Heroes, Smarty Pants and Urchins

I could not resist posting one more photo from the aquarium. This sea urchin and these fish were amazing. There was no movement at all. They were just posing as if in a fashion shoot for couture.



When I was young, I wanted to be a marine biologist, just like my hero, Eugenie Clark, aka "The Shark Lady". I literally read this book fifteen times. One of these days, I'll pick up my own copy.

My parents always stressed that I could be whatever I wanted when I grew up, where that was an astronaut, a shark lady or an architect. I love that they taught us to be independent and dream big.

The two friends that I knitted for this month are intelligent, brave and fun as hell. That was the only unified theme I could figure out for this random post.

I got some knitting done on the car ride from Philly to Baltimore. As you can see, I couldn't resist wearing the finished mitt, but will be happy to give them to my friend Kathy, who needs some warmth.

Lastly, I got to give the Brainy Beanie to my best girl, Heather. What a happy recipient of this hat. Heather passed the knitting gift test and will be getting more presents in the future. Is it just me, or does she break the stereotype of the typical electrical engineer?

Andrew

This Saturday, we went to the Baltimore Aquarium. My favorite thing to see were the rays. (Picture from aquarium website, I don't have access to mine right now).



It happened to be the first anniversary of my brother Andrew's death and I wanted to do something he would have enjoyed. So Mike, and my friends Heather and Nate from D.C. went with me to check it out. I have known Heather since elementary school, and it meant alot to me that she came up to spend the day with me. It helps to have people around who remember him and loved him too.



Andrew intimidated people when he was dressed in full punk gear with his mohawk up. (These pictures were taken of him for his friend Reus's photo project. He never got arrested!) But he would open his mouth and be the most sensitive, compassionate and sweetest boy ever. His interests were so vast, that he was able to touch so many people. He would surprise them and broke down stereotypes.



He had a childlike glee and was really silly, which is one of the things I miss most about him. And he gave the best hugs and provided comfort or advice to anyone who needed it. As my Dad wrote in his wonderful obituary, "He was a friend indeed, to anyone in need."



He was an amazing brother. (He let me french braid his hair right after this picture was taken).



He wrote a book at the age of ten and the dedication said, "To my Dad. Because he is not just my father, but also my best friend." And as you can see here, he was really a mama's boy. I think that woman made him his lunch until the eighth grade! We always knew he was her favorite! (wink)



I miss you Andrew and I will see you again. (And that totally sounded like Maximus from The Gladiator, but that would have made him crack up).

Argyle Cards

We moved into my new apartment in July. With my trip to the Philippines and other things going on, I just had the chance to set up my little studio area last month.

It ended up being in the bedroom because there's a bright window, a second television and lots of space. I placed a curtain along tension wire so that I separate the studio area from the sleeping area.



I'm quite happy with how my studio area has turned out, especially since I've now been inspired to start doing this. I have finally set up my own shop on etsy.com.



More to come...

2006 in Review

I saw this meme on Sweet Georgia's blog. I thought it may be fun to do. It may not be that much fun for you to read, but it's here for my loyal fans (you know who you are)!

1. How was 2006 for you?
2. What was the highlight of your year?
3. What did you want to accomplish that you didn’t get to?
4. What are you planning for 2007?

1. How was 2006 for you?

• Bittersweet is how I would describe 2006. This has been the year when I’ve had to sort out my feelings of losing my younger brother last year (December 16, 2005). However, it’s also been a year where my perspective on life has changed. I think when your life falls apart, you have to figure out how to survive and grow and learn. You can’t shut down and feel guilty for being happy, or for being able to do things that your loved one can’t see or share with you. It has been a year where I’ve felt the need to protect my parents, and to let them and my friends and family help me too.
• This has been the year to get off of my tookus and try to do the things I’ve been dreaming about for years. Most of these things will be included in question 3 and 4, but at least I’m putting myself out there. I don’t want to be so scared to fail at something, that I never try new things.
• 2006 is the year I became a blogger. I never thought I’d be a blogger, and found it somewhat silly at one time. But I really enjoy it, and reading others' blogs. I always liked to write, but it was mainly letters to friends, or journal entries. (Journals that my best friend Tracy knows to burn when I die! While refraining the urge to read them!) I didn’t realize how much I missed putting my words out there for others to see as well.
  
  It’s also so inspiring to see what other people are working on, and getting new ideas, sharing new products and being part of an online community. And it’s also been a place where I’ve become better friends with people I know in my “real life”.
  

2. What were the highlights of your year?

• My trip to the Philippines with my mom. I got to know my aunts, uncles, dozens of cousins, and my cousins children, who happen to be the cutest children ever. Incidentally, the lowlight of our year occurred on this trip--which was my poor mom breaking her ankle pretty badly while we were there. But our hospital visit will provide stories and laughs to fill this lifetime! And, I loved learning a little Tagalog!
• Quizzo, parties, get-togethers, impromptu meetups, brunches and movies with friends! This fall, I have gotten over my slump and become social again. There was definitely a slump for awhile. Understandable of course...but being a hermit gets old. (And I don't want to harass Mike too much!)
• Being a bridesmaid in my friend, Tara's wedding in Jacksonville, Florida. And especially getting to see my favorite children in the Western Hemisphere.
• See Mike get his MFA in Painting!
• Getting to see my "Swedish Brother". We had a wonderful exchange student in 2000, named Daniel. He is the greatest guy and my family loves him. It was so much fun to see him when he visited with his friend Olof.

3. What did you want to accomplish that you didn't get to?

• I'd like to go to the beach one time this year. Ironically, I have been to the following places this year, but extenuating circumstances prevented the visit! Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, Davao and Manila in the Philippines. Oh wait--I will be in Ft. Lauderdale from the 22nd of December until the end of the year. I will get in the ocean in those 9 days.
• I was hoping to make more soup this year, sew an apron and make a cupcake pin cushion for a friend and myself. But it has been a warm winter, and the cupcakes can wait until 2007!
• This year I have learned to not get down on myself for not finishing everything I set out to do. If it sits for a bit, that's fine. I'll pick it up when I feel inspired again. I'm sick of stressing myself out for goals that I set for myself. Therefore, I'm trying to set more realistic goals for myself, and accomplish those.

4. What are you planning for 2007?

• Setting up my etsy.com store mariss+drew, to sell stationary and possibly some handmade items in the future.
• Soup club! Anyone interested in joining my soup club, let me know. We will make a big vat of soup once a month and everyone takes some home. You must invest in some fine Tupperware that is spill proof! (wink)
• Scrounging up some money to go to Hawaii with my best friend Trey, her mom and aunt. Can we say...subsidized?! I'm just kidding! But I adore Trey and her family. We'll see how this goes...
• I'd like to read Don Quixote by Cervantes and finish any other books on my list to finish.

Tourists

Mike's art show in NYC went very well. It was last Thursday. There was a huge turnout, and his stuff was the best work there. (Honestly, I'm not even being biased here!)

The one fun thing about blogging, is that I've been taking more pictures, and looking at things from a more artistic perspective again. I'm no professional photographer by any means, but I used to enjoy doing it and being in the darkroom.

While we were in New York, we had the loveliest weather. It was in the mid sixties, and perfectly sunny. Since we didn't have a lot of money to spend, we spent a lot of time walking around and enjoying the gorgeous day.




We had to visit The Rockefeller Center in it's holiday glory of course. I took a great picture of the butt crack of a woman skating. For the moves that she was doing, the woman needed to wear a longer sweater and perhaps invest in some non-hoochie pants. I'm taking the classy road in not posting the picture....at this time (wink).



Union Square...Anyone know what that number thing is tallying? I'm too lazy to look this up. Blue ribbon to the correct guess...I love the color of the leaves, and the flashy gold next to the techie building.



Gorgeous red leaves...we were bombarded by crazed squirrels and sketchy people in this park, but ran into a good friend from Bloomington unexpectedly! These may be the prettiest leaves I see all year.



The New York Public Library. I love me some books! Just kidding. This is a gorgeous library though, and I love the lions guarding the books.

Guess what?! I even knit some of my second sock on the bus ride there. And petted some fibers in a yarn store, salivated over some fabrics, and got 2 cookie cutters! (An "M" for Mike, and an ice-cream cone for me. Good thing the M works for me too--so I really got two presents! Ha ha ha.)

Brainy Beanie

This will be called the Brainy Beanie after it's new owner, Heather, who just happens to be an electrical engineer. I made it extra big to fit her large brain. Hope you like it, Heath!

Pretty yarn for Heather's hat. Diarufuran to be knit on size 7 Lantern Moon double point needles in rosewood (to replace these awful metal ones below).



Thanksgiving progress. Loving knitting with this yarn, it will probably pill...but the fabric is gorgeous and quick to knit up.

Detail for some eye candy.



Sad face when I finished Heather's hat and realized it was just a tad small. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right. So I took it to knitting circle and ripped it out there. I only lost the top portion of the hat, but actually enjoyed knitting with the fabric again. I told you this is a joy to work with.



Progress! Don't you love the striping? I actually took this picture to document at what length I need to start decreasing. Although I have a pretty big head, I have the tendency to make my hats too small. So now I know to knit until it feels uncomfortably long, and that's the right point.



Happy face that the hat is now the proper size. Although it doesn't look that much bigger, it made a huge difference. The hat is quite stretchy, but doesn't feel like it will fall off now.



Leftover yarn from the one skein! that was needed to knit this hat. I've already started a log cabin blanket with this lovely scrap.