Friday, January 30, 2009

I feel the earth move under my feet...

The view from my window today.
Foggy, with a touch of Silent Hill.

Apparently, this morning at about 5:25am, Seattle was rocked by a 4.6 earthquake.

Want to know where I was? Crashed out, completely asleep.

I found out from my mother about it when she called me to ask if Dragon and I had had some seriously earth-shattering sex this morning. Queue my puzzlement, which led to the explanation. *laughs* I then find out, from her, that I have a history of sleeping through earthquakes (courtesy of my younger years in Alaska).

Well isn't that nice? It's rather charming to know that the house could literally fall down around me and I'd sleep right through it. I sent a text to Dragon to find out if HE knew about it (since he gets up much earlier than I do) but considering he didn't say anything to me this morning as we were getting ready to run him to work, I'd have to say that he was possibly as oblivious as I was. The cats certainly didn't freak out enough to wake us up. So there you go.

To be honest, I'll take an earthquake over a tornado/hurricane ANY DAY. Which is another reason why I wanted to move to Washington.

*Chuckles* How exciting. And I slept right through it.

And to prove how disinterested the cats were, behold:
Blade, in his tree, looking very non-plussed.

Kratos, watching on with disinterest.

Mumbles, in the window, wondering what the fuss is about.

Shadow, window-bird-hunter extraordinaire.

Habu, just wondering when she's going to get some treats.

XOXO
Bella

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Okay. These made me chortle today.

I know, I said it was a small post. I lied.

These about made me pee m'self laughing so hard. I thought I'd share them with you guys too;)





XOXO
Bella

And...moar...sno!

It's snowing again today, but it's supposed to change to rain by this afternoon. I have to admit, as a sno-baby, I'm loving this gentle sno-fall we're getting at random intervals:)

And a pimp! Check to the right sidebar. I've added a small list of links that I love, ones that you'll most likely see featured in my posts right now. I haven't figured out just yet how to add pictures to those links, but the lovely Andrea has provided a very nice pic with which to link to her etsy shop. Behold:
So there you have it! Little post today, I have an appointment at 10:30 with a storage unit because we're finally tired of having all these boxes hanging out around here. Oy.

It's a slow phone day, so hopefully I'll be able to get some more knitting/crochet/housecleaning done around here today. We'll see:)

XOXO
Bella

Saturday, January 24, 2009

We can has moar sno?

Well this is certainly unexpected.

Apparently it's snowing outside! I doubt it'll stick around too long, since tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and a brisk 44 degrees out there.

Hey, I'll take and enjoy what I get :)

There are so many things I'm loving about this city! It's constantly full of surprises! For example, there are mountains that can be seen while I drive my husband to work in the morning. However, it changes from day to day what can be seen of the mountain range. Some mornings, it's a beautiful, crisp mountain view. Other days, you can barely make them out because there's a thick, surreal fog. Other times, you can't see them at all because of the clouds. But it's always lovely, even when it's grey outside.

I find reasons upon reasons to continue falling in love with this place.

Oh, and congratulations to my lil' brother on his engagement! Welcome to the family L, we're glad to have you:) I suppose it's time to start saving up for a Florida trip sometime in the future.

That's all for now:)

XOXO
Bella

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Yes We Can

And we definitely did.

Here's to four years rebuilding the lost hope of America.

Today, I witnessed history unfold in a new direction. And I, for one, am extremely proud to call myself an American.

XOXO
Bella

Monday, January 19, 2009

Tea anyone? ::Daily Cuppa::

As part of my New Year, New Health initiative, I decided to start drinking more tea. I mean, I collect teas like some people collect rare figurines. I'm entranced by the idea of tea, moreso than the flavor of it. I love the idea of a tea tasting like sweet raspberries, or green tea being bitter but oh-so-good for you.

So today, I fired up the old tea kettle and I'm currently steeping a Tazo Wild Sweet Orange teabag in my little glass cup. The smell is divine. I'm a sucker for oranges. And rather than being a muddy shade o' brown water, this is an inviting deep amber.

The official description from Tazo states that this tea is: "A full-flavored, juicy infusion of lemongrass, citrus herbs, licorice root, and orange essences. Sweet, yet tart, this is a cup of liquid sunshine, radiating multilayered orange flavors with exotic hints of spice and a distinctive floral finish."

And they aren't kidding. Woo boy. This tea doesn't need anything in the way of sweeteners. Not that it's all sugary sweet, but this tea has some serious flavor going on. Juicy? Hell yes. Tart? Quite, but delicately so. It's not like sucking on a lemon, it's more subtle than that. I can taste the bite of the lemongrass, but it's mellowed out quite a bit by the orange.

This is a tasty tea!

And since I want to make this a regular thing, I created a little rating system, with obligatory icons, to denote how I feel about the tea I'm partaking of. SO...without further ado, I give this Tazo Wild Orange tea....*insert drumroll*

5 outta 5 cuppas! *applause*

XOXO
Bella

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Foggy days, crisp nights.

The last few days have been full o' fog around here and I've been enjoying every minute of it. To my macabre mind, I suppose it's just spooky enough to make it feel more surreal than it might to the average Pacific Northwesterner.

But then, I'm still newly transplanted.

It's a new year, therefore new goals, hassles, irritations and triumphs. We've been getting out and seeing the city more, slowly but surely, and I'm currently dying to get tickets for Cinematic Titanic's first show here in March. In case you don't already know, and I'm sure most of you don't, I'm a huge fan of MST3K. So when CT announced tour dates, you know I'll be in attendance:) See, this is one of the big reasons we moved here in the first place. The opportunities are crazy! Combine that with another Abney Park show next month and you've got a me that's just squirming in her pants to get out and get on with it!

I've been working on a new scarf. I'm using the lovely orange merino I got earlier this month and after searching high and low, I settled on a scarf that's similar to the Circle Crochet Scarf pattern and I fully intended on using that particular pattern. But then, while perusing through my Encyclopedia of Crochet the other day and found the perfect stitch pattern for it.

See, I envisioned this scarf, because of the yarn, looking like little slices of mandarin oranges, so I went with Catherine's Wheel. And yes, it's crochet:

See that gorgeous color? Believe me when I say that the camera does NOT do justice to how lusciously beautiful it is.

And my favorite dyer/spinner extraordinaire is at it again. Look at this: (picture totally taken by Andrea, by the way)

Now, I will admit my ignorance, because I don't know what Black BFL is (the fiber she used for this yarn) but is that not one of the most gorgeous red colorways you've ever seen? Can you imagine a deep violet color? OMG! So pretty!

So naturally, I want some. *laughs* We'll see what happens;) What with working two jobs now, I might be able to keep up my yarn-whore habit! (As it is, I'm totally tempted to have her add the Purple Haze merino she has in her shop. I keep lusting after it. Darn her!!)

Oh! And I haven't forgotten the backlog of stitch patterns of the day. I'm still doing them, I've just gotten caught up in other things. Hopefully over the next week, I'll get them all photo'd and uploaded and let you all know what I'm doing!

Game's on, have to run:)

XOXO
Bella

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Like a virgin.

I've never tried soymilk before.

In fact, I'm not a milk fan in the slightest. I like dairy foods (cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) but I cannot stand the taste of straight milk. Not even on my cereal. Not even with a TON of chocolate syrup in it. I can handle milk shakes from time to time, but even then, there comes a point where I get annoyed with the milk flavor.

So when my doctor suggested going on a Biocleanse this month (which I haven't done for other, personal reasons, but WILL be doing next month) I was perusing the list of foods we CAN eat, and it mentions soymilk. I'm not even going to go into the list of foods we cannot have because, frankly, it's everything we do eat right now. So it's more than slightly depressing;)

I asked around, various friends, to get suggestions for what is a good soymilk to try and one told me about 8th Continent. I haven't been able to find it here, and we wanted to try something out, so we settled on vanilla Silk.

I'd been sitting here looking at it everytime I open the fridge for the last couple of days, trying, I suppose, to work up the courage to just drink it. Instead, today, I opted to put it on my cereal. Although I have 3 cereal options, I picked plain ol' Life because, I figured, if it tastes bad on Life, there's no hope for it on anything else.

Let me tell you! It actually tastes pretty damned good! I still won't drink it straight, but on cereal? It's definitely a winner. Light, sweet, with none of the milky aftertaste that makes me gag. I really enjoyed it.

So if you're soymilk shy, I'd have to recommend Silk vanilla in the blue carton. Seriously tasty stuff. I wonder if it'll be good to cook with? Anyone know?

XOXO
~Bella

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Oh me, oh my.

I got my most recent yarn steal from Andrea yesterday.

It's 750yds of Merino, aptly titled "Orange Slices". I've been on a brightish color kick lately. It normally doesn't last too long, but orange is usually quite hit or miss with me, specifically. I just have to say that this is some super yummy stuff that has my name written all over it. *grins*

We went to Wallingford this past Saturday to celebrate me not being in dispatch anymore, in search of the best cupcakes in Seattle. I do believe we found them. Trophy Cupcakes, in the Wallingford Center, has some of the most scrumptious little cakes I've ever laid my tastebuds upon! Especially tasty were their Red Velvet/Cream cheese cupcake, the Lemon cupcake, and the Cafe Au Lait cupcakes. The coffee was good, but I made the dire mistake of getting a pomegranate mocha. Let's just say that the flavor was reminiscent of having spent too much time at the bar and is the taste in your mouth right before you offer a prayer to the porcelain god. Mmhmm.

We set out to wander the center a bit and happened upon a yarn store! Bad Woman Yarn is one of two yarn stores I've had the pleasure of perusing in this city, and it was...amazing! The people working there were so incredibly friendly that I was taken aback. I was able to pick up some yarn for my mom's Christmas gift for later this year, and I snagged two Addi Turbo Lace circular needles for my sock adventures, as well as a few small tiny skeins of Panda Silk and Panda Wool in some nifty colorways, oh, and some sparkly lumina from Berocco! Behold:


And I wouldn't have bought these, but they were discounted 20% off. Ladies? Gentlemen? Is that not a steal? Even if they're totally frou-frou yarns?
The guy who (I'm assuming) owns the shop was really nice and I now have a discount card all set up there, where if I spend more, eventually the card punch will get me $20 off my next purchase. Again, I say, how on earth could you NOT love a yarn store that does that?

We also perused a comic store and had some faboo taco stand tacos and then came home to chill for the rest of the night.

Yesterday, it snowed. And then it melted. And now? It's just rainy. Welcome to Seattle;)

XOXO
~Bella

Stitch Pattern of the Day: Seaside Chain Stitch

I won't say what the chains look like to me because, well, my job keeps my mind firmly in the gutter most of the time. HOWEVER! This stitch is rather interesting to do. It's not that it's particularly difficult, but it IS requiring a certain number of stitches or it will look a little off. Of course, I wasn't thinking about that when I cast on initially, so it does look a little off, but then, this is MY patchwork scarf;)

Overall, not a bad stitch. I can see it being used on scarves mostly, perhaps hats. Not really a sweater stitch for me.

More tomorrow!

XOXO
~Bella

Monday, January 5, 2009

Stitch Pattern of the day: Little Step Stitch

This one is a bit more complex. But there's something supremely nifty about this pattern!

Here's the right side of it:


And this, my dears, is the wrong side:

I'll confess, I really do prefer the wrong side to the right side. *laughs* I mean, both sides are lovely, but there's something more organic, flowy and just downright pretty about the wrong side that results from this pattern.

Ahh me.

*Glances at the clock* Time to run and get the Dragon from work! Thank goodness the snow has melted!

XOXO
~Bella

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Stitch Pattern of the Day: Sand Stitch

So today's stitch is the Sand Stitch.

Works best with an even number of stitches and the pattern is, again, relatively easy. Row 1: K1, P1 across. Row 2: Knit.

This is another of these stitches that seem really simple but produce quite a nice result. It has tons of texture without driving your fingers crazy, and it's super easy to memorize.

And since the next one in the book is actually a variation of the above, I thought I'd give you a two-fer:

This is the Sand Stitch with Slip Stitches. To me, it looks just like the reverse side of the Sand Stitch pattern, only...done on the right side, so the little nubby bits are inside. Pattern is as follows:
Row 1 (Right Side): With yarn in back, Slip 1 stitch as if to purl; with yarn in front, purl 1. Repeat across.
Row 2: Purl.

I'm a little meh about this one, but then it could be because it's just a very slight variation to the sand stitch.

Rolling through tomorrow: Little Step Stitch!

XOXO
~Bella

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Stitch Pattern of the Day: Uneven Rib Stitch

This one I waffled on a bit, because I'm so used to doing traditional ribbing that I didn't want to just throw a rib stitch in here. However, this one looks a little more interesting than your normal ribbing:

I'm sure the definition will show up better when it's blocked, but it's a very simple ribbing pattern. Worked in stitches groups of 4, it's a simple P2, K2 for the first row, followed by a K1, P2, K2, with a K1 at the end. Seems quite stretchy and I rather like it compared to normal ribbing. It has...character!

Next up: Sand Stitch!

XOXO
~Bella

Friday, January 2, 2009

Stitch Pattern of the Day: Moss Stitch

Behold:

I've never really used Moss Stitch for anything. And I wonder why! It's actually quite a beautiful stitch, not to mention it's very meditative to do. K1, P1 for one row and then P1, K1 for the next; rinse, later, and repeat.

I'm actually thinking about doing an entire project in moss stitch. Perhaps a scarf? I wonder how it would look in a variegated yarn too.

Tomorrow: Uneven Rib Stitch

XOXO
~Bella

Thursday, January 1, 2009

First stitch pattern of the day: Twisted Stockinette

So here's a picture:
I'm going to try to keep these all along the same lines, 26 stitches across, 26 rows high. I'm using just plain ol' size 8 (5.0mm) Boye aluminum needles. Initially, I thought about each one getting it's own swatch, but then it occurred to me, how interesting would it look to just keep knitting different stitch patterns along a single skein?

I'm currently destashing with this project, so I'm using some Caron Super Soft in vibrant purple (naturally *grin*) and plan on making my way through whatever else acrylic yarn I have back there that isn't chenille or boucle.

So there you go. Tomorrow? Moss stitch!

XOXO
~Bella

Happy New Year!

I've been dealing with a sick Mumbles. Apparently, his brother stole some yarn and HE ate some of it. Cue massive bouts of puking combined with lethargy and non-interest in food or water. It's been going on for about 24 hours, and of course, with the exception of emergency vet clinics, any regular vet is closed today.

*sighs* Why oh why does my problem child have to do this on the holiday?

He's puked up some of it so far, twice, and looking at the pattern repeat (as well as how long I was out of the room) he couldn't have swallowed more than maybe 6 inches, 4 of which is already out of him.

I'm just keeping a really close eye on him right now.

As for everything else, we were up, bright and early, at 7:30am to take Trina her Calorimetry. She was extremely squee about it, even putting it on and running outside for a smoke so she could test it (it was coooold and windy today). To say it made my morning is an understatement. Especially when it was to have a smoke break and I was able to bum one off of her (despite my, erm, quitting this morning *blush*).

How is the new year going for all of you? I'm working on my first swatch from the pattern book of stitches, the twisted stockinette stitch. I skipped regular stockinette and garter stitch because, well, let's face it...I think we're all pretty familiar with them both;) I'll post a picture of the swatch when it's done later today!

I have some Sauerkraut and Kielbasa bubbling away in my oven, our traditional New Year's fare, which we'll chow down on with some molasses bread later. So the house smells pretty wonderful right now.

What are you guys up to? Anything?

XOXO
~Bella