Delayed Joy

Oh, my lovlies, I am so sorry for leaving you for so long alone.  I hope to find my joys again soon and tell you all about them.

Until then,
Bethany

Colorful Character

 ~~*~~

   I was sitting in the back lawn, a fresh cup of the dark and bitter elixir, that many of us require of a morning hour, stirred with milk, a dash of sugar, and malt.  The sunlight was sprinkled on the ground amongst the untrimmed blades of grass where the trees had allowed its beams to filter through. Upon reaching the miniature forest, the sun reflected off of the dew beads and made it appear as though the faeries had sprinkled peridot glitter on the green.  As usual, two of my children accompanied me to make their foreday rounds.  They are furry creatures fairly bursting with wriggling/bouncy happy energy for, you see, they are of the canine alignment and thus subject to a perpetual state of glee.  It was a pleasant affair watching them cut capers and play chase.

  A pair of kindly and peculiar ladies, of an elder age, stopped to chat over the old fence while on their early strolls.  This was my first time meeting Catherine of 36th Avenue and she and I talked of an array of subjects ranging from Eastern and Western medicine to the mean little lady-mosquitoes in the hedge. Catherine is pleasant company but, not the most interesting to describe (nor does she possess intriguing quirks aside from the tendency to fidget and look at anything other than whom she is speaking with).

  The second gentlewoman to join us is a much more queer and fascinating individual.  Sakeeta of 737 1/2* is short of stature, tawny skinned, with lengthy, crinkled ebon hair she had plaited into a rope and draped over her left shoulder.  Across her forehead was a faded red bandanna rolled into a band and about her neck was a Native American-style choker of elongate, vertically arranged, off-white bone beads.  Her clothing consisted of a white tank top and denim shorts belted with a strip of leather.  Sakeeta stops by my home often these days to leave offerings of tobacco to the tree stump that dwells on the side lawn because it resembles an eagle totem, she says, and it calls to her.  When we first met I found my self so enchanted with her eccentricities and politeness that naysaying the request was out of the question.

  The purpose of her walk today was to hand out little representations of spiritual animals to all the residents of 31st Avenue.  After rummaging in her basket, she chose, plucked out, and placed in my palm four iridescent butterfly hair clips, each with a different base color: lime green, xanthous orange, a light beryline blue, and lavender mixed with gold.  I am proudly wearing them all in my hair now. :)

~~*~~

   I'm not very sure how to end this entry for I feel it very well could go on for days and I must complete at least some of my chores today.  Perhaps I will continue the description of Sakeeta in a post solely dedicated to her.  She is such a prismatic character it has to be done!


*737 1/2 is in reference to Sakeeta's address.  The lack of a street name is implying that she lives on the same avenue as I.

On a side note...

  I wish to post a picture of a mixed medium drawing (charcoal and pencil) I made this month of my cousin, Ezra.  I welcome constructive criticism and tips that could potentially help my growth as an artist.

Lemon Lavender Tea Cakes

~*~

I had the most wonderful breakfast this morning.

It consisted of the first harvest of Little Heirloom Tomatoes, 

Sun Tea, and my Lemon Lavender Tea Cakes.

  I had a lovely time sitting with The Lofty 

Begonias of Front Stoop Urns.  In the dappled shade, we talked 

of the gentle breeze swirling the heat, and the 

twitter of The Happy Birds near by.

One Brave Little Wren flew so close I felt the rush of air from 

his beating wings brush my face.

~*~

~*~

My breakfast was absolutely divine.

There were originally four tomatoes but, as you can see,

I could not resist tasting one as I gathered the little

globes of juicy sweetness.

~*~

~*~

And of course I cannot leave out The Lofty Begonias of 

Front Stoop Urns, with their beauty giving all who pass a pleasant 

thought accompanied by a smile.

~*~

From Folds of Sable to Layers of Snow

I am beginning a quest.  A quest I was, at first, very opposed to.  Now that I have come around there is much fun, excitement, and an adventure to be had.  

The quest is this:  

Recreate my wardrobe without using black. 

  

My current wardrobe is almost completely composed of fabric that is black as pitch so this shall be quite the challenge.  The new theme is to be centered around shades and hues of white in the form of crinolines, lace, and fluff.

To inspire the creative juices to flow, I have scoured 

the interwebs for inspiration.  The main elements are to be demonstrated with a selection of choice photographs.

The pictures may not be all white or might have black in them but, there is something stylistically appealing about the object in question.  Can you guess what it is?

I like the cut and pattern of the shoes above.

 

There is something about the combination of colors and the makeup that draws me to the photo on the right.  It's so whimsically ridiculous that I must have it.

I find myself drawn to the floof of the tutu ... ignore the hooped portion.

*** Thank you to all the people I am borrowing these photographs from for this entry. ***

The Plantlings

The Dear Little Heirloom Tomato

     It could be the weather but, I believe I'm actually managing to keep four plants alive.  I check on them everyday, sometimes twice or more what with the Florida heat.  The sun is so intense that after many close-to-death calls I had to put my Dear Little Heirloom Tomato in partial shade to keep the poor thing from continuing to get fried every day.

     At first, the battle between the Sun and me was quite the epic tale.  Eventually, though, with my sharp intellect, Water, brute strength, and determination, I prevailed and won the day.

The Lonely Dancing Hydrangea 

     The Trees unfurled banners of green in my honor, the Lonely Hydrangea danced with the Breeze in celebration of my toil, and my Dear Little Tomato plant budded fruit that she has offered to share with me in thanks.  The Begonias did nothing for me, but that is to be expected from them, even though they are in the urns on the front stoop and had no knowledge of the plight.

The Lofty Begonias of Front Stoop Urns

(one of the two, anyway)

     The Lofty Begonias think that they are much better than anyone else but I love and care for them just as tenderly as the rest.  I let them think they get the special treatment since there are no other plantlings to disabuse them of this notion, there is no need to break their fragile hearts and bruise their tender egos.  Since not once were they told such a thing, I feel not one ounce of guilt for telling a lie because I did not.

Fairy Tales and Beasts

 

 

 

I seriously need to be uber productive today...for my sanity. Unfortunately, I woke up in Dragon Mode thanks to my dog. Sarge kept whining (the bedroom door is open due to the heat) and pawing at my bedside (successfully) trying to wake me up. Grrrr. I'm sure I would find it hilarious and cute if it weren't happening to ME.

 

Don't let that cute face fool you.

 Honestly, I need to get crackin' if I want anything done.  The more I procrastinate, the more my day-of-productivity starts to look like a Fairy Tale.

To Do:

(don't make fun of my list....it's daunting to ME)

Laundry

Finish my FAFSA Form

  Work on my Gloves of Awesomeness

Go Shopping:

bicycle tubes

make-up!

hair bleach!

hair dye!

yarn?/needles?

shoes?

curlers?

hats?

Such a Space Case

So, I've been completely lax about finishing my Gloves of Awesomeness.  Maybe the super hot weather we've been having here in Florida is the deterrent... or I could just be a lazy bum.  I think I'm a lazy bum.  What I have been doing is playing around with my style and going out.  My first anniversary was also on the 26th this past Monday ^_^ Yay.

Speaking of my anniversary, we are supposed to be going to New Orleans this weekend with friends to celebrate.  As of right now, all but one friend has said they aren't going and we can't get a hold of the last one for some reason.  We are supposed to leave tomorrow and no word.  Ari and I can't afford to go by ourselves so it sucks big time.  I have to admit that I am angry/frustrated with our friends and my husband.  Ari didn't make reservations three or four weeks ago when I told him to, we didn't set aside enough money, and my friends essentially all bailed (like the last trip to New Orleans I planned for my birthday a few years ago...except that time, a few of them went anyway without me after the trip was canceled).  I was soooo pissed.  I think New Orleans is cursed for me...I'm starting to think I'll never get to go. *crosses fingers and scrunches face*  Ok, Bitchfest is over.  My apologies for sounding like a brat.

It is now my job to figure out what we will do for Plan B if Plan A doesn't pan out...it's looking like it won't.

Note To Self :

Tuna fish, peanut butter, cheddar cheese, honey, and crackers do NOT taste good eaten in the same sitting.

Gloves of (Temporarily Reduced) Awesomeness

   The first glove was going along smoothly until I realized my proportions are not the same as the pattern's.  I had to start over and figure out a way to make them fit.  My choices were to either continue with the same gauge and reduce the stitch counts in certain places or fuck with the tension a lot which can get hairy and shift later.  I first tried the tension method (four times) with little success so gave up and started over a fifth time to reduce the stitch count.  The measurements are much better now. :)

<< This is a picture of the first attempt... which was way too big on my arm.




   For some odd reason I could not, for the life of me, stop making silly mistakes.  It was due to sheer inattentiveness, I know.  Also, somewhere in there, there was a half-hearted attempt at starting the second glove before the first was done... that, also, was unraveled.

Gloves of Awesomeness

I have an amazing knitting book called "Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises" by Leigh Radford filled with amazing projects just waiting to be crafted. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knitting horizons. One pattern in particular was at the tip-top of my list...lace-up fingerless gloves (what I like to call Gloves of Awesomeness). It wasn't until two days ago that I finally acquired the needed supplies to make them.

My husband, Ari, took me to Hobby Lobby! I tell you, I almost peed myself I was so excited. We have to travel an hour away (or more) from town to visit craft stores with anything resembling a selection. After about 30 minutes of nail-biting, pacing, indecisiveness, Ari stepped in to aid me in my crafting crisis, bless him. The man is so damn patient and understanding about my neuroses and absentmindedness it just blows my mind sometimes. He'll just smile kindly and help me. * sigh * ... Ahem! Sorry. Where was I? Oh, yes, supplies for my gloves.

On the ride home, I realized I had forgotten the book at the house and now was stuck in the car for an hour with my delicious new needles and yarn....but no instructions to get started. I almost cried in earnest I was so distraught. Then, it dawned on me: I need to work a swatch to check my gauge! The day was saved and away I went.

This will be my first time using double point needles and working in the round so this should be quite the adventure. So far, I am very pleased with how even my stitches have come out considering I haven’t knitted in three months.

So, it’s coming along quite nicely and progress has been rather smooth and bumpless (to my great surprise). I was shocked at how simple and NOT scary dpn really are to use! They have been great fun, actually. The first glove is almost complete muah ha ha ha!! It feels as if one could take on anything after discovering that something, once seeming so terrible to behold, is in fact a breeze.

Watch out, yarn stash!

NOTE: If I don’t come out of my house after a few days someone may need to rescue me from the tangled mess I will surely be in after trying to conquer something too far out of my league. lol