April 28, 2006

Yoga and Knitting- Knitting and Yoga

So Lolly has totally inspired me with her latest post- here is what I have to say in responce to it- What do you think?

It is interesting that knitting and yoga are so often compared or put together "Knitting is the new yoga". But I don't think that is really true... They are both yoga, nothing new about it-
When we create we are at peace we focus and we bring ourselves to a state that we aren't normally at- we look at the world and objects differently- How can you look at a pile of fiber and see a hat or sweater? How can you look at your body in the mirror and imagine it with a leg wrapped around the head or balancing updside down?
As my yoga teacher says," I think you can bend this way because I believe you are Gumby and you don't" plain and simple, get your mind out of the way and you can do/create anything.

Here is how yoga/knitting shape our lives-

I am currently getting certified to teach yoga- (as many of you know if you are regular readers) that means not just a lot of asana, but a lot of philosophy and reading- and over the past few months I have seen so many things that tie the two seemingly different things together- knitting is a form of yoga and yoga is a form of knitting- just different mediums are in use.
In yoga the goal is to chip away at our ego and at our mind to find that which we really are- The idea is that our true self is just waiting to be seen- we go thru asana and meditation we become closer to that which is real. I think when we knit we are doing a similar thing- take this ball of yarn and shape it into something wonderful-
Have you ever noticed that yarn has a way of deciding what it wants to be, even before you cast on to the needles? It has a mind of its own? When the yarn really doesn't want to become something it fights tooth and nail- tangling and dropping and snagging? I think that is because the yarn already knows what its true self is, just like we do, it is up to us to peel away the layers ... you can't force it into being something it wasn't meant to be- just like we can't force ourselves into something we weren't meant to be with out a bit of resistance, struggle and pain anyway.
Also the Sanskrit word "sutra" means string- All the sutras that make up the philosophy and mantras and *stuff* of yoga are all 'knit' together by the string or the sutras- interesting when you start to think about it.
Our muscles and nerves and ligaments and bones and joints and tendons and skin are all woven intricately together forming a wonderful functional object- just as the yarn does. There is even a thing called “knitting” in yoga- an action that you do with the abdominal muscles.
In yoga you are constantly challenging yourself to take even the *easiest* pose and find new meaning and challenge in it. (I don't really believe there are easy poses; there is always something to challenge yourself with in any posture, no matter how long or how consistent you have been practicing). I think that the same can be true of the *simple* stockinet stitch. As a novice or expert knitter we can always find something in that stitch to challenge us- to try it in a new way. Maybe by adding in a second strand of color, going continental instead of English, using straight needles or DPNs instead of circs- using itty bitty little tiny size 0 instead of big-old 19s or changing up the yarn from wool to cotton or from bulky to lace weight- all of these things make the experience different. Just as every time you step on to the sticky mat and stand in tadasana (Mountain Pose) you find that the body doesn't feel the way they did yesterday- that we need to work on grounding all four corners of the feet or engage the kidney loop or inward/outwardly spiral our legs to find the energy and center of the pose.
Just as we wind our bodies into different asanas we move our needles and yarn into different objects. Each process aid in clearing the mind and to put us closer to a Higher place- finding the true self.

April 26, 2006

Thursday Love

Thursday love goes out to random messages- like these.

Who the heck is in charge? How do I get in touch with them? What are their office hours? What is their phone number? These are questions you just have to ask yourself.


Well, what if I want to fly? How am I supposed to "keep at least one foot on the platform" if I want to do that? How is a girl supposed to jump and sing and dance? Who makes these rules? And have they ever really gotten both their feet off the platform to know what a joy it is?

Take it for what you will... Believe in what you want. I for one ,am still trying to understand what I believe. Whether it be the big J.C. that brings magic to your day or some other Higher power- the unknown and the stories and the mysticism of it all is really what gets me going.

The energy and the, and the, well, the MAGIC. That is what I love today.

Sun is shining

Sun is shining, the weather is sweet
Make you want to move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here I am
Want you to know ya, where I stand
(Monday morning) here I am

Want you to know just if you can
(Tuesday evening) where I stand
(Wednesday morning) tell myself a new day is rising
(Thursday evening) get on the rise a new day is dawning
(Friday morning) here I am
(Saturday evening) want you to know just
Want you to know just where I stand
When the morning gathers the rainbow

Want you to know I'm a rainbow too
So, to the rescue here I am
Want you to know just if you can
Where I stand, know, know, know, know, know
We'll lift our heads and give JAH praises

We'll lift our heads and give JAH praises, yeah
Sun is shining, the weather is sweet now

Make you want to move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here I am
Want you to know just if you can
Where I stand, know, know, know, where I stand
Monday morning, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop

Tuesday evening, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop
Wednesday morning, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop
Thursday evening, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop
Friday morning, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop
Saturday evening, scoo-be-doop-scoop-scoop
So to the rescue, to the rescue, to the rescue

Awake from your sleep and slumber
Today could be your lucky number
Sun is shining and the weather is sweet
----One of my all time favorite Bob Marley songs, Thanks Bob.

Thank you all for your thoughts.
Had a very good cry on Monday, it rained all night last night and now both the earth and my body feel cleansed. We both feel a bit soggy, but I am sure that soon my mind will dry just as the ground does.

Smile, laugh, and DON"T POSTPONE JOY~

April 25, 2006

Fizzle-pop-bang

So it has been about a week, I realize that. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed the past month- work, school, teaching, planning party's, selling the house....And despite the blog's therapeutic magic I haven't found time to squeeze it in to my day. I have felt overwhelmingly empty the past few days... Yearning to be somewhere else, be someone else....
You know those weeks when you just feel empty? Like the feeling that you are starving, but you are so hungry you can't decide what it is that you want to eat? That is how I have felt for a few weeks now- Hungry for something that I can't quite put my finger on- maybe it is spiritual, maybe it is material. I just don't know. The not knowing is the hardest part. Fighting with myself that I am fine, I have more than enough and have so many things to make me smile- I know this and then I just get frustrated that I still feel empty...
I decided that I needed to knit. That maybe creating something was really what I needed to feel better. I started a sweet little baby sweater using so fabulously soft Debbie Bliss yarn that my FSP Becky gave me. The sweater is for my cousin's baby that is on the way. I am loving the way the yarn feels in my hands, the ease of the pattern and the sound of the needles clicking and I go back and forth- I am even *gasp* enjoying purling. Weird, I know.

One of the other reasons that I have failed to blog for the past few days is because of the rain "Blame it on the rain" (oh -god, you know the song). But really. Our roof in the computer room sprung a leak and the drip positioned itself conveniently over the monitor. Hence the title of this post: fizzle-pop-bang. We weren't home when the whole thing happened, but I imagine the monitor just smoking and sparking and then grasping its last breath of electricity and then dying. So I can't blog with out a monitor- and well, I feel guilty about blogging at work (which I am doing now).

so there it is- just a little update. I will post pictures soon- oh, and by the way I have some doozies from my best friends Roller-Rama Birthday party last Friday night.
Soon Billy. Soon (does anyone else remember this line from a children's book? My mom used to read it to me all the time and the line became a mantra in the house when I really wanted something to happen- now darn it).

April 17, 2006

The places I've been...

Kat is having a contest~ head on over and see what is all about.
Here is my entry:

1. Sitting on a pile of blankets in the yoga studio waiting for the Therapudic Chair Yoga class to start.
2. Waiting for the stop light to turn green on my way to a baby shower- I HAD to finish that darn plushy in time, didn't I?
3. In the car, heading over Donner Pass summit in a blizzard- We were headed to San Fran for a funeral. (by the way in the sloooow traffic I spotted a fellow knitter and had hubby maneuver so I could hold up my knitting for her to see- thus being instantly bonded together by the needles and yarn, but she never looked up from her work)
4. At a school board meeting and at other meetings that TOTALLY stressed me out- I had the knitting under the table and was knitting blind so noone would *know* what I was up to.
5. (this is more of a, I WILL be doing, than a have done) At a SF Giants game with all the SF Chicks With Sticks and the Procrastiknitters for the Stitch n' Pitch night- mind you I will be not only knitting something fabulous in orange and black but drinking a large, cool and expensive beer and having an equally expensive dog with kraut and jalepenos to wash it all down. Oh, and taking lots of pictures to document the event! I can hardly wait for July!!! (see you then Kat~)

April 14, 2006

Photobooth Friday

So today is Friday, and I am supposed to have a photobooth picture here right? Well what happens when you can't find a booth in your town? What does one do? I am going to go on a hunt for a booth that's what.

























I figured one of the casinos must have a photobooth. I am thinking in the arcades (you know, the place where they train kids to put money into machines and not get anything back- might as well have give the kidos candy cigs and jerky chew while you are at, no?).














We also just got a new shopping mall in town,(uggggly! And totally impracticable for the amount of weather we get 6-8 months out of the year. It is supposed to be fancy with big name stores like Pottery Barn. But really, it is a glorified strip mall- and who needs more of those?) maybe they have one in there for the mall rats- but since I am so against this new eyesore, I don't think I will even try there. I a boycotting people, even if it means missing out on a photobooth and Anne Taylor Loft (whatever).

So this is a photoless-photobooth Friday post. Sorry kids....














I am thinking I need to buy a booth and put it in one of the local hot spot pubs- now, where do I get my hands on a booth for sale???
Want some REAL photo booth friday shots? check out these beauties:
Girlhula
JesC
lovegreendog
LeSophie
EDITED: it has bee suggested that I buy this so that I will never be without a photobooth again- Maybe I need to start a "make a wish" collection? call it the booty for a booth collection ...
Oh, and no this not my goat. just a random set that I took- who wooda thunk they would have made it into the blogisphere?

April 13, 2006

Thursday lovin'

Just because the sun is out and there is hardly a cloud in the sky I am going to give my love to clouds this week. Kind of a tribute to them for actually going away for a whole day...My favorite kind of clouds are the cumulonimbus- (as my husband, who is an ex seasonal firefighter calls them, cumulonibus equals over timus. Meaning where these clouds are, will probably wild fires). These are the clouds that are huge, puffy and towering. They loom over head in an otherwise clear sky. They usually roll in bringing noise and flashes of light as well as a good dose of moisture to the otherwise dry climate that is characteristic of the high desert. Cumulonimbus make for amazing sunsets and sunrises.Colors of peach, orange, purlpe and pink- dazzling the brown desert landscape with colors that are usually only seen in with the spring wild flowers. The clouds bring rain, the kind of rain that makes you want to go dance and play and splash. They bring the smell of the ozone and sage- clean and fresh and wonderful. Some of my most vivid and favorite memories surround thunder heads.
One of my grandfather who insisted on going outside and watching the weather despite my grandmother's protest.
One of traveling across country with my mom by train. Descending into Denver, CO and watching the lightening, like a strobe light, make the city below easily seen in an otherwise dark sky.
One of getting stuck in the mud up in the hills behind our house with hubby. We were trying to get pictures of the lightening and also watch as the fire crews put out spot fires where the lightening touched down on the other side of the valley.
And one from last summer while in Belmont, NV. We watched one of the biggest storms come in and move over and out of the area. I don't think we slept all night- just watched the sky light up, counted the seconds between lightening and the loud rumble of thunder. The sunset was better than anything you have ever seen, better than any movie maker could imagine....

Need more love in your life?

here

here

here

April 12, 2006

KAL Update


Did you guys know I was hosting a KAL??? I just realized I haven't talked about it in quite some time. We are doing the Odessa hat designed by Grumperina.
Go on over and check out the lovely work that has been done so far. And if you would like to join us, please let me know!
This hat is the next thing I am going to work on after my socks are finished. I have this awesome FUSCIA yarn that my felted secret pal sent me that is calling my name.

April 10, 2006

SPTuesday

It's that day of the week again kids, Self Portrait Tuesday- and boy o-hhhboy do I have some April Fool-ness for you all today-
But first let megive you a bit of background info leading to these photos...
Last weekend in celebration of a few birthdays, the girls decided to have a party- we just needed a theme- thus the GSBSUW (good shoes, bad sweater, ugly wings -as in hot wings) Party was born. It was a ton of fun- but I think my thrift store sweater/poncho thing gave me a rash- (that is a whole other story).
First, the good shoes....

I don't have permission for the girls to post pictures of them in their BS's. Trust me on this one- they were REALLY BAD Sweaters. imagine intarsia camels, maternity ponchos with sleeves, cookie monster, build in red boa, and a sweater that was really a dress and you will pretty much have it pinned.

So what do you do when the wings are eaten, and the wine bottle is empty? you go down town of course.... And this is also when the SP start snapping...

These were taken with one of my best friends, Taya. We were waiting for the red hand to change and beckon us safely across the street- it was taking waaay to long so we decided to take advantage of the moment.


I don't know why we couldn't keep our eyes open, probably too many hotwings- they were pretty spicy. Maybe it was all the neon in downtown Reno, that will make you squint every time.

The two of us have known each other since the 7th or 8th grade and left for college together. TM and I are crazy when we get together, our hubbies don't know what to do with us - so they usually just stay out of the way. These pictures are a perfect example of how much love we have for each other as well as how much insanity we share... Love you TM~

April 07, 2006

Passport- Photobooth Friday~


photobooth_passport
Originally uploaded by NessieNoodle.

This picture has a really silly story behind it.
I went to Spain prior to my last semester in college. We stayed in Madrid in the dorms, but had the freedom to travel on the weekends.

A gang of us decided that we wanted to go from Madrid to Barcelona to hang out for the weekend-
We of course didn't make any plans/reservations and when we got into Barcelona we wandered around for hours until we found a hostel that actually had a room- there were 8 of us, but we managed to all squeeze into the room (and one bed if I remember it right)-
The second night we were there we found a better place to stay, but the neighborhood wasn't any better. (I want to say Los Robles or something like that...) Anyway my friend Mel and I decided that we didn't want to go out that night so we were walking back from dinner together sipping on can of beer and yacking in English to each other.. Prime targets for getting robbed-
Before we knew it our purses had been ripped off and we were standing in the street with no money, no id, no nothing-
Let's just say that we got to ride in a police car and realize just how much Spanish we didn't know while trying to talk to the police. (however, I do know how to say purse and robbed now VERY well)
When we returned to Madrid we had to go to the US Embassy to get new passports- that is where this photo was taken.
There was a sign in the booth that said look here, that is why I am looking up into space. I look like a crazy person- I can't find the one of Mel, but her's is equally if not more hysterical than mine. The lady behind the counter actually cracked up out loud when she handed the new passport to us-"what are you two looking at in these pictures?" she asked.
We wandered back to the dorms, fresh passports in hand and decided not to go back to class that day. Instead we stopped at a little cafe and ate octopus and had wine. We tipped the hot Spanish waiter in American money and made him laugh- ahh, that was a good trip-

Want more??

here, here, here and here


April 06, 2006

love, secrets and socks...

Thursday love goes out to my morning cup of chai tea. I love putting honey and milk in with all those spices- goodness I tell you, just plain old morning goodness.


The final Felted Secret Pal gift came in the mail for me today- I had been over at my mom's house right after work, came home to get my walking shoes so we could go take a walk and found a heavy box on my doorstep. I put it on the table and slapped on my shoes so I could go and enjoy the sun. When I got home I tore into the package-

I need to say a few things first before I go into detail. For those of you who don't know, my first secret pal dropped off the face of blogville, never to be heard of again- Lu, the wonderful hostess that she is set me up with a brand new swapper as well as sent me a gift herself to make up for it all. Lu couldn't have put me with a better person.

My new swapper is wonderful. I have been a loyal reader of her blog for quite some time and we have a ton in common. She is amazing- she teaches as well as helped to put together the Caps for the Cure project, whipping out hats like crazy for those in need of a little extra warmth as they face chemo. She has a great sense of humor. She lives in a beautiful spot in the world (I know cuz I used to live there) and has great taste in books and yarn. Go on over to say hello to Becky at Moonlight Frogger- Thank you SO much Becky for filling in and making this swap so special. I love everything you sent~

SO what did she send?? Some delicious tea (had a big old pot of it and now have a rival to my favorite listed above), hand cream, a bar of soap(with a frog on it of course), some yarn to dye (I just got my new Yarns to Dye For book so this is perfect), some already dyed yarn- DB Cashmerino Aran- downright dreamy in FUSCIA!!, a little photo album (guess I better get some of those photos off Flickr and into print?), a book that I have been wanting (YES! I LOVE THIS), and a pen from Moon Rise Herbs located in Arcata, CA (this place is special to me because one of my best friends worked there for about 4 years) and finally Becky included one of her wonderful dish clothes and scrubbies that she knit out of tulle. What a present! Thank you Becky, you really are the best~ and a big thanks to Lu for putting this all on.

And finally, sock progress. I snuck a bit of knitting in while waiting for yoga to start this week as well as waiting in the doctor's office. Just a bit more to go. I am loving the way this yarn knits up. It is silky soft and really warm. Still haven't decided if I am going to keep these for myself or gift them away... Looking good, no?

April 05, 2006

SPTuesday, er Wed & G is for

So the SPT challenge this month is to be a FOOL - be silly be crazy... That said here is a very very silly picture of hubby and I being goofy at a new year's eve party.
I also realized that I need to put up a picture for G in the ABC along- This photo works great-
G is for Goofy Geographers.
Hubby and I are both Geographers by training and by career. We met in a GIS class and haven't ever looked back. Geography is a way of life it is what shapes our world- physically, mentally, culinarily (is that a word?), scientifically, culturally, politically, cartigraphicaly- you get the idea. I love being a geographer-
This picture actually made it into our wedding slide show and got a ton of hoots and hollers-
Speaking of hooting and hollering, I just got a report from my site meter- seems I get an average of about 55 views a day on this site, yet strangely I hardly ever get more then 5-10 comments. What is that about? (like my segway into this demand to de-lurk??) So here is the challenge, be silly, be goofy, and be de-lurk. Give me a holler y'all-

Tomorrow- sock progress... Yeah, remember this is a knitting blog.

April 03, 2006

new new new

The ne MagKnits is out! and I can't wait to try my hand at this-
I have been wanting to learn cables and to make a garmet for myself... perfect~
ADDED: Go check it out, there are some other cool patterns out there too.
Oh and while you are out and about in Blogville, stop on over to Nina's site. This is inspiring. I think I will make a few.