another knitting blog

My own twisted 'Rules of Personal Conduct'

Or, why I am not posting very much lately

by michelle

Rule 1: Do not give your opinion.

     corollary to Rule 1: If you do give your opinion, don't expect anyone to consider it.

Rule 2: Do not talk about your accomplishments.

     corollary to Rule 2: If you do talk about your accomplishments, don't expect anyone to be impressed.

Rule 3: Do not whine about your problems, real or perceived.

     corollary to Rule 3: If you do whine about your problems, don't expect anyone to be sympathetic.

I don't expect everyone to adhere to these rules (see Rule 1), but these do seem to be the rules that life has taught me (however, see Rule 3). I don't know why the rules aren't the same for everyone. That's just the way it is.

untitled post #8

Spinning like an unbalanced wheel.

going back

Last year at this time, I was pretty content with the state of my physical self. I was stronger and more flexible than I had been in years and could fit into those little girly t-shirts.

Then, the train jumped the tracks. I was almost continually sick and exhausted. I ate for comfort and gained 20 pounds. And, I stopped going to yoga class.

This year, another year older and the old bod's not looking so good. I've had to buy a completely new summer wardrobe so I can be both cool and comfortable.

I'm finally feeling better enough that tonight I am going back to yoga classes.

I feel rather ambivalent about this; I really want to get back into it, however, I'm afraid that my fitness level has declined so much that I will be miserable.

I've dropped down to an easier class than the one I was doing when I stopped. Still, I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to keep up. I tried to do a couple of workouts with some yoga videos that I have and the results were quite frustrating.

Nevertheless, I really want to go back to classes now. This will be the last chance I'll have to take a class with my favorite yoga teacher. I'll just have to take things at my own pace and try not to get too discouraged.

Say an om for me.

A Monumental Visit

Now that she's been gone almost two weeks, it's about time for a post on more of the visit by my friend Christy.

After the Folklife Festival, we headed to the Washington Monument.

The short review of a tour of the Washington Monument: don't bother, at least not right now.

If you insist on visiting--which you understandably may--here are some thoughts on the experience.

First, make sure to reserve tickets ahead of time online or by phone. There are a number of free tickets distributed daily at the monument; however, they are given out at 8:30am on a first-come basis. It's worth the few bucks it costs to reserve your tickets and avoid this hassle, especially if you are visiting from out of town. The downside of this is that you can't know in advance what the weather will be like on the day of your visit; although, given my impression of the experience, this may not matter so much.

Next: security. This is the new reality and isn't likely to change in the foreseeable future, especially after the horrific events that took place yesterday in London.

The grounds are currently undergoing a major security overhaul. It's not pretty. The entire hill the monument stands on is surrounded by chainlink fence. I hope that this is because of the landscaping and that eventually people will be able to walk and sit in this area again. As it is now, once you present your ticket, you proceed up the fenced-in walk to the base of the monument.

An ugly security annex now sticks out on one side, ruining the elegant lines of the massive obelisk. Be prepared for the usual waiting and security. Also, be prepared to remove every piece of metal from your person--you will be wanded.

The state of the art elevator, installed during the major overhaul and restoration of the late 1990s, will whisk you to the top in a mere 70 seconds. [That is, if it doesn't get stuck like it did yesterday, trapping 35 people].

I hope you liked the people that you were jammed into the elevator with because now you are jammed with them on the observation floor. This was probably the the most frustrating aspect of the entire experience. Although there are two viewing windows on each of the four sides, one window on each side is currently walled off because of Park Service security cameras. Not only does this cut the number of windows in half, it also significantly limits the available space for maneuvering. This is the time to shuffle from one window to another and wait for your turn to peek out and take a quick picture. It's also a chance to marvel at the self-centeredness of some people and the manners and class of others.

I managed to get some good pictures of the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

On the ride back down, the elevator pauses twice and polarized windows clear to let you get a glimpse of some of the commemorative stones donated to the monument. You used to be able to take the long walk down and inspect the stones, but no more. [Unless there are 35 people trapped in the elevator and you are forced to walk down the 500 feet].

I suppose it's pointless to wish that things were other than they are. Yesterday's attacks confirm that some level of concern is valid. I guess I'm just unhappy that this is the state of things now and sad that some of the spirit and beauty of the nation's capital is now obscured behind these new precautions.

If you still really want to visit the monument, I think you should. Now you are informed and maybe that will mitigate any disappointment you may have felt.

A final tip: For a pretty good elevated view of the city with less hassle, try the Old Post Office Tower.

gone with the flow

I had finally finished these last week, but only had time this morning to take a picture.

For the record: These are more or less the Go With the Flow socks from the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits. They're knit from Koigu P107.

The changes I made: cast on 72 stitches (two extra pattern repeats); cast on and purl first round with US2s before switching to US1s; short row heel and toe.

It took a few tries to get a useable picture.

[Molly, move. Move. Move! Molly, out of the way! Move! Molly, MOVE! (click) Dammit.]

I am still acquiring sock yarn; this time from The KnittingZone.

My intention was to buy the Regia Strato Color (5747) pictured in the middle. But, I couldn't buy just one skein of yarn, so I decided to try out some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (14ns Denim).

Unfortunately, I messed up and only bought one skein of the Lorna's Laces.

When my order arrived and I realized my mistake, I was forced to order another skein. And or course, I couldn't order just one skein of yarn, could I? So, I used the opportunity to order more Cherry Tree Hill SuperSock (Serengeti).

After this second order, Mary from The KnittingZone was kind enough to email and check to make sure that I only wanted one skein of the Lorna's Laces; because, you know, it takes two skeins to make a pair a socks. Oh well, good thing that she didn't ask before the first order, because then I wouldn't have another new skein of CTH to play with.