We're Having Rain, Not Zombies Today!

On Friday, the weather forecast for Sunday said it was going to cool off considerably, with a high of 64, but no rain. Yesterday, it said it was going to be closer to 70 today with scattered rain in the afternoon. Today, it was raining by 8 am, and was supposed to rain all through the morning and a lot of the afternoon. Actually, it's supposed to rain on Monday and Tuesday, too.

I called Tim around 9 am, and he said the zombies were all going to be filmed outdoors, and, because of the rain, that wasn't possible. So, he didn't need any zombies today, and because he needed me to put makeup on the zombies, I wasn't needed, either.

Considering that I got up at 8 am, ate, took a shower and checked over all my equipment (cell phone charged, batteries in both cameras, packed w/extra batteries, etc), I was really disappointed. It was better than having Holly drive an hour and me ride for a half hour with her and then find out, but not a lot. We went back to sleep.

So, principle filming on Nudist Camp Zombie Massacre will not be finished today. Tim is doing some indoor filming, and that's good, but the rest will have to be rescheduled. I hope the changing seasons don't make a continuity problem for him!

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I did some errands yesterday.

First, I stopped at the local yarn store in Manassas. The last time I was in there, they had Addi lace needles in every size and length you could imagine. They appear not to have ordered another Addi lace needle since then, and I think they had three assorted ones, none of which were a size 7 in a 16 inch length. They told me the lace needles were a fad that hadn't caught on yet. The last time Holly and I tried to go there, they were closed. It's shaping up to be a total loss as far as a local yarn store is concerned.

So, I went and spent the money I would have spent on a needle on some sock yarn at AC Moore. The two major projects I'm currently doing are either too big at this point to conveniently drag around (the Celtic sweater that I wanted the needle for), or too much of a mess to lug around (the wings wrap which requires a big chart and a way to mark my place). Since there are at least two meetings at the apartment building that I want to attend this week, and an all-day trip to the VA hospital for hearing tests, I'll need something portable to take to all these places to knit. Socks are perfect!

I really don't like to do intarsia (which is what the wings wrap is), but I'm going to love it once it's done. I just have to be really hard on myself and make myself do it!

This is what it looks like at the moment:

Since I couldn't get the yarn specified in the pattern, I changed it a bit. First, I'm putting a seed stitch border around it so it'll have a bit less tendency to roll on the edges. Second, I changed the background color to lavender, and I'm using 4 shades of black-to-white for the wings (which means I'm changing the chart a lot). I'm also making it about 4 inches longer (2 extra inches on each end). But there's still a lot to knit. I really have to force myself to do it.

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Just as there was nothing much to watch on TV this weekend, the library came through with 3 DVDs to loan me.

I watched Coraline last night, finally! I've been wanting to see it for a while. I read the book and loved it, and my friend, Kent Burton, worked on it. So I feel like I have to keep up with what my friends are doing.

That's a photo of Kent doing animation on Coraline from the new book that's out. And below is a photo of John in the foreground with Kent behind him.

John's just a silhouette in the photo, and you can't see much of Kent, but I like this photo anyway.

Now that I've gotten to see the movie (finally!) I really enjoyed it.

The other two movies I got from the Library are Star Trek, and Howl's Moving Castle.

Holly and I saw Star Trek in the theater, and I have to say the story was a stroke of genius. It lets all the previous stories stand while managing to wipe the slate clean, and pave the way for all-new stories about the original crew (although they have to use different actors). It's a movie that is so good that I can't wait to see it another ten times!

A year or two ago, I read a book called Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, and loved it! I just recently found out that there had been a movie made of it! It's about a young woman named Sophie, who is transformed, through magic into an old woman. She goes to see Howl in his moving castle in the hopes of being young again, and details her adventures on this journey.

The book was very good. I've loved everything I've ever read by Diana Wynne Jones, and this was no exception! One of my favorites was Fire and Hemlock. It's kind of an ordinary story of magic. I also enjoyed the Chrestomanci books.

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Well, I'm going to go watch some movies and knit. I hope you're having as much fun with this weekend as I am!

Lots More Coraline!

Holly and Robin were planning on going to see Coraline last night. She works at a big bank building downtown, so she has off for all Federal holidays, and could go and do that. I'm supposing they did, but I haven't heard about it yet.

Oh, and by the way, today is Robin's birthday, so,

Happy Birthday, Robin!

Anyway, last week, Holly called me, amazed at all the stuff on the Coraline site. If you go to Coraline's bedroom and open the bottom drawer of her dresser, you'll find the pattern for the starry sweater she wears, but in children's and adult's sizes. If you click the top drawer, you'll find information on the woman who knitted the sweater. There's also a Coraline poster that you can print for yourself, a page where you can design flowers for the garden, and many more things.

Holly texted me a few days later and said "Do you know that Kent's picture is up on the Coraline site?" I called her back and we had a long conversation about a lot of things. I think they must've given Kent an alternate name in the credits, because his credit for Coraline isn't on his IMdB page, it's on a separate one.

Anyway, Holly said that she'd seen two different photos of him in the well. I had hoped to be able to snatch a photo of him, but Flash won't let me. If you click on one of the photos in the well, it'll give you a separate window that will show you all the photos in sequence, with labels that tell who everyone is. I only saw two (excellent) photos of him. He's a very handsome man, definitely worth looking at/for!

But the real news I wanted to spread (in case you haven't heard it before) is about the Coraline Boxes. Knitty got one, and it's really neat! Check it out here. I especially like this box.

There are more photos and information on the boxes here, here, here, and here. Search for Coraline boxes on a search engine. There's lots more info out there! And it's amazing!

As a crafter, I'm thinking about searching some thrift stores for old boxes, and making my own using polymer clay and whatever. Does that start the wheels turning or what?

Did you know that if you're a member of Ravelry, you can join the Knitters for Neil group, which is a group that appreciates Neil Gaiman? 

There's also a Coraline sweepstakes, but you'll have to enter soon, so get over there and do it! I've already entered!

Have a great day!

Coraline Sweater!

I found the pattern for the glorious starry sweater that Coraline wears in her new movie!

This is not my pattern, but I've put it in my sidebar so you can find it in the future. And for good measure, it's here.

If you know me, you may have noticed that I love stars. So, I was excited the moment I saw her sweater, and I've been looking for it for a while. It's possible to find it at the main Coraline site, but it's well hidden. I'll leave it to you to see if you can find it.

Have a great day!

Spring Is Here!

Well, it was today, anyway. Today would make a believer in global warming out of anybody. Considering it's February, anyway.

Holly and I went out and it didn't take long before we took off our sweatshirts (that we were wearing like jackets).

I know the weather will go back to winter in a few days, but it probably made it up to 60 degrees, judging by how it felt.

I got an IM from Holly last night saying that the headlights in her car were out again! I IM'd back "Will I ever see you again?" We did actually go out today, but we had to be sure that Holly started home in time to be there before dark.

We headed for Borders in Springfield first, with a stop at Michaels, since we were going right past it.

Michaels had some beautiful yarn that Holly bought to make a baby blanket for one of the ladies at work. It has ombre stripes and dots of different baby-type colors, so it's self-patterning, like some sock yarn. She'll be making a circular blanket, and I can't wait to see it.

At Borders, I finally got my copies of Coraline and Backup! They are both very short, but I suspect, very good. I started reading Coraline when I got home.

Then we headed to Walmart (the one in Dumfries that has yarn), and I bought lots of yarn. Now I can knit actual projects again. Most of the WalMarts in the area have essentially eliminated yarn from their inventory, so I have to take two buses to get to one that actually has yarn, unless Holly gives me a ride. I also bought lots of regular household supplies.

We stopped and got something to eat, and had a great time talking. Holly got her birthday presents (finally!), and really liked the protective "skin" I designed for her phone.

Then there was a quick stop at Giant, where I used the gift card I got for Christmas.

Holly went to Baltimore last night, which is where she was when she discovered that her headlights are out again! She and Malaia went to the Baltimore Aquarium yesterday, and watched their movie. Holly says it was in 3D, and scary. Kids were screaming, and being removed from the theater by parents, and it was all quite exciting. They also wanted to watch Coraline, but it was sold out far in advance, so they missed out on it.

I need to get some work done for all of you people who are fans of Steve Canyon. John has a new post up on the Steve Canyon blog, by the way, so go over there and check it out! The Steve Canyon hats will be back soon, so you'll want to read all about it. They sold out fairly quickly before, and this may be the only new batch of them, so get them now while you can!

Now I'm going to get something done on the covers so you can watch the second volume.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

I have the best sister in the world, and today is her birthday!

Just for the record, I've forgiven Mom for having you instead of the older brother I asked for!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!

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Speaking of birthdays, I haven't seen Holly since Christmas, so I haven't been able to give her Birthday presents.

Actually, this is a pretty good arrangement because I can find lots of things with hearts on them due to the proximity of Valentine's Day. She collects heart-shaped jewelry and other items.

Well, I'll get to see her tomorrow, and she'll get some of her presents, but I'm still working on some of them, and she won't get them all tomorrow. 

Can you say "procrastination?"

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I went out this morning to do several errands. One of those errands was to pick up two books at Borders, and I have to say that Borders has never been as much of a disappointment as it was today.

The two books I planned to get were Backup, and Coraline.

They just plain didn't have Backup, but Coraline was marked as "likely in store." I went looking for it in Science Fiction, and went back to the catalog and discovered that it was also stocked in the "kid's independent reader" section. Couldn't find it there, either, went back to the catalog, and it said "not in store." If I'd been a little quicker, I might have found it.

I went to the help desk, which was unmanned for at least a half hour in spite of the fact that there was at least one person waiting for help that entire time, and most of that hour had two or three people waiting. There would have been more, but people periodically gave up and went away.

I went to the cafe to get something to drink, but they didn't have anything I wanted except water, but I really didn't want to pay $2 for a few gulps of water.

Back at the help desk, with no help forthcoming, I had lots of free time to look around. The row of bookcases that has been there since the beginning of time (you know, the ones that display bestsellers) is no longer there. But there's lots more room for customers in the space it's freed up. If the bookcases were still there, they probably would have had the books I was looking for in them. I miss them!

Although the store was full of shoppers, and the line of people purchasing things was threatening to take over all the floor space, expand outdoors and take over the earth, there were very few people actually working in the store. I was going to say it looked like the first day the last Harry Potter book was released, but they had enough people there to deal with it that day. Today, they didn't.

What is wrong with the economy?

I keep seeing things that there's a large demand for in the store (in spite of the economy), but they're not in the store! I mean things that manufacturers could sell twice as much of if the items were just in the stores, but they're not there. People were all over the store with cash in hand, trying to buy things that the store didn't have!

Could this have something to do with the economy?

Anyway, I did, finally, track down someone who reserved Backup for me at the Springfield store, and said that they would search for a copy of Coraline, and if they could find one, they'd hold that for me, too.

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For those of you who enjoy fantasy on TV, Hallmark will have The Good Witch on this weekend, followed (in some showings) by it's brand new sequel, The Good Witch's Garden. It also has a couple of other showings later in the month, so check your local schedules.

It'll be on TV in a little bit and I want to catch it.

Oh, and have any of you been watching Legend of the Seeker? It seems quite a good fantasy story, based on books by Terry Goodkind, and several stations have it on at odd hours, so, once again, check your local schedules.

I have to go. I hope you're having a great weekend.

Tagged Yet Again

I think Facebook is getting out of control. I was tagged again, and here is the result. I'm not tagging anyone!


1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Yes, me.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Just now. Joan of Arcadia went to the funeral of the boy she babysat with.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It used to be nice, but it's degenerating.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Jersey tomatoes! Sliced THICK! Also, turkey, chicken or roast beef. Sliced THIN!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Holly!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yeah.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Of course.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes. Maybe that's what's wrong with me.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
There was a time I might have, but not now.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cheerios or raisin bran.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
If they have ties.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Lucerne chocolate chip (with a banana) or Breyers peach or black cherry

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
it varies

15. RED OR PINK?
Blue!

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Right now, my feet and ankles (which are swelling up), my ear (which hurts and won't hear anything except for the repairmen next door who were pounding with hammers at 8 am) and my sinuses (which are attempting to drown me).

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My mom.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
I want everyone to do as they please.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
No shoes. My feet are swelling. The rest is none of your business.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW
Joan of Arcadia.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Medium blue.

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Lemons, baking bread or cooking food.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
John Ellis.

25. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
We met on the MST3K forum on Ravelry.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Figure skating

27. HAIR COLOR?
It used to be brown, but now it's grey.

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

30. the age i was 2 years ago 63

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Both

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Wide Awake.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Black

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Spring.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
yes please

37. DESCRIBE YOUR PENCIL CUP.
I need one, and I have to go buy one.

38. FAVORITE ARTIST(s)
Ry Cooder, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Maria Muldaur, Chris Smither, Fred Wedlock, etc.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Inkdeath.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have a mouse pad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Lost!!!

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Anything I can actually hear.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Both.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Probably Switzerland. Maybe Iceland. I'm not sure which is further.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Art. And knowing things.

46 WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Philadelphia.

47. FAVORITE PIECE OF JEWELRY?
Too many to list.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
None.

49. SUN OR SNOW?
Sun.

50. LAW & ORDER OR CSI?
Doctor Who!

I'm starting to get tired of all this being tagged, and I'm not going to play anymore. 

But at least it gives me something to put into my blog today instead of crying on your shoulder because I feel sick today, and it's bad enough that I just want to cry.

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I have bags of stash, but I really don't have a project to work on, so I'm knitting a swatch (which may become a scarf) just to have something to do with my hands while watching TV.

Now I wish I'd gone out with Holly on Saturday.

Not having a specific project probably has to do with not feeling good.

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Lost was wonderful last night! If you're a Lost fan, I hope you got to see it.

Tonight, there will be a new: Burn Notice, Eleventh Hour, and Supernatural.

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I have to return some stuff to the Library, and I'm running out of food, so I have to go to the grocery store, and I really don't want to because my feet hurt. I wish there was a place nearby that sells yarn!

I hope you're having a better day than I am.

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PS-- Coraline opens tomorrow on the 6th of February, 2009. Sorry. I have a good grasp of when things are supposed to happen, I just don't have a good grasp of what day it is.

Coraline

I was hoping to get over to Borders yesterday and get my copy of Backup and Coraline, but my feet were all swollen up, and the bones inside hurt as they always do when this happens, so I didn't feel like all the walking that would be needed to do that.

But I read this post by Vicki Howell about the knitting involved in the Coraline movie, and I'm starting to get really excited about it. There's a link there about Althea Crome, which I've duplicated here. She did the knitting for the movie. Where you see Coraline and the others wearing sweaters in the movie, they're real, knitted sweaters.

As anyone who knows me will guess, I'm fascinated with her blue sweater with white stars. I want one! No, not a tiny one. One I can wear. But with pockets. In my opinion, the only clothes that should not have pockets are nightgowns. And some of the ones I've owned had pockets, too.

Then, this morning, I found this link from Knitty.

If you click the Coraline movie link above, you can take a tour of all the handmade stuff. It's beautiful.

I'd like to see the movie, but it wouldn't do much good since I wouldn't be able to hear it. I'd like to buy the DVD just for the beautiful art, though

John Ellis just sent me an AIM message, and we've been chatting about this. John is the producer of the Steve Canyon DVDs.

He said that our friend Kent Burton has been working on it all last year. I knew Kent when he was John's house-mate years ago and from science fiction conventions. He also animated the spiders in New Genesis. If you click that, please note that I had a small part, and it was credited to Johann DesRoches in addition to the work I did as crew (one of my credits was as handweaver!). John sent me this link, too.

The movie opens tomorrow.

I am so excited about this!

Don't forget that Lost will be on tonight!

Happy February!

This particular February boasts a distinction that other Februarys haven't had in quite a while.

It has a Friday the thirteenth.

The significance of that is that because February is 28 days long, it means that March will also have a Friday the thirteenth.

Two of them! Back-to-back!

I'm sure you're beginning to understand why some people have said to me, "You're easily amused!"

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I got tagged on Facebook, and put it up here so it would be easier to read. So, there will be three posts up today, so when you finish reading this, there are two more.

One of the entries on Facebook says, "John Ellis is predicting that facebook will blot out the sun and then swallow the earth within 7 days."

He's got a point.

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The Christmas stockings, which were done last week were picked up and paid for last night! The fact that the project is completed is a major relief for me, and it's leaving a knitting vacuum in it's wake.

I have several projects in mind that I'd like to do, but no yarn! I'd like to go out today and get some yarn, but this cold/flu/infection is hanging on, and I woke up today with my feet swollen up and my right foot hurting. It hurts enough to make me want to limp, so I'm less than enthusiastic about walking to the bus, and then walking to all the places I'd like to go. 

I have a $15 credit at Borders, and I want to use it to buy a copy of Backup. The list price for it is $20, but it's a novella, barely more than a short story. I have no doubt that it will be good, but everyone that's read it thinks the price is more than a bit stiff. Yes, I know that it's available at Amazon at a lower price, but there's also shipping, so it doesn't make a lot of difference. But my credit will mean that it'll only cost $5! So it will be well worth the price. I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's a quote from the beginning of the book:

Let's get something clear right up front.

I'm not Harry Dresden.

Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences--and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being.

I'll be damned if I know how.

But then, I'll be damned regardless.
My name is Thomas Raith, and I'm a monster.

I can't wait! It's really a book in the Dresden Files series, but it's told by Thomas, and it's an account of his adventures providing backup for Harry on a case.

I also want to buy a copy of Coraline while I'm there. Coraline has either just come out or will be out as a movie real soon now. I want to see the movie, because, as the second link will tell you, the entire world of the movie has been created by hand. And then again, it's been written by Neil Gaiman, so it couldn't possibly be bad.

And then I want to walk across the road to Radio Shack to buy some DVD cases. Then there's a walk over to WalMart, and I really need to stop at the dollar store, which is another walk. None of these trips are far in themselves, but all together, it's a lot of walking.

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I haven't been telling you about what I've been reading lately, so let me remedy that.

I joined the Folklore and Fairytales group on Ravelry. I suspect that if you're not on Ravelry, you won't be able to see the page that link takes you to. It did cause me to put up a Fairytale section in my Amazon store, though.

Anyway, they've been discussing lots of interesting books, and I've been carrying tons of them home from the Library and reading them. A large part of what I've read because of this group is from Dianna Wynne Jones. First, I reread Fire and Hemlock, which is a tale heavily based on the Tam Lin story, with a touch of Thomas the Rhymer thrown in. Then I continued with The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volumes I, II, and III. 

I'm currently reading the Inkheart Trilogy, having finished Inkheart and Inkspell, and I'm now partway through Inkdeath, and I'm enjoying it immensely. My library card has been getting a workout with all this! The first of these three has come out as a movie (last month) and I suppose if it does well that they'll do the other two. If anyone has read the book and seen the movie, I'd really like a review from you.

I currently have a copy of The Alchemyst lined up for when I finish Inkdeath, and it's sequel, The Magician, is on order at the library. I'm going to have to wait until May for the third book, The Sorceress, though.

These are fictional stories about a real character named Nicholas Flamel, who showed up as a peripheral character in the Harry Potter books.

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This post is starting to get out of hand in length. Blogger has just thrown a fit because I have too many tags listed, so maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

There will be a new Fringe, The Mentalist and Leverage on tonight!

Have a good one!

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PS-- Here's a link to information on a movie that John's just finishing some work on. He's syncing dailies, so the movie is nowhere near finished.