Bats In My Belfry

A beautiful sunny day in the Bodensee. It's cool, 45°f but that's just how I like it being a fan of chilly weather. I'm in such a good mood I'm going to try, yet again, to get some photos in here that don't splat all over the place and retain the formatting I want.

That might put paid to the good mood but I am determined to figure this out. After having mucked about with numerous templates, having read all there is to read, it appears I'm doing this right but it's a crap shoot whenever I save. It rarely looks like I want it too. So, let's give this a go.

This is what I have come to call The Boucle From Hell. It haunts me from my stash. I want it to go away. Notice the bizzaro variegation? Well, I joined a KAL and thought I'd go ahead and use up the rest of this and be done with it. Big shawl, use up all this, be happy and never buy this stuff again. It's so soft but great jumpin' Jehosephat it's contentious stuff.

Dug out my copy of The Mists of Avalon which I brought with me when I moved here and haven't seen since I first got it figuring it would be a nice evening to knit this albatross. It was. It rained (how very unusual) and the rain on the roof window (what ARE those called, I am drawing a blank) made some beautiful patterns. The Monstrous Regiment (Feline Division) was quite taken with it, sitting there attempting to murder the raindrops that trickled down the pane.

When I got to the point where I couldn't stand to knit anymore I got a bit more done on my Brainless Wooly shawl:

I grow more and more fond of this as I progress. Nothing fancy at all but if I can get it softened just a wee bit it'll be marvelous for burrowing come next winter. Not sure what posessed me to do this in sock yarn but I do love the simplicity and how plain it is. Utilitarian is what I am after and this is going to be just that. It's superwash so I should be able to just wash it. I hope. Heh.

Another holiday caught sneaked up on us. May Day tomorrow. We knew about it but simply weren't paying attention to the calendar. Of course, it didn't occur to us until after the shops had all closed yesterday. Not too big a worry except The Monstrous Regiment (Feline Division) will be short one can o' food. I suppose they will have to make do with tuna.

The poor things.

Done. Actually done awhile ago but with being all sidetracked (see earlier post today's date) I hadn't gotten 'round to getting it posted.

Simplest of patterns, one of my "brainless" projects. Mile-A-Minute standard done in soft, fuzzy Baby Uni with errm, F hook.

Make six panels and crochet together with single crochet. Add one round of single crochet for edging and voila…brainless 'ghan for the gift stash. Just about the perfect size for car seat or tucking about a wee one in a stroller. If they even call them strollers here. Hrmm. Need to look that one up.

Anyway, was good to get a project done.

Edited to add: One of these days I'll figure out how to place these photos so they look like they do in the editing template. Until then, well there's the result, kind of like tossing paint on a wall and seeing what sticks.

Bah. 

I order a fair bit of stuff from the U.K., mainly because I can figure out *how* to order from the U.K.

I had held off on something I really wanted, telling myself that I could have it when it became apparent that I was going to stick to my knitting. Was touch and go for a bit there and I still have days when I bemoan fate doling out a lack of people in the area with whom to consult but I am well and truly hooked. Still intimidated but even if I never made any further progress (and I will, no doubt) I have enough skills now to do quite a bit.

Denise Needles. Ordered. Received. Oh my.

I was working on one of my cotton towels on a 3.75mm straight and thought, what the hell, let's migrate over to a spiffy new Denise circ.

I like how the cables twist/snap together. Seems pretty well anchored. Now I have read of problems with these connectors so I'll be watching for any sign. So, I knit onto the circ. and boy, was this a change for me. I had been using bamboo, errm, I've forgotten which brand. Was a set…well anyway…

First thing I noticed was the difference in the tips. The Denise's are much more blunt. Not a problem with this cotton, actually a good thing as I haven't managed to split the yarn once since I switched. The next thing pointed out what I guess would be considered, uhm, bad. Heh. I am having trouble holding the circs. Too short. Now I have pretty large hands, no doubt but I guess I was still using the "death-grip-from-hell" on the straights because I noticed straight away that I was going to need to adjust to the new needles. I think I was resting the lower part of the straights a great deal on the underside of my right hand. The Denise's solid bit ends about 3" shy of where the straights did. So I'm kind of awkward at this point.

I am very impressed with the cables themselves. Nice and sturdy and thicker than I expected which I rather like. The circs I have (Inox) have a rather thin cable and there is catching going on when I use them. None so far with the D's.

I am knitting faster, almost scary faster. Very slick, yarn moves nicely. So nicely that I picked up the bamboos again to make sure that there weren't any niggling little pits or rought spots. Nope. None. So I'm a bit oochy about how the yarn is gliding but I've a feeling that's going to end up being a good thing.

The cleverness of the Denise's is a real delight. The way everything fits nicely into the case. I see a problem in the future though…me…putting everything back in the case. Heh. I have crochet hook and needle cases (I think 2 of each sort) and all the needles and hooks are in vases or jars. I like the way that looks and I like being able to just grab. Somehow I don't think that's a good idea with the Denise's though.

So, looking forward to working more with them. This towel should be done in a day or two and then I've plenty of projects to migrate over to the new needles.

I was going to write something all soul-baring and deep, indeed I started it about 4 times and decided "hell with it". Partially because I'm in a great mood and don't feel like dredging and partially because I am squidgy about posting stuff like that in public.

Yes, I am repressed.
Instead, I'll write about what I've been up to and what has kept me busy and not…here.

Opacity-Go here!

I cannot even find the words to express my utter admiration for the talent of "Mr. Motts". This is one hell of a talented young man and I am in total awe of his photography. He has inspired me to stop my current, lazy "point'n'shoot" methods (and to buy a new digital camera which TTS is currently and happily researching the hell out of) and really stop and think about what I'm wanting to capture. I don't even remember how I came across his site but I was done for for about 3 solid days. I crocheted and knitted whilst going through his tremendous portfolio not getting much done, actually, because I was just so gobsmacked. Go there. Be awed and fascinated.

Blood Sugar Woes

Hypoglycemia is…teh suq. I'm not too bright either because I keep doing stuff that I know will exacerbate it. Until I moved to Germany I was doing rather well on a basically low-carb diet. I simply quit eating sugary stuff and was careful about what carbs I ate. No muss, no fuss and I did really well. Felt great, energy abounded which was a good thing because the time leading up to the move and the move itself was a draining deal (with lots of fun stuff intermingled, like a road trip from CO to NYC whereupon a large ocean liner was embarked upon leading to 5 days of utter laziness and peace followed by me driving from Southampton to Dover…complete with about 4 hours of constantly telling myself KEEP TO THE FECKIN' LEFT…which was then followed by a ferry trip across the Channel to Calais ending up with the most hair-raising passenger experience I've ever had at the hands of a German driver or any driver for that matter…brother-in-law and ultimately to me writing this completely, ridiculously long sorta-sentence).

And then I encountered the Schwabian food-style. Okay, so there are amazing pastries, bread, noodles etc. here. Pretty much everything I had stopped eating. Hell, I never used to eat much in the way of desert preferring to have my beloved dark chocolate or the occasional bit of pie or, uhm, Cheetos (I love artifcially coloured, extruded corn paste). Anyway, I nose-dived off the "eat right" wagon with the thought of having to try these local specialties.

I tried 'em for nearly 3 years and I paid for it. So now I've got to haul myself back on that wagon and, having well and truly "tried" pretty much everything there was to try, get back to eating in a way that doesn't leave me with days like yesterday. Which was a massive brain-fog competing with a major anxiety attack.

No fun.

Today, not having had any sugar at all aside from what might naturally occur in mettwürst, Finn bread (kind of like pumperknickel but, ermm, stouter and shaped like an English muffin) and some Earl Grey tea, I feel like my old self again. I have been experimenting with what I can and can't eat and it's pretty clear what the path is. Happily Lindt now makes a 99% chocolate bar (heavenly, bitter, makes the TTS freak out chocolate) which my silly system apparently doesn't see as a Bad Thing.

Funny how that works, huh. Oddly, the worst of it is not having the breads here. They are incredible and varied. I can manage a bit here and there (and I shall) but not the amounts I have been snarfing.

Crocheting and Knitting

My wooly shawl is proceeding apace. Big enough for a small child now but I've a long way to go because this is going to be one of those "burrow into on cold nights and be all wrapped up and warm". I am a bit concerned about the potential for itchies but since it's a "superwash" wool, I have plans which involve fabric softeners. Hopefully this doesn't munge it up. I figure I'll be done with this shawl in, oh, another month or so at the rate I'm going. It's my "brainless" project. I have to have one of those going at all times. I am not one to just sit and do anything. Too fidgety. So if I'm surfing the Web, I gotta be doing something with my hands. I am too much a newb at knitting to be able to much but knit but with much of the crocheting I do, once the pattern is established, off I go and this shawl is perfect for that because it's the most brainless pattern (3 dc clusters between previous row 3 dc clusters with increases at each end of a row, kind of like a half-granny square). I can do this in my sleep.

Then there's the knitted towel pattern that I really like. I made one to see how it went (learning increases and beefing up my immunity to gobs of garter stitch making me nuts) and I was really surprised by how well it actually functions. Dries things nicely and washes up really well. So I decided to make some more because I don't always manage to do laundry often enough. This one was not so good. In fact it's kind of sad but I don't much care because it's for me. I was so involved in reading Opacity.us that I didn't notice that there was a honking big knot (factory tied) in the yarn and I was so impatient to keep going that I didn't want to tink back so I just cut and went from there. I'm still staring at the two ends deciding the best way to connect 'em. My gauge was not my usually consistent either. Likely that had something to do with the back spasms I've had the past week. And then there was the yarn colour. Now I've used this particular yarn colour before and it was fine…not anything to get excited about but okay. It is NOT fine in a huge swath like a towel. Seemed to take a hell of a lot longer to finish than the first one but I think that was due to my wanting this imperfect thing off the needles.

Of course, I cast on for another one this morning. Heh.

Posting this and then grabbing the camera to get all the pictures I took of my new goodies (Denise's!) and some of the members of the "Monstrous Regiment" (feline division) because this post has turned into a wall o' text.

Disclaimer: I am getting really irritated. Not sure whether to be irritated with myself for being ignorant or with Wordpress for providing no way to see where the photos are going to go. Worse yet, it looks one way in the editor and goes completely haywonky on publish. Anyway, I'll try to eliminate the possibility that it's me being boneheaded and sorry for the awful formatting.

Beeeyooootiful day here on the Bodensee. 70f (21c), low humidity, gorgeous blue skies, big puffy white clouds over the Alps, light breeze. Can't ask for anything better. Perfection.

So we went shopping. Heh.

Miracles do happen:
And, for those who don't believe in miracles, think again for one has, lo, occured. TTS found not one but 2 LYSes. And told me about them, voluntarily. Even better, we hunted them down. They are truly "local" (well, within 20kms). Didn't go into either one of them because I'm trying to keep within budget but just knowing they're there is like a tonic. Buuuuahahaha, LYS…oh yeah. So I need to work on my vocabulary for use in these shops. I think I have the important stuff down though:

Me: Hallo! Ich habe gelt! (Hello, I have money!)

Them: Das ist gut. (That's good.)

Me: Gib mir viele garne. Jetzt! (Give me lots of yarn. Now!)

Them: Geben Sie uns Ihr ganzes Geld. (Give us all your money.)

Me: Hurrah!

Them: Verrückte Amerikanerin. (Crazy American.)

Yeah. I'm ready.
Wool redux:

Found some "Sport & Strumpgfarn" that's 75% "Schurwolle" (which translates to "new wool". Hmm, do they sell…old wool?) and is superwash in a light grey. It spoke to me and said "I am meant to be your burrow-shawl, oh yes I am.". I've been wanting to make a rather large (okay, honkin' huge) shawl-esque thing for when I curl up to read at night. I've had chronic neck problems since I broke my neck back in '79 and it is really susceptable to drafts.

Yes, see. It is in the process of becoming the burrow-shawl. Actually a lot more done with this one now, it's about the right size for a ten-year-old. Lots more to go but it's a lovely brainless project that I don't have to even look at to work.
So, I poked, fondled and decided that I'd give this stuff a "go". Between the poking and before the fondling, TTS started fidgeting. He was torn between staying right there in the hopes that I wouldn't buy too much and not wanting to be there because being around yarn somehow gives him the fidgets. He took off mumbling "All my nice new money….".

I didn't get all that much. Heh. Got some more cotton for the ongoing Flohmarkt (flea market) coming up next autumn, nothing exciting there…potholders, dishclothes, sachets.

Various shots of Friedrichshafen & surrounds would be here except the batteries on the camera decided they needed recharging rightdamnnow. So, putting this to draft 'til they charge up, hopefully ready later today.

Look, pidgers! No way to tell how this'll all line up because I'm apparently too inept to see how to get them inserted in the edit template so that they don't look craptacularly formatted. Oh well, something to strive for.

I always confuse the names of the two major grocery stores here. This shot was taken so that I can maybe, finally, remember which one is which. Oh, and spell it correctly.

<sigh> I really must figure out how to do this properly. Anyway, there, to the left…makes my little American heart go pitter-patter. And check out the gorgeous blue skies. Not a trick of the camera, they really were that blue.

Ruddy hell. No matter what I do the damnable picture of the Alps gets slammed up too high. I am about to throw a major temper tantrum which'll really amuse TTS who is already amused that I'm not doing this via a Web site in actual HTML. I'm beginning to think it just might be easier.

God knows where the next photo's gonna end up but here goes…I know, it's huge but that's the only way you'll be able to see the Alps. Yes, there are Alps there, on the horizon. Helps to squint. That's Switzerland folks. Lots of apple trees around that field and in the mid-distance is Friedrichshafen Airport.

I think I may have sussed out the photo thing, maybe…here's a gratuitous shot to test…

Well looks like if I don't try to get fancy and keep the photos to the left margin and below text, it works. One more try (sorry for anyone who is suffering through this spasm).

Photo below or I'm gonna pop a vein…

Yeah, if I keep to left, it seems to work. BTW, that's my new magnet board (for when I get brave enough to knit via charts) with my trusty Ovaltine water bottle and my spiffy needle holder (it's actually a thingie that you fill with water and hang on radiators to add humidity but the cats wouldn't leave it be, they kept fishing in it) and it's glass so it got appropriated.

Look at that! Sunshine, blue skies! Has actually been sunny all day long and almost 60°f. No rain so far since the sun came up. Hurrah! Spring might just show up after all.

Went with the big size because I'm chuffed. Woke up yesterday morning feeling kind of bleh and decided the perfect antidote would be to accomplish something I'd never done before.

Now, in the scheme of things, making hats isn't up there at the stunningly accomplished level but hey, it was a first.

The wee little preemie hat was the first thing to pop out of my head. I just started working and along it came. Kind of surprised me but I wasn't about to argue with something finally coming out of my head, through my hook and into reality. The kid's hat came next. Will do a matching scarf for the kid's hat.
I was gobstopped and tempted to go roust TTS and brag but he was unconcious in his DoE (Den of Electronics) and resting up in preparation for the trauma of today (actual on-site work which has taken at least 8 hours…ooooh, he's gonna be a grouch when he gets home).

Hats. Wonder what'll come next? Socks would be nice, just so I can say "yeah, I can do socks.". Maybe my Amazon shipment (containing a book on crochet socks) will be here tomorrow if Deutsche Post has recovered from the holidays or if Customs hasn't waylaid the parcel. I'm ambivalent about crocheted socks. Somehow those two words just don't seem to go together. Slipper socks, sure but in-your-shoes socks? Well, I'll know soon, hopefully. I'm still scared stupid about knitting socks which is all the more reason to just give it a go.

From "blah" yesterday to energetic and ambitious today. Good progression, that. Dived into the "fridge from hell" and got it emptied out, cleaned and did up all the Tupperwear-esque containers. Happily nothing had gone into the "oh dear, what was this?" stage. I'm getting better at this. Heh.

Cooked up some tortellini (ricotta & basil) with a nice bechamel and pigged out. Not sure when TTS'll be home and if he'll be wanting to eat or just pass out in the DoE. There's plenty if he wants it. Marketing is going to have to happen tomorrow since we're about out of everything including kitty litter which was a bummer since I wanted to get the pans cleaned and refilled today.
Have 5 of the "core" of the M-A-M baby afghan done and will have the sixth done tonight. I do these modularly. The cores, then the edges of the strips and finally put 'em together. Will definitely have that project done this week.

Have decided to frog the variegated blue scarf thing. Waaaay too heavy and I think it's too wide anyway. So I think I'll use that yarn to make cat beds. With 4 cats they are needed. I have one basket that is in constant use and sometimes there are issues over who gets to burrow in it. Hopefully a floppy basket for each cat will cut down on the fussing. After all, they couldn't possibly sleep on the bed all day and night, right? Have to rotate napping-grounds.

…to go back and stick all these photos in the proper entries (I am still quite notsodamngood at this stuff), here's the results of the last foray into the "Big City" as well as books received recently.

Because I have a thing for afghans and squares/geometrics. Plus I have this idea that if I go through this and the following book (below) and do at least one of each square (ambitious that) I might, just might learn something.

This one had me positively drooling and wanting to whip out some yarn and get right to work except that I don't have any decent yarn to work with. I am NOT doing these in acrylic. Nope. Because sometimes I actually put down the yarn and play games. Oblivion, like its predecessors, is a very involved game. Definitely not something that can be quickly played. I think it took me nearly a year to play Morrowind.

So this'll help me figure out what I'm doing. That could cut the playing time down to, oh…10 months or so. Heh.

My very first sock yarn. I did a swatch with it (on 3.00mm) and I was pretty happy with my tension/gauge but damned if I could get a decent shot of it. That's CowHazel next to the yarn. She guards my desk and is good for very odd looks from people who see her.

I was surprised that TTS decided that just maybe he might like a pair of socks in this yarn. I think he had hand-knitted socks equating "very thick things that are way too hot". So, I guess I will just have to learn how to make socks now.

Someday. When the planets are correctly aligned and I'm in the mood to tussle with 4 needles.

Yarn snobs need to look away for a moment:

It's all acrylic.
Charity/practise knitting will occur.

Camera isn't getting these colours right. This came out way too bright and the only thing I can think to do is give it another go in natural daylight, y'know, with sun and all and well, let's nobody hold their breath because I don't think that's happening anytime soon. Pity because despite looking like a clown puked everywhere, this really is a very nice, autumnal blend.

Looks like I still need to work on how to place images.

Blahs

Since it's (surprise) another rainy, gloomy (albeit warmer, in the mid-50s f) day and since I could not stay asleep at all last night, I'm running on low revolutions today. Heh. Did manage to arse myself enough to cook twice and do most of the dishes (waiting for TTS to be done with his supper so that I can get everything done up and put away) and do a load of laundry. Finally decided it just wasn't worth fussing about, made some Gorgonzola penne, a nice big cup of Irish tea (strong the way I like it with a bit of cream, yeah, heretical that) and came up here to blog read/write and move some more stuff into my yet-to-be-cleverly-named room. Which leads to…

The Desk

Well, this about kicked our butts. It was pretty funny actually. I had full intention of putting it together myself but decided that since I am not so swift with deciphering instructions I'd ask TTS to help. Good thing, that since it was wonky from beginning to end. I'm not sure what I was thinking (or sitting on) at the store but the desk is way too high. The keyboard drawer thingie is fine but where the monitor would go would give me a crick in the neck in short order. This is especially bad since it's meant to be used with my notebook. But, I've got it sorted and I like it. There was a bit of warping in the materials and the wood is extremely (ala pine) soft so we have visions of the thing coming apart and flinging its bits and pieces all over the room.

What is it about put-together furniture in Germany that there has to be a real torque factor involved? Two chairs now that we were damn near scared of what with the construction being under serious pressure, kind of like pulling an English longbow. Then again, they're holding out and haven't blown apart so I guess it's all good.

The Racing Chair

This was one of those misunderstanding situations. TTS had found this (different colours but the model is the same…well near as I can tell…I'm no expert on these things…heh):

It all started with his talking about how he'd found it and somehow I missed the part where "found" = "ordered". I had reservations about this thing sitting in the middle of the living room. Then I got to thinking about it. We really don't have a living room any longer. It's been overtaken by the TTS and turned into a TTS-den. I used to be irritated about this given our sworn pact that the living room would be kept "nice" so that we wouldn't have hysterics if someone stopped by.

Well, that never quite worked out since TTS moved into the living room area (it's supposed to be a combination dining room/living room) and that means it looks like a tornado hit it dropping electronic stuff, gaming stuff and massive quantities of soda bottles.

I had countered this whole thing, when I thought we were just discussing it (teach me to pay closer attention!) with "uh, isn't that really just a bit much?" and somehow we came upon the idea of a nice folding screen so that the nosey neighbors who adore peering in the large, clear glass panel of the front door wouldn't be treated to this further proof of extreme, un-German eccentricity.

So when he ordered the chair, he ordered not one but two of the folding screens (very plain, but I like 'em, turns out we only needed the one).

Time passes and he announces that he's waiting for the chair. Guh? That's when we figured out that I hadn't been on the same page as he was. This chair cost about 220.00USD. And it's now being set up in the middle of the living room TTSden.

Way I see this? Those Denise's I've been lusting after are mine with about 200.00USD worth of yarn without any guff.
Which I just did from Kangaroo yarn in the U.K. Whoooo hoooo!

Sometimes these things just work out for the best.

Reverting to old ways
Whilst rummaging about the 'Net I saw a wee MAM (mile-a-minute) baby afghan and something went *SPINK* inside my head and before I knew what I was doing…I had some Baby Uni (acrylic, softsoftsoft) yarn in one hand and a size F hook in another and had 60 rows of the centre done.

Well now.

Just a simple light blue and white thing that will be pretty good for a car-seat blanket or something like that and I just am flying through it. This is the sort of thing I sometimes despair of happening with knitting. That deal where your hands just know what they're doing. They just cruise along, doing their thing and know *instantly* when they've misplaced a stitch or the stitch isn't perfectly formed and I can stop, look down and immediately fix it and not cruise on for a dozen rows and THEN see it. And of course it's so much easier to back-track in crochet.

Oh, and here are my guardian witches:

I think my brain needed the break and my shoulders too. When I knit, I get tense because I am so worried about dropping stitches or miscounting or doing anything that is going to cause me to have to backtrack because, well, I haven't really figured out HOW to backtrack yet. I can tink within a row but I get completely boggled at row ends. Just.Does.Not.Compute. (yet, damn it, I will figure this out eventually, oh yes I will!). So unless I'm doing something absolutely straight garter (like a scarf) I find my shoulders moving closer and closer to my ears 'til I realise I'm doing a pretty good imitation of Quasimodo.

And do I stop? Oh hell no. I keep going because I love this stuff. I am addicted. The flow of the yarn, the way it comes together (even plain ol' garter) fascinates me. Mucking about with selvedge edges can entertain me. I *must* have selvedge. Must. I cannot abide without. It can be either ssk or "chained" but I have to have it. Helps when trimming or putting things together and I suspect it's due to my crochet background.

Doesn't help that I'm not the most patient thing on the planet either. Knitting takes a lot of time, I suspect even when one actually has a clue as to what they're doing. Crochet seems to fly by. Conversely I am still amazed by how much less yarn knitting takes. Trade off. Heh. I think, too, I have a case of the "OMG, I have to finish something or my head will explode"-itis. Of course it's entirely my fault for deciding that the two things that I would work on are afghans. One honking huge one for TTS and one smallish one for whomever decides to reproduce next.

Bit of a whinge
Germany (at least southern Germany) has now shut down 'til next Tuesday for the Easter holidays. They take this very seriously around here. I'm somewhat curmudgeonly about it especially since the timing went wonky on my latest order from Amazon.co.uk. What was meant to have shipped and arrived by yesterday didn't ship 'til yesterday despite the items being listed as "ships within 24 hours". Usually not a big deal but I'm nearly done with my latest book-Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. When I first moved here, I got caught flat-footed so many times by the, to me, numerous holidays, all religious, that caused a complete shutdown. TTS wasn't much help because his work is such that he doesn't have an actual "work week", he works when he wants/needs to (project oriented with differing due dates), including holidays and weekend and so holidays usually mean little more than the phone doesn't ring. He usually doesn't know what day of the week it is, nevermind it's a holiday. His mother, bless her heart, soon got into the habit of warning when a holiday approached. She's such a good soul.
All Saints Day (1 November) was the first one to bite us. Not knowing everything would be shut down meant we were out of a great deal of stuff for a loooong weekend. Happily one gas station was open which meant we had access to some basics (cat/dog food, milk and beer, if we were beer drinkers which we aren't). So, after a year of making note of these, to me, new holidays, I finally got to the point where I was no longer surprised. Live and learn.

As a spoiled American it took me a bit to get used to the idea that stores were not open nearly as much as I was used to and, most particularly, the "lunch break" concept. Many, maybe even most, stores close daily for 2 hours (usually noon to two or one to three) and then re-open 'til five or six p.m. Okay, I'll admit it. This drove me nuts. Given that TTS is generally not vertical 'til at least one p.m., that meant that the errands rarely got run 'til mid- to late-afternoon by which time the selections are minimal (baked goods, meats, produce etc.). My habit for decades had been: get up, adjust nicotine and caffeine levels, be out the door by 10 a.m. and running the errands. Home, put away and then I had the rest of the day to do my thing. So by 4 or even 5 p.m. I'm on the downside energy/ambition-wise.

But hey, I'm the one who decided to make the change so I adjusted but I still don't get the whole thing. Near as I can tell (from asking) the whole 2 hours off at lunch is a carry over from back when the main meal was at midday (which is a fine habit actually, eating one's largest meal at night never made sense to me anyway). So the women needed that two hours to get home, cook, serve the family, clean up and get back to work. It's only been recently and I do mean recently, since I moved here which is coming up to 3 years ago, that stores stay open past 5 or 6 p.m. and I remember wondering when these poor working women managed to do their shopping. Saturdays used to mean everything closed at one or two p.m., so I guess that was when they did it. Saturdays still are evil days to do the shopping unless it's after 3 p.m. or so (many stores now stay open 'til six on Saturday). Forget anything being open on Sunday except gas stations, florists and bakers (those last two only early in the a.m.) because Sundays are "go have coffee" days (after church). Families get together for coffee (with lots and lots of sweet stuff, wonderfully, excellent sweet stuff). Guess you're meant to bring flowers too. We don't much partake being somewhat "allergic" to that sort of gathering.

I kind of miss the 24 hours groceries and, most of all, places like Barnes and Noble or Borders etc. I so miss being able to wander the aisles and discover something new or grab a pile o' possibilities and, with a cup of coffee, browse them and decide which are keepers. That has probably been the thing I miss the most. Well, Cheetos figure in there too. Heh. Yes, of course there are bookshops here (smallish, narrow in selections) but I haven't yet reached the point where I want to sit down with a book in German for my "end-o-the-day" unwind reading. Happily Amazon.co.uk exists and sometimes even Amazon.de (they can get English books but since they, apparently, get them for their U.K. division the only trade-off is time vs. shipping cost). 

I also really, really, really, miss the ability to go into a store which sells yarn and needles and hooks etc. and do the same thing. Browse, rummage, feel, ponder. Having to order or buy here at the largish grocery chains (acrylic & cotton only) is frustrating. There is a local mail-order place but I'm undecided about their quality. I went with acrylic for the TTS-ghan because that's what he wanted and it's kind of "bleh". Their prices aren't all that great either. Most of my digging around on the 'Net has shown that ordering from the U.K. or Canada will be the way to go. I've had excellent results with one Canadian company (they knew how to fill out the declaration paperwork) and one U.K. company (although I don't like the Rowan I got and the shipping was slow). Of course, I'm sure there are not-so-LYSes in the bigger cities but that's not so much an option here. So, I feel quite sorry for myself. Heh. I mean, really, how is one to have a decent stash if one can't hit up stores and expand it? TTS is not at all unhappy about that. Humpfh.

Every time we see a new construction area, we hope that (against all rational thought) they will be building a Barnes and Noble right next to a CompUSA and a yarn shop.

Hasn't happened yet. Drat. Probably another bakery, shoe store and apotheke. I swear there are more shoe stores here in Germany than there are feet to put the shoes on. Bakeries and apothekes (pharmacies) are also very common.
Spring still eludes us although we're expecting a warm-up for a few days then, sigh, snow again. 

/end whinge.

Back to creating stuff and putting together desk, today is likely the day, assuming I can figure out the instructions.  

Been meaning to make note of the blogs I follow. I really didn't get into these until relatively recently. It just didn't percolate into my tiny little world.

But when I started out on my knitting journey this winter having no mentors, LYSes or anything of the sort here I knew to rummage on the 'Net. Well in the rummaging, I'd find references to so-and-so blog.

And so the door to knowledge, entertainment and a kind of invitational voyeurism opened.

The first one I really got into was Yarn Harlot. A whole weekend's worth. She cracked me up, awed me, gave me things to dream toward and has shown me things of beauty that transcend my ability to grok. And then there are the booksbooksbooks. All on order from Amazon.co.uk.

Then I found Queer Joe. Another brilliant knitter who just boggles me with his works. I like his direct style and obvious love for the art. And then there's…

Franklin. Dude! Sheep! Smart ass sheep! From Chicago (I grew up in Evanston)!

And Crazy Aunt Purl. This woman is nuts and I love it. Another weekend spent reading every single entry and learning quite a bit. She actually makes hats look like a possibility for me. Maybe. On a good day, after a g&t or two.

The Crochet Dude…holy shit! I thought I could crochet. Uhmm, no. Not compared to this fellow and I don't feel badly at all because he is a genius, absolutely no doubt about it.

Then I found…The Yarnpath. Another weekend, gone. Actually I am just getting caught up on her blog and the things I have learned? Priceless. I also love that she works with acrylics and makes no bones about it. Her tutorials have damn near got me thinking I might yet be able to do a sock (maybe even a whole pair!).
And the Mossy Cottage another magical site that I lost days of happy knitting whilst reading. Learned a lot, love the gardening/dyeing stuff (as if I could ever emulate that!) and her work? I'm green.

And of course, Rabbitch. What a lovely, quirky, in-your-face, living-out-loud woman.

Seems like a lot of great knitters live in Canada. Heh.

So I learn, I laugh, I cry with their losses and victories (and I'm not given to sniffling much but these folks can *write*!)and I am so grateful for the connections (even though I'm waaay too shy to comment) and so wish I'd had the sense to rummage whilst I still lived in the States and was able to take advantage of their recommendations, their sources and maybe even get to know some of 'em.

One day I'll get up the guts to thank each and every one of them for what they have given me. Entertainment, something to read in ENGLISH, the hope that I, too, might be able to achieve even part of what they have and the ability to watch them progress.

But for now, a heartfelt "thanks" even though it is kind of muttered from over here in my little backwater of the 'Net.

Der Zoll

With teeth clenched (bureaucrats, pshaw) we set off in the gloomy, cold, almost spitting real snow but really only solid rain to pick up The Tea. I think we were on the last day before they started levying penalties. So, handily remembering to bring the paperwork (printed out invoice from order to demonstrate value) and the forms we received via DeutschePost, off we went to F'Hafen. TTS knew it was by the McDonalds.

It wasn't.

Happily we were nearly out of gas, necessitating a stop at an Agip to get some fuel (and Dr. Pepper! Whooo hooo! Only place I know of in Germany, well down here anyway, that you can get a Dr. Pepper) and since we were right there, ask for instructions to get to the place. They were, to wit: "Just down the road there.". The arm waving seemed to indicate a left out of the station and off we went.

Now I'm figuring-customs, airport, probably closely related. TTS isn't sure about that but he does concede that it makes sense but this is, after all, Germany. Well, it was close to the airport. It was in the Convention Centre which is right up next to the airport. Of course the "just down the road there" neglected to cover the road ending with one of the sneaky "local traffic only" signs. These basically mean that, yes, this is a road. Yes, it looks just like a normal road and one would think you could drive on it but no. You can't unless of course you happen to live on the road in which case you can. Pay no attention to the fact that this bit of "locals only" road interrupts the flow of the main road which you can see picking up at the end of the "locals only" designated area.

I delight in driving down these roads whenever I can. I'm just like that.

Anyway, since the Polizei happened to be right there, I decided that discretion might be the better part of valour and tried to figure out a way around what amounted to a 2 block stretch of "locals only" road. Ended up being a backtrack of about a half mile to another road which ran right alongside the road we wanted (but since we weren't locals, daren't use because the Polizei were, well, right there, otherwise I'd've zoomed right on down it keeping the old "I'm American and dumb" handy just in case.) and finally got to the Convention Centre entrance at which point we saw the tiny "Das Zollamt" (think that's right) sign.

Hurrah.

In we get and mosey up to the counter in a very brightly lit, scrupulously clean office area and the very first thing we see is a box marked "BS Eingang". We looked at each other and burst out laughing. You see "eingang" means "entrance" or, in an office situation, "inbox". How very…honest. I so wanted to take a picture but we figured there's probably a law against taking pictures in federal offices.

Then we got to watch a bureaucrat in his native environment, calmly stamping forms. For a good 10 minutes. Whilst we stood there, fading from laughter to…"Ermm. Psst? Hello? Little help here? Jetzt? Heute? Schnell?". He finally looked up and pointed to yet another area where we repeated the same little routine although not for so long.

The Tea box came out. Small box and the problem was immediately obvious. The declaration sticker was tersely filled out with one word: "Teas". That was it. No value, no detail. Just "teas". Well, hell, now I couldn't even blame the bureaucrats. So then we shoved passed the invoices over the counter and were asked "what kind of tea?". Black tea. Just regular tea? Uhmm. Yeah, I mean, it's bleedin' tea, y'know? I don't have its lineage…it's just, tea.
Box gets opened (for the second time) and contents peered at and yes, it appears there is…TEA! But wait, we have to consult one book, a computer database and figure out at just what rate said tea will have duty applied. This took a good 10 minutes. I'm entertaining myself reading the lovely little book that came with the order, gratis, about tea, how to make it, and other factual stuff.

I finish the book.

We're still watching Speedy Schmidt rifling through a database. I'm getting the vibes that I have already committed a gaff by daring to read this book before we have paid the duty but hey, I'm a dumb American. I can do these things.
So, finally, after a bit of backing and forthing replete with form-filling in octuplicate (that's a word. Yup, I insist), we are told to pay something or other and to go back to the original fellow (Speedy Stamper) and pay up. It came to about eight Euros which I'm told isn't all that bad (on a 28.00 USD import). So he blazes over at the speed of a geriatric snail, accepts the money and I grab my box and haul ass out.

TTS informs me that there are different price ranges depending upon *how* something is packaged. So apparently you can be charged one rate for tea in a paper box and another for tea in a metal can. He said that the guy goofed because we were charged at the "metal can" rate when it was obvious that the tea was in a paper box.

I just stared at him and then asked how these folks manage to not squeak when they walk they're so anal. So off we go to finish the rest of the stuff (below) we needed to do in F'Hafen. When we got home, we discovered that there were four little metal cans of tea inside the paperbox.

Can't get anything past these Zoll guys!

Of Course There Needed to Be Yarn

Because I was just sooooo traumatised by having to deal with bureacrats nevermind the "locals only" thing. Just some acrylic and some cotton (beige for kitchen towels/face cloths). The acrylic will be Dulaan or Rot Kreuz (Red Cross) donation stuff (maybe I'll finally get up the guts to do a hat?). Also found a 4mm metal straight and matching circ. Not sure why those leapt out at me, but I've learned not to question these things. Of course, none of this is particularly picture worthy which is good considering the sun has departed to Italy or something and isn't deigning to show its self here. We did, however, get a glimpse of Switzerland through the clouds and they have snow on the ground, right down to the lake. Could be worse here I guess.

And then I had to muck about with said yarn

So get home and after discovering that the bureaucrats knew their stuff (tea in cans) and putting away the groceries which, yet again, didn't include any beef (sob), made some tea. Of course not the new tea, nope, but some Dallmayer's (fancy schmancy stuff supposedly) which was gifted to us in a Christmas box 2 years ago. I'm underwhelmed. Was still sealed but I've no clue as to whether it aged out or something but it was bitter and yucky and cried out for sugar or honey neither of which I like in tea. And then I tore upstairs to dive into the yarn.

One of the acrylics is a variegated blue chunky.

Perfect for bog-plain scarfage. Now here's something I've yet to figger out. Okay, on the ball label they give suggest needles. They are always way big. WAAAAAY big. Only thing I can figure is that every yarn is meant to be used for lace, even the chunky stuff because there is no way this stuff is going to not be holey and see through with the needles recommended. Or maybe I just don't get the German "style". I've got some sock yarn that informs me it should be done on 6-7mm. Now, this stuff is, and I'm not kidding, the thickness of embroidery floss. Uhm?

Well anyway, I've caught onto this nonsense of "suggested" and use it only to decide how many sizes down I should go to even think about getting something that doesn't resemble "moth-eaten". This called for 8-9mm and I'm working it, comfortably on 5.5mm. It's not tight, it's not bunchy, it's just a nice even fabric.

Silly Germans.

The other acrylics are a nice, pale grey (this really would make a nice hat I think, ala watch cap), a burgundy with a tiny bit of silver, very subtle. A slate blue, again with the tiny bit of silver (very tiny, just enough to give it a bit of shine, sorta, kinda) and the chunky variegated blue. Pictures when the camera's batteries recharge.

Apparently Brussel Sprouts are good for deaf Americans

So we get to the "mall" and TTS goes off to hit the ATM and pick up a new battery for my watch whilst I march into the grocery store. Meandering about the produce section trying to find some parsnips (have no clue what they are called in Germany nor do I even remember what one looks like. Saw a recipe that looked like a good way to try them again since it's been, oh, about 48 years since I had one. Well, a little (very) old lady came around the aisle and mashed into me with her cart (this happens surprisingly often in Germany, getting mashed into with shopping carts by little old ladies). She apologises and starts (ack!) talking to me. I trot out my "Ich bin eine Amerikanerin und taub." (I am American and deaf.) and she reaches up (and this wee thing was about boob height on me, I'm 5'5" when I stand up real straight.) and vigorously pats me on the head. More like thumping but there you have it. Then she starts gesticulating toward the Brussels Sprouts (ugh, gack, yuuuuch) and near as I could tell she was telling me that these are good for deaf (Americans?) people.

No thank you kindly. Those things are the one food that I simply cannot swallow. I just cannot do it. Throat seals up, nunh unh, nope. Not going down.

So I guess I'll just have to stay deaf…and American.

I have determined a suitable “punishment” for that Rowan wool that I was so disappointed in. I’m going to make a lowly, felted box. Yes, a box. With expensive (to my current budget anyway) wool yarn.

That’ll show the nasty, icky, scratchy stuff that I wouldn’t put anywhere on my body on a bet. Or anyone else’s for that matter.

CO 40, k across (with usual SSK at beginning of each row).
Carry on for 40 rows, add marker.
Carry on another 40 rows, add marker.
And once more, 40 rows, BO.

Pick up 40 stitches between 1st and 2nd markers and carry on for 40 rows.
Do it on the other side.

Sew the damn thing up.

Felt the living snot out of it.

Be smug about punishing the stupid yarn and not even particularly care about the outcome.

So there.

Seriously, am curious to felt without doing anything humongous and also mess about with this sort of construction because, well, I have a thing for containers of all sorts. Might also do something ala a square or rectangle with stitches picked up all around and then going off in the round from there. Felting and seeing where that takes me.

Pictures if there’s ever any bleedin’ sunshine in this country again.

Off to F’Hafen to brave Customs to get the tea and do a bit of shopping. Hopefully I can sneak in some more yarn. Hoping to find something bulky or chunky to whip out a couple of scarves for the charity stash.

More later.

Sickness is finally fading around here. Himself has mostly recovered. Was even up to a trip to F'Hafen during which there was yarn buying and even a new desk for me! I've been using what I would call a "table" and it just isn't big enough. I miss my humongous desk from back in the States. Thing was probably 4.5'x3'. Plenty o' room for all the essentials for someone who basically lives at their desk. Here, there's a tendency to use "workstation" type things. They are, well, carts. They're wide enough to hold a monitor and have a keyboard "drawer" (not fond of those) and there's literally no room for anything besides the monitor on the top surface. Now how in the hell am I gonna fit my lamp, my Palm, my keyboard, my trackball, my vase of knitting needles and crochet hooks, my ever-rotated and ever expanding collection of "Kinder Ei", Eyeore (who watches over all), coffee/tea cup, speakers and various other accoutrements?

I've managed but it's a cluster-uh..well, mess. I have little shelves and baskets and crap all over the place around my desk and given my total lack of being one with neatness, it's usually a frustrating mess.

I have found something that is very cool. It's a smallish (by my standards) desk surface with an "arm" (large) that swings out from in front of the desk to be a whole "return" (I think that's what we call 'em). Basically when opened it forms an "L" shaped desk. Love it. Now, if we can just get the clutter moved to get it out of the box and up here and set up, I'll be a happy camper.

Did manage to get a new grill and it is partially put together. I think Himself ran out of steam last night. There was banging and pounding and such for awhile and then silence. It's sitting in the middle of the living room, giving hints as to a final product. Then again, with the way the weather has been, probably no hurry.

Our venture into F'Hafen the day before yesterday was accompanied by snow. Yup, snow. The icky, heavy, wet, gloppy snow that I dislike the most. And it was cold. Now, keep in mind, I'm the one who rarely feels the need for a coat in winter and I was cold. Wind right out of the north blowing sneet and it went right to the bones. Then yesterday was all sunny and bright.

Pick a damn season and stick with it, Germany!

On the fiber front: nothing earth-shattering. Two more Himself-ghan squares done, one more of the random-baby-ghan done and I'm not feeling the love on that one. It came to be in order to use up some of the grocery-yarn so I could rationalise new purchasing (damn the luck not having a LYS from where I could sneak purchases like many do, no, I have to mail-order and whenever a package is delivered I'm busted since it's always a case of "Oh? What's that?" *sigh*).

Anyway, I decided to use this odd weight (it's like sport weight but not) of the grocery yarn double stranded. Using a pale blue and white together and I really do like how the colour is turning out but the yarn? Eh. Feels nice and soft (Baby Uni I think it is, by Peterle…yeah, yeah, acrylic, bite me) but working with it sucks. It works up best on bamboo needles and really drags on the Inox teflon (teflon knitting needles, heh). I'll probably finish the damn thing but I'm not liking doing it. It's good, though, for "imprinting". My hands need to learn and this is the sort of thing that ingrains them with the motions and tension etc. I may just downgrade this from afghan to car-seat blanket and bail as soon as possible.

The "German Winter Scarf" proceeds apace is done.

What I'm not getting here is the horrendous patterning. Notice on the right side, the first foot was one type of patterning, then it went off on a pooling trend. Meh. Anyway…

It, too, was born of an ill-considered but very enthusiastic purchase at the grocery. Boucle and I don't get on well but I am determined to use up this purchase. I figure, too, it's good to teach myself perseverance and how to work with really damn annoying yarn. The result is nice, soft and all, colours aren't awful but I'll be glad to see the end of this one. Working on that today.

I am a packrat. Oh yes. Major packrat. Shinies ooooooo! Well maybe I should give myself a little credit here. I'm a "recovering packrat". I'm nowhere near as bad as I used to be but I still have my moments. I buy tea/coffee cups that amuse. Back when I drank gallons (literally) of coffee per day, the criterion was size. Had to be large (I mean hell, who wants to run up and down stairs to get more coffee often?). Well having cut back on that and now using just an espresso/latte fancy machine thingie and, more to the point, lacking the patience to stand there and make what amounts to 5 cups of the stuff, I've started using more appropriate sized cups. Which of course is just an excuse to buy all kinds of cute new cups. I found one the other day (picture here) that is just perfect in size and amuses me.

Oh! And how on earth could I forget the best purchase of the foray the other day? I found, in MediaMarkt (kind of Germany's answer to CompUSA) a laptop bag that is going to be perfect for the combo purse/fiber bag.

It's a Valaguzza bag (I have no idea if this is a known brand or not. Google was kind of lacking in hits.). The very nice little booklet attached to it showed some nice apparel and one other bag that I WILL get eventually (assuming I find a source).

Anyway, it's basically a messenger bag dealie with a removable insert meant to be used for a laptop. Now I don't tend to move around with my laptop much so this looks to be a pretty good bet for all aside from the largest projects. Pop the in-progress bits in that and I'm set because the rest of the bag has lots of little slots and pockets for needles, hooks, gizmos and gadgets. Plenty of room for the paltry amount of "purse stuff" that I carry too (I'm a minimalist there: passport, license, insurance papers, lighter, PDA, sometimes a cell phone although with my hearing almost gone, that's not of much use anymore, and wallet). All that fits into a little zipper pocket.

Room for books, extra yarn, could easily carry a large project in the main compartment. It's lovely. Pictures, lazy ass, you know the drill.

And finally my new lighter. Oink.

Well the missing tea has turned up as well. It's in the clutches of German customs. Why? Because apparently the paperwork wasn't filled out properly and, near as we can tell, Customs has no idea what is in the package and what the value is.

Okay, now wait. This is the agency that utterly adores (apparently) digging through any incoming package. They love opening, rummaging, slapping huge stickers all over the package informing that, yes, they have pawed through your stuff. Okay, okay, I understand. Things are tense, terrorists might just include some sort of heinous device in and amongst tea and yarn and food stuffs from the U.K. We must all be strong and tolerate pawage.

I'm not much of one to deal with bureaucrats. Nope. I find it annoying to be on the receiving end of those who work in a job which seems, more often than not, to have a main prerequisite of strong passive-agressive tendencies (I know, it's a generalisation, deal). So when we received the cryptic notice that the package was being held pending "identification" (it's tea fer crissakes!) and, most likely, payment of more than it's worth, I was grouchy.

How hard is it to fill out the proper paperwork and send a damn package? Even I figured it out before moving here when sending various and sundries to Himself. USPS, FedEx, DHL, Airborne etc. etc. all know what they're doing. They won't LET you send an International package without the proper paperwork so it'll be interesting to see how this package was "documented". It did come via USPS so maybe someone was having an off day.

So I get over my sulks at having to waste an afternoon standing in line, dealing with bureaucrats (in German no less) and probably having to pay extra for something that should have just…arrived.

And then, I find out that they are closed. Now this irks me in general as I am a spoiled American who was used to longer hours than are deemed proper here. Stores close early, I still don't know how working folks manage to get to the market although the open hours are expanding all the way to eight p.m. Oooo. Anyway, so the notice received informed us that we had 7 days to come sort this out after which we start getting fined for, I guess, "being too damn slow". Lovely. So we decide to make a special trip to get the bloody stuff and come to find out they are closed because it seems that "national security becomes less important the closer it gets to the weekend".

Grrrrr.

So now, we have to make yet another trip to the "big city" (Friedrichshafen) next week in order to get this stuff. All the while the clock is ticking toward that "you WILL pay for delaying". I think we have 'til Tuesday, might be Monday depending upon how they count which of course remains a bit fuzzy and mysterious since there's no information we can find on just how they count. Weekends included? Not? Business days? Given a break for days they are closed?

All this for a packet of tea and an infuser. I swear I'm going to stop buying things from the States. This just isn't worth it. I went with this because it was highly recommended but if I end up having to pay for extra because they munged up the shipping that doesn't bode well for ordering from them again.

That had better be bloody effin good tea is all I can say.

The Spring That Wasn't

Here we are coming up hard on Easter, you know, the time of bunnies, and flowers and traditional Spring-like things and it's snowing. Again. I swear that Winter just isn't going to let up this year until, oh, June or something. It was just nasty awful last night with the damp cold and gloppy snow. On the plus side when the weather behaves like that my allergies (and I'm not even sure what I'm allergic to here) abate. So it's cold/snow and no allergies or Spring and dribbly snout.

At this point, I'll go with the dribbly snout.

Boucle Triangle Thing

I am hoping there will be enough of this boucle (100g.) to get a shawl from it but if not, hey the cats love blankets and such. It goes so much better with the metal needles (circs in this case since I really don't have any other metal needles. My collection is either bamboo or Inox teflon). I'm in grim determination mode with this boucle and WILL get it all worked up so I can move on and never, ever buy anything like that again.

It's funny (har, har) but *after* I bought this stuff (and a boatload of cotton, plain kitchen cotton) I read that these are two of the "worst kinds" for a newb to be working with. The cotton gave me no trouble aside from having to be careful not to split it but I was used to that from crochet but this boucle has been a real PITA.

So I work on the boucle until I feel my shoulders creeping up around my ears and then switch back over to the Sloth-ghan (Himself is heretofore known as the Ten-Toed Sloth, it suits and even he doesn't argue with the definition. So TTS he is.) which is a breeze giving no trouble aside from the endless amount that this project will engender but hey, by the time I'm done, I'm pretty sure I'll be a whole lot better in my knitting. If not, I'll need to revisit the whole idea of learning. Nah. I'm doing fine there. It's bog simple.

Organisation

This is a downfall for me. I'm *not* an organised person. At. All. I'm starting to see that I need to work on that a whole lot more. I'm one of those who generally knows where things are in what would appear to someone else as pure chaos which is nice and all but I have a sneaking suspicion that things might just go easier if I didn't have the whole chaos thing. TTS indulges in that theory too, he even has proven that there is a "migrational pattern" to the chaos and by putting that into place has pulled stuff out of the chaos when it was seemingly a lost cause.

My "new" kitchen (it's new to me, was a gift from my BIL's in-laws when they got a new kitchen) has been the testing ground for new, uh…ways. It's working out rather nicely. That's good in that I now have a kitchen that has a place for everything and everything in its place (mostly, sometimes the "place" is, ermm, on the counter) and it's lovely after the 2.5 years of dealing with the old kitchen. The old kitchen was functional but it was kind of cobbled together. A little sidetrip by way of explanation…

Here in Germany it seems that people travel about with their kitchens or just buy new ones. Seriously. Now this completely boggled my American self who is used to a dwelling having at least a modicum of kitchen stuff: fridge, stove, counters, sink, cabinets. Not here. Here you get a room with the plumbing and wiring there and that's it. So, when one moves into a new place one must buy a kitchen. It's not all that bad because entire kitchens here (appliances and all) are dirt cheap. You can get a perfectly fine kitchen (again, including oven/stove, fridge, sink, counters, cabinets) for like 500.00 USD.

Well when we moved in, we lacked that. The move from the States to here was expensive as hell (moving the critters alone was nearly 10,000 USD…yup. Ouch. But so worth it. I mean, really. Critters or fancy kitchen? Obvious choice there.). So the kitchen was a bit, well, slap-dash. There was a counter unit thingie that had a sink (oh and Germans seem to love dinky sinks…grrr. Both my sinks here have not been big enough to put a 16" frying pan in. And forget the idea of a double sink. Nope. That's rare and thus, pricey.) a 4 burner electric stove and a fridge (Most fridges here are tiny, like dorm fridges or the kind you find in RVs. Understandable because most kitchens are tiny.). Notice the lack of counter space and cabinetry in that description. There was one area between the sink and the stove that was 20"x20" and then on the other side of the room a very lovely colonial (surprised me!) style sideboard whose entire surface area was taken up with storage (toaster, microwave etc.).

I had no room. It was a real pain to keep up and we kept adding bits and dribs of furniture to attempt to deal with the lack of counter/storage. In the end we had 3, yes, 3 fridges. Two of 'em were working and the original gave up the ghost so it got turned into a storage cupboard. The other two were set side-by-side on the floor to create my only real counter space. It worked but it was "eh". I truly disliked crawling around on the floor to find stuff or when putting away groceries.

I think I ended up with about 3sq. feet of floor space.

So when the offer for this complete kitchen came along after I had a fit about having to tear apart the old kitchen and put in the new (You have to understand, it was a case of hearing "Oh we'll have it done in a weekend" and *knowing* that was utter B.S. and knowing that it would be a fair long time before I could cook in anything aside from a microwave plugged in somewhere in the living room and I was, uhmm, resistant. As it turns out, it took 5 weeks because we had to rely on the kindness and schedule of Those Who Know How To Do These Things.).

We proceeded. We were, at first, not nuts about how the new kitchen looked when they brought it over and dumped it in the living room (for a week). It's brown, errm, kind of woven mat looking cabinetry. It was dirty because the poor woman who gave it to us was so harried in her move that she hadn't time to do anything to clean it. So it looked, well, pretty awful. But the pragmatic in me told the fussy in me to "shut the hell up" and be happy that I wouldn't have to crawl around behind some bookshelves (yes, bookshelves) to find the "small bowl in which I always whipped the eggs" because it had migrated and TTS's migration tracking does NOT work in the kitchen. Neither does he for that matter.

So, it happened. Things got cleaned, old stuff got hauled out and to the landfill or new homes. Fun was made over having 3 fridges and where they would go (oh I kept 'em, all but one. I am NOT adjusted enough to German life to live out of a freakin' camping fridge, no sir! The two that we orignally had are in the niche in the front hall stacked. One is the TTS's and the other is the drinks fridge.) and where the cabinets should go. Turned out there really was only one way for them to go but never attempt to stop a bunch of Germans from discussing something to death. I have a lovely stove hood that is still (after 5 months) not functioning but hey, it's there, right where It Is Supposed To Be.

And I love it. I truly do. The cabinets cleaned up rather nicely. The dark "walnut" counters gave me sooooo much more surface that I have forgiven them their dark-walnutness. Two of the cabinets have nice lighting under them. There is plenty of storage space. It was a huge change.

All that by way of saying that once I got it all organised (and this whole thing that was supposedly going to take one weekend ended up taking 5 weeks due to various scheduling problems and missing bits and bobs necessitating trips to the "big city" to find a part for something-or-other) it has been an eye-opener. I have no trouble keeping it up (well aside from that floor thing…I do so hate doing floors but even that I'm doing with a fair regularity).

Now, for the rest of the damn house. I have branched out my new-found talents to cover the entry hall but there's a great deal to go. I've given up on the living room which has been taken over by the TTS who has turned it into an Xbox, media-centre, sleeping "cave". I did manage to float the idea of a room divider so that TTS's somewhat casual (read as OMG, how can one person have so many soda bottles, old dishes etc. laying about?) aren't immediately apparent from the front hallway and the front door which has a lovely, clear glass panel that is apparently and invisibly (to us but not everyone else around here) marked as "Go ahead. Have a look at the natives in situ. Watch them do their thing. It's free and they won't mind." Wrong and the filet curtain proceeds apace to put a stop to that little neighborhood entertainment.

And this all comes down to my fiber stuff. Right now it's kind of scattered about in containers, baskets, bags etc. in the office here and partially in what is going to be "My Room". My room is a small room up under the attic with one of those, uh…I guess you'd call it sun-roof (window in the roof, pivots to open) that faces east. Now this is a good thing since it won't get as hot in there in the summer as it does here in the office which faces, unfortunately, SW. So, I am slowly putting that room together and have made the decision to have my new desk in there with the notebook and large side "return" which'll get used for blocking smallish stuff and, more likely, a cat-rest. My chair is already in there as well as one small bookshelf. Now I just need to figure out how to store the rest of my stuff. My cats are pretty good about not being interested in anything yarn-like. But we get moths (mind you, I've never seen the little buggers but my clothes have…grrr.) so stuff has to be sealed up. With the slope of the roof, only two walls are open for shelving (3rd one has door and kind of a niche that already has shelving which is where the household books are kept).

Soooo, I need to schelp the new desk parts up here (thing weighs a ton) bit by bit and then get it put together. I did get a new lamp (no Ott lights here, will have to import) and have a couple of chairs as well as a daybed already in there. I'd like to do something a little spiffier than large Rubbermaid-ish containers but I'm not going to stress over it. The containers will do for now and when other stuff presents itself, I'll snap it up.

Now, if I could just get the new grill that the TTS put together this past weekend out of the middle of the pathway from the front hallway to the stairs so that I could clutter up that precious area of free space to start bringing my desk bits upstairs, we would have a start on getting that done. All suggestions about putting the grill outside on the micro-patio have been met with "umpfh. later." which I guess is understandable since it's still snowing.

Bah. I go knit. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Went shopping. Heh. Ecclectic results.

Actually converted a "we should make a quick run to Edeka" (the local grocery store) into "let's go someplace where there's yarn". I phrased it a bit differently making the highlight of the suggestion that where I wanted to go was near MediaMarkt (CompUSA equivalent, kinda) and the next thing I heard was "give me 10 minutes" which is the equal of light-speed for Himself.

Was actually a rather nice day here today, sunny, brisk, very few clouds and it was a pleasure to be out and about. Made quite a change from earlier this week with the gloppy snow. Some tiny signs of Spring seen on the drive: jonquils, some flowers that I am not familiar with and many of the pastures have greened up. Finally!

Sneaky yarn purchasing

So, I had seen some chenille (acrylic, sorry woolies) at one of the stores the other day when I snagged a new supply of cotton (flea market fodder as well as keeping everyone in the family in dishclothes which they really like after I showed them the light, heh). I didn't give the chenille too much thought until later, too late of course. I kept thinking about it and rationalised that I'd never worked with that type material and so, I must. So, bought some. Wasn't nuts about the colours, all variegated of course (LOTS of variegated yarn around here, it's as if they have something against solid colours. Even the big mail order companies seem to have more variegated than plain.). I like variegated for some things but I generally prefer solids. So I got some greys/white and some (this sounds awful I know but…) oranges, navy and brown. I was skeptical about it but thought what the hell. Also got what they're calling "sock yarn". We'll see about that. Very lightweight.

So, I get home and read the chenille label and see it calls for a 6mm needles. Start a swatch. Seemed like too big a needle but I always do a swatch with the recommended needle. Ugh. I am not after lace (this'll likely end up being a Christmas scarf for either my MIL or FIL). Go down to a 4.25mm. Still not good. Finally am on 3.75 and this might work although I'm not done yet. Actually the orange, navy & browns looks pretty good. Not sure what stitch I'll go with, swatch is stockinette with border of 3 garter top, bottom and both sides (pretty much my standard swatch). It's really autumnal in a in-your-face sort of way. I think it'll suit my MIL's colouring rather well.

Pulled all this off by diving into the bins and making whimpering noises which resulted in Himself saying: "I'll be in the computer stuff aisle." Hah! Now I can buy more than I made mention of doing.

Egg lopper thingie

Since we have such lovely egg cookers here I've taken to having a somewhere between soft-boiled and medium boiled egg here and there for a meal. I tend to eat small and often. Anyway, getting the bleedin' egg open so that I can dig out the contents is something that is obviously more than I can manage because I always end up with a gooey egg nicely mixed with little bits of shell. Kind of not how I want to get my calcium. So I had seen those dealie-bobbers that take off the top of the egg when I first got here but didn't want/need one then. Been looking for awhile lately, no luck. Knew I could find it at the "OMG, this is SO expensive" kitchen store. Sure enough, not one but two types and I snagged the one that only (cough) cost 16€. Wicked thing that perforates the top of the egg after which I'm pretty sure the egg will willingly give up it's top so as to avoid further impalement. There was another type that tickled me, a cup on a long (about 10 inches) rod with a heavy ball that moves up and down the rod. Put the cup over top of the egg, lift the ball to the top of the rod and drop the ball. Supposedly works very well but I had visions of eggshell splattered all over the place (and into the egg) and decided that I could already do that and passed in favour of known technology.

Tobacco & the EU

Anyone reading this who detests smokers might want to skip over this. It's a whinge and I'm sure that some folk would just say "tough shit, don't smoke". Bite me. Anyway, Cigarettes are going up in cost something fierce here, as they are everywhere else (yeah, let's tax the shit out of smokers and let those who drink get off relatively scot free…and yes I am bitter). There was a handy alternative which was tobacco "sticks" (tobacco contained within a paper/foil sleeve) and cigarette "tubes" (filter on one end, regular paper the rest) and a wee little machine thingie that enabled putting the two together to make a ciggie and the end result was fine, costing less than half of what pre-made cost and using name brand tobacco.

Well, the EU decided that this was not a good idea any more. No, not for health reasons but for some lame reason having to do with cost or something to do with unfair competition. The long and short of it is, no more tobacco sticks. So the options now are 5€ a pack (35 cigs) or 3,30€ for 17. Uh. No. The other option is loose tobacco and filter sticks. So we bought a tin of Lucky tobacco (Himself's favourite brand) and one of the different rollers. Oh dear. Yet again an inanimate object thoroughly kicked my ass. Practise is warranted before a new wardrobe ensues from dribbling tobacco on fire.

I think I'm just going to quit. I'm too annoyed at the whole being evil thing because I smoke (and I am a very considerate smoker, rarely smoking outside my home and then only if it's an area where smoking is quite clearly okay) and the outrageous taxation business which has absolutely NOTHING to do with taking care of us idiots who smoke. Not a thing. It's just using peoples' preferences and/or addictions against them.

Whine, bitch, moan, inhale, rant, more bitching and finally moving on…

Laser mouse

So we stop into MediaMarkt where Himself never manages to find something he likes or wants and I always do (I keep telling him it's a simple matter of lowering his standards but he just won't. So I end up with stuff and he goes without, bitching the whole way). Today's purchase for me was a wireless laser mouse and keyboard (Microsoft's Wireless Desktop 6000). I am a trackball person but I'm having a tough time here finding a trackball that actually fits me stubby, pudgy little fingers and hands. They are either expecting fingers that are a lot longer than mine or are so high off the desk that I get a crick in my wrist using them. Hard to find the trackball type that I like so I thought I'd give this new mouse a try because it fit my hand so well. Since buying it individually was the same price as the bundled keyboard went with the combo.

Mouse feels good. I am a complete clutz using it though after 15 years using a trackball. The cursor goes flying all over the damn place. I adjust in the applet, then it's too slow. I muck about with it and think I might have that all settled but this is going to take some getting used to. I will attempt to persevere.

Weekend plans

Quiet without anything pressing. Time to do some cooking and knitting and reading. Sounds lovely. Weather is supposed to be nice for the next few days and then spaz out again with icy rain. So the plan is to finish that stupid boucle scarf that I have grown to detest and then let the chenille tell me what it wants to be (well, it'll be a scarf but what kind of stitch is up in the air) and get another square or two done on the "this-is-never-gonna-be-done-oh-why-did-I-ever-agree-to-do-this-ghan" for Himself.

Oh and I found some pink grapefruit tea (herbal) that is pretty darn good. Kind of cheesed off that I missed the "last call" for coffee (time change is still biting me in the ass) so have to make due with non-caffeinated or I'll be up 'til 0400.

I’ve been really depressed about losing my hearing. Not even so much about the actual loss of hearing (since I’ve been slowly losing it forever) but how it affects my living here in Germany. I actually didn’t realise how awful it was ’til I moved here and noticed how much I had been depending a lot upon lip-reading. It was scary when it dawned on me.

Anyway, so in my darker moments, I’ve given a lot of thought to moving to the U.K. (no way I am moving back to the States) so that I could at least be surrounded by English speakers. But, despite my whinging, I rather like it here (except for the preponderance of pork…a rant for another time). Generally, most of the time. And, pragmatically, I hate moving. I know that moving anywhere will entail the whole “starting over” thing which I well and truly hate. I like hunkering down in a place, getting settled and building from there. I also detest with a flaming passion packing. Ugh. Plus I adore my MIL. She is an amazing woman. If it hadn’t been for her I might have gone mad here. So, moving isn’t exactly a prime plan but that left me with that screaming “OMFG how am I ever going to function here” kind of panic.

I am to the point where I can generally make myself understood (grammar butchery aside) here. I’ve got basics down well enough to ask for what I need, observe the social niceties etc. but the problem is, people respond. And then I’m hosed. I just can’t hear them very well and the best description I can give is the kids in Peanuts. Remember how they “heard” the teacher? That’s just about the size of it. Heh.

Me:Hallo! Wie gehts? (How goes it??

Them: Muu urkle miffle whump!

Me: Wie bitte? (Pardon me?)

Them: Eengle flimple frack!

Me: Errrr.

Them: Stumme Scheiße. (Dumb shit.)

So I went through a spell where I was terrified to go out on my own and try to contend because, understandably, the folks in stores (my main point of interaction) aren’t thrilled with dealing with someone whose German isn’t the best (okay it sucks) and who cannot hear/understand their response. We won’t even go into those who (jaws clenched) do the following:

Me: Hallo. Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut. Sprechen Sie Englisch? (Hello. My German is not so good. Do you speak English?)

Them (in English): Well of course I do.

And then they promptly revert to German.

*sigh*

This happens often and it rather makes me want to scream. I really wonder what goes through their heads. Anyway…

I have been trying to figure out how I can regain my independence (as it’s come down to I really don’t dare go anywhere without Himself to translate/channel) so that I can do the simple things that need doing and the things he hates doing that entail whinging and me having to wait on his ever-rotating, bizarro schedule which causes much friction because I hate having to wait ’til he’s vertical (sometimes this doesn’t occur ’til late afternoon) to do anything.

So, I had decided to do something in a database on my Palm. Create a database which would, hopefully, cover the essentials starting with “Hey there. I’m an American whose German is nicht gut and I need blah blah and worse yet, I’m not going to hear/understand anything you say so now WTF do we do”.

Okay, not brilliant but it was the only thing I could think of. Was worried because the Palm is kind of small and I was aiming for something they could, worst case scenario, write their answer on. I’m pretty good at sorting out German that is written. Well I mentioned this to Himself and he came up with a brilliant solution.

One of the new (almost out) tablet PCs. Well at first I was a bit skeptical because (aside from wanting one for a long time based in my fading geek factor) I thought that might be a bit largish since the last ones I saw were basically the size of a notebook. Bit big but I was giving it consideration ’til he pointed out the new generation ones which are, and I quote, “The size of half an A4 paper”. This is basically, close enough, the size of half an 8.5×11″ piece of paper. Big enough to actually write on but not so big as to be a problem schlepping about. And cool. Very cool. Not a PDA type thing restricting you to a certain PDA-ish OS but a complete PC running WinXP.

*Takes a moment*

Weight is about 800 grams which is about as heavy as a 2 liter soda bottle when full. Not a killer there either. I think we’ve found the answer. Oh yes indeedy. Problem is, they’re not quite out yet but from what he tells me they will be late spring/early summer.

I’m ready. Gimme. I want one. I was a little concerned about price (not much because I had already rationlised this, in a nanosecond, as a MUST HAVE. I’m good at that, heh) and it seems they’ll be about 800-900 USD. That’s, I think, doable. Then I had to laugh when Himself said “No no, it’ll be about 1700 USD.”. It went right over my head. Then it hit me. It’s the “I have to have one too.” thing we do.

Fine by me.

So all I have to do is hang in another 3 or 4 months and I may, finally, be able to regain some of my independence and I cannot express how much that means to me. For someone who fought against her upbringing (grow up, go to college long enough to find “The Right Man”, marry, settle down, have kids and let “The Right Man” take care of everything) losing my independence was a severe blow. It really was just awful for me. Pretty much having to have someone handle all communication was something I expected when I first arrived but when it finally sunk in that was how it was going to have to be pretty much permanently I was really freaked.

Now that will change.

Roll on, mini-tablet PCs. Get a move on. Hurry the hell up because I’ve got a backlog of things I want to do, places I want to go and a life that I want to pick up and lead. I mean, after all, I am living in Europe! I wanted to do that for 35 years.

Time’s a-wasting, chop chop. Hast oben!

I fought the Boucle and I won!

I put down the "Himself-ghan" for a bit. Probably pick it up again either tonight or tomorrow but I got distracted yet again by the "boucle-from-hell" that taunts me from the stash box behind my chair here. It was an ill-advised purchase made in a frenzy of "OMG! YARN!" when I first spied some (yarn) at a grocery store (and isn't that where we find the best yarn…cough). My excuse is that after a couple years of being yarnless and ambitionless, I pounced on the first yarn that I saw. I found a great deal of decent "kitchen cotton" (and I'm about out of it, ack) but this stuff drew me. I don't know why. I think it was meant to test me or something.

So, it screamed SCARF at me. How hard could that be? Apparently, very. I intended to use it as practise fodder for keeping tension and gauge.

Doh.

Well the first go resulted in more dropped and added stitches than I care to reveal. I still haven't figured out quite what I was managing to do. 25 stitches would become 24 or 26. I finally frogged and tossed it back in the stash box where it sat, tauntingly, until night before last. I got out a ball of it (think I have 3 total, about 150g) and cast on 25 stitches. I knit. And it's not giving me any trouble at all. None. I've got about 20 inches done and haven't dropped or added a single stitch.

Go figure.

Still Sulking

The Rowan wool is still a disappointment but I'm trying to get past it and actually do something with it. Too much money spent to just stuff it away. Not at all dishcloth material (although I was tempted, you know, just to PUNISH IT). Probably a scritchy, icky scarf will come of it. One thing I do like: it is good for watching stitch formation. Maybe I'll just use it as an expensive way to test out a lot of stitch patterns I want to try.

Snobbery in Blogland

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately. Also have been lurking on various boards trying to pick up as much information as I can. I have learned a lot and I am bloody glad that the 'Net exists so that I, sitting here on the very bottom of Germany, can find tons of information in English. Been very, very helpful.

However there sure are a lot of snobs. If one doesn't do "the project du jour", one is just not worthy. If one doesn't work in the yarn that is au courant, the same. There is irony too. Some make fun of those who are "sheep" but in nearly the same breath you find out that those who are poking the hardest are ALL doing Clapotis or whatever the latest pattern is.

Baaaaaaaa.

I'm not putting this well, I'm sure but there seems to be anger that knitting has become popular. And yes, those-who-say-things are likely right that it, for many, will not be a lasting passion. There are, indeed, "bandwagoneers" who jump from fad to fad. I've learned to just let 'em be. They will either stick and grow and explore and learn or they will perfect their leaping skills by hopping onto the next wagon that comes within their sights and out of the sight of those for whom knitting or crocheting or stamp-collecting or whatever-the-hell is a lasting pursuit.

Still, how does one truly discern the difference between an enthralled newbie and a fad-hopper? I confess that, at the onset, they may not be easily told apart. But I would far rather treat someone who is expressing interest, curiosity, enthusiasm and desire to learn as someone who might go the whole distance than automatically assume they are just "dabbling". Who knows, by giving someone the benefit of the doubt they just might turn out to be someone you'd care to work with, teach, learn from, grow with.

Maybe a shorter way to put this is: Be nice and if you can't be nice, shut up. And yes, I do see the irony there.
More obsessing about Spring

It's 63f here today and the sun is out for now. The prevailing aroma is bovine effluvia. I guess that's what early Spring smells like in this area. No sign of greenery yet but it can't be too far off. I heard that there is some pretty ugly flooding along the Danube and the Rhine which doesn't surprise me given the amount of snow we had which was, of course, followed by lots of rain.

The greening can come any time now.

The Plague

*touch wood* Apparently Himself does not have strep (hurrah) but they don't know what he does have. The blood draw was indicative of infection (no surprise there, signs were obvious). He is better though. Biggest problem now is getting him to eat. He felt well enough to go to the market this afternoon with me and I suspended all efforts to get him to eat "properly" and turned him loose saying: Get anything you think you'll eat. He actually did NOT buy soda. So I guess he's not completely well.

Still he's on the mend, I think, and that's good. OTOH, my MIL has come down with "The Plague" and so, of course, she had to stop by today to drop off medicine (bless her heart, I'd've been happy to go to the Apotheke and get it myself) so here goes the countdown again to see if I luck out or get round three of "The Plague". I do hope so…that I luck out, I mean. Whilst this place is not exactly Better Homes & Gardens, it would go to hell if I got sick, nevermind I'd likely starve or die of dehydration because Himself wouldn't even notice I was sick until I upped and died and started to stink.

Ah well, time to either knit some more on the Boucle-Which-Tried-To-Kill-Me or play some Oblivion.