ChangeLog
Mon, Apr 17 08:23:39 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: I finished the socks last night. They came out okay.
It is way too warm outside to wear them nowadays. I guess they
will have to wait until fall for a trial run.
* Friends: A couple of people in my knitting group gave me
presents last Wednesday. Carrie gave me a purple hat and bootie
set. I think it is the same pattern as the one Julie gave me.
It is such a cute pattern. Kathy gave me a purple hat she knit
out of this really soft yarn. So very, very soft. Mmmm...
* Food: On Friday, Nathan and I met Raffi and Jessica for dinner
at Zocalo in Arlington. The staff there was very friendly, even
offering me a bench to sit in, water, and some chips and salsa
while we waited for our friends. The food was also excellent.
I had the chilis rellenos de pollo mole. It was definitely the
best chilis rellenos I have ever had. Jessica also surprised us
with a gift of a hat. It was her first knitting project in years!
How cool is that?
* Health: My hips are starting to get really sore. Sleeping is
definitely getting harder and harder to do. I guess this is all
practice for the real thing. =)
Wed, Apr 05 08:32:28 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: Last Wednesday, at my knitting group, two of the
members gave and our proto-family member gifts. Nicole gave me a
beautiful lacy blanket. It is a wonderful rich purple colour and
very soft. Julie gave me a fantastic hat and booties set. She
has pictures of them here. She used a beautiful yellow yarn (I
think it is this one).
I have been working on trying to complete the collar of the
sweater during the knitting group, but working on the socks
everywhere else.
* Entertainment: This past weekend, Nathan and I went and saw the
first two days of the World Curling Championship. I was a touch
apprehensive that two full days of curling might be a bit much,
but it was a lot of fun. I hope Nathan thought so too. It was
interesting watching the different styles. The Swedes have got to
be the most flexible curlers ever! One of Nathan's coworkers used
to be on the Danish national curling team; he joined us for some
of the matches and was very helpful in explaining what was going
on. I learned a lot about curling.
* Random: Our tickets at the curling event were seats 16 and 17 in
row 17. How random is that?
* Food: The other day, I was perusing my copy of Weekend Knitting
(I had received it as a Christmas gift). In it is a recipe for a
very rich hot chocolate. I mentioned to Nathan that it sounded
really good. Last night, he decided to go out and get the
ingredients to make it for me. He is the sweetest man ever!
* Food: Mmmmm... dumplings...
* Weather: It is snowing. In April. Of course, if it were a
blizzard, I would probably have to go to the hospital. Since it
is melting as soon as it touches the ground, I think I am safe for
today.
Sun, Mar 26 11:12:57 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Characters: Nathan and I were reminiscing about Officer Bird
earlier. Officer Bird was a parrot on PBS that taught bits of
road safety. I tried to do a quick web search but was unable to
find any mention of him. I still occasionally sing the jingle in
my head. "That's the word... from Officer Bird... that's the word
for the day...."
* Consumerism: I went to the mall the other day. In a row, they
had a Gap, a Gap Kids, a paper store, and a Baby Gap. I started
giggling to myself. The paper store is a Gap gap!
Sat, Mar 25 15:34:46 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: A little gloomy today, but still relatively nice.
Apparently there is a chance of snow showers this evening. That
does not sound as nice.
* Book: I finally finished the two-volume history of the twentieth
century. The book actually ends in 1996, which prompted me to ask
Nathan about the state of various countries. I learned some
interesting words while reading this book, including
"internecine", "panoply", and "pettifogging".
* Family: Nathan has been wonderfully supportive recently. That
is not to say he was not before that, but he has gone beyond the
call of duty.
* Food: We had dumplings for lunch today. Yum!
Tue, Mar 21 12:24:14 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Seasons: Happy spring!
Fri, Mar 17 10:25:40 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family: Nathan is in pollen country right now. Hopefully his
allergies are not acting up. I will fret about him until he gets
back.
* Convenience: My garage door opener stopped working today. I
hope it is the battery. Luckily, I had the keys that opened the
back door with me so that I could get in. Now I need to get to
the store tomorrow to get a replacement. It is a weird size;
hopefully the local stores will have it.
* Knitting: I picked up the socks again tonight and have started
on the heel flap. I am going to have to read up on how to turn
the heel while working on both socks at the same time. My mind
cannot figure that out on its own.
* Shapes: One of the first shirts I bought to accommodate my new
shape is now very tight. Somehow I never expected that to
happen.
Thu, Mar 16 14:09:54 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Privileges: I went into the ladies' room yesterday. An employee
gestured me toward the handicapped stall. It would never have
occurred to me to use it. Then, at my knitting group, one of the
knitters offered me her comfy chair. These chairs are coveted, as
the other chairs are hard. I was very touched.
Tue, Mar 14 11:26:38 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: It's a beautiful day outside today. At least it is
right now. It was really misty and dreary this morning.
* Service: I love the fact that our garbage people leaves our
empty garbage cans upside down so they do not catch rain or snow.
None of our previous garbage people did that. What service!
Thu, Mar 09 17:19:12 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: The other day, I saw some people ice fishing. I was
very surprised as the weather has been relatively warm lately and
I the center of the lake was not iced over. But they seemed
perfectly content. I bet they will not be out again until next
winter though. The weather is supposed to be upwards of 60
degrees Fahrenheit the next few days.
Wed, Mar 08 23:20:46 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: I attempted to cable without a needle today. I did
not think I would have much luck as I am a really tight knitter.
Either I was right or my pessimistic attitude did me in. I
recovered the stitches, but there is no way I am able to cable
without a needle. Good to know.
* Food: We made Beef Bourgignon for dinner tonight. It was very
good. We halved the recipe from the New York Times cookbook as we
thought ten servings would probably do us and our arteries in.
* Book: Still reading book on the history of the 20th century. I
am up to the 1950s in China. I should be able to finish it before
having to go to the hospital. There still is quite a bit left,
but we will see!
* Family: Speaking of China, Nathan got his wallet wet the other
day. He spread out all the contents to let it dry. I was amused
to remember that he has a card in his wallet listing all the
dynasties of China. He is such a history buff.
Tue, Mar 07 14:26:36 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Stupidity: I locked myself out of the house today. Luckily
Nathan was accessible by phone and I was able to go to his office
and pick up his spare. I felt like an idiot.
* Friends: Met Helene for lunch today. That was fun. We always
seem to end up eating Quizno's. I also got to meet her little
puppy. So cute! She is less than three pounds. So tiny!
* Family: Apparently, Nathan was unaware of his
finger-snapping-stair-climbing habit. I was following him up the
stairs today and caught him doing it. When I pointed it out to
him, he got very weirded out.
Mon, Mar 06 12:26:58 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Watched the Oscars last night at Jacob's Oscar
Party. We played the predict the winners game. I got lucky and
picked 11 winners. Not too bad a showing.
Sun, Mar 05 14:10:51 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: We went and saw The Pink Panther last night. It
was enjoyably inane. Nathan laughed out loud multiple times. It
was good to hear him relax.
Fri, Mar 03 15:51:24 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Recycling: I noticed today that our local supermarket has a bin
for recycling plastic bags. Thank goodness! I have never seen
one of those bins in the area and have always wondered why not.
The people who bag my groceries love to put one or two items max
per bag, making our pile of plastic bags humongous. We use them
as trash bags, but our rate of outgoing bags is much lower than
the rate of incoming bags. Next time I go to the market, I will
be able to get our bag pile to a manageable size!
* Family: When Nathan goes up stairs without carrying anything, he
has a tendency to snap his fingers. I wonder why he does it.
Thu, Mar 02 12:06:06 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Safety: Nathan and I got to go inside a fire house last evening.
And we got free pieces of pool noodles too! Most importantly, we
got peace of mind in knowing that we did something right. All
thanks to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nathan had attempted to install the car seat himself and thought
he had done a decent job. The seat seemed relatively stable.
However, the nice fireman tightened it at least a couple more
inches. He also taught us how to use the car seat. It was much
more informative than the instruction booklet. All in all,
definitely a good use of half an hour.
Wed, Mar 01 09:20:44 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Etiquette: I answered the phone yesterday. On the other end was
obviously a telemarketer. As I was not in the mood to try and
brush someone off, I told them that the person they were asking
for was not available and offered to take a message.
Surprisingly, the person on the other end left one. She left a
toll-free phone number and a request for me to call back.
However, she did not leave a name or a context for this phone
call. And she expects me to call back?
* Knitting: I found the second sleeve on the Tara sweater on the
couch the other day with a few stitches off the needle. That
depressed me enough that I stopped working on it for a few days.
In the interim, I did not do much knitting. I started a pair of
baby booties. They sure are turning out cute.
* Food: When Nathan goes to get some comfort food to stick in the
freezer, he comes home with frozen burritos. I get frozen steamed
buns and dumplings. We are going to need to get a bigger freezer
in our next fridge.
Mon, Feb 27 13:49:52 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: We went to a potluck last night. My contribution? Olives
from the supermarket olive bar. Lame, I know. But popular!
Nathan made a cake. From scratch. He made the cake on the cover
of this book. It was really delicious. I "helped" by buying the
ingredients, beating the eggs, and staying out of the way. He
even made the chocolate curls and decorated the top. I was really
impressed. Still am. Hmmm... maybe I need some cake...
Thu, Feb 23 14:52:08 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: I had some butternut squash, mushrooms, and cottage cheese
to use up the other day. Obviously I needed to make lasagna. It
actually turned out better than I had hoped. The mushrooms an
butternut squash gave off a lot of liquid though. Perhaps it
would have turned out better if I had not cooked the noodles first
and had let them cook in the pan.
* Knitting: The front, back, and one sleeve is done. One more
sleeve and a collar to go. Then comes the sucky putting it
together part. I just do not enjoy sewing pieces together.
The excitement of a finished garment does not get me over my
aversion to a sewing needle.
* Coffee: I miss coffee. I know I said that we had coffee this
past weekend, but mine was really a hot chocolate. There is a tie
between coffee and fresh mozzarella as to which I miss the most.
Yummm... carrot juice... (okay, I'm easily distracted).
Mon, Feb 20 12:19:10 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Biathlon has got to be the coolest sport ever!
Nathan agrees with me, except when he pronounces "coolest", it
somehow comes out to sound like "craziest".
* Knitting: I was right; chart B is a bit off. The guts of the
chart is correct, but the edges are off. The knot is knit on a
broken rib pattern instead of reverse stockinette. When stitches
are crossed to leave the knot, they need to be reestablished in
the broken rib pattern. The chart has the polarity of these
stitches wrong. It took me a while to figure out that was what
was supposed to happen, so some of my edge stitches are backward.
I fixed the ones at the top, but the ones on the sides are going
to stay that way. Truthfully, these stitches are hard to find
even when I am looking for them, so I am not worried.
* Coffee: We went to Starbuck's yesterday for coffee. They are
starting a Crossword Contest. Nathan and I finished it relatively
quickly; it is a lot easier than the standard New York Times
Crossword. I still prefer cryptic crosswords though. I guess I
just like playing with words. =)
Fri, Feb 17 20:07:15 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: Working from another chart in the pattern for the
sweater. I wonder if there is an error in this one. Should I
follow it and see what happens? Searching for errata on the
internet is proving fruitless.
Thu, Feb 16 10:49:35 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: I have been working on the sweater from the yarn that
was bought in Ireland. I am using the Tara pattern from Alice
Starmore's The Celtic Collection. So far, I have found two errors in the
pattern. One of them was in the chart. Apparently I completely
ignored it the first time around. The second time, I saw it and
wondered if I made a mistake, realized that if I had followed the
chart bad things would have happened, and thanked my knitting
instincts. *whew*!
No, I have not finished the socks. I am about to start the heel
on them, but am procrastinating making a decision. The pattern
says to make the pattern seam in the back, but because I am doing
the socks at the same time on two circular needles, it would be
easier to have the pattern seam on the side. Does it matter?
Would anyone every notice? I am guessing not, but the thought
still worries me. Just a touch.
Sat, Feb 11 10:56:28 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Health: Apparently my ribs are not happy with expansion. Silly
ribs.
* Entertainment: We watched the Torino opening ceremonies last
night. I loved the parts where they used people in coloured
costumes as pixels to create pictures and animations. So what if
the dpi was ridiculously low. It was cool!
Thu, Feb 09 00:03:40 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: I have almost reknitted the yarn that I tore out for
the socks. I hope I have enough yarn with this gauge. Worrying
about yarn amounts is the main reason I had been knitting mostly
toe-up socks for awhile.
* Food: Nathan suggested we make a rice salad for our Super Bowl
party. I was dubious, as I had never heard of such a concoction.
Apparently it is a British thing, as the recipe we found was in a
British cookbook for picnics. It was yummy! I am definitely a
convert. We finished it and I made more the next day. Nathan is
amused and thinks it is a great way to get me to eat my
vegetables.
* Entertainment: The Olympics are coming! That will give me lots
of knitting time. And I was just lamenting the end of football
season. I checked the schedule for the opening ceremonies. It
begins at 8PM Torino time. It is being shown on television
at 8PM local time. I guess that gives them plenty of time to
censor out the naughty bits.
Fri, Feb 03 12:00:14 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Cooking: Chocolate! I was really tired last night and was
unable to make the chocolate cake that we need for tonight.
Nathan was wonderful and made it. The main problem with baking,
of course, is that the kitchen gets covered in chocolate. Because
I fell asleep early last night, it is my job to clean it up. Go,
me!
* Art: Nathan bought me a calendar of vintage posters for
Christmas. The poster for February has three hats on it. Quite
stylish! I assume the ad is for these hats. The poster for
January has a picture of the Michelin Man bowling.
* Knitting: I need to start unworking on the socks. What was I
thinking? Knitting the smaller size with the recommended needles
when I knit so tightly. There is no way that these socks in their
current state would go over the heel. No one (other than
Cinderella's stepsister) could possibly fit in them. Oh well. At
least ripping out is therapeutic.
Thu, Feb 02 14:24:49 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Rodents: Apparently the groundhog saw his shadow. Considering
the springlike weather we have had for the past month or so, does
that mean that the seasons are shifting?
* Knitting: I have been working on the socks. They are growing
faster than I expected. Nathan remarked that it seems I like
knitting them at the same time and that he doubted I would ever do
them singly again. We will have to see. I have yet to reach the
heel. As for the baby sweater, it has not been touched in almost
a week. I think I need to have a "finishing day" to wrap up these
projects.
Tue, Jan 31 11:53:48 2006 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* List: It has been a long time. I figure I would start off with
a list of things I have learned since I have last posted:
- a cheese stick is 2/3 of a serving of calcium
- bellybuttons are actually mutable
- a step beyond nice hard nails are brittle ones
- my high school spent money to find me (and other "missing"
alums) in order to send us updates and reqests for donations
* Knitting: Somehow I have become more of a process knitter. I
found myself happily ripping out multiple projects because they
were not coming out exactly as I wanted. There were no feelings
of regret or frustration. At some point, I have realized that
undoing is really part of the process of going forward. Good to
know. I am currently working on a pair of socks and learning to
knit them at the same time on two circular needles. It has not
been particularly difficult, but I also have not gotten to the
heel. I have heard rumors that that is when things start getting
difficult. Of course, the pattern I am using (the Jaywalker
pattern) utilizes a heel flap. It has been ages since I have knit
socks using anything other than a short-row heel. That will be a
challenge in of itself!
I also started swatching for a sweater using yarn we bought in
Ireland during the GUADEC in Dublin. I am using the Tara pattern
in the Celtic Collection by Alice Starmore. The sizes are
flummoxing me. A medium fits bust size 36-38 inches and yet has a
circumference of 52 inches. That is more ease than I would
expect. We will see. I have plenty of yarn.
* Finishing: I have two more buttons to put on a baby sweater and
then it is done. It has sat on the couch for almost a week now
waiting for me to do it. I guess I am just not motivated to work
on it now that all the knitting is done.
* Reading: I complained recently that my education was completely
lacking in 20th century history. Nathan handed me a two-volume
book on just this topic. I am about to embark on the second world
war. I think I am learning a lot, but the book really assumes you
know a lot of overview. There are many terms that are just
mentioned in passing. I guess it would be a fine textbook with a
class where the teacher would go over all these terms to make sure
you understand. Oh well. It's a start.
* Family: Nathan is a bit down as his parents' dog (Rusty) passed
away this weekend. He was a very sweet dog and is already greatly
missed.
* Family++: Errr... yeah... there is that too.
Wed, Jul 20 23:23:07 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: We bought some apricots the other day. Nathan was loathe
to pay for apricots as he grew up with an apricot tree in his
backyard. I, however, do not remember having a fresh apricot.
Dried apricots, apricot jam, and pluots, yes, but not the fruit
itself. That convinced him that we needed to buy a couple of
them. They are fuzzy like peaches but taste completely
different. I don't think pluots taste anything like apricots.
Sat, Jul 16 16:46:35 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book: Guess where we were last night? Let's just say Nathan is
currently almost halfway through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince. There were lots of kids there. I overheard some very
amusing conversations. There were a bunch of girls pitying their
friend who couldn't be there and wouldn't be able to get a copy of
the book until 5PM today. I am still amazed that a $30 book was
selling for less than $17 on the first day.
* Knitting: I got quite a lot of knitting done while waiting on
line. Or lines. There were quite a few of them. Heck, Nathan
got on a line one time without knowing what it was for. Probably
a good thing he got off it though; I really don't think he wanted
his fortune read.
* Food: Nathan made a really good fruit tart the other day. His
crust was amazing! I am in awe.
* Health: Not getting much sleep nowadays. With staying up late
for the party last night and getting up early to watch cycling,
there just has not been enough time. Maybe I should use my PVR
more often.
* Bookworm: Nathan tricked me into learning a bit of Python so
that I could make Bookworm more robust. Maybe I can convince him
to create a way to view the data more easily.
Wed, Jul 06 01:33:17 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Movie: Gee... the last two nights, we watched Star Wars 5 and
6. We are a compulsive bunch.
* Celebrations: We went to the annual town July 4th celebration
earlier tonight. Yes, our town calls it the "July 4th
celebration" instead of the "Independence Day celebration" even
though it always takes place on July 5th. Maybe I should start
celebrating Christmas in March. Anyway, there was a wonderful
fireworks display. It was beautiful! The whole thing was a lot
of fun. I even got to share some fried dough with Nathan.
* Knitting: Cast off the shawl this evening while watching Return
of the Jedi. The i-cord is finished. Yea! Now I need to figure
out where to block it. And, more importantly, what big project to
start next.
* Reading: Been borrowing junk books from the library. Summertime
means brain candy!
* Sleep: Between getting up early to watch bicycling and staying
up late to watch Star Wars, I have not been getting enough sleep.
My throat has been irritated all day. I am hoping it is allergies
and not me getting sick.
Mon, Jul 04 20:06:50 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Movie: We watched Star Wars 4 last night. I had forgotten that
Mark Hamill was relatively short. And then I was curious if
Mr. Jones was brought back to play the voice in #3. Apparently he
was. I think his voice has changed a bit in the intervening
years.
* Space: Since we were up anyway, or maybe Nathan surreptitiously
planned it that way, we watched the probe crash into the planet.
That was pretty cool. The CNN commentator's questions to their
science expert were pretty stupid though. Could the crash knock
the orbit of the comet so that it would crash into the Earth?
Ugh...
* Entertainment: Obviously, we had to wake up early this morning
to catch the Tour de France. This, of course, explains the
multitude of naps both Nathan and I ended up taking today. The
finish today was quite exciting.
* Family (Jester): We took him on to the rail trail today. We
walked for about an hour. Forty minutes or so out, then the bugs
appeared as the breeze died and we double-timed it back. I think
my knee is going to be unhappy with that tomorrow.
Sun, Jul 03 01:47:46 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Movie: I borrowed a movie from the library the other day.
Because of the upcoming holiday, I thought it might be nice to get
something patriotic. Having already seen 1776 and Independence
Day, I opted for The Quiet American. Boy, was I in for a
surprise. It was still an enjoyable movie though.
* Book: Finished Shadow of the Wind last night. Other than a
rather cheap literary device, it was a good book. Apparently
Nathan made me read the book just so he could vent to me about
this device. I guess it wasn't one of his more altruistic
moments.
* Knitting: Worked on an afghan for a bit while watching the
movie. It has been way too hot to work on in a while, but it was
really nice and cool tonight. Have not picked up the shawl in a
couple of days. I really should finish that so that I could block
it. I have an extra skein of the yarn, too. What should I do
with it?
* Family (Nathan): He needed new shoes. We went to a shoe store
and he tried a few pairs on. He debated between two pairs and I
convinced him that he did not have to be serial shoe wearer; that
it was okay to buy two pairs of shoes at the same time. I think
the bit that convinced him was that it would mean not having to go
shoe shopping again for a much longer time.
* Consumerism: Speaking of shopping, we bought some computer
speakers for me. Unfortunately, the music came out staticky.
There may be a problem with the drivers for the sound card. Suck!
I wonder if this means my old speakers were actually okay after
all.
Fri, Jul 01 00:47:48 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Time: Wow. 2005 is officially half over. Well, I guess
technically it isn't, but half the months are over. Now I'm
almost curious enough to do the math and figure out when it
actually is. Or google it. Or check my Evolution calendar.
Okay, combination of checking my Evolution calendar and using the
Google calculater, the year will be halfway over at noon on
Saturday.
* Food: Went to Bertucci's for the second time in two days.
Yesterday I went with a group but didn't know that we were going
and had already eaten. All I ordered was a lemonade. Tonight I
went with Nathan and we had dinner and dessert. The waitress was
very friendly. The tiramisu made me very happy.
* Family (Nathan): He was a bit glum tonight which is why I
suggested going out for dinner. Then we came home and I whomped
him at darts. Hey, it is not my fault he wanted a couple of beers
with dinner. Current score: 8-6 Unfortunately for me, it seems
that the more practice we get, the more likely he is to win.
* Knitting: Still working on the i-cord. I started singing silly
songs today about how I've gone a million miles of i-cord but
there's still a million to go-woah-woah... Okay, I'm really glad
no one was around to hear it. I have never thought of finishing
an edge with attached i-cord before; I really like the look of
it. Maybe I will have to try it on more projects.
Thu, Jun 30 00:21:53 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: Started the I-cord bit. Finally got to see the shawl
stretched out. It is not as big as it is supposed to be which
stands to reason, as I ended up using much less yardage. But I
swatched! I really, really did! Sometimes I wonder why I
bother.
* Family (Nathan): Very forgiving of my faults today. Have I
mentioned lately that he rocks?
* Reading: I read about 100 pages of Shadow of the Wind in a
waiting room today. I'm so glad I remembered to bring my book!
* Summer: Another sign of summer--ever pervasive road
construction. I got detoured twice on my way home tonight. What
a bad night to have forgotten my cell phone! At least I had a map
in the car. Not that I needed it, but it was good to know that it
was there.
* Words: Huh... is that word usage correct? I know one detours
around blockages. Can one be detoured by a blockage? Maybe the
word I am looking for is inconvenienced. Although saying that I
was inconvenienced by a blockage sounds so... second grade
humourish. (And yes, I know that "humourish" is not in the
dictionary.)
Tue, Jun 28 16:09:46 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Reading: Currently reading Shadow of the Wind as per Nathan's
recommendation. It is due back to the library on Saturday; I
didn't start it until this past weekend as it was checked out by
Nathan. I wonder how hard it would be for him to return it and
check it out myself. Or maybe I could convince him to renew it
for me. It's not like he is going to want to check out 50 more
books.
* Knitting: Got a few more repeats done on the edging. I'm inches
away! Then it's i-cord galore!
Mon, Jun 27 23:20:11 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Summer: My body recognizes that it is officially summer. I can
wear my wedding ring without my engagement ring and I do not have
to worry about it falling off. Engagement ring still fits, but it
is starting to get a bit tight.
* Crosswords: Having almost no luck on Saturday's crossword. Past
the halfway point on Sunday's though.
* Speakers: For years now, I have been hooking my computer to my
all-in-one audio system. The speakers in this system are starting
to get staticky. I really cannot stand white noise. Nathan and I
went speaker shopping this weekend. So many choices! I am a bit
overwhelmed at the options. I do know that I don't want to spend
too much money on it. But I do want to listen to music with them
too, so tinny $20 speakers are inadequate. That leaves... a lot
of options.
* Knitting: Still working on the edging of the shawl. I want to
finish it soon so I can block the shawl and see how it looks as a
FO! (And so I can start on something else without feeling
guilty.) One edge repeat a day is going to take another week and
a half though. I need more time to knit! =)
* Family (Jester): He seems to like the Bangles a lot more than
Don Mclean.
Sun, Jun 26 23:47:12 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Acronyms: Does any discipline have more acronyms than project
management?
* Family (Nathan): He has been attempting to clean out his
office. I wish him the best of luck. He is going to need it.
* Weather: It was really very warm today. It was even a bit
humid. But I was not going to complain. The humidity levels here
are nothing compared to North Carolina.
* Food: Yum. There's nothing quite like fries with a Frosty. So
much better than ketchup. It's fries! With calcium!
Fri, Jun 24 23:29:25 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Ruts: It's a Friday night. Know what that means? It means
there's a better than even chance that we end up at Barnes and
Noble. We even bought a couple of books.
* Authors: As we were checking out, there was a stand full of
suggested beach reading for women. My jaw dropped as I saw this
"book. Not because the cover was pink. Not because it looked like
it would rot my brain. Not because there was an entire stand of
book covers that varied only in the shade of pastel. But because
I recognized the author's name as belonging to an editor from the
Sandman series of graphic novels. I remember she wrote one of the
stories in a subsequent series as well. I guess she decided to
change her audience.
Fri, Jun 24 01:02:44 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Friends: Went into Cambridge for dinner tonight at the Elephant
Walk as the Deans are leaving on Monday for parts unknown. Well,
South Carolina is not exactly unknown to them, but it is to me. I
never ventured further south than Charlotte when we lived in North
Carolina. I hope they have lots of luck on their drive down and
in their new positions.
* Food: The food was good. I really liked the chocolate cake. I
wish I had room to eat more of it. I ordered some green tea in
order to settle my stomach a bit. It was really neat; the leaves
had been rolled into balls. However, the water seemed barely
lukewarm. That was a bit of a disappointment.
* Nathan: He still rocks!
Tue, Jun 21 20:33:12 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: Nearing the summer solstice. I guess I'm going to have
to get used to the heat.
* Family (Jester): Bandanna still on. He may be a Carolina dog,
but he does not seem to enjoy the heat either. He lies sprawled
every time I see him. But he can still run around outside. I
think he prefers the heat to the snow. Silly dog.
* Food: Trader Joe's sweet potato fries are okay. Not as good as
some others, but it sure comes in handy.
Sun, Jun 19 23:59:59 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Movie: Saw Howl's Moving Castle. Unfortunately, we showed up
late and missed the first ten minutes. I felt like I spent the
rest of the movie trying to catch up. I don't think I was ever
really able to do so.
* Culture: Went to the MFA again today. Saw the quilt exhibit
again with Nathan. He seemed to like it too. I guess I
underestimated him. The museum itself was very crowded. I guess
it must be a common destination for dad's day.
* Food: Enjoyed some mango ice cream with hot fudge at Tosci's
tonight. They have really yummy hot fudge. It is probably a good
thing we don't live closer to them.
* Family (Jester): He got a patriotic bandanna from the groomer.
He looks so cute with it on. I think we will leave it on him for
a few days.
Sat, Jun 18 16:02:58 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family: We spent the weekend with my in-laws in Cape Ann. The
weather was probably the most exciting aspect of the trip. Of
course, that is preferable, as it was a loafing vacation. We did
go out and do things, but we tried to keep it low-key. We saw a
few lighthouses, a couple of museums, and a lot of seagulls.
Mostly of the greater black-backed variety. We also had quite a
bit of seafood. My brother-in-law grills a mean lobster.
* Knitting: I did half the edging on the shawl. The lighting did
not allow me to work on it at night. Somehow I was still able to
read, though.
* Reading: Finished two books while lounging around. A Sheri
Tepper book and a short book called The Clothes They Stood Up In.
Both were very enjoyable and great for vacation reading.
* Signs: I saw a few signs of note this past week. The most
memorable was "Ice Cream Pizza!" seen in a window of a food shop.
I have to admit being intrigued. Couldn't get Nathan to stop the
car though.
* Family: I got an email from my cousin today. I haven't heard
from her in years! Gosh... I remember sneaking her her first
taste of soda. Somehow I don't think she remembers that.
Fri, Jun 10 19:40:54 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: Woohoo! I finished the body of the shawl. Went to
the yarn store to pick up some DPNs and bumped into one of the
fellow students in the fair isle bag class that I took. We
chatted a bit. She's currently working on socks on 000 needles.
That's just scary. Anyway, I bought the needles and did one
repeat of the edging. A bazillion more to go!
* ChangeLog: Had a really hard time getting this on the server
last night. I had to get Nathan to poke at it. Then I got to
poke at it. Can I say I'm not a fan of python?
* Paprikash: I have never tried any, but it's definitely a great
word. I've been using it lately just at random times. Today,
Nathan asked me what it meant. It is rare that I know a word he
does not. Is it bad that these words are mostly food related? I
find it odd, however, that neither of the online dictionaries I
tried had the word in them. Maybe I need to find a better
online dictionary.
* Rules: Nathan and I have been playing darts lately. I have a
bit of trouble reaching the top half of the board. I find it a
tad easier when I'm wearing heels. It gives me the two inches I
need to hit the 20. I have no idea if that is against the rules.
Nathan thinks not. I should look it up sometime
Fri, Jun 10 01:56:37 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: What I wouldn't give for a cup of tea...
* Family (Nathan): Have I mentioned recently how sweet he is?
Especially since he's offering to get me a cup of tea.
* Knitting: So close! I am four rows away from completing the
body of the shawl. I skimmed ahead in the directions and realized
I need a set of DPNs for the edging. I don't actually own any
size 5(US) DPNs. Actually, before this project, I didn't own any
size 5 needles at all. Somehow I have never needed them. I think
I own every other size but that one. I guess it just isn't all
that popular. Although, I was looking at another shawl that I was
interested in making, and that uses size 5 needles as well.
* Family (Jester): Trying to teach him how to shake. He hasn't
quite grasped the concept yet.
* Weather: There was a wonderful thunderstorm last night. I got a
bit wet (Jester got a lot more wet) but we didn't lose power. The
rain was nice. There were no bugs during the storm. Of course,
with all that water, more bugs will be coming. I just wish they
would stop thinking of me as prey.
Wed, Jun 01 22:38:25 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Luck: Mine has been relatively bad this week. Almost nothing
I've done has gone smoothly. Often it entailed pointing out a
fact or two to the other person and waiting for things to be
fixed. Or things have happened that were unexpected in a bad
way. Like the car dealer finding a cracked gasket when I got an
oil change. Of course, this could be _good_ luck, as if they
hadn't caught it (or if I'd gone to a drive-thru oil change
place), oil would've leaked into the spark plugs. So maybe my
luck is just a mixed bag, as usual, and I'm just extra cranky.
* Consumerism: Shhhh... don't tell Nathan. I was so cranky that I
went to the yarn store. They were having a sale on Fiber Trends
patterns. And the yarn to make whatever pattern one chooses. So
I splurged. Hey! It's lace weight yarn. Sure, it is more
expensive by weight, but there's much more yardage. It'll take
me much longer to knit that amount. Yeah, I know. I'm currently
working on a shawl. And it isn't close to being done. This new
shawl yarn won't even touch my swift for at least another month.
But I'm buying into a dream!
* Dreams: I was really tired earlier and ended up taking an hour
nap. I had the most realistic dreams. Dreamt I was awake in bed
and Nathan came home. I knew he wasn't there, and that it had to
be a dream. I fought my way towards consciousness to verify there
really wasn't a stranger there (though Jester would've let me know
right quick) but then realized how stupid I was being. So I just
drifted back to enjoy his presence inside my head.
* Luck (part2): So, just for the record, my luck got a lot better
after spending money at the yarn store.
Tue, May 31 21:44:37 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Sleep: Barely seven hours. I don't understand it.
* Family (Nathan): Got to hear his voice. That was nice. He
sounded grumpy. But hopefully not at me.
* Knitting: Two-thirds done with the body of the shawl. Of
course, the written instructions for the shawl has only three
lines of text for the body of the shawl (mostly saying "refer to
chart"). The rest of the many lines of text on the page is for
the edging. So, maybe I'm close to halfway done with the shawl?
* News: I read this today. One in four? That just baffles me.
How can anyone think that is a good idea?
Mon, May 30 22:34:06 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* State: Even more tired. Staying up late and getting up early
are not things that should be done regularly. At least not by me.
* Consumerism: I went to the supermarket the other day and bought
a pack of coffee drinks. There are four cans in this pack. As it
is not a carbonated beverage, there is no bottle return on them.
However, the supermarket charged me a $.05 bottle deposit. This
is the second time I have noticed them doing so. Unfortunately, I
have only noticed after getting home. I was all set to send them
an email of complaint, but could not find an email address for
them. And $.05 is not enough for me to remember to bring the
receipt next time I go to the store.
* Knitting: I joined the yarn. Currently, there's 349 stitches on
the needle. The problem with knitting lace is that I won't know
for certain if I've made a mistake until I finish and stretch it
out. This makes me a bit nervous. Knitting on blind faith!
* Network: The DNS has been up and down all day. So frustrating!
Makes me want to collate a list of commonly used IP addresses just
in case. Case in point? # of failed attempts to upload this to
the server: 3
Sun, May 29 19:44:34 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Consumerism: I'm completely taken aback at the fact that
amazon.com not only sells home-use defillibrators, they had it up
top as an advertisement for me as I was looking up a book. What
are they saying? Do my book choices have me pegged as someone who
could potentially have a heart problem? Sometimes I wonder just
what kind of information they're collecting about me.
* State: Really tired today. Stayed up very late (late enough for
it to be early) to chat with Nathan. Glad to hear he made it
safely to Germany.
* Topics: The topic above refers to my mental state and not to the
German state, as is shown by my mental tangents.
* Stupidity: Lesson learned: don't mess with a database when
you're tired. Sigh... This is so not cool. Maybe we should've
been backing it up on a regular basis. Did I mention "not cool"?
* Computer: But my desktop background image is still making me
laugh.
* Internet: Huh. DNS is down. Today is not my day. Hence it is
time to fight fire with fire! Or at least, ice cream. And Pride
and Prejudice.
Sat, May 28 23:57:57 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Words: Did you know "filler" is a currency? It's a Hungarian
equivalent to the penny. And considering how unwieldy my wallet
gets with all those pennies, "filler" seems to be a very
appropriate term.
* Family (Andrew): I talked to my cousing Andrew briefly on the
phone the other day. I have not had any contact with him in
almost a decade. Way too long! I don't think I'd even recognize
him. Sad... Need to convince him to come visit. =)
* Family (Jester): I think he's lost weight. Or maybe he just
blew his winter coat. Regardless, he is mopey. I guess he misses
Nathan too.
* Knitting: Currently working a shawl. I have just finished the
first skein and am staring at it too scared to continue. All the
previous joining methods I've used isn't going to work; this is
lace weight yarn. I know I should use the russian join, but
haven't gotten up the courage to do it yet. In the interim, I'm
finishing off projects that have been laying around for a while.
* Entertainment: I'm looking at the DVDs for the BBC version of
Pride and Prejudice. I haven't watched them yet, at least not
this copy of them. I'm trying to delay it as much as I can. It's
a five hour commitment, after all. I don't understand how people
could've watched it on TV when it first aired; how in the world
could the have survived between episodes? I'd have probably
picked up the book and read it after every show. Addicted? Me?
There are worse cravings.
* Computer: I've finally ordered a new one. My old one died a
while back. At least Nathan said it did. He refuses to figure
out the problem, anyway. I've been borrowing his computer for a
while now, but he wants it back! My new computer should arrive
any-day-now. I wonder if it'll be quieter than his? *smirk*
* Computer (part 2): Meanwhile, I've changed my desktop background
image. I've had the same one for some time now and felt the need
for a change. I found a great shot of the cat from Shrek 2.
Every time I minimize a window now, I laugh. It's great! Heck,
I'm giggling just thinking about it!
Tue, Apr 19 17:37:02 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Jester): Apparently he missed me while I was gone. Good
to know. =)
* Family (Nathan): He just rocks! He got me the sweetest early
anniversary present.
* Knitting: The New Hampshire trip was a lot of fun! I bought
more yarn than I need. I think my imagination needs more work. I
met a bunch of my internet buddies. People are always different
in real life than how I expect from their emails. I worked on my
bag while I was there. Not surprisingly, I made some mistakes and
had to undo some of my work. At the end of the trip, I had gotten
about four inches done. Not that great, but not too shabby
either. I have a week to finish and block it.
Thu, Apr 14 22:49:50 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): Yea! He's a bona fide American citizen now. I
still don't think he can sing "Proud to be an American" without
laughing though.
* Waiting: One of the biggest difficulties of the day was waiting
over four hours in a stark room. The family next to me had a
four year old girl. She was very energetic. Her mother told her
she had to be good. Her response? "That's no fun!"
* Writing: My GPG article came out with the latest issue of
Red Hat Magazine today. Tammy wrote me to let me know that Wil
Wheaton had linked to it from his blog. Woohoo! Apparently he
thinks it is a good introductory article (which was my goal) and
that I'm not a hot chick. My ego doesn't know what to do with
that one.
* Knitting: I'm off to a knitting retreat with some of my Internet
knitting buddies. Federico referred to it as the "Kill Bill-style
knitting retreat at the Shaolin Knitting Temple". Now I'll
actually have to watch that movie.
Tue, Apr 05 21:56:40 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Infrastructure: Apparently "safe" means "the sky is falling".
Hey! Maybe it is a tie-in for the new Chicken Little movie.
* Food: Nathan bought me noodles for dinner tonight. Yum! My
favorite kind of comfort food.
* Knitting: Went to class tonight. It's full of overachievers! I
did my homework plus a few extra rows, but I still am the one with
the least done. The teacher gave a hard limit to homework
tonight. I guess that means I won't be behind at all next week!
Fair Isle is harder than I thought it would be. I'm still having
a bit of trouble keeping tension on the purl side. Hopefully by
the time the bag is finished, I'll have gotten the hang of it.
Mon, Apr 04 18:19:31 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): He bought me a cannoli the other day. I think
I'm in love. Oh wait--I am!
* Family (Jester): He is _so_ happy that there is exposed (dead)
grass for him to roll around in.
* Webstuff: I've been trying to get my webpage finished so that I
can make it live. At the rate I'm going, it'll never get to a
state where I feel comfortable with it out there. What to do?
* Reading: Technically I'm still reading Baudolino. In practice,
I'm out of practice. I haven't picked up a book in about a week.
Darn that Wario!
* Knitting: Whee! I'm past the first Fair Isle section on the
bag. I still don't have the hang of holding two yarns in one
hand, but I'm getting there! And here's where I admit to tinking
a lot because the back wasn't coming out as neatly as I would
like. I take it into class tomorrow; we'll see what the teacher
thinks!
* Punctuation: Notice the complete lack of ellipsis? I'm really
trying!
Fri, Mar 25 16:40:01 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Wow! Somehow, my bracket is now in the 17th spot
on the Yahoo! site. I picked all four winners last night. Now I
am tied with 29 other people and listed on the "Overall Leaders"
page. Whodathunk? I would be very surprised, however, if this
isn't the peak of my bracket, as I cannot get more than three of
the four games today. Nathan is still really amused. He keeps
telling me there is no way I'll ever get this high a score again.
* Surprise: I got a Easter basket from my secret pal yesterday.
Lots of chocolate! And other fun Easter surprises, including a
bear dressed up as a bunny. So cute!
* Book: I finished Dispatches the other day. It was surprisingly
hard to read. Between the vivid imagery and the run-on sentences,
it was difficult to parse. It was also difficult to put down.
* Book (part 2): Started Baudolino last night. Speaking of hard
to read, the first chapter gave me a headache! Misspellings I can
handle; lack of punctuation I cannot. It looks like the rest of
the book does not contain this style. *whew*! Now as long as he
doesn't start talking about doves...
* Family (Nathan): He still rocks. Not that that was ever in
question...
* Punctuation: I really need to stop using ellipses so often.
Maybe that will be my new season's resolution.
Wed, Mar 23 22:18:34 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Nintendo: Woohoo! I did it! The domdaniel (aka "the pit of
despair") has been overcome! And Bonetail gave me... 1XP? Huh?
Is that supposed to make me feel like a weakling for needing so
many items to beat it? Sigh...
* News: This article made me laugh. I couldn't get this song out
of my head. *giggle*
* Food: I have never been fond of chicken pot pie. It always
seemed like chicken soup in a pastry shell. And I am not a big
fan of chicken soup. Towards pie crust, I am more ambivalent.
Tonight Nathan bought home a chicken pot pie for dinner. He
explained that he always eats it with ketchup. That is something
I never even considered. I wonder how it would taste with oyster
sauce?
Mon, Mar 21 19:04:44 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: I thought when UConn lost yesterday that my
ranking would go down. But no! My bracket is now ranked 514 on
the Yahoo! site. Now if only Louisville can keep it going until
the finals...
* Shopping: Went to the grocery store with Nathan yesterday to
pick up a few items. He was waylaid by the cheese section. We
ended up leaving the store with a some St. Andre. He was so
excited. I think it may be his favorite cheese.
* Food: The reason we went to the grocery store was to pick up
enough ingredients to make another black forest cake. Oh, yummy
yummy! Nathan did a great job this time of splitting the cake
into three layers. It is definitely better than the last
attempt.
* Food (part 2): While waiting for our dinner to finish cooking,
we each had a slice of toast. Nathan used the last of the jam
from making the cake while I used some strawberry ancho jam. I
also put some of the aforementioned St. Andre on top. It was
really tasty. Nathan was just a tad jealous.
* Nintendo: Nathan started Prince of Persia 2 yesterday evening.
I miss the prince's happy-go-lucky attitude from the first one.
And he's going to die! It is fated. And we all know there is no
way to avoid your fate, even in video games... really? Are you
sure? Okay. I'll take your word for it.
* Knitting: Well, more like the concept thereof instead of actual
production. I went to the yarn store today. I had signed up for
a Fair Isle class that starts next week. My one and only attempt
at Fair Isle was pretty bad, although Nathan insists he still
likes the hat. Anyway, I went to the store today to pick out
colours for the project in the class. I had a hard time. I am
not at all experienced in colour selection. I ended up picking
out eight colours from the Brown Sheep Nature Spun line: Lullaby,
Storm, Roasted Coffee, Pink Please, Scarlet, Mountain Purple,
Alpine Violet, and Royal Purple. And somehow a ball of Noro
Kureyon (#40, if you're interested) landed in my bag too. Nathan
laughed when he saw it; he has seen me petting it in the yarn
store before.
Sat, Mar 19 23:52:56 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Nathan is a bit miffed at me. I picked Utah and
West Virginia to win today. Of course I also picked Gonzaga and
Boston College, but I think he did too. I wonder if I could get
that nickel to pick lottery numbers...
* Food: We had cabbage with sour cream as a side dish tonight.
I have never had that combination before, but the Joy of Cooking
had an interesting recipe. Nathan liked it; I thought perhaps
younger, more tender cabbage was required for such a recipe. But
for dessert, Nathan made ice cream sandwiches! Ben and Jerry's
Cherry Garcia ice cream sandwiched between two pizzelle cookies.
They were so good. Nathan rocks.
* Shopping: I'm looking for a new desktop computer as my old one
has had motherboard problems for years. Presently, I am borrowing
Nathan's computer (Hear the Silence!) but he is going to need it
back at some point. Not really sure what I need, which is why
I haven't dealt yet. I spent some time browsing Dell's website
today. If I got one of those, it would match my monitor.
* Family (Ricky): He IM'ed me today, but I was busy downstairs
making dinner and watching basketball. Oh well. I guess it
wasn't important enough for him to call.
* Knitting: I finished the edging on a tank top tonight while
watching the game. It had sat in that state for over half a
year. Now there is room in my knitting basket to start yet
another project... Or I could try and finish some other stuff
first. Depends how virtuous I am feeling.
Fri, Mar 18 23:47:10 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Every year about this time, Nathan laments that
he forgot to make a bracket for the NCAA tournament. This year, I
made sure he remembered. Just for the heck of it, I filled one
out too. So far, I've picked three losers, which I guess isn't so
bad as I had no idea what I was doing. I picked with a
combination of high seed and nickel flip. It's a lot like going
to the race track. I'm cheering for a team to win without really
caring how they do it.
* Shopping: Nathan needed a book this evening. He called three
Barnes and Noble stores in the area before he found one that had
it in stock. He was complaining about the lack of competency in
the staff though. Only one of the stores actually checked the
computer to see if they had the book in stock before checking the
shelves. I tagged along and got a skim decaf raspberry mocha. It
was pretty good, except it wasn't very hot.
* Reading: I finished the Narnia series. As expected, I almost
threw the book against the wall with the ending. "Yea! Y'all
died!" Hello? Is that supposed to be uplifting? I kept thinking
about how poor Susan would need to go to a gazillion funerals.
* Reading (part 2): Currently reading Dispatches by Michael Herr.
I got this book way back when for a humanities class but never did
more than skim through it. I haven't gotten really far into it
yet, but from what I can see so far, the writing is a bit
disjointed. I guess war can do that to you.
* Knitting: Well, sort of. I spent some time today getting my
patterns in order. Does that count?
Wed, Mar 16 18:13:11 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: I was having a really bad day today. Nathan took me to
Friendly's for ice cream. I have always been a sucker for their
peanut butter cup sundae with chocolate ice cream. Who wouldn't
be cheered up by that? I have yet to find any other ice cream
place that serves as good a peanut butter topping as Friendly's.
* Shopping: Nathan mentioned in the car yesterday that he learned
that many of the most wished-for items on the Amazon.com wishlists
are or are related to iPods. That made me feel delinquent. I
feel the urge to find some iPod accessories for my wishlist!
Tue, Mar 15 22:20:29 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Traditions: Pizza-library night once more devolved to just pizza
night as we were too tired (and entrenched in the Sunday
crossword) to go out. As for the pizza, I ordered it with my
usual accompaniment: extra sauce. I like my pizzas to have lots
of sauce. But this pizza place made pizza stew! There was so
much sauce that it was hard to eat without making a mess. Sort of
like sloppy joe pizza.
* Nintendo: Nathan had a bad day, so I tried to placate him by
going further in the pit of 100 trials. And promptly died. So
much for cheering him up.
Mon, Mar 14 22:04:51 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Mood: I was in such a good mood yesterday. While walking the
dog we climbed over a snowbank and went into the woods. Good
thing we were wearing wool socks, as our feet got pretty wet from
all the sinking.
* Nintendo: Still haven't finished the pit of 100 trials. I get
to 90 and always feel unprepared to go further. Nathan seems to
be getting frustrated with me.
* Shopping: I went to Costco today and realized after a bit that
everything in my cart was green. Must be a St. Patrick's Day vibe
or something.
* Book: Started The Last Battle. That ape is really obnoxious.
I remember not liking the ending when I first read this book.
Maybe that is why my reading is slowing down a bit.
* Family (Nathan): He's pretty hosed right now. He is going to be
up late tonight. I think I'll make him some tea. It may be the
night to pull out that blackcurrant tea.
* Spam: In the last week or so, I've been getting a ridiculous
amount of spam about Costa Rican real estate. I feel like I am
missing some context here. Why Costa Rica? Why not Guatamala?
Sat, Mar 12 23:52:05 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): His half-birthday today. He always makes such
a big deal of _my_ half-birthday that I decided to make him a
cake. White cake mix with a strawberry-kiwi compote to go between
the layers. The kiwi part will keep me from having too much at
once.
* Weather: Hey, snow! What a novelty! The snow plow dude didn't
get to our driveway until just now, so we weren't able to go out
at all today. We spent the evening by the fire. Nathan coded,
read, napped, and coded. I knitted. Jester napped. All in all,
a nice low-key evening.
* Bookworm: Woohoo! I can start entering books again.
Apparently, the crash I kept hitting was caused by my initiating
the search procedure with a Ctrl-S. Which is what Nathan told me
to use in the backwhen. Today he told me that I was one of the
very few people to use Ctrl-S as that is, like, so 2004. So now I
can enter books as long as I can retrain myself. I sense hours of
frustration coming...
Fri, Mar 11 21:45:10 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Dreams: I dreamt that Nathan and I were at a restaurant with a
few other people. I ordered some breakfast even though I wasn't
hungry to be polite. Nathan decided he would pass on food. My
food arrived. It was a huge bowl of food! I tried to eat it, but
there was no way I could finish it all. I kept hoping Nathan
would help me out, but he didn't. I woke up feeling completely
and utterly stuffed.
* Family (Nathan): He is watching the Duke game right now. I gave
up after two minutes. I can't help it; I was getting bored.
* Book: Started The Silver Chair last night. I think I have read
it before, but I don't recognize it yet. I could have
misremembered. Regardless, I get to experience reading to for the
first time.
* News: It completely baffles me that Martha Stewart is able
to prolong the poncho craze. I never made any as I didn't care
for them. Although, I guess if I had made one, I may have to hide
it now...
* Knitting: My mother-in-law bought me a swift and a ball winder
for Christmas. So much fun! I've been balling up my yarn over
and over again. I knit a bit of it, then reball it so that it is
more compact. Probably not the best for the yarn, but oh-so-fun!
Thu, Mar 10 22:18:06 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): He rocks! Amongst the many reasons is the one
currently most prevalent: he made me tea! And he's cute too...
* Knitting: I finished the scarf last night at the party. Except
for working in the ends. I finished a matching hat
today. Except for working in the ends. I have a couple of other
projects in my knitting basket finished. Except for the seaming
and working in the ends. Maybe this weekend I will bite the
bullet and actually finish off these projects.
* Crossword: Nathan got a subscription to the crossword puzzles in
the Times (of London). We have been having a lot of fun on them.
It usually takes us a few days to complete one. We aren't that
good. But it is still a lot of fun!
* Book: Currently reading through C.S. Lewis' Narnia series. I
had read a few of them out of order when I was much younger but
never read them all. My wonderful in-laws bought me a set for
Christmas and I have been going through them. They are pretty
quick reads. I am almost through The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
I have to say, Dawn Treader is quite an ominous name for a ship.
I think I would avoid getting aboard any vessel with such a
name.
Apparently Disney is turning the first book (or the second one,
chronologically) into a movie. I wonder who will play the part of
the wardrobe?
Wed, Mar 09 16:58:45 2005 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Health: I went to the dentist today. Who knew gingivitis can be
hormonal? And I've been ordered to use Listerine regularly.
Accept no substitutes. Seriously. That's what he said.
* Family (Ricky): I had a fun chat with him today. It's been a
while since I've been able to catch him. He's a busy guy! Of
course, he's the one who tends to guilt me into updating this
thing. I wonder what kind of breakfast he can get at 4PM...
* Family (Jester): Our neighbours got a puppy for Christmas.
Jester still isn't sure what to think of him. They haven't had
too much contact yet. Need to schedule Jester for another rabies
shot soon. I still don't know why this state mandates 3-year
rabies shots yearly. Isn't over vaccination bad for the dogs?
* Knitting: I'm working on a hat and scarf set right now for a
secret pal. The cool part? I got the yarn as part of a swap with
someone from New Zealand. It is beautiful yarn. And the
colours fits my secret pal very well, too! Serendipitous, yes?
* Food: I can't get over the takoyaki I had in Japan. I've never
experienced anything like that before. And the vendor! There
were two guys working the cart, one doing the cooking, and the
other attracting customers. Nathan and I were fascinated, but
weren't sure what they were making. The guy trying to get
customers didn't know enough English to tell us what they were.
But! He told us "yummy, yummy!" How could we resist? Well, I
couldn't. Nathan was more taken with the chocolate covered banana
vendor cart ten feet over.
* Aggregators: I just spent the last week resesarching news
aggregators. I think I've found another addiction...
* Party: GNOME release party tonight. I think I'll bring my
knitting.
Thu, Nov 04 16:14:26 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Health: The pain in my shoulder is starting to go away. I am
still trying to rest it, though, because in the last few days, the
shoulder would hurt more as it got later in the day. So I figure
I should make sure I do not make it worse by overworking it
again.
Sun, Oct 31 19:46:01 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Boo: Hallo, Mr. Ween! Hope you have a good day! I am all
dressed up as the Easter bunny and our candy is being given out in
plastic eggs in a basket. I wonder if I should leave one out just
so they are not all in that one basket.
* Heath: Bah... My shoulder is still sore. I think I will try
resting my right arm for a few days and see if it helps.
* Family (Jester): He is really not liking the holiday.
Especially as it entails us keeping him inside and away from the
front door. I will give him extra treats tonight.
* Entertainment: Sad to see that Denver lost again today. And
Nathan is sad to see the Patriots' streak end.
* RTotD: For some reason, I am craving salt. Maybe I should make
myself some popcorn later.
Thu, Oct 28 17:32:28 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Entertainment: Huh. I guess the Red Sox won the World Series.
Maybe now I can get to bed at a decent hour. *yawn*
* Knitting: I finished a vest recently. It is a Wool in the Woods
kit which I made a bit longer. Luckily, I had enough yarn. I got
a bit nervous near the end, but had about a couple of yards of
yarn to spare. I made a buttonhole for the vest, but I wasn't
sure I really wanted to add the button. After wearing it around
for a few days, and asking the opinion of a few people, I've
decided to forego the button. Someone even suggested using a
pretty pin if I ever want to wear it closed. Nah... I am not
really a broach type of girl.
The next project is a pair of socks. I know, I _have_ a pair of
socks already on needles. And I recently found a pair of
half-finished socks in my yarn bin that I last saw about five
years ago. But who can question inspiration?
* Health: Ugh... My shoulder has been bothering me for the last
couple of days. I think I slept on it funny the other night, and
it is really tight. The worst part is that it keeps me from
sleeping well. I am a side sleeper. It doesn't matter which side
I am on, gravity compresses the shoulder enough to make it hurt.
* Family: My cousin Timothy needled me to update my Changelog. It
always surprises me when people care. =)
Fri, Sep 10 13:28:34 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Sleep: I was woken up this morning by a noisy mosquito
triangulating a landing pattern above my head. Bah, hum-bug.
* Family (Nathan): I have been fielding questions as to what
Nathan wants for his birthday. Shopping for him is difficult. It
is sort of funny; he thinks _I_ am more difficult. He's wrong,
of course. I really scraped the bottom of the barrel last year.
It is probably a good thing he is out of town right now; I am
really bad at waiting until the actual day to give gifts. If he
were home, I would be continually antsy until I broke down and
handed him his present.
Tue, Sep 07 16:56:41 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: I went into a Starbucks today. The lady behind the
counter was friendly, courteous, and more helpful than I could
ever have expected. She went beyond the call of duty. With
employees like that, I would not be surprised if they take over
the world.
* Routines: When I drove to the library today, I parked a bit
further than necessary to get shade from a tree. It occurred to
me as I was doing it that it felt like a novel experience. Took
me a few seconds to realize that it _was_ a novel experience. We
usually go to the library after Nathan comes home from work.
Which means that all the spots are usually shaded. By the Earth.
Mon, Sep 06 18:20:46 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: I ordered mashed sweet potatoes as a side dish at a
restaurant recently. The waitress asked if I wanted gravy with
that.
* Shopping: At the pet store today, the woman asked if I wanted to
round up my purchase price and donate the difference to help the
pets in Florida. Assumedly those hurt/displaced by the
hurricane. She looked a bit sheepish asking. How could I say no?
It would have been churlish to begrudge them those two cents.
* Tennis: Go Lindsay!
Thu, Sep 02 21:51:07 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Jester): Someone has been feeding him cheese. Now
everytime I pull some out of the refrigerater, he smells it and
trots over, tail wagging.
* Food: Branston pickle. Yum. I wonder if there is any way to
cook with it. Although pickle and cheddar makes me happy enough.
* Food (part 2): For some reason, we do not seem to have acquired
as many condiments in the last year as I had expected. I guess
our refrigerater door is not built to handle it.
* Family (Nathan): Snap!
Mon, Aug 30 20:48:06 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Senses: All paperback dictionaries have the same smell. Flip
one open and I remember the vocabulary lists back in grade
school.
Sun, Aug 29 23:10:24 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Dreams: In keeping with strange dreams, last night, I dreamt
that we were attending a wedding. We were staying in a hotel room
with a personal monorail station. This monorail took us to a food
court where Nathan kept insisting on getting an Orange Julius.
* Entertainment: We played mini-golf yesterday with Brain, Raffi,
and Ben. Followed by ice cream. Watching Brian eat that brownie
ice cream sundae with whip cream was probably the most
entertaining part of the day.
Wed, Aug 25 13:34:51 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Dreams: Last night, I dreamt I was in a house with a Jewish
friend. No one I know in the real world, but was I even myself?
Anyway, this friend was grilling a pastrami and cheddar sandwich
and trying to convince me that pastrami is a dairy thereby making
this sandwich kosher. Of course, the pastrami wasn't melting and
my friend was very consternated.
* Entertainment: Watching a lot of the Olympics recently. So what
else is new? But trying to avoid finding out the results before
seeing the coverage means that I have been avoiding all news
outlets. Which means I feel completely out of it as far as world
events.
Thu, Jul 08 10:30:42 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Words: "Widow" is a woman, "widower" is a man. Is this the only
instance where the word for the man is longer than the one for the
woman?
Sat, Jun 26 18:26:56 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family: My parents are visiting. They brought lots of
* Food: including a jackfruit. Watching my mom carve one was
pretty amazing. It is awfully sticky. It tastes very fragrant.
Unfortunately, with a bit of that and a few lychees (which they
also brought) my throat is feeling quite uncomfortable. I took a
Benedryl to try and feel better. I hope it doesn't make me too
drowsy.
* Nap: Oops... it made me drowsy.
* History: Westford was full of people wearing colonial garb
today. And we past by a green full of tents. It kept bringing to
mind a book I had read recently. That was a fun read.
Mon, Jun 14 19:23:51 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: Clementimes: It's hard to eat just one. But three is too
much. At least for me. Maybe if I try and find ones that aren't
quite so sweet...
Wed, May 12 15:09:16 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Shopping: We bought new lampshades the other day for the
bedroom. One of them had died relatively recently. Nathan always
believes he doesn't have an opinion until I actually reach for
something. Then he realizes he does care after all. And my
choice is definitely not what he wants. Which is fine, but had he
said that to begin with, choosing the right one would be so much
easier. Sigh... Now we just need to figure out what to get for
outdoor furniture.
* Garden: My rosemary plant seems to have this white dust on it.
I am worried that it is some type of mold or something. I
probably over-watered it. I'm letting it dry out now and
hopefully it will recover. In the interim, more dill has
sprouted. I wonder how hard it would be to make dill pickles...
Sun, May 09 10:53:44 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Words: Yesterday, I was having trouble coming up with the word I
wanted. I said "intermediate" and realized right away that was
not it. I quickly realized the word I wanted was "immediate".
Which made me wonder if the words were related etymologically even
though they have such different connotations. Turns out they do.
* Family (Nathan): is reading this over my shoulder. I guess he
is too impatient to wait for me to post this.
Sat, May 08 19:04:40 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Garden: Planted a bunch of marigolds outside today. Jester
started sniffing at them. I told him to leave them alone and he
did, but he might trample them before they grow. We will have to
see. Gardening is hard on the knees.
Mon, May 03 15:03:49 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book: I finished The Eyre Affair yesterday. It was really a fun
romp through literature. Makes me feel ignorant for never having
read Chuzzlewit or anything by Henry Fielding. I am still
debating whether it is the type of book Nathan would like or not.
Of course, he's never read Jane Eyre. (Yes, I am trying to rectify
the situation.)
* Spring: All the trees have leaves now. Spring green is
everywhere! I am not fond of the colour anywhere but in nature,
but at this time of year, it is definitely a happy thing.
Although it does bring back memories of the gold dust (aka pine
pollen) that was everywhere when we lived in North Carolina.
* RTotD: Nathan and I had reached a conversational lull last night
when I said the first thing that came to my head--Opportunity only
knocks if the door is closed. Nathan started laughing and said it
sounded like a fortune cookie. Which begs the question--if you
put a fortune cookie to your ear, would it make a sound like a
conch shell?
Sun, May 02 15:24:33 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Friends: Federico stayed with us last night. We went mallin'
first though and he was able to find a dress for Oralia. Nathan
bought me a lullabye CD. Very soothing.
* Family (Jester): I'm sitting here watching him chew his rawhide
strip. He is enjoying it a lot. I had given it to him this
morning and he had spent hours looking at us trying to convince us
to let him outside so he could bury it. Silly dog. We are trying
to limit his romping time outside so that he doesn't hurt his knee
more.
* Family (Nathan): He's taking the day off today. We were going
to spend it gardening, but we're both at low energy levels. He
has had a very busy couple of weeks and needs the time off. And
more sleep!
Fri, Apr 30 11:02:41 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Music: The Bangles still sound like the Bangles.
* Family: I just got word that my uncle is in the hospital. He
had been undergoing tests and they think it is Hodgkin's Disease.
My knowledge of this disease was all gotten from watching soap
operas as a teenager. I'm not sure the internet is any better.
But what I've seen on the internet looks very hopeful.
Thu, Apr 29 22:56:01 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family: Four years! I wasn't really able to come up with fruits
and flowers, but I tried!
* Food: We went out for sushi tonight to celebrate. The
restaurant gave us a free dessert too! Fried bananas with maple
syrup. Quite tasty. Nathan took away my miso soup. Wasn't that
sweet of him?
* Music: Nathan bought me the new Bangles CD. I haven't listened
to it yet. I hope I like it!
Wed, Apr 28 13:36:34 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): He's home! Unfortunately, he's also
exhausted. What he needs is a weekend away. Oh wait...
* Shopping: Large eggs, large white eggs, and medium eggs are all
the same price today. Obviously I didn't get the medium eggs. I
still really don't know what the difference between white and
brown eggs are. Other than the shell colour, of course.
* Shopping (part 2): People give me amusing smiles when I buy 10
bottles of Powerade. I'm glad I can make them happy!
* Food: I tried liverwurst for the first time today. Not bad, but
there was too much of it.
Sun, Apr 25 20:28:24 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Jester): He is limping. I'm worried about his knee.
But how do you get a hyperactive dog to rest his knee? Without
keeping him sedated, that is.
* Music: I love Christmas music. It is always so cheery!
Wed, Apr 21 21:58:35 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book: I borrowed a knitting pattern book on Christmas
stockings. The librarian wondered if I was really late or really,
really early. I like to think I was just whimsical. And it gave
me an excuse (not that I need one) to listen to Christmas music.
Mon, Apr 19 14:53:14 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Garden: I raked a bit more today. A lot of leaves! And the
wind would gust every once in a while. At times it seems like a
Sisyphean task. Ah well.
* Book: Started The Da Vinci Code recently. Everyone is part of a
conspiracy! My suspension of disbelief is tottering in the
wind. I wonder if the book is described as "fast-paced" because
the chapters are so short. That just makes the book seem too
choppy to me.
* Food: I was proofreading a cookbook at pgdp today and came
across a recipe for vinegar pie. I'm intrigued! I am tempted to
try it sometime. I wonder if Nathan will feel adventurous twoards
it too.
* Movie: Saw Shadow of a Doubt last night. I enjoyed it but was
too tired to see any of the DVD extras. Oh well.
Sat, Apr 17 19:55:32 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: Went to Chick-Fil-A today. I really like their chicken
strips, but their sauces leave a lot to be desired. Still
enjoyable though.
* Garden: We raked a bit today. There's a lot of leaves out
there. We got a lot that had been blown to the sides of the
house.
* Shopping: Bought a pot of purple pansies today. They usurped
the spider plant's hanger. Need to either put up a few more
hangers or something. In the interim, Nathan hung the spider
plant on the hook out in the yard where the previous owners had
placed a swingset for their children. Also got a Anacyclus
depressus because of its name. We just couldn't resist. I
wonder if it will grow its own little red hats...
Fri, Apr 16 10:18:19 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: We went for Mexican food with the Blizzards last night.
It was really yummy. And the company was good too. Although the
waitress looked really taken aback when I asked for beverage
suggestions. I guess she is used to customers who know what they
want.
* Weather: It is sunny outside! Wow! Exciting! Maybe this
weekend we'll take the dog out frolicking. He'd definitely enjoy
that. Although that does make me wonder. What would an
unenjoyable frolic be like?
* RTotD: Nathan was listening to baseball last night. I asked him
if there were such a thing as a switch pitcher or if it is against
the rules. If one existed, would they be allowed to keep two
different mitts on the mound with them?
Thu, Apr 15 16:40:13 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Computer: For some strange reason, Epiphany thought my printer
was filled with A4 paper. I'm not even sure where I would A4
paper around here.
* Plants: The basil is really growing. They weren't kidding when
they labeled the package "easy to grow". On the other hand, none
of the lavendar has sprouted. Nathan thinks the seeds were bad.
The marigolds are also doing well. I hope the weather will stay
warm so I can plant them outside in a couple of weeks.
* Food: I made fishball curry with noodles last night. We had
bought some frozen fishballs from the Chinese market a while back
and I really wanted them in a curry. Nathan seemed to enjoy it.
Next time, I should really buy some ginger. Except I can never
use it up before it goes bad.
* Food (part 2): Speaking of food, we bought some Yakult at Porter
Square the other day. Nathan went and grabbed four bars. I think
he likes it as much as I do. =)
* Food (part 3): All this talk of food is getting me hungry. Or
maybe I forgot to eat lunch. Time to raid the kitchen!
Tue, Apr 13 21:49:34 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book: I finished The Spectator Bird yesterday. I enjoyed it a
lot. There were many clever sentences that made me laught out
loud. Time to put it in Nathan's queue.
* Food: Went to Bertucci's tonight. Ordered a Shrimp Bella Napoli
pizza. It is now my favorite Bertucci's pizza.
Sat, Apr 10 20:23:15 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family: My brother-in-law came to visit on Thursday. We went to
Salem and wandered around. It was a lot of fun even though we
did not end up going into any witch places. They were all aimed
for a slightly younger audience.
* Food: While in Salem, Nathan decided he wanted to buy some maple
candy. Unfortunately, the candy store was out. I should figure
out where to get him some.
* Relaxing: The last few days have been beautiful! Warm and sunny
with a slight breeze. We walked on the Esplanade yesterday and
had a great time. Then we went to Bartley's and had burgers.
Nathan had a Bill Clinton while I had a Mitt Romney. Yum!
Wed, Apr 07 19:09:19 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: Last night Nathan was tired, so library-pizza night turned
into pizza night. We made one ourselves using a ready-made
crust. We had heard that Australians sometimes put egg on their
pizza. This idea intrigued us and we attempted to do it.
Unfortunately, we had no idea what we were doing and by the time
the egg was cooked, the rest of the pizza was pretty dried out.
But we agree that we like it in theory and will try again in the
future.
* RTotD: Have you ever had something happen like grabbing a
handful of hangers to hang up laundry and realizing at the end
that you grabbed just the right number? What a coincidence! So
have I!
Sat, Apr 03 21:14:25 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Computer: My hard drive is dying (dead?) Nathan has patched it
up for the interim. As he is extremely unhappy with my
motherboard (and has been ever since he got it in the back-when)
and has never been able to get my CD-Rom to work, he is
considering getting me a new computer. Now if only I knew what I
wanted.
Wed, Mar 31 16:27:48 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Knitting: Nathan and I were at the library last night checking
out books when the librarian told me my sweater was pretty. I
thanked her and smiled at Nathan. She saw that and asked if he
bought it for me. Slightly taken aback, I told her that he hadn't
and that I had made it. She seemed surprised and asked if I knit
a lot. I said no, as I know many people who knit more than me,
but Nathan murmered that I definitely did knit a lot. The other
librarian came over at this point and the two of them made
impressed noises. It definitely made my day.
* House: Smells of paint! If it weren't pouring outside, I'd open
the windows to air it out.
Tue, Mar 30 13:32:05 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book (The Island of the Day Before): I read a chapter last night
about the significance of doves. It really did not have that much
bearing on the story. The author just sort of rambled on a bit.
It read like a paper on Doves: Their Symbolism Throughout History
and the Relevance Today.
* Nature: There is a grey squirrel in a tree outside. Jester is
barking madly at it. The squirrel is sitting still on his branch
fluttering his tail. This is the first grey squirrel I have seen
around here. And it looks like Jester just chased it off of our
property.
Mon, Mar 29 15:21:53 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Herbs: Oooh! A few thyme plants have made their appearance. So
exciting! I hope I didn't accidently mix up the seeds...
* Food: Cheddar. Extra sharp. Yum. Who says you can't have
cheese for a meal?
* AisleRiot: I found this page today. How very weird! I wish I
knew what it said.
Sun, Mar 28 15:46:49 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Book: The other day, Nathan and I got into a disagreement over
which character in Green Eggs and Ham was Sam. I ended up doing
hand puppets and reciting the relevant passage to him. In a
parking lot. We got a couple of stares. But I was right. =)
* Herbs: A couple of the dill plants have sprouted! And the lid
has to come off the baby's breath as the sprouts have started
banging against the ceiling.
Sat, Mar 27 15:53:17 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Food: Nathan made a couple of cheddar and tomato sandwiches for
lunch today. He melted his and left mine unmelted. Guess who
made a mess? Sigh... i really need to learn to not drop
tomatoes...
* Emacs: What's the difference between Ctrl-Down and Alt-Down? Or
is that M-Down? They both seem to do the same thing.
* Music: Listening to Billy Joel earlier. Realized there were
references that I knew just because I grew up on Long Island.
Makes me wonder what I miss in all the other songs. Of course,
last night, Nathan and I discussed who Robert Ford was.
* Nature: Nathan, Jester, and I went for a walk today. The only
trees that are green are the pine trees in a distance. I
mentioned it looked sort of Bob Ross-esque. Nathan had no idea
what I was talking about. We had had that discussion before though
and I knew I had forced him to watch an episode. Eventually he
remembered. I guess they did not show Bob Ross as much in
California.
Fri, Mar 26 13:16:16 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Jester): When he barks, his ears pull back. I guess he
finds himself loud too.
* Words: I saw my name in print today. Excitement galore!
* Herbs: Most of the baby's breath has sprouted. I planted a lot
more of that than the herbs. Maybe I should get another flat of
herbs going. The other seeds haven't sprouted yet, but they have
longer germination times. And if I keep using long words, I may
be able to convince myself I know what I am doing.
Thu, Mar 25 22:11:33 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Herbs: The basil sprouted! As did the baby's breath. I know
that's not an herb, but I planted it at the same time, so it will
have to do. Whatever that is supposed to mean.
* Books: I was leafing through a couple of our paperbacks today
and realized I never finished reading the Xanth series. Probably
because the library in Chapel Hill never seemed to have them. Of
course, I don't think I remember it very well either. Speaking of
series, I really should read that latest Wheel of Time book
sometime. Not the prequel, the last one sequentially. I think it
is still in a box somewhere though.
* Organization: I wish I knew the Dewey Decimal system better.
For instance, what is the difference between 813.52 and 813.54?
* Book: Picked up The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco last
night. Read a couple of chapters. I feel large chunks of it
going over my head. I hope I just remember to duck.
Mon, Mar 22 11:30:07 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Ricky): Got a chance to chat with my brother (over IM,
anyway) this morning. A bit weird, as neither of us are morning
people. Anyway, I hope he has fun in aerobics class!
* Weather: It is a beautiful day outside. Still a bit on the
chilly side, but the sky is a beautiful blue. It is also pretty
gusty. The trees are swaying quite a bit.
* Food: I am eating mini Pocky sticks. They are so cute! Each of
them is about three inches long.
* RTotD: Speaking of food, my little herb garden in the plastic
"greenhouses" looks a lot like take-out sushi.
Sun, Mar 21 16:24:51 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Herbs: We went and bought seeds and planter pellets yesterday
and I spent the evening playing with seeds. I hope something
grows! I haven't grown anything from seed since middle school.
Except, of course, for the arguments with Nathan about the
pronounciation of the word "herb". Okay, that's fun too.
* Books: My silly list of books that I have read has grown to
341. Nowhere near a complete list, but it is a respectable
beginning. I am still slowly unpacking books from our move. It
has been half a year since we moved, but I have been trying to
enter them into Bookworm as I go, so it has been slow. Anyway, as
I enter the books into Bookworm, I enter them into my list as well
if it is appropriate. I am trying to decide whether to add books
that I started but did not want to finish. There aren't too many
books that would fit in that category, but it really depends on
the reasoning behind the list. I will need to think about that a
bit.
* Music: We were at Border's yesterday and they had a Christmas CD
on sale for $1. It is a compilation of country music stars and I
am not a fan of country music, but I figure it _is_ Christmas
music (of which I am a big fan) and how can I go wrong with $1? I
have not had a chance to listen to it yet; we will see! (or hear,
as the case happens to be =)
Sat, Mar 20 15:06:40 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Words: I wonder if there is a word for the opposite of
"percolate". It would be a very useful word.
Fri, Mar 19 19:40:15 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Family (Nathan): It has been a long week for him, mostly because
he worked all through last weekend (pulling a couple of
all-nighters too!) Hopefully he will be able to catch up on sleep
this weekend.
* Words: I misheard Nathan tonight and thought he said he was
"going to put down [his] palimpsest". He thought I was nuts to
have pulled that word out of nowhere. I looked it up and proved
to him that it _is_ a word. It even has a interesting
definition. Perhaps I should make it my word of the day...
Thu, Mar 18 17:55:10 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Dreams: I had a weird dream where I was taking orgo again.
Sigh...
* Health: The scratch on my arm is itching like crazy. Argh!
* Food: Making chicken broth right now. The smell is driving
Jester bonkers. He is pretty riled up over it.
Tue, Mar 16 17:12:11 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: I was wrong.
Tue, Mar 16 13:43:11 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Weather: It's snowing! The weather says it will be snowing all
week. I doubt it will stick though.
* Time: My internal clock is a bit screwed up. Nathan pulled an
all-nighter this weekend working against the clock. He was so
hosed that I stayed up with him to make sure he was eating and
plied with caffeine. It has been years since we had done this. I
slept well last night. =)
Mon, Mar 15 17:54:49 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* Health: I noticed this morning that I had scratched the inside
of my arm. Even though it is a relatively sensitive area, I have
no recollection of how this scratch happened. I am mystified.
Fri, Mar 12 16:00:17 2004 Rosanna Yuen <zana@webwynk.net>
* View: When I looked outside my window this morning, the ground
was clear, but the trees were dusted with snow. It was very
pretty but odd as well.
* Movie (The Importance of Being Ernest): That was definitely a
fun movie. Watching with headphones takes some getting used to
though.
* Music: Currently listening to "Deck the Halls". I love holiday