Wow, what a week! The weather has taken a turn for the better. The humidity has drastically reduced and the temps are dipping into the 50s and 60s at night. Which means great sleeping weather. I have such a hard time sleeping in the summer because it's so hot. Really I just want to snuggle under my duvet and be all cosy while the outside is cool.
Anyway, this week was a welcomed relief from the heat and humidity. In fact it almost feels like fall is right around the corner. I have had a lovely summer so far. Fairly calm and relaxing but the fall brings class again, Becky's Wedding, pumpkin everything, fall leaves/colors and cool weather. Needless to say, fall is my favorite time of the year. I can't wait.
This blanket is back in the rotation this week. I honestly burnt myself out of crochet squares and jumped back to knit squares. I think that's the beauty of having multiple things going on, I am always busy but I don't have to hate the thing I am working on. So I got this section of the blanket almost done and I am just cruising along.
I am sort of disappointed in the sky blue because the colors just blend and don't stand out but I think as a whole the colors work together well.
While working on the Hue Shift Blanket I decided that I just wanted to get something done. So I pulled this shawl out of it's project back and got back to work on. I have 3 more teeth left to complete and my goal is to get it done before the end of the week. I want to get something off the needles this summer and start something new.
Anyway, that was my week. Hope yours is going well.
I have to say that this movie is something that I knew I would like from the bits and pieces that I have seen over the years. Honestly, I was 3 when the movie opened and prior to this view was a part of the cable edited version. So no swear words. Anyway, one night when I should have gone to bed, I that one of the cable channels was airing the movie. I figured why not and started to watch.
The movie opens with John McClain, a police officer in New York, flying to LA to be with his estranged family for Christmas. His wife Holly moved to LA to pursue her advancing career and John chose not to follow. Upon arriving John is taken to his wife's office as a surprise, but the surprise is on everyone when a group of international criminals come in and take siege over the building. One man is forced to taken on mercenaries, intrepid police and FBI to save lives.
I loved the movie, which is not surprising since I generally like loud action movies. It was almost refreshing to see an R rate movie with just violence and no gratuitous naked bodies/love scenes. Anyway, Hans Gruber was an amazing villain and who doesn't love Alan Rickman (that hair was fabulous!)
The Spectacular Now - August 2nd Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - August 9th Don Jon - September 27th
Wait for BlueRay Star Trek Into Darkness Man of Steel If you are participating in Movie Madness Monday, fill out Mr. Link Below. You do not have to commment but please link back to this post in your post to get the word out!
I can either think of really catchy title or puny titles. This one is more groan worthy. Anyway, no dancing was involved this week just a lot of squares, but we will get to that.
The weather has finally broke today. We finally had a rain shower that pushed the humidity out and though its a lovely warm 72° F with a nice cool breeze. The sky is blue and the clouds are like puffs of cotton. Seriously a beautiful day. Until just recently, the weather has been hazy, hot and humid with lots of rain and severe storms. Not much fun for the middle of summer.
So I really have been inside by my Air Conditioner for most of the week. It's to hot to do anything so I have been working on my blankets. Many of you commented on my mental stability last week after confessing to my latest blanket projects. While it has been hot, I have been sitting by the air conditioner the whole time.
It's funny how the project muse strikes us. I have been plugging away at this blanket the past couple of weeks but I didn't get a ton of work done on it. I am almost finished with the baby blue column. I don't have a new photo but the pink and peach square are completed.
Instead of working on the Hue Shift, crochet squares has been the desire this week. It started on Friday where I didn't feel like knitting and wanted to get some squares done to start the next section. I finished the entire ball of purple only to realize I would not have enough squares to finish the blanket as planned. Saturday morning, I ran errands and went to some yarn stores. I still need tons of the white yarn and picked up 4 more colors to help stretch the blanket back to the size I wanted.
Pretty new colors!!
So after seeing the new colors, I just started to make squares and over the weekend made 40 squares. I think I may have over did it a bit because my middle and ring fingers on my right hand are sore and the joints are swollen. I still have to weave in all of the ends but I really just wanted to get all of the colors done so I can move forward.
Lots of colors :)
In other news about this blanket, the original white I was using Color ID #025 was discontinued and I bought Color ID #101. This yarn is just a bit more yellowed and you can tell a difference but there isn't much I can do to fix that. This yarn company has a bad habit of discontinuing colors and replacing them with shades that are similar but different from the previous color. It's really annoying for a commercial dyed yarn.
Anyway, that was my week. Hope yours is going well.
Huzzah!, there was a bit of interest so I am in fact starting a new meme of weekly postings for Movies on Mondays. I haven't been to the movies since Despicable Me but have been watching a bunch of things on TV and Netflix. I probably will intersperse my reviews at random between new releases, new to me and old favorites.
So who can resist Merida and Doctor Who? I have to say that number ten is my favorite so really this was a must watch movie for me. After a great recommendation from my friend Samie, from Not Your Gram's Afghan, I decided one evening to watch it.
The movie opens with a foiled wedding. It was to be the wedding of the year but due to the paparazzi, the private and intimate moments were ruined of Lara and James. Lara is a famous movie star and James (played by David Tennant) is a noted author and a picture from the ceremony is the hottest item in town.
We then move to the Isle of Hegg in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and wash ashore with Katie (played by Kelly Macdonald). An islander who left for adventure but is returning home after a failed engagement. She is stuck and frustrated to come back home on an island where the closest men her age are 13 and old enough to be her grandfather.
Meanwhile, in an effort to dodge to photographers and meet the dream wedding needs of Lara the entire wedding party and entourage retreat to Hegg for the ceremony. But one photographer follows.
Hi jinks ensue and a lovely little love story develops. My favorite scene is when James is asked to play the bag pipes for a elderly deaf couple. They couldn't hear the horrendous honks but imagined a beautiful melody and danced like they were 16 again. Seriously, warms my heart every time I have watched the movie.
I have watched this at least 5 times and really it's lovely. Funny, touching, heart warming and romantic every time I watch it. Check it out, it's on Netflix Streaming.
What I have reviewed: Despicable Me 2 Monsters University Much Ado About Nothing What I want to see: The Heat - Open Now Man of Steel - Open Now This is the End - Open Now Now You See Me - Open Now Fast and Furious 6 - Open Now Star Trek Into Darkness - Open Now The Bling Ring - Open Now
RIPD - July 19th Girl Most Likely - July 19th To Do List - July 19th The Spectacular Now - August 2nd Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - August 9th Don Jon - September 27th If you are participating in Movie Madness Monday, fill out Mr. Link Below. You do not have to commment but please link back to this post in your post to get the word out!
You know when I was little and the temperatures rose, I couldn't understand why my mother could drink hot coffee. When I asked her, she said "Oh I get that from my Dad, he would always say heating the inside cools the outside." Perhaps I need to remember that as I sip my ice water and melt.
Seriously though, this is the hottest week so far her in the burgh and I am feeling it. I always feel like there is a puddle of sweat somewhere and my face is all blotchy and red. Given the temps, I am starting to question my crafting sanity. In a heatwave, I am working on knitting and crocheting blankets. Yes blankets, maybe there is something to heating the inside after all.
This blanket has been featured the past couple of weeks. I finished the first column of blue on Quadrant 2 and started the light blue column. I haven't kept up the pace but I have been trying to keep this project moving forward. I can't wait until fall to snuggle under my stripey blanket.
Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Teal, Blue and Purple
I finally am making some headway on my White Centered Granny Blanket. I put this aside a while ago and had to rip out my joins because I did it wrong. Finally in my blanket madness, I decided to get it out again. This time, inspired by the Hue Shift, I am assembling 6 smaller chunks and then putting those together. I can't wait to get this finished and edge the blanket.
Anyway, that was my week. Hope yours is going well.
Holy Rain Batman! We have had some severe weather today that has caused flash flooding. We don't generally get a ton of severe weather (i.e. tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires) but we do have a lot of creeks and watersheds that rise quickly when we get a lot of rain. Needless to say, my commute this morning was rainy and gray. Thankfully I am inside now and can get on with my day.
On to the knitting, I was a bit possessed this week in working on the Hue Shift blanket. I wanted to create all of the remaining purple squares to judge my usage. The yarn that was recommended for the pattern ran short for a lot of knitters and I wanted to make sure I had enough.
In a week, I got the 10 squares done in purple and I weighed my yarn. I have 30 grams left over. So with that in mind, I am now just finishing quadrant two and then I will pick up quadrant 4 and make that section.
So far the blues, green and yellow look lovely. I was getting tired of the reds and pinks and these cool colors are a nice change. I don't think I can keep up this pace but I am going to enjoy it while I have it and then put it aside. I also promised myself not work on them on Thursday during knit night to give myself a break and some variation.
Anyway, that was my week. Hope yours is going well.
Don't you love alliteration? I am hoping to start a weekly posting for Movies on Monday. Make sure to comment below if you're interesting in linking up. I will start to use Mr. Linky and will think of something for a logo/image.
Anyway, this past weekend I attended the movies again to see a new movie. I never saw Despicable Me in theaters but loved it when I watched it on DVD/BlueRay. Anyway, this movie was high on my must see list this summer and Samie from Not Your Gram's Afghan wanted to see it as well.
Since her bf works on Sunday we made plans to go see it in the afternoon. I forgot that the afternoon would be prime viewing time for kids. Normally I try and avoid those times because I am a 20 something adult with no children and try to avoid the disruptions. The children in the theater were well behaved though and really made me feel like a kid again too. Seriously, I loved the oohs and ahhs they made when the interesting parts were happening.
As far as the movie, it was cute. I really liked it even though it did lack some charm of the original as well as the surprises about the characters. Overall, the movie was heartwarming and seriously the minions stole the show and made my 90's fan girl come out. Overall, it's worth it to go and see it for yourself.
What I want to see: The Heat - Open Now Man of Steel - Open Now This is the End - Open Now Now You See Me - Open Now Fast and Furious 6 - Open Now Star Trek Into Darkness - Open Now The Bling Ring - Open Now
RIPD - July 19th Girl Most Likely - July 19th To Do List - July 19th The Spectacular Now - August 2nd Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - August 9th Don Jon - September 27th If you are participating in Movie Madness Monday, fill out Mr. Link Below. You do not have to commment but please link back to this post in your post to get the word out!
Hello everyone! I had a really busy week. My churches festival was June 26 - June 29. I made funnel cake batter in the morning and helped with other food prep. Since I spent many summers at our local amusement park making these fried confections, I was volun-told that I would be making the batter at the festival.
Then during the festival I made the walking tacos/Frito pies as well as fill in at the funnel cake fryer. I don't mind making funnel cakes but really 3 years was enough. The weather was rainy and humid for most of the week and Dad's house is not air conditioned so I was a bit miserable.
Given the temperature, I really didn't get to knit to much because the thought just made me sweat more. I did however get a bit done
So I finished the first quadrant. I see this as a huge summer accomplishment because I really wanted to get this done sooner rather than later. I have 2 more squares done on the next section and was almost finished with the third but I put the decrease in the wrong place and ripped it back.
Right back to where I started
I was super excited on Monday because I got my birthday present to me in the mail. I ordered 3 small project bags from Stitched by JessaLu. I already have a Big Bang Theory Bag, Space Balls, and Sherlock. Now I added the cute Ladybugs, Robots in Chocolate and Bicycles. :) I am super excited to put some lovely knitting into these bags.
She has all kinds of amazing and geeky fabrics. You should check out her store. The bags are well made and are really adorable.
Anyway, that was my week. Hope yours is going well.
When the temperatures rise, one of my favorite things to do is go to the movies. There is nothing better than sitting in a cold theater, with a sweet soda and a tub of salty popcorn on a hot summer day. Plus there are a ton of thrilling movies out during the summer that I just have to see.
Unfortunately, the best of intentions mean that I want to see a ton of movies but only get to a few throughout the summer. In an effort to see some of the summer blockbusters, I am going to try and use the blog as a mechanism to keep me motivated.
I loved this movie. I am sucker for most Disney/Pixar movies and this was a really good prequel. I loved the little nods to the original movie but really expanded the world the monsters lived in. Plus it was great to see how the monsters developed in their adult characters of Monsters Inc.
Also, this movie hit me right at a point of nostalgia. June 21st was my 10 year high school reunion. I didn't go for various reasons but more over September is the 10 year mark of starting college. That moment when the characters stepped onto campus choked me up a bit. I remember my mom leaving me on the steps to my dorm with my books. She wanted to beat the traffic and it was time for me to start my new adventure.
The same weekend I saw Monsters University, I also went and saw Much Ado About Nothing. I have always been a fan of Shakespeare's Comedies but prefer to watch the play versus reading them. I always get caught in the language when I read the play for the fist time and end up quitting. However, when I watch a well acted version of the play I truly understand the majesty and grace of the prose. When the actors add inflection, pacing and emotion the words come to life. Thee's, thy's and thou's disappear into the narrative and the true meaning jumps to the foreground.
The story is about love and treachery during a month long party. Benedict and Beatrice are two sides of the same snarky coin. The couple doth protest far too much and through some careful manipulations from their friends see a different side. Claudio and Hero are the epitome of young love and love at first sight but there are trials that they must face due to the dastardly Don John. Trickery and misunderstanding make this story's second half full of drama.
The music was amazing. Then again, the songs were actually Shakespeare's lyrics. Sigh no more ladies.
The best part of the movie was Nathan Fillion as Dogberry. Let it be known that he is an ass :) Hehehehe
Anyway, here are some movies that I want to see this summer.
What I want to see: The Heat - Open Now
Man of Steel - Open Now
This is the End - Open Now
Now You See Me - Open Now
Fast and Furious 6 - Open Now
Star Trek Into Darkness - Open Now
The Bling Ring - Open Now
Despicable Me 2 - July 3rd
RIPD - July 19th
Girl Most Likely - July 19th
To Do List - July 19th
The Spectacular Now - August 2nd
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters - August 9th
Don Jon - September 27th
Well hopefully I will have more updates on new movies and I have plans for other movies I have been watching at home and on Netflix.
Another month has gone and I have made some progress on my blankets and shawls. Putting together this mosaic was particularly hard because it contains recaps from the Senators and Bruins series against the Pens. I can't wait for September when the pre-season starts again. :o)
