Crafty Snargle

I feel the Earth Move under my feet!

Two noticeable earthquakes in two days… this fault seems to be having some issues! That’s the map from today’s aftershock - currently listed as a 4.1. It was noticeable - we have two glass lanterns on our mantel that really rattle, I felt a distinct movement, and the cats freaked the heck out. But it wasn’t quite as bad (or as long) as yesterday’s, when I actually picked Raley up and went and stood in the doorframe until it was over (the shaking lasted about 15 seconds).

You know when you move to California that earthquakes are a possibility, or even a certainty, but it’s still a little weird. Of course, Dan and I felt an earthquake in Maryland right after we’d moved there (leaving California behind, or so we thought), so it’s less weird than that.

The most suprising thing to me is the sound - there’s a loud roar that is hard to describe. My first instinct is usually that a large truck (semi) has driven into the house, shaking the foundations. Then I realize that I don’t have a truck in my living room, and it must be an earthquake.

Speaking of moving and shaking, here’s Raley demonstrating one of her new “tricks”: to clench all of her muscles until they start to tremble. I have no idea how or why she started doing this, but now she’ll do it on her own sometimes and she’ll imitate me if I start it. It’s cute as long as it doesn’t go on too long - she starts turning bright red! Anyway, enjoy this video and there will be a Raley update post shortly.

I can’t believe I actually did NaBloPoMo November - 30 posts in 30 days. Can you believe it?

Also, I can’t believe that I almost forgot to post tonight, the last night. But I remembered, and here you go!

I don’t think that I’ll be making daily posting a habit - it makes blogging feel like work or a chore, plus I’m usually doing it at almost midnight! Also, it takes over - I spend my “free” time on the computer instead of knitting or reading. I feel like I’m reaching for what to write about most of the time, which results in posts that are a good chronicle of my daily life but probably less than fascinating for most of you (parents excluded!).

However, I am going to try to post more regularly - Raley updates at least, house updates, and knitting updates, too! Of course, knitting for the next few weeks is going to be some gift knitting and unbloggable, but I do have some sock updates to post!

Tomorrow I’m flying to the East Coast (Dulles, but driving immediately to West Virginia and staying there for the whole time), coming home on Friday. Dan will be Mr. Mom for the week - hopefully he’ll get our happy fun baby and not the screaming torment that we had tonight. I’m not sure what it was - teething, cold, constipation, or all three - but it was not pretty. Finally it seemed like something kicked in (Orajel, bottle, who knows) and she was OK until bedtime. Hopefully that will last! Meanwhile, I have 2 cross-country flights and nights in a hotel room without a 8.5-month-old to entertain, so hopefully I’ll get some knitting done!

Today the alarm wennt off at 4:45 and I managed to get up and roll out the door to Best Buy. (I slept in yoga pants and a T-shirt so I didn’t even bother to get “dressed.”) I am always one for the crazy shopping experience - I love the communal aspect of it, the sense of camaraderie that you get when you’re waiting in line (in the cold) for a store to open before the sun comes up. Of course, usually I’m in a predominately female crowd - Best Buy had a different demographic, and the feeling was a little lacking. But I got what I came for (and then some of course) and was back home by 5:30. I snuck into the apartment trying not to make too much noise, only to find Dan up feeding Raley. That’s amazingly unusual - usually it’s 6:30 AM like an alarm clock. I don’t know if the alarm and my leaving woke her (with a bit of a delayed reaction) or if she was just ready, but we had a special family moment at 5:30 and then all went back to bed.

We did get up for good and drove down to San Diego for the National Geographic warehouse sale at the Convention Center. We found lots of goodies (most of our Christmas shopping is done I think). I found some travel books to give me ideas for our next big trip (for these kinds of trips, bebe would likely stay with family, so they might be a while off).

Then we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which we only had about 2 hours at, but we did manage to get on the tram ride around the big enclosures (which is a different tram than the one that they had on our last visit about 5 years ago). Raley was generally happy, although she did get a bit frustrated as the ride went on and we weren’t moving… but then we got to the giraffes, who were very close to the fence and something she could actually see, so that was fun. And we bought a family annual pass, so we’ll be back!

Then we went to our new house to see what progress the former owners had made in getting their things moved out - when we spoke to our realtor at about 9:30 they were at the house working. We were expecting one of the following options (in order of preference):
1. All stuff gone
2. Them busily working (having worked all day) trying to finish up
3. A call from our realtor with their story and excuses for not being done yet.

What we didn’t honestly expect, was of course what we found, which was about 2/3 of their stuff still there. Every room still has something in it. The yard hasn’t been touched. Lots of stuff has been removed from the garage (including some shelves that they told us they were going to leave!) but we think they moved some of the stuff from the house out there because there are still large piles. So we called our realtor to see what he could do. Tomorrow we’ll go over there and move all of their stuff into the garage so that we can finally a) visualize our house as ours and b) start cleaning! It will also be our first trip over there this week in the daylight, so we can really see what we’re working with and maybe get some pictures to boot :).

We did get our keys and got into our house today, but it was already dark (the sun sets at 5 now! So unfair!) and the former owners had taken many of the lightbulbs (WTF?). Also, they hadn’t quite finished packing everything yet, so there’s still a lot of stuff there. They’re supposed to be coming in on Friday to finish loading and clearing out - we’ll see. (There’s a LOT of stuff left.)

But this has got me to thinking. Right now, we’re living in our 1-bed apartment with a bare minimum of our things. So here are the top 5 things that I will be happiest to see from our things that are in storage:

1. The knitting supplies. I definitely *need* to cast on a sweater now. My knitting mojo has come back (at least in the dreaming phase). I think I should get extra credit for not breaking down and going to a yarn store by now…

2. The blender. I want to try and make some homemade baby food for Raley, plus smoothies and milkshakes are always good :).

3. The Arrested Development DVDs. They were supposed to come with us into our temporary housing but that box apparently got stuck in storage. I want to watch me some Motherboy XXX and Mr. F!

4. The scrapbooking stuff. I need to work on Raley’s album while I still remember!

5. My wedding ring. I took it off while pregnant (crazy-swollen fingers), couldn’t put it back on right away (still swollen) and then it got packed. So I’ve been “unmarried” for months now! It will be great to get it back again.

1. I went to a 3-hour training today on record-keeping. It would have been a complete snoozer but the speaker (a lawyer) could have been a stand-up comedian. It was amusing. The subject was a bit scary - record-keeping in the digital age. Did you know that twitters could be considered a record?

2. We’re watching Bones and some of the aerial shots and mentions of Bowie this and Langley that make me miss DC a little.

3. I’ve started my Christmas shopping already (this is early for me!) - Reid and Dan have one each so far.

4. Once I finish typing this post I’m going to knit some more and hopefully finish up the baby dress!

5. I just read that a book that I really, really like has been greenlit into an HBO pilot. If it gets picked up, it might be enough to get me to pay for HBO.

6. This morning, half of the public parking lot that I park in was roped off for “BL Crew.” Driving into work I passed by a church with the stained glass windows curtained off, tons of trucks outside, and even some director’s chairs. One of the chairs said “James Spader.” Boston Legal, baby!

7. Since living here, I’ve also seen CSI Miami filming twice. Apparently that show loves Long Beach, but “CSI Long Beach” just isn’t catchy.

8. Tomorrow a less random entry? Wait and see!

Today was a pretty boring Saturday. Which is interesting, because it was the first Saturday (in fact, this is the first weekend) in a long time that we haven’t had things that absolutely needed to get done. We slept in, ran some errands (bank, library) and then went for a walk in the park. Raley saw her first ducks - pretty exciting!

This evening, we went over to a friend’s house for a game night. We played Movie Scene-it (Dan and I were a team and we won!) and then Apples to Apples. I’d heard good things about Apples, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never played it. It was fun, though, and very easy to learn. Definitely a good party game!

It was a fun crowd, and good to socialize with some of my co-workers outside of the office. However, we’re pretty sure they’re not ready for some of our favorite games yet like Settlers of Cataan. We need to find some geekier friends!

I think I know now why I don’t usually blog everyday. It’s because I feel like I don’t have anything to say everyday!

Today I got up at 0 dark thirty (OK, 6 AM) and got in the car and drove back to San Diego. I was home for about 34 hours, and now I’m back south again. Today I spent back at the same meeting I was at earlier this week, learning a lot about tuna! It’s my first meeting with simultaneous translators, and I have to admit that it felt pretty cool with my little earpiece speaking English in my ear (even though Spanish was being spoken into the microphone). There was a little bit of drama - some flowery speeches. Not much got done, because the meeting goes through tomorrow so there’s no incentive to finish by tonight.

I’m in another hotel tonight. (This one has a much better view! If I had my camera cable I could share it with you… but I don’t. Sorry.) Tomorrow I’ll play with dolphins a little bit, and then it’s home again to my baby and Dan!

Alright, I haven’t posted in a while, it’s true. But I was trying to spare all of you from what surely would have been a long, boring, depressing, whine about how sucky I feel. I’m not in the glowing-pregnancy stage yet, it’s still more the how-many-symptoms-can-I-have-at-once stage. So far I’m up to first plus second, and a few third thrown in!

BUT, some good things have happened recently that I thought I could come up with a whole post without too much complaining. Here goes:

1. The Yarn Harlot came to Virginia! And I went, along with some of my friends! (These pictures are stolen from Paula because I didn’t take a camera - thanks, Paula!):

a bunch of yarn harlots!

That’s Chelsea, Paula, Stephanie, me, and Lara. We had a great time knitting and hanging out while waiting for the talk, and then while waiting for the signings. I met some knitters (like Jodi and blogless Jane) who recognized me from my blog - thanks for saying hi! Stephanie was hilarious, and I was crying from laughter (and crying from happiness, too - damn hormones).

Happy knitbuddies!

Stephanie asked how many of us in the audience felt like we had more friends due to knitting, and I know I raised my hand! I finished up that hat during Stephanie’s talk and donated it to the hat lady.
I had eaten a snack before going, and again after getting there (a very tasty marshmallow rice krispy treat!), but I still wound up feeling dizzy from lack of food when we were waiting for our autographs. I had to go sit down while my lovely friends saved me a spot in line. It’s times like these that I wish it was a little more obvious that I was preggers, like a nice belly - I still just look a little chubby (in a hey-you-might-want-to-lay-off-the-ice-cream sort of way). While none of the other knitters in line said anything (or even looked at me funny) when I rejoined the line, I still felt guilty.

2. Out of town friends. Knitty Meetup on Wednesday was like homecoming, with two of our former participants, Chelsea and Amy, who sadly moved out of the area, came back to the DC area and hung out with us! It was also probably our biggest gathering ever - we welcomed old and (relatively) new folks alike.

3. I made my hotel reservations for Rhinebeck! I think Dan and I are driving up on Friday. Then he’s going to explore something on Saturday while I pal around with some knit buds, and join me at the festival on Sunday. I’m trying to finish up my Cardigan for Arwen to wear (only half of one sleeve left to knit, then the seaming!) and I’m trying to spin up some of the fiber I bought last year so that I won’t feel so guilty about buying some more!

4. My hair and nails are growing better than ever before in my life. This is one of the few positive side effects of pregnancy that I’ve experienced so far… energy, please come back soon! Oops, slipped into whine there for a bit. Guess it’s time to sign off!

Well, this summer has just been flying by, ne c’est pas? How about a quick recap of what’s been going on chez snargle…

1. We finished the portico - caulk, paint, the whole 9 yards.

Welcome!

It took us several evenings after work and the better part of another weekend, but it’s so worth it! There’s still the ghost outline above the portico, and we need to pressure wash and Dremel it some more, but that can wait for another weekend!

2. Tubing on the Shenandoah

Aaaahhh…

What a relaxing way to spend the day! We went flatwater tubing in the morning, whitewater tubing in the afternoon, and then camped out in a treehouse! It was a great weekend with Jenna and Reid and some other friends.

3. 4th of July

Living just outside of DC, it’s tempting to try and avoid the 4th of July craziness. Then again, there’s nowhere better to celebrate the 4th than in the Nation’s Capital! So, once again, we went downtown. In the morning, we did something we haven’t done before - the reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the National Archives. There were two WWII veterans and some historial reenactors to portray Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Adams. It was great - it’s really emotional to hear the words detailing all of the reasons for the very revolutionary decisions to declare our independence. It also made me want to watch “1776″ - one of my favorite musicals - which I managed to find at the library the next day. “There’s still nothing in it about deep sea fishing rights!”

After a couple of hours at home, we went back down to the Mall for the fireworks. I love fireworks!

Boom!

Boom!

4. Live Earth

It’s Al!

I’m sure you heard something about the Live Earth concerts on 7/7/07. The US concert was in New York. What you may not have heard was that there was also a small concert here in DC on the Mall - a suprise event that was only planned a day in advance. Well, there was a concert planned for the day, featuring Native American bands on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian. They just added a few special guests - Al Gore, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. The venue and the seating would have been perfect for the expected turnout for the Native American bands, but it was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd there to see Al. We had a terrible view of the stage (if you weren’t in the front row, you couldn’t see at all) but we were able to hear. It was a memory!
We left the concert after the first band and walked over to the Folklife Festival. Lots of great fiber-related things, in addition to the great food and other interesting exhibits. There were some amazing skeins of silk and looms in the Mekong Delta area - this was one of my favorites:

That’s skill!

5. the beach

Dan and I headed over to Delaware to hit the beach for a day trip. Well, I stayed on the beach while Dan hit the waves - getting a kitesurfing fix for the first time this summer.

Check him out!

6. Knitting

And finally, lest you think I haven’t been knitting… here’s what I’ve been working on.

First, the Doubly Scottish Socks:

Och, laddie! It’s a sock!

I cast these on while in Scotland, and the pattern is Spey Valley (the valley down the middle of Scotland) from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road, so these are the doubly Scottish socks. They’re Trekking Bamboo on US 1’s. I’m a bit farther along than this photo - almost ready to turn the heel.

Next, Coachella.

Blue blob

There’s the two armholes and some waist decreases… I’m working on the hip increases now. It’s cotton - K1C2 2nd time cotton - that I bought in Alaska. Recycled cotton from industrial scraps (textile waste) - pretty cool. I’ve tried it on, and the cowl neck is going to be far, far too low (there are similar “problem” pictures on a couple of other blogs I’ve seen), so I’ve resigned myself to wearing a tank under it. I’ve even got the perfect racerback tank. If you’re thinking about knitting one of the larger sizes, you might want to cast on fewer stitches and gradually increase to get the correct number of stitches at the bust…

And finally, Mystery Stole 3.

Lace!

Yes, I got sucked in, too. I actually signed up just before Stephanie’s post, after having seen so many people signed up on ravelry. I got some Malabrigo laceweight and some size 8 beads at a local store, and the next thing I knew I was knitting lace. This is my progress on July 12th… I’m now through Chart A and getting ready to start B. A minimum of ripping back (loving the lifelines, and especially how easily I can put them in with my KnitPicks options needles! You thread the crochet thread through the hole in the Options needles, then just pass the stitches over it).

And that’s it! The first few months of summer in a nutshell. More Scotland pictures to be uploaded to flickr when I get a chance. Another update soon!

Greetings from the Great White North! Actually, it’s not all that white - I think spring has sprung here in Alaska, the sun is shining, the temperatures are lovely - all in all, it’s been gorgeous!

I’ve been here for just over 2 days, but I’ve been busy! Four yarn stores, enough fibery goodness purchased to make my not being at MS$W a good thing
But I only have photos of one thing to show you now - I saw caribou!

Fuzzy spring caribou!

Courtesy of a little side visit to Denali National Park. More (fiber-related) to come!