What Else I Did

Besides taking pictures, I mean. I finished the Pinwheel hat:


The top photo is the more accurate colorwise. This is a really fun little hat to make.

I also cast on a new scarf for charity. Just a plain garter stitch scarf with some green novelty yarn. I'll get pictures once it gets a little longer.

I spent much of the day walking around the yard taking pictures, trying to figure out the new camera. I suppose reading the manual might help, but what's the fun in that? I think this is the favorite of what I took today:



Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, we are going to the lake.

Saturday Sky With The New Camera

Ain't it purty?

More to come...

Thursday Karate

Thursday's class was really good. We started off doing our speed drills. Sensei said we don't do them enough in class, and probably on our own as well. After that, we did various basic combinations from our fighting stance, both punches and kicks. We did a few self defense drills, then took a water break.

I know some dojos don't allow water breaks, but down here in the South, even in winter, we kind of need them.

After the break, we went through all our empty hand kata--up through kusanku. Everyone knew seisan, so the entire class was out for it. But as we went higher in the kata, fewer and fewer students were left on the floor. That's the way we do it. You step off the floor when we get to a kata you don't know. By the time we got to kusanku, it was just me and Mrs. W left. Josh and Barrett weren't there.

That was fun. I always enjoy doing kata.

We finished the class by doing a blocking drill. We divided into groups of four (except my group--which only had three) and one person stands next to the wall in seiunchin stance. The other three throw techniques at him, and have to leave them out until he blocks them. The purpose is to develop karate vision--focusing on everything and nothing at the same time. It's a really good drill. I told sensei that I wished we would do it more often since I can't block worth a flip.

That was it for class, but afterwards, I stayed and did sunsu kata. It was the only one I hadn't done yet. By that time, I'd actually worked up a sweat. I don't sweat easily, so that's kind of how I gauge if I've gotten a good workout or not.

It was pretty good, but my hair wasn't curling. When I sweat so much my hair curls...now that's a good workout.

I Did It!

I got my tax return back today and went straight out and bought a digital SLR. It is a Canon Digital Rebel XT, and I've been very pleased with it so far. I'm still trying to figure out how to work the thing, but here are a few pictures I took in idiot mode. That's digital SLR lingo for "fully automatic."

Blaze

Monty

Cody

Rylea

Tony

Ok, I didn't really take that last picture, but we can dream, right?

Lunar Eclipse, Again

Lucky for me, I was able to watch the eclipse from my front door. The clouds obscured most of it, but every so often there would be a break in them through which I could see the moon. I managed to get just a few pictures. Finally, shortly after 9 PM local, the clouds moved off and the sky was clear. I watched until the shadow just began to move off, but since 5 AM is still 5 AM, eclipse or not, I went on to bed.






This experience left me more frustrated than ever with my cheap little point and shoot camera. Oh, it's ok for snapping birthday parties and the like, but for the kind of pictures I want to take, it bites.

The one advantage to being flat busted broke is that I am getting a rather large tax refund this year. I know I should put it into savings, and that is where most of it will go. However, some of it will go towards buying myself a digital SLR camera. Now, I won't be getting my dream camera--14 megapixel, professional quality camera, but there are decent digital SLRs out there for less than a grand.

If the weather co-operates, that is what our weekend mission will be.

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!

P. S. I am amazed at how many people still think the moon makes its own light.

Lunar Eclipse

Stupid clouds.

Ya Knew It Couldn't Last

Nope, it couldn't last. This afternoon I cast on a Pinwheel Hat.

The pattern is similar to Coronet, but is worked in short rows. Pinwheel actually predates Coronet by almost three years. There are plusses and minuses to each pattern. In Coronet, the cabled band is knit first, then stitches are picked up for the rest of the hat. I suppose if you like picking up stitches, this is no problem, but most people I know think it is a pain. Pinwheel is worked in one piece with short row shaping. However, it must be seamed up the back. All in all, I prefer Pinwheel, which is why I am knitting it.

I'm still working on Cody's sock. Progress is slow, but I am making a little.

I haven't done a karate post in quite a while. Well, in a week. There wasn't much to report on Thursday's class. We did basics the first half of the class--as always, then I helped a san kyu finish learning Chinto kata. He was almost to the end, and I taught him the last four or five steps.

Last night in Black belt class, we worked on bo kata--both tokumine and urashi. I had forgotten some of urashi, but going through it a few times brought it back to me. We also worked on finding self defense moves in kata. That is, we picked out defenses from different kata for the same move. After class, sensei asked me if I was learning anything from it. I said that it was really hard for me to learn just by standing there listening to him talk, and almost as hard to learn just by watching. I have to be doing the stuff to really learn it. He said he's going to try to incorporate more drills into class. I hope I don't end up partnered with one particular student. She never does the drills the way sensei tells us to. It's really hard for me to get any learning done when I have to pair up with her.

Tonight's class was basics with a twist. We went through a few upper body basics as normal, but when we did the kicks, we did them slow motion first. Then we did them normal speed. Doing kicks in slow motion is really good, not only for checking your form, but for working on balance as well. After that, we did some stance work, followed by seisan by the numbers. Sensei would count, and we would to a step of the kata and all the techniques that go with that step.

Finally, we partnered up and did some kumite drills. That was it for tonight's class.

The bad thing is that one of the little kids moved up to the adult class this week. You almost have to feel sorry for this kid. Nobody likes him, but he brings it on himself because he is soooooo obnoxious.

There is supposed to be a lunar eclipse tomorrow (Wednesday). I'm off to research it.

I Laughed So Hard

I don't usually watch Oprah. Sometimes I do, depending on who she has on or what she is talking about. Today I watched Oprah. Her guests were Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show. It has got to be the funniest show that ever there was. Who could forget Carol's portrayal of the Queen, Tim Conway as the Little Old Man, Harvey Korman being unable to stop laughing, and Mrs. Whiggins. Oh, how I miss that show.


I finished my socks last night.

Pattern: Roundabout Socks by The Yarnarian
Yarn: Fortissima Socka mit Bamboo
Colorway: 0006
Needles: Knitpicks nickel plated size 2/75 mm.

This afternoon, I cast on Cody's black socks:

Can you believe I still only have one project on the needles? I can't. But it's true.

Photo Safari

Sort of.

Don't let this sky fool you. It is windy and pretty chilly outside.

So instead of going out to the lake like I'd planned, I just walked around the yard.

More daffodils were blooming.

They have been blooming just a bit early these last couple of years. I think the mild winters have confused them. We usually don't get them until the first part of March.

I think technically, these are jonquils.

I think jonquil is my absolute favorite word in the entire English language. I just love saying it. Jonquil. Jonquil.

Buds are coming out on some of the trees already.


"What's this thing?"

"OK, mama. Take my picture. See how pretty I pose?"

What has got me so freaked out?

The birds are back.

Click to see them better...if you dare!

P.S. Ignore the bloodshot state of my eyes. I have not been drinking. They are just always like that. My eyes have been bloodshot for as long as I can remember. I think it's from my allergies going untreated for so long. Or maybe from getting slapped upside the head by my mother so much.

P.P.S. Also ignore the makeupless state of my face. I corrected that soon after that picture was taken.

P.P.P.S. Jonquil.

He he he...

Rainy Saturday

The plan was to go on a photo safari, but when I got up, the sky looked like this:


Soon after I took this picture, a slow, drizzly rain began to fall and it continued to rain for the rest of the day. Before it started, though, I managed to go out into the yard and get some shots of the spring flowers that are just beginning to bloom.

I don't know what these are, but I've had a devil of a time trying to get decent shots of them.

They are so white, they confuse my camera.

The daffodils are always very photogenic:



I don't know what these are either, but they're pretty.

I'm not much of a botanist, am I?

I took a break from sock knitting today to finish off two dishcloths. These are from the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I wasn't sure I was going to do the KAL again this year, but I really liked these two patterns.

Red always seems to confuse my camera also.

That's pretty much all I did, other than some house work. Spring is getting close. I'm starting to get restless. I feel a road trip coming on.

A short one.

Like to the Memphis Zoo maybe.

Soon...

Still Single

After re-reading yesterday's post, I hope I didn't come off as sounding too whiny. As I said, most of the time I'm OK with being single. Content, even.

And really, when you get right down to it, the fact that I am still single is my own doing. I mean, I could be married to this guy, or this guy, or this one, or maybe even this one.

And there are more. If I wanted to, I could probably hook up with the one I mentally refer to as my stalker. He's been asking me out for --what, 12 years now? Or there's the mooch--who at 43 years of age has never supported himself, and even now is sponging off of his single mom sister. Or how about the one who, though in his mid 20's, still lived at home, had a curfew, and still got spanked by his mama. (Seriously. I thought he was joking at first, but he said no, she really still spanked him. I asked him why he didn't move out on his own, and he said he wasn't allowed to. I'm not kidding.)

Then there was Keith, who willing to foot the bill for a lawyer to get my divorced pushed through the court so he could marry me. Keith, who had been married and divorced three times, couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation, always looked dirty, and had already lost all of his teeth. And he was only 29 years old.

I'd meant to tell you about my one and only semi-date with Keith yesterday as my Valentine's Day post, but I decided against it. It was too awful for words. Let me just say, guys, that leaving a woman's baby sitting in a diaper full of poop screaming his head off while you park to watch people fishing is not the way to win her heart.

And brush your teeth.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is probably my least favorite of holidays.

I am single. I have been single all of my life, except for a brief stint at marriage which I don't even count because my ex and I never lived together. (Long story--military involved.) At this point, I see a long future ahead of me in which I remain single.

Most of the time, I am OK with that. I was looking around at my life just the other day and wondering where I would put a man if I found one.

But on this day...

This day with all of its emphasis on love, and couples, and togetherness...

On this day it hits me. Some years harder than others. This is a bad year.

I watch the flowers and balloons being delivered, and I know that there will be none for me. I watch the commercials for dinners and jewelry, and I know that there will be none for me. I watch people crowding in the holiday aisles at the stores buying gifts, and I know that there will be none for me.

On this day, I am alone. Forgotten.

Like the cotton on the edges of the fields. The cotton that doesn't get picked. Forlorn. Bedraggled. Forgotten.

Having endured the winter, it waits.

It waits...only to find itself mowed down to make way for a new crop.

And soon, no one will even remember that it once grew there.

TMI

It got pretty cold last night--28' when I got up. Quite the drop from the 59' or so the day before. One of my co-workers told me that his wife had called him at work this morning. Seems his younger daughter had thought you were supposed to leave the windows down on your car when it gets really cold. I don't know why. What happened was that her window froze somehow and it pulled it out of the track. Now he's got to get her car fixed. He was pretty aggravated because he had to get the older daughter's car fixed last week. "You can't tell 'em nothin'," he said. "One time," he continued, "they hit each other. Just ran into each other in the driveway!"

I don't know what it is. I must have a really open face or something because people seem to feel that they can talk to me. Trouble is, I don't always want to hear what they have to say. Take this story, for example, told to me several years ago by a former co-worker:

My mama bought me some underwear, only she got the wrong kind. That is, she didn't buy the brand I normally buy for myself. Trouble is, they don't fit right. The fly won't stay closed and my stuff keeps falling out. That's the weirdest feeling --walking around with your stuff hanging our of your underwear.

I was sitting there the whole time, smiling and trying to look sympathetic, but I was thinking, "Do I really need to know this?" But that's the way my life goes. I've been told some of the strangest stuff! Unfortunately for you, that's the only example you are going to get. What is told to me in confidence, stays in confidence.

I think I found the answer to my problem. I'm in the wrong country:

You Should Date An Australian!

You're a down to earth, outdoorsy kind of girl And you need a guy who can keep up with your adventures A rugged Austrailian guy is just your style Better start learning how to surf!

Which Foreign Guy Should You Date?

Last I looked, there weren't too many Australian men hanging around in central Mississippi. BTW, before I learn how to surf, I probably ought to start with learning how to swim!

Oh well....

A Rare Early Morning Post

You're the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it's not because you're lazy – it's because you know there's no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that's held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.

In other early morning news, I've been dreamed about! Buck is in it, too. Too weird.

History Lesson

In 1964 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117 Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during "Freedom Summer" South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

h/t Buck Cause I don't have anything worthwhile to talk about.

A storm is blowing in and the temperature is dropping like a rock. It was 58' when I got up this morning, and has been steady on the decline ever since. It'll be in the upper 20's by morning, or so they say. We're holing up tonight, and wishing we didn't have to go anywhere tomorrow!