$5 Of Pure Awesomeness

Last weekend Karla and I went to the annual holiday season Jubilee International Marketplace at the First Presbyterian Church in Spokane. I'd never been before, but when Karla told me about the cool crafts from all over the world that would be there, I knew I had to go.

The best amazing find that I bought was this purse.It was in the clearance bin at one of the vendor booths, and as soon as I saw it I knew it'd make a perfect project bag for my knitting. It's the perfect size for holding socks, scarves or gloves. It's got a drawstring top, which for me is essential, it stands upright, and it even has long straps if I want to throw it over one shoulder like a messenger bag. I absolutely love velvet, and the jewel toned embroidery on it is gorgeous. The best part was that it was also only $5! Such a beautiful bag should only hold the best yarn, so it's currently carrying around my lace scarf project that's being knit out of some exquisitely dyed Malabrigo sock yarn.

A Trinity Of Updates

1) I have decided to get serious about what I eat. I lost weight while doing the last fatbet by exercising and eating less, but I didn't really change what I was eating. Now that my hamstring is still bothering me and I've been sick with a cold*, I haven't been exercising. Which means that since I agreed to be in another fatbet (with Rayleen and her sister Aimee) right off the bat, I need to step things up a bit with the only option I have left.

The two major changes I have decided to make are that I am switching to whole grains. No more white breads, pasta or rice, etc. The other change is one that will be shocking to most people that know me and know what and how I like to eat. I have decided to--get this--become mostly vegetarian! I know, I know. I am a total meat lover. If it's alive and can be killed and grilled, you bet your ass I will (and probably have already) eat it and enjoy it. But I think it's time for me to step back and take a little break from tasty animal flesh, and ideally I will only eat meat once or twice a week, tops. Of course, Ryan laughed in my face when I told him my plans so feel free to join him. But you'll see!

2) I've got more music I am ashamed to admit that I enjoy. First off, I finally heard "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus, and you know what? I liked it! That really made me feel terrible, especially since I liked it so much I bought it off of iTunes. The second song is "Crazy Bitch" by Buckcherry. Buckcherry strikes me as just another one of those LA bands made up of misogynistic musician assholes, which is why liking this song is so painful to me. I mean, I hate knowing that my money went to support an asshole, but damn it I couldn't help it.

3) Back to food (of course). I've been musing over Thanksgiving Dinner for the past couple of weeks, and I finally talked to Ryan about it and decided what we'll be having for dinner. This year we're going to have ham**. And not just any ham, it's going to be a Honeybaked Ham. Because a Honeybaked Ham just opened up 4 blocks from our house and I want some! We'll also have mashed potatoes and gravy, a salad and homemade pumpkin pie. Today I also decided that for Thanksgiving breakfast, I want to make homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting!









*I simply refuse to exercise if I'm sick. Absolutely refuse! Because I am lazy and wimpy.

**Yes, I am going to eat meat on Thanksgiving, I'm not insane.

My Fatbet Winnings

Today, my Knit Picks order arrived. I was able to buy all this yarn, a book and a necklace with the money I won from the FatBet.

All this yarn makes me so damn happy that I can't wait to finish up my current projects and start knitting my victory sweater!

"Black Dy-NO-miiiiiiiiiiiite!"

Thanks to Karla’s excellent sleuthing skills, Ryan, Doug, Karla and I were able to go to the Magic Lantern tonight to finally see the movie Black Dynamite. I’d never been to the Magic Lantern before, so it was a new experience for us. I was excited to see cookies and DOMA coffee served behind the counter, and when we found out the actual owner of the theatre was serving us, it was an extra bonus. Ryan’s eyes honed in on the chocolate cake from Madeleine’s, and Doug started freaking out because they didn’t serve popcorn.

See, Doug’s thing that he does is that no matter what, he always gets popcorn when he goes to the movies. It doesn’t matter if he’s just eaten a huge meal and is stuffed to the gills with food, he will still buy popcorn. In fact, while Karla and I enjoyed our delicious mochas and Ryan chowed down on his cake, Doug glumly told the story of the last time he had NOT been able to have popcorn with his movie. What was amazing was that it was 10 years ago, back in 1999 when Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace first came out and he thought it would be better to get good seats than wrangle the packed consession line. And here he was, 10 years later at a small independent movie theatre that had the nerve to not even sell popcorn!

When Ryan finished his cake, we walked into the smaller movie theatre to wait for them to start Black Dynamite. The smaller theatre seats 32 (the large one seats 100), but it’s super cute and very intimate. We all agreed that we really liked it a lot. Then talk turned to possibly renting the room for our own use, and Doug came up with an idea that had all of us practically on the floor with laughter. He thought that if we rented the room out, we could make it Cat Night so we could all bring our cats (of course, he really just wanted an excuse to be able to bring his “little man” Leo with him somewhere) and if we got bored, he could use the laser pointer and Leo would run around in the room and chase after it...and he was serious!

Then the owner Joe came in to deliver Doug’s large coffee (Doug had actually caved and bought his own piece of cake to try and make up for the popcorn), and Ryan asked him how much it would cost to rent out the room. Ryan liked what he heard, so if in the future you see an announcement on here that starts out with “The Toad Presents…”, that’s why.

Black Dynamite was amazingly awesome, and I can’t recommend it enough. If you love blaxploitation movies like Dolomite (and all the Rudy Ray Moore films), Super Fly and Cleopatra Jones as much as Ryan and I do, then this new movie is completely faithful to the original genre. Even the soundtrack, the clothes and the sets were spot on! And with lines like “Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrification is only outmatched by your zest for Kung-Fu treachery!” and “I’m sorry I pimp-slapped you into the china cabinet” it’s absolutely hilarious to boot.



When we walked out of the theatre, we were accosted by some college kids doing interviews for Gonzaga TV. They wanted to know how we felt about our experience at the Magic Lantern, so I pushed Ryan over to them, because we all know Ryan’s a ham. We weren’t disappointed, as when they asked him what movie he came to see, Ryan leaned into the microphone and shouted with glee, “Black Dy-NO-Miiiiiiiiiite!” The rest of the interview went off as normal as can be possible when talking to Ryan (thank God Gonzaga TV isn't watched by very many people), and then he walked over and bought another piece of cake to take home and eat.

It's A Sickness, This Obsession With Yarn

Last night was Supper Club, and it was at Sara's house. At one point we all decided we were cold and decided to make use of two blankets that were on the couch. Shadra and Kate took the fleece one, and handed me and Karla the crocheted one.

Well. As soon as that blanket hit our laps, Karla and I began feeling it up and trying to figure out what kind of yarn it was. It was clearly acrylic, but it was beyond even the acrylic of today's Red Heart. Karla thought it might be old Red Heart, but I wasn't so sure. It was definitely very old because the colors were neon and crazy. It also looked like it had been felted, but we all know acrylic can't felt, so something else must have happened. I suggested that maybe it had shrunk in the dryer, and Karla agreed. When we looked up to ask Sara about it, we noticed that we'd totally been geeking out and had forgotten that other people were even there because we were so absorbed in Sara's blanket!

After we laughing sheepishly, Karla then suggested a brilliant (to knitters and crocheters only, I would guess) idea--there should be a TV show called Yarn Detectives! Karla and I would be on it (of course), and we'd show up on people's doorsteps to see if they had any knit or crocheted items, then we'd sit around and try to figure out what yarn was used and the pattern, etc. You know, like the show on PBS called The History Detectives, only it'd be geared toward people who love fiber arts.

Here's a picture of Sara's fascinating blanket. I am completely amazed by how plastic-y the yarn is, and I really want to know where I could find some equivalent yarn so I can make something and shrink it in the dryer, too. It's so acrylic that it's like they had used yarn that is now only used to do rug hooking.


The next knitting related thing is that I finally purchased my yarn with the money I won from the fatbet. My Mom had given me $50 for winning too, even though she wasn't part of the bet, so that meant I had $200 spend. I went to Knit Picks and wound up buying enough yarn for two sweaters (22 skeins), tweed yarn to make a hat (4 more skeins) for Ryan, a book and the kitchener dog tag. I can't wait to receive all that yarn in the mail!


One more thing: This morning Ryan and I went out to breakfast at Frank's Diner and enjoyed their new mini serving menu option. Instead of a giant serving of food, you have the option to cut their portions (and prices) in half. I had a fantastic one egg omelette and a small helping of hash browns instead of the usual giant mound and it was great!

Then we got the check and I noticed something that was really funny. The South Park episode You Got F'd in the A is probably one of my absolute favorites, so when I saw this on the check and pointed it out to Ryan, he said "I guess it's ON now, isn't it?" and we just laughed and laughed. Well, I did anyway.

My Leg Warmer Dilemma (Or, Talking About Boring Crap To Everyone Else Who's Not A Knitter)

The other day, Rayleen told me she'd been thinking about knitting a pair of leg warmers. At the time I think I kind of dismissed her idea as silly, but then I realized that I had been secretly loving the over the (cute) shoe style of leg warmers that have been slowly popping up on Ravelry. And then, just like that I was hooked.

The problem is, I'm trying to finish a bunch of projects. I've actually got 3 projects that I'm working on that I haven't even put on Ravelry yet, and I'd hate to make it four. But the leg warmers, they call to me! I've picked the top three contenders and I need to just pick one already.

I like how this has cables and is made with a bulkier yarn, which would make it a fast knit. I could use some Patons Rumor in a pretty blended green to give it more texture and weight, use my Patons Shetland Chunky Tweed in dark green for a more subdued look, or use my silver Muench Touch Me chenille yarn for an awesome crazy look (because the yarn really looks shimmery and metallic, it'd be quite an eye-catching accessory).

I like the cables and how these slouch just so over the shoes. I have some nice purple Debbie Bliss Cathay yarn or some burnt orange Ella Rae Shibu yarn I could use for these.

I think I'd probably leave the pom poms off of this, but everything else is super cute. The same yarns I mentioned above would also work for this one, although I think I might prefer using a yarn that's brown or beige for this style.

Ok, so which one should I make? I'm kind of leaning towards the one made with bulky yarn so I can make them in silver, but that might be a little TOO crazy!

Daddy Love

Ever since Doug got all attached to his "little man" (aka his cat Leo) and started saying stuff like "A kitty’s love is innocent, true and sincere!" Ryan has questioned Doug's manhood*. Well, come to think of it I think Ryan has questioned Doug's manhood from day one, but whatever.

Anyway, my point is is that Doug isn't the only one who loves his cat. Ryan's a total cat lover, too. All three of our kitties have their own special bond** with him, especially Jojo. In the morning she loves to snuggle into Ryan's lap and stare lovingly up at him. We like to say that she's just getting her "Daddy Love".











*I believe that last weekend when we had Doug and Karla over for Halloween tea, Ryan suggested that there ought to be a magazine started for guys and their cats called Cat Faggery (you know, making a play on the title of Cat Fancy magazine)and that just like Oprah and her O Magazine, Doug and Leo would be on every single cover.



**Is it crazy that Ryan and I actually get into fights and arguments over how much affection the cats give us? I am especially jealous when Jojo gets all snuggly with him and I hate it, so I always try to rub it in about how I'm the only one who gets 'neck' from her at night.