Real Men Knit (?)

So I’m browsing Amazon the other day, as I’m wont to do over the lunch hour, and I’m noticing a surprisingly large number of knitting books geared toward male knitters.  Now, I do NOT have a problem with men knitting.  Or crocheting for that matter – there is a very industrious group of guys in Cali that started a non-profit to teach women in developing countries how to crochet – very cool.  What I do find funny though is the titles of some of these books.  If you were a man (or if you ARE a man, whatever) which of these books would you feel most comfortable toting around?  (Assuming you are man enough to knit, that is)

 

·          Son of Stitch ‘n Bitch: 45 projects to knit and crochet for men

·          Knitting With Balls: a hands-on guide to knitting for the modern man

·          The Knitting Man(ual): 20+ projects for guys

·          Men Who Knit & the Dogs Who Love Them: 30 great-looking designs for man & his best friend

 

You picked the dog one, didn’t you?  Admit it… J

Wow, a whole year has gone by...

I’ve been following Vanessa’s, aka Green as a Thistle, blog for just under a year now.  Starting on March 1, 2007, she has spent the last year making one green change to her life every day.  Today was her final post.  I’m both happy for her for achieving her goal, and sad for me and the other readers that her green adventure is officially over.  Her blog was/is both inspiring and humorous and I will miss the daily updates greatly…  Congrats, Vanessa!

 

Just me, quirks and all...

~summer~ tagged me for the “Six Quirky Things MEME.” Oh, gee, let's see... this probably a really not-smart thing to do when I'm feeling all under-the-weather, but oh well...
(Update: yeah, this has been sitting in my "Draft" folder for like 2 weeks now...damn cold!)

The rules are:
1. Link to the person that tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. 4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. 5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So, on to the important stuff - me:
1. I don't know what milk tastes like. I haven't had a glass of milk since I was like, 7, and decided that I hated milk. The one time I tried it since then (around 9 or so) I threw up. I do actually use milk in recipes or on cereal, but I have no idea what it tastes like on it's own.
2. I always put my left shoe on first. No real reason I suppose... It drives me nuts when I try on shoes at a store and they hand you the right shoe. Grrr...
3. In spite of being able to distinguish my left foot from my right foot for the purpose above, I constantly mix up the two directions. I'm left-handed (for writing mainly), so for some reason, "right" seems like it should be the direction of my dominant hand! I haven't had too many mishaps due to this (knock on wood). Also, despite writing left-handed, I throw right-handed. Weird.
4. I was student council president of my high school. Me, the girl that freaks out in public speaking situations. There was no vote - the principal asked who was interested, so the captain of the football team and I flipped for it. I won. Yes, it was an extremely small school!
5. I grew up in a rural area, but I'm afraid of horses. My grandfather "bought" me a horse when I was five (well, I asked for one, so he borrowed one for my birthday), but I got on it...and got right back off. Haven't been on one since.
6. I have craft ADD - I start on a new project, get distracted, start something else...and so on. I am currently knitting, and crocheting, and sewing, and stitching...I have so many WIPs that I could take 5 weeks off from work and still never finish all of them.

OK, now to tag some folks...this is only quasi-random, as I searched for new faces based on my interests. :)
SideShowMom, TJ, CV, Susan Faye, L7, and Ashley.

a mad and faithful telling

Mad and faithful pretty much describes my love for Devotchka!  I just purchased two pre-sale tickets to their upcoming May show at the Slowdown here in Omaha.  Words don’t explain my excitement and love for this band.  Their music makes me feel warm and fuzzy, happy and sad, and surrounded by love.  I could listen to nothing else and be perfectly content.  Sometimes I don’t listen to anything else (ask the poor DH).  No matter what my mood, Devotchka fits the bill.

This tour is to promote their new album “A Man and Faithful Telling” due out in March.  The Omaha date unfortunately falls on a night that the DH’s band has a gig potentially, but I bought two tickets just in case that falls through…otherwise I will find another happy soul to drag along to the show…or go alone.  I’m not a fan of buying extra tickets “just in case” or wasting money in general, but I think it’s well worth it for a Devotcka! show…

 

finally!

Nebraska governor signed into law today Legislative Bill 395, a statewide ban on smoking in public buildings and workplaces.  It’s about time!  Nebraska is behind the rest of the country in so many areas, I’m glad to see we are stepping up our efforts to practice the health and safety of our people (as well as ensure that I have a better bar experience).  Yes, I’m one of those whiney ex-smokers who can’t stand to come home from a bar or concert reeking of others’ cigarettes.  So what?  It’s bad for all of us!  Smoking is a filthy deadly habit.  I understand all about infringing on rights and freedom, but smokers are perfectly happy to ignore the freedom of the rest of us to breathe clean air.  They’re still free to smoke all they want…outside!  It’s about what’s best for the majority of us, not just what’s most convenient for a few.  

 

If you smoke, please consider quitting.  I smoked for years and while I enjoyed every cigarette, I know that giving it up was the best thing I ever did for my health, my appearance, and my wallet.  By not smoking, I was able to fund my 401(k) up to the company match!  I can run for miles, dance for hours, and do yoga without gasping for air… and I don’t smell like an ashtrash…unless I spend a night out at the bar with you.  Give it up – it’s worth it.

pushing my limits

Yesterday was probably the coldest day we’ve had to date this winter… the predicted wind chills in the morning were below -20!  But the cold temps made for clear night skies, allowing for a great view of the lunar eclipse…  I wanted to stay home just to watch (and stay warm), but I trekked across town to dance class anyway…

 

Last night’s belly dance class was taught by the wonderful local dancer Geminia.  Geminia has been on the scene for 30+ years and is a wonderful source for tips and stories…  She’s tons of fun, but also believes in pushing people outside their comfort zone.  She did this to me last night (and because she also picked on ML and I played along, ML was not about to watch my back!)  We’ve been practicing with zils (the little finger cymbals) the past couple of sessions.  Now, I own several pairs of zils (mostly cause I tend to lose them), but as practicing is not my strong suite, I’ve never quite gotten comfortable with them.  Most teachers would give you a few pointers and let you go on your merry way, but Geminia not only refused to let me off the hook, she made me trade zils with her to prove that my problem wasn’t my set of cymbals, but the fact that I was totally not trying to play them right.  Grrr…it was more than a little embarrassing, but I know that it was for my own good.  Ugh.  I guess I will start practicing on my own more…  I really would like to get better, but playing zils involves being loud and being loud makes people look at you!  I’ll get over it… J  Geminia is hard not to like.  You don’t want to like her – she’s outspoken and brutally honest, but what’s really frustrating is that she’s usually right!  I don’t agree with all her opinions, but I respect her experience and wisdom.  And she’s one hell of a dancer!

 

At the beginning of the Jr. League year, the Leadership Academy class spent an afternoon writing out our goals for our Best Year Yet.  One of my goals was to work on 5 new solos, so that I’d have a few to pull out when needed.  I guess I’ll amend that I include one solo with zils…while I feel that it’s still beyond my abilities, I know that I need to push myself to grow as a dancer.  Argh…so much easier said than done!

I'm knitting!

I found the best method for learning to knit.  I bought a book...then handed said book over to my mother, who was visiting for the weekend.  She learned to knit from the book and then taught me. :)  Easy!  OK, so far I've only made a couple of little squares, each one not-so-square in shape and composed entirely of the garter stitch (no purling yet), but still! It's progress.  Thanks Mom!

What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Did anyone see that Gary Coleman got married?  I guess there’s hope for everyone.

 

Knit-wit

Last night after dance class, I attempted to teach myself to knit.  I can’t say that it was a fabulous experience.  My mother gifted me with a Knitter’s Encyclopedia for Christmas, and I picked up a copy of Debbie Stoller’s Stitch n’ Bitch, so I had great instructions.  (I love Stoller’s writing style – I also have her Happy Hooker Crochet book).  This attempt did go much better than the last time I tried to learn – that try lasted about 4 minutes.  This time I managed to double-cast on and stitch a whole row, but I flubbed up when trying to turn and start the second row – the loops were so tight I couldn’t get my needle though… grrrr…

 

Granted, I am just starting to learn.  And I must say that I was warned – knitting is not easy to learn – it takes practice.  I should know from experience – when I picked up crocheting again this year, my first scarf started out as a tantrum in the kitchen with my yarn and hook flung across the room.  But once I got it, I really got it.  It’s not hard to crochet.  Of course, I’m still making hats and scarves…I’m still a newbie in the crochet world, so I shouldn’t expect to knit a sweater on my first time out.  Still, it’s frustrating to learn new things…

 

Why am I trying to knit, you may ask?  Isn’t that an antiquated craft, something our grandmother’s did?  Why, yes.  Yes it is.  It is a time-honored art, perfected by women though out the ages.  And while maybe people turn up their noses at “things women used to do”, I agree with Debbie Stoller’s assessment that those people are anti-feminist.  Just because it’s “women’s work” doesn’t make it bad – we should be proud that our gender developed and honed such an art.  No one makes fun of traditional male activities, like hunting or fishing – in fact, most people are impressed when women pick those up.   So I’m proud and excited to learn a skilled craft that has been passed down through generations of women – and hopefully I’ll soon have some sweaters to show off… Of course, by the time I finish one, it’ll be July, but I’ll be all set for NEXT winter!

Ooh, not looking good for this guy...

First headline on Yahoo! News:

“Spouses Sickness Bodes Ill for Partner’s Health” – discusses the “widow effect”, the phenomenon in which when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse will soon follow.

 

Second headline:

“Bride Dies During Marriage’s First Dance”.  Gee, he doesn’t stand a chance!

 

 

With Love...

ML and I braved the frigid Omaha evening to see “From Shelterbelt With Love 7” at the Shelterbelt Theatre last night…  It was one of the better FSWL I’ve seen (this is the 3^rd or 4^th year I’ve gone…)  This production is typically a collection of short one-act scenes centered around a theme (love, of course).  As always the acting was superb and the house was packed.  Some of my favorite skits included one about a married couple that only spoke in one-word increments – and yet they still managed to have deep and meaningful conversation…  In another, a man who had broken off his engagement calls his ex-fiancé to convince her to forgive him.  He tells her he’s on a plane that is about to crash and only has minutes to live…then she realizes he’s standing outside her window.  Ah, love – it makes you do crazy things, huh? J

 

The rest of my weekend was typical-busy.  Friday night I got in a quick jog after work, then rushed to meet the girls for dress rehearsal.  We performed Saturday night at the Creighton International Banquet.  It is very different to belly dance in front of an international audience – especially the Middle Eastern folks – they don’t react the same way as the typical white-bread Americans.  Different and scary, but still fun. 

 

After the banquet, the DH and I went to The Waiting Room to see a couple of bands with his band mates.  If you’ve never seen Straight Out of Junior High perform live, I highly recommend it – they are hilarious.  The other bands were OK, but the smoke started to get to me…and I was supposed to run in a race Sunday morning…  fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), when we got to the race on Sunday, the race had been postponed due to the wind chill.  While I was happy to not have to run in the below-zero temps, and to have free Blimplie’s, I wish they would have posted this announcement on the website, or emailed/called the participants before we drove 30 minutes to the race!  Oh, well…  Hopefully next weekend it won’t be so frigid…

 

A simple pleasure

I was sitting here, eating my scrambled eggs and warm sourdough bread (oh, how I miss crunchy toast), when it occurred to me that I'd actually met the chickens that produced these eggs I was enjoying.  Well, I didn't meet the chickens, but you know what I mean - I have been to the farm where those hens live.  These particular eggs came from the Kvam farm in Northeast Nebraska and ML and I visited it back in September.  Its a pretty cool feeling, to know exactly where you food has come from...

Happy Saturday everyone...

Awesome headlines

Sometimes I don’t bother reading the stories- the headlines are entertaining enough.  This week I love:

 

5-legged Cat Gets 2 Useless Legs Cut Off  - something just doesn’t add up here…

 

Blind Acupuncturist Takes 2^nd Stab at License – ouch.

 

Guess Who's Comin' to Town???

O.M.G.  This is almost as big as Barack Obama coming to Omaha.  It just might be bigger.  Get this:  Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, is coming to NEBRASKA FURNITURE MART!!!!  I know!  I’m excited, too!

 

Sigh...it's a good first step, I guess

Ted Turner was in Omaha recently for the reopening and renaming of the local Ted’s restaurant (Ted’s Nebraska Grill, formerly Ted’s Montana Grill).  In an interview with the Omaha World Herald, he talks about the importance of sourcing local foods and reducing greenhouse gases…yet, his idea of local food seems to be factory-farmed beef and bison.  The restaurant has teamed up with Omaha Steaks, for Pete’s sake.  If he is such a proponent of Nebraska and local food, why isn’t he looking into grass-fed pastured-raised beef?  There is surely enough of it to source the Omaha restaurant at the very least!  And Ted, who owns the largest bison herd in the country (as well as the largest patch of ranchland), serves his customers the finest grain-fed bison meat from Great Range Brand (their website assures us they test daily for e coli and salmonella – that’s reassuring).  

 

OK, Ted – you can talk the talk.  Local food is important!  Now walk the walk and source real local food from farms and ranchers in Nebraska!

When life hands you a lemon-crème donut...

Most days I eat a nice healthy breakfast – whole-grain or organic oatmeal.  It’s filling and it doesn’t require chewing – a great breakfast for someone with braces! J  This morning however, I was just craving a donut…and as I walked into work, I spied a system engineer carrying a box of Krispy Kremes.  Score!  I selected what appears to be a nice custard-filled glazed…and then I dug in with my fork (yes, I eat almost all normally-handheld foods with a utensil now).   Ew.  It was a lemon-crème*-filled glazed, not custard.  Quite a disappointment.  Oh, well.  I feel slightly disappointed with a lot of foods lately.  I’ve decided that if I am really really craving something, I’d be better off avoiding it, because it’s never going to taste as good as it does in my imagination.  Yes, I’m totally a pessimist.  My glass is not only half-empty, there is also something floating in it.  Sigh…

 

• btw, did you know that if there is no dairy involved, a product cannot be called “cream” and must be called “crème” instead?  Twinkies are crème-filled, for instance.  Just another fun fact I learned while reading Twinkie Deconstructed.

 

I’ve been going nonstop for several days now – it was a busy weekend and has been an even busier week.  It doesn’t look to slow down anytime soon.  Quick recap:  last Friday, we kicked off the weekend with Aurasing’s first Omaha gig.  They played at the Roxbury with other local bands Eyes Catch Fire, the End in Red, and Civicminded.  It was an awesome show – I’m so proud of the DH.  Next they’ll play during the River Concert Series (Feb 13) and then do another Roxbury show, this time with Emphatic and some more local bands (Feb 23).  

Saturday I fought off the next-day effects of too-much wine and we caught a late brunch at the casino before visiting some friends in the hospital.  Two of the Divas and their babies were just floors apart, so it was an easy visit!  Another Diva checks in this week for her delivery.  (With still a couple of babies to come this year in the growing Diva family – needless to say, I’ve stopped drinking the studio water, just in case.)  After the hospital, we caught a matinee showing of There Will Be Blood – an excellent movie, but LONG especially if you are experiencing your first orthodontic problem – my arch wire slipped out of the backmost bracket. 

That night we headed downtown for the birthday party of a coworker’s girlfriend.  It was an interesting party – the soundtrack was provided by whoever was playing Guitar Hero at the moment (so it was either really good or really bad at any given time!)  I must say it was the most professional sounding rendition of “Happy Birthday” I’ve ever heard – a large portion of the guest-list is involved in the local theatre scene and many sing professionally.  Intimidating, to say the least.

Sunday was the Super Bowl of course -  we crowded around the TV at Rafal’s house, and I proceeded to eat as much as I could before my jaw got tired of chewing (this doesn’t take very long, but I made a dent in the garlic bread and chocolate cake).  It was a good game, especially towards the end and the commercials were OK – there were some memorable ones, but I missed the deaf one… L  Will have to catch that one on the Internet, I guess…

This week has been mostly about dance practice – Salome rehearsal on Sunday, Tribal Fusion class on Monday, Angeli Tennebrarum practice and Intermediate class last night… Tomorrow the Salomes will have a quick dress rehearsal at Creighton before we perform at the International Banquet there on Saturday…  We’re still negotiating practice on Sunday, but I have the last class of one session of Tribal Fusion on Monday night, followed by the first class of the next session of that class on Tuesday and then A.T. practice and class on Wednesday…I doubt I’ll get danced out, but phew!  That’s a lotta dancin’! 

 

Tonight I will be helping with the Nebraska Food Coop delivery before heading to a Jr. League Leadership Academy meeting…but first a low-impact confession.  I used the treadmill at the gym yesterday.  The track was full and I was eager to run, so I hopped on an empty machine.  It sucked.  It was really frustrating – I didn’t realize how much my pace fluctuates when I run outside and on the track – I kept running into the bar.  I haven’t used the treadmill since June last year – I gave it up during Crunchy Chicken’s Low-Impact Week.  Since I have a track available when the weather gets bad, I decided it was selfish and unnecessary to waste the electricity using a machine to run.  Last night’s run just reaffirmed that to me – I am back on the track tomorrow…