Crash and Burn, Bass Style:

Do you see them on the list here?

No?

You have to squint and start from the bottom up . . .

Now?

Yeah, 53rd place. What a difference a day *does* make, LOL!

I've come to realize that while he and I can compare our passions, there is a point where we aren't comparable at all.

We both need tools: Multiple rods & reels versus multiple types of needles

We both need inventory: Multiple type yarns versus multiple type lures.

Here's were the difference lies.

I don't "bet" on my passion. I can sit in my living room and be content for hours upon days upon weeks. He on the other hand is not content to take his boat to a local lake and just sit and fish for hours upon days upon weeks. He has to enter competitions and basically bet on the activity. Paying money to "win" a game.

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods didn't sit in their living rooms dreaming of skill. They got out and practiced, practiced, practiced and practiced some more. Mike wants to only fish for competition and apparently he's not that great at it. I'm guessing this is because of the hours he spends *dreaming* of winning versus the hours he never spends practicing.

The betting is the part I'm really souring on.

Thank you Diana, for the info on the Patron Saint of Fish! It didn't even dawn on me that you'd have the answer, LOL. I just love how there is a saint for everything.

I think I need to get in touch with the Patron Saint of Bettors, or Debtors, or something :eyeroll:

#10 With a Bullet, Baby!:

Check that out!

Out of 96 teams (2 people to a team) Mike and his partner are in tenth place for the first day.

AWESOME!

Tomorrow is another day, and anything can happen (and what other sports platitudes can I throw in there, LOL!) Another team can snag a 10lb slob right off the bat tomorrow morning and change everything. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Everyone practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Mike didn't catch one fish those first two days, and caught just a few yesterday.

All that matters is today and tomorrow though.

Which one is the patron saint of fish? I need to talk to that guy, LOL!

I'm really happy for his results today - because he's just over the moon about it.

Pictures when my camera gets back, and news as it happens.

And Thus it Starts:

After the visit with my sis last Wednesday, we made a date for her to come over this Wednesday and we'd work on my craft room.

Then I remembered that The Mike was going to be out of town and I have zero interest in doing anything responsible (outside of the care of my pets, of course!) while he's gone so I changed the plans to me going over to her house so she could show me some of my manual camera's features and settings.

Fast forward to our date day today. She already called crying about how she doesn't 'feel well'. No. Literally. Crying. Tears. Sniffles. The whole waterworks show.

I told her it was entirely up to her if she wants company or not, as I have absolutely no agenda besides goofing around with my camera. I wasn't planning some big excursion - just futzing around her house and seeing the family as they got home during the afternoon.

I'm going over in a few, against my better judgement.

I JUST KNEW IT. One week. That's all she could last before dragging out her well-worn blanket of Mystery Illness that she wraps around herself for comfort and sympathy. Too bad Fate gave her a sister born without the pity gene, LOL.

Today, I ran across this on the interwebs while looking at some local SLO stuff.

"It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber."

It's from Food Not Bombs, and SLO has a local chapter.

LOVE THAT!

Gone Fish'n:

I left The Mike in a parking lot in Morro Bay at 5:30 this morning and now he's on his way to Clearlake for a really big fishing tournament. He qualified in the Golden Valley region.

I think I'm going to miss my camera the most, LOL.

Lucky me though, my friend Suzanne gifted me two really nice cameras and there's no excuse left to not start trying them out.

After I get some more sleep. It is WAAAAY to early to be up!

I don't know how much blogging I'll get to this week though - no husband for the next 5 days is too good to waste sitting around the computer, don't you think?

No Tears Equals A Good Visit:

The visit is done, and it went better than I expected. It's not that I want the worst, but I know my sister . . . usually.

It actually went pretty well, and we had a good visit. I think we both are ready to start on easy ground and stay there, for at least a while. No drama trigger points.

She even made a date to come visit again next Wednesday! Her. Visiting Me. LOL.

Postponed:

After several phone calls starting at 10am today, my sister decided at 1pm that she needed to stay home and take care of her daughter.

Since my niece had a headache and her boyfriend just broke up with her as well.

:eyeroll:

It's been postponed until tomorrow.

I really would have liked to be sitting here tonight with it already behind me.

Tomorrow Is Another Day:

Tomorrow. I'm kind of dreading it, but I'm making the effort to not go in with a negative vibe.

Way back at the end of the year, when I wrote it up, one of the items on my "to do" for 2008 was to try and establish a relationship with my sister again.

We haven't talked face-to-face for quite a while (at least a year?) and rarely in emails even anymore. When I moved back home (she lives in the SLO area as well) I made sure to give her my new address.

That was back in July . . .

She's *supposedly* going to be visiting me tomorrow.

I did this entirely on my terms for a change. Everything is always about her - visit at HER house, talk about HER problems, put up with HER interruptions.

When I still lived here 4+ years ago, we lived (no lie) about 6 big-city blocks away. She off The Pike and me off Highway 1, both in the same city. She visited me one time there. Ever.

For the 4+ years at our house in Porterville, she came to visit . . . lemme think now . . . *ticks off fingers* . . . uh, yeah. One time. Ever.

Apparently that's really pissed me off since I still hold it against her.

Back when her kids were younger, it would have made sense to be tied down to the house. Back when her kids were younger, she actually visited me MORE and I lived further away! In another state! I lived near one of the kid's grandparents though, so that's probably the real reason she came to visit me back then.

Now I'm back in town (albeit not 6 big-city blocks away but definately just 15 minutes away at most) and she'd finally deigned to come to my house tomorrow.

Again, this is all on my terms. I have not stopped by her house one time since coming home. She's asked several times, in her annoying way, hinting around about when I'm 'going to come see her'. Haven't. The road goes both ways and my house is the *new* place. The place to be seen and checked out and shown off. I've seen her house a bazillion times. She's thrown out the "your niece would love to see you" even. Really? The niece that just got her learner's permit? The niece that hasn't emailed or written or called since . . . oh about 10 years? That's nice, but save it.

I've just left this *thing* to sit out and simmer between us. She had the address and could do what she wanted with it. I got the "oh I'm sooooo busy with all the kids" (and that's another story for another day - she's only got two of her own and she's taken in one of her friend's kids for whatever Madonna-complex reason she works under) and the "oh I'm soooo busy with this class I'm taking" (one freak'n day a week) and just general "oh I'm soooo busy" poor me crap blanket she wraps around herself all the time.

I'm not buying into it any more. Ain't drinking her particular brand of Crazy Kool-aid and ain't catering to her.

She finally said she had a break in her Oh So Busy schedule (of not having a real job like the rest of the world) and will come over tomorrow. The only thing I wanted on our agenda was puttering around in my craft room. She's really into rubber stamping and general craft-like endeavors so I'm thinking this would be a good icebreaker for us. No heavy lifting, no Take Care of Little Sister mentality necessary, just hanging and crafting and if she has suggestions for organization I'm all ears. I had zero crafty interest before I moved away, so I'm hoping this mutual interest will work to bond us closer.

We'll see.

Here's where I'm expecting trouble: After ten minutes she's going to start crying and saying things like "I don't know why we're not close" and "You don't understand" - which means I don't understand about her crazy mixed up (made up? I seriously wonder) medical issues that never seem to have a root or a method of treatment. She's right. I DON'T get it. Don't get her.

She's full of all the shit I just don't understand in real life anyway. I wouldn't understand that in my friends, or my husband's family. I don't get sick and I have zero tolerance for people who use phantom illnesses to excuse all their poor life choices. Real people get real illnesses all the time. That I do get. It sucks and it's not fair and sometimes they throw up their hands and scream "WHY? WHY ME. Just "WHY?" Yet all those people get up every fucking day and live their lives and keep on keeping on with the good fight.

Nose to the grindstone. I totally get that.

My sister ain't that person.

This is a 20 minute blog post to encapsulate 32 years of family history between us. There's definately more history than I've written down to far.

She's not my *real* sister in terms of blood. Her parents adopted me (and my younger brother) when I was seven. They unadopted (we'll get to that one day) me when I was 15. I'm 39 now. We're sisters in our hearts though, and maybe that's the point of all I wrote just now. Remembering that we think of each other as sisters after all this time and history.

I'm going to try tomorrow. I won't unleash or vent or dump back all the crap she spews. I'm going to stick to the plan of 'crafting' and guide the conversation as best I can through the murky and turbulent waters of our different personalities.

See. FREE THERAPY!

Sybil:

I've split up the blog into three separate topics.

This one, Blue Content, will focus on the more "diary" like entries.

Knitting Blue WIPs will be tied to ravelry.com and knitting-centric in content.

Knitting Blue Pictures will be focused on my love of photography primarily, but I think there will be cross-over between Blue Content and Blue Photography.

I still need to clean up/streamline all three, so I'll work on that this week.

My nature is more towards compartmentalizing so this change feels *right*.

And yeah, I know that there could be some mental issues associated with compartmentalizing. That's where Knitting Blue Content comes in! Free therapy, LOL.

Bits of This and That:

I'm at a crossroad, folks.

One one hand, there is so much *great* going on around this place that it should be illegal.

Friday, The Mike and I had dinner out at Olde Port Inn (which is a misnomer because there ain't no "inn" to it), after visiting the last Avila Beach Farmer's Market of the season.

When I went to the Grover Farmer's Market the other day, I'd picked up some corn from Hayashi's and Oh Good Gawd it was the best corn on the cob I think I've ever eaten! And this is coming from the girl that grew up on a farm and had to tend the family's garden . . . pluck'n and shuck'n and weed'n and hoe'n until my arms like to have fell off!

I've been on the hunt for their corn ever since and lemme just tell you. It's not at the Avila Farmer's Market. Honestly? There really isn't much at that Market. I don't think I'm interested in going when it starts back up next season. Mike scored himself several sugar-free desserts though.

Today I buzzed over to Nipomo, (via Oceano to hit up Hayashi's roadside stand on the way. Three ears of corn, a loaf of artichoke and pesto bread, a bottle of *GET THIS* Porterville olives and a bundle of strawberries later) I visited my buddy Sheila. She's laid up with an extremely bruised back. We sat outside, we sat (I sat, she laid on the floor) inside, enjoyed the sun, enjoyed a movie, knit, didn't knit, ate, drank some wine and overall just hung out together. The weather was awesome from one end of the central coast to the other today.

Tonight was leftovers and in a while I'm going to be firmly planted on the couch, watching the season premier of SNL. Michael Phelps, y'all. And if that isn't incentive enough, then tell me that Tina Fey and Sara Palin are not identical twins from different mothers?

Tomorrow is chock-full of fun as well. It's the last day of this year's I Madonnari street painting festival and later, the monthly Central Coast Beer and Knitting meetup.

And here's where the crossroad comes into play.

My life has an aspect of Wine & Roses fun. Something I think is appropriate for a general knitting blog tied to ravelry that general people will happen upon.

The other aspect of my life isn't all peachy keen and my take on things isn't about the Sweetness and Light.

Today I heard a horrid phone conversation between two people starting down the path of divorce. Two people I know very well.

Some things that go on with me have roots in my childhood and there are some seriously dark parts to that.

I started this blog not actually knowing REAL people reading it . . . maybe CJ and I had met once by then, but we hadn't bonded or hung out like we have since. I didn't know any of you guys reading this when I started and I had started with the intent to talk about my life . . . my real day-to-day, 'no punches held' life story and goings on and what I really really think about shit.

Every day I start a blog post in my head about having been adopted, or unadopted, or how being married is, or how I REALLY feel about things and want to express for myself, to get my thoughts down, and I don't. People I know in real life read this and even though I have that 'Eff You' exterior, I would hate to know I've offended someone.

Having thought about it off and on for several weeks now, I've decided to make my "knitting/rose-colored glasses" blog the one tied to ravelry. I just haven't decided if I want to keep "Knitting Blue Content" that one or if I want to create one with a more 'bland' name to tie to ravelry. Whatever I decide, name-wise and content-wise, I will let my current "friends" know about so they can choose.

With that said, one will not be rainbow kisses and lollipop dreams, so read if you want but don't say I didn't warn you.

I Could Be Convinced:

You know that saying "I need XXX like I need another hole in the head" ?

Well, for me, I need more knitting needles like I need another hole in my head. I have straights, circs, dpns, and TWO sets of interchangeables.

Today I just stumbled across this, people!



Addi Turbos now come in an interchangeable kit!

Now I just need to figure out where this new hole in my head is going, LOL.

They come with a princely price tag attached, but seriously, you get pretty much all the Addi you'll ever need (although no sizes below 4) and that's for some quality knitting tools.

Crap. I should probably start looking for a job now, to finance this heavenly acquisition.

Avila Slideshow:

I'm trying to figure out how to get all "Ellen Bloom" on you, with the cool-ass slideshow stuff.

Today I ended up hitting Avila Beach, instead of Pismo Beach, for my 9/11 introspective/pensive day and took a ton of pictures.

Mmmkay. Apparently I suck at the embedding. Grrr!

You can check out the slideshow here instead.

So anywhooo. I elected to go to Avila because I had some errands to run in SLO and it made more sense gas-wise.

I don't have many great childhood memories, but the few I do have? Avila is one of the best ones. The 'lagoon' area is absolutely perfect for younger kids or older folks. It's just so peaceful and serene. The water is pretty shallow and the area is usually uninhabited . . . especially on a work day afternoon.

So there are my pictures. Of Avila, of birds, of people, of dogs, and just of. Of my foot that isn't broken anymore and of nature and of scenery.

It was time well spent.

Tomorrow:

I think I'm going to head on down to Pismo, to sit, knit and think about what happened 7 years ago.

That's what I did on 9/11/02 and it just feels like where I need to be for reflection again.

Seven years have passed, yet it feels like yesterday in so many ways.

I'm stopping now before I completely rant and vent my frustrations with our country and our current President (and his political party).

Seven years. I can hardly believe it.

Knitting, Fog, Friends and Fried Green 'Maters:

Holy Cats y'all! It's been a bit since I've last written and sorry for that.

While the days pass, I'm busy in some ways and lazy-dazy in others.

Knitting (cuz HELLO! This is first and foremost a knitting blog!)

I have a pair of socks off the needles. You can see what I'm talking about here.

Fresh on the needles are something I thought I'd never knit in a million years. Just. So. Not. Thank Ye and not interested in the least.

'Scept I not only cast on, I'm almost done with the first one.

There are several reasons why knucks (and all their offspring) didn't interest me. Half-assed gloves? Pfft. Pourquois? If it's that damn cold Outside, than either 1) this delicate flower is Inside or 2) I'm wearing glove-gloves. That made sense to me.

That is, until this delicate flower decided to knit outdoors this last Friday. "Outdoors in San Luis" you wonder? Yeah. Here in The Big City of SLO the sun always shines, the birds always sing and always with The Pretty People walking the sidewalks. Outdoors anywhere else along the coastline? It sucks weather ass. Truth be told though, it doesn't suck on the "hanging out and enjoying it" front. I love me some real Weather. It just sucks on the photog front and the "knitting outside" front.

Thus, the love of knucks was born. No way am I going to be outside in The Fog again, with cold hands and an itch to knit!

Outside of knitting?

Wait, what? There's stuff outside of knitting?

Oh, that's right. Local guy Chuck Liddell got his bell rung. and a local business owner passed on. I love Mo's alot. It's the best place to get fried green tomatoes outside of Louisiana or my kitchen. Mo's is some seriously good eats.

Tomorrow is the weekly Monday KnitUp at Woodstone in Avila (which if you're a true local . . . ? It ain't really Avila. It's "Avila Adjacent" and how snobby does THAT sound, LOL!) I'm looking forward to meeting up with these ladies again. They are so flipp'n nice and interesting and welcoming.

I AM wondering how my sweet friend SisterDi is doing though. She had a quick and unexpected move away and until I get to see her again, I worry.

For Carolyn!

For Carolyn!, originally uploaded by ajdury.

Thought of you when I saw these!

Busy Busy:

Man. I've been doing a lot of stuff outdoors lately.

Last Thursday I went to the SLO Farmer's Market with Mike and Sheila.

It was PACKED and my chief complaint is all the frigg'n stollers being pushed around in the crowds. Empty strollers, people. Little SUVs sans the urchins they are intended for. What the hell? Dogs on leashes aren't allowed but empty stroller after empty stroller rolls through taking up the limited space.

SLO's Thursday Farmer's Market is the biggest one in the area (that I know of) and thus the selection is awesome! We bought two large artichokes, three bunches of asparagus, 4 nectarines (from Fresno but those are Mike's and he doesn't even KNOW what a 'carbon footprint' is, let alone care about it), some more little tomatoes and a pound of some kind of green chili peppers. Mike bought a sugar-free pie but ate it the same night so I don't know the name of the vendor. Oh, and I almost forgot. My FAVORITE FAVORITE, a container of blood orange orange juice from Varian Farms. Holy moly it's delicious. Sweeeeeet, yeah, but with a touch of tart. YUM.

I ate some kind of indian-spiced vegetarian pie thing for dinner and then we sat at Firestone's Grill so Sheila and Mike could eat. I passed the time by casting on and knitting away on my second HazelKnits sock.

The next evening we hooked up with Mike's brother B and the girlfriend M and hit Cal Poly to fish at one of the ponds. It was so picturesque but I did cast my rod a few times before it got too dark. No bites outside of mosquitoes eating me alive! The picture of the clouds is courtesy of Mike. I was around the pond from everyone and I asked him to take a picture of the beautiful clouds. He took a picture and goofed it up.

Mike, having been raised in the tradition of the "this is how we do it because this is how we've always done it" mantra, wanted to go back to the same spot the next morning . . . so we did. Me, Mike and his buddy Scott.

We trudged up the effing hill and as the free roaming horses came into view I realized I had left my camera waaaaaaaay back down there in the truck.

FUCK!

You know I must be serious about this picture take'n stuff because I walked all the way back down and ALLLLL the way back up because of that damn camera. It was totally worth it though! I caught my first fish (but refused to touch it and Mike got mad at me, LOL) and the horses just walked right past us and into the pond for a drink and some splashing. It was awesome! Scott caught 2 fish and Mike? he caught ZERO. We all had a good laugh over that.

Mike wanted to go fishing again Sunday morning (earlier than we went on Saturday morning) so I woke my ass up at 5:30am to offer to go fishing - except I wasn't going back to the same pond. I wanted to go to Laguna Lake this time.

He said no.

That'll be the last time I offer to go fishing with him!

Since I was up that damn early, I decided to grab the camera and catch the sun rise. It was beautiful . . . until the fog rolled in.

Monday we did nothing that I remember.

Tuesday Mike said a repair guy (again!) was coming 'any time' that day so I stuck around the house. Dude never showed (again!)

Today I had no intention of sitting around waiting for flaky repair dudes, so I left the house at 8:20 this morning to hit the Grover Beach Farmer's Market. It's smaller than the SLO one, but bigger than the Avila Beach one. There was hardly anyone there, in comparison, and not one stroller! Score. I bought bell peppers for our stuffed bell peppers dinner tonight, 5 more green tomatoes (the last batch ripened faster than I could get to them so I only fried up two small ones and all that did was leave me with a bigger yen for them!), three ears of fresh corn from Hayashi's, 6 Granny Smith apples to make some more of these tasty babies, a fresh lemon and a mini loaf of banana nut breat from House of Bread.

After all that shopping I made my way home via Pismo Beach. Y'all know I can't get within spitting distance of the ocean without going to it, right?! This time I just lingered around the Pismo Creek and took a few pictures. it was VERY foggy, as you can see. My camera doesn't work well without natural sunlight so it was a bit tricky getting decent snaps, but I did manage a few.

Leaving Pismo, I took Price Canyon Road home and what the hay! I had to stop and snap a few more before turning into my driveway.

Oooohhh! The other thing I did (no pics though) was meet up with some knitters on Monday morning, near Avila. A very nice group of women and I will be going to their Monday gathering every Monday that I don't have a job. Yeah, that isn't helping with the job-mojo-motivation either, lemmetellya!

Upcoming: Hmmm. I don't think I really have anything planned this week outside of house chores. Still haven't finished my craft room . . . and I'm 70 % done with my two socks left on the needles. I've been itching to start my kitchen curtain project but I've resisted casting on as of yet. I have 95% of my second bath mat done, and there's a bit of work left on my log-cabin-inspired kitchen rug (but man I hate working with that thick cotton! It's a killer on my hands).

Until I figure out what's next, I'll be busy taking pictures like this:





It just never gets old!

A Moment of Silence:

It has just been reported that Jerry Reed has died.

Man.

He's my all-time favorite country singer and I just loved him in Smokey & the Bandit.

For those that don't know him, he sang the theme song to that movie, and several other popular songs . . . "she got the goldmine and I got the shaft". Classic lyrics in that one.

You can listen to some of his most popular songs here.

I suggest "When you're hot, you're hot", "Amos Moses", "Lord Mr. Ford" and for a good laugh "The Bird". (yes, that's Jerry singing as Willie Nelson and George Jones!)

It's a sad day. The world just lost it's swing'n little guitar man.