The Eve of St Pat

Actually I just really wanted to use that as a title.  Like Keats's "Eve of St Agnes."  Forgot to add in my last post (rant? brain-dump?) that my life dream is to make poetry as cool as the Doctor's bow-ties.  Which is not cool at all but so cool it doesn't matter.  Clear as mud?  Excellent.

Now, back to all the things I've accomplished on the Eve of St Pat, which is mostly what I came here for.  In no particularly order, they are...

1) Started on my taxes.  Whoo...oof.

2) Cleaned my bathroom and replaced the lightbulb in my ceiling fan without killing myself.

3) Made theme-appropriate stew.  After the corned beef fiasco of last year (still have the marks from the burns, thanks), I stuck with something I know well: bacon.  Cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, Guinness, and...bacon.  Also, I now know that stout is essentially the espresso of the beer world.  That's not entirely a bad thing.

4) Discovered I'm better at mousse than I am at souffle...even though (WTF???) it's essentially souffle without the trip to the oven.  On a side note, this was done on Pi(e) Day.  Oops.

 Pics or it didn't happen!

5) Finished Dalek  hat/cardigan, version 1.0.  Suspect it needs beta testing.  For one thing, the armholes are a bit...special and the sleeves extra-wide.  But I love the hat and will definitely make again.







Pity the child who has to wear this thing...if you can get it to fit an actual child.  Luckily, I will use Vincent as my backup/peace offering.  Nobody minds a sweet little teddy bear, right?  Right?

 6) Acquired yarn for April KAL.  I had to go into the store to look at colors 'cause a computer screen does not do them justice.  But the coral-colored yarn is drop-dead gorgeous.  And I expect to have time to knit a mystery shawl because...?

7) Cast on yet another lace shawl.  Because it's my thing (ask the Knit 'n Purl gang).  I believe the yarn is Jawool or some odd brand name like that, and it's gorgeous.  It wanted to be a shawl.

 Specifically, this shawl.  I guess more accurately "capelet," since the pattern is called the Rhea capelet, from the Spring 2013 edition of Creative Knitting.  Love the lace edging and will probably re-use at some point.  For instance when I rip out and re-design Cecilia sweater.

 8) Um...this is Crazy Zauberball.  It was calling my name yesterday when I bought my KAL yarn.  Today I went in to do a little concerted shawl-knitting, and it was still there.  Taunting.  Begging.  What can I say?

Now take this, look up the Papagena scarf on Ravelry, savor the Mozart joke, and tell me you're not in joint opera-knitting heaven.  I dare you.












9) Uploaded my anthem to YouTube.  You'll see right away why I call it my anthem.
http://youtu.be/wRaLFlegwsY

If you prefer, I do cover(s), though I'm really slow with them because a) I learn them by ear and b) I have essentially no music theory training.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RklV3lbfyqU

Or, old school me...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47HkDzznu1g

10) Wrote a poem.  Actually, that was the original reason for "The Eve of St Pat."  Sort-of-first draft, but what the hell.

The Eve of St Pat's

What I remember:

a broken iPod,

an Irish temper,

and the wrong lightbulbs,

thwarted attempts at housework

and repairs on a clock

chiming away the quarter-hours

of another Ides to beware

passed uneventfully, impatiently,

this wearied intransigent

of a bleary-eyed South.

What should've happened:

he was stopped roadside,

marooned fifteen miles

from the ocean, a choice:

obey the steel slipstream

or risk barreling holiday SUVs

for an improbability, phantom

forgotten sunlight, hair, eyes,

pressing lips, eloquent tongue,

Hell decked for today only

like a fool's gold Paradise.

What really happened:

closing at chapter-end

with another cheap sigh,

stout chaser, exchanged dream,

rainbow connector followed down

to its potted terminus,

leprechaun loot dissolving

into reality's bitter pill;

yet outside a smudged window

the four-leaf clovers wink

another year's vaulted promise.

11) Gotcha!  Had enough?  I'd say so.