For Rox

I am from Oregon. I have lived in the greater Portland area my whole life...I was born in Portland. So I don't know if I can talk about Oregon but I can talk about Portland. This is MY take on OREGON.

Some things people think about Oregon


You throw an aluminum can in the trash and feel guilty. Yes, I feel guilty throwing away an aluminum can in the trash. Yes I fish out my office mates cans that don't make it into our can bucket. One big time offender and he has only lived here two years. There are two trash bins outside my office door, one for recycling the other for trash. Do I think this is a common thing of the state....erm yes I think we are a state of recyclers. Could we do better yes I think we could.

Most of your friends are from California. I would not say most of my friends are from California but a wide majority are not from Oregon. The queer community especially. I am sure I'm the only Oregonian whose partner is also an Oregonian. Portland is really diverse I don't think that is true of all places in Oregon.

You've ever ordered a half caff/decaf, nonfat mocha grande with sugar-free cranberry whip (or you know what it is). I like coffee shops but not really coffee. I order from a chain coffee place (which is what this blurb is referring to) a grande chai tea with soy on ice. I do know what the drink order above is. I have probable stood next to the anal person who ordered it, actually I am related to them only they said can I have a half caff/decaf, nonfat, no foam, three swirl caramel, mocha, grande, with sugar free cranberry whip, and the temperature they wanted the drink heated to. There are lots of little coffee shops both chain and small business ones. There are also lots of organic and natural food stores. Blue Sky Soda...Yummy

You know a bride & groom that registered at REI. Who doesn't know some one registered at REI? However the people I know registered at REI are from Wisconsin. I can only think of three REI's and one is a outlet store. I have never bought anything there. I am not an uber outdoor person and I think there are lots of Oregonians that are like me ... we enjoy the outdoors but not overly so. Oregon is beautiful and green its hard to spend a lot of time here and not encounter its beauty.

If someone ran your car off the highway, you might drown. I can swim..I had to learn in elementary school but have known how to float since pretty much birth. We have water here but not so much that chances are you will be run off the hwy and into a river. I can think of people going into the river in a car but I think it was there own bad driving.

You'd be miffed if the store was out of your favorite brand of water. I personally think water tastes like water. However my house does buy a certain brand of water because a certain some one can taste the difference. I don't know if this is just us or the state but I do know Trader Joe's has a huge selection for water brands.

Every day is casual Friday. You might go to a wedding and see suits and you might go to the same wedding and see jeans and tee-shirts. Really

Know at least eight people who work for Intel or Nike, or used to work for Tektronix. YUP. I also know a hand full of farmers and organic farmers.


You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. IT rains here.... It rains here a lot. But it feels good. There is really not a lot of humidity just a lot of rain. Which were in a dry spell right now but it will be back very soon. I look forward to it. That and when it rains people have a tendency not to water the sidewalk so much.

You never go camping without waterproof matches, ponchos, and mattress pads that double as flotation devices. This is all true except for the flotation device things. It would be just silly not to go without all these things anyway wouldn't it.

You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have the names of microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. I don't but I am not a big beer kindda girl. However I do like a few but not enough to own a tee-shirt. But I think you are pretty safe to say lots of Oregonians do. Or they own a collection of indi band shirts. But this might only be found on the East side of the river and only in Belmont, Hawthorne, Laurelhurst, or downtown. The rest of us on flip that way ever so often.

You think downtown is "scary" because you were panhandled there, once. I live in Portland and I love Downtown. It rocks my socks to the core of earth and back. You have Saturday Market, theater, art, the max, all sorts of little shops and all the majors. Who would not love down town. If you were from Malla and never been to DT you might have some issues with it but for the most part I don't think of downtown as scary day or night. It has the waterfront the beautiful if not yicky water of the Willamette (pronounced Will am et) I however don't think of Portland as a big place.

You replace your hiking boots with Birkenstock or Teva sandals when the weather gets above 60 degrees. You replace them when did you take them off?

You believe people who use umbrellas are wimps or Californians, or both. I own three umbrella's. One is in the car I may need to bean someone while driving. One is in my locker at work because it has a flashlight on the end the other is in my closet I may need to put on a musical of Mary Poppins. People in Oregon use umbrella's... Some of them even to keep the rain off... I however am not one of them unless it is an outdoor wedding in April or May.

HELP

IF you can help me with why my blog is posting twice that would be killer nice of you!

It only shows up twice on macs and the picture does not show up on non macs

I did something here that Um I was not supposed to!

Blogathon = blogging for charity

Have you seen this?

Is anyone participating? It seems like a great idea. Unfortunately I have to work and even though I can blog at work I don't know if I can drive from here to work in a half hour in time to blog. Go Check it out.

I might try timing my drives.

Joe

You Are a Peppermint Cappuccino You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please What Kind Of Coffee Are You? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Spending a little

I have been spending a little bit of money on my hobbies. I seem to go to sleep and when I wake I have added another one. Its crazy but all my purchases of late have been devoted to using up stash....or acquiring. But mostly using.

I finished my shawl so it seems justifiable to add a little. The only thing I had to purchase was the pattern. SO I got another shawl started. The Ostrich Plumes Triangle Shawl I am using some pretty blue wool. Its a very cool pattern and super simple to make. I like some of her sock patterns to.

Then I bought Knitting from the Netherlands( I did not purchase an Amazon copy...hehehe 40 bucks is not in the budget.), vintage doily patterns, and 73 vintage workbasket books. I am sure there are some great finds amongst all those books. Just the pictures from certain eras are worth owning. The Doilies have flower themes and I am super excited for them to arrive.

Do people even own doilies anymore? I know I have several and made several but is it a common thing. Do people even own one?

The last of course is yarn. I bought yarn for my secret pal so I can't share with you but it was fun. I picked up only a couple yarn things for me. Some pinky red lace yarn and some bright blue lace yarn. They are both a two ply lace weight but one is not quite a thin as the other. They will make great Doilies as well.

Bumble bee on a dandelion

The best thing about not mowing your yard is the dandelions. If you don't have dandelions in your yard well you are missing out. I like the bright yellow heads happily dancing about. Stevie looks cute jumping around in them making them go swoosh. But if you sit still and watch you can pick out the lovely little flowers that droop for just a second as a bumble bee does its business. Its like a little bow at curtain call.

I have had a very chatty week. Not really chatted in person but talking with all sorts of bloggy people. Thanks peeps.

What is next?
Besides the million projects that I have started I want to try another shawl. I don't know if I will use the same pattern or another. So I am on the watch for shawls that I like. Which is not hard because they are all so pretty. I am also trying to think of a new color combo. I have a tendency to lean toward the same colors together and want to branch out a little. I go a color wheel which I adore. I am thinking something with a reddish rose color.

I ordered some fiber from FaerieLady Fibers which I am in great need to get to. I mailed it to my Mothers house so that it would not get eaten if it landed on my doorstep. Eaten by thieves. That and the postman has been known to throw things over the fence and not leave us a note on the door. Who knows how long it could sit but the gate and never be found. I am excited to see and feel it.


I have two pairs of socks at hand, my Martha cardi, and merino silk on the wheel. I guess I should get cooking.

Have a wonderful day all.

Finished

The process parade style.

A couple packets of added to a Romney wool.

Than throw in a little action (This is Sonny learning to spin.)

Which produces that you decide to knit as a single.

You pick the lace leaf shawl pattern and start knitting.

The knitting produces which makes you nervous.

A little calms your nerves and makes you want to try it all over again.


The shawl was finished yesterday and started last Thursday. It was a lot of fun to see the process from the start to finish. I made the Shawl for Beckys birthday. So as soon as it finished blocking I wrapped it up and she opened it later in the evening. I can't wait to make another one.

Forever frogging

Just dropping in to tell you all how much I hate frogging. Life lines are a pain in the butt to put in but if it means I don't have to frog than I am all for them. The only problem is that I just keep thinking one more row than I will put it in. Then, one more row again. By this time I have gotten cocky and screw it up and curse myself for not putting in a life line. The current shawl has two life lines in it. I don't know how I screwed up the one pattern row but it could have been I was knitting while watching tv. I don't think I was actually watching tv as i was listening to it. I should do the audible books thing. I know several others do and it seems more inviting than sitting in front of the tube. I do watch the History channel, discover, and lots of animal planet. I also seem to be into the Gilmore Girls right now. But books have so much to offer.

Currently I am reading Forever Amber. It is over fifty years old but it is still a great book. A little predictable but worth the read. I have a system where I pick the biggest book I can find because it will either be really good and last a long time, or suck in which case someone tried really hard. I am always a little sad to put a book down once I have gotten to know the characters. Its really not fair they have to forever live out the same couple hundred pages for eternity. I also have a hard time parting with my favorite books.

But I have calmed down from the shawl mishap and shall now continue on. It is a race to see how long my singles will last. I am hoping they make it to the end.

Summer lovin

O summer you have finally made it to my town. I can go outside and eat (get eaten by bugs) I can bask in your warmth (get a sunburn) I can take a lovely walk with out fear of rain (get hit by a sprinkler at noon) I can even knit out in the shade.

I have been enjoying the sun brake the last couple of days. Driving in my car is the best because then you don't have to hit the sauna. The toxins are bleached right out of you as you bake. The windows down at 55 produce a very intoxicating breeze, if I could just cruz this fast every where.

I took a trip pretty much know where on my days off. I spent much time sleeping then not being able to sleep at night because I slept during the day. I hide in the shade of the house and tried not to come within 30 feet of opening the car door until after the sun set. But it is mighty pretty to sit in the office and look at the blue sky and the fluffy white clouds. The moon a couple nights back was very yellow. A happy half moon of light a very lovely beacon to drive toward.

I think summer is finally here. I hope it stays in check for a little while. No need to roast us out right off the bat.

Happy summer lovin to all!

A future

Some of my projects have no future. They will never become anything other than a started project. This one is lucky it has a future as a lace leaf shawl. I thought the colors looked pretty for the shawl. They should make stripes. Shifting strips not bold color slashing strips. I could tell you I was going for green blue coloration but I was not it just happened that way. A pretty what have you.


I might be a little obsessed with this color shifting thing. Just to make you feel better that I am not being taken over by slow moving color I bring to your attention a solid bright color spinning project. I have half a pound of this Merino Silk. It is a very shocking pink but very soft. It spins up very nice as well. I don't know what I will be doing with this one. The shimmer on it is wonderful.

I also got some mohair to try and spin. I am waiting for a very confidant day to try it. I have no heard much about spinning mohair. I have heard about dying it and that it takes color well, but the mohair I got is black so really I think Spinning is my best option. But maybe I will mix it with something. I have to go research now.

Sock talk

This sock is still unfinished. It has looked the same I think since I took this picture. I am now going to start a new sock. The lace leaf sock. This seems silly but the lace leaf sock has some spunk to it. It is not miles of stockinette stitch.


Martha is coming along but I have been making those silly little boxes forever now and need a break. Martha for work sock for play.

Hello SP. Cheers to you! I hope the weather is staying bearable.

Blues color

I have been having fun with color. Trying to get a color fade from one shade to the next. I can do it with three colors but now I am trying to get the colors that happen when the two mix. Not just a little mix but turning that into a whole color. I am using the same colors that I was using before green, blue, and red. The last skein I made turned out really well but I had lime, blue, and purple. This time a I did a little better. It goes from lime, to a turquoise, to a pale blue, then a short bit of dark blue, to a odd shade of purple, to dark purple to Burgundy.
This picture does not show all the colors but you can defiantly tell there are four different ones. I did several different batches using the same colors and got basically the same results but in different lengths. Some of it has more blue or less purple but it does all go through more than three changes of a paired of time. I can't wait to see how the rest spins up.

I learned from Deb that Fiber arts northwest was closing and in there last days was having a yarn sale. So I visited them on the 4th. They are on the waterfront and they had the blues festival going at the same time. Blues and shopping how great is that.

Well I did a little damage and some it is flying away to my secret pal. Others is going to my back tack pal. More on both later.

Visualize

My home in a garage. Two to three layers deep.

I have moved enough times to have rubbermaid and not so many boxes.

My stuff in one view. It has yet to be packed in the house....to take over Sonny's three things.

I wonder how many of those are yarn... well these are the yarn for the garage sale.

Thanks Secret Pal for the tea. It will be very handy for my mornings at work. Now which kind to get?