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.

Sylvia

I'll let knitnightGina rearrange her face as she sees fit- I just wanted to see how close I could come. Then she will reside permanently at the home of one of the people on the planet who makes me happiest. (that would BE knitnightGina)

Given that Hippo number 1 is named Milton, it's only right that the next hippo be named Sylvia. (that would be the name of Aunt of Sophanne)

In other news, JelliDonut- one of my favorite not blogging much bloggers-she's more of a tweeter now- tweeted this kickstarter project.

From the project page

Knitting For Victory is a unique look at the extraordinary response to war seen between 1916 and 1945. It's the story of The Production Corps, the knitters, and the soldiers all fighting for victory, in their own way.

Written by essayist and knitwear designer Rohn Strong, Knitting For Victory, will be a beautiful softcover knitting book with more than 12 articles on WWI and WWII knitting as well as 25 updated patterns, for men, women, and children, and the home all in colors classic to that time period. (Yes, I do mean Olive Drab and Khaki!)

I kicked in a couple of dollars because it seems like a cool project. I don't know the guy- there is no reward for me other than I'll get to buy the book but have a look-see if you care to and decide for yourself.

Milton

Neither picture captures his floppy adorableness but here he is nonetheless. Annie asked me if he had a name and said that if I were so inclined, I could name him before sending him. What better name for a protector of new baby than that of a beloved uncle. Now there is Milton the Hippo to keep watch over Glen and Annie's little fella when he arrives.




All personality was created by the amazing Gina. I watched her bring him to life as she added the eyes, nose, and mouth. I also might have figured out how she does it. She loved him so, that I am knitting one for her in the colorful (not blue and black) regia sock yarn. I might even try rearranging her face myself.

In other news, I'm on spring break next week so there's that to look forward to. I hope to spend some of the time reading. The book Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer kept popping up in several of the blogs that I read. I finally took the hint from the universe and began reading it. After about a third of it, I saw nearly everything I've ever intuited about creativity backed by scientific research. What resonates with me the most is the discussion that revolves around the right brain needing time to "stew" to put the big picture together. As Einstein is cited in the book- "Creativity is the residue of time wasted."

Also on the list of things to do is play the guitar. Or pretend to play the guitar. I'm really not very good and my fingers are about 3/4 of an inch shorter than most normal-sized human beings. (even the little ones-human beings-not fingers) The guitar is as counterintuitive to me as anything I've ever tried. Hence the attraction. It's always been there, taunting me.

It just happens that this semester's student teacher has a much better grasp on it than me and unlike the many others I've met who also have that, he doesn't fancy himself a Rock God who has to show off everything he can do better and faster. Instead it's been a "you don't have to feel stupid" exchange of information. This kid got me to pick up a guitar and made me believe I could play it. You better believe that he's going to get an excellent evaluation!

I think I will also try to blog daily, as I don't care for the stilted feeling in my fingers and my brain while I've been composing this post. I'm better at this than this. So these thoughts I will go marinate and we'll see what my frontal lobe puts together.

At last

Something to crack me up. This is Joe. He's friends with Mr. Sophanne. He is a retired shop teacher. He's posing with our lawnmower. Tomorrow he is substitute teaching at a local high school. If the teacher hasn't left any good lesson plans, Joe is going to use our lawn mower as his lesson plan. That cracks me up!



This guy, like the guy he's being made for, isn't quite done yet. If you read my blog and your name is Annie, and you're pregnant, and you have hippopotomi on your crib, then you know that this guy, upon completion is for you! Happy Baby Coming Annie!




For the rest of you- it's from the itty bitty knits book and so far hasn't been too fiddly. You probably recognize the Regia sock yarn- it's doubled on size 5's. Much more user friendly than any other critter I've made.

Knowing my own limitations, this guy is going to knit night where I hope the IncredibleGina- who excels at all things and has a penchant for making sure they look right- will help with eyes, nostrils and mouth. Hopefully I'll get a final product pic- in the meantime, Annie, send me your mailing address!

A snow day... sort of.

Whilst pondering the blog, I realized that one reason posts are so slim this year is because of the mild winter. No snow adventures, no snow days. This could have easily been predicted given that I now have a car that will presumably get me fearlessly where I need to go in the snow.

The politics of school district calendar scheduling and snow days work like this. If teachers get snow days and make them up at the end of the year, the community protests because there is no official "end date" to the school year and because for whatever bizarre psychological reason, those days don't really count and they somehow see the snow days as "free days" for us. (trust me when I say that those days are actually LONGER than any others.)

However, if the school district schedules make-up days- days off within the calendar year pre-scheduled that might become school days (given enough snow days), no one seems to mind that we are getting a day off. In both instances we are working the days we are paid for. There are no real "freebies," but the second option seems to be the more palatable of the two.

So that's why I'm calling today a snow day. Happily the sun is shining and it's quite spring-like.

There are parts of life that have been a little whacked lately. I'm good. Mr. Sophanne is good. Liza is good. There has just been some unexpected whack.

Given that this blog and your blogs have always been a source of entertainment, support, and friendship, I decided that to fight the whack I'd make a little video. I also wanted to share my crazy improving ukulele skills and show you (via the background) that my home is not the perfect clutter free environment I'm sure you've always imagined it to be.

A few technical adjustments were made. I had to wear some long sleeves (my favorite Obama inauguration fleece) lest you be blinded by the sight of me wearing a tank top. I used my mac to record but put it up a little higher than the desktop. Chins are more numerous than they appear in the video.

My apologies in advance to Lyle Lovett- I'm just singing the chorus but I'll remove it immediately if I get a cease and desist order. And so without further procrastination (sometimes when I teach and I'm not sure how things are going to turn out I get like this- delaying the inevitable...)

Hate only harms those that wield it. Thanks for being my blog friends.

Plus de fromage! Plus de fromage!

Just thought I'd start practicing one of my French phrases. More Cheese! More Cheese! "Fromage" was one of those French words that struck everyone in my junior high French class as hysterical.

It occurs to me that I have just enough French to know how much I don't know. I will not be able to understand a word but will be able to distract the unknowing by asking everyone to repeat what they said again and again. Repetez s'il vous plait. Maybe they will just think I'm hard of hearing.

I loved speaking French. I never ever ever thought I'd be in a place where I would get to speak it. Now that it seems I will be, I am inclined to go over the top and buy a Rosetta Stone series for my 10 days in Switzerland. Not practical.

Today after our anniversary dinner I greeted the dog "Mon chien, mon chien!"

Being that I am the person who believes that she can automatically understand every language ever spoken if I just listen closely enough, it will be both immensely frustrating and also hysterical.

Oh the business of living

Sometimes nothing happens. Which makes for good living and for the less creative bloggers- bad blogging. That's where we are. Time for some bullet points.

Tomorrow Mr. Sophanne and I will be married 8 years. Suggestions for anniversary gifts are bronze, salt, linens, and lace. I think we'll maybe just go out to dinner- not wearing the matching Carhart jeans we were wed in because we've both outgrown them. Ah... marital bliss.

On Tuesday I will, in a not so pleasant way, have the opportunity to help make things right with the world. I can't say much more but if you happen to think of me on Tuesday at around 1:30, be sure to send me some powerful fierce large black matriarch vibes, as that is what I'm using to visualize the experience. A few vibes for a good friend would also be appreciated.

Lately I haven't been able to knit my way out of a paper bag. I just haven't been feeling it. These Long Tall Chunky Cabled Mitts have been my go to pattern because I've got it memorized, you can finish a pair in 3 nights and surely someone will need some cabled mitts someday.

I have something going on in my heels (a spur? a pre-spur? a "hey you weigh more than we can carry") that makes walking painful. Given that walking is essential, I've been a little cranky. I've tried the home remedies- (ice and wrapping) to no avail and in 2 weeks will go see a podiatrist. THere is great irony in this for me. When I was young (21ish) I was asked out by a podiatrist. We went on a date. I thought the chosen profession of podiatry was hysterical. Now, not so much.

We are going to Switzerland this summer. Mr. Sophanne's son and family have been living there for the past 2 years and will be there for another year. We will be staying in a Swiss chalet with a porch that looks out onto the Matterhorn. I imagine as the adventure comes closer, I will be thinking about more than just the 8 hour flight on an airplane. For now that's really all I can imagine and it just doesn't sound as exciting as it should to me.

The herb bed has been cleared, moldy mulch has been removed and given that it's too early to plant anything (which is a good thing) there is time to ponder the possibilities. My inclinations this week are to keep the ones that come back, get basil plants for summer snacks, and do the rest in various types of lavender. I love lavender. Is there anything that you love more than basil and lavender? Maybe I should know about it.

video editing and cute puppies.

Is a time suck like nobody's business. Especially when you're skills are at a kindergarten level.

Mr. Sophanne has a big video idea and plan for his railroad. He even got a few days of release/company business time to go forth and videotape. He wanted a promo to show the bosses what he had in mind. He volunteered my pathetic skills for the editing. It took a lot of knitting time.

Also on the agenda for the weekend was assisting Aunt of Sophanne with her new iPad2.Here's what I can say about that. When you look at technology through the eyes of someone who skipped from a basic PC to an iPad2, it can feel quite overwhelming.

She's hooked up with Netflix, Safari, email, and the apple text app. She'll be exploring the rest of everything through the week but is connected enough that I will be able to help over the phone.

When I left we had just done a YouTube search of "cute puppies." She will soon know how the "new" internet doth suck one in!

Win for the House of Sophanne!

Hey Beauracracy! Bring it on! (knocking on wood)

Let me share the evidence-

County taxes paid- check
Notarized drivers license replacement form at the bank- check
Replacement license from the DMV- check
Registered and received lab work at the hospital- check
Picked up prescriptions- check
Received car license renewal in the mail- check

Mr. Sophanne did the first one- the last four were accomplished WITHIN THE TIME FRAME OF ONE HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES..... wait for it.... AFTER SCHOOL!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a new world record.

knit night comes through again.

Just when I thought my knitting life was becoming a long chain of blogless ripping of knitted items, knit night comes through.

I could blog about the guy in "my seat" at knit night. Undaunted, as he was surrounded by no less than nine knitters, he held his ground and became an audience member to the knit night play for nearly two hours.



There's knitnightMarc's crocheted amigurumi (is that redundant?) bear. On any other night, it would probably get top billing. It's adorable and I know I will be trying this once all knitting hope is lost (we're getting close to that-just saying)



Or I could blog about the joy that a ukelele/ipad combination brought to KnitnightJustine. Would that the camera had been ready when the uke first appeared.

She suggested that I wouldn't be getting either back that evening. I told her I could part with the uke for a day or two but it would be a deathmatch for the iPad. KnitnightMarc said "somewhere Steve Jobs is smiling." And I said "and Tiny Tim is twitching a little." where but here can you have Steve Jobs AND Tiny Tim referenced in the same blog post?



Also blogworthy is the result of Ceramic Thursday. I am pleased with my bowl. Mr. Sophanne, though he hadn't seen his yet, instructed me to purchase mini-reese cups and york peppermint patties so that he could show off his work at the train station today. So, while he might not want to do it again, there was some pride in the finished product. I'll share that once he brings it home.



Or, I could just snap one picture and say "figure it out."

Knit night field trip

Last night knit night had a field trip. We went to Fired Up in Canonsburg. Mr. Sopanne and Mr. KnitnightGina joined us. Mr. Sophanne and I painted ceramic bowls for ice cream or cereal.

Mr. Sophanne painted his so that it inadvertently looked like Chim Chim's hat. (the monkey from the Speed Racer cartoon) He believes that he could slip it into and archeological dig in Australia and it would be identified as traditional aboriginal art.



Mine is blue gray with swirly gwirlies on it. I forgot to take pictures.

Of course the excitement of the evening was the fact that the Mr.'s came. Now there are faces to put to names in the story.

The interesting part to me was observing and learning about men. I know how women make friends. I know how men and women make friends. I had never really seen two men meet and make friends for the first time. I can't decide if Mr. Sophanne was making conversation or cockadoodledooing. It felt like a little of both.

I'm sure that part of it was that he was immersed in a "less than masculine" (in his mind) activity and had more women than men around him. On the way there he told me that his brother suggested that he "tell her you're going to make an ashtray and start smoking if she makes you go."

It was fun to take a little step into the unknown. Our bowls will hopefully be done by knit night next week which will make for a much more exciting post. And our field trip catalyst (KnitnightTara) is already planning our next adventure which may or may not be a 2 hour archery class. Everyone should have a KnitnightTara in their lives. She's the one who says "someday we should....", and once everyone agrees in principle, says "let's do it on Thursday next week."