Can we tailgate yet?

So, I really like football. I have this problem though. I don't have a team. For some people, like the other grouchy inhabitant of my house, this is a big issue. I am "not allowed" to get a jersey just because I like a guy if the team is not "my team". Mr. Grouchy is all about football. From now until the end of December every Sunday will either be spent on the couch or at The Fox and The Hound watching 6 games at once. For people like him (commissioners of their Fantasy teams) it's blasphemy not to have a team, never mind it making me not a true football fan. It's not my fault I don't have a team. Some people are lucky enough to be born in the Bay area, therefore always staying true to the 49ers (even now, when they are maybe one of the worst teams possible.... and so bad at drafting). Others of us were born and raised in L.A. Arguably the biggest city in the country, but somehow not able to support a football team. Green Bay Wisconsin can support an NFL team, but the 15 million people in L.A. can't. I guess when I was born there were teams. I vaguely remember kids wearing huge puffy raiders jackets to elementary school but I was not introduced to football as a young girl. There was just my sister and I, no brothers, and my Dad lettered in gymnastics. Yes, I said gymnastics. On his letter sweater is a small brass pin of a gymnast. Somehow, both my sister and I went off to college and returned home Broncos fans. I guess I have an excuse. My two best college friends were from Denver and it was the year of the repeat. It's really easy to get swept up in the goodness of a team in a good year when you watch all the games with a true fan. (Notice I am still not a 49ers fan.) I have been true to Denver for a few years, but I'm not sure of the coaching choices and the constant drive to take new guys and making them good. Let's hold on to some of those guys and make it past the first game of the playoffs guys. The only guy still around that I love on Denver is Elam. Can you really stick with a team for the kicker? So, my new problem. I am really liking the Steelers. I love Palomalo. He's maybe my favorite guy around. I like the trick plays. I like Hines Ward. I even like the coach. He always looks so grumpy. I'm not a big bandwagon person though. Can I be a new Steelers fan without it being bandwagony? Grr. It all comes down to having a jersey I can believe in. Is that possible for someone like me?

Puppydog Tails

These are my babies...

Attila, my scaredy cat. She loves yarn (is this why so many knitters also are cat lovers?) and the dogs, but is not so sure about people.

Lucy, my frisbee player.

Floyd. Yes, his name is Floyd. He's a big dork. He's scared of pretty much everything that makes noise... like foil.


These are the babies I come home to after leaving the babies at my work as a nanny. I always thought I was a cat person. I grew up with three roaming around the house. I'm becoming a dog person now. Can one be both? I guess so.

Spinning Roving Swap questionnaire or, a lot of I don't knows and I'm new at this

So, I the past year, there have been lots of new and exciting fiber things in my life. I started knitting over Christmas, I started reading blogs (I got a new labtop for x-mas with wireless... it has changed my life), I went back to working in the costume shop if my community theater, and now, I am going to learn how to spin.
I keep seeing these swaps and knit-a-longs and they look so fun I finally decided to jump in and try one. Here's the handy questionnaire so everyone knows who I am. Sort of.



1) How long have you been spinning?
I have only spun one time about 5 years ago in a college anthropology course for about 20 minutes. It was a drop spindle and we were using alpaca, I think.

2) Are you a beginner, novice, or experienced spinner?
I think 20 minutes qualifies me for having no idea of what I am doing or what I am opening the door for in the future. Beginner?


3) Do you spin on a drop spindle or wheel, or both?
I don't have a wheel, although it seems like everyone who starts spinning gets one within the first year. Lets go with drop spindle for now, although I don't have one of those either at this time.

4) What types and weights of drop spindles (or what type of spinning wheel(s) ) do you currently own?
None

5) What type of fibers have you spun with before?
Alpaca, which was very nice. I often have thought about using my dog's undercoat when I brush her in the summer.

6) What fibers do you prefer to spin with?
I just love the way soft things feel. I like alpaca and llama. There is so much out there I have never experienced, but I imagine I would like just about anything that isn't to hard to learn on.

7) What fibers do you dislike?
Again, not really sure. I don't like knitting with 100% acrylic... but who does.

8) Do you prefer natural colored fibers, or handpainted/dyed fiber?
Most of what I have knitted has been very natural in color but I drool over the variegated colorful yarns I have seen. I love the way handpainted/dyed fibers look.

9) Would you prefer all one type of roving or smaller amounts of different types to sample?
Surprise me! I see the benefits of both, especially for someone like me who is brand spankin' new. It would be very fun to try lots of different things, but I like the idea of getting a finished product which can be used.

10) What are you favorite colors?
I love blues and greens. Browns and reds and oranges are nice too. Bold colors are so much fun to play with.

11) What colors do you dislike?
I don't like pastels. Anything with "baby" in the description (baby pink, baby blue, baby peach) can't be found in my stash.

12) What would you like to do with your handspun yarn, or what do you plan to do with it? (pattern clarification here)
I knit and crochet. I would love some fun little pattern I could whip up out of my new handspun which wouldn't be so bad with beginners yarn. Lately I've been knitting a lot, and there are so many fun hat and wristwarmer patterns out there.

13) What spinning projects are you currently working on?
Nothing with spinning but I have about 5 or 6 UFO's on needles around my house. The biggie is a afghan made with aran cable squares for a wedding in November.


14) Do you have a wishlist?
Not yet

15) What are your other favorite hobbies?
I work in the costume shop of my local community theater. I sew a lot. Mostly I make clothes for the kids I nanny, but I also make and sell quilts for kids. I have two big dogs and I am a nanny for two kids under 4. Both take up a lot of time. Every now and then I get in a game of frisbee golf and I am really excited about football season starting back up. Go Broncos.

16) Do you have any allergies (pet, smoke, food, fiber,etc...)?
No allergies, but I live in a non-smoking environment and work with young kids, so I would prefer things smoke-free.

17) What is your preferred shipping method (USPS, UPS, FedEx)?
USPS I guess. It always seems to be cheaper, and the dogs can't really sign for packages.

The laws of motion, as a start.

Let's start with a little lesson in physics. Personally, I hate physics and the only reason I got my A in high school was a technicality in the syllabus I totally exploited. However, I have my own opinions about the laws of movement relative to my own life.

First Law
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless an outside force acts upon them.

What this says to me is... I'm not lazy, there just are not strong enough outside forces acting upon me. The flip side is a little scary. When the motion is a downward spiral the forces need to be large, and generally involve medical attention. I love it when gravity acts as my outside source, slowing down the inertia. It's really hard to overcome that object at rest inertia though. Or the being sad inertia.

Second law
The rate of change of the momentum of a body is directly proportional to the net force acting on it, and the direction of the change in momentum takes place in the direction of the net force.

For me, this was only try for a while, and then the momentum flipped and went totally the opposite direction of the force. Did anyone else grow up with two teachers for parents and a very smart older sister?

Third law
To every action (force applied) there is an equal but opposite reaction (equal force applied in the opposite direction).

I guess this one explains why the more people (my boyfriend) tell me to clean up the house, the less gets done. Ok, I'm really not that lazy. Some things are just more important to me than others. Cleaning? Bottom of the list. Knitting? Sewing? My fav TV shows? Lots closer to the top, and easier to multi-task with. So in the future, expect to hear more about the fiber stuff... the knitting, crochet, and sewing (and soon spinning) none of which I profess to be an expert in, and all self taught. You'll probably hear more about the boyfriend (I must come up with some clever title for him... all the other bloggers seem to do this), definitely more (or any) about the pets, kids, and family. I will try not to complain about cleaning too often, but it is the most hated thing, besides maybe George W.