Thursday, January 31, 2008

Oh My Children

Ok so one of my kids said, "I'm Sexy Shane ...All Y'all teachers need lessons in sexology. I'll start a night school."

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Chlorine Spill Lockdown


So my School is in lockdown because industrial strength chlorine is leaking in the pool area.


The joys of high school. My kids are playing Uno in Hmung and Spanish.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Latvian Mittens!

Something like six months later I finally finished the Latvian mittens. I love doing fair isle but most of my knitting takes place during odd moments when I don't actually have the ability to read a pattern. So these mittens took forever.
54 stitches across the front on #2 needles in Silky Wool ( 3 skeins with plenty left over.)
I lost a glove last week and so rushed to finish the last mitten.

The book called for knitting the pattern from and back but I don't think I have the patience for that. It also transfered the knit pattern onto the thumbs making them sort of invisible. I just did stripes.
I started a pair of socks tonight and have the Noro scarf and my next niece/nephew's baby blanket in the works. So there are sure to be more posts soon.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any Beer?

So I got a black sheep tape measure and will be keeping the white sheep in my knitting kit. The White Shep has slowly become the Grey Sheep and I think that won't be problem with the new tape measure.


As a side note I have slowly been collecting these stoneware bottles. I intend on making beer eventually and my friend Ben had about a dozen of these at his house. The beer is ten dollars a bottle but if you try to buy the bottles w/o the beer it is even more than that so every few weeks I but two bottles when I hit a dozen I'll get the requisite things to make beer. The Stoneware bottles are infinitely reusable and the cost for a batch of beer (5 gallons) is about 20 dollars.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Noro Progress

This week's progress on the Noro scarf.
I really like the shades of blue and green.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Damned Temptress that is Noro!

I broke down and bought the yarn to knit the Noro striped scarf today.
The ladies at knitting circle encouraged it. The other gay guy was even worse. Such pretty yarn.
I'll have a pretty scarf in no time.

Tomorrow is my first day of full time student teaching. I'm rather excited.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

On the River

I'm four or five blocks from the river and am looking forward to walks down there when the weather is warmer. Though these past few days have been balmy enough to enjoy wandering around. I do like to rove.

Here are some pictures of the riverfront I took today. My father builds bridges for a living and I've always been enamored of them. Especially large ones though at home in Pennsylvania the Susquehanna and the Delaware are the only rivers as large as the Mississippi where it flows through the Twin Cities. There are extensive parks along the east side of the river and in the summer people actually fish out of it off the small bridges.
There is a long history of milling in Minneapolis and the riverfront provided the power for the factories; which are now a multitude of condos any of which I would love to own.
The river still has a few power plants.
Of course there are the locks that get ships down from the "Saint Anthony Falls" ; they once were falls but someone messed them up and the ensuing whirl pool necessitated a dam being put in. The bridge in the background is the "Stone Arch Bridge" and is a beautiful structure.
Finally there is the Guthrie Theater. I think its an interesting building and will not be dated nearly so quickly as most structures that are built on its scale.

My Neighborhood

Here is my new house; it's humble compared to some of the other houses.

And here is an assortment of other houses in the neighborhood.

Unforunately there are hideous 60's apartment buildings scattered about and a few of the Victorians were covered in God awful siding.

Here's hoping someone restores this one.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Highly Questionable Socks

So I've been experimenting with stranding and sometimes when one experiments you end up with questionable results.


Hence the wool and angora worsted weight socks. Mind you this sock is amazingly warm but it is also ugly. These will be going to a non knitting friend with cold feet. Rowan Tweed and Malabrigo Angora on #7 needles.

My New Very Local Yarn Store

So the move is completed and I am happily dwelling in the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood of Minneapolis though so far north that I'm really more in the East Bank section of town.
Wonder of wonders as I was wandering home from the bus I saw a yarn store. Apparently they have not been around long enough for Google to list them. Bella Lana
is a lovely little shop with a small but very carefully selected selection of rather high quality fibers.
It's a very tidy rather lovely little shop and is quite the temptation.
Plus they have puppies. Two puppies.
A pug named Speedo. Who is just the friendliest little canine ball.
Then there is the elegant Enzo an Italian greyhound who likes to lounge in the window looking at passers by.

I'm going to knitting tomorrow night and will be certain to take more pictures of the neighborhood.