The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

GLEE!!! I WON A SPINNING CONTEST YAY!! I AM A HAPPY, HAPPY BUNNY! AND IT EVEN HAS AN AWESOMETASTIC PRIZE GLEE!

Merino/tencel from Feeling Sheepish/silverstah, "Psalms Written in Stone"

So, apparently, my son really is on drugs. UNAPPROVED NEW DRUGS

Let me use pictures to explore my thoughts on this situation. A sort of internet interpretive dance, if you will.

Interesting weekend. Have discovered that many things are, in fact, better than a sharp stick in the eye, where "baby finger" is substituted for "stick." Introduced Gray to the joys of gardening, or at least the joys of flinging dirt about and being sprayed with a hose. Also climbing trees, but you can thank Grammy for that little gem. I foresee much future heartache as a result. Also had our first real broken bone scare (nose), thanks to too much enthusiasm and not enough light. Gray is now sporting some lovely red marks on the bridge of his nose and a black eye, which are artfully hidden by liberal application of applesauce in the picture.

We're going to try to go strawberry picking this weekend, which is either genius or the worst idea ever. We'll find out soon...

(Also, insurance determined finally that yes, they'd pay for the damage done by the ruptured pipes. Or at least some of it. But for some reason the work can't start until mid-June, so whatevs. I'm trying to pretend I don't actually own a house at the moment, it's less stressful that way.)

Internet drama? Oh yes. So very yes. It's just popping up everywhere this week. I want popcorn.

So, one of our local radio stations has gone through a format shift, and...it's odd. What was a choose-your-own rock station, where users could submit hour long playlists, is now Kung Pao 100.5, a Chinese Classic Hits station. Except they seem to have only about fifteen songs total. And the website? Looks like a hoax. Right now the jury is out on if this is for real, or if it's all a big publicity stunt, but some of the frothing messageboard commentary has been...interesting.

I'm starting to suspect that there's some sort of city ordinance that I'm unaware of, mandating the presence of at least one azalea in every yard. Seriously, they're everywhere. Or perhaps it's some sort of horitcultural alien invasion, creeping death by flowers.

The weather outside is glorious, and I would much rather be enjoying it than at work. Foo. Gray was QUITE insistent that we go outside first thing this morning, before even clothes. The boy doesn't appreciate delays, that's for damn sure.

HEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOBHEGOTTHEJOB

Just in case anyone is out there going "gee, I think I want to buy Dani a present!", this would make me giddy with delight. Especially if it was both skeins. I know just the project for it...

*sigh* Erik needs to get this job, so I can have play money again. Also, the damn house needs to sell. Something. Hopefully we'll hear about the job this week - it was supposed to be 1-2 weeks, and last week was the first of those.

I find myself forced to come to terms with the fact that I'm a competitive bitch. Not even just sometimes, it's most of the time. Oy.

I am the automotive Typhoid Mary. Today was...spectacular, but not in a good way. God only knows what I'm going to do tomorrow.

Milk fiber. I must have some. Fondling some has now made my list of MDSW goals.

Finished a skein today, yay! The fact that it was super bulky thick and thin singles helped. A lot. So my WIP list is down to only...seven. Three of which are halfway through being spun, at least, if not plyed. Or is it plied? I haven't the foggiest.

For the knit-folk out there, Starknits is having a contest to win an awesometastic Sock Wars bag. Hee! I'm hoping I can win one with which to gift Stacey with, as she is Sock Warsing it. I too am indulging my not-so-inner geek, and participating in the latest Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup. Stacey and I...we're in a self-perpetuating hobby feedback loop, and it's awesome. She wants a spinning lesson at MDSW, too. See? Self-perpetuating feedback loop. It's probably going to continue into crochet next, as hot glass is Right Out until Gray is older. Once I can set up my own glass studio, though, it's on.

I survived a meeting with my father, with minimal trauma. Actually, no trauma other than the anticipation, it was oddly anticlimactic. Gray took a while to warm up to him, which was odd - Gray doesn't need time to warm up to ANYBODY.

Current spinning projects:

-Psalms Written in Stone - LURVELY merino/tencel from silverstah that wouldn't shut up until I started spinning it. Plus side, it's going to be a quick spin. I haven't touched anything else since I started spinning this one, it's that fun to spin.
-Monster Truck Widow - The first single is done and wound off! Just need to spin the second single and then ply.
-Robin's Nest - experiments with lace, barely started, going to take me the next year
-Autumn Fire - the fiber scares me. It's absolutely incredible cashmere/merino, and I think I'm just horribly afraid that I'm going to do something wrong. Which is silly, but there you go
-A Fairy Tale Sort of Princess - my first 3-ply sock yarn attempt. Stalled, but I don't know why - the first single is done, the second is halfway done.
-Grandmother Crow - I haven't touched this since November. I should finish it at some point...
-Riot at the Golden Peacock - fiber prepped, but not actually started. It's an April Challenge project, so it goes on this list. This should be a quick spin, too
-Party Favors - also not started, fiber prepped, April Challenge. Will probably not be a quick spin, and I have no idea what I'm going to use it for. This isn't going to be started until at least two of the skeins above are FINISHED.

Plus the Scarf of Hate. I need to...finish a few things. The list above doesn't include a half-dozen or so commissions for various folks, either. I need a wheel at this point, just so I can get things finished faster! We might hear back about the job in a week or two...

Frightening and insane. It's a long article, but worth reading.

So, Gray was playing outside with Grandpa and two of his cousins, when he just...vanished. *POOF* They found him...behind the shed. Or, more accurately, they found him when he popped out from behind the other side of the shed. It's a narrow gap, less than a foot between the shed and the fence. Yea, we're doomed. He's absolutely filthy, but absurdly pleased with himself at the moment.

No more ninja skills for the baby.

My friends, I am swearing off the Stabbity Death. No, really. Instead, my preferred method of mayhem and destruction will be the LORENADO!!

*sniff* I so wish it was real.

This is the neatest thing I've seen all week.

So, house. Trying to sell it. Not going well. Now, we have broken pipes and badly warped floors to contend with, too. FOO.

HAHAHA I MUST SEE THIS OMG!!

Spiderman. Musical. Like, with singing! And probably staged musical numbers! And a villain named Swiss Miss. I think somebody forgot that they weren't writing a Tick musical. Also, OMG WHY ISN'T THERE A TICK MUSICAL!? This gaping hole in American pop culture needs to be addressed posthaste.

...Suddenly, I have songs from Guys & Dolls stuck in my head. As long as I don't start dancing we're good.

Other than that, I've got nothin' that isn't yarn-related. I've started knitting, and I'm spinning insane Jem-inspired yarn right now (it's truly outrageous!), and I'm joining a, swear-to-god, My Little Pony-inspired spinalong. Also, I'm starting a new skein of yarn that shall be called CAREBEARSTARE. Because it's funny. And that one will be mine. I can talk about spinning and knitting and fiber a lot, so if you want to get me started, feel free to ask. If not, you've been warned.

I'll be at the Maryland Sheep & Wool festival on May 2. If you're going to be there let me know and we can meet up!

The Ninja may have a new job - he goes for a physical fitness test and interview on April 6, and I really hope he makes it. I think I also figured out how to make him understand some of what I tell him - If I pretend I'm a deliberately obscure Zen master, or possibly Yoda, and say things like "be a river," we suddenly have communication breakthroughs. I'm not making that up. The Ninja is a strange, strange man.

Spiderman...musical...*dies of awesome*

Dear self: You don't have the time right now to run an etsy shop and keep it stocked, what with your other commitments and whatnot - opening one up just so you can contribute to something is really silly.

If I owe you something - gah. There are indications that I might have teeny, tiny bits of free time on the horizon.

Phat Fiber Sample Box SCORE!! Learning to knit is progressing - surprisingly well, actually. Everything else? Eh, could be worse. How are all of you doing?

Also - I hate weights. SO much. But I'm going to stick with it, because I need to. But bicep curls are the tool of the devil.

Buying a wheel with part of my tax return money because the Ninja is being a goober is a perfectly natural response, y/y?

I've reached the end of the internet, and it's weird. Because, really - what could the tubes possibly offer me after this?

Dear Uncaring Universe:

Why, why do you hate me so? There are no more Tim Tams. Target is no longer carrying them. And when I went to stock up, somebody had beaten me there and they were all gone. I AM FULL OF WOE!!