12.09.06
Posted in The ins and outs...., Knitting.... at 5:19 pm by smarriott
Contrary to popular belief, I am not dead nor am I hibernating. Since my last post, many, many things have happened. I don’t even know where to start! Perhaps a chronological tour would be best……
On Thursday,November 30th a winter storm swept the MO-IL bi-state area and Edwardsville was pretty hard hit as far as ice goes. During the late, freezing, evening hours I shivered in my slippers as numerous creaking noises could be heard outside. One notable crash that night was a limb from our neighbors tree making contact with our lovely, newly-built, privacy fence. In the background you can see that the weight of this monstrosity was enough to instantly bend my tomato planters. Alas, now they are reduced to what I like to call creepy art. On the other hand, one could always say its an expression of man’s existential dilemma. Regardless of your artistic inclinations, I’m delighted by this new addition to the backyard, even if it means I’m doomed to less than perfect tomato plants for years to come!
Two thousand Edwardsvillians are still without power today and many are reduced to sign-making in the absence of television and video games. I feel perfectly legitimized in my insensitive mocking, as I did not lose a moment of my tv time and am therefore, far superior. The one good thing did come from this disastrous storm, I felt like I was living in “Edward Scissorhand’s” world where even the blades of grass were marvelous, ingenious sculptures, its a pity it only a few days. Ah, Johnny Depp…..
The next major event to hit the Marriott household is a new member! No, I am not with child, that being in the womb sense of the phrase, but have a lovely new surrogate pup. Murphy, our neighbor’s dog, greets me at the fence every evening when I return home, wags his tail, and gives me those adorable eyes. He has had quite the time on the town with Sigma and Wiley. I don’t think they will ever let us separate them again.
As we continue on our tour of our most recent series of events, I present to you some new construction. Thursday of this week I slapped up some primer and put the first coat of paint in our new kitchen. I must say, its very festive. I do, however, feel the need to salsa every time I enter the room! Just one more coat and it will be pure perfection.
Today has been quite a day for renovations, let me tell you. As we speak, my new hardwood floor is being installed by three of the handiest men. Joe is taking a break from hours of grueling bending and stapling. Levi, well, he had a hard job, too, this was a tough crowd to entertain. I’m jesting, of course! Levi was quite the handyman in fixing the damaged fence. Our spoiled pups now have their very owndoggy door!
Lastly, I have finished my recent knitting project, now named “Cha-cha.” I’m really hoping this piece is functional. Friday night I attempted to subject Nicodemus to yet another one of my torturous sweaters. He was obviously less than amused. Coincidentally, he has managed to put himself out of my reach today, so as not to be photographed? Let’s pray for all of our sakes it’s not so.
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11.20.06
Posted in Knitting.... at 7:12 pm by smarriott
Well, its been a long, long journey with this one…..but I can, at last, say it is over. Last night, at approximately 1 a.m., I put the final stitching into “Jesse’s Flames.” Please, please hold the applause. To my surprise, John wore it school today! While I know that this may be the only time it is worn, I am simply amazed that it is at least semi-wearable.
This morning I awoke fresh, new, and ready to begin a new project. While surfing for potential projects, I discovered a nifty site that will calculate the dimensions of your very own dog sweater. Here’s an example:
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11.16.06
Posted in Knitting.... at 6:28 pm by smarriott
Well avid readers, I have bad news. I did not finish the sweater this weekend. I’m sorry to have shamed you all. I did, however, finish the one sleeve and begin the second. In my efforts to drop the ball on all other endeavors, I have all but complete the intarsia of the second sleeve and am just in the process of forming the shoulder.
Despite the fact that I have not finished “John’s flames,” I am constantly thinking of new projects. Up next…..a dog sweater. I’m thinking of making my own design, no pattern, which will be either my greatest achievement or my worst failure. Time will tell. While researching potential styles for this sweater, I have come across a website that can only be described as a doozy. Enjoy!
As a side note, Sigma is feeling much better, although we are still failing in our attempts to minimize his activity.
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11.09.06
Posted in Knitting.... at 7:26 pm by smarriott
As most of you know, I have been working on the same knitting project for months now. This project, well, has really been a pain in ka-tush, if you know what I mean.
That being said, I feel a corner (fortunately, not a heel) has recently been turned in this glorious, and infamous, “flame-sweater.” Otherwise known as “Jesse’s Flames” in the Stick ‘N Bitch Nation book my sister gave me for X-mas last year. In the next few weeks, I am confident JM will be the most-stylish disciplinarian at E-ville. It certainly is a pity, however, that I won’t finish it in time for the robotics competition this weekend. Next year I’ll have to make it up to him by creating a Mr. Roboto sweater!
Here is the front (and back) and a partial sleeve. 
The constant color changing is such an awful experience! In my first attempt, 
the sleeve was 2 inches longer than it should be and I totally botched the grid. As painful as it was to take it all out, this version is much nicer, even though it still isn’t perfect. As you can see I was so busy changing colors, I didn’t exactly follow the grid as closely as I should have. Probably not noticeable at a glance, but lets be honest….I am a bit anal. Now I just need to make the other sleeve look the same.
Final touches include piecing everything together and adding the collar. Man I hope this is done soon! I’m itching to work on dog sweaters!
Now after that string of purls, I have other news. Sigma had quite a visit at the vet’s office today. For the last few weeks, he has been limping and delicately walking on his front left paw. After a week, or so, of baby aspirin, he seemed fine and calamity was momentarily avoided. Then it seemed to start bothering him again. The poor pup had doctors messing with his paw, x-rays, and anti-inflammatory drugs. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s now bed-ridden for 10 days! That’s years to a dog! Doesn’t he look sad! I think it hurts me more than it does him. A bunch of treats, and some cuddling with Wiley, should do the trick.
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11.03.06
Posted in The ins and outs.... at 6:59 pm by smarriott
and we got married! At a cute little chapel and home to the first Elvis wedding ceremony!
While in Las Vegas, we toured the local casinos. What a colorful town!
My favorite site was right outside the Luxor Hotel and Casino. This Sphinx is over 35 feet taller than the original! Although we didn’t go up it, the Stratosphere was a prominent landmark of our trip.
Additionally, we saw The Bodies Exhibition at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. It was a walk through all the organs and systems in the human body. All the figures used are real cadavers that have been plasticized with silicone and will never decay. The most astounding part was the circulatory system. They teased away all of the blood vessels and disposed of the organs and skin, so that the human body could only be seen by the outline of the blood vessels. Outstanding! My two major complaints about the exhibit (and I may have missed this with our speeding tour through it) is that they did not reference the Lymphatic/Immune System, which is one of the most important reasons I’m still alive with this cold, and some of the structures were labeled with the technical term, but not the layman’s term. For example, the jejunum. If you don’t know that it is part of the small intestine, you can’t relate that piece to your own body. I will stop being a bio nerd now….Since that time, Big J and I have found out that Bodies Exhibit may be a nock-off to the Body Worlds Exhibit, by Gunther Von Hagens, now in Minnesota. Its a pity, but what can you do.
Due to the exhilaration, or perhaps the exhaustion of the trip, we didn’t take a lot of photos. The chapel would not even allow pictures inside. However, if you would like to see our wedding photos, with Elvis himself, email me.
Despite the lack of photos, I did, however, get some excellent souvenirs! A classic t-shirt with Siegfried & Roy’s white tigers, which will be an excellent addition to my state t-shirt collection (I’m going to pretend Las Vegas is the whole state of Nevada, sorry EM, DZ, & AZ. I’m sure Ely is a wonderful place, but I might never be there). I also forced JM to buy “Fabulous Las Vegas” magnets with our names on it. Awh, isn’t it sweet.
After a whirlwind trip, we celebrated our recent nuptials with a chocolate cake toast, courtesy of the Prickly-Pear Restaurant. Here’s to a happy marriage!
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10.16.06
Posted in The ins and outs.... at 8:43 pm by smarriott
That’s right, world, here I am!
I’ve become a blogger. I’m not really sure what inclined me to start my own website, maybe it was an undying desire to feminize ackbar, a yearning to spread my view of the world, a release of the crazy voices, or simply sheer boredom. One never knows about man’s, or woman’s, motivations.
That being said, I feel I must give a brief manifesto: I enjoy knitting, a bit too much actually, and feel I must spread this knitting to all. It may not be pretty, as it most certainly isn’t, and it certainly isn’t original, but it does makes me useful!
Now after that string of purls, I will now leave you with something pretty. Pretty Persephone in a self-designed masterpiece!
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On Thursday,November 30th a winter storm swept the MO-IL bi-state area and Edwardsville was pretty hard hit as far as ice goes. During the late, freezing, evening hours I shivered in my slippers as numerous creaking noises could be heard outside. One notable crash that night was a limb from our neighbors tree making contact with our lovely, newly-built, privacy fence. In the background you can see that the weight of this monstrosity was enough to instantly bend my tomato planters. Alas, now they are reduced to what I like to call creepy art. On the other hand, one could always say its an expression of man’s existential dilemma. Regardless of your artistic inclinations, I’m delighted by this new addition to the backyard, even if it means I’m doomed to less than perfect tomato plants for years to come!
The next major event to hit the Marriott household is a new member! No, I am not with child, that being in the womb sense of the phrase, but have a lovely new surrogate pup. Murphy, our neighbor’s dog, greets me at the fence every evening when I return home, wags his tail, and gives me those adorable eyes. He has had quite the time on the town with Sigma and Wiley. I don’t think they will ever let us separate them again. 
As we continue on our tour of our most recent series of events, I present to you some new construction. Thursday of this week I slapped up some primer and put the first coat of paint in our new kitchen. I must say, its very festive. I do, however, feel the need to salsa every time I enter the room! Just one more coat and it will be pure perfection. 
Today has been quite a day for renovations, let me tell you. As we speak, my new hardwood floor is being installed by three of the handiest men. Joe is taking a break from hours of grueling bending and stapling. Levi, well, he had a hard job, too, this was a tough crowd to entertain. I’m jesting, of course! Levi was quite the handyman in fixing the damaged fence. Our spoiled pups now have their very owndoggy door!
Lastly, I have finished my recent knitting project, now named “Cha-cha.” I’m really hoping this piece is functional. Friday night I attempted to subject Nicodemus to yet another one of my torturous sweaters. He was obviously less than amused. Coincidentally, he has managed to put himself out of my reach today, so as not to be photographed? Let’s pray for all of our sakes it’s not so. 
