FemiKnitMafia

Someone else offered $15, I panicked, we talked and talked and talked, I caved, and we got the house.

We.bought.a.house. Holy shit.

Granted, it’s pending a satisfactory home inspection and finalizing the financing. And then I’ll really panic.and get excited.and panic.and jump up and down in joy.and hyperventilate. I hear this behavior is completely normal.

Thanks for all the love, vibes, reiki, etc. Knitters and muggles rule! Being able to write about this and getting supportive comments has certainly helped the anxiety. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone.

Now I’ll ask your permission to slack on knitting while I scrub every corner, strip wallpaper, rip up carpets, sand floors, apply polyurethane, paint, and panic.

For the next week, I’ll be dealing with home inspectors, financial people, work, mothering, wife-ing, and job hunting. Yeah, I really need a raise. It’s time. Anything else I should be doing? Good lord!

As for the knitting, I need to block my vest, and then I’ll take advice from Cate — cast on some Socks for Sanity.

Knitting
After reading Caro’s podcast reviews, I started listening to Lime and Violet, and if there wasn’t so much talk about testicles, I’d have a big crush. Regardless, I might have a crush.

I’m flying through my Ann Budd assisted Jo Sharp sweater vest. I love the yarn. I love the color. I love the fit (thanks Danielle, Rhonda and Beth).

Because I can’t help myself
MIT-thanks for the new computer
Left to do: a neckline and one arm hole. Life is good. Speaking of … wouldn’t it be great to have a knitter’s version of the classic Life is Good T’s? I’m emailing them right now.

Crafting
Inspired by todays Blue Blog, it occured to me that Sunday (this Sunday!!!) is Oct. 1st, so I’d better get moving on Little Man’s annual homemade Halloween costume. Considering his current obsession with Peter Pan, I decided to make a Peter Pan costume for him and a Captain Hook costume for me. Upon hearing this, his next-door best friend decided to dress up as Tinkerbell. Ridiculously cute. I should start sewing this weekend, because if the house deal comes through, our October will be pretty damned busy. But not nearly as busy as our December, January, February, etc. Read on …

House
Lest you think my recent bout of house hunting is based on some responsible notion of tax benefits, building of equity, working together toward a common goal … Rest assured, I am still insane. Proof’s in the photos:

Bathroom #1: missing clawfoot tub, holes for plumbing, yummy linoleum and partially painted beadboard (I do LOVE beadboard)

Bedroom #2: kickin’ wallpaper and linoleum (hiding original wide-plank hardwood floors)

Looks like fun, eh? Have I ever mentioned how much I adore demo? Banging, slamming, pulling, crushing, stomping. So fun!

I really want this place, and the wait is killing me! Where’s my yarn?

If we were haggling over concert tickets

Face price: $29

Round One:
My Offer: $0
Seller’s Counter: $25

Round Two:
My Offer: $5
Seller’s Counter: $20

Round Three:
My Offer: $10
Seller’s Counter: holding at $20 as other people look at the house and make offers. oy!

Keep the good Reiki, Mazel, Luck, Thoughts, Wishes, and Hopes coming. At this rate, we’ll end at $15, but I hope to get closing costs, a refrigerator, stove, and hot water heater out of them too. Negotiating is fun.

ETA, Wednesday afternoon:
Round Four:
My Best and Final: $15 or $20 with closing costs and other stuff
Seller: pending

Before you leave anymore flattering comments about my negotiation skills, please notice that I’m caving a little. Just a little. But a bidding war has started, and I really like this house. Now I’d better call the mortgage broker again and stalk the home improvement box stores. argh. argh. argh. I want this to be done.

I didn’t make it to the Boston KnitOut because I made an offer on a house.

No, I wasn’t house hunting.
No, I can’t afford it.
No, it wasn’t part of the plan. at. all.
Yes, this was my secret from last Monday.

But the house is perfect, and there’s 1-1/2 hour for the seller to respond to our offer. So I need my knitters to puh-lease send some house mazel. Perhaps making an offer during Rosh Hashana will give us luck? This could be an excellent (and unanticipated) new beginning. Send your house mazel here…

ETA, 10pm: They countered, and so did I. They barely budged from the listing price, and I barely budged from my low offer. My realtor wanted to wait until the morning to submit the new offer, but I told her to call tonight, and give them another 6pm deadline. I’m fighting this to the bloody end, and there’s still plenty of space between our offers. So keep it comin’ gals; send those good house vibes! Oh yeah. I also caught a cold. At 6pm. Strange. So send some good health vibes too, will ya? Thanks!

Will you be there?
I will. Little Man will.
Watch for a small blond streak of pure energy and a breathless Mommy.

Deval Patrick wins easily

Now let’s get him in the corner office, and give that carpet-baggin’ moron the boot.

1. Because he’s so damned cute.

2. Because survey responders asked for more Little Man.

3. Because Wifey doesn’t read the blog anyway, so she can’t be mad at me for posting a real photo.

4. To remind myself that Little Man can entertain himself when Mommy’s on the phone.

5. Because PapaTime (our family’s Portsmouth-based folk musician) is looking for a drummer and put the sticks into LM’s hands.

6. To prove that he’s a natural talent, you know … just in case he grows up to be a rock star.

Today I’m a freak show. Although I don’t dare post specifics, there’s a possibility of some excellent (I think) life changes coming. Huge changes. Scary changes. Expensive changes. Too fast changes.

In the meantime, I’ll re-watch this excellent video, The Last Knit. This is me, both metaphorically, and as someone who battles with some biological (or previous drug use related) mental turmoil, perhaps it’s quite literal. In any case, only another knitter could understand why this video is so perfect. And only another head-case-freak-show will understand the scissors part at the end.

Thank godog I knit. Now where’s my yarn?

Music
My name is The Mafia, and I’m a LaLa whore. The arrival of each little red&white envelope sends me into fits of glee, and for the last two days, I’ve been listening to Disk 2 of One From the Vault non-stop. Honestly, I prefer disk 1 (the transition from Help on the Way —> Franklin’s Tower is my favorite musical moment of all time), but I’m still waiting on Disk 1. Live Dead, there’s nothing better.

GTD
Despite resisting the pull for months, I’ve been sucked into reading about the Getting Things Done and Hipster PDA phenomenons. Mind you, I’m convinced that I have adult ADD, and any strategies that help me focus are very welcome. It took about two mouse clicks to discover Moleskines and Moleskine-hacks. Since the PDA hit the market, I’ve owned two, but when my Palm Zire died back in the early spring, I didn’t replace it. I have reasonably good calendar, address book, notes, and creative journalling systems, but they’re all disparate and/or bulky. Hopefully this moment marks the beginning of a new system.

Creativity
The moment it was posted on WhipUp, I borrowed a copy of Twyla Tharp’s book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life. While I find her writing style a bit harsh and bossy, the concepts are great, and it’s an interesting peek into the mind of such a brilliant woman. Besides, it’s Twyla Tharp. She’s allowed to be bossy.

The timing of this books is serendipitous — for the past few months I’ve noticed a very distinct cycle to my creativity and creative energy. Specifically, from the time I ovulate until my period, I’m increasingly creative. And for the few days before I bleed, I walk around in a creative bubble. I’ve started apologizing to Wifey for being “stuck in my own head.” Unfortunately those wildly productive days come to a crashing halt as soon as I start to bleed, when my brain turns foggy.

Does anyone else have these strong creative cycles? Do they correlate with any other physical, emotional, environmental, or spiritual cycles?

You know it’s a good day when something arrives from Canada.

It’s a present from my dearest RoRo!

The Canada package contained a hilarious Chicken Scratch bag and pen, some yummy dyke-alicious orange/vanilla loose leaf tea [she knows how to woo a lady], and some cute little pins. The pin shown here is from her excellent show 87% True: The Lies That Bind, which has been touring the Canadian Fringe Festivals all summer.

The three missing pins say “I Dressed Myself Today,” which are intended to help Moms avoid social ostracism when Little Man exibits fashion independence. Clearly Little Man was thrilled because I couldn’t even get a photo of the pins. but I will. soon. probably while attached to his heinous yellow “turtle shirt”.

Wifey said, “It’s so strange that you get presents from your online friends.”
I smirked and said, “Whatever, she’s just a completely hilarious lesbian playwright. It’s not like I’m running off to Canada to steal her. No big deal.”
I got a raised eyebrow and a dirty look. And now I’ll be getting a comment from RoRo’s Kate. tee-hee. always causin’ trouble.

In other news, I’ve been clickin’ away at my Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed v-neck pullover vest. Look Mom, it might fit! See how it’s a tad smaller than my suit jacket? No small thanks to my knitting brain, of course.

Can you tell that photo was taken in my office? Well, Danielle discovered a little camera in our brand new computers. Go see the pix of her awesome new Fountain Lace Cardi. Needless to say, there was inappropriate use of MIT’s resources yesterday. Here’s my contribution:

My very own Warhol

My eye

My mouth (yes, I used to have a tongue ring)

Now that I’ve scared you away, have a great day!