Okay, so it isn’t “brand new”. In true tree hugger style, I took an old pillowcase (recently bought off ebay) and repurposed it into a bag. (I also made a liner for it since this particular pillowcase is a tad worn in some spots)

If it reminds you of sheets that you had as a child, I don’t want to hear about it. I think that it is totally nifty. And roomy. It will be great holding my knitting stuff for tonight’s knitting night get together.

Speaking of knitting, the monkeys are growing…

Now onto the 4th repeat of the pattern on the first sock. At this rate, I should have them done in two more weeks, HA! That is okay, as long as they are done and blocked by the time we get on a plane to leave this rock, we will be golden. Speaking of leaving this rock, only 49 more days here and 39 until we get to move to the hotel. Not like I am counting or anything.

Oh, and if anyone here on Saipan is planning on moving off island and taking their pets with them, don’t bother to call Continental to ship the animal…I almost started to cry when the lady told me that they no longer ship animals from here. Seriously, my heart sank as I immediately thought of having to leave them behind. Call Northwest instead.

Thank you everyone for your comments on our little addition! I am trying to get a chance to respond to everyone individually. I feel fine so far, just a bit more tired than usual and almost no appetite. Oh, and I have dog nose big time. You know, when you can smell things from 50 feet away that you would have never smelled before?  That’s dog nose.

Peace.

I know, my last post was a huge drag. Sorry about that. I just have to put the absurdity (is that a word?) of the system out there every now and again. I will try to not bitch and moan about this place any more. Let’s think of happier thoughts, okay?

Happy thought #1

Swaps!

I joined a couple of swaps on Ravelry lately and I am having the best time. It would only be better if I had an actual yarn store that I could go to and buy yarn, for now the internets will have to make do. There are two yarn shops in Juneau, that is a happy thought for sure.

This is a picture of one of the swaps that I sent:

Silk yarn, assorted teas, stitch markers made by moi, crochet frog kit from Japan (because I realized that I can’t read Japanese), a Japanese craft magazine, a couple of bars of gourmet chocolates. My partner is in California and she can read & write Japanese. Yay, her! She hasn’t received it yet, should be there in a couple of days.

Today I got my swap package in the mail…all the way from Canada, eh.

2 skiens of Euroflax wet spun Linen, a knitted shopping bag pattern, a kick ass tape measure (little blue box at bottom), a tin of lip balm, a note pad of recycled paper, a pen from the yarn store, hair bands that function as stitch markers, point protectors for my needles, a maple sucker shaped like a maple leaf and a bag of sweet lemon drop black tea (smells absolutely divine). Spoiled much? I love love love everything! And she really kept in mind the fact that I am a tree hugger, gotta love that!

Happy thought #2

Sock knitting! I started a new pair of socks yesterday. They are Monkeys from the famous Cookie A. I am using yarn that is a dream to work with according to my fingers…Blue Moon Fiber Arts “Socks That Rock” mediumweight. I lurve this stuff. The color is sherbet and I got it from my pal, Phoe. She is a doll.

I love how they are pink on one side and green on the other. Too cool!

I have done one repeat of the lace pattern. And…this is a big and…I am following the lace chart pattern instead of the written out pattern. Always trying to broaden my horizons, that’s me.

Happy thought #3

A new Clap! I mentioned that I started a new Clapotis…

Isn’t she gorgeous? Noro Kureyon #150…I adore the way that the colors are coming out. I am on my last little bit before I start the next section, the dropping stitches section!!! I am on my second ball of the Noro. I am having a hard time switching between my new Clap and the Monkey socks. I know, poor me.

Happy thought #4

Babies!

Found out last friday that our family is growing! The new BTH is expected to arrive January 6, 2009…just in time for his/her brother BTH’s second birthday. Now, that is exciting! If it is a girl, I can say BTH & STH and make it brother tree hugger & sister tree hugger. Tree hugger babies, tres cute!

Peace.

I have gone on and on previously about how expensive things are over here. Fresh milk $10+ a gallon, gas stands at $4.32 a gallon, large container of yogurt is over $6…it is really insane.

And if the islanders weren’t feeling the pinch already with local government budget cuts (a vast majority of the local population is employed by the local government), threat of another round of “austerity holidays” (where local government employees “get” every other friday off without pay in an attempt to save government funds, and is not optional), rising food and fuel costs…our utility rates were doubled overnight this week.

Yeah, doubled. We went from 17.6 cents per kWh to 37.3 cents per kWh (if you use less than 500kWh/month, otherwise it is more).

In our house, our average usage is between 250-300kWh per month. We sweat a lot and it really sucks. But it keeps our power bill less than $60 a month. With the new rates, and continuing our same usage, we will now pay between $100-$120 a month. That sucks even more. We used to turn on the air conditioners (set at 80 degrees) in our bedrooms at night a couple of times a week to sleep decently.  No more air conditioners AND they are cutting into my monthly yarn budget?  Not a very happy Mama I am.

Now, I am all for the Utility being able to cover its costs regarding power generation & supply. Don’t get me wrong. And I think that the rate roll back in October 2007 was nothing more than a political ploy. But to hike it so drastically overnight is almost criminal. They have done a huge disservice to the citizens of the CNMI. We hear stories every day about the suffering here, about how they can hardly afford to buy food for their families, keep electricity on in their houses, let alone pay for their other bills, and business closing their doors because they can’t pay both their employees and their bills.

The times are only going to get worse, my friends. Crime rates will go up as people get more desperate to pay for basic needs, which in turn could drive tourism down because of the ridiculous number of crimes against tourists out sightseeing continues. Isn’t tourism practically the life blood of the island now that the garment factories are gone? So in essence, these perpetrators are biting the proverbial hand that feeds them. People are going to continue to leave Saipan in search of greener pastures. That is as soon as they can scrape up the $1.5k for a single plane ticket, one way. Vacant home rates will rise, many of these being rentals, so that is more lost revenue to the citizens.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but there is no way I could be optimistic about the current situation here. When we thought it was bad, it got worse. Is it going to get even more worse? Or will the tides change? Who knows? Time will tell.

Only 56 more days until our little family says goodbye to the island.

Peace.

Sounds like a crazy down da bayou voodo cure for an STD, no? Well, remember my Clapotis? I was happily trucking along on it every night (it is a gift knit) and got to the final section, the decrease section when I saw it. The out of place dropped stitch. Must have happened when I had a “learn to love Merlot ” night. (I have been trying to step outside of my white zinfandel/chianti/gerwurtzaminer/reisling box, er, bottle recently) I tried to fudge it (during another wine infused knitting session where my IQ pretends to be higher than it is), but my stitch markers were all off track and it was a mess. So, to the frog pond it went.

But don’t let your heart be too sad for me, I started a new Clapotis last night out of Noro Kureyon. Little Knits is having a fabulous sale on their Kureyon, if you are inclined to purchase awesome Japanese 100% wool yarn. Can I just tell you something? This was my first time buying from Little Knits and I always use the shipping as my deal-breaker. Many places charge outrageous fees for shipping. Well, Little Knits shipping was incredibly reasonable. The kicker is they adjusted my shipping (in my favor) once they processed the order (almost $5 savings!) because I had been over charged. I was happy to pay the original shipping since it still made the Kureyon cheap, but I am even happier to pay the discounted shipping. They have a customer for life.

Somehow, this skien of Debbie Bliss 100% pure silk jumped into my cart before checking out. Man oh man is this stuff ever soft. I am in a swap on Ravelry, so this one is going to my swap partner. Lucky girl.

The only down side is that the hanks are crazy small. A splurge for sure.

Our old friends from Louisiana now live in New Jersey where he is a Company Commander at Cape May (Coast Guard Boot Camp). They are the ones that got our first pick, Portsmouth, NH for this rotation. Rat bastards. (said lovingly of course) They are also expecting their first baby in a few short weeks. A little boy. So, I knit this up for them this past week. I used Berroco Touche (cotton & acrylic blend) in the apple green that I had in my stash left over from BTH’s wrap sweater. I love this pattern. Much better than the wrap sweater. In fact, this will be my “go to” pattern when ever any of my friends are having babies (hear that, BFF?). Plus, it is a free pattern. I did the version without the hood. Maybe next time I will do the hooded one. It is a seamless raglan worked from the top down. Love love love this pattern. I still have to weave in the ends and block it. I did the 6 month size and I think that it will be great for the New Hampshire autumn.

I wanted to do a matching pair of booties for them as well, so I started the infamous Saartje’s Booties.

I actually finished the knitting part of the first one last night and to be honest, I hate it. It is getting ripped out. I would like to do a pair of booties, but the time is running out.

That’s all I have for today.

Peace.

I just read on my Aunt’s blog that my Granny got a Wii for her birthday!!  And it was what she asked for!!!  When I talked to her on the phone today she said, “Missy, did you know that they put them in nursing homes for the old folks?”  Living out here reminds me of just how out of touch I am with the trends in the mainland.

Granny rockin’ the Wii.  Who would have ever thought?

Peace.