Frogs

When knitters use the term "frog" we generally mean the act of ripping our WIPs, not the actual slimy amphibian creature. Unfortunately for me, and perhaps amusing to you, this post is not about the knitting frog.

Tropical frogs like this green and blue one are cute, but it does not make me want to hold and cuddle them. Furthermore, as a former vegetarian of 10 years, I certainly would not eat one. Hell, I still have problems eating beef, pork and even some chicken.

Last night, I went to eat with my godmother at a wonderful LA restaurant known for its spectacular dim sum and seafood. My godmother ordered a chicken clay pot dish. When the dish came out, I took a piece of the chicken. I thought that the pieces were cut rather small, even for the small wing that I selected, but I ate it anyway. I was surprised that the chicken was tough and cooked differently from other chicken clay pot dishes I had before. It wasn't very good, so I didn't eat anymore of it. Several minutes later, my godmother realized that the waiter got the order wrong (either that, or his Mandarin was not very good) and had sent us theFROG clay pot instead! Ewwww! I tried not to think about the tiny "chicken wing" I ate and focused my attention on the conversations and the yummier food on the table, like the lobster.

However, as I drove home by myself after dinner and without other distractions, I could not help but think that the wretched piece of "chicken" that I ate was more akin to this ugly thing. I felt so queasy. My hubby's response to my frog-eating experience was "yummy," because he's a frog-lover. Having been duped into tasting it, I can say that it is horrid and does not taste like chicken at all. (Hubby and other frog-lovers have told me that frog tastes a little like chicken.)

Ugh. The reminiscing is making me feel icky again. I think I'd prefer to suffer the pain of frogging an entire sweater than to eat another tiny frog leg again.

Beach Knitting

This past Saturday, my knitting group had our 3rd Beach Knitting Picnic. Our previous events were held at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, which is on a small cliff right over the beach. Due to some renovations at the park, we had to change the location to Aliso Beach. Aliso Beach doesn't have a grassy park, but there are some fire rings right on the beach and it's a rather quiet and lovely beach, as you can see from the photos.


It had poured the night before, and in some parts, it rained pretty heavily Saturday morning as well. Luckily, after a brief shower, the beach was the epitome of a quintessential sunny California Beach. What made the picnic even lovelier were the fantastic ocean waves that resulted from the storm system.


Due to the rain and the location change, we had a smaller turnout than the previous 2 picnics. We still had a lovely group of folks and I even brought my spinning wheel and spun with good company, great weather, and the sounds of crashing waves behind me. And in a classic "Oh, Aubrey!" moment, Aubrey, who is known for losing things, somehow dropped her wallet about 10 feet away from our pop-up tent. I don't know how much time had passed (at least 10 minutes) between her dropping it and me spotting it, but had the beach been more crowded, I have no doubt that someone would have swiped it within seconds. Tsk, tsk.

After the picnic, I went over to my friend Rachel's for a dinner party. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours, I felt an allergy-induced pre-asthma attack coming on. I was allergic to something in her apartment -- maybe her cats, maybe something else. My chest began to tighten as my throat itched and my sinuses swelled. I excused myself from the party and thankfully, by the time I got home, some of the itchiness subsided. I thought I was in the clear-- then,l my right eye started feeling weird and itchy. Uh oh!

When the allergy gets in my eye, the white part of my eye usually swells up, as if it's a giant hive. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst eye allergy I've had, and 1 being a mild short-term irritation, this one rated about a 5, because I although my vision blurred a little from the constant watering, it didn't hurt. I only get 10s when I'm in Houston without my drugs. The worst one lasted for more than 2-3 days, watered 24/7, blurred my vision and hurt so much due to the extreme swelling of the white part that I could not sleep or barely open it.

All in all, despite the allergy and having an eye that looked like I had been smoking pot all night, the Saturday turned out pretty fantastic and lovely, especially the beautiful crashing beach waves.

Arrrr, Aye Matey!

Ahoy! Being that today is talk like a pirate day (whoever came up with that??), I decided to go with the them and post my skull sock pattern that I designed for my sister.

I put in instructions for a men's size, and although I think it's correct, please be forewarned that I have not yet tested it.

I don't think I possess any pirate energy in me, but perhaps it's dormant. You see, after reading some historical studies on Taiwan, a part of me wants to believe that I am descended from pirates. Whether that can be really be established or verified is another issue. However, consider this: I belong to the 10th recorded generation, which would date us back to the 15th-16th century. Historical information shows that many pirates used the island during the Ming Dynasty and some had later settled. In the 1600s, after driving away the Portugese, the Dutch established colonial posts and ruled the island. Pirates still surrounded the island, so the Dutch entered a treaty to ensure the safety of their ships with a pirate leader. According to "Island in the Stream," a pirate subordinate with my last name led a revolt with the people of the island in 1652.

I don't know if anyone in my family will be able to give me more information, but I do like the idea that there's a possibility that there are pirates in our past. I mean, saying that you're descended from pirate explorers does have a nice ring to it - it's exciting, isn't it?

Pirate fantasies aside, my next fantasy is that Knitty will select my pattern for their winter issue. Maybe the third time is the charm. I can't post a photo or the pattern that I submitted, while it's being reviewed, and I don't want to jinx it too much. But I guess it's safe to say that I submitted a versatile knitting accessory that can be adapted for both men and women. I knitted it in one of my favorite fibers -- an alpaca and silk blend. yum!

I'm also happy to announce that I recently sold the yarn swift that I had made for a joint Etsy and Instructables contest. A very lovely woman purchased it for her daughter's birthday.

Help Search for Steve Fosset

As the post title suggests, this is no ordinary crafty post. As you may have already heard via your favorite news source, adventurer Steve Fossett has been missing for a week now. Steve Fossett is actually the uncle of one of my knitting friends, a wonderful woman who started the knitting group to which I belong.

Family, friends and volunteers are assisting in the search. If you'd like, so can you. Due to fabulous technology and Google Earth, many people are able to volunteer and assist in the search by reviewing satellite images. It's easy! All you need to do is to download Google Earth, and sign on to your Amazon account to start. Follow the instructions here and hit the "accept hit" button to start.

Information on the satellite image search is on Steve Fossett's website.

Thanks for your help!

Muy Caliente

I'm sure I'm not the only knitter suffering in the summer heat. There's been a sizzling heat wave in Southern California. However, the heat certainly is no comparison to places like Arizona and Texas, but the it's definitely crampin' my style!

I know some knitters take a mini vacation from knitting in the summer, or only work on cooler projects. I've already done some cotton projects and baby stuff, and I no longer have any more hot-weather-friendly WIPs. So, what am I knitting? A project meant for winter -- terrible in this heat -- I can hear my friends now: "Well, Anne is a little crazy." -- And as luxurious and soft as baby alpaca is, in this hot weather, the warmth and heat created by the soft fibers is my lap in rather torturous. I could turn on the A/C and be super comfortable, but then I'm trying to be thrifty and energy efficient. I've also been getting weird looks from people when I whip out my thick winter project in public. Such was the case when hubby and I waited for our table at The Melting Pot this past Sunday night in over 90 degree weather.

I haven't done much spinning either. I'm still working on my alpaca lace spinning project, which has not progressed much at all. This blue one I did a while back, but I never got around to documenting it. It's my second plied project, and 4th spinning project overall, spun from a hand-painted Australian Merino on Aubrey's Ashford Kiwi.

What should I make from it? hmmm...