The Whole Enchalada

In my opinion there are some men who are noteworthy for their charisma, which transcends mere looks and includes intelligence and a sense of humor. Every woman differs in the kind of man that appeals to her. I tend toward the dark and handsome kind. My husband is a prime example. There are features that tend to increase a man's sex appeal for me, such as an accent or, for some reason, Edwardian dress, hence Colin Firth. I also like a strong jawline, soulful eyes, and tousled or longer hair. Some men can have all of these traits and lose their appeal by behaving badly, such as John Edwards, Jude Law and Hugh Grant. Alas, once the attraction is gone, it is gone for good.
So could it be said that sometimes there is a "fatal" or 'tragic" flaw? Aristotle first put forth this idea in his work Poetics. It was called hamartia and was defined as a character's flaw or error. It was a staple feature in the Greek tragedies to draw emotion from the audience. There was Oedipus and Antigone, later Hamlet comes to mind. Some in literature would maintain that this feature is essential, as a fatal flaw of character creates an arc of transformation, where change is essential for growth and life. If one is not growing and developing then is one only headed toward decay and death? Well, what is the hero anyway? Brings me right around to Joseph Campbell. Think I will save that for the future.

Knitting

Some knitting tasks have been accomplished, such as blocking this latticework scarf and this pattern block scarf. This is the second pattern block scarf that I have made. The first one was knitted years ago from a pattern found in Patternworks and was promptly absconded by my daughter. When she saw the new one in the works she said it was about time she replaced the first. Fat chance.

The Black Widow, as I like to call Charlotte's Easy Lace Shawl by Fiber Trends, was originally started as a gift to give my daughter's violin teacher. When we discovered she was evil and vile, the project was put on hold for 10 years and was taken up anew this year. Each row consisted of thousands of stitches and I was happy when it ended. The final result did not look like the picture from the pattern. It was supposed to end up as a large triangle, no ruffle. I wanted the shawl to be deeper but no wider and if I continued to follow the pattern it would increase in width. So I ended it with 4 rows of SS. Perhaps that is what created the ruffle. I hope I can find somebody who likes this shawl, because I have spent a very long time creating it and I don't see myself wearing it. I am not a ruffle girl.
This last scarf is the Airy Scarf that is dotted with gold glass beads and sequins. It was a fun, fast knit. It will be an elegant touch for a chilly evening. Ciao.

Earworms

So every once in awhile you get a song that runs through your mind, again, and again, and yet again. And then it goes away, or so one hopes. Well, for the last two weeks the theme from The Love Boat has been drifting in and out of my consciousness. At first it was annoying, then it felt like a cognitive itch, and then it went away. And now it's back and, interestingly enough, I am kinda grooving on it. For whatever reason, this is my new internal melody. Some of my readers may not be familiar with this TV series that came on the scene in 1977. The storyline was sketched against the backdrop of a cruise ship. One of the ships used for the series, the Island Princess, was the ship on which my cousin and her husband worked as nurse and doctor and, if family tales are correct, the character of the ship's doctor was crafted from his person. While one would think that references to The Love Boat at this point in time would be nil, as the series ended in 1986, yesterday, just to feed the worm I am certain, it was mentioned on Samantha Brown's travel show. Had I the technological savvy, I would here insert a video clip of the theme song that is on YouTube, but alas that will not be happening. Not that I didn't try, but that I did not succeed.

Other happy news is that the green light has been given for a dog to join the family. Whoop whoo! The cutest dog that I have seen is a new "designer" dog, which is a cross between a pug and chihuahua, and is know as a Chug. One of the conditions on adopting this cutie is that
there has to be another dog in the home. I do not know why but I am not going to push my luck and try to get two dogs.

There are also the brothers Crocker and Colby, who are a mix of Poodle and Maltese. They are soooooooooo adorable. However, I think the dog breed I am longing is a Papillon.

Bella, bella, bella.

Squirrely

I have been busy, really busy. There is one evil ass squirrel who is spending his summer taking down my tomatoes.

They, the tomatoes, are behind nets now, and he has chosen to respond by flinging his little wirey squirrel body against it and hang on to dear life.

This is all out war as far as I am concerned and I am wondering if the guns that I once opposed Walmart selling are still available.

This is no normal squirrel. He is sneaky. he is devious, and I just watched an Andrew Zimmerman show that featured stewed squirrel, which he thought was tasty. Maybe I could invite AZ to dinner....

Bastille Day

Had my husband listened to me last week, I too would be in Paris, celebrating, drinking French wine, and having a gay old time. I didn't even think about Bastille Day. I just wanted to grab my daughter and hop into a plane on the spur of the moment, with my husband in tow. Alas, it was not to be, so tonight we will raise our glasses of Cote du Rhone as jets gain altitude over Long Island Sound, perhaps on their way to the City of Light.

Liberte Egalite Fraternite



Claude Monet
Rue Montorgueil, Paris

Off My Rocker

Apparently, beside paper shopping bags, I collect rockers. We cleared out an attic space above our garage this weekend and I found I had 3 rockers up there. When I went to the basement to fetch 2 oak pressed-back chairs to put up in the garage attic, I realized I had 2 more rockers down there. This does not, of course, count the rocker I gave to my son in the last year, the one that is in my daughter's bedroom, or the one on the deck. Now I have always known that I have a side-chair problem. Who can say no to a cute side-chair? They are small, you can always fit them into your life/space, and they sure come in handy when holidays, such as T-gives (Thanksgiving) rolls around and you need plenty. Rockers, on the other hand, are not as versatile. They are really bad to sit on while eating, if your goal is not to spill. They are, however, excellent for stimulating the vestibular system. This is the first system to develop and we receive constant stimulation when we are inutero from our mother's movements. It is made up of several structures in the inner ear and helps us tell our orientation in space, how fast we are moving, the direction we are going, helps us keep our balance and other cool things like helping adjust heart rate, blood pressure, and nervous system arousal. And here is the reason that people love rocking chairs, because they help us calm and soothe ourselves. I bet you wish you were sitting in a rocker right now. As soon as I finish this, that is where I will be going.

Early this morning I checked on the tomatoes and there were 3 red ones one day away from picking. My sister popped over mid-morning and when I went to show them to her I discovered a travesty had taken place. One was gone, one had peck marks in it and had fallen on the soil. I plucked the third tomato and brought it inside. In retaliation I put out a plastic owl I had sitting in the garage. I thought this might help. but since the neighbor's cat just showed up on the deck (where was he this morning?) I have a feeling I will just go the the gardener's center tomorrow and get netting. Yes, I am ripped.

Off the needles but not pretty enough for a picture yet is the Airy Scarf, soon to be followed the the Black Widow.

Arriverdeerla

Negative Space

I am a fan of negative space. Above is an example of figurative negative space.

On the left is, perhaps, the most familiar example of literal negative space: do you see a vase or two opposing faces?

Sometimes, in sculpture, negative spaces defines

what the object is about, such as this cross.

In in the English language, we create a negative space between paragraphs, to suggest a change. And that is what the spaces in my blog are meant to suggest. Not blank holes, not inattention to detail, but a change, of topic, of pace, of thought.

Buonanotte

Summer Camp

I have picked my first ripe tomato and here she is. I plucked her off the vine a bit prematurely, as I was afraid a bird or squirrel would take a bite before I. I have a ton of tomatoes on the vine, 115, which I understand is unusual. Far more experienced gardeners than I have few this year, perhaps due to the heavy amount of rain we've received. Mine, however, are in pots on my deck. Perhaps they are warmer and the soil dries out faster. I also bought organic tomatoes and soil. Whatever the reason, so far, so good.

Pleasure and action make the hours seem short. That's Shakespeare, not me, but really describes how the days are flying by. On the needles currently is

Airy Scarf from Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. The ARTYARN is beaded mohair and sequins in a violet color and is a fast and fun knit. I have also finished a striped sweater and hat that I will be sending to the Soweto Comfort Club in South Africa . This organization has undertaken a project to assemble blankets out of knitted squares that are sent to them from all over the world. Other items, such as sweaters and hats, are accepted and all the blankets and knitted goods are given to children with AIDS who live in orphanages there. I had never before completed a sweater, no less a striped one, and I saw this as a win/win situation. I could learn these skills and the product could keep a child warm. If you are also interested in helping these children, go to http://www.knit-a-square.com/postal.html for instructions. Enough saintliness, I just ran outside my deck door and screamed "Asshole" at a squirrel who had grabbed a sugar-filled sponge that was part of a hummingbird/butterfly feeder that had been out there for under an hour. See why I am paranoid about the tomatoes?

Another project that I have just completed is the Seaweed Shawl. It is still in the process of being blocked on my dining room table, that is covered with plastic and old beach towels. This shawl came out as I imagined it would. I picture this shawl worn with black and some big Aztec gold earrings that I don't currently own. Could be a problem. My daughter said that she has never seen a pair of Aztec hoops that didn't look cheap. I know exactly what she means, and yet I think I could rock these bad boys.

So far this summer has been a lot like a summer camp I attended as a child, Camp Francis in Kent, CT. The schedule was breakfast, outdoor activities, lunch, nap/reading, crafts, dinner, camp fire. Okay, so there is no campfire - yet. It is a demanding schedule and I don't mind it a bit.

A fabulous and quick dinner I prepared the other night was Flounder in Parchment. Take 2 pieces of parchment 18 inches long and position them on a jellyroll pan side by side. Place founder, 6 chopped asparagus, 1 chopped scallion, 1 clove of minced garlic, a good squeeze of lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of butter on each piece of parchment. Fold sides of parchment in and then tuck long sides under. Bake at 350F for 22 minutes. This is a light, healthy summer meal you will feel good about eating. A mixed salad on the side and you are good to go.

A piu tardi