Unreserved

Bad blogger, no cookies.

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Shame on me, neglecting my blog.

The problem is that updates of “Hi!  Everything’s peachy keen!  Buh bye now!” don’t hold anyone’s interest, not even mine and I’m easily entertained.

What have I been up to in no particular order?  The girls and I went camping.  There have been several birthdays and some graduations in the (mammoth) extended family.  Anna finished preschool and had her kindergarten evaluation (!!!).  I bought a new car and had several inches of my hair whacked off.  Claire took scissors to her own bangs.  Three year olds are not licensed as hair stylists in the state of PA for good reason.  We started prepping the house for paint.   I planted four baby trees and the only one that was growing was chomped down to a stub by some anonymous wild life.  We attended the Pittsburgh Arts Festival and got to ride in a fire truck.  General life stuff - nothing deep or introspective from me.  (aren’t you glad?)  Instead I will post pictures of the girls.

Hiking with Pap-pap

Posing on a “big rock”

Checking out the fountain in Point State Park

Learning to do laundry the old-fashioned way

And last but not least, being junior junior firefighters

Ouch!

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I did spin the silk last night - holy crap!  People aren’t kidding when they say it doesn’t draft easily.  Even though I predrafted it the night before, it wasn’t as thin or as even as I wanted because it was killing my hands.  It wasn’t any easier on my hands while spinning, although a few times I did get into a sort of groove where I wasn’t fighting the fiber.

I’m not at all happy with how the singles look, but am waiting to reserve judgement for when they’re plied.  After all, the whole point in spinning this was as a learning experience.  Last night I dreamed of spinning silk filaments for car headlights.

Meanwhile, I’ve got about 500yds of wool/mohair spun up for Claire’s Sweater Take Two.  I dyed them Sunday and left them in the dyebath overnight.  Well, sort of.  The dyebath slowly drained out since they were in the wash tub, but that’s okay.  This timeI used “Amazon Green” Dylon  since the darker green wasn’t striking properly.  I was afraid this one would be a bit too yellow or too bright, but it turned out a lovely celedon color that Claire and I are very happy with.  When I showed her the four loose skeins of dyed yarn (she’s always asking what the status of her sweater is) she asked, “But how am I going to wear that?”  I had to promise to knit it up soon.

I am running out of things that can break.

Monday, May 18th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

In the past month I have had a virus on a lab computer followed by a complete hard drive failure, two broken vacuum pumps, a broken agitator, a broken part on the  Tribute (Mr. Unreserved’s primary vehicle), and massive expensive deterioration of my car which led to its replacement.  Hooray for shiny new car, boo for ugly car payment!  This weekend the dryer broke.

It’s getting to where I’m afraid to use anything mechanical, including pencils.

In fiber related news, I had a fun new experience last night - I pulled the silk bell I picked up at MDSW into rovings.  It was great fun, even if it did cut a slice in my index finger.  The tutorial I read wasn’t kidding when it said the stuff could be hard on your hands.  Silk is so deceptive!  It feels like cobwebs, yet it’s tough enough to slice through skin.  No wonder people have been fascinated with it for thousands of years.  Tonight I hope to try to spin it, assuming I can keep my eyes off the Penguins game.

How I spent Mother’s Day Morning

Saturday, May 16th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

I had a lovely Mother’s Day, and I hope you did, too.  Even if you’re not a mother, I hope you had a lovely May 10th.

I did not get breakfast in bed.  I was out of bed an hour earlier than I would have been for work.  I made Mr. Unreserved drag me down to Oakland to run in the Race for the Cure.  It was quite an experience!

The morning was beautiful, sunny and crisp, which was a change from the rain and gloom that’s been dominating this spring.  The event was well organized, which must have been quite a feat with over 30,000 people gathered in one spot.

I ran in memory of my Grandmother and in celebration of my Aunt.

I ran up and down the hills of Squirred HIll.  Hills were the one thing missing from my training.  They made me fanatsize about plopping down on the side of the course and refusing to finish.  Seeing as I’d have to walk back to the park, I figured I might as well keep going.  After the first two evil miles, the third was mostly downhill and was much easier.  I’ve never been so happy to see Phipps Conservatory (where the finish line was) in my life!  I managed to make my goal of finishing under 40 minutes, even though I had to walk twice to catch my breath.

Mr. Unreserved took a picture of me after the race, but I’d rather post the one from the beginning.  It’s nearly identical, but much less sweaty.

The rest of my day was lovely, but it couldn’t top the rush of finishing my first race.  Now I have to decide what comes next.  Do I keep training?  Chalk it up to another experience to check off the bucket list and move on?  I like the way running makes me feel, but I’m still not able to think of myself as “a runner.”

But on Sunday morning, I was.

P.S.  Get your annual mamogram.  Yes, you.

Sign of the appocalypse #253

Saturday, May 9th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Today I ventured forth to the driver’s licensing center to renew my license.  I went equipped with a sock to knit because hello - DMV on a Saturday morning?

I took my number, 82, and sat down.  My butt had barely hit the seat when the woman with the camera said, “Is there a number 83?”  No takers.  I told her I had 82, and she said that I was next then.  I was trying to sign the signature box while applying lip gloss.  Do not try to do this.  It is impossible.

The cheerful camera lady said, “Did you expect to wait long?”  I told her I did.  She agreed that it was freakishly empty for a Saturday morning.  “Last Saturday we were mobbed.”  I smiled wanly for the camera (it rings false to look too happy on an id photo), accepted the id quality photo that showed up on the screen (they ask if that’s an acceptable picture - they could take 100 pictures and it will still be a crappy license photo; I have low standards), waited a couple of minutes, and walked out with a new license in my hand.  Total time:  less than 10 minutes. Go figure.

I can see clearly now. . .

Thursday, May 7th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

There is a microwave (black) and a minifridge (white) in my office.  The microwave is possessed.  It beeps spontaneously and randomly.   I tried giving it a sacrificial Michelina’s fettuccine alfredo with chicken and broccoli today (they’re all alfredo, all the time) but it was unimpressed so I had to unplug it.  There are two cords in the powerstrip. I am amused that the microwave cord is white and the fridge cord is black.  I’m sure this is a sign that I am feeble minded, but I’m okay with that.  WordPress’s spellchecker thinks I should capitalize “alfredo” and I refuse to.

As a scientist, I like things that are unambiguous.  When I run a reaction and it doesn’t work, I like for it to fail really spectacularly.  I like to see absolutely no product, or more than 50% of an undesired byproduct.  Things that sort of fail but work well enough to merit further investigation or tweaking are tiresome.  Which is why I was simultaneously dismayed and delighted when my car gave out yesterday.  The exhaust has completed its long, slow disintegration and will require %150 of the value of the car to be put back in working order.  That would be on top of the necessary repairs already planned to get it through next month’s inspection, so it was off to the car lot with me.  I had expected the demise of my car to be stealthier, needing $200 here and $400 there until I was fed up enough to accept another car payment.  This was more like a big, neon sign that sait “IT’S CAR SHOPPING TIME!”  A blinking one.  With chasing lights around it.  And it makes a noise like a tank about to flatten a Chevette full of clowns.

Last weekend was a very fabulous trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool!  It was so fabulous that it deserves its own post, but I couldn’t let it pass without mention.

And now, a book review.

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Kids | No Comments

The girls and I love to go to the library.  I get and audiobook or two for me and heaps of children’s books, even though we have heaps of them at home.  I have every intention of turning my children into bookworms.  I believe I’m succeeding so far because they’d rather be read to than just about anything (except maybe take a bath - now that the weather’s warmed up they can use the tub again).  We pick up a variety of books because it’s hard to predict what’s going to tickle the girls’ fancy on a given week.  Recently we’ve found a couple that tickle my fancy as well.

“The Cheese” by Margie Palatini is a twisted take on “The Farmer in the Dell.”  We read this one so much that Anna was “reading” it to her sister by reciting it from memory.  Both girls crack up at the phrase “High Ho the dairy-o” now.  The book has caused a running joke in our household; we very sternly inform each other that, “You can’t eat the cheese.  Cheese stands alone.  Everyone knows that.”  Hearing Claire attempt to be stern is extra cute.

Last night we got another whack of books and when I read “Cowboy and Octopus” by Jon Scieszka I giggled harder than the girls.  I wasn’t surprised to find it was by the same author as “The Stinky Cheese Man” (which we also checked out last month, coincidentally).  Lettuce can’t knock on doors.  An octopus dressed up as the tooth fairy is not scary, it is pretty, according to Anna.

What is the moral of this post?  I like warped children’s books.  My kids like warped children’s books.  An off-kilter sense of humor is hereditary.  Getting to giggle over an octopus being hit on the head with a hammer is one of the perks of parenting.

I actually finished something!

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Some time last year (was it summer?) I picked up a china cabinet on Craigslist.  It sat in the garage while it waited patiently for me to spruce it up a bit.  Fortunately china cabients are very patient.

My only regret is that I didn’t get a before picture.  Originally the cabinet was dark walnut colored pine with white ceramic knobs.  I’m normally against painting furniture, but this was never heirloom quality and it was darker than I wanted.

I stripped the top of the buffet portion, stained it cherry, and finished with several coats of wipe-on polyurethane and a coat of wax.  I primed the rest of the cabinet with a shellac-based primer, gave it three coats of semi-gloss paint in “linnen,” followed by a light antiquing with a coat of stain, and capped it all off with a coat of wipe-on poly.  The hinges were sprayed with metallic “oiled bronze” paint, and I replaced the knobs.  The final touch was wallpapering the back paneling since I wasn’t going to attempt to get an even paint job on there.  I picked a paper that coordinated with the colors in the room, but looking at the finished cabinet I kind of wish I had picked a black and white pattern.  It’d be easy to repaper if I choose to later.

The end result isn’t perfect, and it isn’t fine furniture, but it looks good in the great room and we’ll finally have a place to put the good dishes (and cram other assorted junk no doubt).  I was thrilled to see that the refinished top matches my piano very well - they look very happy together.  (apparently furniture turns me into Bob Ross)

Here came Peter Cottontail

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

The girls dresses were finished on time.  The sun came out.  The girls complained that it was too cold, and ran back inside to continue gorging themselves on candy. We’ll be picking up stray bits of Easter grass until it’s time to put up the Christmas tree.

“I tricked you!”

Monday, April 20th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Organization is not my strong suit, nor are mornings.  To minimalize Monday morning mayhem, I always keep my car keys in my purse, except when I drop them in my coat pockets.  That leaves me only two places to search when they go missing, as they did this morning.  I dug and dug through my purse, growing increasingly frustrated. 

Then I heard the giggle from the breakfast table.

“I tricked you, Mommy!”  said Claire, gleefully.

“Do you know where my keys are?” 

She grinned and nodded.  The grin faded when I demanded she tell me where she put them.  When she figured out I wasn’t as amused by her game, she pouted.  A pouting Claire never talks.  It pouts.  She climbed slowly down from her booster seat, promising to show me where she put them.  Then she stood, pouting, in the middle of the room.  Not showing me a thing. 

Finally she admitted, “I put them in the pocket.” 

“What pocket?”

“The pocket on your purse that closes.”

On the front of my purse is a decorative latched pocket that I don’t use, that I thought was barely big enough for an iPod nano let alone my ring of keys.  It turns out they fit very nicely in there.