Friday, September 13, 2013

Friday Mishmash

File this under Six Degrees of Pinterest:  I tried a homemade shower cleaner that Kim had success with.  My shower has a few areas that I just can't get completely clean, no matter what I throw at it, so I figured, why not give this warm vinegar, baking soda and Dawn dishwashing liquid a go?  I heeded her advice about it exploding like a volcano and poured all the ingredients together in the shower - figured if it did make a mess, at least it was in the right place.  The blue foam looked cool so I grabbed my camera for a picture:
 
And then, almost instantly...
 Giant dog head!

I spread this stuff all over the floor of the shower and let it sit for several hours.  It didn't seem to do anything impressive (even with using a scrub brush), but it entertained me and Paco.  Kim's shower is clean, so who knows - maybe I have permanent dirt?

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Sit and Knit update:  I finally, FINALLY, finished a hat that I started working on in February.  I had a problem with the decrease pattern, and I messed it up big time.  I got help getting my mess undone, but I felt pretty defeated about it, so I put it in a bag until I could face it again.  Five months later, I took it out, managed to do one round of decreases, asked my new running club/knitter friend Stephanie for her take on the decrease pattern, and it made sense.  Well, it didn't really make sense, but it worked.  Sometimes, you just have to trust the pattern, even if it was originally written in Finnish and might have lost something in the translation.  Here it is - the Jacques Cousteau cap:
I was having a heatstroke posing for these pictures.  Good news is that the wool cap WILL keep you warm, when winter comes!
The decreases - I was attracted to the hat because of them, but boy did they ever vex me!
Side view - the styrofoam head managed to tolerate wearing it longer than I did so I got some better shots.

I also finished my shrug, which turned out (intentionally) to be more of a sweater...I knew that a bulky shrug would not do my shape any favors, so I knit the body and the sleeves longer.  I wasn't sure if I'd like it, to be honest, but as it turns out, once I finished the last sleeve and tried it on, I was pleasantly surprised.  Somehow I'd made it up in my mind that I'd look like a linebacker in it, but I don't think that's the case.  You decide, but if you think linebacker, I'd rather you not share that with me, haha.  Here's my sweatershrug:
 
 Pattern is Diane Soucy's Bulky Shrug, yarn is Sprout cotton.

I still need a button for it - I'm thinking a silver/pewter one, or a unique ceramic button?  Not a lot of places to look for cool buttons around here, but maybe in my travels, I'll find one.
The little pictures on the top right show the collar and the sleeve - after I knitted the body of the sweater, I had to go back and pick up the stitches and knit them on.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, although I was pretty nervous going into it.  I haven't blocked it yet - naturally, I was to anxious to take the pictures!  

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We have a long day tomorrow - the alarm will go off at 4:00 am so we can be at the park and ready to run 6 miles by 5:30 am.  Then, we're getting the heck out of Dodge...there is a rather big football game going on in town (Texas A&M vs. Alabama) and about nine trillion people are here already.  We've had our trip planned for nearly a year, actually - it's just coincidence that we're leaving when our town is filled to bursting with football-crazed fans.  Anyway, we're hopping in a rental car and driving to Florida!  Jeff has an annual conference that he attends...this year it's in Orlando, and I'm tagging along since transportation and hotels are paid for.  I've never been to Florida so this should be fun.  I'll get to spend a couple days hanging around the hotel while he's doing conference stuff, and then?  We're going to Harry Potter World - woohoo! Want to know what the hardest thing has been about getting everything ready for our trip?  Choosing what knitting projects to bring!  Hmmm, maybe we'll drive by a yarn store at some point...

Have a great weekend!

36 comments:

  1. Love your knitting projects. I am almost inspired. Going to Orlando and not running a Disney race?

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    1. Not running a race, not even visiting Disney...I know, the sacrilege! ;) Actually all of our travel days are on the weekends, so no racing at all. I plan on running while I'm there, though.

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  2. You did a beautiful job on both the hat and shrug. I think they both look fantastic on you. Really. I'm going to start preparing my list of conversation topics for our log run tomorrow. :)

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  3. I LOVE your shrug/sweater! The color is gorgeous and it looks great on you. No way are you linebacker material.

    I hope you have a great time in Florida. At least, coming from TX, you are already prepared for any heat/humidity that might be there :)

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    1. Aw, thanks! I think the linebacker image stemmed from a dream where I felt like I'd gained back all of my weight. :(

      And yes, I think living in Texas has prepared us for Florida weather...it can't be any worse, can it?

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  4. Have so much fun on your trip! That's awesome!

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  5. Love how your shrug turned out. Another reason why I have to get this knitting thing down! Have a great trip to Orlando!

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    1. Thanks! I bet you're going to like seeing how your yarn world expands with the addition of knitting to your repertoire. :)

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  6. I am so impressed. You have an amazing talent and I love both items. Have fun on your trip.

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  7. You should totally see what yarn shops are on your route! Have fun! I've been to Florida half a dozen times - my PIL live in Naples - and we honeymooned in Key West. :D

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    1. Oh how cool! Until I looked at the map, I had no idea Orlando was as deep into Florida as it is. This is gonna be a loooooong drive!

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  8. That sweater looks darling on you! Very attractive. And the hat pattern is super cute. I can see where it might get confusing. LOL, because I actually can't figure out how you did it!

    I made that bathroom cleaner too. It didn't foam as much as yours. Maybe my formula has less dawn. Anyway, it has cleaned quite a few things for me. Including the dye that I spilled all over the kitchen last week!! But I think there's old dirt that is very resistant to coming off tile. I try to coexist peacefully with it.

    Have fun in Florida! And yes, you should google to see if there's a good yarn shop in the place you'll be staying, since you have some free time there.

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    1. I coexist peacefully with dog and cat fur. Twelve seconds after I've vacuumed, there's another clump...

      There's an Around Me app on my phone that I plan to use for yarn stores. Hey, you never know, right?!

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  9. Aw shoot. My friend in Oregon used the shower cleaner and it worked for her, too. Your Texas dirt must be something fierce!

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  10. Cute shrug! And that color is perfect on you :) Good move getting out of town, and man, when you get out of Dodge, you do it in style! Have fun!

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    1. Thanks! It would be fun to stick around for the gameday craziness, but truthfully, we'd end up treating it like an impending hurricane - stock up on food and drinks and stay inside, lol!

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  11. If you're a Harry Potter fan, you'll love the Wizarding World. It was very fun to see all of the details they included. I don't blame you for getting out of town this weekend! It's going to be a madhouse (and yet part of me wishes I was going to be there!)

    *Long-time reader, enjoying vicariously running through Bryan-College Station with you. Running was nowhere on my radar back in school (TAMU for undergrad & med school) but now that I've got the running bug, part of me wants to go back and run there. Then I remember how hot it is in Texas! - Jess

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    1. Thanks for commenting - you should come back and run the BCS Marathon are relive your school days! :)

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  12. Cute sweater, & cute model! I like the idea of making it longer since its a bulky sweater.

    Oh Paco. :) "Wut you make, Mom? It not smell like food..."
    I know you didn't ask, but I've had good results with a cleaner called scrub free. It comes in a spray bottle. It can be wiffy though so be careful.

    Have fun in FL! How long a drive is that for you? Jealous of HP world! Some of my *kids* have even been there & I haven't!
    Chrissy

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    1. It's a little over 1000 miles to Orlando - long drive over two days, but it was interesting to see this part of the country.

      Thanks for the tip on the other cleaner...I'll check it out!

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  13. I like the shrug. Those are always good for when wearing something sleeveless and it gets chilly, although I don't imagine you experience much of that in TX :D

    I tried that cleaner as well and it made my shower slippery as heck. Took *forever* to rinse and I felt like I wasted a lot of water. I'll just stick with Simple Green and the Magic Eraser.

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    1. The shrug is necessary for going indoors at restaurants, movies, etc...many places overcompensate for the heat by turning the A/C up too much. Feels weird to bring a sweater when it's 100 degrees outside, but there you go, lol!

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  14. I LOVE your shrug!!! Love the color, the look!!
    And have fun in Florida!! I have friends who live on the Western side, and wish I could visit them more often!!

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  15. Love the shrug sweater (shweater?)! You wear jewel tones well.

    Enjoy your trip! I remember seeing a yard shop in Fairhope, AL (a great little town) off I-10 near Mobile. Something Cottage--Yarn Cottage, maybe? Anyway, that's a great stopover area with great running paths, etc. if you're interested.

    Oh, and Roll Tide. :)

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    1. I wish we had more time in Alabama to check out that yarn store! Maybe on the way back... :)

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  16. Love the hat! The shrug too, but especially the hat!

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  17. Love the shrug, the color is great and it looks great on you!

    Hope you have a great trip! I love the Harry Potter books and movies but I didn't know there is a Harry Potter world: cool! Make lots of pics for me, I'd love to see how it looks.

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