Hello Halloweeney!

Here is me dressed as a Ravenclaw. I made the earrings - yes, that is a duck bead.

Yes, I know the Ravenclaw mascot is an eagle. But, if the house can be called Ravenclaw and have an eagle for a mascot, surely they would except another bird, a duck, as a representative.

And the duck bead is a great reference to the Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail(just think about it...).



The scarf I completed last night. It took forever and I ran out of blue yarn.

Clearly it is not long enough.

The students were obnoxious today - and predicting such behavior, I gave them all tests.

:)

But, by far, the most annoying of them all was seventh grade. That class is generally good natured, but they were UBER HYPER today.

Upon entering my class, without so much as a greeting, they bombarded me.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

"Are you supposed to be McGonagoll?"

"Are you supposed the be Harry Potter?"

(in a really bad English accent) "HARRY POTTER?"

"Are you supposed to be McGonagoll?"

"Is that an old Nun's habit?"

"Where is your scar?"

:|

After giving them a brief lecture on boundaries and consequences (IE. detention), they settled.

And yes - those are my robes from St. John's. Lance chucked his in the bin, but he kept the hood. Otherwise, we could have been Cedric and Cho!

:D

So I am easily impressed...

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Crafty...

A few things I have accomplished within the past year...and some more recently...
I actually made 2 of these for the P-J twins in Santa Fe.



This I made for Sam P-J as a little "pick-me-up" for having twin sisters now...



...he enjoys Finding Nemo.



This scarf in Ravenclaw colors is for me! I thought it would be cool to do a shell pattern so it looks like an eagle soaring


:|

Yes, I am a nerd.

And yes I have sketched companion scarves for each of the houses.

:|

Moving on, I also created some posters!




Eh - they were a samples for the kids. We are celebrating a Red Ribbon Day this year - so that is me singing the Queen of the Night Aria instead of doing drugs (though if I ever did sing that Aria, I *might* need to juice it...slightly).

And I really ought to post the patch I attempted on a sweater.  But, I decided to photograph this:



I will always remember The Pumpkin King via this blanket. A long time ago, the PK and I shared a house for a summer - probably the only house in NM with mildew and a dead bird in the closet (well, maybe not the *only* one).

I am such a paranoid freak, I did not want to leave doors or windows open despite the dry heat. PK convinced me one day that leaving a window open in our bedroom would help cool it off and, unless an intruder was about 7' tall, it would be difficult to get into our mildew ridden abode. I agreed.

The only problem was that it was a windy day and the oil lampada on the window sill took a tumble onto the corner of my comforter which lay on the bottom bunk (yes, we had bunk beds...on loan).

So, since the oil was not going to come out of the jaquard, so I just cut off the oil-soaked corner and sewed up the loose ends.

Guests always wonder what happened to the comforter - what with the missing corner and the doggie patch covering up the india ink an ex spilled on it. So, now you know.

Why I Have Not Blogged Lately...

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

I am just plain busy.  The school year started and even though I felt I was ready, I certainly was not.

And it is not as if I have nothing to blog about...there is PLENTY out there to write about the world at large.

I just haven't created anything lately.  Which I feel is supposed to be the *point* of this blog - not just random rants, etc.

Actually, I did create something recently.  I made a very cute crocheted bear for a friend's new baby girl.  But beyond that, my needle has been hibernating.

I need to take pictures of the things I have finished them ship them off.  

But there are other responsibilities that I have and I don't have time to sit and write or take pictures and upload them.

I do have time, however, to surf around on the Internet and look at other people's blogs - go figure.

My fanfic writing has come to a halt.  I find myself so worn down by my day that I have not the energy to get going on my writing.  I think about those characters - sometimes.  Most of the time I have been researching.  My current research is British History.  

For example, the local Harry Potter meetup had a, well, meetup, at the Seattle Public Library book sale.  It was SUPER cool - I got 19 books for $19!  I even got Kate and Odious some books to replace their lost ones...unfortunately they were not the titles I thought they had lost. 

(Hand to God, I thought they lost a lot of Dickens, and looked at a beautiful copy of The Pensees and Possession and thought "oh, those weren't on the list".  I am kicking myself now.  But, if anyone needs any additional Dickens, I am your girl!)

As I was perusing the classics section and picking up massive volumes of Dickens books, I found a really cool little book called A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens.  I looked cool and seemed about my reading level/style, so I purchased it for the low price of one dollar.

Now, I did not know that Charles Dickens was a racist or I would not have picked up the book. Perhaps it is not fair to call him a racist - hindsight is always 20/20 - but what he writes is sometimes quite offensive.  For example:

It was a British Prince named Vortigern who took this resolution, and who made a treaty of friendship with Hengist and Horsa, two Saxon chiefs.   Both of these names in the old Saxon language, signify Horse; for the Saxons, like many other nations in a rough state, were fond of giving men the names of animals, as Horse, Wolf, Bear, Hound.  The Indians of North America - a very inferior people to the Saxons, though - do the same to this day.

When I read this, I exclaimed "Says who?".  The hubby was woken from his slumber (poor fellow) and told me to hush.  Still, I was not keen on reading further after Mr. Dickens here insulted my ancestors.  Dude needed to back up and take in the accomplishments of a people and recognize AND respect.  Just because they did not take tea at four every afternoon does not make them "inferior" - I seriously doubt the Saxons carried out tea while trying to prevent the Danes from burning their house to the ground (or whatever).

True my ancestors got kicked around by the US government and various other governments, but that does not make them a "very inferior people"! 

Still, I read on, because I figure it was worth at least a dollar to finish.  And I like all of the names - why Odo is not more popular in Britain is a shame.

So, this is how I conduct research for my fanfic.

I was tempted to purchase the $30 10th anniversary edition of the Socerer's Stone, but I am saving my money for Beedle the Bard.   All the new edition has is a picture of Snape looking a lot like Rowan Atkinson and new cover art with the Mirror of Erised.

If you are wondering what all the links are about, check out this site.  I *really* like this cartoonist - and he is vegan!

By the way, I am trying the vegetarian thing - I break for seafood, however :(  Not all there yet.

The hubby is not pleased.

Will actually create something soon.