Risky?

I've been contemplating for a long while whether to out myself as suffering from mental illness, but didn't quite know if that was appropriate on a knitting blog. So I've just started another blog, a venting blog that my Mum will never read and cry over, but where hopefully, maybe, someone may be able to say just the right thing to make me feel better for a bit.
I hope this isn't going to backfire on me.....

I really hope to come back to this blog someday, so I'm not going to shut it down yet.

Kisses,
xxxxx

I think that maybe I should bite the bullet and put this blog to sleep.....!

woops...

....I am seriously thinking about updating this so-called blog very soon....

I promise.

DRugs are good, mmmmmkay?

Had a killer head on Saturday, gone on Sunday, back today. Spent the day with my good friend Mersyndol, and am now headache-free, although slightly pain-killer-hungover!!!

Knitting - since my last post (if you can call it a "post"), I have made three Forest Canopy shawls (love that pattern, quick and beautiful, I've made each one different, by varying how deep I knit the borders) - one Silk Garden, one Handmaiden Seasilk, and one with an Italian yarn, the name of which escapes me... I'm still going with the red/blue/green/yellow pinwheel blanky for Steve and Ezz'z baby, and started another blanket (square, knit from the centre-out) for same nephew/nieceling. Also finished two special surprises for two special people who may or may not read this, so I'll wait till I see them before posting details!

Photos as soon as I can...

Off for another nap
xxxxxx

Jeez I'm boring....

I love Natalie Dee and want to meet her but I think I'd embarrass myself by being all shy and awestuck....

This cartoon makes me nearly wet my pants every time I look at it. Does that make me childish?? Meh, it's funny!!!

Let this be a warning to you...

Ooooh, what's this? A lunar landscape...????

Nope, 'tis the aftermath of being stupid enough to brave the 40 degree heat/sun and go swimming in a friends' pool without enough sun screen on.... (I DID have sunscreen on, just not enough on my shoulders. No other body parts were burnt......did you notice that I have already resumed - that's not the right word, but you know what I mean - my pastiness in colouring, even before I've peeled??)

mmmmmmmmm....flaky, peeling skin soon.....

Rememberies

I just saw this on Jermaines' blog, and thought it interesting, interesting enough to see what happened if I put it here:

If your eyes are passing over this paragraph now: Even if we don’t speak often, please post a comment with a memory of You and I. It can be good or bad, it can be anything you want. When you’re finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.

The year of the close-up?? I think not...

hmmmmmm.....it's been a while.....!

To begin, here are some silly close-ups of us as Christmas at Mum and Dad's place. The oldies graciously declined to be photographed in this manner, claiming it to be, well, silly....

Davo (middle child), and me (note that I am valiantly trying to minimise the eye-wrinkle-age by maintaining a botox-like forehead pose......)

Erin (or Derin - Dave's lady-love)...

Baby bro, Stevie - we'll be teaching at the same school this year, can't wait!! (of course I'm going to be telling the kids that HE is 9 years my senior, not the other way 'round....)

little later on in the evening.....

Stevies' lovely wife, Erin - we were PRETENDING to be drunk.....

and, as this is upposed to be primarily a knitting blog, photographic proof that knitting (a little cardy for the baby that Erin and Steve are currently gestating, YAY!!) has been taking place - more to follow soon!!

See ya later, when your legs are straighter!!! (yeah, I know, that was lame..)
xxxx

deep sigh.

(I got my new MacBook a couple of months ago, love PhotoBooth!! I told my Year 10's that I was going to join an online dating site and use this pic on my profile, I was sure to pick-up....)
ahhhhhhhhh......

Graduation/Presentation Night is over. Last night I actually slept without waking up (okay, the beers and the earplugs may have helped there), and didn't wake up at 2am worrying about missing something in the planning. It all went very smoothly, and I think that Parents were happy - I got some hugs from some Mums, so it must have been okay! I had help from some great people, and to them I owe a debt of gratitude....

Somehow, during all the frenetic organising and stressing and not sleeping, I managed to take a couple of pictures of Mums' new Peace Fleece shawl (she loves it, it's lovely and snuggly. I want to re-block it though, the points aren't defined enough for my liking!):

(The table seats 8, so you get some idea as to how big the shawl ended up!)

I'm off to watch tv in bed with my eyes shut now, but before I do, here's the parcel I recieved in the mail today:


Awesome, eh? I was in the Ravelry Chocolate group swap, and I'm in heaven....FIVE big Hershey bars, PREMIUM M&M's (shoot me now, I'll die happy), and hand-made truffles (they're gone now, I thought I should eat them in case they were off, because if I shared them with anyone, then they would get sick....I'm nothing if not considerate....ahem....), and three different yaaaaaaahns. I'm a very lucky girl!

xxxxxx

hahahahhaa - my two loves!

Just cleaning out my files etc on my computer, and found this:

Just pausing to scratch my left buttock....

Taking a minute or three out of what has got to be THE most stressful work situation of my entire working life (20 years in teaching this year), to post a few things that have taken place in the knitting world of Lisa (actually, am off work with a yukky cold, but I seem to have lost the blogging mojo, this is an effort to get some of it back!). This will probably be a brief post, mainly pictures....I'll do my best....

I took part in a few swaps lately - one the LSG Big Secret Swap (yep, Ravelry), a Soap and Washcloth swap from the Australian Knitters board on Ravelry, and the other the Australian Random Acts of Kindness (yep, you guessed it). My LSG partner was Erin, from USA, and she sent some very cool stuff (the empty bottle is actually from the Prohibition Era, very interesting and cool! There is also some candles that have COLOURED FLAMES, beautiful yaaaaarn, GLOW-IN-THE-DARK yarn, groovy pencils and mini-sharpies, delicious body oil, and a wicked t-shirt):

Just today I recieved my RAOK parcel (talk about great timing, was feeling like poo), from the very lovely Jen from Victoria. She noted that I had said that I wanted to try needle-felting, and gave me a starter kit with everything I'd need - foam, needles, lots of colourful roving - and some awesomely bright cotton/bamboo. I'm wrapt!

My Soap and Cloth Swap partner was Leah, and she made me TWO beautiful facecloths, lovely and soft, and put in a bar of delicious lemon myrtle soap. I love it! Swaps rock - except when you go to post two parcels and it comes to over $40, because apparently a space shuttle fuelled with diamonds is the only way to get something to USA....why so costly???? Mind you though, I love recieving parcels from O/S, so I should stop complaining....
You may recall that I told you about a shawl pin that Carmel made for me?? She works at my school, and we had our own mini-swap (I made her a pair of Dashings, she made me a shawl pin - and threw in a pair of earrings and a bangle as well!!!). Here's her beautiful work, with a couple of close-ups so that you can see that it's beaten copper, with a cool pin-type arrangement attached to the round bit, like a safety-pin before safety-pins were invented - you stick the pin through the shawl, then pop it through the two coils, then spin it around a bit and Bob's your Auntie's live-in lover!!! (I have yet to get a good picture of the bracelet and earrings, it's on my to-do list!):

(very dodgy picture of the Dashings in action....I was worried that the cabling would be lost in the patterning of the yarn (Lorna's Laces Sportweight, can't remember the colourway...), but I think they tured out okay. Great pattern, will be making more of them - and this time, Carmel, I might actually follow the correct directions for the stitch count I use....nudge nudge wink wink...)

Did I mention that I was in Hat Attack?? Well, I was, and I actually managed to finish and send off my weapon before I was killed mercilessly by Helen. The bullet that did me in was the lovely red/purple combo - can't wait for it to be cold again!!! My target never said anything to me about my weapon, I think that maybe had something to do with the clown-spew colours - I swear they appeared to be cool and bright and lovely to me when I ordered them..


What else...what else....OH!!!! You may or not remember that ages and ages ago I posted a bit on the PIF thingy that was doing the rounds of Blogland:

“It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!”

And, remember…you have 6 months to get your gifts done! Come on, you know you would love to be one of my angels. Then, one day, but you don’t know when….you will get a gift that I have made especially for YOU!"

I first read about this on Cheryls' blog, and thought it sounded like a very nice thing to do. So, I signed up and posted the plan on here. No response. So I'm posting it again - if you fancy a little something to mysteriously arrive in your letterbox, then just leave me a comment saying so.....and you might feel as surprised and happy as I did when I went to my letterbox a couple of weeks ago - an absolutely beautiful pair of hand-knitted socks from Cheryl (picture stolen from her blog, I hope that's okay - go visit, the woman's a sock-knitting machine, I'm in awe, such beautiful work!!!):

(I don't know how to un-italic this bit, I'm having a techno-fail moment....)

Every time I wear them, I get a lovely feeling, knowing that Cheryl made them for ME without even knowing me....I love them.

Knitting....I ripped out the Peace Fleece shawl I made for Mum, because I found the other skein, and re-knitted it into a Forest Canopy shawl - no pics yet though - very pleased with it, as was Mum. I've just started my Christmas knitting (yep, I love the sound deadlines make as they go whooshing by...) - Jaywalkers (Rav link) for Jules, a new school bag for Helen, fingerless mitts for Dave's Erin, a felted bag for Stevies' Erin, the Celtic Hearts shawl (in cashmere, no less) for Mum, and a pair of socks for Daddy-o. Brothers wil be getting felted stubby-holders.... Pics next post.

In my final piece of news, I got my transfer for next year (and Beyond!). I'll be going to a brand new school (has only been going for three years, next year is it's first year of Upper School students), only 10 minutes or so away from home, and the best bit - my baby brother works there too!!!! We worked together a few years ago, and I loved it - I think it's good for the kids, too, to see families that love each other et etc, assorted other mushy stuff about how proud I am of him. He runs a specialist AFL program at this school, and has earned quite a name for himself and the boys he works with, I'm a very proud big sister.

Okay, I'm knackered. I think I'd better take myself off to bed to watch tv with my eyes closed....I slept from 8am till 10.40am, then had a nap for a couple of hours this afternoon, and yet I'm tired again!! This cold (and the work shite) is really knocking me around!

Till next time, dear Reader,
xxxxxx

hehehehe...

Sorry dear Reader, this is the best I can do at the moment.....
xxxxx

Good to know

I could survive for 51 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

crap to the power of infinity

I was making a list* of the things I have to do at work, and it scared me, so I’m putting it out there so I can maybe get a little reassurance that no, I’m not going crazy, there IS inequity at my workplace…. Here’s the list so far:
#1# plan Year 12 Graduation night**, which means I have to:
- order presentation folders (a nice little number in faux-leather, with pockets inside to store certificates etc, kids can use it later for resumes etc)
- organise pot plants, carpet squares, curtain thingies for the stage and chairs to go into the gym to make it purdy
- keep track of invited special guests (invites and rsvps)
- organise the winners of special awards (we rely on staff to do this, at the moment, there have been four nominations returned)
- co-ordinate the writing of the Year 12 references (each year we write a reference for each student, and they get it in their Graduation folder, there are 5 teachers writing them, and they are supposed to be done before the holidays begin in 4 days time)
- choose the paper the awards will be printed on (apparently this is very important, I had to go to a meeting for it…)
- co-ordinate the set-up of the gym for the night – seating, screen for power-point display etc)
- make sure that the people who hire the gym (for dancing, karate etc) have been notified and know that the gym is unavailable on that night
- organise parking and security for the night
- organise a light supper for 80 students and their guests
- co-ordinate prizes for award winners (subject awards and special awards)
- find and then dry-clean the sashes that the students wear on the night
- find music to play before the ceremony (they’re getting Buble)
- write a speech that doesn’t contain any bitterness or resentment or cynicism
- help the Student Council leaders to write their speeches
- make sure that all departments give me the names of the subject award winners, AND give me the prize. Find someone to wrap them all, and stick the stickers in them etc - this has been my job in past years, I usually ended up going out and buying most of the prizes as well!

I know that there are people who will help me closer to the event, with the actual physical carrying-out of tasks, but it's a bit overwhelming keeping track of everything.....!

* actually, I think I just want sympathy, cake and ego-boosting
** each of these points has a sub-list of tasks, but if I type them all out, I’ll cry, and I just got my new laptop and I don’t want it to get all salty with tears

- plan and organise the end-of-year excursions (last day of school, and the end-of-year dinner, which this year is a River Cruise)
- plan the Year 12 breakfast – the staff cook breakfast for the 12’s on their last day (need to organise who’s buying the food, what food to buy, and who’s cooking/serving/cleaning up. Also need to find someone to set-up the day before.
- plan the last day assembly stuff – speech for me, and item for the kids to perform (their idea - I think I’ll be bumping that one)
- organise the Yearbook – photos, articles from staff and students, find a printer….
- teach 3 or 4 out of 5 sessions per day - the other 1 or two sessions per day are spent dealing with kids who have been sent to the Year Office, because we have magic wands and can fix any problem (oh, use sarcasm much??)
- track down students who have left school without paying the final payment on their Leaver’s Jackets
- find money to pay for three exchange student’s Leaver’s Jackets who have since left the school and now are home in Switzerland, Thailand and Argentina...
- monitor student progress so that the school can ascertain how many will actually be graduating so that the Education Department can tell us we’re wonderful because we got 100% graduation, even though we just take the names of the kids who won’t graduate off the Year 12 list and re-enroll them as pretendy Year 11’s……stupid. I don’t get politics.
- interview students with regard to the likelihood of them passing their TEE exams (or not…in which case I have to advise them/recommend to them to not sit the exams, a lovely conversation to have with a student at this late stage of the year….)

Shall I continue?? I think not, I’m beginning to feel panicky. Which means that I don't sleep, and end up at work at 6.30am because at leat if I'm here I can feel like I'm doing something!!!

On the knitting front –
- two pairs of fingerless gloves (sorry, no pics yet) – Dashings (for Carmel, one of our lovely Aides – she makes beautiful jewellery – amongst other things – and we’ve had our own mini-swap. She made me a beautiful shawl pin, and then as a mega-bonus, threw in a pair of earrings and a silver bracelet!!! Pics to follow, as soon as I can find my camera cable) and Fetchings (in Malabrigo Silky Merino, for Kristen, my nail-lady, because she gets sore joints in her hands, and when I lent her my Malabrigo ones, she says her hands haven’t been sore since) both modified because I hate following patterns
- Hat Attack hat (for Lizknits99 – Rav name)
- beginnings of a shawl for me, made with Kauni
- a felted laptop bag

Okay, I'm worn out from all this whingeing and whining, so I'll be offski....


(just re-read what I'd written, and I'm not being totally fair. There are some excellent people at my workplace, dedicated, over-worked, taken-for-granted, committed and professional. This is purely a whinge about what's on my plate at the moment. Because I just want to stay home and knit.)

Ok then Jolene, I'll take this challenge!!!

I still owe Jolene a meme, and she sends me another one...but this one seems a bit easier, so I'll do it straight away!!!!!

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged

So:

1. I've linked Jolene, back up...

2. The rules are up there too....

3. a) I like to stand on dried leaves that just happen to be on their edge. I love the crunch. It works best when
they're curled.

b) I sleep with one earplug in. In my left ear, because I sleep on my right side, so I don't
need one in that ear.

c) I find farting to be the most hilarious thing ever, and it's one of my favourite things
to do. I'm very mature...(I actually
confiscated a fart-noise-maker thingy from a kid today, and played it ALL day)

d) When I'm driving, I clench the teeth on the right side of my mouth every time I drive
past a lamp-post, and the left side during the spaces between the lamp-posts.
Sometimes I vary it up a bit by doing this between driveways instead of lamp-posts...

e) I love the smell of my dogs' feet. No shame or embarrassment there, at all.

4. Katy
Laura
Shazzy
Princess Fiona
Theresa
Kate

5. Done.

Not much to report.
Lots of work (booo...hisssss), and just a little knitting. A baby kimono for Olivia (forgot to take pics, must get onto that), a couple of phone socks for work colleagues (again, no photos), socks (you got it, no pics)...not much on the go at all!!!!

So here's some pics so that I can pretend I have a very interesting life at the moment:

My beautiful sister-in-law, Erin, with beanie (pink Malabrigo, Lime Lamb's Pride) - she has matching fingerless mitts as well, and wears them every day (freezing cold in the morning still)

Elly being super pretty

Kates' socks (Australian ravellers swap) - I stole her photo....it's good to kow the socks are doing their job!!!

My awesome package from (another) Kate - Space Invaders ipod cosy, coffee, chocolate, stitch markers and Silk Garden!!! How spoiled was I!!!!

That's it.

For now.....
xxxxxx

This meme is doing the rounds at the moment, and Sasha tagged me....
The way it works - go to Flickr, and type in your answers to the questions below (one at a time!), then, using Mosaic Maker, use the first pic that comes up for each 'answer' to make your collage! Simple !! (it must be, I managed to do it!!!!)

1. Lisa's gaze, 2. there's nothing better than summer, 3. 20080315_IMG_5683, 4. Flickr meltdown, 5. Hamster With Nut Riding A Bell Pepper, 6. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 7. Pink Morning, Mono Lake, 8. do you ♥ a matcha tiramisu? ^-^/, 9. For AZ Greyhound Rescue....a little bit of heart goes a long way!!, 10. Chihiro, 11. Sumo, 12. 1/3 parts Pimm's cup + 2/3 parts bokeh =

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you go to?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?
Favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One word to describe you?
What is your flickr name?

Now to the meme Jolene tagged me for.....

whoa....a post? From Lisa??

Yes, it is a post. And some of it contains knitting!!!!

Here are my Spring Forward socks (pattern modified to 44 stitches, 4mm needles) for my Ravelry Australian Knitters Swap partner, made with Dream In Colour Classy, lovely and squishy and snuggly.....




Every year, a group of very fabulous people go to Rottnest, a tradition started many years ago by Jules and some friends she was teaching with. They were teaching in a wheat-belt town, and had sea-side withdrawals, and so the pilgrimage to Rottnest was begun! More and more people were initiated into the group (now up to two chalets!) – this is my 6th year!!
Usually we catch the earliest ferry, at 7am, which also carries the commuting workers to the island. This also has the added benefit of a very smooth trip…..THIS year, however, it seems there is no early ferry, so we were faced with the prospect of a bumpy 9.30am trip....

(Jules, being very happy and excited, doing the traditional Rottnest Happy Dance)
We got on the ferry, only to be told not to not get too comfy, because we were going 10 minutes down to the next port, to get onto a bigger boat, as the weather was getting bad. Hmmmmm.....

They were right. This bag contains my breakfast. Long AFTER I had eaten it... (I don't know how to make the picture be the right way up...

But not until after I had done some knitting!

Anyway, I won't go on too much, but we got there, did another happy dance, and then went onto Breakfast II, which involved wine and burgers....and Jules being deliriously happy...

The view from our breakfast table

Jules, being deliriously happy (yep, it's a theme with her!!)

Right, I fear a post way too long to hold anyone's interest, so I think I'm going to resort to just posting pics with brief descriptions....We went for a week - it rained a lot, the sun shone a lot, we ate a lot, laughed a lot, drank a lot, burped and farted way too much, and had a great time!

Bad shot of a quokka, IN the restaurant! From here, it was onto the next gruelling stop - The Quokka Arms Hotel....

There are masses of peacocks, wandering the island, scabbing food off poor unsuspecting tourists....

Jules modelling her beer....and the Malabrigo (Sealing Wax) mitts and beret that I made for her.

Philip, the grumpy old English man who tags along every year, just in case we run out of things to laugh at, wearing his latest Rotto hat, again Malabrigo, again made by me (are you loving the child-like embroidery??)

Me and my mitts (yep, Malabrigo - is there anything else???)

Stalking peacock....

You know how when you're with your friends, having a cold beer, and you see something so funny that you snort your drink out of your nose? For days?? Well, this was ours - we looked up, and all we could see were these two seagull feet running along the top of the sail/canopy. Still laughing.....

Very brave quokka

The view from our window

Jules, end of a long day...

Fancy-pants holiday nails

Me, being all glamourous and stuff....note - the television doesn't get switched on, and the internet didn't work, so the computer was used for solitaire!!

Shani, being silly (congratulations Shani and Ric - baby due in December!!)

Pretty much how most meals ended - my Mum's home-made Rocky Road, and a Baileys....

King Nando - he's growing his beard for a fancy-dress party - now that's dedication!!!

The next day, we had a storm that was awesome in it's size - wouldn't know it from this beautiful sunset!


I've saved the best till last - meet Olivia Alice, Aaron and Melissa's (Aaron is my cousin) first-born, oh how beautiful she is....


That's it for now, I'm buggered. Blogging makes me tired....maybe I should do it more...!!

Kisses,
xxxxxxxx