StrungOut

It's been a hell of a long time.

A year and some change to be exact. I was thinking of ending my blogging career but I've got the itch again so here I am. I've had PLENTY of bad news in the past year. Not to dwell but just to give you an idea....I had to put my 16 year old yellow lab Barney to sleep. My apartment has just been sold and lucky me my rent is DOUBLING!!! That's what I get for living here for 20 years with only one small rent increase. Trust me that's just the tip of the ice berg! As for the good news I rescued a Border Collie and named him Chaos because that's what my life was in when he decided to live with me. BTW he LOVES his name. I'll be posting pics soon. On the knitting front I have started a Noro hat. Sorry this is a picture free post. I'm getting it together slowly...I am very proud of myself because I actually am using yarn from my stash. Big whoop I'll be using the 2 left over Kureyon balls from my felted bag. Why is it when I start a new project I never have the right yarn? Is it just me? My stash NEVER gets smaller, only bigger!

Back in the Day

Have you ever noticed what strange things trigger memories to all of a sudden  come flooding back. It’s uncontrollable, really. I noticed it yesterday while I was at Whole Foods Market. It was almost subconscious. All of a sudden I started thinking about Claudio.

I guy I knew in the 10^th grade. Hey in Jr. High I may have been the shit but in 10^th grade, first year of high school I wasn’t anything. That was until Claudio. He was older than me funny I’m not sure but I think he was a senior, let me not forget to mention he had a girlfriend, Barbara. In any event he was in my biology class and he was definitely one of the cool crowd. For some unknown reason he wanted me to tutor him. He actually was the reason I ever set foot in the school library. We spent a lot of time together and we had a lot of fun. We even went record shopping. You know those big black discs made of vinyl. Hung out all hours of the night on the Sunset Strip…. GOD I miss him. I wonder where he is and what he’s doing. 

To what do we owe this stroll down memory lane? Is this a latent case of Spring fever?  let's hope not! The song streaming through the speakers in the market was “Follow you Follow me” by Genesis. God it was old when Claudio and I were kids. He (secretly) loved that band and that was our song.

He moved away and I never saw him again. It was a Rock/Punk version of Romeo and Juliet. I moved to Woodland Hills, and Taft high school for 11^th grade. That was shear hell and another story. I did however get to graduate from Hollywood High. Threats actually worked back then. Not to mention I was ditching every Monday & Friday to go hangout at HH, and I still got mostly A’s.

Anyway when I got home I promptly decided to knit something kinda retro. You know something I’d a worn back in the day while listening to Blondie’s Plastic Letters Album. Yep, I was retro before it was cool. Or would that be considered old skool? Or, just punk? Whatever!

So I’m knocking off #6 on the list. Here’s the proof.

I decided to knit them in a natural white, this way I can change the ribbon color whenever I like. Not to mention the yarn was perfect for the pattern, not that I swatched it or anything.

Runnin on Empty

There’s not much going on at mi casa. My daughter lost my brand new shawl. Thank god I didn’t knit it. But I would have at least liked to have worn it once. Of course to her it’s no big deal. Which just really pisses me off and she knows it, which is why she does it. Hey she’s a teenager. I’m so PO'd I’ve held back her B-Day presents cause hey “it’s no big deal”. I’ve decided just to give her cash in a card. Why teens HAVE to be so tormented? I’ll never know. Of course when I was a teen I really was tormented but that’s a whole other Oprah. Suffice to say not only am I a bastard, hit the jackpot by being an orphan and my family not really wanting me. I bet you thought the whole “I really was tormented” was a joke huh?!? The sad part is that’s not even half of the worst of it.  The good news is I’m over it.

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Moving on…..

This is Jasmine Bloom tea (green tea) from Adagio Teas. It looks so pretty in a glass tea pot or just in the bottom of your cup. It also tastes lovely. I highly recommend it. I also purchased the Red Bloom tea however it’s a black tea and it’s a lot harder to get a photo of.  If you’d like to try it just click on my link on the side bar.

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In knitting news I’ll be posting a finished object or two in my photo album soon. I finished the Last minute Purled Beret. I’m not thrilled with it. I still have to block it and hopefully that will help. But I don’t hold out much hope. I also knocked #4 off on my list of projects. The Noro hat (photo) is finito and I love it. Of course it’s now the weather is getting hot and I won’t be able to wear it.

I know it's not the same affect as seeing it on. But I can't seem to take a photo of my own head.

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Say hello to my albatross. It’s from Sensational Knitted socks. I can’t read a pattern to save myself and while I thought this book looked simple boy was I WRONG.

I even asked for help from a knitting teacher and not only could she not figure it out she’s changed the number of stitches I have on each needles and now I don 't know what to do. I plan to go to another LYS and ask for help. This poor sock has been like this for a month at least and it’s depressing me. I 'm not interested in starting anything else. I usually knit a little everyday but not lately. I just want to finish this pair. Not to mention it’s on my only pair of size 2 dbl pt needles. I should have had two pair of each size sock needles by now. I ordered them from my LYS but the owner forgot to place the order. Oy Vey, it’s been one of those days that never ends and it just continues in to the next. 

Free at Last

Well not actually at this moment but soon, she says with glee. What could make me make that statement?

Today is my daughter’s 18^th birthday.

Isn't she beautiful?

The reason she's all dressed up is she's going to her senior dinner/ surprise. She's out until midnight.

Trust me, there were a few times when I was sure I’d be in jail for murder by this date. But I made it!!! I’m sure a part of her feels the same way. But I’ve noticed some strange behavior lately. I think she sort of feels like I did when I arrived at the hospital to have her.

I was in my room when it all became just a little too real. I suddenly realized there was no getting out of this one. I couldn’t change my mind if the pain became unbearable. I had to go through with having a baby. Me, labor, which was the big unknown. I had read up on what’s supposed to happen, talked to friends…The stages… But with the first one who knows what they are in for, really. I had already made up my mind there would be no drugs and no C-Section. But would the pain kill me? Yes, I'm allergic to pain!

Anyway I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say the reality of her being an adult is starting to hit her. Not to mention the fear of the unknown. What exactly does being an adult entail for her. She’s not sure and it’s that fear of the unknown that has her by one arm. So with her free hand she is holding on to me. Every once in awhile I get loose for a split second but she manages to latch back on. It’s an odd dynamic around here at the moment.

Her father has arranged a trip to Chile for her after graduation.. She’s to stay there 6 months. This plan was hatched behind my back which needless to say didn’t make me happy. This puts her college start date off…

So I’ve informed her of my plan. Which is while she’s gone I’m going to MOVE. That’s right I hope to buy a place if I can afford something I’d like. So basically she’s homeless when she comes back. I won’t be picking her up at the airport upon her return either. Let’s put it this way. When she boards that airplane it won’t be the only thing taking that’s off.

This is why I had my child YOUNG. I don’t recommend it for most people. We had some really tough times. The good news is she doesn’t remember because I insulated her from them. The upside of the hard times I had is I’m still young enough to go out and enjoy life. So consider yourself warned.

Work,Work, Work

I have a big bid to finish. It has 26 pages of directions. If I don't follow them to the letter my bid goes in the round file. Then I'll have to go on a yarn diet. Hence this is a really short post. I'm catching up on my ABC along.

D is for........

DENTIST

I had my choppers cleaned and no cavities were reported. HURRAY! I'm good until Sept 11th. I hate that date.

Blue Haired ladies in Beveryl Hills

Yes, Virginia there are Blue Haired ladies in BH. There were 2 in my Dermatologists office. However this is a new breed of BHOB (blue haired old bitties). They dress impeccably in Chanel, they wouldn't be caught dead in a house dress. However their conversations aren't that different from the true BHOB of the species. I just happened to over hear them talking about their hair appointment of course my ears immediately tuned in. I mean come on that's gotta be priceless. Getting the scoop on which hairdresser still creates BHOB in BH. O.K. I was secretly hoping it was one of my skinny rich girlfriends. All I wanted/needed was a NAME!!!! But instead I actually learned something, go figure. They started talking about a lost art, the soap cap. WTF? Back in the day the ladies all had standing weekly appointments,for a wash & set, as I'm sure they still do. However it seems every 2-3rd appointment their hairdresser would automatically give them a soap cap. Which was when all the really nasty gossip was spread amongst the group. Today they complained YOU had to make YOUR OWN "touch up" appointment. The worst part is the death of the cackle-fest. Today it's just you and your hair dresser at his station. You don't dare speak too loud, the place is so big you have no idea who else might be upstairs, in the shampoo chair... They were mourning their lost version of our knit nights. (Who'd a thunk I could tie this story and knitting together.)

No, I never got a shop name or a hairdresser's for that matter. But I did learn what the soap cap was. It's simply adding shampoo to a little bit of hair color and applying it that way. Let me tell you those two BH-BHOB were on to something. I was too weak to give myself a good dye job for my dentist appointment yesterday so I tried a soap cap. I shampooed in the color then in the bath shaved my legs, and exfoliated my arms.... When I finally rinsed my hair it looked great. Not perfect, on a scale of 1-10, I'd say an 8.8. Hey, that's good enough for the dentist and the play I'm going to tonight (in the rain).

B is for.....Bird Flu

Just to let you know I haven’t died yet! But I’ve lost 8 lbs in 24hrs. Yep I’ve got the (bird?) flu. Let me tell you it’s an ass kicker. But with that kind of weight loss it’s all good. I’m ditsy and weak from the dehydration but I’m still here. Not to mention I’ve got my photo programs (yes, I have more than one) working. I’m still behind in taking pictures of my FO’s, I’ve finished my first pair of socks, Mercy and my scollar.

I’ve started my second pair of socks. I’m using the yarn on the left, the whiter one.

B is also for Birthday & Ballons

Which mine was back on the 7th

   

But what I really love about the letter B is...

Books

Boats always take nice photos

Lock me UP

What a morning I almost blew up my kitchen or at least caught my place on fire. Technically it was on fire. All because I wanted to make a cup of tea, God I’m inept! I had to light the burner with one of those candle lighter thingy’s. My cell rings, which is up stairs so I put the lighter down, obviously oblivious to the fact I have a burner on, covered by a tea pot. Run to get the phone, yak a minute, come back downstairs walk into the kitchen and BOOM  there’s an explosion and a flash of light. Not to mention a small fire. The lighter is burning, the teapot appears to be burning and the smell is awful. Big Bad Brave me is afraid to go near the stove. I’m already standing next to it. So I got my nerve up wet a paper towel (told you I’m a genius) and throw it on the flames. Believe it or not it did the trick.

I’ve already reproduced how frightening is that!!! What have I become? I think all of my academic awards should be stripped away as well.

Oh the call, was my boss to tell me I was a top performer for 2005. How frickin scary is that?!?! Thank God he wasn’t on the phone for the explosion…. I’d have fired myself for that stupid move. I think this should qualify me for a Darwin Award, don’t you?

Confession #1

I’m so glad that I haven’t told anyone who knows me that I have a blog. Because I can be brutally honest and not have to worry about people who know me reading it. Then I’d get stuck with having to deal with the hurt feeling fall out. I’m not sure that makes total sense but I think you get the drift. Well this post is all about me. To be direct something I don’t like/can’t stand about me. I’m sure we all have some version of this, but this is something no one wants to admit. So here’s my confession. But of course a story comes first.

This coming Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday for those of you non-football fans. I have been invited to a party that I will be attending (already RSVP’d). However I just found out that there will probably be some matching making going on. At the last party I attended I guess I made a favorable impression on “Chris”.  Problem, he didn’t make any impression on me. I don’t even know who he is. Although his description scares the hell out of me. Want to hear it, sure you do. He’s 35 has very short hair, translation = that’s BALD people (or at best a horse shoe hair cut.)! That's not all, here comes the worst thing you can ever be told about a guy, “he has a great personality”. God just take me in my sleep please. I hate that I’m this superficial. It’s got to be the worst thing about me. Here’s a strange fact about me I don’t find truly bald men attractive. Especially if they have the horseshoe thing going on. However if they shave their head that’s acceptable. Probably because I know the hair can grow back. Not only am I superficial but also I know I have flaws like of late, my weight. Yet I expect men to see past that, at least the good-looking ones and date me anyway. See I can/will lose weight, but when you’re bald you can’t grow hair. I know my logic is twisted, welcome to the thought process in my head. Problem there was only one good-looking guy at the last party and he was MARRIED and I don’t go there. Hopefully my behavior won’t be legendary in a bad way. Because I can be a bitch when I’m annoyed. I hold several gold metals in the bitch Olympics. Believe me they’re world record caliber and to this day no one has surpassed them. Another problem is Yen (hostess) will be keeping this “a small intimate gathering”. That way she can metal in my sex life easier. Why do some women get such pleasure out of fixing up their friends? BTW Yen’s hubby is a 49-year-old hottie. (Meaning she wouldn’t date “Chris”.) Her hubby could easily pass for 35. Back to “Chris”, I hope to hell he doesn’t ask me out. Stay tuned the new comedy of the season starts this Sunday @ 2:00PM.

Spontaneous Combustion

I need to finish, my room this weekend. Which at the last minute I’ve decided to redecorate. Which is why I haven't been posting. I seem to be making lots of last minute decisions under the guise “spontaneity”. One BIG problem is I’ve thrown my back out with only one wall left to paint. Shit! It's going to be a beige eventually.

My walls (3) are now arbor green thank you Martha Stuart.

I’ve had my girlie romantic room forever. (MANY re-incarnations)  The reason being none other than Eddie Van Halen (who had a birthday 1/26). I refuse to give a time frame on this due to major embarrassment on my part. I actually met him in the parking lot of Strouds in Studio City and he helped me pick out my bedroom set. He even carried it around the store for me…

Enough of this silly reminiscing. Back to my bedroom. I’ve purchased an Art Deco head board for my brand new mattress.Which was just delivered.

A…

Is for ART DECO (I know I’m getting a late start)

I absolutely LOVE anything Art Deco.

And an Art deco Vanity

 

So can you guess the style of my soon to be new boudoir?

Bet not.

It’s going to be a cross of India meets Art Deco.

A...

And finally

Amethyst