Inspiration Station

I've decided to call this little corner of my world "inspiration station." You may notice a guitar. I have a guitar now. The good thing about having good student teachers is that they inspire you to stretch yourself. When I had the school guitar home during break I played it daily. When I took it back, I missed having it. It's an unobtrusive instrument that I can slowly get better at.

The course of events that led to the guitar is typical in my life. Insomnia brought "Classic Rock Hits" into my itunes library. A second bout brought the full Beatles collection. A continuing obsession with the song "Blackbird" led to me sharing Bobby McFerrin's version with the student teacher which led to him playing it on the guitar which led to me wanting to play it on the guitar which led to me finding the site Ultimate Guitar (sort of a Ravelry for guitar tabs) which led to me believing that I could actually play the guitar which led to me going to the music store and now there is a guitar in House of Sophanne. Don't count on any crappy YouTube videos but now that I think about it, I may revise the "Dog Album" I was working on from summer of 2007.

Behind the guitar is my yarn stash. I've moved the mangled mess from next to the t.v. chair and put all projects (except the ones I'm working on) in one place. I've "organized" it by yarn type and while it still looks like a cluttered mess to some, and it has the potential of imploding, I like the way it feels.

This book- The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories- volume 1 is on the corner. I saw this story featured on the kottke.org site and it spoke to me. It's put together by hitrecord.org which seems worth investigating, but I haven't yet.



One day before breakfast, an orange rolled off the counter and escaped its fate, bounding happily through the kitchen door. Filled with hope, the egg followed.

This little portion of the bookshelf also holds a great deal of potential- Cookbooks, gardening books, anatomy, Shakespeare, 2 ridiculous yet hysterical books by Amy Sedaris- the possibilities of knowing more stuff is endless. The plastic file folder cabinet also holds art supplies.



The trick to success with inspiration station is to return everything to its cubbyhole when I am done. My ADHD nature tends to push me forward to the next engaging thing leaving a mess that is less than inspirational.

Summer, here I come!

bonus points to the regular blog readers who noticed the obligatory bottle of GiantEagle seltzer right away.

in the works

About a year ago I tried to sew something. I'm sure it was because vanfox or redsilvia had posted some clever garment they had whipped up. When I tried to sew, my machine wouldn't work. I purchased another from the boxstore. I was too frustrated by the time I got it to complete what I was doing. I have yet to use this machine.

Yesterday Mr. Sophanne wanted to go clothes shopping. He and I are the opposite of the rest of the universe. I'd almost rather go to the dentist than have to muddle through overwhelming racks of clothes trying to find something that fits my body and my personality. He, on the other hand, can spend a great deal of time deciding which color and size works best for him. I opted to go to the nearby Joanne's instead. I will be attempting monkey jams sometime this week. I figure if he can spend $30 on a belt, $45 for sewing a pair of pajama bottoms isn't really that much.

Knitting animals is still happening. It's another bear in the works, as yet unnamed. Come to find if I just do a little bit each night I have much more patience when assembling.

Also on the needles (although there's a whole boatload of stuff on needles- this is just the needles that are currently in my hands) is the foreign correspondents scarf. It's interesting enough to keep me engaged and easy enough to memorize. I'm doing it in what once was my tangled yoke cardigan.

That whole blogging more often thing hasn't worked out as I had planned so far. Sewing a pair of pajama bottoms might be just what this blog needs for some laughs.

Pillsbury Dough

It doesn't really matter what form you buy it in- biscuits, french bread, italian bread, pizza crust. It all tastes the same.

I used the pizza dough version tonight- conveniently cut in a mostly rectangle way- easier and a little tastier than ye olde chefboyardee crusts we used to eat in college.

Half of it was pepperoni and mozzarella for the Man Who Doesn't Like Different Tasting Food. He might also be known as the most dramatic bronchitis getter on the planet but there's enough things good about him to love him anyway. Just so you know- he didn't die over the weekend- much to his surprise- but no thanks to me.

BUT... back to the fake pizza- My side had pesto instead of tomato sauce, mozzarella, feta, fresh tomatoes and greek olives. It was delicious and oh so easy (if a little pricey- but I have ingredients left over.)

The Break of Spring is over and the work routine continues tomorrow. I've enjoyed the week of blogging. I'm going to try to stretch my brain enough to "keep 'em coming." I'm considering a series of "Here's what I learned about..." posts. Picking something random and unusual and reporting back. Sort of the Investigative reports from the comfort of my home. I'm sure there's a whole lot of stuff I don't know about. Topic suggestions are welcome. If I don't get any, I'll let serendipity lead the way.

Happy Eastover.

Cousin and Aunt of Sophanne and also Aunt of Sophanne's little Easter Egg Hunt. Can she find this post on her iPad???

eta- she found it!

Knitting for Victory!

Rohn Strong's Kickstarter project Knitting for Victory: America's Knitting History 1916-1945 has been fully funded! I'm looking forward to that book.

Thinking about it got me to thinking about knitting, subterfuge, decoding messages, and foxholes. (I've long since stopped trying to analyze the paths those neurons take and instead just go with it.)

I played with the Google and found a few images that struck me.

Artblogbybobhad some comic book covers I'd never seen before-



The letter says, Dear Mom, The war is like a picnic!.. Today we spent a day at the beach!

I can just imagine secret agent spy-types combing my blog for evidence of subersive activities



HEY TOM! I think we've go something here. She's knitting another bear body. Decode pattern immediately. If you have any trouble, contact Claudia's handpainted or Malabrigo. She says she can't remember the yarn brand. I don't buy it.



This next bit of poster art will make you think twice about blogging-




In lieu of blogging, I better just go out and tend to prepping the garden. Aunt of Sophanne had a Victory Garden. Our Food is Fighting. That phrase in a current context is just so true. Oh how I fight the food.



I knew she was treasonous- she's planting Roma tomatoes!

Whatever the mission is, knitting, gardening, eating, cooking, walking the dog- this popular poster is the one that I like the best. It says it all.



Rohn's still accepting donations extra funds to be used for advertising, promotion, and increasing the initial printing. My thoughts? He's not going to have any trouble selling his book. We've been sold on the idea for years!

Julia

I call her Julia because anytime I try another name, Julia keeps coming back. The sunshine hides my ever improving but not perfect assembly skills. At least I've stopped grinding my teeth during ear placement.

To the River

We took the girl on an adventure. She loves adventure.



This is what my body feels like on a walking adventure. I need a little WD-40



There is a barge on the river.



Wildlife lives along the river. Shortly after this picture was taken, Liza took off believing she could catch up with the deer. It was such a calm deer otherwise, I thought maybe it was a pet of the people walking.



There are unusual ways to take your dog for a walk on the river. Usually Liza gets all primed up when we cross paths with another dog (we always make sure to have her on a leash when we see them coming.) This dog did not register. I just imagine her thinking "that's no kind of dog I understand."



And finally there is the perfect pose at the grass buffet on the river. Every now and then you have the camera at the right time.



I love that dog.

knitnight

Pinkish reddish hues were the theme of knit night and there was plenty of madeline tosh mixing it up. Even my beverage matched the tone but come to find Panera's Acai Berry Tea does indeed have caffeine.



I stopped at the "Fire it Up" place to paint a bowl for my favorite lunchtime Secretary friend- also pink-

In other news there is improvement on the foot front. Not perfection but the wincing and "ow-ing" has subsided. Enough so that I could mop the kitchen and bathroom floor. If Mr. Sophanne had a week off with nothing to do he would have renovated our entire home. I'm pretty happy doing nothing for the most part but I think it gets on his nerves so I try to stick in a make our lives a little better project here and there.

I wish the "always be doing something" mindset weren't such a huge force in my brain. Even when I give myself permission to be doing nothing, the voices in the back say "you think this is all right, but really, it isn't."

Today I made...

Thing 1

A trip to the boxstore for Mayo. Here's what I can tell you about Mr. Sophanne- he's taken great umbrage (ever since Marcia Clark used that word in the O.J. trial, it's been one of my favorites) at the mayo makers.

Mayo with the nifty squirt top is so much more expensive than the jar. Yes, we could save the jar, transfer the mayo, but that will likely not happen. He believes someday someone will patent a squeeze top attachment for an "as seen on t.v." ad.

If you ever meet him in person and you run out of things to talk about, this will be one of them. Just warning you.



Thing 2

The start of a bear from the itty bitty knit books.



Thing 3

Friends with the podiatrist. She gave me a shot. Hear ye Hear ye- those aren't fun and for right now things seem to have gotten worse though I'm told it's the shot that's hurting now and not the actual thing-whatever the thing is. Swollen something.



There's something to be said for an all female workplace. No macho doctor types ordering everyone around. It was just so "chill." When she began the shot procedure she said, "relax" I said, "as if." She said "it won't hurt as much if you do- at least that's what my mother always told me." There was also a joke after I told her I gained 100 lbs after I got married and she said "your husband only weighed 100 lbs?" It's a place that I won't hate going back to if I have to.

Thing 4

A lot of "ow, ow, ow oweee, owee" sounds

Thing 5

Popcorn. With lots of butter. Because nothing is better for an injured paw than buttered poppycorn.



Mr. Sophanne on the other hand, made me a sandwich for lunch, made tracks with the dog and then gave her a bath and made the post-podiatrist dinner- hot on the plate when I hobbled into the door. Man, that guy is amazing. Tonight's bedtime-t.v.time is House so I'm much less inclined to blog about seltzer (although, mayo? really? It's a good thing I write so well.)

Looking into the crystal "make it" ball- I see a yarn store trip, a stop at the casino (for the Mr.'s freeplay) and Sylvia's debut at knit night in the cards for tomorrow.

Just another day

There's my trapeze partner (Mr. Sophanne's granddaughter). O.k. April Fool on the partner business- but that really IS her and we got to see her in action (when the camera wasn't madly clicking) over the December visit. I think I forgot to tell you and remembered as I was looking for a picture to liven up a boring daily post.

Our April Fool's day started out like this-

Me: Don't let anyone trick you today, it's April Fool's Day.
Him: I was going to tell you it was snowing outside but decided not to trick you.

Later at lunch-

Me: I'm going to bake an apple pie today.
Him: (mouth agape staring incredulously above the rim of his glasses) FROM SCRATCH???
Me: April Fools.

In more high-jinx, I finished a pair of alpaca mittens today because who knows who might need a pair in the spring/summer like 60 degree days we've been having. They're darker than pictured- and warmer. Let's call it a start on Christmas 2012.



Honestly? I'd blog about this seltzer bottle to delay the inevitable bedtime t.v. watching of Game of Thrones. Mostly it feels like "man soap opera" to me. Netflix, here I come.