Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Catching Up

Ok, first and foremost . . . TA DA!!!! The new home of the stash.





They're cotton closet organizers from Walmart and I used two of the shoe sized ones and one sweater doohickey. Mathboy hung them in an unused corner of our bedroom and I'm quite pleased. It's not completely stocked yet because I was photographing and making notes as I went and it took longer than I anticipated. Of course as with everything else around here I received some unsolicited assistance . . .



That's Noko's tail. Isn't he helpful?


There has been more mail-ey goodness over the last few weeks; Some more birthday stuff . . . Watermelon Bombe roving from The Loopy Ewe and these adorable ball o' yarn earrings from knit picks.

Also from KP was a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermans "Opinionated Knitter" and the five skeins of yarn I needed for the Stripey Stocking Cap from Itty Bitty Hats. I went with all five of the pastel shades from the Swish Bulky line and I'm really pleased with the way it's coming out.

Now, about Mathboy. Sometimes I guess I paint him as a bit of an ogre and that's just not accurate. First of all he hasn't got green trumpet shaped ears he has an incredible amount of patience. Not with everything mind you, just ask anyone who's watched him play a video game, but he puts up with my flakiness and frequent bitchiness with an impressive amount of forbearance. He's never ever called me any names (not even a flaky bitch) or put me down in any way and disagrees with me when I say disparaging things about myself.

Anyways when it comes to finances he's the boss. He knows exactly how much money is in the bank at any given time and what the credit card balance is and I'm lucky if I still have the five bucks that I think I have in my wallet and sometimes "find" my credit card in my wallet and think "ooooh yeah! I have a different credit card now" (I've had it for two years!). The truth is that I need a financial keeper. It's not a gender thing it's just who I am. I am a world class, gold medal spendthrift and always have been. Worse I tend not to think about things before I purchase them and I often end up with a lot of junk. If I ask first it means I think about it "can I justify this purchase? Where will it live? Will I use it frequently?" and if we can't afford it it's a no or, more often "Can it wait?". The upshot of that is that I ask before I make a purchase greater than $10 and we continue to have enough money for frivolities like the mortgage, car payments, and dog food. It doesn't work for everyone and that's fine . . . as long as it works for us. < / end rant >

Monday, August 18, 2008

Quotes from Kids

Started the new school year today and overheard this from the back of my highschool bus: "don't mess with her man, she's knitting."

Hurricane day tomorrow and maybe (if we have power) I'll finally get around to discussing my oh-so-fascinating shoes and the reason why Mathboy's stance on my yarn budget is ok. Really. Oh, new stash accomodations coming too.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Conversations with a Mathboy

Edited due to my embarrassing inability to correctly spell "Qiviut"

Me: What is your favourite thing about my knitting?
Mathboy: [blank look] Keeps you from strangling me? 'Cause your hands are busy.

Me: What is your least favourite thing about my knitting?
Mathboy: I have to listen to you talk about it all the time.

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as good?
Mathboy: Uhhhhhh, the pinwheel sweater

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Mathboy: It can be. Depending on how much their husbands let them spend.

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Mathboy: Video games, carpentry, reading.

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?
Mathboy: Video games, tools, DVDs . . . if it's out in plain sight does it count as stash? (Looks at the shelves with 400+ DVDs lining the living room wall)

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Mathboy: Embarrass isn't the right word.

Me: Do you know my favourite kind of yarn?
Mathboy: Qiviut . . . don't ask me to spell it, I just know you want to put it against your boobies. (He's referring to the time I found a pattern for a hat for a teddy bear that called for Qiviut. I was horrified and could come up with dozens of better ideas including just sticking the skein in my bra and wearing it like a soft and fuzzy little pet)

Me: Can you name another blog?
Mathboy: Uhhh, Knitting with Eileen, Yarn Harlot.

Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
Mathboy: Sometimes.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Mathboy: No. Seems like a waste of time. You should just do it and get it over with.

Me: Do you read my blog?
Mathboy: Yes.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Mathboy: No.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Mathboy: No.

Me: Anything you'd like to add?
Mathboy: [Shakes head no]