3.28.2007

Counting sheep...er blogs


I have been thinking about moving to wordpress, but was having trouble posting. For some reason ,my posts were disappearing into thin air or cyberspace. Who knows they might be in outer space! So, I am using both blogger and wordpress ,until I feel ready to make the move to wordpress permanently. Chris from http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com dropped by and left a welcome message. Thanks! I don't think she knew that it was me...then again, Chris knows all the news in the knitting world! Want to know about the latest blog contests , blog news or need a book recommendation visit Chris and say "Hi" to chaos and mayhem..what? Just go visit! I decided I needed a name change for my blog too! The posts for each blog site is different or a variation on a theme and there are links to all you wonderful regulars under the Blogroll, with plenty of room for more! I'll post a last message here before I move on to wordpress for good. Still time this evening for a little knitting. I'm outta here!

3.20.2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Who can resist colorful birthday balloons!
Today is my birthday and so far it's been wonderful! I love that it's on the first day of Spring! It's one of my favorite seasons, Autumn being my most favorite! I think anyone having a birthday should shout it out to the world, so we can all celebrate your special day with you! To all of you having a birthday today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MAY YOUR WHOLE YEAR BE SPECIAL!!! Leave a comment if it's your birthday. I'll visit and wish you well!

Post surgery, books and...

I have a bad case of spring fever! (what's a post without a picture!)
In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) Will never read
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) Ditto
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) Still no!
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15.+ Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger) (read twice)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. *Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) (read all of them!)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) (IDK if I want to read this)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) (saw the movie)
33.Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. *The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40.* The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella) (won't read)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom) (not likely to read)
45. Bible (Only what was assigned in sunday school and confirmation classes)

46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. *The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) (in H.S. for a class)
53. *Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) (saw the movie)
60. *The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) (never read it/probably never will)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) (never again!)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. *One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares) (not likely to read)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) (read it in H.S. french class)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) (4x's favorite childhood book!)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen) (saw the movie)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. +The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch) (saw the movie)
98.* A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)


Hmm... I watch to many movies (not complaining!). I say from the list above that I read to many books, but in truth, one can never read too much!!! I said in a previous post, I wouldn't do too many of these, but I couldn't resist this one! I just might have to make up one for knitters and see how many knitting books are on people's shelves or one related to yarn. I'll have to think about it for a while.


My knee surgery went well. The surgeon took care of that mean old meniscus tear and I was only on crutches for 3 days. I didn't need to take too much pain medication after the surgery. Overall, it wasn't a bad experience as surgery goes. Right now my knee is stiff and I'm icing it, but still , I can feel a difference from pre-surgery status. The only bummer was the surgeon told me I have arthritis in my knee and down the road (I'm hoping years from now) I'll need a partial or full knee replacement... for the moment things are good. So, I'm not asking for more!


I lasted for one round of Sock Madness. My surgery prep and surgery kind of clashed with the start of the competition, but I did pretty well for my own personal record! I actually knit a sock in one day! That's a record for someone who usually makes a sock in a week. It took longer to get the second one done and that cost me the round. Win or lose, I still get the newly designed patterns. This makes me a happy camper! I'll post some pics of the socks a little later.

Have a great day, enjoy the sun!

3.10.2007

Sock Madness, Mad cow and Meniscus...

One of these things is not like the others, but all the items listed in my blog today have one thing in common...knitting or not knitting well! I joined the Sock Madness competition and it's going to be a fun! We got the first pattern this a.m called Mad Cow. I can't say anything else about the pattern except that it's done in two colors. Here is a picture of the yarns I'll be using.



The varigated yarn is from knitpicks in a color called Sock Garden and the solid is wildfoote's Lullaby. Both are 50 gram skeins. The fun thing about this competition is even though I may be eliminated, I will still receive all seven original patterns! So, even if I lose, I win! This first round is a timed one and the first 16 competitors from each team to post their socks on the flickr group will advance to the next round. I'm a team member of Nancy Bush's traditional knitting. Each team is named for a well known knitter/sock designer. My weapon of choice: magic loop and top down. Wish me luck! I'll need it. I'm not the fastest knitter on the planet!

The sock you see on the left was the current sock to keep me busy while waiting for sock madness to begin. It's a simple self-striping sock in spring colors done in a basic pattern I found at: http://www.chicknits.com/socklove.html These are bare bone directions, but clear and easy to follow. Actually, at this point, I could knit basic socks with my eyes closed! The basic directions are like a security blanket for me. 8-D So, for now until the madness ends, these socks have been banished to the Stash.

In the mood for something medical...
I said that the items in my post today were all related by knitting. The fact is my knee is not knitting together! Boo Hoo... I had an MRI done about two weeks ago and met with the surgeon, who has now become my surgeon. I have a horizontal tear in my right medial meniscus with effusion (no, I'm not cursing at you...just fluid in the knee). It will not heal by itself, so I will be having arthroscopic surgery this Friday to fix it. Here's what a picture of a normal knee and a torn meniscus looks like (always need pics in a blog..lol) The picture on the right is normal knee anatomy with a nice smooth intact medial meniscus. A tear can cause the knee to lock or be unstable. I'm of the unstable variety and every so often my knee gives out. The tear you see in this MRI picture (not mine) is what a horizontal tear looks like. The surgeon feels it will be an simple repair and many people are up walking on crutches one to two hours after they wake up from surgery. Well that's nice Doc, but I'll also take that ice pack and the percocet Rx (or whatever they give for pain these days) thank you very much! Now for the good part..11 days home from work and LOTS of knitting! Anyone not a knitter reading this must be thinking I touched in the head, but that's how we knitters think and I know I'm not alone! Thanks to everyone to who has sent me well wishes since I started this topic. You're all the BEST!

Have a great weekend !!!

3.04.2007

137movies and counting...







This is a non-knitting post. I love movies and have since I was a child. It states below that if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Believe me, if this were true, I'd win the award for no lifer of the century! The list below doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the number of movies I've seen in my lifetime, thus far! I thought I'd add brief comments or my reactions to some of the movies to make it more interesting! Try this quiz yourself or save it for a rainy day, when your lacking a topic for a post! I'm trying to post more regulary. Also in over the time, I've had a blog, this is the first quiz of this type I've done!

It’s been said that allegedly if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, change the header adding your number, and post it.

A lot of these are horror or science fiction movies. I watch a variety of genres. So, maybe sometime in the future, I'll have to come up with a more varied list or even do one for indie movies. I took this quiz from http://short-n-craftysista.blogspot.com thanks!


(X)Rocky Horror Picture Show -Saw it during a summer in N.Y. When friends found out I hadn't seen it, They took me to a midnight showing with props and all. While waiting, to get in I thought I was being indoctrinated into some strange cult! It turned out to be a blast and actually ended up seeing it 4x that summer!

(X)Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
() Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest. I love johnny Dep, but once was enough
( ) Boondock Saints
() Fight Clu
() Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
(X)The Princess Bride
()AnchorMan
(X) Napoleon Dynamite: I've seen this a few times/funny movie!
(X) Labyrinth
(X) Saw -suspense and surprises
() Saw II - Oh no, I couldn't bear to see the sequel !
(X) White Noise
(X ) White Oleander
() Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries -Cute!
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far:12 out of 22.
(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
(X) Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1 - YES, I admit it, I'm a harry potter fan and have read all the books and seen all the movies. Can't wait for the next ones!
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
(X) Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer - I do want to see this one. Just haven't gotten around to renting it!
(X ) Little Black Book
(X) The Village ..and I was the idiot to rent this one. really bad. Actor talents wasted!
( )Lilo & Stitch

Total so far:24 out of 43.
(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs - This M. Shamylan movie was better than The Village, but...
(X)The Grinch - Now who hasn't seen it...I'm talking animated not Jim carey
(X) Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Too scary . I switched channels after the first 15 minutes and If I'm ever stuck on the side of the road, you can bet I won't be walking into any condemned looking house or going with anyone who looks like they haven't had a bath in a year! (just a helpful travel tip).
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - What did I just tell you? Stay away from scary looking farmhouses!
() White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect I was glued to this movie, but in the end my thought was...huh?
() 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot - I love me some Will Smith!, Oh ya the movie...lots of action!
(X ) Robots - very cute! Tho, I think adults would get more of the humor!
(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story- Had no desire to see this when it hit the movie screens, but saw it on HBO and laughed my ass off in some spots. Has anybody seen it..the movie not my ass, believe me I found that!
(X) Universal Soldier - Jean claude ...sigh. The movie was okay
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events - still in the wrapper. I'll save for a rainy day when my neice visits and we need a movie
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents - I liked it better than the sequel
(X ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong - too long and just alright. There were some good moments...

Total so far: 38 out of 66. YIKES

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal. Sounded too claustrophobic for me.
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber I watched this for about 30 minutes and had to change the channel..ugh. What a waste of celluloid. This was even a movie to knit by.
( ) Dumber & Dumberer - I didn't even think about seeing the sequel. Please readers, tell me you didn't do it!
(X) Final Destination ok, ok I watched it..my excuse? good movie for knitting!
( Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
(X) The Ring The japanese versions of both 1 and 2 was much better and more suspenseful.
(X) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
() Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
(X) Ghost Ship
( X) From Hell Johhny Depp was good in this movie. Alittle bloody tho..had to peek between my fingers at time. Damn, I dropped the knitting a few times during this one!
(X) Hellboy- fun comic book movie!
(X) Secret Window - suprise ending!
(X) I Am Sam - had my tissues for this one. I have to say Sean Penn was pretty good (I'm not usually a fan of his movies) and dakota fanning a cutie.
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 50 of 90.

(X) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street - earned my 2 nighlights and a "no doze "or pot of coffee rating. There'll be no dreaming in this house tonight.
(X) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(X) The Grudge - I sound like a scratched CD,but the japanese version was better!
( ) The Grudge 2 -
(X) The Mask
(X) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
(X) Joy Ride - I liked this one. Here's another travel tip: Don't be scamming the truckers on the CB radio when you get bored. Play the usual in the car games like licence plate or looking for certain brands of cars. You'll still be bored as hell, but you'll live to tell about it!
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean’s Eleven lots of eye candy, but the movie..
( ) Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity eye candy and action . who could ask for more!
(X) Bourne Supremecy- ditto
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled- no, no, no. This movie is good for 90 minutes of steady knitting!
(X) Predator I
(X) Predator II This time the sequel was better than the original!
(X) The Fog. It's okay
(X) Ice Age - very funny watch it with or without kids!
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George

Total so far: 68 out of 121.

(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
(X) A Bronx Tale - crime movie. Well done
(X) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine - be nice to your car or it won't be nice to you.
(X) E.T. Seen this one a few times!
(X) Children of the Corn another travel tip Stay out of weird towns. Get recomendations from your friends and STAY out of the cornfields. No good has ever come out of walking or running for your life out of cornfields, except in that movie with Kevin Costner...
( ) My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour - Funny the first time around
(X) Rush Hour 2 - I didn't take my own advice on sequels!
( ) Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days - I don't need a movie for this one!
(X) She’s All That
() Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
() Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon - The best part of this movie.. The end!
() Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China. I loved this movie. It was fun! I found it as a rental .It's an older movie with Kurt Russell.
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3 I didn't bother. I was terminatored out by then.

Total so far:84 out of 147.

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
( ) X3 x1 +x2 does not = x3.
X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
(X) Jeepers Creepers- Travel tip Don't go looking for trouble. Just dial 911 and then drive the hell out of town and don't stop until you reach your destination. Also, don't drink any liquids cuz you can drive without stopping so often. And another thing...get your car checked and serviced BEFORE you hit the open road. Nobody ever has the part you need in creepy towns and there's no way out!
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
() The Little Mermaid
() Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
(X) The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
() Shrek 2
Total so far: 100 out of 165.

() Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(X) The Notebook - See it and have tissue ready
(X) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
(X) Ice Castles - politics in skating for dummies for the rest of you its just a movie
(X ) Boogeyman - I still don't like leaving my closet door open or let my feet dangle over off the bed. It's just a precaution..
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X ) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
() Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 110 out of 181.


( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel - Travel tip not all hostels are the same. check em out carefully. I only saw a trailer of this at the movies. It was enough to know I would be passing on this one
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( )House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(X) Highlander
(X) Mothman Prophecies again , I say huh?
(X ) American History X This was a powerful movie, that still gives me chills, when I think of certain scenes, one in particular...if you've seen this movie. I bet it the same scene.
( ) Three
( X) The Jacket
(X) Kung Fu Hustle
( )Shaolin Soccer
(X) Night Watch Ewan Mcgregor is in this. Need I say more.. It's a thriller with Nick Nolte,patricia Arquette, Loren (gilmore girls) and josh Brolin. It's pretty good and you can knit at the same time.
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
() Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard

Total so far: 119 out of 200.

( ) High Tension
() Club Dread
(X) Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
() Hook
(X ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later - This was not the one with Sandra Bullock (drucg/alcohol rehab). It's the sci-fi movie movie about a virus that causes rage. It was really well done and Cillian Murphy was great. I'll tell you one thing, 28 days later ...the last thing you be thinking about is drugs. Tho you might wish for a drink or 20..
( ) Orgazmo
(X) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld This movie was water logged This would be rated a 4 skein movie. Lots of knitting to be had!
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 2
() Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( X) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes - only saw a trailer for this one and I'm telling you all the above travel tips should be heeded to avoid a shortened life span.
() I Spit on Your Grave -
( ) The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness

Total so far: 126 out of 220.

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace - The star wars movies are check your brain at the door fun. It doesn't hurt that Ewan Mcgregor is in ep. I, II, and III!
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
( ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(X) Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon - scary - too close to real life possibility!
(X) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal

Total: 137 of 239
Surgeon general's warning:On second thought... don't do this to yourself. You'll get a migraine.
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