Robyn fixes disassembles the kitchen sink

CHALLENGE: dripping kitchen sink
ROBYN'S SOLUTION: probably just a washer or something in the aerator part on the tip of the faucet. Easy!
HOME DEPOT GUY'S SOLUTION: No, if it's dripping, it's the cartridge. You need to take the cartridge out of the faucet and bring it in so we can find the right one.


Oh, dear. This is a bit more complicated than I thought, but I have the Internet, right? I research the job and find that it's very simple. I also come across a video on how to completely change the faucet. This will come into play later.

Step 1: Take a shower, do your hair and makeup, and put on good clothes and jewelry.

Step 2: Approach the sink and show no fear.



((sink's view -- I think it can smell the fear))



How the hell do you even start? I pry off this top thingy.



I quickly realize that every picture of this project will reveal shameful griminess.

Next: Get tool kit. My husband had a few screwdrivers and hammers lying around. Good thing my dad gave me this trusty tool kit some years ago. I love it and have always taken special care to return all tools to their proper places so they are always there when I need them.



Crap! Where are all the damn tools? I'm sure I can blame this on my husband, who is not organized like I am. Then again, I have never seen him use a tool.



I know I need an Allen wrench, or at least I think that's what these are called. Of course, the size I need is not on here. But I find I have little loose interchangeable parts, and one of them fits.



Next, I need a Philips screwdriver, but naturally, the faucet company would not want to use one that is of average size. Never fear, I have an interchangeable one that fits! Thanks, Dad!



From here, I decide to just keep taking pieces off until I see something that says "cartridge" to me.









At this point, nothing more will budge. I pull and pull and twist and turn. I shred the metal with pliers. I'm not sure what to do. I'm sort of amazed that I made such a mess just to fix a drip. I decide to go to Home Depot and look at cartridges, thinking maybe I can figure something out by seeing what they look like.

But first, I need a hamburger. I think I deserve one, and the Flying Star will do just nicely. I enjoy most of my burger, then get up to get a drink refill. By the time I return, my table has been cleared. They kindly replace my meal.

I go to Home Depot and realize that cartridges vary widely and this trip is of no help. Suddenly, replacing the entire faucet seems so much easier. I mean, ours is a decade old and very basic. Maybe it would spruce up our kitchen a bit. You know what else would spruce it up? A new $220 black sink. One thing at a time.

And, dang! Did you realize kitchen faucets are really expensive? The one I picked was $120, and that was on the cheap end.



Now, I've got to get involved with the area under the sink. I clear out all the stuff and am appalled by the filth. Why don't I ever think to clean under there? I guess because there are better things to do.



Spray-spray, wipe-wipe.

There! Good as new! This will come in handy later when we are trying to lie down in there. Or Mark did, anyway. The idea of rust chips falling in my eyes and mouth didn't appeal much to me.



So, I watch a video and figure out how to disconnect the water source and the hot/cold tubes. That's easy. But my sink is not like the ones in the pictures and videos online. It's held on not by two bolts to the sides of the pipes, but apparently by one bolt that connects the spray hose and is located within centimeters of the hot/cold pipes, which are not rubbery at this area, but copper and don't want to make way for the wrench. I did buy a basin wrench, which helped in the space. I get it where I want it, but I can't budge it. So I get my not-so-handy-but-stronger-than-me husband and show him what bolt I'm going for and he gets under there and tries with all his might. He yells like those big guys at the gym when they are putting all their might into something. Then he complains he hurt his voice. But it's rusty and will not budge.



By this point, I had already gotten off the metal plate of the faucet, but not the part underneath. I discovered this nasty mess, though I'm starting to believe it's plumber's putty and not that I'm a disgusting, filthy, non-cleaning pig. If there's one thing I do clean it's my kitchen.



So that's what I'm left with. A gross, disassembled kitchen sink. My husband has already gone running to Ronnie, the neighbor who is a plumber, but he wasn't home. I hope he can come and help us very soon.

Photosynthesis, baby, photosynthesis

I have decided to plant an indoor herb garden. I have been cooking more, and I thought it would be nice to just grab a leaf or two when I need something rather than going to the store and buying a package that has way too much of whatever I need.

The thing is, I have never grown anything from seeds before. I planted them and placed them in my kitchen windows, behind the sink. I hope that in the mornings, they will get lots of sun, but I don't really see much of mornings with my sleep schedule, so I can't be sure.




I also decided to replant a few other house plants so they will have fresh soil. I tend to neglect my plants a little. Suddenly, I remembered a plant I had stuck on top of the kitchen cabinets when I painted months ago. It's the long droopy one in the middle below. I felt so sorry for it. Actually, I felt like the time my brother had a hamster named Tiny Elvis and he forgot about it. He had put its cage in a back room because it was noisy at night. One afternoon, we were snacking in the kitchen and he looked up with big eyes and said, "OH NO! Tiny Elvis!!!" We ran into the back room, expecting the worst. Tiny Elvis had busted out. Oh my God. It makes me sick to think of him suffering in there -- and it was not my fault. He was my brother's pet and I had no idea he was being neglected. I still dream that he is living in a palace inside the walls of that house. OK, actually, that house was torn down. Anyway, never saw him again. I guess a plant is a little different, but I still see them as having feelings. I can never discard a plant until it's completely dead. One green leaf, and it stays.



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I have been really busy lately, but I can't really say what I've been doing. I haven't been sewing much. I have been knitting, but not completing much. I'm almost done with my Liesel scarf, which is taking an eternity despite the pattern saying it can be completed in less than a day. I'm still working on my Soldier's Sweater from "Runway Knits." I'm halfway done with sleeve No. 1. Then I do sleeve 2 and sew them on. Then I just have to knit a band all the way around the front and neck. I'll be glad to get that one done.

Here is something nobody else will appreciate. A tin of buttons. When I was a kid, my mom had a jar of buttons in the sewing room, and I loved it. So I had a jar of buttons when I grew up. I save all the extra buttons that come with clothes. The other day, I put them in this tin. Now they are even more appealing to me. I can see and touch them better.



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I found out I am extremely vitamin D deficient. My doctor gave me super strength vitamin D pills to take once a week for 15 weeks. I can't understand how a fair-skinned person living in one of the sunniest places on earth can become vitamin D deficient. I need to get outside more, but it's cold, and so when I do I'm pretty much completely covered except for the face. Waiting impatiently for spring.

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I got myself this handy and cute little key ring crochet hook from 5elementknitr on Etsy. You know, you take your knitting with you some place and then drop a stitch and don't have a crochet hook to fix it. NIGHTMARE. But with this, you'll always have one on hand.



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I wish I could find a way to learn about photography -- just enough to take decent pictures for my blog. I'm afraid that any class I find will expect me to have some fancy expensive camera. I'd just like to know how to work better with my not-so-fancy camera. My pictures are badly framed and lighted. My camera seems to have two options: no flash or extremely bright flash. Any ideas?

Watch Miss America -- you know you want to

Guess what? I know Miss New Mexico. She's a really sweet and beautiful woman named Christina Olmi. Guess what else? Being Miss New Mexico means you get to compete in Miss America! And Miss America is this month.



Tune in to see her compete and to root for her on Sunday, Jan. 24 on TLC (I think).

Who's an almost-birthday girl? Me!

You see, I want this item for my birthday, and I am hoping that someone in my family sees this gigantic hint and buys it for me.

It's a butter crock -- a magical way to keep your butter out of the fridge, and therefore soft and spreadable at all times. And this is the cutest one I can find.



It's available at sierraclayart on etsy.com. I used the shop's photo.

So close, yet so far

I have finished my Bittersweet Teak Gauntlets from "Boutique Knits." They would be perfect IF I JUST HAD TWO LEFT HANDS.

That's right. I am truly a complete dumbass. I spent all this time knitting them, and forgot to consider that the instructions for the right hand would be reversed. How this never crossed my mind until I was attaching the second band is beyond me. It was one of those moments where go into a complete panic and want to cry, but can't because you're so far beyond that that crying is impossible.

Usually, I am so upset over a big mistake that it takes a day or two to feel like I can come back to it and do something about it. This time, I sucked it up very quickly and decided that the only option is to order more yarn and make two right hands. Then I will give one pair away as a gift to someone. I am not looking forward to starting all over, but otherwise this entire pair is worthless.

And I suppose that if I were born with two left hands, I couldn't write very well and people would look at me funny.

Well, here is one of the finished ones, and I love how it came out:



And with its all-too-identical mate:




*****UPDATE*****

I realized that my solution above was also quite stupid. Someone pointed out that perhaps I could just rip my second mitt and redo it. I then realized that I would only have to go down to the start of the colorwork, because that's where the instructions change. I did that and am on my way to finishing them.

Goodbye, Christmas

Today I collected all the Christmas decorations and put them in one place for easier packing. This excludes the tree and the village. It makes Mark very sad because he loves Christmas very, very much. This looks like Christmas death and mayhem, which makes me laugh evil-y. Bwa-ha-ha, Mark. Christmas is gone ... GONE!



I spent hours and hours in the garage (with a space heater) trying to pack and carefully arrange the Christmas boxes. We had cleared out some stuff, like an old bed, that had been in the back of the garage with that stuff, but somehow everything had sort of spread out to take over the space. I moved lots of boxes around. Mark eventually helped, but he keeps saying he's working on a story for work. I think it looks more like he's watching football, but what-evs. Just gives me a chance to sneak some of his hideous holiday faves into the trash bin.

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Sometimes it's hard to get things done on the computer when I have to contend with this:



She also tries her darnedest to lick my hands and face and drools all over the keyboard. As a matter of fact, I just had to get a tissue and sop up the drool puddles on the "i" and "n" keys.

I'm really tired of crummy food

I work nights, and as a result, most of my dinners are things that have to be nuked in the micro. I really dislike TV dinners, though the Kashi ones are tolerable. Often, I make my own food and then heat it up. It's never as good as it was fresh. What I really, really wish for is a cookbook of meals you can cook for microwave reheating later that really taste good and don't get soggy and overcooked. Or maybe a tiny little oven and stove next to my desk.

Chicken

Remember how I was going to make a quilt for the first time? And how I thought I could just borrow a book from the library and figure it out? Well, I got scared. Of what, I really don't know. It's not like a quilt can up and bite me. But I just wasn't sure where to begin. I decided to sign up for the UNM Continuing Ed class I had wanted to take this fall. It's again on Thursday nights in the spring semester, which is perfect since I am off on Thursdays and Fridays. Homework involves sewing! I LOVE homework! It's a 10-week class, and for the price I think you really get your money's worth.



I really haven't been sewing at all lately. I've been so busy -- it may have been since mid-November that I haven't sewn. I took a bunch of fabric in my stash and cut it up to make "ditty bags" for foster kids. Basically, a little fabric bag for them to keep their stuff in as they are shuffled about. I cut a bunch of them out, but I haven't had a chance to sew them. To be honest, I'm not even sure I remember how I'd figured out I'd put them together. I eventually plan to get around to this project. Foster children are people I have a soft spot for. I kind of wish I could care for some, but my life is not set up for children right now. And, plus, I'm not sure what Mark would think of that.

I also never finished a skirt I was making and I still hope to enter some garment in the state fair next year. I wanted to design it myself, too. I meant to do it this year, but the fair snuck up on me.

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Yesterday was Mark's birthday. Since it's so close to Christmas, we usually celebrate on his birthday itself, no matter what day of the week, so it doesn't get mixed in with the other holidays. But his family was visiting other family and got back last night, so we're doing it a day late. Unfortunately, it's also our Christmas celebration with his family, so he doesn't get a special day all to himself. On the plus side, I get presents! I think I'll bake the beer bread mix he got me.

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It's been FREEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZINNNG here the last few days. I understand that even the high yesterday didn't get above the freezing mark. I still insisted on wearing my new leather jacket, and just piled on hats, gloves and a scarf. I don't believe I would have been warm in any jacket I put on, anyway. Mark thought I was nuts, but what's he doing giving me a red leather jacket in the middle of winter and thinking I won't wear it till the weather warms a little? Right!

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I forgot to mention that my mom got me these adorable strawberry earrings from etsy.com seller insanejellyfish for Christmas.



She just happens to be a fellow Albuquerquean!

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I plan to get back on the money-saving train now. I haven't been quite as good as I had wanted to be. (After all, I needed some black leather gloves to go with my new red leather jacket, right? Kohl's had them on sale for $17!) Also, it's time to lose a few pounds. Not many, just a few. We took the Total Gym out of the box, but I don't want to go on the treadmill or exercise bike in the garage because it's freezing and dreary in there. In the winter, I'm better off at the community center gym. I'm also continuing to prepare food at home, which takes a lot of planning. I need to go check out some recipes and do some grocery shopping tonight.

Merry Christmas! Have some raw turkey and gravy that looks like vomit!

Most Christmases are hectic for me. Some years I have to work. Even when I don't, I need to visit my dad, mom, grandma and mother-in-law. Trying to balance everything is exhausting. This year, my in-laws went to visit family in California, and I didn't have to work. I saw the opportunity to have my first-ever at-home Christmas as an adult. I decided to cook a turkey dinner, since that's what my mother-in-law always does and it's important to my husband. Also, we missed Thanksgiving this year because we were in Mexico.

I planned ahead and did the proper research about how long the turkey would need to thaw in the fridge. I researched how long to cook it, but this didn't help much because every single source gave me an entirely different answer. (I have, for the record, made several delicious and successful turkeys.)

My husband likes the giblets and his mom always uses them in the gravy. I find this disgusting, but I don't really eat gravy anyway except on fake mashed potatoes at fast-food restaurants. I found my cat trying to get the giblets in the bag in the sink, so I went ahead and dumped the bag into some water to boil them. Then I made my husband cut them up. But here, when they boiled over, was the first gross moment of my cooking adventure.



Still with me? It stays bad.

The turkey was in for four hours and I did use a thermometer to check the temperature, but I must have not stuck it in the right place or deep enough. When we had everything else ready and cut into the turkey, it was very much uncooked. I couldn't accept it. I was so upset. "It can't be!" I wailed. I was about to cry. Everyone (my mom, grandma and husband) said, "it's OK." "IT'S NOT OK!!!!!" I said. It wasn't. I spent $25 on that turkey. I planned everything for a week. I got up extra early to put it in. All I wanted was a simple, relaxing Christmas. The final solution was to cut pieces off and microwave them so we could eat right away. I got past my tears and got to work on the gravy.

The gravy. I had made it before because my mother-in-law is bent on teaching me. I do want to learn, but I couldn't remember how. So I turned to my trusty friend Betty Crocker. I poured out the drippings, but there was something rather solid crusted onto the pan, and we weren't sure if we were supposed to use it in the gravy. I know my MIL uses all the crap in the bottom of the pan. I found out that my mom, a very good cook, actually never learned to make gravy. We were both gravy novices, and soon things became disastrous. First, I was to take two tablespoons of the fat off the drippings, and discard the rest of the fat. Only I couldn't tell any fat from any drippings. The whole thing ended up in the pan. We kept adding flour and water and trying to break up that stuff in the pan. My grandma came over and tried to salvage our mess but couldn't. We ended up with something you may accurately describe as "lumpy," I suppose. My husband noted that one could use a fork to eat it.





So we didn't really have gravy, and the turkey was microwaved. We tested my oven temperature accuracy, and it's fine. I think that high altitude played a role, and perhaps the turkey was slightly frozen, too. I just have a fear of overcooked, dried out turkey, so it's a balancing act, I suppose.

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For Christmas, my dear husband gave me a beautiful red leather jacket and a lovely watch. I also got a gift certificate to the local yarn store from my mom. Yay!

I have been fascinated by beer bread lately, and my husband found this. It's the mix, and you just add a beer or ginger ale:



I can't believe I don't have a black scarf, but I need one for my new red jacket. Unfortunately, my Liesel scarf is coming along very slowly. I barely have two feet. I may have to buy a cheapo one for now.



I also nearly completed one of the Bittersweet Teak Gauntlets from "Boutique Knits."

The completed piece looks like this:



Then you fold it and sew up the side, leaving a hole for the thumb. After that, it needs a seed stitch band around the wrist. Here it is folded, but not sewn.



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I had set this tiny tree on the floor for a few minutes because it was in my way. My cat seemed to think it was just her size and sat very cutely by it for some time. Of course, as soon as I grabbed the camera, she started to book it, but I almost caught her looking up very adorably.



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Today is the day after Christmas, and it's snowy and windy out. In Albuquerque, we are sort of scared of snow. But I really want to go out and do some shopping, and it's not sticking yet. Nothing fancy, and the Cottonwood area is right by my house. I also thought of stopping by Savers. I have discovered that if you are willing to hunt, you can find some great secondhand clothes. I recently got a really well-made Ann Taylor embroidered and pleated skirt for $5.99.

Back is blocked

I finally finished the back of my "Soldier Sweater" from "Runway Knits." I thought it would never end. It's not that big, but it's just lots of dull ribbing. I had to stretch it a lot when I blocked it, and the before and after is shown below. I know you can't read the rulers in the photos.




Eventual finished product:


I'm on my way to the grocery store. I am still trying to focus on preparing food at home, though this week has been hectic and I have grabbed food on the go a few times when I was unprepared. I also oinked out on burger, fries, onion rings and a malt today, so I'm feeling awfully good about myself!

I'm all ready for Christmas. We kept gift-giving small and since my MIL and SIL will be out of town, we are just going to stay home -- for the first time! -- and prepare a turkey dinner, since we missed Thanksgiving.

Well, cat is vomiting as I speak, so I'm off to tend to that.

Where bad art goes to die

I am not a person with an appreciation for fine art. Call me uncultured, I don't care. I jut don't know anything about it and don't really get into it.

Today, I was tearing away the pages of my Ripley's Believe It or Not! day-at-a-time calendar, which I don't seem to look at for months at a time, and found that yesterday's page had an entry about a museum of BAD art.

Intriguing!

Naturally, I checked it out, and you can too by clicking here: MOBA, Art Too Bad To Be Ignored.

The art is bad, but the descriptions really make the site. I especially like the one where a man painted something and sent it to a friend, who sent it right back. He was sad, but didn't want it on his own wall, either. He found out about the Museum of Bad Art and knew he had found a home for this fine painting.

It's super-duper funny that much of the art is discovered in trash cans. And funnier yet that a lot of the rest is donated directly by the humbled artist himself.

On the needles

What? You're dying to know what works in progress I have going? Well let me share:

I am working on the Zigzag socks from "Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book." I like the solid ones in the photo, but I'm using yarn I had hand-painted. I don't know if it's just because I'm an inexperienced yarn dyer or if other yarns pool strangely, but I can already see it happening. The nice thing about a solid is that you can see the cables better. But that's OK, because I immediately screwed up the cables. I am not willing to start over, so I figure if I do it right from here on out, it won't be too noticeable. I'm not very motivated with this project, to tell the truth. So I'll do a little here and a little there. I knit and knit and it never gets any bigger.



As I said in a previous post or two, I'm really excited about these fingerless mitts from "Boutique Knits."
I finally got my yarn and needles (size 1 and 2, but sock needles are too short. They are knitted flat, so I ordered circulars). Then the cheap circulars I bought immediately splintered. I already complained about that, but basically I am waiting on the replacements. I'm only two rows in, hardly enough to bother with a photo.



I'm still working on the Soldier Sweater from "Runway Knits." This is another one that I have trouble working on. It's sort of dull. I'm doing the back now and it's just 1x1 ribbing for inch after inch. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. At least it's a small sweater, so it won't go on for too long. After this, though, the next boring part will be the sleeves. I'll do those simultaneously on circulars to avoid SSS (second sleeve [or sock] syndrome). Mine is made from Cascade 220 (nice and economical wool!) in a deep burgundy.




My newest project is the Liesel scarf, a free pattern. I wanted a soft, cozy black scarf with some personality. Scarves can be so tedious to make, so I wanted something with a pattern to follow. I had previously made a shawl from Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk yarn in black. It was an ugly shawl and I never used it. So I ripped it out and am using the yarn for this.



Finally, I plan to make my first quilt, a baby one, which I mentioned earlier. Here is the fabric I'm using. All I have knowledge-wise to go on is this book from the library. I also am now the proud owner of a rotary cutter and mat, and a quilters ruler. Who needs a $155 class, right? Right? I hope...

Money-saving tips that don't suck

Who'd of thunk it that I would be able to offer financial advice? Me -- the one who racked up tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt in her 20s? Well, I recently finished paying off a $30,000 home equity consolidation loan and have now officially paid off my very-dragged-out bachelor's degree plus my 2001 car and some credit card debt.

With the state of the economy, not to mention the state of the newspaper business, my husband and I are buckling down.

Here are some ways I've been saving:

1. Why pay for a gym membership when the area community center has a free workout room with new equipment and a locker room? It's not a huge workout room, but it has all the basics. Your tax dollars pay for these community centers, and they have lots to offer, so take advantage.

2. Use the library. Yes, I forgot all about the library. I probably have enough novels stacked up to last me two years, but I've been borrowing craft-related books and saving money.

3. Shop thrift stores. I've always been turned off by used clothes, but I sifted through and picked up only nice brands. I got a beautiful, well-made Ann Taylor skirt for $5.99. I draw the line at used shoes, though.

4. Eat at home. This is a hard one for me. I like to grab lunch out on the way to work, although I usually get something really cheap like a 6" Subway sandwich. I've been grocery shopping and cooking. It takes a little advance planning, but it saves.

5. Pick a grocery store and take advantage of its frequent shopper program. I like Smith's. It's close and brand new. It also has a little organic section. I know some people will see the frequent shopper card as a bit "big brother," but it keeps track of what I like to buy and then sends me relevant coupons. It also sent me a $6 off coupon for my entire purchase.

6. Only buy what you need and NO JUNK! In other words, don't use coupons just to use coupons and end up buying stuff you didn't want in the first place. Don't spend money on cookies and junk food. It's hard to balance healthful eating and spending wisely, but it's better to skip the cookies and spend more on leaner ground beef.

7. Shop frequently. If you live close to a grocery store, you may want to shop more often and buy a little at a time. This works best for me because I mostly feed just myself. My husband and I rarely have meals together due to our schedules, so we just sort of fend for ourselves. We often prefer different foods, so if I buy too much, it might go bad. Likewise, my freezer is a disorganized pit, so I try to just buy fresh meats as I need them so I don't forget what's in there. It also means I'm buying just what I need and wasting less.

8. Cut out all the little extras. It's easy to see something for $6 or $7 and think it's no big deal, but those things all add up.

9. Rethink entertainment. Things like movies may be out. We pay for satellite TV and movie channels and will continue to do so, but that means I won't be spending money renting movies or using Netflicks. I'll just have to watch what's offered on HBO. Maybe some people would rather use Netflicks and eliminate cable.

10. Fix stuff. My dress boots were making a lot of noise recently. I looked at the heels and they were worn to metal nubs. The toes were also shot. In the past, I would have chucked them and bought new ones, but who has $100 or more bucks for new boots right now? I don't, so I took them to a shoe repair and got new heels and toes for $20. They look brand new. I used to be really wasteful and buy a new watch when my battery died, figuring I was tired of it anyway, but now I will be replacing the battery instead.

11. Ask your workplace (if you still have one) if there are any discounts available. If you don't have the option of a free workout area (see #1), many bigger companies have deals with gyms. I get a 17% discount on my monthly bill through Verizon thanks to work, and also discounts on accessories and phones.

12. Take advantage of rebates. And don't forget to mail them in. You can really get great deals, but they are betting that lots of people won't bother/remember to mail them in. Walgreens has a monthly rebate program. Grab a pamphlet when you walk in and see what's entirely free. Usually they will have 1-6 items that are completely free after rebate. Sometimes they aren't any good to me, like this month's bald-man head wipeys, but sometimes they're great. And FREE! If you live with somebody and dine with them frequently, and Entertainment Book can be a great value with all those buy 1, get 1 deals.

13. (adding as I think of things) Like to read? Use Paperbackswap.com to trade books. You give away your old ones and request new ones. Recycles and saves money.

I must admit that younger generations are quite wasteful, but I'm changing my ways right now, and it doesn't really have to hurt!

Sniffly and sick

Ugh. A cold has finally caught up to me. I started fighting it before my trip to Cancun. I took Airborne like crazy. I have found that it only delays the cold, so I took it to get me through the trip. I felt it lingering there, waiting for its chance to pounce, so I was hoping to just get it over with before returning to work tomorrow. I had a few days off at home after the trip. Unfortunately, it took its time and I'm just now getting sick.

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Here is my latest item. I made the Urchin hat out of Manos del Uruguay 100% wool. My gauge was off, so I cast on for the largest size. It's really tight around the band, but I can manage. It's a very quick knit, and perfect for thick/thin spun yarn.





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I have been anxious to start the Bittersweet Teak Gauntlets from "Boutique Knits."


I bought the book just for this pattern, and ordered the exact yarn. Unfortunately a wrong ZIP code delayed the arrival. I was also a bit annoyed because they are knit flat, and the only tiny needles I had are very short DPNs (double pointed needles) that couldn't accommodate 75 stitches. So I ordered some inexpensive but beautiful Harmony wood circulars from Knit Picks. I figured I could use them when I get the nerve to do two-at-a-time magic loop socks. Well, I started making my mitts last night, and after knitting a swatch (size 2 needles too small, size 3 too big, so I guess I'll do 2s and cast on a few extra stitches) I started. By row 2, the tip of the needle had splintered and my yarn was catching. I called Knit Picks today and they quickly replaced them -- no charge and I don't have to send the old ones back. The customer service was so great, so I wanted to get that out there.



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Next up for sewing projects is my first quilt. I have taken no classes, and I'm just winging it and using a book for reference. I'm starting with a baby quilt so that I don't invest too much. I also need to finish a skirt I started and was having trouble fitting. It's very simple, so I just need to put a few minutes of work into it, but I'm just not motivated.

I was an excellent reader at age 5

I wasn't going to do this one because at first I was afraid I wouldn't have read very many. Afraid they'd all be fancy-pants boring books that people read to sound educated, and I don't like those books. But on a quick review, I think I've read quite a few, so off we go! Bold means I've read 'em.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible ((not the whole thing))
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ((I only got part way through. I thought it was quite humorous, and at the same time was going nowhere at all.))
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ((Tried, but couldn't get through it.))
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ((Only book I've bothered to re-read! I love this book -- esp. that New Mexico (where I live) is the land of savages. Figures! We always get dissed like dat))
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (So hard to read, but truly wonderful.)
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73.The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams ((I read this as I started my current job. There are rabbits all over the campus, and I eyed them suspiciously for some time.))
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo


OK, so now that I've done it, it appears I have not read as many as I thought. I can't believe "East of Eden" isn't on here! It's one of my top 2 favorites, the other being "Brave New World."