Six Things

Sorry for being absent. I've had so many bloggable things lately but I just can't seem to get my self together to get it done! I've had amazing weekends for the past, I don't know, 4 weekends! But I'll speak on that soon. For now, I'm easing back in with a meme...

The ever-lovely Sophanne tagged me with this:


"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was living in Tucson, working at a nefarious bar, finishing massage school and in October of that year, meeting my husband.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
work, return some things to stores, go to Costco, make more Stitch Savers, knit

3) Snacks I enjoy:
anything with sugar, but lately I've been addicted to hummus and Ritz chips

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: hire a maid.
D and I always talk about what we'd do if we won lottery - travel, buy a medium house with a lot of land, buy cars for friends and family. Parker had a bill on the table to build this fancy new library with a preforming arts center. D said he would build it but they'd have to name it after the Nebraska Huskers (which, in Colorado is sacrilege!)

5) Places I have lived:
Reedley/Clovis/Fresno/Shaver Lake, CA; Ft. Jackson, SC; San Antonio, TX; Ft. Benning, GA; Wurzburg and Schweinfurt, Germany; Tucson, AZ; Parker, CO

6) Jobs I have had:
packing baby products for retail (you wouldn't believe the mark-up on that stuff!), optician in the Army, waitress, massage therapist, head-hunter, many others that I'll discuss someday...

I was once offered a job as a student beautician in a mortuary. I was all for it until the tour and there was a small child on a slab. The funeral director was in mid-sentence but when I saw that little girl, I just walked out without a word. I took the job as a student beautician for an insane asylum instead.

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

me7of11
NoMoreSweaters (maybe then she'll start posting again? Miss her!)
Wanda
Kelly
Sam
Marly

and anyone else who wants to play!

Getting back in the saddle, Ruth!

Answers - Part 2

I copied Uberstrickenfrau's idea to open the blog up to questions.

Nell asked, "What's your favorite trip ever?"

Wow. Can't even begin to answer this one.

Some friends and I conned our parents out of $200 each to send us to summer camp and the five of us hitchhiked our happy asses down to LA. We spent the week living on the streets of LA and had an amazing time! We went to the Zebra Club one night and I hung out with Anthony Keidis (lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). He and I talked for several hours - way in to the wee hours of the morning. He made a move on me and I told him, "Dude, I'm only 14." He stopped and said it was great talking with me and we said good-bye. Five minutes later, he was making out with some blonde chick. I didn't mind in the least and was glad to finally get some sleep!

I went to Europe for a few weeks when I was 17. Great adventures ensued.

Spent two years in Germany when I was in the Army (from age 22-24). Can that count as one big long trip? Because I had the Time. Of. My. Life! during those two years. I traveled as much as possible (and considering the ease and lack of soldierly nature of my job in the Army, that was a lot). I went all over Germany (at least the Southern parts), whitewater rafting in Austria, a trip to the Swiss Alps and the Black Forest, and made my pilgrimage to Jim Morrisson's grave in Paris to name a few highlights.

What about the trip to Tahoe when I got married? Or the roller coaster hopping honeymoon after?

The Vegas trips? The trips to the hospital to have babies? (OK, that last one wasn't so much fun as just great results after.)

Rachel asked, "What is your most favorite fruit? What fruit do you refuse to eat? And most importantly, if you could be a fruit, what fruit would you choose? Why?"

I adore fruit. I can't think of a single fruit I would refuse to eat. Or any food really. OK, sushi and liver. I don't care for raw meat and I refuse to eat another thing's filter. But fruit - bring it all! My most favorite has got to be peaches.

The 10 years I lived in Tucson were a particularly disappointing time produce-wise. The stuff you'd get was never ripe and would usually rot before it ripened. I grew up outside Fresno, CA and the San Joaquin Valley (which I may be spelling wrong) provides 1/3 of the produce for the nation. So I know the good stuff! The first time Dave went to CA was with me. It was before we were married and we went to go see my family and to San Francisco. On the drive between Clovis and SF, I made him stop at EVERY roadside produce stand we saw on the way. I was gorging on fresh cherries and peaches, plums, all of it!

But peaches. Round, fuzzy, juicy, sweet. I guess that somewhat describes myself so I'll pick to be like that fruit, too! (ugh, grammar much?) It also goes into my all-time favorite dessert - peach cobbler!

Rooie asked, "What are you most scared of?"

I used to be terrified of the dark - mostly because of Very Bad Things when I was a kid. Now I'm usually OK with it. Although, if it's really dark and I'm in it too long, I still end up freaking myself out.

Silence, too. I don't do well with silence. Too many thoughts creep in. I don't like to think too much - haha. I used to sleep with a nightlight and the radio on until Dave and I moved in together. I was 28 then.

Bees. I'm terrified of bees. I'm one of those dorks who flail and scream and make the bees mad.

I think the thing that scares me most is when I think of my man or my boys dying before me. I'm fatalistic and selfish that way. I try not to think about it because it's the stupidest thing ever. As if I have any control over that! My husband teases me about how we'd be better off with the insurance money if something happens to him. I punch him in the arm as hard as I can and say, "It'll just be spent on therapy! Therapy for the boys for having to live with what I'll be like without you and therapy for me for having to be without you!" He's a dork, too!

Well, that's all the answers I have for now.

Feeling nostalgic for travel, Ruth!

Answers - Part 1

Janet asked, "Do you do your own highlights, color your hair or trim your hair? if so, what is the worst experience and what is the best hints you would give?"

The only thing I do to my hair is to take it to a good hairdresser. In Tucson, it was cool because I just traded with one of the women in the salon at the spa I worked at. I'd give her massage and she'd give me hair color/cuts and pedicures! The woman I go to here in Parker, CO is Ahna Buck at Cream of the Crop. I found her because she cuts my friend Rachel's hair and does such a good job! So that's my hint, find someone who's hair always looks great and see where they go!

My real hair color is really dark brown (now with a few grays). I get a reddish brown color and a cut with lots of looooong layers. I do the layers because I need a cut that looks like a style without actually doing anything. I'm hairstyling impaired so I'm really very Janis Joplin with my hair. I wash and let air dry. I don't even think I own a blow dryer (unless it's in the basement with my craft stuff!).

Worst hair experience:
So there I was...
Stationed in Wurzburg, Germany. I had this really crappy, mean squad sergeant named Luciano. We just called him Lucifer. He had just tried to get me busted over something stupid (long story I'm sure I'll elaborate on in the future). The powers that be shot him down and put me in a different squad so he couldn't bug me anymore (or maybe so I couldn't bug him?). He was, to say the least, PISSED about it. Napoleonic, much?

A week later, I was on the main post getting a haircut. The woman I normally asked for was sick and so I was given to another lady. She was this little Asian woman and as she was cutting my hair, I explained to her that I have this cowlick at the hairline of my bangs. I told her so she would know and cut them straight, it's been a big problem in the past if I don't mention it.

She's FUCKING up my bangs royally. After several attempts, she finally says, "You're very picky about your hair, aren't you Ruth?" I said, "Well.... isn't everyone?" I thought, how'd she know my first name? The client slips only use last names. Then I saw the picture and everything spun into place. The picture on her station was of her and her husband. Guess who?

Lucifer.

Bollocks! I left there with Bjork bangs (shredded, crooked and china doll short). I refused to pay and I hope she didn't get paid for it. Bitch. Those two are perfect for each other.

Olga asked, "What one thing do you know to be true?"

When I was in 8th grade, I was very plain. T-shirt, jeans, long straight hair (I've kind of come full circle back on that!). When I got to high school, I hung out with the Mods and the Punk Rock kids and developed a style somewhere in between. My hair was short and wild, my clothes were baggy and strange. Here's a pic of me my senior year.

In Jr. High, there were rumors abound about what a prude I was and how uptight I was. I didn't think I was either but who knows. Then in High School when my look changed, the rumors changed. Suddenly I was a druggie and a slut. Now I know neither of those labels were true. The slut one always made me laugh since I wore such baggy clothes.

Anyway, I learned pretty early that people are going to talk about you either way. So the one thing I know for sure is true is to never give a Rat's Ass about what people say or think about you. The only people who's opinions about me mean anything to me are the people I truly care about. Strangers/acquaintances can go bugger off!

More next time, Ruth!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

That's the name of the latest Yarn Swap I'm hosting. Wanna play? It's here.

Not to be confused with the contest I have going here.

I got nothing today. I think I'm going to steal Olga's idea and have you, Dear Readers, just ask me questions. Ask me anything! I'll take questions and answer them all on Monday.

Ask away, Ruth!

The House That Yarn Built

I don't know if y'all have heard of The House That Yarn Built. It's a fundraiser to build a house in New Orleans 9th Ward - the place hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.

The thinking behind the name The House That Yarn Built is that you donate what you would spend on at least one skein of yarn. The company Simply Socks is currently matching donations up to $1000. You can read all about it here. That post also has all the pertinent links and when you donate you can email the coordinator of the fundraiser to be put in a drawing for fabulous yarny prizes and then you can email Allison at Simply Socks and she'll match your donation! A 2-fer!

I think, other then slavery and the Civil War, the mess that is the aftermath of Katrina is one of our country's biggest embarrassments. Or it should be. (I know many of us think the war in Iraq should be up in that category as well.) Our government F'd it all up after Katrina and has done little to fix it. It's obviously going to be up to private citizens like us to step up.

I've donated to this cause before and maybe you have to but now with Allison matching donations, it'll be like doubling your money for this fine cause!

Dig deep, Ruth!

Day Trip

Dave thought it would be fun to go up to Loveland for lunch. We actually went to Loveland to look at this Sports Bar/Grill for sale - we went to check it out and eat lunch there. It's kind of like Dave's version of window shopping. He's ready to sell the FedEx route we bought, the one that brought us to Colorado. I'm in a bit of a huff because I thought when we moved it was to be our last move until the kids graduated high school. Both D and I were moved around quite a bit as kids and we don't want that for our boys. We're still talking that over.

I know he wouldn't actually buy a restaurant/bar because as much as it seems like a decent idea/venture, we both know that no matter what the owner says, the owner most likely lives at the business. We'd like to find something where we can see D every now and then. He's never had a 40 hour/week job. It's always 12 or more hours a day and days that start ass-early in the morning. Which is really odd, since D's no more a morning person then I am!

OK, so our trip. Loveland is, well, lovely! It's such a beautiful town and not very big, I want to say 30K people? Maybe? And it has a few gorgeous lakes. It also has one of the main Interweave Press offices (you know, Interweave Knits magazine?). We took the kids with us and had lunch at the Bar/Grill. It's a nice enough place, not very big, though. The service stank but I just think that was our waitress, not policy or anything. The food was good but nothing special. Except the wings. We had an order of chicken wings and they were the most tender,fallin' off the bone wings I've ever had! With a really unique BBQ sauce that made me want the recipe.

The bonus of making my Stitch Savers is that I have an excuse to find the yarn shop in every town we go to! I went to the two shops in Vegas last time we vacationed there and on this trip to Loveland I went to Woolen Treasures . The shop was so well stocked, warm and friendly. D and the boys stayed in the van while I went in to ply my wares. Sneaky yarn purchases ensued. I scored two skeins of Shibui Knits sock yarn (one in chocolate brown and one in robin's egg blue) to make the Transitions gloves and since it was still around my birthday, I got 'em at 15% off! Splee!

What a lovely little shop! Well, not that little, really. It's in a home made over in to a Yarn Shop. The owner was there and she ordered some of my stuff, so if you're in Loveland, you can get Stitch Savers there instead of paying shipping to my Etsy store.

Dave had heard there was a Big Red Store up in Estes Park (that's a store that specializes in Nebraska Husker gear) so we decided to go on up and check it out. Wow! For those who've been up there for the Wool Festival or actually live there, you are so lucky! It's such a gorgeous drive and another beautiful Colorado mountain town. The drive was so picturesque that I put my knitting down for the rest of the drive and just enjoyed the scenery. Estes Park is SO touristy but still retains a quiet, inviting feel.

Oh, side not. Sad note. On the way between the two towns, we were stalled on the freeway because of a wreck. It was the strangest thing - it must've just happened. There were no less then eight cars stopped (6 on our side of the freeway and more on the other side). We didn't see any wreckage, though. There was an ambulance in the right-hand lane next to us and it didn't have its lights on or anything. When we got closer we saw a man on the ground, fairly surrounded by people and one other man was preforming CPR on him. The ambulance pulled over to the on-ramp across from the median where the crowd was (I think some of the people standing around actually flagged it down, so it stopped).

We read in the newspaper on Sunday that the man didn't make it. He lost control of his motorcycle which propelled him into the cable barrier between the two sides of the freeway and he had no helmet. The newspaper, strangely, made a point of writing about the fact that the man's motorcycle was homemade and he'd made it back in 1999. I don't know why that was relevant - I have some friends who're into bikes and they "handmake" their rides from what they call "basket cases", motorcycles that are nothing but parts and pieces sold in "baskets". Anyway, D and I would talk about the man from time to time throughout the whole day - it really seemed to effect us, seeing that guy doing CPR and all those people standing there, helpless to do anything but watch. According to the paper, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. So sad.

On to Estes...
We went to one Husker store and it was tiny! We looked around and then left. Dave took the boys down to the river (which runs through the whole town) and I asked if there was anything in the store he liked. He said the sweatshirt he was looking at but $50 was too much for it. I told him I was going to go back in there and see if I could look in the phone book to see if there was another yarn store in Estes - you know, to see if they wanted some Stitch Savers! I went back in and btw the phone book and the man behind the counter, realized that the yarn store was across the street in another shopping center! I told D I was going over there. I hoofed up a 90 degree hill (OK, it just felt like it) and in the middle of this shopping center was the place I was looking for. The Stitchin' Den - another great shop! Not as big as the one in Loveland but a great selection nonetheless! I didn't buy anything at this one because I knew I was going to try to sneak back and get that sweatshirt for D without his noticing.

I did it, too! (Do not underestimate the sneakiness of the 5elementknitr!) I got it for him for an anniversary present (8 years on the 22nd!). When I went back into the store, this women walked in about a step ahead of me. She was my age or older (I'm 38) and she had stuffed her not small body into this white micro mini and tank top. I mean, that skirt was so short, I could practically see all her business when she put a foot on the step going into the store. I didn't realize the look of horror I had on my face until I saw the guy behind me looking at me - you know, the guy that was her companion. Ugh - I really need to work on my Poker face!

We spent the rest of the day wandering the town. We bought the boys ice creams (Estes has no less then 7 ice cream shops in one block. SEVEN! And another Husker store, too! We took them in to the fossil store where they got some cool rocks. I bought a baseball cap (been looking for one for awhile). Then we took them up to the area by the yarn shop. They have a small pond where you can feed some trout. These puppies were enormous! I guess it's all that fish food people throw to them.

Then we got some gas and while we were pumping the gas, we saw 2 big female Elk crossing the street! It was so cool! The kids loved it! (sorry for all the !!! but we were pretty stoked about it) After that, we ate at Poppy's restaurant. Again with the slooooooowwww service! We sat with our menus and our hungry little guys for almost 15 minutes before they even took our drink order! At least the food was good - love sweet potato fries, find them so rarely.

It reminded me of the times with D before kids. We used to take these impromptu day trips all the time. I love driving around with no real plan or agenda like that. Especially since D never wants to me drive (fine by me - I hate freeway driving) and extra-especially since I learned to knit!

The kids had a great time, we had a great time and we found new places to hang out and spend time together instead of in front of the TV/video games/poker tournaments where technically we're in the house together but I wouldn't even pretend to call it "family time".

We left at 10 am and didn't get home until 10p. D was in the fossil store with the boys (I was outside watching their ice creams melt) when someone passed and commented to their friend, "Ohmigod, it's 5p already!" Wow - where'd the day go?? Who cares - such a great day!

Can't wait to go back, Ruth!

Ambush!

Why is it that whenever you have more then 3 women in a room and you put them in that room more then, say, 3 times - why does there always have to be DRAMA?

PTO meeting last night (same as PTA, just spelled different). A woman, we'll call her S, starts out with a simple question to, say K. K answers. S starts verbally attacking this woman and for about 10 minutes. This spirals down in to a complete nightmare and K finally gets up and leaves. S completely ambushed K with this minor thing. This thing needed to be addressed but S just seemed to use it as an opportunity to make K look bad and also, apparently to throw the PTO prez under the bus as an added side bonus!

It was a manipulative mishandling of a minor situation and I can only be thankful that we had a very slim attendance last night. I'm equally thankful that a) none of them but my friend Rachel reads my drivel and b) I have a place to vent all this nonsense! Not that I care if they read these, just in the interest of not having even more drama to deal with. I can only imagine what would've happened if we'd actually had a new member show up to that embarrassment of a meeting!

WTF??

Halfway through this craziness, as the rest of us are sitting there shell-shocked and flabbergasted, S says, "I mean, I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable." To which I whisper to myself, "Too late."

Now y'all know I'm not the most diplomatic person but in this instance, I tried keeping my mouth shut and sticking to my knitting (yes, I take it to meetings - don't you?). I tried 3 times to shut it down by saying, "That's enough, let's move on." and "Moving on..." No dice. S was not to be stopped in her harangue.

After that meeting, Rachel and I had to go in to town and have a drink!

OK, enough of that nonsense.

Here's a reading update.

I read one of the best books ever! The Shivered Sky by Matt Dinniman.
I don't read science fiction normally. And I don't think this book falls under that category. But maybe if I did, I wouldn't be so impressed? This author created an entire world and culture and creatures we've never seen (which I imagine is de rigeur for science fiction writers, which is why I brought that up).

These 5 young adults (mid to late teens all) die and end up in Heaven. Only in Heaven, the angels have lost the war and are a minor underground force. Demons are running the show and humans are slaves (and food). These teens are part of a prophesy and are supposed to put things right.

Only as the book progresses, their version of what's right is sorely tested. This book, in a roundabout way, reminds me of the movie Crash (also one of my favorites). Those who are bad also have their good sides and those who are good, well, maybe not so much.

The depth of character in this book is phenomenal. The secondary and even tertiary characters are so well developed that you really feel for them, be they demon, angel or human. I loved this guy's style of writing and I'm sure I'll probably read it again next year.

We're lucky enough to have a signed copy. My husband read a review in The Weekly (free independent newspaper) in Tucson. If you mentioned the review when you ordered the book, the author would sign it for you. Dave read it and when I asked him about it he said, "Eh." I should've known better as he says this about most things. It's an excellent book. Go get it. Now. I'll wait....

As I was reading it, I kept thinking, this would make a great movie. But as I got further into it and the way the characters were developed and presented, I changed my mind. I think the best way to present this to the masses (besides forced literacy) would be as a TV series, possibly even animated so you could really see the creatures and landscape as the author presents in his writing.

I'm supposed to be reading The Bonesetter's Daughter next (according to my New Year's list) but I'm taking a little side journey. I listened to 1st Degree by James Patterson (with Andrew Gross) on audiobook. It was OK. I really enjoy James Patterson - he wrote Along Came a Spider and Kiss The Girls, both made in to movies with Morgan Freeman as the main character.

The 1st Degree was entertaining and I like to listen to audiobooks while I make my Stitch Savers (as yet another aside, since being featured on Knitty.com's Cool Stuff page - it's been non-stop with these things! I don't knit anymore, I just make little keychains! Not complaining, mind you, just sayin'). Anyway, it was a pretty good book until the end.

I'll try to convey this without spoiling the ending. I don't know if I'll be successful - you've been warned. There's only 2 people it could possibly be doing these crimes. They discover it's not the one so all of a sudden these 5 smart, tough, well-educated women are all, "Oh NO! Who could it possibly be????" Seriously? And note to killer - If you're going to attack a policewoman in her home with a knife, wouldn't it occur to you that she might, I know it's a stretch, but she just might have a gun?

Anyway, it got me to thinking how much I enjoyed his Alex Cross books and I decided to read/listen to everything he's ever done. If you clicked on the Wickipedia link, you'll see what a *crazy* brave endeavor this is.

So - and eventually, I like to try to get back to my original point - my side journey has taken me to James Patterson's first novel The Thomas Berryman Number. It's pretty good so far - I'm about 100 pages in. I love that Patterson has these little tiny chapters (usually over 100 per book) and he has such fast paced goin's on in these thrillers. It's like watching an intelligent (most of the time) action movie!

Is there any author you'd like to read all of? I'd like to read all of Matt Dinniman's stuff but The Shivered Sky seems to be it so far!

Reading til it hurts, Ruth!