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Dec. 23rd, 2005 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillIn Portland I am quite the social butterfly!
The day before yesterday I went to Kami and Rory's solstice party. It was shocking, how much their kids had grown--but I hadn't seen the kids for something like four years, so maybe it wasn't all that shocking after all. Their faces are different--a blend of the children they were and the adults they have yet to become. Weird, but wonderful. I finished the second lace sock just before I went, and was happy to discover that I ran out of yarn with only one row left to go. So I just skipped that row and finished off the toe and the sock works okay and fit okay. It's a pity about the self-striping camoflaging the lace panel, but so it goes. The socks are a little prickly, and I would never want them around my neck, but I find that on my feet they don't bother me too much, and I think they're noticeably warmer than my regular cotton socks, even though the cotton socks are thicker.
Yesterday I had my first voice lesson in well over twenty years, with Callie's voice teacher. Callie has been raving (err--expressing enthusiasm) about her for years, and now I see why. I really enjoyed the lesson, got a surprising amount of volume without hurting or tiring myself, and picked up loads of helpful suggestions that may be a big help with singing regularly again. It would be cool if I could get my voice back without actually going to the doctor. She did say that stopping singing because my voice hurt was a good self-protective measure. I have been practicing the first part of the voice lesson (which I recorded) today. I'm not sure whether it's just that I'm vocalizing a lot more when there isn't all that talking and explaining in between, or whether I'm actually not doing something right, but I'm finding it more tiring now. I had to stop after about 10 minutes. The vocal exercises sound a lot more like war whoops and banshee wails than like singing, so I expect the rest of the household was relieved.
Yesterday evening I got together with Callie. She gave me sock yarn for Christmas! And just in time, since I'd used up the sock yarn I brought with me. Beautiful colors, luscious fibers--I can hardly wait to get started on another sock. She also took me yarn shopping--Portland has ever so many yarn stores. We yarn geeked, and I looked at her knitting projects (she does sweaters, which I think is very ambitious and intimidating, but they certainly look nice), and used her ball winder to wind some of my new skeins into center-pull balls. It goes much faster than doing it by hand. We walked down the street to Peacock Lane, where everyone winds their house in fancy lights for Christmas and people come from miles around to rubberneck. We caught up on news and committed spontaneous carollage. I didn't go home until nearly one in the morning.
I had better schedule some time to get some rest during this vacation.
The day before yesterday I went to Kami and Rory's solstice party. It was shocking, how much their kids had grown--but I hadn't seen the kids for something like four years, so maybe it wasn't all that shocking after all. Their faces are different--a blend of the children they were and the adults they have yet to become. Weird, but wonderful. I finished the second lace sock just before I went, and was happy to discover that I ran out of yarn with only one row left to go. So I just skipped that row and finished off the toe and the sock works okay and fit okay. It's a pity about the self-striping camoflaging the lace panel, but so it goes. The socks are a little prickly, and I would never want them around my neck, but I find that on my feet they don't bother me too much, and I think they're noticeably warmer than my regular cotton socks, even though the cotton socks are thicker.
Yesterday I had my first voice lesson in well over twenty years, with Callie's voice teacher. Callie has been raving (err--expressing enthusiasm) about her for years, and now I see why. I really enjoyed the lesson, got a surprising amount of volume without hurting or tiring myself, and picked up loads of helpful suggestions that may be a big help with singing regularly again. It would be cool if I could get my voice back without actually going to the doctor. She did say that stopping singing because my voice hurt was a good self-protective measure. I have been practicing the first part of the voice lesson (which I recorded) today. I'm not sure whether it's just that I'm vocalizing a lot more when there isn't all that talking and explaining in between, or whether I'm actually not doing something right, but I'm finding it more tiring now. I had to stop after about 10 minutes. The vocal exercises sound a lot more like war whoops and banshee wails than like singing, so I expect the rest of the household was relieved.
Yesterday evening I got together with Callie. She gave me sock yarn for Christmas! And just in time, since I'd used up the sock yarn I brought with me. Beautiful colors, luscious fibers--I can hardly wait to get started on another sock. She also took me yarn shopping--Portland has ever so many yarn stores. We yarn geeked, and I looked at her knitting projects (she does sweaters, which I think is very ambitious and intimidating, but they certainly look nice), and used her ball winder to wind some of my new skeins into center-pull balls. It goes much faster than doing it by hand. We walked down the street to Peacock Lane, where everyone winds their house in fancy lights for Christmas and people come from miles around to rubberneck. We caught up on news and committed spontaneous carollage. I didn't go home until nearly one in the morning.
I had better schedule some time to get some rest during this vacation.
