Pointless Ads

Now that's a man who takes his links seriously!

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:17:43 -0600

Now, to be honest, I don't think I'll win. I don't get much traffic. But still... Alex is cute, and his website is neat, and he does pic programming which is awesome.

Story break! I almost got thrown out of the Sears Tower because I forgot to take my robotics equipment out of my bag one day a few months after a certain incident. Everyone was very antsy, and they had just put in the new metal detectors - and my black backpack was still full of wires, wire cutters, and motherboards. OOPS. Luckily the security guards let me have my bag back after I showed them my textbooks and student ID, and I promised NEVER to bring my class materials to work again.

At least there was no timer in the bag.

Anyway.... that's my story, and that's Alex's link. Enjoy!

Super Fabulous Potato Salad

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:25:18 -0600

red potatoes, bite sized pieces
yukon gold potatoes, bite sized pieces
fresh trimmed green beans, bite sized pieces
sun-dried tomatoes, bite sized pieces
minced red onion
organic mayonnaise (I like spectrum natural, your mileage may vary or better yet, make your own)
greek yogurt
dijon mustard
seasoning to taste

boil equal quantities of potatoes until tender.* cook proportionate amount of green beans in separate water until desired tenderness (I like them just cooked, and still crunchy). drain potatoes and green beans, mix together, and add tomatoes and onions until a pleasing color arrangement is achieved.

*alternate: coat the potatoes in olive oil and toss with a little sea salt and maybe some minced garlic or some other seasonings. bake in oven at 400 degrees until color is good and outside is crunchy looking. a nonstick tray works best.

now add equal parts mayonnaise and yogurt, and enough mustard to achieve a pleasing color and taste. add seasoning of your desiring to taste. I usually use Adobo and garlic powder. chill and serve.*

*alternate: serve warm. warm roasted potato salad would require less of the mayo/yogurt coating and more seasoning.

Even more updated Hook and Needle Collection

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:18:07 -0600

Tulip Brand Steel Gold Point Crochet Hooks

#0 (2.1mm), #1 (1.9mm), #2 (1.75mm ), #3 (1.7mm), #4 (1.6mm ), #5 (1.5mm), #6 (1.4mm ), #7 (1.3mm), #8 (1.25mm), #9 (1.15mm ), #10 (1.1mm), #11 (1.05mm), #12 (1.0mm), #13 (0.95mm), #14 (0.9mm), #15 (0.85mm), #16 (0.8mm), #17 (0.75mm), #18 (0.7mm), #19 (0.65mm), #20 (0.6mm), #21 (0.55mm), #22 (0.5mm), #23 (0.45mm)

KnitPicks Options Circular Interchangeable Knitting Needles

Needle Tips:

4,5,6,7,8,9,10,10.5,11,13,15,17

Cords (2 each):

24", 32", 40", 47" and 60"

Boye Interchangeable Crochet Hooks (Vintage)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14

Assorted Needles (Vintage)

Straight

Probably Bates - 2, 4

Boye - 2,5, 10 (plastic),11

Double

0000(?) (I don't have a gauge that small .... yet) - Steel, brand unknown, 9", set of 4

0 - Zephyr brand, 7", 2 sets of 4 (red and green)

1 - 7", pair, and 2 sets of 4

2 - 9", pair

2 - 7", pair

2 - Zephyr brand, 7", set of 4

3 - Plastic?, 5", pair

3 - Plastic?, 6", set of 4

3 - Zephyr brand, 7", set of 4

4 - Marcia Lynn brand, 7", set of 4

5 - Bates, 7", set of 4

Assorted Hooks (Vintage)

Afghan

Bates - 8/5mm

Boye - F

MeiMei Crochet Hooks

Brittany Crochet Hooks

D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, 7, 10 ¾, 10 7/8

Laffing Horse Square Knitting Needles

Straight

7,8,9,10,10.5,11,13, 15

Double

Boo for natural!

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:48:27 -0600

It must be a hair clog, because the drain is still stuck...

Oh well, time to go for the smelly enzymes. And now I have to clean the tub again. It's all gross.

I also need a new hair drain catcher thing... and a new bath mat.

Hooray for natural!*

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:38:22 -0600

My shower drain was clogged something awful. I don't have time today (I'm supposed to be working) to go out and get drain cleaner, and besides, that stuff smells horrible.

So I looked on the internet for a natural alternative, and found that

1/2 cup of baking soda

1/2 cup of vinegar

followed by 1 cup of boiling water after 15 minutes

should do the trick. So I tried it, since I'm pretty sure that what is clogging it is all the soap :D (I like lather, ok? leave me alone)

So I took a box of baking soda to the bathroom, and shook it over the tub drain while humming a song. I'm not going to waste time measuring and dirtying something for my TUB.

Next, I poured in some vinegar. That was easier since I'm almost out of vinegar so I didn't want to finish it. Shorter humming.

FWOOOSH! Volcano effect!

Then I went and did the pots from ... you know, last week. When that was almost done, I started boiling some water and when the kettle started whistling, I took it over to the bathroom and poured it down.

There was a little burping noise, and the clog either moved farther down or dissolved entirely. I'm not really sure. All I know is the tub didn't fill up immediately, so maybe now I can take a shower without soaking up to my ankles in nasty water.

*Not nature, tho. Nature sucks. Nature is the source of bugs.

Costume Diary: Sleeves, Continued

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:17:05 -0600

I didn't take a shot of the whole sleeve part for some reason. I decorated the connecting ribbon between the upper and lower parts of the sleeve. They were supposed to be identical, but I screwed up. :D It looks nice though. I need to start working on my hat. And a bag.

New Sofi's Stitches Catalog!

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:52:22 -0600

Page 29. That's all I have to say.

Hubba hubba!

That's Sofi's Stitches. Hey, they're still doing the free codpiece with every hosen deal!

(bursts of uncontrolled laughter because I can't help myself.)

Plain Pink Beret

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:21:59 -0600

Plain Pink Beret, originally uploaded by jennysparks.

So I was supposed to be making this hat for my mother but....

It's turning out SO CUTE!

I want it for myself. >< What should I do? She likes hats... I like scarves... We both like pink.... I should take an updated picture so you can see more of my dilemma. Why am I having so many of those lately?

If you need pockets....

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:05:08 -0600

I'm always on the lookout for sensible pants with pockets. Lots of pockets. If you're not a woman, you probably don't understand why this is so hard. And if I were smaller around the waist, yes, I probably would just wear boys/mens cargo pants. But I'm not. I'm full figured, and unless I make them myself, finding good pants with good pockets is something of a problem. That's why I'm always glad to find places like LA Police Gear - they sell 5.11 Tactical gear, which will mean nothing to you unless you are a cop, an EMT, a firefighter, or some other type of tactical response personnel. I used to be an EMT and I can remember when they didn't make as much women's clothing. Happily, now they have just as much for women as they do for men, which is nice. The clothing is all sturdy, a good selection of waterproof, and they have a really good selection of footwear. If you're buying for yourself, be sure to check out the closeouts and overstocks.

Horns of a Dilemma

Sun, 18 May 2008 22:16:12 -0600

More yarn? Or new Nvidia card for Age of Conan?

Crap.

Note: It looks like the Nvidia card wins, on the next paycheck. Age of Conan runs so badly right now I can barely walk, but the cutscenes are all fine. Go figure.

Loreelynta progress and issues

Sun, 18 May 2008 21:06:33 -0600

So I've discovered a few holes where I accidentally did my increases backwards. What should I do with them? Fill them in with yarn patches? (I could, I have a crochet hook.) Ignore them and hope it comes right when blocking? (I doubt that very much, unless I accidentally felt it.) At any rate, I'm resolved to be more careful in the future but that really proves nothing. Although I did fix the light bulb so I can see clearly again.

Costume Diary: Sleeves

Sun, 18 May 2008 18:24:44 -0600

Inspiration (Mary Tudor):

Realization:

One sleeve all done

The detachable sleeves, embellished.

Yeah, that would probably look better with a chemise under it. Oh, in case you were wondering, the base dress is the Journe Gown by Sofi's Stitches.

Costume Diary: Necklace

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:42:25 -0600

Original:

What I did instead:

Also completed: earrings

On the list: girdle, beaded partlet, hood or possibly a crocheted coif in gold with pearls.

Need some more scarves? Shawls? Modest clothes?

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:54:53 -0600

Ok, even if you are NOT into covering your hair, shawls are pretty. That's the main reason that I buy things from online Muslim retailers. That, and I don't like dressing like a tramp. I like long skirts and comfortable, modest shirts. That is what originally led me to find Al Muhajabat but the utterly gorgeous shawls and scarves kept me coming back.

Don't be scared by the word 'Hijab.' That's just silly. And frankly America could use a little more modesty in dress and a little less Britney-style dress and behavior. The word 'hijab' means 'cover, shelter, veil.' I like to think of it as shelter. I usually just wear my scarves as regular scarves, but late at night I sometimes pull them over my head and wrap 'properly.' You'd be amazed how much 'shelter' you can get by covering your head when walking home at night.

The clothes are very generic (I'm short, and full bodied, I've had to hack off at least two inches from every skirt I've ever gotten from them) and don't come in such a wide range of sizes as you would get from a "real" clothing site but on the other hand, they come down to my ankles (yay!) and they don't make me look like a frumpy ... um... frump? And even better, they don't make me look like a crack whore or a drunken starlet who got dressed from clothes left lying on the couch after a night of debauchery.

At any rate, if you have a blog of your own (not Facebook or Myspace, that's not a blog, that's an online kindergarten notebook) you can get a $25 gift certificate for any purchase from Al Muhajabat! All you have to do is put a badge or link to their site, and send an email to them and let them know. And now I'm going shopping!

Updated Hook and Needle Collection

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:47:27 -0600

KnitPicks Options Circular Interchangeable Knitting Needles

Needle Tips:

4,5,6,7,8,9,10,10.5,11,13,15,17

Cords (2 each):

24", 32", 40", 47" and 60"

Boye Interchangeable Crochet Hooks (Vintage)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14

Assorted Needles (Vintage)

Straight

Probably Bates - 2, 4

Boye - 2,5, 10 (plastic),11

Double

0000(?) (I don't have a gauge that small .... yet) - Steel, brand unknown, 9", set of 4

0 - Zephyr brand, 7", 2 sets of 4 (red and green)

1 - 7", pair, and 2 sets of 4

2 - 9", pair

2 - 7", pair

2 - Zephyr brand, 7", set of 4

3 - Plastic?, 5", pair

3 - Plastic?, 6", set of 4

3 - Zephyr brand, 7", set of 4

4 - Marcia Lynn brand, 7", set of 4

5 - Bates, 7", set of 4

Assorted Hooks (Vintage)

Afghan

Bates - 8/5mm

Boye - F

MeiMei Crochet Hooks

Brittany Crochet Hooks

D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, 7, 10 ¾, 10 7/8

Laffing Horse Square Knitting Needles

Straight

7,8,9,10,10.5,11,13, 15