Bi Cycles

Everybody's got something to hide
 'cept for me & my bicycle..
photo by my savior of the day,
https://www.instagram.com/maryelizx/

I got this bike from a Cat in Wyoming, on my way to start college in Utah. She got it for a song and only wanted the leather saddle. It fit me perfectly, and has been more dependable than any man I've yet to meet outside of my family... (Except maybe the Holy Trinity) It has traveled with me from Utah to Ohio, from Ohio to NYC, from NYC to Ohio and back to Utah, and went to Berkeley and Yakima with me last summer. I love to ride it to work and to church and along rivers and up mountains (and down again, whee!!!) I am a speed demon, and unlike my bother J have yet to be tarred for my sins... Dad, thanks for letting me keep my training wheels until you pointed out that I wasn't even using them anyway, they were never touching the ground. Thanks for teaching me that it's about the circle, not the up and down. Thanks for teaching me that you pace yourself, and you take turns in front and turns drafting, and you go in a zig-zag up the hill so that your lungs don't explode... Mom, thanks for telling me when I was still in elementary school that giving birth was like riding your bike up a mountain to see the sunset but even better because you got to take a baby home with you afterward. SJW thanks for being the strong silent type who gets his son to sing the song "bicycle" while sweeping the garage. (Or for marrying a woman who did that.) MW thanks for having more bicycle wheels than anyone can shake a stick at, and for letting me have the pleasure of finding the long lost one. Juju, I love you and yes, sometimes it sucks. But we will never break up, ever for eternity. I'm not temple divorcing you, so don't even ask. NG, you have produced more wonderful humans and provided them with bikes and let me be the first one to see Ra roll over and sit up on a bike. PC if you don't love bikes already you will soon. Also, you may yet prove to be just as dependable or so than this bike. Why doesn't it have a name? I don't think it even has a gender...

Near George Washington Bridge in
Manhattan...
Photo by Elizabeth Leitzell,
http://eleitz.com/about/

Little v touching a bike as we pass,
with her in her stroller trike...

The bike artisans confer... 

Again, EL/LE... http://eleitz.com/about/ . My sexy legs...

Homemade Socks

 I am a member of Goodreads, but I have not updated my book selection in 2 1/2 years. I've been debating if I should start again. I logged on and found this message between my sister and I from 5 years ago. She's still obsessed with both socks and The Count of Monte Christo. I have yet to knit a work of literature into a wearable piece, however. Right now I'm knitting an octopus.

Dec 06, 2008 02:42PM

Hey Olivia,

The Count of Monte Christo Penguin classic 1,000 some pages edition I have on my book list would be a schweet Christmas present. The copy I have from the library right now is missing the first 36 pages and some other random pages in the middle so it is kind of hard to understand the whole story.

Ju

Dec 06, 2008 07:20PM

I'll keep that in mind. Although I thought the socks would be my Christmas present to you...

Olivia

Dec 07, 2008 07:28AM

Oh yeah. I'll have to pester someone else then. or you could knit the entire story into a REALLY long sock. It would be like a tapestry that I could wear! That would be the best Christmas present ever.

Ju

All I Wanted for Christmas...

      This Christmas was the first one that I haven't spent with immediate family members, since more than half of them were in India for a wedding. It was also the first time that I haven't taken off most of the week between Christmas and New Year's. Somehow I decided that this meant I was taking Christmas off--I only bought presents for my oldest niece and nephew (I figured that the youngest 2, both under 3 months, wouldn't care if I didn't get them anything.), I didn't make treats for anyone, I only sent out 7 cards.

     My aunt invited me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with her family. Since they live around the corner & I love to hang out with them, this seemed like the best idea. She said that they would make a stocking for me, and even get me presents. She asked what I wanted. 
     I have a habit of asking for very practical presents. I think this may be because I try very hard not to want things, so that I won't spend too much money. "I want my own toilet plunger," I told her. This was the first thing that had come to mind. "The kind with the accordion bellows." (This request may seem a little less strange if you know that I live in a house with 6 other people. There are 3 bathrooms, and only one toilet plunger, which is kept in a storage room in the basement. I don't need to use it that often, but when I do need it, running downstairs to get it is no fun.) I did manage to think of a few other things, including these:

A sandwich-shaped case and dinosaur sandwich cutter.

I've enjoyed many grilled cheese sandwiches shaped liked dinosaurs this last month. :)

One fish, two fish...

Remember the bag of eyes? Here's what I am doing with them!

I hope they fit!

I started this post a long time ago, but never published it. So here it is now!

I found this pattern in a knitting book & thought that they'd be perfect for my friend's little girl. It took me awhile to finish them, though, so I hope that they aren't too small!

Adoration

 I started substitute teaching to fill in the gaps in my work schedule. So far I've mostly been at elementary schools, often in 2nd grade. (My niece keeps asking me to sub for her class.) Although the pay isn't that great, there are some great benefits, as you can see by these fan notes.

I did write a quick note back to her before school ended. Aren't kids great? It's nice to know that 7 year old girls think I'm pretty.

My first sweater

So, I've been knitting again lately. I just finished my first sweater! I should mention that's is a bolero for a newborn, so isn't that big.

Here's the front:


back:


The pattern on the back is suppose to bring protection. I hope it won't make the baby itch!

Here's a detail of the pattern:



I've very proud of myself for doing this pattern--I looked at it about a year ago and thought it was too complicated for me. But I picked it up and decided to try. I only had one moment of confusion with the pattern--I made one sleeve twice as long as it should be! I had to undo it carefully, as I was trying to keep careful count of the rows so both sleeves would be the same. I did figure out which way the stitches should be placed when you undo them, though. (If you put them on the wrong way, they are harder to knit and probably look funny.) Knitting is teaching me patience, and enjoying the process rather than just the result.

I better hurry and get the sweater in the mail before the baby is born, because I don't think it will fit for very long!