nonaKnits

Facts About nona: Part 11

nona thinks raising the two nona-boys was one of the best things that ever happened to her.

nona is thrilled for the two nona-boys who are off on summer adventures and will be together at USC next fall.

nona is enjoying the beautiful summer weather and spending time with nona-hubby.

nona is not home much these days, nor on her computer.

nona loves being an empty nester!

It's the Puzzle

Tonight I had an epiphany while hurriedly posting my swatch before the midnight curfew -- it's funny how these things happen when your mind has shut off and you really should be in bed.  I'd been sucked in by Cara's mad, crazy, genius idea to create a knit version of the crochet Babette blanket.  Because of said suck-in, I attempted to swatch a knit version of a crochet Granny Square.  Now the swatch didn't quite hit the mark, but it did spark my curiosity.  And then -- wham -- it hit me.  I really like figuring things out.  For some it's the process -- for others it's the product -- for me, it's the puzzle.  And who said swatching wasn't useful?

Added 05/10/07 -- Today's swatch abandoned the mitered-square for log-cabin construction.  I see lots of potential here!

Facts About nona: Part 10

nona shys away from mass production and national chains, preferring to shop at locally owned businesses.

nona enjoys good design and hand crafted items.

nona recently scared herself by buying a Halloween cutesy mug from Starbucks.

nona is a sucker for anything in chocolate brown and turquoise.

nona thinks she needs to spend more time in the city, away from the uniformity of the suburbs and thinks another trip to the De Young Museum is in order.

Facts About nona: Part 9

nona thinks kindness is more important than money.

nona is not sure why she hasn't called the dishwasher repair man.

nona thinks she's baking when she uses a box mix.

nona thinks she's really baking when she uses an organic box mix.

nona likes to eat organic because they have yet to invent organic high fructose corn syrup.

Seaming or Swatching?

Today we're going to play a little game.  A little game called, "How well do you know nona?"  Don't worry, it's fun and you get to click stuff -- you like to click stuff don't you?

I'm lounging in limbo here my friends.  I've almost finished my Japanese Vest -- seaming is the last step -- and am planning my next project -- Green Gable.  In this decidedly precarious position there are two equally enticing options.  Did I finish the old project or start the new?  Go on guess...

Did I seam or did I swatch?

A Spoonful of Sugar

For years and years I've been drinking coffee the same way -- decaf, dark roast, and with a splash of half-and-half.  The same way that is, until the other day when I threw in a spoonful of sugar.  It was a memory -- a taste memory -- that made me do it, a flash back to my elementary school years. 

My sisters and I loved to visit my paternal grandmother.  Each morning at 10:30 Grandmother would sit down for a cup of coffee and a cigarette.  This was our favorite time of the day because we too got to partake.   Think china cup, lots of milk and sugar with a hint of coffee, and a cigarette -- don't worry, PC reader, we were only allowed to blow out on the cigarette.  Thank goodness the nona-mom was such a good sport, because we loved drinking our sweet, sweet coffee and puffing away on our cigarette.

So in memory of my Grandmother and the joys of childhood, I added sugar to my daily cup -- the taste recalling memories of Grandmother's kitchen and our coffee breaks. 

Facts About nona: Part 8

nona is a yarn snob who's recently had two, very positive experiences with washable wools.  So I hereby declare that it is time for me to knock it off and put an end to being a yarn snob.  The End.   

nona works one day a week specifically for yarn.

nona has no -- I mean none, absolutely zero, zip-do-da -- aptitude for languages.

nona is taking a French class with nona-hubby -- Je ne comprend pas!

nona is motivated to learn French so I can buy yarn and talk about knitting when I go to France next summer.  For nona, the ex-yarn snob, there is no better motivator than yarn!

Facts About Nona: Part 7

When nona goes to the grocery store, she buys 6 chocolate covered almonds for the walk home.

nona walks to the grocery store almost every day.

nona has fond memories of toilet papering houses during her teen years -- there's something beautiful about the arc of the toilet paper against the midnight sky as it unfurls up and over a tree branch.

nona-son-the-elder has 23 rolls of toilet paper on the floor of his bedroom -- should nona stop him?

nona loves the YO [yarn over] -- because an intention hole can be a good thing, even in life.

MeMe For Me

nona's been tagged with the book MeMe -- thanks to Anna and Purly Whites for tagging meme!  First for a little context.  I was a math major and took one -- yes, only 1 -- class that involved reading and writing.  An Existentialist English class my senior year, just for fun.  You see, bibliophilic reader, nona's really a visual person, not a literary person -- a painting often says more to me than a book.  So with that side note, we're onto the MeMe...

Total number of books in your house?

I estimate the non-household owns about 526 books.  nona-hubby, who is a true scholarly reader, owns the majority of the books, the nona-sons have their fair share -- leaving nona with her technical books, art books, knitting books, and a smattering of my favorite fiction.

The last book you bought was?

Information Architecture by Christina Wodtke.  I'm about halfway through this book, and it's excellent.

What was the last book you read?

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov.  This is a funky book filled with ambiguities and a dry sense of humor.  Here's a scholarly write up about the thing.

Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read or that mean a lot to you.

The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies -- I love all Robertson Davies's books, lot of quirky characters!

Bel Canto by Anne Patchett -- You'll finish the last page and go right back to page 1.

Anne Sexton by Diane Wood Middlebrook -- A creative genius stuck living in the box of a traditional 1950s life.  Nona enjoys reading about creative people and their lives.

Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti -- nona loves the up beat tone of this book.  Great tips with a bit of attitude.  I think of it as the Stitch N' Bitch of the 1980s

Women's Work Textile Art From the Bauhaus by Sigrid Weltge -- A wonderful history of the Bauhaus from the woman's perspective -- lots of great pictures too!

The Art of Richard Diebenkorn by Jane Livingston  -- as you already know, nona loves the paintings of Richard Diebenkorn.

Who are you going to pass this onto and why?

Would you like to participate in the MeMe?  The first 2 people who leave a comment asking for the MeMe will by tagged.

Facts About Nona: Part 6

nona's favorite song is Sheryl Crow's "All I Want To Do Is Have Some Fun".

nona thinks if everyone practiced yoga for 15 minutes a day, there would be no wars.

nona plays tennis and has the feet to prove it.

The only place nona can grow anything green is on the roof.

nona is peeved when a knitting pattern does not include a schematic.