Crochet Project: Crochet Hook Case

My crochet hooks and tape measures tend to float around the house where I can never find them, so I poked around on the internet and got this free pattern.

This crochet hook case would make a great weekend project. It took me about 10-12 hours start to finish. It wouldn't be too hard for an intermediate-beginner. Sewing on the pocket on the inside was the most difficult part, and that just required a bit of concentration.

To make the ties:
Ch approx 80. Sl st into 2nd ch from hook and into each ch to end. Sl st tie to the middle of one of the short sides of the case. Sc into same st at sl st. Sc around the case (long sides: sc into each sc; short sides: sc as needed to prevent puckering). When you come back to the first tie, chain approx 80. Sl st into 2nd ch from hook and into ea ch. Sl st into same st that began the tie. Fasten off.

Block well before assembly.

(This cost me $2.00 for a skein of yarn, but I've seen similar cases or fabric cases online for up to $60.)

Plain Mabel

http://www.plainmabel.com

Great resource for gifts or artistic inspiration.

A Father's Journal

A Father's Journal

Congressional Mayhem

What an adrenaline rush it was to witness Congress in absolute meltdown on NPR the other day. Finally, some real emotional and intellectual input. Politics as we know it has gotten entirely too pussy-footed to get any real work done.

I know the amendment to pull troops out of Iraq didn't pass; as anti-war as I am, I'm not sure it was even a good idea. But it was refreshing to see someone not afraid to stand up and say, "Our current situation is based on faulty assumptions and is getting intolerable. It is time to take definitive actions and decisions."

I'm so tired of elected officials being too concerned about poll results or campaign contributions to pay attention to the direction our country is headed in. I'm tired of politicians and the media being so afraid of the administration that they can't point out inconsistencies in policy or criticize any presidential decisions (hello, torture???). I'm tired of the administration having the power to inflict that kind of fear.

We should all be tired of the fear we are constantly asked to live with. There has always been war, there has always been violence. Just because the United States has lived in a relatively safe bubble for several decades does not mean we are immune to the negative effects of human society that the rest of the world has lived with for thousands of years.

We do not need to live in fear of "the next attack." We DO need to live in fear of disenfranchising the most vulnerable among us. We cannot forget the poor, the sick and the elderly. We are not a society of castes: the rich and the poor, the white and the others. We are one nation of Americans from all kinds of backgrounds. It is this richness and variety that makes us who we are as a country. Those who forget this basic fact have forgotten what it is that makes them Americans.

Just because a person is elected to the office of President of the United States does not mean he or she is above criticism. For that person to call critics unpatriotic traitors goes against everything this country was founded on. We have always supported free speech; we are founded on disagreements with government.

It is time for our Congressmen and Congresswomen to pay attention to where our nation is being led. It is time for them to stop following fearfully and lead with determination. It is time for all of us to demand the leadership we deserve.

Crochet Project: Jewelry

Also taken from Cozy Crochet, these pieces could be Christmas ornaments or pendants. Skip the outermost round and attach earring wires to make matching earrings. 

Electrical Upgrades

The second of our major projects has been completed (the first being refinishing the wood floors). Osborne Electric came out last Thursday, Friday and yesterday to upgrade our electricity.

We got tired of pressing "toast" on the toaster oven and having the kitchen lights dim by almost half. We got tired of not being able to run the dishwasher and the washing machine at the same time because all the lights in the house would flicker menacingly.

Three different electrical companies came out to give us estimates. We went with Osborne because theirs was the middle estimate and we'd used them to install the wiring for our dishwasher. I always felt comfortable being alone in the house with the electrician and they were absolutely prompt.

This part of the electrical project included:

• Consolidating the three circuit breaker boxes on the back of the house that had been added as new needs appeared
• Installing a new wire feed to the garage because the old one hung down too low
• Removing the fuse box (yes, a real fuse box (see below)) in the bathroom (yes, it was really in the bathroom) and rerouting all those lines to a new breaker box on the back of the house
• Upgrading our service to 200 Amps

Every time an electrician came to look at our project, they always made comments like, "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen it done this way" or, in the case of the above fuse box, "I'm not really sure what these two fuses are connected to." Lovely.

In the end, the project finished up well. The fuse box will get a paintable cover so when we redo the bathroom, it'll blend in. We have to get the cable company out to remount the cable and telephone boxes that the electricians moved.

Eventually we'll need to rewire the whole house. It still has the original fabric-covered wire. We also have no grounded outlets at all. The old man who lived here before us reversed the polarity on the outlets in the living room. It goes on and on, but the safety issues are now resolved.

Whew. Can't wait for this invoice.

Wedding Ring Blues

A week after the big day, the hubby and I trapsed all over the grounds of Versailles. Later that evening, he took off his wedding band and noticed a red rash on his finger. We attributed it to dust and sweat that must have gotten trapped under the band while we were hiking around the grounds of Versailles all day.

When it itched too much for him to wear, I put the ring on my left index finger and wore it for him. Once we got home, he tried to wear it several times, but each time the rash came back faster and faster and took longer and longer to heal.

Some people told us it was soap and water getting trapped under the band after the hubby washed his hands. So he left it off to let his finger air dry completely before putting it back on. The rash still came back.

I finally convinced the hubby to go to the jeweler that made and sold us the rings to ask his advice. The jeweler confirmed the research I had done on the internet and said it could easily be an allergic reaction to the nickel that almost all jewelry contains.

Sure enough, I painted the inside of the hubby's ring with clear nail polish and voila! no more rash. My husband was allergic to his wedding band. (His colleagues at work will never let him live it down.)

There are more permanent solutions (platinum plating the inside of the band seems to be the most common and the most expensive), but for now, nail polish is good enough for us. $2.14 every few years is pretty hard to beat.

While surfing the internet about jewelry allergies, I was relieved to read other people's stories about having the same problem and wanted to share my solution. I hope no one I know has to deal with this, but if so, it's really not that big of a deal. (Easier said than done, I know.)

The Bookstore Tourism Blog

The Bookstore Tourism Blog

Crochet Project: Winter Hats

This super-easy pattern is taken from the book Cozy Crochet, the best crochet book I've found in months of searching. These hats involve crocheting a rectangle using the same stitch over and over, then sewing togther one side and closing off one end. I made the band around the green woman's hat because the hat wasn't long enough to fold up properly. It's just several rows of single crochet worked in a round.

Crochet Project: Shopper's Bag

Taken from the book Learning to Crochet. This one is a good beginners project, but I would amend the instructions: I'm planning to line this bag with a light color fabric to help it hold its shape.

Fall Colors

I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?

I was acting receiving clerk yesterday at the bookstore when this little doozy came across the desk. Before the end of my shift at the sales counter, I had read 40 pages. This lady is hilarious. I laughed out loud several times as she described discovering that she had a brain tumor.

I really like creative memoirs. One of my favorites is Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. Suzy Becker's memoir, while not exactly an upper, is definitely unique and worth reading. The illustrations definitely add a lot of character to an otherwise depressing story.

(This image is of the hardcover, but the book just came out in paperback.) 

Unrelated to the wedding or the house...

Oklahoma City recently featured a buffalo exhibit around town. Once the city-wide show was over, sponsors of each animal could do what they wanted with theirs. Fortunately for us at the bookstore, Pearl's sponsor brought her to Full Circle Bookstore. I might be a bit biased, but I think she's the most beautiful buffalo in Oklahoma City.

Cafe Marly just outside the Louvre offers the most expensive cup of coffee around. I think it cost about $7! 

The clock in the Musee d'Orsay. 

We climbed all the way to the top of Notre Dame. I thought it was a good idea to do it first thing in the morning while we still had the energy, but by the time we got back to ground level, our legs were mush and stayed that way for the rest of the day. 

Aww... 

Yumm...escargot! 

The streets of Paris. 

Inside Shakespeare and Co. bookstore on the Left Bank. I brought with me Jeremy Mercer's biography "Time Was Soft There." It's his account of a year spent living for free at the bookstore. The guy working the desk when we stopped by thought I was related to Mercer. They stamped it for me, yea! 

The interior of Sainte Chapelle 

Side view of Notre Dame 

I wanted to go back to France for our honeymoon, so Paris it was. Notre Dame looks so much better after its cleaning. They were also cleaning the Pont Neuf and lots of other buildings in the city. 

More room view. 

Our room at the Inn at Price Tower. 

We stayed at the Inn at Price Tower in Bartlesville on our wedding night and the night after. We highly recommend it. 

The ensemble.

Better late than never

My apologies for not posting in entirely too long. I'll just start posting pictures from the wedding and the honeymoon. I know that's what you want to see anyway!