It was so much fun the first time that I had to do it again. Same rules apply--see the earlier post.
This time my grad year was 1993, and I was starting to mature into someone a bit more musically interesting.
1. I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston
2. Whoomp! (There It Is), Tag Team
3. Can't Help Falling In Love, UB40
4. That's The Way Love Goes, Janet Jackson
5. Freak, Silk
6. Weak, SWV
7. If I Ever Fall In Love, Shai
8. Dreamlover, Mariah Carey
9. Rump Shaker, Wreckx-N-Effect
10. Informer, Snow
11. Nuthin' But A "G" Thang, Dr. Dre
12. In The Still Of The Nite, Boyz II Men
13. Don't Walk Away, Jade
14. Knockin' Da Boots, H-Town
15. Lately, Jodeci
16. Dazzey Duks, Duice
17. Show Me Love, Robin S.
18. A Whole New World, Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle
19. If, Janet Jackson
20. I'm So Into You, SWV
21. Love Is, Vanessa Willlams and Brian Mcknight
22. Runaway Train, Soul Asylum
23. I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me),
25. Rhythm Is A Dancer, Snap
26. The River Of Dreams, Billy Joel
27. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), Proclaimers
28. Two Princes, Spin Doctors
29. Right Here (Human Nature)-Downtown, SWV
30. I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston
31. Mr. Wendal, Arrested Development
32. Have I Told You Lately, Rod Stewart
33. Saving Forever For You, Shanice
34. Ordinary World, Duran Duran
35. If I Had No Loot, Tony! Toni! Tone!
36. I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Meat Loaf
37. Slam, Onyx
38. Looking Through Patient Eyes, P.M. Dawn
39. I'm Every Woman, Whitney Houston
40. Baby I'm Yours, Shai
41. Come Undone, Duran Duran
42. I Don't Wanna Fight, Tina Turner
43. I'd Die Without You, P.M. Dawn
44. Whoot, There It Is, 95 South
45. Hip Hop Hooray, Naughty By Nature
46. Another Sad Love Song, Toni Braxton
47. Will You Be There, Michael Jackson
48. Comforter, Shil
49. Good Enough, Bobby Brown
50. What's Up, 4 Non Blondes
51. All That She Wants, Ace Of Base
52. 7, Prince and The New Power Generation
53. Dre Day, Dr. Dre
54. One Last Cry, Brian McKnight
55. Just Kickin' It, Xscape
56. I Get Around, 2Pac
57. Bed Of Roses, Bon Jovi
58. Real Love, Mary J. Blige
59. Here We Go Again!, Portrait
60. Cryin', Aerosmith
61. Cats In The Cradle, Ugly Kid Joe
62. What About Your Friends, TLC
63. I Got A Man, Positive K
64. Hey Mr. D.J., Zhane
65. Insane In The Brain, Cypress Hill
66. Deeper And Deeper, Madonna
67. Rain, Madonna
68. The Right Kind Of Love, Jeremy Jordan
69. Bad Boys, Inner Circle
70. That's What Love Can Do, Boy Krazy
71. Do You Believe In Us, Jon Secada
72. Angel, Jon Secada
73. Forever In Love, Kenny G
74. Again, Janet Jackson
75. Boom! Shake The Room, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince
76. When She Cries, Restless Heart
77. Sweat (A La La La La Long), Inner Circle
78. It Was A Good Day, Ice Cube
79. More And More, Captain Hollywood Project
80. How Do You Talk To An Angel, Heights
81. Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat), Digable Planets
82. What Is Love, Haddaway
83. To Love Somebody, Michael Bolton
84. Give It Up, Turn It Loose, En Vogue
85. Alright, Kris Kross
86. Check Yo Self, Ice Cube
87. Fields Of Gold, Sting
88. Ooh Child, Dino
89. Faithful w/ Go West
90. Reason To Believe, Rod Stewart
91. Break It Down Again, Tears For Fears
92. Nothin' My Love Can't Fix, Joey Lawrence
93. Three Little Pigs, Green Jelly
94. Livin' On The Edge, Aerosmith
95. Hey Jealousy, Gin Blossoms
96. If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, Sting
97. Anniversary, Tony! Toni! Tone!
98. One Woman, Jade
99. Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Taylor Dayne
100. Two Steps Behind, Def Leppard
Showing posts with label A Bit About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Bit About Me. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2008
Music MeMe - High School Edition
I stole this from the world-famous Adminnie when I saw it on her blog.
Here's the deal.
The rules:
A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com
B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate
I graduated in 1989, and apparently, I was a bubble gum pop princess--forgive my youthful indiscretions.
1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heaven, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike + the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcom To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. Iwanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heavan Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul
Here's the deal.
The rules:
A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com
B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate
I graduated in 1989, and apparently, I was a bubble gum pop princess--forgive my youthful indiscretions.
1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heaven, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike + the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Lov, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcom To The Jungle, Guns N' Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. Iwanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heavan Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul
Monday, September 17, 2007
One for the DCA
I found this quiz at another blog, and I had to check it out. Apparently, I'm a descriptive word!
HoyaGirl -- [adjective]: Like in nature to a kangaroo 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com |
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Birthday MeMe
I stole another meme from Heather’s blog. I just couldn’t resist.
Here's what to do if you want to play along. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth date (omitting the year). Then share (at least) 3 events, two births, and one holiday that share your special day.
Here are my favorite June 5th observances. It was too hard to stick to the minimums.
Events:
1851 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
1968 - U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies the next day.
1977 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
1989 - The Unknown Rebel halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Births:
1646 - Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and first woman to receive a Ph.D. (d. 1684). I’m a math teacher—go figure.
1718 - Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker (d. 1779)
1878 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)
1895 - William Boyd, American actor (d. 1972). This guy is better known as Hopalong Cassidy.
1971 - Mark Wahlberg, American singer and actor. Yep—Marky Mark and I are exactly the same age.
1977 - Liza Weil, American actress. I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan, and so much of her Paris character reminds me of my high school self.
1979 - Pete Wentz, American musician (Fall Out Boy). This one is for my students who adore him. I have no idea who he is.
Holiday:
Constitution Day in Denmark. My father was once offered an assignment in Denmark when I was younger, and I always thought we should have taken it so I could celebrate my birthday as a national holiday. I was a little self-centered then (and still am on occasion).
Here's what to do if you want to play along. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birth date (omitting the year). Then share (at least) 3 events, two births, and one holiday that share your special day.
Here are my favorite June 5th observances. It was too hard to stick to the minimums.
Events:
1851 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
1968 - U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies the next day.
1977 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
1989 - The Unknown Rebel halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Births:
1646 - Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and first woman to receive a Ph.D. (d. 1684). I’m a math teacher—go figure.
1718 - Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker (d. 1779)
1878 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)
1895 - William Boyd, American actor (d. 1972). This guy is better known as Hopalong Cassidy.
1971 - Mark Wahlberg, American singer and actor. Yep—Marky Mark and I are exactly the same age.
1977 - Liza Weil, American actress. I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan, and so much of her Paris character reminds me of my high school self.
1979 - Pete Wentz, American musician (Fall Out Boy). This one is for my students who adore him. I have no idea who he is.
Holiday:
Constitution Day in Denmark. My father was once offered an assignment in Denmark when I was younger, and I always thought we should have taken it so I could celebrate my birthday as a national holiday. I was a little self-centered then (and still am on occasion).
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Another Knitting MeMe
I saw this over at Knitting in Pink, so here's mine. I added my own comments in blue when appropriate.
Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.
Afghan (lap blanket in progress for the DCA)
American/English knitting
Baby items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan (only for babies so far)
Charity knitting (for Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society)
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers (hasn't everyone done Fetching?)
Darning
Designing knitted garments (only some socks)
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dying with plant colors
Dying yarn
Entrelac (I tried it once just to see if I could)
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffiti knitting
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener stitch
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living (don't I wish!)
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public (almost every day!)
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom (so I could show the Roo)
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting to make money (donated items to craft sale for missions at church)
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously (don't like it)
Knitting with alpaca (only in a blend)
Knitting with bamboo yarn (sock yarn in the stash)
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with beads (Hanami pattern in the queue)
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere (only in a blend)
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair (every time the cat is in my lap)
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with linen (Mason-Dixon dish towels!)
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with silk (only in a blend)
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn (Hey! I was a kid then!)
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Lace patterns (but not true lace with patterning on both sides)
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug (Mason-Dixon strikes again!)
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit (both Roo and Moose and two kids from school)
Teaching a male how to knit (the Moose)
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing (Cabbage Patch Kid sweater and a Phrygian cap for an American Girl doll)
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern
What have you learned to do that has marked a definite change in your knitting life?
I loved learning to knit socks. They make a great project that I can take anywhere, and they are also a great conversation starter.
I had no idea I knew how to do so many knitting techniques. One of my friends said I needed to try the Master Knitters program and now I think she's right!
Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.
Afghan (lap blanket in progress for the DCA)
American/English knitting
Baby items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan (only for babies so far)
Charity knitting (for Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society)
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers (hasn't everyone done Fetching?)
Darning
Designing knitted garments (only some socks)
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dying with plant colors
Dying yarn
Entrelac (I tried it once just to see if I could)
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffiti knitting
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener stitch
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living (don't I wish!)
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public (almost every day!)
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom (so I could show the Roo)
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting to make money (donated items to craft sale for missions at church)
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously (don't like it)
Knitting with alpaca (only in a blend)
Knitting with bamboo yarn (sock yarn in the stash)
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with beads (Hanami pattern in the queue)
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere (only in a blend)
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair (every time the cat is in my lap)
Knitting with dpns
Knitting with linen (Mason-Dixon dish towels!)
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with silk (only in a blend)
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn (Hey! I was a kid then!)
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Lace patterns (but not true lace with patterning on both sides)
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug (Mason-Dixon strikes again!)
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: top-downSocks: toe-up
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys (bear in progress)Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit (both Roo and Moose and two kids from school)
Teaching a male how to knit (the Moose)
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing (Cabbage Patch Kid sweater and a Phrygian cap for an American Girl doll)
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern
What have you learned to do that has marked a definite change in your knitting life?
I loved learning to knit socks. They make a great project that I can take anywhere, and they are also a great conversation starter.
I had no idea I knew how to do so many knitting techniques. One of my friends said I needed to try the Master Knitters program and now I think she's right!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
A Stolen MeMe!
I saw this over at Karen's, so I stole it. She stole it from MissyJoon! I don't get tagged for a lot of MeMes, so I decided to try this one out. I found I've read a lot more books than I expected, found some I want to read, found more I've never heard of, and found the ones I'm still trying to avoid. Check it out, you'll learn a lot about your literary preferences!
Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read,
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave plain the ones that you aren’t interested in.
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) One of my all-time favorites!
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
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 Sorcerer’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)
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)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
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) - I own the whole series, and I'm waiting to see if she writes a sequel.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) - The DCA read this one, so I guess I should check it out.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible (God) - I've read almost all of it except some of the minor propets.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) - I've started this one about 9 times, but I keep getting stuck on all the Russion patronyms.
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)
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)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) - I've started this one about 9 times too, and I have the same problem as with Anna Karenina.
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 Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - I cheated and read the abridged version without all the French history and politics.
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) - Only because it's in the movie Serendipity.
73. Shogun (James Clavell) - I tried this one before I understood enough Japanese history, so I might try it again.
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
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)
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)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read,
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave plain the ones that you aren’t interested in.
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) One of my all-time favorites!
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
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 Sorcerer’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)
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)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
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) - I own the whole series, and I'm waiting to see if she writes a sequel.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) - The DCA read this one, so I guess I should check it out.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible (God) - I've read almost all of it except some of the minor propets.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) - I've started this one about 9 times, but I keep getting stuck on all the Russion patronyms.
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)
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)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) - I've started this one about 9 times too, and I have the same problem as with Anna Karenina.
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 Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - I cheated and read the abridged version without all the French history and politics.
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) - Only because it's in the movie Serendipity.
73. Shogun (James Clavell) - I tried this one before I understood enough Japanese history, so I might try it again.
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
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)
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)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Monday, December 18, 2006
It's a Muppet Christmas!
Friday was our last day of school before Christmas. Of course, the kids were wild, so after we mixed up enough hot cocoa mix (recipe from Yahoo! below) for the parents of both the 6th/7th and 8th grade classes, I popped in The Muppet Christmas Carol for everyone to watch during our Christmas party. It lent a certain Christmas-y spirit to the air and promoted the message of good will to all which is so needed during Christmas these days.
So you can imagine my delight when I took the Christmas movie quiz I found over on The Knitting Philistine's blog.
While I was there, I also found the Muppet Personality quiz, and it turns out that I really AM my favorite muppet!
So, I have lots of plans for my Christmas vacation. First up is to finish the STR County Clare socks which have now been started and frogged about 6 times since my last update. I just couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I reverted to type and invented my own. I've started sock #2, and in my dream world, I will finish it today or tomorrow morning. I also plan on returning to Icarus and to the Mohair Travel shawl. I love Maude to pieces, and I want to take my time with her and to enjoy her for as long as possible. I am not quite so enamored with the other two shawls, and I want them out of my stash!
My secret sister from school gave me a gift certificate for my LYS for Christmas, so I will definitely be buying yarn some time in the next two weeks. I feel the call of another sweater, so that may be next on the needles after the shawls come off.
Some time in the next few days I have to mix up the annual batch of Colonial Williamsburg gingerbread. This is a family tradition that started when the Navy banished us to the Left Coast several years ago in a location much too far from the Raleigh Tavern Bakery. We'll have lots of gingerbread people to keep us company while we're out of school!
I also get to mix up my first batch of the DCA's grandmother's homemade doughnuts. She makes them every Christmas, and sugaring them is a treasured memory of his childhood. This year's request was spurred by hearing that she was making them for all the family back in Delaware last weekend while his parents were visiting. I think I can handle it once I find all the ingredients.
The holiday hustle continues here, but the message of Christmas remains the same. The Light entered the world to show us the Way: He was God made man, and He came as a child to save us from our sins. The greatest gift of all is the salvation we receive when we call on His Name. Keep Him at the center of Christmas, and you will be blessed indeed!
HOT CINNAMON COCOA MIX IN A JAR
2 C. sugar
4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. instant coffee powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Process all ingredients in a food processor until chocolate is finely ground. Pour into a nice jar with a tight-fitting lid.Type or print neatly the cooking directions on a small card, punch a hole in the corner, and attach with a ribbon to the jar.
*Attach this to the Jar*
HOT CINNAMON COCOA
Directions for 2 servings
Stir 1/4 cup mix and 2 tablespoons hot water in a medium-size saucepan until blended. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups milk. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot.
So you can imagine my delight when I took the Christmas movie quiz I found over on The Knitting Philistine's blog.
| Your Christmas is Most Like: The Muppet Christmas Carol |
 |
While I was there, I also found the Muppet Personality quiz, and it turns out that I really AM my favorite muppet!
| You Are Animal |
 |
So, I have lots of plans for my Christmas vacation. First up is to finish the STR County Clare socks which have now been started and frogged about 6 times since my last update. I just couldn't find a pattern that I liked, so I reverted to type and invented my own. I've started sock #2, and in my dream world, I will finish it today or tomorrow morning. I also plan on returning to Icarus and to the Mohair Travel shawl. I love Maude to pieces, and I want to take my time with her and to enjoy her for as long as possible. I am not quite so enamored with the other two shawls, and I want them out of my stash!
My secret sister from school gave me a gift certificate for my LYS for Christmas, so I will definitely be buying yarn some time in the next two weeks. I feel the call of another sweater, so that may be next on the needles after the shawls come off.
Some time in the next few days I have to mix up the annual batch of Colonial Williamsburg gingerbread. This is a family tradition that started when the Navy banished us to the Left Coast several years ago in a location much too far from the Raleigh Tavern Bakery. We'll have lots of gingerbread people to keep us company while we're out of school!
I also get to mix up my first batch of the DCA's grandmother's homemade doughnuts. She makes them every Christmas, and sugaring them is a treasured memory of his childhood. This year's request was spurred by hearing that she was making them for all the family back in Delaware last weekend while his parents were visiting. I think I can handle it once I find all the ingredients.
The holiday hustle continues here, but the message of Christmas remains the same. The Light entered the world to show us the Way: He was God made man, and He came as a child to save us from our sins. The greatest gift of all is the salvation we receive when we call on His Name. Keep Him at the center of Christmas, and you will be blessed indeed!
HOT CINNAMON COCOA MIX IN A JAR
2 C. sugar
4 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. instant coffee powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Process all ingredients in a food processor until chocolate is finely ground. Pour into a nice jar with a tight-fitting lid.Type or print neatly the cooking directions on a small card, punch a hole in the corner, and attach with a ribbon to the jar.
*Attach this to the Jar*
HOT CINNAMON COCOA
Directions for 2 servings
Stir 1/4 cup mix and 2 tablespoons hot water in a medium-size saucepan until blended. Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups milk. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Do the Holiday Hustle!
It's the Christmas season, so it's that time of year when we all seem to run around crazily in 97 different directions trying to accomplish every little thing that needs to be done. My life and my knitting are definitely falling into the holiday hustle and bustle category.
I frogged Maude. After I took those lovely pictures last week, I stretched her out in all her loveliness on our coffee table to admire her glory. Yep, you guessed it, the glory disguised not just one, but two, places where I worked the ends of the bias stitch rows incorrectly. I couldn't bear to leave the errors there because I suspected it might someday affect my decreases on the other end. I re-started Maude and found I made exactly the same mistakes as before. I frogged back to the first mistake, picked up my stitches, checked for more errors, and then disgustedly threw her in my knitting bag. I have ignored her now for over a week, and I don't feel any pricks of conscience as a result.
Knitting was slower than usual this week because of my schedule at school. I spent breaks there and time at home entering grades into the computer and getting ready for report cards because the trimester ended Friday. I am pleased to say my report cards are almost completely finished. I just need to print them, copy them on letterhead, and stuff them in their envelopes in time for Thursday's awards assembly. It was painful to stay five hours on a minimum day afternoon, but at least they're done. I won't be one of the people scrambling over the next few days!
On a brighter note, I have made some amazing progress on some other things. I finished the plain vanilla *b-marie* socks on Thursday night, and then I wore them to work on Friday. They were a huge hit with everyone who knew them as my conference socks from Thanksgiving week.
I was on such a knitting high Friday after the extra time at work that I re-sized and cast on for a miniature sweater ornament I found via Emily's blog. The pattern for the real ornament is here. I couldn't resist it! Moose's class at school is having a hat/glove/scarf tree for Christmas. As part of the giving spirit of Christmas, each student is being asked to bring something new and warm to wear to add to the tree. The donated items will all be given to needy children for Christmas. I love how our tiny Christian school can still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and reach out to others during the season.
I thought a slightly larger version of the mini-sweater would make a perfect tree topper in the classroom, and I couldn't wait to give it to his teacher. I knit like crazy Friday night, and finished the sweater before bed. All I had left to do was the weaving in. Roo and I attended the Christmas tea at our church on Saturday, and guess who was there? Moose's teacher, of course! I had the teeny sweater in my knitting bag, so I quickly pulled it out of my bag and wove in all the ends while listening to Christmas carols and chatting with the other ladies at our table. After I finished and during a song break, I jumped up, ran to her table, plopped it on her place setting, and ran away. She stopped by our table later to say how cute it was. Please imagine a picture of it here, since I failed to take one in my eagerness to give it away.
Most of Saturday was spent knitting a pair of Fetching for myself using my leftover Highway 30 Socks That Rock yarn. I used U.S. size 2 needles and didn't make too many adjustments in the pattern. (I must have skinny hands.) I started them in the morning and had one finished before we left for the tea. I started the second one while we were there. I took them both along when we went to watch OU win the Big XII championship with the Sooner Club (Look out Arizona--here comes the Sooner Nation!). I practically finished the second one--I actually bound off the hand part and then realized I did not have enough yarn to make the thumb hole. I had intended to make the hand section longer (24 rows instead of 18), but I had to shorten the length of the hand and frog back to 20 rows instead to have enough yarn. Of course, when I did that, I had to go back and change the other one too. I'm so glad I was lazy and didn't weave in any ends! I finished them up after we got home from the game, and I popped them in my knitting bag to keep in case my hands get cold.
Everyone loved Fetching at church this morning, and I can't wait to wear them to school this week. My friend from church wants half a pair. She only wants one for her left hand, and she wants it extra long to cover up her bangle bracelets. She crochets while she runs the sound board during the church service, and Fetching will keep her bracelets from jingling and clinking while she works. They're not only adorable--they're functional! I already have her Christmas gift done, but I may make her one anyway with some more leftover sock yarn when I finish my next pair of socks.
I intended to work on Maude today since I have been neglecting her so. Instead, I have been doing the holiday hustle around here. We decorated for Christmas when we returned home from church, and then I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen preparing my annual batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies*. When I finished up that enormous task, the DCA and I started Web surfing to find the best price deals on the few remaining things we need for the kids. Because presents are available locally and shipping is getting so ugly, it has been decided that I will spend my teacher work day this Friday bopping around town to finish up the shopping. I then did some online shopping of my own for the DCA and paid those ugly shipping prices anyway.
Somewhere in all this, I started the next traveling sock. It's toe-up (yes, I know--the cuff-down girl must be high on cookie fumes), cabled, and absolutely lovely in STR County Clare. I went with toe-up this time, because I want to try a reverse heel flap and because I want to use the picot edge from Fetching at the top of the sock as a decorative detail. I'm just in need of a challenge after the plain vanilla pair I just finished. STR is pretty stretchy, so I'm confident I will have a lovely cuff when I'm finished. Now where did I put that sock???
*So you want to know about Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies? Once upon a time, the DCA and his family lived in Italy (his dad was in the Navy and was assigned to Naples). His mother's friend shared her recipe, and these cookies became an annual tradition in the DCA's house. When the DCA and I got married, I was handed the recipe and informed that the cookies were now my responsibility. The original recipe calls for a 5 lb bag of flour, a can of chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts (among the other "regular" cookie ingredients), and the cookies are supposed to be rolled out like the play-dough snakes we made as children and then cut into bite-sized pieces. I followed the recipe exactly for our first Christmas, and the DCA hardly touched any of them. Upon questioning, I was informed that he doesn't eat nuts in ANY baked good. I have no idea why it took me over 18 months to learn this about him or why no one in his family mentioned this tiny change in the recipe to me. I also learned that rolling out a full batch of these cookies by hand in the original method is literally a day-long project and that dunking them in their powdered sugar glaze can sometimes cause them to go moldy. I have since tweaked the recipe and made a few simple changes, and each December, I produce one half-batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts dropped by teaspoonfuls on their baking sheets. I must do okay, because the DCA says they're wonderful, and the Roo informed me this afternoon that they are her absolutely favorite cookie in the world. Do you think I can abdicate as cookie queen when she gets married???
I frogged Maude. After I took those lovely pictures last week, I stretched her out in all her loveliness on our coffee table to admire her glory. Yep, you guessed it, the glory disguised not just one, but two, places where I worked the ends of the bias stitch rows incorrectly. I couldn't bear to leave the errors there because I suspected it might someday affect my decreases on the other end. I re-started Maude and found I made exactly the same mistakes as before. I frogged back to the first mistake, picked up my stitches, checked for more errors, and then disgustedly threw her in my knitting bag. I have ignored her now for over a week, and I don't feel any pricks of conscience as a result.
Knitting was slower than usual this week because of my schedule at school. I spent breaks there and time at home entering grades into the computer and getting ready for report cards because the trimester ended Friday. I am pleased to say my report cards are almost completely finished. I just need to print them, copy them on letterhead, and stuff them in their envelopes in time for Thursday's awards assembly. It was painful to stay five hours on a minimum day afternoon, but at least they're done. I won't be one of the people scrambling over the next few days!
On a brighter note, I have made some amazing progress on some other things. I finished the plain vanilla *b-marie* socks on Thursday night, and then I wore them to work on Friday. They were a huge hit with everyone who knew them as my conference socks from Thanksgiving week.
I was on such a knitting high Friday after the extra time at work that I re-sized and cast on for a miniature sweater ornament I found via Emily's blog. The pattern for the real ornament is here. I couldn't resist it! Moose's class at school is having a hat/glove/scarf tree for Christmas. As part of the giving spirit of Christmas, each student is being asked to bring something new and warm to wear to add to the tree. The donated items will all be given to needy children for Christmas. I love how our tiny Christian school can still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and reach out to others during the season.
I thought a slightly larger version of the mini-sweater would make a perfect tree topper in the classroom, and I couldn't wait to give it to his teacher. I knit like crazy Friday night, and finished the sweater before bed. All I had left to do was the weaving in. Roo and I attended the Christmas tea at our church on Saturday, and guess who was there? Moose's teacher, of course! I had the teeny sweater in my knitting bag, so I quickly pulled it out of my bag and wove in all the ends while listening to Christmas carols and chatting with the other ladies at our table. After I finished and during a song break, I jumped up, ran to her table, plopped it on her place setting, and ran away. She stopped by our table later to say how cute it was. Please imagine a picture of it here, since I failed to take one in my eagerness to give it away.
Most of Saturday was spent knitting a pair of Fetching for myself using my leftover Highway 30 Socks That Rock yarn. I used U.S. size 2 needles and didn't make too many adjustments in the pattern. (I must have skinny hands.) I started them in the morning and had one finished before we left for the tea. I started the second one while we were there. I took them both along when we went to watch OU win the Big XII championship with the Sooner Club (Look out Arizona--here comes the Sooner Nation!). I practically finished the second one--I actually bound off the hand part and then realized I did not have enough yarn to make the thumb hole. I had intended to make the hand section longer (24 rows instead of 18), but I had to shorten the length of the hand and frog back to 20 rows instead to have enough yarn. Of course, when I did that, I had to go back and change the other one too. I'm so glad I was lazy and didn't weave in any ends! I finished them up after we got home from the game, and I popped them in my knitting bag to keep in case my hands get cold.
Everyone loved Fetching at church this morning, and I can't wait to wear them to school this week. My friend from church wants half a pair. She only wants one for her left hand, and she wants it extra long to cover up her bangle bracelets. She crochets while she runs the sound board during the church service, and Fetching will keep her bracelets from jingling and clinking while she works. They're not only adorable--they're functional! I already have her Christmas gift done, but I may make her one anyway with some more leftover sock yarn when I finish my next pair of socks.
I intended to work on Maude today since I have been neglecting her so. Instead, I have been doing the holiday hustle around here. We decorated for Christmas when we returned home from church, and then I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen preparing my annual batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies*. When I finished up that enormous task, the DCA and I started Web surfing to find the best price deals on the few remaining things we need for the kids. Because presents are available locally and shipping is getting so ugly, it has been decided that I will spend my teacher work day this Friday bopping around town to finish up the shopping. I then did some online shopping of my own for the DCA and paid those ugly shipping prices anyway.
Somewhere in all this, I started the next traveling sock. It's toe-up (yes, I know--the cuff-down girl must be high on cookie fumes), cabled, and absolutely lovely in STR County Clare. I went with toe-up this time, because I want to try a reverse heel flap and because I want to use the picot edge from Fetching at the top of the sock as a decorative detail. I'm just in need of a challenge after the plain vanilla pair I just finished. STR is pretty stretchy, so I'm confident I will have a lovely cuff when I'm finished. Now where did I put that sock???
*So you want to know about Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies? Once upon a time, the DCA and his family lived in Italy (his dad was in the Navy and was assigned to Naples). His mother's friend shared her recipe, and these cookies became an annual tradition in the DCA's house. When the DCA and I got married, I was handed the recipe and informed that the cookies were now my responsibility. The original recipe calls for a 5 lb bag of flour, a can of chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts (among the other "regular" cookie ingredients), and the cookies are supposed to be rolled out like the play-dough snakes we made as children and then cut into bite-sized pieces. I followed the recipe exactly for our first Christmas, and the DCA hardly touched any of them. Upon questioning, I was informed that he doesn't eat nuts in ANY baked good. I have no idea why it took me over 18 months to learn this about him or why no one in his family mentioned this tiny change in the recipe to me. I also learned that rolling out a full batch of these cookies by hand in the original method is literally a day-long project and that dunking them in their powdered sugar glaze can sometimes cause them to go moldy. I have since tweaked the recipe and made a few simple changes, and each December, I produce one half-batch of Italian Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts dropped by teaspoonfuls on their baking sheets. I must do okay, because the DCA says they're wonderful, and the Roo informed me this afternoon that they are her absolutely favorite cookie in the world. Do you think I can abdicate as cookie queen when she gets married???
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
I Don't Think So!
So, I took the "What American Accent Do You Have?" quiz I found over on Cara's blog. It says I have a Midland accent. I know this isn't scientific, or anything, but you can definitely tell it must not be designed by a linguist. Anyone who knows me will tell you I have a Southeastern accent! Just ask the students in my class. I suppress it most of the time, but they just love it when I go visit the church secretary--she's from Alabama--and I return sounding like a highly educated Scarlett O'Hara. Obviously, my results must be skewed.
I liked the Female Literary Character quiz I found over on Wendy's page much better. This week:
I liked the Female Literary Character quiz I found over on Wendy's page much better. This week:
I'm Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen!
Last week I was Beth March--I must have been feeling overly kind and generous that day. Not that it's a bad thing.Enough with the quizzes!
I have banished Icarus to the stash temporarily. I'm just too frightened of running out of yarn to deal with it right now. Instead, I have pulled Clapotis out of semi-retirement and am zooming away on it. It is so relaxing and rhythmic to me for some reason. I may even stick this one out to the bitter end!
I pulled out my *b-marie* yarn from the Indie Swag club and started knitting a new pair of socks. I'm trying Snicket to see if I can see the raised cabling in the stripes. So far it's looking okay.
I really need to find the camera and take some pictures. The site is looking kind of bare lately!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
My Sock History
I have been a sock addict for a few years now, and I am on a real sock-knitting jag since it's Socktoberfest. Here are my answers to Lolly's Socktoberfest Questionnaire to give you an idea of how I became so obsessed with socks.
When did you start making socks?
I started making socks shortly after I knitted our family's Christmas stockings four years ago. I knew if I could handle the technical aspects of a stocking then I could definitely handle the intricacies of a sock.
Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I taught myself, of course! What else would an obsessed knitter do??? I had never used DPNs before in my life when I picked up the knitting magazine (can't remember which one) which featured the Christmas stocking patterns. I just followed the directions in the magazine and did my best. After a few years of knitting socks, I know there are a few things I would have changed about the patterns, but the stockings work just fine the way they are. After I finished the stockings, I went surfing on the internet looking for sock patterns which specifically called for DPNs. I avoided circulars like the plague until this summer when I finally tried them out and realized they are pretty cool. It was all downhill from there--I kept looking for more patterns and buying almost every sock book I could find in the local Barnes & Noble. I just stuck with reading instructions, and I picked up helpful hints here and there which I have gradually incorporated into my knitting.
What was your first pair?
Oh dear! I have no idea anymore about which pair came first. I think it may have been a pair of "slipper socks" (worsted weight on U.S. size 3 needles) that I knit for myself but then gave to my mom. They were lavender and very soft--I made them from baby yarn. Our daughter has a matching pair.
How have they "held up" over time?
They must be holding up well--she hasn't asked for a new pair like the first one. I have knitted her other socks since then, and she has mentioned that she prefers heel flaps like those in the first pair over the short-row heels used in subsequent pairs.
What would you have done differently?
I know I would have twisted the stitches that I picked up along the heel flap by knitting through the back loop. None of the instructions in the first few pairs I knitted said to do this, and it causes some "holeyness" in that part of the sock. I fixed this in all my later pairs of socks after reading a sock book.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I like all the sock yarns I have met so far. They are actually the first yarns I look for when stepping inside any yarn store. I have used Opal, Regia, Trekking, Sockotta, Socka Fortissima, Socks That Rock, Lisa Souza, Scout's Swag, Black Bunny Fibers, and even some worsted weight yarns. I finished a Scout's Swag pair yesterday, and I have two more pair--Socks That Rock and Lisa Souza--in progress.
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I do not crochet my socks--they seem too holey and bulky for my taste. I use both DPNs and two circulars when I'm working on socks. My circular needles aren't long enough for me to try Magic Loop, but I'm hoping I get a chance when I get some longer needles. (Christmas??? Hint, hint, DCA!)
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I make both kinds of heel depending on the pattern and whether I start toe-up or cuff-down. I do prefer a flap though--it fits my foot better. Actually, almost everyone for whom I have made socks says they prefer the flap also.
How many pairs have you made?
I have made more pairs than I can remember. I make at least one pair for each of the children every summer, and I knit socks all year long. They make great traveling projects because they're so easy to carry around. A lot of my socks have been given away, so I don't think I could even guess at an accurate count because of that.
So now you know almost as much about my sock history as I do, and in the spirit of Socktoberfest, I am now going back to work on my chosen socks of the day.
When did you start making socks?
I started making socks shortly after I knitted our family's Christmas stockings four years ago. I knew if I could handle the technical aspects of a stocking then I could definitely handle the intricacies of a sock.
Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I taught myself, of course! What else would an obsessed knitter do??? I had never used DPNs before in my life when I picked up the knitting magazine (can't remember which one) which featured the Christmas stocking patterns. I just followed the directions in the magazine and did my best. After a few years of knitting socks, I know there are a few things I would have changed about the patterns, but the stockings work just fine the way they are. After I finished the stockings, I went surfing on the internet looking for sock patterns which specifically called for DPNs. I avoided circulars like the plague until this summer when I finally tried them out and realized they are pretty cool. It was all downhill from there--I kept looking for more patterns and buying almost every sock book I could find in the local Barnes & Noble. I just stuck with reading instructions, and I picked up helpful hints here and there which I have gradually incorporated into my knitting.
What was your first pair?
Oh dear! I have no idea anymore about which pair came first. I think it may have been a pair of "slipper socks" (worsted weight on U.S. size 3 needles) that I knit for myself but then gave to my mom. They were lavender and very soft--I made them from baby yarn. Our daughter has a matching pair.
How have they "held up" over time?
They must be holding up well--she hasn't asked for a new pair like the first one. I have knitted her other socks since then, and she has mentioned that she prefers heel flaps like those in the first pair over the short-row heels used in subsequent pairs.
What would you have done differently?
I know I would have twisted the stitches that I picked up along the heel flap by knitting through the back loop. None of the instructions in the first few pairs I knitted said to do this, and it causes some "holeyness" in that part of the sock. I fixed this in all my later pairs of socks after reading a sock book.
What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I like all the sock yarns I have met so far. They are actually the first yarns I look for when stepping inside any yarn store. I have used Opal, Regia, Trekking, Sockotta, Socka Fortissima, Socks That Rock, Lisa Souza, Scout's Swag, Black Bunny Fibers, and even some worsted weight yarns. I finished a Scout's Swag pair yesterday, and I have two more pair--Socks That Rock and Lisa Souza--in progress.
Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I do not crochet my socks--they seem too holey and bulky for my taste. I use both DPNs and two circulars when I'm working on socks. My circular needles aren't long enough for me to try Magic Loop, but I'm hoping I get a chance when I get some longer needles. (Christmas??? Hint, hint, DCA!)
Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I make both kinds of heel depending on the pattern and whether I start toe-up or cuff-down. I do prefer a flap though--it fits my foot better. Actually, almost everyone for whom I have made socks says they prefer the flap also.
How many pairs have you made?
I have made more pairs than I can remember. I make at least one pair for each of the children every summer, and I knit socks all year long. They make great traveling projects because they're so easy to carry around. A lot of my socks have been given away, so I don't think I could even guess at an accurate count because of that.
So now you know almost as much about my sock history as I do, and in the spirit of Socktoberfest, I am now going back to work on my chosen socks of the day.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Let the Games Begin!
The oregano socks are complete at last! I love them and really want to keep them for myself, but I don't wear much green, so they will be handed off to my friend at church in the morning. I know she will just adore them! Everyone who sees them tells me they are beautiful, so it must be true...
Brenda's pattern worked very well with the colorway--you can still see the twists in each cable and the detail in every lacy inset. The lace insets even inspired me to try designing my first pair of socks. I have some of Scout's sock yarn in a colorway called Storm Surge that contains lovely shades of the blue and grey of my alma mater, Georgetown. My new pattern idea includes some pointy lace insets reminiscent of Healy Hall, so I think the pattern will be named "Hoya Socksa" in honor of the school.
Let's pause for an educational moment:
The following is borrowed from the Georgetown University New Student Guide.
“What Rocks” at Georgetown University
No one seems to know exactly when or how the term Hoya Saxa was first used at Georgetown. Many years ago there was a team at Georgetown called the “Stonewalls,” and it is suggested that a student applied the Greek and Latin terms and dubbed them “hoya saxa”—what rocks! Hoya has since become the nickname for Georgetown’s athletic teams and students.
Hoia is from the Greek word hoios, meaning “such a” or “what a.” The neuter plural of this word is hoia, which agrees with the neuter plural of the Latin word saxa, meaning rocks; thus we have hoya—substituting the letter “y” for “i.” Before 1900 every Georgetown student studied both Greek and Latin, so there was no need to explain in print what the expression meant.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blog entry...
My Black Bunny Fibers indigo laceweight arrived this week. I intended it for Icarus, but the pictures in Interweave show it in very fine gauge suri alpaca. Instead, I may return to my original Print O'The Waves plan to showcase Carol's beautiful blue dyework. The waves just seem more fitting for the stormy blues and greys in my yarn (more of those GU colors!). I am looking for more suggestions though, so if you know of a great pattern for 880 yards of yummy laceweight, please let me know!
The Trekking XXL socks have been frogged yet again, and this time they have been reborn as a pair of plain vanilla top-down socks. The dark Trekking colorway wasn't letting any pattern I tried to show up, so the latest incarnation is just stockinette stitch. They will be my movie and t.v. socks for a while so I can concentrate on the show. Through all this, I learned I am just not a toe-up girl, because the style wasn't working for me. I know there are toe-up devotees out there who claim it is the best method imaginable because you can use up all your yarn, but I am like Wendy. I am just more satisfied by starting from the cuff, turning into the homestretch at the heel, and anticipating the decreases at the toe which signal the completion of a sock.
I was a very responsible middle school math and science teacher this week. I used my time wisely yesterday (both of my Science classes had tests and my homeroom had P.E.), and I wrote lesson plans for my next two units in Science and my assignment sheets for next week. I also graded all of this week's assignments last night before I finished off the oregano socks. This is very important, because I now have the rest of the weekend to do nothing but knit, knit, knit! I don't think I have ever managed to do that since I started full-time teaching. I guess I just needed the proper motivation provided by my fiber and pointy sticks!
I'm off to play with my yarn!
And, oh yeah: Go Hoyas! Go Gators! Go Sooners!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
And So It Begins...
The DCA has said I need a blog to track my knitting and all my favorite blogs and sites. So here goes! As I have practically no html experience, this should be a fun learning opportunity. Bear with me while I work out the small details.
As so many of us out here, I am a knitter. It is my favorite hobby and my tenuous link to sanity. Knitting keeps me grounded and allows me to decompress after work. In the past, I rarely knit things for myself (except for socks), but I am now in a more selfish phase of knitting which is all about me, Me, ME. I spent the summer working on projects for other people and for Christmas, so now it's MY turn!
As so many of us out here, I am a knitter. It is my favorite hobby and my tenuous link to sanity. Knitting keeps me grounded and allows me to decompress after work. In the past, I rarely knit things for myself (except for socks), but I am now in a more selfish phase of knitting which is all about me, Me, ME. I spent the summer working on projects for other people and for Christmas, so now it's MY turn!
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