Halloween Fun!
6 years ago
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tattoo Time
I got a new tattoo this past weekend. I’ve loved tattoos since I was in my teens. I got my first tattoo back in 1987 at Laguna Tattoo in (where else?) Laguna Beach, CA. After 21 years I decided it was time for a new one. This time I really, really, really, wanted a tattoo to commemorate my love of needlework, especially knitting. Here is what I had done:
She is the Stitch ‘n Bitch pinup! It is still a little red and irritated, but I am absolutely in love with it! At some point I’ll probably join my older tattoo that ends on my right hip with this tattoo (it’s on my left calf) by getting one that goes across my left thigh. I have, oh, about 21 years to think about it!
So why, after 21 years did I suddenly decide to get another tattoo? Short answer - I don’t know; it’s just one of those things. It sort of happened like this: Joe and I were talking about his birthday tattoo - he’s going to have the Harwood family crest tattooed onto his calf. While we were chatting I decided to drive to Temecula to talk to the artists at 1st Amendment about getting my pin-up tattoo. He came along to talk with them about his tattoo. And voilà! 3-1/2 hours later I have a tattoo on my leg! Joe will get his next month for his birthday.
For a little history of the art of tattooing, read on...
Tattooing is an expression of beauty found throughout the world. The history of tattooing goes back thousands of years to most countries of the world.
In the Americas, ancient pottery fragments and fragments of ancient ceremonial objects show that North America's Southeastern tribal people have been using tattoos to decorate their bodies for centuries. The early European explorers were amazed at the complex designs covering not only the men's bodies but the women as well. Swift hands and delicate motions imbedded intricate patterns into the skin using turtle and fish bone needles and natural dyes. It took hours to create one segment of a design that would eventually, over years, cover the entire body. I can only imagine how an individual's life story could be read from the art on their body. Tattoos were also used on the face and body to give power to the individual wearing them. For example, paint or tattoos were used to create symbolic eagle eyes around the eyes of men, giving them the eyes of the eagle in flight.
Japanese tattoos are referred to in Japanese as irezumi which literally means the insertion of ink under the skin leaving a permanent mark or tattoo. Tattooing in Japan is thought to extend back to at least 10,000 years. The Ainu people, the indigenous people of Japan, are known to have used tattoos for decorative and social purposes for many thousands of years.
Religious tattoos have been around for thousands of years but they haven't always been accepted as they are nowadays.
During the Roman Empire the practice of tattooing was almost eradicated in so called civilized culture. The Romans believed that the body was to remain in its purest form and tattoos had no place in this belief. Roman soldiers came across many tattooed barbarians in the expansion of the Roman Empire and as a result soldiers began bringing tattoos back into the civilized world.
As Christianity emerged it brought with it the secrecy of an underground religion in a Roman state of intolerance. Christians began tattooing crosses on the underside of their forearms as a secret sign to other Christians. This was a bold statement of their faith, although secret, a Christian caught with a cross tattoo would be killed immediately.
Several accounts of tattooing in Palestine can be found in travel journals of Christian pilgrims and the practice continued well into the twentieth century. In 1956, a professional tattooist, Jacob Razzouk was using tattoo designs carved on woodblocks that had been handed down from father to son in his family since the seventeenth century. The blocks he used were copied and published in Carswell’s book Coptic Tattoo Designs, printed in a limited edition of 200 copies in 1956. The book contains reproductions of 184 prints together with descriptions of the traditions and symbolism associated with each design.
Throughout history it has become commonplace for tattooed individuals to be set apart or outside society. But times are changing. More than a millennium after church authorities condemned tattooing as a sin, there is a surge in people getting religious tattoos. Christians are inking their bodies with images of crosses, sacred hearts and angels. And, for a small but growing subculture within evangelical Christianity, religious tattooing is becoming more and more a form of expression of individuality, identity and faith. Instead of worshipping religious representations displayed on stained glass windows of the local church, people find meaning in inscribing images on their own private temple of the Holy Spirit.
Abiding by the principle that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, most conservative Christian churches have set limits on bodily expressions, whether these expressions are in the form of tattoos, piercings, extreme hair styles, et cetera.
As far as tattoos go, the Bible has different decrees open to different interpretation. For example Leviticus says:
"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,
nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."
But, in his Letter to the Galatians, Apostle Paul says:
"Let no one cause me trouble,
because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus"
Other biblical passages from Exodus to Revelation describe divine symbols being placed on the bodies of believers. Since the Emperor Constantine banned the practice in the third century because it violated God's teachings, attempts by religious authorities to prohibit tattooing have met with limited success.
Tattoos have not only risen in status to become popular and acceptable within all classes of society, in some milieus, tattoos have achieved an elevated degree of aesthetic value. Tattoo art and artifacts have value. Tattoo, a previously ignored and marginalized practice, is undergoing a process of cultural re-inscription. New meanings of tattoo are being generated by exhibitions that reframe tattoos as art. Recent international exhibitions in American galleries and museums suggest that cultural experts are now speaking on behalf of tattoo culture.
A great link for pictures of tattooed women in history and general tattoo history: http://www.lyletuttle.com/tattoohistory/pasttattooedwomen.html
She is the Stitch ‘n Bitch pinup! It is still a little red and irritated, but I am absolutely in love with it! At some point I’ll probably join my older tattoo that ends on my right hip with this tattoo (it’s on my left calf) by getting one that goes across my left thigh. I have, oh, about 21 years to think about it!
So why, after 21 years did I suddenly decide to get another tattoo? Short answer - I don’t know; it’s just one of those things. It sort of happened like this: Joe and I were talking about his birthday tattoo - he’s going to have the Harwood family crest tattooed onto his calf. While we were chatting I decided to drive to Temecula to talk to the artists at 1st Amendment about getting my pin-up tattoo. He came along to talk with them about his tattoo. And voilà! 3-1/2 hours later I have a tattoo on my leg! Joe will get his next month for his birthday.
For a little history of the art of tattooing, read on...
Tattooing is an expression of beauty found throughout the world. The history of tattooing goes back thousands of years to most countries of the world.
In the Americas, ancient pottery fragments and fragments of ancient ceremonial objects show that North America's Southeastern tribal people have been using tattoos to decorate their bodies for centuries. The early European explorers were amazed at the complex designs covering not only the men's bodies but the women as well. Swift hands and delicate motions imbedded intricate patterns into the skin using turtle and fish bone needles and natural dyes. It took hours to create one segment of a design that would eventually, over years, cover the entire body. I can only imagine how an individual's life story could be read from the art on their body. Tattoos were also used on the face and body to give power to the individual wearing them. For example, paint or tattoos were used to create symbolic eagle eyes around the eyes of men, giving them the eyes of the eagle in flight.
Japanese tattoos are referred to in Japanese as irezumi which literally means the insertion of ink under the skin leaving a permanent mark or tattoo. Tattooing in Japan is thought to extend back to at least 10,000 years. The Ainu people, the indigenous people of Japan, are known to have used tattoos for decorative and social purposes for many thousands of years.
Religious tattoos have been around for thousands of years but they haven't always been accepted as they are nowadays.
During the Roman Empire the practice of tattooing was almost eradicated in so called civilized culture. The Romans believed that the body was to remain in its purest form and tattoos had no place in this belief. Roman soldiers came across many tattooed barbarians in the expansion of the Roman Empire and as a result soldiers began bringing tattoos back into the civilized world.
As Christianity emerged it brought with it the secrecy of an underground religion in a Roman state of intolerance. Christians began tattooing crosses on the underside of their forearms as a secret sign to other Christians. This was a bold statement of their faith, although secret, a Christian caught with a cross tattoo would be killed immediately.
Several accounts of tattooing in Palestine can be found in travel journals of Christian pilgrims and the practice continued well into the twentieth century. In 1956, a professional tattooist, Jacob Razzouk was using tattoo designs carved on woodblocks that had been handed down from father to son in his family since the seventeenth century. The blocks he used were copied and published in Carswell’s book Coptic Tattoo Designs, printed in a limited edition of 200 copies in 1956. The book contains reproductions of 184 prints together with descriptions of the traditions and symbolism associated with each design.
Throughout history it has become commonplace for tattooed individuals to be set apart or outside society. But times are changing. More than a millennium after church authorities condemned tattooing as a sin, there is a surge in people getting religious tattoos. Christians are inking their bodies with images of crosses, sacred hearts and angels. And, for a small but growing subculture within evangelical Christianity, religious tattooing is becoming more and more a form of expression of individuality, identity and faith. Instead of worshipping religious representations displayed on stained glass windows of the local church, people find meaning in inscribing images on their own private temple of the Holy Spirit.
Abiding by the principle that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, most conservative Christian churches have set limits on bodily expressions, whether these expressions are in the form of tattoos, piercings, extreme hair styles, et cetera.
As far as tattoos go, the Bible has different decrees open to different interpretation. For example Leviticus says:
"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,
nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."
But, in his Letter to the Galatians, Apostle Paul says:
"Let no one cause me trouble,
because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus"
Other biblical passages from Exodus to Revelation describe divine symbols being placed on the bodies of believers. Since the Emperor Constantine banned the practice in the third century because it violated God's teachings, attempts by religious authorities to prohibit tattooing have met with limited success.
Tattoos have not only risen in status to become popular and acceptable within all classes of society, in some milieus, tattoos have achieved an elevated degree of aesthetic value. Tattoo art and artifacts have value. Tattoo, a previously ignored and marginalized practice, is undergoing a process of cultural re-inscription. New meanings of tattoo are being generated by exhibitions that reframe tattoos as art. Recent international exhibitions in American galleries and museums suggest that cultural experts are now speaking on behalf of tattoo culture.
A great link for pictures of tattooed women in history and general tattoo history: http://www.lyletuttle.com/tattoohistory/pasttattooedwomen.html
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Humane Society has Endorsed a Presidential Candidate!
This quote from the Humane Society’s statement of its unprecedented endorsement of a presidential candidate:
”…..Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska’s wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.
Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it – in fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the initiative…….”
They are endorsing Obama/Biden.
”…..Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska’s wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.
Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it – in fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the initiative…….”
They are endorsing Obama/Biden.
Hug a Vegetarian Day
Okay. This Friday, September 26, 2008 is
HUG A VEGETARIAN DAY
So, go find your favorite vegetarian and give 'em a great big hug! What?! You say you don't know a vegetarian?! Well, go out and meet one. We tend to hang out at places like Sprouts and Trader Joes...
HUG A VEGETARIAN DAY
So, go find your favorite vegetarian and give 'em a great big hug! What?! You say you don't know a vegetarian?! Well, go out and meet one. We tend to hang out at places like Sprouts and Trader Joes...
Monday, September 22, 2008
She's a Woman Now!
Campbell has started laying eggs!! She started on Friday and has laid an egg a day since. They are still kinda small - about the same size as small or medium eggs found in the grocery. But since she just started, I'm guessing she'll end up laying extra-large ones when she's fully developed. I think Lipton is more proud than Campbell. He crows and crows until I come out and see the egg. Then I take it away and he walks the fence complaining. No pleasing that guy! Campbell shows no signs of wanting to sit which is fine by me. I really don't need more chickens. Well, actually, more hens would be nice but since I have a 50/50 chance of getting more roosters, I'm not interested in hatching any! So, a nice half-dozen eggs per week! Perfect for baking or making the odd french toast or pancake breakfast. And since I know they are humane I feel fine about using them!!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Time For Work and Time For Play
I love working a split shift. Why? Because I have time in the middle of my workday to go and sit with my stitchin' friends and chat and stitch and bitch and drink weird coffee drinks. For three hours I get to do this! Twice a week! And because I'm working those crazy-long ten hour days I GET FRIDAYS OFF!!!!!!!!!! That equals a three-day weekend EVERY weekend! Now that is just boss!!!!
So today was one of those great stitch-n-bitch days. We talked about the crazy but cute-as-can-be baby blanket that required something close to a million circular needles to work; the cutest darn project bags ever and how they net some of us (this would be you Alicia; see http://www.brentandalicia.blogspot.com) some great yarn on those nutso Ravelry swaps (go check her etsy store and you too can have a bag!); how some of us just walk in and employees simply hand them drinks like they are regulars or something (Maggie, I KNOW I didn't see you walk in and order that drink); and the podcast addictions of some others (namely myself).
So, in my last post I admitted to my podcast addiction. And, silly me, I asked for some knitting podcast suggestions. Well, in some people's (M's!!) attempts to enable me in my addiction, I received a couple of great suggestions. But, as podcasts will want to do, one or two knitting podcasts have multiplied like tribbles (remember Star Trek?). I have added SEVEN more podcasts to my list and they are all about knitting, or in the case of one, about all kinds of crafting. At the request of Alicia, here's a list of the ones I added. Sorry I don't have links to these, but I use itunes and just do a search using the titles.
Sticks and String
CraftyPod - the podcast that's all about making stuff
Knit Naturally
Knit Obsession with zknits
Knittingatnight's Podcast
Stitch it!
It's a Purl, man
Check them out. They are all pretty good.
So today was one of those great stitch-n-bitch days. We talked about the crazy but cute-as-can-be baby blanket that required something close to a million circular needles to work; the cutest darn project bags ever and how they net some of us (this would be you Alicia; see http://www.brentandalicia.blogspot.com) some great yarn on those nutso Ravelry swaps (go check her etsy store and you too can have a bag!); how some of us just walk in and employees simply hand them drinks like they are regulars or something (Maggie, I KNOW I didn't see you walk in and order that drink); and the podcast addictions of some others (namely myself).
So, in my last post I admitted to my podcast addiction. And, silly me, I asked for some knitting podcast suggestions. Well, in some people's (M's!!) attempts to enable me in my addiction, I received a couple of great suggestions. But, as podcasts will want to do, one or two knitting podcasts have multiplied like tribbles (remember Star Trek?). I have added SEVEN more podcasts to my list and they are all about knitting, or in the case of one, about all kinds of crafting. At the request of Alicia, here's a list of the ones I added. Sorry I don't have links to these, but I use itunes and just do a search using the titles.
Sticks and String
CraftyPod - the podcast that's all about making stuff
Knit Naturally
Knit Obsession with zknits
Knittingatnight's Podcast
Stitch it!
It's a Purl, man
Check them out. They are all pretty good.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
What's on my iPod
I like podcasts. I think it might be close to an addiction; it takes forever for my podcasts to update each day, which is my indicator that there may be a problem. So, here is the list of podcasts that I listen to: 60-Second Science; MicrobiologyBytes; BrainStuff: The HowStuffWorks Podcast; Chris Evans Drivetime - The Best Bits; Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4; NPR: Fresh Air; NPR: Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me; Science Weekly; The Ellen DeGeneres Show in A Minute; What Not To Wear: Trends; and WhoWhatWear. This looks to me to be a mix of comedy - American and British, Fashion Trends, and Science. Now that is just plain weird. And I must say, I've been looking for a knitting Podcast. Know of one? What do you think? Do I need to be concerned? Please leave a comment and let me know!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Eating from my CSA box
This year I read this book called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver.
I loved this book. Synopsis from the book's web page: "Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.
"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."
After reading this book, I decided to try my best to eat as close to home as I could. In doing my research I found a local CSA Group(Community Supported Agriculture) - the Inland Empire CSA (www.inlandempirecsa.com). I signed up for a year's "subscription" at about $30 a week. For this I get an entire box of fresh, local, yummy, organic produce!
I picked up my first box on Saturday morning at the Temecula Farmer's Market. I took it home and my mouth started watering!!!! Here's what was in it:
Sage honey, Figs, Apples, oranges, Peaches, Plums, Jujubes, Tomatillos, Onions, Garlic, Eggplant, Anaheim Chiles, Armenian Cucumbers, Mixed Greens, Summer Squash, Winter Squash, Arugula, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Avocados, Oregano, Mint and Basil.
The figs are all gone; so are the jujubes - YUM! The tomatillos and chiles are now fresh salsa, along with one of the onions and some of the tomatoes. The eggplants are going to be Eggplant creole as of tonight.
And it is LOCAL, meaning I did not pay for the fuel or contribute to the global warming problem in order for this stuff to be trucked here from The Central Valley, or flown here from Argentina!!!!! It grows right here in Riverside County!, at Sage Mountain Farm in Aguanga and De Luz Farms and Nursery in
Temecula! You need to check this out if you live in Riverside County! You owe it to yourself and your family to eat where you live! They have pick-up spots all over the place - Idyllwild, Palm Springs, Riverside, Anza, Hemet, and more!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag!
Paper or plastic? Neither, please! Eco-friendly bags are lightweight, reusable, inexpensive, roomy and strong. And I mean roomy and strong - a typical grocery trip for me used to be 20 to 30 plastic bags. The same amount of groceries uses 10 canvas bags. WAY fewer trips from the car to the house! Seriously, 1 canvas bag holds SIX 2-liter bottles of soda!
Don't like the bags you can buy at the grocery store? Want some really cool ones? Go online and get some! I like this web store: http://www.reusablebags.com/. I purchase my kitchen trash bags (totally compostable), my doggie poop bags (totally compostable), wraps for my lunches (no ziplocks necessary and my sandwich bread stays soft), and other fun stuff like my canvas/net shopping bags that are good for the environment not for trashing it! There is also tons of information on this web site - ways in which you too can help save our earth for our kids and grandkids.
Don't like the bags you can buy at the grocery store? Want some really cool ones? Go online and get some! I like this web store: http://www.reusablebags.com/. I purchase my kitchen trash bags (totally compostable), my doggie poop bags (totally compostable), wraps for my lunches (no ziplocks necessary and my sandwich bread stays soft), and other fun stuff like my canvas/net shopping bags that are good for the environment not for trashing it! There is also tons of information on this web site - ways in which you too can help save our earth for our kids and grandkids.
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