Did I write about this already?
It was the fist BSJ I ever did, and it was small, I guess it fits a newborn, but there was no newborn in my surrounding who would have been able to wear it, so it will be worn by a stuffed lion whose name is 'Tiger'. He is the toy of my niece, and she loved the jacket.
I have knitted up one for her, also, but have never seen her wear it, maybe it was a little too big? and she needs to grow into it still?.
I used three sports weight strands of yarn for the bog version and 5 mm needles.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
books I got from mom
Look what she saved for me :-)
Most pround makes me the posession of the most right one, a Debbie Bliss childrens sweater book. Lots of inspiration for knitting up cozy things for my nephews and nieces.
The Sandra in the middle is mens sweaters only, some a little outdated in colour choices or the neck treatment, but nothing an accomplished knitter cant handle :-) and bf browsed through and found one he wants to have, double knitted, warm and nothing to be altered on it since it is a classical shape crew neck sweater.
Time for yarn recycling and starting to document it for a tutorial.
There are some interesting projects in the Verena, too. I will have to alter some of them to make them more 21. century like but all in all a good find.
Someone wanted to ditch them and mom saved them from the garbage bin and made me very happy with them.
Most pround makes me the posession of the most right one, a Debbie Bliss childrens sweater book. Lots of inspiration for knitting up cozy things for my nephews and nieces.
The Sandra in the middle is mens sweaters only, some a little outdated in colour choices or the neck treatment, but nothing an accomplished knitter cant handle :-) and bf browsed through and found one he wants to have, double knitted, warm and nothing to be altered on it since it is a classical shape crew neck sweater.
Time for yarn recycling and starting to document it for a tutorial.
There are some interesting projects in the Verena, too. I will have to alter some of them to make them more 21. century like but all in all a good find.
Someone wanted to ditch them and mom saved them from the garbage bin and made me very happy with them.
Socks for Alex
Finally a picture of the socks I had started for Gabe, but the cuffs were too tight, so I decided his one year younger cousin will get them.
It is a lacey pattern which looks like twisted rib, but there are no purls involved.
I hope we can get a picture where one can see the details better, then I will post about it in an extra entry.
To the front there is a sockie for sockie made from self dyed yarn in orange and blue with some white left.
It has a classical heel flap and turned heel and the banded toe decreases like the big socks I sometimes make.
In a big sock I tried to provoke pooling, so it looks a little like monet skies and I am itching to try it out, but before I do this, I will have to finish some UFOs and free some needles.
It is a lacey pattern which looks like twisted rib, but there are no purls involved.
I hope we can get a picture where one can see the details better, then I will post about it in an extra entry.
To the front there is a sockie for sockie made from self dyed yarn in orange and blue with some white left.
It has a classical heel flap and turned heel and the banded toe decreases like the big socks I sometimes make.
In a big sock I tried to provoke pooling, so it looks a little like monet skies and I am itching to try it out, but before I do this, I will have to finish some UFOs and free some needles.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
not feeling well
well, that is my mental state ;-)
Lots of things from the past rear their ugly heads, and I dont really want to go into it here, since I guess it is not so much of interest for people.
Whenever I feel down I try to get some creative stuff going and I rediscovered origami again.
It is amazing of how many good diagrams there are around the net, and here be dragon :
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/786/corriedragon24it.gif
I like it a lot, and it happens to be that a blue dragon is my inner protector.
So I made up one and it sits on top of my monitor now watching over me.
Knitting is still going on, but no pictures in particular. When I feel like facing the challenge I finally will upload the pictures of the little crow we rescued two years ago. It is such a beautiful creature, and he even had blue eyes, and I wonder if all crows have blue eyes or if they darken to brown or almost black when the birds mature. This one was a mere nestling, still not really able to sit perched up on a stick when we found him. Must have fallen out of the nest and had great luck he was not injured, but he was undernourished and ate a lot while we cared for him. He went to a wildlife rehab place two days after we found him and there he was growing up in a flock of other young crows and when big enough they were left free to live around the rehab center. They told us, most of the birds stay around and dont wander off too far, so whenever we get in that area, we wonder if one of the crows on the field is 'ours'.
I love him even though he has not really been a long lasting part in my life.
They are so light, and so powerful, and I dont get why people are scared of crows.
This one was special because he stumbled into my life, and left a lasting impression.
Lots of things from the past rear their ugly heads, and I dont really want to go into it here, since I guess it is not so much of interest for people.
Whenever I feel down I try to get some creative stuff going and I rediscovered origami again.
It is amazing of how many good diagrams there are around the net, and here be dragon :
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/786/corriedragon24it.gif
I like it a lot, and it happens to be that a blue dragon is my inner protector.
So I made up one and it sits on top of my monitor now watching over me.
Knitting is still going on, but no pictures in particular. When I feel like facing the challenge I finally will upload the pictures of the little crow we rescued two years ago. It is such a beautiful creature, and he even had blue eyes, and I wonder if all crows have blue eyes or if they darken to brown or almost black when the birds mature. This one was a mere nestling, still not really able to sit perched up on a stick when we found him. Must have fallen out of the nest and had great luck he was not injured, but he was undernourished and ate a lot while we cared for him. He went to a wildlife rehab place two days after we found him and there he was growing up in a flock of other young crows and when big enough they were left free to live around the rehab center. They told us, most of the birds stay around and dont wander off too far, so whenever we get in that area, we wonder if one of the crows on the field is 'ours'.
I love him even though he has not really been a long lasting part in my life.
They are so light, and so powerful, and I dont get why people are scared of crows.
This one was special because he stumbled into my life, and left a lasting impression.
Monday, October 29, 2007
What tarot card are you?
now after a while I retested and came out as this:
You are The Sun
Happiness, Content, Joy.
The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.
Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.
The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Bremen travel
We had to get up early to catch the S1 from Heidelberg to Mannheim and board the ICE to Hannover.
All went well except we forgot the apples and some other minor stuff.
Approaching Frankfurt, there was an announcement that the engine is failing and that they will have to repair it. This made a delay, which was getting even bigger when it came to the point where they told us it was not to be repaired, and they had to use the engine on the other end of the train and that we had to take a detour to turn the train around.
This ammounted to almost an hour running late.
In Hannover we met Sascha and his mother who were going to the conference as well. We did not get the 'apologize' package of juice and sweets whyever, but had some company from then on :-)
We boarded a totally overcrowded RE then, because the connecting IC did not wait for us. It was the purest of horrors Aspie can experience, lots of stressed people, a big backpack to manage, and not being on time. I still wonder why S. had such a calm state he was in.
When we finally arrived at Bremen Hauptbahnhof, we had to wait for a RB to Schoenebeck and walk through unknown streets to the university the conference took place at.
All very late, but we made it there with no great injuries except the one that all went so totally different from expected. I missed out a talk I had wanted to hear, so I thought.
It turned out the programme was changed and the talk was to be held in the time we were there, so I did not miss it at all.
We had the opportunity to stay on campus and this made it easier on us for the stay, so we dont get lost between transfer from and to campus.
Such totally new surrounding always tells me over and over again how lost I feel when in new territory. Reading the signs, taking them literally, landing in streets where there are no signs to follow, construction areas nobody had talked about, unclear descriptions which only make sense after we had found the place, all such things show how the perception is so totally different.
There was the desctiption of crossing a bridge over the Autobahn, but it actually was a bridge over the train tracks, there was the talk about the second street left after the bridge, but due to the construction all looked so different, we could not make out the second street. There were people passing by on bikes, but we did not dare to ask, untill one passer by asked us if he could help.
There was a worried contact person on campus and then, when it was too late, I had the idea, I should have called her from the train and told her about the delay.
It was good to meet old friends there, and get to know new people, and find ways of helping to make the world less chaotic for people with different neurological wiring.
All went well except we forgot the apples and some other minor stuff.
Approaching Frankfurt, there was an announcement that the engine is failing and that they will have to repair it. This made a delay, which was getting even bigger when it came to the point where they told us it was not to be repaired, and they had to use the engine on the other end of the train and that we had to take a detour to turn the train around.
This ammounted to almost an hour running late.
In Hannover we met Sascha and his mother who were going to the conference as well. We did not get the 'apologize' package of juice and sweets whyever, but had some company from then on :-)
We boarded a totally overcrowded RE then, because the connecting IC did not wait for us. It was the purest of horrors Aspie can experience, lots of stressed people, a big backpack to manage, and not being on time. I still wonder why S. had such a calm state he was in.
When we finally arrived at Bremen Hauptbahnhof, we had to wait for a RB to Schoenebeck and walk through unknown streets to the university the conference took place at.
All very late, but we made it there with no great injuries except the one that all went so totally different from expected. I missed out a talk I had wanted to hear, so I thought.
It turned out the programme was changed and the talk was to be held in the time we were there, so I did not miss it at all.
We had the opportunity to stay on campus and this made it easier on us for the stay, so we dont get lost between transfer from and to campus.
Such totally new surrounding always tells me over and over again how lost I feel when in new territory. Reading the signs, taking them literally, landing in streets where there are no signs to follow, construction areas nobody had talked about, unclear descriptions which only make sense after we had found the place, all such things show how the perception is so totally different.
There was the desctiption of crossing a bridge over the Autobahn, but it actually was a bridge over the train tracks, there was the talk about the second street left after the bridge, but due to the construction all looked so different, we could not make out the second street. There were people passing by on bikes, but we did not dare to ask, untill one passer by asked us if he could help.
There was a worried contact person on campus and then, when it was too late, I had the idea, I should have called her from the train and told her about the delay.
It was good to meet old friends there, and get to know new people, and find ways of helping to make the world less chaotic for people with different neurological wiring.
Autism Conference, Oct. 19. and 20. 2007 Bremen
In Bremen there was a conference concerning Autism. The intention was that researchers and people dealing with Autism in the one or other way can meet and learn from each other.
One of the workshops was lead by Dr. Brita Schirmer (Berlin) and the participants were the people to be seen on the picture. All either have Aspergers Syndrome ore are High functioning Autistic.
Some have received their diagnosis rather early, and some just recently. The questions to be answered were concerning how therapy can look like to be helpful for autistic people and how the experiences concerning therapy were. There were the most different experiences, but all in all the group was having the same feelings about asking for more acceptance, and openness, and maybe some form of community for the more severe afflicted, so they can live as independent as possible and still have the contacts they need for help.
It was a very intense time, but all went very disciplined and the audience was following through with the 'behaviour pleas' we had issued before. No coming and going, no chatter or mobile ringing, no loud handclapping at the end, but the applause known in the hearing impaired community (raising the hands and shaking them).
I was amazed at how good it went, and that we were able to cover all questions.
I think all had a good experience there, and I also hope the many therapists in the audience could take some helpful info with them and will be able to apply them in their work with autistics.
More about the rest of the conference in a different entry.
One of the workshops was lead by Dr. Brita Schirmer (Berlin) and the participants were the people to be seen on the picture. All either have Aspergers Syndrome ore are High functioning Autistic.
Some have received their diagnosis rather early, and some just recently. The questions to be answered were concerning how therapy can look like to be helpful for autistic people and how the experiences concerning therapy were. There were the most different experiences, but all in all the group was having the same feelings about asking for more acceptance, and openness, and maybe some form of community for the more severe afflicted, so they can live as independent as possible and still have the contacts they need for help.
It was a very intense time, but all went very disciplined and the audience was following through with the 'behaviour pleas' we had issued before. No coming and going, no chatter or mobile ringing, no loud handclapping at the end, but the applause known in the hearing impaired community (raising the hands and shaking them).
I was amazed at how good it went, and that we were able to cover all questions.
I think all had a good experience there, and I also hope the many therapists in the audience could take some helpful info with them and will be able to apply them in their work with autistics.
More about the rest of the conference in a different entry.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Ravelry rocks
This morning I found my invite and went right in :-)
I uploaded some projects, but this will take time to be up to date, I looked around some nad subscribed to some groups already.
Now to include that into my dayly routine :-)
It is as much fun as I suspected and it will keep me from ever being bored.
I am nanawoolf on it, in case you want to look for me.
I uploaded some projects, but this will take time to be up to date, I looked around some nad subscribed to some groups already.
Now to include that into my dayly routine :-)
It is as much fun as I suspected and it will keep me from ever being bored.
I am nanawoolf on it, in case you want to look for me.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
solar eclipse Aug.11. 2003
I had this in paper print since it was taken by me and finally got the chance to digify it.
This was such a cool event back then. I was working at a call-center at the time, and I took the day off, so I could drive more towards the region in south Germany where it was said the sight would be most spectacular. We intended to drive all the way to Stuttgart, but others were having the same idea, so we ended up in a traffic jam on the Autobahn.
So we could see more and not from the car, we had decided to exit and took the next path into some rural roads and ended up on a meadow where a group of young people were having a picknick already and a british family joined us to whitness the eclipse from there. On the radio we heard that in Stuttgart the skies had closed and the people gathered there had not much from the eclipse. We in change had overcast skies, but the sight was not obscured, and it cleared up quite properly for the time the moon was moving in front of the sun.
I had built a filter for my camera, but I did not have a zoom objective, so the 'SOFI' pictures were a lot of skies with a really small image of the eclipse, but I took them myself and am proud of them.
Here you see my two sisters and the bf of the older one. Only one 'official' pair of protector glasses, but the rescue foil taken doubled I had used to build the filter for my camera was fine for watching this celestial spectacle, and we all still have our vision.
I had to blog about it, it was the coolest astronomy related thing that happened to me in my lifetime.
This was such a cool event back then. I was working at a call-center at the time, and I took the day off, so I could drive more towards the region in south Germany where it was said the sight would be most spectacular. We intended to drive all the way to Stuttgart, but others were having the same idea, so we ended up in a traffic jam on the Autobahn.
So we could see more and not from the car, we had decided to exit and took the next path into some rural roads and ended up on a meadow where a group of young people were having a picknick already and a british family joined us to whitness the eclipse from there. On the radio we heard that in Stuttgart the skies had closed and the people gathered there had not much from the eclipse. We in change had overcast skies, but the sight was not obscured, and it cleared up quite properly for the time the moon was moving in front of the sun.
I had built a filter for my camera, but I did not have a zoom objective, so the 'SOFI' pictures were a lot of skies with a really small image of the eclipse, but I took them myself and am proud of them.
Here you see my two sisters and the bf of the older one. Only one 'official' pair of protector glasses, but the rescue foil taken doubled I had used to build the filter for my camera was fine for watching this celestial spectacle, and we all still have our vision.
I had to blog about it, it was the coolest astronomy related thing that happened to me in my lifetime.
someone thought like me
I found this on the www and like it a lot :-)
see if you find your name there, too: http://public.fotki.com/Cattitudes/cat_-_seasonal/autumn/
autumn-play/
It is my colour sheme, I loooove cats and the expression on the face of this one resembles my Siri to a t when I play with leves or fethers on strings with her.
Which reminds me...
off to play with the cat
bye.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Ravelry
Found you!
- You signed up on August 5, 2007
- You are #23231 on the list.
- 2323 people are ahead of you in line.
- 14749 people are behind you in line.
- 54% of the list has been invited so far
I am hoping that this will not be so much a time killer than addition to inspiring me in the fiber arts.
Maybe I can be an ispiration to others, too.
I usually am not a big group kind of person, but this has me excited.
want to see for yourself and are not yet signed up?
go here: https://www.ravelry.com/account/login
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Woll-ich
A while ago I had the idea of designing some business cards, but never got to it. The other day bf surprised me in telling me that he had created a template for it, and I should tweak it to my liking with him, so we did. He drew the sheep himself, and I only asked for a reflex in the eyes, which were black as they seem on this photo, but in real they have a really neat looking reflexion which makes the eye bulbs look 3-D.
All in all I think, it is a good presentation of me, my wooly self, and the colour of the writing is a warm brownish tint which gives the card some softness.
I think of maybe adding a tiny lock of wool to each, but maybe I leave it as is.
All in all I think, it is a good presentation of me, my wooly self, and the colour of the writing is a warm brownish tint which gives the card some softness.
I think of maybe adding a tiny lock of wool to each, but maybe I leave it as is.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
coffee knitted theme
I found this cotton yarn in coffee colours, and was not strong enough to leave it in the store.
I knit up some dishcloths with it, one in grandmas favourite pattern and two Mason Dixon ballband inspired ones with slipped stitches.
Bf found they work good as hotpads, so this is what we use them for.
In the picture is my new latte-glass I found in a store and the content is Caro ( a coffee on malt base, no ccaffeine because I cant have this) and creamed 0.3% milk. This is my feel-good drink in the last few weeks.
It is eye candy, too, I think.
Today I finished the socks for Alex, and hope we can get decent pictures of it. It is raining again, and there seems not enough light for good pics.
I knit up some dishcloths with it, one in grandmas favourite pattern and two Mason Dixon ballband inspired ones with slipped stitches.
Bf found they work good as hotpads, so this is what we use them for.
In the picture is my new latte-glass I found in a store and the content is Caro ( a coffee on malt base, no ccaffeine because I cant have this) and creamed 0.3% milk. This is my feel-good drink in the last few weeks.
It is eye candy, too, I think.
Today I finished the socks for Alex, and hope we can get decent pictures of it. It is raining again, and there seems not enough light for good pics.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Siri loves small caves
My little mousie where she can be found if you provide her the right material.
She is such a low cost cat. I have a cat-tent from Iams and I thought this will be her favourite place, but she chose the box from the last purchase of tetrapack milk to rest in and even sleeps there.
It is just the right size for her, and I will see how long she will keep it before it is uninteresting again.
So far it is three weeks that she has chosen this place over all comfy places like my lap or the bed or the cave in the cat tree.
The oversized doily I have knit up for the cats to have a place on my desk was getting uninteresting after two months, so I washedit and put it in my closet to unpack it again in the future and let them feel all special again :-)
The box behind her cave is full with fabric and needs to be sewed up soon. I plan on a t-shirt quilt with all my shirts from places I have been to. They are worn out, but still will hold up nicely in a quilt, so I have washed them and put them together with colour coded fabric to sew up a front an back. I have never done such thing before, so I have to do some research for what to put between the front and back.
Doe anyone have an idea? or yould help me find the right information?
I intend to use this as a throw for the bed and in winter it is supposed to provide some warmth, if possible. But it should also hold up in the washer, if it needs cleaning (once or twice a year)
She is such a low cost cat. I have a cat-tent from Iams and I thought this will be her favourite place, but she chose the box from the last purchase of tetrapack milk to rest in and even sleeps there.
It is just the right size for her, and I will see how long she will keep it before it is uninteresting again.
So far it is three weeks that she has chosen this place over all comfy places like my lap or the bed or the cave in the cat tree.
The oversized doily I have knit up for the cats to have a place on my desk was getting uninteresting after two months, so I washedit and put it in my closet to unpack it again in the future and let them feel all special again :-)
The box behind her cave is full with fabric and needs to be sewed up soon. I plan on a t-shirt quilt with all my shirts from places I have been to. They are worn out, but still will hold up nicely in a quilt, so I have washed them and put them together with colour coded fabric to sew up a front an back. I have never done such thing before, so I have to do some research for what to put between the front and back.
Doe anyone have an idea? or yould help me find the right information?
I intend to use this as a throw for the bed and in winter it is supposed to provide some warmth, if possible. But it should also hold up in the washer, if it needs cleaning (once or twice a year)
Monday, September 24, 2007
the always hungry caterpillar
My nephew had his second birthday a few days ago. He loves the story and book 'the always hungry caterpillar' so I thought, it is a good idea to replace the torn book with paper pages withone that is more sturdy and can withstand his repeated 'reading' of it better.
The book alone seemed to be not really an appropriate gift for him, so I took the book, went to my yarn store and asked for help finding a variegated green yarn for the body, the other yarns i had at home.
Green is so absolutely not my colour, so you wont find it in my stash.
Now this was three weeks ago, I started knitting it up, being asked what weird sock shape this will be, and people never thought this tube will be a caterpillar at all.
I had it in my mind just as it turned out, down to the antennae, and the pull string feature with which the slender caterpillar turns into the chubby one getting into the cocoon.
I crocheted an egg it can be stored in, and hatch and in the future it will get all the requisites it needs. Some food to gnaw and eat through, and a little coat with wings it can be tucked into to transform into the butterfly.
This will be food for future gifting occasions, and I will keep the yarns in a separate bag so in case repairs will be necessary, I can get the original yarns to mend the boo boos, it might get.
He was a happy little birthday boy, when he unwrapped the book, he just saw a little glimpse of the cover and said 'Raupe satt' which is the german title, Raupe Nimmersatt. And when it was completely unwrapped, he had to check if the inside was as he expected it. Unwrapping the toy was the greatest, even his big sister was envious, and came to ask if I could make her one, also.
Our mother suggested I knit them up and sell them, but I guess there is copyright and merchandise problems. This caterpillar will be a uniqe specimen, and I can research abouth what is possible before I step into problems.
There was a lot of work in it, and a lot of love and fun doing it. It made me happy to see that he liked it a lot.
My sister asked me,
if it was washable because she suspects the caterpillar will be fed with all different things, and might land in the sauces and foods her little son eats.
Of course I had that in mind already and since it is all cotton and acrylic yarns it is no problem to toss it in the washer. I only hope the filling will hold up and make it not look lumpy, but I chose some that was labeled as washable, so it should be ok.
Here the best shot of it
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43126982@N00/1428527222/
I dont know why blogger does not allow me to include it from the web, even though flickr is recommended as a place to get pictures from. They are in my account, and I dont know why it does not work :-(
Sunday, September 23, 2007
freeform knit hat
here the picture to the hat I wrote about before.
It holds up good with wearing and the visor does not feel sloppy even when the yarn stretches like cotton always does.
I like that it has enough room for my dreads to be.
It holds up good with wearing and the visor does not feel sloppy even when the yarn stretches like cotton always does.
I like that it has enough room for my dreads to be.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Gabriel's socks
The same yarn as for Julia's socks, but a different working. These are knit toe-up and I tried the conventional German heel with gusset and a 'normal turned' heel-cap.
It worked well. For the cuffs I picked up 30 stitches and knit them on sideways in garter stitch. I joined the start and end row with the garter stitch variant of kitchener.
To make the stripes more interesting, I lifted stitches where different colours met. I called this stitch 'rabbit ears' when I was young. My Grandma had knit a yellow-beige striped sweater for me in this stitch. My Sis had such a sweater, too, but hers was all different colours of the rainbow.
It worked well. For the cuffs I picked up 30 stitches and knit them on sideways in garter stitch. I joined the start and end row with the garter stitch variant of kitchener.
To make the stripes more interesting, I lifted stitches where different colours met. I called this stitch 'rabbit ears' when I was young. My Grandma had knit a yellow-beige striped sweater for me in this stitch. My Sis had such a sweater, too, but hers was all different colours of the rainbow.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
library book sale
Well, today was a book sale in our library in the neighbouring town.
We browsed the boxes and made a few really good finds.
I found some books on hand weaving, tatting and fiber preparation, two really great books on wolves and lions with lots of photographies I can use as references for future paintings or silk-painting. two novels (books 3 and 4 of a fantasy series), a two novel book with 2001 and Fahrenheit 451 in it ( I always wanted to have them but my budget does not allow to buy normal priced books), a book about some psychological form of therapy (for the scientist in me) and a book on Makramee which I left there after looking through it and finding out I knew all I need and that it did not inspire me that much.
Boyfriend found a computer related book, a book called 'Bronsteins Handbook of mathematics' (printed in GDR), a science book from an Author named Carl Sagan, and Jurassic park (I have this book, and he read it, but wanted his own copy, so this was a good find). Then there was this book with a title like 'Job Knigge' a behavioural guide for the work environment.
Diana found some comic books she wanted for reading in a very private place (who does not read on rather lengthy seatings?), some books about budgies and a book about horse breeds and some more I cant quite remember.
I bet there would have been more to come home with us, but we left after half of the time this sale was going because it was too much for the senses of us three. I ate a really good tasting rich piece of chocolate cake with sweet potatoe in it. The recipe of it I will get during the coming week and if it is not too much writing, I might post it on here and share it :-)
The woman selling it to me was puzzled why I ordered a glass of water with it, and not coffee or tea, so I explained, apple juice is no option for me because of allergies, the coffee makes me hyper and get arrhythmias, the tea would have the same effect on me, would they have had herbal teas, it would have been different, so the only healthy choice was water :-)
It was rather civilized but still packed there, and some people just had more luck and hauled some big bags and baskets full of novels and other gems I would have liked, too.
I had hoped to find a book on tanning hides, but was not successful. I also had hoped for some knitting related books, but the closest were the weaving books.
I am not whining, just talking about my expectations and that they were not met but unexpected things were almost as good.
I had a great time there, and still was glad to be home afterwards, being able to lay down on the couch and rest up, having a closer look on the books than it would have been possible there in the library.
MY two kitties were glad to have me again, too, since I had stayed over night at Diana's place after the Saturday meeting.
We have had her parakeet equipped with a ring (I have bent out of silver wire with a clasp closure) so she can put a leash on it and bring the bird out for a walk on her shoulder and not risking it to fly away and starve or freeze.
She had tried t with a rubber ring, but the bird took only two weeks and it was chewed off, so we hope this wire construction is holding up.
It looks neat and is not disturbing so much, so the chances are good, 'Tinchen' tolerates it better.
Maybe there will be a picture of her with her new 'foot jewellery' in the future :-)
We browsed the boxes and made a few really good finds.
I found some books on hand weaving, tatting and fiber preparation, two really great books on wolves and lions with lots of photographies I can use as references for future paintings or silk-painting. two novels (books 3 and 4 of a fantasy series), a two novel book with 2001 and Fahrenheit 451 in it ( I always wanted to have them but my budget does not allow to buy normal priced books), a book about some psychological form of therapy (for the scientist in me) and a book on Makramee which I left there after looking through it and finding out I knew all I need and that it did not inspire me that much.
Boyfriend found a computer related book, a book called 'Bronsteins Handbook of mathematics' (printed in GDR), a science book from an Author named Carl Sagan, and Jurassic park (I have this book, and he read it, but wanted his own copy, so this was a good find). Then there was this book with a title like 'Job Knigge' a behavioural guide for the work environment.
Diana found some comic books she wanted for reading in a very private place (who does not read on rather lengthy seatings?), some books about budgies and a book about horse breeds and some more I cant quite remember.
I bet there would have been more to come home with us, but we left after half of the time this sale was going because it was too much for the senses of us three. I ate a really good tasting rich piece of chocolate cake with sweet potatoe in it. The recipe of it I will get during the coming week and if it is not too much writing, I might post it on here and share it :-)
The woman selling it to me was puzzled why I ordered a glass of water with it, and not coffee or tea, so I explained, apple juice is no option for me because of allergies, the coffee makes me hyper and get arrhythmias, the tea would have the same effect on me, would they have had herbal teas, it would have been different, so the only healthy choice was water :-)
It was rather civilized but still packed there, and some people just had more luck and hauled some big bags and baskets full of novels and other gems I would have liked, too.
I had hoped to find a book on tanning hides, but was not successful. I also had hoped for some knitting related books, but the closest were the weaving books.
I am not whining, just talking about my expectations and that they were not met but unexpected things were almost as good.
I had a great time there, and still was glad to be home afterwards, being able to lay down on the couch and rest up, having a closer look on the books than it would have been possible there in the library.
MY two kitties were glad to have me again, too, since I had stayed over night at Diana's place after the Saturday meeting.
We have had her parakeet equipped with a ring (I have bent out of silver wire with a clasp closure) so she can put a leash on it and bring the bird out for a walk on her shoulder and not risking it to fly away and starve or freeze.
She had tried t with a rubber ring, but the bird took only two weeks and it was chewed off, so we hope this wire construction is holding up.
It looks neat and is not disturbing so much, so the chances are good, 'Tinchen' tolerates it better.
Maybe there will be a picture of her with her new 'foot jewellery' in the future :-)
'An Anthropologist from Mars' experience
Saturday was the bimonthly meeting with parents of Asperger-Kids. I was going there again to take care of the kids while the parents meet. I was prepared to do the childcare alone again since the other person is not really telling us wether she comes or not. Usually she comes rather late and goes early so the preparation of the room and the picking up afterwards is up to me. She gets the same money than me and I have talked to her about it already that I expect from her that we share the work evenly, and I can have a brake from having to prepare everything and be responsible for doing all the planning in the way that one meeting she is the creative advisor for the kids and I am the one playing card games or other things with the kids who dont want the crafty activities, and the next meeting we swap.
So far she was not coming prepared, and I had to use my backup plan which made me grumpy, and I told her so.
Always hoping she would come prepared the next time and then being faced with the fact she did not show up at all or tells me she had no time or ideas what to do with the kids.
The next meeting will be in November, I have told her I will be looking forward to her plans for holiday decorations ideas, which should give her enough time to come up with a plan.
I have made foldable kites with the kids Saturday, and hope they fly, ... there was no wind to try them out, so we had to trust on the pattern I got from a kite book. It is not hard at all to find projects for the kids that meet their level of abilities.
There are always some who have good motor skills who can help the ones with less dexterity. And the offers can be planned in the way that there is a simple and a more demanding variant of the same theme.
She is a sociologist with a degree, she has worked with disabled kids, she is adult and I hope intelligent, why else should she have a degree? Why is she not able to plan the time of three hours for kids in a limited age range from about 8 to 17 years?.
I dont really get it, me, the autistic nursery school teacher seems to have more abilities to handle this situation than her. I expected her to take over once she joined me in the childcare job, and now it is me being kind of a boss to her, and she is not the easy one to deal with.
She knows my limits, and still she seems to have her own ones and not care.
Diana my friend once came to visit in the break and thought the second child care person was a kid because she seemed to be affected by something, being rather slow and not really responsive.
Maybe I am too harsh with the people around me, having an IQ in the almost gifted range. Maybe 'average' people are like this girl in her 30 ies, and I expect too much.
Maybe it is the ASPIE-NT incompatibility that gets in my way so often.
I will probably not find out about it, but it keeps puzzling me, and it will keep popping up in my ramblings, so please forgive me dear readers, if this text was not to your liking.
So far she was not coming prepared, and I had to use my backup plan which made me grumpy, and I told her so.
Always hoping she would come prepared the next time and then being faced with the fact she did not show up at all or tells me she had no time or ideas what to do with the kids.
The next meeting will be in November, I have told her I will be looking forward to her plans for holiday decorations ideas, which should give her enough time to come up with a plan.
I have made foldable kites with the kids Saturday, and hope they fly, ... there was no wind to try them out, so we had to trust on the pattern I got from a kite book. It is not hard at all to find projects for the kids that meet their level of abilities.
There are always some who have good motor skills who can help the ones with less dexterity. And the offers can be planned in the way that there is a simple and a more demanding variant of the same theme.
She is a sociologist with a degree, she has worked with disabled kids, she is adult and I hope intelligent, why else should she have a degree? Why is she not able to plan the time of three hours for kids in a limited age range from about 8 to 17 years?.
I dont really get it, me, the autistic nursery school teacher seems to have more abilities to handle this situation than her. I expected her to take over once she joined me in the childcare job, and now it is me being kind of a boss to her, and she is not the easy one to deal with.
She knows my limits, and still she seems to have her own ones and not care.
Diana my friend once came to visit in the break and thought the second child care person was a kid because she seemed to be affected by something, being rather slow and not really responsive.
Maybe I am too harsh with the people around me, having an IQ in the almost gifted range. Maybe 'average' people are like this girl in her 30 ies, and I expect too much.
Maybe it is the ASPIE-NT incompatibility that gets in my way so often.
I will probably not find out about it, but it keeps puzzling me, and it will keep popping up in my ramblings, so please forgive me dear readers, if this text was not to your liking.
Monday, September 10, 2007
annual Autism Summer/fall fest
Yesterday was the annual Autism fest in our region again. We were about 40 people, and the kids and Adults had a great fun time. The weather was damp and rainy the days before, but the weather gods were giving us a break and treated us with sunshine and warmth for the day.
Diana(e) took care of the kiddos, and we played ball games, a card game named 'Papperlapapp' where one has to form words from one card of the 16 on the table and one from the hand stack of 17. Whenever one takes a card out of the middle, he has to replace it with one from the hand stack. So the spot is not empty. Once one person in the round has used all their cards on the hand stack, this round is over and the whole group will stop matching cards and discuss the found word pairs for credibility and use a dictionary in case it seems to be appropriate.
This is not a round taking game, all play at once and it can give you the giggle fits hearing the combinations, but while playing it is not allowed to discuss, this is saved for after the round is finished.
We played with relaxed rules, so the less verbose kids had a chance to collect points, and we made a ritual out of explaining the words, and did not write down the points but played for the fun of it and for the training in interaction this game asks for.
Even the most timid boy joined us after the first trial round we played and it is fun in a bigger round. So far I had only played it with two or three players, and with 7 it was so much better, more fun and interesting because of the creativity some kids displayed with their words.
I dont know if this would work in other languages, in german it works fine :-)
Once the pictures are uploaded, I will put one in to illustrate the fun we had.
for curious people who want to try their german knowledge, go to
http://www.autismus-nordbaden-pfalz.de/berichte.htm
there you can see some pictures and small texts to the activities of the past.
From 2006 there are no pictures or text, since the 'journalist' and his mother were not present and nobody else took pictures or wrote about it.
Dianas Homepage is a good collection on Info and personal experiences, she can be found at:
http://www.aspiana.de
Diana(e) took care of the kiddos, and we played ball games, a card game named 'Papperlapapp' where one has to form words from one card of the 16 on the table and one from the hand stack of 17. Whenever one takes a card out of the middle, he has to replace it with one from the hand stack. So the spot is not empty. Once one person in the round has used all their cards on the hand stack, this round is over and the whole group will stop matching cards and discuss the found word pairs for credibility and use a dictionary in case it seems to be appropriate.
This is not a round taking game, all play at once and it can give you the giggle fits hearing the combinations, but while playing it is not allowed to discuss, this is saved for after the round is finished.
We played with relaxed rules, so the less verbose kids had a chance to collect points, and we made a ritual out of explaining the words, and did not write down the points but played for the fun of it and for the training in interaction this game asks for.
Even the most timid boy joined us after the first trial round we played and it is fun in a bigger round. So far I had only played it with two or three players, and with 7 it was so much better, more fun and interesting because of the creativity some kids displayed with their words.
I dont know if this would work in other languages, in german it works fine :-)
Once the pictures are uploaded, I will put one in to illustrate the fun we had.
for curious people who want to try their german knowledge, go to
http://www.autismus-nordbaden-pfalz.de/berichte.htm
there you can see some pictures and small texts to the activities of the past.
From 2006 there are no pictures or text, since the 'journalist' and his mother were not present and nobody else took pictures or wrote about it.
Dianas Homepage is a good collection on Info and personal experiences, she can be found at:
http://www.aspiana.de
Monday, September 03, 2007
summer hat done
I doodled around with some sherbet-looking yarn and a matching solid orange one complimenting the variegated one.
It wanted to become a summer hat, so I obeyed and knitted it up cadet style. When the time for a shield came, I destroyed an old baseball cap and reused the shield from that.
I wore it out in public yesterday, and people on the train commented on it, liking the fact I thought was a flaw, so I guess it was meant to be.
I had knitted the body of the hat too long, so wearing it the ears are completely covered and I dont know how this will be after washing it for the first time, I hoped that it will shrink some, and be perfect, ... but now I am not so sure any more if this is waht will make me happy.
It is nice and airy but still gives good shade to my light sensitive eyes.
when it stops raining and the sun shows up again, I hope we can take a decent picture of the hat. But when will this be? this summer was rather wet and seems to blend over into a wet fall, so we try to enjoy each and every single minute of sunshine :-)
The kitties are both on top of me, one in the lap, the other one 'in my neck' as usual, when I am on the computer, so 8,5 kg added to me keep me warm and cozy and them blissfully purring, what do I want more?
Some time soon I will get out the sewing machine and sew up some 'travel book cases', pouches you put the book into with handles to carry it so the paperbacks dont supper if you put them into a backpack or tote bag.
I dont like it when the books look tattered and abused, so they need protection :-)
I still have to figure out how the size adjustment can go into it, not all books are the same volume, some have more pages and are wider than others, and all should fit into the case so they can be used comfortably and be safe in the same case which will be host to many books if my plans work out.
The inner picture and construction plan are made, and now I just have to follow it and see how it works out.
I have some silky looking fabric in a royal blue left over from a carnival costume project I think will ork out well for this, and there is some colour-coordinated fabric in diamond pattern that can go into it should the blue prove to be not enough.
It wanted to become a summer hat, so I obeyed and knitted it up cadet style. When the time for a shield came, I destroyed an old baseball cap and reused the shield from that.
I wore it out in public yesterday, and people on the train commented on it, liking the fact I thought was a flaw, so I guess it was meant to be.
I had knitted the body of the hat too long, so wearing it the ears are completely covered and I dont know how this will be after washing it for the first time, I hoped that it will shrink some, and be perfect, ... but now I am not so sure any more if this is waht will make me happy.
It is nice and airy but still gives good shade to my light sensitive eyes.
when it stops raining and the sun shows up again, I hope we can take a decent picture of the hat. But when will this be? this summer was rather wet and seems to blend over into a wet fall, so we try to enjoy each and every single minute of sunshine :-)
The kitties are both on top of me, one in the lap, the other one 'in my neck' as usual, when I am on the computer, so 8,5 kg added to me keep me warm and cozy and them blissfully purring, what do I want more?
Some time soon I will get out the sewing machine and sew up some 'travel book cases', pouches you put the book into with handles to carry it so the paperbacks dont supper if you put them into a backpack or tote bag.
I dont like it when the books look tattered and abused, so they need protection :-)
I still have to figure out how the size adjustment can go into it, not all books are the same volume, some have more pages and are wider than others, and all should fit into the case so they can be used comfortably and be safe in the same case which will be host to many books if my plans work out.
The inner picture and construction plan are made, and now I just have to follow it and see how it works out.
I have some silky looking fabric in a royal blue left over from a carnival costume project I think will ork out well for this, and there is some colour-coordinated fabric in diamond pattern that can go into it should the blue prove to be not enough.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
biking
I thought of myself as a really strong biker, starting my carreer early on. I was only 6 years old, when my dad and me drove all the way to grammy with our bikes and this was 15 km one way through hills that were really long and steep. It was a red single speed bike I had and dad had found it on the trash pile of a wealthy family, and fixed it up for me. Grampa was helping me get the hang of balancing when I was between 4 and 5 years old. You probably wonder why I tell about biking all the way to grammy then, well, my mom and dad decided on separating when I had started first grade, and mom and we two kids moved 15 km away from the village we lived before, and on the weekends dad had us two sisters (the younger one was 3 at the time and rode on a baby seat on dads bike), he would hop on his bike come over and pick us up, putting all the stuff we needed into his orange outer frame backpack.
I remember my lung trying to pop out my ribcage and really getting tired quickly on those long uphill passages, and then he would give me a 'backwind' push to make it easier on me. I always wished for the hill to end and was looking forward to the rush the going downhill was creating.
I kept riding my bike wherever I had to go, public transport was rare (two busses in the morning for the school kids going to the neighbouring town and two in the afternoon), and even in the times of snow on the streets I went with my bike. There were several occasions, when people were amazed on how much I did on my bike.
The parents had decided to get back together after two years of separation and my mom was pregnant, We did not have a car back then, and in fifth grade I had broken my arm (epiphysiolysis on the wrist) in the first sports lesson in the new school.
For the checkup I had to go to the 7 km away hospital once a week, and this one time mom was not well, she used to go there with me by bus, so dad took me by bike and I fell on the intersection where the train tracks met the street, the doc was mad at dad that he put me in such a dangerous situation, having me ride the bike with a cast on my arm. It went well, my hand and arm grew with me as they were supposed to.
The time my second sister was born, I was ten, had really short hair and wanted to see my new baby sister so badly, but the hospital did not allow kids under 14 in the nursery. I had done the biking of 14 km alone, to follow dad who was visiting his new family member and wife, I thought they cant refuse me getting a glimpse of her when I am already there.
The chef doc there was amazed about me riding there by bike and his jaw dropped when he foound out I was a girl, I could not imagine why, it was not really a big deal for me.
Now today, it is completely differnt and I dont really like the development, health problems, stress with the work I had to do to support myself, living in a big city, all helped to let my condition and enthusiasm on riding my bike fade. I have lost my favourite cruiser bike (the second bike I got new and all for myself) to a thief in the first week of living in Mannheim, the bike I had after this one stayed only a 6 month period with me before it was stolen, before it was lost completely, I 'only' had to replace the front wheel because some bad person stole it (the bike was located in the backyard of the house I lived in at that time!)and the bike after that one was stolen in front of the building I had night shift on work, so I had to walk home that night. It is really frustration pure to be ripped so much in this city, so I had decided to not buy a new bike again, only to have it stolen in front of a grocery store or wherever.
It lead to a period of almost ten years before I got a rather decent bike again.
I was given a Scott Spirit (probably middle of the 90ies), and only had to replace the brakes, wires and fit new tyres to ride it again. My arms started tingling whenever I rode for longer times (20 minutes or more) so I had to replace the steering section to get the handlebar higher up and closer to the saddle.
It does look kind of like a mutt now, but I can ride it now without feeling I lose my hands and arms to numbness.
Now I just have to get back to my old self, and the recreational bikers will not zoom by as they do at present.
I remember my lung trying to pop out my ribcage and really getting tired quickly on those long uphill passages, and then he would give me a 'backwind' push to make it easier on me. I always wished for the hill to end and was looking forward to the rush the going downhill was creating.
I kept riding my bike wherever I had to go, public transport was rare (two busses in the morning for the school kids going to the neighbouring town and two in the afternoon), and even in the times of snow on the streets I went with my bike. There were several occasions, when people were amazed on how much I did on my bike.
The parents had decided to get back together after two years of separation and my mom was pregnant, We did not have a car back then, and in fifth grade I had broken my arm (epiphysiolysis on the wrist) in the first sports lesson in the new school.
For the checkup I had to go to the 7 km away hospital once a week, and this one time mom was not well, she used to go there with me by bus, so dad took me by bike and I fell on the intersection where the train tracks met the street, the doc was mad at dad that he put me in such a dangerous situation, having me ride the bike with a cast on my arm. It went well, my hand and arm grew with me as they were supposed to.
The time my second sister was born, I was ten, had really short hair and wanted to see my new baby sister so badly, but the hospital did not allow kids under 14 in the nursery. I had done the biking of 14 km alone, to follow dad who was visiting his new family member and wife, I thought they cant refuse me getting a glimpse of her when I am already there.
The chef doc there was amazed about me riding there by bike and his jaw dropped when he foound out I was a girl, I could not imagine why, it was not really a big deal for me.
Now today, it is completely differnt and I dont really like the development, health problems, stress with the work I had to do to support myself, living in a big city, all helped to let my condition and enthusiasm on riding my bike fade. I have lost my favourite cruiser bike (the second bike I got new and all for myself) to a thief in the first week of living in Mannheim, the bike I had after this one stayed only a 6 month period with me before it was stolen, before it was lost completely, I 'only' had to replace the front wheel because some bad person stole it (the bike was located in the backyard of the house I lived in at that time!)and the bike after that one was stolen in front of the building I had night shift on work, so I had to walk home that night. It is really frustration pure to be ripped so much in this city, so I had decided to not buy a new bike again, only to have it stolen in front of a grocery store or wherever.
It lead to a period of almost ten years before I got a rather decent bike again.
I was given a Scott Spirit (probably middle of the 90ies), and only had to replace the brakes, wires and fit new tyres to ride it again. My arms started tingling whenever I rode for longer times (20 minutes or more) so I had to replace the steering section to get the handlebar higher up and closer to the saddle.
It does look kind of like a mutt now, but I can ride it now without feeling I lose my hands and arms to numbness.
Now I just have to get back to my old self, and the recreational bikers will not zoom by as they do at present.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
getting used to the habit?
Wow, I get to write something today :-)
I changed the look of the blog and I must say, I like it. It took me all afternoon yesterday to get it right and then I wanted to post today and in the window to do this, the cursor moved but no letters appeared.
PANIC describes it well.
But now all is well again, and I am happyly typing away, no matter what happens. I get to play with colours here :-) and like it, and hope I dont go over board with it.
You know something? My ortho told me I need to learn to relax and signed me up for a course in 'Progressive muscle relaxation' invented by a guy named Edmund Jacobson. I am not made for this kind of relaxation. The first encounter with this kind of relaxation therapy was 2004 when I was in a clinic for five weeks, and they kept telling me, I had to get used to this and my body would relax, guess what? it never happened in all this time.
The first class was Friday and I feel like having been run over by an 18 wheeler truck again, this is exactly what I had experienced in 2004. I can tense up nicely, and think, I let go again, but... the brain and muscles seem to have a communication problem and the muscles stay hard and start building up those little bumps that hurt badly when massaged.
My massage therapist was puzzled and asked what I had done on the weekend, and when I told her about the 'new' relaxation course I have started on Friday, she urgently asked me to tell my doc about the buildup in the muscles that is no good and maybe cancel the classes because it is no good if it tenses me up even more.
Funny thing about this? my cat Siri has this same problem in her lower spine area, and I keep giving her massages, which she now enjoys, but was irritated when I first started it.
Now she is all submissive and purrs her heart out when we have this quality time of the day :-)
Here she is checking out some decorative cats I found in a cheapo store, they were an Euro the bigger one and 50 cents the smaller one.
Knitting content: I am not doing any knitting that counts lately, just a few stitches on the summer hat and the socks for Alex my nephew.
I kind of am stuck with some design problems that need solving, and it drives me bonkers to express it mildly.
I have never thought it will be so challenging to design something on paper before it will be knitted up. I usually go with the flow, start knitting and adjusting while I do the stitches, and this is so different. But I will get there, and you will be seeing the results on here, some day, but please dont hold your breath :-)
I DO have a problem with slacking and I AM working on it :-) even though it is hard.
Monday, August 27, 2007
'international' knit meeting in Heidelberg
On August 23. there was a group of people who met to knit together and some met for the first time.
We were 7 people if I recollect right and two were non knitters, but I hope they had a good time, too.
The original picture can be seen here: http://www.colinknits.blogspot.com/
It is on the Aug. 27. 2007 entry.
The time was flying by and besides indulging into some yummy muffins, plum-cake, 'Broetchen' and cheese, and flavoured water, we taught each other 'new tricks'.
The place this meeting took place at was like heaven to me, a house on a hill, and it is kind of built into the hill, and seems like a little castle to me :-)
We talked about dogs, disabled friendly places and mailing lists, about the tunnel between the european 'Festland' and the british islands, about cultural differences and how we perceive them. Our pets were worth a few words, also.
This calls for repetition, and we will see how it works out.
We were 7 people if I recollect right and two were non knitters, but I hope they had a good time, too.
The original picture can be seen here: http://www.colinknits.blogspot.com/
It is on the Aug. 27. 2007 entry.
The time was flying by and besides indulging into some yummy muffins, plum-cake, 'Broetchen' and cheese, and flavoured water, we taught each other 'new tricks'.
The place this meeting took place at was like heaven to me, a house on a hill, and it is kind of built into the hill, and seems like a little castle to me :-)
We talked about dogs, disabled friendly places and mailing lists, about the tunnel between the european 'Festland' and the british islands, about cultural differences and how we perceive them. Our pets were worth a few words, also.
This calls for repetition, and we will see how it works out.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
writing experiments
I decided to use my blog for a new purpose, I want to improve the writing style and one of Dorothea Brande's suggestions is to write something every day to get the brain into the habit of producing text. With writing it is supposed to improve writing, so this is what I try to do :-)
It will still be happening that you see the one or other craft related picture and maybe a tutorial, too.
I just have to get into the habit of posting something more frequently.
English being my second language, it will be different from reading a native-language text, but I still hope the two or three readers of this will not get too bored with me.
If there are things you want to criticize, I might be thankful to read them in case they help me improve, but if I feel like they are just babble, dont be disappointed if I dont follow up on them.
Waiting patiently for a friends two daughters to read the seventh book of Harry Potter, I will distract myself in pursuing own writing attempts and knitting some each day. There are two sock designs waiting to be written up, too, but this is rather technical writing and fits into a different category. If I am happy with the written up patterns, maybe the one or the other will land on here.
Days are just so packed with things that have to be done, I need to think of fun thigs to compensate in the evenings. So I will do what needs to be done and look forward to 'play time' afterwards.
That is it for today, and I am really curious about the fact how much it will be a chore to think of writing on a regular basis, or if it turns out to be fun from the first day on and I dont have any problems to fill the 20 minutes with writing, that I want to spend per day.
It will still be happening that you see the one or other craft related picture and maybe a tutorial, too.
I just have to get into the habit of posting something more frequently.
English being my second language, it will be different from reading a native-language text, but I still hope the two or three readers of this will not get too bored with me.
If there are things you want to criticize, I might be thankful to read them in case they help me improve, but if I feel like they are just babble, dont be disappointed if I dont follow up on them.
Waiting patiently for a friends two daughters to read the seventh book of Harry Potter, I will distract myself in pursuing own writing attempts and knitting some each day. There are two sock designs waiting to be written up, too, but this is rather technical writing and fits into a different category. If I am happy with the written up patterns, maybe the one or the other will land on here.
Days are just so packed with things that have to be done, I need to think of fun thigs to compensate in the evenings. So I will do what needs to be done and look forward to 'play time' afterwards.
That is it for today, and I am really curious about the fact how much it will be a chore to think of writing on a regular basis, or if it turns out to be fun from the first day on and I dont have any problems to fill the 20 minutes with writing, that I want to spend per day.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Julias Socks and life
The socks are finally delivered, she tried them on and the sox fit, but it was too warm to keep them on.
The socks I started for my nephew are coming out too small for him, but will fit the 2 year younger nephew, so I switched the recipients :-)
So Gabe gets the same colour yarn socks I made for Julia, and her little brother will get the rainbow coloured ones. It is May and I am still knitting on the sock of the month ... March! I am such a slacker, lets see if I can pick up speed.
In June I will have a two hour train ride and hope to get a lot of knitting done there.
The socks I started for my nephew are coming out too small for him, but will fit the 2 year younger nephew, so I switched the recipients :-)
So Gabe gets the same colour yarn socks I made for Julia, and her little brother will get the rainbow coloured ones. It is May and I am still knitting on the sock of the month ... March! I am such a slacker, lets see if I can pick up speed.
In June I will have a two hour train ride and hope to get a lot of knitting done there.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
living neck warmer
My beloved cat, she is so special.
Whenever my lap is occupied from her roommate, she thinks of other ways to be close to me. Either she is in between the keyboard and me, preventing ergonomic typing,or she gets up on my shoulders, laying down in my neck, purring and staying there as long as I let her.
With her almost 5 kg weight, it gets to be a workout for my neck muscles, but at least I can type better.
excuse the shiny eyes, it was dark and youo know what (flash)light does to a cat's eyes.
Whenever my lap is occupied from her roommate, she thinks of other ways to be close to me. Either she is in between the keyboard and me, preventing ergonomic typing,or she gets up on my shoulders, laying down in my neck, purring and staying there as long as I let her.
With her almost 5 kg weight, it gets to be a workout for my neck muscles, but at least I can type better.
excuse the shiny eyes, it was dark and youo know what (flash)light does to a cat's eyes.
Friday, March 09, 2007
nana-no-bento
My first bento ever :-)
It seems a lot, but it will be lunch and dinner and snack for inbetween.
Tomorrow is the bimonthly meeting for parents of autistic kids. For those who cant get a babysitter, we offer they can bring their kids, and they will have childcare by me and a colleague for the time the meeting is.
We will be making bunnies for easter as decoration for the table.
I will be traveling from 10 am to at least 8 pm, so a good package of food is necessary.
I will be bringing some tea, too.
It seems a lot, but it will be lunch and dinner and snack for inbetween.
Tomorrow is the bimonthly meeting for parents of autistic kids. For those who cant get a babysitter, we offer they can bring their kids, and they will have childcare by me and a colleague for the time the meeting is.
We will be making bunnies for easter as decoration for the table.
I will be traveling from 10 am to at least 8 pm, so a good package of food is necessary.
I will be bringing some tea, too.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
BlueDragonfly
Browsing on flickr I found this. It is on Firewyres stream, and I hope he does not mind.
We had those in our garden pond, and on a cool summer morning when I was up around 5 am wandering into the garden to greet the day, I was able to watch a nymph crawling out of the water, clinging onto a blade of grass, and biting up the skin (it looked like it tried to eat itself). Then slowly crawling out of its nymph skin came one of those beauties. It looked greyish in the beginning.
It took her almost three hours to get out of the shell, pump up the wings and letting them harden and get going/flying.
By the time the wings were pumped up it got its final colour, too.
It was so amazing, and this pictuer reminded me of what I saw
We had those in our garden pond, and on a cool summer morning when I was up around 5 am wandering into the garden to greet the day, I was able to watch a nymph crawling out of the water, clinging onto a blade of grass, and biting up the skin (it looked like it tried to eat itself). Then slowly crawling out of its nymph skin came one of those beauties. It looked greyish in the beginning.
It took her almost three hours to get out of the shell, pump up the wings and letting them harden and get going/flying.
By the time the wings were pumped up it got its final colour, too.
It was so amazing, and this pictuer reminded me of what I saw
dali says boooooringggg
not much going on lately, get to be knitting in the waiting rooms of some docs, and not much at home.
Have started to obsess about Bento the last few days, and I think I will give it a try to regulate the food intake, and make sure I get enough veggies and rice into my diet.
Have started to obsess about Bento the last few days, and I think I will give it a try to regulate the food intake, and make sure I get enough veggies and rice into my diet.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
socks-julia
The january socks are accomplished, if I get through with my attempt, I will have 12 pairs of socks at the end of the year.
Knitting childrens socks is not cheating, they are complete socks anyways, with cuff, heel,gusset, foot and toe treatment like the 'big' ones, just fewer stitches.
Now I just have to go to my sis and give them to her daughter.
The February socks will be for the son of other sister, and I am not sure if I can finishe them in February, but still will plug away on them.
they are made of a self dyed yarn which was a not so attractive red and white stripes, and easter egg colours made it a rainbow on the former white parts and a mix of different shades of red where the dull, unattractive red was.
'Cheap' yarn made into a unicum, for the unicum my nephew is :-)
Knitting childrens socks is not cheating, they are complete socks anyways, with cuff, heel,gusset, foot and toe treatment like the 'big' ones, just fewer stitches.
Now I just have to go to my sis and give them to her daughter.
The February socks will be for the son of other sister, and I am not sure if I can finishe them in February, but still will plug away on them.
they are made of a self dyed yarn which was a not so attractive red and white stripes, and easter egg colours made it a rainbow on the former white parts and a mix of different shades of red where the dull, unattractive red was.
'Cheap' yarn made into a unicum, for the unicum my nephew is :-)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
How cool it was!
After a break of almost three months, I had my nephew again for a few hours yesterday.
He is such a strong willed fun little guy.
Talking in two word sentences now(2 years and 6 months), and going along fine with role play and other stuff.
I gave him a stuffed cat, because he misses the real cat, his grandma had.
It was fun how he named her 'Kaass' and cuddled right away, pretending the cat had a boo boo on the paw and had to be taken care of.
He was a little behind developmentally (that is what the ped. said), but ... he and his single mom in job-training were just a stressed bundle of nerves, how can a kid concentrate on the tasks a stranger wants it to do when it is so stressed out?!
In January, the daycare 'mom' has taken over custody for the time sister is in school. They worked everything out in December, and now he is with his mom on weekends, and a few hours on Wednesdays, and I can visit with him and do fun things on Tuesday every fortnight.
The rest of the time, he has three 'big' siblings he loves, a little dog and two cats, and what seems to make a big difference, a man being a dad for him.
His grammy had her birthday yesterday, and I picked him up, went to my mother with him, and we had a blast with eating cake, drinking tea, playing, and just cuddling.
He is such a charmer, and knows how to get his things through, but also accepts when it is enough now.
It is a good thing that he is not under such a stress any more, and it helped him leaping in the language department and all over.
Sometimes, foster parents are a blessing, and can prevent disasters, and are a good addition to the birth family.
I had the urge to share this to paint a good picture for a change.
He is such a strong willed fun little guy.
Talking in two word sentences now(2 years and 6 months), and going along fine with role play and other stuff.
I gave him a stuffed cat, because he misses the real cat, his grandma had.
It was fun how he named her 'Kaass' and cuddled right away, pretending the cat had a boo boo on the paw and had to be taken care of.
He was a little behind developmentally (that is what the ped. said), but ... he and his single mom in job-training were just a stressed bundle of nerves, how can a kid concentrate on the tasks a stranger wants it to do when it is so stressed out?!
In January, the daycare 'mom' has taken over custody for the time sister is in school. They worked everything out in December, and now he is with his mom on weekends, and a few hours on Wednesdays, and I can visit with him and do fun things on Tuesday every fortnight.
The rest of the time, he has three 'big' siblings he loves, a little dog and two cats, and what seems to make a big difference, a man being a dad for him.
His grammy had her birthday yesterday, and I picked him up, went to my mother with him, and we had a blast with eating cake, drinking tea, playing, and just cuddling.
He is such a charmer, and knows how to get his things through, but also accepts when it is enough now.
It is a good thing that he is not under such a stress any more, and it helped him leaping in the language department and all over.
Sometimes, foster parents are a blessing, and can prevent disasters, and are a good addition to the birth family.
I had the urge to share this to paint a good picture for a change.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
I am spoiled rotten
spoiled rotten :-) , by Tammy K from the socks in a bag swap
It is taking place at TownsendSocksKnitALong@yahoogroups.com
My swap partner mailed me a message of concern because the package was due since at least Tuesday, and I was getting really concerned, too.
Checking the mailbox twice a day, and whining to my bf, that I could need a cheery surprise package right now.
Then on Saturday morning, ... I was still loopy from a very sleep-deprived night, he came into the bedroom, holding a boxfor me :-) , and right there, bedheaded as I was, I unzipped the box, opened it and was wowing with each little thing I pulled out of there.
I noticed the tea boxes first, one peppermint, and the other one a green tea with peach and ginger, I will make myself a cup, when I start knitting the yarn up.
There was a pattern book 'the ultimate sock book' from Annies Attic, now I can choose one of nine patterns for the yarn that came out next, two skeins of Knitpicks Memories Merino in redwood colourway, very me, nice red,brown, and greenish colours.
And, a ball of trekking xxl from Zitron in a tweedy autumnal colourway.
and I had asked for some goodie (to choose one, I named many, so it would be a surprise for me what Tammy will decide on), she must have misunderstood me there, because she got almost all of them :-)
There were a sock blocker key chain with the pattern for a sock in the right fit, and I think, those come 'naked' but mine is dressed in a sock, which Tammy knit for me, I guess, it is in a beigey, brown variegated yarn, and this thing is so cute, I dont dare to put it on my keyring (too much wear there), so I guess it will go on the mobile sock I am making right now, so I dont lose it ever.
And some of the leftovers go into socks for it, so it can change its wardrobe.
There is a chibi needle case with two yellow laminated darning needles (the ones with the bend on the tip) I was squealing with delight when I got this out of the box.
It came even better after that, there was a package of Susan bates dpns in sizes I dont see in our stores, ##000,00,0 and 1
I found a little grey sheep tape measure, too, and it took me two misguided tries to find out it is his left front leg which pulls out the tape :-). Dont ask, where I tried first, poor sheepy. It is very helpful for me metric grown up girl, it has centimeters on one side, and inches on the other, so I dont have to take out my calculator any more to translate measurements.
Then, there showed up a circular needle addi turbo #1 (if I recall right the package is with bf, so he can take a picture of the whole bunch of delightful playthings for me), and it sure looks different from the ones you see in stores around here, it seems the manufacturing is different for the international market.
Then I finally pulled out the bag. Tammy individualized it for me, one side of the sturdy canvas bag with leather bottom and straps shows needle felted my nick 'nana' ,a flower and a heart (in autumnal colours as you have guessed by now).
The other side has a meadow scene, a sheep, standing on green ground with flower patches in the grass, some 'sheepy clouds' the kind predicting good weather and a sun.
As soon as the pic is taken, I will add it to this entry.
nana is a happy camper now, having so many new things to play with.
It is taking place at TownsendSocksKnitALong@yahoogroups.com
My swap partner mailed me a message of concern because the package was due since at least Tuesday, and I was getting really concerned, too.
Checking the mailbox twice a day, and whining to my bf, that I could need a cheery surprise package right now.
Then on Saturday morning, ... I was still loopy from a very sleep-deprived night, he came into the bedroom, holding a boxfor me :-) , and right there, bedheaded as I was, I unzipped the box, opened it and was wowing with each little thing I pulled out of there.
I noticed the tea boxes first, one peppermint, and the other one a green tea with peach and ginger, I will make myself a cup, when I start knitting the yarn up.
There was a pattern book 'the ultimate sock book' from Annies Attic, now I can choose one of nine patterns for the yarn that came out next, two skeins of Knitpicks Memories Merino in redwood colourway, very me, nice red,brown, and greenish colours.
And, a ball of trekking xxl from Zitron in a tweedy autumnal colourway.
and I had asked for some goodie (to choose one, I named many, so it would be a surprise for me what Tammy will decide on), she must have misunderstood me there, because she got almost all of them :-)
There were a sock blocker key chain with the pattern for a sock in the right fit, and I think, those come 'naked' but mine is dressed in a sock, which Tammy knit for me, I guess, it is in a beigey, brown variegated yarn, and this thing is so cute, I dont dare to put it on my keyring (too much wear there), so I guess it will go on the mobile sock I am making right now, so I dont lose it ever.
And some of the leftovers go into socks for it, so it can change its wardrobe.
There is a chibi needle case with two yellow laminated darning needles (the ones with the bend on the tip) I was squealing with delight when I got this out of the box.
It came even better after that, there was a package of Susan bates dpns in sizes I dont see in our stores, ##000,00,0 and 1
I found a little grey sheep tape measure, too, and it took me two misguided tries to find out it is his left front leg which pulls out the tape :-). Dont ask, where I tried first, poor sheepy. It is very helpful for me metric grown up girl, it has centimeters on one side, and inches on the other, so I dont have to take out my calculator any more to translate measurements.
Then, there showed up a circular needle addi turbo #1 (if I recall right the package is with bf, so he can take a picture of the whole bunch of delightful playthings for me), and it sure looks different from the ones you see in stores around here, it seems the manufacturing is different for the international market.
Then I finally pulled out the bag. Tammy individualized it for me, one side of the sturdy canvas bag with leather bottom and straps shows needle felted my nick 'nana' ,a flower and a heart (in autumnal colours as you have guessed by now).
The other side has a meadow scene, a sheep, standing on green ground with flower patches in the grass, some 'sheepy clouds' the kind predicting good weather and a sun.
As soon as the pic is taken, I will add it to this entry.
nana is a happy camper now, having so many new things to play with.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
tarot reveals it
You are The Tower
Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.
The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.
The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to find out
Thursday, February 01, 2007
some knitting content from the past
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43126982@N00/273067141/
this is what I did last year in August, preparing a friend for cold weather.
She asked me to knit a pony tail hat for her, and I did.
You see the first cable I knit on the brim, too.
And the first set of fibonacci numbers in the colour changes.
She loves the hat, and it finally got cold enough, she can really use it, too.
this is what I did last year in August, preparing a friend for cold weather.
She asked me to knit a pony tail hat for her, and I did.
You see the first cable I knit on the brim, too.
And the first set of fibonacci numbers in the colour changes.
She loves the hat, and it finally got cold enough, she can really use it, too.
What fantasy character are you?
besides that, nothing much going on.
Working on some mittens to be fulled after finishing them, some socks for my niece, and the inevitable unfinished objects lingering in my workbasket.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
the slow beginnings
I intended to post at least once a week and see what happened? It took me more than a month.
The mistress of procrastination spoke.
Well, what is not now will maybe happen in the future. Two days ago my kitty Siri escaped the apartment while I was watering the flowers in the staircase area of the house we live in, and I did not notice untill later the second cat in the household started out to be really nervous. She meowed a lot more like usually and I went to look for Siri she was in none of her favourite spots, and nowwhere in any cupboard or under any bed, so I was sure she must have ventured to some place she has not been before.
I found a really scared Siri behind a big pot where a little ficus is planted three stories down from our level.
I could coax her out of there, and carry her up to us again, and now she is like velcro, even following me to the bathroom, like she did when she was a little cat of three months when I first got her.
She is going on 8 years now and has come a long way. She developed from an undernourished kitty to a real beauty, and even though she developed an auto immune disease, she is otherwise healthy and has no feral quirks.
One of my obsessions are my cats, as you probaly noticed, what the others are, later.
Not now, I think I have written enough for today.
over and out.
nana.
The mistress of procrastination spoke.
Well, what is not now will maybe happen in the future. Two days ago my kitty Siri escaped the apartment while I was watering the flowers in the staircase area of the house we live in, and I did not notice untill later the second cat in the household started out to be really nervous. She meowed a lot more like usually and I went to look for Siri she was in none of her favourite spots, and nowwhere in any cupboard or under any bed, so I was sure she must have ventured to some place she has not been before.
I found a really scared Siri behind a big pot where a little ficus is planted three stories down from our level.
I could coax her out of there, and carry her up to us again, and now she is like velcro, even following me to the bathroom, like she did when she was a little cat of three months when I first got her.
She is going on 8 years now and has come a long way. She developed from an undernourished kitty to a real beauty, and even though she developed an auto immune disease, she is otherwise healthy and has no feral quirks.
One of my obsessions are my cats, as you probaly noticed, what the others are, later.
Not now, I think I have written enough for today.
over and out.
nana.
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