lolajl: June 2008 Archives

So. Yes, I'm still alive. Just being quiet at the moment. But I'm looking forward to Friday, because this will be the start of my freedom from The Nursery. The season's winding down, they're starting to cut hours, and I gave my week's notice. It felt liberating to be able to do that. Especially after what happened to me in my last full-time job, when I got unceremoniously dumped because of mucked-up contract politics that rippled down to us Dilbert twins. (You sound just a tiny bit bitter. - Ed. Yes, I am. But I'm over it - really.)

I've unofficially joined the Summer of Socks knitalog. I knew about it, but took my time signing up because I didn't want to feel pressured and when I looked again, the deadline had passed for adding yourself to the list. Oh, well. It's the spirit that counts. Right now I'm working on cabled socks to replace a favorite pair that has a nice, big hole on the heel of one of the socks and is too big to be darned up. I'm using the Crestari sock yarn that I got at MDSW. It's really nice yarn, and at a firm gauge, the fabric feels like it will hold up well under the abuse of daily wear. pics coming son . . .

In other matters, I've been trying to put my craft room to orders, so I can get back in there and sew again. My next sewing project is going to be a handbag to use as my daily purse. I picked up some really nice tapestry fabric at JoAnn's during one of their huge discount sales. This tapestry fabric has really lovely rose bouquets and is on the dark side, which should hide dirt more easily than my current handbag (which I'd originally intended for my knitting). This is the pattern that I'll be using - it's such a versatile pattern. I love it so much that I've copied it onto reusable tracing papers so I can save the originals.

In other matters, thanks to the generosity of Justice from IRC #coldfusion channel, I've got a ColdFusion sandbox to muck around in at KnitGal! I'm already thinking of some knitting-related applications, perhaps even a little dyeing and spinning, in the form of online calculators. I've already got some of the formulas documented; it's just a matter of writing the code and getting these to output usable results. This is also partly an effort to get my butt off the chair and actually do something productive . . .

Oh, I should explain that "KnitGal" is my IRC moniker, hence, my other domain's name . . .

1. Open an used, refrigerated bottle of champagne with bubbly still in it close to your face. If I had not been looking at Hubby when I twisted off the cork from the bottle that a friend gave me (going back to Greece for an extended time period), I might have put out my eye, or worse.
2. Plant passionfruit vines in the dirt. The roots will Take Over Your Garden. As soon as the vines start growing, you will dig deeply to take out the roots that you can find. And a couple days later you will discover that the vines have come back again. Dismayed, you will dig around the spot, only to find a nice, fat root branching off in two different directions. So that's why the shoots were growing allllll the way over on the other side . . .
3. Let fear take over. It can be really hard to get rid of, and keep you from doing what you need to do to get back on track.

Meanwhile, still plugging away at Mr. Greenjeans. It's definitely summertime . . . my desire to knit is not as great as it usually is. I'm thinking that after I get this done, I might go back to one of my lace projects, or start a new one. And I need more socks for the cold season . . .

Would you hire a a message-room employee who's been at another company for 3 months to run a a $10 billion dollar company as Chief Executive Officer? No, I'm not going to say why I'm asking this question. But you'd better be very sure of your answer and have valid reasons for your decision.