Peter Jackson on The Hobbit Movie Progress

The Hobbit (2011) at IGN.com

Wood Floor Warning

Do not walk on a wood floor with wet feet. This should have been a warning label on the product when we bought it. For stupid people like me.

So there I was this morning, enjoying my shower and wishing I could stay in there for at least another 10 minutes. Alas, I am a wage slave. So I begrudgingly turn off the water and open the shower door. Dang. I meant to grab a towel before I got in. Such as it is when you have my brain and have not fed it the proper levels of caffeine. No worries, I keep a few in the cabinet under the sink. Dang. Empty. Sigh. Guess I have to walk out to the hallway and get one from the linen closet.

I walk gingerly on the bath rugs to absorb some of the water that is dripping from my body. Then I step into the bedroom. No throw rugs in my path. I make it about 5 steps and...

WHAMMO!

Down like a ton of bricks. And because my entire body is wet, there is a fun 'slip and slide' effect. As I lay on the floor on my back half in the bedroom and half in the hallway - nekkid and stunned - as it happened in a twinkling of an eye, I stare up at the ceiling and squeak out an 'ow'. My husband is still asleep in bed, but Paco and Mo are awake. They start jumping around on the bed and finally the half-deaf husband wakes up. I'm still muttering 'ow' and he says 'what's that noise?' I say, 'down here'. 'What are you doing down there?' 'Oh, I don't know. I thought I'd inspect the ceiling to see if it was time to repaint. Get me a flippin' towel and don't step in the puddle all around me!!' After at least one more sarcastic response to 'what are you doing down there?', the latent gentleman in him finally comes out and he helps me up.

To put you at ease, I am perfectly fine except for a new bruise on my knee that somehow got in the way of the decline. I'm actually grateful that I was wet all over as it seemed to have made the trip down a lot less harmful due to the ability to fall and slide at the same time. Kinda like sliding into 3rd base upside down and backwards. I'm also grateful that I missed landing in the curio cabinet. Otherwise, Legolas would have finally shot that arrow he's been holding his aim steady on for the past 4 years.

Needless to say, after that adventure, work was a piece of cake! And how was your Tuesday?

Wish Lists

Amazon has a good thing going with the Wish List thing. You find something and store it there for later. You half-heartedly think maybe you'll buy it later. Months and months go by and still, nah - not today.

And then... you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. There's nothing but infomercials on and you turn them off because they are starting to sound pretty good and maybe you just can't imagine life without that male enhancement product or maybe I CAN get rich in real estate. So you turn to the computer. It's safe. It's yours. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. But after checking out all your fave sites and you're still wide awake, then what?

All that's left are shopping sites. And now everything on that Wish List you must have now!

Here are some purchases from a week ago when this [surprise!] very thing happened to me. And you know what? I scored! The fugly quotient in the books is quite low! Just about all of the patterns in all 3 books are things I'd want to make - how rare is that?!

Lots of cool projects in this book. Sweaters, scarves, hats, purses and lots of felted items.

Ever wonder how to wear sweaters and boleros that are not styled with the traditional button/loop closure? Well, you can make a button frog using 2 shank buttons, some elastic thread and seed beads. Just make a loop with the thread and string the seed beads onto the thread, with a button on either side. Tie off, hide the ends and voila! A button frog closure :) This is just a little side tip that is included in the Everyday Crochet book.

Who can have too many motif books? I'm quite certain that the answer is no one. At least no one that crochets anyway. There's lots of neat motifs with interesting stitch patterns, a lot of which that are textured - and I love texture!

On the disappointing side, I purchased this book from Overstock.com a couple of weeks ago.

Except for the pattern on the cover, this one is a HUGE disappointment. There's maybe only one other pattern that I might consider making. Oh well, that's the down side of buying books online. Unless they offer a 'browse' feature, you don't know what's inside. So on a positive note, 3 out of 4 ain't bad!

Now, to con the hubby into building a new book case for the craft room...

Concerning Hobbits and other things...

Another round of excitement begins as the early stages of casting, etc. start. 2 films with talk of a 3rd - don't know what that 3rd film would be. I hope they don't get carried away and ruin the overall experience - the 2nd film is taking a bit of liberty in tying The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings together as it is. Anyhoo... if you want the latest and greatest info on the Hobbit movies, go here. And if you're a fan, pleeeeeease post against them doing this in 3D!! I can't think of anything worse that they could do. Well, maybe, but seeing that rumor just about sent me over the edge.

Speaking about over the edge, I had to take my car into the shop this past week. The trunk latch stopped working and I wanted to replace the visors as the mirrors were broken (my bad. I didn't catch this when I first bought the car.) The repair for the trunk latch was covered by the warranty, but the visors were not. Now take a guess at how much the visors were? Now extend that to your wildest dream and double it. Then add $48 for labor - yessirree - turning 4 screws is quite laborious work. Grand total? $348. Was I stupid? Yes. Did I give them a mouthful anyway? Abso-flippin'-lutely!! And they're not even magic mirrors. They do not light up, magnify, put on your makeup for you or tell you that you are the fairest in the land. Chalk that one up under "lessons learned" and "maybe that's why Chrysler / GM went bankrupt."

On a brighter note, my pineapple plant has finally produced something resembling a pineapple!

It's still a little guy, but he'll grow up. Not having had a pineapple plant before, I'm not quite sure how long that will take, but I'm thrilled to have gotten this far!

It's been a few months since I've posted last and I have finished off a few crochet projects:

This is a pineapple shawl that I worked up during the MCAL at CFL. You can get the freebie pattern here if you are so inclined. I made this with about 2-1/2 balls of Marble (Red Heart is now selling this yarn under their label - look for 'Collage'.)

Then I've been working up washcloths for charity. I dorked around a bit with wrapping the washcloth around some handmade soap that I wrapped in pretty paper.

Then a little gift bag that I did up in Patons Grace. I started out with a square pattern that I found on line and took it from there. Would also work well as a soap holder / saver, dontchathink?

Other than those projects, I've started many and finished few. Seems to be a theme with me now. Could it be I have too many patterns and too much yarn that keeps me from focusing? Could be, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it ~ LOL.

Have a great weekend and we'll catch up soon!

Happy Easter!

I am waaaaay behind the 8 ball on this holiday. In fact, I didn't realize tomorrow was Easter Sunday until just a few days ago. I guess not having kids to remind you when the holidays are coming is a downside.

But not to fear, I made a bunny:

He's accompanied by a Butie and a Gabu. They are friends. Good thing too, as I need to get rid of some yarn around here.

I also made a couple of cleaning goodies:

These projects helped me to clear out the remainder of 3 skeins of yarn - whee! The cleaning scrubbees kind of look like Easter Baskets with those green scrubbees in them, don't they? Hmmm...

Anyway, just a quick post to wish everyone a happy holiday. Eat lots of eggs so we can fart nationwide tomorrow!

Ren Faire 2009

Saturday was the opening day for Ren Faire. As hubby seemed to have had his fill of 1590's merriment due to me dragging him to the faire year after year, I cut him a break and went with a good girlfriend. We ate, bought stuff, ate some more, had a massage and picked up purchases on the way out. It was a very good day.

That said, Ren Faire always puts me in the mood for doing something whimsical. So one of my purchases was for a Fairy House and Fairy Garden kit. So after a few short naps today (ahhh...), I set to having some fairy fun.

First up is the Fairy House. It's basically a cardboard tube covered with dried flower petals and that spongy moss that I can never remember the name of. The cute little chair is 2 acorn caps backed with a pinecone (do you call it a leaf?) The picture doesn't do it full justice, but I think it came out cute.

I then took the miniatures that were included in the Fairy Garden kit and placed them under the tree in the back yard. I didn't use all of the miniatures that came with the kit as a couple of them just seemed way off scale.

awww...

Close-up of wheelbarrow, tools, stepping stones and birdhouse.

It's kinda hard to see, but I made a shepherd's hook out of tie-wire to hang the birdhouse on. I twisted two strands together then formed the hook. I think I'll take it back in the garage and spray paint it black (or white.) I also have an idea for a miniature pond ;) Later.

I'm not sure if fairies get mail, but what the hey?

So those were the creative purchases. And the best part is that now I've had a chance to think back on what I saw, some Christmas gifts are coming to mind. Sounds as good excuse as any to go back a second time, donchathink?

And don't ya just love spring?!

I'm Still Here!

Believe it or not, I'm still breathing. I took a nice long break from civilization as I was not fit for human interaction. Work has been more than brutal - not in a good "I'm working hard" kind of stress, but in a "you've been taken over by another company and even though we pontificate about how much we value people, know that we speak with a forked tongue" kind of stress. There it is and that's all I'm going to say about that.

So in honor of coming up for air from all things stupid and ugly, and in an attempt to bring a little whimsy into both my life and yours, I have a new pattern for all of you dog lovers out there! And here it is:

Mini's Cheaper-than-the-Pet-Store Poop Bag Holder

Yes, a poop bag holder. For those of us that live in a city and take our dogs for walks, we must pick up the poop. Now if you've been to a chain pet store (e.g., Petco, Petsmart), those little poop bags and holders are expensive! I was in Petco and needed to pick up refills and a bag of 4 rolls of poop bags was $11! And the poop bag holders started from $5 on up (mostly up.) So I pashawed all that and went to Target where I found a package of 8 poop bags for $6. Still pricey for small plastic bags to me. And wouldn't you know, they were a teeny bit larger than my poop bag holder. Just a teeny bit, but since my holder was hard plastic, it was enough to not fit.

So here you go. This poop bag holder will hold all sizes of poop bag rolls, and if it doesn't, you can easily make it longer without breaking the poop-pickup budget!

Materials Needed

Small amount of Sport weight Cotton Yarn
E / 3.5mm hook
Self-locking clasp


Rnd 1: Ch 2, 8 sc in 2nd sc from hook.

Rnd 2: Ch1, 2 sc in same st as join, 2 sc in ea sc around, join. (16 sc)

Rnd 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in same st as join, *1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc; rep from * around, join. (24 sc)

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, working in back loops only, sc in ea sc around, join. (24 sc)

Rnds 5-18: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in ea sc around, join.

Rnd 19: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, *ch1, sc in next 3 sc; rep from * around ending with sc in last 2 sc, join. (6 ch-1 spaces)

Rnd 20: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in ea sc and ch-1 space around, join. (24 sc)

Rnd 21: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in ea sc around, join.

Rnd 22: Ch 1, sc in same st as join, *ch 1, sc in next sc; rep from * around, finish off and weave in all ends.

Drawstring

Cut a length of yarn approximately 2 yds long. Fold in half and attach folded end to a stationary holder (I use a binder clip tied to a doorknob.) Holding ends of yarn together, hold taut and twist until the strand wants to twist onto itself. Place finger halfway up the strand, bring both ends together and allow to twist onto itself. Tie each end securely.

Finishing

Thread clasp onto drawstring and weave drawstring through the ch-1 spaces on rnd 16. Insert bag roll into pouch and pull up a bag. Tighten drawstring and tie into a bow. Clip the Poop Bag Holder onto your dog’s leash to keep handy during your walk!

Have a great Sunday!

Vacation FO's

I managed to crank out a few projects during my wonderful week off from work which helped to substantially bring down that Christmas gift list (YAY!). I now feel comfortable that I can finish everything on time and maybe, just maybe, have some time for crochet just for fun :)

First up, a couple of Puffy Slouchy Hats in blue:



The first hat was done with Red Heart Soft, the second with Berocco Geode. The Geode was fun to work with :)



OK, not actually an FO, but most of the pieces are done for two felted purses. I still have 10 flowers and flower centers to make partially thanks to my cat Buster who thought I was making cat toys. I'm using Gourmet Crochet's Natalie Collection pattern for the purses. I'm using the rectangular pattern for both.



I then tested a slipper pattern for a lovely lady at Ravelry.



Worked out the adjustments I wanted to make to Sandyfroglegs' Fingerless Glove pattern, so I can kick out 4 pair for gifts :)



And made up a different afghan for my uncle as the round ripple had just gotten too boring to continue (for now.) So I went surfing through my pattern stitch books and found a stitch that would work well using 2 strands of yarn and a large hook so I could finish it quickly. So quick in fact, I'm making another one in different colors for my cousin. You'll find the pattern here.


Close up of stitch

And so ends another week ~ back to the grind tomorrow :o\ May your crochet hooks fly like the wind!

Catching Up

It's been a while since I did a proper post, so let's catch up!

I've been madly working on Christmas gifts. I should have kept up with Cris' One-a-Month-a-Long at the beginning of the year :P But you know how it goes, you make a list, then do it over and over again until the last bleeding minute. You're just not inspired until you're inspired, ya know?

Being off work this week has helped a lot. Clearing the mind of all of that 'work clutter' helps tremendously with inspiration and keeping focus. So my pared-down list is as follows (no sense in killing oneself, eh?):

Afghans - 2

Fingerless Mitts - 4 pairs

Slouchy Hats - 4

Slippers - 1 pair

Of course, that list can still change! LOL I've made up the pattern for the afghans, I'll post as soon as I finish one. The Fingerless Mitts are a slightly modified version of Sandyfroglegs Fingerless Gloves pattern. Although I haven't officially picked the patterns yet, the Slouchy Hats will likely be the Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat pattern and the slippers, Priscilla Hewitt.

On a non-crochet note, we have adjusted to life without Jose. Paco tries to play with the cat, but the cat hates him. We'll have to get him a new buddy, but we'll wait until we find the right buddy :)

That's about it for today. Oodles of toodles and enjoy your Halloween!

Happy Halloween

Grab a cup and let's kick it!

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Atom.com: Funny Videos | Funny Animations | Upload Video Clips

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Funny Animations | Upload Video Clips

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Funny Animations | Upload Video Clips

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Funny Animations | Upload Video Clips

Sadly, Joe Sparks left Shockwave and was not allowed to continue the series. But, at least we have Episodes 1-8 to enjoy as long as the internet is up and running!

Happy Halloween!