for me (most days).
19. I love to read. C. S. Lewis is my hands-down favorite writer.
20. Jane Austen is my second.

21. I have the coolest parents in the world.
22. I love Maine, where my mom’s family lives.
23. I love Upper Michigan, where I used to live.
24. Six years ago, my whole life fell apart.
25. I lost my house, my marriage and my health.
26. Jesus is the only reason I am still alive.
27. I learned that I have the best friends in the world.
28. I learned that even though you wish it might, a broken heart will not kill you.
29. I still love my husband.
30. Knitting and writing are what keep me sane.

Project Spectrum Song of the Day

Sorry it’s so late today, folks. Technical difficulties threw me off my stride.

Without further ado,

Basin Street Blues/When it’s Sleepy Time Down South Medley by Louis Prima on Casino Soundtrack (disc 2).

Gotta love it–Joe Pesci. I amuse you?

Oops, wrong movie.

Knit Sock Kit Swap Questionnaire

I’m never going to get that name right. But it doesn’t matter! I have my Pal, and I’m going to visit her blog and learn more about her.

Big shout out of Thank You! to Bev and Scout who are the hostesses with the mostesses for all their hard work organizing this cool swap.

Here are my answers to the questionnaire:

The Questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors? Cobalt blue, sagey greens, bright variegated colors

Are you a new sock knitter? Yes, but I LOVE it!

How long have you been knitting socks? Five minutes, just kidding. Less than a month, I think. I have two finished socks (not the same pair).

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? For sock yarn, probably multi-colored

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn? So far I’ve tried only superwash wool, but I have some merino waiting to be knit. Merino is yummy!

Where do you usually knit socks? On my couch or my bed, but anywhere I have a minute to knit.

How do you usually carry/store small projects? In the smallest tote bag I have–a leopard spotted one like my Bengal cat.

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns?
I’ve tried two so far–Sally Melville’s simple sock pattern and Grumperina’s Jaywalkers. I’ve been downloading any cute free patterns I saw. I want to try lace socks.

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques? So far, just top down with DPNs.

What new techniques would you like to try? 2socks, 2circs, Magic Loop, toe up, whatever else anyone wants to teach me!

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting? As I mentioned above, I’ve tried DPNs but want to learn with circs too.

What are some of your favorite yarns? Handmaiden, Malabrigo, Mama-E’s, and my newest love Fiddlesticks

What yarn do you totally covet? My angelic OSSP gave me my coveted Sea Silk, so my new yearning would have to be hand-dyed sock yarn or lace yarn or Handmaiden’s 4ply silk/cashmere yarn. Oh, and how could I forget? Koigu sock yarn. Yummmm. Decadent, I know.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? One I just found was Handmaiden’s Silk/Cashmere anklets. But honestly I’m so new at this that I’d welcome any and all suggestions.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? For sock knitting, I’ve used only Crystal Palace bamboo which has worked well. I’m itching for Addi Turbos in tiny sizes. Open to suggestions from a more experienced sock knitter!

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I’d love to fancy myself something gorgeous and exotic, but more realistically I’m a multicolored sock yarn–soft, but stronger than it looks, just try breaking it with your fingers 😉

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? The only candy I won’t eat is black licorice or that yukky lavender stuff. LOVE dark chocolate.

What’s your favorite animal? cats and dogs

Do you have pets? cats and dogs, hmmm, is there a pattern here?

What are their species/names/ages? A thirteen-year old Yorkie named Gino who thinks he’s a cat. An eight-year old black American shorthaired male cat named Velvet who thinks he’s a human, or a dog, or whatever will score him food. And two one-year old male Bengal cats who think they are God’s gift to everyone. And they are.

If you were a color what color would you be? Something blue, like the sea, that changes with my mood.

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s).. A plain t-shirt that fits and isn’t stained, dirty or too wrinkled–usually black.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? That question is way too hard to narrow down! Lately, I am most taken with the place where the sky and land meet (isn’t always horizon). Like the contrast of vivid green trees against a cloudless blue sky. Awesome.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. Another toughie! The one that comes to mind is “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” I love that one.

Do you have a wishlist? I have a million, but one that’s actually organized in one place? Check out Amazon.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? Just a huge thank you to Bev and Scout for dreaming this up. It’s a great challenge for me to (yikes, scary) design and make a bag (or to try to follow a pattern to make a bag).