Friday, January 15, 2010

Bah.

Pain problem's getting worse, I think in part due to the TENS unit. So maybe no more Iron Man. Anyway, this may yet lead to Cranky Blogging, which I know a lot of you find entertaining as hell. You never know. (Will be throwing myself on the mercy of my GP next week, since apparently none of the pain specialists in the city are interested in seeing me, at least not in the next month or three.)

Anyway. Let's talk about something interesting.

Here, I give you my high-tech, apartment-dwelling yarn drying rack:

In case you can't figure it out, that's a skein of yarn looped over a shampoo bottle on a window sill, in the shower stall. Super-high tech, I'm telling you. Works, though.

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Yesterday I drove over to Ohio for lunch. It was my mother-in-law's birthday, and my father-in-law cooked it up so we were waiting at the restaurant when they got there. I'd coached the Goober the whole way over in the car, to yell "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!" So she did. Really loudly. Fortunately she's cute and everyone in the restaurant was amused. THEN the Goober announced "I'm your birthday present!" My mother-in-law was completely surprised, so mission accomplished.

Really, the whole reason we're in Pittsburgh and not Honolulu (literally) is because we wanted to raise the Goober near her family. So the in-laws and my brother keep saying "we don't want to inconvenience you..." and I'm nearly yelling at them "we moved here to be near you, LET'S TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!" So we did, and it worked out. Next week I'm driving BACK, to take care of some family stuff with my brother. I'm trying not to imagine how this would be working out if we were in Honolulu. Not well, I'll say that for nothing.

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For fun and comparison (if you like), pop on over to KnitScene. Their new issue preview is up. There's nothing revolutionary there, but since they're not claiming to be, okay. (I believe they claim to be a magazine providing knitting patterns. Mission accomplished.) Most of the patterns go up to a 52-54in/132-137cm bust. The smallest only goes up to 44in/111cm, one goes up to 65in/165cm. The only things that come in one size are shawls and scarves and hats and like that, which, yeah.

Interesting.

9 comments:

WikiBobo said...

Someone's rocking a Snooki hairdo in one of the photos. The sweaters are meh. But the great thing about Interweave is that they're very technique-focused out there in Denver-land. So maybe I'll pick it up.

Mandy said...

I always appreciate the fit advice on Interweave patterns - they even tell you how much ease the model has in the photo! Imagine that - useful information! And I love the galleries at the website, so you can see the garments on real people. Much nicer than "high fashion" photography that doesn't show you anything at all about how the garment will actually fit!

Amy Lane said...

Wow-- I love low tech! So very cool. And I'm glad you're out there with your family. I know you REALLY miss Hawaii (and why would you not?) but I think you and the Goob will enjoy the family very much.

spamword: conests

Act Four said...

Just a thought...but would you consider trying acupuncture for pain control? It seems to work rather well for the horses in our vet practice. And, since they have no preconceived opinions,
prejudices or expectations it might be worth a try.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've preordered Knitscene. I gave up on IK because their sense of fashion seems to have gone out the wondow but Knitscene... some practical, some mildly fashionable, but mostly wearable. Also, there's the added bonus of having more than 2 patterns I'd like to make - but we'll see.

I too was wondering if you've tried accupuncture? It can help to some degree...

roxie said...

Love the Goober birthday present. Even if she were hideous, who would not love a little kid shouting, "Happy Birthday Grandma!" The fact that she's a curly topped sprite is just icing on the cake.

Emily said...

Older New York city apartments used to have (might still have, for all I know)a pull-out drying rack in the kitchen.

I think it's great you're raising Goober close to family. My family (and my ex's) were both sort of scarily dysfunctional, plus not at all interested in their grandchildren, so we (I) stayed far away from them. It made things very very hard, and my kids never got to know them until they were safely older. I really wish with all my heart we'd had your option. Lucky Goober.

Louiz said...

My low tech drying system is a coat hanger over the shower rail. Goober Birthday Surprise sounds wonderful:)

Donna Lee said...

On nice days, I hand drying yarn outside on the rungs under the mailbox. Yep, right on the front of the house. Otherwise, a hanger over the tub or in the laundry room.

I knew there had to be a good reason for you to move to Pigsburg over Honolulu. You can't beat family.