The Decorator Crab

*Tap tap tap* Is this thing on?

Hmphf - it's been a while since I've blogged (understatement). I guess that life got busy (but it always has been) or that I prioritized other things before blogging (more likely). I started blogging as a way to find a place in the knitting community, back when I was a new knitter, when I didn't have any knitting friends to share the journey with. Since moving back to Corvallis two years ago, I have found an abundant, thriving knitting and spinning community, so blogging has gone by the wayside.

I used to be pretty strict about restricting my blogging to knitting and crafting content. Given the recent frequency of posting (uhm, ZERO per month), I think it makes sense to expand the scope of the blog. Life provides a lot more fodder for conversation when taken as a whole, and knitting may actually be the least entertaining thing that I do. Not that I am particularly entertaining, because I am fairly average and boring. But. There is still the blog.

I haven't fleshed this out completely, but I may try to post random tidbits a few times a week, just to feel out the idea of blogging about whatever mood or topic strikes. I make no promises about keeping up - I still travel too much and am in the midst of canning season (i.e. There Goes Your Weekend What With All of The Canning of Goods). So, whatever, we'll see how it goes.

The Crafty Crab isn't dead just yet!

I can't stand posts without photos. Here's my "new" (purchased in May) spinning wheel, before I finished it with Pure Tung Oil. It's a Louet S75DT, and came with a free skein winder as a part of the Louet 35th Anniversary special.

I saved up for months to buy it, and I Really Really Really LOVE IT.

Here is my new Ravelry Ravatar:

I use the Official Seal Generator to make my seals - it's totally fun.

And, to boost my non-craft content, here is a great photo of Johnny, our beloved and hysterical Chihuahua, taken by Erin Kate (a totally fantastic, amazingly talented photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah):

ETA: I have updated my web page (relatively recently), and I also contribute to posts the Oregon State University Glider Research Group Blog. These links fall in line with my inclination to expand content here.

Your Daily Zen, Courtesy of the Alpacas

We had Sunday brunch out at a local farm a couple of weeks ago. The farm is located directly across the street from Oregon Alpaca Farm, which is home to many (50+?) alpacas. Naturally, we took a walk across the street after brunch and fed the alpacas some pellets. Here is your daily zen...

Cutest. Bag. Ever!

OMFG.  I must make it - now!  I get an email every day from Interweave's Knitting Daily (link), and this bag was featured yesterday.  The pattern is by Pam Allen from Interweave's Bag Style, but is available as a free download if you are a subscriber to Knitting Daily.  The project is up on Ravelry, but it looks like no one is working on it yet.  Time to dig through the stash to see if I have anything that will work!

Feliz cumpleaños to me

I don't usually post on the weekends, but it's the big 3-0 for ol' Crabby today.  So I can do whatever the hell I want! This includes, but is not limited to: having a big breakfast, crocheting on the bag, working in the gardens, crocheting, drinking with lunch (who am I kidding - I do that every weekend), getting dressed up for no reason, or not, and crocheting some more.  Sounds good to me!  Senior Crab is still out of town, so I am having a quiet day all to my self, doing whatever strikes my fancy.  This strikes my fancy:

There's nothing quite like having a quiet morning, sitting on the couch with your coffee and your knitting (or crochet), and listening to your favorite NPR shows while a little dog sleeps next to you.  I love it! 

I have taken a bit of a different strategy with the second side of the LTL bag.  As I am wont to do at times, I planned out a schematic of the squares instead of just making them willy-nilly.  Cecily provided a virtual block that you could color in, but my pseudo-Photoshop program (Fireworks) was having trouble with the magic wand tool and couldn't tell the difference between the middle color and the edge color.  So, I had to make my own block pattern with the available "autoshapes."  Here is the result:

I had an actual plan in organizing the colors in this layout, and on paper I like it better than the result of my approach with the first six blocks. We'll have to wait and see if the actual result is as pleasing to me as the virtual one. As a bit of foreshadowing though, I like what I'm getting so far!

Okay - enough time in front of the monitor, I'm going back to the real world so that I can take full advantage of my day. 

This has nothing to do with knitting

Ever heard of a Theremin before?  Me neither, 'til I found this link on BoingBoing.  I've watched this video like five times, and it still blows me away.  So cool!

Seal Generator

Go have yourself some fun by designing your own craft room emblem with the Official Seal Generator. My five-minute effort sports a trademark crab and says "Art is long, life is short" in Latin.  [I found the Latin phrase on Wikipedia]. You can choose from circle, triangle, square, or pentagon shaped emblems, and there are a ton of color and icon options.  Now, go forth and get crafty!

25 signs you have grown up

In lieu of knitting content, a bit of humor.

25 SIGNS THAT YOU HAVE GROWN UP
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good shit."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh shit, what the hell happened?"

>>>>> Bonus:
26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass.

My husband added this to the list:
27. "Hangin' with the boys" means watching Discovery Channel on a Friday night with two cats and a Chihuahua on your lap.

Don't know about you, but more than a few of those applied to me...

Best. Quote. Ever!

I'm returning to normal life after my trip down to Oregon, so bear with me while I get my ass back into gear. Instead of giving you knitting content, I give props to Rabbitch for what might be the most hilarious quote that I have ever read with regard to yarn. "Dudes, this is string made from sheephair, it's not the handspun pubes of Jesus." Bwah-hahahahahh!!!!  I laugh out loud every time I read it!  For the whole story, be sure to see her post...

Back...again!

Well, before I could write up a post about going to Montreal I went on another trip.  This time I headed down to Mexico for a wedding. We stayed at the Costa Azul resort, which is north of Puerto Vallarta, and had a kick-ass good time.  Highlights included the wedding (of course), skinny dipping in bioluminescent waters after the wedding (no photos - sorry), making new friends, and buckets of free ceviche. [My love for ceviche borders on unnatural. I ate it every day, just like when we went to Costa Rica.] It was also a much needed break from a week of frantic work in between trips.

I've been knitting here and there, but to be honest, not as often as I usually do. I have been burning the candle at both ends, and by the end of the day all I can do is flop on the couch, drink wine, and zone out on junk TV.  I've been focusing on finishing smaller projects that are already on the needles. My first Jaywalker sock is done (yes!), and it fits perfectly (YES!).  I'll spare you a photo until I get the pair done. I'll be finishing another washcloth tonight, which is a small victory (because finishing anything is an achievement at Casa de Crabby), but it's tragically boring blog material.  Will anyone be excited by felted bowls?  Pillows?  Eh, things could get pretty grim around here!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the "First Sweater Project," but can't commit to it fully until my work schedule lightens up a bit. Hopefully this will happen before I finish my dissertation, but I am fearing the worst in the work load department.

In non-knitting news, three cheers for Lori for mentioning climate change on her blog. I have similar concerns about how to balance my diverse interests with what to talk about on the blog. Long-time readers are used to my posts from research cruises, which I always love writing and sharing.  The response to these posts was fantastic, judging by those of you who de-lurked to share your experiences with the ocean in response. But, balancing a knitting blog with science commentary is a delicate situation, and I always strive to communicate my thoughts on science & oceanography clearly.

Being involved in marine science puts me square in the middle of the climate change discussion, since the ocean and atmosphere are so intricately linked. Scientists are supposed to remain neutral on questions of advocacy and resource management in order to preserve the integrity of research. But, often times I find that people don’t trust the policy makers and want information directly from authoritative scientists. It’s a difficult situation. I won’t linger on this, but as a person with some experience in science I feel the need to at least mention the climate change issue. Climate change is real (I can’t believe people still argue about this), human activities are to blame, and it’s happening fast. But, don’t take my word for it. Read the IPCC report here, or visit the Pew Center on Global Climate Change for excellent overviews and in-depth information. Then get angry and figure out what you can do to reduce your carbon load. If you are still awake and you want something fun to do, go see what your ecological footprint is, here. The results might surprise you!

Around North America & Back Again

I've just returned from a long trip that took me through Santa Barbara and Montreal and back again, all for research and research-related activities. I went to SB for some field sampling in the Santa Barbara Channel, and to Montreal for the Ocean Optics Conference, which is always my favorite one to attend. I am exhausted and travel-weary, and very glad to be back home with the boys.  To entertain you while I get my bearings and get my ass in gear, here are a few photos from the trip (more coming later).

This is what happens to anything that gets left in a productive coastal ocean for three months (note: the fuzz wasn't there when this thing went into the water). In my biz we call this biofouling. We also call it trouble. Without proper safeguards, many bad-ass oceanic biota will grow over your equipment in no time at all, and your research will be quickly and properly screwed. The problem that you see here is attack of the encrusting bryozoans. These critters are actually animals, believe it or not, and they feed with wee tentacles that sweep the water for tiny food particles. Say it with me, "Cooooooool!" The green circle is a copper shutter that covers the business end of the sensor while it's not "sensing."  Copper does a good job of inhibiting biological growth, as you can see.

Here is a good shot of the leaves turning in Montreal. I was out for a long walk on a partly cloudy day, which made for some wonderful photographic opportunities (if I actually had any skill at doing such things). More details on the trip in a later post, but I will say that I enjoyed the city and wish that I had been able to get out and see more of it. It felt very european to me, a feeling that was enhanced by the constant Quebec French (quebecois) being spoken around me. The only downside: it was impossible to find soy milk in the cafes there, and I was really jonesing for a soy latte when I got home. Kooky Quebecois!

Last, the card from Hubbo that was waiting for me when I got home. It still makes me laugh to look at it, so I had to share. The caption says, "I really really really like you."  Awwww...I'm such a lucky lady.  More soon, after I get my shit situated.