On This Day in History

I am 60.

How did this happen?

I used to imagine myself at 30.  I thought I’d live in a suburban ranch style and drive a station wagon to pick up kids from choir practice and little league.  I thought I would make my husband cocktails when he came home from work and dress for dinner- like Donna Reed and the mom on Father Knows Best.

Life, though, has a way of working out in really unexpected ways.  Thank God- I probably would have become a suicidal alcoholic pill popping (suburban) momma if I had continued down that path.

Ok, ok, I confess I did have a station wagon for a while but only because it was what I could afford that had enough cargo space to haul everything I needed for my work.  No team sports were involved.

I also could see myself at 50.  Heading in to the millenium wearing a shapeless house frock and a head scarf like my grandmother.  That didn’t happen either.  I believe I had a red velvet shirt and black jeans on for that occasion.  Because I grew up wearing jeans and I’ll probably still be wearing them if and when I turn 90.

Here I also need to confess that I have worn shapeless dresses- but only in those eras when everyone did.  You can stop with the “and if your friends jumped off a cliff ” routine now.

I didn’t really ever picture myself 60 so this is really is a new experience.  It’s true too that while I know I’m not quite the same person I was at 20- I still feel like that person.  I’m still me.   Except when I have to get up from sitting on the floor and maybe first thing in the morning- I’m a little creaky then.  Well, and maybe  when I look in the mirror too.

Word Count:  10381

39619 to go

Reality: down for the count

What made you think you could do this?  Are you insane?

Well, I just decided I needed to do it.  I just really, really want to and if I don’t do it sometime I’ll never do it.

Needed to do it?  What about needing to get the show ready for dress rehearsals next week and dealing with your car tag and Christmas Knitting and OMG DRESS REHEARSALS  and do you know where your Christmas knitting is….  Did you have to NEED to do this now.

Well this is when NaNoWriMo is, November.  A lot of other stuff happens in November, I know but it’s not like I haven’t learned how to put my life on hold for productions.

So just how is this extravaganza going anyway?

I don’t know.  It’s all over the place.  I can’t connect the scenes up and I have whole pages of stuff that doesn’t belong.  Last night I added a ghost and a dog.  I think that might be helping.

And you think this is progress?

Well everyone who has done this before says its gets more coherent as you go and the stuff that doesn’t fit can be edited out in the rewrite.

Rewrite?  You mean there’s more?  You aren’t just going to start a bonfire with the manuscript and sacrifice it to the Gods of bad writing?

I sure hope not.

Well count me out of this.  I need to go collect some firewood.  While you’re busy I’ll just worry about the dust bunnies under the table and whether or not you paid the power bill, OK?  Just get some sleep will ya- all this is hurting my head.

Watch that attitude,  missy. I can always write you in to the book and I don’t have to be nice.

Current word count: 6098

43902 to go.

Skipping Forward

I’m feeling particularly lucky.

I won $2 in the lottery.

I used the money to get 2 new numbers and didn’t win anything.

I also won a gift certificate in the Local Shop Hop.   Whoopee!  That almost makes up for not getting to go to SAFF.

The store I won it from is about an hour away.  I won’t have time to claim it until after the next show at the opera opens.  Now I know why people say winning the lottery is stressful.

I’m feeling so optimistic that I have signed up to eat something bigger than my head to write a 50000 word novel in 30 days.  During the month of November to be exact.  November when I have dress rehearsals at the opera, a monumental birthday, Thanksgiving and necessity of traveling to acquire yarn.  That’s right.  I’m going to attempt National Novel Writing Month.   I have officially lost my mind and if you see me wandering around Decatur muttering to myself just chalk up it to a plot development crisis and be gentle.

I don’t know yet what this is going to do to the blog and my knitting time.  Last year I obsessively posted to the blog every day in November as part of another absurd challenge and had trouble stopping in December.  I’m hoping the same euphoria will not only carry me thru 50000 words but my Christmas knitting too.

Meanwhile, this week I’m pre writing a few blog entries to post later in the month.  Just in case I can’t come with an additional 300 words a week to keep everyone entertained and updated.  Plus it will make me write everyday so by the time I actually have to start the book I will have locked myself into the routine.  I hope.

When the Great Pumpkin gets here…

It’s pumpkin weather!  and they’re everywhere!

I was thrilled to see this:

I’m a little confused by the “dress for the event info”.  It makes me wonder why a pumpkin carving contest would be black tie?  Then I start imagining Fred Astaire in his tails dancing with a pumpkin on his head.

No Fred or Ginger but lots of little ones amid the pumpkins:

And even at the Botanical Garden where I went to see the Henry Moore exhibit:

Pumpkin Topiaries!  I want one.  I want to cover my Thanksgiving table with mini versions.

The sculptures were incredible.  I am so glad I live in a place where this is available.  I can’t imagine how they moved so many huge pieces here.  This one in particular is so big it dwarfs the man in front of it.

Right along with these classic modern works by an icon of the art world the Botanical Gardens also has…

ScareCrows!  This particular one was made by my granddaughter’s class at school.  Too Gorgeous.

Wait… I Need a Jacket???

There was no warning.  One day I was wondering if I should turn the air conditioning back on and the next I was pulling hoodies and scarves  out of the forgotten dark corners of my closet.  I thought it was never going to stop raining.  I thought it was going to be warm and muggy for the rest of my life.  I thought that global climate change meant Atlanta was now going to have a monsoon season like the tropics.  Followed by the dry water restriction season.  I was contemplating the purchase of bright colored plastic boots.  I was wondering how long it would be before I needed to trade my car in for a boat.

I am not ready.  My sweaters are still bagged up.  Wooly scarves and hats are in plastic bins with the silk wraps and evening bags I want to have a use for but don’t really.  I need to turn out the closets.  Put away the linen pants and find my coat.

I’m not ready to turn my heat on and until the cats start trying to sleep under me, I’m not going to.  Take that Mother Nature.  Take that Gas Company. I currently have on a fleece hoodie and a scarf- if I’d ever knitted myself a pair of fingerless mitts- I’d have those on too.

OK, so I really like Fall.  It’s my favorite season.  I just expected it to arrive the way it usually does- with some crisp air, lots of sunny days,  and a riot of colored leaves.  It’s still green, it’s still mostly cloudy, it’s just !@#$%^ cold.

Of course Fall here means that  knitters thoughts turn to SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair).  I won’t be going this year- too much work, not enough wherewithall.  But I can tell some of my Friday night group are starting to get excited:

Famous Steve (he of SAFF sheep hat fame) modeling a cowl on his head.

Since I can’t go I have pulled out some Knitting Notions Merino Sport- which I bought at SAFF 2007- as a reminder that I have beautiful yarn waiting to be knit.  I’ve cast on for a scarf using a stitch pattern I found in a book from the library:

It just happens to be my favorite color.  I’d name it after my new favorite red wine but Montepulciano is a mouthful- so I am calling it Merlot.

The Just Rewards of the Virtuous

Now it feels like Fall.

I have my sacrificial victim.  Although he’s too small for a Jack O’lantern and must become pie.  That’s OK- pie  goes really well with cider and warm scarves and trick or treators.

… and yarn shopping… which is Ok because I destashed by giving away some  in the contest, right?  I also enabled brought a few new converts knitters into the cult coven fold  just like sheep, via a costume shop field trip last week to my LYS.   Such virtue certainly deserves a reward, yes?  Like the pusher getting his for free.

This is what I scored purchased:

Schulana Kid Seta- for a lace scarf with beads.  I have some clear crystal beads for this and in the interest of making sure I don’t procrastinate about starting it after Christmas I have threaded them onto the yarn already.

Cashsoft 4 ply- I plan to make a scarf in which the colors ombre from the darker to the lighter. after Christmas

I have been virtuous in other ways too.  I have finished another  Christmas gift:

Wisp- in Suss Fishnet.  I was not so crazy about this yarn.  This is the second Wisp I’ve done and the 1st one just seemed so much easier.  Then about 3/4 of the way I discovered I was knitting on 6’s- not the 8’s I used for the 1st one.  Duh.  But it’s done, one more down, how many to go?

I have also completed this:

A super secret infintesimal  part of a group project that cannot be revealed at this time.  It’s Rowan Handknit Cotton, which I do like, for cotton anyway, and it’s actually a very nice bright green.  My photography skills camera couldn’t really get the color.

Now let’s see… there’s that hat to do and a scarf and what about that pie and I need to get out the sweaters and scarves and I couldn’t have gotten that much bigger over the summer, could I?

And the Winner is….

is that your final answer?

Go away, wrong contest anyway.

so where’s the gold statue?

This isn’t the Oscars or the Emmys.

Yeah, whatever happened with that anyway?

We didn’t win.  Now let me announce the winners of my blog contest, OK?

The winner of the drawing for the Amy Butler Bag, the Lily Chin yarn, and the blue stitch markers is  Steph.

The winner of the asian bag, the A Star Alpaca, and the millefiori stitch markers is  Ikkinlala.

I have sent out emails to the winners- if you won and you don’t see an email from me- please email me and let me know your mailing particulars.

I haven’t yet determined a winner for the rose stitch markers.

and you thought it would be a piece of cake, didn’t you?

I thought this would be easy because my blog stats tell me when someone has linked to my blog.  Only it seems, not really.  I have not had any indication that any of the commentors have posted a link even though at least one person indicated that she did.  When I can sort out, by reading all the blogs I haven’t yet had a chance to, who really did post a link, I will announce that winner.

If I can’t get them read in decent time frame, say by next weekend, or no one really did post a link, I’ll have a 2nd chance drawing.

Yesterday was the annual Shop Hop in the metro area.  So in a worthy cause- supporting my local yarn stores- I hit the 3 intown LYS and yes, I bought yarn.

Pictures when I can get them loaded.  After I read the blogs.

Soggy Morning Breakdown

If you are looking for the contest see the post below this one.

It’s raining.  It’s been raining here for long enough that I have almost forgotten what it’s like when it doesn’t rain everyday.  It’s rained soooo much that the ground and the storm drains and the creeks can’t take any more and there are floods every where.  Roads are closed, bridges are out.  When it does stop, it doesn’t really go away, it just lurks, ready to suddenly drench anyone who thinks now might be a good time to dash to the store.

Thursday I did just that- walked to the store.  Since I’m not really stupid, I took my umbrella.  By the time I had finished my business the skies had opened up and another great deluge was upon us.  I waited to see if it would let up enough for my umbrella to actually offer some protection.  Heaven responded  with harder faster rain.  I ultimately got tired of waiting and since I was not finding my fantasies of spending the night in the store very satisfying- I went for it.

At one intersection the only place I could cross was thru 8 inches of swirling water.  I said “Oh, well, I’m on my way home (Yay!).  I have towels, my feet will dry.”  When I stepped into that water it felt just like it did when I was 5.  When I loved to find puddles deep enough to watch the water roll over the top of my rain boots and  fill up to the top.  My shoes were gloriously squishy wet and it was O.K.

It’s Here! It’s Finally Here!!

On September 8, 2008 I officially moved my blog from Live Journal to WordPress and re-christened  it  ”Tangletale”.

and thereby hangs a tale.  I know, I know, heard it all before, can we just get on with it?

In honor of that event…

SNOOOOOZZZZZ….  come on, just spit it out already.

I am having a contest.

A little late, aren’t you?

After much deliberation and much spinning about of my poor little head while I tried  to come up with something unique and clever,  I settled on something really basic but there are 3 ways to win prizes.

1. Post a comment here.  I will have a random drawing for the following prize:

A tote bag in Amy Butler fabric, handmade by me.  3 balls of Lily Chin “Gramercy”  Superwash merino wool, sport weight, 127 yds, color 4103, medium gray.  In the interests of full disclosure:  1 ball has been wound into a cake.  Because, well, it was going to be something and then it wasn’t. Also included is a set of 5 stitch markers made from some lovely blue beads.

The bag is reversible and has pockets inside and out. The needles are not included- they’re to show off the pocket.

2. Post a comment here and tell me which post of mine is your favorite. This I hope will favor my regular readers because they deserve it.  There will be a second drawing of  this group for these:

A project bag also handmade by me in some lovely Asian inspired cotton plus 1 skein, 250 yds, 90% Alpaca, 10% silk, hand painted, sport wt yarn from A Star Alpaca- a small producer in Grass Valley, Ca. This is the same yarn I made the Stork’s Nest Scarf from and it’s lovely and soft.

This bag is also reversible

and it has a very clever way to close itself  by inserting the long handle thru the short one.  Which lets one loop it over one’s arm and feed yarn out thru the side, thus freeing up the hands to knit.

Also included are some stitch markers made from tiny milleflore beads.

3. Post a comment here and a link on your blog to the contest and I will put your name in a hat for these:

The contest ends midnight, Eastern Daylight Savings time, September 25, 2009.  Everyone who posts will be entered in drawing number one.  Only those who meet the criteria will be entered in the other 2 drawings.  In the interest of fairness and impartiality I  am asking my 9 year old non knitting granddaughter to pick the winners out of a hat.

Good Luck to All!

You will note that the project bag in Fall Colors has rabbits on it and alpaca in it.  The stitch markers for #3 have a rose like  design in the glass.  What these things have in common is that they are all prizes in my contest.  In case you were wondering.

Prelude to a Contest

So, is this it?

Not yet.

Isn’t  it ready yet?

Almost.

What gives?  I can’t believe it’s taking sooooo long.

Stop poking me.  I have a couple more things to do before I can post the contest OK.  Like photograph the prizes and wait for Flickr to load them on dial up.

What???? What??? Show me, show me, I wanna see.

That would give it away.  Stop that.  Go back to your knitting, I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

A hint, need  a hint.

Ok.  If I do will you leave me alone and let me finish?

Yes, oh yes, oh yes.

What do rabbits and Fall colors have to do with alpaca and roses?  What do any of them have to do with my blog contest?

Stay tuned.  I’m almost there, really I am.