A Special RWPK

[arguchik]

One might even call this entry "out of order," since it's not Friday. I prefer "special," as in: just in time for Seattle's Holiday on Ice!

READING: Still with the Cloud's End by Sean Stewart, yadda yadda. It's an engaging story, just slow going for me since I only really read it right before I fall asleep at night. It materializes that whole "nightstand reading" trope.

WATCHING: Doctor Who, just barely digging into Series 3. No more Rose. :::sniff:::

WEARING: OK, this bit makes a brief reappearance. Jeans, green long-sleeved tee, black cardigan what I knitted, and green scarf what also I knitted.

PLANNING: Tomorrow is the 4th annual Crest theater extravaganza for glaucon and me. Weird mix of movies this year (in order): The Secret Life of Bees, Body of Lies, High School Musical III (which should be interesting, since we've never seen the first two), and finally Tell No One. They actually have 6 movies playing this year, so there's no way we can see all of them unfortunately.

KNITTING: I finished the knitting on my mom's cardigan. Just need to wash it, block it, and sew on some kind of closure (either pewter clasps or snaps, since I didn't make button holes), which I also have to go select and purchase. Monday night at Purlygirls I cast on for my first NaKniSweMoDo sweater: a heavily modified rendition of A Cardigan for Arwen (scroll down--it's the second project listed). I'm calling it "A Cardigan for St. Patrick" because I'm knitting it with some Cascade 220 Wool, the colorway of which is called "Ireland." My modifications will include knitting it seamless (Elizabeth Zimmerman style), changing the arm and shoulder construction, lengthening the body, and losing the hood. I'm giving it a wide collar instead, which will still show off the awesomeness of that ingenious reversible cable.

HAIR & SKIN REPORT: I'm back on the baking soda & vinegar regimen, but I'm doing it a bit differently. Instead of mixing the baking soda into a cup of water in the shower, I'm pouring about half of it into my hand and making a paste instead, using the rest only if I feel like a certain spot needs more. This gives me more control over where it goes, so I can apply it just to my roots (it seemed to be drying out my ends, before). Also, I'm using white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. It leaves less of a smell in my hair, to my nose. I follow that with a small shot of conditioner--still using Bumble & Bumble thickening conditioner, but I think I might switch to this Kiehl's conditioner as soon as I can procure a bottle--and a final rinse with cold water. (Sorry for that truly ugly sentence.) I'm still using the oil cleansing method for my face, with an occasional baking soda scrub or pore cleansing mask, and I'm still loving the results. My skin doesn't miss soap or foaming cleansers at all. Oh, I also started using Strivectin as my moisturizer, twice per day. I tried this stuff once before, but I was only using it once per day and wasn't particularly impressed. This time it is really helping my skin--apparently twice per day is the charm. My skin feels much softer and smoother to the touch, and it looks a little bit more evenly toned to me too...though I doubt that it looks any different to anyone else.

That's it for today. Happy holidays!

Comments

[shirtlifterbear.livejournal.com]

One of my great frustrations is that I know how much I'd love to knit, knitting being the kind of thing I'd dig when watching movies. I also have a genetic pre-disposition illustrated by Gran's DENTED fingers from her being openly bi- (knitting AND crochet). However, I just can't seem to learn how to do it from books. My brain can't parse it. (Instant New Year's Resolution: Take class.)

PS The paste idea is primo! I have facial *areas* that suffer from an over-abundance of oil, and the baking soda paste is the best for them!

Happy Holidays!

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

Check out the tutorial videos at www.knittinghelp.com. She's really good, though not so much if you're inclined to knit English/American style (i.e. "throwing," i.e. holding the yarn in your right hand--as opposed to "picking," i.e. knitting continental style, i.e. holding the yarn in your left hand). (I'm a thrower, personally, though I am working on my continental knitting.) Also, I like this video for learning continental style (I've been to Lorilee's shop; it's in my hometown--she's really great):


This one looks pretty good for learning how to throw...though it looks somewhat different from how I do it.

[herazade.livejournal.com]

My god I never realized how gifted you are at the womanly arts. You sound like a knitting demi-goddess.

I loved Tell No One, really one of the best French films I've seen in a while.
It was unusually romantic for the French.

Re:skin I have massive problems with dryness and redness. I gave up soap on much of my body but especially my face years ago. I had luck with Cetaphil when I was coming off soap, and still use it. We can kvetch next time I see you.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

LOL--knitting obsessive compulsive, more like it.

I'm glad to hear a good review of Tell No One--I know nothing about it, but now I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I don't do well with Cetaphil, for some reason. I've tried both formulations. Something in it gives me blackheads, and I find it very odd that the oil cleansing method has the opposite effect. Like dissolves like, I guess. (I understand that it works even better if you use jojoba oil as the base, mixed with castor oil which is the deep cleansing agent, apparently. Right now I'm using a mixture of castor and grapeseed oils.) I'm seriously considering giving up soap on my body. I get super itchy skin on my legs--to the point where they make me downright miserable if I shave them. It's worse in the winter.

[herazade.livejournal.com]

Jeff reminded me that Tell no one is a thriller, so it is pretty violent and actiony as well, so be warned.

Hehe, shit I just realized you've seen it already, I swear my fucking brain, I hate it.

I gave up Cetaphil to for the same reason that it is in fact terrible "soap" but it really helped my skin recover from soap. I only use mild soap on my ... nether unmentionables which seem to be the toughest part of me (ergh skin-wise).

You know our legs don't get dirty, it's not like we're working in a cow processing plant hip deep in cow-parts. Dump the soap, make your leg skin happy.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

We only ended up seeing the first two movies, unfortunately. The roads up by the Crest are terrible. We tried to leave for dinner and it took us over half an hour to get out. Once we were out, we were like..."Nope, not going back into that again." Anyway, we'll have to rent "Tell No One" sometime. (I don't mind violence and gore in movies at all. Most of the time. I had to stop watching Reservoir Dogs the first time I saw it, when we got to the scene where they're threatening to set that young cop on fire. I finally did watch the movie a year or so later, but only after someone just came out and told me that they never actually set the guy on fire. Sorry if that's a spoiler...)

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

P.S. I don't actually use soap on my legs most of the time--only when I'm using my scrubby gloves on them. They still get itchy. I'm assuming that it's simply by association, as the soap runs down my body when I rinse it off. Either that, or our water is just...whatever enough to dry out my skin by itself.