Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This is not the mark of Zorro--it's the Oz pumpkin Girlfriend carved (she's nuts about all things from the Wizard of Oz books).

Adventures With Allergies, Part 5,789

I've deleted this post because, in retrospect, I don't feel I should have written it in the first place.

How School is Like Harry Potter, Part 1

I do a lot of blog post developing at night when I have insomnia. I had terrible insomnia last night. I don't know why. Just did. I was thinking about a discussion I had with my sister about the different "houses" in the Harry Potter books. And my connection to them.

It's not as weird as it sounds. When I was very young, I missed the age cut-off for going into kindergarten. I was one of those incredibly precocious kids who could read Shakespeare or something at 2, so my mom was eager to get me into school. Because you had to turn 5 before Dec. 1st in order to start kindergarten that fall, I missed the deadline (my birthday is, as is Jane Austen's and Beethoven's, Dec. 16th). Apparently, my mom couldn't stand having such a precocious (i.e., pain in ass) kid around, so she got me tested at a local private school to see if I tested into kindergarten. I ended up testing into 1st grade and started that the year I was 4.

Anyway, the school I went to was a well known local Catholic girls' school. Part of the deal, for some weird reason, was that they put you into one of two houses when you enter. Unfortunately, we didn't have a Sorting Hat, which would have made the process more fun. The houses were the Sioux or the Apache. Now, I grew up in Monterey, CA,and there were no Sioux or Apache Native Americans anywhere near us. But, these were the houses. The Sioux's color was red and the Apaches' color was green. The school colors were red and white. I got put in the Apache house. From then on, I had to wear green and white on house days.

The school colors, again, were red and white. And even though I was in a private school, my mom, sister and I were living in something like poverty--I think my dad, who lived in Japan at the time, paid for my schooling (he and my mom were divorced). Anyway, I had to buy green socks to wear on House days because it wasn't acceptable to wear red if you were Apache. But, the school uniform was a red and white checkered pinafore over a white under dress--with red or white socks. I already had my allotment of red socks. We couldn't afford green socks. But we had to buy them anyway because I was Apache.

We weren't allowed to talk to people from the "other" house on certain days. Even as a very small child, I understood that this was just crazy and arbitrary. I wasn't even Catholic and I didn't understand the House system. It was stressful. I even got demerits for socializing with a Sioux girl. The demerits were quite important for something---I don't remember what. Every week (month?) we had to stand in front of the Mother Superior (remember that I wasn't Catholic and therefore this woman was like the Queen or something to me) and explain why we got our demerits. I don't remember what I said ("uh, because the system is stupid and asinine, Mother"). But, I don't think it went so well. I still hate arbitrary divisions like that. I left after 2nd grade--my mom finally couldn't stand the weirdness. I hated green for years afterward.

Happy Mad Hatter Day!

It's 10/6, Mad Hatter Day. The date comes from numbers on the tag on the hat of the Mad Hatter in the John Tenniel illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. This is my favorite book in the whole world and I love celebrating this day!

It is the twin foolish day to April Fool's Day on April 1. We can't just have one day devoted to general goofiness, now can we?

Celebrate with me by thinking light, fluffy things, or by having a mad tea party.
It is required that plans for this day must be made tomorrow. Stay tuned yesterday for more announcements.

Fall is Zooming By

Boy, this fall has been zooming super fast for our family. It seems as though the second school starts, our lives go into hyperdrive. Girlfriend is in 3rd grade now--I can't believe it. She got the teacher she was hoping for, which is always nice, and her best friend is in the class, too--which is awesome.

Some of our new chickens started laying--which is always fun to discover. At first the eggs are so much smaller than they will be later:


They are fun to eat--Girlfriend spent a couple of weeks eating tiny hard boiled eggs. Only three of them are laying, but we don't know who. Clover, our Partridge Rock, has turned out to be our resident blabbermouth--she does a whole lot of yelling each time one of her coop-mates lays an egg. Luckily, all of our neighbors say they love hearing the chickens because it makes them feel like they are in the country.

I have gone lace crazy this fall. I joined 3 shawl/stole knitalongs (KAL): the Secret of the Stole 3 from the Nautical Knitter:



The Mystery Stole 4 from Pink Lemon Twist:


The Halloween Mystery Shawl 2008 from Goddess Knits:


So far I've been able to keep up fairly well. Each week you get a piece of the pattern, so you don't know the overall design you're knitting until you're finished. The SofS3 is a contest of sorts--she gives out prizes each week to people who finish before the next clue is given (she picks names out of a hat of all of those who have finished each week). At the end of the KAL, she'll give out prizes to who guesses the theme correctly. With each clue we've gotten a hint for a crossword puzzle that we're filling out. Each clue has to do with the larger theme. I have a pretty good notion of the basic idea of the theme, but I'm not sure what the exact theme is yet. We still have a few more clues, so I have a little time...

We just found out last week that the theme of the MS4 is Serendipity. So, no more guessing there.

The Halloween Shawl is based on old symbols of Halloween (Samhain)--my favorite holiday! Each week we get a clue with an explanation of the symbol in the clue. Last week's clue was yew leaves (you can see them in the picture above), which some people have used in incense to contact spirits of the dead. I can't wait to see what tomorrow's clue is!

Each project includes beads, which I'm really enjoying. I'm using the crochet method of bead application which is extraordinarily easy. Who knew something so easy could be so beautiful? Kinda like cables--once you find out how they're done you can't believe you avoided them because they looked hard...

I had so much fun choosing beads to go with the projects. The SotS3 called for cool colored yarn with complimentary beads. So, I chose a light sage color with lavender beads. The MS4 called for any color yarn with contrasting beads that would "pop" against the yarn. I chose hot pink yarn with bright green beads--very fun! For the Halloween Stole I have variegated dusty blue yarn with beads that are several different colors--each one is different and they look very pretty with the yarn.

For the SotS3 and the MS4 I'm using one of my favorite lace yarns--Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18 lace yarn that is 50% merino and 50% silk. For the Halloween Shawl I'm using a special yarn spun/dyed especially for the KAL from Zen Yarn Garden. It's called Bellismo Lace and it's cobweb weight--in 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere. Sooooo soft. Honestly, I have never knitted with such scrumptious yarn. We had a choice of a variegated blue, plum or red. I chose the blue.

If that wasn't enough crafting, Girlfriend and I have also gotten into beading jewelry. We took a beginning beading class together at the end of summer and had a really fun time. Girlfriend was the youngest person there by far, but she did really well and everyone fell in love with her. She made two projects that are just wonderful--a bracelet for her and a pair of earrings for me.

I've started branching out and I made a bracelet for a friend who had a birthday last weekend. She told me that she was into red, so I did several types of red for the piece: