LaDeeLa

The small task of writing a short blog post was diverted for 4 hours by: updating WordPress and trying to figure out why everything here has a 500 error. I’m afraid it won’t be fixed soon because I have 50 other projects to make some progress on! arg.

I made a lot of progress on the Gansey socks during my yard sale last Saturday. It rained on and off all day, and there weren’t too many customers. It wasn’t much of a sale, because I forgot about a whole closet full of junk I’d been collecting. I sold the food dehydrator for $3.00, so the event was a total success!

I’m using Fortissima Cotton yarn on a 40″ long 2.0mm Addi Turbo.

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This is about the fourth time to write this post, and I’m getting tired of saying the same thing over and over, so I’ll just say this: excuse the mess!

Wednesday we watched Arabesque (1966) with Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. I thought the music was overdone: it was too romantic when they were kissing, too lighthearted when Gregory Peck punned (which was often) and too terrifying during chase scenes. But it was pretty cool music, and having missed the opening credits, I looked up the composer. It was Henry Mancini.

I highly recommend this movie! If you’re knitting, it’s even better, because if you try to pay attention to the plot you’ll get really confused.

• Gregory Peck is so lovely to look at.
• Sophia Loren is so lovely to look at, in definitely 1960’s Christian Dior.
• Fantastic use of heavy machinery as weapons.
• Lots of puns and witty banter.

IMDB says it’s showing next on New Year’s Eve on Turner Classic Movies.

I thought it would be clever for me to come up with a catchy slogan for my jewelry store, and since doing anything with your inner diva is so over-used, I would say do whatever (I haven’t decided what’s clever enough to do to it yet) with your inner prima ballerina. I was running this past the men in the house (really, they are very knowledgeable about jewelry and cleverness…) and Ben suggested “Re-tune your inner piano.”

My jewelry is named after dances, which is too clever by far, and really distracts from the main message. And the logo incorporates a cleverly touched-up photo of Anna Pavlova, which brings to mind my performances of The Swan (on the double bass, of course!) from Saint Saens’ Carnival of the Animals at schools, because it’s so clever…

I recite the poem written by Ogden Nash before I play:

The swan can swim while sitting down,
For pure conceit he takes the crown.
He looks in the mirror over and over,
And claims to have never heard of Pavlova.

Sometimes I first explain who Anna Pavlova was, and that she was as famous in her time as [insert this hour's pop culture "diva" here]; and sometimes I just say “and claims to have never heard of Elvis”. Pavlova was famous for her portrayal of “The Dying Swan” set to Saint Saens’ music.

Here’s a link to listen to cellist John Michel play The Swan.

I realized that I was serious about my husband when I let him carry my bass. Why am I so protective of my bass? Strange men have taken it from my hands when I’m packing it up or carrying it around, and I’ve had to wrestle it back on more than one occasion. My bass is my voice, it’s part of my soul, and it’s an extension of my body. Plus it cost me a lot of money.

Just last night, I was going up some stairs and a man asked if I needed help. I said “No, thanks,” as usual. (Somebody asks me if I need help almost every time I’m out and about with my bass.) He came rushing up behind me and lifted the bottom of my bass up, almost causing me to fall.

I admit that I practice looking helpless, but only around doors I have to go through. Sometimes people in front of me let the door shut just as I get there. Most of the time these people are men!

All right then, it’s time to teach boys to leave people alone when they say they don’t need help, and to hold doors open for people who have lots to carry…

Things get pretty busy in December for me. Since December 1, I’ve played the Messiah, parts of Vivaldi’s Gloria, a boatload of Christmas carols and some Renaissance, Baroque and modern classical music. And there are still two weeks to go. I’ve probably played the Hallelujah Chorus more than I’ve played the National Anthem over the years.

Yesterday I left the house at 7:30 am and got home around 6:00 pm. I played the bass for about 4 hours and spent about 3 hours driving 125 miles. There was a choice between knitting or closing my eyes for a few minutes between services, and I didn’t get any stitches done.

This week I’m playing at one of my favorite churches - it’s only 3 miles from my house!

Everything green is 20% off at LaDeeLa Jewelry and Accessories for the month of December. I’ve added a bunch of new stuff, and some lovely crochet doilies that my mother in law, Annie, made.

I love these socks! I’m wearing them right now. They look kind of funky off the feet, but they fit well. Actually, the heels are a little too long, but that’s my fault. The more I knit, the looser my gauge got.

Things I learned from knitting this sock:

• How to break away from absolute perfectionism… The make 1 left took me about 5 minutes each time, so I just started doing make 1 rights instead. And told myself it’s okay because they were on the sides of the toe and nobody will ever know. Well, you know now…
• How to do an afterthought heel. It turned out to be much less complicated than I ever imagined.
• How to do a crochet bind off. Very nice and loose!
• How to get a braided effect by having the floating yarn in front. Very clever!

The pattern was designed by Rae Blackledge of Rae’s Yarn Boutique. Thanks Rae!

I just added an album from Glenn’s graduation last spring from Greenway High School. He’s at ASU now, studying engineering.