A Blissfully Boring Day

I've been off work today and yesterday. It's been lovely. And today, I had the house to myself. One of the biggest challenges for me adjusting to having roommates again is that, with four people in the house, it's very hard to get alone time. Especially since none of us are particularly quiet.

But today I slept until I woke up, which was very nice. My sleep has been awful since my meds ran out and the VA is engaging in an epic East Coast/West Coast battle about who should fix that problem. I got up, made a cup of strong tea with honey, had a Dana Roll* with butter and honey, and caught up on Google Reader. It was a beautiful way to start the day, especially with a lot of the doors and windows opened in the house so the pretty day came in (it was in the 60s).

I then tackled my jewelry situation. My jewelry box has moved all over the place this year and, in the process, has become a disastrous mess. I put hooks on the wall and moved all the necklaces there, then properly cleaned out all the little jewelry bags and boxes that come with gifts but then sit empty, taking up space. Watches and pins moved into the small jewelry box I use for traveling. I have a metal jewelry tree that now holds the hoop and dangly earrings I wear most often along with the smaller bracelets. In the main, large jewelry box are the larger, chunkier bracelets (which will eventually get their own home on the wall), the stud and lesser-used dangly earrings, all my rings, costume pieces, broaches, cuff links, and a few delicate necklaces that would tangle terribly if hung on the wall. I can see most of what I wear daily and it's tidy. Huzzah!

Now I'm getting through the morning email while working on a knitting project for Christmas. All the knitting things can be found at ravelry.com for those who are fellow knitters and crocheters.

Review: J. Edgar

As a avowed Leonardo Dicaprio fan, I have been wanted to see J. Edgar since it came out, but it managed to disappear through the cracks along with many others. Tonight, that was rectified.

J. Edgar is a biographical film of J. Edgar Hoover focused on his time in the FBI...which is everything except the first 24 years of his life, which are touched on through reference and flashback with him mother, played by Dame Judi Dench. Armie Hammer is fantastic as Clyde Tolson and Naomi Watts is the formidable Helen Grandy. The combination of Hammer, Watts, and Dicaprio creates a really fascinating triangle that allows a certain depth to the movie that would have been missing otherwise. Clint Eastwood continues his stellar directorial career.

The movie is incredibly accurate by most biographers notes. It touches on the cross-dressing rumors (which are disputed) and examines the relationship with Tolson, which has a lot of credible backing. Considering the man was the eminent spook, and had files on everyone without much existing on him, they did a great job at building a narrative that was credible and wove together what is known (such as the senate hearings and public statements) with the gaping holes in historical record.

Hoover is someone that intrigues me for many reasons, both personal and professional. The movie was compelling and makes me want to read more about him, which I think it indicative of a good biopic. The cast is stellar, including some excellent cameos (this was one of those "Hey, that guy!" movies). The movie is restrained to great benefit - I never felt that it was portraying Hoover as a character, but as a very nuanced man. It should also be said that the aging work was fantastic, covering over 50 years.

I highly recommend it.

Principles of Knitting - Knitting Methods

I'm in a study group reviewing the new edition of Principles of Knitting. The book is basically a textbook of knitting skills and techniques. It is dense and thorough. It's not really a guide for a new knitter, but it's fantastically technical, which I love.

Tonight we did chapter 1, which is ways to hold the needles. I read the chapter beforehand and found her terminology interesting. She doesn't use English and Continental, but Right-Hand Method and Left-Hand Method. She also distinguishes Right-Finger Method, which is where the yarn is around the right finger and thrown.

In the groups, we each showed how we knit. I'm a Left-Hand knitter, as were seven of us in our small group. Three are Right-Hand knitters and one used a modified Under Arm method, where she tucked the long needles into her hip. Terry, my boss and our group facilitator, easily switches between several styles of knitting, including knitting reverse of the standard (aka Left Hander's Knitting). We talked about the advantage of having an alternate style of knitting and we all swapped styles. I'm working on Right-Finger Method, which is basically the opposite of what I do now.

We also discussed in large group (about thirty of us) some of the other methods, like the Thumb Method in which the yarn is held around the neck, and an alternate form which hangs the yarn from a pin on the shirt, known as the Danish Method. It was interesting to hear one of the Learn to Knit teachers that she heard the same complaints from the experienced knitters learning new methods that she does from the new knitters. That gave us some perspective.

One of the comments that struck me was that the woman who tucks her long needles wanted to learn to "pick" (Left Handed Method) because she has Fibromyalgia and needs a form that takes as little effort as possible. We discussed this - my desire to learn Right Finger Method is, in part, because I expect a day in the future when my left hand doesn't function as well as it does now and I want an alternate method in place.

I find the study interesting. We do cast ons next month, of which there is 34 pages written. But until we begin that chapter, I'm practicing my Right Finger Method in addition to cleaning up my Left Handed Method to find the most economical knitting.