Borderline Savage

Music, Music, Music

Susan was talking about sharing music with our kids. Unlike Susan's parents mine were very much into music although not necessarily what I listened to.  My Mom and I shared a love of singing from early on and would often sing along to the radio when I was little but my tastes changed as I got older where hers did not. My Dad was big on jazz and classical but really enjoyed a wide range of music, especially after meeting my step-Mom, who was a hard core Led Zeppelin and Heart fan. 

I definitely took a strong hand in my children's musical education. I sang Daydream Believer to the eldest as a baby (and Too Young to Fall in Love but ssh his father doesn't know that, lol).  I gave him my love of Crue and Guns & Roses, I introduced him to The Ramones, the Sex Pistols and Pink Floyd.  We share our love of Pink and Florence and the Machine.  His first concert was the Green Day show I took him to for his birthday.

Interestingly as his own tastes have grown he's learned my tastes very well and is good at introducing me to bands I'd enjoy. When I liked Foster the People's single, he told me the whole album was worth a listen and he was right. He's also introduced me to bands I may never have paid attention to on my own. 

Below are just a few favorites that he made me give a listen to:

 

 

 

 

The musical generation gap that existed between my me and my parents  doesn't exist in the same way with my generation and our kids. Maybe because music was so important to us and the time we grew up in, we're more open to new music defining each era. Nostalgia is a strong pull and the mood to listen to older stuff strikes more often than not but there is plenty of newer music on my ipod as well. There's always something interesting to discover.

Blogger's Silent Poetry Reading to celebrate the Feast of St Brigid

Her Kind

I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light;
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves;
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.

Knitting? Yeah I still do it on occasion.

While my knitting output is greatly diminished I do still knit every once in awhile. I just rarely finish anything. I started the year off well though by finishing yet another pair of Fetching:

Yes, I know the ends are woven in, don't be judgemental. They will be at some point today. 

I'm also working on another Calorimetry (Susan says I am the Queen of Calorimetry since I've made so many). I actually got into such a rhythm that I kept going on the short rows far too long. I tried to rip it back but I got lost and ended up ripping the whole damn thing out. Its coming along nicely now though:

For those of you wondering. I still have not finished the wedding afghan.  Most of the knitting is done, its the seaming that I'm procrastinating on. Then something happened. I laid it out for a photo shoot this morning and discovered a problem:

Do you see it? Try now:

Sigh. Now I have to rip out that seam and re-do it.  Ettiquette says a wedding gift can be given anytime in the first year but this is getting ridiculous.

Susan now has me hooked on Downton Abbey. I did indeed take the quiz she linked to and was very pleased with my result:

You are John Bates, valet to Lord Grantham. You probably have a secret identity or are lying about your past to someone you care about, but at least you feel really bad about it. On the plus side, you’re loyal and hardworking, and you’d never rat anyone out to the boss, even when they really deserve it. Noble and a bit mysterious, you’re a genuinely decent person – and everyone’s wondering when you’re just going to tell that nice Anna girl how you feel.

Ten on Tuesday

Since my co-pilot did a list the other day and this morning Vicki reminded me of that old standby "Ten on Tuesday" I have decided to compose a list myself. Kind of a "what's gone on since I stopped blogging" thing.

1- I have gone from a 30-40 project a year knitter to a 12 project, if I'm lucky, knitter. I still enjoy it but I seem to lack motivation and focus when it comes right down to it.

2- my eldest is in his junior year of high school and embarking on the college search.

3- the youngest, who has special needs as many of you may recall, is doing very well on the social front but struggling reading-wise. He's a worker though so I'm hopeful we'll see inprovement this year with his awesome teacher.

4- I've attained the position in my career that I've wanted since I was 18 but having had it for a few years now I feel an overwhelming urge to seek new challenges professionally. Not leave my current job necessarily but explore other skills I may have or want to develop.

5- I got a new much more public tattoo this year and updated the old one. I have plans for at least 4 more.

6- I got my nose pierced which I've wanted to do since I was a kid.

7- I'm obsessed with Roller Derby. I'm even planning on joining the local req league when the season starts up again in a few months.

8- I read more now. I read 52 books last year. Although I'm off to a slow start this year.

9- I've realized as I've gotten older I am way more punk than metal.

10- I really miss blogging and writing in general and hope to make it a habit again.

-Nancy

New Year, New Blog

I blogged over at bronxgirlknits.com for five years. Then I got a new job which cut my down time considerably. I missed blogging but I barely had time to breathe let alone knit so it lay dormant. I've tried to get back on the wagon  a few times over the years but it's never worked out, mostly I think because its main focus was knitting and while I still do  make things it is at nowhere near the level I did previously. 

I'm at an interesting time in my life. At 18 when I was a bookstore clerk I decided I wanted to manage a bookstore one day and while the route was circuitous I have finally reached that goal. This has led to a intriguing turn in my life, as my kids are older and less high maintenance I find myself looking at all the things I was interested in prior to marriage and motherhood. There's always writing which I've done sporadically on the blog and for Pink Raygun. Lately though there's also tattoos, roller derby, hockey, and other things on my mind. 

Sweeping in as a muse for me was my virtual twin Susan, who shares this blog with me. She proposed a joint venture to get us out of our blogging ennui. A "reading, knitting, hockey, humor, feminist (post-feminist), mom, fitness, music, Polish, multicultural, pet loving, caffeinated, tattoo, piercing, movie/dvd/tv, geek/nerd/freak kind of blog". Which is definitely where I am at the moment. So I am genuinely enthused about this new forum to listen to the sound of my own voice and give you my opinion. 

I recently found a picture online that described my view of my generation:

This is my view of this blog as well. We are creating our own forum to talk about the things we enjoy, are exploring and thinking about.  I think it's going to be a great adventure.

- Nancy