The Hat, Etc.

As usual, I have been simply dreadful with updates. The weather was hot for a long time. I mean, really, really, hot. My brain turns to mush in the kind of heat/humidity we had. Plus I threw my back out at the beginning of August. No writing was happening at that point. No knitting, either. Excruciating pain has this annoying way of making one unable to focus on anything else at all except -- where did I hide that old codeine I've been saving for just such an occasion???? I am much better now, even functioning and moving like a normal person, and think that I will never let the doctors give me muscle relaxers again. They do nothing for pain. They simply render you unconscious, and if you're lucky, you wake up 24 hours later with the pain gone. If it's still there, pop another pill down the hatch. Ugh! Next time I think i will just have some Scotch.

So, here at long last is The Hat I made for my acquaintance in England. I have been meaning to post pics for a long time! Even with a terrific digital camera, it is very difficult to photograph myself decently. If I posted the ones that didn't come out right, you all would have an awfully good laugh at my expense.
The fiber is a lovely merino/tencel blend, and I really enjoyed working with it. I think there will be more of this stuff in my future.
All the spinning was done on my wonderful Golding Swan Lake spindle. I thought the pattern was my own concept, but then found a similar one amongst the chemo cap patterns on Janet Szabo's site. Probably the only change I made was to use Barbara Walker's "Cork Cables" for the band. A little remembrance of the wee man from Cork, of whom my acquaintance is also a fan.

Speaking of Rory, the North American version of his Rockpalast concert DVDs was finally released. My copy arrived in the mail just in time for hubby's weekend in Maine, meaning I actually got to watch some of the footage right away. (Hubby is not fan. He'd rather have thrash/death metal over Rory. This I do not understand.) So far, the most wonderful part has been viewing an acoustic set from 1976, which up until this point I have only heard. (Bootleg recording. Shhhh...) Rory uses his National steel resonator for most of the program, and on the final song, he plays it lap style. I've never seen anyone do that before, so it was really interesting to watch from a technical standpoint. And when I'm not inclined to study technique, the man himself was a hottie at that point in time, so there's a treat for the eyes as well.

I now have the entire Frankie Miller/Rory Gallagher jam session so finally I have seen more than just that terrific performance of "Walkin' the Dog." (I think I posted a You Tube link for that one a few posts back.)

I guess I haven't written a thing about a movie I saw recently and loved. It's a few years old now, and was not an expensive DVD. I bought it because the lead singer from Gogol Bordello, Eugene Hutz, plays one of the leads. I adore Gogol Bordello, and was curious to see how Eugene might do as an actor. Wow! I don't want to say too much about the story, but I will say that this is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It starts out funny, but really packs a wallop later on. And Gogol Bordello makes a humorous guest appearance in the train station scene at the beginning.

Work continues on Doubtful Sound. Honestly, these characters are leading me around in a very interesting way, but I am drawing very close to the dreaded "gap." This means, roughly, that I got ahead of myself and started writing future bits before completing the earlier bits. I now need to write a lot of "filler" to bridge the "gap" and tie everything together.

Work gets better and better since our front office person walked off the job in July. She has now been replaced by a woman who not only says good morning when I come in, but engages me in pleasant conversation for a bit. This morning's topic? James Joyce, and the steamy letters he wrote to Nora Barnacle. I did not know about these letters. Now I do. Yowza! Pretty naughty stuff. But I digress. This lady also likes to write, enjoys all kinds of music, has a great sense of humor, and she likes me and will not make it her life's goal to get me fired. Morale in the workplace has soared through the roof, and I no longer wonder, fearfully, what head games will be played on any given day. Work is about work now, and the atmosphere is friendly. Sometimes good things DO happen to good people!