Rant and Rage

So, I haven’t posted in a month and a half, I have been discouraged at the lack of my crochet things that I always forget to borrow and portray to show the blogosphere.  But hey, I have been moving from my old place into my boss’s house,  and I suck at packing, but it was achieved with the help of my super marvellous incredibly tidy boyfriend. I was tired.

Now I’m moved in small room occupying half of the house with boxes, that contain all my  nuclear family’s life and furniture, it’s been quite a hassle, but I’m ok, not very willing to  get my yarn box out of the mountain of boxes… just yet. Also it’s a five minute walk to work! YAY for that.

So I have my own room and bathroom,  a small open closet and my furniture kinda fits, I’m a bit more broke now, since the moving truck was EXPENSIVE. But really?  no problems.

Except… everyone, or almost everyone has made a big fuss about me living with a man, rom being utterly shocked,  to telling me to be careful and making  plans in case he does something to me. Let me get this straight, he is my friend and someone I know and trust as in, I do not accociate  with misogynistic pigs, I do not feel in danger and that should be enough.  It angers me, that they assume he is some kind of animal that must fuck ALL  the things cuz he is a man. And the belief that I would live with someone that would endanger me… I also do understand that the worry comes from them caring about me and what not.

It’s not their fault.

It’s how society, patriarchal society portrays men as this gluttonous beast that cannot control  his hormones , and how it portrays me as a  prey,  it seems unthinkable to them  that he might be my friend, an just my friend. That I’m not prey, and he is not a predator , that we are actually PEOPLE.

This, and a video of a  girl in Mexico City,  who is being sexually harassed by a neighbour and  the authorities cannot do anything about it until he actually seriously physically harms her…. also the comments on said video are shameful,  I mean  she does get supportive people  who get offended at what happened to her,  but  some others are blaming her,  telling her she should like it, calling her a slut, a whore,  telling her even that she is making it up for attention.  (fowl language ahead)  WHAT THE FUCK?! For real, this made me cry out of anger and impotence. Ok, yes is Mexico, ok yes, it’s the way society works, that DOES NOT mean she should take it, or we women in general.  This was shaming and victim blaming! And now one should just take it and/or ignore it.

This whole mysoginistc ideas feel me with rage and

I’ll figure what I can do about all this nonsense aside from educating myself in feminism ( which is my new found love) and reading amazing blogs ❤

Offended and rioting,

Didi Starfish

Busy bee and garlic soup recipe

Oh gosh, I’ve been so busy, too busy to bother blogging,  bad, bad Starfish! BAD.

I’m way better from the sore throat of death, but I still feel like my brain is made of boogers… a little.  ( yum, eh?)  Also I forgot the camera at the bf’s , so I can’t take piccies of the football scarf I made for  the mini skater.  I have a pattern!  I made one, I feel oh so proud! I also finished the scarf for Dany, which ended up being 20 rounds of  dc, ch1 in a very nice wine colored yarn,  I will be showing later, I promise.

I’m making another poke-ball scarf, for a friend,  I bought  bulkier yarn for it and I’m loving it, its oh so fluffy and oh so soft and ❤  but I think I’m gonna have to give him the  first one I made,  since I don’t think I’ll make it on time.  SO MUCH STUFF TO DOOOO.  I already payed my utilities, but the house, with me sick and injured for two weeks is a total and complete wreck, and I’m expecting a very special visit for next week :D! So I have to have things at least decent.

I’ve been having a busy week, A LOT of work,  a lot of people to visit and a lot of  errands to run.  I feel a tiny bit exhausted today, and my wisdom tooth is killing me and I can’t afford to take it out just yet, HELLO ADVIL!  So I decided to make  something special to feed my little being. (little… I’m extremely tall for a Mexican, 5″6 I know I’m normal in  places with more racial diversity, but here I’m freaking Gulliver in Liliput!)

I made Garlic Soup!  This I used to have at my father’s mother’s place, its delicious and extremely cheap. So it works for my  broke, quasi vegetarian person.  I thought I’d share the recipe in case the curiosity of this spaniard dish strikes anybody.

You need:

8 big cloves of garlic

Half an onion

Water

1 hard bread?  how do you call it?  when its old and its hard as a rock?

Olive oil

1  egg per plate.

Worcestershire sauce

dill, pepper, salt, paprika.

First in a pot, you fry the garlic cloves, whole until they brown a bit and you kitchen smells delicious.  then toss the coarsely chopped onion on that,  add pepper , salt, dill and paprika and water, not too much i think about  3 or 4 cups will do.  Then the Worcestershire sauce, let it boil, like… for a while, obviously not for too long,  then add the sliced old bread and when its really boiling, evily hot, serve and drop an egg in the plate, it has to be really hot so the egg cooks a little, like a pouched egg.

I hope that was… not too cryptic.  mine was delicious, and filling,  and reminded me of my childhood, just what I needed since I forgot I sometimes, need to be fed,  I had two eggs, stop judging me!

Anyway, I shall now retire and bask in my 3gbs of new music.

Love and Garlic goodness,

DidiStarfish.

The Perils of Indepedance

I did not make this blog to whine, I told myself yesterday and  all of today’s morning. But I did make it, aside from sharing my arts and crafts  and everything in between, to mainly document and make a  record of my life as of lately.  And it’s not a whine at all. Don’t get me wrong I’m a very happy person.

I left the comfort of my mother’s house, almost a year ago in  very precarious situation, meaning , no job,  and  in a rush. ( Also, I must confess here that I have no superior education studies what so ever, but that is  another story, so if we see me as a D&D character sheet,  I only have the another language feat. Ok, I have many, I’m a very skilled person , but nothing that counts for earning money.) It was hard and there were times where I didn’t had food, but that was even fun,  oh praise you oatmeal and rice, praise you!  But I have been extremely lucky, I got support to be able to rent the house I live in, I scored first a job as an assistant kinder garden teacher, a job I had to leave, with my heart shattered, for  I fell in love with each and everyone of those kids, cause it did not cover my expenses at all. Then I scored another job translating  movies for dubbing, with made me hate dubbing  even more,  and finally the job I’m at now. With which I can cover my expenses quite decently,  and  be able to travel and buy YARN OMG I LOVE YARN…. moving on…

I do not think about or talk about much or what could be considered my sorrows, I figure there is no use and  the fact would betray everything I believe in, which can be only  be illustrated by my adored Jean Paul Sartre “Freedom is what we do with what the world has made of us.”

But living on my own, so far away from everyone I know and love, sometimes, sucks a little.  I am a loner,  I do not seek  companionship often, and I like my Starfish time.  But, sometimes, like yesterday, when I felt sick, sore throat and evil stomach ache of doom,  I do want some company… I remember quite clearly when I started living alone, that at some point, I  had so little human contact that I started talking to my fridge… my fridge for god’s sake ahahahahah. I even got a cat to at least, talk to something that was alive.  Couldn’t afford her, cute Wenny kitty, had to go, she is quite happy now,  I see her once in a while. This ,was not sad for me, this was new. Anyways, yesterday and  some other days too , I do feel the blues,  I have to  nurse myself if I get sick, and that is quite lonely, my boss helps a lot, but if I were in the city,  I’d have  my bf with me, I could call up my friends,  but no, I had to move  one and a half hour away from everyone I know and love. Also my father I haven’t seen in ages and my mother lives 16 hours away from me.

I think of everything, that is the one peril. Those moments  when you feel like a sad little puppy. Thank fully I have  people, that make me happy and  my art and my crafting to keep me up, and I’ll be moving soon… around March, hopefully. So no biggie there, but that would be the hardest part for sure, also  I am a proud little being, and I  choose not to ask for favours… or well anything really, it’s really hard for me to do so.   Go me. It makes it a bit worse that it ought to be.

Aside from everything, this stage of my life, has been the most wonderful, incredible journey so far.  I am blessed, with true friends whom I love with all my heart that stick to me through thick and thin, I  have found love,  I am in love with  the most incredible person I have ever met ( and I’ve met many), Both of my parents, this year have told me something that I have always wanted to hear, that they are proud of me, and mom cares and wants to know about my life.  I also rediscovered myself in the most wonderful of ways. What else could I ask for?

I mean, there’s also utility paying, which it totally forgot about… and almost got our water supply cut 8D! House making, which I totally suck at,  I really honestly do, I have to work on that.  And well, feeding Wasabi… I do every third day.

There’s no pictures or anything new of the stuff I am making today, for I am camera less . I hope I didn’t bored the shit outta you. I shall now retire to recover and  watch Pride and Prejudice, BBC 1995 mini series ( what, pray tell me, what in the world can make anything and everything better, than Austen and tea? ), and keep those X-mas presents and the order I got going.

Love and Regency novels,

Didi Starfish.

Pizza and Cookies

That’s what we had, on the weekend, ALL  weekend. It was delicious, yes, it was! Even though my cookies  were fail, but tasted great.

I took a few days off crochetting, in general, the pain on my back had me in a pissy pissy mood,   and when it was gone I was just very interested in my book, and god If i could only read and crochet at the same time, that would be heaven, with a cup of tea, listening to the bf’s guitar, yes I like that idea.

My weekend went swell as always, my poor penguin had the flu, so I was a a penguin nurse,  we watched The Muppets, it exceeded all expectations, you have to know I adore, ADORE the Muppets, and the  movie had me laughing out loud  for all it’s length. And I had macrons!  ❤

Today has been a long, long, long day, actually it felt like that since yesterday’s bus ride home, the driver was driving like an animal on crack and I came out of the bus shaking like a chihuahua threatened by a squeaky toy. Got my bus to pick-up my panicked butt and  went for dinner, a dinner I could not eat, but a dinner that served as breakfast. Went to work , and I picked-up two hours more, so now I work for 7 hours,  which is more money, so YAY. But it felt like  FOR EVER even though everyone was nice today.

My boss usually drives me home since I live  quite close ( by car, public transportation is hell but I face it as the valiant warrior I am), usually making a stop at his house , he feeds his cats, and drops his lap top off… but this time, he forgot about me and left me out there in the winter sun for… 45 minutes, in which I poked my ipod,  read my book, stared blankly at the sky…  oh god it felt like for ever, again.  And between driving here and there to run  some errands, I ended up arriving home at 6 pm.

And still no crochet, or well, less than I’d desire.  I decided to work on two paintings and a sketch I have laying around.

Abandoned with peanuts, see?  poor sad paintings, momma will be paying you lost of attention this week, promise.

And just cuz i feel like I should, here is an sneak-peek of my football scarf.

Tapestry crochet! I also just discovered that making clean circles seems a tad impossible, specially taking into account that my crochet skills are not that advanced yet, specially when its about tapestry. So I think for now, until I find a solution I’ll make something else for Dany.

That will be it for today.

Love and arabic gum,

Didi Starfish.

 

Poke-ball scarf and Queen Anne’s lace.

Hai thar!

Today it was quite a decent day,  despite the back pain ( which I have been treating with diclofenac gel),  everything worked out fine. Made it to work on time, got some extra hours for the week, got some planning done for the next couple of months since my lease on the house I’m living in ends in January. Also had alot of coffee,  god, I love coffee, I do. Specially with milk, lactose free. ❤

My “tiny” home cup ;D!

So as I said before, I finished my  first two X-mas presents, you should know, that I am not very fond of the holiday. But heck, I’m trying to brighten up  about it.

I present to you, the poke-ball scarf!

Well, isn’t that one cool scarf!  Made from the pattern  at Ramen Needles. I’m quite proud and In love.  Mine is  longer and thinner, since it’s for a child. I’m hoping he will like it as much as I do, and I’m posting this since I know he won’t see it,  he won’t get it till X-mas and I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but do want to share.  I must make one for myself, tho, I happen to love pokemon.  >_>

Also, this…

This one is fro the mother, it was my first time with Queen Anne’s Lace and I must say it was fun to make and it looks  quite lovely, I want to try this pattern  with  different weight yarns and maybe varigrated!

The first time I tried this pattern, months ago, I was in a total, HURR DURR  mode, I could not, for the life of me, figure it out. And I could not have done so with-out the tutorial at This domestic life. I think I still got it a bit wrong, but I liked it never-the-less. Have to keep practising!

I’m still at the football scarf pattern, I think I have it all figured out, but I want to finish it before I post it. Also, gave up ( for now) on the Tunisian, it was coming out  ugly, and it must be pretty, it’s for the bf!  So I’ replanning it, it must be a round scarf for sure.

That would be all for today 8D  I’m off to get some dinner, all this no moving at all is making me hungry. HA!

Love and caffeine,

Didi Starfish.

Zombilicious

Listening: Lil bit-Lykke li

Making: Football scarf. Making pattern.

Hello there, I should mention that I probably won’t blog at all on weekends, since that is bf time, and I’m distracted by lots of loving to care much for the blog.

This weekend went pretty swell as it usually does,  Friday was nice,  and relaxing. On Saturday we prepared for  Mexico City’s Zombie Walk. I did our make-up on the subway, its not awesome, but it was enoughly  zombieish.

It was a lot of fun, growling and moaning around,  and we found some incredible fellow zombies on the walk. They were too awesome, there was even zombie babies,   we decided we’ll plan our zombie costumes better next year, we sorta improvised them,  I got a dress from bf’s mother to tear apart 8D! it was fun.

El Santo zombified!

Princess zombie, aw. ❤

Aztec sacrifice zombie.

Omonononom!

Plant Vs Zombies zombies 😀  it made me happy.

Mickey Zombie.

I liked this piccie,  Zombie Hipster.

❤ Zombie little darlings.

Yum!

This one was so weird, me likey.

MJ!

That grandma was hugging zombies even. ❤

Zombie hands!!!

Every time our piece of the march passed a store they yelled what it was.  XD (Tacos! Tacos! Tacos! ….Jewels! Jewels! Jewels! That’s Mexicans for you.)

Zombie babies. ❤

Zombie hunk, rawr ;D!

Some zombie friends of mine.  :D!

Zombie cutie ❤

Zombie hippies and zombie me.

We greeted my friend Ake in a very zombie way.  He was delicious.

Our master, Hannah.

Zombie Grandma, she was biting people and stuff.<3

Gotta love it.

Wahahahahahah Zombie love!

There were more than 9,000 zombies, we broke the guiness record.  YAY México!

It was fun and extremely exhausting, we finished the night with some beers and  I found out the day after that  all that zombie goodness took it’s toll on my old back injury, so much that I couldn’t go home the night after as I always do.  I was in tears from the pain, and you should know I am no wuss, but I even asked for pain killers, and I do not take drugs. Regrettably I missed a day of work,  I’ll catch up with some extra hours during the week if possible.

On my X-mas presents,  I already finished the Queen Ann’s lace scarf and I’m moving on, making a pattern for a football scarf, learning how to tapestry crochet and do Tunisian.  Let’s see how that goes.

Love, brainz and pain killers,

Didi Starfish.

What I have been making lately…

And by lately I mean this past year, way before I thought about  making this blog. It’s been a long day , I have been attacked by bumble bees again, but I survived, and I can’t hate them,they are so chubby <3.  I also had a snickers ice cream bar ( that things is only sold in ONE store over here) and had cookies, I’m getting fat, I have to work out… >_>

Anyway, I went to Irma’s house yesterday, actually, I just didn’t told you… I’m sneaky like that. She is a very nice old lady who  has fed me when I needed it the most, sometimes when I don’t at all, she gives me a good talk and calls her self my fake mommy. Her house is way better lighted than mine, aside that mine has no decor what so ever and is messy and its n a quite ugly state, since we have been four people living here for the past month, all working all day.

So yeah,  I took pics of the projects  that are still in my possession, most of my stuff gets given away or, well lost in moving and such, I’ll show you what I’ve got… (excuse the terrible pictures I was being a bit pressured)

This blanket is for my friend Zu’s baby, Nerea, I just have failed to deliver it…  I made one of this sort for Mia, Liliana’s  toddler,  but I can’t seem to find it. It needs some blocking  but for now I really lack the space.

These are cushions based on a parttern by Alice at Crochet with Raymond, from the bunting tutorial, go have a look , link at the  left.

Same story here, just better pictures,  the  true rainbow one is  for Jesh’s mom and the other one is mine.

This shawl, scarf things, that yarn is gorgeous,  GORGEOUS  I tell you… My mother always asks me why  I can’t take one  serious picture… 8D! (God, I look tired.)

God I suck at taking pictures. Anyways, I made this just to try out Attic24’s granny stripe pattern, I can’t be bothered today to link into the post, my computer is being prissy,  but go to her link on the left. 

Irma modeled it!!!!!

This scarf, worked in trebles in a very soft blend… unknown fiber tho, was made to match…

THIS. It’s a bear hat, it has ear flaps and pompoms to tie it up,  I’ll be sharing the pattern soon. This was made for celeste, she also wants dinosaur spikes… which I have made, but not all fo them and I’m too lazy about it >_>.

And finally this, this is gonna be a cover for my bed, inspired by the awesome gypsy caravan bed cover by Alice ( big fan ).  50 something squares of 816,  and I’m being quite neurotic about it… Don’t have time for it since I’m in x-mas present euphoria.

I failed to have a decent picture of my sock monkey hat and he has no ears yet, I’m not gonna show him in shame. 

Also I’m knitting my frist hat, we will see about that…. humf!

Love and  Granny Squares,

Didi Starfish

The day the bugs attacked and a cowl for Liz

Reading:  Sourcery -Terry Pratchett’s Discworld

Listening: Autumn Leaves ❤

Making: Queen Anne’s lace Scarf for Fanny.

Today my alarm clock didn’t go off… but I never manage to be late for work really,  or for anything, I’m that neurotic about it, I have my father to blame for that one.  I had to take a cab to the office since my two buses were not going to take me there on time, I usually talk to cab drivers, but this one was quite happy with letting me read. 

We got there and I stopped by the store quickly, got a juice and some peanuts, said hi to Manuel the very serious sausage puppy and the two cats I always see in on my way, opened the gate and walked towards the sliding glass door, I look up and BAM!!!!! a spider as big as my hand… I screamed in terror, my boss and co-worker could not believe the size of the thing. 

We managed to set it free somewhere very far away from the office. I still get chills thinking about it,  we got pictures first and If my co-worker (aka teddy-bear) sends them to me I will be posting to share the terror.  I’m usually ok with spiders,  but I can never be ok with something that big and evil looking, seriously it was like She the spider’s baby…

Also I got attacked by pissed bumble bees and a bird that went into my house for no reason what so ever and got out on his on with very suspicious ease….

Moving on…

My roomie Liz is moving next month to Guadalajara, which is quite far away from where we live now,  and I decided to hook her up a quick present, Guadalajara is colder so she will be able to  wear it.  Since here in  Horncow ( the actual name is Cuernavaca, but hell, its funnier in english.)  we have crazy weather, I mean, it just rained… in autumn…wtf… and it’s hot all day long.

So here it is,  she was nice enough to model it for me.

I was very happy with the result and it was quite easy to make, I made a chain until I was happy with the length then,  round of hdc, round of dc, round of trbl, round of dc, round of hdc and so on and so on, also I always buy varicoloured yarn and I never know what to do with it,  this one  was very soft and she liked it very much, it’s made so she can tuck it into her jackets. 

I also finished the poke-ball scarf for the miniature critic, I’ll be posting about it tomorrow, if  I don’t get eaten by a donkey or something of the sort… as things are going it seems perfectly plausible. 

Love and raid spray,

Didi Starfish.

Hello blogosphere, Starfish says helloooooooooooooooooooo!

Hi! 

This Andrea (pronounced And-reh-ah, for it is Hispanic) , a.k.a  Didi Starfish on the interwebs.  I am a 25 year-old tattooed and pierced Mexican girl, who lives in the province of HornCow, Morelos.  I work with phones talking to people in the U.S. as a part time job,  the rest of the time I’m either crafting, crocheting, reading, painting, watching movies or series.  I live in a small social interest house with two room-mates and my red slider turtle, named Wasabi who was inherited to me by a very dear friend. I browse and I read several blogs, rarely commenting, and that is gonna change now!

Tis me!!!

My life keeps suffering changes and since I went independent on January this year, I’ve been learning how to handle broken bathrooms, bills, house cleaning/keeping and making ends meet, living on a very tight budget.

But I’m happy as happy can be,  I’m with the most amazing human being I have ever met, I call him penguin,  he lives in Mexico City but I get to see him on weekends, ALL  weekend.  He is a very talented musician and I think he is the awesomest thing since the internet, and Zeus knows I love the internet.

He is the butter to my bread. ❤

And I have plans to move to the Big City once again since I’m originally from there. So here you will have my adventures doing so, finding a job, a place to live, moving everything on my own, but most specially, my crochet and crafting, and if you are very lucky and I’m not that shy, you will get my art stuff too, and hopefully my decorating my new place.

Let’s start with that, shall we? 

I been making a bunch of cushion covers,  all taken from the amazing Alice in Crochet with Raymond, she has amazing patterns and colour goodness.

This granny mandala soon to be cushion is  for my friend Jesh’s mother.  Who needs a bit of rainbow in her life.

More cushions to come.

As of now I’m in official X-mas gift making, pics will come as I finish them.

But here we have a  To-Do list, so I do not forget.

Pokemon scarf for the mini critic – 80% done  pattern from A bowl of yarn, a skein of noodles.

Queen Anne’s lace scarf for Fanny, my mother, Irene.

Some cool boyish scarf for Juli.

Some other cool scarf for Dany.

Scarf that matches bear hat I made for the bf.

A little somthing for a little papaqui creature if i can get it to her.

Hat for Israel.

That being my first post and me being quite satisfied by it, I shall now say good night, since starfish sleeping hours approach.

Love and Glitter,

Didi Starfish.