A New Black Belt

We have a new black belt in the dojo. This is Chad, and we tested him for his jr. black belt tonight.

It would seem that we no longer have a black belt class. The student who was promoted to Ik-kyu a couple of weeks ago is now attending the class formerly known as black belt class. The entire focus of the class seems to have shifted away from our continuing to grow as black belts. The class now concentrates on getting brown belts ready to test for their black belts.

Cody's been an Ik-Kyu since October. I wonder when sensei is going to let him start coming to "Black Belt Prep" class.

St. Patrick's Day

Sunday Stroll

It was too pretty a day to stay inside. I just had to get out in it. So I put on my walking shoes, gathered my dogs, grabbed the camera and off I went.

This is a Bradford Pear tree. They are all over around here, as they were widely planted for the beautiful white flowers that come out each spring. Thanks to my allergy medication, I can finally enjoy them, too.

This is Rylea's first big girl walk with Mommy.

Sharp eyed readers--and those of you with a good memory--will notice which back leg is standing on. Yes, she is finally beginning to walk on the leg she had injured so badly last November. She still hops most of the time, but she is beginning to use the leg more and more.

This is my view as I look off to the West as I am walking.

I've always had a thing for rocks. It's a wonder I'm not a geologist. For as long as I can remember, I've loved rocks.

This one, when the sun hit it just right, seemed to glow with its own light from within.


I spent much of the rest of the day working on Cody's socks. I've gotten past the heel turn, and am about halfway through the gusset decreases. I also cast on a new scarf. I must be crazy knitting an entire scarf out of fingering weight yarn. No pictures yet. I've only done one pattern repeat, since my priority is getting Cody's socks done.

Saturday Dreary Sky

It looked like this all day.


I waited and waited hoping it would clear off a bit, but it only got worse. So I did the next best thing. I watched Tom Selleck on DVD and knit on Cody's black socks.

When I came in here to blog, I caught Sunny shedding. I thought he looked so cute with just his little nose peeking out of his old skin. I just couldn't resist.

"Mom! Can I have a little privacy?"


That reminds me of a story. When Cody was about 3 years old, I began teaching him that grownups like privacy when they are in the bathroom. They like to be by themselves when they are taking a bath or *ahem* using the potty.

I was getting ready to go to work one afternoon--back then I worked the 3-11 PM shift. I was in my bathroom putting on my makeup when Cody marched in and announced...

"I have to poop and I want some privacy!"

He'd kill me if he knew I'd posted that.

*snicker*

Brown Eyes

You know, I've never understood why everyone goes so crazy over blue eyes. Don't get me wrong, blue eyes can be beautiful, but I've preferred brown eyes for as long as I can remember. To me, they just seem so much richer, deeper, more soulful. I can get lost in a pair of brown eyes in a way that I never could in blue eyes. According to this, I should have brown eyes myself. But I was born with blue eyes, and that's what I'll have to live with.

A while back, I bought a set of knitting looms. I thought it'd be a great, quick way to use up some of my stash. I'd only made it through about half of a hat when I realized that loom knitting just wasn't my thing. I've decided that I will give this set of looms away.


It has four round looms, a looming tool, and plastic tapestry needle. I've lost the instruction booklet, but if I find it before mailing this out, I'll be sure to enclose it. It wasn't that great anyway, and I'm sure you could find better looming instructions online or in a loom pattern book.

Interested? Perhaps you want to try loom knitting yourself, but don't want to spend a bunch of money if you're not sure you will like it. This will be your perfect opportunity to try it at no cost to you. I'll even throw in some yarn for you.

Perhaps you are one of those people who is fascinated with knitting, but it just seems too complicated. Here's a chance for you to turn out beautiful knitted items without having to juggle those needles and that yarn, and at no cost to you, I might add.

Perhaps you already enjoy looming, but like needles, you can never have enough looms. Here's your opportunity to get a spare set at no cost to you.

Perhaps you aren't interested at all, but you have children or grandchildren that you think might like it. Here is a chance for you to get a brand new, almost completely unused set of looms to give to them, at no cost to you. (I made half a hat with the red loom. The others haven't even been touched.)

So, how do I obtain this beautiful, nearly new set of looms, you ask?

That is the fun part. Remember the opening bit about me preferring brown eyes? All you have to do is to guess to whom these 6 pair of beautiful brown eyes belong.

Here's how: Send an e-mail with your guesses to isshinryubearmom@yahoo.com. DO NOT leave guesses in the comments. All comments including guesses will be deleted. Please leave me some way of contacting you--an e-mail address or Ravelry ID is preferred. If I have no way of contacting you, I'll have no way of letting you know you've won, will I?

The winner will be chosen by a random drawing, but here's how you can increase your odds. All entries will get you your name in the hat once. Seriously, all you gotta do is show up and say they are 6 of the 7 dwarves, and you will get your name in the hat. Each answer you guess correctly will get your name in the hat an additional time. If you guess all 6 correctly, that will net you a total of 7 entries.

Also, post about me on your blog or forum. Anyone and everyone who mentions your name will get your name into the hat an additional time.

The contest will run for two weeks, until Sunday March 30th. When I've gotten home from church, I will reveal the answers and draw the winner.

Ready? Let the guessing begin:

1.
2.3.
4.
5.
6.

Hard? Here's a hint: They are all men. They are all fairly well known. Yeah, some of them are more well known than others, but none of them are obscure.

There are: 3 actors/TV personalities, 2 Country music singers, and 1 professional athlete (that one should be a gimmie if you've read my blog for more than a week--but you still gotta put his name with the right pair of eyes!), but no partridge in a pear tree.

Good luck and happy guessing!!

P. S. Tom Selleck isn't one of them. He has blue eyes. Sigh. We can't all be perfect.

All Spun Up

One spindle full at least.

This is the roving I dyed with onion skins. I have another bit of roving to spin up, then I will ply it with this one and I'll have yarn!

I got a notice that my Spindolyn shipped today! Whoo Hoo! I can't wait. I found some old roving that I'd dyed with Easter Egg dye. It turned out to be a rather pukish looking yellow-green. I'm thinking I want to overdye it in blue and see what comes of it. I think I may do that tomorrow. Anyway, where I'm going with this is that I will use that roving to learn how to use my Spindolyn. That way, if I mess it up, I won't feel too badly.

I finally got my camera to download to my computer, so the contest will be up sometime this weekend.

Triumph, Tragedy, and Grazing Sheep

So I was getting ready to go to karate class, and I couldn't find my obi. I looked all over for it, but it was nowhere to be found. No problem, I thought. I'll just take my spare. Only I couldn't find it either. I hadn't worn it since before we moved, so it was still packed up. I eventually did find it, but by then it was too late to make it to class. So we didn't go.

The good news is, in my frantic searchings, I found more roving! The is some more that I'd forgotten I had. I dyed this with Berry Blue flavored Kool-Aid. I left the label in the bag for just such an occasion.


Now another minor tragedy. The nearest yarn shop, even though it is 85 miles away, is closing at the end of the month. She will still have an online store, but heck, that doesn't do me any good. There are lots of online shops, but no where I can go and see yarn in person. Not without having to drive 100 miles anyway.

I guess that's how the cookie crumbles. Or maybe I should say that's how the yarn tangles.

Someone on Ravelry mentioned that the song Sheep May Safely Graze was played in part in the movie Shrek the Third. So guess what I did. I added the movie to my Netflix queue and watched it just to hear that song. So what's the significance of that? Well, it just happens that it is the theme song for David Reidy's podcast, Sticks and String.

Does that make me a dork, or what?

The contest is almost ready. If only I could get the pictures of the prize to download from my camera...

My Top Ten

Copied from Robin, who copied it from Carole, here is my list of Top Ten Things I Like About Spring:

1. Flowers--any and all kinds, but especially the daffodils.



2. Allegra--it makes the flowers bearable

3. New Life--watching the trees bud and leaf out; watching the grass turn green again; baby birds, rabbits, fawns, calves.

4. Football--Huh? Football in the spring? Sure. There's lots going on in the spring. Free agency, contract negotiations, the draft. I love it. Every bit of it.

5. Cold nights and warm days

6. Wearing shorts and going barefoot--well, I do that all year round, but when spring gets here, I don't get the strange looks.

7. Taking long walks--soon it will be too hot to walk anywhere without feeling like I'm going to melt.

8. Opening the windows--Yeah, I do that in the fall and winter, too, but there's just something different about spring. A freshness that isn't there any other time of year.

9. Falling in love--ok, ok, I haven't actually done that in a while, but there's just something about spring that seems to bring it out in me.

10. Easter--"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, for he is risen!"

There you have it, my top ten list. I know some of you were sure I was going add to my list that our favorite quarterback's birthday is in the spring (April 21), but I didn't.


That doesn't mean I didn't think about it.

A Beautiful, Sunny Day

And just what does one do on a beautiful, sunny day? One goes for a nice, long walk.

And just what does one see on a nice, long walk?

One sees things. Beautiful things.




I hope you have enjoyed this walk as much as I did.

A Quickie

Tonight's class was all about kata. The kyu ranks went through some of their kata, then we went over seiunchin bunkai. After that, Josh taught the blue belts the first part of niahanchi kata, and Barrett taught the brown belts the first part of kusanku kata. I was the only one left not doing anything, so sensei and I went over kusanku sai and agena no sai. That was it for class.

Before class, though, I went over all of my empty hand kata back to back. Full speed and full focus. That, folks, is a workout in itself. I was sweating before class even started. After class, I went over my two bo kata.

When not attending class, I spent the afternoon knitting and spinning while watching Magnum P.I. on DVD. Tom Selleck has been appearing on Las Vegas lately. I don't watch that show, but he is enough to convince me--almost. I'll tell you what, he may be 63 years old, but he's still got it.

Keep your eyes on this space. I feel a contest coming on. I've got a prize picked out. I've got an idea. Now I just need to get my act together.

Weapons Class

Black belt class was a weapons class tonight. We started off going over the bo basics, which we don't do very often. They are pretty easy, though. Every one of them can be found in Tokumine no Kun. Let me see if I can remember them all:

1. Pool Strike
2. Front Thrust
3. Front/Rear Thrust
4. Up/Down Strike
5. Side/Side Strike
6. C Block
7. 45' Angle Block
8. Helicopter Spin

Those are the 8 that we call the basics. Sometimes sensei will include what he calls "The Combination," which is the 45" angle block, followed by the up/down strike and the side/side strike. Yeah, I know those are real original names, but that's what we call them.

After we did basics, we worked on Tokumine no Kun for a bit, including the bunkai. Then Josh and I worked on Urashi bo, while sensei worked with Mrs. W on learning Urashi Bo.

Finally, we finished off the class by going over Kusanku Sai. I know all the moves of Kusanku Sai; my problem is making it look like the sai is a weapon I am comfortable with. Once class was over, I went over it again, and ran through Agena no Sai (Kyan no sai) for good measure.

In other news, I'm having trouble once again getting my new Camera to upload to my computer. I've moved the cable to every USB port I have and it still won't work. I have a hard time believing every single USB port on my computer is bad, especially when other devices (Kodak camera) work in them. I've e-mailed Canon about the problem. I hope to get an answer soon.

Another thing I might try is to re-install my software, but I don't have time to fool with that tonight.

This is what I did yesterday:

No, I didn't disembowel a cow. I dyed roving. That color is almost true to life. The actual stuff is just a shade lighter than the picture shows. I can't wait for my Spindolyn to arrive! In the meantime, I'm still knitting on Cody's other sock, and spinning the onion skin roving on my drop spindle.

The time change has me all messed up. Even though it is past my bedtime, it still seems too early to go to bed. I'm going to go try to lay down anyway.

I think I'll take the sock with me. Just in case...

Knitting and Spinning, and Stashalonging

Now that it is nearly mid-March, I figured I ought to do my February Stashalong update. I had a pretty productive month, finishing 8 projects. Here they are:

Clapotis:

Calorimetry:


Pinwheel Hat:


A Headband:



Roundabout Socks:

And three dishcloths:




This brings my total for the two months to 300 yards of wool/acrylic blend, 950 yds acrylic, three balls of dishcloth cotton, two pairs worth of sock yarn, and approximately 200 yds of fingering weight wool. I did buy yarn in January to make Cody's hat, but I've already used it up. All of it.

I'm afraid March isn't going to be nearly as productive, as I haven't finished a project yet! Well, I take that back. I did make a quick headband out of some leftover yarn.



But that's it.

Today was spent knitting on Cody's socks. The first one is done, and the second cast on.





Friday I ordered myself a Spindolyn. In anticipation of its arrival, I went deep into the recess of my closet and got out my roving. Years ago, when I first started spinning, I'd bought a pound of undyed roving. I had a little bit of it left, so I got it out to dye it. In doing so, I found this partially spun bit that I'd started about 4 years ago and had forgotten about.



I dyed this with onion skins. I love the way this color turned out. I have about three ounces total of this color. Yes, that is a home made spindle. I made it from Sculpey clay and a dowel rod. Sharp eyed readers may notice the bit of duct tape holding the whorl in place on the shaft.

That's why they call it the handyman's secret weapon.

P.S. Blogger was being a butt today and wouldn't let me upload my pictures. The first ones were cut and pasted from the Stashalong site, and the last three were linked from Flickr.

Saturday Sky and Snow

It was a beautiful, cloudless blue this morning, so I put some branches into the picture so it wouldn't be so boring. But wait, what is that white stuff on them? Could that be? Why, yes it is!

We actually did get some snow!

The daffodils that were so cheery last week hung their heads under the weight of it.

But by mid afternoon, the snow had all melted, and they were perked up once again.

I had some visitors. The left their prints on my front steps. I must not have heard them knocking.


This one is Katie. She has seen snow before, so she didn't hesitate to bound out the door.

Rylea, on the other hand, wasn't too sure what this white stuff was, but after those first few tentative steps, she really seemed to enjoy herself.

Funny how a snowfall can make kids of us all. I wish I could say the same for the plants.




Crikey! What do we have here? It appears to be a blue knit scarf in its natural habitat!


What a beauty!

Yeah, yeah, I know. To some of you, this little bit of snow is no big deal. Some of you even responded to yesterday's forecast with derision and scorn. But it's because we do get so little of it, that any snow at all is cause for excitement.

I, for one, hope that I never lose my childlike wonder at the beauty of the world around me.

Heading My Way

is this:


The leading edge has arrived already, and sleet and freezing rain are falling as I type. It is supposed to change into snow later tonight, with up to 2 inches accumulating before it all melts off tomorrow.

I'll leave the light on for ya.

Karate and Football

As you know, we held rank tests last week, and promotions were given Tuesday. Sensei did not have enough of the paper he likes to use to print out rank certificates, so he didn't give them out until tonight. He called me over before class, telling me he needed help. He needed to finish filling out the rank certificates, and needed me to lead the class while he did that. So I had charge of the first few minutes of class. I led them through about half of the basics, then we went over stances. When sensei came back in, we did kata for a great deal of the rest of the class. There were so many of us there today that we had to do kata a few at a time--divided by rank. We finished off the class by doing some self defense moves on the bags. The way we would do it is that we would do the punch/kick combo, then hold the bag for the person behind us. Brian was behind me. He outweighs me by 110 lbs. When my turn came to hold the bag, I looked up at him and said, "Something is wrong with this picture." I made James trade places with me, since he is bigger than I am. Brian still outweighs James, but by only about 40 lbs.

After class, I stayed a few minutes and went through the empty hand kata that I hadn't been able to get to during class.

Just before we bowed out, sensei passed out the rank certificates. Now, remember, he'd already done the promotions and handed out the belts. He just needed to get more paper to print the rank certificates. He uses a really cool American Flag paper. But that's beside the point. The point is, every time he would hand someone a certificate, that really obnoxious lady we have in class would grunt "unh!" and roll her eyes, or shake her head, or throw her hands up in the air, or any combination of the three. I was in line beside her thinking, "What in the world is her problem?" I don't know what the deal was but I found her behavior to be very rude and disrespectful.


The big news of the day is, Brett Favre officially announced his retirement from the NFL. Now, I'm a bit old fashioned. I believe that there are very few instances in which it is ok for a grown man to cry in public. One of them is when someone he loves has died. This is the other.

Farewell, Brett. You were a worthy rival.