Purl Side of the Moon

Around Your Feet

It's Friday!  We have a special guest visiting this weekend...Chappy's Mom, (aka Deb) is meeting us at Liz's house for the weekend and of course Chappy will be coming with her. Can you imagine, 4 dogs, two cats, three knitters/spinners, and a brave husband stuck with us all, under one roof.  This should prove to be an interesting...but oh so fun weekend!

Once again, I haven't downloaded all my pictures; So let me just go ahead and tell you about my latest obsession.  SOCKS!  What? What's new about that? Like you haven't witnessed all the sock yarn I hoard...wait a minute...I think you have missed a few latest purchases...Hmmm...you will have to wait for the pictures.  I might have to pull a Wendy and prove that I didn't need to take my obsession to another degree of insanity by showing you a picture the mass amounts of sock yarn that I have hoarded in almost every crevice of my house.  Surely if I did such, my friends--led by my husband--would plan an intervention session.

But you see, it has taken a step in another direction...enough to make me buy and try several yarns and more needles to keep all my "swatches" on.  WHAT...SWATCHES?...FOR SOCKS?????  Yes, now you know it's gotten bad. I've made a zillion swatches as of now...OK...maybe 5...but here's who you can blame...and this is what for...

That sock is Eunny's self-designed "Chuck's Cabled Sock."  I might as well start myself on medication now, because I've definitely on my way to being certifiable.  I absolutely loved these socks from the moment she put this picture up. Then she wrote it up and and made it available.  Lord how I love Pay Pal AND Eunny. Fair Isle and cable on double pointed needles, with sock yarn.  Hellllllo Betty Ford. Actually it isn't that hard...I have just been having a hard time with my choices of yarn, colors, gauge of yarn, yaddy, yaddah...Well you know there really isn't that much out there in solid sock yarns...and though she used Baby Ull for part of this...I don't quite trust that it will stand up to heel wear. (Anybody made socks out of Baby Ull?).  Then I had to decide on color...Oh lord. But I did have a pretty good supply of great solid colors in Lorna's Laces.  Then do I use a subtle variegated background for a "stained glass" effect with a solid cable?...Ooohhh that opened up a lot of possibilities. 

So after finally deciding on two solid colors of Lorna's to go together...On size two's as suggested ( I usually knit Lorna's on 0's or 1's) I start knitting away and I am having a great time of watching it all appear under my needles.  But when I went to try it on after a couple repeats, my fear of how fine Lorna's is compared to a lot of sock yarn was confirmed.  Then I tried a swatch using looser tension...Boy did that look fugly.  Then I went and bought some Louet Gems Opal...sportweight, bigger gauge...Which produced a fair-isle cable sock fabric that would make me look like I'm wearing Uggs.  It was beautiful...but way too thick for my taste. Plus, I really didn't like that the Gems Opal has very little give or spring. It's like knitting with cotton!

Hrumph...I almost felt defeated and might of had to resorted to using my brain cells to redesign the pattern to make the Lorna's work.  Ah, but I gave it one more shot ... I tried the Lorna's on size 3's. ( I worked the cuff in 2's) Never in a million years would I have thought it would work on 3's being so thin...ah, but it's working!  It is a very, very slow progression, but I'm working on a little-bit each night.

But then enters Moth Haven and her ARRRgyles.  Damn it!  What the hell?  Dude, haven't I already got the weight of the world on my shoulder's with the Chuck's?  Do I really need to add intarsia knitting to it all. Yep, when she added this little character to the design!  I was just fine only contemplating argyles before she went and did that.  Bloody hell, mate...my quest for more solid sock yarn has begun again! Needless to say, another fricken color combo to decide on!

Oh...and right before the argyle mess, I desperately wanted to try this little number...just for fun...Pink Lemon Twist's Hod Rod socks.  These just seem so cool and fun!  (BTW, go look and congratulate her on her new puppy! It is absolutely adorable!) 

My problem now...My plans for the colors I have or wanted to pick for all three is all in the same range.  Guess I'm still going to have to hurt my brain on coming up with some more solutions!

Scream Thy Last Scream

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know.  But...SNAKES ON A PLANE!

I actually have been knitting like my hands are on fire...But sorry, no camera with me to post all that has been going on. So I'm going to post about another person's post.  Well sort of, and it might require a little bit of background unless you are fully aware that there are "Snakes on a Plane!!!!"

Hmmm....Still don't know where this is going or what the fuss is about?  Well I would never be able to tell it as well as Miss Crazy Aunt Purl. You...MUST... Read...This!  Her post absolutely cracked me up! Though I laugh like a madwoman at most her posts, this one had me laughing hysterically.   You see the, "Snakes on a Plane" (or SoaP) phenomenon is pretty prevalent on the East Coast too. Furthermore, It has been firmly embedded into my vocab as well. I love it. What a classic phrase! 

Here in DC there have been billboards everywhere for this movie...On buses, metro stops, bus stops and a huge billboard taking up an entire side of a tall building next my office too! It is impossible to not look at that phrase and just think "How absurd!" and envision a bunch of people in the air, stuck on a plane, screaming out of their minds, as snakes slither and fill up the plane. Ahhhh haaa haa! 

To get descriptive, my half-sane and twisted mind envisions it like a sick 5th grade drawing:

A vision of a huge plane flying through the crayoned in sky ("sky blue" crayola of course and don't forget the big yellow sun drawn into the corner of the page!), big fluffy clouds...Then you see stick figure people...Heads and arms flailing out of the little port windows (Yes, I know it's impossible, but heh, it's my imagination!), big O's for their screamin' mouths, hair standing up on end, some with little crow-foot squinting eyes to show the intensity of their screams, a bit of red to their skin to show how much the are freaking out, two dots for fang bites and blood drops, of course.

Then you have snakes crawling everywhere taking over the plane, both on the inside, coming out of holes, cracks and windows, and even defying science and slithering on the outside of the plane.  If you were drawing it like a comic strip...You know there is some idiot running up down the isles pulling his hair out...One person locked in the the little stalled bathroom not noticing the deadly Black Mamba coming out of the sink...Another crouched in a seat and defending himself from rattle snake bites with his brief case...Oh, and yes, you would have the one Chuck Norris-like guy that would be swinging two Copperheads, one in each hand, like they were nunchucks and then killing them by smacking them upside the overhead compartments.  Yeah, my imagination runs wild with this one....But  what are you going to do?...There's motherfu**in' Snakes on a motherfu**in' Plane!

Ah, yes, it's the simple things that keep me going.  Also my friends that know it and only feed my need of absurd humor.  This is the picture I got emailed to me at work yesterday from my buddy Allen and his dog Kona! The streets of DC are no longer safe...Snakes on a Plane!

Now, if you aren't already in the know...and need still more information to understand why this movie has created such a big buzz and a whole cult following already, then go here and  read this primer and join the rest of us pop culture geeks.

Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Syd Barrett

1946-2006

As I happily walked out of a local record shop first thing in the morning with the long awaited Pink Floyd PULSE DVD (A DVD version of their 1994 concert at Earls Court), I returned to my desk to find out that Syd Barrett, co-founder of Pink Floyd, had passed away due to complications with diabetes. I was stunned and suddenly saddened. **

If you are at all familiar with the band, you know that Syd was a brilliant and talented genius...but also led a rather tragic life. Syd and Pink Floyd were one of the original pioneers and shepherds of the British Underground music scene.  After the band was discovered in 1966 and started it's great road to success, he started having a mental breakdown and became one of the generation's first "acid casualty." By 1968, Syd could no longer handle being the front man of Pink Floyd, and David Gilmour had to step into that role.

One of the most infamous Pink Floyd songs is "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".  This song was written for Syd and showed the remorse that the band felt for the loss of not having him continue on their journey.  (There are many other songs acknowledging Syd to this day, but this one is the most famous tribute to him.)  Syd slipped into a reclusive life, never to recover again. The band has never forgotten him and continue to sing SoYcD at every concert and acknowledge his tremendous influence on them and their music style that they carried on. Syd was a true rock legend.

On another sad note, today marks another loss of another legend that rocked.  Two years ago today I lost one of my best friends, Darryl (AKA D-Man).  He was unexpectedly ripped from mine and my fellow amigos lives.  D-Man, you are missed so much, but I know you are up there with Syd shining on and laughing like madcaps!

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond (I-V)"
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

**  In a very weird moment of blog zen, it seems Wendy and I both thought of each other at the same time when we heard the news about Syd--Wendy, if you didn't know, is also a Floydian.  We evidently heard the news at the same time and while I was on her blog typing a comment about Syd, she was on mine doing the same thing.  Psychedelic.

You've Been in the Pipeline, Filling in Time

What has been going on in my life...

1.  All things puppy.  Banjo no chewing...Banjo go potty...Banjo quit jumping...Banjo quit barking...Banjo sit...Banjo quit...Good Boy...What do you have in your mouth...Do you have to go outside...Banjo leave Marley alone...Banjo, want to go for a walk......Banjo no barking...Banjo, no swimming in your water dish...Banjo do you ever sleep...

I swear he's been a handful.  I know Marley was never this active as a pup, or maybe I'm just not remembering... but he's so damned cute, it's all worth it.

2. We went to the beach to visit Mom & Dad...And introduce Banjo to his family.   Of course, his favorite family member happened to be of the same species and type as him.

They had a blast, as you can tell by the blur.  This "blur of fur" traveled continuously all over the house pretty much the entire trip...

Marley was definitely happy Mickey was so willing to be a detraction. She enjoyed her vacation catching up on some peaceful rest:

3.  I've seen more rain and water than I ever want to see again in my life.  Mother Nature made our trip home from the beach an adventure story due to all the washed out roads.  Alexandria ended up being one of the areas hardest hit.  We finally got home at 3 AM to find that Jeff's shop was flooded, our house was safe (that night) but when I checked on Allen's basement for him since he was at the beach, I found 4 inches of water in the entire basement.  We had to spend the remaining wee hours of the morning bailing.  And as all of you probably heard, the rain just didn't stop, for over a week. In between swabbing duties, we were designing plans for building an ark. It could have been worse...Lots of my friends ended up having sewage backup on top of the flooding. Who thought that just plain flooding would be such a silver lining.

4. I've managed to convince my work to pay for a very expensive course at Georgetown Law Center for me!  Woo hoo! 

5. I had a birthday! Which was celebrated with good friends...

About 5 hours after this photo, the Earth's rotation sped up to the point that I couldn't keep up with it.  All the booze I ended up drinking, just didn't seem to help me walk balanced and straight.

6. I won some yarn!  My entry in Susan's hilarious photo caption contest proved that I am a yarn whore and willing to do or say anything for yarn. But oh, what beautiful yarn (and stitch markers) it is!  Silk...Wool...Ah!  Thanks Susan & Boogie!

7. Lost my mind...Really...Here's proof: