Knit a Day

Knit a Day

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Why I don't do lace


Every now and then it becomes obvious that nothing seems to work out right the first time. I tried to make the clementine shawlette for mother's day. I cast on the right number (both sides at the same time) and merry began to knit. I managed to pay attention to the pattern enough to get more than half way done with the increases when it happened. Did I fall asleep at the wheel? One side had more stitches on it than the other. Simple, I must have gotten confused at some point and put the needles down and when I picked them back up started on the wrong side. No big deal. Except I got lost, then I panicked (as usual) then I got distracted by something. Now.......it sits.
I missed mother's day and mom's bday. Christmas?

Monday, July 02, 2007

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Warm up blanket


This is the warm blanket I made for my father-in-law christmas 2005. He has loved this thing to death and now needs another. This time I am planning on making him a log cabin style similar to Mason Dixon knitting. So far I should be complete with it sometime early 2008.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Movie list


A movie list

[X] Citizen Kane
[X] Casablanca
[ ] The Godfather
[] The Godfather Part 2
[X] Gone with the Wind
[X ] Lawrence of Arabia
[X] The Wizard of Oz
[X] The Graduate
[X ] On the Waterfront
[X] Schindler’s List
[X] Singing in the Rain
[X ] Ben-Hur

Total: 10

[X ] Seven Samurai
[X ] Magnificent Seven
[X] Three Amigos
[X ] Yojimbo
[X ] Fist Full of Dollars
[ ] Last Man Standing
[X ] Hidden Fortress
[X] Star Wars
[X] Empire Strikes Back
[X] Return of the Jedi
[X ] Ran
[X ] Dreams
[X ] Rashomon

Total: 12

[X ] Psycho
[X ] Vertigo
[X] North by Northwest
[X] The Birds
[X ] Rear Window
[X ] Dial M for Murder

Total: 6

[X ] Blood Simple
[X] Raising Arizona
[ ] Millers Crossing
[X ] Barton Fink
[X] Hudsucker Proxy
[X] Fargo
[X] Big Lebowski
[X] O Brother Where Art Thou?

Total: 7

[X] Alien
[X] Blade Runner
[X] Legend
[X ] Black Rain
[X] Thelma & Louise
[] Black Hawk Down
[X] Gladiator

Total: 6

[X ] Time Bandits
[X] Brazil
[X ] The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
[X ] The Fisher King
[X] Twelve Monkeys
[X] Seven
[X] Fight Club
[X] Primal Fear
[X ] American History X

Total: 9

[X ] Spartacus
[X ] Lolita
[X ] Dr. Strangelove
[X ] Point for knowing the full title of Dr. Strangelove
[X] 2001: A Space Odyssey
[X] Clockwork Orange
[X] The Shining
[X] Full Metal Jacket

Total: 8

[X ] The Pianist
[X] Rosemary’s Baby
[X ] China Town
[X ] Easy Rider
[X] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Total: 5

[ ] Unforgiven
[X ] The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
[ ] The Searchers
[ ] Rio Bravo
[ ] Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
[ ] Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

Total: 1

[X] Halloween
[X] Nightmare on Elm Street
[X] Friday the 13th
[X ] Chainsaw Massacre
[X] The Exorcist
[X] Silence of the Lambs

Total: 6

[X] Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
[X] Beetle Juice
[X] Batman
[X] Edward Scissor Hands
[X] Ed Wood
[X] Mars Attacks!

Total: 6

[X] Reservoir Dogs
[X] Pulp Fiction
[X ] Kill Bill: Vol 1
[X ] Kill Bill: Vol 2
[X ] Sin City
[X ] Four Rooms
[X] From Dusk Till Dawn
[X] Desperado
[X] El Mariachi

Total: 9

[ ] Gates of Heaven
[ ] Vernon, Florida
[ ] The Thin Blue Line
[ ] Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
[ ] Mr. Death
[ ] The Fog of War

Total: 0

[X] LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings
[X] LOTR: The Two Towers
[X] LOTR: Return of the King
[ ] Forgotten Silver
[X ] Heavenly Creatures
[X] Braindead aka Dead Alive
[X ] Meet the Feebles
[X] Bad Taste

Total: 7

[X ] King Kong (1933)
[X] King Kong (1976)
[X ] King Kong (2005)

Total: 3

[X] The Sixth Sense
[] Unbreakable
[X] Signs
[X ] The Village

Total: 3

[] Pi
[X] Requiem for a Dream
[X] Memento
[X] Insomnia
[X] Batman Begins
[ ] Following
[X] The Virgin Suicides
[X] Lost in Translation
[X] Being John Malkovich
[X] Adaptation
[X ] Eternal Sunshine or the Spotless Mind

Total: 9

[X ] Better Off Dead
[X] Sixteen Candles
[X] The Breakfast Club
[X] Weird Science
[X] Ferris Beuller’s Day Off
[X ] Planes, Trains & Automobiles
[X] The Goonies
[X] Stand by Me

Total: 8

[X] The Shawshank Redemption
[] The Green Mile

Total:1

[X] Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
[X] Princess Bride
[X] This is Spinal Tap
[X ] The Jerk
[X] Ghost Busters
[X] Animal House
[X] Blues Brothers
[X] Little Shop of Horrors

Total: 8

[X ] Princess Mononoke
[X ] My Neighbor Totoro
[X ] Spirited Away
[X ] Howl’s Moving Castle
[X ] Akira
[ ] Steamboy
[ ] Ghost in the Shell

Total: 5

[X ] Waiting for Guffman
[X ] Best in Show
[X ] A Mighty Wind

Total: 3

[X] Night of the Living Dead
[X ] Dawn of the Dead (1978)
[X ] Day of the Dead
[X ] Land of the Dead
[X] Shawn of the Dead
[X] 28 days later

Total: 6

[ ] Bottle Rocket
[X] Rushmore
[X] Royal Tenenbaums
[X ] The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
[X] Snatch
[X] Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
[X] Trainspotting
[X ] Shallow Grave

Total: 7

[X ] Delicatessen
[X] Amilie
[X ] City of Lost Children
[X] Run Lola Run
[X] La Femme Nikita
[X] The Professional
[X] The Fifth Element

Total: 7

[ ] Mean Streets
[X] Taxi Driver
[X ] Raging Bull
[X ] Last Temptation of Christ
[X] Goodfellas
[X] Casino

Total: 5

[ ] M
[X ] Metropolis
[X ] Nosferatu
[X ] Diabolique
[X] Usual Suspects
[X ] Double Indemnity
[ ] The Third Man
[ ] Manchurian Candidate (1962)
[X ] Cool Hand Luke

Total:6

[X] Raiders of the Lost Ark
[X] Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
[X] Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
[X] Jurassic Park
[X ] Color Purple (read the book)
[X] Saving Private Ryan
[X] E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
[X] Jaws

Total: 8

[X] Die Hard
[X] Lethal Weapon
[X ] Mad Max
[X ] The Road Warrior
[X] Braveheart
[X ] Man Without a Face
[X ] Passion of the Christ

Total: 7

GRAND TOTAL: 178/205

Thursday, March 29, 2007

A day off


Now I feel I need some Noro therapy. It is just so pretty!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Sad memories

I used to have these two friends that were in the restaurant business. They worked really hard (from 9a to 11p Monday-Saturday) in their little restaurant. They had a few waitresses from the local university to handle the lunch crowd during the day, but only had their kitchen staff of two and themselves to handle the other hours of the day which included deliveries,waiting on tables and cooking.
At the time there were a few things that I could not agree with in how they chose to run their business. 1) They lied on their taxes (not admitting they were the actual owners and by record only paying themselves 15,000 as managers. 2) The kitchen staff were illegals. I think I overlooked these obvious flaws because of how they were. The four of them lived in a tiny apartment in a not so nice neighborhood and drove a car that had seen betters days. The clothes that they wore were simple and all they seemed to do was work (aside from Sunday). When I challenged them on the illegal help and how they are treated, I was quickly told "all Chinese restaurants do this". My friends at least paid them well and treated them as family. When we went out to eat " American" food with them, the kitchen help always came along. The head cook ofter showed me photos of his two boys and how wealthy they were because of his help. It was worth it to him that he would never be able to go home again just to make sure his family was taken care of and well (if he left, he could never return because his papers were forged).
Our first crack in the fragile egg of friendship came when we both had our first child. Theirs came first at two months early. While she was on maternity leave, he was left to run the restaurant by himself. The baby was in the hospital for the first three months of her life and the car was at the restaurant needed for deliveries. She was left alone at the house while he worked. They only took her to see the baby when someone from his family found the time to take her there (her family were still in Hong Kong). Often she was left alone because she needed to rest and was not to be disturbed. Once while visiting I got to witness a hissy fit of his because it was not fair that she got to lie around all day while he worked at the restaurant. He could care less that she almost died during labor or that the baby was very ill. He could not run the restaurant alone and demanded she come back to work. He pressed her often until she hired a live in nanny to take care of the child. Often they only saw their baby(later child) for a few hours in the morning and not once getting up with the baby at night or dealing with any illnesses.
Fast forward six years. Now the restaurant friends are very wealthy with a string of restaurants, a million dollar house and Mercedes in the driveway next to the Escalade.
We don't communicate much anymore. Years ago, we ran out of things to say to one another. They live in the world of business deals and fancy vacations. The cute immigrant charm is gone. Their Chinese friends are gone replaced by white upper class neighbors from one of the country clubs. Every year I invite them to my child's birthday party and for the last two years they have not bothered to even RSVP their regrets. I miss my silly friends. I do wish them well. Farewell good times.
Now I hear from an employee, the INS has raided all of their restaurants twice and he has a girlfriend that runs one of the restaurants. I was told that he and the girlfriend do not even bother to hide their relationship from anyone including his wife and child. When the employee asked me why I thought she would put up with this behavior ...all I could think of was how could they get divorced. They probably cannot afford anyone looking at their finances too closely.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Look at the list of (100) books below.
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you want to read.
Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
Movies don’t count.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Gol.
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving))
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
4
8. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)

55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)

72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)

84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)