To get it right

Remember that post I made a while back about being inspired by the article that John Roderick wrote about beards? Well that night was the last time I shaved. I am totally giving this beard thing a go. I'll post a picture of how it is going at some point. It looks fine so far, and not shaving is definitely a plus. I'll see what happens when I have to get around to trimming it though.

I started another new goal last week. I decided that I was going to try to do the hundred push-up challenge over at hundredpushups.com. The goal is to be able to do 100 consecutive push-ups after doing the six week training program. I started last Wednesday, was sore Thursday but still went to softball practice, and then ended up staying sore through most of the weekend. This week has just been crazy busy, and I've mostly just been using the downtime to relax. I think I'll try to get back into it tonight. Also, I never realized how much push-ups work your abs!

Knitting has finally progressed a bit. I finished the Salto socks from Knitty! This means I'm down to 4 projects on needles. I've got a second sock, a second mitten, a scarf, and two small teddy bear pieces still. I've decided that I'm going to refrain from starting any new projects until the beginning of November. I'm going to use my birthday powers to request a gift certificate from Fiberphilia, my local yarn shop, and get started on my first ever sweater. The plan is to do something from Elizabeth Zimmerman's book Knitting Without Tears, maybe something tweedy. I'm sure I'll do some consulting with Michelle, the LYS owner, and we'll figure out something grand.

Music music music. Oh man. New track from Frontier Ruckus. New album from Mason Proper. Bound Stems album from Kevin. And currently on my ears is the latest album from Alias, who I saw open for Why? the other week. Alias is Brendon Whitney, producer and rapper, and a native Mainer. I'd enjoy his music no matter what, but I especially hold local musicians in high regard. That brings my list of Maine musicians that I know and enjoy up to three: Alias, Nat Baldwin, and Ray LaMontagne. I'm going to have to talk to some people at the radio station (I have a show! Did I tell you? 91.9 WMEB FM Orono Mondays from 10 to noon) and see what they can tell me about local music. As for non-local music, I'm going with a friend to see Minnesota singer/songwriter Mason Jennings in Boston this weekend. Should be good times.

Now that was a lot of words, so here's a picture --even though it is recycled from a previous post.

I will remember your name and face

I had a nice talk with my mother earlier this week. I found out the things that make life fantastic, the stuff you always want to know but don't necessarily ever find out. Like how my parents didn't use the upstairs of their house when they first got it. How my crib was in what is now the dining room. How their furniture consisted of lawn chairs until my dad's birthday when my mom got him a recliner as a present. That their kitchen table was a wooden plank picnic table. This is the stuff that makes me smile, the history that I care about.

I bet going home next week will feel a little bit different now.

But before that happens, I will be attending my first ever knitting class this Saturday at Fiberphilia! We'll be spending the day knitting and felting to create Lovikka mittens. I'm really hoping that we make it all the way through to the embroidered cuff. At any rate I'll end the day with some wonderfully warm mittens for this upcoming winter for either myself or someone with similarly sized hands.

The stupidest thing

It's been a long time since I've updated. I've just been busy. :-) I finished the first of my socks using the Noro Kureyon sock yarn, and yesterday afternoon I finished the first of a pair of fingerless mittens using a different colorway of that same yarn.



I started these as a spring break project because as I was knitting at Fiberphilia, my LYS, my hands were cold, and I really liked how this yarn was turning out as socks and thought it would be fantastic for them. It's a really simple improvised pattern, 60 stitches cast on size 2 needles, a 2x2 rib for the cuff, the Madder Rib pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks for the top of the mitts. So today when I really should be cleaning my apartment, I'll be knitting the other one and watching a bunch of NBA basketball.

Think of all the ways molecules move

It's snowing like mad out there. I was supposed to head to campus today, but I've decided that I'm snowed in. So I've been knitting and decided to upload the number one winter song that you've never heard.

"Blood On The Snowplow" by Algoma

I started my Noro socks to prove that they won't be ugly. I'm keeping it relatively simple and using the Madder Ribbed Sock pattern in "Knitting Vintage Socks". This means I now have 3 pairs of socks in progress for myself. I did turn the second heel in the very first pair of socks I ever started though. I'm hoping that at least two of these pairs will get finished before school starts up again in January. The LYS is planning a potluck where everyone is expected to bring in all their current works in progress, and I don't want to embarrass myself with so much stuff.

Noro Kureyon sock yarn


Hiking boot socks, nearly finished


And now to write some papers!