Haven't done this in ages

A Saturday Sky:

I'm feeling sort of oddly stressed/anxious/frustrated about a variety of things, some of which are actually beyond my control. But as we've all experienced, just knowing that doesn't stop the brain from spinning 'round in circles, into the wee hours of the morning. A night of tossing and turning is so not what I need right now, it won't help anything at all.

What will help is that tomorrow is predicted to be a rainy day, and for once I welcome it. I want a quiet gray day of showers, a day I can hunker down inside and focus on the few things that are within my control, making progress in those areas should bring a little relief, at least improving my overall mood.

Bit of a wet weekend

But not as much as forecasted, at least not here. I can't speak for the rest of coastal southern California. It's not uncommon for us to have completely different weather from the mainland, sometimes due to being just far enough offshore that the edge of a  storm system will either just graze us or miss us completely. 

'Course the opposite is also true and that slightly brisk and breezy morning they barely noticed from the inside of climate-controlled buildings and standard automobiles lined up on the 405 parking lot was a great big whompin' gale that stopped cross-channel carriers and put our Harbor Patrol officers into overtime battling the churning seas and boats tossed about like toys. So I suppose it's all relative.

I captured of a worthwhile bit of Saturday Sky:

And a few basic chores were completed:

Don't you just love the smell of fresh roasting socks?

How could I not have known about this?

Since I'm basically doing the equivalent of home-schooling myself to a college degree, and I'm doing it alone, I have become the Queen of Flashcards. As I've mentioned in the past, most of what I'm studying my friends and family don't really want to hear about and/or are completely sick of hearing about, so I use flashcards to study.  Definitions of key terms, assignments, quizzes, practice exams - all of these are sources of material to copy onto index cards, which are then reviewed and reviewed and reviewed - until I'm sick of them too.  I go through stacks of index cards. But it works for me.

So how could I not have known about this site?  My peeps, I have found you at last! I signed up for the freebie account that allows you to access flashcards already created online and make your own, but since the full account lets you also print, export and create audio files for only $20, I think this could be a worthwhile investment! Especially since it looks like it could save me a fair amount of time and effort. In just a few searches I found card files others created when preparing for some of the same exams I'll be taking in the upcoming months.

After finishing Statistics (with a B thankyouverymuch!) I no longer have any classes required by my major and only 2 upper level courses needed, which hopefully will be satisfied by a couple of independent study classes, one already started and the other starting as soon as the books arrive.  Besides that I need to finish the Spanish class I started (and regret taking) and then all I have left is a stack of lower level credits to chew through.  My plan for that is to use an assortment of Dantes and CLEP exams. Pick a subject exam, get approval from my advisor, memorize a shitload of flashcards, take exam and BANG...3  lower level units done.  Then I just do it over and over and watch the light at the end of the tunnel get bigger and brighter!

As in the past, ending here with an end of the day Saturday Sky:

Better statistics, better beer

I'm sure I've spent enough time ranting about my statistics course. Please keep in mind, I'm only taking the blasted class because I have to, it's a requirement, not an elective.  But that's not to say that the subject doesn't have its place in the world, and I thought perhaps the following info might be of interest to Didi or any others struggling through a basic stats course!

Did you know that the t distribution and the t inference procedures were both invented by  a man named William S. Gossett? Gossett studied chemistry and mathematics at New College, Oxford, and after graduation went to work for Guinness in Dublin, where he focused his attention on using statistical methods to find the very best varieties of barley and hopps for Guinness to use in their product. Along the way, he worked with a mathematician named Karl Pearson, who didn't really see the point of Gossett's work, but was willing to help him anyway!

Someone else at Guinness had previously published a paper containing trade secrets of the Guinness brewery so to stop any more disclosure of confidential information Guinness prohibited its employees from publishing any more papers. So when Gossett published his statistical theories he used the pseudonym "Student" so he wouldn't get in trouble. That's why his discovery is known as "Student's t-distribution". Gossett shared his work with an English statistician and geneticist, R.A. Fisher, who appreciated it and followed by developing the t-statistic and the application of t-distribution to regression.  As a result of his statistical work, Gossett was promoted to Head Brewer of a brand new Guinness brewery in London.

What does this mean to you? Well you probably still have to learn what a t-distribution is, along with the t-statistic, degrees of freedom, and t confidence interval. But maybe if you pour yourself a nice pint of Guinness it'll go down a little easier!

I'll end here with an end of the day Saturday Sky:

Strange Hazy Saturday Sky

I'm guessing this is a result of all the fires on the mainland.  I know what's going on, I see the news broadcasts and it's the top story on many news sites.  But I don't go searching for more detailed information, and what little I do see I try to pass by quickly.

It's not that I'm cold-hearted or unsympathetic, it's just that sometimes when I read the stories and see the pictures my stomach starts to churn and my throat tightens and I remember when it was us. And I'd really rather not.

Socks in the sun

I am very careful with my growing collection of hand-knit socks so all of them, even the ones made from yarns considered to be machine washable, get a nice gentle soak in a basin full of lavender baby shampoo suds and then hung up to dry.

This time of the year I only get sunlight on the ends of my balcony, so in the morning I can hang my freshly washed socks up in one corner:

Where they helpfully drip onto the plants and get to enjoy the ocean view at the same time.

Then a few hours later, when they are done dripping and angle of the sun has changed so that area is in the shade, I shift them over to the other end of the balcony.

And much later in the afternoon, I went outside to take my nice dry socks down and found this:

All together now...Awwwww, that's so cute! 

Of course - I had to wait to put away the socks, I mean, what kind of heartless person could disturb that perfect scene?

I'm going to end this post with an end of the day Saturday Sky:

And so it begins...

National Blog Posting Month 2008

Think I can do it again this year?  I don't know, but I'm certainly going to try. I could use your help though.

Here's what you can do - leave me a comment.  Really, that's all I need.  Just a quick "hello", or a "nice photo", or even "I don't like that color" - whatever.  Just something to let me know that I'm not just talking to myself here.  I know you're out there, and I know you're reading, the site stats tell me so. But even if your general preference is to lurk and move on anonymously - please, for one month - help me out a little.

What I can do for you?  Well, I can't promise that every post this month is going to be chock full of scintillating content.  But I will do the best I can every day. That's all I can promise - my best.  Hope that's enough!

To close - today's Saturday Sky:

Saturday Sky slacker

I admit that I've really slacked off on the Saturday Sky.  I expect anyone who surfed the ring on Sunday looking for interesting sky pics has long since given up on me. When I first signed up it was fun, sharing lovely bits of the skies overhead with people from all over the world, and looking to see what their skies looked like on that same day.  It also gave me a good reason to get up and out of my house on the weekend, because I figured there's only so many times I can get away with taking the shot from my balcony!  But it's been a bit more challenging lately. You see, Mother Nature just hasn't been on my side in this endeavor. 

This is what the sky looked like on a Monday:

And this was a Tuesday:

A Wednesday:

And a Thursday:

But come the weekend our skies look like this:

A solid, cloudless light blue.  I know I can't complain and there are plenty who would envy me.  But it doesn't make for a very interesting photo does it?  In fact, that is a rectangle I drew in Photoshop and filled with red 102, green 153, blue 204.  But that's exactly what the sky looks like.

I think perhaps Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humor.  I mean, it's late October and I've had weather in the 80's how many times in the past few months?  So it's not a far reach to imagine that the gorgeous fluffy clouds and intensely colorful sunsets only happen during the week - and weekends just get the leftovers.

Ten years later and she's still here

This is the shot I took yesterday, intending to post it as a Saturday Sky:

But there was also this:

And late today I saw this:

And also this:

Would it be surprising to say that I feel blessed?

This week marked an anniversary for me.  Exactly ten years ago I left my life on the mainland to move over here.  Although I knew I was in for some changes, really - I had no clue what was ahead.  Relocating to the island was so much more than a change of address, it was a change of reality. I try to remember who I used to be, and get lost in the memories. I mean, when I arrived I told myself, "okay give it a year at least, maybe two, and see how it goes". But ten years?  I would never have imagined.

A movie released five years ago used the line, "Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere. I would be different."  I have to agree.  If I had continued my life on the mainland, made alternative decisions on where to live, who would I be now?  Because the choices I've made, and the people I've met along the way, have formed and molded me into a different person.  But I like this person, and I'm glad she's still here.

So ten years - and what a long, strange road it has been.  To celebrate this anniversary, I'm going to offer a little contest.  Leave me a comment telling me where you were ten years ago.  You can interpret "where you were" however you want - geographically, emotionally, career - you decide.  Just leave the comment on this post before June 30th.  Mention this contest on your blog with a link and get an additional entry. I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner.

Oh, you want to know what you'd win?  How about this:

Two skeins of deelishus Di.Ve' Autunno, purchased at Liscat. My photos don't do justice to the depth of color and this 100% merino wool yarn is so soft and smooth.  Comfy soft like you wanna get it next to your skin, or maybe just sit and pet it for awhile. I've also included a cute bookmark, with crystal beads and a little heart dangle, perfect for holding your place in your favorite pattern book!

A crack in the clouds

So where was I?

I think I'm a little behind. (This happens when you spend large amounts of time on the couch doing nothing.) And because of that instead of a Saturday Sky, you are getting a Sunday Sky:



Trust me, it's better than yesterday's would have been anyway!

Thanks to Wendee sending me one of the leftover mini skeins of the Bobbins Nest colorway, I finished the itty-bitty socks:



Aren't those colors great? I think I'm jealous of the itty-bitty socks, I want them to be big enough for me! Considering the amount of time I spend wearing brown with blue jeans I know I'd get a lot of wear out of them and yes, I am aware that I could adapt the pattern to adult feet. But after all yarn buying at Stitches West, I think I need to knit through the stash before I indulge in any more new yarn!

Wendee also figured out why I ran out yarn. So for the ABC-along folks I offer this E for Errata:



Does the foot look a little long to you? (Yeah, me too.) It actually did when I was knitting it. But if you know me outside of the blogiverse you know I don't know nothin' 'bout no babies! I mean, I've been informed by other knitters that babies have freakishly large heads so hey, far as I know they could have bigger feet than I expected. Right? Made sense to me!

I haven't seen any others posted on Ravelry yet so I'm guessing I was probably just the canary in the coal mine since I cast it on the day after receiving it in the goodie bag at the party at Bobbins Nest Studio. It doesn't really matter to me, I'm sure I'll be able to find a home for these itty-bitty socks, and I'm sure I'll use the pattern again in the future.

The most important thing that pattern did for me was to launch me into sock knitting sooner than I expected. I planned to use the Spunky Eclectic Goblin Eyes, because I thought a simple ribbing pattern would be best and the bright colors would keep me entertained. So with high hopes, I wound it into balls, swatched, and cast on:



And I love the colors just as much as I thought I would. Purple, gold, and green - Mardi Gras colors! What's not to love about that? There's also a dark blue, but it seems to blend into the purple. But the color is the only thing I loved. In every other way, I hated it. That yarn is thinner than thin, it's superfine. I was knitting it on size 1 needles, but it was begging me for size 0. Me - trying to knit thread with toothpicks? That's just a one way ticket to crazytown.

Of course it wouldn't just be me going insane. I'd be taking you and everyone else along for the ride. I could just see it - a future where every other blog post consisted of nothing but bitter complaints, slowly descending into madness, enslaved by the beautiful, hateful, sock that never ends. So I frogged it and came up with plan B.

That plan could consist of double-stranding the Goblin Eyes with itself, or even solid yarn, to "bulk it up" to a more reasonable weight and needle size. And that may indeed happen someday. But for now I have a better idea.

When I was knitting on the itty-bitty sock, I was happy. Using size 2 needles and the Hazel Knits artisan sock yarn sample, I was quite content to knit on for much longer than was required by the itty-bitty sock pattern. And from my visit to Bobbins Nest Studio I have also this:



And idn't it purty?

B is for bolillo

It amazes me that after all the years of living in Southern California, it wasn't until I moved over to the island that I discovered these. If you are a fan of crusty bread with soft centers, then a bolillo will do it for you. Think of it as the Mexican version of a baguette, and you've got the idea.

Also, a very special Saturday Sky:



Because I wasn't in Avalon when I took it. Yippee!!!!
(I 'splain you manana.)

Saturday Blues

Blue skies this morning:



Blue lantern at the end of my balcony:



Blue stairs up to the patio:



And a pretty sky blue Beaufort Hat:



Knitted for Megan and going out in the mail next week!

Flickr is WHAT?

First, my Saturday Sky:



There was a weird fog bank this morning and I tried getting some sort of cool photo but they all just ended up looking like random fuzziness. Not too interesting, and definitely not cool. So you will have to settle for a beautiful blue sky.

I actually had more planned to post today, however I ran into a small snag. Because, get this - Flickr is having a massage. I sh*t you not, that's what it says on Flickr's home page. I understand that they are working on upgrades or something and this is a programmer's idea of being cute but somehow, it just ain't working for me. (Hey Flickr - when do I get mine?)

Saturday and Stash Enhancement

Since I blew it last weekend, I'm going to start with today's Saturday Sky:



Since quitting my job and going back to school my days are sometimes out of sync - weekdays or weekends it's all the same to me. Some days have cruise ships in port and people on the streets, and some days don't. I rely on little things to connect me to the actual day of the week, like when the trash cans need to be put out, or my cart moved to avoid getting ticketed, or the need to point my camera up at the sky and take a decent shot!

As days go, today was really top of the line. I slept in a little late, did some knitting, studying, and got all my little errands & chores done. I went for a long walk with a friend I don't get see often enough followed by a drink and a bite to eat with another friend. Now I get to end the day sprawled out on the couch with my laptop, a fluffy kitty, and pretty yarn. Do I need more than this?

Oh, and about the pretty yarn? Well for starters when I was overtown on Thursday I sorta fell off the wagon. I had time to kill before my exam and the testing center was in Gardena, so I planned to check out a local yarn shop I had heard of from Ellen Bloom. I arrived at Let's Knit on Western Avenue just as they were opening and had the place to myself for most of the time I was there. It was ummmm....interesting. I've never been to a yarn shop where so much of the stock was bagged up in plastic. It was really hard for me to get the "thrill" that I'm looking for when I visit mainland yarn shops. You know, the ability to move from shelf to shelf and bin to bin - touching, fingering, fondling, squeezing all the different fibers. 'Cause, hey - if all I wanted to do was look - I can stay home and flip through catalogs and magazines, right?

But I also don't believe in judging a book by it's cover, or a shop by your initial walk-in impression. I spent a little time poking around in all the corners and finally, stuffed towards the back of a bottom shelf behind a table I found this:




Yes, indeedy. Classic Elite Inca Alpaca. At a dollar or two less than I've seen it elsewhere. (Yes, I've been jonesing for this stuff for a while now and stalking it for sales.) I actually called someone on my cell, to see if they could throw a verbal lasso over my credit card, but I was completely out of luck. (Fiendish enablers!)

Then today I finally went and picked up my mail and was excited to find a package from tienne knits:



I entered a contest on her blog in mid-December and was one of 25 lucky peeps to win some yarn! She asked us include a brief mention of what sort of colors we preferred and as I recall I told her I'd take the scary bright extreme color combo that no one else wanted because I wasn't afraid of bright colors. (And she totally took me at my word - thanks tiennie!) So she sent me Spunky Eclectic's October sock yarn club colorway - "Goblin Eyes". It's a handpainted superwash BFL made up of purples, golds, and greens and I love it madly. Wouldn't you?

Wristy & Hat Updates

My first pair of wristys are coming along nicely:



The yarn I'm using is Plymouth Boku and I really like the colors and the way they transition. Since I have very thin wrists I decided to make this first pair longer than most people might, so I could actually get the full range of colors available in the yarn. At this point I'm less than 2 inches from the end of the wristy, but there's still more new color to go!

The pattern I'm using is very basic and doesn't have a thumb, just a hole. But I like the ones I've seen that have a bit of thumb on them so I took some scrap yarn and another pattern and started teaching myself how to put in a thumb gusset, etc. (Would this be a good time to mention that I have never knitted mittens and have no idea what I'm doing?) So far I have this:



Yes, the whole gusset area is fairly ugly. In the interests of getting to the important parts as quickly as possible I skipped some of the plain rows in between the increases. And that bit of red stuff is the waste yarn holding some of the stitches that (supposedly) will become the thumb. Perhaps tomorrow, when I am feeling strong and sufficiently caffeinated, I will be ready for that challenge.

And you probably thought I was kidding when I said I might do this, but I have cast on another hat:



It's Cathy's Homespun Rolled Edge Chemo Cap pattern. And since I discovered some Homespun lurking in the stash along with the fun & sparkly stuff I thought I'd give it a try. It's a very basic pattern and if it works out the way I think (and hope) it will, I've got an idea for some variations that will help burn through more of the stash.

Well, I'm about to done and ready to end this post, so here's an end of the day Saturday Sky!

Learning to learn?

Okay, I might as well get this over with:



Yes, that is indeed my Saturday Sky. It was very hazy all day long, (mainland? where?) and I waited until the end of the day, hoping that the setting sun might pierce the clouds a bit, or give some nice colors. (Not that we get real sunsets - facing the wrong direction for that.) But, I got nada. This is as good as it got.

On the plus side, after finishing that blankety-blank Art History course I was determined to take another crack at the Psychology class that was kicking my ass a few months ago. That little purple progress bar that was stuck at 5% for the past few months while all the others moved forward? Yeah...you're looking at it now, aren't you? Yes, indeedy - progress at last and moved to 10%. I pulled out the book and dove back in yesterday, then spent more time on it today, and when I logged in the assignment - lo and behold, I scored a 100% on it. Yippeeee!!! I have no idea why it's "clicking" now when it wasn't before, my only guess is that although in the working world I was learning new things, being out of a real school environment for so long, I sort of had to learn how to learn.

Okay, so to keep those other progress bars moving along I just have to take a Psych final exam and a Statistics midterm. Oh joy - pass the Pepto please.

One for the rings

When I signed up for the Saturday Sky ring I had not anticipated that it would help motivate me to get out of my cozy little home every Saturday so I could get a good shot. Somehow getting all my Saturday Sky photos from my balcony seemed like a cop-out! So although I'd already been out for a walk, and had a good shot I planned to use, later when I got home something really fabulous showed up in the sky, and really - if I hadn't been home I might not have seen this:



And just in case you landed here from the Knitting Blogring, this next bit is for you. I finished another cable cap:



I used a much better yarn with this one, drawing on my stash of Lamb's Pride, and I really love the garnet color but it feels sort of tight. I think the other one did too, and after I'd worn it a while either I got used to it or it stretched out. I've been wondering if I could sort of block some stretch into it. (If that made any sense?!) I have a little hand-held steamer, but for the life of me I can't find anything around the house I can put it on that would serve as my head. Maybe stuff it with towels? I'm open to suggestions!

Red Flag Saturday

First, my Saturday Sky:



That flag to the left is the reason I did not make it off the island today. One red flag is only a small craft advisory, which essentially means that it is not so windy that the boats cannot run at all, but there is enough swell that you will not really enjoy your trip. Even if you do not get seasick, others around you might and that's really not pleasant. ***(Warning: slightly gross story approaching)

A couple years ago a coworker and I went over together to attend a convention for people in the animal care industry. The crossing was so rough that we spent the entire 90 minutes sitting outside, freezing and becoming drenched with seawater, just to have fresh, breathable air. And all the while, inside the cabin of the boat the crew were running up and down the aisles with barf baggies and citrus disinfectant, until it smelled like someone puked up an entire orange grove. We disembarked in Long Beach looking like cold, drowned rats - but we had our stomaches intact and were discussing where to eat dinner.

So in the past I have hauled my cookies across the channel in all sorts of less than ideal weather conditions. But I figure that at this particular point in my life if I don't HAVE to, why should I? There isn't anything I was going to do today, that can't just as easily be done on another day, and waiting just a few more days won't make any real difference.

Unlike SOME people, at least I did get out of bed today, running errands and going for a short walk.


Nooooo, eees cold out dere!

Isn't she just about begging to be a lolcat?

Seeing Red

You know, for the title of this post I had thought of venting about one of our local businesses, and something they did that really annoyed me.

But instead I give you:



This incredibly nice thank-you card I received from the OFA for my participation in the Red Scarf Project. That just surprised the heck out of me. I mean, yes, I know the main piece is a rack card, the former Marketing/Graphics me recognizes that. But the little handwritten note on the envelope actually references what I specifically sent, and that makes all the difference. Wow.

And also this:



A package of yarn from Stella. The colors are totally me and just marvelous, you really can't do it justice with a picture, and besides - you know you have to be able to pet it and fondle it to appreciate it properly! This is going to have to snuggle down and get comfy in my stash until my sock knitting skills reach the level to do right by it. Thanks so much! (And way to class up my Ravelry stash!)

And finally:



Today's Saturday Sky - with a parasailer included!