Long Overdue 411

Sorry for lapse between posts folks. As you all know, this time of year is filled with much activity. I literally have had zero time to sit before my Blogger Dashboard and compose a post. I haven't even had much time to crochet or knit, which needless to say drives me batty. Anyhoo, I'm anxious to get back on track with both posting and feeling up my yarn.

I do have FO's however! I've been slowly (can you say snail's pace?) finishing objects amidst the holiday hub-bub. The first of which happens to be Cleaves. I love the way this duo-sleeved diddy worked up in this spicy pumpkin-y hue.



Next up, I've made yet another triangle. This time however, I experimented a bit by elongating each of the sides. I like the overall shape and will work it into my repertoire going forward. Oh, and yes, that is acrylic yarn. Hey, wash and wear in not a bad thing.





My little bird pin works perfectly with this piece (more on the crocheted bird phenomena in a future post).

Finally, because I know everyone will be wearing these next year...



Gollum Hat is now pattern tested and will be published in January I believe. I'll find out the details and pass them along to you all as soon as I'm in the know.

Now, I'm ashamed to say that I still haven't finished the O'Lantern dudes. Don't worry though, you should see them sporting their new looks before Halloween '07. I know, I know! I've been busy people. Sheesh.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! Here's to a wonderfully productive and prosperous '07!

Fanosophy

“You see, that’s why I like Nascar. You either go forward or you crash. You don’t go backward.”

- Anonymous Raider Fan

As I sat perched in my nose-bleeder seat awash in the Oakland winter sun at the Raiders v. Rams game this Sunday last, I was provoked into a serious session of people watching due solely to my immense boredom with the less than mediocre game waaay down below on the McAfee Coliseum’s field. However, boredom is easily alleviated by turning one’s attention to the people of the Raider Nation for entertainment. You just gotta love Raider fans after all. They are diehard if nothing else, boisterous, spirited, a little bit crude, lively, loyal and sometimes rude, but if it’s people watching you’re after, these peeps never disappoint. I mean, in addition to the characteristics I listed above, the fanship, as a whole, is also peppered with many a black and silver donning proletariat poet, hence the quote above.

Sitting high (and I mean really high) in the stands, inbetween sips of my amber brew, I scribbled bits and pieces of the conversational din I’d overheard around me. The hubs and I were chuckling at the sheer revelry apparent in the various tid bits of verbiage we were able to catch. Even despite yet another devastating blow to their beloved team’s standings, the people of the Raider Nation were not about to let another impending loss ruin their good time. They cheered hard, toasted often and mused about the plethora of positive possibilities sure to present themselves to their team next season, all the time myriad “colorful” expressions in use emphasizing a shared bliss.

Largely ignoring the massacre on the field below, I also began to reflect on the oh-so-wise quote kicking off this post made from one in the crowd. So simple, yet so true. We are constantly marching forward. We all are subject to upsets, obstacles, crashes if you will, and no, we cannot go back. For me, there is such resonance in that statement. Since the death of my father a decade ago I’ve struggled to navigate about a family structure that had been completely transformed by that event. A painful era riddled with anger, denial, discovery, acceptance and reorganization, for lack of a better word, that I feel as if I’m finally emerging from. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I do know that I am open to putting foot to pavement and seeing where my path unfolds. I acknowledge and accept the past. Hell, hopefully I’ve gained a little insight and even, perhaps, a bit of wisdom learned from the events leading up to the here and now that will aid me in my journey ahead. I’m ready now for whatever the future holds.

Who knew that an afternoon at a football game could hold so much depth?

It must be true. I guess real men and women do wear black...

Woohoo!

Have you seen the Spring '07 issue of Knitscene mag?

How about the December issue of Nickelodeon mag?

Well, there's more than just pretty spring knit/crochet patterns and the pig of the moment to be had amidst the pages of these periodicals. Yep, there are turkeys and tiny hats too!

Wanna make this?

Then you'll definitely need to pick up a copy of Knitscene! The hat accessory patterns are offered as freebies on the website. Perty darn cool, eh? Now, I expect all of you to be sporting these little diddies atop your heads this spring. So you'd better git to hookin'!

Nick mag doesn't have the pattern for Turkeyzilla The Tote Bag, but if you ever feel the need to crochet poultry, you can always get the pattern here.

Can I tell you how freakin' cool it is to walk into Borders and see my stuff plastered across the pages of these pulps??? Doing my happy dance! And no, my happy dance will never be found on youtube...

Making Merriment

City sidewalks
Busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There's a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
and on every street corner you'll hear

Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city…

Ah yes, ‘tis the season! This weekend past, ChezLinoleum was in full-holiday-swing-mode, which meant lots of decorating, driving to and fro, and of course much eating, drinking and making merriment also occurred.

First and foremost, Operation Tree Acquisition was in order. Sure, I, like many good American consumers, own an artificial tree. Hell, I own three! For me, childhood Christmas memories always include visions of my dad pulling down dusty tree and ornament boxes from the garage eaves, mom erecting said ornamental plastic wonder in one corner of the family room, bending the wire branches to and fro in an effort to achieve maximum straightness, dad, then having played his annual pivotal role in Operation Tree Acquisition, deciding to retire for the evening to read, write or work on his plans for world domination, my sister Stephanie and I jumping around in a sugar-addled haze, attempting to open the ornament boxes only to be told to sit down, remain calm and ornaments would be handed to us in an orderly fashion by the Queen of Clean and Organization, otherwise known as Mom.

Ahhh, those were the days!

I, being my mother’s daughter, happily continued with the anal-retentive plastic brush tradition each and every Christmas until I hooked up with the man in my life. Yep, the hubby did not abide my tradition of an oh so neat and natty plastic Christmas. Nope, HIS childhood memories of annual Operation Tree Acquisition consisted of actually buying a tree, a previously live, but just recently mowed down arbor from some lot near his parents’ home. Anyway, when we hooked up, my x-mas shrubbery de plastique was resigned to its cardboard tomb in favor of the hacked from its roots, mass needle dropping, grown in a tree farm variety. I still, however, manage to erect my little silver Christmas shrub next to the television each and every year. Hey, you can’t find metallic silver trees in nature! I have no choice…

At any rate, this year's Operation Tree Acquisition took place at the tree auction off Alameda Street, a hop, skip and a jump from Olvera Street and Union Station in good ole Downtown Los Angeles. However, before heavy duty auction participation could ensue, the Linoleums were in need of sustenance. This we found at one of my all time favorite LA eateries, Philipe’s! Home of the French dipped sandwich and 50 cent iced teas!

Landmarks can be hard to come by in this town...

Seriously, if you live in the Los Angeles area and have yet to eat at Philipe’s, well you are missing out big time! I always, always order the lamb dip, potato salad or coleslaw, depending upon my mood, and of course and an iced tea. Yum!

With bellies full, the hubs, offspring and I were ready to wheel and deal at the tree auction. Turns out all the cheapskates were present last Saturday evening. Bids were unbelievably low and we drove out of there with a 7 ½ footer for an amazing $36. Not bad.

Let the games begin...

Sold (to someone else)!

Here's our tree getting its water bowl and wooden stand...

The offspring and I decorated our acquired bush (after vacuuming up a bazillion stray needles) and surrounding abode Sunday morn. The hubs had to go into work so it was just mom/daughter decorating duo thang. We managed to transform our domicile into a holiday wonderland within a few hours. When finished it was time for us to get spiffed up in anticipation of one of our favorite annual holiday music traditions…Tuba Christmas!

Yes, I used the words tuba and Christmas together in one phrase.

Seriously, this is the best “get into the holiday spirit” type of event around! 200 tubas playing Christmas carols (and a couple of Tuba Chanukah tunes as well) accompanied by the audience in a sing-a-long!

It’s amazing! Really. I’ll bet, you can catch a version of Tuba Christmas in a city near you too…I highly recommend it. Not to be missed! Oh by the way, cosmopolitans are a good Tuba Christmas aperitif just in case you were wondering. I believe one sings a bit louder when windpipes are warmed with a bit of vodka.

I will tell you all that prior to last weekend’s festivities, I was feeling a little Scrooge-esque. It’s stunning what a little greenery, some holiday finery, a few seasonal tunes and camaraderie with family and friends can do to change my outlook. Oh, and the vodka didn’t hurt either....

Out with the old and in with the new!

As I get older, I find that I have decreasing tolerance levels for things high maintenance, aside from myself that is...

With this said I've been on a mission to eradicate drama from my life and after much deliberation surrounding a certain MAJOR aspect of my existence, I decided that I could take no more! It was time for a break. Time to bid fond farewell to a relationship that has sustained more than two decades. Yes folks, it's time for a change that will impact my life's current path.

I'm not proud of how I initiated such a change. I mean, we'd been sneaking around for quite a while. I'd go to our meeting place to cop a feel and push a few buttons. Later in the evening I'd return home and try to act like there was nothing amiss. Everything's just peachy keen...Not.

Well, a week ago Friday I decided that I had to come clean. No more dangerous liaisons. Deception is not good for the complexion after all. So, I made it official, opting for a quickie divorce while simultaneously jumping headlong into a openly torrid affair. C'mon, you only live once right?

Wave bye bye to the jilted!

Bid hiya to my new love...

Can you say 17 inches of pure unadulterated bliss???

Okay, I need to chill.

Anyway, so far so good. Aside from the fact that eventually I'm going to have to purchase a bazillion dollars worth of imaging software, I'm cool with the change. For now, I am going to limp along with my existing software packages. Anyone running Parallels? Do you like it?

And while we're talking software, I'm a longtime Corel Draw Suite user as well as an adept Adobe Photoshop user. I was checking out Corel Painter and was wondering if anyone out there is using it and likes it. Any feedback you can provide is welcome as I've been very intrigued with that package for a while now too, but have yet to take the plunge.

Time to go rev up my silver love machine...

My Precious...

Nuthin' says keep yer head warm during the holidays like a crocheted wool balding toupee with ears and eyes...



Just look at that likeness...



I know, stunning, is it not?

C'mon, sure Yoda hats are groovy, but I don't think anyone's got one of these! Then again, I don't know that anyone would want one of these either. Okay, so my style is a bit, um, unique. Whatever. At least I've got appropriate apparel for this event.

Copyright 2006 Regina Rioux Gonzalez. All rights reserved.