I'm Still Here... Unpacking

It's been a while since I've blogged. I moved the weekend after July 4th and have been unpacking ever since. Also, I haven't had the heart to write. I lost my beautiful cat on moving day. She got out of her harness outdoors, and I had to leave without her. It breaks my heart, and I can't talk about it right now. It made me upset just to write the last three sentences.

How long does it take to unpack?! I still have CDs, DVDs, clothes, books, and extra bathroom stuff to put away. At first, I was pretty good at unpacking. Too good: after a while, I got tired and wanted to drive around town and get outdoors. I wanted to knit and do normal everyday things.

I've made progress on Sunset Pullover: I finished the 2nd sleeve and joined the front and back of the body. Calla has also seen some progress. I really should try to finish Calla first since the number of hot summer days is limited in my new locale.

My latest craze, just like last summer, is watching Rockstar: Supernova on CBS. The link I just provided is the MSN site which contains video of the weekly performances and clinics. Here's a link to the CBS site. If you haven't watched the show and are interested, here are my favorite performances so far (in no particular order):
1. Week 1 Dilana: Lithium by Nirvana
2. Week 1 Lucas: Rebel Yell by Billy Idol
3. Week 3 Dilana: Zombie by The Cranberries
4. Week 4 Lucas: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
5. Week 4 Dilana: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper
6. Week 4 Storm: Anything Anything by Dramarama
7. Week 4 Patrice: My Iron Lung by Radiohead
8. Week 4 Zayra: I'm Not an Addict by K's Choice

My favorites are: Dilana, Lucas, Magni, and Patrice. I haven't really liked Storm Large until she did Anything Anything, ending with a kickass stage dive. And how about Patrice with her rendition of My Iron Long?! She kicked her performance up a notch! Jill has a great voice, but I wouldn't want to have her in my band. She really annoys me. She's soooo angry. I wish Toby would try harder and match the performance level of the leaders. Josh, Ryan, and Zayra have had some good performances (especially Zayra's renditions of Everybody Hurts and I'm Not an Addict), but they're just not right musically for the job. Dana is improving, but I don't think she'll be able to catch up to the others in the end.

Dilana is just so mesmerizing - she can be enchanting, sweet, edgy, hardcore, and downright scary-good. She had me from week one with her totally cool performance of Nirvana's Lithium. In week three she nailed Zombie by The Cranberries. Dave Navarro totally dug it. Week four's Time After Time is one of my favorite 80's songs, and I loved her duet of that song with houseband guitarist/backup vocalist Jim McGorman. Right now, it's down to Dilana and Lucas. Lucas would impress me more if he'd sing something different and show some more versatility like Dilana did with Time After Time. He's great with songs that require or sound good with a gravelly voice, but can he use his voice in a different way? Magni has a very nice, recordable voice. But, I want to see him get a little crazy on stage! I can tell he's got it in him and that he's consistent. But, can he put himself out there like Patrice did when she finally cranked it up with the Radiohead song? Hmm... I love this show!

Inundating You With Pictures Yet Again!

The top picture is of Marie and me in our matching Lotus Blossom Tanks. This afternoon, I finished Katja. Details are on this post. Happy 4th of July!!

Mini Lotus Blossom Tank pics

If you like abstract art...

...then you'll like this mini version of the Lotus Blossom Tank from IK. After making an LBT for myself, I had a little yarn left. So, I made an 18-month-old size for my daughter to match mine. I got almost to the very end, was on the second strap, and ran out of yarn. Doh! Now, I knew that I probably wouldn't have enough to do the edging when I started the tank. So...what to do? I started knitting the remainder of the strap with taupe Patons Grace and said "the heck with it!" It's not THAT bad. Two nights ago I washed the tank, and today I did the edging. Since my daughter has gone to bed already, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to take pictures of her wearing it. Can't wait to see her in the finished product because I already tried it on her before doing the edging, and it fits!