Meet Lugh

My fabu Wifey rescued this little baby from potential doom after one of her macho little middle school students confessed that the litter was headed off to the local animal shelter.

So I jumped off the train the other night, ran to the car and found a brown wicker basket nestled in Little Man's lap. He was grinning from ear to ear.

However, when I tried to meet the new kitten, Little Man insisted, "My Kitty. Mine." I was delighted that Little Man was gently petting the kitten and clearly bonding with "his" new pet, so I ignored the sass. Needless to say, I had to wait for bedtime to snuggle the new family member.

The next day, we named her Lugh, after the Celtic God of the Sun, known as the "Shining One." (since she's white, we're not being terribly creative here) After deciding on Lugh, I realized that the God was also known for arts and crafts. Hooray, the kitty is blog-worthy. I'm just hoping she's won't become the Goddess of Yarn Balls. eek!


UPDATE: Lugh is pronounced like Lou. Thanks for asking.

Little Man's Art

I swear I only walked out of the room for a moment.

And I must confess, I wasn't terribly upset. He's being creative. Truly creative. The kind of creative that says, "Hey, I'm bored with the coloring book, I wonder how this might look on my legs, arms, belly, face, mouth and the soles of my feet? Hmmm...I wonder: 1) if I run around the house with marker on the bottom of my feet, exactly how many steps can I take before the ink stops being ground into Mom's carpet? and 2) Will this non-Crayola marker with questionable toxicity wash off my skin?*

This type of artistic and scientific curiosity drives all great inventions and Grumperina's wacky insightful experiments. So why not let him explore? I suppose there is a limit. For instance, he's not allowed to draw on the walls, his Moms, furniture or the rugs (although accidents do happen). But his body? I don't see anything wrong with that. Or should I? Will he grow up to look like this guy? There are limits, you know.

*Answers from Mom: 1) 3 steps. Which, if multiplied by 2 feet = not a terrible clean-up job. 2) Yep. Easily.

Wet Sheep in Shower

I spent some time this weekend soaking, squeezing, hanging and skeining the yarn from my recycled Irish sweater. It was an amazing process, which made me realize how time-consuming, hard and utterly satisfying it is to create a beautiful knit-thing from start to finish. Wifey is worried that she'll come home to a sheep, happily mowing our yard munching away on our grass, with me looming nearby with a crazed look and clutching some scary shears.

For the parents in the crowd, yes, those are Melissa and Doug wooden lacing beads (have I mentioned that I love Melissa and Doug toys?). Until Little Man grows fond of this toy, Mommy uses it for crafty tasks.

For the stalkers in the crowd, yes, this is another picture of my bathroom. But -- I cannot be held responsible for the 1970s vomiting all over the decor. The house is a family house. We are renting it. We would LOVE to strip all this ugly shit vintage decor from every surface in the damned place, but we cannot. I rest easily in the knowledge that we're moving in just under two weeks. My new bathroom has white shower walls. Ahhh ... the glory.

Working Mom Steals Knitting Time

This one's for you MamaCate for your moments of working mom frustration. A gift of laughter.

What is this yarn?

Hi all. It's me ... Ms. Startitis. Once again, I need help from the gurus. This yarn is perfect for my sock pal. I already checked the loop website and couldn't find it. That site is not very user-friendly, IMHO. Anyone know what it is?


UPDATE: Thanks a bundle to Local Egg from such a girl to me! I think you're right. It's ArtYarns Super Merino. Unfortunately, its a worsted weight yarn. Bummer. But -- your suggestion of Koigu is excellent. For whatever reason, I didn't think of it. THANKS!

Sockapal-2-za!

Fun! I got my assignment for Sockapal-2-za, courtesy of The Blue Blog. Since I have to keep the identity of my assignment secret for the next couple months, let's give her a kick ass temporary name. How about "Assig"? It has a certain ring, yes? So ... I've already started stalking Assig online reading Assig's blog in order to find the perfect color and pattern. As you may know, I've made one pair of socks. They were gray. They were boring. They were tall. They were 'short row challenged' at the heel. And I love them. Imperfection is a good thing. But I'll try harder to create perfect little socks for my sockpal. So far, I'm thinking ... green(s), mitered squares or cables, or something in blues (since she's very into her fish tank). We'll see. Luckily I have until September to complete them. Wish me luck!

WTF?

As I'm sitting here fuming over yet another item stolen from my wife at the low-income inner-city school where she teaches, I came across this.

Seriously. What the fuck!?

Scaling WAY back

It was bound to happen. I finally realized that I have far too many blogs in my Bloglines feed. I can't keep up. I can't comment very much. I don't reply to comments posted here in a timely fashion. The other night I decided to read blogs instead of packing boxes to move into our new apartment. With my tail tucked between my legs, I admitted it. I'm obsessed. And it must stop.

My Bloglines account was running nearly 100 feeds at its peak. Now I'm down to 30. I'll probably trim that too. Sorry to those who got the boot. I methodically bookmarked each and every blog address, so I won't permanently lose anyone. I'll read periodically, but for now ... I must focus on other things. Later chicas.

Finishitis Paradox

I am still grudgingly happily working on Branching Out and avoiding finishing because I'm obsessed with deciding what my next project will be and spending all my knitting time looking around for ideas ocassionally thinking about my next knitting excursion. In the meantime, I grace you with yet another time-wasting, but totally fun QUIZ. Weee...

You're Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you
see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense
of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an
ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You
could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

HAPPY PRIDE!

Happy Pride, Boston!! Congrats on marriage, having choices, the non-discrimination statute, increasing community support, unexpected community support, the sox, our elected officials, and our babies.

My son will be wearing this T-shirt (which apparently got some Missouri teens into trouble) to his 3rd Pride celebration tomorrow. The T-shirt was a gift from the ever-fabulous Kevin, BBF to Ms. Nina Bean, who is Mommy to Gracie, Little Man's BFF. Make sense? Kevin bought the shirt for Gracie too, so if you see two 2 year olds holding hands and wearing matching T-shirts, you'll find The Mafia and Nina Bean in hot pursuit.

Maybe I'll see you there. I'll be chasing a small blond boy and knitting away at the god damned fabulous learning experience Branching Out.

-phew! that was a lot of HTML

Shawl Ideas

With the ever-evolving New England weather bearing down on me, I've been thinking of making a shawl for myself. For those who know me, this is a very very strange thing indeed. I'm not a shawl person. I've never been a shawl person. I like them on other people, but much like red nail polish, shawls make me feel like a drag queen. However, my icebox-sauna office is forcing me to reconsider. So ... I could use a little help from the knitting gurus. Does anyone know of a distinctively non-feminine shawl pattern?
- brrr -

Another huge shock

I'm a sucker for a silly quiz. Thanks to Redneck Feminist for this one.

Your Political Profile

Overall: 10% Conservative, 90% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

NOT a republican

This is what happens when I have no knitting content to report. Thanks to Pinko Feminist Hellcat for the entertaining multiple choice selection of completely absurd answers. No suprise, I'm NOT a republican.

I am: -21% Republican.

"The Marxists are too reactionary for you.  With people like you around, America collectively thanks God for John Ashcroft."

Are You A Republican?

I'm in Love!

UPDATE: The knitting stationery is available! Go see, it's wicked cute.

I just found this great LiveJournal called Limelady and the corresponding bizsite Sewing Stars and I'm simply tickled by these knitting cards. I must admit I'm in awe of super crafty people. I'm the craftiest person in my group of friends and am continuously harassed for it. But I am downright banal when compared to some of the amazing crafters that I'm finding out here in cyberland. And I'm terribly impressed by the mini-businesses these folks start. So much fun! So impressive.

For those Secret Pal folks out there, these cards would make a great knitter gift.

My World View

Hi there "World View." You are fucking up my layout. Perhaps its only on Macs that you misbehave so thoroughly. Unfortunately I don't know enough HTML to smack your ass into submission, but I'm heading off to find a nice strong chick to beat you down. I'll be back with a computer goddess. You better be ready.

You scored as Existentialist. Existentialism emphasizes human capability. There is no greater power interfering with life and thus it is up to us to make things happen. Sometimes considered a negative and depressing world view, your optimism towards human accomplishment is immense. Mankind is condemned to be free and must accept the responsibility. Existentialist 75% Postmodernist 69% Modernist 63% Cultural Creative 63% Materialist 63% Romanticist 50% Idealist 31% Fundamentalist 19% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

Fair Isle Revealed

Here's the inside peek at my first attempt at fair isle. I'm pretty proud of myself. Neat little rows. Evenly spaced weaving. Yarn carried across with just a bit of tension and no slack. Hooray, Mafia. You done good.

Finished Tea Set

Little Missy Grace had her 2nd birthday party this weekend, and after slaving over this project for weeks, I was able to hand it off. I followed the directions for the Fiesta Tea Set almost to the letter. The directions for the tea set were excellent. However, this strange little placemat was a pain in the ass. First of all, there was no picture of the placemat in the pattern instructions, so I didn't know if I'd like it at all. Then, after working through the fair isle (my first stab at fair isle, by the way), I discovered that the entire piece measured abut 3 inches wide. With a gift deadline looming, I asked the all-knowledgeable gals for help at my SnB on Thursday. They suggested ripping out and knitting stripes (nope, I'm not frogging my first fair isle), repeating the pattern until I achieve the desired length (no time for that), or knit a big swath of a solid color and do another fair isle section on the other end (good idea ... let's go with that). After knitting a swath of blue, I realized that the dimensions were completely off. The whole piece was too small to function as a placemat. So I threw in the towel and did some "free association" knitting and turning the damned thing into a bag. Mind you, the entire time, my feminist self was hollering about showing up to a 2 year old girls birthday party with a tea set and bag. But ... it's colorful. It's functional. She can throw it against the wall and it won't break. And we bought her a green wooden toy truck for Christmas. So there. Back off you overly p.c. self righteous inner voice.

Really Weird Google

Check out my new snarky addition to the Template --> over there about half way down. "Really Weird Searches That Drove Traffic Here".

A turban harlot??? The Yarn Harlot might be interested that her site comes up in this way. Perhaps she could indulge us with a photo of her wearing a knit turban? Then there would be a turban harlot for all to see.

Mafia uniform pictures??? Doesn't the mafia want to remain secretive. Don't you think that a uniform would spoil the anonymity? What would a mafia uniform look like anyway? Hmmmm... The Feminist Mafia uniform is typically jeans, clogs, fleece/sweater, long sleeved T (complete with toddler boogers on shoulder), and reading glasses on head (yep, useless, but they're dark-rimmed-lesbian-chic when on face). However, the Super Hero version of The Feminist Mafia would look like a crossover between Wonder Woman (yes, scantily clad ... I am a lesbian afterall),



and Cat Woman (either one-meow!). For those times when a satin suit isn't advantageous, there's black leather to protect the sensitive Mafia skin.






My only request is a few more curves on these sexy ladies. I like the curves. The Feminist Mafia uniform would come in all sizes, but would be designed to look best on real women.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Baby Boy!

Happy Birthday to my best Little Man. He's 2 years old today, and such a sweet and wonderful little person. He's kind and gentle and caring and affectionate and strong-willed and defiant and smart and stubborn and loyal and funny and musical and adorable and MINE. I love this Little Man more than I could've imagined 2 years ago.

I've been involved in several conversations lately about parenting and the politics that go along with it. Here's a fascinating look at teenage parenting over at Feministe. Check it out. Although I'm a 30 year old parent, I can still completely relate to her story. We've dealt with plenty of judgments about our parenting choices, particularly when those decisions are related to money. My favorite part is her terms - FIP and KEI. Hooray to all of us struggling parents!

To all 2 of my readers, light a candle tonight (shabbat shalom, from the Irish girl) in celebration of my cutie blond curly headed Little Man. I wish I could share him with you all, but there's none to spare. I wanna eat him up, he's so perfectly 2.

P.S. Why doesn't the Blogger spell check include "shabbat"? WTF? I'm sending an email. That's annoying.

P.P.S. Okay ... I'll share a little bit of him, since he's so perfect. Here is Little Man (blond) with his BFF Grace (brown).

Women's Business Leadership

I'm thinking about getting an MBA. I'm shopping for schools in the greater Boston area. So last night I attended a forum at the Boston University School of Management called, "Women's Business Leadership," where many Massachusetts b-schools converged to recruit women into their programs. For opening statements, the Dean of the BUSMG offered words. And words is about all he offered.

He started out by saying that we can all agree that poverty, world hunger, child labor and other such social ills are undesirable. We can all stand in opposition to them. And we can all agree that the arts, music, schools and other such cultural institutions are essential. Our niche, as future global leaders, is to understand that businesses are the solution to the world's problems.

[I'm getting skeptical, but he's still not too evil. I suppose he could take a jog down the 'socially responsible business practices' track.]

The reality is - businesses create resources and resources fund the organizations that solve social ills.

[what? uber-self importance.]

World hunger could be solved if all people were part of the wonderful engine of commerce.

[simplistic, perhaps?]

If we spread successful business practices across the globe, we could see a radical shift in the quality of life for all people.


And on-and-on-and-on he went. Please, Mr. Dean, don't insult my intelligence. Perhaps this is a room full of idealistic, impressionable young(ish) women who, according the latest stereotype, care deeply about the problems of the world. But perhaps there are money-hungry, power-monger, get-ahead-at-all-costs women in the audience too. This soft-peddling commerce as 'good for the world' shit is completely dismissing the rapid capitalists in the crowd. So those pointy-toe-and-heel ladies are aggravated.

And my clog-wearing-ass is aggravated because this man is speaking to me as if I'm ignorant. It's simple math ... right? World problems + good businesses = fat happy people. Huh? Does he actually believe that if U.S.-style business spread to every little area of the globe, that all those profits would naturally be spread among the world's people to create harmony and equality? Or might I believe that those profits would line the pockets of the executives and shareholders? Yeah. Simple math indeed.

Please, Mr. Dean, don't play your stereotypical "women care about world hunger" shit with me and then insult my intelligence with your simplistic analysis. Thanks, but no thanks.