“Don’t put that spoon in the microwave,” I tell my 12 year old son.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “Unfortunately I’m not a moron in that way.”
“Ummm…” I say. “You mean to say ‘fortunately’ son.”
“No, I don’t,” he tells me.
“I mean unfortunately. Because I really would like to see what would happen.”
Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )
Because if you are, I want to hear from you.
How about Tweeting about crochet? Likewise. Oh and don’t forget to use the #crochet hashtag when you do.
Though I should clarify, if you’re a linker on Twitter, I probably won’t follow you back. You gotta interact with your followers. Sorry, that’s just what it’s all about. (I know, if you’re new to twitter, it can be confusing. I’ll write an article on that later.)
What am I up to? It’s developing rather organically and not clearly defined yet, but you can call it crochet conniving. Refer back to my post Cro-pocalypse: The Rise of Crochet. It was written tongue in cheek, but I am also somewhat serious.
Crochet suffers a deficit online, as least in the US. Obey Crochet has also written about this. She is not the only crocheter who thought she was alone in the world.
And more than that, there’s the average public ideas of what crochet actually is to enlighten. Sure, doilies and granny squares are awesome. But there’s so much more than that! Tapestry Crochet, Tunisian Crochet, Broomstick Lace, Miniature Crochet, and Freeform Crochet, just to name a few of the many, many variations out there.
There’s just so much more. And overall crochet is an incredibly portable craft, not to mention relaxing (ok, once you’ve got the hang of it). AND its the only fiber art left that cannot yet be truly replicated by a machine. Even that mass-produced stuff you see at the store, is hand created, often by children. It behooves us to preserve this distinguishable art.
If you like crochet, join the quest to celebrate it! 😀
Did you know these are also crochet?
Beautiful Art Crochet - Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandygreer/5432467879/
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Filed under crochet, Crochet Community, Crochet Education, NaBloPoMo
I hit the ground running after getting back from my trip to Cama Beach a week ago and ever since it’s been playing catch up every day. Whose email did I not answer, whose call have I not returned, what deadline have I not met, what papers from school have I not seen. Not to mention a freak email client incident that resulted in a lot of lost emails. Which I rely on to help me remember things. Eek! There are a lot of details to catch up on after a 9 day absence!
However, one detail I did not expect to worry about was the dwindling state of the pantry. As in, down to bare bones. As in, out of nearly all meat, veggies and fruit. Ugh! And I really hate shopping, all kinds of shopping, even grocery shopping.
Does that sound funny? Well, it doesn’t help that our local grocery store is just too big. It’s an HEB Plus – the Texas dynasty sized grocery store initially created to compete with Wal-Mart. The parking lot is too small, and the store is too big. There is no quick in and out at any level. No quick parking and it’s not even quick to grab a jug of milk. Too many displays are crammed into the spaces between isles. I really hate going there in the evening, or worse yet, on the weekend. It’s an unpleasant experience for me. And some locals treat Saturday outings to the store as a family event, with all the taste testing and all. When that’s going on, count on the isles and cart traffic to be blocked even worse.
Don’t get me wrong. I love HEB. Their prices and products are the best. But it’s impossible to do anything quickly at HEB Plus, which is the only HEB store near me. And none of the basic items I buy are anywhere near the front of the store. And there’s only one entrance and one exit instead of two like most places. On the positive, they generally have things in stock. The sacrifice, however, is nearly always my time. You would think shopping there with any regularity would be a full body workout.
So last night, being Halloween, and with each kid having their own plans with friends on opposite sides of the North Austin area, I found myself an hour to kill our grocery list with. I wasn’t expecting to get much done, but when the kids complain there’s not much for breakfast or lunch and I know there’s not much left for dinner, then yeah – it’s time to do a decent grocery run.
It was the most amazing grocery shopping experience! NO one was at the store! Just a handful of dads here and there obviously doing a last-minute candy run. The isles were mostly clear and there was very little wait at the checkout, in spite of there being only two lines for shoppers with more than 10 items. In less than an hour, I filled a basket with all our essentials to re-stock the pantry and freezer. Enough that they had to use two carts at check out to carry all my groceries out. Plus, they actually had someone available to help me carry it all out to the car. Awesome! Usually they are just too busy and I would have to leave the carts at the door and drive up for them (another handy program, but not necessarily a quick one largely due to the tiny parking lot and inherent traffic).
Anyway, so I’m pretty much caught up on groceries now. Except vanilla, forgot that. And I’m grateful that it did not take more time.
The only thing is, I can’t help but wonder how all this affects HEB. I can’t be the only person who hates dealing with the logistics of that store. I want to save money and find what I’m looking for, so I will sacrifice some time to receive those benefits. But I have friends who will sacrifice money, drive somewhere else and pay more, just to avoid the logistical issues that store presents. I might not do all my shopping elsewhere, but even I will buy milk and bread at a Walgreen’s over having to go to through the insane trouble of using “The Plus.” And if my errands take me by a regular HEB store, I will shop there instead. Even if it’s not in my town.
Time is money, but time is also quality of living. It’s time taken from work, as well as time with my kids. In the end, I just want to get what I need and get out. That’s it. Not tangle with a time suck. And others more than I are willing to pay for services that make their lives easier.
More and more this outlook affects how I see marketing today. I look around and see a lot of tired and overwhelmed people, just trying to make it through their day and get home. As we evaluate our current economy, marketing strategies and wonder where to focus next, perhaps this is something to keep in mind. Keep it simple. Bigger is not always better.
Starting November 1st, I shall be stepping up my game and madly striving to write 30 posts in 30 days for the annual NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) November Challenge.
This year, I didn’t prep. I didn’t plan. No thumbnail sketches. I don’t have any idea how I’m going to get started. Or any idea how I will end. But I am committed to trying and that’s all that matters. I’m not even entering my usual blog into this contest. It’s Aberrant Crochet all the way this year baby! (And this month, crochet as a subject is definitely optional.) I’m registered, got my badge up, I’m ready to go.
The first week is easy enough, the second week not too bad, come Thanksgiving and we’re all scrambling. “Excuse me dear child of mine… you volunteered me for what at the school Thanksgiving Feast??”
Cheer me on? Please? 😀
Good content, bad content, doesn’t matter. It’s all about making the commitment to sit down, to write and to publish every day, minimum one blog post a day, pushing our writing skills to the max and without exception! Even when all our ideas are dried up! Even though we have jobs. Even though we have kids. Even though we get sick. Even though our Thanksgiving turkey blows up. Whatever! Can ya do it?
Think it’s easy? Let’s see you try. Join us over at NaBloPoMo.
Anyone else?
Leave a comment in this post along with a link to your blog (and brief description) if you’re participating so we can support each other and even non-participators can cheer us on! (We’ll need it closer we get to the end of the month, trust me!)
Supporters, post your cheers and websites liberally in the comments as well!
BlogHer recently took over the management of this challenge/contest (yes, there are even prizes), so the entry process is a little different this year. Be sure to read the links below if you want to get involved. It’s free!
FAQ’s here: http://nablopomo.blogher.com/faq
Details here:
http://www.blogher.com/novembers-nablopomo-national-blog-posting-month
Badge Here: http://www.blogher.com/nablopomo-november-2011-badge
Here’s a list of fellow blogging crocheters from the Crochet Liberation Front who are also joining in the challenge. You might check them out and cheer them on too! I’ll update this list with more if any others step up to the plate in time for the deadline.
KRWKnitwear (Karen Whooley): http://www.krwknitwear.com/blog
love2crochet: slackermomof4.blogspot.com
freshstitches: http://www.freshstitches.com/wordpress
itsloopylisa: http://treeinthetitle.blogspot.com
jadesfire: http://madeinoxford.wordpress.com
AkuaLezliHope: http://zencrochet.blogspot.com
crochetcollection: http://crochetcollection.blogspot.com – This one will have a twist – crocheting a motif and blogging about it every day for 30 days!
Good luck everyone!
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So as most everyone at the Crochet @ CAMA 2011 Retreat learned, I stayed at Cama a couple extra days after the retreat to celebrate my 40th birthday this year. As clichéd as it may sound, turning 40 has bugged me a bit, which tends to gripe me more. I guess somehow I thought I would have figured out more of life by now. Perhaps conquered some of it. And aside from needing a break from motherhood and work and rush-rush demands, I knew I needed some time to settle, sit with the water and pull my thoughts together, mourn Grandma Dot. I wanted to take accounting of my life. I did not want to make this transition thoughtlessly or without meaning and somehow I found Grandma’s recent transition to the after-life to be assisting my own transition into something as well. Some new thing whose outlines I can’t even quite perceive.
A little wistful perhaps, but I believe in embracing life and celebrating every moment we can. After all, what is it that we have that we can take with us to the here-after? No matter what we believe? I know there are many things I won’t be focused on upon my death-bed. And I know there are many memories I have not lived yet that I want to. Deployments, lay-offs, near-death experiences – all lend to my views today. Forty is a nice round number, somewhere around the average American mid-life, to take accounting of oneself.
I didn’t take photos as religiously as I did for the crochet retreat itself, but I did take some. I was also given permission to copy some photos others took of me at the retreat. So I finally have proof that I was there! 😀 Here they are for you now.
Filed under Artist Information & Notes, Inspiration, Random Thoughts
Took me a while to figure out getting these videos to upload properly, but here are videos of Deb (CerDeb) and Don Burger’s humorous musical performance at our last potluck together. Gathered in the Firehouse Kitchen enjoying shared food and drink. Eh, it’s a video from a phone, so not a professional production, but hope you enjoy anyway!
Filed under crochet, Crochet Community
Wednesday was our last day of classes and activities at the Crochet Retreat at Cama Beach. Now that I have an internet connection, here are photos from the day!
Filed under crochet, Crochet Community
Time for another photo update for our second day at Cama Beach Crochet Retreat 2011!
Filed under crochet, Crochet Community
As you know, everyone arrived at Cama Beach State Park for the Crochet Retreat on Sunday for check in. We gathered, celebrated and rested. Then Monday morning is when we all came together, shed free of the traveling wearies and serious fun began! Here are some photos from the day.
Filed under Artist Information & Notes, crochet, Crochet Community, Crochet News
So I’m here at Cama Beach in Washington State for Crochet at Cama 2011 Retreat! Want to know what you’re missing? I thought I’d make a point of sharing with you what we’re up to as best I can. It’ll be mostly photos for now. I can write (and format the photos) more later. But here’s a peek at the Crochet Liberation Front Retreat right now! (You can watch the video I created from last year’s memories here.)
Meeting at the new hall
The cabin
View out the kitchen window
The new hall and stone fireplace
Cama Beach Check in Station
The view at Cama Beach
Cabins right on the water
Everyone's gathering for the opening night
There's Karen Whooley with her cast and a cane Jimbo made her.
Jimbo made Karen a crochet hook cane!
Let the yarn tasting begin!
The view this morning
Filed under Artist Information & Notes, crochet, Crochet Community, Events
Here’s a recipe we love that uses up the last dregs of peanut butter in the jar and of cereal in the box.
You know… how everyone eats up most of the container and then leaves that little bit that no one ever seems to finally finish off? I feel you sisters.
I prefer not to throw out good food. So when the peanut butter is nearly gone, I scrape down the jar with a rubber spatula. And when open cereal gets a little stale, I toast it (remove any raisins or other fruit, etc. during the toasting).
And I make these cereal bars with the last bits of unwanted scraps (with a little supplementing). Actually you can toast the cereal and eat it as cereal if you want, but then I wouldn’t have the excuse to make these.
The family LOVES this recipe. (Just made a batch this morning in fact.) You can mix nuts and other things in too, so this is a basic, bare-bones recipe that is customizable too. And of course you don’t have to use stale cereal.
You don’t have to toast the cereal either, but we do think it tastes better since it soaks up the gooey liquid. The crisper to start the better.
7 cups toasted cereal (oatmeal, corn/bran flakes, granola, crispy rice, oat rings, nearly anything will work) To toast cereal, spread 2-3 cups in single layer on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes (watch it closely) under broiler. Don’t toast raisins or fruit. (The second batch of cereal toasts much faster than the first, and ovens vary, so watching is key.)
Grease bottom and edges of a 13×18 pan with spray or a finger dipped in grapeseed oil. Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Fold in toasted cereal mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour mix into the greased pan. Use WET hands to press the mix into the pan evenly. Cool at room temperature or stick in the fridge. Cut into bars or tear into bites if you can’t wait. (Pizza cutter works great!) Store in an airtight container.
🙂 You may share my recipe as long as you include my name (Julia M. Chambers) and a link to my blog and/or this post. 🙂
Happy back to school y’all!
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Filed under Friends and Family, Random Thoughts, Recipes
Filed under Community, crochet, Crochet Community, Crochet Education, Events
I dropped off the Earth for a bit there. Sorry. There’s only been a little crochet in my life of late, as most of my every day reality has been about working with the home remodeling.
Want to see what I’ve been up to though? I’m really excited – things are coming together for the house!
Oh, and there is a new crochet pattern in the works too. Take a look below! 😀
Since the last time I posted, we have redone most of the front bath. So new floor, new sink and of course the new toilet I did a couple of months ago. Yes ma’am, I installed the toilet.
Here’s the old front bath. This room used to be the front porch area until it was built in sometime in the late 50’s, early 60’s. Here we have already pulled up most of the old tile. Notice the position of the toilet, which practically sits on the (left) wall you don’t see. No one with long legs could really sit on it. We changed that.
And this is the old antique cast iron sink from the 20’s. It found a new home.
Old Elgin tub faucets. These have to go. Still working on this one.
Phone photos can be quite handy when you’re measuring and asking for help at Home Depot. Let me tell you!
There was some old water damage around the toilet, which we rebuilt and completely fixed.
We decided to keep the quaint old light and mirror. Kind of reminds me of my grandfather. There was a light something like this in his old house when I was little.
Here’s the new floor and we’re getting ready to turn the toilet so it’s not awkward like it was.
Voila! We haven’t finished painting the trim, but here’s the new look!
We had those old wood double hung windows in here and even with an extra layer of (old) storm windows over those, it really just wasn’t very energy-efficient. Not to mention we needed to change some of the framing so we can finish painting the trim outside.
Our new windows are so pretty, and we definitely notice a positive difference in the room temperature, in spite of the 107 degree weather outside! Also, the new screens really don’t hinder the view at all. Can you tell there are screens on these windows? Oh yes, and there’s my baby grand.
We started ripping up the old carpet. It was state of the art once upon a time with its textured look, but not today. We started with replacing the kids room and the hallway carpet, as it was in the greatest need of replacement. The living and bedroom will get done later since I received quotes for $300-$1000+ just to move my antique baby grand piano to another room temporarily and back for the carpeting project. It’s cheaper to move it across town! 
The carpet company says the type we chose will be available at least through the end of the year, so we’ll plan on replacing the rest when we close and the piano actually moves out for good.
That’s the old original wood plank floor underneath.
The kids room – only the pad is in here and it already looks so much better!
When the guys put the furniture back, I asked them to turn the kids’ bed for me. It looks so much better. Our son asked to just have his mattress on the floor so he wouldn’t have to keep cleaning under his bed while we get the house ready to show. LOL. 🙂 The room has so much more space now. Amazing.
We have new cushy carpet! I never understood why people liked vacuuming until I realized it’s because my old textured carpet didn’t really let me see for sure what I have vacuumed. I can’t believe how quick this was to vacuum. I think I must have vacuumed the same spots over and over with the old carpet. Who knew that new carpet might save you time?
I’m amazed at the amount of people who have recently come into my house and told me how much they like the distressed floors. 😕 The white washing has worn down. I’ve even been told not to do anything to it. However, I decided to see if I could touch it up a bit. Here are photos of my test patch on one of the most distressed spots, next to the front door.
This is the after patching photo of the same spot as the other photo, turned the right way. I just touched up the white washing some since everyone keeps telling me not to do much to the floor. This was my test spot to see how it would look.
Somehow my photo was turned during the upload, but these are the hard wood floors in half the house. Lots of distressing in them.
My hands only cooperate some of the time right now. But I did manage to work on a new pattern, spurred by a request on Ravelry. She’s testing it for me now. It was more writing than anything, but I think this will be a good project to use in the future to teach a more advanced technique.
Unfortunately, though, my hands are too swollen to crochet right now. 😦
Last Minute Boot Toppers Pattern, designed for a fellow crocheter’s need request. What do you think?
It still needs curtains and a new lighting solution, but my goodness this is a brand new room, looking better than it did when we moved in! Andrea gave me good ideas to continue with too. More photos later as I complete the steps.
My oldest friend Andrea drove down to help me with my laundry/pantry room. We’ve known each other about 33 years. I should have taken a before photo of the room, but didn’t think to. We were so busy and Andrea is really good at keeping us on track. Teaching middle school probably helps!
I also didn’t think to get a photo of us together. 😦 Which is sad, because we haven’t been able to spend time together in a while. And I like memories of things I actively do with others in life. Those kind of photos show the stories better than a posed one at a restaurant or something.
It’s easy to be so overwhelmed in your own home and her help was one of the best gifts anyone ever has given me. She helped me paint, organize and think about things in new ways.
I plan to write more about the organizing experience in detail. I learned a lot from Andrea. Thanks so much girl!
My hair is so full of paint spatters though. My kids say I look really old now. I always talk about earning my grey hairs and I certainly earned these! LOL
So all in all, it’s been a very busy and intense couple of weeks, but very satisfying! It’s like eye candy – so much accomplishment that I can finally really see the difference.
There are always those things in life that you work your butt off doing, but don’t always get to enjoy the evidence of. Like laundry and dishes which are never, ever completely finished. They are always there to be done. Which sometimes lends to the dissatisfying feeling that they are somehow thankless jobs with little proof of value.
Well until no one does them, that is.
But there’s nothing like the tangible ability to sit back, admire something, show it off and be able to say “Hey – I DID THAT!” 😉
Hope your last couple of weeks has been great too!
Check ya later and stay cool my friends!
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Some of my latest finds. A couple will take up residence with the costume gallery. The rest will go into my store. I’ll have fun figuring out how I want to enhance or embellish with crochet. Though I pick up vintage pieces with all this in mind, I also usually bring everything to shows and will put into my store when I haven’t gotten to them yet. I can only work so fast with my two hands, so I’ll toss a coin and see what gets attention first. If it disappears from my listings, it probably means I’m working with it. Unless it’s show-time. Everything in my on-line store goes with me to shows.
Such fun goodies!
The curl is interesting. My daughter has another stamped with the brand name "Monet." This one looks older and has no stamp at all. I think I want to have an expert look at it.
The grape pearl cluster is a neat find! Also pictured is a lone earring that lost its partner. It shall become a pendant for one of my crochet chokers.
This owl pendant is a good 5 inches long! I'm going to have so much fun with this one.
The cross is definitely going into the costume collection at home. Love the faded ribbon and tarnished brass. Haven't decided on the olive suede thong necklace.
All my Xmas trees sold last winter, so I was happy to find another. Popular holiday gift. And I love the coin montage.
I'm thinking the Texas star is mine. The ring is missing pearls, however, the two left leave it balanced and it still looks cute. That sun pin is heavy-duty and will look great as a center piece on a hat.
Filed under 'Tis the Season, Artist Information & Notes
And just because you grew up in the US doesn’t mean you necessarily learned crochet vernacular according to “American Crochet Standards.” Many patterns published in America during the 1800’s and early 1900’s also used terms from standards we refer to today as European or British.
So we’ll clear that up a bit today. And if you like to collect antique crochet patterns (as I do), take note because there are terms you’ll need to watch for, no matter which side of the ocean it came from.
What influenced the differences? I’m not really sure. However, the basic stitch we call single crochet in America, for instance, is called double crochet in Europe. As you can see, discrepancies in stitch terminology such as this can make a huge difference in end results.
Reference point: Australia, the UK and Europe in general all fall under the umbrella of “European terms.” Canada and the U.S. fall under the umbrella of “American terms.” Some refer to them instead as “American/British terms” or “UK/US terms.” For the purpose of this article, and the sake of clarity, I’ve simply left it at “European vs. American.” This list comes from my notes and cross-references over the years.
Here’s a quick list of American/European terms and their counterparts:
American: chain stitch (ch)
European: chain (ch)
These terms are essentially the same everywhere.
American: slip stitch (ss)
European: slip stitch (ss); sometimes shows up as single crochet in antique patterns (sc)
I have also seen slip stitch referred to as single crochet (sc) or “single stitch” in some British patterns, especially from the late 1800’s. Additionally, I’ve seen the terms “mitten stitch” and “close joining stitch” used.
American: single crochet (sc)
European: double crochet (dc)
I have also seen this referred to as “plain stitch” in some British patterns, especially from the late 1800’s.
American: half double crochet (hdc)
European: half treble crochet (htr) or extended double crochet
American: double crochet (dc)
European: treble crochet (tc)
American: triple crochet (tr)
European: double treble crochet (dtr or dbl tr)
I have also seen this referred to as a “long stitch” in some antique patterns.
American: double triple crochet (dtr or dtrc)
European: triple treble crochet (trtr)
I have also seen this referred to as an “extra long stitch” or “long treble” in some antique patterns.
American: triple treble (trtr or trtrc)
European: quadruple treble (quadtr)
American: yarn over (yo)
European: wool round hook (wrh) or yarn over hook (yoh)
American: skip (sk)
European: miss
American: space (sp)
European: space (sp)
American: gauge
European: tension
American: bind off or fasten off
European: cast off
OK! So these are the most common basic English terms you’ll run into out there while comparing crochet patterns from across the oceans.
Today, it is pretty standard practice to print on the pattern whether the pattern is written according to American Crochet Standards or British/English/Australian/European Crochet Standards. I list all four there, because I have seen each of these in variation.
There are also Japanese, Chinese, Croatian, Scandinavian, South American, and other terms as well, not to mention universal symbol crochet. But this will get you started with the most common terms published in English.
Thanks for reading! If you have resources and ideas to share, feel free to post them in the comments.
Until next time then….!
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Filed under crochet, Crochet Education, Crochet Techniques
We finally got a real rain yesterday. Not just a sprinkle or a drizzle, but actual rain. It only lasted about for 5 minutes, but it was real and a delight!
(For those who don’t know, we’ve been in a terrible drought for months.)
YAY! RAIN!
This umbrella hasn't been washed in forever!
Wonder how much rain this could collect?
She loves going out in the rain. She also loves her fedora. Hence, a hoodie over the fedora with an umbrella makes sense.
A blue image creeps down the sidewalk as its sister looks on in amusement.
With a snicker, our son dons a beach towel and grabs his Nerf cannon.
I just thought this was a cool unusual shot. The color contrast is fun!
Cannon fired! Wait, the rain's stopping?
Wait! Where'd the rain go? "That's not fair!"
Where is the rain?
Rain is gone, but she's pointing out that there are some beautiful clouds to look at.
See the contrast between the grass and the trees? The trees are green on our street because we live between two creeks with deep underground feeds. Some of the trees in this area are up to 900 years old, so I’m sure they will survive. But it has been a long drought and wild fires are eating Texas and New Mexico alive. A disaster few are talking about.
Filed under Friends and Family, Random Thoughts
I wish I had something really interesting and well researched ready to go for a post this weekend. But I don’t. I do have some posts in the works, but they are not ready yet. It’s been a long week, that was at the same time too short. I’m tired AND I didn’t get enough done, dagnabit. (How do you spell that anyway?)
SO how did this week go? Well, though I got a lot done, less was physically about getting closer to moving and more was about catch up on regular chores and paperwork and such. Which always leaves me dis-satisfied. Chores never stay done. Neither does paperwork it seems.
Dear daughter had her 14th birthday on July 4th. We got together with family and friends to celebrate our nation’s and our daughter’s births, as always. Sunday before I met with my fellow crocheter from NY, Maven who happened to be in Austin visiting family. We’ve chatted with each other for a couple years now online and we finally met in person over coffee. That was very enjoyable. Saturday before that we spent time with extended family for a baby’s 1st birthday. So the weekend was lots of family and friends with packing and demolition interspersed.
For those new here, we’ve been in the process of getting the house on the market this summer. I update about our process occasionally and will be writing about our experiences. We want to sell our two-bedroom home of 15 years even though we’re supposedly in a real estate slump. They say it will be very difficult, we’ll see if we can beat the pattern anyway.
Tuesday I was a domestic goddess of power, accomplishing a weeks worth of catch up in mere hours. Wednesday I was a handicapped dial-up modem as punishment, complete with blue screen moments. There’s always a sacrifice, isn’t there? What happened to my super-woman youth? Oh yeah. Lost her in college. Why on earth didn’t someone tell me that it was not physically possible to hold down four jobs and 18 credits without breaking. Until the day I woke up and couldn’t get up. Not sure I would have listened back then. At that time, it seemed the only way to make it. Now I know better to appreciate my limitations and work with them, not against. And to sleep. That is a story for another time though.
The kids were incredibly helpful too, especially dear daughter. 
I wrote out a huge list of items that needed attention, cut them out and created a job jar with some old party favor balls we bought one year. We each drew two at a time and tackled them until dinner. Family teamwork is awesome when there’s no homework. 
I love summer.
During the kids’ piano lessons, I worked on another crochet shape for this square vintage pin I have. I think I like this shape better for it.
Thursday I had to tackle repairing the upright piano again. The kids can’t practice if the keys don’t work. 😦 The action had come apart on another key and while I was in there I found I needed to re-repair one I did a few months ago. 
I guess Liquid Nails is not that great on an old piano, because it did not stay glued. So I went with classic wood glue this time. Back together again. Back to working. I tried to see if there was any way I could fix the baby grand too, but it appears a hammer broke off and fell deep into its bowels. After taking everything apart that I could right here in my living room, it became obvious to me that the only way to fix the permanent sustain (a broken hammer piece is keeping the sustain engaged full-time) is to pull the harp, or pick up the piano and shake it and see if it will fall out, whatever is more likely possible. 😉 So back together it went and will have to wait until after we move, hopefully soon. Oh and if you didn’t catch on, I’m talking about two different pianos. Yes, I have an upright and a baby grand in my two-bedroom house. I did have a drum set too, but it’s packed now. The guitars aren’t though.
Friday was put the house back together and have family for dinner day. Hubby fixed his most excellent smoked salmon served with brie and yummy rye. So very yummy!
Saturday hubby worked on his closets while I worked in the garage. We need to replace carpet in at least two rooms. Whether we replace with more carpet, or go with the old original wood floor, we need to move furniture out of the rooms to do it.
After working out in the garage for the afternoon yesterday, I had a touch of heat exhaustion to deal with in spite of drinking a lot of water and wrapping my head in a Chilly Pad. Wondrous things those, btw. There is nothing like Central Texas heat to make mush of your body and brain. Having the experience has made me think on writing an article about dehydration and heat exhaustion. I wasn’t exactly very educated on these things as a kid and thank god to know better now.
Today, I’m trying to piggy-back off yesterday. Trying to complete the tasks we began yesterday and get ready for our daughter’s week of National Ocean Science Bowl meetings. And new contractors with new quotes. Hopefully more timely than the last.
My week in review. Ending the day with Tai Wraps and about 5 minutes of rain (finally). It was a celebration. I’ll have to post some photos tomorrow.
Filed under Friends and Family, It's An Aberrant Life, Random Thoughts
Thanks to yesterday’s efforts, I’m sitting in a fairly peaceful and debris-free dining room while I type, before buckling down and digging back into the house-remodeling-and-moving tasks at demand. It’s nice for a break, even though I know this table will necessarily be full of paperwork yet again soon.
So I’m catching up real “quick” on Twitter and blog stats and all that this morning. My blog post from a week ago, “Cro-pocalypse: The Rise of Crochet” has received rave reviews and attention. Awesome! 🙂 It was so much fun to write. I’m glad others are enjoying it too.
I meant to post another blog entry this week, but it took a back burner (as it must) to the house business. Unfortunately, I still wear too many hats. And getting this house ready for sale is a priority. I’ll tell that story later though.
But not today. I’m enjoying the calm right now.
So this morning during my life pause, Laurie from over at the Crochet Liberation Front had me checking out http://Klout.com. It’s an interesting service that taps into your Twitter account and then analyzes what your “clout” and essentially your influence is. I have props for being influential in crochet, technology, and others. I can accept that. But I found it hilarious that I’m supposedly influential about BACON. As in the food.
Adding to my amusement with the whole thing is that I know why I rated influential in bacon at all. 🙂 All because of a simple, humorous yet pointed tweet made by Scott from UnMarketing.
“The only excuse for making your Facebook event invite ALL-CAPS is if there is FREE BACON. Otherwise, stop it.”
I retweeted his post the old fashioned way with “RT.” I wasn’t the only one who found it retweet-able. Others retweeted (RT) my tweet the newer way, via the retweet button. Hence, on Klout – I receive credit for being influential in the bacon realm. Bacon, bacon, bacon. I can’t even eat real bacon. One of my very real major allergies. Hrmph.
Anyway, my fellow crocheter Maven says Klout’s is to Twitter accounts kind of like Technorati is for blogs. Speaking of them, Technorati has an interesting article on the value of Klout. So since I’m still learning about it too, I refer you there to learn more yourself.
Oh, and speaking of internet related stuff, I ended up signing up for Listia. It’s kind of like eBay, and yet it’s not, because there’s not really any money involved. It’s mostly about bidding on free stuff by use of credits, which you can earn. And when you join they start you out with some free credits to play with. It’s a little hard to explain, but I think if you go look at it, it’ll make more sense.
So I’m testing that out. I might list some yarn there, who knows. Will let you know what I think about it for sure once I’ve had a good run of figuring it out. Right now, I’ve already made my first n00b mistake and bid on an auction that said “local pick up only” without it stating anywhere in the auction where the seller was actually located, other than “United States.” N00b move for us both. I just found out they’re in NY. Figures.
Well, that’s my latest news about online tools. Now, it’s time for me to get my work clothes on and tear into the garage. If we’re to do carpet for the kids room, we need to move bunks somewhere. I miss having a bunch of college friends I could bribe with beer and pizza. Money didn’t matter as long as friends, beer and pizza were involved. Somehow I think those days are gone.
Wish me luck and willpower to plow through amazing feats today. 😉 I wish you answered wishes back!
Filed under Business
Visited John’s god-daughter Sat to celebrate her little one’s 1st birthday. I made a lemon-lime with flower ears for her. Forgot my safety eyes, so cross-stitched face had to do.
Filed under Artist Information & Notes, crochet, Friends and Family
When the subject of crochet comes up, and I begin to talk, it’s like a door opening to sunshine and happiness. Or sometimes, a door to a fascinating volcanic firestorm. (Gee, what does that look like anyway?) And people always comment, “Wow, I never realized ____, and you’re so passionate about crochet!” Usually there’s a new spark in their eyes, a little like the one in mine.
And I know I have accomplished my goal: Infection.
That’s what I call it. It’s a term I coined in speech class and later applied to marketing on a shoe-string for charities. It’s always been my secret weapon, something I’m really good at. But all contagions have to start somewhere.
Before I can do my thing… I have to care.
How did two people start with $0, no budget and create a charity event that drew thousands of children from 10 cities, live news coverage, local celebrity appearances, and get a community together for the cause? Even surprised the crud out of me?
Infection.
You take your vision, your passion and believe in it so much, know how to communicate effectively and show everyone, from the inside out, their own reason to be excited too.
Infection can be evil, or it can be good. I propose we have a lot to learn from viruses. I propose that Joy is just as easy to spread as Hate, but your heart has to be in it if you are to become a Source.
Me? So far my talent for infection has largely been used to help charities. And I’m excited if after our conversation someone is more likely to pick up a hook or consider crochet in a new light or be even able to tell the difference between crochet and knit or even weaving. I’m especially excited when I have demystified something. It’s been a little while since I’ve actively infected someone.
Not to sound too much like Dr. Evil or anything….
I think it’s time to set my sights on new goals and higher aspirations in crochet as an art form. It is time to infect the internet and the world with global domination of the versatility, practicality and coolness of crochet. I seek a cro-pocalypse. A veritable domain of the hook, with zombie-like contagion and cult indoctrination – only without the blood, flesh craving and Kool-aid.
But let’s leave the Borg mentality out of it. Crochet thrives best on flavors of individuality. It is after all derived from a single, lone hook. (Though I’m not against experimenting with two!)
It’s time fellow crocheters. Whatever it is in crochet that you love to do. Whatever part of the large crochet umbrella you specialize in… fill your soul and infect your world! 😉
Go ahead and click a link below to “share this.” You know you want to! : )
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I'm a writer, crochet designer, crochet hook expert and a serial social media consultant. I like useful but not too serious. This theme is reflected in my life, my crochet and my writing. Life's too interesting and short to be uptight. Carpe Equito!
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