Shiny!

Next month, for (probably) just a few thousand dollars, some lucky Firefly fan will become the proud owner of Malcom Reynold’s actual brown coat. Or, if shiny things are more to your taste, you can bid on Inara’s ballgown from the “Shindig” episode. There’s also a nice selection of Inara’s other costumes, along with an assortment of outfits worn by other characters and extras.

I’d really love to get some of those pretty print tops that Kaylee wears, but they aren’t going to be up for auction.

Current Mood:  envious

…to sign up to get your own free iPod Nano and help me get one too! (More details in this post.)

Current Mood:  hopeful

Meet the Dread Pirate Olivia, and be prepared to hand over yer valuables!

Today is the 7th anniversary of the day Dale and I got married. It’s the first one we’ll get to celebrate with Olivia, which makes it even more special!

Our plans so far are to get Olivia into her Halloween costume and head over to my mother-in-law’s house. (We’ll probably just hang out to pass out candy. Olivia’s a bit young for Trick or Treating.)

And, Olivia says, “Happy Halloween!”

Current Mood:  loved

On September 30th, 2000, Dale and I moved into our first house. On October 18, 2005, we signed the paperwork to complete the sale of our house while on vacation in Santa Barbara. Farewell, beautiful Cedar Park house! We will miss you!

1018 Cashew Lane, Oct 2000 - Oct 2005

Current Mood:  sad

We are finally home! Everyone’s been fed. The litterboxes have been changed. The baby has been been bathed and put to bed (late). And I’m finally caught up on reading email, though not on reading web sites. But I’m tired and Dale’s tired, so we’re going to bed.

* Title supplied by Spritel, though I deleted about 30 a’s.

Current Mood:  tired

Dale, Olivia, and I are currently in Oakhurst, California. We arrived in LA on Monday, then drove five hours to this town, which is about 13 miles from Yosemite National Park. We’ve been in and out of the mountains the past two days, visiting the giant Sequoias in Mariposa Grove, sending some mail at the Fish Camp Post Office, picknicking next to amazingly clear streams, and getting dizzy as we looked down into the valley from Glacier Point. Olivia’s been having a great time, when we aren’t actually traveling. The altitude changes are enough to make her absolutely miserable during the drives unless she’s lucky enough to fall asleep at the beginning of the car ride. Tomorrow is our last day here. We’re going to the Mariposa Grove one more time because I want to see the Clothespin Tree up close. (It’s a giant Sequoia that’s been burned clear through by fires over the centuries. The resulting tunnel is big enough to drive a pickup truck through it!)

After we leave Yosemite, we’re heading on to Santa Barbara where Dale’s parents have rented a house for the month. We’ll be there through next week.

Current Mood:  happy

A couple of months ago, I decided to knit Olivia and her cousin, Allison, some matching hats. The yarn is Bernat Cottontots in Very Berry. I used the Lil’ Devil Baby Hat as the pattern base, but I omitted the horns. I also altered the ear flaps. I followed the pattern originally, but they came out so small, and they were centered on either side of the hat which put them forward of the ears instead of over them. After ripping them back completely about four times, I finally got a size and placement I liked. I also replaced the I-cord ties with simple braided yarn. Allison’s hat was finished first, but I don’t get pictures of her modeling it yet, so Dale took some pictures of Olivia wearing it. Allison’s about 14 months older than Olivia, so the hat’s too big on my baby, but you get the idea.

I finished the base cap for Olivia’s hat, but it fits her pretty snugly already which means it will probably be too small this winter. I’m going to reknit her cap from the beginning. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the one that’s too small.

I also didn’t use a provisional cast on as instructed, instead going with the long-tail cast on that’s the only method I knew. At the time, I didn’t know that this meant you would start knitting on the ‘wrong side,’ so after finishing the garter stitch border, I thought the ‘inside’ edge of the hat looked better, so I ended up purling the entire stockinette portion of the hat in order to get the neat edge on the outside (because I was knitting in the round). Thankfully, I’ve never found purling to be more difficult than the basic knit stitch, just a tad bit more time-consuming.

Current Mood:  okay

Cancer - There is in fact a purpose to the universe. However, the purpose is to utterly and completely destroy you. [From The Onion]

I knew it!

Current Mood:  pessimistic