The Legend of Christie Brinkley

Now just in case you think that your favorite Spousal Unit was sitting in his recliner and watching the Masters on T.V. (it's was too cold to actually play) I do make some important contributions to our Easter Saga.
Our Denci is Orthodox so they have a few different traditions. One of them is to great someone on Easter morning by saying "Christ is risen". Now of course to do this properly you have to say it in Serbian or God doesn't hear it and he strikes you down or something along those lines. Anyway, the Mighty Oracle looks up the proper greeting in Serbian on the internet and we both practice it. Now your beloved Spousal Unit has many fine qualities if I do say so myself. But a talent for languages is not among those gifts. I was otherwise occupied the day that was passes out. after many attemps I get it down more or less.
Easter morning Denci comes down and M.O. greats him in proper Serbian. He comes in the kitchen and I shout out "Cristo riso" he just stares at me like I just got off a UFO. Try again, "Christie Krinkely!", he's about ready to call the paramedics figuring I've lost the capacity to speak. Finally, in exasperation I shout out "Christie Brinkley!" give him a kiss and tell him that I was trying to say "Christ is risen!" in Serbian.
So now in our house every Easter morning since we great each other with a rousing "Christie Brinkley!". All thanks to the Linguistic inventivness of your favorite Spousal Unit.
Oh yeah, now that you all have "proof of Life" that M.O. is alive you can all stop calling "America's Most Wanted" and "Dog, the Bounty Hunter" trying to get me picked up and turned into some bad mans boyfriend. I hate it when the cops use that tazer thing on me!!!

The Saga of the Egg

So, yesterday was spent producing The Egg, Part 7. The Egg, you see, is the house guardian and must be the perfect shade of scarlet . . . blood red, you might say. The Egg sits in the china cabinet all year (yes, ALL YEAR) to protect the household and bring luck, happiness and wealth. As you can imagine, I need all the luck, happiness and wealth I can get so producing the perfect egg is key.

I became acquainted with all things eggie in 2001 during Denis' first Easter with us. He told us that tradition held that we must have this red egg. Since I hadn't dyed Easter eggs since I was about six (and what I most remember was being stuck with a bunch of hard-boiled eggs that I really didn't want to eat), I was blissfully ignorant of the proper procedure for coloring eggs.

Chronology follows:

2001 - I went to the supermarket when the Easter stuff started to arrive. The fact that Orthodox Easter doesn't necessarily correspond with regular old Easter makes planning essential. I found a box with a cute picture of a chicken and colorful eggs on it and brought it home. The box contained several colors and one was red (well, one was pink, but I was on a roll here). I followed the directions carefully and . . . got a pink egg. I soaked the egg longer and got a pinker egg. I soaked the egg longer and the egg stayed pink. I told Denis that pink was going to have to suffice and that god better understand.

2002 - Not to be defeated, I decided that since the egg wasn't going to be eaten, I could get a little more creative with my dye sources. So I went to JoAnne's and bought some Dritz dye. In scarlet. I decided to disregard the directions since this dye was supposed to be used on yards and yards of fabric and not on one silly little egg. I got my little pot out, added the water, let it boil, added the entire contents of the Dritz packet and the egg. I watched it boil for awhile (actually, quite a while considering the previous year's soaking time) and excitedly pulled the egg out of the water to see what I had made. What I'd made was a black egg. With crackles that made it look antique. Again, I told Denis that god better understand.

2003 - I thought I was on the right track with the Dritz and decided that maybe I didn't need such a really bloody red. And I used only half the package contents and sanded down the egg to see if I could reduce any crackliness. This time, the egg was slightly redder in appearance (although still pretty black) and slightly less crackly (but still kind of bumpy). God better understand.

2004 - I decided that this American stuff just wasn't doing the trick and decided to enlist the aid of people who might have a clue about this red egg thing. At the time, Spousal Unit was working with someone originally from Ukraine. I told him that, if he valued his happy home, he'd better get some real red dye out of his friend. And he did! Also, I decided that Denis would have to start earning his keep and contribute to the egg-producing project. We threw the egg in the water, added the dye, let it boil away for awhile and then, breathlessly, removed the egg. And it was red! Except it wasn't exactly the right red. At this point, Denis pointed out that, back home, people use brown eggs instead of white ones in order to get a darker color. Like he couldn't have told me this before we started? Hmmm . . . I wonder whether god would understand if I buried an axe in his skull.

2005 - We are successful! Egg is blood red! Life is good. God better be happy.

2006 - Denis' mom comes to visit. We ask her to bring real Serbian dye (I suspect she thinks we're nuts) -- she brings lots. In different colors! I put the dye in the pantry and tell Denis that he better not forget where I've put it. Easter comes along and Denis pretty much forgot where I put it -- fortunately, I did not. But I decided that he was now in charge of sentry duty on the dye. Serbian egg is beautiful and protected us well. God probably thinks we're crazy.

2007 - See for yourself.

Last year's egg with the new arrivals:

Adding the dye:

See how red!

Poor old egg:

The new protector!

Despite the disinformation campaign launched by the Spousal Unit, rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Christie Brinkley, everyone!

Who called the cops on Spousal Unit??

OK, fess up!!! Which one of you called the cops and told them Spousal Unit must have chopped up the Mighty Oracle and disposed of her body parts?? Just because she hasn't posted since the middle of March is no reason to suspect foul play on the part of yours truly! Besides I would never chop her up and spread the parts all over the Metro area!! They are far too valuable on e-bay. Why do you know what a good pair of Kidneys will go for these days on the open market?? We are talking a MAJOR upgrade in golf clubs and trips to Pebble Beach!
On a happier note we are planning a trip out to Cumberland MD next weekend so that M. O. can attend the Cardigan Workshop at Millicent's Yarns and More. We will be staying at the Rocky Gap Lodge which is adjacent to Rocky Gap State Park and about five miles from downtown Cumberland. So M.O will attend classes for two days and I will just have to find something to keep me entertained. But don't worry about me--as long as M.O. is having a good time that's all that matters to Spousal Unit. Oh, did I mention that there is a Jack Nicklaus designed course at the Lodge??
Anyway I will make sure M.O reports on how the weekend went when we get back and all the other projects she has been working hard on since coming back from the farm. Either she does that or I will bore you all with tales of my golf game.

Retreating into the Wilderness

So, ignoring the Spousal Unit's dire warnings, Judy, Patricia, Amber, Anne and I all went on our weekend jaunt to Scotchtown Farm, located deep in the country. And we weren't killed. Here we are, looking fit as fiddles:

Spousal Unit was concerned about the proximity of Western State Hospital, an in-patient psychiatric hospital located about 40 miles from the farm. Interesting facts about Western State (that looked like the House of Usher the first time I ever laid eyes on it) are:

1. The second patient admitted when the hospital first opened escaped that very afternoon. So I guess the Spousal Unit may have had a point, at least if it had been 1828.
2. The first woman admitted was diagnosed with "religious excitement." If only that were still a legitimate diagnosis . . .
3. Joseph DeJarnette, a superintendent from the early part of the 20th century, supported eugenics and the forced sterilization of the insane. Here's a cheery poem he wrote called "Mendel's Law."

But on to the real dangers. Getting to the farm involved driving 20 miles on Route 629. Which looked more like a wide driveway than it did like a road. As Patricia pointed out, once the signs warning about farm equipment started to show up, the signs for sudden curves in the road disappeared. Which is unfortunate since the road is pretty curvy and there aren't any guard rails. And I never did see any farm vehicles.

The very kind caretaker's wife met me upon arrival and told me all about the farm's amenities. And introduced me to the ladybugs -- she told me that it was ladybug season (who knew!). I do believe that I saw more ladybugs on this trip than I've ever seen in my whole life. And they were orange ladybugs. I thought they only came in red! Taking a shower in the morning meant shooing the ladybugs out of the sink and out of the bathtub. Going to bed at night meant shooing the ladybugs out of the lamps (although they managed to stay out of my bed). You get the picture. I don't have anything against ladybugs, but I really wish they would stay outside with the rest of nature.

Then the briefing turned to emergencies. I was told that if there was an emergency, I should call 911 and it would only take them about 20 minutes to get to the farm from Deerfield (the closest town). Alternatively, I could call the sheriff, but it would take him about 20 minutes to get there as well. So, when I made it a goal to climb this hill, I hoped I wouldn't stroke out half way up and then have to wait 20 minutes for 911 to arrive.

I got some knitting done on my socks.

I also got some knitting done on Russian Prime, but then found out that I had knitted a row twice and had to tink back a couple of rows. Damn! I also got alot of spinning done. But most importantly, I had fun with friends and got to relax in the beautiful countryside.

The trip to the farm or Night of the Living knitting needles

Well, now she has gone and done it!! Mighty Oracle (MO) has allowed the Spousal Unit to be a part of Fiber Madness. So now all you good folks will get the truth and nothing but the truth!! More or less. Anyway MO and her Krew are off for their weekend of knitting down on the farm in Staunton.
This may be the worst thing to happen in the valley since Yankee invaders came through back in 64. That's 1864, by the way. Anyway all the gal pals are going to be sitting around knitting and weaving and cooking and god knows what else.
Now poor Spousal Unit will be back here in Burke watching basketball till my eyes fall out. But don't think I won't be thinking of the Krew. Nope. After nearly 18 years of watching MO's slasher movies I will be having nightmares all weekend. I envision an escape by a psychotic inmate from Western State Hospital in Staunton and he will hook up with an escaped serial killer from the prison nearby. They will of course stumble onto the Krew in their remote and isolated farm house that has poor cell reception and they will cut the landlines and power to the house.
When the sheriff and his deputies with their bloodhounds finally track our escaped killers to the farm house you can imagine the scene they will find. The two killers strung up in the barn with knitting needles stuck in every place you can imagine and a few you can't think of. THE HORROR! THE HORROR!
Well, I hope they have fun and maybe I will get some golf club covers for my driver and fairway woods. The season is about to start you know. hint hint.

It's Mom's Birthday!

Here she is -- she's 91 today!

Mom is wearing a necklace I made her using aquamarine and a Korry Antos and Tiger Henderson shell that I got at Bead Obsessions. She has always complained about aquamarines being pretty boring and colorless, but was very pleased with these. While they're not faceted and you can't see through them, they are the prettiest shade of . . . well . . . aquamarine.

Russian Prime

This is what 25,000 stitches of Russian Prime looks like:

As you can tell, we're a very photogenic family . . .

I've just cast on the steek and am ready to begin the yoke, which is a slightly different pattern from the body. Then there's a groovy i-cord cast off at the shoulders and then I get to cut the steek. God help me.

Socks and Guilty Knitting

While I can only knit on Russian Prime in my knitting/reading chair since I'm WAY too distractable to knit on that in public or in the morning or when something really bizarre is on the telly (see Judy's rant on what may be the most embarrassing television concept ever here), I've also been knitting socks and other stuff.

Finished . . .

Pomatomus Hot Toes

Despite running out of yarn (hence the hot toes), I really love these socks and I really love this pattern. While I normally never do the same pattern twice (unless I'm working my generic sock pattern), I may actually need to have more than one pomatomus.

Details:

Needles - Size 2.5mm double points

Yarn - Natural Dye Studio Alpaca/Merino Sock yarn

Colorway - Beats me . . .

Pattern - Pomatomus

Monkey Socks

I belong to the Pick Up Sticks Sock of the Month club but didn't like the Conifer pattern for January. So I decided to use the lovely yarn on Monkey Socks which was a gas, gas, gas to knit.

Details:

Needles: 2.5mm double points

Yarn: Apple Laine Apple Pie 50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon

Colorway: Sunrise

Pattern: Monkey

Both of these patterns were designed by Cookie who is a goddess knit designer. I love every single one of her patterns and hope to god she writes a book. Like soon . . . really, really soon.

You'll notice that I knit both of these socks on double points even though I normally use two circulars and frequently knit both socks at the same time. The bottom line is I am completely feckless. Depending on the week . . . or day . . . you catch me, I'll think that straight needles are wonderful . . . or awful, that double points are great . . . or tools of Satan. It depends. So right now, double points are in the seventh house and Jupiter has aligned with Mars.

Guilty Knitting

Patricia talked me into joining Yarniverse's Kuryon Club and knitting the Lizard Ridge afghan. I got my first package about a month ago and found out that knitting these squares are incredibly addicting. So, since I like my afghans twin bed size rather than the "cover your feet" size that most afghans are, I went ahead and ordered single skeins of a bunch of other Kuryon colorways. And I just can't stop knitting these little squares (to the detriment of my other knitting). SOMEBODY STOP ME . . . !!!!!!!

I Love Hot Toes and I Cannot Lie . . .

I finally got the yarn from The Natural Dye Studio to finish up the Pomatomi and am quite pleased with the color. It seems to be almost the same color as the rest of the yarn, only darker. So, while it will be obvious I ran out of yarn, hopefully it will all blend together into some sort of happy sock experience.

Also on the finally received front, imagine my delight on Saturday when I opened my mailbox and got a box from Canada (my favorite state) containing this lovely stuff from Pick Up Sticks sock of the month club. I'm trying the moderate my enthusiasm and wait for the weekend before casting on, but I don't know why I should expect that I'll have any more discipline than I normally have. I haven't spent alot of time analyzing it, but so far, the pattern seems pretty straightforward. If it's anything like last month's pattern, it should be a delight to knit.

Since we're on the topic of goodies in the mail -

I got these booklets from Iva Rose today. They're publications from Weldon's of London which began publishing newsletters on all kinds of needlework in the late 1800's (Interweave Press has published a series of books containing these newsletters -- some of which are out of print). Anyway, the booklet on knitting socks is pretty great, even though the needle sizes are in the British system (Size 14 = 2.0mm = American Size 0) and the instructions can be pretty cryptic. Also, I consider myself a pretty good sock knitter, but what on earth are Balbriggen and Niantic heels (the latter is described as "the heel we see on the machine-knitted 'Niantic' hosiery" -- of course -- I'm such an idiot -- why didn't I think of that!) Anyway, I'm thinking that some of these pattern will be a hoot to knit.

Russian Prime

I've started swatching (I think the official start date of the KAL is February 1 -- so until then it's a really, really BIG swatch). I tried taking pictures of my progress thus far, but I'm going to hem this baby and it's curling like crazy. The progress photos are going to have to wait until I have about 12 inches done, but trust me, the pattern looks really good (and it's interesting to knit). Until then, here's a photo of the yarn:

Cat Update

The Baby is feeling just fine and all over her stomach upset. She's been poked, x-rayed and scanned. It seems her innards, while functioning just fine, are just a little strange. Which, being a cat in our house, comes as no surprise.

The Baby says, "LEAVE MY BELLY ALONE!"