Knit long and prosper!

Now that some gift knitting has arrived at its new home, I can post pictures! And because I took pictures of some other things I was working on, you get to see those things as well! First, for my dear friend Annie, Hobbit Socks! I wanted to find a sock yarn with the colors of the Shire, and I think this one works well. I like the bits of turquoise--just right for a hobbit's waistcoat!

I also made a little beaded bag to go with the socks--such pretty yarn is not to be wasted!

In addition to the Hobbit bag, I've been using some up other sock yarn by making more of these little bagletts. I particularly liked how the 2 stitch i-cord ended up on this one.

Another project that I've been working on is a cowl with the beautiful yarn Rebekah gave me. This is my first cowl, and the first time I've ever done nupps. I have to say, that the nupps aren't as scary as I thought they would be, but I don't feel like they add a lot of the pattern. Next time I make this I think I'll use beads instead. I have to say, I really like this lace pattern though!

As well as finishing the cowl, I'm starting a pair of socks for my mom this weekend. She bought the yarn, and I found the lovely pattern. These socks are toe up--not my fav, but I'm hoping these will change my mind a bit since I really want to make a pair for myself!

Okay-on to the nerdy! I've aquired two Star Trek items in the last week or so. First-insulated cups are awesome, but when the have the Enterprise on them, they are even MORE awesome!

Etsy gave out $5 gift certificates last week, so I went on and found myself some classy, yet very nerdy earrings. Behold--where no jewelry has gone before!

We won't talk about how long it took me to make up my mind which badge to get...I finally decided to go with science since that will match my pin. Now I just need a phaser and a communicator...

That's about it for my crafting endeavors. Next week I'll be busy working contracts wit my dad, so I don't foresee a lot of knitting going on, but I'm kind of hoping to finish the cowl this weekend. I have some remnants of my rather unfortunant infatuation with ladder yarn that I have some plans for, and I need to get my act together and finish my filet crochet bodice/camisole so I can sew a skirt onto it. Have a great weekend!

Bowling and Man of Steel

This week I did something that I haven't done for a long time-

I strapped on some dorky bowling shoes and played two games with Jasper and Lucy. The first game Lucy won, but the second game I got three strikes!

I will admit that having bumper rails (they happened to be up on the lane we were given!) probably helped my game quite a bit--next time I want to go 'hard core' and see what I can do. This is only the third or fourth time that I've been bowling, and I have to say that I really enjoy it. Throwing heavy balls at pins? Sign me up! The only thing I don't like about is that layer of gunge and 'scum and villany' that just seems to be a part of every bowling alley ever. Our local alley has a pretty good deal going all summer, so I see more bowling in my future. Now that's a sport I could get into--not much sweating!

I have a FO (finished object) with my knitting, but as this is a gift I'm only going to show a sneak peek-

I'm working on something else with the same yarn that is also a gift, as well as playing with some little beaded bags. Pictures to follow!

I've been thinking about Man of Steel this week, and figured I'd put in my two cents worth of review on it.

* I liked the first half, but the second half was like a demolition fest. I realize that it is an accepted part of super hero movies that the hero knocks half the city down in the process of saving the day, but I found that this was a bit much.

* I really liked what Hans Zimmer did with the score--there was some of his signature BOOM BOOM sound, but the introspective theme used in the trailer was a lovely change of pace for him. I approve. Listen to the track, "What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?" to see what I mean.

* I really liked how they handled the 'Kryptonite' issue--a fresh take on it that wasn't cheesey at all.

* I find the relationship between Clark and Lois irritating--what is it based on? Him saving her from the trouble she keeps getting into from stalking him!

I don't think I'll ever turn into a Super Man fan, but it was a nice Father's day excursion. As I continue to indulge in summer movies, I think I'm going to have to see The Lone Ranger when it comes out. If we still had a dollar theater I would totally go see Star Trek: Into Darkness again since it was AMAZING! So far my ranking of summer movies is as follows:

1. Star Trek Into Darkness

2. Iron Man 3

3. Man of Steel

Oh, and I just have to say, WHAT was up with the Warehouse 13 Season 2 Christmas special?

Father's Day

On Sunday my family indulged in two special treats to celebrate a special man--my dad. After church that morning we headed to Lindale to use a gift card at Cracker Barrel. We had a great time and enjoyed some good food--I had a chicken fried steak that was AMAZING. Suitably full, we piled back into our very hot van and returned home. I made a lemon meringue pie before Mercy, my parents and I headed out to catch a matinee of "Man of Steel." It seemed fitting to be going with our very own man of steel! It was a good movie--not sure how much of the world was un-crushed in the making of it, but it had some nice touches. I have to say, Russel Crowe as Superman's dad was pretty spiff!

My dad is one of the most amazing people that I know, and I am so glad that God gave him to me as an earthly father. Thank you Daddy for never letting me back away from something I thought was too 'scary,' for teaching me to work well and hard, for providing 16 years of education, for being an upright man in a corrupt generation, and for giving me a vision of missions. I love you, and am so thankful that I could celebrate with you this weekend.

Enterprise binge!

For the last few days I have been cramming in as many episodes of Star Trek Enterprise as I could before my Amazon Prime trial ran out. I remember when Enterprise was airing originally (how long ago it all seems—back when we had cable!), but I had seen almost none of it before this summer. After poking around on-line and watching most of the first season, I can see why it never did as well as the other shows, but that being said there are some things I appreciate about it.

Pros

* Trip. Not gonna lie—Trip is some mighty nice eye candy. Also, Malcolm. More eye candy. Plus, both eye candies have cute accents!

* I like that there isn’t oceans of space aboard the Enterprise. Quarters are smaller, hallways look more utilitarian, and the bridge looks more like something on a Space Shuttle. This makes the gap between our space exploration era and the ‘future’ more probable.

* I like that the captain has dinner in a private dining room with his officers—more like the naval system. There is a chef who prepares dinner, and only a few things are sort of replicated. Life is a little grittier on this first Enterprise, and some older traditions are reference.

* It’s interesting to see a crew not tied down by the Prime Directive, but at the same time seeing events pan out that cause the Prime Directive it to be created. The enthusiasm and blunders of Captain Archer are easy to identify with, and there is some great potential there for poignant story lines.

* I like that everything doesn’t just happen instantly with technology in this series. Things actually take time, and there isn’t always a hypo-spray for every injury. This gives it a nice level of believability.

Cons

* The whiney communications officer really grates on my nerves. Why is she in Star Fleet if she has no intention of going on Away Missions, or trying new things? Wuss.

* The way parts of the crew are always snipping at each other, and the constant ‘Vulcans are so restrictive!’ sub plot gets old after awhile. One of the best things about Star Trek is that every problem neatly solves itself in an hour (two if it’s a two-parter). That means that inter-crew conflict is not a major part of the plot, and they all know that when red alert is announced, everyone there has everyone else’s back. While they got better as season one went on, it still wasn’t quite up to the usual Star Trek standards.

* There are more *adult* themes and scenes in Enterprise than is usual for Star Trek—one of the things I love about the different series is that it’s an adult show without a lot of adult content. I understand it gets more and more steamy as the seasons went on.

I went to the Zoo!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo--I was much busier enjoying the day, the lovely landscaping, and the wonder of God's creation in the animal world. it was a very pleasant day for June in East Texas, and though many animals were sleeping peacefully in the shade (or sun as their preferences run!), it was a lovely outing. I have to say though, I hope there are huggable bears and tigers in heaven!

The way to my heart just might be through sock yarn...

On Friday I went to our local zoo with my two youngest siblings and my mom; since the zoo happens to be really close to the yarn store of AMAZINGNESS, we decided to pop in. Oddly enough, I might have walked out with some beautiful yarn! I can't show all of it as some of it is destined for knitted gifts, but I also ordered some yarn from Knitpicks with my birthday gift certificate, so I can show a few peeks of the yarney goodness that I'm enjoying looking at right now!

This is Knitpicks Stroll, colorway "Constellation." It is a little outside my normal realm, but I really like it. I'm building up a collection of sock patterns that will look good with a very multi-colored yarn like this.

Out of the yarn I bought at Rose Path, I think this is my favorite. This yarn shouts hydrangeas to me--something I've been enjoying since coming home. I love tonal or very subtly variegated yarns, and now I almost wish I had bought a few more of these!

This one is a little embarrassing as I think I might already own this colorway, but if I do, then one of these will definitely become a pair of gift socks!

In the next few days I want to blog a bit about the zoo--the big thing right now is that life is almost back to normal after the wedding! No more wedding cake! No more wedding leftovers! No more wedding presents blocking off the TV! I plan to get back into exercising this week; I need to walk off all that wedding cake...

Baby Boy Blue Blanket and some birthday shiney

Yesterday I had a delightful lunch date with my one and only high school friend, and part of that was getting to meet her adorable four month old son. When I heard that this little blessing had arrived with Rebekah, I got busy and made him this blanket. Just before the wedding I 'officially' finished it and wove in all the ends.

I used a log cabin construction, and all the leftover blue cotton I had sitting around. I love taking quilting concepts and applying them to knitting!

I mentioned earlier that as a birthday present my sister and almost brother in law let me pick out a journal from the fantastic handmade journal place at Scarborough Faire. Talk about a dangerous shop for me to be in... This is the one I settled on:

Sorry it's sideways--I tried to change that before I uploaded, but apparently it was a fail. The back is also covered in beautiful leather work,

And inside is some beautiful handmade paper. However, one of the best parts is the wonderful clasp-

I think I'm going to use this as a creativity journal to record ideas and samples of things. The only problem with such a lovely book is deciding what to write in it!

I meant to take a picture of the socks I'm working on, but that just didn't happen. I'm also waiting for my 'birthday yarn' to arrive as well. I'm trying to finish up the one pair of birthday socks so I can in good conscience start on another pair. I found a sock pattern that I can't wait to try out despite the fact that it is toe up. So, here is a cute mouse picture! I feel I should warn you that there will be many cute mouse pictures in the next three months...

One last thing--while I am outraged about the Verizon scandal, I found this tongue in cheek article amusing.

A Mouse is Miracle Enough!

After re-reading the lovely book A Mouse is Miracle Enough by Myna Lockwood, I was oddly enough seized with the urge to own a mouse! While my siblings have had a series of mice, I have never owned one myself. Since I have some time on my hands this summer, we own several cages, and mice are cheap, I decided to indulge myself with this little critter:

Meet Claudia! The name is a reference to the smart and feisty character on Warehouse 13--fitting as this little character almost chewed her way to freedom from the cardboard box on the way home, and mastered the art of running in the wheel (and on the top of it as I watch her just now!) within an hour of being placed in her new home. Yes, I know I can't take her home with me, and yes, I know I live in a home with three cats. However, I think it will be a fun summer 'project,' and besides--I've always wanted a mouse!

Now that Mary's wedding is over, things have gone back to whatever passes as normal around here. Here are a few pictures of the day-

It was a beautiful wedding, but I am SO GLAD that it's all over! Jordan is a welcome addition to our family, and I look forward to many years of watching those two grow and serve the Lord together. Coming soon--a knitting update!