Goodmorning, Monkey!

How was YOUR Valentine's Day?

No-Purl Monkeys
Size 2 DPNs
Socks That Rock Lightweight: Red Rock Canyon

Love you, Monkey!!

ASSumptions: Neither Practical Nor Romantic

Today I did my best to wreck Valentine's Day. I assumed that the man I married was as much of a romantic slacker as I am, and I opened my mouth and let it get the best of me. The morning news was doing a report on how you can still get flowers on Valentine's Day, how it's not too late, but how you'll have to go to the store and get them yourself, how it's too late to get flowers delivered anywhere... Being sassy and presumptuous and trying to give my man an out, I quipped to the television, "Yes, but you'll have to pay faaaaar out the ass for them, and they just die in a few days." And then I turned to my loving husband on Valentine's Day and said, "You don't have to get me flowers today. Get them for me some other day when they're charging regular prices."

What I did wrong: I assumed that, like me, he had not already prepared for Valentines Day. I assumed that whatever he might do for me would be done on the way home from work today because that is my plan. I assumed that I needed to protect myself from the disappointment of not getting flowers on Valentine's Day. I assumed that he would appreciate a Get Out of VD Free card because I'm sorta wishing I had one. I forgot that, in times of gift giving, one should keeps ones mouth shut because one never knows what they might be putting a damper on.

What I did right: Marry a man that knows that sometimes there's a difference between what my mouth says and what my heart wants and needs. I married a man that loves me the way Kate Nash wishes someone would love her:



I wish that you knew when I said two sugars,
Actually I meant three

I said no flowers because I wanted to make his life easier, not because I didn't want them. And I got them, and suddenly I am having a wonderful Valentine's Day. With the exception of my acting like an ass, this is a perfect balance.

I love you, Buddy.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone. Try to keep your mouth shut. You'll be fine.

Numbers

2/3/2008...Date of most recent 10k run.


01:10:29...Amount of time it took me to run that 10k.


00:02:15...Number of minutes faster than the last time.


554...Number of females who beat me.


28...Number of females in my age group who I beat. (The rest must have overslept)


53...Number of degrees it was that morning. Which feels like -16 to LA natives.


749...Miles Per Hour of wind gusts.


137...Miles Per Hour of wind between gusts.


856,709...Number of raindrops that fell on my head during the race.


1...Number of hand knits worn in race. In the form of hat.


19...Number of minutes by which Senor beat me. (Yay, Senor!)


2...Number of free t-shirts added to Fuerte household. That's 0.16 shirt per mile.


2...Number of free beers given to each of us at the end of the race. Rad.


6.4...Number of pounds lost so far in 2008. That's 3.39% so far.

Where Have You Been, Young Lady?!

I've been right here, yo! Knitting my butt off*, like I'm supposed to be doing, right? I haven't been working on the projects I should be... but who determines what I should be doing anyway? My own conscience, I guess. Damn that cricket!!! Always making me feel guilty for making good progress on "other" things.

My design project (what I "should" be working on) is progressing slowly. Slowly because I have re-fallen in love with sock yarn. I finished one pair of Monkeys and immediately cast on the next pair.


MONKEY 1.0: Fly*Super Monarch in Raspberry Latte; size 2 dpns; a Valentine's Gift for my mom (they're a little small on me)

Here they are doing a little ballet. I never did have the feet for it...


The moment the ends were woven in, I wound up a ball of Socks that Rock lightweight in Red Rock Canyon-- which I purchased in Toronto at Lettuce Knit (it's famous yarn!)-- and cast on a pair of No-Purl Monkeys...


Losing the purl loses nothing for me in the overall effect of the pattern.

And the benefit is that with the added speed of not having to move the yarn around for the purls, I have a sock and a half in 4 days. Unheard of for me. I'd consider this a Hyperknit, wouldn't you Senor?

And I love this colorway!! Go get you some Red Rock Canyon and get HYPER!!!

*an oxymoron, wouldn't you say?

I Can Do It Myself!

I get the impression that, as a kid, I said those words a lot. Now as an adult, I think them all the time but rarely say them. I still believe that I can do almost anything by myself and for myself... but I so rarely get the chance simply because I am not an island in this world. I have people, thank goodness, and help is there, it is offered, it is helpful. But what about when you get that feeling that you can do something yourself, and you don't want to share credit or blame? How do you exercise that independence muscle in a life where there are people to help you? You turn them away and risk hurting feelings, or you find an activity that is just yours and run with it.

Knit.

I do have knitting friends, only 2.5 real life knitting friends, and only a few more virtual knitting friends. We enjoy discussing our projects, showing off our finished projects, and checking out the softness of each other's yarn choices. But it's not full emersion. It's not elbow to elbow knitting. Part of me wishes that more of my people were knitters. But in this particular case, on this particular day, I am thankful that they aren't.

I have decided to do it myself. I am designing a sweater. What I hope will be my first perfect sweater because it will be based on what I want both in a project and in a garment. It will fit. Perfectly. I can do it myself.

In order to begin this process, I had to get real about what I look for in my favorite pieces of clothing. I love fitted black tops. I love turtlenecks. I love something with understated attitude. I love longish hems that stay down below the top of my pants. I love the sleekness of an Audrey Hepburn look. And I don't need pure wool because I'm from Southern California, and this won't be a sweater made for warmth.

It began a few weeks ago with yarn choice. I picked Cascade Venezia Worsted in black. 70% Merino, 30% Silk. I chose it for its subtle sheen, its yardage, its price, and of course, its color. Last night I cast on.

More to come as I explain how I go about designing my firt major project. You'll be there. Failure or success. Let's see if I can, in fact, do it myself.