September 14, 2005
Making Dreams Come True...
WHASSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPP on this fine Wednesday, Dear Readers?!!
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, this weekend TMK and I are heading off to Arizona. Long-time readers may remember this entry in which I talked about the two things, achievable or not, that you dream of doing in your lifetime. TMK surprised me when she revealed that one of her “two things” was the very achievable goal of seeing the Grand Canyon (18 years together and I had no...frickin'...idea), so we now have a helicopter ride over the Kaibab Plateau, the North Rim, the South Rim, Marble Canyon, Point Imperial and the Dragon Corridor in our future, not to mention a day trip to the town of Jerome, a trip to the Painted Desert and the crater thingy, a ride on the Verde Canyon railroad and, per TMK’s insistence, lots of time in the hotel swimming pool. We will not, however, be spending any time in a pink jeep.
I’m pleased to report that, preparation-wise, everything is proceeding true to form: TMK packed four days ago (four); me, I’ve sort of spread stuff around my bedroom and am wondering if I can get away with wearing the same t-shirt for five days or if I really have to do laundry. Perhaps I could overnight all my dirty laundry to the home of Mr. Washy. (Although, apparently, if I can get my laundry there today, there's a good chance it will be washed by Pierce Brosnan in the nude.)
And, of course, this all means I will be spending time with your friend and mine, Cuzzin Tom, in person—although, I’m not sure what there is left for us to talk about since we spent two hours on the phone last night, gabbing away like a couple of old biddies, if old biddies talk about such things as the positive and negative sociopolitical impact of the departure of the Communist Russian regime from Mongolia; just how much damage a golden eagle could do to your arm with its talons if you were stupid enough to get in the cage with it; and whether or not we should open up an old-style British pub called "The Lesbian and Monk." Okay, that last—made it up.
Thanks to CafePress, I’ve been crapping my life and my wardrobe up with all sorts of Dulaan items. I now own a Dulaan t-shirt, a Dulaan totebag (which proved to be roomy enough to hold everything from my other two knitting bags with room to spare)...
...and a Dulaan teddy bear, shown modeling my second Dulaan contribution, the hat made out of leftover Lorna’s Laces Worsted and dribs and drabs of Cascade 220. The pom-pom on the top? Really wispy. Really lame. Really floppy. Needs a major infusion of Viagra.
(Update: During lunch I realized that this sounds suspiciously as if I'm taking the profits from CafePress and turning around and buying CafePress stuff for myself with it. Er, no; as promised, all the profits—er, all $44 of it so far—are being reserved for F.I.R.E. Me, I just wanted to deck myself out in Dulaan crap!)
Speaking of Dulaan—and when am I not?—truly, my most favorite part of this project is when someone designs something specifically for it, as in the case of Lyssa Kaehler who recently designed this. How cute is that? Not too feminine, not too masculine, not too plain, not too overdone, and chock full o' whimsy!
Also, I’ve tweaked the Mafrash Pattern ever so slightly and have posted the new version under Free Patterns. In the meantime, I’m desperately trying to think of a new name for it since, in my head, Marfrash keeps coming out “wharf rat,” “marsh rat,” or “maf rash,” which I imagine to be some fatal third-world disease characterized by large, red, extremely itchy spots. While I wait for inspiration to whack me smartly on the head, I’ve started knitting a Marsh Rat Hat based on two repeats of the pattern (92 stitches) using black and terra cotta Cascade 220. The design is lookin' purdy, if a little more squashed and horizontally spreading than I thought it would.
I LOVE the new pattern! I'm so making one of these this weekend.
Have fun, fun, fun in Arizona!
Posted by: Rebecca on September 14, 2005 12:07 PMLove that hat pattern, Lyssa!!! As a Dulaan knitter, I am honored to make one, and appreciate you taking the time to design something for us--not only is the hat warm, but it be interesting and quick to make.
TMK and Ryan: have a blast in Arizona! don't be hanging too far out of that helicopter, now, TMK, trying to take the "perfect" picture. Please say hi to Cuzzin Tom for me. Will miss the blog for an entire week, but eager to see pictures of your trip.
Have we heard anything yet from Meredith in Mongolia? Have the goodies arrived there yet?
Mary B
Posted by: Mary B on September 14, 2005 12:20 PMHave fun in AZ! Jerome is charming and just about perfect now that the hippie-wanna-be-s have returned to college for the term. I have only been up to the edge to look in, I can't wait for pictures from the helicopter.
Posted by: Elaine on September 14, 2005 12:23 PMWe've already had spats about who will sit where in the 7-seat helicopter; that is, until the lady at the helicopter company explained that the seats are assigned by a computer that juggles everyone's weight and determines the best place to put you. Needless to say, we hope that the computer decides that the best place to put fat people is right by the window.
The Jerome thing only popped up yesterday when a dear friend of Cuzzin Tom's whom I have not met sent us an email inviting us up to her and her husband's house in Jerome on Sunday. This day trip is the part of vacation I am most excited about, oddly.
No, MaryB, haven't heard anything from Mongolia yet. Will let you know as soon as I know anything!
Off to add the new pattern to the pattern list!
Posted by: Ryan on September 14, 2005 01:43 PMOK - two words for you whilst you are in Arizona..SUN SCREEN. SPF 142. Or whatever works for you.
I went to Arizona and spent a week on a dude ranch. The 4 hours we were there when monsoon season decided to take a break were plenty sufficient for me to burn the living crap out of myself...so I pass my life lesson on to you --> WEAR SUNSCREEN. :)
AND HAVE FUN!!
Posted by: Libby on September 14, 2005 02:54 PMI'm looking forward to seeing others' variations on the pointy hat. Enjoy!
Lyssa
ps., I'm from Arizona, second that on the sunscreen...it'll getcha.
Posted by: Lyssa on September 14, 2005 02:56 PMThe Grand Canyon and Arizona in fall is lovely, one of my favorite vacations. I've been to the south rim, rafted through it, but never to the north rim (which is supposed to be the best place to go) or over it. The crater thingy was fun too. Have a great trip!
Posted by: Kat on September 14, 2005 03:01 PMWith regard to the high-SPF suntan lotion (which TMK and I just refer to as "spf" or "spiff," which in term leads her to call me "Spaceman Spiff"), ever since my skin cancer scare, I've single-handedly kept the suntan lotion companies in business--which means when I started packing last night, I found spiff everywhere: In the between-seat console in my car, in my glove compartment, in my knapsack, in a suitcase, in my bathroom, in my sidetable... I promise everyone: Cross my heart, I will have lots of spiff with me, and will wear it. Thank you for the heads-up since I've never been to AZ!
Posted by: Ryan on September 14, 2005 03:25 PMLove LOVE the new hat pattern. will be making one of those shortly!
Have a WUNDERBAR time in Arizonabar!
Posted by: Norma on September 14, 2005 03:28 PMHow about Sharfram? That probably means something really obscene in the native tongue, though.
Have fun at the GC and all the other neat places you have planned.
Posted by: Carrie on September 14, 2005 04:29 PM"The Lesbian and Monk"? If you do, I will be there! Sounds like a fabulous place to have a beer or two or three! :-)
Posted by: midgeling on September 14, 2005 06:48 PMbe careful for what you wish for ryan, what you described as maf rash is exactly what i have at the moment! but i gallantly knit on (the wool doesn't bother it, lol). i loved lyssa's hat, but i had a question. is this pattern exclusively for dulaan, or can we use it for other charitable projects? i'm on a charity yahoo group, and we're doing stuff for indian reservatons in november. just wondered
Posted by: minnie on September 14, 2005 07:03 PMIt is fine with me if the pattern gets multi-charity use!
By the way, thank you Norma for the writing about the meaning of cold. Northern California is the coldest place I have ever lived, so my personal perspective is a bit limited.
Posted by: Lyssa on September 14, 2005 09:47 PMThe "Lesbian and Monk Pub" nearly killed me. I can just envision the spare, old-wood decor, fashioned (of course) by TMK. Lemme know when it opens!
Posted by: Kristen on September 15, 2005 12:39 AMRyan, one of my lifelong ambitions was to see the Grand Canyon. To someone who's lived all her life in the very wet, very green, northeastern part of the US, it felt like another world. An Australian traveler we witnessed backing away very slowly, called it "that bloody great hole" in tones of horror. On -- there's a yarn store, with Koigu, in Jerome. . .
Lyssa, I love the hat -- tried to send you a note from your own blog, but it won't take one from a non-Blog member. Hrumph! I had a question/suggestion; if you're interested, just send me an email so we don't tie up Ryan's house . I'll be making one of these this weekend, with purple Peace Fleece on the outside and red Cascade 220 for the lining. . .unless the turquoise shouts more loudly. . .
Posted by: Elizabeth D on September 16, 2005 08:24 AMLyssa/Ryan -- my email address disappeared, so I'm trying again (sorry). If it doesn't come through, use this: Elizabeth.A.Durand@gmail.com
Posted by: Elizabeth D on September 16, 2005 08:41 AMElizabeth, it's not you. For security reasons, the latest version of MovableType doesn't show email addresses. I can see them on my blog admin page, but no one else can. I really don't like this new functionality!
Posted by: Ryan on September 16, 2005 09:37 AM