creepy calls

I knew I would have to deal with this couple eventually, but I didn't expect it to be as wierd as it is. It's an Indian couple, they've emailed mom before, they want another scan to determine the sex of the baby... so they can terminate the pregnancy. Mom of course won't do such things, but this lady's husband called me today to try and set up an appointment over the phone. Everything's just wrong about it- he was asking strange questions (and NO ONE'S husband calls. people's moms call sometime, but no one's HUSBAND sets up an appointment for her). And I'm usually business like and cheeful and think everyone should get a chance to bond with their fetus. But they weren't really interested in that. I just got the feeling they weren't worried about buying pink or blue stuff. I told him he had to bring in information to the office, I couldn't make the appointment over the phone.

He really made me feel slimy. Mom's husband had the same reaction when he dealt with them last week, but it really does make me, too, feel all conservative and racially profiling and stuff. I mean, he never SAID that's who he was. But it just felt odd- I didn't want to talk to him or set anything up. Really, I think abortion is a mandatory right that all women should have- but I get the feeling that it's HIM, and I don't think men should have the right to choose abortions. And I think the Feminism against gender selection wins out so hard over the Feminism for abortion.

the solar paneled bag

First, i think it was what caused my shuffle to act up. second, the phone charger still doesn't really work, even with the summer sun.
but i can't be sure of any of these things. why? because i have this problem:

knitty

So, most of you know- my newest project is a bikini. to wear to the beach! next week! i'm so excited! first, it's the beach! who doesn't love the beach! plus, i'll see krista and sarah (though not at the beach, but in the city!) and amy and z and the party in a box, plus the usual fun of my parents and my pop-pop. only better, because there will be OCEAN involved.

and a knew knitted kbikini. oh yeah.

but i realized last night, if i finish my bikini on the way too the beach and am wearing it on the beach, what will i KNIT on the beach? sweater of doom? rife with problems. another grocery bag? boring and too quickly completed. one of my two pairs of unfinished socks? too big. I want something i can wear myself.

i had more requests. i want a new project. something small like socks. only fun, like lace or faire isle. ooh, i haven't done two color knitting in a while. but it has to use up some of that yarn i got for xmas. maybe something with noro stripes like the scarf joe made? and then look what i found:
the ziggy socks.

Perfect. absolutely perfect. so excited about this i actually put my name in for a ravely invite. because i know all of you don't really care, but i want to be excited with someone who does. and save you from the agony of any other knitting posts.

Order of completion

So when you're constructing a garment, the basic rule is to do everything you can to each piece before you sew it to any others. You know, sew the darts and gathers to the fronts before you sew them together. put the cuff on the sleeve before you attach it to the bodice. and sew on. Well, this dish i made last night from the passionate vegetarian reminded me of that- every ingredient you had to do a couple of things to before you could attach it to anything else. the Kale needed to be de-ribbed, then blanched, then chopped. The zucchini needed to be grated, than salted, then drained. the potatoes needed to be grated, then soaked, then drained. the onions needed to be chopped then sauteed. and so on. even the eggs needed to be beaten first. My kale kugel-gratin took most of the night. it was good, but not worth all that work.

also, something is wrong with my shuffle. it just keeps blinking green-orange-green-orange- the sign it has no music on it. but that's no what itunes tells me. sigh. back to the genius bar again.

mitzi

um. if i can get this video to embed, you will see what each and every morning is like in my house. thanks, sarah, for sharing.

sex and gender in real life

So. i need more work, so i don't sit at home and mope whenever i'm not in the flowershop. was whining bout this to my mother, and she said she needs an extra secretary to answer the phone and make appointments at her and her husband's business, baby preview. And so the phones are supposed to start forwarding to my cell, and lo, the internet is a marvelous thing that i can pretend i'm in an office in reading when i'm really sewing bags in chicago (except right now. right now i have no bags. i only have my 1950's cherry sundress).

And i have a postcard right in front of me with the packages they offer, and at the very top it says "2D gender determination package." As i tell my mom whenever we talk about this typo, "wow! cool! who knew modern technology could tell gender! does it show whether they're playing will dollies or trucks in there? or just if they'll prefer pants or skirts?" She says stephanie (the real secretary)doesn't think saying sex is appropriate and always substitutes gender. which i guess, if you're going to be that euphamistic, makes sense- we wouldn't want to actually look at a baby's genitals to determine its sex! that's not nice! the whole thing gives mom a headache, and she says she gets so nervous about using the appropriate term she just asks if the parents want to know if it's a girl or a boy.

it's really important to people. i guess they want to make sure all their gender branding starts early. not that the likelyhood of the sex and gender not matching up is all that high. i have to remember, this is reading, PA, not the wide world of cultural antropology.

i want more friends who end emails with boobs.

that is all.

random lists

while tidying my desk today i found a blank book with an inscrutable list in it. what's it for? i have no idea. i don't remember writing it.

humid
air coating chapped lungs
pop of saliene bottle (hiss)
thickness/clouds/tangible
suburbia vs. urban
the importance of transport
newness of life/jealosy/fear
Kira1 aIII cec. " " JI Jan 1
K-PAX

any guesses? it was on the page after "topics to blog about," none of which i can remember what i wanted to say. those are:
-gender
-frances
-treehouse poster
-why i'm veggie
-new years horror stories
-tori, joni, ani
-being a cunt
-disgusting things

i mean, if you put in a request i COULD blog about any of these things. but i don't think they're particularly as remarkable as i did when i jotted them down.

plus, G.Z.'s phone number. who i think by the extention works for columbia, but again. i'm just not sure.

cherries jubilee

Along with other unremarkable vegetables (i guess i'm a bit jaded) this week, i got a pint of the most magnificent black cherries. how do you eat cherries? i bite them in half, eat the half, pry the pit out of the other half with my teeth, spit it out, and then eat the other half. i was intending to work my way through this pint the same way, and then they came, and the suggestion for them is "for a simple dessert, cover with amaretto and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. serve with whipped cream." well, what ISN"T better marinated in amaretto (note to self- invent amaretto tofu marinate)? so i got out my little knife and my cutting board and i sat down to half cherries. this takes a long time, did you know? prying those stupid little pits out is a huge pain. i was bored before i'd done two dozen. i started thinking about fifties housewives who would bake cherry pies from scratch. my goddess! it would take all afternoon just to pit the things. then i got the marvelous idea- no one is going to eat these cherries besides me. so i started prying the pits out with my teeth. hugely successful! ended up doing the whole pint! they are marinating RIGHT NOW! i can't wait for tomorrow. it's like christmas. do you think if i go to bed early, my cherries will be sufficently marinated sooner?

my thoughts on gay marriage

I've always been so strongly ambivielent about it. It's not a right i want. i feel like it should be a right i can have, but there's something about it that always seemed like the focus is on the wrong place. and then i read this article in the utne reader tonight over my dinner (frozen amy's and TWELVE oz of raspberries!) and now i have my manifesto. i think i may read her whole book. PLEASE click through and read it, because i can't summarize it. and if i did, i wouldn't have her amazing examples. but what i got from it is this. marrieds have rights, so gays say they want to be married, too, so they can have rights, too. but what about all the OTHER people who should have rights? rights should go to ALL families. why does one's significant other have to be one's sexual partner? what about siblings? what about children of complicated setups? why doesn't our country value ALL families? Focus on the family always seemed to me to focus not on the family but on the political agenda, and now i have found someone who is REALLY focused on the family. this makes me happy, i like to find worldview bandwagons i can jump on.

twittering

no insight here. not even any real activities. just sadness. sewing away in my closet, trying to sew bags, but keep getting distracted by internet, novels, knitting projects. listening to cathartic music, the weepies' hideaway, ani's dilate, patty griffin, everything but the girl's walking wounded. "i'm sleeping later, waking later. eating less and thinking more. And how am i without you? am i more myself or less myself? i feel younger, louder, like i don't always connect."

such sadness

back from the farm. the trip was fine, but at the end d and i had a difficult conversation which ended in... well, a breakup. i understand it had to happen, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. any encouragement would be appreciated.

off again

deb, jr and i leave for the farm tomorrow for the family reunion on the fourth, swiming in the pool, and hiding of the sexuality. sounds like fun for all, right? will give you the full report when i get back. promise! haven't i been blogging more the past few days, ever since i met my new reader? the old unglaubliche is back!

oh, and a side note about movies: i've gone to the theaters to see indiana jones and prince caspian this week, and i enjoyed both, because i don't mind a little hollywood in my fantasy world. certainly there were problems, but not ones i can't overlook.

but what i want to talk about in prince caspian was Recognizing cinematic moments- knowing how minor visual effects were created, instead of just the feeeling of oooh, that's pretty. there was a shot where they (i assume) shrunk the appature, so what started out as the kids dark in the foreground completely overwhelmed by the overexposed glowingness of the pure white outside. and then the appature shrunk and the exposure was set for outside, and the kids are just black sillouettes and we can see what actually is outside. or during the duel scene, sure it's really bright out, but all that light makes them able to Ramp up the contrast- it was almost like a comic book, all outlined in black. anyway. it feels pretty cool, like i'm super-high-falootin, to be able to see light.