Monday, December 31, 2007

Bleah

Well, my move to my own domain didn't work out as nice as I'd like. I just don't have the control I wanted over it, so if I don't have that, I might as well be here where it's at least easier.

Note for myself:
Lastest tequila I tried: Hacienda De Chihuahua Anejo Sotol
Very nice, very smooth. I'm glad I laid the money down.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Grrr... where is it?

My Susan Bates H hook is missing! All I can find are the sucky Boyes ones! Wah!

Gotta start planning for the next crochet class. I think I'll show them how to make amigurumi pumpkins.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Teaching Crochet Today

A group of people from work are having me show them how to crochet. It's after work today, hopefully it goes smoothly.

I'm going to spend some time tonight after work on clearing some more junk out of the upstairs front bedroom. I will go through the crap on the one table and clear it out, and maybe decide what fabric to keep and what to get rid of. And maybe I'll dismantle the sewing desk and put the pieces out on the curb. Trash pickup isn't till Friday though. But the neighbors can get used to the redneck-edness ;)

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Dead Eye the Octopirate! And a little stash clearing...


Dead Eye the Octopirate!
Originally uploaded by paperspirit
Well, I got the Octopirate all done now - his hat is finished! Yay!

I finished the body of a little bird while watching a movie with my firend Kat. She got some of my old straight needles since I don't use them anymore. I still have some other ones to get rid of. Not sure if I'll offer them as a lot on eBay. I could use a little pocket money :)

I'm going to try and clear out something from the house each evening so I can pare everything down in preparation for moving.

Monday, September 3, 2007

An amigurumi pirate octopus!


An amigurumi pirate octopus!
Originally uploaded by paperspirit
The crocheting part is all finished. He turned out great - I love the peg leg :)

I may still make him a tricorn hat with a skull and crossbones, or maybe a red and white striped headscarf. Not sure yet.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Pink and white Octopode FINISHED!


Pink and white Octopode
Originally uploaded by paperspirit
YAY!

I love her! I may make her some accessories, but I don't know exactly what as of yet.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Octopus in progress


Octopus in progress
Originally uploaded by paperspirit
I don't know yet if I'm going to keep this or give it to one of the new office babies. I showed the pattern to my sister, and she coveted, so she may get either this one or another new one.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The Stash is catalogued!


The Stash
Originally uploaded by paperspirit
Yay! Hooray! Celebration time!

All of my stash (except for the really small leftovers) is in Ravelry now! I should buy new yarn to celebrate! ;) No, not really, I'm trying to use some of this up!

Here's a picture of it all together in its 12x12 cubes.

Whew! Almost done cataloguing the stash

I'm so glad I have a relatively small stash. I'm almost done moving my yarn downstairs to my room and getting it photographed and entered into Ravelry. All I have left is the Caron Simply Soft acrylic that's upstairs and a couple crochet cottons - Aunt Lydia stuff. I should be able to get it in soon.

Then, on to actual knitting and/or crochet!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Eeeeek-aaaaaa!!! - Oh, wait it's just a lizard.

I went into my closet tonight, and suddenly I felt something scuttle across my foot. I drew in breath to start shouting in alarmed surprise, then something else in my brain said "wait that didn't feel like a bug."

So I gulp and hope it's nothing lethal, grab my glasses, and start looking at the floor.

It's a Mediterranean House Gecko, a common lizard in my area. Tiny, cute, little lizards, no harm at all. They get into the house fairly often, no big deal.

So I drop to my knees, chase him down, and grab him.

I step out of the closet triumphantly, telling Mr Leezard that he can't live in my house because he will not have anything to eat, thinking I'll just take him outside, look down, and falter.

I'm wearing panties and a camisole. Nothing else. I went into my closet because I was going to put some clothes on and go to Starbucks. How the hell am I going to put him outside when I'm nearly nude?

I decided to trust to luck and put him in the bathtub while I put something on. Thankfully, I think he was stunned, and he stayed put. After dressing, I scooped him back up and put him outside.

Whew!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

I feel so shallow. I have shopped.

I went shopping yesterday. I usually hate shopping. The girl genes that seem to make most women love shopping and makeup and shoes are defective in me. But I've been trying to rebuild my wardrobe and stop wearing only t-shirts and jeans all the time. So off I went - determined to find either a new pair of sunglasses, or jeans, or a skirt, or shoes.

Apparently, the fashion world has decided to align with my world for awhile - I like a lot of the clothes that are out now! There's a lot of hippie/bohemian influenced stuff out there.

I went into a Sunglass Hut at the new shopping center in Arlington. My god, there are some ugly sunglasses out there - they are like billboards with the designers' names on the earpieces in huge letters, and they are 200 bucks! But I did find a nice pair of tortoiseshell patterned ones from DKNY that were on sale for 50 bucks. I would have never thought I'd spend that much for plastic sunglasses, but these ARE very nice - they feel good on my face, fit well, look nice, and most importantly are pleasant to look through. The nice guy who waited on me was delighted to throw my 15 dollar cracked dime store pair in the trash!

Then I looked around at some other stores in that shopping center, but decided to wait on anything there - though I like a lot of the clothes at Coldwater Creek it seems like most of their stuff is dry clean only. So I hopped in the car and went to the mall.

I found some really cute Vans-style shoes with skulls all over them. They are made of awesome, though not comfy until I put some inserts in them. I also got some cheap black sneakers that are kind of punk-rock shabby. I found out that Bath and Body Works doesn't make Peony-scented stuff anymore. Blast it.

To round out my evening, I went to Walgreens to look for a diffuser for my dryer, and a new hairbrush. They didn't have any diffusers that I could find. I ended up going to that pit of evil known as Wal-Mart since it was the only thing open by then - yes, I violated my personal anti-Wal-Mart bias and gave them money. I ended up getting a new hairdryer since you apparently can't get diffusers by themselves - only with hairdryers. I also found some little camo ditty bags with skulls all over them. I love skulls.

Next payday, I HAVE to get jeans though - all of mine are getting worn out, and not in the "people want to pay good money for jeans with holes" places. I'm not looking forward to that. I'm picky about jeans, they have to fit just right or I'm not happy about it, even though I end up keeping what I get for a couple years as "backup" jeans when the one or two pair that I like the fit of are dirty.

I need to clean the shelves in my closet off so I can arrange my shoes on them. I think I'm done shoe shopping for awhile, except I still want a pair of black mary-jane style flats.

I am also on a quest for the Perfect White Shirt. One that is comfortable, resists wrinkles, and goes with jeans and skirts. And looks good on me.

I have makeup in my purse now. When did I become a girl?

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Low Impact Week Update - Almost Through!

I'm not getting everything I wanted done, but I have done some things, so I feel pretty good about it. My goals were:

  • Buy organic and local food
  • Call Earth Shoes to stop the double catalogs
  • Line dry clothes
  • No take-out if I can't recycle the packaging
  • Save shower water while heating for watering plants
  • Set up rain barrel
  • Take my bike for errands
  • Take shorter showers
  • Try a 100% recycled TP
  • Tun off water at kitchen sink
  • Turn off the TV for the week
  • Turn off the water when brushing teeth
  • Use cloth napkins and towels
How I've been doing:

I bought a mix of organic and non-organic. Nothing local, unfortunately. I did email Earth, and they removed the duplicate from the system. I line dried one load of clothes - I need to toss in another load tonight and string it around the house :) I have dried 2 loads in the washer. But hey, it was one less!

I ate out at lunch Monday - the Taco Bell run. Tuesday, a co-worker bought pizza and gave me a couple slices. I've been bringing my lunch otherwise. I ate my last frozen dinner last night - plastic dish there, but I can clean it and put it in the recycling.

I've been saving the initial shower water for plants. Didn't set up a rain barrel, but I'm still debating that one with the whole "water off the shingles isn't good for you" thing. I only have one decorative bed of plants, and it still has herbs in it, so I'm not wanting to put "contaminated" water on it.

I definitely took shorter showers - I'm known in my family for long showers, so that's good!

Didn't get to try a recycled TP - I'll do that when I buy it next - still had rolls to use.

Didn't really run water in the kitchen, because I've been letting the dishes pile up. Need to clean the kitchen!

Only watched 1 half hour show on TV this week (Creature Comforts - I'm an Aardman fan). Had the telly on for about 15 min Saturday morning till I figured out Real Simple wasn't going to be on - I've been trying to see if it's any good, but have only gotten to see one ep!

Turn off water when brushing teeth - been doing that!

Use cloth napkins and towels - only had one slip up on that! Yay!

(x-posted on LJ)

Monday, June 4, 2007

Low-Impact Monday - so far.

I'm a bit miffed - I packed a lunch today, but had to run out of the office to go to the post office, so I decided to pick up something at taco bell. I figured it would have less packaging then the stuff in my lunch - it would be wrapped in paper.

In the plastic bag (which I will reuse) was ANOTHER plastic bag with the napkin, 3 pieces of paper, a wet nap, and a peppermint in a plastic wrapper!

I definitely will be packing my lunch the rest of the week!

Low-Impact Week Update (x-posted from LJ)

My weekend was not as low impact as I'd like :(

Saturday:

I was invited to a baby shower, but the directions I printed out were incorrect, and I couldn't find one of the streets I was to turn off of. So I drove up and down the street 4 times trying to find it.

Then I was to meet a friend and haul a lawnmower for her since it wouldn't fit in her car - her directions were bad too, so we drove around a bit trying to find that place.

I did do a load of laundry that I air dried - yay!

Sunday:

I took my bike to a local bike shop and got a basket for the front, as well as tried to get my helmet fitted - but that was a wash as he said he'd never seen a helmet like mine :(

Then I went to a park and rode the bike paths there, went home, read some, and then rode my bike through the neighborhood some more.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Low-Impact Week (x-posted from LJ)

Crunchy Chicken is "hosting" a Low Impact Week, check it out! It starts today. Um, today kinda snuck up on me - I meant to do this list earlier, so my week will start after work today and go to after work next Friday.

Basically, you choose something (or more than one thing) to do from each area of impact. There are some things I've already done (some all my life). What I'm doing here is listing the whole list, in case someone else wants to copy it.

I'm doing a strikethrough on things I'm not going to do
I'm changing things I already do to italics
I'm changing things I am going to do this week to bold.
--
1. Reduce energy consumption -
# don't turn the heat above 65 during the day and 60 at night (put on a sweater and dig out those blankies!); for our southern friends, set the A/C to above 90
# unplug appliances when not in use that still draw energy when off (like your cell phone charger)
# turn off the TV unless you are actually watching something
# use the air dry on your dishwasher instead of heat dry
# use only cold water in your washing machine
# line dry your clothes instead of using the dryer*
# turn off the TV for the week and do something else instead (read a book, visit with friends/family)*

2. Reduce water usage -
# take shorter showers and/or use a water saving showerhead
# turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth
# be aware of water usage when at the kitchen sink - turn it off in between tasks
# save the water in a bucket that is discharged while warming up the shower and use it to water plants or for other things*

3. Change your food habits -
# try to buy organic and/or locally grown food
# minimize pre-packaged foods and make more of your own from scratch
# use cloth bags at the grocery store instead of getting paper or plastic*
# don't get take-out if it means non-recyclable packaging*
# try eating vegetarian or vegan for the week (choose your level from egg/dairy acceptable to no animals products at all)*

4. Reduce your dependence on paper products -
# print out only what is necessary
# try out a a 100% recycled TP and tissue brand
# don't use paper towels; when you can, use cloth napkins or towels instead (e.g. public restrooms)*


5. Reduce your garbage output -
# recycle everything you can (for your area)
# donate used items to a charity (many have pick ups and drop off locations) instead of throwing them out or taking them to the dump
# compost your food waste and soiled paper products*

6. Reduce Single Occupancy Vehicle usage -
# carpool when taking trips or going out to eat with friends
# take the bus or other public transportation to work and on errands* - I'm going to try and use my new bike for this!

7. Do something that lasts more than a week -
# replace one bulb per day with a Compact Fluorescent light bulb
# take your name off of junk mail and mailing lists for catalogs you don't want
# sign up for an alternative energy plan if available in your area
# set up a compost bin for your food scraps*
# set up a rain barrel to capture water for watering your yard*
---
Some things I'm not trying because they aren't practical (for me) - like the AC thing - I can't put it above 90 because I've got Annie at home. I do have it set for 80 though, and I open my windows when it's below that. It's settling into summer here though, and the heat will start in earnest soon.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Testing...