martinimade

"She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick."

-- Flannery O'Connor in "A Temple of the Holy Ghost."

I can think of nothing more important to point out today -

The Yarn Harlot has sent out the knit signal. Donate now.

This was not a glamorous project. It was, however, a necessary one.

Six-ish years ago, we experiences our first Oneonta winter. We survived - but, at times, it was a near thing.* During that winter, I knitted an earwarmer for the Hub. I was a novice knitter then, my enthusiasm made up for my lack of skill. The silly thing, which the Hub wore, was always too narrow. He'd come in from the cold with the tops and bottoms of his ears bright pink and well-nigh frozen.

Last week, I made one Hub very happy by knitting a New! and Improved! earwarmer:

(Those who know the Hub will be shocked by this picture. While I was in the 'burgh, he shaved off his beard*** and cut off all of his hair. I'm still adapting.)

For my own records: I knit it out of a ball of Valley Yarns Northfield, which I was gifted with at a KR Retreat. I used US 6 needles and cast on 32 stitches**, then did 1x1 rib until it was 23" inches long. Did a three needle bind-off rather than Kitchener because I was lazy.

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* I've now reached the point where I enjoy winter, for the most part. The past few weeks of sub-25F temps are getting to me a little lately but it will pass. 

** Note to self: if you ever make this again, do a provisional cast-on rather than a long-tail. Picking out that first row of stitches was a royal pain in the arse.

*** (thanks Matthew)

* Space is cool.

* I have been known to be a wee bit obsessive at times but this guy wins the lemon. I tip my hat to you, sir.

* I would buy this squid ship floaty pen if only floaty pens weren't so crappy as pens. Good toy, tho.

* I've had male students do this and I'm always at a loss for the proper response.

* Hanger Tea!

* More Muppets!

* Deep-fried cupcakes on a stick! So wrong. But so, so right.

* Remember: No one wants to see curvy women.

* More John Oliver goodness. He addresses the interview with the Swiss ambassador, which was one of the most uncomfortable yet funny pieces on the Daily Show of late,  in this interview. 

* I, um, don't know how to respond to this. Seriously. I'm just sitting here blinking at the photos.

* 100 skills everyone should master. What would you add? Subtract?

* As Hitchens points out, sometimes the best response is WTF?

* Two craft related links: the paintbox quiltalong, which I want to join but would be out of my mind if I tried to do so, and the magic of sashiko.

* I know that by saying this aloud I'll all but doom the show but you should be watching Better Off Ted, especially if you've ever worked in a cubicle. Oh, look, there's already a campaign to save it from cancelation. Grrr. (Oh - and also - this clip of outtakes from an upcoming episode is definitely NSFW but is definitely funny.)

From the almost daily: what we have here is a failure to communicate...

(Also: I was in my beloved hometown most of last week and am a little more behind than usual. Which means little, I know, given the degree to which I am behind most of the time anyway. Still. If I owe you anything, it's coming soon. Unless I forgot, which I just as likely.

The trip itself was wonderful and spent with a wee infant who can charm the socks off of a snake. I didn't get out much but did eat dinner at Legume, a restaurant I highly recommend. I'd like to recommend, too, that the city as whole stop building new buildings. Progress really screws up my internal compass. Thanks.)

"Sylvia Boorstein, a Buddhist teacher and the author of books with titles like Don't Just Do Something, Sit There, was saying, 'The whole world is a lesson in what's true.' Sylvia was perhaps in her 70s, with an impish, dare I say Buddha-like, face. 'Life is difficult for everybody. Once you're in, there's no way out. You have to go forward. And we all die at the end. So how to deal with it?'

-- From a column in body and soul magazine, which I wound up with a subscription to, even though it's a little to blue smoke for my taste.

But the question: how do you deal with it?

Drawn by the Diva at some point during the long break when she had had enough of her little brother:

And, no, for the record, Cory is not cool at all.
 

Over the break, I made a Pretty Thing from some Still River Mill cashmere I picked up at Rhinebeck.

The only mod I made is adding an extra 17 stitch repeat because my head is bigger than Stephanie's. I don't think I needed it but wanted to be on the safe side. The best parts are how little this soft, pretty thing ways and how warm it is. Yum.

As a bonus, I have enough yarn leftover to make at least two more. Total win.
 

* The story is less interesting than one might hope but I love the headline quote: "We'll be judged on how we dealt with the things that were broken."

* Why is story #3 still a parenting fad? Seriously?

* I fully agree with KJ Dell'Antonia's opinion on Fancy Nancy Splendiforous Christmas. It is a lovely book.

* I want one of these "Err on the side of awesome" cross stitch pieces.

* This Gawker guide to journalism jobs is hysterically funny, using all meanings of the word hysteria. Especially the bit about alt weeklies, as my former MP peeps will testify.

* Note to self: Go here.

* More wisdom from Kurt Vonnegut.

* I did not expect this question to have a rational answer. I expected the response to simply be, "because they are college students and therefore entitled." And coming at the question from another angle - I never really craved a week off from a standard full-time job the way I do about week 7 of a semester. Not sure why this is.

* Ricky Gervais and Elmo. Heh.

* Once upon a time, I worked on the retail end of the textbook industry. Now I'm on the end in charge of telling the students what to buy. From either perspective, the whole sector is a mess in need of reform. 

* Coincidently, I just found this Molly Gloss book on my library's sale table. I'll save Jo Walton's review for after reading it.

* Ruhlman on Americans being too stupid to cook. 

* If we're only as sick as our secrets, then I must share my dark secret with you: I can't resist Dr. Drew and his rehab shows. This Chris Norris NYT mag piece takes a hard look at the Dr and the world he's emeshed with. 

Here's me, flinging a leg back over the blogging horse. Something about this string of holidays wiped out all of my ability to keep track of the days. 

And, so, a quick recap:

There were gifts. For some reason, Nerf guns were a popular present for both kids and spouse. 

Both kids and spouse are still enjoying the heck out of them. The cats and I are over it.

We went up to the Husband's ancestral homeland, where were discovered that Uno's Chicago Grill has a gluten-free pizza that is quite good. The Diva was pleased.

It was also over this break that I realized she no longer looks like a little kid. I find this both wonderful and terrifying.

We went to the Strong Museum of Play, which is, bar-none, the best kids' museum in the Northeast.

In addition to a Lego exhibit, the Museum also had a special retrospective on classic arcade games. We played Galaga! And Tempest! And Centipede! Had the museum piped in the smells of a Pittsburgh pizza joint (garlic, teen spirit and Iron City), the experience would have been a total flashback to being a kid in the '80s.

Our kids couldn't have cared less about the games. But, oh, we were in heaven.

What they loved, as usual, was playing on Sesame Street...

 He's a very good driver.

The Boy discovered the magic of capitalism in the Berenstain Bears exhibit. Woo?

Eventually, we wandered home. Purlewe stopped by with goodies, which we are enjoying to no end, as did Heidi and her crew. We (along with Doula K and Economist K) played Munchkin well into the night, because that's how we roll.

The kids went back to school today and I celebrated by buying myself a late gift at the Artisan's Guild downtown.

It's a flat-ish glass pendant thingy that is perfect for the dining room. And with that, I declare the holidays done. A fine time was had by all at least some of the time, which is all one can ask.